Hogwarts is my Home

Chapter 2: The Sorting Ceremony (SS CH7)

We got off the train and took the carriages that were horseless, like always. The second years went in first, then us third years walked through the oak front doors and into the Great Hall where we took seats at our house tables. I waved and smiled to a few familiar faces both in and out of my house before sitting to the right of George. Like promised, Oliver noticed me and took a spot right beside me.

A few minutes after everyone got settled in, McGonagall brought in the first year students. I saw Harry, Ron, and my sister, along with so many faces I didn't yet know. A boy carrying a toad, a girl with bushy brown hair, a pale boy with white-blond hair and a sneer on his face, and a pair of identical twin girls, their arms locked, walking simultaneously as they pointed all the things out they thought were intriguing. The bushy haired girl was whispering about the bewitched ceiling, but not about how amazingly captivating she found it, how she read about it in a book called "Hogwarts, A History"; a real sleeper of a book, that one. Far more interesting books about Hogwarts out there that no one really cares about.

McGonagall got the famous four-legged stool and the Sorting Hat and placed it on the platform at the back of the Great Hall, in front of the Staff table.

I knew what to expect after two other times I've witnessed this. A slit near the brim of the hat opened up and startled a couple of the first years, like usual. Then it addressed everyone in song. I didn't pay attention, for I was too unnerved about what would soon happen.

The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song, taking me by surprise as I was thrown out of my daze and half effetely joined in on the clapping.

I turned behind me to look at the first years and noticed that Ron seemed rather green. I turned back to address Fred, who was sitting in front of me. "Please tell me you didn't say something to Ron about the sorting."

He scrunched up his face, thinking about how to respond to me. "I might've said something about a troll and having to wrestle it," he admitted, tapping a single index finger over his lips.

My eyes shot open wide as I tripped over what to say. "You- w-what?!"

"Relax, he'll be fine." He nodded toward the back of the hall where McGonagall was now standing with a long roll of parchment in her hands.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbot, Hannah!"

A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moment's pause-

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.

The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table, which was right behind us Gryffindors. I turned around and saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her.

"Bones, Susan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake Terry's hand as he joined them.

"Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor. Our table exploded with cheers, and catcalls from Fred and George.

"Bulstrode, Millicent" became a Slytherin, a quite unpleasant looking group in my opinion, apart from Rian of course, who Millicent decided to ignore completely when she motioned to the empty seat next to her.

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Sometimes the hat would shout the house out at once, but at others it took a little while to decide. I have never seen the hat not even touch someone's head before making its decision though, something that happened to me two years ago, and I never found out why other than I'm really meant to be in Gryffindor, I guess. I personally still think I should've been placed in Hufflepuff, and all my friends seem to agree.