Learning How To Talk

~Chapter 6; The Sorting~

"And with that, let the sorting begin!" The man's arms motion towards the woman, who now has a large scroll of parchment. 

"Hermione Granger," The fluffy-haired girl makes her way to the stool in front of the women. She takes a deep breath as she sits down. The woman sets the old-looking hat atop her head. Holly quietly gasps as the hat seems to move on its own. It appears to be speaking, although no one can hear what it's saying. Suddenly, the hat shouts out, "Gryffindor!" and the accents of her robes turn red. She smiles widely as she struts over to the red table, which is cheering wildly. Holly looks at her friend's faces; they look more disgusted than impressed by the hat. 

"Ronald Weasley," The red-headed boy walks up to the hat. As soon as it's put on his head, the hat looks angry, and the boy looks scared. "Gryffindor!" The red table erupts in cheers once again as the boy walks towards a couple of other red-headed kids at the same table. 

"Draco Malfoy," Holly's heart drops. Draco has to go. He gently releases her hand and walks with smug confidence towards the hat. Holly grabs her own hand, trying to savor the warmth she misses. The hat barely even touches Draco's hair before it shouts out, "Slytherin!" Draco smiles at Holly as he sits in a rather large gap at the green table. 

"Susan Bones," Pansy gets Holly's attention by resting her hand on her slender shoulder softly. "I know I'm not Draco, but..." She lets the question hang as she offers her hand to the short girl. Holly smiles slightly as she latches her hand to Pansy's. "Hufflepuff!" The accents turn yellow as the girl makes her way to the yellow table. 

"Holly Potter," The woman smiles softly. The whispers around her are drowned out by her heart thumping in her ears. "Holly?" Pansy whispers, "It's okay, if they say anything rude, I'll hex 'em!" She says as she leads Holly forward through the crowd. A couple of large gasps can be heard as Holly goes in front of the crowd. The woman places a gentle hand on her back as she leads her to the stool. Holly sits down, sinking into herself as she's forced to look at all the people staring at her, some in horror, some in amazement, and a few in hatred. As the hat is slowly placed on her head, she hears it speak. 

"And where should I place the great Girl who Lived?" 

'The What?' Holly thinks, the hat appears to laugh, "You don't know why you're famous, do you?" Holly shakes her head; the hat's smile can be heard in his voice. "Well, won't you be surprised. Now, where to put you?" Holly looks over to Draco, 'with Draco, please.' She thinks, hoping the ha understands her signs. "Slytherin, ehh?"  He questions; she nods quickly. "You will do great in Slytherin, excellent choice, Holly Potter." Holly smiles towards Draco as the Hat shouts out, "Slytherin!" The kind woman leans down to Holly's ear, "You can go to your table now, sweetheart." Holly nods, smiling widely as she scampers towards Draco.

In her enthusiasm, Holly doesn't notice that the only people who cheer for her are the Slytherins themselves. Everyone else stays where they are, shell-shocked. The white-haired man looks angrily at the hat, then to a black-haired man at the front table, then to Draco. Draco spends the rest of the sorting telling Holly about the things she'll need to know. Pansy and Blaise join them eventually and watch as Holly looks around the room with wonder. 

"Now that the sorting has finished, let the feast begin!" The man smiles widely as good appears before the student. Everyone grabs their desired food from the dishes in front of them. "Holly, you can eat too, ya know?" Pansy laughs. Holly slowly reaches towards a roll in front of her, partially expecting her hand to get slapped away. Blaise quietly sneaks some chicken onto her plate, Pansy sneaks vegetables, and Draco grabs a small dessert for the girl. "Holly?" Draco puts his hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump and drop her roll onto the floor. "Oh, sorry! Here, let me get you a new one." Holly grabs his hand, shaking her head. She grabs the roll off the floor and puts it beside her plate, which she now realizes has much more food on it than she remembers grabbing.