A/N: This is the second installment of the "Sorting Hat" series. If you have any suggestions for future stories, or disagree with any of the choices I made, feel free to let me know!
"There it is Eren" whispered a short blond kid to his best friend as they crossed a lake in a small boat towards a looming castle in the distance, its windows lighting up the night sky. "The Hogwarts' Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry".
"We finally made it" Eren said back, his short brown hair flowing in the breeze. "Everything I need to know to fight back…I'll learn here".
A Japanese girl sat nearby with a red scarf wrapped tightly around her neck, but she didn't stay anything. Instead she thought intensely "I know; and that's what I'm afraid of".
On another boat, a boy with light brown hair named Jean Kirschtien is lying back, looking almost disinterestedly at the most famous wizarding school in the country. Another boy with a buzz cut stared at Jean, annoyed that his older comrade didn't seem to be taking anything seriously.
"What's your deal man?" the boy with the buzz cut asked. "We're not even there yet, and you're already acting like you own the place".
"Well, I wouldn't go that far Connie, but close to it" Jean said smugly. "I'm going to ace all my classes and get a nice cushy job in the Ministry of Magic. Then, I'll probably have the power to turn this place into a muggle town if I wanted to. I suppose being a Quidditch team captain and prefect will do until then, though".
A brown haired girl with a pony tail, Sasha Braus, sat next to Connie with a much brighter look on her face. "Oh, I can tell already that you'll be fun to play with" she thought to herself.
On another boat in the very back of the group of new students sat three more firsties, though they were in complete silence. A blonde haired girl with a Greek nose looked up at the unusually tall boy with messy black hair beside her. The boy swallowed loudly but still refused to speak, as did the blonde boy sitting in front of them. It was hard to tell if they were concentrating, nervous, or terrified.
Once they arrived at the castle, all the twelve and eleven-year-olds were quickly shuffled into the Great Hall, a large cathedral like room with four incredibly long tables for the students to eat. At the head of the room was a row of chairs where the teachers sat, and at the center was a large chair with a worn witch's hat sitting on a table nearby.
"Hello, and welcome to the Hogwarts' School of Witchcraft and Wizardry" a bald man with dark skin and an enormous, bushy white beard yelled at the new students. "My name is Shadis Dumbledore, and you will either leave this place as a wizard, or you will be dead!"
There was an auditable silence among the new students as they stared at the school headmaster, many of them scared out of their wits.
"But before either of those things can happen, you first have to be sorted into the houses you have to spend the next seven years of your life it" he said, pointing to the hat sitting on the nearby table. "This is the Sorting Hat. Based on your personalities, it will sort you into one of four respective houses; Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin. Do we have any volunteers to go first, or will I have to start dragging your carcasses up here myself!?"
"That won't be necessary sir" Eren said, eagerly walking towards Shadis and the Sorting Hat. "I'll go first".
Eren sat down in the chair and Shadis gently placed the witch's hat onto Eren's head, whereupon it instantly started moving as if it were alive.
"Hmm, this is a tough one" the Sorting Hat said to the watching crowd. "He has some of the loftiest ambitions I've ever seen, but his ideals and morals are also unshakable, as is his bravery. In the end, I believe he'd work best in…Gryffindor!"
"What?!" Eren shouted. "There must be some mistake; I want to be in Slytherin".
Eren's hero, Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher Master Levi, was in Slytherin, so being in Slytherin would mean Eren would have twenty-four-hour access to the greatest slayer of evil on earth.
"I don't make mistakes" the Sorting Hat responded angrily. "Next student!"
Eren was upset but he knew better than to fight it. He'd still get to study under Levi, after all; just not as intimately as he had hoped. Timidly, Eren rose from his seat and walked over to the half-heartedly applauding Gryffindor table.
The person to take Eren's place was going to be Jean, but he was quickly shoved out of the way by Eren's stepsister Mikasa. She quickly sat down in the chair and the hat was placed onto her cranium.
The Sorting Hat quickly began sorting through her memories, and at first the choice seemed clear. The girl's loyalty to her friends was unparalleled, and she had all the supportive qualities of a Hufflepuff. Upon closer examination, however, the Hat found the soul of a warrior. Someone who would never give up or back down, and who would not stand for any injustice or wrongdoing under her watch.
"You and that boy are related I see" said the Sorting Hat. "Not surprising; you're even harder to place than he was".
"Place me in Gryffindor" Mikasa whispered.
"Gryffindor?" asked the Sorting Hat. "Are you sure? You could achieve great things in Hufflepuff"
"I will not leave Eren's side for anything" said Mikasa. "All the magic in the world wouldn't be able to stop me".
"Well, I think the choice is clear then…Gryffindor!" the Sorting Hat shouted, causing the Gryffindor table to again burst out clapping.
Blond Gryffindor transfiguration teacher Erwin stared at Mikasa intensely as she stood up. "I need to keep an eye on this one; she has potential" Erwin thought to himself.
"Sorry about that" Mikasa said as she passed Jean.
Jean blushed but said nothing. "She's lucky that she's cute, or she would have made a dangerous enemy" Jean thought to himself.
When the Sorting Hat was placed on Jean's head, it took the hat almost no time at all decide on which house to choose. The boy it sat upon was egotistical, selfish, ambitious, he knew how to play the system, and he would use anything and everything to get what he wanted.
"Ah, this is more like it!" said the Sorting Hat. "Slytherin!"
Jean rose from his seat unsurprised; all the greats went to Slytherin after all.
Next up was Eren's blond friend Armin, who wanted the chance to get sit next to his friends, though he doubted that he was brave enough to end up in Gryffindor.
The Sorting Hat thought otherwise, however. The boy was as smart as a Ravenclaw, but he didn't behave like one. A true Ravenclaw appreciates knowledge for knowledge's sake, but this boy had only one thing on his mind; helping people.
"My, quite the altruist we have here" remarked the sorting hat. "Such a mind can only belong in…Gryffindor!"
Mikasa and Eren both clapped with their table as Armin approached. He still wasn't sure he deserved to be there, but he was happy to still be with his friends.
The next up was a very bashful girl with long blonde hair named Krista Lenz. She felt very nervous with all the people watching her, but sat down at the chair next to the Sorting Hat anyway.
Shifting through the girl's head, the Sorting Hat discovered one of the most caring people it had ever seen, someone who would always help and protect her friends no matter what.
"This one will fit right in in…Hufflepuff!" shouted the Sorting Hat.
Mathematics teacher, and Hufflepuff, Mike Zakarius looked on proudly as his first new addition to the house walked to the Hufflepuff table. He was always happy whenever someone joined, but it never stopped being exciting.
The next person to walk up was a very tall girl with brown hair and freckles; Ymir. Unlike Krista, she approached the chair coolly, and without trepidation or excitement. She sat down and immediately crossed her legs, as if she were just relaxing at home.
Reading Ymir's mind, the Sorting Hat could only think of one word; subversive. The girl was quite clever, and was great at manipulating people to achieve what she wanted.
"You're a very tricky one, but not in the same way that Mikasa girl was" said the Sorting Hat. "The choice is clear; Slytherin!"
The next person to approach the chair was the blonde girl with a Greek nose, Annie Leonhart. Once on her head, the Sorting Hat could feel the girl's palpable contempt for everyone in the room, and saw the extreme sacrifices she was willing to make to achieve victory.
"A very determined one, this is" said the Sorting Hat. "She too belongs in…Slytherin!"
Annie didn't change her stoic expression at all when the hat called out her house, and just calmly stood up as the tall boy from her boat, Bertolt Hoover, took her place.
Someone as athletic as Bertolt would normally be pegged as a good choice for Gryffindor, but what that Sorting Hat saw in Bertolt didn't fit. The boy's self-esteem was horribly low, but he was quite kind and comforting to his friends.
"Ah, stop sweating so much" said the Sorting Hat. "You're going to leave a stain. Anyways, it is clear that this one belongs in…Hufflepuff!"
When Bertolt got up, he felt like the weight of a thousand bricks was lifted from his shoulders; he had made it into the school.
The boy with the buzz cut, Connie Springer, was next up. His head was a bit small, however, so when the Sorting Hat was placed on his head, it embarrassingly came down over his eyes.
"Ah, now this is an easy one" said the Sorting Hat. "A true friend through thick and thin. He would be perfect in…Hufflepuff!"
Sasha Braus hi-fived Connie on her way to the chair before eagerly sitting down to be assigned her new house.
At first it seemed like they had another Gryffindor on their hands, since Sasha was incredibly brave for her age, but another factor tipped the scale away from that end of the spectrum.
"My word, this child's a bottomless pit!" shouted the Sorting Hat. While most people would be embarrassed by something like this, Sasha didn't look ashamed at all by what the piece of clothing just called her.
"I can already tell you're going to be making lots of trips to the kitchen, so let's make it a bit easier for you by placing you in…Hufflepuff!" said the Sorting Hat.
Sasha enthusiastically took a seat next to Connie at the Hufflepuff table, and a freckled kid with short black hair named Marco Bott took her spot in the sorting chair.
This was another easy one for the Sorting Hat; Marco was kindhearted, optimistic, and always seeing the best in people where others saw none. Even more than that, Marco could bring that good out of people, even those who had given up on themselves.
"My quite a friendly one we have here. Best place him in…Hufflepuff!" shouted the sorting hat.
The next person to go forward was the blond boy who was sitting sitting next to Annie and Bertolt on their boat, Reiner Braun. While he wasn't as nervous as Hoover, he was obviously a bit nervous when approaching the Sorting Hat.
As the Sorting Hat read through his mind, however, it found the kid was actually quite brave. He was frightened of quite a lot, but there was almost no risk he wasn't willing to take. True courage, after all, is overcoming your fears.
"I predict that this one will grow to be quite strong in…Gryffindor!" yelled the Sorting Hat.
The next person to be sorted was a short girl with very light brown hair and a wide smile on her face. Hitch was determined to have fun at Hogwarts, so that smile wasn't going to leave her face any time soon.
If the Sorting Hat could blush it would have; even though she only just turned thirteen-years-old, Hitch was already had a very active…social life. She wasn't planning on stopping just because she's in Hogwarts either; if anything, she was planning on using it to get to the top of her class.
"This one…this one…" The Sorting Hat was spellbound to not reveal any damaging personal information when sorting a new student, so it was having trouble finding the right words to say for a moment. "This one has a good head on her shoulders, and is destined to go quite far. Slytherin!" shouted the hat.
Hitch passed her friend Marlo Freudenberg, a boy with black bowl cut and a Greek nose, on her way to the Slytherin Table.
"Good luck Marlo" Hitch whispered to her comrade. "Just try not to end up in a lame house like Hufflepuff, you goody-two-shoes".
Malro maintained a straight face as she spoke and calmly approached the sorting chair.
Searching through the boy's head, the Sorting Hat saw that, while it wasn't filled with knowledge, he was already wise beyond his years.
"Astute, cunning, quite good with books and learning..." said the Sorting Hat. "You shall learn quite well in…Ravenclaw!"
The Magical Creatures teacher, Hanji Zoe, was excited to see the hat finally announce someone was joining their house. There never seemed to be quite enough Ravenclaws to them, but that could because Hanji felt like they could never have enough students. They couldn't wait to tell this boy about all the intricacies of troll society, or how to properly ride a hippogriff.
An hour later and the last of the students were finally sorted into their respective houses, and Shadis began his speech regarding the school rules.
"Unless you are a prefect, do not wander the school halls at night! Do not enter the restricted section of the library without a signed note from a teacher! You are not allowed to enter the forbidden forest under any circumstances! That's why it's called the 'Forbidden Forest'! And do not wander off into the mysterious catacombs and hallways of the school unless you want to meet your own gruesome demise! You shall now be dismissed to your dormitories for the night! Follow your house prefects closely and, again, do not wander off! Dismissed!"
A short, red-headed girl named Petra was the prefect leading the way for the Gryffindors, and she tried her best to line up orderly as they prepared to depart from the Great Hall.
"Alright everyone, follow me" said Petra. "And don't let Shadis intimidate you; it's tough here, but you'll all learn to love this place".
As Eren Jaeger followed behind her, he felt as though her words rang true. Eren could already tell that he was going to have a great time in Hogwarts, and that absolutely nothing could happen to ruin that.