Hogwarts, A Story

Amaya's Sorting

It had taken until Emerson, Lyra had been sorted into Hufflepuff until Amaya had recovered her wits.
As they entered the Hall, the breath Amaya had been holding slipped out; she'd forgotten her nerves, her whereabouts, and her name.

The Great Hall was one of the most beautiful places she'd ever seen. The stone walls, the delicate architecture, the brightly coloured banners that hung from... Well... She wasn't sure where they hung from because the ceiling, oh, the ceiling. It mirrored the sky outside, Amaya realised, staring up at it. It was currently dark, inky, endless. Swirling swathes of stars stretched in endless, intricate patterns across the sky, giving off just as much light as the lit torches that adorned the walls, and the candles that hovered politely over the tables.

Finally tearing her eyes away from the sky, Amaya saw that there were four, long, mahogany tables, and that certain banners floated above them. The table on the far left must have been Slytherin, Amaya realised, spotting the green and silver, tricky looking banner over the table. Her parents had, of course, told her about the four houses, but never described the emblems. It appeared that Slytherin's animal was a snake, coiled menacingly, glaring out over the students. Silver diamonds adorned the banner, and Amaya smiled. She liked that.

Next over was Hufflepuff, a blunt, complicated yellow and black banner, depicting a badger. That made sense, it seemed determined, and honest. Then Ravenclaw, neatly stitched elegant designs, stopping just short of being overly extravagant. An eagle spreading its wings took centre stage on the banner, proud and watchful. And finally, Gryffindor, the house Erin hoped to get into. Amaya immediately disliked the banner. Loud, garish, and bold. Gold embroidery clashed horribly with the red. Maybe it was Amaya's imagination, after all she'd heard about Gryffindor, but she thought they looked an arrogant lot.

The tables themselves were laden with golden plates and goblets, and brilliant, glinting silver cutlery. Amaya stared around, still drinking in the breathtaking room. Then, her eyes met a boy's sitting at the Slytherin table. She realised they were her eyes, the eyes they'd both inherited from their mother. It was Rodolphus. He seemed to stare straight through her, though, and Amaya felt a pang at his flat gaze. The group of first years had stopped in front of a raised section of the hall, with a long table stretching across it. The teachers were all sitting there, some warmly, some coldly, some without any emotion at all, regarding the students. The first years had crowded between the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables.

The hat sung, Professor McGonagall explained. Amaya didn't remember the sorting, she had vague memories of an
Abbott, Otis and a Bones, Jacob being put in Hufflepuff, and a Black, Sirius being sorted into Gryffindor. She hadn't liked the look of him at all, even when they'd vaguely seen each other at dinner parties, with his dark eyes, curling black hair and prominent cheekbones, or the way he'd swaggered up to the sorting hat.
"Evans, Lily!"
The sound of her friend's name startled Amaya back to reality.
Lily walked up to the stool, not smug like Sirius, but calm and collected. The hat had just brushed her flaming locks, before it shouted,
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Severus groaned.
Lily smoothly made her way down to the Gryffindor table, but unfortunately next to Sirius. She sniffed as he smirked at her, and turned away.
"Fierro, Erin!"
Erin tensed next to Amaya.
"Go on," Amaya hissed, then softening her voice added, "You'll be fine."
Erin nodded, and straightened. Her eyes seemed to turn a deeper blue. She smirked, and strolled casually up to the stool. Amaya held her breath, crossing her fingers.
"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat roared, and Amaya's stomach dropped. Although she hadn't known Erin for long, she liked her, and she was sure Erin had liked her too.

Erin shot her a small, sad smile, before sitting opposite Lily.
"Lestrange, Amaya!"
Oh no.
Amaya froze in place, unable to move or control her emotions. Then, like a light flickering on, Amaya's eyes lit up, then darkened. She wiped her face of emotion, then fixed on a small, arrogant smirk. She raised an eyebrow as she sauntered up to the hat and sat down deliberately, confidently.
The hat muttered, "Well well well. A Lestrange. Clever enough, I suppose, but close minded. Weak mind, too. You give up easily, don't you? Not brave, bordering on cowardly. There's not a lot going on in your head isn't there girl? Come on now, keep your smile on, don't let them see the cracks, keep your composure. You're right, that's going to be important... It's going to be especially important now. Oh, but what's that? You know what you want, at least. You're less iron fist in a velvet glove, more... Wolf in sheep's clothing."
The hat chuckled at this strange analogy, and screamed,
"SLYTHERIN!"
Amaya stood, narrowing her eyes ever so slightly as she slipped away down towards Slytherin table. Her new Housemates cheered her loudly, clearly they had just gained a confident, smart member. The snake on the banner was clearly watching her for signed of weakness. It took all Amaya's strength to keep her smile on, as she sat down, with everyone's eyes on her.
Keeping my composure is going to be important now? Because I'm a Slytherin? And I'm a wolf? What in Merlin's name does that mean? I'm allergic to dogs!

But her attention was diverted quickly away from what everyone else was thinking as she saw a boy with cropped brown hair lean forward, and push the girl in front of him. She stumbled, knocking down several people, before finally hitting the cold ground herself.

This wasn't as long as I was planning but I promise I'll do a longer one next. Please vote and comment, it really helps us out ~ Echo