Prologue: The Sorting

"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 as 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 try 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!"

There was applause, which the hat took as an opportunity to bow to all the tables, before falling silent. Harry smiled slightly, at least he wouldn't have to use a spell. On the other hand, doing it in front of everyone sounded a stressful experience.

But Harry was unsure he could quite qualify any of the houses. He wasn't brave, or overly smart, and he hadn't thought of himself as cunning at any point in his life. No, the only thing he felt right now was queasy, a sort of sickness hiding in the pit of his stomach.

"When I call your name, you will come forward and place the sorting hat on your head!" Harry noticed McGonagall say.

The first person to be called forward was "Abbot, Hannah!" Hannah was blonde, with pigtails and rosy cheeks. When the sorting hat was placed on her head, falling over her eyes, it waited for a moment, before calling out to the school:

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

The yellow-and-black clad table roared in appreciation. Harry could just make out the figure of a rather fat ghost who looked like a monk smiling jovially.

"Bones, Susan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" came the voice of the hat again.

Their streak was ended, however, when Terry Boot was sorted into Ravenclaw, and went and sat down at the blue and bronze table adorned with a picture of an eagle. He was closely followed by "Brocklehurst, Mandy!", who, too, sat down at the table.

"Brown, Lavender!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry could see Ron's twin brothers catcalling at the Gryffindor table.

"Bulstrode, Millicent!" became the first Slytherin, meaning that all the house tables had at least one first year sitting.

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Harry learnt, thanks to "Finnigan, Seamus!" that the sorting sometimes took quite a bit of time, Seamus sat there for a minute before…

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Hermione and Neville, whom Harry had met on the train, were both sorted into Gryffindor, to the apparent displeasure of Ron.

A girl called "Parkinson, Pansy!" along with Crabbe, Goyle, and Malfoy, were all placed firmly in Slytherin.

Two twins, Parvati and Padma Patil, were placed in different houses, to Harry's surprise. One went to Ravenclaw, the other, Gryffindor.

Then came the bit Harry had been dreading.

"Potter, Harry!"

He walked over to the three legged stool on which the sorting hat sat. He had not made any conscious decision to move particularly slowly, and yet it seemed to take an hour at least for him to get to it, which was not helped by the mutters of "Potter? The Harry Potter? He better be in Ravenclaw…" and so on.

It was easier to focus, with the hat covering his eyes, and it barely took any time at all before it started talking to him.

"Interesting. Very Interesting. Plenty of courage, not a bad mind, either. There's talent, talent and a thirst to prove yourself… so where to put you…"

Harry tried to think, communicate with the hat, but he found he couldn't quite manage.

"Well, it's gotta be…"