Chapter 2.
Sorting Surprise
By Sarah
Lily looked up at James with fear in her sparkling green eyes. “Can’t imagine.” Sirius said standing up and opening the compartment door.
“You know, with Dumbledore around and all.”
“Yes, I guess.” Lily said walking into the crowd outside the door.
All the kids seemed to be whispering about what happened not to long ago with Lily, Severus, Grabble, and Goyle.
A round little boy with blonde hair came wobbling up to Lily with excitement. He was just about to start flooding her with questions, but James and Sirius pulled her away. The little boy tried to run and catch up, but they all three knew that would never happen counting on their speed.
“Firs’ years!”
Lily’s eyes widened as she got off the train. Well, the man’s size was quite alarming. Even James and Sirius started eye’s almost bulging out. Most of the first years stopped, and went to farther. He was a quite large man, well not quite. Very large in fact. He seemed to look about half a giants real size. All 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th years kept on walking.
One boy laughed at all the 1st years and explained that he was Hagrid, Game Keeper. Hagrid smiled up at all of them.
Many boys started laughing. “Huh! I knew that!”
“Oh, it’s obvious!”
“Ha! And you all thought I was scared.”
“Oh, don’t be a chicken Peter!”
Sirius and James were one of them.
Lily rolled her eyes. “Really guys?” She laughed as the boys shrugged.
They all crowed around Hagrid, who was beaming.
“A’ right’ all of ya’! I got eh’ a surprise!”
Hagrid walked all the first years over to a black dark river, with the moon’s reflection the only one you could see. Along the shore were small two person boats. There were hundreds of them all in one big line. James walked forward along with few brave others. “I’ll be need’n seve’n to go up with’ me in the firs’ boat.” Hagrid yelled to every first years. “And a few’ other years!” Hagrid shouted to the other students.
James, Sirius, and five other kids shrugged and climbed into Hagrid’s boat. All the other first years hopped into other boats along with Lily.
“James.”
“Sirius”
“Kevin”
“Ava”
“Zoda”
“Gretel”
“Todd”
They all shook hands with one another. Out of all of the students, James and Sirius seemed to be the only first years. Gretel and Ava, were the only girls out of the bunch. But they looked like it didn’t matter. James smiled. “So, any of you play Quidditch?” James asked trying to break the silence.
All the students looked up and all laughed.
Sirius and James sat there feeling slightly unconformable. “What?” Sirius asked quietly.
“We all play on the Quidditch team!” Ava laughed.
“Oh!” Sirius and James said together.
James felt like an idiot.
“Well, what about the two other players?” Sirius asked.
“Oh, they left last year. We need two more players.” Kevin told them.
“Yeah, if only first years could try out, or we would consider you two. You look like two good Quidditch players!” Todd told them.
James and Sirius grinned.
“I play Seeker.” James told them.
“And I, Keeper.” Sirius added.
“Funny you should say that!” Todd laughed. “Just the two we need! Make sure you tryout next year boys.”
James couldn’t help sighing. He did wish first years could tryout. He looked at Sirius and could tell he was thinking the same thing.
They slowly went under a bridge.
“Right after this bridge is the castle.” Ava told James and Sirius.
Sirius could see the bridge above them went on for a while so he started some conversation. “What house do all of you play for?” He asked.
“Griffindor, of course. Only the best house!” Zoda laughed.
James smiled. “That’s where we want to be.” James told them.
“Good.” Gretel said relived. “We’ll need you next year. Slytherin’s won for the past two years. We won’t bare it, if they beat us another two!” Gretel said shaking her head with frustration. “Ere’ we are!” Hagrid yelled behind them.
James and Sirius got on the edges of there seats, while the Griffindor Team acted as no big deal.
The boat slowly came out from under the bridge. Awe’s, and Ooooooo’s came from behind them.
James’s eyes lit up at the sight of the castle.
He could see the outline of the castle in the dark by the tiny little lights of dots from the windows.
It was amazing! No, first year, could take there eyes off of it. Sirius looked at James with a grin from ear to ear. “Amazing!” Sirius said to James looking back up.
“Ain’t it’?” Hagrid whispered.
All of the boats hit the shore line and came to a halt.
Everyone quickly hopped out of their boat as fast as they could as though it was a race to see who could get up to the castle first.
“Calm down! Calm down!” Hagrid yelled to everyone. “Line up an’ follow me.” All the kids pulled and budged into a almost good line.
They all followed Hagrid shouting and pointing towards the building.
“They say there’s a big room where we all eat and it’s huge and, and-“
“What house will we go into?”
“Will there be a test?”
“I hope not!”
“Where are we going?”
“I miss mummy, John!”
“Quite, quite, all of yeh’!” Hagrid said to calm everyone down.
The crowd finally calmed down, but went to a whisper.
“Yeh’ll all go in and follow me to the Great Hall and yeh’ll be sorted into yeh houses.”
All the kids were whispering even louder and pushing one another to get closer to the front of the line.
Lily pushed her way to James and Sirius. “Hey!” Lily said breathing very hard.
“Amazing, isn’t it?” Sirius asked Lily with excitement.
“I know!” Lily said looking back up at the castle. “I can’t wait till sorting!” Lily said, now shaking with excitement.
“Sorting? Ha! I can’t wait till the feast.” James laughed.
Lily smiled and nodded quickly and looked up at Hagrid.
“Ello’!” Hagrid smiled down at Lily.
“I’m Lily.” Lily tried to yell over all the voices.
“Pleasure to meet yeh’ Lily!” Hagrid beamed.
Hagrid smiled out at the students and slowly opened the doors to Hogwarts castle.
When the door was open, no one said a word.
Hagrid, not looking inside the castle, frowned at how all the students looked scared rather than happy and cheerful.
Hagrid turned around.
“Peeves!” Hagrid roared.
Peeves appeared to be a ghost, a quite frightening looking one.
Peeves was not only standing there, but he was there with two other ghosts. And you would never guess what the were holding with their sneering faces!
Water balloons.
“Now’ everyone! Stay calm.” Hagrid yelled.
But it was too late. The first balloon had been shot, this meant only one thing to all of those first years. War.
“RUN!” James yelled.
All the students ran for their lives as water got sprayed all over their new robes.
One hit Lily right on her robe. She screamed very loudly along with others. “MY NEW ROBE!” Lily yelled with a moan.
Not Sirius nor James had ever seen Lily so mad.
The first years looks every direction when they came to two hallways. “GO INTO THE BIG DOORS!” Some kid shouted with a wild guess.
Everyone nodded and quickly sprinted across the hall to the big doors.
“And so, soon our first years will neatly come in-“ A thin tall witch said to all the other years seated at their house’s table. It was too late.
BAM!
The doors of the Great Hall flung open as hundreds of first years streamed in.
All the heads of the other students were facing the first years. The boys James and Sirius had already met were already seated at the Griffindor table, laughing along with others.
“Oh! I wish my first year was like this!”
“Look at their robes, Jenny!”
“Poor little first years.”
“They’ll most likely want to leave now.”
“Oh no! Here comes Dumbledore!”
“Oh, he won’t get mad.”
“ I don’t know.”
“Let me guess, Peeves the Poltergeist?”
“I need to learn some tricks from that Peeves!”
All the first years started down at their feet, all of them just knowing this would be the last time the walked into Hogwarts.
“It was too good to be true.” Lily sighed.
“Hagrid?”
An old wizard with a long silver beard came quickly to the first years. He talked smoothly though, and did not look mad one bit.
Hagrid was now coming out from hiding behind the first years, which didn’t work out to well.
“Righ’ here Sir.” Hagrid choked.
“Is everyone alright? Will you be able to be sorted and fed before you change into new clothes?” Dumbledore asked smoothly.
Everybody, with relief, nodded.
“Well good!”
Dumbledore led the line up the steps right under a stool which laid an old, patched up, hat.
“I will call your name and you are to sit up on the stool and you will be sorted.”
The first years waited for something to happen but everyone sat there watching the hat, waiting.
No one knew what to expect and waited, but then! That hat’s mouth opened and started to sing.
In times of old, when I was new,
And Hogwarts barely started,
The founders of our noble school
Thought never to be parted.
United by a common goal,
They had the selfsame yearning
To make the world's best magic school
And pass along their learning.
"Together we will build and teach"
The four good friends decided.
And never did they dream that they
Might some day be divided.
For were there such friends anywhere
As Slytherin and Gryffindor?
Unless it was the second pair
Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw,
So how could it have gone so wrong?
How could such friendships fail?
Why, I was there, so I can tell
The whole sad, sorry tale.
Said Slytherin, "We'll teach just those
Whose ancestry's purest."
Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those whose
Intelligence is surest."
Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those
With brave deeds to their name."
Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot
And treat them just the same."
These differences caused little strife
When first they came to light.
For each of the four founders had
A house in which they might
Take only those they wanted, so,
For instance, Slytherin
Took only pure-blood wizards
Of great cunning just like him.
And only those of sharpest mind
Were taught by Ravenclaw
While the bravest and the boldest
Went to daring Gryffindor.
Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest
and taught them all she knew,
Thus, the houses and their founders
Maintained friendships firm and true.
So Hogwarts worked in harmony
for several happy years,
but then discord crept among us
feeding on our faults and fears.
The Houses that, like pillars four
had once held up our school
now turned upon each other and
divided, sought to rule.
And for a while it seemed the school
must meet an early end.
what with dueling and with fighting
and the clash of friend on friend.
And at last there came a morning
when old Slytherin departed
and though the fighting then died out
he left us quite downhearted.
And never since the founders four
were whittled down to three
have the Houses been united
as they once were meant to be.
And now the Sorting Hat is here
and you all know the score:
I sort you into Houses
because that is what I'm for.
But this year I'll go further,
listen closely to my song:
though condemned I am to split you
still I worry that it's wrong,
Though I must fulfill my duty
and must quarter every year
still I wonder whether sorting
may not bring the end I fear.
Oh, know the perils, read the signs,
the warning history shows,
for our Hogwarts is in danger
from external, deadly foes
And we must unite inside her
or we'll crumble from within
I have told you, I have warned you...
let the Sorting now begin.
When the hat closed it’s mouth, the hall burst into applaud. First years shrugged and joined the applaud.
Dumbledore raised his hand and the applaud stopped. He took out a look roll of parchment and began to read aloud.
“Abbott Amy.”
A little girl in pig tails ran up to the stool. Right as the hat touched her head it yelled, “HUFFLEPUFF!”
Everyone from the Hufflepuff table clapped and cheered as bright faced Amy ran over to the table.
Names and names filled James’s ears. Griffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, Griffindor! Finally Sirius was called.
“Black Sirius!”
Sirius shook hands with James and ran up to the stool. “Yes, yes, another Black. You are expecting to go along with your siblings in Slytherin, aren’t you? Ah, but you do not want Slytherin! Ah, but you may be right. I’ll have to say, GRIFFINDOR!”
Sirius’s mouth fell open with a wide smile as hundreds of cheers came from Griffindor. Sirius sat down saving two spots and winked at Lily and James. Names went on, “Evens Lily!”
Lily smiled at James and hurried up on the stool. Right when it touched her head, “GRIFFINDOR!”
Lily smiled widely and ran over by Sirius. Lupin Remus was placed into Griffindor, Snape Severus was placed into Slytherin, where her belonged James thought, And finally, “Potter James!”
James smiled and ran up onto the stool. He could she the Quittach team in Griffindor crossing their fingers. The hat sat on James as Lily and Sirius closed their eyes tight. “GRIFFINDOR!”
The loudest of all cheers came from Griffindor. James hurried over to Lily and Sirius with excitement. “Sirius! Lily! We’re together!” James laughed with excitement as he sat down next to Lily.
The last name was called, Peter Pettigrew, and all the tables began to talk. James and Sirius shook hand with many Quittach players, most likely the team had told them about Sirius and James want to join next year. “Settle down!” Dumbledore began. “I would like to welcome all of you to another at Hogwarts! Before we begin the feast, I would like to tell all of you we have made a very big change this year for the Quittach teams! I would like to aware all of you, for the next two years only, we will be letting first year’s tryout for the Quittach teams!”
Loud talking burst into the hall. James’s and Sirius’s mouths dropped. The Quittach Team all patted them on the back. “Quittach Cup here we come!” Todd cried.
“May the feast begin!”
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