"Boys, boys, settle down!"

Harry was nervous. It was his first time ever at YU. He didn't know any of the students around him. He peered into the Great Caf. It was full to the brim with students of all sorts. He wasn't sure what's going to happen now. He wondered why all the freshmen were standing outside instead of going in like everyone else.

"What yeshiva did you go to?" A red-headed boy next to him whispered.

This was the thirty-second time someone has asked him that since he got here.

"I didn't go to yeshiva in Israel," he said, his eyes on the floor.

"Oh," the boy replied, and turned to talk to someone else.

Harry felt unsure of himself. Why did he come here without knowing anyone? He didn't even know what they were all doing.

No, Harry told himself. I know why I came here. Torah uMagic! I believe in that, and I will achieve my dreams here.

"Okay, everyone!" The older boy in the front shouted to get everyone to quiet down. "I'm Percy and I'm vice president of IBC here. That may not mean much to you guys, but be sure that will mean a lot to some of you soon."

Harry wondered the significance of that position.

"You will all get sorted now," Percy told them. "There are four houses in Yeshiva University: YP, BMP, JSS, and IBC. Each one has its own unique traits and advantages. These houses will determine your morning program, which will determine your friends, your dorm house, and which parties you'll attend, or lack thereof. You'll be going in one by one, and the dean will call your name to get sorted."

Harry looked around nervously. How did they get sorted? He's never heard of these different houses at YU. Why didn't anyone tell him? No one else seemed as surprised as him. They all expected this. Harry turned to the red-head next to him.

"How does this sorting thing work?"

"Oooohh, my brothers told me that they make you fight a sheid! But I don't know. I think they were joking. What house do you want to be in? I want to be in BMP. My whole family went there. It'd be a shame if I ended up anywhere else. I'm really scared of ending up in YP. They say not there's not a single open orthodox rabbi that didn't go to YP."

"Really? Oh. I don't want to go to YP either. I'm not sure which house I want to be in."

"Oh, that's okay. No one's really sure till you get here."

With that, he turned away from Harry and continued the conversation he was having with his buddies from yeshiva.

"Okay, time to go in!" Percy announced.

They all stepped into the great Caf one by one. Everyone hushed as they walked in. Harry looked around. There were four seating areas in the middle of the hall, and one long table with all the rabbis at the front of the hall. Above each table was a large banner with an animal on it. One had a badger, one a lion, one a snake, and one an eagle. He turned back to the table of rabbis, and saw that one had stood and was about to speak. The rabbi didn't have a beard, and wore a bowtie. He seemed to be a nice person, and Harry took an immediate liking to him.

"100 years ago, four donors got together and decided to fund Bernard Revel in creating YU. Four houses were made in YU as tribute to these four donors. Each house represented the character traits of the donor who paid a lot of money in order to have houses in their name."

He pointed to the tables with the badger over it.

"JSS. The loyal, true, and fun-loving.

He gestured towards the lion banner.

"BMP. The brave, arrogant, and stubborn."

"The cunning, clever and ambitious YP," he said, pointing to the snake banner.

"And, finally, IBC," he said, gesturing towards the eagle. "Those searching for deep wisdom, individuality, or are just plain lazy."

Harry looked around excitedly. There were so many options. He was sure he would find his place here. But how would they sort him?

"Bring out the hat!" the man announced.

A wizened old man entered carrying a large stool with a hat on it. The hat was a large, black dusty hat. It looked similar to the ones the roshei yeshiva were wearing, except it appeared to have been smashed many times and had a thick layer of dust covering it on all sides.

"I hear that hat belonged to the Rav himself!" Harry heard someone whisper excitedly.

Harry wasn't sure who the Rav was. He looked around him and was glad he wasn't the first in line. He still wasn't sure what they were supposed to be doing.

"When I call up your name," the chubby man in front announced. "You will come to the stool and try on the hat."

"Applebaum, Dovid!"

A short boy with bright blond hair approached the hat with trepidation. He stood by the stool awkwardly looking around. All the students waited silently for him to try it on.

"Go on!"

The boy picked up the hat, and slowly tried to shake the dust from it.

"Hey!" The hat shouted.

Dovid jumped back.

The hat was talking! This must be magic! thought Harry.

"No shaking!" the hat continued. "This dust has been here since the Rav used me. Just put me on your head, boy."

The boy approached the stool nervously once more, and placed the hat on his head.

"IBC!" The hat announced.

Everyone clapped. The students under the eagle banner cheered loudly. The boy put the hat back on the stool, and made his way to the IBC tables.

"Biederman, Abraham!"

A tall red-faced student put on the hat.

"JSS!"

One by one, each student was called and sorted by the black hat. Harry heard a Benjy Dinowitz get sorted into YP. While Abramson, Jon was sorted into JSS. Slowly but surely, the line filled out until it was just Harry and a few others.

"Potter, Harry!"

It was finally his turn. He approached the hat nervously. This was it. He was going to be sorted. He'll finally be a part of YU.

"Nowhere but here!" he whispered excitedly to himself as he placed the hat on his head.

The hat was too big for him, and Harry felt it slid over his eyes. All was darkness. The Rav must have had a huge head, Harry thought to himself.

"No, he didn't," Harry heard a voice in his ear. "You just have a small one."

It was the hat! Talking to him!

"Yes, it is the hat talking to you," the hat continued in a creaky tired voice. "Hmmmmm… where should I put you?"

Not YP, not YP, not YP, not YP, Harry thought frantically.

"Not YP, huh? Well, are you sure? You could really shteig there. It can help lead you to a path of gadlus."

No, not YP, not YP, not YP.

"Well, if you're sure, better be…

"JSS!"

Everyone cheered, JSS loudest of all.

Harry took the hat off his head, and turned to the hat.

"No! Not JSS! I wanted to be in IBC or BMP! Why JSS?

"Sorry kid," the hat said smugly. "You said you didn't want YP."

"Forget it," Harry replied. "Put me in YP."

"Too late."

The cheering had stopped and everyone was looking at Harry waiting for him to take his place.

"Fine," Harry said dejectedly.

He walked towards the JSS table, found an empty place, and sat down.

The boy sitting next to him looked at him and jabbered something in Spanish. Harry had no clue what he just said, and just stared blankly. Everyone around him were talking in foreign languages.

This is going to be a long four years, Harry thought.