Outsider Sorting Ceremony

[accionpc.livejournal.com]

After Monday's announcement that Hogwarts would play host to several Outsiders, the school was a hub of gossip, and the break-in of Sirius Black during the Hallowe'en Feast had almost been forgotten. Everywhere you went, there were people talking about the Outsiders in hushed voices, almost as though it was forbidden. Many of the rumours sounded ridiculous - apparently, Outsiders could throw houses, fly without aid, and turn invisible at will. Some students would try to discredit the rumours by explaining how such things were impossible, but it was to little avail.

Saturday was the day Hogwarts would open its doors to Outsiders, through a small Sorting Ceremony. It wasn't expected to be a large event, as reports indicated only a few Outsiders had accepted the offer, but it still seemed as though the entire school came to the Great Hall for the feast that evening.

The Great Hall was laid out the same way as the start of any Sorting Ceremony, though the tattered, frayed Sorting Hat had already been placed on the stool that stood before the staff table. The Outsiders - a mere four of them - were already present, lined up near the Sorting Hat.

Once all students and staff had arrived, Professor Dumbledore stood, raising a hand to quell the chatter and noise. Once all but a few quiet murmurs had ended, he addressed the school.

"Today," he said, "we welcome four new students into our school. I am sure you are all aware of the circumstances that have brought them here, and ask only that you treat them the same as any other student in this school. They are here to learn, just as you are."

Some couldn't help but wonder how Dumbledore could expect this, when one of the four Outsiders didn't even look human.

"Our four new students will be placed in a suitable House in the same manner as our First Years were at the start of term. Their House will be their home for as long as they remain at Hogwarts.

"Professor McGonagall, if you please?"

And the Headmaster took his seat. Professor McGonagall stepped forward.

"When I call your name and year, you will wear the hat and sit on the stool. The Sorting Hat will select the most appropriate House. You will then seat yourself at that House's table."

Comments

[youngnobelman]

Touma eased up just slightly at that, to the point of neutral politeness rather than outright friendliness. He had to work on the humor thing.

"Among other updates, yes," he said. The sorting ceremony had been an afternote in his letter, scrawled during the feast. "My sister likes to hear about the school."

[turnip-rage.livejournal.com]

"Ah."

Well, at least it sounded like something more general than the less-than-nice newspaper articles Espio had encountered thus far. Espio was okay with that - after all, events were to be talked about.

Even so... "most of your lot don't seem to like us. They especially don't like me. There was a big fuss about me being able to have a wand."

[youngnobelman]

Before answering, Touma looked around in case some pureblood kid would hear him and take offense.

"Wizarding Britain can be...set in its ways," he said delicately. He was always too caught up in the Muggle aristocracy to see enough of wizarding Austria to compare. "Unfortunately this includes considerable discrimination against other species."

It was something he'd observed from the Prophet and some of his textbooks, as well as in his occasional visits to Diagon Alley. He couldn't help drawing a parallel with his grandmother's attitude towards the lower classes and his own mother.

[turnip-rage.livejournal.com]

"They need to get over it," Espio said, bluntly. "Where I'm from, you're lucky if you see one of your own species during the day... 'cept if you're one of the more common ones, like cats. You get the occasional nut who believes in 'ectotherm supremacy' or whatever it was, I guess, but none of this 'we can't let anyone who's not a human have a magic stick!' business."

Okay, so he was venting a little, which probably wasn't the best idea when talking to a native, but...

"I get the feeling you're not really into the discrimination stuff." He looked thoughtful, trying to think of what he'd learned about the world before coming here. "Know a lot of 'muggles', maybe?"

[youngnobelman]

Touma was nodding along to Espio's rant, with a brief stare of confusion at 'ectotherm supremacy' (clearly this creature came from an odd world), but he froze and looked at his owl instead of Espio when the conversation came back to him rather than British wizarding society at large.

"My family," he said abruptly. His upbringing, which was impossible to hide in a house full of pureblooded kids who'd been using magic since before they could walk.

[turnip-rage.livejournal.com]

That was a strange tone to take. It sounded like he was ashamed of them, but... he was writing a letter to his sister, so maybe he read him wrong.

"You make it sound like there's a problem with that."

[youngnobelman]

"Some students here have a problem with that," Touma clarified, unconsciously straightening his tie. "Subsequently, they have a problem with me."

And then there was his grandmother's problem with magic. Really, he had problems on both sides.

[turnip-rage.livejournal.com]

"I knew this place was ridiculous," Espio muttered in response.

[youngnobelman]

Espio's comment brought a brief, thin smile to Touma's face.

"You may well fare better than I do, given time," he said. "Gryffindor house doesn't pride itself on being a bastion of pure blood the way Slytherin house does."

[turnip-rage.livejournal.com]

"We'll have to see," Espio said, with a shrug. "I doubt it. I've never exactly been popular with people, even at home." Granted, that's mostly because he has a tendency to attract trouble, but still...