Fate Intervenes
Disclaimer: For all you smart people out there, we don't own Harry Potter!
Dedicated to
TooSweet4Words
Even if we may drift apart,
Even if we fight,
I think we should just smile and forgive,
And everything will be alright
Nessa, I hope we'll be friends again. This is from
All of us.
The Great Hall and Back
There was barely any time to dwell on things like a certain black-haired Gryffindor as the seventh years trudged gloomily into the cloudy-ceilinged Great Hall. Taking a seat between Rianne and Alice, Lily looked up at the Head Table.
The Table at the front of the Hall didn't appear to have changed. Professor Sprout sat, as usual, next to the hawk-like Madam Hooch who, in turn, was placed next to Professor Slughorn, the Potions teacher, who was beaming around jubilantly.
Professor Flitwick sat next to Professor Sinstra, the astronomy teacher, his face merry. But his smile was nothing like the Headmaster's. Albus Dumbledore was sitting in his Headmaster's throne-like chair, smiling like there was no tomorrow.
Lily spotted, as usual, the long line of nervous first years walking slowly up to the three-legged stool, lead by the Transfiguration teacher, the stern, strict but nice Professor McGonagall. Lily smiled as the stereotypical image of the first year's clean, black and a-little-too-long robes.
As the young eleven-year-olds milled around the front of the Hall, Lily noticed that they all seemed rather pallid and frail looking than the usual bout of nervousness. It was not only that, the first years seemed to have a glassy quality in their eyes-something the redhead had never seen before.
Professor McGonagall advanced to the front of the Hall, placing the frayed, patched and battered-looking Hat on top of the stool, at the same time, unrolling the long scroll of parchment.
"-and I heard, from my brother, that you have to make the Hat flip over using your mind," Lily overheard a young girl, with long, dark curls, whispering nervously to her friend standing next to her, "I've been practicing all summer!"
Lily grinned privately to herself as she saw the terrified expression on the other girl's pale face and saw the little girl twisting her delicately braided auburn hair around her fingers. The ridiculous rumours going around…
"Good luck," She whispered to the auburn-haired girl.
Abruptly, the girl jumped a mile as her aquantaince looked utterly flattered an older student was talking to the pair. Before they had any more time to talk, the Sorting Hat opened its wide brim and a song broke out in the Great Hall.
Oh, a long while back when I was here,
When things were good and living,
There lived four wizards of the year,
Who were kind, brave and giving,
Gryffindor, the bravest heart,
Dwelt on will and a daring nerve,
Ravenclaw, she was always on par,
Overcame cleverly, the twists and curves,
Hufflepuff, where loyal workers stood,
Believed in loyalty, without suspicion,
Hiding with his cape and hood,
Sly Slytherin was the most ambitious,
Oh, what friendship did those four possess,
They trusted each other so,
So with their friendship came success,
A wizarding school they did grow,
But then they grew older and wiser,
A new problem they now did face,
Who was to carry with the Sorting,
When they were gone with grace?
So they devised a plan,
So clever it was,
They did it through the din,
Put me on and I will tell,
Let the Sorting now begin!
As the Hat finished its song, a storm of applause lit the Great Hall with ringing sounds. The Hat grew silent again and Professor McGonagall stood next to the three legged stool and began reading names from the list.
"When I call your name, please come up and place on the Sorting Hat."
Lily caught sight of the scandalized looks on the two girl's faces.
"Abercrombie Stuart"
A small boy with dusty blonde hair scrambled onto the stool. The Hat opened its wide brim and shouted:
"Gryffindor!"
A wild storm of applause echoed from the people sitting at her Table. Lily clapped along with the rest and she saw James and Sirius clap poor Stuart on the back very hard so the boy nearly fell over.
"Aven Elle"
"Hufflepuff!"
Lily saw the occupants at the table to her right stand up and shake hands with Elle.
"Bedervich Zachariah"
"Slytherin!"
Lily looked to the table on her left and saw the unpleasant faces of Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix Black and Severus Snape, smirking.
"Braider Lexi"
"Gryffindor!"
Lily stood up as the girl she had encouraged just then walked to the table, looking shaky. After shaking hands and giving Lexi an encouraging glance, Lily sat back down again.
"Branstone Steven"
"Hufflepuff!"
"Claudwell William"
"Hufflepuff!"
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James stared at the long line of first years, amazed at the fact there was a longer line then usual, waiting to be sorted. James grinned as he saw Sirius glaring at his plate, as if demanding it to fill with food. A seats along, he spotted Lily and his stomach lurched, as though it had missed a few notches.
"Dobbs Xaviar"
"Griffindor!"
James clapped loudly along with Remus as the small boy walked past them and sat on the end bench, looking miserable with the cold. The names slowly dwindled past the L's as James caught Sirius moaning, "Hurry up…"
0000000
"Maelene Rita"
"Slytherin!"
Lily recognized Lexi's friend, the one who had talked about making the Hat do flips, walk along to the Slytherin Table, a look of content on her face-a look she didn't like. Lexi looked horrified.
"Myral Sally"
"Slytherin!"
"Nessa Sonia"
"Ravenclaw!"
"Netama Marina"
"Ravenclaw!"
"Orcas Evan"
"Griffindor!"
0000000
James shook his head slightly, clearing the sleepy haze that seemed to swarm at his eyes. He saw Peter, shivering from the cold, even though the candles made the whole hall seem warm. Remus nudged him a bit as James realized he had dozed off. They were now at the W's.
"Waters Raven"
"Slytherin!"
"Wilkensen Amy"
"Ravenclaw!"
"Virae Yvonne"
"Hufflepuff!"
"Yeran Vienna"
"Gryffindor!"
"Zolasse Tina"
"Ravenclaw!"
Everyone heaved a sigh of relief as the last little girl with pale blonde hair got off from the stool and walked towards the Ravenclaw table.
0000000
As the last storm of applause died down, Dumbledore rose from his seat and spread his arms wide, as though trying to envelope the whole school in his arms.
"Welcome! Welcome! To the new students, welcome to Hogwarts! To the old students, welcome back to another year of learning! Now, before we sink our teeth into our scrumptious feast, I have the usual announcements to make."
He paused as though waiting for the introduction to sink in.
"It has come to the attention of many that a dark wizard has risen in the Wizard and Muggle community."
There was a murmur of whispers as the students, particularly first years, looked fearfully amongst themselves.
"But I will assure you all that this school is no more dangerous nor safe as anywhere else in this world," Dumbledore concluded, the merry twinkle in his eyes returning, "So you should be no more worried here than you are at home. However, we will be adding more safety precautions."
Lily glanced around. Alice looked deeply scared, clutching Frank's arm for support. Rianne looked, or, more accurately, glared, at the Slytherin table for some reason. Further along, she spotted Lexi Braider and Vienna Yeran looking fearful. And the Marauders were looking more serious than usual.
"But more on that later in the term," Dumbledore said, correctly interpreting the change of atmosphere, "Tuck in!"
The golden plates of the Tables filled with foods of all kinds and, with a clatter of cutlery, the usual babble began as everyone started eating dinner.
"Do you think He'll really come to Hogwarts Lily?" Rianne asked, in a rather pensive voice for a Pureblood (Everyone knew the Dark Lord only attacked Muggleborns), digging a fork into her potatoes, "I mean, there've been more sightings of Inferi and more murders than ever."
"Mmm," Lily replied, a sense of worry entering her system with every swig of pumpkin juice, "I don't know."
"Dumbledore's the only persion You-Know-Who's afraid of though," Alice interjected anxiously, "He's going to protect us if anyone will."
They continued to discuss the probability of Voldemort attacking Hogwarts until they had finished dessert. Then, Dumbledore stood up again and addressed the Hall again.
"Now, I must remind you all from Mr. Filch's promptings that Withering Walking Sticks, Exploding Eggs, Fanged Frisbees and Stretchable Stinky Slime is banned, "He said, his blue gaze flickering over to Remus, Peter, James and Sirius.
"Also, no magic is to be used between classes. And First Years take note that the Forbidden Forests are out of bounds to everyone in this school. Also, please do not tread nearer than fifty feet of the tree in the grounds, known as the Whomping Willow. It is a dangerous plant."
For a fleeting moment, Dumbledore's gaze fell of Remus before it snapped back up to the whole school. No one, except James, Peter and Sirius knew of Remus's dark secret and even Dumbledore didn't know Remus had told the three.
"I must now ask the Head Boy and Head Girl for this year to stand and follow Professor McGonagall. She will go over a few basic rules and authority with you because I'm afraid the meeting is going to take longer than usual today."
Lily's face burned as, with an audible hush, everyone searched around for the two students with the most power and authority. Rianne nudged her and the redhead realized James had already risen and was striding to the front.
Unwillingly, Lily stood up and began walking down the isle after James, silently cursing her flaming face that matched her hair completely.
Lily Evans and James Potter?
The whispers were carried around as students craned their necks to see, gawking shamelessly as the two made their way through the side door. Leaving the curious gazes and smirking expressions on some people, Lily sped up out of the Hall until she realized she had unconsciously fallen in step with James.
Wincing inwardly, she steeled herself for another round of, "Want to go out with me?" pleads.
But to her immense surprise, James seemed as nervous as she saw, determinedly avoiding her gaze, speeding up. Lily blinked in surprise and quickly diverted her gaze so the two were left looking at the banisters as they made their way to the gargoyles that guarded Dumbledore's office.
Author's NoteSorry for the long time for updates to come. We've been rather gloomy lately and not really in for writing that much. Sort of a friendship breakup. So we're sorry for the lack of updates.
Sorry again for the length of this chapter. But better out than in. So…the fourth chapter should be coming soon. The plots have been written down. We're just waiting for a day of inspiration and motivation. Well, thank you to the reviewers:
Rikki K: Sure…we'll be glad to help…if you haven't already found some other people. Sorry for this but we haven't checked reviews for this for ages.
Special thanks to: White Camellia, Onyx Rose, Siriusly Black Hearted, dreamergirl86, Aurorablu and LJ
Until the next time we meet,
Ethereal Laeye and Moonlit Hikari