September 1st, 1890 — The Great Hall, Hogwarts

The Sorting Hat rests on an old wooden stool at the front of the Great Hall as the new students are lead in to the room. The chatter is starting to die down as a hush starts to wash over the four house tables. As eventful as the summer has been the Sorting Ceremony is a spectacle no one wants to miss. Quidditch talk and gossip can wait.

Once the first years are gathered at the front of the hall the Sorting Hat's features spring to life and it launches into song.

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From a scroll, the first name is called out and the sorting begins.

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This year it's one at a time! I will be going down the sorting list on the Hogwarts roster and contacting players when it's their turn. In order to streamline this process I will move straight on to the next person if someone is unavailable. I'm doing this rapid-fire style so if you're online but not able to commit to at least 30 minutes of posting time then let me know and I'll move on down the list.

Once I've given you the go ahead you will post your character being called up*. What you write here and what I read in your character's profile will determine what sort of questions I'll be firing at you. The less you give me to go on the more generic your questions will be. That said please don't write a novel, a couple paragraphs should be more than enough.

If you miss your slot you'll stay at the top of the list but if you'd rather be moved to the bottom just let me know.

* I strongly encourage you to get your opening post ready before it's your turn.

  

This was it! If he could be any more excited, he thought he’d be bubbling over by now, the enthusiasm trickling out of his ears. He had been bouncing on the balls of his feet in sheer impatience until it was at last his turn, and once he was on the stool he jammed the Sorting Hat down on his head. Funny that the hat liked singing, wasn’t it? Or did everything just feel even more hilarious than usual right now?

It’s Jimmy, actually, he said-thought to the hat, correcting the professor who had called out his name, because who even called him James? Boring people. That was who.

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"Ah, a smart one eh? I've already got an inkling of where to put you!"

What frightens you the most?

Do you learn from your mistakes?

Is there anything you regret having done?

What do you look forward to most about Hogwarts?

What are you most grateful for?

Would you rather be forgotten after your death having lived a good, honest life or be remembered as a terrible, morally corrupt individual?

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James Fletcher

  

Jimmy wasn’t sure if the Hat was being sarcastic or not, but in the case of not, he puffed out his chest at the compliment.

What frightens you the most? But oooof, what a terrible question to start with. Were they going to pick his house based on what he was scared of? People scared of snakes didn’t get to be in the snake house, was that it? “Who says I’m scared of anything?!” Jimmy blustered, pulling a face. “I’m not scared of nothin’,” he said, wrinkling his nose to try and think of something. Losing, maybe? He did like to win. Being left alone? But that had already happened; all he had was great-gran. Being unwanted, not being good enough - Jimmy shoved all those down, because he couldn’t tell the Hat that. “Guess I’m scared of a lunatic murderer coming out of Azkaban to chop my legs off,” he said cheerfully. It would be gory though, even if he lost his feet!

Do you learn from your mistakes? “Course. Or I would if I made mistakes,” Jimmy decided. When Hestia taught him something about thieving, he didn’t do it wrong again because her voice was reprimanding him in his head, and he did always plan to get better. Although maybe he didn’t learn, always. He’d gotten in a fight with some Irvingly kid again, even though he’d nearly broken a finger the time before.

Is there anything you regret having done? “No,” he scoffed. “Although I did hit Farrow in the face with a feather duster once and it hit real hard and gave her a nosebleed. It was funny at the time but that was before I found out she’s a girl and I didn’t mean to hurt a girl. Even though she usually deserves it. She’s the most annoying, see. And - well, there’s other stuff I done, that maybe I didn’t think through first. But we’d be here for years if I told you.”

What do you look forward to most about Hogwarts? “Everything,” Jimmy gushed. “I want to climb all the towers in the castle and go in the grounds and play quidditch and oh! Learn to use my wand so I can do actual spells -” In his mind he pictured jabbing his wand about to cast spells, shooting jets of light everywhere and mentally making the sound effects to match. He cracked up in delight. “I want to learn how to turn someone into a flobberworm.”

What are you most grateful for? “Uhhhh...” Jimmy had to think hard for this one, feeling distinctly uncomfortable. He didn’t know, but not knowing was a bad answer. He liked most things in his life - he didn’t have much, but he liked it and liked everyone he knew. Most people he knew. Some people. “That it’s dinner next? I’m pretty hungry.”

Would you rather be forgotten after your death having lived a good, honest life or be remembered as a terrible, morally corrupt individual? Merlin this was a weird question! “Can’t I be remembered for being a good person?” He pressed. He wanted to be remembered - but more so, he thought he didn’t want to be terrible. So the first if he had to pick. But preferably remembered for being insanely great.

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"Gryffindor!"

  

She'd lost Jackdaw among the boats, though it was easier to spot her younger brother once they'd regrouped on land having already latched on to some of the other boys, far to cool to be seen with his sister. Still, she kept an eye on him out of the corner of her eye. However, any thought of her brother was lost once her name was called. Deep breath and shoulders back was the mantra she repeated until she pushed herself onto the stool and rested the hat on her head, still a little unsure of what to expect despite seeing others go before her. She was so used to shifting herself to align with those she was around she wasn't sure what to do with the hat. Did one have to speak aloud or was it able to read her mind. She wasn't sure she liked the last idea.

"I'm ready."

  

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speaks with an isle of skye (scottish) accent.

"Well then, let's see..."

Which is more important: knowledge or success?

The person you care most about in the world wants you to do something you strongly object to. Do you stick to your conviction and risk the relationship or do you relent?

What do you want to do with your life after Hogwarts?

What is friendship?

What makes you happy?

What trait do you find most abhorrent in other people?

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Linnet Umbernauld

  

Well the hat clearly didn't like small talk did? Rather it jumped straight into the questions that she felt like would pick her apart in a manor she didn't quite enjoy.

Knowledge or success? At least that one was fairly simple. "Success." Knowledge was useless without something to do with it. Well useless was the wrong word. She liked knowing things, but she far more enjoyed using the things she learned.

The next one, well, had someone asked her that question last year she would have had a far harder time answering it. Now, the answer came easily, gliding off the tongue with little thought. "Relent. Life is fragile - who don't know where someone could go or what would happen to 'em." Goldcrest, his death had ripped her family apart. It was why she'd pushed them away from thievery. Could they survive another loss? Sometimes she thought Firecrest had died with his twin. It was like looking a living ghost in the face.

"What do I wanna do? I don't know. I never really thought I'd've get a choice." Before this year, her path in life had been set in stone before she'd ever been born. It was a life she was okay with. Always had been. "I want to do something big though. I don't wanna let my chances slip by, ya know? It needs to be profitable. I want to be respected. I want to protect my family."

The next was was easy. "Friendship is hard earned loyalty. Someone willin to get dirty for you. Someone who is there thick 'n thin. Who you have faith in and has faith in you. It is something earned, not something given. You can have fun with 'em, ya but I don't think that is really what it comes down to. I mean yeah you have to enjoy them but I can find someone I don't trust funny."

"I don't think I'm that complicated. I like learnin and watchin people - I mean that's why I'm excited to be here. I don't get the chance to do book learnin at home. But I like puppies too. I had a puppy I wanted to bring to Hogwarts. Changing that rule would make me happy.

Abhorrent was a big word she didn't really know. "Abhorrent? What's that mean? Like sumethin I hate? I guess not having a drive? Though I think that'd only bother me if they were close to me. Oh I know, I hate when people underestimate me! Just because I'm young doesn't mean my opinion isn't valid or that I don't know anything!"

  

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speaks with an isle of skye (scottish) accent.

"Slytherin!"

  

For once in her life, Billie was struck dumb. While the boat ride, at first, felt like a mundane affair, the view of the castle had been stunning. Even in her imagination, she hadn't been able to summon up something so grand. They'd even been allowed to enter it, and there was so much to look at that she'd nearly forgotten the whispers that had been following her since the beginning of August.

When they were ushered into the Great Hall, she let out an audible gasp and murmured an expletive that made the girl next to her level her with a startled look. Of course, she was much too engrossed in admiring the enchanted ceiling to notice.

On tiptoes, Billie watched as each student was called up to place a hat atop their head. After the first few children, she felt entirely silly for believing that sorting was meant to be something terrifying and painful. Nobody looked any worse for wear. Why had she even been nervous in the first place? Brimming with excitement, she impatiently awaited her turn.

"Wilhelmina Farrow."

That is until they stated her whole name. Merlin's shit, now even flipping Jimmy Fletcher knew her real name. Billie was certain it was the worst name in history.

As she started to move, she heard a comment from Arnie, one she had to remind herself not to punch him over. It wouldn't do to get expelled on her first day. With her head held high, she made her way to the stool and sat down on it. She wasn't about to let anyone know that their comments and stares affected her. This was meant to be a new adventure and make way for a new future. Not even scratchy skirts and idiotic so and sos would ruin that.

"It's Billie," she murmured aloud, likely only audible to the hat.

  

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MJ, yet again working her magic.  <3 <3 Thank you

"Indeed. Now then..."

What matters most to you?

If you could change one thing about your past, what would it be?

Which is more important to you: unwavering loyalty or self-preservation?

What do you do when faced with injustice?

What do you consider to be your greatest flaw?

When you're upset what brings you comfort?

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Billie Farrow

  

Holy niffler poop! The hat was speaking to her. Inside her head. Even the two years she'd had to adjust to the magical world hadn't prepared her for this. How interesting!

What matters most to you? That was a difficult question. Billie had a veritable laundry list of things she'd decided mattered to her. She had never really taken the time to rank them. Though, one item on the list did stand out above the others. "Gideon." She wasn't sure she ever wanted to imagine things without him. He was the parent she didn't know she'd always needed. She then quickly tacked on a few other things she decided also belonged at the top of the list. "And Soot and adventures and magic and quidditch and nifflers."

If you could change one thing about your past, what would it be? One thing? It wasn't as if her upbringing had been the easiest, nor the happiest. There were plenty of things she wished she could have changed. She wished she could have actually been born a boy. She wished she had ended up with Gideon and not her mother. She wished she could have grown up in Hogsmeade. But. Wouldn't that change who she was now? She wouldn't have become a pretty great rat catcher or become independent. She wouldn't have had as many adventures. Even through all the stares, Billie wasn't sure she wanted to change who she was. It was society that needed to change its views, not her. She was determined to change that one day. "I...I guess nothing?"

Which is more important to you: unwavering loyalty or self-preservation? Billie's eyebrows furrowed at the question. What was that supposed to mean? "Can't you have both?" It would have to be achieved delicately, of course, but she supposed it could be possible. However, her knee jerk reaction was almost always self-preservation. She lived the first eight years of her life in survival mode, after all.

What do you do when faced with injustice? Punch it in the face? No, she couldn't say that. "I say something." Usually something less than polite, at first. "And then figure out how to make it more just." There were certain things she wouldn't let stand, and she wasn't one to be quiet about it.

What do you consider to be your greatest flaw? "I swear a lot, and I'm very small," she whispered in her head, not that it really was a secret. "But I guess those aren't really flaws 'cause being small has it's advantages. I guess, um, I guess I lie sometimes?" But that wasn't exactly right either. She was fairly honest, bluntly so. Except for her one big lie, she wasn't a chronic liar. "I can be mean sometimes, but only when people deserve it." Fletcher being the exception, but she had a feeling they both knew the other didn't really mean it.

When you're upset what brings you comfort? That one was fairly easy and popped into her head almost immediately, "My cat Soot." And Gideon, but she left that unsaid. She didn't want to appear like some sort of baby by admitting such a thing. She supposed playing tricks on Jimmy was also comforting, in a way, but it only distracted her from being upset. She still had to deal with it later.

The following 1 user Likes Billie Farrow's post:1 user Likes Billie Farrow's post
   Ophelia Devine

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MJ, yet again working her magic.  <3 <3 Thank you

"Hrmmm..."

You are faced with a mountain and the only way to cross it is on foot. There are two paths. The first path cuts through the mountain and promises to be shorter, but it is dark and potentially very dangerous, you can't say for sure. The second path involves climbing the mountain which would take a great deal longer but you can see what lies ahead and it seems reasonably safe. Which do you choose?

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Billie Farrow

  

Billie furrowed her eyebrows at the question. It was also difficult to answer. Was this what school was like?

"I'm not sure. I guess it depends why I have to cross the mountain. If it's for some sort of emergency or something, and I need to get somewhere real fast, I'd go the short way, even if there's danger. 'Cause maybe taking longer could cause something worse to happen than any path monsters. But, if I don't have to get anywhere fast, then I'd take the second path. I like climbing. There's probably great views to see that way."

  

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MJ, yet again working her magic.  <3 <3 Thank you

"Hufflepuff!"

  

It was absolutely perfect—the lake, the castle, everything. It was everything she could have imagined and more, only now it was real because she was there. Her eyes gleamed with delight as she followed the other first years into the Great Hall, unable to keep her gaze in one place for very long. The older students sat at four long tables, all wearing matching black robes and some with hats. The ceiling seemed nonexistent, and the stars that took its place seemed to glimmer brighter than they had outdoors. The professors were lined up at the table at the far end of the room, and she took notice of each of them, her eyes finally coming to rest on who she assumed was the headmaster himself: a dark-haired man who wore a stern expression, looking like a Austenian love interest with his dark robes. She had heard not-so-nice things about him, but was unwilling to let the opinions of others influence her before she even knew what house she was in!

Speaking of the sorting. Annie watched with her mouth agape as the Sorting Hat was revealed, and much to her delight it could talk! To be sorted, all she would have to do is place the hat on her head, and the hat—as an supposed all-knowing being—would know where she was suited. She was glad she wouldn't be required to take a test; as much as she loved the change to showcase her knowledge, she was not sure she could be truthful about who she was on the inside.

"Moneypenny, Nancy," the Hat called, and she nearly missed it. The student beside her, having already been a victim to her aggressive greeting, nudged her in the side, and she instinctively stepped forward. She walked up to the stand and placed the hat upon her head.

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— beautiful set by MJ <3 —