fools in love | tmr jr.

chapter nine

a walk to remember

that booming voice turned out to be hagrid, a giant man in charge of the seemingly endless grounds of hogwarts.

hagrids booming voice was heard once more as he beckoned the first years to follow him, "c'mon, follow me -- any more firs' years? mind yer step, now! firs' years follow me!"

as they followed hagrid down a steep, narrow path, dahlia took the time to look around and observe her teammates. many of them where shivering due to the cold scottish air, just like dahlia herself was doing. those shivers did nothing to hold her interest, much to her dismay. however, she quickly found it as her eyes stumbled upon that git from diagon alley.

dahlia was honestly shocked to see him here. despite his frail frame, the arsehole carried himself with a sort of grace that is usually found in those much older. just like at diagon, the boy was stern. walking almost separated from the rest of the group. great, dahlia thought, another arsehole who thought himself better than everyone else.

after almost tripping on a stray root, dahlia began focusing once more on the path ahead. nobody was speaking much, the atmosphere was just a bit too tense to be comfortable. however, the silence was finally broken as the first years turned a corner. a loud, "oooh," was uttered by most of the eleven-year-olds. the dark winding path had opened up, leading the students to the edge of a black lake.

it was there that dahlia got her first sight of hogwarts. the castle was perched on top of a mountain, with its windows shimmering in the night sky. dahlia believed it to be the most enchanting life of her short life.

"it's gorgeous," she whispered to her companions. neville and ron nodded along, a bit too stunned by the mesmerizing sight to voice their thoughts.

a fleet of little boats were sitting in the water by the shore. as the students started filling in, hagrid called, "o more'n four to a boat!"

dahlia, neville, and ron quickly filed into the closest boat. joined by a small redheaded girl. the fleet of boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake. the silence regained its power, as everyone continued staring at the castle, watching as it got closer and closer. once again, hagrid broke the silence. "heads down!" yelled hagrid.

the trip seemed eternal, however it seemed as if the end was near as they reached an opening on the cliff. the water carried them through a dark tunnel until they reached a harbor where the kids climbed out onto the rocks.

dahlia was grateful for hagrid's large frame as they followed him again through another passageway. they came to a stop as they reached an oak door. immediately, hagrid knocked three times. on the third knock, the door swung open to reveal a tall black-haired witch, clothed in emerald-green robes.

"the firs' years, professor mcgonagall," hagrid introduced the woman.

the name seemed familiar to dahlia, however she was too nervous to think as to where she could have heard it before.

the professor replied, "thank you, hagrid. i will take them from here."

at that, she pulled the door open revealing an enormous entrance hall. the stone walls were lit with flaming torches seemingly held up by air, and a magnificent marble staircase faced them which seemed to lead up to many floors.

they followed the professor across the stone floor. doing so, dahlia could hear hundreds of voices coming from a doorway to the right. hearing that, dahlia believed they were approaching their destination but instead professor mcgonagall showed them into a small, empty chamber.

"welcome to hogwarts," said professor mcgonagall. "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, your 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 honor. 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." at this she gave the group a once-over, nodding approvingly at the dragon git. a smug grin took over his face, and dahlia wanted nothing more than to smack it off. huffing, she turned away from the boy.

as the professor left, chatters began to finally fill the room. mainly nonsensical as the student body ran rampant with nerves. dahlia, having the confidence only one raised by james potter could have, began humming to herself as she waited.

her hums were greeted with an incredulous look by neville and ron. as they exchanged a look, neville took the initiative. "seems like everyone's a bit nervous, huh dahlia. sure your palms aren't getting a little sweaty," he questioned.

now it was dahlia's turn to throw the boys a look. "neville, sometimes i wonder if you know me at all," she sighed. as she heard footsteps walking towards the room, she couldn't help herself from causing some chaos. loudly, she turned to the group, "besides, the only thing that makes me nervous about putting an old hat on is whether or not it has lice." as she turned back, a grin took over her face. the grin a marauder could only manage by causing mischief.

confusion took over the faces of the first-years. however, before dahlia could be questioned about what she meant, professor mcgonagall walked back into the room.

"the sorting ceremony's about to start. now form a line, and follow me," she said as the doors to the great hall opened.