DISCLAIMER: I do not, never have, and never will, own the Harry Potter series and all associated stuff.

A/N: Sorry this took so long to write… As you can tell by sheer length (16 pages in my word processor…) it took quite some time to write. Enjoy!

At home, Artemis packed her trunk with her new clothes and various supplies. She also set out Salem's basket and got a little bag together for the train ride. She didn't know how long it was, or if food would be available, so she had packed some turkey sandwiches and pumpkin juice, along with some fish for Salem along with the unopened present from Ruth and Hartwin. Since she was only allowed to bring one animal with her, she and her parents decided that Salem would go. Mainly because Storm needed to be used by Drake and Moa as well, and Salem was getting on in his years, and would, as Artemis hated to think, probably be passing on soon; so, she needed to spend as much time with him as she could, since she had had him since he was a kitten.

Early the next morning, Artemis was awoken by Moa gently shaking her shoulder. Artemis slowly woke up, put her clothes on, and went down for breakfast. Drake was running around, trying to get things in order. "Here," he said, shoving some toast into her hand wrapped in a napkin. "No time to eat here, we need to get moving, a nearby family's coming to pick us up in about five minutes," he told her, double-checking the zipper on his pants. Drake often had trouble with ordinary Muggle jeans.

Artemis assumed that her parents had made plans for this while she was out yesterday. "Is mom coming?" she asked.

Drake shook his head. "No, she can't. Remember, she was sick last night at dinner?"

"Yes."

"Well… she's gotten a bit worse."

"Oh."

"Yes, she's sleeping now. Normally, I'd rather you say good-bye, but you know how your mother is when she's sick…" Drake trailed off.

Artemis nodded understandably. Her mother was not in good condition at all when she's sick. "So, which family's taking us?" she asked Drake, as the two stepped out onto the porch to wait.

"The- ah, there they are now!"

A Muggle car pulled up to the front of their house. A man around Drake's age was driving it, and a girl Artemis' age was next to him in the passenger seat. The two got out, and the man smiled merrily and waved at Artemis' father. "Xenoi, how are you?" he called, walking over. The girl looked to be a bit shy to Artemis, which was fine with her- Artemis was not a morning person.

"Fine, fine. And you?" Drake asked, shaking the man's hand.

"Good, thank you. I assume this is your daughter?" the man asked.

"That she is. Artemis, this is Asher Flavius, your mother's friend's husband. My daughter Artemis," Drake introduced.

Mr. Flavius shook Artemis' hand. "Pleased to meet you, young lady. Oh, this is my daughter Gwenaelle. Gwenaelle, Drake and Artemis Xenoi."

"Nice to meet you," the blonde girl said softly while smiling shyly as she shook Artemis and her father's hands.

"Well, may as well get on the road. Hogwarts Express won't be waiting. Give me a hand with Artemis' trunk, Xenoi, and you girls can hop on in back. You'll want to keep your cat with you, I suppose?" Mr. Flavius said.

Artemis followed Gwenaelle to the backseat of the car. The other girl climbed in easily enough, but Artemis looked in somewhat dubiously. She had never been in these metal "cars" before, and she wasn't quite sure how to go about doing it. Coming from an all wizarding family, she had very little connections with the Muggle world. "Just climb in," Gwenaelle told her. Carefully, Artemis sat down, and brought her legs inside. "Here, let me help you with the seatbelt." Gwenaelle reached over to Artemis' left shoulder, and pulled something from the side of the car and clicked it into a rectangular looking device. Artemis held Salem's basket closer. "There you are. Painless!" Artemis smiled somewhat, then watched as her father and Mr. Flavius got in with relative ease, and put on their "seatbelts". It just all seemed a bit too shady for Artemis this early in the morning. She instead looked at the owlcage in Gwenaell's lap. Inside was a beautiful brown owl. Jealously, Artemis thought of how she couldn't bring Storm with her.

"By the way, you can just call me Gwen. Only my parent's insist on calling me 'Gwenaelle,'" she said, making a face.

"Okay."

"What's your cat's name?"

"His name's Salem."

"Oh," the girl said. "Like the Salem witch trials?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

The rest of the car ride was in silence. At King's Cross Station, the company loaded out, and Artemis and Gwen put their trunks and animals on separate trolleys. "Gwenaelle, can you just show Artemis off to the Platform? I do have to get back to work soon."

"Sure. 'Bye daddy," she said.

Artemis turned to her father. "Well, good luck kiddo," Drake told her.

"I'm not off to my execution dad," Artemis dryly said, hugging him.

Drake just laughed, and pulled her into a hug. "That's true. Well, I guess we'll go through the usual routine then: then don't do anything too stupid, do your homework, brush your teeth at least twice a day, and write monthly so we know you're alive."

"Alrighty. Love you Dad."

"Love you too. 'Bye."

"'Bye!" Artemis walked off with Gwen. "So where is this Platform 9 ¾ anyways?"

"Well, between Platforms 9 and 10. You basically just run at a wall, and there you go," Gwen explained as they wheeled their trolleys over.

"I see."

"It's not bad at all, trust me."

"Okay." Artemis really wasn't nervous at all. There was a wall at her old school that you had to walk through to get to a class, so it was no big. "You go first though, I want to make sure I go through the right wall," Artemis told her. No sense in taking chances and crashing into an actual wall. That would be no good.

"Sure," Gwen obliged. Quickly, she looked around, then pushed her trolley closer, and casually leaned against the wall, and slid inside.

Simple as it sounds, Artemis thought, pushing her trolley towards it. However, she heard a call from behind her. "Artemis! Hey, Artemis!" She turned around. There, Sirius stood with a tall, lanky boy with scruffy hair and glasses. A younger boy with Sirius' good looks but scowling angrily stood behind them, and continued over to the Platform as Sirius and the other boy pulled their trolleys up with hers. "Good, you heard me," Sirius said.

"As if I wouldn't be able to?" she joked. "How have things been?"

"Since yesterday? Spiffin'. And you?"

"Fine," she replied.

The boy with glasses coughed.

"Oh, James. James, this is Artemis Xenoi, the cute one I told you about on the way over." Artemis rolled her eyes, and gave an exasperated sigh. "Artemis, this is my best mate, James Potter. You met his parent's yesterday."

James shook Artemis' hand. "I hear you're into reading?" he asked.

"Uh," she glanced at Sirius, who just smiled, plainly amused. "I guess, yeah. I mean, it's a fun way to pass the time along with other activities. Why?"

James ignored her last comment, and then turned to Sirius, saying, "Excuse me for whispering," before saying something into his friend's ear. With all the noise that the train station had, it was impossible for Artemis to hear a word of their conversation. However, she did see Sirius nod emphatically, then turn to James and say, "I told you so!" Artemis scowled slightly. She was most positive that the whispering had something to do with her.

"Sorry, Artemis. Right, well, let's board, shall we?" James said, taking up his trolley once more. Artemis noticed a snowy white owl in a cage perched on top of his trunk. "You know how, right?"

"Yes," Artemis told him, heading towards the wall, James and Sirius right behind her.

"All at once then?" Sirius asked, starting to lean against the wall.

"May as well, Padfoot, it certainly does save time," James said, following suit. Artemis copied the two boys, and as she began to lean against the wall, fell through, pulling the trolley with her onto a crowded, noisy platform. Owls hooted, cats meowed, toads croaked, parents and students cluttered the platform, and the scarlet red engine stood at the side. All in all, a pretty familiar scene to Artemis, minus the train, but since she had ridden on one before, it wasn't too weird.

"I wonder if Remus and Wormtail are on board already…" Sirius wondered aloud. "Come sit with us, Artemis!" he told her, offering his arm.

She laughed, but took it anyways.

"I wonder if Lily's on board…" James dreamily said. Artemis saw a weird mist go over his eyes. It reminded her of when Ruth would talk about a boy named Alden that she really liked.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Who cares, Prongs. She hasn't liked you at all for the past five years, she's definitely not going to like you this year. Just leave your stuff wherever on the train, they unload it for you later," Sirius directed Artemis as they threw their trunks up into the racks. "I'd suggest taking your cat with you though," he advised.

"As if I'd just leave him!" she said in mock shock. Although it was true- Salem was getting very old, and it just wouldn't do to abandon him. She let Sirius and James lead her to an empty compartment towards the back of the train. Thoughts of hooking up again with Gwenaelle totally forgotten. When the three had settled down, Sirius peered into Salem's basket.

"Is this the one you were buying treats for?" he asked.

"Huh?" Artemis asked, as she had been spacing off. "Oh, yes. This is…" she pulled the Siamese out of his basket. "Salem," she said, putting him on her lap, where he promptly curled up and started to purr loudly. She stroked his whiskers fondly.

"That's a fun name," James commented, reaching across to scratch one of Salem's ears. Sirius, who was sitting next to him nodded, and stroked under his chin. "Oh, this is Emer," he gestured at his snowy owl. She hooted a greeting, then went back to preening. James made a face at her. "Always cleaning," he said, "Just like any other girl." He reached in and stroked inbetween her wings, and Emer nipped him affectionately.

"She's lovely," Artemis truthfully said. "I have an owl as well, Storm, but she had to stay home since I could only bring one pet and mother needed her as well."

James nodded understandably, then ran his fingers up through the back of his black hair, messing it up even more.

"Hey, hey, hey," said a soft voice at the door. A boy's head poked in, and he had a warm smile on his face. "It's been awhile, you two," he greeted Sirius and James.

"A.K.A., two days," Sirius said with a laugh. "Come in, Moony."

"As if I need your invitation," the other boy joked as he took a seat by Artemis. "Who's this?" he asked his friends.

"Oh, right, introductions," Sirius cried, leaning forward a bit. "Artemis Xenoi, Remus Lupin, and vice versa. And her cat, Salem. And his owl, Rakesh."

Salem groggily meowed his greeting before turning it into a yawn. Rakesh hooted.

"Pleased to meet you, Artemis," Remus said, taking her hand.

"Likewise," Artemis replied, giving the biggest smile she had all morning. He's cute, she thought, looking Remus over. Although he looked somewhat tired with his half-closed eyes, he had light brown hair, that was tied back in a short ponytail with hair falling onto either side of his face. His eyes were a warm amber color, and they smiled with the rest of his face. As she was looking at Remus, she missed the knowing glances between Sirius and James. At that point, a very short blonde, blue eyes, and slightly pudgy boy stumbled into the compartment.

"Hullo guys," he greeted.

"Wormtail! How are you, lad?" asked Sirius, clapping him on the back as the boy took a seat next to James- looking positively delighted.

"Alright. You, Padfoot?"

"Alright. Have you met Artemis yet? Of course you haven't. More introductions for you, then. Peter Pettigrew, Artemis Xenoi- just recently moved from America," Sirius said.

Artemis reached across and smiled warmly at Peter. "Nice to meet you. I see Sirius forgot to introduce Salem though," she gave the handsome boy a raised eyebrow. "My cat, Salem." This time, however, Salem stayed firmly seated in Artemis' lap and gave no sign of greeting towards Peter. He just nodded at this, and Artemis had the impression that he was none too fond of cats. Just at that moment though, a loud whistle blew, and the train's engine started up. Remus looked out the window, and waved to what Artemis assumed were his parents.

"Your mum and dad are always here, aren't they?" James asked.

"Well, you know how they worry," Remus darkly said. The other three boys nodded knowingly. Artemis felt as though she was out of the loop, but decided not to impose.

Thankfully, Sirius picked up the conversation. "Hey, Moony!"

"Hm?"

"Artemis likes to read a lot too-" said person rolled her eyes. Really, it wasn't that odd! "-and I suggested that she borrow your copy of Hogwarts, A History, since she's knew. What do you think?"

Remus shrugged. "I don't mind," he said, casually flicking a stray strand of hair out of his face. "It's in my trunk though, so can I give it to you at the castle?" he asked her. "Hopefully we'll be in the same house so I can get it to you easy."

"Oh, of course, no problem," Artemis replied. "What house are you two in?" she asked Remus and Peter.

"Gryffindor," they chorused.

"Awesome. I've met a person from every house so far," she told them, leaning back into the corner comfortably.

"Who have you met from Hufflepuff?" Sirius curiously asked. "You've met us from Gryffindor, my cousin Andromeda from Ravenclaw, and my other two cousins from Slytherin," he counted off on his fingers.

"A girl named Gwenaelle Flavius and her father gave me and Dad a ride this morning," she told them. She noticed Peter blush slightly, but no one else seemed to have. Oh, someone has a crush, she thought.

"Ah…" James, Sirius, and Remus knowingly said as one.

"Well, I hope you get in Gryffindor," James told her. "There's no way you could be in Slytherin, and you don't seem like the Hufflepuff type to me. There's a chance of you getting in Ravenclaw, but I dunno. Just because you like to read and stuff doesn't really mean anything. I mean, look at Remus here!" James said with a smile, gesturing at his friend.

Remus obligingly grinned wolfishly back. "Thanks for the compliment, Prongs."

"Anytime." The bespectacled boy leaned back with his hands behind his head.

As the train chugged out, Artemis leaned her head against the window, looking out at the moving scenery. Carefully, she tucked her feet under her. Salem purred louder, and snuggled against her stomach, kneading her lap.

"Goodness, but he is loud!" Remus exclaimed, reaching over to scratch the cat behind his ears. This just encouraged the cat, and Artemis told him so. Remus countered by saying that she should be lucky that he was so friendly, as most cats are. She then proceeded to inform him that since she had had Salem since he was but a tiny kitten, it should make sense. Meanwhile, Sirius, James, and Peter watched the two talking, the grins on James and Sirius' faces growing wider by each comment.

It was at that moment that the door to the compartment decided to slide open. Their stood the tall blonde boy with icy blue eyes that Artemis had seen before. He cast a glance over the group, and said, in a very bored tone, "Oh, excuse me. I was unaware that the car was full."

"No problem, Malfoy," Sirius testily said.

"Of course, Black. Potter, Pettigrew, Lupin…" he nodded to each in turn. When he looked at Artemis he raised a delicate eyebrow. "I don't believe that we've met before. Although I did see you at the Portkey Transport. I'm Lucius Malfoy. And you are…?"

He didn't offer his hand, so Artemis decided not to as well. "Artemis Xenoi. Recently transferred from America."

Nodding his understanding, Malfoy silently walked back out of the car, closing the door behind him.

"I really don't like him at all," Peter commented.

"Neither do I, Wormtail," Sirius said comfortingly, glancing at the door as though to double-check Malfoy really was gone.

Changing the subject, Artemis asked about their nicknames. "From what I've figured out, Remus is Moony," she pointed at him, "Peter's Wormtail, James is Prongs, and Sirius is Padfoot. Where on earth did you come up with them?"

The four boys cast each other looks of knowing. "Well, Artemis…" Sirius began.

"You see, they're kind of, um…" James took up.

"Secret?" Peter suggested.

"No, not secret. Just fun," Remus quickly supplied. "They're inside jokes that would take much too long to explain."

"There's time. Tell me, 'Moony'," she said, making air-quotes when she got to Remus' nickname.

However, with a look of finality on his face, Remus politely declined for the group. "It's not that interesting at all."

"Besides," James began, quickly jumping in, "There's lots of other interesting things to talk about. Such as how you can help me with something, Artemis." He leaned forward, elbows on his knees.

"Oh? And what would that be?" she carefully said.

"You see, there's this girl-"

"James, for crying out loud!"

"Oh God, not her again!"

"Give it up already, Prongs!" came the assorted cries from his companions.

"Lily's hated-" Sirius began.

"Make that despised, Sirius," Remus put in, rubbing a temple.

"Oh, good word. Anyways, the point it, she's not liked you for the past, oh, let me think, five years. She's definitely not going to go out with you this year," Sirius told James.

"Well, now, I don't know about that. I thought that Mazin and Sky weren't on too friendly of terms, even though they're on the same team, but they like each other now, don't they?" Peter put in.

"Shh!" Sirius snapped, reaching over James to put a hand over the poor boy's mouth. "Don't get his hopes up! And don't you try either, Artemis! I can see that smile you have," he warned her, pointing a threatening finger at her mouth.

"I'm not doing anything, Sirius," she innocently said. "However, I am curious to know who this Lily girl is you seem to all be so excited about. What's she like? Is she nice?" she hopefully asked. It would be nice to make some female friends to go along with her male ones. Besides, this was a rather rambunctious bunch, and it would be nice to have someone relatively calm to be around.

"Beautiful…" James dreamily said.

"Bossy…" Sirius inputted.

"Nice…" Peter told her.

"A prefect…" Remus added.

"Smart…" James' eyes had a weird glazed look on them now.

"Hates James though," Sirius supplied.

"With a passion," piped in Remus.

"So true," Peter said, shaking his head.

"It's not hate… It's love. It's how she expresses herself," James said in exasperated tones.

"Telling you that she'd rather date the Giant Squid than you is not saying that she loves you," Sirius told him. "Personally, Artemis, the only thing I have against Lily Evans is that the mere mention of her name will practically send this guy into hysterics, if you haven't already noticed." He glared at James.

"What do you mean?" James said incredulously.

Sirius rolled his eyes. Remus had to stifle a laugh behind his hand. Artemis grinned.

"Just you lot wait," James said, trying to sound superior. "Someday you'll fall in love with someone like Lily, and see what it'll do to you."

"Well, if there's one thing I know for certain," Artemis said, digging through her bag, "I won't act that stupid."

"I second that," Remus said. "What're you up to in there, Artemis?" he asked, leaning close to her so that they were shoulder to shoulder.

"Oh, I just remembered, my friends in America sent me a present to open when I was on the train to Hogwarts. Ah! Here we go," she said, pulling out the elegantly wrapped gold package. Upon closer inspection, it was a few inches thick and rectangular in shape.

"Open the envelope first," Remus told her, sidling closer to see. Sirius, James, and Peter leaned closer as well.

"Thanks, dad," Artemis joked, but she opened it. Inside was a mixture of Ruth's tiny hand-writing mixed with Hartwin's elegant cursive.

"Can you read it aloud?" asked Sirius.

"Or is it too personal?" James said.

"I don't see why not. Two people wrote it though. But here:

'Dearest Artemis,

I can't believe it- off to England! Just think of all the exciting adventures that you're going to be having. It'll be out of sight! And a whole new school too, think of the possibilities. A chance to totally start over… I'm slightly jealous. Although, it's not as though you really need to start over over there. You're already the perfect friend and person- incredibly smart, athletic, beautiful (I know you don't think so, but we do!), kind, generous, thoughtful, the list goes on and on our dear friend.'

Here, Artemis' hand was starting to shake ever so slightly from emotion. She bravely continued on.

"It's amazing to think that I've known from since we were babies, and that now you have to go half-way around the world. Honestly, I don't know how I'll manage without you. Artemis, you know you've always been my shoulder- our shoulder!-  to lean on.'

Artemis couldn't help but notice that the ink was runny, as though someone had cried on it. Did Ruth actually cry over me? She's the strong one though, Artemis thought.

"Anyways, don't you dare not write us after you first week or so of school, or we'll come over and beat it out of you. Don't change. We'll try and come to visit you over the summer.

Love always, your friends,

Ruth Darwin   and     Hartwin Leofwine"

Carefully, Artemis folded the letter back inside the envelope as the boys across from her watched closely. Avoiding eye contact with them, she proceeded to meticulously open the present, using the time to get herself under control. The letter, although to most people, wouldn't seem that intimate, really was to her. "Let's see now, what did those two goofs give me," she said, trying to be funny. It was weird though, sharing this intimate of a moment with these four boys whom she had only known for a few hours- well, Sirius a day or so. With the wrapping paper taken off, the present revealed itself to be a photo album. "Outrageous," breathed Artemis, turning the first page. It showed a picture of her and Ruth when they were very little babies with their respected parents. Everyone in the frame smiled and laughed, waving heartily at her.

"Is that your mum and dad?" asked Remus, pointing at Drake and Moa.

"Yeah. How'd you tell?" Artemis asked. She wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between the two babies of her and Ruth if she hadn't recognized her parents.

"You have your father's smile," Remus informed her.

"Oh." Artemis was surprised he was that observant.

"I wanna see. Scoot your boot," Sirius gently said, crossing over to sit on the other side of Artemis. "Oh, totally. You and your mom have the same gray eyes. Are you an only child?" he asked.

Artemis nodded, then turned the page. The next image was of her and Ruth playing in the mud in Ruth's backyard. Everyone laughed. "It looks like you have even more freckles there!" joked James, pushing his glasses back up on the bridge of his nose.

"Gee, thanks." The next page showed Ruth and Artemis with Salem and Ruth's cat, Farron, as new kittens. "Look, Salem, you even made the album," she told him, scratching behind his black ear.

Next, the two of them riding a broomstick together as they went off to a fair. "Look how short your hair is," observed Peter.

"Hmm…" Another page showed Ruth and Artemis at the start of their first year at W.C.A.M. in their school uniforms.

"How cute!" Remus quipped, pinching her cheek. "Pigtails and everything! Goodness though, but your friend Ruth certainly has red hair- just like Ciel's!"

Later, it showed various progressing pictures of Ruth, Artemis, and Hartwin in their uniforms. Some pictures showed birthdays and various parties. One was, as Ruth explained in a little note, "a shameless self-insertion" of her and the Phoenix House team at the Academy after winning the House cup. ("Besides, remember how happy we all were?" the note further read.)

"She plays Quidditch?" James eagerly asked.

"Yup. Beater," Artemis explained.

"That's so boss," Sirius said in an awed voice.

Artemis shrugged. "I guess so. She's slightly obsessed."

James snorted, reminding Artemis strongly of Ruth. "Try talking to Wood or Casey. Now there's a pair of super-charged players if I ever met them."

"Says the one who can't ever shut up about how good he did when X girl is in his near vicinity," Sirius said.

Remus gave a cough that sounded vaguely like "Lily."

The rest of the trip was passed by in relative tranquility. A witch came down with a good trolley, and James bought everyone a round of pumpkin juice, and Artemis learned lots of fascinating things about her new school. At one point in time, James and Sirius snuck off for about an hour to, to quote Remus, "Do heaven knows what." They came back smelling lightly of smoke and wearing twin grins of satisfaction. Remus just gave them a disapproving look, Artemis shook her head while hiding a smile, and Peter looked at them in awe.

"Should I even ask what you were up to?" Remus had asked the two.

"Do you really want to know?"

"You'd probably feel obligated to give us detention anyways."

"Anyways, we were just livening things up… a bit."

"And making some social calls."

"Oh yes, of course."

Eventually, Remus checked his watch and saw that they would almost be there. Everyone changed into their school robes, and Artemis, Remus, and James gathered up their animals just as the train came to a halt. Upon instruction from her male friends, Artemis left her trunk inside the train. Walking outside, the four boys, particularly James and Sirius, were hailed with various calls of greeting from their fellow class-mates. A tall black girl came up behind James and Sirius and pounded the pair on the back.

"Brilliant prank, you two!" she congratulated. "Chucking that dungbomb in that Slytherin compartment."

Remus' eyebrows rose questioningly at his two friends. Sirius and James continued to ignore his annoyed expression.

"Oh, Sky, you flatterer!" Sirius said, coyly covering his face.

"You knew that we couldn't let old Snivellus go the entire trip without a call now, could you?" James asked her.

"No, no, I suppose not. Careful though, don't wanna get caught. Well, if you'll excuse me, I believe Mazin is calling me… See you lot at the sorting. Remus, Peter, Artemis."

"How does she know me?" Artemis asked James.

"We told her about you. Oh look, there's Hagrid!"

Artemis turned to look where James was facing. Her first thought was that the man must be a giant, considering that he was at least two of her tall. However, giants usually aren't easily simulated into wizard society, so she figured that this was probably a wrong assumption. However, there was no getting around the fact that the man was huge. He bellowed, "Firs' years this way!" above the crowd, and a bunch of timid looking, short eleven or so year olds walked over towards him.

"Do you have to go with them, or do you get to stay with us?" Peter asked hopefully.

"Well, in Professor McGonagall's letter, she said that I only needed to be Sorted along with them, but I get to travel up to the castle with you all," she explained, thinking back.

"Excellent. Here's an empty carriage, you guys," Peter said, spotting one out. The five friends climbed inside the horse-less black carriage.

Suddenly, it started off. Artemis peered out of the window as they quickly approached a very large castle. Remus appeared at her shoulder. "Fantastic, isn't it?" he softly asked, looking at it fondly.

"It certainly is large," Artemis said. "And very old looking. "I wonder when it was first built? Remus, do you know?"

"Well, the precise date is uncertain, but over a thousand years ago, at least. There's more about it in Hogwarts, A History," he explained. "It's actually a kinda boring book, and I only read it because I had nothing better to do for awhile in the infirmary. This lot saw me reading it though, and figured that since I was 'liking' it so much, they may as well give it to me for a gift."

"Oh, I see," Artemis said, still looking at the fabulous castle.

"Don't let my opinion put you off though," Remus hastily amended. "I mean, reading it has come in handy at times."

"I'll just have to see for myself then," Artemis said, stepping out as the carriages came to a halt at the front of the school. Sirius gave her a hand out.

"Ah, well, here it is," James said, spreading his arms wide. "Our home away from home."

"Most certainly," Artemis softly said to herself as she allowed herself to be swept in with the rest of the students. At the stairs, there stood a formidable looking women in her late forties to early fifties. Her hair was tied back in a tight bun, and she wore a simple but nice looking robe and had spectacles perched on her nose.

"Inside now, all of you. Don't dawdle."

Obligingly, everyone started to go inside. "That's Professor McGonagall," Sirius whispered at her shoulder. "You should probably see her. Do you need help at all? She can be a bit intimidating, but she's really cool."

"I think I can manage, thank you though," Artemis whispered back. "I'll see you guys later!" she called.

"Hope you get in Gryffindor," James said. Sirius gave her the thumbs up, Remus smiled, and Peter waved as Artemis went up to the Professor.

"Professor McGonagall?" Artemis timidly asked.

"Yes? Oh, you must be Artemis Xenoi, right? Sixth year transfer student from the West Coast Academy of Magic in the United States?" asked the woman.

"That's me," Artemis said with a smile.

Surprisingly, the older witch smiled back at her. "We're very happy to have you hear. I spoke with your old Headmistress via Floo, and she had very encouraging things to say of you. I'm sure you will greatly enjoy Hogwarts."

"I hope I will," Artemis truthfully said.

Professor McGonagall nodded. "Just you wait here with me for the first years. Then, we'll go in and get you Sorted. Don't worry, it's painless. Do you know the houses?"

"Yes, I do," Artemis said. "Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw, right?"

"Exactly. I'm the Gryffindor Head of House. Ah, here the first years are now from coming across the lake!" Artemis was slightly startled by this statement, but decided to question someone later about this. "Welcome to Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall greeted. "In just a moment we'll be passing through the doors into the Great Hall, where you'll be Sorted. When I call your name, just come up to the stool, I'll place the hat on your head, it'll choose where you go, and then off you go to your house table. Also, along with you normal first years being sorted, we have a transfer student in her sixth year needing to be Sorted, Artemis Xenoi," she gestured at her. "Now, in we go. Follow me and walk quickly, please!"

With that, Professor McGonagall swept inside the room, closely followed by the first years and Artemis. Artemis could feel herself being watched by almost all eyes in the Great Hall, and she felt rather silly with all these short people. However, the Great Hall did live up to its name. The ceiling, she saw, had been magically enchanted to show the weather that was occurring outside. Right now, it was perfectly clear, and she could see bright stars shining brightly. Candles hung in mid-air, lighting the room with the starlight, and gold silverware, plates, and goblets adorned the four long house tables. She caught Remus' eye as she looked around, and he smiled encouragingly at her. James and Sirius waved at her. In front of it all was a slightly raised table where, Artemis assumed, the teachers were sitting. In front of that though, was a stool with an old, dingy looking hat sitting on it.

So that's the thing that will decide my future, Artemis thought. It must be enchanted.

An ancient looking man at the center of the table smiled warmly down at all of the students. "Professor, let the Sorting begin," he said in a clear voice.

Professor McGonagall nodded, and then all eyes turned to look at the Sorting Hat.

A crack in the brim opened up, and it began belting out a song:

"Welcome one, and welcome all,

To another year at Hogwarts.

I'm the Sorting Hat, as you can see,

And your job's to let me find you the right House.

Which could it be for you though?

Perhaps brave Gryffindor,

Where courage and valor are synonymous with its name.

Maybe sly Slytherin?

The crafty and slippery often find there kind in here.

Perchance gentle Hufflepuff?

She'll take anyone in with her, and all are kind and caring.

Or, lastly, clever Ravenclaw?

Only those sharp of wit enter into here.

So, what are you waiting for?

Just stick me on your end,

And I will put you where you ought to be."

A loud chorus of applause broke out as the hat ended its song. Artemis joined in. Once it died down though, Professor McGonagall pulled out a long list from the confines of her robes' sleeves, and began reading names. "Aerl, Emily!" she cried.

A blonde girl with braids walked up, sat down on the stool, and put that hat onto her head. After a few moments, the hat called out, "HUFFLEPUFF!" Loud cheering came from that table as the girl, smiling, took off the hat and went to sit down.

Next, an "Archer, Thomas," came up, and was put into Slytherin.

It dragged on and down, and Artemis figured that she would be one of the last people to be sorted, since her last name began with a "X". True to her thoughts, when "Wadwhani, Mariel" was sorted into Ravenclaw, there was only Artemis and two other boys standing.

Taking a breath, Artemis heard, "Xenoi, Artemis," called out. Keeping her composure, Artemis paced herself to the stool, picked up the hat, and placed it on her head. The brim however, was huge, and just barely fell over into her face.

With a start, she head the thing actually talking to her. "Hmm… Let's see… let's see… No, certainly not Slytherin at all. Hufflepuff maybe?" Artemis scowled. She did not want to be affiliated with a group of people whose only strong point was being nice. Not that she wasn't, or had anything against them, but really now. She was brave, and clever, wasn't she? "Not Hufflepuff? Well, alright then. Didn't think so anyway." Good lord, can it read my thoughts? Artemis thought. "It's a tough choice between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. You're terribly clever, you know. But very brave as well, moving from America to here without putting up much of a fuss. Well, may as well make it, GRYFFINDOR!"

***

Well, there you go! Artemis is now in Gryffindor. Okay, here are the names meanings asked of you from last chapter:

-Artemis: Artemis was the Greek goddess of the moon and hunting

-Xenoi: foreigner, stranger

-Odin: Anglicized form of the Old Norse name "ðinn which was derived from the early Germanic name Woðanaz, which perhaps meant "wind". In Norse mythology Odin was the highest of the gods, presiding over art, war, wisdom and death

-Sky: just means "sky" as in the blue thing

-Casey: vigilant in war, watchful (I'll explain this and Odin later)

So, Artemis, Sky, and Odin's names were found at:

Casey was found at:

Xenoi was also found at the "Behind the Name" site, but I added a twist to the name "Xenon" to get it.

I hope you all enjoyed this, and will continue reading! As always, suggestions and ideas are welcome. Particularly for pranks. Need those… I hope I got everyone pretty much in character.