On arriving at the school of Hogwarts, Hue was taken aback at the magnificence of the school. It was a castle, just as the Princess had told her, but it was even larger than she thought it would be. It sat atop a hill and she knew that it would look even larger when she got inside.
~~~~~~
When the huge group of students got off the train, Harry's name was called by someone.
"Potter! Potter!" the voice yelled. Harry, Ron and Hermione kept on walking, paying no attention to it, so Hue did the same. Eventually though, the human behind the voice grabbed Harry's shoulder and turned him around.
"Odd, it's almost like you're ignoring me," it said in a sly tone. Hermione and Ron stopped and turned, and Hue copied, seeing Harry getting stared in the eye by a boy their age. He had platinum blond hair that was combed neatly, and eyes like crystallized pools of water.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" Harry asked, hate dripping off his words. Normally Enchanted Hue would have said something, but this boy didn't seem like he deserved anyone's kind words.
"I just wanted to see if the rumors on the train were true," he said, looking over Harry's shoulder.
"What rumors?" asked Hermione, scowling at the "Malfoy" boy. He Pushed Harry out of the way and started walking towards Hue. She Backed behind Hermione who gave her a reassuring hoof-thing on her head.
"So they are," he said, taking a knee in front of Hue. Her mane fell over her face as she pulled her chin to her chest. "Partially, they said it could speak," he spat. Hue winced at being called an "it".
"She's not an it, Draco," said Ron, finally giving a name to the boy.
"And she can speak," continued Hermione.
"And if you don't back off, you'll be telling your father about your black eye." finished Harry. Draco didn't listen.
"Well, then if you can speak, say something," he commanded. He waited a minuet and Hue said nothing. "Huh, maybe it's stupider than you thought, Potter."
"What did you call me?" Hue asked in a low growl. Draco smirked, and turned back to face her.
"I said, you are nothing but a stupid horse." He blinked and then there was a hoof coming straight at his face. He was knocked back and his nose started bleeding. He scrambled to get back on his feet, and once he did, he bolted from the station. Harry, Ron and Hermione all turned to Hue in shock. Her ears folded back down and she backed up again.
"Sorry," she mumbled.
"Don't be," exclaimed Ron, "that was bloody brilliant!"
"Really?"
"Absolutely!" Harry concurred, "The only other person to punch Draco Malfoy in the face was Hermione! And it was brilliant then too!" Hue blushed.
"I-I just couldn't take how he was talking to you, Harry."
"I almost punched him too," said Hermione, leading the group out of the station. "because of how he was talking about Enchanted Hue."
Hue smiled, she was glad she had chosen to sit with the three of them.
~~~~~~
When she got to the entrance of the school, she saw an old human standing in the hall leading into the school. He smiled when he saw them walk through the door.
"Hello miss Granger, mister Potter, mister Weasley," he greeted the three of them.
"Hello, Headmaster," replied Harry.
"And of course, welcome to miss Enchanted Hue," he said, motioning towards her. "Welcome to Hogwarts," he said nodding at her.
"Thank you mister-"
"Dumbledore," he finished. He looked back up at the trio of humans. "You three may head into the Great Hall, miss Hue, you come with me." The four of them obeyed Headmaster Dumbledore. Harry, Ron and Hermione headed into what Hue assumed was the "Great Hall", and Dumbledore took Hue down another hallway.
"Um, m-mister Dumbledore, sir? If you don't mind me asking, where are we going?"
"Since you are a fourth year and this is your first year at Hogwarts, you have yet to be sorted into a house, and I'm sure you wouldn't want to stand up at the front with a group of first years, whether you were a human or not." He chuckled, finding what he had said rather humorous.
"So you will sit up at the front with the professors and I until all the first years have been sorted, I'll say a few things about you, and you'll be sorted."
Hue nodded and followed the man through a door. He led her behind a grand table where many other humans sat, there was one particularly large one, with a beard bigger than her head, and next to him a particularly small one, with a curly mustache and a pair of small circular frame glasses, a bit like Harry's, that sat on the tip of his...
muzzle...?
The Headmaster motioned to a seat next to his own and Hue sat in it. She tried to slink down and be as invisible as possible. She dot nervous enough standing in front of a crowd of ponies, imagine her discomfort when the room was filled with beings not even the same species as her. She folded her ears back and slouched over acting like her hooves were the most interesting thing in the world.
~~~~~~
The sorting seemed to last hours when in reality it was only a few minuets, thirty at most. With each name the old woman in front of the table read, another butterfly appeared in Hue's stomach. She was shaking and shivering as if she were cold, but at the same time was sweating. When the last first-year was sorted, the old woman took her place on the other side of Enchanted Hue, and the Headmaster took her place next to the stool with the speaking hat on it.
"Everyone, I have an announcement before the feast begins." the Headmaster turned to Hue. She nodded, ears still folded, still full of butterflies, and walked slowly to where the man stood. There were whispers and murmurs as her hooves clicked against the floor.
"is that a horse?"
"It's official, the Headmaster's lost it."
"Horses aren't naturally different shades of blue, right?"
Dumbledore turned back to the students.
"This is Enchanted Hue,"
A few laughs and chuckles erupted around the room, no doubt her name sounded absurd to them. Dumbledore silenced them with a cold look. He then resumed his speech.
"She is here to learn magic, just as the rest of you are, and I expect you to treat her with respect, just as you would any other student," He said, lifting the hat from the stool allowing Hue to hop onto it.
The hat was then lowered onto her head, and she jumped a bit as it shouted, "Ha! Well, aren't you something? Hmm...right, okay. Hmm... Honest and kind, generous and loyal, able to make others laugh, and a great leader as well. Hmm... Better be, GRYFFINDOR!!" the hat yelled across the hall.
Hue was not met with cheers and applause like the first years had been. Dumbledore lifted the hat from her head and gestured towards the Gryffindor table. She hopped off the stool and, ears folded, head lowered, walked to the table. Her face felt like she had been nuzzled by Princess Celestia's pheonix. Her face felt more and more like she was next to the fire bird.
"Psst...Hue!" a voice hissed, she looked up to see Hermione seated a few feet away patting the space on the bench next to her, a sweet smile across her face. Hue smiled back, walking over and hopping onto the seat. Across from her sat Ron and Harry. They smiled at her too and Ron gave a light wave.
"Welcome to Gryffindor," said Harry coolly.
"Now, without further ado, let the feast begin," Dumbledore announced, as he waved his arms in an outward motion. The tables were suddenly flooded with food of all different kinds. Huge meats sat on shining platters, as well as a large bowl of greens that caught Hue's attention. Not far from Ron was a ginormous pie with a tower of ice cream scoops on top of it that he was eyeing greedily.
"Don't make yourself sick, Ron," Hermione said noticing how excited he looked.
"Uh, right," he replied, snapping out of his thoughts.
Hue had to make sure she didn't make herself sick either. Her stomach was still in knots, but the food looked really good, and she hadn't eaten anything for a while. She finally gave in and enjoyed some of the feast. It was the best meal she'd ever eaten.
~~~~~~
Hue followed Harry, Hermione, and Ron up to the Gryffindor dormitories after dinner. They were all tired, after the trip to the school, the sorting, the feast, the Headmasters announcement of the Triwizard Tournament, and the stunning entrances of the other schools, they were all ready to collapse. Oh, and of course giving Malfoy a bloody nose, that part was good too.
"So," Harry said, filling the silence, "how do you like Hogwarts?"
"It's magnificent! I haven't even learned any magic yet!" She exclaimed. Her eyelids felt as though they were getting heavier every second. She gave a yawn and Hermione directed her to the girls dorm. Hue had been given a Gryffindor tie, a robe, a Gryffindor scarf for Quidditch games (whatever Quidditch was), and her belongings had been brought up. Hue couldn't wait to learn more about this world and this school and magic, but for now she needed her rest. She laid down on her four-poster bed, and closed her eyes, Harry's words echoing in her mind,
Welcome to Gryffindor
She felt more than welcome, she felt almost at home. She liked the thought of that.
Home.