Chapter 2

Author's note: Okay so here it goes, the sorting. Enjoy!

Lily stood in line behind James, Remus behind her. A strict looking woman with her hair pulled back into a tight bun stood at the front of the great hall, a tattered hat in her hand.

"I am professor McGonagall. When I call your name, you will come to the front, I will place the hat on your head, and it will decide which house to put you in: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin." Professor McGonagall pulled out a long list of names and began reading.

"Andrews, Patsy!" The first girl to be sorted was a short girl with a mean, vindictive look about her. She sat down and had the hat placed on her head.

"Slytherin!" The hat yelled. Lily was already nervous, and she hadn't even been called yet. She was shaking with fear.

"You know, you really shouldn't be so nervous." A familiar voice spoke right behind her. Lily turned around to see a boy with a hooked nose and greasy hair.

"Sev!" Lily scream-whispered, hugging her best friend. James turned around, and watched Severus Snape with a look of dislike. Lily and Severus had a whispered conversation while the sorting continued.

"Abbott, Brian!"

"Hufflepuff!"

"Andreas, Anne!"

"Hufflepuff!"

"Black, Sirius!" Sirius strutted up to the stool, sat down and jammed the hat eagerly onto his head.

"Gryffindor!" Sirius stood up, and flashed a smirk at the girl with heavily lidded eyes who had been behind him in line.

"Black, Bellatrix!" The girl walked up to the front with just as much confidence as Sirius. However, when she put that hat on her head, it screamed,

"Slytherin!"

"Black, Narcissa!"

"Slytherin!"

"Black, Andromeda!"

"Hufflepuff!" Many people looked astounded at the number of "Blacks" there were. However, everyone knew that they were all relatives, for the Blacks were a very well respected pure-blood family. Narcissa and Bellatrix glowered at their sister (Andromeda) and their cousin (Sirius) from the Slytherin table. More people were sorted, then, a little too soon for her liking, there came a shout of,

"Evans, Lily!" Lily walked, trembling, toward Professor McGonagall, and the dirty old sorting hat. James gave her an encouraging smile, and Lily tried to smile back.

The hat slipped over her eyes, giving her just a view of the ripped up old hat. "Hmm…interesting, very interesting." A sly voice sounded inside Lily's head. She jumped. "We have a lot of brains, yes, yes, quite a lot. And bravery oh yes. And what's this? Oh I see you fear judgment for not growing up with wizards." Lily suddenly realized it was the hat talking. "Oh don't you worry, I'll put you where your brains and bravery will be put to use, and no one will judge you, oh not at all." The hat was silent a moment longer, then "Gryffindor!" Lily stood up with relief. As she walked past on the way to the Gryffindor table, she smiled sadly at Severus, for he had told her his mother, and his grandparents had all been in Slytherin, therefore, he probably would too.

"All right Lily!" Sirius congratulated her, moving over a little to make room for her next to him on the bench.

"Faire, Alice!"

"Gryffindor!" A short girl with a round, kind face came down and sat down next to Lily.

The Ravenclaw table got "Gail, Lela!" and dreamy looking girl with long, dirty blonde hair. Then two more to the Gryffindors: "Green, Rose!" and "Kale, Paula!" "Lestrange, Rodolphus!" joined Narcissa and Bellatrix at the Slytherin table. Then another Hufflepuff: "Lovegood, Xenophilius!" an eccentric looking boy with one eye staring at his nose, who sat next to Lela Gail. After that, "Longbottom, Frank!" became the newest Gryffindor. Then it was time for,

"Lupin, Remus!"

"Gryffindor!"

Sirius roared, and Lily smiled at Remus as he came to sit on the other side of Sirius. Lily zoned out of the sorting for a while, trying to take in everything from the enchanted ceiling to Professor Dumbledore's half moon spectacles. That is, until she heard a familiar name.

"Potter, James!"

"Gryffindor!" Sirius and Remus cheered as James strutted over to the Gryffindor table, running his fingers through his hair. He spotted Lily's dark red hair, almost hidden behind Sirius's large frame, and he shot her a wide smile. She grinned back, blushed, and immediately struck up a conversation with Alice.

"Pettigrew, Peter!" the hat stayed on Peter's head for a very long time, but finally pronounced him a Gryffindor. James, Sirius, and Remus cheered as Peter stumbled over to the table. Then Lily heard another familiar name.

"Snape, Severus!"

The second the hat touched his head, it screamed "Slytherin!" Severus went to sit down with a sad look at Lily. There were only a few left in the line.

"Smith, Zachary!" became a Hufflepuff.

"Thomas, Daniel!" joined the Gryffindor table.

"Tonks, Ted!" was the next Hufflepuff, and that was the end of the sorting.

Now that her nerves were gone, Lily realized she was starving. She had just turned back toward the table, wondering if maybe they walked through a lunch line like at her schools back before she got her Hogwarts letter, when Dumbledore stood up.

"To our new students, welcome. To our old students, welcome back. Now before we eat, I would like to say a few words. Tiddly widdle, piglet, oddball, and foot. As I am sure you are all ravenous, tuck in!" Most everyone seemed to accept this, but Lily was very confused.

"Err, Sirius?" she said timidly. Sirius made her a little nervous.

"Yeah?" He said, looking expectantly at the golden plates covering the table.

"Was that-I mean what he said, was it supposed to mean anything?" Lily stared at the table, sure she was about to be ridiculed for her lack of knowledge about Hogwarts.

"Well, I wouldn't know! Maybe he's mad." Sirius said, then dove at a plate of chicken legs that had appeared on a platter in front of him. Lily jumped, and then stared, for food had appeared on the golden platters on the table. She turned toward Alice, who she had been talking to before she asked Sirius about Dumbledore.

"Um, how did that food get here? I mean, it was like…"

"Magic? Yep that's what it is." Alice finished. "Are you muggle-born?" She asked, not unkindly.

"Err, muggle?" Lily asked.

"Non-magic people. And judging by the fact that you don't know what a muggle is, I'd say that makes you a muggle-born." Alice said. Lily looked down at the table, her flaming face matching her hair. She fought to keep in tears. Lily was beginning to think she was the only one with non-magical family members in this whole school. "Wait! No I didn't mean it as a bad thing! Please don't cry, Lily I didn't mean to sound rude!" Alice's round face was anxious.

"Oh, it's okay. Sorry I guess I'm just a little overwhelmed. You know, this is a lot to take in." Lily said, finally getting herself some food. Alice nodded. She, too, looked a little overwhelmed by the school.

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"Ahh now that we are all well-fed and full-to-bursting with our wonderful desserts, I'm sure you all want to get to bed." Professor Dumbledore had once again stood up in front of the students. "But before you do, I have a few notices. Our new students will understand, and some of our old students should do well to remember, that the forest on the grounds is strictly forbidden. Also, a revised list of objects not allowed in the corridors is posted on Mr. Filch's door. Now, off to bed, all of you!" Lily, Alice, James, Sirius, Remus and Peter all stood up gratefully and headed after the other Gryffindors.

Author's note: Okay so I hope you guys liked that one(: and I added some people in who I imagine as the parents of some of the people Harry Ron and Hermione knew but it might not be very clear so I'll just list them real quick, k? k.

Patsy Andrews: Pansy Parkinson's mother.

Brian Abbott and Anne Andreas: Hannah Abbott's parents

Bellatrix Black, Narcissa Black, Andromeda Black: Sirius's cousins. But I figure that one was easy. By the way I know it's not likely they were all exactly the same age but I wanted them all here so sorry!

Frank Longbottom and Alice Faire: Neville Longbottom's parents

Zachary Smith: Zacharias Smith's father

Daniel Thomas: Dean Thomas's father

Lela Gail and Xenophilius Lovegood: Luna Lovegood's parents

Rose Green: Lavender Brown's mother

Paula Kale: Parvati and Padma Patil's mother

Rodolphus Lestrange: Bellatrix's future husband

Ted Tonks: Nymphadora Tonk's father (married to andromeda later on) and once again I know he's probably older but I wanted him here too! Sorry about the ridiculously long author's note(: