Lily gaped at the man - she may have been Muggle born, as her new friends had so patiently explained to her, but even she could figure out there was something non-human about this Hagrid. She felt better though, when she discovered she wasn't the only one staring. Sirius and even Remus were wide-eyed too, and James was having a hard time not staring, she could tell.
"All firs' years, follow me! We got ter cross the lake, inta the boats now! Four to a boat!"
The four youths scrambled into one boat, eager to get to the castle they could see spiraling high above the lake. Lily had never seen a castle before, even living in Britain - she didn't often get out of Newmarket. The sheer size of it awed her.
The boat wobbled suddenly - Sirius had almost stood up in his excitement. Glaring at him, he shrugged an apology to her, a sheepish grin lighting his features. She just chuckled and shook her head James met her eyes with a grin, the clear sapphire sparkling with delight. Even without words, she knew what he meant - here was a fantastic place to play pranks. He was obssesed with practical jokes; probably came from being stuck in a stifling family for eleven years. Remus looked over and raised one gray eyebrow, the sly grin on his face belying his cheer at their new home.
Instead of stopping at the cliff, they went through a tunnel. Passing through the vines, Lily caught a sight of Sirius who looked, well, seriously at the cliff face. He studied it until he could no longer see it. He happened to catch sight of her curious look and mimed climbing it.
"Oh."
He grinned at her.
A bump announced their arrival at the harbor. The four scrambled out of the boats and clambered up the steps right behind the giant man. They were so close to him that they all winced when he pounded the huge, oak doors three times.
Immediately they opened and revealed a woman wearing deep midnight blue robes. She nodded at Hagrid and looked sternly at the first years.
"Follow me."
James elbowed Lily in the side. She gave him a light shove back, but he tugged at her sleeve to get her attention. Finally looking at him, she began shaking with silent laughter. He was doing an impression of the teacher, pinched face, dour look and all. Wrenching her gaze from the sight she walked ahead of him, determined not to let the professor know she found anything amusing. Behind her, she could sense James shaking with laughter too.
After a short journey of twists and turns, they arrived at a small room next to the dining room, or so Lily judged from the buzz of voices. The professor turned and looked down her nose at them.
"I am Professor McGonagall. In a few moments, you will enter the Great Hall. There, you will be Sorted into your houses. The houses are Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor. While you are here, they will be like your family. Any victories will be awarded house-points, while any breaking of rules will have them taken away. At the end of the year, the house cup will be awarded to the house with the most points. After you have been Sorted, the banquet will begin. Please wait here until I come for you."
Lily's palms began to sweat as she watched the witch vanish into the next room. She whispered urgently to Remus, who she knew was from a wizarding family.
"Sorting? What is the Sorting? We didn't have to study for it at all, did we? Because I didn't touch my books."
Remus shook his head, a lock of sterling hair falling in his eyes.
"I don't know exactly. No one is supposed to tell us anything. But just hope you don't get Sorted into Slytherin."
"Why?"
James interrupted.
"Because it's the worst house, that's why. God, I hope I'm in Gryffindor."
Remus stared at James in disbelief.
"Every member of your family has been in Gryffindor, James. Why wouldn't you?"
"I don't know, but if I am the first Potter to be something other than Gryffindor..."
Since he was looking positively ghost-like, Lily immediately felt sympathy for him. She awkwardly gripped his shoulder; she wasn't really good at displaying her emotions, except for anger. It seemed to be enough, though, as he shot her a look of gratitude.
Sirius had been listening the whole time.
"What about Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw?"
Remus shrugged.
"They're ok. Hufflepuffs are supposed to be loyal, Ravenclaws are supposed to clever, Slytherins amibitious, and Gryffindors brave. Don't know if it's true, though. My-"
Just then, McGonagall came back and ushered them into the Great Hall. As Lily walked between the two middle tables, she felt yet again naive, staring up at the ceiling. She didn't have much time to gawk though, as the first years arrived quickly at the front. Sitting on a stool before them was the most decreipt hat she had ever seen. Even as she watched, it opened its mouth and began to chant.
I may not be the prettiest
That you will ever see
A thousand years or more have gone
Since I came to be
The fashions come and go again
The seasons always change
And through it all I do my job
Through the normal and the strange
I can tell between the cunning,
Clever, loyal, brave at heart
I can tell the sort you'll be
Before you even play the part
In Ravenclaw the yearn to know
Will be shared by others
For who better to share the thirst
Then by a similar another
Loyalty and dedication
Are marks of Hufflepuff
Just to toil honestly
Will always be enough
Those who are the bravest
No doubt belong in Gryffindor
Whose courageness and valor
Might earn their place in lore
And finally, the Slytherins
Love those of great amibition
Those who reach into their dreams
Will one day be magicians
So put me on and we will see
In which house you belong
Don't doubt me - I know who is who
And I've never yet been wrong
With that, the entire Hall burst into applause. Lily was no longer unsure of herself, though apprehension was still present. She was pretty sure which house she would be Sorted into. No, it was only that she hoped all three of her new friends would be in her House too. The girl had never made friends easily and was highly astonished at her current luck. It helped that they were guys. She always identified better with guys, mainly because girls, even ones her age, seemed to only think about boyfriends, makeup, and shopping.
"Ashano, Roberto!"
A tiny boy walked confidently up to the stool. Almost before the hat touched his head, it screamed "HUFFLEPUFF!" Lily started, not realizing that it was going to talk.
"Atkinson, Jessica!"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Barr, Perpetua!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Black, Sirius!"
Lily drew in a sharp breath. Her friend sat down confidently on the stool, looking almost relaxed as the Hat slipped over his eyes. It seemed almost an eternity before the hat finally shouted Sirius's destination.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
The girl gulped. That was the house she thought she would get into - it takes quite a bit of courage to handle 1200 pound animals when only eleven years old - but she wasn't sure. Now she felt she needed to get into that house.
Darlon, Narcissa became a Slytherin, Delaney, Steven a Ravenclaw, Dotkary, John a Ravenclaw. Then it was her turn.
"Evans, Lily"
Her heart thudded loudly as she walked up to the stool. Far from confident, she strived to seem fearless, as her mother had always taught her. Sitting carefully down on the stool, doubt filled her even as her gaze was blocked by the interior of the hat.
"Aaaaah, a horsewoman. I haven't had one of those in years! I'm sure you'll find many creatures of the equine strain that have magical natures. For instance-"
Get it over with already!
"Oh, you can't stand the wait, can you? Well, lets see. Plenty of ambition, oh yes. Wanted to be one of the first women jockeys, did you? I have to tell you that's unlikely now, but perhaps not impossible. Yes, you would do well in Slytherin, but somehow you don't belong there. Clever mind, intense loyalty to friends....no, you don't fit the mindset of either a Hufflepuff or a Ravenclaw. Now, bravery! Ah, there's an overwhelming trait of yours. No fear of the truth, especially, and defying peer pressure to conform! That, my dear-"
I'm not anyone's dear, thank you very much.
The hat just chuckled and continued.
"-is one of the best indicators of courage. Yes, you most definitely are a GRYFFINDOR!"
The girl sighed with relief and pulled the hat guickly from her crimson locks, moving confidently over to take a seat across from Sirius and next to a much older redheaded boy.
"Golenery, Elizabeth!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Hartford, George!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Johnson, Sarah!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Loomis, Laura!"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Lupin, Remus!"
Lily's breath caught again. She watched as the boy carefully made his way up to the stool. This one seemed important - she somehow had a feeling that if he wasn't in Gryffindor, it wouldn't do the world any good.
A moment passed. Then another. Even the teachers began to get nervous and look at one another. McGonagall had just begin to move as if to see if the Hat was working correctly when it suddenly shouted.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
The Great Hall gave a collective sigh, thankful that the wait was over, and even the teachers seemed relieved, Lily noticed. Remus took a seat next to her and another of the first year girls at the table. The Sorting continued.
Newman, Ashley went to Ravenclaw, Omar, Caleb went to Slytherin, and Pettigrew, Peter joined the Gryffindor table. Peter seemed a quite sort, chubby in the way that he hadn't lost all of his baby fat yet, but with an utterly adorable face that any mother would have cooed over. Clear, innnocent grey eyes peered out from underneath rich mahogany locks. He gave the five first years already sitting there a small smile. Lily decided she liked him.
"Potter, James!" Lily's head shot up. The boy made his way slowly up to the stool, the messy mop of hair on his head hiding his gaze from her. She crossed her fingers under the table, but shouldn't have worried. The hat had barely touched his head when it shouted confidently.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
James's face lit up and he ran over to their table, claiming a seat between Sirius and Peter. They stopped paying attention to the Sorting for a few minutes, all congratulating each other on getting into Gryffindor. Suddenly, Remus began cracking up and pointed across to where a boy was making his way to the hat. A boy whose hair looked remarkably like Sirius's all black, and long, and greasy was making his way up to the stool. James chuckled.
"Did you have a twin, Sirius?"
Sirius was staring with a dumbfounded expression, but it turned to one of relief when the boy turned around. Unlike Sirius's high cheekbones and classical features, this Severus Snape, as Jessica told them with an odd look, sported a hooked nose and foreboding features. The four felt that the hat placed him right when it yelled "SLYTHERIN!"
Finally, the Sorting was over, and Lily and Sirius blinked in astonishment as the food simply appeared on their plates. The red headed boy she was sitting next to looked over and grinned at her expression, closing her jaw with a finger.
"Muggle-born, hmm? You are all so fascinating?"
She looked at him in bewilderment. He shook his head quickly and stuck out a hand.
"Sorry. I'm Arthur Weasley, in fourth year. I believe your friend there knows me well. Isn't that right, James?"
"Yeah, yeah Art. Just promise me you won't let Mud stand on any dinner tables this year."
The young man laughed.
"I'll try, but I can't promise anything. Mud, as you well know, has a mind of his own."
James rolled his eyes and agreed.
At that moment, another older boy sitting across from Art interrupted. He had blond hair, and sky blue eyes, which somehow reminded her of James.
"I wish you two wouldn't talk as if I wasn't here. It's not as if I can't hear you."
"That would be the point Mud."
"Yeah, yeah. So Jamie-"
"Don't call me that!"
"-did you ever convince your parents you really were robbed, and didn't just make up that story to have an excuse for losing those god-awful candlesticks?"
Sirius spoke now, seemingly intent on his food.
"Yeah, those were pretty ugly, weren't they? With the gargoyles and chinese dragons all over them? Talk about a wierd combination."
"And heavy too. I can't believe you didn't "accidentally" get robbed bef- hey, wait a minute. You, kid!"
Sirius looked around innocently.
"Yeah, you!"
Sirius pretended to be surprised.
"Oh, me! My name is Sirius, not You."
"Right, Sirius. Anyways, how did you know what those candlesticks look like?"
"Because I stole them."
"Oh, right then. That makes sense. Now, -wait! James, you mean you really were robbed?!?"
James smirked. That was all the answer he needed. Lily, Remus and Art were almost doubled up with laughter and even Peter chuckled at the dumbfounded Mud.
The rest of the meal passed relatively uneventfully and the first years trooped tiredly up behind Archie Weasley, their prefect. By his red hair, he looked to be the older brother of Art. Lily seperated reluctantly from her newfound gang and walked into the dormitory. Jessica and Laura were already there, talking excitedly. Jessica was a rather cute brunette and Laura had amazingly straight ebony hair. Lily fingered her own carroty waves self-consciously.
"Did you see the boys in our year?"
"Yes! Oh my god, isn't James so cute! And Sirius! And Remus! Oh, I think I'm in heaven!"
"I know! Even Peter is adorable, in that teddy bear way! And did you see Lucius Malfoy, in Slytherin?"
"Well, yes, but my parents would kill me if I ever talked to him - the whole Dark-wizard thing going on in his family."
"What?"
"You didn't know? Well, I probably shouldn't tell you...oh, hi Lily!"
"Er...hello."
"So, what type of parents do you have? Mine's a Muggle and a wizard."
"Wizard and witch, here."
"Both of mine are Muggles. My dad's a psychiatrist and my mum used to be a jockey, but she trains for Coolmore now."
The two looked blankly at her when she mentioned Coolmore, but they apparently knew wha a jockey was because they immediately began cooing.
"Oooooh, horses! I just love them. They're so pretty!"
"And they have such gorgeous manes and tails! You're so lucky, Lily!"
She kept her face from showing her disgust only with difficulty.
"Ah, yeah, I know. It's great. Listen, I'm pretty tired, so I'm just going to go ahead and go to sleep, ok?"
"Oh, sure! Goodnight, Lily!"
She sighed.
"G'night."
With that, she crawled under the covers without even changing out of her jeans and polo, falling asleep rather contented.
hr
Disclaimer: EVERYTHING that is in Rowling's books are hers. The rest is mine. Steal it and I will eat you.
On this story, I am planning to have additions out every 2 to 3 days. I know this astonishes all of you who know me, and my usual lack of updating, but this is the first story I have really been interested in, and I have quite a bit of it planned out, instead of winging it chapter to chapter like I usually do. So ANYWAYS, I do enjoy reviews and/or constructive criticism.
