Chapter 2: First Glances and Second Chances
The train pulled up at the station. Cora got out, followed closely by Olivia. A shout rang out in the throng of people.
“Firs’ years, over here. This way, firs’ years.” An enormous man with black hair and beard was calling to Hogwarts’ youngest students.
“Come on, Olivia. We have to go find Hagrid.” Cora pulled Olivia towards the voice.
“Hagrid? Who’s Hagrid?” Olivia asked.
“He’s Hagrid. I thought everyone knew Hagrid. He’s sort of hard to miss.” Cora gestured in the direction of the large man.
"Oh.” Olivia understood now.
They walked towards Hagrid. When they reached him, they stood with the group of nervous looking children who shared the designation of ‘first year’. Cora recognized some of them. Mostly, there were just people she knew by sight. Cora swore she had seen a girl with brunette braids years ago at a press conference her dad had dragged her to. But others she knew by name. Drew was standing slightly to Hagrid’s left, looking thoroughly lost again, and to her dismay, an only-to-familiar blonde boy was standing right next to her. His name was Pertino. Pertino Malfoy.
There was a mutual hatred between Cora and Pertino. It was just one of those things. Inheritance, maybe. Anyway, Pertino hated Cora because her father had landed his father in Azkaban, the wizard’s prison. Cora hated Pertino, well, because he hated her. There was nothing she could do about it.
“Oy, Potter! Did your dad let you come here willingly, or did you have to stow away on the school train?” Malfoy was up to his old tricks again, and they had barely been there for three minutes.
“Just because your father has been out of your sight for the last ten years doesn’t mean my father never lets me out of his.” Cora felt compelled to retaliate nastily.
“Alrigh’, you two. Stop yer infernal bickerin’. Time to get a move on.” Hagrid decided to put a stop to the unkind remarks.
“Cora, who was that?” Olivia asked, as they hurried along behind Hagrid.
“Pertino Malfoy. Git.” Cora replied heatedly.
“Oh.” Olivia could think of nothing else to say. Then they rounded a corner and looked up at Hogwarts castle. Olivia repeated herself, although in a slightly different tone of voice. “Ohhhhh.”
Cora stared. She had heard about Hogwarts, of course, but had never actually been there. She now understood why, when she had asked her father what Hogwarts looked like, the answer had been ‘bloody amazing’. The answer from her mother hadn’t been much more descriptive, although that could have been because Matt, Cora’s brother, and Ethan, one of Cora’s numerous cousins, had gotten hold of either end of Mrs. Potter’s wand and were attempting to snap it in half. Uncle Ron had just stared, mistily, out of the kitchen window, and Aunt Hermione had gone off on a long- winded lecture that Cora had paid absolutely no attention to. Cora loved her aunt, but Hermione talked just a bit too much to be allowed. Only Geena had come up with what Cora thought was an adequate answer. “It’s the magic castle in the sky that everyone dreams about times a billion and then some.” That was perfectly true, except for the part about being in the sky.
“No more’n four to a boat,” Hagrid called, pointing towards a fleet of small boats that were apparently supposed to transport them across the lake. Cora and Olivia were followed into their boat by the brunette girl Cora had seen earlier and, to Olivia’s dismay, Drew.
The boats set off, and proceeded to float across the lake entirely of their own accord. Suddenly, with a shout and a splash, the boat rocked violently and Drew was thrown unceremoniously into the water. A large tentacle slowly unfurled itself from the surface and began to creep towards him. Hagrid, with surprising agility, whipped out a pink umbrella and muttered something that sounded like “eyelashio” to Cora, who was nearest. The tentacle in the lake went back under the surface. Then Hagrid mumbled something to the sound of “ashtio”, and Drew was suddenly back in the boat, bringing with him a considerable amount of water, which promptly soaked Olivia.
Olivia sighed, but only Cora heard, as the sound was masked by the chattering of her teeth.
They reached the castle. Usually, things look better from far away, but the opposite was true here, Hogwarts looked better now than it did from the other side of the lake. Hagrid raised his enormous hand and knocked three times on the oak front door. It swung open immediately to reveal an extremely small old man in a pointy hat.
“Thank you, Hagrid,” he said, in a high, squeaky voice. “I’ll take them from here. Follow me, please.”
The first years obliged, and trudged off into a chamber off the entrance hall.
“Welcome to Hogwarts!” the old man said when they had all assembled. “I am Professor Flitwick. In a few moments, you will be sorted into our houses. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. While you are here, your house is like your family. Good behavior will earn house points, while any rule breaking will lose hose points. The house with the most points at the end of term wins the House Cup.
“The Sorting Ceremony will begin soon. I will come back when we are ready for you.” Flitwick turned and walked through the door, back into the entrance hall.
“How do they sort you?” Olivia whispered to Cora, who seemed like the sort of person who would know that sort of thing.
“I dunno, Dad never said. He did say not to believe the rumors, though.”
Indeed, rumors were now flying fast and furious through the air in the small chamber. They ranged in everything from ‘you have to fight a mountain troll, to ‘you have to make a pineapple fly’. Olivia was glad that Cora had told her that none of these were true, because even the smallest prospect suddenly seemed huge and difficult. Drew was muttering something about a ‘crumple-horned snorkack’ right next to Olivia, and this only helped to deepen her bad mood. First she had been interrogated about her father, then she got soaked, and now there was the looming prospect of and unknown test. Thanks a bundle, Drew.
Olivia’s thoughts were interrupted by the squeak of a door hinge and the squeak of Professor Flitwick’s voice. “We’re ready for you. Please follow me.”
They trudged after Professor Flitwick once more, and soon reached an enormous room that seemed to contain the entire student body, which was a reasonable assumption, because it did. To avoid looking at anybody, Cora looked up at the ceiling, and gasped audibly. There seemed to be no ceiling at all, instead, there was just sky.
Olivia sensed Cora’s befuddlement, and whispered from behind her “It’s only enchanted to look like the sky. I read about it in Hogwarts, a History.”
Cora nodded to say that she had heard, for they had reached the front of the hall and silence had fallen. Everybody in the hall turned and stared intently at an old hat, patched and fraying, that had been placed in front of the first years. Suddenly, a rip near the hat’s brim opened and it began to sing.
You may not know me, but you will
My wisdom’s legendary
So look beyond my wrinkled brim
For logic’s not arbitrary
It’s time for you to gather round
And by my say, be sorted
My job is finished when you’re housed
By qualities purported.
Hufflepuffs hone loyalty
And friendships tried and true
Just you and I know certainly
If that applies to you.
If cunning, quick, and sly you are
How well you will fit in
With others of your righteous ilk
Sharing halls of Slytherin.
In Ravenclaw smarts are revered
They don’t rely on hunch
Do you indeed have what it takes
To be brightest of the bunch?
Today’s much made of bravery
But in daring days of yore
Deeds were done with chivalry
By folks in Gryffindor.
Now you may think that you know best
But do not be misled
I’m never wrong and don’t intend
To start whilst on your head.
So take your seat, your head held high
Each placement has been won<
For seven years your bed is set
My sorting song is done.
The students seated around the hall broke into applause. Cora watched the hat apprehensively. She had been certain, a few moments ago, of being in Gryffindor, but now she wasn’t so sure. She wasn’t feeling particularly brave at the moment.
“Now,” said Professor Flitwick, “When I call your name, come and sit on the stool and put the Sorting Hat on your head. Then you will be sorted.
“Abdiknot, Olivia!”
Olivia started. It hadn’t occurred to her that the Sorting would be in alphabetical order, or that ‘Abdiknot’ would almost certainly be first. Tentatively, she approached the hat, sat down, and placed it on her head, where it slid down over her eyes.
Cora watched her friend hopefully. She knew she couldn’t control anything, but she was very bad at making friends and hoped she wouldn’t have to do it again.
“GRYFFINDOR!” The shout rang through the hall and the table on the left cheered happily as Olivia joined them.
“Archnit, Joseph” was made a Hufflepuff, as was “Balk, Sarah”. “Borchman, Gabriel” was sent to Ravenclaw, but “Cabner, Mercy” became the first Slytherin. After that, Cora became lost in her own thoughts and didn’t come out until she heard a familiar name. “Macdounagh, Andrew.” Drew almost tripped on his shoelaces when walking towards the Sorting Hat, but regained his balance and got his wish.
“GRYFFINDOR!” shouted the hat, and Drew sat down at the Gryffindor table. Cora caught a glance of Olivia, who looked like she wanted to throw something, but forced herself to shake Drew’s hand along with the rest of the house.
“Malfoy, Pertino” was called right after Drew. The hat had barely touched his white-blonde head before “SLYTHERIN” rang through the hall once more.
There weren’t many people left now.” Norton, Elizabeth” was sent to the Ravenclaw table, followed by “Newbury, Steven”. Then there was “Parker, Seth”, “Parsons, Audrey”, and then suddenly, finally-
“Potter, Cora!”
A/N: Please be nice and review!
Thanks, once again, to the wonderful Lurid. (If you still haven’t read Malicious Intentions, I don’t have the faintest idea why you’re here.) Also, thanks to Joe for behaving so weirdly and letting me write about it, and my mom, who wrote the sorting song. I have no rhyming talent whatsoever.