"Start-of-Term and the Sorting Surprise!"

He-he-he!

~*~*~*~*~*~

The rest of the week passed without incident. Harry spent his days reading and learning, while Severus spent his days working on his lesson plans. Harry read all about Quidditch, Parseltongue, Voldemort, and all of his schoolbooks. During random dinners with Professor Dumbledore, Harry learned about his Professors and Hagrid the Groundskeeper, as well as about the histories of the Four Houses. Harry decided himself that he would do better in Gryffindor or Slytherin than any other house, and wasn't too surprised when Dumbledore agreed.

Some of Harry's time was spent in his room, being the mediator between Vitesse and Saliza Slytherin, the woman from the picture. It turned out that she was Salazar Slytherin's daughter, and spoke Parseltongue as well. Harry was friends with both, though the snake and the queen didn't get along with one another.

Harry wasn't as thin after a week and a half, either. He was looking much healthier and cleaner. He was used to food much more, and was able to eat a sufficient amount at each meal of the day. Severus and Dumbledore thought he was moving along quite well.

The week was quickly gone, and before long the Hogwarts train was arriving with all of the students. Harry was to be ushered quietly into the room with the rest of the first-years before the sorting. Severus would do this, obviously, because he was the only one who knew of Harry's presence. Then the Sorting would decide where Harry would go from there.

It was the night of the Sorting, and Harry was quickly being ushered through a passageway that would lead into the room currently holding all the other first-years. Severus wordlessly pushed Harry into the room, shot him a 'good-luck' look, and disappeared.

Harry looked around, noting all of the different people waiting to be sorted. They shuffled nervously, talking about random things. Harry scouted, picking up on a vain blonde boy, a nervous-looking red head with freckles, until finally spotting his target, Vanella Incendie. He noticed she was keeping to herself, so walked over.

"Hello," he greeted.

She smiled. "Hello, Harry Potter."

At this, a few students turned to look and the topic of discussion changed. Harry rolled his eyes. "Hello, Vanella Incendie." Quietly, he added, "Parseltongue."

She looked at him sharply. Did he just say what she thought he said? "What?"

"Parseltongue. Do you recall a certain snake named Vitesse in Diagon Alley?"

She nodded.

Keeping their conversation at whisper-level, Harry continued, "Well, I bought her. She told me about you."

"She told you, Harry Potter? Can I ask how?"

"I, also, am a Parseltongue." Revealing this information made him nervous somehow.

Her Sapphire-blue eyes widened slightly. "I-"

But she was interrupted by Minerva McGonagall entering the room. "First years! In a few moments you will be led out into the Great Hall, and Sorted by the Sorting Hat. First I will introduce myself. I am Professor McGonagall, Gryffindor Head of House and Transfiguration Professor."

The blonde haired boy made a sly remark from the corner and two large masses of boys next to him sniggered.

Clapping could be heard from the Great Hall, and they were quickly brought into it by McGonagall.

"I heard we need to take a test," the redhead said. "My brothers told me it was hard, and-"

He was shushed into silence by a bushy-haired girl next to him. "No, idiot. The Sorting Hat goes on your head and announces where you go!"

No one said anything after that. They were lined up in front in front of the entire Great Hall, every face turned up to look over theirs. Even Dumbledore was happily searching every face, letting out a little twinkle when he saw Harry. Others spotted him, too, and began to talk. Whispers slid down the hall, the gossip flowing over all the students like a fierce ocean wave. Fingers pointed, heads turned, as well as any other surprised reaction possible.

Timidly, Vanella leaned over to whisper in his ear, "Looks like the famous Harry Potter has caught some attention."

He scowled and waited for the process to begin. Instead of trying to swallow his nervousness, he took notice of his surroundings. At the tables, between some of the students, were people of shimmering silver light, which, after close examination, startled Harry when revealed as ghosts. Looking up, he could see the night sky. He'd read about it in 'Hogwarts, A History' and knew it was charmed to look like the outside sky. A few people down, he could hear the bushy-haired girl explaining the same thing to the people near her, as well as her cursing them for not doing their reading. A hat was placed on a stool in front of the first-years, and they looked at it with mild interest.

Suddenly, the hat twitched. Then a rip near the brim opened to form a mouth, and it 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.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a ready mind,
Where those of with and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap! *"

The Great Hall applauded the Hat's song. It bowed humbly to each table before becoming still once more.

Professor McGonagall came forward holding a scroll of parchment. Unraveling it, she announced, "When I call your name, put on the hat and sit on the stool. From there the Hat will sort you."

"Abbott, Hannah!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the Hat shouted.

The Hufflepuff table cheered as Hannah sat down at it.

"Bones, Susan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Brown, Lavender!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindor table now clapped and cheered, welcoming Lavender Brown into their bunch.

"Bulstrode, Millicent!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

The Slytherin table accepted their first first-year like the other tables and sat down to let the procession continue.

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Granger, Hermione!"

The bushy-haired girl ran to the stool and hurriedly shoved the hat onto her head.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry started as the Professor called "Incendie, Vanella!"

Vanella and the hat sat there for almost a minute before the hat shouted, "SLYTHERIN!"

"Longbottom, Neville" was proclaimed a Gryffindor, before the blonde-haired boy was called by "Malfoy, Draco!"

Harry recognized the name from books he had read on Voldemort. The Malfoys were supposedly a family of Voldemort-followers, Death Eaters, they were called.

Draco Malfoy was proclaimed a Slytherin, and moved down to the Slytherin table amidst cheers. He sat down near Vanella and Harry sneered.

Not many were left now. The list continued until McGonagall finally called, "Potter, Harry!"

Whispers started again as Harry went and put the hat on his head.

A small voice whispered in his ear, and the noise of the Great Hall was blocked out. "Hmm," the voice said. "Difficult. You've got the courage of a Gryffindor... ooh, the power of a Slytherin... very persistent in your ways I see, Slytherin also... a good mind, a thirst for knowledge... where shall you go? Talent's here too... oh, a lot of it, good... good... but where shall you go? Gryffindor or Slytherin... You could be great in Slytherin, you know... but you could be great in Gryffindor... Ah, yes. Very cunning, too...." The hat drifted off.

Please make the right choice,  Harry thought.  Put me where I'd
be my best...

"Ahh..." the hat said. "You want to prove yourself, as well as make people happy? Well, if that is the case, I think you'd be best in..."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Author's Note: Yes, faithful and beloved readers, I have left you off once again. I suppose you will need to wait for Chapter 10... Terribly sorry for the cliffy, I swear... (he he he) I really do feel evil now. But that is alright.

I'll update as soon as possible; and reveiws for chapter 7&8 are: I'm sorry, they are non-existent as of now. It has lowered my mood a bit, but what's to be expected?