Professor Mcgonagall had led them into the great hall, instructing them to remain quiet and calm while she called the names and sorted them into their houses. Harry was immediately drawn to the Sorting Hat on its stool near the faculty table.
Its frayed and patched exterior was exactly as his dad had described, now all that he had to see was the supposed song.
Older students cheered and waved as they walked through them, and the first years smiled bashfully in return. Hermione noticed that several people were staring at Harry as he walked, Neville did too and they shared a worried glance. Hermione also noted the Headmaster, standing at the end of the hall in an outfit she could only describe as "eclectic". She set her jaw, holding eye contact with the man. Based on what she had witnessed and heard, he was not someone they could trust, and she was not about to let him try anything with Harry.
The second thing Hermione noticed drew an awestruck gasp from her lips. The true splendor of the Great Hall finally registered. Imagery she'd read in Hogwarts: a History came to life now as she practically floated through it, taking in every detail. Thousands of candles lit up the room, and the enchanted ceiling painted a gorgeous picture of the night sky. She saw other first years slowly become enraptured by the scenery as well.
Finally, they stopped just before the faculty table and waited patiently as McGonagall pulled out a long roll of parchment. Then the hat sang its song.
Harry grinned wildly at Hermione, and she offered a halfhearted one in return, he thought this was incredibly amusing. As it finished, Professor McGonagall suddenly became the center of attention once more.
She stood next to the stool and cleared her throat, prompting silence. Her stern eyes searched the crowd before flitting down to the now unfurled parchment.
"The sorting ceremony is simple, you will each be called to sit on the stool and let the hat sort you into your houses. After it calls your house, you may go sit at your table." She instructed, eyes never leaving the nervous first years. "Alright then, let the sorting begin. Abbot, Hannah!"
One by one, names were called, Harry rocked anxiously on his heels waiting for his name. Hermione was the first of their little trio to be called of course, and she bolted up to the sorting hat with barely contained glee.
The hat seemed to consider her options for a time, quite a bit longer than most, but ultimately came to a decisive conclusion.
"GRYFFINDOR." It said.
She hurried off to the Gryffindor table, smiling brightly at her new housemates, they greeted her warmly. The boy who they'd had the unfortunate experience of meeting on the train, Weasley, grunted in displeasure. Harry took a deep breath to stop himself from aiming his wand at him once more, deciding to take the high road and ignore him for now. Neville wore a look of utter contempt for the boy, looking to Harry for a shared moment of annoyance.
Neville came second, with his last name starting with an L. He sat on the stool, a bead of sweat trickling down his cheek as the hat was placed on his head. Harry and Hermione watched expectantly from their respective places in the hall, curious for his outcome.
"GRYFFINDOR." The hat called.
Neville got up and made his way over to the Gryffindor table, beaming the whole way. He plopped down in the seat next to Hermione and they chattered excitedly.
"Malfoy, Draco." Professor McGonagall called.
Harry recognized the boy instantly, not just by his name, but by the way he strutted up to the stool like he owned the place. Harry thought he resembled a peacock…but maybe that was too forgiving, perhaps a ferret made more sense.
The hat barely graced his head before it gave a confident, "SLYTHERIN!"
Harry was the only one left of their trio, waiting several more minutes for McGonagall to get to the "P's". He counted down vowels as she breezed past Parkinson, Patil, Perks, and finally:
"Potter, Harry."
The hall grew quiet as he made his way to the stool. He tried his best not to grimace at the way people were looking at him. McGonagall placed the hat on his head and he closed his eyes, begging to be placed in Gryffindor with Hermione and Neville.
"So, you want Gryffindor?" Harry's eyes popped open, wondering who said that. "I must say this is quite the difficult decision, boy." It was then Harry realized the person speaking must, of course, be the hat. "Your heart is set on Gryffindor, but I see much potential for other houses. You show fierce loyalty to your family and friends—hufflepuff might suit you nicely. Yes…but I see you're not totally lacking in wisdom either, you might benefit from Ravenclaw."
Harry considered the hats words, but inside he could only think of going through school without his friends, and that made him anxious. He decided he would be brave enough to get through it and resolved to just one condition:
"Not Slytherin, anything but Slytherin." He mumbled.
"Not Slytherin…why not? You would do well in Slytherin, the house of cunning leaders, ambitious in their efforts to change the world. Why wouldn't you want that?"
"I want to be in Gryffindor…" Harry mumbled, almost annoyed by this point.
"Fine, fine. Gryffindor will suit you nicely I suppose. "GRYFFINDOR!" The hat called, out loud this time.
The hall erupted in noise. Harry for one, was calling to his friends as he ran over to them. The Gryffindor table was cheering much louder than they had for any other first year that joined, and the other houses were making just as much noise. Some for the loss of the boy-who-lived being a part of their house, others (just Slytherin) out of mild distaste for the boy in general. The general consensus however, was this: Harry Potter was now an official student of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and everyone was eager to see what became of him.
He sat on the other side of Hermione, laughing when she pulled him in for one of her classic home-crushing hugs. Several older Gryffindor introduced themselves. Three other Weasleys made themselves known and were much friendlier than their younger counterpart. Hermione noticed the oldest, Percy, had a prefect badge fastened to his robes.
Once Harry was properly acquainted with several new people, he had a good look at the Faculty. Hagrid sat at one end of the table, smiling widely at him. He gave a little wave. A nervous looking man in a purple turban stared awkwardly at the table, Harry wondered what he taught. Professor McGonagall was of course still calling names, and the only other faculty Harry thought worth noting was Albus Dumbledore himself.
The headmaster sat in the center of the High Table in a large golden chair. He looked over the students with a kind, grandfatherly smile. Harry grimaced. This was the man he had to figure out how to deal with.
He noticed Hermione looking at them too, and noted she seemed particularly put off by the man in dark robes near the man in the turban. He gave the man a once over, deciding the best way to describe would be "cruel looking" or "greasy" he couldn't place which one was more prominent. As he studied him, they caught each other's eye and Harry felt his body tense. Something about his stare was so unsettling. His eyes darted back to the table as he tuned back into the name calling.
"Weasley, Ronald." McGonagall said.
The ginger haired boy walked up to the stool nervously, Neville commented that he looked sea sick to which Hareyband Hermione both chuckled quietly.
The hat considered him only for a moment before shouting "GRYFFINDOR!"
His brothers cheered loudly, patting his back as he joined them. Hermione offered a weak smile as he sat across from them, while Neville struck up conversation with a boy who'd sat nearby not long ago, Dean Thomas. Harry was not as kind, and openly frowned when he chose his seat.
The remaining names were called, ending with Blaise Zabini being sorted into Slytherin. With the sorting ceremony finished, the hat was sent back to where it was kept and McGonagall returned to her seat at the right of the headmaster.
Harry's stomach growled as he glanced at the empty table, wondering when they would get to eat. Just as he was about to mention it to Hermione; the Headmaster stood up to address the students.
"Welcome students—to the start of a new term." He announced, his voice carrying through the Great Hall loudly.
Cheers and clapping erupted, and he smiled. "Just a few beginning term announcements to make before we begin the feast. As always, the forbidden forest on Hogwarts grounds is forbidden to all students." There was a paide that felt like he might be calling out someone specific. "Also, Mr. Filch has asked that I remind you that no magic is to be used in the corridors between classes for 'educational purposes' or otherwise. Quidditch tryouts will be held in the second week of term, and lastly, the third floor corridor is forbidden to anyone who does not wish to die a terribly long and painful death." The room fell silent at that last part.
"Is he stupid?" Hermione commented under her breath.
The Weasley twins glanced at her with a mix of confusion and admiration.
"He's made it a big deal and now students are going to be curious and go looking for what's being held there. He should have just had the wards made to make that part of the castle not accessible to students." She clarified, rolling her eyes.
The twins nodded slowly, "Gred?" One of them said.
"Yes, Forge?" The other one answered.
"We should really try—"
"Not to piss her off—"
"Lest she use that head of hers—"
"Against us."
The twins spoke in a confusing tangle of cutting each other off and finishing the other's thoughts. Hermione and Harry exchanged a glance, equally intrigued but also disturbed by this.
"You'll get used to it." Percy sighed from somewhere down the table.
"Let the feast begin!" Came Dumbledore's final statement, and Harry realized they had effectively ignored most of his welcome speech.
All thoughts were quickly vanished though, as food appeared in front of them. Harry quickly dished servings of chicken onto his and Hermione's plate and passed the dish to Neville while she put a serving of potatoes on his plate. They made quick work of trying their meals, sighing contently when the food was as delicious as it looked.
Harry put his fork down to pour himself a drink when the most awful noise he'd heard rang through his ears. He looked up in shock as Ron was shoveling food into his mouth like he'd been starved for years. To say he was disgusted might be the understatement of the century, but his reaction had nothing on Hermione's as she visibly gagged at the sight.
They decided to distract themselves by talking to some of their new acquaintances. Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnegan, and Lavender Brown were all sorted into Gryffindor with them.
Harry quite liked Dean, he was a muggle-born, much like Hermione. He like football and action movies, and that was enough to solidify a friendship between him and Harry.
Seamus seemed alright; a halfblood who, though slightly dimwitted, seemed to have a good heart.
Lavender was hard to talk to. Harry noticed that she instantly didnt like Hermione that much, but he supposed it had mostly to do with their complete opposite personalities rather than anything rude on her part. He decided he didn't care for her much either, to be fair, and left it at that.
Soon, they had all eaten their fill and were to be escorted to their common rooms by their new prefects. With schedules being handed out and their trek through the castle, the corridors were buzzing with chatter and excitement. Percy led them to their new home for the next seven years. The portrait guarding the entrance to their dorm, the fat lady, asked for a password. Percy gave it, and suggested they learn it now, as it was the only way in.
After a quick goodbye to Hermione, Neville and Harry made their way up to their dorm room with the four other first year boys. Their trunks were all arranged, and their uniforms for the next day were laid out nicely.
Harry grinned when he realized he and Neville's beds were next to each other. It faltered only a little when he discovered Ron was on his other side. They got ready for bed quickly and Harry dozed off almost immediately, dreams of adventures and crazy dueling filling his mind.