Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Harry Potter Z and the Sorcerer's Stone ❯ The Sorting Ceremony ( Chapter 9 )

The Sorting Ceremony

Ron and Harry changed into their school uniform and robes and soon enough, the train stopped. The sound of many other cabins of people scuttling for their uniforms, shoes and whatnot filled the hallway.

"Please leave the train in an orderly fashion, two by twos. Please leave all luggage on the train, it will be delivered at the school," said the conductor.

Everyone left the train in twos. As soon as Harry got off the train, he heard a familiar voice. "Ferst years, Ferst years, over here. All ferst years come this way," said Hagrid holding up a lantern. "Ello, Harry. How are ya?"

"Heya Hagrid, I'm okay."

Ron's eyes grew big as before, "Woah!" he exclaimed looking at Hagrid.

"All ferst years, come wit me." Hagrid said a last time as he turned and walked down a pathway. "You'll getcha first sights of Hogwarts soon e'nuff."

All the first year students followed Hagrid down the narrow path through some brush. They came upon a dock on a beautiful lake with a perfect mirror image of the moon. A roar of awes came over the group as they gazed the huge castle of Hogwarts that was on an island in the middle of the lake. Hagrid lead them down further to the docks where several boats were anchored to the dock.

"No mere than fer to a boat," Hagrid said aloud so that everyone heard. Everyone quickly got to his or her boats. Hagrid had a boat to himself, "is every ready? Okay then. FORWARD!"

On command the boats moved without oars or motors towards the castle. Harry and Ron couldn't keep still from looking all around them. The water was barely moving with only the ripples of the boats they were in. The sky was clear and the stars were shining. It was a gorgeous night. The trip was shorter than they thought. They reached the docks of the island, which was actually in the castle, and a huge granite staircase stood before them. At the top, stood huge wooden doors. Hagrid opened the door at the top of the staircase and led the students into a corridor. Inside was another set of giant doors, but not as big as the previous ones. An older woman stood in front of the doors, in emerald green robes.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she said as everyone got to the top. "I am Professor McGonagall. Since this is your first year, you are to be sorted by houses. They are Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Slytherin. As you attend here, your house will be like your family. Great achievements will earn you house points. Mischief will make you lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points wins the House Cup, a great honor. The ceremony will begin in front of the rest of the school momentarily."

Professor McGonagall opened the door and shut it behind her as she went into the other room to check on preparations. All of the first years were trying to straighten up. Ron cleaned his face with his sleeve, Harry tried and failed at making his hair neat, and Neville finally found his toad, Trevor, hopping towards the doors as McGonagall opened them back up.

"This way," she said to the first years. She led them into a great dining hall. It was big enough to put three or four of the Dursley's house in it. The ceiling showed the night sky with candles hovering over the student's heads.

"It's not really the sky," said Hermoine to Harry and Ron, "it's just bewitched to look like it. I read all about it in Hogwarts, A History."

The rest of the students where already sitting down in front of empty plates at four great dining tables that were sitting long ways in the room. At the head of the room, stood another great dinner table but going across the room with all the professors of Hogwarts. In the middle, stood Professor Dumbledore as Harry recognized him from the trading card. In front of Dumbledore, stood a single stool with an old ragged hat. Professor McGonagall picked up a scroll from the table, "when I call your name, please step forward and place the had on your head to be sorted."

Professor McGonagall went through the list of names alphabetically. Each time a student placed the hat on his or her head, it came to life and yelled out the name of the house they were to be in.

"Granger, Hermione!" Called McGonagall

Hermione walked up to the stool while telling herself to calm down. She placed the hat upon her head and within a moment the hat yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Several more names were called before reaching Malfoy. The hat didn't need to even touch his head before placing him into Slytherin.

"Potter, Harry." Called McGonagall and whispers began to happen worse than the leaky cauldron. Harry walked up to the stool, sat down, and placed the hat upon his head. The room went silent again as all eyes were staring at Harry.

"Interesting, very interesting indeed," said the hat. "a power resides in you that I have never felt. But where to put you, hmmm. Tough choice indeed."

Harry gripped the stool and began repeating to himself, "Not Slytherin."

"Not Slytherin, eh? They can help you, yes. Powerful they are, but what resides within you is beyond even their comprehension, I see. I also sense great courage within you as well as a desire to prove yourself. Only one way to help you with that, you shall be in GRYFFINDOR!"

A roar of applauds filled the hall, louder than the other students had. The table of Gryffindor stood up to great Harry as their new member. All the Weaslys were already there, instead of Ron who was soon placed into Gryffindor at the end of the ceremony since his name was near the end of the list.

Everyone settled into his or her seats as Professor Dumbledore rose from his seat. "I have just a few things to say before we eat. First I would like to congratulate all the houses on their new members. Secondly, the basement and the 3rd East wing are off limits to all students. Thirdly I just wanted to add, today's magic words are Vorhlar, Magnope, Tweekliep, and Farfentuger. Enjoy the feast." He rose his hands and before everyone appeared foods of all types what seemed out of thin air.

Each table was roaring with people eating and talking. The Gryffindor table was no exception.

"Me mums a witch, and me dad's a muggle. She didn't tell him until after they were married. It was a bit of a shock for him, I'd imagined," said Seamus Finnigan on of the other first years at the table.

Percy was about to grab some more rolls when a head appeared out of the basket. "Boo!" said the head laughing as a bunch more ghosts entered into the hall.

"Hello, Sir Nicholas, How was your summer?" said Percy a little pale faced.

"Dreadfully boring, I again got rejected for the headless hunt." Said the ghost, which was now floating over the table.

"I know you, you are Nearly Headless Nick." Said Ron.

"I prefer Sir Nicholas, thank you."

"Nearly headless? How can you be nearly headless?" asked Hermione.

"Like this," and Sir Nicholas pulled his head sideways to show that only a bit of flesh was attached from his nearly severed head. All the first years jumped at the sight of it but with the other students, it didn't phase them.

Harry felt something had never felt before, but it didn't feel unusual to him. It was like a pull from the stomach. He looked around the room until he came what he thought was the source of the feeling. A man stood with his back to the wall behind the professors' dining table. His hair black and spiky like Harry's was but it was mostly straight up. He wore an orange shirt with black pants and a jacket. His eyes were closed until Harry gazed up them. He opened his eyes straight at Harry like he knew Harry was looking at him. Harry knew him from somewhere, but did not know where. A sharp pain shot through Harry's forehead originating from his scar.

"You okay Harry?" Ron asked worried.

"Yeah, I am okay." He replied, "Percy, who is that guy standing behind the professors?"

"That is Mr. Scowls. He's one of the other groundkeepers here but no one has seen him do anything but eat and roam around. He doesn't talk much at all, just gives mean looks to students."

Harry looked at the man again and his eyes were shut. He then looked around and found out that he was also on the receiving end of glares. The first one he noticed was Malfoy, glaring at him with disgust from the Slytherin table along with half the table itself glancing over every once in a great while. The second one struck Harry with an odd feeling of coldness. A man sitting at the professors' table wearing a purple turban was giving him a piercing glare as well. When Harry made eye contact, he turned away.

The diner ended with a huge desert. Ron overstuffed himself and felt nauseated. Percy, who was the lead student of Gryffindor, led the house to their dormitories. They followed him up moving staircases and by paintings that actually moved and spoke to the students. They reached the end of the corridor to a painting of a fat woman in pink. "Password?" she asked.

"Cabot Draconis," said Percy and the door to the rooms opened. "Here is the common room. Up those stairs are the dormitories where your luggage has been already placed. Right for boys, left for girls."

Harry, Ron, Seamus, and Neville all roomed together in a big room. It was the biggest room Harry has ever seen, even for four people to stay in. The beds were very comfortable and like Percy said, all their belongings where already there waiting to be unpacked. Harry's first day at Hogwarts' School of Witchcraft and Wizardry would begin in the morning.