Anything Can Happen - Harry Potter

Chapter 2 - The Sorting

The game keeper, Hagrid, ushered all the kids in through the doors into the Hogwarts castle.

Immediately, gasps erupted in the air. The castle was beautiful, and even all of Malfoy Manor (Draco’s mansion) could have fit in just the entry way (with a lot of space left).

Hagrid pushed the first years through the doors and into the next set of doors into the dining hall. The tables were filled with countless other students, many of which now had craned their heads to look at the newcomers.

She looked around to see the four Hogwarts houses’ crests on a banner hung about each of the tables, a yellow badger for Hufflepuff, and a blue eagle for Ravenclaw, an emerald snake for Slytherin, and a scarlet lion for Gryffindor.

They were forced into alphabetical order, with Lydia pushed to the very front. “Good luck.” Ron whispered to her as he made his way to the very end.

Now at the front, she could clearly see a raggedy hat sitting on a stool. It was none other than Hogwarts’ Sorting Hat that Draco’s father had told them about.

A couple minutes later, the hats mouth started moving and the Hat cleared its throat. Everybody fell quiet and looked at rapt attention to the Sorting Hat. It cleared its throat again, took a deep breath, and sang:

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 bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can top 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 Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve and chivalry
Set Gryffindor’s apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuff’s are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a steady mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk 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!

 The crowd immediately burst into applause.

A woman named Professor McGonagall made her way down from her chair from the table and towards the stool. “The sorting shall now begin!” She said loudly. “Aston, Lydia!” Professor McGonagall yelled.

She turned to see Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Draco’s heads peeking around the other students’ to look at her. Quickly, almost tripping over her robes, she made her way towards the stool. She could feel everybody’s eyes boring into hers as she finally sat down on the stool.

Professor McGonagall placed the hat firmly on her head. Above her, the hat gave a sigh. “Interesting… Interesting…” It said. Shifting her eyes upward to see it without actually moving her head (so the hat wouldn’t fall off) she asked quietly “What? What’s interesting?” It didn’t respond for a moment, but then it said, “I don’t know where to sort you. I can’t decide.” Silent gasps filled the air and she looked from the corner of her eye to see McGonagall glancing back at the head table, bearing a slightly worried expression. “A hat stall already?” She mumbled. “Slytherin or Gryffindor, Slytherin or Gryffindor… Maybe Hufflepuff, no… Maybe Ravenclaw, no… Slytherin or Gryffindor… Well… I guess this would be the best fit for you… It will help you in the future… SLYTHERIN!”

She stood up shakily and speed-walked to the Slytherin table, which had erupted in cheers.

Oh well, she thought, maybe the others will be in Slytherin, too. She could tell that her friends were looking at her, but she ignored their stares.

She was snapped back to reality by McGonagall yelling “Potter, Harry!” Like Lydia, it took the Sorting Hat some time to decide where to put Harry. Much to her despair, she heard “GRYFFINDOR!” come from the hat and saw Harry run to the Gryffindor table and sit down next to Hermione.

She sighed and fiddled with her spoon, until she heard “Malfoy, Draco!” She looked up quickly. As soon as the hat touched Draco’s sleek, blonde hair, it shouted “SLYTHERIN!”

He ran down to join Lydia, grinning widely. “Father will be so proud.” Draco said, breathlessly. She only nodded.

“What’s wrong, Dia?” “It’s just that… Hermione and Harry are in Gryffindor.” Lydia said and Draco sighed. “Look, you know that you can have plenty of friends other than them, right?” She nodded mutely again. He exhaled once more. “Look, just because they’re in Gryffindor… I guess that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends with them.” Lydia squealed and hugged Draco around the neck, causing his face to go as red as Ron’s hair and many other first years to look at them and smirk. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

She let go just in time to hear Professor McGonagall bellow “Weasley, Ronald.” Lydia cheered especially loud for him, which caused even more people to look at her. But again, she didn’t seem to notice (or care). “GRYFFINDOR!” The Sorting Hat shouted. She clapped and ignored the pang of sadness when he was sorted into a different house.

As he walked to the Gryffindor table, he flashed a grin at her and she happily smiled back. Even Draco was smirking slightly.

At the end of the big feast and Dumbledore’s speech, Draco and Lydia stood up and ran to catch up with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. “Nice job getting into Gryffindor!” Said Lydia excitedly to the threesome. They all grinned at her. “This… Um… Isn’t gonna change anything… Is it?” Asked Harry slowly. “I mean, us being in houses that have a big rivalry and all.” “Not a chance, Potter.” Draco spoke up. The new Gryffindor’s grinned at Draco and he (again) smirked back.

“Come ‘ere firs’ years! Come on!” Came Hagrid’s booming voice. “Sorry, have to go!” Said Hermione as she waved to Lydia and Draco. “See you tomorrow!”

They ran off as Draco and Lydia linked arms and walked into the Slytherin crowd.

“I can’t believe you said that to Harry!” She said, grinning. He just shrugged. “Your friends are my friends, Dia.” If possible, Lydia grinned even wider.

They had reached the Slytherin’s dungeon, which was underneath the lake. The common room was dark and slightly creepy.

Ignoring the ambiance, she hugged Draco around the neck again. His face didn’t get so flushed this time and he hugged her back. “See you tomorrow.” He said, muffled through her shoulder-length, curly brown hair. She giggled. “See you.”

They separated and she skipped off to her new room. She changed quickly into her pajamas and pulled the curtains around her bed. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep, dreaming about how exciting this year at Hogwarts was going to be.