Will put a handy summary when we get to actually doing stuff

This was it. It was finally time. Bryn practically vibrated with excitement as she followed her family towards the platform. The train station was bustling with muggles and wizards alike and she couldn't help but grin.

"Oy, Bryn, stop wondering off," her wrist was grabbed by her older sister who dragged her back to the trolly her brother was pushing. "We'll be late if you get lost."

"We're, like, an hour early," the younger girl pouted at Carys but stuck closer to her siblings as they approached the platform. The bounce in her step returned as they reached the wall between platform 9 and 10. Of course, she'd been here before when dropping off her older siblings but this time was different… She was going to hogwarts!

"We're going in," Carys announced, keeping a firm grip of Bryns hand.

"Hey, I'm not a baby," Bryn complained.

"You kinda are," Owen piped in with a wide grin.

"Am not!"

"Alright, short stuff."

"Will you two shut up alright," Carys hissed, which they both laughed in response to. "Lets go."

Bryn braced herself as the three of them ran at the wall, passing through into yet another bustling platform. But here it was much different with the distinct crackling of magic in the air, as owls hooted, people laughed and family's bid their children farewell. She grinned up at the Hogwarts Express. She couldn't wait to be on that!

She remained out of it even as her brother handed her her luggage, which she took without much of an issue even as she had to balance her large suitcase and owl cage under both arms. She was strong enough to take it.

"You're on your own from here," he teased, slapping her hard on the back. She shot him a glare and kicked his leg in response. It seemed that Carys had already run off to her friends - Bryn couldn't blame her sister. She knew she was already sick of the two of them. "Good luck, kiddo."

"I won't need it," Bryn retorted, sticking out her tongue at his laughing back as he went to find his friends. She muttered under her breath about stupid siblings as she hauled her luggage with her and onto the train. Since they'd arrived so early she didn't have to walk that far before she found an empty compartment. She slid in and shoved her luggage up above her. Nice.

Now all she had to do was wait, and hope someone nice from her year would join her.

---

Vivienne stood, bored, on the platform picking at well manicured nails as her parent’s made small talk to another pureblood family they knew well. They had arrived earlier than she might have liked because, in their words, mingling with others of their class was an important activity. It seemed that crossed over to dropping their children off for school. She was glad she was going this time - the boredom would have a satisfying end.

Her luggage was already on the train, saving a compartment for her that others would be smart to leave. It was right next to her brother’s at her parents behest and he was already there with a close friend of his. Vi, on the other hand, was waiting on the platform for someone.

“Where is Maddie,” she muttered to herself, shoving her hands in her pockets as yet another couple approached her parents with a son a bit older than her. She was not one to dislike social events but normally she was ready for them - dressed up and smile on her lips. Not impatiently waiting for a train to leave.

She just hoped Madeline arrived soon.

---

“I can’t believe our little brother is starting at Hogwarts,” an Asian girl grinned, squeezing the cheeks of a much shorter boy as she bent over to tease him. “I feel so old!”

“Leave him alone, Qiaohui,” a slightly more serious, but shorter, girl said even as she hid a smile behind his hand.

“Yeah, he must be nervous about starting,” a third girl, identical to the second, added with a grin. “Especially after being seen with us.”

“You’re right about that,” Qiaohui nodded, hand on her hip. “We are pretty popular.”

“I’m just going to get on the train now,” Liqin mumbled, hanging his head to try and make himself look small so he could slip out of his sister’s notice. Thankfully the three of them seemed content with discussing just how great they were that he managed to get away. He couldn’t help but breath out a sigh of relief once he got on board a carriage. Rows of compartments stretched out and he began to walk along them, careful to keep a firm hold of Suyin’s cage as he dragged his suitcase behind him. Eventually he found an empty carriage in a good spot and walked in. He smiled as he put his suitcase away and sat down. Perfect.

Liqin carefully pulled open the window and got out his camera, peering out the window to take snaps of the surrounding platform and the family’s that were bustling about. He was upset he hadn’t managed to get a photo of the express itself due to his sister’s pestering but he could make up for it now. He smirked as he zoomed in on Qiaohui as she almost tripped on her way onto the train.

“Uh, excuse me, can I, uh, join you?”

Liqin turned around to see a brown haired girl nervously standing at the compartment door with it half open. He blinked for a moment as his brain switched from photography mode to formulating words. “Yeah, of course.”

“Thanks,” she smiled, shuffling in and getting her suitcase away. A tawny cat that had been following her hopped up onto her lap and curled up there. “I’m Ishbel, by the way.”

“Liqin,” he responded with a nod, even as he was half distracted by continuing to take photos. “You can just call me Li.”

“Alright, Li, nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too.”

I'm finally here, thought Min-jung, as she gazed around King's Cross station. She was brimming with a combination of excitement and nerves, still hardly believing that she was going to Hogwarts. She had never dreamed of being any sort of magical, always considering herself very ordinary. I just hope that I fit in...

Min's parents had both accompanied her to the station to see her off, and now the family of three stood, looking somewhat lost. They had made it to King's Cross without a problem, but now they had to find platform 9 3/4 - which was proving to be rather difficult. They were standing right between platforms 9 and 10, unsure of where to go from there.

"Excuse me," a kind voice belonging to a woman spoke up behind them. Min and her parents turned around to find themselves looking at a smiling black woman wearing a scarf tied around her head, holding the hand of a young boy who Min thought looked around her age. The boy smiled at her. The woman spoke again, "I couldn't help but notice that you have an owl. Are you folks looking to board the train to Hogwarts?"

Min and her parents nodded. "Thought so," the woman said. "First year? Elijah here is just starting too. We can show you the way to platform 9 3/4 if you'd like? My name is Maria, by the way."

Min nodded excitedly, and her father said "Thank you very much," to the woman, and the Choi family introduced themselves as well. She directed them to platform 9, and explained to them how to cross to their platform. Once all of them had crossed, the parents kissed their children goodbye.

"Want to sit together?" Eli asked Min, who nodded gratefully. She had been very worried about who she would sit with, and was very thankful to have met Eli. They hauled their trunks and their pets aboard the Hogwarts Express, and wandered down the hall to find a place to sit. They eventually came across a compartment where a girl of Korean descent was sitting, and Eli knocked on the door and opened it. "Hi there," he said. "Mind if we sit with you?"



"Vi!" squealed Madeline, dropping her trunk into her accompanying house elf's arms and running over to her friend, her family following behind. She grabbed her friend in a hug, and whispered in her ear "Thank god you're here already, my parents have been arguing with Annalise all morning, save me!"

Pulling away, Maddie beamed at her friend. "You look sooooo good!"

Maddie's sister, Annalise, grudgingly kissed her parents goodbye before grabbing her trunks and running off to board the train with a group of Slytherin girls who greeted her happily. Maddie's parents said their hellos to Vivienne's parents and the other family they were speaking with, sliding cooly into the conversation.

Maddie rolled her eyes at her parents. "Want to get on the train?"



"Catch me if you can!" Archie bellowed at his brother, Gus, before taking off at a full-tilt run with his trolley to platform 9 3/4. He appeared on the other side and narrowly avoided colliding with a few older students, muttering an apology to them as they shouted at him. He could hardly believe that finally, finally, he and his brother were going to Hogwarts!

Archie finally stopped, and turned around to wait impatiently for the rest of his family to arrive. He could hardly contain his excitement, and felt that at any given moment he might begin bouncing off the walls. "Come on, hurry up Gus, all the good seats will be gone!" he said to himself.



Carter and his sisters had just finished saying their goodbyes to their parents, and were hauling their trunks aboard the Hogwarts Express. Nathalie wiped tears away from her face - the most sensitive of the three siblings, she was always sad to leave her parents and felt very overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of platform 9 3/4.

Their oldest sister, Serena, patted her gently on the back. "C'mon Nat, you love Hogwarts! Let's find you your friends, you'll be happy to see them." Nathalie nodded, looking slightly happier at the prospect of seeing her friends. Serena looked over at her brother. "I told mom and dad I'd find you somewhere to sit too, so come on."

Carter rolled his eyes and reluctantly followed his sisters, complaining about being babied too much, but Serena pretended not to hear him. They quickly found Nathalie's friends, and left her and her things amidst a pile of hugging, smiling Hufflepuff girls.

They cam across a compartment with two students Serena didn't recognize - a dark haired boy and a brown haired girl. "There," Serena declared triumphantly. "They look about your age." Carter groaned, and pleaded with his sister not to embarrass him, but she simply said "I promised to find you somewhere to sit," and knocked on the door. Serena opened it, and poked her head in. "Hey," she said in a friendly tone. "You guys first years? So's my brother. Can he join you?"

Carter's entire face went bright red and he fought off the urge to tackle his sister, knowing full well she could take him with one hand tied behind her back.



Jacob sat alone in his compartment, with his legs stretched out across the seat. He and his brother had arrived early, as his parents had wanted to visit with the other families before the train had left. Eventually, Jacob and his brother, David, had gotten bored, and bid their parents farewell.

He had made sure to get an empty compartment as his parents had said there would be a few Pureblood families of Slytherin sorting that would have children attending Hogwarts for the first time, and he was to ensure he sat with them and no one else. Montague, Nott, and Burke were among the names he had been told to ask for. Jacob knew he would be easily recognized, as he had borrowed his brother's Slytherin scarf, not to mention the fact that he looked like the typical Yaxley - dark hair, pale eyes, narrow face.

Jacob opened up a piece of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, chewed it, and began to blow bubbles. He was getting bored, and hoped that he'd have some acceptable company soon.



"Now Saoirse, once you're on that train, stay in your compartment and don't leave unless you have to go to the bathroom! And once you get to Hogwarts, make sure that you follow the other first years, there will be boats and..." Saoirse's mother was worriedly reminding her daughter what she had planned for her to do during her trip to Hogwarts. Saoirse was barely listening - she had heard this speel a hundred times. "Mum, promise, won't do anythin' I'm not supposed to. Thistle and I will stay put, I'll be just fine."

Her mother turned, still looking worried, to Saoirse's older brother, Conall. "Conall dear, make sure she finds somewhere to sit, and if she can't bring her with you..." This was cut off by groans from both of her children.

"Now now, I'm sure they're going to be fine," a man, Saoirse's father, spoke up, though not without an anxious tone to his voice. "It's Hogwarts after all, they'll take good care of her."

Saoirse nodded slowly, and stared at the train, hardly believing she would be going to Hogwarts. After her mother repeating herself once more, an array of hugs and kisses, Saoirse and her brother hauled their trunks aboard the train and began looking for a place to sit. They quickly came upon an empty compartment. "You go here," Conall said, helping her move her belongings inside. "I'll be back to check on you once the train leaves. Saoirse..." She gazed at her brother with wide eyes. "Just...please don't do anything weird, okay?" Conall closed the door and left to find his friends, leaving Saoirse staring after him.

After a few moments, Saoirse shook her head and sat down, placing her owl on the seat beside her. She began absentmindedly chewing on her hair and humming a song, wondering about all the things she would learn at Hogwarts, and all the new people she would meet.



Nadia sat alone in a compartment, her schoolbooks scattered beside her. She was frantically reviewing the notes she had made all summer and flipping through the pages. "I knew I shouldn't have taken last week off, stupid stupid..." she muttered to herself, as she looked over famous wizards from each Hogwarts house.

Nadia had forced her family to arrive early, so that she wouldn't miss the train and to allow herself time to review. Her brother, Anthony, was off with his Quidditch friends in their own compartment. She silently thanked his friends for whisking him away, otherwise she'd have had no hope of focusing on her books.

"Now, if I can only make it through all these notes before we get there, I'll be ready for the Sorting Ceremony," she said, her brows wrinkling with worry. "I just hope I have enough time..."

Bryn looked up with excitement as someone knocked on the compartment door, grinning widely as two people who seemed to be in the same year as her stood in the entrance.

“Of course! Come right in,” the girl nodded fervently as she shuffled over to make room for them. “I’m Bryn! How about you guys?”

She tilted her head then as she looked at them both. “You’re both first years too, right?”

---

“Maddie!” Vivienne smiled widely, gladly hugging her friend back and laughing slightly at her whisper. She lowered her voice even as the other girl pulled away. “Tell me about it, mine keep emphasising the importance of connections here.”

She rolled her eyes. It was ridiculous honestly that at an event to see their children to school ended up being yet another social networking event for the parents. But she was glad she could finally escape it.

“Yes, let’s,” Vi nodded in solid agreement, grabbing Maddie’s hand and practically pulling her onto the train after her. “I already got us a compartment and my luggage has been put there. It’s right next to my brother’s so he should have made sure that no one else got in there.”

She paused as she reached the compartment she’d saved, frown crossing her lips. A dark hair boy already sat in her compartment chewing some gum and acting as if he owned the place. She narrowed her eyes slightly as she noticed the Slytherin scarf. Perhaps it wasn’t such a bad thing… but still, she had to ensure that he was worthy of being in the presence of her and her closest friend.

Without knocking Vi yanked open the door with a slam and stepped inside. She put her hands on her hips as she stared him down. She recognised his features, the family name at the back of her mind, but she wanted to hear it from his mouth.

“I think you’ll find you’re sitting in my carriage,” she announced, pointing to the luggage that was already hidden away above. “I’m Vivienne Nott. Who are you, exactly?”

---

“Archie, wait!” Gus called, rolling his eyes as his brother ran through the wall without even a backwards glance. He glanced at their parents with a slight smile and said, “guess we should follow him.”

Gus ran through to platform 9 ¾ with his own trolley but at a much more relaxed pace than his twin, arriving just in time to hear Archie saying something about the fact all the good seats will be gone. “There’ll be plenty of seats left - do you see how big the train is!”

He sighed softly and turned to their parents with a rueful smile. “Guess we better be off before Archie actually destroys something!”

Their parents laughed their agreement and Gus submitted himself to the goodbye hugs and kisses without much complaint.

“Come on, let’s go find some seats.”

---

Ishbel looked up as a clearly older girl opened their compartment door and looked in. She blinked nervously at the overwhelming presence before stammering, “uh yeah we are, he’s very welcome to join!”

The girl smiled at Carter, completely understanding the feeling of domineering order siblings and glad she’d managed to escape her brothers before she’d gotten on the train. She picked up Holly, who’d wandered off her lap and onto the seat beside her, and indicated for Carter to sit there. Especially since Liqin didn’t seem to have any thoughts about moving his owl cage from beside him. In fact, the short boy had barely looked around and was still concentrated on taking photos out the window.

“I’m Ishbel,” she smiled. “And uh, that’s Li.”

“Oh,” as if suddenly caught by his name, Liqin turned around to look at the newcomer. “Hi.”

---

Olivia had said a rather tearful goodbye to her parent’s on the platform, after they’d asked for help from another family with similar looking luggage and made it through. They still weren’t entirely accepting of the idea that magic did indeed exist but they didn’t have a choice but to let their daughter go. She wiped away tears as she told them that she’d write them letters and hugged them both tightly.

She ignored her nerves as she stepped on board the train. She pulled her suitcase behind her and was glad she didn’t have an owl like all of the kids carrying cages - instead her pet rat, Elle, was snuggled quite happily in her scarf. She frowned as she walked past full carriage after full carriage - all with clearly older kids in them. Eventually she stopped when she found one with just a lone girl in it. She had a little bit of an odd look on her face, as if she was daydreaming or something, as she chewed on her ginger hair. Still, she wasn’t one to judge.

Carefully she tapped on the door and opened it. “Hi, mind if I join you?” she didn’t really wait for an answer as she entered and put her luggage up. She then stuck her hand out towards the other girl. “I’m Livi.”

---

“Yes mum, I’ll make sure to give Uncle Cassian the present,” Ben resisted rolling his eyes as his mother fussed over him. “I have to go now, or the train’ll leave without me.”

“Stay safe,” his mother said as she pulled him into a hug.

“I will,” Ben sighed, nodding to his father and bending down to hug his two siblings, who were the closest to tears. “I’ll be back home in no time!”

“Take me with you,” the youngest, his brother Jamie, whimpered.

“In a few years,” Ben smiled, ruffling his hair and turning to his sister, Addie. “Look after your brother, alright.”

Once she nodded her agreement Ben left with one last wave, getting on the train. He whistled slightly to himself as he walked through the carriage before eventually coming to a mostly empty one. Inside was one girl, books spread out around her. He raised an eyebrow as he knocked and opened the door.

“Excuse me, mind if I join you?”

---

Thanh had managed to get their parents to just drop them off at the station and let them make their own way inside. They’d been confused for a while until they’d seen someone else run through a wall… and had followed them. They’d found themselves on an overwhelmingly bustling platform of mostly parents - the train would be leaving soon.

They’d quickly gotten onboard and was disappointed to find no empty compartments. So they settled for one with just two girls in it - one ginger and the other with tied back, frizzy hair who was holding her hand out to the sitting girl. Thanh didn’t say a word as they stepped in, taking a seat beside the window and pulling their hood up. They knew they’d have to talk to others eventually but right now? They’d pass.

Eli and Min smiled back at her and dragged their belongings into the room. "I'm Elijah, but everyone calls me Eli!" Eli introduced himself before stuffing his luggage out of the way, and placing the carrier containing his cat, Pirate, on his lap as he sat down. "Yep, I'm a first year. I can't believe I'm going to Hogwarts, I never thought this would happen!" his voice rose excitedly as he spoke.

Min had also quietly tucked her belongings away, and made sure that her owl, Hei, was carefully sat upright in his cage on the floor. "I'm Min," she said softly. "I'm also just starting at Hogwarts. It's very nice to meet you!"





Maddie shook her head, silently agreeing with how annoying their parents could be. After a quick goodbye, she allowed herself to be dragged on the train, struggling slightly under the weight of her luggage. As they arrived at their compartment and noticed it was occupied, she narrowed her eyes and put her hands on her hips. Something seemed familiar about him, though she couldn't quite pinpoint it...

"Vivienne Nott, eh? So glad to finally meet you. I'm Jacob Yaxley," Jacob introduced himself, taking his feet off the seat. "Our brothers are friends, they suggested I wait in here for you." He smirked. "We've got to start planning how Slytherin's gonna rule the school, don't we?"

Maddie was irritated that Jacob seemed to be paying more attention to Vivienne than her. She thought he was very attractive, and wanted to have him notice her too. "I'm Madeline Burke," she said, introducing herself, slightly annoyed. She turned to Vivienne, waiting to see if he passed her inspection - she hoped so, as he was cute!

Jacob nodded at Maddie. "Glad to meet you too. Now we wait for the Montagues to arrive. I hear they're twins."



Archie practically bounded towards his family, almost tipping his trolley over. "I'm just saying, if we wait too long we may have to sit with just each other, and I know at least one of us would go mad in that situation." He winked at his brother before grabbing him in a big hug. "Aww come on Gus, I haven't even broken anything in the last 24 hours!"

Archie reluctantly let his parents give him a goodbye hug and kiss, then halfheartedly promised that he would write to them often (by which he meant whenever Gus wrote to them, he would write a few words and sign the same letter) before nearly catapulting himself onto the train.

"All right Gus, where do you wanna sit? Please don't pick somewhere boring!"



Serena thanked both of them, before giving Carter a big hug (much to his dismay). "Now be good Carter, don't bury your nose in your writing, actually talk to people and listen!" Carter looked like he might die. "Yeah yeah, bye Serena..." His sister rolled her eyes at her brother before picking her luggage back up. "I'll be with the Gryffindor Quidditch team if you need me!" she called back.

Carter took a deep breath to compose himself, then turned back to the two students. "Hi Ishbel, hi Li. My name's Carter. Thanks for saving me from my sister...she can be a nightmare sometimes." He stuck his luggage in the overhead space, before sitting down next to Ishbel. "So, are you guys excited to start school?"



Saoirse didn't seem to notice the other two come in, she was too busy wondering how long it would take her to befriend the Acromantula's her brother had told her lived in the Forbidden Forest. Shame it's forbidden, I'd really like to get to know them...maybe in a few years...

As the second newcomer sat down next to the window, she seemed to snap out of her thoughts. She turned her head to stare at the person wearing the hoodie for a moment, before blinking once and turning her gaze to the girl with the frizzy hair, her eyes falling to her hand. Saoirse blinked again, slowly, and opened her mouth to speak, her hair falling out of it. "I was wonderin' when I'd meet you," she said softly, "I've been looking forward to it."

Saoirse blinked once more, faster this time, before reaching her hand out and shaking the girl's hand. "I'm Saoirse. Are you a first year too?"



Nadia, who had been lost in thought, jumped at the sound of the voice. She looked up at the figure in the doorway, a boy, and very tall at that. Finally someone might be taller than me, she thought happily. She hesitated for a moment at his question, looked at her notes, then nodded.

"Yes, of course. No need to have this all to myself." She cleaned up some of her notes that she had spread out in an attempt to make room for him. "I'm Nadia, by the way. Nadia Hornette. First year." Nadia looked up at him. "What's your name?"

“Nice to meet you Eli, Min,” Bryn grinned at them both as they took their seats. “And same! My brother and sister always boasted about going to Hogwarts but finally I’m getting to go too! I can’t wait.”

The energetic girl brought her legs under her so she was crouching on the seat, looking at the two of them with bright eyes. “I hope we get going soon! What are you looking forward to most? What house d’you think you’ll be sorted into?

---

Jacob Yaxley… Ah, of course. Vivienne knew the Yaxley family well. Another pureblood Slytherin family of a similar rank to hers. It made sense as to why her brother had allowed him into the compartment, but she just wished he had told her first.

She narrowed her eyes for a moment at him before sweeping into the compartment, sitting down opposite him and indicating for Maddie to sit next to her. She crossed one leg over the other before leaning forward slightly.

“Of course we do, but it won’t take much planning,” she said haughtily. “After all we were made to rule the school.”

She then tilted her head. “Twins? I didn’t realise the Montagues were starting this year too.” She glanced at Maddie with a smile. “Did you? I wonder what they’re like. Either way, we’ll meet them soon enough when we’re all sorted into Slytherin.

---

“Our ideas of boring are entirely different, Archie,” Gus rolled his eyes at his twin as he began to walk through the train carriage a lot of the compartments were already full which left them with limited options. He paused for a moment at a carriage with two girls and one boy, who was wearing a slytherin scarf. He snorted and lowered his voice to whisper at his twin. “I think I found the pureblood Slytherin compartment… Let’s not sit there.”

Unlike most other purebloods, their parents didn’t ascribe to blood purity and looking down on those who weren’t pureblood. As a result the twins were much more accepting than most purebloods - even if they both still expected to be sorted into Slytherin.

Gus stopped going and stopped at another compartment with just two people, probably first years, one a tall boy and the other a girl who was clearing up some notes. A mischievous twinkle lit up his eyes as he turned to Archie. “How about here? They look fun.”

---

“Nice to meet you, Carter,” Ishbel piped up, clearly relieved now that his sister had gone.

Li laughed slightly as he pulled his camera back inside the compartment and shut the window, figuring that he could get nice photos on the journey later. “I understand the older sister problem very well… I have three.”

“I have two older brothers,” Ishbel shrugged with a sympathetic smile. She then nodded at Carter’s question. “Of course! I’m nervous but also very excited.”

“I cannot wait to see the castle,” Li’s eyes practically started glowing. “I’ve heard it’s beautiful… Imagine how many good photos I can get of that! I wonder if we’re allowed to photograph the sorting ceremony… that would be so cool!”

---

“Huh?” Olivia blinked as Saiorse, rather quietly, said something about looking forward to meeting her. Weird but alright, she’d just brush it off. She wasn’t exactly normal herself. So she just smiled and nodded. “Nice to meet you Saiorse! Yup, I’m a first year too.”

She sat down beside her after putting her luggage away, finding it a bit odd that the other person had come in without greeting them. But if that’s what they wanted… well, she’d concentrate her efforts talking to the person who cared!

“Are you excited to start? I am! Not that I know what any of it’ll be like, my parents aren’t wizards you see. But I still can’t wait.”

---

“Thank you,” Ben smiled and stepped in, putting away his luggage before answering her question. “Benjamin Sallow, also a first year. But everyone just calls me Ben.”

He sat down opposite her with a light sigh before looking at the notes that she’d tried to clean up. “That’s a lot of notes you have there… Already preparing for classes? That’s impressive.”

Eli nodded energetically. "I hope so too! I can hardly wait to get there, I've read so much about it! See, my family isn't magic, but I think my mum knew. My aunt's a witch, but I'm adopted," he added, "so it was a surprise to me!"

Pausing for a breath, he barrelled on, he was clearly a talker. "My aunt's told me loads about the houses, she was a Gryffindor you know, so I hope I either get Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, her husband's a Hufflepuff, and he's real nice. Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad, but I just don't think it's me, you know what I mean? I just don't want to be in Slytherin." Eli grinned and looked over at Min. "How about you?"

Min hesitated slightly before speaking. "Well, no one in my family is magic, so I'm not really sure what to expect. I've done some reading though, and I think Hufflepuff would be best for me." She paused. "What about you, Bryn? Which house are you hoping for?"





Jacob laughed. "You know what, you're right Vivienne." He smirked. "Anyone who says otherwise is kidding themselves." He winked at Vivienne. "Father says there's an outrageous amount of Muggleborns being let in this year...Hogwarts is really going downhill."

Maddie sat down beside Vivienne, still slightly annoyed that Jacob was paying more attention to her. She flipped her hair before nodding. "Yeah, dad said Mr. Montague stopped by the store a few weeks ago to pick up a few things and brought the twins with him. Both boys. Dad said one is apparently a bull in a china shop, but the other one seemed really polite. So we'll see." She shrugged. "I agree Vi, I assume Slytherin regardless, even if one of them is...odd."

Her lips curled into a scowl at Jacob's comment. "Really? Ugh. The last thing we need is having Hogwarts overrun by what are basically Muggles...it's so gross."



Archie sighed with relief. "Yeah, we better avoid them as long as we can before we have to live with them. Though," he smiled wickedly. "Do you think they'd let me change houses if I set the Slytherin common room on fire?"

He groaned slightly when he looked in the compartment Gus suggested. "Fun? I think we have different definitions of fun...there is no way someone who's studying [i[before[/i] school even starts is fun. You're just saying that so you can read."

Archie looked around. It was getting close to 11. "Is there anywhere else we can sit, Gus? C'mon..."



Nadia smiled. "Nice to meet you Ben." She shrugged slightly. "Oh, these are just my notes about the sorting ceremony and the various houses. I'm trying to be as prepared as possible for when my turn comes, you can really never be too prepared for these things..."

Her voice trailed off as she looked up and did a double take. She thought she was seeing double, but quickly realized that the two blonde boys standing outside of the compartment must be twins. They appeared to be having a slight disagreement about something, though she couldn't hear their voices through the glass. Her heart sank. I'll get no studying done at all in a full compartment... she thought worriedly.

Nadia turned to Ben. "Um...do you think we should ask them if they're okay?" she asked, nodding her head in the direction of the door.



"Three sisters?" Carter exclaimed, pushing his curly dark hair back. "Geez. I thought two was bad enough...I can't imagine three...and having two older brothers?" He shook his head. "Well, I'm glad we all share each other's pain," he said jokingly.

Carter nodded in agreement with Li. "Me too. I've heard so much about it from my sisters, so I can hardly wait to see it myself! I'm so looking forward to the sorting," he added. "That would be so cool if you could take pictures! I want to write up a segment on it, talking about who gets put in which house. I think it would be really neat."

He turned to Ishbel. "I'm sure it's going to go well," he reassured her. "Do you guys have any hope for which house you'll get in?"



Saoirse nodded, her ginger hair bouncing. "I'm very excited to start! My brother's already at Hogwarts, he's a Ravenclaw, most of my family has been." She smiled encouragingly at Olivia. "Doesn't matter much who your family is, I don't think, we're all really starting at the same place."

She paused, and looked over at the other person in the compartment, and opened her mouth as if to say something. She then closed it and turned back to Olivia.

"My brother said not to worry too much about when we first get there, they take real good care of you, though, I can't remember much of what else he said about it..." Saoirse frowned, looking as if she was trying really hard to remember something she had forgotten.

Bryn nodded energetically as Eli talked, smile wide as her gaze flickered between the two. They both seemed very nice even if Min was slightly quieter. Bryn could tell that they were going to get along great!

“I think you’d both make perfect Hufflepuffs,” Bryn grinned brightly at them. “Or Gryffindor as well, Eli. My older sister is a Gryffindor and so was my father, but my sister’s a Ravenclaw. She’s so serious all the time so I know I don’t want to be a Ravenclaw! I want to be Gryffindor I think I’d fit right in there.”

She puffed her chest out slightly, before her head suddenly jerked towards the window. “Look! I think we’re beginning to move!”

---

“Hmm, well if one is as careless as that maybe it's best they don’t join us until the sorting ceremony,” Vivienne hummed in response to what Maddie said about the twins. She certainly hoped they wouldn’t bring down the names of pureblood families. She glanced at Maddie, noticing that her friend seemed a little annoyed… but not being sure why. Well it probably wasn’t anything big.

Her lip also curled up in disgust at the thought of Muggleborns being let in this year, shaking her head. “I can’t believe it. My brother did say something about that… But I didn’t want to believe it, the thought it so repulsive. At least there shouldn’t be any in our house.”

“I’m glad that Maddie and I have managed to avoid Muggles until now, but I can’t believe we’ll have to deal with them at hogwarts of all places.”

---

“I don’t think that’s how house changing works,” Gus laughed lightly, before folding his arms with a wide smile. “What do you mean, not fun? You shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover! But it will be a nice benefit if I get to read… Well.”

He paused momentarily. “We could go back and sit with those Slytherins! I haven’t seen any other empty carriages but if you want to go find one…”



Ben held back on saying that the sorting ceremony wasn’t a test in any way, because she clearly cared a lot about it. He didn’t get a chance to comment on it anyway as she looked towards the door and he followed her gaze. His eyebrows shot up at the sight of two identical blond boys. Twins?

“Yeah, I think we should,” Ben frowned, standing back up and opening the compartment door. He forced his expression back to something more friendly as he regarded them both. “Are you two okay?”

Gus turned around to face that taller boy with a smile. “Of course! We were just deciding whether to ask to join you two. May we?”

Ben went to nod before hesitating, looking back at Nadia to see what she thought of it.

---

“We all have older sibling problems,” Liqin moaned dramatically, slumping down in his seat. “What a hard life.”

Though, he instantly perked up at Carter’s agreement. “Hopefully I can take pictures and then you can write about it! That would be sweet, so you write then? Wow. I wonder if it would be the first time people did that for the ceremony...”

Ishbel laughed slightly at the two boys' passion towards different things but answered Carter’s question easily. “Hufflepuff. All of my family’s been in Hufflepuff and I think I will be too.”

Liqin just shrugged. “My oldest sisters are Ravenclaw, and my other is Gryffindor but… I dunno what I’ll be sorted into. I wouldn’t really mind as long as it isn’t Slytherin. What about you?”

---

“Oh really! Ravenclaw’s the house I was most interested in,” Olivia gave a wide smile. “Do you think you’ll end up there too? And that’s true! We’re all starting from the beginning and I’m sure we’ll all do well.”

She then tilted her head with a smile. “Your brother is probably right, I’m sure they’ll teach us well and make sure we all settle in well. I just hope none of the other students are nasty about those of us without wizard parents.”

Thanh remained silent, but had turned their head slightly to listen in on their conversation - they were born to two humans too, and it was also their worry. Even if they didn’t know how to make friends well in the first place or even want to talk to people normally.

Eli laughed at Bryn's comment, feeling so relieved to have met two wonderful girls so early on. He had been so excited to make friends, and already felt as though he'd met some really wonderful people. "I can't blame you, I so wouldn't be able to be a Ravenclaw! Like yeah, school and smarts are important, but I think making friends and having fun are the most important things!"

Min nodded in agreement. "I feel like Ravenclaw is very high pressure...I wouldn't like that."

The two jumped as they felt the train start. "Yes!" Eli exclaimed. "I still can't believe it!" His eyes were shining with excitement. "I just can't wait to get there!"





Jacob shrugged. "I'm sure not. The Montagues aren't commonfolk. They're like us, and I'm sure they'll have hell to pay with their parents if they aren't." He felt the train move suddenly and grinned. "And just like that, we're off!"

Maddie turned to Vivienne. "I know," she whined. "Dad says it just gets worse each year. I can't believe how relaxed they've become, they may as well let the Muggles themselves in at this point, it's unbearable..."

Jacob tilted his head slightly and ran his fingers through his hair. "At least they won't make Slytherin, that would be unforgivable! Salazar Slytherin would roll over in his grave! Send them all to Hufflepuff, that's where the misfits go!"





Nadia bit her lip, fifty things running through her head in a split second. She quickly reached a decision. "Yes of course, come on in." She began to once again clean up her notes, organizing them more thoroughly so that they fit right on her lap.

Archie smiled broadly at Ben and Nadia while simultaneously whacking his brother in the back of the head. "Thanks! All aboard the fun compartment of the Hogwarts Express!" He barged past Gus. "This so beats sitting with those reptilians back there!"

He quickly threw his belongings haphazardly in the overhead space before plopping himself down and pulling a half dozen slightly squashed boxes of Chocolate Frogs from his pocket. "Plenty for everyone!" he said gleefully, "but after introductions! That's my baby brother, Gussie, and I'm Archie!"

Nadia appeared calm and cool on the exterior, but she was silently cursing herself for practically inviting them in. Worry about passing her sorting test started to creep inside of her, and she tried to squash it. Self-doubt wasn't an option, and neither was failure. "Nice to meet you both...I'm Nadia Hornette."



Carter's face lit up at Li's suggestion. "That sounds incredible! Yes, a thousand times!" He nodded enthusiastically. "Yep. Mum says I could write before I could walk, and my sisters joke I was born with a quill in my hand. I love to write, more than almost anything...It's my dream to start a newspaper at Hogwarts! No one has ever done that before, it would be the first one, and now I'm rambling, sorry guys!"

He nodded at their answers. "All are great houses. My one sister is in Gryffindor, that's the one you met, and my other sister is in Hufflepuff. I wouldn't mind either of those, but I would love to be in Ravenclaw. I feel that it would really challenge me. I wouldn't mind Slytherin, if it wasn't for the other students I know will be in it."



Saoirse nodded. "Ravenclaw is a great house, my brother loves it. He says..." her voice trailed off as she tried to remember the words, her gaze falling on the window and she saw that things had started to move. "Oh, we're on our way," she sang quietly, swinging her feet slightly.

She turned back to Olivia, and without missing a beat, "...that Ravenclaws 'are very intellectually stimulating and consistently produce witches and wizards of the highest academic achievements...' or something like that." She shrugged.

"I can't really say I mind any house. I like all the animals on their emblems. I suppose I won't really fit in to any house, so I trust the hat will know what to do." Saoirse began humming softly, bobbing her head from side to side, and smiled at Olivia and the other stranger in her compartment. "Of course some students won't be so nice about it, but why should their opinion matter at all? After all, it just shows you who you don't want to be friends with." She once more looked out the window. "Destructive words come from a crumbling ideology..." she said, as if to herself, though it was plenty loud for the others to hear.

“Yeah I’m not into the pressure to do so well,” Bryn shook her head with a smile. “I’ll leave that to my sister.”

She grinned as the other two seemed equally excited about being on their way. “I know! I’m so excited for the start and for the starting ceremony.” She forced herself to sit back down even as she bounced her leg. “I wonder how long the journey is? I hope not too long… Not that I don’t like you two! I just want to get there!”

---

“I guess we shall see,” Vivienne smiled at Jacob, eyes flickering to the window. She suppressed her excitement at being on their way - it wouldn’t be ladylike to show something like that. Perhaps if it had just been her and Maddie…

She then shook her head with a tut. “It’s disgusting, what happened to keeping magic away from muggles? I hope someone does something about it soon. It’s really a disgrace to the wizard name.” She glanced over at Jacob. “But you’re right, they’ll never make it into such a prestigious house. I’m sure they’ll all go to Hufflepuff where they belong.”

Vivienne pursed her lips. “At least none of the teachers are mudbloods. At least, not the important ones.”

---

“I’m not your baby brother,” Gus grumbled, elbowing his twin as he sat down beside him. “I’m a few minutes younger… But yes, I’m Gus. Also no one wants your nasty, body heated chocolate.” He grabbed one even as he said that.

“I’m Ben,” Ben said with a sigh as he sat down next to Nadia. Maybe talking to these two had been a mistake. He turned his head to the girl next to him and, quietly, said, “you’ll do just fine in the sorting ceremony, I’m sure.”

“Nice to meet you Nadia, Ben,” Gus smiled calmly even as he kicked Archie again for good measure. “I apologise in advance for him, he’s a pain in the ass. But if you just ignore him he might shut up.”

Ben raised an eyebrow at that, choosing to ignore it and instead asked, “what did you mean by reptilians? Are there animals on board?”

---

“Oh really?” Li bounced up a little bit as Carter said he wanted to start a newspaper. “You should start a Newspaper, I’m sure that would be needed at school! I can help out with the photography.”

Ishbel smiled as the two boys ranted about that, gently petting her cat. “I’m sure you’ll manage to get into Ravenclaw if it’s what you want. Most people get placed into the houses they think they will, my brothers said.”

“You’re right,” Li smiled with a nod. “Really, there’s no problem with any of them… Just some of the people in them. One of my sisters was almost sorted into Slytherin but she begged the hat to let her into Ravenclaw with the other one.”

---

“Oh we are!” Olivia stood up with a grin, staring out the window for a moment before she sat back down. Thanh turned their head round to watch the platform rolling away and sighed slightly.

Olivia blinked as Saiorse went right back to what she’d been saying before and honestly, it was a little hard to follow. “Yeah that’s what I’ve read about em! I’d love it…” Imagine all the maths she could do!

“I’m sure you’ll fit in fine somewhere,” she smiled. Saiorse was an odd girl but that wasn’t bad, and she was very nice. Any house would be lucky to have her. “You’re right about that. I don’t know much about it but I’ve heard Slytherins normally don’t take too kindly to people like me. What is it, pureblood wizards? Sounds ridiculous to me… Just tells me who I don’t want to talk to.”

“They don’t,” Thanh spoke up for the first time, though quietly as they turned to look at the others. “My parents aren’t wizards either, and someone was rude to me about it earlier.” Their trip shopping for supplies had not been pleasant. They didn’t give a fuck about other’s opinions but it was tiring to deal with.

Min nodded. "If there is too much pressure, it takes away from how well I do, I think," she said. "I just get so worried about doing everything just right, and then I don't do my best."

Eli patted Min comfortingly on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm sure you're gonna be great, Min!" Min clearly brightened at his comment, and smiled gratefully at him.

Eli grinned at Bryn and bounced in his seat. "I want to get there too! I'm so glad that we get to be on the train ride there together. And just think, once we get there, we'll have even more time to hang out together!"

Min smiled. "Yes, and maybe we will even all be in the same house! Though, I still think we should hang out even if we aren't." At this, Eli nodded enthusiastically. "Yes!" he exclaimed. "I already really like you guys, my first friends at Hogwarts!"





Jacob snickered. "Hufflepuff, can you imagine? I think I'd just leave, honestly. So embarrassing. It's really just a house for weirdos and misfits who don't belong anywhere else."

Maddie nodded at Vivienne's comment. "Dad says that the Head of Slytherin is awesome. She already knows we're coming, Vi, and dad says she's an excellent professor," her eyes sparkled devilishly. "And that she has no tolerance for mudbloods fooling around. She has the right idea."

Jacob nodded. "Thank god we're going to Slytherin then. At least someone there has a handle on things."





Nadia shot Ben a grateful smile, though she still looked pretty worried.

Archie gave his brother a playful shove. "You wish! We're going to Hogwarts, the train ride is all about having fun and making friends!" He turned to Ben and laughed. "Well there are animals on board, but I don't think reptiles are allowed as pets -"

"Actually," Nadia interrupted, "we're allowed owls as pets, and phylogenetically speaking, birds are reptiles, so yes, reptiles are in fact allowed as pets."

Archie looked confused, then grinned. "Well then, that's cool! I didn't know that. But I was referring to the kids from other Pureblood families who were born and raised to be put in Slytherin house. Not everyone in there is bad, our parents were in Slytherin, but there's a lot here that'll spit on anyone who isn't in that house." He shrugged. "Not a fan of them, they'll be nice to your face and turn around and talk bad about you."

Nadia looked even more worried. Oh no, I can't be put in Slytherin, I just can't! I can't even imagine how awful that would be...



Carter looked as though he might burst from excitement. "I really want to! Having a photographer would absolutely send it over the top in excellence! Li, you are awesome! This is gonna be the best paper ever!" He turned to Ishbel, not wanting her to feel left out. "If you want, Ishbel, you could be part of the newspaper too!"

He looked happy at Ishbel and Li's statements. "I'm glad to hear it takes what you want into account. Hopefully I will make Ravenclaw! But even if we get into different houses, I think we should still stay friends."



Saoirse didn't seem surprised that the other student had spoken up, it was almost as if she had been expecting it. "I'm sorry people were rude to you," she said gently. "It's an awful, outdated mindset that they have."

She ran her fingers through her hair thoughtfully. "It makes me so upset the way people treat each other when they are different...differences are important." She suddenly smiled at both the stranger in their compartment and Olivia. "Like us. We all are different, but I know we are all good," she said simply. "You both have good auras..."

Saoirse turned to the stranger in her compartment, her kind eyes seemed to gaze knowing at them. "I'm Saoirse," she said. "I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself properly before."

The rest of the train journey passed with friendly conversation between the three, and Bryn was the first to jump up as they reached the station.

“We’re here! I can’t believe it, we’re here!” She was already reaching up to pull down everyone’s luggage. “Come on guys, let’s go out! I can’t wait!”

---

Vivienne was beginning to grow bored as they finally pulled into the station, as much as she enjoyed the company of her closest friend and Jacob. She much preferred the private journeys that her family normally took.

“Looks like we’ve arrived,” she commented, looking out the window. “How about we wait for the commoners to get off first so we don’t have to fight through them.”

---

Gus’ elbow hurt from shoving it into his twin so much, and his side hurt from the responding hits from Archie. Unsurprisingly Archie had continued to be his normal, nuisance self the entire journey and Gus was fairly certain the girl in the character was close to blowing. Good first impression. He loved his brother, though, and understood that he couldn’t just sit still.

But he was glad to arrive. “Hey, we’re here.”

Ben nodded in agreement, rubbing away a bit of a headache. But for all its loudness it had been a pleasant journey - though one reminiscent of journeys taken with his younger siblings. He’d made sure to buy them all snacks from the cart when it came round and tried to comfort Nadia more about how the sorting ‘test’ would go. “Shall we get off, then?”

“I think we should,” Gus nodded, kicking his twin’s ankle to get him to stand as he did. He grinned at Archie. “Let’s hope we don’t bump into any reptiles on the way out!”

---

“We’re here!” Liqin let out an excited shout, not even turning around from where he’d been taking photos of the journey. He continued to snap shots with a wide grin on his lips. Maybe they could use them for their first newspaper story!

“Looks like it,” Ishbel smiled softly, standing up with her cat curling around her shoulders. “Let’s get off and to the boats.”

“But I want to take more photos,” Liqin pouted, still not moving.

“You can take more when we get there,” Ishbel laughed slightly, with an understanding smile. It had been nice to hear the two boys talk about their passions on the journey - she wished she was confident enough to just talk about her passions like that. But it was nice to hear. “We don’t want to get left behind.”

---

“It’s okay, I’m used to it,” Thanh said quietly with a shrug. They didn’t know what the girl was saying about auras, it was weird, but she kept that to herself. Instead they responded to the introduction. “I’m Thanh.”

“I’m Olivia!” Olivia perked up with a wide smile and fervent nod in response to what Saiorse had said. “You’re right, though, differences are important. I don’t know anything bout auras but I can tell you’re both cool!”

---

For the rest of the journey Olivia continued to chat pretty much nonstop, even as Thanh went back to being mostly silent - but listening and watching. Still, it was them that first noticed they arrived and pointed it out but quietly saying, “we’re here.”

“Really?” Olivia turned to look out the window with wide, dark eyes. “Suddenly I’m nervous… Oh, I hope I get into a good house!”

Outside of the train, Hagrid was waiting. He was waiting for the first year students to get off of the Hogwarts Express, as he had been tasked with bringing them to the castle for the first time.

Hagrid swelled with excitement. He had done this for many years, but even so, he couldn't help sharing the enthusiasm of the students starting at Hogwarts. He was so proud to have this job, and was honoured that Headmistress McGonagall had allowed him to continue bringing first years to Hogwarts for the first time.

As the students began to disembark from the train, he cupped his hands to his face and loudly started calling, "Firs' years! Firs' years over 'ere!"



Eli grinned broadly and helped both girls get their luggage down from the overhead compartment. For the first time, he felt a flicker of anxiety, hoping that he would fit in at Hogwarts as well as he hoped and that the other students would be as welcoming as Bryn and Min had been.

Min thanked Eli for helping her get her luggage down, as it was quite high for her short stature. They brought their luggage off the train, and followed the voice that was calling for the first years. They arrived in front of a very tall, hairy man, who smiled warmly at them in between his calling for the first years.

Eli exchanged excited glances with Bryn and Min. "It's really happening," he said, his voice shaking with excitement and nerves.





Maddie nodded her head, agreeing with Vivienne. Though, she seldom disagreed with her friend at all.

Jacob blew a final bubble with his gum, before spitting it out the window. "Yeah, lets wait. The last thing we want is to get mixed up with those students. Ugh."

They waited a while, until most of the train had emptied out, and then took their luggage and carrier it outside. They heard a voice calling for the first years and followed it, and when Hagrid came into view, Jacob groaned. "Ugh, that old oaf is still here? I can't believe it...that's absolutely revolting. He should have been fired ages ago."





Archie had never felt happier in his entire life. His side was sore from being constantly elbowed by his brother, though he had completely enjoyed the train ride and was thrilled to have already made two friends. He thought privately that Nadia was kind of a stick in the mud, but he liked Ben, and hoped they would be in the same house.

He leapt out of his seat and helped everyone get the luggage down, though he was nowhere near the tallest among them. "C'mon, let's go! I can't wait to get sorted, these are gonna be the best years of our lives!" He gave his brother a huge hug, knowing how it annoyed him, before practically bounding off the train, nearly tripping over his own luggage in excitement.

Nadia sighed. All she had wanted was a nice, quiet train ride, and this annoying Archie had completely ruined it. She was even more anxious about the sorting now, running through everything she had memorized from her textbooks in hopes of still being successful. She had liked the other two boys she'd sat with, and wouldn't mind if they were all sorted in the same house. Just please, no Archie.

They made their way over to where the first years were gathering, Archie trying very hard to contain his excitement.



Carter had thoroughly enjoyed his train ride, and was absolutely thrilled to have met Liqin. He was now even more excited to start at Hogwarts with the prospect of having a partner to run his newspaper with. It's going to be a hit, I just know it! he thought ti himself excitedly.

"Ishbel is right," he said happily. "There will be way more exciting things to take photos of when we're actually at Hogwarts!" He smiled kindly at Ishbel, and helped her take down her luggage. "Let's go to Hogwarts!"

He led the way off the train, and confidently walked over to the gathering of the other first years around a tall man with long hair and a beard. Carter could hardly wait to set his eyes on Hogwarts for the first time!



Saoirse had a far better time than she had ever imagined while riding the Hogwarts Express. She was very happy with who the other two students sitting in her compartment had turned out to be. Things just felt absolutely perfect, as if she was precisely where she needed to be in her life.

She turned to Olivia and locked eyes with her, suddenly very serious. "Don't worry," she said gently. "You will be placed in the house that is absolutely perfect for you." She blinked once, feeling a little fuzzy in the head. She shook her head and smiled at the other two. "Well, let's go!"

Saoirse took her luggage and, alongside the other two, got off the train and joined up with the rest of what she assumed were the first year students. She looked up at the man who was calling them over, and smiled, getting the feeling that he was someone she was going to get along with, though she couldn't explain why.

"Right," Hagrid said, clearing his throat. "Is e'reyone off the train?" He looked around, and as no new students had approached for a while despite his near constant yelling. "Right, er, well, leave yer luggage in a pile o'er there, it'll be brought ter Hogwarts for ye."

Once all the students had all placed their luggage in a somewhat haphazard pile, Hagrid nodded. "Right, foller me then." He began walking off, and the students followed him until they reached the edge of a lake, with many little boats floating. "Alright all, into the boats. Four students only fer each boat, four only!" He clambered into a boat in which he barely fit, and waiting for the other students to choose their boats, keeping a watchful eye out to ensure that the students would comply with his four-to-a-boat order.

“I can’t believe it is,” Bryn grinned, practically vibrating with excitement as she followed the other two towards the really tall man - Hagrid. She knew him from what her siblings had told her… that meant they were going to be taking the boats!

“C’mon, let’s go,” she went and dumped her luggage on the pile before looking at her two new friends. “Do you think it needs to be four? That means we need to find someone else.”

---

Vivienne’s lips curled up in disgust as they reached Hagrid, delicately placing her luggage beside the pile - she refused to have it tarnished by other’s ugly suitcases. “I agree. I can’t believe he’s still here even after all the complaints from parents.”

She lowered her voice. “Did you know that my brother got injured thanks to his teaching, but they didn’t fire him! Can you believe it?”

She shook her head before continuing about the matter of the boat trip. “I hope they don’t force us to get someone else in our boat. It’s bad enough we have to ride those things.”

---

Gus rolled his eyes as Archie hugged him, but was quite happy to follow his twin out the door. He half directed him over so they could dump his luggage and had a wide grin on his face. He wasn’t quite as visibly excited as Archie but… he still was.

Ben came out last of the four, making sure that the other three got off safely and helping them with luggage as needed. He had enjoyed the journey, even if it had been a bit loud, but he was looking forward to getting sorted and having a good meal.

“Four? Well, that’s a perfect number,” Gus smiled as he glanced around the other three.

“Shall we get on a boat together, then?” Ben asked, indicating to one of the nearest boats. He waited for responses before getting into it and holding out a hand to help the other three onboard.

---

“Thank you,” Ishbel smiled as Carter helped her with her luggage, carefully carrying it outside towards where the other students were gathered.

“I guess,” Liqin sighed, but followed the other two out. He kept his camera even as he dumped his lugged, holding it in his hands and beginning to snap pictures. Ishbel half rolled her eyes at him.

“Should we find another person?” she asked the two boys. She then pointed over to a group with two girls, both Asian, and a boy. “Why don’t we go talk to them?”

---

“I hope so,” Olivia laughed, not quite sure how Saoirse could be so confident. It made her feel a bit better though. She looked around the other students with awe - there were so many! She couldn’t believe how many young witches and wizards there were… she had thought it would be a much smaller number.

Thanh made sure to stick close to the two girls and they followed them off the train, feeling more comfortable with them than the large number of strangers. Still, they frowned as the tall, bearded man said four to a boat. “Will we need to split up?”

Olivia shook her head. “I’m sure it’ll be fine! We should just try and find someone else who needs in a boat.”

Thanh shrugged. If necessary, they could leave the two of them - they were used to being alone after all.

Min's brow furrowed and she frowned. "I hope it doesn't have to be four, I think he means that it can't be any more than four in one boat." She looked over at the boats. They looked small, surely that must have been what the tall man had meant...

Eli shrugged. "Whatever it means, we get to make more friends! If you two want to stay together I don't mind going in a different boat - we'll meet up back on land anyways, and we'll have the whole year to hang out together!"

Min was comforted by Eli's confidence, and was relieved she would get to ride in a boat with at least one of her new friends. She looked up, and saw that they were being approached by a trio of students, two boys and a girl.

"Hey," Carter called out in a friendly tone. "I'm Carter. Do you guys mind if we split boats with you guys?" He really hoped he would get to sit with Liqin and Ishbel, but as he was an extrovert, he didn't really mind sitting with others.

Eli nodded happily. "Sure," he said happily. "I'm Eli, so great to meet you guys." He beamed at the others before getting into a boat. "I'm happy to ride with anyone," he said excitedly.

Min hesitated, before turning to Bryn, who she had quickly felt a strong bond with. "Which boat do you want?" she whispered to her.





Maddie looked shocked and scared at her friend's statements, She has known Sebastian had been injured in class and that the Notts had petitioned for the professor to be fired, but she couldn't believe this man standing before her was the one responsible! She made a mental note to ask Vivienne what class it was, so she could avoid taking it. "C'mon, let's get a boat before all them are gone."

Jacob walked over to an empty boat and got inside, and yelled out at a nearby boy to come sit with them. The boy walked over and got in the boat next to Jacob and sat down. He turned to the girls and reassured them, "Don't worry, he's a Pureblood. Aiming for Slytherin too, our dads work together." The boy waved at the girls kindly. Jacob held out his hand to Maddie and Vivienne to help them in the boat.

Maddie graciously accepted his hand, ducking her head to avoid him seeing her blush, before sitting down in the boat and scooting over, leaving room for her friend beside her.





Archie nearly tipped the boat over as he practically jumped into it beside Ben, completely oblivious to the other boy's outstretched hand. He sat down and grinned at Nadia and Gus. "Come on, get in guys! The faster we're in the boat, the faster we get to Hogwarts, and the faster we can eat!"

Nadia signed. It would be rude to leave now, for another boat, so she took Ben's hand and allowed him to help her into the boat. She sat opposite to Archie, refusing to sit beside him. She drummed her fingers on the side of the boat, anxious to arrive at Hogwarts and get the Sorting Ceremony over with.



Saoirse smiled at Thanh. "I'm sure he just means we can't be more than four," she reassured them. "Look how little these boats are...we don't want them to sink, but I'm sure the kind squid would help us if we did."

She looked around at the boats filling up quickly, and managed to spot one empty boat near them. "I see one!" she exclaimed, before rushing over to the boat. She climbed inside and waved at Olivia and Thanh. "Please sit with me, the ride will be lovely," she called to them.

“Hello!” Bryn grinned at the other three that had approached them, giving a slight wave. She then looked around at who they had… six, which didn’t really help things. “I’m Bryn, nice to meet you all, and this is Min.” She pointed to the shyer girl beside her.

“I’m Ishbel,” Ishbel smiled, before glancing between Carter and Eli. The other boy seemed nice… they all did. She looked at Li, who had his camera out, before nudging him.

“Oh- I’m Li,” he quickly said, before looking back to his camera. He’d go in whatever boat he was told to go in.

“Hmmm…” Bryn hummed thoughtfully at Min’s question, flashing her a comforting smile as she quietly replied, “don’t worry I have an idea.”

Louder, she said, “why don’t you three boys go together? Always good to make more friends before we start! And we’ll all meet on land, as Eli said before. And then us three,” she indicated herself, Min and Ishbel, “can find another boat.”

She looked around and pointed to a nearby one, which a short girl was already sitting in. “Let’s go there!”

“Works for me,” Li mumbled, only half paying attention as he stepped onto the boat Eli was in.

Bryn, on the other hand, gently grabbed Min’s arm and dragged her over to the boat she’d spotted, Ishbel following right behind. She quickly asked if they could join before stepping in and offering up her hand to Min.

---

Vivienne raised an eyebrow as Jacob called someone else over, but gave a nod to the boy when he explained he was also a pureblood. Thank god for that. Not that she expected anything less from him.

“Thank you,” she smiled at him as she accepted his help onto the boat, getting on after Maddie and sitting down next to her. She let out a sigh as she looked around. “I hope that we get moving soon. I don’t see why they insist on making us first years go on old boats like this every year. Surely it makes more sense to go straight to the Thestral carriages?”

She shook her head in slight disgust. “Especially for us half bloods, don’t you agree?” She smiled at the others.

---

Ben’s eyes widened as Archie leapt right into the boat, widening his stance to stop himself from falling in. He smiled as Nadia took his hand, and Gus got in last right behind her. He took the seat right next to Archie after shooting a sympathetic glance at the other two.

“I don’t think that’s how it works,” Gus rolled his eyes at his twin. “You know all the boats leave at the same time, right? Are you going to hurry everyone else up?”

“I’m sure we’ll be on the way soon,” Ben added calmly, looking towards the castle. “Then we can get our houses and eat.”

---

“Oh I'm so glad!” Olivia grinned, though she looked a bit confused at what Saiorse went on to say. “Are there many squid in the lake? Did you read that in a book somewhere?”

Her questions got half lost as the other girl ran off, and she quickly followed. Thanh strayed a bit behind but was glad they didn’t have to find other people.

“Of course! Great job finding a free boat,” Olivia grinned and hopped right in, sitting opposite Saiorse. Thanh followed and sat beside her. “So, like, do we have to row these boats or do they move with magic? They don’t really tell us about these things before we get here.”

Eli waved goodbye to the girls before climbing inside the boat. "Come on guys, this is so exciting! I can't wait to get there..."

Carter smiled at Eli's obvious enthusiasm, before getting into the boat himself.

"I like your camera," Eli said, pointing to the one Li was holding. "Are you going to take pictures of the Sorting Ceremony? That would be so cool. I know my family would love to see them, they're all about capturing memories."

Min gratefully let Bryn pull her towards the boat, waving to the boys as they headed off. "Thanks," she smiled at her new friend. She climbed into the boat with the other girls and sat down, trying not to get too anxious about the upcoming Sorting. She really hoped that at least she and Bryn would be in the same house, though she doubted it. Bryn seemed so sure of herself and confident, and Min...well, she was herself. She bit her lip, trying not to worry too much at the moment.

---

Jacob fist-bumped the new boy as he got in the boat, before sighing and rolling his eyes at Vivienne's statement. "I know. It's so stupid, and takes way longer. Apparently it's 'ceremonial'," he said, making air quotes, "but I think it's just pointless."

Maddie wrinkled her nose. "If the boats were nicer, it wouldn't be so bad. They're so crammed, and the sides are covered in gross algae." She shuddered. "I hope we don't start to smell like them, that would ruin the whole ceremony! I spent a long time getting ready today..."

---

Archie looked as though he genuinely pondered Gus' question for about a second, before grinning mischievously. "Good idea, Gussie!" He stood up and cupped his hands to his mouth. "Hey! Everyone! The faster we're in the boats, the faster we get Sorted! C'mon!"

Archie sat back down, looking far too proud of himself. "Mission accomplished."

Nadia groaned. "Well, aside from stating the most obvious rule regarding the linear passage of time, you've likely annoyed at least half of the students here." She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Hopefully we do get going soon, at least for your sake Archie."

Archie seemed to hear almost nothing that Nadia said, he just smiled. "That's the spirit! Let's gooooo!!"

---

Saoirse shrugged at Olivia's question about the boats. "I don't know, I don't know if anyone knows. I think the squid pulls us, but my brother says it's magic."

---

Hagrid looked around, and seeing that everyone was inside a boat, called out "Right e'eryone! Keep yer arms n legs inside te boat at all times! We're off!" He pointed his umbrella in front of him, and his boat smoothly glided out onto the lake. The rest of the boats followed, calmly making their way across the water, hardly bobbing at all.

Eventually, all the boats arrived at the opposite shore at the base of Hogwarts Castle. Hagrid clambered out of his boat, and checked that all the students had arrived safely. Once he was satisfied, he nodded to himself and shut his umbrella. "Right, right this way," he said gruffly as he walked over to a nearby set of stairs leading up to a door. "All of ye, go up these stairs, there's a room. Yer all gonna wait there for Headmistress McGonagall, she'll come get ye when it's time for the Sorting Ceremony. Good luck!"

Once all of the students made their way up the stairs and into the room, Hagrid himself took a different route up to the Great Hall, where he took his seat alongside the other Professors to wait for the Sorting Ceremony to begin.

(Answering here lol)

Eli swallowed nervously as the first years entered the Great Hall. He was excited, sure, but also anxious about the outcome. Though he was looking forward to being sorted and making new friends, the uncertainty bubbling inside him was undeniable.

Carter patted Eli on the shoulder, sensing the other boy's nerves. "Relax," he whispered. "The Hat knows what it's doing, and you'll be sorted right. Just you wait." It took a lot to phase Carter - he felt very calm, though he was furiously taking notes about the sorting results, so he may have just been distracted.

"Carter Abbott."

Carter's head snapped up the second he heard his name called; even if he would never admit it, he was always half-listening for any mention of his own name. He hurried up the stairs and sat down, and the Hat was placed on his head. After a brief moment, the Hat confidently called out, "Ravenclaw!"

Carter grinned, and leaped up from his seat to join the cheering Ravenclaws. He made sure to sit next to Gus Montague - his being sorted into Ravenclaw was sure to be huge story, considering the family had historically been sorted into Slytherin for centuries.

"Elijah Davies-Munro."

Eli jolted and hurried up the stairs, trying his best not to trip in his nerves. The Hat was placed on his head and had barely settled on his head when it belted out "Hufflepuff!"

Eli smiled in relief, and hurried over to sit with Ishbel and Li, thrilled that they had all been sorted into the same house.

Min watched nervously as all her new friends were sorted into various houses. Her heart sank a little as Bryn was sorted into Gryffindor - No way am I Gryffindor material... She sighed shakily, terrified of now having to meet and try and befriend new people.

"Min-jung Choi."

Min rushed up the stairs, trembling slightly and fighting the compulsive urge to aggressively chew her nails. The hat was placed on her head and grumbled to itself for a moment or two, before announcing "Gryffindor!" A wave of both shock and relief rushed over Min, who wasn't sure she had heard that correctly. Dazed, she hurried over to the Gryffindor table and sat next to Bryn, feeling incredibly grateful to get to spend her Hogwarts years with her new friend.

---

Jacob and Maddie watched as Vivienne was sorted into Slytherin, and both exchanged a look that was half-disgust and half-mocking as Thanh was sorted into Slytherin. "What kind of freak is that?" Maddie snickered to Jacob, who could barely stifle his laughter.

"Madeline Burke."

Maddie rolled her eyes as her name was called, as if there was even a point in being sorted. She knew where she belonged. She pranced her way up the stairs and sat down gracefully on the stool, flipping her hair over her shoulder. As with so many others, the Hate barely had to touch her head before it called out, "Slytherin!"

Maddie flashed a brilliant smile at Jacob before sauntering over to the cheering Slytherin table, sitting next to Vivienne after glaring at the student next to her menacingly to move.

"Jacob Yaxley."

Jacob made his way, unbothered and seemingly without a care in the world up the stairs towards the stool. He sat down and smiled smugly as the Hat was lowered to his head, calling out "Slytherin!" before even touching his slicked back hair. Shrugging off the cheers and applause, he walked over to the Slytherin table, sitting across from Vivienne and Maddie and next to a bunch of other first year boys.

---

Archie's jaw went slack as Gus was sorted into Ravenclaw. He had never fathomed his brother and himself would be sorted into any house but Slytherin - not that he felt that that's where they really belonged, but no one in their family had ever been sorted into another house. He frowned, now realizing that everything they had planned together at Hogwarts was going to be completely different...

"Archibald Montague."

Archie gulped, now dreading his own sorting. No way did he want to go into Slytherin without his twin. Gus was the one who always helped Archie keep his cool, and around those Slytherin kids...He sat down nervously on the stool and the Hat was placed on his head. It pondered for a moment, before shouting out "Gryffindor!"

Archie blinked, confused. Gryffindor? How can that be right? He looked over at Gus, feeling a twinge of sadness at being sorted into a different house. He made his way over to the Gryffindor table, sitting next to Ben and across from Bryn, with a visibly confused look on his face.

Nadia blushed slightly as Ben leaned over close to her, before shaking her head slightly and pushing a rouge braid behind her ear. She watched as Gus, Ben, and Archie were sorted, and felt better about her own sorting. At least she now knew what to expect.

"Nadia Hornette."

Nadia took a deep breath and steadied herself, before making her way to the stool. The Sorting Hat was placed on her head and after murmuring something sounding very impressed, called out "Ravenclaw." Beaming, she rushed over to the Ravenclaw table and sat next to someone she never thought would be in the same house as her - Gus.

---

Saoirse waved Thanh and Olivia off, before becoming mesmerized with the enchanted ceiling. She seemed to become completely lost in thought, so much so that her name had already been called twice before she had realized it.

"Saoirse Strix."

Finally seeming to come back to reality, she walked up the stairs with a dreamy look on her face and a half-smile on her face. The Hat was placed on her head and the room went silent, apart from Saoirse's soft humming to herself. The Sorting Hat sat on her head for several minutes, seemingly having some difficulties with deciding. Even the professors began to look somewhat concerned, and Saoirse's older brother Conall had begun sweating slightly. Then, after what seemed to feel like an eternity for everyone but Saoirse (whose unconcerned attitude seemed slightly offputting to some), the Hat called out, with a note of hesitation, "Hufflepuff..!"

Saoirse smiled and whispered a thank you to the hat, before bounding over to the Hufflepuff table and sitting with the other first years, nearby Ishbel, Eli, and Li.

The rest of the students slowly got sorted, and with that done that feast began.


“Do you think something’s wrong with the sorting hat today?” Vivienne commented, voice dropping into a sneer, as Maddie joined her at the Slytherin table. Her eyes flickered over to where Thanh was awkwardly sitting, avoiding eye contact. “Really, our parents weren’t wrong about the standards dropping.”

She folded her arms, nose upturned as she put a small amount of food onto her plate.

“Hmph, I can’t believe we’re going to have to live with something like <i>that</i>.”

---

“Gryffindor too! Amazing!” Bryn grinned as Min sat beside her, leaning in to nudge the other girl in a friendly gesture. While Bryn found making friends fairly easy, she could already tell her and Min would get on great - she was her first friend at Hogwarts after all! There was something about Min that made her want to take her under her wing, even if they were the same age, so now she got the chance. “Can’t wait to spend the next few years together!”

She then turned to Gus, who was still looking visibly confused. She wasn’t pureblood but she knew that both him and his twin had not expected to be sorted like this - the Montague family was a famous Slytherin one. Well, some traditions changed. She smiled at him. “Nice to have you here too. I’m Bryn, and this is Min.”

Ben looked at the two girls opposite him with a smile, while trying not to look at Archie in shock too much. He was sure the other boy was confused enough without all the looks he was getting.

“Ben,” he said with a smile. “Looking forward to spending time together. We should eat, it’s been a long journey.”

---

Gus was still reeling from the fact he’d been sorted into Ravenclaw, rather than Slytherin as expected. He barely noticed when Carter sat beside him, only following Archie’s back as he moved to the Gryffindor table. He only snapped out of it when Nadia sat down beside him.

“Fancy seeing you here, huh?” he laughed awkwardly. “Not that I mean you wouldn’t be sorted here! Of course! I was the one not expecting to be sorted… Ah, so strange.”

He trailed off at the end, words barely more than mutters.

Olivia had sat opposite the other three, with no clue why this boy was so confused about his sorting. Did he not think he was smart enough? Well, whatever. She was sad to be separated from Saiorse and Thanh but… Well, they’d see each other again she was sure.

She stuck out her hand to the other three.

“Hi, I’m Olivia! Let’s get along, seeing as we’re in the same house.”

---

Li was already fiddling with his camera once he’d sat down, though he glanced up with a smile at Eli once he joined them. He quickly went back to looking through the photographs he’d already taken, small smile on his lips and completely disregarding the food that had magically appeared in front of them.

Ishbel glanced at Li, and then at Eli. Her gaze showed a faint bemusement… Ah, were they going to have to make sure this new friend didn’t spend all his time taking photographs? “Nice to see you again. It’s comforting to have so many familiar people here.” She said with a smile to Eli.

She then glanced over at Saiorse who had sat nearby. The girl looked a little out of it, but not unfriendly, so Ishbel waved to her. “Want to join us?”

Maddie snickered. "Honestly...this is almost as embarrassing for Hogwarts as it is for them. Like, it's obvious that they don't belong here. They're a freak."

Jacob nodded in agreement. "My father said that this was bound to happen unless the Ministry takes things more seriously. We're lucky that there are even purebloods around, the way things have been mishandled." He snorted at the absurdity of it all. "That's why it's so important to stick together, and so shameful for the Montagues to be sorted into a different house...their parents are going to be so disappointed."

---

Min nodded happily to Bryn, extremely thankful that they had been sorted into the same house. "It's going to be absolutely fantastic!" she said, beaming. She waved to Ben and Archie, saying a few friendly words of greeting before making a mental note to later ask Bryn why everyone was acting so shocked about how the twin boys had been sorted.

Archie felt like he was moving in a fog, his brain going 1000 kilometers a minute. He halfheartedly nodded to Ben and took the other boy's advice, eating a bit of food. Normally his appetite was outrageous, but he couldn't bring himself to eat much. What are mom and dad going to think? Grandma and grandpa? How am I going to be apart from Gus..? Though he and his brother argued, Gus was Archie's best friend. He couldn't imagine Hogwarts without him in the same house.

---

Nadia nodded understandingly. "Don't even worry about it. I get it. I'm sure if you're really concerned, you could talk to Headmistress McGonagall?" She pushed some food towards Gus. "Here, it will do you no good to starve. Try and eat something, at least." She felt really bad for Gus. Though she wanted to ask why he thought he had been sorted elsewhere, she figured this was not the best time. Pushing down her inquiries, she smiled at Olivia and introduced herself, silently praying the two of them would get along.

Carter shook Olivia's hand and introduced himself as well. He too was extremely curious about what factors had led to the Montague boys being sorted into two separate houses, and neither of them being Slytherin. Would make a great story once they both cool off, he thought to himself. He was slightly disappointed that Li had been sorted into a different house, but wouldn't let that get in his way. They'd really hit it off, and he intended to keep that friendship going.

---

Eli nodded in agreement with Ishbel. "Right? It's so awesome! I can tell we're already going to have an awesome time here, and we are so lucky to have Li to document our adventures!" He took some food and gestured to Li to do the same. "Come on Li, have some! Just like your camera needs film, you need food. The hard part is deciding what to have, it all looks amazing!"

Saiorse turned her wide eyes onto Ishbel and stared at her for a second, before blinking and smiling. "Sure, thank you for inviting me." She slid over to sit next to the group. "I like all of you," she announced out of the blue. "You have kind hearts." Saiorse then fell silent and began eating dinner, allowing her mind to wander.

---

The night drew on, and the chatter of students gradually faded as they grew tired. Headmistress McGonagall clapped her hands, and the dishes vanished. "Off to bed now, students. Prefects, please show the first years to their dormitories. You will all have tomorrow to yourselves, to unpack and acquaint yourselves with one another. In other words," her voice hardened slightly. "do not stay up half the night talking. You will need your rest for when classes begin."

The first years followed the Prefects up to their respective dormitories. They changed into their nightclothes, climbed into their beds, and fell asleep...some more quickly than others.