Secrets Only Trouble Knows - George Weasley

04 - The Sorting Ceremony

"Prepare to disembark. We will be reaching Hogsmeade Station in just a few moments' time."

Exactly five minutes after the conductor's voice had echoed throughout the entire train, warning students to begin preparing to leave it, the Hogwarts Express came to a stop. Its brakes hissed and screeched as it pulled in nicely along its usual platform of the station.

I joined my friends in leaping to my feet. I excitedly crammed my pockets full of the leftover candy I'd bought before excitedly grabbing all of my belongings and pushing out into the crowded main corridor of the train.

The second I stepped onto the bustling platform, I immediately shivered. The air tonight was brisk and the pebbled stone underneath my feet looked damp from a fresh rainstorm. Here in the Scottish Highlands, it had clearly already approached that time of year when the temperature dropped pretty low in the evening.

Adrian noticed, glancing my way.

"Cold?" he asked, laughing.

"Just a tad," I admitted.

He lifted his arm, snaking it around my shoulders and drawing me to his side. I smiled graciously, relishing in the warmth his bigger body provided.

As we began walking together with our friends down the length of the platform, trailing the herd of other students, I spotted the big, round, smiling face of Rubeus Hagrid at least six feet above every other head in the crowd. Hagrid was the very lovable, twelve-foot tall half-giant that served as Gamekeeper here at Hogwarts. He was shouting for all of the first-years to gather around him so he could lead them to the Black Lake. While all of the older students took carriages to the school, first-years were traditionally transported by boats across the water so they could get a lovely first glimpse of the castle at large.

"They're adorable," I giggled to Adrian as we watched all of the clumsy and clueless thirteen-year-olds stumbling over to Hagrid. I wondered where Harry and Ron were in the mess and if they were getting by alright.

He nodded his head in agreement.

"Hard to believe we looked like that once too," he commented, just as we approached the cluster of carriages awaiting us.

Adrian helped me into one that Callie, Kol, Isla, and Flora had saved for us and together we let it carry us up the bumpy forest lanes to the school.

When we arrived, we hopped out and began climbing the many steps to the giant, oak front doors. Upon walking inside the castle, I was immediately overcome by a feeling of warmth and a sense of home. I was certainly going to miss my mum and our little family's town that I wouldn't be seeing for some months, but I was so excited to be here again all the same.

Everyone poured into the Great Hall. Though I had of course been in it many times by now, I always gazed around the room with a sense of amazement each time I entered. It was tall and grand with four long wooden tables stretching its entire length. Each was designated for one of the school Houses—Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin—to occupy during meals or study halls. Up above, thousands of lit candles hung magically by themselves in the air underneath the illusion of a real starry night sky on the ceiling.

It never failed to take my breath away.

After saying my goodbyes to Flora, Isla, and Adrian, I trailed behind Callie and Kol to the Gryffindor table to await the arrival of the first-years and the start of the Sorting Ceremony.

Unfortunately for me, however, just as I sat down, my brother Jasper appeared out of nowhere and eagerly filled the spot on the bench beside me. This ultimately meant his twin sidekicks followed him and took their seats across the table from us shortly thereafter. Huge smiles were plastered on their faces.