Disclaimer: Don't own it. -sigh-
Chapter Two: The Sorting and Opening Feast
A stern-looking woman in emerald-green robes stood there. "Thank you, Hagrid," she said, nodding at him. Harry suppressed a triumphant grin. He had been right! Gesturing for the first years to follow her, she led them to a small chamber just off the Entrance Hall and waited for them to be quiet before she spoke again. It didn't take long.
"Welcome to Hogwarts. I am Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress and Head of Gryffindor House. 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 like your family at 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."
She paused for a moment to direct a stern glare at a couple of talking first-years. They went quiet /very/ quickly. "The four houses are 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 your house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will earn the house cup. 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 smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."
She looked pointedly at Neville, whose cloak had gotten twisted around until it was fastened under his ear. As soon as she left, nervous whispers broke out.
"I wonder what spells we'll need?" Hermione asked.
Harry smiled at her. "None whatsoever," he said. "Just relax. All we have to do is put a hat on, and it will shout out our House."
"What if the hat says we're not supposed to be at Hogwarts at all?" Neville asked, trying uselessly to fix his cloak. Daphne stopped him and expertly straightened it for him. He blinked at her. "How'd you do that?"
She ducked her head. "Practice."
"If you got a letter, you're supposed to be here," Harry assured the nervous boy.
"And what if Daph or I end up in Slytherin? I read that they don't much like Muggle-borns," Di said, looking more scared by the second.
"Not all Slytherins are bad," Blaise said, a beat ahead of Harry. "Both my parents were in Slytherin, and they're all right."
Diana seemed a bit cheered by this thought. Just then, the professor returned. "Form a line and follow me," she instructed.
The first-years did as they were bid, and were led across the Entrance Hall and through the double doors into the Great Hall. They stopped along the teachers table. Harry caught his father's eye and grinned. Severus gave the smallest of nods in reply.
Harry turned back to watch a very old hat being placed on a stool in front of the first years. A wide rip near the brim opened and the hat burst into song.
"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 wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means To acheive 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!"
Everyone clapped as the hat bowed to each of the tables, then froze again, looking for all the world like an ordinary, if extremely old, wizards hat.
Harry, Hermione, Neville, Blaise, Diana, and Daphne managed a six-way look. Being sorted by a hat was one thing, but being sorted by an /insane/, /singing/ hat? That was just flat-out scary.
Meanwhile, McGonagall had unrolled a long sheet of parchement and was reading names from it. Harry ignored her, choosing instead to study the older students. He tried to guess who some of them were by his father's comments. The Weasley twins were the easiest, followed by Marcus Flint. Harry had gotten as far as deciding who Cedric Diggory was when Hermione's name was called.
She all but ran up to the stool, jamming the hat onto her head. A shout of "GRYFFINDOR!" sent her happily towards the table on the far left.
"Goyle, Gregory" was next and then Daphne's name was called. Though clearly both nervous and vaguely excited, she went towards the stool at a much more sedate pace than Hermione had. It wasn't long before the hat shouted "HUFFLEPUFF!" Daphne grinned at her friends in the line before joining her new housemates.
The hat had barely touched Diana's head before yelling out "RAVENCLAW!" and she hurried to sit at the table between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor.
There was a long gap between Diana and Neville and sometime around when "Jenks, Anna" was called, Blaise started muttering about how doing it in alphabetical order was unfair. Harry, whose stomach was starting to feel a bit topsy-turvy from nervousness, couldn't agree more.
Finally, "Longbottom, Neville" was called. Harry caught Neville just in time to keep the other boy from tripping. Neville gave him a grateful look and continued toward the stool without further mishap. It took almost a minute for the hat to decide, but finally it yelled out "GRYFFINDOR!" Neville ran off to join Hermione with the hat still on. As he ran back up to give it to "MacDougal, Morag" Harry gave him a sympathetic smile, though he wasn't sure if Neville had seen him.
It wasn't long before his name was announced. Amidst the whispers of the other students, Harry walked up to the stool, trying to smile at Blaise. It felt more like a grimace.
The hat slid down over his eyes. "Hmmm..." the hat said to him quietly. "You're not really a Gryffindor, now are you? Not one to rush blindly into danger. Not quite ambitious enough for Slytherin, either. Not a bad mind, but no desire to apply it, is there? Yet you're very patient, loyal to anyone who you call a friend, a hard worker...All excellent qualities for a HUFFLEPUFF!"
There was dead silence for one second, then the Hufflepuff table erupted into cheers. The rest of the school had varying degress of shock on their faces as Harry replaced the hat on the stool and walked quickly towards the Hufflepuff table. He sat down across from Daphne, who grinned at him.
When the uproar from Hufflepuff had died down, McGonagall continued calling names. Harry looked up at the head table, seeking to make sure that Severus wasn't angry that Harry had been sorted into Hufflepuff, but Severus's expression was unreadable.
Harry looked back down at his plate, wishing that he could go back to the hat and tell it to put him in Slytherin, even if he didn't belong there at all. It would be worth it, Harry thought, just for his dad to be proud of him.
Eventually, Blaise was sorted into Slytherin and the ceremony was over. At the head table, Dumbledore stood up. "Welcome!" he said, looking across the students. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"
As he sat down, the plates filled with food. Daphne's eyes widened more than Harry would have thought possible. Harry grinned at her. "Impressive, isn't it?"
She blinked a couple of times and nodded. He grinned again, and started filling his plate. Halfway through the feast, he realized that she had barely eaten anything. "What's wrong?" he asked, concerned.
She shrugged. "Homesick," she said, looking wistfully at the Ravenclaw table. Suddenly, Harry thought he understood.
"You're in a new place, and suddenly Diana's not with you?" he tried.
Her gaze snapped over to him. Slowly she nodded. "I guess."
"We'll have classes with her, probably," Harry said, trying to cheer her up.
"Maybe." Daphne said, not noticeably cheered.
"But you won't be able to talk to her?" Harry guessed.
She nodded again, eyes drifting back towards Diana. Harry tried to think of a solution. Slowly, it came to him.
"What if you two could find a place and time to meet up and talk?" he said slowly, thinking out loud.
"How about all of us?" she said. Harry knew that she was talking about everyone who had been in their compartment on the train.
Harry's eyes lit up. "That's a /brilliant/ idea, Daphne! How about...I dunno...Friday after classes maybe?" She considered this, then nodded. "Will you ask Blaise?" he asked, since she was sitting closer to the Slytherin table than he was. He waited just long enough to see her nod again before turning towards the Ravenclaw table. Diana was right behind him.
"Hey, Diana," he said. She turned around, looking at him questioningly. He grinned. "Do you want to meet up with me, Daphne, and hopefully Blaise, Hermione, and Neville in the library on Friday?"
She smiled. "That would be /great/," she said. "You want me to ask Hermione and Neville?"
He nodded. "Daphne's asking Blaise."
"Great," she said, turning back around. Harry followed suit, smiling. Great was right.
By the end of the feast, everone had agreed to meet in the library, Daphne had eaten, and Harry had started to think longingly of bed.
Finally, Dumbledore stood up again and the food faded from the plates. "Just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.
"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all students. A few of our older students should keep that in mind as well.
"I have also been asked by the caretaker, Mr. Filch, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors.
"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch.
"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor is out-of-bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a most painful death."
A couple of students laughed. Most just looked nervous or confused. Harry instinctively looked up at his father for reassurance but he found none. His father looked just as serious as Dumbledore, perhaps more so. Harry didn't even notice when the rest of the scool sang the school song or when Dumbledore sent them off to bed, until Daphne kicked him lightly under the table.
He looked up at her, startled. She jerked her head towards the doors, drawing his attention to the fact that everyone was leaving. He nodded gratefully at her and was just standing up when one of the professors came up to them. "Mr. Potter? Professor Dumbledore wants to talk to you."
Daphne looked torn between following the prefects to the Hufflepuff common room and staying with Harry. "I'll meet you in the common room," Harry said grinning at her. She smiled back, then dashed after the rest of the Hufflepuffs.
"Follow me Mr. Potter," the professor said, starting towards a door behind the head table. Harry glanced towards the door Daphne and the other students had used then shook his head and hurried to catch up with the professor.
A/N: Aww, no reviews? Oh, well. Maybe this time? Next chapter, Harry.Snape interaction!
