Gogo's eyes sparkled with awe as he gazed around the cavernous room around him, over the heads of the procession of fellow first years, scanning the dozens... hundreds of faces turned his way, marveling over the towering ceiling blending in to the evening sky, dotted with the dancing lights of hundreds of candles. The closest he'd ever gotten to the castle before was a breif glance of the tip of a turret over the canopy of the forbidden forest when he'd run away to join Poldi there a couple of years earlier (and even that may or may not have actually just been the tip of a particularly high evergreen tree), but he'd known even then that it would be the greatest place he'd ever been. Still, it was about a thousand times better than he could have ever imagined. To hear Poldi talk about it, the entance in to the sorting was like the solumn march of gladiators into a roman colosseum with every eye preying on their misery, but that was all wrong. He felt more like King Arthur, being harolded into his coronation with loads of other King Arthurs marching in beside him. If he was squinted, he could almost pretend that the ratty, old wizard's hat the professor set down on the stool was a crown.

It was even grander, though, as, soon, a big rip opened up on its... face? Yes, he supposed it must have been a face, and started talking. "Wow!" he blurted out audibly, loudly enough for a couple of other people next to him to glance over at him. Why hadn't Poldi mentioned that?! Everything, the station, the train ride, the boat ride, it had all come out to be just about the best adventure he'd ever had in his life, even better than the tiger! He had hoped that the giant squid might have come out of the lake while they were on the boats, but the hat more than made up for that. It even sang! Besides, he would still have time to see the squid, seven years of time as long as he studied hard and got good marks, as long as he didn't waste their money (and made sure he didn't get himself expelled). He'd have to be really careful never to get caught doing anything he wasn't supposed to.

With a glance up at the teacher's table, he threw a friendly smile at a rather severe-looking teacher who caught his eye. With a surname that started with S, he had plenty of time on his hands. He might as well start getting people on his side now. It didn't hurt that he was particularly good mood. This had to be the greatest place on Earth. It felt like his heart was floating in his chest with cheer and excitement. He could probably win over a Golem in the mood he was in now (and everyone knew they were the most stone-faced of magical creatures.... if they were even actually real).

He had never really understood how Mutti could have given all this up or how Poldi could have been homesick here. He definitely din't understand it any better now. He watched, enthralled, as person after person was called up to the stool, had the hat placed on their heads and waited, sometimes a long time, sometimes a little, until the hat shouted out the name of their houses and they walked beaming, or at least relieved down to their new houses tables. He looked around the crowd and threw a few encouraging smiles to a few nervous-looking classmates, his fellow late alphabet surnamers. He waited, and waited, until, finally, he heard his name ring out theough the hall. Eagerly, he rushed down the aisle between the tables, managing to control himself just enough not to run as he climbed the stairs and plopped himself down on the stool with a pounding heart. Only now, did he feel nervous. Which house would he be in? They all sounded good, really. Smart Ravenclaws, brave Gryffindors (which he had to admit, sounded particularly exciting), hard-working Hufflepuffs, ambitious Slytherins... Poldi wasn't all that mad about that last group. He said they weren't all so nice to muggleborns like Mutti, but Poldi also said the school wasn't as good as home, which obviously wasn't true, so he wasn't sure how worried he was about that. He definitely didn't mind the idea of being right next to the kitchens like Poldi had been, though, or way high up in a tower. All he had to do was wait a few more moments and he would know where he would be for his whole next seven years. He felt like he might throw up... but in a good way if that was possible.