Disguises, Chapter 4

By Piggylette

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DISCLAIMER: If Sirius suddenly strips and starts parading around the Great Hall, it is not, I repeat, IT IS NOT MY FAULT. He's JKR's. I take no credit for him or his actions, as I am not the controller of him. [Insert evil laugh here]. Just kidding, that's not what a disclaimer means. If Snape announces he's gay and starts humping Malfoy's head, it's not real. The real Snape and Malfoy are, unfortunately, untouched. No painful things that happen to any Slytherins in this story actually happened to them. Darn. Oh well. It's still a good read, no?

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"ELLINGTON, EMILEY!"

At McGonagall's words, a jovial-looking first-year stepped up to the Sorting Hat. Twenty seconds later, the hat's booming voice echoed through the Great Hall: "RAVENCLAW!" Beaming, Emiley skipped over to the Ravenclaw table, which was lively with applause.

"EPSTEIN, ROBERT!"

A smug-looking boy sauntered over to the Sorting Hat. The smirk remained on his face for a few minutes before turning white. He shook his head violently and various kids already seated started to laugh. After sitting with the hat on his head for about 4 minutes, the hat screamed "SLYTHERIN!" Robert, still white, took slow, shaky steps to the Slytherin table before turning and running out of the Great Hall. Professor Enfer, the Potions professor, nodded to McGonagall and followed the boy out of the hall.

Only slightly ruffled, McGonagall continued down the list. A smile threatened to form on her lips as she read the next name: "EVANS, LILY!"

Taking a deep breath, Lily proceeded over towards the hat. Placing it one her head, she heard it analyzing her. "Lily Evans? Let's see, definitely not First Year, too much magical experience for that. Hmmm. Recently experienced severe emotional hardships, displays much courage for coming back to Hogwarts. . . I remember you. Hufflepuff, right?" Lily nodded slightly. "Well, it appears that you've changed so much in the past five years that other houses suit you better. Unless you'd prefer to remain in Hufflepuff?" [No! Please no!] Lily thought. "Slytherin? No, I suppose you wouldn't have bothered changing your name if you were going to follow that path. You would be well suited for Ravenclaw. However. . . "

Lily looked out at the students. They were starting to lose interest; she'd already been up there for about five minutes. Suddenly, the hall was interrupted, and cheering commenced.

"GRYFFINDOR!!!"

Relieved and excited, Lily joined her new friends and old acquaintances at the Gryffindor table and continued to watch the Sorting.

Among the last of the students sorted was "WEASLEY, BILL," whom Lily remarked had ear-length red hair and a nice smile. He had barely lifted the hat above his head when it shouted "GRYFFINDOR!" Lily made sure to congratulate him as he proudly made his way towards the Gryffindor table.

Once the cheering died down, Albus Dumbledore, the school's Headmaster, stood up to give his annual speech. Lily had always liked Dumbledore. He had become Headmaster the same year Lily (then known as LeAnn) started her first year at Hogwarts (1971), and Lily was one of the first people to truly take to him. It was Dumbledore, in fact, who had arranged for her to change her identity and appearance after her parents had been killed in 1975, and, if not for him, she probably wouldn't have been able to continue attending Hogwarts.

Clearing his throat, Headmaster Dumbledore started to speak. "This is the start of a dazzling new year at Hogwarts! I'm sure you all are very hungry, but I would first like to introduce a new professor, Olive Hornby, who will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts." He paused for applause. "Now, I have only three more things to say to you all before your hungers may be satisfied: Happy Valentine's Day! Merry Christmas! Let's eat!"

After Dumbledore sat down, the first years stared dumbstruck at their Headmaster until giving up on all reason and filling their stomachs. Lily, who had known him for six long years, was used to this sort of randomness from her headmaster, as were most of the students by this time, and dove eagerly into her Shepherd's Pie without even raising an eyebrow.

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Halfway through the meal, McGonagall called James Potter to her office briefly. He came back beaming.

"I -I -I - I did it!!!!"

Sirius grinned. "You actually passed Transfiguration! Wow! I can't believe it, Jamsey-boy!"

Lily, who was sitting a few people away, couldn't help but laugh. She ended up accidentally spitting her tea into her mashed potatoes, but she laughed anyway.

James chuckled. "No, nothing that remarkable. I just made Quidditch captain, that's all."

Remus and Peter gave James proper 'congratulations' and Sirius 'whooped. Lily smiled to herself. She'd always known James would be the next captain. Gryffindor's previous captain, Wesley Wood, had graduated the past year, and James was an excellent Chaser. Lily hadn't played Quidditch with the Hufflepuffs; she wasn't the best flyer and preferred commentating. She wondered if McGonagall would still allow her to be commentator this year even though she was 'a different person.' This year would be tough, but she'd get through somehow.

She always managed to manage.

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A/N: So! What do you think!?!?? All the dates and information are accurate, unless you're willing to challenge me with proof. Thank you AlexaDonaghy for telling me that Lily was in Gryffindor. I looked it up and she was indeed a Gryffindor. I was frankly planning on making her a Hufflepuff, so you corrected my horrible mistake before it even happened!! Thanks!!

I'd also like to thank all my reviewers. I realize that FFN has been pretty inconsistent about receiving reviews lately, so I haven't been holding that against you. I do love reviews though! BTW, if FFN isn't letting you review and there's something semi-important that you would like to tell me, feel free to e-mail me (My e-mail address is in me profile).

There are some surprises in this chapter for you, and I'm holding a "contest" for you guys!! You won't win anything of value, but you'll have the pride and satisfaction of knowing that you did something right for a change! ^_-

My "contest" questions are: Who was Olive Hornby? Also, What does the Potions Professor's name mean (Professor Enfer). These aren't answered in my story - you have to reread the books or do a little research (unless you're a natural genius). If nobody gets the answers by my next update, I'll post some hints. Have fun! Don't be afraid to guess!

I think I'm done boring you, so have a nice life and REVIEW if it's possible!!!

Thanks!! ;-)

--eM