Harry found that, once having allowed himself to look, it was hard to look away from the sorting. Despite his growing discomfort, Harry kept meticulous track of the familiar names appearing on Hagrid's list, by tapping a finger onto the tabletop. By the time the last student had been sorted, Harry's eyes were glassy and he had tapped a total of 11 times.<br/>5 students starting Hogwarts this year had been named Harry and two girls by the name of Hermione had both been sorted to Ravenclaw. Alongside them, Harry had watched Neville, Ginny and Albus cross the floor to be sorted. Too nauseous to stomach it, Harry hadn't tapped whenever the name Ronald had been called, though he knew in his heart three boys named Ron had enrolled this year.<br/>The final tap was a boy named Cedric, and beyond that, Harry had lost count.<br/>His finger had stopped mid motion, hovering an inch above the tabletop and Harry finally felt his heart break. Above all, Harry was touched, overcome with a sense of gratitude as his eyes welled up with tears. Every other familiar name felt crude, too on the nose and up close. He was, however, happy to witness that name being honored.<br/>His eyes followed the boy as he seated himself by Slytherin house, and Harry found himself deaf to the remaining 10 sortings.<br/>Having quickly grown tired of the task, as it only seemed to upset him, Harry shifted his posture, finally managing to look away from the child being sorted. Aimlessly turning, Harry glanced at Malfoy, barely seeming to remember where he was, awkwardly trying to regain a moment of clarity.