Samantha gasped in wonder as she saw the castle for the first time through the curtain of vines. Her gray eyes flashed briefly purple, and faded back to normal. This was to be her home for the next three years. Her silver hair was tied back in a firm bun, and glistened softly in the moonlight as she drifted slowly towards the castle, water lapping underneath her trailing fingers. Her simple black robe covered a school uniform, minus the house colors. A great hulk of a man sat behind her, his bushy beard masking any trace of a mouth. Every so often he would let out a quiet grunt. Eagerly anticipating the arrival, she checked Hagrid. He was staring off in the direction of the forbidden forest. She gave a casual flick of her finger towards the rear of the boat. The boat gave an involuntary shudder and sped up. She did a quick shoulder check. Hagrid didn't appear to have noticed anything. Loose hair undulated in the wind, and she let out a quiet tinkling laugh as they sped into the rising moonlight.

She was greeted at the door by a stern looking woman with her graying hair tied back in a no-nonsense bun. Her bespectacled eyes glinted as she regarded Samantha appraisingly. "Is this she?" she asked Hagrid. Hagrid nodded solemnly. "Very well, follow me" she commanded. With a farewell glance and backhand wave at Hagrid, who returned the farewell with a wink, she followed the imposing woman into the brilliant torchlight of the main doors. Beyond the enormous doors lay a welcoming corridor that branched out into countless winding corridors. The torches became less numerous as they moved onwards, twisting and turning to suit the confines of the many passages as they ascended. Ten flights of stairs, three portrait passages, and one locked door later, they were finally standing outside the doors of the Great Hall.

The Professor nodded Samantha off to the left-hand side of the doors and knocked three times. The murmur within subsided instantly. She beckoned Samantha to follow and pushed open the heavy doors. Once open they locked magically in place and allowed Samantha room to follow the Professor. She stepped out into the blinding glow of thousands of levitating candles. She blinked her watering eyes and followed the professor into the brilliant glow. To each side of her were two tables packed full of children and teenagers clad in black. Each table had two colors on their ties and a symbol on the front of their robes. Blue and silver were Ravenclaw, black and yellow were Hufflepuff, silver and green were Slytheryn, and green and gold belonged to Gryffindor. The members at each table were all muttering amongst themselves quietly as Samantha strolled calmly down the aisle. She began to feel a twinge of nervousness, followed by a surge of fear as she spotted the mangy hat upon a three-legged stool. She knew all about the test, of course, having read about it in Hogwarts - a History, but after having read the portion numerous times she could still not find a house that suited her. Slytheryn was definitely out of the question, no questions asked. She didn't feel smart enough for Ravenclaw, or brave enough for Gryffindor. Hufflepuff was her only option, she thought gloomily. From what I've heard, that's not where I want to end up. She was acutely aware of every eye in the great hall upon her as she sat upon the stool and pulled the ratty hat upon her silver wisps of hair. She shivered in apprehension as silence suddenly befell the great hall, and jumped slightly as the hat began to speak. "Not Slytheryn, high morals; couldn't be Hufflepuff, too many secrets that would impair your ability to make friends there; hmmmmmmmmm, where shall I put you?" She grinned to herself as her two least favorite houses were eliminated. "A great deal of fear, and no means to conquer it. Not Gryffindor…" Samantha knew what was coming, or so she thought. Oddly, instead of calling out Ravenclaw after eliminating the rest, the hat continued to ponder. "Couldn't be Ravenclaw, you haven't any book learning skills. Plenty of intelligence, yes, but Ravenclaw would not have accepted you. Wherever shall you go?" Samantha grew nervous as the minutes ticked away, and the hat's mutterings became incomprehensible. A murmur began to swell in the great hall. What was taking so long? Who was this girl? After five minutes of waiting, Dumbledore begged pardon of the great hall, commenced the feast, and removed the hat from Samantha's head. "Follow me, my dear." He said with a sparkle in his eye. He turned and swept out a side door of the great hall, with a now trembling fifteen-year-old student in his wake.