Remus' heart thundered in his chest as he walked through the Great Hall. He felt hundreds of eyes on him and focused his own on the ragged hat, perched on a three-legged stool, ahead of them.
It came as quite a shock when the patched and frayed hat suddenly opened a rip near the brim and sang a song to the Hall. The song described each of the four houses and their founders, Remus found himself comparing himself with all of the houses and wondering where he would end up.
The Hogwarts students burst into applause when the hat finished its rendition.
Professor McGonagall stepped up beside the stool.
'When I call your name, come forth and I shall place the Sorting Hat on your head,' Remus swallowed noisily. 'Adrian, Joseph,'
A wispy looking boy with straw-like brown hair stepped up to Professor McGonagall, who placed the hat on his head.
'HUFFLEPUFF!' the hat cried to the hall. One of the middle tables applauded as Adrian joined them.
'Black, Sirius,'
A boy with long messy black hair sauntered up to the stool and flashed a wide grin as Professor McGonagall lowered the hat onto his head.
'GRYFFINDOR!' the hat shouted a moment later. The table on the far left cheered loudly and Sirius Black fist pumped on his way over to it.
'Bole, Anthony,' was sorted into Slytherin and the table on the far right applauded loudly. A prefect with white blond hair patted Bole on the back as he took a seat at the table.
The Bones twins, Amelia and Edgar, were sorted into Hufflepuff. 'Botteril', 'Catchlove', and 'Carter' were sorted into Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw respectively, before another set of twins, Felix and Hermes Clarke, were split between Ravenclaw and Slytherin. The blond boy Remus and Pete had shared a boat with, 'Dearborn, Caradoc' joined Felix at the Ravenclaw table.
Next up was the red headed 'Evans, Lily', who was sorted into Gryffindor after a second of the hat being placed on her head. The black haired boy Remus had seen talking to her before groaned loudly from beside him. 'Frobisher' and 'Harper' joined the Slytherin table and left only half of the First Years to be sorted.
'Jagger, Erebus', headed to Ravenclaw before the friendly 'Jones, Hestia' took a seat by Lily at the Gryffindor table. 'Jorkins' went to Hufflepuff and 'Knight' and 'Lawrence' to Ravenclaw before finally:
'Lupin, Remus', Remus took a deep breath and stepped up to the stool. Pete whispered 'good luck' as he went. He caught Albus Dumbledore's eye and could have sworn that the Headmaster had smiled reassuringly at him. The next thing he knew was darkness as the hat dropped in front of his eyes.
'Interesting, very interesting indeed,' said a reedy voice in Remus' ear. What's interesting? Remus wondered. 'You've certainly got a mix of houses, that's what's interesting,' the voice told him. Remus didn't question that the hat could hear his thoughts. 'Ravenclaw you think? Really? I can see why, but I don't think that's where you belong. No, and I don't think Hufflepuff is the place for you either. Definitely not Slytherin. So it had better be GRYFFINDOR!'
Remus heard the hat shout the last word to the Hall and once the hat was taken from his head, he staggered weakly over to the Gryffindor table smiling all the way in disbelief. All he had heard about Gryffindors were that they were brave, but Remus didn't think he was brave. Sirius Black clapped him on the back as he sat down and Hestia Jones beamed at him.
There were only a dozen First Years left, and Remus was just beginning to realise how hungry he was. 'MacDonald', 'McKinnon', 'Meadowes' were sorted before 'Pettigrew, Peter' who looked absolutely astonished to be sorted into Gryffindor. Remus congratulated him as he sat down opposite, still looking shocked. 'Potter, James', the messy haired boy with glasses, also joined them. 'Pritchard', 'Snape' and 'Stebbins' all went to Slytherin. Then it was 'Trelawney', 'Vance', 'Zabini' and 'Zeller' before Professor McGonagall finally rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away.
The Hall fell silent as Professor Dumbledore stood up.
'Tuck in!' he ordered, and suddenly the golden plates in front of the students bloomed with all sorts of delicious and delectable foods. Remus looked back at the bearded Headmaster and caught another smile; Remus smiled back and began piling all sorts of food onto his plate.
That feast was the happiest time Remus could remember. He talked and laughed with the other First Years as they stuffed themselves with roast beef and Yorkshire puddings. He still couldn't really believe that he was truly at Hogwarts, surrounded by people who could easily become his friends.
Sirius, James and Peter were easy to get along with. Sirius liked to laugh and James liked to talk. Peter and Remus both found that they were happy to listen. Remus got talking to Hestia about the lessons as he dug into some strawberry cheesecake. Beside her Lily, Marlene, Mary and Emmeline were admiring the bewitched ceiling. It reflected the sky outside and was currently clear and starlit.
Once Remus was feeling full up and sleepy, Albus Dumbledore stood up for a speech once more.
'Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts!' he called over their content heads, 'I have just a few of the usual start of term announcements to make, and then you can all head off to bed,' a number of people clapped and whooped at the prospect of their beds. 'First Years should note that the dark forest in the grounds is strictly forbidden, and that rule still extends to you older students.' Sirius nudged James. 'I should also remind you all that magic is not to be used in the corridors, and Mr Filch has compiled a list of magical items that are banned at Hogwarts. Any students wishing to check this list will find it on Mr Filch's office door.
'I also wish to introduce our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, who has accepted the position after Professor Blair's resignation. Please give a round of applause to Professor Leto!' Dumbledore led the applause as a small, grey haired witch in matching green robes and pointed hat stood up.
'And finally, the House Quidditch try outs will take place next weekend and anyone wishing to play for their House team should see Madam Hooch before next Friday. That is all! Now let us sing the School Song and you can get off to sleep!'
Remus noticed that Professor McGonagall looked a little less than thrilled in her seat beside the Headmaster's throne-like chair.
A Gryffindor prefect named Richards led the First Years out of the Great Hall to the Grand Staircase. He pointed out that the huge marble staircase was prone to move. Remus had to crane his neck to see up to the top floor of the staircase. His legs felt like lead by the time they made it through hanging tapestries and hidden doors to the seventh floor corridor, where he found himself facing a portrait of a rather large woman in a pink dress.
'Password?' she asked,
'Carpe diem,' Richards replied.
'Indeed,' the portrait of the Fat Lady swung forward to reveal a room beyond. Remus clambered over the step after Pete, who needed a leg up, and found himself in the Gryffindor Common Room. There was a fireplace surrounded by squashy armchairs and portraits hanging on the walls of the round room. The view from the windows showed that they were in one of the towers.
'Welcome to Gryffindor Tower,' Richards said, 'lessons start tomorrow and all your belongings have already been brought up for you. The boys' dormitory is through that door and to your left, girls, the same to your right. The First Year dorms are on the first floor. Have a good night,'
Remus followed James and Sirius through the door and to the left, Peter came behind. Remus only just had the energy to strip off out of his robes before he collapsed on his bed, fast asleep.