The excitement about Scorpius died down, and the Sorting resumed. Soon, they were at “P,” and the professor (whom, Alice had whispered, was named Professor Vanger) called out, “Potter, Albus!”
Another set of murmuring rose in the Hall, though this time it was interested and friendly. Star saw her friend looking her way, and she smiled and waved to him. Taking a deep breath, Albus stepped up to the stool, and Professor Vanger let the hat fall over the boy’s eyes.
After only a few seconds, the hat shouted, “GRYFFINDOR!” The Gryffindor table erupted into the loudest cheering Star had heard all evening, and Albus hopped off the stool and ran over, grinning. He squeezed in between her and Alice, and Star patted him on the back.
“See, you got into Gryffindor!” she whispered, unable to stop smiling. She knew how worried Al had been about the Sorting, and it made her proud that he was brave enough for Gryffindor. James came up behind his brother, grinning as wide as Star was.
“Congrats bro! I knew you could do it,” he said loudly, patting Albus on the back a bit too hard. Al smiled innocently, then performed his first act of Gryffindor bravery and recklessness.
“Al! That hurt!” James shouted, holding a hand against his face, beneath which a red mark was spreading where Al’s fist had met James’s cheek. James’s indignant expression made everyone roar with laughter, and after a while, he smiled grudgingly.
Returning to his seat with his other second year friends, he was soon joking and laughing again like usual. Star was red in the face from trying to hold in her laughter, for Professor Vanger was staring pointedly at the Gryffindor table with an impatient expression. When everyone finally settled down, the professor cleared his throat and continued calling out names.
Not long after Albus had been Sorted, Fred nudged Star again, murmuring, “The next one I’ve heard of too. The Ratleys are a pure blood family that’s been hiding in France for a while, though they aren’t French. Bad as the Malfoys, I’ve heard. Worse even.”
Interested, Star looked down the line at the person who was to be Sorted after “Quinton, Travis” (RAVENCLAW!) It was a skinny little girl, with a haughty and disdainful expression on her face, as if she were trapped in a room with a bunch of monkeys. Which, Star supposed, she probably felt.
Star knew about the different bloodlines, of course. After she had gotten her letter to Hogwarts, Jazz had had a long talk with her about witches and wizards: how they were different, what was to be expected of her, and what blood meant in school. Star had been told that Jazz had been mocked a lot by the “pure bloods,” because she was Muggleborn. Jazz had stressed very much that a person’s blood didn’t matter, because it all really looked the same on the inside.
Star couldn’t imagine anyone getting uppity about whether you had Muggles in your family or not, but looking at the Ratley girl, she began to believe it. This looked like someone who would scorn you if you had so much as a half-blood in your family. Star waited with surprising interest for the result of the girl’s Sorting.
“Ratley, Rica!” Professor Vanger called, and the girl strutted up to the stool, giving the hat a cold glance before taking a seat, as if it were lucky that it would get to sit upon her noble head. She surveyed the hall calmly, though her nose was wrinkled in distaste. The professor dropped the hat over Rica’s head, but only a second later the hat called, “SLYTHERIN!” Not looking the least bit surprised, Rica gracefully slid off the stool, walking over to the Slytherin table and nodded her head silently to the greetings she received from the older students. Star sighed; hopefully she would never have to meet the disdainful Slytherin.
Once again, Star tuned out the droning professor’s voice, instead concentrating on her rumbling stomach. She stared longingly at her beautiful, shiny, and sadly empty plate, wishing they could finally eat.
Star fell into a bit of a half-doze that helped get her through most of the Sorting, ignoring the occasional cheers from the Gryffindor table and the jostling as they made room for the first years. Finally, an important name was called…
“Weasley, Eric!” Professor Vanger called in the same sharp, yet monotone voice. Though most everyone was tired and irritable from hunger by now, Eric skipped up to the Sorting Hat, taking a moment to bow deeply to the hat before taking his seat, waving cheerily to everyone as the hat covered his face.
In one of the shortest Sortings, the Hat called out, “GRYFFINDOR!” Eric leaped up as if he had just sat on a tack and pranced over to the Gryffindor table, his grin perhaps an inch or two wider then before the Sorting. “Alright, shove off! Make room here!” he called loudly as he reached the Gryffindor table. Before actually letting anyone move, Eric squished himself in between Star and his brother and beamed yet another grin. “Alright there Estella? Bit of a squeeze, innit?”
“Hush you dolt! Rose is getting Sorted!” Fred scolded Eric, jabbing him in the ribs with his elbow.
Eric rolled his eyes dramatically, saying in a stage whisper, “Well we all know she’ll be Sorted into Slytherin!” Another jab from Fred shut him up, just in time for them to hear the hat call out “GRYFFINDOR!” Rose bounced over to the Gryffindor table, her warm eyes bright and excited. Before anyone could protest, Alice quickly made room for Rose, so she could sit in between her and Albus.
“I was so nervous! The hat almost put me in Ravenclaw, then decided I would do best here,” Rose said breathlessly as the last person (Yulton, Zachary”SLYTHERIN) was Sorted. The Headmaster stood up and clapped his hands together once, calling everyone’s attention.
“Thank you, for another delightful Sorting! Let the feast begin!” he called, his freckled face almost cut in half by his wide grin. He clapped his hands one more time, and suddenly the plates were filled with food. Without further ado, the students began to stuff themselves, retrogressing into more animalistic ways.
“ERIC! Get your bloody hands off my plate!” Fred roared, smacking his bold brother’s hand away from his overfilled plate. Undeterred, Eric’s hand began to inch towards Star’s plate, but she rapped it sharply with the butter knife in her hand.
“I don’t think so,” she tried to say in a stern tone, but a giggle escaped near the end. “Eat off your own plate, you nitwit!” Huffily, Eric returned to his own mountain of food , soon filling up his mouth so much he could barely breath, let alone complain. Needless to say, most everyone preferred him that way.
Before long, the feast was spent, and the dishes were wiped completely clean, as if the mere idea of food had never been present. Star felt rather drowsy; her head was bobbing closer and closer to the table as she struggled to keep her neck up. But her head seemed so heavy…
With a clunk, Star’s head in the table, right in between her plate and Al’s. There were a few muffled chuckles, and Eric poked her shoulder, but she was fast asleep. As people got up from the table to go to the common room, the extra space caused Star to slip to the side, so she was leaning against Al. He looked up at Fred pleadingly, mouthing, ‘Help me!’
Without a word, Fred picked up Star and beckoned for the other first years to follow him, not speaking lest he wake up the girl. It wasn’t the first time a first year had passed out at the beginning of the year feast. Sleepily, the others followed him up to the Gryffindor common room; even Eric was too tired to be mischievous. After a few minutes, Fred reached the Fat Lady portrait that was the entrance to the common room, murmured the password, and silently led the others inside. There, he gave Star to Alice, who wordlessly brought her up to the girl’s dormitory.
As she ascended the staircase, Alice could clearly hear Eric mutter to Al, “It would have been so easy for you to kiss her!” followed by a brief scuffle, then a resounding slap. Ah, boys. Greater prats you could never find, Alice thought fondly, shaking her head as she carried her burden to the first year dorm, missing the small, opalescent figure that slipped out of the sleeping girl’s pocket and flew down the staircase.
The Path of a Star by shooting_star42
Chapter Notes: One of my shorter chapters, but completely necessary to the plot. The next chapter will be more interesting: the first day of school!
Chapter Endnotes: Well, that's it. Once again, I don't have a beta, so your reviews are really helpful!