The Hat's Verdict
The train journey went by too fast. Hermione found it confusing — wizarding society was far more complicated than she had imagined. As Harry, Neville, and Hermione searched for a place to sit, they came across a red-headed boy who seemed friendly enough, but the interaction left her puzzled.
"Hey Ron, can we sit here?" Harry asked.
"Hiya, Harry," Ron replied, hesitating. "My mother said I shouldn’t talk to you and Neville. She says your families have betrayed the Order and… Dumbledore."
Harry smiled sadly. He had expected this but had hoped that he could at least retain his old friendships.
The three friends eventually found an empty compartment and settled in. Harry suddenly burst out, sounding frustrated, "Is this how it’s going to be now? Will the professors treat us like this too? My parents warned me that the school was firmly divided into two camps, but I didn’t expect people I had known for years — people I grew up with — to ignore me."
Hermione sat quietly, more than a little confused.
Neville gave a small, pained smile. "Maybe this will help us know from the start who our real friends are — the ones who’ll stand by us."
Harry shook his head, looking annoyed. "And who would that be? Just the three of us?"
Before Neville could reply, someone knocked on the compartment door. It slid open to reveal Draco Malfoy standing in the doorway. He gave Hermione a small smile.
"Ms. Granger," he greeted smoothly. Then he looked at Neville. "How are you doing, Neville? Thought I’d drop in to say hello."
Neville blinked, a little surprised. He hadn’t thought Draco would go out of his way to seek someone out — he always seemed like someone who waited for others to come to him.
"Hi Draco, I didn’t realize you already knew Hermione. This is Harry Potter."
Draco’s gaze sharpened as he turned toward Harry. "Oh, I know who he is — the boy whose parents changed the entire resistance."
Harry’s eyes narrowed. "I didn’t realize your so-called friend was actually here to make fun of us."
Draco smirked. "Oh, this is me being nice. But, I must say, it takes incredible courage to make the decision your parents made for your family. You are incredibly loved."
Harry’s expression softened, but before he could respond, Draco backed away from the doorway with a quick smirk at Hermione.
"I have a feeling our paths will cross again soon," he said with a glint in his eye.
Hermione stared after him, scowling. "Who is he? I met him at the station, and he acts like he’s better than everyone else — as if we’re all puppets in a game he’s controlling."
Neville shrugged. "That’s just Draco. But he’s not all bad — very discerning, and someone I’d be okay spending time with."
"How do you know him?" Harry asked.
Neville hesitated. "My grandmother took me to Malfoy Manor last month. She seems… taken with him."
Harry’s eyebrows shot up. "Your grandmother liked someone?!"
Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Why are you so shocked?"
Harry snorted. "Augusta Longbottom is a dragon. Her expectations are sky-high."
The conversation drifted into easier topics after that, and the three of them shared in the quiet excitement — and anxiety — of what lay ahead.
The Sorting
Hermione walked into the Great Hall alongside her friends and other students, almost in a trance. The candles floating above were beautiful, burning steadily without any wax dripping on their heads. Magic was, indeed, incredible.
Suddenly there was movement around her, and Harry nudged her forward. "We need to stand in alphabetical order for the Sorting," he whispered.
Before Hermione could ask what that meant, she found herself standing ahead of a pretty young girl with pale blonde hair.
"I’m Daphne Greengrass," the girl said with a friendly smile. "And you are? I don’t think you look familiar, and I thought I knew most of the students."
"Hermione Granger," Hermione replied with a small chuckle. "I’m kind of new to the wizarding world."
Daphne’s smile faltered slightly, though she quickly covered it. Hermione made a mental note to figure out why later.
Students were called one by one to sit beneath a frayed old hat. Hermione watched, fascinated, as the hat loudly declared their house after a brief moment on their head.
Soon enough, her name was called. Heart pounding, she walked toward the dais and sat beneath the hat as it slipped over her head.
A grouchy voice sounded in her ear. "Well, well, aren't you a curious one? You want to learn and master everything, and you want to be the best at all of it. What house do you think you belong to?"
Hermione hesitated. "Gryffindor."
The hat chuckled. "You’re brave, but is that really how you define yourself? Not by your intelligence or your ambition?"
Hermione’s thoughts sharpened. "My friends will be in Gryffindor. They help me be brave."
"Ah, interesting logic," the hat mused. "Honestly, you’d do well in Ravenclaw or Slytherin."
"Not Slytherin!" Hermione thought loudly. "My friends say Slytherins wouldn’t accept me."
The hat chuckled darkly. "The little princeling will see to it that no harm comes to you. But very well, the Headmaster wills it."
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Hermione removed the hat, feeling dazed, and walked to the Gryffindor table, where students were cheering loudly. One thought lingered in her mind: Why would the Headmaster want her in Gryffindor?
Neville took a deep breath and reminded himself to exhale as his name was called. His heart was racing as he sat beneath the hat.
"Gryffindor, huh?" the hat mused. "You would make a brilliant Hufflepuff — loyal, brave, and compassionate."
Neville sat frozen, thoughts swirling.
"But you also have strength," the hat continued. "The strength to stand on the outskirts and still make others comfortable. Perhaps you do belong where your ancestors have — but you are more than that. This time, I’ll place you somewhere you won’t have to change who you are."
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Neville sighed in relief and joined the Gryffindor table.
Draco knew even before his name called out that he would be in Slytherin.
He kept his face expressionless and his bearing confident and proud as he walked to the chair and the sorting hat.
The hat hummed as it touched his head, “Already know you will be in Slytherin, huh? I feel as if I should put you in another house just to prove a point.”
Draco smirked. "Go ahead. Fulfill the Headmaster’s wildest dreams."
The hat chuckled. "I like you."
"SLYTHERIN!"
The students at the Slytherin table applauded, some even standing, as they welcomed their new prince.
Theo strutted to the stage with forced confidence. He prayed for Slytherin — for his father’s approval and to stay close to Draco.
Thankfully, the hat agreed.
Pansy was all fired up and willing to fight. “Let that old, ugly hat try to put me in a house other than Slytherin”, she thought. And fiercely combated and debated with the sorting hat till it agreed to her demands.
Harry knew he wanted to be in Gryffindor. His father and his friends had filled his head with dreams of the tower, and he was headstrong enough to pull off brave though completely irrational actions which qualified him for the house. The Hat laughed at his hard-headedness and announced “Gryffindor”
And so, all six children ended up exactly where they had hoped to be — a little more comfortable, a little more playful, and ready for the journey ahead.