"Bandee, Helena."

Helena blinked as she stepped forward to put on the Sorting Hat. She chewed her lip, trying to decide which house she wanted to be in. She didn't really have a preference, although judging from the song it had just finished singing, she rather thought she would be a shoo-in for either Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff.

Suddenly she heard a whisper inside her mind, which brought her up ramrod straight.

Ah...I see, I see... WHAT did it see? She wondered desperately. I see unwavering loyalty and truthfulness in you...I also see a thirst for knowledge unlike many I've encountered in a very long time, and an impatience almost incongruous with your friendliness. But where to put you? Where, where, where?

Helena's lip was chewed to the point of masceration, and she quickly clenched her teeth as she tasted blood on her tongue. There was no point in self-flagellation, she'd get her answer soon enough.

After waiting on tenterhooks for what seemed like years, but was really only about thirty seconds, the Sorting Hat finally shouted, "Ravenclaw!" Helena grinned, feeling that the Hat chose correctly and, handing the Hat to the professor, she skipped off to sit with her fellow Ravenclaws, who were cheering very loudly at the prospect of another Ravenclaw.