Disclaimer: I am not a millionaire, I do not have a [real] English accent, my hair is brown and I am only 16… in other words, I am not J.K. Rowling, the author to whom all of these wonderful places and characters [except for a select few] belong!

Enjoy!

Chapter 1

I caught a glimpse of the magnificent castle towering over the dark lake, tiny pinpricks of light that were windows reflected in the glassy surface, each one looking like a star in the expanse of black. Hagrid was herding the other first years to the boats at the bottom of the hill, but I hung back, taking in the beautiful castle from the outside for the first time.

"Oi! Estelle! Get o'er here!"

The gruff shout caught my attention and I hurried down to where the other eleven year olds were standing, looking nervously at the fleet of enchanted vessels.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid shouted as I caught up, approaching the hesitant crowd.

I saw the raven-haired head of my cousin joined in his boat by Hermione and Neville, along with a tall and lanky red-haired boy who looked a lot like the two twin boys that Tessa, Lydia and Max invited over the past summer. I briefly wondered if they were related before climbing into a boat already occupied by a short blonde girl, a dark-skinned boy with short, curly black hair and a boy with sandy hair who looked very excited.

I was about to ask their names when Hagrid called out again. "Everyone in? FORWARD!" His voice carried over the dark water and the boats took off.

We sat in silence for a while, all thoughts of introductions disappearing as the crafts pulled away from the shore, creating soft ripples in the smooth surface of the lake.

"So what are your names?" I asked, breaking the silence. "I'm Estelle by the way."

"Hannah Abbott." Said the blonde girl, smiling nervously.

"Dean Thomas." Said the dark-skinned boy, holding out a hand for me to shake.

"Nice to meet you." I said, taking his hand.

"Seamus Finnigan." Said the sandy-haired boy with a strong Irish accent, also holding out his hand. I shook it.

Hagrid suddenly yelled for us to put our heads down. We all did so hastily and the boats went underneath a low wall of ivy and into a dark tunnel. We finally arrived at our destination, bumping against the shore of an underground harbor, and we all clambered out onto small rocks and pebbles that made up the beach.

"Oi, you there! Is this yer toad?" Hagrid asked Neville as he peered into a boat.

"Trevor!" Neville cried happily, rushing forward to take his pet. I was glad that he had finally found the elusive amphibian. We had spent nearly all of the train ride helping him look for it and he had been frantic when we had arrived at the station without finding him.

Hagrid led us up a flight of steps onto the sweeping lawns of the castle. It looked even bigger when viewed from the ground. From there we trudged through the immaculately trimmed grass and up to a short flight of stone steps that led to a pair of gigantic oak doors. He raised one of his bucket-sized hands and knocked three times on the doors.

They swung open immediately and Aunt Min stood there, as stern looking as ever, but I could tell she was glad to see the new students. A few of the more timid looking first years, including Hannah and Neville, looked a bit frightened of her and shrunk back a bit as she swept her gaze over the assembled students. I held back a laugh and gave her a small, inconspicuous wave. I could tell that she had seen it by the sudden twinkle in her eyes.

"The firs' years Professor McGonagall." Hagrid announced.

"Thank you Hagrid." She said stiffly, keeping up her strict façade. "I will take them from here."

Aunt Min opened the doors wide to let us in. I had seen the Entrance Hall before of course, but after being at my Aunt Ariana and Uncle Hunter's house for so long, it seemed massive. And yet, despite the great expanse of rough grey stone it was home to me; it was where my family was. I relaxed for the first time all day. Everything would be fine. This is where I belong. I thought happily.

The low murmur of hundreds of voices carried out from the doors leading to the Great Hall, where the rest of the students were awaiting our presence for the Sorting. Even though I knew almost everything there was to know about Hogwarts, I still didn't know how we were sorted. I had badgered my cousins about it every break since they had arrived at the school, as well as all the adults, but no one would tell me anything. We entered a small ante-chamber off the Entrance Hall and waited for Aunt Min to speak.

Once every one of the first years had entered the room, she cleared her throat and all eyes turned to her expectantly.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she said, surveying the students. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Her eyes lingered on Neville for a moment and I saw that his cloak was buttoned under his left ear.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," she said. "Please wait quietly." She left the room and hushed whispers broke out almost immediately. I hurried over to Neville and helped him fix his cloak. He whispered a nervous thank you.

I could hear the red-haired boy talking to my cousin about how we would be sorted. I gritted my teeth and took a deep breath… it was now or never.

But before I could say a word a frightened yell made me jump and spin around. The house ghosts had floated through one of the walls and someone (probably a frightened Muggle-born) had screamed. I could hear the ghosts having their usual argument about Peeves, but they stopped when they realized they had an audience.

"Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance-"

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost - I say, what are you all doing here?"

Sir Nicholas had noticed us at last.

"Hello Sir Nicholas!" I called, waving excitedly.

His ghostly eyes sought me out and a bright smile grew on his face. "Hello there Estelle my dear! It's time for you to finally be Sorted I suppose?"

I grinned and nodded, ignoring the questioning looks I was getting.

"Oh! New students!" said the Fat Friar happily, smiling around at them. "Except for you Estelle." He added, catching a glimpse of my face. I laughed.

"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" he said hopefully. "My old house, you know."

"We'll see Friar." I said, giggling at his attempt at recruiting into his house. Tessa told me that he did it every year.

"Move along now," Aunt Min's voice called. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."

One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall and into where the rest of the school was sitting.

"Now, form a line," She told us, "and follow me."

I ended up behind Seamus and in front of my cousin and his friend. I had been hoping to meet him before we were sorted, but time had run out. I hoped it wouldn't be too much of a shock for him when he found out. I know I would be surprised if it were me.

I had seen the Great Hall before, but only at the holidays when it was decorated extravagantly. I had never been to the Start-of-Term Feast before and it was almost more special. The hall was lit by thousands and thousands of little candles that floated in the air, Uncle Filius' work I was sure. The four House tables were set out and filled with students wearing the house colors; blue and bronze for Ravenclaw, red and gold for Gryffindor, black and yellow for Hufflepuff and green and silver for Slytherin. The tables had empty plates and goblets set out on them, soon to be filled by the house elves in the kitchens below.

The teacher's table looked the same as ever, but (as always) there was a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. This year the teacher was wearing a large purple turban and looked extremely nervous. He seemed to have a twitch in his left leg. He was sitting next to Severus (he refused to let me call him 'Uncle') and Severus did not look at all happy with the seating arrangement.

I looked up to the ceiling and saw the clear night sky as if there was no roof, but just an opening to the heavens through the top of the hall. I heard someone behind me say something about how it was enchanted to look like the real sky outside the castle.

Aunt Min led us up the center aisle between the Ravenclaw and Slytherin tables and lined us up so we were facing the rest of the students. I saw Tessa and Lydia waving at me from one side of the Gryffindor table and Max giving me a big smile from the Hufflepuff table. I nodded my head to show them that I had seen them. They grinned and sat back in their seats, high-fiving the twins who were sitting opposite them. I held back a giggle at their antics.

Aunt Min silently placed a four-legged stool in front of us. On top of the stool she put a pointed hat. It was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. What was this all about?

For a few seconds, there was complete silence as everyone stared at the hat expectantly. Then it twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth - and the hat began to sing:

"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,

I'll eat myself if you can find

A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black,

Your top hats sleek and tall,

For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat

And I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head

The Sorting Hat can't see,

So try me on and I will tell you

Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve, and chivalry

Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,

Where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true

And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, if you've a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning,

Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin

You'll make your real friends,

Those cunning folk use any means

To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!

And don't get in a flap!

You're in safe hands (though I have none)

For I'm a Thinking Cap!"

The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.

"So we just have to try on the hat!" the red-haired boy next to me exclaimed quietly, echoing my thoughts. "I'll kill Fred. He was going on about wrestling a troll." I giggled at that, but quickly composed my expression as he looked my way curiously.

Aunt Min cleared her throat to start reading names off a long list and I suddenly felt as though bees were buzzing around in my brain. What if I was in Slytherin? Would my cousins still talk to me? What about Great-Grandfather? My thoughts were interrupted as Aunt Min stepped forward and announced: "When I call your name you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted." She paused, then…

"Abbott, Hannah!"

Hannah stepped forward nervously, her face pink and anxious-looking. I didn't blame her in the slightest. I would have hated to be the first one called up.

She sat down, waited a moment, and the hat yelled "HUFFLEPUFF!"

The table on the far right cheered and she ran quickly down to sit with the rest of her house. I saw Max shake her hand in welcome and give her a welcoming smile. The Fat Friar waved to her merrily.

"Bones, Susan!"

A brown-haired girl stepped up nervously. I knew her by sight from the many Ministry banquets my family had been to, but had never really gotten to know her. I only knew that she was the niece of the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Amelia Bones.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat yelled. Susan went to go sit by Hannah.

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them. He sat down, grinning broadly.

"Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; I could see the red-haired twins catcalling and Tessa and Lydia's cheers were by far the loudest.

"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin. The table second from the right clapped and cheered and the bees in my stomach buzzed faster.

I was definitely starting to feel sick and regretted the amount of Chocolate Frogs I ate on the train.

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Sometimes, I noticed, the hat shouted out the house at once, but at others it took a little while to decide. Seamus Finnigan sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.

"Granger, Hermione!"

Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head. I chuckled quietly. Her sorting took quite a long time.

"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat. The red-haired boy next to me groaned.

When Neville was called, he fell over on his way to the stool. I felt so bad for him. The hat took a long time to decide with him and when it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR," Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag." I kept silent, trying to be nice.

"Malfoy, Draco!"

Malfoy swaggered forward when his name was called. I frowned. He was another person I knew from the Ministry banquets. He was always snarky and rude and his family was notorious for being in Slytherin. He did not disappoint. The hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!"

Malfoy went to join the Slytherin table, looking pleased with himself. I stuck my tongue out at him mentally.

There weren't many people left now. "Moon"..., "Nott"..., "Parkinson"..., then a pair of twin girls, "Patil" and "Patil"..., then "Perks, Sally-Anne"..., and then, at last –

"Potter, Estelle!"

And there's the first chapter to a new story! (Don't worry those of you reading Lily Luna Potter and Emily Michelle Lupin, I'm not giving up, but I do have a tendency to take on too many stories at once… Never fear! They will be uploaded soon! ;D) As for the rest of you reading, I thank you for taking the time to read the first chapter of this story. It is a plotline that has been going through my head for a while and I needed to get it out there! R/R and tell me if it sounds good/what I could work on! Thanks again for reading!