Here is Chapter 2. Enjoy!
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Chapter 2: The New Beginning

They got off the train, trunks and such under their arms. They turned as they heard a booming voice shout “Firs’ years over here, please, come on now, don’t be shy! Be sure to leave yer school things behind, they will be taken up to the castle fer you!” They turned around and realized at that moment that Hagrid, Hogwarts long time gamekeeper, had been rounding them up. He looked old, but still as giant as ever. “Hey you!” he yelled at a first year not to far from Albus and the girls. “When I say school things I don’ mean the robes yer wearing, dingbat, yeh obviously need those!” He then whispered something inaudible under his breath.

As Albus Severus approached, Hagrid gave a loud gruff and said, “Yeh must be Albus, Harry’s youngest son.”

“Yes, I am,” replied Albus.

Hagrid has not yet had the pleasure to meet Albus. He had been very busy keeping up with the many things happening at Hogwarts that he rarely got to see any of his favorite ex-pupil’s. He had only met James Potter because he is already a student.

“Yeh look so much like him. Great man, yer father. And the man yer named after, as well,” said Hagrid with what seemed to be tears welling in his eyes, and he took out a dingy looking, tablecloth-sized handkerchief. “It’s a pleasure ter meet yeh. This must be Rose, of course!” Hagrid beamed, as he looked at the girl next to Albus, giving them all bone crushing hugs. “Look just like yer mother, you do!” Hagrid just noticed two others with them. “And who’re yer friends?” he asked, looking from Viktorya to Clementine.

“Oh this is Viktorya and Clementine, good friends of mine. Their mother, Emma, is a good friend of my mum’s,” said Albus.

“Emma, yeh say? Emma Higter? She was a right pleasure to have in class, she was. Ah well, it’s a pleasure to meet the two of you! Your mother was a great witch, a natural when it came to magical creatures.”

“Nice to meet you as well, Hagrid,” said the girls, simultaneously.

“Well, if yeh three,” Hagrid was addressing Rose, Clementine, and Viktorya, “if you three wouldn’t mind comin’ ter tea with Albus here next Friday, I would love ter have yeh join us in me hut!”

All three of them nodded in agreement. Hagrid, suddenly realizing they were running late, called over the rest of the first years.

“We’ll be traveling by boat up to the castle. Only three to a boat, mind, we don’t want to risk anyone falling in.”

The four kids quickly talked about who would go together; with Viktorya volunteering to go with two other students she didn’t know. Albus, Clementine, and Rose entered the boat, being extra precautious not the teeter it too much. They all looked behind them to make sure Viktorya was okay. She gave the thumbs up as she joined two sweet looking boys inside of the boat.

The boats slowly made their way up to the castle. Albus, Clementine and Rose could hear others whispering “Wow, look at that” and “I wonder what would happen if I purposefully fell in?” There were many “Ooooooh’s” and “Ahhhh’s” and not to mention little gasps here and there. Albus almost couldn’t contain himself from shouting once they entered the towering cave that was covered in slimy molds and algae and was so dark that they couldn’t even make out the giant Hagrid, who was in a single extended boat in front of them. The boats suddenly stopped, and Hagrid’s voice, which was magnified in the cave, boomed at the first years.

“Alright. Now, carefully remove yerself from the boats, and make yer way up the slope in front of yeh. Professor McGonagall will meet you at the entrance of the school!”

A multitude of incomprehensible chatter broke out amongst the first years, as they all moved to get out of their boats.

“I wonder how old she looks now? My mom told me about a time when she took four stunning spells to her chest. I was told that she was old then. I can’t imagine how old she would be now!” whispered Rose, while they got out of their boats and found Viktorya.

“Oh, I just met the two coolest people! They are both hoping to be in Ravenclaw too! Apparently, Slytherin has been much less popular ever since You-Know-Who was killed! The kids who are placed there seem to be very frightened by the prospect,” said Viktorya as they made their way up the slope.

“I wonder why,” whispered Albus under his breath.

The students in the front stopped so abruptly that the group ran into them. They realized that they were already at the entrance to the Hogwarts castle.

“Sorry,” said Rose, just as one kid turned around to investigate.

“Oh, look,” said Clementine, on her tiptoes, “McGonagall is right there! She looks pretty good to me!”

“Welcome, first years,” said McGonagall, just as the last few students made their way to the end of the line. “You will make your way up these steps, and will find yourself in the Entrance Hall. After that, you will follow me into the Great Hall, and you will be sorted into your houses. Your fellow house members will be like your family. When you make worthy accomplishments you will be awarded points for your house. If you break the rules, you will lose points. At the end of every year here at Hogwarts, the house with the most points will be awarded the house cup.”

Several of the students clapped. The rest seemed to be so stricken with fright that it seemed as if they were hit with a body-binding curse.

“Now,” continued McGonagall, as if nobody clapped, “it is time that we move into the Entrance Hall.”

All of the first years seemed to move at once. They made their way up the stone steps and into the Entrance Hall. Again, there were the many outpours of “Oooooh’s” and “Ahhhh’s”. Anything that the group’s parents and siblings said about Hogwarts compared nothing to the magnificence of the castle in person. It was truly grand.

McGonagall made her way into the Great Hall, while the first years remained in the entrance. Her lack of presence appeared to have given the first years the incentive to begin speaking. The entire hall burst out into conversation, and the stress in the room suddenly lifted, but became anxious. Many of the conversations that the four heard had to do with the student’s anxiety of being sorted. Everyone was asking their neighbors questions, but nobody seemed to have a clear answer as to how they were to be sorted. The topic arose in so many wizarding households over the years, that it was common to leave this particular detail of Hogwarts a complete secret, to create a sense of speculation, until everyone in the home was sorted. Even the four had no clue as to how it would happen. They had focused so hard on what house they wanted to be in that they completely forgot about the actual ceremony. Clementine’s hair turned a coppery shade of red in her anticipation of the sorting.

The two boys that sat with Viktorya on the boat made their way through the horde students to find her. At last they found her with the others, and struck up more anxious conversation.

“Hello, all. Kind of scary, isn’t it? You know, the whole sorting and everything,” said one of the boys who had shaggy brown hair, hazel eyes, and a kind face. “The name is Brom. Gordon Brom.” He shook all of their hands. “This, here,” he said, indicating his companion, “is Dane Randall. He is a friend I met on the train.”

Dane nodded and smiled at them all. He shook their hands, with a steady and firm shake. He was tall and lanky, with dirty blonde hair and grey eyes. His face was a bit sunk, as though he hadn’t slept in days.

“So, what houses do you hope you will get into,” asked Gordon.
Before anyone could answer, however, a loud screeching noise came into being.

“What the---“ started Dane, but was cut off when a huge stink pellet hit him square in the face, splashing everyone around him with it as it burst.

A mad cackling was heard. All of the first years tried to dive under their peers, afraid of what would happen next. A barrage of stink pellets, dung bombs, and water balloons flooded the Entrance Hall. Just then, a squat looking man appeared hanging from a chandelier.

“Having a good night ickle wee first years,” shouted Peeves, the Poltergeist, as he jumped back and forth up the castle walls and away from the scene of devastation he had just created, cackling wildly.

Many of the first years began to emerge from under their robes, and releasing their friends they used for human shields. Despite the tremendous mess that surrounded them and the shock of what just happened, they broke out in talk once again about the sorting.

Clementine picked up from where she was rudely interrupted. “Well, we all want Gryffindor,” she started, pointing to herself, Albus and Rose. “But my dear sister, here, wants to be in Ravenclaw. I’m sure you already know that?”

“Of course, of course,” replied Gordon. “We, too, want to be in Ravenclaw. Nothing like a sharp mind, you know? Of course, I wouldn’t be entirely upset with Gryffindor either, but I think I might resign if I ended up in Slytherin.”

“That makes me feel loads better,” said Albus, rolling his eyes, and looking more unnerved than ever. He made to shift his leg, but slipped on a splattered dung bomb.

“Albus, we’ve already tried telling you that there is no way you would ever be put there! You just couldn’t be. You wouldn’t fit at all,” exclaimed Viktorya, who had grabbed his shoulder to help him keep his balance. “I’m the one with the real predicament here! I guess being in Gryffindor wouldn’t be too bad, but Ravenclaw would be just incredible!”

“Oh no, here comes old McGonagall” said Gordon, his eyes lingering on Viktorya as he spoke. “We’ll talk afterwards, okay? Even if we are all separated by houses!”

The rest of them nodded just as McGonagall reached them. She pulled from her robes what looked like a long roll of parchment. She glanced at it, and then looked up. Her nose wrinkled, as the smell of dung and stink filled her nostrils. She muttered something under her breath that sounded a lot like “Peeves”, and then addressed the students in front of her.

“You will follow me into the Great Hall now. When you are sorted into your house, you will go to that designated table, and wait until the sorting is finished, and then it will be on to the feast. Please, watch your step, we don’t want dung all over the Great Hall,” McGonagall finished. She turned her back, and marched toward the doors to the Great Hall. As they opened, the student’s eyes went straight to the ceiling, which mimicked the night sky. It was a beautiful, clear starry night.