Hogwarts had been something she and Mo had waited for eleven - almost twelve - long years for. And it was finally here. They'd joined their future classmates at the station, boarded the boats, and literally sailed across the Great Lake. It had been absolutely dreamy watching the castle get bigger and bigger with the night sky and stars reflected in the water below. And it was made all that much better by the fact that Mo and G were both here with her. She could not imagine this without them and felt a surge of gratefulness that Regina had finally shown her signs of magic last month even if it had been quite big.

But then as the three were led up to the front of the Great Hall under the watching eyes of all the older students she came to the sudden conclusion that with both Ramona and Regina's names starting with Rs and her name starting with an S that she would have to go last. How that had never occurred to her she wasn't sure but the idea of seeing her sister and aunt both be sorted and off to their tables (hopefully table singular) made her stomach turn. She didn't want to sit there with both of them watching her already knowing their own fates. She didn't want everyone to see her reaction if the Sorting Hat put her somewhere different. (Especially Mo though she wouldn't actually tell G that.) She already knew she would be crushed. So many of their relatives had asked if they wanted to be in different houses. Said things about being different people. Establishing themselves. Having space.

But Tells liked Mo. She didn't want space. They could be their own people just fine while still being together. They already were their own people. She didn't want last night to be the last time until Christmas that she and Mona slept in the same room. Being without Mona and G would also mean that she wouldn't have anyone she could be herself with. Everyone would expect her to act this way and not that way. She'd have to watch what she said all the time. And without them to talk, everyone would get upset with her when she didn't talk enough. Shifting uneasily with the idea and the weight of all the eyes, she reached out, brushing her hands against the two girls.

But then she didn't have that much time to dwell (well really it felt both impossibly long and scarily fast all at the same time) as the hat made its way through the list of names - many that she recognized - and eventually, she watched as her sister was called up. It didn't take but a couple of seconds before the hat screamed out its choice, sealing her twin's fate for the next seven years. Its announcement lifted a weight. She'd known her sister wanted Gryffindor. Then it was G's turn and Tells was left standing alone in the shrinking crowd. Like her sister, the hat didn't take long to decide where to put Regina and its announcement returned the weight to her stomach. Hufflepuff. She could see it, she guessed. But they'd been separated and now it was just her left.

And then it was her turn. Bracing, she forced herself to take the handful of steps up to the hat, pivot, sit on the stool, and allow the hat to be placed on her head. Its weight (surprisingly heavy for a hat) didn't make the twisting in her stomach go away. If anything it made it worse as she looked out and caught her sister's and then her "cousin's" eyes. She felt guilty but part of her was immensely grateful that the hat would decide where she was to go. It meant she didn't have to be the one to choose between her sister and G.

"Describe yourself in three words."
Describe yourself in three words. She'd known the hat would ask her questions but she hadn't been accounting for them to be hard. Three words were... limiting. She felt like she was a lot more than three words but she supposed she could find three that encompassed her. I'm loyal. And imaginative. And... she trailed off, struggling to find one last word that she could use that would describe all of her. If only she could ask Mona what other word she would use. Had the hat asked her sister the same questions? And thoughtful?

"Would you rather be able to change into an animal, change your appearance, or see the future?"
This one she didn't need to think about. An animal, Tells replied, starting to get used to the idea of talking to a hat with her mind. She wouldn't want to see the future, even if sometimes she liked to daydream about what she'd be when she grew up. (Most of the times she was a knight from one of her books.) It just seemed like a way to end up worrying about something you couldn't change. She didn't envy seers. And while changing her appearance would be fun, she didn't really have any issue with how she looked now. Being able to change into an animal seemed much more fun. I want to be able to run so fast or fly. To feel the wind. Like the feeling I get riding a horse but with my own body.

"If you could invent a potion, what would it do?"
For as much as she liked to daydream, it was always about riding off on a horse. Or playing in the garden with her friends. Or playing a game of pickup quidditch with her sister and their parents. Even if she'd dreamed she was some sort of master witch in a tower it had always been about what was going on around her. She'd never thought of details like what potion she'd made. And now that the hat had asked her, she wasn't sure. Mmmmm maybe something that makes whoever takes it more creative? It would be nice to have something to help whenever I struggle with my music. Unless that already exists.

"Imagine you see someone cheat in class. What do you do?"
At the question, she wiggled uncomfortably on the stool. Her first thought felt like the wrong answer. Surely she shouldn't tell the hat that while she wouldn't cheat, she probably wouldn't do anything about someone else cheating. I guess if I caught someone cheating off me I would tell them not to. Beyond that... I think it depends on the details like what the assignment is. Is it their N.E.W.T.s? Then that is horrible. I would hate it if my healer cheated on their finals. But if it is just a question on the homework and they had everything else on their own... well I don't think that is such a big deal. Unless it is something like our N.E.W.T.s I would just try to talk to the person themselves. After that Tella fell silent. She'd never really been one to feel strongly about academics even at home with her governess (yeah she had her things she found interesting but they weren't the most important things in the world either) so it was hard to care too much about it on the small scale.

"Who is your enemy and how will you defeat them?"
For a second she just gasped, sitting on the stool like a stunned fish. Who was her enemy? Who did the hat think she was? Why do I have an enemy? I don't have an enemy. And hopefully no one thought of her as their enemy. Sure she liked stories where the knight defeated the dragon to save the day and she dreamed of being a knight one day but an actual enemy? No. Sure I have some people I dislike but enemy is kind of a lot. Well... I guess I don't like it when people tell me I can't do something. Like momma said they'd tell me I can't wear pants here. Does that count?"