what a concept

one

Jenna

The dining hall lit up as I walked into the massive room. There were great big tables all around full of older kids in robes decorated in different colors and small lit candles in the middle giving off a woody deep scent. There was a lot of giddy chatter around me and excited whispers, the energy in the room reminded me of Christmas eve nights with my little sister. I wasn't the first in my family to go to Hogwarts, my father's side was full of wizards and witches, while my mother was raised by a witch and a muggle father. So I was what some people would call mudblood.  I looked around the room at all the older kids watching us with a sort of proud and anticipating look on their faces. Through all the chatter I looked up front and saw Dumbledore rise from his seat and everyone quieted down.

"Welcome all" his voice boomed throughout the hall with unchallenged authority, "We are gathered here today as we are every year, to welcome our new year of students. Tonight is a very important night for these young witches and wizards as they will be sorted into thier houses by none other than our Sorting Hat." He raised his hands again as the tables of older student hooted and hollered for him. I looked around me to see the beaming faces of new students as the others clapped and cheered for Dumbledore and I caught eyes with a girl standing a little ways from me. She had this wild, massive bunch of curly hair and dark wolfish eyes, when she connected sight with me she smiled and laughed in a genuine way and I did the same. As the cries died down Professor Mcgonagall sat the hat on a singular stool in front of everyone on the platform.
"Now I've been doing this for years and my voice is a little rough," the hat gruffed out in a scratchy, thick voice. "So I'm just gonna get through this part so I can get to the sorting." The hat began to sing this half-assed sped up version of the song my parents used to sing to me when I was a kid to learn about the Hogwarts houses. Some of the teachers shook their heads while the students chuckled softly to themselves.
"Alright let a get to the good part... Mark Hapsburger!" The hat called out, a tall, lanky boy meandered onto the platform and Mcgonagall placed the dirty old thing on his head.

"Ravenclaw!" The hat shouted and the table to my right erupted into claps and cheering, that's the house my father used to be in.

As the night progressed the hat slowly made it's way through the pack of kids. When it was about halfway through I heard it call my name.

"Jenna Townsend!"

In all this excitement I forgot that I would actually have to go up there at some point. I made my way up onto the platform with about fifty "excuse me, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, excuse me"s along the way. I sat down the the stool with a bit of diffiulty because it was so high, my feet were nowhere near the ground, and brushed my short half shave out of my face as Mcgongall smiled and put the hat on my head. I gripped the edge of the seat and looked out at the crowd...I hate people watching me. I made eye contact again with the curly head girl and she was staring right back, I think I looked as pale as a ghost because she took a deep breath as if reminding me to do that too. I took a deep inhale and exhaled then closed my eyes. It was silent for a couple seconds.

"Hufflepuff!" The hat shouted and the table in the far left corner began to cheer and shout for me, I hopped of the stool and made my way other to them, as they patted my back and welcomed me. I always knew I'd be in Hufflepuff, it wasn't a surprise to me, I was just glad I was off stage.

A few minutes later only a few kids were waiting to be called up, "Sofia Wiley!" The hat said, his voice had gotten even more gruff from all the yelling. I watched as that girl from earlier strode confidently onto the stage and sat down, she glanced around the room and her eyes landed on me again. I gave her a cheeky thumbs up and a goofy smile and she looked down shaking her head, a mess of curls falling in her face. Mcgonagall placed the hat on her head and her hair poofed out around the hat and everyone started chuckling to themselves. She kinda looked like Slash with that thing on her head. The hat sat on her head for a couple of seconds before shouting "Slytherin!" The table in the far right corner began to holler and cheer. I smiled and clapped as she hopped off the platform and greeted her new house with a lopsided grin.

As the last kid was sorted into Gryffindor, Dumbledore stood from his grand chair "Let us eat!" he exclaimed as the tables began to fill up with platters of food. The muggle born student looked in awe as the candles floated upwards and the plates of food began appearing, even being raised in a mostly wizarding household it was amazing to watch. I grabbed pieces of glazed turkey, wand shaped macaroni and cheese, chocolate frogs, treacle tarts, chopped fruits, and just about everything I could get my hands on.

As I gulped my last bit of my favorite pumpkin juice down, a tall and freckled boy with wavy brown hair stood and announced he was going to take us to our common rooms. The plates on the table, both filled and empty slowly began the drift away in single file lines as the other houses were crowding out the doors following their headgirls and headboys to thier new rooms.