Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and/or FMAB.

Chapter 12

The students filed nervously into the imposing entrance hall, wandering about and chattering amongst themselves. Harry was still dripping water and left small wet footprints in his wake. Hermione jostled up next to him in the pushy crowd.

"What happened?" She asked, motioning to his soaking clothes and towel.

"Fell in."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Fell in the lake? You should be in the nurse's office! What if you get hypothermia?"

"I'm fine." He said, just the least bit exasperated.

She persisted. "But what if – "

"Come on, Harry!" Ron interrupted, grabbing him by the arm and they forcing their way to the front next to Seamus as Hermione followed behind, giving a little huff at being ignored. Ron stopped abruptly and Harry stumbled into the boy in front of him.

"You!" The boy, the same one from the clothing shop, frowned at him angrily.

"Sorry, I didn't –"

"Silence!"

A stern looking woman stood in front of the throng, gazing out at the gathering set before her. The chattering died down and the blonde boy gave Harry a dirty look before shuffling over to a group of two rather rounder boys with pink faces.

"I am Professor McGonagall." She said crisply, clutching the sheet in her hands.

"Welcome to Hogwarts" said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your Houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your House will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your House, sleep in your House dormitory, and spend free time in your House common room."

"The four Houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each House has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn you House points, while any rule-breaking will lose House points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points is awarded the House cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever House becomes yours."

The Professor looked sharply down her nose at the group.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

As soon as she left nervous chatter broke out amongst the students.

"What do think we're going to have to do for the Sorting?" Harry asked.

Ron rubbed his nose absent-mindedly. "Fred said they made us fight a troll, though he might have been pulling my leg."

"My sister told me you duel one of the students from each of the houses."

"Really?" Harry asked, as a sinking feeling lowered itself in his stomach. He looked over the books he got from Diagon Alley with Ed, but hadn't wanted to try out any spells after the destruction in the wand shop. He wanted to know how it worked first. At least that's what Ed said he should do. In the middle of the night, however, Harry snuck a flashlight from under his pillow and read in secret. He hadn't dared try any spells yet though.

"What house do you guys want to be in?"

"Gryffindor, definitely." Seamus said. Ron nodded in agreement.

"They're the best. Both my parents and all my brothers were in Gryffindor."

Harry wondered suddenly which house his parents, his real parents, had belonged to.

The doors of the antechamber suddenly opened wide and over the heads of other eleven-year olds Harry could saw his first glimpse of the Great Hall.

It was as large and imposing as the anti-chamber, and even more so. The roof was so high it disappeared into the sky, though that might have been the magical ceiling. There were floating candles all around, lighting the room just enough to give an old-fashioned, truly…magical feel. Five tables in all, four were filled with students and the one high table at the front with teachers. All the students had the same black robes, but there was a recurring theme of colors for each table – probably the four houses. Green and silver, red and gold, yellow and black, blue and bronze. Hundreds of curious eyes gazed - and suddenly they were stumbling forward into the Great Hall, and Harry had to jump to keep from falling.

"Harry, you all right?"

He turned to look at Seamus and nods rapidly. "Yeah."

He looked back, captivated by the scene in front of them. Professor McGonagall must have spoken because now she has gotten this huge scroll and everyone was turned expectantly towards an old hat on a stool. Harry was severely confused until – until, it starts singing. The hat belts out its song through a tear in the fabric and the shadowed pockets above it give the unsettling impression of eyes.

"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat then me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve and chivalry,
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true,
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin,
Where you'll meet your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means,
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For a Thinking Cap."

The hat(and its song) left Harry vaguely nervous and worried. It sounded quite similar to something Ed had once described, about his namesake, Alphonse. A soul living inside an object. Could this be the same thing?

"Hannah Abott."

A girl made her way through the crowd of eleven-year olds, nervously biting her lip.

Harry figures out the process pretty quickly. All you have to do is try on the hat, but there is a trick. The hat must read your mind, or perhaps memories. The ball of nervous anticipation built in his stomach. Ed always said that he shouldn't be ashamed of alchemy, or rather, his lack of alchemy. What if he was just as bad at magic as he was at alchemy? What if they decided he wasn't magical enough and sent him home?

"Seamus Finnigan."

Harry broke from his thoughts as Seamus turned to give him and Ron a quick grin and Harry managed to whisper "good luck" through stiff lips.

The hat sat on Seamus's head for under a minute before he was sent to Gryffindor, same as Hermione who went next. It's alphabetical, so shouldn't he have already gone? Elric comes before Finnigan, right? Maybe they just forgot him, he thought as fear stuck him. Or, perhaps, they used his other name, his real -

"Harry Potter."

The hall broke out in a symphony of whispering, and he heard Ron gasp in his ear, "Harry Potter? He's in our year?" as if this is the coolest thing to happen to him all year. Harry started violently – because, crap, that's him.

He stepped forward and he can feel Ron's confused stare at his back. Harry tried to put this out of mind because everyone's staring, and he really wanted to concentrate on not falling up the short flight of stairs.

Professor McGonagall appeared passive, but is eying him just a bit more carefully than the thirty so kids before him. The hat in her hands looked even dirtier up close and the torn mouth of the object curled into a smirk as he approached.

Harry sat on the chair and he turned around and now – this is the hardest part. Everyone is staring. It is no longer the quiet chattering and relaxed laughter.

Harry tries not to look at any of the overly curious faces, but instead stares out over the tables and tries to discreetly wipe his sweaty hands on his robes. Moment of truth.

A/N: …it's been a while.

Half of this chapter was sitting on my laptop for six months, and I finally checked my account and saw all the reviews like, "Why haven't you updated?" and I'm pretty sure I got one, "Why do you hate us?"

Needless to say, I am a terrible person.

I left you guys hanging for over a year. That's not cool.

My only excuse: TIME. (As in, I have none).

Even as I write, I'm supposed to be doing calculus. Don't tell.

Thank you for bearing with me through this random and sporadic time. I have not forgotten you!

Reviews make me so incredibly guilty and therefore motivate me to update faster!

-Dov5e

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