Chapter 5—The Sorting Ceremony
A forbidding-looking woman was standing there in green robes. Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun, and the no-nonsense look was completed by a pair of square spectacles. Ryan looked at her in fascination. This was one of her teachers, Professor McGonagall.
"Thank you, Hagrid, I will take them from here." Her tone was just like everything else about her: clipped and precise. Hagrid nodded and ambled off, leaving all the first years at the mercy of this strict lady. "Follow me," she said, in a tone that brooked no argument. Ryan allowed herself to be swept along with the crowd, trying to stay close to Ben, Colin, and Melina. Ben, obviously feeling bad about causing one incident that evening, was helping Colin along, making sure the tiny kid didn't get trampled by his peers. The trek ended in a room bigger than Ryan ever thought was possible. Even the large group of first years would have barely filled the corner. This gave them plenty of room to spread out, but few did so. They all seemed content to huddle together, as though for safety. Professor McGonagall eyed the assembly, and her eyes rested on Ryan's feathered pin. Ryan blushed and removed it. When she was done, the Professor spoke, and all the murmurings fell silent instantly.
"When you walk through these doors," she said, gesturing to the objects in question, "You will join your classmates. First, however, you must be Sorted into one of Hogwarts' four houses, and they are: Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw. You will live in these houses until your seventh year, and they will become your family. Any triumphs in the classroom, or examples of good behavior, will earn you points for your house. Consequently, any misbehaviors will cause you to loose points. The house with the most points will win the House Cup at the end of the year. I advise you to keep an open mind, for all houses have illustrious histories and have produced outstanding witches and wizards. Now then, follow me." They did so, everybody whispering about what houses they'd like to be in, or if it was really true that so-and-so came from whatever house. Colin looked as though all of this was unbearably exciting, Ben looked like he was walking to the executioner's block, and Melina looked ready to fall into a dead faint. They shuffled into a single file line, Colin propping up Melina, Ben behind him, and Ryan at the end, though she was in front of a boy with longish bright blonde hair. As they walked through the doors, Ryan was greeted with yet another amazing sight.
If she thought the room they had just left was big, it was a shack compared to the room she just entered. Four long tables, packed with older students, ran the length of the room—hall, really—and candles floating in mid-air provided illumination. Ben turned slightly and poked her in the arm.
"Look at the ceiling," he whispered. She looked up, and blinked. There was no ceiling. The hall simply opened into empty space.
"There isn't one!" she exclaimed. Ben laughed.
"It's enchanted to look like the sky, silly, of course there's a ceiling!" Even when scared stiff, Ben could still make her feel stupid. They stopped in front of a table full of teachers, and a three-legged stool. On the stool was a tattered, ratty old wizard's hat. It was ripped and patched in a thousand different places, with frayed edges and spots of dirt. She resisted the temptation to ask what the hat was doing there. Ben probably knew, but she didn't feel like having him explain. There was a silence in the hall as everyone turned to watch the hat. The Sorting Hat, she heard someone whisper. Then, absurdly enough, a rip opened in the brim, and the hat began to sing:
"A word to all you youngsters,
who are gathered here today.
Your new classmates will soon join you
So let's not delay!
Where will you fit and do most good?
is the question we all ask.
Just slip me on and I'll find out,
and then you'll know at last!
Perhaps, for you, 'tis Gryffindor,
Where bold one lay to rest.
Or maybe clever Ravenclaw,
who finds that wit is best.
Does Hufflepuff more suit your taste?
if you are kind and just.
Oh, but for sly Slytherin,
you must know who to trust.
The choices lie before you
and you've come too far to stop.
So rest your fears, all you first years,
I know what lies on top!
Everyone applauded, but Ryan still wasn't sure if she should laugh or not. All she had to do was put on a hat? That didn't sound too terrible. From out of nowhere, Professor McGonagall produced a scroll.
"Now, when I call your name, you will come and put the Hat on your head." The butterflies in her stomach returned in full force. Here? In front of everyone? "Aberdeen, Danielle!" A girl with a long brown braid walked out nervously, eyeing the Hat as though it might attack. But she put it on, and,
"HUFFLEPUFF!" screamed the Hat. Danielle yanked the Hat off and practically sprinted towards the cheering Hufflepuff table.
"Alcowicz, Zeiger!"
"SLYTHERIN!" The list of names seemed endless, and it was only the first two letters of the alphabet.
"Coley, Benjamin!" called McGonagall at last. The Hat dropped down to his nose. There was a nerve-wracking pause, almost two minutes. Then, quite clearly,
"RAVENCLAW!" Ben looked ready to faint with relief, and Regina looked ready to kill, but Ryan cheered with the rest of the Ravenclaws.
"Creevey, Colin!" If the Hat seemed large on Ben, it was massive on poor Colin, covering his entire head.
"GRYFFINDOR!" The Gryffindors cheered. After that, Ryan began to loose interest, sometimes wondering why she couldn't have had a last name that began with an 'A'. At least she didn't have a last name further along down the line. 'L' was somewhat in the middle of the alphabet, not too far, really…
"Lapitske, Jillian!" She really hated her first name. She saw Ben snickering at the Ravenclaw table. All of the sudden, she wished her last name started with 'Z'. She locked her knees, lest they give way, and walked stiffly to the stool and sat down. The Hat fell over her eyes, so at least she didn't have to look at everyone. Then, a small voice whispered in her ear.
"Hm…what to do with you? Not Hufflepuff, you are most definitely not the patient and giving type…" Her knuckles whitened as she gripped the stool. But the Hat was right. "You've got a strong personality, and a great potential for learning. I think I'll put you in…RAVENCLAW!" The last word was shouted to the hall. Just like that, Ryan was Sorted. Somehow, she thought it would take longer. She placed the Hat reverently back on the stool and squeezed next to Ben on the Ravenclaw table.
"Jillian?" he said, smirking slightly. "Your name is Jillian?" She punched him on the shoulder, lightly.
"My first name. Call me that, and I'll never use Tabitha to help you again." The threat seemed effective enough, though Ben used the excuse of Melina's Sorting to divert his attention.
"Lonsbury, Melina!" Melina didn't move. Several of the remaining first-years nudged her. Still nothing. Finally, in desperation, the tall blonde boy that stood behind Ryan seized her shoulder and pushed her towards the stool. On shaking knees, the poor girl collapsed on the stool. The Hat barely touched her head when,
"HUFFLEPUFF!" Ryan smiled as Melina threw herself towards the Hufflepuff table and took a seat next to Danielle Aberdeen. The Sorting continued on, ending with a girl with vibrant red hair: Weasley, Ginevra (GRYFFINDOR!). Then, a wizard at the head table stood, a wizard that looked exactly like her chocolate frog card. This was Albus Dumbledore!
"On with the feast!" he yelled. All the first years, including Ben, even, gasped in delight as food magically appeared on golden plates. Every food imaginable and more lay in front of her now. To her left, Ben was rapidly piling food on his plate. To her right, a pretty Asian girl was carefully picking salads and fruits. Ryan frowned curiously.
"Are you a vegetarian?" she asked. The girl turned in surprise.
"Well, yes, I am, actually. My name is Cho Chang. You're…Jillian, right?" Ryan winced.
"I go by my middle name, actually, Ryan. And this," she nudged Ben in the ribs, "is my friend Ben Coley." Ben turned, slightly annoyed, then stopped at the sight of Cho. "Ben, this is Cho Chang."
"Hello…is your sister Regina, the Slytherin? Don't worry if it is, I won't hold anything against you." Ben laughed.
"Yeah, it is. Are you the Seeker for Ravenclaw? Regina talks about you a lot, and none of it's good. Keeps saying you're the reason Slytherin loses, you and Harry Potter." Ryan cocked her head as Cho smiled in a pleased sort of way.
"Harry Potter? Is that the kid you told me about on the train?"
"Yeah, I told you he went here! He's the Seeker for Gryffindor, the youngest in a really long time." That didn't help much. She was still hopelessly confused.
"What on earth is a Seeker?" Ben actually started waving his arms around.
"Seeker! Quidditch! Snitch! What is wrong with you?" Ryan was very sure, at this moment, that Ben had officially lost his mind, and began edging away from him. "Oh, stop that!" he snapped. "Look, it's too complicated to explain now, you'll have to wait and see!" Ryan nodded slowly and turned back to her food.
After the feast and an excellent dessert, a prefect stood and guided them through a baffling maze of hallways and staircases, hidden panels and tunnels. Suddenly, the prefect stopped, right at a blank wall. Ryan looked at Ben, confused. There was no reason to stop here, in between these two suits of armor, in front of this statue of a man in deep thought. But here they were. The prefect, a girl with curly blonde hair, faced them.
"Through here, you will find the Ravenclaw common room. To enter, you have to know the password." She shook the shoulder of the statue gently, as if waking him up. Nothing happened. Looking annoyed, she drew out her wand and gave the statue a hard poke in the forehead. Ryan cannoned backwards into Ben as the statue began to move and talk.
"No need to be so rough about it…ah, Miss Clearwater! A prefect now, I see!" Ryan began to feel faint. Pictures moving, statues talking…what next?
"Yes, it's good to see you, too. Now then, pay attention, everyone! The new password is 'toadstool encyclopedia.'"
"Indeed!" said the statue, and it slid to the side, revealing a staircase.