First Year

James

The train was slowing down. At last. James and Sirius leapt up, filling their pockets with the remaining sweets. By the time the carriage shuddered to a halt, they were already reaching for their trunks. James grabbed the top of his new owl's cage and they both tumbled out onto the platform.

"What's his name then?"

"Shakespeare."

Sirius snorted.

"Hey, it was my mum's idea, he was a muggle writer or something; she reads a lot of muggle plays."

"Firs' years this way, come on, come on."

A huge man stood at the end of the platform holding a lantern, calling over the heads of students.

"Hagrid." Said James.

"mm, my parents aren't his biggest fans, if you catch my drift…"

Oh, well I've known him my whole life, so you'll get to know him soon enough. He's great!"

They came to a halt at the edge of a stone jetty, where a fleet of small boats waited.

"Alrigh' there James? Excited? In ya get then."

Lily

The boats moved slowly across the lake. Severus had begun a conversation about the sorting, but Lily's mind was wandering.

Lily, come on, we're leaving!

"Anyway, You'd better be in Slytherin, like I said. I'll be in there for sure, but…."

You're a freak Lily, I'm telling Mummy.

"Hufflepuffs are a bunch of idiots…"

Are you serious? We can write? Lily, I don't want to keep in touch.

But Tuney, we're sisters, you're my best friend!

Was. You've replaced me now.

What?! You think Sev's replaced you? You can't…

"and Ravenclaw. They're all really stuck up, not as smart as they think, either."

It's good you're being separated from normal people. It's for our safety.

"But, Lily, you can't be sorted into Gryffindor, it's the worst. You really can't. Brave at heart!" Severus scoffed and Lily dragged her thoughts back into the present. In the run up to today, she'd been dwelling on Sev's descriptions of the different houses a lot. If Lily was honest with herself, Slytherin sounded awful. Ravenclaw sounded quite good, but Lily hadn't a very high opinion of herself, and was certain she wasn't clever enough. Gryffindor sounded like the arch enemy of Slytherin, and she didn't want to set herself against Sev from the word go, she had never been put in any danger and wasn't sure how far her courage stretched anyway. Hufflepuff sounded like the most probable option, the only qualities that Lily knew and admired in herself were her kindness and patience, Hufflepuff would be an ok outcome, despite the derogatory tone Sev spoke in. Deep down, Lily knew she wouldn't be a Slytherin, she was muggleborn. Severus was kidding himself.

"Lily, are you OK? You're thinking about the mu- Your sister again, aren't you?"

"I miss her Sev." Lily turned her face away so Sev couldn't see her expression, hence missing the half exasperated, half smugly superior look on his.

"Nearly there!" Whispered Severus. Lily muttered an unintelligible response as the boats bumped gently against the shore.

Lily

Lily stood in the vaulted stone entrance hall and listened intently to everything that Professor McGonagall said. She felt mildly frustrated by the two irritating boys, whispering on her left, but kept her expression neutral and did not turn her head. Her excitement about being sorted was building and she couldn't wait to be sorted. She hurried forward as the doors opened and the first years surged through, faltering slightly at the sight of every face in the huge hall turned towards them expectantly. The room was spectacular, huge, great stone walls sloping at the top towards a ceiling of stars. Bewitched, Lily knew, she had already read Hogwarts: A History. Twice!

The sorting hat was old and battered, but Lily knew that looks could be deceiving. She listened carefully to the rhyming verse that came pouring from a wide rip near the brim;

"so now you'll wait and I'll decide, for in which house you shall reside." The resultant clapping died out quickly as the sorting began. Lily's hands were clenched so tightly that her nails cut into her palms as she stood waiting for her turn.

"Not Slytherin, that's for sure. Kind, patient, loyal, Hufflepuff, perhaps? Brains…" The hat mumbled indistinctly for a minute or two, before "Gryffindor!" Lily was torn between surprise, relief and regret. With a last glance back at Sev, She turned and moved slowly to the table.

James

James was rocking back and forwards on the balls of his feet, eager to confirm what he already knew. Sirius, already becoming a fast friend, had broken tradition and joined the Gryffindor table.

"Potter, James." Finally.

"Mm, interesting. You have your father's courage, but I feel your mother's kindness might lie beneath. And her intelligence too… No doubt really, Gryffindor!" James practically ran to the Gryffindor table, squeezing in between Sirius and a pale, serious looking boy. When the sorting came to an end, the boy introduced himself as Remus Lupin and the three began a conversation just as the dishes filled with an array of delicious food.

Many platefuls later, James finally stopped eating. He felt comfortably full and sat contemplating is new housemates as they carried on their conversations. Sirius was very like James, but more reckless and easy-going. James knew they were going to be very good friends. Having learnt some more about Sirius' family, he now remembered snippets of some overheard conversations between his parents and their friends and colleagues. He didn't doubt what Sirius told him; the Black family were exactly the kind of people his mother had tried to shield him from. James wondered vaguely what his parents would say when they learnt that he was well on the way to being best mates with a Black. Remus Lupin was odd, thought James. He seemed very nervous and self-effacing, but he clearly had very distinct ideas about right and wrong and seemed like a very genuine person. James liked him. Euphemia Potter was a very perceptive person, a quality that her son had inherited. Unless James was much mistaken, Remus had some carefully hidden, but deep self-disgust. James, who was extremely confident, verging on arrogance, and couldn't imagine disliking himself, so this aspect of Remus' character intrigued him.

There was a loud scraping noise and the benches were pushed back, bringing both James and Lily, who had been daydreaming, back to reality. Sighing, both rose from their respective positions and allowed themselves to be shepherded out of the hall by a red-headed prefect who introduced himself as Arthur.

Lily

Much later in the evening, Lily stood by the fire, silent. The common room was buzzing with first night chatter, but Lily's excitement was somewhat dimmed by her separation from Sev.

"Hello." Said a voice loudly. Someone was standing right behind her. Lily groaned inwardly, it was the boy from the train. She said nothing, but arranged her features into what she hoped was a condescending expression.

"What's up?" James continued.

"Well, you, in short. Leave me alone." She wasn't going to tell this boy that Petunia hated her, she was feeling the kind of wobbly sadness that came with being away from home and she hadn't seen Severus since they were sorted. Instead, she turned and stormed up the stairs to the girls dorms.

"Hi! I saw you at supper earlier, I'm Alice Fortescue, this is Marlene Mckinnon and Mary Macdonald, and-"

"Emmeline Vance." Supplied the black-haired girl.

"I'm Lily Evans." She took a deep calming breath; "It's lovely to meet you all."

Lily

The dormitory was decorated similarly to the common room. The walls were draped in red and gold hangings, Gryffindor flags and embroideries. The dark floorboards had a worn but cosy look and the beds, chests and tables were weathered mahogany. Each bed had a few pillows, a duvet and numerous red blankets, as well as a colourful patchwork quilt. Lying on her back, Lily marveled at the way her belongings had been arranged on her dressing table and chest of drawers in the same way she would have put them herself. A photo of her family; Petunia's arm slung carelessly across her shoulders, smiling happily, her hairbrush and lipbalm, a glass of water, a small cactus in glass pot, a picture of her beloved dog, Polly and another of her friend Alicia, from muggle primary school. Little pieces of her muggle life, carried with her into this new one. Her clothes had been folded in the drawers, her robes draped over the heater in the centre of the room (turned off as the September weather was warm) and trunk stowed underneath her bed. She wondered vaguely who had done the tidying and unpacking, before, listening to Alice Fortescue's soft snores, she drifted off to sleep.