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at the front of the crowd that stood around McGonagall.The train ride was certainly boring — she couldn't find a compartment that wasn't full, so she sat with a group of girls that talked about boys and makeup until she couldn't stand to stay in the compartment anymore. She had searched until she found Nymphie with her friends. She had been introduced to them before, so she didn't have much of a problem with sitting in a compartment of Seventh Years.

The boat ride was exciting — Hogwarts Castle at night was a breathtaking sight. Warm orange lights reflected on the rippling water below and Elara couldn't help but make the connection that the beautiful sight before her looked like the castle at the beginning of Disney movies.

"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 honour. 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."

Professor McGonagall stared at the boys Elara stood near. She turned her head to see why she had the look of contempt etched upon her face. Her eyes lingered for a moment on a pudgy but sweet looking boy's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on a red-heads smudged nose. The boy with magnificent green eyes nervously tried to flatten his hair.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."

She left the chamber, and the boy with green eyes looked like he was about to vomit.

"Here, let me try," Elara offered softly.

The boy looked at her, startled. He nodded slowly and Elara reached her hands up and tried to somewhat flatten his unkempt hair. Elara gave up after his hair kept sticking up in random places. She pulled her hands back and shrugged.

"It's no use," the boy grumbled.

"My hair's normally like that too, but I changed it for today," Elara reassured.

His eyebrows laced together at her choice of words, but decided not to ask.

"I'm Harry Potter, by the way."

Elara felt like the air was knocked out of her lungs. She was no stranger to her mother's loyalty to You-Know-Who. She was no stranger to her mother's cruel actions. She had just kind of made a friend her age, but now it was Harry Potter. If he found out who she was, he'd definitely hate her.

"I'm uh... I'm Elara — "

The universe was on Elara's side, as some students had begun screaming. She gasped. So did the people around her. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to each other 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 –- "

"Peeves is a poltergeist," Elara whispered to Harry, "he loves to mess with people, my cousin told me."

Before Harry could answer, Professor McGonagall returned, "Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."

One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.

"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first-years, "and follow me."

Feeling like she was floating on air, Elara was shoved in line besides Harry, and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.

Elara had never even imagined such a strange and splendid place. Nymphie had told her in a very long letter that Andromeda had to read aloud to Elara what the Great Hall was like, but seeing it in front of her was miles better than reading about it. The hall was lit by thousands and thousands of candles which were floating in mid-air over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first-years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Elara looked upwards and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars.

She tore her eyes away from the ceiling to find Nymphie. It didn't take very long, as her cousin was the only bubblegum-haired girl sitting at the Hufflepuff table. They both waved enthusiastically at each other before Elara turned as to not hold up the line.

Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first-years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. for a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth — and the hat began to sing:

"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty, 

But don't judge on what you see, 

I'll eat myself if you can find 

A smarter hat than me. 

You can keep your bowlers black, 

Your top hats sleek and tall, 

For I'm the Hogwarts sorting hat 

And I can cap them all. 

There's nothing hidden in your head 

The sorting hat can't see, 

So try me on and I will tell you

Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve and chivalry

Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff

Where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true

And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,

If you've a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning,

Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin

You'll make your real friends,

Those cunning folk use any means

To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!

And don't get in a flap!

You're in safe hands (though I have none)

For I'm a thinking cap!" 

"So we've just got to try on the hat!" A boy whispered-yelled to Harry. "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll."

Whoever Fred was, Elara wanted to meet him.

Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment. "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted,' she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"

A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moment's pause —

"HUFFLEPUFF!" Shouted the Hat.

The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Elara saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her.

"Bones, Susan!" 

"HUFFLEPUFF!" Shouted the Hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.

"Boot, Terry!" 

"RAVENCLAW!"

The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.

'Brocklehurst, Mandy' went to Ravenclaw too, but 'Brown, Lavender' became the first new Gryffindor and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; Elara could see two boys that looked incredibly alike catcalling, and the girl to their left looked incredibly annoyed.

"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin. Elara frowned slightly; she had heard of the Bulstrodes in passing when she spent time at Malfoy Manor during holidays.

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!' 

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Finnigan, Seamus', the sandy-haired boy behind Elara in the line sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the Hat declared him a Gryffindor.

"Granger, Hermione!" Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the Hat eagerly on her head.

"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the Hat.

The Sorting blended together slightly until a sharp voice jarred her out of her thoughts.

"Lestrange, Elara!"

The Great Hall exploded into whispers. Elara's legs shook violently as she approached the stool. In the seconds before the Hat was placed on her head, Elara was able to catch a glimpse of many, many students either glaring or staring at her.

Professor McGonagall dropped the Hat on her head gently. Her mess of black hair prevented it from falling over her eyes like the majority of her peers. A Lestrange? I haven't had one of those in years.

My, my. I have not seen such power and importance in a student in a very long time. . . . You are destined for great things, Elara Lestrange. You may not see it yet, but you hold the fate of the Wizarding World in your hands. Depending where I place you, your outcome will be very, very different. . . . shall I create problems, and make you the most dangerous witch of your age, or do I turn you into a spiteful, fearless, reckless, selfless being, willing to sacrifice yourself for the greater good? Ah, what is this I see. . . . it is not up to me? It seems an ancestor has been protecting you since the day you were born, Elara Lestrange. No matter where I put you, your outcome will be the same. So, how would you like to grow? 

"I want to be different," Elara muttered, "I don't want to be like my mum."

Not like your mother, eh? Well then, better be...

"GRYFFINDOR!" the Hat yelled.

The only person who seemed to be clapping was Nymphie. To say everyone was stunned was an understatement. The Lestrange Legacy, the daughter of two of the most feared death eaters, was placed in Gryffindor, the rival house of Slytherin.

Elara rose from the chair in a daze. She wasn't aware of her walk from the stool to the table. There was scattered applause; people didn't know how to feel. Elara was snapped out of her stupor when a soft hand landed on her shoulder. 

It was the girl who looked mad at the twin boys from earlier. 

"Welcome to Gryffindor, Elara."

·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .

for everyone upset she was placed in Gryffindor,

i promise you it is very much fitting

edited: august 19, 2020