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[ philosopher's stone ]
THE DOOR SWUNG OPEN AT ONCE. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. Maya immediately beamed at Professor McGonagall who looked down at her.
"Good to see you again, Miss Shaan," she nodded politely, and while Maya grinned up at the woman, she heard the first years whisper. She couldn't make out what they were saying, but she was hoping they weren't thinking Maya was receiving special treatment.
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said.
She nodded politely toward him. "Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."
She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was so big Maya immediately thought of how it was bigger than the main hall back home. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.
They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Maya could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right ━━ the rest of the school must already be here ━━ but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall 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 with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room."
Maya turned toward Ron beside her who simply raised his eyebrows in return. They both turned back toward the Professor.
"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours."
"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."
