𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝙼𝚎. 𝙺𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚈𝚘𝚞.

Year 1 - The Sorting

The door swung open. A tall witch with black hair tied up in a bun and deep green robes stood in front of them with a stern look. She seemed like she meant business.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said. 

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." Professor McGonagall lead the group of first years through huge stone hallways lined with flaming torches and magical paintings. The people in the paintings waved to us as we walked by, and statues of knights gave us slight nods. My eyes were wide in excitement and amazement. Rose and Ron were used to magic, but Harry, Lily, and I were not. Lily grinned.

"Wow," She whispered. Professor McGonagall stopped us in front of a set of huge doors.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," She said, "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes withthe rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend freetime in your house common room. The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, andSlytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has producedoutstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, yourtriumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will losehouse points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points isawarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be acredit to whichever house becomes yours. The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of therest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting. I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly." And she turned and briskly left. Murmers followed, and soon everyone was talking.

"I'm so excited!" Lily said.

"Me too," Cho Chang said, holding her sister's hand. I looked up at the ceiling, that was far to high to see the end of. It was like staring into space. Hogwarts was beautiful. It was magical and majestic. I couldn't wait to spend 7 years of my life here. My eyes lingered on Draco Malfoy, who was talking to Crabbe and Goyle and glaring angrily at Harry. I winked at him. He seemed surprised, but smirked in return. 

"How exactly do they sort us into houses?" Lily asked. 

"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think hewas joking." Ron mused. Something happened behind us, something that made several students shriek. Ghost streamed through the walls, talking to each other with rapid hand motion. None of them noticed us, and on passed right through me, sending a cold shiver down my spine. 

"New students!" One of the ghosts noticed us and smiled, "About to beSorted, I suppose? Hope to see you in Hufflepuff! My old house, youknow." 

"Move along now," McGonagall's sharp voice said. "The Sorting Ceremony's about tostart."The ghosts floated away. 

"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "andfollow me." I got in line behind Harry, and he held out his hand behind his back for me to take. I gripped it tightly. Nerves took control of my brain, and my heart was pounding wildly. We walked into a huge hall with 4 long tables packed with students. One table was a sea of emerald green and silver, another yellow and black, another blue and gray, and the final one red and gold. Banners hung above the tables saying Slytherin (green and silver), Hufflepuff (yellow and black), Ravenclaw (blue and gray), and Gryffindor (red and gold). When I looked up, I saw no ceiling, just a starry night. I heard Hermione Granger whisper something about the ceiling being bewitched. Professor McGonagall gathered us at the front of the hall, in front of the table of teachers. She pointed an old, fraying hat, which began to sing.