If you're questioning where I sorted them, like I asked you not to, I used a great personality quiz to help with most of them. Just so you know.

The train was to leave at nine-thirty AM that day at Platform 9¾. The only problem? Seto and Harry both had no idea where it was. And it didn't help that it was ten minutes before the call time.

Harry tried asking an officer where it was. The officer gave him a strange look, laughed, and returned to helping people other than him. Seto looked back and forth between nine and ten, hoping for an epiphany. Nothing happened, he just looked stupid.

Finally, a family all with orange hair appeared, and it was a rather large family too. The mom was shorter than almost all her sons, save for the youngest boy, and the only other girl was the little one. The dad was either nonexistent or at work or something. Either way, while Seto was examining the wall indiscreetly opposite where he was really supposed to go, Harry watched the first pair of red-heads run towards the nine platform and disappear in a blink. He watched another pair go in to make sure he was seeing correctly. Then, summoning some courage, he went up to the bustling lady.

"E-excuse me," he said, to get her attention. Success! "I'm wondering if–if you know where Platform 9¾ is?" She smiled warmly at him.

"Ah yes, a new wizard, I reckon? Yes, well, it's right through that wall there, and you walk through it. Run if you're nervous." Harry nodded and thanked the woman, and then found Seto and told him too. Harry pushed his cart through the barrier to prove to him that it was alright, and soon after the CEO's son followed. On the other side they found a large scarlet steam engine, all ready and set to go. The clock read three minutes before departure.

Frostcloud was safe in her crate, his wand and other belongings were strapped to his cart, and Marik was ready and piping to go. Ishizu bore with Malik's incessant chatter, so supposedly she really loves him. I would too if I was her… I mean, look, he's so cute!

Malik was totally prepared. Tagging along was Bakura, as his mom had a meeting and his dad was away in Egypt for a business trip of some sort. Either way, both of them couldn't drop off their adorable albino, but hey look, the other pureblood family was going to Hogwarts too, so thus it was arranged, and Bakura was riding with Malik and his sister.

They chattered together eagerly about what their year was going to be about. Well, more like Malik's mouth was a motor and Bakura just listened like the kind person he is, and Ishizu chose to ignore the conversation, letting the two young ones have their dreams and expectations.

The three of them went through the barrier and quickly got spots on the train after saying goodbye to Rishid, who would wait on the platform until the train departed. Not much happened in the ten minutes that passed, but Bakura swear he saw a boy with a scar on his forehead come through the barrier. He dismissed the scar as his own eyes playing tricks on him. There was a brunette boy following him who looked a little flustered, yet not too much as to not take in the majestic train. Bakura followed them with his eyes until the crowd swallowed them up.

Soon, the scarlet train slowed to a stop. It was dark out, and the ride had been hideously long. The entire time, Seto had likened himself to a compartment with a girl named Hermione, and they chatted a little, but he mainly remained quiet and withdrawn. The first years stood up, stretched, and followed the older students off the train. Once outside, they heard a booming voice calling for the first years, and they followed it to a great looming man with a bushy brown beard known as Hagrid holding a lamp.

"A'right," said he. "Come with me, firs' years, and we'll get you right ter Hogwarts." The first years grinned to each other and followed the lumbering figure to a large black lake glistening like a mirror. At the shore were a bunch of small wooden boats, and Hagrid instructed that two students get into each. Miho got in with Anzu, Yugi with Jounouchi, Marik with Bakura, Seto with a stranger with curiously whitish-blonde hair, and Harry with his new friend Ron. Hagrid, being so huge, got one for himself.

As soon as everyone was in a boat, the wooden creations started moving on their own. The students gasped, and then gasped again when the magnificent castle that could only be Hogwarts came into view. It was dark in the night, but almost every one of its windows were lit and golden, a welcoming sight.

The boats reached the other shore, and Hagrid led the group of young'uns into the first hallway, where at the top of a staircase in front of a large double door stood a tall, elegant lady, who introduced herself as Professor McGonagall.

"In a few minutes," she said, "you will go through these doors and you will be sorted into one of four houses: Gryffindor, Huffelpuff, Ravenclaw, and… Slytherin." She said the last house with some distaste, but it could've been their imagination. "Now…"

Suddenly, she was interrupted by someone shouting, "Trevor!" A slightly pudgy boy stepped forward and picked up a toad that had planted itself in front of Professor McGonagall. She gave him a stern look as he backed shyly into the crowd again.

"As I was saying," she continued, going on into a small speech.

"Hey," said a boy to Harry, who was standing with Seto and Ron. He had eyes so pale blue they were gray and whitish-blonde hair slicked back. "You're Harry Potter, right? I'm Draco Malfoy. I see you're standing with a Weasley, a low sort of wizard family. In this school, you have to know which friends to have." He held out a hand. "I can help you there."

Harry glanced at the hand, then back at Ron, then again at Draco. "No thanks," he said. "I think I can choose my friends on my own." Draco gave a little nose-wrinkle type of thing and, giving Seto a curious glance, went back to his gorilla-like goons.

"If you will please follow me," McGonagall announced loudly, opening the doors into the Great Hall, the students hurriedly pursuing. The room they entered was a vast, open space with a total of five long tables, one of which was on a raised platform. At this one, the adults sat, meaning it was probably a staff table. The other four were parallel to each other. These were the four House tables.

McGonagall led the new students up near the front between the Huffelpuff and Ravenclaw tables. There, in front of the staff table on a rickety three-legged stool, sat an old and patched hat. The Professor explained that this was the Sorting Hat, and that when she called your name, please come up. But before that, a mouth ripped open and the Hat began to sing.

"Oh I may not look so pretty,
But don't judge on what you see…" And so on and so forth, singing about the Houses. Apparently, Gryffindor was brave, Ravenclaw was smart, Slytherin was cunning, and Hufflepuff "took all the rest." After the Hat was done, McGonagall partially unrolled a huge scroll and began to read off names. After a couple names, Bakura was called.

The Hat slipped over his eyes, and it started talking in his mind.

"A kind, loyal mind. A shy one, though. You seem like you would be one to need the support of like-minded friends. I think you belong in HUFFLEPUFF!" The Sorting Hat shouted the last word, and it was lifted off of his head so that he could see the correct table politely clapping. Next was Marik.

"Ah, you have a sister in Ravenclaw, do you not. And your brother was, also, when he was here. However, I see you are not quite like Ishizu. You appear to be more inclined to pranks. A fine mind, I see, for SLYTHERIN!" Marik was careful to hide his slight disappointment as he headed towards the serpent's table. Slytherin was the house responsible for spitting out the most Death Eaters. He straightened his shoulders, determined not to fall to the Dark Lord. He glanced at his sister, who was clapping and smiling encouragingly. He brightened slightly.

A few names later, Seto Kaiba was called up. The Hat slid over his eyes, and he was thrown into darkness, a comforting one at that. He didn't have to see all those people staring at him, and the strange looks of the kids who knew who he was. He jumped when the Hat began to talk to him.

"Ahhhhh…a curious mind, no doubt. You have been through a lot in these past two years."

"Hey, stay out of my mind!"

"Do you want to be sorted or not?"

"…"

"That's what I thought! Now, you have been educated well, and have a natural affinity for learning and observing, a mind superbly made for Ravenclaw. But, you also have a loyalty to your brother, a trait most perfect with Huffelpuff. Alas, again, you have the bravery to face this unfortunate abuse from your adoptive father, deeming you appropriate for Gryffindor also… Now, how to choose, how to choose… I see that you have already planned how to overthrow your father, though it's tucked away because of all this new magic business. I see that you are observing before you act, also. You seem to be very clever, and cleverness is a characteristic not many people possess. Thus, I deem you… SLYTHERIN!"

The Hat was removed, but the room had fallen silent, like it will do for The-Boy-Who-Lived. By then, the people who had recognized him as Gozaburo's adoptive son had told their friends, who told the people sitting next to them, and so on and so forth. It came to a shock that the apparent Mudblood was sorted into Slytherin. The three tables not associated with green felt sorry for the kid; he was in for a rough time.

When Seto sat down at his table, fighting the blood of shame rushing to his face, he noticed that the kids on either side of him left him a good six inches on either side. "Great," he said when the chatter started up and more names were called. "More elbow room. Thanks."

When Jou was called, the Sorting Hat made an amazingly fast decision. Jou's brash bravery earned him a place in Gryffindor. The hat spent a little while longer on Anzu, debating between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, before deciding on the latter. The Hat on Yugi debated between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. Indeed, the hat had a tough time. Yugi had the bravery and chivalry of a Gryffindor, but the loyalty and determination of a Hufflepuff, and since he had a friend in each house, he would be happy in both. A long wait earned him a place in Gryffindor, the hat reasoning he would flourish more in the red house. When Miho was called, her bookish mindset immediately placed her in Ravenclaw.

Finally, it was Harry's turn, and the room fell silent again. After a few seconds, he started to whisper frantically, "Anything but Slytherin…" and he got his wish. The Hat yelled "GRYFFINDOR!" and the table burst into cheers.

Soon after that, the sorting was over and the feast started, food appearing magically in front of the students. The first years Ooh-ed and Aah-ed at the delightful sight. However, before they ate, Dumbledore, the headmaster, explained that the Dark Forest and the third floor corridor were off-limits.

Seto picked at his food until he realized that the blond haired boy with whom he had shared a boat with was sitting right next to him, trying impatiently to gain his attention.

The blond frowned at him. "Why are you so unreactive!?"

"Well, it's not like people actually want to talk to me," Seto retorted. "Who are you anyway?

The boy puffed out his chest proudly. "I'm Draco Malfoy! My father's in the Ministry, you know!"

"Good for you," Seto murmured into his mashed potatoes. Truthfully, he didn't really care who this Draco boy was.

Malfoy caught his dry tone, and sneered at him. "You should be careful what you say around me. My family has a lot of power!"

Seto glanced at the boy, and idea forming in his mind. This Malfoy person obviously had high status – he was boasting about it, after all – and therefore should know a lot of the wizarding world. He could use him… and, moving from there, gain his own status. Then, he would eventually be powerful in both worlds, right? It would be a painstakingly long process – the non-magic world would go faster – Seto figured it would speed up as he got more comfortable around magic.

So instead of retorting, he asked, with fake earnestness, "What exactly does your father do?"

Pleased now that the boy was seemingly interesting, Draco Malfoy smirked again. "He's a school governor of Hogwarts. He's got a lot of power in the Ministry!"

"Interesting," Seto said, keeping with a façade of serious interest. "Please continue."

A few seats down, Marik slumped in his seat. He couldn't believe it. He, an Ishtar, had been sorted into Slytherin! And Ishizu had only said bad things about them for the three years previous. He badly wanted to be re-Sorted, but he knew that was impossible. He stared at his empty plate, not hungry. He'd have to make the best of this. That Kaiba kid didn't look so bad. Maybe he'd try to befriend him later, he decided.

A boy next to him by the name of Blake nudged him. "Are you gonna eat or what?"

Marik shrugged and half-heartedly spooned some string beans onto his plate.

Meanwhile, at the Gryffindor table, Yugi and Jounouchi were talking avidly. Secretly, Yugi worried for the friends of his that weren't in his house. Anzu and Miho might as well be alone. He knew Anzu should make friends quickly – he already saw her talking to a girl with brown braided pigtails – but Miho was shy. Would she do well? Only time would tell.

Soon enough, the welcome feast ended, and the tables were led to their dormitories. Slytherin was led to the dungeons, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor were led to separate towers, and Hufflepuff was taken to somewhere near the kitchens. Marik jogged to catch up with Seto Kaiba, who was listening with apparent rapt attention to the boy with blond hair, Draco Malfoy.

"Hi!" Marik said jovially. Seto glanced at him. Who was this blond Egyptian boy? "I'm Marik Ishtar. I got sorted into Slytherin, too." He stuck out a hand in a handshake. "Nice to meet you."

"Seto Kaiba," the brunette introduced, taking Marik's hand. "A pleasure."

Malfoy eyed Marik suspiciously. "Aren't you one of those Purebloods from Egypt?"

"Yeah…" the Egyptian wizard answered warily. "Why?"

"No reason." With that, Draco Malfoy moved on ahead to join his two friends Crabbe and Goyle, and a girl by the name of Pansy Parkinson.

As they descended into the dungeons, Marik tried to make conversation with Seto, but the latter was so busy observing his surroundings that the whole ordeal was really quite pointless. They reached the common room, and the Prefect explained to them that they needed a password to get in. This year the password was Apophis. Inside, it was surprisingly comfortable-looking. Black leather couches, puffy green armchairs, wooden tables, and a roaring fireplace dominated the area. The Prefect told the first years that the girls' dorm was up the stairs to the right, the boys' to the left, and that they're stuff would be waiting for them.

Marik happily discovered that his bed was next to Seto's, but the brunette himself didn't seem to show much emotion. The Egyptian plopped down on his bed, dead tired, and fell right asleep. However, Seto picked up a new quill pen and parchment, and started to write a letter.

Dear Mokuba,

The first day was long, but not at all boring. Diagon Alley, that place was humongous, and right under the people's noses. The non-magical folks are called Muggles here. That means Gozaburo's a Muggle, Mokuba! There, I bought impossible things. I bought quills for writing (they're the feathers used as pens. How old fashioned!) and textbooks about spells and potions and the such! I even bought a wand. Can you imagine? A stick to help us hone our "magical powers." I don't know if I even am magical. Magic is such a silly word, a word for fairy tales, and yet it's used casually and seriously here. I think you would enjoy it here, Mokuba.

The train ride took all day. We must be in Scotland by now. Do you know where Scotland is, Mokuba? It's the top half of Great Britain, the big island next to France. The small one is Ireland. But get this, Mokuba, the train's platform was between two Muggle ones! You had to go through a brick wall to get to it. Sounds impossible, doesn't it? And the Muggles don't notice a thing.

We had a feast here. The Headmaster is called Professor Dumbledore. He has really long white hair and a really long white beard. He looks really old, but really powerful. He gave us a speech, and then food appeared from apparently nowhere! It was amazing. But before all that, we got sorted into one of four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Their method for sorting is an interesting one, Mokuba. It's a hat with a mind of its own. It can talk, too. It shouts out the name of the house you're in. I got sorted into Slytherin. Its symbol is the snake, and its colors are green and silver. Figures I'd be in the snake house. We're being raised by one, wouldn't you agree? The Sorting Hat (that's what the talking hat is called, Mokuba) said that I had a great mind for Slytherin for the fact that I was clever. Apparently, I could fit into all the houses, though.

Good night, Mokuba. Tomorrow is the first day of school. It will be exciting, I'm sure. How are you doing over there? Gozaburo isn't treating you that bad, I hope.

Your Big Brother,

Seto