When we arrived at Hogwarts, I lingered near the first years, watching them get sorted. People were staring, curious about the new student. The other students had already taken their seats at the four house tables.
The Sorting began. A middle-aged woman with a tight bun and spectacles – Professor McGonagall, she introduced herself – called the first names.
“Allen, Damien.” A short boy with pale skin and light brown hair shuffled forward. McGonagall placed an old, patched-up hat on his head. To everyone’s surprise, the hat’s creases shifted into a face, and a deep voice boomed, “RAVENCLAW!”
Cheers erupted from the table dressed in blue. Ravenclaw looked…nice. I noticed the blonde girl from the train, Luna Lovegood, was already seated there.
More names were called. Benjamin, Olivia became the first Gryffindor. Eckert, Danica, the first Hufflepuff. Hutchinson, Frederick was the first Slytherin. He sneered as he sauntered over to the Slytherin table, looking like they’d rather eat glass. I noticed the boy with pale blonde hair – the one whose mother had helped me onto the train – was sitting there too. I think his name was Draco. He had his elbow propped on the table, chin resting in his palm. He looked…sad.
“Hastings, Evangeline.” I jumped as McGonagall’s voice snapped me back to attention. I pushed through the cluster of eleven-year-olds and walked up to the stool. McGonagall placed the hat on my head.
Almost immediately, a voice appeared in my head. It was the hat. “Well, well, well, what do we have here?”
*What do you mean?* I thought.
“I see you’re a transfer student from Beauxbatons,” the hat said.
*Yes,* I thought, *I am.* *Could you please put me in Gryffindor?*
“You’re definitely not a Gryffindor…”
My heart sank. I pushed the feeling down and thought, *Okay, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw would be nice too!*
But instead, the hat shouted, “SLYTHERIN!”
My eyes widened. Slytherin? Impossible. I slowly stood up and walked toward the Slytherin table. I found an empty seat next to the pale blonde boy. He glanced at me, then looked away.
The sorting finished. Headmaster Dumbledore made a speech about sticking together during tough times. I didn’t hear much of it. My stomach was growling, and I clutched it in embarrassment. My nerves weren’t helping. A girl with short black hair and a pug-like face glared at me. She had a pin with a P on it.
Dumbledore said something, and food appeared on the tables. My mouth watered. Chicken, vegetables, pies…everything. I served myself.
“Are you new?” the pug-faced girl drawled. She was still scowling.
I smiled, even though she was being unusually rude. I decided to be kind, even if she didn’t deserve it. “Yeah, I’m Evangeline. I just transferred here from Beauxbatons.”
She softened slightly. She was actually kind of pretty when she wasn’t scowling. “I’m Pansy Parkinson.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said. I turned to the boy next to her. “You’re Draco, right?”
He looked at me. “How do you know that?”
Pansy cleared her throat. “Yeah, how do you know that?”
I glared at her. She was starting to annoy me. “Relax, I just heard his mum call him that,” I snapped.
“Where were you talking to his mum?” Pansy snarled enviously.
“Shut up, Pansy,” Draco said, his tone sharp. I glanced at him. He looked furious. Good to know I wasn’t the only one who disliked Pansy.
Pansy obeyed, and went back to eating her food. She liked him, I could tell, and she clearly didn’t want to do anything to upset him.
A boy with dark skin and curly black hair, sitting next to Pansy, smiled at me. “I’m Blaise Zabini.”
“Nice to meet you, Blaise,” I said, tearing off a piece of chicken.
Pansy was still staring at me with disgust. I finally turned to her. “What’s your problem?”
“What’s your blood status?” she demanded.
I narrowed my eyes. “And why exactly does that matter?”
“Of course it matters! You’re in Slytherin, for heaven’s sake!”
“I’m a half blood,” I answered hesitantly. “My dad is a wizard and my mom was a witch.” I purposefully left out the part about her being muggleborn, because I was sure they’d hate it.
“Was?” Blaise said. “Did she die or something?”
“Yeah, a few months ago,” I replied. This conversation was making me incredibly uncomfortable. “But the point is, I’m a half blood.”
Pansy didn’t seem completely satisfied with my answer, but she didn’t push it. “Well, you’re not pure blood, but at least you’re not a mudblood.”
I stared at her. “I believe *muggleborn* is the correct term,” I corrected.
I knew I’d upset her again. She scowled. Could she stop doing that? She opened her mouth to argue, but Draco interrupted. “Come on, Pansy, we have to lead the first years to the common room.”
She turned to him and forced a smile. “Yes, of course.” She took his arm and they walked away. I rolled my eyes. I supposed I had to follow them too, since I had no idea where the common room was.
They led us down to the basement, though it felt more like a dungeon. It was creepy, and I didn’t look forward to walking through here every day.
They stopped at a certain point. Draco pressed one of the bricks on the wall. “Potions,” he muttered. This triggered the wall, and the bricks folded inward, creating a doorway. I followed them into the common room.
I gasped along with the first years. It was more beautiful than I’d imagined. Old furniture with green accent pillows and blankets. A fireplace crackling in the center. Windows…I stared out of them. We must have been under the lake, because I could see fish swimming by. Two staircases led down to the boys’ and girls’ dormitories.
“Alright, go to bed!” Pansy shrieked.
I headed up to the girls’ dormitories with the other Slytherin girls. I went into the sixth-year room. There were three other girls. One had mid-length black hair and a menacing face. The other had platinum blonde hair and blue eyes. The last one had caramel-colored skin and curly brown hair pulled into a messy ponytail.
It was late, so I didn’t bother introducing myself. I set my trunk down and collapsed into my bed. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.