A/N: Sorry for the bad song and the bad format before, I fixed up the format at least.
Zephari cringed nervously as Professor Abbott placed the old hat on a stool in front of them. She knew that the Sorting Hat had yet to not place someone, but she had a feeling it would have trouble with her. However, she forgot about that for a moment when the Sorting Hat began to sing.
"Upon this stool I sing
While all your ears ring
The first-years are nervous
The Prefects at your service
And the others are all wishing
That I would stop beating
About the bush and sort
No need to retort
I'll place a few in Gryffindor
Where true bravery is valued
There those who stand up for
Themselves and others are pursued.
I'll put a few in Slytherin
Where cunning is prized
And true friends are majoring
Behind deceiving nature and lies.
A few more will go to Ravenclaw
Where your brain is your friend
These brainy folks will never find flaw
In a studying friend.
And those that remain
Will go to caring Hufflepuff
Who treats everyone the same
And takes everyone, sure enough.
Do not worry, I know
Exactly what I'm doing, so
Put me on your head
And I'll put your in your stead."
When it finished, the Great Hall broke into applause. Zephari found the song rather short compared to those her cousins and family had sung from their years. Maybe it was nerves that made it shorter, or the Sorting Hat was beginning to run out of ideas. Either way, she forgot all about the song when Professor Abbott walked up.
"When I call your name, come and sit on the stool and put on the hat." She told them, obviously in case they had forgotten. "Ashford, Annabelle."
A tall, wiry girl with soft brown hair stumbled up to the stool and took the hat. She looked pale enough to have fainted by then. She sat on the stool and jammed the hat over her eyes. However, the hat did not take long to declare her House: "Gryffindor!"
"Beauchamp, Gabrielle." A slender girl with rich blond hair and green eyes was Sorted into Ravenclaw and, before Zephari knew it, Professor Abbott called out "Black, Zephari."
She stared for a moment before advancing and taking the hat off the stool where Gabrielle had left it. She put it on, having it slide down to cover her face down to her chin. She then tried to get onto the stool and failed miserably. She had always been very small for her age and that made the stool seem like Mount Everest. She pushed the hat back on her head amidst laughter and climbed difficultly onto it.
Having trouble? A taunting voice asked her, from her own mind.
Don't make me have a reason to light you on fire; I'm quite good at it even without my wand. She growled mentally.
It laughed slightly, Spunky, I see. Reminds me of your mother, she was in Gryffindor. However, you're very much like your father, who was in Slytherin. You have the bright mind of a Ravenclaw, yes. And the loyalty of a Hufflepuff.
You put me in Hufflepuff and I will burn you on the spot. She snarled.
You would make great friends in Hufflepuff. It said with amusement.
I'm not a Puff! She mentally shouted, gritting her teeth.
Alright, alright, you're not a Hufflepuff. You would be great with Ravenclaw. You have the potential to be rather studious and smart, excelling in all your classes. It continued.
I don't want to spend my time talking to books instead of people. She said sourly.
Then, how about Gryffindor? All the people there are brave and you will make great friends as well, who will stand by you almost as much as Hufflepuffs will. It explained.
Why are you sounding like you'll let me choose? You choose, you're the hat. She muttered at it.
Saying that makes you definitely not a Slytherin. They are cunning and sly, can make their own decisions without the help of others. Decidedly independent and ambitious. It said scornfully.
I'm as independent and ambitious as any Slytherin! I'm better than the lot of them! She snapped, rising to his provocation.
So Slytherin it is. The hat said with finality.
Wait. She told it sharply. You just provoked me into saying that. Besides, I get horrible colds when I'm in the damp for too long.
So what do you pick? It asked.
I pick-
"Gryffindor!" The hat shouted before she could say which.
Cheater. She accused it before taking it off and placing it on the stool as she slid off of it.
The Weasleys were all clapping and cheering, along with the rest of their table. She walked towards them with a smirk. A few of the Slytherins looked with surprise at her, but she did not care. She knew now that she would never have been able to survive with such a sour bunch. She sat down across from Annabelle and beside Alexis, who hugged her around the shoulders happily.
A golden brown haired boy named 'Boot, Tor' went to Ravenclaw while the Weasleys continued greeting Zephari with happy smiles. Alexandre leaned around Alexis with a broad grin. "You had us worried for a bit, Zeph." He admitted, "That ratty old hat took about five minutes to decide where to put you, even Dethol was looking worried."
She blushed slightly as 'Branstone, Margot' became the first Hufflepuff of the day. "It put me here, that's all that matters." She said brightly.
Alexis grinned. "Happy you are, mate. Imagine the horror of being in strictly-ruled Ravenclaw, boring Hufflepuff or stuffy Slytherin."
Zephari beamed at her cousins as 'Cauldwell, Laura' and 'Crabbe, Christopher' were sorted into Hufflepuff and Slytherin respectively. "Crabbe... Why does that sound familiar?" She mused.
"The majority of those in your year are kids from Mum and Dad's time." Alexis told her, "Crabbe was one of Malfoy's friends back at Hogwarts. He went on to be a Death Eater and died." She paused to clap as 'Creevey, James' joined Gryffindor.
"Most of them did." Alexandre murmured as 'Dane, Arnold' joined Hufflepuff.
"Douglas, Benjamin." Professor Abbott called and a blond-haired boy strode up purposefully to be sent to Ravenclaw in very little time. 'Finch-Fletchley, Hayley' followed suit in even less time. 'Flint, Nora' then went to Slytherin.
Alexis hissed. "Another one of the Flint idiots? Isn't one bad enough?" She moaned.
"They should just be cut out of the gene pool." Alexandre growled.
"Maybe Nora's different from her brother?" Annabelle said hopefully.
"She had better be, or she'll have a few jinxes heading her way." Alexis muttered crossly.
By then, the hat finally decided to send 'Forrester, Abe' to Gryffindor, making them all pause to clap. Zephari inched over to let the reddish-brown haired boy sit beside her. "Hello there, mate." He said cheerfully with an odd accent, sitting. "Abe Forrester, you're James Creevey, you're Zephari Black and you're Annabelle Ashford. Pleased to meet you three."
"Australian?" Alexis asked, incredulous.
"What's it to you?" Abe demanded, leaning back as Harold Foster went to Ravenclaw.
"Just curious." She replied.
"Australian, yes. Parents moved up here because they had a new job and Hogwarts accepted me as soon as we moved in." He answered, sounding joyful.
"Brilliant." Alexandre growled, hissing George Goyle as he sat down.
"Who're you two, anyways?" Abe asked of the second years.
"Alexis and Alexandre Weasley." Alexis told him sharply as Johnathan Harper joined Ravenclaw.
"About half this House is a Weasley." Annabelle informed him and Zephari grinned wolfishly.
"Too true." She agreed, "I'm one, so is Dante – the girl with blue hair up there – and Zoë might as well be."
"Gryffindor!" The hat cried and a reddish-brown haired boy with streaks of reddish blond hair joined their table.
He sat beside Annabelle, glancing at them all. "Liam Harrington." He said, extending a hand to Abe, who shook it somewhat grudgingly and introduced himself before shaking an excitable James Creevey's hand. Liam then shook hands with Zephari, who introduced herself with a smile, and Annabelle, who blushed slightly.
Beside her, Zephari could feel Alexis bristling. She wondered why, then realized that Alexis was more of a big sister to her than a cousin. With that, she prodded her cousin in the ribs. "I can take care of myself." She muttered, earning an apologetic smile.
Horace Jortin and Torrence Lestrange were put in Slytherin during the lull in their conversation. Zephari cringed inwardly. She had thought all the Lestranges to be dead. Yet, here was one of her great-grandfather's cousin's offspring. Probably raised by Death Eaters as well.
"Rumour has it a few of our professors are vampires." Abe said idly.
"None of them are. All our professors are human, even if Snape and Malfoy act like overgrown bats and Dethol is extremely weird." Alexandre said sharply.
"He's called Professor Dethol here?" Zephari asked curiously as Marie-Eve Losange went to Hufflepuff.
"Yes, because nobody can pronounce N'ataya properly." Alexis answered distractedly as Christien MacDougal went to Ravenclaw.
"He must be amused by that." Zephari observed, turning to look at him.
He met her eyes and winked. She smirked back and he rolled his eyes. He held up two thumbs and she returned them with a smile. She liked the possibility of spending time with him every day. He was delightedly eccentric, as she always told her cousins, and he was a kind of a surrogate father for her sometimes. She felt grateful for having such a close group of friends and family.
Michael Madley went to Hufflepuff then, distracting herself and Dethol. "McDonald, Natasha." A girl with near-white streaks in her reddish-brown hair hopped happily onto the stool. She had barely lowered the hat on her head when it shouted "Gryffindor!"
Zephari clapped as her next dorm-mate joined their group. She blinked in surprise. Already Gryffindor had three out of its five first year girls. She knew the Hat divided the years evenly every year, never leaving any doubt that each student was in the right House. She looked up in surprise when another McDonald was called by Professor Abbott; a Nathaniel McDonald, to be exact.
"My twin brother." Natasha explained, sitting beside Abe.
"Ah." Zephari said tactlessly, "I'm Zephari Black. These are Annabelle Ashford, Abe Forrester, James Creevey and Liam Harrington." She introduced, motioning to each in turn, "And these two eavesdroppers are Alexis and Alexandre Weasley."
"Pleased to meet you all." Natasha said brightly. "I knew I'd be in Gryffindor, but Nathaniel-" She fell short as the hat cried out Gryffindor, "-was unsure!" She finished, completely elated.
"See, Natasha, now you'll have to see him in class and everywhere else." Abe said brightly, "And, in the mean time, you have the rest of us as your surrogate family as well."
"I pity her for being stuck with him in all her classes." Alexandre growled, though only Alexis and Zephari heard him.
Katherine Medar and Veronica Parkinson joined Slytherin then. Zephari looked instinctively at Draco, as she always did when a Parkinson was mentioned, and saw that his brow was furrowed with irritation. She looked over at Snape, who also looked sourer than ever, and then at Dethol, who looked thoughtful.
Zephari grimaced. "A wonderful reunion." She muttered crossly, though none of her fellow first years understood.
Cynthia Perks was sent to Hufflepuff easily enough. Zephari met Zoë's eyes despite her friend's nervousness. She smiled and gave her two thumbs up, which were returned by her black-haired comrade. Dante had changed her hair colour five times since the last time Zephari had looked over the remaining waiting first years, which made the seated Gryffindor grin.
Zoë fidgeted nervously as 'Pier, Emily' went up to the hat. She knew she was close to being called up. She looked over at Dante, who changed her hair as she watched to neon green. Zoë snorted slightly and elbowed her, pointing at her hair. The girl grinned sheepishly and changed it to her natural Weasley red.
"Potter, Zoë." Professor Abbott called.
Zoë blanched and walked forward, taking the hat from Emily before the blue-eyed girl dashed off to Hufflepuff. Zoë sat on the stool and put on the hat. It nudged itself down her nose to cover her eyes. She supposed it did that to get their whole attention.
Hello Miss Potter. It said quietly.
Gryffindor. She thought firmly at it.
It chuckled. I had no doubt. I just wanted to say such to you. Have fun in "Gryffindor!"
Zoë swept off the hat and placed it on the stool, running to the Gryffindor table which had near exploded with clapping. She glanced over at the Ravenclaw table, finding her sister. Chiharu smiled and waved. Zoë waved back before running up to Zephari and hugging her from behind before being hugged by Alexis and hauled onto the bench between them, shoving over a boy and a girl.
"I knew it, Zoë! I knew you'd be Gryffindor!" Alexis cried joyfully.
Zephari smirked. "Never had a doubt." She said simply.
Zoë beamed happily, brushing back her black hair. "I know Dante will join us too." She informed them.
Zephari grinned. "In the mean time, meet our fellows: Abe Forrester, Annabelle Ashford, James Creevey, Liam Harrington, and Nathaniel and Natasha McDonald." She said swiftly.
Zoë grinned. "Pleased to meet you." She said happily.
Zephari grinned at Natasha. "There go another pair of twins though to separate houses." She said as Faye Pritchard went to Ravenclaw while Matthew Pritchard joined Slytherin. "At least you and your brother are in the same house."
The girl nodded, "Too true. We've never been that close, though, always fighting." She confided.
Eric Quirke went to Hufflepuff then and Zoë examined a goblet, which was intricately engraved. She noticed that Zephari was watching the swiftly diminishing number of students to be Sorted. She looked up as well in time to catch 'Sheffield, Craig' being sent to Hufflepuff. Zoë was soon bored with watching it muse over where to send 'Tajid, Molly' and turned her attention to her fellows.
Abe Forrester was obviously an outgoing and rather happy bloke, like herself except a boy. Annabelle was quiet and pensive, yet smart and witty. Liam was quiet, considering and friendly. Courteous, as well, if she was any judge. James Creevey was distracted, often staring off into space. She had heard of the Creeveys from her mother, both had died alongside her father. Maybe that was why James was so out of it. Nathaniel was quieter than his sister, obviously preferring to watch rather than participate. He reminded her of Dante, in a way. Natasha was blunt and unafraid, quite the opposite of her brother at times.
Molly Tajid was sent to Ravenclaw and a boy named Xander Thomas took the hat next. The decision was instantaneous, sending him scurrying towards Gryffindor amidst their cheers. 'Vardil, Sean' took the hat as Xander sat down and everyone introduced themselves with smiles and handshakes.
Dante watched the goings-on at the Gryffindor table enviously. Oh how she wished she could be sitting with them instead of still waiting to be Sorted. Her stomach gave a tremendous heave as Sean Vardil was given to Hufflepuff. Professor Abbott's clear voice cut into her stupor, "Weasley, Dante."
She took a deep breath and walked bravely up to the hat. She sat on the stool for a moment before putting it on her head. It had barely touched her wavy hair before it yelled out "Gryffindor!" and Dante let out a sigh of relief. She beamed happily and handed it to 'Whitby, Sarah' before running off.
All the Weasleys seemed to be celebrating as she ran up. Gryffindor had all its first years then and the mob of red-heads descended on her with hugs and happiness. Nobody at Gryffindor heard Sarah Whitby being Sorted into Ravenclaw and they finally quieted when Professor Abbott did not call out the last student's name. It was apparent which house they would go to, though; as only Slytherin was short any students. Short two students, actually.
The Weasleys eventually sat down and Dante got a hug from Zoë and a smile from Zephari as Sora Zabini was sorted into Slytherin without a second's thought from the hat. It was then put away and instant babble started up as Professor Abbott seated herself. The caretaker was still the same man from her father's time, an Argus Filch. He looked as surly as ever as he took the hat and stool away.
Bill Weasley stood up and the babble died down obediently. Dante took a moment to reflect on how odd it was that her uncle with a fanged earring and long red hair was Headmaster. However, as the students quieted for him, she had no doubt in her mind that her uncle deserved to be Headmaster.
"Another year at Hogwarts begins," He said brightly, looking at his students, "with more starving students sitting in this hall. So I shall be brief. The Forbidden Forest is, as always, forbidden to all students. Mr. Filch had asked me to remind you all that the full list of two-hundred fifty-six banned items can be found on his office door and quite a few of you would do good to check it for new additions such as Never Fading Fireworks and Collapsing Catastrophes. Now that that is said, I have but two words remaining: tuck in."
As this was said, the tables filled with a wonderful feast which the new Gryffindors enjoyed in silence, due to stuffed mouths. They then followed their cousins Spring and Summer up to their dormitories. Spring smiled at them when they stopped in front of the Fat Lady. "Asphodel." She told the woman, who nodded and swung forward to admit them.
Spring took the boys up the stairs to their dorms, while Summer did the same for the girls. She gave Zoë, Dante and Zephari each a hug before leaving. As Dante lay back in her four-poster bed after changing, staring up at the hangings, she smiled. She, Dante Weasley, was in Gryffindor, at Hogwarts, with her two best friends ever. Life was great.