Author's Note: Kevin Entwhistle, Stephan Cornfoot, and Ling Su (Who will be mentioned in this chapter), are on a list J.K. Rowling drew up of students in Harry's year. According to the list, they are in Ravenclaw. The list isn't considered canon, since some of the students listed don't appear in the books and others have name changes. However, I decided to use the boys' names for the purposes of the Sorting and added Ling Su's name so that there could be five girls in Ravenclaw. As for Hiedi Macavoy of Hufflepuff, I found her name on list of students in Hufflepuff on the Harry Potter Wiki. Apparently she was a chaser on the Hufflepuff team when Cedric was the captain. Thanks also goes to Shinigami, who reminded me about Tracey Davis, as I'd completely forgotten about her.

Dumbledore sat in his office, thinking over the Sorting. First, Alex Carrow, who came from a family that was into the Dark Arts and had a father suspected to be a Death Eater, had gone to Gryffindor. That had come as a surprise, though Dumbledore was pleased that Alex didn't seem to be like the rest of his family. Second, Diana Evans, Emily's cousin and a Muggleborn, had gone to Slytherin, where she would be ostracized for not being pureblood or even a halfblood. Third, Neville Longbottom, whom seemed more like Hufflepuff material based on what Dumbledore had heard from Augusta Longbottom, had ended up in Gryffindor. Well, that was not a problem at all, and being in Gryffindor would bring out the hidden bravery and abilities the boy possessed, especially once he got some self-confidence. Fourth, Emily Potter, whom everyone expected to be in Gryffindor like her parents, had ended up in Hufflepuff. Not that there was anything wrong with that house, but it was as unexpected as Ron Weasley being in Slytherin. There had never been a Weasley in Slytherin before, the majority of them in Gryffindor, with a few in Ravenclaw.

"What was the Hat thinking when it made those decisions?" Dumbledore muttered to himself. "And after announcing Slytherin, I expected Mr. Weasley to protest it. Instead, he just looks thoughtful and goes quietly off to sit next to Miss Evans." He stood up and placed the Sorting Hat on his head, intending to question it and get some answers.

It merely chuckled when it read Dumbledore's thoughts and concerns. "Don't worry, Albus, I have my reasons and they're good ones. Yes, Alexander Carrow is a good person and nothing like his family, but I won't say anything more. Student-Sorting Hat confidentiality, you know. Neville Longbottom was rather difficult to place at first, but in the end I decided not to go by the Hufflepuff personality he gives off."

But what about Emily Potter and her cousin Diana Evans? he asked silently. And Ronald Weasley?

"Hogwarts, especially Slytherin, needs some change. There are decent Slytherins, but there are so few of them that they haven't changed the bad reputation Slytherin has at all. Diana and Ronald can help change that. Again, I won't say anything more, because then I'd be revealing what exactly happened during the time I was Sorting them. As for Emily Potter, she could have been in Gryffindor. Or in Slytherin."

Dumbledore wasn't surprised that the Girl-Who-Lived could have been in Slytherin, for he suspected that when Voldemort tried to kill her, some of his powers transferred to her and therefore she would get some Slytherin qualities. That wasn't the point, though. Well, why did you decide to Sort her in Hufflepuff instead of Gryffindor or Slytherin? he asked.

"I didn't decide that," replied the Hat, surprised.

You mean she decided to be in Hufflepuff and asked you to place her there? Dumbledore asked, startled.

"I'm not answering that, Albus Dumbledore," said the Sorting Hat severely. "That would break student-Sorting Hat confidentiality. You know I never tell anyone else what I read or 'hear' in the minds of students when I Sort them."

Dumbledore sighed and placed the Sorting Hat back on the shelf it normally occupied. Since it said that it wasn't the one who decided to Sort Emily in Hufflepuff, the only answer was that she had wanted to be in that house. But why? He thought that Emily might want to be in Slytherin to be with her cousin, or else in Ravenclaw with her friend Hermione Granger, if she decided on a house other than Gyrffindor.

Down in his office in the Dungeons, Severus Snape stared at the jars of Potions ingredients on the wall, deep in thought. How did a Muggleborn and a Weasley end up in Slytherin? And the Muggleborn was Emily Potter's cousin, no less. Speaking of the Girl-who-lived, why did she end up in Hufflepuff? Not that there was anything wrong with that house, but Hufflepuffs were considered pushovers by many others and often overlooked. Well, other than the one that had graduated last year. On the other hand, Nymphadora Tonks was not a person you would overlook, considering her clumsiness and all the changes she made to her appearance due to her being a Metamorphmagus. Snape winced, recalling certain accidents that had occurred during his classes with her due to her clumsiness.

Snape sighed and turned back to his thoughts on Emily. Other than the glasses, the girl had looked exactly like Lily did at age eleven. The only thing she seemed to have inherited from blasted James Potter was the eyesight. And that wasn't much, since the glasses automatically attracted attention to her vivid emerald-green eyes.

Well, Snape simply couldn't bring himself to hate Emily, unless she acted completely like her father. But considering that she had been Sorted into Hufflepuff of all places, her nature would probably be more like her mother. Most Hufflepuffs were not arrogant or cruel people. He sighed a second time and decided to go bed and worry about all this when he actually had his first class with the first-year Hufflepuffs.

Diana bid Ron good-night and went up to her dorm room. Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bulstrode were shooting her nasty looks. "How did you end up here, Mudblood?" Pansy demanded. "Polluting our good house. You should have joined the idiotic Gryffindors and Alex Carrow should have come here."

Diana chose to not take offence at the insult and said calmly, "The Sorting Hat thought that I would be best suited for Slytherin. And might I remind you that I had an aunt and uncle who were witch and wizard, and that my cousin is Emily Potter? So I wouldn't consider myself to be a 'Mudblood'. As for Alex, he had no desire to be in this house. He doesn't think like you, and loathes what Slytherin represents. His true friends, like me, wouldn't think any differently of him if he were Slytherin, but the rest of the school would automatically assume that he's evil."

"You don't belong here!" snapped Millicent. "We are going to make your life miserable and you'll demand a resorting."

"Well, I'm not," declared Daphne Greengrass, a frown on her face. "I've had some very interesting talks with Alex for the past two years and he made some things quite clear. Such as Muggles are still human, and Muggleborns are no less witches and wizards than purebloods." She looked directly at Diana and held out a hand. "Would you like to be friends, Diana? Since you happen to be friends with Alex, and he's a much nicer person than Draco, Vincent, Gregory, and even that Theodore Nott, I'll take it that you are a good and trustworthy person."

Diana, much surprised, took Daphne's hand and shook it. The fifth Slytherin girl, Tracey Davis, looked thoughtful. While her family didn't care for Muggleborns or Muggles, they had remained neutral in the was against Voldemort. Because of that neutrality, pureblood families like the Malfoys and Carrows didn't often associate with them, other than at Ministry functions and holiday parties. That was why Alex had never mentioned Tracey Davis to his friends, for he had never spent much time around her.

"Well, what do you think, Tracey?" demanded Pansy. "Are you going to join Daphne and become friends with the Mudblood, or are you going to side with me and Millicent?"

Tracey was about to declare that she was remaining neutral, like her family had been during the war, but changed her mind. Daphne had a point, and the few times that she'd been with Alex, he had been nicer than the other boys present. "I think I'm siding with Daphne and Diana," said Tracey. She smiled at the shocked look on Pansy's face and went to stand next to Diana.

"How dare you!" shrieked Pansy when she'd recovered from her shock. "She's a Mudblood and doesn't belong here!"

"Don't call Diana that!" Daphne said sharply. "Or I'll tell the rest of the school that you used to wet the bed."

Diana stifled a giggle and Tracey said coolly, "And I'll be happy to turn you into the pug your face so resembles, Pansy. I'm quite good at Transfiguration. And Millicent, don't bother even speaking. Anything you can come up with will be a waste of breath, considering that you're only slightly more intelligent than Crabbe and Goyle. Now, good-night. I'm going to get to know Diana Evans better."

"Me too," added Daphne. "And it's not because she's related to the Girl-Who-Lived, either." She gave Pansy and Millicent glares, knowing that they were probably thinking that.

The two girls looked outraged, but there wasn't much they could do. In the end, they just went to bed. Diana talked quietly with Tracey and Daphne and them found to be very nice girls. Daphne was as smart as Alex said, and that was likely the reason why he had been able to talk her into seeing things his way concerning Muggles and Muggleborns. After an hour, the three girls went to bed and Diana made a note to introduce Tracey and Daphne to Emily and the rest of her friends. She drifted off to sleep, wondering how Ron had fared with the other boys.

Malfoy, and by extension Crabbe and Goyle, were not at all pleased that Ron was in Slytherin. Theodore Nott had decided to remain neutral and ignored Ron, which was better than the snide comments and glares Malfoy was making. Blaise Zabini, on the other hand, was quite friendly to Ron, and after one of Malfoy's comments, had snapped, "The Weasleys are a pureblood family, so why don't you just shut up and accept Ron being here? It's not as if he's Muggleborn."

"Speaking of Muggleborns, how did one end up in Slytherin?" retorted Malfoy. "I don't care if she's Emily Potter's cousin, she's still a Mudblood and doesn't belong in Slytherin."

Ron was about to yell at him over the word 'Mudblood', but Blaise said coldly, "Don't use that word, Draco, and Diana Evans is here is because the Sorting Hat put here her. It doesn't make mistakes, so I'm willing to accept her. You did say that Alex is friends with her, and since I've gotten a favourable impression of him from the few times I've met him, I'm inclined to like Diana and prehaps even be friends with her."

Since Blaise did not seem to share the same views on Muggles and Muggleborns like most Slytherins, Ron was inclined to like him and even consider him for friend. "I'm glad you think that way, Blaise."

Blaise turned and smiled at him. "I don't judge people by blood and heritage, only by what kind of person they are, Ron. And so far, Draco's shown himself to be a stuck-up, intolerant git and Crabbe and Goyle as two idiots who can't think for themselves and just follow him."

Ron returned the smile and the two boys went off to one side to talk some more. After half an hour, they ended the conversation and went to bed, for they were starting to feel sleepy.

In the Gryffindor dorm, Neville and Alex chatted a bit with Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, who were quite nice boys, before going to bed. In the Ravenclaw dorm, Hermione was doing the same with her dormmates. Padma Patil was a quite brilliant person, like Hermione, and had a passion for reading equal to hers and Emily. Lisa Turpin, Mandy Brocklehurst, and Ling Su weren't quite as brilliant, but they were still very intelligent and Hermione liked them, though not as much as she did with her best friends. Though she was quite willing to put Padma and Ling in that category if they continued to be the wonderful people they were.

After while, the five Ravenclaw girls went to bed, and Hermione wondered a bit at the fact that the six friends had gone to four different houses and if that would mean that there could be inter-house unity, since they weren't going to give up the friendship just because they were separated by house. She fell asleep still wondering.