The morning of the first of September was crisp and bright. Artemis, as she had predicted, awoke earlier than usual, even though she had struggled to sleep the night before. She sprung out of bed and picked out a pair of baggy jeans and brightly coloured jumper to wear to the station. Really, she just wanted to put on her school robes, but she knew that she had to wear Muggle clothes until the train left London. She caught sight of herself in the mirror, and patted down her mane of dark hair in an attempt to make it look neater. As usual, she was unsuccessful; her hair seemed to have a mind of its own, and there was so much of it. She would just have to look scruffy, like always.

Artemis' mother was still in her bedroom. Artemis put the kettle on the fireplace to make her a coffee before she ventured in. She knew better than to try and wake up her mother empty-handed.

"It's time to get up, Ma," she said, placing the cup of coffee on her mother's nightstand and opening the curtains. The sunlight poured through the window, where it fell on the stirring Sara Hexley. "We have to go to the station so I can go to school."

"You don't start school until September first," Sara said to her daughter, rising from her bed.

"Today is September the first," said Artemis. "You are still going to help me with my things, aren't you? You promised you would."

"Yes, yes," her mother murmured. "I'll get myself ready now."

Mrs Hexley got herself ready so slowly that Artemis could feel her reluctance to leave. Obviously, her mother regretted agreeing to walk her to the station. Artemis ran circles around the house, trying to hurry her. After what felt like an age, the pair left the house and walked past the terraced houses of Lovelace Crescent. They walked in silence through the streets of Camden to Kings Cross Station.

"We're here!" Artemis exclaimed, speeding up as they turned the corner and station came into view. She turned to talk to her mother, but she was no longer next to her. Artemis stopped and looked back. Her mother was stood, frozen on the spot at the corner of the road. Artemis ran back to her and gently pulled her arm. "Ma, come on. I don't want to be late to meet Rowan."

"You go on," said her mother, her voice quiet.

"But -"

"I'm not going inside," her mother shook her head, her voice louder now. "You can manage the rest of the way, can't you?"

"You promised to take me to the station!"

"We are at the station," her mother's tone became brisk, almost sharp. "Look, it's right there."

Artemis stared at her mother, who didn't meet her eye. She sighed deeply.

"Fine, I'll manage," she said, taking the rest of her belongings from her mother and stacking them on top of the trunk. "I'll see you soon, I guess."

"Have a good term," said her mother. The two of them stood in silence for a moment as Artemis hesitated, looking at her mother. She took a deep breath, before wrapping her arms around her waist in an embrace that Sara Hexley didn't return.

Letting go, Artemis walked away from her mother towards the station without looking back. She wasn't the sort of child to cry, in fact, Artemis hadn't cried since the night her brother had left. She didn't see the point in tears, they never changed anything.

She focused on looking for Rowan, and trying not to topple the items that were precariously stacked on top of her trunk as she walked through the already busy station. This proved a difficult feat, and she almost lost her coat, as it slipped off the top of the trunk. Luckily, a red-headed lady picked it up off the floor and handed it back to her. The lady had an entire flock of boys with her, all with the same shade of bright red hair, and although they were wearing Muggle clothes, Artemis noticed a pair of trunks not dissimilar to her own. She thanked the red-haired witch, and continued to follow the signs pointing to platforms nine and ten, her eyes peeled for Rowan's dark hair and silver glasses.

"You look like you're struggling with all that."

The eldest of the red-haired boys had caught up with her. He was lanky, towering over Artemis, and clearly not a first-year like her. Artemis got the feeling that his mother had probably told him to give her a hand. She shook her head stubbornly.

"I'm not struggling with anything," she told the boy, who raised his eyebrows at her. "Honestly. It's fine, I'm meeting a friend. Thanks."

She restacked her belongings, and looked up to see Rowan waving at her from beside a sign with a large number nine on it, and a clock that showed the time to be ten thirty. She sped up, moving as quickly as she could without losing anything from the top of her trunk.

"You're wearing the jumper we bought in Diagon Alley," she said, after a brief introduction to Rowan's parents. Rowan's mother was tall and slender, like Rowan, and she was pushing a pram with a sleeping baby inside. Her father was short and broad, with a black beard, and silver glasses, like his daughter. On his hip was balanced a tiny dark haired boy, who had Rowan's doe-like brown eyes.

"I wanted to make sure you recognised me," Rowan said, as her father took Artemis' coat from the top of her trunk. "Also, I don't really have many other Muggle clothes, except for pyjamas, and I'm pretty sure even Muggles don't wear those in public."

"No, you might have got some funny looks for that," Artemis grinned. "Shall we go to the platform?"

Platform Nine and Three Quarters was hidden from the sight of Muggles by the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Artemis could remember following her brother through the barrier each year when he left for school. Rowan, being the eldest in her family, hadn't seen the barrier before, and was eyeing it sceptically.

"Who is brave enough to run at it first?" Mr Khanna laughed.

Artemis could read the apprehension in Rowan's face, and was very aware that the red-haired witch and her gaggle of sons had gathered behind them, watching and waiting for their turn to go through the barrier.

"I am," Artemis said, to no one in particular. She smiled at Rowan and took a deep breath, placing both hands on her trunk and glaring at the wall as she ran towards it. Part of her expected to feel the crash of the trunk hitting the bricks, and to hear the sounds of the crowd behind her laughing as she made a fool of herself, but of course, that didn't happen. She passed straight through the barrier, finding herself on a wholly new platform.

All around her, she was surrounded by teenage wizards in muggle clothing, hooting owls and prowling cats. She saw older students hugging each other, younger students hugging their families. A mismatch of voices and accents braying about summer holidays and new brooms mingled in the air. She breathed in the scent of steam and pumpkin pasties. The roots of her hair tingled.

She was quickly joined on the platform by Rowan and her parents, and after helping the two girls put their belongings on the train, the Khanna family had bid each other a much more emotional farewell than the one Artemis had shared with her mother.

"Let's find a seat," Artemis said, to Rowan as they stepped up into one of the heaving carriages. Rowan was still sniffing slightly. "Maybe somewhere quiet?"

"Definitely," Rowan nodded.

They made their way through the train, looking for an empty compartment. They found one in the next carriage down. Before they could even take their seats, a very pretty girl with a long blonde hair poked her head around the door.

"Are you first years, too?" She asked. Artemis and Rowan nodded their heads, and the girl smiled so widely at them that her large blue eyes crinkled in the corners. "That's wonderful! I'm trying to get all of us together for lunch so we can get to know each other before the term starts. Did you want to come along?"

"Um, maybe," Artemis said, aware of Rowan's still slightly red and puffy eyes.

"Well, if you do, I'll see you in Carriage F at midday. You'll both be very welcome," the girl beamed, her cheeks flushing slightly.

"I don't know if I feel ready to socialise with our entire year group yet," said Rowan quietly, after the smiley girl had floated away down the carriage. "If you want to go, I don't mind you leaving me here for a bit."

"I'm not going to leave you by yourself, Rowan," Artemis said, shaking her head. "Besides, I'm not sure I want to go either. You know everyone will only stare once I tell them my name."

"Because of your brother?" Rowan asked. "Not everyone will have read that horrid lady's book, you know."

"I hope not."

"What actually happened to your brother?"

"He went missing almost three years ago after he got expelled from Hogwarts," Artemis told Rowan. "He'd heard this legend about a load of Cursed Vaults built within the castle, and while he was a student he started trying to find them and break the curses."

"Why did that get him expelled?"

"He broke a lot of rules," said Artemis, pausing before she continued. "There was a boy that died around the same time. One of my brother's friends. He got blamed for it, and they expelled him. It wasn't his fault though," she added, sitting up straight and glaring at Rowan, "Jacob would never have hurt anyone. It was just... an unlucky coincidence."

"I believe you," Rowan said, gently. Artemis immediately softened. "Do you want me to say anything if anyone gives you a hard time about your brother?"

"No, it's fine," Artemis replied. "I'm quite good at looking out for myself. Thank you, though."

"You're welcome," Rowan said. After a moment of silence, she asked, "Have you thought about what house you'd like to be in?"

"I want to be in Ravenclaw," Artemis said. "It was my brother's house. I'm not sure I'm clever enough to be Ravenclaw, though. You definitely are."

"I don't know about that," Rowan laughed, "but I do love reading and learning. I want to be Head Girl when we get to final year, and one day I'd like to be Hogwarts' youngest ever Professor, and maybe even headmistress."

"It sounds like you have your whole life planned out already," Artemis said, before grinning mischievously at Rowan. "You know, with ambitions like that you could be in Slytherin."

"I hope not - I hear they are all bullies, and that the head of house is terrifying!" Rowan shuddered. "If I'm not in Ravenclaw, I want to be in Hufflepuff. I know people say that Hufflepuffs are boring, but all the rest of my family were in that house, and they value hard work and fairness. They're bound to be nicer than the Slytherins."

"My Uncle was in Hufflepuff, and he is one of the nicest people I know," Artemis said. "He's also the least boring."

"What does he do?"

"He's a Magizoologist."

"Like Newt Scamander?"

"Exactly like Newt Scamander," Artemis said, laughing nervously. "In fact, he is Newt Scamander."

"What?" Rowan gasped. "You never said that before."

"You didn't ask."

"You know, if you tell people that, they'll forget all about your brother."

"Probably," said Artemis, "but I'd rather not draw even more attention to myself."

"Okay, but if my relative had written one of our schoolbooks I know I definitely would tell everyone," Rowan said, and both girls laughed.

"There's that ambitious Slytherin spirit again," Artemis teased.

"Don't!" Rowan nudged Artemis' leg with her foot.

"I'm only joking, Rowan. I think you're a Ravenclaw, through and through."

"I hope so. I wonder who decides where we end up. Do you know?" Artemis shook her head in response to Rowan's question. "Well, I hope we're in the same house."

"Me too," said Artemis. "Even if we don't, we can still be friends."

"Promise? Even if I end up in Slytherin?"

"Even then. Just try not to bully me too much."

The journey from Kings Cross to Hogwarts was a very long one. By the time the train arrived at Hogsmeade station, it was already dark. A deep voice boomed across the platform.

"Firs' years! This way, follow me!"

The voice was coming from the largest man Artemis had ever seen. He had black eyes set in a ruddy face, framed by a bushy black beard and hair so wiry and wild it made Artemis' look neat and tidy in comparison. The giant was holding a large lamp, and he led Artemis, Rowan, and all the other first years to the edge of a lake, where a load of wooden boats were waiting for them.

"Four to a boa'," the giant called out.

Artemis and Rowan clambered into one of the boats, and the new students started to float across the Great Lake. Rowan looked a bit seasick. Artemis nudged her gently and offered her a reassuring smile, which Rowan took a shaky breath before returning. Artemis looked at her other companions sharing the boat with her. Sitting quietly opposite Rowan was a freckle-faced boy with hair so red that she suspected he had been one of the boys she had walked past at the station, and in the seat next to him a girl with bright turquoise hair. The turquoise-haired girl caught Artemis staring and grinned, before screwing up her face. Her hair changed colour to a vivid pink. Artemis' jaw dropped, and the now pink-haired girl winked at her. She was about to ask the girl how she did it, but before she could, the freckled boy pointed into the distance.

"Look," he said, his voice little more than a whisper.

All three girls looked to see what he was pointing at. On the other side of the lake, nestled into the mountain, a castle rose into the skyline, the lights from its turrets and towers reflecting on the black surface of the water. Artemis gasped and leant forward over the bow of the boat, mesmerised.

They disembarked on the other side of the lake, and the giant man lead them up a path through the mountain to the doors of the castle. He raised his giant fist, and knocked three times. The doors opened, revealing a stern looking witch in emerald robes.

"Thank you as always, Hagrid," the witch in green said to the bearded man, who Artemis assumed to be Hagrid. "I will take them from here."

"Alrigh'," boomed Hagrid, nodding his head. He waved to the children. "Good luck, you lot."

The witch watched as Hagrid walked into the castle before pulling the doors open wide and leading the first years into the entrance hall.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she said, and smiled, thinly but warmly. "My name is Professor McGonagall, and I am the deputy headmistress. Soon you will join the other students in the Great Hall for the start-of-term feast, but before you can do so, you will need to be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a great tradition, and you will each be sorted into one of four houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin.

"Whilst you are at Hogwarts, your house will be like a family to you. You will share classes, eat your meals, and sleep in a dormitory with members of your own house. Each year, the house cup is awarded to the house with the most house points, which can be earned through exemplary behaviour and academic achievements, and lost through rule-breaking. I hope that you will all be a credit to whichever house you are sorted into.

"The Sorting Ceremony will begin shortly. I am just going to ascertain that everything is ready for you. I suggest that whilst I do so, you all wait quietly and make yourselves look presentable."

Artemis may have imagined it, but she thought that Professor McGonagall had cast a pointed look at her hair, and she ran her hands through it ineffectually. She definitely didn't imagine the look that the deputy headmistress gave the pink-haired girl, whose only response was to screw up her face and make her hair colour even more lurid.

Professor McGonagall slipped out of the entrance hall through a set of wooden doors to the right. As the doors opened briefly, Artemis could hear the sound of hundreds of people talking loudly.

"The whole school must be in there," she whispered to Rowan, and immediately regretted it when she saw the nervous expression on her friend's face. "Don't worry, Rowan, it'll be fine. What's the worst that could happen?"

"I don't even want to think about all the possible answers to that question," Rowan replied.

Professor McGonagall appeared again.

"They are ready for you now. Form a line and follow me, please."

She lead them through to the wooden doors into a large room with four tables stretching the length of the hall and a raised area with a horizontal table at the opposite end.

"Look up!" Rowan whispered to Artemis. The ceiling was almost invisible - it blended in perfectly with the night sky outside. Candles floated at different heights above their heads. They walked the length of the hall, trying not to trip on their robes. At the front of the hall, in front of the horizontal table where a host of adults, presumably the teachers, sat, they formed a line facing the older students at their four tables. In front of them was a small stool, on which sat a shabby-looking pointed hat. Artemis frowned, and the hat seemed to come alive, singing through a rip in the fabric near its brim.

"At Hogwarts School, since its naissance,
There have been houses, four:
Slytherin and Hufflepuff,
Ravenclaw and Gryffindor.
And every year, since times of old
It has been my noble calling
To sit upon each student's head
And decide which house they fall in.
This wise one is for Ravenclaw,
They have a lot to learn.
That wily one for Slytherin,
It's for success that they do yearn.
And this? Surely Gryffindor,
They are bold, and brave, and daring.
Finally, a fair, just, Hufflepuff,
Who, to all others, shall be caring.
So let me on - and in - your head,
And I'll tell you where you belong.
I think you'll find, though I say it myself,
The Sorting Hat is never wrong."

The hat finished its song, receiving a loud round of applause from the students at their four tables. The hat bowed, before becoming motionless once more.

"I will call your name, and you will sit on the stall. The Sorting Hat will be placed on your head, and will decide to which house you will belong," Professor McGonagall said, stepping forward and unrolling a scroll of parchment. "Ali, Badeea!"

A girl in a purple headscarf made her way gently to the hat. McGonagall placed the hat on her head. Barely a second passed before-

"RAVENCLAW!" The hat shouted.

The girl in the headscarf jumped up and ran over to the table on the left, where students in blue and bronze robes were cheering her. Artemis looked longingly at the Ravenclaw table, wondering which seat her brother had taken when he had first arrived at the school.

"Byrne, Sorcha" also went to Ravenclaw, but "Caplan, Diego" went to Hufflepuff. The next boy, "Copper, Benjamin", looked positively terrified as he sat on the stall. The Sorting Hat took longer before it made its decision.

"GRYFFINDOR!" it shouted, after almost a whole minute. Artemis saw the tall red-haired boy who had offered to help her with her trunk stand up and clap the newcomer on the back as he took his seat.

More students made their way to the hat to be sorted, with some students taking longer than others. Artemis knew that her turn would be coming soon, as "Gwithers, Alexander" and "Hayden, Corey" were sorted into Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, respectively.

"Haywood, Penelope!" McGonagall called out. The pretty blonde girl who had invited Artemis and Rowan for lunch flitted over to the hat, which barely touched her head before it shouted:

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

The Hufflepuff table on the right side of the Great Hall roared in appreciation as pretty Penelope practically skipped over towards the sea of black and yellow.

"Hexley, Artemis!"

The din turned to hushed quiet in a split second. Artemis had expected this. She gave a wry glance to Rowan, before she lifted her chin up and walked towards the hat, trying her best to push out the sound of badly disguised whispers.

"Hexley - as in Jacob Hexley?"

"She must be related to that boy who went mad."

"I read the book, apparently the whole Hexley family is cursed..."

She sat on the stool, and Professor McGonagall gave her a small, encouraging smile as she placed the hat on her head. The hat fell so low on her that it covered her eyes entirely, plunging her into total darkness.

"Ah," a voice whispered in her ear, "the other Hexley. Your brother was tricky, too... and you are even harder to place. Quick little thing, very determined and resourceful... Fiercely loyal, too, and bold, my goodness... Fearless, almost. You know, I think you might do well in Gryffindor."

No, Artemis thought, shaking her head. No, this wasn't right.

"You don't want to be in Gryffindor?" The voice said. "Good heavens, where else should you be?"

Ravenclaw, Ravenclaw, Artemis thought desperately, her hands balling up into fists in her lap.

"You wish to follow in your brother's footsteps," the voice in her ear seemed to chuckle. "Unfortunately, I fear that you would not be best placed in Ravenclaw. The wit is there, yes... but not the real desire, the need to learn, to create..."

Artemis thought, I can learn. I can try to create. I'll try really hard if you just put me in Ravenclaw...

"You can try, but you will be trying to overcome your own nature... you can change what you do, but not who you are," the voice said. "Your brother had to learn that, too."

Artemis frowned. What did the Sorting Hat mean? As she stared into the black inside of the hat, an image came into her head. A boy about her own age, sitting under the hat like she was now. Even in the darkness, she could see that he had the same cat-like hazel eyes as she did. It was Jacob. She could hear the hat whispering in his ear, and though his mouth wasn't moving, his aching was so blatant, it felt as if he were crying out: not Ravenclaw, not Ravenclaw. As soon as the image of Jacob had appeared, it faded away.

"Now that is interesting," the voice murmured.

Artemis' head was reeling. Jacob had asked to not be in Ravenclaw?

"Your brother wished to be elsewhere, but he was a true Ravenclaw, no doubt about that," the voice said. "It took some time, but I made him see sense."

Artemis wondered why Jacob had despised the idea of being in Ravenclaw so much, and where he had wanted to be.

"Hufflepuff," the voice answered her question before she even realised she'd formed it. "He didn't belong in Hufflepuff -" as if the hat had read her mind, which she knew it had, it continued, "- but perhaps you could."

Artemis considered for a moment. It wasn't her first choice, but it had been her brother's...

She nodded, and heard the voice whisper once more.

"Well, if you don't want Gryffindor, you will have to go somewhere..." the voice tailed off, and suddenly, the hat roared:

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

The Hufflepuff table made nowhere near as much noise for Artemis Hexley as it had for Penelope Haywood. Gentle applause and whispers from around the hall followed her as she made her way to her new family. Penelope Haywood in the seat opposite beamed at her as she sat down. She smiled back, thinly, and hoped more than ever that Rowan would be sorted into the same house as her.

She didn't have to wait long to find out. After "Karasu, Tulip" was sorted into Ravenclaw, Rowan was called to the hat.

The hat took longer deciding Rowan's fate than any other student so far. After what felt like an age, it called out:

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Artemis nearly fell off her seat from relief. Rowan grinned as she made her way to the Hufflepuff table. The applause from the Hufflepuff students was back to the volume it had been before Artemis had been sorted.

"You took your time," Artemis said, as Rowan sat next to her.

"The hat couldn't decide! It even considered me for Slytherin!" Rowan muttered back.

"I told you so," Artemis grinned, wickedly.

The Sorting continued, and the number of students remaining at the front of the hall dwindled. Eventually, "Wiley, Waveney" and "Winger, Talbott" were sorted into Slytherin and Ravenclaw, respectively, and Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll, and carried the Sorting Hat away.

In the centre of the teachers' table, a tall and slender man in purple and gold embroidered robes stood up. He had a long crooked nose, a white beard, and gold-rimmed glasses. Artemis recognised him immediately, having seen his face on countless Chocolate Frog cards. This was Professor Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts. He clapped his hands together and, looking delighted, announced the start of the feast.

Instantly, food appeared on the golden plates that covered the table. Artemis realised how hungry she was. It had been hours since she and Rowan had eaten the pumpkin pasties on the train. Around her, she could hear conversations taking place. She heard the name 'Hexley' whispered more than once.

"Wotcher," said someone sitting across the table. It was the pink-haired girl from the boats. Her hair was now a bright canary yellow, presumably to match the Hufflepuff house crest. "Looks like we are all housemates now. I'm Dora Tonks."

"I'm Penelope Haywood, but everyone just calls me Penny," the blonde girl from the train said, sitting in the seat opposite Artemis and next to Dora Tonks. "Obviously, you know that already, Dora, because you were at lunch, but you two don't. Did Professor McGonagall say your names were Rowan and Artemis?"

"Yeah," Artemis said.

"Bet you wish she'd not mentioned your surname, right?" Dora said, sympathetically. Artemis nodded. "Ah, we've all got family history. Everyone will get over it soon enough."

"Thanks," Artemis said, and frowned at her. "That thing you did on the boat, with your hair..."

"You should've seen your face," Dora laughed. "I'm a Metamorphmagus. I can change my appearance whenever I want."

"What? How -"

"Born like it," Dora said, simply. She reached over to help herself to more potatoes and knocked over Penny Haywood's pumpkin juice in the process. "Oops. Sorry, Penny."

"That's okay," said Penny. "Rowan, Artemis, do you think either of you will be joining any clubs at all? I asked a couple of the older students on the train, and it seems like there's quite a few."

"Like what?" Rowan asked. "I wouldn't mind doing something to do with books or History."

"I don't know about books, but there is definitely an Ancient Runes club," Penny said, brightly. Artemis could tell that this interested Rowan. "I'm thinking of joining them all, it seems like such a good way to make friends. What about you, Artemis?"

"I don't know," Artemis said. "I like music, I suppose."

"Oh, there's a choir," Penny said. "Do you have your own toad?"

"Why would I need a toad to join a choir?"

It seemed that Penny knew quite a lot about the different clubs already. None really piqued Artemis' interest. She liked the idea of the choir, but other than her family and Reggie the boat man, she had never really sung in front of anyone before. Plus, the Hogwarts choir involved toads, which weren't provided.

"Do any of you fly?" Dora Tonks asked. All three of the other girls shook their head. "That's a shame. I even brought my broom with me. I guess I'll have to find some other friends to fly with."

"Why don't you try out for the Quidditch team?" Penny suggested.

"As if they'll want a first year on the team," Dora shook her head. "You into Quidditch, Penny?"

"Oh, yes. I support the Wigtown Wanderers,"

As Dora and Penny talked about Quidditch, a sport that Artemis knew about but had never followed at all, she and Rowan talked about their upcoming lessons.

"I just can't wait to start," Rowan sighed. "Think of all the things we are going to learn."

"I just can't wait to start using my wand," Artemis said. "Although I have always wanted to learn to ride a broomstick."

"Have you never flown before?" Rowan asked her, and Artemis shook her head. "Flying is okay, I suppose. I'm really not that sporty."

"I don't think I'm really that anything," Artemis said. "I've never really had any hobbies, I just... run around, I guess."

"That sort of makes you sporty," Rowan laughed.

By the time pudding appeared on the table, Artemis was so full she could barely move. She wished she had left more room to try every single dessert option that lay on the table. She settled for a slice of Bakewell tart, and enjoyed it so much that she helped herself to another, despite feeling as if she might burst.

At the end of the feast, Professor Dumbledore stood up to make another speech.

"Now that you are all well-nourished, I have a few housekeeping announcements before you return to your dormitories," he said. "Firstly, I would like to remind you all that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to all students. Mr Filch, the caretaker, would also like me to remind you that many pranking devices are banned. He did give me a list to read to you all, however, being the absent-minded individual I am, I appear to have misplaced it. If anyone wishes to know exactly which items are and are not allowed, I suggest that you speak with him directly.

"Moving on, I would like to welcome back Professor Kettleburn from his recent sojournment from teaching. Whilst we are on the subject of Professor Kettleburn's period of leave, I must warn you all that the escaped Chimaera is still missing. I request that if anyone does spot tracks that could belong to either a goat or a lion, that they fetch a member of staff immediately, lest they be mauled."

Rowan and Artemis shared looks of alarm, as Professor Dumbledore continued to introduce the school's new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.

"And now that I have bored you all," Dumbledore said. "You must all be longing to sleep. Off to bed, everyone."

The students started to rise from their tables, and a few older students wearing badges began to shepherd the first years. A few seats along from Artemis, a stout girl with a severe blonde haircut was calling out in a bossy sort of voice.

"First year Hufflepuffs! First years, this way. Follow me, please."

The girl lead the first years out from the Great Hall and down a flight of stairs from the entrance hall. Artemis noticed that one of the boys was in a wheelchair. She wondered how he would get down the stairs, but when he wheeled over to them, they flattened out, shifting to form a slope.

At the bottom of the slope, the bossy girl began lead them through the dungeons, which were dark and dingy. Artemis hoped that she would not be sleeping down here. The girl stopped in front of a pile of barrels and spoke to them all.

"My name is Jane Court," she told them. "I'm a sixth year prefect, and it's my job to look after you all. If you have any worries or concerns, I am here to help."

Artemis looked Jane Court up and down. She seemed very serious, not even smiling as she introduced herself. She couldn't imagine approaching this girl with her problems.

Jane pointed to one of the barrels and looked at the first years to make sure they were watching her. Deliberately, she tapped on the barrel, twice slowly, then three times faster. The barrels opened to reveal a much brighter and cosier room than Artemis had been expecting.

Cushions, blankets, throws and rugs covered almost every surface. The room was low ceilinged and circular, and the only windows were semicircular, at the top of the walls, which must have been level with the ground outside. Despite being underground, the room seemed to be full of natural light. Several plants were hung from the ceiling or stood on tables.

"Professor Sprout, the herbology teacher, is the head of Hufflepuff house," Rowan whispered to Artemis as she caught her admiring the plants.

"This is our Common Room," Jane informed them. "This is where you'll spend most of your free time, when you aren't studying or having meals. Tonight, though, you'll have to go straight to your dormitories. It's very late."

The dormitories lead off from a circular doorway down a long corridor. Rowan and Artemis were sharing a room with Penny Haywood and Dora Tonks. Their belongings were already in the room when they arrived, with each bed having one of their trunks next to it.

"Isn't it lovely and cosy?" Penny said.

"I can tell this is going to be great fun," said Dora, launching herself up onto her bed. "I just wish one of you had at least brought a pet with you. My mum wouldn't let me, and I was banking on being able to cuddle one of yours."

Rowan's bed was next to Artemis'. They sat down, facing each other.

"I'm glad we were sorted into the same house," Rowan said, quietly enough that Penny and Dora couldn't hear her.

"Me too," Artemis grinned. "It's going to be so much easier for me to copy your homework."

"As if I'd let you do that."

The girls stayed up and chatted some more, Artemis mainly to Rowan, and Penny mainly to Dora, before they turned the lights out. Artemis lay under the covers and smiled to herself in the darkness.

Perhaps Reggie the Muggle had been right, she thought. Maybe she would find home here, after all.