A tall man approached the stool and stood beside it as the hat began to move. In a raspy voice, it began to speak, "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 cap them all.
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 ready 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!"

The man pulled out a scroll and unrolled it a bit, announcing, "As I call your name, please step forward to be sorted. Laura Perez!"

A small, shy looking girl walked forward, a bit of fear in her eyes. She was a friend of Crissy, Jen, and Kaela, but they had not known that she was called here as well. The man placed the sorting hat on her head, and it began to speak again.

"Ah what a strange combination…Loyal and shy, yes…Yet very mischievous as well. Perhaps not what meets the eye, hm? Well, I think it best if you were…HUFFLEPUFF!"

The students began applauding as Laura took a seat at the table placed beneath Hufflepuff's banner. The man opened the scroll again. "Crystal Laneville!"

Crissy looked at Kaela and Jen who nodded, motivating her to step forward and take a seat on the stool. As the sorting hat was placed on her head, it moved for a moment before finally speaking. "GRYFFINDOR!"

The students applauded again as she smiled at Jen and Kaela and took a seat.

"Rhian Kinea!"

Jen froze as the tall boy from the train approached the stool. She mumbled under her breath in a whispered tone, "Impossible…He's…No, that can't be…" Kaela finally understood and looked up and Jen, wondering the same things she was.

"RAVENCLAW!"

Rhian stepped down from the stool and nodded toward Jen, smiling. It felt like someone had just sucked every last bit of air from her lungs. She wanted to go talk to him, to see him. She didn't know how it was possible for him to be there, but she was now sure that it was in fact the same Rhian she had always known.

"Jennifer Carl!"

Jen stepped forward and sat on the stool as the hat was placed on her head. "Hmm…Difficult indeed…Loyal, yes, there's no mistake about that. Ah but such cleverness…Bravery and love with cunning abilities…Very difficult…But I think it better be…RAVENCLAW!"

She grinned and stepped down, Kaela following soon after, sitting beside each other happily after a loud burst of the sorting hat saying they should have children from their similarities.

Eventually, all of the students were sorted, though some left and went straight to the common room. Most of them, however, remained downstairs as a feast appeared on the tables before them. After stuffing themselves as full as possible, the students stood up and walked toward the large doors at the entrance to the Great Hall. Four adults now stood there as they students gathered around them.

The one on the far right was the first to speak. He was extremely large and rotund, a black mass of hair covering his face with the exception of his tiny eyeballs and his nose. "Congratulations students! I am Rubeus Hagrid, and we are the heads of all of your houses. All Hufflepuffs follow me to your common room, while Slytherins are to follow Professor Malfoy, Gryffindors follow Professor Potter, and Ravenclaws follow Professor Chang!" The group of students began shifting as shouts came from the heads leading them. Jen and Kaela stood behind Cho Chang, head of the Ravenclaw house. She began to lead all Ravenclaws to the Ravenclaw tower in the west end of the castle. After climbing many stairs, they reached a wooden door with a bronze, eagle-shaped knocker on it. As Professor Chang knocked on the door, the knight beside it began to speak. "What is the mean of seventy-seven, forty-four, twelve, seventeen, ninety-three, and five?" Quickly calculating in her head, Professor Chang answered, "Forty-one and one third." The door slowly opened with a creak, and the students were led into the Ravenclaw common room.

As they stepped in, the students stared at the place that would now become their home. The walls were draped with blue and bronze silk. The carpet and domed-ceiling were colored midnight blue, stars painted on the ceiling above them. Large windows were carved out of the walls, providing a view of the mountains nearby and allowing students to see just how far from the ground they were. Two staircases led to the dormitories, one for boys and one for girls, and a fireplace rested at the wall separating them at the ground. The room had several couches and chairs, some of which were already occupied: one chair by Jenny Qiao, another by Jen Gray. Jen smiled and waved at the two of them, knowing them well from their days on the golf team together. Several other Ravenclaws now took seats in the common room to meet new people. Kaela, however, was overwhelmed with exhaustion and began the stair-climbing trek up to the dormitory, followed by Jen.