A/N: Thank you for the continuous support! It means more than you know. And thank you for being patient. I had a lot of trouble with this chapter. I'm not sure why, but it just didn't seem to work.

Ps. At the end of this chapter I've provided a list of all of the first year students. I'm not sure I'll use all of them in the story, but I just wanted to write them out anyway. I chose eight students per house, which I think should be acceptable. I know in Harry's year there were ten, but eight made more sense to me given the circumstances. I'm sure you'll recognise some of the names. If you know only part of it, that means I created the other part and that person, most likely, is quite random.

Pps. I do not own anything you recognise.

Chapter 7 – The Sorting

During the boat ride Hermione was sitting next to Marlene, while Snape sat in front with Lily. Although they all seemed to be in good spirits, Hermione noticed that something was off. Lily was avoiding her yet again. But it was different kind of avoidance than before. Hermione didn't see anger in her sister's face, more like… regret? Was it possible that Lily felt guilty? She considered just asking her sister for explanation, but at that moment Marlene mentioned her last name was McKinnon and that made Hermione give her full attention to the girl. She instantly remembered that name; it was written on the Photograph of the original Order of the Phoenix that Harry always had nearby. After taking a closer look at the girl, Hermione saw the same features, she once saw in that photograph. Sure, her wavy, dirty-blond hair that reached her shoulders, heart shaped face, button nose, and pale skin could apply to quite a few wizarding families, but there was no doubt it was her.

So this is the girl that Voldemort felt the need to kill personally? Intersting. I wonder why… Was she too smart or powerful? Or maybe she just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?

After much thought, Hermione decided to try and befriend the girl. Based on a rather short exchange that the girls had, Marlene was quite intelligent. Moreover, she seemed kind and friendly. Plus, Hermione knew that she would fight on the light side. There was a possibility all that could change now that she was in this time, but it seemed unlikely.

"Guys, look!" Marlene all but shouted. "We're nearly there!"

Sure enough, the castle came into view and the excited murmurs could be heard all around.

The excitement was well-founded, of course. Hogwarts looked even better than Hermione remembered, which might have been due to the fact that the sky was clear and full of starts. Not to mention the moonlight that somehow only lighted the castle and did it in the most magical way. Moreover, the cliff on which the castle stood was simply magnificent. The sharpness and enormousness made it frightening, yet also made you feel safe and protected at the same time. Extraordinary.

Hermione could understand why first years were always put into boats. The view from the lake was much more awe-inspiring than the one from the carriages. It worked well as a way to form great first impressions. The sight made you want to get to the castle as soon as possible; to the point of considering swimming there because the boats were too slow. Thankfully, the ride was almost over.

Before they could recover from everything they've just experienced, they reached the castle and just like that were greeted and left in the waiting chamber by Professor McGonagall (who gave the same speech about houses becoming their family as she did in Hermione's first year last time around).

While they waited, Hermione could hear most of the students chatting about what they thought the sorting ceremony would entail. Some knew exactly what to expect, while others were freaking out, trying to remember all of the spells they knew. Reminds me of the good old days. Maybe I should help them out.

Before Hermione could ease their suffering, however, Professor McGonagall returned and led them through the great hall, which was lit by floating candles and looked even more wonderful because of the enchanted ceiling, portraying the night sky.

Hermione was as impressed as the others, if not more. Not because she didn't expect it, but because she almost forgot how stunning her old alma mater could look. What made it even more spectacular and welcoming was the fact that it was filled with excited, carefree students (even though Hermione knew they probably were silently judging her and all the others) and even more eager ghosts (which seemed to be having the time of their lives just chatting with everyone). Hermione was on a verge of tears; it looked perfect. Let's try and keep it that way.

She didn't get to admire the scenery for long, because once they stopped walking, the Sorting Hat (which nobody even realized was on the stool in front of them) started its song.

Hello to all, how have you been?

Do you know who is talking?

'Tis I, the greatest Hat of all,

I'm here to do the Sorting.

There are four different houses here,

In our Hogwarts vast.

Since you will be a part of one,

Let me describe them fast.

Maybe Gryffindor's your home,

Where bravery is praised.

Where the amount of honour, nerve, and justice,

Can leave you slightly dazed.

Or maybe Ravenclaw's for you,

Where all are smart and witty.

If you are original and full of wisdom,

Not to join would be a pity.

Let's not forget dear Slytherin,

Where ambition shows its face.

For the resourceful, cunning, motivated,

There is no better place.

And then there's old good Hufflepuff;

It's them whom you can trust.

If you are loyal, kind, and dedicated,

It will be easy to adjust.

So here we are, about to start,

Do you feel prepared?

Don't worry, child, for I am here,

Please don't look so scared.

I'll look into your mind real quick,

And see where you belong.

So take a deep breath and put me on your head,

It's not going to take that long.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," Professor McGonagall said holding a long roll of parchment as soon as the hall finished applauding the hat. "Abbot, Julia," she started.

A nice looking blond girl, who reminded Hermione of her old classmate (Probably Hannah's aunt or something) stepped forward and took a seat. After about a minute the hat shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF!" and so the sorting began.

When Sirius was sorted into Gryffindor, Hermione almost laughed. The whole Slytherin table was in shock, with their mouths hanging open. Not that the other houses weren't surprised, but they got over it quite quickly. Slytherin, on the other hand, just seemed to be unable to process the news. They probably couldn't wait to get another Black into their ranks. There seemed to be one girl, however, who looked sort of happy about this whole situation. She looked much older than them, had black curly hair and was rather pleasing to the eye. At first Hermione thought it was Bellatrix, but upon further inspection she came to the conclusion that it was actually Andromeda Black, soon to be Tonks. Her eyes looked just too kind to belong to her deranged sister. Well that, and the fact that according to Hermione's calculations, Bellatrix should have graduated a few years ago. Thank Merlin for that!

"'Mione?" Lily disrupted Hermione's inspection of the Slytherin table. "Do you think we're going to get sorted into the same house?" She questioned quietly while the hat sorted Amanda Brocklehurst into Ravenclaw.

"I don't know, Lils," Hermione took her hand. "Siblings are usually sorted into the same house, but even if we're not, it's not going to change anything, alright? We will be fine, Lily. Trust me," she looked her in the eyes and smiled.

"I know we will," Lily smiled in return and seemed content for a second before a guilty expression appeared on her face. "I'm really sorry, 'Mione; for everything."

"Me too," Hermione sighed and continued. "Don't worry about it. We both said some things we didn't really mean. It happens," she shrugged. "For now let's forget about it and enjoy the ceremony. We will talk it over later, okay?" She questioned.

"Okay," Lily nodded and squeezed Hermione's hand. It was that particular gesture rather than the words that made Hermione sure everything between them would get back to normal. Sure, they still would have to talk about it and sort everything out, but Hermione knew that no matter what happened, they would be fine.

"Evans, Hermione," Professor finally reached her name. Here we go. She took a deep breath as the hat suggested and put on her Occlumency shields. She only hid her old memories so the hat would have something to work with.

As soon as she sat down, Mrs. McGonagall put the hat on her head, which covered half of Hermione's face.

"Hmm, what do we have here?" The hat started its evaluation straight away. "Interesting mixture. Motivated, definitely cunning… Not really set on self preservation though, are we? Hmm, maybe not Slytherin. But where to put you? Definitely intelligent, Ravenclaw , maybe? Wouldn't be a bad choice, but… Loyal, kind, dedicated… Hmm, Hufflepuff ? Courageous as well, undeniably well developed moral system, great sense of justice. Gryffindor seems to be a perfect match! But what is this? Oh… Wow. Well lookie here. Merlin's protégé, aren't ya? Should be fun," the hat continued playfully while Hermione almost fell from the chair. "You know I've sorted him as well. Funny little fellow, impressively intelligent, resourceful beyond belief. Come to think about it, a bit like yourself, don't you think? Maybe we should reconsider Slytherin?" It questioned not sensing Hermione's discomfort.

"How.. How did you break through my shields?! That should be next to impossible!" Hermione started panicking. She was practicing for so long, she considered herself an expert. If she couldn't defend herself against a hat, how was she supposed to protect herself against Voldemort? Or Dumbledore, for that matter?

"What shields? Oh, the mind thingy you were doing?" The hat questioned. "Strong one, I'll admit, but those things don't work on me. I'm a hat, girl. Your shields are against other minds invading your own. I don't have the same mind you do. My analysis works in a different way. It's pure magic," he finished proudly.

"Oh," Hermione felt stupid. She should have known that. Then again, was there a way to protect your mind against a hat? "Are you going to tell Dumbledore why I am here?" She asked hoping the hat would keep her secret. Hermione really didn't want the headmaster to learn about her mission. Not yet, anyway.

"Even if I wanted to, I couldn't," the hat reassured her. "I can see your deepest desires, fondest memories, and greatest ideas, but I cannot discuss them with anyone. I was created that way. Gryffindor knew what he was doing, he didn't want to break the trust. I'm proud to keep students' secrets safe with me, although I have to admit it's a great burden."

"Thank you," Hermione was finally able to relax.

"You're welcome. But we have more important things to worry about now. Like where to put you?"

"Gryffindor, of course; it's where I belong," Hermione answered boldly.

"That's true," the hat agreed. "I see a lot of different qualities in you, but you're right; you're Gryffindor through and through. Is it the best house for your plan though?" It questioned. "You have a lot of different qualities. I wouldn't be opposed to putting you in any of the four houses, if you asked for it."

"I can make Gryffindor work," Hermione said confidently. She thought about that a lot. To be honest, Slytherin was better theoretically, but as a muggleborn, Hermione would probably have to deal with way too many issues within the house. She really didn't have time for that and Gryffindor was a safe choice already.

"If you say so. Alright, let's not prolong this then. Better be-" The hat was about to shout out.

"Wait!" Hermione interrupted. "You've seen my thoughts; you know what some of these people will do in the future. Don't you think you should reconsider their houses? Peter Pettigrew does not belong in Gryffindor. I'm sure you can agree."

"I can neither agree nor disagree,"the hat answered. "If I've sorted him into Gryffindor before, that means he has the required qualities to be there. There is always a reason people are sorted into a specific house. Maybe you could help Peter find his way?" The hat finished suggestively.

"I don't want to," came Hermione's clever response. "What I meant was… I don't know how. He betrayed his best friends. I don't understand why someone would do a thing like that in the first place. How can I help someone whose actions are beyond me?"

"Maybe his actions were circumstantial or influenced by emotions? I can see from your memories that he was never truly appreciated," the hat suggested.

"Maybe he wasn't. But that isn't really a good enough reason for his actions. Plus, he was still included in their group. His friends helped him to become animagus, for crying out loud!" Hermione nearly shouted in her mind. "Do you know how much time they've probably spent just helping that little rat? Maybe the Marauders weren't the nicest people in school, but Peter was still one of them," she continued her rant.

"Be that as it may, there still has to be a reason he was sorted into Gryffindor. I know for a fact that you've thought about that too," the hat stated.

"You're right, I have thought about that. And I came to a conclusion that you've simply used a process of elimination," Hermione said almost angrily.

"Process of elimination?" The hat sounded confused.

"Think about it," Hermione started, "Peter is not kind or loyal, so Hufflepuff is a no-no. He's also not highly intelligent or creative, and definitely not original. That's why Ravenclaw doesn't work either. He isn't fit to be a leader; he's not cunning or ambitious… Slytherin is out, right? What is left? Gryffindor," she continued in her know-it-all voice. "If I were you, however, I would still sort him into Slytherin. Peter cared about self-preservation more than any other person I've ever met. Since it's a dominant quality, Slytherin should be the one, not Gryffindor."

"Interesting theory, seems probable," the hat admitted. "But I do not use your proposed 'process of elimination'. Quite the opposite, actually. I find the traits within the person, determine the strongest ones and choose the house," it continued. "So if you say that Peter had notable self-preservation trait, that suggests he also had even stronger Gryffindor related quality; or qualities, in fact. Therefore, I stand by my decision. It's up to you whether you try to help him find those or not. Maybe he will figure it out all on his own sooner this time," the hat finished authoritatively.

"There is no way I could change your mind, is there?" Hermione tried one last time even though she knew the hat was probably right.

"I'm afraid not," the hat answered. "I see what I see. And what I see, I then evaluate and sort. Speaking of which… GRYFFINDOR!" The hat shouted loudly into the hall.

"Without even a goodbye?" Hermione questioned sarcastically, but failed to get a response. It seemed the hat was done with her.

She took it off and heard a loud applause from the Gryffindor table. Hermione smiled. She couldn't wait to be reunited with her old house.

She noticed Sirius and went to sit beside him, while Lily took her spot on the chair.

"Truce?" Hermione questioned while holding out her hand.

Sirius looked a few times between her and her hand suspiciously, sighed, and shook her hand. Once.

"Fine," he murmured, which was enough to make Hermione smile. She looked back to her sister, waiting for the hat's decision.

"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat announced and Hermione started clapping eagerly with the rest of the house as Lily came to sit next to her (not before sending Snape an apologetic look).

"Congratulations!" Hermione hugged her sister. "I'm so happy we can continue to be roommates."

"Me too!" Lily laughed, but soon frowned. "Do you think Severus will get into Gryffindor too?" She questioned.

Hermione almost snorted. As if!

"Why would you want Snivellus in our house anyway?" Sirius asked smugly leaning over Hermione, not giving her a chance to answer.

Lily glared at him while Hermione just rolled her eyes. Boys.

"Drop it, Sirius," she warned him and turned to her sister. "I think Severus is really set on Slytherin, Lils. It doesn't matter, though; you can still be friends even if you're in different houses," Hermione reassured her sister.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Lily nodded still shooting daggers at Sirius.

"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat shouted once more and they all turned to see a happy looking Remus Lupin coming their way.

Hermione didn't even have time to congratulate him properly as the hat sorted Mary Macdonald, slightly taller dark-haired girl with chubby cheeks, into their house. What was even more hilarious for everyone present was that before the cheers even died down, Marlene was sorted into Gryffindor as well.

When Peter was sorted into their house, however, Hermione had to hold out a groan. She knew it was probably going to happen, but she still had hope. It's fine. I'll find away to deal with him.

After that incident, everything went quite smoothly. James was sorted into Gryffindor, as expected, and she could guess where most of the students would be put based on their surnames. To her dismay, Leo was sorted into Ravenclaw. She knew they could still be friends like Lily and Snape (who got sorted into Slytherin), but still couldn't help but feel sad.

The highlight of the sorting (for Hermione, at least), was when McGonagall called Sybill Trelawney to sit on the chair. Hermione had to force herself not to bang her head onto the table at that one. Are you kidding me right now? I cannot believe I'm going to be forced to take classes with that charlatan. If she so much as predicts rain in my future, I swear I'm going to curse her ass to the next century!

Because of her rant, Hermione didn't even notice when the sorting was done and Dumbledore stood up to give a speech. Even though the man was slightly manipulative and she had mixed feelings towards him, Hermione couldn't argue that he knew his way around words. The speech was to the point, not too long, with quite a few hilarious and meaningless phrases to keep everyone entertained. He mentioned the forbidden forest, cautioning the students to stay away, introduced the new teacher (DADA, naturally), and reminded them about Filch's demands.

"One more thing, before we start our feast," the man continued. "This year we are also very delighted to inform you that we planted a Whomping Willow on the grounds. It is a very remarkable, yet extremely dangerous magical plant. We would like to warn you to only admire it from afar; that is if you value your lives, of course," he added chuckling. How is that even funny?

Hermione couldn't stop herself from glancing at Remus, if only just for a second. Poor boy.

After the feast (in which she got to know her fellow students and had a great time), Hermione found herself in her four poster bed talking to Lily, while their other two roommates slept soundly on the other side of the room.

"I thought it wasn't that bad, but after all the things Petunia said to me today… You were right," her sister's voice started to break. "I shouldn't have done it and I definitely shouldn't have said anything to Petunia about it. To be honest, I have no idea why I did that. Everything just happened so fast, I was so angry," Lily continued. "And then I took it out on you… I'm so sorry, sis. I was so stupid."

"We were both stupid, Lily, don't worry about it," Hermione smiled at her. "What about the other thing, though? You know… about Severus?" She questioned carefully.

"I thought about that too," Lily frowned. "I know he can be a handful sometimes and I'm sorry for trying to make you two friends, even thought you clearly don't get along that well, but… He's still my friend, 'Mione. I'm not trying to blame it on anyone, but this summer Petunia got so resentful and you became somewhat distant," she tried to make Hermione understand. "I spent a lot of time alone with him and he shared some stuff… We got closer. Not as close as you and I, of course, but still. I don't expect you to be happy about our friendship or join in, just please accept it. He has some issues at home and I think he's just lost," she looked at the ground.

"You think you can save him?" Hermione asked skeptically.

"I'm not sure," her sister looked doubtful. "But he needs friends. He needs someone to care about him, to help him open up more and to everyone."

"Okay, fine," Hermione sighed. "But if he hurts you or does anything stupid, I reserve the right to punch him in the face. Multiple times," she tried to lighten up the mood.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from my twin," Lily chuckled and then added, "Thank you, 'Mione. Thank you for understanding. It means a lot. I love you, sis," she gave Hermione a hug and went to her own bed.

It seemed like their argument was finally over and everything was settled. Hermione could only hope that her influence would allow Lily's hopes to come true this time around.

A/N: We are finally at Hogwarts! Took me ages, didn't it? Do not worry, my awesome readers, the storyline will go faster from now on. Next chapter will be about her training, research, and some of the classes (flying included). Anyhow… Thank you for reading! Please don't make fun of the hat's song too much. It was probably the third time in my life I've tried to rhyme. I didn't do it because I think I'm awesome at it; I did it because it seemed like a lot of fun (which it was). Thanks for understanding. I love you all!

First years:

Julia Abbott (Hufflepuff), Edmond Avery (Slytherin), Sirius Black (Gryffindor), Edgar Bones (Hufflepuff), Amanda Brocklehurst (Ravenclaw), Victoria Burke (Slytherin), Alecto Carrow (Slytherin), Greta Catchlove (Hufflepuff), Caradoc Dearborn (Ravenclaw), Hermione Evans (Gryffindor), Lily Evans (Gryffindor), Benjy Fenwick (Hufflepuff), Matthew Greengrass (Slytherin), Pandora Hilliard (Ravenclaw), Xenophilius Lovegood (Ravenclaw), Remus Lupin (Gryffindor), Mary Macdonald (Gryffindor), Marlene McKinnon (Gryffindor), Dorcas Meadowes (Ravenclaw), Alexander Mulciber (Slytherin), Arietta Nott (Slytherin), Adrian Perks (Hufflepuff), Peter Pettigrew (Gryffindor), James Potter (Gryffindor), Leo Prewett (Ravenclaw), Gawain Robards (Hufflepuff), Nora Selwyn (Slytherin), Severus Snape (Slytherin), Harper Smith (Hufflepuff), George Stebbins (Ravenclaw), Sybill Trelawney (Ravenclaw), Emmeline Vance (Hufflepuff).

Honorable mentions:

Gryffindor: Frank Longbottom (Year 5), Alice Cornhill (Year 4), Fabian and Gideon Prewett (Year 5). Slytherin: Narcissa Black (Year 5), Lucius Malfoy (Year 6), Amycus Carrow (Year 6) Andromeda Black (Year 7). Hufflepuff: Edward Tonks (year 7)