The Chamber of Reception.
"George swears he got a boogie flavour one once" Ron said with utter disgust on his face.
"You cannot be serious" Harry was chuckling as he inspected the colour of the jelly bean.
"It's a tough call, especially being George… you'll see what we mean when you meet them later." Rose winked at Harry. "But to be on the safe side I wouldn't eat it, I've had rotten luck with those sweets in the past."
She started to laugh, remembering a time that she got a broccoli flavoured bean. It was so horrific she panicked and didn't know whether to spit it out or swallow it. Ron, thinking she was choking whacked her so hard in the back, it flew out and hit Percy on the back of the head.
"Your thinking of the broccoli incident aren't you?" grinned Ron.
"Yep." Was all she could say, as tears were rolling down her face. That memory was never going to get old.
She started to explain the story to Harry, as Ron started to feed Smutz the corned beef sandwiches that were given to them earlier that morning.
"Good boy! waste not, want not."
"Thats hilarious!" Harry giggled. "What did your brother do?"
"He went a little red, but Rose always gets away with stuff like that. Percy has a soft spot for her." Ron said with a grimace.
"It's got you out of trouble a few times." Rose answered, eyebrows raised.
Ron exchanged a smirked grin. Oh yes! Having Rose as a Percy defence, really did have its uses.
"Have you guys done any magic? I've read through some books, hence why Hedwig is called Hedwig but I'm feeling kind of anxious that I don't know anything." Harry asked sheepishly.
"We are all in the same boat don't worry." Rose smiled reassuringly at him. "I've read most of the books we have been given, just for something to do over the summer. But to be honest the information in them won't make much sense until we go to our lessons. No one in the first year is expected to know magic just yet."
"Which is why I haven't bothered." Ron said relaxing into his seat, belly stuffed with sweets and arms behind his head. "If there is anything I need to know I'll just ask her."
"But what happens if you're sorted into different houses?"
The words echoed in Roses mind and silence fell in the carriage. Ron gulped as he answered Harry's question.
"Nobody knows what the sorting hat does. Fred and George have told me stories but they have mentioned using magic.."
"But you said you didn't know any?!" Panic attached to Harry's voice.
"We don't." Rose said. "Neither of us know what is going to happen or which house we will be given. I'm really frightened which house I will get, as it will disappoint so many if I don't get Gryffindor."
"Rose we have been over this."
"I know." Rose looked toward Ron, the stress evident on her face. "We will have to wait and see."
"As long as you don't get Slytherin" Ron said gently nudging into the side of Rose, managing to get a small smile out of her.
"Hagrid said 'There isn't a witch or wizard that wasn't bad that wasn't in Slytherin" Harry muttered. "Including Vold.."
"DONT! Say his name!" Gasped Ron. "You will give people a heart attack if you go around saying that!"
"It's not really the done thing Harry, just say 'You- Know - Who' and everyone will get who you're on about." Rose said calmly whilst giving Ron a look. "Its not like Harry did anything wrong, he of all people should be okay with saying it."
"I'm sorry" Harry said, looking downtrodden. "I'm still getting used to all this information and I've already messed up."
Rose moved to the free seat next to Harry and put her arm round him, soothing his arm. Harry was grateful for the comfort, but he was feeling a little warm by the close contact, he had never had a hug before, not that he remembered anyway and especially not from a girl.
"Don't be silly Harry. No harm done okay? We all make mistakes, don't we Ron?"
Ron clearing his throat replied;
"Yeah… Yes! We all make silly blunders, I can't even get a spell that Fred gave me to work!"
"Fred gave you a spell? How come?" Rose asked suspiciously.
"Caught him in the middle of hiding Percy's Prefect badge" Ron said cockily.
"And what exactly does it do?" Rose replied even more conjecture in her voice.
"It turns Scabbers yellow."
"You caught Fred up to something and all you got was a spell that turns your rat yellow?
"Go on! Have another go!" Harry asked eagerly, he hadn't seen any magic since leaving Hagrid's company.
"I guess another attempt can't hurt…" Ron replied.
"And what happens if it works Ron? Do you really want a yellow rat?"
"Better than what he is now, stupid fat lump" Ron muttered, clearing his throat again he started;
"Sunshine, daisies, butter, mellow…"
Before Ron could finish, the carriage door swung open sharply, a girl already wearing the school uniform marched into the room, an air of confidence to her step.
"Has anyone seen a toad, a boy called Neville lost one."
Her voice was very crisp, a type of accuracy in the way she delivered every word. Her teeth were slightly too big for her small delicate mouth and her hair, a dark shade of brunette was so thick and curled it resembled a backcombed style.
"Nope" Ron said in an irritated tone from being interrupted, his arm still extended from halfway through his spell.
"Oooh you're going to do magic, go on then!" The bossy girl said, taking the empty seat next to Ron where Rose had been sitting.
" Oh, okay then…
'Sunshine, daisies, butter, mellow Turn this stupid fat rat yellow.'"
Scabbers just lay there, unperturbed by what had been attempted, Ron on the other hand had begun to get pink ears from embarrassment.
"Are you sure that was a real spell? I've been practising simple ones myself, but they have all worked out for me."
Rose could tell that the girl didn't mean to come across as condescending, but the way she phrased things really didn't help her out.
"No. We didn't think it was a real spell did we Ron, but we thought it was a laugh to have a go anyway." Rose said looking from Ron to the girl, Ron nodding his head in agreement.
"Oh I see." The girl said, a note of disapproval in her voice. "Say, I didn't notice that dog before! What a strange breed!"
"A that's Smutz… he's my dog" Rose said smiling " he's a Miniature Schnauzer"
"Oh I speak a little German." The girl announced
"Of course you do" Ron muttered, only Harry and Rose hearing him.
"Schnauzer translates to.."
"whiskered snout? I know, it was one of the first things I looked up when we got him" Rose smiled
"Sweet Jesus there are two of them" Ron turned to Harry with mock horror.
Rose replied by sticking her tongue out to Ron, and put out her hand towards the girl for her to shake saying;
"I'm Rose Ward, this is my cousin Ron Weasley and our new friend Harry.."
Rose stopped before saying Harry's last name, it wasn't her secret to announce. She knew everyone would eventually know, but for now they were in a sort of safety bubble.
"And does Harry have a last name?" The bushy haired girl enquired.
"Potter" Harry said, smiling at Rose in thanks.
"oh my goodness! Your - Harry Potter, I've read about you in so many books!"
"You have?" Harry said, shock spelt across his face.
"Why yes! You're even more famous than Albus Dumbledore, then You- Know - Who!"
"I had no idea" Harry said, shaking his head, perplexed. "books written about me, its crazy isn't it?"
"Not from our perspective" Rose said gently.
"And you are?" Ron said abruptly
"Hermione Granger" She said with confidence. "Anyway I need to carry on looking for this toad. You should get into your uniforms, I suspect we should be arriving soon."
"Is your compartment free for me to get changed in, so I can give the boys some space?" Rose asked.
"Of course. Three compartments along, on the left hand side" Hermione responded nodding at Rose, she stood up from her seat and walked to leave the compartment, opening the sliding door again she turned to close it;
"You have soot on your nose, don't you know? Right there." She demonstrated, rubbing her nose with her index finger.
Hermione slid the door shut with a graceful thud and they saw her leave through the window.
"luckily I couldn't think of anything to respond to that, quickly enough!" Ron exclaimed. " She is like you but annoying!"
"What on earth am I meant to take from that Ron?" Rose snapped
"That you're fun and smart, and she is pedantically annoying and smart" Ron said ears now a shade of magenta.
"Try not to burn too many bridges all at once please Ron" Rose said with some persistence. "Be angry with Fred fro giving you that stupid spell if you want to be bothered by anyone!"
She glanced at him, a look of determination on her face.
"I guess we should listen to her though."
Glancing outside she noticed the sun was setting a warm orange glow, their only source of light in the carriage. Moving to her luggage she opened it up and retrieved a white blouse, a black kilted skirt, black opaque tights and black leather converse.
"Ill leave everything else here for now.. I'll be back in two ticks."
She left the compartment and followed Hermione's instructions to the compartment. Luckily it was empty, and so Rose quickly got changed for the third time that day and made her way back to the boys compartment.
Knocking to confirm she could come back in;
"Wow! Thats so weird!" Ron stated.
"Whats weird?" Rose replied
"You in Uniform, we're all wearing the same thing… this never happens."
"I don't see you wearing a skirt?" Rose said in amusement.
"You know what I mean" Ron said grinning. "Nice idea for the converses too."
"Glad that you approve!" Rose said smugly, reaching behind her to retrieve the black tie with the Hogwarts emblem stitched into it.
"Its just the robes and the hat, as well right?" Rose asked shutting the lid to her luggage.
"I think so." Harry replied "Though I'm not wearing the hat until last minute."
"Agreed!" Rose and Ron said together, looking at each other in amusement.
"At least we don't have to wear the hat all the time" Ron stated. "The hat and black tie are only used at the start and end of the year."
"What do we wear the rest of the year?" Harry enquired
"Our Grandmother says the robes and tie transform into your house colour at the welcoming speech" Rose said thoughtfully.
"It must be really handy having so many magical relatives around to answer questions." Harry said in awe.
"It has its uses." Rose replied with a small smile, regretting bringing up her Grandma.
The train, now illuminated by lamps hanging down from the ceiling, was starting to slow down, in the distance you could see the warmth of scattered twinkling orange dots coming from buildings.
"Hogsmeade" Rose whispered.
"Were getting close!" Ron said eagerly.
"This is the Train conductor. I am announcing that we will be arriving in Hogsmeade train station in 5 minutes. If you need to use the bathroom or still haven't changed into the correct uniform, please proceed to do so immediately. Once we arrive at the station, please disembark leaving all luggage, school bags and animals. Please only bring your hats and wands, this is all thank you."
"Your not going to leave Smutz here are you?" Ron looked at Rose, already knowing the answer.
"Absolutely not, he is a dog. If I left him here, he would just wonder off and get lost. He is staying with me, on his lead." Rose replied defensively. "Besides if we pass a family member I can give them Smutz to take."
Ron just grinned at Rose, secretly imagining their Grandmothers face when she saw that she had brought her dog to the sorting ceremony.
The corridors were starting to get busy with students starting to line up ready to leave the train. They all got up checked their surrounding and opened the compartment door. They could see Hermione a little further along from them, her mop of hair bouncing as she chattered to what Rose presumed was Neville. Worried that someone would tread on Smutz she stuffed her hat in her wand pocket and picked him up, he sniffed her ear in gratitude.
Slowly the line thinned out with a kind Hufflepuff letting them go in front of him so they could join the departure line.
"Thank you" Rose said smiling at the tall boy.
"No problem, and nice dog." The boy winked at her.
Stepping off the train the coolness of the night hit them, after being on the train for so long it was refreshing but cold.
"Firs'- Years, this way! Firs'- Years this way!" Boomed a deep, soft voice that came from the edge of the station.
The man was extremely tall even to Rose and Ron, he was stocky like a rugby player but maintained good posture. He must have been 5 times the size of the average man. He had a thick bushy black beard and shaggy hair, his eyes however were very gentle, as was his voice. Rose concluded, who muttered to Ron who agreed, that this must be who their family referred to as Hagrid.
"There you are Harry! Glad to see you made it ere okay!" Hagrid said smiling at Harry. He turned to Ron and continued "You must be Ron, you look like your brothers too much to not be a Weasley."
Ron gulped and nodded his head.
"SO that makes you Rose then does it?"
Rose looked up at him in shock, she expected him possibly to have heard her in conversation before, but not actually know her name.
"It does." She answered with a smile, placing Smutz on the floor, she reached out and shuck his hand. " And I think you're Hagrid, if we have put our detective skills to the test correctly?"
Hagrid Beamed "Sure am, sure am! Hope you've eard only good things from the family?"
"And Harry of course."
Hagrid was grinning ear to ear now, clearly pleased at the answer.
"And whose this little fella?" Hagrid bent down to stroke Smutz.
"This is Smutz"
"Why ello Smutz. Your'e a fine lookin doogie aren't you, yes you areeee" Hagrid whispered smoothly to Smutz gently fusing his head and messing up his beard. Smutz didn't seem to mind, he looked content, purring at the attention.
Standing up after a minute of pure devoted attention just on the dog, Hagrid sighed clearly enjoying the affection, as much as Smutz had.
"I've got to make sure I've got everyone you see, before we continue to the castle… but Dumbledore wanted to give you this Rose, as soon as you got off the train. Stay ere whilst I round everyone else up."
He handed Rose a small light brown envelope with very neat writing written on the front.
'Miss Rose Ward'
" Oh shit." Ron was looking at the envelope too.
"Do you think it's about Smutz?" Harry asked a tone of worry to his voice.
"Its got to be hasn't it? Its the only rule I've broken so far today?" Rose answered. "We all knew this was going to happen, so let's get it over with." She bent down to stoke Smutz, giving her slight comfort and taking a steady breath opened the envelope.
'Dear Miss Ward,
Firstly I would like thank you for the time and energy you have spent over your summer holiday writing me this letter.
Whilst I can see that you are dedicated towards the welfare of your pet, there are strict rules placed at Hogwarts and for good reason. Having a dog let loose around the castle, would cause havoc with the cats and would cause unnecessary distress to our beloved caretaker.
On the other hand, Mr Filch is constantly telling me the problems with the cats attacking the owlery and the owls eating the pet toads, so your extra dilemma would only cause mild drama to the pets of Hogwarts and therefore Mr Filch. I hope, though maybe a little presumptuously of me, that you are as stubborn as certain family members and therefore have brought your dog with you anyhow. Please leave him with Hagrid upon arrival at the castle, he will bring him to the Great Hall for you. Please take this letter as conformation at the acceptance of Smutz the Schnauzer attending Hogwarts. Enough of my wittering,
Yours Sincerely,
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore,
Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorcerer, Chief Warlock and Supreme Mugwump.'
"Yep. Barking, I bloody knew it." Ron said shaking his head
"Poor toads" Harry muttered " Do you think that's what happened to that boys toad earlier?".
"I don't know.." Rose answered slowly, she was still shocked that she had gotten away with it. " I guess we will have to track Hermione down and ask."
"No w'ere bloody not!" Ron grumbled under his breath.
"Alrigh, everyone's here an accounted for! Everyone follow me!"
Hagrid picked up a large lantern off the platform floor, and walked past the large group that had gathered by Ron, Harry and Rose. They slowly made their way past the station platform into an undergrowth of trees. After five minutes of walking they arrived at a little dock which had small boats bobbing up and down in the water. Each boat had four seats and a lantern at the front for visibility. They seemed to be made out of a dark oak, with an elegant gold rim. The Hogwarts emblem also painted in gold was on each side of the boats.
"Firs' -years getta arrive at Hogwarts by boat." Hagrid said proudly. "It is a tradition goin' back to the start of Hogwarts. You will not use this boats again until your seventh year, when you leave Hogwarts forever."
There was a few excited whispers from the first years at Hagrid's words.
"No more'n four to a boat." Hagrid beckoned to the first line of first years standing in front of him.
Rose grabbed hold of Ron's hand and gave it a squeeze, which he returned. She then turned to Harry and whispered;
"You want to come with us on the boat right?"
"You two are my only friends here, so yes please!" Harry said in an urgent whisper.
"Fab." Rose said smiling, happy that Harry did like them also. "We just need to find another victim."
"As long as it isn't.."
"We get it Ron"
"Good." He grumbled.
They shuffled forward until they were at the front, Harry stepped onto the boat first, followed by Ron. Rose picked Smutz up and proceeded onto the tiny boat, Smutz gripping her with his claws, body tense. Sitting in the the third seat behind Ron, she placed Smutz on her lap. He had started to slightly shiver so she wrapped the folds of her cloak around him and whispered soothing noises to him. He rested his chin on her left arm and focused on the boats beside them, floating with fellow students.
There was a slight wobble as the boat rocked as someone got onto the boat. Rose turned her head and smiled as a boy who seemed anxious and upset sat down in the final seat.
"Everything okay?" Rose asked
"I've lost Trevor already, my Gran is going to kill me" The boy sniffed
"Ah. Are you Neville?" Rose asked gently
"Yes" Neville replied cautiously.
"Don't worry I'm not psychic, Hermione came to our compartment earlier to ask if we had seen your toad - hence why we know your name. But I'm really sorry you still haven't found him, I'm sure he will turn up."
"Or he's been eaten.." Ron announced.
Harry and Rose just stared at Ron utterly flabbergasted by his lack of tact.
"What do you mean?" Neville asked, looking distraught.
"Don't listen to him Neville, Ron has a really weird sense of humour." Rose replied quickly.
"Alrigh' everyone in? Arms kept inside the boats at all times! You don't want the giant squid grabbing hold of yeh! Forward!" Hagrid announced, who had a boat all to himself.
They started to glide silkily through the water, Rose turned back to see the warm lights of Hogsmeade slowly start to shrink in the distance. She gave a friendly smile to Neville and turned back around, kissing Smutz's forehead. The lake was vast, pitch black apart from the moonlight sky and the boats lanterns. The skies reflection on the lakes surface rippling as the boats continued on their journey.
"How much longer do we have to be in these stupid things" A pale faced boy commented in a near by boat.
"Well now.." Hagrid said, a little taken aback by the boys attitude. "You should see your firs' view of Hogwarts..about…now!"
As if by magic, a view of the magnificent castle came into view. Thousands of glowing windows lit up the stone building showing off its towers and turrets.
"We must have passed a small island or something that was hiding the view." Harry commented.
" I agree, but wasn't it worth the wait? It looks magnificent, better than I ever imagined!" Rose replied in awe.
The little boats picked up speed as they continued to head straight towards the castle. In hardly any time the boats appeared adjacent to the rock face that the castle was built upon. With a sharp turn to the right the boats followed the cliff edge for a few minutes until they arrived at an iron gated entrance. The gates open automatically and the boats formed a line behind Hagrid.
"You migh' want to duck you heads for this bit" Hagrid shouted, before proceeding to lower his upper body to fit through the entrance.
Harry, Ron, Rose and Neville all bent their heads as their boat entered the cliff face. The smell of damp was the first thing their senses picked up, the dark tunnel feeling very claustrophobic.
"I think we are going directly under the castle!" Rose whispered to the group.
"As long as we don't have to walk that far afterwards, I'm starving!" Ron muttered.
After what felt like ten minutes they arrived at an underground boat yard. Hagrid who had already got out of his boat was helping students out of their boats one at a time.
Once everyone had be accounted for they followed his lead along a shingled path and up a stone staircase. At the top of the stairs was another iron gate, which lead to the grounds of Hogwarts. As they trekked along the sloped lawns, the group began to get quieter the more they walked. Apprehension was clear and Hagrid chuckled as he noticed the silence.
"It's the same every year." He said with a warm smile on his face. " Nothin' to worry about, it will be over soon enough."
They walked a little longer until they reached a second lot of stone steps. These were grander then the ones that lead from the boathouse, with stoned gargoyle entrance columns either side of the bottom step and touched lanterns every alternate step afterwards. At the top of the grand stone steps was the infamous large oak front doors to the castle with two iron knockers.
"This is where I leave you I'm afraid" Hagrid said gently. "Just walk up them steps and Professor McGonagall will be on the other side of that door. She is waitin' for you in the Chamber of Reception."
"Now I'm nervous" Ron said turning to Rose with wide eyes.
"Tell me about it." She muttered back. "I better hand Smutz over to Hagrid."
She walked through the crowd of first years and caught Hagrid's attention. She bent down to give Smutz a quick fuss, feeling more apprehensive now she didn't have her dog for comfort.
"Don't worry Rose" Hagrid murmured. "My dog Fang is allowed in the Great Hall too, I'll make sure they are thick as thieves together, trust me."
"I trust you Hagrid" Rose whispered back. "See you in a little while boy."
With her a final pat and small smile for Hagrid, she turned back through the crowd until she found Ron and Harry.
"Everything okay?" Ron asked, with a gentle affectionate nudge in the side
"I will feel a lot better once the sorting has happened."
Before Ron could reassure Rose, there was a load 'clunk' that came from the entrance of Hogwarts. Everyone looked up as the two large front doors opened, flooding them with orange light and warmth, Hagrid was nowhere to be seen. As they stood, dead legged from adrenaline, a tall, slender witch walked forward from the light. She was wearing Emerald green robes, with a black pointy hat that had a peacock feather elegantly sticking out of it, matching her robes perfectly. Her hair was in a tight bun, placed low just above her neckline. The students couldn't see her face, but her form spoke of authority. She stood upright, arms crossed and spoke in a clear, strong Scottish accent.
"First years follow me, please don't dilly dally!"
"Professor McGonagall do you think?" Harry asked in a hushed voice.
"The very one." Rose replied, her eyes never leaving her Grandma's form.