This chapter suffers from all the problems of rushed challenges lol. Never mind, I will do a few more characters tomorrow and expand on the characters arcs touched on in later chapters.

Thank you to everyone who's been reading so far!

"Chou, Lee!"

Although Lee wasn't the first to be called, the chatter dipped in the Great Hall as he stomped forwards with determination, eyeing the Hat like it might attack him at any second. His height and fuzzy facial hair made him stand out a bit in the usual parade of tiny terrified firsties. He jammed the Hat onto his head and glared at anyone in his view field for several seconds before tipping the Hat forwards until it covered his eyes. Gryffindor or Slytherin was the whispered assumption. Only Dunga, a fourth-year Hufflepuff who had also been judged like that due to his "intimidating appearance", passed three Sickles up to the top of his table with a muttered "He's a Puff." The sixth-year acting as bookmaker raised his eyebrows and scribbled down odds of 3 to 1 against.

The Hat was taking forever. Two minutes ticked by, then three. The muttering grew louder. People started altering their bets based entirely on what they imagined the hat was saying. In the line of first years, Mariah started to whisper that she wished it would make its mind up – "is this normal?", and Ray's stomach twisted with all of the complicated feelings that seeing the two of them again had brought on.

The Hat's brim opened. Expectant silence fell. "Hufflepuff!" it bellowed. Conversation in the hall rose to such a pitch that Mr Dickenson had to get to his feet and good-naturedly wave everyone into quiet again. Dunga smiled and collected his winnings. Mariah and Ray stayed quiet and tense, with opposite thoughts in their minds.

"Chou, Mariah!"

Mariah's face went hot as she heard at least four different students ask each other incredulously, "Wait, are they twins?" She bit her tongue to stop herself yelling at them. They didn't know the whole weird situation. Her teeth sank into her lip even harder as she actively did not look at Ray. She had known exactly where he was by some sort of skin-prickling sense since she'd first spotted him on the train. Instead she looked at Lee, who was just settling on the very edge of the Hufflepuff table and looking uncomfortable. He gave her a strained smile when she caught his eye. She tried to return it as she sat on the stool.

She didn't know that much about the Houses, she thought as she put on the Hat. She supposed that probably she would end up with Lee and they would learn everything together.

Not necessarily, said a voice in her ear. She nearly leapt out of her seat and squeaked an incoherent sound. I'm the Hat, stop panicking, it said peevishly, responding to her thoughts rather than her voice. Are you going to stay still? She nodded. Very good. Now, where was I? Oh yes – I don't think you're a Hufflepuff at all. I think you're a -

She heard the word in her head before the Hat had said out loud, and she clutched the brim as hard as she could and thought, Why? at it in a wail.

Oh, don't be a crybaby, I had you pegged as better than that. Ooh, that stung her pride. She blinked back tears and took a deep breath. Well done. You shouldn't be upset; I can't count how many times I've put siblings in different Houses. It'll be good for you.

But could I be a Hufflepuff? she insisted. The Hat sighed.

You could be anything. Anyone could be anything. That's the point. But you're best suited to … She sensed it getting ready to shout again. This time she let it. Deep down she was a little bit excited by the challenge.

"Gryffindor!"

:::

As if it were proving a point, the Hat sorted the Fernandez twins in exactly the same manner: Julia to Gryffindor and Raul to Hufflepuff.

:::

"Granger, Tyson!"

Tyson jumped. He'd kind of stopped concentrating. He was more nervous walking up to the Hat than he thought he would be. He'd thought that he was a shoe-in for Gryffindor, following every boy in his family so far, but the Hat was making unexpected choices today. Oh well, he figured that the only other place he might go was Hufflepuff, and that wasn't so bad.

The Hat barely touched his head before it shouted "Gryffindor!" Tyson took it off and gave it a slightly bemused grin. Cool. All ok, then. He hurried over to the clapping Gryffindor table. Was the Hat back to normal now?

"Hiwatari, Kai!"

The money poured in for Slytherin. Anyone who had been paying attention to the waiting first-years had spotted that Kai had spent the entire time with his eyes shut and arms folded, looking the picture of disdain for the whole process. Despite the quality and cost of his robes and hat, he somehow managed to make them look a mess. Lots of them recognised the infamous Dark family name – a lot of the Slytherins were in fact distantly related to the small rebellious boy currently sauntering towards the Hat as if it meant nothing at all. So, Slytherin. Possibly Ravenclaw if he was clever.

The time stretched. And stretched. And stretched. Four minutes had ticked by, and the Hall was alternating between furious whispers and expectant silence – the teacher's bench included. Professor Dickenson was clutching his cane so tightly that his knuckles were white.

Five minutes. A Hatstall, officially.

Finally, just as the students were getting overly restive and several of the teachers were shooting Professor Dickenson "can't you do something?!" glances, the Hat's brim opened.

In a subdued voice, the Hat announced, "Gryffindor!"

Professor Dickenson didn't regain control of the uproar for several minutes. In the tumuult, remarkably few people looked twice at Kai, trudging to the whispering, staring Gryffindor table. Only Tyson, who wriggled aside to make a space and patted the bench next to him persistently until Kai sat down, saw the teethmarks in his lower lip and the way that he shook his hands out as if they'd been clenched into fists that whole time.

"Kon, Ray!"

The only thought in Ray's head as he walked towards the stool was Not Hufflepuff. (Not Lee.) Anywhere but that. Literally anywhere. He didn't think he'd make a good Ravenclaw, but he'd take it. He'd even accept Slytherin, which he'd researched enough to know was seen as the evil House. Nobody could hate him as much as Lee did right now.

So, not Hufflepuff then? the Hat asked. It sounded amused. Ray couldn't imagine anything funny about this situation. Scared, are we?

I'm not scared! It was a hollow statement but Ray thought it angrily, because that was also true. He was scared but also angry, and frustrated that Lee couldn't be happy that Ray had gone out and improved himself. How dare he try and screw this up?

As you wish, Mr Not-Scared, better be … "Gryffindor!"

"Saien, Kenny!"

Tyson clapped more loudly than the rest of his flagging table mates. He'd liked talking to Kenny on the train. He'd seemed nice. He'd also seemed like a born Ravenclaw, like the redheaded girl earlier whose hair hadn't even made contact with the Hat before it announced Ravenclaw. So it was with surprise that Tyson waited, and waited, and waited. Not as long as Lee, nowhere near as long as Kai, but it still took a while before the Hat called, "Gryffindor!" No-one else knew Kenny at all so no-one was surprised, but Tyson felt his mouth drop open. He regarded the tiny, fumbling boy with new respect and tried to see the hidden daring and bravery that the Hat had clearly spotted. "Hey, Kenny!" He waved frantically, but only as Kenny came right up to the table did they all simultaneously realise that he would have to sit next to Kai.

"Um …" Kenny froze on the spot, still clutching his crumpled pointy hat. The moment extended into hair-raising awkwardness. In the end, Kai cracked open one eye and said, "I'm not going to eat you."

All opinions welcome!

xIlbx