Hogwarts: A History (The Sequel)

The Sorting Hat

"No, thank you mum, I don't need any help", I told my overenthusiastic mother as I maneuvered my luggage smoothly onto the Hogwarts express, all on my own. She sighed and simply gave me a warm hug full of love. I hugged her back with the same amount of love and then boarded the Hogwarts express. As much as I did not want to admit it, especially not to any of my brothers, I was incredibly nervous. I had watched all six of my older brothers, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred and George, and Ron, board this train, arrive at Hogwarts, and be sorted into Gryffindor. I did not want to think about how they would react if I were sorted into Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, or worse, Slytherin. As a way of preventing myself from panicking, I searched all the compartments until I found one that wasn't full.

Inside sat the most abnormal girl I had ever seen. She looked up at me and began to speak in a beautiful voice that reminded me of the feeling of lavender and vanilla. I listened, entranced, as she said, "Hello. I'm Luna Lovegood. What's your name?" I noticed then that she was wearing an unusual necklace, which moved when she shifted slightly in her seat. I decided not to comment on it, choosing instead to focus on answering her question. "I'm Ginny Weasley." Luna was alone in the compartment, with only her trunk and her copy of The Quibbler. "Is it okay if I take this seat?", I asked Luna. I was intrigued by Luna, and I felt a strong desire to befriend her and get to know her as well as I could. I sat down next to her and noticed the warm smell of lavender, vanilla, and grass. The train soon began to move, and Luna and I began to talk. I found it incredibly easy to talk to Luna, and by the time the train arrived at Hogwarts, I was quite disappointed at the pause in our conversation.

Luna and I gathered up our things and crowded onto the platform along with the rest of the first-year students. Then I noticed a voice calling, "Firs' years!" Firs' years over here!", and Luna and I realized that in the same moment that we were meant to follow him. Without thinking, I grabbed her hand and led her towards the man who I knew from Ron was named Hagrid. Luna simply looked at me with a peaceful expression on her face and followed me towards Hagrid. I felt warm and safe when Luna looked at me that way. We walked hand in hand until we reached the boats that would take us to Hogwarts, which I had been told about by Ron, just like he had told about Hagrid. We smiled at each other and climbed into a boat together. We were soon joined by two more first years, a girl who introduced herself as Sophie Roper and a boy who introduced himself as Roger Malone. Before I was able to fully realize what had happened, the fleet of boats we were in moved off across the lake, which I looked into surreptitiously in order to see what Luna was doing, as we had gotten separated and she was in the back of the boat. When we finally reached Hogwarts, I stopped still for a moment, frozen with awe at the size of the castle.

The door swung open. A stern-looking witch led us across the stone floor of the entrance hall, into a small chamber that was empty. She explained to us that we were to be sorted into our houses before we could take our places at the start-of-term feast. I was surprised to find that I did not feel as nervous as I had felt when I first boarded the Hogwarts express, and I took Luna's hand gently once more, and we followed Professor McGongall, who Ron, Fred and George all seemed to like, although they would never admit it, into the Great Hall. The first years gathered in a large group behind Professor McGonagall, and she placed the Sorting Hat on a stool in front of us.

I gripped Luna's hand a little tighter as I watched the Sorting Hat sort all the other first years into their houses. Sophie Roper, who was sitting with us in our boat, was sorted into Hufflepuff, and then Roger Malone, the other student on the boat with us, was sorted into Slytherin. Then Professor McGonagall called my name. I reluctantly let go of Luna's hand and sat down on the stool, while Professor Mcgongall placed the hat on my head. I wanted to be sorted as quickly as possible, so that I could hopefully join my brothers at the Gryffindor table. The hat had been on my head for around thirty seconds when it proclaimed, "Gryffindor!".

I sat down at the Gryffindor table, between Fred and George. I was elated to have been sorted into Gryffindor, but I had not realized how nervous I would be when Luna's name was called, and Professor McGonagall was calling her name now. What house would she be sorted into? Would she be sorted into Gryffindor like me, so I could spend the rest of my years at Hogwarts with her?

She was sorted into Ravenclaw. How did I feel about this? How was I supposed to feel about this? I was overwhelmed by all the emotions I suddenly felt. But then my attention was pulled back to the Gryffindor table when I realized that Ron and Harry were missing. Fred, George, and Hermione seemed to have already discussed the matter and decided not to worry too much, although Hermione seemed quite annoyed. I piled as much food as I could onto my plate and began to eat. I would have plenty of time to think about everything that had happened that day after the feast.