Chapter 34: Sorting Ceremony

September 1st, 1991, Hogsmeade Station, 8:30 PM.

The train slowed down and finally stopped. People pushed their way towards the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Harry shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students.

Outside, it had already darkened as glittering stars painted the night sky, accompanied by the chilling wind of autumn. *Whoosh*

"Wow!" Harry exclaimed quietly as he stepped down from the train.

At the station were a small group of buildings, the largest of which was a resting place for the conductor of the train. Not far down from these buildings were entrance gates to Hogwarts that were located in a clearing of the Forbidden Forest that led up to the school grounds.

"Come on, Harry!" Ron said eagerly, dragging his slightly dazed friends towards the big one carrying a carbon lamp, shouting at the first-year.

"Slow down, Weasley. Let us enjoy this one-time moment, will you, always so hasty, tsk tsk..." Draco spoke slyly as he strided forward, flashing a grin as he passed by Ron.

"You..." Ron grumbled under his breath as he also quickened his step to catch up with Draco, as if the two were in some running contest.

Leaving Harry with Hermione sighing in defeat at the back as they followed the two.

...

'Wow! Who's that head?" Following Hermione's gaze, Harry's eyes widened as it became clear to his view the figure of the one gathering the first year.

Epic bear, heave West Country accents, and a rather extraodinary body dressed unprentiously in brown. It was none other than the groundskeeper, Rubeus Hagrid.

"Com' on, Yer first-year this way!." Hagrid shouted as he held the lamp up high for attention. "Oi, is that..."

As their eyes made contact, Hagrid immediately realised the fragile little boy he had carried that year.

"Harry!" The big man shouted with delight as he scrambled through the crowd of other first-year students to get to the boy.

Seeing the big man somehow recognised him, Harry was surprised at first, followed by a rising fright as the big man approached him enthusiastically.

"Erm, Err..." Harry arched back while Hermione got in front of him, followed by Ron and Draco.

"It's so good to finally see yer... uh." Hagrid halted in front of the quartet and scratched his head as he saw how shy the boy was, as well as his three mini-guards determined gaze upon him.

"Haiz, so what the Daily Prophet said was true? Huh, I shouldn't have left yer..." Hagrid mumbled.

"Excuse me, sir, but who are you?" Hermione was the first to ask.

"Oh, yes, I'm Hagrid, Rubeus Hagrid, Hogwarts's groundskeeper." Hagrid grinned brightly as he introduced himself. "Yer probably don't remember Harry, but I used to carry yer when yer were so little, hehe..."

Despite his grand body size, which seemed very impossible, Harry could feel the sincerity of his words and the warmth in his eyes. Harry's mind once again flashed back to a distant memory; it was that same tender gaze and the feeling of being carried by a pair of big hands yet quite gentle.

Meeting Hagrid's gaze, Harry managed a wry smile. "H-hello, n-nice to m-meet you t-too". Following Harry, the other three also briefly introduced themselves to the big man.

Hagrid smiled back in relief. "Alright, now let's get yer to the boat. Follow me!"

At the end of the platform, boats were docked, awaiting the arrival of groundskeeper Rubeus Hagrid and the first-years.

Upon arriving at the dock, the quartet could help but be mesmerised by the picturesque view of Hogwarts, the grand epic castle lying beside the Black Lake. At this time, it was as if the castle was surrounded by starlight as the starry night sky above was reflected by the grand lake.

It tickled Harry's mind that he seemed to have seen this somewhere. It was the photo that he'd seen back at Ethan's study when he first spent the night there.

Soon the quartet boarded a small boat, and the moment they settled, the boat magically drifted towards the grand castle nestled in the starlight.

...

The first year was dropped off at the boat house at the foot of the castle. Then Hagrid pointed towards the winding, long stair, which would lead them into the castle.

After climbing, Merlin knew how many stairs there were. The first year arrived before a big, heavy looking double door.

There, standing at the end of the stairs, was an old, majestic-looking witch. She had this signature stoic expression etched on her face. She dressed in a classical robe and pointy hat.

Her voice was stern and resounded within the hallway. She introduced herself to the first-years as Professor Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts. 

The stern professor then went on to elaborate on the school's formalities, including its houses, points, etc...

"Trevor!" Amid the solemn atmosphere, a chubby boy exclaimed with delight as he strided forward to pick up the frog at the professor's feet. This granted him a questioning, piercing look from Professor McGonagall, along with rows of giggles from the other students.

'Poor him.' Harry shook his head slightly in mourning for the boy's mental health. He himself dared not to imagine what it felt like to be in that position; he might as well have fainted. 'Oh, it seems like the school allow us to bring pets other than owls; hmm, maybe I can bring Jasper along...' Such thought quickly dissipated as Harry remembered Jasper's illicit origin as well as what Ethan taught him regarding the category to which Jasper belonged.

"Sorry..." the chubby uttered sheepishly as he retreated to the back with his frog.

Professor McGonagall shook her head slightly before announcing. "The Sorting Ceremony will begin momentarily." With that said, she walked towards the grand double door.

Just when the first-years were about to follow, a rather spiky voice sounded from the side of Harry. "It's true, then? What they're saying on the train. Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts." Followed by a series of whispers and scrunching gazes gathered upon Harry.

'Ugh, perfect.' Harry pulled his robe's hood on as he wished that Dad had taught him that invisible spell he used when they were in Interlaken.

Harry then sneaked a peek at the owner of that spiky voice; it was a lanky, cunning-looking boy. Standing beside him were two other chubby, dense-looking guys, all of whom Harry realised were the ones Draco was avoiding back on the train.

"This is Crabbe and Goyle, and I'm Theodore, Theodore Nott." The lanky boy introduced himself and his two bodyguards. He then came in front of Harry with a smirking face.

"Pfft!." Ron rolled his eyes at such an act.

"Well, well, well, a Weasley. Still can't afford a proper robe, I see." Following Theodore's mocking tones were his bodyguard's laughter.

"You little..." Just when Ron was about to refute, the lanky boy instantly bypassed him, turning to Harry with a gentle smile. "You'll soon find out that some wizarding families are better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort."

The lanky boy extended his hand towards Harry. "I can help you there."

On the other side, Harry's eyes constricted under the hood as he aborted every word Theodore said, which was stinking with that smell of this cousin Dursley and his goons. This brought back a lot of painful memories for the boy. So Harry deliberately gave Theodore a side-eye.

"Huh? What the deal, Potter-" Theodore was slightly infuriated by Harry's action

"I think that's enough of an introduction for you, Theodore. Besides, I believe Harry can tell the wrong sort without your help." Out of nowhere, Dracon came in between the two, smiling coldly at Theodore. This earned him an adored look from Harry and an affirming nod from Ron and Hermione.

"What the, Draco?" Theodore was puzzled as he tried to discern the meaning behind Draco's interference.

"Draco, your father..." Theodore immediately shut up the next moment as he perceived Darco's death glare, masked by his cold smile.

It was then that the professor returned with a scroll in her hand, urging the first-year students to pass through the door.

...

The moment they came in, what lay before their eyes was a grand hall, illuminated brightly by numerous candles and floating in the air. There were four rows of long tables and chairs filled with delicacies and students of all ages; they seemed to sit according to their houses. At the end of the other side, beneath the large glass window wall, there was a row for the school's faculty.

But what caught Harry's attention was the enchanted dome, mirroring the night sky outside. The boy couldn't help but remember his basement's ceiling; it was also enchanted like that by Ethan.

Soon, the Sorting Ceremony began. Anticipation also began to fill the air.

"Now when I call your name, you will come forth, and I shall place the Sorting Hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your houses." Professor McGonagall addressed the procedure loudly.

"Hermione Granger!"

"Oh no, relax, relax..."The bushy-haired girl took little steps as she steadied herself. Upon sitting down, she smiled as she saw Harry, Ron, and Draco cheering for her quietly at the back.

It took quite some time before the enchanted hat with a big mouth shouted, "Okay, Gryffindor!" Followed by rowdy cheers from the Gryffindor's table as they welcome the girl...

Then it was Ron and Draco's turn; they got sorted into Gryffindor and Slytherin, respectively.

...Finally, it was Harry's turn.

"Harry Potter!" When his name was mentioned, there was an inevitable slight uproar among the students and even the professors.

Harry could feel numerous gazes drawn upon him; some were curious, others were surprised, yet some were even despite or temptatious.

'Breathe, Harry, breathe...' he reassured himself as he stride towards the chair.

There was a moment of utter silence as Harry just sit there, frozen like a statue. "Ehem, Mr. Potter, your hood," the professor kindly reminded.

"O-oh, y-yes, s-sorry..." Harry quickly lifted off his hood in embarrassment.

The moment the hat was placed on his head, Harry could feel something has slip into his mind. It's not comfortable.

"Uh, such organised thoughts and memories, it seems like you have learned some mind magic—occlumency. Very intersting..."

Harry's eyes were wide open in surprise as he heard the hat's voice resonating in his mind. "S-sir hat, which house will I be sorted into?" Catching the opportunity, Harry asked his mind. "C-can it be Ravenclaw? Pretty please" There was a touch of pleading in his words.

"Haha, nice try, kid..." Much to his disappointment, the hat loudly announced.

"Gryffindor!"