"First years follow me!" A large, grizzly man rang a bell as the students exited the train, "first years! First years!"
Lee and Annie held hands, not wanting to lose the other, as they approached the ginormous man.
"Woah" Lee looked up at him in awe, "Sir, you're huge!"
"That's right I am" the man stopped his bell waving and chuckled.
Someone tugged sharply on one of Annie's braids and she spun around, fist raised, only to see the Weasley twins, grinning at her.
"Missed us?" Fred went to pinch her cheek.
"Not one bit" Annie batted his hand away, "it was much quieter."
"You wound us-"
"Right to the heart-"
"We do so much to show you our kindness-"
"Our friendship-"
"And you give us this in return?-"
"Shush!"
"That everyone? Alright! Follow me, follow me!" The big man called, waving for the first years to follow him.
Annie pulled Lee along with her, trying to keep up with the big man as he lumbered down the path.
"Excuse me! Sir! What is your name?" Lee asked.
"Hagrid, Rubeus Hagrid."
"Wicked!"
"And yer names?"
"I'm Lee Jordan!"
"My name's Annabelle, Annabelle Finnigan!"
"Nice to meet you two" Hagrid smiled down at them, eyes crinkling at the corners.
The two eventually fell behind him, their short legs unable to keep up with his large footfalls.
"Already trying to make teachers pet, Annie Bannie?" A jesting voice came from behind. Annie rolled her eyes and kept walking.
"Have you seen the size of him?! Hagrid is huge!" Lee explained, twisting to talk to you he twins.
"Hagrid?"
"We just went to ask him his name. Did you know his first name was Rubeus?!"
"Oh, I think Charlie or Bill have mentioned him a few times-"
"He's the groundskeeper"
Hagrid led them down a path that seemed to go on for miles, his long legs carrying him far in front of everyone, save those who jogged to catch up with him. When they reached their destination, the kids looked out in awe.
The lake was large and never ending, its dark waters illuminated by the lights of the magnificent castle on the other side. All the windows were lit by torches, a warm welcome to all the new students.
Sitting on the edge of the lake in front of them, was an array of little boats, all fronted by a floating lantern.
"Alright! Four to a boat! Get in! Get in!" Hagrid motioned them to the boats, chuckling as everyone scrambled to find one.
"Lee! Annie!" George and Fred motioned the two over to their boat. Annie eyed them wearily, but Lee pulled her to it.
"We won't bite-"
"I hardly believe that" Annie grumbled, making sure Lee was between her and the twins.
As the four settled in, the boats seemed to move on their own, gently rocking over the soft waves of the lake.
At one point, the boat shook aggressively, gaining a yelp from Annie, who gripped the sides of the boat so hard her knuckles turned white.
Laughter burst from behind her, and she spared a look at the rest of the boat. Fred and George were bent over, snickering.
"It's alright Annie" Lee placed a hand on her shoulder, "Maybe they made the boats untippable."
Annie nodded, still not reassured, before yelping again as the boat made another jolt.
"Oi! You lot!" Hagrid called, "don't make me have to fish ye out of the lake, I still haven't fed the giant squid!"
"G-giant squid?" All the color drained from Annie's face. The only thing she'd heard of giant squids had been from her mother's (terrifying) bedtime stories, and documentaries her father would fall asleep in the middle of.
Worried chatter broke out among the students, some of them trying get as far away from the edge of their boats as possible.
"Settle down now! Settle down!" Hagrid hushed the students, some still cowering in their boats, "almost there!"
Annie looked up, and her jaw nearly dropped.
The boats had nearly reached the castle's shore.
"I've never seen a real castle before" she muttered.
"So you've seen a fake castle?" Fred quipped, but she ignored him.
Closer up, the castle seemed to reach into the heavens, it's tall towers obscured by low-lying clouds.
Annie scrambled out of her boat as it touched land, her socks and shoes getting wet in the process, but she didn't care. She looked up at the castle in awe, taking in its beauty.
A hand took her arm, and she broke out of her reverie to see Lee Jordan smiling at her.
"It's big? Innit?"
"You could say that" the two laughed and trudged up the shore as Hagrid called the first years to follow him.
They approached two large double doors, taller than Hagrid, if that was even possible. Hagrid raised his large fist and knocked loudly.
Not a moment later, the door opened to reveal an older woman with a sour expression on her face.
"You're late."
"Sorry mum, bit of a setback" Hagrid answered sheepishly. Her expression softened.
"You didn't keep us waiting too long," she looked to the kids behind him, "Follow me!" And with that, she'd turned around and marched forward. Hagrid stepped aside as the first years scrambled after her.
The girl Annie had met on the train, Maisie, tripped multiple times, her shoelaces clattering against the stone floors. She'd drop behind every once in a while due to a lost shoe. The curly haired girl held onto her, retrieving the lost shoe as the other girl hopped along happily.
"Why doesn't she tie her shoes?" Lee whispered.
"I couldn't tell you"
They passed an even larger set of doors after many winding hallways, many of the kids stopping to gawk at it.
"Children!" The woman called, and they ran to catch up to her.
The group was led to a small, dark room, and the woman turned around.
"Settle down!" She called, and the crowd's giggles and babble died down.
"Welcome first years. I am Professor McGonagall. In a few moments, you will join your fellow classmates in the great hall for the start of term feast. Before you do that, you must be sorted into a house. These houses will be your family while you are here at Hogwarts. You will share your meals, classes, common room, and dormitories with them." She paused, giving a stern look to two girls giggling to each other.
"The four houses are: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house with a respectable history and brilliant founder. In these houses, there are house points. Do a good deed, and your house gains points. Get into mischief" she have a pointed look to the Weasley twins, "and lose points. The house with the most points at the end of the year, wins the house cup." She checked her pocket watch, "the sorting ceremony will start in a few minutes. I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly when I am gone"
As soon as the door shut behind her, excited chatter broke out amongst the students.
"We get sorted?"
"Into houses?"
"Does Hogwarts have actual houses? How can they fit everyone in there?"
"You dolt! A house is the group of people, not an actual house."
Annie looked around and frowned as she spotted the redhead twins approaching. Fred stopped to tug on Maisie's hair and got her loose shoe lobbed at his head.
"Ow!"
"Don't pull on my hair!"
Fred rubbed the side of his head as he neared Annie and Lee, George not far behind him.
"Hello again!"
"Fred."
"He's not Fred, I am!" George poked his head around his brother's shoulder.
"You're George"
"How can you tell?" Fred asked.
"You're a right git. He isn't" Annie crossed her arms.
"He could be if he wanted to"
"And what? It's your default setting?"
Fred narrowed his eyes at her, before George spoke.
"What house do you think you'll get into?"
"I'm not sure. She didn't explain what they really were."
"Our whole family has been in Gryffindor." He smiled, "not a single one out of place-"
"Although we did overhear mum saying we'd probably be the first slytherins-"
"Which we take high offense to. Does she think us mongruels?"
"I believe so, Georgie. I believe so."
"Gryffindor is a cool name" Lee grinned, "I think I'd like that."
"As long as I'm not in a house with you, I'll be ok" Annie scowled at Fred again.
"Students!" Professor McGonagall had appeared in front of them, sporting an unamused expression.
"How did she get back in?!" Lee whispered.
"The sorting ceremony is about to begin. Follow me"
The children were led again to the large, double doors before McGonagall turned to them again, her expression more welcoming.
"Welcome, to the great hall"
The doors opened, and a chorus of cheers erupted from the many students sitting at the neverending tables.
Candles floated above their heads, standing out against a moving, starry sky depicted on the ceiling.
"Woah" Annie and Lee didn't take their eyes off of it until the group walked to the front.
Over each table stood a banner, with the name of each house. Gryffindor was red, Hufflepuff yellow, Ravenclaw was blue, and Slytherin was Green.
"Look! There's Charlie and Percy!" George pointed out at the farthest table to their left.
"Oi! Charlie!" Fred waved wildly at his brothers. The one with the long, red hair, presumably Charlie, waved back gleefully, while the other boy, Percy, scowled at them. Next to Percy sat the cute, brunet boy Annie had run into on the train. Happiness bubbled up in her, a wide grin stretching across her face
"Reckon he's still mad about the train" Fred started, sticking his tongue out at the scowling red haired boy.
"I assume so-"
"Mr. Weasley, if you don't mind, we are about to begin" McGonagall raised a brow at him before turning to pick up a large, patched up hat that seemed to spring to life as she held it up.
It sang its song, and once it was done, she set it down on the stool before pulling out a piece of parchment paper.
"Barker, Maisie" she called.
The frizzy-haired girl stumbled up excitedly and plopped onto the seat.
It was only a few moments before the hat yelled out 'Gryffindor!'
The Gryffindor table burst into cheers as she raced to them, getting a congratulations from an older student as she sat down.
"Finnigan, Annabelle"
Annie pushed through the crowd to the chair. As the hat was placed on her head, a small, inquisitive voice sounded in her ears.
'Brave, passionate, loyal. I don't see where else to put you..'
Annie looked over to the Gryffindor table, all the students sitting in anticipation.
"Gryffindor!"
Her heart soared as the table once again burst into cheers, Maisie hollering at her from her seat.
She slid in next to Maisie and was greeted with the most friendly hug she'd ever received.
"We're in the same house!"
"Yes!"
"Maybe Bennett will be with us!"
"I hope so!"
Maisie clasped their hands together and turned back to the sorting hat.
A few more kids went through it, their times under the hat varying. Lee had made it in, same with the pretty girl who had been in a boat with Maisie and Bennett, Angelina Johnson.
More students came and went, both Annie and Maisie waiting for Bennett.
And then it was the Weasley twins turn.
"Weasley, Fred"
"He better not be-" Annie couldn't even finish her sentence before the hat yelled out
"Gryffindor!"
She and Maisie let out matching groans of disappointment.
George was also sorted into Gryffindor.
The twins were greeted fondly by their brother Charlie, even Percy spared them a smile.
But they could worry about it later, it was Bennett's turn.
Annie felt Maisie's hands squeeze hers tighter as Bennett had the hat placed on her head.
"You think she'll be a Gryffindor?" George asked.
"Dunno"
"I hope she is"
"Ravenclaw!"
Maisie frowned a little, before Bennett took a seat across the aisle and turned around.
"Hi"
"Hey!" Annie and Maisie waved at her.
That was the end of the sorting, and the feast had started
Annie had never seen such delicious food before.
Plates upon plates were piled atop one another, packed tightly.
"How does this much food get made?" Annie asked, in awe.
"Dunno, but it's brilliant" Lee started piling various foods on his plate.
The hall was filled with chatter and munching, kids old and young stuffing their faces full.
Fred and George got admonished more than once by Percy for eating like animals, each sporting a food mustache.
"I think it makes us look refined"
"You look like you need bibs"
Annie let her eyes wander, nearly choking on her food as she spotted the cute brunet boy again.
"Woah, you ok?" Maisie clapped her on the back, and Annie coughed.
"I'm fine, I'm fine."
"You sure?"
Annie glanced again in the boy's direction. Maisie followed her gaze and a grin spread over her face.
"Is it that cute boy?"
"No-"
"You're blushing! It is!"
Annie started to shovel food into her mouth .
"You should talk to him!"
"Now?"
"Well obviously not now-"
"Who are you talking about?" Fred butted in.
"That brunet" Maisie giggled, nodding her head in the boy's direction.
"Oliver?" George asked.
"Quidditch obsessed Oliver?"
"You know him?" Annie leaned forward
"Yeah, hes on the team with Charlie. He's also friends with Percy" Fred scrunched up his nose.
"Well, he looks lovely" Annie sighed dreamily, setting her fork down.
                                   ⋆⋆⋆
"First years! Follow me!" A gangly Gryffindor perfect with a tinnying voice called out. Lee and Maisie each grabbed one of Annie's hands as they left the hall, Maisie turning once to wave goodbye to Bennett.
"What do you think the houses will be like?" Annie asked.
"Dunno, maybe-" Maisie tripped over her laces, sending all three of them sprawling on the floor.
"Can you please tie your shoes?" Lee got up, brushing himself off. Annie and Maisie stayed on the floor, giggling.
"I like to live on the edge" Maisie smirked, and got up, pulling Annie along with her.
They eventually stopped in front of a large portrait with a rather large women painted.
Half the kids jumped when she moved.
"Password?" She asked, her stuffy, posh accent drawling put each syllable.
"Planktus Wibbleyton" the prefect stared, before the portrait started to move.
"What?!"
"Woah!"
"Wicked!"
Excited whispers broke out among the students as the portrait hole revealed a lavish room, filled with reds and holds, tables and couches crammed in together, giving off a very cozy vibe.
"First years, file in!" The prefect called, and the first years impatiently squeezed through the entrance in a gaggle of limbs.
"One at a time-one at a time!" The prefect called, attempting to thin out the excited kids.
Once everyone filed into the room, the prefect faced them.
"Welcome to Gryffindor Common room. Here you will be housed your next seven years here. To your right, is the girl's dorms, and to the left are the boys. Neither is allowed in the other's, Alright? Your rooms will be just to the left at the top of the stairs. Your luggage is already set up on your beds. Once again, congratulations and welcome to Gryffindor."
Annie gave Lee a hug, wishing him goodnight, before pulling Maisie up to their room.
                                 ⋆⋆⋆
Maisie ran to her bed, kicking her shoes off before landing face first, arms outstretched.
"This is marvelous!" She yelled, voice muffled by the sheets.
Annie took the one next to her, sinking into the soft mattress.
"This is heaven"
"I haven't ever felt a bed so comfortable"
At that moment, Angelina, and the other girl in their year, Alicia Spinnet entered.
"Hello!"
"Try the beds!" Maisie greeted, turning over to face them.
Alicia and Angelina made contented noises as they each tested their bed's softness.
"This is so nice after such a long train ride and wooden benches" Alicia sighed, curling up against her pillows.
"Agreed." Angelina agreed, shucking off her shoes.
As the four girls settled in, Maisie turned to Annie.
"You think Bennett's ok?"
Annie shrugged, "I'm sure she's handling herself well. She seems capable"
"Yeah, you're right."
"Maybe we can have her sit with us at breakfast tomorrow"
Maisie brightened, "You think so?"
"Can't hurt to try, right?"
"You're right. You're absolutely right." Maisie pulled her blankets around her.
"Night Annie"
"Night Maisie"