We all walked toward the Great Hall but the doors were of course shut. Professor McGonagall, the head of Gryffindor, came to tell us the whole process of being sorted. She then opened the door and we all followed behind her, many of the other new students looked around at the walls and ceiling. Many of them obviously had not been around lots of magic. Then again, it's not that hard to know what the place looks like, all you have to do is pick up a book. We stopped at the front of the hall, right in front of all the professors. I saw my dad at the far end of the teachers and waved at him. He scowled in return. 'If that wasn't expected.' I just went back to normal. Fred stood to my right; after I had put my hand down from waving at my dad, he laced our fingers together. Professor McGonagall stood in front of all of us and began to talk.

"When I call your name please come and sit on the stool. Then, I will place the Sorting hat on your head and you will be put in a house." she pulled out a scroll, which held all of our names. "Catherine Black."
A frightened girl walked up slowly and sat on the stool. The hat covered her eyes and the soon the stitches of the hat opened and shouted out a name.
"SLYTHERIN!"
The hat shouted a house name, and I began to get nervous. Fred still held my hand; I kept our hands tightly closed together. Many more kids were called I stood anxiously with Fred and George. Professor McGonagall spoke again after a young boy was sorted into Ravenclaw.
"Elladora Snape" people began to whisper about me. They must have figured out my father was the notorious potions master Severus Snape. My name had finally been called and I walked up nervously. I looked back to Fred he moved his hand as if he were pushing me, though I was too far. I sat down on the stool and Professor McGonagall placed the sorting hat on my head. Much like the other first years, the hat covered my eyes, but I lifted it up so I could see a little bit. The hat began to speak but softly, so only I could hear.
"Your family history tells me you should be in Slytherin, but you're too nice. However, not nice enough to be a Hufflepuff." I was a little taken aback, I was nice but I guess the hat could tell that I've been pretty mean sometimes, oh who am I kidding I am pretty mean when I tease the boys. "Courageous, loving of others, and quite the loyal one. I know just where to put you!..." I got a pale face hoping I could make my dad proud, but not be enemies of my only friends and the only boy I think I've ever liked. "GRYFFINDOR!" The hat shouted the house name and the cheers were not as loud as many would have thought, or even close to as loud as when others were sorted there. I looked all the way to my right, at the end of the teacher's table; my father, he scowled and glared at me harder than I had ever seen. He looked back at me disgusted, I felt like bawling my eyes out, or just jumping into the black lake right then. I looked back to my friends happily laughing with a big grin on my face. If only they knew the pain of being a disappointment I felt. I went and sat at the end of the Gryffindor table. The boys went up for sorting soon after; you know the alphabetized list thing. Fred was called first; the hat was placed on his head and was only there for a few seconds before the hat shouted Gryffindor. George was next the hat shouted the entire time.
"Didn't I just put you into a house?"
"No that was Fred, I'm George!"
"Oh yes, right. Just go to Gryffindor!" George took off the sorting hat and sat down next to Fred who sat across me. Dumbledore stood up at his podium and announced that dinner was to start. George and Fred pigged out while I ate normally, kind of: I didn't really eat a lot. I saw my father glaring at me across the room; I could tell he was disappointed. We were dismissed to our dorms and commons. Fred tried to walk in the back with me but I had to have him go on to the commons.
"Fred, I need to talk to Dumbledore anyway. I'll just see you at breakfast or something. Goodnight." I gave him a tight long hug and walked to Dumbledore's office. I stood facing a gargoyle statue and simply said the password "sherbet lemon". The statue moved out of the way and I stepped on one of the first few steps that took me up to his office. I opened the door to see his office, which was only lit by the full moon outside. I saw many portraits of old headmasters in the past. Professor Dumbledore sat in his tall chair behind his large desk. I sat in the visitor's chair in front of his desk.
"I see you're frustrated Miss Snape. May I ask why?" he asked me.
"I'm not sure how to approach my father about which house I'm in." I looked at the ground, "I know he's disappointed in me. And, I don't know what to do about this." Dumbledore spoke again.
"Be the best Gryffindor you can be. Just be proud of yourself." I looked at him. "Trust me, everything will be fine." I smiled at my headmaster and nodded to him.
"Thank you Headmaster" I walked out of his office and back to my commons. Unfortunately, I bumped into my father after just getting out of the office.
"Get to your Commons, Gryffindor!" he shouted at me.
"Goodnight Dad." was all I said back. I walked off to the portrait of the fat lady, where the entrance to our commons was. I said the password, ($%#$%); don't ask, my lips are sealed. I walked into the barely lit commons, not many people were still up; I guess I had taken a long time when I was walking back here. I sat in a chair by the fireplace and pulled my robe off and set it over the arm of the chair. I sat there for a few more minutes and by then everyone was in their dorms. I sat in silence wishing I wouldn't have to go to potions any time soon. I heard someone coming down the stairs, with my luck it was probably the head boy coming to tell me to get to bed.
"Oi, what are you still doing up Ella?"
"Fred?" I asked as I looked behind me to find a sleepy Fred behind me.
"Yeah it's me, now why are you still up?"
"I'm just not tired. Really, I'll get to bed soon." He shook his head at me and sat on the sofa next to me.
"No you won't. You'll just stay up all night, head up to your room, take a shower, and get ready and pretend like you slept but I know you won't. I know you, you can't trick me like everyone else." I looked up at him and he smiled back at me.
"I've just had a bad day Fred."
"I've got all night to listen." All night Fred and I stayed up, he listened to how my dad had reacted and how it hurt me. Of course, I didn't tell him everything but then again, I never needed to, somehow he always knew from what I told him. We ended up falling asleep for about a half hour before the sun rose. Once the sun was up, I went to the girl's dorm to take a shower and get ready for today. I put on my plain grey skirt and white button up blouse. 'Maybe Dumbledore is right, maybe if I just be happy with myself it won't matter.' I thought as a pulled on my low top converse with a bubble print. 'It's worth a shot.' I walked back down stairs only to see Fred waiting for me now ready for breakfast today, he always did get ready faster than I did. We walked down to breakfast together talking about what our first prank at Hogwarts should be. Fred began suggesting ways we could torment my father, but I thought it best if we held off on him for a while. He was already angry with me, no need to make him try to disown me. I thought it might be more fun to mess with caretaker, Mr. Filch, and his cat, Mrs. Norris.
"Maybe we shave his cat?" he suggested. I shook my head.
"No, that's something that we should save for revenge." I pursed my lips in deep thought, "Maybe we could light fireworks in his office?"
"No, I did that to my brother Bill once with George, he had them gone in a matter of seconds." We had arrived to the great hall. Breakfast was already out; we sat at the Gryffindor table and began to fill our plates, silently thinking of a good plan.
"Aha!" I began, "We can put exploding dung bombs filled with that goo you and George had on the train." He was catching onto the idea.
"And they'll go off in his desk!" We laughed at how great we thought this plan would be. I was still focused on eating breakfast, and reached for toast that just so happened to be out of my reach.
"Mind passing me the toast Fred?"
"And let you have my toast! Yeah right!" he pulled the toast close to him. "No toast for you!" I gave a fake whimper.
"Are you trying to make me starve? Do you want me to die?" he turned his back to me and put his nose air. I grabbed onto his arm and pretended to sob. "Don't you love me anymore?"
"Of course not! Why would I love you when I'm going marry the giant squid of the black lake? I'll be needing my grandmother's ring back, by the way." He turned his body back holding out hand, with his nose turned up at me.
"What? How could you? You promised that when you gave me that ring, we would be together forever!" I dramatically yelled through the great hall. Students and teachers were filling up fast, many looking at our little "scene".
"What? I never said that! It must have been my evil twin Derf!" He couldn't do it, he began to laugh, "How dare he!" he gave up and burst out laughing, I joined in. He finally passed me the toast and I took a piece, spreading jam on it. People were still staring at us though, so we thought it appropriate to give them something to watch. Fred and I began juggling food between each other; toast, sausage, rolls, and bacon were flying past the faces of students and teachers as they passed us to get their seats.
"Hey Fred?"
"Yeah, Ella?"
"How long should juggle?"
"No idea, why?"
"I'm still hungry." we caught most of what we were throwing; although, a sausage did hit Professor McGonagall in the face. Perhaps that wasn't the best way to start off my school years. Luckily she didn't hold a grudge for too long, I will say this though: she never walked past us at breakfast again.

George ran up to us, once he got to breakfast. He began going on about how he had no idea where either of us could be, and how worried he was. Fred and I got a good laugh out of it all, and soon started telling him about the dung bomb plan.

"Excellent! Though, when would we put the bomb in his office?"

"We didn't think that far through. How are we going to do that?" at that exact moment, a brilliant plan appeared in my mind.

"Let's set of bombs from his office to the farthest point of the school. That way he'll be away from his office for a long time. We can sneak the dung bomb in and when he gets back, it'll go off!" he boys and I smiled at our formulating plan. This was going to be fun.

After receiving our schedules, George and Fred started planning on what to put in the bombs because, "the same explosion gets boring after a while". I suppose it would get boring if you kept hearing it for about 3 miles worth of ground. 'Maybe a bomb would be well for father. We can put it right in the place his heart should be.' My cynical thinking led me to leave the boys to discuss details. I walked out of the great hall and back to my dorm; grabbing my books for my first class, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I couldn't help but take a look; I really did look like him. My heart tugged, I felt like crying. 'No time for tears.' I held my books close to me and made my way down to the common room. 'Why couldn't I have been in Ravenclaw, at least then he could say I'm like Mom.' I sat on the couch, waiting for the twins to come and get their things so we could go to class together, 'I hope this doesn't affect Gryffindor house too much in points. Everyone would hate me if I made them lose the house cup just because Dad is Professor Snape.' I sighed. 'Maybe I could talk to him, and convince him to just think of me as any other student; that might not work though, he doesn't like Gryffindor house much at all.' I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard the twins come in the common room.

"Ella, did you notice our first class for today?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's your dad's class."

"No, we have Defense against the Dark Arts first." The boys held up their schedules to me, and then grabbed mine to point out that the classes alternated every day: we had potions first. I wasn't sure what my face looked like when they showed me, all I can remember is falling on the ground and hitting my head pretty hard. Fred swears up and down that I had the most hilarious look on my face, while George says that I looked scared. Can't say I wouldn't have looked scared, I was about to face my father as a Gryffindor, in class. School was going to be rough.