Chapter VII: Flashbacks of a Sorting

"I don't think she liked me very much," said Dawn to the rest of the Scoobies after coming out of their sorting session earlier that morning. They were currently walking back to their rooms.

"Can you blame her?" Buffy teased. Dawn sent a glare her way. "I think it was the endless questions that got to her," Buffy continued.

Flashback

"So we put on that hat and then it tells us where we belong?" Dawn asked. They had just been explained how the sorting hat worked.

"That is correct," replied Minerva McGonagall, who had been trusted by Dumbledore to keep the Scoobies' secret. She was now taking care of the group's sorting while Dumbledore attended to some other business.

"What if we want to switch houses?" Dawn asked again.

"That will not be possible," replied McGonagall.

"Why not?" Asked a certain brunette once more.

"Because... just.. that's the way it has always been," answered the professor and then before there was time to ask another question she moved on," So, who will go first?"

"But what if their type of character changes over time, because people change. Will they be able to get another chance to be sorted then?" Minerva sighed. At least the younger Summers would probably end up in Ravenclaw with so all the questions she was asking. Merlin help her if she ended up in Gryffindor.

Flashback ended

Merlin would have to help Minerva, as it turned out, because Dawn, along with the rest of the gang, had been sorted into Gryffindor.

"You think?" asked Dawn to nobody in particular. The hat had told her that curiosity was what made her so willing to face danger and made her a perfect Gryffindor.

"Who cares, at least we all got sorted together," said Xander. Truth was, he had been pretty sure the rest would get sorted together because of the greater magical potential they had, and he would probably end up with Andrew.

Flashback

Xander put on the sorting hat and nearly fell out of his seat when it started to speak.

Why Alexander Harris, what a very interesting person from such an interesting group, no doub,. started the sorting hat, a lot of courage, but also a lot of loyalty. Where to put you, you'd make a fine edition to Hufflepuff, but you'd never truly be happy if not with your friends so the only choice is...GRYFFINDOR!

Flashback Ended

Yup, Xander was a happy camper indeed.

"That hat was really nice," he added.

"He spoke to you, too?" asked Andrew. "Good, because I thought I was going crazy." The hat had spoken to Andrew and had made quite an impression.

Flashback

"So, I just put you on my head and let you decide my destiny?" Andrew spoke more to himself than the Sorting Hat itself.

Why yes

"Aah!" screamed Andrew as he fell out of his chair, the hat falling to the floor beside him. He looked up to see the rest of the gang stifling their laughs and a very irritated Minerva McGonagall, who had just been answering another series of Dawn questions.

"I'm just going to put this back on now," he said, getting up and putting the Sorting Hat back on, only to hear it laughing.

Oh, how will Hogwarts survive this group?Asked the hat through a series of cackles.

Flashback ended

"I, for one, think the hat could've been a bit more polite," said Andrew.

"Why are criticizing the hat? You should be glad he let you in Gryffindor," Xander said.

"Yeah, why did it do that?" asked Dawn.

"It was something about my ability to change for the better," shrugged Andrew.

"Yeah, it said something like that to me, because of the whole, you know, trying to take over the world thing," put in Willow.

Flashback

Willow was nervous, no she really nervous. She would end up in Slytherin for sure after trying to take over the world, no matter how long ago that was, she thought. She was slightly shaking while she put on the hat.

Why would you think that my dear? asked the hat, surprising a small yelp out of Willow. You don't seem like you belong in Slytherin...oh I see. Not to worry, past deeds are only important if you made the wrong choice in the end, something you fortunately avoided doing. No, dear, you are not Slytherin material. I'd say you were more Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. What was that? How would I know? Well, it is my job to know these things. Oh, I've made up my mind. You belong in...GRYFFINDOR!

Flashback ended

"I agree with Xander, the hat was nice," Willow concluded.

"Antonius," said Buffy. Everyone turned to look at her.

"What?" asked Dawn.

"The hat, his name is Antonius," said Buffy.

"You namedthe hat?" asked Xander.

"Noo, Antonius already had a name, it was just that nobody had asked him about it," responded Buffy.

"Leave it to my weirdo sister to have a conversation with a hat," said Dawn

"No wonder you took the longest out of all of us to get sorted," added Andrew. It was true, Buffy had spent the most time with the sorting hat on. It wasn't because the hat had trouble deciding where to put her, though.

Flashback

"So, who will go first?" asked McGonagall, looking to avoid any more questions, which is just what she got. Buffy decided to spare the poor women and volunteered. She soon had the Sorting Hat over her head.

Buffy Anne Summers a voice whispered what a tough decision ahead of me. You have potential, yes that indeed you do, but also a darkness that would be well welcomed among the Slytherins. But, no that darkness is not you, you cannot help it. There is bravery, lots of it, and my do you care about your family and friends, perfect Gryffindor qualities. Where should you be put...Buffy sat there, amazed at how the hat was describing her. So much pain in your past, it will get better, without a doubt. After much deliberation whether to go with Slytherin or Gryffindor, the hat ended his debate with a sentence. Yes, there's no other place for you, Miss, than …

Do you have a name? Buffy thought.

What? asked the confused hat.

I asked if you had a name. You know, so that when say blank talked to me about, well, what you talked to me about, I can fill the blank with your name, Buffy explained.

Oh, well, no one has asked me that before, replied the hat.

Talk about bad manners thought Buffy, to which the hat laughed.

Antonius, my name is Antonius, the hat replied. And so began a conversation that lasted a whole ten minutes. Finally, they ended their conversation, deciding Antonius should sort the others. And so, Buffy was sorted into Gryffindor.

Buffy took off the hat and left it on the table as she went to make her way to her seat. Soon, Xander stood up and made his way to the hat. A while after, Xander got sorted into Gryffindor, too.

"So who's next?" Xander said smiling as he sat back down. Hesitantly, Willow stood up and put the sorting hat on. Soon afterward, Dawn went up, followed by Andrew.

Flashback Ended

"I wonder what Giles is up to," asked Willow. Giles had had the option of going along to see the others get sorted, or visit the castle grounds, seeing as he wouldn't get sorted himself.

"He said something about heading to the library to see if they had any books on the mythological beings which are slayers," answered Andrew.

"Its kind of weird to think of myself as a mythological being," said Buffy. And so, their conversation continued until they reached their rooms.

Somewhere else in the castle grounds, a certain Gryffindor head-of-house was doing her best to avoid thinking about having the Scoobies in her house that year, along with another certain group that was sure to cause trouble. No no, she wasn't going to think about that right now. She'd think about it tomorrow, when the Scoobies, as they liked to call themselves, would join the other students, an event that was screaming mayhem-in-the-making.