Tension gripped Allie, and she subconsciously looked around.
She saw Professor Snape staring blankly at her brother. Hagrid was trying to squeeze himself out of a ridiculously small chair. George and Fred were huddled together, looking as though they were plotting some mischief. In the distance, her brother was raising his goblet in a silent toast to Dumbledore.
Fortunately, no one was looking at her, which helped Allie calm down a little.
"Theodore Nott."
Theodore walked up with his usual calm demeanor, taking his time even as he was sorted into Slytherin and sat down.
"Allie Evans."
In an instant, every eye in the hall was fixed on Allie.
Her brother looked up too, offering her an encouraging glance.
Professor McGonagall reassuringly placed the hat on Allie's head...
The hat awoke from its slumber of the previous round. "Oh~ My friend from afar, you possess formidable magic, the truest loyalty, a brilliant mind, and courage unmatched by any..."
Allie thought to herself: *Do I really have all these traits the Sorting Hat is talking about? From afar?* Hagrid had said her home was in Godric's Hollow. That was certainly a bit far, but surely not enough to astonish the Sorting Hat.
"Where should I put you? Gryffindor? Hufflepuff? Ravenclaw? Or perhaps Slytherin?"
The Sorting Hat kept muttering under its breath.
To Allie, it didn't really matter where she went. She didn't believe that Ravenclaw was just for "nerds," Hufflepuff for "gluttons," Slytherin for "evil wizards," or Gryffindor for "brutish thugs."
When she was with Hagrid, she had heard other wizards sneer at rival houses, and after arriving at the Weasley family, Ron had told her all about how evil Slytherin was.
Allie didn't believe that other people's opinions were always right.
"Ah~ I have it. Only there is there enough ambition to fulfill your deepest desires..."
While Allie's mind was wandering, the Sorting Hat reached its verdict.
"Slytherin!"
An explosion of applause erupted from the Slytherin table. Hagrid even broke free from his chair and stood up to clap for her.
Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville, George, and Fred all applauded Allie, ignoring the disapproving looks from the rest of Gryffindor.
As Allie walked toward the Slytherin table, she noticed Dumbledore looking at her with a somewhat complicated expression.
Professor Snape's eyes seemed to flash with a hint of relief.
"May I sit here?" Allie asked Draco, as his was the only seat left empty nearby.
"You may..." Draco was feeling slightly annoyed. Just moments ago, she had laughed so happily because of that idiot Neville, and she had even cheered her heart out for the Boy Who Lived.
Dumbledore tapped his goblet lightly with a small silver spoon.
"The Sorting Ceremony is concluded, and before we begin, I would like to say a few words: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"
Thinking of the school's founding history, Allie felt those final words sounded almost like a critique of the prejudices held by the four houses.
Dumbledore gave a wave of his hand, and the long tables on either side instantly groaned under the weight of a sumptuous feast. Fred and George had mentioned that house-elves prepared the food for the students.
Tables packed with honey-roasted chicken, steamed lamb chops, sausages, pork chops, mashed potatoes, diced carrots, pumpkin juice, caramel pudding, steaks, baked potatoes, chips, bread, cod fillets...
Allie hadn't eaten properly since boarding the train, and she felt utterly starved now.
She grabbed a steak and was just about to dig in when she noticed Draco sitting quietly beside her, untouched. "Are you feeling unwell? These look quite good—would you like some?"
Draco looked at Allie. "I wanted to know your name... but now that I do, I didn't even hear it from your own lips."
Allie found it somewhat amusing; Draco seemed even more childish than Ron.
Before the term started, George and Fred had tricked Ron into believing the entrance exam involved fighting a troll, and Ron had actually believed them, practicing with his wand all night.
"Let's start over, then. I'm Allie Evans—you can call me Allie." Allie reached out a friendly hand.
Draco regained his usual poise and shook her hand. "Draco Malfoy. You can call me Draco."
Allie picked up a piece of honey-roasted chicken. "Well, Draco, I think you'll want to taste some of this delicious food now. Everyone is exhausted today."
What with the carriage ride and the boat trip.
"Thank you. You eat too!" Only then did Draco dig in with a look of satisfaction.
Suddenly, a ghost drifted down from the ceiling. Its silver robes were stained with crimson blood, and its gaunt cheeks made the apparition rather terrifying.
More than a dozen other ghosts emerged at various tables, gliding silently among the students in an effort to catch their attention.
"Don't be afraid. That's the Bloody Baron, the Slytherin ghost. If Peeves gives you trouble, you can tell the Baron. He'll help you." The speaker was Gemma Farley, a Slytherin prefect.
She was a somewhat stern-looking girl who had introduced herself when Allie first sat down.
"Though I must warn you—don't ask about the blood on his clothes or the chains on his wrists... That will only make him angry."
Allie glanced back toward her brother's table, where a ghost was busy preparing to detach its own head and show it off to everyone else.
"Don't look, if you want a good night's sleep."
Draco blocked Allie's inquiring gaze.
When Allie turned back, she found the Bloody Baron staring right at her. The blood on the Baron's face seemed even more vivid, his hollow eyes fixed intently on Allie.
Draco stepped in front of her. The Bloody Baron glanced at Draco and vanished.
It was just a small episode that didn't draw anyone else's attention.
When everyone had eaten their fill, the prefects led them toward their respective house dormitories.
Allie noticed that her brother's dormitory required climbing flight after flight of stairs, whereas hers led deeper and deeper underground.
Gemma Farley walked at the very front, leading the way. "Keep up. The password to the common room changes every two weeks, and it will be posted on the notice board in advance. I don't want any of you being foolish enough to tell our password to other houses."
"Mind you, no outsider has set foot in our common room for centuries!" Gemma Farley stopped in front of a stretch of stone wall and said, "Today's password is—Honor."
Stepping into the common room, the first thing that caught the eye was a massive, plush green leather circular sofa, its armrests and cushions embroidered with silver snake patterns.
A fireplace with vintage carvings blazed with a fire that burned all year round.
Tall arched windows glowed with a faint green light, through which the shape of a giant squid could occasionally be seen tapping against the glass.
There were also seven small arched doorways leading to the year-group dormitories. From where she stood, the interior design looked just as grand as the main common room.
Once Gemma Farley came to a halt, the older students, having received her permission, headed off to their own quarters, leaving only the first-years behind.
"Before you go to sleep, it is my responsibility and duty to tell you this: other houses call us ambitious, and we never deny our own capabilities. Every house has produced dark wizards, but the others simply refuse to admit it, and they have all forgotten that the greatest Merlin came from Slytherin. They are merely jealous of Slytherin—remember that we have won the House Cup for seven consecutive years. Whether you grow up to be a great Merlin or a dark wizard is entirely your own choice."