Eventually they felt the steam engine slowing down as they arrived at Hogwarts. They piled out of the train, leaving their luggage at assurances from the older children that it would be delivered to their dorm rooms safe and sound. In the midst of the confusion, the three boys saw an enormous man who was at least twice as tall as a normal human, and about five times as wide. His black beard nearly covered his entire face, and he was wearing an overcoat that could have been made into a rug to cover an entire room.
"Firs' years, o'er 'ere! Firs' years!" the man bellowed.
"Is that a giant?" James asked excitedly.
"Nah, I heard somewhere that giants can be up to twenty feet tall. He's not quite that big." Remus answered quietly as they made their way toward the massive man.
They were led down into an underground cavern filled with water. "Divide yerselves into groups of four an' get in ter the boats!" he hollered. The first years all obeyed him meekly, frightened of his size. A small blonde boy hopped into the boat with James, Remus and Sirius and the boat immediately began moving toward the opposite shore of its own accord. Even Sirius was so nervous that he kept his mouth shut as they were led away from the boats and up to a doorway. A young but severe looking witch met them at the top and led them up to the Great Hall. Many of the first years looked like they were going to be sick as they stared out at the sea of faces all turned toward them. Remus was anxious, but more than anything he was extremely grateful to be there. Sirius looked slightly nervous, but James seemed to be enjoying the attention.
The young witch walked forward briskly and put an extremely old, filthy hat on a stool in the front of the room. To the surprise of many of the first years, a tear near the brim of the hat opened like a mouth and it burst into song about the four houses; Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw and their founders. The room broke into applause as the hat finished its song and the witch pulled a scroll out of her robes and began to read from it.
"Adams, Richard."
A small, nervous looking boy stepped forward. He was so tiny that the hat fell over his eyes. After hardly two seconds the hat yelled "HUFFLEPUFF!" and the boy went to join the table of cheering Hufflepuffs.
A few names later Sirius's lip twisted into a silent snarl as the professor called "Black, Narcissa" a girl that looked like a younger version of Bellatrix walked forward with her nose in the air. She had the same gorgeous black hair that was signature of the Black family, but she wasn't as nearly as beautiful as Bellatrix. Her face looked somewhat pinched, as though she was wrinkling her nose at some foul smell only she noticed. The hat hadn't even touched her head when it screamed SLYTHERIN!
"Probably doesn't want to dirty itself by touching her." Sirius hissed.
"Black, Sirius." Sirius strode forward, his face set as though he were going into a battle. They could see his determination not to be put in Slytherin as he put the hat on his head and stared defiantly out at the Slytherin table on the far side of the room.
"Hmmm… now this is a difficult one." A soft voice spoke in his ear. "Plenty of courage here, a VERY bright mind, lots of potential. Yes, indeed, you will be a very powerful wizard one day. Very loyal, a strong sense of humor, and a pureblood to boot. You'd do well anywhere."
Not Slytherin. Sirius thought adamantly
"Are you sure?" the voice asked in a slightly taunting tone, "You could do very well in Slytherin, they would help you fulfill your potential. Not all Slytherins go bad, you know."
You put me in Slytherin and I'll walk out. I'll get back on the train and leave.
"A bit stubborn, too. Oh, very well. I suppose it must be… GRYFFINDOR!"
Sirius took the hat off looking triumphant and a Ravenclaw girl who looked a lot like Bellatrix and Narcissa stood up and cheered loudly.
"Way to go Sirius!"
There were sounds of surprise that a Black would be put in Gryffindor, and the Slytherin table started jeering. Suddenly wild cheers broke out from a few second and third year girls, who were giggling and winking at Sirius. The rest of the table joined in and Sirius's handsome face broke into a wide smile. More names were called, and a nervous looking redheaded girl named Lily Evans joined the Gryffindors. The hat considered awhile before sending Fred Longbottom to Gryffindor, followed by Remus Lupin who looked nervously at the crowd staring at him before Sirius winked at him and his nervousness began to fade. He grabbed the hat firmly and put it on his head.
"A werewolf, eh?" a small voice whispered in his ear. Remus panicked for a moment before the hat chuckled. "Don't worry, no one else can hear. You picked a good time to come, not many headmasters are as open-minded as Dumbledore. Where should I put you? I see courage and a bright mind, loyalty although you have little opportunity to show it. You're quite the loner."
Yea, well its kinda hard to make friends when people think you're a dangerous monster. Remus thought bitterly.
"Slytherin would make it easy to keep your secret, but they wouldn't hesitate to tear you apart if they ever found out."
I doubt anyone would. Remus thought darkly, but after meeting Malfloy on the train and hearing Sirius talk about the Slytherins, he wasn't very eager to join that house anyway.
"Not enough loyalty in Ravenclaw to stand by you if your secret got out. Even Hufflepuff would probably be afraid of you. We'll put you in GRYFFENDOR!"
Remus wasn't sure whether or not he was glad that he had been put with Sirius, and probably James, because although it was wonderful to have friends again, he was afraid that they would figure out his secret. As he made his way to the cheering Gryffindors, however, Remus couldn't maintain his gloomy mood as he caught sight of Sirius's warm smile. He sat next to his new friend, who congratulated him and whispered that they had gotten the best house of them all.
The crowd of first years waiting to be sorted dwindled as more and more joined the houses that would be their homes for the next seven years of their lives. Krissy Miller became a Gryffindor, and was followed by a blond girl with sparkling green eyes. A tall blonde boy was sorted into Ravenclaw, followed by a nasty looking pair who joined the Slytherins. A short, chubby boy with mousy brown hair looked extremely nervous as his name was called, and very surprised when the hat yelled GRYFFINDOR!
"Potter, James." the severe-looking witch yelled and James threw a wink at Sirius and Remus before putting on the hat.
"Well, well, let's see where you belong. Hmm… we seem to have quite a few sharp minds this year. Definitely smart enough for Ravenclaw. A bit cocky, too, lots of courage… You want to be with your friends. I see a mischievous streak in you. Better send you to someone who can handle you. GRYFFINDOR!"
James's smile seemed to brighten up his whole face as he went to join his two new friends at the Gryffindor table. The sorting continued; two more girls became Gryffindors, a pale, greasy-looking boy with a hooked nose was sent to Slytherin, and eventually all the first years were sorted. As the stern- looking professor rolled up her scroll and put away the Sorting Hat, the new headmaster stood up.
"Hello and welcome to Hogwarts. Or rather, welcome back for most of you. I am Albus Dumbledore and as most of you know I am the new Headmaster here at Hogwarts. Now I'm sure you'd all rather eat than listen to an old man listing off rules, so without further ado, the feast." Some of the first year gasped as the plates filled magically with food. "Oh, and one more thing," Dumbledore said. The Hall fell quiet immediately. "I advise all of you to try the lemon drops. They're really rather good." With that he sat down, his blue eyes twinkling merrily. The students and staff applauded, but none louder than Remus.
"He's the greatest wizard in the entire world." Remus said. There were nods of agreement from around the table.
People began to introduce themselves as they piled food on their plates. The other two first year Gryffindor boys were Frank Longbottom; a friendly, easy going fellow, and Peter Pettigrew, a small chubby boy with mousy brown hair who was looked nearly as nervous now as before he got sorted. "I really have no idea how I got put into Gryffindor." he squeaked. "I'm not brave. I thought for sure I'd be in Hufflepuff. I'm Muggle born, and I'm sure I won't be any good at magic."
Krissy Miller, the brunette from the train had become a Gryffindor, also. "I can't wait to have classes with you, Sirius." she laughed. "It'll be a hoot."
Sirius just grinned at her, his mouth too stuffed with pudding to answer. Next to Krissy, the redhead girl that had looked so nervous earlier was talking to one of the older students about their lessons.
"So which subject is the hardest?" she asked.
"Transfiguration" Sirius said once he had swallowed enough food that the people around him could understand what he was saying.
Some of the older students murmured their agreement.
"I don't know. I'm kind of looking forward to it." James shrugged.
"That, my friend, is because you are completely off your rocker." Sirius informed him affectionately as he ruffled James's already messy hair.
As they finished eating the headmaster stood up again "Now that your stomachs are full and your minds slowed down a bit, I must bore you with an old man's chatter. For you first years, I must inform you that the Forbidden Forest is off-limits to students, as is Hogsmeade for first and second years, or anyone without a signed permission slip from their parents. Also, I would advise anyone who wants to leave school this year with all their limbs intact to avoid the Whomping Willow that has been planted on the grounds. Welcome to Hogwarts and I wish you all a wonderful year."
At the mention of Hogsmeade, James and Sirius's eyes lit up in a way that made some of the people sitting around them wonder if they were quite sane.
"And now," Dumbledore continued, "we will sing the school song. Everyone pick their favorite tune."
He flicked his wand and ribbons of color came out of the end, forming into words. The entire school began singing to different tunes. James and Sirius bellowed it as loudly as they could, and they were audible even over the din of other voices in the hall.
Before they left for their dorms, each of them received a piece of paper with their schedules on it. Sirius groaned when he saw that he had Transfiguration first, and crumpled the paper in his pocket without bothering to read the rest of it.
The students filed out of the Great Hall toward their respective dormitories. The Gryffindors followed their prefects to a passage that dead-ended with a portrait of a fat woman in a silk dress who asked for a password. The Gryffindor prefect said 'Skyttledower' and to their surprise the portrait swung forward to reveal a circular hole in the wall through which they could see a comfy looking common room with a fireplace.
"Boys' dormitory up these stairs, girls' over there." the prefect called, and they all piled up the stairs into their respective rooms. The first year boys found themselves in a room with five four-poster beds hung with scarlet curtains. Sirius and James immediately claimed beds next to each other that were directly opposite the doorway. Remus yawned and threw himself onto the bed on the other side of Sirius. Peter Pettigrew took the one next to James and Fred grabbed the bed next to Remus. Despite Sirius and James's conspiratorial whispering, the other boys were asleep within minutes.