8 The sorting

When we arrived, it was already dark.

We got out of the cabin and joined the sea of students going to the train's exit. Me and Hermione were holding hands to not get lost.

"First years! First years over here! All right there, Harry?" Sounded a familiar voice.

Looking in the direction of the voice, I see Hagrid towering over the sea of students.

Me and Hermione make our way there along the other first years.

After a few minutes, Hagrid confirmed that was everyone and told us to follow him.

Slipping and stumbling, we all followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was very dark on either side of the path because of the large number of trees. Nobody spoke much.

"You all will get your first sight of Hogwarts in a sec." Hagrid called over his shoulder. "just around this bend here."

There was a loud "Oooooh!"

The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black take. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many towers.

"No more then four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry and Hermione were followed into their boat by Neville and the boy I knocked out on Diagonal alley. "Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then. Forward!"

At his command, the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over us as we sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.

"Is that a sword?" The boy asked, breaking the silence.

I was about to answer when Hermione jumped in. "It is his wand."

"I diden't ask you, you mudblood." The boy barked.

I diden't know what 'mudblood' ment, but it was clearly an insult, so I released a bit of my spiritual pressure, making the boy piss himself.

"Apologize, now." I growl at him.

The boy is trembling in fear and mutters "M-m-my dad will-"

I incresse the pressure.

"S-sorry." He mumbled and I retreat the pressure.

'Don't this guy learn?' I think to myself.

.

"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; we all bent our heads and the little boats carried us through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. We were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking us right underneath the castle, until we reached a kind of underground harbor, where we clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.

"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.

"Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands.

'He lost his toad again?' I tought

Then we walked up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.

We walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, Oak front door.

"Everyone here? You there, still got your toad?"

Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face.

"The first years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."

She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was so big you could have fit the whole of the Dursleys' house in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.

We followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. I could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right 'the rest of the school must already be here' I thought. But Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously. I still held Hermione's hand.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, on a boy's smudged nose, and on my sword.

'Hey! What do you have against Zanguetsu!? He is perfect thank you very much!' I scream in my mind and feel Zanguetsu blushing.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."

She left the chamber.

"How exactly do they sort us into houses?" Someone asked.

"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking." Said the boy with the smudged nose.

The students' hearts gave a horrible jolt. A test? In front of the whole school? But they didn't know any magic yet, what on earth would they have to do? They hadn't expected something like this the moment they arrived. They looked around anxiously and saw that everyone else looked terrified, too. Lots of nervous wispering including Hermione, who was whispering very fast about all the spells she'd learned and wondering which one she'd need. I squezed her hand in a reasuring mannar.

Then several people behind him screamed.

"What the?"

The people around me gasped and I was wide eyed. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They did not look like the ghosts Ichigo me was used to seeing. They seemed to be arguing aboutt something,the one that looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance..."

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost, I say- What are you all doing here?"

A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years.

Nobody answered.

"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?"

A few people nodded mutely.

"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know."

"Guys look!" One of the ghosts exclaim and point at me.

All ghost look at me in shock like they've just seen a ghost.

One of them come closer to me with a complicated look on its face. Was that pity?

"My boy." It said. "Are you sure you are alive?"

"Move along now!" Interrupted a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."

Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts reluctantly floated away through the opposite wall.

"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me."

I got into line behind a boy with sandy hair, with Hermione behind me, and we walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.

Many had never even imagined such a strange and splendid place. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, I looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. I heard Hermione whisper, "Its bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History."

"Cool." I said.

It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall didn't simply open on to the heavens.

I quickly looked down again as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. Aunt Petunia wouldn't have let it in the house.

Maybe they had to try and get a rabbit out of it, I thought wildly.

Everyone in the hall was now staring at the hat. For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth -- and the hat began to sing:

(A/N:Obligatory song time)

　　"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,

　　But don't judge on what you see,

　　I'll eat myself if you can find

　　A smarter hat than me.

　　You can keep your bowlers black,

　　Your top hats sleek and tall,

　　For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat

　　And I can cap them all.

　　There's nothing hidden in your head

　　The Sorting Hat can't see,

　　So try me on and I will tell you

　　Where you ought to be.

　　You might belong in Gryffindor,

　　Where dwell the brave at heart,

　　Their daring, nerve, and chivalry Set Gryffindors apart;

　　You might belong in Hufflepuff,

　　Where they are just and loyal,

　　Those patient Hufflepuffis are true And unafraid of toil;

　　Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,

　　if you've a ready mind,

　　Where those of wit and learning,

　　Will always find their kind;

　　Or perhaps in Slytherin

　　You'll make your real friends,

　　Those cunning folk use any means

　　To achieve their ends.

　　So put me on! Don't be afraid!

　　And don't get in a flap!

　　You're in safe hands (though I have none)

　　For I'm a Thinking Cap!"

The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.

"So we've just got to try on the hat!" The smudged nose kid said. "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll."

Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted." she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"

A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moments pause and...

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.

The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Harry saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her.

"Bones, Susan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.

" Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers.

"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin.

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Sometimes, Harry noticed, the hat shouted out the house at once, but at others it took a little while to decide. "Finnigan, Seamus," the sandy-haired boy next to Harry in the line, sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.

"Granger, Hermione!"

Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head.

"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat.

　　When Neville Longbottom, the boy who kept losing his toad, was called, he fell over on his way to the stool. The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. When it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR," Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag."

The rude boy I keep bulling swaggered forward when his name was called (Draco Malfoy) and the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!"

There weren't many people left now. "Moon" "Nott" "Parkinson" then a pair of twin girls, "Patil" and "Patil" then "Perks, Sally-Anne" and then, at last. "Potter, Harry!"

As I stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall.

"Potter, did she say?"

"The Harry Potter?"

The last thing I saw before the hat dropped over my eyes was the hall full of people craning to get a good look at me. Next second I was looking at the black inside of the hat.

"HOLY FUCK!" Shouted the hat.