Sorting and breakfast....

After almost five minutes, the hat stopped singing, and everyone applauded. It bowed to the four house tables, then became still.

Professor McGonagall then stepped forward, holding a long roll of parchment. She said, "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool for sorting."

"Creevey, Colin," Professor McGonagall called a small, mousy-haired boy. He slowly walked toward the hat and put it on his head. The hat slid down to his ears because of the size difference.

After a minute of Colin sitting on the stool, fidgeting, the hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR."

The table on the extreme right burst into cheers, and Sia observed that it was the table where Sten was sitting.

Stensen was in Gryffindor, Alpheus in Hufflepuff, and Karalyn in Ravenclaw. Their houses suited them perfectly.

The list continued, and soon it was Astoria's chance. She got sorted into Slytherin like her sister Daphne. Astoria was overjoyed though Sia did not miss the small falter in Ginny's smile.

Then some students got sorted into different houses before Luna's turn. Out of everyone who got sorted till now, Luna was the calmest. She walked up to the hat, and within seconds, it concluded Ravenclaw. Sia looked at Kar and found that her usually expressionless sister had a spark in her eyes. After all, Luna was always one of her favorite characters.

After almost fifteen minutes, when only a few students were left, Professor McGonagall called for Ginny. The hat shouted 'GRYFFINDOR' after a few seconds' pause.

Immediately after Ginny, McGonagall called for Sia, "White, Sierra."

Sia walked over to the stool, trying to maintain her confidence, though this was harder to do than say. She picked up the hat and sat on the seat. As she placed it on her head, it slid down to cover her eyes and drown her in darkness.

"Hmm. Another White. You are complicated, just like your sister," Sia heard a voice in her ears after a pause.

"Slytherin is out of the question, as you are neither sly nor very ambitious. As you have loyalty, so Hufflepuff might suit you. Ravenclaw, too, is suitable, though your thirst for knowledge is not your main quality. But Gryffindor is where you will be able to shine with your true potential. You are courageous," the hat continued talking.

All the while, Sia stayed quiet. She did not want to influence the hat's decisions, as she was genuinely interested in knowing her house according to her qualities and nature.

"You have no demands?" the hat asked after a pause of silence.

"No. I want the house that fits me," Sia replied quietly.

"Alright then, GRYFFINDOR," the hat called the last word aloud for everyone to hear.

Sia got up from the seat and placed the hat back on the school. She went over to the table, which was cheering loudly. Sten stood there to welcome her with a hug. Ginny grinned at her, and the twins gave her a thumbs up. She wished she could have seen Harry's reaction.

Sia settled in a seat between Sten and Ginny. Then she looked at the other tables. Kar gave her a big thumbs up, whereas Al smiled at her in encouragement. Finally, Sia turned to the Slytherin table. She found Draco staring at her, but he turned away as soon as she smiled at him. Unlike him, Theo and Astoria returned her smile quite enthusiastically.

"I'm so happy we are in the same house," Ginny spoke up, pulling Sia's attention.

"Me too," Sia returned her smile.

Just then, Dumbledore stood up to announce the beginning of the feast. The food appeared on the gold plates, and everyone dug in.

Sia enjoyed the dinner as people continued to introduce themselves to the first years. The dinner ended at almost ten o'clock when the desserts disappeared. Two students with prefect batches stood up and called for the first years. Everyone was sleepy after the delicious meal and only wanted a place to sleep.

Sia wished Sten and the twins goodbye as she pulled a half-asleep Ginny to follow behind the prefects. They walked through many corridors that Sia was sure most of the first years would forget tomorrow. She tried to memorize it as much as she could.

After about fifteen minutes of climbing, they reached a portrait of a fat woman in a pink dress.

"Password?" she asked.

"Wattlebird," the prefect said, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a hole in the wall.

Everyone followed the prefects inside as they started explaining some basic rules.

The Gryffindor Common room was a cozy, round room full of squashy armchairs. Students of all the years were present there, gossiping about one thing.

"Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley arrived in a flying car. Someone said they saw they smash it into the Whomping Willow," Sia heard a young boy excitedly inform his friend who had just come.

"What did you say?" Ginny, standing beside Sia, also heard it and immediately enquired.

The boy turned around and excitedly started explaining, "Harry and Ron came to Hogwarts in a flying car and crashed into the Whomping Willow. The crash was so strong that many of the tree's branches broke. Someone saw Snape catch them, and they say he was about to expel them, but McGonagall stopped him. Professor Dumbledor was furious."

Ginny immediately turned around as soon as the boy finished. She pushed her way across the crowded room towards Fred and George. The twins were standing in the middle of the crowd.

Unable to handle the noise, Sia decided against following Ginny and told her she'd wait near the fireplace.

Gryffindor dorms had its perks for being located in one of the highest towers, the beautiful view, for instance. But this also resulted in a cold temperature. Sia could not even bring herself to imagine the temperature of the Hufflepuff and the Slytherin dorms which were present in the dungeons.

Because of this, the fireplace was a necessary commodity for the students, and the house elves did a fine job keeping the fire roaring at all times.

Sia sat on one of the comfy chairs near the fireplace and roamed her eyes around the room. She could recognize quite a few faces from their descriptions in the books, but most of them were foreign to her.

Soon bored by the chatter, Sia took a book from the small backpack that she had kept with her and started reading. She only looked up after about fifteen minutes when Harry and Ron entered the room.

People immediately surrounded the two boys, not giving them space to breathe. Everyone was excited to know what had happened. Unable to handle so much attention, Harry made up some excuse and slipped away from the crowd, though it seemed that Ron had different ideas as he stayed back for another hour or so.

After almost two hours, the crowd started thinning, and Ginny returned beside Sia before they made their way upstairs.

The first-year dorm was circular with four four-poster beds, each having a bedside table and cupboard. Above each bed was a window, providing a beautiful view of the night sky. From the corner of the room, a door led to the bathroom.

When Sia and Ginny arrived, two girls were already sitting in the room. One of them had short black hair and specs that covered her warm chocolate brown eyes. The other had straight chestnut brown hair that reached till her waist and was currently tied in an intricate braid.

Sia smiled at the two and started the introductions, "Hello, I'm Sierra White, you can call me Sia, and this is Ginny Weasley."

The other two girls greeted them with smiles, and the black-haired girl spoke, "Hey, I'm Eden Nolan, and this is Phoebe Zeller. You can call us Ed and Bea."

"Do you guys know each other from before?" Ginny asked, confused. Sia, too, was confused. The two seemed very familiar with each other.

Ed and Bea glimpsed at each other at this before Ed started explaining, "We have known each other since we were two. My parents are wizards, so I was unhappy that we'll be separating, as Bea is a muggle-born. But it turns out Bea was also a witch."

"Wow. That's some extreme luck," Ginny commented with a whistle.

It was almost midnight, and everyone was sleepy. Though tomorrow was a Sunday, the girls decided to turn in early and take a tour tomorrow.

___

Sia woke up at seven when Bea shook her. They proceeded to wake Ginny while Ed was bathing, which proved very hard as Ginny slept like a log.

After an hour, the girls went to the Great Hall for breakfast. It had only first-year students with few others. It was because the first years could not sleep till late due to all the excitement.

After finishing her breakfast earlier than the others, Sia decided to meet Luna and Astoria, who sat at their respective tables.

She went across the hall to the Ravenclaw table and sat beside Luna, who was currently reading the latest edition of 'The Quibbler.'

"Hey, Luna."

Luna looked up at her and stared for a second as if her mind and body were in different places. Only after a second did her eyes focus on Sia, and she closed the magazine on the table.

Getting the cue, Sia continued, "We were planning on looking around the castle today. Would you like to join us?"

She did not have to wait for long this time as Luna nodded her head with a simple smile.

"Alright then, I'll meet you in the Entrance Hall in half an hour," Sia waved her hand. Luna went back to her magazine.

She then made her way to the Slytherin house table. It had comparatively more kids. After searching for a second, she spotted Astoria sitting with her sister and her friends.

She sat on the seat beside Astoria, which was empty, and greeted everyone with a wave, "Hey, Astoria. Good morning, Daphne, Theo, and Draco."

Daphne nodded at her and returned to her newspaper, and Draco nodded while continuing to eat. Unlike them, Astoria smiled at her brightly with her mouth full of food.

Theo greeted her back, "Good morning, Sia. How was your yesterday?"

"Oh. It was awesome. I'm enjoying it here," Sia grinned as she took a cherry passed by Astoria.

"I'm having a great time, too," Astoria said as she gulped the food in her mouth.

Everyone fell silent after that, getting busy eating. Sia, too, started eating some potato chips that Astoria fed her after every few seconds. But this comfortable silence did not last for long.

Draco spoke out of the blue, "So you guys must have celebrated last night, right?"

"Celebrate?" Sia tilted her head in confusion, looking at Draco. He was still looking at the plate.

"Yeah. The Gryffindors must have celebrated Potter's grand entrance," after a short pause, Draco looked up with a smirk.

Sia narrowed her eyes at him, "Are you sure you want to go this way?"

The moment The Sorting Hat had shouted Gryffindor, Sia knew some things were bound to change, though she had hoped they won't. But if Draco wanted to act like a jerk, she would not stay quiet and let him run his mouth.

Draco's face hardened a bit, "Yes. I'm sure you must be happy going into that Potter's house. After all, he was always your favorite, right?"

Sia frowned this time, "Excuse me, but you have got everything wrong. First, you and Theo are just as important to me as Harry is, so please don't give me this 'more favorite' thing. Second, if my being in Gryffindor spoils our friendship, then I can see how little you thought of it. I will try my best to maintain our friendship, but if you continue to be this way, I don't see any use in doing that."

Draco pursed his lips and stayed quiet.

Theo, who was silent till now, finally spoke up after seeing everyone quiet, "Sia, I want you to know that nothing is going to change between you and me. This idiot might have other thoughts, but don't connect them to me. You were, and will continue to be, a very close friend to me, almost like a sister."

Sierra smiled at him, "Glad to know that, Theo."

She looked at Draco for the last time before turning towards Astoria, "Me, Ginny, and Luna plan on touring the castle today. Would you like to join us?"

Astoria nodded her head enthusiastically.

Sia then bid goodbye to everyone and returned to the Gryffindor table.