There had always been something bittersweet about dusk for me. I perched myself on a rock on the edge of the forest, watching as the golden August sun dipped lower and lower and eventually disappeared behind the hills. I closed my eyes and felt the weight of the precious moment between sunset and moonrise envelop me.

We hadn't been able to afford my medicine again that month. My older brother had outgrown his robes, I needed a set of my own, and we had to buy two sets of schoolbooks instead of one, leaving no money left for me. Cedric had tried to insist that his robes were still big enough for one more year, but Dad just patted him on the back and praised his selflessness. So there I found myself, temporarily suspended between the parallel realities of day and night, sitting on a rock on the edge of a forest close to (but far enough from) home.

I released the breath I hadn't realized I was holding, opening my eyes just as the last rays of the sun disappeared.

~

I tried to focus on the weight of his hand on my shoulder as my brother and I navigated the crowded King's Cross station. The weight of his hand on my shoulder, the presence of Cedric, was far more comforting than the hordes of people swarming around us, far more comforting than the knowledge that my whole life was about to change, and certainly far more comforting than the gash on my leg that had still not fully healed. I was trying not to limp, trying my absolute hardest, but my sock pulled the wrong way on the cut every time I took a step.

"There it is, Lucy," Cedric said in my ear, gesturing with his chin at the wall separating Platform 9 from Platform 10. "That's where we go."

Our goodbye with Mum and Dad was difficult, but it was behind us. Ahead lay the barrier between my past and my future, and it was my older brother who would help me cross it. Seemed fitting, I thought, for many reasons.

"We need to make sure no one's watching," he whispered, his eyes shining with excitement as he tried to hide his smile. "Then we'll run through together."

"Will you hold my hand?" I asked, feeling more and more anxious the closer we grew to the wall.

He immediately grabbed my hand in response. "Absolutely."

My eyes darted back and forth. Muggle men in suits with briefcases and Muggle women in dresses with sleek handbags hurried back and forth, their eyes straying little from the paths laid out before them in the foot traffic patterns. The coast was clear --- no one paid two children in typical Muggle school clothes any mind.

"On the count of three," Cedric said, squeezing my hand. I squeezed back, my stomach flipping. "One... two... three!"

I held my breath and closed my eyes, running with all I was worth. I waited for an impact that never came. Instead, warm sunlight greeted me when I opened my eyes. A cherry red train stood tall and proud over the crowd of children and parents and owls and toads, "HOGWARTS EXPRESS" emblazoned on the front in golden letters.

"Oh, look, there are the Weasleys!" he exclaimed. "Do you want to go say hi?"

I nodded, releasing his hand and following his lead through the packed platform. But just as we were about to get there, a loud whistle blew, and the redheaded boys clambered on. Cedric and I followed suit.

"Oy, Fred, look who it is!"

"The Diggorys made it after all!"

Cedric smiled. "Our mum didn't want to say goodbye to both of us this year."

"We can tell. You still have lipstick on your cheek." Cedric's sleeve immediately flew to his face, drawing laughter from the twins and a giggle from Ron. "Just kidding, old chap. Good to see you. Do you want to go with us to see Lee's tarantula?"

"I should probably go find Henry, sorry," he said, turning to me. "Do you want to follow me, or sit with Ron?"

I shrugged, casting a glance at Ron.

"Well, we told Mum we'd look after Ronniekins, and there's no better way to do that than leave him with a friend," Fred said.

"Besides, Ced, I think Henry would want to see the tarantula," George reasoned. "Let's help the little ones find a seat then go see it together."

Cedric relented with a shrug, and we wandered until we found a car with open space. A boy with black hair sat there, gazing out the window. Fred opened the door, and the boy turned his head to face us. His eyes were startlingly green.

"Is anyone sitting here?"

The boy shook his head, and George practically shoved Ron and I through the door. "There you two go."

"Did we introduce ourselves, Harry? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. See you later, then."

I made brief eye contact with Cedric as the twins swept him away. He shot me a bemused smile before disappearing from view.

"Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron asked, sitting down across from him. I put my bag in the overhead compartment and sat one seat away from Ron. I watched as the boy parted his hair to reveal a lightning-shaped scar. I fought the urge to let my jaw fall open. Ron seemed equally shocked. "I thought it might have been one of Fred and George's jokes, they're quite hard to take seriously sometimes," he stammered. "So is that where You-Know-Who, you know...?"

Harry nodded. "I don't remember much of it, though. Just lots of green light."

"Wow," Ron replied, his voice hushed.

"I'm sorry, but I missed your name," Harry said, looking toward me and smoothing his hair over his scar.

"It's okay, they didn't say it. I'm Lucy, Lucy Diggory."

"She's my neighbor," Ron added. "Well, sort of."

"Are both of your families all wizards?" Harry asked, appearing somewhat starstruck.

I nodded.

"I think Mum's got a second cousin who's an accountant," Ron explained, "but we don't talk about him much so I'm not sure. But other than him, yes, we're all wizards. I heard you went to live with Muggles. What are they like?"

Harry sighed and slumped against the seat. "I wish I had three wizard brothers instead."

"Five," Ron sighed, also slumping against the seat. "And one little sister. Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, then me. I guess you could say I have a lot to live up to. Bill was Head Boy, Charlie was a Quidditch captain, and now Percy is a prefect."

"Quidditch?" Harry asked, his eyebrows furrowing. "What's Quidditch?"

"You don't know Quidditch?" Ron sounded scandalized. He turned to me, thoroughly bewildered. "He doesn't know Quidditch!"

I offered Harry a weak smile. "Ron loves Quidditch. He can tell you all about it."

Harry smiled back, before returning his attention to Ron. I stared out the window as they talked, and at some point fell asleep, lulled by the sight of the rolling hills beneath the cloudy sky.

My sleep was blessedly dreamless. When I awoke to a knock at the door, a thick yellow and black scarf had been draped around my shoulders. I missed what the brown-haired boy had to say in my sleepy stupor, but when the door slid shut, I rubbed my eyes with the heel of my hand.

"Your brother came by and said not to bother waking you up," Harry explained. "That's his scarf."

"You missed lunch," Ron said, sounding very sympathetic. "Do you want one of my sandwiches?"

The boys laughed; something about that was very funny.

"Or some of my candy?" Harry offered. "I bought plenty to share. We're eating Every-Flavor Beans right now."

"If you want to risk it!" Ron exclaimed with a laugh.

I smiled. "I'm not terribly hungry, but thank you for the offers."

"I don't know why he was so bothered about losing his toad," Ron said. "If I brought a toad, I'd lose it as quick as I could. But in all fairness, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk."

"Percy's rat?" I asked. His ears turned red, but he nodded.

"He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference. I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look." He drew a wand from his bag. "Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway-"

He was interrupted by another knock at the door. The boy was back, but this time he wasn't alone.

"Has anyone seen a toad?" the girl next to him asked. "Neville's lost one." We all shook our heads, but she was now focused on Ron's wand. "Oh, were you about to do magic? Can I see?" Without waiting for an answer, she took the seat between Ron and me. "Go on, then," she urged. "I really want to see."

"Alright," he said reluctantly, now quite flustered. Still, he pointed his wand at Scabbers, saying, "Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow. Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow!"

"Did Fred and George teach you that spell?" I asked with a giggle.

He sighed and nodded.

"Are you sure that's a real spell? Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard. I've learnt all our set books off by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough. I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"

Harry and Ron looked quite stunned by how quickly the girl had spoken. I bit back a laugh.

"I'm Ron."

"And I'm Harry Potter."

"Are you really?! I know all about you, of course --- I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."

"Am I?"

"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me. Wait, who are you?" she asked, turning her attention to me.

"Lucy, Lucy Diggory."

She offered her hand, which I accepted. She had a very firm handshake. "Are you a Hufflepuff?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "This is my brother's."

"I sure hope I'm a Gryffindor, it sounds the best by far. I heard Dumbledore himself was one. But I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad. Anyway, I had better keep helping Neville find his toad."

"Do you want help?" I asked the boy. He nodded. He looked near tears. I turned to Harry and Ron, saying, "I'll be back."

They waved as I followed Neville and Hermione out into the hall. Before we had even knocked on the door of the next compartment, Neville lurched forward.

"There he is!" Neville exclaimed, rambling down the hallway. He had nearly reached his toad when it suddenly changed directions and jumped between Neville's legs. He tried to turn around and catch him, but he stepped on the hem of his robes instead and fell flat on his face. Laughter came from every direction; the toad chase had attracted quite a crowd. But the toad was still on the run, coming right toward me. I reached forward quickly, snatching it in my hands. Hermione and I hurried over to Neville and helped him get to his feet.

"Stop laughing!" Hermione shouted to the rest of the train. "It's not funny!" But the laughter only grew. I handed the toad to Neville, who was now very red in the face.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"Let's go back to our compartment," Hermione said, grabbing him firmly by the arm. "You can come too, Lucy, if you want."

"I should find my brother," I said apologetically. "But I'll see you at school."

"I recommend changing into your robes. I think we're almost there." And with that, Hermione marched Neville away, and they ducked into a compartment. The laughter slowly died down, and I wandered the hall until I came across Cedric's cart. Two kids in there were wearing the same black and yellow scarf I was sporting. My brother smiled at the sight of me and gestured for me to come in.

"This is my sister, Lucy," he said to the other students. They were all already in their Hufflepuff robes. "Lucy, this is Beatrice, Evelyn, and Gabriel. Evelyn and Gabriel are two of the Hufflepuff prefects this year."

"Nice to meet you." I took the scarf off and handed it to Cedric. "Harry and Ron said you came by while I was asleep."

"Yeah, you were sound asleep. You should probably go change, we'll be there soon."

"I was about to. I just wanted to bring your scarf back."

"You'll get one of your own Hufflepuff scarves soon, I'm sure," he said with a grin.

The rest of the compartment cheered. I giggled. "I hope so. See you tonight, Ced."

"See you, Lu!"

~

Once off the train, I clambered into a boat with Ron, Harry, and Hermione. The boat was guided by a giant man named Hagrid, I learned. A lantern on the front of the boat illuminated the water in front of us as we went across the large lake separating us from the castle. I studied the stars above, trying to pick out constellations. I had seen the night sky so many times, yet it had never been quite this clear. A heavy silence fell over the students as the fleet of boats sped through the water.

"Heads down!" Hagrid called as we approached the cliff. I obeyed, my stomach doing flips when I realized how close we were. My heart hammered in my chest.

I craned my neck as I shakily stepped onto the beach to take in the sight. The castle's spires extended into the starry night, a chilly breeze whipping my robes around me.

"Oy, you there! Is that yer toad?"

"Trevor!" Neville exclaimed, scooping him up and holding him close.

At the top of the staircase, Hagrid knocked on a door, which swung open to reveal a witch in robes the color of dewy grass.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall."

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."

I felt my heart begin to thunder even faster in my chest as her piercing eyes surveyed the group. She turned on her heel and motioned for us to follow her as the doors swung open.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room. The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

"Smarten up?" Ron whispered.

"Oh no, what spell will they ask of us? Um, um, umm," Hermione whispered.

Harry and I exchanged panicked looks.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall as she left. "Please wait quietly."

"How exactly do they sort us into houses?" Harry asked Ron.

"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking."

I felt my heart drop to my toes. Cedric hadn't warned me about a test.

The hall was suddenly flooded with mysterious white light. Ghosts! I had never seen one before. Cedric mentioned that each house had its own ghost, but Ottery St. Catchpole never had any.

"New students!" one of them exclaimed, hovering over us. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?"

A few people nodded.

"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff, my old house!"

I hope to see you there too, I added silently.

"Move along now, please." Professor McGonagall was back. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."

The ghosts floated away through the wall obediently, whispering among themselves.

"Now, form a line and follow me."

I kept my head down, following Harry's feet in front of mine. I looked up when he stopped.

A hat sat on a stool at the front of the hall. A great rip opened, and it began to sing, as if from a mouth:

"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true and unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, if you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"

Everybody clapped as the hat bowed, then the room returned to a reverent silence. McGonagall extracted a roll of parchment from her robe and said, "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted. Abbott, Hannah!"

She scurried to the stool. The hat settled over her eyes and yelled, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

With a last name starting with D, I knew I would be toward the front. But the Ds came and went, without a "Diggory." I glanced toward the Hufflepuff table, trying to make eye contact with Cedric, trying to see if he was as confused and distressed as I was. But then, my name was called. "Everlin, Lucy!"

I looked around, to make sure there was no other Lucy walking to the front. But when no one moved, I placed one foot in front of the other all the way to the stool at the front. Everlin was my middle name, after all. There had to have been a mistake. It was as easy as that.

The hat was lowered, and I was submerged into complete blackness. I heard a voice, but it wasn't in my ears. It was in my head.

"I have sorted two like you before, and they were in separate houses. One in Gryffindor, one in Hufflepuff."

"My brother is a Hufflepuff," I said. "My dad was, too, I think. My mum is a Gryffindor. Is that what you mean?"

"You know what I mean," the Hat interrupted. "I ask not about your family, nor about the others like you. I have already sorted them, see. My job is to sort you for who you are, not for they are or who they would like you to be."

I winced, though I wasn't quite sure why.

"Oh, I see I have struck a nerve. You feel that you have to be what everyone expects of you. You think that copying your brother is what's best for you."

"It has to be. Please put me in Hufflepuff."

"Why are you fighting me so much, child? I am sorting you so that I may help you. Let me see your mind, your heart. Show me who you really are."

"I don't know how," I gritted out, suddenly feeling claustrophobic. "If you show me how, I will."

"What do you fear most? Being forgotten? Being seen as a fool? Being seen as a coward?"

I took a steadying breath, trying to calm my mind. I searched for the answer. "I fear hurting those I love more than anything."

"There we go. Now I can see more. Tell me about a time that made you happy."

"I rescued a Crup puppy from the woods around my home when I was nine. He makes me happier than anything."

"I see, I see."

Then the Hat went silent.

My mind wandered to the day I found Tuck. The sun was barely risen, and I was walking toward my house when I heard a soft whimper to my right. I had bent down and pulled the brush back. A black and white spotted puppy was cowering against the dead body of what appeared to be his mother, bloodied and cut up and still. The sight of her carcass made me feel ill, so I scooped the puppy up and hurried home.

Over the next few weeks, he became my best friend. I named him Tuck for the way he liked to sleep with me in bed with his nose securely tucked under my pillow. We were inseparable. Even now, my heart ached for him. I had wanted so badly to bring him with me to Hogwarts, but Crups weren't allowed.

I still wanted to find the creature that murdered his mother. I had searched in the woods, many times over, knowing it was unlikely that I would ever find answers but wanting to try anyway. My father said it was too dangerous, that I shouldn't risk my own well-being for an unsolvable mystery. But Mum understood. She knew how badly I wanted justice for my pup, even if I put myself in harm's way in the process. She knew, perhaps even better than I, that it wasn't even justice necessarily that I wanted. I wanted to protect my pup from the same fate, more than anything.

"Good, good," the Hat said. "I see quite clearly now. But one last thing. Show me your wand."

I pictured it in my mind. I recalled the electricity that shot through me the first time I held it. Cypress, with a unicorn hair core. Within that moment, I became incredibly aware of the power I contained. I didn't want it, not entirely, but I understood that it was entrusted to me nonetheless, and nothing I could say or do could change the fact that magic was in my blood, in my soul. I finally had a channel for this power, a sense of direction to guide it and help it grow.

Though light in my hand, I knew that my wand might just be everything I've ever wanted in life.

The Hat had one last question. "And what is that, what you want in life?"

I hesitated. "I don't know."

As soon as those words left my mouth, several images came to mind. Cedric, my parents, Tuck, the Weasleys, my new friends. Safe. Smiling. But most importantly, safe. Why did I feel such immense satisfaction?

"GRYFFINDOR!" the Sorting Hat roared.

~

Cedric said he was happy for you, I tried to reassure myself as I unpacked my belongings. He wasn't mad at all. He said Mum will be proud to have another Gryffindor in the family.

Every time I looked down at my suitcase, I caught a glimpse of the maroon and gold badge now on my chest, of the maroon folds of my robe, of the golden stripes on my maroon tie, of the maroon and gold checkered blanket on my bed. Mere hours ago I was wrapped in Cedric's yellow and black scarf, certain I would have a matching one in time. Now it was a maroon and gold scarf I found in the trunk at the foot of my bed.

The other girls in my dorm were talking excitedly, but I wasn't paying them much mind. If nothing else, I was thankful that Hermione and Harry and Neville and the Weasleys were in Gryffindor too. But oh, how I ached to be with Cedric.

"What about you, Lucy?"

I turned around quickly. "I'm sorry, I was lost in thought. What did you ask?

"It's alright," Hermione said. "I asked if you preferred to shower in the morning or at night."

"Oh, I-I don't know." My mind raced. I hadn't thought about this. "What about you?"

"I like to shower in the morning, personally. Everyone else seems to be in agreement."

I felt my shoulders relax. I could shower alone. "That's funny, I'm more of a night shower person myself."

She smiled. "That is funny. Why didn't you just say that from the beginning? Well, it's all yours."

I offered a smile back and grabbed my pajamas out of my bag, tossing the rest of my belongings from home into my trunk and deciding I'd deal with them in the morning. The bathroom was adjacent to our bedroom. A line of showers occupied one wall, toilets on the opposite, and sinks connecting the two. A row of windows revealed the starry sky, the clouds having dispersed.

I ducked into the closest shower stall, leaving my pajamas in a heap outside the curtain. Once inside, I carefully removed my tie, red and gold and not black and yellow, and dropped it to the ground next to my pajamas, careful to only let my arm slide through. I kicked my shoes off next and peeled off my socks. As expected, one was encrusted with blood from the cut on my calf -- I dropped the clean one outside on top of my tie. I took my robe off carefully, avoiding eye contact with the lion now defining me as Different Than Cedric. I dropped it outside with a trembling hand. When all of my clothes were piled outside, I turned on the water and twisted my leg around to get a better look.

The cut was rimmed with pink skin and oozing pus. My stomach flipped, and I looked away, focusing instead on lifting my bloody sock to the water and letting it wash the stains out. I lingered in the water as if it could wash away my sorrow and confusion. I mulled over everything the Sorting Hat had said to me, about being myself and not who everyone else wants me to be. But if I valued everyone else's opinions above my own, I wondered, why should I be my own person? And why, oh why, was I in Gryffindor?

When I entered my dormitory again, feeling no better but at least feeling cleaner, my new roommates were all in bed, and everyone except Hermione seemed to be asleep. She was reading a book by the light of her wand.

"How was your shower?" she whispered.

"It was good, thank you." I folded my robe hastily and tossed it on top of my trunk. "The warm water felt good after today."

"It has been rather overwhelming, hasn't it?"

I nodded, crawling into bed. I considered asking what book she was reading, but I decided against it. "Good night, Hermione," I said instead, closing my eyes and pulling the blankets to my chin.

"Good night," she replied, yawning behind her hand and turning another page.