There were some things in life that even magic couldn't heal and for Zakari Ollivander, being deaf was not something that he wanted to be "healed" of anyways. Never considering himself disabled, Zakari considered himself just to be slightly differen...
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The rest of the trip across the Black Lake was rather uneventful for Zakari. He enjoyed looking over the reflections of the castle in the water, but really, he was itching to get back to dry land. He was so curious about the Sorting Ceremony that he wanted to get to it right away. And thankfully, the trip didn't take very long as the boats sailed smoothly across. When they reached the land, Jean was the first one to leap out of the boat, landing in the grass with ease. Franklin was next but rather than leaping out first, he helped Duncan and held out his hand for Zakari to take.
A few other students glanced over in the direction of the adult that was among them. Curious as to why he had been in one of the boats as he was too old to be a first year student. Zakari ignored the looks though as he slowly and carefully stepped out of the boat, using Franklin's arm until his feet were stable on the ground. Once he had both feet firmly planted, Zakari peered up at the castle, a smile twitching at the corner of his lips as Duncan started to sniff around the new territory.
The Hogwarts castle was intimidating in size, but nonetheless, it was beautiful to observe in person. The glowing lights of lanterns made it warm and inviting to the new and returning students. Following in the direction of the first years, Zakari couldn't wait to see what it would be like on the inside as he walked along. Duncan remained at his side and Franklin took the lead towards the entrance way until they were all greeted by a woman with a stern face and sharp features to match.
As soon as she started talking, Zakari's eyes lingered towards Franklin, who already had his hands up to start interpreting. However, Zakari wasn't the only one to pay attention as the students around them stopped focusing on the professor and watched Franklin's hands. Her name was Minerva McGonagall as Franklin informed him, she was the Deputy Headmistress as well as the Transfiguration professor at the school. It was easy to see why she appeared to be an authority figure, but the others didn't seem to catch on it so quickly as they ignored her presence at the time.
Eventually, she seemed to lose her temper, taking to snapping her own fingers to direct the other students back to her instructions.
When Zakari noticed what had taken place, he couldn't help it as his face turned a deep shade of red. He could only assume that Professor McGonagall was bothered by him and Franklin. However, as he met the professor's eyes to offer an apology, rather than a cold glare, he was met with a small smile. She didn't seem to blame him, she was blaming the other students for not paying attention as they should have. And if she could keep the other students from staring at him during the times where he needed to communicate, he was more than okay with her.
It was further explained that the students would be called up alphabetically by their surnames when they entered the Great Hall. There, they would sit upon a stool and the Sorting Hat would be placed on their heads for the decision making. Zakari was more than ready, but it seemed he was going to have to wait his turn longer than the majority of the others since his last name began with the letter "O."
