For a while, Gideon just stared out of the train window watching the world go by, deep in thought. The next time the train stopped he would be arriving at the world's greatest school for witchcraft and wizardry. Even if he were kicked out, he concluded that with so many other newcomers, it would surely take the teachers some time to discover his lack of magic.
If that were the case, he would still have time to explore the ancient magical castle and its grounds. He would make the most of his Hogwarts experience, however short-lived it might be. Gideon lost his train of thought when his view turned green, and the Hogwarts Express entered the countryside.
He reached into his trunk and fished out the novel he had been reading for something to do. As he read, thoughts of his surroundings crept in. He wondered what might be happening beyond his compartment on a train full of magical children. He considered exploring to meet some of the other students but quickly dismissed the idea.
Gideon had hoped he might bump into his brother on the platform that morning. However, after arriving late, that hadn't been possible. He wondered if Anthony had any idea that he was on the train, perhaps only a carriage away. Would he even be interested? He hadn't, after all, made any effort to get in touch with Gideon since the attack.
After an hour or so, the sound of movement distracted Gideon and a few children passed by his compartment window. A couple of older-looking students had simply passed by, but a group of younger students had stopped and looked in with curiosity as they made their way along the train. Gideon smiled shyly in greeting but the group just exchanged odd looks with each other.
This happened several times throughout the journey. Apparently, Gideon's eye patch wasn't going to win him any friends. The trolley lady, who came by around midday, was the first person to speak to him. Gideon had a lunch packed by Caroline, so didn't purchase anything from her. After that, he abandoned the idea that someone might join him in his compartment.
After eating his breakfast leftover sandwiches, Gideon dozed off. He awoke sometime later, practically jumping out of his chair in panic. The elusive nightmare had visited him once more. He put his hands to his forehead, struggling to remember what it was about. Naturally, a group of children had been walking past the window as this happened, and Gideon watched them walk away whispering frantically.
It was dark outside now. It occurred to Gideon that the students passing the window had been in their school robes, so he decided to retrieve his from his trunk and put them on. It was a good thing, too, as a voice echoed through the train abruptly, 'We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately.'
The train soon began to slow. Gideon's anxiety returned as it rolled to a stop. Caroline wasn't waiting for him on this end. He was all alone from this point. He heard the sound of doors opening and slamming and watched through the window as students began to empty the train.
'Leave your stuff! Firs-years this way!' came a booming voice.
Gideon mustered his courage and made his way off the train in search of the voice. However, he found himself wondering, was he a first-year? Or was he a third-year? Somehow the thought hadn't occurred to him before now. He decided to take a chance on the mystery voice. That was until he heard it again, coming from the direction of the most enormous man he had ever seen.
'Firs'-years with me! Firs'-years line-up over here!' the man roared while carrying a lamp. By the lamplight, he appeared to be at least seven feet tall. He had long, bushy, grey hair and a matching beard, and wore a long coat, which could probably have doubled as a tent.
The older students gradually dissipated, leaving a bunch of children around Gideon's height on the platform. Some of them, much to Gideon's frustration, taller than him.
'Right, then, this way! Careful now,' the man called as the group huddled together and followed in silence. He led them down a long, steep woodland path. His lamp was the only light visible through the surrounding trees. Just as they made their way around a bend, he called from the front, 'There it is, Hogwarts!'
The students made 'Ooh's and 'Aah's as the school came into view. The magnificent castle loomed down on them from atop a mountainside. The moon shined brightly behind it, framing its many towers and turrets, and reflecting its splendour in the lake below.
Gideon observed that they were being led to a small fleet of boats. 'Come on, climb in one at a time. No more'n four to a boat!' the large man instructed.
With his eye injury and the darkness, Gideon had trouble gauging the distance to the boat and stumbled toward the water.
'Careful now!' said the giant, who had caught him by the scruff of the neck just in time and lifted him into the boat. 'There's always one!'
Gideon heard snickering behind him, but he sat in the front seat without turning around.
'All aboard?' called the man from a boat he filled all by himself. 'Right, then — FORWARD!'
The little boats set off together under their own power and drifted smoothly across the still lake. The incredible sight of Hogwarts became clearer and more beautiful, mesmerising the children. It was a sight that Gideon would never forget. After a while, the castle disappeared from view as they floated into a dark tunnel. It led to an underground harbour where the boats lined up against the shore.
The children disembarked and followed the large man with his lamp through a passageway, across a long stretch of grass and up a seemingly endless flight of stone steps. When they finally reached the top, out of breath, the big man pounded on a huge oak door. It swung open and revealed a woman dressed in indigo robes, standing in Hogwarts' grand, torch-lit Entrance Hall with her arms crossed.
She wasn't a tall woman, but she had something of an imposing presence. Her jet-black hair was bundled up at the back, held together with a large needle, and her subtle make-up accentuated her attractive but sharp features. Her face appeared rigid and expressionless as she keenly observed the first-years with a pair of cat-like eyes, and the smallest hint of a self-satisfied smirk.
'Here we are, Professor Long, all accounted for!' said their towering guide.
'Thank you, Professor Hagrid,' she responded, her face barely moving as the man walked across the Entrance Hall and through another large set of oak doors to their right. For a moment the distant drone of hundreds of students became a deafening din as it escaped through the ajar door. The sound cut through the eerie quiet outside it until the door closed shut.
Professor Long ushered the group of twenty to thirty first-years forwards, and the front door closed behind them. Both Gideon's anxiety and excitement piqued as he marvelled at the cavernous entrance hall. Its huge marble staircase put the one at home—Maxwell Manor—to shame.
A couple of girls were making a fuss after tripping on each other but instantly fell silent when the Professor's eyes landed on them.
'Welcome to Hogwarts!' she said when there was finally silence once more. 'I am Professor Long, Hogwarts' Deputy Headmistress, Head of Ravenclaw House and Potions Professor. You will find me strict but fair, except when it comes to rule breakers, for whom I have little patience.'
The group of nervous students seemed to collectively gulp as she uttered these words in a perfectly calm yet dangerous manner.
'In a moment,' she continued, 'we shall enter the Great Hall and join the rest of the school for the start-of-term banquet. Before that, though, you must be sorted into your houses. Each of you will be sorted into one of four houses, named after our noble founders, the four great witches and wizards of legend. Those being Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin.'
Gideon was suddenly reminded of an event that took place in Madam Malkin's robe shop two years ago. The boy he had met there, Greg, had said something about this. He had mentioned "Gryffindor", but Gideon hadn't understood what that meant at the time.
'Your house will be like your family at Hogwarts. You'll live, learn and dine with them. Your hard work and achievements will earn you house points. Slacking off and rule-breaking, on the other hand, will lose you points. At the end of each year, we award the house with the most points our prestigious House Cup.
'House points are collected and displayed in the hourglasses behind you,' the students spun around to look at four giant hourglasses, two on either side of the big front doors. Each contained gems of a different colour in their top half, but they weren't trickling down. 'Now, if you'll wait here a moment, I'll see if they're ready for The Sorting Ceremony.'
The Deputy Headmistress entered the Great Hall and whispered conversation immediately broke out among the group.
'She scares me for some reason!' said a girl's voice.
'She didn't say how they sort us,' said another.
'It must be a magic test!' a boy speculated.
Gideon was suddenly fearful. A test of their magic? What would he do? His hopes of coasting through classes for a few weeks were suddenly dashed. He was going to be caught at the first hurdle, in front of the whole school no less! That would include Anthony and that Greg boy and his friends. He was going to be a laughingstock, again. This time, with an eye patch to boot.
'I know how it's done,' said a curly-haired blonde girl confidently, 'My sister told me. It's done by—'
Professor Long's return prevented the girl from finishing her sentence. 'It's time. This way, please,' she announced.
Gideon reluctantly followed along with the rest of the group. He'd sooner slip out than face the coming humiliation, but how could he? Where would he go? His thoughts of escape, however, were interrupted upon entering the Great Hall.
His eyes didn't know what to focus on. The gigantic room housed four extra-long tables full of sparkling golden plates and goblets, with students seated from end to end. Lying horizontally at the end of the room on a slightly raised area, was another table with grown-ups seated all along the far side.
Above, were hundreds, maybe thousands of floating candles lighting the hall. The ceiling beyond appeared to be enchanted to mirror the starry night sky. It reminded Gideon of the Middling Academy recreation room.
On the walls, hung giant tapestries in five designs. There were four, each a different colour, emblazoned with an animal: A gold lion on red fabric, a black badger on yellow, a bronze eagle on blue, and a silver snake on green. The fifth had the Hogwarts crest, which depicted all four animals.
Professor Long marched them down the centre of the hall toward the raised area. In front of the staff table stood a wooden stool with a tattered old hat atop it. They gathered on the right side of the room facing the hat.
Gideon wondered if the hat was so battered because they were supposed to use magic on it. If only he had brought his channelling rod! Just then, the hat moved and to Gideon's astonishment, began to sing from a mouth-like tear near the brim:
'Our four great founders came together
With a big idea.
A school of magic they decided,
Would be built that year.
The name and place were chosen quickly,
Off to work they went.
With mastery, they built a castle,
Grand and resplendent.
But then it came to those to teach,
And there they disagreed.
The four were split and wouldn't settle,
So they turned to me.
A wise old hat I may have been,
But how was I to know,
Whom to sort into which house,
I needed more info.
For Gryffindor, the brave were favoured
Among those he knew.
For Slytherin, only the proudest
Of the bunch would do.
Dear Ravenclaw, would take the wisest
Minds among the group.
Dear Hufflepuff, would take the loyal
And forgotten few.
Other things are of importance,
That is well and true.
But certain traits just make it easier
For me to choose.
For I'm the sorting hat, you see,
I'll look inside your head.
So, pop me on, I'll sort you fast,
And then it's off to bed!'
The room erupted into cheers as the old hat crumpled over into a bow. Gideon joined in, still a little stunned by the sudden musical number, but considerably less on edge than before.
Professor Long turned to the first-years and told them, 'When I call your name, you will take a seat on the stool and put on the hat to be sorted. Afterwards, you will join your house table.'
She gestured to the four large tables and the empty seats they would be filling. The Professor pulled a scroll from her robes, unfurled it and began to read off names.
'Alcott, Sebastian!' she called.
A sandy-haired boy stepped forwards, put on the big old hat, which fell right down to his shoulders, and took a seat on the stool. After ten seconds or so, the hat bellowed, 'RAVENCLAW!'
The students at the third table from the group welcomed Sebastian with loud cheers and claps.
Professor Long continued, 'Barrington, Emma!'
The blonde girl who had claimed to know the sorting method stepped forwards eagerly and placed the hat over her head.
'SLYTHERIN!' roared the hat more quickly this time, and Emma jogged over to the furthest table, where she was greeted with cheers and a hug from a girl that Gideon presumed was the sister she had mentioned earlier.
'Braithwaite, Jessica!'
'GRYFFINDOR!'
The closest table cheered this time, leaving Gideon to deduce that the second table was for Hufflepuff house, where 'Corrigan, Daniel!' was sorted to next.
'Cromwell, William'
'RAVENCLAW!'
'Dellinger, Kimberly!'
'HUFFLEPUFF!'
'Dixon, Brendan!'
'SLYTHERIN!'
As names were read, Gideon noticed the distribution of houses seemed fairly balanced. He might have thought it was done at random had it not been for the different lengths of time it took for the hat to decide. Some only took seconds while others took longer. One girl, 'Lynch, Amanda' took almost three minutes before she was sorted into Ravenclaw.
'Maxwell, Gideon!' called Professor Long.
He took a deep breath and stepped forwards. It was as though he could feel all of the eyes in the hall watching him. He lifted the hat and sat down as a voice interrupted the stark silence.
'Gideon?' it echoed in surprise from the direction of the Gryffindor table. In the furthest corner of the room, Gideon could just about make out his brother, Anthony, standing with his mouth hanging open. Gideon smiled awkwardly and dropped the hat over his eyes. Under the hat with the light shut out, it was somehow quieter still.
'Hmm,' came another voice. 'What have we here?'
It was the hat. It was speaking into his mind.
'Hmm. Goodness me!'
Apparently, this was not going to be one of the hat's more decisive choices. Or else, the hat was confused by his lack of magic. Was it as Gideon had feared, that this test could see him ejected from Hogwarts before his experience had even begun?
'There's courage, pride, wisdom and loyalty all plain to see,' said the hat, 'And so, one must look deeper.'
Gideon wondered how long he had been sitting there when the hat next spoke, 'It's been a while since I've had a challenge, boy, but there's no hiding from me. Show me, yes. Let's look deeper, yes.'
After a while, Gideon was getting close to ripping the hat off his head. Clearly, it wasn't working and wasn't going to work. Not on a Squib.
'Squib, eh? Ha!' the hat retorted, demonstrating its ability to read Gideon's mind. 'Just sit still and let me do my work, young man.'
Gideon felt sure he was approaching the time the hat had spent on 'Lynch, Amanda' and wasn't keen to outdo it.
'Hmm. I see great depth here. Great potential and something... Something I can't quite reach,' said the hat in a tone of frustration. 'I see a brave heart, a kind soul, a strong mind, a powerful spirit. And something... something else.'
'Something else?' Gideon thought, hoping the hat would hear him.
'Yes. Something else. Something hidden. Something dark? Something... Something beyond me!' the hat replied. 'So, what to do with you? Any preference?'
'You're asking me?' said Gideon into the darkness.
'No? Well, in that case — it better be SLYTHERIN!'
Gideon removed the hat, thankful to be done with it and happy to have passed the first hurdle, after all. And yet, the Great Hall did not seem to share his relief. There were no claps. No cheers. Just odd looks and whispers. Gideon looked to Professor Long, her almost expressionless face studying his before she brought her scroll-filled hands up into applause.
The Slytherin table followed suit, but they didn't seem overly enthusiastic. Perhaps none of them cherished the thought of taking in the loser with the eye patch, Gideon wondered. He walked over to the far-right table while searching for his brother's face in the opposite direction, but if Anthony was there, he had returned to his seat.
'Novak, Samantha!' called Professor Long as Gideon sat down.
'RAVENCLAW!'
'What's your deal, then?' Whispered the blonde girl, Emma Barrington from across the table as they observed the rest of the sorting.
'Owens, Harry'!
'My deal?' Gideon responded, noticing others at the table watching him.
'With what happened with the hat—'
'HUFFLEPUFF!'
'—Are you someone special?' she asked, sweeping her curly locks over her shoulder.
'Hardly,' said Gideon dryly but the girl didn't seem finished with him.
'Price, David!'
'Wait, what do you mean, "what happened with the hat"?'
'GRYFFINDOR!'
'Surely you must know?' Emma teased, apparently enjoying herself.
'Know what?' Gideon asked, growing impatient.
'Romano, Vincenzo!'
'You were under the sorting hat for almost ten minutes! Didn't you realise?' Emma finally revealed.
'SLYTHERIN!'
Gideon was shocked but the breakout of applause at their table distracted him. It was noticeably louder than that which he had received. He politely clapped as a boy with slicked-back dark hair sat opposite him.
Gideon knew he had lost time under the hat, but he had no idea it had been that long. Did that explain his frosty reception? What did it mean? Wasn't it enough that he looked like an extra from a swashbuckler film? Did he really need anything else to make him stand out?
The sorting eventually finished with 'Zabini, Jaden', another Slytherin. Professor Long carried away the stool and hat, and another woman sitting at the centre of the staff table next to an empty chair rose from her seat.
She wore a set of silvery robes which almost matched her cropped white-grey hair. Gideon guessed she must be the new Headmistress. Her golden-rimmed glasses hung from her neck on a matching chain, both sparkling in the candlelight. Suddenly, Gideon recognised her. It was Chief Healer Dandridge from St Mungo's.