POV of Hermione Granger
I was welcomed with open arms by the other Gryffindors, so I immediately felt comfortable at the house table. I sat down next to Ariana and left the seat to my right empty, hoping that another one of my new friends would join us.
Together with the other students at the table, I was now eagerly watching. 'Veatrix Lestrange' was just called. Based on what Bella and Parvati had told me earlier on the train, she would clearly be sorted into Slytherin. Yet, the hat hesitated. I wondered what it was telling her.
It had given me a long monologue about my strengths and weaknesses before deciding to put me in Gryffindor. And then something happened that no one expected: The hat shouted 'GRYFFINDOR!'.
I had no idea what to make of it, but I didn't want to give in to prejudice and clapped for her, along with only a few students and teachers. However, she tore the hat off her head and stormed out of the hall. I must admit, I felt for her; she had surely expected to be a Slytherin, and the horrified looks from all the students who knew her last name were probably just as hard to bear. I couldn't think much more about Veatrix because the sorting continued.
The hat had just placed Parvati's sister Padma in Ravenclaw, and I suppressed a small sigh. Parvati would surely go there as well. I would have loved to be in the same house with her... But when it was Parvati's turn, the hat didn't keep us in suspense for long and made the quickest decision of the evening. It shouted 'Gryffindor!' as soon as it touched her head. Seemingly surprised at how quickly it had happened, Parvati set the hat aside and joined us at the table, where she was warmly welcomed. There probably hadn't been such an obvious Gryffindor student in a long time.
She sat down between Ariana and me and then watched the ceremony with visible interest. My gaze rested on her for a while, and I realized how different she must be from her twin sister; otherwise, the hat would surely have had a harder time deciding.
'James Rivers,' Professor McGonagall read out as I turned my attention back to the proceedings. That didn't take long either. He went to Gryffindor, while his twin brother Oliver went to Ravenclaw. So, two pairs of twins were divided between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tonight.
Of the few students who hadn't been sorted yet, I only knew one more person, and that was Ginn. 'Ginn Tonks,' McGonagall finally called her. She went to Ravenclaw and seemed quite satisfied with that. I saw smiling, as she sat next to Padma.
The last person to join Gryffindor was a red-haired boy named Ronald Weasley, who sat between me and an older student who was probably his brother. Or at least one of his brothers. Only now did I notice that there were three boys at this table who looked quite similar to him.
And then it was finally time: All the first-years had been sorted into a house, and Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster, stepped forward. I didn't know what I had expected, but certainly not that his speech would be so puzzling.
'Wait, did he just say nitwit?' I turned to Parvati, confused.
'The man is a genius,' claimed one of Ron's brothers.
'You should have heard his speech from last year. Absolutely profound,' his twin brother agreed.
I suddenly felt a bit foolish. Was I the only one who didn't understand the speech? The rest of the students had applauded enthusiastically.
Fortunately, at that moment, plates and the most beautiful dishes magically appeared on the tables. Fascinated, I filled my plate with a bit of everything to at least try it all, as I had never seen some of these dishes before. However, they must have been known in the wizarding world because Parvati reached for the serving bowls much more deliberately. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Ariana staring at all the different dishes in amazement, seemingly unable to decide what to eat. Then she finally helped herself. The food was incredibly delicious, and I probably ate way too much. However, I hadn't expected there to be dessert. After we finished the main course, the mostly empty bowls and plates disappeared, and various sweets appeared. Apart from the pumpkin pasties I had tried on the train, nothing here was familiar to me either. But since I was already so full, I only tried a little of the cake directly in front of me. It tasted good too. Parvati told me that it was called cauldron cake. Unlike me, she seemed to have known that there would be dessert and was helping herself to a kind of pudding. When all the students were so full that they couldn't eat any more, Professor Dumbledore stood up again and announced that we first-years should follow the prefects, who had already received the passwords for the common rooms and would lead us to them. With that, the prefects rose from their seats and instructed us to follow them.