Percy Jackson and the Department of Mysteries

45) What A Nice, Happy, Warming Song

Professor Grubbly-Plank's arrival announced the fact that the first years would soon be arriving. Moments after she sat down, McGonagall walked through the doors carrying a stool and the Sorting Hat. A long line of scared first years followed her. As she sat the stool and Sorting Hat down, they lined up in front of the staff table.

With a held breath, we all waited for the Sorting Hat to begin its song. The brim of the hat opened wide, and it burst into song.

In times of old when I was new
And Hogwarts barely started
The founders of our noble school
Thought never to be parted:
United by a conman goal,
They had the selfsame yearning,
To make the world's best magic school
And pass upon their learning.
"Together we will build and teach!"
The four good friends decided
And never did they dream that they
Might someday be divided,
For we're there such friends anywhere
As Slytherin and Gryffindor?
Unless it was the second pair
Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw?
So how could it have gone so wrong?
How could such friendships fail?
Why, I was there and so can tell
The whole sad, sorry tale.
Said Slytherin, "We'll teach just those
Whose ancestry is purest."
Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those whose
Intelligence is surest."
Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those
With brave deeds to their name."
Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot,
And treat them just the same."
These differences caused little strife
When first they came to light,
For each of the four founders had
A House in which they might
Take only those they wanted, so,
For instance, Slytherin
Took only pure-blood wizards
Of great cunning, just like him,
And only those of sharpest mind
Were taught by Ravenclaw
While the bravest and the boldest
Went to daring Gryffindor.
Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest,
And taught them all she knew,
This the Houses and their founders
Retained friendships firm and true.
So Hogwarts worked in harmony
For several happy years,
But then discord crept among us
Feeding on our faults and fears.
The Houses that, like pillars four,
Had once held up our school,
Now turned upon each other and,
Divided, sought to rule.
And for a while it seemed the school
Must meet an early end,
What with dueling and with fighting
And the clash of friend on friend
And at last there came a morning
When old Slytherin departed
And though the fighting then died out
He left us quite downhearted.
And never since the founders four
We're whittled down to three
Have the Houses been united
As they once were meant to be.
And now the Sorting Hat is here
And you all know the score:
I sort you into Houses
Because that is what I'm for,
But this year I'll go further,
Listen closely to my song:
Though condemned I am to split you
Still I worry that it's wrong,
Though I must fulfill my duty
And must quarter every year
Still I wonder whether Sorting
May not bring the end I fear.
Oh, know the perils, read the signs,
The warning history shows,
For our Hogwarts is in danger
From external, deadly foes
And we must unite inside her
Or we'll crumble from within.
I have told you, I have warned you....
Let the Sorting now begin.

Normally, I found the songs to be quite amusing. This year, I didn't. I think everyone agreed with me, because the normally thunderous applause was scattered and marked with mutters and whispers.

"That was odd," Justin said.

"I wonder if it's ever given any warnings before," Hannah frowned.

"I'll bet it has," I said, turning to ask Cedric if he knew anything about it. I paused, turned back to Hannah, then joked, "It definitely knows how to give advice in rhyme."

After waiting for the whispers to die down, McGonagall called out the first name, "Abercrombie, Euan."

A terrified boy sat on the stool, the hat only staying above his neck thanks to his considerably large ears.

The hat considered him for a moment, then called out in a booming voice, "GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindor table erupted into loud clapping as the boy joined their table, but he looked so scared, and ignored all the pats on the back in favor for staring at his lap.

The line of first years slowly thinned. Finally, the girl on the train whose innocent ears were scarred by my dirty mouth (Zeller, Rose), was sorted into Hufflepuff. She made sure to sit a ways away from me.

As Dumbledore rose to his feet, I felt relieved. A bit of familiarity.

"To our newcomers," Dumbledore stretched his arms wide with a beaming smile, "welcome! To our old hands — welcome back! There is a time for speech making, but this is not it. Tuck in!"

I didn't immediately place it, but it felt like something was missing.

"Why didn't he call out the names of the new campers?" Hannah asked me.

"I don't know," I frowned. Every year, after the initial sorting, Dumbledore announced the names of those who would be going to camp. Now, it was missing.

I looked across the Hall for some sort of explanation, and my eyes landed on Draco. He was staring at his food, looking quite pale, saying something quietly to Pansy. She looked sad.

I understood abruptly. The names weren't announced because there were no names to be announced. With the upcoming war, all the young newcomers wither joined Kronos or had become monster chow.

There were no new names. Maybe there would be no new names for a while.

Sorry this chapter is like... mostly song. We made s'mores in Chemistry today. It was awesome. Lit my marshmallow on fire with a Bunsen burner. In Journalism we were invited to go watch a debate over capitalism and socialism. I know which one I prefer, but when it comes to debates I don't pick the one I actually like, just whoever gives the most agreeable points. Neither side were really all that agreeable. Capitalism side went on a tangent about their grandmother, and socialism side was all like, "if someone came into the room with a gun and said they'd shoot you if you didn't salute the flag, would you salute?" The answer was a resounding yes. Both had decent points, but failed to really get them across. It was quite entertaining. We got boxes of fruit punch and mine didn't have a straw, so a pal grabbed a straw off of a different box and gave it to me. We wondered who would get the now strawless box. Turns out it was someone from our class. It was great.

Anyway, I hope you guys have had an amazing Thursday, and I'll see you on Saturday CT. Love ya!