It was sheer luck that they ended up in the same boat, and Roger scrambled to sit near the girl, waiting until she looked at him to grin. She grinned back immediately.

"Fancy meeting you here!" Roger told her, relieved to see a familiar face.

"Well I knew you had to be somewhere in the crowd," she replied, and held out a hand. "Hyacinth Moffett, by the way. Just call me 'Cinth."

"Roger De Malinbois," he replied, shaking hands. "And you were dead right about the ice cream. It was fantastic."

'Cinth gave a little nod, and settled herself more firmly on the bench seat of the boat. "Oh good."

Roger looked up at the outline of the castle, impressed by the sheer size of the place. The boat lurched a little as it started to move, and around them other First Years were doing everything from shivering to trailing their fingers in the dark water. "So that's Hogwarts."

"It's not really that scary looking," 'Cinth assured him. "I've seen it loads of times in daylight and it looks a lot more like a school then."

"Loads? So you're from Hogsmeade?" he asked, curious.

"Spent some years there, yeah. Soooo what House do you think you'll be in?" she murmured, changing the conversation as she fiddled with a lock of her hair.

Roger felt his mouth thin out and he lowered his voice. "Um, Slytherin, I'm sure," he admitted, waiting for the girl to react. His parents had warned him it might happen, that their legacy wasn't exactly in good graces at the moment. Oh the Ministry hadn't put the blame on them, and the new Headmistress had been very clear the acceptance letter about the equal glory of each House, but there was still a lingering aura of disgrace for the chosen of Salazar Slytherin throughout the Wizarding world.

But the girl looked him over carefully and smiled. "You'll be a good one, then. I mean, after all, the last head of that House died a hero."

Her kind words and matter-of-fact expression sent a wave of warmth through him, and Roger nodded. "He did."

They said nothing more for the rest of the trip across the black glass of the lake, but as they climbed out of the boat on the other side, 'Cinth gave his shoulder a light pat, and turned her gaze up the hill to the looming castle there.

"Up. That's the way to go."

Roger nodded. "For all of us." Looking at her again, he added, "thanks."

A noisy group from another boat surged between them and he lost sight of her, but the comfort stayed, making his hike up the long path a little bit lighter.

He hoped they had ice cream for pudding.

-oo00oo—

She knew she would be Hufflepuff, even before the soft voice asked her if she was sure. Her mother and uncle were both proud former Hufflepuffs. Certainly they'd reflected the reputation of 'good work well-done'. Hyacinth agreed with those ideals, even when the voice spoke again.

"Ah, I can see you're clever too though . . ." It murmured. "Ravenclaw might suit you just as well."

"No," Hyacinth whispered back to the Sorting Hat softly. "Not that, thank you."

She didn't know much about her father; he hadn't been part of her life at all, but one of the few things she did know was that whoever he was, he'd been a Ravenclaw. Her mother had told her that much about him.

For a moment she sat there, tense and waiting.

Finally-

"Very well, my dear," the voice replied, and in a louder tone called out "Hufflepuff!"

A cheer went up, and Hyacinth blushed at the sound. She slid off the stool and made her way to the table with the loudest voices, receiving little pats on her arms, and big grins from the students there.

"Oh jolly good," A round, almost motherly boy with dark curly hair told her. "Glad you're with us, Miss Moffett! I'm Winston, and that's—" he pointed to a tall girl nearly lost in the wrap of a thick Hufflepuff scarf, "—Sanvy Khan."

"Hello," Hyacinth murmured, pleased to be offered a place between them.

Sanvy pulled a roll of scarf away from the lower half of her lean face and gave a shy smile. "I'm always amazed that the Houses come out as evenly as they do," she confided. "I'm sure that's magic too."

"The Hat knows . . . what to do," Hyacinth replied.

Winston shot her a look. "Most folk would have said the Hat knows best," he murmured thoughtfully.

"Well, best is a choice," Hyacinth offered, and Sanvy chuckled.

Winston joined in, his expression making it clear he was willing to cede the point. "Good one! Still, we're halfway through now, with more to come to our table, eh?"

Hyacinth nodded and looked far over the top of the Ravenclaw table to the Slytherin one, spotting a slim figure there, his back to her. As if aware of her gaze he turned, and through the throngs of students met her stare.

Roger waved, shyly, and she waved back.

Definitely Slytherin. He'd do well there, Hyacinth thought, and hoped he had someone welcoming to sit with.