Rubeus Hagrid
The Great Hall was truly stunning but it'd help if people stopped looking at me. I know that I'm a half giant but that didn't mean I had any less feelings than other people. I didn't pay any attention to the many eyes on me however; I was instead watching the sorting ceremony. I had been wondering what house I was going to be in for a long time. Hufflepuff seemed great. My dad was in Hufflepuff and he said the Common Room was covered in exotic plants and soil because the Herbology teacher was always head of Hufflepuff. Maybe there'd be animals inside there.
I loved animals. Any size, shape, colour, those things didn't matter because they were all magnificent. There hadn't been many interesting creatures back home because we'd just lived in a small hut out in the country, where there were just muggle insects and creatures but all the same they were animals. That was the bit I was most looking forward too, the animals! There was a Forbidden Forest with Unicorns and Centaurs, or so my father had told me.
"Hagrid, Rubeus." Dumbledore called out. I went up and sat down on the stool, everyone staring, whispering to one another. It was hard to decipher their expressions; some were shock, some were awe and some were just fear. Dumbledore however gave me a reassuring smile.
I was already twice the size of normal eleven year olds and the stool really wasn't meant for me. I couldn't properly sit so was squatting down, as Dumbledore placed the hat on my head. It was far too small. "A Hagrid." The hat said, perched precariously on my head. "But brave, very brave. You've been through a lot, with people constantly judging you on your size. And your mother leaving." Remembering my mother made my heart ache. I hadn't got to know her so well but I knew my dad was absolutely distraught. Maybe it was better that she had gone, she wasn't the best mum and she was a giant!
"You're very caring and loyal. But this is just the start; you'll have to face a lot more." The hat said in my head.
"GRYFFINDOR!" it shouted. The applause was quite reserved, especially from the Gryffindor table; I suppose they didn't want me in their house and I really couldn't blame them – I was the half giant weirdo. I went to sit down dismally on the Gryffindor table, the seat again far too small. I didn't know how I was going to manage seven years of this. Of people thinking that I was some sort of freak…