The Sorting
Dear Abed Nadir, this is an invitation to Greendale, the school for wizards who’s magic peaked late…
Abed fumbled with the invitation as he sat and looked around the grand and crowded room he was in. Many people, like him, had decided to take advantage of this opportunity.
“Ahem, ahem. Attention, students!” cried a bald man at the center of the room. “Yes, hello! It’s great to see you back, if you attended last year. If not, welcome! The sorting shall now commence!”
As everyone whooped and hollered, The Dean brought out a dusty old hat.
First year to first year was seated and had the hat placed on their head.
For some, as soon as the hat was placed upon their head it cried out it’s ruling. For others, it stayed there, relentlessly deliberating.
“Nadir, Abed!”
Abed approached the sorting hat analytically.
Gently, it was placed upon his head. It was surprisingly soft, and the remaining dust made Abed crinkle his nose.
It spoke to him, “Ah, a wise brain here. You are well beyond your years, Abed.” Then, out loud it cried, “Ravenclaw!”
The Ravenclaw table cheered enthusiastically, a couple even punched their fists. When Abed sat down they hushed quietly, and their intelligent eyes went to the next first year.
Abed followed their eyes. The next boy was African American and around Abed’s age, with bulging muscles and a pleasing face.
The way he walked and smiled reminded Abed of those school bullies, the ones that pushed him into lockers. He was certain he would be a Gryffindor, one of the terrible athletic Gryffindors who won every tournament.
“Hufflepuff!”
Hufflepuff? Abed snapped out of his sulking and joined everyone else in staring up at the jock.
“Hufflepuff? Stupid hat, you have got to be joking!”
The hat was vigorously thrown onto the ground, causing an uprising of dust. The footsteps of the boy echoed throughout the silent room and the sound rebounded off the walls as he slammed the door.
For a few moments, all that echoed through Abed’s ears was the sound of silence.
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Troy sighed into his hands. The night air was whipping around his face and his stomach growled, which did nothing to ease his pain.
He looked up into the night sky and at his surroundings. He was seated at a bench on the edge of a circle. From the old rounded cobbles, to the sharp towers angling towards the sky, it was exactly what you might picture when you thought of a wizarding school.
“It was brave what you did.”
Troy swiveled his head to fixate on a slightly smiling girl with her hands on her hips.
“You can’t define a person like that! I tried to reject it.”
“You tried to… reject it?” Troy stuttered.
“Yeah. They ended up forcing me down with magic. That’s a violation of my rights!” the blond went on.
“What house did you get sorted into?”
“Gryffindor. Like it matters. What’s your name?”
“Troy.”
“Britta,” she replied as she held out her hand.
Troy grabbed it and shook it heartily.
“Care to join me in sleeping outside?” she chided.
“You’re going to sleep outside?”
“‘Course! I will not be segregated from my peers by “house”,” Britta answered eagerly.
“Well, I was kind of hoping you would help me sneak into the Gryffindor dorms,” Troy answered hesitantly.
“I like the way you think!”
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They didn’t get far. Britta hadn’t stayed to actually see where the Gryffindor dorms were located, so she was as lost as he was.
“I’m sorry! Look, I’m sure I can find it…”
“Hey! What are you two doing here?” shouted The Dean as he bounded up to them with his sequin bedazzled robes trailing behind him.
“We couldn’t… find our dorms,” squeaked out Troy, which earned him a glare from Britta.
“Well no wonder! You two didn’t seem to want to stick around. And the acts you pulled! It’s hard enough being the only wizarding school for people late of magic, and yet somehow we still rank second. I’ll show you to your dorms.”
————————————————————
The Hufflepuff dorms were decently easy to find based on The Dean’s instructions, but he insisted on showing him to them anyways, himself being a Hufflepuff.
“Here we are!”
Troy was preparing himself for the ugliest room in existence, so his mouth fairly dropped when he stepped inside. The room was circular, much like the outside where he almost ended up sleeping, but it was much more welcoming and warm. It was obviously the home of many plants. Some were potted and on the ground, while others hanged from the ceiling. There were many places to sit, and in the center was one large, fantastic window. It was beautiful.
“You like it? Yeah, it’s beautiful. Well, I’m sure everyone else’s in bed. You should go off to sleep.”
Troy obeyed and transcended the spiraling stairs up into the boy’s dormitory. The room here was simple, but cozy. There was a window that was almost identical to the circular one in the common room, the only difference being that it was completely clear and not tinted yellow.
Troy tip-toed towards the window and pressed his face to the glass. He spotted the benches where he almost had to sleep, and he looked towards the towers, way up in the sky. Someone was out on the balcony of one of them.
That someone peered over from the edge of the balcony at the strange shape in the window. He hadn’t expected anyone else to be up.
Abed was quite the night owl, and slept little. He grabbed ahold of the telescope that was seated close by him and aimed it at the lurking shape in the window.
But whatever it was was gone.