A pale girl with long, straight black hair falling to the middle of her back walked along the aisle of the scarlet passenger train. A few pieces of hair fell in front of her dark blue eyes, giving her an almost careless and untroubled look. Upon a closer look, one could see specks of red in her eyes, as a result of a hastily performed spell that didn't completely hide their true color. She seemed not to notice the weird looks she got as she glanced through the sliding glass doors on either side of her, apparently looking for something. Her baggy black cargo pants made a soft swishing noise with every step she took, the tip of a wand sticking out of the corner of one of the pockets on her left leg. A fitted black The Clash shirt completed her look.

As she reached the end of the train, an exasperated sigh escaped Layla Sorge's lips. She had been searching for a trace of excitement, but had found none. The only thing that was going on in the compartments was friends talking about their summers, and occasionally she had come across groups of younger, gossipy girls who were talking about cute guys and giggling insanely. As bored as she was fifteen minutes before when she had begun her quest for excitement, she headed back to the compartment where she had left her twin sister, Ren. The two were identical, except for Layla's hair, which was slightly longer than her sister's, and the shade of blue that their eyes were when they changed them from their natural red.

Slamming the glass door closed behind her, she said, "I don't know about you, but I'm about to scream from boredom," as she collapsed on the seat across from her sister.

"Nothing interesting in the other compartments?" Ren asked her, though it didn't sound like she really cared.

"Not a thing," Layla replied, sighing again.

"Damn. I suppose things will be more exciting once we arrive."

"I hope so, or else I'm leaving school. I never wanted to come here in the first place," Layla said with a small frown.

"I don't know… I kind of like the change of scenery."

"France had nice scenery, too," Layla said defensively.

"You just liked it because you had a boyfriend there." Layla's eyes became watery, and she quickly lowered her gaze so that her sister wouldn't see. She bit her lower lip, her thoughts back on her boyfriend, and guilt flooded through her. She barely even heard her sister add, "Don't even deny it. You know it's true, I know it's true."

Silence fell between them as they both stared out of the window. The whistle of the train seemed to echo around the small platform as kids quickly hugged their parents and siblings and dashed towards the doors on the train. Layla glanced at her watch, and said, "They're late. By five minutes."

"As long as we get there, I don't give a fuck."

"Well, someone's grumpy," Layla sneered, still upset about Ren's earlier remark about her boyfriend.

Across the compartment from her, Ren sighed. Layla couldn't help but notice how tired her sister looked. Neither of them had gotten any real sleep in days; they had been too busy packing, and then continuously switching trains as they left the place that had been their home for more than five years. This caused the sisters to be increasingly confrontational with each other.

Layla almost fell out of her seat as the train jolted forward sharply. As another whistle sounded and the train began to move forward, she glanced at Ren to see if her sister was silently laughing at her. Ren, however, was still staring out of the window, looking almost as if she was sleeping sitting upright.

"I wonder what house we'll be in," she mused, more to herself than her sister.

"What?" Ren asked groggily.

"The houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin."

"Oh… dunno… I guess it doesn't matter. Does it?"

"I guess not," Layla replied, shrugging.

The compartment door slid open, revealing a girl who grinned rather shyly at them. Her friendly face was framed by short, thick, light brown hair that was spiked in the back. Deep, cloudy blue eyes met Ren's eyes, then Layla's, before the girl spoke.

"Hi," she said, a curious expression forming on her face. "Are you two the exchange students? You don't look familiar at all."

"Yes, in fact, we are. I'm Layla, and this is Ren," she said, gesturing at her sister. "Who might you be?"

"Skye. Skye Emrys. Nice to meet you. Mind if I have a seat?"

Ren got up and went to sit beside her sister, so that neither Layla nor Skye had to sit beside a stranger. "Have at it," she said.

Ren stared out the window at the hills dotted with sheep, so Layla decided to try to be friendly and talk with Skye.

"Um… what's your favorite color?" she asked, saying the first thing that came to mind without realizing what she was asking until the words were already out of her mouth.

"Blue," Skye replied, biting back a laugh. "Hate silences?"

"Something like that," Layla said, grinning slightly. Beside her, Ren sighed, and she glanced at her sister with a worried look. Ren was still staring out of the window, oblivious to Layla's concern for her.

"So, where are you two coming from?" Skye asked, looking interested.

"France," Layla said, the smile falling from her face.

"Homesick?"

"Just a little."

"Don't worry, you'll love Hogwarts."

"Will you tell me about it? What kind of things do you do there? Is there anything exciting nearby? "

Skye opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Ren suddenly announced, "I'm hungry. What about you?"

Layla and Ren met each other's eyes. She hadn't eaten anything since the night before, but she hadn't even noticed how hungry she was until Ren mentioned it. Before Layla said anything, Ren pulled two flasks out of the bag at her feet. Layla's eyes widened as her sister pushed a flask into her hands and drank some from her own flask.

"I don't want it," Layla said, thinking about her boyfriend again.

"You know very well you need it," Ren sounded bitter as she attached her flask to her belt loop. "It's nice and warm, drink up."

"Fine, fine," Layla muttered, succumbing to her hunger, and took a small, reluctant sip.

"Was that so hard?" Ren asked her, almost mockingly.

Layla said nothing, but glanced at Skye, who had been watching the little argument silently from across the compartment. She gave the two a confused look, but didn't pry, for which Layla was very grateful.

"Where did you say you two were from again?" Skye asked, breaking the awkward silence that had formed.

"Thionville, Lorraine, France," Layla replied.

"We were born in Transylvania," Ren said quickly.

"Isn't that the vampire place…?" Skye asked, sounding excited and nervous at the same time. Layla glanced at her sister, but Skye was too amazed to notice.

"Yeah," Ren said with a cocky grin, also not noticing Layla. "The vampire place."

"That's pretty cool."

The next few hours passed quickly, with many long silences as all three daydreamed, dozed, or made small talk. They all jumped when a knock sounded on the door, and it opened to reveal an old witch with a snack cart. She smiled at the teenagers, and Skye got up and went over to get some food, pulling out a purse full of coins.

"I'd like some Pumpkin Pasties," she said, before turning to the twins. "Do you guys want anything? You mentioned being hungry a while back."

"I'm fine," Ren replied, as Layla wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Looks like Layla isn't up for anything to eat, either."

"All right then." The snack cart clattered on down the aisle, and Layla felt less sick now that the food was no longer in sight, though she could still smell it. "So, what year are you in? You never mentioned it before," Skye continued, unwrapping a pasty.

"Fifth," Ren said.

"Oh, really? I'm a fifth year, too. It'd be awesome if you made it in Gryffindor with me. I'm sure the other girls would like to have you," Skye said, smiling brightly.

Layla grinned, but beside her, Ren only managed a weak smile. She was looking more exhausted than ever, and Layla was worried about her again. Despite the fact that she was the younger twin, Layla always felt that she needed to protect her sister from the world, though she often failed miserably at her task.

"We'll see in a few hours," Layla said, pushing her concern to the back of her mind. "I can hardly wait to get there."

"You're been saying that the past week." No excitement was present in Ren's voice as she said that. Moving her body into a more comfortable position, she soon fell asleep.

Layla and Skye talked about Hogwarts for the next few hours, occasionally stopping their conversation to shoot spells at Ren. The two girls bonded as they magically dyed Ren's hair different colors while she slept. Peering out the window, Skye managed to find a recognizable landmark through the gathering darkness. After changing into her robes, Layla remembered that her sister was still asleep, and shook her.

"Come on, Ren. Wake up."

"Why? Are we there?" Ren asked drowsily, beginning to stir.

"Nearly. You'd better change into your robes," Skye said.

"Fine, fine… How long have I been asleep?" Ren asked as she sat up and stretched.

"Almost four hours, you were out cold," Layla said.

"Ah, well, that's fine with me. I needed the sleep, I'm beat."

Ren pulled her trunk down from the rack overhead, and got out her robes after rummaging around a bit.

"What do you do during the Sorting?" Layla asked nervously, glancing out the window.

"Just sit on a stool with a hat on your head, it's nothing to worry about," Skye assured her.

"That's all? Seriously? You're not just saying that to make me feel better?"

"Calm down, Layla, it's as simple as that. Nothing to worry about."

The train stopped suddenly, and Layla fell backwards besides her sister, who was sitting on the ground putting on her shoes, fully dressed other than that. A sea of students poured from the train onto the platform beside it, and Layla looked even paler than usual, which was saying something.

"Nice to know we're here. It always seems to take forever to get here." Skye said as they joined the crowd outside the compartment.

"Well… we've got to go along with the First Years… for sorting and all," Ren said, looking uncomfortable.

Though there were hundred of students chattering around them, it seemed to be deadly silent to Layla. She looked quizzically at her sister, wondering if she would say something else. Ren smiled awkwardly at Skye, and turned to leave. Layla hastily said goodbye and grabbed her sister's hand, determined not to be separated as most of the students headed in a different direction than them. It didn't help that the majority of the people were always taller than the twins, either. Once most of the students had disappeared in the night, there was just a small group of First Years and the two fifteen year olds, standing beside a dark lake.

"I didn't know there was a lake here," Layla said softly, mesmerized by the moon reflected in the water and the little array of boats bobbing beside the shore.

"Neither did I. There a probably going to be a lot of things here we didn't know about."

"'S e'ry one 'ere?"

Layla looked around and wondered how she could have missed the giant man standing nearby. He was twice as tall and wide as an average man, and the tangled black beard and hair that covered most of his face barely allowed his kind black eyes to show through. When nobody said anything, he continued, "Well a'ight then. Me name's Hagrid, an' I'm 'ere to escort yeh ter Hogwarts. E'ry one get in a boat, an' we'll be on our way." He stepped into the boat closest to him, filling up the entire thing, and waited for everyone to scramble into a boat. The boats magically began to move across the lake, as Hagrid said loudly, "Keep yer hands outta the water. Don' want the giant squid ter get any idears."

Layla heard a few people squeal loudly at that, and laughed softly. She rolled her eyes as she watched some of the kids bend over the edge of their boats, as if hoping to see a giant squid through the black reflective surface of the water.

"At least it's a nice night. The sky is so clear," Ren said to her, staring upwards.

"Yeah, but I'm cold," Layla said, shivering despite herself.

"We'll be there soon… look, there's the castle; it's not long now."

The boats had just floated past the trees blocking the view, and Layla gaped at the magnificent view before her. On top of a cliff, the towers of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry stood prominently, the windows releasing a soft yellow light. Hagrid's gruff voice boomed out from the head of the cluster of boats, startling Layla from her trance.

"E'ryone watch yer head, that's righ'. We're passin' under some rocks so watch yer heads… all righ' you can straighten out now."

Layla looked back, seeing that they had just entered a cave whose entrance was covered with falling ivy. Turning back around to look forward, she saw that they were just a few yards away from a rocky outcrop with a set of stairs carved into side, leading up into the darkness. The wind picked up, and Layla got up the boat and began walking, hugging onto Ren in a feeble attempt to stay warm. After a long trek up the stairs, they reached the top, more exhausted than ever, and stared at the giant wooden doors.

"Now that we've accomplished that, all tha's left is the sortin'," Hagrid told them cheerfully.

"Thank god," Layla sighed, as Hagrid knocked on the door.

A few moments later, the door on the right opened to reveal a thin, middle-aged woman. Her black hair was pulled back into a bun, and a pointed black hat sat atop her head. Her stern, yet warm eyes looked at the group of young students from behind a pair of glasses.

"Greetings, Hagrid. I trust everything went well?" she inquired brusquely.

"Yes ma'am," he said with a nod.

"Grand; come in, children," she said, fixing her attention on the students once again.

The eleven year olds shuffled past her, looking tense and nervous, as if expecting her to attack them at any moment. Hagrid disappeared through a set of doors in the Entrance Hall as the woman introduced herself as Professor McGonagall, the Deputy Headmistress, Transfiguration teacher, and Head of Gryffindor House. During the brief silence, Layla glanced around the Hall, admiring the inhabitants of the portraits as they ran excitedly across each other's canvases, pointing at the new students.

"Now then, all of you are about to be sorted. The sorting is a very important ceremony. Once your house has been chosen, your school life will revolve about your house. All leisure time, sleeping, assignments, and other various activities will take place in your house. The four houses are Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, and Slytherin. The four houses not only have Quidditch competitions, but also compete for house points. Good deeds will be rewarded, while any mischievousness will be taken care of with point deductions." There was a brief pause as McGonagall looked at the awestruck group before her. Layla had to stifle more laughter as she watched the first years gape at the professor like little fish. "Everyone tidy up, I need to speak to Layla and Ren Sorge."

The twins shot each other confused looks, and Layla shrugged, silently saying that she had no idea what was going on, either. They followed Professor McGonagall over to the doors which Hagrid had gone through, and heard the voices of what they could only assume was the rest of the students.

"The two of you are going to be sorted separately, Dumbledore's orders. Any objections?" Ren shook her head, and Layla shrugged again. "Good. Wait here."

McGonagall walked back across the hall to the First Years, who were shooting the twins curious looks. After quickly explaining that they were to wait there for a few minutes, she went back to the twins, and opened the doors to the Great Hall. A flood of voices fell upon them as they followed her in, and Layla began to shake with nerves. Four long tables filled with students ran parallel to them as they walked towards the staff table. Layla wondered how the First Years were supposed to fit when it seemed like all the seats were filled, but didn't brood on it. She glanced at her sister, seeking reassurance, but Ren was staring upwards. Layla followed her guide, and let out a soft gasp of shock. Above the hundreds of floating candles, the sky was bewitched to look like the sky as it currently was. She almost tripped over the hem of her robes as she admired the clear, dark sky.

"J'ai la berlue!" Layla whispered, and Ren grinned at her.

In front of the staff table, when they reached it, was a three legged stool, on top of which was an ancient looking hat. Layla stared at Professor McGonagall, still wondering if Skye was telling the truth when she had said all they needed to do was try on a hat.

"Well, here they are, Albus," Professor McGonagall said to the old man sitting at the center of the table. His long, silver beard and hair was smooth and straight, much unlike Hagrid's bushy, tangled black mane. His twinkling blue eyes looked at the twins from a kind, wrinkled face, and he stood up. The Hall had fallen silent; nothing like this had ever happened at Hogwarts, and they were waiting for an explanation.

"We have a slight change in the ceremony this year," he said loudly. "We have received two new students from abroad. Instead of sorting them with the first years, I have chosen to sort them separately."

He sat down, and Professor McGonagall stepped forward to address the girls. "Layla first, then Ren. Sit on the stool, and place the Sorting Hat on your head."

Layla did as she was instructed, though when she sat down her hands were shaking.

"Ah, we haven't had anyone like you for a very long time," the hat said, and Layla wondered if she was going insane, until she realized that it was the hat.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to discriminate?"

The hat chuckled in her ear. "Let's take a look at you, shall we? You're smart… yes, but not exceptionally determined to succeed; academically, at least. You're caring, but don't trust easily. Cunning, and, of course, dark… but you're brave, and loyal. Yes, I think…"

Layla had remained silent as it talked, and winced as it suddenly yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Realizing that it was done, she got up and put the hat back on the stool. After shooting her sister a small, encouraging smile, she walked over to the table that was clapping the loudest. She didn't see Skye anywhere, so she sat beside a group of Fourth Year girls. Ren sat on the stool for about a minute before the hat shouted "GRYFFINDOR!" again.

The rest of the students clapped politely, though a few dark haired Gryffindor guys jumped up and began shouting about how they had gotten both of the transfers. They looked pointedly at the students of the table across the Hall as they did this.

Ren sat down in the empty seat next to Layla and said, "Thank god that's over with. That was nerve racking. Literally."

McGonagall had disappeared, but returned a moment later followed by the First Years. The twins both dozed as the others were sorted. When the feast began, Layla drank some more from her flask, and ignored the curious looks from the girls sitting nearby. She also ignored Dumbledore's speech, which was luckily quite short. Ren was practically sleepwalking at this point, so Layla, stumbling from exhaustion and almost carrying her sister, followed the Gryffindor Prefect up through a portrait on the seventh floor. After her sister had collapsed on her four-poster bed, Layla fell onto her own. Though it usually took her hours to fall asleep, she was dead to the world seconds after her head hit the pillow.