Disclaimers super suck, but we have to put one anyway. So we don't own the Harry Potter franchise; so what? I still own Sirius heart, body, and soul. . . And yes, Siddie, you can have Remus.

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Lily walked off the train, smiling contentedly as she listened to the conversation between the girls she had shared a compartment with. Apparently they were discussing a game called Quidditch, and although she knew nothing of the sport, it sounded very interesting. However, as the girls stepped out into the night, a loud voice prevailed over the sound of milling students.

"Firs' years over 'ere!" Nerves buzzing, the redhead searched the crowd for the source of the voice. This wasn't very difficult, as the large man towered far above the children disembarking from the train. Cautiously Lily made her way towards this man, as she saw others--presumably first years--doing, and continued as the group was led in a different direction than the upperclassmen were going. She made certain to stick close to one of her companions from the train, the only other that was a first year.

The first years found themselves at the edge of a lake, which was lined with small-ish wooden boats. Lily noted curiously that these boats had neither oars, motors, nor sails. She had no time to wonder how they would be powered, however, before the herd of children was instructed to board them. She was careful not to rock her selection too much as she got in first, though her friend—Emeline, she recalled—was not so careful, and the pair experienced an unpleasant moment in which the boat nearly tipped over. After this, Lily was content to sit quite still and wait for something interesting to happen.

Luckily this wait was not long; as soon as the last first year had settled in, the vessels began to move quietly across the water. Although she was burning with questions, the Muggle-born girl restrained herself from speaking. It was as if there was some sort of unspoken agreement for everyone to be silent; the loudest sound was that of waves lapping against the wood of the boats. So instead she cast her eyes ahead in the blackness, hoping to catch some glimpse of something. After all, why bother to take the first years in by the lake if not to make a grand entrance?

A gasp went up from the children in front, and Lily strained her eyes even more. Suddenly, there it was a magnificent castle that could only be Hogwarts. Although she had seen pictures in textbooks and the like, none of them compared with this awesome first view. She felt her heart start to accelerate as she discovered that all of this was not some sort of practical joke after all.

Finally the boats came to a halt at the opposite shore.

"All righ' then, all o' yah', this way," the large man instructed, guiding them towards the castle. Now some of the students were talking again as they were instructed to wait in a huge entrance hall.

"Really? That's amazing," a small (if rather pudgy) boy with watery eyes was saying to two others, both with black hair. "I wish I--"

"Pettigrew," the one with glasses interrupted. Lily disliked his rude air, from messy black hair to the arrogant way that he carried himself. She didn't mean to listen in, but Emeline wasn't exactly the most exciting of company at the moment. "Leave us alone!"

Lily made a disgusted noise and pushed her way to the front of the crowd to mask the nervousness that had just set in. When the inner door swung open to reveal Professor McGonagall, she was much relieved. Finally someone she knew!"

"Welcome to Hogwarts. In a few minutes, you will be brought in to the start of term feast. However, before you eat, you shall be sorted into your houses. Your house will be your family for the next seven years, with whom you shall room, eat, and go to classes. There are four houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. While you attend Hogwarts, your accomplishments will earn you house points, while misbehavior will lose points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will be awarded the house cup.

"I believe that that covers everything, so if you will follow me the Sorting ceremony will take place shortly." The students obeyed and found themselves being led into a large dining hall, which Lily surmised (correctly) to be the Great Hall. Remembering something she had read, the soon-to-be witch glanced ceilingward, and was rewarded with a glorious view of the star-filled sky. Finding this sight much preferable to seeing the hundreds of faces staring at the group, she kept her head tilted slightly back. As a result, she nearly ran into the person in front of her when the group came to a stop.

Calling her attention back to the hall, the girl noticed a stool placed in front of the student body, on top of which was a rather beaten-up hat. Much to her surprise, the hat moved. It split along one large tear, forming a sort of mouth, and began to sing.

"Oh, you may think I'm ugly,

A ripped-up, battered hat,

An antique wizard relic,

But I'm much more than that.

"It is my job, upon each year,

To choose where you will go

I'll pick the place where you belong,

Where you'll most likely grow.

"The noble house of Gryffindor

Could be your eventual fate

If you are loyal, strong, and true-

A lion unafraid.

"Or perhaps to Hufflepuff you'll go,

The most diligent ones here

A more hard working group of friends

You won't find far or near

"Suppose that you are cunning

And love to use your wits;

Then Slytherin would be the place

Where you'd most likely fit.

"And last, not least, the Ravenclaws

Who're really rather clever

They're proud of their intelligence

And forfeit almost never

"So which of these fine houses

Will soon become your home?

Come sit up here and try me on

And I will make it known"

This new development left Lily openly shocked. Of course she had known that the wizarding world would be different from the one she was used to, but only now had it become apparent exactly how different it would be. But before she could contemplate this revelation in depth, a student had been called to place the hat on his head. With great interest Lily observed the ritual sorting, and began to wonder exactly how the hat would decide where to place the first years. With every student called forward, her anticipation grow. Luckily, "Evans, Lily" is close to the front of the alphabet, and McGonagall soon read it from her list.

Calmly, the hopeful witch made her way to the stool and placed the Hat over her head.

"Let's see now. . ." a voice speculated, and Lily nearly jumped out of her skin before she realized that it was the hat speaking. "Very intelligent. . . a real desire to learn. . . You would do well in Ravenclaw, my dear. Hmm. . . But perhaps you'd do better in GRYFFINDOR!" The last word was projected for the rest of the Great Hall to hear, and the new Gryffindor walked towards her house's table with a small smile.

----

Shivering beneath the usually warm sleeves of his long uniform robe, Severus glanced about the hall, taking in teachers, house tables, and the rest of the first years. He reasoned that the shivering was more from the nervousness of being stared at with such open anticipation, rather than from the actual temperature of the air. As it really made no difference, though, he settled his gaze on the students before him in the alphabet as they took their seats on the sorting hat's stool.

"Black, Sirius," the boy from the ice cream parlor, was sorted into Gryffindor, as was his companion, "Potter, James." Severus supposed that his likely fate, given generations precedent, would probably be in Slytherin, though, like "Malfoy, Lucius" and "Pettigrew, Peter." Although, given the fluke that had happened to Dionyza. . . He shivered once more when his name was called, and then stepped forward to the stool. The hat slipped over his eyes and began to speak in a low voice.

"Hmm, quite clever and cunning; perhaps Ravenclaw or Slytherin? Or maybe. . . Should we take a chance? You might do better in GRYFFINDOR!"

Severus was quite startled with this new development—what would his parents think? --and so he stumbled from the stool dazedly towards the cheering red- and-gold trimmed table. He took a seat next to his companion from the train (Lupin, Remus), who smiled at him welcomingly. As the realization sunk slowly in, the hook-nosed boy glanced at Remus a little more steadily and, as his head began to clear, he returned the boy's smile.

He had always known that he wasn't like his parents. This, he supposed, was just proof. He was just beginning to pay attention to the conversation around him when it died off and the headmaster, Dumbledore, stepped forward to speak.

"There are a few things to be said before our brains are emptied by full plates. First, to all new students, welcome. Remember, please, not to go into the Forest on the grounds, as it is off limits to students. Second, I would like all students to be aware of a certain new tree on the grounds. The 'Whomping Willow,' which is located near our groundskeeper Hagrid's home is best left alone. I quite think that the name says enough." The children alternatedly looked puzzled and laughed. Severus noted that Remus shifted uneasily and that the other boy's laughter seemed somehow strained.

"Now that all of that business is taken care of, I invite you all to enjoy the rest of the term, as well as the lovely feast that has been prepared for us." Dumbledore clapped his hands once, and the previously empty dishes on the table filled suddenly. Severus inhaled deeply, suddenly realizing how hungry he was, and began to fill his plate.

----

James was having a ball. Part of his joy came from the fact that he had been sorted into the house that he had been hoping for, as had the closest thing he had to a friend at this moment. Most of it, however, was because there was so much food and no one to make him eat his vegetables.

He tore into the magnificent feast with gusto, consuming just about everything that didn't resemble a plant. Sirius, sitting next to him, was doing much the same, so he didn't worry about making conversation. There would be plenty of time for that later, after all.

But all to soon the pre-teen's enormous appetite was satiated, and he became horribly, awfully, inescapably bored. And when James got bored, trouble always followed.

At first all he did was draw pictures in his mashed potatoes. However, with no one to properly admire his artistic streak, this form of amusement bit the dust. It was at this point that he began to brainstorm. And came up with an idea.

"Hey Sirius," he started, tapping his buddy on the shoulder. Sirius turned, but in the process forgot the presence of his plate, which launched into the bespectacled boy's face.

"Oh, sorry," he exclaimed. "I hadn't meant to do that." James grinned, but continued wiping gravy off his face.

"It's alright. I can work with this." He dismissed the issue as if nothing had happened. "Watch and learn." The messy-haired boy reached into his robes and withdrew a small book, leafing immediately to the desired page. Sirius leaned over to study the contents, then looked up and met James's eyes with an impish smile to match his friend's. The book's owner glanced pointedly towards the Slytherin table and turned back to face the other boy, realizing as he did so that his companion had looked in the same direction, if not at the same person. Both's smiles broadened slightly as they came to a silent accord.

"So how do you propose we do this without getting caught?" Sirius inquired.

"Trust me, I know ways," was the reply. "I have experience."

"But we've got to time this just right. Otherwise it'll be a waste."

"Does that mean we can't do it now?" James whined. Pranking was all well and good, but he was bored now. What was the point unless to amuse him in his time of need? No, better to get the thing over with.

"Would you rather wait 'til later and have it actually worthwhile, or get it over with and have it make only half the impact it could?"

"Well. . ."

Sirius had managed to convince James to plan the prank out thoroughly before going through with it, although James wasn't completely sure about the issue. On the other hand, the whole plot had given him something to converse about, so besides the initial objections, he wasn't going to complain. In fact, the pair of boys was still discussing the matter as they were herded off to their dormitories, and, consequently, their beds.

James took note of his other five room-mates as he settled into his bed. They had formed their own "cliques" as well, although it was impossible to tell whether these would be temporary or permanent. Two of the boys seemed rather bookish, as they were quietly discussing some tome James had never even heard of. The other three appeared to be interested in Quidditch, as that was what they were debating. The run-of-the-mill jock-type, or close enough.

"Normal," was James's last thought before drifting off. "Every last one of them is so disgustingly normal."

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Pyxis: I'm so sorry we haven't posted in so long. Blame it on the Sorting Song. We decided to write a real one instead of the cop out that we usually manage to do. So it took a couple attempts. The original one, when we were quite frustrated with writing the darn song, went something like this:

Oh, I'm an evil hat And I have lots of holes I don't want to sort you, But I have to anyway. Darn you stupid students!!

Sidra: Very lovely poetry, isn't it? And if you're wondering about Dionyza, don't worry. She'll be showing up in later chapters, and we think you'll like her.

Pyxis: Ah, yes. Well, that's all for now. Oh, wait, did anyone catch my blatantly-stolen-from-"Pirates of the Caribbean" line last chapter? Just wondering.

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September update by Pyx: So sorry about the huge break! I've just moved off to school, and the craziness surrounding said departure has been horrendous. Have no fear, dear readers, we have not forgotten you. Chapter 5 is in the works. We'll try to keep you posted.