The Sorting Ceremony

As night fell completely, the train slowed and finally came to a stop. The passengers squeezed out of their compartments and shoved their way toward the doors. Through the windows, they could see a tiny, dark platform, where a man holding a lantern shouted, "First-years, this way! First-years, this way! Leave your luggage behind; we'll send it to the school later."

He had said nothing funny, yet the older students snickered and deliberately mimicked his accent, laughing loudly. The dog at the lantern-bearer's feet kept barking furiously at them.

Pomona, Lily, and Snape followed the flow of people down the corridor. The moment she stepped off the train, the biting wind made Pomona shiver. She could not help sneezing, drawing the attention of a handsome boy.

"Oh, damn it, you got snot on my robes," he complained loudly, attracting many people's attention. Pomona's face turned bright red.

"My name is Apollon Pringle, and I'm your caretaker. This is Mr. Pluto," the lantern-bearer said, pointing to his dog. "You are about to become students of Hogwarts, but I must remind you that there are many dangerous places in this castle. If I catch you, the worst that will happen is losing points or being expelled. But if they catch you, you'll lose your lives. Now I'll take you to the castle. Watch your step, and don't fall behind!"

"Snotface." As the crowd began moving again, the gray-eyed boy yelled at Pomona, and the people around them began snickering.

"You're so rude!" Lily snapped at the boy. "You're such a petty little brat!"

Perhaps because Lily was very pretty, the boy merely snorted and stopped bothering them. They followed Pringle, slipping and stumbling down a steep path through a dense forest. When they rounded a bend, everyone gasped. At the end of the path lay a vast black lake, and on the hillside across from it stood a magnificent castle. Its towers pierced the sky, and every window glowed orange. The castle and its lights reflected upon the still lake, beautiful beyond words. Pomona had never seen such a grand building in her life, and she could not help gasping along with everyone else.

"Everyone aboard! No more than four people per boat," Pringle said, pointing at a row of boats by the shore. Pomona, Lily, Snape, and a boy who had appeared from nowhere climbed into one boat together. Yet after boarding, Pomona searched for quite a while without finding any oars.

Once everyone had taken their seats, Pringle boarded a boat by himself. Then all the little boats began moving on their own. They silently cut across the lake, shattering the shimmering reflections on its surface as they slowly sailed toward the enormous castle rising into the clouds.

"Duck!" Pringle shouted as they passed beneath a curtain of ivy. Everyone lowered their heads, avoiding the rocks hidden behind the vines. They arrived at a concealed entrance and followed a pitch-black tunnel into the castle's underground level. At last, they reached what looked like an underground dock. At the top of a flight of steps paved with broken stones, a witch in emerald-green robes stood waiting before the great doors.

"Get off the boats, one at a time. Don't fall into the water," Pringle said after reaching the shore first, though he made no move to help anyone.

Snape jumped ashore first, then helped Lily onto land. Pomona had intended to get off by herself, but the boat rocked violently, and the boy behind her could barely keep his balance either. She felt as though she were about to fall into the lake.

"Take my hand," Snape said impatiently. Pomona seized it as though it were a lifeline.

His hand was not as cold as she had expected, though it could hardly be called warm. Once Pomona was ashore, he ignored the boy. In the end, Pomona found the boy too pitiful and reached out to pull him up.

"Thank you," the small boy said humbly. His teeth protruded, making him look like some sort of rodent.

"The first-years are all here, Professor McGonagall." Once everyone had disembarked, Pringle led the new students up the stone steps. Pomona could see more clearly now. Honestly, if Professor McGonagall were not so stern, she would have been quite beautiful.

"Thank you, Mr. Pringle." Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and announced, "Welcome to Hogwarts. I am McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor. For the next seven years, you will spend most of your time in the castle behind me. There are two rules you must obey. The Forbidden Forest is absolutely off-limits to students, and after lights-out, you are forbidden from wandering outside the common rooms. Please form two lines. Once we enter the hall, step forward when I call your name. I will place the Sorting Hat on your head, and it will tell you which House you belong to. Any questions?"

A black-haired boy raised his hand.

"Yes, sir?"

"I heard that a few years ago, a Muggle-born girl died in the girls' lavatory, and that a student from this school did it. Is that true, Professor McGonagall?"

Lily's entire body tensed.

"It is true that someone died, but the murderer was not a student of this school. It was some magical creature that had infiltrated the school. As I said, the four founders placed protective enchantments over Hogwarts. As long as you do not leave your dormitories or common rooms at night, you need not worry about your safety. Any more questions?"

The boy raised his hand again.

"What is your name?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"James Potter."

Snape gave a cold snort, as though he held the name in contempt.

"What is your question?"

"If the Sorting Hat unfortunately puts me in Slytherin, can I drop out?"

"Everyone, form two lines!" Professor McGonagall did not answer his question. After a burst of chaos, the new students finally arranged themselves. McGonagall then turned and tapped the doors with her wand. With a heavy groan, the double doors slowly opened. After passing through a long corridor, they reached the hall. Behind the closed doors, they could hear hundreds of people talking.

"In a moment, we will hold the start-of-term feast in this hall. Your House will be like your home at Hogwarts, where you will study alongside your fellow students. The four Houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each House has its own glory. Outstanding conduct during your years here will earn points for your House, while rule-breaking will lose points. At the end of the year, the House with the highest score will win the House Cup, the greatest honor of all. I hope that whichever House you enter, you will bring it honor. The Sorting Ceremony will begin in the hall behind me in a few minutes. When I call your name, step forward. I suggest you tidy yourselves up."

At once, some young wizards nervously straightened their clothes, while others took the opportunity to whisper among themselves.

"I bet this is her first time leading a group," James Potter said with a cheeky grin to the boy who had called Pomona Snotface.

"Lily, don't worry. We'll both be sorted into Ravenclaw," Snape reassured Lily Evans. Lily managed a faint smile at him.

"Are you all ready?" Professor McGonagall asked. When no one answered, she pushed open the doors to the hall. A burst of applause immediately rose from within.

No words could describe the wondrous sight Pomona saw. The ancient stone hall was enormous, with four long tables arranged lengthwise. At the end of each table hung a House banner, trailing from the ceiling all the way to the floor in extravagant splendor.

Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of candles floated in midair, above which stretched a vast starry sky. At the front stood a marble staircase, and before it was a long table arranged crosswise, with all the teachers seated behind it. At the head sat an elderly man wearing half-moon glasses. He often appeared on Chocolate Frog cards. He was the wizard who had defeated Grindelwald: Albus Dumbledore.

They followed Professor McGonagall forward, passing between the tables. Pomona could not help glancing toward the Slytherin table, and immediately saw Bellatrix Black. She was glaring viciously in their direction, making Pomona even more afraid to raise her head.

There were fewer than a thousand people in all of Hogwarts. This was the entire wizarding population of Britain. Soon they stopped before a raised platform, where a chair stood with an ugly, old, dirty hat resting on a velvet cushion. It looked terribly out of place.

"Now, merge the two lines into one," Professor McGonagall said, then fell silent. After another bout of confusion, the two lines finally joined together. Pomona stood behind Snape, while Lily stood before him.

Once everyone was in place, the hall fell silent again. Then the patched hat actually began to sing.

"You may think I'm nothing much to see, but don't judge by appearances. If you can find a hat cleverer than me, I'll eat myself."

It sang wildly off-key. The students from the other Houses looked utterly bored, and Pomona's mind began to wander as well. Then she happened to spot Pete. He waved at her and silently mouthed, "Good luck."

Hufflepuff had the most students, so Pomona was not worried about herself at all. She only felt a little sorry for Severus Snape. He likely would not get his wish of entering Ravenclaw.

Professor McGonagall took out a parchment and began reading names. The line grew shorter and shorter, and Pomona came to know many people. The boy who had called her Snotface was Sirius Black. When the Sorting Hat placed him in Gryffindor, Bellatrix Black drew her wand on the spot. If Slughorn, the Head of Slytherin, had not stopped her, Pomona had no doubt that she would have cast Avada Kedavra at Sirius.

"Pomona Martin."

Though she stood behind Snape, the first letter of Pomona's surname came before Snape's and Evans's. Just as she had expected, she was sorted into Hufflepuff.

"Where's the Fat Friar?" she asked an older student after taking her seat.

"Over there, beside Dumbledore." The older student pointed at a pearly-white ghost. "He's trying to persuade the headmaster to invite Peeves to the feast again."

Pomona looked at Dumbledore. She did not know whether it was her imagination, but she felt that he was looking in her direction. She did not pay much attention to it, though, because Professor McGonagall soon called Lily's name.

The red-haired girl took a deep breath and quickly sat down in the chair. The moment Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on her head, it shouted, "Gryffindor!"

The Gryffindor table immediately erupted in cheers. In contrast, Snape made no attempt to hide his disappointment.

"Severus Snape!"

Professor McGonagall soon called his name. The Sorting Hat rested on his head for a while before finally shouting, "Slytherin!"

Pomona was almost certain she could hear Snape's heart breaking. Sure enough, he had not been placed in Ravenclaw. Instead, he had been sorted into Slytherin, Gryffindor's rival House.

After the last student was sorted into Hufflepuff, Professor McGonagall rolled up the parchment and took away the Sorting Hat. Then Dumbledore tapped a crystal goblet and slowly rose to his feet.

Just as Pomona thought he was about to make a long speech, he merely said, "Welcome to Hogwarts. Before the feast begins, I would like to say this: brooms, cake, crying. Thank you all." Then he sat down. Everyone applauded enthusiastically, and suddenly the empty tables were piled high with delicious food. The feast had begun.

Pomona could not help looking toward Gryffindor and Slytherin. Lily Evans looked somewhat nervous, but she was still speaking normally with the others. Snape, meanwhile, had his head lowered as he ate from his plate, his expression hidden from everyone.

You need a life of your own, Pomona.

She picked up her knife and fork, placed a piece of steak on her plate, and chewed it like wax. If Hogwarts's House-elves knew what she was thinking, they would surely cry.