The Sorting

Sanada Genichirou

Yukimura and Sanada lost sight of Tezuka and Fuji in the crowd of first years, but Yanagi remained close behind them. Sanada had no strong feelings about Yanagi one way or the other—they had only known each other for a few hours for Merlin's sake—but Yukimura seemed to have taken a liking to him and Sanada knew that meant he would be seeing more of Yanagi in the future. Sanada did not have many friends of his own, but Yukimura's friends were often his by extension.

Inside Hogwarts Castle, they were led into a large room with two gilded doors that nearly touched the ceiling. Standing in front of them was a middle-aged woman in deep magenta robes that spilled down onto the floor. The corners of her eyes were wrinkled with crow's-feet and laugh lines framed her mouth. She wore large pointed hat that matched her robes.

"You can call me Professor Ryuzaki," the woman said in a loud voice. "In a few moments, I'll be taking you into the Great Hall to be sorted into one of four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin. Your achievements will earn your house points and your failures will lose them. At the end of the year, the House Cup is presented to the house with the most points. It's just a bit of friendly competition, but everyone should take it seriously. My house, Gryffindor, has won the Cup the past three years.

"During the ceremony, I will call all of you up by name. All you have to do is come forward, sit on the stool, and the Sorting Hat will take care of the rest. After you've been sorted, go and sit at your house table."

Yukimura shifted eagerly besides Sanada, who was feeling ill with worry. What if he wasn't placed into Slytherin? Worse, what if he wasn't placed in the same house as Yukimura?

"Ready?" Professor Ryuzaki asked. She did not wait for an answer. "Good. Let's go."

With a wave of her wand, the heavy doors pushed apart and they proceeded into the Great Hall. Sanada had never seen such a place. Thousands of lit candles hovered in the air, lighting the enormous hall that was spanned by four long tables. These tables had shining golden goblets and plates and hungry students who gazed upon the first years with curiosity and some pity, no doubt remembering what it was like to walk down the hall their first year. There was one table per house. Sanada saw Akiteru at the Slytherin table among the hundreds of faces, but Akiteru did not see him.

Sanada heard Yukimura say, "The ceiling really is enchanted…" Sanada tilted his head back and looked up at the ceiling. Instead of intricate bricks and intersecting arches, he saw a velvety black night sky dotted with hundreds of stars. It was hard to believe that there was a ceiling behind the sky.

At the end of the hall was another table that ran the width of the room. Professors of different ages, genders, and races occupied all of the chairs along the table with the exception of the grand, throne-like middle chair and the one Sanada assumed belonged to Professor Ryuzaki; these two were unoccupied. A lone stool stood in front of the professor's table and on it sat a dusty, ripped up, old hat.

The noisy hall quieted as Professor Ryuzaki began to talk, "I'm sure you're all hungry so I'll hurry this along. Before I can begin the Sorting ceremony, the Sorting Hat has a song for us."

Sanada stood on his toes to see over the girl in front of him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yukimura craning his neck to get a better view.

The old hat straightened out its point and a large tear along the bottom of the hat opened like a flap, or a mouth. Then, the hat began to sing:

"Welcome, welcome back to Hogwarts .
Welcome, welcome back to school.
Welcome, welcome back to Hogwarts,
Where everything is magical.

"Magic awaits you and magic you will learn,
But first you must be sorted—don't be concerned!
I am the Sorting Hat and it is my job, you see,
To place you in the house where you are destined to be.

"You could be a lion, in the house of Gryffindor,
If nerve and courage are in your heart;
The lions are daring and bold,
And they bleed red and gold.

"You could be a snake, in the house of Slytherin,
If power and intelligence are what you seek;
The snakes are driven by ambition and greed,
And they bleed silver and green.

"You could be an eagle, in the house of Ravenclaw,
If your mind is truly creative and witty;
The eagles are the thinkers of this school,
And they bleed bronze and blue.

"You could be a badger, in the house of Hufflepuff,
If you are always kind and true;
The badgers are not the kind to turn their backs,
And they bleed yellow and black.

"I see more in you than you have yet to see,
But no matter where you are, a home your house will be.
The houses stand together through thick and thin,
And now that my song is over, let the Sorting begin!"

The Great Hall erupted with applause and shouts, Yukimura among them, while Sanada only clapped. Somewhere behind him, he heard Marui say, "That was brilliant!"

Professor Ryuzaki waited for the noise to calm down and then called out the first name from a long scroll. The first years looked around to see who was moving forward, staring at them as they moved through the crowd. A girl sat on the stool and the hat was placed on her head.

"Akiteru said the hat talks to you in your head," Sanada said.

"I wonder what it'll say to me," Yukimura said.

Loudly, the hat shouted out, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

The Hufflepuff table clapped and shouted as they welcomed the girl to their table.

The first name that Sanada recognized was Atobe, the boy who supposedly bought the entire trolley on the train. Atobe was the first one to walk to the stool with confidence. His swagger was annoying but Sanada envied the boy's natural confidence.

"RAVENCLAW!"

Atobe strutted over to the Ravenclaw table where a blond boy was bouncing excitedly.

The Sorting continued. Sanada recognized a few names and faces from school, but he had never befriended any of them and honestly did not care what houses they were sorted to.

"Fuji Syusuke."

The hat had barely touched Fuji's head before it shouted, "SLYTHERIN!"

The two boys from the hexing incident on the train, Jackal and Marui, were both sorted into Gryffindor. A boy with strange white hair was sorted into Slytherin. Name after name was called and eventually, so was his.

"Sanada Genichirou."

"Good luck," Yukimura said with a friendly smile.

Sanada felt sick to his stomach. He took in a shuddering breath and walked towards the stool. He could feel hundreds of eyes on him—Yukimura and Akiteru's among them—and never in his life had he felt so small.

He sat, and waited, and saw the Sorting Hat out of the corner of his eye. The old hat looked even worse up close. The edges were frayed and the fabric was so heavily patched that Sanada wondered if any of the original fabric was left.

Sanada made tight fists over his knees and made sure to keep his head held high. It's what Akiteru would do. It's what Yukimurawould do.

Professor Ryuzaki lowered the hat onto his head.

"Another Sanada?" The hat spoke straight into his mind, its voice in his ears. The hat said, "Usually I'd throw you right into Slytherin, but…"

Sanada frowned. "But?" he inquired without speaking.

"A good mind… loyal to a fault… and fair bit of bravery too," the hat said. "It'd be wrong of me to put you into Slytherin so quickly."

Sanada felt like his stomach dropped all the way down to his feet. "Why? Why not Slytherin?"

"Very rarely do I see such a well-rounded young wizard. You are practically brimming with potential! My, you will do great things in these halls, regardless of what house you are in."

"Then put me in Slytherin."

"Are you sure? You can go anywhere. You do not need to follow blindly in the footsteps of your family."

"Slytherin."

"Ah, youthful determination! Ambition! A thirst to prove yourself! So be it, Sanada Genichirou." The hat roared, "SLYTHERIN!"

The hat was lifted from his head and Sanada jumped off the stool to and headed towards the Slytherin table, which was clapping. Akiteru had sprung to his feet and was waving. Sanada smiled and waved back before sliding in next to another first year with blue hair and glasses named Oshitari. Sanada only remembered his name because there had been two Oshitaris in a row and this one had been called second.

He was so relieved that he had been placed into Slytherin that he hardly paid any attention to the Sorting until he heard Tezuka's name called. The Sorting Hat was on Tezuka's head for nearly a full minute before it declared, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

The next name Sanada recognized was Yanagi's. Yanagi sat there for five minutes before the hat shouted, "SLYTHERIN!"

Sanada clapped with the rest of the Slytherins as Yanagi came over and sat next to him.

Yukimura was the last student to be sorted. When the hat was placed on his head, instead of remaining quiet like it had for all the other students, the hat laughed loudly. A wave of whispering broke out across the hall; even two professors leaned in close to discuss what had just happened. Apparently it was not common for the hat to laugh.

In no time at all, the hat shouted, "SLYTHERIN!"

Relief flooded Sanada. He was in the same house as Yukimura.

The Slytherin table burst to life, louder than before, probably to celebrate getting the last first year. Akiteru was once again on his feet to congratulate Yukimura, who sat down next to Yanagi.

"Isn't this great, Genichirou?" Yukimura said, smiling at him. "We're in the same house."

Sanada nodded, too embarrassed to say that he had been thinking the same thing.

"And the same house as Yanagi," Yukimura said, looking at the boy between them. "I'm glad the three of us were sorted together."

"Me too," Yanagi said, who seemed to smile merely because he was acknowledged.

Professor Ryuzaki picked up the hat. She waved her wand and the stool began to float several inches off the ground, following her as she walked to the side. At the same time, one of the professors stood up. He had disorderly, long, dark brown hair that came to his shoulders. He was younger than many of the other professors, one of which was a ghost that hovered over his chair instead of actually sitting.

The man spoke clearly, his voice carrying throughout the hall without magical aid, "I welcome back our old students as well as the new ones. For those who do not know me, I am Professor Kurobe, the substitute Headmaster as well as your resident Potions Master. I have several notices that I must share with you before we can begin the start-of-term banquet.

"First, a reminder that forest surrounding the grounds is off limits to students of all ages. Next, magic is not permitted in the corridors. Lastly, those interested in joining their house Quidditch team should wait for information to be posted in the common rooms.

"I expect great things from you this year, as I always do, but for now, please enjoy this wonderful feast!"

Food suddenly began to appear on the tables. There were baskets of steaming buttery rolls, plates of thick lamb chops, bowls filled to the brim with potatoes, and many more things that made Sanada's mouth water and stomach growl. Their goblets filled with water before their eyes. Students began to shovel food onto their plates and stuff their faces. Sanada could hardly believe that the food tasted better than it looked. Yukimura insisted he try the steak and kidney pie and Yanagi was adamant that the roast chicken was best; Sanada thought they were both delicious and refused to be the tiebreaker for their friendly disagreement.

When the main courses were replaced by dessert—pudding of every flavor, decorated cakes three layers tall, and blocks of assorted ice-cream, to name a few—the ghosts appeared. More than a dozen ghosts descended into the Great Hall from the back wall. They were silvery-white and transparent and paid more attention to each other than the students.

There was one ghost who lingered near the Slytherin table that none of the other ghosts would approach. He had a gaunt face, was covered in silver blood, and carried heavy chains in his hands that rattled as he glided alongside the Slytherin table.

"That's the Bloody Baron," Sanada overheard an older student telling another first year. "He's the Slytherin house ghost. If you get lost in the dungeons—that's where our dorms are—just wander around until you find him and he'll help you out."

"Why is he covered in blood?" Yanagi asked.

"No one knows. I don't even think the other ghosts know."

Sanada looked over at the Gryffindor table where a ghost had pulled its head to the side until it was hanging on by a flap of skin. Sanada saw Marui and Jackal's faces twist up in disgust at the horrific sight. Sanada quickly looked away and saw Yukimura looking at him intently.

"Is there something on my face?" Sanada asked.

"No," Yukimura assured, smiling. "I'm just wondering… What did the Sorting Hat say to you, Genichirou?"

"I knew you were going to ask that."

"That's not an answer."

Sanada said, "It said I could go anywhere. I told it to put me into Slytherin. Why did the hat laugh when it touched your head?"

"I have no idea." Sanada had known Yukimura since before they could walk and he knew when Yukimura was lying. Yukimura's pleasant smile and innocent tone did not fool him. Yukimura said, "You look like you don't believe me."

"I don't."

"Hmm," Yukimura hummed, and just as Sanada knew Yukimura was lying, he knew this would be the end of the conversation. "Yanagi, what did the hat say to you? You were up there longer than both us."

"The hat couldn't decide whether to put me in Ravenclaw or Slytherin," Yanagi said. "Obviously it decided on Slytherin. Yukimura, could you pass me the apple pie?"

Nearly an hour after the feast had started, it began to come to an end. A seventh year prefect from each table stood up and instructed the first years to follow them to the house dorms. Slytherin was the third group to leave the Great Hall, descending the stairs until they had reached the bottom floor of the castle.

They walked along a long, gloomy stone corridor that branched off in multiple directions. The prefect told them to remember where they turned—past the Potions classroom, fifth left, second right, third left, left, right, straight to the end of the hall, right again. The dungeons were more like a labyrinth, Sanada thought miserably as he desperately tried to remember the pattern.

"There's a password to get into the common room," the prefect said very formally. "It changes every fortnight. The new password is put on the notice board Sunday night. Do not give the password to anyone from another house."

The prefect stopped in front of a large, blank stone wall and said, "Vipera aspis."

The stones on the wall began to shift, rearranging to create an opening large enough for a small troll to fit through. The first years hurried inside. When the last person had entered, the stones moved back into place.

The rectangular room was furnished with black and dark green button-tufted, leather sofas and chairs, as well as several comfier looking armchairs with pillows. There were heavy blankets on the back of every sofa and chair to make up for the slight chill of the room, which lasted all year long according to Akiteru. Dark wood cupboards, tapestries, and decorative skulls from all types of creatures were placed throughout the room. Large windows flanked a fireplace on the wall farthest from them; the windows, surprisingly, did not show the open grounds but the murky depths of the giant lake that was located on campus. Despite their location and the eerie décor, the room had a calming affect from the soft greenish lights and the sound of running water from the lake.

"Students refer to this room as the Slytherin Dungeon, or the common room," the prefect said. "There are hidden entrances to study rooms and dueling spaces throughout the common room. Don't be surprised if moving a piece on a chessboard or taking a book off the shelf cause the walls to shift."

Sanada would bet five galleons that Yukimura would find every hidden room by the end of the week.

"Down the hall to the left are the girls' dormitories; down the right hall are the boys'."

The prefect told them the house policies on changing roommates and stressed that they should not lose their house any points on the first day tomorrow, then sent them off to unpack. The right hallway had door after door, each pressed closely together with less than a foot between them. Sanada was not eager to find whom he was rooming with for the next seven years, but to his relief, Yukimura pointed out a door with a silver plaque with his, Sanada and Yanagi's names.

The room was larger on the inside, but it was still rather small with the furniture rearranged neatly, giving the room a homey feel. The room was brighter with more candles and lanterns than the common room. Dark wood cupboards, dressers, and nightstands accompanied three four-poster beds with dark green curtains. Their bags and chests were already inside, piled at the end of each bed. There was another closed door in the room.

"This is nice," Yukimura said, walking around the room before checking the bags to see which bed was his. "This one's mine."

"It looks like they gave us robes," Yanagi said. He picked up a black robe from his bed to show them.

Sanada looked on his bed. There were several sets of robes in his size with the Slytherin house emblem as well as ties and scarves in green and silver. Sitting on top of the pile of clothes were two pieces of parchment; one was his class schedule and the other was a hastily written note from Akiteru.

When you're done unpacking, come to the common room with Seiichi.
I have something for both of you.

—Akiteru

Yukimura checked where the other door led. He called Sanada and Yanagi inside to look at their private bathroom, which had a toilet, sink, shower stall, and deep claw foot tub with several faucets and knobs.

Yanagi returned to the bedroom to unpack and Sanada took the chance to tell Yukimura about Akiteru's note.

"We can see him once we're done," Yukimura said. "I wonder what he has for us. Do you think something of yours was packed in his bag my mistake? Your socks were always mixed up in the wash, weren't they?"

"But why would he need to see both of us if he just had a pair of my socks?"

"We'll figure what he has when we see him. Let's go unpack."

Sanada put his clothes into his cupboard and prepared his bag for school tomorrow. He had an excess of quills and ink, which he stored in his chest. He finished with surprising haste, as did Yukimura, who Sanada suspected had just shoved his clothes into the drawers instead of folding them.

Though Sanada and Yukimura had practically been raised as brothers, they were raised very differently. Sanada's strict family made Sanada do his share of the chores since he was young while Yukimura's family had a house elf that did all the laundry, the cleaning, and even most of the cooking. Yukimura was embarrassed by his lack of common knowledge about things like household work but he hid it well and did not let others use it against him. Sanada admired Yukimura's ability to stand above other's thoughts.

"Finished?" Yukimura asked. Sanada nodded. Yukimura looked at Yanagi, who finished unpacking before either of them and was sitting on his bed with a thick book. "Yanagi, we're going to find Akiteru, Genichirou's brother. We'll be back soon."

As they walked towards the common room, they saw Akiteru walking towards them. Sanada called out to him, but Akiteru said nothing. Akiteru walked right by them without saying a word. Yukimura and Sanada turned and stared at his retreating back as he walked further down the hall.

"That was odd," Yukimura said slowly. "Did you see his prefect badge?"

"I wasn't looking for his badge. Should we follow him?"

"We should check the common room. Something doesn't feel right."

Sanada did not know why they would check the common room when Akiteru just walked by them, but he knew better than to argue with Yukimura.

When they go to the common room, they saw Akiteru again sitting in front of the fire. This time, Akiteru waved them over.

What in the world was going on?

Yukimura and Sanada sat near Akiteru, who smiled broadly. "When the hat didn't put you in Slytherin right away, Gen, I thought you might get put somewhere else. Looks like I worried for no reason."

Sanada didn't dare tell his brother the hat almost put him in another house.

"After the prefects finished assigning rooms, I sent my owl home saying you were both sorted into Slytherin and were roomed together. I sent a letter to your family, too, Seiichi."

Yukimura smiled. "I suppose that means you're responsible for putting us in the same room?"

"I had to pull a few strings, but it was nothing I couldn't manage. I have no idea who the other guy is, though. Yanagi or something?"

"We actually met him on the train."

"Coincidences are strange like that," Akiteru said.

"Speaking of strange things," Yukimura said. "We saw someone who looked exactly like you when we left our room, but he didn't say anything to us."

"So you saw a handsome devil?" Akiteru said jokingly. Yukimura laughed, but Sanada did not. For all of his brother's strong points—his ambition, his power, his leadership—he had a horrible sense of humor.

"We really did see someone who looked just like you," Sanada said with a frown. "But he wasn't you—he didn't say anything to us."

Akiteru did not look overly concerned or interested. "Sometimes you'll see strange things in the halls. Don't question it or you'll drive yourself mad. You could also just be tired. Sleep affects the mind—you'll learn that during your first midnight Astronomy lesson when some poor kid almost falls off the Astronomy Tower."

They were both so tired they saw the same thing? Sanada doubted it. Yukimura did not look convinced either.

"What did you want to give us?" Sanada asked.

"Genichirou's socks?" Yukimura asked.

"This is way better than socks." Akiteru reached into the inner pocket of his robe, looked around to see who was near them, and then handed both of them a piece of parchment folded several times over.

Pushing his eyebrows together in confusion, Sanada unfolded the parchment. There were rudimentary sketches of the castle's floors with arrows and notes pointing out different classrooms and shortcuts. There were even notes about the hidden rooms in the common room that the prefect had mentioned. It was all done in Akiteru's handwriting.

"Maps?" Sanada asked.

"I didn't think you could have maps of the school," Yukimura said. "I thought they burst into flames or rip themselves apart so Dark Wizards couldn't use them to their advantage."

"Maps of the school do all of that," Akiteru said, "but if you know the right spell…"

"That must be pretty complex magic."

"I'm actually pretty good at magic, you know. No need to look so surprised." Sanada had no idea how complex a spell like that would be, but Yukimura sounded impressed, so that probably meant something. "Just make sure you don't show those to anyone else, even your friends. That scrap of paper is worth two months of detention, maybe more depending on who catches you with it."

Sanada wondered why he would bother with something that could get him into trouble, and then he saw a list of steps to get to the Slytherin dorms from the staircase. He didn't remember that many right turns. Maybe he needed the map after all.

"Thanks," Sanada grumbled.

"Yes, thank you very much." Yukimura slipped the map into the pocket of his robe then looked at Sanada. "We should get some sleep. We have class at eight o'clock tomorrow morning and I want breakfast before."

Sanada nodded in agreement. He was exhausted from the train ride and the stress of the Sorting and then he went and ate his weight in food at the feast. He was sure he would fall asleep as soon as he lied down.

"Thank you again," Yukimura said as they stood up. "Good night."

"Watch your backs from now on; people in this house won't do it for you," Akiteru warned, his eyes focused on Sanada rather than Yukimura. Then, with an easy smile and a wave, he said to both of them, "Good luck in class tomorrow. You'll need it."

Sanada frowned. What did he mean by that?