Chapter 3
1.1 Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, & Slytherin
"Celeste, what do we have to do to be Sorted?" Lily asked.
"Try on some kooky old hat with brains out of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin in it."
Lily crinkled up her nose. "They were real people?"
"Yeah. Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. They founded Hogwarts and its Houses."
They friends stood there in silence until McGonagall came back. She led them down the passageway to the Great Hall. All the older students were seated on benches at four long tables. The teachers sat up front at another table. Lily gave an involuntary shiver when she was a mean looking witch sitting there. The teacher had mangled gray hair that looked as though it had never seen a comb and sunken light blue eyes that looked something like chips of ice. Lily stumbled against James, who whispered to her, "Professor Hartmann, the Potions professor and Slytherin Head of House."
Professor McGonagall took out a four-legged stool and set upon it a very old, battered pointed wizard hat. Everyone seemed to be staring at the hat. Suddenly it twitched and a rip near the brim of the hat opened like a mouth. The hat began to sing.
*"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see.
I'll eat myself if you can find,
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat,
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head,
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you,
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin,
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!*
All, students, teachers, and ghosts (for there were many ghosts at Hogwarts), burst into applause for the Sorting Hat. Professor McGonagall stood up with a long sheet of parchment.
*"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted,"* she called. "Adams, Bryan!"
A boy walked up to the stool, placed the Sorting Hat on his head and sat. After a moment, the hat shouted, "RAVENCLAW!"
"Black, Sirius!" Sirius grinned at us cheekily as he walked up to the stool.
"GRYFFINDOR!" The Gryffindor table erupted in cheers.
"Blaker, Erica!"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Brooks, Garth!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Carey, Jim!"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Cantrell, Blu!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Casteel, Zara!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Crabbe, Vincent!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Dewey, Kevin!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Evans, Lily!" Lily walked shakily up to the stool and shoved that hat onto her head.
"Let me see, oh, yes, difficult, very difficult.," Lily heard in her ear. "Not afraid of working, smart too. Don't consider rules much, do you? Ha, like old Salazar. You would do well in any House, but you'd be best in GRYFFINDOR!"
The Gryffindor table clapped again. Sirius almost knocked her out, smacking her on the back. McGonagall continued with the sorting. "Fairchild, Samantha…"
Then came Celeste. The Sorting Hat didn't take long with her. It shouted "GRYFFINDOR!" as soon as the hat touched her head. Lily ran up and hugged her, enormously happy that her best friend joined her in the best house. Sirius looked as though he wanted to too, but wisely decided against it.
"Furtado, Nelly… Gianakopoulos, Artie… Goyle, Gregory… Hall,
Sarah… Keys, Alicia…Kinsley, Andrew…" Then it was Remus's turn.
The Sorting Hat took a long time with him. He sat there muttering under his breath, "Gryffindor, please put me in Gryffindor." The Sorting Hat granted him that wish and he strode over to join Sirius, Lily, and Celeste.
"Malfoy, Lucius… Murray, Patrick… Nepulis, Mia," Mia joined the group "Oelker, Alex… Oelker, Travis… Perry, Matthew…" Pettigrew, Peter also became a Gryffindor. "Potter, James." Like with Celeste, the Sorting Hat chose James for Gryffindor almost automatically.
"Quinton, Travis… Randall, Megan… Siegenthaler, Tyler… Shank, Esther… Starbuck, Luna," Luna joined the Gryffindors. "Stengle, Sarah… Techinsky, Josef…Thompson, Alex…Thomason, Desiree… Veldt, Hadassah… Weber, Grace…Weber, Mark… Wirick, Blake… Wirick, Daniel… Yoder, Bethany… Yoder, Lane… Zirrus, Narcissa."
That ended the Sorting ceremony. All told, there were more Gryffindors than anyone, being 17. What's new. Nine Slytherins, seven Ravenclaws, and nine Hufflepuffs.
Then the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, stood up. "I will not bore you with one of my long speeches. I know you're hungry, so I'll make it short. First, I wish to welcome our first years to Hogwarts. Second, I would like to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Fostra." A young witch next to Dumbledore stood up. She received rather rowdy applause, for she was very pretty. Beside Lily, Celeste gasped.
"What's wrong?" Lily asked her.
"She's a Scotch dryad, like my mother!"
"A Scotch dryad?" Lily asked.
"I'll tell you later," Celeste mouthed. Dumbledore had begun to speak again.
"I'm sure we're all very pleased to welcome you to Hogwarts. Now, I have only to words: Let's eat!"
With those two words, a feast appeared on the empty gold platters. Lily could hardly believe her eyes. The platters held everything from caviar to tortellini. Luna was seated next to Lily. When Lily eagerly piled steak-and-kidney pie onto her plate, Luna recoiled in horror. "What is that stuff and why are you eating it?" she gasped.
"Steak-and-kidney pie. Haven't you ever heard of it before?"
Luna shook her head in silent repulsion. She was turning green.
Lily shrugged and turned to pile roast beef on her plate. Americans.
Finally, everyone was stuffed (Celeste ate more than even Sirius did) and the food cleared away. It was replaced by desserts. Celeste helped herself to about seven chocolate éclairs and chocolate mousse.
"Mmmm, mmm! I didn't know they'd have chocolate mousse! We have that all the time at home!" she said. "And caviar!" Celeste had been the only one in the room to eat the caviar.
The desserts eventually cleared away too. Celeste had eaten almost all the éclairs and some ice cream bar cake. Professor Dumbledore rose to speak again.
*"Ahem- a few more words now that we're all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you."
"First years should note that the Forbidden Forest is off-limits to all pupils. I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the new caretaker, to remind you that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors."
"Quidditch trials will be held in the third week of the term. Anyone interested in playing should contact Madam Hooch."
"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!"* Dumbledore flicked his wand and a long golden ribbon flew out of the tip, twisting itself into words high above the tables.
"Everyone pick their favorite tune, and off we go!" Dumbledore called.
*"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something please,
Whether we be old and bald
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling
With some interesting stuff,
For now they're bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we've forgot,
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot."*
James, Sirius, and Celeste waited until everyone else had finished singing for them to start. Celeste sang it in bass, Sirius sang it in soprano, and James sang alto. The result was hilarious. Every once in a while Celeste's voice would crack because she was an alto, as did Sirius's because he was a baritone. They became a hit with the school from that last cracked note of the song. The entire school, including some of the professors, burst out in wild applause. As the group of friends followed a Gryffindor prefect out of Great Hall, dreamy looks followed James and Sirius while catcalls trailed Celeste. These actions continued throughout their school life.
Professor Fostra seemed to have taken great interest in Celeste and tried to follow her out of Great Hall. Celeste tried vigorously to lose her in the crowd, dragging the whole of Gryffindor house with her. The poor bemused prefect, Arthur Weasley, was unable to do anything with her. The Gryffindors bumbled through the halls, finally coming to a halt in front of a fat woman dressed in pink.
"Now listen everybody," Arthur called. "First years, we have to say a password to get into our common room. It's behind this picture. The password is 'firedance' for now. It might change later." The painting had opened creakily as Arthur said 'firedance'. Now a round hole in the wall was revealed. Everyone climbed in. Inside was a circular, snug room filled with squashy armchairs. Arthur directed the boys up one staircase and the girls up another. Lily couldn't help thinking as she fell into deep slumber, "Disney World isn't the happiest place on earth. Hogwarts is."
* From Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
Disclaimer: I own Celeste, Professors Fostra and Hartmann, Mia, and Luna and Mr. Fortuna. I also own the plot and the title.
A/N: I have no idea whether Disney World was in existence in Lily and James' time but it fit so I put it there. Yes, I know, Arthur Weasley probably wasn't in school while Lily and James were. I just had a strange impulse to add him in. Molly will be coming up soon. Does anyone have a good last name for her? It has to be perfect. Also, I used the Sorting Hat song from the first HP book because I had no idea how to write a new one and I am in no mood to figure it out. Yeah, this is a stupid cliffie, I know. Celeste never told Lily what a Scotch dryad was. Next chapter. I used names of actors and singers and such for the people being Sorted, and also people I know. Anybody know who I am? Yes, I used my name too. And I used the phone book. A good source for names, authors and authoresses everywhere! I'll shut up and get cracking on that next chapter and the HP songfic I'm writing. And if you like this story, do me a favor and go to http://www.wgtz93.com click on Top 8 @ 8 and vote for Shakira's 'Underneath Your Clothes'. It is the best song in the word but it hasn't been on the countdown for three days!!!! P.S. This website is for a local pop radio station and as far as I know contains no unsuitable material, so don't sue me for telling you to go to it! Thanks for the reviews and please, GIVE ME MORE!!!!! Mmwwwaaaaahhhaaaahhhaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1.1 Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, & Slytherin
"Celeste, what do we have to do to be Sorted?" Lily asked.
"Try on some kooky old hat with brains out of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin in it."
Lily crinkled up her nose. "They were real people?"
"Yeah. Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. They founded Hogwarts and its Houses."
They friends stood there in silence until McGonagall came back. She led them down the passageway to the Great Hall. All the older students were seated on benches at four long tables. The teachers sat up front at another table. Lily gave an involuntary shiver when she was a mean looking witch sitting there. The teacher had mangled gray hair that looked as though it had never seen a comb and sunken light blue eyes that looked something like chips of ice. Lily stumbled against James, who whispered to her, "Professor Hartmann, the Potions professor and Slytherin Head of House."
Professor McGonagall took out a four-legged stool and set upon it a very old, battered pointed wizard hat. Everyone seemed to be staring at the hat. Suddenly it twitched and a rip near the brim of the hat opened like a mouth. The hat began to sing.
*"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see.
I'll eat myself if you can find,
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat,
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head,
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you,
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin,
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!*
All, students, teachers, and ghosts (for there were many ghosts at Hogwarts), burst into applause for the Sorting Hat. Professor McGonagall stood up with a long sheet of parchment.
*"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted,"* she called. "Adams, Bryan!"
A boy walked up to the stool, placed the Sorting Hat on his head and sat. After a moment, the hat shouted, "RAVENCLAW!"
"Black, Sirius!" Sirius grinned at us cheekily as he walked up to the stool.
"GRYFFINDOR!" The Gryffindor table erupted in cheers.
"Blaker, Erica!"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Brooks, Garth!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Carey, Jim!"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Cantrell, Blu!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Casteel, Zara!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Crabbe, Vincent!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Dewey, Kevin!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Evans, Lily!" Lily walked shakily up to the stool and shoved that hat onto her head.
"Let me see, oh, yes, difficult, very difficult.," Lily heard in her ear. "Not afraid of working, smart too. Don't consider rules much, do you? Ha, like old Salazar. You would do well in any House, but you'd be best in GRYFFINDOR!"
The Gryffindor table clapped again. Sirius almost knocked her out, smacking her on the back. McGonagall continued with the sorting. "Fairchild, Samantha…"
Then came Celeste. The Sorting Hat didn't take long with her. It shouted "GRYFFINDOR!" as soon as the hat touched her head. Lily ran up and hugged her, enormously happy that her best friend joined her in the best house. Sirius looked as though he wanted to too, but wisely decided against it.
"Furtado, Nelly… Gianakopoulos, Artie… Goyle, Gregory… Hall,
Sarah… Keys, Alicia…Kinsley, Andrew…" Then it was Remus's turn.
The Sorting Hat took a long time with him. He sat there muttering under his breath, "Gryffindor, please put me in Gryffindor." The Sorting Hat granted him that wish and he strode over to join Sirius, Lily, and Celeste.
"Malfoy, Lucius… Murray, Patrick… Nepulis, Mia," Mia joined the group "Oelker, Alex… Oelker, Travis… Perry, Matthew…" Pettigrew, Peter also became a Gryffindor. "Potter, James." Like with Celeste, the Sorting Hat chose James for Gryffindor almost automatically.
"Quinton, Travis… Randall, Megan… Siegenthaler, Tyler… Shank, Esther… Starbuck, Luna," Luna joined the Gryffindors. "Stengle, Sarah… Techinsky, Josef…Thompson, Alex…Thomason, Desiree… Veldt, Hadassah… Weber, Grace…Weber, Mark… Wirick, Blake… Wirick, Daniel… Yoder, Bethany… Yoder, Lane… Zirrus, Narcissa."
That ended the Sorting ceremony. All told, there were more Gryffindors than anyone, being 17. What's new. Nine Slytherins, seven Ravenclaws, and nine Hufflepuffs.
Then the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, stood up. "I will not bore you with one of my long speeches. I know you're hungry, so I'll make it short. First, I wish to welcome our first years to Hogwarts. Second, I would like to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Fostra." A young witch next to Dumbledore stood up. She received rather rowdy applause, for she was very pretty. Beside Lily, Celeste gasped.
"What's wrong?" Lily asked her.
"She's a Scotch dryad, like my mother!"
"A Scotch dryad?" Lily asked.
"I'll tell you later," Celeste mouthed. Dumbledore had begun to speak again.
"I'm sure we're all very pleased to welcome you to Hogwarts. Now, I have only to words: Let's eat!"
With those two words, a feast appeared on the empty gold platters. Lily could hardly believe her eyes. The platters held everything from caviar to tortellini. Luna was seated next to Lily. When Lily eagerly piled steak-and-kidney pie onto her plate, Luna recoiled in horror. "What is that stuff and why are you eating it?" she gasped.
"Steak-and-kidney pie. Haven't you ever heard of it before?"
Luna shook her head in silent repulsion. She was turning green.
Lily shrugged and turned to pile roast beef on her plate. Americans.
Finally, everyone was stuffed (Celeste ate more than even Sirius did) and the food cleared away. It was replaced by desserts. Celeste helped herself to about seven chocolate éclairs and chocolate mousse.
"Mmmm, mmm! I didn't know they'd have chocolate mousse! We have that all the time at home!" she said. "And caviar!" Celeste had been the only one in the room to eat the caviar.
The desserts eventually cleared away too. Celeste had eaten almost all the éclairs and some ice cream bar cake. Professor Dumbledore rose to speak again.
*"Ahem- a few more words now that we're all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you."
"First years should note that the Forbidden Forest is off-limits to all pupils. I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the new caretaker, to remind you that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors."
"Quidditch trials will be held in the third week of the term. Anyone interested in playing should contact Madam Hooch."
"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!"* Dumbledore flicked his wand and a long golden ribbon flew out of the tip, twisting itself into words high above the tables.
"Everyone pick their favorite tune, and off we go!" Dumbledore called.
*"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something please,
Whether we be old and bald
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling
With some interesting stuff,
For now they're bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we've forgot,
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot."*
James, Sirius, and Celeste waited until everyone else had finished singing for them to start. Celeste sang it in bass, Sirius sang it in soprano, and James sang alto. The result was hilarious. Every once in a while Celeste's voice would crack because she was an alto, as did Sirius's because he was a baritone. They became a hit with the school from that last cracked note of the song. The entire school, including some of the professors, burst out in wild applause. As the group of friends followed a Gryffindor prefect out of Great Hall, dreamy looks followed James and Sirius while catcalls trailed Celeste. These actions continued throughout their school life.
Professor Fostra seemed to have taken great interest in Celeste and tried to follow her out of Great Hall. Celeste tried vigorously to lose her in the crowd, dragging the whole of Gryffindor house with her. The poor bemused prefect, Arthur Weasley, was unable to do anything with her. The Gryffindors bumbled through the halls, finally coming to a halt in front of a fat woman dressed in pink.
"Now listen everybody," Arthur called. "First years, we have to say a password to get into our common room. It's behind this picture. The password is 'firedance' for now. It might change later." The painting had opened creakily as Arthur said 'firedance'. Now a round hole in the wall was revealed. Everyone climbed in. Inside was a circular, snug room filled with squashy armchairs. Arthur directed the boys up one staircase and the girls up another. Lily couldn't help thinking as she fell into deep slumber, "Disney World isn't the happiest place on earth. Hogwarts is."
* From Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
Disclaimer: I own Celeste, Professors Fostra and Hartmann, Mia, and Luna and Mr. Fortuna. I also own the plot and the title.
A/N: I have no idea whether Disney World was in existence in Lily and James' time but it fit so I put it there. Yes, I know, Arthur Weasley probably wasn't in school while Lily and James were. I just had a strange impulse to add him in. Molly will be coming up soon. Does anyone have a good last name for her? It has to be perfect. Also, I used the Sorting Hat song from the first HP book because I had no idea how to write a new one and I am in no mood to figure it out. Yeah, this is a stupid cliffie, I know. Celeste never told Lily what a Scotch dryad was. Next chapter. I used names of actors and singers and such for the people being Sorted, and also people I know. Anybody know who I am? Yes, I used my name too. And I used the phone book. A good source for names, authors and authoresses everywhere! I'll shut up and get cracking on that next chapter and the HP songfic I'm writing. And if you like this story, do me a favor and go to http://www.wgtz93.com click on Top 8 @ 8 and vote for Shakira's 'Underneath Your Clothes'. It is the best song in the word but it hasn't been on the countdown for three days!!!! P.S. This website is for a local pop radio station and as far as I know contains no unsuitable material, so don't sue me for telling you to go to it! Thanks for the reviews and please, GIVE ME MORE!!!!! Mmwwwaaaaahhhaaaahhhaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
