Ta da! The second chapter of One Fateful Day. I hope you enjoy it.
The Sorting
Hogwarts was huge, easily the size of Avalon Castle, but much more fairy- tale-ish, Leprechaun concluded, as they sailed across the lake in a boat the size of a teacup. It had more towers and turrets and had definitely been built with magic. For all its size the structure looked less imposing than his home, as it lacked the motte and bailey type construction of Avalon. Avalon was a fortress, built to be easily defensible in case of Muggle or magical attack. Hogwarts would be impossible to defend from a Muggle siege. But it was still beautiful.
"It's September, correct?" Kayda asked him out of the blue, as the tiny boat sailed across the lake.
"Yes, why?" He didn't really care about the answer. He was too busy trying to keep the boat from flipping over. Lily was bouncing up and down in her seat with excitement and the movement rocked the small craft dangerously.
"Then why is it so cold out?" He didn't have an answer for that one, so he just shrugged.
"I personally don't care about the cold," Severus chimed in, grabbing onto Lily and forcing her to sit in a more central position of the boat, even if she still wiggled about happily. "I just want to know why we have to cross the lake in boats, instead of riding in carriages like everyone else."
"They likely find it fun to torture innocent first-years like ourselves," Kayda said darkly. Leprechaun wondered idly if she was always so melancholy. Maybe he would be able to make her happy, to make her smile more often. She had a nice smile.
Now where had that thought come from? They were only eleven; they weren't supposed to like each other yet. Eww. Leprechaun promptly pushed that thought to the back of his mind and tried to pay attention to the conversation.
"Innocent? Us? Unlikely," Severus said with a smirk that almost became a grin.
"Speak for yourself," was Kayda's only response. With that pronouncement, the boat ran aground on the shore and Leprechaun immediately leaped out, as confident in or on water as he was on his own feet or on horseback. He turned back to give a hand to Kayda and Lily, who both leaned on him carefully. Kayda gave him a smile of thanks, but Lily was staring about, eyes wide with anticipation. She wasn't the only one. It was easy to tell the Muggle-born students or the ones whose parents hadn't told them what to expect. They were all staring. Leprechaun couldn't blame them. The castle was beautiful in the clear night, its lights twinkling like benevolent eyes.
The first years were shepherded up a path and through a set of giant doors, into the Entrance Hall. There, the giant man who had escorted them handed off the group to a witch wearing long green robes and a faint scowl.
"Good evening," she said in a voice that carried even to the back of the group. "My name is Professor McGonagall. I am the Deputy Headmistress and Transfiguration professor, as well as Head of Gryffindor House. I bid you welcome to Hogwarts. In a few moments you will be Sorted into your Houses, in which you will live for the next seven years. The Houses are named Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each House has its own history and reputation to maintain. Therefore, your triumphs will earn you house points, but any rule- breaking and you will lose points. I now ask that you take a moment to compose yourselves before the Sorting." She was referring to a boy in the front row who had evidently fallen in the lake, so soaked were his robes; and to James Potter, whose hair stood up in every direction, as if he'd just had a fright.
Leprechaun brushed his fingers through his hair and straightened his robes. Kayda, who was standing next to him, reached over and fixed his tie, which had become crooked. She grinned at him excitedly, blue eyes sparkling, and he grinned back.
McGonagall cleared her throat and fifty children looked back at her. She gave them what was supposed to be a reassuring smile, then turned and led the way through another set of doors.
It was the Great Hall. Leprechaun was surprised by its size, but had no time to think about that. They moved toward the front of the Hall, where the teachers were sitting, and stopped in front of a stool, which had a ragged hat sitting on it.
Was a monster going to come out of the Hat and attack them? No, they wouldn't do something so dangerous, Leprechaun decided, but he couldn't think of any other reason for the thing to be sitting there. Suddenly the Hat burst into song. Leprechaun was so surprised that he didn't even pay attention to the words, only catching bits about 'You may belong in Gryffindor' and 'The smartest go to Ravenclaw'. It was rather fascinating, seeing the brim of the hat opening and closing like a mouth.
"Now I'm the smartest hat
That you will ever see
Don't be afraid to put me on
To learn where you will be."
The Hat finished its song, and all of the older students applauded. When the applause died down, Professor McGonagall stood up on the dais and said, "When I call your name, you will come forward, place the Hat on your head and wait to be sorted. Then you will be seated at your house table. "Avery, Robert!"
Avery sauntered up to the stool and sat down. After about five seconds, the Hat shouted, "Slytherin!"
There was a short burst of applause and Avery made his way to the Slytherin table.
"Black, Sirius!"
"Gryffindor!" The Hall went silent. A Black in Gryffindor? Such a thing was unheard of. But Sirius seemed almost relieved. He made his way to the Gryffindor table, pausing to give James Potter a high-five.
The Sorting continued. Lily was put into Gryffindor, much to Severus' disappointment. Leprechaun heard him sigh dejectedly as his friend became his enemy, at least in theory.
A boy named Remus Lupin was Sorted into Gryffindor as well. Another boy went to Hufflepuff and three girls right in a row were sorted into Ravenclaw. Then it was Leprechaun's turn. He sat on the stool and flipped the hat onto his head. It slid down to cover his eyes and a weird voice spoke in his ear.
"Another O'Kennedy? Much like your father, I'm afraid. He seemed like a good person, right down to those tattoos on his face. A barbarous practice, in my opinion."
What is it with people and tats, Leprechaun thought irritatedly. Every time he turned around, someone was commenting on them.
"Take no offense young sir, you are far too bold and brash. Better be Gryffindor!" The Hat shouted the last word, and the cheers erupted. Leprechaun pulled the hat off his head and set it down on the stool. He walked to the table and sat down next to Lily. She smiled at him and appeared about to speak, but was silenced by a look from McGonagall.
"Pettigrew, Peter," and "Potter, James," were Sorted into Gryffindor. Another girl, "Pringle, Josephine," went to Ravenclaw, and it was Kayda's turn. She was Sorted into Slytherin and Leprechaun shared a disappointed look with Lily. It seemed that Gryffindors and Slytherins didn't socialize much, unfortunately.
Severus was Sorted into Slytherin as well. Hell's bells, he was stuck with only the idiots, who were busy poking each other and whispering. Sleeping in a dormitory with these four was going to be interesting.
Leprechaun had little interest in the rest of the Sorting, only noting when it ended that Headmaster Dumbledore rose and asked for the school's attention.
"Welcome to Hogwarts, for our new students, and for those of you returning, welcome back! I know you are famished and wish to converse with your Housemates, so my remarks will be brief. I wish only to remind you that there is to be no magic in the corridors, and that you are not allowed into the Forbidden Forest." Well duh, Leprechaun thought sardonically, no one could have possibly guessed that. Lily gave him a funny look and he realized that he had also spoken aloud. Oops, he was going to have to get himself a gag. Or something.
"I bid you have a safe and happy year, and if there are any questions, you may ask your professors or house prefects. Now, help yourselves to this most excellent feast!" Dumbledore sat down and Leprechaun turned his attention to the mountains of food that had appeared on the table, compliments of the house-elves, he guessed.
Leprechaun was starving, having not eaten since that morning and he piled his plate with everything within reach and dug in. The rest of the school did the same, but everyone was so exhausted after the long day that only a short time later, some of them looked about ready to fall asleep. Lily rested her head on his shoulder for a moment, but desisted when she couldn't find a comfortable spot. She was entirely too trusting, Leprechaun mused absently.
Apparently, Dumbledore got the hint, though, and dismissed the students to the care of their prefects. Leprechaun waved good night to Kayda and Severus as the students parted ways.
He tried to remember the way to the Common Room, but it was impossible. Up seven flights of stairs, around this corner, down a corridor, and then he was lost. Fortunately, the older students seemed to know their way around. After a few minutes, they came to a painting of a very large woman who asked for the password. It was 'Courage'. If he had been more awake, Leprechaun would have mused on the simplicity of the password and its cheesiness, but he wasn't. The painting swung open and everyone file through the hole it revealed into the Common Room, which was hung with scarlet and gold banners, and had many squishy armchairs and study tables. Leprechaun bypassed all of those and stood himself in an empty corner, hoping to stay awake until McGonagall spoke to them, as the prefects had told them she would.
He didn't have to wait long. McGonagall entered the room, and after waiting for quiet, spoke to them about upholding the reputation of their House, and the consequences- many of which sounded rather dreadful- of breaking the rules. After reminding everyone that breakfast was at seven and that they'd all better be present, they were dismissed to their dormitories.
Leprechaun couldn't escape fast enough. After a quick goodnight to Lily, he bolted for the staircase, and a bed.
Everyone's things had been brought up and Leprechaun quickly showered and changed into the first pajamas he found. When he exited the bathroom, his dorm mates were just starting to unpack. They all turned around and stared at him, until he glared at them. The round boy- Peter, was it?- squeaked and returned to his things. Potter and Black still stared and Lupin ignored all of them. Leprechaun decided to do the same and flopped into bed. So much for the first day at school. He'd still rather be home, where he was considered normal.
There you have it. I hope to continue this line of thinking with a multi-chapter fic called Seven Long Years, detailing the friendship of Lily, Severus, Kayda, and Leprechaun. I'm not sure how it will be formatted or when I'll start posting, so keep checking back. In the meantime, please review!