Liberty - A Harry Potter fan fiction

Chapter 3 - Sorting

Hours later I sat in my standard black robes. I smiled in anticipation, wondering which house I would be sorted into. I wouldn't mind Ravenclaw, though I was hoping for Gryffindor. Slytherin and Hufflepuff didn't seem like a good fit for me. 

The train began to slow down. I mashed my head against the window to see as much of Hogsmeade as I could. However It was now dark and all I could see was a cobblestoned street with a few lights here and there. To the left, at the bottom of a steep incline were carriages. They looked to be hitched to nothing but I wouldn't be surprised to learn they were just charmed to move on their own.

I made my way into the hallway of the the train, mingling with the other students. As I'd just stepped foot on the platform itself I heard a scraggly voice call out.

"Firs' years this way!" I looked towards the source of the noise and gasped as I saw a giant. What else would I encounter tonight, before even reaching the school? I hoped I could see a unicorn but knew it to be very unlikely. "Firs' years over here! Follow me voice."

I already knew from Mum and Dad that first years were taken to the school separately, where they were sorted and then sat with their new housemates.

With it being dark, and my being as clumsy as I was, I felt myself stumble on uneven ground  by the front of the train. I threw out my hand to steady myself on the train and a hand roughly shoved me, causing me to fall anyways.

I turned to glare at a boy with hair so blonde it was nearly white. He was closely followed by two more boys, both easily three times his size. I groaned as my bum hit the ground, hard.

"Malfoy!" A girl with a pug-ish face yelled. 

"What?" He demanded. "The fool was in my way."

The boy smirked at me and continued on. A fellow first year boy helped me up and I muttered a very embarrassed thank you to him.

"Alrigh' there miss?" Hagrid asked and I nodded. "Righ' then, do I have all the firs' years here? Donlevy, you'd better head onto the carriages now. There aren't a great many left."

We all watched as a much older boy ran to catch the last carriage, then myself and the other first years followed Hagrid towards what looked like a lake. We went around a corner and I had my first ever glimpse of Hogwarts. It was every bit as amazing as I'd thought, if not more so. I noticed some boats in the water and we were instructed to sit 4 to each one by Hagrid, who took one for himself.

I clambered in one and was quickly joined by a plump faced blonde, Hermione and a boy who looked very worried about being near the water. I began to trail my fingertips over the surface, feeling the cool wetness that reminded me of our small pond at home. Once everyone was settled, the boats began to move all on their own.

The journey across the lake ended all too soon for my liking. The boy that'd been sitting beside me leaned over too far and had been placed back into the boat by a long tentacle. It sure was a sight I'd never see again.

We followed Hagrid through a damp tunnel and up three flights of stairs. After going through a long, dimly lit corridor we finally arrived in what seemed to be the entrance hall. A tall witch nodded her head and motioned for us to follow her into a room to the left.

"Welcome," She said to us. "I am professor McGonagall. The beginning of year feast will begin shortly, only after you are sorted into your houses. For those who don't know the names they are: Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Slytherin and Gryffindor. I will return momentarily, to which you will follow me into the hall in an organized fashion."

She disappeared and my fellow first years began to chatter excitedly. I was the only one who stayed quiet. How would I make friends? I'd never had a true friend before, Lavender had always seen to that. What if she prevented friendships here as well? As I brooded, the rude boy from the platform had a confrontation with Harry Potter. I'd heard of him but never stopped to think much about him and the impact he'd made on the magical community. 

The professor returned quickly and silence consumed us once again, meek little first year mice waiting to be told what to do. We followed her into the great hall. The four house tables were decked out in their colors: blue and bronze for Ravenclaw, yellow and black for Hufflepuff, green and silver for Slytherin and red and gold for Gryffindor. We gathered at the front of the great hall and listened to the sorting hat sing it's song.

My memory of the actual sorting isn't very great. I just remember looking around the hall and drinking in everything I was seeing and feeling. Lavender was called first, and immediately made it into Gryffindor house.

My name was called and I stumbled my way to the hat. Sitting on the stool, it slipped down over my eyes. I chuckled to myself and pushed it back up so I could see. Everyone was looking at me but oddly enough, I didn't feel embarrassed.

"How interesting!" The hat exclaimed loudly. "Very interesting indeed."

I furrowed my eyebrows, wondering what the hat was speaking of. It muttered to itself and I distinctively heard it say Slytherin. I groaned. That wasn't the house I wanted. 

"I see your future quite clearly. You are one of a kind, my dear."

What did the hat mean by that? Wasn't everyone one of a kind? I bit my lip so hard I was sure to break the skin any second...

"Gryffindor!" I tossed the hat into professor McGonagall's hand and flew to the Gryffindor table, my table. They cheered for me and I received pats on the back and handshakes.

"Another Brown, eh?" Asked a tall red head. "We may as well be known as the House of Twins!

"Here, here!" Said a boy identical to the first.

I looked at Lavender and saw that she was shooting daggers at me. I quickly turned my attention to the rest of the sorting, not wanting anything to spoil this night.