Hi everyone! I just got back from a really fun vacation, and it's time for the next chapter! I hope you enjoy!

(Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.)

Chapter 5:

Not Slytherin

"Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Harry looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. He heard Hermione whisper, 'It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts: A History.'
It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall didn't simply open on to the heavens."

On the other side of the door was a short woman with graying hair.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," the tall man said.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here," the woman - Professor McGonagall - said.

Hagrid - Molly finally knew the man's name, and now he was leaving. Of course - she couldn't believe her luck.

The children walked into the enormous entrance hall, with torches bolted to the walls, fire flickering from them. A large roar came from a nearby room - the rest of the kids at school, Molly thought - but the children were led into a smaller room to the side. Once they were all together, they looked at Professor McGonagall, ready for whatever she had to say.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she said. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly…"

"Banquet?" Molly mouthed to Jonah. "There's a banquet here?"

"Yeah. Shut up," Jonah mouthed back, and Molly directed her attention back to Professor McGonagall.

"...but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your Houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your House will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your House, sleep in your House dormitory, and spend free time in your House common room."

Man, these Houses are serious, Molly thought. Her yearning to not be in Slytherin increased - she didn't know if she could take free time with Draco Malfoy.

"The four Houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each House has its own noble history…"

Molly rolled her eyes.

"...and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your House points, while any rule-breaking will lose House points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever House becomes yours."

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Her eyes scanned the room, lingering for a second on Stella's windblown hair.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," Professor McGonagall said. "Please wait quietly."

She walked gracefully out of the room. As soon as the last corner of her dress fluttered out the door, the room burst into chaos.

"Do I look okay?" Molly said frantically, darting from child to child. Eventually, she came upon Harry and Ron talking about some sort of Sorting test.

Her eyes widened, and she darted over to Madison (it wasn't hard to find her - she was one of the tallest students, along with Ron).

"Madison," she asked, "what do you have to do to get sorted into a House?"

"Nothing," Madison said. "They put an old hat on your head and it sorts you."

"Really," Molly not-quite-queried.

Madison nodded.

"I'm going to tell Harry - he's all nervous about some sort of horrible test," Molly said. But before she could start walking towards Harry, she saw a pearly-white something float directly through her.

It's a ghost, Molly thought, and a pretty one.

The ghost was one of a girl, with wispy black hair and a grey-looking dress.

"Who's that?" Molly whispered to Madison.

"That's the Grey Lady," Madison said. "She gets important later on. Oh, and I wanted to give you something."

She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and gave it to Molly. When Molly unfolded it, she saw what looked like some sort of poem - maybe a song?

"It's the lyrics to the Hogwarts school song," Madison said. "I know you enjoy singing, and - well, I thought you'd enjoy it."

"Cool," Molly said. "So what's the tune?"

"Whatever you want it to be - I think," she said. "It's in a deleted scene for the Goblet of Fire - the fourth movie."

"Oh, that's so neat!" Molly said. She opened her mouth to talk more, but then she looked up to see Professor McGonagall entering the room and silencing the ghosts.

"Now form a line and follow me," she said, gesturing to the door.

Molly heard a small squeal coming from Ava's direction as the children walked in a line-shaped group through the doors and into the Great Hall.

"Whoa," Molly said. (Molly was very fond of saying "whoa" when she was impressed.)

The hall was glorious. Four long, rectangular tables lined the hall, with a platform (probably for the teachers) at the other end of the room. Candles hung in midair, lighting up the room. The ceiling, instead of showing a regular old vaulted ceiling, showed a gorgeous starry sky.

McGonagall led the kids just in front of the platform, and Molly couldn't help but yearn for a place to sit down as the teacher grabbed a four-legged stool and an old, pointed hat.

"Is that the hat?" she whispered to Madison, and Madison nodded. She waited for a few seconds as the children grew silent - and then the hat began to sing.

"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,

I'll eat myself if you can find

A smarter hat than me.

How could the hat eat itself? Molly thought.

"You can keep your bowlers black,

Your top hats sleek and tall,

For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat

And I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head

The Sorting Hat can't see,

So try me on and I will tell you

Where you ought to be.

"He composes a new song every year," Ava whispered to Molly.

"He's good," Molly said.

"You might belong in Gryffindor,

Where dwell the brave at heart.

Their daring, nerve, and chivalry

Set Gryffindors apart."

Molly nodded along with the song. Gryffindor was sounding pretty good.

"You might belong in Hufflepuff,

Where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true

And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw

If you've a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning

Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin

You'll make your real friends.

Those cunning folk use any means

To achieve their ends."

Definitely not a Slytherin, Molly thought. If not Gryffindor...maybe Ravenclaw?

"So put me on! Don't be afraid!

And don't get in a flap!

You're in safe hands (though I have none)

For I'm a Thinking Cap!"

Clever line, Molly thought as the hall applauded the hat.

"When I call your name," Professor McGonagall said, "you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted. Abbott, Hannah!"

A perky blonde girl ran up to the hat, put it on, and sat down on the stool. A few seconds later-

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat called.

The girl - Hannah - took off the hat and sat down at a table with yellow decorations.

"Bones, Susan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Susan took off the hat and ran over next to Hannah.

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Brocklehurst, Mandy!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

Bit by bit, the group of kids began to thin as children were sorted.

"Clark, Madison!"

Madison snuck through the crowd and sat on the stool with the hat on her head. Almost immediately, the hat cried, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

Molly nodded - Madison seemed like she would fit Zoë's description of a Hufflepuff.

"Evans, Molly!"

Molly's eyes widened. She hadn't realized she was going to be called so early. Was there a mistake? Was there anyone whose last name started with a D?

Quickly, she ran up to the stool and grabbed the hat. It felt like a combination of leather and sandpaper. She put it on her head, and it fell over her eyes as she fumbled for the stool and sat down.

"Let's see," a voice said in her head. Molly jumped in her seat.

"Lots of things to choose from," the voice said. "Smart, kind, brave, and a hint of ambition. So where do you belong?"

Not Slytherin, she thought frantically.

"Okay, we can rule that out then," the voice said. "So - Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Gryffindor?"

Molly tried to think, but it was hard knowing that the Hat could read her every thought.

Well, I'm not nearly nice and loyal enough for Hufflepuff, she thought. Not like Madison. I hardly trust anyone.

"Okay," the voice said. "You seem really smart - what about Ravenclaw?"

I hardly know anyone in Ravenclaw, Molly thought, as much as Ravenclaw kinda sorta appealed to her. Gryffindor's where all the action is.

"Oh, so you know Miss Brown, then!" the voice said. "Excellent."

No, no, I don't know..uh, Miss Brown, Molly thought.

"Is it just that you want to be in Gryffindor?" the voice questioned.

Uh...kinda, Molly thought.

She didn't know why, but she could almost hear a voice in her head - another voice, not the Hat - and it was singing.

The Hat heard it too. "What is that song?" he asked Molly.

Suddenly, Molly recognized the tune - and the lyrics.

"I want adventure in the great wide somewhere,

I want it more than I can tell,

And perhaps it might be grand to have someone understand,

I want so much more than they've got planned…"

Why did Molly always think of a song whenever she was in a rough spot? Was it going to get her into trouble? She sat on the stool, waiting in darkness for the Hat to make up its mind.

Finally, the Hat spoke. "I can sense that you could definitely be brave - and you're going to need to, sooner or later. You're going to need to make some choices for the greater good and not for yourself. And you've been brave before - like on the train."

Suddenly, Molly remembered standing up to Malfoy on the train.

You think it's where I belong? she thought.

The Hat didn't speak, but Molly felt a warmth that said if the Hat had had a head, it would be nodding.

It took a deep breath. "GRYFFINDOR!" it yelled to the room.

Molly sighed with relief and took off the Hat. The world seemed to glow for a split second as her eyes adjusted, and then she saw the room clapping for her.

She smiled, stood up, and walked over to the Gryffindor table. Percy, who was sitting next to her, patted her on the back.

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Finnigan, Seamus!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

It seemed almost easier to watch the Sorting now that Molly didn't need to worry about what House she was going to be in. She high-fived Seamus as he walked over to the table.

"Granger, Hermione!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Yes!" Molly whispered. As much as people weren't as keen of her, she was really excited to be in the same House as Hermione.

"Hullo again, Molly," Hermione said as she sat down.

"Hi, Hermione," Molly said.

"Longbottom, Neville!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Hey, Neville!" Molly called as the boy walked over, realized he still had the hat on, then handed it to "MacDougal, Morag" and went back.

"Hullo, uh...what's your name, again?"

"Molly," she said. Her eyes darted to the toad Neville held in his hands. "Hey, Trevor," she said.

"Ribbit," Trevor croaked.

"Malfoy, Draco!"

Molly saw a streak of blond hair swagger up to the hat. Before Malfoy's head had even touched the hat, it called, "SLYTHERIN!"

He seemed very proud as he took off the hat and sat at the Slytherin table.

"Martinez, Stella!"

A shriek of excitement came from the crowd as Stella ran up to the platform and put the hat on. A few seconds later -

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Nice!" Molly whispered to herself, remembering that Stella had shown an interest in becoming a Hufflepuff.

One more person, and then "Mullins, Jonah" was on the stand.

"SLYTHERIN!" the hat called.

Molly could see that working out for him, although she still had a bit of Slytherin prejudice.

A few other people went - a pair of twins, a girl named Sally-Anne - and then Harry's name was called out.

"Potter, did she say?"

"The Harry Potter?"

Molly couldn't help but roll her eyes - this was probably the exact same reaction he would get if he showed up at a school back home.

The hat went over Harry's eyes, staying there for about half a minute before -

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Molly and the rest of the room cheered - louder than they had for anyone else. The twins, a few seats behind Molly, started calling, "We got Potter! We got Potter!"

Ava's next, Molly thought.

Sure enough, "Poule, Ava" was the next name that Professor McGonagall read.

Ava walked up, put the hat on, and sat down. A moment's pause -

"SLYTHERIN!"

Really? Molly thought. Sure, Ava looked like she was excited, but she didn't look like she was shrewd or sneaky. She had been the one who had helped Molly out the first day in Diagon Alley.

"Room, Mackenzie!"

Mackenzie's pinkish-brown hair stumbled through the crowd as she rushed up to the hat. She put it on. It took a bit longer for the hat to decide with her, but after a minute or two -

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Molly cheered. She was in the same house as Mackenzie! This was bound to be fun.

Mackenzie, grinning ear to ear, took off the hat and ran over to the table, high-fiving Molly along the way. She sat down next to Harry, who was sitting across from a ghost dressed in particularly old-fashioned clothing.

"Taylor, Beatrix!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

Nice one, Molly thought, remembering how Beatrix had pored over her copy of Hogwarts: A History.

"Thomas, Dean!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Turpin, Lisa!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Weasley, Ronald!"

Ron, his skin the color of an apple, stumbled up to the platform. He put the hat on. One second, two seconds -

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry cheered as Ron ran over to the table.

"Well done, Ron, excellent," Percy said as if he was a waiter at a fancy restaurant congratulating a customer on a good choice.

"Willis, Zoë!"

Zoë skipped up to the platform and put on the hat. After a bit of waiting, the hat called, "SLYTHERIN!"

Okay, Molly thought. She had wanted Slytherin.

"Zabini, Blaise!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

Professor McGonagall finally rolled up the scroll of names and put the Sorting Hat away.

"Pretty big year this year," Percy said. "Lots of new kids."

Molly felt the teeniest bit guilty because of the fact that eight of the "new kids" weren't supposed to be there, but she tried to nudge the feeling away. She hadn't asked to come here, after all.

The man from the Chocolate Frog card - Albus Dumbledore - had stood up while Molly was thinking, and he started to speak.

"Welcome!" he called, stretching out the word, and the entire room seemed to quiet even more than it already had. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

Molly stifled a giggle. She looked over at Harry and Mackenzie - Harry had a look of befuddlement on his face, and Mackenzie was beaming with excitement.

"Is he - a bit mad?" Harry asked Percy.

"Mad? He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But," Percy said, lowering his voice, "he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harry?"

Molly looked at the table and realized for the first time that it was covered in food.

"Whoa," she said.

"Dig in!" Mackenzie called to Molly, and Molly picked out a particularly good-looking piece of steak, then got very excited when she saw a plate of bacon (Molly loved bacon, no matter what time of day).

The conversation was pretty normal, the ghosts talking about the House rivalries and the witches and wizards talking about their families and their lives before Hogwarts. Molly tried to take it all in, but she was startled when she heard a cry of pain come from Harry just after a particularly large bite of chocolate ice cream.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah - I'm fine," he said shakily. "Percy, who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?"

"Oh, you know Quirrell already, do you? No wonder he's nervous - that's Professor Snape. Teaches Potions, but everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape does."

"Really," Molly said.

Percy nodded.

Suddenly, the desserts disappeared, and Dumbledore cleared his throat from the podium.

"Ahem," he said. "Just a few more words now - I have a few start-of-term notices to give you."

Molly readjusted herself in her seat to see Dumbledore better.

"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."

Dumbledore looked at the Weasley twins, who rolled their eyes.

"I have also been asked by a certain Mr. Argus Filch, the caretaker, to remind you that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors."

Molly nodded along with the speech.

"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their House teams should contact Madam Hooch, the flying instructor."

A woman in the front stood up, presumably Madam Hooch.

"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

Molly raised an eyebrow, and Harry laughed.

"He's not serious?" he muttered to Percy.

"Must be," Percy said cautiously

He said a few other things, but Molly had diverted her attention back to Dumbledore.

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" Dumbledore cried.

This was what Madison had given Molly the lyrics for! She took out the paper, which had become crinkled from resting in her pocket.

"Everyone pick their favorite tune," Dumbledore said boldly, "and off we go!"

And the school, including Molly, bellowed:

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,

Teach us something please,

Whether we be old and bald

Or young with scabby knees.

Our heads could do with filling

With some interesting stuff,

For now they're bare and full of air,

Dead flies and bits of fluff.

So teach us things worth knowing,

Bring back what we've forgot,

Just do your best, we'll do the rest,

And learn until our brains all rot."

Molly finished with a high operatic note, while at least half of the school was still singing. The Weasley twins finished last, with a slow funeral march as their tune of choice.

"Ah, music," Dumbledore said when they finished. "A magic beyond all we do here!"

Molly was tempted to say "Hear, hear!" but decided against it.

"And now, bedtime," Dumbledore said. "Off you trot!"

Molly stood up, fixed her robes, and walked out of the hall with Percy and the other first years. The group had to stop for a second to get around a bunch of walking sticks that were held up by a poltergeist named Peeves ("He wasn't in the movies," Mackenzie said), but then they arrived at a painting of a fat woman with a pink dress on.

"Password?" she said.

"Caput Draconis," Percy replied.

"Carry on, then," the woman said, and the painting swung open like a door. The children walked in, and a large, cozy room awaited them.

"That's the Gryffindor common room," Mackenzie whispered to Molly.

"I could read for hours in here - if I'd brought any books," Molly whispered back. Mackenzie giggled.

Percy pointed out the doors to both sets of dormitories, and Molly, Mackenzie, Hermione, Lavender, and the other girls walked up the stairs to their beds.

"Well, this was an exciting day," Molly said as she unpacked the trunk that had been brought to her room.

"Yeah," Mackenzie said. "See you tomorrow."

"You, too," Molly said. She attempted to get comfortable in her new bed, but a few minutes later, she called back out to Mackenzie.

"What do we have first tomorrow?" she asked.

"Double History of Magic," Mackenzie said, studying her schedule. "They never show it in the movies, though. We'll have to see how it is."

"Okay, then," Molly said. "See you tomorrow."

"You, too," Mackenzie said.

This time, Molly did get comfortable in her bed, and after a few minutes, she had fallen fast asleep.

Thanks for reading! Here are this chapter's behind-the-scenes fun facts.

1) I got a question in a review about why I had Molly's name be the same as Mrs. Weasley. The reason - my name is Molly! I also thought it would be a neat juxtaposition - Molly doesn't curse at all, no matter what the circumstances, while Mrs. Weasley...well, you know.

2) One thing that I do want to clear up is what house Molly was put in. I have seen many things online warning against putting a main character in Gryffindor, so I wanted to justify putting Molly in Gryffindor. I decided to put her in that house for six main reasons:

*When I took the Pottermore test, I was put in Gryffindor, and Molly is based on me.

*For the story's sake, it would be easier to put her in Gryffindor in order to get Molly close to the action.

*While she is fairly smart, Molly values the bravery known as a common trait of Gryffindors. She doesn't know if she belongs there, but she definitely values bravery in a person.

*The story is split between all eight people from the future, so the other houses will get plenty of representation - and the stereotype that "all Slytherins are bad" will be eschewed thoroughly.

*Molly in the story is based on me before reading the books, so of course she'd have a bit of Slytherin prejudice (and of course she'd want to be in the same house as Harry and Ron). One of the parts of the story will be her overcoming her prejudice (and there will probably be a Zootopia reference in there somewhere.)

*I totally wanted to put in the Beauty and the Beast reference. (Speaking of which, I have seen the movie, and I absolutely adored it!)

So that's why I thought it would be best to put Molly in Gryffindor. (This is the end of the super-long rant that I have created.)

3) The last names for each character, as well as the House they were put in, were decided by a combination of their inspiration and/or Pottermore.

4) Dumbledore's welcome speech - or at least the opening to it - has a slight reference to AVPM.

Feel free to review, but please no negative reviews or cursing. (And please, NOTHING POLITICAL!) Thanks!