The New Sorting Ceremony

[Maximillian Vasiliev]

Maximillian was standing in awe of the ceilings above him, or rather, the lack thereof. The entire roof seemed to have been lifted up and off of the castle. Maximillian was quite certain that he had seen that the entire building had been topped with a stone roof, but magic seemed more and more worth learning. The things it could do for people, and how well his own family could benefit with all the things he'd learn.

Maximillian didn't hear his name being called, and only stumbled forward when someone gave him a little shove towards the hat. Max looked up towards the teacher standing up with an ancient hat in her hands. Maximillian walked up in his casual gait and plopped down at the seat, looking up at the teacher with a smile before the hat was dropped over his eyes and cut off all vision.

[Sorting Hat]

Gryffindor.

[Kellie Whitmore]

Kellie was really rather bored with the whole proceedings. She had a long wait, after all, with a last name of Whitmore. Once she made sure that there were no dragons to slay (as one older student had tried to convince her) and all they had to do was put on that ratty old hat, she lost interest in it all. She had pulled out a book and was sitting there reading it while she waited for her name to be called. Every so often, she would look up and talk to someone standing nearby, but for the most part, she didn't really care. The whole business of sorting people into houses was stupid, anyway. It wasn't like she was going to let a silly thing like that define her.

Finally, she heard her name called, but she didn't react right away. She was in the middle of a paragraph, and she hated to be interrupted. She just held up one finger and kept reading until she was finished her paragraph. Then she stuck her bookmark in the page and walked calmly up to the stool. Unlike some of the other kids, who seemed terrified of the hat, she shoved the hat down on her head almost defiantly and waited for it to tell her what house she was in.

[Sorting Hat]

Ravenclaw.

[Kelsey Whitmore]

Kelsey stood boredly in the throng of first years waiting to hear their names called by the loud, obnoxious sorting hat. She absentmindedly switched her weight from one leg to the next every couple of minutes. Thanks to the last name Whitmore, she was always the last one on the list. She chewed on her lip and glanced around the room. Her sisters were easy to spot. The straight, bright, red hair of her sister Kellie stood out in the Ravenclaw table and over with the Slytherins sat her oldest and blonde sister Kiera. She smiled at Kellie and smirked at Kiera. She hoped she'd get Slytherin like her oldest sister. They both believed that had their mother been a witch, she would have been a Slytherin b*tch. For whatever reason, Kelsey strived to be like her mother.

As her name was called, Kelsey looked to the front again before walking to the short stool. She wasn't the very last one but she could count the number of people still standing on one hand and still have four fingers left. As she sat down, she stared at the thousands of candle lights hanging up above and took a deep breath to calm her jittering nerves.

[Sorting Hat]

Slytherin.

[Zeke Fieri]

"Hemmingway, Ezekiel" Professor McGonagall announced. Zeke almost didn't respond. He hadn't gone by that name since he was 8 years old. Zeke was more worried about his sister, who he never in her whole life had left her alone this long, even if she was with their grandparents.

Zeke smiled though and climbed up the stairs to the sorting hat. On his way, he stopped next to professor McGonagall, "It's Zeke, by the way ma'm," Zeke said with a smile. "Zeke Fieri, not Hemmingway." Then he took a seat on the stool and placed the hat on his head, anxiously awaiting his house.

[Sorting Hat]

Hufflepuff

[Aline Fieri]

Aline stood in line, glancing around the hall nervously. She was hoping she was in the same house as her brother, since she didn't want to be alone with no one she knew. She watched as all of the kids before her went up and got the Hat placed on her head, and she was somewhat amazed at the Hat because it talked. She found it rather interesting and almost didn't hear her name called since she was so fixed on staring at the Hat.

She walked up slowly and sat down. She waited the Hat's decision, and found her brother sitting at the Hufflepuff table and smiled at him.

[Sorting Hat]

Hufflepuff.

[Essie James]

Essie was standing in the shorter line. She had been standing there for about ten minutes, waiting for her name to be called. The teacher went through the names, and impatiently, Essie bounced. Finally, the person who's name had the same starting letter as her's walked up, shaking. Essie waited the few more seconds that she had too, and finally, her name rang out.

"Essie James!" She jumped up the steps, and sat down on the crooked stool. Smiling brightly.

[Sorting Hat]

Slytherin.

[Barty Crouch Jr.]

He stood looking out over the vast sea of unfamiliar faces, wishing that the nightmare had already taken place. He felt full of nervous and barely pent up energy and almost jumped when his name was called. He felt almost paranoid, knowing that, that sea of faces where probably staring at him. He wanted to ignore them but he was hard put to do so. He stepped forward with deliberate steps, knowing that the sooner he went through this ordeal the sooner he could stop being the focus of unwanted attention.

Once he stood right before the sorting hat and its chair he turned to face the crowd before sitting. Trying to make believe they weren’t there. ‘Somewhere to belong, somewhere to feel as if I’m not going to be critiqued on every little thing I do. Somewhere I won’t be judged on who my father is but who I am. Somewhere, where friends won’t turn their backs on you when your friendship becomes inconvenient and where they won’t try and just use me for their own ends.’

He feverishly wished that he could close his eyes to the crowd. He didn’t like being the center of attention. ‘I wonder where the library is, I heard it was full of some great books… Did I pack my Quidditch Through The Ages? NO, I forgot it!!! I better owl mum and see if she’ll send it.’ He sat quietly letting his mind wander.

[Sorting Hat]

I'm going with Ravenclaw.

[Lachlan Moore]

The thunder boomed and the sound reverberating around the great hall made a small group of first years clustered in the centre walkway jump in fright. Ripped away from their homes and their parents the group of eleven year olds seemed so timid and unsure in comparison to the older students that stared at them in eager anticipation. Muggleborns and purebloods alike stood with the same look of awe on their faces as their eyes moved around the grand hall. Above them golden candles floated silently casting a warm glow of light on those standing beneath and colourful banners of red yellow blue and green hung overhead representing their houses. The floor was glistening marble and the four long tables of hard dark wood dominated the room. At the front of the hall was another table filled with the professors, each more strangely attired than the next. And in the centre sat an old man with a long silver beard and kind intelligent face, the head master, Dumbledore.

In amongst the throng of first years stood a boy, he was possibly the tallest there. His long gangly frame poking more than a head above most of the other students around him. Like the other first years he was soaked to the bone, proof that the thunder and lighting outside was more than just a light show. His thick dark hair clung sodden to his scalp and his faded out second hand robes dipped soundlessly onto the marble floor. Many of the first years shivered, most from cold and others from fear but Lachlan did not. The skinny boy was used to the cold and he felt everything but fear surrounded by such marvellous wonders.

The man with he long silver beard announced that the sorting was to begin in a voice so warm and rich he seemed to fill the room, Lachlan gazed at the man filled with curiosity and questions and for the briefest of moments Lachlan thought their eyes met. Almost as soon as the tall bearded man turned away he noticed an ancient looking hat on a small plain wooden stool. Suddenly with out the slightest warning the hat sprung to life and its rasping voice boomed out trough the hall, this time Loch did jump, who ever herd of a singing hat?

Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can top them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a steady mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!

When the hat had finished its song Lachlan simply stared at it dumbfounded. Loch was a muggle born, he had been giving a taste of the wizarding word when he and his family had purchased his school supplies but never had he thought there would be anything like this hat. Lachlan’s mind raced over what the hat had said. Four houses, one for the brave, one for the patient and true, another for the wise and the last for those of cunning, what were they called again? Loch had already forgotten, and which would he be placed in? Was he even any of those things? As the boys mind rased the head master called out names and each child would cautiously sit upon the stool.

“Essie James!” the head master called and a girl surprisingly at ease with prospect of being sorted sprung forth, she smiled in a crooked way and in the same rasping voice as before the sorting hat bellowed “Slytherin!” Loch watched her descend, ‘and so that girl was cunning’ he thought to himself silently. “Barty Crouch!” the head master called and a slightly less confident boy stepped forward. He was soon sorted into Ravenclaw. And so on it went, the sorting hat called out its decisions and the group of first years got smaller and smaller and then finally “Lachlan Moore!” Loch swallowed hard and took a deep breath, absentmindedly has hand lifted and he pushed it through his hair. With eyes on the strange hat Lachlan made his way to the stool. Almost there, he moved up the few steps to the platform in front and to his horror one of his feet caught on the upper most step. The gangly boy came down to earth with a splat. Mortified Lachlan scrambled to his feet and plonked himself down upon the too small stood. All to aware of the giggling around him and the patter of water dripping from his school robes Lachlan watched the head master place the hat upon his head ‘am I brave? True? Cunning? Witty?’ Loch didn’t know he tried to think of instances when he had been those things but all to soon the hat was on his head and into his mind, something told the boy that this strange hat would know, even if he did not.

[Sorting Hat]

Hufflepuff.

[parisbathgate]

Paris looked at everyone as they got sorted. Some people were more nervous than others. Paris was very excited about starting Hogwarts. She wasn't that nervous but she didn't want to be placed into Slytherin house. Paris's name was called and she walked over to the stool and placed the hat on her head.

[Sorting Hat]

Gryffindor.

[Olivia Sciarrone]

Olivia was waiting in the line of students waiting to be sorted into her house. Olivia didn;t know much about the houses but she did know that she didn't want to be in Slytherin. She had discussed earlier with a girl she met about the houses. The girl had told her that she was headed to Gryffindor and it sounded like a pretty good house to be in.

The nice girl that she had met on the train was already sitting at the Gryffindor table. Finally she heard her name been called. She walked nervously up to the seat and sat down with the hat on her head. She was thinking to herself how it would be great to be in Gryffindor, with her new friend.

[Sorting Hat]

Gryffindor