//------------------------------// // The Sorting // Story: Twilight Sparkle and the School of Hogwarts // by DerpymuffinAuthor //------------------------------// The big oak door swung open. A tall witch in dark blue robes stood waiting, her hands were folded behind her back. Dark blue hair flowed down her back and over her shoulders. Her expression was stoic, bordering on statue-esque. "The first years have arrived, Professor Luna." The man said, gesturing to the collection of students that were clustered around the doorway. "Thank you, Whooves. We shall take it from here." Luna nodded to Whooves in dismissal. He gave a half bow, hanging the lantern on a hook hanging by the door, before running past the witch. Twilight attempted to peer around the other students, but she couldn’t see the man vanish. Professor Luna looked over the students before stepping aside, gesturing with one arm for the students to walk past her. They slowly filtered past her and into the comforting warmth of the castle. Twilight looked around the grand entrance hall with wide eyes. She was absolutely sure it was wide enough to put at least half of the Hogwarts Express inside. The stone walls were illuminated by torches that Twilight was sure were magic, and no matter how hard she looked, Twilight could not see the ceiling. Ahead of them was an elegant marble staircase leading up to the next floor. The oak door slammed shut, the sound startling several students and echoing through the hall. Professor Luna didn’t seem to care that it startled anyone, walking ahead of the group of students. “Follow me,” without looking back, the woman led the students towards the staircase. Twilight looked around at her fellow first-years as they followed Professor Luna across the flagged stone floor. The bottoms of Professor Luna’s shoes clicked on the floor, echoing above the low continuous sound of the students’ shoes. No student dared to speak. One student had silver hair in a mohawk style, another had evenly trimmed bluish-gray hair that covered half of her face. Pinkie walked alongside her, bouncing with each step and smiling ear-to-ear. Apple Jack walked right ahead of Twilight, Rainbow a step or two ahead of her. A few stray leaves of ivy were entangled in her rainbow hair. Fluttershy was nearby, looking over to Rainbow every few moments. Twilight noticed a gradual escalation of noise that wasn’t the footsteps, a drone of voices, hundreds of voices, which came from behind a large set of doors. The rest of the students were likely already inside, but Professor Luna was still leading the crowd ahead, eventually guiding them into an empty chamber. The first-years crowded together, looking around uneasily while Professor Luna simply turned to face them after she shut the door. "Welcome to Hogwarts, the start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but you will not take your seats in the Great Hall until you have been sorted in your houses," Luna paused, raking over the students with her sharp gaze once more before continuing. "The Sorting is a highly important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be your family within Hogwarts. You will share classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitories, and spend plenty of time in your house common room." Twilight wasn't expecting such an emphasis on your house being like your family. Now she was beginning to wonder if anyone she had met so far would be in the same house as her at all, or if she’d get in the same one as her brother. "There are four houses. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. These houses have their own noble histories and many outstanding wizards have come from them." Rainbow let out a small snort, instantly going stiff when Luna turned her gaze on Rainbow with a faint frown before she continued on again. "While at Hogwarts, your good deeds will earn you house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, whichever house has the most points shall be awarded with the house cup. A grand honor. We hope each and every one of you will be a credit to whichever house you become a part of." "In a few moments, the Sorting Ceremony shall begin and will take place in front of the school. We suggest preparing yourself as well as possible while you wait. We shall return when the ceremony is ready. Please do be quiet while you wait." Professor Luna turned on her heel and opened the door just enough for her to slip past before she shut it behind her. The sound was nearly as loud as when Professor Luna had shut the oak doors earlier. "So how do ya assume they sort us?" Apple Jack asked, trying to smooth down her frizzy hair as well as adjusting her stetson. Seemingly satisfied with that (although Rarity, who was in the corner of Twilight’s vision, clearly wasn’t), Apple Jack tugged on the collar of her robes. "Zephyr said it was some sort of test." Fluttershy whispered, nervously twirling her long pink hair around her hand. She had gotten closer to Twilight when the first years had been brought into the chamber. "He also said something about it being very extreme, but I don’t believe him." Rainbow turned to Twilight and Apple Jack, arms crossed, and her hair looking as wild as it did on the train. Fluttershy timidly informed her of the ivy leaves clinging to her hair and Rainbow quickly tried to comb it out of her hair with her hands. Twilight suddenly felt her stomach knot up. She tried to busy herself by adjusting her robes, ensuring they looked right. She was going to be performing a test in front of all those people. A large, judging crowd. So many concerns started to fill her head that she didn’t realize her hands were shaking. What if I fail and they send me back home!? What if I mess up and they all laugh at me!? "Twilight?" Apple Jack placed a hand on Twilight's shoulder, startling her. Twilight stared down at her shoes instead of looking up at Apple Jack’s face. "You nervous?" Twilight nodded and Apple Jack chuckled. "It'll be fine. I wish i'd asked Mac how the sortin' went." Twilight looked around, noticing everyone looked slightly nervous, even Pinkie looked slightly nervous (shifting from foot to foot, twining and un-twining her fingers) while Rarity was whispering something that sounded like a list of incantations and Twilight forced herself to pay attention to something different. She stared at the door. Any second now. Any second now... The chamber suddenly filled with several screams, causing Twilight to nearly leap out of her skin as she spun around in panic. "What on eart-" Apple Jack stopped mid-sentence, eyes going wide at the sight before her. A stream of transparent, pearly white people had come through the back wall, gliding past the first years as if they did not exist. Ghosts. One ghost seemed to be having a disagreement with another, saying something that was probably quite rude judging from the other ghost’s offended expression, adjusting his monocle as he went before suddenly taking notice of the first years. "Why, what are you all doing here? Sir, do you know why they're here?" He turned to the ghost behind him. The ghost in front of him (the one that was offended) continued forward, scowling. "Why, Fancy Pants, these are new students! About to be sorted, are you?" Several students nodded, seeming to have lost their voices in the presence of the ghosts. Fluttershy was cowering behind Rainbow. "Move along. The Sorting Ceremony is about to commence." The students turned to see Professor Luna standing in the now-opened doorway to the chamber. She glared at the ghosts until they had, one by one, left the chamber. When the last ghost was out of sight, Professor Luna took a quick look at the first years. "Form a line and follow us, please." Twilight, feeling like her feet had gone numb, got behind Apple Jack. Fluttershy still hung behind Rainbow, who was in front of Apple Jack. When the line formed, the Professor nodded and led them out of the chamber. The first years followed Professor Luna back through the hall and through a pair of double doors that opened into what Twilight assumed was the Great Hall. Several students gasped, one or two muttered vulgar words in their awe, but most just stared in amazed silence. The Hall was illuminated by hundreds of floating candles, floating above four long, wooden dinner tables where all the other students were currently sitting. Each table had table runners in their respective house colors. Golden plates and goblets were spread out over the table, the candle light glittering on them. At the furthest end of the hall from where Twilight stood, was another table, where several adults sat. It was set vertical to the House tables which were parallel to each other. Professor Luna led the first years towards it, guiding the group around one end of the hall. She stopped them right in front of the Professors’ table, which was on an elevated part of the floor. The first years turned to face the tables of students, the teachers simply observing without speaking. The hundreds of students were all staring at the new arrivals, the candle light making their faces look more warm than Twilight believed they were. Twilight could see the silver-white of the ghosts among the students, glaringly obvious among the deep and warm colors of the living students. Twilight felt like her legs would turn to jelly if she kept staring at the students who continued to stare back, so she looked upwards at the ceiling and was met with a sight of an clear black-blue sky. However, Twilight was sure that it was not the actual sky. Not a single cold breeze seemed to enter the Hall. "Macintosh tol’ me that it was bewitched ta' look like the sky." Apple Jack whispered, her accent suddenly a tad stronger, and Twilight stole a quick glance at her before looking back towards the tables of students, looking for the familiar blue hair that her brother had. It proved difficult as several of the students had that color of hair. None of them had the faces of Shining Armor. Twilight looked back to her first years, who were watching Professor Luna walk over. They watched as Professor Luna placed a stool in front of the group and set a tattered wizard's hat on top of it. Everyone stared at the hat, the entire hall in absolute silence aside from the few whispers of the students. Then the hat twitched and a rip widened like a mouth near the brim. Then it began to sing. Twilight couldn't make out most of the first part, but she did begin to understand it after a bit. "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 folk use any means To achieve their ends. So put me on, don't be afraid! And don't get in a flap. For it is I, the Sorting Hat!" The hat went still once the song ended and everyone applauded the performance, only quieting down once Professor Luna had stepped forward with a long stretch of parchment. "We shall call your names, and you are to sit on the stool and be sorted by the Sorting Hat," Luna paused to look at the list. "Griph, Gilda!" Gilda had long silver hair, the tips a slight purple color. She sat down quietly, looking rather uninterested as Professor Luna set the hat atop her head. "GRYFFINDOR!" The students at the table with the red and gold table runner burst into applause as Professor Luna took the hat and Gilda ran to the table, throwing out high fives to those at the table even though she likely didn’t really know any of them. "Lane, Thunder!" "GRYFFINDOR!" The hat proclaimed. The boy shot off, joining in on the high fives being shared at the Gryffindor table. "Dancer, Moon." "RAVENCLAW!" Another table burst into applause as their new member slowly walked in their direction. She looked relatively reserved, which those in her house seemed to understand. "Burst, Sun!" “RAVENCLAW!" Sun Burst looked much more anxious as he approached his house table than Moon Dancer. "Lulamoon, Trixie!" "SLYTHERIN!" Rainbow's crude remarks were drowned out by Slytherin's applause as their new member joined them, head held high. Twilight looked around for her brother once more, only half listening to the names and where the owner of those names went. A set of twin boys with white streaks in their red hair went to Slytherin… "Derpy Hooves" went to Hufflepuff… A 'Little Strongheart' went to Hufflepuff... Not too many now... A cousin of Apple Jack's went to Gryffindor... "Dash, Rainbow!" Rainbow tried to keep a proud look to her as she sat down and Professor Luna placed the Sorting Hat upon her head. "GRYFFINDOR!" Rainbow pulled off the hat, handed it to Professor Luna, and ran to her table, cheering and high-fiving everyone until she found a seat. Professor Luna watched her leave with a faint frown. "Belle, Rarity." Rarity stiffly walked over, looking rather nervous as if the hat would bite her when she put it on. However, she seemed to be murmuring something to herself in an attempt to relax. Her posture was relaxed but proper. "SLYTHERIN!" Rarity's eyes narrowed at Rarity, before turning and listening to the mutters from Gilda, who was sitting beside her. The two turned and looked to be glaring at Rarity who had not moved and was now gripping the stool so hard her knuckles were turning whiter than her natural color. Professor Luna took the hat off and gently nudged Rarity’s upper back. She slowly slid of the stool, took a deep breath to compose herself, and walked with a proud stance over to the table. The Slytherin table seemed happy for the new member and began to applaud her, which made her smile. "Pie, Pinkamena!" Pinkie bounced up to the hat, sitting down with a smile, waving at Rainbow and Rarity. Rarity returned her wave and Rainbow did as well, although much bolder. "HUFFLEPUFF!" Pinkie cheered, let Professor Luna take off the hat, and then bounced in the direction of the Hufflepuff table. Someone patted her on the shoulder. "Pie, Marble." The girl that approached the hat looked nothing like Pinkie. She had much more toned down colors and she looked like she would like to curl up rather than sit in front of the entire school. "HUFFLEPUFF!" Marble was very quick to run to her sister's side and Pinkie wrapped her in a hug. "Jack, Apple!" Apple Jack looked much more at ease than any of the others, walking casually up to the stool and adjusting her stetson, and Twilight could see Fluttershy desperately trying to hide behind her bangs as she and Twilight were one of the last few first years to be sorted. "GRYFFINDOR!" "Shy, Flutter." Fluttershy stared at the floor as she quickly sat down on the stool, distracting herself with her hair as Professor Luna placed the Sorting Hat on her head. As she sat there with the hat, Fluttershy stopped messing with her hair. She looked briefly startled before relaxing a little bit. "HUFFLEPUFF!" Fluttershy gently took the hat off and handed it to Luna before running to the Hufflepuff table, Pinkie Pie giving her a hug once she had sat down. She smiled at that and the gentle pat on the shoulder from someone else among the Hufflepuff table that Twilight couldn’t recognize. "Sparkle, Twilight!" At her name, Twilight began to slowly approach the hat, feeling like her insides were squirming. Once she sat down, Professor Luna set the hat on her head. Twilight was startled when the hat dropped over her eyes. "Hmm... Interesting." A voice whispered in her ear. "You are very brave... But you have wit... You are also very eager to be the greatest..... Hmm." Twilight couldn’t think of anything to say back to the hat and her tongue was sticking to the top of her mouth anyway. Twilight tried to think of what house she would prefer as the hat continued to mumble. Some small part of her hoped against Slytherin, but she wasn’t sure why. If anything, it made her feel a little bad. "GRYFFINDOR!" Twilight was quiet as Professor Luna pulled the hat off her head. She walked over to the applauding Gryffindor table, still fully comprehending the situation and taking it in. "TWILY!" Twilight was scooped up in a hug, which was from none other than Shining Armor. After about several long moments of this, he set her back down. He put his hands on her shoulders, smiling down at her. "I couldn't see you when I arrived." Twilight said as Shining gestured to a seat across from Apple Jack and her cousin from earlier. Twilight sat down next to her. "Maybe I was just too far back." Shining replied, looking up at the Sorting Hat and the few who were still waiting to be sorted. Now, Twilight could see the Professors’ table much better than before. The man who had guided the first years to the castle - Whooves - was sitting near the end of the table. He wore a red bowtie, for some odd reason. Perhaps for the occasion. The woman sitting next to him didn't exactly look like she belonged there. She was wearing a light pink shirt with sleeves that were greatly over sized, and her hair (which was a rosy color with streaks of orange) was full of dreadlocks which were half covered by an orange, floral patterned bandana. She wasn’t wearing robes like some of the other Professors. Next to that woman, sat a tall, thin looking man with short black hair, a white goatee, bushy eyebrows, and what looked like a snag-tooth. He wore robes that were split into two colors. Light purple and light blue. On the other side of the table sat a woman who was wearing many golden bracelets, bangles, (and an odd golden necklace that hid most of her neck) and huge golden ring earrings. Her long hair was streaked black and white, and a zebra hide cloak was pinned to the shoulders of her black robes. Next to her sat another woman. Her hair was differing shades of light pink, a couple freckles dotted her cheeks ,and she wore a necklace with three flower charms on top of her dark magenta robes. The third woman had curled, dark brown hair and she sported large blue ball earrings that matched the color of her eyes. She wore a white Victorian color over her black robes. The seat next to her was empty, but the seat after that (it was much more ornate than the rest of the chairs) sat a very beautiful looking woman. She had flowing, multi-color hair that drifted down out of Twilight's line of sight and a pointed, gold trimmed, pointed witch hat sat on top of her head. Her robes were white with beautiful golden patterns and small purple gemstones. Twilight knew exactly who she was. Celestia Celnis, Headmistress of Hogwarts. "Pommel, Coco." Twilight looked up as a clearly nervous girl sat on the stool, fidgeting her hands in her lap. "HUFFLEPUFF!" Rainbow let out a small shout of enthusiasm as the new Hufflepuff walked to the table of cheering students. As she walked to the table, Professor Luna rolled up the list and pulled out her wand, giving it a quick wave. The list, stool, and the Sorting Hat vanished. Small sounds of awe came from the now-sorted first years. Twilight heard a small growling come from Apple Jack's stomach. She suddenly realized how hungry she was, herself. Celestia stood up, holding out her arms and smiling. Her robe sleeves were wider towards the end, revealing her pale wrists wrapped in golden, jewel studded bracelets. She wore far more jewelry than the average wizard, as far as Twilight had seen. "Welcome, everyone, to a wonderful new year at Hogwarts! Now before our banquet begins, I have a few words to say: Neightwit! Flank! Odcur! Thank you!" Twilight stared at Celestia, mouth opened slightly as if to ask a question. That wasn't a spell that Twilight ever read or head of before. Perhaps Shining Armor would understand. Celestia nodded her head and sat back down as the school cheered and applauded her, excluding the confused first-years. "Is she mad or-?" Apple Jack went silent as the table before them suddenly filled with food, practically hiding the table runner completely. Twilight gaped at it for a long moment, while Rainbow and Apple Jack stacked their plates high with things like roast beef, chicken, pork chops, steak, roasted and boiled potatoes, pudding, and stewed vegetables. Twilight began to take a little bit of everything, the hall being filled with the sound of silverware meeting plates as everyone started to eat. No one was really talking for the first few minutes of the banquet, as they were too busy stuffing their faces. "That looks delightful." Twilight looked up, dropping her fork as a ghost drifted up through the table. Apple Jack swallowed a bite of roasted potatoes and looked up at the ghost. Twilight could recognize him, as one of the ghosts from before the Sorting. "You can-?" "I haven't eaten for hundreds years, sadly. Very unfortunate. I -of course- don't have to eat but one begins to miss it after a while." The ghost looked slightly sad for a moment, and Twilight could tell that Apple Jack regretted asking. "I haven't introduced myself, have I? Apologies. My name is Sir Fancy De Haris Pants, Resident Gryffindor ghost." "My brother told me 'bout you. You're Fancy Pants, right?" Apple Jack asked, going for another bite of roast beef. "I prefer Sir Fancy De Harris Pants, thank you." The ghost snapped irritably before clearing his throat and looking at the other first years. "New Gryffindors! I hope you'll help Gryffindor win the house championship this year. I can't recall the last time Gryffindor went so long without winning. Slytherin has had the cup for almost seven years straight, now! Honestly, Stinkin' Rich has become unbearable." Twilight noticed Rainbow was glaring at the mentioned table. "Stinkin' Rich is the Slytherin ghost," Shining Armor explained quickly, turning back to his plate. After a while, and everyone had finished their plates, the plates suddenly were clean of all food remnants. They were sparkling like they were when before the Sorting. Twilight's eyes widened as desserts suddenly appeared in place of the food that had previously sat there. Ice cream in every flavor possible, several different type of pies, treacle tarts, all kinds of jam doughnuts, trifles arranged neatly on a revolving platform, pudding, and strawberries. Apple Jack grabbed a large portion of apple pie, clearly happy to eat something apple flavored while Rainbow and Gilda tried to see who could eat the most doughnuts before getting sick. Twilight took a few trifles to eat, listening as the conversation around her turned to family and relatives. "My dad's a wizard, but my mom's a squib, so she was worried me and my brother wouldn't be able to do magic. Boy, did she cry when we got our letters." Thunder Lane was talking to a rather muscular, blonde third year with an ear piercing who was quietly eating a treacle tart as he listened. "I was pretty shocked when I got my letter, I have to admit. Turns out my great grandparents weren't muggles and my dad never told me 'cause he thought I wouldn't be able to do magic. My parents are pretty chill about it, though." A third year was saying to Apple Jack's cousin, Braeburn. Twilight turned her head, listening to a couple Gryffindors talking about the lessons and what they were looking forward too. "Transfiguration sounds pretty great. But it also sounds pretty hard..." "It is, but we start out pretty easy. You’ll be fine." Twilight stopped listening, looking over to the teachers. Whooves was talking to the woman who wore the zebra cloak. Meanwhile, Professor Celestia seemed to be having a pleasant conversation with Professor Luna and the tall man with the long tooth. Of course, Twilight didn't watch long, as the vanishing of the deserts (and the small moan from Rainbow who had crammed one more doughnut than Gilda into her mouth) caught her attention. Professor Celestia got to her feet and the hall went silent to listen to their headmistress. "Now, there are a few more words I have to say, now that we have all been fed. A few start-of-term notices for you all." Professor Celestia cleared her throat before continuing. "For all the first years, please take notice that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all students, and our older students are right to remember that. Mr. Doodle, the caretaker, has requested that I make sure to remind you all should not be using magic in the corridors between classes. Professor Breeze will be holding Quidditch trials during the second week of the term and that anyone who is interested in playing for their house Quidditch team should contact her." Rainbow lifted her head from the table at the mention of the sport, reminding Twilight of her several mentions about it on the train. "And at last, it is mandatory I tell you that for this year, the third-floor corridor on the right hand side is restricted to everyone who is not willing to die a most painful death." Shining Armor looked rather surprised at this information. "You think she'd at least tell the prefects why we can't go up there, at the very least." He muttered, although Professor Celestia continued. "Now that we have gotten all of those announcements done and over-with, off to bed you go!" The Gryffindor first years followed Shining Armor past the loud crowds of the other houses, out of the Great Hall and up the marble staircase. Twilight legs felt heavy and her eyes were starting to somewhat ache. Taking a quick look around her, the other Gryffindor students looked tired as well. The group passed by dozens of paintings as they walked down the corridors, the subjects inhabiting them waving and giving greetings. Shining guided them past tapestries, up staircases, and past doorways behind sliding panels. He was constantly checking over his shoulder as if one of the students would drop asleep any moment. Which, seemed rather likely with how slow they walked and how much they were yawning. The group ended up coming across a rather displeased looking female ghost with long pale hair. "More first years, hmm?" She asked with an accent similar to Fancy Pants’. Shining simply guided the group around the ghost, telling her to get lost or go find Fancy Pants. The ghost remained there, pouting as she watched Shining lead the group to a portrait of a woman with dark gray hair, wearing a pink bowtie. A violin was in the background of her painting, the setting seeming to be an empty ballroom with marble floors. "Password?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at Shining. "Clumsy Draconequus," Shining said and the portrait swung forward like a sideways trapdoor, revealing a passageway that was well concealed behind it. He ushered the first years in first. When they climbed through, they found themselves in a cozy, round room full of comfortable looking red armchairs and gold tassel ended rugs and curtains. "This is the Gryffindor Common Room," Shining gestured to two stairways, directing the girls into one, and boys towards the other. At the top of the staircase was a collection of four poster beds hung with red velvet curtains which were probably meant to give a feeling of privacy. There were more stairs that likely led to more beds upstairs. There was one big, tall window at the far end of the room. The first years’ trunks had already been brought up and were now sat at the end of the beds. Owlicious' cage sat on top of Twilight's trunk, but it was empty. They must have let him out to get some fresh air. Twilight walked over and set the cage down beside her bed, opening the trunk and rooting through it to get to the pajamas she had packed at the bottom. Rainbow took the bed across from Twilight while Apple Jack took the bed next to her. Gilda took the remaining bed next to Rainbow. AJ set her stetson on top of her trunk after pulling out some pajamas and slipped into her bed, changing behind the privacy of the curtain. Rainbow did the same, throwing her robes over her trunk without much of a care when she had changed and curling up under the blankets with a content sigh. Gilda did the same as Rainbow, only her robes quickly dropped off the edge of her trunk and onto the floor. Not that she seemed to care. It did bother Twilight, though. She neatly folded her robes and put them on top of the other things in her trunk, but not before sneaking out an old stuffed animal when she was sure no one else was watching. The bed was extremely comfortable and in her tired state, she compared it to the fantastical idea of sleeping on a cloud. She held the stuffed animal close to her chest as she reached out to pull the curtains shut. She took one long look at the moon, its light streaming through the big window and onto the floor. It was muffled by the magic wall torches that cast a warm orange-red glow on everything. Twilight liked that her bed was so close to the window. She enjoyed the stars, a lot of the books she kept in her room were about stars and planets. She remembered an old muggle book she had read through that was about the stars. Twilight suppressed a yawn as she shut her curtains, enclosing her in darkness aside from the small beam of moonlight that peeked through a small gap. Twilight rolled over and snuggled under the covers, hugging Smarty Pants close to her chest as she quickly drifted into a deep sleep.