Hermione Granger and the Displaced Sorting

Chapter 5

Hermione Granger and the Displaced Sorting

Harry Potter Fanfiction

Chapter 5

A/N: This is going to be a running author's note, but if you read on fanfiction.net and enjoy this story, make sure to have my username saved in case my account is deleted. I post on AO3 and Wattpad as well under the same name.

Ready for the Sorting Ceremony? Here it comes!

September 1st, 1992

"This must be Hogsmeade Station," Ginny explained, obviously more of an expert than either Luna and Hermione who were both only children without older siblings to fill them in on the workings of Hogwarts. "Leave your luggage, and they'll get it to your dorms for you once we're sorted."

Since Hermione's luggage was already shrunk inside her pocket, she chose not to leave it behind in case whoever was responsible for transferring their belongings might overlook a trunk smaller than her fist.

They got swept up into the flow of traffic, so Luna grabbed a hand from each and kept them together in a chain.

Down on the cobblestone paving, they were dwarfed by kids much taller than them, all seeming to head in one direction. With little choice, they went with the flow, until they heard a shout echoing over them, "Firs' years, this way. Firs' years, o'er here. Come on, now."

Ginny whipped her head in that direction before getting a determined look on her face. "We're meant to go that way. Come on."

Ginny slowly started elbowing their way out of the main movement of students until they were near the edge where a trickle of other students their size were slowly heading in the direction of a mass of man over eight feet tall.

Hermione began tugging, her nerves ratcheting up when she realized she hadn't told Ginny or Luna an important piece of information about her.

"Come on, Hermione. Ginny knows what she's doing," Luna encouraged, glancing back at her and giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

Hermione dug her heels in. "I'm sorry, but no, I can't. I don't think I should be there. I'm..." By this point, Luna and Ginny had turned. "I'm not a first year."

Ginny gasped. "But... how..."

The students outside of first year were still making their way in another direction, and she didn't want to lose them. She had no idea where she was going, so she needed to keep up. "I'm a second year. I think I need to go with the other students. And you need to go with them to make sure you don't get lost, either."

Luna released her hand, but her silvery eyes nearly glowed in the dark. "Are you sure you don't belong here, then?"

Hermione nodded, jogging in the direction of the others. "I'll explain later. I promise!"

Luna and Ginny stared after her a moment, still standing in place every time she glanced back, and she willed them to join the others. She'd hurt them by not telling them, all because she didn't want to stand out as an outlier sooner than she needed to.

She prayed she hadn't cost herself their budding friendship.

By the time she caught up to the stragglers of the larger group, Luna and Ginny had done the same, missing when she glanced back one last time.

"Good," she whispered, more able to focus on her dilemma. The students seemed to be entering carriages pulled by skeletal looking, winged gray horses. She stumbled to a halt at their grotesque appearance, horrified that these animals weren't being treated properly. It reminded of her young ghost friend, Klauss who'd been mistreated by his father, and her hand drifted to his necklace hidden beneath her robes.