This piece hadn't been edited, so please forgive any mistake.


Hagrid raised his gigantic fist and knocked the door three times, which opened at once. Greeted them at the threshold was a stern looking black-haired witch in emerald-green robes who had the vibe of someone definitely not to be messed with. She gave Hagrid a curt nod in greeting.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."

She pulled the door wide to admit the line of students who trailed after her into the castle's entrance hall. The hall was gigantic, lit by flaming torches lined along the stone wall. Facing them was a magnificent marble staircase that lead to the upper floors. They followed her, going past a doorway from which hundreds of voice emanated from - the whole school must be there already – into a small, empty chamber off the hall, where she gave them a quick introduction about the four Houses and the Sorting Ceremony. All of them listened to her with rapt attention.

"…I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." said Professor McGonagall, giving the students a sweeping glance. Harry was now extremely thankful that Edward had helped him fix his robe. Beside him, Ron was nervously checking his own attire "I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly." She finished her speech and left the chamber.

Almost immediately, whispers broke out among them. Harry could hear his own heart thumping unnaturally loud against his rib in anxiety. He tapped Ron.

"How do they sort us into houses?"

"Fred said it's some sort of test and that we'll have to do some really crazy things, but I think he was joking about the second part." Ron murmured back, his face tense.

Harry's stomach flip-flopped at that piece of information. A test? In front of the whole school? How did they test you at a magic school? Was he expected to perform some kind of spell? He read up some of those in his school books during summer, but he hadn't been able to make any of them work, not without having access to his wand, anyways. Perhaps he was supposed to pull some stunts that were usually shown in a Muggle magic show? What would happen if he fail? He hadn't predicted having to take an exam the moment he stepped into the school.

Two steps behind Harry, Edward was lost in a similar state of mild panic. Taking deep breaths to calm himself, his mind quickly went over what he learned in the books and-to his dismay-was drawing a blank. If given sometime, he could probably recall something, but all the commotion around him was temporarily blocking his memory. Seconds later though, all thoughts about revising were forgotten as well and he, along with a few other students, nearly jumped as about twenty ghosts, pearly white and slightly transparent, streamed through the back wall and gliding across it, going through another wall, paying little attention to the first years who were staring open-mouthed at the sight. What looked like a fat little monk, who was deeply in conversation with another ghost wearing a ruff and tights, had finally realized that there were other present in the room and halted in his track to look at the students.

"New students!" He smiled at them "About to be sorted, I suppose?"

A few muted nods.

"Well, hope I'll see you in Hufflepuff. My old house, you know." He waved and turned to join the other ghosts.

"Move along now," said a sharp voice "The sorting ceremony is about to start."

Professor McGonagall had reentered the chamber. She ordered them to form a line and led them back across the hall and walked into the Great Hall.

It was a strange, yet splendid, sight. Light was coming from thousands of candles that were floating in the air over the four long tables where the rest of the students were sittings, laid with glittering plates and goblets. Another table sat at the top of the hall which was the teachers' place. Edward quickly identified Dumbledore at the center. The sight of the old wizard gave him a pleasant jolt. Professor McGonagall led them up so that they faced the four tables with the teachers behind them. Feeling the gaze from thousands of candle illuminated faces, Edward turned his head upward and stared at the mesmerizing ceiling. He wasn't sure if there was a ceiling at all for in its place was the black canvas that was the sky and dotted with glittering stars.

In front of them, Professor McGonagall had silently placed a four-legged stool on which she placed a battered wizard hat. For a few seconds, there was silence as everyone stared at it. Then, to Edward's surprise, a rip near the brim opened like a mouth-and the hat began to sing. According to the song, apparently, they were supposed to put the hat on their heads. The braves went to Gryffindor, the loyal ones belonged to Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw took those who were smart and finally, the cunnings in Slytherin. He heard Harry's sigh of relief-the idea of putting on a hat was certainly better than doing test-and Ron was muttering something that sounded suspiciously like a vow to strangle his brother for his crazy talk. His own nervousness was lifted somewhat, though he was still a little sick in the stomach. Professor McGonagall was 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."

"Abbott, Hannah!"

A blond girl made her way to the stool and put on the hat which fell right over her eyes.

"HUFFLEPUFF" shouted the hat

The table on the right cheered as Hannah went to join them. Edward saw the ghost monk from before waved merrily at her.

"Bones, Susan!"

Another Hufflepuff.

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW"

The table second from the left exploded with applauses.

The roll call went on for a while. Each time Professor McGonagall began to announce a name, Edward felt a tingling sensation running through his body, and when the name she stated wasn't his, he had a somewhat odd feeling of relief yet coupled with slight disappointment at the same time.

"Malfoy, Draco!"

Harry, Ron and Edward all looked up when the person in question stumbled out of the line and sat on the stool. The hat hadn't even touched the blond's head when it screamed.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Malfoy staggered off with an incredibly smug look on his face, unaware that three pair of eyes were following him with undisguised contempt. Edward watched as Draco Malfoy settled contentedly at the Slytherin table and it was at that moment that he decided that Slytherin probably wasn't meant for him.

"Weasley, Ron!"

The red head flinched, his face pale. Harry squeezed Ron's arm slightly in an attempt at comfort. From where he stood, Edward could see Ron shaking as he put the hat on. A pause, then….

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Ron went and joined his brothers at Gryffindor table, his steps wobbly but Edward could tell from his expression that he was relieved.

The list went on and on. Edward observed the others being sorted, the knot in his stomach growing after every name.

"Potter, Harry!"

Standing right behind Harry in the line, Edward could have sworn that Harry jumped a few meters off the ground. Then quite suddenly, whispers broke out in the hall, which, when coming from more than thousands of students at once, sounded nothing short of a roar. Students were standing up in their sits, craning to get a look at Harry when he walked towards the stool. At first Edward had been puzzled, but then he recalled the first time he saw Harry, the boy was surrounded by people admiring him as well. From what Harry had told him about his family, Harry was apparently one of the most well-known figures in the magic world, so Edward supposed he shouldn't have been so surprised. It was just hard to acknowledge the fact during the stay at the Dursley's house, where the two of them was practically non-existent.

The hat seemed to take longer to determine which house to put Harry than it did other student. After a few minutes of debate (can a hat even do that?), it finally made up his mind.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Edward saw Harry sat next to Ron with the rest of the Gryffindors, and he closed his eyes in anticipation. Not long now. And sure enough…

"Thompson, Edward!"

Edward moved forwards slowly, responding to a name that was technically wasn't even his. Where would he be sorted into? Both of the only friends his age he had known until now had gone into Gryffindor. He wanted to go with them, but was that allowed? Did he have enough courage to go in there? Anyways, he knew it wasn't his decision to make, in the end.

The large black hat would have covered his eyes if it weren't for Edward's large ears. Then, a strange voice began to murmur inside his head.

"You are a curious one. I can't read too deep into you, something is blocking me out. But don't worry, everything I need to know is still there. Let's see. You certainly can lie, I can see that, but you prefer being honest, don't you? Very quick-witted. Your bravery is worthy of a Gryffindor, but the reason behind your courage is more important. Ah yes, such loyalty. It's your main driving force. You would be a perfect HUFFLEPUFF"

Edward only realized that the hat had spoken the last word aloud when the Hufflepuff table started clapping. He put the hat back on the stool and gave Ron and Harry a longing look and got two apologetic ones in return before proceeding to the Hufflepuff table. The ghost monk patted him on the shoulder as he passed, giving him the sensation of having his arm applied with a bucket of ice. He sat down between Hannah Abbott and Justin Finch-Fletchley, another Hufflepuff first year, staring at the empty plates. He couldn't help but feeling down. After Dumbledore had spoken a few words (Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!-what was that all about?" and the gorgeous feast appeared, Edward didn't feel much like eating. The Fat Friar-the ghost monk, Edward knew his name now-was chatting merrily with the new students. The topic changed rapidly and before Edward knew it, everyone was talking about their families. This only serve to dampen his already gloomy mood. The Hufflepuffs were very friendly, but there were no familiar faces among them and it made him feel insecure. This was probably new for almost all of them, but unlike others, Edward had nothing to share. That alone made him feel so out of place. He picked at his steak morosely. After everyone finished eating, Dumbledore stood up and informed them of a few basic rules, including the new ban on the third floor corridor. Then everyone sung the school song which marked the end of the whole Ceremony. Later, as he followed their house prefect (Andy Wilson - a well-built fifth year with brown hair and likeable personality) along with the other first years to their dormitory, Edward settled for assuring himself that life would get better in a while, once everything had fallen into place.

Yeah, probably.


I left out the Sorting Hat's song and Dumbledore's speech. I just didn't feel like repeating them from the books (though many things here are straight from book 1) and I'm not really up to anything creative.