To say Harry was nervous would be an understatement

21/10/2008 14:34:00

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything related to it. This is also the disclaimer for the last chapter because I forgot.

A/N: Another chapter so soon. I have to say that I'm proud of myself, as I was up late last night doing work. I'm also disappointed in myself that I didn't fulfill my threat of not updating unless I got reviews. This time I won't, so I won't update until I get more REVIEWS and this time I'm dead serious. (NO PUN). RRREEEVVVIIIIEEWWW!!

To say Harry was nervous would be an understatement. He was standing outside the Great Hall in his invisibility cloak, waiting for his queue to get sorted. It was nerve-racking, torture and terrifying for Harry all at once. He was going to be sorted in front of his parents, in the past and he may even get a chance to know them.

When he heard Dumbledore finish his speech, he removed the cloak and stuffed it in his robes. He took a deep breath and walked into the Great Hall. He could feel the stares of the students observing him as he walked past, but he determinately kept his eyes lock on Dumbledore. It's not like the stares made him uncomfortable or something, as he's endured worse, but he was worried that if he saw a familiar face that he would freeze up. That would be bad.

Once he reached Dumbledore, McGonagall arrived behind him and set down the stool. Once, he took his seat, she placed the Hat on his head.

"Hmm.. interesting. A future boy, eh? Well, you seem nervous about all this past business, so I think I shall place you we're your comfortable. Yes, Gryffindor is a good place for you, but don't think that I still don't believe you'd have done good in Slytherin. I stand by what I'll say in the future." The hat said in his mind, then out loud, he shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!".

The Great Hall clapped, especially the Gryffindors. McGonagall took the hat and stool as Harry made his way over to Dumbledore. They had agreed in the morning that after he got sorted, the would talk briefly.

"Congratulations, Harry. I hope this is were you wanted to go?" he asked.

Harry nodded his head.

"I have one word of warning though. You must not tell anyone your secret, even if they find out, you must not tell them anything. Not even details you think are unimportant. Do you understand?"

Harry nodded again. Dumbledore turned and addressed the students.

"Harry Porter has been sorted into Gryffindor." More cheers. "I hope you will treat him with respect and kindness."

Dumbledore sat down and Harry made his way over to the Gryffindor table. His eyes scanned for a familiar face. When his eyes came to about the middle of the table, a girl with long red hair and bright green eyes stood up and waved him over. Lily Evans. He went over to her a sat down opposite her.

"I'm Lily Evans. Head Girl." She said when he sat down. "And these are my best friends Alice Anderson and Marlene McKinnon." She pointed to a girl with medium length brown hair and bore a remarkable resemblance to Neville. Then she pointed to a girl with long blond hair and intelligent blue eyes.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Harry Porter." He said, introducing himself.

"Why are you coming to Hogwarts so late?" inquired Marlene.

"My uncle got transferred back here, so I had to come to. I used to live here, but when I was eight, we moved to America." He answered smoothly.

"What does your uncle do?" asked Alice.

"He works for a Drill company. He's a muggle."

"Oh."

Harry started to eat while Lily, Alice and Marlene talked about things he couldn't follow. It was all girl stuff, so he just satisfied himself to listen to his mother. He laughed at some of the things they said and smiled, but he did feel a bit lonely. He had no one here that he could discuss things with, or just talk, because everyone here was pretty much a stranger. He wished Ginny were here. As the conversations got a bit boring to him, he started to force out his laughs when they laughed. The subject changed to Hogwarts. They were talking about the past and the current students, but Harry couldn't help but feel like Hermione was lecturing him and Ron about her favorite book; Hogwarts, A History. He decided to change the topic.

"Who are the Marauders?" he asked suddenly.

"They're the biggest pranksters in the school. There's James Potter; he has the messy dark hair and glasses. Then there's Sirius Black; the one with the longer dark hair. Across from him, there's Remus Lupin; the brown haired one. And lastly there's Peter Pettigrew; the blond one." Alice informed him.

Harry already knew which ones they were of course, but he couldn't let the others know. Alice started to into detail about the pranks they've pulled, the crazy stunts, the fights and what they're like. Harry listened with unwavering attention, completely unaware that Lily was watching and observing him.

"They're all really hot," Marlene was explaining. "Except for Peter. And smart. Except for Peter again. I don't know why they're friends with him, he's the complete opposite."

Harry was less excited to here about their hotness and when she mentioned Peter, he felt anger coarse through him, but he quickly got control of it and settled down.

During the conversation about the Marauders, Harry became aware that Lily was watching him and probably analyzing him. He didn't mind, she could come to any conclusion about him and would still be wrong.

Later, McGonagall came over and gave him his timetable. He smiled when he saw his classes. He had DADA, Charms, History of Magic, Transfiguration, Potions, Care of Magical Creatures and Divination. He really hoped that the Divination teach wouldn't predict his death every class like Trelawney did.

"What do you have?" asked Alice.

"Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms, Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures and History of Magic and Divination."

"You have most of my classes!" Lily exclaimed. "Except I also take Ancient Runes!"

"Cool."

Another hour was spent swapping stories with Alice, Marlene and Lily, but was very careful to not let anything slip. He tried to stay as close as he could to the truth, but it was hard. He also enjoyed hearing the stories of what Lily and her friends got up to at Hogwarts. He knew almost nothing about his mum, so this was a good change. Most of the stories told by Remus and Sirius were mostly about his dad.

Students started to leave the Great Hall, so Harry assumed that dinner was coming to an end. He was about to leave when Lily asked something he would rather not answer.

"Why did Dumbledore say that you and your Uncle moved back here? Don't you live with your parents?"

Harry felt a wave of sadness hit him, and when he answered, "My parents died when I was young, so I went to live with my Uncle." He said it in a whisper.

Harry all of a sudden felt very tired, so when he said that he was going to bed. Maybe the time traveling had finally caught up to him.

"Do you know the way?" asked Lily.

Harry shook his head, he wasn't supposed to know his way around Hogwarts yet.

They got up and left the table and Alice and Marlene behind them. Harry was looking around him and gasped when he saw a ghost when they were going up the stairs. He needed to act like someone who has never been in Hogwarts before.

"This must be really different than America."

"Ya. Before it was just me and some friends who were taught by a friends dad."

"Don't they have the Trace there?"

Harry just shrugged. He actually had no idea if there was the Trace in America. They continued on for a bit in silence.

"I'm sorry I brought up your parents at dinner." Lily finally said, breaking the silence. Harry felt miserable all over again, but he realized that Lily was sincerely sorry.

"It's ok. I was one when they died, so I don't remember them. I only know what they look like through pictures and what they sound like through memories that I've seen." He fell silent again.

Lily looked like she was deep in thought. Harry assumed she was thinking about what he had just said.

They were silent for the rest of the walk and departed for the night once they reached the common room. She told him goodnight and went to the girls dormitory while he went to the boys'.

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