They entered a large room with five tables. Four out of the five had colored clothes on them and were surrounded by students. At the head of the hall, the fifth table stood covered with a black cloth with the teachers sitting on the one side, looking at the students. They walked in front of the teachers' table.

Professor McGonnagal pulled out a 3-legged stool. Then she placed a tattered old wizard's hat on it. Then, quite suddenly, a rip near the brim of the hat opened and the hat burst into song. While the students and teachers applauded the hat when it had finished its song, Lily glanced at the other first years and saw that some looked a bit relieved. All they had to do was put on an old hat.

Professor McGonnagal pulled out a roll of parchment. "When I call your name, come sit on the stool, put on the hat, and then join your table when it has been announced." Everyone then started worrying whether or not they'd be with their friends. Professor McGonnagal called out the first name, "Avalon, Serena."

Rini walked up to the stool and sat down. Professor McGonnagal had just put the hat on her head when it shouted: "GRYFFINDOR!" Rini quickly hopped off the stool and walked to the cheering table with the dark red tablecloth. Her bother and sister were cheering the loudest as they were also in Gryffindor.

"Avito, Horrus."

A boy with matted blonde hair walked up to the stool, sat down, and had the hat put on his head. A few seconds later, the hat shouted, "SLYTHERIN!" He took the hat off his head and headed to the now cheering table that was covered with a dark green cloth.

Professor McGonnagal then called, "Black, Sirius."

Sirius walked up and put the hat on. "GRYFFINDOR!" It had shouted the house as fast as it had with Rini. Sirius eagerly went and sat by her.

"Corsa, Charis." (chK)

A girl with brown shoulder length hair walked up to the hat. Charis put the hat on. A good bit of time passed till the hat shouted, "RAVENCLAW!" Charis walked to the cheering table with a peacock blue cloth.

"Dolmen, Sarah."

A very timid girl with strawberry blonde hair walked up the stool and put the hat on. "HUFFLEPUFF!" Sarah went to the cheering table cover with a yellow cloth.

"Evans, Lily."

Lily walked up and put the hat on. The most unexpected thing happened. She heard a voice in her ear. "A very powerful witch you could be. With the right training of course. But which house to place you in is very complicated. I see a great deal of courage in you but it is matched by your eagerness to prove yourself and by your thirst for knowledge. Ravenclaw or Gryffindor would suit you well."

Lily kept thinking, 'Just let me be with my friends. Let me be with my friends.'

"Want to be with your friends, do you. Very trusting of your friends. I see the house your want to be in, and it corresponds with one of the houses you're best suited for, so I guess it will be GRYFFINDOR!" The hat had shouted Gryffindor to the entire hall. Lily quickly went and joined Rini and Sirius.

Professor McGonnagal continued with the sorting. She came to Remus's name. He walked up to the stool and put the hat on. He too heard the little voice. "I see great fear in you, young Remus Lupin. You fear they will find out and no longer be your friends. Courageous it was for you to even come here, even with the precautions Dumbledore has set up. I would not fear young Remus. No doubt you be long to GRYFFINDOR!" Once again he had shouted the name of the house to the whole school.

Professor McGonnagal continued once again. Unfortunately, all of the gang didn't stay together. When Peter's name was called, the hat shouted Hufflepuff. He glumly went and sat with the rest of the new Hufflepuffs. Lily turned to Sirius, Rini, and Remus and whispered, "Truth be told, I'm glad he's not with us. There's just something about him that's just… I don't know, very fishy; ratty."

Then Professor McGonnagal came to James's name. The hat shouted Gryffindor just as quickly as it had for Rini and Sirius. Then it was Severus Snape's turn. The hat, without a doubt in it's little brain, immediately shouted, "SLYTHERIN!" Severus turned to his table with a wide smile. Professor McGonnagal finished then sorting. The last person was "Zoombanni, Christopher," who was sorted into Ravenclaw.

Professor McGonnagal then took the sorting hat and the stool and put them in a room adjoined to the hall. She took her place at the table as the headmaster, Professor Albus Dumbledore, stood up. He cleared his throat and said, "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! May this year be as pleasant as last year. As is always, nobody is allowed into the Dark Forest. It is forbidden. Now, I have three words to say: Zim, zap, zoom! Thank you." He sat back down.

Lily looked at James, as if asking if Hagrid had ever told him about Headmaster Dumbledore. Then she looked at the table and saw, with great surprise, that it had filled up with food. "How did this get here!" she exclaimed.

"The house elves sent it up," James said.

"The WHAT?"

"House elves. They're elves that their sole joy in life is to cook, clean, and serve their masters. Dad told me this school has about a hundred of them. The house elves make the food and then use what little magic they have to send it up to these tables." James had a look of excitement on his face as he said this.

"And how does you're father know all this?" Lily's expression was so innocent you wouldn't even guess she was forming a devious plan.

James didn't even give it a thought. "Well, when Dad was at school, he found a lot of secret passages and so on. He also found the way into the kitchens. They're right below us. There are four tables in the exact location of these tables here. So, you see, it's very easy to see how it gets here."

"And he was never caught? No one ever knew?" Lily asked sweetly.

Sirius answered. "Well, Mr. and Mrs. Potter have a feeling their headmaster knew and if he didn't, Professor Dumbledore did. When our parents were at school, Dumbledore was the Transfiguration's teacher." Sirius looked at James with a smug look, as if saying, 'You're not the only one that can give information about the school and it's history!'

Lily didn't notice the look. "Do all witches and wizards know as much about the school as you do? I mean, all about the kitchens and Hagrid and Dumbledore?"

"No," James said reaching for some steak and kidney pudding. "Sirius and I just know what our parents told us."

"Yea," Sirius added. "They were best friends in school just like us, right James. It also helped them to have a Potter family heirloom that James now has."

"What is it?" Lily asked quietly, leaning in closer to the boys. "What's the heirloom?"

"Umm," James looked at Sirius. "We're not supposed to tell. Sirius shouldn't have even said as much as he did."

"Why?"

"Because Dad told me not to tell anyone." Lily looked disappointed. "Why do you want to know anyway?" James demanded.

Lily blushed. "I was just hoping that whatever it was could help me get Severus and Lucius back for treating me the way they did," she answered quietly.

"Don't worry Lily," Sirius said with a hint of anger in his voice. "We'll get Snape and Malfoy for you."

Lily blushed, murmured her thanks to the boys, and became interested in what was on her plate.

Finally, after everyone had finished dinner and dessert, Professor Dumbledore stood up again. The hall quieted down. "Now it's time for our school song." He flicked his wand and a ribbon of silver came out of the end and formed words.

"Now, everyone choose your favorite tune and sing!"

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts.

Teach us something please,

Whether we are old and bald

Or young with scabby knees,

Our heads could do with filling

With some interesting stuff,

For now they're bare and full of air,

Dead flies and bits of fluff,

So teach us things worth knowing,

Bring back what we've forgot,

Just do your best, we'll do the rest,

And learn until our brains all rot."

Everyone ended at different times. James, Sirius, and Rini's brother Luther were the last to stop singing as they were singing a very slow sappy tune. Lily got the impression the Luther had told James and Sirius to do so. When they had finished, everyone applauded with Dumbledore being the loudest. "Music," he said. "The most beautiful thing to my ears. Now then, time for everyone to go to bed. Please follow your prefects to your dormitories. Off you go, off you go." Everyone left the hall slowly for they were all tired.

When they reached one of the many corridors of the castle, they stopped in front of a portrait of a fat lady in a pink dress. "Password," she said.

A girl in the front said, "Hinky punk!" and the portrait of the Fat Lady swung open. "Now remember," the girl shouted to everyone, "to enter the dorm you have to use the password. Without it, the Fat Lady will not let you in. Most importantly, you are not to tell anyone our password or where our dorm is just as they are not to tell you theirs."

She walked in and the first years followed. "My name," she said, "is Anna-Marie Faylin. I am but one of Gryffindor's prefects." Anna then pointed to a stairwell and said, "This is the girls' dormitory and," pointing to another, "this is the boys' dormitory. Your things are in your rooms already. As of now, you stand in the common room. While not in class, the library, or at any other engagements; you will be in this here room doing homework or what you please, as long as it's appropriate. Now, as it is already fairly late, off to bed. EVERYONE!" The 'everyone' was to all of those in second year and above. It was Friday night.