AN: OK, so this is my first fanfic ever and I'm really nervous about posting it. Please tell me what you think in the reviews! Thank you for checking it out and sorry it's already so long! Also, sorry Sirius isn't in it very much yet!

Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer or JK Rowling! This is fanfic, written for fun only!

The first thing I registered was how cold the floor was. The second was that it was also very hard. Slowly, I began to notice tittering voices around me. I moaned.

"Stand back everyone," said a stern voice.

I picked my head a few inches off the floor, my eyes adjusting from the bright field outside my home in Astoria, Oregon to the dimly lit… classroom? Yes, I was pretty sure I was in a classroom, albeit a strange one with stone floors and no overhead fluorescent lighting. In the front of the room stood a tall woman with a tight bun, and smushed along the sides of the room a bunch of students wearing strange clothes stood confusedly. To my right, a tan, dark-haired boy about my age also lay prone, furiously blinking. He didn't seem to know what was going on either.

The teacher told everyone to stand back again, and then she approached me and knelt by the side of my head. She helped me and the boy to our feet. "It seems that the Portkey was a little off," she said in her English accent. So I was in a really old building England then. Strange, I didn't think people actually still used them for schools and such. The woman dismissed her class.

She led us into what I assumed was her office. But it was like no teacher's office I had ever seen before: in an old painting of village, the people actually milled about. Also, she seemed to have a peculiar fascination with tartan, and the only light came from torches on the walls.

"Sit here," the woman said, gesturing to two high-backed chairs. "I'll be right back." She swished out of the room, her long robes billowing behind her.

I turned to the boy sitting next to me, who was still rubbing the back of his head and frowning. I thrust out my hand. "Hi, I'm Aurelia Lovelace," I said.

"Jacob Black." When he took my hand to shake it, it was strong and warm. Very warm, in fact. I took a moment to appreciate his strong jaw. I also noticed he had an American accent like me.

"Do you know what's going on?" I whispered.

He shook his head. "One minute, I was picking litter off the beach. The next, I'm in this place." He frowned. "Maybe I fainted and this is a hallucination or something."

Weird, I thought. The last thing I remember was picking a plastic bag out of the creek behind my house. Maybe this was a new virtual-reality anti-littering campaign or something.

But before I could tell Jacob this, the woman swished back in, carrying a ratty piece of fabric. She set it on the desk in front of us. She sighed, then said resolutely, "It's unfortunate that Albus is away right now, as he's the one who summoned you both here-"

I interrupted. "Who are you anyway? And where are we?"

"I am Minerva McGonagall, and I would like to welcome you both to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

My jaw dropped. "No," I gasped. Witches and wizards were terrible people, my parents told me, who only wanted to turn upstanding citizens into toads and wreak havoc on the weather patterns and whatnot.

"Did I not speak clearly?" said McGonagall.

"Oh, no, you did," I reassured her. "It's just that… why were Jacob and I brought here?"

"I trust Albus will make that clear upon his return. In the meantime-" McGonagall thrust the gross cloth bundle at me- "we might as well as follow normal procedures."

I stared at her in bewilderment. Jacob continued to look stunned.

"Go ahead," she said. "Put it on."

I then realized the piece of cloth was a very old pointed hat. I slipped it over my head.

"A bit old for Sorting, you are," said a grumbly voice in my ear. I tried not to panic. Was I going insane? "Albus did brief me on your… unusual… situation before he left…"

Can you tell me more? I thought as hard as I could.

"No… I Sort only. An inquisitive mind I see, a strong disposition against backing down, and extraordinary magical talent…. in fact, it's as if you haven't missed any years of your schooling at all… well…" the hat continued mumbling in my ear for another minute or so. Overall, I'd describe the experience as awkward and itchy. I didn't want to think about how many other people had probably worn the hat since it had last been washed. Finally, the hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Of course, I had no idea what that meant, but it seemed to please McGonagall. I took off the hat and handed it to Jacob, who put it on. I watched his eyebrows knit together in confusion and concentration as the hat talked in his ear. Then it hollered the same nonsense word.

McGonagall smiled contentedly. "Two new additions to my own house then," she said. She went to the door and beckoned. A red-headed girl the same age as Jacob and I came into the room. "This is Lily Evans," McGonagall said. "She's the sixth-year Gryffindor prefect." She turned to Lily and instructed her to lead us to the Great Hall for supper and then help us get situated in the dorms.

As Jacob and I followed Lily, I told him what the hat said to me. "I hope me being gifted means that I won't have to hang out with the eleven-year-olds," I said.

Jacob looked a little angry. "Then I won't get to see you and I'd have to be all alone with these weirdos."

I shrugged. "Either way, this situation is sort of terrible."

Jacob, Lily and I entered the Great Hall. I gasped. The ceiling was a perfect replica of the orange and pink-streaked sunset outside, and there were all kinds of rich foods piled high on the long tables where hundreds of students sat chatting and laughing. In one corner, a minor food fight seemed to have broken out.

"OI, EVANS!"

Lily scowled at a handsome boy about my age with shoulder-length dark hair and grey eyes. "No, I will not go out with Potter, Black."

At the mention of the young man's name, Jacob gave a small start. Of course he did. Black was his last name too.

So we all ate dinner and after that Lily led us up to Gryffindor tower. I doubted I would ever remember how to get there again, what with the constantly-shifting staircases. But then again, I am exceptionally good at navigation. Once, when I was four years old, my parents accidentally abandoned me at the bathhouse of an exceedingly large campground and I'd found my way back no problem. "Don't worry," I whispered to Jacob. "Stick with me, and I'll make sure we find our way back every night."

"I just wonder how long we're going to be stuck here," he said. "I do have to get back to La Push; it's not good to leave my father alone for so long."

I thought that the sentiment was very caring.

Finally, we got to Gryffindor tower where Lily introduced Jacob to the boys' Prefect in our year, Remus Lupin.

Lily led me upstairs and showed me the extra bed.

I slept very soundly that night.