A/N: Hi! This is my disclaimer paragraph. And, well, there's quite a few. So, if you don't care, skip to the end. 1) This is my first fan fiction ever. And I do mean EVER, so please be considerate of the fact that this is all new to me. 2) While I am definitely a fan of Harry Potter, I am not an expert. I'm not. So if there is anything majorly wrong with plots or facts that don't line up with either the books or movies, then it's either a mistake on my part, or a change for the plot of this AU. Either or. So I ask that you, politely, point them out to me if it bothers you that much. 3) I'm American. (Sorry, I can't help it) And I don't have anyone to tell me British slang, so what I do manage to get correct is because I'm also a major Whovian. And a Sherlockian... BBC has ruined my life. If there's something that makes the English in you cringe at its horrible use, tell me. Again, politely please. 4) I don't have a beta reader, so any mistakes in spelling and/or grammar are mine alone. 5) And most importantly; I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER. Obviously. Or else I would get a free ride to college… wouldn't that be nice? All credit goes to good ol' J.K. Rowling. It's her wizarding world.

Sorry it's so long, but thanks for reading! (Or skimming. Or skipping.) Now on to the story!

The Great Hall settled on the eve of September first into a smooth blanket of excited chatter as the students, old and new, discussed the upcoming year. The normal gossip floated about, in one ear and out the other mostly; who did what over the summer break, and what professors would be absolutely BORING and what professors would be positively grand. The most noted of this, as always, was the newest Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. The position holder was frequently changed due to a rumored curse on the position. So you would have thought that the students would have something better to do then chat about that.

But this year's professor was none other than Gilderoy Lockhart. Many girls swooned, and practically everyone else rolled their eyes as the man could be seen from any distance with his bright white smile flashing away like a warning sign every time his lips parted. His fame was now broadly known of, as included on the list of textbooks were many of his famous novels. This brought both positive and negative attention, as does most fame, and he was the most widely discussed topic of the night beyond the mysterious lack of Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived.

Only near the end of the feast did something more unusual occur. But it wasn't quite that unusual at all, in the beginning; it was simply the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, standing from his seat. But as the meal was nearly finished, and he didn't make a move to leave the table, the babble of the students slowly died down.

The old professor cleared his throat. "As this wonderful feast is nearly over, I wish to make a final announcement." Whatever talk had been left came to an abrupt stop, some even stalling in the middle of sentences or words, their mouths still hanging open as they waited in anticipation of his next statement. Things always seemed to happen at Hogwarts, and they normally started with a perfectly normal announcement. "There is a project long in the making that I wish to bring to your attention, as I believe now is the time. We are exchanging students."

Muffled whispers broke out among the student body once more with renewed vigor, and Dumbledore lifted a steady, wrinkled hand to silence them. Once they were mostly quiet, he continued. "Not from the school, simply from one house to another. There will be a parchment pinned to the announcement board in your respective common rooms, and will be there for only this first week of the term. If you wish to participate, write your name. The Heads of Houses will then choose a student from the list, and they will be sorted into a new house. Temporarily, of course."

He paused for a moment, bemused that he still had the students' attention. "There will be a few guidelines, but I will say the most important of them now. First year students will not be allowed to participate, as they need to adjust to their own house before swapping. You will be switching houses entirely, and the first half of the school term will be a trial run. If it all goes smoothly, then the program will continue to the second half. If you have more questions, ask your Head of House. Thank you, and that is all."

There was a ringing silence after the announcement, reaching until the Headmaster hadn't only sat down once more, but spooned a bit of cherry pudding onto his plate. Suddenly the thunder of loud words flew across the room and rushed around, bouncing off of the walls in nervous anticipation as every student was discussing the possibilities.

The results weren't entirely surprising.

The Gryffindor's parchment had almost a dozen names listed, each with the year of the student next to it. Fred and George Weasley were listed as one name, though that was to be expected. McGonagall had shaken her head, and immediately crossed that one off of the list.

The Slytherins only had three names, though that wasn't a surprise either, as most of them were extraordinarily proud of their house, and their Pure-blood status, and didn't want to move. The fact anyone had even signed up was startling, and Professor Snape had rolled his eyes once more at the ridiculousness of the idea as he took the parchment from the wall.

The Hufflepuffs had filled just over half of the scroll, with a large total of twenty-three students, as the Hufflepuffs probably wanted to better understand their peers.

The Ravenclaws had needed an extra page, as everyone who was able had signed up for the transfer; most all of them out of curiosity and the desire to learn what the other houses were like. It was an extraordinary response, and Professor Flitwick smiled slightly at the enthusiasm of his House at the idea.

Each Head of House agreed to attempt to narrow their lists down to three, and leave the ultimate decision to Dumbledore. The headmaster eyed the names with a slight frown, absentmindedly stroking the slowly dulling feathers of his phoenix, Fawkes. His office was quiet, with no noise except the steady ticking of a clock, and the occasional whizz of a bobble here or there that was scattered throughout the cozy room.

Suddenly extremely happy with the fact that Professor Flitwick had managed to narrow the list of Ravenclaws from nearly the entire house to five, Dumbledore quickly circled a name. A young Ravenclaw by the name of Elisabeth Morgan, a half-blood, was selected. He remembered her from the year before, when she'd practically lived in the library. Miss Morgan had put in requests for more books than Hermione Granger, which really was a surprise as the young Gryffindor seemed to be heavily curious about all matters of study. It was, in fact, a shock to him that Elisabeth Morgan had even taken her nose out of a book long enough to sign her name. He'd only ever really seen the top of her head, all three years of having her attend.

Next was Slytherin, and the old Headmaster couldn't help the slight upward tug of his lip at the sight of only three names, knowing that they had been there from the very beginning. He knew this was true simply because Professor Snape had just handed him the scroll as soon as it was taken from the common room wall. Listed were two names of families barely known in the wizarding world, but mentioned nonetheless because of their Pure-blood status. The third was a half-blood. Deciding finally, Jasper Wilf was the lucky winner.

Gryffindors. This time, Dumbledore sighed. Knowing that most of the list had been compiled of students who had been dared to put their names down, he felt horrible for Minerva McGonagall, who'd had to go and figure out which students really wanted to try and be transferred. Pleasantly surprised to see a familiar name on the list, the Headmaster shook his head. Hermione Granger needed to stay with her house. She was good for the Boy-Who-Lived. Grudgingly, he crossed her name out and looked to the others. The pondering took a few long minutes as he checked the name with his memory. Eventually he circled one third-year by the name of Maxwell Johnson.

And then the Hufflepuffs. This was the last paper to be handed in, as poor Professor Sprout hadn't wanted to limit the list; she wanted to give all of her Badgers a chance to experience something that was new. But, knowing the hard work Dumbledore would've had to go through to narrow it himself, she'd reluctantly done so, and gave him a list of seven. He barely glanced at the others as his eyes settled on one specifically. A muggle-born student, and the only second-year to sign her name. The only reason he knew who she happened to be without much thought was because, in her first year, she'd seen him in the hall and stopped him to ask about his socks. After that, he'd received a pair for Christmas – owl pattern of purple and green – with a simple thank-you letter attached. But ever since then, seeing her in a crowd wasn't likely. In fact, he couldn't even pick her out in the Great Hall. Amelia Ross blended in like a chameleon.

Curiosity took route in him as he looked over the list of students he selected. A fourth year pure-blood from Slytherin. A third year half-blood from Gryffindor. A third year Ravenclaw, also half-blood. And a muggle-born second year from Hufflepuff. What an odd bunch. This could essentially cause chaos, and he knew it. The reason the idea was long in the making was because it had taken him this long to convince enough of the staff that it could be good for the students. Switching their houses could show that the color of their robes didn't define who they could like and who they couldn't. It could, potentially, break many prejudices. Or at least begin to.

The deciding over, he glanced at the clock. Just in time for supper.

When Dumbledore stood, the Hall fell silent. It was Friday; the end of the week. Excitement even in silence, the emotion buzzed in the air in a way that tingled the backs of necks. The Headmaster cleared his throat as if to gain their attention, but there was no need; they wouldn't have stared harder if a contest was happening. "The students have been selected." He didn't even need to say what he was speaking of. Everyone seemed to know. "If I call your name, please see your Head of House after the meal." He briefly looked over the list as if he didn't already have their names memorized in order to prolong the dramatic affect. Sometimes he enjoyed his job.

"From Ravenclaw, Elisabeth Morgan." There was some polite applause from the table of blue.

"From Gryffindor, Maxwell Johnson." A thundering amount of shouting and stomping of feet could be heard. Dumbledore couldn't help the smile that touched his features at the obvious rowdiness coming from the Gryffindor table as young Maxwell Johnson was the main point of jeers and teasing along with some congratulations. He waited for them to quiet before calling the next.

"From Slytherin, Jasper Wilf." More applause, this a bit more subdued than the first.

"And from Hufflepuff, Amelia Ross." Another round of polite clapping, this one much more jovial than the last.

"Again, if I called your name, please see your Head of House after the meal concludes. Thank you." Dumbledore sat once more without ceremony and began filling his plate.

All four students and their Heads of Houses walked through the hall in the opposite direction of the rest of the students, who were mostly headed toward their common rooms. As they were walking, each took a moment to look at the others.

Maxwell was average height, but broad shouldered. His brown hair was cropped short enough that it could stand on its own on the top of his head, and his hazel eyes were full of trouble. Anyone who knew him also knew that he looked up to the Weasley twins of all people. Not necessarily perfect role models according to the school's professors.

Jasper Wilf was a ginger, his build tall and thin. It surprised a lot of people to see a ginger in Slytherin green, due to the Weasleys' reputation. Any of the Weasleys. His hair was neatly combed out of his pale face, though. And not a freckle to be seen. He walked with his chin lifted, as if proud of something. But no one knew what.

Amelia's blonde hair was much paler than the yellow she sported, but fell onto her shoulders in large curls. Her brown eyes were soft, kind in a way that seemed to be welcoming. And while Hermione Granger was the brightest witch of her age, Amelia Ross had a growing reputation among the teachers as the quickest learner. She picked up new materials faster than anyone else in her class. The only difference was that she didn't actively pursue any information she could be granted, as Hermione did.

Elisabeth Morgan happened to look incredibly graceful with her straight, dark hair. Her intelligent blue eyes sought information and saw the tiniest of details. Amazingly, her thin nose wasn't in a book as she walked down the hall, looking at her fellow students with curiosity. She read for that very reason; she was curious. Curious about what went on in the minds of others, and what their words exposed. And while most everyone thought she was reading text books of the informational variety, they were actually novels. Stories, fictional or otherwise, took up most of her time scraping pages for all they were worth.

All four students seemed to realize that they were all looking at one another and returned their gazes to the path ahead. Their teachers were leading, of course, and they turned down a hall.

"I'm Amelia Ross." The blonde suddenly broke the silence, smiling and looking at them as she was lucky enough to be on the far left. "But you can call me Amy, if that's easier."

Her voice had lightened the atmosphere of its tenseness. "Max Johnson." The Gryffindor directly next to her held out his hand as they walked. She took it. "Nice to meet you."

The silence stretched, and Amy leaned to view the silent pair to her right. "And I'm guessing you're Elisabeth and Jasper?"

"I'm Elisabeth." The Ravenclaw tipped her head.

"That's a beautiful name." Amy complimented.

"So is Amelia," returned the older girl.

The blonde nodded thoughtfully. "Thanks, but Amy's easier." She perked up, excitement on her face. "Do you have a nickname?"

Elisabeth pondered the question for a moment. "Elisa?"

"I like it." Amy grinned. "Now we three have nicknames. I'm Amy, short for Amelia. He's Max, short for Maxwell. And you're Elisa, short for Elisabeth!" She paused, realization showing on her face as she looked past the Ravenclaw to the one in green. "Do you have a nickname, Jasper?"

The boy seemed startled by being addressed directly, as if he hadn't been expecting it. "Uh… no."

Amy's smile returned as a sideways smirk. "Would you like one?"

"I'm not sure there's anything short for Jasper." Elisa mentioned.

"Oh, we'll think of something," Amy said confidently.

"We're here." Professor McGonagall's voice carried over their conversation, holding at least some amusement as she'd been listening in. They were standing in front of a gargoyle statue. "Lemon Drop!" she said to the stone creation, and it hopped to the side, the wall behind it splitting open and revealing a spiral staircase that moved unlike any other in Hogwarts. It was moving upward, like an escalator.

"This way, children. Quickly now." Professor Sprout directed with a wave of her hand. Professor Snape was already on the stairs with Flitwick, and the four students followed with Professors Sprout and McGonagall just behind. When they reached the top, there was a large oak door with a gleaming brass knocker in the shape of a griffin.

Professor Snape knocked firmly on the door, and it swung open on silent hinges. They all filed in, and Dumbledore was already standing in his office, though none of them were entirely sure how he'd reached it before them.

He was smiling kindly as they entered. "Sit, sit." He gestured to the open area, wand suddenly in hand, and conjured four chairs before watching in concealed fascination as each student followed the command. It was amazing, how differently children could act from one another. The Slytherin sat with dignified poise, screaming aristocrat. The Gryffindor slumped in his chair, looking at him with a casual interest. The Ravenclaw's eyes darted around the room in open curiosity as she sat down slowly, almost in wonder. The Hufflepuff muttered a thanks before sitting at the edge of her seat, letting her hands rest in her lap. As the Headmaster offered the last a welcoming smile, she smirked back, her warm amusement genuine.

The professors conjured their own chairs, and sat behind the students.

Dumbledore had no introduction, and just dove right into the heart of the matter. "Now, I'm aware that I said during the original announcement of this project that you would wear the Sorting Hat again, and it would give you your new, temporary, house. But I have talked with it, and it will not sort twice. It refuses to. So what we will do instead is switch. Gryffindor and Ravenclaw will swap, as will Hufflepuff and Slytherin."

The Headmaster got no further however when Professor Sprout suddenly launched from her chair, curly graying hair framing a surprisingly furious face. "Headmaster, are you suggesting that—"

"Pomona," He interrupted her. "This is not a conversation to be had at this present moment. You will wait until the students are dismissed."

Professor Sprout took a deep breath, before sitting back down in her seat with an undignified huff. He knew the source of her unease, but it was not to be brought up in front of children.

A single hand rose into the air. Dumbledore stared at it for a moment before remembering himself. "Yes, Ms. Morgan?"

The Ravenclaw's blue eyes held his steadily. "When will we switch, and where will we be staying?" She asked, her voice soft.

"You will be staying in your new house's dormitories, and the goal is to move you there by Sunday, so you have an understanding of your house before classes begin."

"Will it be the same course work?" The question came from the Slytherin this time.

"For Ms. Morgan and Mr. Johnson, you will simply trade places in class, because you are both third-years. But You, Mr. Wilf, will be added into the Hufflepuff's fourth-year students, while Ms. Ross will sit in with the second-year Slytherins. Your course work will stay the same." Dumbledore waited, and was glad he did when another voice added a question.

"How will we get to the common rooms?" Maxwell spoke up.

"You'll become nostalgic of your first year, because you will be escorted through by a prefect, just like then." Dumbledore said with a nod.

"Excuse me, Headmaster." Amelia's voice was heard next. "But what about our robes?"

"Ah, an excellent question." Dumbledore said with a nod. "I do believe I have an idea, but you'll have to bear with me while we try it. Your customary ties will have both house colors- from your original and from the new- and the lining of your robes will change to a new color while your house patches stay the same. How does that sound?"

"How and when will we get these new robes?" Jasper asked.

"They will be provided for you by tomorrow afternoon." Dumbledore answered, before leaning back in his chair. "I would like to thank you all personally for choosing to participate in this. Our ultimate goal is to attempt and unite the houses, and to remind them that the patch on your robes shouldn't define who you are to be." He eyed each of them carefully. "I trust you will all have integrity in this, and respect the houses you are placed in. Now, I do believe it's getting late. Please return to your common rooms. If you have any more questions, you will remember to ask?"

They all nodded their understanding, each again in their own way; Jasper offered a polite incline of his head, Elisabeth nodded absent minded, Amelia held his gaze as she nodded, conveying clearly that she understood, while Maxwell grinned mischievously as he completed the action.

Dumbledore smiled slightly. "Good. I will see you all in the Great Hall tomorrow." He stood from his chair, dismissing them. Everyone followed suit, but before they could leave entirely, he called out "And professors, if you wouldn't mind I would like to hold a meeting in my office once everything is settled in your common rooms?"

The teachers also gave him a brief nod, Sprout and McGonagall seriously, Flitwick and Snape with a dreary expression, knowing that the meeting would not be pleasant in the slightest if the subject matter would be what they guessed of it. It was going to be a late night.

A/N: Another one, I know... sorry. But I need to give credit where credit is due! This is AU, so all the characters you don't recognize are mine. And these OCs were created with the help of jahaha27! If you haven't seen her stuff, I highly recommend it. Especially if you need OC help.

Thank you for reading, and let me know if you're interested in more.