“Where did he go?”.
Arthur asked Cedric when Albus Dumbledore walked right out of the chocolate frog card.
“I dunno.” , said Cedric, shrugging his shoulders.
“Sometimes he walks to nearby empty cards.”
“So you collect these?”
“No. I just have a lot of them, everyone does.”
“Do you have a Harry Potter one?”
“The Boy Who Lived? They haven’t made any of those. Dad says Dumbledore took him someplace safe, for protection.”
“I thought the bad guy was already dead by then.”
“Well, he had followers. And we usually call him You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.”
“I get your point but the matter of fact is I don’t know who he is and you’re too afraid to tell me.”
“I don’t …”Their conversation was interrupted by a loud voice echoing throughout the train, “We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes’ time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately.”
At the cue Arthur and Cedric started to put on their robes.
The train slowed down to a final stop.
After waiting for people to push their way toward the door Arthur got out of the train out on to a tiny, dark platform. and took a deep breath of the cold night air.
Cedric on the other hand was shivering and rubbing his hands together.
Was it really that cold?
His line of thought was cut off when a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and a booming voice followed: “First years! First years over here! ”
Arthur was immediately drawn to how physically robust the man was.
He had to actually look up vertically to see the mans’ face from where he was standing.
The large man continued, “C’mon, follow me — any more first years? Mind your step, now! First years follow me!”
Slipping and stumbling, they followed the giant man down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path.
Arthur was pretty sure he had made a mistake by putting on his robe in the train.
Walking in the night on a slippery path felt like a bad decision, especially because he was at the end of the line.
Cedric insisted that he wanted to wait in case anyone was left behind, Arthur stayed because he didn’t want to leave a friend behind.
Since the only source of light was leading the way Arthur had to basically feel his way down the path.
“You will all get your first sight of Hogwarts in a sec,” the giant man called over his shoulder, “just round this bend here.” Although grumpy about the walk, Arthur was still excited at the mention of Hogwarts.
There were loud exclamations and gasps as the children at the front of the line turned around the bend.
The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake.
Perched atop a high peak on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.
The castle’s reflection on perfectly still waters only added to the beauty.
“No more than four to a boat!” the man called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore.
Arthur and Cedric were the last ones to get into their boat.
“Everyone in?” shouted the giant man, who had a boat to himself.
“Right then — FORWARD!”
The fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass.
Arthur would have been surprised by the boats moving on their own if the view was not being dominated by the great castle overhead.
Countless windows shone with light, the reflection shimmering on the mirror-like surface of the black lake, making the castle appear exceptionally magnificent.
It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.
“Heads down!” yelled the giant man as the first boats reached the cliff, they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face.
They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.
The giant man stood there checking the boats as people climbed out of them.
After everyone got off they clambered up a passageway in the rock, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.
They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door.
The giant man raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.
The door swung open at once.
Professor McGonagall in emerald-green robes stood there, making a very stern face.
Arthur knew from experience that she cared more than it seemed.
“The first years, Professor McGonagall,” said the giant man.
“Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here.”
Arthur finally learned the giant mans’ name, Hagrid, and promptly put it at the back of his mind as Professor McGonagall pulled the door wide open.
The entrance hall grand and imposing in the way that screamed ‘CASTLE’.
The stone walls were lit with flaming torches, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.
Arthur was honestly impressed by the architecture of the castle, it reminded him of the fact that this was the first castle he had ever been in.
The fact that it was his school made it even more awesome.
They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor.
A drone of hundreds of voices could be heard from a doorway to the right indicating that the rest of the school must already be there.
Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall.
They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously.
“Welcome to Hogwarts,” said Professor McGonagall.
“The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.”
“The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.”
“The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting.”
Her eyes lingered for a moment on Arthur.
Anyone would have noticed a boy waving hello desperately.
She gave a small smile and continued, “I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly.”
Watchin her walk away Arthur quietly extended his hand and said, “Told you she would respond.” Cedric slowly took out the chocolate frog card he had just unpacked on the train and gave it to Arthur.
“This is the first time I got Dumbledore.” Cedric said sadly.
“A bet’s a bet.”
Whatever Cedric wanted to say was interrupted by a loud gasp from the kids up front.
Arthur turned to look at the commotion and gasped too.
About twenty ghosts were just floating there.
Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years.
They seemed to be arguing.
What looked like a fat little monk was saying: “Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance –”
“My dear Friar, haven’t we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he’s not really even a ghost — I say, what are you all doing here?” A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years.
Arthur looked at the floating bodies and turned towards Cedric for knowledge, who wasn’t at his side anymore.
He turned to look for Cedric and found him trying to make his way to the front.
He sighed and started to follow looking closely at what was happening.
When nobody answered, the Fat Friar, smiling around at them, said “New students! About to be Sorted, I suppose?”
“How exactly do they sort us into houses?” asked one of the twins Arthur had followed in the train.
“Charlie said we had to fight a dragon, Where is it?” asked another seamlessly adding to the question.
“Charlie’s obviously lying. You’re pretty stupid George.” responded the first one.
“My dear brother Fred, don’t tell me you still believe we have to fight a centaur?” said George
“It’s the logical conclusion. The forest’s right there.” said Fred.
“You’ll be in Gryffindor!” said the Friar.
“I can tell.”
Arthur joined Cedric at the front.
He was just rolling up his sleeves and looking for the first transparent guy to punch when they were interrupted by a sharp voice, “Move along now. The Sorting Ceremony’s about to start.” Professor McGonagall had returned.
One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.
Arthur breathed a sigh of relief and pulled down his sleeves, he didn’t think he was tall enough to land a good punch anyway.
Cedric gave him a puzzled look when he noticed the sleeves.
Arthur just patted the innocent kid on the shoulders, he made up his mind to teach him the intricacies of a good school fight later.
“Now, form a line,” Professor McGonagall ordered, “and follow me.”