Harry The Hufflepuff

Chapter 2: The Sorting Ceremony

Harry's P.O.V.

Professor McGonagall lead us into the castle and into what I assumed was an antechamber used for waiting. Once we were all gathered inside the room McGonagall did a small speech.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, the Sorting Ceremony will begin shortly. While here, at Hogwarts, your House will be like your family. Success will earn you House Points, any rule-breaking and you will lose House Points. The House with the most points at the end of the year will win the House Cup!" She told us before leaving. (A/N: Paraphrased from the actual book, which again, I stress, I do not own.)

Susan and Hannah were chatting quietly, about which House they hope to be in, so too was the rest of our group. Soon Hermione asked me: "What about you Harry? Where would you like to be sorted into?" I mumbled an answer while looking down.

"What was that Harry?" Draco teased a bit, rather good-naturedly when compared to the first meeting in Diagon and then again when he first opened our compartment door on the train.

I sighed before looking down and saying just loud enough for them to hear: "I honestly don't care, I just want to be in the same House as Susan." I flushed at the admission and chanced a peek out of the corner of my eye at Susan and saw that, even though she was blushing too, she had a huge beaming smile on her pretty face. Pretty? Why do I keep thinking these thoughts?!

The group chuckled a bit as Susan gave me a hug. We suddenly tuned into the world around us by first hearing Ron Weasley talking about needing to battle a troll which one of his twin brothers told him that was need to be done. Most who heard snorted at that.

Then a couple of ghosts strolled in and talking about a poltergeist. Before one of them introduced himself as the Fat Friar and hoped to see them in Hufflepuff.

"Why would he want to see us in Hufflepuff instead of any of the other Houses?" I asked, this time it was Hermione who answered.

"Well, according to Hogwarts, A History, each House has a ghost who was sorted into that specific House before they died. The Fat Friar, that we just met, is the Hufflepuff ghost. Then there's Sir Nicholas for Gryffindor, The Gray Lady in Ravenclaw and Slytherin has the Bloody Baron," she told us with the usual speech pattern of someone who seemingly swallowed a book.

Just then Professor McGonagall walked back in and said, with a small smile: "We're ready for you now."

We all gaped upon entering the Great Hall. Hermione must've been more nervous than she let on as she was talking about what she read in Hogwarts, A History. Guess one of the subject matters was how the ceiling in the Great Hall was bewitched to look like the sky outside.

We suddenly stopped at a platform that made the staff table up a little higher than the four House tables. Behind them were four big hour glasses topped by a lion, a eagle, a badger and a serpent each. They must be for the House Points, I assumed, because it wasn't telling time or trickling of the stones. Speaking of stones, each hourglass had different colored stones, rubies for the lions, emeralds for the snakes, sapphires for the eagles and an unidentifiable yellow stone for the badgers.

I turned my attention back to McGonagall as she said: "Now, as I call your name, you will come up, put on the Sorting Hat and sit on the school. Once your House is called, you'll take it off and go sit at your table to join your new Housemates."