Tommy must have fallen asleep, because he jerked awake when the compartment door slid open. Chester Weasley had returned, this time with two boys that had to be his brothers. They each had flaming red hair and freckles, although one was about a foot taller than the other. The three of them had already changed into their crisp black uniforms, and what Tommy presumed to be the oldest one sported a shiny gold badge that read "head boy."

"Hey there Tommy," said the taller one. "I'm Frederic, this is Charles, and I know you already met my prat of a brother, Chester. Real pest that one." Tommy shook his hand, and asked about his badge.

"Oh, this means I'm Head Boy. It was a big surprise actually; I don't get great grades and I've spent half my time at Hogwarts in detention, but I guess they figure since our brother, who was Head Boy last year, was so smart, I'll suddenly turn out to be a model student. Little do they know…" Tommy laughed, but couldn't help but picture himself wearing the badge in six years, and graduating Hogwarts with honors. He vowed to himself he would study hard every year so it would happen.

Suddenly, a voice echoed through the corridors of the train, shouting "five minutes 'till Hogwarts, hurry it along!"

Tommy quickly changed into his school uniform, unused to wearing robes that, in his opinion, looked like a dress. But as a swarm of students began flooding the platform, brand new robes billowing dramatically in the wind, he felt overwhelming pride from being part of something like this. Something magical.

"All first years, come with me," said a familiar voice. Tommy whirled around and saw Og, waving his hand jovially in the air and beaming with excitement. He led the first years up a pathway, which ended at a lake. As he was about to ask aloud how they were getting to the castle, Og whistled and canoes began slowly drifting towards the bank.

"Well, get in kids. Don't tip over; the water's freezing this time of year."

Tommy got into a boat with Chester and Myron, and the canoe drifted after the others of its own accord. It was a beautiful night; the stars were out, and the brisk fall air felt good after spending hours on a stuffy train. He let his hands drag along in the water and looked up at the moon.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said Og, who had pulled up behind him. There's definitely something living in that lake, and although I've never actually seen it, it did bite a boy's finger off a few years back." Tommy yanked his hands out of the water, and Og chuckled.

"Look ahead, you don't want to miss this."

Sure enough, Tommy turned just as they cleared a clump of trees, and could not suppress a gasp. The castle was enormous, with dozens of turrets and towers, and more windows that Tommy could count, all bright and welcoming. All down the line of boats, eyes grew wide when they approached Hogwarts and truly got a sense of its enormity.

Og helped the first years out of the boats, and led them into a great stone entrance hall, where they were packed so tightly that nobody could move a muscle. Suddenly, with a surge of panic, Tommy realized that he didn't know what was going on. What if everybody knew what to do? Had he missed something? But, looking at the people next to him, it was clear that everybody was nervous. A small girl with pigtails was biting her nails, and they were so crammed that he could feel the boy next to him trembling with fear.

Then finally, when Tommy was seriously worried about hyperventilating, a man stood up to address them all, looking as though he could easily have been a student.

"Hello, first years." He said in a rather high voice, "welcome to Hogwarts! I'm sure you all want to get right to the Sorting, so when I open the doors, line up single file in the Great Hall. I hope everybody is happy with their house. I'm Professor Tyrot, by the way. If you need anything, feel free to come to me!"

Tommy felt undeserved dislike towards the man immediately, unsure of exactly why the professor annoyed him, but he did have an uncanny ability to correctly judge people quickly. He followed the crowd into the Great Hall and lined up near the back of the line.

A stool with a frayed hat on it was carried to the front of the room. And what Tommy had taken for a hole, opened wide like a mouth and began to sing:

The four houses of Hogwarts

As depicted on the crest,

Are different for the qualities

That divide them from the rest.

Are you one of intellect?

Studious and Wise?

Then we have quite the place for you,

It's Ravenclaw I advise!

Are you one of honesty?

Truehearted and nice?

Then off you go to Hufflepuff

If you'll take my advice.

Are you one of Courage?

Noble and Strong?

Then I implore, be a Gryffindor

For that's where you belong!

Are you one with many goals?

Ambitious and assertive?

Then you're an easy choice to make

Slytherin's where you should live.

Now take deep breaths,

I will not bite,

While I make my division.

Just slip me on and clear your mind

And I'll make the right decision.

The students already sitting at the four long tables cheered enthusiastically, while most of the first years looked as though they might be sick. Tommy could hear his heart pounding against his chest and continuously rubbed his sweaty hands against the sides of his robes.

"Anderson, Agatha!" The young wizard who had led them inside shouted, and a tall, skinny girl stumbled up to the stool. After a moment of silence, the hat shouted, "Ravenclaw!" The occupants of one of the tables stood up and cheered, as the girl ran happily over.

Gladsong, Virginia was next, and she sat with the hat over her eyes for nearly five minutes before the brim opened wide and proclaimed, "GRYFFINDOR!"

The sorting went on for nearly twenty minutes before they finally reached the Rs. Tommy was sure he was next after "Rice, Nicholas" but it turnedhe was a triplet, and Tommy had to wait for "Rice, Theodore" and "Rice,Sydney" before it was his turn.When his name rang out across the hall, he walked shakily up to the stool and slipped the ratty hat over his head.

"Oh my," it said in his ear, startling him badly, "This is going to be a mighty tough choice. There's plenty in your head, I see. You'd do well in Ravenclaw with those brains, but there's more. I sense desperation on your part, to prove yourself. You're one of the most ambitious students I've encountered. I think the best fit for you would be "SLYTHERIN!" Tommy heard applauseas he pulled the hat off his head, andcould have sworn he heard it whisper, "Too good a fit perhaps." He looked around, but it was resting quietly in the professor's hands.

He made his way over to the Slytherin table, and quietly sat down next to an older boy with chiseled features and black eyes.

"Hello," the boy said, "Congratulations on making it to the best house! I'm Wyatt Garrison, in my third year!" They got into a lengthy conversation about classes and the different houses, and Tommy learned about the famous rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor. He wondered, growing nervous again, whether the boys he had met on the train would talk to him even though he was a Slytherin.

Chester Weasley was the last of the first years, and he was up at the stool before his name was called. The professor held the hat over his head, and it shouted "Gryffindor" before it even made contact with his orange hair. As Chester sauntered over to the Gryffindor table and high-fived his brothers, Tommy felt a pang of loss. Looking down the table made him feel even emptier, because everybody seemed to have friends already, and his only friend was miles and miles away.

However, the Hogwarts cooks seemed to make a valiant effort to fill this emptiness with food, because suddenly, golden platters with ungodly portions of every food imaginable appeared all along the table.

Years of eating orphanage food had trained Tommy to savor anything remotely tasty, but tonight he gave himself heaping portions of everything and began wolfing it down. Wyatt stared at him, not expecting such a small person to be able to devour five chicken legs in one sitting. Finally, Tommy leaned back in his chair contentedly and let his fork drop onto his plate.

He was growing sleepy, so he busied himself with listening to the conversations at the Slytherin table.

"My father supports Grindlewald's views, of course, but he's afraid to take an active role in helping him, because he works for the Ministry. They're really starting to crack down on his supporters. I think this whole thing could get nasty."

"Well obviously! Grindlewald's main objective is to overthrow the Ministry! He's made sixteen assassination attempts on Hiram Grasso! I think it should be pretty clear to those imbeciles at the Ministry; no, I'm not talking about your dad Maria, that he's a pretty big threat now that people are starting to come to their senses and join him."

Tommy was curious about this Grindlewald, and was anxious to learn about the politics of the wizarding world, but figured he could do research on it once he got settled in at Hogwarts.

When Tommy had reached the point of exhaustion where his head kept dropping to his chest, then jerking back up and it was painful to hold his eyes open, the headmaster, Professor Dippet, stood up and cleared his throat.

"I hope everybody enjoyed the feast, and I trust the older students are being welcoming to the first-years? A boy at the Gryffindor table snorted, having had his fork enchanted by an older student so that it would fling food at him when he tried to bring it near his mouth.

The headmaster continued to explain the rules of Hogwarts, and Tommy fell fast asleep. He awoke upon hearing applause and the scraping of hundreds of chairs. In a complete daze, he followed his housemates out of a door on the left of the Great Hall, down several corridors, and finally down six flights of stairs until the reached the dungeons.

Tommy followed for what felt like hours until they finally came to a halt.

"The password's 'Anaconda'," a prefect informed them, and stepped aside to let them all enter the common room. It wasn't by any means cozy, but it comfortable enough, and very sophisticated with neat leather armchairs and green and silver banners.

Because it was nearly midnight, the prefects briefly introduced themselves and explained how their schedule's worked.

"And the reason why they feed you so much the first night is that not a single first year can find their way to breakfast the next day, or the next couple of weeks come to think of it."

They ended by making everyone in the house swear to help them beat Gryffindor for the House Cup and Quidditch Cup, although Tommy had no idea what Quidditch was.

He followed the other first-year boys into their dormitory, changed quickly into the pajamas that were folded neatly in his drawer, and then pulled the silver curtains around his bed. He took a moment to relish in the lump-free mattress before becoming dead to the world.

A/N: If you've gotten this far, thank you so much for taking the time to read my story! A review would be extremely appreciated! (Actually, I'm begging you on hands and knees to review!!!!!) Toodles!!!! Also, I apologize for anything that is incorrect about the Slytherin common room, etc. (I'll just maintain that Hogwarts had to replace furniture and change some things over 50 years) Have a great day and happy holidays!!!