When they reached the castle, Melody and her three new friends shuffled through the crowd and into the Entrance Hall, then the Great Hall, which had a high ceiling enchanted to look like the starry night sky. Melody found herself staring open-mouthed again, until Sirius ushered her along. She was hesitant about sitting at their table when she wasn't actually in Gryffindor House, but James wouldn't hear it, and pulled her down beside him, patting her on the head affectionately.

Melody saw Lily a little ways down the table, talking to some other Gryffindor girls and pointedly avoiding James's gaze, though she had a slight smirk on her face, as though she was perfectly aware that he kept looking over at her. At the Slytherin table, she saw Regulus, playing with the golden goblet in front of him, and up at the staff table, Slughorn caught her eye, giving her a little wave before turning back towards the incredibly small, wizened old professor he was talking to.

The chatter died down as the doors to the Great Hall opened again, and a stern-looking witch with her hair in a tight bun marched in, carrying a stool and an old, patched, fraying brown hat. She was followed by a cluster of eleven-year olds, who were looking around anxiously and trying to stay as close together as possible.

The older witch placed the stool upon a raised step in front of the staff table, and she put the hat reverently upon the stool. All was quiet, and Melody was going to ask what was going on when a rip in the brim of the hat opened, like a mouth. When the hat began to sing, Melody jumped slightly in her seat, startled, and jostled against Sirius, who chuckled.

For those of you who do not know, my duties are as such:

To find the place where you belong! You'll like it very much.

Sometimes a student wonders if the House they're in is right,

But I'm certain I don't make mistakes; so don't be filled with fright.

You may belong in Gryffindor, the House of brave and true,

Or Slytherin, which favors those ambitious, sly, and shrewd,

It could be Hufflepuff that seeks you for your patient scruples,

Or Ravenclaw, which shines with its intelligent young pupils.

Just put me on, and you will see, I know where you belong,

But I've just one more thing to say before I end this song.

The strongest friendships can come from unlikeliest of places,

So don't you judge upon first sight when you see brand-new faces.

Don't be afraid to trust new friends because you think you're odd!

Their level of acceptance may leave you agape in awe.

Though rivalries exist, it's not impossible to find

That each House has potential for friendships of different kinds.

Now I'll be done, and Sort you out, and new friends you will meet.

I'm sure by now, you cannot wait to tuck in to the feast.

The hat fell silent, and there was a smattering of applause, which faded away as the witch held up a scroll, preparing to read from it.

After all of the first years had been Sorted, which consisted of the Sorting Hat being placed on their heads, deliberating, and then barking out the House they belonged in, Dumbledore announced that he was pleased to have them all there, and he was certain that, as the hat had suggested, they had waited more than long enough for the feast.

With a wave of his hand, the dishes on each table were filled to bursting with food and beverages, and Melody wasted no time in helping herself. When all stomachs were satisfied and the desserts had been magically cleared away, she sighed contentedly, listening as Sirius asked James what N.E.W.T. subjects he would be taking this year.

"What will you be taking?" Remus asked pleasantly across the table.

"Oh, I got decent O.W.L.s," Melody recalled, "so I'll have Transfiguration, Potions, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Care of Magical Creatures, and Herbology."

"Over-achiever," Sirius said good-naturedly. "We've all got all of those except for Care of Magical Creatures. Moony's got it, though, so you'll have that class with him."

Melody blinked, not sure who he was referring to. Remus smiled at her. "I'm Moony," he informed her. "It's a little nickname they came up with for me that I'm afraid I'll be rather stuck with for the rest of my life."

"Not that we're usually so quick to give up our alter-egos," James added, "But now that you know one, you might as well know them all. I'm Prongs, and Sirius is Padfoot. Just so you don't get confused when we call each other by those nicknames."

"I suppose we'll have to come up with one for Melody, too. Hmm..." Sirius turned completely in his seat, scrutinizing Melody from every possible angle. She raised her eyebrows, but at the center of the staff table, a tall older man with a long white beard and silver half-moon spectacles straightened his deep purple hat and stood up. The Great Hall quieted down respectfully, and he raised his hands in welcome.

"New and old students alike, I welcome you to Hogwarts," Dumbledore said calmly, a twinkle in his eye as he surveyed the Great Hall. "Another year begins for us. I am asked by our caretaker, Mr. Filch, to remind you that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds unless accompanied by a teacher, and Zonko's Joke Shop products are banned from the school—"

"Never stopped us before," James said under his breath.

"—and third years and above are only permitted to visit Hogsmeade if they have a signed permission slip from their parents or guardians. For those interested, Quidditch tryouts will be held within the following three weeks—please see your House's Captain for details on the dates and times. I would also like to extend a special welcome to our first transfer student in over a century; Miss Melody Wright, here all the way from Ilvermorny. We hope you'll find Hogwarts to your liking."

Many heads had already turned towards Melody, as she was the only new person who wasn't a tiny first year, and news of her arrival had been featured in the Daily Prophet; but if the other students hadn't noticed her before, they would now—Sirius was leading a whooping round of applause as James pointed excitedly to Melody, to be sure that everyone knew who she was. Melody's face turned red, and she refrained from attempting to slink under the table, instead glancing around with an embarrassed smile.

The applause died down until Sirius was the only one clapping, and Remus swatted his hand across the table, so he would stop.

"Now, you should all get a good night's sleep before classes begin tomorrow." With that, the students were dismissed, and a buzz of chatter filled the Great Hall once more as everyone milled towards the halls, to get to their common rooms.

"I've got to direct the first years," Remus told Melody before darting away. "Whatever House you're in won't matter. You'll do fine wherever you're placed."

"Thanks," Melody said quietly, watching him go.

"We'll be seeing you in the common room, I expect," James said, running his hand through his hair again as Lily passed by. "There's really no way you can end up anywhere but Gryffindor. You're practically one of us."

"Remember, little one, if the hat starts to say Slytherin, just whip it off your head and insist that it was about to say Gryffindor. That's basically what I did," Sirius said in a way that made Melody unsure of whether he was being candid or not. He tugged one of Melody's long, dark curls before sauntering away. "Good luck!"

Melody waited in the Great Hall, trying to avoid curious stares as the room emptied out. Finally, it was just her and Professor Dumbledore in the room.

"Welcome, Miss Wright," Dumbledore said pleasantly as he gestured for her to approach the table. The stool and Sorting Hat, which had been cleared away during the feast, were now in the spot they had previously been placed, during the Sorting Ceremony. "I trust your journey went well?"

"Yes, it did," Melody said honestly. "I made some new friends."

"So I noticed," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling behind his spectacles. "Your teachers at your former school have given me nothing but glowing reviews of you. I decided to have you Sorted separately because, as a sixth-year student rather than a first-year, it may take more than a few minutes for the hat to decide your place. If you would?"

He gestured to the stool, and Melody placed the hat upon her head before sitting down. The stool was rather low for her—even though she wasn't particularly tall, it was clearly designed for eleven-year-olds.

The hat harrumphed, and it took Melody a moment to realize that the sound had occurred in her head, not in her ears.

"I've heard about you," the hat said knowingly. "A good student, good marks, talented in many areas, interested in many different things... House Thunderbird back at Ilvermorny, I see. But where to put you here?"

The hat fell silent for a good five minutes before speaking again. "Ah, here we are. You value hard work and fair play... Hufflepuff would make sense, yes. Very much. But there is such strong ambition there, too; you'd be a fair Slytherin, indeed. A passion for learning makes you a good choice for Ravenclaw... You admire those who stand up for themselves and others, I see. Those who are not afraid to step forward and take chances. You wish your confidence in Quidditch extended to your everyday endeavors... Interesting."

It fell silent for another ten minutes. Melody began to let her thoughts wander idly.

"Ah!"

The hat exclaimed so suddenly that Melody almost fell off the stool.

"I see that your heart already belongs to Gryffindor House. You'd do well in any of them, I think, but the heart wants what the heart wants; and the courage within you is just as strong as your kindness, intellect, and cunning. You have the soul of an adventurer. Gryffindor!" The hat fell silent for good, and Melody removed it from her head. She couldn't help smiling as she handed it over to Professor Dumbledore.

"Professor McGonagall is your new Head of House," he said, that twinkle in his eyes again. "She'll be handing out schedules tomorrow morning at breakfast. You'll find that all of your possessions have been moved to your new accommodations in Gryffindor Tower—your owl, of course, is safe in our Owlery. Welcome to Hogwarts, Miss Wright."

"Thank you," Melody said gratefully, relief apparent in her voice.

"A Gryffindor Prefect will be waiting out in the Entrance Hall," Dumbledore told her kindly. "Best of luck with the coming year."

"Thank you," Melody repeated, and she almost skipped with joy as she hurried from the Great Hall, eager to get to the boys and tell them the good news.

She ran into someone's chest, and backed up a step, her eyes watering slightly from the impact.

"We've got to stop meeting like this," Remus said bemusedly.

Melody's embarrassment was overtaken by her excitement, and she smiled happily up at him. "How did you get here so fast?"

"I was sent for as soon as I showed the first years to Gryffindor Tower," Remus said, shrugging. "Perhaps Dumbledore already had an idea of which House you'd end up in."

"Perhaps." Melody followed Remus up the moving staircases, her momentary glee fading away as she became nervous about the fact that they were walking alone together.

"Gryffindor Tower is on the seventh floor," Remus explained as they walked. "The Common Room is guarded by a portrait known as the Fat Lady. The password to get in is currently "Phoenix Tears", although it changes periodically. Prefects are always told ahead of time, so if you're unsure, feel free to ask me." He hopped absentmindedly, skipping a step, but Melody kept walking normally. Her foot sank into the step, and she wobbled, stuck in the staircase.

"Um..."

Remus turned back towards her. "Oh! I should have mentioned that. There are a few trick steps," he told her, grasping her by the elbows to pull her up and out. There was a loud schlopp, and Melody popped free of the stair, finding herself close enough to Remus that she could have kissed the scars on his cheeks if she wanted to. Now that she was so close, Melody could see that there were actually quite a few; some more faded than others.

Nearly unable to breathe, Melody scooted sideways to a respectable distance, and kept walking. Remus continued as though nothing had happened; although, if Melody had ventured a glance towards him, she would have seen that his pale skin had gone a slightly pinkish color.

They reached the seventh floor without any more stair incidents, and Remus recited the password to the Fat Lady, who inclined her head to Melody in greeting as they clambered through the portrait hole.

The two of them were barely inside the Common Room before James and Sirius gave a loud cheer.

"I knew it!" Sirius roared, grabbing Melody's hands and twirling her around. "Knew it was meant to be!"

"Welcome to Gryffindor!" James shouted, shooting red and gold sparks from his wand.

"It's after hours," Remus said, referring to the amount of noise they were making; but he didn't try too hard to quiet them down.

"So you're going to try out for the Quidditch team?" James pressed.

"Let her settle in first, James," Sirius scolded lightly, as though he hadn't practically lifted her off her feet the second she walked in. "Strangely enough, an extra bed didn't appear in our dormitory, so I'm assuming they've put you with the girls. You are, of course, welcome to pop in whenever you like."

"You're probably rooming with Evans," James realized, his face lighting up as he calculated the number of fifth- and sixth-year Gryffindor girls. "Hey, put in a good word for me, will you?"

"I can't make any promises," Melody said wryly, and they all laughed.

"We'll see you at breakfast, I hope," Remus said in his calm voice. He was already looking more tired than any of the rest of them.

"Of course." Melody waved a goodnight, treading lightly up the stairs to her new quarters. Lily was sitting in one of the four-poster beds, working on a charm, and two other girls were asleep in their bunks.

"Good to see you again," Lily said kindly as she twirled the tip of her wand, producing a tiny butterfly. "Your bed's the one above mine. It just popped up not long ago, so I figured it meant you were Sorted into Gryffindor."

"Right," Melody said, looking up at the bed and then around the room. Her trunk was placed neatly against an empty nightstand, with her Shooting Star propped up against it and her empty owl's cage tucked neatly against the windowsill. "I'm looking forward to this year."

The following morning, the boys were waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs, and Sirius insisted on escorting her, arm in arm, to the Great Hall for breakfast. As Professor McGonagall, the stern witch who had handled the Sorting, handed out schedules, she paused briefly to review N.E.W.T. subjects with the sixth years, and ensure that they had the qualifications to proceed into those class levels.

"All in order, of course," she said to Remus. "And yours are fine as well, Potter and Black. I was impressed with your grades in Transfigurations—you both received top marks."

"We owe it all to your masterful instruction," Sirius replied, innocence emanating from his earnest expression. He, James, and Remus stood together at the edge of the table, clearly still waiting for Melody. This did not go unnoticed by Professor McGonagall, whose lips were pursed in an attempt to keep from smiling as she turned to Melody.

"It's a pleasure to have you at our school, Miss Wright," she said crisply. "With O's and E's in all of your O.W.L. subjects, you needn't worry about the qualifications for any of your N.E.W.T. level classes. You may go ahead to Potions class—your, ah, escorts appear to be waiting," she said bemusedly, moving on down the table.

Melody joined the three boys, and together they trooped downstairs to Slughorn's classroom, which was down by the dungeons. James groaned as he watched a Slytherin student pass by.

"Right, I forgot—every sixth year who got an E on their O.W.L. is allowed to take Potions. You know what that means."

"Snivellus," Sirius said darkly, tossing his hair back from his shoulders. "I wouldn't be surprised if he got an O on his exam, the snothead." Melody looked from one to the other, but neither of them were offering an explanation.

They arrived at the door to the classroom, where three Slytherins, two Ravenclaws, and a Hufflepuff were also waiting to go inside. The taller Ravenclaw, a boy with sandy blond hair and green eyes, appraised Melody the second she came into view.

"Bertram Aubrey, Captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. It's too bad you didn't make it into our House—we could have used a talented new Seeker."

"It took the Sorting Hat a while to decide," Melody admitted, not liking the way that his eyes were roaming over her whole body. "But I think I ended up in the right one."

"I'm sure you did," Bertram said lightly, glancing at her companions, who were looking coolly back at him. "But if you ever want to, ah, study, or anything, the Ravenclaw common room is in the West Tower. You're welcome over there anytime."

"Thanks," Melody said, not sure why there was so much tension in the air. It was elevated even further when someone brushed roughly past Sirius, and he whirled around, already brandishing his wand.

"You sure that's how you want to start out your year, Snivellus?" he barked, pointing it at a skinny boy with pale skin and lank, greasy black hair. His dark eyes were narrowed as they darted from Sirius to James, who also had his wand in his hand. Remus was alert, analyzing the situation, but he hadn't pulled out his own wand.

The dark-eyed boy had his hand at his pocket, as though he were ready for a duel, but he must have decided that he wouldn't be able to beat the both of them. Sneering, he glowered at them; but before James or Sirius could fire a hex, two voices floated down the corridor, easily recognizable as belonging to Lily and Slughorn.

James hesitated only a moment before stowing his wand back in his robes and running a hand through his hair, trying to ensure that no part of it lay flat. Sirius, grimacing, finally shoved his wand away, too.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Slughorn said jovially as he opened the doors. "Lily here was just telling me all about her summer!"

The students filed in, Lily passing so close to James that he lifted his head, trying in vain to catch a whiff of her hair. Inside the classroom, three cauldrons were already bubbling away along a rectangular table, and Melody found herself immediately drawn to one of them.

It was a pretty potion, with a mother-of-pearl sheen and spiraling steam rising from its depths. Melody was sure she'd read about it at some point, but she couldn't recall the name of it—her brain wasn't working quite right. All she could do was inhale and sigh, taking in the most wonderful scents she had ever known. It smelled of gently used books, and dark chocolate ice cream, and a strangely familiar, woodsy aroma that she couldn't place.

"I see you've all noticed the love potion," Slughorn said, chuckling. Melody snapped back to her senses, realizing that she, among most of the class, had moved considerably closer to the cauldron. "Can anyone tell me what it is called?"

Lily raised her hand, and he nodded at her. "Amortentia, sir. It's the most powerful love potion in the world. However, like all love potions, it only instills a powerful infatuation or obsession, and cannot reproduce real love."

"Excellent! 5 points to Gryffindor," Slughorn said grandly. "And do we recognize the other potions?"

The three others were each distinctly different from each other. One contained a liquid so clear and odorless that it could have been water, and the third held a muddy-looking substance that Melody had previously studied. The fourth was contained in a tiny glass vial, and resembled liquid gold.

Bertram Aubrey correctly identified Veritaserum, and Melody defined Polyjuice Potion, each of them earning 5 points for their Houses. Everyone looked expectantly at the last vial, uncertain of what it could be.

"Ah, yes. This one contains Felix Felicis," Slughorn explained, lifting the little vial to show it to the entire class. "Also known as "Liquid Luck". Take this, and all of your endeavors will go right for one day. It is very difficult to brew, and the results are disastrous if done incorrectly. It is also illegal, I should mention, to use in political or sporting events. This vial will go to whichever student can correctly brew a Draught of Living Death—or as close to one as you can manage, in the remaining hour of today's class! I like to impose this test on all of my sixth-year N.E.W.T. students during the first class of the year," he added, replacing the vial upon its stand on the table. "No one has ever managed to brew it successfully as of yet. Page 10 of your textbooks. Let's get cracking!"

Everyone hurried over to the smaller worktables, eager to test their knowledge and possibly win the luck potion. The four Slytherins took a table together, and Lily joined the two Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuff, even though James insisted there was room at their table for her to squeeze in beside him.

Melody worked steadily alongside Sirius, who was back to smiling broadly and laughing easily, but still held a bit of the tension from before in his back and shoulders. What had that Slytherin boy done in the past to cause such a reaction from both Sirius and James? She realized she was getting distracted, and hoped that she had been stirring her infusion of Wormwood and powdered root of Asphodel in the correct direction. Around the classroom, everyone seemed to be having trouble, and Melody felt a little better about the fact that her potion wasn't exactly the color it should have been by now. In fact, it was rather blue, instead of the deep violet the textbook described. At least it wasn't emitting sooty puffs of smoke, like one of the Slytherin students' concoctions, or bubbling dangerously like Bertram's.

Melody thought about the vat of Amortentia. She'd never deign to use it; she was merely wondering what that third scent she'd smelled could possibly be. She kept catching whiffs of it, even though Professor Slughorn had covered the cauldron containing the love potion, so that no one would be distracted by its seductive smells. Why did she keep smelling it, then?

She started cutting up her Sopophorous beans, which was proving a far more difficult task than expected. Everywhere, beans were jumping out of students' hands, popping onto the floor or into a neighbor's cauldron. Only the boy Sirius had called "Snivellus" didn't seem to be having any trouble. Instead of cutting up the beans, he was crushing them with the flat of his blade, and calmly adding copious amounts of juice to his cauldron, scribbling hastily in his copy of Advanced Potion-Making every now and then.

Melody felt that she might end up cutting her fingers off if she kept trying to chop up the beans. She knew her potion was already a lost cause, so for her last few beans, she decided to try crushing them, which yielded much better results. Remus glanced at her curiously, probably wondering why she wasn't following the book's instructions, but Melody shrugged in defeat, smiling ruefully.

It was when Remus reached across the table to catch a runaway bean that Melody realized why she kept smelling that gentle woodsy scent. It had to be Remus's cologne, or deodorant, or whatever—perhaps it was even just the way he smelled naturally; but it was definitely his scent she had breathed in so dreamily from the cauldron of Amortentia.

Suddenly very embarrassed, and very glad that Remus could not read her mind, Melody added the juice of another bean to her cauldron. Had that been number 12 or 13? She'd lost count a while ago. Frowning, Melody stirred the concoction, surprised to see it turn a medium purple color—but it wouldn't get any paler, nor turn clear as it was supposed to.

By the end of the class, Slughorn walked around, peering into everyone's cauldrons and clucking forlornly at some results. He was pleased with Lily's potion, though it was a pale lilac rather than clear, and told Melody that she had made "a respectable attempt". Finally, when he reached the Slytherin table, he let out a delighted exclamation.

"Ah, see here! Severus has done it," he said, gesturing for everyone to look at the greasy-haired-boy's potion. The students crowded around; James and Sirius hanging towards the back with disgruntled expressions on their faces. Slughorn dropped a small leaf into the cauldron, and it immediately shriveled up.

"One drop of that, and I daresay only the Wiggenweld Potion would be able to revive any of us. Excellent work, Mister Snape. 20 points to Slytherin, and here is your prize." He handed the vial to Severus, who looked proud but did not smile.

On their way out of the class, once they had passed out of Slughorn's sight, Melody noticed that James and Sirius had their wands out again, and they were walking purposefully behind Severus, who had the vial of Felix Felicis grasped in one hand. Behind them, Lily hurried to catch up, clearly having noticed the same thing Melody had.

"Don't you dare," she said in a low voice to James, who ran his free hand through his hair again.

"Evans! I thought you and old Snivelly had given up on being friends," James said haughtily, but quietly enough that Severus would not hear them conversing. Melody stared at James, unnerved. It was like his personality had taken a 180.

"That's none of your business. And regardless of whether he's my friend or not, it doesn't mean it's right for you to go hexing him at every turn," Lily said forcefully. James frowned at her, but he put his wand away. Sirius had sped up, ignoring Lily's reproaches.

"Sirius," Remus said in a cautious tone; but Sirius wouldn't be stopped. A well-aimed Trip Jinx sent Severus sprawling down the hall, skidding for several feet before he came to a stop. His vial of Felix Felicis went flying, and it smashed open, spilling its molten gold contents amongst little shards of broken glass.

A lot of the other students passing by broke into laughter, but Melody was not one of them. Neither was Lily, and, to Melody's relief, Remus didn't find it funny, either.

"Now look what you've done, Snivellus," Sirius called out to him. "You're so terribly clumsy, aren't you?"

Severus scrambled to his feet, a mess of tangled hair and disheveled robes, and yelled a curse at Sirius without even looking where he was aiming. It pinged off the wall behind Lily, passing so close to her ear that her hair fluttered with the force of the spell.

"Watch where you're pointing that thing," Lily said testily. Severus shoved his hair out of his eyes, meeting Lily's gaze sulkily, and then rounding on Sirius, who had thrown his head back in laughter.

"Look at this, James; he can't even hit who he's aiming at. Clumsy and stupid." The manic energy in his face twisted his usual easy grin into a sneer that made Melody take a step back.

James laughed along with Sirius, and he was about to add to the banter when he caught sight of Lily's disapproving gaze. He cleared his throat, folding his arms as he appraised Severus, who looked as though he wasn't sure who he wanted to hex more—Sirius, or James.

Sirius raised his wand again, and Severus matched him, but Lily growled impatiently and stepped between them.

"That's enough, Sev," she told him. To Melody's surprise, Severus straightened himself up and gathered his bags, casting one last murderous glance at Sirius before hurrying away, stepping over the lost contents of the vial he'd won for brewing such a perfect potion.

Sirius, breathing hard, watched him go. "I should have known you'd turn tail and run away, Snivellus! Cowardly little git," he called after him before stowing his wand away angrily.

"Evans, why'd you have to stop the fun?" James asked, trying not to smile. Lily simply brushed past him, hurrying towards Charms with her lips pressed into a thin line.

Silently, Melody also stepped over the remnants of Felix Felicis, turning back only to whisper "Tergeo" before following her friends to their Charms lesson. With that little wave of her wand, the potion and glass were cleared up, as though the mess of spilled potion had never existed.