"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted." Professor Longbottom opened a roll of parchment. "Adams, Oliver!"

A boy walked up to the stool nervously; he sat down and put the Sorting Hat on his head.

"Hufflepuff!" the hat yelled. Everyone at the Hufflepuffs' table cheered and clapped as Oliver joined them.

"Anderson, Sophie!"

"Ravenclaw!" the hat shouted. This time, the Ravenclaws' tables erupted into applause and cheers.

"Avery, Mairon!"

"Slytherin!"

"Baker, Laurel!"

"Gryffindor!"

"Bulstrode, Danielle!"

"Slytherin!"

"Chang, William!"

"Ravenclaw!"

"Cook, Elizabeth!"

"Hufflepuff!"

Marigold was alert, listening to Professor Longbottom call out the names and waiting for her turn.

"Davis, Luke!"

"Dixon, Ryland!"

"Doyle, Alessandra!"

"Edwards, David!

"Hufflepuff!"

David let out a sigh of relief as he joined the Hufflepuffs at their table.

"Ellis, Athena!"

"Finnigan-Thomas, Cosette!"

"Gryffindor!"

"Flint, Julius!"

"Slytherin!"

"Fuller, Jack!"

"Gardiner, Lyra!"

"Garfield, Noel!"

"Gryffindor!"

"Greengrass, Celeste!"

"Slytherin!"

"Greengrass, Hercules!"

"Gryffindor!"

"Griffiths, Rowan!"

"Hamilton, Georgina!"

"Gryffindor!"

"Isaacs, Matilda!"

"Jones, Diana!"

"Kim, Jessica!"

"Gryffindor!"

"Laird, Andrew!"

A boy with sandy brown hair who was standing next to Marigold went up to the stool, sat down and plopped the Sorting Hat on his head.

"Gryffindor!"

Andrew ran off to the Gryffindor table, still wearing the hat on his head. Everyone laughed as he jogged back to give it to...

"Lupin-Black, Marigold!"

Marigold jumped a little when Professor Longbottom called her name. She walked up to the stool, sat down and placed the Sorting Hat on her head.

"Hmm... difficult, very difficult." the hat said. "Courageous and determined to do the right thing, with a brilliant mind and thirst for knowledge... probably Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. Tell me, girl, where shall I put you?"

Marigold whispered to the hat, which announced, "Gryffindor!"

The cheers and applause from the Gryffindor table could be heard across the Great Hall as Marigold sat down next to Andrew. She took a glance at Teddy, who was sitting at the Hufflepuff table with a slightly disappointed look on his face. While the Gryffindors introduced themselves to each other, the Sorting Ceremony continued.

"Macmillan, Henry!"

"Hufflepuff!"

"Miller, Isabella!"

"Ravenclaw!"

"Nettles, Asgard!"

"Nicolson, Elspeth!"

"Ravenclaw!"

"O'Brien, Saoirse!"

"Owens, Freya!"

"Parkinson, Alyssa!"

"Slytherin!"

"Patil, Simran!"

"Gryffindor!"

"Roberts, Emily!"

"Gryffindor!"

"Rosier, Leopold!"

"Slytherin!"

"Shafiq, Vesta!"

"Slytherin!"

"Silverheart, Odin!"

"Slytherin!"

"Smith, Holly!"

"Trehearne, Faye!"

"Hufflepuff!"

"Weasley, Fred!"

"Gryffindor!"

"Weasley, Louis!"

"Ravenclaw!"

"Weasley, Lucy!"

"Hufflepuff!"

"Weasley, Roxanne!"

"Gryffindor!"

"Williams, Beatrice!"

At last, there was only one student left.

"Yaxley, Castor!"

"Slytherin!"

As Castor joined the Slytherin table, Professor Longbottom rolled up the scroll and put the Sorting Hat away.

* * *

The start-of-term banquet began. Plates filled up with roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops, lamb chops, sausages, bacon, steak, joints, steak and kidney pie, boiled potatoes, roasted potatoes, mashed potatoes, chips, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup and peppermint humbugs.

When Marigold reached to grab another lamb chop, a semitransparent head suddenly popped out of the table, startling her.

"Hello, how are you?" the ghost greeted the stunned Marigold. As if on cue, several other ghosts appeared out of nowhere, flying over the tables midair.

"You're Nearly Headless Nick!" Fred exclaimed.

"I prefer Sir Nicholas if you don't mind." the ghost said, almost haughtily.

Nearly Headless Nick watched the students longingly as they ate the food off their plates. After everyone seemed to be finished, the plates were refilled with pudding: ice cream, apple pies, spotted dick, chocolate gateau, treacle tart, pumpkin tart, chocolate éclairs & jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, jelly and rice pudding. The Gryffindors' conversation shifted to a talk about their families.

"Both of my dads attended Hogwarts with Harry Potter and fought in the Battle of Hogwarts," Cosette explained.

"My parents did too," Roxanne added.

"So did mine." Patil chimed in.

"I'm half and half. My dad's a Muggle. My mum's a witch. My dad found out after they got married. It was quite a shock." Andrew said, then turned to Marigold. "What about you?"

Although Marigold knew that her story would be much more long and complicated than theirs, she knew what to say since Sirius and Remus had already told her about what happened to her parents and how they ended up raising her instead.

"It's a long story," she began. "My parents, the ones who gave birth to me, were both wizards. They died when I was only a year old."

"I'm so sorry." Georgina, a girl who was sitting across Marigold, said.

"Thank you," Marigold said, giving her a weak smile. "It's alright. A neighbour told my godfather that my parents died, and my godfather, my other dad and his cousin raised me since then."

"Both of my dads fought in the Battle of Hogwarts, of course. And one of them was Harry Potter's godfather," she added, as the other Gryffindors' sympathy turned to admiration.

When the students finished the puddings, Professor McGonagall got to her feet. The Great Hall fell silent.

"Before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" Professor McGonagall announced and flicked her wand. A long golden ribbon flew out of it, rose midair and twisted itself into words.

"Everyone pick their favourite tune, and off we go!" Professor McGonagall said, and everyone in the Great Hall started singing.

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,

Teach us something please,

Whether we be old and bald,

Or young with scabby knees,

Our heads could do with filling,

With some interesting stuff,

For now they're bare and full of air,

Dead flies and bits of fluff,

So teach us things worth knowing,

Bring back what we've forgot,

Just do your best, we'll do the rest,

And learn until our brains all rot."