CHAPTER TWO – THE SORTING HAT
After a long wait, the trio finally heard footsteps coming up to the office. They finished their last drop of drinks and popped a candy into their mouths before rushing to their seats in front of the Headmaster’s table.
There were a number of teachers coming in. There was an old-looking teacher who came in wearing maroon robes and a pair of half-mooned glasses. There was Prof. McGonagalle and Hagrid, and there was a ghost teacher, much to the trio’s horror, floating in. More teachers came in, one after another. Come to think of it, the trio thought that the whole Hogwarts staff has come into the Headmaster’s office.
Finally, the last teacher stepped in. Jude was quite taken aback to see him. He was a man in his 30’s, with sallow skin, almost going pale. His eyes were like Hagrid’s but not as friendly. In fact, they were like dark tunnels. He had greasy hair that reached shoulder-length. His nose was crooked and his whole facial expression was that of a cold and calm state. Totally expressionless, to be exact. Jude couldn’t help staring at him. He looked so mysterious, as if you’ll never guess what’s going on in his mind. The teacher glared coldly back at her, sending a cold chill down her spine.
“Everyone please take your seats. The Special Sorting is about to start,” the old man with half-mooned glasses announced to all the Hogwarts staff. They obeyed and waved a wand, saying “Accio chair”. Automatically, the chairs came towards them and formed a circle. They took their seats and waited patiently.
“Girls, you may take your seats too,” the old man said as he used his own magic to bring three stools for them to sit. They left their original seats and sat on the stools in the middle of the circle.
“Have you eaten your supper, girls?” Prof. McGonagalle asked.
“Oh yes, ma’am. Thank you very much,” Rach tried to sound as polite as possible. She always wanted to make a good impression on someone.
“Right. Let’s start then,” the old man said. “Good evening, girls. I am your Headmaster, Prof. Albus Dumbledore. We gathered you girls here today for a special sorting session.”
“What about the other students? Aren’t they going to take this session?” Becka asked.
“They have, but the sorting session was a normal one. You girls are special. You are different than the rest. We are going to sort you into your suitable houses. It will be your house for the rest of your 7 school years here.”
“7? I didn’t know we’re going to study 7 years in here! Our parents didn’t inform us that!” Jude exclaimed. Headmaster Dumbledore chuckled.
“Now you know, girls. Now, if you would be so kind as to tell us your names.”
The trio told them. Headmaster Dumbledore nodded and called out, “Bring in the Mystic Sorting Hat.”
A spindly man came in with two hats, with a tabby cat following at his feet. The hats were quite different from each other. One was scrawny and worn-out and obviously had been through a lot of wear and tear, judging by the stitches on it. It was old, very old, like it had been there for a century. Its black seemed pretty menacing. The other hat was completely different. It was very clean and well dusted. It seemed very new, as if it was bought from the shop a few hours after display. The sewing was very neat and tidy. It was obvious that it was made by a professional. And it was white in colour, like the colour of snow. Prof. Dumbledore took the white hat. The spindly man took the black one away for safe-keeping.
“Sir, what’s the black hat for? It looks so old,” Jude was curious.
“That, Judith, is the sorting hat for the normal session. For your case, we’re going to use this white hat.”
Suddenly, the hat crinkled a little to form somewhat like a face. It moved around, looking at the horrified trio with much interest, then said in a deep voice, “So, these are The Ones I have to help you sort out, eh?”
“Yes, they are, Mystic. Do your bidding and sort these girls to their rightful houses,” Prof. Dumbledore grinned at the hat jovially. The hat nodded.
“It’ll be my pleasure. Who would like to start first?”
The trio pointed at each other. Neither of them wanted to start first. No way were they going to put on a hat that was actually alive. Though it seemed pretty interesting and new to Jude, she didn’t want to risk anything terrible.
“Don’t worry, girls, I’m not going to eat your brains,” the hat said with a smirk. “I’m only going to read your mind a little so that I know which house suits you. Come along now, it won’t hurt a bit.”
Finally, Jude volunteered to try it on. She took the white hat and put it on her head and tried to sit as quietly as possible. Somehow she found comfort in looking at the cold-faced teacher, which surprised him quite a bit, but received a cold stare as a reply. She crossed her legs and fingers, hoping for the best.
“Ahh! Yes! Very confident of yourself, aren’t you? I see something really dark inside you, fighting to get out. Ooh, not a very friendly thing now, isn’t it? So loomingly dark. You’re going to end up being consumed by it sooner or later, young lady,” Jude could hear the hat mumbling in her head. “Tell me, little girl, if you were to have found a bag of Galleons, what would you do? You can think it out, no need to say it aloud.”
“I would definitely spend it. Galleons are gold! You gotta be stupid not to spend it!” Jude exclaimed in her head.
“Interesting. I see someone has made you cross for a while. Who is it? Hannah, I presume?”
The hat really read her mind! Hannah was her very close friend when they were in primary school. They were so close that many mistaken them for sisters. She thought their friendship will last forever, but Hannah had betrayed her by taking away the boy she had a crush on. It took so long for her to get the boy to notice her, but Hannah swiped him away under her nose so easily. It took her months to recover, and about a year before she was able to trust her girlfriends Becka and Rach.
“I see a lot of anger in this one. You really hate her, don’t you, little girl? How much? Tell me.”
“Enough to kill her!” Jude’s heart was burning in rage, unable to control the demon inside her. She felt a fire burning in her, raging like a beast ready to kill anyone in her path.
“Now, now, little girl, there’s nothing to be upset about. You obviously have better talents than this, I can see that,” the hat calmed Jude a little before announcing its decision to the Hogwarts staff, “Attention, everybody! This girl is talented and cunning, dark and mysterious. She is a definite…SLYTHERIN!!”
The Hogwarts staff clapped their hands and the cold-faced teacher nodded at them with not much facial expression. Prof. Dumbledore gestured Jude to go and sit beside the teacher, much to her surprise. She moved her stool and sat a bit nearer to him. She tried to smile at him but he glared at her coldly, which made her feel awkward and shrink.
Next it was Becka’s turn. She put on the hat and the hat started commenting right away, “Ahh, now this is a lovely thought! Thank you for complementing on me, little girl! I appreciate that. Let’s see…you’re a pretty daring little child, and filled with chivalry. OK, you’re quite brave at heart. You are pretty helpful, aren’t you? You’d do anything you can to keep the friendship bond together now, would you not? Gee, you’re pretty uptight when it comes to betrayal. Let me ask you, if you found a bag of Galleon, what would you do, really?”
“I’d donate it,” Becka replied in her head.
“That’s a kind thought. My, my, I see you’ve done a brave deed saving your sister from being harassed by thugs.”
The hat was right. She had a very beautiful younger sister whom she was very protective to when she was a kid. Many liked her sister, including a bunch of thugs, one of them who was quite handsome. She had to constantly chase them away with a broom when they appeared at her house to see her pretty sister. You can say she was her sister’s bodyguard.
The hat then announced, “It looks like we have another person joining the…GRYFFINDORS!!”
As the staff clapped, Becka slowly brought her stool to sit beside Prof. McGonagalle, whom Prof. Dumbledore gestured her to sit with. Finally it was Rach’s turn. She put on the hat and sat there waiting for the hat to make its decision.
“Oh, I like this one! I see you’re a wise, witty little girl. Maybe a wee bit minute, but size doesn’t really count now, does it? Interesting. You have the urge to learn more and to gain more interesting facts and information into your mind. Careful your brain doesn’t explode! You criticize a lot, don’t you? I thought so. You always want to be exact. A perfectionist, I see. So, if you saw a bag of Galleons, what would you do? Spend it?”
“I’m not that bad,” Rach replied. “I’d rather save it so that I can use it for the benefit of my future!”
“Ahh, a future-planner, eh? Much to be accounted for. Wow, I can see you were the class genius. You never fail in your exams now, do you?”
How true the hat was. Never before has she got last in her class. She always gets into the Top Three. No question was too difficult for her, that she can be sure. She could master almost everything given for her to study. High marks were not a problem for her. She was the pride of her class and of her family, although it had some stressing drawbacks.
“Ladies and gentlemen of Hogwarts, we have a prized jewel. Introducing the future of…RAVENCLAW!!”
Prof. Dumbledore gestured her to sit beside a short, jovial man. She obeyed. The teacher was all smiles. Rach couldn’t help feeling that he looked a little bit of a pervert. The spindly man came and took the hat, which has resumed to its original hat state. Prof. Dumbledore stood up and said, “Very nicely sorted, Mystic. Girls, from now on you will be placed into the houses the hat has mentioned. As I have said, it will be your houses throughout your 7 school years. Let me introduce your house teacher. Judith, this is your house teacher, Prof. Severus Snape. Rebecca, your house teacher will be Prof. Minerva McGonagalle. And Rachel, your teacher is Prof. Flitwick. Get acquainted with each other now.”
He then allowed Prof. McGonagalle to explain the rules to them before adjourning the sorting session. The trio said goodnight to each other and went with their respective house teachers. Becka was, as expected, given a lecture by Prof. McGonagalle about forbidden misbehaviour along the way to her homeroom. Funnily though, her homeroom door was a portrait and her password was “Twinkle Toes”. Rach was showered with enthusiastic conversation (which she considered quite lame) by Prof. Flitwick. Her homeroom was a secret door on a wall and her password was “Potty Peroo”.
Jude followed her house teacher quietly. He wasn’t the type for intimate conversation and she definitely did not want to create trouble on her first day in a foreign place. He took her down to the cold, murky dungeons and brought her to face a dungeon wall. He said the password in a silky voice, “Dark Dragon” and the wall opened up to reveal a sinister and dark-looking room.
“This is your common room. Your password is ‘Dark Dragon’. Remember that and do not reveal it to anyone. You may enter and retire to your bed now. Look for Malfoy. He will show you the way.”
Jude took a step into the common room and paused. Finally she couldn’t hold the question that was burning in her heart and asked, “Sir, why are we here? What connection are we to this school? It’s not just because we’re borne witches, right?”
Prof. Snape was silent for a moment before answering, “It is not for you dunderheads to understand.”
What a totally unfriendly teacher! Jude was quite insulted by this attitude of his. Even the meanest teacher in her school wasn’t as mean and cold as this! She finally found Malfoy, who was a quite smart blonde with unkind gray eyes. He took her to a girl called Pansy Parkinson, who in turn showed her to the girls’ dormitory. Max was there to greet her. Jude felt much better. At least her dog was there to cheer her up.
That night, when she slept, she had a very weird dream. She found herself standing a few distance away from a body drenched in red blood. The body was pretty much torn to pieces. She looked at her hands and saw that her hands were, too, covered with red, sticky blood. Her heart filled with fear and anxiety, as if she had done a serious crime she had no idea of.
That was when she felt a certain cold presence behind her. Yet it felt familiar, like she had ever experienced this feeling before. She turned around to see who it was.
It was Prof. Severus Snape.
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