xB frowned. "So we... have to get on a boat?" He said warily, glancing between Beef and Keralis. "To- to get to the castle?" The dark haired boy added.

"Yep! Come on, it'll be fun! And we kinda have to." Keralis added with a laugh.

xB shrugged. "Can't I just- swim? It's so much easier." The blue eyed boy said uncertainly.

xB whipped his head around to glare at Beef as his friend muttered, "Dude, you are not beating the fish allegations."

"There's- NO fish allegations! I'm half siren, it's- completely different. Not a fish." He repeated sharply.

"Sure." Beef said skeptically as Keralis shrugged.

Eventually, his friends managed to drag a very reluctant xB onto a boat and had to practically hold him there as they followed the other boats to the castle.

It was a rather magnificent sight, xB had to admit, but also it looked very large and tall and wouldn't it be easy to get lost there, what if he went into the wrong room and everyone stared at him, what if he did something wrong and everyone stared at him, and hey, maybe going here wasn't the best idea after all, actually-

Also, it would have looked much better from underwater, just saying.

They ended up being lead down a very long corridor to a chamber that was pretty much empty apart from a lone chair.

A woman with black and white hair and piercing green eyes was stood next to the chair, holding a wizard's hat that had definitely seen better days.

The woman cleared her throat, plastering a smile on her face and glancing over the first years. "Welcome to Hogwarts! My name is Professor Endera, but you can just call me Dal if you'd like- unprofessional, I know, but I find it makes for a friendlier atmosphere." Dal cleared her throat again, her smile becoming a somewhat unapologetic one. "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 Howarts. 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 Slvtherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your 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 honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"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." The woman nodded again with a wry smile, glancing over some of the other first years before leaving into the next room, where there was a lot of noise.

Immediately, most of the other first years erupted into conversation. The voice of one of the tallest of the group, a brunette with a thick German accent and some sort of green face paint splattered over his lower face and neck, was the loudest. "How do you think they'll sort us? With a- test or something?"

His companion shrugged. "I don't know, man- my mum said something about a hat?"

xB glanced around to see two more people chattering loudly. A boy with blonde hair (said hair was tied back in a very messy pirate-like bandana) and pale blue-green eyes was loudly talking about how he was definitely going to be in Slytherin while his companion, a girl with black hair and dark brown eyes (as well a pink ribbon tying her hair back), smiled and nodded with an unreadable expression.

xB shot an uneasy glance in their direction before looking back at Keralis and Beef, who were chattering excitedly about what their houses might be.

A few moments later, Dal returned. "Now, form a line," She told the first-years brightly, as if she were offering them something valuable, "and follow me!"

xB and Keralis exchanged a glance before stepping into line and making sure they were both stood next to each other. Beef was still muttering to himself as this happened and ended up in line behind a boy with white hair and a face mask.

They were lead out of the chamber, back across the hall and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.

It was certainly an interesting place. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles which were floating in mid-air over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets.

At the top of the Hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Dal led the first-years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them.

xB shifted uncomfortably on the spot as hundreds of gazes landed on the first years, attempting to crouch in an odd way behind Keralis. The black haired boy then leant out of the line slightly with a startled glance at the front of a room as...

A hat began to sing?

It was a very battered hat and had clearly seen better days, but it also had a tear in the front that seemed to act as a mouth.

The first-years all stood quietly as they waited for the hat to finish its song- xB wasn't paying attention to the words-, although a handful did giggle and mutter to each other quietly.

Finally, the song ended and Dal produced a long piece of paper that appeared to be a list of names. She picked up the hat with her other hand and announced something about how it was a Sorting Hat and she'd be calling them forwards one by one to be sorted.

Beef was first to go up, which xB was sure was nerve-racking with all those eyes on him, and the half siren's hands flew up to cover his ears as the Sorting Hat shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

Dal gestured to one of the tables as Beef got up and was met with quiet cheering and congratulations from the people at that table as he sat down. She then cleared her throat again. "Cleo, Zombie." What an odd first name.

'Zombie', a girl with ginger hair, bright green eyes and thin scars all over, muttered something about how her name was Cleo as she walked over the to the stool, sitting down with a huff.

The hat barely touched her head before it bellowed, "SLYTHERIN!" Cleo got up and promptly walked over to one of the tables.

xB stared as the next name was called. "Crafted, xB." I'm third? You have to be kidding me- He glanced warily at Keralis, who nodded with an encouraging smile as xB hesitantly made his way towards the stool and sat down. xB frowned as the hat was placed on his head, his frown deepening as the voice of the Sorting Hat somehow appeared in his head, muttering something about how xB was an odd one, indeed.

His gaze flicked to the Hufflepuff table where Beef was watching expectantly. Please be Hufflepuff, please be Hufflepuff-

xB could practically hear the Sorting Hat scoff. No, not Hufflepuff. Oh, alright then-

He sat on that stool for another five minutes before there was a shout of, "GRYFFINDOR!" This startled xB so badly that he nearly fell off of the stool before stumbling over to the Gryffindor table.

Hahahahaha imagine forgetting about this AU couldn't be me-

Anyways yeah sorting ceremony :D probably gonna dwell on this for a bit in the next chapter lol

xB is a socially anxious mess- tbf I would also want to die in a hole if I was sat silently on a chair in front of hundreds of people

Also I am

Just gonna make my OCs the teachers because 👍

Hope you enjoyeddd :D comments and votes are appreciated <3

Sorry for any errors I don't proofread lol