Though she had been raised on stories of Hogwarts ever since she was born, seeing the castle for the first time easily surpassed everything her brothers and parents had ever told her.

Multiple stone towers that stretched into the sky, all of which were lit up by countless windows that flickered with light.

Surrounded by a land that was as vast as it was majestic.

The words her family used to describe this magical setting fell far short of what she was currently witnessing.

Honestly, she was still a little mad that it had taken THIS long to finally see the school. For since she was the youngest of seven children, she could have accompanied her parents during the rare times they were called to the castle to deal with the 'behavior' of her more fun-loving brothers.

But since she was finally here, Ginny was in a forgiving mood.

Even if it could have been greater if she hadn't been forced to take part in a nighttime boat ride.

Yes traversing the lake at night was more interesting than riding in a horseless carriage. For she refused to believe Luna's claim that they were being pulled by skeletal-like pegasi.

But the fact remained that she had yet to make up for her poor showing at Flourish and Blotts.

She had hoped that she would be able to make a proper introduction during the meeting at the train station.

But the argument that had developed between her mum and the extremely rude man who was the father of Harry's more 'maturely' shaped/dressed friend had sadly scared her off from making an attempt.

And to make matters worse, once she had finally agreed to her friend's suggestion to go looking for him, using the excuse of wanting to be with her youngest brother to ensure that her presence would be accepted, she had discovered that Luna had already filled the place that she had been hoping to fill.

Her anger at this betrayal had been greatly eased at the sight of Harry's less than happy expression at having to listen to her fellow first-year go on and on about creatures that didn't exist.

Though considering he was willing to indulge in the fantasy that Hogwarts was home to a herd of invisible pegasi, her feelings towards the dirty blond were nowhere near as friendly as they had once been.

Which meant that she was desperately hoping that Tom wasn't lying about how people got sorted into their proper house.

For if it was true that she merely needed to think where she wanted to go instead of passing some sort of 'mental examination', then she was confident that she would end up in her hero's house.

Her family would be upset of course. But since she was hoping to be placed in the House of the Loyal instead of the House of the Lions, she was sure that her brothers wouldn't treat her too differently.

It would have been different of course if the Boy Who Lived had been sorted into Slytherin. For she strongly suspected that her brothers, especially Ron, wouldn't believe the arguments that had convinced her that the House of Serpents wasn't necessarily an evil place to be. So long as one was careful with their 'appreciation' of past family accomplishments.

However, since she was determined to get into Hufflepuff, and had been given the secret to ensure that her dream would be accomplished, she quickly dismissed her feelings towards Slytherin.

For if what Tom had told her was correct, she would soon be confronted with the tool that would determine her social group for the next seven years.

…

Though she was saddened by her inability to enjoy a Thestral carriage ride, and the fact that most people were unable to see the beautiful creatures, Luna was nevertheless enjoying her evening.

A nighttime boat ride under a beautiful starry sky, with a gorgeous castle serving as the background.

It was like a fairy tale.

A shame that the Giant Squid hadn't come to the surface to say hello, but she was confident that she would eventually have her chance to make it's acquaintance.

She just needed to know what sort of snacks to bring it since the last thing she wanted to do was make a poor first impression.

Sadly, however, her inner musings had caused her to lose track of her surroundings.

Which meant that instead of enjoying the brief waiting period before entering the Great Hall, engaging in conversation with her excited fellow first years, she was lost in her own little world before the welcoming, if slightly stern tones of her future transfiguration professor brought her back to the present.

"Luna Lovegood."

Smiling as she stepped forward to sit on the offered stool, and try on a hat whose creases made it appear that it had eyes and a mouth, Luna tried her best not to giggle as she felt a slight tickle in her mind.

"Hmmmm. Difficult. You have a desire for knowledge but have no thought to hoard it for yourself. You have ambition but direct it to discovering things that few people believe to exist. You are loyal to your friends and family. And you have the courage to stick by your beliefs despite knowing that they might earn the disproval of others. You would do very well in any house my dear. Which makes the decision of placing you very difficult."

Smiling as she heard this, for it was always nice to know that more than one place was welcoming, Luna moved to do something very few in Hogwarts history had ever thought to do.

Engage in polite mental conversation with a semi-sentient creature.

"Well I'm sorry Mr. Hat for the difficulty. If it helps you, my mom and daddy always told me that sometimes the best decision a person can make is a difficult one. Even if they do change their mind at a later time."

The laugh she received was both light-hearted and sad.

"It can be my dear. It can be. A lot of children that I 'meet' are so quick with their choices that they never consider that they might have been better off if they considered a different path. Someone who thought they were as cunning as a snake might have been better off trying to fly their own path instead of following in the footsteps of their ancestors. Or someone who chose to pursue the path of courage when the path of ambition would have resulted in a far kinder outcome. But in the end, it is up to each individual to choose where they go. I can only suggest the path that would help you on your journey."

Nodding her head in a matter that bespoke of wisdom far beyond her years, Luna could easily picture the Hat breaking into a smile as she 'spoke' her mind.

"Then which path do you think I should follow? Personally, I don't think Slytherin would be a good fit since its obvious that they have a massive Wrackspurt and Nargle infestation. Hufflepuff wouldn't be too bad, even if one of their number is a Wrackspurt in human form. But if what my daddy says is true, having easy access to the kitchens would make it easier to ensure he becomes a nice Wrackspurt."

For a moment the only thing she could hear was strangled sounds that reminded her of the time her mom had tried to keep herself from laughing at one of her dad's more brightly colored outfits.

But that quickly gave way to a voice that sounded both amused and cautious.

"Considering the nature of THAT Wrackspurt, you may have something there. But regardless of which house your sorted to, remember this piece of advice Ms. Lovegood. Even a dragon that is sated from its meal is still a dragon. Though considering the direction your thoughts are currently going, I think that I already know what place will best suit you."

And with that, the brim of the Sorting Hat widened to pronounce the fate of Hogwarts' newest student.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

….

Clapping politely along with the rest of her house as they welcomed yet another student into their 'pride', Hermione found herself somewhat bewildered as her newest housemate decided to approach her.

"Is this seat free? Or are you reserving it for your Wrackspurt?"

Though she had no idea what a Wrackspurt was, the bushy-haired second year nevertheless gestured to the empty seat with what she hoped passed for a welcoming gesture.

"You can sit here. But, forgive me for asking this, but what is a Wrackspurt?"

Ignoring the amused snickering of the more immature members of the Weasley family, for even if the term was slightly nonsensical it was a piece of information she was unaware of, Hermione waited with rapt attention to hear the blond girl's answer.

Only to find herself thinking that perhaps she should have resisted her perfectly normal desire to sate her curiosity.

"You don't know? That's kind of sad since your Wrackspurt seems to be a particularly well fed and active creature. But I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised. Daddy told me that the rarest members of the species are so good at concealing their presence that their activities can be easily detected by regular people without anyone really knowing what's going on."

Doing her best to process that line of thinking, frowning a little since there was no clear answer in the girl's explanation, Hermione found herself growing a little angrier as a certain redhead joined what she had intended to be a private conversation.

"Maybe you should give it a rest until my sister joins us Loony. She's probably the only one who could understand your talk about Wrokesparts and Garnels anyway."

Shooting Ron a look that was strangely similar to the expression their Head of House wore whenever she caught someone doing something utterly foolish, the bushy-haired Gryffindor was unfortunately prevented from both silencing and correcting her rude year-mate thanks to the more responsible member of the Weasley clan.

"Quiet Ron. Ginny is about to be sorted."

Shooting her housemate a smirk before she turned her attention to the understandably nervous first year, Hermione felt her expression morph into one of confusion as the Sorting Hat proceeded to take longer with hits decision than she originally thought.

She knew of course that some people were more difficult to sort than others, and at times the decisions of the hat made no sense. For why else would someone like Potter, or to a much lesser extent Neville, end up in the houses that they did?

But for someone who already had four family members in one house, the law of averages dictated that Ginny Weasley should have immediately been sorted into the House of the Brave.

However, like many assumptions she had once held about the wizarding world, she was quickly proven wrong.

"Better be….."

….

Despite the fact that he had yet to gain enough strength to 'instruct' his newest servant to carry on his noble work, Tom was nevertheless confident that he would be able to embark on the first phase of his master plan by the end of the week.

He would have to be careful of course. Especially since it would take multiple 'trips' to wipe out the entirety of the Half-Giant's rooster population.

But once that was accomplished, the path was clear to once again unleash the serpent of his ancestor and work towards the purification of the castle's hallowed halls.

It was somewhat infuriating that he had to rely on others to renew the work he had started fifty years ago, but then again the blood traitor's 'aid' provided him with an opportunity his 'real' self had never considered or anticipated.

He fully intended to get his revenge on Potter for his role in his temporary demise, after he had discovered how a baby was able to defeat the most powerful sorcerer since the time of Merlin himself. But at the same time, he was tempted to ensure that the 12-year-old's death was relatively quick and free of pain.

For thanks to his efforts, both as an infant then again as an eleven-year-old, Potter had created the circumstances to turn an anchor of immortality into a fully sentient creature.

It would take time of course, at least until sometime in the new year if the Weasley continued to write to her 'friend' with the same consistency that she was currently writing.

But in the end, not only would he be in a position to rid this castle of those who were fully descended from the type of filth he had once been forced to endure, but also in a position to achieve what his 'real' counterpart could not.

The removal of his most troublesome opponents and the restoration of a physical body.

…..

Hello everyone.

I apologize for how long its been since my last post. A lot of things have sadly happened in my life, family medical issues, work and academic related things, that I sadly had lost a lot of my interest to write.

Will strive to be better in the new year, perhaps finish some of my other story chapters that I currently have on the go right now, but strong likely hood of not having another chapter out til April.

I do apologize for not revealing which house Ginny has been sorted into. Gonna leave that decision up to you my dear readers with a Poll since the direction I have taken her so far is different from the shy girl she was in canon.

Though I hope you did like where Luna ended up. Probably will be less inner house bullying than canon/other stories since the girl isn't in a house that prides itself on facts, plus having her in the same house as Hermione will be a source of amusement later on. Either for me or yourselves lol.

Again, plz review. No flames.

Vote in the poll.

Til next time.

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays. Hopefully everyone is looking forward to FINALLY having the Hazbin series move forward.