Chapter 2. The Sorting

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid. The group of new students stood just outside the Main Entrance of the big castle. Inside stood a tall witch, her black hair tied back in a tight bun. On her head she wore a wide pointed hat. She looked over the group of students. Everyone in the group stared back with big eyes. The boat ride with the view of the castle from the lake, with its thousands little lights from windows, had enchanted them so much, they were bursting with excitement, but also nervousness. Meanwhile Maura let her eyes wander around the group. Where was Neville?

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." She turned around and started walking further into the entrance hall. "Follow me." Everyone did as they were told.

Torches lined the walls of the hall, its flames flickering and creating a shadow play that left not one space untouched. Maura leaned back her head and looked up. Innumerable stairs hung criss-cross above her, many of them moving; turning around, extending or retracting and even changing from having steps to being a smooth slide. Maura was already thinking about how much she was probably going to get lost in this castle. She couldn't even make out a ceiling, the entrance hall was that high.

Professor McGonagall led the students into a side chamber. The students had to cramp themselves inside and stood close together, peeking around with a nervous look in their eyes. In contrast to the entrance hall, this room felt cramped.

Maura suddenly saw Neville and squeezed her way towards him. Neville looked like he was going to faint. Maura grasped his hand and gave it a slight squeeze.

"Come on now, it'll be alright," she whispered.

A nervous smile played around his lips as he looked at her. Maura knew this day must be very hard on him, with all the new impressions and the approaching moment of The Sorting. She hoped that her presence would at least keep him from bursting out in tears at some point or another as he often tended to do.

"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."

Maura felt a slightly queasy feeling in her stomach. Neville's hand had started to feel much more clammy as well. She let it go for a second and tried to flatten her curls a bit. She held it again as they were being led to the entrance hall again. Once there, she felt Neville letting go. She looked over at his face and he was staring forward determinately. Maura smiled proudly.

The double doors to the Great Hall opened. Maura almost burst with excitement and suppressed another exclamation of wonder. Everything inside looked so captivating. There were four long tables inside the Great Hall at which hundreds of students were sitting, all dressed in their school robes. They wore ties in four different colours that matched the ones of the four Houses. On the tables stood shiny tableware; however there was no food on it yet.

In front of those tables stood one long table on a dais, where, Maura assumed, the teachers were sitting. They looked like an extravagant bunch. Some of them were tall, with long faces and long noses, others were small. One of the teachers was so small Maura thought he almost looked like a goblin. They wore long robes in all sorts of colors, unlike the ones the students were wearing which were all black.

Above everyone's heads floated hundreds upon hundreds of candles that lit the hall. The candles didn't seem to be hanging on threads or anything else and lazily moved around which caused the lighting to change constantly as if they were underwater.

All the students were looking at their group with excited faces. Maura swallowed. No one had told them about them having to make an entrance like show horses in a parade. Maura looked sideways at Neville, but she couldn't read his expression. That meant he was either very scared or very confused. It was probably both.

"Form a line, and follow me," Professor McGonagall told the group, although it took a few seconds before the first-years realised she had spoken, as they had all been staring at the ceiling, which was velvety black and dotted with stars. Maura remembered from one of her school books she had read over the summer that it was bewitched to look like the sky outside. If she hadn't known this, she probably would've thought that there was no ceiling at all.

Everyone followed Professor McGonagall to the front of the Great Hall. Fred and George waved at Maura as she passed them and she quickly smiled and waved back, almost forgetting how to move her arms, because of the tension she felt. They stopped in an empty space between the four tables and the teachers' table. McGonagall placed a wooden stool in front of the group of anxious first-years. On top of it, she put the Sorting Hat. Maura had read about that too, and her grandmother had also told many stories about the famous Sorting Hat. The Hat started moving, a mouth appeared, and it began to sing.

After the song, the whole hall burst into applause, but Maura didn't really hear it as she was staring at the Hat intently, trying to guess in what House it would put her.

"Why do I even have to go through this? Everyone knows I'm meant to be in Slytherin," someone behind her said cockily. She looked around and saw a pale boy with blonde hair. Two other boys, both a bit plump, chuckled.

Maura thought the boy must be quite full of himself, while turning back to look at McGonagall again. To be quite fair, she was a bit jealous as well. Maura had no clue in what House she was going to be sorted. She had studied them all thoroughly in Hogwarts a History, but they all seemed to have traits Maura would like to see in herself. The bravery and confidence from Gryffindor, the loyalty and patience from Hufflepuff, the wisdom and creativity from Ravenclaw, and also the ambition and determination from Slytherin. She didn't know in which of these she excelled. She thought her brother was probably going to be in Hufflepuff. He was always friendly, loyal and honest.

Professor McGonagall began reading names from a long scroll of parchment, starting with last names that began with an 'A'. Maura sighed. It would take a while before she had the chance of putting on the Hat. Abbott, Hannah was put into Hufflepuff. Boot, Terry was put into Ravenclaw, Brown, Lavender went to Gryffindor and Bulstrode, Millicent became a Slytherin. They all went to sit at the corresponding tables.

At this point all the names started to form some kind of blur. Maura tried to pay attention to every first-year's face and tried to store their names in her head, but she was so nervous about her own sorting, that it proved to be hard.

"Longbottom, Maura!"

Maura stopped breathing. It was finally her turn. The group at the front of the Great Hall had shrunk to at least half its size at this point and the students sitting at the four long House tables had started to longingly look at their empty plates. She walked up to the stool in front of Professor McGonagall, who was sternly looking at her over her spectacles, and sat down. She felt the Hat being lowered over her eyes.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" a voice said inside her head. Maura startled, but then realised it was the Hat talking only to her and to no one else. It had probably spoken to the other students as well without her hearing it. "This is an interesting choice to make. I've known your parents; both great wizards." Maura's pulse quickened. The Hat was talking about her parents. It knew them!

"Your father was so happy to be sorted into Gryffindor. That's where he met your mother too," the Hat continued. Tears threatened to well up in Maura's eyes, she quickly blinked them away and made sure her face didn't show any emotions. Was this supposed to happen? Had the Hat told other students about their parents' experience at Hogwarts as well? If so, they were great at hiding it.

But Maura was too. With a straight face and her head held high, Maura kept looking forward, out at hundreds of eyes staring in her direction. Hearing about her parents had flared up something inside her, and this— this gave her strength to keep sitting up straight.

"Maybe you'll do great in Gryffindor as well. Mmm," said the voice in her ear. "But no, there's more to you than it seems; better be... SLYTHERIN!"

The Slytherin table burst in applause. Maura smiled, but felt shocked too. With her heart pounding, she glanced at Neville. He looked confused, but she didn't know if it was because she was sorted into Slytherin, or because it was probably his turn, considering their last names. Maura leaped up and proudly walked towards the Slytherin table where she took a seat next to Millicent. Some Slytherins from higher years were patting her on the back, and she smiled warmly at them. Others were looking at her with cold stares. Not everyone was unprejudiced against her family name apparently.

"Longbottom, Neville!" Professor McGonagall called. The Slytherins who hadn't clapped for Maura regarded the front of the hall disdainfully. Maura felt uncomfortable at the way they regarded her, and now Neville.

She quickly looked towards the front of the hall, so she wouldn't miss Neville's sorting. She was just in time to see him try to step forward, stumble, and fall — his head nearly missing the wooden stool. Students around the hall snickered. Slytherins burst out laughing. Maura's heart sank. If anyone was going to bully him for this, she would jinx them in such a way they wouldn't dare to show themselves in public for a week.

Neville quickly got up and sat down on the stool. McGonagall lowered the hat on his head. Neville looked like he might pass out, but he kept himself straight. The Hat took a very long time. Maura wondered if the Hat was speaking about their parents to Neville as well. She would have to ask him about it later.

Finally the Hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR". Neville looked shocked, just like Maura had felt after the Hat had sorted her. He quickly got up and ran off towards the Gryffindor table.

"Neville, would you be so kind as to return the Hat?" McGonagall called out after him. Neville jogged back amid gales of laughter and gave the Hat to "MacDougal, Morag." Maura tried to catch his eyes when he sat down, his cheeks bright red, but he didn't look up.

Maura was starting to feel hungry. She looked at the plate in front of her and wondered how long it would take for the food to be served. A few seconds later the Slytherin table burst out in applause again. Maura quickly looked up to see who had been sorted. Of course it was the smug boy who had said he was meant to be in Slytherin. He swaggered over and sat down across Maura, in-between the two plump boys called Vincent Crabbe and Greg Goyle.

"I didn't catch your name there. What was it?" Maura asked him with true interest. The boy looked up at her, disdain also clearly showing on his face.

"I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy. The name should ring a bell. Malfoy's one of the greatest families," he replied, pretending to brush some dust off his sleeve. Then he looked over at her. "Unlike yours, Longbottom."

"I wouldn't call 'evil' great." said Maura while wrinkling her nose. Malfoy's smile fell.

"Watch it," he grumbled. Maura rolled her eyes and turned around, back in the direction where the Sorting was still taking place. There weren't many people left.

Maura hadn't expected to make friends with a Malfoy. She had heard the stories about that family from the Daily Prophet and from her granny. She focused on the Sorting again. She watched a few students get sorted in different Houses, including a girl who sat down at their table, when suddenly...

"Potter, Harry!"

The hall fell silent for a few seconds after McGonagall called the name. Then it filled with whispers.

"Do you reckon that's really 'the' Harry Potter?" Millicent nudged Maura.

"It is. I met him on the train," Maura replied with a bit of pride in her voice. Millicent looked at her wide-eyed.

"Maybe he'll get sorted into our House. Let's see!"

They both looked intently at the boy on the stool, the Hat resting on his head.

"It's taking an awfully long time," Millicent complained. Maura nodded. She thought of the moment she had been sitting there, the Hat whispering inside her ears. It had felt like ages. Would it feel that way to Harry too?

Then, finally "GRYFFINDOR!"

Everyone at the Slytherin table sighed and slumped down. Malfoy made an irritated sound. There was loud yelling from the Gryffindor table. "We got Potter! We got Potter!" the Weasley twins were singing.

Millicent looked at them with a disappointed face. "They're lucky."

Maura felt a small pang of jealousy as well. She grew up hearing the story about the great Harry Potter. Who wouldn't want him in their House? However, she also met him on the train and he was just a normal boy. He didn't seem to know much about magic yet either.

"I'll probably hear from my brother what he's like in classes," Maura said. "I'll pass it on to you." Millicent looked happy about that.

"I'm absolutely starving. When are we going to eat?" a girl next to Goyle said in a whiny tone. She had dark short hair that hung straight to her chin. She looked at her empty plate with an annoyed expression. At that moment Maura felt her stomach grumbling again as well. She couldn't disagree with the annoyed girl. If they had to wait any longer, she might actually pass out.

The headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, finally got to his feet, arms opened wide. He was beaming at them like he was the most excited of everyone to see all the students sitting together in the Great Hall. Maura hadn't realised the Sorting had ended.

"Welcome," he began. "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!

"Thank you!" He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. Maura and Millicent looked at each other and giggled.

"What an old fool," Malfoy muttered. Crabbe and Goyle quickly nodded and Maura was surprised to see the girl with the short black hair did as well. It was apparent Malfoy had already built up a small following.

Suddenly the dishes in front of them piled with food. The students, Maura included, happily uttered exclamations, and began to fill their plates. Maura tried to take a bit of everything she liked: boiled potatoes, peas, carrots, and roast chicken. Everything smelled so delicious.

When Maura looked up again she caught the eyes of the girl with short dark hair. She didn't look pleased. Maura immediately realised why. She was sitting next to a horrible looking ghost. The ghost was staring in front of him with blank eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained with silver blood. He was very pale, and slightly transparent. Around his wrist hung chains. Maura wanted to help the girl out a bit by striking conversation with it to hopefully break the ice and make it appear less scary.

"Who are you?" she asked the ghost. It turned its head towards her.

"I'm the Bloody Baron. Ghost of Slytherin House," he replied. Everyone around them seemed to hold their breath. Maura also waited for him to say something scary or something, but the ghost didn't say anything more. Maura nodded.

"That's a peculiar name. Any reason you're called that way?" Maura asked innocently, even though she was completely aware of the blood the Bloody Baron was covered in. This question made everyone relax again and Millicent giggled. The ghost looked at her piercingly with his black eyes.

"I bet you can see how I got my name. As to why, that's none of your business," he answered irritably. He got up, floated up actually, and moved away. He sat down again somewhere further down the table next to a boy in his third or fourth year, Maura guessed, who didn't seem to mind him as much.

The girl with dark hair sighed. "Thanks, he gave me the creeps."

"No problem," Maura said. "Your name is Pansy, right? You got sorted right before Potter." Pansy Parkinson nodded.

"Yeah, he stole all of my spotlight, he did." Maura laughed.

"We'll make sure we get it back," she said at which Pansy smirked.

After the deserts had disappeared, and Maura felt like she couldn't stuff even a chocolate frog into her stomach anymore, Professor Dumbledore got up again. All conversation died down.

"Ahem — 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 pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."

Maura followed the gaze of Dumbledore's twinkling eyes and smirked when she saw he was looking at the Weasley twins.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors."

Some first-years at the Slytherin table, Maura included, groaned. Maura had been looking forward to fooling around with magic in between classes. What was the fun in only being able to practice magic inside classrooms and dormitories?

"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their House teams should contact Madam Hooch," Dumbledore continued.

"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

Some people laughed, but most of the students stayed quiet. Surely Professor Dumbledore wouldn't joke about such a thing. But why wouldn't he give a reason why?

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. There were some groans around the hall. Maura was sure at least one of them came from the direction of the head table.

Dumbledore flicked his wand and a long golden ribbon flew out towards the sky-like ceiling and twisted itself into words.

"Everyone pick your favourite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!" Everyone started bellowing:

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts,
Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something please,
Whether we be old and bald
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling
With some interesting stuff,
For now they're bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we've forgot,
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot."

Everybody finished the song at different times. Maura and Millicent finished almost simultaneously, because they had matched their rhythm to each other. They looked at each other and laughed again. Maura noticed Malfoy hadn't even bothered to join and had a bored look in his eyes. Crabbe and Goyle looked like they were enjoying themselves, trying to read the words on the golden ribbon in the air, but not quite reading them correctly, and Pansy was finishing her last sentence, singing a beautiful melody, while shooting a glance at Malfoy to see if he had paid attention. He had not.

At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to something that sounded like a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest.

"Ah music," Dumbledore said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

The hall burst into sounds as benches scraped the ground, students started chattering and pushing towards the doors of the Great hall.

"First year Slytherins, follow me! First years!" a tall girl with long black hair shouted. Maura and Millicent pushed towards her and followed her out of the hall.

In the Entrance hall they broke off from the groups of other students, who mostly went up the stairs, while they took a stone flight of stairs down. Maura shivered a bit and pulled her robes tightly around her while they walked through a stone corridor.

Eventually they stopped in front of a bare stretch of stone wall.

"Snake Fang" the prefect they said solemnly. The stones in the wall began to shift and revealed a passage. They all shuffled inside.

The room they had stepped into was a long, dungeon-like room, with rough stone walls and ceiling, from which round, greenish lamps were hanging on chains. Long, ceiling-high windows were carved out in the walls and looked out over—

Was that an underwater view? Maura saw weeds flowing lazily in the current and the light that shone through the water was a faded green-blueish colour.

Inside the common room a fire was crackling under an elaborately carved mantelpiece ahead of them. It gave a very cosy feeling. Several Slytherins were already sitting close to it on low backed black and dark green button-tufted, leather sofas. Around the room stood several wooden tables with comfortable looking chairs. One of those tables had a Wizard's Chess set on it.

The prefect who had let them into the common room turned around. She addressed the group:

"I'm Gemma Farley, and I'm happy to welcome you to Slytherin House. Our emblem is the serpent, the wisest of creatures; our House colours are emerald green and silver, and our common room lies in the dungeons. As you'll see, its windows look out into the depths of the Hogwarts lake." Gemma pointed at one of the windows.

"We often see the giant squid swooshing by - and sometimes more interesting creatures," Gemma added. Maura looked out of the window again with new wonder.

"The girls' dormitories are that way, up those stairs," Gemma said while pointing at a black spiral staircase close to the right of them, "and the boys' bedrooms are up there." She pointed at a similar staircase at their left hand side. "You'll find that your stuff has already been brought up, including your new ties and scarves in the colours of our House."

"They'll go perfectly with the colour of my eyes!" Pansy said. Gemma looked at her for two seconds with slight disinterest and then let her eyes wander over the group again.

"Oh, and I have to add that you should not be out of the common room after bedtime, but if you do: I hereby revoke my responsibility." Gemma turned around and walked off.

The group of first-years quickly started pushing for the staircases. Maura ran after Pansy and Millicent, who got to the stairs first.

"I want to sleep next to the window!" This was Pansy.

"If there are any, we're underground remember?" Maura replied.

When they got up and burst into a room with their names on it, Maura was relieved to see that there actually were windows that, again, looked out into the lake. She had to start getting used to that.

Pansy jumped onto one of the five four-posters, from which green silk curtains hung. Maura saw that her stuff had already been placed next to one of the beds and was pleased to see it was close to a big empty bookshelf. She went to sit on the bed, and found Salem fast asleep on the pillow. She gave him a few strokes on his head. He woke and purred softly.

After a few minutes, three more girls joined them. Daphne Greengrass, Tracey Davis, apparently Daphne's step sister, and Lily Moon.

The girls started unpacking their things, while chatting and speculating what their classes were going to be about next morning. Maura placed all her books on one of the shelves in the bookcase and organised them.

Maura felt incredibly tired and soon put on her pyjamas and snuggled into her covers, taking Salem into her arms and falling fast asleep.