Someone named Finn.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Allistair Eret?
"SLYTHERIN!"
There goes Dar.
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"King, Aurora."
Holy shit.
Hundreds of people watching, no big deal, don't you fucking dare trip on your feet, here's hoping we don't land somewhere they hate us.
Aurora settled anxiously on the stool, the hat's wide brim instantly drooping over her eyes. She shyly pushed it back up, ignoring the giggles coming from everyone in front of her.
"Interesting..." the hat murmured to her. "You possess many traits that would fit into any house. Quite the determination, a certain drive to get things done. Yet you're willing to do anything for your friends. Of course you're very clever as well... Gryffindor? Hmm?" Aurora wrinkled her nose and shook her head. Yeah, no thanks to the house that defines 'yolo' and isn't focused enough on the competition at hand. "Well, then I suppose Ravenclaw isn't quite right either... Hufflepuff, Slytherin, Hufflepuff... SLYTHERIN!"
Aurora, bewildered, slipped off the stool and wandered over to the cheering table on the far side of the room as her robes shimmered with undertones of soft green and silver.
When she plopped down next to Clay, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and handed her a cup that looked like it was full of something like beer. It sure didn't smell like it, though.
"You're a SLYTHERIN!" Clay said happily. "Be proud. You know we're the best, don't you?"
Aurora shoved him playfully, setting the suspicious drink down. "We are NOT the best. We're all equal, aren't we?" Clay looked like he was about to agree, but someone else spoke up.
"That's what the teachers tell the others to make them feel better. It ain't true." A boy Clay's age with curly brown hair and not-quite-friendly eyes gave her a crooked smile as he spoke, sitting across from them. It wasn't the excited and cheerful mischievous smile Clay sometimes got when he was about to prank someone at school that always made Aurora giggle. This was the grin of someone who would enjoy seeing things in pain. "Argus Finch, at your service."
Aurora eventually tuned out Clay and his 'friend' Argus and their talking, instead focusing on the Sorting Ceremony.
Wilbur and Techno both landed in Gryffindor, as did Zak. Darryl was chatting with Niki at the Hufflepuff table, which was next to the Gryffindor one. On the other side of Hufflepuff must have been Ravenclaw, a bunch of people in blue either reading or talking quietly amongst themselves.
Alex and Schlatt happily joined Aurora and Clay in Slytherin, settling in on her left and talking before they'd even sat down.
"Dude, what was this house again?? Smart or something??" Alex asked.
"That would be Ravenclaw," Clay butted in. "We're cunning and ambitious."
"That's very specific," Schlatt said, sitting next to Alex.
Aurora shrugged. "I guess it fits me."
"Slytherins form the strongest bonds with each other. You definitely belong here," Clay agreed.
Soon, the last name had been called (Spifey, George. Gryffindor) and the ceremony came to a close. As the headmistress stood to address the students, Aurora tried to shoo away the butterflies in her stomach and brain, whispering about how something still felt not quite right.
