20 Sep 2024, 16:09
Hats and Disappointment
"Hazel Wellington Crawford!"
It was her turn to be sorted. She rose on steady legs, striding to the platform and after a brief pause, turned around, facing the Great Hall. Her parents were Slytherins. She knew she was one too. It was almost comical how definite this decision was.
Glancing at the Slytherin table, she held her head high as the sorting hat was laid on her head. To be entirely honest, she was wary of it. Not the hat itself, but the power it held. Not that she was concerned, It had been obvious from her childhood that she, Hazel, was in fact, without a doubt, a Slytherin. It wasn't something that was imposed onto her, nor did her parents have any expectations of a specific house, none that they mentioned anyways. But she knew.
She knew they wanted her to be a Slytherin, to follow in their footsteps. She wanted to. She was a Slytherin.
The sorting hat lay silent, the fabric of the thing hung too low over her eyes. Finally, finally, it spoke, "A Crawford, hmm? I remember a relative of yours many years ago." Try all of them.
The hat continued, "So you think you're a Slytherin? I definitely see why. That ambition and drive, quite a bit of cunning there, a thirst for wisdom too..." It trailed off, as if contemplating. As the pause stretched on, so did her anxiety. Suddenly, it wasn't so obvious that she was a Slytherin.
Holding her breath, she did the only thing she could do; Wait.
"These goals of yours do seem to speak to other values... Loyalty to your family, Bravery for your pursuits, Intelligence for the way you seek it. Alright, I have a decision." Her back went ramrod straight, eyes suddenly unsure of which table to look at. A sea of black stared back at her, faces blurring as her vision darted back and forth between tables.
"Gryffindor!", the hat screamed, causing an uproar of cheers from the Gryffindor table. She couldn't believe it. This was insane, she wasn't a Gryffindor. Not in the slightest in her opinion.
The hat was lifted off her head before she could protest, not that it would do any good. As Hazel ran through a million possibilities and choices in her head, she came to the only one that made sense, despite feeling wrong, so so wrong.
She smiled, whispering a soft thank you to the old armored man who had both set and removed the hat from her head, and calmly walked to a cheering table of black and red.
Taking a seat and greeting the rest of her housemates, she cast one last, longing look at the Slytherin table, somehow feeling a million kilometers away from it.
A Gryffindor.
Ink and ambition
26 Sep 2024, 01:43
Hats and Disappointment
After being placed into Gryffindor, Meiyu sat beside another first year, someone she had also presumed wasn't too excited about their placement.
"Hi, you don't look too happy to be placed here. I wouldn't say I am either, my family had hoped I'd be placed in Slytherin due to our lineage, which is surprising that they pushed that considering my mother was a Ravenclaw." Meiyu didn't realise she was rambling at this point, she quickly stopped herself. Her grandmother would not be thrilled seeing she had forgotten her manners.
"Sorry, my name is Meiyu Xiang, don't let the last name fool you, I come from a line of Knights." She smiled at the girl, extending her hand out for a firm shake. Then turning around to look at the other house tables as the sorting ceremony resumed, but quickly enough it had ended, enabling the feast to begin as the hall was quickly filled with chatter.
Meiyu could hear the students next to her thrilled with joy being placed in Gryffindor, she didn't think she would meet someone in a similar predicament to her, but nevertheless, she was eager to see how this house would mold her.
"Hi, you don't look too happy to be placed here. I wouldn't say I am either, my family had hoped I'd be placed in Slytherin due to our lineage, which is surprising that they pushed that considering my mother was a Ravenclaw." Meiyu didn't realise she was rambling at this point, she quickly stopped herself. Her grandmother would not be thrilled seeing she had forgotten her manners.
"Sorry, my name is Meiyu Xiang, don't let the last name fool you, I come from a line of Knights." She smiled at the girl, extending her hand out for a firm shake. Then turning around to look at the other house tables as the sorting ceremony resumed, but quickly enough it had ended, enabling the feast to begin as the hall was quickly filled with chatter.
Meiyu could hear the students next to her thrilled with joy being placed in Gryffindor, she didn't think she would meet someone in a similar predicament to her, but nevertheless, she was eager to see how this house would mold her.
26 Sep 2024, 16:54
Hats and Disappointment
Hazel reached out, almost on autopilot, as she shook the first year's hand, her grip firm and warm. She smiled at her warmly, socialite that she was raised to be.
She had no idea that she was being so transparent and that was embarrassing. Her tutors would be appalled if they were here, dissaproving glare pointed at her accusingly.
"I wouldn't say unhappy, per say,", she smiled softly. She was bluffing, she was absolutely unhappy, but this stranger didn't need to know that.
"That's a beautiful name, and duly noted about the knight part. Does this mean I can ask you for help with my chainmail? It's really not great for the stabbing." It was a horrible joke but she was still reeling from the sorting, the shock of the table of red and black cheering, the analysis of the hat, almost an invasion of her privacy with its searching. If she had it her way, she would be alone with her journal. Maybe she could sneak off to the library later...
That was an idea. Not the time to think about that though, not when there was a potential ally in front of her. Although maybe that was pushing it.
Ink and ambition
27 Sep 2024, 01:49
Hats and Disappointment
Meiyu smirked to herself, noting the shared firmness in their handshakes as they two girls greeted each other. It was as though the two girls shared a familiar tale in Meiyu’s mind. There was something about Hazel that Meiyu found comfort in, especially since she thought the girl was perhaps bluffing. She had played far too many games of blackjack at family gatherings, but she could not be certain, she had only just met Hazel.
”Hm, I would not be opposed to that.” Meiyu giggled, ever so slightly. ”God, I wish I could share the other students joy in being sorted here, I just hope I got the right sorting.” Meiyu had confided in the girl, it was not as though she had asked her to share her worries or thoughts, Meiyu was still uncertain.
Her eyes began to roam around the room, watching students fill their plates with different assortments of the dinner provided for the evening. She reached over a few cuisines that didn’t necessarily catch her eye, opting for a the assortment of fruits, picking up some apples and strawberries and placing it on her plate, continuing to chat with a potential new friend.
”Oh that reminds me,” She chimed in once more, using her cutlery to delicately eat her small fruit assortment as her choice of evening meal, before adding once more. ”I’m thinking about going to the lake later, before curfew. You’re welcome to join.”
Meiyu had hear many tales from her mother and grandparents about the Great Lake, the young girl had always found comfort under the cosmos and by water. She knew it would help ease the anxiety from tonight.
”Hm, I would not be opposed to that.” Meiyu giggled, ever so slightly. ”God, I wish I could share the other students joy in being sorted here, I just hope I got the right sorting.” Meiyu had confided in the girl, it was not as though she had asked her to share her worries or thoughts, Meiyu was still uncertain.
Her eyes began to roam around the room, watching students fill their plates with different assortments of the dinner provided for the evening. She reached over a few cuisines that didn’t necessarily catch her eye, opting for a the assortment of fruits, picking up some apples and strawberries and placing it on her plate, continuing to chat with a potential new friend.
”Oh that reminds me,” She chimed in once more, using her cutlery to delicately eat her small fruit assortment as her choice of evening meal, before adding once more. ”I’m thinking about going to the lake later, before curfew. You’re welcome to join.”
Meiyu had hear many tales from her mother and grandparents about the Great Lake, the young girl had always found comfort under the cosmos and by water. She knew it would help ease the anxiety from tonight.