Chapter Eight
Ron went back to his compartment to get changed and also to gather his things. Harry meanwhile was getting into his own black school robes. He packed away his other clothes and also put his hat in his trunk. He didn't need it anymore and he more than likely wasn't allowed to wear one in school. After packing he realized just how nervous he was. He decided to take a trip to the bathroom; he wanted to see whether Malfoy's `bodyguard' had done any visible damage. He was relieved to find that there was a very small amount of bruising, which you had to be close to see.
When he went back to his carriage he saw that a lot of people were waiting anxiously at the door of their compartments. A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes time. Please leave your luggage on the train; it will be taken to the school separately." Soon after, the train had started to slow down. Harry lined up in the corridor with the rest of the students. The train finally came to a halt. The students pushed to the door and out on to the tiny platform. Harry shivered in the cold air. He had grown used to the warmth of the train and there was a very cool breeze blowing in from the west.
Harry hadn't realized how dark it was. He looked up and was amazed at the amount of stars that were out. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students and Harry heard a familiar voice. "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?" Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads. "I'm fine." Harry shouted over the noise of the students. Hagrid gave Harry a wide grin. "See told ye, ye'd be fine. C'mon, follow me- any more firs' years? Mind yer step now."
They followed Hagrid down a steep narrow and what Harry thought was a dangerous path. The boy who had been looking for his toad earlier on the platform was now sniffing and Harry could hear slight murmurs and whimpering that sounded like "Gran is going to kill me. Poor Trevor all on his own. What am I going to do?" The narrow path they were struggling to walk on suddenly opened on to the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its many windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers. Many of the students were expressing their feelings of amazement at the sight of Hogwarts. "Hey now, no cursing." Hagrid said, but Harry knew Hagrid was pleased that Hogwarts could have the same impression every time.
A fleet of boats were waiting at the shore for them. Harry climbed into one followed by the boy who had lost his toad. Hermione Granger then climbed in. She looked very apprehensive about the boat, even though the lake was quite calm. Harry smiled reassuringly at her. She looked slightly happier but her expression grew darker when Ron got into the boat. "Forward," Hagrid commanded. The boats didn't rock very much in the water and were quite steady. Suddenly Harry saw a toad beside his foot. He scooped him up. "Here, is this Trevor?" The boy squealed in delight. He took the slimy toad from Harry. "Thanks. My name's Neville. Longbottom. You're Harry Potter. I heard people talking about you on the train." Harry looked away into the lake. He couldn't see anything beyond the blackness. "Heads down!" yelled Hagrid. They all obliged, lowering themselves in the boat as the boat went through a curtain of ivy which hid a wide opening in the cliff face.
They followed a dark passageway until they reached an underground harbour. Neville and Ron were first out of the boat. Harry clambered out onto the rocks and pebbles. As Hermione was getting out she slipped and Harry caught her just before she hit the ground. "Sorry. Thanks," she stammered. Her cheeks were tinged with pink from embarrassment. After helping her to her feet Harry followed the rest of the students who were in turn following \Hagrid. They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door. Harry raised an enormous fist and knocked three times on the castle door.
When the door opened Harry was surprised to see the witch who had been with Dumbledore at the Dursley's. "Here ye go, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid. "Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." She said and without anymore comment she walked in through the double doors. He heard gasps from the other first years as they entered the enormous Entrance Hall, you could have fitted the whole of the Dursley's house in it. There was a magnificent marble staircase facing the door and the floor had designs on it which reminded Harry of Gringotts. Harry felt like his insides were eating themselves as he followed McGonagall, who led them into a chamber that was just off the main hall. "Welcome to Hogwarts," she said scrutinizing them.
She then explained the house system and that there were four houses in which they could be sorted. She told them she was Head of Gryffindor and what was expected of them at the school. "I'll give you a few moments so you can smarten yourselves up." Her eyes roamed the incredibly nervous group, lingering on Neville's cloak which was buttoned under his left ear, Ron's smudged nose and then she looked at Harry who was nervously trying to flatten his hair. She smiled and laughed to herself as she watched his futile attempt. "It never stays down," Harry said to her quite embarrassed. "Nor did your father's." she whispered. She then left the chamber.
Harry looked around at the other students. Some were obviously trying to calm themselves down. Hermione Granger was reciting some spells as some other girls whispered excitedly to each other. Ron was standing with a group of boys he had sat with on the train. Malfoy was looking a bit paler than usual but a smug look came across his face as his eyes met with Harry's. He strolled over with his cronies and stopped mere inches before Harry. "Your head any better," he remarked. Harry was saved from answering by the convenient return of Professor McGonagall.
"Now, form a line," she told them, "and follow me." She led them through the Entrance Hall and they entered the Great Hall through a pair of double doors.
Harry gasped in amazement. He had never seen anything so wonderful. The Great Hall was enormous, about three times as big as the Entrance Hall. Harry examined the roof, making sure there was one as it was enchanted to look like the night sky, its stars sparkling making the Hall all the more splendid. Thousand of candles floated over four enormous wooden tables, illuminating the anxious faces of the students. Harry could hear the murmuring of the other students as they followed Professor McGonagall between two of the giant tables and approached the last table which faced the students. The remaining table was filled with teachers and at the centre of the table; sitting on a high-backed golden chair was Dumbledore. He winked at Harry who smiled back. He was still very nervous, and was apprehensive of making a lot of movement fearing he would throw up.
Professor McGonagall made them face the students with the teachers behind them. She then placed a stool before them and then resting on the stool, a very tattered hat, which looked very out of place among the décor of the Great Hall. Everyone in the hall was staring expectedly at the hat, so Harry followed them. The hat lay silent for a few moments before a rip near the brim of it opened wide like a mouth and the hat began to sing.
When it finished its song, which told the abilities of each house and what kind of students were placed in each house, the whole hall applauded. After the clapping had subsided Professor McGonagall took out a long roll of parchment. "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted."
"Hannah Abbott!" A girl standing behind Harry with blonde pigtails staggered out of the group and took her place on the stool. Everyone waited and after a moment the hat shouted out to the hall. "HUFFLEPUFF!"
She took the hat off quickly and ran to one of the tables, obviously relieved to be out of the spotlight. The list seemed to be endless and Harry's legs felt like jelly. He wondered what would happen if he wasn't sorted and how embarrassing it would be to have to return to the muggle world. He was called back to his senses when he heard the name. "Hermione Granger!" he turned to see Hermione looking very nervous and whispering words of calm to herself. When she took her place on the stool, Harry found that he was extremely anxious to find where Hermione was housed. He secretly hoped that she would be put in the same house as he was, he didn't know why though; he just felt that they had a lot in common. "GRYFFINDOR!" the hat announced.
Hermione took off the hat and walked over to the Gryffindor table. She looked extremely happy and Harry knew that she was hoping for Gryffindor, she had probably heard that Dumbledore had been in that house. More names followed Hermione's. Neville Longbottom was placed in Gryffindor and Malfoy was put in Slytherin. Harry was starting to feel sick now. He tried to take deep breaths but soon realized that there was not enough air in the world to relax him right now.
Then at last, the name that certain people were waiting to hear was shouted out by Professor McGonagall. "Harry Potter!"
As Harry stepped forward he heard the loud whispers and gawping faces.
"Potter, did she say?"
"The Harry Potter?"
He put the hat on and all sound was cut off. He couldn't see the Great Hall anymore. Then he heard a voice in the back of his head. "My, my. It has been a very long time since I've seen a head like yours. Difficult indeed. But brilliant. There is a lot here. And a desire for knowledge, like a craving. Plenty of courage, but where to put you. Hmm….maybe Slytherin." "NO, not Slytherin," thought Harry thinking of Malfoy. "Really, you could go so far. No? Well then, better be GRYFFINDOR!"
Harry relaxed as he heard the last word being shouted. He pulled off the hat and replaced it on the stool. He didn't notice that he was getting the biggest cheer of the night. A boy stood up as Harry neared the table. Harry recognized him as a Weasley. He shook his hand vigorously "Welcome, Welcome to Gryffindor." Harry was quite embarrassed, especially when the twins started dancing on the table, chanting, "We got Potter! We got Potter." The shouts lasted a while before McGonagall set off a noise from her wand that sounded like a gunshot and one of the twins fell off the table. When the laughing had died down, the list of names continued. Harry spotted Hermione just down the table from him. He smiled and gave a small wave. She smiled back and Harry wondered vaguely why the sick feeling in his stomach had not gone by now.
When Ron was called up, he looked very pale. But as soon as he had placed the hat on his head the hat screamed "GRYFFINDOR." Ron joined Harry at the table and his brothers congratulated him. When "Blaise Zabini "was sorted, Dumbledore stood up. Silence fell on the students and Harry felt just how powerful Dumbledore was and how people like Hagrid called him the greatest wizard in the world.
"Welcome to Hogwarts. A few announcements, if you please."
"First years should note that the Forbidden Forest is…well…forbidden," he said laughing at his own choice of words. A few others laughed also.
"I have also been asked by our caretaker, Mr. Filch, to remind you that no magic is allowed in the corridors."
"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term. And finally, I must tell you that this year; the third floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a painful death." He then sat down and Harry and a few others laughed.
"He isn't serious, is he?" he asked the Prefect. "Yes, he is. I would have thought he'd inform the prefects why students are forbidden from an area of the school," he replied with a thoughtful expression. "Hey Percy, pass the potatoes," said Ron from the other side of the table. Harry wondered what on earth was wrong with Ron and when he turned to look at him his mouth fell open. The table which had held empty golden plates and goblets was now groaning under more food than Harry had ever seen. There was roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops, sausages, bacon and steak. The most delicious roast potatoes lay beside bowls of gravy, carrots and ketchup.
Ron was piling his plate with mountains of food while Percy the prefect looked on with disappointment. "Ronald! Didn't our mother teach you to eat properly?" Ron gave him dirty look and Percy sighed.
Harry had never exactly starved but the Dursley's had never let him eat when they were having a nice dinner and he probably had never been adequately fed besides his stay at the Leaky Cauldron. He now felt hungry and started to take some potatoes and roast beef, unlike Ron, who had taken nearly everything there was to offer. Harry didn't eat much compared to everybody else at the table, he filled quite fast because he wasn't used to so much food. Ron had an eating contest with the Irish boy, Seamus, sitting beside him. Everybody laughed when they were finished and they nearly collapsed off their seats. They talked about Quidditch for a while then they moved on to families, Harry had stayed quiet since he had sat down and was prepared not to talk. "Well I'm half and half. My mam's a witch and me dad's a muggle. She didn't confess till after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him," Seamus was saying. Everybody laughed at this. Then Neville started his story.
"Well, I live with my Gran. Nobody thought I was a wizard cause nothing happened when I was younger, like no accidental magic. My great uncle Algie wouldn't believe or accept that I was Muggle. He kept trying to catch me off my guard. He pushed me off Blackpool pier and I nearly drowned. Then when I was eight my great uncle Algie came round for tea. He was dangling me out the window. When my great aunt Enid offered him custard cream he accidentally dropped me and I bounced down the garden and onto the road. They were all really happy. Gran was crying and when I got in here my great uncle Algie bought me Trevor."
Ron told them his first accidental magic with help from his brothers. Then a girl, Lavender Brown, told her story. In the middle of the story Harry heard a very slight buzzing in the back of his head. He spun around in his chair and looked at the High Table. The man named Severus was talking to man in a purple turban. Harry got a burst of pain through his scar; he clapped his hand over his scar. The pain went as quickly as it had come. Fortunately nobody noticed. Percy was talking to another prefect and Ron was looking spellbound by Lavender's story. "Sorry, erm…Percy is it? Who is that teacher? What does he teach?" Percy turned back around and followed Harry's gaze. "Oh, talking to Quirrell, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, well that's Professor Snape. He's the Potions teacher. But everyone knows he wants the Dark Arts position," he said in a whisper, afraid that his voice might carry.
Then the food disappeared to be replaced by dessert. Blocks of ice-cream in every flavor, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle and jelly. Ron immediately started filling his plate again while Harry took some treacle tart. All of a sudden, Neville let out a yelp of surprise. A transparent head could be seen in the middle of a large decorated cake. Harry then realized that it must be a ghost. It slowly rose from the table and then floated over to hover beside Percy. "Hello, Sir Nicholas," said Percy pompously. "Hello Hello. Ah, I see we have some new students. I hope you're going to help Gryffindor win the House Cup this year. Its been so long, Slytherin have won it six years in a row. I…"
"I know who you are!" said Ron suddenly. "You're Nearly Headless Nick." The ghost looked quite affronted. "I prefer Sir Nicholas de Mimsy Porpington, if you plea…" "Nearly headless, how can you be nearly headless?" asked a confused Seamus. "Like this," he said thoroughly annoyed. He seized his left ear and tugged it. His whole head swung off his neck and fell on to his shoulder. It looked like a half decapitation. Everyone at the table was stunned into silence. Sir Nicholas looked pleased at their reactions. "Well, I must be off. There is a meeting of ghosts and I do not wish to be late."
"So does anyone here like football?" asked a boy who's name was Dean Thomas. "What? That game where there's only one ball and you have to put it in the other teams net. No way! Its Quidditch for me. Come on! They don't even use broomsticks!" Ron exclaimed. Dean then went on to explain how valuable football was to Muggles. Then Seamus began to describe Gaelic and Hurling. Nearing the end of the night, Dumbledore stood up and announced that it was time for bed. Percy seemed to be in his element as he gathered the first years around him and ordered them to follow him.
Harry legs felt like lead as they went up the marble staircase and passed through doorways hidden behind sliding panels and hanging tapestries. Harry noticed that the colorful portraits that hung either side of the corridors were moving. Talking and whispering to each other. Some even pointed down at them. Suddenly Harry heard the noise in his head again, much louder and for some reason he ducked and a walking stick flew over his head. "Peeves!" Percy shouted. "A poltergeist," he explained to the first years. A little man with wicked dark eyes and a wide mouth which was now curved in a smile appeared. He then threw another walking stick which hit Neville on the head.
"Away Peeves. Or the Baron will know about this," snapped Percy. Peeves cackled, swooped over them and got ready to throw the remaining sticks at them. Harry's wand was in his pocket. He didn't think he'd have enough time to get to it. He pulled back his robe and thought of a spell he practiced from More Magical Methods. "Accio Wand." He didn't say the words but he focused extremely hard on them, and before he knew it his wand had flown into his hand. He pointed his wand at the falling sticks and shouted "Impedimenta!" The sticks slowed down and everyone moved out of the way. "Well done, Harry. But in the future, NO magic in the corridors," Percy said and continued down the corridor.
Everyone thanked him appreciatively. Obviously nobody had noticed him using wandless magic. Harry grinned, feeling very proud of himself. The way the book had put it, not many wizard could do wandless magic and most of those who could were much older than he was.
At the end of the corridor was a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink dress. "Password?" she boomed. "Caput Draconis." She swung forward to reveal a hole in the wall which they all climbed through. "Welcome to the Gryffindor common room," Percy said. He showed them the different staircases- one to the boy's dormitories and the other to the girl's dormitories. The common room looked very cosy. It was a round room full of squashy armchairs. There was a roaring fire which really added to the atmosphere. The main colors of the room were red and gold. They made their way to their rooms. It was in one of the towers as the spiral staircase suggested. The room contained five four poster beds, which their trunks now rested against. The others got changed into their pajamas and into their beds. Harry got changed but then put on his robe and went back down to the common room. He was tired but didn't feel like sleeping. The common room was empty and silent. He sat down on the couch facing the fire. His mind was on the wandless magic he had just performed.
He thought of all the advantages this gave him. He actually thought about a lot of things. Hogwarts was so different from the life he was used to. It wasn't just the food, it was the atmosphere and also Harry, though still very nervous, felt as if he fitted in. He was there only a few hours but he felt somehow accepted by the castle. He was now lying down on the couch staring absently into the fire. He heard footsteps on the stairs and looked up to see Hermione Granger standing in the doorway. She was dressed in a purple nightdress and looked quite cold. She was startled to see Harry and her cheeks went slightly red. "You should go to bed; a girl told me that the first day is always hard. So you'll need your sleep," she said quietly. "Er, thanks," Harry replied not knowing really what to say. She turned around and returned to her dormitory.
Harry turned back around and soon fell asleep on the couch.
Sorry this took so long. I've been swamped by school. Anyway, hope you like the chapter. It's very similar to the one in PS, I know, but I'll try and change the other chapters without ruining the story. Also my internet keeps breaking so I don't know when next update should be. Enjoy and review.
Take care,
Radagast.
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