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One Shot 2: The Hogwarts Express and the Sorting

September 1, 1971

"Now are you sure you have everything, Eve?" Mrs. Gamp asked her daughter as the family stood on Platform 9 and ¾, in the process of seeing the young girl off.

"Yes, Mum." Eve patted her seven locked trunk, which she'd received for her eleventh birthday before turning to hug her younger brother. "Try not to give Mum and Dad too much trouble, squirt." She knelt down to kiss him on the cheek, which he reacted to with a sour expression.

"Ewwww, girl cooties!" As he tried to frantically wipe the 'cooties' from his cheek, Mr. Gamp stepped up to hug Eve as well.

"Write often and let us know what you think of Gryffindor House. I'm sure you're going to love it just as much as I did."

Eve suppressed a sigh. "You know that I might not be put into Gryffindor, Dad. I might be put into Ravenclaw like Mum was."

Mr. Gamp glanced at his wife, who smiled back at him before turning back to his daughter. "Well, I suppose if you don't get put into Gryffindor, then Ravenclaw is the next best place to be. After all, it's where your mother came from." He gave her a tender look, which softened Eve's frustration towards him and his obsession for certain Houses.

"I just hope you're not in Slytherin or Hufflepuff," Mr. Gamp added after a beat and the tender moment was over.

"Dad…can I please go now?" She didn't want to spend another five minutes listening to her father rant about the flaws of the other Houses, especially when she didn't have that much time at all since the train would be leaving the station in three minutes.

Mr. Gamp relented and another set of quick goodbyes was said and Eve boarded the train. Almost immediately she wished she'd boarded sooner as all the compartments seemed full already. All throughout her family seeing her off, she hadn't seen Remus on the platform either and worried that he might have decided not to go. After a few minutes of searching, she was about to give up hope when she passed by a nearly empty compartment that only appeared to hold two people and stopped to back up and peer in.

She could see Remus with his nose in a book and a pudgy looking boy with mousy hair sitting across from him with an extremely jittery expression. With a smile, she pushed the compartment door open and stepped inside, placing Loki's carrier underneath the seat and letting the Kneazle inside continue to sleep before plopping down next to Remus.

"I thought I'd never find a seat!"

Remus didn't look up from his book, but Eve noticed from the title that he was reading Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them. Eve could feel a lump building in her throat as she noticed that it was the signed copy that she had attempted to give him for his early birthday present all those years ago, only to discover that his family and he had moved a few weeks later. She still had to ask what happened and why he moved. But she couldn't very well ask while there was someone else in the compartment with them.

Speaking of which, Eve directed her gaze towards the boy sitting across from them and smiled cheerfully. "Hi! What's your name?"

"O-Oh...Peter P-Pettigrew." He shifted nervously.

"Hey, Peter! I'm Eve. Is this your first year too? Are you excited?"

Peter nodded. "Yes, but...I don't know about excited. I'm pretty rubbish as a wizard."

Before Eve could say something, Remus put his book down and looked up. Eve's eyebrows furrowed in concerned as she noticed the dark circles under his eyes and the fact that his face looked thinner than before now that she could see it properly without the book concealing part of it.

"I'm pretty sure you're not rubbish," he said. "It's the first year for all of us. I'm sure that by the second week you'll be casting all sorts of spells perfectly."

Peter still seemed unsure, but smiled nonetheless. "I guess so…" then he frowned. "But...what if I'm the only one who doesn't learn anything? What if I end up breaking my wand on the first day and have to go an entire year without one?"

"That's not going to happen," Eve said confidently. "You're going to learn loads and even if your wand does break, do you think that you'll be forced to go the entire year without one? I'm sure the Headmaster would give you permission to go to Ollivanders to get another one. Either way, I don't think your wand is going to break on the first day."

Remus picked up his book again. "You'll do just as good as us other first years." He gave a small smile.

"Hey, what House do you think you'll be in?" Eve asked curiously. Hopefully neither of them would be biased towards a certain one like her father was.

Peter shrugged. "I want to be in Gryffindor. I heard it's the best House of the four and has produced some very famous witches and wizards in the past. But I bet I get put into dumb ol' Hufflepuff."

"What's wrong with Hufflepuff?" Eve asked, thinking about one of her role-models, Newt Scamander, who had been a Hufflepuff and had gone on to do great things in life.

"That House is a joke," a voice spoke from the doorway of the compartment and the three looked up to see a girl about their ages pushing her wavy dark blonde hair from her eyes. "It's the place where witches and wizards who hope to never amount to nothing go."

Eve was silent for a moment before her lips curled into a knowing smile. "Bridget Wenlock, Artemsia Lufkin, Grogan Stump, Newton Scamander, Hengist of Woodcroft."

The blonde girl rolled her eyes. "What are you on about?"

"Wenlock was a famous Arithmancer who discovered the magical properties of seven. Lufkin was the Minister of Magic in the late 1700s to early 1800s and the first female to found the Department of International Magical Creation. Stump was Minister after her and created the Beast, Being, and Spirit Divisions of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. He also founded the Department of Magical Games and Sports."

The girl huffed, but now seemed a little unsure. "Oh yeah? What about the other two then?"

That was when Remus spoke up. "Newton Scamander is perhaps the most famous magizoologist in the world and wrote Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them." He held up the copy of the book, which he was reading. He also helped duel and apprehended the dark wizard Grindelwald as well."

"What about that Hengist bloke? Surely he couldn't have done something meaningful."

Eve smiled. "Hengist was the one who founded that all-wizarding village, Hogsmeade."

The girl now appeared to be in a deep thought as she sat down next to Peter. "Did you read all that in a book or did you just make up all of that? I thought Newt Scamander was a Gryffindor. That's what a lot of people have said at least…" But now she didn't seem certain.

"If there's a book about the subject then there's a guarantee that it's going to have the real answers," Remus said, glancing up at the girl.

"You always did like your books, eh, Remy?" Eve teased, playfully elbowing him, which made the young wizard blush and bury his nose into his book again.

The blonde girl snorted. "Remy?"

"Er...Remus...Remus Lupin," he said, now not taking his eyes off of the book as he turned a page.

The girl smirked. "I'm Marlene McKinnon."

Eve waved, despite the animosity coming from the girl a few moments ago, she didn't seem so bad...just misled about certain things. "Eve Gamp."

Peter gave a wobbly smile. "I'm P-Peter Pettigrew."

Marlene nodded before making herself comfortable. "It's annoying that us first years can't try out for Quidditch let alone have our own brooms. "I tried to sneak my Nimbus 1001 into my trunk, but my Mum caught me and I had to leave it behind."

"Maybe the professors just want us to get better at flying," Eve pointed out. "Quidditch is a dangerous sport. Besides, my dad told me that students are allowed to try out for their teams in the second year."

Marlene waved a hand dismissively. "I'll just send an owl to my little sister and ask her to send me my broomstick when our parents aren't looking."

"You'll get in trouble if you get caught," Remus said. "The rules are there for our own safety. It would be best to follow them."

Marlene pretended to yawn, clearly bored. "Whatever, I'll find a way. I mean, how do they expect me to remain good at flying if I can't have a broom?"

Eve shrugged. "My mum told me that the school has its own brooms and first years can take Flying Classes."

"Well obviously! But that's all the boring basics and I know all of those. If us first years can't join our House Quidditch Team then at least they should teach us some moves."

"B-But I thought you already knew everything th-there is to know about f-flying," Peter stammered, earning a glare from the brown eyed girl.

"Of course I do! But I'm just saying...there might be a Quidditch Maneuver that I don't know about yet and I want to learn it."

Eve's lips couldn't help twitching in amusement. Marlene seemed so sure and confident in herself. But she couldn't help wondering if some of that boasting was a lie. She doubted that Marlene's parents would allow her to have a top of the line racing broom like The Nimbus 1001. After all, she'd asked her parents for one when it first came out and they said that she was far too young. Then again, maybe Marlene's parents were different. Eve had no way of knowing.

Remus put his book away and stood up. "I'm going to go change into my robes."

Eve frowned. "But we won't be arriving for another few hours. You don't have to do it now."

"I know, but I just want to be ready." He turned to Peter. "You coming?"

Peter nodded and followed Remus out of the compartment. Eve chuckled, surprised that he hadn't already been changed into his robes when she first found him in the compartment.

"Do you think he'd tell on me for having my own broom in the school?" Marlene asked, glancing at the compartment door, which Remus and Peter had left through. "I bet he's the type who won't be able to wait to get other students in trouble in order to get on the teachers' good side."

"I think you should actually get to know someone before you judge them," Eve said in a calm voice, but there was an expression of warning in her blue-green eyes. The thought of anyone judging Remus didn't sit right with her and she had an overwhelming urge to protect and stick up for him.

Marlene sighed. "So, how do you two know each other by the way? You neighbors or something?"

Eve fiddled with a small hole in her trousers, unsure of if she should tell Marlene the full story as every time she thought about Remus' disappearance for six years, it made her upset all over again, especially since she didn't know why.

"We lived in the same village together and played with each other a lot. But then his dad ended up getting a job transfer and the family ended up having to move pretty far away." Eve hated to lie, but if she told her that one day Remus and his family were gone without warning, then Marlene might want answers that Eve couldn't give her because she didn't know, herself.

"Wow, that really sucks. He did write you though, didn't he?"

Eve's heart skipped a beat for a second. "Well, yeah! Why wouldn't he?" She then pretended to be interested in Loki and knelt down to check on the sleeping Kneazle, wishing he'd wake up so that she could distract Marlene with his cuteness. But the little kitten was fully nocturnal and, therefore, spent most of his daytime sleeping, only waking up when he was hungry.

Luckily, Eve was saved from having to lie further as Remus and Peter walked back inside, looking nice in their robes, although Eve noticed that Peter's trousers appeared to be a bit too long for him, but she didn't say anything, remembering all those jumpers she'd gotten for Christmas from her grandmother with those words, 'You'll grow into them'. She had no idea if that's what all grandparents said or just her own.

The rest of the train ride passed by uneventfully. About forty-five minutes before the train was due to arrive at the Hogsmeade Train Station, Marlene disappeared to get changed into her robes and Peter headed off to track down the trolley lady for a few pumpkin pasties. With the two of them alone in the compartment, Eve felt that this was the best time to ask Remus what she'd been wanting to ask him since she'd run into him in Diagon Alley a few weeks ago.

"So, are you going to tell me why you and your family just left without warning?" She tried not to sound demanding, but that's what it came off as.

Remus attempted to suppress a wince and glanced out of the window, suddenly interested in the night sky and the crescent moon that had risen high in the sky. "It was one of those spur of the moment things. My dad got a new job and had to start right away." He avoided looking at her.

"But that doesn't explain why you didn't write me for all those years, Remus!" She bit down on her bottom lip when she realized that she was yelling. "I understand that sometimes things happen outside of your control...such as your dad getting a job and you having to move because of that. But there was no reason why you couldn't have written. Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

Remus ran his hands over his face, distressed. "It's complicated, Eve. I didn't write to you because I was scared."

Eve wanted to be angry, but when he said that, her expression softened. "Scared of what?"

Remus sighed. "It was six years ago. Can't we just forget about it. It's not that important."

"Remy…" But he'd already picked up his book again and Eve knew the conversation was over, especially when Peter returned and Marlene a few moments after him. Eve stood up and grabbed her carry-on bag, which held her robes and uniform, spared one last sad glance at Remus, then left the compartment to change into her robes.

Fortunately, the girl's lavatory on the train was empty and Eve was able to get changed in peace. However, when it came to the tie, Eve began to struggle. She sighed, wishing she'd listened to her mum as she showed her daughter how to make a proper tie knot instead of being more interested in playing with Loki.

"You need help with that?" a voice asked just as Eve was about ready to throw her knotted tie on the ground and give up.

"I don't know, it seems to have a mind of its own," Eve muttered as she looked up at a girl with long auburn hair and the brightest green eyes that she'd ever seen. Her robes looked immaculate and it was rather clear that she could knot her own tie with no problem.

The girl stepped forward and picked the tie up off the ground. Because Eve was about the same height as her, she didn't have to kneel. "If you tie it like this, you can loosen it enough to take it off without completely untying it again," the girl explained.

"Maybe I should've listened to my mum when she was showing me how to do it." Eve smiled sheepishly. "I'm Eve by the way."

The girl smiled. "Lily. This is your first year too?"

Eve nodded. "My dad's hoping I get into Gryffindor."

Lily straightened the tie and stepped back, admiring her work. "Oh, your dad's a wizard?"

"Both my parents are. Well, my mum's a witch. What about your parents?" she tilted her head curiously.

Lily tugged at the hem of her black pleated skirt. "Both my parents are Muggles. Or...at least that's what other witches and wizards call them."

Eve's mouth dropped open. "You're a Muggle-born? Wow! What's it's like? Do you use a fellyphone? How do you send letters if you don't have owls? Does your family really do everything without magic? Including cooking?"

Lily looked taken aback at first, but then started laughing. "It's called a telephone and yes, we own one, and we send letters through a type of postal system. It's a little hard to explain fully. Yes, my parents do everything without magic. My mum is actually a really good cook."

"Wooooow…" Eve was in awe. Remus was half-blood with his mother being a Muggle, but Eve had never met a real Muggle-born before.

Lily smiled again. "I should get back to my compartment, we'll probably be arriving soon."

Eve had so many more questions, but she didn't want to overwhelm the girl after only knowing her for five minutes. The two of them went their separate ways and Eve made her own way back to her compartment with Remus, Peter, and Marlene.

After fifteen more minutes, the train began to slow down as it pulled to a stop at the train station. Students of all ages began to file out. The older students separated completely from the first years and headed towards a few horseless carriages that had pulled up to take them to the castle. Eve assumed that they were enchanted to pull themselves.

"Firs' years, this way!" A very tall man waved a lantern, directing the first year students towards him.

"Whoa, do you see how tall he is?" Marlene whispered to Eve as they approached the tall bearded man.

"He might be a half-giant," Eve said thoughtfully. "I read about them in one of my creature books."

"Huh? Are you saying that a giant and a normal human can make a baby together? How is that possible?"

Eve shrugged. "The books don't go into a lot of detail about giant-human procreation. But half-giants are rather rare. So, it's safe to say that the procreation doesn't happen often."

The first years were led to a set of boats that sat in the inky water. "No more'n four ter a boat!" The tall man called out and Eve climbed into one of the boats with Marlene with Remus giving Peter a hand into the same boat.. She heard some laughing and looked over at one of the boats where two dark haired boys, one who wore thick spectacles, were trying to push each other into the water and making the boat rock and sway. As their boat was only a couple small feet away from Eve and her friends, the water splashed onto them.

"Oops, sorry!" the boy with the shaggier dark hair called, but soon collapsed into a fit of laughter with the other boy.

Luckily, the boys stopped rough-housing as the boats started to move on their own, led by the tall man who had his own boat. Eve held her breath the entire time and it was only when she caught the first glimpse of the castle that she let out a whoosh of air, her eyes widening in wonder. She could hear a set of gasps behind her and turned to see Remus, Peter, and Marlene also as open-mouthed and wide-eyed as she was. She'd seen pictures of the school in one of her many books, but photographs just didn't do it justice. She had never seen anything more magnificent in her life.

The boats all came to a stop at a set of docks that led up to the castle steps and the student clambered out, Eve giving Peter a hand when he almost fell into the water. In just a few short minutes, they would all be sorted into their Houses. The thought of it set Eve's heart to pounding. What if she couldn't be placed? What if she was the only student in the entire school that didn't end up anywhere?"

Her eyes traveled to the other three first years next to her and she noticed that they looked nervous as well, even the usually confident and haughty Marlene. At that moment, the tall oak doors opened and the first years were greeted by a severe looking woman dressed in emerald green robes and her black hair pulled back into a severe bun underneath a tall pointed hat. She regarded the first years underneath a pair of black-rimmed spectacles.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I'll take them from here."

The man named Hagrid smiled warmly at the students, his dark eyes twinkling and Eve felt immediately at ease that she turned and waved. "Bye Mr. Hagrid. I hope to see you again!"

The stately witch cleared her throat and gave a stern look towards Eve. "Come along now." The students were led into the Entrance Hall, which Eve noticed was massive. In fact, she bet that she could fit a hundred of her own family's house into it.

They came to another set of double doors where the tall woman stopped again and turned to face the nervous, but eager students.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. I'm Professor McGonagall, your Deputy Headmistress and Transfiguration Professor."

Marlene leaned over to whisper to Eve. "If she's the Deputy Head, I'd hate to think of how strict the Headmaster is."

"I don't know, but I've seen pictures of Professor Dumbledore in a few of my books and he looks really nice." Eve tried to answer back quietly, but Professor McGonagall's sharp eyes directed themselves at the two girls.

"Please do not speak while I am talking. You'll all have a chance to get to know each other once you're sorted into your Houses. "They are Gryffindor…" The two boys who had been messing around in the boats let out a cheer, but stopped when McGonagall cleared her throat and gave them firm looks. "Hufflepuff…" This earned a snicker from some of the students because of the House's funny name. "Ravenclaw...and Slytherin." Eve noticed that McGonagall's tone seemed to darken when she mentioned Slytherin and a sour expression washed over her face for a split second before regaining its stern appearance.

"Now, while you're here, your House will be like your family. You will gain points for your triumphs, but any rule breaking will lose your House points. Keep this in mind because at the end of the year, the House with the most points will win the House Cup, a great honor for all of the students in the winning House, I can assure you."

The students were starting to look anxious now and shifted on their own two feet. McGonagall regarded them one last time before turning and leading them through the second set of double doors and into the Great Hall.

Everyone let out noises of awe and appreciation at the Great Hall. Eve found herself staring at the ceiling, which looked like night sky.

"It's bewitched to look like the sky outside," a sallow faced boy explained to the girl named Lily who Eve had met in the lavatory on the train. "It's not actually real."

"Pretty sure she worked that out for herself, Snivellus," the bespectacled boy snickered.

"Sod off, Potter!" the greasy-haired boy hissed while Lily glared at Potter and his friend who was smirking.

McGonagall cleared her throat loudly again and everyone turned to look at her, noticing her standing on the platform where the head table was next to a stool, on top of which sat an old dusty hat.

"When I call your names. You'll place the Sorting Hat on your heads and will be sorted into your Houses."

As she began calling the first name, Peter appeared worried. "You mean we have to stand in front of a bunch of people? I thought we'd all be sorted in private," he whispered anxiously.

"You have nothing to worry about," Remus said reassuringly. "From what my dad told me, it only takes a few moments." He squeezed Peter's shoulder comfortingly.

"That's right," the boy with the untidy hair spoke up. "I heard that sometimes it happens so fast. You blink and you're sorted. Try that."

The first student, a boy named Avery, was sorted into Slytherin. Next the name, Black, Sirius was called and the shaggy haired boy stepped up and placed the hat on his head. At first nothing happened, but then the hat opened its wide brim and bellowed, "GRYFFINDOR!" Sirius whipped the hat off of his head with a flourish and appeared smug as he stepped off of the platform and made his way to the table, giving the Potter boy a high five on the way.

Bones, Amelia became the first Hufflepuff and the other Hufflepuffs cheered as she walked happily to her table. After a few more names, Evans, Lily was called and almost a second after the hat was placed on her head, it declared her a GRYFFINDOR!

The boy who had been standing beside her grew sour faced as Lily went to join her table. There was now only two more people before her. Farrison Pandora was sorted into Ravenclaw and Fawley Christina was placed into Hufflepuff.

"Gamp, Eve!"

Eve was frozen on the spot. She knew that this moment would come sooner or later, but now that it was here, there was a small part of her that wanted to turn and run, but a light push from Marlene gave her the little bit of courage to step up onto the platform.

McGonagall's stern eyes softened slightly and her lips curled into an almost smile as the Sorting Hat was placed on her head, blocking her view of everything else. She jumped as a voice started speaking to her, only heard inside her head.

"Well now, this is difficult. You definitely have a great deal of courage and nerve, but there's also a lot of dedication, kindness, and tolerance as well. You're very bright and don't mind working hard to achieve your goals. Oh, my, my, my. Where should I put you?"

"My father wants me to be in Gryffindor and even though I'd be happy with any House, I don't want to disappoint him."

"Yes, I remember. Your father was so adamant that he be put into Gryffindor. But you...you're quite different from him."

"I don't want him to be disappointed in me…"

"It's true that you do exhibit a few of the traits that make a good Gryffindor, but I'm sensing something more. You value other traits that you consider more important than bravery or nerve."

"Other traits?"

After a few moments, the Hat's voice rang throughout the Great Hall. "HUFFLEPUFF!"

The hat was whipped off of Eve's head and she stood up wobbly. Despite her fear over her dad's reaction when he found out what House she was placed in, she grinned from ear to ear as she walked to her House table to join her fellow students. Those sitting closest to her clapped her on the back and congratulated her.

The Sorting continued with a few more hat-stalls similar to hers before the students were eventually sorted. Lovegood, Xenophilius was sorted into Ravenclaw and Remus stepped up after him. Eve held her breath as the Hat had its inner conversation with Remus before declaring him a GRYFFINDOR! Eve beamed loudly and clapped so hard that her hands hurt as Remus joined his table, sitting next to Lily.

There weren't very many students left, which made Eve happy because she was starving. She was beginning to regret not getting any snacks on the train. MacDonald, Mary became another Gryffindor, followed by Marlene who was almost immediately sorted into Slytherin. Eve couldn't help wondering if this would hurt that small acquaintanceship that the two girls had established on the train. What if Marlene ended up like those other dark witches and wizards that she read about who came from Slytherin?

Meadowes, Dorcas became another Hufflepuff and sat across from Eve, smiling brightly. After a few more sortings, Peter was placed into Gryffindor after the Hat took quite a long time to decide where he should be placed. He was followed by Potter, James who was also sorted into Gryffindor, the Hat only needing a few seconds to decide.

Three students were sorted into Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Ravenclaw respectively before Snape, Severus was called. The hat barely touched his greasy hair before bellowing, "SLYTHERIN!"

He looked very proud of himself as he walked with his head held high towards his table. A boy named Stebbins became a Hufflepuff and three sortings later, the last first year, Wilkes, became a Slytherin. The Sorting Hat was carried away right after he joined his table and Professor Dumbledore stood up.

"Let the feast, begin!"

Eve immediately began piling food onto her plate the minute it appeared. While she ate, she met her fellow dorm-mates: Amelia Bones, Christina Fawley, and Dorcas Meadowes. They all seemed rather nice with Christina being a little quieter. As Eve spent dinner getting to know her fellow Hufflepuffs, the worry over her father's reaction faded and she realized that she had found her perfect home. Hufflepuff was where she belonged and she hoped to be able to prove herself as she grew older.

Author's Note: I hope everyone enjoys this one-shot. It was definitely very fun to write and I had Eve's House planned from the moment of her conception. I did almost put her somewhere else very briefly, but in the end, I decided that where she officially ended up was perfect for her.

The next one-shot will skip a few years. Please don't be afraid to read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome as well as long as it's not flaming. I do have plans for a main story featuring the Marauders sixth and seventh years at Hogwarts. These one-shots are mostly used to introduce the various main characters and highlight their different adventures in their earlier years at Hogwarts.