Disclaimer: Not mine, I'm just using the characters as puppets.

Author's note: This was definitely the most fun chapter to write so far. You'll get to see the Sorting, where the story starts really changing from the books. :) Please let me know what you think! The feedback I've been getting so far seems good, but tell me if you see any errors or anything.

Chapter Two

Several hours later, Severus emerged from the train looking quite hassled. During the trip, James and Sirius had bought everything on the sweets trolley… and they had eaten it all. Needless to say, it hadn't been a pleasant ride.

It was already quite dark out, and the platform was very small and very crowded. The boy had been pushed aside roughly as James and Sirius practically charged off the train, but he simply let out an angry "Hmmph!" and turned to help Lily off.

"Thank goodness we're here, I don't think I could handle another minute stuck with those two," he complained. "I feel bad for whoever ends up in their dormitory."

Lily's mouth twisted in sympathy for those yet-unknown roommates. "I think I'd go mad before Christmas," she replied. "Thank goodness I'm not a boy! Do you really think I'll be in Gryffindor? Or Ravenclaw? I don't know much about magic at all." Her expression was doubtful.

"It doesn't matter, you're still a brilliant student," Severus replied with a small smile. "Anyway, we'll be Sorted soon. We should probably get going. We don't want to be late for the feast."

The two of them could hear Hagrid's shouts of "Firs' years, over here!" and they quickly made their way to the docks. "We take the boats this year, but the next years we'll be in the carriages," Severus explained quietly to Lily. She simply nodded, her eyes wide with awe and excitement. He had forgotten what it was like to see the castle for the first time.

The two of them ended up in a boat along with a rather pallid, tired-looking boy. "Hi," he said softly, looking at Severus and Lily hopefully. "I'm Remus Lupin." Severus was startled. He hadn't even recognized the other boy. He looked worse than he had when Severus had seen him last, but that had been a while ago. His hair was long and messy, and his robes were just as shabby as they had been when he'd been a teacher. It was obvious he had just gotten over a full moon, judging by his exhausted look.

"I'm Lily Evans," Lily replied to him, her voice kind, "and this is Severus Snape. It's nice to meet you." She seemed a bit lost for a moment, unsure how to carry on the conversation. In any other circumstances, Severus would have teased her about being lost for words, but this was different. "So, Remus, what house do you want to be in?" she asked him, peering at him curiously.

The light-haired boy looked a bit surprised that she wanted to talk to him, but he responded politely. "I don't really know," he confessed. "My dad was in Gryffindor and my mom was in Ravenclaw, so I guess either of those two would be good. I'm just happy to be here, I guess." He suddenly looked alarmed and clamped his mouth shut. It was evident he hadn't meant to let the last bit slip.

Lily looked at him curiously, and Severus knew she was comparing the conversation to the one they'd had with Potter and Black. Remus couldn't be a Muggleborn, so he really had no good excuse for being happy to be at Hogwarts. Severus sighed inwardly and decided to rescue the poor boy.

"Didn't want to get sent abroad, did you?" he asked with a smirk. "Leaving your family is always hard, but it's worse when you're going to another country." He stopped when Lily subtly dug her elbow into his ribs- he knew she was trying to prevent him from making fun of Remus.

However, the light-haired boy looked relieved at the excuse, and he seized it gratefully. "Y-yes, my parents thought about sending me to Beauxbatons," he stammered. "I didn't want to leave the country, though." He smiled nervously at the other two. Severus let out a small snort and Lily looked satisfied. The three of them didn't talk much for the rest of the brief ride, Lily and Remus preferring to stare at the castle in awe.

After all the boats passed through a curtain of hanging ivy, the students clambered out out of them onto the shore. Hagrid led them up a short, muddy passage to the front entrance of the castle, where Minerva- Professor McGonagall, Severus corrected himself mentally -let them inside.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she addressed all the anxious-looking first years as they stood clustered in the entrance hall. She proceeded to explain the Sorting and how the Houses worked, as well as explaining the point systems. Severus tuned it all out until the end. As a former Head of House, he already knew everything there was to know about the Houses.

Professor McGonagall left them briefly to absorb all this new information. Lily turned to Severus immediately. "Oh, I hope we don't have to take a test or anything to be Sorted!" she said worriedly. Severus merely blinked, surprised. I didn't tell her anything about being Sorted? he wondered. Maybe Mother didn't give me that kind of information.

"I'm sure you'll be fine," he replied soothingly. "You're brilliant, remember?" He smiled at her and she grinned in response. Professor McGonagall returned and ushered them father inside, into the Great Hall. Many whispers rose among the first years upon seeing the ceiling and floating candles for the first time. Lily, Severus noted, was still looking around in awe at all the magic surrounding her.

When the first years were all gathered in the front of the hall, Professor McGonagall brought out the Sorting Hat and a stool to accompany it. It opened it brim and sang its traditional song, which Severus didn't pay the slightest bit of attention to. He had heard 15 years worth of songs from the stupid hat, and he no longer cared about House unity and whatever other rubbish it tried to force on them.

The students all burst into applause after it sang- another tradition. Lily looked around at Severus, a delighted smile on her face. He smiled thinly in return, but she didn't seem to notice. And we'll be parting ways again, dear Lily, he thought sourly to himself. But what if they both ended up in Ravenclaw or something? That would be nice, he mused. He knew it wouldn't happen, though. Lily was too strong, too brave for the hat to put her anywhere but Gryffindor.

"Avery, Matthew!" Professor McGonagall called, and Severus realized that the Sorting had begun. The boy called walked up to the hat with a smirk on his face. Severus felt an unpleasant jolt in his stomach as he recognized his old roommate and fellow Death Eater.

"SLYTHERIN!" the hat shouted, and Avery stalked proudly to his new House table amidst the cheering of the other Slytherins. Severus sighed. It was going to be a long seven years with his Housemates.

He managed to look as though he was paying attention through the rest of the Sorting, but he was preoccupied by the knowledge of suffering to come. Most of the students didn't register in his mind, but he flinched at the occasional name of a Death Eater, or, in the case of "Black, Sirius!", other varying levels of misery-causers.

He did, however, watch as Lily was called and then Sorted into Gryffindor. He even managed to give her a small smile, hiding his anguish as she was wrenched away from him again. A visibly trembling "Lupin, Remus!" was also Sorted into Gryffindor, and a dreamy looking "Lovegood, Xenophilius!" was put in Ravenclaw, to the dismay of the other eagles. "Macdonald, Mary!" followed Lupin to the Gryffindor table; Severus knew she had been one of Lily's friends.

It wasn't until "Pettigrew, Peter!" that Severus felt anything more than just a flicker of emotion. No, this was a full-blow hatred toward the man who betrayed Lily to the Dark Lord. Severus knew that he himself had played a part in it, but it had been Pettigrew who gave up James and Lily's hiding place. The slimy git didn't deserve to be put in Gryffindor. Frankly, Severus thought he didn't deserve to be put in any of the Houses, but he wouldn't be able to do anything about that. But maybe…

Severus gripped his wand hidden in his pocket. "Confundo," he whispered, directing all his anger at Pettigrew toward the Sorting Hat.

"SLYTHERIN!" the hat shouted and a pale Peter stumbled toward the green and silver-clad students. There wasn't much applause for him. Severus was grimly pleased that the spell had worked, but then, to his horror, he realized he would be sharing a dorm room with the rat. Blast it…

"Potter, James!" was called up next, and Severus was tempted to use the spell again. However, he didn't think he would survive living with the other Marauder for seven years. "GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat, and James swaggered off to his new table. Sirius greeted him with a grin and a high-five, while Severus glowered at James' proximity to Lily.

Several more students were Sorted, including "Prewett, Alice!", who became one of Lily's roommates. Then Professor McGonagall called "Snape, Severus!". Severus sighed and made his way through the remaining un-Sorted first years to the hat. When it was placed on his head, he could sense a strange, ancient magic probe his mind. Curious, he tried using some Occlumency against it, but it had no effect whatsoever on the bloody hat that was digging through his brain.

You have a strange mind, Mr. Snape, the hat told him. Severus knew instinctively that no one else could hear the conversation. A very strange mind, indeed. There are too many memories here for one so young. And you have already been Sorted? How odd. I have seen ones like you, yes, but they are few and far between.

Severus was growing impatient. How long would it take for the thing to put him in Slytherin?

Ah, just wait, young master, the hat said. It sounded amused. You have many qualities here, ones that could put you in any of the Houses. You are cunning and ambitious, certainly, but also highly intelligent. You are loyal as well, and very brave. One thing stands out most of all, I think. The girl…

It felt as though thousands of images of Lily were flying across his eyes, accompanied by emotions: pain, loss, regret, sorrow.

You are dead, are you not, Mr. Snape? the hat asked him, but Severus was sure it already knew the answer. It had undoubtedly seen him die in his memories. You died for her son, it would seem, after protecting him for many years. And you risked your life many times to provide the rebels a way to fight Voldemort. The hat could sense his discomfort, he was sure of it. It was probably laughing at him already. You even killed a man, on his orders, to put him out of his pain and suffering. That is a very brave thing, is it not, Mr. Snape?

Suddenly, Severus knew what was going to happen before it did. His stomach dropped as the hat opened its brim and shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!" There was a stunned silence in the hall, and then a smatter of clapping from the red-and-gold table. No one seemed as shocked as Severus, though. Before the hat was whisked away from his head, he heard it say, I wish you the best of luck in you endeavors, Mr. Snape.

As he walked quickly to the Gryffindor table in a bit of a daze, Severus caught sight of Lily's face. She was positively beaming at him, overjoyed that he would be with her. Severus gave her a quick grin as he squeezed in between her and Potter, ignoring the dirty looks that the other boy shot at him.

That barmy old thing knew I came back to fix things with Lily! Severus marveled in disbelief. He wasn't sure if it had Sorted him as it had because of that, or because he really belonged in Gryffindor. He suddenly remembered a conversation he'd once had with Dumbledore:

"'I sometimes think we Sort too soon,'" he had told Severus. The Potions master had been shocked then, but not nearly as much as he was now. Is an extra 26 years long enough, Albus? Severus thought wryly to himself, looking up at the teachers' table. The headmaster wasn't looking at him, but Severus knew he had probably been surprised, just like everybody else in the hall.

He couldn't pay attention for the rest of the Sorting. Between the fact that he was sitting at the Gryffindor table, and he was sitting right next to Lily Evans, there was no way he'd be able to focus on watching the other smallish children-creatures be put in their Houses. He had already seen 15 years' worth of Sorting, anyway.

Once the last of the first years had been Sorted, Professor McGonagall put away the hat and stool, and Dumbledore stood up to address the students.

"Welcome back for another wonderful year of learning," he said to them, smiling happily. "I would like to remind you all that the Forbidden Forest is still off-limits, and, no matter what you may have heard from older students, the centaurs do not appreciate you asking them for, er, pony rides." There were a few snickers at this, and Severus wondered just what had happened for an announcement like that to be made. Dumbledore continued, "Please note that an updated list of banned items can be found outside Mr. Filch's office, as well. Also, Professor Sprout would like me to let you know that we have recently planted a Whomping Willow on the Hogwarts grounds. The tree is quite antisocial, if I do say so myself, and it does not like people getting close to it. For your own safety, please stay away from it."

The headmaster looked down at all the students, eyes twinkling, and added, "Don't try putting Christmas ornaments on it in the winter, either, no matter how funny that may seen. The tree is very temperamental and can cause serious injury to anyone who gets too close to it. With that said, I am sure you are all very hungry from your trip. Let the feast begin!"

Food appeared on all the tables, much to the delight of many first years. For Severus, however, it was as normal as anything could be. Lily looked around excitedly.

"Can you believe this, Sev? It's amazing!" she exclaimed. "Magic is just incredible. I love it here already. And we're in the same House, too! We'll be together all the time, in classes and we can hang out together in the evenings, too, and at breakfast and lunch and dinner…" She trailed off, apparently imagining every aspect of the rest of the school year spent with Severus.

"Yes, it's wonderful," he replied simply, with a smile. He began loading his plate with food- he felt as though he hadn't eaten in days -and tried to ignore James gorging himself next to him. He thought purebloods usually had better manners.

Suddenly, a horrible thought hit him, freezing him with his pumpkin juice suspended comically in the air. He'd have to share a dorm with the Marauders! Severus let out a groan- why hadn't he thought of that before? He buried his head in his hands. It seemed like a very large price to pay for spending the next seven years with Lily.

Note: I don't actually know what years some of these students were born in, but I added a couple extras to make it seem more realistic. And I know Alice Longbottom's maiden name and age were never given, but Prewett seems popular, from other stories I've read. Maybe she's a distant cousin of Molly's? I thought having Mary Macdonald and Marlene McKinnon as Lily's roommates might be a little confusing. Please excuse any slight inconsistencies from the books! I'm trying to keep the times and dates mostly canon, with a few major adjustments to the story. I never liked Peter anyway, so I got rid of him. I hope that doesn't bother anyone too much. ;)