The Last Slytherin - Chapter 5

As everyone stepped down, they were gathered by Hagrid, a half-giant and half-human who is the gamekeeper and Keeper of Keys and Grounds of Hogwarts. While everyone was surprised to see this half-giant who is 8 and a half feet big and three to five times wider than an average human, Harry greeted him with a smile.

They followed him down to a narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them and nobody spoke much while following him. The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake.

From the shore, they saw the vast castle with many turrets and towers. Regardless of their birth whether they are muggle-born, half-blood or pureblood, everyone was amazed to see the Hogwarts.

Everyone followed Hagrid’s orders and sat on the little boats which are sitting in the water by the shore. Neal sat with a few unfamiliar people while Harry, Ron, Hermoine, and Neville sat together.

After a while, they reached the other end. Hagrid along with the students walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door.

Hagrid raised his Giant hand and knocked three times on the castle door. As the door opened at once, they saw a tall, black-haired witch in green robes. She spoke, “Thank you Hagrid. I’ll take them from here”.

They followed Professor McGonagall into a small empty chamber and stopped as she turned around. “Welcome to Hogwarts. The start of the term banquet will begin shortly. Before you join the rest of the students. You need to be sorted into different houses.

Now, your house will be like your family until you graduate and once being sorted, you also have no option to change into a different house later. The four houses are called Slytherin, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw.

Each house has its own noble history and produced several excellent Wizards and Witches. While you are at Hogwarts, your merits will get your house points and rule-breaking will lose your house points.

The house with most points will win the house cup at the end of each year. I hope each one of you will be a credit to whichever “House” you are sorted. Now let’s go for the sorting ceremony. Wait here until I return”.

After a while, she returned and said, “follow me”. They entered a huge hall. Neal saw four long tables each one divided evenly where students sat together while chatting with each other. Above them, thousands of candles were lit and floating in the mid-air and the ceiling looked like an open sky.

Then he saw in the front, the familiar old man sat along with other teachers overseeing the hall. Professor McGonagall spoke loudly, “silence everyone”. As everyone became silent, she said, “first years, form a line. When I call your name, come forward”.

Then she placed a wizard hat on the four-legged stool. While everyone was wondering what it was, Neal remembered Edward saying that it’s a sorting hat which sorts you in a house based on your qualities perceived by it.

Then, all of a sudden, it started to sing a song explaining its function. The whole hall burst into applause as it finished the song. Not because they find it great or something but its just a rule to respect its position.

Professor McGonagall stepped forward while holding a parchment. “Hanna Abbott”. A girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of the line, put on the hat nervously. A few seconds later, it shouted, “HUFFLEPUFF”.

Students sitting at the Hufflepuff table burst into applause and welcomed the new member.

“Susan Bones”. The Hat shouted, “HUFFLEPUFF” again and she sat beside Hanna. One after another, first years getting sorted into different houses and every time Slytherin came up, Neal saw Ron whispering something into Harry’s ear and making his face unpleasant.

After Malfoy, Hermoine, Ron are sorted, Professor McGonagall spoke, “Harry Potter”. The name attracted the attention of the whole hall. The teachers and all the students of the four houses are hoping to get him into their houses.

After taking a long time, the sorting hat shouted, “GRYFFINDOR” which made the Gryffindor students excited. As they were bursting with laughs and other houses shaking their heads in a disappointment, everything came to halt when she spoke out the next name.

When Professor McGonagall saw the name, she stuttered at first, “Neal…”. then after calming down herself, she spoke out, “Neal Slytherin”. The hall went into silence as Neal stepped forward and stood before the hat.

As Neal put on the hat, it mumbled, “very intelligent, has the interest to know new things, thirst for new knowledge and power indeed. Hmm, Slytherin or Ravenclaw, very difficult indeed. sigh…I guess I don’t have a choice. Those wizarding families will burn me if I put you in any other house”.

It shouted, “Slytherin”. As he was making his way to the Slytherin table while they were bursting in applause, Harry, Ron, and Hermoine were in shock. Other than them, the four girls and Malfoy were stupified as he sat on an empty seat beside Malfoy.

Just as he sat down, everyone surrounded him to question him. He just looked at them with hazel eyes and replied, “who knows”.

While half of them not believing that he isn’t the heir and was just a descendant of those fake surnames, the other half still hoped to believe he is, so that they can dominate the other houses.

On the other hand, Daphne thought, “they didn’t see the snake. It doesn’t seem to be a coincidence. He might be the real deal”.

After everyone was sorted, Dumbledore stood up and opened up his arms with a smile, “Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts. Before we begin, I would like to say a few words here they are, “Nitwit, Blubber, Oddment, Tweak”. “Thank you”.

While the first years looked at him like he was a crazy old man, Neal spoke in amazement, “He’s a genius”. Malfoy asked him, “what do you mean by that? For me, he just looks like a mad man”.

Neal replied, “Nitwit means stupid which defines the lack of your knowledge, Blubber means fat which defines lack of good appearance, Oddment means leftover or odd which defines your lack of social skills and Tweak means improve by making an adjustment to it.

That means whether you have a lack of knowledge, appearance or social skills before you come here, you can improve in all areas after coming into Hogwarts. Here, we have books for knowledge, spells to make yourself better and have family-like houses to care for you”.

Malfoy and the rest of the first years were amazed to realize that there was a huge meaning hidden inside those four words as for a few older students too got excited, “well, real heir or not, we got an intelligent one”.

As everyone was talking about their families on the Slytherin table, Neal looked at the High table all the professors sat. Hagrid is drinking from his goblet. Dumbledore looked back at him and raised his glass as a toast.

Neal nodded and continued his dinner. The older student near him wondered “what is that sound?”. Neal patted his left arm and slowly fed Isle, through his sleeve. If their robes weren’t loose, people around would already have found something wrong with his left arm.

Later, Neal and others followed Gemma Farley, the Slytherin Prefect, to the dungeons where their dormitory lie. After entering Slytherin’s common room, girls and boys were separated from there and made their way to their rooms.

As Neal entered his room, he was surprised to see there’s only one-bed contrast to others which have two to four beds. Upon locking the door, he spoke, “Isle, you can come out”.

The snake immediately came out of his sleeve and began to crawl all over the room in excitement as it’s going to be their new home for the next seven years. After unpacking his stuff, he slept on the bed.