The Sorting Ceremony
The entire train was a blur, I found myself being pushed around by students upon students all running like a huge mob and bellowing from the top of their lungs at all of the other black-robed giants. After what felt like eternity of shoving and screaming, I felt Hannah's cold hand clamp on my shoulder and drag me out of the raucous mob and over to where a group of equally sized children stood, shivering.
"We're going on boats!" She hissed excitedly.
I just nodded along, more occupied by the swarm of students rushing into the distance like their lives depended on it. Soon they all disappeared around the corner, so all you could hear was their yelps of excitement. That was going to be me next year.
The castle was roughly cut out of old stone slabs which seemed to tower over the small group of us like it was trying to intimidate everyone. Large ornate paintings hung on the walls, their occupants crowding the windows to the real world. Several of the students stared excitedly at the paintings, their mouths agape and pointing. I tried my best to stand straight and look like I knew where I was going and what I was doing, although I couldn't help but smile at a couple tipping me their hats.
"LUCIA!" A loud voice cried, a freezing hand clamped on my shoulder. I screamed and turned to see round face of Bethan Harper-Brown, who was bouncing excitedly.
"Oh, hello."
She laughed pointed excitedly at the couple in the painting, who had moved on to a trio of ogling boys, and garbled something about famous historians. I nodded on half-heartedly, occupied by the views out of the windows; the moonlight cast shadows over the trees that made it look as if they were alive.
Then we reached large double doors, which swung open to reveal the a large banquet hall, filled with cloaked students all watching us intently. Four house banners hung above the long tables, displaying their power. My eye was immediately drawn to the beautiful symbol of Slytherin house, made of a striking green and shiny silver, curled up in a long snake watching over the table.
I had to be in Slytherin, like my parents before me. They were ambitious, they got to places, they moved forward in life, they weren't dumb like Hufflepuff or snobbish like Ravenclaws or self-absorbed like Gryffindors. My parents were looking forward to my letter detailing my fantastic acceptance, what would they write if I went somewhere else, what if they sent me a Howler.
A tall witch with a sour face and pointy hat stood at the very end next to an equally witchy hat which looked as if it may fall apart. The teacher - who seemed to be called McGonagall - explained the rules of the hat calmly as the eyes of the students all burned into the back of my head. Eventually, when the introductions were over McGonagall read out the first name: "Eileen Abraham!"
A particularly small girl with sandy-coloured hair shakily stepped up to the spindly stall and the hat fell down onto her. The entire hall practically buzzed with silent anticipation as Eileen sat there. I counted the seconds in my mind: 1...2...3..., I was just reaching 37 when the hat's creased mouth suddenly opened and let out a booming cry:
"Hufflepuff!"
The hall was suddenly filled with rapturous applause as Eileen fled to one of the tables, pale from fright. McGonagall called up another student, a deathly pale girl named 'Narcissa Black' who was sorted to Slytherin almost immediately. I'm going to be right at the bottom, seeing as my surname began with 'Z' and all, so I watched the masses slip by, making a mental note of anyone sorted into Slytherin. Before long, it was Becky Fawley's turn.
As she went up, I could hear her muttering under her breath. The Sorting Hat spent the longest so far on her, and from the rapid succession of emotions passing over her face they were having some sort of discussion. Eventually, she gave an awkward jolt of the head and the Sorting Hat cried out "Slytherin!"
She awkwardly waded through to the table, giving both me and Hannah a thin smile as she passed by.
"Is she alright?" Bethan muttered under her breath, but I didn't reply as the next person, an Edward Fawkes, was already called up to the hat.
"Hufflepuff!" was declared almost instantly after the hat sat on Bethan's head. She flashed a big smile, and went bright red when the applause took up again.
Hannah was reached a little while after Bethan and, to our luck, she was placed in Slytherin, taking her place happily next to a few of the other sorted first years. Then came the waiting, and none of it was particularly pleasant. The standing students cleared out until it was only me, standing awkwardly as 'Elizabeth Walker' was placed into Ravenclaw.
"Lucia Zabini!"
The hat shielded my eyes from the view of hundreds of children staring at me. I tried desperately not to inhale the musty smell of hundreds of children's heads.
A large soothing voice echoed around my brain, as if a part of my own thoughts : "Hmm," It purred, "Slytherin, eh? You've certainly made up your mind. Well, I do see a lot of ambition in there, resourcefulness too...but maybe a different house is the way for you to go."
'No!' I thought loudly, 'please.'
The hat paused, and every second felt like an hour as I waiting for it to speak.
"Very well then...SLYTHERIN!"
A wave of relief washed over me and I exhaled excitedly. A smattering of applause echoed from around the hall, most coming from the first years at the Slytherin table. I couldn't help but notice that none of the elder years who sat high-and-mighty at the Gryffindor table gave more then a small tap of their fingers.
I sat myself down next to the second girl from the sorting - Something Black - who stared down at her plate without as much as a second glance. Becky sat on her other side, fiddling with her hair and running her nails up and down the table. Hannah sat eagerly opposite me, her head darting around the others I was surprised she didn't get whiplash.
"Congratulations!" She said, "We made it!"
I beamed, but before I could reply we were all asked to go quiet for a speech by the Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore. I sat silently, but I wasn't listening. I was too busy watching all of the other faces on the tables. I could see Bethan on Hufflepuff, already whispering and giggling with a boy whose name I had already forgotten.
When the headmaster's speech ended, our plates filled with a luxurious feast that I could spend days on one plate alone. After Hannah and I were talking for a while, I decided to be polite to my neighbour.
"Hey, your name is Narcissa, right?"
She looked startled, but quickly confirmed my question.
"Black?" Hannah interjected, "As in the house?"
Narcissa nodded happily, although I got the impression she was taken back by Hannah's Estuary accent, "My parents are Cygnus and Druella Black."
"That's amazing!"
"What about you?"
"Well I'm a pure-blood," I said, "And Hannah's parents are both half-bloods."
"My mum was in Slytherin!" She said defensively, "And she was a prefect!"
"That's good. I have two sisters already here, Bellatrix and Andromeda. Bellatrix is a fourth year and Andromeda's a second year," She smiled proudly, "all three of us are going to be prefects."
She gestured up the table to two girls who looked as alike to each other as they looked unalike to her. The elder one had high cheekbones and dark black hair which had clearly been styled in some way, the other had the exact same face just with softer brown hair which hung loose down her side. The first one, who I assume was Bellatrix, was laughing along with a group of girls who must have been in seventh year. Andromeda, however, seemed preoccupied with the candles which hovered around the ceiling.
"What about you?" Narcissa turned to Becky, who shrugged and returned to attacking her food with her fork.
"She's a pure-blood." Hannah said quickly, smiling far too widely.
Narcissa nodded approvingly, "Any siblings?"
Becky shook her head. I bit my lip, not wanting to reply.
"And you, Lucia? I don't think my sister's have mentioned a Zabini here."
"I'm an only child."
The conversation moved on instantly, mostly consisting of Hannah eagerly questioning Narcissa about her house and parents, with Becky occasionally interrupting to make a disparaging remark. Nobody questioned if I actually had a secret brother, and none of them would ever. They would never judge me for having a brother like me, or try and undermine blood status because of him.
Two years ago, when I was 9, my mum came home early from a dinner in tears. She wouldn't acknowledge me, or tell me where dad and Carmine were. After a while, the sobs calmed down and I went into her room to comfort her. She didn't say anything at first, ordering me to get out, but eventually she told me what happened. How, at this dinner, people had laughed when they realised Carmine wasn't at Hogwarts, and that he couldn't cast a single spell. They dared to accuse our pure-blood status as impure.
"You're going to get into Hogwarts!" She had told me, "You will, I know you will."
Carmine and our father arrived home an hour or so later, neither spoke to me and instead went straight to their rooms. Carmine never went to another dinner again, and for a while our family was out of favour with that certain group of people.
Bethan. She knew about Carmine. I looked behind, where I could see her laughing with her new friends, oblivious.
"Slytherin first-years follow me!" A high, Welsh voice called over the students and I saw a tanned sixth-year beckoning to us like we were dogs, "this way!"
I hadn't even realised the meal was over, but I begrudgingly pulled myself up and followed the large group of Green-cloaked students migrating to the doors.
"Excuse me, you're Lucia Zabini, right?"
I turned to see another first year girl watching me intently. She had rather spotty skin, and dark reddish-brown hair pulled back far too tight into a high ponytail, she wasn't a Slytherin however, she was a Gryffindor. I immediately prepared for her to be annoying, and guess what - I was right!
"I'm Sophie Morris," She said nasally, "As in Harriet Morris."
Oh right - the only person I liked at my parents parties - I knew she had a kid, but I thought she would at least look nice.
"Ah." Was all I could say.
"I see you're a Slytherin," She sniggered, "makes sense. Your family was the type."
"You're a Gryffindor. I see why."
Sophie rolled her eyes, "I should've known you'd be a bitch, but I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt."
I was stopped from replying by the same Slytherin prefect as earlier, who ushered me back into the group. As I was leaving, Sophie stuck up her two fingers and skipped back to her new Gryffindor friends with a smug smile. What a childish idiot.
Eventually, we reached a cold corridor right in the belly of the Hogwarts Castle where the other Slytherin prefect shouted "Boa!"
The Slytherin Common Room was a grand place, bordered by large marble pillars and golden trimmed archways. The floor was a lush black carpet, with long sofas, desks and tables placed strategically around the room. The stairs on the far end twisted out of sight, one of which led to a room I would be living in for the next seven years. I would be sharing with Becky, Hannah, Narcissa, and Mildred Campbell.
I immediately claimed a lovely bed with black sheets and golden posts by the window, with Becky and Mildred claiming the two either side of me. I laid out my items, and put away my clothes in the trunk. The other girls sat around talking, showing of their wands and Slytherin robes. It turned out Mildred was a half-blood with an annoying laugh and tendency to over-enunciate her vowels. She was also a huge fan of Quidditch, hanging far too many posters around her bed, some even encroaching on my own area.
Eventually the conversation died down and each one of us went to our own beds in silence. I couldn't sleep, I was practically buzzing with excitement. Next thing in the morning, I was going to write home and tell mum and dad everything about my first day, especially about Slytherin. They're going to be so happy. Hogwarts was everything I'd imagined, and more.