Chapter Five: The Sorting
~*~ Linda ~*~
I felt really bad about almost drowning Lily, but she didn't seem to mind. In fact, she insisted on staying close by to me, after she recovered enough to walk around on her own.
She dragged her fingers through her wet hair nervously. Her hair was as straight as sticks, not at all curly like most redheads' hair I knew.
Professor McGonagall soon came out to fetch us, and we all filed in after her, very, very nervous and apprehensive of what she was leading us to. There were whispers all around of a Sorting Ceremony, and no one seemed to know exactly how students were sorted. Horrible whispers floated around with each step we took.
Professor McGonagall led us through a pair of great doors and into a room filled with students on four long tables, and numerous floating candles. There seemed to be no ceiling, although I heard a boy whispering that it was only enchanted to look like the sky outside.
In the very front of the hall Professor McGonagall drew up a stool with a very dirty, patched hat. We first years drew up with bated breaths, wondering what would happen next.
The hat opened its, er, mouth, you could say; it was more like a tear in the brim, though. It sang a song about the four houses, then Professor McGonagall called up Miranda Allen to sit on the stool. Miranda bit her lip and sat. The hat thought about her for about ten seconds before yelling out "RAVENCLAW!"
A table second to the left burst out in applause as Miranda tripped down, a relieved smile on her face.
Lily, being an Evans, was soon sorted. The hat was placed on her dripping hair, and stayed there for about a minute. Lily was pulling very disturbing faces-fear, disgust, and terror.
Then the hat yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!" and the table on the far left began cheering.
I waited impatiently for my turn, restlessly twitching and shifting my weight from one foot to another. Being a Winchester, I was one of the last. Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and James Potter were all put in Gryffindor. So was, I noticed, Peter Pettigrew, who seemed to be the threesome's numero uno fan from the minute he set eyes on them.
When my turn came I crossed my fingers under my robes and squinched my eyes shut.
"So," said a soft, whispery voice in my ear. "You are Linda Winchester, yes?"
"Yes," I thought. "What house are you going to put me in?"
"Ah, an impatient one, are you? Well, the question is, what house do you want to be put in?"
I was caught a little off guard. I opened my eyes slightly and my gaze roved the room, settling on Lily, who was surrounded by James, Remus, Sirius, and Peter. It would be a shame to be parted from them, even though we knew each other only for about half an hour.
"Ah, loyalty to your friends is a very good trait. I shall put you in.GRYFFINDOR!!!"
I was very pleased at this proclamation. There was an empty spot right next to Lily, to my delight, and I plopped down, shaking the whole table. I was so pleased about being put into Gryffindor that for once, I didn't worry about my weight.
"Lily, are you feeling all right?" I asked, gently putting my hand on her shoulder.
"I'm fine," Lily rasped, nodding a little. "Just a little.waterlogged."
"Look, food!" A boy with limp blond hair and water blue eyes who was sitting a few seats away, said excitedly, pointing at the golden plates that had now filled up with food.
For someone who had nearly drowned, Lily had a big appetite. She even out- ate James and Sirius, who stared as she ate. She didn't eat like a barbarian, but it was hard to deny she was eating a little faster than the normal person.
"You're going to choke," said James, grabbing her wrist when her hand went out to get more salad. "You'd better slow down."
"I'm very hungry, James," said Lily, not in a rude way, but rather, gently, as though she were dealing with a very young child.
"You're going to make yourself sick," said Remus.
"Yeah, and you'll have wasted all that food after you barf it back up," said Sirius. "Think of all those poor, starving children in Africa."
"Tuh," Meagan rolled her eyes. "Since when were you worried about the starving children of Africa, Sirius? And Lily, for that matter?"
"Since a minute ago," said Sirius.
"I'm fine," said Lily, almost angrily, attacking her mashed potatoes. "Stop worrying so much."
"You almost drowned," I said. "How can we not worry?"
"Are you okay, Lils?" A pair of large, strong hands landed on her shoulders and Meagan began blushing. I looked up to see Harry looking down at Lily worriedly. A few locks of black hair fell into his eyes and he brushed them away.
"Like I said, I am fine, despite the fact that I fell into the lake," said Lily, closing her eyes in exasperation. "It's not the first time someone's fallen into the lake, I assume?"
"Yes, but it's the first time someone's stayed under for about ten minutes and survived," said Harry, sitting down on the other side of Lily, forcing Remus to scoot a few inches.
"It could've been some of the spontaneous magic that's always been happening when I was a kid," said Lily.
"It could've been," said Harry, very dubiously. Then he sighed and pushed back his hair again. "Why're you being so disagreeable, Lils?"
"I'm not being disagreeable!" said Lily hotly. "I'm not a baby anymore, so you can call me Lily. My name is Lily, all right? And everyone, please stop worrying about me. I don't need a bunch of Petunias following me around Hogwarts too!" She stood up abruptly and stormed off.
"What's up with her?" asked James.
Harry shook his head and wiped his glasses with a napkin. "Must be that redheaded temper, though I've rarely seen it take effect on Lily."
"What did she mean by a bunch of petunias?" I asked, completely bewildered.
"She was talking about Petunia, her sister," said Harry. "Petunia Evans, infamous for worrying over and doting on Lily too much for her own good. Lily's never been comfortable with it and always chafed under Petunia's care. I suppose she developed Petuniaphobia or something and thought you guys were turning into Petunias."
"Yeah, I can imagine us sprouting petals around our heads and having leaves for arms. I'm opting to turn into a blue petunia," said Sirius, earning a hard jab in the ribs from Meagan.
~*~ Linda ~*~
I felt really bad about almost drowning Lily, but she didn't seem to mind. In fact, she insisted on staying close by to me, after she recovered enough to walk around on her own.
She dragged her fingers through her wet hair nervously. Her hair was as straight as sticks, not at all curly like most redheads' hair I knew.
Professor McGonagall soon came out to fetch us, and we all filed in after her, very, very nervous and apprehensive of what she was leading us to. There were whispers all around of a Sorting Ceremony, and no one seemed to know exactly how students were sorted. Horrible whispers floated around with each step we took.
Professor McGonagall led us through a pair of great doors and into a room filled with students on four long tables, and numerous floating candles. There seemed to be no ceiling, although I heard a boy whispering that it was only enchanted to look like the sky outside.
In the very front of the hall Professor McGonagall drew up a stool with a very dirty, patched hat. We first years drew up with bated breaths, wondering what would happen next.
The hat opened its, er, mouth, you could say; it was more like a tear in the brim, though. It sang a song about the four houses, then Professor McGonagall called up Miranda Allen to sit on the stool. Miranda bit her lip and sat. The hat thought about her for about ten seconds before yelling out "RAVENCLAW!"
A table second to the left burst out in applause as Miranda tripped down, a relieved smile on her face.
Lily, being an Evans, was soon sorted. The hat was placed on her dripping hair, and stayed there for about a minute. Lily was pulling very disturbing faces-fear, disgust, and terror.
Then the hat yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!" and the table on the far left began cheering.
I waited impatiently for my turn, restlessly twitching and shifting my weight from one foot to another. Being a Winchester, I was one of the last. Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and James Potter were all put in Gryffindor. So was, I noticed, Peter Pettigrew, who seemed to be the threesome's numero uno fan from the minute he set eyes on them.
When my turn came I crossed my fingers under my robes and squinched my eyes shut.
"So," said a soft, whispery voice in my ear. "You are Linda Winchester, yes?"
"Yes," I thought. "What house are you going to put me in?"
"Ah, an impatient one, are you? Well, the question is, what house do you want to be put in?"
I was caught a little off guard. I opened my eyes slightly and my gaze roved the room, settling on Lily, who was surrounded by James, Remus, Sirius, and Peter. It would be a shame to be parted from them, even though we knew each other only for about half an hour.
"Ah, loyalty to your friends is a very good trait. I shall put you in.GRYFFINDOR!!!"
I was very pleased at this proclamation. There was an empty spot right next to Lily, to my delight, and I plopped down, shaking the whole table. I was so pleased about being put into Gryffindor that for once, I didn't worry about my weight.
"Lily, are you feeling all right?" I asked, gently putting my hand on her shoulder.
"I'm fine," Lily rasped, nodding a little. "Just a little.waterlogged."
"Look, food!" A boy with limp blond hair and water blue eyes who was sitting a few seats away, said excitedly, pointing at the golden plates that had now filled up with food.
For someone who had nearly drowned, Lily had a big appetite. She even out- ate James and Sirius, who stared as she ate. She didn't eat like a barbarian, but it was hard to deny she was eating a little faster than the normal person.
"You're going to choke," said James, grabbing her wrist when her hand went out to get more salad. "You'd better slow down."
"I'm very hungry, James," said Lily, not in a rude way, but rather, gently, as though she were dealing with a very young child.
"You're going to make yourself sick," said Remus.
"Yeah, and you'll have wasted all that food after you barf it back up," said Sirius. "Think of all those poor, starving children in Africa."
"Tuh," Meagan rolled her eyes. "Since when were you worried about the starving children of Africa, Sirius? And Lily, for that matter?"
"Since a minute ago," said Sirius.
"I'm fine," said Lily, almost angrily, attacking her mashed potatoes. "Stop worrying so much."
"You almost drowned," I said. "How can we not worry?"
"Are you okay, Lils?" A pair of large, strong hands landed on her shoulders and Meagan began blushing. I looked up to see Harry looking down at Lily worriedly. A few locks of black hair fell into his eyes and he brushed them away.
"Like I said, I am fine, despite the fact that I fell into the lake," said Lily, closing her eyes in exasperation. "It's not the first time someone's fallen into the lake, I assume?"
"Yes, but it's the first time someone's stayed under for about ten minutes and survived," said Harry, sitting down on the other side of Lily, forcing Remus to scoot a few inches.
"It could've been some of the spontaneous magic that's always been happening when I was a kid," said Lily.
"It could've been," said Harry, very dubiously. Then he sighed and pushed back his hair again. "Why're you being so disagreeable, Lils?"
"I'm not being disagreeable!" said Lily hotly. "I'm not a baby anymore, so you can call me Lily. My name is Lily, all right? And everyone, please stop worrying about me. I don't need a bunch of Petunias following me around Hogwarts too!" She stood up abruptly and stormed off.
"What's up with her?" asked James.
Harry shook his head and wiped his glasses with a napkin. "Must be that redheaded temper, though I've rarely seen it take effect on Lily."
"What did she mean by a bunch of petunias?" I asked, completely bewildered.
"She was talking about Petunia, her sister," said Harry. "Petunia Evans, infamous for worrying over and doting on Lily too much for her own good. Lily's never been comfortable with it and always chafed under Petunia's care. I suppose she developed Petuniaphobia or something and thought you guys were turning into Petunias."
"Yeah, I can imagine us sprouting petals around our heads and having leaves for arms. I'm opting to turn into a blue petunia," said Sirius, earning a hard jab in the ribs from Meagan.