Chapter Three: Surprise at the Sorting

(This chapter is from the point of view of Harry Potter)

The door swung open at once. A tall witch in brilliant emerald robes stood there, gazing down at us. My first thought was that she was no one to be trifled with, with her straight nose and stern expression.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid. I was fairly sure that she was one of the professors that my mom kept hoping would die so she could quit being an Auror and teach at Hogwarts. McGonagall made the list because she often went into battle with the Order of the Phoenix. Flitwick was on it too, for being ancient. And so was Binns, who was already dead, but might move on any time now.

"Thank you, Hagrid," she said. "I will take them from here." She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was enormous. The white stone walls were lit with flaming torches, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing us led to the upper floors.

We followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. I could hear the hum off hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right-that must be where the rest of the students were already seated-but Professor McGonagall showed us into a small, empty chamber off the hall. We crowded in, standing a bit closer together than we would usually have done, peering around nervously. Draco pressed close to my side, trying his best to be invisible. It was pretty impossible with his silvery blonde hair and translucent skin; he was much too striking to miss.

"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." She went on to explain the importance of the Sorting, about the four houses, and house points. I wasn't really listening; I knew everything she was saying already. "The Sorting will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I shall return for you shortly. Please wait quietly." She left the chamber.

At the sounds of gasps for the others in the room, I looked up to see about twenty ghosts streaming through the wall. 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. I wasn't listening to them, instead looking over them all with great interest. I had heard about the many ghosts of Hogwarts, and this was the first time I'd ever seen any in person. I decided that they were fascinating, and resisted the urge to reach up and touch one, knowing my hand would simply go through.

The ghosts offered only a moment of distraction before I reminded of the approaching Sorting. I smiled reassuringly at Draco. "See you on the other side," I whispered playfully to him when Professor McGonagall returned for us, leading us through the double doors into the Great Hall. He nodded, looking a little unsteady as we walked down the aisle between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables.

The Great Hall was lit by thousands of floating candles over the four house tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. The tables were laid with golden plaits and goblets that glittered in the candlelight. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. At the center of the table, in the chair with the highest back, I recognized Albus Dumbledore from the few times he'd stopped by to check on my mother and me. He was still convinced that I was the object of his stupid prophesy. Whatever-I made my own destiny.

I noticed Draco gazing up at the ceiling, which looked amazingly like the night sky, complete with a few stray clouds blurring the stars. "It's not really the sky. It's a spell. I read about it," he whispered.

"Cool," I replied, grinning at him and ruffling his silky hair. It made him smile.

Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of us. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat that looked as if someone had tied it to the back of their broom and flown through a forest while the hat dragged on the ground. It was torn and patched and frayed and singed. I doubted that my mother would have let the thing in the house. We all stared at it for an endless moment, 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. Draco was trembling, his breathing shallow. "I'm not any of those things. What if it just tells me to go away?" Draco hissed, tugging on my sleeve.

"Don't be ridiculous," I replied with a smile, meeting his frightened gaze. "The Sorting Hat will know where you belong. And then I'll yell at it until I'm there with you," I promised, and he sighed, looking back to the front as 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. I saw the ghost of a 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 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," became a Slytherin. I looked them over carefully, picking out the students that had Death Eater affiliations. It was most of them.

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Finnigan, Seamus!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Then, "Granger, Hermione!"

I watched with interest as the girl went up to the stool and sat down. She'd been kind to Draco. Then, the Hat shouted "GRYFFINDOR!"

I wondered if it was possible for us to be in Gryffindor. I wasn't certain what kind of nature Draco beneath the fear and pain that seemed to dominate his temperament at present. I wasn't worried about him, though. I could fit in wherever he belonged, I was sure.

The next few students went through their Sorting in a blur, until "Malfoy, Draco," was called.

The Hat was placed on his head, and it sat there. And then sat there some more. The students began to look around at each other. Draco's whole body seemed to be shaking, his hands gripping the sides of the stool he sat on. People began to murmur and frown. Those who hadn't recognized his name looked curious, but those who did looked suspicious and irritated.

And of course there came the whispers. The 'I hope that snake isn't in our House' and the 'He doesn't scare me, and I'll show him' and 'You can't trust a Malfoy' ran through the crowd like FiendFyre. I kept my eyes on Draco and tried to ignore them.

And then, "GRYFFINDOR!" rang into the room, and silence fell. A few people on the Gryffindor table clapped, before they realized that no one else had joined them and fell silent. McGonagall took the Hat off his head to reveal the tormented face of Draco. For a split second, his face displayed his roiling emotions. And then, he suddenly seemed to be suspended in some serene state, but I could sense from here the terror and horror rolling off him in waves as he got up and walked to the Gryffindor table.

I watched him sit two seats down from everyone else. And, to my pleasant surprise, little bushy-haired Hermione Granger got up from where she'd been sitting between two other girls that had just been sorted into Gryffindor, and moved down to sit beside Draco.

"Parkinson, Pansy," McGonagall called, as if everything was alright. A girl with shoulder-length black hair and a cold smile skipped up to the stool.

The hat had barely touched her head before it shouted "SLYTHERIN!" to the Great Hall.

The table erupted in cheers, and the students seemed to sort of return to normal. That probably wasn't going to last long, since it was my turn. "Potter, Harry"

And then, of course, there came the whispers, just like they had with Draco. The 'He's the boy that You-Know-Who keeps trying to kill' and the 'What's the Dark Lord so worried about' and 'I hope he's in our house' made me even angrier than the whispers about Draco had. I marched up to the stool and jammed the Hat on my head.

Gryffindor! I screamed in my head as soon as it was on.

"Gryffindor?" the Hat said aloud, low and sort of confused. The people that had heard clapped, but were looking around in confusion. "No, no, boy shut up in there so I can have a proper look," the Sorting Hat snapped, and a few people laughed.

You certainly have a loud Voice, boy, the Hat told me silently, speaking into my mind. Students like you and the Malfoy boy always make my job difficult. Older than you should be. Not as simple. Hardly even count as children.

Just put me in Gryffindor, I suggested, and the Hat chuckled.

I'll admit, you have a rash streak…plenty of bravery…and of course, your loyalty and love know no bounds. But you would do well in Slytherin, boy. You have thirst to prove yourself, to achieve greatness through your own will, and Slytherin would help you do that, the Hat droned.

If you can see my whole mind, then you know where to put me, so get on with it, I replied.

Very well…better be… "GRYFFINDOR!" the Hat shouted the last word to the entire hall, and I grinned as it was lifted off my head. The table cheered, but I didn't look at any of them. I ran down and took my seat next to Draco, ruffling his hair.

"Hey, it'll be okay, Draco," I said as he leaned slowly over against my shoulder, his eyes clouded with the pained sadness that he was so full of before they slid closed. "I've got you," I whispered.

"They'll kill me," he choked, like his voice was gone.

"I'm not going to let that happen. Didn't you hear me? Everything's gonna be fine. I've got you," I whispered into his hair.

I didn't think he was going to reply. But then, very soft, I heard him murmur, "Okay, Harry." I smiled, and thought about what the Sorting Hat had said. You certainly have a loud Voice, boy. And as I met the hostile gazes of my House-mates, my resolve hardened to stone. I would use whatever Voice I had to protect Draco, to give him a chance to be happy. He was mine, now. And I wouldn't let him down.

(AN: surprise! Draco is in Gryffindor. I spent forever trying to figure out where to put them. Harry could have gone anywhere and stayed like I wanted him, but what kind of latent traits could I give Draco to decide which house he belongs in? I settled on Gryffindor mostly because the hostility would be a lot easier to write, since Slytherins would be subtle in a way that Gryffindors wouldn't. I'm not sure how good I am at writing mean people yet, so here goes!)

(PS: please review and tell me if you like it as much as I do, or if it's coming across sort of ridiculous)