Demigods At Hogwarts

More Sorting and Speeches and Confusion (Harry's Perspective)

Flitwick looked at McGonagall, for this was highly unorthodox. Mrs. McGonagall shrugged, and Flitwick nodded at the hat. Meanwhile, I was still very puzzled. I had never heard of these wizards, but they seemed to have gone through the darkest places in the world. The hat had praised Percy so much- he seemed bloody brilliant just by the hat's short description. Like the rest of my house, I was glad to have him in Gryffindor.

"Annabeth Chase," the hat began, shaking me out of my thoughts, "You are one of the most intelligent people I have ever met. And though it seems I should place you in Ravenclaw, your bravery and determination define you. I wish you luck in GRYFFINDOR!" My house cheered again, and I did too. Annabeth smiled and leaned against Percy. Ravenclaw slumped a little; Gryffindor always got the best.

"Thalia... you've abandoned your last name, correct?" One student I assumed was Thalia nodded. She had choppy black hair and striking blue eyes that caught me off guard. From her posture and expression, I could tell she was fierce. "Thalia, your courage, bluntness, and stubbornness direct you to GRYFFINDOR!"

Gryffindor was ecstatic, but I could see that the other houses were getting tired and annoyed.

"Reyna A-" The Sorting Hat started, but a girl cut in.

"Similar to Thalia, I don't use my last name." The hat appraised her.

"Very well. Reyna, though you are very courageous, you are also analytical, intelligent," The Ravenclaw house straightened up, clearly hanging onto every last word, "observant, and independent. These traits have revealed that you belong in RAVENCLAW!" The Ravenclaw house cheered so loud you would've thought the roof had rattled. The rest of the houses were back to being attentive; the change in the constant shout of "Gryffindor" had encouraged them.

"Piper McLean!" A beautiful girl with long brown hair let loose and feathers braided down one side stepped forward. "Your ambition, determination, self-reliance, intelligence, and bold demeanor have determined that your place is SLYTHERIN!" Raucous glee and cheering came from the Slytherin table. The traits that the hat had described Piper with were good- why was she in the worst house? Obviously, everyone around me- especially Ron- was having the same thought. The hat noticed this.

"And I feel obliged to remind you that Slytherin is a perfectly fine house to be in. It just requires different traits," the hat pointedly looked at the Gryffindor table "and so I urge you to drop the old prejudice against Slytherin." The hat spat. Piper was visibly relieved. The cheering grew louder at the Slytherin table, and Hufflepuff- kind, loyal Hufflepuff- were murmuring agreement and nodding. I just shook my head.

"Anyway, Leo Valdez!" A small, skinny Latino boy stepped forward. He sort of looked like an elf. "For your humorous, trusting, stubborn, and brave personality, I deem you worthy of GRYFFINDOR!" There was a little applause from my table, but honestly, most didn't think much of the small boy- me included. Not when people like Percy and Annabeth were there. Leo noticed, but just looked resigned; like he was used to it. My heart immediately went out to the little elf and I clapped louder. I could relate; I remembered feeling worthless, and completely confused when I had gotten into Gryffindor. The hat bowed to Leo- or tried to- and fell off the stool. Surprisingly, there wasn't much laughter, other than a few snickers from the Slytherin table. Piper glanced at her house disdainfully. She picked up the hat and put it back on the stool, brushing it off.

"Hazel Levesque! For your loyalty," the Hufflepuff house suddenly seemed to be very attentive, "honesty, fairness, open-mindedness, compassion, patience, and reliability," the Hufflepuff house were on the verge of their seats, "I have decided that you will do well in HUFFLEPUFF!" The Hufflepuff house exploded. They clapped even louder than Ravenclaw, if that was possible.

"Finally, last but not least, Frank Zhang! Your loyalty, bravery, empathy, fairness, and hard-working demeanor have led you to HUFFLEPUFF!" The applause from Hufflepuff, which hadn't quite died down since Hazel's sorting, rejuvenated. "But," the hat continued, silencing the hall, "You and I need to have a conversation."

I looked around- everyone looked confused, as did Frank.

"You. Literally. BURNED THE PIECE OF WOOD THAT YOUR LIFE WAS TIED TO!" What?

Frank looked sheepish, and a little scared. "It was to kill the emperor-"

"I don't CARE!" the hat interrupted. "You had the guy pinned! You could've, oh, I don't know, pulled out a spear and stabbed him in the gut!" My stomach convulsed as I pictured that. "You could've punched him in the nose! But NO! You took out the little piece of wood that your life was literally tied to, and was like, oh, let's just BURN THIS!"

Percy tried to interject.

"Hat? Arthur? That's your name, right? Arthur?"

The hat kept ranting. "THAT WAS SO STUPID AND BRAVE! But mostly stupid. If I DIDN'T KNOW BETTER, I'D HAVE PLACED YOU IN GRYFFINDOR!" My house chuckled a little but was mostly still stuck in a stupor of bewilderment.

"Hey, hat?" Percy asked a little louder.

"AND YOU WERE LIKE, LET'S JUST DIE! IT'S A MIRACLE YOU SURVIVED-"

"ARTHUR!" Percy yelled. He gestured to the crowd of students, including me, hanging onto every word. "Don't you think you could discuss this somewhere else? A little more... private?"

"Ah... yes." The hat looked a little sheepish. "Sorry." McGonagall looked like she was trying to hold in hysterics, which was a little odd for someone like her.

Annabeth laughed. "But Frank, you realize he's asking the question we all want to know the answer to."

"Well..." Frank began. "The guy was immortal, remember? Normal stuff didn't harm him." He looked thoughtful. The rest of the hall was bewildered, but hanging onto every word. "I suppose I just thought the 'fire of life', as Thanatos called it, would maybe hurt him a little 'cause it was special. Y'know, like it burned Thanatos's chains."

The rest of the group nodded. Everyone else in the hall looked very puzzled, and a little impressed. I sighed. I would never understand what these people were talking about.

"Hello? Guys? Are you INSANE?!" Reyna yelled. "Are me and Percy the only ones worried about talking about this in front of... well, EVERYONE?!"

"Oh. Right." Leo mumbled. McGonagall waved her hand quickly and our plates filled with food. The exchange students looked at each other and separated, walking to their different tables.