Half-Blood Twins and the Philosopher's Stone

Chapter 2

September 1st 1991

19:00

Dan's PoV

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?"

A big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads as Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville and I followed the tallest person I've ever seen in my life down a steep narrow path. After a while, Hagrid spoke up and said the words we've all been waiting for.

"Ye' all get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."
There was a loud "Oooooh!"as the narrow path opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.
"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry and Ron were followed into their boat by Neville and Hermione as I went to sit with a blonde, pig-tailed girl named Hannah Abbot, a redhead called Susan Bones and a sandy-haired Irish boy called Seamus Finnigan.

"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then -- FORWARD!"

"Hey Dan" Hannah said as I nodded towards her and Susan.

"Hey Sue, Hannah" I greeted as Hannah pouted.

"How come you always say her name first?" she asked as I smiled.

"Cuz' you always get riled up when I do it," I said as she tried to take a swipe at me but stopped when the boat shook dangerously.

"Stop it Hannah, you're giving him what he wants. How's everyone by the way?" Susan
said, changing the subject while pacifying Hannah.

"Molly and Arthur are good. Ron and I met the Boy-Who-Lived on the train." I said as Hannah leaned forward.

"What's he like? Is he ripped? How tall is he? How about the books? Are they true?" Hannah shot off questions like a pro duelist's wand as I answered them smoothly, used to her rapid-fire questions. Of all the pureblood families, the Bones, Lovegoods and the Longbottoms are one of the closest to us.

"Pretty normal, no, my height, books are off, he's lived with Muggles since then. " I answered as Seamus looked at me in awe.

"How'd you keep up with her?" he asked as I shrugged, not knowing myself.

After passing through a curtain of ivy, we passed through a dark tunnel taking us right underneath the castle as we came out at the underground harbor. Then we clambered up a passageway in the rock after the tall man's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.
We walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, front door.
"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?"
The tall man raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald robes stood there. She had a very stern face and my first thought
was that this was not someone to cross. My second thought was that she would make pranking much harder to accomplish
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said the tall man
"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."
She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was humongous with stone walls lit with flaming torches , ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to
the upper floors. We followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged 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 -- but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. We crowded in, standing rather closer together than we would usually have done, peering about nervously.
"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."