Life Of The Maurauders: 1

The Sorting

"You all here an' safe?" Hagrid asked, once all the pupils had been helped out of the boat. He was holding onto Peter, who wore Hagrids oversized coat. He had fallen into the moat on the way to Hogwarts, when Sirius asked Peter to help them turn the oars a second time and Peter had accidentally fallen.

The pupils nodded.

"Check ter see everyone who was in yer boats have gotten out with yeh." Hagrid said, and the pupils looked around to confirm that all their boat-mates were off the boats with them.

"Alright then, if yeh all have gotten out safe an' sound, I'll be leavin' yeh all here, while I go back to me hut. Professor McGonagall's going ter come fetch yeh - she's a teacher here, an' so yeh all have ter respect her."

Hagrid waved goodbye and walked to his small hut at the end of the pathway.

Within five minutes, McGonagall thrust open the doors. "You all are the first years, aren't you?" she asked.

"That we are, Professor McGonagall, ma'am!" Sirius shouted out cheerfully. Remus, James and Peter snickered, but Lily and Severus maintained their glare of disapproval.

"I'd appreciate your silence, boy." McGonagall said fiercely. She scrutinized Sirius for a second. "One of the Black family, are you, then?"

Sirius nodded.

McGonagall raised her eyebrows. "Your mother, Walburga, was a student of mine." she said. She looked as if she would have wanted to tell Sirius something more, but decided against it, saying to all the first years, "I'm Professor McGonagall, as Hagrid might have introduced, and Mr Black here shouted out. Head of Gryffindor House, and I'm here to take you all into Hogwarts for the first time, to get Sorted into your respective Houses. As I am sure you all know, the houses are Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. You will be Sorted, by a most interesting method, into one of those houses.

"Now will you all please get into two orderly lines and come with me. You are about to enter the Great Hall."

She opened the doors, showing the pupils a wonderful sight as she let them all in. Chandeliers dotted the domed hall, making the place bright and cheery, a direct contrast to the sudden rain outside, and there were four tables in the hall. Each table was occupied by groups of pupils. The first table was occupied by a group of bright, happy-looking and boisterous children. The occupants of the second table were a group of very serious looking, but still cheery, pupils. The third table had a group of laughing pupils, some looking dreamy, but kind. The fourth table made some people shiver - its occupants looked extremely haughty, rude and scary.

"How will we get Sorted?" James whispered to Sirius as McGonagall went off somewhere to get something.

"I dunno." Sirius whispered back. "Mum said by a...a bat, or something."

"A bat?" Peter whimpered. "Do we have to...to knock out a creature or something, then? What's going to happen to us?"

"Not a bat," Remus whispered to the three. "A hat."

"Blimey, Remus, how'd you know that?" Sirius asked, sounding amazed.

Remus pointed up on stage. McGonagall was holding a tattered, torn hat. The pupils seated at the tables looked rather excited to see the hat, save for the last table of haughty students. But the first years, standing at the front of the Great Hall, were intrigued, but confused.

McGonagall set the hat on a stool in the middle of the stage and walked back, clutching a scroll in her hands.

Suddenly, the brim of the hat ripped open and the hat started to sing. The first years and the Hogwarts pupils looked on in awe.