Blaise was going to say something before Hagrid yelled, "wher' 'ere!"
3rd Person P.O.V.
Draco was the first to get out of the boat and followed the first years up the long case of stairs. Once on top Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.
The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face and Draco's first thought was that she reminded him of one of his tutors. His hand rubbing his wrist lightly.
"The firs'-years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said.
"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."
She pulled the door wide. The Entrance Hall was so big you could have fit almost all the camps cabins in there. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.
They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Draco could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right – the rest of the school must already be here – but Professor McGonagall showed the first-years into a small empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall said. "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 the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. 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."
Her eyes lingered for a moment on some students close to her.
"I shall return when we are ready for you," she said. "Please wait quietly."
She left the chamber.
Draco already knew how they where going to be sorted, he had been told by his 'parents' when he tried asking them questions about his mother years ago.
Then something happened which made him jump about a foot in the air – several people behind him screamed.
"What the –?"
Draco heard someone yelled out. So did the people around him. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to each other and hardly glancing at the first-years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying, "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance –"
"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost – I say, what are you all doing here?" A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first-years.
Nobody answered.
"New students!"said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them.
"About to be sorted, I suppose?"
A few people nodded mutely.
"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" the Friar said. "My old house, you know."
"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."
Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.
"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first-years, "and follow me."
Feeling oddly as though his legs had turned to lead, Draco followed the first years with Crabbe, Goyle, and Blaise behind him, and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.
Draco looked around the Great Hall. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles which were floating in mid-air over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the Hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting.
Professor McGonagall led the first-years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Draco looked upwards and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. He could see some of the star constellations from here. It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall didn't simply open on to the heavens.
Draco spaced out he took noticed of his 'godfather' looking straight at Potter and noticed the professor next to him. A bad feeling in his gut told him to weary of him. Once he stopped spacing out he noticed that Dumbledore already said his greeting and payed attention once more Professor McGonagall took out the sorting hat. Once she placed the hat down it started 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 wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folks 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!"
Once the hat finished singing Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.
"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"
A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moment's pause –
"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.
The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Draco saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her.
"Bones, Susan!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.
"Boot, Terry!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.
"Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor and the table on the far left exploded with cheers.
"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin. Draco saw the Slytherins clap politely and not start cheering like the other tables.
"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
After a few other names Draco heard his. "Malfoy, Draco!"
He sigh and went to the stool sitting down, he then felt the hat being placed on his head. 'Ahh, a young Demi-God, it's been ages since I last had one come here.' Draco flinches slightly at the sound of the voice in his head. Being a Demi-God and hearing voices in your head is not a good combination. Slight tales of Chris Rodriguez he heard from other campers popped into his mind. He heard a slight chuckle, 'Do not worry young Malfoy or should I say Black?' He tensed at the sound of his former last name before being adopted by the Malfoy's. 'How did you-' he stopped himself he's the sorting hat of course he'll know, he's inside his head for crying out loud!
The hat laughed a bit once again. 'Indeed I am, I can also hear your thoughts.' Draco blushed a bit in embarrassment before schooling his face to a poker face. 'I see can you sort me into Slytherin?' He asked the hat. 'Hmm but you might be better of in Ravenclaw-' 'No.' Draco interrupted. 'Why not?' The hat asked. 'I need to be close to Harry Potter, I've become his arch rival for my quest to start. Besides I know he needs to feel like a good guy with him probably going into Gryffindor. It might also be how his home life was.' Draco explained. The hat let a small hmm and said, 'Alright then you shall be in-'
"SLYTHERIN!" He yelled.
Draco took off the hat to see everyone looking at him. He looked at Professor McGonagall and gave her the hat. Professor McGonagall snapped out of whatever was going on her mind and continued calling out names.
Draco sat at the end of the Slytherin table, some students where still glancing at him from time to time. He furrowed his brows and asked the student in front of him, "Why is everyone looking at me like that?" He asked. The boy looked at him with a serious expression. "You took 30 minutes to get sorted," The boy revealed. Draco thanked him and glanced at the Gryffindor table. Potter had already been sorted in their and is in sitting next to the Weasley and another girl with bushy hair. He started looking around the Great Hall he noticed the quivering professor with a purple turban looking at Potter with a slight glare. As of noticing someone looking at him the Professor looked up and started at Draco straight in the eye and let out a fake shaky smile. Draco looked away and pretended to seem as if he was talking to the person next to him.
Once he felt the Professors eyes leave him he stared at the table noticing the food placed there. He took some of the things there and noticed the lack of fire. He let out a sigh and mentally apologized to the Gods for not sacrificing some of his food to them.
oOo
After dinner the first years where being taken to their house common rooms. The Slytherins neatly left the Great Hall after all the other rowdy houses left. They Headboy and Headgirl took the first years to the dungeons. After some more walking Draco noticed the constant house colors in display. Then they stopped in front of a portrait of a blacked hair woman. "This is where the common room are. The password is 'Pureblood' if you don't remember it wait until another Slytherin that does know the password opens it up for you." One of the Prefects said. "Also, remember that the password will be changed every two weeks. The new password will be placed on the boards in the common room," the Headboy said. Everyone headed into the common room, emerald green and silver everywhere. There were some green couches close to the fireplace near them. With the staircase heading to the dormitories aside it. "Welcome Slytherins," Draco heard a booming voice come aside them. There he saw his 'godfather' Severus, Severus Snape. "I am Professor Snape, the potions master of Hogwarts, and also the Slytherin's head of house." His cool voice making some first years shiver. "The Main Rules of Slytherin House as found posted in the common room etched into a silver plaque stuck to the wall with a permanent Sticking Charm:
1. Your House is your family. Family stands together.
2. The common room does not belong to YOU. It belongs to everyone. Keep it neat.
3. Arguments with another Slytherin are only permitted in Slytherin House. Refer to the FIRST RULE.
4. Study time is QUIET time and is mandatory. You will receive schedules on a weekly basis.
5. NO ONE is allowed to skip House meetings. House Meetings are almost always scheduled.
7. The Hogwarts House Elfs are not your servants. Keeping your dorm rooms and the common room clean is your responsibility.
8. Dorm inspections once a month. These are NOT scheduled. You are forewarned.
9. All meals are mandatory. No sweets in your dorms. No sweets after 8pm. Those taking a Nutrition Potion will come to me or Madame Pomfrey once a week.
10. Bedtimes: First years - 9pm
Second thru Fourth years - 10pm
Fifth thru Sixth years - 11pm
Seventh years - Midnight
11. Your House is your family. Family stands together.
These are the rules I expect everyone in Slytherin to follow; to the letter. They are, however, not the only rules. You will discover in your seven years here that I will give you further guidelines and rules that you can take past the walls of Hogwarts.
Finally, never forget the Secret of Slytherin:
Plan in ways a Ravenclaw finds sound
Blend like a Hufflepuff into the background
As for the Gryffindor, learn from their mistakes
And be ready to react, Slytherin, swift as a snake.
Serpens tacitus perspicasis et celeris est." after Professor Snape finished all the torches from the common room lit up completely. "The male dorms are to the left, the female dorms are to the right." He said. "You may choose which ever form you like, and your name will appear on the name plate. You'll receive your schedules once you're all settled. Now if that is all.. I welcome you to the House of Slytherin!"
Aaannndd done! Whew my fingers hurt with all this typing. Well hope you can like this chapter I tried my best getting all the characters personality right. You may leave any pointers here, it's very much appreciated!
-D