Oriana Centauri filed into the Great Hall with the rest of the students. She and two other girls had been instructed by a stately witch with a Scottish brogue to stand near the back, and that they would be Sorted after the first years. She wasn't concerned, however, because she had Seen that she would be in Gryffindor, which suited her just fine.
Oriana Rose Centauri was a short, willowy young woman of sixteen, with thick orange-red hair that hung in perfect ringlets and ocean-colored eyes that were a combination of blue, green and gray. She considered herself fairly attractive, and she simply could not understand why she didn't have a boyfriend. Going to a girls' school for five years had certainly not helped, but now she was at the wonderfully coed school of Hogwarts, and hoped that her single days would soon be ended. She had tried to See if she would be able to obtain a boyfriend at Hogwarts, but the future had been very foggy in that area. Maybe she would ask her Aunt Sybill to crystal gaze for her. Suppose I'll have to start calling her Professor Trelawney, now, Oriana thought.
As the first years filed in and were sorted, Oriana took that time to look around the Great Hall and the student population. There was Harry Potter, the only student she recognized, at the Gryffindor table. She let her eyes wander over the other tables, until they came to rest on a very handsome boy with platinum-blond hair sitting at the Slytherin table. He was glancing back at the three girls standing at the back, acknowledging the dark girl and sizing up the other two - Oriana included. His eyes travelled over her appraisingly, and he smirked at her. She wasn't sure why, but that smirk gave her chills. He turned his attention back to his companions: two stocky goons, a pug-faced girl, and a bored-looking black boy.
Finally, "Zaire, Afiya" was sorted into Ravenclaw, and the first years were done. It was now time for the three transfer students to be sorted. The witch with the Scottish brogue called them up to the stool one by one and they were Sorted. Oriana was, of course, sorted into Gryffindor. Even as the hat was placed on her head, it recognized her for what she was. Well, this won't be a surprise for you, then, will it? I won't waste your time. You already know it's GRYFFINDOR! She took off the hat and made her way quickly to the Gryffindor table. A younger boy - he introduced himself as Colin Creevey - slid down and made room for her to sit, most fortuitously, across the table from Harry Potter himself. She sat quietly as the other two girls were sorted.
"Lestrange, Dominique" went to Slytherin, and Oriana noticed that Harry and the two people beside him didn't boo and hiss like the rest of the Gryffindors, and a rather pudgy Gryffindor boy with buck teeth had gone a bit green around the gills. "Suteneko, Noraneko" - which was a very odd name, in Oriana's opinion - was sorted into Ravenclaw, and her pink hair, cat ears and tail earned many puzzled looks. Oriana noticed another girl practically hiding in the shadows, and wondered why she wasn't sitting at her house table.
Suddenly, food appeared on the plates before her, and Oriana struggled not to retch. Chicken, eggs, pork, beef, turkey, duck, black pudding, and boats upon boats of gravy containing bacon, giblets and other animal parts. The potatos were boiled with a hunk of ham, and most everything else was covered in cheese. Oriana had to look away. Harry, bless him, noticed that she wasn't eating.
"What's wrong?" He asked, mouth half-full with shepherd's pie. Oriana gave him a small smile.
"I can't eat any of this," she said, her own slight Scottish brogue showing through. When he looked at her questioningly, she simply said, "Vegetarian." Harry's eyes widened, and he swallowed his mouthful of food.
"Just touch your wand to your place and say what you want. The house elves will send it up." He offered helpfully, smiling back at her. She did so, touching her wand to the edge of her plate and stating that she'd like a vegetarian dinner. Instantly, her plate was filled with pan-seared zuchinni (her favorite), sauteed mushrooms, steamed broccoli, spinach-stuffed ravioli and the most delicious-looking baked apples she'd ever seen in her life. She grinned at Harry, who nodded approvingly, and began eating. It was the most wonderful meal she'd ever eaten, and the feast passed quickly after that.