The moment the train stops, Juno tugs me out a door and pulls me along across the platform. I can just barely see boats on a black lake, smooth and shiny like glass in the darkness. Juno guides me to a side door that leads into what must be the staff room.
"Hurry, we haven't got time to lally gag. There's usually a few school transfers that get sorted before the first years arrive, but you're the only one this year," she says, leaving the staff room and practically running through the halls.
I whip my head around to try to make sense of what's going on around me, but it's too dark in the candlelit hallways and I'm moving to fast to register more than a few paintings and staircases.
"Obviously you'll be a Slytherin, but you'll still be assessed by the sorting hat." I've heard stories about the tall wizard's cap that can supposedly read your mind and tell your personality, but I didn't really believe them. Now's my chance is to find out.
Juno stops abruptly in front of an ugly gargoyle statue. I almost slam into her.
"Humbugs," she says. The gargoyle nods and hops to the side. A sliding panel of stone opens behind the statue and reveals a spiral staircase, spinning lazily. "C'mon," Juno says, rushing onto the steps, jogging up them two at a time.
We reach a landing with a simple wooden door, standing ajar. I can hear voices speaking lowly inside. Juno taps the door frame.
"Enter," says an old, tired voice.
We step in to see five people. They must be the heads of the houses. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. And of course, the headmaster. The renowned Albus Dumbledore. Oh, the nights my father reeled on and on about his evils. I never listened to him, as I prefer to form my own opinions about people.
"Ah, the Malfoy sisters. Come in, let's get this over with," says a severe looking woman who must be head of Gryffindor. No one else would look at a Malfoy with such disdain.
She nods to a stool in the middle of the room. Atop it is a raggedy old hat. The sorting hat. "Sit," says the headmaster.
I sit, and he places the hat atop my head. It slips down over my eyes, the brim too wide for my head. I hear a voice in my ear.
"Ohhhhh... Well isn't this something? A considerable amount of bravery. Compassion and selflessness. Immense knowledge and wit. Passion and leadership. Where to place you... Hmmmm..." The voices in my mind have gone quiet, a rare feat.
I think, It has to be Slytherin. I'm not supposed to go anywhere else. Slytherin, Slytherin, Slytherin...
"Curious, the one of many talents wishes to conform to a single faction of principles? Well, do as you please." I take a shuddering breath. The hat shouts to the room, "Slytherin!"
I feel the hat slip off my head and open my eyes. I didn't realize I was squeezing them shut so hard. I see six sets of eyes staring back at me. "What?" I ask.
"Curious," says the head of Ravenclaw. "I've never seen a student such as you take so long to be sorted. Curious..."
That makes me nervous. I stand up, and Snape, the head of Slytherin, hands me a tall box labeled 'ROBES'. "Your uniform, Ms. Malfoy. Your sister will help you change. We'll see you downstairs, in the great hall. Welcome to Slytherin," Snape says.
I nod, and watch the five of them leave the study. Juno turns to me. "I'll take you to the bathroom to change." She looks at me weird. I ignore it. At least I'm in Slytherin.
I change into the white shirt, green and silver striped tie, black sweater, black skirt and long black robes that were in the box. I leave on my converse, since there were no shoes in the box. There's two more sets of the uniform so I have something to wear while the others wash, as well as a set of green pajamas, a green and silver scarf, extra socks, and a black hat.
Juno hurries out as soon as I'm done, in her own immaculate robes, promising to meet me up later, and giving me directions to the great hall. Luckily, I have a good memory, and I find my way down just before the first years start to pile into the hall. It is incredibly loud in here. There must be hundreds of voices pounding in my head. I push away the growing knot behind my forehead and try to ignore the headache.
I spot Theo waving to me from the Slytherin table, smiling wide. "I knew you'd be Slytherin!" He says excitedly as I squeeze between him and Enzo on the bench. I didn't, that's for sure. But I smile anyway.
Across from us sit Draco and Pansy, with Mattheo sitting a little to the side. He smiled when I walked up, but now he looks down at his feet and appears solemn. He must feel my eyes on him, because he looks up suddenly. My mind goes a hundred percent quiet. What? That never happens unless I'm alone.
Then I hear a single voice in my head. It is low, slow and croaky, like it's taken a very long time to pick out just the right words to say.
"Can you hear me?"
I widen my eyes in shock. I've never actually communicated with any of the voices in my head. "Yes," I say in my mind. Then our eye contact breaks and the voices come back with full force.
All the first years get sorted. A few new kids join our crowded table.
Then a voice booms out over the chatter, and the outer noise halts, but the noise in my head only gets louder. I try to block it out. Dumbledore's voice booms out in some announcement about a new teacher, Moody, I think. The others share snide looks. I wonder what that's about.
Then he announces that the inter-house quidditch championship will not be taking place this year, met with many boos from all the tables. He explains that it is because of a special 'event', starting in October and continuing through the year.
He continues, "We here at Hogwarts are to have the pleasure of hosting a very special and exciting event involving two others of Europe's finest magic schools. It is my pleasure to announce that the Triwizard Tournament is taking place here at Hogwarts!" An eruption both outside my mind and inside of it engulfs me. I plug my ears and try to control my breathing. I hate loud noise, which is highly inconvenient considering my head is always loud.
Dumbledore explains the history of the Tournament. Apparently it's some big deal. To be honest, I don't really care. At Beaxbatons, practically the only things people talked about were their grades, the occasional party and proving themselves in one way or another, so they could get a good job. The Tournament was just one more way to get ahead.
Dumbledore tells us that competitors from Beaxbatons and Durmstrang will arrive in October, and the choosing of the champions will be on Halloween. The impartial judge, the goblet of fire, will pick the three most worthy candidates, one from each school, to compete in three tasks to prove that they are the best. Then he says, "Along with glory for your school, the victor of the Tournament will receive a thousand galleons of prize money."
The students at the tables go nuts. But my friends just smile. Possibly they already knew... But then Dumbledore says something that disappoints everyone. There will be an age restriction. No one under seventeen years of age will be allowed to compete. Many students groan. I think it's probably a good thing, since the death toll of the Tournament has historically been immense. Hopefully this will help keep the death count to a minimum.
Dumbledore assures us that no one under seventeen will be able to submit their name for consideration. But there is a loophole for every rule. I know that from personal experience.
Then he announces that we may eat. Piles of food appear on dishes across the tables and chatter picks up again.
"So, what d'you guys think?" Enzo asks, loading his plate with mashed potatoes.
"What do you mean?" Blaise asks.
"Are you going to try to enter?" He says, like it was obvious.
"Well, duh. We have to," Says Theo. That makes me frown. He must notice this, because he says, "For the glory, I mean. Not for any other reason." He still seems suspicious.
"Whatever," Pansy says. She starts on something about who said what at someone's party. I'm happy for the distraction. It gives me a moment to think. With all the announcements I almost forgot about the single voice in my mind. It sounded like... No that would be stupid.
It's pitch black outside by the time everyone is done eating. The ceiling above us must be enchanted to show the sky outside, since it glitters with stars, and a fat yellow moon hangs in the blackness. Dumbledore dismisses us for bed. I follow the group down several flights of stairs into the dungeons, down corridors and up to a blank wall. Mattheo walks up to it and whispers, "Sanguis purus." Latin.
The wall slides away, revealing a lush common room. The entire back wall is a window that must open to the lake, because beyond it I can see the mucky bottom and dark water. The ceiling reaches high up, at least fifty feet tall. The floor is taken up by gilded furniture, and the other walls either hold fireplaces, bookshelves or desks for homework. On the right side of the room is a hallway. Everyone moves toward it, so I just follow in their wake.
Two staircases line the back wall, and two doors to the shared bathrooms sit to our right and left. Mattheo starts giving me a short tour of the place. "The common room is where we all just hangout and do homework. The boy's bathroom and dorms are on the right, the girls on the left. Pansy will show you to your dorm." Pansy smiles at me.
"We'll see you boys tomorrow," She says, grabbing my hand and running up the left staircase. I look back for just a moment. The boys have started walking up their staircase. Mattheo walks idly a few paces behind them, looking back at me too. I blush. So does he.
Author's Note~ Do you like these couple of longer chapters, or do you prefer more but shorter ones? Thank you for reading! It means the world to me. Seriously. I love you all, and wish you the best. You specifically. I hope you have a wonderful day/night. 💓 (here's a bouquet for you, you deserve it!! 💐💐💐)
~PokaPotFox13