Area 51

The Sorting

Helena felt a lot better about the sorting since Tree had told her how the sorting was meant to happen.

He had gone on to explain that they had each person hold a Wand of Choice rather than their own wand, which amplified the magic of the individual, and allowed them to perform spells beyond their years.

"Is it like the Elder Wand?" Helena asked him. He just shook his head, and repeated a warning.

"You can't compare your experiences to things Harry Potter experienced. We have our own traditions completely separate from other schools. Our own history."

Helena knew she needed to stop expecting adventures beyond her wildest dreams, where she could be the hero of wizarding kind, but it was difficult to get over this expectation when she knew how exciting Harry Potter's school years had been. He had been her hero for as long as she could remember, and she wanted to be like him, even though she knew the burden he had carried through his life.

"I know, I just have a habit of trying to compare things I learn to stuff I already know about," she explained. At the moment, she sat at a table with tree. Connor had joined them, but he seemed awkward around the seventh year, especially once he learned he was an Ignis at the top of his class.

"I mean, it's fine but there are a ton of people who have extreme school pride who'll get all sassy with you about it." Tree told her.

"Oh, alright."

The sorting ceremony was set to start soon. The only rule was to sit outside at the tables and wait for the sorting to take place. They would call the first years up in alphabetical order, then they would follow the top scoring students, who had been named the heads of the houses, before going inside to sit at their house tables in the cafeteria.

Tree had explained this in a flat tone. Helena was glad that M wasn't far towards the end of the alphabet. There were only seven total first years that year, meaning she wouldn't have to wait long regardless.

"Antonia Carter!" was the first to be called up. She was instructed to say flamma. Nothing happened, so she was instructed to say ventum. Nothing happened then either. She was instructed to say imfluunt. A rush of water came from the wand of choice, sorting her into Aqua.

"Barney Humpfrey!" was next. It wasn't until he was instructed to say folium that a flower began to blossom on the end of his wand, sorting him into Terra.

"Connor Finnegan!" was called up. Helena watched him nervously grab the wand. Nothing would happen until he said ventum and was sorted into Caeli, which made sense to Helena the more she thought about it.

"Helena Montgomery!" was called to hold the wand. She took it confidently, knowing she would be sorted on the flamma. To no one's surprise, her wand's tip caught fire, and she was sorted into Ignis. She sat back down next to Connor and Tree.

"Mary Napel!" was next, and Helena was glad to see her again after meeting her at the wand shop. She was sorted into Aqua.

"Phillip Napel!" her twin was next, and he was sorted into Caeli. He seemed upset about that. Perhaps, Helena thought, he wished her could be in the same house as his sister. She understood that.

"Julie Wilson!" was the last one to be called. She was sorted into Terra, which made Helena breathe a sigh of relief.

"I'm kind of glad she wasn't sorted into Ignis with me. I don't think I could deal with being her roommate." Helena said to Connor, making him shrug.

"I guess I'm rooming with that Phillip guy," he said. "In my opinion, a roommate of some kind is better than no roommate at all."

"Well, I'm pretty sure I'm fine as far as that goes," Helena said.

"Uh, what do you mean? You aren't going to have a roommate. You're the only one is Ignis," Connor said.

"Yeah," Tree said. "Which really sucks for me. I only get to show one person around."

"Are you sure?" Helena asked, thinking she must've heard of another first year sorted into Ignis. Connor and Tree shook their heads.

"There are only seven first years. It was going to be uneven no matter what happened," Tree said. "But whatever. They all look like they couldn't handle Ignis."

"What is there to handle?" Helena asked, sure he was just being dramatic. He held up his hands, showing various scars and burns. Most were long faded, but a few seemed newer.

"See my hands. They're still scarred from before I learned to not burn myself. Fire magic is painful. I've accidentally burned so many of my clothes, I've lost count. Ignis isn't an easy house to be in. Most don't have the spirit to handle it. No offense to you Connor."

"None taken," Connor said, and it actually sounded like he wasn't offended at all.

"Anyway, Helena, I'm just trying to warn you. You're gonna get burned a lot. I'm gonna come up to your room after the feast and cast some fireproof charms on your clothes so you don't burn through those. Maybe a few of your other things too. During my first year, the head of Ignis wouldn't help me with the charm, and my parents were so mad when I ruined all my clothes and shoes."

"Thanks, Tree." Helena said, giving him a hug.

"No problem. That's what friends are for."