Chapter 5 - Hogwarts

Arth yawned as he observed the lake scenery with a half mildly interested and half sleepy gaze. It was as if the entirety of the night sky had settled into the waters below them. The glass like surface would only break due to the ripples from the boats and on occasional tentacle. All Arth wanted to do was lay down and enjoy the view.

"Look Arth! Did you see that! I think it was a giant squid!"

"Mmm."

Alice on the other hand, was moving about the boat, trying to absorb everything into the electric blue eyes.

"C-can you not shake the boat too much?" Pleaded Lily. "Severus looks like he is sick."

"I-I'm perfectly... uhhhg."

"You should have Severus lie down. It helps with motion sickness," replied Arth nonchalantly. "I wonder if we are allowed to go swim in the lake during our free time."

"W-why the hell would y-you want to swim h-here.... uhhhhhhhggg."

"Cause I want to," replied Arth while rolling his eyes. "And if you want to avoid hurling in the boat, either stay quiet or lean on the outer edge."

Alice and Arth were joined by Lily and Severus on their boat. A big hairy man had told them earlier that they should ride the boat in groups of four and the result ended in Lily asking them to take her and Severus in. Alice, being the person she was, accepted them with open arms.

James and Sirius on the other hand, went off to find another group to sail with.

After a few seconds, they had reached the cliff where the castle of Hogwarts stood and the big man yelled out to them once more. "Watch yer heads!"

Arth might've listened to the man if he wasn't distracted by the sheer sight of the school. The castle itself was large, he could see many spiral towers reaching into the sky and a thousand yellow windows the interior of the school in a warm yellow. It had been strategically built on top of a vertical island cliff that was about a hundred meters high and the only way to get in was through the bridge on the other side.

Arth's view was covered as a curtain of vines covered his face and they entered through a small cavern inside the cliff. After a few more moments of traversing through the long cavern, they came across a underground harbor. Arth was the first to climb out and immediately turned around to help Alice down as well. Next, he helped Severus, who was still feeling a bit sick and finally Lily.

The big man waited for everyone to get off the boats before leading them up a flight of stone steps and knocked on a huge oak door.

After a few moments, the door swung open and a a tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. Although the vestiges of time has not left a mark on her face, she had the look of a very stern professor.

"I have brought the firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said the big man.

"Thank you, Hagrid. You may leave now. Your work here is done." Professor McGonagall pulled the door wide and let the crowd of students into the castle. The interior of the castle was just as grand as its outside. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors. All around them at random intervals were rusty but intimidating suits of armor standing alert.

They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor and 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. "You will soon be sorted into your houses. The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own fantastic history and each has produced powerful witches and wizards. Triumphs will earn your house points, while rulebreaking will lose them. The house with the most points is awarded the house cup at the end of the year. I hope each of you will bring glory to whichever house you end up."

The professor paused for a moment before continuing her speech.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can unless you wish to embarrass yourself in front of the entire school. Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me."

They walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall. The Great Hall was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair 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. Above their heads, the ceiling was enchanted into a velvety black dotted with stars. It was as if the night sky was contained within the rooms

Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put an old pointed wizard's hat. 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.

After the first few verses, Arth decided it was better to block out the song entirely and pulled out a book and started to read.