I sat staring at the magnificent castle up ahead of me. It was beautiful, just like the books my parents had sent me for had described. The windows were alight with a golden glow, the stone of the structure strong and grey, and the ground lush and green even in the dark. I stared for only moments though, my need to see the other reactions surpassing my need to react.

The other students on the boat I was in were likewise mesmerized, some tried to hide it, others watched on with the awe displayed like a second skin. I heard gasps coming from the other boats, and they filled me with the belief that I wasn't the only one struck dumb by the monument before us.

I've already read everything that was on the book list, plus a few other books that I could get with my left-over cash. My parents had been generous with the money, unsure about the exchange rate or how the wizarding money worked, or just not caring; I used it to my advantage. Professor Snape, the teacher sent to my house to inform and explain about my place at Hogwarts, helped me and showed me around Diagon Ally. He was very nice to have allowed me the time he did in the bookstore. It was quite a while. Though he seemed to enjoy having the chance to look around himself.

The boats finally docked, and we made our way out of them with help from the gentle giant with the beard who hadn't introduced himself. We were led into the castle before being left alone without much of an explanation. I didn't know how to feel about that.

I watched as a boy with platinum blond hair walked over to a redhead and another boy with black hair and glasses. He seemed to be introducing himself, which was kind, though the way he did so seemed very procedurally done. I committed it to memory, it must be important for wizards to speak to and greet others in a certain way. From what I had witnessed, wizards were very traditional. It seemed to be a part of their culture and it would be rude to go against that. They obviously valued tradition and family if all the stuff about pureblood traditions in that book was to be believed.

A group of ghosts appeared out of nowhere, making an entrance by floating through the walls and shocking all of the new students. Though, I noticed a few of the students didn't seem surprised, more curious. The blond was one of them. I got the feeling these were the purebloods and half-bloods raised in the wizarding world. I too was curious. I had read about ghosts in a book about different magical creatures and beasts. Again, not one for a class.

The girl next to me was watching the others with eagle like precision. She sized everyone up before coming to me. I was already looking at her. She didn't back off. She sized me up and I did the same to her.

She was blonde with deep brown eyes. She had a pointed face and was overall very pretty, even at eleven. She was tall, but not freakishly so. Her eyes held a special kind of intelligence, one that wasn't from a book. It was practical, like she was looking for things that weren't visible on the surface, reading people with a precision you wouldn't expect in an eleven-year-old.

She was also well-off if her clothing was to be believed, they were well tailored, obviously made just for her, and her white shirt was silk and shiny. Mine wasn't much different. My family is very well off, and though I wasn't pureblood, I could definitely fit in with them. I could already tell she was a pureblood and, aside from the chilly exterior, she seemed like a nice person.

With a smirk and a nod, she turned away. I did as well, wondering what she saw while inspecting at me. She obviously approved, considering her nod. I did wonder if it was just cursory or approval. The smirk indicated approval, so I went with that.

My thoughts were stopped as a sour looking woman in green, dressed as a stereotype, witches hat and all, walked into the hall and looked at the assembled students. She explained that we would be sorted momentarily when we were brought into the great hall. I assumed that was what was beyond the door in front of us. I tuned into a different conversation happening in front of me between to students.

"Hey, what did she mean by houses?" Houses, I'd nearly forgotten about those. I really wished Hogwarts: A History had better explained the houses of Hogwarts. I felt like I was a good fit for all of them based on what listed. I don't like not knowing things, especially things of this magnitude.

"Well, there's Gryffindor. It's the house of the brave and courageous. Then there's Hufflepuff, they're the nice ones. Ravenclaws are the bookworms. Then there's Slytherin. Less said about them the better. I don't think a good wizard has ever come from Slytherin, or a bad wizard from Gryffindor for that matter." I thought the boy incredibly naïve. Or stupid. Either seemed a good description. Houses had no power to determine who you would be.

The massive doors opened, and we walked into the room, already filled with other students of all ages sitting at four very long tables. We walked down the center aisle in two single file lines, side by side as instructed. I was next to a different person this time. This one was the blond boy that seemed to be rather rude at first. He had to be embarrassed by what had happened with the dark-haired boy. It was akin to a slight to the blond's name.

We stopped at the front of the room and the witch from before stood up on the raised platform. Behind her sat who I assumed were the professors of the school. In the center, at a magnificent seat, sat who was likely the Headmaster. Snape sat near the edge of the table, looking dour and like he would rather be anywhere else. There was only one empty seat, to the right of the headmaster, saved for the witch standing before us probably. She seemed important.

"I will call your name and you will come sit on this stool as I place the sorting hat on your head to sort you into your houses. First we shall listen to the song it sings to us in order to better describe the four houses of Hogwarts." The song was odd, a singing hat was odd on its own though, so it was not overall surprising. The first name, Hannah Abbott, was called and soon enough the hat shouted Hufflepuff. Her robes gained a yellow border and she ran off to the table with those of similar colors. I was impressed, but curious as to what the criteria was.

I stood, staring at and evaluating the people in the room. There were several redheads watching the first years from the Gryffindor table. I assumed they were the family of that other redhead, the one that was stuck to the dark-haired-boy's side. At the Slytherin table, the students seemed subdued and calculating. They were watching certain students be sorted, all of which ended up in their house. The Hufflepuff table was cheery and excited and the Ravenclaws were paying attention and cheered when someone was put in there house.

I wasn't paying much attention to where people were being sorted, other than to note that the blonde girl had been put into Slytherin. However, I did notice when boos and hisses sounded at certain sorting's. Most of it was between the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables, it looked like the rivalry ran among them as houses.

When I heard a few names staring in M, I began to pay attention. Draco Malfoy was called, and the hat shouted Slytherin before it even reached his slicked back platinum blond hair. A pureblood then. Roger Malone was called and sorted into Ravenclaw, then it was my turn.

"Lily Moon." The woman called. I saw a few teachers look down at my first name and glanced to see Snape, he was impassive, nearly impossible to read. He, and everyone in the room, watched me as I walked to the stool and sat. I felt the hat plonk onto my head before a voice that wasn't my own entered it.

"Yet another muggle-born with brains. Oh, but what an interesting one you are my dear…"

"Please just get on with it." I thought to the hat. I didn't want to be the center of attention any longer than I had to be.

"Ah, smart of you to know I could read your thoughts. Ravenclaw would be a good fit, with your thirst for knowledge. Hmm, but you have a loyalty that is rarely seen, a Hufflepuff for sure. Brave you must be to have gone to the train station with no family, and to enter this new world with no fear. To live the life you have. Gryffindor would do you well." I rolled my eyes, knowing nobody would be able to see me. I was getting annoyed with this indecisive hat.

"I am not indecisive dear, I know you belong in Slytherin without a doubt. Your ambition and cunning are shining through. Though I do not believe it would be safe for a muggle-born to be in that house at this time. Pureblood supremacy is still on the rise and I fear another war is coming. Although… if you could play the part no-one need know of your blood status." I smirked.

"I think I could do that given a few days to observe. Put me in Slytherin."

"My dear, keep in mind, once you are sorted you cannot change houses."

"I am aware. I can play my part. Maybe I can be the change they need. The first muggle-born Slytherin in centuries. Proving them all wrong would be a plus as well. Now put me in Slytherin."

"Well then, with ambition like that, it must be… SLYTHERIN!" The hat was removed from my head and my robes adjusted themselves to be green with silver accents. It looked good, I decided as I walked, my head held high like I'd seen the others do, over to my table. My housemates were all sizing me up, I could tell. I would do nothing to clue them in on my heritage. If they asked, I was from the Americas. My accent wasn't as pronounced as others and I was often mistook for someone from across the pond anyways, I would just play that up.

I sat in my seat and was greeted by silent nods, none of the boisterous cheering seen over at the other side of the hall. I appreciated it. I glanced at the head table. Snape was looking at me in shock and confusion, I smiled a little, making sure nobody at my table saw the interaction. His expression changed to one of consideration before Harry Potter's name was called and his attention was drawn to the boy who lived, the dark-haired boy from before. He appeared to already hate the boy, though I had no clue as to why. I was glad it was a Friday and I had all weekend to prepare to be a fake Pureblood.

When the feast appeared, I waited to see what the other Slytherins took before reaching for food of my own. Though I didn't wait long enough for it to be obvious that I was waiting. I noticed that the other girls ate lighter than the men.

So gender roles were still very pronounced in the wizarding world. Probably like the 1800s with lots of arranged marriages between pureblood houses, most for political and financial gain. Image would be important as well, if for that very reason and not wanting to sully their name.

The silence of the table lifted as the older students that sat near the first years, with obvious purpose for doing so, spoke to us.

"Hello first years. We are the seventh years, and we're going to be showing you around for the first week or so. Every one of you will be assigned one of us once we are in the common room, so stick around. After the first week we expect you to be able to make it on your own, though if you need something you can always ask your mentor, or another student if we're not around. Keep in mind that you will be doing this in your seventh year as well. We expect you to be well behaved and earn our house points. Don't disappoint us. Now, get to know each other." I held eye contact longer than the others did and when they finally looked away they seemed almost impressed.

"Well, we all mostly know each other, though I don't recognize you." A brunette stated. She seemed rather brash, and obviously the blonde from earlier agreed if the disdainful glare was anything to go by.

"Pansy, don't be rude." She stated. "What's your name? I'm Daphne Greengrass."

"I'm Lily Moon. It's a pleasure I'm sure."

"I don't recognize that name. Obviously you're not part of the sacred 28." I shook my head. I had no clue what the sacred 28 were, but I was certainly not part of them. I figured outright lying would be bad, so I avoided doing so. Omitting the truth was more my style anyway.

"No, I'm not." I confirmed.

"Are you even from any of the pureblood families in the U.K.?" Pansy asked, her brashness not yet contained. I assumed it would happen with age. Well, more like hoped.

"Well, no. My family is from the America's." Not a lie, but not the entire truth either. My family had immigrated three generations ago. That wasn't necessary information though.

"So you're family hasn't been integrated yet." The blond boy stated. I really needed some names for these people.

"No, and I doubt they ever will be. They are… what you might call hermits. They don't like people or socializing much." My parents lived in their own little bubble, one I wasn't even invited to join often. Only when they needed to parade me around like a media prop.

"Then how do you expect to get a contract?" I was stumped by Pansy's question. What did she mean by a contract? I assumed a marriage one, but I couldn't say that in case I was wrong. Instead of answering I settled for a glare and a dismissal. That's what I was taught to do when answering a difficult question. Find a way around it or act as if it is too personal for present company.

"I don't know the rest of your names yet." Pansy didn't look happy at the dismissal, but I thought I saw one of the seventh years smile a little and glance over at me.

"I'm Blaise Zabini," A dark skinned, Italian boy introduced, he seemed fairly neutral on the conversation so far, "This is Theodore Nott, Draco Malfoy, Gregory Goyle, Vincent Crabbe, Pansy Parkinson, Tracy Davis, Millicent Bulstrode, and you already know Daphne." I noticed that he went out of his way to introduce the men first, gesturing around the females to indicate them. Gender was certainly important, I would need to remember this. I was lesser than the men, though he didn't go by any kind of rank I could tell. Just by whoever was closer.

Everybody stood to leave after Dumbledore's speech, and the first years were to follow our house's prefects. The seventh years sitting closest to us motioned for us to remain seated and wait. When the room was mostly emptied, they motioned for us to follow the group to our common room. We walked through the massive doors and down a hallway before walking down many staircases. We ended up in the dungeons, stopped before of a stone wall.

"We have a password; the prefects change them every week. All you need to do is state the password and then the wall will open for you to walk through. Every house has their own common room around the castle. Do not bring someone from another house here and do not share the password with a non-Slytherin. The first password is Snakes." The wall parted, much like at the entrance to Diagon Ally, to let us in.

Inside was rather dark and tinged green. The windows were out-looking the lake bed. It was beautiful, but not very practical without heating of some sort. The couches and chairs dotted around the room were in perfect condition and didn't seem the most comfortable, though the wooden tables and chairs seemed good for studying. To the left were two staircases, I assumed they led to the dorms.

I was assigned a seventh-year mentor and then shown to my dorm, which I only had to share with two other girls, who just so happened to be Daphne and Tracy. I was both okay with this and slightly disappointed. If I were sharing with Millicent, then it would be so much easier to fake things for the next seven years.

The next morning was a Saturday, and while everyone else slept in, both in my house and out of it, I was up early. Being an early riser was helpful for some things. Sneaking to the library in hopes of finding information on Pureblood customs was one of them. It also helped me get away from my 'mentor'.

As I left the dorm I realized that I had no clue where on earth I had to go or how to get anywhere. Hearing footsteps to the left, I decided to go in that direction, hoping it wasn't just echoes from the right. I was certain that this was the direction we had come from the night before, but the dungeon walls all looked the same at the moment. I would draw myself a map if the other students hadn't stressed the importance of keeping the location of the common rooms a secret.

I turned a corner and was met by the black clad, tall figure that I learned was my head of house, Professor Snape. I paused to look at him before going to walk around him.

"Ms. Moon, I think you and I should chat." I paused, not facing him. What had I done?

"Professor Snape, have I done something that warrants needing to talk? If not than I was on my way to the library." I stated as I turned to look at him once more.

"Do you know where the library is?" He asked with a raised brow and a condescending tone. He had won this round. I didn't react other than returning the gesture.

"I'm sure I would find it eventually."

"Why don't we compromise. You come to my office to chat, and I will show you how to get to the library." It wasn't a question, so I didn't bother to answer, just followed him as he turned to leave. I wondered what he wanted to chat about, but at the same time I knew it was about my house placement. He and Dumbledore, and maybe McGonagall, were the only people who knew what I was. Though Dumbledore didn't seem very interested in me at the moment.

In Professor Snape's office I sat in a chair that was neither comfortable nor uncomfortable as he sat across from me behind his desk. He stared at me for a moment, I stayed silent, waiting for him to explain the reason for our chat.

"You are a Muggle-born."

"I'm aware, and I know you are too considering you were the one to tell me that in the first place."

"You were placed in my house. Slytherin hasn't had a muggle-born in it in years. In fact, the last was Myrtle and she died while she was a student. For unrelated reasons I'm sure, but still… this doesn't bode well for you."

"Myrtle?"

"Moaning Myrtle. She's a ghost here, lives in the prefect's bathroom and the girl's bathroom on the third floor. That's not the point though. That was back in the 1940s and she was only made it to third year I believe. Even so, our world was more forgiving to muggle-borns in Slytherin then than they are now. Ever since the last war…"

"I was told by the sorting hat that it might not be safe."

"Then why not be placed elsewhere?"

"Because that's not fair. I belong to this house, so to this house I shall go. Besides, they all think I'm pureblood. I can play the part. You've seen my house, you know I'm well-off. This means I can look the part. My upbringing means I can act the part. All I need is some background information about customs in the wizarding world, pureblood traditions in particular."

"What did you say when they asked why they didn't recognize your last name?"

"I didn't lie. I told them that my family wasn't social and that they came over to the U.K. from the Americas before I was born. Neither of which are lies. It just so happens that neither are the complete truth. So, unless you or the Headmaster tell anybody, nobody needs to know. I don't plan to call myself a pureblood, nor a half-blood. I just don't plan to tell them that I'm muggle-born. If it comes out, I'll deal with it. After all, dazzle them with your charm or baffle them with your bullshit, right?" Snape seemed to give up.

"You won't find many books on pureblood etiquette. None of them need it, it's ingrained from nearly birth. Though I am from a pureblood line I was raised muggle. I wrote some notes during my first years of Hogwarts that might give you a better start than I had. I'm willing to lend them to you. I recommend you don't get close to Draco, Malfoy's love power. You get close to him, and his parents will learn of you and look into you. I can assure you, you won't pass their scrutiny."

"Thank you," I stated, taking the journal he was offering to me, "But, why are you helping me. You have no investment in me."

"You remind me of an old friend." I nodded, accepting the little information he offered.

"Is that all then, sir?"

"Yes. To the library then?" I nodded, and he rose to escort me. "Speak of this meeting to anybody and I can ensure your life will get very hard for you to live." My mouth quirked at the threat he issued, but understood it wasn't a bluff. This world was not the one I was from, that much was certain. If I knew one thing; this year would be fun.