A single tripod stool was centred on the elevated platform where the faculty sat. On it, Professor McGonagall placed an old ratty wizard's hat. The hat twitched. A rip near the rim 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 he sorting hat can't see, so try me on and I will tell you, where you ought to be. You may belong in Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart, their daring, nerve and chivalry, set Gryffindors apart. You may 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 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 are 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 just got to try on the hat?" Ron whispered to Harry. I leaned over. "Are you daft or deaf, the hat said we try it on and it sorts us," I said blatantly. I wondered silently what house I would be in. 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 blond 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 at the Hufflepuff table. The fat friar greeted her merrily and waved. "Bones, Susan" "Hufflepuff" shouted the hat again. "Boot, Terry" became the first Ravenclaw. The table second from the left clapped." Brockelhurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw as well. " Brown, Lavender" became a new Gryffindor. The table on the far left exploded with cheers. "Bulstode, Milicent" and "Malfoy, Bianca" went to Slytherin.
'Hmm, I guess Slytherin wouldn't be too bad. That girl doesn't look inherently evil or anything' I thought. As if Mcgonnagall had heard me, she said " Weasley, Nico" I stood rooted to the spot. " Weasley, Nico," She said more insistently.
I pushed to the front and sat down. I heard whispers of " he can't be a Wasley." and ' he doesn't look like one" I closed my eyes as the sorting hat was lifted onto my head. It fell to my shoulders. My long curly black hair peeked out from under it. A tiny voice spoke in my head " Hmmm. Interesting. Lots of bravery for sure, but lots of wit and cunning too. Oh, there's loyalty too. hmm. You are a very difficult wizard Nico Di- Weasley. You could do well in Ravenclaw. Ah, but I sense another path for you Nico. Better be: "Slytherin" I had heard it coming in the sorting hats words, but I just stood numbly, a vacant expression on my face as I walked stiffly to the Slytherin table, there were a few cheers but not many. " Malfoy, Draco" became a Slytherin before the hat had touched his head. next were my friends from the train. "Levesque, Hazel" Became a Ravenclaw. "Solace, William" became a huffle puff. " Valdez, Leonidas" became a Gryffindor. and "Ramirez-Arellano, Reyna" became a Slytherin. I cheered loudly, a smile plastered on my face for my friends. Reyna sat down next to me and I noticed how her tie, like everyone's after the sorting, had changed from black with the Hogwarts crest, to silver and green: Slytherin. A new Slythereing badge had also replaced the crest on her robes. Next up was "Granger, Hermione" and my brother"Weasley, Ronald" both of which became Gryffindors. " Hemlock, Luna" "Slytherin" a girl with long brown hair with a few blue streaks down it went to sit next to the Malfoy siblings. She waved merrily at her friend " Glenanne, Finley" who ran over to her friend. "Thomas, Dean" went next, joining the Gryffindors. then came a set of Patil twins "Patil, Padma and Patil Parvarti" who became a Gryffindor and a Ravenclaw. Next was "Longbottom, Neville" The sorting hat took a while to decide on him but it finally shouted "Gryffindor!" "Finch-Fletchly, Justin" "Hufflepuff" "Finnigan, Seamus" sat on the stool for a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.
After a few others finally she called" Potter, Harry" he saw the black-haired Harry Potter from the train walk up and sit on the stool. He sat there for a while until it finally shouted " Better be: Gryffindor" He could hear Fred and George chanting "We got Potter! We got Potter" Professor McGonagall rolled up the scroll and vanished the hat, scroll, and stool with a flick of her wand. Dumbledor now rose from his throne and walked to the regal eagle podium at centre stage. " 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 and food suddenly filled the plates. Dejectedly, I grabbed a pomegranate and a goblet of pumpkin juice. I had always et very little for some reason. It was like I had been starved at some point in my life before the Weasleys came into the picture and I was just used to not eating much. I opened the fruit and started eating the seeds. The taste brought back painful and comforting feelings: pain, loneliness, grief, loss, hopelessness. I had just finished the pomegranate
when the rest of the food disappeared and was replaced with desserts. I smiled softly and snatched a slice of Blueberry pie. I smiled and dug in. At last, the desserts too disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent. "Ahern - 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." Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins. "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."
"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. I noticed that the other teachers' smiles had become rather fixed. 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 favourite 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 the Weasley 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 hall filled with noise. I followed the other Slytherins into the dungeons. We stopped in front of a plain stone wall. Our prefect, Moldaver Rexam motioned for silence " Welcome back to Hogwarts Slytherins. The new password is Pure Blood. I trust all you first years will be a credit to the noble house of Slytherin" We entered the common room. it was lushly decorated with a fireplace on either side of the room, green leather armchairs and mahogany tables. There were floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out onto the black lake.
"Boys dormitory to the left girls to the right. Lights out at 10" said Moldaver. I silently followed the other boys up the left staircase. When I got to my bunk, my trunk was already at the foot of the bed. I opened it and quickly pulled on my pyjamas. I crawled into my four poster and curled up under the covers. I could feel tears in my eyes but I suppressed them, promising myself I would make the best out of my situation. After a few more minutes, I just let the tears flow down my cheeks. As if called by my emotions, my wandless magic curled around me, shadows twisting around me in a comforting embrace.
Soon, I fell asleep and fell into a nightmare. I was standing at the opening of a tunnel. I looked down at myself, I was older. Fourteen maybe? I was wearing a brown bomber jacket with a skull patch and a pride flag patch. I had on black ripped jeans and a skeletal black sword hanging at my waist. It seemed to emanate darkness. 'Could this be the future?' I wondered. I took a deep breath and walked down the tunnel. At the end, there was a steep drop-off into a bottomless chasm. I took a step back towards the tunnel when a voice from behind me called "Going somewhere Di Angelo?" I turned sharply to see someone I somehow knew even though I thought I had never met them. "Dr. Thorne. Finally crawled out of your hole I see. Where did Zeus banish you again? Antarctica was it? Was it nice there? I sure hope not!" I said. I had not meant to speak, but it was like someone else was talking through me. A spike from behind Dr Thorne hit me in the shoulder and I stumbled backwards in pain. He lunged, hands turning to claws. " I've waited a long time for this revenge boy. Your sister isn't here to save you this time. Jackson and Grace can't save you now son of darkness." He shoved me off the cliff into the chasm. Somehow I held on by one hand and stared up at him. He had fully transformed into his true monstrous form. He had the body of a lion, the head of a man, and the tail of a scorpion. He was a Manticore.
Stepping to the edge of the cliff, lifted his left paw and lowered it onto my hand. My eyes widened and he extended his claws, piercing the skin of my hand, forcing me to loosen my hold in pain. He put more weight on my hand and I could feel blood oozing out of the many holes now in my skin. I winced and he punched me in the face with his other paw. I let go with a yell and fell, down, down, down. It felt like days that I fell. Just as I wondered if I would ever hit the ground I fell out of the pit and into a landscape. There were red clouds, buzzing with electricity. I could see a river black as obsidian, swirling with sorrow. Bat-like creatures flew above me in the clouds. On a hill in the distance, glowing amber pustules squirmed as if something was inside them. I fell into a river. The Cocytus. The River of Lamentation. Immediately I could feel spirits pulling at me, dragging me down. " Join us, murderer. You deserve it. JOIN US NICO DI ANGELO" The voices were deafening. I desperately clawed for air. I pushed off the souls of the punished and swam for the surface. They grasped at my sleeves "Stay with us son of darkness" I felt my hand reach for air and pushed up darkness creeping into the corners of my vision. I would make it! I had to make it if I ever wanted to see Hazel again.
I awoke with a start. Checking my alarm clock I realised I was 2 minutes from being late to breakfast. I pulled on my uniform haphazardly and went up to the great hall. I sat next to alone and put a pomegranate on my plate. I had barely touched it before Reyna sat down next to me. " Good morning Nico. Sleep well? " I shook my head. " Knut for your thoughts?" She flipped me a copper coin. I caught it without looking " Just a nightmare. Maybe it is the future, but I don't know" I said uncomfortably.