"...This is rediculos..." Professor Snape said out loud.

"Now, Severous, I believe I have already told you the importance of this situation," Dumbledore responded calmly, not taking his eyes off the entrance of the great hall.

"We're trying to keep this girl's situation a secret, but I'm sure no one will suspect anything once she prods in twice the size of everyone else," Snape spat, his voice coated in sarcasm.

"We've discussed this already. She's just a transfer, as far as they know," Filch said, leaning in to the conversation.

The professors and Headmaster at Hogwarts all sat in a horizontal line, facing all four of the house tables in the Great Hall. The students at the tables chattered happily, most eagerly awaiting the feast and the Sorting Ceremony that was to start any moment now. Many of the professors were on edge due to the situation at hand: A Magid was to enter their school.

Suddenly, the room came to a hushed silence. The doors of the Great Hall burst open and Professor McGonnagal trudged in, followed by what seemed like hundreds of eleven year-olds, waiting to be sorted into one of the four houses at Hogwarts: Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor. They came to a stop at the front of the room, just in front of the professors. There, on a rickety wooden chair, sat a dusty, obviously very old hat. McGonnagal pulled several pieces of parchment from her robes and read the first line from the first piece.

"Abigale Abbot."

A rather petite girl stepped forward shyly. For a moment she just stared at the hat. A small boy eventually nudged her and she picked it up, placed it on her head, and sat down. The room watched in silence as the girl squeezed her eyes shut, afraid of the outcome of her fate.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Applause from the table on the far left erupted into the room. The girl grinned and took her place with her house.

Snape scanned the room. "She should be obvious. There's no way she could possibly blend in with first years..."

And she didn't... A slow moving whisper gained strength in the room as it became aware of the fact that there was a girl, almost a woman, standing among those waiting to be sorted. She stuck out badly. Standing at about a foot taller than everyone else and dressed in burgundy robes was a girl about sixteen. Her hair, a golden blonde color, exceeded just a bit past her lower back. No one could really see the details of her face as she was standing at a reasonable distance from them, but it was obvious that she was a bit embarassed.

Dumbledore stood up and the room was quiet again.

"Hush, children. There is a Sorting Ceremony taking place as of now."

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"Emerie Blacastonia," Professor McGonnagol called on the twelth name.

"Oh great, I'm next," the blonde girl thought to herself.

A boy with black hair and a huge grin on his face slid the Sorting Hat onto his head.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Applause from the Slytherin table. Occasionally a "Malfoy Rules" could be heard amongst the cheering.

"Reia Black."

She took a deep breath and stepped forward. The room was once again silent. Sliding the Sorting Hat on to her head, she was suprized to find that this one spoke to her inside her mind.

"Well now!... Wait a moment... I do believe I know you... No, wait, you're a bit different...I know your brother. Ah, but you share many of his noble qualities. You are brave... You're kind as well... Ah! And also loyal! Good enough for a gryffindor, hmmm? I see that you're also very smart.. You could do well in Ravenclaw... Be that as it may, I think I'll put you in..." Reia took a deep breath...

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Relief. She exhaled. She wanted to be in Gryffindor. She was familliar with Gryffindor. She stood up and set the hat down to better hear the applause comming from one of the tables in the middle, decked out with gold and red, and made her way over to it.