Chapter 36: Sorting
"Gomez, Maria!" Hagrid called out.
Maria was quite nervous as she approached the stall where Hagrid held the weird looking hat. She sat down carefully and saw every single face in the great hall looking at her. Every boy she looked at was gazing at her with hungry eyes. She usually found it rather humorous and flattering, but at that exact moment, it was quite intimidating. All boys except for one in particular. Harry Potter. He seemed to be in some form of deep thought as he wasn't even in looking in her direction.
She looked to his right and saw Hermione gazing up at her. She looked rather anxious. Maria knew that all of them including Ginny were in the house called Gryffindor. She didn't know what it was about Ginny, but she liked her. She seemed to be the only girl who didn't stare at her wide-eyed whenever Maria spoke. It was oddly nice to finally meet people that didn't judge her by looks. Hermione was similar to Ginny in that aspect too, although Maria could sense the stiffness in her voice when she approached them earlier.
Hagrid gently placed the hat on Maria's head, covering her eyes. It was very weird at first, and it got even weirder when the voice of a stranger spoke in her head.
"What have we here?"
"Are you inside my head?"
"I can see that you are very ambitious… and also quite determined to achieve the things you want. But I can also see a great bit of courage, and even loyalty."
The hat fell silent for a while.
"Where would you like to go?"
Maria never gave much thought as to what house she would like to be part of. But then she thought about Ginny. Maybe she could finally have a true friend. Then there was also Harry Potter.
"I see… well in that case… GRYFFINDOR!"
Applause broke out throughout the hall. The hat was lifted from her head, and the brightness of the hall blinded her for a split second. She started making her way to the Gryffindor table. Almost every single boy was cheering, and a lot more enthusiastically than before. All but for one.
Maria saw that a seat next to Ginny was empty and she took it right away. The redhead gave her a brief smile.
"Welcome to the lions." She told Maria who also smiled before turning back to watch the rest of the sorting. She couldn't help but feel happy with her choice. Gryffindor seemed like the best house, not only for the people but just the atmosphere of the house in general.
Soon enough, McGonagall rose from her seat and bid everyone goodnight. On that note, every prefect stood up and made their way to the end of the house tables. Ginny and Neville made their way down the hall, before escorting first years towards the staircases.
Harry and Hermione also and made started making their way out when the headmistress stopped them.
"It's great to see you both again!" she told them.
"We're happy to be back, Professor," Hermione answered. She had always liked McGonagall slightly more than the other professors.
"I know that you must be quite tired from the journey, but I'd really like to speak with you both in my office before the end of today. Would that be possible?" the headmistress asked.
Hermione turned to Harry who nodded and answered, "Uh, sure. When would you like us to come?"
"Now would be great." the professor told them and gestured for them to follow.
The journey to her office was quite tense. Hermione didn't know what McGonagall would want to speak about, and she didn't know if she wanted to see the painting of Albus Dumbledore. She couldn't help but wonder how Harry was feeling.
Eventually, they made it to the Entrance and, as always, a password was required.
"Sherbet Lemon," McGonagall answered and smiled at Hermione. "I decided to keep the tradition."
They made their way up the staircase and into the office. Hermione was surprised to see that the office looked almost identical to how she remembered. Although now there were two extra paintings on the wall.
The first one she noticed was Albus Dumbledore himself. He was smiling down at her with that warm yet piercing look which she could never escape. Next to him was the painting of Severus Snape who appeared to be in deep thought. Even their arrival didn't shake him out of it.
"I know that I could've done this through an owl, but I wanted to give you the badges in person." she informed them as she grabbed something from her desk.
"I remember the last time both Head Boy and Head Girl were from Gryffindor. I was never more proud to be the head of this house. That pride has returned to me again." she explained as she pinned the 'Head Girl' badge on to Hermione's jumper.
"Who was it?" Hermione asked.
McGonagall gave a sad smile as she turned to Harry and pinned the 'Head Boy' badge on his chest. "Lily and James."
Harry smiled back at the headmistress. Hermione could see that he was still quite surprised to have been chosen, given his student history. He wasn't exactly the biggest follower of rules and had even earned himself a lifetime Quidditch ban at one point. But all of that can usually get blurred out rather easily after you save the wizarding world.
"Thank you for choosing us, Professor," Harry told her.
McGonagall chuckled, "You say that as if there would be someone better to choose; as if you're not possibly the greatest wizard alive and the brightest witch I have ever met."
Hermione could feel her cheeks heat up as she beamed back at the headmistress.
"I also wanted to clarify if you're planning on winning the Quidditch Cup this year?" McGonagall asked, grinning at Harry.
Harry chuckled, "That's the plan. I even got a new broom."
"That's great to hear, Potter. As the captain of our house, you may start the trials and practice whenever you wish, as long as it's not too late. Our team is not the same and a lot of new players will be joining. The absence of Mister Weasley also means that a new keeper will have to be chosen." she answered.
"I'll get to it as soon as possible, Professor," Harry informed.
"Oh yes, one more thing. As the Head Boy and Head Girl, both of you have been given your own rooms. They can both be found on the top floor of the Gryffindor tower. I believe that just like past Heads, you will find it a lot more comfortable than a dorm." She smiled at them both, "Now, off to bed, both of you. Lessons start tomorrow and I want you to be well-rested."
Maria was amazed by the Gryffindor common room. It made Ginny laugh more than a couple times. In fact, it was the most laughing she had done in months now. Being with Maria was strange. The girl clearly had an issue with over-confidence. But she was nice and funny. The kind of person Ginny would like to have as a friend.
They were both sitting on the sofa in front of the fireplace when Harry and Hermione walked into the room. Both of them received multiple greetings and cheers from other seventh years.
Ginny could sense Maria's gaze fixed on Hermione. It seemed as if Maria was well aware how tough getting close to Harry will be. It wasn't Hermione's protectiveness or anything like that… it was actually Harry and the way in which he looked at her. It was the kind of look you'd never see him give anyone else.
"I know that you're a veela and everything… but I doubt Harry will crack." Ginny informed.
Maria looked back Ginny, "I'm only half-veela. My mother is a veela, so I only got half the charm. But I'm still quite positive."
"What's the difference between a half-veela and normal one?" Ginny asked, curious.
"My magic is not as powerful as my mother's. Remember what I did back in the carriage?"
Ginny nodded.
"If I was a full-on veela, even you would struggle to resist. But I don't doubt my charm. I think I can work my way with him. We'll see, I guess. I'm in no hurry at the moment." Maria explained. "It will certainly be a challenge, though. Maybe the biggest one yet. I mean, did you see the way he looks at her?"
"Yeah… I did." Ginny answered.
Harry never really cared to travel all the way to the top of the Gryffindor tower. But it was definitely worth the climb. Towards the end of the staircase, there were only two doors. Both of them had golden text engraved on the wood. The left one read 'Head Girl' whereas the right one said 'Head Boy'. For a split second, Harry wondered whether the head rooms were also enchanted just like the dorms downstairs.
Hermione was still downstairs speaking with Parvati. Harry was still confused how they didn't find her at Hogsmeade station. Nonetheless, he'd wait for Hermione in his room while she caught up with the fellow Gryffindor.
It was a very strange view. The room was almost identical to the dormitories, except that there was only one bed, it was bigger though. There was a wardrobe and some shelves too. Even a large desk. Harry did a full circle to scan the whole room.
At the back wall, there were pictures and signatures on a huge board. Harry neared to see that they were pictures of former head boys. He quickly ran over every picture until he stopped at the one he was looking for.
The boy in the picture was almost identical to him. Same messy black hair, glasses… it always came to the eyes which were different. James Potter looked very pleased with himself in the picture. Harry couldn't help but smile.
His door opened and Hermione stepped in, she was smiling. "Harry, there's- Oh I see there's one in your room too!" She called. "I was just looking around my room when I found an identical board, except that my one has head girls. Your mum is on one of them." she explained.
"It's kind of weird isn't it?" Harry asked.
"What is?"
Harry paced through his room towards the huge bed, "Just how all the other students share a bedroom and bathrooms, but we get our own."
"Well, I believe that's the form of reward we get for becoming Head Boy and Girl," Hermione answered.
"Yeah, good point, I guess," Harry muttered and fell onto his bed, taking in the smell of the bedding.
Hermione settled next to him, "So… tired?" she asked.
Harry opened his eyes to look at her as he tried to hide a smirk, "No, not really."
She ran a hand through his hair, then traced a finger over his face, "To be completely honest, I don't know how I feel about sleeping alone today. I'm used to sleeping with other girls in the dorms." she told him.
Harry smiled, "Yeah… I can relate."
"I've also got quite accustomed to sleeping with this rather handsome guy. God, cuddling with him is the best." she continued.
Harry chuckled, "I sleep with this incredibly beautiful woman. She steals the covers sometimes, but it's so worth it."
Hermione frowned, "I do not steal covers!"
"Oh, but you do!" Harry laughed.
"Fine, I guess I'll sleep by myself then," she answered and started to sit up.
Harry pulled her back down and placed himself on top of her. "You're not leaving this room. It was a trap and you fell right into it."
She laughed, "Oh really? Well, I am one lucky girl to fall into a trap like this."
"And I'm one lucky guy to trap a girl like this," Harry added, before leaning forward and kissing her neck.
"Yeah… something tells me we won't be well-rested tomorrow" Hermione laughed.
