LEGIONS IN LEGENDS [PJO X HP]

EIGHT: THE SORTING

"SLYTHERIN!"

The whole of Hogwarts seemed to stop for a second as Annabeth Chase was sorted into the house of evil. The first Slytherin of the night, there was barely any applause as she made her way to sit next to Draco.

Percy bit his lip in anxiousness. Slytherin? Sure, he could be manipulative at times, but loyalty was the one that resonated with him more, and now he truly held no hope that he would be sorted into the same house as his girlfriend.

Soon after the Daughter of Athena, Nico di Angelo was next to be sorted. Perhaps the audience expected more from the emo boy's sorting, but it was quite anticlimactic. He simply sat on the stool, and the Sorting Hat yelled out 'Slytherin!' before it could even touch the tip of his hair. Nico shrugged and joined Annabeth- for once, not every demigod-related experience was filled with chaos and uproar.

Unlike Annabeth, the other sortings flew by, and Katie's turn quickly came to arise. She walked with more uncertainty in her steps, casting her gaze down and keeping her mouth shut. The hat sat nicely on her head, and then the voice began to speak.

Ah, another demigod, the Sorting Hat said. If he had fingers, he'd be stroking his chin. Unsure of where you'll end up, eh? Do not worry. I will find a house most fit for you.

Katie didn't know whether to thank him. She did not think finding her true self was more important than staying by her friends' sides. Even with her own desires to explore a part of herself that was rarely used, she knew where her priorities lay, and her friends were number one on the list.

I can see what you're thinking, Miss Gardner. You are very selfless indeed. To sacrifice your wants in order to ensure the happiness of others would be something a Gryffindor would do, the hat bemused. To put your friends before yourself is brave, no doubt. But I wonder if it will turn out to be reckless..."

The Sorting Hat did not complete its sentence. It simply left those words trailing, winding into Katie's thoughts and squeezing out the fear that ran through her veins.

Then, suddenly, the hat seemed to come to a decision.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"A friend of Malfoy's? In Gryffindor?" Ron said in bewilderment. "I thought the Sorting Hat would've learned from Peter Pettigrew."

Harry shrugged. "Maybe the Sorting Hat knows what it's doing. Perhaps some part of Gardner is brave."

"You're talking about Slytherins, Harry. It was a Slytherin who wanted to send you off to the Dark Lord in return of safety!" Ginny said, because the Weasley family did hold quite a grudge against Slytherins. "Those snakes are a bunch of cowards."

"I don't know," Harry admitted, for he felt that Katie Gardner was quite strange. However, it was a good kind of strange- it was the kind that pulled him towards her. "Perhaps Gardner isn't like Malfoy and the others. Chase has proven to be a Slytherin, but we don't know for sure that Gardner has the same views as Malfoy."

Hermione furrowed her brows, not understanding why Harry was giving Katie the benefit of the doubt. "But how could she stand being with Malfoy for more than a second? He doesn't really hide his prejudice very well. I bet he's throwing the word Mudblood around as we speak."