Chapter 8: The Sorting Ceremony

The fleet of boats sailed in silence for about fifteen minutes, the oars cutting quickly through the water. They approached low rock cliffs. A curtain of Ivy hung down from the rock, offering only a glimpse into the tunnel beyond. The boats entered one by one, Hagrid's boat in the lead, Harry's boat second after Hagrid's. As they neared the far end of the tunnel, Harry saw open lake ahead of him. The lake ended at the base of a rocky hill some fifty feet away.

Steps cut into the hill led upward, shaped like a series of sideways Us. And at the top of the hill was… Harry's breath caught in his throat at the magnificent sight. A gigantic castle loomed in front of them, its turrets and towers reaching for the skies. Built entirely of a yellowish-brown stone, it had eight floors. The tallest tower was tall enough to have another ten floors above the first eight. Th castle was built in four parts, one main section surrounded by three others to the west, north and east. Halfway up the walls, at what Harry judged to be the fourth floor, there were bridges connecting the four sections. The bridges had a wide variety; everything from viaducts to rope bridges that swayed alarmingly every time a strong wind gusted past.

Hagrid led them up the steps winding up the rocky hill. As they neared the top, Harry got a closer look at the castle and the grounds. The grounds had lone tall trees in some places and clusters of them in others. Strange plants, many of them glowing in strange colours, grew here and there. Most of the ground was covered in grass of many kinds. To the left, there were a series of large glass gardens with more plants and trees growing inside them.

Hagrid approached stately double doors and led them into a circular Entrance Hall.

Torches placed in brackets at intervals along the wall only lit it dimly. Directly opposite to them, a green marble staircase led upwards. To their left was a set of large double doors. To their right was a smaller door which led onto a corridor adjoining a courtyard. Hagrid motioned for them to wait in the Entrance Hall. Older students entered the castle and went through the Double Doors to the right. Unlike the first years, none of them were wearing their pointed black hats. Bright lights and the sound of merry chatter and laughter flooded out every time the doors opened of their own accord to admit people inside.

A few minutes later, the double doors opened yet again, and a woman in dark green robes walked out. She wore square spectacles and had a stern face, all bony and angular with thin lips. Harry immediately decided that she was a teacher he did not want to cross.

"I am Professor Minerva McGonagall" she informed them. "I am Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts and it is my duty to inform new students about a most important aspect of life at Hogwarts; the school houses. There are four; Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. During your time at school, you will take meals with your house mates, sleep in your house quarters and spend free time in your house common room. While you will all form friendships outside of your house, your housemates will be like your family while you are at school. Good behavior and doing well in class will earn your house points. Misbehavior and rule-breaking will cost points. I trust that each of you will strive to be an asset to whichever house becomes yours. You will be sorted shortly after you enter the Great Hall. Come."

She led them into the Great Hall. The hall seemed to be open to the skies even though there were seven floors above it. Stars and the moon peeked out of clouds in a highly realistic imitation of the night skies. Below, at the far end of the hall, was a top table set on a raised dais. A row of teachers were seated behind the table. Harry spotted Dumbledore in the middle, in a golden chair. A worn out looking black hat on the table in front of him, and Hagrid to the far left. Below the dais, four long tables stretched perpendicular to the top table. Around sixty students sat at each of the tables, on chairs placed to either side of the table. Perhaps another twenty seats at each table were empty.

McGonagall led Harry and the others into the hall, stopping just in front of the dais. They formed a cluster in front of the steps leading up to the top table.

Dumbledore climbed to his feet. At once the whole school followed suit, rising to their feet. Dumbledore wore robes of lilac today and a matching cap. Both had a pattern of golden stars that moved around on the robes. Dumbledore extended his arms wide. "Welcome! Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! We will begin as always with the Sorting ceremony."

Lowering his arms, Dumbledore peered down at the first years through half-moon spectacles. "Hogwarts sorts its students into four houses based on the qualities that each student possesses. Gryffindor—" Dumbledore pointed to the far left where students sat beneath scarlet banners showing a golden lion – "is the house of students who are brave, chivalrous, honorable, self-sacrificing, passionate, adventurous and spontaneous. Gryffindor's are often guided more strongly by their sense of right and wrong than by rules or law. The Head of House is Professor Minerva McGonagall."

Professor McGonagall bowed and students at the Gryffindor table raised their wands. Some sent up showers of red and gold sparks. Others created lines of light in the air that formed the shape of a roaring lion. Harry saw Fred and George seated at the middle. Their wands were emitting sounds, mimicking the roar of a lion.

When the displays faded away and the Prewett twins had ceased the roaring, Dumbledore went on. "Hufflepuff is known to be the house of warlocks who are hard-working, patient, kind, generous, loyal, fair and dependable."

Strains of beautiful music sounded all over the hall in perfect harmony, created by Hufflepuff wands but there was nothing else. "Hufflepuffs believe greatly in humility and avoid flamboyant displays. They are welcoming of students of all kinds, including those who do not fit the usual requirements of any house, greatly believing in treating all equally. The Head of House is Professor Pomona Sprout." A rather plump woman with messy hair that was the colour of straw, rose from her place at the top table and gave a cheery wave.

"Ravenclaw" – Dumbledore continued – "is the house of those who are intelligent, knowledge-hungry, rational, methodical, wise, witty and intuitive." Illusions of a woman wearing a diadem on her head with an eagle perched on her shoulder appeared over the table second from the right. Titles of books appeared and faded away. "The Head of House is Professor Flitwick." Professor Flitwick was a tiny warlock, no more than three feet tall with a handlebar moustache and round glasses. He had to stand on the top table to be seen by everyone. He bowed with both arms extended outward, blue and bronze streamers emitting from his wand and filling the air above them before vanishing.

"The fourth house is Slytherin. It is the house of those who are clever, cunning, confident, resourceful, determined, ambitious and self-reliant. Slytherin's take pride in their magical lineage and the house welcomes those who come from the ancient bloodlines." Over the Slytherin table, the shapes of animals appeared, springing out of wand tips. Harry saw the Shadowcat of the Snape family, the Malfoy Dragon and the Weasel of the Weasley's and even the stag of the Potter's and more, many more. "The Head of House is Professor Severus Snape." A very pale-skinned, hook-nosed man with dark black eyes and hair, wearing equally black robes rose from his place to Dumbledore's left, nodded once and then sat back down.

Dumbledore resumed his seat, nodding to Professor McGonagall. The older students all sat down as well.

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat. "Though you may not know it, your qualities and traits were studied during your interview by the Hogwarts Headmaster and Professors. We already have a fair idea of which house you will go to. Hogwarts believes in having a diverse batch of students. It seeks to have students from each of the eighteen districts, it seeks to have an equal number of girls and boys and it seeks to divide students evenly among the four houses. Though, it rarely happens that way, the ideal Hogwarts batch has five girls and boys in each house. It is customary for the Hogwarts Headmaster to try and put together such an ideal batch. But the final decision when it comes to Sorting lies elsewhere. Let us see what the Sorting Hat, created by the Founders to sort all students of our school, has to say about each of you."

McGonagall walked up to the top table, picked up the old hat sitting on the table in front of Dumbledore and set it on a stool in front of the first years. If Harry hadn't been so nervous about the Sorting, he would have been more amazed with the way she had conjured the stool out of thin air.

The tear near the rim of the Sorting Hat opened wide and it sang out loud:

Hogwarts Heads oft think they know where to put you

But sometimes they haven't even the faintest clue

But do not worry for 'tis me who has the final say

And never once have I led a questing student astray

So, open your hearts and minds to me, and tell me your dream

And I will tell you which house has over you the greatest claim

Between the two of us, you may think that you know best

But I am a thinking cap, so, trust me when I say, I know best!

A burst of applause came from the older students. Nervously, the first years joined in. When it had died down, McGonagall said, "I will call out your names in alphabetical order. When your name is called, you will put on the Sorting Hat, sit on the stool and await its verdict.

A little relief appeared on some of the faces. Behind Harry, Ron muttered, "So, we've just got to try it on, that's not too bad, is it? I thought they might ask us to do something really brave if we wanted to be in Gryffindor…"

Harry nodded his head in agreement. He didn't think he was up to any sort of demonstration at the moment. A queasy feeling in his stomach was growing worse with every passing second.

"Abbott, Hannah Lucy" called Professor McGonagall. A girl with freckles on her nose ran up to the stool and put on the Sorting Hat. She gripped the edge of the stool and closed her eyes. Nothing happened that Harry could see but a few moments later, Hannah nodded happily.

"HUFFLEPUFF" called out the Sorting Hat in a voice that was perfectly audible in every corner of the room. The table second from the left burst into applause and Hannah went to join them.

"Avery, Ava Laura" called out McGonagall. A tall girl with arrogant features and immense confidence walked forward and put on the Sorting Hat. Mere seconds later, the Hat shouted, "RAVENCLAW"

"Boot, Terry Giles"

"RAVENCLAW"

"Brocklehurst, Mandy Georgette"

"RAVENCLAW"

Harry thought about where he would like to go. He didn't think he'd fit in Ravenclaw. That seemed like a house for Hermione. He supposed he could fit in Hufflepuff. 'What you really like' said a voice in the back of Harry's head, 'is Gryffindor and you know it.'

'But I'm not all that brave and courageous and whatnot' Harry told the voice.

'Yes, you are' the voice insisted back.

Shutting out the voice, Harry refocused on the sorting. Terry and Mandy had joined the Ravenclaw table, second from the right and were being welcomed by Prefect Percy.

"Brown, Lavender Ellie"

"GRYFFINDOR"

Fred and George made their wands roar again. Her face flushed with excitement, Lavender joined the table to the far left. Harry felt another surge of longing. Maybe he could convince the Sorting Hat…

Harry watched the Sorting happen, eager for his turn. Bulstrode, Millicent Eugenia became the first Slytherin and was joined at the far-right table a few moments later by Crabbe, Vincent Xavier and Dippet, Arterus Edric. Michael Noah Corner, the solemn boy Harry had met while with Dumbledore went, predictably, to Ravenclaw.

"Everard, Edith Eloise"

"HUFFLEPUFF"

"Finnigan, Seamus Henry"

"GRYFFINDOR"

"Fletchley, Justin Finch"

"HUFFLEPUFF"

"Goldstein Anthony Mason"

A golden-haired, handsome looking boy, gave Draco Malfoy a clap on the back and then swaggered forward. He confidently put on the hat and beamed widely a moment later when the Hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR"

Harry groaned a little. What if Malfoy got sorted into Gryffindor too? And why did a boy who was friends with Malfoy have to be sorted into the house Harry wanted to join?

"Goyle, Gregory Hunter"

"SLYTHERIN"

Goyle gave a nod to Malfoy to who nodded back. Then he went to sit next to the boy – what was his name - Crabbe. So. They were all friends, were they? Maybe, Malfoy would go to Slytherin. It certainly looked like Malfoy wanted to be there.

"Granger, Hermione Jean"

Hermione walked forward on trembling legs and put on the Sorting Hat. She seated herself on the stool. A minute passed. Then another. Then a third. Hermione was shaking her head fiercely. Slowly, the shakes changed to nods and then the Sorting Hat opened its mouth wide.

"RAVENCLAW!" it thundered. There was a note of triumph in its voice. Had Hermione wanted a different house then? Had the Sorting Hat managed to convince her otherwise? That did not bode well for Harry.

A pair of girls, Hunter, Isobel Katrina and Irwin, Georgina Ruth both became Slytherins. Then Knight, Charlton Walker became a Hufflepuff.

Harry noticed that Charlton had dual-colored eyes. But he hadn't been there with the Muggleborns that Dumbledore had brought with him. Harry turned to whisper to Ron but Ron seemed to know what Harry was going to ask. "He's a Half-blood. His mum, Madam Knight is a Muggle-born Ministry warlock, my dad's told me about her. His dad is a Pureblood."

Harry nodded to Ron, appreciating the information. So, Charlton was like him, a Halfblood, only he'd inherited dual-colour eyes instead of an animal birthmark… Would that make him worse than Harry in the eyes of people like Malfoy? It's all bullshit, thought Harry. It shouldn't matter at all.

"Longbottom, Neville Frank"

The boy from the train station, with the toad still on his shoulder, walked up to the Sorting Hat, trembling from head to foot. His Sorting took a long time. A pleading expression crossed Neville's face several times. He repeatedly shook his head. Then a slightly relieved look appeared on his face. And the Hat called out, "Hufflepuff"

Its voice was much lower than it had been before. A hint of defeat was present in its tone. But Neville cheerfully joined the Hufflepuff table.

So. It was possible to persuade the Hat. Harry made up his mind to do exactly that.

"Lovegood, Luna Kathryn"

"Ravenclaw"

"MacMillan, Ernie Milton"

"HUFFLEPUFF"

"Malfoy, Draco Lucius"

Malfoy too swaggered up the stool Hardly had the hat touched his head it called out, "SLYTHERIN"

Harry clapped with the rest, happy that Malfoy was not in Gryffindor. Malfoy walked towards the far-right table with an even more arrogant look and walk. Seeing him, one would have thought that he'd accomplished some glorious feat, not that he'd tried on a Hat.

"McDougal, Morag Rebecca"

"HUFFLEPUFF"

"Nott, Jennifer Megan"

"RAVENCLAW"

"Parkinson, Dave Eric"

"SLYTHERIN"

"Parkinson, Pansy Eira"

"SLYTHERIN"

Ron leaned towards Harry again. "They're cousins I think" he whispered. "One of them is supposed to become the heir of their childless uncle, the heir to Parkinson Cosmetics. Dad says their uncle all but bought his niece and nephew a spot at Hogwarts. Persuaded the school board that they should be given places by giving a generous donation to the school."

"Oh" Harry hadn't thought it was possible to pay your way into a school. But then, he supposed that Dudley, who was extremely stupid, couldn't have gotten into a premier private school like Smeltings, Uncle Vernon's Alma Mater, if Uncle Vernon hadn't pulled some strings. It seemed that in the Magical World too, wealth and influence mattered a good deal. The school board Ron had said… Did that mean that Dumbledore didn't have sole decision-making power over who got into the school?

Next came a pair of twins. Patil, Padma Tara and Patil, Parvati Priya both became Gryffindors. Ron whispered to Harry that the Patil family was an ancient family originally from India but had settled in England a long time ago. Parvati and Padma were both Half-bloods since their father had married a Muggleblood warlock.

"Potter, Harry James"

With a jolt, Harry realized that his turn had come. A wave of muttering rose all over the hall. Students leaned forward in their seats trying to get a look at him, his forehead in particular. Feeling very self-conscious, Harry walked forward and put on the Sorting Hat.

"Hmm" said the Sorting Hat inside Harry's head. "Interesting. I see a good deal of Gryffindor in you. Brave, courageous, honorable, determined to do the right thing, a taste for adventure… hmm… yes you could be in Gryffindor… but there is a good deal of Slytherin too… I see determination, resourcefulness, a thirst to prove yourself… hmmmm"

"Not Slytherin" Harry thought as firmly as he could. "I don't want to be in Slytherin. I want Gryffindor. Put me in Gryffindor!"

"Gryffindor, eh? Mmm" the Sorting Hat considered for a few moments longer.

"Not Slytherin, Not Slytherin" Harry chanted in his head.

"Well, I think you'd do equally well in both places and since you want to be in Gryffindor… better be-"

"-GRYFFINDOR" This last word was shouted out loud to the Hall.

Applause broke out in the Gryffindor table. The Prewett twins cheered particularly loudly. Grinning, very happy to have gotten what he wanted, Harry trotted off to join them. Fred and George shook hands with him, followed by a boy with a prefect badge. "I'm Wood - Oliver Wood. Welcome to Gryffindor."

"Thanks" replied Harry. Now that his turn was over, he was able to watch the Sorting in a much more relaxed way.

"Roper, Sophie Louise"

"GRYFFINDOR"

"Rosier, Anna Sophie"

"HUFFLEPUFF"

"Smith, Zacharias Everon"

"HUFFLEPUFF"

"Snape, Irene Cecelia"

Harry watched curious to see where she would go. Ravenclaw perhaps. She'd certainly seemed studious. Yet, somehow that did not fit. Harry found himself wishing that Irene would become a Gryffindor. He glanced around the table. Lavender, the Patil twins, Sophie… that was four. There could certainly be one more girl in Gryffindor.

'Let her be in Gryffindor. Let her be in Gryffindor' Harry repeated in his head. He wasn't sure why he wanted it; he just did for some reason.

The Sorting Hat seemed to be having a discussion with Irene. It did not seem to be an argument. Irene was nodding and even smiling. A moment later, the Hat shouted:

"SLYTHERIN"

Harry's heart sank a little. Slytherin! That hadn't seemed like Irene at all…

"Southcott, Stacy Elaine"

"HUFFLEPUFF"

"Sutton, Dustin Evan"

"RAVENCLAW"

"Thomas, Dean Austin"

Dean looked at Harry, gave him a wink and then put on the Hat. The Hat took a long time with Dean as well. When it finally made its announcement, its voice was soft. "Gryffindor"

Dean on the other hand had a look of triumph on his face.

Dean joined Harry at the Gryffindor table, sliding into the spot next to him. "Well done, Dean" Harry told him. "Thanks" he replied, smiling.

"Thornhill, Kevin Tucker"

"RAVENCLAW"

"Turpin, Lisa Olenna"

"GRYFFINDOR"

"Upton, Stephen Lawson"

"RAVENCLAW"

That left only Ron standing alone in the middle of tables, every eye upon him. Harry checked the Gryffindor tables once more. Himself, Dean, Goldstein and a sandy-haired boy. That was four. Ron could be the fifth. But McGonagall had said the Sorting only rarely happened evenly… Harry crossed his fingers under the table and prayed hard. This time his prayer was answered.

"GRYFFINDOR"

Harry clapped loudly with the rest as Ron sank into the chair opposite to Harry and shook hands with him. "Glad we're together" they said at the same time and in that moment, Harry knew they would become very good friends.

Sorting finished, McGonagall rolled up the scroll with the student's names on it and took away the Sorting Hat and stool.

Dumbledore had climbed to his feet once more, the rest of the school, students and teachers alike, following suit. Harry copied everyone else.

"It's respectful to stand when the headmaster is standing" whispered Oliver to the first years. "It's only done for the headmaster."

"I have a few starts-of-term notices to give out before we begin our excellent feast" Dumbledore told them. "First years, please note that the Forbidden Forest at the edge of the school grounds is, as the name suggests, forbidden. Also, this year, the dungeons below the Castle Proper are out of bounds. Students will kindly shift their pranks, duelling, and other illicit activities elsewhere." His eyes were twinkling, just like they had a few weeks ago when he'd told them he expected them to spend imprudently. Harry felt his liking for Dumbledore increase.

"Now, let us begin our feast."

"Where's the—" Harry started to ask but his answer appeared in front of him in the form of hundreds of golden dishes piled high with food. Cutlery had appeared as well, golden plates, knives, forks and spoons.

Seating himself, Harry counted the courses; soup, stew, roast chicken, lamb chops, steak, Yorkshire pudding, a gravy with peas, carrots and other roasted vegetables, mashed potatoes, roast potatoes, a selection of cheeses, bread and butter pudding, treacle tart and blocks of ice cream and dishes of jelly in numerous flavors.

Harry eagerly ladled soup into a bowl and then piled his plate high with a bit of everything except the desserts and then he dug in. Like he'd done in the café in Diagon Alley, he ate more and talked less. When his attention finally moved away from his plate, it was for something that he could not possibly have ignored. Dean had left the seat next to Harry to go sit next to Seamus Finnigan and his vacated seat was taken up by a pearly-white, transparent… transparent… ghost.

"You're a ghost!" exclaimed Harry. Then worried about offending the man, he asked, "Er—aren't you?"

"Indeed, I am" replied the ghost. "I am Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington."

"Fred and George told me about you" exclaimed Ron. "You're Nearly Headless Nick"

"Nearly headless? How can anyone be nearly headless?" demanded Seamus.

"Like this" snapped Nick. He grabbed a hold of his head and tugged. His ghostly head swung off his shoulders as though it was on a hinge.

"My execution did not go perfectly" Nick informed them in a highly miffed voice. "Dratted executioner did not bother to complete the task." Flipping his head back onto his shoulders, he said, "I hope you lot will shape up to be good students. Gryffindor hasn't won the inter-house cup in six years and the Quidditch cup in four years. Haven't been able to face the Bloody Baron at all…" Nick nodded to a ghost who was covered in blood and wearing chains. He was seated at the Slytherin table, right next to Malfoy and his friends who didn't seem happy about it. Irene was seated on the other side of Malfoy, chatting with the other Slytherin girls. She didn't seem to mind being in Slytherin at all…

"When have you ever been able to face the Baron?" Fred asked Nick. Annoyed by that question, Nearly-headless Nick gave a sniff and then floated off to sit between one of the Patil girls and Lavender Brown.

Harry refocused on his meal. He ate second helpings of everything and then began eating as many treacle tarts as he could manage. His stomach was bulging against his pants when he finally put his fork down. Feeling content and sleepy, he looked around. Everyone seemed to have finished but even so the feast was not cleared away.

Then a gong sounded somewhere within the castle before fading away. At once, the table was cleared magically.

"Goodness!", said Oliver. "Is it a quarter to eleven already?"

"A quarter to eleven?" asked Harry amazed. Time had really flown.

"Yes, it is. Curfew's at eleven o'clock. That was the warning gong. Dumbledore should be dismissing us. Yes, he's getting up, look."

This time Harry got to his feet in time with the rest of the school.

"Off to bed with all of you," said Dumbledore.

Noise broke out everywhere in the Great Hall as students left in groups, laughing and talking.

"First year boys, with me" called Oliver. He led Harry, Ron, Dean, Seamus and Anthony out of the Great Hall and up the marble staircase in the Entrance Hall. "It was an even sorting this time, wasn't it?" asked Anthony as they walked.

"It was, yes" replied Oliver. "It's very rare. But Dumbledore didn't get it all right. From the looks of it, he and the Hat both expected Neville to be in Gryffindor and you, Dean, to be in Hufflepuff, I think. And from the looks of it the hat thought so too. It's rare for the Hat and the Headmaster to agree on all forty students. It's even rarer for both to be jointly wrong. It's almost unheard of for joint mistakes to still result in a perfectly even Sorting."

"The Hat did try to put me in Hufflepuff" admitted Dean, "And I can see how Hufflepuff would be a good fit but Gryffindor is where I really want to be. It seems like the coolest…"

"It certainly is" agreed Oliver with a grin.

They had reached the fourth floor. The fourth-floor landing of the marble staircase opened onto another circular hall, directly above the Entrance Hall. This chamber was filled with ghosts. Evidently, they were having some kind of argument. "—Should give him another chance" a fat, jolly-faced ghost was saying.

"It's their gathering and resting place" Wood told the first years as he guided them out of the hall through a door to the right.

The door led onto a corridor that was a part of four corridors that formed a large square. Leaning over the railing, Harry saw that the corridors overlooked a large courtyard and that the layout of all the floors in this section was the same. "This section is called the Castle Proper" Wood told them. "And that courtyard is the Main Courtyard. You'll see more of the school during orientation tomorrow morning."

He led them down the corridor and made a right. They followed the second corridor all the way to the end where an arched exit led onto one of the bridges. "Gryffindor Tower, our House Quarters, is above the East Wing of the castle. We'll be taking the Viaduct to the East Wing."

The Viaduct turned out to be two hundred feet long bridge (with a series of arches) that connected the Castle Proper and the East Wing.

The night air was cold and the grey sweater that Harry was wearing wasn't much protection. He shivered slightly, crossing his arms around himself.

"It's often chilly in Hogwarts. You'll get used to it. Until then you might want to wear your black jumpers too."

Harry nodded with the others in response to Wood's words. They hurried down the Viaduct. As soon as they'd entered the East Wing through another arched entrance, Harry felt warmer. He supposed that the torch brackets at intervals all along the walls gave off a significant amount of heat.

Oliver led them deeper into the East Wing, all the way to its easternmost point. Harry barely noticed where they were going. He was feeling drowsy. He stopped at a dead-end and faced a portrait of a very fat woman in a very pink dress.

"Password?" asked the Fat Lady.

With another jolt, Harry realized that many of the portraits they had crossed on their way here had been moving in their paintings. He hadn't realized it at once because of how sleepy he was but now that he thought about it, he could have sworn they'd been moving around in their portraits and even sliding into the frames of paintings next to theirs. He'd already seen too many magical things to feel a lot of wonder. He took it in stride.

"Caput Draconis," said Wood to the Fat Lady.

Nothing happened.

"Observe closely" he told them. Oliver drew his wand and pointed it at the portrait. "For something simple like this, you don't really need a wand but as you'll be doing it with a wand at least for a while, I'll show you how it's done with a wand."

Oliver made a jabbing motion with his wand, pointing it directly at the Fat Lady. Harry sensed a small ebb of magic flow from Oliver to the portrait. It felt different to what Irene had done. Harry supposed that different spells felt different.

As soon as the magical energy had ebbed into the portrait, it swung outward, revealing an oval hole and a very short tunnel in the thick wall. They walked forward five feet into the tunnel and then climbed a set of rungs embedded into the wall, emerging out onto the first floor of the tower.

"The Gryffindor common room" said Wood simply.

It was a cozy looking place with couches and sofas whose cushions and covers were scarlet. Hearths were scattered across the room, the fires in them burning steadily. At the far end of the room, there were two staircases.

Wood pulled out a series of bottles from within the pocket of his robe. They were filled to the brim with what looked like water. "These phials have Deep Slumber Potion in them. A young warlock who takes it only needs to sleep six hours to wake up feeling fully refreshed. You don't have to take it, but it's advisable to do so. Sleeping less will allow you to get more out of your days in Hogwarts. And days here begin early. Curfew lifts at five o clock. That's another good reason to take the potion, it helps you wake early."

He handed them the bottles. Dean eagerly uncorked his and downed it one gulp without hesitation. Not wanting to look like they were scared, the others all quickly copied. The Potion slid smoothly down Harry's throat, tasting of berries and other strange ingredients he couldn't name.

Just then, the five first year girls arrived, followed by a girl prefect. They were holding empty bottles in their hands, similar to the one Harry had just drunk out of.

"Let's hurry up and give the instructions, shall we?" the girl prefect asked.

Wood nodded. "Alright, Livvy"

Livvy turned to face all of them.

"Students' schedule at Hogwarts is fairly simple. Your day will typically begin at five o' clock. You can sleep in for longer if you like, barring tomorrow when you'll have orientation starting at five, but it's better to get up early. Breakfast is from five to eight. Classes begin at eight. Lunch is between twelve o'clock and two o'clock followed by more classes which end at six. Dinner begins at the same time and goes on until eleven. You can come in whenever you like for each meal. At night, students usually eat dinner early and then have a lighter supper afterward. Doing magic takes a lot out of you and you'll need four meals a day to keep up."

She paused and Oliver took over.

"You need to wear your uniforms for class and other formal occasions. Outside of classes, you can wear casual clothing; robes or Muggle clothing, as you prefer. You must keep yourself neatly groomed at all times. Not doing so can cost you house points. If you haven't already learnt to do your ties properly, then learn quickly." Oliver eyed Harry's and Ron's ties as he said this.

"Don't break curfew, dress properly, obey the teachers and be respectful to them, don't stray towards Forbidden places like the dungeons and the Forbidden Forest and don't get on the bad side of Mr. Apollyon Pringle, the Caretaker, or Mr. Argus Filch, his assistant. Both have the authority to give you detentions, and like doing it every chance they get. Mr. Filch is particularly vindictive."

"So, basically, you're telling us to be good. We get it, Oliver," said Dean. Dean didn't sound too interested in being good and some of the other Gryffindors seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

Oliver gave them a rueful smile. "Well, we are a house that's not too big on the rules. Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws follow them a lot more strictly. But that is not to say, you should break rules left, right and centre. You'll lose a ton of points and we'll need every last one to win the house cup."

They nodded. Oliver and Livvy, headed upstairs. The ten first years looked at each other. Some of the settled themselves on armchairs near the fire.

Yawning widely, Harry announced that he was off to bed. He took the staircase to the right and climbed one floor. A brass plate over an archway named it the first-year dormitory. Harry found his luggage waiting for him inside as promised, next to a large four poster bed with scarlet curtains. He retrieved a set of night clothes from his trunk, changed into them, found his alarm clock, set it for 5:00 AM and then fell asleep.