The three boys got up and joined the crowd of students leaving their compartments. The train slowed dow before finally stopping. Many children attempted to push their way towards the trains exit and eventually everyone got out, shivering in the cold weather. Many of them kept glancing at Vortex curiously, wondering why there was a grown man among students. Soon enough, a lamp came into view as a voice called out.
"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"
A giant with a wild beard, a long shaggy mane of hair, and beetle black eyes quickly came into view. The man was as tall as Vortex, although not as fit, and wearing a long coat that seemed to be made of nothing but pockets.
"C'mon, follow me. Anymore firs' years? Mind yer step now! Firs' years follow me!" The man called out as he began to lead the younger students and Vortex down a steep and narrow path.
The path was surrounded by tall, dark trees and made it hard to see anything other than what the lamp illuminated for them.
"Yeh'll get yer firs' look o' Hogwarts in a sec. Jus' round this bend here." The giant called over his shoulder and leading them to the edge of a large black lake. The students gazed with awe at the sight of a vast castle with many turrets and towers perched atop a high mountain on the other side of the lake. It's windows seemed to sparkle with the stars in the night sky. Seren raised an eyebrow in surprise, he was impressed with the sight of the school and hoped his dorm room would be up to his family's high standards. It wasn't as impressive as his parent's castle, but it would do.
"No more'n four to a boat!" The large man called out before showing them the little boats sitting in the water by the lake shore.
The three boys joined Hermione in one of the boats while Vortex got into another boat next to them, although he made sure no one else got into the boat he was in. Hagrid had offered for Vortex to join him in his own boat, but Vortex made sure to tell him that, while he appreciated it, he needed to be close to his charge in case he needed him. They all waited to find out how they would get to the castle without any oars before remembering that they probably moved with magic.
"Everyone in? Right then, forward!" Hagrid shouted from his own personal boat.
At his words, the small fleet of boats began gliding across the water and everyone stared silently up at the castle as they got closer.
"Heads down!" He yelled as the boats reached the cliff.
They all bent their heads as the boats carried them through an ivy curtain that hid a wide opening within the cliff-face and into a dark tunnel. Soon enough, they reached an underground harbor and they quickly scrambled out of the boats before following the giant up a rocky passageway. At last, they came out onto the grass in front of the large castle and began walking up a flight of stone stairs towards the castle's large front door that appeared to be made from oak wood.
"Everyone here?" The man asked before turning to the door and knocked on the door three times.
The door immediately swung open to reveal Professor McGonagall who watched the children with a stern gaze. Her gaze lingered on Vortex and Seren before she turned her attention towards Hagrid.
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall." The man said.
She nodded, "Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."
She lead them into a large entrance hall, the stone walls lit with flaming torches and further in was a marble staircase leading to the upper floors. Everyone could hear hundreds of voices from a doorway to their right where the rest of the students must be. However, McGonagall showed them into a small empty chamber nearby and they all crowded inside. Many of the students glanced around nervously before everyone turned to face McGonagall as she began to speak to them.
"Welcome to Hogwarts. The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room. The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each produced outstanding witches and wizards." She told them.
Ron grimaced at her words, he'd need to get past his preconceived thoughts of Slytherins. This was the second time he'd heard that not all Slytherins were evil, by Gryffindor's head of house no less. He vowed to do his best at not instantly hating the other students sorted into Slytherin unless they actually proved they were bullies or something.
"While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn you house points while any rule-breaking will lose you house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup. It's a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." She said, her eyes lingering on Ron's smudged nose and Neville's cloak which was fastened under his left ear, "I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly."
She left the chamber, leaving the students even more nervous and terrified than before. Neville looked absolutely petrified now that they'd arrived. He'd be more open to not being sorted into Gryffindor, but the knowledge that they would be sorted in front of hundreds of other students was nerve-wracking.
"How exactly do they sort us into houses?" Seren asked Ron curiously.
"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking." Ron replied, making Neville start to hyperventilate.
"Neville, it's okay. Take in deep breathes and hold them for a few seconds before letting them out. Ron already said that his brother was joking. Think about it, would the professors actually let us get hurt and face the wrath of our families?" Seren told Neville softly.
Neville began to calm down as he took his friend's advice and regulated his breathing, Seren is right. Gran would raise hell if she even thought he was being hurt while at Hogwarts and the other purebloods would never allow their heirs to be injured if they could help it.
Hermione wasn't even paying attention to any of them, completely focused on whispering about all the spells she'd learned and wondering which she'd need. Seren was prepared to tell her that they definitely didn't need to preform a spell test when they were coming to the school for the sole reason of learning about magic, but was interrupted by several people behind him screaming. The other students all turned around to see about twenty ghosts come through the back wall. Seren's eyes widened at the sight of the pearly white and semi-transparent floating people, he'd never actually seen a human soul remaining in the living world instead of going to either Hell or Heaven before.
