The Other Castellan

The Sorting Ceremony

Chapter 4: The Sorting Ceremony

  The door immediately swung open. A tall, black-haired witch wearing emerald green robes was standing there. She had a stern expression, and Lucas's first impression was that this was not someone he would want to cross. 

  "The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid informed her.

  "Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."

  She pulled the door open wide. The entrance hall was large enough to fit the Big House in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches- the symbol of Hecate. The ceiling was too high to make out, and a majestic marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.

  They followed Professor McGonagall across the weakened stone floor. Lucas could hear hundreds of voices from a doorway to his right- he assumed that the rest of the school must have already arrived, but Professor McGonagall took the first years into a small, empty chamber outside of the hall. They crowded in, standing closer than they usually would've done, gazing 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.

  "The four houses are each 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 honour. 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 smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

  Lucas noted that her gaze travelled to the boy who kept losing his toad, and a lanky, red-headed boy- who he assumed was related to Fred and George. 

  "I will return when we are ready for you," she informed them. "Please wait quietly."

  "How exactly do they sort us into houses?" Lucas heard Harry ask the red-headed boy.

  "Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking."

  Lucas nearly laughed, but he didn't want anyone to think of him as insane. Of course, the twins would've done something like that. He didn't know exactly what the test was but based on what Lee had said, they would look at his traits. Hecate had mentioned that too. Everyone was quiet- except for a girl with bushy brown hair. She was whispering very quickly about all the spells she had learnt and which one she'd need. Despite Lucas having a good idea about what the test was, he still felt very anxious. He had never felt this nervous before, except maybe when he and Annabeth had to save Luke, Thalia and Grover from a cyclops. He kept his eyes glued to the door. Professor McGonagall would return any second now.

  Then something happened that made him flinch, and several people behind him screamed.

  "What the-?"