Welcome Back Feast

The Great Hall rang with the echo of hundreds of voices. All the older classmates eagerly anticipated the sorting, more so the feast afterwards.

Boris DiGandi did, anyway. He didn't really care about the Sorting or any of the first years. His brother wasn't to be sorted until next year. So, he drifted in and out of his friends' conversation, and found himself to be drawn towards the ceiling above. It was a clear night, with the sky painted with countless stars.

Boris fiddled with his hat. He remembered his sorting. It was drizzling with rain, he was freezing since he didn't put on his cloak while he was changing. Since he was so shaken with nerves, he accidentally tipped out of boat right in the middle of the lake and...

Boris shuttered, he didn't want to remember that part. Fortunately, Dumbledore stood up and asked for everyone to quiet down, as the First Years were now going to be shepherded in.

And thus the first years shuffled in, similar to cattle. Some had wide eyes, others had their chests puffed far out, and some were dripping wet from unfortunate kracken scares as they rowed their way to the caste.

The yearly tradition quickly began, and before many of the first years could mumble about a musty, battered old hat, that very hat opens its mouth:

"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 cap 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 ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folks 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!"

And like clockwork, the first name was called.

"So it's just a silly hat! That's not very scary...." Rachel said, tugging on the hem of her jumper.

"God, you'd at least think they'd get something cute, like a beret or something.. Do you think they clean it?" Serenity was mumbling to a girl next to her.
"If I get Slytherin I'm going to vomit. Green does nothing for my complexion, and I don't have any silver accessories. I mean, could you imagine? I'm warm toned, they can't just expect me to sit in silver clothes.."

Rachel looked over at Serenity, and she rolled her eyes a little. "Slytherin isn't so bad. My mum was in it, and she didn't turn out evil." she whispered back. 'But, look how she turned out.'

The first few names were called. "Astor, Melenie."

Mel burst forth from the cess pool of infantile preteens like a cherry blossom and sprang up to the stool, skipping steps on the way up. The hat was placed on her head.

Amanda tugged nervously at her hair- somehow she managed to lose Nick in the crowd, and for the life of her she couldn't spot him. She eyed each student, desperately looking for a friendly face.

Meanwhile Clyde was doing as much as he could to avoid the cherub boy from the train.

The folds of the fabric curled up and it started down at Mel's shining, and innocent expression.

'Mmm... another Astor. You're not really like any of your siblings though, eh? Where to put you is the difficult decision. Perhaps Hufflepuff? No, not quite suited for you... ah... better be...

"SLYTHERIN!" the hat shouted.

~

The first Slytherin was sorted. Boris clapped politely for the girl.

~

"Brown, Libby!"

"I don't mind about the characteristics as much. But I simply cannot be caught dead in silver. It'll ruin my complexion. In all of my pictures from school, my future children will see me as a pasty wreck if I'm not in warm tones." Serenity whispered.
"I have to think of my future."

Nicolas had lost the only person at this school he felt comfortable with, and was now wedged between a bunch of eager first-years, all mumbling about what houses they would be sorted into. He just shifted his balance from one foot to the other, hoping that this would be quick. It seemed like they would be going in alphabetical order, though - and A was a long way from S.

After the polite applause for the girl just sorted into Slytherin quieted down, "Brown, Libby!" was called.

Libby, however, was at the very back of the crowd. What seemed like an eternity of quiet "excuse me"s and bumping into dozens of students, most of whom were much smaller than her, she made her way to the front. At that point, she stepped on her robe and nearly fell on her face, but managed to catch her balance by grabbing onto the stool. She casually turned herself around and slid onto the seat, hoping that nobody would notice (although she did hear quite a few giggles).

Jesus, this is awkward! She thought as the hat slid down over her scarlet face. But when it started talking to her, she nearly fell off of the stool.

You're a curious case, aren't you? Hmm... you're loyal to who you care about, like your brother. You're very passionate about what you do. Should I put you in Hufflepuff? Perhaps... ah, no! I know exactly where to put you!

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Professor McGonagall lifted the hat off of Libby's head, and she ran over to the Gryffindor table with a big grin on her face.

"Elddir, Krad!" McGonagall called.

Krad stumbled up to the sorting hat. He was a rather gangly young kid, with blueish tinted pale skin speckled with unsightly pink zits and irritated pores. He had greasy, curled dark hair that had just been cut short to his head, for the start of school, but it had previously stretched to his earlobes. His eyes were big and around, staring at the ceiling and all around him.
His parents had told him stores about Hogwarts, but it was certainly something to be seen in person. Krad's little neck was turning all around, almost as if he were muggle born.

He sat down on the stool and knocked his ankles together, as the hat was placed upon his head.

"Well, aren't you a little.. Erm.. Interesting little boy." The hat said in Krad's head.
"Are you talking to me?" Krad asked out loud. A few students in the front rows laughed a bit.
"Yes, and there's no need to speak. I can hear your thoughts, you know. All of them.. No, the ceiling will not show muggle airplanes. They're not entirely sightly. Why don't we get back on track? What house, what house.. Hmm, you're awfully bright, but.."
Krad started thinking at a rapid pace. Well, if you can read my thoughts, does that mean you are me? If you know everything I am, you are me. You're all of us. How does all of that get contained in a hat. If I could just harness your infinite knowledge, I would know every increment of knowledge about everyone. You could control the--
"SLYTHERIN."

"Fannings, Clyde!"

Clyde pushed through the mass of students in front of him, occasionally offering a few apologies as his elbows made contact with shoulders. One would think they would have everyone line up in alphabetical order to make the procedure smoother. But, alas, here he was worming his way past his peers.

Eventually he sat down on the stool, and attempted not to shudder with disgust as the age old hat made contact with his hair.

It seems as though you assumed I would barely touch a follicle of your hair before hollering Ravenclaw... Yes, you're quite clever, but there's something stirring that is rather fierce as well. Alas...

"RAVENCLAW!"

Clyde nearly leapt out of his seat, and was deaf to the customary applause following his sorting. He made his way to an open seat, trying to piece together the hat's words.

"Moreno, Rachel!"

Ah, finally they had gotten halfway through the alphabet. After "Moon" was sorted, Rachel was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet to be sorted. She practically skipped up to the stool-unlike many of the other children, she did not show a sliver of fright. For Rachel, being Sorted was a new beginning. A new beginning with new experiences, and new people.

She jumped right onto the stool, and her force made it almost topple over. But, she did not care about being dignified for once-she let Professor McGonagall slip that hat on over her head.

"Hmm... you certainly don't have a poor mind. You're rather sharp, and nothing seems to go over your head. At the same time, you have quite the feisty attitude, don't you? And you can be rather impulsive.. ah, you have quite the thirst for achievement, don't you? Very difficult...

"I don't really care where you put me, as long as it isn't in Hufflepuff!"

The folds of the Hat's fabric furrowed once more. The Great Hall was silent for about five minutes.

Finally, when the silence seemed almost unbearable for Rachel, it shouted "RAVENCLAW!"

Rachel happily had the hat taken off her, and she ran towards her new house's table.

As the clapping died down for the person before her, Amanda tightly clenched her fists at her side. For the past ten minutes she had been readjusting her hair, her skirt, even going as far as making sure she had not a single eyebrow hair out of place.

She grimaced at the mumbles and sound of her own name,
"Potter,"

Why was that boy who looked oddly similar to her starting to move up?

"Amanda."

She shrugged it off, politely squeezing by as he stepped back. Thank God she had been towards the front of the mass of students- minimal apologies and pushing was required.

She held her chin up high as the battered hat slipped past her ears and over her eyes. She nearly cheered at the fact that she didn't trip. Near.

You're a lot more bright than you let on, Ms. Potter. You could easily fit in as a Slytherin- you know exactly what people want to hear and how to acquire what you want. However, you know that you know and care a little to much around what those around you want to hear. What a shame, a Slytherin in your family is a rare thing...

"Ravenclaw!"

Amanda hopped off the seat, smiling shyly as she made her way to her new home.

"Rosensteel, Serenity!"

Serenity did a little strut up to the hat. She looked quite strange, but she knew Angel was in that audience. She had to make sure she looked fantastic.

She sat down on the bench, crossing her legs. McGonagall placed the hat on her head, and Serenity sat there with her head held high.
"Alright, Ms. Rosensteel.. You're a bit flighty, aren't you? Pretty brave, not afraid of much. Not Hufflepuff, then. Don't try to hold back your thoughts on me. You would really stalk that poor boy to Slytherin? For his sake, no to there too.. [i]Definitely not a Ravenclaw, so by process of elimination, I'd have to say..."
"GRYFFINDOR!"

Serenity beamed, took off the hat, and practically ran off to her new table. She would look lovely in red and gold.

"Sawyer, Nicolas!"

Despite how hard he was shaking, Nicolas managed to get up to the stool and sit down without tripping or falling. It was dark inside of the hat, which only made his heart race even faster.

There was no monologue. There was no long, drawn-out pause; the hat simply slid over Nicolas' eyes and yelled "RAVENCLAW!"

Nicolas stopped shaking immediately and he felt a huge grin go across his face. Yes! He was in the same house as Amanda! He handed the hat to McGonagall and practically skipped over to the table that was cheering the loudest (he still wasn't sure which house was which). He managed to find Amanda and sat with her, just as the next name was called.

"Silva, Maxwell!"

Max was the complete opposite from the boy who just went before him. He hissed an excited "It's my turn!" to a brown haired girl in pigtails, and then proceeded to gently push her out of the way.

He just laughed to himself when his foot got caught on his long robe on the way up to the stool. He sat down with an excited plop, and let the hat slip over his head.

"Plenty of-"

"Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor!" Max said. Hidden away in the hat, he was beaming a metallic smile, and he was gripping the sides of stool excitedly.

"Since you are so adamant about it, I think that Gryffindor would be the best choice for you as well."

So the Sorting Hat shouted "GRYFFINDOR!" and Max was all smiles as he ran towards the students clothed in the red and gold. He sat down next to a girl with long, dark hair, and he began to chat with his new classmates happily.

Mel wound up squeezing in beside Angel at the Slytherin table. She was staring down into her closed hands, wondering what had made the hat think she was fit for anything but Hufflepuff. Her stomach growled.

___

The mass of students was nearly thinned to a handful. "Vainglory, Wallace!" The rotund boy stepped up to the stool and sat down. To his dismay, a loud creak sang out through the silence of the hall. His eyes swept across the tables, trying to detect whether anyone had heard. The hat fit rather well on his head. It cringed a moment.

"An irregularity. Are they allowing those, now? I suppose you're nothing compared to what I've heard up here before. So, on with things, then..." Without further adieu, the hat let out a proclamation of "RAVENCLAW!"

The gaggle of First Years dwindled until the final one was sorted into Slytherin. Professor Dumbledore stood up, and made a little speech to the children.

And like that, mountains of food covered each of the four tables. The feast had begun.

Amanda's eyes widened as the plates were suddenly overflowing with food that appeared to be expertly made. She quickly began loading her plate with a steaming pile of mashed potatoes that were sitting directly in front of her.

As she eyed a stack of cheesy garlic bread that was making the rounds, she turned towards Nicolas, smiling widely.

"What luck that we both got sorted to Ravenclaw!"

At the Gryffindor table, Serenity had ended up sitting next to Libby, and was occasionally looking over at her. Occasionally she would grab a random piece of food that didn't look too fattening, like a muffin or something.
"You were in my carriage, huh? And now we're housemates. Libby, right? What an odd coincidence."

Rachel looked around her, before piling any food. On her right was that Indian girl Padma, who seemed to be ignoring her completely. Across from her was one of the most pale boys she had ever seen, who was struggling to eat through his freak show of a headgear piece.

She looked to left, and not far away from her was that Amanda girl. Amanda Potter.

She scooted down, and Rachel immediately began to pile some salmon and mashed potatoes onto her plate.

"Are you related to Harry Potter or something?" she interrupted.

Amanda paused her pursuit of the garlic bread, slightly holding her breath as she turned towards the interrupter.

A quick glance led Amanda to determine this girl, whoever she was, was one who a) wouldn't take no for an answer, and b) also enjoyed mashed potatoes.

Amanda nodded, smiling slightly. "Yup, he and I are related."

"Yeah!! I can't believe that happened!" Nicolas smiled at her, and started piling food onto his plate as this redheaded girl scooted over to them.


"Oh, hey! We were. Yeah, I'm Libby. And you're... Serene...ity?" Libby dwindled on the "ity," unsure if this girl's name was Serene or Serenity. She frowned slightly, hoping that she at least got that part right.

"Uh-huh, Serenity Rosensteel!" She took a bite of a corn muffin, before turning back to Libby.
"I'm actually kind of worried about my luggage. I have some fragile things in there, you know. Plus, my poor little kitty.." Her kitty was not little, in the slightest. She had brought an old fat thing, with long white fur, and a bow always tied around its thick neck.


~

Krad looked around at the other first years at his table. Not a one seemed to be interested in talking to him..
And then he saw the girl. He didn't know her name, all he knew was her pale skin and dark hair was the most beautiful thing an eleven year old could ever imagine.
"I'm Krad!" He squeaked out in her general direction.