It wasn't long after that when an older student wearing a badge with a "P" on it stopped by to let the group know that they were approaching Hogwarts, making sure everyone had changed into their robes. While everyone in the compartment had done so, he did pause when he saw Penny curled up in Harry's lap as she was, but quickly brushed it aside before letting them know that they could leave their luggage on the train since it would be taken to the school separately. Penny tried not to laugh when Ron started stuffing his pockets with the remaining sweets, though she kept her seat rather than let Harry get up to start doing the same. It's not like there was going to be a shortage of good food any time soon, right?
When the train came to a halt, Penny stuck close to Harry to make sure she didn't lose track of him in the rush of students trying to clamber onto the small, dark platform off the train. Noticing him shiver as the cold air hit, she wrapped her tail a little tighter around his shoulders to give him extra warmth while shifting a bit more towards squirrel for a bit of extra fur for her own warmth. As she kept close to him, determined to take care of her new friend and give him all the affection he'd been wrongfully denied for so long, she spotted a light bobbing its way towards them, seeming to hang several feet above the heads of the tallest passengers. For a moment she thought it was a hinkypunk, but a closer look showed it was a lantern. The booming voice behind it confirmed that.
"Firs' years!" the familiar voice boomed from behind the lantern as the massive Hagrid became visible. "Firs' years over here!"
Harry quickly made his way towards the voice, and Penny stuck close to his side as she recognized the gentle giant that had been escorting him back at Ollivander's.
"All right there, Harry?" Hagrid asked as he leaned down to check on him. "Heh, made yerself a sweetheart of a friend already, ey?" His grin widened as he glanced over how Penny was still cuddling him. He then chuckled as Ron, Hermione, and Neville approached as well. "Looks like a full passel...or is it a posse? I always get those confused..." He then stood upright before they had a chance to respond. "Any more firs' years? Come on, follow me! Watch your step now!"
As they followed Hagrid down a narrow, steep, dark path, Penny found herself frowning. The woods around her felt...oddly familiar. She knew she'd never been here before, and yet something in these woods called to something deep inside her, and it felt as though the ground beneath her feet sang as she stepped from stone to stone. It definitely felt like it called to something in her magic...but for the life of her she couldn't make sense of it.
"Ye' all get yer first sight of Hogwarts in a sec!" Hagrid boomed out. "Just around this bend!"
As they rounded the mentioned bend, the view cleared and allowed the group an unobstructed view of an ancient castle atop a high rise, visible in the distance across a huge, black lake. Many of those gathered gasped in awe at the sight, but Penny found her voice and breath robbed as her magic all but sang in response to the sight, a song that seemed to echo into the burbling waters of the lake, resonating with...something.
"No more'n four to a boat!"
That bellow of Hagrid's broke her out of whatever trance had seized her, and she quickly pushed it from her mind while she made absolutely certain she was in the same boat as Harry. Ron and Hermione clambered in after them, leaving Neville looking a little mournful...until Penny shifted to full squirrel and clambered onto Harry's shoulder, leaving her seat free for the poor boy. He quickly clambered in, much to Hagrid's amusement...and Penny's pleasure as Harry chose to start stroking her back as everyone settled.
"Everyone in?" Hagrid called from his own boat at the head of the small fleet. Once he confirmed that, he nodded. "Right, FORWARD!" With a gesture of his umbrella, the fleet left their port, gliding along the lake's surface with neither oar nor breeze to explain the movement, and with a smoothness neither could have accomplished.
Penny clung tightly to Harry's shoulder as the boats sailed, staring around at the surroundings while making sure to brush her tail against Harry's cheek every so often. While the scenery was interesting, mostly it just came naturally to look at everything when this size, since while she was at her most agile she was also at her most vulnerable. The only reason she hadn't dived into his robes for extra safety by this point was because she was genuinely curious about what was coming. She mostly ignored Hagrid's warning of watching their heads as the boats sailed through a curtain of ivy and into an underground docking area, waiting just long enough for Neville to get out of the boat before diving back into her own robes and shifting back to fully human. While it wasn't something she'd ever bothered with at home, her Mom had made sure she could shift into any outfit of hers from squirrel form and come out the other end fully dressed. It was a bit odd to manage some of the more fiddly bits, but rather useful.
Now clinging to Harry's arm instead of being wrapped completely around him, she made sure to walk by his side as they followed Hagrid up to a massive set of double doors, which he banged on, resulting in echoing booms. Within moments, the doors swung open, revealing who Penny recognized as Professor McGonagall, the head of Gryffindor House and the Transfiguration teacher. She'd been the one to deliver Penny's Hogwarts letter, since her family had been mid-move during the time the letters were sent out and the owls were having trouble locating them in time. That, and because of her family living in the non-magical world rather than the magical, she'd somehow been miss-sorted into the "Muggleborn" category of letter delivery, which required a Professor to deliver it to take care of any issues that would arise from parents not understanding the magical side of things. That had been awkward at first, but had led to a laugh all around afterwards.
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid offered, gesturing to the youngsters who had followed him this far.
"Thank you Hagrid, I will take them from here," she replied firmly. The doors swung the rest of the way open, and the group followed her in.
Penny tried to pay attention to the explanation of the House system and the Sorting that the Professor was giving, but she found herself distracted in much the same way as she had been approaching the lake. Something in her magic called out to the castle, and something in the castle responded. She was very confused by this. She knew she had never set foot in Hogwarts castle before now...so why in the world did it feel in her magic like she'd come home?
She managed to banish those thoughts as the Professor left after instructing them to 'smarten up' for the Sorting, bringing her focus back to the here and now as Harry turned to the others. "How exactly do they sort us?" he asked worriedly.
"Some sort of test, I think," Ron offered thoughtfully.
"A test?" Hermione gasped out in fear. "Already? But I haven't studied! What even is it a test on? I don't have my quills!"
"Not that sort of test," Ron hastened to reassure her, if only to stop her from panicking. "I think Fred said something about wrestling a troll..."
Penny shot out with one hand and grabbed Neville by his ear before he could faint. "Why in the world would they have first years do something so dangerous when we haven't learned anything yet?" she pointed out calmly. "Honestly, if it's some sort of test to sort us for teaching, it's more likely to be a personality or aptitude test to see how we learn best, or something like that."
Hermione calmed down considerably at that suggestion. "Yeah, that makes sense..."
"You okay, Penny?" Harry asked quietly. "You seemed...distracted for a bit."
Penny paused, wondering how to explain what she'd felt to Harry, or whether to even bring it up. However, the thought was dashed from her mind as several people screamed. She and Harry both spun to face the source, only to see several spectral figures float through the wall. While Harry tensed at the sight, Penny relaxed. Her Mom had mentioned the ghosts of Hogwarts frequently, and several with affection. She even recognized one of them. "Sir Nicholas!" she called out, waving.
One of the ghosts at the front - who had been debating about something - turned towards her with surprise. "How do you-" His words cut off as his eyes widened. "Hazel, is that you? I thought you graduated!"
Penny laughed gaily. "I do look a lot like my Mom, don't I?" she offered with a smile. "I'm Penny!"
Sir Nicholas chuckled as he floated over. "Ah, I see the differences now," he offered warmly. "And I see much like your mother, you've found yourself a few friends you've gotten attached to before the term's even begun. It will be a pleasure having you at Hogwarts." He then turned to the rest of the group. "All of you. The students are the life of this old castle, and new life is always welcome, even for those of us who can taste of it no longer. Do enjoy your time here!"
"I hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" the friar that Sir Nicholas had been arguing with declared hopefully. "My old house, you know!"
"Move along now!" Professor McGonagall snapped as she stepped back into the sitting room they'd been left in. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start.