First of September 1987

Ruth Papathanassiou
Ruth Papathanassiou Avatar
Slytherin
19 posts
43 years old
Professor of Languages
Lufkin University and Oxford University and University of Athens Alum
Hogwarts
played by Eve
""
quote
options

Post by Ruth Papathanassiou on Oct 24, 2018 1:40:57 GMT -5

1st of September 1987
The Sorting
This hall… it was just so huge. She had never been anywhere near remotely as tall. Maybe Gringotts, she had caught a glimpse or too of where the goblins were sitting behind counters, but her father had never taken her into the building. And even that couldn’t be as gigantic as this hall. There wasn’t that much room in Diagon Alley. In fact, as she looked around (and immediately down to the ground again when she noticed all the older students staring at them), she was convinced that the whole of Diagon Alley would easily fit in here. There wasn’t even a ceiling! On second thoughts, that was really impractical. They’d get all wet during meals whenever it rained! Or maybe magic prevented that? She had been outdoors just a few minutes ago, and it had been so much colder than in here, so maybe there was magic involved. Mum had also fixed some holes in the roof with magic. And this hole… no, she couldn’t call it a hole if there was nothing for the hole to be in, this open ceiling could have been bewitched similarly.

And now that a stool with a hat that looked just like something her father would wear was placed before them and that hat started to sing, she didn’t really doubt her idea that magic was responsible for the ceiling any longer. If this place could turn such disgusting hats into something useful, then its magic could do anything. But listening to the hat, she was distracted from her wonder. Four houses, that much she knew. But this hat would place them there. She’d have to put it on her head and then… and then… what would it do? Question them about their textbooks? She wouldn’t be able to answer a single question, not now that she was slowly starting to be really stressed and maybe even if she felt in control of her thoughts. But all of this was so overwhelming, and she was continuously torn between wonder and fright.

She really wished her parents, or at least her mother, would have told her more about the school. But her father hardly ever talked to her (and if he did, she usually only waited until he stopped), and her mother only kept telling her that she had to be good at school. Nothing about school, just what marks she expected and how many hours she was supposed to spend in the library. At least that meant that there was a library, so she’d would be able to read other books than the ones her mother had at home. She knew these by heart now anyway. She had once asked Mum whether she didn’t have more books, or whether they could buy more, but apparently Father didn’t want them to. For the subjects that still required the same textbooks, he had given her his, which she hadn’t even known that he still had — and wished he hadn’t. They were all in a horrible condition. But her mother had cleaned them a little, so they were not that bad now. She could read them. She had read them. Mum had ordered her to. She didn’t understand much, and all the information was jumbled together in her head, but once the teachers explained, things would get clearer. At least that was what Mum said. Because she’d be horribly disappointed if she wasn’t best.

Student after student went and sat down on the stool and put on that hat. They were called forward alphabetically? So it wouldn’t be her turn for quite a while. But just what was this hat doing? It didn’t say anything apart from the house and neither did the student. So what was the hat judging from? Maybe just chance? It was a bit of an elaborate set-up for randomly putting people in houses, but maybe this was all just for show? She tried to breathe calmly and find a spot she could look at. Not into the crowd because they were all staring. Not at her, of course, she was aware of that, but that was what it felt like. She couldn’t just look at the ground either because that would be a weird thing to do. And the other first-years made her if anything even more nervous than the older students. These were the ones that would become her classmates. That she’d have to get along with. She had grown up with mostly just her mother. She didn’t know how to interact with children her age.

There they had reached the letter S. And soon her name was called. She inhaled deeply and walked forward, staring straight ahead at the top of the door to the hall, and then sat down, lowering her eyes to her lap. Then came the hardest part. Putting that disgusting thing on her head. She caught her breath and lifted it to her head and then it immediately fell down to her nose. With relief she registered that it at least didn’t stink as she had expected. “Hmmm…” She stiffened as soon as she heard the little voice in her head. What was that? “There’s a thirst for knowledge, isn’t there?” the voice said. Was that the hat? It could also talk directly into her ear. And see what was inside her head? What she was thinking? That was… scary to say the least. “But you want to exceed to live up to someone else’s expectations?” the voice continued. “So you want to prove yourself? That’s close enough to ambition if you don’t protest…” She mentally shrugged. If that piece of clothing was telling her that… “Then be… SLYTHERIN,” the hat shouted. That was it then? She took off the hat and walked over to the table with quivering steps. That hadn’t been as bad as she had thought. It could be worse. She only hoped that her mother would be okay with her given house. But maybe she could postpone worrying until tomorrow, and just enjoy the meal that had to start soon after the Sorting. This was after all supposed to be a feast.