The woman in the emerald green robes led them through the doors into an unbelievable entrance hall. There was a great set of double doors that most likely were the main entrance. Percy could hear a low roar of voices coming from behind another set of closed doors, these ones not quite so grand. The woman led them over to those second doors and opened them dramatically.
This second hall was even grander than the first. The ceiling looked exactly like the night sky (Percy could hear Hermione telling another girl how it was enchanted to look that way) and there were candles just floating in the air. There was a raised dais at the end of the hall with a table facing the doors. There was a golden chair in the center spot and in it sat a wizened old man with bright white hair, his beard pooling into his lap. Percy supposed that was where the teachers sat. In front of this raised table were four others, all perpendicular to the doors.
The students that sat at those four tables were still whispering, though not as loudly as before. The woman led the group of nervous eleven-year-olds up the center aisle between two of the tables. Percy could practically feel all of the eyes staring at them. The woman led them all the way up to the front, where she told them to stop, and then went off to the side and retrieved an old stool and an even older hat. She placed the stool and the hat in front of everyone and stepped back. Then there was a rip just above the brim of the hat and the hat began to sing.
Oh you may not think I'm 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!
Everyone at the tables immediately began clapping, some even hooting and hollering. It took a few moments for the group huddled together in the center of the room to join in. "D'you think that's normal?" Percy had turned to Harry to ask.
"Probably, I mean, why else would anyone be clapping?"
"Good point."
They turned back to the front where the woman was waiting. After a few more moments of clapping, everyone went silent, eagerly anticipating the sorting. The woman unrolled a long piece of parchment once there was silence and called out the first name. "Abbot, Hannah."
The girl that Hermione was speaking to earlier walked forward, looking like she was about to throw up. She sat on the stool and the woman placed the hat on her head. The brim almost covered her eyes. There were a few moments of silence, then the hat yelled, "HUFFLEPUFF!" A great roar of approval came from the far left table and Hannah Abbot hopped off the stool and jogged over to the table with a big grin on her face after placing the hat back on the stool.
Everything was sort of a blur for Percy after that. He vaguely remembered Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, Malfoy's bodyguards, being sorted into Slytherin and Hermione being sorted into Gryffindor. Two students later, and it was his turn.
"Jackson, Perseus," the woman called. Just like when Malfoy had said his name on the staircase outside, everyone started muttering to themselves and their friends.
"Did she just say Jackson?"
"No way!"
"I thought they were all dead."
"He's going to end up in Slytherin for sure."
"Good luck, Percy." Harry clapped him on the back and shoved him forward lightly. Almost tripping over his robes, he managed not to fall and made his way over to the stool. He sat down gratefully, afraid he was going to fall over any second and the woman placed the hat on his head.
"My, my, my. I remember your mother, young man. She was the nicest witch I ever had the pleasure of meeting..." Like the others who had been sorted before him, the hat didn't speak out loud. It spoke inside of his head. Feeling slightly unnerved at the fact there was a hat inside of his brain, Percy sat in silence, trying to ignore the fact that the hat was slipping over his eyes. The hat continued. "You would do well in Hufflepuff, your loyalty proves that...no for Ravenclaw, no...you would do well in Slytherin, I'll tell you that much, but no, that's not right..." There were a few minutes of tense silence that seemed to drag on forever to Percy in which nobody moved, then, "GRYFFINDOR!"
The second table to the right burst into cheers and Percy, grinning from ear to ear tore the hat from his head and raced down to join his house. After the usual, "Congratulations!" from everyone, the sorting continued. Percy could feel some people staring at him, and could hear them whispering, "Why wasn't he put in Slytherin?" or "But that's the longest Slytherin line, that is!" He chose to ignore this and kept watching.
Neville Longbottom also got into Gryffindor and Percy gave him a fist bump when he got down to the table. Malfoy got into Slytherin, but that was to be expected, wasn't it? After a haughty looking girl called Pansy Parkinson joined Malfoy in Slytherin and two Patil girls got sorted into Ravenclaw and Gryffindor respectfully, it was Harry's turn.
"Potter, Harry," the woman called, queuing, once again, a great storm of whispers and mutterings just because of someone's name. Harry shakily walked up to the stool and sat down, the hat slipping over his eyes once it was placed on his head.
It was probably one of the longest sortings Hogwarts had ever seen. By five minutes, nothing had changed and people were starting to get restless. The old man at the teacher's table (Percy thought that he was most likely the Albus Dumbledore from the letter) had leaned forward at around seven minutes, putting his elbows on the table and folding his hands, placing his head on top of them. At almost ten minutes, the rip above the brim of the hat opened wide and it yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!"
Everyone at the Gryffindor table started yelling like their lives depended on it, Percy included. Two red-headed boys, Ron's brothers, stood and started yelling, "We got Potter! We got Potter! We got Potter!" Grinning, Harry put the hat back on the stool and ran down to where Percy was sitting and sat down, shaking another red-haired boy's hand (who introduced himself as Percy Weasley) as he did so.
The rest of the sorting was uneventful. Ron ended up in Gryffindor to many cheers from his brothers, and it ended with a dark-skinned boy called Blaise Zabini being sorted into Slytherin. Then the headmaster stood up.
"Welcome back old faces and welcome to Hogwarts new ones! Before our stomachs are too full to listen, I'd like to make a few reminders. The third-floor corridor is out of bounds to all but staff members. Students will not be permitted inside the Forbidden Forest unless they wish to die a very painful death." Percy and Harry exchanged looks at that. Surely the old man was joking? "Our caretaker, Mister Filch, would like to remind you all that no student shall be permitted out of bed after hours. Dig in." He sat back down and the tables, where they had been empty before, were suddenly piled high with food of all sorts. His last meal, the mountain of sweets on the train, had worn off, so Percy did as Dumbledore said; he dug in.
****
Once everyone had eaten their fill of chicken and pie and pudding, the plates magically cleared and Dumbledore stood once again. "Now that we are all full and ready to get to bed, I'd like to say a few words. And here they are. Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"
Everyone clapped and started to get up to head to the dormitories. "Is he insane?" Percy asked Harry.
Percy Weasley, Ron's brother, overheard. "Oh yes, quite insane. But he's the best wizard in the world for it." He left them and started to herd other first years out into the Entrance Hall to the dormitories. They followed.
Percy Weasley led them up staircases and through corridors to a giant portrait of a rather large woman. "Password?" she asked.
"Caput Draconis," Percy Weasley said.
"Quite right." The portrait opened up to a room covered in red and gold, the colors of Gryffindor. There was a fire blazing in the fireplace and cushy armchairs strewn about the room in front of tables. There were throw pillows on a couch in the corner and on the floor randomly. Percy thought it looked like the coziest place he had ever seen.
Percy Weasley turned back to the eleven-year-olds staring around and said, "This is the Gryffindor common room. You can study here or just relax in your free time. Now, the girls' dormitories are up the right staircase, the boys' are on the left. Now off to bed, all of you. You have classes in the morning, go." He shooed them all away.
While Hermione went up to the girls', Percy, Harry, and Ron went up the right to the boys'. Their dormitory was at the very top of the tower, a brass plaque labeled First Years on the wooden door. Percy opened it and saw that there were three boys already in the room. Neville was there, as were two boys he thought were called Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan. Everyone's things were already at the foot of a bed.
Before going to sleep, they all talked a little. Seamus and Dean introduced themselves, Percy, Harry, and Ron did the same. They eventually got to bed to go to sleep, thoughts about tomorrow swirling around in their heads.
****
Any corrections or criticisms are welcome.
COMMENT + VOTE + FOLLOW ME FOR MORE