Rosette entered the hall and gasped. Loudly, and many people laughed, but she was astounded.

No amount of descriptions from Padfoot and Moony could have prepared her for what she was seeing right now.

The ceiling showed a deep blue with a few stars, looking like an actual sky. Floating candles scattered the room. Hundreds of people were seated at the tables.

Well, maybe not hundreds, but close enough. Definitely over fifty. She wasn't good with numbers.

The first years formed a line, and Rosette managed to be sixth. Pretty good. She twisted to look over her shoulder, causing her hair to go everywhere. Two people behind her were Ron, six people behind that was Draco, and maybe three people behind that Hermione stood.

As the professor - who had introduced herself as Professor McGonagall - read off a list, Rosette held her breath, waiting for her turn.

After four people had gone, Rosette was bouncing on her tip-toes impatiently waiting for the hat to Sort the current person.

"Rosette Potter!" Professor McGonagall read from the list.

Rosette walked forward, trying not to run or bounce like normal. She took a seat and lifted the hat. It was bigger than she thought. When she put it on, she could barely see.

Hmm, the hat said. Interesting. Warm and friendly, I see, a good Hufflepuff quality, yet you're reckless and prideful... a plain lack of ambition, though determination makes up for that... GRYFFINDOR!

Rosette jumped off the stool, placed the hat on the stool, and ran over to the Gryffindor table. She cheered along with everyone else when Ron became a Gryffindor. Draco was a Slytherin... no surprise there, she supposed... and Hermione was a Gryffindor, too!

When Hermione took a seat across from her, Rosette laughed. "Thought you were going to Ravenclaw for sure!"

Hermione shrugged and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "The hat said I was smart and creative, but lacked a real drive and my friends went before schoolwork. I think it was right on both accounts."

"Yeah, I was either Hufflepuff or Gryffindor," Rosette admitted. "You, Ron?"

Ron laughed. "It said I better go along with all my brothers. Very creative, the hat."

"It really is," Hermione said seriously, ignoring Ron's joke. "Imagine reading a person's personality, and deciding something that decides your future. Not something to be handled lightly."

Suddenly, Dumbledore stood up, and the talk immediately died down. He said something Rosette didn't catch and sat back down.

"So, Rose," Hermione said after swallowing a bite of whatever was on her plate. "What do you do for fun?"

"Laugh," Rosette said honestly. "I love telling jokes and writing short stories with lots of humor. I'm not very good with grammar, but I'm told the actual content is pretty good. I love reading action novels. Um... and riding my broom is always fun, but I'm only allowed to do that on the weekends."

"Really? You're a writer?" Hermione said in surprise.

"Nah, not really," Rosette shrugged. "My interests lie elsewhere. I always liked the idea of being a guidance counselor or such."

"You would be," Ron snorted into his plate of chicken, mashed potatoes, and gravy.

Hermione shot him a death glare. "What do you find interesting, Ron?"

"Um..." suddenly Ron was very interested in his glass. "Um, I want to work in the Ministry of Magic. Like my dad."

"In what section?" Rosette asked curiously, taking a forkful of food.

"My... my dad works for the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts," Ron muttered, still looking at the goblet. "But I want to be an Auror."

"Cool!" Rosette said, drinking from her own cup. "What about you, Hermione?"

"A teacher," she said, matter-of-factly. "At Hogwarts. Teaching magic would be a blessing, honestly, and I feel that any responsibility coming with the job, I wouldn't mind, because-"

Ron coughed. "Sorry to interrupt your speech, Hermione, but I think we're going."

Rosette jumped to her feet and ran forward, and was blocked by an arm. She looked up into the twinkling eyes of a boy. "Tsk, tsk. Please stay behind me, I'm the prefect here."

Rosette blushed and nodded, falling next to Ron and Hermione, who were laughing at her eagerness.

Once the group reached a portrait of a fat lady, Rosette was certain she would never learn her way around the school. It didn't help that the staircases moved, either.

"Leo," the boy prefect said, and the lady nodded and the portrait swung open, revealing a doorway.

Climbing through the portrait-hole, Rosette found herself in a common room. At the end of the room, two staircases rose in opposite directions.

The prefect pointed at the staircase to the right. "That's the boy's dorm-" now he pointed to the left, "-and this one is the girl's. Boys can not visit girls."

"But they can visit us?" Ron complained.

The boy turned, a mischievous look creeping onto his face. "Try climbing up the staircase leading to the girl's dorm."

Ron nervously approached the staircase. After about six steps, the stairs flattened into a slide and he slipped and slid back down.

Everyone was laughing, and he jumped up to his feet, his ears a lovely shade of red.

"I'm Mason," the boy said after everyone stopped laughing. "I'm a fifth year. If you can't find me, Sabrina-" a blond-haired girl waved, "-is another prefect. Questions?"

You could hear a pin drop in the silence that followed.

"Okay, then everyone to bed!" Sabrina called in a light voice, hazel eyes glittering in the firelight that illuminated the room.

Rosette grabbed Hermione's arm and bounced up the stairs. "Why can we get to the boy's dorm, then?" Rosette wondered as they entered a room.

Hermione sat down on an unoccupied bed. "Back when Hogwarts was created, boys were considered to be less trustworthy than girls. They weren't allowed in each other's dorms, and there was the charm on the girl's stairs. The rules are a little more relaxed now, but the charm remains."

Rosette stared at her. "How on Earth did you know that?"

Hermione blushed. "I did some reading before I came to Hogwarts. It's in Hogwarts: a History."

Rosette threw herself onto the bed next to Hermione's. "This is going to be a great year!" she declared. And as she drifted off to sleep, she really hoped it was.