A/N: Thank you to everyone who has been reading. This chapter length is hopefully going to be the normal length of a chapter from now on.

-RS

I blinked the sleep from my eyes and stared at the clock ticking away on my desk. I remember how my neck seemed like it had clicked into place when I lifted it that morning and how I had to fumble my robes onto my body and almost tumble down the stairs with all the luggage. "Geez either of you could have helped me."

My mother, Dolly and Luke, along with my younger brother, Marco, (he was nine at the time and so not quite old enough to be joining me that year) stared me up and down. I had a stereotypical "First Year look": Too much luggage, robes too big and new excitement in their eyes rimmed by dark circles made from staying up too late in the holidays reading textbooks. My brother shrugged, "I guess it's too funny to watch you struggle." Then he stabbed a piece of bacon with his knife and swallowed it whole, picking up the bits of fat and feeding them to Dolly who was perched on his shoulder. Her fur was the exact same colour as Jake's hair: sleek and black. That's probably why he's so good at Transfiguration. Jake nudged me lightly with his foot and opened his mouth to speak gently, "What house d'you think you're gonna be in? I mean... You must have given it some though, right? I just hope you're not in Ravenclaw," He grinned to let her know he was kidding, "You'll show me up in front of all my friends."

"Shut up!" I paused before properly answering his question, frantically searching for an answer they would want to hear. The entire family on my mum's side had always been Ravenclaw... Then Jake had been sorted into Ravenclaw. It felt like I betrayed them if I told them I didn't want to be there, I wanted to be different. I think, looking back at this answer, it might have been their first inkling that I wasn't like them and that their world would soon fall apart. "I guess it's the Sorting Hat's decision. So it doesn't matter what I want to be." Jake stole a slice of bread from my plate and I kicked him, a little harder than I wanted to but he acted like he didn't feel it. That was Jake. Jake all over. Always wanting to please and be nice to people, smiling at everyone like smiles didn't cost him anything. I flicked back to a week ago when he had ditched me for that girl in Florish and Blotts before quickly shaking the image out of my head. He was a fifth year. Of course he was going to be with girls his age, he was nearly sixteen for christ sake! Once again I was jolted back to the present by a soft hand brushing some loose hairs out of my face and lips squashed against my cheek. My mum smiled warmly and from that distance I could see her wrinkles around her mouth which became so defined when she smiled like somebody had drawn them on with a marker pen.

"Good luck, Leah."

The wall sucked him in and the last thing I saw was his thick hair disappear through the bricks. Marco stood behind me with a sly grin playing across his youthful face and, before I knew it, he had pushed me into the wall. Instantly the scene changed from a quiet modern station at King's Cross to a roaring platform with steam billowing into the air above my head. I felt warm and familiar hands on my back again and they were steering me over to the door of the brilliant red train. I didn't have the time nor attention to be mad at Marco anymore, I was just full of nerves and excitement. Mum kissed us goodbye, promising to see us again at Christmas whilst my terrible little brother stuck out his tongue playfully. The doors clattered shut a few seconds after we stepped onto the train and I was almost jolted forward by the sudden movement on the train. Jake was instantly hounded by his friends and... Girls who pulled him into a nearby carriage and shut the door. I shuffled along the train, searching for a seat so that I didn't get knocked over or stumble and embarrass myself before I even properly got to school.

There seemed to be an empty carriage which was a tremendous distance away from Jake's that I didn't even bother to count. I pushed the door open and, thankfully, slipped onto one of the seats. A small white ball of fluff curled up besides me too, the same size as Dolly except it was white. I never said what pet I got, did I? Matilda blinked up at me with wide black eyes before nudging my hand with her nose. Yeah, I got a cat. Matilda was the exact same shape and size and had a similar attitude to Dolly except she was white. They were like twins and I still can't get over how cute they looked together, like ying and yang.

As always, I had been daydreaming, gazing out of the window with emotionless eyes when my mind was elsewhere. Then, all of a sudden, I heard a small grunt and a shadow fell over my body along with crashes and loud grunts above my head. I blinked my blurred eyes and stared upwards, ready to question the person - or, rather, the thing which made the noises. Then the body flopped down onto the seat next to me, clearly finished with its loud task. "Hey. Sorry, the carriage isn't taken, is it?" I shook my head at his question, "Ah right. My friends'll be coming in soon too." The boy next to me looked like a fourth year at least, his arms and general build was that of a Beater's and his hair was some light shade of strawberry blonde. His eyes were grey, like my own and held something deeper than he probably would have liked to admit.

A much smaller girl was pressed up against the door of our carriage and crashed through it almost, two hard leathered suitcases nearly came falling down on her if it wasn't for the fourth year boy who grunted and caught them with just one hand. "Geez, Terin. Why do you two have such heavy suitcases... And why the heck have you made Lottie drag them up here?" A blonde second year appeared in the carriage and rubbed the back of his floppy blonde hair, embarrassed but smiling and apologised, helping the other boy pick up the luggage and help the small girl, supposedly called Lottie, up. Terin's brother then appeared next to the trio and I finally appreciated just how much he looked like his older brother, the only real difference was their size, eye colour and their shape face. Terin's face had a longer, oval face shape than his brother who had a circular face. And Terin's eyes were blue, while the younger brother's were brown.

"Hey again, clumsy."

All four of them were stood up now, looking at me as Terin waved and did a genuine smile. He was far too happy-go-lucky to be in Slytherin. "Oh yeah, none of you know each other. Guys, this is Leah, she's a first year so don't scare her off," He jokingly glared at the strawberry blonde boy, "And Leah these are Lottie, Kyle and, my brother who you've already met, Levi." Lottie smiled warmly. Kyle waved and quickly winked so Terin wouldn't see. Levi stared at me with cold eyes. The train screeched around a turn and Lottie almost fell on Matilda's tail. All of us (I say all of us, Levi didn't) laughed and agreed to sit down. Terin sat across from me, Levi next to him while Kyle sat next to me with Lottie on his right side. Matilda leapt up as soon as Kyle looked like he would be sitting next to me and settled herself down on the overhead rack with the suitcases. We all made some small talk for a while, learning about each others interests until the discussion turned into something which was more like a discussion between old friends. They made me feel like old friends. Levi didn't talk much, answering things he was asked and trying to look as cold as possible. How was he Terin's brother... Anyway, during the train journey I found out that Terin's friends were in fact his age despite Lottie looking like a first year and Kyle looking like a fourth year. I also found out that Lottie was a Hufflepuff and that Kyle was, like Terin, a Slytherin. I found it strange that these two Slytherins were so warm and kind to everyone, that was probably why they had lots of friends (even in the other houses). Groups of second years would walk past and almost all of them gave Terin, Kyle and Lottie warm smiles and greetings.

"So you two," Lottie leaned over to ask myself and Levi, "What house do you expect you'll be in?"

"Slytherin," Levi answered immediately and settled back down, resuming his private daydream. But I took longer and just decided to make the easiest lie I could.

"Ravenclaw I guess, like my brother."

Kyle snorted a little when I added the last bit of my answer and Terin kicked him. The boy pretended not to notice, "You'll still hang out with us though? And not get all uptight with your new Ravenclaw buddies."

I laughed it off, "Nah, you're all unforgettable." It wasn't a lie, they were a pretty strange but relatively (I say this in regards to Levi, he's not really an anything) welcoming to me and I didn't think I would ever want to have any other friends. A small tap at the carriage door halted our laughing and a small woman poked her head through.

"Anything from the trolley?" Terin grinned at her and pressed some galleons into the palm of her hand before tentatively picking some of the sweets from the cluttered trolley. When he had flopped back down onto his train seat he shared some of the sweets around. I tried to protest. He had bought them himself after all and I hated to take money from people (I was far too forgetful to pay it back).

"I got them for us all. Take one, clumsy," I reached out to pick a Chocolate Frog and Terin withdrew his hand after I picked it. I glanced up from opening the deep purple packet to see him throwing a bag of sweets to Levi who caught them instantly with his left hand without even flinching or drawing his eyes away from the tree line.

After the train screeched into Hogwarts' station I was separated from the people I had been talking to by a rush of first years and the surge of the crowd pouring out of the trains. Before I knew it the crowd had halted and gasps went up as people at the back of the crowd strained their next to see. People were cut off from the crowd in drips and drabs and I could finally see why: they were getting onto boats, six at a time, across a wide lake in order to get to the castle. The castle! I nearly tripped over a boat because I was looking at the castle so much. Its tall, skinny, small, fat, thick and twisted towers and spires. Its amazing structure. I wanted to take it all in, brick by brick, tower by tower, classroom by classroom. I felt a small hand tap my shoulder and I creaked my head round, slowly as I was still in awe of the magnificent structure before me. Levi was the person behind that tap and looked pretty... Scared. I realised that this was the first time I had seen him without his brother by his side. Poor kid must have been going through withdrawal problems. I was used to being away from my brother though. He was a bot of a free spirit and would just run off without me from time to time. Let us take the antics of Diagon Alley as an example. Gosh, I was still hung up on that.

Our boat clattered to a stop at the bank and we rushed out, almost running up to the main entrance of the castle. Levi kept as close to me as he could do during this walking journey. When he was like that he was a lot less threatening. "Welcome first years... To Hogwarts! Now... In just a few minutes we will be walking into the Great Hall where you shall be sorted into a certain house depending on the Sorting Hat's choice. Remember that every house has is great in its own way and you shall soon grow to love it," I stood on my tiptoes to see a tall woman with cropped black hair and freckles dotted on her face. She must have been very young but still was able to be a Deputy Headmaster. The professor continued, "I do believe everyone is ready for you now. I shall call names alphabetically and, when you hear your name, you will come to the front, be sorted and then sit down at the table of your respective house. Everything clear? Good, good." She turned and pushed open the golden doors and suddenly we were being gushed forward by cheers and music blasting out at every angle. I noticed that we were already in alphabetical order and in a single file line. While I wondered how that happened the first years in front of me were quickly sorted through.

I turned my attention back to the sortings though. Blaze Godfrey, Gryffindor. Three Hufflepuffs. A Ravenclaw. Another Gryffindor. Two Slytherins. Another Ravenclaw. Kieran Durrell, a long pause until finally the hat's voice rang out: Slytherin. I counted down the three students left in front of me: Gryffindor, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw.

"Leah Cartwell." I took and deep breath and felt Levi's hand pat me on the back and nudge me forward. There was a crooked old chair and I settled down on it, gazing around the crowd as the hat was placed onto my head. I could see Terin waving and, on another table, Luke's face smile at me. Lottie and Kyle were somewhere I couldn't see but almost everyone's eyes were my way, some on the edge of their seats, others not really caring any more. "Hmm..." The hat's voice was a whisper, "This one is tricky. Inquisitive... Ravenclaw? No... Something else? Shall we put you in Hufflepuff maybe? You could thrive there, make friends, be at peace- oh... Oh. What is that? Hmm tricky. We could put you into those two houses. You're not a showboat though so Gryffindor is a no-no for you." I had heard of something called a hat stall where the Sorting Hat was at a loss for what house a student should be in and took a long time to figure it out. His (I was guessing the hat was a he) was stuck for a while, muttering to himself. Until I finally heard: "Is that a desire for intelligence or a desire for love? No, I know. You have an inquisitive mind indeed... But it is a different type of inquisitiveness... Ah, yes... SLYTHERIN!"

My heart seemed to sink. The hat was pulled off my head and cheers went up from the emerald green table. I stumbled over to them, not looking to the Ravenclaw table at all in case I saw my brother's face. I quietly searched for a seat and found one opposite a strawberry blonde boy and a few first year girls. The boy kicked me and I looked up. Kyle winked and laughed. It seemed I had found Kyle. Levi was up next though, straight after me. The Sorting Hat didn't take much time with him though, "Slytherin." He instantly found a seat next to me and started to poke through some food, clearly not shocked at the hat's decision.

A small smirk danced across Levi's lips and he cut open some type of meat before saying to me: "I told you... Slytherin, heh."