Via stood in outside the Great Hall with all the other first years.  She could hear the older students already inside, laughing and waiting.  She had no idea what was coming next, except that she'd be sorted into her house, as Professor McGonagall had already explained.  Ginny and Luna were to either side of her, also awaiting sorting.  Via couldn't see Malfoy, so she assumed he was already inside.  Judging by the colors on his tie, he'd been sorted the year before her.  Ginny was biting her nails, she wanted to get into Gryffindor like all her brothers.  Luna was vacently staring into space, aparently unconcerned about her sorting.  Via didn't care what house she got, she was happy just being at Hogwarts at all.  As the time seemed to stretch on forever, Via found herself biting her nails.  Finally, after what felt like days but was really a few minutes, Professor McGonagall opened the doors of the Great Hall, and the first-years silently streamed in.  Via was at the front of the crowd so she had a good veiw of the teacher's table and what was directly in front of it.  A rickety, three-legged stool with an old, grey, frayed hat set on top of it was the focus of everyone's eyes.  After a few moments, a rip near the brim opened up and the hat began to sing. When the hat was done with it's song, McGonagall began calling first-year's names by alphabetical order.  Via was the first of her friends.

"Estwich, Valentine!" called McGonagall.

"Valentine?" whispered Ginny with a raised eyebrow as Via shakily started for the stool.  McGonagall placed the hat on her head, and Via was so startled when the hat spoke in her ear that she jumped a little, and heard a few snickers from the older students.

"Ah," the hat said, and from watching everyone before her, Via knew it was speaking only in her mind.

"Very pecuiliar.  You have all the aspects of every house.  Ambitious and wily, hardworking and loyal, brave and daring, and intelligent.  Hmm, oh yes, you could go very far anywhere I place you.  What about Ravenclaw?  You'd be surrounded by Hogwarts' most brilliant minds, you could have a chance to rise above them all."

No, thought Via, wondering if the hat could hear her.  I don't want to rise above anyone, I just want to have friends. 

"Friends?" mused the hat.  "That rules out Slytherin, not much for bonding, those Slytherins.  Yes, if you want friends, you'll want Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, but I rather think I should place you in Ravenclaw anyway.  I can see you mind just wants to be stretched."

I don't want to be cold, Via desperatly thought.  I want to be comfortable.  I can't handle always having to be one of the smartest!  Via began to tremble as she thought about Ravenclaw.  From what she heard, they isolated themselves and didn't really know how to be fun.  Of course Via wanted to learn, that's what she came for.  But she didn't want to do it alone.  She could hear, under the hat, voices quietly muttering together.  

"Are you sure about Ravenclaw?" checked the hat, who'd heard all of Via's thoughts.

Yes, please.

"Alright... better be HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouted the last word out into the hall and as Via pulled the hat off her head she saw a table of students clapping and cheering, and she shakily walked to that table and sat down next to a girl with long, dark blonde hair pulled back with barrettes.

"I'm Hannah Abott," said the girl.  "Your sorting took much longer than anyone else's so far, at least five minutes."  Via's brow wrinkled.

"Is that bad?" she asked nervously.  

"I don't think so," Hannah said as she turned her face back to veiw the rest of the sorting.  The fifth person sorted after Via was also a Hufflepuff.  He had shaggy brown hair and sat down next to Via.

"Hi," he said confidently.  "I'm Callum Cornwell.  And you?" he looked at Via expectently.

"Via," she murmered, making sure she didn't miss Ginny or Luna's sorting.  Another Hufflepuff was sorted, a small, black haired, brown-skinned girl named Amelia Knollen.  Luna was sorted into Ravenclaw only a moment after the hat resting on her head, and Ginny went to Gryffindor, greeted by three gangly red-heads.  Via thought Ginny'd mentioned four brothers at Hogwarts.  She wondered where the other one had gotten to.  After Gregory Batton, Kaylee Halsh, Mauve Buckle, James Rect, Nina Welsh, and John Lanid had been sorted into Hufflepuff, and everyone else had been sorted into their new houses, Dumbledore welcomed the students, and then a feast appeared.  Via gasped at the food that had sprung out of thin air, but then wasted no time in devouring everything that looked good.