Veiled Hearts

Chapter Five

I wish the bench could swallow me whole.

Or at least I wish I had an invisibility cloak to assist in hiding me from the sheer embarrassment I am facing right now.

And the prick sitting across from me seems to revel in making me uncomfortable for the rest of the train ride to Hogwarts.

For the rest of the ride, I held quiet conversations with the girls, outwardly trying to avoid conversing with the rest of the cabin.

As the train pulls up to the station, I admire the view out the window behind Pansy. The castle shimmering from candlelight, a stark contrast compared to the night sky littered sparingly by stars.

I knew that I had to split myself from the group to find Professor McGonagall to prepare myself for my sorting ceremony before the new first years.

My heart lodges itself in my throat at the thought of getting sorted in front of everyone. I've just got to believe in myself and trust my judgements. However, Blaise's reassurance does soothe the panic that starts to course in my chest.

I don't exactly know where I belong, but it helps to know that I'll always have him backing me, even if I end up being put in another house.

I can't even imagine the look on Blaise's face if he's wrong about where I'm sorted.

I manoeuvre my way through the flood of students. I received a letter weeks prior saying that the Professor would meet me on the platform to take me an alternative way compared to the returning students and the new first years.

As I look off to my right, I see a slim, and tall older woman glancing down at her watch, her face covered by the wide-brimmed witch hat sitting atop her head. She wears long dress robes the colour of fresh oak tree leaves with a black dress underneath, her long sleeves billowing around her wrist and stopping just before the ground.

I make an educated guess that she is the Professor I'm looking for.

I stumble my way towards her, tripping over my feet attempting to calm my breathing and plastering a fake joyful smile on my face, and pray to Merlin it looks convincing. I feel anything but joy right now. I should have tried harder to convince Mum to let me come before the school year to get sorted, but she wouldn't let me out of her sight after last year, let alone leave the manor.

"Professor McGonagall?" I ask, my voice struggling to come out steady.

"Ah, yes, you would assume correctly. Ms Brooks, is it?" Her voice is thick with a lowland Scottish accent, she sounds like she has a lifetime's worth of knowledge on her shoulders.

I quietly nod my head to answer her, "Well then, quick, quick. Come this way. We are running behind schedule"

She turns away just as she finishes speaking, heading down a dirt path leading us away from the rest of the students.

The pathway narrows as tall standing pine trees cast shadows over us, blocking out the white light from the moon, making McGonagall's wand the only light visible. As suddenly as she started walking, she abruptly stopped, making me almost bump right into her. Merlin, I have got to pay more attention. At this rate, I'm bound to walk into another person before the night's over.

She turns around, peering cautiously before saying in a hushed tone, "Alternate travel to the castle of Hogwarts is not for the weak stomach, let us both hope that you can keep your food where it belongs"

She holds out her arm, and I do little to hide the disbelief lining my eyes.

"We're going to use apparition, aren't we, Professor?"