In Many Forms

Cedric proved to be a fantastic train companion. Apparently his whole family were wizards and he’d been both surprised and thrilled to learn that Anna was muggle-born. He’d never spent time around non-magic people so he had an endless flurry of questions for her and he was more than happy to answer her questions in return. 

Anna didn’t even know where to begin. She wanted to know so much about her new world. But she began with questions about the school. Cedric’s whole family had gone to Hogwarts and he had a wealth of knowledge to share. Though, the one thing even he didn’t know was how students were sorted into houses. The four houses, as Cedric had described them, were Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. 

Cedric suspected he’d be in Hufflepuff. “Just like my dad,” he’d said proudly. 

When Cedric described the values of each house, Anna’s stomach churned. She wasn’t brave, nor was she particularly intelligent, she wouldn’t really describe herself as a hard worker, and her only ambition was to not make a fool of herself in front of her new classmates. Where did that leave her? 

Anna spent the rest of the train ride with a sour taste in her mouth, and it wasn’t just from the Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans that Cedric shared with her (she’d stopped after biting into one flavoured like dirty socks). 

All too soon they had to put their conversation on hold and pull on their school robes. Anna had just finished buttoning her plain black robes when the Hogwarts Express rattled to a stop and a whistle blew from somewhere at the head of the train. 

Cedric beamed at her and Anna could only offer a shaky grimace in return. The stone in her gut seemed to grow heavier as they shuffled down the train corridor with the other kids, leaving their belonging behind as they’d been instructed by an older student. 

“Come on,” Cedric called and held out a hand to help her down the train steps. 

She gladly took his hand. Her knees weren’t doing the best job of holding her up on their own. Anna and Cedric clung to each other in the swarm of bodies. Older students were already making their way towards one end of the platform, sidestepping first-years who appeared to be just as lost as the two of them. 

“Firs'-years this way!” A booming voice called out across the platform. “Firs’-years with me, now!” 

Anna swung her head around, looking for the voice. When she spotted him she nearly tripped over her own feet. 

A man—more like a giant—stood a little ways down the platform. He towered over everyone, the older students included. He was a wild-looking man, dressed in a long coat that was made up mostly of pockets, and sporting a mane of black tangles and a similarly bushy beard that hid half his face from view. 

Cedric had spotted him too, it seemed, because he tugged Anna towards the wild-looking man. As they neared him, along with a gaggle of other kids their age, Anna craned her head back and marvelled that anyone could ever be so large. 

The man smiled wide when it seemed all the first-years had gathered around him in a huddle of black robes. 

“Hello ev’ryone. Gather in, don’ be shy. Right then, bit abou’ meself. The name’s Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts, but jus’ call me Hagrid. I ‘spect yeh’re all excited ter get ter school, so follow me down ter the boats.” 

Hagrid set off down the platform, leading the first-years the opposite direction of where the older students had gone. 

Anna’s heart pounded as she shuffled alongside the other kids. Fear and excitement tangled in her stomach, twisting her insides into a roiling mess. A warm hand squeezed around Anna’s and she followed the pull of those fingers back down to earth. 

Cedric was watching her, concern clear on his face. He squeezed her hand again. “Alright, Anna?” 

Swallowing thickly she nodded. She would be fine, there was no other option. 

Cedric nodded in acceptance and tugged her over to the edge of a gleaming lake. She hadn’t even noticed they’d arrived somewhere. She looked up from the narrow path beneath her feet and the breath left her chest. 

A castle sat across the water, perched high on a mountain above the lake. Its many spires and turrets glowed gently from within. Tentative delight crept up Anna’s fingertips, and for the first time since Diagon Alley, she itched to pull out her wand. 

“Ev’ryone climb in! Four to a boat—careful now! An’ don’ you lot go tippin’ the boats. Yeh won’ like what’s in the Black Lake.” 

Anna and Cedric filed closer to the shore, where Hagrid was plopping kids into boats and pushing them out into the open water. The little boats floated on the lake, unmoving.

Two boys climbed into a half-full boat ahead of them and Hagrid gave it a shove forward. The hairy man turned to Anna and Cedric then and beckoned them over. “Well don’ be shy. Gotta get you lot ter the castle one way or another.” 

Cedric climbed in first. He traded Anna’s hand for Hagrid’s, who helped him get settled into  an empty boat. 

“Alrigh,’ you next.” Hagrid offered Anna his hand next and she took it gratefully. She’d never been on a boat before but it looked…unsteady. 

Anna clambered into the boat and sat herself on a narrow bench, none too gracefully. Cedric bumped his shoulder into hers. 

“Don’t worry.” He laughed. “I don’t think anything in the lake will eat you.” 

A glance out at the vast black waters didn’t have Anna all that convinced. 

Two kids climbed in after them. Anna scrunched her robes in her hands when the boat rocked. 

Once all the students were loaded into boats, which bobbed gently in the shallows, Hagrid sank down in a boat of his own and in his booming voice said, “Forward!” 

The small fleet of boats began moving through the water at his command. The lantern lights on the narrow shore faded quickly and only the faint glimmers of moonlight on water remained. The further across the lake they got the more odd Anna began to feel. She couldn’t put a name to the emotion or even discern if it was one emotion or many. All she knew was that this feeling was not her own and it was most certainly coming from somewhere beneath them in the lake. 

Anna stared ahead, not daring to look at the water, but also entranced by the castle they sailed towards. A gentle shock rocketed up her spine when one of the castle lights winked in the distance. A warm feeling grew inside of her, reaching out into the tips of her fingers and the ends of her hair. It spread so far there was hardly any room for the odd emotion she’d felt before. The tension eased from her muscles and Anna found herself—dare she say it—excited. 

She unwound her hands from where they had been clutching her robes and reached one hand out towards the water. It didn’t seem so scary anymore. 

Her fingers skimmed the lake and the coolness of the black water settled something inside her. She drew a deep breath and closed her eyes. Anna hadn’t felt this calm since she’d left All Saints. She felt like she did at home when sneaking around and doing things for the other kids, only now with a much larger backdrop. Perhaps that’s what had been causing her nervousness. 

At the children’s home everything was familiar, she’d known each stone and step since she was a baby. But here, in the wizarding world, everything was new and so much bigger than she’d anticipated. 

Something warm brushed against her fingers and Anna’s eyes snapped open. Careful to not lean too far and tip the boat, she peered over the side of it. A sliver of moonlight shone down on the lake and reflected off of something large and round beneath the surface. Again, something warm and soft touched Anna’s fingertips. The warmth in her chest expanded. The orb in the lake blinked once and disappeared. 

Hagrid had mentioned there being things inside the lake. Anna pulled her fingers away from the water. She wasn’t foolish enough to go looking for it, but she wasn’t convinced that the creature who’d blinked at her was quite as deadly as Hagrid had led on. 

Cedric bounced on the bench beside her, drawing Anna’s attention away from the water. The castle gleamed brighter the closer they sailed. 

“Heads down!” Hagrid called out as boats got close to the cliff atop which the castle sat. Everyone ducked down as they sailed through a curtain of ivy along the cliff face. A couple muffled laughs echoed in the dark tunnel, which seemed to stretch on for far too long. Finally a glimmer of light appeared and the little boats brought them out into a sort of underground harbour. Students jumped out onto the pebbled ground, some accidentally stepping into the water as they went. 

Hagrid stood at the water’s edge, counting the students as they came ashore. He held a lantern aloft in his hand, waving it this way and that as he surveyed the boats. 

“Righ’ then, after me.” 

He led them up a passageway in the rocks and out onto a grassy lawn. A stone flight of steps brought them to the foot of the castle, right to the large oak doors. Hagrid knocked loudly on the doors that stood even taller than him. The door swung open without any delay and a woman in deep green robes greeted them. 

Anna gasped at seeing Professor McGonagall again so soon. The Professor wore a stern expression, colder than the one Anna had grown used to on their travels. 

“Hello, Professor McGonagall,” said Hagrid, gesturing to the kids crowded behind him. “The firs’-years.” 

“Thank you, Hagrid. Students, follow me.” The Professor pulled the large doors open wider and ushered them in. 

The first-years filed in all at once, bumping into each other from every side and angle. They filled the entrance hall, which was wider and longer than any room Anna had ever seen. Flaming torches lined the stone walls and illuminated the space, along with a large marble staircase that led somewhere out of sight. 

Anna shuffled along with the crowd, following Professor McGonagall into a small room off the hall. The door shut with a clang when the last of them entered. The students looked at each other, some grinning, others worrying. 

“Welcome to Hogwarts,” said McGonagall, facing the group. “Before you take your seats in the Great Hall for the start-of-term banquet, you will be sorted into your houses. While you are here, your houses will be like your family. The four houses of Hogwarts are named after the four founders,” she explained. “They are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff. Each house has a long and noble history, which you will all uphold and continue during your time here. Your triumphs at Hogwarts will earn points for your house and any rule-breaking will take away points. The house with the most points at the end of the year is awarded the house cup. This is a great honour, and I hope each of you will be a credit to your houses.” 

McGonagall surveyed the faces in front of her and folded her hands together. “Now then, the Sorting Ceremony will take place shortly. Wait here quietly and I will collect you all in a few minutes.” 

Hushed whispers broke out as soon as McGonagall shut the door behind her. The sour taste was back in Anna’s mouth. She shuffled closer to Cedric’s side, clutching his arm for support. He laid a hand over both of hers and offered a gentle smile. A bit of comfort settled into Anna’s bones. Cedric was good at that, she’d learned. Not once since they met had he laughed at her lack of wizard knowledge or shook off her need for comfort. 

The first-years all stood in a quiet huddle, looking around at the room and each other but not really speaking. They were all a bit nervous, Anna could feel it in the air. 

Suddenly, a loud pop rang out through the room and a little floating man zoomed over their heads. His orange eyes sparked with a wicked gleam and the brass bells attached to his hat jingled every time he somersaulted in the air. The kids ducked down and screamed as the little man swooped down at them, cackling loudly. 

“Teensy weensy little firsties!” the little man shouted and yanked on the end of a girl’s braid. The girl cried out and the students near her hastily pulled her into the middle of their group. 

The little man swooped down over her again but someone on the other side of the room threw their pointed hat at him. The hat smacked him on the side of the head and the man froze upside down, hovering over the crouching first-years. 

“I smell MISCHIEF!” he screamed with a gleeful laugh. 

The door boomed open just as the little man righted himself in the air. Professor McGonagall stood in the doorway with a furious expression, the likes of which Anna had not yet seen on her. 

“Away with you, Peeves!” 

The little man narrowed his orange eyes at McGonagall, stuck out his tongue, and blew a raspberry at the Professor. His spittle rained down over the students and they ducked again as he swooped out of the room. 

“I see you’ve all met Peeves. Best to avoid him if you can,” McGonagall sighed. “We’re ready to begin the Sorting Ceremony. Follow me, please.” 

Anna squeezed Cedric’s arm and they held on to each other as everyone shuffled out of the room after McGonagall.