Chapter 5
The sound of clattering luggage being pulled down from their holdings filled every corridor of the Hogwarts express. Students rushed to be the first off the train after the long journey.
Bella sat still in her seat unlike many of the other students of her age. Meanwhile, Rita, who had stayed by Bella's side for most of the journey, had jumped at the opportunity to leave the compartment as soon as possible.
As the noise died down Bella stood up and grabbed her luggage from under the seat. She had never been a big fan of crowds and figured that by waiting out the chaos would be better.
By the time Bellatrix had made it off the train most of the other Hogwarts students had disappeared. The sky had darkened as night approached. Golden streetlamps shined brightly onto the platform as Bellatrix followed behind some other straggling first years.
The small village soon began to disappear among the trees as Bellatrix continued following closely behind the other first years. She had no idea where she was going, but a feeling in her gut told her to keep following.
The small stream of first years that Bella had been following had gathered in a huge group. However, a tall man with a messy beard stood out from everyone as he stood in front of the crowd.
Once everyone had gathered into the crowd the man directed the first years to board the small boats that floated gently on the lake of which Bellatrix hadn't noticed before.
By the time Bellatrix had gotten into a boat she noticed the large castle that towered over the lake. The golden lights from the windows illuminated the castle.
Bellatrix had not expected to see such a huge castle, but yet again no one in her family ever told her anything about Hogwarts.
The small boats came to a stop at the other end of the lake at the docks of Hogwarts. The children conversed quietly with one another as they dispersed from the boats and continued walking onto the dock. The large man shuffled ahead of the group and they followed closely behind him, itching to make their way into the castle.
Bellatrix followed with the crowd to a pair of large wooden doors the marked one of the many entrances to the school. A middle-aged woman was already standing at the door waiting to take the children off of the man's hands. The woman wore a scornful face that you wouldn't want to get on the bad side of.
The children followed the woman through the castle doors and up a few more stairs until they reached the doors of the great hall. As they entered Bellatrix tried to hide in the crowd. The rest of the school had already gathered around four tables that represented each house. A fifth table stood out in front of all the others. That was where the staff was seated.
The first years suddenly stopped in front of the staff table where a stool also sat. On the stool, an ancient hat was placed. Bellatrix looked confusedly at the hat before being startled by it starting to move. The hat suddenly seemed to form a mouth and started singing. Bellatrix looked around at the other students who acted as if it was completely normal for a hat to randomly start singing on its own accord.
After it had finished its tale of the Hogwarts founders, the woman that lead the first years into the castle stood next to the hat and started calling names to be sorted. The first name to be called was Bellatrix Black. Bellatrix gingerly walked forward. She didn't really know what to do but by the expectant look on everyone's faces, she continued to walk towards the hat. The woman briefly gestured for Bellatrix to sit down on the stool and lifted up the hat as Bella did so.
The hat only had to briefly touch Bellatrix's head to call out "SLYTHERIN!"
Bellatrix walked over to the Slytherin table to sit with her fellow peers. She wasn't the least bit surprised that she was sorted into Slytherin since the rest of her family had been as far back as the Black family line goes.
Bellatrix sat down next to a dark-haired boy who was only a little older than her. She remembered meeting him once before but only briefly and couldn't recall his first name but knew that he was from the Lestrange family. He ignored her presence and continued to silently watch the sorting.
The rest of the other first years were sorted into their houses and the plates that were already laid out on the tables filled with food of all sorts. Bellatrix scoffed as Rita had also been sorted into Slytherin and had no wish to deal with her.
After the feast was over the headmaster called Dumbledore sent everyone to their chambers. Bellatrix and the other Slytherin first years followed their house prefect to the Slytherin dormitories which were all the way down in the dungeons next to the kitchens.
Bellatrix easily found her way through the crowded common room and up to her room of which she shared with the other first-year Slytherin girls. She was too tired to take in her surroundings and ended up falling into a deep slumber the moment she laid down.
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A/N: I am sorry that some of you had to wait so long for this chapter but here it is! I hope you like it and vote for it! I'll try to get the next one out sooner, but that will only happen if my brain stops procrastinating for once... Anyways a little hint for the next chapter is that we'll also get to see a bit of Umbridge's past as well as our beloved Bellatrix!
–R.A.B