Stepping onto the Hogwarts Express, Ella strolled down the aisle, searching excitedly for a compartment to sit in. In one of the cars, Ella noticed a boy with black, untidy hair; round glasses; and a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. Although she did think that the scar was pretty cool, the girl decided that he was not someone she wanted to make friends with.
Eventually, Ella reached a compartment with a greasy-haired blond that seemed lonely. Shrugging, Ella opened the door to the compartment and asked, "Do you mind if I sit in here? There's not really any other compartments open."
Glancing upwards at Ella, the boy smirked and responded, "If you dare. You probably already know that I'm Malfoy, but my full name is Draco Malfoy."
Taken aback yet not discouraged, the girl said, "Well, nice to meet you. I still insist on calling you by your first name, Draco, especially if we are going to be friends. Now move your bags out of that seat or I'll be moving them myself."
Puzzled by the girl, Draco Malfoy picked up the few bags and flung them on the rack above his seat. Looking the girl up and down, Draco remarked, "I still don't know your name, you know."
"Oh! Sorry about that," Ella laughed while sitting on the seat across from Draco. "I'm Ella Adara."
"Adara? I've never heard a Pureblood with that name before," Draco commented.
"I suppose that would be because I am not a Pureblood; I'm a Muggleborn," Ella eagerly explained.
For a moment, Draco had a disgusted look on his face. "Very well," he said. Not wanting to disappoint or make the girl angry with him, Draco said, "I've never really been friends with a Muggleborn before. Do you even know all of the houses?"
Surprised, Ella replied, "Of course I do! There are four Hogwarts houses, each for a Hogwarts founder. Hufflepuff for Helga Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw for Rowena Ravenclaw, Slytherin for Salazar Slytherin, and Gryffindor for Godric Gryffindor."
"And which house would you like to belong to, Adara?" Draco inquired.
"I would love to be in any of them!" Ella dreamily remarked.
"I see. Well, I know that I will be put in Slytherin. If I'm not, then my father will hear about it and I will be transferred to Durmstrang."
"Oh I've heard of that school!" Ella gasped. "But why on earth would you want to go there instead of Hogwarts?"
"If I don't make it into Slytherin, they'll have obviously made a mistake, and the Malfoy family does not tolerate mistakes," Draco told her.
Confused, Ella shrugged and gazed out the window, only to find grass, grass, and grass. She sighed and asked if Draco knew how long it took to get to Hogwarts.
"I don't know, but we better get there soon since it's getting dark out." Standing up and walking towards the door, Draco turned around and said, "I'm going to go take a walk out in the train corridors."
"Oh, I'll come with you!" Ella suddenly exclaimed, leaping out of her seat.
"No thanks. I just want to go and chat with a friend of mine," he answered.
After Draco left the compartment, Ella dug in her bag for her favorite book she's read so far, Hogwarts, a History by Bathilda Bagshot, and flipped to a random page. While she read about Rowena Ravenclaw's history, the compartment door slid open. "You're back already?" Ella asked, not looking up from her book.
"What's that supposed to mean?" a girl's voice responded. "I've never even opened this compartment before."
At the sound of a voice that wasn't Draco's, Ella snapped her head up from the book. "Oh, hello. I'm Ella, and you are?"
Impatiently, the girl answered, "Hermione Granger. Now, have you seen a toad around here? Neville Longbottom lost his.."
"No, sorry. Can I help you find it?" Ella volunteered.
"Yes," Hermione sighed with thankfulness. "That would be great. Come with me."
Closing her book, Ella hopped out of her seat.
"You know," Hermione started, "you might want to change into your robes because the train is almost here, and I have no idea how long it will take to find this toad."
"Oh, er, alright." Ella began to pull out her Hogwarts uniform.
"I'll just be waiting out here," Hermione called from outside the compartment.
♢
"So," Hermione started while walking down the rows of compartments after they found the toad, "which Hogwarts House do you hope to be in?"
Why does everyone keep asking that? Ella thought. Why should it matter which one you want to be in?
"Well, I don't really know. I, um, I guess I'd love to be in any of them," Ella told her. "What about you?"
"I would love to be in Gryffindor. Although, if I'm not put in Gryffindor, Ravenclaw would be okay," Hermione eagerly said.
"Ravenclaw would be nice," Ella agreed. She glanced out the window which only showed darkness by now. "D'you reckon we'll reach the castle soon?"
"Oh I hope so! I'm so excited I can't put into words how great of a year this'll be! Before my letter, I hadn't even imagined doing this."
"Do you have any siblings that have already gone to Hogwarts?" Ella asked.
"No. It's just me. And both of my parents are Muggles, so I really didn't even know anything about magic until recently," Hermione explained. Gasping, she questioned Ella, "Have you tried any spells yet?"
"I've tried a few because my parents wanted to know how it works. I mean, I technically wasn't really traced because I hadn't been to Hogwarts yet, so I figured it was okay."
"Oh cool! I bet your parents loved that although you really weren't supposed to do magic in front of your parents," Hermione answered loudly while they passed another compartment. Once they passed it, she whispered, "I tried out a few in front of my parents too."
Smiling, Ella slipped into her compartment. "I guess I better get my belongings together," she said.
"Oh yeah, do you want to grab yours and come to my compartment? We can talk for the few minutes we probably have left," Hermione suggested.
"That would be great!" Ella grinned, looking at Hermione.
♢
"Adara, Marvella!" Minerva McGonagall announced.
Unfortunately, Ella's name was almost the first one called. She nervously yet confidently walked up to the stool and promptly placed the Sorting Hat on her head.
Ooh you're a difficult one! The Sorting Hat exclaimed inside Ella's head.
Ella was confused that the hat could speak inside her head, and why she would be difficult.
Well of course I can speak inside your head! How else would I decide your fate?
Ella rolled her eyes and muttered, "Duh, I should've known."
As for the difficult piece, the hat started, you would fit well in any of the houses! The best for you would be Ravenclaw or Slytherin.
Ella instantly mumbled without thinking, "Slytherin!"
Hm. You would do well there, Miss Adara. I think the best house for you is -
"RAVENCLAW!" the Sorting Hat shouted aloud.
Removing the hat, Ella groaned and walked to the Ravenclaw table, where the other students were clapping for her. On her way to the table, Hermione smiled and gave Ella a thumbs-up. Ella smiles in return.
Professor McGonagall called more names, and more first years were sorted into more houses.
"Cleveland, Felix!" Minerva McGonagall announced.
A scrawny boy nervously wobbled up to the stool where the battered Sorting Hat sat. Ella watched with amazement as the boy clumsily dropped it on his head.
Almost immediately, the Sorting Hat shouted, "RAVENCLAW!"
Felix Cleveland joyfully skipped over to the table and sat down next to Ella. "Hi!" he greeted. "I'm Felix Cleveland. My name means lucky and my parents always tell me how lucky I am! I mean, of course I'm lucky; I made it into Ravenclaw!"
It took Ella a few seconds to comprehend everything Felix had said. Finally, she answered, "Oh, that's nice. Call me Ella. I have no clue what my name means."
"I met a chicken named Ella once! She wasn't very friendly," the boy blurted.
"Hm," Ella said, not entirely sure how to respond.
Felix glanced up to the stool. "Merlin's beard, that girl has been up there for a while."
Ella followed his gaze to find Hermione Granger sitting on the stool with her hands folded in her lap. She seemed to be intensely concentrated on what the hat was saying to her.
A girl leaned from across the table and remarked, "She's been up there for minutes. I bet she'll be up there longer than even McGonagall. Her sorting took the longest in the history of Hogwarts!"
Next to Ella, Felix argued, "What about Dumbledore? I heard his Sorting took thirty minutes!"
While Felix and the girl across the table argued, the Sorting Hat finally yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!"
Disappointed, Ella politely cheered for Hermione. Ella had hoped that they could become friends. She watched as everyone at the Gryffindor table celebrated and cheered for Hermione. From across the room, Hermione smiled weakly at Ella.
Eventually, the blond-haired boy confidently walked up to the Sorting Hat. Ella couldn't remember his name, and she had missed it while she had been listening to Felix and the other girl arguing about hat stalls. Was his name Raco? Snako? Geico? Ella still couldn't remember.
The hat slightly grazed the boy's hair and immediately shouted, "SLYTHERIN!"
At the Slytherin table, the students cheered and pounded on the table. The boy seemed to fit right in with their smirks. Suddenly, Ella was grateful that she wasn't put into Slytherin; they didn't seem like the nicest bunch.
"Potter, Harry!" McGonagall announced.
The room went quiet, and the only thing that could be heard were the mutters and gasps of, "Harry Potter?"
A scrawny boy with messy black hair nervously walked up. While he seemed to be having a conversation with the hat, Ella noticed a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead.
"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted.
Instantaneously, the whole Gryffindor table rose and cheered. Some of the students shouted, "We got Potter! We got Potter!"
Ella turned to face the girl and Felix. "What's up with him?"
The girl's eyes widened. "You don't know who Harry Potter is?"
"Er, no, actually. I don't know," Ella answered.
"He's like the most famous wizard in the world!"
Ella glanced back at Potter. "But he's only our age!" she protested.
"He defeated You-Know-Who when he was a baby!" the girl said.
"Who's You-Know-Who?" Ella curiously asked.
"He's, um, he's. . . You know what, my friend? We're going to the library tomorrow," the girl declared. "By the way, my name's Mandy. Nice to meet you."
"You too. I'm Ella," she politely responded.
Later that night, while everyone was asleep, Ella lay wide awake in her bed, wondering about Harry Potter and the mysterious You-Know-You.