Katherine Potter and the Philosophers Stone
Chapter 6
The Sorting Hat
Notes/AN: Katherine does not wear glasses.
Once Fred got back from helping Neville, a voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train; it will be taken to the school separately." They all got changed – Katherine changed alone in the compartment while the boys were in the hall. Once Katherine put Luna in one of the pockets of her skirt and gave Tanya back to Lee, they joined the crowd thronging the corridor.
The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Katherine shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of students, and Katherine heard a loud booming voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! C'mon, follow me – any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"
Now as they followed the half-giant down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path Katherine was glad that she wore her boots or she would be slipping and sliding too. It was so dark on either side of them that Katherine thought that there would be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much.
"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," The man called over his shoulder, "jus' round the bend here."
There was a loud "Ooooooh!"
The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.
"No more'n four to a boat!" The giant called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Neville, the girl who was with him, and a girl with light brown and blue eyes followed Katherine into her boat.
"Everyone in?" shouted the man, who had a boat to himself. "Right then – FOREWARD!"
Then the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.
"Heads down!" yelled the man again as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.
They clambered up a passageway in the rock after the giant's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.
They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door.
"Everyone here?"
The man raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.
The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face; one that Katherine has been seeing all her life. Minerva McGonagall.
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said the man.
"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."
She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was so big you could have fit the whole of the Dursleys' house in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones in Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.
They followed Minnie across the flagged stone floor. Katherine could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right – 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 your House points, while any rule breaking will lose House points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honor. 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 you can while you are waiting."
Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on a red haired boy who had dirt smudged on his nose. Minnie caught Katherine's eye and gave her a small smile.
"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."
She left the chamber. Katherine swallowed and thought about what would happen when her name was called in front of the whole school.
Then several people behind her screamed.
"What the - ?"
She gasped and so did the people around her. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a chunky little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance –"
"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves?" After that, she stopped listening. Moony had told her about Peeves, he is a poltergeist that has been at Hogwarts since it was built and you wanted to get on his good side.
"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."
Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghost's floated away through the opposite wall.
"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years. "and follow me."
Katherine got into line behind a boy with sandy hair, the red head from earlier was behind her, and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.
Katherine had never imagined Hogwarts to look like it did then. There were thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables 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 a misty silver. Mainly to avoid the staring eyes, Katherine looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. She hear a voice whisper, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts: A History."
It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall did not simply open on to the heavens.
Katherine looked down just as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool, she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched, frayed, and extremely dirty. Neither Aunt Petunia nor Moony would let it in the house/cottage.
For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth – and the hat began to sing:
"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat.
There is nothing hidden from me.
However, do not worry your secrets I will keep.
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where the cowardly do not belong
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set them apart and unfortunately, they can be impulsive at heart.
You might end up in Hufflepuff,
Where the greedy do not belong
They are humble, just and loyal
Also unafraid of toil, but are often over looked.
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you have a ready mind,
You will not find smarts lacking no matter the kind
Sadly, not many think outside the box.
Perhaps you will fit in Slytherin
Where the risk-takers reside
They will reach for the sky
However if you break their trust,
You just might find yourself in a rut.
I apologize if I put you where you don't want to go,
Nevertheless, I will not make the same mistakes as I did long ago.
So put me on and meet your fate.
Make haste; and remember to follow your desire,
If not you might just tire.
Furthermore, take care
And begin this adventure if you dare.
The hall was silent as the hat bowed to each of the four tables.
Professor McGonagall 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 shakily. "Abbott, Hannah!"
A pink faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of the line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moment's pause –
"HUFFLEPUFF!" Shouted the hat.
The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Katherine saw the ghost of the 'Fat' Friar waving merrily at her.
"Bones, Susan!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan hurried 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.
"Brocklehart, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; Katherine could see the twins catcalling.
"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin.
"Finch-Fletcley, Justin!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
Sometimes, Katherine noticed, the hat shouted out the House at once, but at others it took a little while to decide. "Finnigan, Seamus," the sandy haired boy next to Katherine in line, sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.
"Granger, Hermione!" Katherine saw that she was the girl who was helping Neville look for his toad. Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head.
"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat.
When Neville Longbottom was called, he feel on his way to the stool. The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. 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."
Draco Malfoy walked forward when his name was called and got onto the stool and when the Professor McGonagall put the hat on his head they started to argue and after five minutes, the hat finally shouted "GRYFFINDOR!"
The whole hall was silent as Draco walked to the Gryffindor table with his head held high.
There weren't many people left now.
"Moon" . . ., "Nott" . . . , "Parkinson" . . ., then a pair of twin girls, "Patil" and "Patil" . . ., then "Perks, Sally-Anne" . . ., and then at last
"Potter, Katherine!"
As Katherine stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall.
"Potter, did she say?"
"The Katherine Potter?"
As she sat down on the stool Minnie gave her a small smile and before the hat fully dropped over her eyes she saw the twins and Lee all watching her shocked that they had been pranked Katherine Potter. Next second she was looking at the black inside of the hat. She waited.
"Hmm," said a small voice in her ear. "Surprising. Very surprising. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There is talent; you can already do small magic without a wand or words. You do not care about being famous and proving yourself, now that is interesting. . . . So where to put you?"
Katherine sat still and thought, preferably Gryffindor but Hufflepuff would not be bad either.
"Ah, I see. . . Well the Weasley twins and Mr. Jordan, not mention a couple others, will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that. Just don't do too much trouble please? Better be GRYFFINDOR!"
Katherine heard the hat shout the last word to the whole hall. She handed the hat to Professor McGonagall and walked to the Gryffindor table. She was so relieved to be in Gryffindor that she barely noticed that she was getting the loudest cheer yet. Percy the Prefect, who she remembered was the twins' brother, stood up and shook her hand. While Fred, George, and Lee were shouting, "We got Potter! We got Potter!" Then when she got to the she sat opposite of the boys.
She could see the High Table properly now. At the end nearest to her was the giant, Hagrid. And there, in the center of the High Table, in a large golden chair, sat Albus Dumbledore. Dumbledore's silver hair was the only thing in the whole hall that shone as brightly as the ghosts did. Katherine hated that man. He was the reason that she had to live with the Dursleys' and could only see Moony and Minnie a couple times a year.
Now there were only four people left to be sorted. "Thomas, Dean," a tall black boy joined Katherine at the Gryffindor table. "Turpin, Lisa," became a Ravenclaw and then there was the twins' younger brother who was sorted into Slytherin immediately. "Zabini, Blaise", followed the young Weasley. Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away.
Katherine looked down at her empty golden plate. She had only just realized how hungry she was. The candy seemed like ages ago.
Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students; his arms open 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. Everyone clapped and cheered except for Katherine who didn't clap at all.
As Katherine was, putting food on her plate Fred asked her, "So Ms. Lupin why didn't you tell us you were really Ms. Potter?"
"Well, I wanted you to be my friends because you liked me for me, not because of my last name." Katherine explained while cutting up her stake. While the boys were absorbing that information, she looked to Draco Malfoy who was sitting across the table from her.
"So, Gryffindor?"
Draco looked at her and said, "The hat is quite persistent."
"I see."
When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparking clean as before. A moment later the desserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavor you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate eclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, and a dozen other things.
As Katherine helped herself to a chocolate éclair, the talk turned to their families.
"I'm half-and-half," said Seamus. "Me dad's a Muggle. Mum didn't tell him she was a witch 'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock to him."
The other laughed, even Draco.
"What about you, Draco?" Katherine asked softly. "Your family can't be as bad as everyone thinks."
Draco hesitated but seeing the sincerity in Katherine's eyes he said, "Well unlike what everyone thinks my father was forced into following You-Know-Who by his father and had to continue to unless he wanted my mother to die. I was raised by my parents who taught me that all blood was the same and to make. . . friends with who ever I want."
Once Draco was done, everyone around him was silent.
"Well I'm very sorry for your father and that I will help your family if you ever need it." Katherine vowed.
After that everyone went back to eating their dessert. Katherine looked up at the High Table again. The giant, Hagrid, was drinking deeply from his goblet. Professor McGonagall was talking to Dumbledore. Professor Snape was talking to a teacher with an absurd turban.
It happened very suddenly. The turban wearing teacher looked straight into Katherine's eyes – and a sharp, hot pain shot across the scar on Kathrine's forehead. She flinched and pulled her cloak closer to her body.
The pain had gone as quickly as it had come. Harder to shake off was the feeling Katherine had gotten from the teacher's look – a feeling that she didn't like.
At last, the desserts too disappeared, and Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent.
"Ahem – just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.
"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."
Dumbledore's eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins and Lee.
"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors.
"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone who is interested in playing for their House teams should contact 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."
Katherine was mulling on this when she heard Dumbledork say, "And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"
The Gryffindor first years followed Percy the Prefect through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall, and up the marble staircase. Katherine's legs were like lead because she was so tired and full of food. She didn't blink when she saw that the people in the portraits along the corridors whispered and pointed as they passed, there was a couple at home that did the same thing.
They climbed more staircases, yawning and dragging their feet, and Katherine was just wondering how much farther they had to go when they came to a sudden halt.
A bundle of walking sticks was floating in midair ahead of them, and as Percy took a step toward them, they started throwing themselves at him.
"Peeves," Percy whispered to the first years. "A poltergeist." He raised his voice, "Peeves – show yourself."
A loud, rude sound, like the air being let out of a balloon, answered.
"Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baron?"
There was a pop, and a little man with a wicked, dark eyes and a wide mouth appeared, floating cross-legged in the air, clutching the walking sticks.
"Ooooooh!" he said, with an evil cackle. "Ickle Firsties! What fun!"
He swooped suddenly at them. They all ducked.
"Go away, Peeves, or the Baron will hear about this, I mean it!" barked Percy.
Peeves stuck out tongue and vanished, dropping the walking sticks on Neville's head. They heard him zooming away, rattling coats of armor as he passed.
"You want to watch out for Peeves," said Percy, as they set off again. "The Bloody Baron is the only one who can control him, he won't even listen to us prefects. Here we are."
At the very end of the corridor hung a portrait of a very chubby woman in a pink silk dress.
"Password?" she said.
"Caput Draconis," said Percy, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled through it – Neville needed a leg up – and found themselves in the Gryffindor common room, a cozy, round room full of squishy armchairs.
Percy directed the girls through one door to their dormitory and the boys through another. At the top of the spiral stairs – they were obviously in one of the towers – they found their beds at last: five four-posters hung with deep red, velvet curtains. Their trunks had already been brought up. Katherine choose the bed closest to the window. She put an alarm clock on her nightstand that she made when she was eight – with the help of Uncle Moony and Minnie of course. It was wolf shaped and showed the lunar cycle and had a graph to see how grouchy Moony would be on that day. Too tired to try to get to know her dorm-mates, she pulled on her pajamas and fell onto bed.