Hermione's Twin ⇒ Fred Weasley

Ch. 12: Sorting Ceremony

Ch. 12: The Sorting Ceremony

(10-YA A/N: omg the SWS song, I'm cackling)

     All too soon, the Hogwarts Express came to a steady, calculated halt. I followed Hermione's lead as she quickly jumped from her seat and removed her luggage, making sure Crookshanks was tucked away in his carrier, much to the beast's dismay.

      My heart performed backflips. 'The sooner we get this done,' I thought back to what Ron had said about the Hogwarts Houses, 'the sooner I can forget about it... right?'

     "Elle, just stay close and follow us, alright?" Hermione said as we shuffled through the train, pushing our way past all of the idle people in the hallway, chattering animatedly about their course schedules and whether they'd have time to meet up in between the fourth period or not.

     The air wasn't as cold as I'd expected it to be, and a nice summer breeze was rolling in. Though the night was dark, I could see the black clouds overhead and smell the rain in the air. Almost as soon as I'd thought it, fat droplets of rain started splattering down from the sky.

     We were dropped off on a platform and from there we took a carriage that drove itself. I had never seen magic like this before. There was certainly an air of mystery and, well, magic about the Hogwarts grounds that my previous school hadn't possessed. 

     I rode in silence while everyone in the car with me was chattering happily about things I didn't really care about. I stuck my hand outside of the cover and let the harsh rain pelt it. 

     I always loved the rain, it felt nice.

     "Elle, you'll get a cold." Hermione's tone was motherly, but I took it as a command to stop.

     Sticking my nose in the air like a stubborn brat, I waved off her caution. "So? I like the feeling, besides it's a warm rain." Hermione continued to peer authoritatively at me until I succeeded and pulled my hand inside. In the distance, I could spot a huge castle in the rain. "Woah! Hermione," I turned to her and grabbed her hand with my wet one. "Is that Hogwarts?" 

     Hermione grimaced at the wet feeling but smiled with a nod. "Yes, and Elle, can you let me go? Your hand is sopping wet." I quickly released her and wiped my hand on my skirt. It was a castle. A freaking castle! How much more awesome could this place become, seriously?

     The carriage pulled up to the cobbled steps of the school and everyone ran under the protection of the building, but not me. I was standing in the rain, taking it all in. This place was amazing, I took a few minutes to appreciate the Gothic buttresses and the arched windows. This place was taken straight from my childhood fantasies, I wanted to live in a castle when I was a little girl -- like most little girls do.

     Grinning in the rain like an idiot, Hermione noticed that she'd lost track of me. My sister rushed back through the rain and grabbed my arm, pulling me under the cover of the stone archways and out of the pouring rain. "You truly are going to catch a cold." She frowned, eyeing my wet appearance. "You can't stand up in front of everyone like this..."

      I rang out my hair, thanking God I had put on waterproof makeup today, and squished around in my shoes. "I'm only just a little wet, Hermione, I'll be fine." I coughed, knowing it was a damned lie, I was soaked to the bone.

She glared at me and shook her head. "Elle, you are drenched and to put it bluntly..." She looked down at my chest. "Your shirt is now see-through."

I scoffed and waved her away, I was really uncomfortable in these drenched shoes and if I just found a restroom, I could dry myself off. "Pssh, I'm fine."