"Gryffindor!" the hat yelled. Harry walked happily towards the Gryffindor table. He was relieved to be in Gryffindor, here he could be a proper Marauder! Percy the Prefect got up and shook his hand vigorously. His parents were quite well known. James was a Marauder and Lily was one of the most intelligent students to ever go to Hogwarts.
By now, only three people were left to be sorted. "Turpin, Lisa" became a Ravenclaw. Then came Ron's turn. Harry crossed his fingers under the table and a second late, the hat shouted, "Hufflepuff!"
Harry sighed but clapped loudly with the rest. He looked around to see where all of his friends had landed. Neville was in Gryfindor with Harry, Hermione was, predictably, a Ravenclaw, Draco was Slytherin and Ron was Hufflepuff.
Harry looked down at his empty gold plate. He had only just realised how hungry he was. The pumpkin pasties from the train seemed years ago. He watched impatiently for the food to appear.
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore (as James had instructed his son to always call him) had got to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms open wide as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there.
"Welcome," his voice boomed but it was in a warm way rather than a scary way. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"
He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. Harry burst into a fit of hysterical laughter. Jams had warned him that Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore was mad, but this was something else entirely. Harry looked down to notice the plates around him had filled with food. He grinned and grabbed a bit of everything. Lily had warned him not to eat too much but everything seemed so good, he couldn't help it. Lily was a good cook, but the house elves were clearly better.