Chapter 2
The castle was straight out of a fairytale! As they rode their boats over the vast lake, the sky barely holding onto the last slivers of light from the fall of the sun kept the castle hidden in darkness, tho its lit windows shone like the stars that were slowly appearing. The still water reflected the building and the surrounding trees, other small boats filled with students sending ripples through it. Morgan, along with many others, watched the scenery in pure awe.
"Blimey! You weren't joking Perce…" One of the twins mumbled, the grandness of the castle had rendered them speechless.
Percy simply chuckled. The only reason he was in a boat full of first years was because he had been asked to by Hagrid, the friendly giant who had greeted everyone at the Hog's Meade station.
"Just wait until you get inside."
Oh, Morgan could barely wait. She was literally trembling from excitement! Slow, too slow, the boat glided across the water, and the tension and buzz of excitement were bubbling among the children. And the castle was drawing closer and closer, yet was still so far away, right at their fingertips but not yet in their grip.
Finally. The boat came to a halt on the shore and Professor McGonagall was waiting for them to clutter around her like lost sheep around their shepherd. She led everyone, that sea of overjoyed, curious children, inside the castle, ushering them into the Great Hall. If the outside had been impressive, the inside was absolutely mesmerizing. The high ceiling matched the color of the sky outside and the painted clouds moved! It looked so real…and the candles! They were floating in the air, held by nothing but magic! Four long tables in various colors were filled with students of all ages, and in the front lay a fifth table facing the others- that's where the teachers sat, Morgan noted. In the space between the teachers and students was a chair with an old battered hat on it. That's where McGonagall led the first years.
"Alright, dear students!" She beamed at them as she went to stand next to the chair, unraveling a long scroll. "I will call each of you by name and you will be sorted. Let's begin! Aurora Azaphell-"
A short girl with sand brown pigtails anxiously stepped forward. McGonagall smiled at her fondly and took the hat off the chair so she could sit on it. Then the ancient hat was placed on her hair and seemed to come to life!
"Slytherin!" It shouted with a raspy voice and everyone from the green table erupted in applause.
"Go on then, join your housemates…" McGonagall gently pushed the girl in that table's direction. Little Aurora smiled shyly and sat at her new house.
"Valentine Moore-"A tan boy skipped to the chair and was placed into Gryffindor. The red table almost roared with applause and welcome.
"Psst, Morgan. What house do you think you'll get into?" George turned towards the blonde.
She shrugged. "I don't know. They all seem great- I'll just wait and see, right? What about you? Think the hat will put you and Fred together?"
"It better! I've never been away from him for long…and he hasn't been away from me either. Besides when one's in the bathroom, of course." He chuckled but still sounded nervous. Would've been indeed sad if the twins were separated.
A few more students had been called and sorted and soon each table was a lot richer on children, hungry and getting impatient.
"Fred Weasley," McGonagall called out, and Fred sat on the chair, excited. The hat barely even touched his head when it shouted-
"Gryffindor!"
Morgan noticed another redhead from the table, applauding more enthusiastically than anyone else- most likely one of their older brothers. Percy was clapping too but more reserved. Fred flashed them a grin and ran up to them.
"George Weasley-"
"Fingers crossed." She whispered to him as he went to the sorting hat.
Again, it barely touched him.
"Gryffindor, obviously!"
George brought his fist into the air triumphantly and ran up to his twin.
A few more names, more students to sit at their new houses, more restlessness. The ceiling was now pitch black, dotted with tiny stars, and showing a beautiful half-moon behind clouds. Weirdly enough the candles didn't seem to have melted at all. Magic was amazing.
"Morgan Wälder-"
It took Morgan a few seconds to realize her name had been called. She ran up to the hat and let it rest gently on her golden hair.
"Hm. Interesting. Very, very interesting…" The hat's voice rang out, but no one reacted to it- was it…in her head?
"Yes, yes little one, I'm talking inside your head! Such fascinating mind! Such potential! I could put you in Slytherin- but, ah, there's something more important to you than ambition, or being cunning- won't even mention traditionalism…you lack that entirely. Hm…" The hat kept on musing and beating around the bush. Morgan wondered if it was actually taking as long as it felt it did.
"You have a great deal of courage, and a sense to make things right…wonder what could be the drive. Alas-"
The hat paused and the girl felt a weird shift in her mind. Was the hat out? Suddenly it shouted-
"Gryffindor!"
Morgan exhaled relieved and went to the red table, sitting down next to the twins. They both engulfed her in a rib-breaking hug.
"Welcome to the group!" They shouted excitedly and she couldn't help but laugh.
Percy chimed in. "Five more children and we'll be able to eat. You're going to love the feast. Then we'll go up the Gryffindor tower into our common room and from there you'll get a bedroom with four other girls."
"Ok. But ain't that a lot? Will we have enough space?" Her brows furrowed as she tried to imagine how the room would be arranged- did they have bunk beds? She didn't like bunk beds…
"The rooms are quite big, don't worry. plenty of space for beds, dressers and desks! Not enough space for parties tho, so refrain from those."
"Boo! Boring!" The twins stuck their tongues out at their brother. Percy rolled his eyes- he did that a lot in their presence, his annoyance was evident.
He didn't have time to argue with them however, because before them appeared a wonderful feast- plates filled to the brim with delicious-looking foods of all kinds, from salty to sweet to spicy, soups, stews, veggies and meat. Everyone started digging in, filling their plates with whatever they deemed most tasty looking. Morgan and the Weasleys began eating as well, enjoying the variety of foods and listening to older students chat with each other- they weren't listening in, not at all, but, my, so much drama was being spilled already on the first night. It was hilarious and quite entertaining. Finally, they finished dinner and two students stood up, a boy and a girl.
"Alright, everyone!" The boy said. "Time to get to our dorms, please move in pairs in an orderly line, this ain't kindergarten anymore."
All older students were already leaving, making it obvious he was talking to the first years only.
"That's our Head Boy- Antonio Brown. Head Girl is Suzanne Beatle." Percy explained. He had stayed behind for the twins and Morgan.
"Are they, like, together or something?" She asked confused. She did read about the system Hogwarts had but hadn't paid much attention at the time. Percy chuckled.
"Nah, they just had the most outstanding grades and behavior so they've been assigned to keep the house in check. I'm working hard to become Head Boy in my seventh year too!" He beamed with pride.
"Mhm, so special." "Just like Bill and Charlie." The twins teased him, talking in their broken way- but if Morgan focused enough she could pretend it was only one person speaking, making their speech more coherent. Percy glowered at them but said nothing.
"I'm sure you'll do it, Percy! You'll be a great Head Boy." Morgan decided to diffuse the tension with her sweet voice and a friendly, toothy smile.The redhead returned her smile, looking happy.
The Head Boy and Girl lead them up a long set of stairs, moving stairs. Morgan almost got separated from them on a few occasions because the stairs decided to shift right at the wrong moment. She had to jump one too many times for her liking. But finally, they reached the top of the tower and…a giant portrait? Suzanne greeted the fat lady from the painting and said: "Devil's snare."
"Correct." The lady replied and the portrait swung open to reveal an entrance. Morgan took great care to try and remember that password.
"C'mon! Last one closes the portrait." The Head Girl disappeared through the entrance, forcing everyone else to just follow her. Antonio stayed behind to close the painting.
The common room was big and circular, reds and golds being the main colors. A few armchairs and a long couch were strewn around, some bookshelves and desks but the central piece was the giant fireplace opposite from the door they just came through. Left and right were two sets of stairs leading to other corridors.
"Ok, everyone! The girls' dormitories are on the left and the boys' are on the right. Boys, don't try to get into the girls' dorms, the stairs won't like that." Suzanne explained and Antonio went to demonstrate.
He went up the left stairs and halfway they shifted, turning into a slide and he slid down. He tried again, climbing the smooth surface but again, halfway, it shifted and became incredibly steep so the boy was forced to get down. Some of the boys looked a bit disappointed, the twins included.
"Can girls go up the boys' stairs?" Someone asked.
"Yes," Suzanne replied. "But there's no need, right?" She raised her eyebrow in a way that meant she wasn't looking for an answer.
"Anyways, let's get to bed. I'm sure you are all very tired. You already have a room and a bed assigned, you just need to find it. So, all girls please follow me, all the boys go with Antonio." And she was already halfway up the stairs. She seemed very impatient… they had no choice but to hurry after her.
Morgan bid the Weasley siblings a hasty goodbye. There were many doors on either side of the long corridor and Morgan had to wonder just how big that tower really was. It certainly hadn't looked this spacious from the outside. There were golden plates on the doors, each sporting five names. Suzanne stopped before each door and called out the names rapid fire before moving to the next door, leaving the called girls to enter their room. After four doors she finally called out Morgan's name, along with others she didn't pay attention to. She entered the room and, just as Percy had said, it was large and equipped with everything needed. She recognized her trunk in front of one of the beds. She sighed softly, smiling to herself- this already felt like home. Not long after her, four other girls came in.
"Woah! This looks so cool!" One, with short black hair, squealed.
"I guess…my bedroom back home is definitely bigger." Another chimed in. She had a long brown French braid and a ton of freckles.
"Well, we ain't 'home' anymore, sis. This place looks cozy…" The third, who looked identical to the second but with shorter hair in twin braids, scolded the other.
"Hi, I'm Melanie! Melanie Darling." The fourth was the only one to notice Morgan. She had reddish brown hair hanging in loose curls, and very striking blue eyes.
"Hey…I'm Morgan Wälder. Nice to meet you!" Morgan took her hand and smiled friendly, the other girl returning the gesture.
The others seemed to take note of her as well and swarmed her.
"Hullo! I'm Leyla Graves! We're gonna be the best of friends!" The black-haired girl beamed, shaking Morgan's hand with more force than necessary.
"Jasmine Silver- that's my sister, Belle." The one-braid twin introduced herself and her sister, who hugged Morgan excitedly.
"Nice to meet you all! I'd love to chat more, but I have a letter to write-" She smiled a bit overwhelmed as she extracted herself from the human pile the girls had formed. She went to her trunk, opened it and got her quill, ink and parchment out. It was about time she wrote to her parents…