Well, this chapter is considerably longer than I had expected. And it took a few days longer because my birthday yesterday got into the way of writing. Alas, here is the new chapter. Hope you all enjoy. I seen I have many hits but not many reviews. Me, sad. :( Reviews make a writer happy!

A couple of hours into the train ride, Dalina and the other three had opened up more, chatting about this and that, including what they expected their school life at Hogwarts to be like. Lorelei was the only one of the four in their carriage to offer any actual facts as she had her older brother's experiences to pull from. As Dalina learned, both Esther and Alvin were only children like she was. Lorelei had her older brother Finian and a younger sister named Moira who would start Hogwarts in three years' time.

Eventually a witch with a tea trolley had come by and asked if they wanted to buy any goodies. Lorelei was the first to purchase some treats, not one to shy away from the fact she came from money. Esther bought a pumpkin pasty only, while Dalina got both a pumpkin pasty, a chocolate frog because it intrigued her and a strawberry flavored lolly. Alvin was asked last by the trolley witch, but he shook his head and the witch went on her way to the next carriage. Dalina looked at him while Esther and Lorelei enjoyed their treats, noting he had probably declined because he didn't have enough to spend on extras.

Not to single him out and embarass him, Dalina held out her lolly to him. "I think my eyes were bigger than my stomach," she told him nonchalantly. "Do you want this? I don't want it to go to waste."

Alvin met her look and smiled slightly. "Yeah, sure." He took the lolly and slowly unwrapped the plastic covering. "Thanks."

"No problem," Dalina shrugged.

Eventually the sun had set and the children on board had already changed into their school uniforms and robes by then. Before they knew it, Hogwarts Express began to slow down as it pulled into Hogsmeade Station. They grabbed up their animal carriers, cage in Esther's case, and whatever extra belongings they had on them at present they brought along as the got off the train.

It was like organised chaos as Dalina looked around, unable to see over most the heads of the older students. She had no idea where she was supposed to go or what to do; Esther, Alvin and Lorelei seemed just as confused. That was until she saw an incredibly tall and robust wizard with dark hair to his shoulders that reminded Dalina of steel wool and dark beard that was bushy and as equally coarse-looking as his hair. He was dressed simply in dark brown and rust colours, a brown duster of sorts about him for a coat. He was holding a lantern up and gesturing toward some docks.

"All firs' years this way wit' me," he called out. "Don' worry none 'bout yer luggage. It'll all be brough' up t' the castle."

Esther grabbed a hold of Dalina's hand. "So we don't get separated," she announced, trying to put on a brave face, though it was probably out of the fear of getting lost and not knowing anyone else yet. Lorelei and Alvin, excluded.

Dalina just smiled and held her new friend's hand as they followed the group of First Years splitting off from the large pack of older students heading in another direction toward a bunch of horseless carriages. The First Years were being lead toward some docks where several small boats were located. The tall, robust wizard who introduced himself as Rubeus Hagrid, Hogwarts' gamekeeper, ushered the First Years into the boats. Dalina ended up in one with Esther, a blonde boy who introduced himself as Leviticus Malfoy and a ginger boy named Oscar Fielding. Once all were in the boats, they began to moved on their own, without the help of paddles, out into the lake at the base of Hogwarts Castle.

Soon enough the castle came into view and Dalina was spellbound. It sat up high above the lake on the hilly terrain like something out of every fairytale Dalina had ever been told or read on her own whilst growing up.

"It's better than I imagined," Esther muttered, taking the words right out of Dalina's mouth.

Leviticus gave Esther a withering look. "We aren't even there yet."

She shot him a look right back. "But it looks cool from the outside."

"It's just a castle. Haven't you ever seen a castle before?"

"Not one I was going to live in!"

Dalina rolled her eyes in amusement over the pair arguing back and forth over something so petty. She just ignored them, catching the look of Oscar who seemed to share the same thought process as her, that Esther and Leviticus were bickering for no good reason.

Eventually, the boats reach another set of docks closer to the school and all the First Years along with Hagrid got out, with him leading the way up to the castle. Esther reached for Dalina's hand again, this time as a comfort thing; as friends. Dalina's chest swelled slightly, liking that she already had someone she could consider a good friend. She liked Alvin, Lorelei and Leviticus as well, from the amount of time she had gotten to know them on their travels. Granted the travel time with Leviticus was shorter within the boats, but he was also cute, so he had that in his favour. Oscar, on the other hand, hadn't talked much so she couldn't get a proper feel for him.

As they all reached the main entrance to the castle, Dalina's breath hitched and bit her bottom lip. The doors opened and they filed in where they were met with all the older students once more. In the front of everyone was an old witch in green velvet robes and a pointed black hat with wide brim atop her head. Her hat was cliche of all the witches hats Dalina had ever seen in cartoons or pictures. The older witch began to dictate to the older students to head into the Great Hall while the First Years were to wait.

They couldn't see into the Great Hall where the older students went as they were a about two metres back from it and the doors closed on them anyway. There was no telling what the layout of the Great Hall was. The anticipation was just about killing them all though.

The old witch in front of them introduced herself to the eleven year olds in her presence with a firm expression laced with a ghost of a smile. She could see that the children were nervous and wanted them to be at ease with their new surroundings.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. My name is Professor Minerva McGonagall, I am Deputy Headmistress," she greeted them officially. "Now, in a few moments you will pass through these doors, and join your classmates. When we enter, you will all follow behind me and do try to do so in an orderly fashion. I do not want any stragglers to fall behind."

Just then the doors open, McGonagall turned to face the Great Hall and then stepped forward without another word. It was unspoken that the First Years were to immediately follow behind her.

As Dalina began to walk into the large room, her black dress robes swished around her and she took notice of all the candles lighting up the place, and levitating several metres above the ground. "The candles are floating!" she cooed to Esther.

"Look at the ceiling!" Esther exclaimed in an excited whisper.

Dalina followed her new friend's gaze upward at the ceiling and saw that it appeared it wasn't even there. It looked like the starry night sky that was outside. "Wow," was the only word Dalina could manage. She brought her gaze downward and looked briefly at the faces of all the older students seated at four separate, and very long tables, looking back at all the First Years with amused, expectant and slightly intrigued expressions on their faces.

Suddenly, Dalina bumped into someone in front of her and muttered a quick apology when she noticed McGonagall had stopped at the base of an elevated area where another long table with adults sat. There was also a podium with some sort of bird with full wingspan adorned to it. In the center of the area was a stool and a brown, leather wizard's hat that was patched and frayed and had obviously seen better days, or years rather. McGonagall stepped up to the area and turned to the First Years before her.

The hat suddenly sprung to life, startling several of the students in the front. They had long since abandoned any order and stood, resembling a mob, watching as the hat began to sing a song.

"A thousand years or more ago

When I was newly sewn,

There lived four wizards of renown,

Whose names are still well known:

Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor,

Fair Ravenclaw, from glen,

Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad,

Shrewd Slytherin, from fen.

They shared a wish, a hope, a dream,

They hatched a daring plan

To educate young sorcerers

Thus Hogwarts School began.

Now each of these four founders

Formed their own house, for each

Did value different virtues

In the ones they had to teach.

By Gryffindor, the bravest were

Prized far beyond the rest;

For Ravenclaw, the cleverest

Would always be the best;

For Hufflepuff, hard workers were

Most worthy of admission;

And power-hungry Slytherin

Loved those of great ambition.

While still alive they did divide

Their favourites from the throng,

Yet how to pick the worthy ones

When they were dead and gone?

Twas Gryffindor who found the way,

He whipped me off his head

The founders put some brains in me

So I could choose instead!

Now slip me snug about your ears,

I've never yet been wrong,

I'll have a look inside your mind

And tell where you belong!"

When the song ended, McGonagall pulled out a parchment from within her robes and looked upon the Frist Years before her. "When I call your names," she spoke to them, "you will come up here and take a seat upon this stool. The Sorting Hat shall be placed upon your head and declare what House you belong in. After it is decided you will join your new housemates at your House's table." She looked knowingly at them. "While you are here at Hogwarts, your housemates will become your family, your House will be your home."

Then the names were called. The first name was Julian Coughlan, a boy Dalina had noticed only briefly in passing when they were first getting into the boats. He walked up nervously to the stool and sat down on it as McGonagall placed the hat on his head. It began to move about as if it was whispering something to Julian. After a few short moments, the Sorting Hat bellowed, "Ravenclaw!"

The students at the table to the far right of the Sorting Hat erupted in in cheers and applause, causing a smile to break out onto Julian's face as he hopped down off the stool, almost forgetting to take the hat off his head. He quickly turned and plucked it off, setting it down on the stool before heading over to the Ravenclaw table.

"Lorelei O'Neill," McGonagall called, clearly not going in alphabetical order.

Lorelei sauntered up to the stool as if she had done this all before, which she never had. It could only be chalked up to her brother Finian having informed her of what to expect. She sat down on the stool very ladylike and placed the hat on her head. But before it was completely on, it announced, "Slytherin!"

Several more students were sorted into all four houses before anyone else Dalina had made the acquaintance of was called up for their turn. Then it was time for Leviticus. And as with Lorelei, the hat wasn't on his head a few seconds before it declared him to be another Slytherin. He walked off proudly to join his housemates and a part of Dalina wished she could be in that house too, simply because she still thought him cute and had already gotten to know both Lorelei and Leviticus and liked them well enough.

"Esther Talmudge."

Esther looked nervously at Dalina, but it was excited nerves. She gave Dalina's hand a squeeze. Wearing a determined expression, Esther stepped through the group of students in front of them and ascended onto the stool, placing the hat on her head. She began to make a face as it was clearly saying something to her.

Finally, "Gryffindor!"

The Gryffindor table to Dalina's immediate left cheered and clapped for their newest addition. Esther beamed and gave Dalina a quick thumbs up before marching over to table. Dalina decided then that she was set on being in either Slytherin or Gryffindor. The others she had befriended were in both houses so far.

Three more names were called and those three were sorted; one into Hufflepuff and two into Ravenclaw.

"Dalina Blackmore."

Dalina's head whipped toward McGonagall. She swallowed back a lump in her throat and took a steady breath before walking up to the stool. She eyed the hat for a moment and cast her eyes over to the table where all the professors sat. She caught sight of Dumbledore seated in the largest chair in the middle and he smiled briefly at her. Picking up the Sorting Hat, she set it on her lap while she hopped up onto the stool and finally lifted it up to place on her head. The hat seemed to force itself down around her ears and began to speak quietly to her.

"Hmm...you are interesting. A bright mind...you'd do well in Ravenclaw."

"No," she muttered.

"No? It's Gryffindor or Slytherin you desire, hmm? Well, let's see...in Gryffindor I see you as a great and loyal friend, standing up for those you love above all else. In Slytherin I see you going after your dreams. You have ties to Slytherin you don't even know about. This is a tough one."

"Just pick one of the two, I don't care," she spoke.

"Quite a bold remark, Miss Blackmore," the Sorting Hat murmured, as if it was amused with her. "Gryffindor!" it bellowed in her ears and to everyone else.

Dalina looked up and saw Esther's face light up, clapping her hands excitedly before the rest of the Gryffindor table could. Dalina was fine with the decision. Hopping down from the stool she placed it down and was almost positive the hat winked at her before she turned to walk down to the Gryffindor table and take the empty seat beside Esther.

"This is great! We get to be housemates now! Maybe we'll be able to share a room, too!" Esther all but squealed.

"Alvin Scabior."

Dalina just nodded at Esther and turned to see Alvin head up to the stool as she and the others had done before him. After a few moments of the hat on his head, he was declared to be another Slytherin. Dalina was slightly crestfallen. It was turning out that most of the people she had chummed with during their travels here were ending up in Slytherin. Esther was the only one so far in Gryffindor, where Dalina now was. She watched as Alvin sauntered over to the Slytherin table, which was at the far left of the Sorting Hat. He took a seat beside Leviticus and both smiled over at Dalina who smiled back. All three gave each other a look that suggested it was quite a bummer they couldn't be in the same house together. Dalina was tempted to ask for a redo, but she really liked Esther and the other Gryffindors seemed really nice from the greetings they had given her when she first sat down.

She looked down the length of her own table toward the direction of the older students and noticed the red haired girl and brown haired boy with John Lennon-esque eyeglasses from just before she boarded Hogwarts Express. They were busy joking amongst each other and three other male friends; one was rather handsome with shaggy, shoulder-length brown hair, the second was another brunette who looked rather astute, and the third was blonde and portly. Dalina moved her eyes back down the Gryffindor table and back over to the Slytherin one. She noticed the black-haired pale boy with the slightly hooked nose she had seen on the train. He was chatting with some bloke his age and occasionally stealing glances up toward someone at the end of the Gryffindor table where Dalina had just been looking.

Dalina hadn't even realised the Sorting Hat ceremony had concluded until she heard Dumbledore's voice echoing throughout the Great Hall. She turned her attention to him, noticing the stool and Sorting Hat had been moved out of the way and he was now standing at the podium with the bird on it.

"Welcome to another school year at Hogwarts," he greeted. "It is always such a pleasure to see students return here for yet another term of furthering their education within these hallowed halls, and to see the bright-eyed faces of new students ready to embark on the journey before them, and perhaps to make a little mischief," he added which garnered some laughter. He held his arms out wide, making his fingers dance with that last word. "I will not bore any of you with a speech, that is what your classes will be for. So, enjoy the food and have a fine time getting to know your housemates!"

Suddenly food appeared on the tables and Dalina's eyes widened at the extensive variety of meats, vegetables, fruits, cheeses, breads, desserts and candy. There were full glasses of some sort of orange-tinted juice that wasn't actual orange juice, as well as several bowls of punch for each section of each house table.

"Where'd this all come from?" Esther muttered in disbelief, immediately reaching for a chicken leg.

"House-elves."

"Elves?" Dalina and Esther both looked at a smallish boy their age who had been sorted to Gryffindor at some point before them. He was very wiry, with thin brown hair and a bit of freckles on his face. He really looked more like he was eight years old rather than eleven.

"How do you know that?"

"My family parents inherited a house-elf on the death of my Gran a few years ago. We already have one, Pippy, and didn't need another, so my dad sent the spare here to Hogwarts to work in the kitchens in the basement. I have twin sisters, Jane and Joanne, they're Fourth Years. They told me about how the elves work in the kitchen right below us and there are four identical tables to the tables in here. All the elves have to do is put the food on the table and with magic it appears in place on our tables."

"Where are your sisters?" Dalina craned her head, trying to look down the table to the older students who might resemble the boy talking to her and Esther.

"Oh, they're not in Gryffindor. They're in Hufflepuff."

"How come you're not in the same House as your sisters?"

The boy shrugged. "I dunno. I'm the first person in my family not to be in Hufflepuff," he explained. "It was a bit of a shocker, to be honest. But I hear Gryffindor is one of the best Houses to be in."

Esther and Dalina in looked at each other and smirked.

"Well, it's not as if there is a large selection; there are only four Houses," Esther quipped.

"Alright, then. It's the best House to be in," the boy amended, just as an older Gryffindor student came walking down to their end of the table and slapped him on the back.

"Ain't that the truth!"

The older boy sat down between the younger one and some First Year girl. Meagan Flaherty. Dalina remembered her name being called for the sorting. The older boy looked between the First Years and smirked. He was the brunette, astute-looking one of the group of mates from the other end of the table that had been joking around with the red haired girl and the boy named, James is she remembered correctly, from Platform 9¾.

"Remus Lupin, Seventh Year, Prefect," he offered his hand across the table to Esther first. She popped a piece of something into her mouth and then shook his hand.

"Esther Talmudge," she answered after swallowing the bit down.

Remus looked at Dalina. "Dalina Blackmore," she offered up, shaking his hand next. She was confused. She didn't know that the older students would be this friendly to First Years.

They all looked at the younger boy as Remus turned to his right to look down at him, hand offered. Neither Dalina or Esther had caught the boy's name during their chat about the house-elves.

"Jeremiah Herman," the boy finally replied.

"Nice to meet you three," Remus smirked. "Just a heads up, if you ever feel like you're being bullied by any member of the other Houses, and when I say that I mean Slytherin, come let my mates and I know." He jestured to the boy James, the more shaggy-haired teen, and he tubby blonde. "James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew are their names. Those are my best mates but there are other Seventh Years in our House who will be at your side in a heartbeat. Really, it doesn't matter what year the others are in. Loyalty and bravery is what Gryffindor is all about. We need to stick together." His face suddenly changed from lighthearted to taking on a slightly more serious expression. "Darker times are upon us. The world isn't what it used to be and if we can't depend on each other, what can we depend on, right?" He tried lightening the mood again by giving Jeremiah a quick ruffle to his brown hair. "Well, as you were."

With that, Remus moved down a few more seats to introduce himself to another batch of First Years.

"What do you think he meant by darker times are upon us?" Esther wondered leaning closer toward the middle of the table and whispering so only Dalina and Jeremiah could hear her.

Dalina shrugged. "I don't know. I don't want to think about any dark times. I want to think about good times." She grabbed up her glass of juice and took a whiff. It smelled like pumpkin. Slowly she took a sip and inwardly cooed. It was delicious. Her second sip was more of a gulp, downing almost half the glass in one take.

"Here, here," Jeremiah agreed with Dalina's sentiment. He lifted his glass to hers, hoping she would clink with him in cheers.

Smirking, Dalina obliged him and brought her glass up until it clinked with his, she then did the same to Esther's glass, causing Esther to bring her glass up so she could clink Jeremiah's. All three giggled and even got Meagan Flaherty and a couple of Second Years in on the cheers, even if they weren't paying attention to what the three particular First Years were cheering to.

As welcome banquet drew to a close, the food disappeared from the tables and the students were all finally led out of the Great Hall, following behind their house Prefects, Remus being one of them. The Hufflepuff students went down a staircase that lead to the Hufflepuff basement; where Jeremiah mentioned the kitchen was probably located near to. Slytherins also went downward, heading toward the castle's dungeons.

Dalina saw Leviticus, Lorelei and Alvin as the four houses began to part ways. They each waved back at Dalina and she at them. Meanwhile, Ravenclaws and Gryffindors all headed toward seemingly the same direction, only to split up at the last minute. The Ravenclaws went to the West side of the castle, up to the fifth floor to Ravenclaw Tower, whereas Dalina and her fellow Gryffindors went up another two floors toward Gryffindor Tower, all the while blown away by how the staircases moved around on them.

When they reached a large portrait of a Fat Lady, Remus spoke, "Pumpernickel." The portrait swung open and Remus, five other Prefects, Head Boy James Potter and some unnamed Head Girl remained behind as they allowed the rest of their housemates to enter through the circular hole behind the portrait.

Dalina slipped on through, walking down a short corridor before entering into a tall, circular room with two very tall windows on either side of a fireplace which was already roaring. There were scarlet tapestries on the walls of wizards and witches and even animals, and they were moving! The armchairs and sofas looked pleasantly comfy, there were a couple of tables, a bookcase, and there was a bulletin board with several ads, school notices and posters.

"All your belongings will be in your dormitories already," announced a Prefect girl. "Those two doors over there lead to spiral staircases. One for the boys, on for the girls. And boys, don't even think you can sneak into the girls' dormitories. Their is an enchantment protecting such an action."

Dalina giggled underneath her breath. She wasn't too interested with sticking around and looking at the common room. She wanted to pick a bed before it was too late. She quickly hurried over to the door for the girls' dormitory and began to run up the spiraling staircase till she reached the room where she found her things. Another girl had already beat her there and claimed one of the two poster beds closest to the window in the room. With a smile sent to the girl, Dalina went for the second bed closest to the window and hopped on it. It was soft with a bit of bounce to it.

She wondered how many students had slept in this bed before her. Would she have this same bed all seven years? Would she switch off? Dalina hoped not. She liked where this bed was.

"Aw," came Esther's voice. "You got a window bed." She turned and stepped over to the bed against the wall on the other side of Dalina's, across the room from the window. "I guess this will have to do."

Dalina was in her own world. She slid down from her bed and began to unpack her things. She took poor Rhiannon out of her cage and noticed food trays were already available for the animals in the rooms. Dalina wondered if house-elves were responsible for that as well. After her clothes were packed into a dresser and her robes hung in a small, narrow closet, she put her books on a shelf to the right of her bed and pushed her luggage chest and animal carrier under her bed and out of the way.

"We can do magic now, you know," came the voice of the girl who had already been in the dormitory first. "We're only allowed to do magic on school grounds. If we do magic outside of school before for we're seventeen, we could get in serious trouble. So you didn't have to physically push your things under your bed. You could've done this." The girl pulled out her wand and pointed it at her own luggage and then muttered something.

However, instead of moving the luggage with magic as the girl had intended, the lock on the chest exploded. Sparks shot out, startling all three girls and when the black smoke cleared, the girl turned to face Dalina and Esther with an ashen face and hair only faintly singed. "I guess I have to work on that charm."

Dalina and Esther fell into a fit of giggles and jumped onto their respective beds. Dalina laid her head down upon her pillow, staring up at the underside of her bed's canopy, thinking about how she hadn't even thought about being away from home until that moment and she realised she was okay about it. Granted, the homesickness could always kick in within a week or so when she least expected it, but Dalina was so full of excitement and nerves and thoughts she couldn't focus on anything depressing.

Life was going to get so amazing!

UPDATE (Oct. 13, 2011):

My home computer has been out of service since the 24th of September. I can't afford the extra memory to install into it so I can run the virus cleaner-upper program I have. Until then I can't do anything for this story which SUCKS. I had the entire next chapter for this story all written and it's saved to my home computer but I can't even use the internet to send the story to my email or save it to a floppy disk to upload the story from elsewhere because both the internet and my floppy disks won't work because of the massive virus raging thru my PC. Be patient. As soon as I can fix my computer, hopefully before the new year (ugh) I will be able to write again. Worst case scenario I have to wait until a few months after the new year when I get my income tax returns to buy a laptop. Again: ugh!