Hagrid guided them to tiny paddle boats that took them towards the castle. Severus had explained that the first-years were brought in separately to give the older students a chance to be seated before the sorting.
“Do you know how they’re going to sort us?” Harry asked the three other kids in his boat, hoping one of their parents or siblings had let something slip.
All Harry got back was a bunch of theories. The boy with dirty blond hair even tried to convince them that they’d have to fight a troll, but Harry could tell by the expression on his face that he was only trying to scare them. For a time, he retreated into his own thoughts. Even though he had studied everything he could, including some of Severus’ second-year books, he was still nervous that he wouldn’t do well enough in his classes. Back home, he had to downplay how much he actually knew, so his cousin would look good. His relatives didn’t allow him to get grades higher than Dudley, who was an idiot and just barely passed his classes.
“What house do you want to be sorted into?” the blond boy asked. “I’m hoping to be in Ravenclaw or Slytherin.”
“I don’t know; I’d be fine with any house I get sorted into,” Harry said. Here, he needn’t worry about everyone going nuts over what house ‘the boy who lived’ was in. He could just be a normal kid, and he was actually starting to lean towards Slytherin, since that way he’d know at least one person in his house.
“I’m Edward Bates,” the young boy said, reaching his hand out for Harry to shake.
“Harry Potter,” Harry said confidently, hoping Edward didn’t connect him right away to James Potter. It was a common enough name.
When they reached land, Hagrid led them towards the castle. Everyone was mostly quiet, except for a few whispers or loud, nervous breaths. Harry’s excitement grew. Would there be a test? Would they have to cast spells, or would they be sorted based on how they behaved on the way to the castle? Harry wondered if it was possible to influence whoever sorted them.
As they got closer to the castle, it somehow became bigger and even a little intimidating. It was, without a doubt, the largest building Harry had ever seen in his life. Heck, a single tower was larger than anything he had ever seen. When the door opened, Harry knew it was time to get the show on the road. With a deep breath, he prepared himself, as best he could, for whatever was coming his way.
A woman in grey and scarlet robes was waiting for them at the top of a flight of stairs. She had a stern look on her face, but Harry could see excitement deep in her eyes. He wondered what she taught. If he could get on her good side, it might help him do a little better in class. Or perhaps it would just be easier to make friends with one of the smarter kids in class who actually had magical influences growing up.
“Gather around,” the woman called, as students approached the stairs and watched her expectantly. “I am Professor McGonagall. In a few moments, you will pass through these doors and join your classmates for the start-of-term feast, but first you will be sorted into your houses. Your houses will be like your family; you will go to classes together, you will share dorms. You will share your successes and learn from your failures,” the woman said, her strong voice carrying over the group.
“The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and…Slytherin.” Harry detected a slight bias towards the Gryffindor house in her tone and a little bias against the Slytherin house. He wondered if she had been in Gryffindor when she was a student here. “Your accomplishments will earn your house points; any rule-breaking will lose them.”
The lights in the corridor flickered slightly, causing Professor McGonagall to straighten out her robes and stand up straighter. Harry figured this was the cue to get ready to enter, and nervously ran a hand through his hair.
“Alright, line up in pairs and follow me,” the professor said as she opened the doors to a large room filled with all of the older students in the school.
Harry stood in line next to Edward, who looked nervous, too. They walked through the massive double doors. Harry recognised the way the stairs and candles floated in the air from Hogwarts: A History. The effect made the room look so much larger than it actually was. The students were seated among four tables across the length of the hall, and they were watching the first-years with various expressions, from excitement to boredom. Each table had a different colour scheme that extended to the students’ robes and ties.
After a few seconds looking around, Harry spotted Severus, who gave him an encouraging nod. At another table he found Lily, who offered a more obvious thumbs-up. The muggle gesture earned her a few confused glances, but she shrugged it off.
When they finally reached the front of the hall, Harry felt butterflies rushing violently around his stomach. At least he wasn’t the only one who looked nervous. A boy on his left seemed ready to pass out. Harry wondered if anyone had ever fainted up here, before. That would make a wonderful first impression!
At the front of the classroom, there was a stool with an old hat on it. The hat looked like it was older than everyone in the room, combined, and with so many patches that it should have fallen apart. Suddenly, a few of the creases began moving like a mouth and eyes, and a loud, deep voice boomed from the hat. To Harry’s shock, it started singing about Hogwarts’ different houses.
When the hat was done singing, everyone broke into applause.
“Alright, when I call your names, you will come forward and the hat will be placed on your head, and you will be sorted into your house,” Professor McGonagall said, producing a long scroll. She drew a deep breath. “Holly Adams!”
A girl with curly brown hair sat down on the bench, and a few seconds after the hat was placed on her head… “RAVENCLAW!”
As Professor McGonagall went down the list, students were placed in different houses and everyone would clap, but the houses to receive a new housemate always clapped loudest. Edward had been placed in Ravenclaw after only two seconds with the hat on his head.
“Harry Potter!”
As Harry sat down on the stool, he could see James Potter and his friends staring at him. Several other Gryffindors looked back and forth between Harry and James, as they noticed the physical resemblance. Harry could only imagine the rumours that were going to spread.
When the hat was placed on Harry’s head, the whispers muffled drastically, and he enjoyed the silence for a second before…
“Interesting, very interesting…you are a quick thinker…you’re quite resourceful and bright. You are also ambitious and have the passion that goes with it! And a thirst to prove yourself! I believe you will do best in SLYTHERIN!”
Harry felt his stomach leap for joy as the hat was lifted off his head and Professor McGonagall gave him a small push towards the Slytherin table. It was enough to move his shaking legs in the right direction. Harry sat next to Severus, who patted him on the back and gave him a warm welcome to Slytherin. When Harry lifted his head, he noticed James still staring at him with an unreadable expression.
Dumbledore stood up and cleared his throat. The Great Hall became silent. “I have a few words before we begin our beautiful start of term feast! Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!”
With those peculiar words, the table was filled with more food than Harry had ever seen in his whole life. Now that the sorting was over, the butterflies had left his stomach, and he felt ravenous. But what to try first? He finally decided on turkey with veggies and stuffing—all things he never got to eat at the Dursleys.
Between bites, Harry asked Severus, “A hat? I thought I’d have to write a test or cast a spell!”
“Nah, most first-years can’t cast spells when they arrive because of not being allowed to use magic outside of school,” Severus said.
When Harry looked over at the Gryffindor table, he could see that James Potter was still watching him now and then.
“What’s up with him?” Harry asked Severus, who glanced over at James, and sneered.
“He’s shocked you’re in Slytherin. Potters are known for being in Gryffindor. He doesn’t know who you are, but you have the family name, and he’s probably wondering why,” Severus explained.
“Maybe I should make something up, like his father had an affair?”
“I think that idea’s going to come up, anyway, because it’d be the most reasonable explanation,” Severus said with a shrug. “I bet he’ll probably be sending a very interesting letter home tonight.”
Harry and Severus spent the rest of the feast coming up with different things they could tell James about Harry’s identity. Harry figured it was best to tell James something he’d believe, and then maybe he would stop trying to figure it out.
By the end of the feast, they were introduced to their Head of House, Professor Slughorn. He guided the first-years down to the common room and showed them to their dorms. Harry was surprised by how welcoming it felt in the dungeons. It was exactly the right combination of sophistication, vintage décor, and warmth. He could very easily picture himself curling up with a book by the fireplace and sipping tea. The dorms were nice as well; each bed was large and looked quite comfortable. Every student also had a desk, dresser, and small closet. Harry found his trunk already sitting at the foot of one of the beds, and his uniforms hanging neatly in the closet. His ties and robes had already been changed to represent Harry’s new house, and they looked like they had been pressed recently, as well. Harry didn’t have time to ponder all this, because the first-years were being called down to Slughorn again.
“Because tomorrow is Saturday, we will have your orientation then. So, for now, lights out is at ten; nine-thirty on weekdays,” Professor Slughorn told them. “Should you need to contact me throughout the night for whatever reason, just hold your wand and say ‘communicare Slughorn’ and I’ll be right there.”
And like that, they were left to their own devices.