Chapter 4 – Sorting

Harry, Ginny, and Dumbledore all climbed the spiral stairs into the headmaster's office. There they found Professor McGonagall waiting for them, and her eyes darted first to Ginny and then to Professor Dumbledore. "Albus, who… where did..." she began, but Professor Dumbledore interrupted. "We will get to that, I am sure, Minerva. For now, we should all sit down and relax, and then I am sure we can get answers to all our questions."

Harry allowed himself to be dragged by Ginny over to a large, plush armchair. She sat him down in the chair and then tried to pull away, but Harry held her hand with a firm grip. He stared at her, pleading with his eyes, and Ginny seemed to accept; she settled in right next to Harry. Though the chair was only made for one, Harry and Ginny were not large children, so they easily fit into the single seat. Harry looked around the office for the first time, his expression one of wonder. Professor Dumbledore's office was absolutely full of amazing things, too many for Harry to even comprehend. Almost everything seemed to be moving, from the pictures on the walls to the gadgets and devices covering most of the surfaces in the room. There was some kind of red bird in a cage in the back corner of the room, behind the large desk that dominated the center of the office. On the desk, Harry recognized the Sorting Hat from earlier. Unfortunately, he also saw his duffel bag sitting by Professor McGonagall's feet.

Once everyone was seated, Professor McGonagall took it upon herself to begin. She turned towards Harry. "Mr. Potter, why did you run away from the sorting?"

The question hung in the air. Harry briefly considered trying to come up with an answer, but Ginny turned and faced him with a look of bewilderment on her face. Her expression was unreadable, except for obvious surprise. After a moment, it became obvious that Harry was not going to answer.

McGonagall pressed forwards. "Why did you steal Mr. Thomas's robes?"

Harry's grip on Ginny's hand tightened slightly, and he looked down at his feet. His cheeks were burning red, and he remained completely silent. In the silence, Professor McGonagall opened up Harry's bag and rifled through it. Her eyes narrowed as she inspected the contents of the bag. She found no books, robes, supplies, or even a wand. Instead, all she found was muggle clothing. "Mr. Potter, in all my years, I have never had a student come to school so unprepared. Where are all your…" but then she found herself, once more, interrupted by the headmaster.

"Professor McGonagall, it occurs to me that the Weasleys might be missing their daughter. Would you please floo Molly and Arthur and let her know that she is safe, and at Hogwarts for the moment. I am sure they will want to come and collect her. Please have them bring along a change of clothes as well, Miss Weasley might want to change into proper clothes."

Harry's vision suddenly darted up and he looked at Ginny, realizing for the first time what she is wearing. His eyes met her face, and though she was blushing slightly, she was still smiling. With a reassuring squeeze of their clasped hands, Ginny said, "Yes, that is probably a good idea, Professor. Thank you."

Professor McGonagall excused herself from the headmaster's office to contact the Weasleys. Albus took the opportunity to ask some questions of his own. "Miss Weasley, how do you know young Harry here?"

"We only just met today, Professor. Harry needed some help getting onto the train platform. We also promised to write to each other this year." Harry nodded his agreement as Ginny replied.

"Very good," said Professor Dumbledore. "I am glad you both made a friend today. Now, since you seem familiar with me, and I know your family as well Miss Weasley, I would like to introduce myself so that Harry is not so uninformed. Hello Mr. Potter, my name is Albus Dumbledore, and I am the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It is very nice to meet you."

Silence hung in the air briefly, until Ginny poked Harry in the side with her free hand. "Hello, uh, Professor... er, Headmaster… I'm… I'm Harry. It's… nice to meet you too."

Albus smiles. "Splendid. Now, Harry, as I mentioned before, you are not in trouble. But I would like you to answer my questions if you are able. Can you do that?"

Harry did not answer out loud, but he nodded.

"Excellent" the headmaster continued. "Now then, my first question would normally be why you stole Mr. Thomas's robes, but I believe the second question may answer the first, so I will start there. Mr. Potter, why do you not have any of your own robes, nor school supplies of any kind?"

Harry hesitated again, but Ginny gave him a reassuring squeeze and chose that moment to speak herself. "You can trust him, Harry. My brothers, they tell me that Professor Dumbledore is a bit barmy, but that he is a great wizard. He will listen, I promise."

Albus listened to the young girl he has never even properly met defend him, and internally he smiles with pride. He adopted a serene expression and focused entirely on Mr. Potter.

Harry looked back and forth from Ginny to Professor Dumbledore, and then haltingly began to answer. "I got the supply list, with the letter… but I didn't… I didn't know where to go to get anything on it. And I don't have any money anyways."

Albus took this answer in stride, though thoughts begun to tickle at the back of his brain. "Ah, quite understandable then. And your aunt and uncle, they decided to send you to school in such a state?"

Harry withdrew. His eyes dropped to the floor again, and the only contact he maintained was his hold on Ginny's hand. "They don't know I'm here, sir."

That was not the answer Albus was expecting. How could they not know where their nephew was? "If that is the case, Mr. Potter, then you will have to excuse me for a moment while I contact your family. Much like the Weasleys, your family will want to know where you are."

Albus had not taken so much as a step before Harry jumped out of the chair, only tethered by Ginny's hand. "Please no, Professor Dumbledore sir! Please, don't tell my Uncle where I am! I'll leave if I have to, just please don't call him!"

Up until this point, Harry had been withdrawn, upset, or even sedate. Now, in Albus's estimation, Harry Potter was desperate. The panic in Harry's voice stopped Albus cold, and he promptly sat back down, gesturing towards the boy in a placating manner. His mind was immediately made up to delay contacting Harry's relatives until he understood the situation better. Albus was confused; everything about Harry was confusing. He needed a moment to think. He needed more information.

Albus waved his wand, and a table appeared in front of the two children, laden with all manner of food and drink. "It occurs to me, Mr. Potter, that you are missing the welcome feast. Far be it from me to delay your dinner, you and Miss Weasley may eat here while we work everything out."

Harry was briefly startled at the appearance of a table full of food, but that surprise was immediately wiped away when the smell hit him; Harry was ravenously hungry. He hesitated only a moment, looking over at Ginny, before diving into the food. Ginny began to eat as well, though not with quite the same gusto as Harry.

While the children ate, Albus began to think. He waited a few minutes for the children to continue eating before proceeding, shuffling some papers on his office and attempting to disguise his outright observation of Harry. He was immediately unhappy with what he saw; Mr. Potter was eating, but only in the technical sense of the word. In reality, he was shoving food in his mouth at maximum speed, as if he only had moments to eat or the food might be yanked away. His thoughts circled back around to the welcome ceremony, and he had an idea.

"Mr. Potter, your lack of school supplies is not a problem. I would be happy to assist you in acquiring your wand, robes, and anything else that you require. However, all students must be sorted into their houses, and you missed your sorting; perhaps that is something that we could handle presently."

Harry looked unsure of himself, but Ginny responded instead. "Oh, go on Harry, I always wanted to see how the sorting works! What do you have to do? My brothers said you have to wrestle a troll, but I'm sure they were just making it up."

Albus chuckled; the exact proceedings of the sorting are not exactly kept secret, but it is something of a tradition to send first years in unprepared. It occasionally generated a funny moment, such as this. "Indeed Miss Weasley, no trolls. All Mr. Potter needs to do is briefly wear this hat. It will sort him into the appropriate house." Professor Dumbledore gestured to the hat on his desk, which he retrieved and held out in Harry's direction.

Harry looked slightly uneasy, but he paused eating and stood up. He stepped towards Professor Dumbledore and took the hat from him. He looked back towards Ginny, who gave an encouraging nod, and Harry lifted the hat above his head and lowered it down.

The Sorting Hat barely made it to Harry's head when it called out "Gryffindor!" in a thankfully quieter voice than it had used in the Great Hall. It happened so quickly that Harry was startled; he lifted the hat back up again and looked at it as if he wasn't sure he had worked properly. After a moment he handed it back to Professor Dumbledore. Harry was puzzled with himself; he remembered the Hat's song, there is no way he belonged in the house of the brave. Harry sat back down on the chair with Ginny, who promptly gave him a hug.

Dumbledore took the Sorting Hat and placed it back on his desk, saying "Congratulations Harry, welcome to Gryffindor. All of the Weasleys are also in Gryffindor, if Miss Weasley has not already told you."

At that moment, Professor McGonagall returned to the headmaster's office. Trailing behind her was a man and a woman. The woman Harry recognized as Ginny's mother Molly, and he assumed the man would be her father. Ginny caught sight of them and flew out of the chair, first giving a hug to her father and then to her mother. After hugging her mother, Ginny looked back and quickly rejoined Harry on the armchair, missing Molly's slightly puzzled look at her behavior.

"Welcome! Molly, Arthur." Dumbledore said to each in turn. "Ah, introductions. This is Harry Potter." Dumbledore gestured to the boy sharing a chair with Ginny, and the Weasleys stuttered a moment. The boy from the train station was Harry Potter? Why is Ginny sitting with the Boy Who Lived?

Molly recovered quickly, and replied, "Professor Dumbledore! How did Ginny get here? She is supposed to be at home."

Ginny slightly shrunk back into Harry before she answers. "I don't know mum". Professor Dumbledore intervened, "Molly, I believe that Ginny's presence is likely Mr. Potter's doing, unintentionally I suspect. Mr. Potter has had a bit of an unsettling introduction to Hogwarts. Earlier he apparently met Miss Weasley, and they became friends, and it is my belief that he somehow summoned Miss Weasley to Hogwarts in his fright. I assure you that neither Mr. Potter nor Miss Weasley has done anything wrong; Harry simply needed a friend and accidental magic did the rest. Based on Mr. Potter's reaction to her, I would go so far as to say that Mr. Potter's magic chose wisely; Miss Weasley has been very helpful this evening."

Both Arthur and Molly gave a small smile at that statement before Molly continued, "I'm glad she was able to help. But I think it is time for us to be getting Ginny home now. Come on Ginny, say goodbye to your friend."

Ginny looked over at Harry and started to rise from their shared chair, but Harry quickly reached out and captured her hand in both of his. Ginny and Harry made eye contact, and something in Harry's expression caused Ginny to pause.

"Hurry up Ginny, it's time to go," continued Molly. Dumbledore, who made it his business to observe the interplay between Harry and Ginny for the entire evening, chose that moment to speak up. "I wonder, Molly, Arthur, if young Ginny might be permitted to stay the night. Harry has had quite a frightening introduction to the world of magic, and your daughter here seems to be exactly what he needs to help settle in. If you would permit it, Ginny could stay the night, and perhaps accompany Harry and myself to Diagon Alley in the morning to help Mr. Potter gather some missing school supplies. After that, I would be happy to return Miss Weasley home to you."

Ginny's face lit up at the headmaster's suggestion. "Oh please, mum, can I?"

Molly began to object, but Arthur Weasley placed his hand on his wife's shoulder and spoke up first. "That sounds reasonable Albus. We will expect you around lunchtime then. Come, Molly, we had best be getting home ourselves."

Ginny quickly jumped up from the chair and hugged her father, and then her mother. Molly handed over the clothing she brought, and quietly extracted a promise from Ginny to be well behaved, before kissing her and promising to see her tomorrow.

The elder Weasleys left the headmaster's office, led by Professor McGonagall. Professor Dumbledore pulled out his wand and once again gave it a little wave, this time with no apparent effect that Harry could see. "Go on Mr. Potter, finish eating if you like." Another wave of Professor Dumbledore's and a selection of desserts joined the remaining food on the table. "Now that we have everything sorted out, I will have someone escort you to Gryffindor tower shortly."

Harry needed no further prompting and returned to picking at his dinner. He largely ignored the addition of the desserts, choosing instead to focus on finishing the steak he had already started. Ginny took the opportunity to try out some ice cream, and everyone continued in companionable silence for a few minutes until a knock was heard.

"Ah, come in Percy. Harry Potter, this is Percy Weasley. In addition to being Ginny's older brother, he happens to be a prefect for Gryffindor this year. If you are done eating, Mr. Weasley will escort you both to Gryffindor tower."

Percy looked somewhat shocked at his sister's presence in the headmaster's office, but before he could say anything, Dumbledore continued on. "Mr. Weasley, I assure you, your parents are quite aware that Miss Weasley is here. She will be staying with us for the night. Please escort both your sister and Mr. Potter to Gryffindor tower. For the moment, you will find the Head Boy and Head Girl quarters are open off the common room. Please set them up there for the night, and we will worry about introducing Mr. Potter to the normal first year dorms tomorrow evening. I would appreciate it if you could get them settled before the rest of the students return from the feast, and please do not mention either Mr. Potter, or your sister's presence in the tower for the night. Tomorrow your sister will return home, and we will handle reintroducing Mr. Potter to the student body at that time. Will that be acceptable?" Dumbledore directed this last question to Harry and Ginny, both of whom nodded in agreement.

After one final bite, Harry looked over at Ginny, who nodded. Harry stood up and grabbed his bag, with Ginny trailing along beside him. "I'm, er, ready when you are Percy." Percy made sure that both Harry and Ginny were ready to follow him, and then headed out of Professor Dumbledore's office with both in tow.

As the three children left Professor Dumbledore's office, Professor McGonagall passed them on her return. She marched back into Dumbledore's office, sat down, and gave Albus a hard stare, clearly expecting an explanation.

Dumbledore took in the expression on McGonagall's face and gave a small chuckle. "Indeed, Minerva. I can see you also want explanations, but alas, I have far more questions than answers. Though, perhaps we have one avenue of inquiry."

Dumbledore turned to the Sorting Hat, still sitting on his desk. "Old friend, you sorted Mr. Potter into Gryffindor very quickly; I'm not even sure you made it all the way onto his head before you assigned him to the lions. Is there anything we should know?"

McGonagall waited with extreme interest for the Hat to reply. She did not have to wait long.

"Headmaster, I am bound by magic to keep the secrets of my charges, so I cannot offer you the answers you seek. Instead, I can tell you two things. The first is that Harry Potter is the bravest child I have met in the last hundred years or more, and I placed him in Gryffindor because he belongs nowhere else. The second is that he must never be allowed to return home." With that proclamation, the Sorting Hat fell quiet, leaving Dumbledore and McGonagall to ponder the evening's events in uncomfortable silence.