Our founders four decided
To form a school, which then into
Four houses was divided.
The founders each a house did lead
And hand-pick every student
Whose character, these founders knew,
Would prove their choices prudent.
Brave Gryffindor chose those in whom
Courage was manifest.
Sweet Hufflepuff loved those whose
Discipline was nurtured best.
Wise Ravenclaw chose those whose
Wit and knowledge were abundant.
Shrewd Slytherin chose those in whom
Ambition did run rampant.
The task to sort they left to me
So now I sit before you
I’ll end my song and sort you now
With haste, lest I should bore you.”
“Allen, Emma,” said the stern-looking Professor McGonagall.
As the tall, blonde girl made her way up to the stool, Sirius Black was lost in thought. Of course I’ll be a Slytherin, he thought gloomily. It really was too bad. He didn’t think that any of his friends from the train would be in Slytherin. James would probably be in Gryffindor like he hoped, and Matthew and Peter….Well, he wasn’t sure about them, but they didn’t seem like Slytherins.
“Black, Sirius.”
Sirius glanced up and saw the tall girl give a satisfied smile as she settled herself at the Ravenclaw table. Professor McGonagall was looking at the first-years expectantly, her narrow spectacles perched on the end of her nose.
Sirius trudged to the stool and McGonagall set the hat on his head. A little voice muttered in his ear. “Well, well, where shall we put you, Mr. Black?”
Let me take a wild guess: Slytherin? thought Sirius with a scowl.
“Now wait just a minute,” said the hat slickly. “I wouldn’t be so sure if I were you. Slytherins usually possess more cunningness and ambition than your little mind. No, you belong in…” Sirius held his breath.
“…GRYFFINDOR!”
Sirius slid off the stool in a daze. He couldn’t believe his luck. Grinning, he gave the hat to the professor. He hurried down to the table at the far end of the Great Hall to thunderous applause.
Sirius caught the eye of his cousin Andromeda from across the hall. Andromeda was a seventh-year Slytherin. She gave him a shrewd, calculating look and turned back to the Sorting as “Brady, Joshua” joined her house.
“Donohue, Matthew.”
As the burly, brown-haired boy sat down, Lily recognized him vaguely as one of the “troublemakers” from the train, but she was too nervous to care much. The Sorting Hat had sung its song a few minutes earlier about the different houses, and Lily wondered where she would be. Maybe Ravenclaw? That sounded like a nice house, and Lily had always been the smart girl in her class at school. Severus wanted her to be in Slytherin, she knew that. Of course Lily wanted to be with him, but something in her was reluctant to join that house…“You might get a bit of grief from some of the Slytherins.”…“Slytherins get a bad reputation for not liking Muggleborns.”…
Lily jumped as she heard her name called. Matthew Donohue was taking his seat with the Hufflepuffs. He waved at his friend at the Gryffindor table with a shrug and a half-smile.
The hat slid all the way past Lily’s ears, blocking her vision. She barely had time to wonder why it was so large if it was meant to be worn by first-years before the hat shouted,
“GRYFFINDOR!”
Lily jumped again and nearly fell off the stool. She handed the hat to Professor McGonagall and walked quickly to the Gryffindor table as her new house cheered. Lily glanced back over her shoulder at Severus and saw him watching her with a pained expression. She smiled sadly and perched on the end of the bench where there was an open space. Lily looked around at the boy who had scooted down to make room for her and recognized him at once. With a scowl she crossed her arms and turned back to the Sorting.
“Lupin, Remus.”
Remus Lupin shook his dirty-blonde hair out of his eyes as he sat down. He was a bit nervous about that hat. Would it know his secret? What if it didn’t think he belonged at Hogwarts at all? He slid the hat on his head and waited.
“Remus Lupin, the werewolf,” said a voice in his ear. Remus gulped. “Not to worry,” the hat continued kindly. “But you’ll need a lot of bravery, for you and for your friends. It’s a good thing you belong in GRYFFINDOR!”
Remus sighed in relief and sat down across from a pretty first-year with a glum expression. He gave her a slight smile and she smiled back half-heartedly. Both of them turned their attention back to the front as “MacDonald, Mary” was called.
“Pettigrew, Peter.”
Peter Pettigrew had never been the sort of boy who thought more highly of himself than he ought. As he passed a small, dark girl on her way to the Gryffindor table, he hoped, naturally, to be placed with one of the boys he met on the train, but he knew he wasn’t unusually brave or loyal, or smart or cunning for that matter. He supposed the hat would have to be a bit random on this one. Peter was surprised, therefore, when the hat began to speak to him.
“Peter Pettigrew. You’ve a fair bit of courage here, boy; more than you know. You’re going to need it.”
Courage? I haven’t got any courage, Peter answered. He decided to ignore the third voice which insisted that it required a lot of courage, or else foolishness, to be sitting on a stool in front of so many people, and talking to a hat.
“Oh, yes you have,” replied the hat. “Now see that you use it. You’ve got more potential than you realize. More potential to succeed, more potential to fail. Be brave, Peter Pettigrew, and you will be rewarded. Be cowardly and you will be penalized.”
And on that rather ambiguous note, the hat called out, “GRYFFINDOR!” and Peter trotted to the table at the far end of the Hall. He felt very confused and at the same time obligated; the hat had shown faith in him, and Peter was forced to come to terms with his budding courage; who knew when he would need it?
“Potter, James.”
James Potter swaggered up to the stool. His obvious self-assurance was envied by a few of the students still waiting to be sorted, although a certain first-year at the Gryffindor table narrowed her eyes with disdain. Oblivious, James seated himself and grinned at the hall as the stern witch placed the hat on his head.
“James Potter; from a long line of Gryffindors, if I do recall.” Not at all surprised that this hat knew his family history, James smiled smugly. “Full of the Potter arrogance, just like your father, I see,” the hat chuckled. James deflated slightly. “Oh, well, you’ll grow out of it in time. Now, where shall I put you?”
Gryffindor, of course, answered James.
“And why is that, Mr. Potter?” inquired the hat musingly.
All my family have been there, you said so yourself. Besides, my new friends are in Gryffindor. So you have to put me there! insisted James. Please? he added as an afterthought.
“Very well, Mr. Potter.” James could have sworn the hat was laughing at him. “As you wish.
“GRYFFINDOR!”
James grinned widely and sauntered down to the table, where his fellow Gryffindors were joyously celebrating his arrival. He squeezed onto the end of the bench next to the prissy girl he recognized from the train, grinning at her. She, too, recognized him, and all but recoiled in disgust. In attempting to scoot away from him she brushed against Sirius on her other side. Finding herself surrounded, she scowled and crossed her arms and legs, blinking back tears of frustration. James raised his eyebrows and smirked at Sirius behind the girl’s back.
“What’s the matter, princess? We won’t bite “much.” She huffed and made no answer. A sandy-haired first-year next to Peter was watching them with concern. James smiled and stuck out his hand.
“James Potter.” The boy looked at him, startled.
“Remus Lupin,” he said uncertainly, shaking James’ hand. James grinned wider and opened his mouth to say more, but an older student shushed them and he realized that there were still a few students left to be sorted, including”he smirked”slimy Snivellus.
“Smalls, Alice.”
At the Gryffindor table, Mary MacDonald crossed all her fingers in her lap. She tried to cross her toes, too, but her shoes were too tight, so she settled for crossing her arms and legs. All her effort paid off when the hat shouted,
“GRYFFINDOR!”
Mary grinned at Alice and edged over to make room as “Smith, Alexander” went to Hufflepuff.
“Snape, Severus,” called Professor McGonagall. Mary hurriedly checked herself to make sure everything was uncrossed. Sure she felt sorry for Lily, being separated from her friend and all, but there was no way she wanted that creepy Snape kid sharing a house with her.
Lily herself was on the edge of her seat, biting her lip as Snape settled himself on the stool. She wrung her hands distractedly as his head disappeared under the hat.
Severus hopped onto the stool and swept his gaze around the room nervously. The pampered-looking, bespectacled boy from the train smirked at him mockingly from Lily’s side. Severus glared before the hat came down over his eyes and he was plunged into darkness.
“Severus Snape, how nice to meet you. You’ve quite a thirst to prove yourself, certainly... But is it enough?”
Lily does, too. Why’d you have to put her in Gryffindor? Snape thought contemptuously.
“It’s where she belongs,” said the hat wisely. “And as you’ve guessed, Mr. Snape, you belong in…
“SLYTHERIN!”
Severus sighed and made his way away from Lily to the Slytherin table, where a prefect with white-blond hair indicated the seat beside him. Severus took one more backwards glance and sat.
The Sorting soon ended and the hat and stool were carried out of the room. At the staff table Albus Dumbledore stood up, and the hall fell silent. “Welcome back, students new and old alike; welcome to another year at Hogwarts. I know you must all be ravished after your long ride here, so I’ll save all the announcements for after you have eaten and are feeling conveniently sleepy.” There was an appreciative murmur of laughter. Without further ado, Dumbledore took his seat.
Gasps were heard from many of the first years as the golden dishes in front of them were suddenly piled high with every delicious food they had ever tasted, and a few they hadn’t. Even James couldn’t help but be a bit awed. He got over that quickly, however, and along with his neighbors he began helping himself to everything in reach and calling for the rest to be passed. After a few minutes of steady shoveling, he overheard one of his fellow first-years asking an older student about the classes and other goings-on at Hogwarts. Never one to pass up a chance to seem knowledgeable, James quickly jumped into the conversation, proudly retelling every bit of Hogwarts lore he had ever heard from older friends and relatives.
Sirius, too, had information to contribute, as did Alice. Mary listened eagerly to everything said. Peter, too, listened with wide eyes, asking questions and seeming very enthusiastic about everything. James couldn’t blame him.
Between Sirius and James, Lily was picking at her food. Hungry as she had to be after the trip, her plate was still half-full. She tried not to look like she cared about what James and Sirius were saying, but she couldn’t help but listen, eager as she must have been to learn about this strange and amazing new world. James smirked when he saw her suppress a smile at a particularly amusing anecdote involving James’ uncle Richard, the Hogwarts dungeons and a large amount of luminous paint.
“How about it, princess?” he asked teasingly. “Maybe you and I should go out and paint the dungeons red.”
Lily glanced up sharply, stiffening when she saw him smirking at her. She narrowed her eyes. “I think not, thank you.”
James raised his eyebrows in mock astonishment. “The princess speaks!” he exclaimed. Sirius snorted. Lily scowled and went back to her food.
After each of the first-years had eaten more than he or she had thought possible, the leftovers (what little there were) disappeared and Dumbledore stood once more. “Now that we are all fed and watered, I do have a few start-of-term announcements,” he said. “Firstly, we have a new caretaker this year. Mr. Pringle has retired to spend more time with his wife and dogs, so please give a warm welcome to his successor Mr. Filch.” There was a small smattering of applause. “In order to make his new job a bit easier, I would ask you all to review the list of forbidden items which can be found posted on the door to his office. Also we have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Vance.” Dumbledore gestured toward an elegant-looking young woman who smiled nodded. More applause.
“Finally,” said Dumbledore as the hall grew silent once more. “You first-years have all been sorted into your four separate and equal houses, but I would like to remind you that they need not be completely separate, which is to say that there is no reason why a Gryffindor and a Ravenclaw or a Hufflepuff or a Slytherin cannot be friends; you may be four houses, but we are one school. With that thought in mind, it’s off to bed with you.”
Lily stumbled sleepily up one more flight of stairs before the prefect ahead of her finally stopped in front of a large portrait of a very fat lady in a very pink dress. “Behind this portrait is the entrance to Gryffindor Tower,” said the female Prefect. “The password will be changed every few weeks, so be sure you remember it. The current password is ‘polyhedron.’” As she finished, the portrait swung forward, almost knocking into Peter and Remus, who jumped back quickly.
What’s a polyhedron? Lily wondered vaguely. It reminded her of maths, somehow….How am I supposed to remember the password if I don’t know what it means?
Lily followed her dorm mates through the common room and up yet more stairs before they finally came to a door marked “First Years.” Mary pushed the door open to reveal a circular bedroom containing five elegant-looking four-posters decked out in red and gold. As the other girls started locating their trunks and getting ready for bed, Lily wandered over to the window and put a knee up on the sill, staring out into the starry night. She wondered if the Slytherin common room was in a tower, too.
Distantly, Lily heard Mary strike up a conversation. “So, what do you think?” Mary asked the room at large. Her voice sounded muffled, as if she were bent over rummaging for something.
“About what?” Alice replied, her words distorted as she tried to suppress a yawn.
“Everything,” said Mary. “The school, the food, the people. Where are my pyjama trousers?”
“The school is big,” answered Annie, sitting cross-legged on her bed, taking out her pigtails. “The food is good. The headmaster is a bit odd. How should I know where your trousers are?”
Lily barely registered Mary saying something in reply as her mind began to wander. She tuned in again in time to here Mary shout, “Found them!” and wave a pair of flowered pajama bottoms in the air. Mary stood and entered the bathroom.
Alice was watching Lily in concern. “Lily? Are you all right?”
Annie looked up. “Yeah, what’s with you, Lily? You’re as bad as Snivellus. Antisocial, the both of you.”
Lily stiffened and glared at Annie. “His name is Severus,” she said coldly.
Annie gasped and clapped a hand over her mouth. “Sorry! I meant Severus, really. Severus. Severus Severus Severus,” she repeated, hitting herself on the head each time she said his name. “Seriously, though, come and talk to us. You too, um…Sorry, what’s your name again?”
“I’m Rania Patil,” answered the dark-haired girl from her bed where she was brushing out her long black hair.
“Rania, got it.” Annie began muttering to herself again. “Rania. Rania, Rania…”
Alice made a noise of recognition. “I’ve heard about your brother, Damin. He’s in my sister Lizzie’s class.” Rania smiled and nodded.
“So,” said Annie, letting go of her concentration. “What’s up, Lily?”
Lily shrugged. “What’s the matter?” Alice pressed. “Are you homesick?”
Lily shook her head. “It’s just, Sev…”
Alice’s brow cleared. Sitting cross-legged on her bed, she leaned back on her arms behind her and asked in concern, “Oh, you’re upset because Severus is in Slytherin?”
Lily nodded unhappily.
“So?” Annie said, as Mary returned and took a flying leap onto her bed, making the springs creak. “Emma is in Ravenclaw.”
“But you and Severus seemed like you knew each other from before the train,” Alice said.
“Yes, he lives near me,” said Lily in reply. “We’ve been friends for a while.”
Mary, catching up with the conversation from her own fout-poster, piped up, “But you heard what Dumbledore said. Students from different houses can still be friends.” Lily perked up slightly.
Alice grimaced and sat up, leaning her elbows on her knees. “In theory that’s true,” she said. “But Gryffindor and Slytherin are a special case. They’ve been rivals for centuries.” Rania gave a murmur of agreement as she set down her hairbrush.
“But it’s possible,” Mary insisted hopefully, as Lily wilted. “You’ll see each other at meals and breaks, and we’ll probably have some classes together, right, Alice? Rania?”
“Oh, we will,” Alice answered. “But you might end up wishing we didn’t.”