HARRY POTTER Book 4: Chapter 12
Chapter 12
THE TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT
The carriages move slowly through the rain and wind. Harry sits next to Ron and looks out the window. The lights of Hogwarts are bright in the storm. They are coming closer to the castle. When they stop, the students jump down into the cold rain. They run quickly up the stone steps into the warm entrance hall.
Ron shakes water from his hair. “If it keeps raining like that, the lake will overflow. I’m soak… — ARRGH!” A water balloon falls from the ceiling and hits Ron on the head. A second balloon falls near Harry, covering his shoes with cold water. Students shout and run. Harry looks up. He sees Peeves laughing high above them. He is about to throw more water balloons!
Professor McGonagall runs quickly out of the Great Hall. “Peeves, come down here at once!” she shouts.
Peeves throws his last water bomb and flies away laughing. Professor McGonagall pushes the students forward. “Move along, all of you. Into the Great Hall.”
Harry, Ron, and Hermione walk inside. The Hall is warm and full of candlelight. There are plates and cups on the tables. They shine like gold. There are four long tables in the Great Hall. They are crowded with students. The teachers sit at the top of the Hall. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sit with the other Gryffindor students. They sit next to Nearly Headless Nick, their ghost.
“Good evening,” Nick says proudly. “I don’t think this evening is very good,” says Harry. He takes off his wet shoes and empties the water. Ron looks at the doors. “I hope they hurry with the Sorting. I’m starving.” Harry is also excited about the Sorting. He has not watched one since his own Sorting. Students around him talk loudly as the new first year students arrive. The first years look scared and insecure.
A voice calls from down the table. “Hiya, Harry!” It is Colin Creevey. “My brother’s starting at Hogwarts this year!” he says excitedly. “My brother Dennis!” “Er—good,” Harry answers.
Hermione explains to Harry that brothers and sisters do not always enter the same House. Harry nods and looks towards the teachers’ table. There is an empty seat where the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher should be. He cannot see anyone new.
“Where’s the new teacher?” Hermione asks quietly. Thunder shakes the enchanted ceiling above them. “Oh hurry up,” Ron says, “I could eat a hippogriff.”
At that moment, the Great Hall becomes silent. Professor McGonagall walks in with the new first years. They look wet and nervous. One boy wears Hagrid’s large coat and looks very excited. When he reaches the line, he mouths to his brother Colin: “I fell in the lake!”
Professor McGonagall places a stool in front of the students. She then places an old hat on the stool. The Hall waits. Then a long tear near the brim of the hat opens like a mouth, and the Sorting Hat begins to sing. The song is much shorter than usual. The Hat sings about how Hogwarts has four founders and four Houses. It sings about how the hat chooses the best place for each student.
When the hat finishes, there is applause. “That’s not the same song it sang for us,” Harry whispers. “The Hat sings a different song every year,” says Ron.
Professor McGonagall starts calling names. Ackerley becomes a Ravenclaw. Branstone and Cauldwell join Hufflepuff. When she calls “Creevey, Dennis,” the small boy nearly trips over Hagrid’s coat. He puts on the hat. “GRYFFINDOR!” the hat shouts. Dennis sits beside his brother. “Colin, I fell in the lake! Something in the water pushed me back into the boat!” “Cool!” Colin says happily.
The Sorting continues until the final name is called. Professor McGonagall takes away the stool and hat. Ron picks up his fork and says, “It’s about time.” Dumbledore stands. He smiles and raises his arms. “I have only two words to say to you. ‘Let’s eat.” The plates fill at once with hot food. Students cheer. Harry, Ron, and Hermione begin to eat. Nearly Headless Nick sighs sadly because he cannot enjoy the food.
