I'm sure everyone here has been told that making mistakes is normal, everybody makes them and it's nothing to be ashamed of.

Get that idea out of your head. Actually, don't, it's a pretty good advice and it's quite refreshing to think about the person you hate the most falling off a cliff by mistake. What I'm trying to say is; there isn't many people in this world who are trustworthy and, until the sorting, you can't be sure.

Now I'm not saying some Houses are more trustworthy than others, I'm just saying that, when you get sorted, you often feel a wave of loyalty towards your new House, the only one you'll ever get for the rest of your life. Basically, if you tell someone something that would embarass you, even in the slightest, and you don't get sorted in the same House as them, they might tell their other friends.

You could always trust your judgment of who is trustworthy and who isn't, but even if you're right, that person may not have the same point of view and could trust someone they shouldn't have. Your embarassing stories can't be safe around newcommers, the trust comes in later.

During the train ride, it is absolutely important for you to know what kind of people you want to hang out with.

If you want the quiet type of people who manage to act sweet and shy at the beginning, but end up completely crazy, though probably not more than you, or the jocks who are great friends and always party, never leaving each other's side, closer than ever, then you need to find a good compartiment for it.

- If you're an early bird, try to find an empty seat and wait patiently, you will most likely end up with another lonely soul who is trying to find an empty seat too, but is too late, so they decide to find the one with the least number of people in it.

- On other early bird cases, you might end up with the gang who needs place for everyone of their friends, so they try to find the block with the most room possible.

- On late cases, try to find a compartiment with the least number of people in it if you want to find the solitary type

- For other late cases who want to be part of a group, try to find a group without many people in it, you wouldn't want to feel expandable and your group can only grow from there.

- If you fell into the wrong cathegory by mistake, then excuse youself a minute and try to leave. If it is not working, it won't be your only chance to make friends so don't worry, there's plenty of time. Or just start talking to them, they might actually be nice.

Of course, the type of group you want to join is your own choice, I won't tell you who to hang out with or not, I'm not your mother. Just make sure you find the right friends for you, not jerks who you'd only hang out with to become more popular. I know it's tempting, but there really is no point. Find the people that match with your personnality the best, whether you feel they will be in the same House or not.