The Sorting

Four dark oak tables were the most striking thing about the Great Hall, and from a brief glance, Gracie guessed that the sturdy tables were probably just as old as the grand setting they found themselves in. Living up to its status as the 'great' hall, Gracie, again, was struck by the beautiful gothic architecture of the place, and how a vast stone clad room could be surprisingly warm. Perhaps it was the students she reasoned, as she curiously met the glances and eyes of a few, their youthful exuberance and joy to be back with their friends creating the pleasant atmosphere Gracie found herself in. She then allowed herself to look away from the hoards of students craning to get a look at the schools newest additions, and looked up instead to see exactly how tall the Great Hall actually was,

'It's enchanted' Lily said when she heard Gracie gasp, 'See, it looks exactly like the sky outside, I remember my Mum telling me all about it one time.' Leaning in she whispered, 'Sometimes, if you're really lucky, you can even see a shooting star or comet!' Looking even more feverishly up into rafters at the spectacular arrangement of the stars and planets, Gracie walked right into the back of the person in front of her, realising that they had arrived at the front of the Great Hall. Sitting in front of them were who Gracie could only assume to be the teachers, so was their age and air of demanded respect they gave.

Before Gracie could properly look at any of the teachers however, Professor Luverage appeared with a hat commandeering her attention. The hat looked exactly like how Gracie thought Wizard hats would look, like a bent over cone, patched and frayed, its dirt and dust giving it an elemental quality. Placing the hat on a stool that materialised in front of them, the professor's all leaned in expectantly and so the first years similarly focused on the hat, all feeling a little foolish to be looking so intently at an old hat. Gracie blinked. The hat had moved! It had wriggled, and seemingly sighed. And then it did the unexpected. It started to sing!

As Gracie listening enraptured to the sorting hat's song, she felt the gaze of another bear down on her. Turning her head slightly, she caught the hurt gaze of Helena who at seeing Gracie's eyes, quickly looked away. The moment Helena's head fell; Gracie instantly experienced a panicked yet remorseful feeling which quickly occupied her mindset. She found herself unable to look at anyone, especially Helena, and had to let go of Lily's hand because hers became damp with sweat.

'Are you alright?' Lily whispered as the hat bowed to the thunderous applause that met the end of its song, 'It's alright to be nervous you know.' Gracie shook her head and whispered back,

'I feel really, really horrible. Kinda, well, guilty. Andit's because-'

'Tell me later' Lily urged flicking her head towards the stool where the hat sat, 'It's about to start.' But the feeling didn't dissipate, if anything Gracie's guilt and nervousness grew and grew as each passing peer was sorted, with the culmination being when Helena was sorted into Gryffindor and the triumphant look she wore as she walked proudly off to the cheering table of red and yellow.

'Dursley, Gracie' Professor Luverage called, peering at the crowd of first years as Gracie stumbled forwards towards the stool. Taking a deep breath as the hat slid over her long red hair, she thought of Lily and the Potters, and how they had told her it was not a harrowing experience and to just relax.

'They are not wrong' a voice whispered in her ear causing Gracie to jump, 'Do not panic. I am merely sifting through your mind in order to sort you into the most appropriate house.' Feeling highly uncomfortable at the thought of a hat invading her mind, Gracie sat as still as possible, trying to think of something other than the hat delving into the nooks and crannies of her mind. As the Hat continued to search, Gracie wondered what it was looking for exactly, to which the Hat answered,

'Many things' There was a brief pause as Gracie vividly remembered picking up her Hogwarts letter, which the Hat watched with interest before continuing,

'If you're a Ravenclaw intelligence and a want to pursue knowledge and share knowledge would be strong, which it is in you to a degree. If you're a Hufflepuff faithfulness, caring and a willingness to work hard would be prominent, which you do posses, again, to a degree.' The hat's voice dropped lower, 'And if you're a Slytherin, self preservation and ambition are the most outward attributes displayed. But a true Slytherin, also possesses courage,'

I thought Gryffindor where known for bravery and courage, Gracie thought as the hat tutted,

'Yes Gryffinor's certainly are renowned for their bravery and courage, that of which is generally outlandish and noticeable, reckless even at times. Slytherin courage is somewhat different. Quieter certainly, an ability to face the past, own up to a mistake.' He sighed, 'Only displayed by the best of them unfortunately'

Listening to Gracie's thoughts of Slytherin's, the Hat chuckled before answering,

'Yes, Slytherin does to a degree have a somewhat questionable reputation, but they are as finer house as any. And you misunderstood me, I never said Gryffindor courage was bad, merely it's different to Slytherin's, and just as necessary.' A pause followed, 'A Gryffindor can be a mix of things, but generally they're brave, selfless and incredibly loyal and just. Qualities you do posses.'

Well can I be a Gryffindor then? Gracie wondered. A pause followed this thought, before the Hat carefully replied,

'A Gryffindor? Are you sure, I think you're more suited to Slytherin. Oh there's no doubt that you would excel in either houses, but your ancestors have all thrived in Slytherin in years past. No? If you're sure, better be GRYFFINDOR.' With relief, Gracie handed the hat back to Professor Luverage and ran happily over to the Gryffindor table, where she could hear the Potter boys yelling,

'WE KNEW YOU HAD IT IN YOU LUMPY!' When Gracie reached the table though, her smile faltered as she saw Helena talking intently to three other girls who upon spotting Gracie exchanged uncertain looks. Deciding there was nothing else for it; Gracie sat down next to a girl with white blond hair and blue crystal eyes, and with a smile and a nod turned around to watch the rest of the sorting. She found it was progressing much quicker now that she had been placed, with Lily's turn coming around quicker than she expected.

'Well one thing's certain, she won't be a Gryffindor' a brown haired girl with sparkling hazel eyes said, playing absentmindedly with the goblet in front of her. The strawberry blonde haired girl with the most unusual gray eyes Gracie had ever seen, sitting across from the brunette leaned forward at this,

'Are you kidding? That's Lily Potter, Harry Potter's daughter. Of course she'll be in Gryffindor, and if not, well, all hell will break loose.' The brunette shook her head,

'But look, there's five of us here. Me, you, Marie, Helena and, sorry what's your name?' She asked addressing Gracie,

'Oh, Gracie Dursley'

'Right, so me, you, Marie, Helena and Gracie, that's five. And weren't you telling me earlier that Hogwarts only have dorms of five?'

'Surely they could include an extra bed if they needed to,' Gracie piped, hoping that by asking the hat to be in Gryffindor she hadn't compromised Lily's place in the house. The strawberry blonde girl shrugged,

'I don't know, maybe.' With a scrutinising gaze she offered a hand, 'Sophie Belby' Gracie grinned and happily shook Sophie's hand as the brunette also offered her hand,

'Hey Gracie, my name's Elizabeth, but Beth or Lizzy or Libby or Eliza or Bette or Ellie is fine by me, whatever floats your boat.'

'You could have a different nick name for every day of the week with a name like Elizabeth' Gracie laughed as she accepted a rather enthusiastic hand shake from Elizabeth.

'And Marie Carmichael is my name' the tiny white blond haired girl said in a strangely deep voice as she shook Gracie's hand.

'Aw, it's great to meet you all.' Gracie thanked sincerely, her eyes flickering briefly over to Helena who was staring intently at her napkin, as the Sorting Hat reached its decision,

'HUFFLEPUFF' it roared, as the Hufflepuff table erupted into cheers and enthusiastic applause whilst the rest of the school feebly clapped, to surprised to commit to the thunderous applause they usually gave at the announcement of a sorting. On Professor Luverage's urging, Lily feebly got off the stool, and red face scurried over to the Hufflepuff table, feelings of confusion and ostracism painfully etched across her oval face.

The sorting dragged on after that, Lily's confused and hurt facial expression commandeering most of Gracie's attention, causing her to regularly glance in her direction to see if there was any improvement. Finally only two students remained to be sorted, both shaking visibly with nerves,

'Weasley, Hugo' Professor Luverage called, as a red faced Hugo approached the stool. Almost instantly, Hugo was pronounced a 'GRYFFINDOR' and just as quickly was Lucy Weasley was pronounced a 'HUFFLEPUFF' much to Lily's obvious delight, as she laughed and clapped with the others before hugging the delighted Lucy, glad to have a familiar face to talk to.

With the sorting finished, Professor Luverage rolled up the scroll with the flick of his wand, and picking up the Sorting hat and stool he left the hall momentarily, allowing Headmistress McGonagall to stand up and briefly address the students.

'Welcome to Hogwarts, to those who are returning, and for those who are commencing. I hope you have all had an enjoyable break and are prepared for the year ahead. Before I get too carried away however, I believe we have a feast to enjoy, so let us begin!' At her words, plates of food appeared suddenly on the table in front of them. Gasping in delight, Gracie eagerly reached forward to grab a corn cob and various other pieces of food, before settling down and listening interestedly at the conversation her new dorm mates were making.

'Well I'm a pureblood' Sophie drawled as she twirled her strawberry blonde hair around and around her finger, 'Dad has his own business and Mum does the books. They own stud where they raise owls and phoenixes and Ravens and what not. If you bought an owl you probably bought one of ours, they're that popular'

'That's cool' Elizabeth answered enthusiastically, nearly knocking over her goblet as she waved her hands about 'My parents aren't magical at all. But my Aunty is, and she was so pleased, cos none of her kids are magical. Don't know why I am,' She shrugged, 'Just lucky I spose.'

'What did your parents do Ellie?' Marie asked, her deep gravelly voice catching the attention of a few extremely surprised fourth years, their food dropping from their forks into their goblets as they stared gobsmacked at the tiny first year. Laughing at the fourth years as they dug into the goblets, intent of rescuing their food, Elizabeth turned back towards Marie,

'Well, my Dad works in an accountancy firm, and my Mum was a teacher in another life, but in this life she's a stay at home Mum with my two younger siblings.' Marie nodded,

'That's kind of what my Dad does; he works for Gringotts with my Mum. They're quite good friends with Bill Weasley actually, whose the Dad of Gryffinor's Quidditch captain Dominique Weasley.' Pointing down the table at a pixie faced brunette girl, who was leaning over Albus and laughing at James, she said,

'There's Dom! Hey Dom! Dom! I'm in Gryffindor! I got in!' Upon seeing Marie, Dominique seemingly glided over to the group of first years and enveloped Marie in a big hug, causing Gracie frantically slide down the bench to avoid getting clouted in the head by Dom's musclier arms,

'Aw well done Marie! I knew you'd be alright. And are these your roommates?' She asked, looking calmly around at the awestruck group. 'Well, my name's Dom, and it's great to meet you all. If anyone of you is interested in Quidditch I'm going to be holding a special session to train interested/ potential first year players for the Gryffindor team. So get back to me on that, and hopefully' Dominique stopped, and turned towards Gracie suddenly, lifting an eyebrow as she asked

'God have I met you before? You seem really familiar' Gracie gave a brief smile before answering,

'No, but I'm related to Harry Potter, so maybe that has something to do with it?' Dom shook her head, a smile creeping across her face,

'Ha! I know now! You are a dead ringer for Lily Evans, Uncle Harry's Mum! Well I'm Dom anyway'

'Gracie, Gracie Dursley'

'Well great to meet you Gracie, maybe we'll see you on the Quidditch pitch?' Gracie shrugged,

'Maybe'

'We'll see. Now, Marie, well done,' Dom said as she turned back towards the petit blonde, 'Remember you can mosey on up to my dorm at any time, alright?' Now turning towards the rest of the girls and pointing at the half eaten food on their plates she added 'And enjoy the feast, we don't get another good one for two months!' With a wink, she glided away, and after a seconds pause the first years exploded into excited whispers,

'Oh my god, you know the Weasley's!' Sophie whispered, her hair falling comically across her face, 'That's so cool!'

'I can't believe a seventh year was talking to us! I thought they completely ignore our existence usually!' Elizabeth was squealing as she flapped her hands,

'She was really cool, I liked her' Gracie offered, earning a smile from Marie,

'I know hey? She's like Bill, cool and calm. But get that girl angry and you're in trouble' Feeling happier, Gracie joined in the girls conversation that continued on relatively smoothly (apart from a few awkward glances between Gracie and Helena) up until Professor McGonagall once again stood up to address the students,

'Again, welcome back to Hogwarts. We have a few start of term notices, so please listen intently so they need not be repeated again during the year. Firstly, Mr Flitch would like to remind you all that magic in the corridors is forbidden, and any product from Weasley's Wizardly Wheezes is expressly banned. The astronomy towers are out of bounds without the presence of a teacher, as is the forbidden forest. Quidditch trials will begin in the coming weeks; anyone interested should contact Madame Hooch. And finally, owing to Professor Flitwick's illness, Professor Luverage will be filling in the position of Deputy Headmaster and Charms Professor this year. Please make him feel welcome.' Allowing a smattering of applause greet her latest remark, Professor McGonagall continued,

'With that, it is time to retire to your houses. First years, follow your prefects and they will lead you to your dormitories. That is all, now shoo!'Loud chatter began bounce around the hall at the conclusion of McGonagall's address, as the older students hastily pushed out their benches and meandered over to the Entrance hall to retire to their respective houses.

Feeling somewhat small, Gracie quickly looked around for the Prefect McGonagall had mentioned, but with all the yelling she couldn't distinguish any words being uttered by anyone. Feeling desperate as the Great hall quickly emptied, Gracie ran blindly into the Entrance Hall hoping to catch sight of the Gryffindor prefect and the Gryffindor first years. But she only caught sight of the last dregs of students before they disappeared up the staircase that dominated the hall, leaving her standing alone, a few muffled thumps of students racing up the stairs preventing total silence from occurring.

For a moment she stood absolutely still, petrified at the idea of being in a huge castle and having no idea what it held or where she was to go, but this feeling quickly passed and was replaced by anger. How could the girls not notice she wasn't with them? And how could they leave her alone in the hall? And how did she not notice when they slipped away?

Deciding there was nothing else for it, Gracie crept up the stair case, and found at the landing a corridor that ran horizontal to the hall. Deciding that right was right, Gracie turned and walked apprehensively down the right corridor, which opened up onto a large room with filled staircases which reached right up to the high ceiling above. After walking up three flights of stairs, she decided that they were very solid and safe, and therefore decided that she would be ok to cross a section of stairs that went across the middle of the room

Just as she stepped onto the staircase however, it moved, causing Gracie to scream and clutch the handrail desperately, so scared was she of falling or slipping off the stairs. As if the staircase sensed her distress, it quickly attached itself to a landing, allowing Gracie to scamper onto the landing and sink to her knees, crying for the shock and fear the staircase had given her.

'What's wrong m'dear? Shouldn't you be in your dormitory by now?' a kind and motherly voice asked, reminding Gracie immediately of Yvonne. Looking up, she saw a portrait of a Nun looking worriedly down at her and was surprised to see her moving. Whilst the Potter's had portraits similar to this Nun's, they generally slept or talked amongst themselves and certainly had never addressed Gracie during her weeklong stay,

'I should, but I couldn't find my prefect that was supposed to show me to the Gryffindor common room, and your staircases move!' The Nun chuckled at this last remark and throwing her hands up said,

'Of course the staircases move! It's one of the unique things about Hogwarts, we're the only school in the world that have them on as larger scale as we do. But you're lost now, are you?' Looking sympathetically at the nodding Gracie she sighed, 'Well that's not right, is it? Leaving a first year behind on her first night. But if you wait here, I'll fetch someone to help you, alright? But you have to wait' The Nun then did something Gracie certainly had never seen before. She stood up and left her portrait, appearing suddenly in the landscape painting next to her that featured three witches flying on broomstick. Borrowing one of their broomsticks, the Nun then zoomed off and returned fifteen or so minutes later with the most interesting looking person Gracie had ever seen.

A/N I own nothing except for the Gracie and her mother, and Gracie's dorm mates

Sorry for the slow update, in holiday mode still! Thank you to everyone who voted on the poll! The results were:

Gryfinndor: 10 votes

Ravenclaw: 6 votes

Hufflepuff: 5 votes

Slytherin: 6 votes

The result from the poll and the storyline was what influenced Gracie's sorting as well as Lily's sorting

Feel free to review and express your views on the sorting of my characters,

Fanfic1900 :)