As Jade pulled her earbuds out of her ears she heard cheering from everyone who was watching and listening to her sing. She blushed, but thanks to her hood no one saw. After the crowd dispersed, the blonde and his two friends stepped into her compartment.

"May I help you?" She asked, her tone laced with sarcasm.

She was trying to be polite, but all she really wanted was to throw them all out for being mean to Harry. Luna had told her he'd insulted him for hanging out with and sticking up for the Weasley boy. She didn't particularly care for the Weasley boy either but that wouldn't stop her from being pleasant so long as he didn't touch her.

"I wanted to know where you learned to sing like that? I'm Draco Malfoy by the way." The blonde asked while introducing himself.

'So he must be related to Mr. Malfoy somehow...' Jade thought to herself.

"Jade Green." She said with a sigh. "And I'm self-taught." She said angrily as she remembered wanting to take singing lessons for the first time when she was seven and getting yelled at by Mrs. Green for even asking.

Jade talked to them for the rest of the ride until they arrived at school. He wasn't even as problematic as she thought he was. Draco's friends Crabbe and Goyle also introduced themselves before leaving to see if they could find Lavender Brown or Pansy Parkinson. Draco told her they'd had crushes on the girls for a while now.

"Well I'd better put on my school robes, you should do the same. See you later, Green." And with that, he also left her.

Jade then took off her cloak and because she was self-conscious she put it over the birdcage so it couldn't see her change, then pulled it back over her head after she had her school robes on.

A voice echoed through the train:

"We will reach Hogwarts in just five minutes. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

'Well, at least I won't have to worry about carrying everything with me.' Jade sighed in relief.

She grabbed a handful of the chocolate she had left and joined the crowd in the hallway. She ensured no one could see her hair before leaving her compartment. The train slowed down and stopped. People pushed their way towards the door and out onto a tiny, dark platform. As she finally set her feet on the platform, she heard a rough-sounding voice telling all the first years to follow him. She spotted Daphne and Draco and stood beside them.

"Oh, Jade, right?" asked Daphne.

Jade nodded just before asking, "Who's the giant guy?"

Daphne shrugged.

"Potter says his name is Hagrid," Draco told her.

"How does Harry know him?" Jade and Daphne wondered.

"He was Potter's guide to our world, a bloody fool if you ask me," Draco said as Crabbe and Goyle caught up with them.

"Hey, Jade." They both greeted her.

Hagrid had led them to a lake and many 'oo'd and awed but Jade and Draco just took in their environment in silence. Draco was more prepared since he knew what to expect because of his father.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of small boats sitting in the water by the shore.

Jade decided to go with Daphne and her friends.

"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then, FORWARD!"

And the small boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was smooth as silk. Everyone was silent, staring up at the massive castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.

"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff.

They all bent their heads and the small boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, beneath the castle. They reached an underground harbor, where they climbed out onto rocks and pebbles.

"You there! Is this yer toad?" asked Hagrid, who checked the boats as people climbed out of them.

Jade and Draco rolled their eyes at Nevil's reaction to getting his toad back.

"If it were me, I would lose the toad again on purpose." She muttered under her breath.

Draco who had just walked up behind her and Daphne heard her and snickered at the comment.

Pansy who walked up to Daphne whispered, "Have you told Draco yet?"

"No. I'll wait after being sorted into Slytherin," Daphne whispered back quietly as they all followed Hagrid.

The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in an emerald-green robe stood there. She had a stern face.

"The firs'-years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." She opened the door wide.

The Entrance Hall was so spacious that you could fit the Greens' house in it with plenty of room left. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches, the ceiling was too high to see, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors. They followed Professor McGonagall across the stone floor. Jade could hear hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right. As their footsteps echo off the walls, Jade felt overwhelmed, but also excited to explore this grand and mysterious castle. She assumed the rest of the school must already be here. However, Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small empty chamber on the other side of the hall. They all crowded in, much closer together than they would usually do, peering about nervously.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall with a small smile. "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 meaningful ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be like your family at Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house's dormitory and spend free time in your house's common room. The four Houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn house points, while rule-breaking will lose them. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, which is a prestigious honor. Each of you should be credited to the house of your choice. 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 waiting."

Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak, fastened under his left ear, and on Ron's smudged nose. Jade noticed Harry Potter nervously flattening his hair.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," added Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly." She left the chamber.

Jade suddenly became nervous.

"How exactly do they sort us into houses?" She heard Harry ask Ron, who was not too far away from where she was.

"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking." Jade's heart thumped horribly.

Jade took a deep breath, steeling herself against the fear that threatened to overwhelm her. She knew that whatever the sorting test entailed, she had to be ready for it.

"Don't eavesdrop too much, Green. You might hear how Bubotuber pus is used in healing potions," Draco whispered in a teasing tone as he noticed her listening to Potter and Weasley who were sputtering out nonsense.

"Sorry, I can't help it. It's how I prepare myself for something I know nothing about." Jade admitted.

'I also do it when I'm bored...' she thought to herself.

"Well don't worry about it, besides I don't think it's a painful ceremony," Draco reassured her.

"How can you be so sure?" she asked.

"My father wouldn't allow me to be here if it meant I'd be harmed in any way." He smiled smugly.

Jade smiled as her nerves settled a bit. She couldn't explain it but she felt she could trust Draco so she calmed down a bit.

"What kind of test do you think we'll have to do?" she asked.

Draco shrugged.

"Don't know, sure it won't be too difficult though." He replied sounding pretty sure of himself.

"What the-?" Jade gasped as twenty ghosts flew through the back wall.

Pearly white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to each other and hardly glancing at the students below them. They seemed to be arguing.

What looked like a fat monk said, "Forgive and forget, I say, we should give him a second chance..."

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's barely even a ghost... I wonder, what are you all doing here?" Nobody answered.

"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling excitedly at them."About to be sorted, I suppose?"

A few people nodded behind her, while Jade stood there frozen unable to do anything besides stare.

"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 returned.

One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.

"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first-years, "and follow me."

Jade's nervousness from before returned, but she squished it and forced herself to do as she was told. She'd never imagined such a strange place. It was lit by thousands of floating candles over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. As Jade walked past the four tables, she couldn't help but feel in awe of the students around her. She had never seen anything like it before, and it was a sight to behold. These tables were covered with golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers sat. Professor McGonagall led the first-years up so that they stopped in a line facing the other students, with the teachers sitting just behind them. Jade's heart hammered into her chest. She'd never seen so many people in her life. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in candlelight.

There was no way she could tell if it was nervousness or not. However, she felt like whatever the feeling was, it could make her ill if it didn't stop. In a mistlike light, ghosts stood among the students. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Jade gazed upwards and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars.

She heard Hermione Granger tell someone, "The ceiling's been bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts: A History."

It was almost impossible to believe there was a ceiling there at all. Jade slowly looked down again as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of them. On top of the stool, she wore a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty.

'Hope I never have to touch it.' Jade thought as it sang;

"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty but don't judge me by 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 got 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!"

'Oh, no! Please tell me I'm dreaming!' She screamed in her head as she realized she'd eventually have to put it on her head.

Yes, trying on the hat was a lot better than doing a spell since she didn't know many, but the hat appeared as though it hadn't been washed for centuries. But she forced herself to look bored. This was to hide her disgust with the idea of wearing the hat to everyone who'd looked at all the first years. Professor McGonagall stepped forward holding a long roll of paper.

"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 over her eyes, and sat down. A moment's pause.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.

The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah sat down at the Hufflepuff table. Jade saw the Fat Friar's ghost waving happily at her.

"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.

"Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor, and Ron's twin brothers catcalled her.

Jade rolled her eyes hoping to avoid such an annoying bunch of morons.

"Bulstrode, Millicent," became a Slytherin.

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" Jade noticed that sometimes the hat shouted out at once, while others took a while.

"Finnigan, Seamus", the sandy-haired boy next to Harry in the line, sat on the stool for almost a minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.

"Granger, Hermione!" Hermione almost ran to the stool and put the hat on her head with utter excitement.

"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat.

Ron groaned loudly.

'When will I get called?' Jade thought as she realized Granger was the last G name and she should have been called soon after her.

"Longbottom, Neville" 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 was so happy, he ran off still wearing it. He had to jog back amid laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag".

Draco swaggered forward with a smirk when his name was called and got his wish at once.

The hat barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!"

Malfoy left to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased with himself. There weren't many people left now and Jade fumed silently. Everyone else was called up in alphabetical order from their last names and hers started with a 'G' so why hasn't she been called?

'Maybe Mr. Malfoy made a mistake and I'm not really supposed to be here?' She thought until she heard,

"Harry Potter" and everyone whispered about him.

After a while, he was sorted into "GRYFFINDOR"

"And lastly, Jade Green!" Professor McGonagall shouted her name.

Jade walked over nervously.

"Sorry, you're last on this list even though your name starts with a 'G'." McGonagall apologized but didn't seem to really mean the words. "You were really tricky to track down since you moved to America. So you are our oldest first year, please take a seat."

Jade, who was silently fuming sat on the stool forgetting to pull her hood down.

"I must ask you to remove your hood," McGonagall said in a stern voice.

She nodded and pulled her hood down and almost immediately heard the fear-filled voices of some of the students in front of her and a few voices from the teachers behind her. All of them said things along the lines of;

"Bellatrix!"

"Is she Lestrange's daughter?"

"Bet she's a Slytherin just like Lestrange."

At this moment, Professor McGonagall raised the hat over her head. Just as it touched a single strand of her hair it screamed as if it'd just been burned.

"Slytherin!" Jade smiled pleasantly as she thought she had already made several friends in her house.

She sat next to Draco and his friends. After sitting next to Daphne and Draco, she noticed she could see the High Table better. And there, in the center of the High Table, in a large gold chair, stood Albus Dumbledore. Jade recognized him immediately from the card she got out of the Chocolate Frog on the train. Dumbledore's silver hair was the only thing in the whole hall that shone as brightly as the ghosts. He watched her as though she knew his biggest secret. She also spotted Professor Quirrell, looking peculiar in a large purple turban. Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away soon after everyone was sorted. Jade looked down at her empty plate. She wasn't even aware of how hungry she was. It seemed like ages ago when she'd last eaten. Albus Dumbledore stood up. He beamed at the students, his arms spread wide as if nothing pleased him more than seeing them all.