Still is probably the correct word that Ethan would use to describe the atmosphere in the room. Everything was fine this morning before he and his sister arrived at Platform 9 ¾ for the Hogwarts Express. He wonders what happened to make the mood so tense, but he has a few theories.

Him, Agnes, Julia, Lauren, Hannah, and Maria sit together in one compartment on the train. Leah wanted to sit with them, but she found her other siblings and settled there instead. The ride is about halfway over and no one has said more than two words to each other.

Julia flips through her small notebook over and over again. She forgot about it last year, as she was so preoccupied with her friends and the adventures with the potion they had. Her first year, she made this notebook into a logbook of butterflies she and Lauren found around campus. Somehow, she was able to find 152 different species. Maybe she should take that up again.

Agnes sits curled up in the corner right by the slider door, which in of itself is unusual. Usually Agnes likes to sit by the window so she can watch all the trees fly by and gaze on the brilliant blue sky. She has a giant Quidditch book open to a random page in the middle. To make sure no one is reading over her shoulder, she keeps the book close to her face and her knees against her chest. Instead of reading about all the different Seeker techniques, Agnes has part of Alana's map unfolded, and she stares at a circled item in Gringotts vault 711.

Lauren plays with Hannah's hair, experimenting with different braids and buns she comes up with. As she does so, she leans on the wall and gazes out the window with her legs crossed. She doesn't really think about anything, just taking calming breaths and blinking as the scenery changes around the train.

Hannah has her eyes closed as Lauren brushes her thin, light brown hair with her fingers. She keeps thinking about the last time they were all on the train together, and how different it was. They bonded so well with Alana the first time they met her, and now she's no longer able to be here with them. Hannah has a hard time not crying as they ride to Hogwarts.

Maria crosses her arms, sitting slumped in her seat. She keeps looking around each of her friends to see if they'll say anything. Once or twice she's tried to start a conversation, but either they're ignoring her or they give her two worded answers. Hours pass and when it's time to change into their robes, Maria finally cracks. "I can't take this anymore. I get that none of you want to talk and just sit here in your own little gloomy rain clouds, but is that what Alana would have wanted? Can't we just try to have a good year?"

"I'm up for that." Julia smiles and softly closes her book. She looks around at her other friends, glad to see that their attention is no longer preoccupied with their small activities. At least, most of them aren't. Agnes only peeks over her book before returning to her map.

"So, uh, who's excited for the Sorting?" Lauren asks as she finishes Hannah's duel braids.

Everyone looks over at Ethan, and even Agnes slowly closes her book. Ethan lets out a small breath and shrugs. "I'm pretty sure I'll be in Gryffindor. After all, I was practically a second year Gryffindor last year."

"Everyone would gladly welcome you back into the common room, Ethan." Hannah giggles, making everyone else crack a smile.

Ethan leaves to let everyone change into their robes, and then the girls wait for Ethan to change into his own. Right after the sun sets, the train stops and everyone piles outside. Maria, Hannah, Julia, Lauren, and Agnes find carriages to ride up to the castle while Ethan finds Leah and makes sure they get a boat together.

"Woah, look at that!" Ethan stands up excitedly and points to the large building. Most of the lights are lit up on the inside, making the windows all glow an orangish-yellow color. Even though he was here last year, Ethan was never able to see the castle from the boats. It's almost an entirely new experience. "That must be the Astronomy Tower that reaches the stars."

"I wonder what it's like on the inside!" Leah's breath is practically taken away as she stares at Hogwarts. Her brilliant blue eyes start watering as the school gets nearer. "I can't wait for classes."

"I bet it's beyond anything we've ever imagined."

Ethan was right, it truly is beyond anything Leah could ever imagine. She has a hard time taking in all her surroundings as they walk through the halls, following a stern looking professor in emerald green robes. Ethan pretends to be awestruck as if this was his first time in the castle, which isn't that hard. The scenery is enough to blow anyone's mind if they haven't been here all summer.

The witch in front makes a final turn and then stops, looking at the first years. Ethan recognizes her as Professor McGonagall. "When I call your name, come out to the front to be sorted into your houses. While you're here at Hogwarts, your house will be like your family. Earn points as rewards for every success you have here, and if you break any rules, then you will lose points. At the end of the year, we total the points, and the house with the most points will win the House Cup. The four houses are Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Remember, wait until your name is called, and then you can come out to be sorted!"

Julia, Hannah, and Agnes wave to Maria and Lauren as they go to the Gryffindor table for the Sorting. Agnes sighs, a bit tired, but is also excited to have Ethan sorted into Gryffindor. Hannah waits patiently while Julia taps her foot on the ground, wishing they would just get on with it. David slides over to them and whispers, "You hear about the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers?"

"Teachers?" Hannah squints her eyes and turns to her older brother. "You mean we have more than one?"

"That's what Gwen said. She's been helping to plan new clubs for the school, including a Defense club! Apparently we have two professors for the subject." Julia notices a little redness in David's face when he mentions the sixth year Gryffindor girl he has a crush on.

Instead of asking David more about Gwen, Agnes comments, "Hopefully one of them isn't Snape. I don't think I could bear the thought of him taking away the best subject in this school."

Agnes swears she sees Professor Snape, a tall, black cloaked man with a long nose and an annoying hatred for the Gryffindor house, glance at her from the Head Table. She quickly looks away and Julia whispers, "I'm sure it's not him. The new professor probably has an assistant or something."

"Are you excited for the Sorting to start?" Maria turns to who asked the question to see one of Hannah's younger siblings, Stephen, staring at her with interest. "I hope Leah comes to Hufflepuff with us."

"You know her better than I do. You think she's fit for it?" Maria asks as she tightens her ponytail. She understands where Stephen is coming from. Out of the seven siblings, only five of them are now old enough to come to Hogwarts. Stephen is the only one who is in Hufflepuff, while Katie is in Ravenclaw, and David and Hannah are Gryffindors.

Instead of brightening up, Stephen looks down at his lap and blinks. "Could go either way, I suppose." Stephen isn't sure why he asked. Maybe he just wanted reassurance that he will have some family with him in his house.

"It's alright. You'll always have me." Maria smiles to make Stephen feel better. "Plus, even if she isn't in your house with you, that doesn't mean you can't see her at any time during free periods or weekends."

Stephen smiles back weakly and displays his attention back onto the Head Table as the Sorting begins. Professor McGonagall brings out the Sorting Hat and a stool for the first years to sit on. She stands to the side and unravels a long roll of parchment. Starting at the top of the list, she reads off the names in alphabetical order. It doesn't take long for Ethan's name to be called. "Copper Ethan."

Maybe he didn't think they would notice or their memory would have dwindled a bit over the summer, but most of the professors stare at him intently, recognizing him from last year. Professors Snape, McGonagall, and Flitwick are the ones that make him cringe under their stares the most. When he gets up to the Sorting Hat, he is beyond relieved that it covers his eyes so he can't see anyone looking at him anymore.

The Sorting Hat laughs in Ethan's ear. "That is the most priceless thing that I have ever heard!"

"Maybe, please, stop reminding me of my break in from last year. Just sort me into Gryffindor and get on with it." Ethan thinks, wishing he could get out of the limelight.

"Gryffindor? I sense tremendous bravery in you, kid, but never reckless or out of instinct. Everything you did last year was planned thoroughly. Not to mention you were the one who discovered how to complete a very complex potion." The Hat points out. "Plus, you were never one for showing off. I can tell you want to get out of here and sit with everyone else."

"Fine. Just do what you have to do to get me out of here." If Ethan could yell at the hat, then he would have.

Finally, the Sorting Hat takes a big breath and yells, "RAVENCLAW!"

Almost all of the Gryffindors, Lauren, Stephen, and Maria yell, "WHAT?!" as Ethan gets the Hat taken off of him and he speed walks to the blue and bronze table. Even some of the professors are frozen in their expressions, not knowing what to think. Lauren pats his back comfortingly as he buries his head into his arms.

The Sorting resumes as normal as it can. Dylan Gornés is put into Ravenclaw as well, but Jacob Lamar struts up to the Gryffindor table. There's just as much Slytherins and Hufflepuffs being Sorted, but for some reason the Gryffindor table's cheers stick out the most to Ethan. Finally, they get midway through the list and Professor McGonagall says, "Miller Leah."

Leah quickly walks up to the front and brushes her long, dark brown hair behind her right before the hat is placed on her head. Ethan wishes he could hear what the hat is saying to her, praying that she gets put into Ravenclaw with him. His head perks up and he leans forward when the crease in the hat starts to move like a mouth.

"GRYFFINDOR!" Ethan's face falls and he buries himself back into his own arms. He doesn't watch as all of his family members clap for Leah as she skips over to the red table, sitting next to her family. Julia gladly lets Leah sit between her and Hannah. David basically jumps on top of her while Hannah congratulates her.

Everyone sits for the rest of the Sorting, only occasionally clapping when someone joins their house. After Professor McGonagall rolls up her parchment and carries the stool and hat away, Professor Dumbledore walks up to the podium. The students quiet down and listen, wondering if he will say anything about what happened last year. Dumbledore, however, smiles and says calmly, "Welcome to another great year at Hogwarts. Before we begin the feast, I would like to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Professor McLaughlin, and his assistant, Mr. Harlowe." The two men stand up as they are introduced, and the students clap for them. Dumbledore continues after they sit back down, "Dig in!"

"I'm excited to get our schedules tomorrow. Mixing up our classes will put a real good spin on things," Julia says as she puts ketchup on her potatoes. "Are you ready for classes, Leah?"

"Oh, yes! David let me practice some spells when mum and dad weren't looking. Just don't tell Katie." Leah forgets for a moment that she's sitting next to Hannah, but the other Gryffindor just sighs and keeps eating.

"I'm not going to tangle myself with any more drama this year," Hannah says, promising to herself not to willingly get involved with too much.

"Me too. I'm just going to try to keep to myself and focus on my electives." Agnes can't be too obsessed with the map, for she is very excited to finally take the Care of Magical Creatures class.

"I'm sorry that she didn't get into Hufflepuff, Stephen." Maria tries once again to make the second year feel better.

Stephen fixes his bangs so they're out of his eyes and chuckles, "It's fine. From the day I chose Hufflepuff, I knew that I might be alone here."

"Don't worry, you're not alone! You have me, and I'll introduce you to my cousin." Maria turns to her side and puts a hand on a redhead's shoulder, gaining her attention. "Stephen, this is Claudia, my cousin. Claudia, Stephen is Hannah's younger brother. You've met her, right?"

"Yeah, of course! She's in choir with us." Claudia smiles and reaches across the table to shake Stephen's hand. "It's your second year, right? Do you think you'll join any clubs?"

"Yes, actually. My brother was telling me about this new Defense Club he heard from his girlfriend. It sounds really cool." Stephen is grateful for the new company, glad that he finally has someone to talk to at dinner.

Ethan has lost his appetite. He remembers how hungry he was when he first boarded the Hogwarts Express, but now he can't even stand to look at his silverware. If only he could go back in time and redo the Sorting, then he could be in his proper house. He was just so pressured to get out of the center of attention. Why did he have to be Sorted in front of everyone?

"Don't you want some meat, Ethan?" Lauren nudges him gently and gestures to the food with her fork.

Ethan looks up at the Head Table, sees Professor Snape glance at him, and then stares back down at his lap. "Trust me, if I eat then I'm going to be sick."

"Ravenclaw is not all bad," Lauren says, but can't think of anything that can change his mood. "I'll tell you all the tricks to getting into the common room. We get a tower just like Gryffindor."

"Yeah, and we can dorm together," Dylan, a kid who was also on the boat ride with Ethan and Leah across the lake, offers. "And be partners in class."

With that newfound knowledge, Ethan is happy enough to eat at least some things for dessert. Lauren is just glad that he is eating something before bedtime. Once the feast is over, Dumbledore takes the stage again and the food vanishes off the plates. "Now, I wish to say a few words before you all head up for a good night's rest. I'm sure you all are aware that the death eater who took the life of Ms. Alana Carth has been tried and sent to Azkaban. There will be no reason to dwell on the past, but to focus on the future. The future of you, the brightest students of our generation. Let's have a fantastic school year, shall we?"

Everyone follows their prefects as they file out of the Great Hall. The first years seem to travel in tightly knit groups, not wanting to get lost in the intimidating hallways. Leah, however, follows David at the head of the group, wanting to be the first person to enter the Gryffindor common room. When they learn the new password and gather through the portrait, Leah jumps onto a couch. "You know, I might just stay here the whole time and not go to class."

"I thought you were too excited for classes to start." Julia rolls her eyes playfully, not knowing if Leah is just teasing or not.

"I'm joking. Of course I'm going to class. Why would I skip?" Hannah and Julia shift their feet awkwardly, not saying anything in response to Leah's question.

Agnes screeches suddenly, gathering the attention of the people around her. She lifts up her arm to reveal a huge spill on the left pocket of her robes. "Ugh, my robes!"

"Looks like you spilled some cranberry juice on the side." Hannah points at the darker splotches across her left side, noticing they have a dark red tint to them.

"I don't even like cranberry juice. Someone next to me must have spilled it." Agnes quickly reaches into her pocket and pulls out a parchment. Luckily, there are no stains on it at all that she can see. "Thank goodness."

"What's that?" Julia asks as everyone else starts getting ready for bed and heading to their dormitories.

"Nothing." Agnes puts the parchment back into her right pocket and heads up the stairs. Hannah and Julia are right behind her, still interested in why Agnes cares so much about the spill and the parchment.

"Then why make such a big fuss about it?" Hannah points out, getting on Agnes's nerves.

"It's part of my summer homework, okay?" Agnes turns to glare at Hannah for a moment before opening up their dorm's door. Nothing much is said in the Gryffindor's dorm that night, but Agnes pulls out the parchment and unfolds it, staring at the map and barely getting any sleep.

Maria walks with Claudia and Stephen over to the Hufflepuff common room. When she gets to her dorm room, she becomes saddened. It's just her and Claudia in the dorm now because their other three roommates... left. Mary, Kyah, and Emmy left due to events caused by Chase Volek, and Alana was her other roommate who came because there was an open slot. Maria sets up her usual bed and gets easy to sleep, trying not to think too much on the topic.

"Ria, can you sleep?" Claudia whispers after a few long minutes of trying to catch some z's.

Maria turns over and looks at her cousin. She has her curtains ties up so that she is able to see Claudia's face. "No... I keep thinking about her."

"I didn't know Alana as much as you did, but I keep thinking about her too." Claudia sits up and wipes her eyes on her sleeves. "Can I sleep with you tonight?"

"Yeah." Maria sits up as well and scoots over as Claudia leaves her bed. They both snuggle into the covers, silently crying and holding each other close.

Ethan gets a dorm room with Dylan just as he promised. He introduces himself to three other boys who join them, but he doesn't have the brain capacity right now to remember them. He didn't realize how tired he was at the feast, but after that stressful Sorting he is ready to hit the pillows.

"Did you see the way that creepy professor was staring at you, Ethan?" Dylan asks with interest. Clearly he is not that tired because of his pepped up voice.

"You mean Professor Snape? I have no idea." Ethan doesn't think now is the best time to explain the entire story of what happened while he was undercover at Hogwarts last year. Luckily for him, Dylan doesn't ask anymore questions, allowing him to sleep.