September 1st, 1971
The first years filed in, leaving several feet before the hat until McGonagall beckoned them closer. They looked bemused at each other as the whole hall stared expectantly at the battered old hat. To the boy's astonishment, a large rip opened wide and the hat began singing very loudly.
No, you haven't gone round the bend
I am a magical singing hat
It's my job to find a place for you
So try me on, let's chat
I can see inside your head
No secret can you hide
But no need to fret or fear
In me, you can confide
Hufflepuff could be your place
If you love loyalty and hard work
Patient Hufflepuffs are friends to all
And sure to never shirk
Ravenclaw could help you soar
If you treasure wit
Clever students who want to learn
Are sure to find Ravenclaw a fit
Or maybe Slytherin
Is where you will find your kind
Thoughts cunning and ambitious
Cross every Serpent's mind
Lastly, Gryffindor
Might help you to succeed
Those mighty lions are unafraid
Of any chivalrous deed.
Go ahead and try me on!
Put away your fears
I will find the house for you
By looking between your ears
The first years were entranced by the song. Every house sounded fantastic and many of them believed that they didn't quite have any of those qualities. Professor McGonagall raised a hand to quickly call for quiet. She held a long piece of parchment and began to crisply call names off of it. "Abbott, Julie" was the first student to shyly make her way up to the hat and place it on her head. Her blonde-hair became mussed by the old hat that was much too large for her head. Julie looked briefly surprised and began muttering to herself, but the other students heard nothing from the sorting hat until it shouted with gusto "HUFFLEPUFF". One of the two middle tables roared with cheers, and Julie ran over to sit by them with relief.
Sirius had been growing steadily paler with these proceedings. He was very uncomfortable with the hat seeing inside of his head. He knew that he was probably bound for the Slytherin table, but it would still hurt to have the magical object confirm that he was just like his family. Sirius was shaking a little when McGonagall called "Black, Sirius". James was a little shocked to hear Sirius' surname, but he quickly masked it. When Sirius moved slowly towards the hat, James gave him a quick pat on the shoulder for support. Sirius smiled tightly back at him. He lowered the hat onto his head and thought strongly about how much he wanted to be friends with the black-haired boy. Sirius knew that his family thought that the Potters were blood traitors, but he was finding that that did not matter to him. "Bravery to make your own decisions eh?" a gravelly voice said in his mind. "You are a very unusual Black aren't you? I like it. Your family could use a little shaking up."
Sirius beamed. The hat knew that he was different. "No question where to put you though" the hat said, and Sirius waited for the inevitable call of Slytherin. The hat opened its brim wide and shouted "GRYFFINDOR". Sirius looked confused, but ran to the cheering table. The applause was punctuated though by whispered voices at every table. The Gryffindors looked thrilled to take a student from the Slytherins, but when Sirius sat down they still gave him a rather wide berth. Every student there knew about the Black family. The Slytherin table was in an uproar. They booed the eleven-year-old until Professor McGonagall threatened to take away house points if there wasn't quiet. McGonagall began to call names again, but everyone seemed a little shakier than they had before. James sought Sirius' gaze at the end of the Gryffindor table and gave him a big thumbs up.
The three remaining boys' attention wandered as Professor McGonagall continued to call names. Peter and Remus had fallen into a debate about Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, while James was insisting that everyone should try for Gryffindor so that they could all be together. "I don't think you can really try for anything. The hat just knows where you belong" Remus said as he watched the red-haired girl from the train take her place in Gryffindor. James watched the girl for a minute too, before letting out a small roar like a lion. James knew that he would be in Gryffindor. Several of the first years jumped and McGonagall glared at the boy.
Remus let out a small laugh. He was so nervous that it was good to have a distraction. When Frank Longbottom walked up the hat though, nothing could take his attention away from the sorting. Remus was pretty sure that he would be next. His nerves returned in full force. He imagined trying on the hat and having it just sit on his head unable to sort a werewolf. He imagined the hat shouting in its gravelly voice that there had been a terrible mistake, and this beast must be sent away quickly. His secret would be out and the magical world would no longer be safe for him. When McGonagall finally called "Lupin, Remus" the rest of the color had drained from his normally pale face. James looked at him in a little bit of surprise. Remus looked even worse off than Sirius had earlier.
Remus tried on the hat with a defiant look in his eyes. He was prepared for the worst. The hat just chuckled in his ear for a few seconds. "No need to fear there. I won't tell anyone about your lycanthropy. You are my first werewolf though. Where to put you?" Remus breathed a deep sigh of relief. He was fine with any house as long as he got to stay at Hogwarts. "You do value learning. You would do well in Ravenclaw where there is such a thirst for knowledge, but you have to bear a lot. To face your illness every month, and not be able to confide to anyone that takes great bravery. There is just one place for you." The hat paused for a second as though considering something. "One more thing Remus, don't forget that you belong at this school." Remus beamed. "GRYFFINDOR" the hat finally yelled, and Remus ran off to sit with Sirius.
Marlene McKinnon soon joined the table and the Gryffindors were having a hard time keeping quiet for the rest of the sorting. Everyone seemed eager to get to know each other. Sirius and Remus shushed the other first years though as Peter Pettigrew walked up the hat. The hat slid down across the short boy's forehead and covered up his blonde eyebrows. A minute or two passed and everyone stared expectantly at the hat. It remained resolutely silent though.
"I can see that you do have some bravery, yes." The hat said, but the voice frightened Peter. "You are also cunning. You only act when it suits your own needs. Hmm, you are definitely a tough one to place Peter. Ravenclaw is definitely not a fit, and Hufflepuffs are far too loyal and kind." The noise level was starting to rise in the hall as whispers of hatstall were thrown around. Over five minutes had passed and Peter was more than ready to get off of the small stool and out of the spotlight. The hat finally sighed, "Anywhere I choose will not be a perfect fit. You could do well in either Gryffindor or Slytherin. Be careful which house qualities you choose to embody." Peter looked over to the table where Remus and Sirius sat grinning. I would prefer to be in Gryffindor, he thought desperately. "Gryffindor? Well, it is brave of you to ask." And without further comment "GRYFFINDOR" was shouted once more into the hall.
It was James' turn to look nervous as McGonagall called him to the hat. For all of his bluster, James still worried that he would be placed somewhere else. None of the other houses held any appeal for him, and as he put on the hat he murmured Gryffindor softly over and over. "I see your point" the hat said and shouted "GRYFFINDOR" before the hat was even firmly place on his head. The other students looked a little relieved as they shouted for James. It was nice to have an easy sort after Peter.
James beamed and sprinted to the Gryffindor table with his fist in the air. He high-fived the other boys, and they all grinned foolishly at each other. All of them had made it to Gryffindor. The rest of the sorting seemed to go agonizingly slow as they waited for their supper. James and Sirius begged the older students around them to describe the welcome feast, and after a few minutes they were all drooling with anticipation. They were just deciding what type of desert they wanted to eat (all of them, of course) when Snape, Severus was called to take his turn with the hat. A flash of dislike passed over James and Sirius's faces as they remembered the scene on the train. The hat wasn't even properly lowered onto Snape's head before "SLYTHERIN" was shouted. Sirius snorted "It probably made a quick decision because it didn't want to touch Snivellus's greasy hair." James laughed loudly, but Lily, the red-haired girl shot them both looks of pure venom from across the table. "Leave him alone" she hissed. They were still giggling as Snape crossed to the Slytherin table and was clapped on the back by a blonde-haired prefect.
After Snape, it wasn't long until every first year was sorted. By this time many of the students' stomachs were growling for food. Albus Dumbledore walked to the center of the room and surveyed them all happily. "I am sure everyone would like to get to the feast soon" He said. His eyes twinkled knowingly. "I would never dare to stand before a few hundred teenagers and their dinner. Tuck in" Dumbledore said and before the appreciative chuckle had died down food appeared on the tables. Even James, whose mum was an excellent chef, was impressed by the variety and quality of the food. All of them ate more than they thought possible. Slender Remus impressed them all by wolfing down three steaks. He grinned at their shocked expressions. The moon was later that week, and he would need all the fuel he could get then. That night was one that they would always remember. They ate, drank, and enjoyed fantastic conversation. The prefect that led the boys to their dormitory that night was a little surprised that they were all first years. It seemed like their friendship had already lasted much longer than a single day.
A/N: Thank you for the reviews and follows! They mean so much. Please let me know if you see anything I can do to improve :)