THE GREAT HALL LOOMED OVER THE FOUR, DECORATED FOR THE START-OF-TERM FEAST. Gleaming aureate plates and goblets from the light of hundreds of candles hovering in mid-air. Harry, Alena, Ron, and Hermione walked past the Slytherins, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs, then sat down with the rest of the Gryffindors at the far side of the hall, next to Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor Ghost.
"Good evening," he greeted, beaming at them.
"Says who?" Harry questioned, taking off his trainers and emptying them of water. "Hope they hurry up with the sorting, I'm starving."
"Well, that's not a very nice way to treat your friendly ghosts, now is it, darling?" Alena teased, smiling triumphantly as pink dusted Harry's cheeks.
The sorting of new students took place at the start of every year, but by an unlucky state of affairs, Harry hadn't been present since his own. He was looking forward to it.
"Where's the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" Hermione asked, who was now looking up at the staff table.
"Maybe they couldn't get anyone?" Alena answered, well, more like asked.
Unfortunately, they had no time to dawn on it because the doors of the Great Hall opened, and silence washed over the entire hall. Professor McGonagall was leading a long line of first-years (and an evidently taller and older fourth-year; Rolf) up to the top of the hall.
Professor McGonagall now placed a three-legged stool on the ground before the new students and, on top of it, an immensely worn, sooty, mended wizard's hat. Professor McGonagall then began unrolling a large scroll of parchment.
"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit om the stool," she instructed to them. "When the hat announces your house, you will go and sit at that table."
Then, a large directory of student's names were called out in alphabetical order; Ackerley, Stewart. Baddock, Malcom. Branstone, Eleanor. Cauldwell, Owen. Creevey, Davis. Maldey, Laura. McDonald, Natalie. Pritchard, Graham. Quirke, Orla.
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