Author's note: I don't own Harry Potter or its characters. Please don't sue me; I have student loans to pay. This story is set in the year 2051.

The Sorting

A stately witch in emerald robes met them on the other side of the lake.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. I'm Professor McGonagall. In a few minutes you will be sorted into your houses for the rest of your time here."

There was quite a bit of whispering going on at this. Minerva McGonagall had been teaching at Hogwarts for at least seventy years. She was something of a legend among the students. As they were led into the great hall, Siri reached for Petra's hand. She needed to be in same house as her best friend, and hopefully not in the same house as her perfect sister, Polaris. But she could handle being in the same house as Pol if Petra was with her. Siri had to admit she was nervous. Unlike her cousin, all of her education had been undertaken by private tutors. To tell the truth, Petra was the only person she knew her age. She was afraid that without Petra she wouldn't be able to make friends. Petra made her feel confident. Unfortunately, given that Petra's last name started with an A and her own with a W, Siri had resigned herself to worrying the entire time.

Professor McGonagall stood beside the stool and began reading names.

"Ashton, Petra."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Well, at now she knew where she wanted to be.

"Barns, Gregory."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Cameron, Rachel."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Cameron, Richard."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Chang, Li."

"RAVENCLAW!"

Siri bit her lip.

"Creevy, Melissa."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Dickens, James."

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Evans, Joy."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Fergusson, George."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Hiroda, Ryu."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Breath, Siri." Kate ordered. "You look like you're going to pass out."

"James, Kara."

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Johnson, Marie."

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Jones, Morag."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Keller, Marcus."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Krauss, Helga."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Siri pulled her hand out of her mouth in horror. She hadn't bitten her nails in years. Of course, looking at her hands now, you couldn't tell that.

"Krenshaw, Elaine."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Lewis, Susan."

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Lloyd, Alexandra."

"SLYTHERIN!"

"MacLeod, Kenzie."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Maddox, Remus."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Siri had let out of sigh of relief when Kenzie, the Scottish boy Petra'd ticked off, was placed in a different house from Petra. The two of them in the same house could have been a recipe for disaster. Petra was known to hold grudges, and it seemed that this boy did the same. But Remus being sorted into Gryffindor just made the butterflies in Siri's stomach worse. She'd genuinely like him, and it seemed like he liked her. She wanted a chance to see if she could become friends with him. It wasn't that friendship between houses never happened, but from everything she'd heard from her sister and other relatives made it seem unlikely.

"McGregor, John."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Morris, Christina."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Morse, Cassia."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Muir, Lindin."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Nevin, Andrew."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Kate grabbed her hand as she moved to bite her nails again. "Merlin, you are nervous. Siri, this isn't life or death. And you're driving me nuts with the nail biting."

"O'Connell, Sorcha."

"SLYTHERIN!"

"O'Keefe, Margaret."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"O'Neill, Jonathan."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Preston, Rose."

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Raymond, Claire."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Siri had switched to wringing her hands. "Could this take any longer?" she thought.

"Ross, Lillian."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Smith, Mark."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"St. John, Heather."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Thomas, Simon."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Webster, Katherine."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

When Kate was sorted into Gryffindor, Siri groaned. She was going to end up in Slytherin with her sister. She knew it. All her friends, or at least potential friends she'd mad so far, would be in the rival house.

"Williams, Siri."

Finally, it was her turned. Siri took her place on the stool. The ratty old hat was placed on her head, and she closed her eyes, waiting for judgment.

"Well, my dear, if you were any other soul, I'd put you in Slytherin. But you're not so…GRYFFINDOR!"

Relieved beyond measure, Siri took her place at the Gryffindor table next to Petra as the last boy was called.

"Winsor, Alec."

"SLYTHERIN!"

And with that, the sorting was over. Siri grinned at Remus who sat across from her as the feast appeared. The year was looking up. An hour later pleasantly full and rather sleepy, Siri followed Karen Weasley, one of the Gryffindor prefects, to their dorms. Siri claimed the bed next to Petra's and was asleep before her head touched the pillow.