Chapter 17— For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat

~Fun Fact: Did you know that Dumbledore tells Harry that the 'Mirror of Erised' "gives us neither knowledge nor truth." However, it does in the sense that it shows the viewer their deepest desire, even if they don't know what it is, thus giving them that knowledge. Why was such a dangerous Artifact there in the first place for children to stumble across?

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Wandering the platform for what seemed to be at least 5 minutes, I began to see a floating lamp in the distance. As it got closer and closer, I was able to make out the figure of a gigantic being. It was only after hearing its voice did I realise who it was. It was Rubeus Hagrid.

"First years! First years over here!" Hagrid yelled, cupping his hands over his mouth.

I had to say, he really was a mass of frizzy hair. He had a wild and untamed beard with hair to match and contrary to his giant stature, his eyes displayed a kindness in them as he smiled at us good-naturedly.

Within a few minutes of Hagrid's summons, all of the first years were crowded around him. He beamed down at us genially, though I could swear I heard someone gulp as he did.

"Any more of you first years left? No more? Alright then, follow me." He said, walking off as the crowd of children followed him.

It looked quite comical really, a gigantic man being followed by a group of children that were so much more smaller than him. It reminded me of a mother goose being followed by her little goslings. I looked around and spotted Neville with Trevor in his hands.

'Huh, Neville didn't lose his toad this time.' I thought, surprised. 'Good on him!'

After the children in front of us had moved on, Harry, Daphne, Tracey and I looked at one another once more before following the heads of the children in front of us.

Eventually, Hagrid led us down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. Our surroundings were pitch-black and I heard a few children sniffling. Hagrid also seemed to have noticed the fear in the air as he began to speak.

"You'll get your first sight of Hogwarts in a little bit." Hagrid said over his shoulder, flashing a smile at us. Though I was pretty sure that he scared the children even more. "Just round this bend here."

We went down the bend and approached the shore of what I assumed to be the fabled 'Black Lake'. Across the lake and perched atop a cliff on the other side, its windows twinkling in the night sky, was Hogwarts itself. The sight was enough to take my breath away and I was sure the children around me agreed. There were lots of "oohs" and "aahs" as the children excitedly pointed towards the castle, whispering to their friends. Nudging Harry's shoulder with my elbow, I pointed towards the castle.

"So, what do you think about it?" I asked him, grinning. "Awesome isn't it!"

He looked at me with eyes filled with wonder, nodding his head in agreement.

"What do you think, my ladies?" I asked Tracey and Daphne.

"It's amazing!" Tracey gushed while Daphne nodded in agreement.

"No more than four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a lot of little boats sitting in the water next to a jetty by the shore.

I looked around and saw Neville who seemed lost and nervous as all the kids scrambled into a boat.

"Hey, Harry." I said. "Would you mind if Neville sat with you instead of me?"

Harry looked over at Neville and then back at me, smiling. "Nope, not a problem." He replied. "How about you two girls, would that be okay?"

"It's fine" Tracey said energetically. "We'll see each other on the other side anyway."

That sealed the deal for me as I walked over to Neville and patted his shoulder. He jumped at the sudden contact. This caused me to suppress a sigh. Over the 5 or so years I knew Neville, Harry and I did our best to try and increase his confidence. From games, to hobbies, we tried everything. Although he was far more confident than his canon counterpart, he still lacked any real confidence in himself where his magical abilities were concerned. And despite my constant badgering, he refused to get a wand of his own, insisting on using his father's.

'Well, if he can get the wand to accept him, I'm all for it. But right now, it'll hinder him more than it'll help him. If he won't listen to reason then he'll have to realise that on his own.' I thought.

"Hey Nev, wanna go sit with Harry on the boat?" I asked while giving him a friendly fist bump on the shoulder.

"I-Is that okay, it's your boat!" He blurted out, surprised.

"Nah it's fine." I reassured him, giving him a playful push. "We'll meet up on the other side anyways, go on man."

And with that, Neville nodded and made his way to Harry, who gave him a pat on the back and welcomed him onto the boat.

I looked around for a free boat and spotted a familiar bushy haired girl sitting in a boat with a sandy haired boy. I walked up to them with a smile.

"Hey you two! Mind if I sit here?" I asked.

"Not a problem!" Replied the sandy haired boy, sticking out his hand. "Me name's Seamus, Seamus Finnigan. What's yours?"

"I'm Aayan Barak but you can call me Yan." I replied giving him a smile as I shook his hand. I then looked at Hermione. "And what's your name?"

I obviously knew the answer but it's a bit weird to know the name of a person before they tell you it.

"I'm Hermione Granger!" She said a little bossily. "Did you know that..."

And with those four words, she jumped into a tirade of random facts and tidbits that she read about the castle and its history. It was a little annoying but I couldn't in good conscience shut her up whilst knowing her reason for acting this way. She thought that the more she knew, the more people there'd be who would want to be friends with her. Sadly though, the world didn't work that way.

"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself for obvious reasons. "Right then, OFF WE GO!"

The little boats set off at once as they moved in unison across the lake. In all honesty, it looked quite beautiful. The moonlight hit the lake at the perfect angle causing it to glitter as we glided across it. As we got closer and closer to the cliff that Hogwarts was on, Hermione's babbling seemed to increase even more. I thought it would be fitting to leave her with a nugget of wisdom to do what she will with. I could only do so much since at the end of the day, I was still a human being and wasn't obliged to spend every waking hour of my life helping others. I would give her one single piece of advice. After that, what she did and what happened as a result of her actions was out of my hands.

"Hey Hermione, unlike primary school where contribution is rewarded as much as possible, at Hogwarts, it's better to only answer a question if a teacher directly asks you for the answer." I said to her.

"But why?" She asked, confused. "Aren't you rewarded with house points for contributing in classes?"

"Yes you are, but the problem is that if you answer every question asked, you'll end up facing some problems during your time here. One: your peers will label you as a know-it-all and that wouldn't be fun at all. And two: you'd be denying your peers the chance to contribute and gain house points themselves. They'd then assume that you think they're dumb, and probably ostracize you because of it." I replied, causing her to freeze in place as she held her chin, a pensive look forming on her face. She stayed like this until we neared the cliff.

"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the boats reached the cliff and got closer to a dark tunnel.

'Hold on, the only person who needs to bend their head is Hagrid!' I thought as I held back my laughter.

The boats carried us through the dark tunnel until we reached some sort of underground harbour that was filled with pebbles, creating a sort of shore. Once the boats stopped moving, I clambered out of my boat and started stretching to warm myself up. It was at this point that Hermione had finished thinking and turned to me.

"Excuse me?" She said, gaining my attention. "You've given me a lot to think about, thank you."

After saying that, she walked off to where Hagrid was, not even giving me a chance to say "you're welcome." Seamus turned to me almost immediately.

"Christ on a bike!" He exclaimed. "I thought she would never stop talking. How'dya do it?!"

"I just gave her something to think about. I'm going to go and look for my friends now, see you inside." I said, waving at him as he walked off.

Not even a few seconds later I heard Harry's voice.

"Yan! Yan we're over here!" He shouted, standing close to the crowd near Hagrid while waving at me.

I jogged up to him as I greeted Tracey, Neville and Daphne.

"Hey guys. How'd your boat ride go?" I asked, fist bumping Harry and giving Neville a friendly nudge.

"It was really nice!" Tracey said, beaming. "The castle looked so pretty with its twinkling windows!"

Daphne as always, remained silent. I turned around and began walking as the people in front of me began to move. Walking through a dark passageway with the only light source being Hagrid's lamp, we eventually reached a flight of stone stairs and crowded around the huge, oak front door at the end of the passageway.

"Everyone still here? Nobody missing? Good!" Said Hagrid, knocking his huge fist on the door.

The door swung open almost immediately. In front of us was a tall and stern-looking woman with black hair wearing emerald-green robes and a black witch's hat.

'Huh, is this supposed to be Professor McGonagall?' I wondered. My question was answered for me soon afterwards though.

"Here are the first years, Professor McGonagall." Said Hagrid.

"Thank you Hagrid, I will take them from here." She replied as the wooden door swung wide open.

What was laid before me was the full grandeur of the Great Hall. It was incredibly large and there were flaming torches adorning every wall. The ceiling looked as if it wasn't there at all. In its place was an incredibly beautiful night sky, devoid of any pollution or cloudiness leaving us to see the stars in their full glory. My admiration for the ceiling however, was interrupted by Harry nudging me. I looked around as everyone around me began to follow Professor McGonagall. I hurriedly ran after them, standing in-between Harry and Neville.

"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 rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honour. 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."

I immediately started adjusting my robes as her gaze swept across the crowd, lingering on Harry's messy hair as well as a few other unkempt individuals.

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

"How are they going to sort us?" Whispered Harry.

"I don't know." Said Tracey. "My parents refused to tell us how the sorting works."

"Same here." I added quietly.

I said the same, since I couldn't tell them about the Sorting Hat. Mum and dad were adamant on not telling us how to sorting works although it didn't mean much to me since I already knew.

Just as I had finished speaking, a group of ghosts passed through the back wall. Quite a few children yelped as we were approached by the Fat Friar.

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

"Yes we are." I replied, most of the children giving me a look that said 'Stop talking'.

"I see, I see." He said good-naturedly. "Hope to see you in Hufflepuff! It was my old house."

It was just then that Professor McGonagall returned.

"Move along." She said strictly. "The Sorting Ceremony is about to start."

The ghosts complied with her as they left the same way the came in. She turned back to us.

"Now, form a line and follow me."

We all got into a line, Neville and Harry were in front of me while the person behind me was, surprisingly, Seamus Finnigan. Too afraid to speak out loud, we nodded to each other as we followed the line and walked into the Great Hall.

Professor McGonagall led us to the middle of the hall. We were told to form a line in front of the Professor's table and face the students. Once we lined up horizontally, she brought a stool out and placed it directly in front of our line, putting the extremely worn and dirty sorting hat on top of it. I knew what was coming, so I braced myself. Neville, who was next to me, wasn't so lucky. He jumped as the hat broke out into a song.

"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 Hufflepuffs 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!"

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Everyone began to applaude immediately as I joined them, not wanting to stand out. After the applause died down, Professor McGonagall stepped forward with a roll of parchment in her hands.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted." She instructed. "Abbot, Hannah!"

A moment later, a pink faced girl with blonde pigtails stepped forward and put the hat on. It completely covered her eyes.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" The hat cried after a momentary pause.

The Hufflepuff table cheered and clapped as Hannah ran to the table, her robes turning yellow, with the Hufflepuff symbol.

"Barak, Aayan!"

'Oh, it's my turn now...' I thought nervously as I walked towards the stool, maintaining an expression of complete calm.

I put the hat on as it obscured my vision.

"Hello there boy." Said a voice in my head that could only be the hat.

'Hello hat. Are you going look at my memories or my personality traits and pick my house that way?' I thought.

"The latter boy, or else it would take far too much time to get through everybody." Replied the hat. "Now... I see plenty of courage and loyalty, a healthy dose of ambition and wit to match."

'Why, thank you!'

"You're welcome, boy." Said the hat. "But answer me this, what is your end goal here? Is it power, riches, fame or something else?"

'I want to make sure that the people I care about live happy lives while I figure out the mysteries magic has to offer along the way.' I thought resolutely.

"I see... well then— Better be HUFFLEPUFF!" Said the hat.

The hat was taken off my head as the Hufflepuff table cheered and clapped. I ran over to sit next to Hannah since we were the first people to get sorted.

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"Davis, Tracey!"

The hat noticeably paused for about 10 seconds before declaring.

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Finnigan, Seamus!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Granger, Hermione!"

The hat remained on her head for a solid minute.

"RAVENCLAW!"

'Wait what?! This is new...' I thought, shocked at the outcome. Had my advice really changed her outcome that much?

"Greengrass, Daphne!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

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.

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"Longbottom, Neville!"

This time around, the hat was barely on Neville's head for 10 seconds.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

'Well that was a given since Neville's a whole new person when compared to his canon self.'

There weren't many people left now. Nott was sent to Slytherin and so was Malfoy, the Patil twins went to Ravenclaw and Gryffindor respectively and Parkinson was also sent to Slytherin.

"Potter, Harry!"

'The moment of truth...' I thought as Harry walked up to the stool, ignoring all of the stares he got while doing so.

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