Newcomers The Sorting ceremony 2017-2018 Closed

Upon the first moment she stepped into the Great Hall alongside the throng of other First Years, Claryssa was in awe. Coming from a family of two muggle parents and an older, non-magical brother named James, Clary’s limited exposure to the world of magic had only been the sights she’d witnessed when traveling to purchase her school materials in Diagon Alley. Now, she was standing in a giant room with a ceiling that seemed to disappear a million miles away, filled with floating candles that illuminated the space. From the first moment she’d received the owl alerting her of her status as a witch, her life had been completely transformed. Clary went from being a young, daydreaming girl with her head stuck up into the clouds to a young, aspiring witch, who was finally getting shipped off to a school full of magic and wonders with other kids that would be just like her!

Although ecstatic and eager, once she’d gotten over the initial awe of the floating candles and magnificent qualities of the space, her confidence began to ebb away. One by one, students’ names were called to the front of the room, where a small stool with a talking hat awaited them. The first red flag for her was the talking hat, of course, but considering she was at a school of witchcraft and wizardry, what else was there to expect? For all she knew, there was a freaking unicorn nearby somewhere! Clary watched carefully, trying to strategically plan out her route, as each named student took a seat on the stool, put the hat on their head, and listened to the announcement of their Hogwarts house: Hufflepuff, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, or Gryffindor.

She’d heard whispers about the different houses. Supposedly, Slytherins were all stuck-up pureblood who were inherently evil and well… snakes. Hufflepuffs were little innocent foodies who were overall irrelevant in the scheme of things. Gryffindors were reckless kids who leaped into danger without a moment’s thought and usually ended up making a full of themselves and the school, and Ravenclaws were book nerds that would leave you bored until the end of your days from all their yapping. A plethora of negative comments flooded through her brain. Was she a snake, irrelevant, reckless, or annoying? She wished she could say she was none of them, but even if that were the case, where did she fit in?

Claryssa had just begun to feel comfortable with her planned route up to the front of the room when she heard a booming voice emit from the hat, announcing the name, “Claryssa North”. She immediately froze, taking a shaky breath as hundreds of pairs of eyes swiveled to stare right at her. Realizing they were watching, she balled her hand into a fist and held her head high, slowly but surely inching her way towards the front of the room, before sitting on the stool and placing the hat on her head.

She heard a small voice in the back of her head, presumably coming from the hat itself. She assumed it wasn’t speaking aloud, as she hadn’t heard the topic of any of the subjects she was now listening to be announced for the others who came beforehand. Only the announcement of their house and a few contemplative murmurs ever seemed to be voiced aloud.

“Let’s see… A muggle-born, curious indeed. Ah, you’ve done some research, I see. Eager to prove yourself and willing to explore, but not Gryffindor…” Clary wondered why this was taking so long. Perhaps she didn’t belong in any house at all.

“Hm… better be RAVENCLAW!”

A wave of screams could be heard from what she presumed to be the Ravenclaw table, and she quickly removed the hat from her head, walking over to join them. Apparently, she did belong somewhere, after all, but how could someone like her, with such little knowledge of magic, prove herself to a house that mainly depended on a person’s intelligence? She felt doomed from the start, but her lingering worries felt slightly assuaged as someone scooted over to offer her seat, flashing a small smile as they welcomed her. Perhaps it'd take time for her to get comfortable, but this was her home now, at least for the time being, and she deserved to be here just as much as any of them.

Evelyn entered the great hall alongside the other first years when many of them had reached the front the man who stood at the front had started speaking and to tell you the truth Evelyn really wasn't listening. She was already exhausted from the long train ride and truthfully just wanted to sleep at this point. She zoned back in at the mention of a sorting hat and remembered what she had read about Hogwarts something about different houses.

The man started calling names of people and they had the hat put on their heads then it would speak sometimes multiple times making comments then he would say one of the following Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. Eventually, her name was called by the man and she walked over to the chair hoping that this would end soon.

She sat on the chair and the sorting hat was placed on her head. "Hmm, a Muggle-born met quite a few interesting ones over the years."

"Oh sure just blurt that out why don't you like I wasn't going to keep it quiet," Evelyn said Sarcastically. "Besides is it even a good idea to decide on a house when we're so young, I may not even have those traits anymore by graduation time."

"I didn't make the rules kid," the sorting hat said "You definitely have some Gryffindor traits riding around on those dangerous muggle contraptions."

"Ya, because flying on a broomstick isn't dangerous, especially Quidditch with all the dangerous balls and people falling off their brooms. My skates are less dangerous besides brooms are made for sweeping not flying," Evelyn ranted on and mumbling quietly about brooms.

The students were definitely quietly talking amongst themselves as the noise in the room had grown and even the teachers seemed a little shocked at the current conversation. It was highly unusual for the sorting hat to get annoyed with one of the students or react in such a way. Some of the students had said that she definitely belonged in Slytherin or Gryffindor as they were the ones most likely to act like that with the hat for entirely different reasons.

"You definitely don't belong in Hufflepuff far too moody," the hat said "Slytherin also is not your home for you have no current Ambition except to keep your heritage quiet, which I destroyed earlier. I will apologize for that."

Evelyn let out a sigh at this point she just wanted it to be over so she could get some food into her and wake her up some. If she continued to fill tired she could always take on of her pills to counter the effects of her Anemia.

"Ravenclaw is certainly where you would work out best. You have an undying curiosity for more knowledge especially in the fields that interest you. Yes, Ravenclaw is for you."

It took the Ravenclaw table a second before they started clapping to let the shock of what they were certain would be in another house. The headmaster or what Evelyn could only guess was the headmaster picked the hat back up and she made her way to the table. She sat down and the next person had been called up and her small fight with the Sorting Hat quickly faded to the back of many of the student's mind. Though she was certain she did not like the hat.

Walking into the Great Hall after getting off the train and riding up the expanse of the grounds on the thestrals was an experience that Amelia couldn’t quite yet put into words. The Hall was lit with what looked like a million candles, all balancing precariously in the air, high above their heads. The black backdrop of the ceiling was covered in what looked like twinkling stars, though the eleven year old couldn’t tell if they were real or not. Her brown eyes trailed over to the speaker who was welcoming the new students and old to Hogwarts and explaining how the Sorting Hat would begin it’s song right then. When the tune ended, Amelia let out a breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding. She never had really thought about what house she’d be in, she just imagined herself adorned in blue or green like her mother and father had been.

Looking out at the four tables lined up in the Hall, Amelia couldn’t help but feel a small twang of nervousness. The tables all gave off a different vibe, a particularly cold one coming from the table clad in green—or perhaps it was her imagination. Her gaze strayed to the Ravenclaw table and just by looking at them, she felt she could’ve been among like-minded people. She watched as one by one, each student stepped up to the stool and had the magical hat placed upon there head. Sometimes, it seemed, it took quite some deliberation for students, others with no hesitation at all. Amelia began to wonder how exactly it would feel to have the old leather of the hat touch the crown of her head, speak it’s all-knowing knowledge into her ear.

“Amelia Lovell!” The voice startled her a tad, head snapping back towards the front of the room where the stool sat, looking so simple but had such an impending aura. The first year put on her best poker face as she approached the seat and finally when she took it, she stared out into the sea of faces in front of her. She expected to feel some kind of nervousness, but all that came was a strange calm. They placed the Sorting Hat upon the Lovell girl’s head and she had barely felt the fabric fit itself there before it bellowed out “RAVENCLAW!” Blinking quickly a couple times, she wondered how accurate this test could really be. Was he so sure of himself of her to be there? It wasn’t completely absurd, not like it hadn’t been seen before, but the conviction was strong, she felt, with his decision of her. The brunette let that thought pass, though, as her table erupted in a few cheers for her sorting. A small smile turned the corners of her lips up and as she felt the hat leave her head as fast as it had arrived, she made her way down to her table in her usual cheery attitude.

Ravished, Amelia had almost forgotten that after the ceremony, there would be food! If anyone knew anything about the Ravenclaw girl, they knew one of her favorite things to do was eat, especially sweets. Looking up at the High Table, she wondered if they’d have to wait for the rest of the students to be sorted before digging in. Looking around at her new housemates, she popped the question. “So, do any of you know if we can just chow down or…?” A playful smile adorned her lips, her tone earnest and sincere, awaiting a response from anyone.

Isabella waited nervously for her turn. She knew she was gonna be Hufflepuff. She had been told so her entire life. She glanced over her shoulder at the Hufflepuff table. That was going to be her family for the next 7 years. She could already see some nice looking girls she would become friends with. She couldnt wait to see the dormitories, the common room and meet all the people in Hufflepuff. She was so lost in thought that the professor had to call her name three times.

"Isabella Hills? Are you here?"

Isabella turned bright red and scrambled up onto the step. The professor smiled at her and placed the hat on her head. She jumped as she heard a voice in her ear.

"Hmmmmmmmmm, you want to be a Hufflepuff aye? Well you're patient and just. But your brave and fiercely loyal. Very smart, you'd make a fine Ravenclaw. But there's something else about you." The Sorting Hat went on rambling for a little over 5 minutes. She could hear whispers of panic starting to erupt in the hall. No one else had taken this long. Why was she so different?

"Very difficult decision indeed... well I think you can belong in any of the houses but I don't think Gryffindor is right for you, you'd do well in Ravenclaw but no, you're different. Better be... SLYTHERIN!" The Hat announced to the hall. She could hear the Slytherin table erupt in cheers and was bustled off the stool. She walked over towards the Slytherin table with tears in her eyes and sat down in the corner where the prefect congratulated her. 'This isn't right' she thought dismayed. 'I simply can't be in Slytherin. I'm a Hufflepuff!' She looked down at her plate so no one would see the tears threatening to fall.

Elsie couldn't tell what she was feeling once she entered the Great Hall. Was she nervous? Excited perhaps? Maybe awestruck by the beautiful scenery. Possibly curious about how in the world did the Sorting Hat decide what house you belong in? Its safe to say that all these feelings were going through the young girl as she eagerly awaited to be called. Of course, she was also mentally asking the one question the majority of these young wizards were asking. 'What house do I belong in?' How would the Sorting Hat know where she fit in. What if she didn't fit in? She didn't know if she was brave enough, smart enough, ambitious enough, or kind enough for any of the houses. 'Maybe I'll be in Gryffindor.' She tried to reason with herself. Her dad was a Gryffindor maybe she'll be sorted there too. Then again, she wasn't like her father. Someone who was brave enough to speak out and voice their opinion, that just wasn't her.

"Elsie Hoagland!" Snapping out of her thoughts, Elsie quickly focused on the hat that would soon decide where she belonged. She made her way to the sorting hat biting her lip to calm down her nerves. A typical habit of hers. Once she was seated on the stool, the Sorting Hat was gently placed on her head.

"Well what do we have here?" the hat inquired. "Let's see, quiet but incredibly inquisitive."

"Is that bad?" Elsie innocently whispered. The hat chuckled at her reply.

"No my dear," the hat replied. However, with a curious nature and a bright mind, you will fit best in........RAVENCLAW!

The sorting ceremony, every wizard childs most memorable and tense moment. It was just as Dorian Calderwood had her mother and father had described to her. Right now Dorian and her classmates all were waiting out in the hall as the teachers and other students inside were getting ready. To say the least, Dorian was very nervous. She was worried she would embarrass herself in front of the others or just make a bad first impression. Also, there was of course the problem of which house she would be in. Wanting to be like her mother, Dorian hoped to be in Hufflepuff. It sounded like she would be right at home there and just maybe there would be some other familiar faces there.

The doors to the great hall opened and her classmates along with herself, were ushered inside. After a few announcements, the ceremony finally happened. Dorian waited anxciously in the crowd watching as students left and right went up and were sorted into their houses. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin.

It seemed to take forever though, there were so many kids here. The longer it took to more anxious Dorian got but, she made sure not to let it show as best she could. If there were other nervous kids she didn't want them also getting worked up over it.

Finally though, it came Dorian's turn. "Dorian Calderwood." The man up front said to the crowd. Her breath almost caught in her throat. What really made her nervous now was sitting up in front of a large group, what if she tripped? What if, what if, what if, what if.

Despite her self doubt and self consciousness Dorian pushed herself forward. Since she was in the back of the group Dorian had to wiggle her way through with a few polite kids making way for her. Quietly and cautiously, the girl sat herself down on the stool, waiting there quietly.

The sorting hat was placed snugly on her crown and for a moment, he was silent. When he came to life a small hm escaped him. "My my, an interesting one this is. I see a drive in you, yes, and a leader with experience. Is that right now, hm?"

"Yes, I think so." Dorian mumbled up to the hat modestly. The hat chuckled. "I see you want to make someone proud, but hide behind your fear. This is not your fault. I know the place for you my dear. You will be in...SLYTHERIN!" The hat bellowed to the crowd.

The tables began to clap and cheer for Dorian, the loudest being they SLytherins themselves. Dorian though, was a bit off put but carefully made her way over to her new house. This was very unexpected and she thought this was a mistake! She wouldn’t be a Slytherin, not that she had anything against them but they all seemed so much better than her. Dorian made herself as comfortable as possible at the table but remained quiet.

From here on out, Dorian Calderwood was a Slytherin.

The first years around Olivia were huddling up close together as they followed the professor to the great hall. A couple of them whispered eagerly to each other, while others remained quiet and fidgeting to themselves. One or two in the group, she noticed, were looking around themselves in wonder. Moving paintings, brooms sweeping the floors on their own as well as ghosts flying through the corridors. All of them ridiculous things to believe in if you'd have asked the elderly muggle whom Olivia had snuck off to visit frequently all through her childhood. If she'd have seen this place she'd probably have acted the same as them.

The door to the great hall opened as they closed in, revealing to them rows of students dressed in black robes and pointed hats sitting by four long tables extending to the back of the hall. At the very back sat the various professors by another long table facing towards them. In front of that, a small stool with a rugged hat resting on top. Lit candles floated around the room above them and as Olivia looked up towards them, she saw the beautiful sky ceiling above. They followed the professor towards the front of the hall, waiting for what was to come.

"Wait here" The professor ordered before looking over at the headmaster sitting in the middle of the back table. The old man raised his hand and waved her off a bit, as if saying 'not now' She nodded and turned back toward us. "Now when I call your names I'd like you to come up and sit down on the stool" She explained.

A handful of students were placed in their houses before finally it came to Olivia's turn. Almost everyone in the Moore family line were either Ravenclaw or Slytherin. If she didn't get placed into one of those two houses, she knew her family would be disappointed in her. A slight bit anxious she propped herself onto the stool. The professor sank the hat onto her head and immediately it came to life once again. It made some grumbling noises. Olivia could feel as it moved on top of her head. A sudden overwhelming feeling of disgust came over her as she thought of how many had worn the hat before her.

"Well certainly not a Hufflepuff!" It rang out loudly. A couple of students in the hall chuckled.

"Just give me my house already you dirty old hat" Olivia seethed through her teeth in a whisper. She did not much appreciate being the laughingstock of the room, even if only for a second.

"SLYTHERIN!" The hat compliantly boomed. The room filled with the applauds of the Slytherin table as Olivia ripped the hat off of her head. She quickly shoved it back to the professor before darting over to her table.

So this is what magic can do, Lance thought as he gazed at the majestic spectacle in front of him, awestruck. Thousands of candles floated in midair, lighting the long hall. The flickering light danced off the glittering plates laid out on the tables, of which there were four.

It seemed like hundreds of people were already seated at those tables, grouped by the color of their uniforms and, it seemed, by their general disposition. They were all staring at the group of bedraggled first years, and Lance's throat suddenly went dry. To distract himself, he looked up at the ceiling.

At first glance, Lance thought it was made of glass. How else could it show the night sky above? But upon further inspection, the boy noticed that there was simply nothing there at all. No support beams crisscrossing back and forth, no glint from the candles or reflections of the tables. Just...nothing. More magic, Lance realized, dizzy.

When his attention returned to eye level, Lance blinked in shock. There was a...hat, a rather scraggly one, sitting on a stool at the front of the hall. That wasn't the strangest part about it, though. The strangest part was that the hat had a mouth, and it was singing a song. Lance listened to it extol the virtues of each house, eyes wide and a feeling of excitement rushing through him. The professor who had led them here began reading names, and one by one students approached the hat and placed it on their heads. It called out various names, which Lance recognized from the song.

Finally, the professor read out Lance's name from the parchment he was holding. A curious thing, parchment. Lance couldn't imagine writing on it for the next however many years. Still, he walked nervously to the hat and placed it on his head.

"Ah, hello. Lance Langston, is it? A marvelous name."

Lance jerked in shock as a voice murmured. It almost sounded like it was inside his mind. The hat wobbled on his head, causing a wave of chuckles to run through the hall. The voice chuckled as well.

"Muggleborn, eh? You're handling this all quite well. Already eager to learn all about magic, aren't you. Hmm...eager to learn but selective as to what, and a rather singular individual as well. Best put you in-

"RAVENCLAW!"

The hat shouted out the last word for all the hall to hear, and the table flooded with blue burst out into applause. Smiling rather nervously, Lance slid off the stool, placing the hat gently back on, and ran to what would become his family for the next seven years.

As the group of first years emerged, there was a small scuffle near the middle, making its way to the front of the rough line. A shade impatient, Luke had craned his neck to see past the heads of those who stood taller than he did, not above pushing and shoving to get a decent view. He prided himself in knowing about magic even before the owl arrived at his doorstep, but the spectacle that was the Great Hall still left him in some state of disarray. His exposure to what felt arcane was honestly limited.

As awe-striking as the Hall was, it did not keep his undivided attention for long. Once he'd gotten a good look, his eyes and his focus were dead-set forward. He was going to be Sorted! The prospect dragged him and the collection of first years to the front of the Hall, where the Sorting Hat lay silent and a little shoddy-looking.

-

Post-song, the new students were called out one by one to be sorted, all going off to different tables. As Luke eagerly watched, making sure he knew how close the K's were to being called out, he found himself hopping from foot to foot slightly. The jitters had found him. He wanted to be Griffindor more than anything! Both of his parents were Griffindors before him, and Luke was thoroughly convinced it was the best house. Slytherin? Bunch of evil snobs. Ravenclaw? Noses shoved so far up a book they couldn't speak. Hufflepuff? Who?
Luke's confidence outweighed any doubt, for now. There was no question in his mind; he was a Griffindor, through and through.

"Lucas King!"

Luke's feet moved before his brain told them to, quickly planting himself on the chair overlooking the Great Hall. The Unsorted's attention was undivided, all the skittish eyes he saw on the train now fixed solely on him. He thought it was pretty cool, grinning as the Hat was placed over his rough hair.

Almost immediately, the Hat spoke from above him. "Hm! An interesting one, indeed." As the hat mused, Luke tried his best to let his Griffindor-esque qualities shine through, with little success. The nerves and excitement had built, and it was difficult to manage. He gave up any pretending involuntarily.

"Such a desire to prove yourself... such a hunger for fame." Luke wasn't sure what to think. Is that Griffindor? Ravenclaw? Now I think about it, it's almost Slytherin...

"Bright..." Luke silently panicked, imagining a life surrounded by swats. "but no academic. Best fit would have to be... The boy held his breath. "GRIFFINDOR!"

He breathed a sigh of relief, quickly drowned by the roaring cheers of the Griffindor table. A permanent grin painted on his face, he made his way down to the red-embezzled group with an air of confidence, quick to persuade himself and others that it never faltered.

As people approached the Great Hall Malum began to bubble with excitement. She allowed other new students to pass her, it was polite. Not only that, she wanted to take her time entering. The beauty of the castle truly awed her, she had never seen this kind of magnificence before. The floating candles, the bright house colors, the ever-changing ceiling, it all amazed her. Ever since her mother Juliette had told her about magic and Hogwarts, she had been filled with anticipation, waiting for the time to finally come. And so it did.

She strolled forward. All her worries subsided for the moment, the only thing that mattered right now was getting sorted and beginning her magical life. Malum would indeed miss her mother and sick father, and it troubled her that there was a chance she would never see her dad again. She set these thoughts aside and put on a bright smile as her name was called. The talking hat took her by surprise, "How could a hat speak?" She pondered. The girl gingerly took a seat on the stool.

The past summer Malum had barely communicated with people, so she hoped she would get that opportunity in the near future. Maybe she could show them her cool paintings! At one point Malum was a very sociable person, and she believed that same friendly spirit she once had could return. Positivity was key. All these thoughts that suddenly swarmed her mind were most likely being taken into account by the Sorting Hat.

"Hufflepuff!" The Sorting Hat called moments later. Malum's lovely mood got even better; she was placed in the house her mother had been in. Juliette only told her daughters limited information about Hogwarts, but she did make it quite clear that Hufflepuff was a wonderful house, full of kind people. Malum bounded to the table consumed by yellow. Yellow was one of Malum's favorite colors; it symbolized happiness, optimism, sunshine, and so much more. Back at her home in Orpington Malum had always painted meadows full of sunflowers. Malum stopped reminiscing as she rushed to the Hufflepuff table, beaming at her new housemates.