Disclaimer: Anything you recognize isn't mine. I only created the OC characters.
Merdarkandtwisty: This is a romance story between Lily and Scorpius. But because Lily is only a first year, and Scorpius is a third year and I have all seven years left to write, the romance will be spread out a bit. But don't worry! There will be some adorable moments coming up!
WindowsoftheWorld: I love Lily's relationship with Harry. She's such a daddy's girl. :]
Author's Note: Here we go! Now it's time for Hogwarts! Enjoy. :]
Chapter Three: The Sorting
September First was like Christmas to Lily. She woke up with a start earlier than any one else in her family. Yawning, she walked into her bathroom. James and Albus often complained that Lily got her own bathroom, as a bathroom connected the two of their rooms, but her parents said that as a girl, she needed her own bathroom. Lily smiled.
Sometimes it was good to be a girl.
By the time Lily was done showering and dressing, she could hear some movement downstairs and delightful smells were drifting up the staircase. Lily sat down on top of her trunk—all of her possessions were already packed—and looked around her room. It looked empty. Her desk, usually a chaotic mess, was cleaned and all the papers were put away. The shelves above her desk were emptier than usual, as Lily couldn't bear to leave behind most of her books.
"Lily, are you awake?" Her mom's voice came up the stairs.
"Yeah," she called back. "I'll be right there."
Downstairs, her mother was making breakfast for the family. Her brothers sat, droopy eyed and half awake, at the table with their father, reading the Daily Prophet and drinking tea.
"Morning, Lils," her father said. Lily sat at the table.
After breakfast, the family of five loaded themselves into Harry's car. All trunks were placed in the magically expanded trunk. Lily sat in between her brothers in the backseat, the owl all three of the children shared at school sitting in her lap. He was a beautiful creature, a Snowy Owl, with large hazel eyes. Currently, he was hooting reproachfully at being stuck in Lily's lap. The two of them had never got along well.
"Give me Quaffles," James said, taking the owl from Lily's lap.
"Gladly," she said dryly. Quaffles was technically James' owl. Her parents bought it for him when he turned eleven and being an eleven-year old boy, he had named the poor owl after his favorite sport. However, instead of buying three owls, one for each child, making a total of four in their house, Ginny and Harry had made James promise that he would let Lily and Albus use Quaffles at school.
The family was silent on the long ride to London. Lily had made this trip twice before but this time… This time it mattered. It was for her. She looked out the window, watching the scenery rush by in a blur, her heart beating fast. She was so excited.
Upon arrival, the family jumped out of the car and the kids began to pull their trunks towards Platform 9 ¾. Harry took the trunk out of Lily's hands without a word and took her hand with his free hand.
"James, you go first," Ginny said. Lily watched eagerly as her brother took off towards the platform at run, only to be swallowed up by the brick. "Come on, Al."
Ginny and Al took a more leisurely pace into the brick wall, disappearing from sight. Harry squeezed his daughter's hand.
"Ready, Lilybean?" Lily nodded her head enthusiastically. Harry laughed.
The two passed through the brick wall and were greeted on the other side by the sight of the large, red Hogwarts Express. Lily thought it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. There were crowds of students calling out to friends and parents fussing over their children. It was loud, the voices of students mixing with their owls' hooting and cats' meowing.
"Harry!" Hermione was standing by the train with the rest of the family, waving towards Lily and Harry. The Potter-Weasley clan was easily the most noticeable as there were just so many of them, almost all of them with red hair. Harry and Lily headed over to them, slowed down by the massive crowd. Lily stood with Hugo and Albus as they waited for the adults to finish their talk and the fathers loaded the kids' trunks onto the train.
"Ginny?" A dreamy voice floated across the crowd. Ginny looked around.
"Luna!" she cried. Ron groaned. Ginny ran to meet her friend, pulling her into a hug. "I haven't seen you in ages. How've you been? You look great."
"Thank you," the blonde witch replied. "I've been good. We spent the summer down in Greece. There are just the most fascinating creatures there."
Ginny nodded, politely, leading Luna over to her family. Rolf and her two sons, Lorcan and Lysander, followed quietly. The adults exchanged pleasantries with Luna, as Lily stared at the boys.
"Lily, you remember Lorcan and Lysander," Luna said, pushing her boys forward. Lily nodded, despite not remembering them. She had only met her mother's friend a few times, and perhaps her children only once or twice. They were strange people. The identical blondes nodded at Lily, and she smiled in return.
"Okay, Lily," her mother said, turning to her, straightening her collar. "I want you to behave at school. Make sure you write sometime in the next week, let us know how things are going, what house you were sorted into."
"Gryffindor," Ron said in a terrible fake cough. Hermione smacked him hard on the arm.
"And you, James," Ginny rounded on him. "I want you to keep an eye on your little sister. Don't even try to pull any tricks. And please, for once, wait at least a week before doing something stupid!"
The whistle of the train blew and Lily's heart skipped a beat. The older kids, like Louis and Dominique and James, got on the train first, waving goodbye to their parents. Hugo and Lily, were trapped in a series of hugs and kisses by their parents.
"Be good! Be safe!" Hermione called as Hugo and Lily stepped onto the train. Lily stopped and looked back at her parents.
"Bye, Daddy," she said softly.
"I love you, Lilybean," he said, smiling.
The train began to move. Lily waved one last time before stepping on.
She was on her way to Hogwarts.
"Well, as much as I'd like to stay and chat, I'm needed in the prefects car," Louis said, before pushing through the crowd of Weasleys and walking down the hallway.
"I'm meeting some friends from Ravenclaw. Au revoir, mes cousins." Dominique blew them kisses and walked off.
"Come on." James turned and walked off, waving them after him. "Let's find a compartment before they're all full."
The third one they tried was empty and all of them piled in. James, as the tallest and strongest, helped them all put their trunks above the seats. Lily sat up against the window, Albus across from her with Lorcan, Hugo and Lysander on her other side. James and Rose took a seat, just in time for the compartment door to be opened again.
"James!" a tall black boy roared.
"Jesse!" James cried back. Jesse jumped into the seat next to James, slamming into him, causing a chain reaction that ended with Lily being slammed into the window.
"Ow!" she cried, leaning forward to glare at her brother. He wasn't even paying attention. Jesse jumped up and threw himself in the seat next to Rose to be across from James, jostling Rose.
"Don't worry, you get used to them," Rose said, rolling her eyes. With that, she promptly pulled out a book, and sank down behind it to read.
Jesse and James had only been talking for a few moments when the compartment door slid open again.
"Rose?" a small brunette asked quietly. Rose looked up.
"Jordie! Come sit," Rose pushed Jesse out of the way. "Move it."
Jordie entered, taking careful steps over everyone's leg to sit in the small space Rose was patting.
"How was your summer?" Rose asked, turning to her friend. Jordie launched into an intricate retelling of her trip to the Galapagos Islands.
"Hey, Al, Exploding Snap rematch?" Hugo asked excitedly.
"You're on!"
"Here, Lil, switch with me," Hugo pushed Lily up off her seat and slid over.
"Hugh!" She cried.
"James!" The compartment door slid open once again.
"You have got to be kidding me." Lily groaned. "Excuse me."
She pushed herself past the unnamed face standing in the doorway, slamming the door shut behind her. Finally, she thought. She loved her family, she really did, but sometimes they could just be so . . . overwhelming. Lily took off down the hallway, peering into compartments looking for somewhere else, anywhere else, to sit for a little. She peered into one compartment and she could see the boy from Madame Malkins, Scormie or something like that, sitting inside, chatting animatedly to a tall, gangly boy with dark hair.
Finally, at the very last compartment sat two small girls, probably first or second years, talking quietly. They both looked very kind, one with blonde hair and a round, pink cheeked face, the other with dark brown hair up in a plait. Lily took her chances and slid open the compartment door.
"Hey," she said. "May I sit here?"
The two girls looked at each other before the blonde, who looked oddly familiar to Lily, smiled at her and said, "Sure."
"Thanks." Lily took a seat next to her. "I'm Lily Potter."
"I'm Emily Longbottom," the blonde said. "Our fathers are friends."
"That's why I recognize you!" Lily exclaimed. "I knew I knew you from somewhere."
"I'm Olivia Finnegan," the dark hair girl said with a slight Irish accent.
"Do you guys know each other already?" Lily asked nervously, playing with the edge of her skirt, looking back and forth between the two girls.
"Yeah," Olivia said, with a smile to Emily. "Our mum and dads are friends, so we've spent a good deal of time together."
"But," Emily added, "All of our parents were at school together. And we're all first years! So we all sort of know each other already."
Lily smiled and relaxed into her seat. The three girls hit off from there. Lily discovered that Olivia loved football, something Lily found just fascinating, and Quidditch. She supported Puddlemere United, who were okay by Lily, but she was a fan of her mum's team, the Holyhead Harpies.
"Your mum was a Harpie?" Olivia had squealed when Lily told. She looked at Lily in a new light. "So you play Quidditch, right? What position?"
"Seeker," she said proudly. "Like my dad. I'm gonna ask McGonagall if I can try out as a first year."
"Really? I don't think they ever let first years play. My dad said McGonagall is really strict," Olivia said.
"My dad says she's alright," Emily said softly. Lily was already noticing that everything Emily did seemed very soft. "You just have to be on her good side."
"Besides," Lily tossed her long hair over her shoulder. "My dad played as a first year, so why can't I?"
The chat continued on to discuss the teachers they already knew about ("Won't it be weird to have your dad as your teacher?" Lily asked Emily, who responded with a shrug) to finally, the houses.
"What house do you think you guys will be in?" Emily asked.
"Gryffindor!" Olivia swelled with pride. "My mom was in Hufflepuff, so I guess that won't be too bad, but I'd rather be in Gryffindor."
"Practically everyone in my family has been in Gryffindor," Lily said matter-of-factly. "I'm even related to Godric Gryffindor."
The two girls stared in awe at Lily.
"You're life must be so cool," Olivia breathed. "Your mum is a Harpie, your dad is bloody Harry Potter, and you're related to Godric Gryffindor!"
Lily sat up straight and smiled.
"I'm not sure what house I'll be," Emily said.
"Em, you're dad is head of the Gryffindor house!" Olivia cried.
"I know," she continued. "But my mum was a Hufflepuff. I'm more like her."
The compartment door slid open and a tall girl in a Ravenclaw uniform with a prefect's badge entered.
"We're almost there," she said. The three girls jumped and looked outside. Indeed, the sky had gone dark. "You might want to change."
"Thanks," they all said as the girl left. Lily looked at her new friends.
"Well, I've got to get back to my compartment. But no matter what house we're sorted in, we'll keep talking, right?"
"Right." Emily and Olivia nodded. Lily turned and left with a huge smile on her face. The hallway was empty now, as most people were changing. She rushed back into her compartment. It was empty now of everyone but her family.
"Lily, where have you been?" Hugo asked with a frown.
"Sorry," she said as she changed into her Hogwarts robes. "I got caught up with a few other first years."
Hugo's frown deepened at this, but the train had pulled into the station and there was no time to talk. The family exited the train together, but were soon separated.
"Guys, you can't follow us," Rose said. "You're first years. Only upperclassmen get to ride on the carriages."
James and Al nodded and the trio walked off and got in a horseless carriage, leaving Hugo and Lily standing alone in the crowd.
"Lils, what do we do?" Hugo asked, his voice rising.
"I dunno," she replied. "They never told us what to do."
"Firs' years, this way!" A loud voice bellowed. "All firs' years, come this way!"
Lily and Hugo glanced at each other before taking off towards the voice they both knew so well. It was easy to spot him, towering above all the other students, waving a lantern.
"Hagrid!" the kids called. Hagrid turned to look at them.
"Lily! Hugo! All righ' there?"
"We're good. Hagrid, how do we get to the castle?" Hugo asked. Hagrid laughed.
"Well, yer takin' the boats with me!"
"Boats?" At that moment, Lily spotted Olivia and Emily.
"Come on, Hugo, I want you to meet my friends." She tugged on the sleeve of his robe. "Nice seeing you, Hagrid!"
"Olivia, Emily!" The two girls hurried towards Lily. "Olivia, Emily, this is my cousin Hugo. He's a first year, too."
The two girls smiled shyly at the Hugo, who blushed. The foursome continued along with the crowd. "Do you guys know how we're getting to Hogwarts?"
"Yeah," Hugo said. "Hagrid said we were taking the bo—woah."
The four looked up to see the glistening lake, lined with small boats.
"Alrigh', only four ter a boat," Hagrid called, taking one boat all to himself.
The four quickly clambered into a boat together. The ride across was fantastic. The stars reflected against the waters' surface, which was broken at one point by a long, lazy tentacle, stretching out of the sea. Most of the girls screamed, and the guys yelled "Cool!"
"Don' worry, tha's just the squid," Hagrid said, his voice easily carrying to all the boats stretched out across the lake.
All the students oohed as the grand castle came into view, large and inviting with its bright, warm windows. They clambered out of the boats and followed Hagrid up the stairs until they were in the Entrance Way of the Great Hall.
"Now, you lot just sit here tigh' until Professor McGonagall comes and gets ya." Hagrid walked off with a wave and wink to Hugo and Lily. Instantly, the hall broke out into nervous chatter.
"Do you know what they do for the sorting?" Olivia said nervously. "My dad wouldn't tell me!"
"My sister said that they make you duel the Head Boy and Head Girl, and how you fight determines what house you're in!" Hugo confided.
"James tried to tell me that, too." Lily rolled her eyes. Hugo stared at her. "Wait, Hugh, did you actually believe her?"
"My dad told me. You just put on an old hat and you talk to it inside your head and then it puts you in a house." Emily patted Lily on the back, as she had been laughing so hard at Hugo that she had started coughing.
"Yeah," Lily sputtered out. "Al t-told me the same thing."
The door flew open with a band and an old witch with a cane entered slowly, walking with a small limp. All the children fell silent immediately. The woman looked over all of them with a hawk-like stare.
"That's McGonagall," Olivia breathed into Lily's ear. She swallowed, changing her mind about asking the woman about Quidditch.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall began in a gravely voice. "You will follow me into the Great Hall, in a single file line, and wait for your name to be called to be sorted."
The children scrambled into a line and followed McGonagall out. Hugo was in front of Lily, Olivia and Emily were behind her. As they entered the hallway, the whispering started up again, all of them, muggleborn or pureblood, amazed with the castle and its ceiling, charmed to show the sky outside. Lily glanced around. She could see her brothers and cousin sitting at the Gryffindor table. Dominique and Louis were in the middle of the Ravenclaw table.
Forcing her focus back on McGonagall, she saw that the woman had placed a stool with an old, patched hat in the center of the room. Lily watched it curiously, and gasped when it opened its seam, and began singing.
I may be old and fraying
But there is more to me than you can see
You'll make yourself a fool to try to find
A smarter hat than me.
I am the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
There's nothing in your head that I can't see
So put me on your head
And I'll tell you where you ought to be.
Perhaps in Gryffindor
Where the brave will live
Or maybe Hufflepuff
Who always have a hand to give?
You might belong to Ravenclaw
Where those with a keen mind
Intelligence and wit
Will find their own kind.
Maybe in Slytherin
You'll find your friends
Whose cunning ambition
Surely meet their ends.
So put me on your head
And have a chat with me.
I will sort you, I will help you
Find the place you should be.
The students clapped at the end of the song and Professor McGonagall gave a sweeping glare to quiet the students as she opened the parchment.
"Amboy, Perth."
A small, dark haired boy stumbled forward from the front of the line. He climbed onto the stool, put the Hat on his head, and sat for a moment before it opened its mouth once more and cried:
"RAVENCLAW!"
The table second to the left cheered loudly as Perth Amboy walked over, blushing, and took a seat at the end of the table.
The sorting continued. Lily tried to pay attention, she really did, but it really was just a boring ceremony. She shifted impatiently, watching the stars twinkle on the ceiling. It wasn't until she heard a specific name did she pay attention.
"Finnegan, Olivia."
Olivia skipped forward and down the long line of students to sit on the stool. She placed the hat on her head. It considered her for a moment, before its seam opened again and cried:
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Olivia took off the hat, beaming, and ran off towards the far right table, where Lily could see her brothers cheering obnoxiously. Olivia took a seat just a few down from James and flashed a thumbs up to Lily and Emily. Lily smiled weakly in return.
"Finch-Fletchley, Oliver."
A boy with sandy brown hair made his way up to the stool.
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
Lily tried to count how many students were left in the line. She was just recounting to double check her answer when she heard Emily's name being called.
"Longbottom, Emily." Lily smiled at Emily as she passed, but Emily didn't seem to notice. She carefully took a seat on the stool. The hat deliberated on her, much longer than it had on anyone else. It was almost a full minute later when the hat reached a decision.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Blushing, Emily put the hat back on the stool and quickly took off, taking a seat next to Olivia, who high fived her. Lily's heart quickened; now she had to be a Gryffindor!
Lily suddenly panicked as she realized L was not that far from P. With a start, she realized Hugo would be one of the last to be sorted.
"Potter, Lily." There was an odd silence as Lily walked to the stool. It hadn't seemed so far away for the other children. Students at the tables craned their necks to get a good look at her. She could hear the whispers already. She sighed. It sometimes could get annoying, being Harry Potter's daughter. Sitting on the stool, she swallowed and placed the hat on her head, which promptly fell down to her shoulders.
Hmm... Let's see what do we have here?
Please.
Quite intelligent… very loyal… No, not a Hufflepuff. Definitely not the place for you. I don't think Ravenclaw either, despite your smarts.
Please.
Extremely cunning… You would do well in Slytherin. No? You don't seem to like the idea.
Please.
Well then, if you insist... it will have to be
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Lily jumped up so hard that the Hat fell off her head. Blushing, she ignored the other students' laughter and hurriedly handed the hat back to McGonagall, who was giving her a stern look. Lily took off toward the Gryffindor table, grinning widely at her brothers and cousin before sitting down with her friends.
"We're all in the same house!" she squealed as soon as she reached Olivia and Emily.
"That was quick," Emily whispered.
"Was it?"
"Yeah," Olivia nodded. "The hat had barely been on you for a second."
Lily opened her mouth to tell her how long it had felt sitting up there, but a prefect down the table shushed them. Lily stuck her tongue out at the boy.
"Scamander, Lorcan." Lorcan, the shorter twin (Lily noted, tucking away this information for later), walked up the stool.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Scamander, Lysander." Lily wondered what would happen if you were twins. Did you automatically get put into the same house?
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Either way, the brothers would stay together. Lily had been right. Hugo was the last person to be sorted.
"Weasley, Hugo." It took just a moment for the hat to decide.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Lily was sure she was cheering the loudest of them all.
That night, after a grand feast and a stern warning from McGonagall on the rules of Hogwarts, the foursome tiredly followed the prefects up and up the stairs, towards their common room. They stopped outside a painting of a large woman in a pink dress.
"This is the Fat Lady," the prefect said. "She guards our common room. You can't get in without the password. The password is Glumbumble."
The Fat Lady smiled and swung open, allowing the group of students to climb in. The girls waved goodbye to Hugo, who followed Lorcan and Lysander up the boys' staircase while the girls headed up their own staircase and entered their dorm.
The girls met their other two roommates, two girls named Grace and Natalie who seemed very nice. Too tired to really talk, all five girls climbed into their beds, drew their curtains and promptly fell asleep.
Author's Notes: Now that we're finally at Hogwarts, there's going to be some real LilyxScorpius interaction. I promise that comes up next chapter and you all will love it. :] Also, I apologize for the slow pace of the story at the moment; I'm trying to get everything set up for the future chapters. But now at Hogwarts, things will definitely speed up. As always, please review!