Disclaimer: Belle's mine, Michelle's...well, Michelle is Michelle's,
Belle's parents are mine, and any new characters are mine. *Starts
singing* Children, go where I send thee! Children, how shall I send thee?
I'm gonna send thee one by one, one for the little bitty baby the baby boy,
born in Bethlehem. Don't worry Michelle, I'll eventually shut up.
Probably not for quite a while, but eventually I'll shut up. Oh yeah, the
word yusky belongs to me and Michelle, since she came up with it and I put
it in here. Lydian's mine, Miana's mine, Anne's mine. And the Anderson
twins. And my books are mine, and my music for choir, and my Avril Lavigne
CD, and my stupid ugly evil choir dress that deserves to be burnt. I own
all that, too. That's all.
Lily looked around nervously. She, Belle, James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Michelle, and all the other first years were following the giant, whose name was Hagrid.
"Round this bend, yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' the castle," he was saying as they walked.
A murmur broke out among the students. All of them were curious as to what their home for the next seven years would look like.
"Wow," Lily gasped as they rounded the bend.
"I always heard that the castle looked beautiful, but no one ever told me it looked this...magical," Belle whispered to Lily.
"I know. It makes me wish we lived in the old days, when people lived in castles, not houses," Lily whispered back.
"Right then, no more'n four to a boat," Hagrid said and Lily and Belle were jolted back to the real world.
Lily and Belle climbed into a boat, followed by a boy and a girl that looked very much alike, with brown hair and blue eyes. They introduced themselves as Alyssa and Adam Anderson.
"Our middle names begin with 'a', too," Alyssa said, giggling. "It's annoying."
"Really? What's your middle name?" Belle asked.
"Mine's Anne," Alyssa replied.
"My middle name is Adam," Adam replied. Seeing the confused looks on Belle's and Lily's faces, he laughed. "My first name is really Anthony, but I hated being called Tony, so I started going by Adam. And if you call me Anthony or Tony, I will NOT answer," he warned.
"I'll try to remember that," Lily said.
The boats reached the other side of the lake and everyone climbed out.
Hagrid left them in the entrance hall, telling them that a professor would be there shortly. Sure enough, a witch wearing emerald green robes entered almost as soon as he had gone through a side door.
"In a few moments, you will pass through these doors and into the Great Hall," she began. "You will then be sorted into different houses." She went on to say almost exactly what James, Michelle, and the others had told Lily on the train, except that she didn't make Slytherin sound bad. When she finished, she turned as if to leave, but a boy's voice stopped her.
"Uh, Professor?"
Everyone started looking around to see who had called out. It was James Potter, standing next to his sister protectively.
"Yes?" the woman answered, looking at him severely through her square spectacles.
"Um, could I speak to you privately?" James asked awkwardly.
"I'm afraid not," the woman said. "We are rather pressed for time."
"Well, um, my sister was saying good bye to me, and the train left Platform Nine and Three Quarters before she could get off," James invented. Michelle silently thanked him for not telling the truth.
"And you want to know what to do with her?" the woman questioned.
James nodded. Michelle fidgeted silently, standing as close to her brother as she could without standing on his feet.
"I see," the witch said. "Well, come with me, child."
"Both of us?" James asked.
"No, just your sister," the woman said. "Come along."
Michelle gave her brother a terrified look. Lily, seeing that Michelle was scared to death that she would get in trouble, hurried over to her.
"Just go with her," she said under her breath. "Nothing bad is going to happen. You'll be okay."
Michelle nodded, still terrified, and walked alongside the woman down a corridor.
"Where are we going?" she ventured to ask.
"To my office, to write your parents a letter explaining that you will be sent back on the train as soon as possible," the woman said kindly.
"My parents aren't together anymore," Michelle said sadly. "I live with my mum."
"I see. You are a witch, I presume?"
"Yes."
"All right."
They reached a door at the end of a corridor, with a small plaque on it that read "Professor M. McGonagall".
"Is that you?" Michelle asked, reading the plaque.
"Yes, this is my office."
McGonagall opened the door and ushered Michelle in. Michelle sat down in a chair in front of a desk that was strewn with quills, pieces of parchment, and books. McGonagall sat behind the desk and picked up a fresh piece of parchment.
"What is your mother's name?" she asked, dipping a quill into an inkwell.
"Kathleen Potter," Michelle replied.
"And yours?"
"Michelle Potter."
McGonagall began to write quickly, her quill making little scratching noises. She stuffed the parchment into an envelope, then sealed it with wax on the back.
"I will take this to the Owlery after the Sorting Ceremony," she informed Michelle. She pulled out her wand, flicked it once, and then put it back in her pocket. Instantly, a plate heaped with sandwiches and a goblet appeared on the desk. "You may eat in here. I will come get you after the feast and you will sleep tonight in the common room of your brother's house."
"Thank you," Michelle said politely. She picked up a sandwich from the plate as McGonagall left and bit into it. "Ugh, tuna! Yusky!!!" She put that one back and picked up a different one and bit into it. "Turkey. Much better."
Meanwhile, the first years were still standing in the hall, waiting for McGonagall to return.
"Thank you for getting Chelle to go with the professor," James said to Lily.
"It was nothing," Lily said, brushing aside his thanks.
"Why do you hate me so much, Lily?" James asked her, looking at her sadly.
"I don't," Lily answered defensively. "You just aren't my favorite person in the world."
"Who's this?" Alyssa asked, coming up to Lily.
"James Potter," James said, not taking his eyes off Lily. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, too," Alyssa replied.
"Hello," Adam said, appearing behind his twin. "I'm Adam."
"James," James answered. He finally turned his gaze away from Lily, just as McGonagall walked back into the hall.
"Follow me," she said to the students.
She opened a set of huge double doors and led them into a huge hall, with candles floating in the air and four long tables, set with glistening golden plates. The tables were nearly filled with chattering students. The students all turned in their seats and watched the first years coming in.
"Look at that," Belle whispered to Lily and Alyssa. She pointed to a stool that was sitting in front of the table that all the teachers were sitting at.
"What is it?" Lily whispered back.
"It's a hat," Alyssa whispered.
Suddenly, there was a hush as everyone watched the hat. A rip near the brim opened and the hat began to sing.
"Some hats are tall and smart, some hats are short and torn, but I'm the smartest hat you'll find, though I'm not often worn. I'll look inside your head, and read what's in your mind, and put you in a house, judging on what I find. You might be put in Ravenclaw, where the clever are, and if you're put in Ravenclaw, guaranteed you'll go far."
The hat went on to sing about all the other houses, giving little tidbits of information on all of them. When it finished singing, all the students burst into cheers. Professor McGonagall stepped forward, holding a scroll of parchment.
"I will read off your name," she began. "You will come up to the Sorting Hat and put it on. The hat will then tell you which house you belong in, and you will go sit with your house."
There was another loud cheer from the older students. McGonagall unrolled her scroll.
"Anderson, Adam!"
Adam grinned nervously at his new friends, then went up to the hat and put it on his head, sitting on the stool. The hat said nothing for a few seconds.
"RAVENCLAW!" it yelled suddenly. The Ravenclaw table burst into cheers.
Adam grinned and set the hat back on the stool, then sat down at the Ravenclaw table. Lily could see the older students patting him on the back.
"Anderson, Alyssa!"
Alyssa glanced over at Lily.
"Go on," Lily whispered. "You'll be put in a good house, I know it!"
Alyssa swallowed hard and walked up to the hat and placed it gingerly on her head. Once again, the hat was silent for some time before it said which house Alyssa was in.
"RAVENCLAW!"
Alyssa grinned happily, took the hat off, and took a seat next to her twin. The Ravenclaws were cheering just as loud for her as they had for Adam.
Lily looked anxiously at Belle.
"What if they split us up?" she whispered.
"They won't," Belle reassured.
"Atkins, Daryl!"
A pale, red haired boy went up and placed the hat on his head.
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
Lily tuned McGonagall's voice out for a little bit, watching the ceiling, which looked like the night sky. She was snapped back to reality when McGonagall called out "Black, Sirius!"
Sirius started forward, brushing past Lily as he went. He flashed a dashing grin at her as he jammed the hat on his head.
"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat yelled after a few seconds. Sirius took off the hat triumphantly, waved at the first years, and strolled over to the Gryffindor table, which was cheering louder than all the others.
Lily groaned.
"I know what you're thinking," Belle said, laughing a little. "But James and Sirius aren't so bad once you get to know them. If we both end up in Gryffindor, and James does too, it won't be horrible. I promise."
"I believe you," Lily said, though she really didn't.
"Clark, Chad" became another Hufflepuff. Lily noticed that he was giving the older female students appreciative looks. She also noticed that they were all scooting away from him. Chad noticed Lily watching him and whistled. She gave him a dirty look.
Lily was growing increasingly nervous. McGonagall finally finished calling all the students with last names that began with a 'd' and started on 'e'.
"Eaton, Melissa!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Effen, Steven!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
Finally, McGonagall called:
"Evans, Lily!"
Lily took a few deep breaths.
"Go get 'em, girl!" Belle whispered. She pushed Lily forward.
Lily sat down on the stool and put the Sorting Hat on her head.
"Hmmm," a small voice said in her ear. "Now where do you belong?"
Terrified, all Lily could think was "what if, what if, what if..."
"What if what? You don't fit in the house you're put in?"
"I don't know where I belong..." Lily thought anxiously.
"Hmmm, well, you've got an extremely bright mind, a loyal and courageous nature, and curiosity. And goodness, talent too! So where do you belong?"
"Please, not Slytherin!" Lily thought, remembering what James had told her about Slytherin.
"Well then, how about GRYFFINDOR!" The hat shouted the last word out to the hall.
Lily sighed with relief and slipped off the stool, then placed the hat back on the stool. She walked over to the Gryffindor table and took a seat, watching the remaining first years. Belle flashed her a confident grin and a wink. Lily returned the wink and smiled happily.
"Ooh, I hope I get Gryffindor," James said to Remus, seeing Lily's happy face.
"Do you like her?" Remus asked quietly.
"I don't see why I do, considering she hates my guts, but I do," James admitted.
"I don't blame you for liking her," Remus consoled. "She's really pretty, and from the little bit I talked to her, she seems nice."
They were silent for the remainder of time until Remus was called and sorted into Gryffindor, going over and sitting with Lily and Belle, who had also been sorted into Gryffindor. James stood, waiting for his name to be called. He was surprised by a faint sniffle coming from his right and turned to see Peter Pettigrew standing there.
"Hullo, Peter," he whispered, watching as "McKenzie, Jessica" became a Ravenclaw.
"Hi," Peter said, sounding miserable.
"What's the matter?"
"I'm afraid I won't get sorted into any house," Peter said, sniffing again.
"Why wouldn't you be sorted?"
"I dunno, I'm not that great at magic," Peter said, shrugging.
"Well, I don't think they would've sent you a letter saying you'd gotten in if they weren't sure there was a place for you," James said sensibly.
"True," Peter agreed, not ready to be happy yet.
"Patil, Mark!" became a Hufflepuff. James was really getting nervous now. Suppose he got put in a different house than Sirius, and Remus, and Lily? Suppose he was put in Hufflepuff? Or even worse, suppose he was put into Slytherin? Lily would hate him for sure, then...he quickly pushed all thoughts out of his mind, except for thinking about what he'd do when he got into Gryffindor.
"Pettigrew, Peter!"
Peter gulped anxiously, then stepped forward, tripped on the hem of his robes, and fell flat on his face again with a loud squeak. James hurried forward and helped Peter up.
"Did you see that? What an idiot!" a boy yelled from the Hufflepuff table. James glanced over to their table, making a mental note of which boy it was so he could trash can him later. It was Chad Clark, the one that had whistled at Lily. James made another mental note to trash can him again, for whistling at Lily.
By that time, Peter was up on the stool with the Sorting Hat on his head. The hat seemed to be taking a long time with him. Finally, it yelled out: "SLYTHERIN!!"
James winced. Poor Peter. Now he'd really have some of the kids teasing him. He went back to watching the ceremony, knowing full well that Sirius was watching him anxiously. Even Remus was watching him with more than a little worry in his eyes.
"Potter, James!"
James feigned confidence as he walked up to the stool and placed the Sorting Hat on his head.
"So, where do you belong?" the hat said in his ear.
"I hope that it's with all my friends," James thought anxiously. "With Sirius, and Remus, and Belle, and Lily...most of all Lily..."
"Bit smitten, are we?"
"Uhh..."
"Hmmm. You've got talent, I see, and plenty of it, too! Bravery, goodness yes, lots of it, and an eager mind...so where to put you? Yes, where?"
"Uhh..."
"I know! GRYFFINDOR!"
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" James thought, filled with relief.
"You're welcome," the hat said as James took it off. He almost forgot to act like he wasn't excited as he walked to the Gryffindor table, but remembered and quickly slowed his walk, smiling a jaunty grin to the unsorted first years. He took a seat next to Sirius and across from Lily. Next to Lily was Belle, then Remus.
"So, looks like we'll be spending a little more time together than you'd hoped," James said jokingly to Lily. To his surprise, she laughed.
"I'm sure it won't kill me," she said, thinking that she might as well give him a chance. He had to be nicer than that Chad kid.
"I should hope it wouldn't kill you," Belle said, grinning. "What would poor James do?"
James felt his face turning hot. Lily laughed a little.
"So, James, what about the brilliant idea we had on the train?" Sirius asked. "Are we going through with it?"
"Which one?"
"Y'know, the one about people in the you-know-what," Sirius said meaningfully.
"Oh yeah," James said, remembering. "Hey Remus!"
"What?" Remus said, looking up with a startled look on his face.
"Sirius and I need to talk to you after the feast," James said, grinning wickedly.
"Okay," Remus said, a confused look on his face. "Couldn't you just talk to me right now?"
"It's confidential," Sirius said quickly.
Lily rolled her eyes. "All they want to know is if you'll join their stupid gang and play pranks on people with them," she said, giving Belle a look that plainly said "They are soo stupid."
"Really?" Remus asked, interested. "Sounds good to me!"
"Now, we just need to find another boy our age to be in it," Sirius said thoughtfully.
"May I suggest someone?" Remus asked.
"Yeah, go right ahead!" James said, nodding.
"Peter Pettigrew. I was talking to him on the train, and it seems like the fellow would give anything to have a bit of glory," Remus explained. He didn't know it then, but those words would come back to haunt him, about ten years later...
"Is that okay with you, James?" Sirius asked. "Peter seems a little quiet, but I'm sure he'd make a good Marauder after a bit."
"Works for me. I'll talk to him after the feast," James said. "Which I'm hoping will start fairly soon. I'm starving!"
Just then, McGonagall rolled up her scroll, picked up the stool with the Sorting Hat still on it, and carried it out of the Great Hall. She returned quickly and took a seat at the table with the rest of the teachers, next to an old wizard with a flowing white beard and hair. He had bright blue eyes that twinkled behind half-moon spectacles.
This man stood up, holding his hands out for silence, which he was immediately given.
"Before the feast, I would like to give a few announcements," he said loudly. "First of all, I would like to inform you that our old gamekeeper, Connolly Ogg, has retired."
There were a few whoops and hollers. Lily gave Belle a puzzled look. A third or fourth year boy intercepted it and leaned over, explaining that Connolly Ogg had been hated by most students.
"He is being replaced by Rubeus Hagrid," the man continued.
"Isn't that the man who brought us here?" Lily whispered to Belle.
"I think so," Belle whispered back.
There was a smattering of applause. Up at the high table, Hagrid waved at the students, a broad grin on his face.
"Second, the list of forbidden objects has been updated and can be viewed in caretaker Apollyon Pringle's office. It now lists over seventy items, and I am sure that there will be a mad dash to see it." The man smiled briefly. "Now, I am sure you are all tired of listening to an old man's babble, so eat!"
Lily looked down and saw that the table was now heaped with food. She helped herself to some grilled chicken and mashed potatoes, wondering how James and Sirius could possibly eat all the food piled on their plates.
"Don't you ever get sick from eating so much?" Belle asked them incredulously, reading Lily's thoughts.
"Nope," Sirius and James replied.
Lily rolled her eyes and turned to Belle, talking about how much she was looking forward to learning magic.
The feast ended a while later, with nothing out of the ordinary happening.
"Gryffindors, follow me," a short, rather plain-looking girl yelled. On her robes shone a small silver badge. Lily supposed that this girl was one of the prefects she had heard about.
All the first year Gryffindors rose from the table and followed the girl. Lily noticed that the other first years at different tables were doing the same thing, except they were following one of their own prefects.
"This is the quickest and most direct route to Gryffindor Tower," the prefect was saying. She led them up several staircases, down a couple corridors, through a few more corridors, through a corridor hidden by a tapestry, and got Lily so lost that she had no idea where they were going anymore and lost track of what corridor they had just gone down or staircase they had just climbed. Suddenly, they were in front of a painting of a rather large woman wearing a pink silk dress.
"Password?" the woman asked. Lily jumped in surprise. She hadn't realized that the paintings could talk and move, though she thought she'd seen some movement from the corner of her eye while they were walking. She'd chalked it up to being tired, lost, and worried about school and had just figured she was seeing things.
"Bumblebee," the prefect said loudly. The portrait swung forward, revealing a hole through which they all eagerly climbed.
The prefect quickly explained where the dorms were, how often the password would be changed, and all the other nitty-gritty information they needed to know. Lily and Belle went up to the girl's dorms and found their trunks. Snitch was asleep on the bed that Lily's trunk was next to, with her tail covering her nose.
"I can't believe this is really happening," Belle said, gazing around. There were five beds in the room, all with red velvet curtains.
"I keep thinking I'm going to wake up and it'll all be a dream," Lily agreed.
Just then, three girls appeared in the doorway, looking just as disbelieving as Lily and Belle felt.
"Are you the other first year girls?" Lily inquired.
They nodded.
"I'm Lily Evans," she said, going over to them and holding out her hand.
"Isabelle Kirke. Call me Belle," she said, going over to them as well.
"Lydian Brenton." A tall girl with long blonde hair and green eyes shook both their hands.
"Miana Daniels." She shook their hands as well, then tucked a strand of her short brown hair behind her ear. Her eyes were a clear, bluish gray.
"Anne Hawkins," the third girl said. She was shorter than both Miana and Lydian, with dirty-blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail.
Suddenly, there was a noise behind Miana, Lydian, and Anne.
"Professor McGonagall told me to come in here," a girl said. Lydian and her friends came into the room fully and Lily saw it was Michelle standing there. "I guess I'm supposed to sleep in here tonight."
The girls talked for a while and then went to bed. Michelle was on the floor, with the spare blankets the girls had found under their beds. Lily fell asleep almost immediately, Snitch curled at her feet.
Over in boys' dorm, however, James Potter lay awake, thinking about Lily. He hadn't known her that long, but already felt like he'd known her for a while. He knew her laugh, her smile, the way her eyes flashed when she was angry, the way she always rolled her eyes when she was annoyed, and even how she unknowingly twirled a strand of her hair around her fingers when she was nervous. He sighed loudly, thinking that the other boys were already asleep.
"James, quit thinking about Lily and go to sleep," Sirius said. His voice was slightly muffled and James had a hunch he was speaking into his pillow.
James sighed again, rolled over, and fell asleep, thinking about how annoying friends were sometimes and (of course) Lily.
A/N: Aychihuahua, that was long! Sorry about how it just kinda drags on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on.........anyway, reviews would be greatly appreciated. Michelle, please please please write more on your fic! (For those of you who don't know, my friend is writing a fic, but she hasn't posted it yet, so I'm sad.)
Oh, and while you're waiting for me to post more on this story, I'd really appreciate it if you would read some of my other stuff. I've fallen behind on updating them, but I'm getting there.
Lily looked around nervously. She, Belle, James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Michelle, and all the other first years were following the giant, whose name was Hagrid.
"Round this bend, yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' the castle," he was saying as they walked.
A murmur broke out among the students. All of them were curious as to what their home for the next seven years would look like.
"Wow," Lily gasped as they rounded the bend.
"I always heard that the castle looked beautiful, but no one ever told me it looked this...magical," Belle whispered to Lily.
"I know. It makes me wish we lived in the old days, when people lived in castles, not houses," Lily whispered back.
"Right then, no more'n four to a boat," Hagrid said and Lily and Belle were jolted back to the real world.
Lily and Belle climbed into a boat, followed by a boy and a girl that looked very much alike, with brown hair and blue eyes. They introduced themselves as Alyssa and Adam Anderson.
"Our middle names begin with 'a', too," Alyssa said, giggling. "It's annoying."
"Really? What's your middle name?" Belle asked.
"Mine's Anne," Alyssa replied.
"My middle name is Adam," Adam replied. Seeing the confused looks on Belle's and Lily's faces, he laughed. "My first name is really Anthony, but I hated being called Tony, so I started going by Adam. And if you call me Anthony or Tony, I will NOT answer," he warned.
"I'll try to remember that," Lily said.
The boats reached the other side of the lake and everyone climbed out.
Hagrid left them in the entrance hall, telling them that a professor would be there shortly. Sure enough, a witch wearing emerald green robes entered almost as soon as he had gone through a side door.
"In a few moments, you will pass through these doors and into the Great Hall," she began. "You will then be sorted into different houses." She went on to say almost exactly what James, Michelle, and the others had told Lily on the train, except that she didn't make Slytherin sound bad. When she finished, she turned as if to leave, but a boy's voice stopped her.
"Uh, Professor?"
Everyone started looking around to see who had called out. It was James Potter, standing next to his sister protectively.
"Yes?" the woman answered, looking at him severely through her square spectacles.
"Um, could I speak to you privately?" James asked awkwardly.
"I'm afraid not," the woman said. "We are rather pressed for time."
"Well, um, my sister was saying good bye to me, and the train left Platform Nine and Three Quarters before she could get off," James invented. Michelle silently thanked him for not telling the truth.
"And you want to know what to do with her?" the woman questioned.
James nodded. Michelle fidgeted silently, standing as close to her brother as she could without standing on his feet.
"I see," the witch said. "Well, come with me, child."
"Both of us?" James asked.
"No, just your sister," the woman said. "Come along."
Michelle gave her brother a terrified look. Lily, seeing that Michelle was scared to death that she would get in trouble, hurried over to her.
"Just go with her," she said under her breath. "Nothing bad is going to happen. You'll be okay."
Michelle nodded, still terrified, and walked alongside the woman down a corridor.
"Where are we going?" she ventured to ask.
"To my office, to write your parents a letter explaining that you will be sent back on the train as soon as possible," the woman said kindly.
"My parents aren't together anymore," Michelle said sadly. "I live with my mum."
"I see. You are a witch, I presume?"
"Yes."
"All right."
They reached a door at the end of a corridor, with a small plaque on it that read "Professor M. McGonagall".
"Is that you?" Michelle asked, reading the plaque.
"Yes, this is my office."
McGonagall opened the door and ushered Michelle in. Michelle sat down in a chair in front of a desk that was strewn with quills, pieces of parchment, and books. McGonagall sat behind the desk and picked up a fresh piece of parchment.
"What is your mother's name?" she asked, dipping a quill into an inkwell.
"Kathleen Potter," Michelle replied.
"And yours?"
"Michelle Potter."
McGonagall began to write quickly, her quill making little scratching noises. She stuffed the parchment into an envelope, then sealed it with wax on the back.
"I will take this to the Owlery after the Sorting Ceremony," she informed Michelle. She pulled out her wand, flicked it once, and then put it back in her pocket. Instantly, a plate heaped with sandwiches and a goblet appeared on the desk. "You may eat in here. I will come get you after the feast and you will sleep tonight in the common room of your brother's house."
"Thank you," Michelle said politely. She picked up a sandwich from the plate as McGonagall left and bit into it. "Ugh, tuna! Yusky!!!" She put that one back and picked up a different one and bit into it. "Turkey. Much better."
Meanwhile, the first years were still standing in the hall, waiting for McGonagall to return.
"Thank you for getting Chelle to go with the professor," James said to Lily.
"It was nothing," Lily said, brushing aside his thanks.
"Why do you hate me so much, Lily?" James asked her, looking at her sadly.
"I don't," Lily answered defensively. "You just aren't my favorite person in the world."
"Who's this?" Alyssa asked, coming up to Lily.
"James Potter," James said, not taking his eyes off Lily. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, too," Alyssa replied.
"Hello," Adam said, appearing behind his twin. "I'm Adam."
"James," James answered. He finally turned his gaze away from Lily, just as McGonagall walked back into the hall.
"Follow me," she said to the students.
She opened a set of huge double doors and led them into a huge hall, with candles floating in the air and four long tables, set with glistening golden plates. The tables were nearly filled with chattering students. The students all turned in their seats and watched the first years coming in.
"Look at that," Belle whispered to Lily and Alyssa. She pointed to a stool that was sitting in front of the table that all the teachers were sitting at.
"What is it?" Lily whispered back.
"It's a hat," Alyssa whispered.
Suddenly, there was a hush as everyone watched the hat. A rip near the brim opened and the hat began to sing.
"Some hats are tall and smart, some hats are short and torn, but I'm the smartest hat you'll find, though I'm not often worn. I'll look inside your head, and read what's in your mind, and put you in a house, judging on what I find. You might be put in Ravenclaw, where the clever are, and if you're put in Ravenclaw, guaranteed you'll go far."
The hat went on to sing about all the other houses, giving little tidbits of information on all of them. When it finished singing, all the students burst into cheers. Professor McGonagall stepped forward, holding a scroll of parchment.
"I will read off your name," she began. "You will come up to the Sorting Hat and put it on. The hat will then tell you which house you belong in, and you will go sit with your house."
There was another loud cheer from the older students. McGonagall unrolled her scroll.
"Anderson, Adam!"
Adam grinned nervously at his new friends, then went up to the hat and put it on his head, sitting on the stool. The hat said nothing for a few seconds.
"RAVENCLAW!" it yelled suddenly. The Ravenclaw table burst into cheers.
Adam grinned and set the hat back on the stool, then sat down at the Ravenclaw table. Lily could see the older students patting him on the back.
"Anderson, Alyssa!"
Alyssa glanced over at Lily.
"Go on," Lily whispered. "You'll be put in a good house, I know it!"
Alyssa swallowed hard and walked up to the hat and placed it gingerly on her head. Once again, the hat was silent for some time before it said which house Alyssa was in.
"RAVENCLAW!"
Alyssa grinned happily, took the hat off, and took a seat next to her twin. The Ravenclaws were cheering just as loud for her as they had for Adam.
Lily looked anxiously at Belle.
"What if they split us up?" she whispered.
"They won't," Belle reassured.
"Atkins, Daryl!"
A pale, red haired boy went up and placed the hat on his head.
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
Lily tuned McGonagall's voice out for a little bit, watching the ceiling, which looked like the night sky. She was snapped back to reality when McGonagall called out "Black, Sirius!"
Sirius started forward, brushing past Lily as he went. He flashed a dashing grin at her as he jammed the hat on his head.
"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat yelled after a few seconds. Sirius took off the hat triumphantly, waved at the first years, and strolled over to the Gryffindor table, which was cheering louder than all the others.
Lily groaned.
"I know what you're thinking," Belle said, laughing a little. "But James and Sirius aren't so bad once you get to know them. If we both end up in Gryffindor, and James does too, it won't be horrible. I promise."
"I believe you," Lily said, though she really didn't.
"Clark, Chad" became another Hufflepuff. Lily noticed that he was giving the older female students appreciative looks. She also noticed that they were all scooting away from him. Chad noticed Lily watching him and whistled. She gave him a dirty look.
Lily was growing increasingly nervous. McGonagall finally finished calling all the students with last names that began with a 'd' and started on 'e'.
"Eaton, Melissa!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Effen, Steven!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
Finally, McGonagall called:
"Evans, Lily!"
Lily took a few deep breaths.
"Go get 'em, girl!" Belle whispered. She pushed Lily forward.
Lily sat down on the stool and put the Sorting Hat on her head.
"Hmmm," a small voice said in her ear. "Now where do you belong?"
Terrified, all Lily could think was "what if, what if, what if..."
"What if what? You don't fit in the house you're put in?"
"I don't know where I belong..." Lily thought anxiously.
"Hmmm, well, you've got an extremely bright mind, a loyal and courageous nature, and curiosity. And goodness, talent too! So where do you belong?"
"Please, not Slytherin!" Lily thought, remembering what James had told her about Slytherin.
"Well then, how about GRYFFINDOR!" The hat shouted the last word out to the hall.
Lily sighed with relief and slipped off the stool, then placed the hat back on the stool. She walked over to the Gryffindor table and took a seat, watching the remaining first years. Belle flashed her a confident grin and a wink. Lily returned the wink and smiled happily.
"Ooh, I hope I get Gryffindor," James said to Remus, seeing Lily's happy face.
"Do you like her?" Remus asked quietly.
"I don't see why I do, considering she hates my guts, but I do," James admitted.
"I don't blame you for liking her," Remus consoled. "She's really pretty, and from the little bit I talked to her, she seems nice."
They were silent for the remainder of time until Remus was called and sorted into Gryffindor, going over and sitting with Lily and Belle, who had also been sorted into Gryffindor. James stood, waiting for his name to be called. He was surprised by a faint sniffle coming from his right and turned to see Peter Pettigrew standing there.
"Hullo, Peter," he whispered, watching as "McKenzie, Jessica" became a Ravenclaw.
"Hi," Peter said, sounding miserable.
"What's the matter?"
"I'm afraid I won't get sorted into any house," Peter said, sniffing again.
"Why wouldn't you be sorted?"
"I dunno, I'm not that great at magic," Peter said, shrugging.
"Well, I don't think they would've sent you a letter saying you'd gotten in if they weren't sure there was a place for you," James said sensibly.
"True," Peter agreed, not ready to be happy yet.
"Patil, Mark!" became a Hufflepuff. James was really getting nervous now. Suppose he got put in a different house than Sirius, and Remus, and Lily? Suppose he was put in Hufflepuff? Or even worse, suppose he was put into Slytherin? Lily would hate him for sure, then...he quickly pushed all thoughts out of his mind, except for thinking about what he'd do when he got into Gryffindor.
"Pettigrew, Peter!"
Peter gulped anxiously, then stepped forward, tripped on the hem of his robes, and fell flat on his face again with a loud squeak. James hurried forward and helped Peter up.
"Did you see that? What an idiot!" a boy yelled from the Hufflepuff table. James glanced over to their table, making a mental note of which boy it was so he could trash can him later. It was Chad Clark, the one that had whistled at Lily. James made another mental note to trash can him again, for whistling at Lily.
By that time, Peter was up on the stool with the Sorting Hat on his head. The hat seemed to be taking a long time with him. Finally, it yelled out: "SLYTHERIN!!"
James winced. Poor Peter. Now he'd really have some of the kids teasing him. He went back to watching the ceremony, knowing full well that Sirius was watching him anxiously. Even Remus was watching him with more than a little worry in his eyes.
"Potter, James!"
James feigned confidence as he walked up to the stool and placed the Sorting Hat on his head.
"So, where do you belong?" the hat said in his ear.
"I hope that it's with all my friends," James thought anxiously. "With Sirius, and Remus, and Belle, and Lily...most of all Lily..."
"Bit smitten, are we?"
"Uhh..."
"Hmmm. You've got talent, I see, and plenty of it, too! Bravery, goodness yes, lots of it, and an eager mind...so where to put you? Yes, where?"
"Uhh..."
"I know! GRYFFINDOR!"
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" James thought, filled with relief.
"You're welcome," the hat said as James took it off. He almost forgot to act like he wasn't excited as he walked to the Gryffindor table, but remembered and quickly slowed his walk, smiling a jaunty grin to the unsorted first years. He took a seat next to Sirius and across from Lily. Next to Lily was Belle, then Remus.
"So, looks like we'll be spending a little more time together than you'd hoped," James said jokingly to Lily. To his surprise, she laughed.
"I'm sure it won't kill me," she said, thinking that she might as well give him a chance. He had to be nicer than that Chad kid.
"I should hope it wouldn't kill you," Belle said, grinning. "What would poor James do?"
James felt his face turning hot. Lily laughed a little.
"So, James, what about the brilliant idea we had on the train?" Sirius asked. "Are we going through with it?"
"Which one?"
"Y'know, the one about people in the you-know-what," Sirius said meaningfully.
"Oh yeah," James said, remembering. "Hey Remus!"
"What?" Remus said, looking up with a startled look on his face.
"Sirius and I need to talk to you after the feast," James said, grinning wickedly.
"Okay," Remus said, a confused look on his face. "Couldn't you just talk to me right now?"
"It's confidential," Sirius said quickly.
Lily rolled her eyes. "All they want to know is if you'll join their stupid gang and play pranks on people with them," she said, giving Belle a look that plainly said "They are soo stupid."
"Really?" Remus asked, interested. "Sounds good to me!"
"Now, we just need to find another boy our age to be in it," Sirius said thoughtfully.
"May I suggest someone?" Remus asked.
"Yeah, go right ahead!" James said, nodding.
"Peter Pettigrew. I was talking to him on the train, and it seems like the fellow would give anything to have a bit of glory," Remus explained. He didn't know it then, but those words would come back to haunt him, about ten years later...
"Is that okay with you, James?" Sirius asked. "Peter seems a little quiet, but I'm sure he'd make a good Marauder after a bit."
"Works for me. I'll talk to him after the feast," James said. "Which I'm hoping will start fairly soon. I'm starving!"
Just then, McGonagall rolled up her scroll, picked up the stool with the Sorting Hat still on it, and carried it out of the Great Hall. She returned quickly and took a seat at the table with the rest of the teachers, next to an old wizard with a flowing white beard and hair. He had bright blue eyes that twinkled behind half-moon spectacles.
This man stood up, holding his hands out for silence, which he was immediately given.
"Before the feast, I would like to give a few announcements," he said loudly. "First of all, I would like to inform you that our old gamekeeper, Connolly Ogg, has retired."
There were a few whoops and hollers. Lily gave Belle a puzzled look. A third or fourth year boy intercepted it and leaned over, explaining that Connolly Ogg had been hated by most students.
"He is being replaced by Rubeus Hagrid," the man continued.
"Isn't that the man who brought us here?" Lily whispered to Belle.
"I think so," Belle whispered back.
There was a smattering of applause. Up at the high table, Hagrid waved at the students, a broad grin on his face.
"Second, the list of forbidden objects has been updated and can be viewed in caretaker Apollyon Pringle's office. It now lists over seventy items, and I am sure that there will be a mad dash to see it." The man smiled briefly. "Now, I am sure you are all tired of listening to an old man's babble, so eat!"
Lily looked down and saw that the table was now heaped with food. She helped herself to some grilled chicken and mashed potatoes, wondering how James and Sirius could possibly eat all the food piled on their plates.
"Don't you ever get sick from eating so much?" Belle asked them incredulously, reading Lily's thoughts.
"Nope," Sirius and James replied.
Lily rolled her eyes and turned to Belle, talking about how much she was looking forward to learning magic.
The feast ended a while later, with nothing out of the ordinary happening.
"Gryffindors, follow me," a short, rather plain-looking girl yelled. On her robes shone a small silver badge. Lily supposed that this girl was one of the prefects she had heard about.
All the first year Gryffindors rose from the table and followed the girl. Lily noticed that the other first years at different tables were doing the same thing, except they were following one of their own prefects.
"This is the quickest and most direct route to Gryffindor Tower," the prefect was saying. She led them up several staircases, down a couple corridors, through a few more corridors, through a corridor hidden by a tapestry, and got Lily so lost that she had no idea where they were going anymore and lost track of what corridor they had just gone down or staircase they had just climbed. Suddenly, they were in front of a painting of a rather large woman wearing a pink silk dress.
"Password?" the woman asked. Lily jumped in surprise. She hadn't realized that the paintings could talk and move, though she thought she'd seen some movement from the corner of her eye while they were walking. She'd chalked it up to being tired, lost, and worried about school and had just figured she was seeing things.
"Bumblebee," the prefect said loudly. The portrait swung forward, revealing a hole through which they all eagerly climbed.
The prefect quickly explained where the dorms were, how often the password would be changed, and all the other nitty-gritty information they needed to know. Lily and Belle went up to the girl's dorms and found their trunks. Snitch was asleep on the bed that Lily's trunk was next to, with her tail covering her nose.
"I can't believe this is really happening," Belle said, gazing around. There were five beds in the room, all with red velvet curtains.
"I keep thinking I'm going to wake up and it'll all be a dream," Lily agreed.
Just then, three girls appeared in the doorway, looking just as disbelieving as Lily and Belle felt.
"Are you the other first year girls?" Lily inquired.
They nodded.
"I'm Lily Evans," she said, going over to them and holding out her hand.
"Isabelle Kirke. Call me Belle," she said, going over to them as well.
"Lydian Brenton." A tall girl with long blonde hair and green eyes shook both their hands.
"Miana Daniels." She shook their hands as well, then tucked a strand of her short brown hair behind her ear. Her eyes were a clear, bluish gray.
"Anne Hawkins," the third girl said. She was shorter than both Miana and Lydian, with dirty-blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail.
Suddenly, there was a noise behind Miana, Lydian, and Anne.
"Professor McGonagall told me to come in here," a girl said. Lydian and her friends came into the room fully and Lily saw it was Michelle standing there. "I guess I'm supposed to sleep in here tonight."
The girls talked for a while and then went to bed. Michelle was on the floor, with the spare blankets the girls had found under their beds. Lily fell asleep almost immediately, Snitch curled at her feet.
Over in boys' dorm, however, James Potter lay awake, thinking about Lily. He hadn't known her that long, but already felt like he'd known her for a while. He knew her laugh, her smile, the way her eyes flashed when she was angry, the way she always rolled her eyes when she was annoyed, and even how she unknowingly twirled a strand of her hair around her fingers when she was nervous. He sighed loudly, thinking that the other boys were already asleep.
"James, quit thinking about Lily and go to sleep," Sirius said. His voice was slightly muffled and James had a hunch he was speaking into his pillow.
James sighed again, rolled over, and fell asleep, thinking about how annoying friends were sometimes and (of course) Lily.
A/N: Aychihuahua, that was long! Sorry about how it just kinda drags on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on.........anyway, reviews would be greatly appreciated. Michelle, please please please write more on your fic! (For those of you who don't know, my friend is writing a fic, but she hasn't posted it yet, so I'm sad.)
Oh, and while you're waiting for me to post more on this story, I'd really appreciate it if you would read some of my other stuff. I've fallen behind on updating them, but I'm getting there.