#hiod

Aspen Lennox was jittery with excitement and anxiety as she waited for her name to be called by the professor. Beside her was Cassie, who also looked nervous at being stared at by everyone else. 

“Dey, Faolan!”

Faolan stepped forward, a wide grin spread across his face as he placed the Sorting Hat upon his head.

“RAVENCLAW!” It immediately bellowed and Faolan went to join his new Hogwart’s house at their table. 

Aspen wondered if she would be placed in the same house as any of her new friends. So far Faolan was the only one who had been sorted, but she would know soon enough.

“Elmwood, Theodore!”

A slender boy with wavy blond hair went to the stool and was just as swiftly placed into--

“SLYTHERIN!”

The next few seemed to keep pace.

“Finch-Fletchley, Justin!”

“HUFFLEPUFF!”

“Finnegan, Seamus!”

“GRYFFINDOR!”

“Granger, Hermione!”

“GRYFFINDOR!”

“Lennox, Aspen!”

And then it was her turn. Aspen stepped forward and picked up the Sorting Hat from where Hermione had left it. When she put it on it fell low on her forehead., and she had to put up a hand to tilt the hat back before it covered her eyes. A few silent moments passed while everyone waited for the hat to make its decision...

But the silence continued, making Aspen’s anxiety peak. Is something wrong...?

I shall admit that you are a difficult one to sort, a voice spoke to her that sounded eerily similar to the voice the Sorting Hat had used to speak aloud, but it hadn’t spoken to any of the others like this until now...unless she was the only one that could hear its voice? You have an eager mind, a brave soul, and a loyal heart. Each of these qualities are strong in you, and none outweigh the others. Do you wish to choose?

Whichever house she was placed in, Aspen was determined to make a home here. She knew this decision was important--and ultimately out of her hands--but she would not let it define her.

Bravery it is then, the voice said privately with a short laugh, and then the glorious cry of “GRYFFINDOR” rang through the Great Hall and the cheering began from the table beneath the red and gold banner.

Even Professor McGonagall clapped and offered a small smile. “I was worried we might have a hatstall,” she said. “But we welcome you to Gryffindor house.”

Whatever a hatstall was, Aspen was sure it was bad. But she was sorted and officially accepted at Hogwarts! A combination of joy and relief flooded Aspen, and with a smile of her own she went to join the other Gryffindors at their table. She couldn’t wait until after the banquet to write a letter to her mom.

Aspen’s first class of the semester was Transfiguration. Aspen had already read through what was likely the first month worth of content in her textbooks, so the techniques Professor McGonagall was teaching the class were ones she already knew about. Aspen thought that maybe she would be the only one able to answer the professor’s questions on the subjects she was bringing up, but Aspen found another student raising her hand to be called on just as fast as she. Aspen thought the girl’s name was Hermione, but she wasn’t sure. The first year girls in the Gryffindor dormitory had been almost too sleepy for introductions. Or at least Aspen was too sleepy to pay full attention to the introductions that had been made.

When it came time to test out the simple transfiguration spells McGonagall wanted them to try, Aspen easily changed the white feather of her quill to another, much darker feather. 

“Very nice, Ms. Lennox,” Professor McGonagall said, as she scanned the room, watching everyone’s progress. Aspen’s cheeks warmed at the praise.

“Thank you, professor,”  Aspen replied, and Professor McGonagall continued pacing the room.

Beside her, Aspen noticed another student struggling. She had long blond hair and her face was scrunched in focus and frustration as she repeated the spell over and over to no avail.

“Mind if I help you?” Aspen offered, and the girl immediately jolted, clearly surprised. Aspen noticed that her eyes were so pale gray they almost looked like quicksilver.

“Sure...um, I’m not really sure what I’m doing wrong. I’m saying the incantation right, or at least I think I am. How did you manage to do it?” The girl rambled a bit, and then waited for Aspen’s instructions.

Aspen repeated the incantation for her and corrected the phrase she had mispronounced. She also gave the girl some pointers on how to properly flick her wand, and at what point in the spell for best effect. The girl nodded, flowing along and when she tried the spell again for herself they were both excited to see it work.

“Thank you! I was starting to think it was impossible,” the blond girl smiled at Aspen. “Oh, I’m Evlyn Silvanos, by the way. I don’t know if you remember from last night or not, you seemed pretty tired. You can call me Eve, though.”

“I was pretty tired, but it’s nice to meet you. Again. I’m Aspen Lennox, just in case you were also sleepy last night,” Aspen said and they both shared a laugh.

“Would you want to study together after lunch? I feel like we’re going to end up with a ton of homework, and you seem to know what you’re doing. We could even eat lunch together, if you want.,” Eve offered, looking a little nervous.

“That sounds like fun! We still have two more classes before then, but we’ll have those together with the way things are scheduled here. You know, with houses having classes together and everything. I was hoping to have classes with a variety of people from different houses, because everyone I met on the train ended up getting sorted into other houses last night. It’s good to make a friend in my house though!” Aspen smiled at Eve, hoping she felt the same.

“It is,” Eve agreed, mirroring Aspen’s smile with one of her own. “I rode on the train with my older brother and Jordan, but they’re both in Slytherin, so you’re really my first friend. No pressure,” she joked.

“Alright,” Professor McGonagall said, calling the class to attention. “That is all the time we have for today. Please read chapter one in your copy of A Beginner’s Guide to Transfiguration and come prepared for our next lesson. You are dismissed.”

Aspen put her belongings back into her book bag, quickly transfiguring her quill back to its original stark white, and then she and Eve left the classroom together and headed to their next class.

When the sorting ceremony was over, Ro watched an old man with a long silver beard rise to his feet. As he looked at all of the students, new and old, he spread his arms wide, the wide sleeves of his purple robes rustling as he did.

"Welcome!" he said, addressing all who were gathered in a jovial tone. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

Ro stared up at the bearded man like he was crazy, but the older students sitting around her began cheering as if the senile old man had imparted some sort of profound wisdom to them. From some of the comments being made, Ro picked up the name Dumbledore...so this was the famous headmaster? She recognized his name from her Hogwarts letter, but somehow the man himself was even more odd than what her father, Cecil Crane, had described.

Regardless, Ro didn’t understand why so many people were so excited over his prophetic nonsense. But she forgot her confusion once the feast began and platters of hot food appeared by magic in front of everyone.

“Hey! You three are all first years, right?” an older Hufflepuff student with dark hair that went just past his ears. He seemed to be speaking to Ro and two other girls who had just been sorted into Hufflepuff that were sitting beside her.

“We are...?” the girl with long wavy brown hair replied, a tentative expression on her face.

“It’s a bit of a personal hobby of mine, but what kind of wands did you get? I’m really hoping to apprentice under a famous wandmaker someday, and Ollivander is my favorite! When I first stepped into his shop, he matched me with an alder wand, unicorn hair core, 10 and a half inches, unyielding.” The older boy took out his wand to show them, and then suddenly looked embarrassed.  “Oh, by the way, I’m Tamlen Dey, but you can just call me Tam--everyone else does.”

Ro and the other two girls met eyes before any of them replied to Tam. The girl with long blond curls was the first to speak up.

“It’s nice to meet you, Tam. I’m Azalia Pendragon,” she said with a kind smile. Then she took out her own wand to show him. “It’s walnut with unicorn, like yours.”

“May I?” Tam asked, holding out a hand to take her wand. She nodded, handing it over to him. He set down the fork he had been using to eat, and began to examine Azalia’s wand. “11 inches,” he commented and then attempted to bend it. “Unyielding, it seems,” he added with a wry smile, before handing it back to her. Then he looked at Ro and the other girl expectantly.

“Um...I’m Cassie Shale, and I’m not sure I remember what my wand was. Everything happened so fast when I was in the shop and I didn’t quite hear what the wandmaker said to me after... Maybe you can tell me what my wand is?”

Cassie reached into her robes and took out her wand, handing it across the table. Tam gingerly took it from her, an eager grin on his face.

“I do love a good challenge! Let’s see...” He began his examination of Cassie’s wand. “This looks like dogwood,” he said, and then put his ear to the wood, as if listening for something, though the girls couldn’t imagine what. “Phoenix feather core... 10 and 3/4 inches, I believe... and slightly springy!”

Tam handed Cassie’s wand back, and then turned to Ro expectantly.

Ro reached into her robe pocket and took out her wand, but didn’t hand it over. “Ollivander warned me not to let other people handle my wand. He said it’s especially attached to me and is very likely to harm anyone else who tries to handle it.”

“Oh!” said Tam, seeming more curious than deterred. “You must have a laurel wand then!”

“Yes, actually. Dragon heart string, and I think Ollivander said 14 inches and hard flexibility. You really seem to know what you’re talking about though.”

“You do!” Azalia agreed, and Cassie nodded. 

“Thank you! I very much hope to become a famous wandmaker in my own right someday! But for now I’ll be keeping up with my studies and trying to set up an apprenticeship before I graduate! I’m a third year, so please don’t hesitate to ask if you ever need help with anything! And if you can’t find me, then I’m confident that any of the other older Hufflepuff students will be willing to help!”

The girls thanked him, and they all continued eating. There was every dish imaginable on the table, and Ro ate her fill of each, not realizing that the train ride had left her quite so hungry.

When everyone was finished with dessert, Professor Dumbledore stood up from the High Table and the rest of the hall fell silent.

"Ahem, just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.

"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."

Ro swore that the Professor eyed the Weasley twins sitting at the Gryffindor table. From their train ride together, she could imagine the trouble they got up to while on school grounds.

Dumbledore continued. "I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors.

"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch.

"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

Ro couldn’t tell if he was kidding about the painful death thing or not. There was a brief moment of silence before Professor Dumbledore went on.

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" Dumbledore took his wand and waved it in the air. A golden ribbon flew out of it, and flew high above the table, twisting itself into words.

"Everyone pick their favorite tune," cheered Dumbledore, "and off we go!"

Everyone in the great hall sang, absolutely no one in unison:

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,

Teach us something please,

Whether we be old and bald

Or young with scabby knees,

Our heads could do with filling

With some interesting stuff,

For now they're bare and full of air,

Dead flies and bits of fluff,

So teach us things worth knowing,

Bring back what we've forgot,

Just do your best, we'll do the rest,

And learn until our brains all rot."

Everybody finished the song at different times, and eventually it was only the Weasley twins that were still singing the song to a slow funeral march.

When everybody fell silent again, Professor Dumbledore was the one who clapped the loudest.

"Ah, music," Professor Dumbledore sighed. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

Ro went with Cassie and Azalia, following the other Hufflepuff students to their dormitory by the kitchens. They all found their luggage and belongings already put away in their rooms with magic. It was as if they had already been here for days rather than just arriving. It was nice to be able to go straight to bed without having to unpack though. It was late and Ro knew there was an early start tomorrow. She was as nervous as she was eager for her classes the next morning, which was very. 

Eve was startled out of her panicked thoughts when her name was called. Fighting her nerves, she forced herself  toward the Sorting Hat.

Everything will be fine, she told herself. You’ll get sorted ,and everything will be fine.

With both hands, Eve nervously grasped the Sorting Hat and put it on her head. Taking a seat, she closed her eyes and began a silent mantra. Anything but Slytherin.

“GRYFFINDOR!” the Sorting Hat roared and Eve released the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. She tried not to let her relief show, and instead made her expression shocked and horrified.

While the Gryffindor table clapped and cheered, Eve glanced over at the Slytherin table, making eye contact with her older brother, Leopold. She immediately looked away when she saw the malice in his expression. There was going to be hell to pay later, and she knew. Her father was going to be so furious with her when he found out...but for now she was free, and that was all that mattered.

When she realized that everyone was staring at her, waiting for her to set the hat down and take a seat at the Gryffindor table, she awkwardly followed suit.

Eve sat down at the Gryffindor table, trying not to make eye contact with anyone. A girl with auburn hair, who had recently been sorted, sat on her right, and an older boy with red hair, who appeared to have a twin, was on her other side. She tried not to draw any more attention to herself.

Everything is going to be fine, she tried to convince herself. If I can avoid Leopold, I won’t have to deal with this until I go home for the holidays and have to face Father...

She shivered at the thought, and quickly tried to think of something else. Luckily, there were still a few students left who needed to be sorted, so Eve focused on them and tried to forget her own problems.

“Thomas, Dean!”

A lanky boy with dark skin and curly hair was swiftly sorted into Gryffindor.

“Weasley, Ron!”

A ginger-haired boy who looked nervous was also sorted into Gryffindor.

“Zabini, Blaise!”

Eve actually knew Blaise, for he and his mother had attended her family’s dinner party last month with the other magical elite, as her father referred to them. Eve wasn’t surprised when he was sorted into Slytherin.

Once there were no more first years left to sort, Eve tried to find other things to distract herself from panicking. Nothing seemed to work, however.

"Potter, Harry!"

A series of whispers suddenly broke out after the name was called.

"Did she say Potter?"

"The Harry Potter?"

As the boy placed the Sorting Hat on his head, everyone in the Great Hall was silent, craning their necks to get a good look at him. Cassie didn’t understand what made him quite so special. He looked like an ordinary boy with unkempt hair and askew glasses.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the Sorting Hat hollered after a few moments of silence, and the Gryffindor table began cheering louder than any of the other tables had before.

Harry Potter went to the Gryffindor table, and people stood up to shake his hand, while others continued to cheer. A pair of redheaded twins began shouting, "We got Potter! We got Potter!"

Cassie still didn’t see why people thought he was particularly important. Especially when the boy seemed to want none of the attention he was receiving. 

“Settle down, everyone! There are still first years to sort.” Professor McGonagall called the room back to order. She cleared her throat and resumed reading from the list.

“Shale, Cassie!”

Cassie hadn’t expected to be going quite so soon, but she stepped forward and went to the stool, careful not to step on her new school robes. She was still getting used to wearing them, and it would be terribly embarrassing to trip in front of so many people. She picked up the Sorting Hat that had been discarded by Harry Potter, wondering what fate would await her. Its fabric felt old and worn between her fingers, but it had character--even the literal kind. Cassie sat down on the stool, and placed the Sorting Hat upon her head, like all of the other first years who had gone before her. Everything was quiet for a few moments, while everything hung in the balance. Then there was a whisper of air, as if the hat itself was taking a breath, and then it shouted, “HUFFLEPUFF!”

Relieved that her small moment of fame was finally over, Cassie went to join the Hufflepuff table, hoping that Aspen would be all right by herself in Gryffindor. In fact, now that Cassie thought about it, Merlin, Faolan, Aspen, and herself had all been sorted into separate houses. As Cassie took a seat at an open spot on a bench, Professor McGonagall read the next name on the list.

“Silvanos, Evlyn!”