Annabelle Lupin- Harry Potter

Part 3

P.O.V AUTHOR

the first-years walked in the direction of the front of the room, where there was a tiny old wooden chair with something on top of it.

A "something" that looked like any other pointy hat just casually began singing out of nowhere, startling the poor new students.

"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 black,
Your 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 ,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in ,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old ,
if you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in
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!"

After the song ended and the wave of clapping did as well, Professor Longbottom with his (already characteristic) smile turned once more to the kids and exclaimed, in an excited tone,

— We shall now begin the house sorting ceremony!

The first-years got notably tense, waiting for that old hat to choose a part of their identity for the next seven years.

The professor gave a step forward and withdrew a long manuscrip of his tunic's pocket,

And that's when all of the names started being called, one by one.

— Davis, Claire!

Albus watched as a blonde girl with a snobbish look went forward and sat on the chair with the hat on, and after a few seconds, it shouted,

— RAVENCLAW!

Jumpy, the girl took the hat of, got up and walked up to the blue tied students' table.

— Nott, David!

A short chubby boy, with dark hair walked up to the chair that the previous girl had sit on, and got sorted into Slytherin.

While the names were called, the other kids got more and more excited, just waiting for their turn.

The professor, who was just *slightly* smiling until now, made a huge smile while reading the next name.

— Longbottom, Alice!

The blondie went, with a matching smile, to sit on the chair. And when the hat touched her head the girl bubbled out a nervous giggle, making other kids giggle a bit too, shortly before getting sorted into Hufflepuff.

then,

Professor Longbottom's smile got a little tighter while reading the next name

— Malfoy, Scorpius!

Albus saw his train mate and newest friend leave the other side of the group, with his head held high, while the professor avoided looking at him.

—SLYTHERIN!

When the boy reached the green tied student's table, he was met with many claps in the back and handshakes.

— Granger-Weasley, Rose!— this time professor Longbottom shot a smile in the girl's direction, who got promptly sorted into Griffindor.

Albus saw his cousin's smile and got automatically more nervous.

Practically his whole family was Griffindor, apart from one person, his cousin Victoire, who was in Ravenclaw.

Albus was then taken away from his thoughts when another name called his attention.

— Lupin, Annabelle!

Albus instantly recognised that family name, the same as Teddy, his dad's godson.

He got even more surprised as he saw the girl from the train, Belle, calmly walking up to the chair with her gaze fixed in a random part of the wall.

Albus then remembered Teddy talking about his sister who was also going to the first year, but he couldn't understand why she seemed so different from her brother...

He was once more pulled from his thoughts when a voice from a nearby table whispered,

— Almost five minutes!

— No way that the Lupin girl is a Hatstall!

Albus, somehow, knew that term

"Hatstall is an archaic Hogwarts term for any new student whose Sorting takes longer than five minutes. This is an exceptionally long time for the Sorting Hat to deliberate, and occurs rarely, perhaps once every fifty years, and I was almost one of them! I was there for almost four minutes" he remembered his older cousin, Lucy, telling him at a Christmas dinner almost two year ago, when she was at her first Hogwarts year.

Once more, little Potter was dragged from his thoughts, but this time for the own hat's voice.

— GRIFFINDOR!

The red and golden table exploded in cheers.

The young girl slowly got up from the chair, almost hesitantly, shooting a worried look to the Slytherin table, but already looking back to her house's table while being pulled by Rose to sit besides her, before turning her attention to the other yet to be selected students.

— Scamander, Lorcan!

And once more, Albus saw the boy's smile after getting sorted into Hufflepuff, differently from his twin brother, that was promptly put into Ravenclaw right after the hat touched his head.

— Potter, Albus!

Albus quickly looked up, with his anxiety eating him up,

"What if I'm not a Griffindor?"

"What if James is right after all, and I end up in Slytherin?"

Slowly, he walked up to the old chair, sitting down while still lost in thought,

"No, Albus, you are a Potter"

"All Potters are Griffindors"

"...Right?"

— SLYTHERIN!

And the hall went quiet.