Words Could Never Say It

Chapter Two - The Sorting

That morning, in the Great Hall at breakfast, Draco spotted the girl and who he assumed was her father at the head table with the teachers. She sat at the very end next to Hagrid, and seemed to be writing an essay as Hagrid talked to her, and she would nod or shake her head at appropriate times. She still wore her scarf inside (in fact, she looked like she never took it off - the ends were under her robe) but her hair was outside, tied in a blue ribbon at the base of her skull, and the black silk ran down to nearly past her hips. Her face was framed by two locks of loose bangs on either side of her head, and as she looked up to smile at Hagrid as he seemed to be laughing at one of his own jokes, Draco could see her eyes were indeed quite brilliant, and almost lavender, they were so dark blue.

Malfoy stared at her while he ate, not even taking his eyes away to look at his three least favorite people in the entire school as they entered - Scar Head (Harry Potter), the Weasel (Ron Weasely), and the Mudblood (Hermione Granger) - as they sat at the Gryffindor table across the way. He saw a three-legged stool off to one side with a black piece of cloth covering the pointed whatever was there beneath it. The more Malfoy stared, the more he noticed how very quite she was. She continued to write on her parchment and smiled at Hagrid now and then, but she didn't speak to him, and Draco smirked when Hagrid looked a little perplexed and at a loss for words. He was sure now she'd end up in Slytherin - she, like many of his counterparts and himself, wanted very little to do with lesser life forms such as half-giants.

Before anyone could leave, Professor Dumbledore made his way to his feet, and put up his hands to silence the crowd of whispering students who had also noticed the visitors at the table. "Greetings, students," he said with a smile as he gazed at them over his half-moon spectacles. "As many have you may have already noticed we have two guests with us up at the head table.” He made a motion to the man with peppered hair, and the man quickly stood up. The girl at the other end of the table also quickly stood up, her cheeks bright. "This," said Dumbledore, gesturing to the man with his hand again, "is Dr. Marcus Matthews. Many of you may recognize him as the author of the popular American series of books, ‘A Warlock's Promise'." Indeed, many girls gasped the moment they heard his name, and a few seemed to have recognized him from before hand. Dr. Matthews smiled at them, nodding his head deeply in almost a bow to their applause.

"And this," said Dumbledore, motioning to the girl who turned even more scarlet. He motioned her quickly forward. "This is Emily Rose Matthews, Dr. Matthews' daughter. She is transferring to Hogwarts from the Phillip Dale Academy of Magical Arts in America for the remainder of the school year, while her father conducts research for his next book." Emily had come to his side, and she smiled shyly, bowing her head as the student's applauded with a little confusion on their face, apparently, as to why she was wearing a scarf indoors on a relatively warm autumn day.

Emily raised her wand - fifteen and a half inches, polished blood wood, with phoenix ashes as a core - up in the air above her head. Without a sound, she waved it in a gentle wispy motion as a stream of glittery light escaped the tip of it, and scrolled into the air, spelling out, *The pleasure is mine.* People looked at each other in confusion, and murmurs rose up among the students. Emily looked somewhat horrified, and turned to Dumbledore in a slight panic.

"I want to make it perfectly clear right now to all of you," Dumbledore said a little more seriously, clasping Emily's shoulder, "that Miss Matthews is not to be questioned about her past or her disability by any student. If she wishes to disclose that information, it is her choice.” Emily blushed very hard and shied her face away, but immediately looked at Dumbledore as the students looked at each other in worried expressions.

"Disability?"

"What's wrong with her?"

"Why did she do that scroll in the air?"

"HOW did she do that scroll in the air?"

Emily nudged Dumbledore just slightly, nodding as he looked down at her, and he paused, but then smiled. "Very well, child," he said softly, stepping back. Emily looked up at the crowd again, and waved her wand in the air, more glittery text scrolling across the now silent air.

*My ability to speak was stolen from me when I was a child. I assure you, however, I am just as capable at casting any spell as any in my grade, and desire no preferential treatment from any other student at Hogwarts.*

Draco heard several Ravenclaw's and Hermione Granger from the Gryffindor table gasp in shock and quickly begin to whisper to their friends and among each other, and soon enough Draco knew why. Doing spells nonverbally is considered extremely difficult - students weren't generally taught how to do even basic magic nonverbal until their sixth year. And Emily Rose Matthews had already learned, according to her, every spell they had in the nonverbal way. Draco looked at her in a little astonishment. It made a little more sense now... Professor McGonagall had called her extraordinary, and she had not said a word to Hagrid during breakfast or to McGonagall in the Entrance Hall. Of course she hadn't - she couldn't.

The murmur died away as Dumbledore raised his hands again. "Quickly, we will allow the Sorting Hat to place Miss Matthews in her appropriate house for the school year." Professor Flitwik had moved the stool quickly before the students and teachers table, and pulled off the black cloth to reveal the tattered Sorting Hat slowly yawning, but not singing a tune as normal. Emily sat down and slightly fidgeted as Professor Dumbledore himself sat the hat over Emily's head, and silence rang throughout the hall.

Please, thought Draco Malfoy as he watched. Make her a Slytherin... and if not a Slytherin, ANYTHING but a Gryffindor!

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat finally shouted after its long pause, and the cheers rang hard through the hall as McGonagall pulled the hat off, and smiling, Emily quickly went down to the Hufflepuff table, sitting down with her new classmates. The audience applauded, except for several Slytherins. Draco was half-disappointed, half relieved at the hat's decision. Hufflepuff wasn't nearly as bad as damned Gryffindor...

"Now!" said Professor Dumbledore with a smile. "Everyone enjoy your breakfast. Thank you for your attention."

Hermione Granger was on her feet instantly, hurrying to the Hufflepuff table to talk to the new arrival. Draco was rather shocked to see the Mudblood make a sign at her with her fingers, and so did Emily, as were several people who were watching. Draco smirked. Granger was making an idiot of herself in front of everyone's eyes. But to his further surprise and dismay, Emily smiled very broadly, and began to make signs to Granger back with her fingers and hands. He listened long enough for Granger to explain that it was called Sign Language, and it was how the deaf and mute communicated in the Muggle world. Getting up without a word, he began to walk toward his first class, Crabbe and Goyle rushing to keep up.