Chapter 14: Sorting Ceremony (II)

'It's show time…' was the first thing Gavin thought once he heard his name being called.

He was honestly pretty excited to get sorted. He wondered what the hat's reaction and decision would be once it was placed on him.

"THAT'S MY BROTHER! WHOOO!" A voice suddenly shouted from the Gryffindor table behind Gavin, earning the laughter of most of the students of the hall.

Gavin didn't even have to turn around to know who the voice was from.

'Idiot.' he thought as he smiled and walked up to the stool, after which McGonagall proceeded to place the hat on his head.

"Oi hat, put me anywhere but Gryffindor if you don't want to get incinerated to ashes." Gavin whispered as the hat was placed on his head. He didn't even bother using his Occlumency to shield his mind from the hat; he knew it was simply futile given his current level at the magical art.

"Oh? You've got quite the sharp tongue I see." The hat chuckled and started.

"Hmm...I've never seen a wizard with as much talent for magic as you…not even that guy from way back then…your intellect is ridiculous too, given some of these unprecedented revolutionary ideas you have in your mind, though your ego is rather…baffling." The hat continued, deep in thought.

"Where to put you? Where to put you?...Well, certainly not Gryffindor, you're brave but far from chivalrous. Hufflepuff is a no go either, you're too talented and arrogant for there….You're ambitious, pureblood, and so arrogant that schemes are like circus tricks in your eyes. Well, the answer is quite obvious...SLYTHERIN!!!" The hat shouted, as it finished contemplating.

The Slytherin table immediately erupted into loud cheers, extremely happy at the result. They had just gotten another pureblood, an Everhart to boot. They couldn't be more ecstatic.

'So my mother is from a pureblood wizarding family…I guess that's one question partly answered.' Gavin thought as he stood up from the stool.

He looked at the first years, who were all looking at him. He saw Hermione, Malfoy, Brandon, and Daphne smiling at him. He also noticed the emerald eyed girl gazing intensely at him, which confused him but he shrugged it off. Gavin looked at Harry, flashed a smile and nodded slightly, before walking towards the Slytherin table.

As he walked, he thought about the hat's decision on placing him in Slytherin. Going into the sorting, Gavin honestly preferred to be placed into either Ravenclaw or Slytherin so he was pretty satisfied with the sorting; though, he knew his reputation with the other houses would probably start off not so great but he didn't care about it too much, he was sure his charms and charisma would quickly change that.

The Slytherins were all welcoming when he reached the table; some people were even giving him hand shakes as he walked towards the end of the table. Gavin also noticed a lot of female students gawking and giggling at him, further fueling his ego. He grinned, sat down at the table and focused his attention back on the ceremony, intrigued to see where his new friends would be placed.

The sorting ceremony proceeded normally, placing the students in their houses, like the story.

"Granger, Hermione!"

"GRYFFINDOR!!"

"Greengrass Daphne."

"SLYTHERIN!!"

…

"Lestrange, Estelle." McGonagall shouted.

"Yeah, I think we-" Gavin immediately stopped talking to Daphne once he heard what McGonagall shouted. He looked at the girl who was walking up to the stool and recognized her instantly as the emerald eyed girl he was speculating about earlier.

' A Lestrange?...from where? Is she Bellatrix's daughter or from somewhere else?' Gavin thought as he frowned. It certainly made things a bit more complicated now that he knew her identity and he was unsure how it would affect the story.

The entire hall became eerily quiet once her name was mentioned. Many students frowned and looked at her in disdain and disgust. Even a few of the professors raised their eyebrows once they heard her name, looking rather surprised.

The silence was soon broken by the sorting hat, which shouted, "SLYTHERIN!!"

The Slytherin table cheered, though not as loudly because a few Slytherins weren't cheering at all.

Estelle walked hastily to the very end of the Slytherin table, and was about to sit alone in a corner when she heard a soft-spoken, and soothing voice sound.

"You can sit here if you like. Don't worry, I don't bite."

Curious, she turned her head to decipher the source of that calming voice. She froze when she saw who the voice belonged to. It came from that attractive boy that she was staring at earlier. Estelle instantly became nervous; it was the first time someone was taking the initiative to talk to her after hearing her last name and she was going through a myriad of emotions.

Fear, anxiety, eagerness, and…hope?

Estelle hesitated a bit, before acquiescing to Gavin's offer and walked towards him to sit next to him. She gulped mentally as she met Gavin's eyes, feeling a little vulnerable before them. She inwardly hoped that she didn't make the wrong decision.

'I'm a bit hypocritical…Hah…well, fuck it, I just felt like it.' Gavin chuckled inwardly as he thought, watching Estelle walk over to him.

Honestly, he didn't know why he even bothered to take the initiative to invite her over. After all, she was just a stranger, why should he care about her? Maybe it was because she reminded him a bit of his past life so he pitied her because if she was really Bellatrix's daughter, then her life up until now would probably have been….woeful, to say the least.

"Estelle, right? Hi, I'm Gav. Gavin Everhart." Gavin said amiably, stretching his hands out for a handshake.

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"Y-Yeah, thanks for inviting me over." Estelle stuttered meekly, avoiding Gavin's eyes and shaking his hands.

Daphne hesitated for a moment, then looked at Gavin who nodded his head at her.

"Hey, I'm Daphne Greengrass. It's a pleasure to meet you." She introduced herself with a smile, stretching her hands for a handshake, to which Estelle nodded and grabbed shyly.

At that moment, McGonagall shouted,

"Pendragon, Brandon."

Brandon immediately gathered everyone's attention, Dumbledore included, as he walked towards the stool confidently. A lot of students were murmuring, surprised that there was a Pendragon at Hogwarts this year. Although they were popular, there hadn't been any news about them in a very long time so it was pleasantly surprising to see a Pendragon child here at Hogwarts.

Brandon smiled as they placed the hat on his head, as if already knowing his house.

Alas, his smile faded almost immediately when the hat shouted instantly, "SLYTHERIN!!"

The Slytherin table erupted into loud cheers and applauded loudly, eagerly welcoming Brandon over. They felt like they had won the lottery in this sorting ceremony seeing as they had gotten a lot of children from notable, and noble pureblood families. Even the illustrious Everhart and Pendragon houses. How good was that?

Brandon walked over gloomily to the Slytherin table, he was really unhappy at the hat's decision. It was his dream to be placed in Gryffindor, just like his father. He felt disgruntled and was about to frown when he heard a familiar voice.

"Oi Bran, over here!" The voice said, grabbing Brandon's attention.

'At least my friends are here…how could I forget so quickly?' He thought, smiling at Gavin.

"Seems like you're stuck with us." Daphne chuckled as she watched him take a seat beside her.

"Yeah, i-" Gavin was about to add to Daphne's comment when his attention was quickly grabbed by the next name Professor McGonagall shouted.

"Potter, Harry."

Immediately, the entire hall became silent. Everyone began to discuss amongst themselves and anticipate where the Boy-Who-Lived would be placed.

"Where do you think he would be placed?" Brandon asked Daphne and Gavin as he watched Harry walk up and sit on the stool.

Unexpectedly, it was Estelle who spoke up and replied to his question.

"Probably Gryffindor. I was thinking either that or Hufflepuff after seeing his interaction with Malfoy before we walked in. I fancy it's Gryffindor though, just cause he's a Potter you know? His dad went to Gryffindor." She said, rather confidently.

Gavin raised his eyebrows in slight shock, impressed that an 11 year old was that insightful. He nodded in approval at her analysis subconsciously.

"Right, that actually makes sense. I'm Brandon by the way." Brandon responded, seemingly enlightened, and stretched his hands out for a handshake.

"Estelle, pleasure to meet you." Estelle replied, a bit shyly.

"GRYFFINDOR!!" The hat instantaneously shouted, confirming Estelle's conjecture.

The Gryffindor table roared loudly, excited that Harry was coming to their house. Gavin saw his brother shake Harry and mouth something, earning the laughter of the people around him.

He smiled seeing that. Seems like his brother was more lively than usual.

After the rest of the students were sorted, Ron Weasley being the last, Dumbledore then stood up, instantly silencing the hall. He spread his arms out and said his start of the year speech and told them to enjoy the feast.

As soon as he sat down, a myriad of different foods appeared in front of everyone. From Chickens as fat as encyclopedias, to all sorts of fish, food decorated every inch of the House tables.

"Brilliant! I've been waiting all day for this!" Brandon said excitedly as he smacked his lips and dug into the food immediately, engaging himself in a battle of attrition between him and his stomach.

Daphne, Gavin and even Estelle laughed at him. They talked as they ate the flavorsome dishes. Gavin was bombarded with all sorts of questions, quickly becoming the center of the region of the table he was sitting in. He made a couple of jokes and talked a lot, enjoying himself immensely. Daphne and Brandon talked a lot as well and asked a bunch of questions about the school to the older students. Estelle was fairly quiet the entire time but talked when Gavin brought her into conversations.

About half an hour in, Dumbledore then stood up and announced that the forbidden forest and third-floor corridor was off limits, reminded everyone that magic was prohibited in the corridors and announced a few things about quidditch.

Following that, he told the students to sing the school song. Everyone stood up and sang along with him. Gavin thought the song was tacky so he didn't sing. Cass was singing loudly, earning the laughter and enthusiasm of the students around him.

"And now, bedtime. Off you trot!" Dumbledore concluded, ending the eventful and vibrant start-of-term banquet.

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