Rose Weasley

Chapter 2 - The Sorting

Chapter 2 - The Sorting

Rose found herself standing at the side of a rather crowded platform, packed with students of varying height. A tall, brunette girl with astonishingly bright green eyes was talking to another, a shorter version of herself with very similar features. “Sis, just follow the midgets, and you’ll be fine.” The young girl flinched at the sound of “midgets”. The older girl made to walk away, but stopped, turned around, and added “And stop worrying.”

Rose couldn’t help but feel sorry for the child, standing there on her own, looking awfully confused, but Rose had troubles of her own. Nor did she have any time to linger. A loud voice was calling her forth, along with her fellow first-year students.

“Firs’ years, over ‘ere!” Rose looked up to see the massive silhouette of a very tall man. He had a very large, bulky, brown coat that might’ve passed off as a tent had it not been covered with an endless quantity of pockets. In his left arm, he held a bright lamp which illuminated the station, making the train seem a duller shade of red than it was by daylight.

The man’s black, beetle-like eyes moved from student to student, peering at each face. He then reached into one of his many pockets, and drew a large and worn pocket watch. He looked at it, and started mumbling to himself, a large hand fidgeting.

Rose noticed that everything about this man seemed large. He was twice the size of a regular adult. That was because he was a half-giant, by the name of –

“Hagrid!”

The man looked down, startled, but then noticed the child at his side. His eyes were filled with kindness, glittering in the light of the dozen or so light around the station. “Hello, Rose. Great ter see yer ‘ere! How’ve you been?”

The girl shrugged a smile evident on her face, delighted at the sight of a familiar face. “I’m good, thanks. It’s great to see you again, Hagrid.” Her gaze drifted to the ground, and soon, she was lost on thought with Hagrid’s cries of ‘firs’ years, over ‘ere!’ lost in the background.

The girl felt someone take hold of her wrist, and give a gentle tug. Rose did nothing, and allowed herself to be led in the direction of the lake, around which a small crowd of first year students was gathered. After a few minutes of instructions (“Yer not goin’ to jump in the water, an’ I’m not goin’ ter get yeh outta there”), they all settled into the small boats, on the sides of which brown paint was peeling. Four students were seated in each boat, with Hagrid in the lead, sitting in a boat of his own. (His weight could not be supported unless he was the only one in the boat.)

The ride to the castle was an uneventful one, but the sight that met their eyes made up for that. As the castle came into view, its many lights falling upon the grounds, the students all started whispering with awe and astonishment. The tall towers reached the sky, the forest seemed immense, and the castle was huge and marvellous with its stone walls.

Rose, however, wasn’t focused on the castle for long – her thoughts drifted back to the house miles upon miles away, the place she called “home” her entire life. Memories came back in an instant; her last Christmas there, family gatherings; her eighth birthday. She’d received what must have been the world’s biggest chocolate frog on that day. As she undid the blue wrapping paper and threw it off her bed, not noticing a sticker with the words caution – chocolate frog may jump, the world’s biggest piece of chocolate jumped off her bed, and hopped down the staircase. It traveled through the kitchen, the dining room, and was in the act of jumping over the sofa when her father caught it, looking very disgruntled. “Damn, it was supposed to be stunned until we took the stunner off!” Rose learned a few excellent swear words that day, followed by a talk from her mother.