Guess I Got Lucky

When Dumbledore made the offer to the students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons that they were invited to stay at Hogwarts, and finish their magical eduaction, Audrey Williams couldn't have been more relieved.

Ever since the Dark Mark, Lord Voldemort's sign, had appeared in the starry, moonlit sky over the Quidditch World Cup, Audrey had been living alone. The wizarding community was sent into a state of shock. Many of the suspected Death Eaters, Voldemort's most faithful supporters, had gone missing, or "took a vacation". Audrey's parents were among them. The pieces of a 15-year-old puzzle were finally coming together.

Audrey had been a student at Durmstrang, a school for the young witches and wizards of its area. The school's teaching were centered around the Dark Arts, Voldemort's craft. Her parents wanted her to know Voldemort's ways, and they knew Karkaroff would be the one to do it. Professor Karkaroff was a "retired" Death Eater (more or less "in hiding"). With Voldemort on the rise again, slowly regaining his title of the Dark Lord , Audrey had to get out of Durmstrang.

Not being the kind of person wanting to be associated with the most powerful Dark wizard in the world, the slim, red-headed girl raced to the Head Table after the "End of the Year" Feast.

"Professor Dumbledore, may I have a word with you?" she asked as he rose from his chair.

He nodded and stepped down from the table.

"Sure my dear, what can I help you with?"

" Well, Professor, it's about the offer you made the foreign students. Did you mean what you said?"

" Yes. I mean everything I say, most of the time."

" Well, is that offer upstanding, I mean, can we actually stay here??"

" I said you could, didn't I? I'm pretty sure you can," Dumbledore thought to himself for a moment, "AH, yes. You can."

" Really!" Audrey couldn't have been more overjoyed. "Well, Professor. I was wondering if I could take you up on that offer?"

" Well, of course. I'm sure we would all be delighted to have you as a part of our school. But, we must get you sorted. Since you are the first to ask, I will just go ahead and get that done with now. Seeing as you still have time. Follow me to my office."

Through all the excitement, Audrey couldn't help but wonder what Dumbledore meant by "sorted". Audrey trailed behind him as he led the way down a dimly lit passageway. They came to a large, golden statue. Audrey recognized it from one of her textbooks. The large, mystical creature that stood before her was a Griffen. With its head and wings being from an eagle, and its body of a lion, the creature looked as if it wasn't real.

" Pixie Sticks," said Dumbledore. The statue began to move, slowly rotating, revealing a spiral staircase as it turned.

Dumbledore hopped onto a stair, letting the magic do the work. The stairs came to a slow halt and Dumbledore called down to Audrey, his voice bouncing off the stone walls.

"Are you going to come up, my dear, or are you going to just stand there?"

Audrey snapped back to reality as the words echoed in her ears. She ran up the stairs hurriedly, stumbling on her own feet. Scrambling back up, she slowed her pace and collected herself before she continued up the stairs. She found Dumbledore waiting patiently on the threshold. Behind him was a long, dark corridor. He raised his hands and clapped twice. Torches of golden flame flickered to life. With his cloaks billowing behind him, Audrey thought Dumbledore looked regal.

She followed him into his office. It was a large, circular room, with pictures of what she assumed were previous headmasters and mistresses. Each was framed in an elegant, golden frame with a smooth plate attatched to the wall underneath it. Etched into each plate was the name of the wizard or witch in the picture. Apparently it was naptime, for all of them seemed to be sleeping.

Looking around Dumbledore's office, a large, golden bird caught Audrey's eye. It was perched on a large, leather chair that Dumbledore was now sitting in behind a half-moon shaped desk that was cluttered with forgotten notes and discarded quills. He noticed her staring at the bird to the left of his head.

"His name is Fawkes, Audrey."

"He's....that's a...it's a Phoenix!"

Audrey stared in amazement.

"Yes, a phoenix...but he prefers you use his name," Dumbledore said with a chuckle.

"Oh, umm, sorry."

He motioned for her to take a seat in the chair across from him as he stood up.

"I have to go get the other professors. I won't be long."

"Yessir."

Audrey watched as his tall, pointed hat disappeared though the doorway. She let her eyes wander over the many shelves that looked as if they were about to fall off the wall. Obviously held up by magic, the shelves were packed with all kinds of whirly things of every size, shape and color. Her gaze fell upon on old threadbare wizard's hat that looked as if it were breathing. Audrey shook her head.

She didn't have much time to think about it, though. Dumbledore came back, closely followed by a tall, thin, greasy-haired man, a slim woman whose hair was pulled back into the tight bun it always was, a short, balding wizard who Audrey barely recognized, and a witch with frazzled, gray hair and muddy cheeks. She named them as they filed in.

'Ok, there's Snape..and McGonagall. Who is that....oh! Flitwick. Hmm..I guess that's Sprout...'

Her train of thought was interrupted when Dumbledore began to speak.

"I would start off by introducing the professors you see before you, but you already know them, so why bother?"

He turned to Professer Snape.

"Severus, the hat, please."

The greasy-haired man that Dumbledore had addressed walked over to the shelf that Audrey had been staring at. He grabbed the threadbare hat and pulled it down from its resting place. Watching the hat as Snape handed it to Dumbledore, Audrey could have sworn it flinched.

"Audrey," Dumbledore cleared his throat, "this is the Sorting Hat."

He held up the gray, tattered hat.

" When this school was founded, our four founding wizards and witches decided there had to be a way to sort the students that had been invited to Hogwarts. Instead of hand selecting them, they'd let the hat do it for them. Each founder based their selections on important character traits. The students with those traits were sorted into their house, the houses being Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. That hat is able to pick out these traits and sort accordingly. All that is needed of you is to place this hat upon your head, and the hat will do the rest."

"Alright then," Audrey said in a shaky, but certain voice.

Dumbledore set the hat upon Audrey's had and stepped back. The room fell silent as its occupants waited for the hat to begin. After a few seconds had passed, Audrey heard a whisper coming from somewhere to her left. She looked up at the professors standing in front of her but none of them were speaking. Audrey strained her ears to hear catch a word, a phrase, anything. She felt the hat moving on her head and she froze.

" ....bravery..Slytherin. Perhaps...no, couldn't be...."

" Say that again?" Audrey said aloud.

"My dear," Audrey jumped, "We have a choice. You have the wit and intelligence of a fine Ravenclaw student, but the bravery and loyalty of an even better Gryffindor. Yet, you are the definition of the perfect Slytherin. It's funny actually. You remind me of two other students - perhaps you have had the pleasure of meeting them both. Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy."

The hat chuckled to itself.

" Astounding wizards, both of them. Anyway, like them, I leave the choice of where you want to go up to you."

Audrey thought to herself.

'Definition of Slytherin, eh? Well, that should explain it then...if it explained it, I wouldn't be thinking about it, now would I?"

Not knowing which way to go, she whipped the hat off of her head and stood up.

"Professor Dumbledore, the hat can't decide. And niether can I."

Professor McGonagall spoke before Dumbledore had realized what Audrey had said.

" What do you mean the hat can't decide? That's impossible, and preposterous."

" I apologize, Professor, but it isn't my fault. It said that I would fit into three different houses. Ravenclaw, being the least of which I'm compatible for, Gryffindor, and Slytherin. Slytherin being the highest. It said that I reminded it of two other students here."

The professors stared at Audrey with a look of utter surprise and astonishment.

" So you do," Dumbledore said quietly. "Audrey, my dear, you have the makings of a very fine witch. And it is....remarkable as to how similar you are to the two students the hat mentioned. Absolutely remarkable. Both have been in this position, and both made the right descision. I'm sure you can, too. "

" But how, sir?!"

" By putting the hat back on your head, and following your heart."

Audrey sighed. She placed the tattered, threadbare hat back upon her head once more and made up her mind.

"Slytherin."