Chapter 3: Breaking In
"Black, Sirius!" exclaimed Professor McGonagall. The boy from the train sprung up to sit on the chair, slipping on the Sorting Hat. Several frowns later (from both Sirius and the hat), the hat screamed, "GRYFFINDOR!"
"Brown, Lilac!" The blonde girl that walked confidently to the stool was also placed in Gryffindor. Lily zoned out as more names were called. She snapped to attention when she heard her name.
"Evans, Lily!" called Professor McGonagall.
Lily nervously stepped up to the Sorting Hat. She pulled the hat over her eyes and crossed her fingers surreptitiously. She didn't really know what house she wanted to be in. Sev wanted to be in Slytherin, and she wanted to be with Sev, but she didn't want to be in Slytherin. After all, she knew from her reading that all of the dark witches and wizards had come from Slytherin. She thought that it was not suited for her. Perhaps Ravenclaw. We'll probably be able to have some classes together, even if we're in different houses, right? She was startled when a voice whispered close to her ear.
"Quite right. You're not Slytherin material. But I see you've a load of brains."
THE SORTING HAT CAN TALK TO ME?!
"Of course I can. And I can see every single thought you think." Lily felt the rip in the front of the hat curve into a knowing smirk.
So are you going to put me in Ravenclaw?
"You do have brains, but besides that, I see spirit. Gryffindor spirit. Bravery, and loyalty to your friends, and that's what counts. Later on, you'll do great things. I can see it in your future. How about it?"
I guess it's okay…"So I guess it's GRYFFINDOR!" The Sorting Hat shouted out the last word to everyone. Lily supposed that she was happy to be in Gryffindor, but she saw that Severus wasn't. He was staring at her, looking slightly betrayed, slightly hurt.
"I'm sorry," she mouthed. And she was, but she didn't want to be in Slytherin…
She sat down at the Gryffindor table, where Sirius had sat too before. He grinned at her. "So Lilyflower's in Gryffindor with us, too!"
"Don't. Call. Me. Lilyflower," she said through her teeth.
"All right, Lilyblossom." She glared him, and kicked him under the table. Unfortunately, she missed, and the boy sitting next to him let out a howl of pain. Lily grimaced and pretended to be innocent. Sirius, on the other hand, looked curiously at the boy. As McGonagall continued to call out people from her list of names, Lily was left to her own thoughts. I really hope Sev's in Gryffindor, too. It would be nice to have a friend in my house. I can already tell that Sirius is going to be such a pain.
"Macdonald, Mary!" She looks sensible enough. I hope she's in Gryffindor. Maybe she'll be my friend. "GRYFFINDOR!" Lily zoned out again. Yay! She's in Gryffindor. She waited until Mary had taken a seat before nervously saying, "Hi."
"Hello. I'm Mary. Well, I guess you already knew that. Lily, right?"
Lily nodded.
"Hey Mary!" shouted a boy several years older, "I told you you'd be in Gryffindor. No need to worry about getting into Hufflepuff!"
Mary rolled her eyes. "That's my brother."
"Oh. So you're family's all magical?"
"Oh no, just my mum and brother. My dad's a muggle."
"I see. My family's all muggles."
"Congratulations! You're the first witch of the family." Mary smiled. Lily smiled back. They turned back to the front to watch the sorting. They had gotten all the way to "Pokeby, Gulliver" (Ravenclaw). Lily flinched as she heard the next name.
"Potter, James!" She forced herself not to grind her teeth in anger. How dare he make fun of Sev. He's nothing but a stuck-up, arrogant boy. I hope he's not in Gryffindor. But I bet he will be, because his mother was in Gryffindor too… She let out a sigh as the Sorting Hat declared "GRYFFINDOR!" as soon as it touched Potter's head.
"What, Lilyblossom? Don't you like James?"
"No. Of course not," Lily snapped. She turned back around and ignored the backslapping that went on between the boys. She continued to scowl. Her frown faded as McGonagall reached the S's. She sat on the edge of her chair, hoping that somehow, Severus would be put in Gryffindor, too.
"Snape, Severus!" Lily squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that through sheer concentration, Severus could be placed in Gryffindor. She held her breath, listening for the pronouncement of the hat. "SLYTHERIN!" Lily's eyes opened, and found Severus's. He frowned at Lily, telling her with his eyes, "Sorry, but this is the way it has to be now."
"Looks like Snivellus is in Slytherin, after all," commented James.
"SHUT UP! AND DON'T CALL HIM SNIVELLUS!" Lily blew up.
"Calm down, Lilyblossom," said Sirius.
"DON'T CALL ME LILYBLOSSOM!"
"Be serious, guys," Mary intervened, trying to be diplomatic, but she was interrupted by laughter from James and Sirius.
"I…am…Sirius," choked out Sirius between laughs.
Mary shrugged and turned back to Lily. "Just ignore them, Lily."
Lily tried to take the advice, but she felt it difficult, for her eyes were drawn constantly to their magnetic personalities. The two boys were getting along fine with everyone else, and Lily could tell that they were charismatic, and would be very popular at Hogwarts. She sniffed to herself. What do I care? It's not as if I want to be their friend. They're so insufferably rude.
"The sky looks fantastic!" exclaimed Sirius, looking up, "I wonder if it's transparent glass… But I'm pretty sure the sky didn't look like that when we got here."
"Of course it's enchanted, but it's not transparent. It says in Hogwarts, A History that the ceiling is enchanted so that it always looks like a sky."
"Hogwarts, A History? No sane person would read that junk!" protested James.
"I did," Lily retorted icily.
"That's right. But Evans is not a person. She's a flower!" Sirius joked.
Lily decided to really take Mary's advice this time, so she said nothing to Sirius. She waited impatiently for the sorting to end. After Belle Zabini (Slytherin) and Matthew Zeller (Hufflepuff) were seated at their respective house tables, food suddenly appeared at the table.
Lily was only slightly surprised at this. She had guessed that food would just appear, but she hadn't even begun to imagine the sheer variety and quantity of it. Apparently, Sirius and James had the same idea, as they loaded up their plates and shoveled food down their mouths. Lily wrinkled her nose, and glanced at Mary. She was surprised to see that her own expression was mirrored on Mary's face. She laughed at their shared disgust, and Mary joined in.
"What's so funny," asked Sirius with his mouth full.
"Nothing. Now close your mouth and chew slowly so you can digest your food properly," said Mary.
"I don't have to close my mouth to chew. I can double task: eating and talking at the same time," Sirius retorted.
"But it's a disgusting habit," Mary shot back, "if you keep it up, you'll never get a girlfriend."
"Oh, we won't have any problems with that, will we, James?"
James looked up and said through a mouthful of pumpkin pasties, spraying crumbs all over, "Nope!"
"We'll see about that," Mary commented, slyly pulling out a camera from her pocket. She laid it on her lap where it was out of view from the other side of the table. She caught Lily's eye, and the two girls began grinning madly.
"What?" asked James.
"I don't get girls. They laugh for no apparent reason. It's almost like they're telepathic," Sirius grumbled.
"Oh, we are," Lily informed Sirius matter-of-factly.
"In fact, we can hear—" Mary began, subtly elbowing Lily.
"—every single thought you're thinking," Lily finished.
"OH MY GOD! THAT'S SO COOL! What am I thinking right now?"
"You're thinking that you would like some more pudding," guessed Mary, passing him a bowl.
"OH MY GOD, JAMES! SHE'S RIGHT!" Sirius shouted to James. He took the bowl of pudding as he and James both stared in wonder at the girls. Lily rolled her eyes, and recommenced eating. Once Sirius and James had turned back to stuffing their faces, Mary took out her camera and took a picture at their most gluttonous moment. She slipped it back into her pocket and winked at Lily. Lily smiled. Perhaps being in Gryffindor isn't so bad… I wonder how Sev's doing… She looked over at Severus, who was sitting between a tall boy with long blonde hair and another boy that had just been sorted. Lily tried to remember the boy's name. She struggled for a moment. Then she remembered. Right! His name's Rosier. Evan Rosier. They look like they're getting along fine…I hope we have some classes together.
"Daydreaming about Snivellus?" asked James.
"Not at all," replied Lily smoothly.
"Just staring at him for no reason, then?" asked Sirius, "no reason, right?" He nudged James and they smirked at each other.
"You know what? I don't really care what you think. At all. Because you two are insufferably rude, incredibly arrogant, and disgusting to add on to that. I don't need to condescend so low as to care what you think."
"Ouch," remarked Mary.
"I feel so… injured. Lilyblossom's rejecting my friendly advice," Sirius cried, holding a hand to his chest histrionically.
"I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT!"
"Oh yeah, right. Sorry, Lilyflower."
"ARGH!"
"Like I said, you'll never get a girlfriend."
"How much do you want to bet?"
"Five galleons."
"Deal." Sirius shook Mary's hand. Then he turned and scanned the table. He listened in on a conversation going on next to them. After a moment, he seemed to hear what he needed to hear.
"Oi! Molly!"
The redhead sitting near him turned around. "Will you go out with me?"
Molly blushed, "Ah, um, I'm sorry, but I'm going out with someone else right now. Sorry! Better luck with someone else!"
"No worries!" assured Sirius good-naturedly.
Meanwhile, Mary and Lily were collapsing in a fit of giggles. "You failed!"
"You just wait! I'll get someone someday!"
"Not when our little blackmail gets around the whole school…" commented Mary slyly.
"WHAT?! WHAT BLACKMAIL?!"
"It's a secret."
"TELL ME!"
"I told you. It's a secret. It wouldn't be—"
"—a secret if we told you."
"They're doing it again," exclaimed James, throwing his hands up in the air in mock exasperation.
"We have to find out what their secret is," said Sirius.
"Yeah, we'll find your secret, Evans and Macdonald. It's a deal." At those last words, he shook his hands with Sirius.
Lily and Mary exchanged an amused look.