"Weasley, Ronald!"

I waited impatiently as the gangly ginger who had been standing off on his own as the other first years had been Sorted away into their respective houses. Weasley left only two people left standing to be Sorted: Blaise Zabini and me. Blaise was lucky enough to already know with almost certainty where he was headed but I was still questionable. With his mother being a Slytherin prefect and his birth father able to easily trace his family back for seven or eight generations, he was a shoe-in for Slytherin. Me, on the other hand...

The Wyncrest family was known to be one of the greyer families of the Wizarding World. For almost two hundred years, my family was one of the leading names in potioneering and had all the power and prestige we could want. Being of a grey family, I had no solid assurance of where I would be Sorted, even with my brothers already having gone through the process.

My brothers Sebastian and Damien were four and two years older than me, respectively, and were the source of almost every tidbit of information I had on Hogwarts. The two were a source of contention in the Wyncrest house but they behaved themselves as well as a fifth year Slytherin prefect and a third year Gryffindor could. I knew that neither would relent in their teasing if I was Sorted into Hufflepuff.

I missed hearing what house Ronald Weasley was Sorted into but, judging by the uproar from the gold and scarlet table, I assumed that he had joined the majority of his family in Gryffindor.

"Wyncrest, Corrine!" Professor McGonagall called, peering out at the crowd from above her list of names. Swallowing, I stepped up and sat down on the stool, very still as the Sorting Hat was lowered onto my head.

The Hat fell low, covering my dark eyes and blinding me to the Great Hall. I couldn't see any of the eyes on me but I knew that they hadn't left.

"Ah... Corrine... I've sorted your brothers recently, haven't I?"

"Yes, sir... Sebastian and Damien."

"Yes, I remember... Interesting minds they had, a trait that seems to run in the family... Hmm... A difficult mind to be sure..."

I gripped the edge of the stool as the Hat continued to prod gently through my mind. The weak Occlumency blocks that my father had started helping me to create fell away at his silent order as he sifted through my thoughts and memories.

"You have a goal, don't you, Corrine? And a noble goal it is... So many paths ahead for you, girl." The Sorting Hat's rumbling voice drifted through my mind as he hummed thoughtfully. "Then it is decided. SLYTHERIN!"

Another round of applause rang throughout the Great Hall. As the Sorting Hat was lifted from my eyes, I couldn't help but send a glance to the Gryffindor table. Damien was there, clapping, with a wry smile on his face as if he was unsurprised.

I made my way to the Slytherin table where Sebastian was waiting for me with a broad smile. A little sheepish, I brushed my curly black hair back from my face to return the smile.

"So, Bass, this is your little sister?" a boy I didn't recognize asked. He loomed over me with his broad shoulders and I resisted the urge to cringe at his hot breath, too close to me.

"My name is Cor, not Bass's little sister," I said with as calm an expression as I could fake, holding my hand out to the larger boy. Instead of seeming offended, he grinned and laughed, shaking my hand.

"Spunk," he noted. "Name's Flint, Marcus Flint. Your brother's been telling me you're as good at Quidditch as he is. You should try out. We have a nice winning streak going that I don't want to lose."

"I thought that first years couldn't be on a team." I looked to my brother who, despite all of his scheming, preferred manipulating rules rather than breaking them. He was smirking.

"The rules state that a first year cannot bring their own broom. There's no rule against you being on a team or an older student lending you one."

"If you think I should," I said with a small smile. "I'm sure there's someone better."

"I'd bet twenty galleons that you can outfly any of Gryffindor's idiots." I didn't comment that Damien was one of those idiots. "And you are definitely a better seeker than the Higgs kid we have slotted to play for us this year."

I opened my mouth to reply but hesitated when a hand tapped against my shoulder. I turned to see a familiar face smirking at me from between his normal companions.

"Hello, Draco," I greeted pleasantly. The Malfoy nodded at me in greeting.

"Cor. Didn't think I'd be seeing you in Slytherin. I pegged you more for a Ravenclaw," he admitted freely. I shrugged.

"The Sorting Hat thought I'd be best off here, I suppose." A noncommittal answer was usually best, I'd learned, when dealing with the Malfoy family.

The Wyncrest family was neutral without strong ties to either light or dark families but I was very well acquainted with Draco, the Malfoy heir. I knew his mother well enough, as she attended and hosted a number of tea parties at which my mother and I had also been in attendance, and Draco's family always hosted a Yule masque not to mention other Ministry-sponsored parties and gatherings his father donated his way into. There had been some false alarms regarding betrothal contracts but my father was adamant in refusing to make or agree to such a contract. He thought it best if my brothers and I were independent as early as possible and, as such, made few of our decisions for us.

It was inevitable, though, that those discussions would come up again. I was Sorted into Slytherin which, as I knew from my upbringing, meant that I was still suitable marriage material. Unless I did something that would hurt my reputation, I would have to be careful.

"Oh, Cori, I'm so happy to see you here with the rest of us!" I resisted a scowl and put a smile on my face as I turned my attention to Pansy. "I was afraid you'd be stuck with your other brother."

Sebastian stilled ever so slightly, the smile on his face twisting into something dangerous.

"Tread carefully, Parkinson," was all he said before turning to face Flint, catching the other boy in a comparison between Gryffindor's house team and the Chudley Cannons.

Say what you will, but I was proud of my brother's ability to silence the notorious loudmouth that was Pansy Parkinson. Then again, Sebastian was much older than Pansy. He'd had the time to build relationships and debts in Slytherin that, if manipulated correctly, would make her life much more difficult.

But I couldn't let Sebastian establish himself as my only method of defense. I had to grow claws sometime or later, or I'd be eaten alive. I'd heard stories about Slytherin life when Sebastian was a first year. He hadn't understood the game very well at the beginning and he'd paid for it. Now he was a master of the politics of the house. If not for the matriarchal nature of our family, he would have been a great choice as heir.

"I'm just as surprised as you are, Pansy, but it's of no consequence to my goals. I'm certain I can still be the best witch in my house. In fact, it might be easier here," I smiled. The smile only grew when Pansy bristled angrily. She recovered, but not before Daphne Greengrass took her shot.

"May the best witch win, Wyncrest," she said warmly, holding out her hand to me. I shook it, carefully curbing my grin.

"Likewise, Greengrass."

"Welcome!" We all turned to see Albus Dumbledore standing at the Head Table, holding out his arms openly and smiling like the highlight of his year was this feast. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

And the great Albus Dumbledore took his seat once more to cheers and applause. I wasn't sure how I should react so I looked to my brother. Sebastian was clapping with a mildly amused smirk on his face.

"You weren't exaggerating when you described him," I said in a low voice. He chuckled under his breath.

"I don't think there is a way to exaggerate anything Albus Dumbledore does. If there was, that's what he'd be doing already. Some people think he's a little off his rocker, but he's still a brilliant wizard. Could you pass the roast beef?"

I nearly jumped at the sudden appearance of the food before sternly reminding myself that Hogwarts was staffed with over a hundred house elves. Tracking down the roast beef, I passed the dish to my brother before carefully serving myself some chicken and mashed potatoes, drifting back into conversation with the other first years.

Pansy's additions to the conversation were light and cordial, but her eyes promised revenge. I continued to eat my dinner, hiding a smile.

After desert, Dumbledore rose to his feet once more and the Hall fell silent.

"Ahem... Just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start of term notices to give you." His blue eyes sparked even from a distance. "First year students should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And some of our older students would do well to remember that as well. I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors.

"Quidditch tryouts shall be held during the second week of term. Anyone interested should contact their house captain or Madame Hooch for more information. And, finally, I must tell you that, this year, the third floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds for anyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

I looked to Sebastian to ask if he knew what Dumbledore was talking about, seeing as he was a prefect, but my brother was frowning thoughtfully.

"That's odd... He generally gives a reason as to why students aren't allow to go in certain areas. Everyone knows that the Forbidden Forest is full of dangerous creatures, but he didn't say anything about the third floor corridor."

"You mean he didn't even tell the prefects?"

"Evidently." Sebastian's cobalt eyes darted to the Gryffindor table suspiciously. Sebastian had a sort of beef with one of the Gryffindor prefects but he relaxed at whatever he saw there.

I was left stumbling through the words of the school song- which the Slytherins were all singing rather half-heartedly- and finished rather quickly with my jazzy rendition of the song. The last to finish were two redheaded boys from Gryffindor, twin Weasleys, that were singing to a slow funeral dirge. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and, when they at last were done, was one of the loudest clappers in the Hall.

"And now, bedtime! Off you trot!"

After winding through the dungeons with the rest of the Slytherin house, I found myself in a green-lit dorm with Millicent Bulstrode, Daphne Greengrass, and Pansy Parkinson. Without speaking, I selected a bed between Daphne and Millicent. That placed me directly across from Pansy, but I'd rather try my luck without her flanking me.

The moment I was in my pajamas, I realized how utterly exhausted the day had made me. Even as tired as I was and knowing that I'd already made an enemy of girl I'd be living with for the next seven years, I couldn't help but smile as I crawled into the warm black blankets, pulling the silky silver curtains closed.

I didn't know how quickly I'd feel at home at Hogwarts.