One week before term:

"And that's the last of them," Jonas Bagnell said. He'd been their chaperone (guide might have been more polite) in London, on duty to make sure the monsters weren't recognized as non-humans. He had provided them with something he called disillusionment charms for traveling in London. They were supposed to hide the monsters from the non-wizards, but the three monsters that were traveling with Frisk still had to wear full body covering robes, and keep their hoods up, hiding themselves from view, so these enchantments were apparently not perfect. But since they were going into 'Diagon Alley' now, they didn't need them any more.

Having done that, Jonas pushed five bricks in sequence on the tavern wall. A moment later, the wall slid back and to the side, revealing a shopping area on the other side. Jonas sat down in a booth and pulled out a newspaper. He rifled through to the opinion section, and looked up again. "You can meet me here. If you don't see me, just ask Tom," he said, nodding to the bartender.

The bartender, Tom, looked up at the mention of his name, and stepped back in surprise at the goat looking woman, and two skeletons. "Good heavens!" he began. The few patrons already in the bar, including a young boy that looked only a little older than Frisk, looked up at Tom's exclamation.

"Everything's accounted for Tom," Jonas explained. "They're from the underground."

"Ah, alright then." Tom said, still not taking his eyes from Papyrus's excited grin. "Take care, then."

"This is exciting, isn't it, Sans?" Papyrus said, tearing off the cloak that covered his "civilian" body (it'd taken Frisk the better part of an hour to convince him his 'battle' body wasn't suitable for shopping). Frisk grabbed the cloak before it could escape, and handed it to Toriel for safe keeping in her shopping bag.

"heheheh. yeah, bro," said Sans, smiling his customary broad smile. "so, torii, where first?"

"Gringotts," Toriel told him, offering Frisk her hand. "Wizards pay for things in Galleons, so we'll need to exchange our own gold for it." The street behind the Leaky Cauldron was bustling with people. Witches and Wizards all doing their business on what just have might been the single busiest high street in England. Toriel walked into the throng purposefully, though never fast enough that Frisk had to jog to keep up.

"heh," Frisk heard behind him, "a wizard joke shop? i wonder what's in there."

"School supplies, first, Sans!" Papyrus admonished, causing a few onlookers to turn and stare. Frisk saw three common reactions to the skeletons. One was to vacate, either by turning up a street or disappearing in a store. Another was to stare, a few doing so by gawking with slack jawed open mouths. The third, and most nerve wracking, were the few that muttered angrily, staring through slitted eyes. Frisk pulled at her adopted mother's robe, whispering the need to hurry.

"It's okay, my child," Toriel said calmly. "We're not here to get in any fights." Frisk was sure about her mother's intention not to get into fights. She was also pretty confident that it didn't take two people to start fights, as Undyne had proven to her.

A small handful of people simply shrugged their shoulders and went about their business, and Toriel did her best to blend in with them, passing through the massive doors into Gringott's Wizarding Bank.

For the first time, Frisk joined Papyrus at staring at the huge, magnificent, architecture. Dad's castle underground had been immense and beautiful, with the cavern enlarged in specific ways to catch the little sunlight that had sneaked through the barrier. Gringott's was just as large, but far more ornate and opulent, like nothing Frisk had seen before, in the Underground or out of it. Still staring, Frisk felt herself pulled into a que of ropes. The other wizards in the line seemed more respectful of the matronly monster and her skeleton friends, or perhaps more aware of the goblin guards watching their movements. In any event, a few minutes later, Frisk was staring up at a goblin teller.

The Goblin might have been slightly taller than Sans, but it was hard to tell. He looked over the counter at Toriel, and while his voice was deep and scratchy, his tone was perfectly professional. "Welcome to Gringotts, madam, I am Nurkrus, how can I help you today?"

"I am here to open an account," Toriel explained. She reached into a purse, pulling out a handful of Underground gold coins, and placed them in front of the suddenly fascinated goblin.

"Ah, these aren't galleons," he said. He picked up one and bit it. "Slightly soft," he remarked. He reached under his counter for what appeared to be a jeweler's loupe, and strapped it on his head. He examined the coin for the counter for a moment, then held it up towards the light. "This is made of a purer gold then a galleon. We would be happy to trade one for another."

Frisk tugged at Toriel's robe, looking up with a plain look of confusion on her face. Toriel glanced down for a moment, and gave a soft smile. "My child would like to know what you mean by 'purer gold', Master Nurkrus."

The goblin beamed at her, and looked over the counter, down at Frisk. She would swear she saw a look of surprise and confusion cross his face, but it was gone within a heartbeat. "Goblin galleons introduces small impurities in the metal, in order to create a firmer coin, and to prevent counterfeiting."

Frisk whispered a quiet thank you, and gave a curtsy for the watching goblin. It was brief, but he smiled in acceptance.

Nurkrus stepped back back for a moment, engaging in whispered conversation with a passing goblin, possibly a superior. After a moment's wait, the other goblin returned, placing a large balance scale on the teller counter. He took a number of underworld coins, placing them in one basket, then placed a number of Galleons. For the next few minutes, as the monsters watched, fascinated, he added and subtracted coins from each side, until they eventually balanced. "Ah! There we are." He pushed the balance forward for Toriel's examination.

Frisk wasn't sure what Toriel was supposed to be looking for, and apparently, neither was Toriel. "I apologize, Master Nurkrus," she said. "I do not know much about Goblins, having only recently been freed from the Underground. But I am sure every goblin prides itself on Gringott's gold sterling reputation..." she paused.

Frisk didn't need to recognize Toriel's 'that was a pun' tone to get the joke. She, and Sans, snickered appreciably. Papyrus, on the other hand, let out a loud anguished groan. The goblin raised one skinfold that might have been an eyebrow, but didn't otherwise react.

Toriel shrugged, "That should be fine, Master Nurkrus. I have a much larger supply of coins that I would like to trade, but it would be hard to bring them to Gringott's directly."

"I understand. I would be happy to arrange for Gringott's employees to visit your home at a time that is convenient, to you,"

Toriel gave a swift nod. "Courteous and efficient, Master Nurkrus, thank you! How about..." they discussed times for a bit before agreeing to one. "May I offer you my Underground coins?" she asked.

Nurkrus smiled, for real this time, and turned the scale so that the Galleons were on Toriel's side of the table. She gave a nod of appreciation, and put them into her purse."Nurkrus, you have been such a help. Do you have a supervisor I can give a compliment to?"

Until that moment, Frisk hadn't known goblins could blush. This one did. "I assure you, Ms. Toriel, it is appreciated, but it is not necessary."

"I think it is. You went above and beyond what would be expected," Toriel said.

The goblin that had fetched the scales had returned, and was looking up toward Toriel with a wary expression, perhaps trying to decide if she was being patronizing. "On behalf of Gringotts, we thank you for the compliment," the second one said. "It is good to hear that common courtesy is not a lost art."

Toriel nodded at that and, still smiling, once again took Frisk's hand, and headed back for the main door. More then a few witches and wizards gave the group an odd look as they left.

"so," said Sans, "where next?"

"Well, Frisk needs to be fitted for her school uniform," Toriel said, consulting her list. "And she is supposed to be matched for a wand. Those sound like the could take a while. Perhaps you and Papyrus could find her school books at Flourish and Blot?"

"That sounds like a noble goal for the Great Papyrus!" Papyrus exclaimed. "Fear not, we shall find the best possible books for learning!"

"heheheheh. yeah, we'll get on that fast as possible," Sans said. His eyelights twinkled.

"Oh no, Sans," Toriel said in mock horror. "You're not going to..."

"book it there, yeah."

"Arrrrrrrrrrgh!"

Present day

"Or should I..." the hat paused in this line of thinking. "You would do so well in either house."

This hemming and hawing of the hat continued on for several moments without actually discussing it with Frisk. She could hear someone's voice come down from the dais behind her. "Filius, when was the last time we had a hatstall?"

"The poor Petigrew boy, Albus, unless you count Ms. Granger."

"I heard that," muttered the hat. "Very well. A tiebreaker. What do you think of flowers and plants?"

Frisk thought of one flower immediately, and gave an involuntary shudder.

"Gryffindor!" the hat cried out.

To the sound of applause, not to mention a few sighs of relief, Professor Flitwick swept the hat from Frisk's head. "Go and join your house," he told the girl, smiling.

Frisk looked at the smiling faces in front of her, and she made her way back to the far end of the hall, at the end of the red themed table. She was only the second person to be sorted into Gryffindor, so ended up sitting next to the older second year students.

"Oh!" said the girl she sat down next to. To Frisk's surprise and delight, it was the redheaded girl that showed her how to get to platform Nine and Three Quarters. "You're in Gryffindor! Congratulations!"

Frisk wasn't completely sure how to respond to that. "Thanks?" she whispered.

"I'm Ginny Weasely..." she began.

"Ginny," a boy from the other side whispered in awe, "is it true that a dementor attacked Harry Potter?"

"Ask him when he gets down here, Colin!" Ginny snapped. This apparently startled Colin into submission, but there was a pause as "Formby, Kay" was sorted into Hufflepuff. "But I'm glad you made it here, and in Gryffindor!"

"Thanks. I'm Frisk... Frisk Dreemurr," she said, and they turned together to watch the sorting.

After the sorting, came the warning about the dementors. That was the creature that had... been present in the train car. Frisk shuddered. She would stay away from them, far away from them. She had no desire to live through that memory again.

Then there was the introduction of two new professors by the Headmaster (she'd met Hagrid already), and then the feast began. Frisk had to admit, she had never seen so much food in one place at one time. The smells of the suddenly appeared dishes mixed together into a cornucopia of fresh and inciting promise of taste. She took a small selection each of several different foods, liking some, not caring for others, but was pleasantly full... and then dessert arrived. Tables groaned again under fresh full plates of nearly every taste imaginable.

Once again, Frisk performed a full search for a butterscotch pie with a cinnamon crust, but once again, the search was in vain. "I've never had butterscotch," Ginny admitted, when Frisk explained what she was looking for. "Is that a muggle food?"

Frisk tensed up at the term. "Well, it is. But Mom makes the best pie in the world with it," she told her new friend.

"The best pie in the world is the one made by one's own mother," Ginny said sagely, and it was impossible to disagree with that.

Eventually, the food was done. In groups, they got up. Frisk was about was about to follow a boy wearing an important looking badge calling for first year Gryffindors when Ginny tapped her shoulder. "Nah, you don't need to follow Percy." She raised her voice, "Percy! What's the password?"

Percy glanced around, locked eyes with Ginny, "Fortuna Major!" he called back.

"Thanks!" Ginny replied. A blond girl in Ravenclaw colors had appeared next to them. She had blue, slightly unfocused eyes, an effect that Frisk wasn't used to. "Oh. Hello, Luna," Ginny said.

"Is this Frisk Dreemurr?" Luna asked.

Frisk felt her soul growing determined. This had been the girl that she though had recognized the name. There could only be one reason for that. "Yes, it is," Ginny said, somewhat in surprise.

"Is it a coincidence?" Luna asked curiously, "That the king and queen of monsters under Mt. Ebott also had that name?"

Frisk knew this moment would eventually arrive, and had been waiting for it. "No," she told them. "Toriel Dreemurr is my adopted mother. She was the first monster I met after I fell into the underground."

Ginny's mouth fell open.

"Do you think," Luna said, "that my Dad could get an interview with her?"

Of all the responses in the world Frisk could have gotten from that statement, she'd expected Ginny's. Luna's request threw her. "I think," she said after a moment's thought, "Mom would rather try to be quiet and not make waves... but I'd be happy to ask!" she added quickly, seeing Luna's crestfallen look. "Who does he work for?" she asked.

"He runs the Quibbler!"

"What's the Quibbler?" Frisk asked.

"It's tough to explain," Ginny said hurriedly, "I'll get her a copy,"

Luna's eyes suddenly dialed in on Ginny. The sharp change in focus was intimidating. "It's not all rumors and celebrity gossip," she snapped. "Daddy writes about things the Prophet would never print!"

"I know, Luna," Ginny said, "It's just that it is late, and we need to get to the common room before curfew."

"Oh, I suppose it is late," Luna said. "Alright, Ginny. See you in class?"

"I hope so!" Ginny told her, "I haven't seen the schedules yet," Ginny nodded to Luna, and took their separate ways, with Frisk trailing behind Ginny. "Luna's a bit... well, loony, but she's got a good heart, and she's extremely perceptive."

"I could see that," Frisk said in her quiet voice, and Ginny gave her a bright smile.

"We better get up to the tower, though. This way," and Ginny led Frisk up through a maze of stairwells, past talking portraits that welcomed the new and returning students to Hogwarts. Ginny only briefly acknowledged them. "When you get lost," Ginny told Frisk, "Feel free to ask a portrait. Most of them will make time to help a student. And speaking of portraits..." they had ended in front of a picture of a large woman in a pink dress. When prompted for a password, Ginny turned to Frisk, "Do you remember it?"

"Major Fortuna, wasn't it?" supplied Frisk. "Wait, no. Fortuna Major, right?"

"On the second try," Ginny said. "Remembering the password is probably the most important thing you need to do, even above homework. Just... don't let Hermione hear that," she said winking.

The portrait swung open, revealing yet another staircase. "Thank you," Frisk told the portrait.

"You're welcome," came the Fat Lady's voice from the other side, as she swung closed behind the two girls. They climbed up the stairs into a large sitting room. A warm fire was blazing in the hearth, several chairs, couches, and tables were scattered throughout. Two more staircases upward provided alternative exits to the common room. A small scattering of students occupied some of them, but it seemed capable of holding a lot more.

Ginny sat down on one of the comfortable looking chairs, focusing intently on Frisk. "Can you tell me about it?" she asked excitedly.

Frisk, as tired as she was, sat down near her. "Tell you about what?"

"Everything! What monsters are like, what happened in the Underground, everything!"

"I thought you said it was late," Frisk said.

"We're not allowed to be in the Castle halls after seven, but we can stay up as late as we want in the common room," Ginny explained. "Not that it's a good idea to stay up too late, we do have classes tomorrow, but, still!"

Frisk debated with herself. She had a feeling she'd be repeating her underground story often enough to be sick of it, But it seemed wrong not to give her new friend something, after the way she'd been helpful on both ends of the train ride.

"Toriel Dreemurr, my adopted mother, is the single nicest person I've ever met." Frisk reached into a robe pocket, pulling out a small leather photo-book. She passed it over to Ginny, who opened it eagerly. "She wants to be a teacher."

"These pictures aren't moving," Ginny said.

"We took them with cameras that fell down to the underground," Frisk explained.

"Ah, and the next picture must be her husband."

Frisk expression fell a little bit. "That's... that's a long story. I hope he will be again, they're starting to make up."

"Oh. And... are these skeletons?"

"Papyrus and his brother, Sans. They may look a little different, but Papyrus is such a gentle soul. Sans though, Sans is something else, a punster and practical joker. Papyrus pretends to hate it, but they love each other."

"We met!" said a pair of voices from the corner. Another pair of redheads (just how many of them were there in Gryffindor?) popped up from a corner table, coming to stand behind Ginny. With the three of them in close proximity, though, it was easy to tell they were related. "Sans is wicked cool. You should have seen what he pulled off on the manager of Flourish & Blotts!"

"What did he pull off?" asked Ginny suspiciously.

"Oh, he didn't hurt him, but it was hilarious," one twin said. "You should introduce us, Ginny!" added the other.

"These are my twin brothers, Fred and George. Did Ron already go to bed?"

"You know Ron," Fred... or was that one George... said.

"Ate too much and then fell asleep," the other finished.

Ginny giggled. "Fred, George, this is Frisk Dreemurr. She came up from under Mt. Ebott with the monsters."

Frisk gave a knowing nod of acknowledgement. She knew exactly how hard it was to keep a secret, but this was setting records even for her.

Ginny flipped the page in the photo-book. "A merperson? And a... lizard?"

"Undyne and Alphys. Undyne isn't quite a merperson, she's able to breath air easily enough. Alphys is... sorry, was, the Underground's chief scientist. Undyne's a bit hot blooded, but loves muggle anime and cartoons, so does Alphys, but she's much shyer."

"Tell us all about the underground!" Fred and George said together.

"Not tonight," Frisk said firmly. "I'm not going to try to keep a secret, but I can tell the whole house about it tomorrow."

"A treat after the first day of classes?" suggested George. "That sounds wicked," added Fred.

Ginny had finished flipping through the photo-book, and handed it back to Frisk, who looked at the picture of Toriel for several seconds before putting back in her pocket. "I think it's time for bed, Ginny said.

Frisk had wanted to begin writing a letter home, but as Ginny spoke she realized just how exhausted she was. "I think that's a good idea, Ginny," she told her. Saying good night to Fred and George, she followed her up to the girls dormitory, where a majority of the first years were already asleep.

She changed into her pajamas (purple with the delta rune), and crawled into bed. There was some snoring from the adjoining beds, but after what she'd endured with dad, it was nothing she couldn't handle. After several minutes staring up at the ceiling, thinking about her day, she rolled onto her side, and went to sleep.