Harry grabbed Will's arm and pulled him in the direction of an extremely tall man who could only be Hagrid. He was doing the 'Firs' years' call as well, so that was a big clue.
"There yeh are Harry!" Hagrid said as they approached, "Any more firs' years? If that's all o' yeh, come righ' this way now, and mind yer step."
Hagrid led them down to the docks and as Hogwarts came into view, Will gasped. It was beautiful!
After being told four to a boat, Will nodded to the others and motioned for them to split up, so no one person was left alone. Harry grabbed his arm again and pulled him into a boat with what looked to be the Patil twins. Neville, Ron, and Hermione got in a boat with a black boy who was maybe Dean Thomas, or possibly Blaise Zabini.
As Hagrid directed the boats left the dock and sailed onto the open lake, heading for the castle.
They glided towards the cliff face and Hagrid told them to duck, which they all did. Will didn't know why they had bothered, because as they sailed into the hidden cavern he saw that there had been enough room for their heads. The only one who needed to duck was Hagrid.
As they hopped out of the boats, Hagrid led them up a staircase leading to a large door, on which he knocked.
Professor Mcgonagall answered, and led them inside. She expertly corralled them into a side chamber away from the Great Hall, and quickly got them all to be quiet with a single glare.
"Now that everyone is paying attention, I'd like to welcome you all to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The Start-of-Term Banquet will be starting soon, but before that you all will be sorted into your Houses. This step is important because these Houses will be like family to you as you progress through your years here. You'll eat meals, attend classes, and sleep in the same room with those you're sorted with. You'll also spend down time in your House common room.
"Now there are four Houses here at Hogwarts, and those houses are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Each house has an illustrious history behind it, and each House has had many successful Wizards and Witches among its Alumni.
"There's one other thing I need to go over before we begin the sorting. The House Point system. All of your successes, in classes and out, will be given House Points. But any rule breaking will see House Points taken away. At the end of the year, the House with the most points will win the coveted House Cup." She paused to look at them, "I'm sure you'll all make your Houses proud, no matter which House you're sorted into."
"Now everyone, please wait quietly while I go to prepare for you. I'll return when everything is ready." With one last glare, Mcgonagall left the room.
There was a pause.
"How exactly do we get sorted," Harry asked. Will looked around, nobody said anything until-
"Fred and George said it was some sort of test, but I think they were joking." Ron commented, "I hope they were joking." was added softly at the end.
Everyone looked nervous. Will paused. He'd considered a plan where he made everyone think he was psychic, so he could use future knowledge to his advantage. Was this the right time to lay the groundworks for that? Only one way to find out.
"I'm pretty sure it's something simple, like putting on a hat." Will said, smiling encouragingly at Harry.
"You really think it'd be something as simple as that?" Draco laughed in disbelief, "Why keep it such a big secret then?"
"What do you think, Hermione?" Will asked, ignoring Draco (to his outrage) "Have you read about it in any books?"
Hermione gave Will a strange look, but replied, "As far as I'm aware, it isn't written down anywhere. I mean, you'd think it would have been added to Hogwarts: A History, but they didn't mention it there, either."
"Well, there's no point getting too worked up about it," Will added, "I'm sure they wouldn't have us doing anything too hard or dangerous. We're only first years after all, we haven't learned any magic yet."
Everyone's facial expressions looked a little better now, so Will considered this a success. Except that at that moment, someone screamed. Will looked towards the sound, and saw a large group of ghosts travelling through the wall into the room. And yep, they were arguing about Peeves. The films had got this one pretty spot on appearance-wise. He cleared his throat.
A ghost in a ruff looked up at the noise, "Oh dear, are we interrupting something?"
"We're about to be sorted, actually." Will replied.
A bald monk gasped, "Really, is it that time of year already? I do hope to see you in Hufflepuff! My old House." He paused, and took a closer look at Will. "Hang on, are you-"
"Sorry to interrupt," Mcgonagall interjected, revealing that she'd returned while they'd been distracted, "It's time for the sorting now, so I'd appreciate it if you all followed me."
Will looked back to see everyone else staring at him.
"What?" He asked.
They lined up and followed Mcgonagall into the Great Hall, walking to the front between two long tables. The room was huge! It looked like the walls just ended, and all that was above them was the night sky. The floating candles were a nice touch too. "It's enchanted." Hermione piped up, "To look like the night sky outside. It said so in-"
"Hogwarts: A History," Will finished for her, and she smiled at him.
Sitting up front, with the Professor's table behind it, sat a stool and a hat. Harry turned to Will and said, "Looks like you were right," under his breath. Will shrugged.
Ron sighed, "I'm going to get Fred and George. They said something about wrestling a troll."
As they reached the front, the hat began to sing a familiar song. Will started enthusiastic clapping when it was done. It was nice to hear that in person!
"Now, when I call your name, sit on this stool and I'll put the hat on your head." Mcgonagall announced, before pulling out a scroll and calling out, "Abbott, Hannah!"
Everyone watched as the blonde girl in pigtails sat on the stool, and Mcgonagall lowered the Hat.
"Hufflepuff!" The hat announced.
"What happens if we're separated?" Harry asked quietly.
"Bones, Susan!"
"Doesn't matter to me," Will said, "I'm still going to be your friend."
"Hufflepuff!"
Harry nodded.
"Boot, Terry!"
"I hope we'll be in the same House though. ("Ravenclaw!") It'll be easier if we are. ("Brocklehurst, Amanda!") Ron, Neville, and Hermione too. We'd be able to go on adventures together if we're in the same House." Will added thoughtfully.
"Ravenclaw!"
Harry paused, "I see." He had a strange look on his face.
"Brown, Lavender!"
"What's wrong?" Will asked, confused.
"Gryffindor!"
"Nothing," Harry assured, "Just thinking is all. Now let's be quiet, I think Mcgonagall is glaring at us."
"Bulstrode, Millicent!"
Will considered his options. He was definitely hoping for Gryffindor, ("Slytherin!") but he wondered if the changes he'd made would make the sorting different as well. ("Corner, Michael!") What would happen if they all ended up in different Houses? ("Ravenclaw!") And what about him? ("Crabbe, Vincent!") Even if the others all ended up in Gryffindor, ("Slytherin!") would that happen to Will as well? ("Finch-Fletchley, Justin!") He didn't have the benefit of foreknowledge for his own sorting. ("Hufflepuff!")
"Are you alright?" Harry whispered.
"Finnigan, Seamus!"
"What?" Will asked, distracted.
"Are you alright." Harry stated, "You seem more worried than I am."
"Oh," Will said, "I just really want us to be in the same House is all. I'm a little worried about drifting apart, to be honest. I don't want you to leave me behind."
"Me leave you behind?" Harry laughed, "I was worried about you leaving me behind."
"Gryffindor!"
"That will never happen, as long as I can help it." Will said, determined.
"Goyle, Gregory!"
There was a pause, ("Slytherin!") then Harry said, "Thanks, Will. I'm not going to leave you behind either."
Hermione was vibrating in place with excitement.
"Granger, Hermione!"
She almost ran up to the stool, and plopped down onto it. Mcgonagall sat the hat on her head. There was a pause.
"This seems to be taking a while," Will muttered, "I wonder if she'll be a hatstall."
"A what?" Harry asked.
"It was mentioned in Hogwarts: a History. If a student takes more than five minutes to be sorted, they're considered a hatstall." Will replied, "Do you want to borrow my copy? It's an interesting read."
"I'm good," Harry chuckled, "I'll just ask you."
"Gryffindor!" The hat shouted. Hermione beamed, and after Mcgonagall removed the hat she headed to the Gryffindor table.
"Greengrass, Daphne!"
"Not quite five minutes, I'd say." Harry said.
"Slytherin!"
"Yep, not a hatstall."
"Neville Longbottom!"
Neville moved forward nervously. He gingerly sat on the stool, and Mcgonagall placed the hat on his head.
"Gryffindor!"
Neville stood up, and looked at Will, smiling. Will smiled at him, and pointed to his head. Neville looked confused for a moment, before Mcgonagall cleared her throat and removed the hat from Neville's head.
As Neville headed to the Gryffindor table, Will was a little confused. ("MacDougal, Morag!") Wasn't Neville supposed to almost be a hatstall too? The sorting hat had decided pretty quickly. ("Ravenclaw!") Had something he'd said changed Neville's mind about where he should be sorted? ("Macmillan, Ernest!") Will had read that the reason Neville's sorting had taken so long was because he argued with the hat about placing him in Gryffindor. ("Hufflepuff!") What had changed?
Mcgonagall looked at the roll of parchment she was holding again, and announced, "Malfoy, Draco!"
Draco swaggered over, and sat on the stool. The hat barely touched his head.
"Slytherin!"
"Well, that's not very surprising." Will muttered. ("Moon, Lily!") Harry gave Will a confused look. ("Hufflepuff!")
Will was energized, excited, expectant. His name should be next!
"Nelson, William!" Mcgonagall called out.
This was it, the moment of truth. As the hat slid over his eyes, Will swallowed nervously.
All was darkness. Quiet.
Quiet? Wasn't the Sorting Hat supposed to speak to him? Will sat nervously. Was something wrong? Will mentally felt about, trying to see if there was something he could do. He felt a small tendril poking about and as soon as he touched it, a mental link snapped into place.
'Oh my, that's new.' Will heard a voice in his head, finally. Wait, that wasn't something to celebrate, normally.
'Oh, I see what happened. This isn't your body, is it?' Will froze. The hat wasn't going to tell everyone, was it?
'Oh, don't worry, there's still that confidentiality agreement. I couldn't tell, even if I wanted to. But I don't want to. I can see the mission you've been sent on is very important. Isn't this exciting, it isn't often I see something new, and this is definitely new. Did you know that anyone trying to enter your head finds emptiness? No, I can see your surprise. It would certainly make anyone using Legilimency suspicious to find someone with no thoughts, don't you think? Do come talk to me again later, I'd love to chat with you more.
'But now to get down to business. Oh, this is a no-brainer. Anyone who would jump headfirst into danger like you did belongs in-'
"Gryffindor!"
Light and sound erupted around Will again as the hat was removed. He mechanically stood up and walked over to the Gryffindor table. Hermione and Neville clapped him on the back as he sat down, but Will was miles away. He'd have to be very careful from now on wouldn't he?
A hand waved in front of Will's face, causing him to jump.
"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Hermione apologized, "I just thought you'd want to see Harry get sorted. You seemed sort of out of it, so I thought I'd-"
"No, thank you!" Will replied, and turned to see Harry already wearing the Sorting Hat. He crossed his fingers, but it was unnecessary.
"Gryffindor!" The hat called, and the Gryffindor table erupted! Fred and George were pounding on the table and doing a familiar chant. Will stood and cheered as well. Harry beamed at him as he approached.
Will patted Harry on the back as they sat down.
"Thomas, Dean!"
"Did the hat say anything weird to you?" Will asked.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, a strange expression on his face.
"Gryffindor!"
"Oh, I just meant- The hat said something weird to me, and I thought it might have something to do with astral projection, so I was wondering-"
"Turpin, Lisa!"
"No," Harry replied, "It didn't say anything like that. It just considered a couple different Houses before settling on Gryffindor."
"Ravenclaw!"
"Oh," Will replied, somewhat relieved. At least he hadn't damaged the link between his friend's mind and body.
"Weasley, Ronald!"
"Oh, Ron's up!" Harry said, and Will turned around to see Ron have the hat barely touch his head before-
"Gryffindor!"
Will cheered again, and patted Ron on the back as he sat down.
"Zabini, Blaise!"
"Oh good, I think this is the last one," Will said, "I'm starving." Harry gave him a funny look again.
"Slytherin!"
Everyone clapped this time, but probably because they were happy the sorting was over.
Dumbledore stood up, and everyone went silent, "I'd like to take the time to welcome everyone to another year at Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry." He announced, "There's also a few words I want to say before we begin the feast, so here they are: Nitwit, Blubber, Oddment, Tweak. Thank you." Will nodded along with the headmaster's speech. As soon as he was done speaking, the food appeared. Everything looked amazing. Will piled his plate high as Harry turned to talk to the person next to him, which was Percy.
"Is the headmaster completely sane?" Harry asked him.
"He's one of the most amazing wizards to have ever lived, but no he isn't completely sane. Mashed Potatoes?" Percy explained, then offered Harry a bowl.
"That all does look amazing," a voice said sadly.
Will looked up to see the ghost in the ruff from earlier staring at him.
"Would you like some?" He offered politely.
"No, dear boy, but thank you. Us ghosts can't eat, you see. It's one of the things I miss most, I haven't eaten in nearly four hundred years," The ghost explained.
"Wait," Ron said from the other side of the table, "I think I know you, Nearly-Headless-Nick, right?"
"Actually, I prefer to be called Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, if you don't mind-"
"How exactly can someone be nearly headless?" Seamus asked from Ron's left.
Sir Nick sighed, "Like this." And pulled his head to the side. Will tried to get a good look, but Sir Nicholas was floating behind him. Turning back around, Will saw all of the disgusted faces and decided that maybe it was better to finish eating first.
"Anyway!" Sir Nicholas said, swinging his head back on, "I'm the resident ghost of Gryffindor tower, so I'm pleased to meet all of you new Gryffindors! I do hope you all can help win us the House Cup, the Bloody Baron has been absolutely insufferable about it. Slytherin has won the cup the last six years, you see." He gestured to the bloody ghost hovering over by the Slytherin table.
"Why's he all covered in blood?" Seamus asked, rather indelicately.
'I've never asked," Sir Nicholas replied, seeming rather miffed.
A bit later, it was time for dessert. Will helped himself to a chocolate eclair. The conversation had changed to their backgrounds.
"Me mum's a witch and me da's a muggle," Seamus was saying, "So I'm half and half, really. It was a bit of a shock when he found out, because me mum didn't tell him 'til after they'd been married, apparently."
"Really?" Hermione asked, surprised, "Why not?"
"It's against the law," Neville replied, "You can only tell family members, so they technically weren't family until they were wed."
"That's a bit silly," Will said, "What happens if you find out the other person isn't okay with magic, but you've already married? Isn't divorce still looked down upon? You could get stuck in an unhappy marriage."
Hermione looked thoughtful. Ron returned the topic back to the original point.
"My family's been magical for ages, same for you, right Neville?"
"Yeah," Neville nodded, "My Gran raised me. Everyone thought I was a squib for ages. My Great-Uncle Algie kept trying to force a bit of magic out of me by pulling elaborate stunts to surprise me. He once pushed me off Blackpool pier, and I nearly drowned. But I never had any accidental magic until I was eight. Great-Uncle Algie was holding me by my ankles from an upstairs window, and my Great-Auntie Enid offered him some pie. He forgot what he was doing and let go. But I bounced, down the garden and out into the road. Everyone was so happy, Gran nearly cried. Even then, they thought I might not have enough magic to attend Hogwarts, so when I got my letter my Great-Uncle bought me Trevor, my toad, as a congratulations gift."
"What?!" Hermione nearly shrieked, "You nearly died, twice, and everyone was happy about it?"
"Gran certainly wasn't!" Neville defended, laughing, "When he pushed me off the pier, she gave him a tongue-lashing like I'd never heard before. When he dropped me out the window, she was happy at first, because I'd performed magic. But when she found out why, she nearly throttled him."
"Oh," Hermione said, deflating a bit, "It still wasn't good of your uncle to do that though."
"Gran didn't let him come over for months after the pier incident." Neville nodded.
Harry yelped.
"What happened?" Percy asked him, concerned.
"Nothing, just-" Harry paused, "Who is the Professor talking to Professor Quirrell?"
Percy looked at the Head Table, "That's Professor Snape. It's no surprise Quirrell looks so nervous. Everyone knows Snape wants the Defence against the Dark Arts teaching job, but he's currently teaching Potions. He knows a lot about the Dark Arts, Snape does."
Will leaned over to Harry, whispering, "Something wrong?"
"Tell you later." Harry whispered back.
Right about then, the desserts vanished. Dumbledore stood up, and the hall fell silent.
"Just a few announcements now that we've all eaten," He began, "As usual, all students should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to enter for students." His eyes twinkled in the direction of the Gryffindor table. "Mr. Filch has also asked me to remind you that magic is forbidden in the corridors between classes. Quidditch trials will be held next week, so anyone interested in playing should let Madam Hooch know. Also, as a last note, everyone should be made aware that the third floor corridor is off limits to anyone who doesn't want to die a most painful death."
Will heard Harry laugh, then say, "He serious?"
Will nodded to him, and Percy said, "He doesn't joke at times like these. Odd, normally there's a reason things are forbidden. The forest is dangerous, full of magical beasts, that sort of thing. He should have at least told the Prefects about it."
"Now, it's time to sing the school song that we sing once every seven years! If we did it more often, I'm sure my colleagues would be most upset with me."
He was right, Will noticed. None of the teachers looked particularly happy about it. Well, except the smallest one, who was probably Professor Flitwick. Dumbledore brandished his wand, and a golden ribbon shot out. It wriggled around to spell words.
"Now, everyone pick your favorite tune, and off we go!" Dumbledore directed. Will chose 'Somebody to Love' by Queen. That came out in the seventies, right?
It was pandemonium. A cacophony of noise rose towards the rafters, as everyone finished singing at different times.
At the end, Dumbledore was left conducting the Weasley Twins as they sang a slow funeral march.
"Wonderful!" Dumbledore clapped, once the Weasley Twins had finished, "Music is a wonderful form of magic, unlike any other. Now, it's time for bed, off you go now!"
Percy directed the first years to follow him, and he led them to Gryffindor Tower. After a confrontation with Peeves, which Percy probably could have handled better, they arrived before a large portrait of a fat woman in a pink dress.
Percy gave the password, "Caput Draconis," and they all scrambled through the revealed hole. Taking Percy's directions, the girls headed up one staircase and the boys the other.
At the top, there was a door that had First Years written on it. Upon walking inside, the six boys discovered their belongings had been brought up, and their trunks were at the base of six four-poster beds. Will found his near the door on the left. Changing into pajamas, the boys hopped into bed.
As Will was drifting off, he heard, "Ugh, get off Scabbers!" Ron complained, "He's chewing my sheets!"
That brought Will up short. Wormtail.