The Great Hall was full of chatter. The students already at their tables sounded excited. Some of them were talking about what they did over their summer holiday, others talking about their plans for the year, and some fawning over friends they hadn't seen since June. The small children standing in between the two middle tables were shifting and glancing about anxiously, the surroundings very new to them.

"Students, please," Headmaster Albus Dumbledore called from the front of the hall; the chatter quieted until a silence blanketed the room.

"I would like to welcome you all to another wonderful year here at Hogwarts. We will begin with the sorting of our first years, since they do seem so excited to sit down," and with that, he drew forth a stool with an old hat atop it. "Minerva, if you would," he gestured toward an older woman with pursed lips, holding a book in her hand.

"Yes, let us begin," Professor McGonagall began, opening the book to the first page. "Aiderson, Mary," she called.

A small girl emerged from the throng of first years. She looked absolutely petrified as she approached the stool. Professor McGonagall lifted the hat so she could sit down, and then placed the hat on top of her head. She sat there wide-eyed for about ten seconds.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat yelled, causing the small girl to leap nearly a foot into the air.

Professor McGonagall removed the hat from the girl's head as a thunder of applause came from the Hufflepuff table. She ran from the stool and sat down.

Slowly, the students were sorted into their respective houses. One of them, Warrington, tripped on his way up, earning him a room full of laughter. He ended up in Slytherin. Another one, Cho Chang, actually began to cry as the hat was placed on her head; many of the students could not hide their snickering. She ended up in Ravenclaw.

"Roth, Sara" called Professor McGonagall.

From the remaining students, a cute girl with blond hair emerged and made her way toward the hat. She beamed up at Professor McGonagall, who returned it with a very rare smile of her own. The girl sat down on the stool, and McGonagall put the hat on top of her head.

"Hmmmmmmm, now this is quite interesting," Sara heard the hat speak, though she knew no one else could hear it.

"What's that?" she asked without actually speaking to it, just thinking the words.

"Well, my dear, " the hat began, "you are quite the conundrum. You are brilliant and have a sharp wit, which inclines me to put you in Ravenclaw. You are also very sweet and a hard worker, which makes me think you might be best in Hufflepuff. You have a strong and brave spirit, which makes me lean toward Gryffindor. But you are cunning and are a pureblood, which might make Slytherin a good fit. I recognize the name Roth, I believe your father was in Gryffindor?"

"Yes, indeed," Sara thought back.

"Yes, and I can see that your good nature and brave spirit far outweigh your other qualities… I believe-"

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat bellowed.

Thunderous applause erupted from the table to the far right of Sara. As Professor McGonagall lifted the hat from her head and gave her another quick smile, Sara made her way over towards the Gryffindor table. She had almost made it to the end where the other first years sat when she felt someone reach out and grab her arm. Well, two someones, actually.

"Oi," one of the boys who had grabbed her arm whispered.

"You should come sit here," the other boy on her arm added; he was nearly a mirror image of the other.

"It'll be so droll over with those newbies," the first one said with a wink.

"And I think we'd like to get to know you," the other said, also with a wink.

Before she really knew what had happened, Sara found herself seated between the two identical redheaded boys while the few remaining students were sorted. The final student was sorted and the stool and hat disappeared with a pop as Professor Dumbledore stood once again.

"Now, you all must be hungry. I believe that we can start the feast. Please, get to know one another and enjoy some delicious food," and with that, a plethora of food appeared on all of the tables and the students began to dig in.

The two redheads turned toward Sara at the same time.

"Sara Roth, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm the great Fred Weasley, second year," the one on the left announced.

"We're glad that you have been sorted into Gryffindor with us. I'm the much more humble George Weasley, also second year," the one on the right smiled; Sara noted that he had a small mole on his neck, his voice was just a touch deeper than Fred's voice, and he had a kinder smile than Fred.

"Well, it's very nice to meet you both," Sara giggled, turning back and forth between the two boys.

Both of the boys piled too much food onto their plates and began to eat. It was much like watching two pigs approach a newly stocked trough. They ate as if the food would disappear. George at least ate with his mouth closed. Sara laughed at the two boys as she put a normal amount of food on her plate and began to eat.

Throughout the meal, Sara learned much about her new friends. Fred and George came from a large family. Their oldest brother Bill was working as a Curse Breaker in Egypt. Charlie, who was two years younger than Bill, had graduated from Hogwarts the year before and was now working with dragons in Romania. Their brother Percy was in his fourth year; he had Fred and George's red hair, but seemed more standoffish. Their younger brother Ron was to come to Hogwarts next year, and their younger sister Ginny the year after. Their father worked for the Ministry of Magic in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office. Their mother stayed home with them.

"What about you? What's your story?" Fred asked with a mouthful of desert.

"Well," Sara began, "it's just me and my dad back home in Ireland. I never really… knew my mum. She died when I was a baby, and dad doesn't talk about her much. I'm pretty close to my godfather too, so I don't really feel like I'm missing out on parental love or anything. My dad also works for the Ministry. He's on the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad."

"That's pretty neat. Do you get to hear about all of the stupid things that kids do?" George asked with a laugh.

"Yeah, dad's told me stories," Sara said, rolling her eyes.

"You'll have to tell us if you hear anything interesting," Fred said, finally finishing his dinner.

Professor Dumbledore spent the rest of the evening going over the rules. Fred and George kept themselves quiet while he spoke. With a brief good night, the students were dismissed from the Great Hall and sent off to their respective dormitories. Fred and George stuck close to Sara, talking back and forth throughout the walk while the rest of the first years stuck to themselves.

"I'm afraid I'm not going to make any friends in my year. They've all sort of gotten into their own little cliques," Sara said nervously, biting the inside of her cheek.

"Love, what do you need those youngsters for?" Fred laughed.

"Yeah, you've got us. Much more mature and distinguished. We won't leave you friendless!" George exclaimed.

Both boys extended an arm for her, and Sara took it. She was glad to have friends. She didn't really need anyone else as long as she had these two boys to look out for her.