Five
"And So It Begins…"
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All characters are creations of Joanne K. Rowling, © 2007, to whom I am deeply indebted. I make no money from any of this. I'm just taking her world and tweaking it a bit.
Note One: *warning nerd alert* I've loved the Harry Potter series ever since I was nine years old (hell I even have a tattoo of the Hogwarts crest!) but I never realized until I started… let's say studying the first book, did I realize that some things didn't quite make sense. Like Sally-Anne Perks' mysterious disappearance and the missing girls for the Gryffindor Girl's dormitory (although I do realize that there isn't always five girls born the same year who are witches). I did some research and found that one of Hermione's dorm mates was named Fay Dunbar (and all we know is she is a Quidditch fan) but there was another girl who wasn't named and described as a ginger. I'll be trying to make the first couple years (if I get that far *crosses fingers*) as canon as possible so the dorm mates will be Fay Dunbar and the ginger… who you'll all meet later on in this chapter. :D
EDITED 06/11/2011: Just some minor edits.
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1 September, 1991
A few days after Hermione's trip to Diagon Alley, an owl had arrived at the house with a package tied to its leg. The package contained a couple pamphlets and an acceptance letter for Maybell's, a prestigious school that was supposedly in Scotland. After looking through all the pamphlets, Hermione was quite impressed with the credibility of the `school.' The pamphlets had included pictures of students in different environments, testimonies from alumni, and information about the school.
"Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee, indeed," Hermione murmured as she and her parents went over the package.
Hermione spent the remainder of the summer reading and rereading the books she had gotten at Diagon Alley, trying to remember as many of the spells and proper pronunciations as she could. The more Hermione read, the more she felt like she was at a disadvantage; she knew that many of the other first year students would be from magical families and know a lot of things that Hermione was just learning. She also read that some witches and wizards looked down on muggleborns and, even though she felt completely sickened by the discrimination, she wanted to prove to those people that she knew just as much as they did. The only thing was that because she wasn't allowed to try the different spells, Hermione had no idea if she was practicing the incantations right or not. In fact, Hermione often had dreams of being at Hogwarts and being laughed at for being the only student not able to do the spells correctly because she learned them wrong.
Despite that drawback, Hermione did her best with the books she had bought - although she was a bit miffed that her parents hadn't allowed her to buy more when they went to Diagon Alley. The books gave her all the information she needed to know (she found out that the wizard You-Know-Who was called Lord Voldemort and that he had been one of the wizards who looked down on muggleborns), but they just skimmed the surface and didn't go in depth. That left Hermione feeling unsatisfied, frustrated, and wanting to know more.
Hermione's favourite book by far was Hogwarts, A History. She loved reading about the castle and all of its enchantments and couldn't wait to see the Great Hall's bewitched ceiling for herself. By the time the morning of 1 September rolled around, Hermione had read Hogwarts, A History so many times that she felt she knew all there was to know about the school without actually having been there.
Mrs. Granger made a big breakfast that morning, cooking all of Hermione's favourites. When Hermione came down and saw the food laid out on the dining room table (an area they used for holiday and family dinners), she had to blink and look away so Viola wouldn't see the tears start to form. She was excited for Hogwarts, there was no doubt about that, but it would be extremely hard leaving her parents and Viola.
Hermione sat down beside Viola and helped herself to some bacon and eggs. Viola had been unusually quiet that week, not going out to play with her friends and choosing to spend all of her free time with Hermione. Hermione didn't mind at all, and was amused when Viola demanded that she read Hogwarts, A History to her.
"You have to send me a letter and tell me all about the ride to Hogwarts," she said for the fifth time, grabbing more sausages. "And the Great Hall's ceiling."
"I will, Vi," Hermione promised, digging into her breakfast.
"And what house you get sorted into," she added. "Oh! And how the castle changes, you have to tell me about that!"
Hermione laughed and shook her head at her little sister. Viola had been just as excited as Hermione about Hogwarts, convinced that she would be going there when she turned eleven. Hermione quickly learned not to say anything about the probability of her not being a witch because it always made Viola get angry and end up throwing a tantrum.
"Good morning, Hermione," Mr. Granger said, coming into the room with a cup of coffee. He bent down and placed a kiss on her forehead and then sat down, filling his own plate with food. "How are you feeling?"
"Nervous," Hermione answered honestly, "but excited."
Mr. Granger nodded, "Do you have everything packed up?"
"Since yesterday morning," she stated. "I really want to wear my uniform to the station though."
"You know you can't do that."
"I know, I know," Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "But I am going to change as soon as the train leaves."
Mrs. Granger entered the room, also giving Hermione a hug and a kiss on the head. She sat down and only put a couple strips of bacon on her plate, not saying much. Mrs. Granger had been unusually quiet as well this week, and always looked like she was a few seconds away from tears.
"So, where is Platform Nine and Three-Quarters?" Hermione asked.
"What?" Mr. Granger laughed. "There's no such platform at Kings Cross."
"But that's what my ticket says," Hermione said slowly, starting to feel panicked.
"I'm sure we'll find it," Mrs. Granger quickly reassured. "Maybe you can only see it if you know about it, like the Leaky Cauldron."
"That's probably it," Hermione said, licking her lips. She didn't feel hungry anymore as she tried to remember if there were instructions on how to get to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters on her train ticket.
They finished breakfast and Hermione and Mr. Granger carried her trunk down to the car. Hermione ran back up to her room, double checking to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. On her way back downstairs, she glanced back at her bedroom and paused. It was hard for her to think that she wouldn't be back until Christmas. With one last longing look at her bookshelf (there wasn't enough room for her novels in her trunk) she hurried down the stairs, the ticket to the Hogwarts Express clutched tightly in her hand.
"Are you ready?" Mrs. Granger asked as Hermione stepped out onto the lawn, her eyes slightly red.
Hermione nodded and looked back at the house before getting into the car. She swallowed and rested her forehead against the window watching as Oxfordshire, and eventually the countryside, passed by. As Mr. Granger sped towards London, her palms started to sweat, growing clammier the closer they got and her stomach began jumping nervously. There wasn't much talking in the car; no one was in the mood to talk as the reality that Hermione really was leaving began to weigh in for everyone.
In what seemed like no time at all, they were there. Mr. Granger found a parking spot and went to go get a trolley for Hermione's trunk. As they walked into Kings Cross Station, Hermione quickly scanned the platform signs, her stomach dropping when she couldn't find a Nine and Three-Quarters.
Mrs. Granger, who was watching Hermione, sighed. "Maybe it's near Platform Nine?" she suggested.
Hermione nodded and pushed the trolley after her parents. She had never been in Kings Cross Station before so she trusted her parents knew where to go. "What happens if you can't find the train, Minny?" Viola asked.
"I don't know," Hermione said, not wanting to think about that possibility.
Mrs. Granger stopped by the barricade between Platforms Nine and Ten and looked around. "Do you see it?" she asked.
Hermione looked around, trying to find some kind of indication that a magical platform was nearby. After a few minutes, she sighed and shook her head. Everything looked normal. Mr. Granger asked to see the ticket and she handed it to him, leaving her trolley by Mrs. Granger so she could walk around the platform.
An oddly dressed old woman caught Hermione's attention through the crowd. She watched as the old woman walked towards her then turned to a young boy around Hermione's age. Hermione's eyes widened when she saw he was pushing a trolley with a trunk that looked similar to hers.
"Are you sure, Neville?" she asked.
"I've got my toad right here, gran," he replied, patting a lump in his jacket pocket. Hermione's eyes widened as they walked closer to where she was. She remembered on her Hogwarts list that students were allowed to bring an owl, a cat, or a toad to Hogwarts.
"Excuse me!" she exclaimed, going up to them. They paused to look at her and Hermione suddenly lost her bravado, unsure if they really were headed for Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. "I, um…"
"First year," the old woman stated. Hermione nodded and she sighed. "Alright, follow me. This is Neville's first year as well."
The round faced boy flushed. "Hello," he said quietly.
"Hi," Hermione replied. She followed the old woman to where her parents were waiting. They were looking at her with a strange expression as the old woman stopped in front of the barricade between Platforms Nine and Ten.
"You go through this right here to get to the Hogwarts Express," she grunted. "S'long as you aren't afraid to crash into it, you'll go right through."
"Thank you," Hermione said, grabbing her trolley. She was suddenly hyper aware of her family and Neville watching her as she took a deep breath and began walking towards the barricade, picking up speed as she got closer. Her eyes closed automatically when she got about three feet away from it, bracing herself for impact.
No impact came. Hermione blinked her eyes open as she stopped walking and stared up at the gleaming red train, her mouth dropping open. Viola came up beside Hermione, her eyes as wide as saucers as she stared around her. "That was so cool!" she gushed.
Hermione looked around as Mr. and Mrs. Granger came through the barricade and went to Hermione and Viola, looking up at the train in awe. The platform was packed with students as they grouped together with their friends and family. Hermione looked back at the barricade just as a tall teenage boy came through. He adjusted his horn-rimmed glasses and ran a hand through his flaming red hair, looking around the platform just as another boy with the same hair came through, bumping into him roughly with his trolley.
"Fred!" The boy snapped, flushing as some of the other students around him began to snigger.
"Oops," the other boy, who was obviously his brother, said. The expression on his face made it clear that he wasn't sorry at all and was holding in laughter. "Sorry, Perce." Hermione rolled her eyes as an identical red head came through barricade and also bumped into the brother, causing him to snap yet again.
She followed her parents as they made their way through the crowd towards the middle of the train, finding an empty compartment. Mr. and Mrs. Granger heaved her trunk up into the compartment and stored it in the luggage rack underneath the bench seat. Hermione followed them up and looked around, giving a small sigh. "I guess this is it," she said.
Viola burst out crying and made her way into the compartment, wrapping her arms around Hermione's waist. "I don't want you to go!" she sobbed into Hermione's shirt.
"Vi," Hermione sighed, hugging her back. "I'll be back for Christmas."
"But I'll miss you!"
Hermione felt her own tears start to form. "I'll miss you too," she sniffed. Mrs. Granger hugged her once Viola let go and Hermione began to openly cry.
"We are so proud of you," Mrs. Granger whispered, kissing her forehead. "And we love you very much."
"I love you too, mum," Hermione replied, snuggling into her embrace before drawing back. Mr. Granger stepped up and gave her a big hug and kiss as a man's voice suddenly echoed throughout the platform, announcing that the train would be leaving in five minutes. Hermione pulled back from her father and wiped her eyes as her family exited the compartment. She quickly went over to the window and pulled it open so she could talk with them.
"Make sure you write often, Hermione," Mrs. Granger said, using a handkerchief to dab away some tears.
"I will," Hermione promised. Compartment doors were being slammed shut and people were scurrying to get onto the train. Parents crowded around where Viola and her parents were, waving goodbye as the train slowly began to move. Hermione leaned out the window and waved, not going back in until her parents were out of sight.
Hermione sighed and closed the window, wiping away the stray tears that escaped. She made sure the compartment door was locked before pulling out her trunk and opening it, reaching in and grabbing her uniform. She quickly changed, stuffing her other clothes into her trunk, and slamming it shut before shoving it back underneath the seat. After unlocking the door, Hermione sat down by the window and watched as the train raced past the countryside.
"E-excuse me."
Hermione looked up and saw the pudgy, round faced Neville peering into the compartment, looking distraught.
"Neville, right?" Hermione asked, sitting up straight.
"Yes, Neville Longbottom."
"Nice to meet you," she said. "Come in, you don't need to just stand there. I'm Hermione Granger by the way."
Neville looked a little surprised and Hermione realized she had said that all extremely fast. She shifted, telling herself to calm down as Neville entered the compartment. "What's wrong, Neville?"
"Have you seen a toad around?" he asked.
"A toad?" He nodded. "No, I haven't. I thought I heard you tell your grandmother you had it."
Neville turned beet red. "I did," he cried, "but he got away as soon as I got on the train!"
"It's okay!" Hermione said quickly, trying to calm him down. "Why don't I help you find him?"
"Really?" Neville's face brightened up as his eyes widened. "You'd do that?"
"Why not?" she shrugged. "He obviously means a lot to you."
"Thank you," he blubbered.
Hermione nodded and looked away, thinking that Neville was coming off a little on the pathetic side. "Where did you last have him?"
"I had him on the platform…" Neville trailed off, horror seeping into his expression. Hermione braced herself. "I left him at the station!" he wailed, putting his head into his hands. "I lost him for good!"
"Calm down, Neville!" Hermione said. "I'm sure he's on the train."
"It's no use," he said miserably, "he's gone."
"Well you won't find him with that attitude," Hermione snapped. She rubbed her forehead. "How about I go check the bathrooms and you check in some of the compartments?"
"B-but there'll be other people in there…"
Hermione rolled her eyes, "Just ask if they've seen a toad."
"Okay."
Hermione got up and headed towards the bathrooms as Neville knocked on the compartment door beside the one they had been in. She looked around the small room, checking in the little crevices in case the toad might be in there. Not seeing Trevor anywhere, she headed out of the bathroom, glancing at her reflection in the mirror as she passed by. She stopped and turned to face the mirror fully. Hermione had forgotten to tuck her black tie into the grey knitted v-neck jumper and quickly did so, making sure that the tie was centered. She fixed the collar of her crisp white buttoned shirt and made sure that her robes were smooth. Running a hand over the embroidered Hogwarts crest on the left side of her robe, she couldn't stop the huge grin that surfaced even if she tried.
Hermione glanced around the bathroom one last time before she exited. She saw Neville go into a compartment down the hall and went to go join him when a familiar voice made her stop.
"Hermione?"
Hermione turned around and gasped as she stared the black haired girl. Her long hair was pulled up into a high ponytail and she was changed into her robes as well. Her large brown eyes were huge as she looked at Hermione in shock. "Sally-Anne?"
"Hermione!" Sally-Anne squealed and ran to her, hugging Hermione.
"What are you doing here?" Hermione asked, hugging her back. Sally-Anne Perks had been Hermione's next door neighbour for about five years now and she and her twin sister Susan were the closest thing to friends that Hermione ever had.
"What am I doing here?" Sally-Anne asked. "What are you doing here? I didn't know you were a witch."
Hermione released her and shook her head. "I didn't until mid-July. I didn't know you were a witch either! Where's Susan?"
Sally-Anne's face fell at the mention of her twin. "I, um…" she said sadly, "I was the only one to get the letter."
"Oh no," Hermione felt her heart go out to Sally-Anne. She and Susan were always extremely close. "I'm sorry."
Sally-Anne nodded. "Thanks," she said. "I didn't know how I was going to make it, but now that I know you're going to Hogwarts too..."
Hermione nodded and gave her friend another hug as Neville came running up behind her. "Hermione," he said miserably, "no one has seen Trevor."
"We only checked this part of the train, Neville," Hermione reminded, pulling back from Sally-Anne. "Oh. Neville, this is Sally-Anne Perks."
"Hi," he said dejectedly.
"Hello," she waved. "Who's Trevor?"
Neville looked too upset to talk so Hermione quickly filled Sally-Anne in. "He's a toad that Neville's misplaced."
"Oh," Sally-Anne said. "I can help look for him if you want."
Neville looked like he was about to cry as he glanced at Sally-Anne. "Thank you!" he exclaimed. "Thank you both, really!"
"Let's go check the front of the train," Hermione suggested. Neville and Sally-Anne nodded and Hermione led the way to the front. Compartment by compartment they asked the students if they had seen Trevor, Neville getting more and more upset as they kept getting rejected.
"I'll go check the girl's bathroom," Sally-Anne announced. "Go check the boy's, Neville."
Neville nodded and went into the bathroom as Sally-Anne went into the girl's. Hermione looked around the hall as she waited for them. Sally-Anne came out and shook her head, Neville joining them looking even more miserable. "There's still the end of the train," Hermione said hopefully.
The trio made their way to the end of the train. Students were starting to get rambunctious and coming and going from compartments, pushing and shoving each other playfully. Hermione scrunched up her nose as two older boys rushed past them, nearly knocking poor Neville to the ground, "How old are they, honestly!"
Hermione offered to get check the bathroom as Sally-Anne started knocking on compartment doors and Neville went into the boy's bathroom. After Hermione came out, she saw Neville exit one compartment looking upset. "No luck?"
"No," he wailed. "We've checked every compartment on the train!"
"He'll show up, Neville," Sally-Anne said. "Maybe we should just double check the compartments?"
Hermione looked at the compartment that Neville just came out of and walked towards it. "I already checked that one," Neville protested. Hermione ignored him and slid open the door without knocking. Two boys were in it, one with unruly black hair and glasses and another boy with flaming red hair and freckles. She could tell that the red haired boy was another brother of the three Hermione saw at the station.
"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she asked, her voice trailing off when she saw the red haired boy had his wand up in the air. A rat was sitting on his lap.
"We've already told him we haven't seen it," he snapped, sounding annoyed.
"Are you doing magic?" Hermione asked, ignoring his tone. She felt a flutter of anticipation, remembering Mr. Ollivanders' warning about doing magic outside of Hogwarts. "I don't think-"
But the boy already started waving his wand as he spoke some sort of weird rhyme. Hermione watched, unimpressed, as nothing happened. "Are you sure that's a real spell?" she asked. She couldn't remember reading it in the books she had read. The boys stared at her. "Well, it's not very good is it? Of course, I haven't been able to try any spells myself because of the underage wizard law but I have practiced how to say the spells correctly. I've actually learnt all of the spells off by heart, but I just hope it'll be enough. Nobody but me is magical in my family, you see. Well, that we know of." At the blank stares she received from the two boys, Hermione realized that she had said all of that and hadn't introduced herself, "I'm Hermione Granger by the way. Who are you?"
"Ron Weasley," the red haired boy muttered.
"Harry Potter," the black haired boy said. Hermione stared at him, something about him looked so familiar but she couldn't place where she'd seen him before. Neville made a little squeaking noise and he stared at the boy.
"Are you really?" Hermione asked, finally registering that he had said Harry Potter, her eyes immediately looking for his scar. She saw the lightning shaped scar behind his bangs and then looked away, feeling guilty for staring. "I bought a few extra books to read up on wizarding history and you're in every one of them."
"I am?" Harry asked, looking a little dazed.
"You didn't know?" Hermione could tell she was making him feel a little uncomfortable and glanced at Neville, who was shifting back and forth. "Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad."
Hermione smiled at them and grabbed Neville, pulling him out of the compartment. Sally-Anne was waiting for them out in the hall. "What took so long?"
"One of the boys was trying to do magic," Hermione explained.
"But I thought you weren't allowed to do magic out of Hogwarts," Sally-Anne said with wide eyes.
"So did I, but his spell didn't work. I don't even think that it was a real spell."
"That was Harry Potter," Neville said softly.
"Harry Potter was in there?" Sally-Anne asked. "What did he look like?"
"He looked like a regular boy," Hermione replied shrugging. "He didn't even know he was in so many books!"
"Wow," she whispered, peeking into the compartment. "So, Neville, any other place you want to check for Trevor?"
"Maybe we should take a break," Hermione interrupted. "We've been searching for a few hours now and we should rest. Maybe he'll turn up."
"And if he doesn't?" Neville asked, going back into his dejected mood.
"We'll split up and have one last look around the train."
As the trio made their way back to Hermione's compartment, the students had gotten more rowdy which in turn frustrated Hermione. "This isn't a playground," she grumbled to herself as she saw the red haired twins cackling and dancing around some sort of box. They finally made it to the compartment and she sat down, stretching.
"Do you really know all the first year spells off by heart?" Neville asked.
"Of course I do," Hermione replied simply. She raised an eyebrow at Neville and Sally-Anne's shocked expressions. "Don't you two?"
"No," they chorused.
"Well, there's nothing wrong with extra knowledge." Hermione bit her lip and looked outside, realizing she had probably made a fool of herself in front of Harry and Ron.
<><><>
It took Neville an hour to get worked up and become convinced that he had lost Trevor forever. Hermione rolled her eyes. "We'll probably be at Hogwarts soon, did you want to split up and look around one last time?"
Neville nodded. The three split up, Sally-Anne taking the front of the train, Neville the middle, and Hermione the rear. It was pure chaos back there, students running up and down the corridor, yelling, and shoving. Hermione glared at one teenager who had run over her foot, barely even stopping to apologize before running after his friends. They were so worked up that they barely even listened to Hermione whenever she stopped someone to ask if they'd seen Trevor.
As she neared the compartment where Harry and Ron had been in, she heard a loud howling sound coming from it and then a thud. Hermione frowned and made her way over to go check out the noise when the door slid open and three boys came barrelling out of the compartment, shoving Hermione roughly to the side. "Hey!" she yelled after them, but they ignored her.
She stomped to the compartment and entered it, seeing Harry standing up looking flushed and Ron picking up his rat by the tail. "What has been going on in here?" she asked furiously.
"I think he's been knocked out," Ron said to Harry, totally ignoring Hermione. "No - I don't believe it - he's gone back to sleep."
Hermione huffed angrily as they continued to ignore her and talk about one of the boys that had run out of the compartment. A few minutes later, Ron finally noticed she was there. "Can we help you with something?"
She bristled at his tone. "You haven't been fighting in here have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get to Hogwarts!"
"Scabbers has been fighting, not us!" Ron said, scowling at her. She noticed that he had a huge smudge of dirt on his nose, which -for some reason - irritated her even more. "Would you mind leaving while we change?"
"Fine," she snapped. "By the way you've got dirt on your nose, did you know?"
Hermione turned on her heel and stormed out of the compartment as a voice echoed through the train. "We'll be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes. Please leave your luggage on the train; it will be taken to the school separately."
Hermione groaned and made her way back to her compartment. Neville was in there with his head down. "Sorry, Neville," she apologized. "I couldn't find Trevor. You wouldn't believe how rude people are back there."
"S'ok," he mumbled. "Thanks for helping me look for him. I appreciate it." Sally-Anne appeared in the compartment a moment later and shook her head.
The train slowed down and stopped and Hermione, Neville, and Sally-Anne made their way off the train, trying not to be pushed down by the older students rushing to get off. They stepped out onto the darkened platform and Hermione shivered, wrapping her robes around her stocking covered legs. The night air was chilly.
"Firs' years!" A loud, booming voice carried over the mumble of other students. A light bobbed over the heads of everyone. Hermione turned and gasped at the man the voice belonged to. He was a very large and very wide man with a black bushy mane. Hermione felt Sally-Anne shrink into her side as she stared at the giant as well. "Firs' years over here! C'mon follow me! Firs' years! Mind yer step, now!"
They made their way down a steep, narrow path, slipping and sliding as the fell in behind Harry and Ron. Neville was behind them and kept grabbing onto them as he lost his balance.
"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," the giant called.
Hermione looked up as they turned around a corner and gasped at the sight. They were on the edge of a lake and, perched on a cliff on the other side, was an enormous castle. The moon cast the castle in a silvery light, making it look like it had been made of marble. Hermione heard other first years `ooh' and `aah' as they caught site of the castle as well.
The giant instructed them to pick from one of many boats that were lined up at the dock. Neville grabbed Hermione before she could do anything and dragged her into a boat with Harry and Ron. Hermione looked back as Sally-Anne got into a boat with the same three boys that had pushed Hermione into the wall on the train.
"Everyone in," the giant shouted. "FORWARD!"
Hermione gasped and grabbed the side of the boat as it lurched forward and started going towards the cliff which the castle was on. Everyone stared up in a hushed awe as the castle loomed over them. Off in the distance they could hear the faint voices of the other students echo through the night air.
"Heads down!" Hermione jumped at the giant's voice. She hadn't realized they were so close to the cliff and ducked her head as the boat went through a curtain of ivy and into a wide opening and down a dark tunnel. Hermione had to guess that they were beneath the castle now as they reached some sort of dock.
Hermione climbed out of the boat and was helping Neville when the giant's voice boomed, "Oy, you there! Is this your toad?"
Neville's eyes went wide as he grabbed the toad from the giant. "Trevor!"
Hermione rolled her eyes and shared a look with Sally-Anne. "Oh, Neville," she sighed. He didn't acknowledge either of the girls, too busy coddling the poor toad. Hermione watched as the giant raised his huge fist and knocked on the castle door.
The door swung open almost immediately and Professor McGonagall stepped through, dressed in her emerald green robes, and examined the students in front of her. Hermione smiled at her when she caught her gaze and she gave a small, brief smile before turning to the giant. "Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."
The giant, Hagrid, nodded and made his way back onto the boats. Professor McGonagall swung the door open wide and led the students into the Entrance Hall. Hermione gasped at the hall before her. The lit torches on the stone walls basked everyone in a warm glow and illuminated the beautiful medieval décor. Hermione craned her neck to look up at the ceiling as she followed the crowd but was unable to see it clearly. Professor McGonagall led them into a small chamber off the hall and waited until they crowded in. Hermione felt Sally-Anne and Neville press themselves into her and she swallowed, wishing they were back out in the Entrance Hall.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall began. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses." As Professor McGonagall explained all about the houses and the House Cup, Hermione felt Sally-Anne clutch her arm. Hermione turned and met her fearful eyes, understanding immediately what she meant. She had been so relieved that she found someone she knew on the train that she didn't stop to think that they might be sorted into different houses.
"There's no way," Hermione whispered. "I'm sure we'll both be in Ravenclaw."
"I hope so," Sally-Anne murmured.
"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." Professor McGonagall concluded, looking at Neville whose robe was somehow fastened underneath his left ear.
"Oh Neville," Sally-Anne rolled her eyes and reached over to fix it for him. She finished and went back to Hermione's side, muttering to herself about what type of test the Sorting Ceremony would have. The other first years were fidgeting as well, all of them having a look of pure terror on their faces as they waited. Hermione forced herself to remain calm, reminding herself over and over again that Amelia said the Sorting Ceremony wasn't anything to be worried about.
Professor McGonagall returned shortly after, instructing them to get into a line and then leading them through the Entrance Hall and into the Great Hall. Hermione felt her breath catch at the sight. Thousands upon thousands of candles floated magically above four very long tables as Professor McGonagall led them down the middle isle. Hermione was briefly aware of all the eyes on her but didn't mind as she looked up, her heart skipping a beat when she saw the enchanted ceiling she had read so much about.
"No way," Sally-Anne gasped, looking up as well.
"It's enchanted to look like the sky outside," Hermione whispered to her, unable to stop from grinning. "I read about it in Hogwarts, a History."
They stopped at the front of the hall as Professor McGonagall placed an extremely dirty hat on a stool. Hermione stared at it, confused when the drone of voices in the Great Hall stopped, until a seam ripped open and the hat burst into a long monologue. The entire hall broke into loud applause when it finished and Hermione blinked, amazed at the magical hat.
Professor McGonagall stepped forward and cleared her throat, the hall going quiet instantly. "When I call your name, you will step forward and place the hat on your head," she instructed, unrolling a piece of parchment. "Abbot, Hannah!"
Hermione watched as one by one the students were called forward and placed the hat on their head. The hall seemed to wait with baited breath until the hat called out what house they were sorted into. Sometimes it would be almost instantaneous and other times it would take a moment.
"Granger, Hermione!"
Hermione took a deep breath as she stepped through the crowd and up to the stool, trying to hide her trembling hands. Professor McGonagall gave her a reassuring smile as she sat down on the stool and placed the hat on her head.
"Hmm," a small voice drawled in Hermione's ear, making her jump. "My first choice would be to put you in Ravenclaw… but I can see now that that isn't where you belong. Intelligent, yes, terribly so, but I can see other qualities in you that far outweigh that. Bravery and courage that others could only dream of having… yes, the place where you belong is GRYFFINDOR!"
It all happened so fast that Hermione didn't realize the hat had yelled out the house until she heard clapping. She dazedly pulled the hat off her head and made her way over to the table on the far left, smiling self-consciously as people welcomed her. She sat down beside the red haired boy with horn-rimmed glasses she had seen on the platform, positive he was a relative of Ron. He grinned widely at her and clapped her on her back. "Welcome to Gryffindor!" he exclaimed. "I'm Percy Weasley and am the Gryffindor Prefect so if you have any questions at all don't hesitate to ask."
"Thank you," Hermione smiled back and turned to watch the rest of the Sorting Ceremony, feeling as though a weight had been lifted off her chest. Neville was called up and placed into Gryffindor as well. Hermione cheered loudly with the rest of her house as he stumbled his way to the table and sat down across from her. Percy leaned over and shook Neville's hand, giving him the same speech he had had given Hermione.
She turned her head to hide her amused smile and glanced up at Sally-Anne, her smile leaving her as soon as she saw her. Poor Sally-Anne looked terrified as she waited for her name to be called. When `Patil, Parvati' was sorted into Gryffindor she looked like she was about to faint.
"Perks, Sally-Anne!"
Hermione and Neville shared a worried look as they watched her stumble up to the stool. Professor McGonagall placed the hat onto Sally-Anne's head and a house was immediately called out.
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
Hermione's eyes widened as she watched Sally-Anne hurry to the Hufflepuff table, putting on a horribly fake smile as the other Hufflepuff's welcomed her. Percy, who was examining Hermione's expression, patted her arm reassuringly. "She's a friend of yours?" Hermione nodded, not trusting herself to speak. "Don't worry, it can be a little difficult to keep friendships between different houses, but it's not impossible."
"Thanks, Percy," Hermione smiled.
"Potter, Harry!"
"Potter?"
"She didn't just say Potter, did she?"
"It can't be him."
"No, it is! It's Harry Potter!"
Hermione glanced around as the Great Hall erupted into quiet murmuring. Percy went as straight as board and clutched his fork so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Even Neville seemed to hold his breath as the hat was placed on Harry's head. Glancing up at the teacher's table, Hermione was surprised to see that all the teachers except for one were leaning forward anxiously. A hushed silence fell over the hall as they waited for the hat to sort Harry.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the hat straightened up and shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"
The Gryffindor table erupted into thunderous applause, many of the older students standing up and cheering as Harry quickly made his way over to the table. The red haired twins were chanting "We got Potter! We got Potter!" as Percy stood up and grabbed his hand, shaking it vigorously while directing Harry to sit down beside him. Harry glanced around the table with an embarrassed grin as Professor McGonagall told them to quiet down. He caught Hermione's gaze and gave a shy smile, and she was once again struck with the notion that she had met him somewhere before.
There were only a few students left to be sorted now. Percy was leaning on the table staring at them, murmuring, "Come on, Ron," as the young redhead was called up to the stool. The hat shouted "GRYFFINDOR!" a second later and both Percy and Harry clapped loudly as he made his way to the table. Hermione's applause was less enthusiastic as she watched him sit down beside Harry; she didn't like Ron's attitude towards her very much.
The Sorting Ceremony wrapped up and Hermione stared down at her plate, just realizing how hungry she really was. She hadn't had time to eat on the train since she was so busy looking for Trevor and was beginning to feel a little lightheaded.
At the head table an elderly man stood up and spread his arms, Hermione recognizing him instantly as Professor Dumbledore. Like Harry, Professor Dumbledore was mentioned in all of her books, but unlike Harry there were moving pictures of the headmaster to accompany the paragraphs.
"Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts," he said, his blue eyes twinkling merrily. "Before we begin our feast I have just a few words I'd like to say. Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"
He sat back down and Hermione stared at him, wondering if that was some sort of spell while everyone else clapped. "Is he a bit mad?" she heard Harry ask Percy. She didn't hear his answer however because suddenly the empty dishes that were in front of her were filled with delicious looking food. A collective gasp from all the first years went through the hall as everyone started filling their plates.
Hermione reached over and piled chicken breasts, stuffing, potatoes and other vegetables on her plate, almost moaning when she took the first bite. Her mother's cooking was always very good but this feast was something else. She grabbed her goblet and poured an orange looking liquid from a pitcher into it. It looked like orange juice but had a slightly darker colour to it. Not sure what it was, Hermione discretely brought the goblet up to her nose and sniffed the beverage. "Percy," she said setting the goblet down, "what is this?"
Percy glanced over at her. "That's pumpkin juice," he stated simply.
"Pumpkin juice?" Hermione gasped, grabbing her goblet and staring into it.
"Yes," Percy said slowly. "Oh! You're a muggleborn, aren't you?"
Hermione felt her face heat up as Neville turned to look at her as well. "I am," she said.
"It's really good," Neville offered, taking a drink out of his own goblet.
Hermione slowly took a sip and was surprised to find that the pumpkin juice tasted almost exactly like orange juice but was just a bit tangier. "It is," she agreed, taking longer sip. She set the goblet back down and went back to her dinner.
As the plates cleared and a wide variety of desserts appeared in place of the food, the talk of the table turned to families. Hermione listened for a bit as Neville told a long winded story about his family trying to figure out if he was a wizard or not and then turned to Percy. "Do lessons start tomorrow?"
"Bright and early," Percy nodded. "You'll be getting your timetables tomorrow at breakfast."
"I do hope they start right away," Hermione said excitedly. "Everything I've read sounds so interesting, like Transfiguration and Charms and Potions…"
"You won't be thinking Potions is interesting after your first lesson," Percy interrupted with a short laugh. Hermione frowned at him, waiting for him to explain. "The subject itself is intriguing but Snape just makes it horrible."
Hermione was just going to ask what Percy meant when Harry caught his attention. She waited for Percy's attention to return to her so they could continue their conversation when a tap on her shoulder made her turn. Another first year girl with long, curly ginger hair sat on the other side of her. As Hermione turned to look at her fully, she gave a bright smile. "So what are you?" she asked with an Irish accent.
"Excuse me?" Hermione asked, not expecting the blunt question.
She nodded towards the other first years who were still discussing their families. "Muggleborn, half-half…?" she coaxed.
"Oh, I'm, uh, muggleborn." Hermione answered. "You?"
"My entire family is magical," she said smiling again. "I'm Shae Bevern."
"I'm Hermione Granger," Hermione said, smiling back. Percy was still talking to Harry so she'd just talk to someone else about their upcoming lessons. "What lesson are you most excited for?"
Shae scrunched up her nose. "None of them, honestly," she replied. "I guess Charms would be cool, but I'm not that interested in school."
Hermione's smile faltered as she stopped herself from going on about the different lessons and what she had read over the summer. There was an awkward pause as Shae stared at her, waiting for her to say something. Luckily Hermione didn't get the chance to reply because the desserts disappeared and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet, reminding the students that the Forbidden Forest was off limits to everyone.
"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 most painful death."
Hermione's eyes widened and she turned to Percy. "He cannot be serious," she declared. "Right?"
"Seems like he is," he replied gravely.
"But this is a school!" she protested as Professor Dumbledore dismissed everyone. "There shouldn't be such dangerous things in a school!"
"Just stay away from the third floor corridor and you'll be fine," Percy advised standing up. "First years follow me! I'll show you how to get to the Gryffindor common room!"
Hermione stood up and joined Neville, Ron, Harry, and Shae as they followed Percy up winding staircases and through doorways only to have more staircases to climb. Hermione yawned loudly, wanting nothing more than to just climb into bed and sleep. She could tell from the slouched postures of everyone else that they felt the same way.
Finally Percy stopped in front of a portrait of a large woman in a pink dress on the seventh floor. Hermione forced herself to pay attention as the lady examined Percy. "Password?" she asked in a shrill voice. It amazed Hermione at how fast she became accustomed to the portraits talking and interacting with the students just from their walk up.
"Caput Draconis," Percy said. The Fat Lady nodded and the portrait swung open revealing a round hole in the wall. Percy led them through it and into a cozy looking common room filled with squishy red armchairs and sofas. Red and gold tapestries hung from the walls and a warm fire was going in the fireplace. It felt quite homey.
"The boy's dormitory is the last door up the stairs on your left, the girl's is the same on your right," Percy instructed, looking quite pleased with himself as he explained it to them. "It's been a long day so I suggest you go to bed right away as classes start tomorrow at nine-o'clock. You'll get your timetables at breakfast."
Hermione mumbled a goodnight to Neville as she made her way up the stairs on her right with Shae and three other girls. At the top of the stairs, they walked through the door and into a circular room that had five four poster beds with red velvet curtains. "I call the bed closest to the bathroom!" Shae called, hurrying to the bed.
"That isn't fair!" Another girl with blonde hair argued, hurrying over to the same bed and glaring at Shae.
"Look there's a trunk already there," a girl with dark brown hair tiredly pointed out from beside Hermione. "Whoever's trunk that is gets the bed."
"I agree," Hermione added. Shae and the other girl turned to glare at her. "Our trunks are already placed by the beds. It'd be a waste of time rearranging them."
The blonde glanced at the trunk and scoffed, "Well it isn't my trunk," she said, looking around the room for her own. She found it and groaned. "It's the furthest bed away from the bathroom!"
Hermione glanced at the brunette and grinned as she rolled her eyes. She looked around and found her trunk was placed by the bed closest to the door leading out of the dormitory. Opening her trunk, she quickly put on her pyjamas and collapsed onto her bed.
"I guess we should introduce ourselves," the brunette said as she was changing. It was her trunk that was placed by the bed closest to the bathroom. "I'm Fay Dunbar."
"Hermione Granger," Hermione called from her bed.
"Shae Bevern." Shae said, sitting on her bed which was next to Hermione's.
"Lavender Brown," the blonde girl who argued with Shae grumbled, shooting a glare at Fay.
"I'm Parvati Patil," a pretty Indian girl with long black hair said softly, heading into the bathroom.
"Nice to meet you all," Fay yawned, getting under her covers. "Now that that's dealt with, good night."
Hermione laughed and snuggled into her pillow, sleep claiming her instantly.
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End Notes: Woo! Another chapter down. I had a lot of fun writing this, all of the characters are so much fun to write, especially Percy.
Before everyone starts, I know that you all are going to be like "WHY DIDN'T HERMIONE RECOGNIZE HARRY?!" Please remember that it has been over a month since she spotted him and while the zoo incident was traumatic, more important things took place afterwards. But don't worry, Hermione will realize it was Harry she saw in the future!
Kelci
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