"Welcome to Hogwarts. 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.
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 he 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.
The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all try to look as decent as you can. We all know that it's not your fault that it rained."
As the first years entered the Great Hall, they saw an old, frayed hat perched upon a stool. They all started staring at it when suddenly a crack opened in the brim and it began to sing.
A thousand years or more ago,When I was newly sewn,
There lived four wizards of renown,
Whose names are still well known:
Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor,
Fair Ravenclaw from glen,
Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad,
Shrewd Slytherin, from fen.
They shared a wish, a hope, a dream,
They hatched a daring plan
To educate young sorcerers
Thus Hogwarts school began.
Now each of these four founders
Formed their own house, for each
Did value different virtues
In the ones they had to teach.
By Gryffindor, the bravest were
Prized far beyond the rest;
For Ravenclaw, the cleverest
Would always be the best;
For Hufflepuff, hard workers were
Most worthy of admission;
And power-hungry Slytherin
Loved those of great ambition.
While still alive they did divide
Their favorites from the throng,
Yet how to pick the worthy ones
When they were dead and gone?
'Twas Gryffindor who found the way,
He whipped me off his head
The founders put some brains in me
So I could choose instead!
Now slip me snug about your ears,
I've never yet been wrong,
I'll have a look inside your mind
And tell where you belong!
The hall erupted into applause. Athena watched the start of the ceremony. Professor McGonagall unrolled a big scroll of parchment and told them, "When I call out your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool. When the hat announces your House, you will go and sit at the appropriate table."
When she heard this, she wasn't sure if she was relieved, disappointed, or angry. All we have to do is put that hat on our head and go to wherever it tells us? Fred and George lied! I do not want to be in whatever house they are! Athenaia started looking at the four tables, one for each Hogwarts house, assessing how well she would fit in there.
Slytherin doesn't look that pleasant. I hope I'm not in there. Besides, I hate snakes! Hufflepuff doesn't look that bad, but badgers aren't exactly my kind of animal. Ravenclaw eagles...I can see myself as one of them. Gryffindor - Hey! Is that Fred and George! I am notgoing into Gryffindor! But, wait - isn't that Harry Potter? Oh, my! That is Harry Potter!
The sorting started, interrupting her train of thought.
"Ackerly, Stewart!" A nice looking boy stumbled forward and dropped the hat on his head. "RAVENCLAW!"
"Baker, Stephanie!" A blond girl, with an eager look on her face, walked up to the stool and put on the Sorting Hat. "RAVENCLAW!"
"Baker, Riley!" Most likely the previous girl's twin. "GRYFFINDOR!"
"Cauldwell, Owen!" A tall, blushing boy staggered to the front. "HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Creevey, Dennis!" The boy that had fallen out of the boat eagerly ran to the stool, still wearing Hagrid's coat, and jammed the hat onto his head. "GRYFFINDOR!"
"Keiys, Rachael!" This was a nasty looking girl with a smug face. "SLYTHERIN!"
"Lupin, Katrina!" A girl with short pigtails padded to the stool. "GRYFFINDOR!"
"O'Rourke, Sara Cate!" A blonde short-haired girl cautiously crept up to the hat. "GRYFFINDOR!"
Next, a pair of twins were called up, Salaza, Evita, and Salaza, Jirmane. Both went to Slytherin.
"Smith, Athenaia!" My turn, Athena thought, walking calmly to the hat with her head held high. I want to be in Gryffindor, I want to meet Harry!
"Hmm, interesting," the hat told her as she put it on. "I see intelligence, courage. You're a hard worker. Somewhat ambitious, but a strong dislike for snakes. Hmm. Where would you like to go?"
I want to be in Gryffindor! she thought to the hat.
"If you want to be in Gryffindor, just to meet someone famous," came the reply, "then that's not the house for you. I can also see a dislike for Hufflepuff, so the only other choice is, RAVENCLAW!"
Athena got off of the stool and walked over to the Ravenclaw table as it burst into applause. She sat down next to a pretty, black-haired girl.
"Hi! Welcome to Hogwarts," said Cho. "My name is Cho Chang, and if I remember correctly, your name is Athenaia."
"Yes," replied Athena. "But everyone calls me Athena."
The sorting ended with Wydlon, Torene. (HUFFLEPUFF) and Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster, stood up. Everyone went silent. Glancing around the room with a huge smile on his face, he said, "I have only two words to say to you, tuck in." Athena could hear a couple of people saying, "Hear, hear!" as food magically appeared on the plates in front of them. Mountains of chicken, pork chops, treacle tarts, and pumpkin juice filled the tables.
When they had all finished eating. Professor Dumbledore stood up again. The food on the tables vanished. He started to speak, "So, now that we are all fed and watered, I must once more ask for your attention, while I give out a few notices.
Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of objects forbidden inside the castle has this year been extended to include Screaming Yo-yos, Fanged Frisbees, and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs. The full list comprises some four hundred and thirty-seven items, I believe, and can be viewed in Mr. Filch's office, if anybody would like to check it.
As ever, I would like to remind you all that the forest on the grounds is out-of-bounds to students, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all below third year.
It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."
This announcement received an angry buzz from all of the tables, as well as a couple unexpected swears from Cho.
Dumbledore continued, "This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy--but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts--"
His speech was cut off by the slam of the great doors as they were pushed open. On the other side stood a man in a long, black cloak. He lowered his hood and made his way towards Professor Dumbledore as the room burst into hushed whispers. It seemed that this man was covered in scars. As he finished talking to Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster turned and said, "May I introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher? Professor Moody."
Moody had a wooden leg and a bright blue, wildly spinning eyeball. His thick, grizzled hair lay around his face like a lion's mane.
"As I was saying," Dumbledore continued the announcements, "we are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."
This brought a loud, excited murmuring from all of the tables.
"You're JOKING!" someone shouted from the Gryffindor table.
Dumbledore once again continued, " I am not joking, Mr. Weasley. Though now that you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun who all go into a bar..." He stopped after seeing a harsh glance from Professor McGonagall. "Er--but maybe this is not the time...no...where was I? Ah yes, the Triwizard Tournament...well, some of you will not know what this tournament involves, so I hope those who do know will forgive me for giving a short explanation, and allow their attention to wander freely.
The Triwizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of wizardry: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. A champion was selected to represent each school, and the three champions competed in three magical tasks. The schools took it in turns to host the tournament once every five years, and it was generally agreed to be a most excellent way of establishing ties between young witches and wizards of different nationalities--until, that is, the death toll mounted so high that the tournament was discontinued. There have been several attempts over the centuries to reinstate the tournament, none of which has been very successful. However, our own departments of International Magical Cooperation and Magical Games and Sports have decided the time is ripe for another attempt. We have worked hard over the summer to ensure that this time, no champion will find himself or herself in mortal danger.
The heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their short-listed contenders in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place at Halloween. An impartial judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand Galleons personal prize money. Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard cup to Hogwarts, the heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an age restriction on contenders this year. Only students who are of age--that is to say, seventeen years or older--will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration. This is a measure we feel is necessary, given that the tournament tasks will be able to cope with them. I will personally be ensuring that no underage student hoodwinks our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts champion. I therefore beg you not to waste your time submitting yourself if you are under seventeen."
"The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving in October and remaining with us for the greater part of this year. I know that you will all extend every courtesy to our foreign guests while they are with us, and will give your whole-hearted support to the Hogwarts champion when he or she is selected. And now, it is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. Bed time! Chop-chop!"
After Dumbledore's announcements, Athena slowly put her book into her bag. She had been trying to finish the second Lord of the Rings book over dinner. The prefects were both rushing around, whispering something that Athena couldn't quite hear. She looked once again at the long table of teachers that would be teaching her classes this year. She didn't like the looks of a greasy-haired teacher with a pointy nose. When she turned back to grab her bag, all of the Ravenclaws were gone.
Athena left the great hall only to be surrounded by paintings. She walked slowly so she could glance at all of them. She noticed that they all seemed to move around, or into one another's frames. She kept running different thoughts around in her mind. What if they don't like me? What if the Sorting Hat was wrong? Will I meet anyone else? Are all the girls as nice as Cho? One seemed to startle her as she thought it. Where's the Ravenclaw common room? Athena stopped walking to stare at a giant painting that caught her eye. It was of a seemingly Scottish wizard from about the eighteenth century, wearing a kilt, sitting in the library, reading a book. Suddenly, the wizard looked up.
"Well, young Ravenclaw lass, art thou going to stand there forever staring at me, or dost thou know the password?"
"Password?" Athena wondered out loud.
"Aye, be ye Ravenclaw or not? Ye must be, I can sight a Ravenclaw from a mile away!"
"Oh! You must be the door to the Ravenclaw common room! The password is, um, oh! I need to see the prefects first, don't I?
"Aye! Ye be a first year, no doubt. My name be Sir Calvan of Brice, but thee may address me as Calvan. The most dependable prefect in Ravenclaw is a lass by the name of Kelly Lindrom. Thee may ask any Ravenclaw of her whereabouts. 'Tis always the same. Ye can find the lass in the library. Always reading is she, but now she be right behind thee."
"Huh?" Athena asked turning around.
Standing there was a tall, older girl with light reddish blond shoulder length hair, green eyes, and a book under one arm.
"Like Calvan said, you must be a first year," she said holding out her hand, "I'm Kelly Lindrom, but call me Kel, everyone else does. The password is tiddley winks."
"My name is Athenaia Smith, but call me Athena." Athena told her as the portrait swung open.
The Ravenclaw common room was big, but not quite as big as the Great Hall. It had a huge fireplace on one end and numerous comfy-looking chairs. On one end of the room there was a staircase with the word 'Boys' written on the lentil. The staircase on the other side was the same except it had the word 'Girls' on it. There was no one in the room except for Athena and Kel.
"They're all upstairs unpacking," Kel told her when she saw Athena's puzzled look. "We should go unpack too."
Athena followed Kel up the Girls staircase. They soon reached a door that had 'First Years' painted overhead. Kel waved goodbye and continued up the staircase. Athena entered the room and found herself facing four four-poster canopy beds. The other three girls were already asleep. She quietly found her own trunk in front of the bed that was right beside the window. Athena also took notice of the large wardrobe next to her bed. Athena hung all of her spare robes in the wardrobe, put her shoes in the bottom, right next to her hat. Lastly, she hung up her still damp cloak. Putting on a dress that Muggles use for night, a 'night-gown,' she sat on her bed and started to examine her schedule.
The next day was Monday, so she had breakfast, Charms with the Hufflepuffs, lunch, Transfiguration with the Slytherins, and dinner. All of the days had the same meal pattern, but Tuesdays were Potions with the Gryffindors, she had Tuesday afternoons for free time, study time, Athena thought. Wednesdays were History of Magic with the Slytherins, Herbology with the Gryffindors, and Astronomy at midnight with the Gryffindors. Thursdays were Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Hufflepuffs, and Transfiguration. Fridays were Potions, and Charms. Saturday and Sunday were free days. She was glad that she had half of a free day on Tuesday, because that was her birthday. I wonder if I'll have any friends to celebrate with?
Athena put her schedule on a table beside her bed. Yawning, she crawled in between the sheets and fell fast asleep, Shady curled up right next to her.
