The train slowly ground to a silent stop as Sabra gazed wide-eyed and amazed at the scene that unfolded in front of her. Zion butted her ear with his wet nose, startling her out of her reverie.

She turned around to find the other three busily grabbing bags and cages and armfuls of fur. She shook her head briskly and dug into her bag for the note her mother had given her that morning. She cracked the wax seal to find only two words written in green ink in the middle of the small page.

"Luma ipsa." She turned her wand on herself and cast the spell, rolling her eyes at her mother's mysteriousness.

Nothing happened. She looked down at her wand in confusion, then shrugged and grabbed her bag.

Before Hermione opened the door, Sabra snagged a corner of her robe in her hand. "Hermione? Where am I going to go?" She wasn't a first year, but she certainly couldn't go with the other sixth years.

Harry turned to look at her, then lifted his head and laughed; Ron, looking around to find the joke, caught a glimpse of her and joined the laughter.

Sabra turned her head around, almost dislodging Zion, searching for the source of their amusement. "What's so funny?"

Hermione looked calmly at her, though her eyes seemed to be laughing. "Nothing. Just trust me; you'll know where to go once you get out there.

She raised her eyebrows, but nodded, ignoring Ron and Harry's snickers behind her. Exiting the compartment, she saw a sea of students in black robes pouring through the corridor out the doors through which she could see glimmers from lanterns on the platform.

She joined the mass and was pulled down the hall and out the door where she was suddenly confronted with a steep flight of stairs.

WHAM!

"Ow." Sabra lifted her head painfully from the wooden platform where she had landed and saw a calm but blurry Zion sitting two feet from her head, delicately licking a paw.

"Boged. Little traitor." She rubbed her eye roughly then paused, and groaned. "Why is this happening?"

Sabra climbed to her knees and began groping around on the wood below her, trying to find her glasses and praying that they weren't broken.

A hazy arm reached in from her left and picked up something from the ground, and offered it to her. She reached forward and took it, and sighed gratefully when she felt cool wire and smooth glass under her fingers.

Sabra slid the glasses on her face and smiled when the scene before her came into sharp focus. She turned her head to thank her helper, and screamed.

A huge man with wild hair knelt in front of her, with as surprised a look as hers on his face. He was dressed in thick brown coats and what looked like a fur belt.

"Miss Levi!" he said loudly. "It's alright!"

She stopped screaming and looked around her where a group of people were gathered around her, laughing wildly.

"W-what? Who are you?!"

He stood up slowly with a groan and reached a massive hand down to where she was kneeling. "Rubeus Hagrid. Game-keeper and Care of Magical Creatures professor."

Sabra gathered Zion in her arms and got to her feet on her own, not once taking her eyes from the giant in front of her. Once standing, she bit her lip and shifted her weight from foot to foot. The crowd dissipated, but Professor Hagrid still stood there, waiting expectantly for her too say something.

Finally, she looked down from his soft brown gaze and grinned, half-hesitantly, half-sheepishly. "Hamoreh Hagrid? Could you…do you know where I'm supposed to go? I'm the new student, Sabra Levi--" She stopped, remembering that he had already identified her by name.

He grinned widely back at her. "Yeah, well I'd already be knowin' that. Yeh did tha' spell right, tha's for sure."

"Spell?" Despite her alarm of the rather large individual in front her, Sabra found herself interested.

"Yeah. Look at yer necklace; didn't yeh know?"

"Mah?" She reached down and grabbed the small chamsa charm around her neck; bringing it up, she found bright blue light leaking through her fingers. "Oh. Spell." So that was what Ron, Harry and Hermione had been laughing about. She grinned wryly, and looked back up at Professor Hagrid, dropping her necklace.

"Can you tell me where I have to go, Hamoreh?"

"Now I wouldn't be knowin' what tha' means, but th' necklace is for me. You'll be followin' me now, Miss Levi."

She nodded and followed him as he turned around and lumbered back down the platform, holding his lantern high and calling out "Firs' years! Firs' years over year!"

By the time he had marched twice down the platform, a small posse of children had accumulated behind him, and as they reached the end for the last time, he turned around and counted them all.

"Forty six… forty seven… forty eigh'!" Satisfied, he grinned down at all of them. "You lot stay 'ere a sec, alrigh'? Sabra, you keep an eye on 'em."

She found herself standing a few feet away from, and a head above, the main group of children. Two girls -- one slender, with deep, auburn hair in a low tail over one shoulder, and the other with black hair left to hang loose around her shoulders -- stood by her. The chatted in low tones for a few moments while Sabra kept a nervous watch on the huddled children, then the red haired one whipped around with wide eyes toward the platform.

"Look! It's Harry Potter!"

The main body of students turned as quickly as she had toward the train. Sabra looked with them, and saw, as mentioned, just Harry, with Ron and Hermione.

"So? It's Harry, great deal."

The black haired child looked at Sabra with scornful brown eyes. "Don't you know anything? Harry Potter! The Boy Who Lived!"

Sabra gaped at the small girl in front of her. "Mah?! Harry? The Boy Who Lived?! You're… you're kidding me!"

"Where are you from?" A boy asked from the bunch. "He's been in this school for five years, where have you been?"

"He stopped You-Know-Who from getting the Philosopher's Stone," another girl piped in.

"He found the Chamber of Secrets, and won the Triwizard Tournament."

"Also, he lived to fight You-Know-Who last year, don't forget that!"

"And he's the best seeker Gryffindor's ever had! He's going to be captain this year, I just know it!"

Students were relating Harry's exploits as fast as they could get a word in, while Sabra stood by the two girls, slightly dazed at the news she had just learned. Harry, The Boy Who Lived? But why on earth had he been so nice to her? She had just met her, and he acted so kind, just like someone nor--.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Professor Hagrid, who had come back to the group, his long coat swinging around his ankles as he beckoned to them. "Come on, you lot."

The followed him as he led the way to the lake; as he pushed away the curtain of branches, they saw the small fleet of boats at the water's edge, floating on the glistening lake.

As they walked down the rugged path to the water, he held his lantern high to light the way and shouted out, "no more'n four to a boat!"

As Sabra and the two girls were last, they had a boat to themselves, just like Professor Hagrid. She held the boat steady as they climbed in, then lifted up the edge of her skirt and robes and hopped in.

As she sat down, Zion decided to reveal himself, and climbed out of her robe to jump up on her shoulder. He nudged his wet nose against her face, almost dislodging her glasses again, then licked her ear and cleaned it soundly before settling down again.

Hagrid raised an arm to the sky and shouted loudly, "FORWARD!" His voice echoing across the vast expanses of the lake. The boats started forward.

A meow came from under the black haired girl's robes, and she sighed and reached inside to take out a large, adult calico cat. The cat sniffed at her fingers disinterestedly, then settled down in her lap and promptly fell asleep.

"Useless little thing," she muttered, though she reached down and began scratching it behind its ears.

The other girl looked at Sabra for a moment, then at her friend, then back at Sabra. Finally she laid her head on her friends shoulder, though still looking at everything she could manage. The silence in the boat didn't seem especially hostile, but after a few moments, Sabra stopped petting Zion and turned to the girls.

Sticking her right hand out, ('Right hand,' she reminded herself) Sabra smiled pleasantly at the two eleven year old. "Hello. I'm Sabra Levi." She spoiled the effect by looking out at the waters of the lake, then screaming.

In the water, a giant, fleshy pink tentacle was rising slowly up, and waving at the cluster of boats. It swayed about in the air for a few moments, then flopped back into the water with a loud 'SPLASH!'

All the children began talking loudly and excitedly amongst themselves as Sabra put her hand over her racing heart and tried to breathe deeply. The black haired girl smiled in a satisfied sort of way, then stuck her hand out and took Sabra's, which was hanging limply off her lap.

"Mheera Stonewall," she said, and pumped Sabra's hand enthusiastically.

The red haired one took her hand a little more delicately, then shook it politely. "Allie Dougherty at your service."

Sabra smiled at the two girls before her. "Nice to meet you, Mheera and Allie." She gave a worried glance back at the lake, where the water was swirling calmly as if nothing had happened.

Mheera laughed roguishly, and Allie joined in. "You should have seen your face," she said. "It was hilarious!"

Sabra sighed, relieved. Apparently the tentacle was nothing to be afraid of. Then she looked back at Mheera. "Um…I'm sorry but…what does hilarious mean?" Her accent was thickened briefly from her scare, and she looked down at her seat, embarrassed by her ignorance.

It was Allie who answered her. "Hilarious means fantastically funny." she said, reaching over to scratch the calico cat on its tummy. It purred briefly in its sleep and rolled over, revealing itself as a she.

"Oh." She classified that in her head for later use, right next to 'You're kidding me!' "And what was that in the water?"

Allie laughed. "That was the giant squid. No one's quite sure how he got there, but he's been there as long as anyone can remember."

Sabra looked at her curiously. "As long as anyone can remember? I thought you were first years; have you been here before?"

"No." the answer came from Mheera. "My sister Raven just graduated last year. She told me about all this stuff; Allie just knows 'cause she's an awful eavesdropper."

"No, it's because I'm a good eavesdropper." There was an impish gleam in Allie's green eyes as she grinned at them and reached over to take the large cat out of Mheera's lap. "Hello Silly-Fae. Silly-Billy-Fae-Mae." She tickled her and rubbed her nose playfully in the cat's fur. "Cutie-Fae!"

Mheera made a face to Sabra, and rolled her eyes at the childish girl. "Even though Fae's my cat, all Allie's got is a scruffy bird, so she loves her."

"At least Pecan's useful," Allie shot back, still playing around with the cat. "He can deliver letters."

"Pecan?" Sabra felt as if they were speaking a language only they knew, and she could not hope to comprehend."

"Yup, Pecan. Pecan Pie. I named him that because when I first got him, he ate my slice of pie." The red haired girl giggled, then sighed. "I already miss my mum."

Sabra quickly tried to change the subject, not knowing how to comfort the small child. "Where is Pecan? He isn't here, I noticed."

"No duh." Mheera rolled her eyes again.

"Wait, what? What does that mean?"

"She was being sarcastic," Allie explained, immediately brightening up. "Pecan was on the train; the house elves probably brought him in already."

Sabra looked at her left shoulder where Zion was snoozing comfortably, and then back at Allie. "Was I supposed to leave him on the train?"

She shook her head. "Nope. You're allowed, but except in the case of caged animals, you ought to take them with you. Just, for your sake, keep him hidden during the sorting." She looked down at the lounging animal in her lap and grinned. "I dunno how Mheera's going hide her from McGonagall. I hear she has eyes in the back of her head, really!" Allie related wonder after wonder, her eyes shining with eleven year old happiness and mischievousness.

The fleet of boats reached a long curtain of ivy in the cliff and Hagrid stood in his boat to brush it aside. They floated silently through it, the cool dry tendrils brushing her face and across Zion's back, waking him. He stretched and yawned in her ear, almost falling off her shoulder.

She glanced up to Allie's lap, wondering if the two cats would get along, but the calico animal seemed to have disappeared. She looked at Mheera, but there was no trace of the answer there, aside from laugh crinkles next to her eyes and the quiver in her throat of a half-swallowed laugh.

They, along with the others, pulled up to a dark shore, covered in pebbles and a pale brown weed. The water lapped gently at the shoreline as they got out of their boats. Once they were all out, Hagrid counted then once more, and they were off.

Sabra trailed behind the group with Mheera and Allie, following Hagrid through a pitch-dark passage, the only light being Hagrid's lantern, held high above their heads as they stumbled through the rock passage. Sabra trailed her hand along the cool wall, running her fingers through cracks and pits that marred the otherwise smooth surface.

They exited the tunnel into the very shadow of the castle, and walked along the stone wall until a flight of stairs. Crowding around on the landing, Hagrid raised one huge fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

The door opened, the oak wood moving soundlessly on its hinges. A stern faced woman stood in the entrance way, her emerald green robes shimmering almost as much as the light off her spectacles. She had black hair pulled back in a severe bun, grey hairs just beginning to show.

Hagrid stepped back a step, then swept his hands out to her. "The firs' years Professor McGonagall."

She nodded her head regally. "Thank you Hagrid. I'll take care of them now."

Opening the door wider, she motioned them into a huge, sweeping room, with a ceiling too high to see. A cackle brought everyone's attention in that direction, to see a small man in odd clothing, floating about one hundred feet above their heads. He was holding a pile of brightly coloured balls in one hand, and in the other, a large bag of what looked like flour.

He quickly opened one arm, letting loose the balls over the heads of the students. Sabra quickly whipped out her wand from the new pocket and pointed it at the falling missiles.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Her voice joined Professor McGonagall's to stop them. She sighed, relieved, when the balls slowed in midair, and moved to the side, where she released them and allowed them to fall harmlessly to the floor, spraying white flour all over the stone floor.

Sabra looked over to the professor, searching for some sign of approval, but all she got was a tight-lipped smile, and an almost apologetic point above her. She cringed, and closed her eyes, to late to stop the bag of flour from bursting on her head, dousing her in white powder. Zion hissed and spat at the floating figure.

"PEEVES!" Professor McGonagall hollered. "GET OUT!"

Sabra cautiously opened her eyes to find all forty eight eleven-year-olds staring at her with a mixture of amusement and disbelief, as if she was a ghost. Looking down at herself, she imagined it looked like she was one.

Pointing the short wand at herself, she rolled her eyes and muttered "Scourgify!" Nothing happened.

"It's enchanted," the professor told her, trying to hide a smile. "We do that so Peeves can't steal it, yet he still does."

Sabra imagined she too would have been hiding a smile had it not been her in this position. She sighed and put her wand away, then attempted to brush away as much as she could.

Mheera and Allie came forward to help, then a few more girls. Soon she had six girls brushing at her robes with her, sweeping as much flour off as possible. When her robes were practically clean, the professor cleared her throat and motioned to a small door in the wall. "If we may?"

Sabra nodded, smiling sheepishly. Professor McGonagall gave a stern glance in Zion's direction, then turned around and led the group through the door.

Sabra quickly took the still-white cat off her shoulder and absently followed the rest. She brushed Zion off thoroughly, then attempted to stuff him in the huge pocket inside her robe. This took all of ten minutes, as he definitely didn't want to be stuffed. Finally she got him in and buttoned the button, but by then the professor had already left them in the room.

"What's going on?" she whispered to Mheera.

"We're to be sorted," she whispered back. "Right about…now."

The door swung open in front of them, and now seemed to lead onto a dais on which was placed a large table with about thirty or forty teachers. Professor McGonagall stepped inside and beckoned to them.

"Form a line," she told the first years, and her, "and follow me."

They made themselves into a ragged line and followed her through the door into the biggest room Sabra had ever seen! Her old school's Chader Ochel could have fit twenty times in this new one!

Out on the floor, four tables were laid out horizontal to each other. They were about as long as her house, and entirely full of children who had, up until that moment, been talking and screaming their heads off.

Hundreds upon thousands of long white candles floated around the room, giving off a light brighter then ten bonfires. The arches that supported the room climbed the walls and soared off…into nothing.

The ceiling was a perfect picture of the twilight sky, with the setting sun sending few rays to light the room farther. Sabra's legs turned to jelly as she gazed upon the sight, and apparently Mheera's sister hadn't prepared them, for the two girls leaned briefly on her. She willed her legs not to collapse, and it worked. They barely made it to a line down the platform, facing out at the thousands of students who gazed up at them.

She felt very conspicuous, a head or more above the rest of the students. Seemingly, everyone else noticed that, because as soon as they were in place, the whispers began, punctuated by occasional laughter.

An old man stood at the podium in the middle. He had a snow white beard that could be tucked into his belt and bright purple robes.

White hair. Suddenly Sabra realized what the few laughs were about. She, or the girls, hadn't bothered to brush the flour out of her hair, and it was probably as white as the old man's.

Professor McGonagall walked silently forward and placed a sturdy four-legged stool in front of them, with a ratty old wizarding hat sitting on top.

She stared at the hat with apprehension, just as the rest of the school did, but theirs was with anticipation. What were they waiting for?

After a moment, a wide rip opened in the brim like a mouth, and it began to sing.

I might look like a hat to you,

And outside I may be.

But put me on your noggin,

And in your skull I'll see.

I'll look for different qualities,

The ones inside your head.

Like things in youth you used to do,

And book you may have read.

I may place you in Gryffindor,

Where are the bold and fair.

Not always truths, not always lies,

About your friends you care.

Perhaps you'll sit in Slytherin,

Wily, like your kind.

Anything to get your goal,

True powers you will find.

Next is loyal Hufflepuff,

A companion 'till the end.

Your open heart to one and all,

Helps love and friendships mend.

Last, not least, is Ravenclaw,

For knowledge is your power.

The brains, the smarts, the wisdom here,

Builds learning into towers.

These four houses, none the same,

Must unite and become one.

To save this school, our treasures deep,

Until bad times are done.

(Hey Gold Lorax, go hug a tree. The hippie movement died out, in '70. You whine about T'kun O'lam, but at the Z, your songs are on papeeeeeer!!! GASP!)

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