Hey! Sorry I haven't updated in a while. My life is like the tornado in the Wizard of Oz. Anyway, Gabby is sorted and begins her new life at Hogwarts, but ghosts lurk around every corner. Please review! Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. If you think otherwise, then it's time to check out into a mental hospital.

*The bold word is Romanian in case that isn't clear. Italics in parentheses are a translation of the Italian, and the other italic is the Sorting Hat talking to Gabby.

Gabby stared at the Hogwarts castle. Her father had always told her stories about it, about how magic tingled throughout the building. He told her about the ghosts and Peeves and all the secret passageways and the Room of Requirement. Somehow, the stories she had heard and the pictures she had seen didn't even compare to Hogwarts right in her face. She had been here once before, sure, but only in the day. Hogwarts seemed to glow at night.

"Sembra che cer," (It looks like heaven) Lala whispered, her dark curls blowing in the wind. Gabby smiled at her friend's slip. Lala was Italian, but her first language was Romanian, the language her people had always spoke. The gypsy girl had a tendency to mix the two. Cer meant heaven, a wonderful safe place after a world of pain. Gabby thought about heaven often these days. She wondered if her dad was there and if he was with her mom. She wondered if they danced together again.

Hagrid escorted them to a tiny boat. The three teenagers shared a boat as to not scare the first years. Gabby just leaned up against Milo, trying not to focus on the shaking boat. She loved the beach and the water, had grown up with its comforting sounds, but she hated boats. Many fishermen in her village hadn't come home because their boats got caught in a storm. You could never predict a storm on the water. You could never predict the water. It was better to stay on land.

"Nervoso?" (Nervous?) Milo whispered, his breathe hot against her ear.

Gabby glared at him. "Lo sai che non mi piacciono le barche." (You know I don't like boats.)

"Eppure siete disposti a tuffarsi in giro su un manico di scopa? " (And yet you're willing to dive around on a broomstick ?) Milo asked with raised eyebrows.

"Sono complicate," (I'm complicated) Gabby deadpanned. Lala shushed them as they finally approached the castle.

McGonagall greeted them at the door. Her eyes flickered quickly to Gabby before giving her usual First Year speech. She was struck by how Gabby reminded her of Harry. She didn't have the emeralds eyes, but she did have the sparkle she possessed. Gabby had his dark hair and a little of his smile. She wondered what other Potter qualities this young girl possessed. She was looking forward to finding out. The other two showed promise as well. The boy was tall and handsome, and he seemed to dote on Gabby. The gypsy girl seemed a little strange but good-hearted.

The first years plus the three teenagers were led into the Great Hall to be Sorted. Gabby spotted Teddy at the Hufflepuff table and Victoire at the Ravenclaw one. Victoire smiled reassuringly at her while Teddy smirked. Gabby had the overwhelming urge to hex him. Soon, before she knew it, Milo's name was called. All the first years had been sorted. "Milo Costa!" McGonagall said. Milo walked up there, shooting Gabby and Lala a wink.

He was barely up there when the Hat shouted out, "Gryffindor!" Gabby rolled her eyes. It didn't surprise her.

"Lala Nuri!" Lala practically skipped up to the stool. She was up there a few minutes before it shouted, "Ravenclaw!"

"Good chat!" Lala said to the Hat, going off and sitting next to Victoire. Some people looked at her strangely, but Gabby swore she saw the Hat grin.

"Gabriella Potter." The Hall got very quiet. Gabby walked up to the stool, her head held high. She knew everyone was watching her. McGonagall placed the Hat on her head. "Hmm... a Potter," the Hat mused. "Didn't think I'd see one of you so soon. Well, what do we have here?" Gabby felt the strange sensation of her memories being prodded. "Hufflepuff is out. You're loyal but a little too cynical for those badgers. Slytherin could be a viable option. You know how to survive. Still, you're not ambitious enough for that house. You don't strive for greatness. Tell me, Miss Potter, what do you strive for?"

"Peace? Answers?" Gabby replied. The Hat seemed to brighten up at this. "Ah, and I was thinking of putting you with the Gryffindors." Gabby scoffed at this. "You have a braver heart, than most, child. You have suffered great loss in your life, but your heart has not been hardened. You would do well in the House of the Lions. You also could be a Ravenclaw. You have a thirst for answers, and that would serve you well there. I will give you a choice, Miss Potter."

"You gave my father a choice too," Gabby remembered. "Why?"

"I saw a different path for him," the Hat answered. "I saw greatness, but he didn't want that. He wanted something else: happiness. Though I suppose he achieved both, didn't he?"

Gabby thought about the two Houses. One held a great legacy, one she could never match up to. The other, however, was a clean slate, a place for her to make her own mark. "Ravenclaw, please," Gabby decided.

The Hat seemed to nod in approval. "Very well then, Miss Potter. Good luck!" Gabby braced herself as the Hat roared, "Ravenclaw!" She smiled and went to join Lala and Victoire at the Ravenclaw table. I hope you're proud, Dad, she thought to herself as she started to fill her plate.

At dessert, both Milo and Teddy came over. Once upon a time, you couldn't sit at another house's table. Now, however, there was more school unity. They all belonged to different houses, but they also belonged to Hogwarts. Gabby smiled and hoped her dad was in heaven smiling at the sight he'd fought so hard for. Nevertheless, she resolved to enjoy it.