The Riots

Part 3: Being Sorted

TW: Panic/Anxiety attacks

∞ ϟ 9¾ ♔ ⚯͛ △⃒⃘ ➵ ♆

Dahlia was sure she was dreaming. After the horrible  boat trip across a huge black lake, she was standing in a ginormous hall filled with colours and kids her age and older. There were five tables, four side-by-side and the fifth at the back of the room, with banners hanging over four of them: a red banner with a lion head, a blue banner with a crow, a yellow banner with a badger and a green banner with a snake.

Around the walls were floating candles and the ceiling, well, there wasn't one. It looked to be an open roof, showing dim grey clouds and the starry night sky outside. Not very many other kids were taking in the sights, clearly just the others who weren't as used to magic as those born into it.
Dahlia didn't feel so lonely now, she was in her school robes that matched everyone else's (minus the colouring of the kids sat down at the tables)

The kids with coloured ties and badges on their robes were sat under their matching banner.
Kingsley had explained the sorting ceremony on the way, which led to Andre complaining about being put in the same house as the rest of his family.
Dahlia was really nervous. She knew that being put in a house effected what her life in school would be like, and at boarding school: it definitely mattered.

Professor McGonagall, the sour faced wrinkly witch that had brought the first years into the hall, was standing in front of the fifth table, next to a stool and holding an old worn down hat. This was the main bit of the ceremony Robin had been speaking about. The hat is placed on your head and it decides where to put you.

Dahlia looked along all the tables, thinking through the possibilities. Not Ravenclaw, she wasn't nearly as smart enough. Not Hufflepuff, she's been told that yellow wasn't her colour. Slytherin seemed a bit...shady. She was quite indecisive about that. She knew Andre didn't want Ravenclaw and that Robin wanted to be in Gryffindor. "Good bragging rights" or something. The three boys were the only ones to be nice to her, minus China who she had learned to be Andres cousin, so maybe being with them wouldn't be too bad.

A boy named Rupert Adams was the first called up and sat on the stool. McGonagall put the hat on his head, covering the top half of his face. Dahlia wondered how many other people had sat on that stool, and had worn that hat. Quite a lot by the looks of it. Rupert was put in Ravenclaw, the blue house with a crow. From there, there ceremony started.

It wasn't too long before Robin was called at the 'C' area of the list. He walked up and plonked himself on the chair. All was silent for a moment while the hat sorted him, until it exclaimed "GRYFFINDOR!" He seemed quite happy with that answer, it being the one he wanted. He strutted his way over to the table under the red banner while everyone clapped for him.

∞ ϟ 9¾ ♔ ⚯͛ △⃒⃘ ➵ ♆

Dahlia stood trying to figure out which one of the group would be next when her name was called.
"Jackson, Dahlia!"

Her heart stopped. All of a sudden, she couldn't breathe. She felt her face burn hotter than fire. She felt Kingsley shove her shoulder and she stumbled forwards toward the hat. McGonagall helped her onto the stool and placed the hat on her head. Her eyes started to blur and she was visibly shaking.

"Strange. I haven't seen anything like this in all my years." The hats voice echoed around the otherwise silent hall. "A kind soul, strong mind and brave heart. Passionate but cautious, intellectual but mischievous, creative and responsible, ke-         Oh dear. Are you alright?"

With the confused looks going around the hall, Dahlia presumed the hat was talking to her personally now.

"This is a private conversation, yes. Are you okay?"