The Sorting
The hat barely hit her blonde princess curls before announcing, "Ravenclaw!"
Annabeth Chase hopped off the stool and ran over to the blue table, which welcomed her with a massive round of applause. Percy tried to catch her eye, but she was too busy shaking hands with her new housemates to see. He turned back to watch the rest of the sortings, trying to ignore how his stomach was twisting with nerves.
Blue was his favourite colour, and now that Annabeth had been sorted into Ravenclaw he wanted more than ever to be sorted there too. He knew it wouldn't happen, though - there was no way Percy was clever enough for that house. His mum said he was, but she had to say that; she was his mum. Hedidn't think he was smart enough for Ravenclaw. Which left Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Percy really didn't know which house he'd get sorted into, and the wait was killing him.
When his name was finally called, he walked slowly up to the stool, hoping no one else could see his legs shaking beneath his robes. He took a seat and just had time to see Annabeth staring at him, grey eyes wide and fingers crossed for luck, before the hat was put over his head and his vision went dark.
The inside of the hat was blank, so Percy closed his eyes.
The hat's voice sounded different when it was speaking to him alone, not yelling to the whole Great Hall. "Hmm, what an interesting one we have here… My, my."
Percy didn't know what to say - Interesting? Was interesting bad? - so he stayed silent and waited.
"Loyal, yes, very loyal," the hat murmured. "Loyal to a fault, actually. It's important to you that everyone has an even playing field, equal standing; Justice for all. You're not a fan of bullies, are you? Not at all. You stick up for underdogs, good, good. All of which would make you a good candidate for Hufflepuff…"
Hufflepuff wouldn't be bad at all, Percy thought. And he'd heard that their common room was near the kitchens, which would be handy.
"Yes, you value kindness and loyalty, indeed. Once you've made a friend you're friends for life, and your loyalty to them comes above all else. But…"
Percy didn't like the sound of that but. The hat went silent.
"You're extremely brave, too. Recklessly brave."
Percy didn't think of himself as particularly brave, but he supposed this was the hat's job, so he didn't argue.
When it spoke again, the hat's voice seemed lower. "You're quite cunning, too. Not particularly personally ambitious, but I see you can be ruthless and manipulative, if it's called for."
Manipulative and ruthless? Was Percy really ruthless and manipulative? He wondered what the hat was seeing inside his head. He worried about what the hat was seeing inside his head.
"It's not necessarily a bad thing, my boy," the hat said. "These traits can make you a fierce friend, and they can get you far in life."
"Oh," Percy said, the first thing he'd spoken out loud since the hat was put on his head.
The hat made a thoughtful little noise and then fell silent for a long time. Percy already knew that he'd been up here for longer than everyone else. He was just starting to panic that he'd broken the hat when it finally spoke again.
"What would be best for you?" the hat asked.
Percy tried to focus. He was feeling almost sick with nerves now, and his mind kept drifting back to Annabeth sitting at the Ravenclaw table. The hat wasn't giving him Ravenclaw as an option, though. He ran through what he knew about the other houses, but just kept going in circles.
"You could be great in Slytherin," the hat said slowly, and Percy thought a decision had finally been made. "But then again, you could do wonderfully in Hufflepuff, too."
Percy scuffed his shoes against the leg of the stool. He'd been sitting up there far too long.
"Well," the hat said finally. "Better be -"
Percy sat perfectly still as the hat opened its brim wide to yell out to to the crowd. He opened his eyes.