I took a deep breath, then slowly walked over to the wooden stool, and sat down, bracing myself for what was going to happen next. As soon as the hat touched my head, I heard a voice.
"Ooh, a Black. Do you belong in Gryffindor like your father and mother, or in Slytherin like the rest of your family?"
Like my father? Like the rest of my family? What does that mean?
"Ambitious, witty, but can't be Slytherin or Ravenclaw. Calm as a Hufflepuff and shy, but mischievous and true. Mmmh... Tough, very tough, but I think I know the perfect house for you."
I felt my mouth go dry at those words, I clenched the sides of the stool, preparing for the announcement.
"Better be... GRYFFINDOR!" The Gryffindor table erupted with applause and cheers, as I let out a sigh of relief, and happily got up.
I saw the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan, gesturing for me to sit with them. Right when I sat down, I heard a chuckle and then. "You know your hair switched to yellow." Fred said.
I just smiled and changed my hair to its original color, and turned to face the high table, as Professor Dumbledore started his speech.
"Welcome, welcome, to another year at Hogwarts! Now I'd like to say a few words before we all become befuddled by our excellent feast. First, I'm pleased to welcome Professor R.J. Lupin, whose kindly consented to fill the post of the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Good luck Professor!"
He gestured toward a shabby, looking man, who rose up from his seat, to take a quick bow, as everyone clapped.
"Our many years Care for Magical Creatures Professor has decided to retire, in order to spend more time with his remaining limbs. Fortunately, I'm very delighted to announce that his place will be taken by none other than our own Rubeus Hagrid."
The large man, who had led us across the lake, got up after getting nudged by Professor McGonagall, only to almost topple the table over. He sat back down quickly as the applause died out once again. The expression on the Headmaster's face changed, from warm to serious.
"Finally, on a more describing note, at the request of the Ministry of Magic, Hogwarts will until further notice, play host to the Dementors of Azkaban."
People gasped and murmured amongst themselves at the sudden news. I felt myself tense up again, hoping no one was connecting me to that criminal.
"Until such a time Sirius Black is captured, the Dementors will be stationed at every entrance to the grounds, now while I've been assured that their presence will not disrupt our day to day activities, a word of caution." He paused to let his words sink in, before continuing.
"Dementors are vicious creatures, they will not distinguish between the one they hunt and the one who gets in their way. Therefore, I must warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. It is not in the nature of Dementors to be forgiving. But you know," He gently smiled, "Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if only one remembers to turn on the light." With that, he concluded and the feast began.
Due to the stress of being new, I hadn't realized how hungry I was. I heard my stomach growl loudly and the twins sniggered.
"When was the last time you ate? Let me guess a month ago." Fred said with a snort of laughter.
"Oh, I-I haven't eaten much today, due to the hustle and bustle of coming here for the first time and the stress of getting sorted."
Fred nodded sympathetically, while George went back to his food with a smile on his face.
***
The feast ended on a positive note, and we finally left up for our common room, directed by the prefects. The Head Boy, Percy, who happened to be the Weasley Twins older brother ("He's a total git! Really acts professional and all, but we've done enough pranks on him to annoy him out of his skin! We bewitched his badge this summer, to have Bighead Boy written on it." Fred whispered in my ear. I giggled in response.)
I headed up to my dormitory, and saw three girls there, who introduced themselves as Hermione Granger (Who I found out happened to be Harry and Ron's best friend), Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown. There was a empty, four-poster bed in the corner, with my trunk at the end. I opened it up to grab my pajamas.
***
The crackling fire lit up the entire common room. I didn't know how long I sat there gazing into it. I'd tried to fall asleep, but I couldn't, so here I was.
For some reason, the happiness I had before coming to the school wasn't there anymore. Instead, the words of the Sorting Hat were running through my mind.
What did the Sorting Hat mean by "Do you belong in Slytherin, like the rest of your family or in Gryffindor like your father and mother?" I thought Mum had said that Dad was a muggle, so how could he have been sorted?
I stared harder into the fireplace, as if the answer would pop out of it.
You know what? I think I'm overthinking it. I'll ask Mum later.
A mischievous thought crept into my head, making me grin. With that I began my plan of setting pranks around the common room, waiting desperately to see who will be my victims the next day.
This chapter should have been a bit better, I hope!
What's your Hogwarts House?
Mine is Hufflepuff.
:)
Mini-Padfoot