Chapter 4 - Philosopher's Stone

Excitedly, we all followed the professor through the two large doors and into a huge room. There were four long tables filled with students, as well as numerous floating candles scattered around the room. Looking around, my eyes landed on the ceiling that seemed to look like the sky.

"It's not real, the ceiling," Hermione explained to another girl behind me. "It's just bewitched to look like the night sky. I read about it in Hogwarts: A History."

I smiled to myself at the bright girl as well as having learned the interesting fact. The professor stopped us at the end of the hall where a hat was sat upon a stool and turned to us,

"Will you wait along here, please? Now, before we begin, Professor Dumbledore would like to say a few words."

At the sound of his name, the old wizard from my chocolate frog card rose from his chair.

"I have a few 'start of term' notices I wish to announce," Dumbledore started. "The first-years, please note that the dark forest is strictly forbidden to all students. Also, our caretaker, Mr Filch." Dumbledore gestured to a ragged-looking old man at the back of the hall with a cat with red eyes. "Has asked me to remind you that the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a most painful death. Thank you." Dumbledore sat back down, allowing the female professor to continue,

"When I call your name, you will come forth, I shall place the sorting hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your houses. Hermione Granger."

I turned toward the girl I knew to be Hermione as she seemed to slightly tense up before calming herself down and walking up,

"Oh, no. Okay, relax."

"Mental that one, I'm telling you," Ron whispered to Harry and me. My brother nodded in agreement while I simply ignored the comment. Hermione seemed nice, and it didn't seem right to judge her without really knowing anything about the girl. The professor placed the sorting hat onto Hermione's head once she had sat down on the stool, and after a moment, the hat shouted,

"Gryffindor!"

There was lots of cheering, especially from the table I assumed to be Gryffindor's. Hermione hopped off the stool with a smile and walked over to the Gryffindor table.

"Draco Malfoy," the professor called, and Malfoy sauntered up to the stool proudly. The professor started placing the hat on his head, but before it even touched him, the hat announced,

"SLYTHERIN!"

With a proud smirk, Malfoy walked over to the table with the loudest cheering. Ron turned to Harry and me and whispered,

"There isn't a witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin."

I furrowed my brows in thought as the professor called up another student,

"Susan Bones."

The girl that went up was a small redhead, and she looked quite nervous. While we waited for the sorting hat to be placed on her head, Harry and I looked around a bit more until we both spotted a black-haired, pale teacher looking at us. Out of nowhere, my scar started hurting, and I placed my hand on my forearm as Harry placed his hand on his forehead.

"Ahh!" we both cried, causing Ron to be worried,

"Harry, Ella, what is it?"

"Nothing..." Harry answered, and I added, for assurance,

"It's nothing,"

"We're fine."

"Hufflepuff!" the sorting hat shouted for Susan Bones. A few more students were sorted into Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Slytherin and Gryffindor when it was finally Ron's turn.

"Ronald Weasley," the professor called. Ron gulped and walked up to sit on the stool. The hat was placed on his head before it announced,

"Gryffindor!!"

There was cheering as Ron sighed in relief. Harry and I gave him smiles as he walked away when the professor called my brother's name,

"Harry Potter."

Everything went silent as Harry and I tensed up. The air felt thick, and the atmosphere felt awkward. Knowing he had to go up, Harry squeezed my hand gently before walking over to the stool and sitting down. Once the sorting hat was placed on his head, it seemed to ponder for a bit longer than it had for some of the other students. As I watched, I thought I saw Harry mouthing something to himself, but I couldn't quite figure out what it was. Finally, the hat announced where Harry was being sorted,

"GRYFFINDOR!"

I smiled proudly as there was immense cheering from the Gryffindor table,

"We got a Potter!" someone shouted excitedly. Harry then started walking toward his table but not before giving me a reassuring smile.

"Ella Potter," the professor called, and I took in a deep breath as everything went silent once more. Once the hat was placed on my head, I heard it start to speak,

"Hmmm... difficult, just like your brother."

I thought perhaps no one else could hear it speak, seeing as I had only heard the hat announce houses until now. "Such talent. Courage? Yes. A very smart mind, too. Slytherin could make you great as well."

I panicked, not wanting to be sorted into the house that Ron considered to be for evil witches and wizards. "No?" the sorting hat questioned as though it heard my pleas. "Very loyal. Let's say then... Hufflepuff!" the sorting hat announced my house aloud, causing lots of cheers to come from the Hufflepuff table. I was happy with my placement but sad that Harry and I had been separated. As I walked to my table, I looked over at my brother to see him proudly clapping and smiling at me, which made me feel a little better. A spot had been made for me on the bench next to a girl, who I recognized as Susan Bones, and a tallish boy with dirty blond hair. Once I sat down, the boy turned to me and extended his hand with a grin,

"Hi, I'm Eric! Eric Underwood."

"Hi, I'm Ella! Ella Potter," I replied with a warm smile.

"I know," Eric chuckled before we turned our attention to watch the rest of the students get sorted. After the last student sat at their table, conversations ensued around the room until the professor that had been calling our names dinged her spoon on a glass,

"Your attention, please."

"Let the feast... begin," Dumbledore said as boatloads of food magically appeared on the tables.

"Woah!" I gaped excitedly as Eric started happily digging in. After I had pilled a few things onto my plate, Eric gestured to a boy across the table from us that looked very much like him, only older,

"This is my brother, Thomas."

"Nice to meet you, Ella," Thomas smiled, reaching his hand over the table.

"Nice to meet you," I replied, returning the handshake.

"Interesting that you and your brother got sorted into different houses. Most siblings get sorted into the same one."

"Really?"

"Well, just take a look at the Weasleys and Eric and me."

"I suppose you have a point. Do you think it's bad that we were sorted differently?" I started to panic, thinking that maybe there was something wrong with me and my twin.

"No, not at all!" Thomas assured with a smile. "Just an interesting occurrence."

"Yeah, don't worry about it too much, Ella," Eric smiled and comfortingly patted my shoulder. I returned the smile, having a good feeling about Eric and his brother.

"If you ever have any questions, Ella, you can let me know," Thomas offered kindly, and I replied happily,

"Thank you, Thomas."

The three of us talked a bit with Susan and the other students around us, like Hannah Abbott and Ernie Macmillan, as we continued to enjoy the wonderful food in front of us. It was absolutely the best meal I had ever had in my entire life. As I took a bite of some mashed potatoes, I looked around the room and spotted the same black-haired teacher from earlier when my scar had oddly started hurting.

"Thomas," I asked, gaining the boy's attention, "Who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?"

Thomas turned his head to where I was subtly pointing before answering,

"That is Professor Snape. He's head of Slytherin house and teaches potions."

"Please," the boy sitting beside Thomas, Jack, said, "We all know he's been interested in the Defense Against the Dark Arts position. Quirrell's job has been on his agenda for years."

"Very true, mate," Thomas laughed. I nodded in understanding, still feeling curious as to why my scar had started hurting but decided to drop it until later. Next to me, Eric went to reach for a piece of bread, but a ghost suddenly flew down the table,

"Whoo-hoo-hoo!"

"Woah!" Eric and I exclaimed with wide eyes.

"Good evening, Thomas and Jack. How are you, boys?" the ghost asked with a jolly tone.

"Pretty well, Friar," Jack answered politely.

"Splendid!"

"Have you met my brother, Eric, and Ella Potter?" Thomas questioned, gesturing to Eric and me.

"Oh, why hello! Eric, I expect good things from you. Your brother has told me quite a bit about you!"

"Thank you, Mr Friar," Eric shyly smiled, bringing a smile to my face when the Friar turned to me,

"Miss Ella Potter, it is an honour to meet one of the twins who lived. I'm sure you will do very well!"

"Thank you, sir," I replied. "It's very nice to meet you."

"And you-oooo-whoo-hooo." The Friar flew down the table once more, causing me and Eric to laugh as we started on our dessert.

Soon, dinner was over, and the tables were magically cleared just as quickly as they had been covered with plates of food. Following our instructions given by the house prefects, all of the students stood in lines, ready to be taken to our dormitories. As the heads of house led us all in the direction of our different houses, I turned to Harry and saw him looking at me with a sad smile. I gave him a small wave that he returned before we turned away to follow our separate prefects. We weren't used to being apart since we always had each other at the Dursleys, but I was sure we could get through it.

"Hufflepuff, this way, please!" the head girl announced as we all followed her through the halls. Eventually, after descending a few staircases, all of us Hufflepuffs walked down a corridor as we passed what I assumed to be either storage rooms or classrooms. Soon, we came to one that looked to be the kitchens filled with small, strange creatures. Besides the large entrance to the kitchens, there was a pile of large barrels stacked in a shadowy stone nook on the right-hand side of the corridor. "All of you, please watch carefully."

Eric and I did as we were told, leaning over to see above the few heads in front of us. Watching intently, I saw our head girl tap on the barrel that was two from the bottom and middle of the second row in a specific rhythm. Magically, a sloping, earthy passage was revealed inside the barrel. Following our heads-of-house through the passage, I noticed it travelled upwards a little of the way until we came to a cosy, round, low-ceilinged room. It was beautifully decorated with the colours yellow and black, emphasised by the use of honey-coloured wood for the tables and round doors, which I assumed would lead to our dormitories. Within the common room, there was a colourful profusion of plants and flowers that seemed to relish the atmosphere. Various cacti stood on circular wooden shelves, curved to fit the walls, many of them waving and dancing at the students walking past them while copper-bottomed plant holders were dangling amid the ceiling holding tendrils of ferns and ivies. Eric and I walked around the room, admiring everything and being filled with wonder. I heard the older students going through the doors to the dormitories while the rest of us first-years took in our surroundings. I stopped at the wooden mantelpiece, carved all over with decorative dancing badgers, that held a portrait showing a beautiful woman toasting a group of students with a tiny, two-handled golden cup over it. Looking up, I noticed the small, round windows just level with the ground outside, showing a view of grass and dandelions that probably look gorgeous during the daytime. After a few minutes of letting us look around, our head boy cleared his throat, causing our attention to turn to him as he spoke,

"Welcome to the Hufflepuff common room. I'm sure you are all eager to see your dormitories as well, but first, we must clarify the way to reveal the passage that we went through to come in here. Clear so far?"

A chorus of the word 'yes' could be heard before our head girl started speaking,

"As I hope you all saw, in order to get in, I tapped on the barrel two from the bottom, middle of the second row. The passage will only open if you tap on the barrel in the rhythm of Helga Hufflepuff, the founder of our house. You can see her in that portrait over there if you are curious." Our head girl gestured to the portrait I had looked at that sat over the wooden mantelpiece.

"As simple as that may be for most of you, you all must be careful not to tap on the wrong barrel or tap the incorrect number of times. If you do, that will result in one of the other barrel lids bursting off and drenching you in vinegar. So please be sure to know the correct barrel and rhythm."

"Lastly, girls' dormitories are that way, and boys' dormitories are that way. You will find all of your belongings in the rooms that have lists of the names of everyone in each room on their door. Have a good first night, everyone."

I smiled and thanked my head boy and girl before heading toward the two round doors that led to the dormitories. With a smile, Eric and I said goodnight, then turned and went into the separate doors. It wasn't hard to find the door that had my name on its list, along with Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones, who I recognized, and Sarah Wilson and Emma Walker, who I didn't. Cautiously, I opened the door to my and was met with a beautiful room. There were five four-poster beds, all covered in yellow-coloured patchwork quilts. Surrounding the upper part of the wall, similar to the common room, were semi-circle-shaped windows. On each side of each bed were small circular lamps that were turned on with a tap of your finger or hand. As I walked up to the bed that held my trunk at the end of it, I noticed a twinkle of some kind in my peripheral vision and looked up to see that there were small fairy lights along the top of the wooden bedsteads. This room was amazing. Once the other four girls had found our room, we all introduced ourselves a bit as we emptied our trunks together before going to sleep so that we could be well-rested for our morning classes. But while my new roommates got comfortable in their beds and soon fell asleep, I couldn't help but think about what an amazing past two days I had had. Not to mention the fact that I was missing my twin brother. After a little while, there was suddenly a tapping on the window closest to my bed. I looked up to see that it was Hedwig and stood up to let her in. Gently, my snowy owl passed me a letter addressed to me, and when I opened it, I saw that it was from Harry. The two of us sent two or three letters back and forth, each talking about our night and our excitement for the morning. It made me feel better being able to talk to him, even if it was through letters. It was when Hedwig returned to me with Harry's last letter that I finally went to sleep with her perched on the night table beside me.

The next morning, Eric and I met up in the common room before going to our first class together. I was glad to have a friend like Eric already. Our first class was with Professor McGonagall, head of Gryffindor and the woman that had called out our names for the sorting hat. After giving us instructions, the whole class was quiet as we took down notes and wrote our papers while Professor McGonagall transformed herself into a cat and sat on her desk as she observed us. I thought it was incredible. I was curious about where Harry and Ron were, seeing as they were supposed to have this class but tried not to worry too much. It was in the middle of our writing that the two boys rushed into class. Harry caught my eye, and I gave him a small wave and smile that he returned as Ron sighed in relief beside him,

"Whew, amazing, can you imagine the look on old McGonagall's face if we were late?"

I tried not to laugh as McGonagall transformed into herself and walked up to my amazed brother and friend. "That was bloody brilliant."

"Oh thank you for that assessment, Mr Weasley," Professor McGonagall replied. "Maybe if I were to transfigure Mr Potter and yourself into a pocket watch, maybe one of you would be on time."

"We got lost," Harry explained with an apologetic tone.

"Then perhaps a map? I trust you don't need one to find your seats."

As Ron and Harry sulkily sat down in their seats, I turned to Eric with a small, amused smile that he returned before we got back to work. Once class was over, Eric and I talked to Harry and Ron while we walked through the halls to our next classes.

"How did you two manage to get lost?" I asked with a giggle. Harry simply pouted at me,

"I swear we made the right turn until we ended up in a completely different classroom!"

"I doubt it was your fault, Harry. Ron has a habit of not paying attention to where he's going," Eric teased the ginger.

"Hey! You're the one who always bumps into things!" Ron defended.

"How do you two know each other?" Harry questioned kindly, causing Eric to turn to him,

"Ron's and my dad work at the ministry for magic together. We live quite close, too."

"Yeah, Eric and I have known each other since we were babies," Ron added, and I smiled,

"That's so cool!"

The four of us continued to talk until we had to split ways seeing as Eric and I had different classes than Harry and Ron for the next two periods.