A/N: Sorting ceremony coming up, and the introduction of our trio of heroes to their new friends and housemates. Also, I've mostly mapped out all of first year, and although there won't be massive canon-divergence at the beginning, that'll really start in Chamber of Secrets and onwards(which I'm re-reading now to familiarize myself with, lol). I hope you all enjoy the chapter and their sorting!

Chapter 7 Sorting It Out

In the weeks between Lily's and Albus' trip to Four Privet Drive and the First of September; Albus' three wards spent much of their time on the Castle Grounds finding out as much as they could about the ancient castle. Albus offered them the chance to make the trip to London, then board the Hogwarts Express for the return journey to Scotland as an opportunity to meet their future year and housemates. All three of them declined the offer however, believing it to be of little importance given that they'd be meeting them a few hours later anyway.

So as the days wound on and grew longer, Severus, Lily and Harry did their best to prepare for the coming year, and that meant lots of reading. Snape had warned the group that he'd be testing them on the first day of class, so Harry in particular was brushing up on his potions knowledge, not wanting to be embarrassed. Snape seemed to get along well enough with Lily, and to a lesser extent, Severus as well; but Harry had the distinct feeling that Snape didn't like him much, for whatever reason. The Potions Master would make snide remarks about Harry and there, but Lily's disapproving frowns lessened the frequency with which he voiced them.

On a lighter note, Albus had managed to construct brand new identities in full for his two time-traveling wards. Severus Aurelius Prince was from France, a distant halfblood relative of Professor Snape's mother, who had recently transferred to attend Hogwarts. Lily Evans Bergman, meanwhile was a Muggleborn from the UK, with deceased parents, thus lending reason to Albus' adoption of her. Now that they had proper identities, and had memorized their cover stories as a halfblooded wizard and muggleborn witch, all they had left to do was await the commencement of term, and try their best to get ahead on their reading.

Lily, Harry and Severus opted to wait with Hagrid on the Train platform in Hogsmeade for the arrival of the Scarlet Engine. When the students got off the train, they'd join them on the boats leading towards the castle. With a screeching halt, the train pulled to a stop at the station, and students of all ages and ethnicities filed off the engine and onto the platform. Harry, Lily and Severus made sure to stick together through the crowd, and blended in perfectly as the shortest group of the students all congregated around Hagrid at the giant's behest. Hagrid guided them over to a series of boats, and instructed the students to get in with no more than four to a boat. Hagrid claimed a boat for himself and surveyed the starry-eyed eleven year olds each climbing into their own boats. Harry, Lily and Severus climbed into a boat of their own, but they were joined shortly thereafter by a short, somewhat-pudgy, blonde boy clutching a toad to his chest. He seemed awfully shy and nervous, something Lily could empathize with had she been seeing the castle for the first time on her own.

The inky blackness of the lake looked like a reflection of the night sky. The surface was perturbed by the passage of the armada of boats, but still reflected the canvas of the heavens in its own unique way—stars rippling and shimmering in place of their usual twinkling. The lake was vast, and ever so deep, but strangely calming and peaceful, at least that's how Harry, Severus and Lily felt about it; sadly not every student shared their sentiment. While the surface of the lake and the starry canvas it reflected was undoubtedly beautiful, in spite of the imperfections along its surface; what really entranced them was the hundreds of shining lights raining down on them from the castle ahead. It was quite literally a shining castle on the hill, bestowing hope, wonder and awe on the slack-jawed first years. There was nothing quite like seeing Hogwarts lit up at night for the first time, and what a sight it was to behold. They crossed the murky depths of the black lake with nary an incident, much to Hagrid's relief, and they approached a tall rock wall under which was a cave. The entrance of the cave, at the base of the sheer cliff-face, was covered in hanging ivy that obscured the cave entrance until the very last second.

With a bellowing shout of "Heads down!" all the first years did as they were asked as the flotilla passed through the ivy and into the interior of the castle.

Entering the cavernous interior in the bowels of the castle, they were guided off the boats by Hagrid and marched line-astern up into the castle proper. From there, Professor McGonagall—who was dressed in sharp, emerald green robes, thanked Hagrid for his services and guided the children herself up into the Entrance Hall of the castle. She gave a short speech to the assembled mass of children about the four houses of Hogwarts and a bare bone rundown of the rules concerning point awarding and taking. Once her welcome speech had concluded, Professor McGonagall instructed the eleven year olds to remain in place and she vanished into the hall itself. Not more than ten seconds after she'd gone, a wave of some twenty-odd ghosts flew through the wall and through the mass of students. Harry, Severus and Lily greeted the ghouls cheerily—all except Peeves that is, but some of their fellow soon-to-be-sorted students were quite terrified of the pearly-white ghosts.

Professor McGonagall returned and in a no-nonsense voice, instructed the children to form a single-file line. Severus, Lily and Harry stuck together, as did the boy from their boat whose name was Neville. In eager anticipation, the first years teetered on their toes and soles for what was to come, awaiting Professor McGonagall's signal to move. Soon enough grand doors of the Great Hall swung open and Professor McGonagall led the awestruck first years in. Naturally, Harry, Severus and Lily had seen the hall many times before and were more than acquainted with the enchanted night sky, or the numerous fixtures on the walls, and the floating candles overhead; despite all that, they still had their breath stolen away at seeing the Hall all dressed up for the grand occasion. They walked between the second and third tables, bound for the front of the hall with Professor McGonagall guiding them to a stop at the base of the podium.

On the top step of the dais, just in front of the High Table where all the staff and teachers were currently sat, was a four-legged stool with a raggedy, old hat on top of it. The first years fanned out at the base of the High Table, and without needing any further prompt, the hat began to sing. When the hat had finished its song, the entire Hall—teachers included, burst into raucous applause.

"So that's what they were so secretive about," Lily whispered to Severus and Harry. "We just have to try on the hat!"

"Yeah. But remember our pact guys. Friends no matter what, right?" Harry said.

Severus nodded solemnly, as did Lily.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," McGonagall said.

The sorting process begun in earnest, kicked off by Abbott, Hannah being sorted into Hufflepuff, and Bones, Susan following her to the House of Badgers. Lily was the first of the trio, and third overall to be called up, her surname changing from Evans to Bergman meaning she was amongst the first to be sorted. The redhead walked up from the sea of first years congregated at the base of the podium, and claimed her place on the stool. Lily waited on in eager anticipation for a few tense moments, staring out nervously across the hundreds of students at their tables, before McGonagall placed the hat on her head, and her nerves seemed to abate as the voice of the sentient garment rang loudly within her mind.

Hmm…difficult, very difficult. I've sorted another version for you before, and I trust you know where your counterpart went.

Gryffindor. Which I'd be fine with, you know, any house really. All I hope for is to be sorted someplace that will test me, and allow me to fit in too, of course.

Test you, you say? Hmm…in that case I believe a change of scenery is in order then…your mind certainly is capable, and your thirst for knowledge and intellectual curiosity would enable you to fit right in.

So where am I going to—

"Ravenclaw!" the hat bellowed.

The table second from Lily's right, erupted into applause. Lily smiled happily as the hat was lifted off her head by a smiling, but slightly surprised Professor McGonagall. On semi-shaky legs, Lily made her way over to the Ravenclaw table, which was sat between Slytherin's and Hufflepuff's. Her tie morphed from plain to blue and bronze, as did the accents on her plain black robes. Now clad in blue and bronze, she claimed her place at the end of the table alongside her fellow housemates. Lily sat down on the end of the long bench and was clapped on the back by a tall, dark-skinned boy, who was wearing blue and bronze-accented robes very similar to her own, but with a shining blue and bronze P pinned on his robes.

"Well done Miss Bergman, welcome to Ravenclaw house," the boy said sincerely with a brotherly-smile.

"Thank you, I'm really glad to be here!" Lily said eagerly.

Boot, Terry took his place on the stool, and was promptly sorted into Ravenclaw alongside her. Brocklehurst, Mandy joined the table shortly after that, making a triplet of Ravenclaws whose surnames began with a 'B'. Before long though, it was Harry's turn on the stool, and Lily watched with eager eyes amidst the growing brood of Ravenclaw first years as "Potter, Harry" was called out.

The hall went silent. Save for a few shocked gasps ringing out from various individuals at the four tables, everyone watched on in eager anticipation as The-Boy-Who-Lived took his place on the stool. After a moment's deliberation, the hat shouted "Gryffindor!" and in no time at all the table decked out in scarlet and gold released whoops of glory and triumph at having The-Boy-Who-Lived sorted into their house. Harry sat himself down next to a bushy-haired girl, with big, brown eyes and Neville, who looked relieved to have a familiar face sitting with him. Two redheaded boys sitting a bit further down the table from Harry cheered the loudest of all, chanting 'We got Potter!' with jubilation. Harry seemed like a rockstar already at Gryffindor house, but that shouldn't have come as much of a surprise given Harry's notoriety with vanquishing the Dark Lord.

After Harry was sorted, Severus Prince is next called to the stool and the hat is placed on his head. Lily and Harry wait with bated breath—incredibly eager and excited as to where their friend would end up sorted. Will he get his wish of Slytherin? Or perhaps Ravenclaw? Time would tell. Professor McGonagall lowered the hat onto his head.

Ah…I sorted another like you quite some time ago Mister Prince…or should I say…Mister Snape. And I believe he was sorted into Slytherin without much deliberation.

That's where I want to go. Or…to Ravenclaw too, I suppose. Either is fine. I just want to be in a house where I can do well and succeed.

A wise sentiment, Mister Prince. With that in mind…and your thirst for knowledge taken into account as well…hmm, but there's that ambition your older-self valued so much.

Whatever you think is best, hat.

Shut up, I'm thinking…hmm, yes…I do believe, that when all is said and done…and I do not wish to part you again, like I have done before… that the best house for you, that will allow your talents and prodigal abilities to flourish is—

"Ravenclaw!"

Harry clapped loudly, standing to his feet and clapping his hands together like no one was watching, some of his fellow Gryffindor sorties, Finnegan and Neville appeared to clap for Severus as well after following Harry's lead. The loudest cheerer of all though, was Lily, she'd stood from the bench and was clapping and whooping as loud as humanly possible and whooping with joy that she and Severus would be in the same house. Severus felt the hat lift off his head, and a rare smile graced the Transfiguration Professor's face as she said; "Well done Mister Prince."

Severus smiled too, but then his eyes found the identical pair of the Potions Professor's. Snape gave him a curt nod, but nothing more as way of acknowledgement than that. Snape seemed…neutral, which was just fine by Severus. He didn't want to disappoint him by being sorted into a house other than Slytherin but his older self didn't seem to care in the slightest. The applause from the Ravenclaw table was by far the loudest as Severus made his way over, and claimed a spot on the bench sandwiched between Lily and Goldstein, Anthony, the former of whom gave him a large hug, and the latter, a clap on the back and a nod of acknowledgement. The black-skinned boy who Severus saw first greet Lily, and who wore that prefect badge on his robes also gave Severus a cool nod of acknowledgment. As it would turn out, Severus was the last boy to be sorted into Ravenclaw amongst the 1998 class, only one more girl, Turpin, Lisa would join Severus and Lily in the House of Eagles.

The last to be sorted was Zabini, Blaise, who went into Slytherin; and upon the boy taking his seat, McGonagall put away the hat and stool. Zabini had just barely sat down when Dumbledore stood from his throne-like chair, and the hall quietened down in an instant.

"Welcome!" he said, "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Ointment! Tweak! Thank you!"

The hall erupted into raucous applause and cheers, but the recently sorted first years seemed a bit confused at the Headmaster's…confusing words. "Well that's Dumbledore for you," Severus whispered sneakily into Lily's ear, eliciting giggles from his friend.

Severus and Lily glanced across the hall towards the far end where the Gryffindor table was situated. It seemed Harry was enjoying himself already, chatting with Neville to his left, those two redheaded twins—who Severus presumed were third or fourth years, and a tall, redheaded boy to his right—perhaps a younger brother of those twins.

"Harry seems right at home over there doesn't he?" Lily said, bemused.

"You know Potter?" Lisa Turpin couldn't help but blurt out.

Lily smiled and nodded. "We…do, Severus and I met him over the summer," she explained.

"Oh. Well is he nice?" Lisa asked.

Again, Lily nodded. "Very. Severus and I are friends with him and he's one of the nicest people I've met."

Lisa nodded, then turned her gaze from the redhead to Severus. "So you're Severus then? Severus…Prince, wasn't it?"

"That's correct."

"Oh so you're a pureblood then, aren't you?"

"Not exactly…my father was a wizard, and my mother was a muggle. I retained my pureblooded surname from my father's side," Severus lied, reciting his cover-identity smoothly.

"Cool. My mum knew the Princes, said they were a rather smart if not snobbish lot. Figures that you'd end up here in the smartest house given that you're a Prince," another first year said. He extended his hand across the table to Severus. "I'm Michael. Michael Corner."

"Good to meet you Corner," Severus said evenly, eyeing his hand for a brief moment, then shaking it.

"You said you know Potter, right?" a girl of asian descent asked, Sue Li, if Severus could remember correctly. "Well he seems quite different from what I would've thought. What did your parents tell you guys about Potter?"

"Nothing. I'm a muggleborn, so I hardly knew of him until I bought my books at Flourish & Blotts," a black haired boy named Terry Boot said subduedly.

A short, but willowy thin, blonde-haired boy turned to face Lily, he was sat on the other side of Severus and he wore a somewhat curious look on his face. "You're Jewish, aren't you? Bergman…that's a Jewish name so—"

"I'm not actually," Lily said swiftly. Her mum, Violet Evans, had Jewish roots, but hadn't been raised with any religion imposed upon her. By inheriting Violet Evans' maiden name, it left Lily herself with a Jewish sounding surname. Despite the fact that the last person to be raised Jewish in Lily's family were her Grandparents on Violet Evans' side of the family.

"My father was raised in a Jewish family, yes, but my mum is Catholic(ironically, the reverse was true with Lily's parents in reality, but that back story wouldn't hold up well). "But they raised me and my sister without religion in the house and with the right to choose later on in life," she explained.

"Oh," the blonde-haired boy said, nodding his head thoughtfully. "Well my name's Anthony. Anthony Goldstein. It's good to meet you Lily, and you too Severus."

"It's good to meet you too, Goldstein," Severus replied politely, smiling warmly.

Sporting a charming smile, Lily echoed Severus' sentiments with a far more bubbly delivery. "It's nice to meet you, Anthony."

Anthony's smile seemed to broaden, but just when it seemed he was about to ask more questions, the plates and goblets in front of them suddenly filled with food and drink. The recently sorted first years were the most eager to pile their plates high with food and fill their goblets to the brim with drink; much to the upperclassmen's amusement. While Harry was busy ingratiating himself over at the Gryffindor table, Severus and Lily were doing much the same over at Ravenclaw. Lily and the rest of the girls in her dorm were avidly chatting away with one another getting to know each other and speculating on what life as Ravenclaws would hold for them; while Severus on the other hand had struck up conversation with his nearest male neighbor in Anthony Goldstein. The other three boys in their dorm, Terry Boot, Michael Corner and Gareth Carmichael were having their own little conversation a little further down the table; but Severus found Anthony to be engaging and nice enough.

So far, it seemed Lily and Severus were fitting in nicely into Ravenclaw house, and over on the other side of the hall, the same seemed to be true for Harry. Harry was currently conversing with all four of his fellow first year Gryffindor Boys, and from the looks of things he seemed to be getting along swimmingly with all of them.

"So tell me about yourself Severus, where are you from?" Goldstein asked, pulling the boy in question from his daydreams.

"Hmm? Oh, oh I've…been living at the school recently. The Headmaster is my legal guardian so I've been—"

"Wait really?" Goldstein asked, his brown eyes wide with incredulity. He was in star-struck awe that Severus was a ward of one of the Greatest wizards in living memory. "As in, the Albus Dumbledore is your guardian? Wow! That's incredible!—"

"The reason he's my guardian is because my parents are dead," Severus said flatly, unamused, and Goldstein seemed to hunch in on himself in embarrassment. Severus sighed. "I have been the Headmaster's ward for over a year now, since my parents passed, the same as Lily, coincidentally, we both have no living family members left," he elaborated, lying through his teeth with perfection as he recited his well-rehearsed backstory.

"I'm sorry to hear that. That your…parents are dead, and Lily's too. It sucks that—"

"Hmm? Did someone call me?" Lily interrupted, turning around to gaze at Severus and his neighbor.

"Oh, I was just telling Goldstein here that—"

"Just Anthony is fine, Prince, there's no need for—"

"Then Severus will do fine as well," Severus said swiftly, causing Gold—Anthony, to smile broadly. "As I was saying, I was just telling him about us, and how we came to be the Headmaster's wards," Severus explained to Lily, who nodded in understanding.

"So how long have you been living with the Headmaster, then?" Anthony asked. "Severus here says he's been with the Headmaster for over a year. So how about you?"

"One year, the same as Sev. My parents passed on when I was ten and due to the fact that no one else in my family could take me, Dumbledore took me in. He helped explain all about magic and everything to me," Lily recited evenly.

Anthony nodded, seemingly buying her explanation.

"Yeah, Lily was just telling us about that," Mandy Brocklehurst chimed in, addressing Severus and Anthony.

"Lily was just telling me about you Severus, says that you've been friends for a while now. But what about you…Goldstein, was it?"

"Yep. The name's Anthony Goldstein," Anthony said with a grin and a waggle of his eyebrows. Severus sighed discreetly in annoyance. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Brocklehurst." He extended his hand across the table to Mandy, who grasped it tenderly, but quickly drew her own, dainty hand back.

"Likewise," Mandy replied with a hint of terseness. She didn't look like she was that amused with Anthony's over-eager display. "So what's the deal with you Goldstein?"

"Well for starters, I'm from Wales, but my family's originally from Hungary, don't speak it though. Oh, and I'm a halfblood too, but raised the good ole' fashioned Muggle way. I'm into Transfiguration and Arithmancy…but that's about it really. Not much more to it than that. And what about you, Brocklehurst?"

"I actually live not too far from the castle believe it or not, over in Inverness with my father and mother. Both my parents are magical—and were in Ravenclaw too funnily enough, Dad's a pureblood, and Mum's a halfblood so that makes me a pureblood too. I really like Potions, and Herbology too, Charms isn't bad either, and yeah…that's about it really. Oh, and I was raised with Magic as well!"

"So your academic interests are similar to Lily's then," Severus observed, an expression of thoughtfulness flittering over his sallow face. "She's also interested in Charms and Potions—"

"But not Herbology though," Lily interrupted quickly, her tone and expression conveying her dislike of magical gardening perfectly clearly. "It seems pretty weird and…I've never been that good around plants either to be honest."

While Anthony nodded his agreement, Mandy appeared to frown at Lily's remarks concerning one of her favorite subjects. "Well you haven't tried it yet, so why don't you wait and see how it is before passing judgement on it," she said crossly. "After all…I've heard that Professor Sprout is one of the best Professors in the castle, my older brother's told me that at least."

"She's indeed a very pleasant woman, I would agree. Severus, Harry and myself have had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know her recently," Lily agreed readily.

"So you both know Potter then," Anthony said, his brown eyes flickering between Lily and Severus. "It's true, you've befriended The-Boy-Who-Lived."

"Of course."

"What's Potter like then?" Lisa said eagerly from further down the table, her pupils wide with curiosity and even a hint of poorly-hidden yearning. Sue Li also appeared interested in what they had to say, but Lisa was easily the most emotionally invested. Severus found Lisa's display, frankly, disappointing. Lily seemed amused though, it seemed Harry's mystique as a boy of myth and legend—the one, true vanquisher of Lord Voldemort had been carried far and wide.

Unfortunately for Lisa and Sue Li however, neither Lily or Severus had a chance to reply to the former's eager question pertaining to The-Boy-Who-Lived, for Dumbledore had once more commanded the attention of the hall to him. When the Hall had collectively quietened down and turned their eyes and ears upon the Headmaster, only then did Dumbledore begin to speak.

The Headmaster reiterated the ground rules that pertained to each and every student from first year to Head Boy. As Dumbledore spoke, Severus and Lily sneaked a glance across the hall at Harry and the small entourage that had built around him. Their friend seemed a tad nervous, but Lily was glad to see Harry fitting in so well amongst his fellow first year Gryffindors. Severus on the other hand felt a little pang of jealousy at Harry's reception.

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. Unbeknownst to the other first years, Harry, Severus and Lily were well aware of what was to come; as were all the faculty of course—as evidenced by the forced smiles all of them seemed to be sporting. The trio of friends, two Eagles and one Lion, exchanged a brief look across the Hall; Harry's expression one of amusement and humor, Severus' being one of exasperation and resignedness, and Lily's falling somewhere between the two. Without further delay, the school began to sing.

Lily sang the song dutifully along with their classmates, but Harry and Severus were markedly less interested in upholding this age old tradition of Hogwarts. At best, Severus could be described as muttering under his breath, and Harry was doing marginally better than he with regard to his singing abilities. Their classmates sang with varying enthusiasm too, with Anthony's boisterous efforts perhaps garnering the most attention. When the song had finished, Dumbledore bade goodnight to all the students, and with one collective groan, all eight benches were pushed back as the students got to their feet. Harry, Ron, Neville and the rest of the Gryffindor first years followed their 5th Year Prefects Bethany Cresswell, and Percy Weasley out of the hall.

The Ravenclaw first years, meanwhile, hung back a little longer with their 5th Year Prefects as they waited for the other houses to vacate the Hall first. Severus spared a glance up at the high table briefly, and locked eyes with Professor Snape, but quickly looked away again. Their 5th Year Prefects Brandon Griffith, a tall, dark-skinned boy with short, black hair; and Tegan Hopkins, a short, brown-haired girl; led them out of the Hall once the crowd of students had thinned enough.

"First years follow me, and keep up please, we don't have all night," Tegan said as she maneuvered to the front of the group and Brandon took up station at the rear to watch for stragglers.

So while Percy and Bethany led the first years away towards the Grand Staircase that would take them to Gryffindor Tower, Brandon and Tegan guided the group down a different path to Ravenclaw tower. Naturally, Severus and Lily were quite familiar with the way to Ravenclaw Tower, having scouted the majority of the castle with Harry in the weeks leading up to the start of term. To Severus' annoyance though, a lot of their fellow first years were asking them questions about the layout of the castle that he didn't feel inclined to answer. Thankfully for him, Lily was more than willing to oblige their curious fellow First Years and seemed to flourish under the attention she was getting. To Severus, it seemed almost as if Lily was getting as many questions as the Prefects were, which suited her rather well since Severus was acutely aware of how Lily liked being at the center of everyone's attention.

They took the Grand Staircase upwards to the west wing of the castle, where the base of Ravenclaw tower was located. And after exiting one last winding, spiral staircase, they arrived at the entrance to the tower. They arrived at a nondescript, oaken door with neither a handle, doorknob or even a keyhole. The only thing of significance on the door itself was a bronze knocker in the shape of an Eagle.

"In order to enter the common room, you must answer the riddle given by the knocker correctly," Brandon said, addressing the group at large. "Generally speaking, the knocker will only give a riddle as difficult as is fitting for your age. So given that I am a fifth year, the Riddle I shall receive now will be a bit more challenging than something you would receive." The amassed Ravenclaw first years nodded, but one girl rose her hand into the air.

Tegan inclined her head at the girl, giving her the go-ahead to ask her question. "Yes, Mandy?"

"What if we get the riddle wrong?" the girl, Mandy Brocklehurst asked.

Tegan and Brandon both shrugged, their nonchalant reaction leading Severus and Lily to believe it was a somewhat common occurrence. "You'll have to wait for a bit for the knocker to give you a new riddle, or wait for someone else to come along. Now watch Brandon answer his riddle and see how it's done."

Brandon turned to face the bronze eagle, and in a loud, crisp voice, it said: "What goes up, and down, but doesn't move?"

Brandon pondered the question for a moment—his impassive expression giving way to one of thoughtfulness, then answered; "A Muggle staircase."

The door swung open, admitting the group into the room, and what they saw next made them ooh, and aah with wonder. Even Severus and Lily were stunned at what awaited them on the other side of the door, for they had never, ever seen the interior of Ravenclaw tower. As the oak door swung open, the groggy, but still starry-eyed first years were greeted with the sight of a spacious, circular room with tall stained-glass windows and large open spaces. The common room was decorated in numerous hues of blue, and bronze, had a warm, toasty fireplace, and with enough bookshelves to last anyone a millennia. At the far end of the room was a statue of Rowena Ravenclaw, the House's founder, it also served as the entrance to the girl's and boy's dorms.

"As you lot can see, the common area is quite spacious, and by my estimation, it is the largest in all of Hogwarts," Tegan said proudly, gesturing to the area around them.

There were numerous sitting areas, couches, plush arm-chairs, tables and desks, not to mention the bookshelves of course. The first years nodded, still silent as they took in their new surroundings for the first time.

"At the far end of the room, you'll see the statue of our founder, Rowena Ravenclaw, behind it are two passageways that lead to the boys and girls' dorms. The boys are on the left, and the girls are on the right," Brandon said. "Now are there any more questions?"

Sue Li looked like she had a question on her mind, but thought better of it and shook her head. "Good. Now it's off to bed for you lot. Boys, take the stairs to the top, and the same for you girls."

The first years headed across the common room to the statue which opened up as promised to reveal the two separate doorways. Severus and Lily hung back a bit and didn't go through the passageway just yet, waiting for a moment until it was just the two of them.

"I'm really happy you're with me Sev," Lily said softly, yet sincerely. "I was worried…well I didn't want to be all on my own, and I thought you might end up in Slytherin like your older self, you know?" she added in a more hushed tone of voice.

"And I thought the same of you in Gryffindor," Severus replied equally quietly. "But it seems we found a middle ground, though. Knowing what Slytherin is like now…I can't imagine you being a Slytherin—"

Lily's grin widened as she said; "I, on the other hand, can imagine you being a Gryffindor quite easily—" at his look of protest and indignation, she quickly added; "but I don't think you'd have enjoyed it very much."

The protest he had died down as he nodded his head firmly. "You've got that right Lily. I could hardly stand being in a house filled with dunderheads, 'cept Harry though, he's only half a dunderhead."

Lily giggled quietly, and the tops of her ears glowed a bright red. "I'll be sure to pass along your kind words then, Severus. But in all seriousness, I really am glad we're together…not like the other you, and the dead 'me'."

Severus shuddered at the thought. "Perhaps it's just as well that the hat decided not to put me in Slytherin then," Severus muttered. "And just as well that you weren't placed in Gryffindor, too."

"Mhmm," Lily agreed. "Anyways, I'm off to bed Sev. I guess we'll have a busy day tomorrow and hopefully we'll share a class or two with Harry."

"Yeah," Severus agreed. "G'night Lily. See you in the mornin'."

"Goodnight Sev, I'm glad you're here," Lily said, smiling a tired smile.

"I'm glad you're here too," Severus replied sincerely.

Lily's smile warmed him up from the inside out, and the smile he gave in return seemed to do the same to her. She stepped past the statue first, and then Severus did a moment after, with the two ascending their separate stairs up to their dorms.

Severus ascended to the top of the staircase and pried aside the door to his dorm room. The dorm room was circular shaped, and like the common room below it was decorated with copious amounts of blue and bronze fittings. Even the drops on the five four-poster beds were blue and bronze, as was the stained-wood of the wardrobes and bedside tables. There were five beds, four of which were already claimed. The last vacant bed just so happened to be to the immediate left of the door, and presumably, belonged to Severus. Merlin was meowing away from inside the confines of his carrier, so Severus undid the latch and watched the feline bound free from his cage and onto the soft quilt of his bed.

"That your cat Severus?" Anthony asked from his bed to the left of Severus' bed.

Severus nodded absentmindedly, stroking the cat's fur briefly before reaching into his trunk and taking out a change of pyjamas.

"Well keep him away from me then," Gareth Carmichael said quickly, his eyes narrowed onto the cat. His bed was on the opposite side of the room, to Anthony's left and directly opposite the door. "I'm allergic to those things."

"I'll keep that in mind," Severus said.

Severus then told his kitten to remain put, with the intelligent feline seemingly grasping his meaning and curling up in a ball at the base of Severus' bed right on top of the comforter. Severus then grabbed his change of clothes and headed into the bathroom to get ready for bed.

On the other side of the castle, in another tower that played host to Gryffindor House, Harry was in his dorm room already changed out of his robes and into his PJs. He was about to call it a night and retire behind the privacy of his gold and crimson blinds when Ron, one of his new friends, yanked aside the curtains on his four-poster. "Harry, have you seen Scabbers? I swear I saw him just a few minutes ago, he was just on my bed but now I—"

"Have you checked your trunk? He might've gone after the remains of your sandwich or something."

Ron shook his head, but as he did so, he released a tired yawn. "No. I haven't, come to think of it that's a good idea. I think I might go to sleep soon after though," Ron said tiredly. "The train ride was…was tiring, I'm a bit knackered now…ah well, Scabbers can wait, I'm gonna sleep first."

Harry nodded. He was tired too, but from the feast he'd gorged himself on rather than a train ride. "Alright Ron, g'night."

Ron didn't reply to him, he'd already keeled over onto his bed as stiff as a board sound asleep. Harry sighed and shut the curtains on his bed, then laid back and waited for sleep to claim him.

A/N2: Sticking Severus in Ravenclaw was a tough decision, and I was really, really tempted to place him in Slytherin like his canon counterpart. I did project a bit of my own thinking into the sorting hat's consciousness though, in stating that it didn't wish to part Severus and Lily again like what occurred in canon. So, with Severus and Lily in Ravenclaw, and Harry going into Gryffindor, that opens the door for new 'blank slates' to be introduced, IE, canon characters that have little known personality in the books.

I hope you all enjoyed the update, and I'll be trying to stick to a bi-weekly updating schedule for this fic, it all depends on my assignment load though so I'll have to play it by ear.