When I got off the train, a gigantic man said, "All firs' years, follow me!" And of course I heard it, with the gigantic booming voice he had. I went along with all of the other first years, and saw Hermione up ahead. I pushed through the crowd until I reached her. I gave her the book back, and then we started to talk. Hermione just went on and on about everything she knows about the wizarding world, but it was interesting to hear. When she told me literally everything she knew about magic (it didn't take long because she already told me about most of it on the train), she started talking about herself. 

"I am a muggle-born, and I had no idea I was a witch until I got my letter. I'm an only child, see, so I get all of the attention, and my parents spoil me with gifts and surprises, and they get into stuff I am into, even more than I do! Like when I got my letter, they started to read all of the books I got from Diagon Alley before I even bought them. Then they hogged them until they finished reading them. Hogwarts was all they talked about before I left, but I didn't mind because-" Suddenly she stopped and her jaw dropped as she stared ahead of her.

I looked up, and noticed that there was a huge lake in front of my eyes. And on the far side of the lake was a huge castle, bigger than any building I had ever seen before. It was magnificent, and I would have stared at it forever, but groups of three were already going into small boats with lanterns on them. I rushed on with Hermione and a brown-haired boy. I think I heard someone call him Neville.

I didn't pay much attention to him or Hermione, because I was too busy staring out of the window at Hogwarts, which loomed closer and closer.

Before I knew it, we were standing under the shadow of the castle, and Hagrid was knocking on the great oak doors. A woman answered the door and let us in. Hagrid left us with her, and we followed her into a chamber where she told us about our houses and other things about Hogwarts. Hermione had already known all of the stuff and told me it, which I realized after listening for the first part, so I ignored the professor and looked around. I was the smallest of the first years, and everyone looked down on me like I was weaker than them or something. My hands curled into fists. I wasn't too short, but I hadn't had a growth spurt yet, so I wan't that tall either.

McGonagall said, "I'll tell them we are ready for the Sorting." And she left. I watched her leave, then watched as Darco Malfoy stepped up with two other boys to talk to the boy on the train with the redhead. I ignored them and whispered to Hermione. When McGonagall came back, Draco looked pretty mad. I had a feeling him and the other boy weren't going to be friends.

McGonagall led us into a huge hall that was filled with hundreds of other students. A tiny man came up with a stool and a hat and placed it in front of us. Then the hat opened its "mouth" and sung a song. After that, Professor McGonagall read names off of a list. It was in alphabetical order, and I knew I'd be one of the last. Hopefully nobody knew what my last name was.

Hermione went on the stool right in the beginning, and she was sorted into Gryffindor. Draco was Slytherin, and I wasn't that surprised somehow. I held my breath and waited until I heard, "Riddle, Willow." A few of the staff members whispered among themselves; they recognized my name. But all of the students acted normal, because they had no idea what my name meant. But I did, from the moment Hermione lent me that book about Voldemort. His father's sister's daughter was my mom, so I was the Dark Lord's niece.

The hat was placed on my head, and it paused for a moment and then said in my head, "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" I murmured, "Please Gryffindor, please, please please." The hat responded, "Sadly, I can't let you decide. I know where you belong and that's in-" It said to the whole hall, "SLYTHERIN!"