Jane Fizzle and the Philosophers Stone

Chapter 8

    The door swings open at once, everyone taking a step back in surprise. A tall woman stands on the other side of it. She has faded red hair and unusual, blue eyes. She wears a diamond blue cloak with black, knee-high boots, laced up neatly. Her hair is braided tightly, going down her back, her face sturn, but kind, but not someone you should ever cross. Jane is mesmerized by her eyes, finding them very pretty.

    "The first years, Professor Evans," Robin smiles at the woman, gesturing to the small children.

    "Thank you, Robin. I will take them from here. You go to the Great Hall," she says, her voice smooth and Irish. Robin nods and walks in the building, giving the kids a small wave. Jane tries to see where Robin goes, but he's already gone. "Now, once you go inside, you have to end your recordings." There was a mutter of shock and disappointment. "Or, if you know anyone in the crowd, you may give the camera to them, you may not have it on you when you're sorted."

    She pulls the door wide. The entrance hall was so big, you could fit the whole Henry' house in it. The stone walls are lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling's too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors. Jane was shocked, a lot of them were, but she still recorded, making a new video so it wouldn't be that long.

    They follow Professor Evans across the flagged, stone floor. Jane can hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right — the rest of the school must already be here — but Professor Evans showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowd in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously.

    "Welcome to Hogwarts," Professor Evans says. "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 friends, 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 rulebreaking 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." Her eyes lingered for a moment on Peter's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on Scarlett's chocolate smudge. Jane nervously brushed her fingers through her hair, wishing her hair didn't look this bad, ending the recording. "I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly." She left the chamber.

    "How exactly do they sort us into houses?" Jane asks Scarlett, her voice nervous.

    "Some sort of test, I think. Issac said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking."

    Jane's heart gives a horrible jolt. A test? In front of the whole school? But she didn't know any magic yet —what on earth would she have to do? She hadn't expected something like this the moment they arrived. She looked around anxiously and saw that everyone else looked terrified, too. She'd never been more nervous, never, not even when she'd had to take a school report home to the Henrys saying that she'd somehow turned her teacher's wig blue. She kept her eyes fixed on the door, any second now, Professor Evans would come back and lead her to her doom.