The usual disclaimer... I don't own anything. Enjoy!
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Chap 2
The first years were bundled into a crowd in front of a giant set of doors, waiting for the intimidating Professor McGonagall to return and lead them inside. Hermione was near the front with Harry and Ron, glad to at least have some friends with her.
"How did you say they were going to sort us?", Harry asked nervously.
"Some sort of test, I think. Fred says it hurts a lot but I think he was joking", Ron replied.
"That's ridiculous. Haven't you all read Hogwarts, A History?", Hermione scolded. "You put on the sorting hat and it picks a house for you. There's Hufflepuff-".
"You don't want Hufflepuff", Ron supplied.
"...Ravenclaw-".
"The smart kids", Ron cut in again.
"Slytherin-".
"You definitely don't want Slytherin", Ron continued with a grimace.
"... and Gryffindor", Hermione finished.
"For the brave. My whole family's been in Gryffindor", Ron said proudly, puffing out his chest. "I'll be going there".
"I thought Ravenclaw sounded alright. But I wouldn't mind Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. Slytherin sounded rather scary, I don't think I belong there", Hermione mused.
"Harry, mate, you want Gryffindor", Ron said, shooting a scandalized glance at Hermione. Harry just stared back at them both, trying to calm his nervous stomach.
Ignoring Ron, Hermione lost herself in thought as they waited. Then, she almost jumped out of her skin as about twenty ghosts flew through the walls. She noticed Harry looked like he was going to be sick. The ghosts seemed to be having an argument of sorts, with one saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance -".
Another ghost cut in, "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?". The ghosts directed their attention to the cluster of nervous first years, who huddled together.
"New students!", said the one Hermione assumed to be the Friar. He gave them a beaming smile, "About to be sorted, I suppose?".
Hermione just stared, while a few others nodded. Everyone seemed to be at a loss for words. No matter, as the Friar continued. "Hope to see you in Hufflepuff! My old house you know". Hermione wasn't sure she was so interested in Hufflepuff after this.
"Move along now, the sorting ceremony's about to start", Professor McGonagall said as she returned into the chamber. The ghosts drifted away through the wall. "Now form a line", she ordered. "And follow me".
Hermione stumbled through the doors with the other first years, noting that Harry and Ron had stuck together. She was quickly distracted, however, by the hall they'd walked into. The Great Hall was glowing with the light of thousands and thousands of floating candles. There were four long tables - one for each house, Hermione assumed. The tables were coated in glittering golden plates and goblets. At the very top of the hall, there was a long table where the professors were seated. Scanning them, Hermione wasn't able to guess which would be teaching what subject. Professor McGonagall led the stumbling line of first years up near the professors' table, where they stood facing the hundreds of seated students. Hermione saw Harry look up, and, following his gaze, she took in the beautiful enchanted ceiling. "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside", she whispered to him, remembering the fact from Hogwarts, A History. If she didn't know it was there, she'd hardly believe there was a ceiling, to begin with.
Hermione dragged herself away from the night sky as Professor McGonagall set down a short stool in front of them. On top of the stool, she placed what Hermione assumed to be the sorting hat, a ragged old wizard's hat. It was rather old looking, Hermione noted, wondering why they didn't perform some sort of magical upkeep. While she was pondering this, a rip in the brim of the hat opened up like a gaping crater, 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."
Hermione zoned out the hat as it continued singing, favouring her attention on the hundreds of students staring up at it. She noticed first the Gryffindor table, with Fred and George whispering mischievously between them. Next, she focused on the Ravenclaw table, a sea of blue and black, some students already buried in books. Her gaze flew over Hufflepuff to take in Slytherin. The Slytherins who weren't staring stonily at the hat in silence were whispering among each other, pointing into the crowd of first-years. She assumed they were gossiping about Harry, who she'd found out to be the Harry Potter she'd read about over summer. She didn't think Harry was going to enjoy the attention.
As the hat finished its song, the Slytherins tore themselves away from their whispered conversations to break into roaring applause with the rest of the students. Hermione saw Fred and George rioting with the rest and found herself desperately hoping she'd join them in Gryffindor.
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Hermione had zoned out the first few sortings, preferring to focus on calming her nerves, preparing herself for whatever test the hat would surely present when she put it on. After Millicent Bulstrode was sorted into Slytherin, she realized she would probably be up soon.
"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Finnegan, Seamus!"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Hermione noticed the hat had taken longer to decide where Seamus would go and hoped her sorting was quick. She didn't like the idea of everyone staring and waiting. What if she never got a house? Would they send her home?
"Granger, Hermione", Professor McGonagall called sharply.
Hermione stepped out of the line of first-years to get sorted. She wished her name was further down in the alphabet, so she could at least see where Harry and Ron ended up. As she slipped the sorting hat over her head, she made eye contact with a winking Fred at the Gryffindor table. The hat covered her eyes and she sat in the darkness, waiting for a decision.
"Well, now… Smart, ambitious, I see a big future for you here".
Hermione almost jumped out of her seat when the hat started talking in her head.
"You can see all that from being a hat?", she mumbled.
"Don't worry, I'll get you where you need to go".
"GRYFFINDOR!", the hat shouted, echoing through the Great Hall.
Hermione stumbled off the stool, lifting the hat from her head. The Gryffindor table was loudly stomping and cheering, and she could see Fred and George among them, roaring with the crowd. Glad to see a familiar face, she hurried over to the table at squeezed in between George and the tall, brown-skinned boy next to him, who George introduced as Lee.
After Neville Longbottom was sorted into Gryffindor and ran off with the hat still on his head amid gales of laughter, Hermione tore her attention away from the sorting and took in the crowd around her. She seemed to have stumbled into a cluster of second and third years.
"So, Hermione, can you tell which twin is which, yet?", Lee asked with a grin.
"Fred has a little freckle above his eyebrow and George's tie is always crooked", Hermione said, shyly, hoping she hadn't gotten them mixed up. Lee laughed and wrapped his arm behind her to slap George on the back.
"Good one, you two have found. With those observational skills, maybe she'll find us a new hidden passage this year", Lee said.
As Harry and Ron were both sorted into Gryffindor, Hermione cheered and stomped her feet with everyone else, already feeling at home.
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After the prefects led the freshly-sorted first years back to the Gryffindor dorm and gave them the password, "Caput Draconis", Hermione was shown her new room. It was a shared room, with 4 other girls, Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil, Fay Dunbar, and Eloise Midgen. The beds were decorated with deep-red hanging curtains and sheets. Fay and Eloise seemed to be mostly keeping to themselves thus far, both disappearing out the door the moment after introducing themselves, but Lavender and Parvati seemed more friendly. Hermione learned that Parvati had a twin sister in Ravenclaw who Parvati said might be willing to study with Hermione sometime. The girls had no chance to claim beds, as their trunks had all magically appeared and seemingly chosen for them, so Hermione just got straight to unpacking. She didn't want to have anything to distract her from her schoolwork once classes started, after all.
"Hermione, would you want to go explore the castle with me and Lavender in a few minutes?", Parvati called from across the room. "We were thinking we'd go scout out the older boys, maybe try to meet the quidditch team".
"Yeah sure, just let me get my shoes back on", Hermione said, grateful for the friendly gesture.
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A/N Bit of a shorter chapter today, but be sure to leave a review! :)