Chapter six
"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
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell yo
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might 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've 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're 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 and Harry clapped along with everyone. The hat bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.
"So we've just got to try on the hat?!" Ron whispered, Harry looked next to him to see Ron had managed to move next to him again, "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll."
Harry frowned at Ron, "Didn't your parents tell you what happened? I thought your mother at least was a witch." he asked. Ron just shrugged and blushed slightly.
Harry took a few deep and calming breaths. He envied Draco who looked completely calm; Draco had known which house he wanted to be in for years but Harry had never been sure. He had a horrible feeling that whichever house he ended up in would be a disappointment some how, although Hufflepuff being next to the kitchens sounded good to his rumbling stomach.
Professor McGonagall now stepped forward and unrolled a long scroll of parchment.
"When I can your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted." She said.
"Yes ma'am; straight away ma'am." Joked Draco and Harry laughed quietly.
Professor McGonagall glared at them to be quiet, "Abbott, Hannah!"
A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line who Harry had shared a boat with, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. There was a moments pause that felt like a life time.
"HUFFLEPUFF!" Shouted the hat.
The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Harry saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her.
"Bones, Susan!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!" again shouted the hat and Susan hurried off to sit next to Hannah.
"Boot, Terry!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.
"Brocklehurst, Mandy" Also went to Ravenclaw but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; Harry could see Ron's older twin brothers catcalling. Harry imagined his mother skipping off to that table and then his father joining her. Were they happy? James would have been Harry was sure but his mother he wasn't as sure about.
The call of "Bulstrode, Millicent." becoming the first Slytherin brought him out of his musings. She was a short and strong looking sullen girl, Harry almost laughed as, with her greasy brown hair and mean thin mouth, she was the stereo-type of Slytherin.
"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
Harry noticed that the hat sometimes shouted the house out straight away but in other times it took what seemed like forever to decide. It only got out once a year Harry supposed so had to make the time last; but he wanted it to be his turn and get it over with.
"Finnigan, Seamus," took nearly a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.
"Granger, Hermione!"
The stuck up little girl all but ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head. She sat on the chair for a while, the full-of-herself smile never left her face.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Harry rolled his eyes at how smug she looked; and had a horrid thought that that is probably what his father looked like as well; at least James had been brought up in the wizardring world and knew something about the way of things.
"Greengrass, Daphne." Pansy's friend took a deep breath and walked forward. She swung her honey blonde ponytail over her shoulder and sat down. "SLYTHERIN!"
When Neville Longbotton was called Harry and Draco gave him a loud cheer causing him to trip over on the way to the stool. He glared jokingly at them before Professor McGonagall snapped at them to be quiet.
The Hat took only a few moments to decide with Neville before shouting "GRYFFINDOR!" Neville handed the hat back to Professor McGonagall and did a small victory dance on his way to the table.
Harry and Draco cheered loudly; Neville's parents were going to be very proud that he was in their former house.
Malfoy gave Harry a quick pat on the back and swaggered forward when his name was called. The Hat had barely touched his head when it called "SLYTHERIN!"
Harry clapped loudly for his friend feeling utterly torn; his two best friends were in two opposite houses. There weren't many people left now.
"Moon" "Nott"
Pansy Parkinson went to Slytherin as well and happily sat next to Daphne. A pair of twin girls, "Patil" and "Patil" were sorted into two different houses, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor.
Harry took a deep breath and focused on the stool in front of him. He glanced up and saw Snape give him a reassuring smile.
"Potter, Harry" silence filled the hall.
Harry stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall.
"Potter, did she say?"
"The Harry Potter?"
"I heard he was in this year but didn't think he'd actually come!"
"I thought his parents would send him to France or Germany under the circumstances."
Harry closed his eyes as the hat dropped over his face. He knew the hall was full of people craning to get a good look at him. He waited in the dark.
"Hmmm" said a small voice in his ear. "Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, my goodness, yes and a nice thirst to prove yourself. Now that is interesting…..so where shall I put you?"
Harry took a few deep breaths.
"And you don't seem to care where you go, very interesting… well I think...SLYTHERIN!"
Harry heard the hat shout the last word to the whole hall. He took off the hat and walked shakily toward the Slytherin table. He tried to drown out the loud cheer and then thought it would be better to focus on the cheer rather than the noises of annoyance from the Gryffindor table. Harry risked a glance over to see only a handful of Gryffindors cheering. Neville being the loudest.
"I can't believe they got Potter." He heard Ron grumble like a sulking toddler.
A dignified looking ghost patted his arm giving Harry the sudden and horrible feeling he'd just plunged it into a bucket of ice-cold water. He sat down next to Draco and they gave each other a smile.
He could see the High Table properly now. At the end nearest him he gave Hagrid a big thumbs up and grinned. In the centre was Albus Dumbledore, his silver hair shining as brightly as the ghosts. Harry had met him a few times and although he liked him there was always a coldness between Albus and his mother that Harry had picked up on which made him more than a little bit uneasy. Harry spotted Professor Quirell, the nervous young man from the Leaky Cauldron. He was looking very peculiar in a large purple turban which was difficult not to laugh at.
He saw Snape give him a warm and proud smile. Harry wished he could jump up and give him a hug but he knew that would come later.
And now there were only four people left to be sorted.
"Thomas, Dean," a darked skined, blue eyed boy even taller than Ron, joined the Gryffindor table.
"Turpin, Lisa," Became a Ravenclaw and then it was Ron's turn. He was a pale green by now.
Harry made a silent wish that Ron was in any house that wasn't Slytherin, a second later the hat shouted "GRYFFINDOR!"
Harry breathed a sigh of relief. Ron went over and sat with a group of almost identical looking red headed boys.
"Zabini, Blaise," Was made a Slytherin and sat down next to Pansy. Professor McGonagall rolled up the scroll and took the Sorting Hat away before taking her place next to Dumbledore.
Harry looked down at the empty gold plate, edged with intricate silver snakes and realized just how hungry he was.
Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet and was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as though nothing could have been more pleasing to him than to see them all there.
"Welcome," He said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts!"
There was a cheer from everyone in the hall.
"Before we begin out banquet, I would like to say a few words. And her they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!" He sat back down.
Harry and Draco exchanged a look before bursting into laughter. Harry looked around as the empty plates in front of him suddenly filled with food. Harry heaped chips, fried chicken and sweetcorn cobs onto his plate and eating it quickly before re-filling his plate with mash potatoes and pie.
Draco and he chatted excitedly throughout the meal, introducing themselves to the new students as well as the older ones they could reach. A pretty red headed girl and a black haired boy came up and introduced themselves as Sally Maria and Howard Nightshade; Slytherin's prefects, both were in sixth year.
Harry could see that a lot of people were still watching him intently. When he was younger, a lot younger, it had been fun to be the centre of attention, to have random people giving him praise and sweets but it didn't take long for it to get old and then very very annoying. He hated not being normal.
After the main course the plates cleaned themselves and were replaced with heaped serving plates of puddings!
Harry and Draco had a short squabble over who got the first serving of treacle tart, the squabble was quickly ended when Pansy helped herself to the first slice smirking at the two boys as she put a large dollop of cream in her bowl. She was talking quickly to Daphne who was eating a bowl of profiteroles with extra cream.
Harry finished the meal feeling fuller than he thought humanly possible. His waist band was digging in slightly and he was very sleepy. He felt a hand brush his shoulder. He look round to see Severus standing behind him.
Harry jumped up and gave him a big hug.
"I'm very proud of you." Snape told him, holding him close, "Do you want to write to your mother and Danica to tell them which house you got into or do you want me to tell them tonight?"
"You can tell them. I'm going to write them a letter tonight or tomorrow morning though. Give them a hug for me?"
Snape smiled at him and ruffled his hair, "You're a good boy Harry. Unlike your mother who threatened to make me sleep on the sofa if I didn't smuggle her into watch you be sorted!" He laughed.
"She's waiting behind the door then?" Harry laughed.
Snape took him to the side slightly, "She was going to be," He admitted with a grin, "But then Uncle Sirius and Lupin were also demanding to come. And Danica wanted to try the hat on."
Harry smiled and gave Snape a final hug before sitting back down. After a little while longer Albus stood up again and cleared his throat.
"Ahem, 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 boys around Ron. "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."
Harry laughed but he was one of the few who did.
"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" Cried Dumbledore.
Harry smirked to himself that all the other teachers smiles had become rather fixed and had to cover his mouth to stop himself from laughing at the fact Snape had managed to excuse himself before the song.
Dumbledore flicked his wand as if he was trying to get a fly off the end and a long golden ribbon flew from it's tip. It rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike into words.
"Everyone pick their favourite tune," Said Dumbledore, "And off we go!"
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 out brains all rot!"
Harry and Draco sang the song to a heavy rock tune they both liked, making as much noise as they possibly could. They could hear Neville sing to twinkle twinkle little star in the highest voice he could manage. Everybody finished the song at very different times, at last only the Weasley twins were left singing several minutes after everyone else. They were singing a slow funeral march with solemn looks on their faces, hands over their hearts.
Harry watched Dumbledore conduct their last few lines with his wand and then clapped the loudest.
"Ah, music," He said, wiping his eyes with a bright pink hankie, "A magic beyond all we do here! And now bedtime. Off you trot!"
Harry watched the houses file out the hall and followed Draco down the long table. They followed Sally and Howard down the long corridors and down a very long marble staircase that, as full of food as he was, Harry would have put money on it going on forever.
He was so sleepy he barely had the manners to nod into in greeting to the portraits that spoke to him along the way. He looked over to Draco who rubbed his eyes sleepily. Harry smiled, it was only when Draco was tired that it showed just how young he was.
Sally and Howard led them down another couple of staircases and stopped outside what looked like a dead end.
"This is the entrance to the Slytherin common room." Howard announced to the gathered first years, "To get in you will need the password. It is changed regularly, at least once every fortnight, and will be pinned up in the common room so please keep an eye on it. Currently the password is 'inchoat'."
Harry watched as the wall folded open on it's self creating a doorway. They all walked through and the wall slid shut behind them.
"Well here we are," Sally said opening her arms wide,
Harry looked over the beautiful long common room. The rough stone walls were decorated with silver and emerald-green tapestries and embroideries. Carved snakes twisted their way around the roaring fire place.
"Girls dorms are to the right, boys to the left," Sally continued, "You'll find your trunks at the feet of your beds and your names on the door. I believe it's the third dorm this year first years. Thankfully we didn't run into Peeves; he must be off tormenting a different house. You will unfortunately meet him at some point though. Our house ghost is The Bloody Baron; but don't worry he isn't nearly as nasty as he seems. Right off to bed all of you. I'll be pottering around the common room tomorrow if you have any questions before classes begin on Monday."
Harry and Draco said a quick goodnight to Pansy and Daphne before climbing up the stairs. As Sally had predicted the third dorm had five names written on in flowery, cursive silver letters. Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy were second and third from the top.
They went in and were very pleased to see their big, four-poster beds with emerald-green drapes were next to each other. Harry threw open his chest and rooted through it to find his pyjamas and then buried himself in the warm blankets.