Demigods At Hogwarts

Sorting, Screaming, Speeches, and More Confusion (Will's Perspective)

By dinnertime, both me and Nico had gathered enough energy to attend dinner. Obviously, people hadn't gotten enough gawking time yesterday and the stares still pierced Nico's back as I left him at the Gryffindor table. But that was soon forgotten as the doors to the Great Hall were pushed open by none other than our demigod friends.

"Nico!" Percy ran to Nico and hugged him. "We heard about the-" Talk grew louder in the hall, and Percy glanced around warily. "About the... fiasco. You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Nico mumbled. I walked over. "How are you, Percy?" By then, the rest of the gang had caught up too. Greetings were passed around, and Annabeth thanked me for warning her of what was about to come.

"Ahem." McGonagall tried to get our attention. Eventually, the hall dissolved into silence. "These," Mrs. McGonagall told the rest of the students, "are the exchange students! Again, I expect you to welcome them warmly." There was a small smattering of applause. People were still cautious around Nico, and the idea of more people like him must've scared them. McGonagall probably understood this and cut to the chase, calling for Percy to be sorted. I had explained what "sorting" was yesterday, so everybody knew what this meant.

The sorting hat was perched on the stool, and as Percy came closer, it inched away. Professor Flitwick picked it up.

"Nico," it called, "they are... like you, are they not?"

"Yes." Nico told it grimly.

"And the memories?" The Sorting Hat asked. There was visible bewilderment around the hall, but I knew what it was asking.

"Percy has it worse than me." The hat paled.

"Please, professor, maybe, let's do... someone else first?" It asked Mrs. McGonagall, who looked sorry for the hat, but also confused. Only Dumbledore knew about us and our... parents and histories.

"No." she told the hat, and winced. The hat started shaking and trembling, until it shook itself free of Flitwick's grip and tried to waddle away. The rest of the hall was so loud by now that you could barely hear the exchange between Nico and the hat.

"Quiet!" The Headmaster yelled. The whole hall fell silent, heeding McGonagall's order. "Filius, place the hat on Percy's head. And Arthur," she said, "I am sorry." The students looked around, probably for the one called Arthur. Many people's gazes landed on a small Hufflepuff boy with dark hair, instinctively trying to shrink and make himself smaller. Then we realized that McGonagall was addressing the hat. The hat had a name? Weird.

Professor Flitwick picked up the hat and placed it on Percy's head. Percy sat on the stool and there was silence for a moment. We waited. Then the hat started trembling even more, if possible, and Percy's face became a petrified gray. The hat screamed, screamed, and screamed again and soon Percy's shouts of terror joined the chorus, accompanied with sobs. All I could do was sit and watch. Annabeth walked up to Percy, also shaking. She hugged him from behind, which did little to stop the screams. Finally, the hat froze, and so did Percy.

Annabeth removed the hat from his head, helped Percy get up, and placed the hat back on the stool. She hugged Percy properly. The hat seemed to be in a reverie and sounded like it was choking. The hall was still deathly quiet. Even McGonagall was surprised- I expected she didn't know the full extent of Percy's experiences.

"Well?" Annabeth asked the hat. What house is he in?

"I..." the Sorting Hat croaked, and shook itself. "Yes. I must say, I would've been completely overwhelmed if I hadn't seen Nico's memories first. I used his knowledge to try and prepare myself for today, but I definitely was not ready." That hat tried for a grin, but it came out more as a grimace.

"Percy Jackson... you are best suited for the house GRYFFINDOR!"

Loud cheering erupted from the Gryffindor table.

"Though your fatal flaw is loyalty and Hufflepuff's most prized quality is loyalty," the Hufflepuff House had come out of its shock and seemed to perk up at these words, "Your your immense courage, determination, and the way you always fight for the ones you love, and sometimes even for the ones you don't, reveal that Gryffindor is best for you." Percy smiled and thanked the hat, though he still looked a little sad and dazed from the recount of his memories. The Gryffindor table cheered even louder, probably proud to have gotten the person that the hat spoke so highly of.

Annabeth started to step forward, which the hat noticed.

"No!" The hat shrieked. Annabeth stopped. "I mean... never mind. There will be no need for me to see all of your memories. Annabeth Chase, I am certain that I can sort all of you based on this brave man's experiences and memories."