Rising to power.

The sorting.

Harry, Stephanie, Archie and Cedric all stood in a small room within Hogwarts waiting to be called into the great hall so they could be sorted. McGonagall had all informed the uninformed about the house system which pretty much is what Harry already knew along with the fact that any actions deemed worthy of reward would earn points for their house and the opposite for actions deemed worthy of punishment. At the end of each year, the points are tallies and a House Cup is awarded to the House that has obtained the most points.

Harry and probably most of the other first years were also able to see their very first ghost as the Slytherin ghost, the Bloody Baron, floated into the room they were waiting in and just glared at them all for a while silently with slightly intimidating eyes. The blood stains on his ghostly white outfit were commented to 'probably' be apple sauce by some naïve girl waiting with them in the room.

"What do you think they'll have us do to get sorted?" asked a nervous Archie, more to Cedric and Stephanie because Harry hadn't seemed like the talking type since they'd met.

"How in the name of Merlin's balls am I supposed to know?" countered a grumpy Stephanie, she didn't like being made to wait.

"It is unbecoming of a lady to use such language Stephanie" Harry piped in, for the first time in their conversation; Archie, expecting his long friend to blow up at the somewhat sexist dig at her, gaped incredulously when she merely blushed while looking away from him and murmured an apology.

Cedric seemed to find the scene amusing as he just offered a chuckle "I asked my father before we boarded the Hogwarts express about how we get sorted, he said that it's a secret and that nobody going to Hogwarts for their first time should know how…"

Harry nodded dismissively, still leaning against the wall and looking off into space. The other three just assumed he wasn't really paying attention, but in truth, to pass the time, Harry was practising clearing his mind for his Occlumency lessons to pass the time.

Archie frowned in thought "What if we have to fight a dragon? Yeah, I bet that's it…and depending on how we go about it, they decide on what house we belong to…if we defeat it in fair combat, we go into Gryffindor, if we outwit it, we go into Ravenclaw, if we befriend it, we go into Hufflepuff and if we use our cunning to strike it down from the shadows, we go to Slytherin!" Archie exclaimed, thinking he was the most brilliant man in the world for deducing such a cunning theory.

Some of the other first years who overheard his theory were looking pale and more frightened then ever at his theory while Stephanie was glaring daggers at him and Cedric trying to suppress a laugh.

"You are the biggest moron if have ever had the displeasure of meeting!" shrieked Stephanie "he has no idea what he's talking about, they won't make us fight a dragon" Stephanie said to the others in hearing range, trying to calm them down somewhat.

"You have a better idea then?!" Archie challenged, his pride hurt at being shot down so easily.

"Yes" Stephanie provided "They assess our personalities with some magical object and judging by the assessment, they place us into a house that would suit us best" she offered and Harry had to admit, as he overheard, that it seemed like a well thought out and reasonable guess…maybe too well thought out and reasonable. Harry looked her directly in the eyes after she was done and noticed with satisfaction that she looked a little nervous and embarrassed under his gaze. He found it funny.

"As if it would be that simple Stephanie" Archie countered, looking as pompous as you would expect a pureblood politician would be "I still say my theory is better."

"Well, that's why you're a moron" she countered eloquently before looking at Harry and blushing again in embarrassment causing Harry to smirk again amidst her apologies.