[Chapter Size: 2000 Words.]
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After Harry finished packing his trunk, the sky outside the window had grown completely dark.
Amanda looked out. The forest roared before her, misty clouds veiled the mountains, and deep shades of blue and purple washed across the heavens, casting glimmers of light upon the silent lake.
As she counted the time it took to pass through each arch of the bridge, Amanda realized the train was slowing down.
"The train will arrive at Hogwarts in five minutes. Please leave your luggage on board."
The conductor's voice seemed to echo through the carriage. Amanda stood and checked her belongings. She noticed Harry's face had gone pale with nerves.
"There's nothing to worry about, Harry," she reassured him, though she wasn't entirely certain herself.
Draco straightened his shirt.
"At last we're here. My father told me that once we arrive at Hogwarts, we'll be taken for the Sorting first. Amanda, Harry, see you in Slytherin."
Harry forced a weak smile, and Amanda noticed that he was so nervous his fringe was damp with sweat.
"See you in Slytherin."
They waited until most of the passengers had left the train before making their way to the door. The platform was so crowded that the night air seemed a little less cold.
"First-years! Over here! This way! Ah! Harry, is that you?"
A massive oil lantern swung above the students' heads, its warm orange glow illuminating the thick beard of the man carrying it.
"Hagrid! It's us! And Amanda and Draco!"
Harry broke into a wide smile, clearly much more at ease. He raised a hand to Hagrid and walked over with Amanda and Draco.
"Good! Follow me, girls and boys! Follow me!"
A crowd of first-years trailed after Hagrid, his towering height making them look even smaller. They stumbled down the slope along a path, and Amanda nearly slipped more than once.
"Careful!" Draco frowned and tugged her sleeve.
"We're about to see Hogwarts, first-years. Are you ready?" Hagrid's booming voice cut through the night.
"Oh!"
A gasp rose from the front of the group. Amanda looked where everyone else was staring. A magnificent castle stood on the hillside, blazing with light, its windows dotting the gothic towers.
Below stretched a black lake, and it was clear they would be crossing it by boat.
"No more than four to a boat!" Hagrid shouted.
Amanda, Draco, and Harry climbed into a small boat along with a short-haired girl. Hagrid settled into another and rowed ahead.
As soon as they sat down, the oars moved on their own, carrying the boats toward the castle. Amanda and Harry said nothing, transfixed by the sight of Hogwarts.
The short-haired girl suddenly spoke.
"Ah, Draco! I haven't seen you for a month or two. How have you been?"
She had thick, short black hair, and her dark eyes scanned the other three in the boat without hesitation.
"Ah… thanks to Merlin, I'm well." Draco answered lightly, leaning over the side and idly tapping the water with two fingers.
"These are your new friends? No wonder you haven't been at any family gatherings lately. You've been spending time with them?"
Draco's indifferent attitude clearly irritated the girl. She stared at Amanda and Harry, especially Amanda.
"I suppose among us, the Sacred Twenty-Eight, there's no one who doesn't know each other, Draco. Where did you meet these wretches? They're not Mudbloods, are they? Does your father know you waste time with them?" she said bluntly.
She was referring to the Sacred Twenty-Eight, the pure-blood families whose genealogies were free of Muggle-borns. Amanda was fairly sure she had guessed the girl's identity.
But those words had obviously provoked Harry.
His fists clenched, his face flushed with anger. "Really? That's how you see us? That's how you judge people you don't even know?"
Amanda held him back.
"I think people shouldn't judge others based on their narrow knowledge, or make such shallow, ignorant remarks."
Her cold gaze met the girl's, who glared back with such fury it was as though she wanted to pierce Amanda's face with her eyes.
Draco cast Amanda a quick look of mild approval, and she thought she saw the corners of his mouth twitch upwards.
"Pansy, is the Parkinson family struggling these days? Because your behavior is a disgrace to the name."
With those words, Draco confirmed Amanda's suspicion, it was indeed Pansy Parkinson.
So that's why Pansy looked at her with such hatred. If she remembered correctly, Pansy had always been Draco's loyal admirer.
In this situation, she must have imagined Amanda as some rival for his affections.
A misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding!
Amanda instinctively shifted away, trying to put some distance between herself and Draco.
Pansy was so furious she could barely speak. She had not expected Draco to remain so unconcerned, even after she invoked his father. Her eyes reddened, and she bit her lip hard.
At last she managed only a few strained words:
"Draco, you've changed…"
"Have I?" Draco replied.
Before Pansy could say more, Hagrid's booming call from the front cut her off.
"We're here! First-years, out of the boats and follow me!"
They scrambled onto the shore. As Hagrid counted the boats, he called out to the group, "Come see whose toad this is!"
"Thank you!"
Neville ran forward in delight, seized his toad, and kissed it twice.
"Oh, Merlin…"
Amanda saw a red-haired boy nearby pull a face as though he might be sick.
They climbed a flight of stone steps. A few tripped over each other's robes, muttering complaints, but no one lingered, everyone hurried after Hagrid, their faces a mixture of nerves and anticipation.
Before long, they reached the damp grass in front of the castle. Hagrid raised his fist and knocked three times on the huge oak door.
It swung open at once, and Professor McGonagall stood framed in the doorway.
She wore a brilliant emerald-green robe, her hair pulled so tightly back that not a strand was out of place. Her piercing gaze swept across the gathered students.
Then, on her stern face, came the faintest hint of a smile.
"First-years, follow me. Welcome to Hogwarts."
After passing through a high, vaulted corridor, Professor McGonagall led the group of first-years into a small, empty chamber.
"The Welcoming Feast is about to begin. Before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you must be sorted into your Houses. The Sorting Ceremony is extremely important, and I expect you to treat it seriously. No matter which House you are placed in, I hope you will cherish it, for every House has produced witches and wizards of great renown. While you are here at Hogwarts, your achievements will earn your House points, while rule-breaking will cause your House to lose them. At the end of the year, the House with the highest total will be awarded the House Cup."
Professor McGonagall gave them a brief introduction to Hogwarts' rules.
"The Sorting Ceremony will begin in just a few minutes. While you wait, please make yourselves presentable."
Her sharp eyes rested for a moment on a few students whose robes were untidy, then she swept out briskly.
Amanda quickly checked the fastenings of her cloak, straightened her robes, and smoothed every crease she could find.
"Ahhh!"
Several sudden shrieks rose from the group. Amanda looked up to see pale, translucent figures drifting out of the walls, the ghosts of Hogwarts. They floated above the first-years' heads, chatting cheerfully among themselves.
One ghost in an elaborate ruffled collar spotted them.
"Good evening, new students!"
He swirled through the air with a smile, drawing gasps from the crowd.
"I do hope you end up in Hufflepuff! That's my House," said another, dressed like a monk.
Before the first-years could recover from the shock, Professor McGonagall returned. She opened the door, glanced at them, and said crisply, "Form a line and follow me."
Harry stepped into line first, Amanda quickly behind him, and Draco fell into place just after her.
They filed out, down another passage, and entered a vast and splendid hall.
Four long tables stretched the length of the chamber, filled with students from every year, who turned to stare at the newcomers with expressions ranging from curiosity to excitement.
Some clearly recognized Harry, pointing and whispering as Amanda passed by. She guessed it was because the sweat on his forehead had pushed back his fringe, revealing his lightning-shaped scar.
Snatches of hushed voices drifted toward her:
"Look at that boy, he's got a scar shaped like a lightning bolt."
"I saw it. Let me think… could that really be Harry Potter?"
At the far end of the hall stood another long table, where the Hogwarts professors were already seated.
Amanda followed the line to the front of the hall, stopping before the staff table. Almost involuntarily, her eyes lifted. The ceiling above was not an ordinary roof but the night sky itself, filled with stars. Thousands of floating candles lit the hall with a golden glow.
Professor McGonagall placed a four-legged stool before the students and set upon it an old, patched, and frayed wizard's hat.
It was the legendary Sorting Hat.
The buzzing conversation of the hall died away into silence. Then the hat's wide brim opened like a mouth, and it began to sing an ancient yet lively ballad.
"You may think I'm not much to look at,"
"But never judge by what you see."
"Try to find a finer hat…"
The Sorting Hat's song was both clever and captivating, drawing everyone's attention. Perhaps only Amanda was glancing sideways at the staff table, counting the professors and guessing their identities.
She immediately recognized Professor Quirrell, his head still wrapped in the same violet turban she had seen at the Leaky Cauldron.
Beside him sat a teacher in black robes, his face sallow and severe, with a hooked nose and lank, shoulder-length black hair. Amanda was certain it must be Professor Snape.
"For I'm a hat that thinks and speaks!"
When the song ended, applause thundered through the hall. A pair of red-headed twins leapt to their feet at the Gryffindor table, cheering and whistling.
Amanda quickly looked away and focused on the Sorting Hat, which bowed to each of the four tables in turn.
Professor McGonagall stepped forward with a roll of parchment.
"When I call your name, you will put on the Sorting Hat and sit on the stool."
She glanced at the list and read aloud:
"Hannah Abbott!"
A small girl with golden braids stumbled forward, sat down, and pulled the hat over her head, which promptly fell past her eyes.
Moments later.
"Hufflepuff!" the Hat cried.
The Hufflepuff table erupted in cheers. The ghostly monk beamed at Hannah, doffed his hood, and bowed.
"Terry Boot!"
"Ravenclaw!"
"Lavender Brown!"
"Gryffindor!"
…
One by one, the first-years were called, each placing the Sorting Hat nervously on their heads before rushing to their new tables, where cheers greeted them warmly.
"Hermione Granger!"
At the sound of the name, Amanda glanced at Hermione, who hurried forward and jammed the Hat onto her head. Silently, Amanda whispered to herself without emotion: Gryffindor.
But moments later, the Hat shouted:
"Ravenclaw!"
"???"
Amanda's eyes widened. She glanced past Harry in astonishment and saw Hermione already skipping toward the Ravenclaw table, her bushy brown curls bouncing behind her.
"Ravenclaw?"
Amanda remembered what she had told Hermione earlier on the train, when they had discussed their hopes for Sorting:
"I think we should follow our own choices, rather than listening to outside opinions."
It seemed her presence had already begun altering the story.
Like falling dominoes, one change would trigger another and another.
How much chaos could a single butterfly cause with the mere beating of its wings?
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