The Sorting Ceremony - Part I
Author: Minerva McGonagall
Date: 12-08-02 20:56

Minerva McGonagall straightened her robes as she waited at the top of the landing for the first years and transfer students. The list was pretty long this term, and had a wide variety of different nationalities. She rolled up the parchment she was holding and tucked it inside her green tartan robes.

Ah, there was Hagrid with the first years and transfer students already. The door had opened and she could hear Hagrid telling them all that their things would be brought up, and just to head on up the steps, first years first.

The old witch could hear the students muffled voices as they whispered to each other coming up the stairs. She straightened and peered at them through her rectangle glasses. They seemed intimidated by her, but she kept her wrinkled hands clasped in front of her.

"Good evening to you all and welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am Professor McGonagall, head of Gryffindor house and teacher of Transfiguration here at Hogwarts. Through these doors, you will enter a banquet hall – it is our Great Hall and there, you will each take a turn on the stool with the sorting hat who will sort you into one of four houses. Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Gryffindor. While in these houses, your fellow house members will be like your family. Treat them with kindness and courtesy and you will have lasting relationships." The old witch nearly smiled. "In a few moments, we shall go through the doors. Are there any questions?"

No one said a word, but stared at her in awe.

"Very well, then." She turned, her tartan robe swishing. "Follow me, single file. First years first and then transfer. Quietly, please."

The double doors gentle opened with a wave of her hand. McGonagall walked through, leading the first years and transfer students across the front of the room where the professor's high table was. Dumbledore smiled approvingly at her, and she nodded to her old friend and colleague.

Once at the three-legged stool, she moved to the other side and motioned for the new students to stand in line.

"Now, when I call your name, please take a seat on the stool."

McGonagall took the roll of parchment from inside her robes and adjusted her glasses before she unrolled the parchment gently. She cleared her throat a bit.

"Alexandrovitch, Vasili"

The young boy came striding up and took a seat on the stool after McGonagall had taken the old and battered hat off of the stool. She set it on the boy's head.

Mmm. Interesting. Very interesting. The sorting hat thought in the boy's ear. A very fair young man you are. Kind to others, courteous. Hmm. I know just the place for you, lad!

"RAVENCLAW!!" It shouted.

McGonagall took old hat from the boy's head as he hopped off the stool and ran toward the shouting Ravenclaw table.

"Audley, Iris" Minerva read off the parchment.

A young girl with dark hair stalked up to the stool and took a seat. The hat was set upon her head, and after a moment: "SLYTHERIN!"

The Slytherin table erupted into cheers and the girl walked stiffly to the Slytherin table.

The next name made Minerva's voice catch in her throat. Pictures of the spirited yet quiet girl named Kendra Beck flooded her mind. It was the last of the Becks. "Beck, Alanna."

It was the spit and image of Kendra that came shyly up to the stool and took a seat. The girl looked at McGonagall, a mixture of wonder and fear in her eyes. Minerva nodded kindly to the girl.

Well, look what we have here. Another Beck. You are so much like your older sister, very shy, but very loyal to everyone, even your enemies. You have her gentle spirit. I think ... "HUFFLEPUFF!!"

Little Alanna Beck hopped off the stool and went to join the rest of her family.

"Berenger, Cecilla."

Hmmmmmmmm. Well, there's no telling in this one... the Hat thought. "RAVENCLAW!"

"Cooke, Crispin."

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Fitzgerald, Titus."

Hehehe, the hat chuckled as it thought in Titus's ear. You are a lively one, aren't you. I know just the place for you, dear boy. "GRYFFINDOR!!"

"Garisson, Gabriel." Minerva read.

A boy came striding up to the stool and took his seat. She placed the hat upon his head. Oooh, look at you! You are such a loyal friend, true-hearted. I know just the place for you! "HUFFLEPUFF"

"Hannah, Shaquida." McGonagall carefully pronounced. A young girl came bouncing up to the stool and took a seat and the hat was placed on her head.

Oh, a fine young girl you are. Brave, lively, mischievous, but only in fun. You will make a great...

"GRFFYINDOR!!" The hat yelled.

Miss Hannah sprung off the stool and took a seat at the Gryffindor table with the others.

McGonagall nearly chuckled as she read the next name.

"Hannah, Shaynan."

The other Miss Hannah bounded up to the stool the same way her sister did and took a seat. The hat was placed on her head.

Look what we have here! Also a brave and lively girl. Ready for mischief along-side your twin sister, I see.

Miss Hannah chuckled at the hat. "GRYFFINDOR!!!"

"Hmm, ah." McGonagall ran a long, skinny finger down the page. "Hatcher, Gertrude."

The young girl came up to the stool and took a seat apprehensively.

"RAVENCLAW!" The hat yelled almost immediately.

The young girl went to the Ravenclaw table. Next it was, "Karl, Silvia."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

and then, "Kyung, Hwang."

The dark headed, tan skinned boy strolled up to the stool and took a seat, watching McGonagall as she placed that hat upon his head.

Oh, here we have a good boy. The hat thought to Hwang. You are a very loyal friend, and also a very intelligent young man. Oooh, how about...

"RAVENCLAW!"

Hwang slid from the stool and went to join the Ravenclaw table. Minerva moved the parchment down and adjusted her glasses. This was proving to be an eventful evening.

---

I'm Here
Author: Remadi Ye
Date: 12-09-02 03:02

So that's Hagrid, Remadi thinks as they see him. He looks just like how Mum described him. She follows him and her new friends to the boats. Once on the other side, a familiar black blob jumps up onto her shoulder.

"You're supposed to be elsewhere, Neko," Remadi whispers to the black cat. Neko just purrs and nuzzles Remadi's cheek.

"I love you, too," Remadi says, hand automatically reaching up to stroke him.

"Fine. Stay. Just stay out of site near the professors and as soon as we step into the Great Hall, you have to get off and go hide yourself, at least until I'm sorted. Okay?"

Neko purrs a little louder and Remadi takes that as a yes. Remadi stays with Mai and Diether, glad to have the two friends also going through this. She stays slightly behind them, keeping Neko out of Professor McGonagall's sight. As soon as they enter the Great Hall, Neko hops off and disappears under the closest table.

Assured that Neko is hidden, Remadi takes a good look at the room around her.

It's better than mum described it, Remadi thinks, almost letting out a whistle of appreciation. She looks at the head table with the different teachers, an old man with a long beard sitting in the middle.

That must be Dumbledore. Mum said I could trust him, that he was a good man, Remadi thinks.

Professor McGonagall then starts calling out names.

I bet I'm last, Remadi thinks as she watches the first first year go up. I don't mind. I just hope I get into Gryffindor, like mum. I have to.

She waits for her name to be called, also wondering where her two new friends will be sorted.

---

Blossom pauses outside of Weasley's Wizards Wheezes and tries to ascertain if the shop is open at this time of late afternoon on a Sunday or, if closed, whether a certain Mr. Fred Weasley happens to be somewhere inside. Ever since the day spent job hunting around Diagon Alley and seeing him when she'd taken a break for lunch, Blossom had been unable to get him out of her mind.

All in all that day had been an exceptionally good day for Blossom. She'd gotten the Gringotts job, which turned out to be only part time but with the pay the job offered, it was as if she was making full time wages. Because of the Gringotts job only being part time, that allowed Blossom to take another part time job. As it turned out, the very placed she'd eaten was hiring. To top it off, Gringotts let Blossom set her schedule there. As long as she put in twenty hours per week, the bank didn't seem to care which days or at what times Blossom did her job. This easily let her work around her shifts at the deli.

Also since that day, on a fairly regular basis, Blossom has seen one or both of the red-headed Weasley twins around the alley. She's even been in their newly opened shop two or three times. At this point, Blossom knows their names are Fred and George, Although identical and never having been introduced to either of them officially, Blossom is already able to tell them apart though why she doesn't know. Usually with such identical twins, one has to actually know them before being able to so readily distinguish between them. The only thing she does know for sure is that Fred Weasley intrigues her and she would very much like to formally meet him, which is what brought her to the Weasleys' shop just a few moments before.

Blossom sees movement inside so tries the door. She finds it open and slowly enters. Hearing a noise down one aisle, Blossom peers around and sees Fred on his knees, arranging items on a shelf. Blossom clears her throat and, slightly startled, Fred jumps a little then quickly stands, a slightly embarrassed look on his face.

"I didn't hear you come in. Is there something in particular you're looking for? Anything specific you'd like to have?"

Blossom flashes her perfect smile at him, "Yes. You."

Realizing what she's just implied, Blossom's face flushes hotly and she stammers to explain. "Oh, well, what I mean... what I mean is I came looking for you to ask you something."

Without pausing for a breath, Blossom rushes on, We've not actually met but I've seen you around Diagon Alley and I know your name is Fred. I'm Blossom. Blossom Wedgewood. Would you like to have dinner with me? My treat?"

---

Crossing the Moonlit Lake
Author: La Luna
Date: 12-09-02 18:02

Luna finds her kitty in the arms of her crush Harry Potter. The two meet, exchange names and shake hands. Harry leads Luna to Hagrid and introduces her to him. Soon the first years and transfers are ready to board the boats. Luna takes a seat next to some other transfers new to Hogwarts. The boats cross the moonlit lake heading towards Hogwarts.

"Wow looks like a big castle, any princes and princesses live there," said Luna. The other transfers said, "I am not sure but since they have a giant why not." The moonlight shown down on Luna, illuminating her with a bit of a sparkle! "Don't yer look like a little unicorn," said Hagrid.

Luna smiled at the comment and already started to thank her stars for such a wonderful night. Soon she will join the other students, be sorted in a house and become an official student of Hogwarts.

---

All Caught Up
Author: Sirius Padfoot Black
Date: 12-09-02 19:01

Because of Sirius, Dierna ended up having an extended lunch though she didn't seem to mind. They ate at a Muggle Chinese restaurant and Sirius filled Dierna in on what had been going on with him since he'd escaped from Azkaban. He had also explained that much of that time, he'd had a charm in place to prevent messages, other than those from Harry or Albus Dumbledore, from reaching him. Then, when he'd gone on the mission he'd just completed, even those from Harry and Dumbledore were redirected. The charm also caused messages from anyone else to be redirected to a cave near one he'd once used as a hideout. He?' sure that when he goes to check the cave, there will be a small mound of missives waiting.

Sirius had then gone on to explain that for much of the past year, he'd been undercover in his animagus form to keep watch on one group of wizards that had a number of members who, while not dark wizards, were learning towards backing Voldemort. Sirius gathered information on the group and when in his human form he also infiltrated their ranks. The mission was successful in that Sirius had gained the names of several followers of dark magic who were in contact with the group, as well as convincing the group as a whole to at least stay neutral if they were not going to support Dumbledore's efforts. And added bonus that resulted was that Sirius had learned the exact location of Hagrid's mother, Fridwulfa.

When the two old friends had at last parted at Dierna's office door, he gave her one other tidbit of information. "As of today, I am the proud owner of the house immediately to the left of yours. I shall see you very soon, neighbor." With that, Sirius had hugged Dierna goodbye, given her a friendly kiss on the cheek, and left her to resume wading through her pile of paperwork.

---

Bella contemplated the new students from her seat. She was actually getting rather good at guessing who would go where, or so she thought. Something about the way they looked gave it away. It was getting rather interesting or maybe she'd just been there too long and was well in need of that position at the Ministry that her father kept mentioning. Of course, Mumma kept hinting that she needed an antiques buyer for her shop and that the job was perfect for a jetsetter, as the Muggles called them. Not that she didn't have other offers, like a trip to Peru to document Inca astronomy. Still, she was committed to finishing one more year at Hogwarts, and as usual she would.

She carefully tapped her red nails almost silently on the table, half smiling at the nervous first years. Before the feast had begun, she'd had several sixth and seven years in her rooms needing to borrow hairpins or to ask dress opinions, not to mention chattering about guys. Well, it was fun being a sort of big sister, actually.

She'd dressed extremely severely tonight, choosing a long blue velvet dress with tiny little seed pearls forming a vine along the hem and the square neckline. She'd then added a shawl made of the same lace that spilled out of her sleeves in case she needed a touch more protection from the air or if McGonagall kept glaring at the low neckline. Of course, the moon and star earrings might have been a little too whimsical, but who really cared?

After the feast was over, classes would start. Time would come to teach young minds the mysteries of the stars, tell stories and legends, build huge bonfires, and hopefully shape young minds for the future. This year absolutely nothing would distract her from her work. Not even the hot young new DADA professor Vector had been raving about. Nope, no distractions.

---

I dance into my house, skipping with glee. The day, which started as a typical one of endless overtime spent catching up on five months of work, while trying to stay ahead of my normal day-to-day paperwork (BOOOOOORING!), ended up being the best one I can remember in a long time.

Not only is Sirius alive and well, he also still had his characteristic humour AND now lives next door (definitely the best part)! The only thing that would make this day better is if Voldemort and all his goons suddenly all self-destructed. However, I'm not holing my breath waiting for THAT to happen.

I fling my coat onto a chair, and turned the Wizards Wireless Network, where the Leaping Leprechaun Laddies (a particularly good Irish group) were playing a lively Irish hornpipe. I immediately start dancing around, when I step on something long and thin.

"MMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!"

"Siabhra! Oh! I'm sorry!" my way of apologizing to the kneazle is to pick her up and dance a few steps with her, until she squirms out of my arms and goes running off to my room in disgust. She comes back a few minutes to demand that I stop my foolish prancing and attend to a much more pressing matter: feeding her.

I take the dog bowl and put the puppy chow into a container along with some I'd bought before my capture. The jar has a freshness charm on it, so thankfully it has not gone stale. Then, I rinse out the dog dish and fill it with Siabhra's food and put it on her mat.

The Kneazle looks at me with a look of scorn and I collapse laughing. Siabhra, unable to understand her 'slave's' recent bought of insanity, swipes me with her paw and meows, clearly telling me: "Get with it!"

It's only later, when I look at my clock that I realize that the feast is well underway. If I'm going to talk to Dumbledore and Ethan, I'll either have to wait until the feast is over, or wait until tomorrow.

---

The Feast
Author: Fynn Greenleaf
Date: 12-09-02 21:23

The Ravenclaw table was abuzz with chatter and excitement.

The aroma of strange and wonderful food filled the air, made Fynn feel light headed and a little hungry. He sat beside Golbez, and they talked about mundane frivolities which were nonetheless, good subjects of discussion. First years wandered around, wide-eyed with the splendor and magic of the Great Hall. Stars draped langourously in the air, the air itself tinged with the scent of spices and eager anticipation.

Every once in a while, Fynn looked at Cho across him. She, too was talking to a friend- Aradia. He smiled at her from time to time, and her face lit up, as did his, when she smiled back. Candles hovered, lit up. The first years were gathering at the front of the hall, as full of trepidation and anxiety as he had been, six years back. In a way, he too felt that- trepidation, but no anxiety- more like bliss, over a new beginning. Cho's face glowed under the magic of candlelight and her own significant radiance.

It was going to be a great start to a new term.

---

Chyler's lips gently touched her husbands after she surveyed the beautifully decorated nursery.

"Lys, baby, thank you. It's beautiful, I couldn't have done a better job." She kissed him again and again. "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I've been yelling at you and then running away. I'm so so sorry. With this new mixture kind old Nevvyn has given me, I will be better. It's working now, can't you see? I'm so sorry."

Lysander gently lifted his wife into his arms and kissed away the tears that had found their way down her cheeks. He carried her into their room, closing the door behind him with his foot. "Not to worry, my precious. I know that having a baby is hard work for ladies."

He set her down on the bed and crawled up next to her. Laying a hand gently on her rounding belly, he looked into his wife's eyes. "Part of me is inside of you."

"Oh, Sweetheart." Chyler said, sighing at the sweet, sentimental words. She watched him as he kissed her tummy.

Lysander rubbed the area he had just kissed. "A baby Stratford."

"Yes." Her words came out as a sort of coo.

Lysander knelt on the mattress by his wife and too her hand. "Our own baby."

"Yes. Ours."

Chlyer sat up and wrapped her arms around Lysander's neck and just held her husband as he held her.

---

Waiting
Author: Cho Chang
Date: 12-10-02 08:27

Patience is a virtue.

Cho cheered and whistled with everyone else as their house kept getting new people. She looked over her teachers and smiled, looking to Fynn and grinning, "This year is going to be so much fun." Aradia nodded in agreement as did Fynn slightly. Cho moved her feet, only to find that they were blocked by Fynn's, she smirked and looked over to him, raising an eyebrow and smirking. She tries to move them again to get them out of his way, but he again blocks them.

He looks to her accusingly with that mischievous twinkle in his eye, "Are you trying to play footsie with me?" Her mouth falls agape before she purses her lips, aggressively trying to free her feet, but he blocking her at every turn. After strange looks from both Golbez and Aradia, they relinquish their attacks. Cho leans back a little, glancing up the aisle toward the transferees and first years, getting steadily hungrier. She then glances to her friends around her and to Fynn...

This would definitely be a very fun year.

---