The Ghosts Arrive and Frighten the First-Years

PAGES: 115-116

As the first-year students anxiously wait for the Sorting Ceremony to begin, a group of ghosts enters the chamber, startling them. The Fat Friar, a ghost from Hufflepuff, tries to reassure them, but they remain nervous about the ceremony ahead.

Then something happened that made him jump about a foot in the air—several people behind him screamed.

“What the—?”

He gasped. So did the people around him. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying: “Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance—”

“My dear Friar, haven’t we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he’s not really even a ghost—I say, what are you all doing here?”

A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years.

[PAGE 116]

Nobody answered.

“New students!” said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. “About to be Sorted, I suppose?”

A few people nodded mutely.

“Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!” said the Friar. “My old house, you know.”

“Move along now,” said a sharp voice. “The Sorting Ceremony’s about to start.”

Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.