1
The first years file in, looking like nervous wrecks as they wait for the sorting to begin.
"I'm starving," my best friend complains beside me. "Why do they walk so slow? And why are they so small? Were we that small in first year? I don't think so." I nudge her, craning my neck to find my little sister in the mob of children.
"Be nice. This is the biggest day of their life so far. Remember how excited we were?"
"I wanted Ravenclaw so much, I was sure that my life was over when I got Hufflepuff," she sighs. We share a smile, remembering the night we sat next to each other nervously for the first time, four years ago, not knowing it would evolve into the friendship we had today. Our friend Will chuckles beside us.
"Everyone told me I was Gryffindor bound," he muses. "I still remember the look on my mother's face when she saw me in Hufflepuff robes for the first time, I think she was in denial." He shook his head with a laugh.
"Well, too bad, red looks awful on you." Will scowls at Amelie, who promptly sticks her tongue out. "No, really, it does not suit you," she adds with a smirk, pushing her thick curls out of her face.
"Whatever," he mumbles, slouching in his chair. Taking pity on him, I squeeze his shoulder in sympathy, still searching for my sister in the crowded hall.
"I think it suits you just fine," I say reassuringly, flashing a quick grin. His cheeks turn pink in the soft candle-light.
"I'm sure no one was surprised at your sorting, right Maia?" I hum, allowing my memory to take me back to the night of my sorting, one of my fondest memories.
"No," I say finally. "I don't think anyone was too surprised."
"And Linh?" Amelie asks, joining me in my search for my sister.
"I'm not sure. Knowing her, nothing would surprise me." I finally find her, all long, scrawny limbs and messy blonde hair, with random streaks of colour running through it. She scanned the Hufflepuff table until her eyes met mine, and she raised an arm, waving ecstatically. I wave back, Amelie and Will joining me. Amelie cupped her hands around her mouth, ready to shout something, but Will pushes her down before she had the chance to embarrass my sister. I nod to him gratefully.
"Oh finally, they're starting," Amelie says snarkily, shooting us a glare. I link my arm around hers, holding my breath as I wait for Linh's name to get called. Our last name, Avila, is always of the first to get called, so I don't have to wait long.
"Avila, Linh," Professor McGonagall calls, peering over her glasses. My sister strides to the front, not showing any nervousness whatsoever. She straddles the stool with her long legs, and the only sign of nerve is the quick, rhythmic tapping of her brightly painted fingernails tapping along the edge of the stool as the Sorting Hat is placed on her head. Amelie clutches my hand.
"Oh my goodness, I feel like I could faint, I'm so nervous, almost as though she's my own daughter," she whispers in one breath. Will shakes his head.
"There's nothing to be nervous about," he says reasonably, in his own quiet voice. I drum my fingers, painted in pale pink, against the table, a habit my sister must have gotten from me. After a couple moments, Linh's eyes widen, and the Sorting hat speaks.
"Slytherin." Cheers erupt from the green table near us.
