A/N—I don't own this. J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and all the characters and places.

Summary: Year One of the Marauders' Hogwarts experience. Told from James' Potter's POV—I've always believed that he had many of his own Harry-ish experiences at Hogwarts.

Please read/review! Many thanks to all who have reviewed this piece or followed it or me. I really appreciate your time!

willshakespeare-immortalbard

A sudden whisper rolled through the Hall, and James heard snatches of conversations:

"What about the song—?"

"—there's always—"

"Weird..."

Finally someone spoke out, calling up towards the Head table,

"Professor Dumbledore, what about the Sorting Song?"

Dumbledore stood. Beside James, Remus twitched, and when James turned, he saw pure admiration and gratitude shining in the boy's eyes. He vaguely wondered what Dumbledore had done to elicit such a reaction, but Dumbledore's next words dragged his attention back to the battered hat, still sitting perched on a young, trembling girl's head.

"The Sorting Hat, has, this year, chosen to remain silent. That is all. It will sort each student as usual, and nothing of importance shall be altered or affected."

Dumbledore sat back down, and the Hall quieted, though ripples of confusion still permeated the air. James shifted uncomfortably, and beside him Peter whispered,

"I don't understand..."

The hat called out "HUFFLEPUFF", and the girl scrambled off the stool, stumbling into the midst of the other first years. Sirius patted her on the back as she headed for the Hufflepuff table, and James noticed that he looked unhappy as he trudged on up towards the stool in response on McGonagall's "Black, Sirius".

The seconds ticked by, and finally the hat proclaimed "GRYFFINDOR". Sirius quickly slipped back into the crowd, but he was smiling broadly and he high-fived Remus, who whispered "Good job".

On and on the list went, and then "Evans, Lily" was called up. The pretty red-haired girl from the train walked up to the hat and sat primly down, carefully placing the hat on her head. It screamed out "GRYFFINDOR" and she smiled, rather regretfully, as she looked sadly at greasy "Sev", who moaned softly.

A little later, "Lupin, Remus" was announced, and Remus approached the stool. He was pale, and his scars stood out vibrantly. He looked nervously at Dumbledore, who winked at him. The hat seemed to be unsure about Remus, because it took nearly five minutes for it to shout "GRYFFINDOR". Remus was trembling as he passed James, and Peter supported him out of the crowd and pushed him toward the table, where Sirius whooped and smacked him on the back.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"HUFFLEPUFF"

"Pettigrew, Peter," McGonagall called, and Peter hurried forward. He was sweating profusely, and he rubbed his feet together as he sat on the stool. The hat quickly placed him in Gryffindor, and James stepped up as McGonagall called out "Potter, James."

"Hogwarts is being poisoned..." the hat said, and James nearly asked "what?" out loud, but managed to catch himself and think his question. "From within...someone seeks to tear Hogwarts limb from limb and leave it broken. You're brave, lad, and I've seen the minds of the people you've befriended. Together, you can stop this. Together you can all be...GRYFFINDOR!"

James started as the hat suddenly yelled out his House. He took the hat from his head. As he placed it back down, he felt something fall into the palm of his hand, and he heard one last whisper in his mind.

"Keep it."

He hurried down the steps, clenching his hand into a fist around the hat's object, and the Sorting continued.

"Snape, Severus", Remus' greasy-haired tormenter, went, appropriately, into Slytherin, and soon the hat and stool were taken away. Dumbledore stood and spoke a few words that James didn't pay any attention to, and then food appeared on the table.

James took advantage of the bustle to sneak a look at what he held in his hand.

A small crystal ball shimmered in his palm.

.