I'm sure you're surprised to hear from me, right? Well, I have no explanation. Life just got in the way. I have no excuse: I have a draft of the entire first year complete (and while I might not be entirely satisfied with it, I could have updated regularly), but life just got in the way. Oh, well. I apologize, and I hope you forgive me (though I'm sure many of you have given up on me. I'm not offended; I know it's true.)

The usual disclaimer: Nagini is my special friend, and while the other characters are also my friends, they were never my creation.

Chapter 12: The Sorting

The boats landed gently on the other side of the lake, and Nagini and the other first years clambered out and huddled together. "We got everyone?" asked the giant, who was busy inspecting the boats to make sure nothing was left behind. Suddenly, he crouched down and picked up a toad, showing it to them. "Whose toad is this?" he called, and a plump round-faced boy meekly retrieved it. Nagini smirked slightly. She would never want to be seen with a toad. If she was forced to have one, she would "lose" it at the first opportunity. "Alrigh' then," called the giant again. "Follow me."

He turned around and led them up a flight of stone steps. At the top, he led them across the grounds to a large wooden door. They stopped, and he raised a hand to knock. Boom, boom, boom. Next to Nagini, Tracey jumped in fright at the sound. Nagini had to refrain from rolling her eyes. Tracey was like a mouse: sweet but scared of everything.

After a moment, the doors swung open to reveal Professor McGonagall. "Thank you, Hagrid," she said. "I'll take them from her." Hagrid nodded and stepped around her. McGonagall looked down at the first years. "Follow me."

She turned around and led them through the entryway, past a pair of doors from which Nagini could hear a loud roar—she assumed that was where the rest of the school was, and into a smaller room to its side. The first years crowded in, and McGonagall looked around at them before speaking.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. 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." Nagini squeezed Tracey's arm at this, and the other girl smiled back at her. "You will have classes with the rest of your house," continued McGonagall, "sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

"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." Slytherin, thought Nagini. She would obviously be in Slytherin. Her father had been in Slytherin, and she was even a descendant of the Founder.

"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. I'll return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly."

As soon as McGonagall left, Tracey turned to Nagini. "Do I look alright?" she asked anxiously.

"Of course, you do," replied Nagini, tucking a strand of Tracey's hair behind the girl's ear.

"Ooh, I'm so nervous," moaned Tracey. "What do you think we'll have to do?"

"I don't know," answered Nagini honestly. "I'm sure it won't be anything too difficult, though. After all, we just got here, and they know that we don't know how to do magic yet."

Tracey stared up at Nagini with wide eyes. "You're sure?" she whispered.

Nagini nodded. "Of course, I'm sure. It'll be fine. You'll see." Out of the corner of her eye, Nagini saw a group of ghosts soar through the wall into the room, but she concentrated on Tracey, who looked as if she were about to start hyperventilating. "It's alright, Tracey," she said, grabbing her arms. "Whatever it is will be over soon, and then you can enjoy the banquet."

Tracey stared at Nagini for a moment. "I hope I'm with you," she whispered.

Nagini smiled at her. "I do too."

Just then Nagini heard a voice behind her, and she turned around. "Move along now." McGonagall had returned for them. "The Sorting Ceremony is about to start. Form a line, and follow me."

Nagini followed the black boy from the boats, with Tracey right behind her, out of the room and into the Great Hall. Nagini heard a sharp gasp from behind her. Nagini looked up and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside," she murmured to Tracey behind her. Nagini looked around as McGonagall led them through the Hall. There were four long tables where the students sat staring at them. At the top of the hall, there was another table where the teachers sat. Each table was set with glittering golden plates and goblets, and above the tables, hundreds of flickering candles floated in the air.

They stopped in front of the teachers' table and turned to face the students. McGonagall placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years, and on top of the stool she set a tall, pointed, patched hat. Everyone in the Hall was staring at the hat, so Nagini also looked at it, curious. For a few seconds, nothing. Then the hat twitched. A rip opened, forming 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 it 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 top 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 Hall burst into applause, and Nagini laughed at the Hat's song. It was actually quite good, though the ending seemed a little weak; it had been trying too rhyme the last few lines, Nagini thought.

"So we only have to try on the Hat?" asked Tracey, dragging Nagini's from her thoughts.

"Seems like it," Nagini answered. Tracey seemed relieved, but Nagini wasn't too sure. The lines "There's nothing hidden in your head/ The Sorting Hat can't see" bothered her. She wasn't sure she wanted a hat digging around her head. Though, she supposed, as long as it doesn't tell anyone what it finds. . .

Professor McGonagall now stepped forward carrying 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 then looked down at the list. "Abbott, Hannah!"

Nagini watched a small girl with pigtails stumbled out of line and put the hat on her head. It fell down over her years to cover her entire face. After a moment, the hat cried, "HUFFLEPUFF!" The Sorting went on as one after another, the first years went up to the stool and were sorted into their houses. The first one to become a Slytherin was a girl named Millicent Bulstrode. She didn't look too bright, thought Nagini. She resembled what Nagini thought a troll must look like.

After a few minutes, Tracey's name was called. "Davis, Tracey." Tracey looked at Nagini, fearfully, and Nagini gave her a reassuring smile and a nudge to move her in the right direction. Nagini crossed her fingers as Tracey made her way to the stool. For Tracey's sake, Nagini hoped she would be placed in Slytherin. Tracey put the hat on her head, which slipped over her ears. The entire hall was silent, waiting. After a few moments, the brim of the hat split, and it called, "SLYTHERIN!" Nagini grinned and, when Tracey looked back over, gave her a thumb up.

Soon it was Nagini's turn. "Ferestael, Nagini," called McGonagall. Nagini stepped out of the crowd of first years waiting to be sorted and walked with her head held high to the stool. She sat down and placed the hat on her head.

"Well, well, who do we have here?" said a small voice in Nagini's head. "I sense a drive for knowledge and a thirst to prove yourself. You have a great deal of talent and will go far. Now where to put you?" The Hat paused, considering.

Slytherin, thought Nagini. Slytherin.

"Hmm, Slytherin? You do have very close connections to that house. Yes, that does seem the best place for you." Again the Hat paused, and Nagini waited, breathless. "SLYTHERIN!" Nagini grinned as she took off the Hat and joined Tracey at the Slytherin table. Tracey was clapping enthusiastically with the rest of the house.

"I can't believe it!" she cried. "We're in the same house!"

Nagini was still grinning as she turned back to watch the rest of the Sorting. Goyle was the next to be Sorted into Slytherin, followed by a girl named Daphne Greengrass who sat next to Nagini.

"Malfoy, Draco!" called McGonagall. Nagini watched as the blond boy sauntered over to the hat. He had barely placed it on his head when it called out, "SLYTHERIN!" Wearing a self-satisfied smile, he joined the Slytherin table, sitting down next to Goyle, across from Daphne.

A couple people later Theo Nott was also Sorted into Slytherin. He joined the other first years at the table with a grin.

"Parkinson, Pansy!" called McGonagall. The girl Nagini had run into on the train made her way over to the stool.

The hat was only on her head for a moment before it called out, "SLYTHERIN!" Nagini groaned as the rest of the house applauded. She would have to share a dorm with pug-girl for the next seven years. Hopefully, Nagini thought, she'll be better once you get to know her. Pansy Parkinson sat down on the other side of Daphne, and Nagini finished her thought, but probably not.

"Potter, Harry!"

The Hall broke into whispers, and Nagini glanced up to see a small black-haired boy with glasses slowly approach the stool.

"Did she say Potter?"

"The Harry Potter?"

Nagini glanced around the hall. Everyone was staring avidly at the boy. She leaned over the table. "Who is that?" she whispered to Daphne.

Daphne turned toward her, but Pansy Parkinson spoke up first. "You don't know who that is?" she hissed. "Have you been living under a rock? Or are you a Mudblood who doesn't know anything about anything. Every witch and wizard knows who that is."

Nagini was seething. She hated Parkinson more and more with every word that came out of the girl's mouth. Before she could say anything, Draco Malfoy quickly interjected, "Harry Potter is the Boy Who Lived."

Nagini turned to him. "The Boy Who Lived?"

Draco nodded. "Ten years ago, this Halloween, You-Know-Who, tried to kill him, but the spell backfired."

Ten years ago this Halloween, Nagini thought. That was the night she was brought to the orphanage, the night her father left her and never came back. With that thought swirling through her mind, she asked, "You-Know-Who?"

"You can't honestly not know who he is!" exclaimed Pansy Parkinson. Both Nagini and Draco ignored her. Nagini stared at Draco intently, waiting for him to confirm what she knew to be true.

He took a deep breath. "Lord Voldemort."

Nagini leaned back in her seat, shocked. "You've heard of him?" asked Draco. Nagini nodded, not looking at him.

"GRYFFINDOR!" cried the hat. Nagini looked up. Harry Potter was crossing the hall to join the cheering mass of red and gold. The applause was louder for him than any other first year, as several members of the other houses also clapped and cheered.

What danger did he pose to her father ten years ago, Nagini wondered. He would have been only a baby, after all. There had to be an explanation, Nagini knew. There was something her father hadn't told her, and she intended to find out what. Nagini spent the rest of the Sorting staring at Harry Potter, as if he knew the answers to her questions. She only glanced up when the hat called, "SLYTHERIN!" and the tall black boy that shared a boat with them sat on the other side of Theo.

A man with a long silver beard and twinkling blue eyes behind a pair of half-moon spectacles got to his feet. "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!"

The hall burst into laughter and applause, but Nagini stared up at the man in confusion. "Is he a bit mad?" she asked, not really expecting a reply.

"Yup," replied Draco, looking up at her as he scooped some potatoes onto his plate. "Dumbledore's off his rocker. My father's always said that the best thing that could happen to Hogwarts is Dumbledore's resignation. He says the school needs a headmaster who's more traditional. Dumbledore's too lenient toward Mudbloods, werewolves, and other filth, if you know what I mean."

Nagini glanced back up at the teacher's table. So that was Dumbledore, she thought. Her father had warned her to do everything she could to stay away from the headmaster. Dumbledore was his greatest enemy, he said, and if he recognized Nagini, he would use her to destroy him.

"Funny you should mention that, Draco," piped up Parkinson with a sickly sweet smile that made Nagini want to gag. "About Dumbledore being too lenient toward Mudbloods, that is. So how is it that there's a Mudblood in Slytherin, the house of purebloods?"

"What are you talking about, Pansy?" asked Draco, confusion evident on his face, but Nagini thought she knew what was coming next.

"Ferestael here. She knows nothing about nothing. She obviously doesn't come from a wizarding family."

"Nagini's not a Mudblood," Draco said, shaking his head. "She's at least a halfblood."

"How do you know?"

Nagini spoke up. "My father was a wizard."

Parkinson froze but then smirked. "What about your mother, then. Huh? Was she a Muggle? A Mudblood?"

Nagini looked up at the ceiling briefly. Merlin, grant me patience, she thought. Here we go. "I don't have a mother," she said, looking Pansy Parkinson directly in the eye.

"You don't have a mother?"

"No," said Nagini evenly. "I grew up in an orphanage. I never knew my parents."

"So how do you know your dad was a wizard?" Parkinson demanded.

"Is it any business of yours how I know, Parkinson?" cried Nagini hotly. "My father was a wizard." With that, she turned her back on the other girl, effectively ending the conversation. Nagini felt something nudge her, and she looked to her left. Tracey was staring up at her with wide eyes.

"You're very brave, you know. Standing up to her like that. I could never do that."

Nagini smiled at Tracey. "Someone needs to put her in her place. The girl expects to be queen, but she'll soon discover that I bow down to no one."

Tracey grinned. "I'm glad we're together," she said, turning to her plate and placing a spoonful of potatoes in her mouth. At least she knew she had one ally in the dorms, thought Nagini. She was positive that dinner was just the start of a lovely relationship with Pansy Parkinson, or pug-girl, thought Nagini with a smirk.

The rest of dinner and then dessert flew by quickly in a blur of conversation. Once the last traces of dessert had vanished from the tables, Dumbledore stood up again. "Ahem—just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well. I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you that. . ."

The headmaster continued speaking, but Nagini felt herself zoning out. She looked down at her locket and began playing with it in her hand, rubbing its surface and turning it over and over. Nagini's head jerked up as Dumbledore said, ". . . out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

"He's not serious?" asked Daphne looking incredulous.

"The third floor corridor, huh?" muttered Theo to himself. "I wonder what's in there." So did Nagini. Unfortunately, the headmaster had nothing more to say on the topic.

"Now, off to bed!" he called clapping his hands. "Prefects, if you would please lead the first years." Everyone in the hall stood up, and two students walked over to where the first years were waiting.

"Follow us," said the girl, her light brown hair pulled back in a braid while the dark-haired boy stared at them with his arms crossed. The duo led the first years out of the hall and down a short flight of steps. "Our common room is in the dungeons," the girl explained from up front. "Pay attention, so you don't get lost later."

The prefects led them down several corridors and around several corners, once ducking under a tapestry that led to an adjacent corridor. Finally, they stopped in front of a blank stretch of wall. "Listen up, everybody," the girl said. "The password's Salazar." At the last word, the wall melted away, revealing a small arch that the two prefects led the first years through.

"This is the common room," said the boy, speaking up at last. Nagini looked around interested. Everything was green—the couches, the chairs, even the light.

"Cool," murmured some of the first years behind her.

"Dormitories," continued the boy, "are over there." He pointed to a pair of arches to their right. "Girls are on the left, and boys are on the right. There are signs on the door. Find the one that says 'First Years.' Your things should already be inside."

The first years slowly filed through their respective arches, girls on the left and boys on the right. Nagini, Tracey, Daphne, Millicent, and Parkinson joined the group of girls heading to bed. The third door on the left read "First Years" just like the prefect had said. Nagini opened the door, and the five girls made their way inside.

Their things were already there, and Nagini made her way over to the bed where her trunk was. Silently, she changed out of her uniform and into her pajamas. Yawning, the other girls did the same. Nagini climbed into bed and pulled the green curtains shut around her. Clasping her locket, she gazed up at the ceiling. She was finally here. Now her life would truly begin.

Any comments for me? Grammar mistakes? Characters not acting in-character?

Or not? Because while reviews/messages are amazing, I also write for myself so . . .