Previously: Lily and James are off to Hogwarts. Lily is still heartbroken over her and Petunia's falling-out, but she and Severus try to get excited for Hogwarts. Lily and Severus and the Marauders get off on the wrong foot (the brief meeting at Diagon Alley does not offset the teasing). For the rest of the train ride, Alice invites Lily and Severus to sit in a compartment she is sharing with Marlene McKinnon, Charity Mueller, Gilderoy Lockhart, and Terry Abbott.
Chapter 6: The Sorting Hat
"Firs' years, this way! Firs' years, this way, please! Come alon' now, don' be shy!"
Not likely, thought Lily. The man calling for her and her peers was the largest man Lily had ever seen – if he was even a man; he looked more like a giant than anything else. Almost four times as tall as Lily was (which was not saying much, since she was tiny for an eleven-year-old) and many more times wide, he was, at the very least, intimidating and at the most, positively terrifying. A huge mass of wild black hair covered his face and head, but his black eyes twinkled kindly through his tangled mop at the newest batch of first years making their way from the train station of Hogsmeade.
They were on the outskirts of a town that Lily could barely see in the twilight, but that did not stop her from enjoying the smell of pine or the sound of crickets. Severus walked beside her, and though he was as outwardly enthusiastic as Lily was, there was still that rare expression of delight that Lily loved as he stared around the station, soaking in the smallest of details. They had broken away from the group who rode with them; Alice looked like she wanted to join Lily, but Severus's presence must have persuaded her to join Marlene instead.
"We're here, Sev!" whispered Lily excitedly, grabbing his arm. "Wow, can you believe it? After years of dreaming about the castle, we're finally going to Hogwarts! Oh, this is so exciting!"
Slipping her fingers into Severus's warm, comforting hand, she pulled him along the path to where the giant of a man stood, holding a lantern big enough to hold Mr. Belagosi's retriever above his head to bathe all the students with its light.
"Blimey," someone said softly behind her.
And just like that, Lily's good mood plummeted. She looked at the four boys behind her, instantly recognizing Potter and his friend from the beginning of the train ride. Behind them was the quiet boy with the scars who had joined them shortly after Potter started his games of Exploding Snap. Trailing a little off to the right was a plump, watery-eyed boy who looked much smugger than any first year should have, but for the life of her, she could not remember his name.
Potter caught Lily staring and flashed a winning grin at her.
"All right, Firehead?"
Lily huffed at the nickname and turned away, coolly rebuffing him while Severus glared at the boys.
"Righ'. Firs' years, yer gonna follow me ter the boats," said the giant, waving a hand the size of a trash can lid. He set off in a different direction as the rest of the Hogwarts students, but nevertheless, all the first years, including Lily and Severus, followed him nervously.
"So what do you think?" asked Alice, falling into step beside Lily while Marlene walked on her other side and Severus noticeably grew more subdued – Alice apparently could not keep from talking anymore. There was a spring to Alice's gait as she bounded happily along beside Lily, sometimes even walking backwards so she could look directly at Marlene and Lily. "My cousin Fabian says that we have to prove our worth by taming hippogriffs to cross the Black Lake, but I think he's just messing with me. Molly said there's something called the – Merlin's pants!"
Alice suddenly cried out suddenly, and several people laughed at the poor girl as she stumbled backwards over a protruding tree root, but Lily and Marlene quickly grabbed her arms to keep her from having face plant in the street.
Thankfully, their guide gave the first years something else to do besides noticing Alice's momentary loss of balance. "All righ'. No more than four to a boat, now," said the giant, waving them forward to numerous little boats forming a line on the grassy beach. The slight breeze caused the water of the lake to ripple, but the boats did not as much as twitch from their position.
Lily and Severus quickly claimed one of the nearest boats as their own with Severus holding out his hand to help Lily in, which she gratefully accepted. Alice and Marlene joined them, Alice bounding up over the side while Marlene took a much more sophisticated approach as she deftly seated herself behind Lily. Severus said nothing towards the two other girls; he instead just stared ahead with the occasional glance at Lily, looking distinctly uncomfortable.
"Everyone in a boat? Righ' then, forward!" called the giant, and Lily noticed that Potter's gang had claimed a boat all to themselves. Though there was also pity as well as amusement, she smirked when she saw that Gilderoy Lockhart was on a boat with only a pretty little blond girl whose expression clearly stated she would have rather been anywhere else as Lockhart chattered away incessantly.
Her boat gave a little jerk forward, and Lily gripped the side of the boat to keep from falling out. Behind her, Alice was also holding the boat's side, a tinge of green on her plump cheeks. Much to Lily's annoyance, most of the other boats glided forward without so much as a jolt, but thankfully the rest of the ride went much smoother than the initial start.
"You'll be able ter see yer firs' view of the castle soon!" called the giant after a minute of nothing but the boats silently gliding across the smooth, glassy surface of the lake.
"Duck!" he commanded as their group came to pass under an outcropping covered in hanging vines and other weeds. The giant crouched as far as he could, but Lily noticed only a couple of first years only had to incline their heads slightly. She herself was short enough that she did not have to do anything but stay where she was.
"Oh, wow," breathed Alice from behind her, and Lily, who had still been observing the overhang, quickly turned around in her seat to watch as the school that she would soon be calling home loom into view.
The magnificent castle was everything she ever hoped it would be. Soft, golden light flickered from many of the windows, reflecting faultlessly on the inky surface of the Black Lake, distorted only when a boat passed. There were simply too many levels and turrets to count as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry stood high and mighty against the night sky with stars twinkling all around and the half-moon shining brightly in the dark. Off in the distance, the trees of the Forbidden Forest grew in a black shadow, encompassing the rest of the grounds.
Lily, who had been too captivated by the scene to notice they were quickly approaching the shore, jumped as the boat lightly hit the bank. After a moment of struggling, she managed to right herself and stepped off the boat and onto the grass, her shoes sinking into the mud while Severus stepped out and hurried to her side. Marlene was holding Alice from under her armpits as Alice had somehow gotten stuck, her foot wedged between the ground and the bottom side of their boat, and Lily quickly helped Marlene pull her up.
The giant stood in front of all the first years, surveying all of those assembled just in case anybody else still had not stepped onto the small shore, but he must have been satisfied because he said in a booming voice so everybody could hear, "Follow me."
He led them onto a wooden sidewalk standing a little ways away from the edge of the lake. They soon reached an intersection in which one way led into a jetty expanding out onto the Black Lake next to a large stone boathouse and another way that soon turned into a cobblestoned path leading up to a set of enormous double doors in the middle of the castle's first level. The giant took the latter, and the first years followed.
It did not take long for them to reach the doors, and the giant raised one massive fist the size of a car wheel to knock three times on the door. The sound reverberated through the air, and Lily held her breath as the doors slowly opened inwards, revealing none other than Professor Minerva McGonagall herself, standing there, taller and more imposing than she had been in the Evans household. She looked much different dressed in dark green and black robes and a pointed hat, but her expression was as stern as ever.
"I've got the firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said the giant, waving his large hand behind him to show her the newest batch of Hogwarts students.
"Thank you, Hagrid. I can take it from here," said Professor McGonagall. The giant grunted and moved away as Professor McGonagall studied Lily's group before saying, "Follow me."
She turned and led them into the Entrance Hall, and as they entered, Lily found herself gaping in wonder, drinking in every last detail. A huge glass chandelier the size of a small elephant hung above them, emitting a soft, sparkling light onto the stone floor below while at the end of the colossal room stood a grand marble staircase, no doubt leading to the upper floors of the school. A flight of steps beside it led down into the lower rooms, and to her left was a corridor of classrooms and offices. There was also another door on the other side of the marble staircase that Lily bet led to the courtyard.
To her left, she saw four towering hourglasses big enough to rival a giraffe, each of them unique. The one on the far left was held up by a lion with twinkling rubies, and to the right of that an eagle supported an hourglass full of glittering sapphires before the line of statues was interrupted by yet another set of double doors that Lily heard unintelligible chattering and babble coming from. On the left side of the doors was a badger bracing another glass vase overflowing with yellow quartz, and the farthest left sculpture depicted a serpent coiled around the last hourglass, this one filled to the top with gleaming emeralds.
Severus leaned close to Lily's ear and said, "The green is Slytherins, blue is for Ravenclaw, yellow represents Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor is red."
"Welcome to Hogwarts," said McGonagall, speaking a loud voice, "You will shortly pass through these doors to join your classmates. In Hogwarts, there are four different houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. While there are differences, each of these houses has produced outstanding witches and wizards throughout the years, and each house values something different. While you remain at Hogwarts, your house will be like your family. You will share a common room, sleep in the dormitories with your housemates, and eat meals in the Great Hall at your respective table."
Potter was whispering to his friend behind her, and Lily tried her best ignore him until Professor McGonagall noticed him talking.
Her eyes flashed as she said, "Also you will earn points for your house, but keep in mind that you may lose them as well, such as when you talk when I am talking."
Potter fell silent at that and tried to put on a remorseful expression while Professor McGonagall concluded, "At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup. We will begin the Sorting right now. Please, follow me."
They all did, Lily leaning close to Severus and whispering, "How did you say they sorted students?"
In all their conversations about Hogwarts, she could not ever remember asking him how they were chosen for each house.
Severus shook his head.
"My mother wouldn't tell me."
Lily nodded, trying to keep her face blank while she felt anxiety bubble in her stomach like acid. Alice had said Gryffindors were known for bravery, but Lily was definitely not feeling very brave at the moment. Hufflepuffs were known for loyalty, but she could not think of her friends while she was headed towards certain doom in front of the entire school. Ravenclaws were supposedly the smart house, but Lily could not even remember the first spell in Standard Book of Spells: Grade One. The Slytherins were known for ambition, but right now her only ambition was not to faint in front of the entire school.
The doors opened revealing the majestic Great Hall behind the doors, and Professor McGonagall led them past two tables before they followed her up the center aisle. Lily could not help the blush of her cheeks when everybody turned to stare the newcomers. Walking by her side, Severus nudged her and pointed to ceiling. Lily looked up to see dozens upon dozens of candles floating in the air above their heads, and beyond that, instead of a ceiling, the Great Hall simply opened to the heavens, the stars twinkling down at them overhead.
Of the four tables running parallel to the Great Hall, the mass of people seated at them wore the same robes Lily did save that there were little bits of red, blue, yellow, or green among the robes. There was another table facing the sea of black on a slightly elevated stage, and the people sitting there were much older than the students, wearing robes of their own choosing. One of the professors with an enormous belly sat next to Hagrid while another's head just barely peeked above the table.
At the center of the table sat another wizard in a golden, throne-like chair: Albus Dumbledore. He was easily recognizable from the silver beard and half-moon spectacles resting on a long but crooked nose of a wrinkled face. Dressing in flowing robes of a rich purple and a gleaming silver to match his hair, he leaned forward to study the first years. Even from Lily's vantage point, his eyes were such a bright blue that they dwarfed even Alice's. The piercing gaze swept over Lily like an X-ray.
"Oh, look!" said Alice suddenly from behind Lily, pointing to the dirtiest, most frayed hat in the history of wizards and Muggles alike. It sat on a rickety, old stool raised on the dais that held the teachers table, and the first years gathered before it while Professor McGonagall held a scroll. Lily looked on in wonder, curious as to what they were all waiting for. She glanced at Severus, but he just shrugged helplessly. That was when the brim of the hat opened:
Welcome, welcome all you young,
To this Hogwarts School of old.
You're likely here to learn some magic,
But have not of yet been told.
First before you wave those wands,
You must ponder where you best belong.
But have no fear – just listen up,
And I will see that which suits you to move up and go on.
You may be with those of Gryffindor,
Who value nerve and daring.
I have not yet met a Lion,
Where courage is not of their brave bearing,
Perhaps you'll join those Ravenclaws,
Where clever wit shall always dwell.
The crafty Eagles: fast and furious
While their pursuit of knowledge swells
But what about that Hufflepuff?
A place where loyalty is valued.
For you can count those just, just Badgers,
To play both fair and true,
Last, not least, there's Slytherin,
Where cunning's long since fostered.
Watch out, the Snakes!
Their power will succeed you long past point and prosper.
Now you've heard these Houses four,
You must try me on to join their glue.
Don't worry, every House is full of magic,
Just as you are too.
The hall burst into applause as Lily half-heartedly joined in, unable to take her eyes off the scroll that Professor McGonagall was in the process of unfurling while she gave stern looks to the first years and said, "Now when I call your name, you will come forward and place the Sorting Hat on your head before you will be sorted into your houses."
Lily gave Severus's hand a squeeze for good luck as Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and said very clearly for the entirety of Hogwarts to hear, "Abbott, Terry."
It was the boy with dirty blond hair who had been with Lily in the compartment from the train ride; he took trembling steps towards the stool, even more nervous than he had been before, and Lily felt a flash sympathy for him. It was going to be bad enough trying on the hat in front of the whole student population, but to go first? That bordered on cruel.
Terry sat down on the stool before the Sorting Hat settled on his hair. There was a ten second pause, and then, "HUFFLEPUFF!" was shouted out the hat for the whole hall to hear. Lily looked and saw the people at the Hufflepuff table, who seemed like a cheerful lot, clapping for as he sat down, looking very relieved to be out of the spotlight.
"Aubrey, Bertram."
A slightly plump boy with nervous, darting eyes and curly brown hair stumbled up to the stool, and after Professor McGonagall finally placed the Sorting Hat on his head, it took almost a minute for the hat to yell, "RAVENCLAW!" But once it did, Ravenclaw's first new student hurried down to join another different table, though the Ravenclaws clapped just as much for Bertram Aubrey as Hufflepuff had for Terry.
"Avery, Cadmus."
A thickset boy with small but sharp eyes swaggered up to the stool when Professor McGonagall called his name. Unlike with Terry, the Sorting Hat had barely touched his head when it cried out, "SLYTHERIN!" Lily glanced at the Slytherin table, and it might have been just her, but they looked less pleasant and welcoming than the other three tables, though most of them did clap when Avery joined their table.
"Black, Sirius."
It was the boy who had been playing Exploding Snap with Potter on the Hogwarts Express, the same one who had insulted Severus. Lily's eyes narrowed in dislike at the handsome boy as he strutted up to the stool, but unlike before, there was a hint of uneasiness in his haughty expression before Professor McGonagall dropped the hat over his eyes. A hushed whisper fell on the tables. Lily glanced behind Alice and saw that some of the Slytherins were preparing to clap.
… Maybe I'll break the tradition …
Black's words echoed in her ear as the hat cried out, "GRYFFINDOR!" barely five seconds after he put it on. There was still clapping for Black, but some people – most sitting at the Slytherin table – sat stock-still, staring at Black as he gave a relieved sigh of relief and ran for another table where many people were clapping loudly for the first new Gryffindor. Those who had been preparing to clap at the Slytherin table still held their hands in front of them, but this time it was because their obvious shock had obviously prevented them from moving.
As "Brown, Ivy" joined Bertram Aubrey at the Ravenclaw table and "Burbage, Neil" and "Cabrera, Daphne" became Terry's housemates in Hufflepuff, Lily watched Black glance back at the Slytherin table nervously but also determined at the same time. Several Slytherins hissed at Black, and one girl in particular stood out. She proudly threw her curtain of shiny black hair back over her shoulder. The malevolent glitter in her heavily-lidded eyes contrasted her beauty in a way that made her seem both darkly striking and inexplicitly dangerous.
Down from the woman who had to be in one of her last years of school, another lady, who strongly resembled the first save for the fact that she looked a little younger, gave Black a small smile and an almost imperceptible nod while Greta Catchlove joined the Hufflepuffs, followed by Jesse Corner and Johnathan Dawlish who became the third and fourth new Ravenclaws. It was as if the younger girl was saying, don't worry about me.
Unfortunately, the other woman – the one with the wicked gleam in her eyes – caught Lily staring and gave her a cruel sneer, her upper lip curling in such a way that sent shivers down Lily's spine before she hastily looked back to Sorting at hand just as Professor McGonagall called, "Deles, Solara."
A girl with angelic features stepped up to the stool, and everybody waited for an entire minute before the hat finally yelled out, "RAVENCLAW!" There was a round of applause while Solara Deles happily joined the Ravenclaw table, and then after her, "Dice, Oliver" went to Hufflepuff.
"Evans, Lily."
She desperately wished that the magic of Hogwarts would open a hole under her feet and swallow her rather than let her face the scrutiny.
Severus gave her a little push forward and whispered, "Good luck."
Lily found herself unable to smile back as she walked forward on trembling legs that she was sure would collapse at any moment. Thankfully, the stool was there before she collapsed in terror, and it did not take long for McGonagall to drop the hat over her eyes, blocking her view of the Great Hall.
Ha! Lily jumped at the voice inside her head. Oh, my, you have bundles of courage – that much is clear. Yes, there is that brilliant mind Ravenclaws have and the kind heart and loyalty Hufflepuffs treasure, but that bravery inside of you far outmatches all the other qualities you possess, which makes my decision easy: GRYFFINDOR!
There was clapping, and Lily realized that the hat had shouted it out for the whole hall to hear. McGonagall took the hat off her head, and Lily hurried over to the Gryffindor table where many of her now fellow housemates cheered her on, but not before she caught Severus's eye. While he was hoping for Slytherin, she, Lily, had been sorted into Gryffindor. Giving him a small, sad smile, she turned to sit with her new house, grateful she at least was not sitting with the maliciously smiling woman.
Somebody hastily scooted over to make room for her. Lily was about to thank the person when she saw who it was: Sirius Black.
Well, they may both be Gryffindors now, but that did not mean she wanted to be chummy with the blokes who teased Severus. She sat down, firmly turning her back to him as she crossed her arms to watch as Geoffrey Fudge and Adrian Fey went to sit at the applauding Hufflepuff table.
"Gamp, Astoria."
A girl who looked to be the only one who might rival Marlene McKinnon for prettiest first year strode up to the stool where Professor McGonagall placed the hat on top of shoulder-length, platinum blond hair. The waiting period for the hat's decision was the longest it was yet for anybody, but finally the Sorting Hat made its decision after four whole minutes: "SLYTHERIN!"
As the Slytherins banged their silverware, she heard Black groan from behind her and mutter to a third year sitting next to him, "Damn it – she was almost too pretty to be a Slytherin."
Lily rolled her eyes at Black as the Sorting Hat sent "Gonzalez, Sara" along with "Gudgeon, Davey" and "Hudson, Nancy" to the Hufflepuffs. Severus was attempting to multitask both trying to catch her eye and pay attention to any future Slytherins at the same time. It had been obvious for years that Severus clearly wanted to be in Slytherin, but Lily found herself hoping that he would instead join her at the Gryffindor table, but meanwhile, the Sorting Hat was on a roll with placing first years at different tables.
"Karp, Thomas."
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Kelly, Joelle."
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Lestrange, Rabastan."
"SLYTHERIN!"
Then Professor McGonagall called, "Lockhart, Gilderoy," and the boy who had not stopped once when talking himself and his so-called "amazing abilities" swaggered up the stool, giving everybody a winning grin. The people who had been with Lily in the train compartment (Severus, Alice, Marlene, Charity, and Terry) all rolled their eyes at his attitude as well as the girl had to share the boat with him, but a couple of girls studied his good looks with interest.
The Sorting Hat itself seemed to be contemplating which house to put Lockhart in, and Lily squeezed her eyes shut, desperately hoping he would not join her in Gryffindor as he said he could, but finally the Sorting Hat had decided on a house: "RAVENCLAW!"
There was cheering for Lockhart, and he gave a sweeping bow before joining the table. A couple of younger girls giggled and blushed at him as he took a seat opposite them. Lily, meanwhile, turned back to the Sorting, letting loose a sigh of relief, though she felt a brief pang of sympathy towards the Ravenclaws for being the house that got Gilderoy Lockhart.
"Lupin, Remus."
It was the boy with the scars from Lily's first compartment. As Remus walked up to the school, there was a look of concentration on his face like he was still reading his book on the train, but there was also an edgy tensing as well when he took a seat on the stool that had held so many students just as nervous as he was.
"GRYFFINDOR!" cried out the hat after several moments of deliberation, Lily clapped along with the rest of the Gryffindors as Remus took a seat across from her, looking thoroughly relieved to be chosen for any house, let alone Gryffindor. Lily gave him a small smile in greeting, and she received one in return before Black took over by clapping Remus on the back with a happy roar of delight.
"Macdonald, Mary."
Yet another girl stumbled up to the stool, this one rather plump with light brown hair that reached her shoulders. She looked as scared as Lily had been, and it did not help that several students laughed outright when the poor girl tripped on the step leading up to the dais, but there were several resounding smacks in the Great Hall as some students slapped their friends for laughing at the already petrified first year who had just scrambled to her feet. Now looking positively terrified and already humiliated, she could barely stand up to reach the stool, but at last she did.
Lily could see that her cheeks were white with fright as she timidly sat at the edge of the stool, clutching it for dear life with trembling hands before the hat covered her eyes. It took a while, but the hat finally yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!" as its final decision.
Lily applauded Mary Macdonald for becoming the second Gryffindor girl as she ran for their table before she collapsed, taking the seat right across from Lily. Her eyes darted nervously between all their housemates, and Lily took comfort in the fact that she would at least not be alone in Gryffindor with only Sirius Black and his friend for company.
"McKinnon, Marlene," said Professor McGonagall.
The same Marlene who had ridden the train with Lily and joined her and Severus's boat stepped forward, nimble in her movements even though it was quite obvious to everybody that she was just as terrified as the next first year. The only thing that threatened to ruin Marlene's looks was her deathly white complexion as all the blood drained from her face. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Black's gaze following Marlene with interest, but Lily ignored it and crossed her fingers under the table, hoping that Marlene would soon join her and Mary at their table.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Lily exhaled gratefully and clapped loudly along with the rest of the Gryffindors as "McLaggen, Spencer" and "McMillian, Lisa" took a seat at the Ravenclaw table. Marlene grinned widely as she took the seat across from Mary and turned back along with Lily just as Professor McGonagall called out, "Mueller, Charity."
Lily re-crossed her fingers as Marlene whispered just loud enough for her to hear, "Come on, Charity, come on." Charity walked forward, and even though she was no longer smiling, Lily could still see those cherub-like dimples as she put the Sorting Hat on her head.
It took a little bit, but after almost fifteen seconds for the hat to cry, "RAVENCLAW!"
Marlene groaned but still clapped for Charity as she took a seat with the rest of the cheering Ravenclaws.
"But she was so nice," protested Marlene quietly, and Lily was forcibly reminded of Sirius's complaint that Astoria Gamp was almost too pretty to be in Slytherin.
"Can we still be friends with people in other houses?" Lily asked her, watching Severus, who was still standing with the rest of the unsorted first years.
"Oh, sure," said Marlene confidently, "But you usually spend most of your free time in the house common room. You can only hang out with people from other houses during the daytime – unless you want to break curfew of course."
Having answered Lily's question, she once again faced the Sorting Hat as Professor McGonagall called forward "Mulciber, Lycoris."
It was the boy who had been in Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions with his mother, Lysandra Mulciber. He gave somebody a wicked grin before swaggering up to the stool. The Sorting Hat had barely touched his head when it screamed out, "SLYTHERIN!" Lily did not clap at all, and neither, she noticed, did any other Gryffindors.
"Pettigrew, Peter."
It was the other boy who had been with Black and Potter, the chubbier and shorter one with small, watery eyes. Pettigrew nearly tripped right before he got up to the stool, and there was a faint round of sniggers. McGonagall placed the hat on his head, and it slipped, covering half his face. Lily could barely see his mouth, but she thought he was muttering, Gryffindor … not Slytherin … Gryffindor … not Slytherin … She could not help but think how ironic it would have been if Pettigrew had gone to the Slytherins: she wanted to be with Severus in Slytherin but remained in Gryffindor, and Pettigrew would have wanted to be in Gryffindor with Potter and Black but was made a Slytherin.
The Sorting Hat must have been warring with Pettigrew since it took a while before it shouted out, "GRYFFINDOR!", not nearly as loudly as the other times it had.
"Go, Peter!" cheered Sirius above the clapping, his voice carrying quite loudly over everybody else, and Pettigrew looked like all his dreams had come true as he took a seat next to Remus, who offered him a congratulatory pat on the back.
"Potter, James."
"Oh, no, no, no…" muttered Lily so quietly only Marlene could hear it. She gave Lily a questioning look, but Lily shook her head. Black was bad enough without having Remus and Pettigrew around him, but she was not sure if she would be able to stand it if every one of the four boys joined her in Gryffindor. Sharing a common room and classes and everything?
Lily shuddered just thinking about it.
Potter eagerly ran up to the stool, and the Sorting Hat only needed to brush against his messy hair before it screamed, "GRYFFINDOR!"
Lily took a leaf out of Marlene's book and groaned as Potter happily scurried for the seat on Black's other side, and the two boys gave each other a high-five, grinning devilishly, but Lily coolly ignored them, instead watching Professor McGonagall with rapt attention.
"Prewett, Alice."
She perked up at the name. Alice, who had been pale when the Sorting commenced, was now a deathly white. As she walked towards the stool with shaking legs, Lily crossed her fingers once again, though this time it was for Alice instead of Marlene. Thankfully she did not have to wait long since after only a solid five seconds of silent deliberation, the hat bellowed out "GRYFFINDOR!"
Alice was so relieved that it took her a moment to remember that the Sorting Hat was still on her head. She hurried back to give it to a sympathetic Professor McGonagall, and by the time she had seated herself at the Gryffindor table, Lily noticed that a bright crimson had flooded her cheeks. Lily gave her a quick, comforting hug before returning to the Sorting as "Quagmire, Beth" became another Ravenclaw.
"Rosier, Evan."
"SLYTTHERIN!"
Both Potter and Black hissed at the mean-looking boy as he joined the Slytherin table as "Shafiq, Florence", the blond girl who had previously had the misfortune of sharing a boat with Lockhart, went to Ravenclaw – and Lily once again thanked her lucky stars that she would not have to put up with Lockhart. Next came fraternal twins, "Smith, Elena" and "Smith, Elizabeth", followed by "'Selwyn, Reid". Both twins went to the Hufflepuff table, and Reid Selwyn, the plain girl with a lanky body, joined Slytherin before Ackley Stebbins became yet another new Hufflepuff.
"Snape, Severus."
Lily drew in a breath as McGonagall called Severus forward. Lily leaned further forward, eagerly anticipating the announcement of his house – would her friend join her? Though she knew and had known Severus's preference for years, that did not stop Lily from silently wishing her best friend would become a Gryffindor instead of joining Slytherin like he had always wanted. Really, why not if –
"SLYTHERIN!"
Lily closed her eyes and exhaled slowly, but unlike before, it was out of resignation rather than relief as had been the case with Alice and Marlene. The Slytherin table clapped loudly as Severus joined them. He took a seat right next to tall, blond boy wearing an important-looking badge on his chest before throwing one last look of regret while "Talkalot, Lucinda" became a Slytherin and "Thorndike, Zachary" joined the Ravenclaw table.
"Travers, Belvina."
A tall, lanky girl with a countless amount of freckles splashed all over her body scurried up to the stool, and it did not take long for the Sorting Hat to yell, "SLYTHERIN!" before Belvina Travers practically ran for the Slytherin table with an enormous smile on her face, leaving only five other first years to be Sorted, one of which ("Vane, Silvanah") joined the Ravenclaw table.
"Westenberg, Felix."
A boy with dirty blond hair gulped nervously and stepped up to the stool, walking much slower than Belvina just had. He sat down before Professor McGonagall placed the hat on his head, and though it took a little longer, the Sorting Hat finally shouted out, "RAVENCLAW!" for all to hear. Felix Westenberg heaved a visible sigh of relief and went to join his new housemates at the Ravenclaw table, much more relaxed than how he had been mere seconds ago.
For the last three people ("Wilkes, Casper", "Yaxley, Violetta", and "Zabini, Veronica"), the Sorting Hat yelled "SLYTHERIN!" for all of them, and one by one, the remaining first years joined Severus at the Slytherin table.
As soon as Veronica Zabini took one of the last free seats at the Slytherin table, Dumbledore stood up, reverting Lily's attention back to the front. He smiled around at all of them like there could no more pleasure than sharing a meal with hundreds of teenagers, and he said out loud for everybody to hear, "Welcome, welcome, to another year at Hogwarts! I do have a speech planned, but I think more people would be thinking about supper while I talk, so I have only two words for you right now: bon appétit!"
Alice giggled as a group of older boys towards the back of the Gryffindor table shouted out "Finally!", hooting and clapping far more enthusiastically than they had been during the Sorting Ceremony, but that was not what held Lily's attention: she watched, amazed, as the empty platters in front of her filled with food. There was a large plate of drumsticks, which Potter and Black wasted no time in devouring, and Lily shook her head in disgust at them as she herself piled her plate high with mashed potatoes and a long strip of steak. Mary was staring open mouthed at the food, so Lily kindly dumped some green beans on her foodless plate along with a piece of broiled lamb and some rice.
"Yum," said Alice as she dug into the pasta, her cheeks bulging.
Lily glanced over at Severus who was stabbing the food on his fork with astonishing bitterness, and she sighed. After all the time they had spent together when they were smaller, both were in different houses – rival houses! She was not even in Ravenclaw (Alice had explained to her that Ravenclaw was the house with fewest bullying incidents involving the Slytherins). Lily twirled her fork in the food on her plate morosely. Instead of having Severus as a housemate, like she had hoped for, she had four happy-go-lucky idiots sharing the common room with her.
However, as she was determined to make her first night at Hogwarts a good one, she pushed away her doubts to focus on the conversations between the other first year Gryffindors. As the meal progressed, Lily learned a surprising amount about her fellow housemates, mostly through the numerous conversations that she preferred to listen too rather than lead.
Once the issue turned to blood, it quickly became obvious to Lily that she was the only one with all-Muggle heritage out of the rest of the new Gryffindors as Mary, who at first was quite shy but gradually opened up, explained in a quiet voice, "Grandmamma's a half-blood – Muggle father and pure-blood mother, but she married a Muggle and never told Granddaddy what she really was, so when Mum was born and she never made it to Hogwarts, Grandmamma thought she wouldn't have to tell any of my family that she was a proud Gryffindor until I got my letter in the mail. Mum's been letting me stay with Grandmamma a lot now, but I'm not sure if that makes me a half-blood or Muggle-born. Does it?"
Mary looked to Marlene for an answer, who had been sitting right next to her.
Marlene put on her thoughtful face, considering all that Mary had just said.
"I think you are considered a half-blood," she said after a brief pause. "Your mother's a Squib, so that means that while your parents aren't magical, you still have both magic and Muggle relatives, which constitutes as a half-blood – not that it would matter to those Slytherin fanatics," she added, giving several Slytherins a dark look.
"What about you?" Mary asked.
Marlene swallowed another mouthful of corn before answering, "I can trace my lineage back to the 1700's, and so far it's only witches and warlocks, but we're certain that there's Muggle blood somewhere in our family tree. Despite what some people say, true pure-bloods are incredibly rare – probably extinct even."
"Didn't you say that you were related to Newt Scamander, that Magizoologist bloke who wrote our textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them?" asked Alice.
Marlene nodded. "He's an uncle on my mum's side of the family. What about you? Any relation to Fabian and Gideon Prewett?"
Alice snorted. "Those two goofballs? Yeah, they're my cousins along with Molly Prewett – well, I suppose it's Molly Weasley now that she's married Arthur – but they graduated here two years ago. When McGonagall wasn't able to decide between Fabian and Gideon to be a Quidditch captain, she made them both co-captains, but they're training to be Aurors now."
"Well, my older brother, Marius – that's him over there at the Ravenclaw table," – she pointed to a tall boy of about sixteen chatting with a group of friends who all looked to be about the same age – "told me that they were legendary. What about you, Lily? What's your family like?"
Lily jumped slightly and looked around at the other girls. If Alice was any indication, none of the present group showed her disdain like the Mulcibers did, but it was still glaringly apparent that she was the only one with wholly Muggle blood.
"My family's nothing special, just a normal Muggle family," she said quickly, but Marlene was still curious, so Lily added, "Both my parents teach at the local college: my dad's an entomologist – he studies bugs for a living – and my mum's an engineer. She's recently been developing a new kind of version of dodgems."
"What's a dodgem?" asked Marlene and Alice at the same time.
Lily glanced between the two of them, unsure if they were pulling her leg or not. When neither Marlene nor Alice stopped frowning in confusion, Lily said, "They're, you know, they're those vehicles that you … drive and hit people with at carnivals?"
"Muggles made something that you get to ram into other people – awesome!" exclaimed Potter, his eyes widening.
Lily had not realized that the boys were eavesdropping, but she turned her head sharply, sending a clear message that she had no wish to include him in their little chat and instead turning back to Marlene and Alice while Potter, once he realized that Lily was not going to say anything more to him, continued whatever he had been doing before with Black.
"Anyways," said Lily, "a lot of theme parks have them. You wait in a line … you know – don't tell me you've never been to an amusement park."
The shaking heads were unmistakable, and her explanation was terrible, but Marlene and Alice did not get to say anything else because just then, Dumbledore stood up as the last of the food disappeared, and as they had already moved onto dessert, Mary quickly popped one more Chocoball into her mouth before the rest of it disappeared, and Marlene shook her head at Mary.
"To our new students, welcome, and to our old students, welcome back!" said Dumbledore, still beaming as brightly as ever. "I have a few start-of-term notices I wish to announce before our new prefects lead us to our common rooms. Firstly: the Forbidden Forest is exactly what it is, which is forbidden."
"Let them try to stop us," snorted Black to his new best friend and Lily's new worst enemy.
Rather than snapping at them to pay attention, Lily simply rolled her eyes and tried to listen to the rest of Dumbledore's speech.
"Secondly, let us give a warm welcome to Professor Bellona Banks."
A severe looking woman in dark blue robes with closely cropped brown hair rose at the introduction, and there was a stammering of applause for her. The only acknowledgement she gave was a small nod before taking her seat beside Hagrid who was busy draining a large mug. "She has agreed to take up the Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching position after Professor Macmillan took up a post for the Ministry of Magic. She comes to us with much experience from her time as a Hit Witch in the Ministry of Magic."
"Third off: Mr. Filch has filled in for Mr. Pringle as caretaker of Hogwarts after he retired at the end of last year. Mr. Filch, I believe, has created a list and asked me to remind you about the banned items including Fanged Frisbees and Screaming Yo-Yos. The full list is nailed on his office door if anyone would like to check.
"On a more serious note," continued Dumbledore, his voice dropping to a more somber tone which caused several daydreaming students to perk up to hear more clearly, "Some of you may have noticed that new a tree has been planted on the school grounds. "Professor Sprout" – he pointed to a squat witch who gave a jolly little wave as several students, mostly from the Hufflepuff table, cheered for her – "has worked very tirelessly to procure that particular tree for our seventh year Herbology students, which is properly called a Whomping Willow. Be warned, it can be extremely violent when approached, so I and Professor Sprout urge you to keep your distance from its trunk."
Many students whispered excitedly to each other as if they wanted to see just how violent the Whomping Willow could get, and Lily knew already that much of the Hogwarts population would soon disregard Dumbledore's counsel for a little bit of hazardous fun. The only person who did not look too pleased at that news was Remus Lupin. Lily watched him squirm uncomfortably, glancing fearfully at several of the more excited classmates as if … Lily could not explain it – his reaction was just different.
"Last but not least, I am afraid that it is my duty to inform you about a particular wizard who many people know as the Dark Wizard," said Dumbledore, and the students fell silent once again. "Many in Britain are unsure of what to believe, and while I am sure most of you haven't spared him much thought, I urge you to be on guard. He is not to be taken lightly. Now I've worried you long enough – off to bed all of you!"
Whispers broke out around the four house tables, and Lily overheard Potter tell Black, "That's the bloke that was in the paper last month. His Knights started a few riots over the treatment of Muggles. They're trying to push for eliminating Muggles and Muggle-borns, or something like that at least."
Black scowled.
"Then I wouldn't be surprised. My family thinks like that – that Muggle-borns who should be put down like animals."
Lily went pale at those words. Even with Severus's constant reassurances that she was just like all the other witches up and down Britain, she should have known that when it came down to what mattered, the Wizarding world cared about pure blood, pure blood that she did not have but those like Black did… How could she have been so stupid?
Black must have noticed her staring at him wide-eyed because he snapped, "What did I do now, Evans – wait, are you –"
"So what if I am?" Lily shot back defensively.
Black held up his hands in surrender. "Hold up, Evans! I'm not my family – never said I think like that! I don't care how much Muggle blood anybody's got."
Before Lily could respond, a voice yelled, "You lot – hey, you lot! OI!"
She jerked her head, surprised. The boy who had yelled at her was older than she was but was still in Gryffindor. There was a small red badge with the letter "P" in gold pinned to his black Hogwarts robes, and he looked rather bored as he lazily gestured for Lily and the other Gryffindor first years. A tall girl with auburn hair pulled back into a frizzy ponytail, also with a red-and-gold badge on her chest, was glaring at him.
"Yeah, you – hey, listen! Head honcho talking here, midgets!" called the boy, and slowly, one by one, all of the new Gryffindor first years noticed him, as well as several other assembled students.
"Samuel!" reprimanded the girl.
"What now, Emmie?" asked Samuel. "Can't you – I mean, c'mon, they're puny!"
"They're terrified enough as is, Samuel! How about you try talking nicely?"
Samuel gave a great sigh of exasperation as if Emmie had asked him to lift an entire dragon with only one hand. He looked around at the assorted first years before cupping his hands to his mouth and calling, "CALLING ALL SMALL PEOPLE! I REPEAT: CALLING ALL SMALL PEOPLE!"
Emmie gave him a healthy glare before turning to Lily and the other Gryffindors and saying, "First years! If you would follow Samuel and me, we can show you where to go."
She waved them forward, and Lily looked to Alice, who then looked to Marlene, who then looked to Mary, who then looked back to Lily – who finally shrugged.
Note: I know that Bellatrix Lestrange graduated Hogwarts in 1970, but for reasons that you will see later on, I made her two years younger. However, Narcissa and Andromeda are still the same ages.
I have a secret I must confess: I am no professional songwriter. There. Done. 'Nough said.
