Kate followed the girls upstairs to her new room. It was shaped like an octagon. Four walls were occupied by beds, two by windows, and the other two had the doors to the stairs and bathroom. All the furniture was made of warm coloured wood and combined with the red blankets, the whole room felt warm and cozy.

Even though she had just met them, Kate could tell that Mary was the fashion conscious one, Marlene was the wild, outspoken one, and Lily was the responsible studious one.

Mary was raking a wide toothed comb through Marlene's wild curly hair.

"Do you not own a brush at home?" Mary scolded.

"Of course I do. I just can't be bothered with all your crazy muggle hair products."

"It's not that hard," said Mary, yanking on Marlene's hair. "Hold still."

"Ow! You're going to make me bald!"

Kate laughed. The two of them were like sisters. They certainly squabbled like sisters.

"Pipe down, you two," Lily called from the bathroom.

If Mary and Marlene were little kids, Lily was their big sister. She'd play with them most of the time but every so often she was called in to break up a fight.

"Make me!" Marlene called back.

Lily crossed to the door of the bathroom in one step. She seized a pillow off the nearest bed and flung it at Marlene. Marlene ducked and the pillow hit Mary square in the face.

"Ah!" Mary fell back onto the bed. She righted herself quickly and grabbed a pillow off of her bed.

"You're going to get it!" she chased Lily around the room while Lily screamed. She ducked behind Marlene.

"Protect me!"

"No! Leave me out of this!" Marlene laughed and ducked away. Lily ran to Kate. Rather than help, Kate grabbed Lily and held her down while Mary hit her with the pillow.

"Ah! No!" Lily laughed. "Uncle! Uncle!"

The girls all collapsed on the floor in a heap of laughter. Mary and Kate high-fived above Lily's head.

"Oh! I can't breathe. My sides hurt!" Marlene laughed.

As they all calmed down, Kate looked around at her new roommates. Maybe this year would be all right. Maybe she could manage.

Lily sat up and straightened her hair and robes. "All right," she said in a business-like tone. "I think it's time for our ritual and we can initiate Kate."

"Initiate?" Kate asked but no one was listening.

Mary, Marlene and Lily jumped up and started pulling things out of their trunks. Marlene spread out a large red blanket on the floor while Lily arranged a handful of candles on a plate and put it in the middle of the blanket.

"Here," Mary threw a red and yellow striped scarf at Kate. "Tie this around your head."

"What?" Kate laughed and looked at the scarf. She watched Mary and the others tie the scarf over their foreheads with the knot under their hair. She did the same, wondering what the heck she had gotten herself in to.

The four girls sat around the edge of the blanket. They all linked hands.

Marlene seemed to be the Master of Ceremonies, so she started.

"We gather here today to bid welcome to another school year and to welcome a new member to the Sisterhood of Gryffindor," Marlene intoned in a voice reserved playing Shakespeare or for Catholic confession. "We have spent the summer apart and it has strengthened our bonds to the world and to those who we love. But now that we are together again, let us renew our vows to Hogwarts, to Gryffindor, and to each other."

"On behalf of us all," Lily picked up the script. "I vow that I will help you when you need helping, cover your ass when your knickers fall down, and always be there for you to lean on."

"Amen," Mary whispered. Kate giggled. Lily shushed them both.

"We have a new member here today," Marlene continued in a solemn voice. "And though we have only met, we know that Kate will forever be a part of our family. We ask the spirits of Hogwarts and the women who have come before us to bless her as our sister and to stop her from running screaming back to London when she finds out what we're really like."

Kate and Mary both giggled and this time Lily and Marlene joined in.

"Sister Mary," said Marlene. "Bring forth the sacred vessel." Mary reached behind her and handed Marlene a bowl. Marlene poured pumpkin juice into it. Then she reached behind her, under her mattress, and pulled out another, smaller bottle that was almost empty of amber liquid.

"What's that?" Lily asked.

"Firewhiskey," Marlene grinned while the other three gasped.

"I don't know, Marlene," Mary said.

"What? I nicked it from my Dad's liquor cabinet. He didn't notice and if he does, he'll think that my brother took it."

The other girls watched with wide eyes as Marlene measured out a bottle cap full and poured it into the pumpkin juice. She took a sip and gasped.

Feeling uncertain, Kate took the bowl. Three pairs of expectant eyes stared at her. She raised the bowl to her lips and the liquid seared down her throat. She gasped as she handed it off so the other two could drink it too. Once the burning sensation faded, a warm feeling spread from her stomach through her whole body until she was warm to her fingers and toes.. Kate smiled.

The girls joined hands again, this time with their palms pressed together and fingers intertwined.

"We are the mighty Gryffindor Girls!" Marlene cried. They all raised their arms. "Let no man bring us down!"

"Gryffindor!" cried Lily.

"GRRRRRYFINDOR!"