Chapter 9:
As dusk fell the train slowed and finally came to a stop. Passengers spilled from the compartments and jostled toward the doors. Through the window Pomona could see a small, dark platform; a man was holding a lantern and calling out, "First-years this way! First-years this way — leave your trunks, we'll send them up to the castle."
The older students sniggered and mocked his accent, and the dog at the lantern-man's feet growled at them.
Pomona, Lily and Severus flowed with the crowd along the corridor. A blast of cold air hit her when she stepped off the train and she sneezed, drawing the attention of a handsome boy.
"Oh blast, you sneezed on my robe," he complained loudly, drawing laughs from many; Pomona's face flushed.
"I am Apollonius Pringle, your head of house, and this is Mr Pluto." The lantern-man pointed to his dog. "You are about to become students at Hogwarts, but be warned: there are dangerous places in that castle. If I catch you out after lights-out you'll lose house points or worse, but if you're taken by something out there you may not live to tell the tale. Now follow me to the castle, mind your footing, and don't fall behind!"
"You drip-snot," the grey-eyed boy jeered at Pomona as the group moved on, and people around them snickered.
"You're rude!" Lily snapped. "You're a nasty little thing!"
Perhaps because Lily was pretty, the boy merely snorted and left them be. They followed Pringle down a steep path, stumbling at times, through dense woods. Rounding a bend, everyone gasped: at the path's end lay a black lake, and across its waters, high on the opposite shore, stood a towering castle. Its turrets rose into the night and every window glowed with orange light; the castle and its lights were mirrored in the still lake. Pomona had never seen anything so magnificent.
"Everyone into boats — no more than four to a boat." Pringle pointed to a line of small boats. Pomona, Lily, Severus and a boy who had appeared from nowhere climbed into the same boat. Once seated she searched in vain for oars.
Pringle sat alone in his boat. Suddenly every boat moved as if by magic; they sliced silently across the water, breaking the reflected light, and drifted toward the towering castle.
"Duck!" Pringle shouted as they passed beneath a curtain of ivy. Everyone bent their heads to avoid stones hidden in the foliage and reached a concealed entrance. They followed a dark tunnel into the castle's undercroft and emerged at what looked like an underground landing, where, at the foot of a step-strewn causeway, a witch in emerald robes waited.
"One by one, out of the boats — mind you don't fall in." Pringle stepped ashore with the first-years but offered no help.
Severus was first to jump out and helped Lily up. Pomona intended to manage on her own, but the boat rocked badly and the boy behind her couldn't steady himself. She felt herself slipping.
"Take my hand," Severus said impatiently. Pomona grabbed it like a lifeline.
His hand wasn't the freezing thing she'd imagined, nor was it warm; once ashore he left the other boy to struggle. Pomona, feeling sorry for him, reached back and hauled him up.
"Thanks," the small boy mumbled, his prominent front teeth giving him a rodent-like look.
"All first-years present, Professor McGonagall?" Pringle called as they climbed the stone steps. From closer up Pomona saw McGonagall properly for the first time — stern, yes, but undeniably handsome in a severe way.
"Thank you, Mr Pringle." Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and addressed them. "Welcome to Hogwarts. I am Minerva McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor. For the next seven years you will spend most of your time in the castle behind me. Two rules to begin with: the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to students, and after lights-out you may not wander the common rooms. Form two lines; when I call your name step forward to be sorted. The Sorting Hat will tell you to which house you belong. Any questions?"
A dark-haired boy raised his hand. "Yes?" McGonagall asked.
"I heard that some years ago a Muggle-born girl died in the girls' bathroom, and that it was done by one of the school's students. Is that true, Professor?" the boy asked.
Lily stiffened.
"Someone did die," McGonagall said, "but not at the hands of one of our students. It was the work of some magical creature that had entered the school. As I said, the Founders set protective enchantments on Hogwarts; if you do not leave your dormitories or common rooms at night you will be safe. Any other questions?"
The same boy raised his hand again.
"What's your name?" McGonagall asked.
"James Potter." Severus snorted with contempt at the name.
"What is your question?" McGonagall said.
"If the Sorting Hat puts me in Slytherin, can I leave school?" James asked.
"Form lines!" McGonagall did not answer. After some fuss the first-years were in order. She tapped the great doors with her wand; they opened with a deep groan, and the sound of hundreds of voices drifted out from beyond.
"We shall hold the sorting feast here in the Hall," McGonagall said as they filed forward. "A house is your family at Hogwarts. The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own honour. You gain points for schoolwork and conduct, and points will be deducted for misdeeds. At the end of the year the house with the most points wins the House Cup. Make your house proud no matter where you are placed. The Sorting will begin behind me in a few moments. Straighten yourselves."
Some pupils fussed with their robes; others whispered.
"I'll bet this is her first time leading us," James Potter said, grinning at the boy who'd called Pomona "drip-snot."
"Lily, don't worry — we'll all be in Ravenclaw," Severus told Lily, and she forced a small smile.
"Ready?" McGonagall asked. No one answered and she opened the Hall doors to a roar of applause.
Words fail to describe the wonder Pomona saw: an ancient stone Hall flanked by four long tables, each table hung with its house banners cascading from ceiling to floor. Hundreds of candles floated above them in a sky of stars. A broad marble staircase stood at the far end, and a raised platform held a long table where the teachers sat. At its head, an old man with half-moon spectacles — the same Albus Dumbledore from the Chocolate Frog card — presided.
As they passed the house tables Pomona found herself glancing at the Slytherin table and immediately spotted Bellatrix Black glaring at them. She kept her head down.
Hogwarts held barely a thousand souls — roughly the number of witches and wizards in Britain. They stopped before a dais with a single chair and a shabby, patched hat set on a velvet cushion.
"Now, form two lines," McGonagall said. After more fussing the lines were straightened. Pomona stood behind Severus, with Lily in front of him.
Silence fell. Then the patched hat began to sing — a rambling, odd little ditty promising cleverness and threatening to eat itself if a smarter hat existed — and the students rolled their eyes. Pomona briefly lost herself in thought until she saw Peter waving at her and mouthing "Good luck."
Hufflepuff had many members; Pomona felt no fear. She felt sorry for Severus, who now seemed unlikely to gain Ravenclaw as he'd hoped.
McGonagall unrolled a parchment and read names. The lines shortened as pupils moved forward to be sorted. Pomona saw many familiar faces — the boy who had called her names was Sirius Black; when the Sorting Hat placed him in Gryffindor, Bellatrix Black drew her wand, and if Professor Slughorn had not intervened Pomona feared she might have hurled a curse at Sirius.
"Pomona Martin."
Though she stood behind Severus, her surname's initial placed her ahead of him and the Evanses; as expected, she was placed in Hufflepuff.
"Where's the Fat Friar?" she asked an older student after taking her seat.
"Over there, next to Dumbledore." He pointed to a pale, pearly ghost. "He's trying to persuade the Headmaster to invite Peeves to the feast again."
Pomona watched Dumbledore; she had the odd sensation that he and others were looking in her direction, though she paid it little mind. Soon McGonagall called Lily's name.
The red-haired girl took a breath and sat on the stool. When the Sorting Hat was placed upon her head she shouted, "Gryffindor!"
The Gryffindor table erupted. Severus's disappointment was plain.
"Severus Snape!"
McGonagall called his name; the Hat sat on his head a long moment and then cried, "Slytherin!"
Pomona thought she heard the sound of a heart breaking. He had not been placed with Ravenclaw; instead he joined the rival Slytherin house.
After the last first-year was sorted McGonagall rolled up the parchment and took the Hat away. Dumbledore tapped his goblet, rose slowly and, when Pomona expected a long speech, said only, "Welcome to Hogwarts. Before we begin — broomsticks, pudding, tears — thank you all," and sat down. A thunder of applause followed and the empty house tables instantly filled with a feast.
Pomona glanced between the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables. Lily looked nervous but was still chatting; Severus ate with his head bowed and gave no hint of his feelings.
You need your own life, Pomona thought, and filled her plate. The first mouthful of steak was bland; she chewed without enthusiasm. If the house-elves could know what she was thinking they would surely weep.