Professor McGonagall led the group of first-years into the Great Hall. The room was illuminated by enchanted candles that floated near the ceiling - quite reminiscent of a clear night sky.

She stopped at the front of the banquet hall, next to a rickety old wooden stool, with a dusty, dingy brown cap on it.

She then turned to address the gaggle of firsties, then spoke up. "Before we begin, the Headmaster would like to share a few words. Professor Dumbledore, the floor is yours."

"To our first-year students, welcome to Hogwarts, and to our returning students, welcome back. I have a notice for our first-year students. The Dark Forest is expressly forbidden to all students, and also, the third corridor - on the right - is off-limits to those who wish to avoid a most painful death. Mister Filch, our caretaker, has the authority to direct students violating these rules to their appropriate heads-of-house. That is all I have, thank you for your cooperation, and may each and every one of you have a successful year."

"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore," Professor McGonagall purred. She then turned to face the gaggle of first-year students, and addressed them thusly:

"When I call your name, you will come up here to take your seat. This hat will be placed on your head to determine which house you will belong to. I must warn each of you that the choice the hat makes is final, so you will remain with that house until you complete your studies at Hogwarts. This house will effectively be your family."

Hermione grabbed Kellen's hand and held it tightly. She wanted very badly to be put in the same house as Kellen, and he wanted very badly to be in the same house as Hermione.

The Hat was enchanted, and had wrinkles and bends that sort of resembled an ersatz human face. It belted out some sort of tune about each of the houses and what they represent - almost like a Gregorian chant, Kellen and Hermione thought. When it was finished, the Great Hall burst into applause, and then Professor McGonagall picked up the hat, ready to read off the first name on the parchment she held in her other hand.

Professor McGonagall rattled off a few students' names, who took their seats at the tables the Sorting Hat called out. Finally, the Deputy Headmistress read off a familiar name:

"Hermione Granger."

Kellen gave her a quick hug, and quietly wished her luck as she nervously approached the stool. She looked at Professor McGonagall with big, innocent eyes full of wonder and perhaps even a small amount of fear. Professor McGonagall smiled gently at Hermione, and whispered "Good luck, dear", as she gently placed that old decrepit hat on her noggin.

The hat twisted and contorted in forty different ways, thinking of exactly where to put the gifted child. It took a good three, maybe even four minutes to come to a decision, before coughing out "GRYFFINDOR!"

Hermione smiled broadly at Kellen, and happily skipped to the Gryffindor table where the existing students welcomed her with open arms. She then looked at Kellen, as their last names were very close to each other alphabetically, so it wouldn't be long before Kellen's turn would come. A pretty blonde girl named Daphne Greengrass went after Hermione, and she got sorted into Slytherin. Immediately after Daphne joined her new Slytherin housemates, Professor McGonagall read off the next name on the list:

"Robert Grimseth."

Kellen bristled slightly as Professor McGonagall read his legal first name instead of his preferred middle name. He proceeded toward the same stool Hermione sat in just a few minutes before, and he smiled nervously at Hermione, who sat rather nervously at the Gryffindor table. Professor McGonagall again smiled at Kellen, and quietly wished him luck as she placed the old dusty hat on his head. He was thinking "Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor" the entire time.

And once again, the hat bent and twisted in a rather unnatural fashion. The hat took a bit less time with Kellen than Hermione, perhaps two and a half minutes, maybe three at the most. They awaited the final decision with bated breath, but the two friends were elated when the hat finally belched out "GRYFFINDOR!" - Kellen simply exhaled a sigh of relief, while Hermione squealed in pure delight. The two friends embraced each other tenderly when Kellen took his seat at the table. Several Gryffindor students gave Kellen high fives or shook his hand.

Then, several more names were called.

"Neville Longbottom".

The hat stayed on poor Neville's head so long that several students joked that it would never leave his head. It was on so long that it was very nearly a hatstall - just a few seconds shy of five minutes. Neville was a bit disappointed with the Hat's decision of "GRYFFINDOR!" that he slowly trudged to the table. He was personally hoping for Hufflepuff as he didn't feel himself to be particularly courageous, and feared that he wouldn't make friends at the Gryffindor table due to his shy and sometimes clumsy ways.

However, he was pleasantly surprised when he was Kellen waving to him, beckoning him to take a seat on his other side.

"Hiya, Neville," Kellen said with a huge smile on his face. "Glad you could join us. It's good to have you here." He offered his hand to Neville.

Neville's disappointed expression faded slightly, and the corners of his mouth gradually lifted into a small smile. He shook Kellen's hand rather nervously. "Hello, Kellen," he said rather shyly. "I saw you stand up to that git Draco a little while ago. That was very brave of you to stick up for your friends like that - I can see why you're a Gryffindor. I can only hope I'm that brave one day."

"You will be, Neville," Kellen said with assurance. "I can tell you can use a friend... to be honest, I could use one too."

Neville's smile broadened. "Thank you, Kellen. I'd be delighted to be your friend."

Hermione then reached around Kellen and offered her hand to Neville. "Hello, Neville," she said sweetly. "I'm Hermione Granger. It's nice to meet you. I'd like to be your friend as well."

Neville took her hand gently and smiled. "Wow," he said softly. "I'm making friends left and right! Maybe the hat knew what it was doing after all."

Kellen chuckled. "If you're in a pickle, let me know. I'll always be glad to help." He smiled at Neville in a way that Neville knew that Kellen meant every word of it.

Then was a name that made several students squirm.

"Draco Malfoy."

The hat had barely touched Malfoy's head when it screamed out "SLYTHERIN!"

Malfoy's face bore a smirk of smug satisfaction as he took his place at the Slytherin table.

A couple of minutes later, Professor McGonagall read a name that silenced the entire Great Hall:

"Harry Potter."

Hermione and Kellen held hands as they awaited their mutual friend's fate. They had hoped he was going to be a Gryffindor too, he just had to be.

Professor McGonagall gently placed the old dusty hat on Harry's head.

"Hmm, you're an interesting one, aren't you?" the hat said to Harry telepathically. "You could do well in all four houses, really, but you can only belong to one. You're courageous, you're bright, and you can be industrious... but you also have some cunning in you as well. Hmm... decisions, decisions..."

"Not Slytherin, Not Slytherin," Harry kept thinking.

The hat chuckled to Harry. "Not Slytherin, huh? You could achieve greatness as a Slytherin - it's all in your head. You may want to reconsider, Mister Potter."

"Please, not Slytherin", Harry begged, thinking of how badly Malfoy and his cronies would torment him. "I want a chance to prove myself, but not at the expense of hurting others."

"Yes, I can see that," agreed the Sorting Hat. "You are selfless, young Potter, that is true. I can tell you truly want to make a difference, and I assure you, you will. Perhaps there is another house that can help you achieve that. That house can be... GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry smiled in satisfaction, and practically sprinted to the Gryffindor table. He gave quick hugs to Hermione and Kellen, and shook Neville's hand.

A pair of ginger boys that resembled slightly older versions of Ron, led the table in a chant: "We got Potter, we got Potter!" The twins reached out and heartily shook Harry's hand, obviously beyond thrilled to have him as a housemate.

Kellen smiled at the twins - named Fred and George - and pointed at them while arching an eyebrow. "You also got Grimseth, don't forget." Hermione rolled her eyes, but then smiled at Kellen.

The twins looked at each other, and laughed. "We got Grimseth, we got Grimseth!" they chanted, though with a bit less enthusiasm than before.

Kellen turned to Hermione. "I very nearly got put into Ravenclaw," he admitted. "But I kept telling that goofy hat that I wanted to be a Gryffindor... I wanted to be a Gryffindor with you."

Hermione giggled. "I very nearly got put into Ravenclaw as well," she replied. "But I knew this was the house I wanted to be in. Not that Ravenclaw's a bad house - but this feels like home." She smiled sweetly at Kellen. "I already knew that you're phenomenally intelligent, Kellen. I'm a little jealous of your gifts, to be honest. It's very easy to see why the hat wanted to sort you there, but after seeing you defend Harry, Ron, and myself earlier, well... I think you're in the right house, too. You're truly a brave boy." She gave him a little side-hug. "I've known you less than a full day, but I already feel like you're the best friend I've ever had."

Kellen grinned at Hermione. "Honestly, you're the best friend I've ever had, too." He gave her a little squeeze. "I don't regret putting that book down for you, you were totally worth it."

The sorting ceremony was starting to wind down, and there were just a few left to sort.

The last name Hermione and Kellen were familiar with was finally called out:

"Ronald Weasley."

It didn't take long for the hat to make up its mind. Maybe a minute later, the house barked out "GRYFFINDOR!", and Ron joined his new friends at the Gryffindor table. He exchanged hugs with Hermione, Kellen, Harry, and Neville, and got some high-fives from his brothers.

Blaise Zabini was the very last to be sorted, and he was put into Slytherin.

Professor McGonagall smiled. "This concludes this evening's Sorting Ceremony." She then took her seat at the faculty table at the front of the Great Hall.

A few moments later, she rang a goblet to indicate that the Headmaster was about to announce something.

"May I have your attention once more please?" Professor McGonagall called out. "We have an announcement."

Professor Dumbledore stood up, and simply said, "Let the feast - begin!"

At that moment, a scrumptious banquet magically appeared on the table. There were all sorts of tasty eats - steamed carrots, honey-glazed ham, chicken fingers, baby back ribs, deviled eggs, mashed potatoes, all sorts of little pies and pastries... all courtesy of the house elves.

When dinner concluded, each house's prefects directed their charges to their respective dormitories. Percy the Prefect, a fifth-year student and the elder brother of Ron and the twins Fred and George, led the Gryffindors upstairs to Gryffindor Tower for the evening. A portrait guarding the entrance to the Gryffindor common room, affectionately known as the Fat Lady, asked Percy for the password to enter.

"Caput draconis," Percy said confidently.

"The wall behind the Fat Lady opened, revealing a previously-hidden passageway that led to the Gryffindor common room.

"Welcome to the Gryffindor Common room," Percy said to the first-years. "You may spend your downtime here - to study, or mingle with other students, but at ten o'clock, everyone is restricted to the dormitory area. Boys dormitory is up the stairs, and down to the left; girls rooms - the same, but to the right. You'll find all of your belongings by your respective beds. Are there any questions?"

"Well, I guess this is good night then," Kellen said softly to Hermione. "I'm really glad I got to meet you today, and I can't wait to see you tomorrow at breakfast."

"Good night, Kellen," Hermione said. "I'm really glad I got to meet you today too. I'd love to meet you at breakfast in the morning." The two friends embraced each other, and Hermione gave Kellen a little smooch on the forehead before they went to their respective rooms.

Ron rolled his eyes at Hermione and Kellen. "Silly lovebirds," he said softly to Harry, who chuckled softly. Ron then looked at Kellen. "You're awful smart. Want to play a game of wizard's chess before we go to bed? We should have time for a game."

"Sounds good to me," replied Kellen.