A/N: Another relatively short chapter. Gah, I keep thinking that I'm going to make a long chapter, and then it always turns out short. Whatever. Chapter 8 is almost finished, woop. Read! Review!

Chapter Seven:

Professor McGonagall took her place on the platform in front of the students, and stood next to a stool holding an old, worn, oddly-shaped hat. "Bains, Kaye?" she asked, staring at Kaye.

Kaye swallowed and winced, her throat suddenly becoming dry. Her legs threatened to turn into jelly as walked up onto the platform. She sat down on the stool, and McGonagall placed the hat on top of her head.

'Hmm, hmmm, what have we here?' said an unfamiliar, gravelly voice inside Kaye's head.

'Huh? Who is this?' she asked the voice.

'I'm The Sorting Hat. I sift through all of the thoughts and memories stored in your mind, to find out which of the four houses you are to be placed in.' the voice said.

'Well, that's awfully strange.' Kaye said.

'I suppose…' the voice then snapped at her, 'Are you going to let me do my job or not?'

'Oh, uh, sure. You go right ahead and sift.' Kaye said.

'Hmm… you're plenty intelligent, that's for sure. And a great ease of learning, yes. But you've been through so much... it threatens to darken you. There's something here, it's huge… is it…? HAH! It is. Love; embedded into your flesh and blood. Let's see... plenty of bravery and courage… ah, and the will to die for the ones you love.'

"GRYFFINDOR!" the voice shouted out loud.

The cheers from the Gryffindor table were deafening.

Smiling, she ran over to one of the empty seats at the end of the table, and sat next to Ginny, who was eagerly waiting for her.

"I knew you'd get into Gryffindor!" she said happily.

Kaye just smiled, and watched the other students get sorted into their houses.

On the other side of the table, a boy who normally loved these sort of events was quiet. When his friends asked him what was wrong, all he could do was look up with a fake smile and eyes showing only pain.

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The feast was wonderful. Kaye didn't think she had eaten this much in her whole entire life, and for once, she didn't feel bad about it.

Ginny introduced her to the people sitting around her. Kaye did her best to remember their names, and only slipped up one or two times.

'This is definitely not like high school,' she thought. She couldn't believe so many people were so eager to get to know her.

Eventually, they were kicked out of what Kaye soon discovered what was called the Great Hall. Kaye followed everyone from the Gryffindor table through a maze of stairs until they reached a life-size portrait of a very fat woman. Someone uttered a few words, and the portrait swung open.

After being shoved through the narrow corridor, she found herself inside the Gryffindor common room. It was beautiful, with a warm, blazing fire and the cozy colors of red and gold displayed throughout the entire space.

Everyone regrouped and started to socialize again.

Ginny soon introduced Kaye to her older twin brothers: Fred and George. Instead of everyone getting a good night's sleep, Fred (or, was it George?) proposed that they all stayed up till 2 in the morning and got drunk off their asses and partied till they passed out. They all agreed to do just that – minus the drunk off their asses part.

Kaye stayed for a while, but soon started to feel a little glum. 'The last time I had this much fun, I was with...' she stopped herself before she thought his name.

'I can't keep doing this to myself. He's gone. I have to get over him.' She thought. Sighing, she told her new friends that she was tired and wanted to sleep. As she explored her dormitory, she knew that, in truth, she wouldn't be able to sleep for hours.

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Sleep brought newfound strength to Kaye, even if it was only for an hour or two. She took a deep breath and forced her body to leave her extraordinarily comfortable bed.

Kaye put on her school robes, which, oddly enough, she had grown to like over the past few days. In one pocket, she placed her new wand. In the other, she put a map that a girl (she couldn't remember the name) had given her the night before.

She strolled out of the room, and closed the door quietly behind her, not wanting to wake the other girls. As she walked down the stairs and through the common room, she couldn't help but admire its beauty. She smiled and twirled around, soaking up the warm feeling the place gave her. Satisfied, she made her way through the narrow corridor.

Kaye hadn't noticed the boy sitting on the other set of stairs who had unquestionably been staring at her. He had to remember to breathe. 'She looks so happy…' he thought after she had left. The fact broke his heart. She was over him.