Together (A Harry Potter love story) 1

7

The door swung open. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald green robes stood there. She had a very stern face and I knew at once that this was not someone to cross - we'll see just how well that works out, shall we?

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

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

She pulled the door wide and my eyes widened. The entrance hall was so big you could have fitted my whole house in it. The walls were lit with torches, the ceiling was too high to make out, and an amazing marble staircase facing us led to the upper floors.

We followed professor McGonagall across the stone floor. I could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right- the rest of the school must already be here. I gulped and glanced around, relieved to find everyone else looking just as anxious.

Professor McGonagall stopped suddenly and turned around to face us all.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she said. "The start of term banquet will begin shortly, but before you 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, you 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.

The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. 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 credit to whichever house becomes yours."
"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. I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly."

She left the chamber. I nudged Ron lightly to gain his attention, and pointed to his nose.

"There's a bit of dirt on it," I whispered to him. He looked at me with wide eyes and began to rub it furiously. I laughed and turned to my other side, where Harry was attempting to flatten his messy hair.

"I don't think that's gonna work," I said, smiling in amusement.

"Worth a try," he replied quietly, before glancing up at me and smirking.

"What's the smirk for, Potter?" I hissed, crossing my arms.

"Nothing, nothing."

"Mills, some of your hairs sticking up," Mione said to me, and I felt her begin to run her fingers through it.

"Wow," I breathed to Harry as his smirk grew bigger. "Hilarious. Thanks for telling me, Potter. Thanks, Mione."

"You'e welcome," they both said at the same time.

"How exactly do they sort us into houses?" I asked Mione, ignoring Harry completely. Before she could answer, however, Ron interrupted, earning himself a dangerous glare from the girl.

"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking."

My heart gave a horrible jolt. A test? In front of the whole school? But I didn't know any magic yet - what on earth would I have to do? I hadn't expected something like this the moment we arrived. I could hear Mione behind me, whispering very fast about all the spells she'd learnt and wondering which one she'd need. I fixed my gaze to the floor. Any second now, Professor McGonagall would come back and lead me to my doom. But before anything else could happen, several people behind me screamed, making my head flick up.