Chapter 9
Elizabeth's first look at the Great Hall would be later described to her family as "nothin' like you've ever seen b'fore", and her face read the same. The soft glow of candle light from the floating flames above her head gave the castle hall such a warm, welcoming feeling. With that alone, she almost felt at home. And the stars above, enchanted on the ceiling—they, too, were breathtaking. Literally, in fact; while taking in the sights, sounds, and smells surrounding her, Elizabeth had forgotten to breath. Very shortly, however, she began to feel dizzy, and took in air again.
The sound of a loud wolf-whistle snapped her back into the physical present, her awestruck expression becoming quickly lost. What in Merlin's name—?
At the furthest end of the hall, situated on the left, was a group of students with green and silver accenting their wardrobe. The high-pitched sound had come from one of them, but it was too difficult to tell which it had been. She was, at that moment, too preoccupied with the discomfort of having so many unfriendly faces leering at her, or rather, the parts of her below the chin. She had to turn away, look anywhere but at the distinctly creepy group.
So much for that warm, friendly vibe the hall had going. She had nearly felt relaxed until her bubble was burst by... By whomever those emerald-clothed creeps were.
"I've got this", she whispered to herself, breathing as deeply as she could. There had to be something less shudder-inducing to focus on in the enormous hall! And indeed there was. Looking anywhere but to the far left as she and the younger bunch trudged forward, Elizabeth observed the rest of the student population, finding each long table color-themed. 'The houses, of course!' she reminded herself, wondering if she could pick out who was who.
Next to the emerald-wardrobed students sat a group in blue and deep bronze. Then, to the right of them were a brightly colored group, clad in yellow and yet more black. Finally, on the far right were those in scarlet and gold. These she picked out to be Gryffindors, the colors being what her new friends had worn. And, if James and Sirius were correct, the group in green making her that much more uneasy were surely the Slytherins. As to who was the group of Hufflepuffs and who the Ravenclaws, she hadn't any idea. That matter could be dealt with later.
Her heartbeat was loud and wild in her own ears, the nerves forcing their way up and into the forefront of Elizabeth's mind. The time had come, and she wasn't sure if she was relieved or more terrified than ever. Had she really been thinking about this for just moments since Professor McGonagall spoke, or had it been hours? Here she was, standing before the hundreds of students in the school, all of the professors, and—
A raggedy old hat?
No. Surely she was seeing some sort of hallucination, or a glamour. This ancient, terribly ugly hat could not possibly be the test that judged her personality, her inner-most self, and placed her into the house that would 'be like her family' for the next two years... Could it?
No, no it could not.
It was a raggedy, old, singing hat that would do so. Of course.
Elizabeth watched on incredulously, tuning out the majority of the actual words sung. It was unintentional, but before she knew what was happening, two first years had already been sorted in Hufflepuff, and one into Slytherin.
As children sat on the little stool at the front of the hall, Elizabeth began to gather how the singing hat determined their places in Hogwarts: it was a mind-reading hat. It was often funny to watch the younger students' expressions change suddenly. Some went wide-eyed, seeming to pray to the hats on their heads before being sorted. Others turned pink in the face, embarrassed by the memories the hat retrieved. But overall, most seemed to be pleased with their placements.
Finally, upon reaching "Wallace, Jordan", the sorting of the first years ended. Still, the hall did not settle in anticipation of a speech from their headmaster, as one lone student remained standing.
"Hartly, Elizabeth," Professor McGonagall announced, giving Elizabeth what she took to be a subtle look of encouragement. Given the obviously stiff nature of the teacher, she deduced just how anxious she looked. That just wouldn't cut it for the Hartly estate heiress!
Elizabeth straightened her back and made the trek up the few stairs it took to reach the stool. It was perhaps as dingy as the hat in Professor McGonagall's hand, but she couldn't afford to be picky now. With a final deep breath the teenager smoothed her skirt beneath her and sat on the stool at last. She didn't have long to feel nerves flood her system, with the hundreds of students staring in anticipation, before the shadow of the Sorting Hat obscured her vision.
"Let's see what we have here... Quite a bit older, aren't you, Miss Hartly? How rare it is I have the opportunity to sort a more matured student," a deep voice hummed, infiltrating her mind.
'Oh ma gawd! It talks too!' She thought, realizing immediately after the hat—the raggedy, old, singing, mind-reading hat—could hear that particular thought just as clearly as she articulated the idea in her mind. Flushing, Elizabeth desperately tried to control her thoughts. Thinking about all the events and ideas she didn't want to appear, however, only brought them to the forefront of her a mind. It was a mess to say the least.
"Ah... you've had quite the ordeal, haven't you? But your character has been unwavering." She heard the voice again, this time with less surprise and more displeasure on her part.
'Stay outta those thoughts! I didn't ask for your opinion!' She snapped back. It was difficult, remembering to keep her thoughts… Well, in her thoughts, and not voiced aloud.
"And loyal, that runs deep in you. To your friends, your mother, your fath—"
Before the hat had even finished the word, Elizabeth saw bursts of memories. Her daddy, laughing as Lucy licked his chin; her mother and father sitting together at the dinner room table; him lying in a bed back in Dallas with cuts covering his exposed face and arms; her mother, crying fat tears silently next to him. If she had seen that in a matter of seconds, each memory more painful than the last, the hat had seen the same. There was no denying it, and certainly no dealing with it.
"No, no, this is more a matter of internal strength, courage in the face of adversity; more strong than I initially believed."
The hat paused, humming to itself, deliberating before-
"Yes, that's just it. It will more certainly have to be:
"GRYFFINDOR!"
It was a moment before Elizabeth recognized the words had been spoken not in her head, but out loud for the entirety of the hall to hear. Well, she didn't really catch it, but rather deduced the event after hearing a sudden cheering go up from the table farthest to her left and polite clapping from the majority of other students.
Following the removal of the Sorting Hat from her head, she felt a subtle pull towards the table full of red and gold, the one still clapping. She could feel the welcoming aura, but the loud cheers towards the middle of the long table brought the biggest smile to her face. It came from her friends, all four of them, wearing grins stretching from ear to ear. Elizabeth wasted no time in joining them, sitting in the space between Remus and some boy who looked to be a few years younger. He didn't seem to mind being scooted over, once Elizabeth sat down, and so close to the golden quartet that was the Marauders.
"Congratulations!" Remus whispered to her as she sat. All of her friends seemed just as ready to offer their thoughts, leaning forward in readiness, but it was time for the headmaster to speak. No one wanted to disrespect Dumbledore; rather, none of the Gryffindors did. A silence fell over the Great Hall in anticipation of his welcoming words.
Elizabeth took her first good look at the old wizard walking up to his podium. He was a kind looking man, whimsical even. His deep blue robes with golden moons patterning the fabric told her that much. But he looked ancient, aged enough to have been her grandfather at the minimum. Despite this, he glided smoothly out from behind the High Table to address his pupils.
"To our new students, welcome!" he announced. "And to our returning students, welcome back!" The headmaster was positively beaming, his voice teeming with his evident excitement at the prospect of a new year at Hogwarts.
"There are certainly times to give a speech," he continued. "I don't believe this is one of them. Dig in!"
With a wide sweeping gesture, food of all varieties appeared at the four tables before the students. Directly in front of Elizabeth was a roast beef and a pitcher of some orangey liquid. It wasn't bright or fizzy enough to be orange soda, but she didn't know what other beverage could be orange. Further down, she could see roasted potatoes, cooked carrots, and a great many sauces and sides.
"Whoa," she gasped, taking in the savory scent. "Now that's some presentation!"
"Welcome to Hogwarts, love," Sirius grinned, sitting opposite her.
"And welcome to the best house, reigning champions of the House Cup, and home of the best people you'll ever meet!" James added proudly, pouring some of the odd orange liquid to his goblet and passing it across the way to Peter.
"Good thing you ended up here, too. Can't imagine you'd have been a slimy snake, but..." Peter interjected, trailing off uncomfortably. He liked Elizabeth, she paid more attention to him than most girls with her looks did. To think she might have been stuck in Slytherin was awful; he and his friends would all end up shunning her, without a doubt. She'd be the target of any number of pranks, despite her sense of humor, the nice way she smiled at him...
But they were all safe from that fate.
"They're kinda creepy, huh?" Elizabeth replied. She couldn't help the little shudder that ran down her spine at the idea of being surrounded by the sneering group in green and black robes. At least, she assumed Peter had been referring to the students at the opposite end of the hall.
"Sure, that's one way to put it," Sirius snorted, sending a dirty look past her towards the crowd in question. Something appeared to catch his special attention, his eyes narrowing further. James, noting his mate's reaction, found the source of Sirius' change in attitude. Lucius Malfoy, one of the seventh years, was whispering lowly into the ear of Sirius' brother. Nothing good had ever come of Malfoy's special interest in anyone.
"Hey," James muttered, nudging his friend. "We'll check it out later. Now's not the time-"
"But you're here now," Remus said loudly, bringing them all back to the present. Elizabeth didn't have the time to turn around and figure out the problem, but it didn't matter now. Sirius was once again focused on the mountain of food on his plate, James was getting his own helping of red meat, and Peter was complaining about the not being able to enjoy any of the vegetables ("The house elves always over-bloody-season them! What's so wrong with just melted butter, for Merlin's sake?")
Before she knew it, Elizabeth had already indulged in her last spoonful of chocolate pudding, the headmaster had given a proper speech, and the student body had risen from the benches to head up to their warm beds. Lily was very visible at the front of the younger Gryffindor lot, where Remus had gone to join her. Though the information she was giving to the first years would probably do her some good, Elizabeth stuck towards the back with the other three marauders, avoiding eye contact with the brilliant redhead.
It didn't occur to her how much more she'd be seeing of Lily Evans until she found herself following her into their shared dormitory. They would be sharing it with three other girls: Alice Prewett, Mary MacDonald, and Marlene Mckinnon. They were all nice enough, introducing themselves with warm smiles and awkward small talk, but Elizabeth could tell Lily's cold shoulder had affected their attentions towards her. It was subtle, but the uncomfortable mood hung over their brief conversation. Elizabeth excused herself quickly when she realized the source of the awkwardness.
"I'm mighty tired, actually, I'll unpack t'morrow," she said, moving towards her extremely plush four-poster bed. The other girls didn't protest, Marlene voicing her own sentiments to be the same. "Sweet dreams y'all!"
But for the life of her, after closing the curtains around her bed, Elizabeth could not quiet her mind enough to fall asleep. All the emotions she'd be pushing to the back of her mind chose that moment to come up, putting her through the shock of the days events all over again. Leaving her mother in a foreign country, the talking hat that read through all her most nightmarish memories of the past year, meeting the boys and Lily.
Meeting the people she thought she'd been making up since she was a toddler.
Everything they'd told her on the train, she'd seen most of it happen firsthand! How was it possible? Had everything she'd seen happened?
Was Remus, sweet gentle Remus, really afflicted with lycanthropy? Of course, he had to have been with those scars! The thought made Elizabeth feel like crying. If she'd thought nightmares were awful, she could never handle experiencing it firsthand!
And the other boys, those pranksters, they were animagi! Her uncle was an animagus, and he'd told her how difficult it was to get through the process. The marauders had accomplished it by the time they were 15! The urge to cry was suddenly replaced with a surge of pride for her friends' accomplishments and bravery.
And now she was at Hogwarts, and with her now not-so-imaginary friends (and Lily, for whom she had no label yet). Everything, every pleasant dream, every nightmare, every triumph and failure, she'd known about them for months! How did she know though? Only seers were supposed to—
Elizabeth gasped aloud, sitting up with the speed of a snitch. Supposedly, she had a great-great-great aunt who had seen the weddings of her future children and subsequent birth of her future grandchildren when she herself was still a little girl, but Elizabeth had always assumed her mother made that up as a bedtime story! The blood of a seer ran in her family, that made the only explanation she could find all the more plausible! Every seer saw something different, had a different focus on their insights. It all made sense, with the exception of why she saw the lives of these particular Brits. Chances were in favor of her never knowing, but she did know everything happened for a reason.
Her daddy's accident, the single event in her life she'd tried to avoid thinking about with all her heart, suddenly had a reason. How long had Elizabeth searched? And now it was made clear. Some higher power needed him to be cared for in Britain, and have her placed at Hogwarts in close proximity to James, Sirius, Remus, Lily, and all the others she'd seen for years now!
Elizabeth fell back onto her mattress, her mind abuzz. This was too much for one girl to take on all at once!
But it wasn't as if she could tell anyone either! How did she share something like this? People would be asking for the deepest secrets of the most popular Gryffindors, ex-girlfriends would hate her and hound her until the end of time, and they would never trust her again with anything! She had to keep this quiet, for their sakes and her own. She was determined to, and nothing would stop her now!
With this thought at the forefront of her mind, Elizabeth's eye began to get heavy, and moments, later, she would out like a light.