CHAPTER FOUR
THE SORTING HAT'S CHOICE
O
A most familiar voice issued from the door as it opened.
"Evening, Faustulus, are all the first years present and accounted for?"
"They are indeed," said Earle. "You may do with them as you wish."
Neville Longbottom stood tall and well-built, clad in scarlet robes, smiling down at the first years, nodding congenially at Albus and Rose.
"I will take them from here, then." He turned and gestured with his hand that they should follow him, and the jittery pod of children followed him into the enormous entrance hall.
Albus took in the sights—the flaming torches on the walls, the incredibly high ceiling, and the beautiful marble staircase, which had some pieces blasted off in the Battle of Hogwarts; the broken steps had been left as they were, as tribute to the battle.
Word seemed to have spread that Harry Potter's son was here, and more and more of the first years were whispering and looking sideways at him, thinking themselves discreet. Their quiet voices were now joined by drone of voices from what Albus knew was the Great Hall to their right—the older students had already arrived.
They did not enter the Great Hall, but a small, empty chamber off the hall. Most of the students were nervous, and stood very close together as Professor Longbottom cleared his throat and raised his voice to address them.
"Welcome," he said, throwing his hands in the air as if hugging the collective class, "to Hogwarts! Soon we'll begin the start-of-term banquet, but first, the Sorting! You will be put in one of four houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, or Hufflepuff. You will think of your house as your family—you will have classes with your house, eat with your house, sleep and spend time in your house common room. Your Heads of Houses are responsible for your successful endeavors at Hogwarts, but also your discipline, and rule-breaking will not be tolerated at Hogwarts. Rule-breaking will lose your house a number of points in accordance with the severity of your transgressions. However, if you work hard and succeed, your triumphs will gain points for your House. At the end of the year, the house with the most pints is awarded the House Cup, a great honor! The winner of the House Cup last year was Hufflepuff, and no matter what you hear about a certain Euan Yodelhop and the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, it was the combined efforts of everyone in the house which brought Hufflepuff to victory. I hope that each of you will make great contributions to whichever house becomes your home.
"The Heads of House are as follows: I am Professor Longbottom, Head of Gryffindor house; I also am Professor of Herbology. The Head of Ravenclaw house is Professor Desulgon, a quite agreeable young man who has just joined our staff this year as the only professor amongst our ranks who was sorted into Ravenclaw house. He teaches Transfiguration. The Head of Slytherin house is our esteemed Professor Valon, our resident Potions master, and the head of Hufflepuff house is the wonderful professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor Westerling. Just as you must listen to all of your teachers, you must all listen to the prefects of your house as well. You will meet your prefects soon, but of course, you must be Sorted before you meet them.
"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in the Great Hall. I will alert them to your arrival and then fetch you when the rest of the school is ready—doll yourselves up as needed, calm yourselves down—there's nothing to worry about—and please wait quietly for my return. I will be back momentarily." He left the chamber.
Most of the students had relaxed in quite a visible manner at the news from Professor Longbottom that they had nothing to worry about, and as they were told, they waited quietly.
Or, they were waiting quietly, until several boys shouted out and half the girls screamed. Two dozen ghosts or so had just streamed in through the wall, looking around the group of first years, greeting them, sometimes shaking hands (the people who had their hands shaken shivered violently and looked very unnerved).
"Greetings, first years, welcome to Hogwarts," said a ghost, whose appearance matched Albus's father's description of Nearly Headless Nick. "I am Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, and I was a Gryffindor in my day, I hope to see many of you there! This is the Fat Friar" —a pudgy little amiable ghost monk waved hello— "the Bloody Baron" —a horrible-looking ghost in robes stained with silver blood was staring at them, not waving— "and the Gray Lady, who has only recently become comfortable enough to reveal herself as the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw herself."
"Call me Helena," said a smiling young woman.
"They are the ghosts of Hufflepuff, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw houses, respectively, and I am the ghost of Gryffindor house, of course," said Nick. "Happy Sorting to you, and we shall see you around for the next seven years!"
Other ghosts flew forward, as if to introduce themselves, but Professor Longbottom returned and humbly requested their presence in the Great Hall for the beginning of the Sorting Ceremony.
"Form a line, and follow me into the Great Hall to begin the Sorting!"
Albus was all grins as he trekked through the door, one of the first in line, and entered the Great Hall through its magnificent double doors, taking in the sight that he had dreamed about for years as his brother and cousins attended the school.
Thousands of candles floated in midair over four long tables laden with glittering golden plates and goblets, under what looked like the night sky but which Albus knew to be the ceiling of the Great Hall, bewitched to look like the sky outside; it was done so well that it looked like the walls of the Hall simply melted into the night, without a ceiling there at all. Professor Longbottom led them up and instructed them to form a line with their backs to the teachers' table, facing the rest of the hall, and Albus was glad for the chance to continue soaking in the enormous, mind-blowing Hall.
Then Professor Longbottom placed a small four-legged stool in front of the middle of the line, slightly to Albus's left, and placed a pointed wizard's hat on top of the stool—it was patched and frayed and extremely dirty, and completely unremarkable for anyone who didn't know what it was capable of. Glancing left and right, Albus saw several people who were obviously from Muggle houses, raising confused eyebrows as to what this hat could possibly be for. Albus glanced a few people to his right and saw Eftan there, looking much paler than he had on the trip over. He couldn't see Alec and Aidan from where he was positioned.
Everyone in the Hall stared at the hat in silence, until finally, a rip near the brim split open and the hat burst into song.
"I've seen ten centuries' worth of kids,
Of every birth and name,
And though the faces differ
One thing always stays the same.
Every witch and wizard
Has a path before them set,
A path they've had since childhood,
but not discovered yet.
I've seen them brave and smart and kind—
all qualities to treasure—
and though they're there in everyone,
They're there in different measure.
It usually takes a lifetime
Till you finally can tell
Which qualities I've named would best
Describe a person well.
However, we've but minutes
To decide where you will go.
We cannot wait a lifetime,
As the hungriest of you know!
The answer is more simple
Than just waiting till you're dead:
The Sorting Hat is here to make
A House-Call on your head!
Courageous blood was highly prized
By Godric Gryffindor,
So if you're daring, dashing, bold,
That house is what's in store.
And if your brains are prevalent,
You'll go to one of these:
The house of Rowena Ravenclaw
Where book-smart's sure to please;
Or clever Salazar Slytherin's,
Where wits and instinct rule!
To Helga Hufflepuff,
The hardest workers of our school.
Now if you're feeling queasy,
Thinking, "There's no house for ME!"
Don't be worried, take it easy.
Try me on and you will see!"
Applause rang out from the school as the Sorting Hat finished its song, and it bowed to the four tables and then kept still. Albus clapped hard, quite at ease, confident in the house into which he would be Sorted. His eyes, scanning the crowd, caught his brother and cousins at the Gryffindor table, grinning at him and Rose.
Professor Longbottom now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.
"When I call you up, please sit on the stool and place the Sorting Hat over your head, and you will be sorted," he said. "Acromere, Arthur!"
A boy stumbled forward, clearly having confirmed his dread that he would be the first called. He slid the hat down over his head with shaking fingers, and waited.
The Hall was completely silent. Thirty seconds passed, and then a minute, and Arthur was compulsively wiping his sweaty palms on his robes. Two minutes had passed before the hat finally shouted, "RAVENCLAW!"
There was an immediate uproar from the Ravenclaw table, second from the left, and Albus saw several people exchanging coins between tables, apparently having placed bets on the first House to be named in the Sorting. Arthur hurried to the table and was greeted by the fist-pumping prefects.
"Adonax, Tobias!"
Tobias stepped forward a sight more confidently than had Arthur. He placed the hat on his head and waited until about a second later, when it shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!" The shout was echoed by jubilant yells from the Gryffindor table, which broke Tobias's face into a full grin.
Albus was surprised that it took such a short time for that decision, considering how long it had been for the first. Some of the older students were already bored from the first decision, and sat with their heads in their hands, waiting for the meal to start.
"Alamandrine, Sylvester!"
The boy from the train swaggered forward happily, and placed the Sorting Hat on his head, which yelled "SLYTHERIN!" before he even took his hand off. He picked it back off with glee and traipsed over to the Slytherin table, second from the right, which also clapped hard.
It took five more people just to get out of the A's, and Albus was starting to zone out. His eyes wandered, and he suddenly realized that there were two spots missing in the High Table: The chairs on both sides of the headmaster's were unoccupied, and one chair at the end was empty. One, he assumed was Neville's, so then two people were missing. He wished he knew who everyone was, already, or that there were name cards in front of their places or something. He wondered who was the person who couldn't make it.
"Baxter-Thornton, Jonah!"
The black boy who visited them on the train jogged up to the front from the very end of the line, and slipped on the hat, which yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!" rather quickly.
He seemed genuinely surprised at this, and Albus remembered him saying on the train that his sister was in Slytherin… and suddenly, fear began to creep back into him. Siblings didn't always have to be in the same house… and here in front of him was a precise example of a Gryffindor/Slytherin split, right in the middle of a family…
He was finally snapped out of his troubled thoughts by the biggest cheer yet, so loud it seemed to tear the Hall in half: "Brestleton, Tad" had just become a Hufflepuff—the first Hufflepuff of the day, even though a dozen students had been Sorted before him. The Hufflepuff table exploded with cheers, and Tad ran there quickly, turning red.
Unexpectedly, Professor Longbottom also started turning red, and he began making incoherent noises. "Br… Brz… Burr-zoo-nedge…skee? Er…" He raised his voice. "Ebenezer B-R-Z-U-N-E-J-S-K-Y? I really should have asked you beforehand, I'm sorry…"
"Brew-ness-key," mumbled a boy with a beet-red face, who clearly wanted nothing more than to be invisible for the rest of his life.
"Brew-ness-key? Thank you, I'm so sorry. Anyway… Brzunejsky, Ebenezer!" shouted Professor Longbottom, rubbing his forehead in embarrassment and trying not to smile at the unfortunate surname. Ebenezer walked forward and jammed the hat on his head, eager to block out everyone else's soft laughter.
Ten seconds later, the hat had shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!" and Ebenezer ran off to the Gryffindor table at once, trying to hide himself amongst the other first years, where he was joined shortly by "Carlen, Candice." Then, after "Crosenbend, Callista" and "Cyrosta, Danielle" became Hufflepuffs, "Cyrosta, Dorothy" became a Gryffindor as well. Another instance of relatives being separated. Albus started to sweat.
"Doge, Jamie" became a Hufflepuff, and then "Finch-Fletchley, Aidan" was called, and Aidan stepped forward confidently. Albus recalled Aidan's convictions that he would probably be in Gryffindor. If he wasn't in Gryffindor… then Albus, even with his own strong convictions, was also unsafe…
"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat after about twenty seconds. Albus groaned and resisted the urge to claw at his hair.
"Glissendale, Holly" was the next person that Albus recognized: the pretty, strawberry-blonde girl from the train, who still made Albus feel sort of tingly. She became the third Ravenclaw in a row.
"Greengrass, Archie!"
A very pale, black-haired boy stepped forward from right in the middle of the line, and placed the hat on his head. It was about fifteen seconds before the hat shouted, "RAVENCLAW!" and he took it off, looking utterly bewildered, trotting to the Ravenclaw table in shock.
"Greengrass, Ashton!"
Eftan, standing a few places to Albus's right, had almost stepped forward. Albus knew why: he probably thought his last name, Griffiths, would be right after Greengrass—except there was another Greengrass. Eftan looked even paler from having thought he would be next. The other Greengrass boy stepped forward, also from the middle of the line.
Albus did a double-take—so did the entire Hall. It looked like the exact same boy had just walked to the stool and put the hat on. It must have been the triplets he'd seen talking with Scorpius. Maybe Archie had been sure he would be Slytherin. More proof that you could never be sure before the Sorting Hat made its choice.
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Greengrass, Sebastian!"
Eftan had almost stepped forward again, and he threw an exasperated look to the ground.
"RAVENCLAW!"
Albus noticed that, although Archie and Ashton Greengrass looked exactly the same, Sebastian had some noticeable differences—whereas they had very round faces and very small noses, his nose was slightly more prominent and so was his chin. He was also slightly taller, though this was harder to tell. Albus wondered if they were even triplets at all, or maybe the first two were twins with a brother who was very close in age, or even a cousin.
"Griffiths, Eftan!"
Eftan finally trudged forward solemnly. He placed the hat on his head very slowly, and sat completely still, not even twitching a finger.
Four minutes, four full minutes, passed in complete silence. Albus wondered what Eftan was thinking. Finally, the hat nodded, and it took in a deep breath; so did Eftan.
"SLYTHERIN!"
Albus was actually slightly relieved. Now, if he was indeed landed in Slytherin, at least he'd have a friend already there.
Now that Eftan had ended the six-person-long Ravenclaw streak, the clapping was much quieter, and he felt bad for "Harowa, Wendy," who didn't get as much applause as her predecessors, and wandered off to the Gryffindor table looking slightly unhappy. He zoned out again, until Professor Longbottom yelled, "Malfoy, Scorpius!"
A bit of laughter echoed through the Hall at the name.
"SLYTHERIN!" shouted the hat as soon as it touched his head, and Scorpius walked impassively to the Slytherin table. Professor Longbottom consulted his scroll again.
"Mallagora, Whitney!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"McKinnon, Alec!"
Alec slid the hat on awkwardly. A second later, it declared, "RAVENCLAW!"
Alec looked bewildered, and again, Albus thought about how Alec had said he'd probably go to Gryffindor; again, Albus felt slightly sick. And now they were in the M's… they were approaching his name.
"Mirabatch, Kolby!"
A boy with very scraggly brown hair stepped forward nervously, and the hat declared him a Gryffindor, then moved on to "Moon, Mia," the girl with the stunning eyes that he'd seen on the train with Holly. The hat gave her about a minute, and shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF!"
Albus ran quickly through the alphabet in his head. They would finish the M's, and then the N's, the O's, and then the P's… He wished time would move faster…
"Potter, Albus!"
Whispers broke out, and Albus blanched. He instantly took back his wish that time would move faster, but as there were no other Albus Potters stepping forward, he knew he would have to go eventually. There was no delaying it. He moved what felt like someone else's legs, but they were carrying him to the stool as he watched himself moving from the ceiling, even though he felt like he was made of lead, and the room was really cold but he was sweating. He took a deep breath, picked the hat up off the stool, and placed it over his ears.
"Ah," said a soft, soothing voice directly in his ear. "What have we here? Another Potter? Strange… your brother was quite easy… You're more like your father, aren't you? Difficult… and I sense the same thirst…"
Thirst? Albus thought.
"Yes, a thirst," said the hat, apparently reading his mind. "Your father had a thirst to prove himself too. He walked into the world of magic to find himself famous, and, no matter how hard he might deny it, he always had an underlying urge to prove himself, show everyone that he wasn't just a famous name, make himself known for something that he had control over. But mostly, he had an aversion to failing."
Albus waited for the hat to continue.
"You're actually different in that respect, then. You want to prove yourself, make yourself known as YOU, and not as your father's son, and I know just the house that will help you on the way to greatness."
Not Slytherin, Albus thought. Not Slytherin.
At this, the hat actually let out a laugh that was not contained to his ear; it echoed throughout the great hall, and Albus felt every inch of his body heating up. Others were laughing, too, apparently concluding that the hat had found something highly amusing in Albus's head, but probably making extremely inaccurate assumptions as to what that was.
"That's just what your father asked," said the hat. "But if that is your choice, then it can't be helped. You seek the kind of recognition that will come from hard work and determination, the traits of a Hufflepuff, but your mind and courage are even stronger. Overall it comes down to the house in which I believe you will perform best, and from what I've just seen, I don't think there can be any contest… GRYFFINDOR!"
The last word was bellowed for the whole hall to hear, and the Gryffindor table exploded. Albus's legs were completely useless from relief, and he charged at the Gryffindor table, hoping he wouldn't collapse before he arrived, and when he looked up, his heart was suddenly warmer than it had ever been: James was standing up, and clapping the hardest out of everyone.
He heard the name "Pullman, Parker" called, but he wasn't watching the Sorting; he was too busy shaking the hands of every Gryffindor near him. It took him about twenty seconds to sit down, but when he looked up, Parker was still in the process of approaching the stool, supported by Professor Longbottom.
"Do you think he's almost passed out from nerves?" Jonah wondered aloud.
It certainly seemed like it; he placed his hands on the stool first to steady himself, then Professor Longbottom helped him sit down and placed the hat over his head before he looked up. The hat took a while to decide for him, too, and then put him in Gryffindor.
As the hat was taken off, Professor Longbottom called "Quinn, Abigail," but then left to escort Parker to his seat at the Gryffindor table. Albus moved down to make room, and he understood why Parker needed help when they got closer. He had milky white, unmoving eyes: Parker was blind.
He heard the Slytherin table clapping at Abigail's arrival, and settled into his seat to watch. The Sorting was so much more pleasant to watch now that he was sitting down at the Gryffindor table. He watched the line of nervous first years gradually shrink.
"Vaughn, Ava" was called, and Albus got a small shock. She was the dark-haired girl that Albus had seen in his cousin's boat, with Holly and Mia, but her hair wasn't black, as Albus had thought in the darkness. In fact, it appeared to be a very dark green. As she lifted the hat over her head, Albus caught sight of a little bit more webbing between her fingers than normal for a human; her features were also sharper, and her throat slightly longer. She must have been part Mermish.
She was declared a Slytherin, and then "Waters, Scott" became a Gryffindor before "Watson, Emily," the curly-haired girl he had seen talking to Earle before they entered the boats, became a Hufflepuff, and then there were only four first years remaining: Rose, Exo, a fierce-looking black girl, and a timid-looking redheaded boy (though his hair had nothing on the color of the trademark Weasley hair).
"Weasley, Rose!"
Rose stepped forward confidently, nowhere near as worried as Albus had been, and she sat down on the stool, waiting eagerly. Some people were counting under their breath for each first year, seeing who took the longest; in this battle, it appeared that Rose won. Someone across from Albus stopped counting at a hundred seconds in, and someone a couple seats down stopped reached two hundred and fifty before anything even happened. Finally the hat straightened up, cleared its—hats didn't have throats, what was it clearing?—and yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!"
However confident Rose looked stepping up, she was immensely relieved when it was finally over. She collapsed in a chair near Albus and leaned over towards him.
"The hat said I was just like my mom," she said. "It took him so long. I could feel him trying to pick through my brain like there was a finger in there!"
"Wilcox, Exorian!"
The man in the headmaster's chair, Exo's father, straightened up a little and smiled as Exo walked nervously towards the stool. The dead silence was painted by irritated sighs and the rumbles of empty stomachs. He didn't seem at all nervous about his Sorting—strange, Albus thought… he seemed like an extremely nervous person when Albus met him. Perhaps he was confident in what he said on the train, that he'd likely be in Slytherin?
"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat.
If Exo was surprised, he didn't show it. He walked calmly to the Gryffindor table, which was cheering very loud at having been given the headmaster's son (and probably also that it took the hat much less time to decide for him than for Rose).
The red-headed boy started walking forward before his name was called: "Wingleton, Harry!" Albus laughed; this was the third boy named Harry in his year. He suspected that the boys had been named by parents who wanted their kids to grow up to be like Harry Potter. The redheaded Harry became a Hufflepuff, and then the last girl strode up to the stool.
"Zabini, Jasmine!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
More people started exchanging bronze coins down the tables—there must have been bets on which house would get the last student, too. Finally, the Sorting was over, and people were just about ready to tuck in when the headmaster, Professor Wilcox, stood up, and all fell silent. Right before he did so, Albus looked around, his heart sinking as he noticed something that, in his worry, he had not noticed: He and his three potential friends from the train had, somehow, unfortunately, ended up in all different houses.
"Good evening!" he called, and his voice was filled with genuine pleasure. "I'm so sorry to inform you, but the feast must be postponed for a little while longer."
The Great Hall was immediately filled with groans and cries, and people looked at each other curiously; apparently this had never happened before.
"We are going to do a second round of Sorting," Wilcox said, and intrigued mutters erupted all around the Hall. "It is part of PEEP."
"Peep?" Albus asked.
A second year down the table whispered to Albus, "Professor Wilcox has been trying out a lot of teaching tactics through a program he's set up called the Positive Experiments in Education Plan."
Wilcox was still talking, and Albus tuned back in. "—first year will be paired with a student in their fourth year, who will assist them in any areas necessary: class help, making study habits, class selection in your second year, and career advice in your fourth. You first years will continue this relationship with the same mentor until he or she graduates at the end of your fourth year. Also, at the beginning of your fourth year, you have the opportunity to be paired with an incoming first year; your mentor can also give you advice on how to be a successful mentor yourself.
"We collected the names of student volunteers last year, and have informed the Sorting Hat of who will be mentors. Our esteemed hat quite remembers everyone who's ever been under the brim. You will not have to try our hat on again; it will simply use its memory to find a suitable mentor within your House; in fact, it's already matched you up from when you first put it on. Oh, and I should add, only students who have been mentors can become prefects, due to evident initiative to be role models and leaders."
Wilcox paused to let this sink in, and then he handed Professor Longbottom another role of parchment. The Hall fell into a grumbling quasi-silence.
"Gryffindor first," said Professor Longbottom. "Adonax, Tobias!"
Without further ado, the hat shouted, "OSWALD WATERS!"
Tobias stood up and shook hands with Oswald, who had stood up with him to be recognized, and then Professor Longbottom called, "Andersen, Riley!"
"CONRAD WELLWITZ!"
Albus's eyes began to droop, and his stomach rumbled. He zoned out completely until he heard his name called, sooner than he had thought he would hear it.
"Potter, Albus!"
"GILLIAN GARTRIVE!"
Albus stood up, as the other students were doing when their names were called, and his jaw almost dropped. Gillian's long hair, which fell down almost to his shoulders with the bangs reaching his brow, was not just red—it was vividly red, like freshly drawn blood. He must have changed it himself; no one had hair like that. He had an earring (was this kid really fourteen?) that looked like it must have been made from a small phoenix feather, and his robes were ripped at both sleeves, revealing about two inches of a bright red T-shirt underneath. One word summed it up: rebel.
His fellow first year Gryffindor boys sighed in disappointment on not having been assigned this awesome kid, while most of the first year girls, and indeed, half the girls in the room, let out little squeaks. Albus shook Gillian's hand happily, and then sat down again, waiting for further installments.
Parker Pullman was paired with Freddie Weasley, who looked delighted at the joke potential that was presented by a blind first year. Scott Waters was paired with someone named Elliott Oxing, and then…
"Weasley, Rose!"
"JOLENE GANLOCK!"
Jolene looked nice, but Albus had to hand it to the Sorting Hat—this girl looked like just as much of a know-it-all as Rose was.
"Wilcox, Exorian!"
"LOUIS WEASLEY!"
Louis had let his blond hair grow longer over the last summer, garnering almost as many sighs from the girls as Gillian. He shook Exorian's hand with a warming smile. It was completely the opposite of his cousin's malicious grin at the opportunities granted to him from being paired with a first year. Exorian seemed rather relieved.
The Ravenclaw table was next. Albus didn't pay much attention, except for noticing that Alec was paired with a nice-looking athletically built guy named Tyler Emmett. He also paid attention when Holly's name was called, though he didn't know why. Her mentor was Petra Sykora, and Albus, still not quite understanding why, stored the information somewhere in his brain.
When it was Slytherin's turn, Eftan was paired with a mean-looking kid named Simon Smokehart, and then Hufflepuff's turn came around and Aidan was paired with a boy who had the stupidest grin Albus had ever seen; his name was Trent Berry.
Then, finally, finally, the Sorting was over, and the feast was about to begin. Professor Longbottom took away the Sorting Hat, and Wilcox cleared his throat and started to talk again.
"A few more announcements… but that can wait until after the feast!"
There was a round of applause at this.
"Tuck in, everyone! Today is a day to stuff yourselves so much that you can only waddle back up to the dorms."
The plates were instantly filled with so much food that Albus swore he saw the middle of the table sink at least an inch. He was so hungry that he started eating before he was even done filling his plate. The food was absolutely delicious—rivaling even his mother's best home-cooked meals.
When he and his fellow first year Gryffindors had eaten enough, they started chatting, learning more about each other. Their first topic was family, and people kept shooting furtive looks at Albus, as if certain that he would break out any moment with a boast about his father.
Jonah and Exo were the only first year boys in Gryffindor with four magical grandparents. Four of them hadn't even known they were wizards until their eleventh birthdays, when Faustulus Earle had come to their houses to explain.
"My parents were confused as to why he didn't come earlier," said the boy who'd had to pronounce his name for Professor Longbottom. "I'd been doing magic since I was four, see, and they always suspected there was something weird about me, but Mr. Earle still didn't come until I was eleven, he said that's policy."
"What's your name again?" asked the boy with very scraggly brown hair.
"Ebenezer Brzunejsky," he muttered, turning red again. "You can just call me Eben, though. What's your name?"
"Kolby Mirabatch. Nice to meet you, Eben! And yeah, I know what you mean about Mr. Earle not coming until you were eleven; the same thing happened to me. I was already consciously hurting our school bullies without touching them when I was just nine. I was convinced I had superpowers."
"That's weird," said Albus. "I met a kid on the train who got sorted into Slytherin, and he said that Earle came to his house when he was only six months old."
Kolby and Eben looked surprised, but Jonah and Exo actually stopped their conversation and looked over, shocked.
"Yeah, it's weird, isn't it?" Albus asked the two pure-bloods.
"No, I'm just even more surprised that a Muggle-born went to Slytherin," said Jonah. "I didn't think that even ever happened! Salazar Slytherin refused to let any Muggle-borns into his house, and I thought that the Sorting Hat knew that."
"Even so," said Exo, "it seems like the Sorting Hat should know that he might face some prejudice if he's a Muggle-born in Slytherin."
"Adelina Nelson was a Muggle-born Slytherin," said Tobias Adonax. "But that might have been automatic because she was a Parselmouth. Same with Sylvester."
Albus recalled the Sorting Hat's words in his ear… Overall it comes down to the house in which I believe you will perform best…
"I guess we gotta trust the hat," said Albus, and his friends laughed.
Nearly Headless Nick floated over and raised an eyebrow. "I thought I must have missed someone, but no, it's true," he said.
"What?" asked Rose, looking up.
"There are nine new Gryffindor boys, and only five new Gryffindor girls," laughed Nick. "That's as lopsided as I've ever seen it, I must say!"
Albus looked around at the sound of footsteps; Roxanne Weasley was walking down the table. She strolled over to the first years, shook Albus's hand, and clapped a hand on Rose's shoulder.
"Good job, you guys," she said proudly. "Now let's get Gryffindor that House Cup. Hufflepuff's gotten it the last five years in a row, ever since that damn Euan Yodelhop got on their Quidditch team."
Another girl followed her, a girl that Albus had seen visiting at her house on occasion; this girl looked way too muscular to be twelve. Her name was Jeniffer Davis, but she was named after her mother, so they called her "Niffer" to distinguish between the girls.
"New meat, eh?" said Niffer. "Good Lord, they're scrawny, the whole lot of 'em."
"Oh, come off it, we're only a year above them," Roxanne sighed. She turned to a girl with long and curly black hair. "Palila Bell, is it? Your dad was a great Chaser when he was here… do you play Quidditch?"
Palila nodded.
"I know you're only a first year, but you could still probably beat Erika or Harry in tryouts… they're just awful. We're going to have to hope James catches the Snitch in the first minute of all three games or Hufflepuff's gonna be using our brooms to sweep up what's left of us."
"They lost one of the Armstrongs last year," said Niffer with a trace of hope.
"Doesn't matter, they've still got Yodelhop and I hear they've got a new recruit who almost made the team last season, even as a first year." Roxanne and Niffer started walking away. "Amazing. We've got two ridiculously good Beaters, an unparalleled Keeper and a fantastic Seeker, but only one good Chaser, and somehow it's crippling us!"
Rose shook Palila's hand. "Hi, I'm Rose Weasley."
"Pallie Bell, great to meet you!"
Albus tuned in to Parker Pullman and Tobias Adonax, who were discussing Parker's blindness.
"But I thought there were ways to make magical eyes," Tobias was saying. "Didn't Mad-Eye Moody, the Auror, have one?"
"Yeah, you're right, Toby, but he was able to control it because he'd been able to see throughout his entire life," replied Parker. "I was born blind, though. I don't know what seeing is… I can sort of comprehend another sense besides the ones I have, but I still wouldn't be able to use a magical eye without ever having learned to use a normal eye. That's all right, though, I'm an optimist. I like to look at it this way: I'll never get killed by the stare of a basilisk!"
The leftovers then faded away, and so many beautiful desserts appeared that Albus wanted to go back in time and eat less dinner food. Then he decided to take Wilcox's suggestion prior to the feast, and he plunged into the desserts with gusto nonetheless.
Stuffed to the point of bursting, Albus couldn't wait to waddle up to Gryffindor Tower and discover a nice, warm bed there. He leaned against the back of his chair and looked up as Wilcox stood up again. The few scraps that were left of the desserts disappeared.
"I have a few announcements to make, so if you could hold off on the passing out, that would be peachy," said Wilcox brightly. "I'd like to introduce you to not one, not two, but three new members of our staff this year!"
At this, he gestured to his left side, where the seat remained empty. "I would like to introduce you to three new members of our staff, but sadly, Professor Desulgon, who has taken up the Transfiguration post, is attending a funeral for Mrs. Megara Roy, the mother of a dear friend of his. He had informed me that he would be late to the feast; I thought he would be here by now, but he must have been held up, so you'll have to meet him tomorrow, or whenever you have Transfiguration.
"However, I can introduce you to Professor Weasley, who will be taking our Care of Magical Creatures classes, for those of you in your third year or above."
James, Freddie, and Louis all cheered at an unnecessary volume at this; muffled laughter broke out amongst the students. Charlie was clearly trying not to smile, but failing, and he held his hands up to quiet them.
"Those of you in your sixth and seventh years will remember Professor Weasley as the long-term substitute for Professor Henrietta Nesbit three years ago, when she suffered that nasty Molken bite. Professor Nesbit retired as of last year. We are sad to see her go, but happy to see Professor Weasley again! He has consented to fill the post for this year, and possibly next year if we cannot find another permanent replacement.
"Our other staffing change is in the Astronomy department. Unfortunately, we must announce the departure of our Astronomy professor of thirty years, Aurora Sinistra, who has decided to start a family. She has left to teach with her husband, who is a professor at the Katarina Pinzel School of Sorcery in the state of California in the United States of America. We wish her every success in her new work placement, and we'd also like to commemorate the Sinistra family. The Astronomy professors in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry have all hailed from her family for four full centuries. In the year 1596, Ophiuchus Black took the post, and was then succeeded by thirteen of his direct descendents. They have all done a splendid job: Since 1599, Hogwarts Astronomy O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. performance rank has not fallen below tenth in the world among all government-recognized schools of magic! This is a remarkable accomplishment, considering that many schools in regions like China and Greece put a notoriously high emphasis on Astronomy. Those are hard shoes to fill. But our new staff member, Professor Obbin, hopes to live up to Professor Sinistra's high standards."
Suddenly, the chair at the very left end of the High Table, which Albus had taken to be empty, was moved; a little humanoid creature stood up on his chair and stepped up onto the table to bow: Professor Obbin was a house-elf.
"Professor Obbin has been well-versed in astronomy since his youth, and has always dreamed of becoming a professor," explained Wilcox. "He is knowledgeable, and has much expertise in his field; I think you will find him a proper fit for the job. But if you older students have any suggestions as to how he could improve his teaching skills, you can always bring them up in class; Professor Obbin has confided in me that he rather misses being bossed around by wizards."
Most students laughed, but Albus noticed that Rose did not look amused.
"And now, I will continue in my announcements. It is my great pleasure to inform you that, starting this year, we will be instituting midyear exams, to ensure that you are sufficiently prepared for the latter half of the year and suitably prepared for your exams at the end of—"
Wilcox did not finish, because half of the students were groaning miserably at the introduction of more exams, and the other half were booing loudly. Wilcox stood and waited for the moans to subside, smiling down at his feet with a guilty look on his face.
When the Hall finally fell reasonably quiet again, Wilcox held his hands up and continued. "It's for your own good," he grinned. "I do heartily apologize, though. I know that more stress is just the last thing our fifth and seventh years were hoping to—"
Again, he was cut off; this time, it was from gasps and screams. An enormous, completely white bird with glowing red eyes had just soared into the room through the open doors of the Great Hall. It had a ten foot wingspan and foot-long talons, a beak filled with sharp, jagged teeth, and a body structure that was far more reminiscent of a reptile than a bird—Albus had seen creatures like this only in old dinosaur books.
The bird soared towards the High Table silently, and lowered itself closer to the ground; first years near the front shrieked and ducked down under the table. The gigantic creature then turned sharply upwards, doing a back flip in midair; during this turn, it transformed smoothly from a bird into a human, the wings shrinking, the feathers receding, clothes appearing, the talons retracting.
A man landed in front of the High Table. He tugged at his white robes to straighten them, and then darted forward and vaulted the staff table like he was performing at a gymnastics competition, swinging his legs over the side and spinning into the chair to Wilcox's left. He gazed out at the students and waved hello; he looked not much older than some of the seventh years. His hair was not just blond, it was white; his skin was not just pale, it was colorless, showing some of the veins beneath his skin; his eyes were so red they almost glowed.
"Ah, here we are," said Wilcox. "This here is young Dalton Desulgon, our Transfiguration professor. He is but twenty years old, and yet already is highly accomplished and well-respected in the magical community; indeed, some people have gone as far as to compare him to Albus Dumbledore!"
Professor Desulgon held up a hand and interrupted with a small cough. "I should let everyone know that the 'some people' who have compared me to Dumbledore were my mother and grandmother; I just said that in the job interview."
Laughs echoed throughout the hall.
Wilcox smiled. "He's a comedian, this one. And quite a resume… Recipient of the prestigious annual Albus Dumbledore Award for Extraordinary Magical Prowess, much younger than all of the eighteen other recipients; celebrated inventor of Frostflame; the first person ever to win the single's and double's Dueling Championships, let alone do it in the same year, and the youngest to win either Championship; and the world's youngest registered Animagus—and history's only known albino Animagus, I might add! What is the name of that reptilian bird-beast into which you can transform?"
"I don't even know what it's called, scientifically," answered Professor Desulgon, "but I assume that it is commonly known as a 'Mother of Merlin,' because that's what everybody screams when they see me."
Albus laughed again; he already could not wait until Transfiguration.
"Anyway, I must continue with the announcements," Wilcox said, but he was grinning lightly. "You'll get better acquainted with Professor Desulgon in your classes! He is replacing Theodora Thigby, who retired just recently, also a very well-loved professor of ours. We wish her much happiness in retirement.
"The forest on the grounds is absolutely out-of-bounds to all pupils, a restriction which will be much more powerfully enforced due to the near-fatal accident which took place there after exams last year; I needn't remind our older students about that, and I would really rather not explain it in detail anyway.
"Magic should not be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. If you are interested in playing for your house team, I would suggest that you contact Madam Duopold as soon as possible so that it does not slip your mind in the excitement of the start of term.
"Congratulations to our new prefects, and our new Head Boy and Head Girl, Aethan Maddox and Cheryl Wood!" There was a smattering of applause, but the Hufflepuffs looked scandalized, and many of them were looking angrily towards the Slytherin Table, or else muttering mutinously to a tall, roguish-looking boy with wild blond hair and an impressive tan, who kept waving them away. Euan Yodelhop? Albus guessed.
"If you are a mentor, you must schedule a mandatory meeting at some time in the second week of term! Any mentor who fails to schedule a meeting in the second week of term will be punished with multiple detentions. If your mentee is, er, being… difficult about it… please bring that up with a teacher.
"And finally…" Wilcox stretched out his arms like he was hugging the entire Hall. "Have a fantastic and fulfilling school year!"
All of the students filed out of the hall to their dormitories. Molly Weasley and the other fifth year prefect, Alexander Davis, whom Albus recognized as Niffer's brother, led the first years up to Gryffindor Tower.
"Got 'em all here, Xander?" asked Molly.
"Then we have them all," said Xander, counting the heads before him; he was at least twice as tall as most of them. "Right, then, I'm Alexander Davis, and this is Molly Weasley; you can call me Xander."
Riley Andersen raised his hand. "Why not Alex?"
"Alex is my dad, I was named after him, and they decided to give me a different nickname. That's the same reason why my brother Christopher is 'Topher,' he was named after my uncle. And my sister Jeniffer is 'Niffer,' because my mom is Jeniffer."
Several of the first years giggled at "Niffer."
"Stay with us, we'll try our best to keep the seventh years from stepping on you," Xander continued. Under his breath, he added to Molly, "I swear we were not this tiny when we got here."
"Everyone's tiny compared to you," said Molly. "Come, now, first years, don't get separated, we'd have to do a lot of explaining to Professor Wilcox if that happened."
The journey to the tower was taken with most of the year in contented food stupor, and all that Albus could think of was bed. But as soon as he entered the common room, and looked around, he really took it in for the first time that he was in Hogwarts, in Gryffindor, about to have probably the best seven years of his life, and there was nowhere else he'd rather be. All the same, he was dead tired, and after a moment's appreciation of the pristine first year dormitory and its nine four-poster beds, he climbed onto his bed without pulling the covers over himself, and he fell asleep within a minute. There would be enough time to get excited about classes in the morning.