A/N: I'm glad to see so many people enjoying the story! Here's chapter 2!
Albus Dumbledore was feeling surprised.
He was not a man accustomed to being surprised. As one who had lived through a century and a half of political upheavals and conflicts that laid raw the best and worst aspects of humanity, there was very little that was able to catch him off guard.
That it was the school sorting, an event normally among the most straightforward of the year, that was responsible for his surprise might explain it. After all, people rarely expect drastic changes in the simple things they take for granted.
Albus did love the Sorting Feast. Seeing all the bright new young minds come into the school, free of the typical schoolyard drama that developed later on, was enough to give this jaded old man hope for the future.
Then, last night, a great many unthinkable things happened. A Malfoy went to Gryffindor. A Weasley went somewhere besides Gryffindor. And a muggleborn and the boy-who-lived both went to Slytherin. He knew that something happened involving the Hat. Between the unusual choices of houses for students, the somewhat dazed state of all the freshly sorted students, and the fact that the Hat fell asleep (he didn't even know that the hat could sleep) as soon as it was back in his office… All signs pointed to the Hat. Worst case scenario, the Hat was corrupted or compromised in some way. Best case scenario… well, Albus wasn't actually sure what the best case would be that would explain what happened last night.
Sensing that the mass of cloth was awakening, Albus decided that he really shouldn't wait for answers. A corrupted magical artifact, let alone one that had access to the minds of students, was a disaster waiting to happen, if one hadn't already. The consequences of that could be dire if not addressed.
"Hullo, Hat. Enjoy your rest?"
"Huh, wazzat? Oh! Hello, Albus. What can I do for you on this fine morning?"
Albus prepared himself. "What happened last night at the sorting?"
"Oh, that. Well, I love the students and the houses and all that given that it's what I'm made to do, but the rivalries between them have grown increasingly bitter in the past century, and, to be frank, it was making me a bit depressed."
Albus gulped. Maybe he hadn't prepared for the worst case scenario.
The Hat continued unabated, "And so I decided that I should do something about it. All those little buggers think they know where they need to go, but they usually don't. They're only eleven for Merlin's sake! So I just decided to ignore them and put them where I thought they should go. Serves the little buggers right, trying to boss around and ancient hat with far more wisdom than they'll ever have."
Albus groaned and let his face sink into his palms. It was worse than he had imagined. The Hat tried to be creative. Cases of magical artifacts actually being creative never went well, since, no matter how well they imitated it, they were not truly sapient. That an artifact as valuable and irreplaceable as the Sorting Hat was facing this issue made the matter far more serious.
"Godric put a failsafe on me to require me to abide by the ultimate wishes of the student above all else, but I was able to override it. I also wanted to stop them from making a fuss, so I modified my anti-speech compulsion to force them to go to their tables without complaining loudly. I ran out of energy by the time I got to Weasley, though, hence his little outburst. I also think the drain on energy might have made me a touch insensitive with the students. I don't think I did anything too bad, but it's all a little fuzzy near the end. I'll have to look into using less power on compulsions in the future if my approach this year pans out."
Apparently, Albus's previous worse-than-worst case still wasn't enough. Not only did the Hat try to be creative, it succeeded. The implications of that were honestly terrifying. Albus let another groan escape his lips. He already had to deal with a boy-who-lived in Slytherin, a likely return of a long thought dead Dark Lord, and the questionable idea of baiting said Dark Lord with a powerful magical artifact. Now, he also had to deal with the mad plans of a dysfunctional Hat.
Albus let out a long sigh as he face-planted on his desk. It was going to be one of those years.
Hermione Granger was feeling alone.
She was used to isolation. Years of being bullied for being a "bookworm" or a "know-it-all" led to that sort of constant loneliness. She didn't like it, but she was used to it.
The treatment she was getting from the other Slytherins, especially the upper-years, though, was not the isolation she was used to. The constant scowls, sneers, and whispers that followed her as she went about her business left her constantly on edge. The fact the she had to live with all of these people who seemed to actively despise her only made matters worse. At least when she went to primary school, she could rely on her parents and her home for comfort. Here, she was denied even that.
The boarding situation didn't help matters either. The Slytherin dorms bunked two people together, and since there were five girls in first year, one of them got a room on their own. Of course, Hermione ended up alone. If she actually got along with the other students, she might appreciate the guarantee of privacy, but as things stood now, it was just another reminder of her loneliness.
She couldn't even bring herself to enjoy her schooling as much as she had before. Every time she answered a question, the other students glared and scowled at her. She decided to give up trying after a few days. She just couldn't take the looks, and the bullying that her "suck-up ways" brought her.
Hermione took in a deep breath, steadying her breathing, still uneven from crying. She had essays she could work on. She knew how to do schoolwork, and it would help keep her focused.
She'd been alone before. This may be more extreme, but she could get used to it. She refused to lose.
Severus Snape was feeling resigned.
He thought he knew what to expect. His godson would be sorted into Slytherin, and he could support him under the guise of being a head of house. Instead, Draco's braggadocious tendencies won out over his cunning, and the Hat made him a bloody Gryffindor.
A Gryffindor.
Severus wished he could say he was surprised, but Draco's grasp on his ego and temper was always… tenuous, at best. Lucius threw around money and influence whenever possible wherever the boy was involved, and, unsurprisingly, Draco was a bit of a spoiled brat.
Then there was the other problem, relating to his own house. Seeing James Potter's spawn in the Snake Pit was the best evidence he'd seen that the end times were nigh.
He honestly wished the end times were nigh, if only because he wouldn't have to deal with the consequences of a mad, millennium-old piece of headwear.
Severus even had this brilliant plan to embarrass Potter during his first potions class, but doing so now would risk disrupting the vital display of house unity that Slytherin so relied on. If it was just Potter sorted into his house, he may still have been able to pull it off, but with that mudblood Granger girl in Slytherin as well, the house was more focused on isolating her than Potter.
Severus well and truly hated his life.
Severus wondered how Dumbledore would feel if he just ignored all of the students outside of class. It would save him a huge headache.
Slytherin house would have to manage itself for a while. Severus needed a break, and dealing with the petty politics of children did not make for his definition of a relaxing evening.
Honestly, what was the worst that could happen?
Harry Potter was feeling overwhelmed.
Every day since he had learned magic was real on his eleventh birthday had been overwhelming, to be honest. Even the days at Privet Drive had been an overwhelming experience of being ignored by his relatives, instead of shouted at and overworked.
Of course, the experience of Hogwarts topped all of those.
The mere existence of the castle was a marvel to behold. Between the moving paintings and staircases, the secret passages, and the simple, constant presence of magic all around him.
After hearing what Hagrid had said about Slytherins, he was extremely hesitant to be sorted into there, but to his delight, the rest of the students ignored him.
Honestly, that was a huge relief. He'd rather be ignored than hero-worshiped, as the rest of the wizarding world was wont to do.
Honestly, the fact that Malfoy wasn't in Slytherin was a huge benefit, too. Malfoy had originally seemed like a dead ringer for how he'd heard Slytherin house described: junior followers of Voldemort and dark wizards in training. Surprisingly, Malfoy had gone to Gryffindor, and with him went all of Harry's interest in being in Gryffindor himself. Sure, it would be nice to be in the same house that his parents and Dumbledore had been in, but he would take being a Slytherin over having to live in the same dorm as Malfoy.
The biggest disappointment so far had been that Ron, whom he'd befriended so easily on the Hogwarts Express, now seemed determined to avoid him, and Harry had overheard whispers that Ron was somewhat scared of him being a secret dark wizard because of his sorting into Slytherin. It did suck to lose the only friend he'd made besides Hagrid, but since Ron wasn't actively antagonizing him, he was willing to leave the boy be. Harry was perfectly content with being ignored. Anything was better than his life before he learned magic was real.
He could make friends later, but for now? For now, he was content to be just Harry.
Draco Malfoy was feeling indignant.
That pathetic Hat had dared to put him in Gryffindor, rather than in Slytherin, where he clearly belonged.
The stupid thing was clearly defective.
Or it was working for Dumbledore and did this as some way to try and get at him.
Well, too bad for Dumbledore. His father was on the board of governors, and would be demanding that Draco get a resorting soon. And then, he could go to Slytherin and work to rule it under an iron fist.
Gryffindor was awful. Draco had been learning politics for years, determining how to usurp any existing leaders in Slytherin and consolidate his influence.
Gryffindor didn't have any politics. It was full of all sorts of stupid things, like playing games, or gossiping, or partying.
And people tried to forge friendships, not alliances. What was the point in that? Friendships are between equals, and a Malfoy bows to no one.
He just had to avoid riling up all the mudbloods and blood traitors long enough for his father to get the resorting taken care of. After all, just because he couldn't make alliances didn't mean he could avoid making enemies.
He'd show them. He'd show them ALL!
Ronald Weasley was feeling hungry.
Thankfully, it was breakfast time, so he could take care of that.
Hufflepuff wasn't that bad, really.
Sure, the house gave him a bit of a cold shoulder at first, what with him calling them the house of duffers in that outburst during his sorting, but they had warmed up. He hadn't really made any friends so far, but they weren't mean to him, at least.
The best part, though, was that the Hufflepuff common room was right near the kitchens! The older students told all of first-years how to gain access, and now he could get food any time he wanted! It was a dream come true.
They still had to go to the great hall most of the time. The prefects were big on stamping out antisocial behaviour.
It wasn't all roses, though. None of the other students shared his love of chess, so he wasn't able to play as often as he wanted.
The homework group, though, that was what really got to him.
Apparently, all of the Hufflepuffs did their homework together as some "team unity" thing. This was annoying to Ron, since it meant he couldn't skive on homework as much as he would have liked.
Which was all of it.
Ron did not like homework. It didn't even matter; it was just the teachers making sure that no one got up to too much trouble.
But, being in Hufflepuff meant that ignoring homework wasn't an option.
At least he didn't have to do all of the work, what with it being done in a group.
But, all in all, Hufflepuff wasn't bad, even if some of them were duffers.
Heh, Dufferpuff.
He'd have to remember that one.
A/N: This chapter is a small segue between the sorting and the focus on the main characters, a way for us to see what the immediate effects of the sorting are on several major characters from canon.