"Well, " asked Harry, "When are your birthdays? Mine is July 31st, 1980, at 4:44 A.M."
"ME TOO!" chorused Amy, Susan, and Hannah at the exact same nanosecond.
Harry. Amy, Susan, and Hannah all burst into fits of giggles.
"What are the odds that all four of us would share the same birthday!" said Susan amusedly.
"And the same birthtime to boot!" mused Hannah.
"Maybe one in nine hundred octillion, " smirked Amy.
"Maybe it's a sign that the four of us are totally destined to be BFF's together, " smiled Hannah.
"I really do hope the four of us all end up in the same house, preferably Hufflepuff, "said Susan in a half nervous half hopeful voice.
"So, do I, " piped up Harry, "And I hope it's just the four of us."
"Why?" asked Amy curiously, "What would be wrong with making other friends as well?"
"At the end of the day, "said Harry clearly, "I think it's better to have two or three best friends and have strong bonds and meaningful relationships with them than to have something like twenty friends but not really be very close to any of them."
"Sorry, Amy, but I'm siding with Harry, " said Hannah firmly, "I know firsthand from my lifelong friendship with Susan how special those truly close friendships are. It would be nice to have more than one best friend, but I think two or three best friends is still more optimal than twenty casual friends."
"Exactly, " said Susan briskly, "Being part of a three to four person group with two or three best friends is the ticket."
"Hey, Amy, Susan, Hannah?" asked Harry.
"Yes?" responded Amy, Susan, and Hannah.
"If by some miracle the four of us all end up in Hufflepuff and are the only students in our year to be in Hufflepuff, can we call ourselves, "The Yellow Quartet?"
"You're on, Harry!" beamed Amy, Susan, and Hannah in unison.
…
"When I call your name, " said McGonagall seriously, "You shall come forth and I shall place the Sorting Hat on your head and your will be sorted into your houses."
Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah were all feeling queasy but they had no time to dwell on that as McGonagall quickly called, "Abbott, Hannah."
Hannah walked up to the stool feeling nervous and jittery. Her entire family had been in Hufflepuff ever since the founding of Hogwarts and she desperately wanted to uphold that legacy. She also really wanted the whole "Yellow Quartet" thing to actually happen. McGonagall slowly placed the Sorting Hat on Hannah's head.
"Oh," said the Sorting Hat to Hannah, "Another Abbott eh? Another generation from one of the sacred twenty eight families? I know EXACTLY where you belong, Abbott, HUFFLEPUFF!"
Hannah, who was feeling more relieved than happy or excited, sat the Sorting Hat back down on the stool and walked slowly over to the Hufflepuff table and looked for a place to sit.
Hannah noticed that on the side of the Hufflepuff table nearest to the leftmost walls of the Great Hall, there were five empty seats at the left end of the table. Hannah sat down on the fourth seat from the left and put her hand on the third seat from the left as though saving it for someone.
"Alworth, Amy," called McGonagall next.
Amy practically galloped up to the stool and eagerly jammed the Sorting Hat on to her own head.
"Oh, please," said Amy desperately to the Sorting Hat, "Let me be in Hufflepuff."
"Well, Miss Alworth, " muttered the Sorting Hat, "You' aren't a coward, but you aren't the bravest person in the world either, you aren't dumb, but you aren't a genius either, and while having some resourcefulness in you, you would never take advantage of another person. You are, however, as loyal as a phoenix, therefore, it is only fitting that you shall find your calling in "HUFFLEPUFF!"
"YES!" screamed Amy as she yanked off the Sorting Hat, sat it back down on the stool, ran to the Hufflepuff table with the speed of a cheetah chasing its prey, "I'm in Hufflepuff! YOU LIKE THAT! YOU LIKE THAT!"
"I certainly do, " said Hannah with a smile.
Amy sat down, not at the seat Hannah was saving, but two seats to Hannah's left at the second seat from the left. Amy then placed her own hand on the leftmost seat.
"Bones, Susan," called McGonagall once Amy was seated.
Susan made her way to the podium in a less enthusiastic way than Amy had but in a more confident manner than Hannah had. Susan was very glad her last name didn't start with the letter A.
Susan picked up the Sorting Hat and placed it on her head in a calm but confident way.
"Well, another Bones here," observed the Sorting Hat, "The Boneses have mixed between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff for over a millennium. Interesting."
"I'd like to be in Hufflepuff," Susan told the Sorting Hat calmly, "I want to stick with Hannah. Hannah and I have been BFFs since we were just babies. And now that Amy is also in Hufflepuff, it really feels like the right house for me."
"Well, " said the Sorting Hat to Susan in an indecisive type of voice, "You're both brave enough for Gryffindor and true enough for Hufflepuff. However, your devotion to your friends makes you a perfect "HUFLEPUFF!"
Susan quickly but calmly put the Sorting Hat back down on the stool and went over to Hufflepuff table and sat herself between Amy and Hannah.
"Three down, one to go!" smiled Susan.
But they had to wait a while for Harry's turn.
Over the next few minutes and the next few nanoseconds, Amy, Susan, and Hannah looked on as Lavender Brown, Seamus Finnigan, Justin Finch Flecthly, Neville Longbottom, and Parvati Patil went to Gryffindor, Terry Boot, Mandy Brocklehurst, Anthony Goldstein, Hermione Granger, and Padma Patil went to Ravenclaw, and Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Ernie McMillian, Draco Malfoy, and Pansy Parkinson went to Slytherin.
Then it was time for
"Potter, Harry."
The nanosecond Harry's name was called, whispers could be heard echoing all throughout the hall.
"Potter? Did she say?"
"The Harry Potter?"
"The Boy Who Lived himself?"
Harry found himself in the uncomfortable position of having everyone in the Great Hall staring at him as he walked up to the stool. Harry put the hat on his head and listened intently.
"Hmm, " said the Sorting Hat, "Plenty of courage I see, not a bad mind either, yes there's talent, and a thirst to prove yourself. But where to put you?"
"Hufflepuff!" Harry told the Sorting Hat at once.
"Think about it, Potter, " said the Sorting Hat matter of factly, "Any of the four Hogwarts house can help you on the road to greatness. There's no doubt about that."
"I'll be happiest in Hufflepuff, " Harry told the Sorting Hat decisively, "Whatever greatness I'm destined for will be a happier greatness if I can share my life with Amy, Susan, and Hannah."
"If you're sure- " began the Sorting Hat.
"Hufflepuff, Hufflepuff," said Harry clearly.
"Better be HUFFLEPUFF!" finished the Sorting Hat.
Harry smiled as he laid the Sorting Hat back down on the stool and walked over to the Hufflepuff table, sitting down on the leftmost seat next to Amy.
"We all made Hufflepuff," beamed Harry as he smiled at his three friends.
The sorting finished with Dean Thomas going to Gryffindor, Lisa Turpin going to Ravenclaw, and Blaise Zabini going to Slytherin.
After the sorting ended, Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah, all realizing that they were in Hufflepuff together and the only four Hufflepuffs in their year, all looked at each other and said, "THE YELLOW QUARTET!" in unison.