Sorting Ceremony

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An older woman in emerald green robes stands in front of the group of nervous eleven-year-olds. Every single robed child waits in near silence as the woman watches the fidgeting group through stern eyes. Her robes are just so and the round wire glasses she has perched on her nose just enhance the angled features. Her long emerald green wizard's hat sits perfectly straight and not a single black hair dare comes loose from the tight bun at the back of her neck.
"Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am Professor McGonagall. In a moment, you will be taken in to the Great Hall to be sorted into your houses. Wait here until I come back to take you in."
Andromeda stands in the back, waiting anxiously. Her long auburn hair curtaining off her face, a side of her mouth being chewed as a distraction. She doesn't realize that her nails have grown into talons until two nearly identical redheaded boys pop up on either side of her, staring at her hands with interest.
"How'd you do that, some sort of charm?" the one on her left asks.
"That's pretty cool, can you teach us?" the one on her right adds. She consciously forces herself to calm down and her nails return to normal before she clenches her hands into fists. "Nervous, are you?"
"You shouldn't be, it's not bad at all. We have three older brothers, all Gryffindor."
"Do you think you'll be Gryffindor, too?" Andromeda asks the boy on her right, her voice abnormally high and breathy through her nerves. The boy grins at her.
"Think? We know," the one on the left answers.
"Every Weasley has been in Gryffindor."
"Though it would be a thrill to see mum's face if we ended up in Slytherin."
"Priceless, really." Her neck was beginning to hurt as she looked back and forth between the two as they switch off talking.

"Weasley?" she asks. 

"Yup. You could say we're famous," the one on the left says. "My name is George," he adds, offering his right hand.
"And I'm Fred," the boy on her right puts in, offering his left hand. Andromeda furrows her brow, taking a second to figure out the situation, and then crosses her arms so she could shake the hands of both boys simultaneously. They both grin, delighted.
"What did you say your name was?" the boy on her right asks. She opens her mouth, but Professor McGonagall is back.
"Students, if you would follow me, please?"
The young girl is carried away in the river of students, losing sight of the twin redheads. They walk through the giant doors and into a beautifully magical room. Candles hang in the air and the sky is clear as it glitters with stars. She gapes up at them, picking out the few constellations she knew. The Big Dipper. The Little Dipper. Cassiopeia. She doesn't even look around the room again until the new students have lined up at the front of the room. The table of professors watch the line of new students. Hairs on the back of her neck tell her there are people watching from behind her, as well. The rest of the school. She tries to smooth the front of her robe without anyone noticing. In her nervous state, she doesn't notice the hat or the three-legged stool it sits on top of until the hat moves and a large tear near its brim opens, letting out a loud, odd song.

With rips and tears that no one wears

And dirt rubbed in my side

You think you know how I run this show

But there's nowhere you can hide.

I'll find the thoughts you think are lost

Deep inside your head

The fears, the prides, the woes, the lies

And who you wish were dead.

I'll place you in the house that's right

For what you show to me

The hidden thoughts I'll bring to light

And what you want to be.

Gryffindor's held in high esteem

Their hearts are strong and brave,

They work towards their goals and dreams

Though, they don't always behave

Ravenclaws, of flight and mind

Quite clever in a spot,

But watch closely and you'll find

They're a very tricky lot.

Hufflepuffs, so true and loyal,

No better friend to boast

They'll be beside you through the toil

And won't give up the ghost

Slytherins might seem sly and cunning,

But don't let that make you worry,

They'll make sure you're in the running

For the highest form of glory


So put me on, it's not a con

Now don't you look so blue,

Because on your hair, don't you dare

Think what I say is not true.

The hat slumps over as its song ends and everyone in the hall claps except for the students yet to be sorted. They just stand staring at the hat. Professor McGonagall steps up beside the stool and unrolls a scroll of parchment. "Aaron, Tobias." A boy with pretty, shiny brown hair that had given up its attempts to be tidy walks over to the stool. He sits down, his hands pulling at the hem of his sleeves until the Professor drops the hat over his head. Several seconds go by as the first years wait to see what happens. "Slytherin!" the hat shouts. Andromeda would swear that it was laughing when it said it. Professor McGonagall continues to read the names and places the hat on the students heads. Most of the time the hat falls right over the child's eyes, though it fit one boy with a rather large head well. He's sent to Hufflepuff. "Sorin-Mureau, Andromeda." With eyes as wide as they go, she still nearly trips walking over to the stool. Facing the tables, she can see the students standing up or leaning around each other to watch. She sits on the stool and the view of the four long tables is blocked as the hat falls over her eyes. Oh, now this is interesting, a voice speaks in her ear. She jumps. Interesting. Eyes focused on the stars but with feet firmly on the ground. A desire to fly. Let's see, "Ravenclaw!" the hat shouts out. The hall comes back into view and Andromeda walks over to join those sitting at her new House's table. Some "aww"s could be heard from the houses along with the happy clapping of the Ravenclaw's. "We get the pretty one!" a guy cheers a little further down the table. Andromeda flushes and wonders if she could hide under the table. The sorting continues, though Andromeda's distracted by trying to calm down, her taloned nails hidden under the table and her eyes avoiding contact with anyone. "Weasley, Fred," Professor McGonagall reads. The name gets her attention and she looks up to see one of the boys who had talked to her sitting comfortably on the stool. He grins around the room just before the hat flops onto his head. It only takes a couple seconds for the hat to decide. "Gryffindor!" the hat yells. Fred jumps off the stool, runs over to his new table, and quickly becomes engulfed in the arms of three older boys with the same red hair and similar grins on their faces. "Weasley, George." The hat takes longer with him as if double-checking its decision. It still shouts "Gryffindor" though and the cheering of the four boys can easily be heard above the polite clapping of the rest of the hall. George walks over and joins his brothers in a huge bear hug. "They switched their names," Andromeda says quietly. The girl sitting by Andromeda turns a questioning look at her, but the Headmaster clears his throat and the room falls into immediate silence. "Now," Albus Dumbledore stands at the podium, "before we begin the feast, I have but a few words I wish to say to start your year off correctly. Bellybutton, parrot, fuzzy, gobble." The students in the hall clap and cheer. Andromeda could see most everyone with the glazed over smile that said 'that man is officially crazy - just go along with it'. She shrugs and joins the people already helping themselves to the piles of food that had appeared on the table.   

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