AN: Forgive me for all the canon text here. But to be fair, I've had 11 chapters of purely original text, I think you should cut me some slack. This chapter is dedicated to riddikuluslyobssesedpotterhead for your support and compliments! Thank you so much!
(Lots of reviews = DEDICATION CHAPTER. Asking nicely for one = DEDICATION CHAPTER.)
Hey. I'm not gonna lie. By the end of First Year(The early Chapter Twenties), I want to have at least one hundred reviews.
Just wanted to say.
Calm Before the Storm
Chapter 12
Words: 2408
Date Updated: 1/21/2021
They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. 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.
Astra boredly listened to McGonagall deliver her speech. She already knew this - but then again, for the mud-muggleborns, she supposed, the speech was needed.
"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.
Blah, blah, blah. She wordlessly said to her brother.
I know. Just put us in Slytherin already!
"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."
I will, Astra thought to herself. I'll be great. A legend.
"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."
As if she needed smartening up. She was a Malfoy!
"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."
She left the chamber.
"How do they sort us into Houses?" A sandy-haired boy asked Weasley quietly.
"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking." Weasley responded.
Astra rolled her eyes. What an idiot! Didn't Weasley's parents bother to tell him anything? Merlin, blood traitors!
She heard screams from behind her, and she jumped almost a foot in the air.
"What in the — ?"
Astra gasped, along with the other soon-to-be students with 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 fat 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? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost — I say, what are you all doing here?"
A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years. Nobody answered.
"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be
Sorted, I suppose?"
A few people nodded mutely.
"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old House, you
know."
Perhaps Astoria will, Astra mused.
"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."
Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.
"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me."
The Great Hall 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.
Astra was in awe. Lucius evidently hadn't told her and Draco everything, and thank Merlin for that!
She glanced up and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars.
"It's bewitched to look like the sky outside! I read about it in Hogwarts: A History!" Hermione hissed in her ear.
"Whoa." Astra murmured in response. What amazing magic could have created that, she did not know. She silently praised the Founders for their imaginative thinking as she watched McGonagall place a four-legged stool in front of them and drop a dirty, frayed hat on it.
The Sorting Hat! She realized. It looked quite disgusting - would it be possible to request it to be Levitated over her head without actually touching it? Probably not. Ah well, nothing a long shower couldn't cure.
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'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!"
Even Astra clapped when the Hat finished it's song - she thought nothing of its state, but that could be fixed with a simple wash - it was truly impressive, the Hat's enchantments. Was it sentient?
"So we've just got to try on the hat!" Weasley whispered, interrupting Astra's train of thought. "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll."
She snorted. "Idiot." She tried to disguise it as a cough.
Weasley must've heard, because his ears went redder than his hair.
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!"
Half-blood, Astra remembered. Half-blood father, muggleborn mother.
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 moment's pause — "HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.
The table on the right cheered and clapped as Abbott went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Astra saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her.
"Bones, Susan!"
Niece of Amelia Bones, who lost her husband, sister-in-law, oldest brother, and son in the war against the Dark Lord. Susan Bones's father - Amelia's younger brother - lost his wife, aka Susan's mother.
"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Bones scuttled off to sit next to Hannah. The two began to speak quietly, and Astra saw a budding friendship strike up between the two.
"Boot, Terry!"
Pureblood, from a traditionally neutral pureblood House - usually Sorted into Ravenclaw-
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Well. There's a surprise.
The table second from the left clapped; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Boot as he joined them. It made sense, the House Boot was quite influential after all.
"Brocklehurst, Mandy!"
Pureblood - influential House - neutral - most likely Gryffindor or-
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Brown, Lavender!"
Pureblood, from a minor, non-influential House.
"GRYFFINDOR."
The older Slytherins booed in unison, matching the Gryffindors's cheers with their boos.
Astra was tempted to boo along with them, but didn't want to be presumptuous that she'd end up in Slytherin.
Draco,however, had no such qualms. He booed like the dragon he was named for while Astra facepalmed.
"Bulstrode, Millicent."
Pureblood, slightly inbred, friend of Pansy's…
After Pansy got over her silly crush of Draco, she was actually kind of fun to talk to, and slowly their initial meeting was forgotten and the two had managed to develop an actual friendship.
"SLYTHERIN," As expected.
"Corner, Michael!"
Half-blood, from the minor House Corner.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Crabbe, Vincent!" Ah, Draco's Minion One. They hadn't met him yet - a shame, truly.
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"
…
Muggleborn, must be.
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Finnigan, Seamus,"
Not Muggleborn, he's not surprised or in awe - must be a halfblood-
The sandy-haired boy who had asked Weasley about the Sorting sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.
Boo, she thought wildly. Hope you trip on the way to your table, Gryffindork!
Finnigan, unfortunately, did not trip on his way to the Gryffindor table.
Dang it.
"Goldstein, ANTHONY!"
Halfblood - from the minor pureblood House Stennet through his mother.
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Goyle, Gregory!"
Minion Number Two - I really should vet them for Draco…
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Granger, Hermione!"
Ah!
You can see inside my HEAD?!
How?
That's not mentioned in any of the books I read!
Yes...Cunning, but ah, not nearly ambitious enough for Slytherin...Brave, fierce, but your opinion of Gryffindor works against you...Loyal to a fault, certainly hardworking, but while I'm sure you'd bring Hufflepuff to greatness, no, it is not the place for you...As for my Legilimency, well, there are a great many books on that for you to look up in
"RAVENCLAW!"
Hermione was unsurprised and disappointed as she ran forward to her table.
"Greengrass, Astoria!"
Astoria stumbled up to the Hat, wishing she could melt into the ground.
Well, well, well, another Greengrass. I Sorted your father, you know. An interesting man, Perseus Greengrass.
But oh! Loyal, hardworking, but Hufflepuff would not encourage your mind...Intelligent, wise...Cunning, yes, certainly Slytherin would help you to greatness..
Not Slytherin. Not Slytherin! Please, NOT SLYTHERIN! I'm NOT just like Daphne! I'm NOT!
If that's what you want, Miss Greengrass….
"RAVENCLAW!"
Astoria skipped to the table, so happy to not be forever in Daphne's shadow. She sat next to Hermione and they began to discuss how the Hat could read their minds.
"Greengrass, Daphne!"
Your sister was quite the Sort, you know.
Will she be happy there?
Why, caring for another's being before your own is quite GRY-
You better not - my best friend is a Malfoy and I bet she knows more dark curses than the whole Gryffindor House together!
Well. That's an opinion.
SlytherinHufflepuffRavenclawSlytherinHufflepuffRavenclawSlytherinHufflepuffRavenclaw notGryffindornotGryffindornotGryffindornotGryffindornotGryffindornotGryffindor...
As you wish.
"SLYTHERIN!"
Daphne breathed a deep sigh of relief as she sat down next to Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. "Make some space, won't you?" She murmured as she continued to watch the Sorting.
"Li, Sue!"
Half-blood...from the common family Li…
"Hufflepuff!"
"Longbottom, Neville!"
Neville carefully walked forward and plopped the Hat on his head.
Chivalry..
Bravery…
But I don't WANT to be Gryffindor!
Why?
Aren't YOU supposed to know?
Ah! You want to stay with your friends!
SLYTHERIN, please!
No, that's not it.
Then-
"RAVENCLAW!"
But...why?
You'll learn.
And so Neville Longbottom walked to the Ravenclaw table in awe and marveled at the hilarity of the situation.
"Lovegood, Luna!"
Pureblood. Of the House Ollivander through her dead mother Pandora Lovegood née Ollivander.
"Ravenclaw!"
Luna merrily hopped forwards towards the Hat.
Oh, hullo, Hat!
An interesting mind indeed - what House would you prefer?
I'd like Ravenclaw, like Mummy. Also, Hat, when you Sort Astra Malfoy, you should know that Professor Lemon Drops will try to infect you with Nargles.
It's not very healthy, you know.
Well. Thank you for that, Miss Lovegood. I suppose it's only fair to grant you your wish - RAVENCLAW!
"MacDougal, Morag!"
Muggleborn! Astra realized.
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Macmillan, Ernest!"
Pureblood, from the Noble House of Macmillan, Astra thought. Very influential!
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Malfoy, Astra!"
Astra's legs turned to jelly, but she managed to step forward robotically and put the Hat on, ignoring the whispers of those around her.
Well, an ambitious mind indeed…
Fear stabbed through Astra as she realized this: the Hat could read minds. It would probably parrot all of her secrets to Dumbledore! Quick, Occlumency shields!
She yanked them up, but the Hat's voice slithered through her mind.
That's no use…
GET OUT OF MY HEAD, YOU BLOODY HAT!
Well, a fierce personality like that seems a lot like a-
If you put me in Gryffindor, I will learn to cast Fiendfyre and I will come back here and burn you to ashes, is that clear?
Dear me! But your wish is mine, Miss Potter, or do you prefer Miss Malfoy?
You already know, Hat.
I do, indeed.
"SLYTHERIN!"
Between us? I'm bound from telling your secrets to a soul.
Good luck.
Astra was torn between the relief that was melding through her every bone and the surprise at the Hat. But somehow, her body mechanically moved to sit next to Daphne at the Slytherin table and ignore the angry gaze of Dumbledore that was burning holes in the back of her head.
Draco joined her there as well, unsurprisingly. Lily Moon and Pansy Parkinson got into Slytherin, Theo Nott in Ravenclaw, Padma Patil in Ravenclaw, her twin Parvati in Gryffindor.
Sally-Anne Perks was sent to Hufflepuff. Dean Thomas was sent to Gryffindor. Lisa Turpin Sorted into Ravenclaw, Weasley Sorted into Gryffindor, and finally Blaise Sorted into Slytherin.
Ah, Astra thought. It's gonna be a great year.