Even after Alex received her acceptance letter and began packing her parents were still hesitant to send her away. Her parents were active in the news of the wizarding world, they had heard about the strange tsunamis abducting students. They tried to convince Alex to wait one more year, to just let the ministry of magic sort out the strange disasters and make sure it's safe to send students once again. But Alex was never one to give up on what she had set her mind on. She was already packed and ready to go on an adventure. Her parents reluctantly agreed that it was safe enough to send her. 

And now was the sorting ceremony, something Alex only knew about through the whispers of excited students. She didn't know how the process worked, all she knew was that the hat never misplaced a student. Even if the student thought the choice was wrong, eventually everything would fall into place. 

She sat at a table with several other new students, all of which looked as excited and maybe even overwhelmed as she was. Alex listened with excitement as the sorting process began, her emotions not at all dampened by the news of the abductions. While she waited for her name to be called she looked around at the other tables. All the different houses. Some of the students listened and payed attention to the sorting ceremony, clapping wildly when a new student was placed into their house. 

Some of the other students didn't seem to be paying any attention, some read or chatted with their friends. Others walked around, observing the new recruits. Alex watched with wide, joy filled, eyes as an older student turned an unsorted first year's cup into a hummingbird, and then did the same to many others. Alex smiled, swinging her legs under her table.