Amethyst Rosewood and The Joys of Independence by Melissa Nichols (bill gates books recommendations .TXT) 📖

Cup. Each House has a few authority figures; in order they are the six prefects, the Head Boy and Head Girl, and the Head of House, and that's in addition to each teacher and the Headmistress who are in charge of the whole student body. I am the Head of House for Gryffindor, Professor Wallace is Head of Ravenclaw, Professor Mansley is Head of Hufflepuff, and Professor Newman is the Head of Slytherin. Everybody understand?"

 

There were some murmurs of agreement scattered throughout the exhausted student body.

 

"Good. That's all I have to say. Now, line yourselves up in rows of two." He then headed for the doors. Amy and Scorpius squeezed themselves into the first row, with Albus and Rose behind them. Longbottom stopped at the doors and repeated the command to form into rows of two. He waited a moment, then went back to the staircase to watch the rest of the students as they progressed down the staircase. When he came back, he led Amy and Scorpius through the opened doors to the Great Hall.

 

First and foremost, there were four benches. Students dressed in black robes accented with green - Slytherin - were against the far-left wall. Next to them was Hufflepuff, dressed in yellow. On Amy's right was Gryffindor in red, and Ravenclaw in blue against the far-right wall. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of students watched the first years enter the hall. Amy whimpered quietly, suddenly nervous. Scorpius brushed his hand against hers in a silent show of support. She smiled in thanks and looked around more.

 

Above them, hundreds of candles floated in a ceiling that was dark and starry with a moon slowly creeping across the cloudless sky. It was a beautiful sight. At the head of the hall sat about twenty or thirty teachers. Hagrid sat at the far right, and a regal woman dressed all in green sat in the center in the tallest chair. Headmistress McGonagall.

 

When they stood before the teacher's platform, Professor Longbottom stopped and Amy's eyes were drawn to a ragged hat perched on a wooden stool. The Sorting Hat.

 

"When I call your name, please step up to the stool. I will place the Hat on your head, you will be Sorted and will join your House." He paused, picked up the hat as he glanced at the scroll. "Emanuel Acosta."

 

A scrawny, almost shy boy made his way to the stool. He sat down, the Hat was placed on his head, and it belted out "Gryffindor!"

 

Gryffindor House cheered and Emanuel scampered over to sit in an empty spot.

 

The next student called was Elizabeth Aguilar, sorted into Slytherin.

 

Then a Ravenclaw and a Hufflepuff.

 

Fifth on the list was Marigold Anderson. She practically bounced with excitement as she sat on the stool, and she was nearly immediately placed in Ravenclaw. Amy waved to her friend as she made her way to her House and sat down around a group of older students.

 

 

Several students later, the next of Amy's friends was called; Scorpius. Amy watched him take a deep breath before he proudly marched to the stool. The hat took a good two minutes, whispering to Scorpius, before finally Sorting him into Slytherin.

 

 

Around thirty students after Scorpius, the next to be called was Rose. She was Sorted into Gryffindor with air to spare. She visibly sighed in relief. She hugged Albus good luck and then joined James.

 

About twenty students later, Albus was called. He seemed to have much the same conversation with the hat as Scorpius had. He was finally Sorted into Slytherin. Amy smiled at her friend as he ran to join Scorpius at the Slytherin table.

 

Which left Amy as last of the group.

 

When her name was finally called, Amy walked up in what she hoped was a composed manner. Her heart hammered in her chest, her legs still shook from the climb up so many stairs and she felt dizzy from a sudden lack of oxygen. But she had enough coordination to make it to the stool and accept the hat on her head without making a fool of herself.

 

"Hmm." The Hat whispered, his voice reverberating in her ears and in her head. "I haven't faced this particular decision in a while. You are drawn to all four Houses with equal fervor. You are intelligent for your age, and you love to learn but you also love friends, and you appreciate the one who does what they have to do to get a task done."

 

"Yes."

 

"Alright then. Tell me which you'd rather possess; the cunning of a fox, or the gentle heart of a friend?"

 

"The heart."

 

"Hmm. Do you prioritize learning above all, or something else?"

 

"Learning is important, but everyone needs friends. There must be balance, otherwise, life is dull."

 

"Wisely said. Is there a difference between fun but dangerous sports, and dangerous stunts done for fun?"

 

"Yes. One is controlled and has rules but is still fun, the other is foolhardy and risky. I am not drawn to either, but I enjoy fun."

 

"I understand. Then I sort you into Hufflepuff!"

 

Amy sighed in relief as the hat was lifted from her head. The House of yellow applauded, When she stood, Amy was surprised to find that she had no trouble with her legs or breathing. She tucked in at the table, said hello to her Housemates, and watched the last twenty students being Sorted, trying her best to ignore her empty stomach growling angrily.

 

At last, the final student found her House, the hat and stool were set aside, and Headmistress McGonagall stood to address the school.

 

"Welcome, everyone, to a new school year. A reminder to all that the Forbidden Forest is strictly forbidden. If you value your life, do not break this rule.

Another rule that you first-years should be aware of is that duelling is allowed as long as you are supervised by a teacher or an acceptable person of authority. As such, all dueling etiquette rules must be observed. Those who do not duel honestly and fairly will forfeit their win and will face severe punishment. On another subject, we have a new teacher with us. Class schedules will be handed out at breakfast tomorrow along with a packet that lists everything else you need to know about the school and your classes. First years, if you have questions please ask your upperclassmen or teachers. Now, on to the part you're looking forward to: Let the Feast Begin!" She clapped her hands together and a moment later, the five tables were overflowing with food. Steaming hot, well-cooked, scrumptious-smelling food.

 

There was chicken, turkey, beef, pork and fish, and more veggies than Amy could identify. The sudden force of her hunger almost made Amy whimper. She speared a chicken and easily removed its legs and thighs, dropped them onto her plate, and reached for the mashed potatoes and peas. She piled each high and began to eat with a tenacity that would have made her mother gasp. Around her, her Housemates ate just as greedily.

 

Somewhere around her second helping of chicken, Amy realized she didn't have anything to drink. She looked around and didn't see any beverage pitchers. She gently prodded the older student beside her, who gave her his attention. Amy swallowed the mouthful she had and asked "How do I get something to drink?"

 

"Take your wand, tap it on your glass and say what you want. Any drink you want, it'll be there."

 

"Okay, so." She took out her wand from its slot in her robes. "Tap the glass," she tapped it once. "Apple juice."

 

The glass filled itself magically before her eyes, drawing ooh's from Amy and the other first years who sat nearby. Then they replicated what Amy had done and smiled at the first bit of magic they'd learned.

 

"Thank you!" Amy turned to the older student.

 

"No problem."

 

Silence reigned supreme again as Amy went back to her dinner, gulping down the goblet of juice before she finished off her plate. She refilled the goblet and drank it down again. With two glasses of juice and two plates of food in her belly, she began to feel it. She sighed as exhaustion reared its head again, begging her to go to bed. But she couldn't. She didn't know where the common room was, and the banquet hadn't ended yet. To stay awake, she sipped more apple juice and started up a conversation with another first year, who was facing a similar dilemma.

 

When most of the students slowed their eating, the food changed from entree to dessert. Ice cream, pudding, cakes, pies, in every flavor and every topping she could imagine presented itself to Amy. She hesitated and then reached for a small bowl and some mint ice cream with shavings of chocolate. She took a small bite and moaned in pleasure at the cool flavor and smooth creamy iciness texture of the ice cream and the chocolate-y-ness of the shavings. Bloody hell, this was the best she'd had in her life! She finished that first bowl as quickly as she dared and took another.

 

At last, McGonagall closed the feast with a reminder that classes began on Monday, but they would hold the School Games tomorrow morning at nine. The food disappeared and the students stood. Amy stuck close to other students as she followed her upperclassmen out of the hall through a door on the Slytherin side of the Great Hall, down a staircase to the right, a left at the bottom and down a wide hallway. The person at the head, who gave off an air of authority, led them into a nook but there wasn't space for more than twenty people to stand there, leaving much of the House out in the corridor. The boy stopped and raised a hand to gain everyone's attention.

 

"Before we go any further, seventh years please pair up with a first year."

 

There was a bit of a commotion as students moved about. An older teenager situated himself next to Amy, introducing himself as Gregory.

 

"Years two through six, go ahead." Amy was jostled as students shoved past her; some nicely and some not so nicely.

 

"What's going on?" She asked Gregory. "Who is that up front?"

 

"That's Alexander. He's Head Boy and he basically rules the coop when our Head of House isn't around. Right now, he's watching each of the other students get inside the common room. It's a bit tricky, which is why he's paired us seventh years with you first years. He wants us to show you how to get inside. At the same time, he's checking to make sure the other students remember."

 

"Oh, okay. Why is it so hard to get inside?"

 

"It safeguards the common room from the other Houses getting in. Each of the other Houses has their own way to get inside their common room."

 

"Oh. Is ours more difficult than the others?"

 

"Sort of. Slytherin and Gryffindor have passwords that change weekly. Ravenclaw has to solve a different riddle every time they want to go inside. We must stick to a rhythm as we tap a certain barrel a certain number of times. If we get it wrong, we get soaked in vinegar."

 

"Yikes! That seems a bit harsh."

 

"Badgers are very protective of their set in the wild, and Hufflepuffs are no different. The common room is our home, our sanctuary. We don't want it easily accessible to just anyone."

 

"Okay. So, can you show me how we get inside?"

 

"Absolutely. The rhythm goes like this." He held out his wand, and Amy held out hers. He bobbed it from the top down, to the left and right, and then upward with a slow beat. He accentuated each beat with a 'buhm'. Amy copied him, 'buhm'-ing along, doing her best to keep perfect time.

"Good. I think you've got the rhythm down. Now, we add the words to the rhythm. Hel-ga Huff-le-puff."

 

"Hel-ga Huff-le-puff."

 

"Good, again."

 

And so he had her practice multiple times while the middle classmen entered the common room one by one. Finally, Alexander caught everyone's attention and asked each pair to come forward. Seventh years were asked to guide