Year 1: The Legend Begins
Chapter four: The Sorting
Disclaimer: Anything you recognize is not mine.
A/N: Well, since I got a TON of reviews last chapter I decided to update this today! Woot! Probably one of the quickest updates I have ever done, lol. And nice long chapter too! So yeah. Go on and read it, and REVIEW after! Oh, and btw... the winner of the review game was... ROASTED SNOW! With rain alchemist in a close second. Woot! So go read and REVIEW this chapter too!! WOO HOO!
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"Firs' years over here! Firs' years! This way," called a giant figure, gesturing to Lily and her friends. They had just arrived at the platform in Hogsmeade, and they all stared up in amazement at the large man. He started to speak again, and they were all snapped out of their trance.
"Come on, firs' years! Ev'ryone here? Good, let's get ter the boats then," he said, gesturing over his shoulder to a lake, and starting to walk in that direction, "Oh, and by the way, y'all can call me Hargird," the giant man called over his shoulder as they approached the lake.
"What are we doing? Are we boating across the lake?" Lily wispered to Melanie.
"It sure looks like it," said Marlene, coming up and walking with them.
"Great," Lily said quietly. She didn't like water very much, and could swim at all,
"Com' on now ev'ryone! Four ter a boat. Hurry now," Hagrid shouted, heading to the boat at the front of the fleet.
"Let's go find a boat," said Marlene, motioning to a boat. As they walked up to it, James and Sirius came running up and say down in the boat so that there was only room for two of the three girls.
"Move Potter," Lily said, looking at the two boys. James was grinning mischviously.
"No, that's okay, im quite comfortable where I am. Thank you for asking though," James said smoothly, leaning back.
"It's okay Lily. I'll go over there with Alice," said Marlene, walking over to a boat where Alice was talking to Remus and Peter.
"Come on, what are you waiting for?" said Sirius, motioning to the seats across from him and James. Lily sighed and got it, seeing that there was no room anywhere else.
As the boat started to move, Lily looked up and saw the amazing sight of Hogwarts out in the distance. She stared at it's beauty for a few minutes, then looked down at the water. She bent over the side of the boat, and looked at her reflection. She heard sniggers behind her, and the boat began to wobble.
"Stop it Potter!" Lily snapped, whipping her head around to face the grinning boy.
"Make me!" James said childishly and he and Sirius began to rock the boat more. Lily held on to the side tightly, afraid she would fall in. The boat gave an especially large lurch and before she knew what was happening, Lily was tumbling face first into the water.
As she flipped out of the boat, she felt someone grab at her, but they missed, and she was devoured by the icy coldness that was the lake. She struggled for air, but couldn't find the surface, couldn't see a thing. She couldn't swim, she knew she would drown. All she could think about was air, as water continued to fill her lungs.
She struggled until she found the surface, but was immediately re-submerged. She was feeling extremely lightheaded when a large hand reached into the water and pulled her up and into the boat. She coughed and gasped for breath, and once she had calmed down, she looked up at her rescuer. It was Hagrid. She looked around and saw Melanie, James, and Sirius. They all were white in the face. Especially James.
Lily was suddenly flooded with rage, but calmed herself. James knew that she couldn't swim, and, even though he hated her, he wouldn't try to kill her– that was taking it to a bit of an extreme. She suddenly became aware that everyone was looking at her, as she was still couching the water from her lungs, but she had little time to be embarrassed. The boats soon reached the shore, and they were all ushered off the boats.
"You okay?" came the voice of Hagrid from behind her.
"Yeah, I will be. Thanks for saving me," Lily said, smiling kindly. She took a closer look at the man in front of her. Although he was very large, he looked to be no older than 30 or 35. His black hair was just barely speckled with gray, and he had a beard covering his smiling face.
"Oh, it was really no problem. Why don' cha go catch up with yer friends there?" said Hagrid, and Lily shot him one last smile before running up to the rest of the first years.
Once Lily had caught up, Melanie and Marlene rushed over to her, hugging her, and making sure she was alright.
"James and Sirius are really sorry. They were just fooling around, they didn't know you would fall in," said Melanie.
"Uh huh, sure," Lily said, trying not to get mad. She didn't want to be thought of as the girl with a horrible temper on her first day at this new school.
"Lily!" said Alice, as she, Remus and Peter came up to her, "Are you alright?" she asked, hugging her tightly.
"Yeah," Lily lied. In reality, she was terrified, not to mention cold and wet. She was visibly shivering, even though Hagrid had given her his moleskin overcoat once he pulled her up onto his boat.
"James and Sirius said they were really sorry," said Remus quietly. As he said that, none other than James and Sirius walked up. Sirius looked really sorry, and James looked like he had been taken by surprise.
"Are you alright Lily?" Sirius asked, well, seriously, "I'm really sorry. I didn't know you were leaning over the side when we were rocking it, and I had no idea you would fall in," Lily nodded when he was done speaking, signaling that she accepted his apology, even though she wasn't even leaning over the side when she had fallen over.
James then opened his mouth to speak as well, but before he had a chance, a man, who was standing by the door, began to speak.
"Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am Horace Slughorn, potions master and deputy headmaster," the man said. He was rather short and fat, with ginger-blonde hair, and a big bushy mustache of the same color. He then went on to explain about the four houses, and carefully stated that he was the head of Slytherin. After he was done talking, he lead them all inside, up many flights of stairs, and stopped them in front of a large set of double doors.
"You all must wait here until they are ready for you inside, at which point you will be sorted into your houses. Now, if you will excuse me..." and with that he disappeared through the double doors.
"Which house do you think you will be in?" Lily asked her group of friends.
"Gryffindor. At least, I hope so," Melanie answered.
"Probably Gryffindor. Everyone in my family has been in Gryffindor," replied James.
"Probably Ravenclaw," Remus said, and Alice agreed with him that she would most likely be in Ravenclaw as well, although Gryffindor would be pretty good too. However, before anyone else could give and answer, Professor Slughorn was back.
"Everything is ready. Please follow me into the Great Hall. Oh, and uh, look up," he added with a slight chuckle. As they headed into the hall, looking up, they were amazed to find that there was no ceiling. At least, it looked that way. Remus however, told them all that it was bewitched to look like the sky outside, and he had read about it in Hogwarts: A History.
They walked between two long tables full of kids and came to a stop in front of another long table. This one appeared to be full of staff members. However, before Lily got a decent look around, Professor Slughorn was talking again.
"Now, when I call your name, you will come up and sit on the stool (he gestured to a three-legged stool behind him) and I will put the Sorting Hat on your head. You will then be sorted into your appropriate house. So, let us begin. Allemone, Kady," A tall, skinny girl with dark brown hair walked slowly up to the stool, sat down, and let Professor Slughorn drop the hat over her head.
It took a while, and after about a minute, Melanie began to look around among the kids, and smile. She poked Lily and wispered, "Come here, I want you to meet someone." Lily and Melanie slowly made their way over to two girls standing right at the front of the clump of kids.
One of the girls had bright red hair and light brown eyes, while the other girl had black hair down to her waist, and dark blue eyes. Both girls were fairly short, and when Melanie tapped the red-head, she gave a quiet squeal of delight and hugged Melanie.
"Oh my gosh, Melanie! I didn't know you were going to start at Hogwarts this year! This is Emmeline Vance by the way," said the girl, smiling warmly.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Melanie. Lily, this is Michelle Weasley, her older brother Arthur is marrying my cousin. And this is Lily," said Melanie. She opened her mouth to speak again, but was interrupted by a loud cry of, "HUFFLEPUFF," The four girls looked up in time to see Kady Allemone walking over to the Hufflepuff table, who were all cheering. That took quite a long time, Lily thought, as the cheers died down, I really hope it doesn't take that long for me. Or for anyone else because I'm starting to get hungry. Professor Slughorn then called the next name on the list, Bellatrix Black. Sirius looked away, and stayed quiet while he watched his cousin walk up to the stool, slowly and confidently.
The second the hat touched Bellatrix's head, it shouted, "SLYTHERIN," and she happily walked over to the Slytherin table, her long, black hair bouncing behind her. James rolled his eyes and made a noise of disgust.
"Black, Sirius," called Professor Slughorn, and James's eyes widened it surprise. He had never found out Sirius's surname, but never in a million years would he have guessed that it was Black.
"Black?" James asked, looking at the boy beside him. Sirius's facial expression was a mixture of guilt and nerves.
Sirius hesitantly walked forward, and James stared after him, not really sure what to think about his new friend. He's probably going to be in stupid Slytherin. There goes a friendship right out the door.
Meanwhile, Sirius was walking up to the stool, praying that he wouldn't be put in Slytherin. Well, here it goes, he thought.
He sat down on the stool, and, like his cousin, the hat shouted a house after only a few seconds of being on his head. However, the house was not Slytherin, but Gryffindor. A stunned silence filled the hall for a few seconds, but then the Gryffindor table erupted in cheers, and Sirius walked over to the table. Lily smiled, knowing that he would be very happy, and James smiled too, glad to see that he hadn't been wrong about his newest friend.
Lily watched as two Slytherins were sorted, and the next person called was Diggory, Amos. Lily's apprehension began growing, as suspected she would be soon. After only about 15 seconds, Amos Diggory was sorted into Hufflepuff, and Lily heard her name called above the cheering of the Hufflepuffs.
"Evans, Lily," Melanie wispered her good luck as she stepped forward and sat on the stool. Professor Slughorn dropped the hat on her head, covering her eyes, so all she could see was the inside of the hat.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" a voice wispered in her ear. Is the hat talking to me? Lily wondered, figuring it was perfectly possible. They were, after all, in a magic school.
"Of course I am talking to you, who else would I be talking to, myself? Now, where should I put you? You are extremely clever, as well as quite brave, and loyal. Hmm... determined, your mind is set on your goals... Slytherin would suit you well, but no, perhaps that isn't the best choice. But what to make of the others?" the hat wispered to her again.
Gryffindor, please, Lily thought at the very back of her mind.
"Hmm...yes, Gryffindor would be a good choice for you. You bravery exceeds all of your other traits. Yes, great things your future will behold. Quite great," the hat said, and before Lily had time to ask what the great things were, the hat shouted Gryffindor for the whole hall to hear. The Gryffindor table burst into cheers as Lily walked over and took a seat next to Sirius.
"Congratulations," Sirius said as Lily took her seat.
"Thanks, you too," said Lily. The two turned their attention back to the hall as identical twins Matty and Mike Gilkens were both sorted into Ravenclaw. Lily looked down at the table and saw large gold serving plates all over the table. Lily again realized how hungry she was. She stared at her plate longingly for quite some time.
"HUFFLEPUFF," came a sudden cry from the sorting hat. Lily looked up and saw a boy with tan skin and black hair walk over to the Hufflepuff table. There seemed to be less people standing at the front of the hall, and she suspected that she had been lost in thought for quite some time.
"LaFleur, Rose," called Professor Slughorn, and a girl with straight blonde hair walked up to the stool. Lily started to giggle, seeing as she had taken French at her muggle school.
"What's so funny?" Sirius asked.
"In French, her name literally means Rose the flower," Lily said as Rose was sorted into Ravenclaw.
"Leoni, Alice," Professor Slughorn said, and Alice walked up to the stool.
"Gryffindor," yelled the hat after only a few seconds, and Lily cheered loudly with the rest of the table as Alice came and sat next to Lily. The two of them looked up as Remus was called. He walked up and Lily realized that he looked extremely pale and shaky.
"He doesn't look too good. He looks really tired," Lily wispered to Alice as the hat contemplated the house in which to place Remus.
"Yeah, well, he was sick a few days ago," Alice said quickly. Lily nodded in understanding as the Sorting hat made up its mind.
"Gryffindor," yelled the hat and Remus made his way over to the Gryffindor table. He sat down across from Sirius and began to talk to him. They were soon interrupted by Professor Slughorn, who called Marlene up next to be sorted.
She walked up to the stool and sat down, grinning excitedly. As the hat was dropped over her head, she began to swing her legs that were inches from the floor. About a minute later the hat came to a decision.
"Gryffindor," Marlene walked over to the table as they all cheered.
"Dang, that is one psycho hat. Did it talk to you guys?" she asked, sitting down next to Remus.
"Yeah, it told me I would do 'great things in my future', but wouldn't tell me what they were." Lily said as the next person, Vicky Nestle was put in Ravenclaw. The next person called was Peter Pettigrew. He sat down on the stool, and the hat was put on his head.
"That is one weird kid. During the ride over here in the boats, he was singing songs from the Phantom of the Opera, and we couldn't get him to stop," Marlene said, to the agreement of Alice and Remus. He took a very long time, much longer than Kady Allemone. Finally, the hat screamed Gryffindor, and Marlene rolled her eyes as he sat down next to Alice.
"Potter, James," Professor Slughorn said, and James walked forward. Lily was praying that he did not her put into Gryffindor, but she had no suck luck, for about ten seconds later, the hat yelled Gryffindor, and James happily came over and sat down next to Marlene.
The next person to go up to be sorted was Melanie, and Lily watched curiously, hoping she, too, would be in Gryffindor. This time, she did get her wish. The Sorting hat screamed Gryffindor only seconds after being placed on her head.
"Congratulations," Lily said to her as she sat down next to James. Melanie was about to answer when Professor Slughorn called out the next name.
"Snape, Severus," When this name was called, Sirius turned around and looked at him menacingly. Marlene looked too, and received a great shock.
"Hey, that's the kid that was hexing me on the train," Marlene said, looking at him as he walked over to the stool. He sat down and, just like what happened with Bellatrix Black, the had shouted Slytherin the second it touched his head, "Dirty idiot," Sirius mumbled as he smugly walked over to the Slytherin Table, his greasy hair falling around his face.
"Thank God it's almost done, I'm so hungry," Remus said, staring longingly at his empty plate. Lily looked up and saw that he was right. There were only three people left waiting, and a fourth being sorted right then. She was soon sorted into Hufflepuff, and Emmeline Vance, the person Lily had met earlier that night was called up. She was sorted into Ravenclaw quite quickly.
"Look," Melanie said to Lily, leaning across James, "Michelle is next," and, as Melanie had said, Michele Weasley was indeed walking up to the stool, "I hope she gets in Gryffindor." However, Michelle had been put in Ravenclaw, and after the last person, Patricia Zabini, had been sorted into Slytherin, a tall man at the center of the staff table stood up. He had long, auburn-white hair, and a long auburn-white beard.
"Welcome to Hogwarts to all of our new students. And welcome back to all of you old ones. I am Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster. I would like to say a few words, but I see you are all quite hungry, so I will save them for after the feast. Dig in!" And with that, all of the serving plates were filled with food, and the pitchers were filled with drinks.
Lily looked around in awe, deciding what to eat first. All of her favorite foods were there, but before she could make a decision, she heard a nasty noise next to her. She looked around and saw Sirius shoveling food into his mouth at top sped. He barely paused to take a breath. Because of this, he was soon choking, and Lily had to thump him on the back to help clear his windpipe.
"Thanks a lot Lily," Sirius said brightly before returning to his food. Lily just rolled her eyes and chuckled.
"Boys are hopeless," she said. Alice quickly agreed with her. James, who was sitting across from Alice, was also shoveling food in his mouth, even faster than Sirius. All of the girls started laughing as Sirius, James, and Remus held a contest to see who could eat a dozen rolls the fastest, which Remus surprisingly won.
Once everyone was done eating, and the last of the desserts had magically disappeared, Dumbledore stood up once again.
"Now that we are all well fed, I would like to make a few announcements. The forest on the grounds is forbidden to all students, no exceptions. Also, I would like to introduce you to our new caretaker, Mr. Argus Filch. And now, I am sure you are all very tired, so, goodnight," As Dumbledore finished talking, there was a dull scrape of chairs as everyone stood up to go to bed.
All of the first years followed a prefect named Judy up to the common room, and were told that the password was Pistons, and they were showed where their dormitories were. The four girls walked in to find that their belongings were already in front of their beds.
The girls all said their goodnights and got into bed. Lily lay awake, perfectly happy, not even believing that just hours ago, she had almost drown in the lake.
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Okay, there you go. REIVEW! And about the password... What can I say? I'm a metro Detroit girl born and raised, the Pistons are my homies, lol. And if you don't know who the Pistons are... well that is just SAD! (Basketball team, lol)
So yes. Tell me if you liked it! REIVEW! Hopefully the next chapter should be up on Saturday