Seamus Finnigan had no idea what house he was going to be Sorted into. He thought he might be brave enough to be a Gryffindor, he was pretty confident that he was friendly enough to be a Hufflepuff, he thought he got good enough grades to be a Ravenclaw, and he was certainly clever and ambitious enough to be a Slytherin. He didn't know which house he wanted to be in, either. He'd heard that Gryffindors were conceited, Hufflepuffs were losers, Ravenclaws were geeks, and Slytherins…well, Slytherins had a bit of a bad reputation after the whole Voldemort thing.

"Finnigan, Seamus!" echoed across the hall, and he slowly made his way up to the rickety stool where the Sorting Hat sat. He was not afraid – at least, that's what he kept telling himself. He was still a bit astounded y the talking hat. Yes, his mom was a witch, but she never used magic around the house because it made his Muggle father feel left out of the fun.

"Seamus, is it?" the Sorting Hat said. Seamus hardly remembered putting on the hat. "I remember your mother – I made the right choice putting her in Hufflepuff. Your aunt, on the other hand…a great Ravenclaw, but she could have done well in Slytherin, too."

Seamus wondered if the Hat remembered every person it had ever Sorted. Then he wondered if the Hat could hear what he was thinking. He took the small chuckle that he heard to be a yes.

"Well, your fiery temper would get you nowhere in Ravenclaw…"

A rush of panic swept through Seamus. Was he not smart enough to be a Ravenclaw? He hated not qualifying for things.

"Oh, you're smart enough," the Hat assured him. "It's not a good fit, though. And not Hufflepuff, either, they never worry about my decisions. And now we have Gryffindor and Slytherin, two great houses, so alike, so different…"

The Hat remained silent for a bit. Then it started to laugh. "Well, you're a tricky one, aren't you, Mr. Finnigan? That fiery temper, though…it makes you a better fit for…GRYFFINDOR!" it bellowed.

Applause exploded throughout the Gryffindor table. Seamus grinned and sat down next to the only other new Gryffindor so far, a rather pretty-looking girl by the name of Lavender Brown. He'd been doubtful, but the Sorting Hat had made the right choice. And even if it hadn't…well, Seamus got the feeling that he'd like being a Gryffindor anyway.