This was a lot of fun to write. I love Neville and I wanted to reread the series... so enjoy.
I used a lot of og texts for this, but I won't do that often. You'll see why later on why, it's a good thing. I will be using other stories as inspiration to make the flow better.
The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face, an aura of power emanated from her formidable expression. It was kind of fun to see for Cassius, a real experienced witch!
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.
"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."
She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was so big you could have fit several of his orphanages in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.
They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Cassius could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right—the rest of the school must already be here—but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your Houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your House will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your House, sleep in your House dormitory, and spend free time in your House common room.
"The four Houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each House has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your House points, while any rule-breaking will lose House points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points is awarded the House cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever House becomes yours.
"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."
Her eyes lingered on various people, looking at their flaws and so on. She could see nothing on Neville or Cassius, as Cassius had corrected Neville's robes in the compartment. He looked quite dapper at that moment.
"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."
She left the chamber, leaving Cassius sort of nervous but mostly excited. He knew he was a wizard well enough, how often had he summoned books from high shelves, stopped food from burning, shattered windows when angry. He had nothing to worry about, that he was clear about.
Then something happened that made him jump about a foot in the air—several people behind him screamed.
"What the—?"
He gasped. So did the people around him. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance—"
"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost—I say, what are you all doing here?"
A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years.
Nobody answered.
"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?"
A few people nodded mutely.
"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old House, you know."
"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start." Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall. "Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me."
"I'm scared." Neville whispered, so Cassius grabbed his hand and squeezed it as they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall. Neville's entire body calmed right down, oozing ease.
It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Cassius looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. He heard Hermione whisper, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History."
It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall didn't simply open on to the heavens.
Harry quickly looked down again as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty.
For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth—and the hat began to sing:
"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"
The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.
"So we've just got to try on the hat?" Neville muttered. "That isn't too bad I guess..."
Professor McGonagall now stepped forward 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," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"
A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moment's pause—
"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.
The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Harry saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her.
"Bones, Susan!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.
"Boot, Terry!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.
"Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers.
"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin. The Slytherins were a calmer bunch, less enthusiastic but there was something dark and powerful about them... it was alluring, a promise of so much more.
"Campbell, Cassius." He hurried along, squeezing Neville's hand once more. As the hat went over his head, he heard it muttering in his mind.
'An exceptional mind, strong willed and versitle. You hold your judgements and make accuracte assesments. You have incredible ambition and cunning, and your are capable of working incredibly hard and your sense of loyalty is second to none... I would like Slytherin but I think that is not safe, seeing as you're a muggleborn... better be... HUFFLEPUFF!"
Almost in tears at the definitive proof of his magical powers, he hurried to the cheering table, happy and pleased to find home right there. He found a seat by a copper haired boy with a kind smile.
"Name's Cedric Diggory, nice to meet you." '
"Same."
They watched the rest of the sortings.
"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Finnigan, Seamus," The boy was a Gryffindor.
"Granger, Hermione!"
Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head.
"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat.
When Neville, his first and new friend, the hat took a long moment before it screamed out. "Gryffindor!" And he happily hurried to his table, with far more ease than he had before. It was a happy moment for Cassius to see that much more peace in the boy's expression, he didn't trip or hurt himself. They looked at each other from the distance, and smiled.
"That your friend?" Cedric asked.
"Yup, I hope we can survive being in seperate houses."
"I hope so too."
"MacDougal, Morag."
Malfoy swaggered forward when his name was called and got his wish at once: the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!"
Malfoy went to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased with himself.
There weren't many people left now.
"Moon"…, "Nott"…, "Parkinson"…, then a pair of twin girls, "Patil" and "Patil"…, then "Perks, Sally-Anne"…, and then, at last—
"Potter, Harry!"
As Harry stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall.
"Potter, did she say?"
"The Harry Potter?"
The last thing Harry saw before the hat dropped over his eyes was the hall full of people craning to get a good look at him. Next second he was looking at the black inside of the hat. He waited.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
The crazed cheering was kind of obnoxious but still it filled the air. Why people were so obsessed with Harry Potter was... confusing to him, but he figured it was a cultural thing.
And now there were only four people left to be sorted. "Thomas, Dean," a Black boy that was really tall, joined Harry at the Gryffindor table. "Turpin, Lisa," became a Ravenclaw and then it was Ron's turn. He was pale green by now. The hat had shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"
"Zabini, Blaise," was made a Slytherin. Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away.
Harry looked down at his empty gold plate. He had only just realized how hungry he was. The pumpkin pasties seemed ages ago.
Albus Dumbledore, who Cassius knew from his books, had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there.
"Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!
"Thank you!"
He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered.
Suddenly The Golden dishes in front of Cassius were now piled with food. He had never seen so many things he liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs.
As Cassius dug in he spoke to Cedric. "I am terribly nervous, I admit, but I cannot look forward to the lessons more than I have. I loved chemistry, so I am hoping to like Potions-"
Cedric choked. "Potions? The Professor is Snape, and he is a right bigot. He hates anyone not Slytherin, he is a royal prick."
Cassius sighed. "And here is I was hoping for something better than muggle life... lovely."
He ate in silence for the rest of the dinner, just stewing in his annoyance until Dumbledore stood.
"Ahem—just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.
"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well. I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. "Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their House teams should contact Madam Hooch. And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."
Cassius frowned. "Why?"
"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore.
Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, as if he was trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words.
"Everyone pick their favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!"
And the school bellowed:
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something please,
Whether we be old and bald
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling
With some interesting stuff,
For now they're bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we've forgot,
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot."
Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only two obnoxious red haired twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest.
Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"
The Hufflepuff first years followed a girl through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall, and down the marble staircase. They found a group of barrels by a portrait of fruit. You just had to tap the barrel to the tune of Helga Hufflepuff less the barrel spit out vinegar onto you.
The Dorm was a lovely cascade of plants and copper and gold, it was a lovely warm den. Cassius could not bring himself to care much, too tired and full and eager for his bed... he all but collasped onto his dorm bed the moment he found it, eager and willing to drift off into sleep, ready for the next day to start.
Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.
This was a joy to write.
Love, your Ninja Overlord,
Mika.