Look at Me | Hermione Granger x Female OC (Book 1)

02 - Vanilla Cookies

Ellie and Hagrid stopped just outside the massive doors leading to the Great Hall. She grew nervous as Hagrid placed his hand on the wood, preparing to open it. He looked down at her with a gentle smile, in which Ellie nodded in approval.

The doors opened to reveal a large room with four long tables lined up. Thousands of floating candles hovered over these tables, illuminating the velvety black ceiling peppered with stars. At the end of the hall was another long table, turned perpendicularly to face the four.

The commotion immediately hushed as the seated students turned their heads, watching as Hagrid and Ellie made their way towards the end. Ellie brought her head down in embarrassment as she felt the curious stares of the onlookers, a growing blush spreading to her cheeks.

The walk seemed to last forever, but soon enough, Ellie found herself face-to-face with an old man, his beard tied at the end of the 30 inches of hair. He nodded towards the girl, his hands still resting behind his back.

"Good evening, Miss Evans," he greeted before turning to Hagrid. "The trip went well, I presume?"

"It wen' amazin'. All safe an' sound," Hagrid replied proudly. He turned to Ellie, who was taking in the atmosphere of the room. "Well, Ellie. 'Twas a great ride. Yer belongings should be in yer dorm by now. Professor Dumbledore is gonna take o'er now. I'll see yeh 'round."

Ellie gave him a small smile as she watched him return to his seat at the High Table.

"Take a seat, Ellie" Dumbledore told Ellie calmly, gesturing towards the stool that had appeared next to her.

Ellie took a seat and faced the tables as Dumbledore cleared his throat loudly.

"Good evening, students," he echoed. "Tonight is a bit different from the rest. Joining us at Hogwarts is... a new student. Now I know, this is out of the ordinary, but I've made the proper adjustments to ensure she'll fit right in. A fourth year transfer from America, I introduce you all to Ellie Evans."

There was a scatter of applauses as Ellie scanned the room, watching their expressions of excitement turn into that of confusion. A woman approached Ellie, holding tattered, brown hat.

"I'm Professor McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor. It's a pleasure to have you join us tonight. The Sorting Hat will get you situated into the proper house," the woman greeted as she placed the hat upon Ellie's head.

Ellie shifted on the stool as the hat began to move. She jumped slightly as she heard a voice emit from the article, her eyes wide with surprise.

"Ah, Miss Evans," the hat spoke, pausing to analyze Ellie's traits. "Loyal, trustworthy... and a fair share of bravery, I see. Well, this isn't too hard- HUFFLEPUFF!"

A loud cheer erupted from the second to last table from students with yellow-hooded robes. A fair share of applause came from the the other tables, all but those wearing green. Ellie smiled as she looked down at her own uniform, watching as her hood and tie magically changed to yellow. A crest decorated with a badger appeared on the side of her robe, showcasing her new house.

She walked towards the table excitedly as she made her way to a tall, dark-haired boy with bright, grey eyes waving her on over to sit next to him. He smiled charmingly to her, flashing his pearly whites.

"Cedric. Cedric Diggory," he introduced, holding his hand out for Ellie.

"You know my name already," Ellie chuckled as she shook his hand.

"A pleasure to meet you," Cedric smiled. "I'm one of Hufflepuff's prefects, so it's sorta like my duty to show you around. Uh, I mean... not that I don't want to show you around. I just wanted to let you know. Even if I wasn't a prefect, I wouldn't mind giving a tour."