Tears of Flame
Disclaimer – As per usual, the good bits are mine (I wish). No, it all belongs to J K Rowling, my goddess.
A/N –Here is the whole chapter. Would you prefer I put the chapter up in bits, like this one or if you waited a few days for the whole chapter at once? Please tell me. Hope you like the finished chapter… I'm sorry it's taken a while for me to update, but right now I have play rehearsals until 7 every night, I'm studying for exams and I have 2 pieces of science coursework, one piece of statistics coursework and a piece of drama coursework. I haven't slept properly in ages, cos I spend most of the night working. ARGH! I'm going insane! Anyhoo, you probably don't want to hear about my screwed up life, so on with the fic. By the way, all the spells have real meanings. For example, 'Musca domestica' is the Latin name for a housefly (you'll understand when you get there).
Chapter 4 – Beginnings and Bluebottles
By the time the Hogwarts Express pulled up in Hogsmeade, Lily and Remus were firm friends. They still both had their secrets of course, but they felt as if they had known the other for years. They had swapped opinions on most things, and had discovered that both were musical (Remus played guitar), mischievous and lonely. They had other similarities too, such as an inordinate fondness for meringue. Lily had gained a basic understanding of Quidditch, and in return had shown Remus some of her sketches. Normally, she never showed anyone them as they were intensely private. Lily was barely recognisable as the withdrawn girl from the station, finding a true friend had given her so much confidence, and she felt happier than she had for as long as she could remember.
At the station, they were ordered into small boats by a large - serious understatement – giant-like man, with a tangled beard and crinkly eyes. He smiled sadly at Lily as she passed, gazing at the bandages, and she waved self-consciously.
Remus and Lily proceeded into the nearest boat. This, perhaps, was a very bad idea:- it contained two rather odd looking boys, who were currently wrestling on the floor of the boat. Lily and Remus glanced at each other with raised eyebrows, before shrugging and sitting down, gawping at the boys. They were, admittedly, a very strange sight. One had orange hair, a large pineapple attached to his shoulder and a distinctly fishy smell. The other had pink bunny ears protruding from under his floppy black hair, what looked like a piranha viciously gnawing on his nose and a long grey beard. Both were glaring daggers at the other, while Lily and Remus were openly staring. Lily, realising that the boys' fight was causing the boat to rock dangerously, grabbed one boy by his hair and the other by his rabbit ears and dragged them apart.
"Good. Sit. Stay." she said sharply. The boys, open-mouthed and in shock, obeyed her automatically, and she patted them on the head.
"Good boy, that's it." Remus was now the one rocking the boat, down on the floor in convulsions of laughter.
"Now, what are your names?" Lily said briskly.
"Uh, James Potter" the one with orange hair and the pineapple said dazedly.
"Thirith Black" said the other in the same tone. This sent Remus into even greater fits of laughter.
"What's so funny, Rem? You shouldn't laugh just cos he can't talk properly, it's not his fault he has a piranha on his nose. Actually, it might be, and it is rather funny, but all the same…"
"No… Sirius… the dog star…" Remus finally managed to gasp out between his guffaws. Tears of laughter were now starting to roll down his cheeks. Lily began to laugh too; it was amusing if you looked at it the right way.
The boys appeared to be coming out of their trance, and were now glaring at Lily and Remus instead of each other.
"What'th tho funny?" asked Thiriuth, sorry, I mean Sirius.
"Lily was treating you like a dog… and your name's Sirius… the dog star…" Remus was finally recovering from his laughter.
"I don't know why you thould laugh, you're hanging out with a fweak." Remus' last remaining giggles stopped instantly. His voice became quiet and menacing.
"Who are you calling a freak, Black? You're the one with a piranha hanging off his nose."
Sirius winced as the aforementioned piranha finally got down to the bone, but he was still glaring at Lily.
"I'm calling Mummy-girl over there a fweak. I think Nefertiti thuitth (A/N that says 'suits') her better. Why do you care, anyway?"
"She's my friend, and if you don't leave her alone then I'll…"
"Ooh, threath ith it now, Mithter Fweak? I can thee why you're friendth with her, you're both loserth…"
James, who had been silent throughout the exchange, now spoke up. It was good timing, as Remus was about to launch himself at Sirius, as was Lily, whose eyes were flashing. You could almost see her extend her claws, like a cat.
"Oy, freak brigade, we're here," he said, causing the other three to forget their fight and glare daggers at him instead. The only thing that saved James from grievous bodily harm was the fact that his words were true. They had arrived at Hogwarts.
Sirius, Remus and Lily, who had been rather preoccupied on the boat trip over, glanced up and gasped at the breath-taking sight. A magnificent castle loomed in front of them; elaborate turrets and towers reaching high, windows in every spare space, gargoyles leering from the crannies. Some of the delicate stonework was clearly held up by magic – no muggle could ever create a building like this one. The first years stared up at it and James took this opportunity to clamber out of the boat, hoping for a good head start on the other three, who were still looking distinctly murderous. Sirius, snapping out of his trance, followed hot on his heels with his wand drawn, yelling "bye Neffy!" over his shoulder as he went.
Lily turned to Remus, a sad look in her eyes.
"Will they all be like that?" she asked, sighing hopelessly.
"I don't know, Lily, I just don't know," he replied, just as sadly. "Shall we go?"
They trailed after the disappearing first years moving across the wide lawns to the castle. The giant knocked on the door, and it creaked open. A grizzled man with violet eyes stood there, gazing piercingly into the gabbling mass of first years. Under his sharp stare they grew silent, and he spoke into the still night. "I am Professor O'Cairn, deputy headmaster and Head of Ravenclaw house. If you follow me, we'll proceed to your Sorting. After that, it looks as though some of you," his unnerving gaze swept over James and Sirius with their assorted hexes, "will be in need of a trip to the hospital wing. Now, follow me." He turned and swept away into the castle, and the first years scurried along behind him. He led them into a small chamber next to the Great Hall.
"Now wait here. Shortly I will return, and you will be sorted into your houses, which are Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor and Slytherin. When you do well, in your studies and in extracurricular activities such as Quidditch," several nervous first years brightened at the mention of their beloved sport, "you will earn house points. However, any misbehaviour," again his glance fell on James and Sirius, "and you will lose them, much to the displeasure of the rest of your house. At the end of the year the house with the most points will be presented with the House Cup. I expect all of you, especially those of you who become Ravenclaws, to work hard to gain points and become a credit to your house." With that, he turned on his heel and walked out, black robes billowing behind him.
The first years glanced at each other nervously, but the muttered conversations had only just begun when the professor returned, intoned ominously "it is time…", before once again sweeping out, although this time with a gaggle of frightened first years scuttling along behind him. As they entered the Great Hall, most of the pupils turned to watch them. Uncomfortable with so many eyes on her, Lily stared at her feet and didn't even notice when they stopped, bumping into Remus.
Professor O'Cairn deposited a dilapidated wizard's hat onto a tall stool in front of the teacher's table.
Lily eyed the hat apprehensively. She had already learnt, mainly because of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, to be wary of things in the wizarding world. Why was the hat there? Was it some kind of test? Was it going to sprout fangs and attack them or something? A rip near the brim opened wide, and Lily prepared for the worst… but the hat began to sing.
"I've sat upon my lonely shelf
For a thousand years or more
But once a year I'm taken down
And I take centre floor
Ears are pricked as you all wait
To hear what I will shout
For into four school houses
I will Sort you out
But not at random, I will think
Each one through carefully
For which house you will end up in
Rests on your qualities…
If to be a Gryffindor
'Tis bravery you will need
Downright courage, nerves of steel
In thought and word and deed
If to be a Ravenclaw
Its brains you must possess
Intelligence and speed of thought
Wit and cleverness
If you are loyal, staunch and true
A Hufflepuff you'll be
For Hufflepuffs are well-endowed
With warmth and honesty
A Slytherin is cunning
Determined, shrewd and sly
Never would a Slytherin
Let a chance go by
But once you're Sorted, please shout out
And give me a big cheer
For then I'll go back on my shelf
And I'll stay there 'til next year!"
Lily started laughing, both out of shock and relief, but most of the people around her were applauding the hat's song. Not everyone was impressed by its song, however; Lily could hear thinly veiled sniggers and even caught one seventh year girl muttering to her friend "I swear the songs get worse every year. I think the poor old thing's getting senile."
Professor O'Cairn once again stepped forward. The noise quieted as he said "when I call your name, put on the hat and wait to be Sorted."
Lily was relieved, but rather nervous – she still wasn't convinced the hat wasn't going to try and suck her blood. She didn't really know which house she wanted, maybe Ravenclaw. She barely listened to the Sorting, still dwelling on her own thoughts, and Remus had to push her forward when her name was called.
She stumbled to the front of the hall, sat down and placed the hat on her head.
"Aah." Lily jumped as the hat spoke. "We haven't had one of your kind in years. And one as powerful as you, I can't remember at all, and I've been doing this job for nearly a thousand years!"
"My kind?" Lily asked, puzzled. "Why, what am I?"
"Oh, never you mind, you'll find out soon enough. Oh yes, the Sorting. Well, fiery temper, righteousness, defiance and daring. Only one place for you, my dear! You're the epitome of GRYFFINDOR!"
Lily grabbed the hat from her head and made her way over to the Gryffindor table, stumbling again on the way. She was still in a kind of stupor; she didn't notice that her applause was somewhat quieter than the others', and that most people in the hall were staring at her bandaged face. She saw Sirius Black, who was still very peculiar looking, already sitting at the Gryffindor table and took a seat as far away from him as possible. She ignored the strange glances she was getting and actually began to concentrate on the Sorting.
"Fforde, Jasper!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Fittle, Marianne!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Garrulous, Germaine!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
Professor O'Cairn made his way slowly through the list. Lily was getting increasingly worried. What if Remus wasn't in her house? It looked like he was the only person who was going to treat her normally.
The hat was currently Sorting Jewell, Casper. Lily sighed. 'Lupin, Remus' was coming closer. Kanker, Juliette… Kingler, Rupert… Latva, Syraki… Llamar, Charlotte…
"Lupin, Remus!"
Lily crossed her fingers, closed her eyes and wished. She held her breath as the hat opened its mouth…
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Lily's face split into a wide grin as Remus walked happily over to the Gryffindor table and sat down next to her.
"We did it, Rem!" she whispered to him. "I know, Lils," he said, grinning from ear to ear.
They turned back to the Sorting in time to see Mandragora, Drake and Monaghan, Kathryn both become Slytherins.
By the time Warren, Rohanna and Wild, Beline became a Gryffindor and a Hufflepuff respectively, everyone in the hall was growing both hungry and irritable.
"Thank God that's over. Now we can eat!" Remus muttered to Lily, but evidently this was not the case.
The hall went silent and Lily turned to the teachers' table to see why. She recognised Dumbledore, and he rose to his feet and greeted the students. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. Most announcements I will leave until after our feast," everyone in the hall gave a sigh of relief. "However, I feel t is imperative that Mr Black and Mr Potter report to the hospital wing immediately."
Sirius stood up indignantly. "But Thir, the featht…" Dumbledore did his best to look stern, but the twinkle in his eyes rather gave him away.
"Mr Black, if you wish to still have a nose, I fear you will be missing our feast tonight. Piranhas are most persistent, I'm afraid."
Sirius relented sulkily, and followed James out of the hall, both glaring at each other and bickering about whose fault it was that they were missing the feast.
"Well, now that's dealt with, all that remains for me to say is, grub's up!" With that the golden plates in front of them became filled with food. Lily quickly got over the surprise, and managed to consume a surprisingly large amount for such a small girl before the food disappeared as suddenly as it had come.
Puddings soon followed, in a wealth of varieties, although both Lily and Remus were disappointed to find no meringues.
Lily was, by this point, so full and tired that she barely heard Dumbledore give the start of term notices, or even the school's rousing rendition of its song. She was also deep in thought. Only Remus had really talked to her so far – during the feast the other Gryffindors had looked warily at her as if she could attack at any moment. It made her want to scream; after all, why was she different form everyone else? She had hoped that at least one of the first year girls would make the effort to see past her bandages, but from what she'd experienced so far, this wasn't going to be likely.
The combination of her thoughts and her tiredness meant that Lily barely noticed the route they took through the strange corridors. Lily was not awake enough to be surprised at the moving pictures, secret passages and hidden doorways that their path took them through. As soon as they reached Gryffindor Tower, it's entrance hidden by a portrait of a large lady dressed in pink, Lily scrambled up the stairs to her dormitory, collapsed into bed and knew no more until morning.
***
Lily woke late the next day, and found her dorm room empty. She was a little hurt that none of the girls had woken her, but realised sadly that she was likely to have to get used to this kind of treatment. She was after all, as she had told Remus, 'different'.
She made her way downstairs to the common room, where Remus was waiting for her. It took nearly half an hour for the two to reach the Great Hall, and when they arrived, breakfast was in full swing. They sat down and helped themselves to pancakes, as a skinny woman with spiky blue hair handed out timetables. These were greeted with varying degrees of glee and groans, especially among the first years.
"Great," James Potter said, sitting opposite Lily. "Transfiguration first. My favourite – I'm the transfiguration king!"
"Yeah, right," drawled Sirius from three seats down, "bet you couldn't even turn a jam jar into a fly!"
"I can so, the bottle-to-bluebottle spell is a cinch! Easiest piece of transfiguration ever!"
"Go on, then!" jeered Sirius.
"Fine then, I will," James spat back, pointing his wand at the jar of marmalade in front of him. "MUSCA DOMESTICA!" he cried, and the jar began to shrink, emitting a loud buzzing noise, before it gave a little pop and became a fly.
"See!" James said smugly.
Sirius sneered. "So what? My three-year-old cousin can do that. Here, have some bread and butter…"
Sirius whipped out his own wand, pointed it at the plate in front of him, and two slices of bread lifted into the air together, flapping slowly.
"Or should I say, a bread-and-butterfly?"
Sirius now pointed his wand at James, and the awkward looking creature began to flap its 'wings' in earnest, flew quickly over to James and smashed itself into his face.
James turned an interesting shade of purple and, Lily was intrigued to note, actually ground his teeth. She didn't think anyone actually did that. He stood up, wiping the butter from his face and glared at Sirius, who glared right back.
"Right, now you've asked for it," James growled, raising his wand and chanting ominously. The rest of the Gryffindors watched with bated breath as Sirius' nose grew and turned green. James had transfigured it into a leek.
Sirius went quiet for a moment. He seemed impressed in spite of himself. He quickly snapped out of it and taunted, "is that the best you can do, Potter?"
James smirked and replied in a sing-song voice, "anything you can do I can do better."
"Oh yeah? Try this one. DIGITUS PORKALIS!"
The rest of the Gryffindors were in hysterics. In place of fingers, James Potter now had sausages.
***
There you go, chapter four. I was originally going to put the first week or so of lessons in this chapter too, but it would be too long. Now you've got the whole chapter, please review. I probably won't update for at least a fortnight, I'm really busy at the moment as you might have gathered.
DANCE AS A LLAMA WOULD!!!
Thank-you, Thank-you very much.