The best protection any woman can have... is courage. Elizabeth Cady Stanton

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But first: A refresher:

"Oi! First years!" They stopped, staring at the gigantic man standing several meters in front of them. "This way!" Lily's eyes widened and they soon they looked like they were going to take over her face. Severus gaped for several seconds, but then put on a façade of indifference.

"Oh, boy, he's huge." Sienna and Lily muttered together. Glancing at each other, they broke into uncontrollable giggles.

"Wow, easily impressed, huh?" A snide voice asked. "What are you going to do when you actually do magic? Cry? Or faint?"

--

Lily stared at the girl sneering at her and her friends. The girl's blonde curls were carefully pulled into two long pigtails, neatly tied with red ribbons.

"Sabina!" A boy, whom, judging from his eyes and blond curls, was the girl's brother, admonished.

"What, Brandon?" the girl drawled. "They were acting like fo-"

"Sabina! You're acting horrid, all because Mummy scolded you for being rude. Stop it," the boy told her severely. "What's your problem?"

"What's yours?" Sabina shot back before flouncing away. Her brother turned to the two girls staring after his sister, and shot them an apologetic smile.

"Sorry about her. My name's Brandon Fletchworth. Hers," here, he gestured in the direction his sister had gone in, "is Sabina Fletchworth. What year are you?"

"First," Lily replied quickly. Sienna remained silent besides her, just like Severus. Who had remained oddly quiet for a while, Lily reflected. She looked out the corner of her eye, where Severus was staring wistfully at the lake.

"Same here!" Brandon grinned at them, and Lily returned it, albeit a little reluctantly.

"We should go to the boats now, Lily." Lily turned to look at Severus, who had spoken.

"Right!" Grabbing Sienna's arms, ignoring her protests, she dragged the taller girl behind her.

"Lily! What's wrong with you?" Sienna whispered, rubbing her arms which were tingling from Lily's death grip. "Oh, no you don't!" She shrieked, dancing away from Lily as the redhead reached for her again.

"Come on. We have to go!" Lily grabbed Sienna's wrist and dragged her over to Severus, who was waiting for them next to a boat. He looked bored and yawned slightly, glancing at the gigantic man behind him. Sienna grumbled and stepped into the boat. Severus followed, and Lily brought up the end. Glancing around, she took a deep breath, moving into the boat gingerly.

The trio sat, staring wide-eyed at the picturesque vista around them. The deep blue lake, a reflection of the many trees, was undisturbed, no ripples marring the smooth surface.

Twenty minutes later, they were pulling up to an underground harbor, the ground covered with pebbles. Lily hopped off, bouncing as Severus stumbled off the boat. Judging from his paler-than-usual countenance, he hadn't enjoyed the ride as much as Lily had. She bounced faster, as Sienna calmly left the boat.

They followed the man, who had introduced himself as Hagrid, on a path leading them up the stone steps to the great stone castle in front of them.

"Ready?" Hagrid asked, his voice booming in the darkness. Without waiting for an answer, he knocked on the oak doors in front of him. Abruptly, the doors swung open, a tall, thin woman behind them. She stared at the group of children behind Hagrid for several seconds before nodding at Hagrid.

"Come along, children. I'm Professor McGonagall." Obediently, the children followed her, her green robe swishing with every step. Lily raised her eyebrows at Sienna, who giggled back. "Wait here." With another rustle, the lady left, leaving the first years by themselves.

"What do you think so far?" asked Lily, glancing at her two closest friends.

"It's beautiful!" Sienna replied enthusiastically. "Isn't it?" She gestured at the high ceilings, and the warm glow that emanated from the building itself.

"It's home," Severus said, a smile finally breaking out on his face. Lily and Sienna looked at each other, the former grinning, and the latter shrugging.

"Now, first years. Follow me." The woman was back, and she had opened another large, wooden, oak door to their right. They were lead to the top of the hall, facing the other students, with their backs to the teachers. Lily observed a wooden stool, with a large, black hat upon it.

"What do you think we'll be doing?" she whispered to Sienna, who responded with a shrug.

"We're going to get sorted," Severus informed them, just as the Sorting Hat started to sing. Lily gaped at the hat, emerald eyes wide. Sienna was too busy scanning the hall, making note of everything, to really pay attention. Severus had adopted a bored countenance, but Lily could tell he was just as excited. Turning her head to see what Sienna was looking at, she found herself staring at the two boys Lily already knew she disliked. Wrinkling her nose, she turned back to the hat. As it finished the song, Lily felt her palms grow damp.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted. Abbott, James!"

A tow-headed boy lurched to the stool, and was instantly sorted into Hufflepuff. It was only several minutes before they reached 'Black, Sirius'.

"GRYFFINDOR!" shrieked the hat. There was a deadly silence from the Slytherin table, where a blonde-haired girl was staring, aghast, at the boy. A darker-haired girl near her looked amused and petrified at the same time. The boy in question, however, was not fazed, and glided over to his table with no expression crossing his face.

There were a few more people until Lily's name was called. Inwardly trembling, she walked to the stool with admirable control, ignoring Sienna's "Yeah, Lily!" behind her.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

There were big whoops from the table, and Sienna and Severus watched as Sirius Black offered Lily a seat next to him. Looking slightly irritated, Lily sat down as far away as possible.

'Longbottom, Frank', 'Lupin, Remus', and several others were sorted into Gryffindor, while many others were scattered among the other houses. And then it was James Potter's turn.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat roared, almost before it touched his head. Grinning, James swaggered over to his table. 'Pettigrew, Peter" was sorted, to Sienna's shock, into Gryffindor as well, and then it was Snape's turn.

"Snape, Severus!"

The hat slipped down, stopping at his nose. There was a minute of tension, and then, "SLYTHERIN!" was shouted. Lily looked glum, throwing Severus a sad look, which he returned, before seating himself at the green-and-silver table, where he was welcomed by several third years.

"Stratton, Sienna!" With a nonchalant grin at Lily, Sienna sauntered over to the hat, masking her anxiety. Casually placing the hat on her head, she sat, back straight, legs crossed at the ankle, the picture of perfect posture and propriety. She waited.

"Well, clever child, aren't you?" the hat asked. Sienna, too taken aback, didn't answer. "Fine child, but where shall I put you?"

"Where should I go?" Sienna asked, curious.

"Where do you want to go?"

"Where I'm supposed to go."

The hat laughed. "You're not going to help me, are you? Let's see…" it paused for several seconds, before saying in a voice remarkably more downcast than it's former cheery expression, "you're going to need courage, child, and bravery too. And the only place you can get that is- GRYFFINDOR!"

Sienna pulled the hat off, before strolling to her seat next to Lily, who grinned at her.

"What took it, you, so long?"

"Mmm…" Sienna responded, choosing to stare at the wavering boy seating himself on the stool. After pasting a look of studied calm on her face, she stared at the tapestry behind the teachers. Inwardly, she was reeling. What had the hat meant by her needing courage and bravery? Everyone in her family for the past two generations had been in Gryffindor. Why would she be an exception? Maybe the hat was wrong…

Sienna looked up with a start realizing that she had missed the welcoming speech, as well as the Hogwarts song. Glancing at Lily, she noticed her best friend glaring at her, no doubt annoyed by Sienna's not paying attention to anything. But her close proximity to Sirius Black and James Potter surely had something to do with it as well.

"C'mon, Enna! Dinner! Aren't you supposed to be starving?" Lily hissed. Sienna merely looked confused, still thinking about the Sorting Hat.

"I ate too much candy," Sienna responded robotically. Lily raised her eyebrows, before turning to talk to the older girl sitting in front of them. Mechanically eating some of the food that was on her plate- how had that gotten there? - She continued to stay lost in her thoughts.

"Time to go, Enna," Lily said, nudging Sienna's shoulder. She was still frowning.

"Coming."

"You didn't eat much." Lily gestured at the plate. "Did you even drink anything?"

"Yes! We have to go, everyone's leaving!"

Frowning slightly, both girls left the Great Hall, following the crowds in front of them.

"Gryffindor first years! This way!" Obediently, a group of eleven year olds followed the fifth year beckoning at them impatiently.

Once the girls were settled into their dorm, and Lily was sure everyone else was asleep, she hissed at Sienna- "What do you think?"

"I think it's lovely," Sienna said, stifling a yawn, "G'night, Lil."

"G'night, Enna."

--

"So you're in Hogwarts now…What did you think of the Sorting?" the voice asked, undeniably masculine.

"Nerve-wracking…at first. Is the hat always so-so-confusing?" she asked, voice frustrated.

"Always. It delights in being cryptic."

"Oh," she paused, the silence growing, "Harry? Which House did the hat sort you in?"

The voice didn't reply for a long period of time. "Gryffindor."

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