When the Wizards come calling

Chapter 10 - So where are the sorting socks then?

Professor McGonagall's office was stunning.

It seemed to be an amalgamation of a few different architectural styles to Annabeth, as if someone had added a little bit of each as they came and went to remember them. The walls were dark oak, glossy and varnished, and dotted with little alcoves and indents; a bookcase here, a cabinet there. Covering most of the walls though, were portraits, most of which seemed to be moving. Annabeth thought that she may be seeing things at first, before realising that this was most likely another show of magical strength, which she would have to get used to seeing in her time at the school. There was what looked something like a sink over in the corner, and the roof was arched dramatically, giving the space a grandeur and massiveness.

Taking up centre stage was a sprawling desk, covered in parchment and quills and stacks of papers. It sat on a raised dais, which Professor McGonagall leaped up surprisingly nimbly as she made her way over to sit down.

'I hope you are all ready to proceed with the sorting,' she said, reaching behind her to pull a ratty black witch's hat off the shelf and set it down on the desk in front of her. 'Whoever would like to go first, please take a seat.' She gestured to the rickety-looking wooden chair in front of her desk.

Wordlessly, Jason reached a palm behind Percy's back and shoved. Percy fell several steps forward with a cry, turning to glare at Jason reproachfully.

'Mr. Jackson, perfect. Come over and sit down then.'

Percy stuttered, hesitating for a second before deciding that it would be best to get it over with first and strolling over to sit in the chair.

'So, what, I just put it on?' He asked, reaching out to feel the hat's fabric with his right hand. 'And it will magically just know me as a person?'

'Precisely, Mr. Jackson. You just put it on.'

He stared at it for a second, shrugged, and grabbed it to pull over his head. It was large, too big to rest comfortably, and so it fell over his eyes, blocking his vision. He sat there for a second, waiting. The others in the room seemed to be holding their breath.

Fascinating.

Percy startled, almost knocking the hat from his head.

Careful, careful, my boy. Don't want to fall on the floor, do I? Surely you understood the idea of this little test, I heard Minerva explain it to you myself!

Percy said nothing.

Not a talkative one, hmm? That's quite alright. I can see everything I need to see right here in your head. And aren't you a little adventurer? Why, you've managed to show aptitude for all the four houses in pretty grand ways! That makes it tricky, but that's ok, I like a challenge every now and then. Makes things interesting.

You're smart, first of all. Street smart more than book smart, perhaps, but just as valuable of a skillset. You should use it more often, my boy. Hopefully, your time here at Hogwarts will help with that, yes? But you're no Ravenclaw, I'm sure of it.

You're certainly brave, and a little stupid too, in certain situations. Perfectly healthy, I assure you, those characteristics sit upon the same line after all. But your motivations... they are not purely for the sake of bravery. You are influenced by others, so not a Gryffindor either. Very well! On to the next.

Slytherin... yes, I can see you fitting in well with Slytherin. There have been a few examples of you putting personal motivations over the greater good, selfless as those motivations may have been. And you're cunning, ambitious, too, to a fault. But why are you employing these skills? Not for your gain, I'm sure of it.

Aha! I have it! Personal loyalty; your greatest strength and your greatest weakness. Know your fatal flaw well, my boy, and control it instead of letting it control you. I see a great future within you, and you will be most helped in that path by going to-

'HUFFLEPUFF!' The hat hollered, and Piper shrieked a little in fright. Percy, having been sorted, lifted the hat off his head and blinked rapidly, eyes adjusting to the light.

'Hufflepuff. Got it. Right, who's next?'

The others were sorted reasonably quickly, Jason into Gryffindor, Annabeth into Ravenclaw (no surprise there), and both Piper and Lou Ellen into Slytherin. Once they were all done, McGonagall spoke once more.

'I'm assuming that you guys are ok to split up for classes,' nods all round, 'so we'll just need to wriggle to around a bit for the dorms. I would suggest, Annabeth, that you sleep in the Hufflepuff dorms, as the Ravenclaw riddles are specifically designed to be unanswerable for any other witches or wizards. You would of course be welcome to go up to the Ravenclaw tower for study or anything else you needed. And would you be ok sleeping in the Gryffindor tower, Piper?' Both girls responded in the affirmative. 'Ok, then that's sleep sorted, and you can just go to your house-assigned classes through the day – you should see each other at some points anyway, as houses share most lessons. If that's everything, I've asked some prefects up here to show you to your dorm rooms. If you would just take a seat over on those sofas in the corner, they'll be here shortly.'

And so the gods sat down to wait.