8. The Sorting
A/N: This was particularly difficult for me because so much came from GoF, but I wanted it to be unique at the same time. *sigh* We shall see.
Raising his huge fist, Hagrid knocked three times on the doors. They swung open to reveal Professor McGonagall, wearing her best emerald green robes. Tracey grinned as Hagrid said, "The firs' years, Professor McGonagall."
"Thank you, Hagrid." Professor McGonagall's voice still had the slight Scottish burr in it, but it was crisper now, sterner. "I will take them from here."
She opened the door wider and Tracey gladly shuffled into the entrance hall with the rest of the first years. It was nice to come in out of the rain at last. As she tried, in vain, to squeeze the excess water from her thick auburn hair, Tracey looked around, her bright blue eyes widening with awe. The house in California that she'd grown up in could have easily fit in the entrance hall alone. "Come on, Tracey."
She hurried to catch up with the rest of her year-mates as they filed into a small chamber off the entrance hall, her soaked socks squishing in her waterlogged shoes. She shivered, thinking longingly of her favorite pair of jeans. Whose bright idea was it to put girls in skirts, anyway?
Professor McGonagall's voice distracted Tracey from her thoughts as the girl stood shoulder to shoulder with Dennis. "Welcome to Hogwarts. The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats, 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." Tracey couldn't help grinning a little at that. Dennis and Colin hoped that Dennis would be Sorted into Gryffindor. Tracey only hoped that her father would be proud of her, no matter which House she ended up in. "You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room." That didn't sound so bad. She'd had to share her room with Lynda for the past four years. At least her roommates would be her age. Tracey listened to the rest of the speech intently and wondered how the four Houses differed from each other. "The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."
Tracey couldn't help rolling her eyes as the professor left. They were all soaked and wouldn't be drying off any time soon. However, she did her best to wring out her hair, wondering why she'd let it grow out in the first place. "Any idea how they Sort us, Dennis?"
"Colin said something about a hat," the small boy replied, looking as if he was wearing a furry black circus tent. "I'm not exactly sure, though."
Tracey sighed and shook her head, giving up on her hair. She gave a small shriek just then because ghosts had popped out of the wall just in front of her. A fat, roly-poly ghost said, "We really should give him a chance."
"No," the ghost who replied was gaunt and covered with silver bloodstains. "He would only--"
He abruptly stopped speaking when he spotted the students. "Hello," a mournful-looking female ghost greeted them. Tracey waved at her. "About to be Sorted, I expect."
"Yeah." Tracey nodded, liking the ghost.
The fat ghost, who looked like a friar, actually, beamed at the students. "I hope you end up my House, then. Hufflepuff, it was."
"Move along now," Professor McGonagall's brisk voice announced her return. "The Sorting is about to begin." The ghosts disappeared through the other wall. She turned to the students. "Form a line and follow me."
With Dennis walking along behind her, Tracey followed Professor McGonagall, wondering how a hat could Sort students. Upon entering the Great Hall, however, that thought was wiped away. It was huge and magnificent. Hundreds of candles floated in mid-air, glittering on golden plates and flatware. The older students were seated at four long tables, looking only slightly drier than Tracey and her peers. To distract herself from all the eyes gazing at her as she followed Professor McGonagall down the length of the Hall between two of the long tables, Tracey looked up and gasped. It was as if there wasn't a ceiling, that the hall was open to the sky above. She was puzzled, though, because no rain was falling, despite the swirling black and purple clouds. "It's not real, Tracey."
"What?" She glanced over her shoulder at Dennis, who was looking almost painfully excited. "What do you mean?"
He opened his mouth to explain, but they had reached the front of the room, across which sat the staff table. Tracey spotted her father seated in a chair shaped like a golden throne and caught his eye for a brief moment before turning to face the rest of the students. She stared as Professor McGonagall set a four-legged stool in front of the first year students, most of whom were shivering, and placed a ragged wizard's hat on top of the stool. After a moment of utter silence, a rip near the brim of the hat open wide and the hat began to sing! She listened to the song in awe and applauded with the rest of the students when the Hat had finished. So _that's_ how a hat Sorted students! Professor McGonagall stepped forward, unrolling a large scroll of parchment. "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."
Tracey nodded to herself. That didn't sound so bad. She wondered which House she would end up in. She didn't hunger for power, like Slytherin. She'd always worked hard in school, though, and had gotten pretty good grades. As for being brave, well, her shivers weren't just because of the cold, though she tried not to show how nervous she was. "Cooper, Tracey!"
Taking a deep breath, she stepped out of the line and walked over to the stool. After she'd sat down, Professor McGonagall set the hat on Tracey's head, which slipped all the way to her shoulders. She very nearly jumped when a small voice spoke in her ear, "Oh, my. You're going to be difficult to place. The intelligence and thirst for knowledge of Ravenclaw, the loyalty and work ethic of Hufflepuff, the ambition and cunning of Slytherin, and the bravery and honor of Gryffindor. Where shall I put you?"
_I thought Slytherins were power hungry,_ Tracey unconsciously replied.
"They can be," the Hat replied, "but not all of them are."
_Oh._ That had surprised her. _I'd like to go to whichever House will make Father proud of me._
The Hat was silent for a long moment. "Even if he had not been Sorted into that House?"
She considered that for a moment. _Yes, even if it's not my House._
"No need to worry." Did the Hat just chuckle? "He, too, was in GRYFFINDOR!"
The last word was shouted to the entire Hall and the Gryffindor table exploded with cheers as Minerva removed the hat. "Well done, Miss Cooper," Professor McGonagall murmured as Tracey stood.
Casting a fleeting smile at the Deputy Headmistress, Tracey scurried to the table on the far left, where Colin greeted her with a hearty handshake. "Way to go, Tracey! Let's hope Dennis ends up in Gryffindor, too."
"Creevey, Dennis!" Tracey looked beyond Dennis as he staggered to the stool at her father. He was looking right back at her! When their eyes met, he winked and smiled.
Tracey grinned back, but was distracted when the Hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"
Beside her, Colin whooped and applauded loudly as Dennis, grinning broadly, took off the hat, put it back on the stool and practically ran over to sit between his brother and Tracey. "Colin, I fell in! It was brilliant! And something in the water grabbed me and pushed me back in the boat!"
"Cool!" Colin sounded just as excited as Dennis. "It was probably the giant squid, Dennis!"
"_Wow!_" Dennis exclaimed, sounding impressed.
Tracey rolled her eyes and turned to watch the rest of the Sorting as Colin pointed Harry Potter out to his brother. Now that her nerves had had a chance to settle down, she realized she was very hungry and glanced longingly at the empty plate in front of her. Finally, finally, the Sorting was over and Albus got to his feet to address the students. Arms open wide in welcome; he beamed around at the students. "I have only two words to say to you: tuck in."
"Hear, hear!" Two boys several seats down the table from Tracey cried as the empty dishes filled with the most delicious-looking food Tracey had ever seen. A glance in the boys' direction told her that they were the two she'd seen go through the barrier first, the girl who'd been with them sitting across the table from them.
Her stomach rumbling loudly, Tracey scooped food on her plate and tucked in with a will. Some of the dishes looked a little strange to her, but Colin and Dennis were nice enough to explain them to her. She even tried one and discovered it was actually quite delicious. As the main courses gave way to desserts, the conversation moved on to the matter of parentage. When everyone else had stated his or hers, Dennis turned to his companion, "What about you, Tracey?"
"Um." Tracey hesitated, wondering what she should say. "Well, I grew up with my mom and stepfather. Both are Muggles."
Glances were exchanged amongst the first-years. A majority of them were from the wizarding world, where single parents and stepparents were still rare. The few who were Muggle-born or had interacted with the Muggle world were sympathetic. "What about your real father? Do you know if he was a wizard?"
"Mom told me he's a wizard," Tracey admitted truthfully, "but I don't know that much about him." That was true, too. Despite having spent most of the summer with her father, she still knew so little about him.
Conversation subsided as everyone absorbed themselves in their dessert of choice. Tracey's happened to be a lemon meringue pie that was quite tasty. Glancing up at the High Table, she noticed that a large slice of the same pie sat in front of her father, as well as a slice of chocolate silk pie. Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to her dessert.
At long last, the desserts faded and Albus stood to address the students. He said something about magical items that were forbidden inside the castle, that the forest on the grounds was forbidden to students, as was Hogsmeade to students below the third year. What caused the most reactions among the student body was, "It is also my most painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year." Despite the gasps and mutterings that arose around the hall, Albus pressed on. "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--"
He was interrupted, however, when a rumble of thunder coincided with the doors of the Great Hall banging open. A man shrouded in a black traveling cloak and leaning on a long staff stood in the doorway. As lighting forked across the enchanted ceiling, the man lowered his hood, shook out a mass of long grizzled dark gray hair, and began the walk up towards the High Table. With every other step, a dull 'clunk' echoed through the Hall. Reaching the end of the High Table, he turned right and limped towards Albus. Another flash of lightning caused several people around Tracey to gasp. It had revealed the man's face and it seemed, to Tracey, that someone had carved a vaguely human face in an apple, and then left it out in the sun to whither and dry out. Scars criss-crossed every inch of skin, the mouth looked more like a diagonal gash, and a large chunk was missing from his nose.
One eye was small, dark, and beady. The other was large, round, and a vibrant, electric blue. This eye was moving ceaselessly, unblinkingly, and quite independently from the other. Tracey couldn't help staring at the stranger, fascinated. He finally reached Albus and extended a badly-scarred hand. After exchanging a few words, Albus gestured to the empty seat on his right side. The man sat and began to eat. Albus broke into the silence that had descended on the Great Hall, "May I introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher? Professor Moody." Tracey started to clap, but stopped when the only other ones who did were Albus and Hagrid and they stopped quickly. After a few moments of silence, Albus cleared his throat. "As I was saying, 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."
A/N: This was particularly difficult for me because so much came from GoF, but I wanted it to be unique at the same time. *sigh* We shall see.
Raising his huge fist, Hagrid knocked three times on the doors. They swung open to reveal Professor McGonagall, wearing her best emerald green robes. Tracey grinned as Hagrid said, "The firs' years, Professor McGonagall."
"Thank you, Hagrid." Professor McGonagall's voice still had the slight Scottish burr in it, but it was crisper now, sterner. "I will take them from here."
She opened the door wider and Tracey gladly shuffled into the entrance hall with the rest of the first years. It was nice to come in out of the rain at last. As she tried, in vain, to squeeze the excess water from her thick auburn hair, Tracey looked around, her bright blue eyes widening with awe. The house in California that she'd grown up in could have easily fit in the entrance hall alone. "Come on, Tracey."
She hurried to catch up with the rest of her year-mates as they filed into a small chamber off the entrance hall, her soaked socks squishing in her waterlogged shoes. She shivered, thinking longingly of her favorite pair of jeans. Whose bright idea was it to put girls in skirts, anyway?
Professor McGonagall's voice distracted Tracey from her thoughts as the girl stood shoulder to shoulder with Dennis. "Welcome to Hogwarts. The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats, 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." Tracey couldn't help grinning a little at that. Dennis and Colin hoped that Dennis would be Sorted into Gryffindor. Tracey only hoped that her father would be proud of her, no matter which House she ended up in. "You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room." That didn't sound so bad. She'd had to share her room with Lynda for the past four years. At least her roommates would be her age. Tracey listened to the rest of the speech intently and wondered how the four Houses differed from each other. "The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."
Tracey couldn't help rolling her eyes as the professor left. They were all soaked and wouldn't be drying off any time soon. However, she did her best to wring out her hair, wondering why she'd let it grow out in the first place. "Any idea how they Sort us, Dennis?"
"Colin said something about a hat," the small boy replied, looking as if he was wearing a furry black circus tent. "I'm not exactly sure, though."
Tracey sighed and shook her head, giving up on her hair. She gave a small shriek just then because ghosts had popped out of the wall just in front of her. A fat, roly-poly ghost said, "We really should give him a chance."
"No," the ghost who replied was gaunt and covered with silver bloodstains. "He would only--"
He abruptly stopped speaking when he spotted the students. "Hello," a mournful-looking female ghost greeted them. Tracey waved at her. "About to be Sorted, I expect."
"Yeah." Tracey nodded, liking the ghost.
The fat ghost, who looked like a friar, actually, beamed at the students. "I hope you end up my House, then. Hufflepuff, it was."
"Move along now," Professor McGonagall's brisk voice announced her return. "The Sorting is about to begin." The ghosts disappeared through the other wall. She turned to the students. "Form a line and follow me."
With Dennis walking along behind her, Tracey followed Professor McGonagall, wondering how a hat could Sort students. Upon entering the Great Hall, however, that thought was wiped away. It was huge and magnificent. Hundreds of candles floated in mid-air, glittering on golden plates and flatware. The older students were seated at four long tables, looking only slightly drier than Tracey and her peers. To distract herself from all the eyes gazing at her as she followed Professor McGonagall down the length of the Hall between two of the long tables, Tracey looked up and gasped. It was as if there wasn't a ceiling, that the hall was open to the sky above. She was puzzled, though, because no rain was falling, despite the swirling black and purple clouds. "It's not real, Tracey."
"What?" She glanced over her shoulder at Dennis, who was looking almost painfully excited. "What do you mean?"
He opened his mouth to explain, but they had reached the front of the room, across which sat the staff table. Tracey spotted her father seated in a chair shaped like a golden throne and caught his eye for a brief moment before turning to face the rest of the students. She stared as Professor McGonagall set a four-legged stool in front of the first year students, most of whom were shivering, and placed a ragged wizard's hat on top of the stool. After a moment of utter silence, a rip near the brim of the hat open wide and the hat began to sing! She listened to the song in awe and applauded with the rest of the students when the Hat had finished. So _that's_ how a hat Sorted students! Professor McGonagall stepped forward, unrolling a large scroll of parchment. "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."
Tracey nodded to herself. That didn't sound so bad. She wondered which House she would end up in. She didn't hunger for power, like Slytherin. She'd always worked hard in school, though, and had gotten pretty good grades. As for being brave, well, her shivers weren't just because of the cold, though she tried not to show how nervous she was. "Cooper, Tracey!"
Taking a deep breath, she stepped out of the line and walked over to the stool. After she'd sat down, Professor McGonagall set the hat on Tracey's head, which slipped all the way to her shoulders. She very nearly jumped when a small voice spoke in her ear, "Oh, my. You're going to be difficult to place. The intelligence and thirst for knowledge of Ravenclaw, the loyalty and work ethic of Hufflepuff, the ambition and cunning of Slytherin, and the bravery and honor of Gryffindor. Where shall I put you?"
_I thought Slytherins were power hungry,_ Tracey unconsciously replied.
"They can be," the Hat replied, "but not all of them are."
_Oh._ That had surprised her. _I'd like to go to whichever House will make Father proud of me._
The Hat was silent for a long moment. "Even if he had not been Sorted into that House?"
She considered that for a moment. _Yes, even if it's not my House._
"No need to worry." Did the Hat just chuckle? "He, too, was in GRYFFINDOR!"
The last word was shouted to the entire Hall and the Gryffindor table exploded with cheers as Minerva removed the hat. "Well done, Miss Cooper," Professor McGonagall murmured as Tracey stood.
Casting a fleeting smile at the Deputy Headmistress, Tracey scurried to the table on the far left, where Colin greeted her with a hearty handshake. "Way to go, Tracey! Let's hope Dennis ends up in Gryffindor, too."
"Creevey, Dennis!" Tracey looked beyond Dennis as he staggered to the stool at her father. He was looking right back at her! When their eyes met, he winked and smiled.
Tracey grinned back, but was distracted when the Hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"
Beside her, Colin whooped and applauded loudly as Dennis, grinning broadly, took off the hat, put it back on the stool and practically ran over to sit between his brother and Tracey. "Colin, I fell in! It was brilliant! And something in the water grabbed me and pushed me back in the boat!"
"Cool!" Colin sounded just as excited as Dennis. "It was probably the giant squid, Dennis!"
"_Wow!_" Dennis exclaimed, sounding impressed.
Tracey rolled her eyes and turned to watch the rest of the Sorting as Colin pointed Harry Potter out to his brother. Now that her nerves had had a chance to settle down, she realized she was very hungry and glanced longingly at the empty plate in front of her. Finally, finally, the Sorting was over and Albus got to his feet to address the students. Arms open wide in welcome; he beamed around at the students. "I have only two words to say to you: tuck in."
"Hear, hear!" Two boys several seats down the table from Tracey cried as the empty dishes filled with the most delicious-looking food Tracey had ever seen. A glance in the boys' direction told her that they were the two she'd seen go through the barrier first, the girl who'd been with them sitting across the table from them.
Her stomach rumbling loudly, Tracey scooped food on her plate and tucked in with a will. Some of the dishes looked a little strange to her, but Colin and Dennis were nice enough to explain them to her. She even tried one and discovered it was actually quite delicious. As the main courses gave way to desserts, the conversation moved on to the matter of parentage. When everyone else had stated his or hers, Dennis turned to his companion, "What about you, Tracey?"
"Um." Tracey hesitated, wondering what she should say. "Well, I grew up with my mom and stepfather. Both are Muggles."
Glances were exchanged amongst the first-years. A majority of them were from the wizarding world, where single parents and stepparents were still rare. The few who were Muggle-born or had interacted with the Muggle world were sympathetic. "What about your real father? Do you know if he was a wizard?"
"Mom told me he's a wizard," Tracey admitted truthfully, "but I don't know that much about him." That was true, too. Despite having spent most of the summer with her father, she still knew so little about him.
Conversation subsided as everyone absorbed themselves in their dessert of choice. Tracey's happened to be a lemon meringue pie that was quite tasty. Glancing up at the High Table, she noticed that a large slice of the same pie sat in front of her father, as well as a slice of chocolate silk pie. Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to her dessert.
At long last, the desserts faded and Albus stood to address the students. He said something about magical items that were forbidden inside the castle, that the forest on the grounds was forbidden to students, as was Hogsmeade to students below the third year. What caused the most reactions among the student body was, "It is also my most painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year." Despite the gasps and mutterings that arose around the hall, Albus pressed on. "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--"
He was interrupted, however, when a rumble of thunder coincided with the doors of the Great Hall banging open. A man shrouded in a black traveling cloak and leaning on a long staff stood in the doorway. As lighting forked across the enchanted ceiling, the man lowered his hood, shook out a mass of long grizzled dark gray hair, and began the walk up towards the High Table. With every other step, a dull 'clunk' echoed through the Hall. Reaching the end of the High Table, he turned right and limped towards Albus. Another flash of lightning caused several people around Tracey to gasp. It had revealed the man's face and it seemed, to Tracey, that someone had carved a vaguely human face in an apple, and then left it out in the sun to whither and dry out. Scars criss-crossed every inch of skin, the mouth looked more like a diagonal gash, and a large chunk was missing from his nose.
One eye was small, dark, and beady. The other was large, round, and a vibrant, electric blue. This eye was moving ceaselessly, unblinkingly, and quite independently from the other. Tracey couldn't help staring at the stranger, fascinated. He finally reached Albus and extended a badly-scarred hand. After exchanging a few words, Albus gestured to the empty seat on his right side. The man sat and began to eat. Albus broke into the silence that had descended on the Great Hall, "May I introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher? Professor Moody." Tracey started to clap, but stopped when the only other ones who did were Albus and Hagrid and they stopped quickly. After a few moments of silence, Albus cleared his throat. "As I was saying, 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."