Chapter 9-
The door swung open almost as soon as the giant's hand touch it. A tall, black haired man in navy blue robes stood there. He had a round face, James recognised him as the boy from the photographs, and a broad grin.
"Here they are, Nev- I mean, Professor Longbottom," said Hagrid.
"Thanks Hagrid," said Professor Longbottom, "I'll take them from here."
He pulled the huge door open wide, so that all the first years were able to spill through it. The entrance hall was bigger than the whole of James and Cygnus' old school, and the stone walls were lit with flaming torches. In front of them was another memorial, this time of two men in battle, wand raised at each other, and behind that, was a great marble staircase - James noticed that there was a chunk missing from one of the banisters.
Professor Longbottom paused for a moment in front of the was memorial, but passed on, obviously not too interested in it. They herd of first years were led across the flagged stone floor, past another great door. James could hear the voices of what seemed like hundreds of people inside. Their Professor led them into a small antechamber next to the busy room, where the first years crammed in, standing far more closely than they should have done.
"Good evening!" said Professor Longbottom, who was standing at the front, "My name is Professor Longbottom, and I am head of Gryffindor House, here at Hogwarts! The start of term banquet will begin in several minutes, but before you take your seats in the great hall, you will be sorted into houses. It is very important to be sorted to the right house, as while you are here at Hogwarts, your house will become your family-"
"I hope I don't get a family of Slytherins," James whispered to Cygnus, who tittered nervously.
"-your classes will be in houses," continued Professor Longbottom, "you will sleep in your houses, and you will eat at your house tables.
There are four houses, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin," he said the last with utmost dislike, "Doing well in school earns your house points. Any rule-breaking will loose points, and believe me, your housemates will not thank you for it. At the end of each year, the house with the most points wins the House Cup, a high honour. Now, the Sorting Ceremony will begin in a moment. I suggest you make yourselves neat and tidy." his eyes lingered upon Fred Weasley, whose tie was undone, and cloak in his arms. James tried to nervously flatten his hair.
"I will be back for you in a jiffy," Professor Longbottom said, smiling, before leaving the antechamber.
"How exactly do they sort us into houses?" James asked Rose nervously, imagining battling a troll, or performing complex spells.
"We just try on the Sorting Hat," said Rose, "My mum told me," James sighed in relief, "What? Were you imagining some battle with a troll?" she added.
"Yes, actually," said James, somewhat embarrassed.
"Don't be so silly!" Rose giggled, "Anyway, mum fought one in first year, and its not all that its cracked up to be."
James gaped at her, and Rose just looked sternly at him. But then, something happened which made him jump several feet into the air- a great, pearly white ghost had appeared in front of them, his robes were blood-stained, and he was brandishing a rusty knife. There were several screams around him.
"Baron, really," said a disembodied voice, and another ghost appeared not two feet from where James and Rose were standing, this one was wearing ruffles, "Try not to scare the first years!"
"Sorry," said the gruff voiced Baron, "Welcome to Hogwarts, first years. Lets make lots of Slytherins of you!"
"I should hope not!" said the second ghost, "We'll send you all to Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!"
James had to admit he liked the sound of Gryffindor, and he got a firm impression that many people he knew had been there.
"Move along please," said a friendly voice, "Nick, please stop annoying the students," the ruffled ghost- Nick- was walking through the group just next to James, who were shivering. He was very thankful that Nick had not decided to walk through him.
"Now," said Professor Longbottom, "If you would like to follow me, the sorting will begin!"
Feeling as though his heart was about to pound from his chest, James followed after the Professor, as did the rest of the first years. He was so nervous, after all, he was about to reveal himself to a thousand people who thought he was dead. James had to admit that this thought made him feel anything but warm inside, he felt as if Nick truly had just walked through him.
They followed Professor Longbottom out of the antechamber, and back into the corridor, where they then went through the heavy wooden doors, and into the Great Hall. James could not have imagined a more amazing place. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles, which were suspended in mid air above four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. The tables were laden with gold plates, and shining glass goblets, and at the top of the hall was another table, where the teachers sat smiling at them.
Professor Longbottom led them up here, so that they lined up in front of all the other students. James noticed he was getting several odd looks from some of the older students. He looked up at the velvety black ceiling, which was dotted with stars.
"Its enchanted to look like the night sky," Rose whispered, "I read about it in Hogwarts: A History."
While James thought to himself that Rose seemed to have read about everything, he looked at the ceiling again. It really was hard to imagine that it was infact a roof, and that the hall did not just open to the heavens above. Professor Longbottom placed a small wooden stool in front of the first years, and then places a hat on top of it. The hat was frayed and dirty, it also had scorch marks at it's tip. James was sure Aunt Carol would not have let it anywhere near the house.
The hat twitched, and then a small gap appeared above it's brim. It opened wide, and then, the hat began to sing:
I welcome you to school this year,
Familiar and anew.
I am the Sorting Hat, who's here,
To sort you fair and true.
The four great houses you all know,
I'll put in the one.
That sets you on your path in life,
Until you're dead and done.
Gryffindor is first to be,
A house with heart and pride.
Where noble witch and wizard go,
To choose the rightful side.
Ravenclaw is next in line,
A house of wit and smarts.
Intellect is in demand,
As is a clever heart.
Hufflepuff is next to last,
A just and lawful kind,
They stay in turn and say yes sir,
And keep an open mind.
Slytherin is last, not least,
They are a special breed.
With wands in hand, and heads held high,
A warning they do heed.
So let me see your gifted mind
To see where you will be,
The secrets of your hearts content,
Are never safe from me.
I'll look to see where you belong,
In Gryffindor or Slytherin,
Or maybe simple Hufflepuff,
Or fearless, Loyal Ravenclaw.
So try me on this noble day,
And as the Sorting Hat I say,
I'll put you where you'll want to stay!
The entire hall burst into applause when the hat was done, and it bowed to each of the four tables, before becoming quite still again.
Professor Longbottom stood up grandly, and unrolled a piece of parchment, "Now, when I call your name, come and try on the hat," he said firmly, "Abercrombie, Freya."
Freya Abercrombie was a small, blonde girl, who stumbled a little as she got up to try on the hat. It fell down over her eyes, and after a moment it cried-
"RAVENCLAW!"
The Ravenclaw table clapped loudly as Freya ran to sit down there.
"Baddock, Marvin!"
"SLYTHERIN!" and Marvin ran off to join the Slytherin table.
"Belby, Alexa!"
"RAVENCLAW!" Alexa ran to join Freya at the Ravenclaw table.
"Black, Cygnus!"
James jumped as Cygnus' name was called, as did several others, apparently they had heard of Sirius Black too. Cygnus sat nervously on the stool, and placed the hat on. He looked as though he was having an internal battle with the hat, who eventually shouted-
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Cygnus punched the air as he ran to join the rest of the Gryffindors. This made James want to be in that house even more.
"Cadwallader, Ellie!" "HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Cauldwell, Ginevra!" "HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Davies, Harry!" "RAVENCLAW!"
"Derrick, Robert!" "SLYTHERIN!"
As more and more people were sorted, James became more and more nervous. He had decided he did not want to be in Slytherin, they looked like an unpleasant lot.
"Finnegan, Kerry!" became a Gryffindor, and "Frobisher, Yasmin!" became a Hufflepuff.
"Granger, Rose!"
Rose smiled at James as she went to sit on the stool. It had barely touched her head when it cried, "GRYFFINDOR!"
Rose smiled broadly, and looked up at the teacher's table, where James noticed Hermione was sitting. She looked happy too, and winked at her daughter as she sat at the Gryffindor table with Cygnus.
James' nerves were beginning to get the better of him, as Professor Longbottom sailed past H, I, J, K, L, M…
"Malfoy, Scorpius!"
A thin, pale boy with white-blonde hair swaggered up to the stool, and the hat barely had time to touch his head before it said, "SLYTHERIN!"
The Slytherin table cheered loudly as they gained their newest member.
There weren't all that many people left now, "Moon"… "Munch"… "Ogden"… "Peakes"… any finally
"Potter, James!" cried Neville, "Wait…no, can't be right!" he added, his face shocked, he looked around for any trace of a Potter
There was an odd silence in the hall, and James was unsure of whether he should go up to be sorted. There were whispers of 'Potter?', 'thought he died?', 'maybe a muggle born?' and finally, 'I can see him!'
"Is James Potter here?" Professor Longbottom asked again, and James took a deep breath, and a step forward.
He walked slowly towards the stool, avoiding the stunned gazes of the Hogwarts students, and sat down. Professor Longbottom placed the Sorting hat on his head, where it covered his eyes, obscuring the onlookers from view.
"Hmmm…" said a tiny voice in his ear, "Never thought I'd be seeing you, that's for sure… yes… Difficult you are… very difficult, like your father… plenty of courage, yes… a good brain too, when you learn to use it… talented! Yes, my you're talented… but where to put you?"
Not Slytherin, James chanted in his mind, Not Slytherin
"Ha!" cried the hat, "Just like your father again… not Slytherin? Quite sure? It could make you great you know… no doubt about that. Are you sure? Well then, better be - GRYFFINDOR!"
James could tell the hat had shouted the last word out to the hall, as there was a moment's silence, before the Gryffindor table erupted into great woops and cheers of 'WE GOT POTTER!'. James sat down proudly at the table next to Cygnus, who patted him on the back.
James could see the teacher's table clearly now, and saw Hagrid sitting at the end in a chair bigger than two of the chairs which the other teachers occupied. Next to him was a tiny wizard, no bigger than the goblins he had seen at Gringotts. James also recognised Professor McGonagall, who was sitting at the head of the table, stern faced as ever, she gave James a little wink. On her left, was Hermione, who was wearing an elegant set of emerald robes, and a matching hat on top of her bushy hair, she also smiled at James, albeit shakily.
"Scamander, Lorcan!"
A small boy with dish-water blonde hair stepped forwards, James recognised him as the one who had shouted about Nargles on the way to the castle. He became a Ravenclaw.
"Scamander, Lysander!"
The twin of Lorcan got up, and James became unsure as to which of them was which, Lysander became a Gryffindor, unlike his twin. He gave Lorcan a sad smile, before joining them at the Gryffindor table. And the names continued…
And now there were only five left to be sorted, "Pye, Rachael!" became a Ravenclaw and "Riddle, Jack!" became a Slytherin, much to the alarm of many staff members.
"Watt, Chloe," also became a Slytherin, which left two red headed people left at the front.
"Weasley, Frederick!"
Fred stepped forwards boldly, and instantly became a Gryffindor, as expected. He joined the rest of them at the table, receiving a pat on the back from a tall girl with long black hair, "Nice one, Freddie!"
"Weasley, Molly!"
The red-headed girl took a seat, and became a Ravenclaw. James guessed that she was a further cousin whom he had not yet heard of. Professor Longbottom picked up the stool, and took it, along with the hat, away. At that moment, Professor McGonagall stood up.
"Good evening, everyone," she said, and a tiny smile crept onto her face, "I will make my speech short and sweet. Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts, may it be as good as the last for the returnees, and the best of your lives for our new students. Let the feast, begin!"
She clapped her hands together, and at once the gold plates were filled with every food imaginable. There was roast beef, roast chicken, crispy potatoes, curry, chips, Yorkshire puddings, peas, gravy and, for no clear reason, a bowl of sherbet lemons. At the Dursleys James would have been lucky to get one of these meals in an evening, Aunt Carol was something of a health freak. He piled his plate high with everything but the sherbets, and dug in.
"Mmm, that does look delicious," said the ghost with the ruffles, who had appeared out of the table.
"Can you not-?"
"No, dear boy, I haven't eaten in nearly five-hundred years!" said the ghost, "You do remind me of your father. I presume you are the son of Harry Potter?"
"Yeah, I am," James said grudgingly, he was apparently now attracting the attention of several people around him.
"But the Potters all died," said Lysander, dreamily, "My mum was friends with them at school."
"If I was dead, would I be here right now?" James asked him.
"I'm dead," said the ghost with the ruffles, "and I'm still here."
"But you don't count, Nick," said the dark-haired girl who had patted Fred on the back, "You're a ghost!"
Nick looked offended, so swooped off to the other end of the table to talk to other students.
"He can get like that sometimes," said the dark-haired girl, "Roxanne Weasley. Fred's sister."
James had to admit that Roxanne looked about as much like Fred as he did Scorpius Malfoy. She was tall and had olive toned skin, and sleek black hair. It was quite a contrast to Fred's red hair and freckles.
"I know," Fred said, as though he read James' mind, "I look nothing like her."
"Yeah-"
"I got mum's genes," said Roxanne, "Fred got the Weasley genes. Lucky for you that you didn't," she added to James, "You're just like your dad."
"You met him?" James asked.
"When I was little," she said, "I can remember you coming over at Christmas. I was only four."
James smiled happily, it made him feel warm inside to think of a family Christmas with the Weasleys. His mum holding him tightly as they sat by the fire, his dad telling bad jokes… but he also felt empty, as he would never have such a Christmas again.
"I never believed you were dead," she said, catching James' attention again, "I always thought that you had gone missing… I mean, how else was You-Know-Who defeated?"
"What?" asked James, "You mean, I defeated Triste?"
"Must have done," said Roxanne, tucking into some roast potatoes, "Cool scar, by the way."
James grinned at her again, he had to admit that Roxanne was so far, apart from Fred, his favourite family member. It felt so odd to say… family member… he had never had one before, let alone enough to choose favourites. James felt a full and warm feeling that had nothing to do with the food.
When everyone had eaten as much as they could, they plate were cleared, and replaced with puddings. There were trifles, éclairs, jellies, mousses, cakes, strawberries and cream… James took a bit of everything, determined not to miss out as the conversation turned to the non-Weasley members of Gryffindor.
"Me dad was in Gryffindor too ye know," Kerry Finnegan said, with a heavy Irish accent, "Me mam's a muggle, didn't know 'bout magic 'til after they were married. Family tradition apparently." he turned to James, "I can't believe it! honest I can't, James Potter alive! Just wait 'til dad hears of this."
"It'll be headline news," said Lorrie Peakes, a girl in James' year, "My mum works for the Prophet."
Rose gave her a dirty look when she mentioned the newspaper name. It was quite clear that she inherited her mum's prejudice. She was talking to an older boy who James didn't recognise, with sandy brown hair and green eyes. The conversation had turned to Cygnus now.
"-mum's a witch, she was at Hogwarts too. So was my dad, but he died when I was younger," Cygnus was saying, "My grandma was a muggle who married a wizard called Black in the 70's. He went missing in the 80's after having my mum. We live in a muggle community."
"Yeah, Cygnus and I were at school together," James said proudly, chucking a spoon at Cygnus, "We're beeessssttt friends!"
Several girls sitting nearby giggled at this. It seemed they had already taken a fancy to the duo. At last, the deserts disappeared also, and Professor McGonagall got to her feet. The hall fell silent.
"Just a few notices before you all go up to bed," she began, "All students should be aware that the Forbidden Forest is just that, Forbidden. Anyone who enters will be punished. Please also see Mr. Filch, the caretaker, for a list of Forbidden Items, now including all Weasley products-" she added, looking in the direction of Fred and Roxanne, "It is also my great pleasure to welcome Professor Granger to our staff, she will be teaching Transfiguration, taking over from Professor Stubbs, who managed to transfigure her own arm into a grand piano," there were several sniggers from around the hall, "I would also like to welcome James Potter to school," the hall fell silent, and James could feel himself becoming very red, as every eye in the hall fell upon him, "and it is a pleasure to see that he is not as dead as we had once believed," she smiled at James, "Now, off to bed!"
The Gryffindor first years followed a further Weasley cousin, Louis, through the crowds of chattering pupils, and up the marble staircase, past the war memorial. James' legs felt like led because he was so tired and full of food. He was too sleepy and deep in conversation with Cygnus to notice that the portraits hanging on the walls were moving, or that they were staring at him. They climbed staircase after staircase, but still seemed no closer to the Gryffindor common room.
Then, suddenly, they came to a halt. They were at the end of a corridor, and on the wall in front of them was a portrait of a fat woman in a pink silky dress.
"Password?" she said.
"Agapanthus," replied Louis, and the portrait swung open to reveal a round, hole in the wall. The first years clambered through it- both Cygnus and James tripped over- and found themselves in a very cosy looking room. The Gryffindor common room was warm and full of squashy armchairs, it was about the most homely place James had ever visited.
Louis directed the boys to the staircase which led to the right, and the girls to that on the left. James, Fred and Cygnus said a quick goodnight to Rose, before making their way up their staircase to their dorm. The staircase was a spiral, obviously they were in one of the many towers. At the top they found a door, behind which was a circular room with five large four-poster beds in it, each hung with red and gold drapes. Their trunks were waiting for them along with new robes, stitched with the Gryffindor emblem and colours.
There was also a note from Professor Granger, explaining to James that Luna had been put in the owlery, and that she was available to talk any time. James had a feeling he might take her up on her offer. They changed into their pyjamas, and clambered into their beds.
"Good to be here, isn't it mate?" said Cygnus from the bed next to him.
"Yeah," James replied tiredly as he drifted into a comforting deep sleep, "It is."
really long chapter this time, so hope it is appriciated! i know this chapter was INSANELY similar to that in Harry Potter, but i needed to introduce James and pals to the school... so
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