At the Beginning Part I
Starting out on a Journey
*
We were strangers
Starting out on a journey
Never dreaming
What we'd have to go through
Now here we are
And I'm suddenly standing
At the beginning with you
*
"But anyway, my mum and dad never would tell me what it was. Of course, they always smiled at me whenever I asked about it, so I suppose it couldn't really be anything that bad. Maybe it's some sort of oral test?"
"Oh, I hope not!" Lily said fervently, shaking her head. She was standing, rather cold and damp from the trip across the lake, in a hallway with a lot of other first year students, who looked just about as confused and scared as she felt. "I'm sure I'd freeze up and not be able to answer anything they asked me."
"Well, there are worse things, you know. It could be a test."
"Oh, don't say things like that! I don't know any magic at all, I'd simply die, I'm sure!"
"Oh, relax, I'm sure it'll be fine," replied the girl Lily had been discussing the sorting ceremony with.
Just then, a young woman with dark hair pulled into a tight bun entered the hall.
"The sorting is about to begin. Form a line and follow me. And behave."
For a few seconds, she stood still and erect, surveying the huddled students with dark, sharp eyes from behind rather large, square glasses. Then, she turned on her heels and proceeded out the tall doors, motioning with a wave of her hand for the students to follow her.
Wordlessly, Lily stepped into line with the rest of the silent students, her heart beating madly in her chest. The girl she'd been talking with slipped in front of her with a wink. This was slightly reassuring. From what little the girl had said about herself, Lily had gathered that she came from an all-wizarding family. If she wasn't that scared, Lily didn't know why she should be.
With a start, Lily realized she'd stepped through the huge doors into a different, gigantic room. Looking around wonderingly, she noticed four tables filled with older children lined up across the floor. Above them, and facing the first years, was another table, at which several adults Lily assumed were teachers were seated. Shaking slightly, she felt the hundreds of eyes on her and everyone standing around her.
"Make them stop," she thought to herself. "I just know I'll do something wrong if they keep watching me like that!"
Luckily, Lily's prayers were answered within seconds. A voice rang out into the hall, singing. Curious, she looked around everywhere, trying to find the source of the song. Finally, her eyes rested on an extremely old-looking hat, patched and frayed in every which way, that was perched atop a stool in the center of the room. With a start, she realized the hat had a gaping hole in it-and that the words were coming from inside the hole!
"Amazing," she whispered, as the hat stopped its song and the room began to shake with the students' thunderous applause.
"I guess so," came a low voice from behind her. Whirling around, she saw tall boy with long black hair covering his mouth with a hand, as if he'd just yawned. He met her bright green eyes with his deep black ones, and casually dropped his hand, revealing a smile that made Lily shiver, although she didn't quite know why.
"Severus Snape," he said, nodding his head.
"Lily Jenkins," she replied, turning around again, as the woman who had brought them into the hall called "Arrington, Annabelle."
"RAVENCLAW!" cried the hat.
"Banker, Steven!"
"RAVENCLAW!" it cried again.
"What house are you hoping for?" asked the low voice from behind her.
"I-I don't really know," mumbled Lily, suddenly aware again of her next to no knowledge of anything about Hogwarts, and hoping Severus didn't laugh at her.
"Imagine that! I know where I want to go, of course. My whole family's been in there, and I can't imagine what they'd think if I wasn't accepted. But I will be."
"And, er, which house is that?" asked Lily, trying to conceal her eagerness to know what the most preferred house was.
"Slytherin," he replied, as a Black, Sirius, became the first Gryffindor.
He didn't say anything else, so Lily turned forward again in time to hear the woman with the square glasses call "Dayton, Kelsey."
"Bye," whispered the girl in front of her, jogging up to the hat and placing it over her blond curls.
"HUFFLEPUFF!" screamed that hat, and Lily began to think that maybe she wanted to be in Hufflepuff as well.
"Excellent," said Severus from behind her, and Lily noticed a rather large boy with hair so blond it looked as if it had been bleached walk to the table on the far side of the room, where the rest of the students seated there were standing up and clapping. She supposed, from Snape's words, that it was the Slytherin table.
Then Farthing, Emma, became a Hufflepuff, and a pair of twin girls became Gryffindors. But as Isaacson, Nathaniel, was sorted into Slytherin, Lily began to be nervous again. Her turn was coming up, and she was far from feeling ready. What if she was put in a house she didn't fit into? What if she couldn't make any friends? What if-
"Jenkins, Lily."
Slowly, Lily walked up to the stool, legs feeling as though they were about to collapse beneath her, painfully aware that the whole school would know about it if she did something stupid. But after what seemed like ages, she reached the stool and clapped the hat on over hear head.
"Hmmm," muttered a voice from somewhere around her head, and Lily instantly forgot what she was so scared of. "Very interesting," continued the hat, "a mixture of things I've not seen the like of in a while. No matter, we'll find where you belong. Hufflepuff might do," (Lily's heart leapt for a moment), "but then again, I think somewhere like Ravenclaw could fit just as well. It's a rather impressive mind you have, dear. Or-Slytherin? I don't know, somehow I don't think that's right at all. But Gryffindor-yes, I think we have something there. You have the potential to be great. Indeed, I'm sure now that you're a
"GRYFFINDOR!".
Somewhat dazedly, Lily got to her feet and made her way over to the table on the opposite end from the Slytherin one, where several people sat smiling and clapping. She tried to smile back as she sat herself down next to a girl she recognized as one of the twins.
"Hullo," said the girl cheerfully. "Lily, right? Welcome to Gryffindor."
"Th-thank you," said Lily, studying the girl. She had rough brown hair pulled into two long, wind-blown braids, and big, merry blue eyes. The girl sitting next to her looked exactly the same, down to the mismatched rubber bands that held together her braids. She smiled briefly at Lily, then returned her gaze to the boy sitting across from her, who she seemed to be deep in conversation with.
"So where are you from?"
"Surrey."
"Oh! We have cousins there," said the girl, jerking her head toward her twin. "We're from Liverpool. So...pureblood?"
"Excuse me?"
"I guess not, then. Pureblood is the word we use for anyone whose parents were our kind. You know, wizards."
"Oh, right," said Lily, slapping herself mentally. She'd read all about wizard terms, and had convinced herself she wouldn't forget any of them. "I'm Muggle born."
"That's neat. Our older brother, Nick, knows all about Muggles. His best friend was one, you see. Of course, he had to leave him to go off to Hogwarts, telling him he was going off to some all-boys boarding school in Switzerland, or something. You should have seen the look on Andrew's face. He always thought we were an odd family. And he never even came into our house! Oh, look! A new Gryffindor!"
Sure enough, when Lily looked up, it was to see a nervous-looking boy with dusty hair making his way towards their table. She joined the rest of the Gryffindors clapping, before Ravenclaw overpowered them in honor of McFinley, Nicole.
"Hi," said the twin Lily had been talking to, smiling broadly at the boy, "Sarah Heidt. And that's my sister Lucy."
"I'm Lily," she added, "Lily Jenkins."
"Remus Lupin," said the boy softly, shifting his gaze from one place to the next, as though he couldn't believe where he was. After a moment, though, he sat himself down next to a much taller boy who Lily supposed must be a sixth or seventh year.
"Ooh, look at him," whispered Sarah, nodding toward the boy who was currently seated upon the sorting stool, hat down over his eyes. "Chubby little blighter, isn't he?"
Lily couldn't help but agree as she looked at him, waiting for the hat to pronounce the biggest part of his Hogwarts destiny. He was so fidgety! From one point of view, it was rather annoying. "But in some ways, I suppose it's rather endearing," Lily admitted to herself. "He looks rather like a little schoolboy starting his first day at kindergarten."
"Well the hat's certainly taking a long time with him," muttered Sarah a touch grumpily. "It'd do well to hurry up. My stomach's rumbling so loud I'm almost sure there are stampeding elephants inside. See, there it goes again!"
Lily giggled. Two full minutes later, the hat yelped out its judgment, and Peter Pettigrew became the newest Gryffindor.
"Potter, James!"
"Look at that hair!" squealed Sarah, pointing at the boy who had just stumbled out of line. "How cute is that! I don't suppose he even bothered brushing it this morning. That's good. I hate it when people are obsessive about the way they look. I don't see why it even makes a difference."
"Mmm," mumbled Lily, whose stomach had begun to rumble as well.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Oh good, that didn't take too long at all. Now only...around fifteen to go, I think."
"Sixteen," declared her twin, Lucy, speaking for the first time. Evidently, the boy across from her had dropped their conversation upon the approach of the boy whose hair Sarah had praised. "I counted. Lucy Heidt," she added quickly, remembering Lily.
"Lily Jenkins."
"I wonder if there'll be any more Gryffindors," Lucy began again, "or if this is the lot. I don't think so, though. It's an unusually small amount. I mean, seven? There are usually at least eight. Or at least that's what Anita told me."
"Anita?"
"Our older sister. We're a family of four children, you know. Anita, Nicholas, Sarah, and me. How about you?"
"Oh-I've got one sister," replied Lily, a picture of Petunia in her full, bony glory flashing across her mind.
"That's good, then. It's very good to have someone around to stay up at night and share secrets with," said Sarah, hanging her arm around Lucy."
"Yes-very good." Lily couldn't really imagine anyone sharing secrets with Petunia. She'd given it up years ago. It was just too hard: Petunia was the biggest gossiper Lily had ever met.
"Look, Lucy!" cried Sarah suddenly. "It's Sandy Ralling!"
"You're right!" yelled Lucy, pointing to the sorting stool so Lily could see whom they were referring to. "She's an old friend of ours from when we went to London on holiday," she explained. "I wonder--"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Oh," sighed Sarah, sounding slightly disappointed. "Oh well. Would you excuse us, Lily? Only we haven't seen her or her brother Edmund for about two years now."
Lily smiled and nodded her head in consent, and Lucy and Sarah tiptoed away toward the Ravenclaw table, whispering excitedly between them.
Dejectedly, Lily looked around at the people sitting next to her. Now that Sarah and Lucy were gone, she was in between a girl that looked just slightly older, and a boy a bit older than that. Both of them were turned the other way, conversing with the people on their other sides. Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew were sitting next to each other across from her, and kept shooting edgy looks at one another, although neither made any attempt at conversation. Resignedly, she returned her eyes to the students being sorted.
"SLYTHERIN!" the hat shouted, and Lily craned her neck to catch a glimpse of whoever had just been sorted. It was Severus Snape, the boy with the long hair who had been behind her in line.
"You gotta watch out for them Slytherins," said a voice from across the table. Turning, Lily realized the owner of the voice was none other than the boy with messy black hair. She wished she could remember his name, but she was so horrible at these things. Something with a P...
"We met that one on the train," said his companion, a boy who also had black hair, although his was a lot less unruly. "Ugh."
"He got what he wanted, anyway," said Lily, remembering their tidbits of conversation in line.
"And what he deserved, I'm sure," muttered the calm-haired one.
"James Potter," said the other, smiling at Lily.
"Of course!" said Lily silently. "Lily Jenkins," she said out loud.
"I remember," said James, and Lily suddenly felt horrible that she hadn't remembered him.
"Sirius Black," said the other. "Now who wants to bet that one'll be another of those darn snakes?"
"SLYTHERIN!" declared the hat, seconds later.
"How could you tell?" asked Lily, amazed.
"Isn't he cool?" laughed James.
"Well, it's really not that hard, you know," mumbled Sirius, pretending to be modest. "I mean, look at her. Beady black eyes, short and stocky, the squarest jaw I've ever seen-she even walks with her chin up!"
"I still don't get it," sighed Lily.
"Oh well. Takes practice, I'm sure, if you're not born with the knack."
"Are you a pureblood, then?" she asked, proud of herself for remembering this time.
"Nah. Just half. James here's pure, though."
"How about you?" asked James.
"Muggle-born. Very Muggle-born," she added, thinking of her all-too average family. For some reason, this sent Sirius and James into fits of laughter, and unavailable for chat at the moment, so Lily was more turned to the sorting ceremony, where Verrin, Elise, was being sorted.
"Another Gryffindor!" said loudly to Sirius and James, causing them to stop their laugher for a bit to study the new arrival, with her stick-straight, light brown hair and hazel eyes. She was joined halfway to the table by Sarah and Lucy Heidt, who immediately struck up a subject with her and sat down in a new place a bit further down the table, as the twins' previous spaces had been filled by a few guilty-looking stragglers who had walked in late.
Then Vultan, Emily, became a Slytherin, Warbel, Colin, became a Hufflepuff, and Williams, Erin, became a Gryffindor, and the long roll of names was folded up and shoved away into a robe pocket, the hat was rested on the stool once more, and the stool was taken from the room.
"Time for Dumbledore's little tidbit now," whispered Sirius knowingly. It looked as though he'd just been eavesdropping on the Heidt twins' talk with Elise.
James pointed at the teacher's table, where a man whose hair was just beginning to turn white had stood up, grinning hugely at his students.
"Hello again," he cried jovially, "and welcome to another new and exciting year at Hogwarts! And as I know you're all quite famished, why don't I make this short and to the point?"
"Bravo, man," muttered Sirius.
"Klinkworth, Michelobe, Idodd, Blink! Now enjoy the feast!"
"Amen," murmured James, picking up his knife and fork.
Lily was so deep in confusion at the man's words that she didn't notice that the previously empty plates in front of her were suddenly heaped with some of the most luscious food she'd ever seen. Roasted chicken, pepper-crusted steak, six different types of potatoes, filet of sole, smoked salmon with lemon and toast-the list was endless, not to mention the dishes full of foods she'd never seen before.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" asked James with a grin. "Dig in."
Lily did so, filling her plate with every which dish, until it was overflowing. Jamming it all into her mouth as fast as she could, she let her eyes wander down the table over everyone else's equally full plates. And then-an empty one? Curious, she looked up at the person whose plate it was.
She gasped audibly. It wasn't a person at all!
"Yes, I'm a ghost," it chuckled, seeing the flabbergasted look that lay upon her face. "I take it from the way you're staring at me right now I'm the first you've seen, too."
"I-I'm so sorry. I didn't realize I was staring, or I never would have--"
"Oh, it's quite all right, dear. Happens all the time. Rather amusing, actually. Anyway, the name's Sir Nicholas de Mimsy Porpington, resident ghost of Gryffindor tower. Have been for quite some time now, actually. A few hundred years, at least."
"Lily Jenkins," she said, trying her best to keep the surprise out of her voice. "Are you the only ghost?"
"In Gryffindor tower, yes. But there are hundreds of us in the castle. See over there, at the Hufflepuff table? That's the Fat Friar. Jolly sort of fellow, quite friendly. And the Ravenclaw ghost's the Grey Lady; you can just glimpse her over by that awfully tall fellow. She's a grand one, and barely opens her mouth without a few words of deep wisdom issuing forth from it. And the Slytherin ghost, who I don't think you can see from here, is the Bloody Baron. Give me the shivers every time I see him. Of course, he's awfully useful to have around. The only one who can control Peeves, you know. The resident poltergeist."
"Oh." Lily wished she could think of something else to say, but somehow, all words were failing her, so Sir Nicholas de Mimsy Porpington turned to the boy sitting next to him.
By that time, Sirius and James had introduced themselves to Remus and Peter, and the four of them were talking unconcernedly to each other, looking as though they'd forgotten they weren't the only ones at the table. And as Erin Williams had now joined in the older boy's conversation with the ghost, she finished her meal in peace, mind whirling as she tried to recollect all the past events of the day.
Later, after another, more serious speech from Dumbledore warning them not to go near the Forbidden Forest, and a rousing rendition of the school song (which Lily sang to the tune of "Happy Birthday to You", for lack of a better idea), the Gryffindors were led to their tower by a blonde prefect with matted hair, told the password (twinkle), and sent up to bed.
"Didn't realize how tired I was," yawned Lucy, climbing into her four-poster, which was farthest from the door.
Lily, in fact, had just noticed the same thing, and started to hurry and finish unpacking her things.
"It's wonderful here, though," murmured Elise dreamily, brushing through her smooth hair.
"Isn't it?" asked Sarah, pulling the covers back on her bed, which was in between Lucy's and Elise's. "I mean, we've heard so much about it from Anita and Nick, but it's still not quite the same as actually being here. I like the ceiling in the great hall best."
"It's really something, isn't it?" agreed Erin.
"Now everybody be quiet, I'm about to fall asleep," said Lucy sharply, pulling the curtains closed around herself.
One by one, the new Gryffindors did the same, Lily last of all. As she laid her pillow flat, Sarah's snores could already be heard from across the oval-shaped room. She smiled to herself. It was odd, but even though it was just her first day here, she already felt somewhat at home. Somehow, it was hard to miss her neat little light blue house with the white shutters when you were surrounded by grandeur every step you took. And she'd seen more amazing things in a day than she'd seen in the rest of her life put together.
Slowly, her mind submitted itself to the bliss of thoughtless sleep, and she felt her eyelids getting steadily heavier. The last things she was aware of before beginning to snore slightly herself was a complete sense of warm belonging, and an anxiousness to get up the next day.
* * *
Finis! Well, part one at least. Much more to come. I planned to cover a lot more in this part, but I kind of like the way it turned out, and it wouldn't really fit to add more in yet. I might have gotten a few minor facts wrong, like hair or eye color, and maybe you don't agree with me about what houses the characters should be in, but this is fanfiction, and it's okay to mess things up a little if you have a vision. Or at least that's what I think, and I just want you to know that I don't really care if some stuff is slightly off, so I don't really want to hear about it. Anyway, it's my birthday today, so give me a birthday present and write some nice reviews!
