Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter, and the characters within are trademarked by J K Rowling. Any part of the plot that is recognizable as Harry Potter canon, is also trademarked by J K Rowling. I have merely added a few of my own original characters, which are creations of my own imagination, and placed them in the world of Harry Potter, for entertainment purposes only. I do not profit from this. Please don't sue me.
As Professor McGonagall returned, Zia bounced eagerly on her toes to see what awaited her behind those large double doors.
"Now, form a line and follow me," Professor McGonagall told the first years.
They all flocked behind her like sheep, as they walked through the doors, and started whispering in wonder at where they now found themselves. Four long tables were perpendicular to another long table raised on a platform which stone steps led up to, everything set with shining gold goblets and platter. Everything was lit by flickering candles floating in mid air, and when Zia lifted her head to look at them a bit closer, she gasped aloud at what she saw. A vast blue-black ceiling, littered with stars, swirling around like boats in a harbor.
"It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History," she heard a girl with bushy hair whisper.
Zia considered this for a while, due to how realistic the charms this ceiling was constructed with looked, but her train of thought came to a harsh halt when the flock of first years gathered at the front of the Great Hall, where a ragged hat sat on a stool on the raised platform.
After a moment of silence, a rip appeared at the brim of the old hat, and the hat burst into song:
"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffis are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
if you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"
When the roar of applause ended, Professor McGonagall unrolled parchment and began reading names, and as she did, students walked up and got sorted into houses.
"Khan, Zia," McGonagall announced.
Everybody's eyes widened a little more than usual, as they saw this incongruous girl take her place on the stool. The mauve hijab on her head stood in stark contrast to her regular black robes worn over a white oxford, grey sweater, and pleated skirt with black stockings. She shifted nervously as she awaited the Hat's verdict.
"Oh! Well, well, well. What do we have here? Interesting, how very interesting. Color me intrigued. Hmmmm.... Fascinating. I am enthralled. I could drown in the depths of your thoughts. Wow...." The Hat droned on for over ten minutes, until McGonagall herself intervened.
"You must place her in a house soon, if the Ceremony is to continue, or we shall never have time for the rest of the pupils," she reasoned, as Zia's cheeks heated, and she apologized profusely for causing such disruptance.
"Very well. Send her back down, and I shall sort her last, for I have not reached a conclusion of any sort yet," The Hat said in an unprecedented act. McGonagall appeared to have been struck speechless, for she nodded, and let Zia back down.
However, Zia was not to be the only snag the Sorting Ceremony was to hit.
The whispers she had heard floating around on the boats, when waiting in the Entrance Hall had allowed her to catch up with the rest of the students. She now knew why there was so much commotion regarding this little boy with scruffy, raven hair.
"Potter, Harry," with the hat on his head for several captivating moments, was finally placed in Gryffindor, to much celebration. The ceremony continued, and when "Zabini, Blaise," had finally been sorted into Slytherin, everybody's attention returned to the little girl in the lavender hijab, as the Hat was placed on her head once more.
"Aaaah, here we are. I must say, I would never have expected to ever have to consider placing a Muggleborn in Slytherin, but the level of ambition your mind hosts is substantial, as is how resourceful you are. But an immensely hard-working soul rests within you, a Hufflepuff's spirit. And then there's that sharp wit, truly ingenious. Ravenclaw would suit you well. The passion that drives you, this flame you've lit under yourself is not to be ignored. You have the drive of a Gryffindor," The Hat rambled on.
Zia sat restlessly, in anticipation of her judgement.
"But there is one thing I cannot possibly neglect. The level of dignity and self-respect you hold for yourself, combined with how stubborn you are about proving yourself, leaves only one place for you," the Hat determined.
"SLYTHERIN!" It finally bellowed, thus the hall was shocked into silence. All except the Slytherin table, which erupted in outrage. A Muggleborn Slytherin was unheard of, scandalous, even. The uproar shook the hall, with the remaining houses told Slytherin to pipe down, albeit they formulated their requests less politely.
"SILENCE!" Headmaster Dumbledore's order was the only one the Hall's inhabitants respected. Everybody finally muted, and sat down sheepishly, but the Slytherins still held stubborn looks of contempt on their faces, as Zia approached, and cautiously sat at the front of the table, on the bench closest to the right wall of the Great Hall.
Once her delicious meat-free meal rested heavily in her stomach, and her hunger had been satisfied, Dumbledore asked everyone to "pick their favorite tune" and everyone began to holler the school song:
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something please,
Whether we be old and bald
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling
With some interesting stuff,
For now they're bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we've forgot,
just do your best, we'll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot."
Applause filled the hall once the Weasley twins had completed their slow funeral march version, and Dumbledore sent them off to bed.
-----
The vast, green space she now found herself in, had enchanted Zia. She stood and looked around in wonder at the large window that revealed a long stretch of dark, but perfectly clear water, with occasional movement from lake creatures causing occasional ripples in it.
"First years girls, your dormitories are down those stairs and to the left. Boys, down the same staircase but to your right," Zia absentmindedly registered a prefect saying.
When everyone started leaving the common room, Zia let her feet carry her down to the dormitories, but when she entered her dormitory, she was met by nasty looks of distaste from two out of her four fellow roommates. Pansy Parkinson stood with a harsh glare on her pug-like face, while Millicent Bulstrode gave Zia a mocking sneer.
"Listen up and listen well, mudblood," Pansy spat. "Just because that tattered Hat thinks you're good enough for us, doesn't mean we have to agree," she bit out. "And let me make one thing very clear. We don't agree. You are not, and never will be good enough to truly belong in Slytherin house, as long as that filth runs through your veins. Don't expect us to ignore how you taint our good name with that dirt you exist as," she finished. She walked off, picked a bed, stripped, and drew the curtains to her four poster.
Zia stood rooted to her spot for a moment longer, and took in her surroundings. She stood in a large, circular space, lit beautifully with warm lanterns and the refracted moonlight came in through arched windows as tall as the walls between the beds. Pansy had chosen the bed which was the first one saw right across the room when one entered. There were two beds on either side, with the headboards against the walls. The door Zia saw to her right was probably the one that lead to the bathroom.
She walked around the radiator in the middle of the room, and to the bed on the outermost side to her left. After she located her pajamas, she went to the beautiful bathroom lined by smooth black tiles, changed, and was going to go back to bed when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She went over to the window between her bed and the one of a girl called Tracey Davies, and had to clap her hand over her mouth to stay silent.
An astounding creature was hovering outside the cold glass, with a somewhat pitiful smile on her face. A mermaid. Zia grinned back, but the suddenness of her move spooked the mermaid, and she backed up a little. Zia hesitated. But then she slowly moved forward, and placed a hand on the glass, smiled gently. The mermaid wavered for a moment, but slowly returned the gesture.
"Goodnight," Zia mouthed, and moved back, waving at the beautiful being outside her window. The mermaid waved back, and drifted away.
Zia fell back onto her lush four-poster, and fell asleep to the sound of water lapping softly against the dormitory walls.