The doors swung open immediately and standing there was a familiar dolphin "The firs'-years, Professor Echo" "Thank you, Big, I will take them from here". Echo led the group into a massive entrance hall which would have fit Menthor's whole house in. Silver could hear hundreds of voices coming from a door ahead of them, the rest of the school must already be here. Echo stopped and turned to face them "Welcome to Soleanna. 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 Soleanna. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room. The four houses are called Shinobi, Yagyu, Gossamer and Raiju. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Soleanna, 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 honour. 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".

Her eyes lingered on a few of them including Silver who instinctively tried to flatten his quills but it was futile. Echo opened the door to the great hall "I shall return when we are ready for you. Please, wait here quietly" she left. Silver looked to Razor "How exactly do we get sorted into houses" "Some sort of test, I think. Mighty said it hurts a lot but I think he was joking". Silver's heart gave a horrible jolt, a test? In front of the whole school? He's only known he's had magic for month, he hasn't learned anything. He looked around and saw everyone else looked nervous too. Coral was whispering to herself about all the spells she could remember. As they were all worrying something happened that made Silver and seven kids behind him jump "What the!?". 20 ghosts just came out of the wall next to them, transparent and flying. An elderly bat ghost was arguing with another "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance" "My dear Bellok, haven't we given Charmy all the 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?". None of the students were brave enough to answer so Bellok smiled "New students. About to be sorted, I suppose. Hope to see you in Yagyu. My old house, you know" "Move along, now. The ceremony is about to begin" said the sharp voice of the returning Echo. All the ghosts left as Echo got everyone's attention "Form a line and follow me".

Silver felt like his feet had turned to led as he joined the line with Razor behind him. Once everyone was in line Echo opened the giant double doors to the Great Hall. Silver could never have imagined such a strange and splendid place. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles which were floating in mid-air over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the Hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor Echo led the first-years up here, so that they came to a 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, Silver looked upwards and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. He heard Coral whisper "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside, I read about it in Soleanna: A History". Silver found it hard to believe there was a ceiling at all, the sky was as clear as if he were outside. Echo placed a four legged stool in front of the first years. Leaning against the stool she put a silver sword with a gold hilt. Silver was worried now, were they going to have to kill something with that sword, were there dragons hidden somewhere, one for each student. All the first years watched the sword having similar thought when all of a sudden the sword twitched and a face appeared at the centre of the hilt which started to sing.

Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,

I'll stab myself if you can find

A smarter sword than me.

You can keep your maces black,

Your long spears sleek and tall,

For I'm the Soleanna Sorting Sword

And I can beat them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head

The Sorting Sword can't see,

So hold tight and I will tell you

Where you ought to be.

You might belong with Shinobi,

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve and chivalry

Set them apart;

You might belong in Yagyu

Where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Yagyu are true

And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Gossamer,

If you've a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning,

Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Raiju

You'll make your real friends,

Those cunning folk use any means

To achieve their ends.

So hold me tight! Don't be scared!

And don't give me much shade!

You're in safe hands (though I have none)

For I'm a Thinking Blade!

The whole hall burs into applause as the hat finished. Razor however looked angry "We just have to hold a sword. I'll kill Mighty. He was going on about wrestling a Kraken". Silver was relieved that all they had to do was hold the sword but he wished he didn't have to do it in front of the whole school. He had no idea what house he belonged to, he didn't feel brave, loyal, smart or cunning at this moment. If only there was a house for people who were feeling sick, that would be the one for him. Echo stood next to the school and took out a scroll "When I call your name you will sit on the stool and hold Caliburn to be sorted. Bunnie Rabbot". A blushing rabbit wearing a pink leotard with a brown jacket over it and a matching cowboy hat walked up. She sat down on the stool and held the hilt of the Caliburn with the tip of its blade just touching the floor. Bunnie closed her eyes and after a few moments the sword spoke "YAGYU!". The table on the right cheered and clapped as Bunnie went to sit down at the Yagyu table. Silver saw the ghost of the Bellok waving merrily at her. "Honey Cat". An amber cat with black pigtails and a stylish red dress stepped up next "YAGYU!" another applause as Honey ran and sat next to Bunnie. "Dolph the Skunk" a skunk in a green beret came up next "GOSSAMER!" the table second from the left clapped this time; several Gossamers stood up to shake hands with Dolph as he joined them. A few more kids went into Gossamer then Undina, a purple fish in a yellow dress became the first Shinobi the table of which exploded in applause. Silver could see Mighty and Ray catcalling.

Abyss the Squid became the first of the Raiju who cheered their new member as well. Silver was starting to feel definitely sick now. He remembered being picked for teams during sports lessons at his old school. He had always been last to be chosen, not because he was no good, but because no one wanted Menniker to think they liked him. Smokey the Bear became the next Yagyu. Silver started to notice that Caliburn took longer with some people than others. Larry Lynx was up next and he held Caliburn for a full minute before it yelled "SHINOBI!". "Coral the Betta" Coral practically ran up to the stole and snatched Caliburn. After a few moments "SHINOBI!", Razor groaned. As they often did when you were nervous, a horrible though entered Silver's head. What if Caliburn didn't choose anything for him, what if he just awkwardly held the sword for a while until Echo took it and said there had been some kind of mistake. Antione was up next, Caliburn took a while with him but eventually chose Shinobi. The choice apparently excited Antione so much that he ran to the table still holding Caliburn. There was much laughter as Antione ran back to hand it to the next student. Eventually they reached Rutan who swaggered up to the stool. He barely had to touch Caliburn before it yelled "RAIJU!". After that there weren't many people left "Silver the Hedgehog". As Silver walked up to the stool whispering could be hear all around the hall "Did she say Silver?" "The Silver?". The last thing Silver saw before closing his eyes was everyone in the hall craning their necks over one another trying to get a good look at him. He could hear a voice in his head "Hmm… Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage. Not a bad mind, either. And a thirst to prove yourself, interesting. But where to put you?".

Silver gripped the hilt tight and thought "Not Raiju. Not Raiju" "Not Raiju, eh? Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Raiju will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that… No? Well, if you're sure, better be SHINOBI!". Caliburn yelled the last word and Silver ran over to the Shinobi table so happy to have been chosen that he didn't notice he got the loudest cheer. Hamlin got up and vigorously shook his hand as Mighty and Ray chanted "We got Silver! We got Silver!". One of the Shinobi ghosts sitting at the table patted his shoulder which gave him a cold unpleasant sensation. Now that there was no pressure Silver managed to admire the hall properly. He looked up at the staff table and spotted Big giving him a thumbs up which Silver returned with a grin. At the centre of the table in a large chair sat Locke the Echidna exactly how he looked from the card. Near him was Suguna who had the hood of his cloak up. There were only three people left to be chosen and a very pale Razor was next. Silver crossed his fingers under the table just before Caliburn yelled "SHINOBI!". Silver applauded with the others as Razor collapsed into the chair next to him. Razor's three brothers all patted him on the back. Once everyone else was chosen Echo took Caliburn away. Locke 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. Welcome, to a new year at Soleanna! 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 and everybody cheered, Silver wasn't sure if he should laugh or not. He leaned closer to Hamlin to make sure none of the teachers heard him "Is he a bit… Mad?" "Mad? He's brilliant. One of the greatest living wizards. But… Yes, he's a bit mad. Potatoes?". As it did often in the last few weeks Silver's mouth fell open. The dishes in front of him were now piled with food. He had never seen so many things he liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, chips, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup and, for some strange reason, mint humbugs. His Aunt and Uncle never starved Silver but he never been allowed to eat as much as he liked. He had some of everything except the humbugs, it was all delicious. He then noticed one of the ghosts, a bearded Chameleon staring at his plate longingly "Do you want some?" "Oh, no, it looks quite good but I can't. I don't need food but one does miss it. Haven't had food in nearly 500 years". The chameleon sighed "Oh, forgive me, I haven't introduced myself. I am Barney the Chameleon, at your service. Resident ghost of Shinobi Tower". Razor pointed at him "My brothers told me about you. Your Barney the Nearly Beheaded".

Barney was clearly irritated "I prefer just Barney" "Nearly Beheaded? How can you be nearly beheaded?" Larry Lynx asked. Barney rolled his eyes "Like this" he grabbed his own head and pulled. His whole head swung off his neck and fell on to his shoulder as if it was on a hinge. Someone had obviously tried to behead him, but not done it properly. Looking pleased at the stunned looks on their faces, Barney the Nearly Beheaded flipped his head back on to his neck, coughed and said "So, new Shinobi, eh! I hope you're going to help us win the House Championship this year? Shinobi have never gone so long without winning. Raiju have got the cup six years in a row! King Boo is becoming almost unbearable. He's the Raiju ghost". Silver looked over at the Raiju table and saw a ghost he couldn't identify the species of. It was a strange shape, had a wide mouth with lots of teeth. He was sitting next to Rutan who Silver was pleased to see didn't look too happy with the seating arrangements. Larry saw him as well and looked back to Barney "What is he?" "I've never asked".

Once everyone had eaten as much as they could the rest of the food disappeared from their plates leaving them spotless. Then the deserts appeared, ice creams of every flavour, pies, tarts and jellies. As everyone dug in the conversation went to their families. Larry was in the middle of explaining his "I'm half and half. Me dad's a Muggle. Mam didn't tell him she was a witch 'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him". The others laughed "What about you, Ant?" Razor asked. Antione shrugged "Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch. but the family thought I was all Muggle for ages. My great-uncle Twan-Du kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me – he pushed me off the end of a pier once, I nearly drowned. But nothing happened until I was eight. Great uncle Twan-Du came round for tea and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my great-auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased. Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got in here. They thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great-uncle Twan-Du was so pleased he bought me my Micky".

Silver could hear Coral behind him talking to Hamlin who was trying to reassure her that her first few lessons are starting small. Feeling full and quite tired now Silver looked up at the staff table again. Big was drinking deeply from a goblet, Professor Echo was speaking to Professor Locke about something and he spotted Suguna with his hood still up talking to a Black Jackal with white dreadlocks, a scar across his right eye which was blue and his left eye was yellow. The Jackal had a jewel ruby on his chest which Silver assumed to be his amulet and on the table in front of him was a strange grey mask with only one the left side having a hole for the eye. It happened so suddenly, Silver looked up from the mask and realised that the Jackal was staring past Suguna right into Silver's eyes. Silver felt a sharp pain in his head and rubbed it. Hamlin noticed "You alright, Silver?" "Yeah, it's nothing". The pain left quickly although what didn't leave was the feeling that the Jackal didn't like Silver at all. Silver tapped Hamlin's shoulder "Who's that teacher talking to Professor Suguna" "Oh, you know Suguna already? No wonder he looks nervous, that's Professor Infinite. He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to. Everyone knows he's after Suguna's job. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Infinite".

Silver watched Infinite for a while but he seemed to be purposely ignoring Silver now. Once the deserts disappeared Locke rose to his feet again "Now that we're all fed and watered I have a few start of term announcements. First-years should note that the forest in the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well". His eyes moved past the proud faces of Mighty and Ray "I have also been asked by Mr Rykor, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Sky Chase trials will be held in the second week of term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Longclaw. And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death". Silver laughed but he was one of the few "Is he serious?" "Must be. It's odd, because he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere. The forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he might have told us Prefects, at least". Locke continued "And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!". Silver noticed the smiles on the other teachers' faces had become very fixed. Locke raised his hands and a gold ribbon shot out of them and formed words "Everyone pick a tune and off we go". The whole hall bellowed as they sang.

Soleanna, Soleanna, Soly, Soly, Soleanna,

Teach us something please,

Whether we be old and bald

Or young with scabby knees,

Our heads could do with filling

With some interesting stuff,

For now they're bare and full of air,

Dead flies and bits of fluff,

So teach us things worth knowing,

Bring back what we've forgot,

Just do your best, we'll do the rest,

And learn until our brains all rot

Everyone finished the song at different times until at the end it was only Mighty and Ray who were singing it as a very slow funeral march. Locke happily conducted the two of them with his hands and when they finally finished he clapped louder than anyone else. He wiped his eyes "Ah, music. A magic beyond any we do here. Well, now, off to bed. Goodnight, everyone". The Shinobis all followed Hamlin out of the hall and up a marble staircase. Silver's legs were like led again but this time it was from how tired and full of food he was. He was so tired in fact that he didn't care that all the paintings he passed were talking and moving on their own. After what felt like an eternity of travelling through the castle they came to a halt. Silver saw a pile of walking sticks being thrown by some invisible force down the corridor in front of them "Charmy. He's a Poltergeist" Hamlin whispered to them. He stepped forward "Charmy, show yourself!". No answer "Do you want me to get King Boo". There was a pop and a young bee wearing a pilot's goggles was hovering above them "Ooooh. Ickle Firsties. What fun" "Get out of here, Charmy or I'll get Boo. I'm serious!". Charmy stuck out his tongue and flew down the corridor hitting the armours along the walls. Hamlin rolled his eyes "First thing you need to learn here, watch out for Charmy. Doesn't even listen to us Prefects". He took them to the end of the corridor where there was a large portrait of a sleeping Seedrian "This is Earthia. She watches the door to the common room" Hamlin explained.

Earthia woke up and smiled "Ah, first years. Password?" "Caput Draconis" Hamlin said. Earthia bowed her head and the portrait opened. Everyone scrambled inside revealing the Shinobi common room, a round cozy looking space with lots of arm chairs. Hamlin led the girls up the first staircase and then led the boys up the second. Silver and Razor found their names on one of the doors along with Larry, Antione and a young wolf boy in a blue shirt called Marcos. Inside was five four-poster beds with red velvety curtains. There luggage was already up and the five of them were exhausted so immediately got into their pyjamas and got into bed. "Good food, wasn't it?" Razor said before scrambling to stop Wacky from eating his sheets. It wasn't long until Razor, Larry, Marcos and Antione were all fast asleep but Silver wasn't. In fact he wasn't even in his bed. He sitting by one of the open windows staring out at the rest of the castle. Lily was perched on his knee and he petted her head. She returned by affectionately nipping his fingers. Silver smiled at her and looked back out the window. It didn't matter how tired he felt, he couldn't sleep. It was hard for him to explain but the view of the castle, the mountains, the huge lake and the dark forest. It had only been one night but already Silver felt like he was home.