GRAVEYARD | h.p.

𝖎𝖎. 'WRESTLING A HIPPOGRIFF' IS FUN

THE DOOR SWINGS OPEN AT ONCE. Greeting us is a tall, black-haired witch wearing emerald-green robes. She has a very stern face, but her eyes are alight with the same kind of Gryffindor-pride I see in my father's eyes every day, and I take an immediate disliking towards her.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," says Hagrid.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."

I can't help but feel relieved. Even though the woman—Professor McGonagall—is a Gryffindor, I feel embarrassed when I'm standing next to Hagrid. Nobody in their right mind would want to associate with him. Professor McGonagall pulls the door wide, and I look around the entrance hall judgingly. There are stone walls with flaming torches, making the whole room seem unsophisticated. And, really, it isn't too big at all— about the size of the Libson yard.

(But then again, I guess that the Libson yard is much larger than most yards, since my father is a very famous Auror and my mother is the top healer of her ward in St. Mungos. Even though they are unbearable, there are a few perks of being a part of a very famous family, living in a huge mansion being one of them.)

We follow Professor McGonagall up a marble stairway and across the flagged stone floor, and I can hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right. I assume the rest of the school must already be here. I suppose that makes sense, since a hike to the harbor and a boat ride across a lake isn't the most efficient way to travel. Only the first-years do it, since it makes a dramatic impression. Professor McGonagall shows us into a small, empty chamber off the hall. Crowded and packed with other students, I can't help but feel a little unimpressed. The school is a bloody castle and they can't bother to find a better room to store us in?

"Welcome to Hogwarts," says Professor McGonagall. "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. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history, and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"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."

"I shall return when we are ready for you," says Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."

I don't pay much attention to the speech, because I already know everything. Elenara had been blabbering about Hogwarts for years: How cool the ghosts are, how amazing the talking hat is, and that there are moving staircases (it took me a while to believe her on that one). Instead, I'm paying attention to everyone in the room. I recognize some of them: Potter, the boy who was sitting next to him on the train, Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Raven, Tara, and Daphne. Sadly, I'm standing in between Potter and Tara.

But that means that I hear Potter ask his friend, "How exactly do they sort us into houses?"

I can't help but smirk as an idea pops up into my mind. Potter lived with Muggles for his whole life, right? And I don't know his friend, so either he's a muggleborn or not too important... They seem nervous enough to believe anything, and I have a few ideas on how to make them even more afraid.