25/01/2015 - Short Story - HP

Eleanor looked at the solid barrier in front of her.
“We have to go through that?” she asked her parents skeptical. “But how? Wouldn’t we just crash into it?”
“No sweetie, the magic will lead us through, watch your father,” her mother answered with a smile.
Eleanor turned her gaze towards her father who gave her a reassuring smile before stepping towards the barrier, one moment he was in front of it and the next he was gone.
“Are you ready?” her mother asked. Eleanor nodded nervously. Together they walked towards the barrier, making sure no muggles looked their way.
Eleanors mouth fell open when she saw what was on the other side. The steaming red train looked magnificent, several witches and wizards were packed on the platform, all dressed in muggle clothes, owls hooted, cats hissed, it looked like chaos. Suddenly a toad hopped in front of Eleanors feet before someone caught it: “You can’t just jump of my shoulder when you please.”
Eleanor looked at both of her parents. “We will see you again during Christmas break,” her mother said. “Take care of Mystique will you? There’s an owlery in Hogwarts, she can stay there.”
Eleanor nodded. Her father took a step closer and hugged her tight. He said nothing, he was never good at goodbyes. Eleanor smiled lightly at him before taking her suitcase and stepping on the train.
She walked towards an empty compartment and tried to stuff her suitcase on the rack above the couch but she was just a little too short. She wanted to climb on the couch but just at that moment a boy appeared at the doors of the compartment.
“Need some help with that?”
Eleanor looked at him, a smile covered his face and his eyes were twinkling. Before she could answer however, the boy already had taken her suitcase out of her hands and stuffed it on the rack with ease.
“Thank you,” said Eleanor.
“You’re welcome, I’m Samuel, second year, sorted into Hufflepuff,” he introduced himself reaching out his hand. Eleanor took it while saying her name.
“So you’re a first year?”
“Yeah, how do you know?”
Samuel shrugged his shoulders and plopped himself down on one of the couches. “Lucky guess.”
Eleanor sat down on the couch opposite Samuel. He had brown, curly hair and an angular jaw line but his bright blue eyes attracted the most attention.
“Can you tell me what do you have to do during the sorting ceremony? Is it a certain task? My parents wouldn’t tell me, they told me it had to be a secret.”
“And they’re completely right. But you don’t have to be afraid. It’s nothing dangerous.”
Eleanor smiled, a little bit relieved but the fear for the ceremony was still there. She had heard tales from other witches and wizards that had caused shivers running down her spine. Her parents had reassured her that those tales weren’t true but she still couldn’t shake of the feeling of fear when she thought about the sorting ceremony.
“Samuel, here you are!” said a voice suddenly, the sound of it disturbed Eleanors thoughts. She looked up and saw that a second boy had arrived at the compartment.
“Hey Eric, I thought you were bringing your sister?”
“Yeah, she’s on her way, but who is the girl?”
“Eleanor, she’s a first year, I helped her with her suitcase.”
“My sister is a first year as well,” said Eric while he sat down next to Samuel. “Look, there she is.”
A girl with short brown hair and a toad on her shoulder walked inside the compartment, Eleanor recognized her as the girl who had caught the toad who had hopped in front of her feet. Her brother helped her putting the suitcase on the rack and then the girl sat down next to Eleanor.
“Hi, I’m Madison,” she introduced herself. “And this is Wilberd,” she added while pointing at her toad. “So those two idiots are sorted into Hufflepuff, or as I like to call it, the House For Losers. Which house do you prefer? I want to be in Gryffindor, just like my dad.”
Madison looked at Eleanor with a questioning look.
“Well, I definitely don’t want to be sorted in Slytherin,” Eleanor began. “And I’m not smart enough for Ravenclaw so I guess it’s going to be Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. I think Hufflepuff would be nice. They say that Gryffindor is full of people with a big ego,” she shot back. Both of her parents were sorted into Hufflepuff so she knew all about it and one thing was certain: it wasn’t a House for Losers.
“You’re more than welcome,” Eric said to her. Eleanor smiled. Madison, however, looked at her as if she couldn’t believe what Eleanor just had said.
“Are you serious? You want to be sorted in the house full of retarded people whose favorite hobby is to hug everyone they pass?”
“Madison!” Eric cried angry.
“What, brother? Can’t handle the truth?”
“It isn’t the truth!”
Samuel laid a hand on Erics arm to calm him down and Eric gritted his teeth. Madison shrugged her shoulders. “As long as you keep believing that.”
During the rest of the train ride Eleanor chatted with the two boys, they told her stories about what they experienced in their first year but refused to tell her something about the sorting ceremony or how the common room of Hufflepuff looked like. They seemed nice guys and she didn’t understand why Madison hated them so much. Eleanor could feel the disgust radiating form the girl while she listened to the conversation and after a while she took her suitcase and left the compartment with the words: “I can’t listen to this nonsense anymore, good luck in Loserville Eleanor.”
“Don’t bother about Madison, she’s in the middle of trying to find herself, trust me, until a month ago she hadn’t any problems with Hufflepuff. I don’t know what happened to her.”
Eric sighed and Samuel looked at his friend. “It’s probably just a phase,” he said. “And you know, the sorting ceremony will decide in which house she really belongs. It’s what inside that counts not her behavior from the past month.”
“You’re probably right,” answered Eric.
When the lunch lady arrived they bought as much candy as they could. After a while Eleanor looked out of the window, Hogsmeade came into view and in the background she saw the castle of Hogwarts. It was as magnificent as her parents had described. She wondered how it would look like inside. They changed their muggle clothes for their school uniforms and waited until the train would reach the platform. Excitement ran through Eleanors veins.
“Firs’ years! Firs’ years over here!” yelled a huge man who stood waiting on the platform.
Eleanor looked at the two boys, raising an eyebrow.
“Don’t worry,” said Samuel. “Hagrid is a nice person.”
Eleanor nodded and said farewell to the boys before walking towards Hagrid. When all the first years had arrived in front of him he led them towards a lake where multiple boats stood waiting for them. Before she stepped into one of them, Mystique left her shoulder and flew towards the castle.
“Don’t worry,” said Hagrid to her. “She will fly towards the Owlery.”
Eleanor shared a boat with three unknown first years who looked terrified. Eleanor pointed her gaze towards the castle again, it towered over them and looked like it couldn’t be destroyed by anything. The boats sailed over the dark water and into a dark tunnel until they came to an underground harbor. They climbed out of the boats onto the ground that was filled with pebbles and then Hagrid lead them towards a huge, oak door on which he knocked three times. After the last knock the door swung open and a stern woman came into view. She introduced herself as professor McGonagall. She explained the rules that were used in Hogwarts and told them about the different Houses. After her explanation she opened the double doors towards the Great Hall. It was marvelous. Thousands upon thousands of candles were floating above four long tables. The first years formed a line between the two middle tables and Professor McGonagall placed a stool in front of them. On the top of it she put an old hat that looked worn out. Eleanor looked at it with surprise in her eyes. Suddenly a rip near the brim opened like a mouth and the hat began to sing about the four Houses. It took a while before Eleanor realized there wasn’t going to be a test at all. They just had to put on the hat. The hat distributed the young witches and wizards over the different houses alphabetically and when it was Madisons turn she sat down on the stool with twinkling eyes, a smirk on her face. Professor McGonagall placed the hat on her head and he yelled: “Slytherin!” almost as soon as the brim touched her forehead. Eleanor looked around towards Eric who sat down at the long table of Hufflepuff. His mouth fell open from shock and his eyes widened. She saw how Samuel said something to him and she gave Eric a little smile before concentrating on the sorting ceremony again. When it was her turn she sat down on the stool nervously. She fixed her eyes on the two boys at the Hufflepuff table and waited till the hat made his choice. “Hufflepuff!” he said after a few nerve-racking seconds. Eleanor smiled and walked towards the two boys, they applauded loudly when she joined them at the table. Samuel gave her a high-five but Eric stared at his plate. Still in shock about his sister. When the sorting ceremony was over, the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, gave a little speech and then food appeared at the table. Eleanors eyes widened when she saw the amount of food.
“It tastes good, doesn’t it?” Samuel said with a smile.
“It’s amazing!”
“Well, now you’re sorted into our House, I can tell you a secret: the common room is situated close to the kitchens and the Elves who work there are more than happy to give you something extra if you’re hungry between meals.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
When they finished their meals a prefect of Hufflepuff called out to the first years, leading them through a maze of corridors until they reached some old barrels.
“Now, listen carefully, this is important. The only way you can enter the common room is if you tap with your wand on the barrel two from the bottom, middle of the second row, in the rhythm of Helga Hufflepuff.” He demonstrated it and the lid swung open, exposing a passageway.
“If you tap on the wrong barrel or use the wrong rhythm, you will be doused in vinegar and the lid won’t open, so be careful everyone! Now, follow me!”
He crawled inside the passageway and the first years followed him. A smile appeared on Eleanors face when they arrived in the common room. It was a cozy, round room decorated in black and yellow, plants hung from the ceiling and a cozy fire was crackling in a fireplace. Different round windows let the sunlight in, creating a strange but warm light inside the room.
“First year girls, follow me, I’ll show you where the dormitories are situated,” a girl with a prefect badge said. Eleanor and three other girls followed her towards an underground tunnel that was sealed with a perfectly round door and formed a connection between the dormitory and the common room. Four-poster beds stood in the cozy room and on each one stood a suitcase. Eleanor recognized hers immediately.
“You can start unpacking or come to the common room again, as you wish. Tomorrow you will receive your timetable.”
The girl smiled at them before disappearing in the tunnel again.
Eleanor knew by instant Hogwarts would feel like a second home.