The Order of Mischief I

1.2

They sailed closer to the large castle that proudly stood in the middle of nowhere. It was a massive building with light glowing from several windows. The children were in awe as they got closer, anxiously and excitedly waiting for the time to enter the front doors and explore what was inside. The boats glided onto the shore, all anchored side by side as the students quickly began climbing out. Many of them cheered as they safely ended their journey. Their guide ignored their reactions and lead them inside, smiling as they routinely gasped and whispered about the school's magnificence. They moved through winding corridors before they finally approached what was introduced to them as the Great Hall. The large double doors were closed and the children awkwardly waited outside of it.

"Thank you, Hagrid," a lady with a triangular witch hat said, replacing the familiar lead. She was a woman of average height, with black and white hair and a scary, stern face, when not smiling. She radiated a sense of maternal warmth when she smiled at the students, ready to welcome them to their new home.

"Professor McGonagall," the gamekeeper bowed and greeted her before disappearing deep into the castle. Everyone watched him leave before they looked back at the teacher ahead.

"Welcome to Hogwarts!" she held her hands together and quickly studied the children's face. She spoke again, "You will all be sorted into the four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. These houses will be your team, your new family, within these castle walls. You will attend some of your classes with your house and spend most of your time with them, and even sleep in your house dormitories."

McGonagall began to calmly pace before the students who strained to hear more, "Each house comes with roots so deep and noble, throughout history. You will all be expected to triumph within by earning house points; of course, any rule breaking will cost you points. At the end of the year, the leading team, the house with the most points, will win the House Cup. And to be placed within a house, you must all partake in the Sorting Ceremony. But before you go inside, I expect you all to straighten your robes and make yourselves presentable."

Without saying anymore, she turned around and stared at the door, leaving it to the students to fix themselves behind her. Skirts were straightened and shirts were tightly tucked in, while hairs were combed with fingers to look tidier. As soon as the faint sounds of scrambled movement and ruffling of clothes ended, she turned around and nodded her head in approval. The students smiled as they watched her wave her wand to open the doors.

"Welcome!" a white-bearded man declared, smiling at the students as he gazed at them through his glasses. But the younglings were too distracted with the attention they received from their seniors that sat along the four, long tables. The heads of the tables were empty, most likely for the children who would soon sit there.

"Look up," several of them whispered to each other as they walked through the hall. The top of the room was filled with stars and dark clouds, bewitched to look like the night sky, the prettiest version anyone could imagine.

They arrived at the dais of the teachers' platform, where a long table sat sideways, hosting the professors' meals. In front of the table was a stool, where a crooked, black hat sat. Professor McGonagall picked up a scroll and unfolded it, pulling up the hat. She informed them, "You will sit on this stool here when I call out your name. I will place the hat on your heads and it will announce your house name. After that, you will walk to the table of your house and join your new friends."

No one said anything, instead the first years nodded as they anxiously waited. They knew they would be called upon in an alphabetical order, all of which was assured when an 'Abrams, Andrew' was called up and placed in Hufflepuff. He happily hopped off the stool and quickly walked to his table, his peers cheering him as he joined them. The waiting process seemed long as the professor read from the scroll, calmly splitting the children into their age-old foundations. The teachers applauded each student as they smiled and nodded in encouragement.

"Black, Sirius," McGonagall called out. The daughters of Zion grew more attentive as they watched quietly. The raven-haired boy settled on the stool and grew anxious, more than the rest. He was scared.

"Gryffindor!" the Sorting Hat shouted, and the red team began screaming and cheering, welcoming the still-scared wizard to their table. He glanced back at the girls and smiled, the pleasantry was returned. Soon, another name was called and the list went on, the room shifting between short-lived quietness to another short round of joyful cheers. The Zion girls were certain they would be called last, unless there was another person whose surname began with the letter 'Z'.

A few more names were called out, forcing the size of the remaining children to shrink. McGonagall announced, "Potter, James."

The black-haired boy smugly walked atop the dais, sitting on the stool. Before the hat could rest on his head, it already declared him a member of the Gryffindor house. The boy laughed and cheered himself on as he walked past the girls, winking at them before he sat on his table. Shanking hands with a red-haired girl called 'Lily Evans', before high-fiving his too fast-friend, Sirius Black. The two boys cheered louder than the rest for themselves, forcing the headmaster to clear his throat loudly, to silence them all. Then the ceremony continued and it was clear that the two boys were trying to guess which house each student would be placed in, before their house was announced.

Quickly, the ceremony was coming to an end, narrowing the line to the four girls who anxiously waited for one another.

"Zion, Anya." And the hall froze, as if all the air was sucked out of the room. They were exposed and forced to deal with their realities. Anya turned around, her eyes landing on James who watched her quietly as his peers began to whisper about their identities. He looked calm and curious to see what would happen next, but she felt guilty for lying to him. Sirius, who sat near him, watched quietly, with a worried expression. Quietly, she began to move towards the stool and the whispers of her peers faded. She sat on the warm stool and began to fidget with her fingers, looking at the back of the hall, rather than at the faces inside it, as the hat was placed on her head. The animated object quietly, as if thinking, before finally declaring her a member of House Ravenclaw. She stood up and turned to face the teachers who smiled warmly at her while her house cheered. She walked down the dais and stood at the bottom of the stairs, turning around to watch her relatives' experiences first-hand.

McGonagall did not seem to mind her reluctance as she called out the next Zion family member, Eralia. The room was too quiet, not even the faint whispers of James and Sirius could be heard. The oldest of the four sat on the chair and smiled at the professor, she seemed more confident than her cousin as she stared at the faces of the other students.

"Hufflepuff!" the house announced. Eralia nodded, as if coming to terms with her placement and smiled at the professors before standing by Anya and waiting for the last two, despite her house's welcoming cheers. Anya, however, was still watching James who looked amused at the scene before him.

"Zion, Nahara." McGonagall called for the white-haired girl, who readily approached the seat and sank into her place. The hat whispered to her as she stared up at it, impatiently waiting for it to decide her place.

Finally, the hat did, "Slytherin." The green coloured peers began to scream out at her and she smiled, hopping off and looking to find her professors shocked and confused by the situation at hand. She did not know why, but she cared little for it as she knew she did nothing wrong.

"Zion, Sahara." The last name was called out and the three girls anxiously waited. Anya played with her fingers as she avoided looking up, Eralia watched patiently, while Nahara stared curiously. The last of the students climbed onto the stool and waited for the hat, but before it could rest on her head, just as it had with James, it decided she was a Gryffindor member. The students once again cheered and Anya looked up to find all the professors in shock, even Professor McGonagall. She turned to look at James and Sirius, they both watched carefully, but Sirius was more confused and worried for them.

Sahara joined her cousins and smiled at them, all of them as confused as the other, especially as they watched the twins part to be placed in two different houses. Without saying anything to each other, they looked at their new teammates, who cheered them on as they settled into their seats, waiting for the supposedly extravagant feast to appear. But the headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, stood up and transformed the wooden stool into a golden panel, proceeding to give them the official welcome speech.