Sirius Black's Daughter

Chapter Ten: The Sorting Hat's New Song

Posted: 25 of September, 2022
Edited:
Song: Think Of Me

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Author's Note:
Sorry this took me longer to upload! School is taking a lot of my time up!  I hope you enjoy!

Natalia's POV

"Did everyone see that Grubbly-Plank woman?" asked Ginny. "What's she doing back here? Hagrid can't have left, can he?"

"I'll be quite glad if he has," said Luna, "he isn't a very good teacher, is he?"

"Yes, he is!" said Harry, Ron and Ginny angrily.

Natalia saw Harry glaring at Hermione. She cleared her throat and quickly said, "Erm ... yes ... he's very good."

"And what about you, Natalia?" Harry asked heavily, glaring over at his cousin who just told him moments ago that she could also see the creatures pulling the carriages.

"He's good, just didn't want to yell with you guys," Natalia said dismissively and leaned her head back on the carriage wall.

"Well, we in Ravenclaw think he's a bit of a joke," said Luna, unfazed.

"You've got a rubbish sense of humour then," Ron snapped, as the wheels below them creaked into motion.

Luna did not seem perturbed by Ron's rudeness; on the contrary, she simply watched him for a while as though he were a mildly interesting television programme. Natalia gave Luna a confused look but didn't try to stop her from watching Ron.

Rattling and swaying, the carriages moved in convoy up the road. When they passed between the tall stone pillars topped with winged boars on either side of the gates to the school grounds, Natalia leaned forwards to try and see whether there were any lights on in Hagrid's cabin by the Forbidden Forest, but the grounds were in complete darkness. Hogwarts Castle, however, loomed ever closer: a towering mass of turrets, jet black against the dark sky, here and there a window blazing fiery bright above them.

The carriages jingled to a halt near the stone steps leading up to the oak front doors. The doors opened and Harry got out of the carriage first and Natalia got out next. Natalia turned again to look for lit windows down by the Forest, but there was definitely no sign of life within Hagrid's cabin.

Unwillingly, because she had half-hoped they would have vanished, she turned her eyes instead upon the strange, skeletal creatures standing quietly in the chill night air, their blank white eyes gleaming. Even though she's been able to see these creatures since she arrived at Hogwarts, it didn't mean she enjoyed them. The creatures looked back with their white gleaming eyes at Natalia, just observing her. Beside her, Harry was also looking at the creatures. Natalia glanced up at him to see in lost in his own thoughts.

"Are you two coming or what?" said Ron beside them.

"Oh ... yeah," said Harry quickly and they joined the crowd hurrying up the stone steps into the castle.

The Entrance Hall was ablaze with torches and echoing with footsteps as the students crossed the flagged stone floor for the double doors to the right, leading to the Great Hall and the start-of-term feast.

The four long house tables in the Great Hall were filling up under the starless black ceiling, which was just like the sky they could glimpse through the high windows. Candles floated in midair all along the tables, illuminating the silvery ghosts who were dotted about the Hall and the faces of the students talking eagerly, exchanging summer news, shouting greetings at friends from other houses, eyeing one another's new haircuts and robes. Again, Natalia noticed people putting their heads together to whisper as Harry passed, which she noticed earlier on the train. Natalia frowned and pulled Harry along as he gritted his teeth and tried to act as though he neither noticed nor cared.