Always- a Hinny / Romione fanfic

Chapter Sixty Two

"Four ter' a boat, let's get a move on there!"

Hastily, Teddy led Emily and Lizzie into the nearest wooden canoe, and, to Emily's visible dismay, the small boy followed. Teddy didn't mind though.

They took off suddenly, the boat moving all by itself. Teddy had to squint because of the air, moving fast and stinging his face, freezing and cold.

After going past what looked like something that used to be a stone arch, but now was a pile of rubble, their boats all pulled up to a sort of dock, past which was a fancy wooden door, with a brass knocker. Teddy held his breath, the rush of anxiety coming back to him.

Hagrid raised one of his mountainous fists, and knocked a few times on the door. It opened to reveal a man, dressed in red robes, with a roundish face that Teddy vaguely remembered seeing in a few of Harry's photo albums.

"The first years, professor Longbottom." Hagrid said, beard twitching above a smile.

"Thanks Hagrid, I'll tell the headmistress we're ready."

The professor motioned for all of them to follow. For an awkward moment, nobody moved, until Emily rolled her eyes and took a bold step forward. Everyone hurriedly followed.

They were all led past a high wall on the opposite side of another large, brass door, which was flanked by four empty hour glasses. The wall was covered with neat, smooth bricks, each with names carved in them. Teddy leaned forward, reading some of the names. Colin Creevy...Lavender Brown...Fred Weasley...Teddy's stomach lurched as he read two names that were right next to each other, names that he knew well, names he always thought about when he was lying awake at two in the morning, but names be never wanted to talk about. Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Lupin.

Emily was staring at him strangely. Teddy quickly looked away.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," Professor Longbottom spoke in a half-whisper as the frightened students quieted down to listen. "I am Professor Longbottom, the Herbology teacher, and head of Gryffindor house." There was a faint note of pride in his voice that suggested this was a great achievement. Emily laughed a tiny bit when he said his name, but Lizzie elbowed her- hard.

"See those doors right there? That's where the rest of the school is. In order to go sit with them though, you need to be sorted into a house. There are four of them, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor. Don't worry, it's nothing to be nervous about." He smiled at them kindly. "All you have to do is try on a hat. Simple enough?" They nodded solemnly. "Good. Now, for you're stay here then, you'll keep your house. You'll sleep with the people in your house, eat with them, spend free time in your house dorms, and also compete for the house cup with them. It's a tradition that's been going on for many years. Doing good things earns points, and rule breaking loses points, and that's all kept track by the gems in these hour glasses. Simple enough?" Nobody answered him. "Alright...Follow me then."

He pushed open the doors to reveal a grand hall, so big that you could fit a house in it. Millions upon millions of floating candles lit the room up, and the domed ceiling opened up to the velvet black sky.

They were all marching down an aisle of about four people across, led by Professor Longbottom, between two tables longer than a suburban lawn. Each table was packed with students, chattering loudly. Teddy saw a few people point at him, probably because of his hair, which was slowly turning red to match his cheeks, which were burning with slight embarrassment.

They all came to a halt at the very front, where there was a kind of half stair, leading up to an elevated sort of stage. Upon that was a golden, horizontal table, which seated adults that Teddy supposed were the teachers. In the very middle was a woman, with grey hair in a very tight bun, spectacled and eyes that reminded him of a hawk, yet she smiled at him kindly.