Sorry that I haven't posted for this story in a long while. Between finishing High School and getting my co-writer on at the same time to work on it there hasn't been time to make any progress. But we'll try harder now that I have some more time with my new schooling. But anyways here y'all go. Hope you've enjoyed it so far and continue too.

~~arachnophobia and Kuro-Lemur~~

Chapter 5: Sorting Hat

As the boats glided over the water, the students saw the great castle that was Hogwarts. All across, the students could be heard swooning over the sight.

"It's beautiful." Carrie said in aweh.

"More like breath taking." Anita said while staring.

A moment later the first year students arrive at the castle and Hagrid, the freakishly tall man, lead them to the large main entrance. There stood a woman with black hair, in an emerald green robe and hat just behind the giant door. Everyone stood in front of her. Carrie, Anita, and company stood in the front. They were lead down the hall and to an empty chamber off the hall where they were to wait. Everyone was closer to each other than they were comfortable with as they peered out nervously.

"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 you House dormitory, and spend your free time in your House common room." Carrie and Anita gripped each other's hand.

"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." McGonagall entered the chamber, but still in view. All the students started to mutter to each other.

"I hope we get into Slytherin, Anita." Carrie said looking at her best friend with slight concern.

"Don't worry, if anything you will at least." Anita reassured her friend and gave Carrie's hand a light squeeze.

McGonagall looked the group over before saying, "I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly." She then left.

Students talked quietly amongst themselves, that was until several people in the back screamed causing people to jump startled. Practically the whole group gasped. Around about twenty ghosts had streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glanced at the first years. They seemed to be arguing.

"Bloody hell!" Carrie exclaimed. Anita covered her friend's mouth, she was trying to hear what they were saying.

"-chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost -I say, what are you all doing here?" The ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years. No one answered.

"New students!" The Fat Friar said smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?" A few nodded mutely. "Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old House, you know."

"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start." Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one the ghosts floated through the opposite wall. "Now form a line and follow me." She told the first years.

Everyone got into line and walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.

Anita and Carrie were in awe, along with many of their fellow first room was lit by thousands and thousands of floating candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up there, so that they came to halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Anita looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. "Its bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History." Carrie and Anita heard a girl with extremely curly dark brown hair say.

Carrie rolled her eyes the moment she realised whose voice it was. She leaned over to Anita and said in a low but audible voice, "That's Hermione Granger. The girl I was telling you about on the train."

"That's her? She does seem to smart for her own good." Anita whispers lowly but soon become distracted.

Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth — and the hat began to sing:

"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 whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.

"A singing hat?" Anita questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Now I've seen everything." Carrie giggled.

"That's the sorting hat. It decides what house we are put in. Mummy told be about it a few months ago." Carrie said.

Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.

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

A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moments pause —

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.

The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table.

"Bones, Susan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.

"Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers.

"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin. Perhaps it was Harry's imagination, after all he'd heard about Slytherin, but he thought they looked like an unpleasant lot.

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Finnigan, Seamus," the sandy-haired boy next to Harry in the line, sat on the

stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.

"Granger, Hermione!"

Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head.

"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat.

Neville Longbottom, the boy who kept losing his toad, was called, he fell over on his way to the stool. The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. When it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR," Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag."

Malfoy swaggered forward when his name was called and got his wish at once: the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!"

Malfoy went to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased with himself.

There weren't many people left now. "Moon"… , "Nott"… , "Parkinson"… , then a pair of twin girls, "Patil" and "Patil"… , then "Perks, Sally-Anne"… , "Potter, Harry!"

As Harry stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall.

"Potter, did she say?"

"The Harry Potter?"

"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat shouted after long moments of muttering to itself and Harry.

"Roberts, Anita!" Professor McGonagall called and Anita froze in her spot, unable to make herself move forward. Carrie gave Anita a strong sturdy reassuring smack on the shoulder.

"Relax. You'll be fine." Carrie said smiling. Anita gave a slight nod, stepped up to the stool, and sits on it fidgeting nervously. Professor McGonagall placed the hat on Anita's head.

"SLYTHERIN!" The sorting hat shouted after a brief moment. A sigh of relief left her lips as the hat was removed. Anita then scurried over to the Slytherin table.

"Salazar, Carrie!" McGonagall calls.

Carrie straightened herself up and confidently walked over to the hat. As she walked to the stool, she glanced over to the Slytherin table and smiled at Anita. Carrie had only just approached the hat when it abruptly shouted.

"SLYTHERIN!" Murmurs were heard from all the tables. Carrie raised an eyebrow then smirked. She strutted toward the Slytherins table, chin held high with a content look on her face. She found her friend and sat next her and smiled cheerfully.

"We did it." Anita said excitedly but shyly due to all the people and glanced at Snape with a small smile. Carrie leaned far back and looked to see who Anita was looking at, then she spotted Snape.

Now there were only three people left to be sorted. "Thomas, Dean," a Black boy even taller than Ron, joined Harry at the Gryffindor table. "Turpin, Lisa," became a Ravenclaw and then it was Ron's turn. He was pale green by now.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Zabini, Blaise," was made a Slytherin. Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away.

Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there.

"Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered.

Anita looked back at Carrie. "Who or what are you looking at?" Carrie quickly sat back up.

"I was looking at the man at the end of the table. Professor Snape I believe his name is. He's quite charming." Carrie said taking another peek.

Anita shuttered a bit at what Carrie says and whispers, "That's my uncle, please don't." Carrie frowned a little then turned away. "Sorry but that's just too much for me to handle mentally." Carrie solemnly nodded.

"You didn't see me complaining when you were all lovey dovey over Draco earlier." Carrie slyly commented. "What if I couldn't handle that mentally. She dramatically placed her hand on her forehead pretending to be in distress.

Anita blushed and pushed Carrie playfully. "I was not! You're crazy." The redhead glanced quickly at Draco and then back to Carrie. "Plus he's a pompous ass." Carrie giggled.

"Isn't that what you love about him?" She cackled quietly. "Oh Draco, you pompous ass! Oh how I love you!" Carrie amused herself to the point of bursting out laughing. Draco looked over after hearing his name, saw Anita, then quickly turned away slightly blushing.

Anita folded her arms on the table and buried her face against them, mutters, "Great...now he thinks I'm strange..." Carrie hugged Anita.

"I'm just joking. He probably didn't hear anything. Don't worry about it." Carrie said, shaking Anita slightly. "Now cheer up!"

"You're a jerk, Carrie, but your a good friend." Anita grumbled but smiled at the same time. Carrie hugged Anita tightly.

"But I'm your jerk." She said smiling.

"Fine, you can crush on my uncle but I don't want to hear about it." Anita laughed softly. Carrie chuckled.

"You make it sound so weird! Now let's eat!"

"It is weird, he's like four times your age." Anita joked as she puts some food on her plate. Carrie rolled her eyes and smirked as she loaded her plate up with a little bit of everything.

"I'm just glad we got put in the same house. I'm not usually a social person." Carrie nodded.

"Same. I don't know what I would do without you around." Carrie said taking a bite out of fried chicken.

"You would probably be hanging out with your ass of a cousin." Anita giggled and does the same.

"I guess I might have. But he would've gotten on my nerves at one point."

"That would be funny actually. What is he like really?" Anita asked curiously about Draco glanced over to her cousin.

"Well, he liked to brag about his father a lot and always threatens to tell him anything misfortunate that happens to him. That's him in public or around people he wants to intimidate or impress. Kind of a drama king. But he's pretty good most of the time. Still an ass though." Carrie said taking a sip of pumpkin juice. "All in all he's an attention seeker."

"So someone I would personally want to stay away from since I don't like attention?" Anita inquired as she takes another bite of her fried chicken. Carrie shook her head.

"No no, there's nothing wrong with being around him. You just won't get any attention at all around him. It's all about him. Always." Carrie munched on her chicken then ate a spoonful of stuffing.

Anita sighs almost sadly, "That's good news..." She mutters and takes a drink of pumpkin juice. Carrie looked at Anita.

"What's wrong?" Carrie asked as she chowed down on the rest of the plate.

"Nothing, I'm just tired. Long day and all." Anita lies as she lightly bite her lip. Carrie quizzically stared at Anita.

"If you say so..." She said in a 'I don't believe you at all but I'll let it slide' tone.

"When does the fest end? I really need sleep..." Carrie shrugged.

"I hope soon. I'm stuffed." She yawned. "And tired too."

The dinner becomes replaced with desert. "Ice cream!" Anita said happily. Carrie stretched,sighed, and started scooping ice cream and takes pieces of other desserts on the table.

"I'm going to get fat if they insist on feeding us like this." Carrie stated as she began eating.

"You and me both." Anita giggled and happily ate her ice cream. "I wonder who we get roomed with."

Carrie nodded as she took a giant spoonful of ice cream. "I hope they are interesting at least." She then devoured the ice cream in one bite.

After the feast the first years were all lead back to their corresponding Common rooms by the Prefect of each house and told the password. The prefect, whose name escaped both girls, told everyone that they would be bunking with their classmate, all first year girls in one room and all the first year boys in another.

"Wow this place is so cool." Anita commented, obviously not paying attention to the older student , half paying attention and half sightseeing, nodded as she looked around at the dungeon, taking in every detail of every stone she saw.

"Why do we have the dungeon?" Carrie asked more of curiosity that of complaint. She watched as the paintings on the walls prepared themselves for bed.

"I don't know and don't care, look at this Carrie. You can sorta see into the lake!" The red haired girl exclaimed as she stared in awe out the window only to jump back a bit startled when a large dark shadow passed by the window. Carrie chuckled as she witnessed Anita's startelement.

"I wonder what that was... Whatever it was wanted a closer look at you Ani." Carrie chuckled some more.

"Well whatever it was I don't want a closer look at it." Anita shuttered at the thought of what it might be. Draco caught sight of the event.

"What's wrong with your friend Carrie? Afraid of fish shadows is she?" asked Draco. "She shouldn't worry, there are worse things in there besides simple shadows of fish." He, Crabbe and Goyle laughed. Carrie sneered at them and they quieted down, while Anita just stared at the floor embarrassed.

"At least I don't go crying to my father every time someone even looks at me the wrong way." The red head grumbled loud enough for him to hear. Carrie laughed, Draco looked at Anita quickly and furiously.

"I do not! Wait until my father hears about this!" He exclaimed.

"See, her point exactly!" Carrie cackled ever so loudly. Draco's fury and frustration left him speechless and he turned away dramatically.

"What a diva. He's worse than any girl." Ani laughed as she attempted to look out the window again. Carrie giggled.

"See what my mother had to go through? She told me his father's no better." She smiled and looked out the window as well.

"Lights out is in five minutes." The prefect who had been talking earlier said from behind them.

"S-sorry. We got distracted." Anita apologized after jumping from him startling her.

"I can see that. Now off to bed the both of you." He said and shooed the girls upstairs.

Upon arriving in the girls dorm, Carrie quickly hurried and flopped on the bed where her belongings were and then began to flail towards the bed to the right of hers.

"Look Anita! Your stuff is right next to mine!" She exclaimed happily as she began to roll around on the bed.

"Nice." Ani replied and started looking through her trunk for her night clothes. A huff was heard from across the room.

"People are trying to sleep." An annoyed Pansy Parkinson growled from her bed at the two girls still awake. Carrie mocked her and stuck her tongue out and got up from her bed.

"I guess we better get to bed." Carrie whispered as she too rummaged for her night clothes.