Sorting hassle
The gentle summer breeze flowed through Caterpillar’s hair, making it move along elegantly with it. Distant, ragged houses lurked far off and mountains lined the horizon. There were a few merchants walking down the main path, towards Hogsmeade with floating items following close behind them that Caterpillar could not quite pinpoint from the distance.
Caterpillar leaned back, letting his upper body be supported by his hands as he sat on the roof of one of the many boutiques of Hogsmeade. Moore had told (forced) him not to step outside of Hogsmeade because the place was the ‘safest place to be at for now’. Though Caterpillar had a feeling Moore just didn’t know what to do with — or how to take care of — children.
Toad was at repose right next to Caterpillar. It was a relatively peaceful morning. The only downside was that it was probable for it to turn out to be a busy day. One thing that Caterpillar had quickly noticed was that Hogsmeade turned busier with each passing day closer to the start of semester.
Currently, there was an old witch opening up the boutique Caterpillar was sitting on. He could hear faint pitter-pattering and the door of the shop open and close. He sniffed and pulled his feet up — which had been dangling off the roof — and crossed them as he kept his gaze locked on to the scenery beyond the town.
Caterpillar was wearing a dark green-ish sweater, which covered his forearms along with some shorts. It still looked like he was wearing gloves, which he thought was for the best for the time being. The black fade on his legs still showed, but only partially thanks to his boots. Not that he required a change of clothing; keeping some of his assets hidden just saved him from giving out endless explanations.
Toad was wearing nothing because it was an oversized white frog and did not need to cover anything up.
“Hey, what are you doing up there, young man?” suddenly, the old witch of the boutique noticed Caterpillar’s presence on the roof. She was wearing a scarf wrapped around her head and her face was full of wrinkles.
Caterpillar looked down at the old lady with a neutral expression. He was older than her, clearly, but he'd already grown used to people assuming him for a child. Caterpillar shifted in his place, gently picking Toad up. He slowly stood up on the roof and placed Toad atop his white set of hair.
Now that he'd been found out, it was no use staying and getting a foul for trespassing or something. And so, Caterpillar climbed down the roof as the old witch followed his movements with her eyes. Upon reaching her level, Caterpillar gave a slight bow as an apology. It did not even look like a bow because he was avoiding movements regarding his head thanks to Toad.
Caterpillar made a swift leave after that, not commuting with the old witch further because there was no need to. He walked down one of the many streets of Hogsmeade. The mapping of the place was rather messy. It was times like these that made Caterpillar reminisce of the more simple structure of the Fortress.
As he walked, he spotted a familiar man with slit back hair and a black suit jacket, looking around the shopping street; Myles Moore. As soon as the man’s eyes came across Caterpillar, he picked up his pace and walked up to the boy. Caterpillar held back a sigh.
“Ah, there you are! I was looking for you. You really have a habit of just disappearing and reappearing, don’t you?” Moore chuckled slightly as he stopped right in front of Caterpillar.
“It’s not a matter of ‘disappearing’ when I’m just looking around.” Caterpillar said, taking a step back so that Moore wasn’t right in his face.
“Ah- no matter.” Moore shook his head. This was actually the first time in a few days that Caterpillar had met the man. It was becoming abundantly clear that Moore did not know how to look after kids. “What does matter is that I need to talk to you about the very start of your first year at Hogwarts.”
As the word ‘matter’ got thrown around like some kind of balloon trying to keep afloat, Caterpillar let his eyes drift around. It was rather early in the morning. Shops all around were just beginning to flourish and open. Humans scurrying about like they were in the biggest rush in their lives, trying to open up their shops for customers. It was strange; Caterpillar had noticed that a lot of things in this world were done in a rush…
“So, typically, first years come here by train and take boats to Hogwarts. Since you’re already here in Scotland, you don’t have to take the train! In fact, Hogwarts is a walking distance from here. So, I could either drop you off at Hogwarts or…let you go with the other little first years and ride boats to school!” Moore rambled, “Hm~ boating to school…how exhilarating!”
When Caterpillar got out of the Fortress of Meropide, he noted how the main way of transportation was via boat, so Moore’s words didn’t sound too exotic to him. “I’d rather go straight to Hogwarts than waste time by taking the long way and going with the first years. Besides, I would just be an additional waste of space there, so that’s already two minus-”
“You’re missing out on life, little Cater!” Moore stated with a playful huff. He never took Caterpillar seriously. Ever.
Where was he supposed to go?
Caterpillar stood in an empty corridor near a wide set of stairs that led to some huge doors. He was inside the building of Hogwarts, following his instincts when trying to navigate. Moore had just dropped him off somewhere with a simple ‘You’ll manage’ as if he had better things to do. Caterpillar did not understand that man.
Caterpillar stood near a tile wall, shifting on his feet. His hands were dangling at his sides, letting the long sleeves of his hand-me-down robe cover his forearms. The hem of the robe really was too long for his liking, but he brushed the feeling off. Not like he had the human right to complain.
The hall was empty. There were two suits of armor just standing there near Caterpillar, occasionally making noise as they moved, and for example, brushed some dust from the inside of their helmets. The light metal sound clunked and echoed throughout the corridor. Caterpillar blinked at the empty suits of armor, enamored. His thoughts, however, were cut off as Toad croaked quietly on his head. Caterpillar cleared his throat and opted to just look forward blankly, blending in with the two suits of armor. From the way he was standing there right next to the wall, one might even mistake him for a suit of armor. He probably moved a lot less than the actual suits of magical armor.
Caterpillar did not know what he was waiting for. His instincts were just telling him that this was the right place in some form at least.
His slight confusion was quickly cleared up as he heard pitter-pattering coming from around the corner…a lot of pitter-pattering of feet to be more precise. It sounded like a huge group of children. As the sounds got closer, he could hear loud chatter from kids as well. Caterpillar stood completely still, eyeing the source of the noise and waiting for it to come around the corner.
Then, Caterpillar saw a woman with red hair which was tied up in a loose bun behind her head emerge. She had a warm look on her face as she led a huge group of children all in black robes; first years. The red-haired woman was likely some professor. Even though she had a welcoming gaze, Caterpillar could see the strain behind her eyes, as if the loud first years were getting to her nerves.
Upon spotting Caterpillar, the professor blinked in surprise. She walked down the corridor, making a hand gesture towards him as she passed by. As if to acknowledge that Caterpillar was a stray first year, and tell him to follow along with the group.
Caterpillar pushed himself off the wall, even though he wasn’t even leaning on it in the first place. He walked behind the red-haired professor, briefly looking up at her back. Of course, quite literally everyone was taller than Caterpillar. Then, he felt Toad shrink into his hair more; likely agitated by the noise the other first years were making.
Caterpillar turned his head slightly to peer at the flock of children behind him. Little children in black chatted with each other, clearly excited for their first day of school. Come to think of it, Caterpillar had never attended school either; once he was born, he was immediately subdued into doing various things earning him his moniker at the Ordo, Chrysalis of the Phantasmic Moth — in other words — Caterpillar. Technically, this was his first day of school as well.
One that he was forced into.
Eventually, they stopped in front of a huge set of doors. The red haired professor turned to face all the children. She raised a hand to get the children to settle down, which they almost immediately did, much to Caterpillar’s surprise.
“First years,” the professor addressed, “what will follow suit is the sorting ceremony, in which you will be sorted into one of the four Houses of Hogwarts. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Throughout the year, you will try to collect House points for your respective Houses. At the end of the year, the House Cup will be awarded.”
Right. Caterpillar recalled Moore mentioning something about Houses at Hogwarts. Caterpillar did not care much for competitions, though. (Because he believed that it would be quite unfair since he would most certainly win no matter what.)
The crowd of first years started murmuring quietly. All of their quiet murmurs together resulted in quite the loud commotion. Toad was pretty much etched into Caterpillar’s scalp at this point. Maybe it would prove better to…Caterpillar pried Toad off his head, which was challenging because the oversized frog was gripping on for dear life. Caterpillar had to make the job quickly so that his sleeves wouldn’t roll up too much. He managed to get Toad off and gently place the animal into his pocket; a place where there was a bit more sound resistance than out in the open in his hair.
The red haired professor cleared her throat to make the young students pipe down. “So, let the ceremony begin. Follow me to the front of the Great Hall.” she said before turning to the set of doors and slowly pushing them both open with her hands.
Caterpillar walked in with the huge flock of first years. As the doors opened, the Great Hall came into view. Four long tables were laid out on the sides of the hall, each inhabiting other students with different colored highlights in their robes. Perhaps representing each house. At the end of the hall, there was a table with adults — presumably different professors — all of which were assessing the sight of all the young first years walking down the hall.
The first years stopped at the front. The red haired professor walked off to the side, seemingly going to get something. Meanwhile, a man with black hair and a small beard stood up, straightening his collar and glaring at the student body with judgmental eyes.
“Another academic semester appears. I for one had a great summer vacation, a shame I had to come back here…” the man spoke, not hiding his expression of slight disdain. “I need not introduce myself. Well, perhaps to the teeny first years. I am Phineas Nigellus Black, Hogwarts’ current Headmaster. You will address me as Professor Black.”
A first year next to Caterpillar slightly shivered before trying to regain their composure. This man — the Headmaster — was evidently horrible at making first impressions it seems. Like he was outright ill-suited for his job. Caterpillar could tell just by the first few sentences the man uttered.
“Now, the Deputy Headmistress, Professor Weasley, will run the sorting ceremony…and I will be unfortunate enough to read out the names of students.” Black said before sitting back down on his chair.
The red haired professor — Ms. Weasley — acquiesced and emerged from the sidelines once more, holding a strange and slightly deformed hat. It seemed to have a face. Some staff brought out a single chair and placed it in the middle of the opening at the front of the Great hall. Professor Weasley stood near the chair with the brown hat in hand.
“When your name is read out, you will come up here and sit on the chair. The sorting hat will then shortly sort you, and you will go sit at the respective house table you are sorted into.” Weasley explained calmly.
“Right, right, let’s get down to it.” Professor Black said as he summoned a long list, allegedly full of the first years’ names. “Edith Tucket.” he read out.
Caterpillar recognized that name. It was the girl he’d met at Flourish and Blotts. And sure enough, a little girl nervously emerged from the crowd, her small footsteps echoing throughout the hall. Her somewhat messy blond hair flowing behind her as she scurried over to sit on the chair. She took a breath before sitting down. She looked like that breath was followed by her holding her breath, her cheeks slightly red. Professor Weasley gently placed the brown hat onto Edith’s head. It was a little too big for her, so it slightly drooped over her eyebrows.
As soon as the hat touched her head, it started moving around on its own, because of course it did. Caterpillar had already seen the moving armor. He wondered if every object was sentient here…then, perhaps he’d actually fit in.
“A kindred spirit, it appears. Bravery and boldness are great values for a young witch such as you to have. Yes…perhaps…” the sorting hat started speaking, further proving Caterpillar’s initial theory of sentient objects. After a brief pause, the hat yelled: “Gryffindor!”
The student body around one of the tables cheered and everyone applauded. Caterpillar took it upon himself to clap a couple of times as well, although he didn’t quite understand why everyone was cheering so loudly. He only watched as Weasley waved her wand, turning the hood and badge of Edith’s robe red with slight hints of gold here and there. House colors. Edith beamed as she quickly hurried over to the table with other Gryffindors, sitting down.
After that, Professor Black read out many students’ names, each getting sorted into different houses. As Caterpillar waited, he noted the different House colors: Hufflepuff with yellow and black, Ravenclaw with blue and bronze, Slytherin with green and silver, and, of course, Gryffindor with red and gold. The crowd of first years slowly dissipated as the list of names dwindled. Eventually, Caterpillar was the only one left.
Alone. Standing in the front of the Great Hall. He could feel hundreds of eyes set on him and only him. Caterpillar slightly shifted on his feet before settling down to stand still, not showing his growing discomfort on his face. Meanwhile, Professor Black was staring at the list with Caterpillar’s name allegedly the only one embedded onto it. The man squinted his eyes, brushing his black beard slightly.
Weasley cleared her throat. “Please do read the student’s name, Mr. Black.” she hurried, albeit still patiently. Perhaps that patience won’t last, though.
The whole of the staff table shot the Headmaster a few glares as he squinted at the list. “Blast it…how in the name of Merlin do you pronounce this?” Professor Black mumbled. “Gh- forget it. You know who you are, Cater, come on up here.” he sighed and gave up trying to figure it out.
Ah, yes, Moore had signed him up as ‘Cater Narzissenkreuz’. Though, he himself didn’t find it that hard to pronounce. But maybe other people had a hard time with it. Caterpillar stepped up and walked towards the chair in the middle, the Great Hall eerily quiet as he moved. He then moved his robe slightly and sat down on the chair, resting his hands on his lap. He became more distinctly aware of everyone’s eyes on him as he got to see the whole student body watch while he sat down.
He could hear Weasley take a few steps forward and place the sorting hat on his head. It was too big for him. Caterpillar also noted how the hat smelled a little dusty…as if it had been kept away for a year, untouched.
The Great Hall grew silent. The sorting hat did not move an inch while sitting on top of Caterpillar’s head. The silence hung in the air for a few seconds longer before he heard the staff begin to whisper to each other behind Caterpillar’s back.
Professor Weasly gently readjusted the hat on the white haired boy’s head, encouraging it to start speaking. Only silence followed. Caterpillar wondered if the hat only worked on humans. That was the most logical reasoning behind something like this.
Suddenly, the doors leading to the Great Hall creaked open, and a gray haired adult peeked through; another professor perhaps. The Headmaster scoffed under his breath upon spotting the man peeking.
“Ah, Professor Fig. You’re late. If you’re here with the new student, then that just makes it even more improper! You lot are lucky the ceremony is still ongoing.” Mr. Black sighed as he glared at ‘Fig’, who opened the door fully as the Headmaster spoke.
As the door opened, Professor Fig came fully into view, old, wearing a loose and blue patterned scarf around his neck. There was also someone else behind him: a light-skinned girl with freckles and short light brown hair with golden highlights. Likely around 15-16 years of age based on appearance. The girl looked around the Great Hall with a half-hearted smile. Caterpillar could tell something had happened to the two before their arrival.
“Apologies, Mr. Black. We ran into some…complications.” Fig stated as they walked down the hall towards the front where Caterpillar sat with the motionless sorting hat atop his head.
“Whatever it may be, it doesn’t matter right now.” Black dismissed, “Let’s continue.”
Professor walked over to the staff table behind Caterpillar while the student stayed behind in the place where Caterpillar had previously stood waiting, slightly fidgeting with the brim of her robe sleeves. The only sound audible was Professor Fig sitting down in his chair. And just like that, it was silent again as the sorting hat did not move. Weasley nudged the hat slightly as it rested on Caterpillar’s head.
Then…
“You should know that I cannot sort multiple students at once.” the sorting hat said with its usual cranky voice.
If the Great Hall wasn’t silent before, it surely was now. You could likely hear a pin drop on the other side of the huge hall no problem. Some of the students then began whispering quietly to each other. Caterpillar could see the new girl’s face the most clearly as she raised an eyebrow, placing her hands on her hips.
So, the sorting hat could tell that Caterpillar was not human. It could tell that he was just a being made up from different other beings…Caterpillar was outright thrilled to have this information practically announced to hundreds of people he did not know. He did not let that show on his face. Instead, he slowly closed his dark eyes as his hands rested on his lap.
Professor Weasley must’ve thought this was a malfunction. Her face was laced with confusion as she took the hat off of Caterpillar’s head, then re-placing it a bit more carefully than she had before.
The sorting hat slowly started to register what was happening. “Ah, you’re one student, aren’t you? How intriguing…never quite seen a challenge such as this.” the hat said as it finally started moving slightly on Caterpillar’s head, as if trying to gouge out his thoughts. “Different…very different…old…”
Caterpillar opened his eyes as the hat finally started assessing him. The hat recognized his age as well. Though, he felt very exposed as the hat made slight movements. Being exposed was not a feeling he wasn’t used to, of course. It had just been a very long time since…
“How does one have contradictory ideals and values?” the hat hummed thoughtfully. “Bravery…wisdom…very loyal too…and quite the strong ambition you’ve got there. Perhaps you belong partly in all of the houses.”
The background noise of students whispering increased ever-so-slightly. Most of them stayed quiet and glued to the display, as if wanting to see what outcome this might have. Caterpillar could not see behind him, but he was almost certain that the staff was exchanging curious looks with one another. He slightly moved his gaze to his left to check on Professor Weasley. She stood straight and had her hands delicately behind her back. It was also very obvious that she too was looking at Caterpillar with great intrigue. She did not turn her gaze away once Caterpillar leveled her look.
“Hmm…intriguing indeed. What input or preference do you have, young wizard?” the sorting hat asked. Caterpillar was offered a choice? He thought that was for the hat to decide, not him.
Caterpillar turned his gaze back forwards as he thought of a reply. “I do not have any ‘input’ nor preference that I could reveal,” he said. “Any House. It doesn’t matter, really.”
The sorting hat stayed quiet for a brief while before speaking up again: “Ah, I see, I see…you could well thrive in every house. But your answer tells me nearly everything I needed to know. It is notable how your ambition shines above your traits. Like a whale in a small pond. Very strange, but impressive your ambition-” The hat cleared its throat — as if it had a throat in the first place. “Perhaps Slytherin is the house for you. Though, let it be known, you’d be welcome in any house.”
The sorting hat didn’t even bother to yell the house name, just say it out loud. Perhaps because it was not fully certain of its choice. Professor Weasley took the hat off of Caterpillar’s head. The loss of feeling on his head was strange considering the hat had sat there for a notable amount of time. Caterpillar shook the lingering thought away and sat up from the chair.
The Great Hall was pretty quiet. No one cheered as Professor Weasley changed the colors of Caterpillar’s robe to green with slight silver hues here and there. It was only when Caterpillar looked down at his newly-colored robes, that the table groups started applauding. It sounded very forced.
Caterpillar nodded and let his eyes scan the Hall, looking for the Slytherin table. He then walked off and down the center. A long table with students in green eyed him as he approached. It was quite full. It took him a while to find an empty spot next to some other first years. The small students looked at him full of curiosity. A bunch of big, innocent eyes were set on Caterpillar as he rested his hands on his lap under the table as per usual. It was only in human nature to be curious, so Caterpillar didn’t mind the stares from the children. For now.
The quiet was fastly interrupted as Professor Black’s voice rang out throughout the Hall: “That certainly took forever, innit? Alas, there’s only one more student to go…” he straightened his back and looked at the list. “A student starting as a fifth year student. A first in Hogwarts history.”
The girl with golden highlights shifted on her feet. She was still standing at the front, waiting. Caterpillar could not see her face, but her body language told him she was pretty excited.
Professor Black peered at the name in an uninterested manner. “Adelaide Atwood.” he read out. The new fifth year, Adelaide, quickly walked up to the chair and sat on it. Professor Weasley placed the hat on her head. This time, it actually fit because she was not a little kid and had already hit puberty.
The sorting hat slightly moved on her head. “Ah, a bit older than the others, yes? I see you come here with certain…expectations.” it started, “Quite cunning with a thirst for knowledge. Another hard choice, but a lot less complex than the former. Tell me, what are you mostly looking forward to in your stay at Hogwarts?”
The student pondered for a few seconds before responding: “I’m waiting to explore the castle grounds as well as the world beyond. It could prove to unravel many secrets…” she said, tilting her head slightly while doing so.
“That answer will suffice…” the hat hummed slightly. “In that case, let it be…Slytherin!” it exclaimed, much more enthusiastically than it had done with Caterpillar. The Great Hall erupted in cheers as Adelaide stood up with a wide smile spread across her face.
Professor took the sorting hat and changed the colors of Adelaide’s robes to that of the Slytherin House. She then walked confidently down the center and towards the Slytherin table, where Caterpillar was also sitting. Caterpillar followed her with his eyes as she passed by, sitting down further down the table. Probably with the older students.
“I heard she got ambushed by a dragon, which is the reason she was late!” the first year with dark features half-whispered/half-yelled from across the table from where Caterpillar was sitting. Caterpillar's gaze drifted towards the boy who had spoken.
“Yeah! I heard that the huge dragon killed one of the carriage’s passengers…” another student with dark brown hair and deep blue eyes sitting beside Caterpillar chimed in, shivering slightly.
Caterpillar looked down at his lap. A dragon? Interesting. He could tell that the new student had witnessed something before her arrival. It was interesting to know that it was a dragon attack and the sight of death she’d experienced.
Those were just rumors. Caterpillar shouldn’t think about it too hard. Though, he couldn’t help but to steal a glance to the side, peering at the students lined up across the long table, trying to catch a glimpse of-
“The sorting ceremony has finished.” Professor Weasley announced, her voice echoing throughout.
“Right. Typically, a meal would follow, but time’s wasting.” Professor Black walked from behind the staff table and stood at the front. “The prefects will guide the first years to their respective common rooms. I have one announcement before I let you all off, though. Due to some altercations and incidents, this year’s Quidditch season has been canceled!”
Horrified gasps and frantic shared glances spread throughout the student body. Everyone was evidently very shaken by the news. Caterpillar recalled hearing of ‘Quidditch’; it was a very popular wizarding sport. Hogwarts seemed to be pretty big on said sport, hence the crumbling of the mood.
“Now, now, children, flying is still permitted. Just not Quidditch, alright? I better not see reports of you lot playing that game in secret! It is banned for the year.” Mr. Black said sternly, rocking on his feet slightly as if he had no care for the game. “Now off you go. Classes start tomorrow.”
The students kept silently commuting with each other, creating a bunch of noise. Caterpillar could feel Toad shifting in his pocket.
A frown escaped onto Headmaster Black’s face. “Did you not hear me? Go.” he repeated with more conviction this time. Students started standing up and exiting the Great Hall quickly.
Caterpillar hastily stood up and walked off with the other first years. He sought out an older student, who was waving at the first years. Likely the ‘prefect’ that was supposed to guide them to their common room…
It was Caterpillar’s first day, and things were already quite hectic…
He frankly had no high hopes for this.