The sorting ceremony
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.
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.
"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." She said as she pulled the door wide.
The entrance hall was much bigger than the Malfoy Manor's entrance hall. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches, 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. Techna 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," said Professor McGonagall. "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 honor. 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. I shall return when we are ready for you, Please wait quietly."
As soon as professor McGonagall left, nervous chatter broke out. The red headed girl Techna had seen earlier was asking the Snape boy about how they were sorted into their houses. The boy just shrugged in rerun. He looked quite pale. Techna was nervous as well but she wasn't about to tell anyone that.
"The Sorting Ceremony's about to start." Said professor McGonagall, who had returned. "Now, form a line and follow me."
They walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall. Techna had never even imagined such a strange and splendid place. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair 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, Techna looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars.
"It's bewitched to look like the sky outside." Remembered Techna. She read about it in Hogwarts, A History.
Techna quickly looked down again as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. "So this was the sorting hat", thought Techna.
For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth — and the hat began to sing a song. The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.
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. "Avery, Mendax"
"SLYTHERIN!" shouted the hat.
"Brocklehurst, Mandy"
"RAVENCLAW!" shouted the hat.
"Black, Sirius"
The hat took almost two minutes and then it shouted "GRYFFINDOR!"
Techna could see the disbelief on most faces. After all it wasn't common for a Black to be sorted into Gryffindor.
"Clearwater, Cassandra" became a Hufflepuff. The list went on and on.
"Evans, Lily", Techna watched her walk forward on trembling legs and sit down upon the rickety stool. Professor McGonagall dropped the Sorting Hat onto her head, and barely a second after it had touched the dark red hair, the hat cried, "Gryffindor!" Techna heard Snape groan. Then "Lupin, Remus" a boy with a scarred face became a Gryffindor.
And after what seemed to be an eternity Professor McGonagall said "Malfoy, Techna"
Techna walked up to the stool and placed the hat on her head. After almost four minutes and a long debate on whether Techna ought to go to Ravenclaw or Slytherin, the hat shouted "SLYTHERIN!"
Techna couldn't believe that she almost became a Hatstall. A Hatstall is an archaic Hogwarts term for any new student who's sorting takes longer than five minutes. This is an exceptionally long time for the Sorting Hat to deliberate, and occurs rarely, perhaps once every fifty years. "Pettigrew, Peter" a fat little boy with pointed nose and very small, watery eyes, actually became a Hatstall. "Potter, James" was sorted into Gryffindor. And then "Snape, Severus" became a Slytherin. When all the students were sorted Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away.
Albus Dumbledore got to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there.
"Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! I have only two words to say to you," he told them, his deep voice echoing around the Hall. "Tuck in."
The dishes in front of them were now piled with food, roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and what not. When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the desserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavor you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, rice pudding . . .
At last, the desserts too disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent. "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. 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. 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 now, your beds await, as warm and comfortable as you could possibly wish, and I know that your top priority is to be well rested for your lessons tomorrow. Let us therefore say good night."
The Slithering first years followed Lucius down to the dungeons. While they were walking, he said "Remember that if you ever get lost, you will just have to follow the way the snakes on the torches faces and you will reach the entrance to the common room." Lucius paused by a stretch of bare, damp stone wall with torches on both sides and the snakes on both torches faced the damp wall.
"Purus" said Lucius and a stone door concealed in the wall slid open. Lucius marched through it, and Harry and Ron followed him. The Slytherin common room was a long, low underground room with rough stone walls and ceiling from which round, greenish lamps were hanging on chains. A fire was crackling under an elaborately carved mantelpiece ahead of them, and several Slytherins were silhouetted around it in high-backed chairs.
Lucius directed the girls through one door to their dormitory and the boys through another. At the top of a spiral staircase they found their beds at last: five four-posters hung with deep green, velvet curtains. Their trunks had already been brought up. Too tired to talk much, they pulled on their pyjamas and fell into bed.
Author's note:- Avery's first name Mendax means a liar in latin so I thought that the name would suit him. Tell me what you think about this name and also about what you think of Techna's character. Hope you like the story so far. Please review ^_^