Professor McGonagall now steps forward holding a long roll of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she says. "Abbott, Hannah!"

A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbles out of line, puts on the hat, which falls right down over her eyes, and sits down. A moment's pause—

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouts the hat.

The table on the right cheers and claps as Hannah goes to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. The ghost of the Fat Friar waves merrily at her.

...How exactly is the Hat doing this, she wonders.

The Deputy Headmistress continues down her list: Kellah Bimm, Gryffindor; Susan Bones, Hufflepuff; Terry Boots, Ravenclaw; Mandy Brocklehurst, Ravenclaw; Lavender Brown, Gryffindor; Millicent Bullstrode, Slytherin; Vincent Crabbe, Slytherin; Justin Finch-Fletchley, Hufflepuff; Seamus Finnigan, Gryffindor; Gregory Goyle, Slytherin. Some of them the Hat decides on immediately, while others take a bit longer.

After those: "Iroko, Adedayo!"

And Dayo confidently strides towards the hat and puts it on.

Hm.

The hat stays on Dayo's head for almost a minute, and then—

"SLYTHERIN!"

He beams, takes the Hat off, and walks towards the applauding table.

Huh, okay. Hopefully he can handle the prat.

Neville is, after some deliberation by the Hat, a Gryffindor, to his own surprise. He runs off still wearing the Hat and has to return amidst laughter to give it to 

"MacDougal, Morag!"

Who is a "SLYTHERIN!"

Malfoy goes next, and the Hat has barely touched his head when it cries—

"SLYTHERIN!"

—and he swaggers his way to Crabbe and Goyle, who are apparently friends of his.

Unsurprising. Ugh, he makes her skin crawl.

Moon, Nott, Parkinson, Patil (Padma), Patil (Parvati), Perks—

—and then, "Potter, Dorea!"

And whispers suddenly break out like little hissing fires all over the hall.

"Potter, did she say?"

"The Dorea Potter?"

Well.

That's her cue.

She strides up to the stool with a confidence she only mostly feels and jams the hat on her head.

Hmm... the Hat's voice sounds in her ear—or her head? A tough one... I could see you succeeding in many places, yes... You haven't had your chance to shine, though you've wanted to, and I do believe the disdain you feel towards Slytherin is unwarranted... But you also respect the qualities you see in Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, yes, I can see that, lofty ideals though they may seem... And how do you feel about Gryffindor, hm?

I like what I've heard of it so far!

Yes, I can see how you'd fit there—daring, a sense of the world's injustice and how you could do something about it, yes... You could help with it, help fight it and triumph.

She remembers Hagrid telling her she was going to be a great witch someday, the soft glow of pride, the determination to live up to his faith in her.

Yes... I do believe you'll do best in - "GRYFFINDOR!"  the Hat shouts to the whole hall, and the cheers are the loudest yet.

She takes the hat off and places it on the stool and manages to walk to the table slowly enough to not abandon all dignity.