Last chapter of the Sorting! Before my next story :D I don't know yet if it's going to be posted as part of this story, or a whole new one! Any thoughts?

Thank you for reviewing last chapter: histoire merveilleuse, Sunset on Heartache, Kitty Bridgeta, mystlyx, Someone aka Me, Likewow5556, talapadme and Arlath's Daughter

This story is dedicated to anyone who has reviewed or read it. Thank you all!

Also, just as a note: Thank you to Kitty Bridgeta for Gina Simmons, Arlath's Daughter for Meghan Blackmoor and mystlyx for Liv Donovan and Gabriel Elliot! Your contributions are much appreciated, and look out for your characters recurring! Hehe, that means you have to read the sequel!

Introductions were being made on the Gryffindor table once more when Scamander, Lorcan was called. Both Albus and Scorpius noticed Lysander giving his twin a subtle push, and grinned.

"Nice to meet you," Lorcan said happily to the Hat once it was on his head.

"You too. A lot like your mother, aren't you? She had a lot of bravery too. A shame that Gryffindor missed out on her, but she had a philosophical curiosity that deserved Ravenclaw."

"And me? How did I do in that dream test?"

"You remember that? Of course, you were woken before the end. Everyone else forgot, you see, although a few Ravenclaws have questioned me when I've mentioned it in my little chat here. But you refused to cheat for noble reasons."

"Why would other people refuse to cheat?"

"Well, a Slytherin would refuse because it compromised their ambition, or their family or it wasn't practical. Ravenclaws because it wasn't logical. Hufflepuffs because it was dishonest, because it wasn't fair. As for yourself, because it was wrong. Or because others needed it far more. That applies to GRYFFINDOR!"

Lorcan removed the Hat and nodded to it. It tilted its tip just slightly, and Lorcan walked calmly to Gryffindor amid the applause. Scamander was quite famous, if you looked at the authors of your textbooks. A required text for Care of Magical Creatures was "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them", which now bore the words 'revised and edited by Rolf and Luna Scamander'.

Lorcan sat with Scorpius and Albus, but they didn't have time to talk before "Scamander, Lysander" was called.

Lysander sighed as he pulled the Hat on.

"Troubled?" it asked.

"No. It's just going to be strange being so far away from Lorcan."

"How do you know you're not going to end up in Gryffindor?"

"You're right, the day I see a flying pig will be the day a person like me ends up in Gryffindor. I'm hardly chivalrous, or brave."

"New dimensions to you every second, isn't there? You're one of the hardest people I've ever Sorted. Intelligent enough to be Ravenclaw, but their philosophical discussions bore you. Kind and patient enough to be Hufflepuff, but you're neither the most honest nor the most hard-working. Noble enough, and brave enough to be Gryffindor, whatever you might think. Not particularly self-sacrificing, however. Hugely protective of your family. That's quite a Slytherin trait, these days. But your mind is what gives you away. Seeking those odd little directions others might miss. Cunning. You have it by the buckets. No direct ambition as yet, but with your set of skills, you'll end up somewhere. And hopefully you'll be helped on your way in SLYTHERIN!"

The Slytherin table applauded as Lysander headed towards them, Lorcan clapping too.

He sat down and smiled around at the others. There were quite a lot of new Slytherins so far, and it took a few seconds to get all the names and faces arranged in his head.

Aisha walked forwards as her name was called, filled with relief. She was sorry for Lysander, not ending up with his twin, but now she would be with a friend, no matter what House the Hat called out.

She sat down and pulled it on, wondering what to expect. Lia had warned her that it spoke to you - but that didn't stop her from jumping when it did.

"You were interesting," the Hat commented in her ear. "A dead cert for Gryffindor, or so I thought at first. Sure, you were afraid at first – but then you stood up to that Chimaera, though you had the least experience. But I got a better look into your mind when you fell asleep. That ambition! So full of it that I could taste it. Once upon a time it was to go to a top-ranking university, although nobody in your family had ever done so before. Now you're not certain, you don't know enough of the wizarding world. But you know you want to end up with one of the highest jobs. You notice things that might help you with your ambition; you question people not because you're interested in facts like a Ravenclaw but so that you are aware of how they fit into your world view.."

"You make me sound awful!" Aisha gasped, and then froze. "Can people hear me?" she asked.

"Nope. Everything you say is under a silence barrier. Anyway, I don't mean that you interrogate people consciously. And they're flattered when you learn their name, or remember their history. You put intelligence to a good use. Work hard for what you want. You wouldn't be opposed to a spot of trickery, but not for what matters – it takes away from your feeling of satisfaction when you achieve something."

Aisha felt uncomfortable about the character dissection, but listened intently. Knowing your own faults and strengths was always good. "Oh no! Is that what it was talking about? Everything being related to achieving my ambitions." she thought, horrified.

"It is what I was talking about. And yes, I can hear what you're thinking. No, I can't see your memories. Only surface thoughts. Any more questions? What House are you heading to? Well, there's only one answer. SLYTHERIN!"

Realising that this was the Hat's version of a dismissal, she took it off and placed it on the seat before heading to the Slytherin table. She smiled in relief at Lysander and sat next to him in the place he squished up to find.

"I'm sorry if you're disappointed not to end up with Lorcan, but I am so glad that you're here. Plus Scorpius and Al will look after him."

Lysander smiled. "I know. And I can't stick around my twin for the rest of my life. It'll be interesting, being a bit separate. We've always come as a package deal before."

Aisha turned to the rest of the table. "Aisha Siddiqui," she introduced herself. She listened to the names given in return, deciding to follow what the Sorting Hat had said and carry on with being who she'd been before it had said anything.

She paid particular attention to the girls, knowing that they would be sharing a dormitory with her. She was used to sharing with her sister, but this would be different. "And hopefully better," she mused, remembering how many fights she'd had with her sister.

Meghan, Violetta and Natasha had all been on the same boat, though they hadn't gotten far. Aisha made a mental note to look up the name 'Goyle' – Violetta had clearly expected a reaction when she'd introduced herself as Violetta Goyle, and not a good one from the look on her face.

Meghan was a sweet-looking girl with black hair, but Aisha reminded herself that they had been Sorted here for cunning and ambition, and she probably wasn't as sweet as she looked. She was chatting in a liliting Irish accent to Natasha Jowett, a blonde whose sharp nose gave her otherwise undistinguished face an extra dimension. Glancing around, Aisha caught Liv Donovan's eye for a moment. The other girl was doing the same as her - sitting silently, taking the measure of her new housemates. They smiled politely and glanced away, distracted by a first-year boy further up the table clapping as Jeremy Towler was Sorted into Ravenclaw. Another boy joined the Slytherin table, choosing to sit with the boy who had clapped.

Waring, Abbey was Sorted to Hufflepuff, and then it was Rose's turn. She walked forward, leaving Imogen Yen as the only student remaining.

"Nice to meet you," the Hat greeted. "It's fascinating, you know. What the mix of your father and mother has made. Her brains, her logic. His tactical skills – I see you're a great chess player too, and I expect you'd be just as good a Quidditch captain. Not as open-hearted as your mother, but a wonderfully open mind. Now that's intriguing, because I'm afraid both your parents lacked that. Like your mother in your absence of faith, which is very different to your father. Not the most trusting individual, are you?"

"What do you say to the Muggleborn students? You can't compare them with their parents." Rose asked.

"Now, was that impatience or curiosity? A bit of both, I'd say. You've certainly plenty of the latter. And the former – that's why you're not a Hufflepuff. You do have bravery, if you have to, but you'd much rather let someone else do it first. Slytherin wouldn't be terrible, though your only ambition is to be known as someone other than your parents' child. But you are logical, and curious. And you love the philosophical details, no matter how pointless they are. That decides it. Please, watch their faces. It'll be hilarious when I shout that you are going to RAVENCLAW!"

The Ravenclaw table burst into applause. They had a Weasley! For the first time in generations.

Alice clapped too, delighted and surprised. She'd seen the intelligence in Rose, but she was still a Weasley. Whatever the Hat had said in its song, she'd never expected that.

Rose couldn't resist looking at the Gryffindor table. There were several open mouths, including Fred, Dominique and James, although she noticed Albus smiling and muttering something to Scorpius. She saw Roxanne give her a thumbs-up, and grinned back in response.

Taking a seat at the Ravenclaw table next to Alice, more than a few shocked faces greeted her.

"You're a Weasley. In Ravenclaw," one girl gasped.

Another boy shrugged. "My dad says that Hermione Weasley could have been a Ravenclaw. She's a genius." He nodded at Rose Weasley. "Jeremy Towler. My Dad was in Gryffindor with your uncles."

"Which ones?" Rose laughed. "I've got way too many."

"Fred and George. They were crazy, according to him. He has the weirdest stories. My mum was in Ravenclaw though."

Imogen Yen joined them at the Ravenclaw table, and as the Sorting Hat was put away, food appeared on their plates. They all began to tuck in, hungry after the strange day they'd experienced. From what the second-years were telling them though, it had all taken place in less than ten minutes in the real world.

"My Mum was Ravenclaw too," Imogen said. "My Dad's a Muggle though, but he works in the MoD - Ministry of Defence, it's the Muggle version of Aurors - so he already knew about our world."

"My parents didn't," a sandy-haired girl, who Alice remembered to be named Kate O'Keefe, sighed. "They're both Muggles, so we all had a bit of a shock when Professor Samson turned up at our door."

"Which one's Professor Samson?" asked the girl next to her, a serious-seeming black girl called Gina Simmons. "It was Professor Longbottom who turned up at my house."

As Kate pointed out Professor Samson, a small, friendly-looking man whose cheeks were splattered with freckles, Duncan Kirke frowned at Alice. "Professor Longbottom's your Dad, right? So you must know who all the teachers are."

"Pretty much," Alice replied. "If I don't, Rose will. Half of them are probably related to her. The Weasley family extends quite far."

"Can you tell us?" Kate asked. "It'd be a lot better if we turned up to our first lessons knowing what to expect."

"Well, my Dad teaches Herbology. He won't yell if you do something wrong, but if you ignore him and hurt the plant then he gets kind of mad. Professor Samson is Head of Hufflepuff, and probably the nicest professor. He teaches Defence Against the Dark Arts, but he's very flexible about homework and stuff. Although, if you keep being late with your work, you'll end up being the test dummy for most of the hexes."

"He's an ex-Auror, so he does know what he's talking about," Rose added. "The Head of Ravenclaw is Professor Flitwick." She pointed him out. "He teaches Charms, and he's quite enthusiastic. But he expects you to pay attention to him. He's quite old-fashioned with his methods, probably because he's the oldest teacher. Professor Pucey is Head of Slytherin." She pointed out a dark-haired, pale-skinned man whose slightly bent-looking nose was offset by strong-looking square chin. "He's very fair, apparently, but we won't meet him for years, since he teaches Ancient Runes. Sat next to him is Professor Corner. Potions. He can get a bit sarcastic, but remember that he isn't being sarcastic when he talks about how amazing Potions is. He means it. He gets really, really excited about Potions. He doesn't generally mind you laughing about that though."

Alice took over the conversation again. "Professor Hagrid is the one who took us across on the boat. He's pretty enthusiastic about his subject too, he really wants you to just have a go. That's Care of Magical Creatures, which we again don't get until third year. Same for Muggle Studies, which is Professor Stebbins." She indicated a man with closely cut brown hair talking to another brunette, a woman this time, whose hair fell in waves over her shoulders. "He's talking to Professor Whitby, who's going to teach History of Magic. She's new this year, and he's only been here a few years more so I don't know much about them."

Alice was getting into her stride now. This was her favourite part of knowing things, and something that she kept quiet – she actually liked tests, because they gave her a chance to say what she knew. "Professor Firenze teaches Divination, although he's not here right now."

"He's the Centaur, right? My Dad told me about him," Anthony Stretton said. "He said he taught really strange things."

"Yeah, he does. Nothing much about crystal balls, but more about stargazing and things. He's helped change the Divination OWL too, so it's more about that, and scrying in smoke and water rather than tea-leaves, which are pretty inaccurate. Professor Sinistra and Professor Vector are the pair talking over there. They're best friends, apparently. They teach Astronomy and Arithmancy, respectively. And the only Professor left is Professor Bell, who does teach us. She teaches Transfiguration, and she expects the best, consistently, out of you. Don't even try telling her that you're having a bad day - she once told a student 'well, glad to know I'm not ruining a good one,' and gave them detention. But she is a good teacher, if you listen."

Similar conversations were taking place across the Hall, if not about the teachers then about the subjects, the dorms, the Quidditch teams, the ghosts, the castle – everything the new students might be interested in.

And as the first-years settled into their first meal at Hogwarts, the Headmistress watched.

"It looks like it might have worked," Neville said to her. "All that clapping for friends at the Sorting was a good sign."

"I hope so," she sighed. "As long as they carry on that way, and none of the other years influence them to act otherwise."

"We're going to be more on watch for House/House fights," Neville pointed out. "And they'll lose more points for those involved. Plus all the Heads of Houses are planning on giving their welcoming speeches on unity."

"Along with how friendship with other Houses doesn't mean that you don't need to beat them in the House Cup," Professor Adams said wryly.

Neville grinned. "Alright, that's a pivotal part. Is and always has been."

"And hopefully, always will be. It's good for them. I think."

Thank you ever so much if you have read, reviewed, Alerted, Favourited (is that a word) this story. It means so much to me that you think what I've written is worth your time.

Let me know if you think the sequel to this should be posted in a new story or not.

I hope you all have wonderful, profitable lives. And that you read my next story! :D