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.
“Rose, you’ll never use those words, nor will you teach them to anybody, especially Hugo. Promise me.”
After a short pause, the girl nodded reluctantly, and said “Okay. I promise.”
A jab in her ribs interrupted her train of thought. She looked up and discovered Hagrid’s looming form standing on the dishevelled grass. “C’mon, Rose. We don’t have all day. Get goin’, and be careful on the rocks."
She grasped his rough hand as he helped her out of the boat. Finally, stumbling up the hill, she got a good look at the castle. It was big, with many lights shining through the windows. The stone walls were somewhat intimidating, and yet, something about them said “home”, the way no place but her home and the Burrow did.
* * *
“McMillan, Ralph.”
“RAVENCLAW!”
“Crabbe, Eleanor.”
“SLYTHERIN!”
“Longbottom, Alice.”
“GRYFFINDOR!”
“Corner, Brandon!”
“HUFFLEPUFF!”
“Potter, Albus!” A sudden quitet filled the room as the small boy made his way towards the wooden stool. It creaked as he sat in it. His face was screwed up in concentration, as if attempting to recover a memory. “The Sorting Hat takes your choice into account.” A sudden look of relief spread over his face a split-second before the Hat announced its decision.
“GRYFFINDOR!” Albus nearly knocked the stool over in his hurry to reach the long table, at which a round of applause broke out.
“Well done, mate.” Albus nearly jumped from his seat when his brother’s voice sounded so close to his ear.
“Thanks, James.” Now, his mind was set on the Sorting Hat again.
“Jordan, Fred.”
“GYFFINDOR!”
“Bullstrode, Alexandar.”
“SLYTHERIN!”
“Weasley, Rose.”
The girl in question froze. After a few seconds of silence, somebody gave her a light push. “Rose, come on. You’ll be fine.” The whisper carried itself through her head. In through one ear, out through the other. Breathless, she walked up the steps. There were only five, but they seemed like fifty. Finally, she sat down on the stool, her knuckles white as she clutched it.
I see potential, a voice said. She started. Then, as a memory of Albus’s sorting returned, she understood. The voice belonged to the Sorting Hat. Yes, I see great potential. And with a mind like this, much could be done. But…. I see courage. Loyalty. Where to place you? I feel you will do well in Gryffindor, but Ravenclaw is well suited. Which shall it be?
Please, Gryffindor. Please, put me in Gryffindor.
Why? I sort students by reason, you know. I need reason. I do not guess, that is an unwise choice.
Rose’s brain clicked into response. Because it’ll provide motivation. And pull up the strengths I have less of. It’ll provide me with a challenge, test my character.
Well put. So shall it be, then.
“GRYFFINDOR!”
All the air suddenly returned to the room, the sound returned. A wide grin broke across the girl’s face as she skipped off the steps. Approaching the Gryffindor table, she sat down beside Albus.
“I knew it,” he grinned. “I knew you’d be in Gryffindor. I guess you’re still stuck with me, huh?”
She giggled. “What rotten luck I’ve got.”
As the short line of students waiting to be sorted dwindled, Rose found it increasingly hard to focus on the names. Staring expectantly at the plates and goblets, she looked up to see the last boy sit on the stool.
She recognized him. The skinny blond boy looked up as the Hat said, “HUFFLEPUFF!”
A complete and utter silence filled the room. No one spoke, and only a few people clapped as the boy sat down at the Hufflepuff table. A taller boy, by the looks of him, in third year, clapped the boy on the back. “Good job, Scorpious. You broke the line, you’re starting a new life.”
Scorpious… Scorpious Malfoy… Rose remembered. Dad told her not to get too friendly… What would he say now?
Professor McGonaggal stood up to gavi a short speech. “There will be a few staffing changes this year,” she said. “Some of them will change a lot. How ever, I rest assure you, Hogwarts will be as safe as ever.”
A few fourth-year Ravenclaws who weren’t staring at their plates exchanged slightly worried looks. The red-haired girl quoted, “As safe as ever?”“Now,” continued the Headmistress. “As I presume, you have all grown weary from the journey and the words.” A smile cracked her face as she remembered Dumbledore’s last start-of-term feast. “Tuck in!”
All Albus managed to say was “Well put,” before he, like Rose, became busy with his plate. As he learned that night, pumpkin juice and chocolate ice-cream do not mix well.
They sat eating, exchanging a few words now and then, when a figure emerged from the back door. It was a tall man, with flaming red hair. He wore glasses, and his movement seemed somehow different now than ever before.
“Rose.” Albus gave her a small jab in the ribs. Finally, she responded.
“What?”
“That man.”
“What about him?”
“That’s Uncle Percy.”
“Wha –”
Before Rose finished her train of thought (which, incidentally, was growing longer by the minute,) the man approached Professor McGonaggal. He spoke to her with a few hand gestures while she listened attentively. He finished speaking, and she nodded. She then approached the staff table and gazed out over the students.
“Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,” she said. “We have a new Headmaster.