Disclaimer: Characters belong to J.K. Rowling. Sigh.

Chapter One

The sun shines brightly in my eyes, blinding me. I sit up on a soft bed, yellow and black surrounding me.

Honestly, my first thought was: wut.

This is...a Hufflepuff sleeping quarter. Aren't I in Gryffindor?

My head is spinning wildly, and I feel so...confused. We are in a war. Harry and Ron are dead. But somehow the Hufflepuff common room is still intact.

I rise up from the bed and look out the window. I take back what I said earlier...everything is intact...this is strange.

I go to the nearest mirror in the sleeping quarter and stare at my reflection. My usually frizzy hair is tied into a neat bun. My robes are Hufflepuff robes, not the red and gold I am used to seeing. Next to the bed there is a table. Pictures of my mum and dad are on it, as well as my wand. I grab the wand and slip it into my pocket.

I look around the room. The other beds are empty, I seem to be the only one here. However, I do hear voices outside. Excited voices.

I walk outside and see the whole common room crowded with babbling people. Susan Bones calls out "Hermione!" and beckons me over.

"So, are you excited or what?"

"Excited for what?"

She rolls her eyes. "The sorting test, duuhh," as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"The...sorting test?"

"Ha ha, very funny joke Hermione," Susan said sarcastically. "I'd be surprised if you haven't already memorized the whole library section on sorting tests and how they work or whatever. I'm almost positive you will choose Ravenclaw. Actually, I'm more like 98% sure….maybe 97% is better…" Susan rambles on and on.

Wait! The library! Of course! I smack my forehead. Stupid me. The library must have information about the history of Hogwarts, maybe I can figure out what happened.

Susan stares at me weirdly, raising her eyebrow. "Catching a fly?"

"What?"

"Why'd you smack your forehead?"

"Um, actually, I...gotta head out to the Hall. I'm just a little hungry. See you in a bit!"

I rush out the door before she asked any questions, speeding along the halls to the Library. I keep a lookout for anything different. Other than the magically reconstructed Hogwarts and me being in Hufflepuff...nothing is different. This... must be an alternate universe of some sort.

I finally reach the library and stopped in front of it. It feels so good seeing it again, after the war. The library was one of the first buildings destroyed, and I longed to go in and smell the smell of old parchment again. A Ravenclaw boy bumps into me, knocking me down.

"Outta my way, Squib!"

Squib? I'm not a squib! Or am I? According to Hogwarts, A History, squibs did not go to Hogwarts and were mostly home-schooled. I quickly cast a levitation spell on some books nearby. They levitated. I sighed in relief. But why was I called a Squib?

"I guess that's another question to be found in the library," I mumble to myself.

I enter the library and head straight towards the history section. Instantly, sudden urge to pick up the nearest book and read it pours over my body. Get yourself together, Hermione. I browse the section, and finally pick out a dusty book, about the thickness of my head.

"Hogwarts was founded around 990 A.D. by two wizards and two witches: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. They each represented an aspect of personality that they wanted to bring out in new students. There is no single headmaster for Hogwarts. Instead, Hogwarts adopted a system of representatives, one for each house. The current representatives are Severus Snape (Slytherin), Dolores Umbridge (Ravenclaw), Rita Skeeter (Hufflepuff), and Cornelius Fudge (Gryffindor).

"WHAT!" I shrieked.

People around me turned around and aggressively shushed me. Blushing from embarrassment, I stared at the passage. What about Dumbledore? My goodness, all these representatives are quite horrible aren't they? Ew.

"During every adolescent's sixth year, they will receive a sorting test, a simulation from a spell. This test will suggest which house the adolescent should remain in for the remainder of their life. Although students of Hogwarts have already been sorted in their first year, minds are proven to change as they grow older, therefore a second sorting process must take place. The week after the sorting test, there is a Sorting Ceremony, where the adolescent chooses which house they want to stay in. The sorting test does not choose for you, as many people are mistaken. The test merely suggests which to choose. There is no way to prepare for the test, nor can you share your results with other members."

So this is the sorting test Susan was talking about….huh.

I replace the book back to the shelf and walk out of the library, deep in thought. If I am in Hufflepuff now, there's no telling where Harry and Ron would be. Assuming they are still alive. And how the heck did I end up in Hufflepuff? Gryffindor and Ravenclaw might have been less of a surprise, but Hufflepuff? Might as well put Neville in Ravenclaw.

I walk back to the Common Room, tapping the barrel blocking the door in the rhythm "Hel-ga-Huf-fle-puff." I have no idea how I know this. The barrel opens up the cozy Hufflepuff common room, and I walk over to where Susan is sitting.

"Done eating?" she asks

"What? Oh! Yes, I'm stuffed now." I say as convincingly as possible.

"Ok cool! Hey, do you know where your brother is right now?"