The First Time She Ever Loved

Chapter 4

Dusk had fallen as the train arrived at Hogwarts. Bright stars winked in the indigo sky and students filed out from the scarlet express. Draco and I were one of the last first-years to come out, and as we walked out, we both stopped suddenly as we realized that we would be reaching the school on boats, crossing a large lake with who knows what surviving in the depths. "Oh no!" Gasped Draco seemingly having the same nasty thoughts as I, "My father never told me about this."
"I could fly...?" I offered, partially to myself.
"Alrigh' firs' years," came a new voice, the owner of that voice was a ginormous man with a large bushy beard, wild black hair, and twinkling eyes of the same hue, "you'll be takin' the boats t'Hogwarts, follow me." He led us towards the dock, "four per boat an' no shovin'." Draco, Goyle, Crabbe, and I piled into a small boat, I caught a glimpse of Harry with a red haired boy, a girl with bushy brown hair and rather large front teeth, and another boy, who seemed to be looking feverishly for something. "In a couple of moments you'll catch yer first glimpses of Hogwars'." There were "oohs" and "aahs" when Hogwarts came into view, it was perched on a tall, jagged cliff, each turret and peak seemed to come straight from a fairytale, and the many windows glowed from the stars that reflected off of them.
After a couple more minutes, we arrived on land. Happy to have firm ground under my feet, I collapsed gratefully on Draco, who, also being unbalanced, fell over onto Crabbe, who toppled to the ground. Straightening up quickly, He shook his blonde hair out of his cold, storm grey eyes, and caught me looking at his face, and then we both burst into laughter. "Quiet there." Growled the large man to us as he rose his hand (roughly the size of dustbin lids) and knocked three times on the large oaken front doors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
It opened, revealing a tall, dark-haired witch wearing emerald green robes on and a severe look on her face. "That's Minerva McGonagall, the Gryffindor head, deputy headmistress, and Transfiguration teacher." Draco whispered to me so that I missed what she had said, "and the big one there, he's Rubeus Hagrid, the gamekeeper."
"How do you know all of this?" I questioned, quite amazed, Draco, looking pleased with himself,  opened his mouth to reply, but just then, the students all started to walk inside, following McGonagall into a small, empty chamber. We all huddled together, peering nervously about.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," she said, "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."
"I'll be in Slytherin," Whispered Draco proudly to me, "my entire family has been."
"I bet I'll  in it as well." I said back to him, thinking of my father. After a while, I kind of zoned out, ignoring the blathering of McGonogall's sharp voice. Then, her voice halted, and the Transfiguration teacher left. The chamber erupted into chatter, Harry was looking very pale and scared, he flattened his hair nervously. I kept my mouth shut, suddenly feeling sick. Then came the bloodcurdling screams, twenty or so ghosts had just glided straight though the solid stone wall and had scared many students, the ghosts appeared to be arguing, but I couldn't hear what they were saying.
       "Move along now," came a sharp voice, "the Sorting Ceremony is about to start now." It was McGonagall. Slowly, the ghosts floated through the apposing wall. "Now form a line," she said, "and follow me." Feeling more and more sick by the moment, I got behind Draco and in front of the bushy-haired girl Harry had been in the boat with, and we walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall. I had seen many strange and wonderful things in my short life, but this exceeded everything; thousands of candles hung suspended over five long tables, one for Slytherin, one for Hufflepuff, one for Ravenclaw, one for Gryffindor, and one for the staff. But the most amazing sight was the large arced ceiling, it was enchanted to look like the sky, right now it was velvety black with stars dotted through it. Gasps rippled through the line of first-years as they caught sight of the ceiling.
"It's bewitched to look like the sky outside," whispered the girl behind me, "I read about it in Hogwarts: A History." Looking back at McGonogall, she had placed the patched, fraying, and extremely dirty Sorting Hat on a stool, Harry looked at it in a scared and confused manner. Then, the hat opened a rip at its brim, and began to chant a song:

"Oh, you might not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat then me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts sorting hat
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see.
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring nerve and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin,
You'll make your real friends,
These cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in good hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"

The whole hall burst into a smattering of applause when the hat's song ended. I, for one, zoned out as soon as it finished.

***

My daze was broken by the words, "Riddle, Angel." It was my turn to be sorted now. I noticed that Draco was sitting smugly at the Slytherin table. Walking up, my ears filled with the buzzing of muted whispers. Sitting down on the stool, Professor McGonogall placed the Sorting Hat one my head, immediately, a voice was talking in my head. "Ah, I knew it wouldn't be long until I would be sorting another Riddle." The voice said, "Now let's see, quite bright, curious, and a bit of a dark side if I do say so myself, brave, independent, but it seems like you want to prove to your father that you are not like him. But alas, you have the Dark Mark imprinted upon your forearm. You have all of the qualities of each house, but where to put you?"
"It doesn't matter," I said to the hat, "just somewhere."
"Alright then," it said, "you'll do the best in... SLYTHERIN!" The house it shouted to entire school. More applause, this time from the Slytherin table, I took the Sorting Hat off of my head, and left to sit at my new table. My new family.