the magic of ice

at hogwarts

It was night time by the time they arrived. They were wearing their brand-new Hogwarts robes. It took some time to coax Snowball into her cage, but Elsa finally managed. They piled out of the train with the rest of the students. Elsa felt very nervous. There were so many people here, and even if they too had powers like her, she didn't feel like she wanted to share her power.

"Firs' years over here," a loud voice boomed over the racket of the noisy students.

Elsa saw a large man, at least three times the size of the smallest kid, with bushy hair and a woolly vest. She relaxed when she saw it was just Hagrid. She, Harry and Ron walked over to him. Hagrid caught sight of them and beamed.

"All right, you lot?"

"We're great," Harry grinned.

"I can't wait for tomorrow," Elsa said.

All the first-years piled into boats. Hagrid was in a boat by himself at the front. The boats moved by themselves. No-one seemed to be pulling or pushing it. Just for fun, Elsa took off her glove and placed her hand in the water. Immediately she regretted it. Ice spread from her fingertips into the water and expanded. She quickly pulled out her hand and slipped the glove back on. She pretended not to notice and looked up, only to find a sight that took her breath away. The Hogwarts Castle looked absolutely magnificent at night. It was enormous, and the candle lights made it look almost majestic. She heard gasps of awe all around her.

"It's amazing," Harry breathed.

Elsa had to agree. It truly was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in her entire life.

()()()

As they walked up the stairs, they saw a stern-looking woman with a tight bun and glasses hanging from a chain on her neck standing there. She was not someone you wanted on your bad side. She held up a hand and they stopped walking and stood silently in front of her.

"Welcome, first-years, to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," she said. "My name is Professor McGonagall. In a few minutes you will be sorted into your Houses. The four Houses are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Whilst you are here, your House will be like your family. Good deeds will score you some House points, and any rule-breaking will deduct points. At the end of the year the House with the most points will win the House Cup."

There were murmurs around the group. Elsa wondered which House she would be put in. She didn't much like the sound of Slytherin. According to Hagrid that's where all the bad kids go. But the others sounded all right. Professor McGonagall told them to wait where they were and she entered through the large oak doors. Murmurs turned into loud chattering, but one voice stood out above the rest, and it silenced everyone.

"So it's true, then." The speaker was a blonde boy with icy-blue eyes. He was smirking and he sounded like he was bored. His two friends next to him were more like bodyguards. "They were talking about it non-stop about it on the train. Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts."

There were gasps all around the group when they heard the name. Elsa wondered how many people actually knew Harry. She understood that Harry had survived the Killing Curse, but did they really have to make a massive deal out of it? The boy strode to them and stopped in front of Harry, completely ignoring Elsa and Ron.

"The name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy," he said. Ron sniggered and the boy rounded on him. "Think my name's funny? No need to ask who you are. My father tells me the Weasleys have red hair, freckles and more children than they can afford."

Ron's face turns scarlet red and Draco turns back to Harry. "I'd be careful if I were you. You don't want to be mixing with the wrong sort." He holds out his hand, seemingly in friendship, but Harry doesn't take it. He merely stares back at Draco, an expression of disgust on his face.