The Girl Who Hid | George Weasley

ch 2 : the sorting ceremony

Everything seemed to pass by in a blur. Before you knew it, you were at Hogwarts, standing before Professor McGonagall once more as she explained to you and the other first years about the sorting ceremony. You did your best to listen carefully to everything she said because all of this was new to you.

Once she finished speaking and you were led inside, you tried your best to keep your head up and not let the curious eyes of your classmates make you nervous. Your fingers slightly shook, but you steadied them in front of you as you let your eyes travel the room. There were so many friendly faces in the crowd, watching on. You smiled warmly whenever you made eye contact with someone.

Slowly, one by one, first years were brought up to the front and sorted, but you had a hard time focusing on all of the students you didn't know. When June was called up, you watched her with a small smile. She had shuffled up to the front, taking a cautious seat and tried to not look around too much. The sorting hat hummed, "Hm, this is a tough one, but I'll have to go with RAVENCLAW!"

You wondered what Ravenclaw meant in terms of traits, but you clapped loudly when she smiled and moved over to the table that waved her over. You hoped you could be a Ravenclaw as well, but you didn't really know what that meant.

You noticed a girl with thick hair was sorted into Gryffindor, and she seemed happy about that. You didn't quite catch her name.

A cute boy with platinum blonde was sorted into Slytherin. You thought you heard his name was Draco. Only one table cheered when his house was called out, but you still clapped, earning you some strange looks.

A red-haired boy named Ronald Weasley was called to the front at some point, and the hat called out Gryffindor without much deliberation. People cheered, and he sat down at the same table as the girl with the thick hair.

When they called out for a boy named Harry Potter, whispers coursed through the room and all of the professors sat forward. You turned your head to look at the dark-haired boy with his round glasses, and you wondered why everyone was so interested in him.

He took a seat on the chair. The hat began mumbling about how difficult it was to sort him. When he began begging to not be a Slytherin, your eyebrows furrowed, and you wondered why so many seemed to not like Slytherin. You decided to ask the older students once you were sorted.

You couldn't take your eyes off the boy. There was something curious about him, something familiar, but you couldn't place it.

When the hat yelled out Gryffindor, he grinned, going to sit with the others. Your stomach dropped when you heard Professor McGonagall call out, "Y/N L/N, please come up here."

You noticed the way many of the professors were staring at you with curiosity as you sat down. The hat was placed on your head and immediately murmured, "Ah, another Potter. This one is also difficult. Hmm."

You blinked rapidly. Your eyes found Harry at the Gryffindor table. You both stared at one another in confusion.

The hat carried on, "There is certainly intelligence here, and bravery too, but her kindness and loyalty are also powerful. Hm.... HUFFLEPUFF."

You quickly stood, red with embarrassment as everyone began whispering about what the hat said. Surely, there must be some mistake. Your last name was L/N, not Potter. You grew up an orphan, never knowing any family. Surely, the hat was confused.

You took a seat at the Hufflepuff table, smiling meekly as everyone stared at you in a stunned silence. Another first year girl stuck out her hand, "I'm Susan Bones. I'm a first year too."

You gratefully took her hand and replied, "Y/N L/N. Yeah, I'm a little lost on all of this stuff. What's the difference between all of the houses?"

A kind boy who looked a few years older than you at least spoke up, "I'm prefect Gabriel Truman. We're all here to support you, so don't hesitate to ask us questions... As for the houses, we are Hufflepuff, the kind and loyal house. Gryffindor is the brave and daring house. Ravenclaw is the smart and witty house. Lastly, Slytherin is the ambitious and clever house. Slytherins aren't always the kindest though, so it's best to not get on their bad side."

A girl at the table rolled her eyes and laughed, "Oh, please. Slytherins aren't all bad. That's just housist to think so."

You smiled at her and nodded, murmuring, "I like to give everyone a chance."

Gabriel raised his eyebrows and nodded. Suddenly, food appeared, covering the entire table. You smiled, not realizing how starved you felt. You carefully put food on your plate and began eating, just listening to what everyone was talking about. Your eyes kept drifting to a boy with dark blonde hair and grey eyes at your table. He was laughing and joking with the other students, and you could tell that everyone seemed to love him. When he let out a kind laugh, you glanced over at him, making brief eye contact. He flashed you a grin, so you smiled back before looking down at your plate once more.

Even though you had just gotten here, you felt warm and comfortable. You had never felt like you belonged somewhere before, but all of that had changed as you sat next to your fellow Hufflepuffs.

When you were moving to head back to the dorms, you were dragged aside by two pairs of hands. You yelped. You were pulled off to the side of the hallway by two cheeky, tall ginger boys. They both winked at you before scurrying off, leaving you with the boy named Harry. He stared at you suspiciously before deciding, "We need to talk about what the hat said."