The New Marauder

Sixteen

"Oh you may not think me 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 folks 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, causing all of us first years to jump. Mentally, I run through a checklist of how many kinda, sorta, definitely messed up things I have seen tonight; funny enough, the creepy old singing hat takes first place.
Professor McGonagall steps forward with a rolled-up scroll in her hand and clears her throat. "When I call your names, you will put on the hat and sit to be sorted," she says simply and starts to unroll the scroll. "Ali, Talbalt."
We all watch in suspense as a visibly shaking boy steps forward and places the hat on his head. "RAVENCLAW!" The hat shouts after a minute, and the long table filled with students wearing blue and silver emblems and ties stand to their feet, cheering and clapping as the boy puts the hat back on its stool and runs over to the table.
Professor McGonagall gives them another moment to celebrate before looking back to her scroll. "Black, Orion." My heart freezes in my chest, and a harsh buzz fills my mind as I force myself to take each step forward. Glancing one more time at Uncle Theo, I take a deep breath and pick up the hat, placing it on my head after taking a seat on the hard stool.
"Ah, who have we here?" A voice speaks in my head. "Hmm another Black, I see. Ambitious and cunning, with a loyal and just heart, though your lack of patience is not a trait to be coveted. Your natural thirst for knowledge would be from your mother, yet the weakest characteristic you have is the confidence to be brave like your father despite the hunger to prove you are not like them.."
"I am confident, just not like my father. I don't want to be like him; he is a coward," I think back to the hat.
"No you don't do you, but you despise the rest of the blacks who sat on this very stool before you, that makes you a little harder to place."
"I don't want to be scared anymore, I want to brave like Anna and Uncle Charlie. They are my real family, I want to make them proud."
"Not like your father, aye?" I flinch when its laugh rings through my head. "Your refusal to place others before yourself would make you a horrible asset to the noble Slytherin name. You would do well in Hufflepuff, but not great. Maybe even better in Ravenclaw with your quick wit and drive to succeed from a young age. But to be the person you strive to be, you will need to be surrounded by those who can show you the way. With your talent and hidden bravery begging to be released, you will need help to become strong both inside and out. Who better to learn it from than the lions themselves?" "GRYFFINDOR!"
I jump at the sudden sounds of clapping and cheering coming from the red and gold table. Hundreds of kids, more rowdy than the Ravenclaw, dance around, hooting and hollering as I place the hat back on the stool and stumble forward with jelly legs until I reach Charlie, who pats me hard on the back, pulling me down to the bench next to him. Looking up to the staff table, I smile wildly at Uncle Theo, who beams his own right back at me as he cheers with the Gryffindors.
"Welcome to Gryffindor, Orion!" He says as the rest of the House settles back down.
"Davies, Roger," Professor McGonagall calls the next kid forward.
Now being on this side of the Sorting, I feel loads better. In reality, it wasn't that bad. Maybe my fear of joining the green and silver squad like the rest of my family scared me more than I thought. The hat was wrong though I never want to be like the man who left me in Forks, if you could call him a man at all. I spent a lot of time thinking about what Professor  McGonagall said in Diagon Alley, but even then did I mean so little that he couldn't even write? I know my birth mother was forced to forget about me but what's his excuse? Then Fred and George said they see them and my supposed Uncle and his kid all the time and that they talk about me, will how am I supposed to feel when they don't talk to me. I didn't even know they existed until today.
"Diggory, Cedric." I hear her sharp voice call out.
Looking up, I watch as Cedric proudly walks up to the stool and places it on his head. We wait for almost two minutes before the hat opens its rip up, "HUFFLEPUFF!" Although he isn't coming to sit beside me, I still clap loudly for him. He knew where he wanted to be sorted since he was a kid; I'm happy for him.
What I didn't realize on the train was how far apart mine and Sam's names were when put in alphabetical order. So while I watched Angelina Johnson go to Ravenclaw, Lee Jordan join us, Adrian Pucey sit at the Slytherin table, Alicia Spinnet took a spot next to Angelina, Patricia Stimpson sat across from Cedric blocking my view of him until he scooted over, then Kenneth Towler sits down next to Lee. My heart stutters when I realize there are only a few left, including Sam, Fred, and George.
"Uley, Samuel."
My hands start to feel clammy watching him walk those terrifying steps and take a seat on the stool. Closing my eyes, I send a quick prayer up to the heavens hoping that they will send him my way. When two minutes pass, I open my eyes to see Sam still sitting there dazed, as if lost in thought. After another minute, I'm not the only one becoming confused as others around me start muttering about a possible hat stall, whatever that is, but that's quickly put to rest the moment the hat perks up and opens its mouth.
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
Feeling my heart break into thousands of tiny slivers was not the easiest to hide as I clap along with Cedric as Sam makes his way to the black and yellow kids screaming at the top of their lungs. When he takes his seat, our eyes meet from across the hall. Swallowing my dejection, I send him and Cedric a bright smile while waving crazily at them.
Turning back to Professor McGonagall, I keep watching as she calls up a kid who looks like he's constantly smelling a pile of dog poo. I want to laugh at his face, but that would be rude, and make the wrong impression, especially to the one teacher with shoulder-length greasy hair and a hooked nose. The way he keeps sending glares at me not only makes me feel uncomfortable but also seems to irk Uncle Theo; he does not look happy with that dude at all.
"Weasley, Fred."
Next to me, I feel Charlie tense when Fred steps forward with nervousness rolling off of him. As soon as Fred puts the hat on his head, it comes to life.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Laughing at his relief, I stand and clap with the rest of my House -Charlie yelling the loudest. Instead of sitting next to Kenneth, Fred runs straight at me and wraps me up in a bone-crushing hug. "Hey there, roomie!" He shouts over the noise.
"What?" I ask, confused, sitting down. I think his eavesdropping skills needs polishing up if he didn't overhear that I was told I would have to be by myself.
"Weasley, George." Professor McGonagall calls George up, even though he was already walking towards her, seeing as he was the last first year to be sorted.
Like Fred, the moment the hat touched his head, it came to life. "GRYFFINDOR!" We waste no time standing up to cheer for George; instead of putting the hat back on the stool, he hands it straight to Professor McGonagall before running over to join us.
"Did you tell her?" I hear George ask Fred as we take our seats.
"Tried to, but you had to ruin it," Fred snarks when the hall goes quiet, causing a few of us to laugh.
"Welcome!" Professor Dumbledore stands to his feet, beaming at all of us. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we start our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubbe! Oddment! Tweak!" He bows as everyone claps. "Thank you!"