-Chapter Two-

The Sorting Hat

The Grand Oak Doors swung open at once. A tall thin witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a young yet very stern face.

'Hello first years. I am Professor McGonagall' she said in a matter of fact tone and turning to Hagrid, 'Thank you Rubeus, I can take them from here.'

She pulled the doors wide open and stepped threw as the students followed looking around in or. The entrance hall had a high ceiling too far to make out and the stone walls were lit with flaming torches, casting light onto the magnificent marble staircase leading to the upper floors. The sound of hundreds of voices came from a room to the right as Professor McGonagall walked them over to it and turned to face them.

'Welcome to Hogwarts,' said Professor McGonagall 'The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly but before you will be sorted into your houses. This process is very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be you family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common-room. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points.' She said this last statement looking over at the two boys from the train, who had started to talk to Lupin in loud whispers and seeing McGonagall's face fell silent. Lilly looked over at them frowning.

'The four houses' she started again louder this time 'are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. At the end of the year the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be credit to whichever house becomes yours. Now you will enter in a moment and be sorted in front of the whole school, so while you wait in silence I suggest you smarten your selves up' she said eyeing the boys from the train. She then turned on her heel and disappeared threw another door.

'How do they sort us?' Lily whispered leaning over to him.

'I'm not sure …' Severus whispered back as Professor McGonagall had returned.

'Form a line and follow me.' She said. He moved around still with Lily by his side with a short boy in front of him who had bucked teeth and short mousey brown hair and was fiddling with his robes looking around nervously. The Professor then pushed the doors open and they filed in jaws dropping as they walked in to a grand hall with four house tables fill with students sitting around them looking up at the first years. Nudging Lily they looked up and saw hundreds of candles floating in midair against a star strewn sky above. They reached the far end of the hall and all stood around looking nervously at an old hat on a stool. Professor McGonagall began to call out first year's names and they stepped forward up to the stool as they sat down McGonagall placed the hat on their head and a mouth ripped open.

'Hufflepuff!' the hat called out and down the list she read. The two boys from the train were James Potter and Sirius Black who both fell in Gryffindor.

'Evans, Lily!' She called and Lily walked forwards with trembling legs and sat down upon the rickety stool. Professor McGonagall dropped the Sorting Hat on to her head, and barely a second after it had touched the dark red hair the Hat cried, 'Gryffindor!' His heart sank he let out a tiny groan as he watched Lily take off the Hat, handed it back to Professor McGonagall, then hurried towards the cheering Gryffindor's, but as she went she glanced back at him and gave him a sad little smile. Severus saw James and Sirius move to make room for Lily but she took one look at them and turned away sitting down with a group of girls. He grinned to himself.

'Snape Severus!' McGonagall called. He walked determinedly towards the hat and tripping slightly on his robe blushed and sat down as a ripple of laughter sounded around the hall. McGonagall placed the Hat on his head.

'What do we have in here? Which one do you really want to be with?' The Hat spoke quietly as Snape muttered quietly.

'Slytherin. Please Slytherin!'

'Are you sure? I can feel your mind is not so sure… well if your heart truly does desire it…' said the Hat with a sad sigh.

'Slytherin!' cried the Sorting Hat. Severus got up slowly and gave back the Hat to McGonagall and moved to the where the Slytherin's were cheering him to where he sat down beside a boy with a glinting prefects badge gleamed upon his chest. The boy patted him on the back and smiled. For the first time he wanted to be a Gryffindor so he could sit with Lily and enjoy being in the same house. He looked gloomily down at his plate full of food and didn't not fell hungry as students around him began to drain there goblets, sliver cutlery clanked and tinkled as they stuffed there faces.

'I'm Lucius Malfoy' the prefect boy said stretching out a hand pompously.

'Severus Snape' He replied shaking hands and slowly began to eat.

'Aren't you going to introduce me?' a girl sat beside him with the same glittering badge on her chest.

'Oh … yes sorry, this is my girlfriend Narcissa Black' He said waving a hand in her direction.

'Pleased to meet you' he said still looking at his plate grumpily.

'What's wrong with him?' Narcissa whispered to Lucius and he shrugs carrying on eating. Severus turned around in his seat looking through the students to the Gryffindor table. He caught a glimpsed of Lily smiling and laughing with the girls beside her. He turned back around sour-faced and stabbed at his potato.

'You know that you can do better than that.' Lucius said following Severus gaze to the Gryffindor table. He grit his teeth conflicted with these emotions to join Lily but to stay loyal to his house. When Dumbledore had gotten up and spoken, the sound of hundreds of chairs scraped the floor as hundreds of students heading out the great hall and threw the entrance and up and down the stairs to their house common rooms. Following closely to Lucius he called out to the first years to follow him to the dungeons. They walked down flights of stairs and along the walls were covered in portraits of old men and women who looked down their noses at the students as they past.

'Threw here' Lucius stopped at a stretch of bare, damp stone wall. 'Pure-Blood' He said and a concealed door slid open and they moved in. The first years all mingled about in the center of their common room looking around. The long dark room with a greenish glow resonated from green lamps hanging by chains from the high ceiling. A warm fire was crackling under an elaborately carved mantelpiece ahead of them.

'Boys dorms are to the left of me and Girls to the right, that's all you need to know now clear off!' He said coolly turning taking Narcissa's arm and steering her to an arm chair closet to the fire. He turned and followed the other boys down some stairs to the boy's dormitory. He walked along the long room looking at the beds searching for his trunk. There, right at the back he saw his belongings and slowly began to unpack. He lay down exhausted looking up at the ceiling thinking of Lily up in the Gryffindor's common room and rolled over hoping he will at least have the same classes together and with that though dropped off to sleep almost immediately.