Chapter 5: The Sorting Ceremony
A stern looking middle-aged woman, wearing emerald green robes opened the door.
"Greetings, first years," she said, directing us through the door. "My name is Professor McGonagall." She allowed us all to enter the entrance hall, which was large with high ceilings and torches lined the walls, casting a dim light. We were crowded into a small chamber off of the hall.
"Before the start of the term banquet, you will be sorted into you're houses," she told us. "There are four houses, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. You will belong to your house for all of your seven years here at Hogwarts. Houses participate in such things as the annual quidditch cup. You may also gain or lose points for your house based on behavior and participation. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup. I will return when we are ready to begin the ceremony." We all looked at each other. We were all still soaking wet from falling into the water.
"How do you think they sort us?" asked Sirius. I shrugged. I didn't know.
"I don't know," said James. "Maybe you have to do magic."
"I hope not," said Sirius. "I don't know how to do anything yet."
"Neither do I," said Peter, and I agreed. I had never done any magic on purpose. What would we have to do? Professor McGonagall returned to the room.
"All right, first years," she said. "We are ready to begin the ceremony. Please follow me." She led us into a large room with four long tables where the rest of the students sat, and another table where all of the teachers sat. There were candles floating in the air, lighting the room. The ceiling looked like there was no ceiling at all. It instead looked like the starry sky. We were led to stand in front of everyone else. I was nervous, needless to say, and so was everyone else. I could tell that even James and Sirius were, though they'd never admit to it. Professor McGonagall brought out a stool and an old, ragged hat and placed the stool in front of everyone with the hat on top of it. We looked at each other with confusion. What did we have to do?
"Now, first years," began Professor McGonagall. "When your name is called, you will put on the hat, and it will tell you what house you'll be in." That was it? All you had to do was try on a hat? We were all relieved to find this out. Then, the hat began singing.
Well I may not be beautiful,
But it's my guarantee,
That you will never find,
A more clever hat than me,
I'm not the type of hat,
You wear to block the sun,
I won't sit atop your head all day,
That would be no fun,
But if you'd like me to see,
What's going on in your mind,
Step right up and put me on,
I'll see what I can find,
Now it's time for you to know,
In which house you belong,
Come to me, the Sorting Hat,
For I am never wrong,
You could be in Gryffindor,
Where the brave find their success,
You could be a Hufflepuff,
Loyal above the rest,
Perhaps you are a Ravenclaw,
With a mind that's wise and clever,
Or maybe you belong in Slytherin,
Where power is you greatest endeavor,
But you'll never know where you belong,
Until I look inside your mind,
For I am the Hogwarts Sorting Hat,
The one and only of my kind!
The song ended and Professor McGonagall began to call names. The first one happened to be "Black, Sirius".
Sirius looked startled at hearing his name at first, then walked confidently to the hat. He placed it on his head and sat down. James had his fingers crossed and kept on whispering Gryffindor.
"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted suddenly. There were loud cheers from the Gryffindor table as Sirius chose a seat near the end. James cheered and gave him a thumbs up. We stood silently for a while. I noticed James looking at a girl with bright red hair who ended up being, "Evans, Lily", "GRYFFINDOR!" It wasn't long before "Larson, Rachel" became a Ravenclaw, and I knew what was coming next. "Lupin, Remus." I froze. What if I got Slytherin? I wanted to be with Sirius, James and Peter.
"Good luck," James tapped me on the shoulder and smiled. I walked forward to the hat. I could feel everyone's eyes on me. I placed the hat on my head and sat down.
"Hmm, a werewolf, huh?" the hat whispered. How does it know that? I thought. I hope it doesn't say anything. "Well, you're smart and brave," it continued. Finally it said, "Better be GRYFFINDOR!" I felt myself grinning as I removed the hat and went to sit with Sirius. The Gryffindor table once again cheered. James held up his crossed fingers, and Peter still looked nervous.
After "Malfoy, Lucious" became a Slytherin and "Norrison, Henry" became a Hufflepuff, they called "Pettigrew, Peter". Peter nervously approached the hat, looking a bit green. He placed it on his head and sat down on the stool. His eyes widened as the hat apparently told him something. Finally it shouted "GRYFFINDOR!" He ran to join us and we cheered along with the rest of the Gryffindors. Right after Peter, "Potter, James" was called. He approached the stool. The hat barely touched his head when it shouted "GRYFFINDOR!" We all cheered loudly as he ran to join us.
"All right!" he shouted. "We did it! We all got Gryffindor!" The four of us grinned. James took the seat on the other side of Sirius. Just then, as you never would have guessed, "Snape, Severus" was made a Slytherin. James's seat happened to be across from "Evans, Lily". James stared at her, and went a shade of red when she looked and smiled back. I poked Sirius.
"I think James is in love," I told him. He laughed and nodded. We waved our hands in front of James's face, slapped him in the arm, even pinched him and he had no reaction. Finally, Sirius hit him in the face.
"Ouch! What did ya do that for?" demanded James.
"You were staring at her," Sirius motioned to Lily.
"I was not!" James denied it.
"You were!" I insisted. "We pinched you and hit you and you didn't even notice!" I laughed.
"I- uh…" James's stuttering was stopped when Sirius caught the eye of "White, Erin" who had just become a Gryffindor. She took the seat next to Lily and across from Sirius.
"Look who's in love now," I whispered to Sirius.
"Shut up!"
"Hello, I'm Erin White," Erin introduced herself to Sirius and then the rest of us. James barely noticed because he was still too busy staring at Lily. I couldn't help laughing at both of them. Then Erin asked Lily if she'd met us. When she said no, she introduced herself, me first, then Sirius and finally James. I'm not sure if it was just me, but it seemed she shook James's hand a little longer than she had everyone else's, and if James had been red before, he was now a deep shade of crimson. He smiled at her and she just smiled back and shook her head, giggling. Peter found this absolutely hilarious, as did Sirius and I. I noticed that Erin had whispered something to Lily afterwards, and she turned red so her face matched James'.
Finally, the sorting was over, and we looked to the teachers' table, where a man dressed in deep midnight blue robes covered with silvery stars that matched his long hair and beard, that I assumed was Professor Dumbledore, stood.
"Welcome students!" he shouted, spreading his arms. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! I am Albus Dumbledore, your headmaster. I'd like to wish each and every one of you a great year! Now, without further ado, let the feast begin!"
We stared in fascination as the empty serving bowls and plates before us filled with food. I realized how hungry I was.
"Wow!" Peter was fascinated. "How did they do that?"
"Eat now, ask questions later," insisted Sirius, handing him a bowl of potatoes. We ate and ate. A ghost came gliding around the table. We looked at each other. A ghost? James nodded.
"Hi Nearly Headless Nick," he said, as it glided by.
"It's Sir Nicholas de Mimsy…" said the ghost, in a rather stern voice.
"How can you be nearly headless?" asked Sirius.
"Like this." The ghost grabbed the side of his head and pulled it off like a hinge so that only one side was attached to his neck. We stared in horror. He flipped his head back onto his shoulders.
"Well, I must be going. Good luck first years," the ghost said to us.
"Bye," we said to him. I noticed that each house had a ghost gliding around it. The one at the Slytherin table looked particularly horrible.
"Each house has it's own ghost," explained James. "My dad told me. Nearly Headless Nick died when someone tried to behead him, but they didn't do it properly." I nodded, and we continued eating.
Finally, when we could eat no more, Dumbledore announced once again.
"First years, I am making you aware that the forbidden forest is off limits to all students. There has also been a new tree planted this year, the whomping willow. All of you need to stay away from it. It is dangerous and you will be hurt if you go near it."
"Why would they plant a tree if it was that dangerous and they didn't want anyone to go near it?" I asked.
James shrugged. "This place is weird, what do you expect?"
"Quidditch tryouts will be held in three weeks. I encourage you all to try out. The prefects will show you to your common rooms and tell you the new password," Dumbledore continued. "Then you will find your dorm rooms and go to sleep. Your luggage will already be there. Goodnight everyone. Classes will begin tomorrow morning. Now, before we leave, let's take a moment to sing the Hogwarts School Song. Pick your favorite tune." We watched as words shot out of the end of his wand and formed in the air. We began to sing
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something please,
Whether we be old and bald,
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling,
With some interesting stuff,
For now they're bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we've forgot,
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot."
We all clapped when we finished singing, and then stood. The Gryffindor prefects directed us out of the room and towards the staircase from the great hall. We followed and stared as we did. The staircase was wide and marble. After that we were led down a long hallway with doors on either side, an occasional suit of armor, and pictures of famous witches and wizards from the past.
"Wow!" exclaimed Sirius, as he saw one of the people in a picture leave to visit the one next to it. "They move!"
"Well, what do you expect them to do, sit still all day?" asked Peter.
"Muggle photographs are still," explained Sirius. "They don't move."
"That's weird," I said. James nodded in agreement. We headed up another staircase. On this one, we were warned, you had to avoid the fifth step or your foot would get stuck in it. We walked down another hallway, which looked identical to the one we'd just been in. I wondered how we'd ever find our way to classes in such a confusing school. We took yet another staircase. This one was old and rickety. When you walked on it, it sounded as though it was going to collapse. After that, we went down another hallway with lots of sharp turns. If you weren't careful, you'd walk right into a wall. It seemed almost like a maze. I had no idea how I'd ever remember which turns we'd taken. We passed a cat that a fifth year told us was named Mrs. Norris and helped the caretaker, Filch. If we did anything wrong in the hallways, she'd have him there in an instant, and you'd be in big trouble then. We came to yet another staircase. This one wasn't really a staircase at all, rather, just stairs floating in midair, with nothing holding them up.
"Is it safe?" I wondered out loud as we approached it. The people in front of us walked right up it as though it was a normal staircase, then so did we. At the top, people screamed as the rug they were standing on was being pulled from under their feet.
"Knock it off, Peeves! We'll tell the Bloody Baron!" shouted a prefect. Peeves, we found out, was an obnoxious poltergeist that would always try to disrupt students passing in the hallways. The Bloody Baron, which was the horrible looking Slytherin ghost I'd seen earlier, was the only one who could control him.
After taking about five more hallways and three more staircases we arrived at a large picture of a fat lady in a pink dress.
"Password?" she asked the prefects.
"Pluribus Animagus," said one of the prefects. The picture opened like a door, revealing a large, circular room filled with cushioned armchairs.
"Girls' dorms to the left, boys' to the right!" announced a prefect who was standing on a chair to make herself heard. We headed to our dorm. There was a large spiral staircase, and the four of us shared the room at the top of the tower. There were five large four-posters with curtains surrounding them. We each chose one. Sirius's on one end, then James' then mine and finally Peter's on the other end. Our trunks and animals had been delivered to the room already. We got ready and laid down to go to sleep.
"Goodnight guys," said James, when we were all lying down.
"Goodnight," we all replied. I rolled over and tried to sleep. I wondered what would happen to me on full moon. Dumbledore hadn't spoken to me yet. What would happen if James, Sirius and Peter found out that I was a werewolf? I'd had more fun that day than I'd had in a long time, and they seemed like they really wanted to be my friends, as I wanted to be theirs. But if they ever found out, it would change everything. It would have been so much easier just to stay at home. Then I'd never have to worry. I could have spent the rest of my life hidden away from the world and no one would ever have to know what I was. I felt tears sting my eyes. Without realizing it, I let out a sob. I was quickly silent, but it was too late. James had heard.
"Are you okay, Remus?" he asked.
"Yeah, fine," I tried to sound normal when I answered.
"All right, goodnight then," he sounded doubtful. After that, it was silent and I eventually drifted off to sleep.