Disclaimer: Per usual, J.K Rowling has full ownership.

Chapter 2: The Sorting

September 1st, 1971

The Great Hall, Hogwarts

After Professor McGonagall gave her speech about the Sorting Hat, students nervously teetered around at the front of the Great Hall.

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and began listing off names.

The first boy Lily recognized to be called was "Black, Sirius!"

She watched as the prideful boy scrambled up to the hat, and placed it on his head. It took a bit longer than the people before him, when the hat finally yelled "GRYFFINDOR!"

The boy looked stung with surprise, but grinned widely nevertheless and hurried towards the Gryffindor table.

James Potter whooped from the group of first years, excited to see the boy he met on the train in his hopeful house.

"Diggory, Amos!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

James watched the boy run to his cheering table, and looked back up to recognize the red-head he had taunted on the train earlier.

"Evans, Lily!"

James couldn't help but notice that she was rather pretty, but much too bossy and annoying.

Severus watched intently as Lily shakily sat down on the stool and felt the shabby hat land on her head.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Severus grunted in disappointment as he watched Lily smile and flounce off to the Gryffindor table.

More names continued to be called out: "Jones, Gwenog!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Jorkins, Bertha"
"RAVENCLAW!"

"Lupin, Remus."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"MacDonald, Mary."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"McKinnon, Marlene."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Meadowes, Dorcas!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Mulciber, Maxwell!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Pettigrew, Peter!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Potter, James!"
"GRYFFINDOR!"

At this, James excitedly pumped his fist in the air and trotted over to where the other first year Gryffindors were sitting. He sat next to Sirius, across from Remus and Peter, and they began chatting animatedly.

"Prewett, Alice!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Alice Prewett scurried over to where her fellow Gryffindors were sitting, and shook hands with the ones she hadn't met yet.

The new Gryffindors were consumed in deep discussion, but Lily was looking curiously over to where Severus still stood in the huddle of first years waiting to be sorted.

"Snape, Severus!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

Lily watched as Severus stalked off to the opposite side of the Great Hall. She gave him a small smile, and then turned back around to her new classmates.

"I'm a pureblood," James chortled, "but my family doesn't care about blood."

Sirius snorted. "I'm pureblood too, but my family certainly cares about blood heritage."

James cocked his head, "Do you?"

Sirius shrugged: "Not really, I don't quite understand why they obsess over it so much."

James grinned, glad that his new friend agreed with him. "What about you?" he turned to Remus.

Remus nodded, "I'm half-blood, my dad's a wizard, but my mum's a muggle."

Peter nodded, "I'm half-blood too."

"Same here," Marlene McKinnon chirped.

"My parents are both non magical," Mary MacDonald said. "They couldn't believe it when Dumbledore told us who I am."

Lily sighed in relief, worried she was the only one who was muggle-born. "Me too!" She exclaimed. "But I knew I was a witch before I received my letter."

"How come?" Mary asked curiously.

"Oh, I have a friend who is a half-blood. He recognized what I could do and told me who I was. You met him on the train!" Lily beamed.

"Who, Snivellus?" James interrupted with a smirk on his face.

Lily glared at the boy. "No, his name is Severus. And who do you think you are?"

James puffed out his chest proudly: "James Potter." He brushed his hand through his hair. "Oh, and tell Snivellus he needs to wash his hair real good."

Sirius laughed at James' comment, and Peter Pettigrew stifled small giggles.

Lily furrowed her eyebrows, "Well, Potter, I wouldn't go around teasing everyone else. That doesn't make you any better than them."

James rolled his eyes. "So rigid!"

Lily opened her mouth to retort something back at James, but was immediately distracted when platters of food suddenly appeared on the long dining tables.

"Wow," the first years breathed, before eagerly digging in to the meal. They each stuffed dinner rolls in their mouth, or happily chewed on pork chops. When desert came, the greedy first years all "oohed" and "aahed" and proceeded to sample as many cakes, ice creams, and tarts as they could.

After the feast was over, Dumbledore stood up to give a speech, outlining the basic do's and don'ts, and wishing them good luck in the school year.

"First years, follow your prefects to your common room! Have a good nights sleep, and I will see you all in the morning!"

Two students stood up out of the crowd of Gryffindors. "First years, follow us!"

The students all got up and when finally reaching Gryffindor tower, all wobbled up to bed.

When Lily arrived in her new dormitory, she noticed that all of her belongings were, in fact, already there.

She quickly showered, changed, and collapsed onto the bed, dozing off to sleep with the thought that everything was too good to be true, and happily knowing that even so, it was definitely, absolutely, one hundred percent true.