Swish and Flick

Chapter 2: The Fantabulous Sorting Hat

Lauren's PoV

From the long journey in Hogwarts Express, to that eerie boat ride with the hairy giant called Hagrid, and down to our entrance to the Great Hall where there are four long wooden tables with older students sitting on each, it's definitely a surreal moment for me.

On my side, Camila struts like she knows everyone around her, smirking at girls, high-fiving boys, and basically just running a commentary on everything she sees. 'That girl's ass - out of this world. That boy's face looks like a Dorito, poor thing. Oh, look at that professor -- 10/10 would bang.' She's like an energizer bunny, with bigger butt and, apparently, a penchant for cute girls.

I tell her to shut up through the side of my mouth because her ramblings aren't helping me calm my nerves, but she wouldn't listen, so I turn to my other side and I see Normani give me a knowing glance, as if to say, 'I've been sitting with her the entire train ride, I know how you feel.', and we giggle.

Meeting Normani is a blessing. She comes from a prominent wizarding family, according to Dinah who's standing behind Normani, and it's just so easy to vibe with her. We jive, and it feels like we're one person split into two different bodies.

"You okay, Lauser? You look pale. Are you gonna puke, tell me, I think I can steal one of those pointy hats from the older students and you can puke in it without leaving the ceremony." Dinah looks at me with deep concern in her eyes.

I don't even comment on her choice of nickname for me because I'm already used to it by now, what with hours of hearing her call me all sorts of weird names she's been experimenting with during the entire train ride.

"Dinah, don't be rude. That's her natural skin tone." Ally, the smallest girl in our group, but definitely the most motherly, shushes her. "And stealing is bad."

"Oh, shut up, smAlly."

Dinah Jane is another one of those pureblood, a term I've learned during the train ride as my newfound friends try to brief me about the wizarding world. She comes from a big family, much like the Weasleys (I got a Ron Weasley card on my tenth chocolate frog), and it's quite obvious that she's a people-person because she's super friendly and warm. She's the tallest among us, and she easily exudes an air of confidence that I wish I had, and being with her makes me feel safe and calm.

Ally, on the other hand, is what they call half-blood, just like Camila -- they say I'm muggle-born, which means I'm not from a wizarding family, but they're quick to assure me that it doesn't make me any less capable than the other students. I think they're just saying that because I was just about to start panicking and they didn't wanna see me faint -- anyway, as I was saying, having halfblood friends is cool because I get to talk to them about normal stuff. It made the journey a little less overwhelming.

"Guys, guys, McGonagall's back. The Sorting Ceremony is about to start." Normani whispers.

The entire room falls silent, the tension from the first year students quite palpable, as we watch her bring out a stool, and, on top of it lay a matte black pointed hat, with a few weirdly-placed stitchings all over it.

Then she goes around the big table at the center where I assume the teachers sit, and I almost choke on my own spit when I see the stitches on the hat split open and a loud grating voice fills up the entire room.