| Obsessed with you... | Fred Weasley

7| Sorting Hat

Seraphina had accepted quickly, not wanting to go back in the compartment with her brother and his friends. So she followed the three teenagers back to their compartment and sat down.

They immediately exploded into conversation, and Seraphina didn't know what to say. The three girls laughed around her, giggled at inside jokes, and talked about the past years.

But Seraphina couldn't find the words to say anything. She tried to talk, tried to mention anything relatable, but found herself suddenly shy.

The girls didn't seem to notice as they kept talking, leaving Seraphina to look out the window, her mind up in the clouds as she zoned out.

—————

When she stepped into that hall, the mere thought of going up in front of everybody to get sorted ate at her. Even with her brother next to her, her nerves went ablaze.

The very thought of going up, in front of an amount of students of which she had no idea, was not a pleasant one, regardless of how much public speaking she had had to do as an Ames family member.

She could tell her brother was just as nervous, but he hid it well. Not well enough to hide it from her, but well enough for others not to notice. She knew that gleaming smirk he held across his face was only there to hide and prevent the itching feeling to start chewing on his nails, a habit their parents hated and had tried to prevent many a time.

Casper crossed his arms, probably another attempt to stop himself from picking at his skin, another habit he had.

Seraphina had a few habits of her own, but none quite so annoying as his were. None that her parents bothered to treat. So she silently bit down on the inside of her cheek until the taste of blood and iron flooded into her mouth, giving her a sense of relieve.

They were standing with the group of first years, obviously looking out of place. Her parents had requested them to be privately sorted, but Dumbledore laughed them off and said that it could only be done one way, the traditional way.

Seraphina thought that to be ironic, considering he was obviously gay in a homophobic world. Not very traditional.

When she had walked up with the first years, the stares from the already sorted houses were obvious, and soon the dining hall erupted in whisperings. Of her and her brother, no doubt. The 16 and 17 year old looked extremely out of place with the other 11 year olds, and both groups noticed.

"Aren't you supposed to be sitting down?" A curious 11 year old girl asked. Seraphina looked down at the girl and nodded, but didn't give any sort of explanation. Casper looked at the girls curious gaze, giving her a gentle smile. "We're about to be." Pointing to the front, the girls gaze moved to the older women in green robes and a pointy hat, alongside a chair and another pointy hat, though that one was far larger. The woman placed the hat on the chair, and then it erupted in song.

"Oh you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find,
A smarter hat than me,"

As Seraphina's attention waned, the song slowly started to fade from her hearing as she looked around the large dining hall. Floating candles lit the room, making the hall feel more cozy than it should, with stone walls and open areas. The ceiling looked as if it was a night sky, an obvious incantation that Seraphina would often spell her own bedroom ceiling with.

The room was cozy in a way that made Seraphina squirm, in a way that was unfamiliar to her. It seemed comfortable and... homey.

She didn't know if she liked it.