Our story starts on the chilly morning of September 1rst, as a small little boy aged eleven pecks his mother's cheeks, promises his father to write, and then promptly runs through a bricked wall.

Six hours and forty three minutes later, this raven haired boy steps out onto the pavement, dragging the cage in which his owl rests, and follows the booming voice of a giant that calls them out to the boats.

A further thirty minutes later, he excitedly turns around to face the sandy haired boy next to him as the elderly witch with a pointed hat and stiff expression shuts the door behind her, effectively locking the cluster of first years in a tiny room which he knows, as per his father's information, is where all boys and girls aged eleven wait before they are sorted into the four houses of Hogwarts.

'Where do you reckon you'll end up?' he inquires of the boy next to him, who looks only a little bit tired, though that is to be expected from the long and arduous journey they have had.

'Hufflepuff, I'spose,' the boy answers back. His name is Remus.

The raven haired boy scrunches his nose, 'Bit boring, wouldn't you say? Nothing interesting ever happens in Hufflepuff'

Remus shrugs his shoulders, 'What about you, James?'

James puffs his chest out arrogantly as he says, 'Slytherin's where I'm going. All the greatest wizards and witches come from Slytherin'

'I suppose you'll be with me then,' pipes up the boy standing to his right. His eyes are the colour of stormy gray skies and his black hair reaches an inch past his ears in tangled, wavy locks.

James steps back to include him into the conversation, 'Who're you?'

'Black,' the boy says, somewhat dejectedly. If James picks up on it, he refuses to show it. 'Sirius Black'

'I'm James Potter. I reckon we're cousins or something. All the pureblood family's are, and my mum's good friends with some guy named Alphard. D'you know him?'

Sirius raises his head in interest, 'He's my uncle. One of the only few people in my family I can stand'

James lips sneak up in a grin, and Sirius quips his mouth to the side in return.

'This is Remus,' says James, turning around to indicate the sandy-haired, blue eyed boy next to him.

Remus shoots him a smile and Sirius nods in return.

'You a pureblood too?' he asks, noting the way his newly-found friend's smile dips slightly.

'Yeah,' he replies quietly.

James opens his mouth to speak, but is interrupted by the creak of the door as it opens. Blinding light fills the dimly lit room, and his sense of smell is awash with mouth-watering odours of gravy, herbs, and treacle tart.

'Come along,' says Professor McGonagall, as she ushers the first years into the Great Hall.

His father had told him all about Hogwarts and his imagination had followed his father's recollected tales, but no amount of day dreaming, no matter how vivid and far-fetched could possibly live up to the real thing.

What little light was not provided by the thousands of floating candles, was shone down upon in brilliance by the stars above them. He knew that there was a ceiling above them, but had he not read Hogwarts: A History, he would not have been able to guess it.

'Look,' gasped Remus excitedly, as he pointed to the hat sitting on the stool in front of them, all traces of hesitancy and sadness gone from his demeanour.

'The Sorting Hat,' said Sirius, in a somewhat awed voice.

The chatter of excited whispers amongst the first years died down as the brim of the hat suddenly opened and it burst into song. James tried to keep up with what it said, but got distracted by the oddly hilarious shapes its 'mouth' took as it worded its poem.

Next thing he knew, Professor McGonagall was calling out names.

'Abbot, Cameron'

'Hufflepuff!' shouted the hat, as soon as it was set upon the blonde boy's head.

And so it began.


A/N: This story isn't going to span from first year to seventh. I figured a little background was needed before I began the actual plot. The story may seem a little bit light-hearted right now, but it will start getting pretty serious, pretty soon.

My story's based on a prompt from a Hogwarts forum. I could've made James the best friend from their childhood and Severus the arrogant toe-rag who gets on her nerves, but I figured it'd be more interesting to see how the characters would adapt if their personalities and general storyline (Severus being the best friend, James being the git) remained the same, whilst they lived in different houses.

James being in Slytherin means this story is going to be a little bit dark. It'll be written primarily through his point of view, though I think I'll add moments which may seem inconsequential in this story, as separate fics written in the point of view of different people as kind of side-alongs.

Hope you like it. I may be needing a beta so do PM me if you're up for it.

Constructive criticism is always appreciated!

Now go eat a delicious bar of chocolate, dear reader.