We docked our boats, or rather, they docked themselves, and we stepped out into the night, walking carefully through the dark up to the amazing stone castle, which got larger and more extraordinary the closer we got.

The enormous wild-looking man knocked heavily on the door, and it swung open immediately. The woman who greeted us looked like all my worst suspicions about English boarding schools rolled into one human being. She had black hair tinged with gray, pulled back into a tight, flawless bun, and long green robes with a remarkably high  Victorian-esque collar. She looked stern and nunnish, as in I could see her hitting someone with a ruler.

“The first years, Professor McGonogall.” Said the large hairy man.

“Thank you, Hagrid, I will take them from here.” She replied without smiling.

She let us into a large entry hall, lit with torches (which was cool) with a single staircase in the center and hallways leading left and right. It was very large, and in the darkness, I couldn’t see the ceiling. I had never been in a castle before. I imagined that it might look like a giant cathedral, but it didn’t. It looked like a place where stories from “days of yore” would happen.

We followed Professor McGonogall to the left hallway into an empty chamber.

“This is it,” I told Mikaela, who had appeared from behind me. “This is where the sausage grinding will happen.”

We were all stuffed in there, shoulder-to-shoulder, and I could barely see over the tall heads in front of me.

“Welcome to Hogwarts,” said the scary nun woman. “The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the great hall, you will be sorted into your houses.”

“That’s just code for sausage-grinding.” I whispered at Mikaela, who was beginning to look a little annoyed at my wearing preoccupation with this theory. I got elbowed.

“The Sorting is a very important ceremony because while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts.” McGonogall droned on and on. I wondered if we got to pick who our family was, or if she was just going to draw names out of a hat like most teachers did in Elementary School? That sort of sorting usually didn’t pan out well for me, because every year since second grade, I had got put into a different class than Mikaela with a bunch of really annoying people who I hated, and she got put in the class with the nice teacher and the funny kids.

“You will have classes with your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room. The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin.” 

When she said “house”, did she mean like, a HOUSE house, or what was she talking about? Was it a British thing?

“Each house has it’s own noble history, and each house has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, and any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will be awarded the House Cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.”

Mikaela and I looked at each other, silently celebrating that we never broke any rules, and whatever house we were in would gain points by the thousand because of it.

“The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting.”

“Wait, does that mean there’s a test?!” I whispered nervously. “I didn’t study!” This notion alarmed everyone within earshot.

“I don’t know, I don’t know!” Mikaela whispered back. Professor McGonogall was looking out at several students in a sort of judgmental way.

“I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly.” Said the Professor. She walked out of the dead silent room. The moment the heavy doors clinked shut behind her, everyone burst into nervous chatter.

“We don’t have to pass a test, do we?” asked a large girl with curly hair in terror.

“That redhead said we have to wrestle a troll!” Squeaked a tiny boy.

“I’m not worried,” said Hermione. “I spent all summer practicing spells. I wonder which one I’ll need? They won’t ask us to perform any jinxes, I expect.” I stopped paying attention to what she was saying now and tried to remember what she had said before.

“Gryffindor is for brave people, Ravenclaw is for smart people, Slytherin is for bad people, but what the heck is a Hufflepuff?” I wondered.

“We’re both brave, I think.” Said Mikaela thoughtfully. “I think we should try for Gryffindor.”

“But Ravenclaw is for smart people!” I argued. “We’re both smart!”

“I’d never get into Ravenclaw!” Mikaela had, since the middle of fifth grade, gotten into the habit of underestimating herself.

“Yes you would, and so would I. We’re creative geniuses.”

“That’s not the same as being smart,” said Mikaela. I thought about that. I was really, really bad at math and science and history, so did that disqualify me from Ravenclaw?

“What about Hufflepuff?” I suggested.

“What’s Hufflepuff?” asked Mikaela.

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s the best house.”

“Ha!” said a voice behind us. We turned around to see Draco Malfoy.

“How dare you laugh at Hufflepuff?!?” Mikaela shook her fist at him. Draco said nothing, just sneered and walked back through the crowd to his friends, giving me the impression that he had come over to us just to do that one thing. I wriggled through the crowd and grabbed Neville’s shoulder.

“You grew up with wizards, right?” I asked. He nodded. “What the hell is a Hufflepuff?”

“Erm,” said Neville, who was more nervous about the Sorting than anyone else, apparently. “I think it’s for people who aren’t really brave, or smart, or cunning, like me, probably.” He said.

I didn’t have time to encourage Neville. At that moment, the entire room was flooded with pearly-white, transparent ghosts, something that none of us were prepared for. It was made all the more startling because several people screamed at once, which made me scream as well. They all seemed rather nonchalant, especially compared to all of us, who were screaming still. The ghosts were dressed oddly, like from medieval times. They glided across the room, arguing, taking absolutely no notice of us, even though we were screaming.

“Forgive and forget, I say! We aught to give him a second chance!” Said a little round man who was dressed like a monk. He probably was a monk. 

“My dear friar,” said a ghost with a ruffed collar, like Shakespeare, “Haven’t we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and, you know, he’s not even really a ghost!” He looked down all of a sudden. “I say, what are you all doing here?” He asked. No one said anything. I doubted even the wizard-born students had known many ghosts, and here was a whole troop of them.

“New students!” Exclaimed the monk. “About to be sorted, I suppose? Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!” He said proudly. “My old house, you know.”

“Move along, now.” McGonogall had appeared behind us, causing me to scream again. She eyed me with distain. “The sorting ceremony is about to start.”

We were led through some gigantic wooden doors with odd patterning into a magnificent giant room. It was more than magnificent, it was... enchanted. Magical. No torches here, just candles, millions of little lights floating in the sky. And it was  a sky, not a ceiling. A midnight blue sky full of stars. Bobbing through the crowd, trying desperately to get a better glimpse of everything as one of the shortest kids there. I couldn’t see everything, but I glimpsed four long, long tables on the grand stone floor, another long, long table with teachers looking like a panel of judges. 

Professor McGonogall led us in a line up to the front table, where we stood like freaks in a freak show, staring stupidly out at all the other students.

I didn’t know what was going on. I was certainly terrified. I couldn’t see Mikaela, or Neville, or even Hermione, probably because they were behind me and not in front of me, but all of a sudden I felt alone and very out of place.

McGonogall put a brown shabby hat on a stool. She looked at it rather fondly. I didn’t question it. I just accepted the hat.

Everyone was staring at it, so I looked at it too, and it started coming to me in slow bouts that perhaps this hat had something to do with the sorting.

All of a sudden, the hat moved. A rip opened  like a mouth, making just about every first year jump.

“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 you

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 folks 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!”

Okay, so we were to be sorted into our houses by a singing hat. I felt relieved. Everyone applauded once the hat had finished, and it “bowed”, as much as a hat can bow.

“When I call your name, you will put on the hat, and sit on the stool to be sorted.” Said McGonogall, who had a long roll of paper in her hands. “Bones, Susan” she called. Susan Bones got up out of the line of first-years and went to put on the hat. She sat on the stool as the hat fell over her eyes. In less than three seconds, it shouted,

“HUFFLEPUFF!!”

Susan jumped up and ran to the Hufflepuff table, who all welcomed her. She shook the hand of an extraordinarily handsome boy with blonde hair and startling brown eyes. 

They seemed friendly enough, but all the same, I hoped I didn’t get put in Hufflepuff. All the other houses, even Slytherin, had something going for them, but Hufflepuff just seemed weak and plain and ordinary. The last thing I wanted, after finding out I was magical and being shipped off to wizard school where candles float and hats talk, was to be plain and ordinary. It would be like settling for the role of “extra” in a movie that I could have been the star of.

“Boot, Terry.” Called McGonogall.

“RAVENCLAW!” shouted the hat when it touched his head. He went off to join the  kids at the Ravenclaw table. I thought I should be in Ravenclaw. 

The first Gryffindor was named Lavender Brown. She looked excited. I decided that Gryffindor was probably the house everyone wanted to be in, which made me not want to be in it.

Millicent Bulstrode, the jaw-girl from my boat, became the first Slytherin. They were the ones who were supposed to be all bad.

After that, it got boring, as all the students were sorted. I was extremely anxious. My stomach was turning. I didn’t know what to hope for! I didn’t know what was going to happen! The hat moved so fast, it would be only an instant on my head, and then the next seven years of my life would be set. What if I got into a different house than Mikaela? It didn’t look like any of us had a choice in the matter. The hat was on, then it was off. Some of the students took seconds longer than others, but that was it.

Hermione was sorted into Gryffindor. What did that mean? Oh my god. I was so nervous. I was starting to shake like Neville.

There weren’t a lot of Brits with J names. Soon, it was my turn. I walked forward in a sort of jerky manner, and stared wildly as I put the hat on my head. Each singular moment felt like it lasted forever. Every  minuscule motion my arm and hand mad was like a dead heavy weight being lifted for hours. The hat slipped over my eyes, and everything was dark. I heard a little whisper in my ear.

“Don’t be so terrified, I’ll put you where you belong. Hmm... a strong mind, I see.”

“Ravenclaw?” I asked in my head.

“Difficult,” said the hat.

“Not Hufflepuff.” I pleaded all of a sudden. “I don’t want to go in Hufflepuff.”

“I can see that, and it’s certain you belong elsewhere. But where?” It asked itself rhetorically. 

“I have no preferences, except I don’t want to go in Hufflepuff.”

“Don’t worry, I will put you where you belong.” The hat reassured me again.

“SLYTHERIN!!!” Shouted the hat atop my head. I took it off numbly. What the hell?!? I thought. In a daze, I looked around for the Slytherin table, which I had evidently lost the place of since I put the hat on. I hadn’t been looking much in that direction, anyways. I’d just assumed I wouldn’t be in Slytherin. That was just an assumption I’d made. 

I stumbled down into the mess of the Great Hall, and found an empty seat next to the unfortunate-looking Millicent Bullstrode, far away from Crabbe and Goyle, who were apparently going to be part of my “family” forever now. I looked up desperately at Mikaela, who was staring in disbelief at me. Oh, no, I realized. Mikaela would never be in Slytherin. 

“Don’t look so upset.” said a tall, black-haired girl who looked a few years older than me. I didn’t realize that I must look extremely upset. She gave me a smile. “Other people won’t admit it, but Slytherin is the best house. Chuck out anything you’ve heard. They’re all just jealous,” she grinned madly and lowered her voice, “or scared. We’ve taken the house cup seven years in a row, you know.”

“I’m not upset.” I lied. “I thought I might be in Ravenclaw.” 

The black-haired girl scoffed. “Really, though, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff have never come anywhere close to winning. It’s always been us and the Gryffs, neck-in-neck, till we come out on top. Serves them right, those pompous, high-and-mighty.... Anyways, you want to win, right?” She asked. “Or at least have a shot at winning? You’ll get that with us, not with Ravenclaw.” 

I did like winning.

“And just wait till you see our common room. You’ll love it, guaranteed. Do you like... being underwater? The way the sun breaks and moves through waves?” My eyes widened.

“Well, our common room and our dorms are down in the dungeons, with windows facing out underneath the Hogwarts Lake. We see the giant squid go by on a regular basis.” 

Giant squidI?!?! I thought excitedly. I was grinning now.

“GRYFFINDOR!” Shouted the hat. Neville was wearing it now. He jumped up from his stool and ran down to the table with the hat still on his head. A bunch of people laughed. Some of the other Slytherins sneered.

“Poor git,” said the black-haired girl.

Malfoy strutted up there like peacock. I already knew what was going to happen, but I sincerely hoped that it wasn’t anyways.

“SLYTHERIN!” Shouted the hat, barely touching his head.

Damn.

He ran down smugly to sit next to Crabbe and Goyle. I would have to spend “free time” with him now. 

“That kid is a jerk,” I said aloud, hoping to persuade the Slytherins around me who didn’t know.

“He’s one of us now, though, which means we protect him.” Said the black-haired girl firmly.

“Plus, he’s a Malfoy. They’re loaded, I hear.” Said a boy next to her. “Think we can get some new Quidditch gear out of him?”

“Shut up, Marcus, he’ll hear you.” said the girl. “Maybe.” she added.

It was Mikaela’s turn. She looked more nervous than I had felt. She was pale white and thoughtful-looking. She gingerly placed the hat on her head. Something was going through her mind, I could tell. She had made some decision.

The hat sat on her head for more than a whole minute. I was frozen.

“GRYFFINDOR!!!!!” Shouted the hat.