Pandora Malfoy and the Philosopher's Stone

Chapter Fifteen: Hogwarts Castle

"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" Draco sneered.

I gave an exasperated sigh.

"Unless you get out now," Harry said, his eyes flicking momentarily to Crabbe and Goyle, who were far bigger than him or Weasley.

"But we don't feel like leaving, do we?" Draco said.

"Yes, we do," I said sharply, nodding pointedly towards the door. "Come on, Draco."

"No, we've finished all our food—"

"I said out," I snapped, sharper than before.

"—and they still seem to have some," Draco finished defiantly.

I glared at him, taking a deep breath before hissing, "Draco Malfoy, if you don't get out of this compartment right now—"

I was cut off by a horrible yell coming from Goyle. A rat was hanging off his finger, its sharp little teeth sunk deep into his knuckle. Draco, Crabbe, and I all backed away as Goyle swung the rat round and round, howling, and when it finally flew off and hit the window, I had no trouble getting the three of them to leave at once. I only stopped for a moment to send Harry and Weasley an apologetic look before hurrying after my brother.

We went back to our compartment, Draco complaining the whole way about Harry.

"I really don't know what you were expecting," I said eventually. "You were being a complete git to him again."

"I was not! I was trying to help him!"

"Yeah, by insulting his friend and then his parents," I said, in a deadpan voice.

As we sat down again, I looked out of the window. I could see mountains and forests, with a deep-purple sky above, making them look dark and sinister. The train seemed to be slowing down now.

Sure enough, a voice soon echoed through the train — "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train; it will be taken to the school separately."

I opened my trunk and put my jumper into it, and, as an afterthought, slipped off my ring and tucked it in there too. Then I put the rest of my Fizzing Whizzbees into my pocket, took a deep breath to calm my nerves, and joined everyone crowding the corridor.

The train slowed down, then finally stopped. People pushed their way towards the door, and out onto a tiny, dark platform, sweeping me along with them. I shivered in the cold night air, and wished I'd kept my jumper on under my robes. I was also now aware of a sick feeling in my stomach as anxiety swirled inside me.

A lamp came bobbing over our heads, and a loud, gruff voice called out, "Firs'-years! Firs'-years over here! All righ' there, Harry?"

I looked to the source of the voice, and saw Hagrid, the enormous man that had been in Diagon Alley with Harry. Draco and I made our way over to him, the others from our compartment following after us.

"C'mon, follow me — any more firs'-years? Mind yer step, now! Firs'-years, follow me!"

Slipping and stumbling, we followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path, none of us speaking much. It was so dark on either side of us that I was sure there must be thick trees there.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."

There was a loud, "Oooooh!"

The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great, black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers. I gasped at the sight of it.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore.

Everyone scrambled to get into a boat, and the one Draco and I clambered into wobbled dangerously as we were joined by the much larger Crabbe and Goyle.

"Everyone in?" Hagrid shouted, who had a boat to himself. "Righ' then — FORWARD!"

The fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead, which towered over us as we sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.

"Heads down!" Hagrid yelled, as the boats reached the cliff.

We all bent our heads, and the little boats carried us through a curtain of ivy, which hid a wide opening in the cliff face. We were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking us right underneath the castle, until we reached a kind of underground harbour, where we clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.

"Oi, you there! Is this yer toad?" Hagrid said, having been checking the boats as people climbed out of them.

"Trevor!" the round-faced boy from the train — Neville, I think his name was — cried blissfully, holding out his hands.

Once everyone was out of the boats, we clambered up a passageway in the rock, following Hagrid and his lamp again, before emerging at last on a lawn of smooth, damp grass, right in the shadow of the castle. We walked up a flight of stone steps, and crowded around the huge oak front door.

"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?"

Hagrid raised a gigantic fist, and knocked three times on the castle door. It swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald green robes stood there. She had a very strict face, and I found myself instinctively moving a little closer to Draco.

"The firs'-years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."

She pulled the door wide open, revealing the Entrance Hall — a room as large as our dining room, perhaps even bigger. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches, the ceiling was too high to make out, and there was a magnificent marble staircase facing us which seemed to lead to the upper floors.

We followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. I could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right — the rest of the school was clearly already there — but Professor McGonagall showed us into a small, empty chamber off the hall. We crowded in, most people standing closer together than they probably would have done normally, peering about anxiously.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall said. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you can take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room."

And if you're like me, you'll be punished worse than ever if you don't get into the 'right' house, I thought, my anxiety worsening.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin," Professor McGonagall continued. "Each house has its own noble history, and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a great credit to whichever house becomes yours."

Every sentence only made my anxiety increase. I had to get into Slytherin, I just had to... but what if I didn't?

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes, in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Her eyes lingered on Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on Weasley, who appeared to have dirt on his nose.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."

And then, she left the chamber.

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A/N: tysm for 1k reads!! 😊🖤

Word count: 1364