A/N: This is written for the fifth round of the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition. Each team had a character to write about and my team, the Tutshill Tornados, chose to write about Augusta Longbottom. As keeper, I had to write about her first year, so this is a short fanfic about her being sorted into her house. Enjoy!

A Second Home

Hogwarts was much larger than Augusta had expected. It's grand stone walls seemed to tower over her eleven-year-old self as she slowly made her way to the entrance on a small boat. Not that she noticed; she was far too busy trying to keep her boat steady. One of the two other girls that had decided to jump in the same boat as her was squirming around like there were ants crawling up her robes.

"Can you please stop that?" she asked the girl sitting directly behind her. She was smaller than Augusta and had mousy brown hair with brown eyes perched on top of a petite nose.

"Sorry," she said with a small smile, "but I'm just so excited! We're going to be sorted into houses in just a few minutes. I can't wait to find out-"

"Yes, I know, but you're rocking the boat. We won't make it to shore if you keep that up," Augusta cut her off. The smaller look slightly abashed but nevertheless stopped her squirming.

Augusta smiled proudly to herself. She didn't believe in shying away from doing what needed to be done. Or what she wanted to be done. And if she wanted to make it to Hogwarts in dry robes, she had to stop the other girl from swaying the boat.

They finally made it to the shore and Augusta eagerly climbed off and walked as calmly as she could to the entrance. Even though she had somewhat berated the other girl for being excited, Augusta couldn't help but have the same feelings. This was to be her second home, after all.

She took her first step into the giant castle and instantly thought it was exactly what she had expecting. She'd heard tales about the halls in Hogwarts long before she had even received her letter.

The first years were guided to the Great Hall quickly and asked to wait patiently while their presence was announced. The excited kids began talking to one another immediately and Augusta found that she was left alone in the crowd. During the long journey to the castle, she had failed to make a single friend.

A small tap on her shoulder shook Augusta from her thoughts. She looked behind her and saw the small girl from the boats, the one that had been squirming.

"We didn't get properly introduced," she said with a smile. "My name's Minerva, but you can call me Minnie."

"Augusta."

They briefly shook hands and the girl, Minnie, started to rock back and forth on the balls of her feet. She looked back at Augusta and said, "What house do you think you'll be put in?"

This was a question that had run through Augusta's head all day. Would it be Ravenclaw? Gryffindor? Hufflepuff? Slytherin?

"I haven't a clue," she said tersely. Minnie wasn't put off by Augusta's sharp tone, though, as she started to talk excitedly about the four different houses.

"Neither do I. Though, secretly, I do hope I get into Gryffindor," she said lightly.

"I hope to get into whatever house suits me best and win the House Cup at the end of the year," Augusta said. She smiled at Minnie, starting to like her cheerful personality.

"Oh, yeah," Minnie said with a thoughtful expression. "Well, hopefully we get into the same house so we can work together to ensure our win."

Augusta nodded and smiled kindly at the girl. I think I just made my first friend at Hogwarts, she thought.

Moments later, the door to the Great Hall swung open and the group of first years flooded into the room. They huddled towards the front of the room and waited, some patiently and some not, for their name to be called.

"Adler, Barius," a tall, thin woman called. The boy in question nervously made his way to the stool where the woman – professor – awaited him with the Sorting Hat.

After a few moments of silence, the hat called out in a carrying voice, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

There were some cheers and plenty of applause as Barius made his way to the Hufflepuff table, no longer nervous.

Augusta found her own nervousness began to sneak up into her mind as she waited in the slowly diminishing crowd of first years. Finally, her name was called and Augusta made her way to the front of the hall and sat on the stool.

"Ah, hello there," said a voice. Augusta soon realized it was the Sorting Hat. "Let's see then. Bravery. Courage. Logic and Strategy. Yes, you would do very well in Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. How about… GRYFFINDOR!"

Applause broke out the second the Sorting Hat became quiet and Augusta found herself making her way to the Gryffindor table with a smile on her face. The hat had almost taken her by surprise when it put her in Gryffindor, though she soon realized that there wasn't any other house she would want to be in.

She took a seat by a sixth year that was still grinning at her and returned her attention to the sorting.

"McGonagall, Minerva."

The small girl Augusta had made friends with bounded to the stool and sat down. After a moment's hesitation the Sorting Hat called out, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Augusta was one of the loudest, cheering for Minnie and screaming her name. She watched as Minnie made her way over to her and plopped down in the seat next to her.

"I. Am. So. Happy!" she breathed out to Augusta. Augusta smiled enthusiastically and nodded before paying attention once more to the sorting.

The food finally appeared after a short speech by Headmaster Dippet. Augusta found that tiny, petite Minnie could stuff pretty much anything into herself. It seemed like the small girl ate enough for the entire house.

The two newfound friends made their way to their second home for the next seven years, hand in hand. They had bunks next to each other and after a few hours of excitedly talking about classes the following day, finally made their way to sleep. On the brink of dreams, Augusta made a small wish that Hogwarts really would be all that she hoped.