Harry Potter and the Gift of Memories [Harry Potter Fan Fiction]

Chapter XIII: The Sorting

 The door swung open and Harry saw Professor McGonagall standing just inside the entrance, looking as stern as ever.

"The firs' years, professor McGonagall," the giant announced in a happy voice.

"Thank you, Hagrid," Professor McGonagall said. Harry filed the giant of a man's name away for future reference. "I will take them from here."

She pulled the doors wide, and Harry would admit to being impressed with the size of the entrance hall. It was easily large enough to fit two or more houses of the Dursley's size and still have some room left over. The floor, walls, and Harry suspected the ceiling (it was too high up for him to see) were all made of large, gray stone. Off to the side, at the other end of the hall, was a magnificent marble staircase leading to other parts of the castle.

Professor McGonagall led the group across the flagged stone floor. As they walked, Harry could hear the droning of a hundred voices coming from a doorway to the right, and correctly guessed that the rest of the students must be in there. It was strange to him, then, when Professor McGonagall led them not into the room where the older students resided, but to a small empty chamber off the hall.

There was a moment of discomfort when everyone began crowding around each other. It reminded Harry briefly of his encounter in the Leaky Cauldron, which still brought chills down his spine. Thankfully, no one tried crushing him with their enthusiasm, allowing him to shove his discomfort away easily enough.

He turned his head when Tracey bumped into him as they were forced into close quarters. She stumbled, and Harry allowed her to steady herself by grabbing onto his arm.

"Sorry," she mumbled over the din of chattering voices.

"It's fine," Harry replied as he let the girl continue holding his arm for support. He was so used to Lisa holding onto him that physical contact with a female didn't bother him. Though he would admit it felt a little odd with this new girl grabbing him, but chalked it up to being more familiar with Lisa than Tracey.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall began, silencing any and all conversations. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours."

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Harry saw her gaze linger on a round faced boy whose cloak was fastened under his left ear, and the redhead known as Ron who had a smudge of dirt on his nose.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."

As Professor McGonagall left, Harry peered at his surroundings. All the other first years looked nervous; the bushy haired girl he'd met earlier was muttering spells very quickly under her breath, Ron was tittering nervously as he told anyone near him that his brother said they had to pass some kind of test, and even Daphne and Blaise suddenly looked quite pale.