Chapter Eight

A/N: No reviewers

Even with all the stories she had ever heard about, Lily had not been prepared for the sheer beauty of Hogwarts. The magic of the place seemed to exude from every piece of stonework, from every statue and every painting, every classroom and every person. It was the most magical place in which Lily had ever stood.

At that moment, she was stood in the Great Hall, the most magical place of all. The enchanted ceiling was twinkling with starlight, as if the night sky was smiling down on the forty children stood before the Sorting Hat.

Lily had been waiting for this moment all her life, something she realised as she gazed around the hall, seeing more than a few familiar faces. She could see most of her cousins, Albus and James, Teddy and Professor Longbottom, the Herbology professor that James had been trying to get test scores from for years, still to no avail, much to his dismay. Most notably, Professor McGonagall stood beside the Sorting Hat, a roll of parchment held tightly in her hand and a welcoming smile balancing her stern features, especially as she saw Lily.

"Welcome, students, to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Now, I know that the majority of you are aware how the Sorting shall take place, but for those few who are not, I will explain. There are four Houses at Hogwarts, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each House has its own values, and each House is equally as important. When I call your name, you will come forward, I will place the Sorting Hat on your head and your House shall be called out. You will then go and join that House at their table. Now, let us begin."

Lily began to breathe a little more deeply as the first name, Karen Andrews, was called, and she was sent down to Hufflepuff. She continued to do so as all the other students were summoned to the stool. Benjamin Colby, Jeremy Edwards, Katherine Howells. Harriet Martin. Finally, the time had come.

"Lily Potter." McGonagall read, with a hint of a smile that she had not had when reading the other names. The moment the two words were spoken, Lily realised just how nervous she actually was. A million thoughts passed through her head.

'Will I be in Gryffindor, like the rest of my family?'

'Will I be in Ravenclaw, like my namesake Auntie Luna?'

'Will I be in Hufflepuff, like Teddy?'

'Will I be in Slytherin… like Lord Voldemort was?'

Each House was terrifying for the young girl, as it meant that she would have to leave behind the members of her family in the other Houses. The memory of her mother told her that she would belong in any of the four Houses, but still, the girl could not help feeling that she would not belong in even one of them.

Nevertheless, she knew that she would have to approach the Sorting Hat to find out, and so that was what she did. She settled herself down on the stool and, as the Hat was placed down on her head, she drew in a sharp, staggering breath. Just a moment later, from somewhere in the recesses of her mind, a voice began to speak to her.

'Well, well, well… yet another Weasley. There have always been a fair few around. Almost every single Sorting for the past eight years, I have had a Weasley sat on this stool. Are you the last of them?'

It took a minute for Lily to twig the fact that the tattered piece of headwear was speaking to her, but once she did, she responded almost immediately, closing her eyes in concentration as she considered her response.

'Yes, I am.'

'Hmm, I thought as much.' the Hat continued, moving up and down on her head as it nodded. 'You would think that being a Weasley would make you an easier one to Sort, but no. It would seem not.'

The Hat paused for a moment, as if lost in thought, and Lily took the opportunity to view the expressions on the older students' faces. The Gryffindors were all smiling widely, expecting to receive another Weasley into their midst. The Ravenclaws seemed indifferent, smiling a little, as did the Hufflepuffs, who always seemed so happy that it didn't seem so different. The Slytherins, bar one or two such as Albus, were glaring at her, either because she was a Potter, or a Weasley, or most likely a combination of the two. She would be willing to go to any of them really, even Slytherin, so long as Albus was still there for her. As she thought this, the Hat began to speak again.

'Hmm… terrified of Slytherin House, yet still willing to go there, as long as you are with the younger of your brothers, willing to go to Gryffindor for the elder, and willing to go to either Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, as long as one of your family is present. It is a strange trait, one that your mother had. She chose to join her brothers in Gryffindor, despite the fact that I thought she would have made good somewhere else. She did prove her bravery in the end, but at the time, it was not as prominent as it is now.'

'And me?' Lily asked, now just desperate to discover her House, if only so all the uncertainty would end, and so she would finally know where she belonged.

'You are not dissimilar to her in any way. You have bravery, intelligence and determination, plenty of all three, but where to put you? You wanted to be with your family you said.'

'Yes.'

'And you would only wish to make them proud of you, even at your own loss? A brave decision indeed.'

'Yes.'

'Oh, well, then. There seems to only be one place in which I can put you.'

Rapturous applause filled the room, as the Sorting Hat yelled out the word that had defined Lily's life from then on.

"Hufflepuff!"

A/N: Boom! Lily is in the yellow house. Please review, so I know if you expected that or not.