THE SORTING
As soon as the train stopped at Hogsmeade, People pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Natasha shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Natasha heard a voice calling, "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! Hello, Natasha.", it was the giant man she had met at Gringotts. "C'mon, follow me - any more firs' years. Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!" Slipping and stumbling, they followed the giant down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Natasha thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much. Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad, sniffed once or twice.
"Ye' all get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," the giant called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here.". There was a loud "Ooooooh!". The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black take. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers. "No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Natasha and Ron were followed into their boat by Neville and Hermione. "Everyone in." shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then - FORWARD!" And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood. "Everyone put your heads down", the giant told, as they neared the cliff. They passed through a dark tunnel, which probably was underneath the castle. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle. They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, Oak front door. "Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?" Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.
The door was opened by Professor McGonagall. "The firs' years are here professor", Hagrid said. "I will take them from here, Hagrid", she replied. They entered the hall which was very big, even bigger than Dursleys house. It was lit with flaming torches, and the roof was very high. It even had a beautiful staircase that led them upstairs. They followed the Professor to another door. Natasha could hear voices coming from beyond the door, and she assumed that the other students were waiting for them to come. But the professor led them to another empty hall and started saying, "Welcome to Hogwarts, 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 Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on Ron's smudged nose. She looked at Natasha and gave what looked like a ghost of a smile.
"I will return when everything is ready, please do not go anywhere else", she said, and left. "How exactly are we going to get sorted", Natasha heard Neville asking Ron. "Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking.", Ron replied. Natasha gave a frown and said, "We are supposed to try on a hat, it will look into our minds and place us in different houses.". "Is it?!", Ron asked, "I am going to kill that Fred once we get sorted". Hermione looked disappointed at her answer, as she had started muttering some spells, as soon as she heard Ron for the first time. Then a small number of ghosts entered the hall, where they stood.
Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another 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, as most of them were frightened. Natasha knew about ghosts existing in the wizarding world, but still did not say a word. "New students!" said the Fat Fryer, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?" A few people nodded mutely. "Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know.". "Follow me, the sorting will start shortly.", said Professor McGonagall, as she came back into the hall.
"Form a line", ordered the Professor. Natasha stood behind Hermione Granger and entered the hall. It was a splendid and colourful 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. Natasha looked up at the ceiling, and saw a velvety black one dotted with stars. She knew that it was bewitched to look like the sky outside. Hermione Granger was muttering the same thing to the girl in front of her. Natasha quickly looked down again as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of it was a hat. "It must be the sorting hat.", she thought.
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:
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!
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. "Come here when i call your names, and put on the hat to get sorted", she said.
"Abbott, Hannah! "HUFFLEPUFF!", the hat shouted. The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Natasha 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. The sorting went on, and the students were placed in all the 4 houses.
"Granger, Hermione", the professor called. "Gryffindor", the hat shouted after some thinking. Natasha could hear Ron groaning, as he was just 2 people in front of her. When Neville Longbottom, the boy who kept losing his toad, was called, he fell over on his way to the stool. The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. When it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR,". Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to the next person. When Draco Malfoy was called, Natasha became interested and waited for it. He was sorted into Slytherin, even before the hat was on his head.
After more students were called, the professor finally called, "Potter, Natasha". As her name was called the whole hall started staring at her, and mutter. She ran towards the professor, and the professor muttered good luck as Natasha passed her. She could hear the hat muttering in her mind as soon as the hat was dropped on top of her. "mm," said a small voice in his ear. "Difficult. Very difficult. You are as intelligent as the topmost Ravenclaw, as brave as the bravest Gryffindor, and as cunning as a Slytherin. Where exactly to put you?". "I have no preferences, i am happy with any house.", Natasha said. "I think only one house is suitable for this strange mix of qualities.", the hat said. "Better be..."
"GRYFFINDOR!", the hat shouted. She took off the hat and walked shakily toward the Gryffindor table. Percy the Prefect got up and shook his hand vigorously, while the Weasley twins yelled, "We got Potter! We got Potter!". She sat next to a girl who was above her year. She noticed that Professor McGonagall was smiling at her happily. "Yay! I got is certainly going to be the best year ever ", Minerva thought in her mind before continuing to call the names. Natasha spotted the professor who she had met at Leaky Cauldron, he was looking very nervous. Ron's name was called after sometime, and to Natasha's joy was placed in Gryffindor. Ron came towards the table shakily and sat next to her. Natasha and Ron's brothers congratulated him. The sorting ended with Blaize Zabini being sorted into Slytherin. Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away. Natasha looked down at her empty gold plate. She had only just realized how hungry she was. The pumpkin pasties seemed ages ago.
Professor Dumbledore stood up and greeted the students. "Welcome to all the people present here. Before the feast i would like to tell something to you. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Let the feast begin. Everybody started clapping and cheering as he sat down. Natasha was struggling not to laugh. "Is he really crazy?", Natasha asked Percy. " He is just a genius with a mind of a child, Natasha", Percy replied, and Natasha could not help but agree. The dishes in front of her were now piled with food. She had never seen so many things he liked to eat on one table: 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, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs.
Natasha was very polite in taking the food, and ate the food slowly, unlike Ron who had his mouth full of food. "That does look good," said the ghost in the ruff sadly, watching Natasha cut up her steak, "Can't you -? "."I haven't eaten for nearly four hundred years," said the ghost. "I don't need to, of course, but one does miss it. I don't think I've introduced myself? Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower.". "I would prefer you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-" the ghost began stiffly, but sandy-haired Seamus Finnigan interrupted. "Nearly Headless? How can you be nearly headless?". Sir Nicholas looked extremely miffed, as if their little chat wasn't going at all the way he wanted.". "Like this," he said irritably. He seized his left ear and pulled. His whole head swung off his neck and fell onto his shoulder as if it was on a hinge. Someone had obviously tried to behead him, but not done it properly. Looking pleased at the stunned looks on their faces, Nearly Headless Nick flipped his head back onto his neck, coughed, and said, "So - new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the house championship this year? Gryffindors have never gone so long without winning. Slytherins have got the cup six years in a row!"
After everyone was finished with the main course, the deserts appeared shortly afterwards. It had ice creams of all the flavours that existed in the world, even flavours Natasha never heard of. The students started introducing themselves while they were eating. Seamus Finnigan's mom was a witch, but his dad was a muggle. Dean Thomas's parents were both muggles. Neville's family thought that he did not have any magical powers, and the powers were revealed when his uncle threw him out of a window and Neville survived. Hermione and Percy was talking about the classes, Natasha wanted to listen but did not find their conversation much interesting. When Natasha looked at the Professor's table she found the professors talking to each other. Professor McGonagall was talking to Professor Dumbledore. Professor Quirrell, in his absurd turban, was talking to a teacher with black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin. The other teacher looked uninterested at the conversation, and to her shock suddenly looked at her. When the professor looked at her, his face suddenly turned into a shocked look. He was looking at her with his eyes widened as though he had seen a ghost.
Severus Snape was shocked, and dazed. "I must be dreaming. It cannot be anything but a dream.", he thought. In the Gryffindor table sat a perfect replica of lily, when she was eleven years old. She was staring straight at him, with a confused look. As soon as he discovered that the girl knew he was staring, he took his eyes of her. Dumbledore was right, Lily's daughter looked just like her mother. He knew the next 7 years were going to be really long one.
Natasha was relieved when the Professor took his eyes of her. "Why was he staring at me, as though he knew me?", she thought, and also there was a sharp pain in her forehead when he started staring at her. The pain had gone as quickly as it had come. Who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?" she asked Percy. "Oh, you know Quirrell already, do you? No wonder he's looking so nervous, that's Professor Snape. He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to - everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape.", Percy replied. 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. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well.". Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch. 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 on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."
Natasha was shocked at the last part, and thought why would anyone put anything dangerous in a school full of students. "Is he serious?", she heard Ron ask Percy. "Must be," said Percy, frowning at Dumbledore. "It's odd, because he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere - the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he might have told us prefects, at least.". "And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. After the school song was over everyone clapped, and the headmaster clapped the loudest. "Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!".
The Gryffindor first years followed Percy through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall, and up the marble staircase. Natasha's legs were like lead again, but only because she was so tired and full of food. She was too sleepy even to be surprised that the people in the portraits along the corridors whispered and pointed as they passed, or that twice Percy led them through doorways hidden behind sliding panels and hanging tapestries. They climbed more staircases, yawning and dragging their feet, and Natasha was just wondering how much farther they had to go when they came to a sudden halt. A bundle of walking sticks was floating in midair ahead of them, and as Percy took a step toward them they started throwing themselves at him. Natasha looked around to see where those were coming from. "Peeves," Percy whispered to the first years. "A poltergeist." He raised his voice, "Peeves - show yourself." A loud, rude sound, like the air being let out of a balloon, answered. "Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baron?". There was a pop, and a little man with wicked, dark eyes and a wide mouth appeared, floating cross- legged in the air, clutching the walking sticks. "Oooooooh!" he said, with an evil cackle. "Ickle Firsties! What fun!" He swooped suddenly at them. They all ducked. "Go away, Peeves, or the Baron'll hear about this, I mean it!" barked Percy.
Peeves stuck out his tongue and vanished, dropping the walking sticks on Neville's head. They heard him zooming away, rattling coats of armour as he passed. "You want to watch out for Peeves," said Percy, as they set off again. "The Bloody Baron's the only one who can control him, he won't even listen to us prefects. Here we are.". At the very end of the corridor hung a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress. ""Password?" she said. "Caput Draconis," said Percy, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled through it - Neville needed a lag up and found themselves in the Gryffindor common room, a cosy, round room full of squashy armchairs. " Girls go to the right-side staircase and boys to the left one. Boys cannot enter the girl's dormitory, but the opposite is not true.", Percy said as some of the boys made some funny notices. Natasha followed the other girls to her dormitory, they were Hermione Granger, Parvati Patil, Lavender Brown, Eloise Midgen and Fay Dunbar. Natasha took the bed near a window immediately and the one next to her was taken by Hermione. "It was a really good feast, wasn't it", Hermione asked the girls in the dorm. "Yes, it was ", Natasha said, though others ignored Hermione. Natasha fell to the bed immediately, as she was tired and fell asleep immediately.