Disclaimer: I do not own any of the brilliant JK Rowling's Harry Potter series. I do own my own non-canon characters and ideas but that's about it. The few excerpts from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone also belong to JK Rowling.

So this was what it felt like. Melanie had been waiting for years to finally board the Hogwarts Express alongside her sister. And now, it was finally happening.

"Now, dear, try your hardest, but have fun, too!" Eileen kissed Melanie's cheek. Her eyes were welling up with tears to see her little Mel go off to Hogwarts but she brushed them away quickly.

"And remember to write every week, and stay out of trouble," Rich told her with a smile.

"I know, I know," Melanie said, exasperated. She kissed her father's bearded chin before turning to her godmother. "Bye, Leah," Melanie hugged her godmother hard. Leah White held onto her little goddaughter, letting her tears run freely.

"Have a good time, kiddo. I'll miss you like crazy," Leah whispered.

"I'll try, Leah," Melanie smiled. "I'll miss you so much." She let go of her closest friend and ran off to the train. Before she boarded she blew a kiss to her family and called, "Bye, Mummy! Bye, Daddy! Bye, Leah!" And then she stepped onto the train and went to find a seat.

She walked down the long hallway of the train and spotted her sister sitting in one of the compartments, laughing with her friends. "Hey Marie, can I sit with you?" she asked timidly.

"No, I'm with my friends. Go find a spot somewhere else," Marie glared at her little sister with such contempt it nearly broke Mel's heart. Her sister had never been so awful to her. She ran from the compartment doorway, looking for a group of kids that looked her age.

Melanie found one almost at the end of the hall. She peered inside it, wary of being turned away. "Um, hi," she said, "Would you mind if I sat with you?"

"Sure," a girl with bushy brown hair smiled. "I'm Hermione Granger, and you are?"

"I-I'm Melanie. Melanie Flannery."

She sat down next to Hermione and the boy and girl in front of her introduced themselves.

"I'm Neville Longbottom," the boy said. He had brown hair and buck teeth and a nervous manner about him.

The girl introduced herself as Hannah Abbott. "Pleased to meet you," Melanie grinned.

"So, Melanie," Hermione turned to her, "we were just talking about what House we want to be sorted into. I personally would like to be in Gryffindor, but I really don't mind as long as it isn't Slytherin. So what about you?"

"Well, I guess I hadn't given it much thought. My sister is in Hufflepuff so maybe it would be nice if I was with her, but I really don't know."

"I bet I'll be in Huffelpuff…" Neville said gloomily.

"What's so bad about Hufflepuff? At least it isn't Slytherin," Melanie defended.

"Oh nothing's wrong with it. I just- I lost my toad and I-" Neville looked near tears as he explained to them how he wasn't very good at keeping track of things and his toad was always getting away from him. "And Gram-oh, Gram is not going to be happy if I can't find it. She thinks I'm enough of a disappointment already…"

"We'll help you find it," Melanie offered. The other girls nodded their heads and the four of them set off to search for Trevor the toad.

The group split up and Melanie roamed down the hall to look for Trevor. She passed by a food trolley with all sorts of treats she loved. She saw a boy ogling at the cart before them both. He had messy black hair-just like her own, only cut much shorter- and when he looked up, she could see his almond-shaped green eyes behind his glasses. Something about him sparked a memory deep within her, but Mel couldn't understand why. The boy before her was so familiar but she was sure she'd never laid eyes on him before. He looked up and his face mirrored hers- the same confused look.

She began to ask if he knew her somehow, when he ordered a little of everything from the cart and returned to his compartment. She watched him from the outside window, her mind searching every memory she had, to try and understand who that boy was.

"Have you found him yet?" Hermione asked, coming up behind her.

"No, no, I haven't," Melanie awoke from her trance.

"Well, I guess I'll ask the boys in here," she rolled her eyes before going into the compartment.

Melanie hurried down the train hallway, asking groups of kids if they had seen a toad, because her friend Neville had lost one. After asking a bunch of people, Melanie gave up and went to put on her robes.

As she came out of the changing room, a girl with chin-length dark hair and a stuck-up face tripped Melanie. She and her companions laughed as Mel struggled to get up. A pale-faced boy came forward, sniggering. "You're the Squib's daughter, right?" he asked her.

Melanie raised her right eyebrow and began to understand that this was one of those people that her parents had warned her about. "Some of the children there will believe them better than others because their pure-blood or because they have two wizard parents. Don't let them get to you," Eileen had cautioned.

Mel held her chin high, "So what if I am?"

"Oh, the little girl is getting feisty," the boy teased. Melanie disliked him after just a few seconds. His eyes were a cold gray and his white-blond hair was cut very short and gelled back as if to look dignified. Melanie just thought he looked ridiculous. "I'm Draco Malfoy. You should grow used to respecting the name." A thick, stupid-looking boy next to Draco gave him a high five and the others laughed.

Melanie looked Draco Malfoy straight in the eye and told him bravely, "You don't deserve my respect." She then turned on her heel, leaving the mean-spirited group of bullies gaping behind her.

Melanie was crammed into a boat with two boys and Hannah Abbott. The one boy with the brown hair and kind blue eyes had introduced himself as Terry Boot and the other with the curly dark hair said his name was Justin Finch-Fletchley. They seemed nice enough-or at least much nicer than that Malfoy boy and his posse.

Standing up to Malfoy had taken a good bit of courage, but it wasn't the first time she'd put a bully in their place. Several times back at her Muggle elementary school, she'd told bullies off for insulting her or her little brother, or someone else. Melanie Flannery was not afraid to stand up for what she believed in, despite her often shy and quiet demeanor.

Terry Boot tapped Mel's shoulder. "Look at how cool Hogwarts looks," he pointed at the castle straight ahead of them. There were hundreds of windows, all lit up, and there were so many turrets and towers that Melanie couldn't even imagine what could be in all of them. She oohed and awed with Terry and Justin as they got closer. They each pointed out little details and found that the three of them got along well. Hannah stayed quiet for most of the ride and seemed a bit uncomfortable.

"Firs' years! This way!" The great big man named Hagrid called. They all followed him quietly into a grand foyer. A stern woman with her black hair pulled into a tight bun on top of her head came up.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid offered.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I'll take it from here," the stern witch told him, before guiding the first years down the hall. She showed the first years into a small, empty chamber.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, " said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting.

"I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly," Professor McGonagall said as she left the chamber.

Her legs felt like jelly and her hands shook violently as she brushed her fingers through her thick black hair and played with the silver locket around her neck. Marie had told her there was some sort of "Sorting ceremony" but had refused to tell her what exactly it entailed. Melanie had never been more nervous in her life. Sure, she knew about magic and little things she had learned about Hogwarts and the wizarding world from her parents. But her parents were Squibs! They couldn't do magic and had never been to Hogwarts to learn any spells. How could she ever pass a test if it involved knowing how to perform magic?

She could overhear the black-haired boy she'd seen earlier talking to a red-headed freckly boy. "How exactly do they sort us into houses?" she heard the black-haired boy asked.

"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking," the red-haired boy explained.

It hurt?! A test!? Melanie's heart was racing so fast she couldn't think straight. Oh my God, Oh my God, she kept thinking. What if she couldn't do it? Did they ever send people home? That would be just her luck, wouldn't it? To get sent home on the first night because she wasn't sortable. Her breathing was shallow and she tried hard to calm herself down. You'll be okay, you'll be okay, she repeated over and over. Marie could do it, so can you. But she wasn't so sure.

Due to her anxiety, she hardly even noticed as about twenty ghosts floated into the room.

"The Sorting Ceremony's about to start," Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts fled the room through the opposite wall. "Now, form a line, and follow me. "

Melanie stood between Hermione Granger and Terry Boot. As they walked into the Great Hall-which could've fit Mel's house times two inside of it- she could hear Hermione whispering something about how the ceilings were bewitched and she'd read about it in Hogwarts, A History. Melanie vaguely remembered reading about that as well. Terry was whispering to her excitedly about what house she thought she'd be in and she replied that she wasn't sure. She stared up at the ceiling and marveled at how much it looked like the night sky above the candles. It was sure some amazing magic.

All the older students watched them carefully as they headed toward as stool with an old, torn-up and patched witch's hat on it. She stared at it, wondering what it could possibly be for.

For a moment, there was silence. But then through a rip near the seam, the hat began to sing. Melanie was startled by it and she noticed a few others were too.

Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can top them all.

"It's singing...?" Terry questioned her and Mel nodded, a little bit afraid. She motioned for him to be quiet.

There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a steady mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!

There was a burst of wild applause from the many students in the Great Hall. Melanie thought it was a relief that all they had to do was put on the hat, but she was a little bit spooked by how it could see all that was in her head. That sounded like an invasion of privacy to her.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," Professor McGonagall said as she stepped forward with a long scroll. "Abbott, Hannah!"

Hannah stumbled as she went forward and sat upon the stool with the hat on her head. The hat called out "HUFFLEPUFF!" and Hannah put the hat back on the stool before skipping off to sit at the Hufflepuff table.

Another girl-Susan Bones- was sorted into Hufflepuff before Terry was called.

"RAVENCLAW!"

Terry hopped off the stool and winked at Melanie before running off to join the Ravenclaw table that was clapping happily at him. Melanie wrung her hands as they called the names. Part of her wanted to join her new found friend, Terry Boot, at Ravenclaw but another part nagged her that she wasn't intelligent enough for that. She was smart but from what she'd heard about Ravenclaw, she seemed pretty dull.

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!" McGonagall called. Melanie's heart skipped; she was almost positive she was next.

Justin was sorted into Hufflepuff and Melanie thought briefly that she wouldn't mind being in Hufflepuff with her sister and Hannah and Justin.

"Flannery…" McGonagall stared at the name for a moment before continueing, "Melanie!" There were a few hushed whispers through the crowd- for some of the older students knew the rumors about Harry's twin- but Melanie didn't notice as she half-ran toward the stool. She just wanted to get it overwith.

She shoved the hat on her head quickly. "Ah," the hat breathed into her ear. "You remind me of your mother. She was kind, quick-witted, and talented too. There's a little hint of arrogance from your father too, but mostly just his bravery. Hmm, where to put you?"

Her mother? Her father? They were Squibs, they had never been to Hogwarts or been sorted. What was the hat talking about?!

"So you don't know about your parents yet," the hat mused. Didn't know what about her parents? "Well, I believe the only place to put you is…."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

She shakily removed the hat from her head, millions of questions forming in her mind. Her parents? She knew for a fact they had never put on the Sorting Hat, and she also knew for a fact that her mother was not quick-witted or talented and her father was far from being brave or arrogant. What had the hat been talking about?!

She sat down at the Gryffindor table amid cheers and hoots from her fellow housemates. She listened a little bit to see who else was sorted into Gryffindor. That girl Hermione and the boy Neville from the train sat down. When the name Potter, Harry was called, every head in the room turned toward the small black-haired boy as he walked toward the stool. It was the boy from the train! That was probably why she thought she knew him. He was the famous Harry Potter, after all. She'd grown up knowing his story, just like every other child with wizard parents in there had.

As she sat through dinner, talking occasionally to Hermione-who was proving to be more know-it-all-ish and annoying by the second, and Parvati Patil-who kept wanting to know how she got her hair to be so shiny-, she was happier and more confused than she could ever remember being. She kept wondering about her parents and resolved to send them a letter as soon as possible.