An entire month went by before Dora heard from Ronan again, and she was extremely relieved to hear him call, quickly pulling the mirror from the drawer and looking into it eagerly. Ronan looked straight into her eyes, seeming to be trying to communicate something as she gasped in a hushed voice, "Ronan, are you okay? What happened?"

"I'm fine," he answered in a controlled voice. "Sorry I didn't call back for so long."

"You're not fine," Dora retorted, full of concern. "Where have you been? What did he do to you?"

"Dora," Ronan said reproachfully, a warning in his voice, and as Dora hesitated, he continued, "It's too dangerous for us to keep talking." She went to protest and he cut her off. "No, Dora. We can't risk—"

"We risked it all this time, and now you want to stop?" Dora scoffed. "Either tell me what he's done now, or stop talking nonsense."

Ronan took a steadying breath, looking down at his hands, which were firmly clasped in his lap. "He knows we're talking somehow," he said in an unusual voice. "He's asked me about it. We have to wait until we're at school—" the boy seemed to cringe slightly, and Dora began to realise what was going on, anger crashing in upon her senses and enraging her to the core.

"He's there, isn't he, in your room?" Dora demanded, clenching her fists in fury. "He's making you do this." Ronan protested, but by his expression, she knew she was right. "Coward!" Dora yelled for Ronan's grandfather to heard her. "It's not like I won't talk to him at school! It's not like we won't talk to each other after you're dead!"

"Dora!" Ronan hissed, but she was too angry, and continued to yell insults at the man sitting out of her sight.

"Dora?" Andromeda opened the door to her daughter's room, and asked, "Dora, what's happening?"

"Desmond is there, in Ronan's room," Dora said, shaking with rage, "and he's making Ronan say we shouldn't talk to each other anymore!"

"I didn't say that!" Ronan cried. "Dora, listen to me!"

"I won't!" Dora snapped at him. "You know, you're weak, Ronan. You probably promised him that you would behave if you could talk to me one more time—"

Andromeda hurried to her daughter's side, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Desmond," she said, "if you wish to cut off their correspondence, you could simply say so...or write. These two children don't need to suffer any more manipulations."

Ronan looked stricken as he got up and moved closer to the mirror. "I'm sorry, Dora," he said. "I'll see you at Hogwarts."

Dora's last words of the call were a threat on Desmond's life, and as Ronan's face disappeared, Dora threw the mirror onto her bed and let out a scream of rage. Andromeda, unsurprised by this, waited until Dora was done before sitting down beside her on the bed and beginning to rub her back. "I'll kill him. I'll kill him," Dora muttered over and over like a mantra to calm herself down.

After a few minutes of silence in which Dora leaned into her mother's side for silent comfort, Dora breathed, "What do we do now?"

"Well," Andromeda said quietly, "we wait, don't we? There's only a couple years until you're off to Hogwarts, and you'll definitely be seeing Ronan there, since you'll probably be in Slytherin together."

"Of course," Dora scoffed, then said, "two years, Mum. Do you think he'll be okay?"

"I think so," Andromeda answered softly. "He'll learn some things from this, though I'm not quite sure what. Oh, and I wouldn't recommend trying to kill Desmond. Rodolphus wouldn't like that very much."

"Ha," said Dora. "I don't think he would like how Desmond is treating Ronan."

"Perhaps not," Andromeda answered, "but Rodolphus can be far more proper than you think. It's only because the Dark Lord wanted you that Rodolphus permitted you to stay with them."

"I know," Dora answered. "Ronan and I knew that even before I was sent home. I yelled that at Bella in front of everyone, and Rodolphus seemed very happy that I knew that."

Andromeda nodded, and Dora pointed to the mirror. "What about it?" Andromeda asked.

"Take it," Dora said. "Desmond isn't going to let Ronan keep his—or he'll smash it to make sure he can't use it."

"Oh, keep it in your drawer," Andromeda said. "It's an ancient mirror: I doubt Desmond would smash it. Just in case, I'll leave it with you."

Dora shook her head but kept it, and said, "Do you think Ronan will be able to talk to me at all before Hogwarts?"

Andromeda smiled. "I don't know, but we'll see, won't we?"

Ronan was out at the very edge of the wards of his home, not wanting to be anywhere near his grandfather at the moment—nor any time soon. He had been through a lot in the last couple months, mostly because of the things he had said or done to infuriate Desmond. Ronan couldn't help it: he was too angry and sad to keep his mouth shut.

Desmond had Cursed him badly quite a few times, especially when he had discovered Ronan talking to Dora by the two-way mirror. Ronan had refused to tell his grandfather how he had got it or how to use it, and suffered for a few weeks until Desmond had finally caused enough pain for the boy to need relief. Ronan had promised to contact Dora and break the connection with her, but he had merely used the opportunity to let Dora know what had happened and promised to meet her at Hogwarts.

Hogwarts. Ronan clenched his fists and glared out of the grounds of the manor into the surrounding land. He had just learned that his grandfather was considering sending him to Durmstrang instead, as that's where Desmond had gone to school. He had to figure out a way to make sure that he attended Hogwarts, not some stupid school his grandfather thought might force him to "behave."

Ronan was not about to behave for anyone that wanted to separate him and Dora. He was determined to figure out a way to make sure that he and Dora could see and talk with each other again, and no one could stop him.

"Mum?" asked Will, looking from Dora's indignant face and his father's kind smile to his mother's detached expression. "How will I know what house I belong to?"

"The different houses have traits that they prefer," Andromeda reminded her oldest child. "Now sometimes, students are sorted to the house whose traits they have, or they are sorted to the house whose traits are most important to them. You'll have to decide what's most important to you, Will."

Will sighed. "But I want to be some of each," he said, and Dora huffed at him impatiently. He ignored his sister and asked, "How did you choose, Mum?"

"I didn't," Andromeda answered, a slight smirk on her lips. "My entire family was expected to be in Slytherin, and I would not be the odd one."

"Yeah, but Slytherin is the best," Dora protested. "Don't you think so, Mum?"

"For me it was," Andromeda answered slyly, and Dora did not look impressed.

"Dora, you can't expect her to say that when Dad's whole family were in Gryffindor," Will sighed.

"Except my mother," Arthur said. "She was a Slytherin, too."

"Of course she was," said Andromeda in a haughty voice, making her children and husband laugh.

"I think I'm more Gryffindor, though," Will sighed, shaking his head.

"Well, then you'll be the best Gryffindor there is," Andromeda said simply. "We're not going to hate you for being one house or another, Will."

He gave her a slight smile, and Dora said, "But Slytherin is the best."

Will scowled at her, and their father said, "Now, Dora, it's a personal choice. Each of you will make your own choice."

"I'm going to Slytherin," Dora said firmly. "No matter if any of the rest of you do, or not."

"Well, that's your choice," Will told her. "What do you think, Charlie?"

Dora's twin had a troubled expression on his face, and merely replied, "I don't know."

Andromeda gave Charlie an understanding look and said, "Well, the others have time to think about it. Will's off to Hogwarts in September."

"He still has a few months," Arthur said in amusement. "Besides, your house doesn't mean you're good or bad. It's what you make it."

"And it doesn't matter," Will said to Dora and Charlie. "We're in different years: we'll only see each other for meals and in the common room."

"Only if you're in Slytherin," Dora answered with a slight smirk.

Charlie turned to his twin. "I don't care what house we're in; I will invade your house table if I happened to want to talk to you," he said sharply.

Dora rolled her eyes. "I know that," she said. "You're not above sneaking around, and neither am I."

Will frowned at the two. "No matter what house any of us are, even Percy, or Tommy, we have to stick together as a family," he said.

"Agreed," Andromeda said to her children. "If you don't have a family to help you, you really haven't got much."

The twins and Will looked at each other, considering another of their mother's cryptic statements. "We've got a good family, Andromeda," said Arthur. "The children have been getting along a lot better recently."

Andromeda nodded and got to her feet. "I'm going to check on the others," she said. "I'll just say that I know that my children are very different from each other, and I don't expect you to be the same way and do the same things. You must all make your own choices."

The three oldest children looked at each other, then their father, who smiled and nodded. "Your mother is right," he told them. "We'll stick together as a family, no matter where we end up." The boys agreed and walked away, leaving Dora to awkwardly nod to her father and slip out of the room.

Arthur Weasley watched his younger children all gather around their oldest brother, hugging and telling him goodbye and good luck at Hogwarts. Andromeda was smiling, but seemed a little sad but hid it well as she tried to comfort Elsie, who was upset by the idea that Will was leaving on the train before them.

Dora and Charlie occasionally shared slightly excited looks before both hugging Will fiercely and demanding that he write to them often. Will was laughing, but most of his family knew he was nervous. The whole family had come to King's Cross to see their firstborn off to Hogwarts, and Will was grateful because people were openly staring at their family. Whether in curiosity or in horror, he didn't know.

"Be careful," Charlie said to Will and grinned. "Have fun."

"Thanks," Will grinned back, shaking his brother's hand. "Behave for Mum and Dad."

"Ha!" said Dora and Charlie together, making most of the family laugh.

"Go on, Will," came his mother's voice. "There's the first whistle."

"Come on," Arthur said, and helped the boy lift his trunk, loading it onto the train.

Tommy was holding onto his mother's dress, pouting because he had been told that he was too young to go, and Elsie was crying softly in her mother's arms because she was sad that her biggest brother was going away. Percy was happy for Will because, as the fourth Weasley said, it meant that they would all soon have their turn to go to school. The younger twins seemed distracted by something, though Dora reassured Charlie that it was fine.

Dora joined the others in waving to their brother as the train pulled away from the station, noting her sad little sister who was still sniffing slightly. Percy turned to his mother and said, "Well, there we are."

They all trooped back to the Ministry vehicle that their father had managed to get for them, and went home together, leaving Will all alone on the train that was rolling out of London. Will sat alone most of the time, looking out the window and considering everything he'd been told about the school he was supposed to attend for the next seven years.

His concern about where he was going and what he would do was strong, but as he heard the compartment door slide open and turned, he simply frowned at the girl standing there. "Oh," she said. "I thought this compartment was empty. There aren't any left, I guess. May I sit with you?"

"Have a seat," he said, casually waving her to a seat and seeing her raise an eyebrow.

"Do I know you?" she asked him thoughtfully.

"I don't know; do you?" he replied, raising an eyebrow in turn. "Let me guess: you're pureblood or something and want to make sure that I'm proper company?"

"Well that would be a plus," she smiled. "Are you?"

The boy studied the blonde girl for a moment, then said, "My name's Will," and offered his hand to her.

She made a sound of triumph and shook his hand. "I'm Lauren Avery," she told him. "You're the oldest Weasley, aren't you?"

"I am," Will answered. "How did you know? The red hair?"

"Most of you and your brothers have your mother's eyes," Lauren smiled. "House of Black eyes. We're actually third cousins, you know."

"Everyone is my cousin," the boy said, shaking his head. "Mum's related to all the wizarding families."

"Well, her family was well known," Lauren said with a nod. "But it's been less prominent the last few years."

"Mum would not like to hear that," Will chuckled. "Sometimes I wish that we were actually in normal pureblood circles, but there are some that just can't get along with us."

Lauren gave him a peculiar look, then leaned forward and asked, "Is it true that your sister lived with the Lestranges before they were sent to Azkaban?"

Will frowned. "Surely everyone knows about that? Or did they not tell anyone the truth?"

"Well, the truth is," Lauren huffed at him, "the Malfoys refuse to talk about it, and everyone is afraid to question Desmond Lestrange about it. His poor grandson has had a tongue-tying curse on him for a couple years now and can't speak about it without becoming ill."

"Ronan?" Will asked quickly. "Is he okay? Dora is always worried about him."

"I'll tell you about him, if you tell me the truth about her at Lestrange Manor," Lauren answered, crossing her arms.

Will couldn't help smirking at her. "Fine then," he shrugged. "Aunt Bellatrix kidnapped Dora when she was four years old and kept her until Bella and Rod went to Azkaban. Dora was eight when she came back, and she's been worried about Ronan ever since."

There was an expression on the girl's face for a moment and Will had an idea that she had seen some things happen to Ronan since Dora had left Lestrange Manor. Lauren looked out the window and sighed, "He became very angry after his parents went to prison, and he's been even worse in the last few months. His grandfather is...almost having to keep him at home because of his behaviour. Well, Ronan's other grandfather says that he's just like his mother."

"Mum said the same," Will chuckled. "Try to make them behave, and they become worse."

"Hmm," Lauren said thoughtfully. "So why did your parents just leave the girl with the Lestranges if she was kidnapped? We thought for sure that she was sent to them, because they didn't try to get her back."

"For Dora's safety, she stayed there," answered Will. "Our family thought that if the Dark Lord wanted Dora to be with Aunt Bella because of her power, it wasn't safe for us to try to get her back. But we did want her back, of course."

"Of course," Lauren agreed. "But—"

The compartment door opened again and both of them looked over in annoyance, the girl soon nodding to the other boy. "Alvin," she said. "This is Will Weasley. Will, this is Alvin Nott."

The boy's eyes widened. "Lauren!" he hissed, and she gave him a stern look.

"These Weasleys have potential that their ancestors do not," Lauren said firmly.

"Potential for what?" said Will in amusement. "That's rather vague."

The other boy eyed Will carefully. "There are rumours that your mother teaches her children the Dark Arts, among other things."

Will couldn't help laughing at this. "Would that be bad?"

Lauren gave Alvin a look of annoyance. "No, most purebloods believe that your mother will never agree with the tradition Weasley beliefs."

"I don't think we have traditional beliefs," Will said thoughtfully. "Mum has raised us to choose our own beliefs. She's not going to change, but she's not going to change Dad, and we all know that."

"Do your parents fight a lot?" Alvin asked. "Being so different?"

"I don't think so," Will said. "If they did, they wouldn't tell us. Kids don't need to see their parents fight."

"So, did your mother teach you Dark magic?" Lauren asked with a sigh, indicating that if the question must be asked, they should have an answer.

"Not Dark Arts," Will shrugged. "We did learn about the Unforgivables, but that's not Dark Arts, and Mum never let us do them, though we did work on fighting off the Imperius. Dora and Charlie are really good at that, but I can't throw it off entirely yet."

The other two children exchanged looks, and Will gave them a piercing look. "So how is it in proper pureblood families, then?"

Alvin shrugged. "Same, but we were allowed to practise the spells. Have you ever been Cruciated?"

"Not fully," Will answered. "I usually behave enough that I don't deserve it. Dora's suffered a few of those spells, but not from our parents. She says they were more surprising than painful, but I'm sure she doesn't remember because she was too angry to really feel it. Mum tends to only shock us and not actually cause lasting pain, but it's effective with Tommy. Percy's never deserved it, and Elsie's still a bit too young for something like that. The other twins don't care, though. It's like they're immune to it."

"So how many brothers and sisters do you have?" Alvin asked in surprise. "I've only got one brother."

"I have five brothers and two sisters," Will said. "There's eight of us. Me, Charlie, Dora, Percy, Silas, Regis, Tommy, and Elsie."

"Is it true your parents can barely feed you?" Alvin asked, and Will was horrified. "And that you live in a tiny house?"

"Do people say that?" the boy said in astonishment. "No, it's not true! We've never gone without something we need. And, we don't live in a manor or something but we don't need to. We like our house: it's ours."

"You haven't heard a lot of the rumours that have gone around pureblood society, have you?" Lauren asked Will, who shook his head and looked over at his trunk. "Well, no one exactly knows why your family went from having money to not having money. People thought that your grandfather kicked your father out of the house."

Will stared at Lauren in disbelief. "Kicked out of the house? Dad? Look: when Dad's dad died, he left the manor and everything to the oldest son, my Uncle Billius. Grandfather gave my dad and Uncle Cole each a sum of money. That's why we had to move to a small house. That was a long time ago, but it wasn't a scandal or anything. Grandmum actually chose to move with us to the Burrow, where she died a couple years later."

Lauren frowned. "That's rude. Surely your grandfather would have realised that with more kids, your parents needed the manor."

The redhead shrugged. "Even Dad doesn't know why his father chose that."

"So why hasn't your family built back up into better living?" asked Alvin. "If it isn't your dad's fault?"

Will gave Alvin a warning look. "Well, there are a lot of us," he said, "and—the truth is, Dad is honest. Dad won't do bad things or be persuaded to do things for money. Mum says perhaps one day we'll move to a bigger house, but once most of us are off to school, there's no point in that. I know my parents are saving money for different things, but I honestly don't want to move."

"That's too bad," Alvin sighed, and Will frowned.

"You're your father's heir, aren't you?" Will asked, and received a nod. "So you must know that when your fathers go to the Ministry, they obviously don't go there to work, but to influence, whether that be with money, words, certain privileges, or even a trade. Someone tried that with Dad once, and he said no, and now, that man—I'm sure you know who it is—is always talking shit about us. I don't care if he's my uncle by marriage, he can go to hell. He and his little friends make things difficult for Dad at the Ministry, even though Dad never did a thing to him."

"But your father has weird ideas about Muggles," Lauren said with a shiver. "My dad says that your dad thinks we should breed with Muggles and Mudbloods."

"I think he wants people to marry who they like," Will answered coolly. "I wouldn't recommend Muggles to a wizard or witch; they seem too troublesome. Dad has a strange fascination with Muggles and how they think and live. It's just a curiosity; he doesn't really want to open our world up to them. And Mum says that Mudbloods really aren't the dangerous ones: it's the halfbloods that come from them that are dangerous."

Lauren and Alvin exchanged looks again, and Will looked out the window, wishing the two, or at least Alvin, would go away. "People aren't going to be nice to you," he heard Alvin say, and slowly turned to face the boy.

"If by people, you mean you and others," Will said quietly, "you can answer to my wand. I'd be careful before you threaten or encourage others to threaten me and my family. The eight of us are nearly double Black blood, you know. Mum's a Black, and Dad's Mum was a Black."

"You couldn't hurt me," Alvin scoffed. "We're first years."

"I could hurt you," Will chuckled, "and Dora could hurt you more. Age doesn't matter. Magic matters. Pureblood families are losing sight of what really matters, and that is keeping magic alive. Not just pureblood traditions, but the old ways of magic itself."

"Is your mother going to teach you wandless magic?" Lauren asked in excitement, and Will smirked. "Mine too!"

"Yes, Mum's been teaching us some things," Will replied, and as we get older, she'll make sure that we learn the proper ways to do it."

"What does your father think about that?" Alvin chuckled.

"Mum told him we'd learn about it one way or another, and that we might as well be taught properly," Will said. "We will learn it."

"So the Weasley family is changing for the better?" Lauren asked.

"Depends on your idea of the best," Will answered. "As it is, I don't think we're changing all that much. I'm going to be a Gryffindor, by the way. I wouldn't get too comfortable with me."

Alvin gave him a look of disgust, turned, and walked to the door. "I'll be with the others, Lauren," he said, and disappeared down the corridor.

Lauren looked at Will for a few moments, then said, "Why? I've heard they're really annoying and arrogant."

"Well, I can't be a Slytherin," Will said firmly. "They're okay, but I don't think I belong with them."

"You could," Lauren said earnestly. "You could lead the Weasley family in a new direction. It would be fun to see what would happen."

"I'm not an experiment, thanks," Will told her. "I want real friends, and to have fun. I don't want to always be worrying about things."

"Hufflepuffs do that," Lauren smirked.

"I'm no Hufflepuff," Will laughed. "Besides, I want to be careful where I'm stuck for seven years."

Lauren frowned at him. "Being stuck as a Gryffindor doesn't sound appealing."

Will raised an eyebrow. "Well, I consider it to be my best option," he said. "I don't mind other houses, but I think I'd prefer Gryffindor. But we'll see, won't we?"

Lauren didn't answer, turning her attention to one of her new spell books and only occasionally and secretly glancing at the Weasley heir. Soon enough, the train was pulling into Hogsmeade station, and the two got to their feet, each in their first year robes, unmarked by any crest.

"Hey," he said to her as they looked out into the train corridor. "No matter what house you are, I'd like to be friends."

She glanced back at him and shook her head, then hurried out into the stream of students. Will held back a sigh and followed the others, nervous but excited, onto the platform. He was glad to hear someone call for first years, and turned to see the biggest man he had even seen. He could hear some of the others talking around him, but quickly hurried toward the person.

He was glad that other first years shuffled through the group with him, and kept close behind the man who had called for them as they waited to make sure they had all the new students. After no others were forthcoming, the man led them forward to the edge of lake before the castle and motioned them toward the boats.

"But how do the boats get across?" asked a timid-looking boy.

"Magic," Will said simply, standing up tall and moving forward. "Come on. They'll take us over on their own." He walked up to one of the boats and climbed right in in the most dignified manner he could, and the ones that had hesitated at first, followed his example.

The boy who had spoke at first joined Will in the closest boat, and said, "Hello. I'm Richard."

Will looked at the brown-haired boy, then smiled and held out his hand to him. "I'm Will," he replied. "Will Weasley. I expect you're excited to start Hogwarts?"

"Yeah," the boy said breathlessly. "We didn't know about magic—I mean, I knew I could do special things, but Mum and Dad thought I was just doing tricks."

"What were you doing?" Will asked, noting that the boy must be from a Muggle family.

"Well, I could make things come to me, if I wanted them," he said. "Even if they were too high to reach. It annoyed Mum that she couldn't keep sweets away from me." Richard laughed to himself.

"Guess it all made sense when you got your letter," Will chuckled.

"Yeah, and the Headmaster came to tell my parents and me about the school," Richard continued. "Helped Dad to not be so skeptical and Mum to feel like it'll be safe."

"I doubt Hogwarts is safe," Will laughed. "That's putting a thousand underaged wizards and witches in a building together—it's bound to have its dangers."

"Oh," the boy frowned. "I suppose. So what else do you know about Hogwarts?"

"Well, I grew up in a magical family, so I've always heard about the school," shrugged Will. "There's lots of things that you have to learn yourself, and Dad's told me that no one remembers everything about Hogwarts in order to tell their children." Will quickly explained about the four Hogwarts house and the Sorting ceremony. "But," he concluded, "the houses don't define you. Slytherins aren't necessarily evil, Ravenclaws can lack common sense, Hufflepuffs aren't always nice, and Gryffindors can be as mean as anyone."

"So what do you want to be?" asked Richard.

Will sighed. "Gryffindor," he said. "I wish I could be a Slytherin, but I'm just not. And I don't think I'd fit into the other two houses very well."

The boy nodded thoughtfully. "I wonder what house I'll be in," he said.

"We'll soon know," Will shrugged. "They'll do the Sorting before we eat, almost as soon as we get into the Great Hall."

"So what happens to the students in the different houses?" Richard asked. "Do they all go to classes together?"

"They each have some classes together, and some separate," Will replied. "You see all those other first years? We're in the same year obviously, so we'll be seeing each other in classes for the next seven years."

"Cool!" the other boy said excitedly.

"Just be careful," Will said as they looked out over the lake and up at the castle. "Not all witches and wizards are kind, just like Muggles."

Richard nodded, and the two didn't say anything more until they had reached the opposite shore and were walking up to the castle doors, filing into the Entrance Hall and waiting for their cue to go into the Great Hall. Several first years were whispering to each other, but Will said nothing as he looked around carefully, unsurprised at the ghosts that drifted in through the walls and made a couple of girls scream in fright. The Muggle-born tried to ask Will about different things, but Will simply shook his head and motioned him to wait.

Soon, a tall, stern-looking woman in green robes approached them and said, "First Years! We will be entering the Great Hall in a few moments where you will all be sorted into one of the four Hogwarts houses. These houses are named after the four founders of our school: Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Gryffindor. I am Professor McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor House. Now. There are rules that you will all be expected to follow, else you will lose points for your house. I hope you will all be on your best behaviour this year. Follow me."

Will stepped forward quickly, following close behind the professor as the other first years trickled after them. He did not like having so many eyes on him the moment he entered the hall, though, and made a mental note to tell Charlie not to be the first one into the Great Hall. He could hear whispers from the older students that they passed, some recognising him and other purebloods that were among the first years this year. He didn't look around.

Professor McGonagall began to read off her list of student names. "Avery, Lauren."

Will watched the blonde girl walk forward, seeming shy but confident as she placed the Sorting Hat on her head. "Slytherin!" the Hat called, and Will nodded to himself as the Slytherin House table broke into applause. Her family would be proud.

He nearly laughed at this idea, however, and busied himself in watching the other first years and looking out at the house tables. Before long, he heard, "Grey, Richard" and his new acquaintance moved forward, looking scared once again.

After a moment of deliberation, the Sorting Hat shouted, "RAVENCLAW!"

Will's heart sank, having thought that the boy might join him in Gryffindor. Oh well, perhaps he was more intelligent than brave. Richard placed the Hat back on the stool and shot Will an apologetic look, to which Will simply nodded back before the boy hurried to the Ravenclaw table.

It was rather annoying that Weasleys were almost always sorted last because of their name, Will thought. He was not surprised that the two girls that had screamed at the ghosts both went to Hufflepuff and were greeted by a very motherly-looking prefect. Will was slightly amused, but became annoyed again a few minutes later when Alvin Nott went to Slytherin. "Typical," he muttered to himself and received frowns from a couple of the other first years.

It seemed like a long time before he heard, "Weasley, William."

"I'm Will," he said before he could stop himself, then walked forward, feeling himself blush and wishing he could morph it away like Dora could. Placing the Hat on his own head, he sat down on the stool and braced himself for the worst.

"Interesting," the Hat mused. "A combination I never thought I'd see...such potential."

Will could not stand the hat's voice in his head and thought, Just hurry up already.

"So like both of your parents," the Hat said thoughtfully. "Slytherin could give you—"

I can't be a Slytherin, Will thought firmly. No.

"You could be a great wizard," the Hat continued, unperturbed. "The opportunities—"

I don't need Slytherin for that, Will insisted, feeling even more concerned that he not go to Slytherin. I've got to be a Gryffindor.

"But is that who you are?" the Hat droned on.

I have to be a Gryffindor, Will thought fiercely. I have brothers and sisters that I've got to be there for.

"You've no way of knowing where they'll be sorted," the Hat told him blithely. "I still say—"

I don't want Slytherin, Will thought angrily, clenching his fist in his sleeve.

The Hat seemed to sigh. "Very well, then. GRYFFINDOR!"

Will ripped the hat off his head, nearly tossed it down onto the stool, and hurried down to the Gryffindor House table, where people seemed thrilled that a Weasley was back in Gryffindor House. "William," he heard someone say, and turned to see an older boy with a shiny badge holding out his hand. "Great to have you in Gryffindor. I'm Matthew Moran, fifth year prefect. I'll be showing you to our House Common Room later this evening."

"I go by Will," said Will, shaking the boy's hand.

"All right, Will," the prefect began, but was shushed by a Gryffindor girl who looked to be about the same age as he.

Will held back a laugh and turned to see the last first year boy be sorted into Ravenclaw. He quickly turned his attention to the Headmaster as the smiling wizard got up to speak, and was very glad when Dumbledore said only a few words and the feast began.

He didn't think much of anything else until he was starting on dessert and he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning, he saw Richard standing there. "Hey, how do we know when and where our classes are?" the boy asked.

Will couldn't even begin to reply before the prefect leaned over to them and said, "Your house prefect ought to be telling you some of that later when you go to your common room. Schedules come out at breakfast tomorrow."

Richard frowned at the prefect, but looked back at Will questioningly. "See you at breakfast?"

"If I can find the Great Hall again," Will answered. "Dad says it's a little difficult at first."

His prefect laughed, but Richard shrugged. "Just follow an older student down."

"That's why you're a Ravenclaw," Will couldn't help laughing. "All right then."

"You know him?" the prefect asked.

"We met on the train," said Will, an edge in his voice to let the prefect know to leave them alone.

"I was just wondering," Moran replied, "because everyone knows who the Weasleys are, but I didn't know who he was."

"Wait," Richard said to Will. "Everyone knows you?"

The redhead heaved a sigh and lowered his fork. "The Weasley family is known for their red hair and many children and little money," he explained. "We're an old pureblood family, magic for many, many generations. I'm the oldest of eight children."

"Eight of you, all wizards?"

"And witches," Will added. "I have two sisters and five brothers."

"Wow," said Moran appreciatingly. "They probably annoy you a lot, don't they?"

"No," Will said. "They're my family. Even Elsie isn't terrible, and she's only three."

"Prefects!" they heard one of the professors order. "Please lead your first years to their common room."

Matthew jumped up, nearly upsetting his glass, and Richard gave Will a sympathetic look, said, "See you tomorrow, then," and walked back to his own table where a dark-haired prefect was gathering the Ravenclaw first years.

Will fell in line to go to the Gryffindor Common Room, wondering if he would be awake enough to write to his family before he fell asleep.