The door swung open and Professor McGonagall stood there. She wore emerald green robes and a pointed witch's hat, very different from the Muggle clothing she had worn on the trip to Diagon Alley, but still looked as strict and severe as ever.
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.
"Thank you, Hagrid, I will take them from here," said the Deputy Headmistress.
She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was so big that Matilda figured most of her home could have fitted in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too hight to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led up to the upper floors.
They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. From the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right, it sounded as if the rest of the school must already be here – but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "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 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 you house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most house 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 all smarten yourselves up as much as your can while you are waiting."
Her eyes lingered for a moment on Ron, whose nose was still smudged despite having tried to brush it clean earlier, and then at Neville whose cloak had somehow shifted so that it was now fastened underneath his ear.
Harry nervously tried to flatten his hair, which was unsuccessful, Lavender adjusted her glasses, and Matilda calmly retied the red ribbon in her hair. "How do we get Sorted?" asked Neville, sounding panicked. "Gran wouldn't tell me, because she said she wanted it to be a surprise, and Great-Uncle Algie just made up some stuff."
"From what I read in Hogwarts, a History, Godric Gryffindor did a spell or something so that students could be Sorted when the Founders were gone," replied Matilda. "It was very vague, so it didn't explain what it was he did exactly."
"Fred said that it hurt a lot, but I think he was joking," said Ron uncertainly.
Hermione looked nervous and began muttering under her breath about all the spells she had learned and which ones she'd need. "Relax, Hermione," said Lavender. "The impression I got was that whatever Godric Gryffindor did created a way to figure out what house each person belonged in based on their qualities, which is what the Founders did when they were alive."
"That makes a great deal of sense, Lavender," remarked Matilda thoughtfully. Before she could say anything more, twenty or so ghosts came floating through the wall, causing her to gasp, Harry to jump about a foot in the air, and another student to scream.
The ghosts all seemed to be arguing about something. None of them noticed the first-years until a ghost in tights and ruff happened to glance over at them. When the ghosts discovered that the group were all new students about to be Sorted, one ghost, the Fat Friar, said cheerfully that he hoped to see them in Hufflepuff, his old house.
Professor McGonagall appeared at this juncture and escorted the first-years into the Great Hall. Despite all that she had read, Matilda still gazed around in wonder. Reading a description of something and seeing it with your own eyes weren't the same, after all. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Matilda looked up at the ceiling, which was velvetly black and dotted with stars, and next to her, she heard Hermione whisper to Harry, "Its bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History."
Professor McGonagall silently set a stool in front of the first years, with a frayed, patched, and extremely dirty hat placed on top of it. Matilda stared at it blankly, before remembering what Lavender had said earlier and wondered if perhaps you had to draw the name of whatever house you were to be in out of the hat. Before she could seriously consider the theory, a rip in the brim of the hat opened wide like a mouth and it proceeded to sing:
"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
if you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"
The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.
"So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered. "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll." Matilda shook her head, wondering how he could have been so naive as to semi-believe his brother, who appeared to be something of a prankster. Then again, if Fred was a good prankster, he could tell the truth just often enough so that people wouldn't know if he was serious or joking.
Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment. "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"
A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moments pause — "HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.
The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Matilda saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her.
"Bones, Susan!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.
"Boot, Terry!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them. "Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, and next was Lavender, who became the first new Gryffindor. The table on the far left exploded with cheers, with Ron's twin brothers catcalling. As Lavender made her way to the Gryffindor table, she grinned broadly at her friends as she passed them, and exclaimed, "I hope you guys join me in Gryffindor!"
After her was "Bulstrode, Millicent", who became the first new Slytherin. She seemed to be built along the lines of Crabbe and Goyle, and and as she joined the other Slytherins, Matilda couldn't help noticing that most of them looked like an unpleasant lot.
Sometimes, Matilda noticed, the hat shouted out the house at once, but at others it took a little while to decide. "Finnegan, Seamus," the sandy-haired boy who had been in the boat with Harry, Ron, and Neville, sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.
After "Goyle, Gregory" was Sorted into Slytherin, it was Hermione's turn. She almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head. "GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted several seconds later. She waved delightedly at her friends and then hurried off to the Gryffindor table, where she sat down next to Lavender.
Matilda was called up next and she quickly went to the stool, where she sat down and placed the Sorting Hat on her head. Instantly a little voice said in her ear, "Hmmm, where shall I sort you? Let's see, you are intelligent and well-read, and could do well in Ravenclaw. Or perhaps not, because you also like having fun, and while you do apply yourself in school and enjoy it, you are not as obsessed about schoolwork and grades as the average Ravenclaw. But you possess a great deal of bravery and courage, are extremely loyal to your friends, and have a noble nature. So I believe that you will be best suited in - GRYFFINDOR!"
The last word was shouted out to the entire hall. With a grin, she removed the hat, and hurried to the Gryffindor table, pausing long enough to whisper "Good luck" to Neville, Harry, and Ron as she passed. Neville and Ron gave her weak smiles, but Harry seemed not to have heard her, and in fact appeared panic-stricken. It was almost as if he was afraid that he wouldn't be chosen at all. She couldn't linger, however, so she simply gave him an encouraging pat on the arm and then joined Lavender and Hermione at the Gryffindor table.
When Neville was called, he fell over on his way to the stool. A number of people snickered or giggled, but the three girls didn't. The hat took a long time to decide with him. When it finally shouted "GRYFFINDOR," Neville ran off still wearing it and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag." Lavender couldn't help giggling, but quickly composed herself, and Hermione smiled in amusement, but managed to turn it into one of congratulation when Neville sat down. Matilda, while she did find it funny, also understood that it was Neville's excitement at being Sorted into Gryffindor that made him run off still wearing the Sorting Hat, and so was able to refrain from laughing and further embarrassing him.
After Morag had gotten placed in Ravenclaw, it was Draco Malfoy's turn. His swagger towards the stool irked her, which was perhaps why when he sat down and started to place the hat on his head, she made a tiny flicker of her head and caused the hat to fall to the ground from his grasp. Several students laughed at his dropping it, causing him to flush as he got off the stool to pick up the hat. When he started to sit down again, Matilda made a tiny gesture with her finger and caused the stool to slide back a few inches, so that he missed it and instead ended up on the floor. There was more laughter as Malfoy got up, face very pink and his pride injured.
Hermione gave Matilda, who adopted an innocent expression, a sharp look, but didn't say anything. Malfoy sat down on the stool and this time, without any incident, placed the hat on his head. It had barely touched his head before it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!" Trying to recover his dignity, he went to join Crabbe and Goyle.
After a few more names, it was Harry's turn. As he stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall.
"Potter, did she say?"
"The Harry Potter?"
There was several seconds of excited silence before the Sorting Hat finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!" The Gryffindor table burst into thunderous applause, and a good many Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs joined in. Harry had a look of relief as he took off the hat and shakily headed to the Gryffindor table, where he took a seat between Neville and Matilda. Ron's brother, Percy the Prefect, got up and shook Harry's hand vigorously, while the Weasley twins yelled, "We got Potter! We got Potter!" The ghost in a ruff that they'd seen earlier, obviously the resident ghost for Gryffindor house, patted his arm. The three girls and Neville congratulated Harry on also getting into Gryffindor.
There were only four people left to be sorted. "Turpin, Lisa" became a Ravenclaw, and Dean Thomas, whom the girls had met on the trip to Diagon Alley, got Sorted into Gryffindor. Then it was Ron's turn. He was pale green by now, and Matilda silently sent a prayer to every diety in existance that he would also get into Gryffindor. Her prayer was granted a couple of seconds later. The other five clapped loudly with the rest as Ron collapsed into the seat next to Neville.
"Well done, Ron, excellent," said Percy Weasley pompously across Harry as "Zabini, Blaise," was made a Slytherin.
Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away. A moment after that, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore had got to his feet. He was beaming at the students, arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there.
"Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!
"Thank you!"
He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. Matilda joined in, knowing that from what she had read, Dumbledore, though very powerful and a genius, was somewhat eccentric.
"Is he – a bit mad?" Harry asked Percy uncertainly.
"Mad?" said Percy airily. "He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harry?"
Matilda turned her gaze to the table, and even though she had read about the feasts in Hogwarts, a History, her mouth couldn't help falling open in surprise. The dishes in front of her were now filled with food. She had never seen so many things she liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, chips, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup and, for some strange reason, mint humbugs.
She instantly filled her plate and began to eat. It was all quite delicious, even better than the food she and Miss Honey made, and they were pretty good cooks. After a few minutes, the ghost in ruffs introduced himself as "Sir Nicolas de Mimsy-Porpington, at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor tower."
"I know who you are!" said Ron suddenly. "My brothers told me about you – you're Nearly Headless Nick!"
"I would prefer you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy –" the ghost began stiffly, but sandy-haired Seamus Finnegan interrupted.
"Nearly Headless? How can you be nearly headless?"
Sir Nicholas looked extremely miffed, as their little chat wasn't going at all the way he wanted. "Like this," he said irritably. He seized his left ear and pulled. His whole head swung off his neck and fell on to his shoulder as if it was on a hinge. Someone had obviously tried to behead him, but had not done it properly. Looking pleased at the stunned looks on their faces, Nearly Headless Nick flipped his head back on to his neck, coughed and said, "So – new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the house championship this year? Gryffindor have never gone so long without winning. Slytherin have got the cup six years in a row. The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable – he's the Slytherin ghost."
Matilda looked over at the Slytherin table and saw a horrible ghost sitting there, with blank staring eyes, a gaunt face and silver robes stained with blood. He was right next to Malfoy who clearly didn't look too pleased with the seating arrangements.
"How did he get covered in blood?" asked Seamus with great interest.
"I've never asked," said Nearly Headless Nick delicately.
When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates leaving them as clean as before. A moment later the puddings and dessert appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavour you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, jelly, rice pudding…
Matilda helped herself to some strawberry ice cream, treacle tart, and an éclair, and that was when the conversation turned to their families. Seamus said that he was half-and-half, and that his dad, a Muggle, hadn't been told that his wife was a witch until after they were married. Matilda and Lavender said that they were Muggleborn, but after doing some odd things, realized that they had powers, though they didn't know that it was actually magic until they had gotten their Hogwarts letters.
"What about you, Neville?" asked Ron.
"Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch," said Neville, "but the family thought I was all Muggle for ages. My Great-Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me – he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned – but nothing happened until I was eight. Great-Uncle Algie came around for tea and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my Great-Auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced – all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased, Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got in here – they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great-Uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad."
Matilda frowned at this. She was sure that Neville's relatives had meant well, but well, it was very clear why he had low self-confidence. After making clear for so long that they thought he might not have magic, and then when he finally demonstrated that he did, showing that they thought that he might not have enough for Hogwarts, it was a miracle that he even had any confidence in himself. She shook her head, remembering something she had read once. "The road to hell is ordered by the righteous, planned by by the well-meaning, and paved with their good intentions." That quote fitted Neville's life completely.
Harry then said that he had been brought up by his Muggle aunt and uncle, who hated magic and anything else that they didn't find normal, and so as a result, hadn't bothered telling him about the wizarding world or that he had defeated Voldemort. It wasn't until he had gotten his Hogwarts letter that he had found out everything. Several people gasped at this.
Several minutes later, Harry clapped a hand to his forehead and exclaimed, "Ouch!"
Matilda turned to look at him in concern, while Percy asked, "What is it?"
"N-nothing," answered Harry, his voice slightly shaky. He then proceeded to ask Percy about one of the teachers up at the staff table. Matilda looked at Harry for a moment more, wondering what had just happened, and then turned turned to answer a question from Lavender and finish her treacle tart.
At last, the puddings too disappeared and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent.
"Ahem – just a few words now we are all fed and watered. I have a few start of term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest in the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well." Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins. "I have also been asked by Mr Filch, the caretaker, to remind you that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term. Anyone interested in playing for their house team should consult Madam Hooch. And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."
Matilda and Lavender exchanged looks, wondering why the corridor was out of bands that year. Harry laughed, but he was one of the few who did.
"He's not serious?" he muttered to Percy.
"Must be," said Percy, frowning at Dumbledore. "It's odd, because he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere – the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he might have told us prefects, at least."
"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. The other teacher's smiles became rather fixed at this point.
Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick as if he was trying to get a fly off the end and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself snake-like into words.
"Everyone pick their favourite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!"
Matilda chose the tune of the Beatle's song "Hey Jude" to sing the school song tune. Finally only the Weasley twins were left singing to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted the last few lines for them and then dismissed everyone for bed. Percy, in his role as prefect, led the Gryffindor first-ways to the common room. On the way, he told them about how some of the staircases liked to move, and had to warn them about Peeves the poltergeist when they ran into him. Only the Bloody Baron could fully control Peeves, and Percy had to threaten the poltergeist with the Baron before he would leave, but not without dropping the bundle of sticks he was carrying on Neville first.
Fortunately for Neville, Matilda had been expecting something of the sort, and used wandless magic to make the sticks move aside and land on the ground, so that he didn't get hit with them. Except for her friends, none of the other Gryffindors had any notion as to how that happened, so they proceeded in silence, other than Neville whispering his thanks to Matilda.
Finally they reached a portrait of a rather plump lady dressed all in pink. "Password?" she asked.
"Caput Draconis," answered Percy. The portrait swung open, revealing an entrance hole behind it. They all clambered through, with Neville needing a leg up.
Inside the common room, the found a number of armchairs and sofas, several tables, and a large fireplace. Two staircases led to the girls' and boys' dormatories. Percy told them which staircase was which, and after bidding Harry, Ron, and Neville good-night, Matilda, Lavender, and Hermione followed Parvati Patil and another girl up the girls's staircase.
A sign on a door marked it as being for the first-years, and the five first-year girls went inside. The room had five four-poster beds, all with red hangings, dressers between each bed, five hampers for the laundry, and three tall wardrobes. Their trunks had already been brought up.
Parvati and the fifth girl, who said that her name was Sophie Roper, changed into their nightgowns and got ready for bed a few minutes later. Hermione began unpacking some of her things and put them neatly away in the wardrobe before she too got ready for bed. Matilda, who didn't feel at all tired, got out some parchment, ink, and a quill and began writing a letter to Miss Honey, telling her about the train ride, her Sorting into Gryffindor, and the feast. When she was done, she yawned, finally feeling a bit sleepy. She put the letter away for Athena to deliver tomorrow and then changed into her pyjamas, brushed her teeth, and went to bed.
Author's Note: Yes, about half the chapter is taken from the book. I didn't really feel like writing everything in my own words. I was tempted to put the six into different houses, but then decided that it would be too much like my other fic, where Hermione was in Ravenclaw, Ron in Slytherin, Neville in Gryffindor, and Marigold (girl Harry) was in Hufflepuff. I was still tempted to put Matilda in Ravenclaw, just so that they could meet Luna much earlier in canon, but then decided that it would be better if to just have them all in Gryffindor and find another way for them to meet Luna in second year.