This Is Where
3. Separated
The blonde girl - Lavender - got into line in front of Parvati and Padma got behind her. They walked single file out of the room and out into the Great Hall. She instantly felt self-conscious being watched by all of the older students and staff in the hall. She looked up at the ceiling and gasped at the image of the night sky there.
The witch set out a stool and a hat that began to sing. It described the four houses and the qualities of each, so Parvati was only half-listening. She already knew which house she wanted to be in: Ravenclaw, like her parents. She and Padma would both be in Ravenclaw, naturally.
They were identical, after all.
The hat finished its strange song and she clapped politely along with everyone else, although she felt a bit of anxiety fill her now that the ceremony was actually starting.
"Abbott, Hannah!" the witch called out.
A girl ran forward and put the hat on and Parvati found herself holding her breath for no reason.
"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouted suddenly, and the table to the first years' right started applauding.
The girl ran eagerly toward the table just as the witch called out for "Bones, Susan!" She also became a Hufflepuff, and the following two students both became Ravenclaws - they were the table on the left. Parvati felt her heart swell as she looked at the faces of those who were about to become her housemates.
"Brown, Lavender!"
Parvati looked up and saw Lavender walk slowly up to the stool. She was nervously playing with some of her long hair. The hat sat on her head for a few moments and then it declared, "GRYFFINDOR!"
The table on the far left began clapping heartily for its first new addition. Parvati clapped too. Gryffindor was a respectable house, even if they were filled with fool-hearty glory seekers. Her father's words, not hers.
They saw the first Slytherin sorted - a girl with a stocky build - and then two more Gryffindor girls. A boy with curly brown hair went to Hufflepuff and then the Irish boy from the boat went to Gryffindor. He'd sat on the stool the longest so far - almost a full minute. The girl after him ("Granger, Hermione") was also sorted into Gryffindor, and then there was a Slytherin ("Greengrass, Daphne") and another Gryffindor ("Longbottom, Neville").
The next boy was "Malfoy, Draco" and the hat had barely touched his head before it assigned him to Slytherin. But what Parvati noticed most of all was that his last name started with an M, which meant that she and Padma would be soon. Her heart pounded heavier in her chest. Padma squeezed her hand again, as if she knew Parvati's distress. She probably did.
A Hufflepuff and two Slytherins later, and -
"Patil, Padma!"
Padma let go of Parvati's hand and went up to the stool. Her face was set with determination and Parvati smiled to herself. The witch lowered the hat down onto Padma's head. Parvati held her breath and crossed her fingers. After a moment, it shouted,
"RAVENCLAW!"
Parvati clapped wildly and Padma shot her a radiant smile as she went to join the other Ravenclaws. Parvati felt a sense of calm come over her. There was nothing to be nervous about now. She would undoubtedly be sorted into Ravenclaw with her sister, as was right.
"Patil, Parvati!"
The crowd murmured slightly at the sight of her, recognizing that they were twins. She didn't take notice. She walked confidently up to the front of the hall and put the hat on over her head.
"Twins, eh?" said a voice in her ear. "I haven't had to sort twins for a couple years. Now, let's see, I should probably put you in Ravenclaw with your sister..."
Yes! Parvati thought triumphantly.
"But hang on - you're not quite as identical as you'd like to believe, now are you?"
Her heart sunk. No. No, this wasn't right, she -
"Aha, I see you now. Right, the only place for you would be - GRYFFINDOR!"
The last word echoed out into the hall and bounced around in Parvati's hollow chest. Gryffindor. Gryffindor. A lot of ridiculous show-offs, her father always said. Reckless and boisterous.
And now she was one of them.
The witch snatched the hat impatiently off of her head and Parvati numbly made her way over to the scarlet and gold table. She looked up and met Padma's eyes and immediately flinched away. Padma was staring accusingly at her, as if she'd chosen to be put in Gryffindor instead of Ravenclaw. She furrowed her eyebrows, trying to tell Padma - but her twin turned away.
Parvati dropped numbly into a seat and hadn't even noticed that she was next to Lavender, who nudged her and smiled. But Parvati couldn't smile back. She felt absolutely shattered. She was so preoccupied with her misery that she didn't even noticed that the famous Harry Potter was being sorted. The people around her exploded into cheers when he was sorted into their house. Their house. Her house.
She felt like she was going to be sick.