Chapter 2: The Headmistress & the Head of House

"Sure, Ava! I'll talk to her! She'll come around," Angus responds in a whisper, although he doesn't seem particularly sure of this. His concentration breaks and he grins at his little sister. "Congrats on getting Sorted into Ravenclaw! You always were the brain of the family." He ruffles his little sister's hair just as McGonagall calls for everyone to sit.

*

After McGonagall's announcements, as normal chatter begins to resume and the students continue to stuff their faces, a handful of Gryffindor first years gather around Rafaella--she doesn't fail to notice that Rory and Jacob have moved away from where she was sitting. An Irish girl named Maisie Keevan leans in, whispering conspiratorially, "Were her parents Death Eaters?"

A couple nearby upper years are discussing Defence Against the Dark Arts with Professor Grey, and seem to be trying to scare first years, talking about how last year's teachers would use curses on students to teach them what it felt like.

Over at the Ravenclaw table, Bex asks a couple of upper years about the Quidditch captain, and is directed to a Seventh year named Anil Mehta, a tall, athletic looking, brown-skinned boy who's discussing applying advanced Arithmancy to this summer's Quidditch scores with another upper year girl.

"Fangbourne, eh?" Mehta asks, eying Bex up and down analytically. "Guessing you must mean Keeper Portia Fangbourne from the Welsh Nationals. Her shot-to-block ratio was slightly above the national average in '79." Anil considers this a moment, then turns back to Bex. "You can try out same as anyone, first year, but Ravenclaw hasn't had a first year on the team in 223 years. What was her name?"

"Lilac Quinn," the girl responds, whip fast. "Beater, 1775-'76. Quit after the House Cup match to focus on regrowing her limbs."

The upper years continue to discuss 18th century Quidditch trends. Bex is clearly dismissed. Back with the other first years, Merlin is terrified that Caroline is being expelled. "M-maybe she just doesn't know what... that word means. Even a lot of older people who aren't bad use it, just because of ignorance. Do you t-t-think we could explain it to... somebody?" he glances up at the empty centre chair at the head table, looking queasy at the thought.

*

In the staff lounge, Caroline is quite shaken at being singled out by students, teachers and portraits alike, but she's able to keep herself composed before McGonagall's intimidating glare. The headmistress' face softens a little as she gazes down at Caroline through her square glasses, perched on the end of her nose. "Ms. Scrivener, the Sorting Hat is as old as Hogwarts itself, and has peered into the minds of countless young witches and wizards before you. If it put you in Hufflepuff it saw the best parts of you, kindness, loyalty, caring, and believes that's where you would be happiest."

McGonagall lowers her voice and leans in slightly, "I myself begged the Sorting Hat to place me in Ravenclaw. I spent more than five minutes on that stool as it deliberated between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, but it saw something I didn't and placed me in Gryffindor. I was angry at first. I came to Hogwarts to learn, not to be surrounded by pompous blowhards, but being in Gryffindor taught me something about myself that I needed to learn."

The headmistress straightens up, pushing her glasses up her nose. "Now, that hardly excuses your behaviour. Many people--many Hufflepuffs, indeed--died protecting Hogwarts so future generations of young witches and wizards, including Muggle-born students, could learn here safely. If I hear of any further mistreatment of your fellow students, you will be packing your bags and going home faster than you can say 'Quidditch'. In the meantime, you'll have detention once a week for a month, helping Professor Sprout in the greenhouses. I am letting you off lightly, because I expect you to change your attitude and behaviour. That will be all, Professor Sprout will take you to your House."

McGonagall sweeps out of the room, and Professor Sprout heads over to another door, not the one that leads out into the Great Hall. "Better take a shortcut, dear."

As Professor Sprout leads Caroline out into the entrance hall, through a door and down into a corridor, smells of spices and baking pastries waft up from further down the hall. The Hufflepuff Common room must be close to the kitchens, there's even an ambient warmth down there.

Sprout turns to Caroline, smiling, but her face falls at Caroline's question. She looks slightly deflated at the thought. "Oh, I don't think so, dear..."

Sprout leads Caroline to a nook on the right hand side of the corridor where a dozen enormous barrels are stacked, laying on their sides so their tops face out into the hallway. Sprout points to a barrel top--two from the bottom, middle of the second row. "To enter, tap five times to the time of 'Helga Hufflepuff.'" Sprout demonstrates, "tap, tap, tap-tap-tap." The barrel top swings open and Sprout clambers through the tunnel.

"WELCOME TO HUFFLEPUFF!" Dozens upon dozens of voices cry out as Caroline enters, but then there are some frustrated calls of surprise. Decorating the coziest room Caroline has ever seen, a roaring fire warming the space despite the rain from the huge circular windows above, are what looks like close to a hundred portraits of witches and wizards from every walk of life, every imaginable dress. In the bigger portraits, groups of them hold signs that, altogether, say exactly what they just cried out.

"What's the deal, Pomona?" calls out one witch. "Did we only get a single student this year?!"

"Early arrival," Sprout replies, looking to Caroline, a concerned look on her face.

Sprout leads Caroline past huge, snug-looking armchairs and couches down a tunnel to a large, circular door with five names on it, including her own, Millie's and Summer's. Inside are five four-poster beds with enormous, plush patchwork quilts. Warm copper lamps illuminate the cozy little room. Caroline's trunk lies at the foot of her bed. Sprout shrugs, still gazing at Caroline with a concerned look on her face. "Welcome to Hufflepuff, dear."

*

The welcoming feast ends much less eventfully than it began, and McGonagall, after returning from a side room, dismisses everyone but the first year students, bidding them to wait for the prefects to lead them to their dormitories.

The Ravenclaw and Gryffindor first-years begin to head upwards in the same direction, but eventually split off. Merlin waves to Rafaella as the Ravenclaws take a staircase, then another, that winds up into the tallest tower. Rafaella follows her prefects to a portrait of a fat lady, who asks for a password. The Ravenclaws, on the other hand, find themselves answering the riddle of a bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle.

Exhausted from the trials of the day and sleepy with their full stomachs, it's all the students can do but to change into their pyjamas and climb into bed.

*

A steady drizzle seems to blanket Hogwarts and not let up over the next few weeks. The time flies by as the first-years find themselves overwhelmed with their classes and coursework. There's Charms with excitable Professor Flitwick, Potions with slick and doddering Professor Slughorn, Herbology with kindly Professor Sprout. The most tedious is History of Magic with Professor Binns, the only ghost teacher, who floats into class droning on about 12th-century goblin rebellions, and doesn't seem to realize or particularly care when students are there at all. Twice a week the first-years spend the evening in the Astronomy tower with Professor Sinistra, drawing up star charts and following the trajectory of planets, which is as curious as it is finicky. The most terrifying class is Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall, who transformed from a cat on the first day of class. She brooks no shenanigans, and seems to spot troublemaking Rafaella from a mile away. After a handful of troublesome instances, she corners Rafaella after class.

"Ms. Souza, if you do not take your course work seriously, I'll assign extra lessons under the supervision of Professor Murdock," McGonagall leans in, smirking. "I understand your stepmother wants nothing more than to see you succeed. She's promised she'll do anything she can to help you." She somehow has picked up that the idea of more time with Murdock is a threat to Rafaella.

Flying lessons are one of the most hotly anticipated courses, although Madam Hooch spends the first few weeks on textbook work, with the promise of getting on brooms the only thing keeping most of the students going. Defense Against the Dark Arts is one of the more exciting courses, and Professor Grey is one of the more dynamic teachers--she wastes no time on introductions and has students practicing basic shield charms on the first day of her course. While she's amicable and excited to help students learn, she's tougher on the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, and he seems particularly hard on meeker students--poor Merlin seems especially nervous under her sharp eye. She seems to adore Rory and Rafaella, and dotes points on them.

The caretaker, Filch, and his cat Mrs. Norris seem to despise students, especially the first years, and chase them around the halls, finding rule-breaking that doesn't seem to actually exist. Occasionally the first years see Professor Hagrid and the ruddy-faced boy traipsing in and out of the entrance hall, or eating and laughing together at the staff table, or working with the upper years in Care for Magical Creatures down on the school grounds.

Although it doesn't allow for much time, Rafaella gets to see Caroline during Herbology, and she gets to see Bex, Ava and Merlin during Astrology. The Ravenclaws get to see Caroline during Potions. Beyond that, the first-years see each other in the halls, or at meals, but there's a culture at Hogwarts of sticking to the respective Houses. Merlin pines for the five to spend time together like they did on the train, and worries incessantly about Caroline.

As they get settled in, the first years become better acquainted with their roommates. Rafaella always has a rapt audience with Harmony, Maisie, Ellen and Maddie, who are constantly trying--and often failing--to one up her hijinks. The Ravenclaw boys, Aaron, Avery and Billy, along with Merlin, of course, spend time in their dormitory studying--the rooms are laid out so each boy has their own private nook if the common room is too noisy, although they'll occasionally pop out into the small library of books that lines every inch of the common room walls that's not the signature huge arch windows.The only one who has trouble adjusting to her House life is Caroline. The side of her that aches to be Slytherin is mortified to find herself living with not one but two Muggle-born girls, Summer Bell and Daphne Palmer. While not mean to her, exactly, they do their best to pretend she's not there. Millie, the tall girl with glasses, is a little more proactive in her animosity. She seems ready to snap at the slightest sense of rudeness from Caroline, and has made it perfectly clear that she thinks Caroline isn't worthy of being in Hufflepuff, and that she'd prefer to see Caroline expelled. This, plus her outburst during the welcoming feast, means Caroline gets a cold reception even among the droves of warm and friendly students in her common room.

The only friendly face among the Hufflepuffs is her fifth roommate, Phoebe Booth, a chubby young witch from Manchester with curly brown hair and huge green eyes. Phoebe is incomprehensibly and unflappably affable. She takes teasing and insults in stride, she scolds rudeness and intolerance but seeks to talk it out instead of letting it fester. She seems to have given herself the role of dormitory mother, tackling interpersonal problems big and small. Whether Caroline likes it or not, Phoebe is an utter ray of sunshine in her life. She's also extraordinarily exhausting.

Phoebe makes sure Caroline's getting through her homework alright, makes sure she's getting enough to eat, makes sure she's kept abreast of the latest House gossip. She seems able and wiling to take any amount of abuse as long as its in the service of her caring, and she seems to have made it her unsolicited mission to help Caroline integrate into Hufflepuff, whether Caroline wants to or not.

"Hop to, Scrivener!" Phoebe calls out joyfully, throwing their room's blinds open. "We've got History of Magic in an hour! Got to get some breakfast into you!"