What You've Done

The Sorting

Seth's Point Of View: 

I followed her out of the carriage, with Serena stood beside me, clinging onto my arm much to my disgust, she could act like such a kid sometimes. Some people actually couldn't tell she was 11, they said she looked, and acted, younger than that. 

Teddy appeared beside us moments later with Lxia in tow, I was a bit nervous about leaving all my luggage on the train but Teddy assured me that it would be fine as he rushed us out into the passage and out onto the platform. Emmy was nowhere to be seen and if it wasn't for the strong grips that we had on each other we would have easily been separated in the crowds. 

"Firs'-years, Firs-years over here!" I turned to see a giant man carrying a small lamp. He's almost twice as tall as anyone on the platform and he had an incredibly hairy face. 

"C'mon, follow me - anymore firs'-years?" He called again. 

"Who’s that?" I said shocked. 

"That's Hagrid, he's the gamekeeper." Teddy informed me, go on all of you, I'll see you in the Great Hall but you need to go with Hagrid." 

"Bye Teddy." Lxia whimpered as she kissed him on the cheek. Serena did likewise but I just nodded at him before we turned to follow Hagrid. 

We found ourselves scrambling down a steep, thin path that lead down through, what I assume to be a forest but it was too dark to actually see. Nobody was speaking as we descended further into the trees. 

"Yeh'll see Hogwarts in a second." Hagrid announced over his shoulder "Jus' 'round the corner." 

I walked straight into a girl in front of me as she suddenly stopped in the middle of the path and instantly someone else walked into me. I opened my mouth to yell at her but froze when I saw what she could see. 

Our path had opened out onto a small strand of grass that fell away at the edge of a great black lake. At the other side, perched upon a mountain, stood a castle. Turrets and towers stood tall against the sparkling night sky and the vast castle was covered in windows with little lights gleaming from behind the panes. 

"It's beautiful." Serena gasped admirably unable to tear her eyes away. 

"It is, isn't it?" The girl I had walked into announced, "I'm Noelle, great to meet you." 

"Serena and this is my brother Seth." 

"Hi." I greeted. 

Noelle was actually quite pretty, she had long straight brown hair and large brown eyes that seemed to sparkle like the night sky. 

"Everybody in the boats!" Shouted Hagrid over the bubble of conversation that had arisen, "No more'n four to a boat!" 

He turned and pointed to a collection of small boats drifting at the shoreline that I hadn't noticed before. Serena, Lxia and I both walked into a boat. 

"Everybody in?" Hagrid yelled. I noticed that he had a boat to himself. 

"Can I share with you?" Noelle asked as she clambered into our boat without waiting for an answer. 

"FORWARD!" The boats moved off in a group, gliding forwards over the inky water and leaving small ripples breaking over the glassy surface. We were silent, all staring up at the great castle located above us. 

We were carried through an ivy curtain that completely covered a large opening in the cliff face. A dark tunnel was laid out before us and as we travelled down it, I realised that we must be going straight underneath the castle. That's when we reached a beach located under the castle, a sort of underground boat harbour. 

Climbing out, I scrabbled over the pebbles on the beach and quickly helped Lxia, Serena and Noelle out of it. 

We followed Hagrid up a thin passage, following Hagrid's lamp and we came out on the damp grass. The castle stood up before stood, looking dazzling to us in the dim light. 

It looked like something out of the fairytale that Mother used to read us when we were younger. 


The large door swung wide a few moments later and a dark-haired with appeared, dressed in emerald green robes appeared before us. She was quite tall as I discovered when she drew near us and a stern face was spread across her face. I wouldn't want to get on the bad side of her. 
"I brought yer the firs'-years, Professor McGonagall." Hagrid said. 

"Thank you Hagrid," McGonagall said, "If you would like to go get your seat, I will bring the first years in."

"Righto." Hagrid announced as he walked through the doors leaving us all stood alongside McGonagall. 

"Follow me," Professor McGonagall ordered and she turned and walked into the school, her tall figure and long legs meaning most of us had to jog to keep up with her. 

The castle looked just as ancient and magnificent on the inside as it did on the outside. Suits of armour lined the walls, located strategically between the large paintings that graced the walls. I could hear all the muggle-borns whispering, amazed by how the figures moved in all the pictures. I was used to it, we had albums full of moving pictures at home and my parents had even shown me how to develop my own. 

Serena shook my arm constantly pointing from one picture to another as she pointed out tiny things like the diamond-encrusted glass in one to the beautiful gown worn by a woman in the other. Lxia just gazed at them all in wonder as she walked, her ginger hair floating gracefully around her small body. 

Professor McGonagall led us along a passage, past two large doors, and stopped once she had entered a small room. 

"Welcome to Hogwarts.” Professor McGonagall began. "The start-of-term feast will begin soon, however you must first be sorted into your house. While you're here, your house will be like your family within Hogwarts. You will eat, sleep and learn with your house, spending any free time in your house common room. 
While you're at Hogwarts, your achievements will earn your house points, any rule-breaking and you'll lose points. These are all added up at the end of the year and the house with the most points will be awarded the House Cup. 
The Sorting Ceremony will begin soon; I suggest you all prepare yourselves." Her eyes lingered on us momentarily. 

"I shall return when they are ready for you." Professor McGonagall said. She left the chamber and walked towards the Great Hall. 

"Do you think it's like mum told us, she said there's be floating candles and there's the four long tables." Serena babbled excitedly as she gazed at the door longingly, all her life she had been dreaming of coming here, it's all she ever talked about. 

"My mum talks about tapestries of all colours and the different houses and how each one has a different meaning but they're all equal really." Lxia explained. Lxia had that way with words that every business man would be jealous of, when she talked people couldn't help but stop and listen. 

"What are the houses?" A girl asked to Lxia's left. She had a mixture of emotions splashed across her face like an open book, fear, nerves, wonder and admiration. Lxia just had that effect on people, I guess. She is used to the attention, I mean look who her dad is! 

"There are four houses: Slytherin, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, they're all as equally as important as the next." Lxia informed the girl, wrapping her arms around her shoulders as she talked, "it all began with four wizards, Hogwarts founders, who believed that it would be ideal for a school to be built to teach all the witches and wizards how to control their magic, something few knew how to do then." 

"Is it true?" A boy whispered from my left, "Is it true that everyone in Slytherin goes bad?" 

"Slytherin is the house for those that are cunning and resourceful, so yes it would help them go bad but if they put those to good use they could be great." She shut her eyes and I instantly knew what (or rather who) she was thinking of. Ever since she was younger she had upheld the maximum respect for Severus Snape, ex-death eater and life-long lover of Lily Evans/Potter. 

"Was You-Know-Who a Slytherin?" The boy continued. 

"He was, but he used his powers for bad." Lxia snapped; her once calm face now clouded with anger. 

"How do we get sorted?" Piped up another girl. 

"There's a sorting hat." I interrupted suddenly, I knew the answer to this one, "You put it on your head and you get sorted into your house depending on what it reads in your mind." 

"You're loony mate, no hat can read minds." Chortled a boy, "I reckon it's some sort of test." 

"He's right you know," Noelle appeared from the back of the room and came forwards to stand beside me as she surveyed the others. "The hat can actually read your mind and it, and it alone, decides which house you go in."

"That's a load of poppycock." The boy shook his head in disbelief at our foolishness. Anger bubbled up inside of me; he was obviously a muggleborn, what would he know? 

"The Sorting Ceremony is about to start." Professor McGonagall was stood in the doorway, her eyes glaring at the muggleborn boy. "Form a line and follow me." She ordered. 

I got into a line behind Noelle, with Lxia behind me, and we walked out of the chamber, down the corridor and through the doors into the Great Hall. 

It was just like my parents had said. The rows and rows upon tables with the elegant banners hanging up alongside them, each depicting a different animal for each house. My eyes lingered on the Gryffindor table; they had both sat here once upon a time. I eyes up the golden goblets and plates that were glittering under the candles that floated a few feet above the tables and I found my gaze moving upwards as I stared in disbelief at the rain clouds overhead, rain should have been lashing over our heads but it wasn't. 

"It's beautiful." Lxia murmured, her hand reaching to squeeze mine. 

I returned my gaze to the front of the hall as Professor McGonagall place a small stool in front of us all. On the stool, like I had said, she places an old, tattered wizard's hat. It may not look like much but I heard that this dirty hat had saved Harry Potter's life twice and had a hand in the death of Voldemort. I wasn't afraid to say the name, like mother said, fear of the name increases fear of the thing itself. 

"Oh, look at you all,