DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING RECOGNISABLE!
I also want to thank my reviewers and anyone else who has read this so far.
ITALICS- Thoughts
Bold Italics- Darren signing
Bold- Lily signing
Just so you know
P.S. I'm sorry I change the way I write from 3rd person to another, I just forget how I'm writing and change frequently! Please forgive me, I can be a bit of a forgetful person!
Chapter 5: The Sorting and The Feast
So cold was the only thought going through my head.
I felt something warm next to me, curled around my sides, Hold on, I'm moving! My eyes shot open revealing four faces staring at me, I jolted up quickly, startled by how close they were. The only problem with this is that the fourth face belonged to the giant man who's arms I had been in until that moment when I fell out of his grasp onto 3 shocked boys who had been crowded around him.
"ARGH!"
CRASH!
We landed in a heap, me on top.
"Cn smne mv pls?"
What?
"Come on girly, up we get"
I felt myself being pulled to my feet and looked up into the face of the giant man, I just stared for a moment until I heard three different calls of help from a pile by my feet, I quickly turned around and helped James and Remus to untangle themselves so they could get off of Sirius, who was by far, the smallest of the three.
"Thank you!" panted Sirius when he sat up, free of bodies and extra weight.
"Righ' now that's over, we can get up te' the school, follow me please" Said the giant man as he started to walk towards a dock at the end of the station, the rest of the fist year students all followed him towards the boats and boarded, afraid of what would happen if they didn't.
I, now over my fear and a lot warmer thanks to the excitement walked up to the boat the giant man was in and sat in the opposite end, leaving the boys to get into another boat with a small pudgy boy.
What's your name? I signed, forgetting he probably couldn't understand me until after I signed it.
"I'm Rubeus Hagrid" He replied, a mischievous sparkle in his eyes.
You can understand me? I rarely met someone who could understand Makaton and when I did it was usually a specially trained doctor who had come to visit Darren and me.
"O 'course I do!" he laughed,
How?
"The reason you're here, magic" he winked at me before hopping out of the boat onto the land we had just reached. I stared up at Hogwarts, I gasped at the beauty it projected, lit up in the night sky, an unforgettable sight.
James, Sirius and Remus came up next to me with their new friend from the boat.
"Hey Lil's-"
Lil's?
"This is Peter" James gestured to the short boy beside them that they had met on the boat.
Peter waved at me but stayed silent, staring at his shoes.
As we walked through the giant doors that led inside I caught a glimpse of a brunette woman standing at the top of a main staircase, she was incredibly beautiful, her hair hung in loose ringlets to her shoulders and she wore green velvet robes and a matching pointed hat, a pair of glasses sat on the bridge of her nose.
"Good evening, I am Professor McGonagall. Welcome to Hogwarts!" The young witch greeted us warmly. "The start of term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is very important and has been around since Hogwarts was founded. The house that you are sorted into will be a, sort of, family to you for your next seven years here, you will sleep in your house dormitory and spend most of your recreational time in you house common room."
Woah! This place must be huge if all the students have to fit in here! I thought as I stared at Professor McGonagall.
"The houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin, more will be explained to you in your first lesson tomorrow morning. Now, lets get you all sorted shall we?" she asked us all, smiling warmly the whole time.
Professor McGonagall led us into the Great Hall, a giant room with four house tables in the middle and a fifth table for the teachers at the front, it had a high stone ceiling and tall windows, it was magnificent but there was a sense of magic missing from the room.
We were all led to a stool at the front of the house tables, on this stool sat a battered hat and a scroll.
"Everyone please gather at these steps, thank you. Now when I call your name you will come, sit on the stool, place the sorting hat on your head and you will be sorted into your houses, first lets hear the annual song!"
As if by magic (A/N: I really wanted to use that ) The wrinkles of the hat formed a face, and the wrinkles that became a mouth began to move.
'Oh you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folks use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!'
The older students and professors all began to clap whilst the first years just stared in wonder at the cap, eventually all was silent until...
"You mean we really DON'T have to fight a troll?!" I span around to see James gaping at the hat.
Laughter soon flooded the hall as everyone laughed at the thought.
"Now that little show is over, lets get on with the sorting!"
McGonagall picked up the scroll and began to read the names alphabetically.
"Abbott, Elliot!"
A short blonde boy tripped over his own feet on his way to the stool. He quickly put the hat on, which fell over his eyes and waited to be sorted.
'HUFFLEPUFF!' was called by the hat, causing me to jump and knock into a sallow faced boy beside me, he just scowled at me before facing the front again.
Elliot quickly ran off to a table adorned in yellow that was cheering quite loudly, Hufflepuff Table I assumed.
The sorting Continued.
"Black, Bellatrix"
'SLYTHERIN' A table adorned in green began to cheer and the girl skipped off happily to join them.
"Black, Sirius" Oh, it's Sirius's turn!
'GRYFFINDOR!' Silence took over the Great Hall before the table adorned in red began to clap slowly and Slytherin table boo'ed and hissed. I'll have to ask him about that later I thought.
"Bones, Amanda!"
'RAVENCLAW!' The blue table applaused.
"Bones, Ethan!"
'HUFFLEPUFF!'
The bones twins walked their separate ways.
"Boot, Archie!"
'RAVENCLAW!'
"Brocklehurst, Martin"
'RAVENCLAW!'
"Brown, Franklin"
'GRYFFINDOR!'
"Bulstrode, Charles"
'SLYTHERIN!'
"Evans, Lily" Oh no, My turn I felt the blood rush from my face as I took my first wobbly steps towards the stool, I sat on the cool wood and felt the hat cover the top portion of my head and face.
Ah, what do we have here? I see kindness through you, oh yes! And a fiery temper to counter it, but what is this, Courage? Bravery! You are full of it! I know where to put you now...
'GRYFFINDOR!'
I tore the hat off my head and raced to the Gryffindor table, where Sirius was cheering the loudest!
"Finch, Flora"
'HUFFLEPUFF!'
"Fletchley, Ryan!"
'HUFFLEPUFF!'
"Longbottom, Frank!" was called up, I had to elbow Sirius to stop him laughing but there was nothing I could do about James as he was still in line, but a petite brunette girl took care of him for me with a kick to his shins.
'GRYFFINDOR!'
"Lupin, Remus!" Was finally called!
'GRYFFINDOR!'The moment the hat spoke Sirius and I began to clap as loud as possible, Sirius also cheering his head off, Remus came and sat opposite Sirius, diagonally from me.
Congratulations!
"Thanks Lil's!"
I beamed at him then turned and smiled at Sirius as we listened to the rest of the sorting. Finally we got to the "P's"
"Pettigrew, Peter" was sorted into Gryffindor along with "Patill, Paul".
Next was James.
"Potter, James!"
'GRYFFINDOR!'
"Prewitt, Alice" The girl who kicked James was called forward.
'GRYFFINDOR!'
Alice came and sat between me and Frank, James was opposite me and gave her a glare before I kicked him in his other shin.
After Headmaster Dumbledore finished talking the feast appeared.
Remus, introduce everyone please? I asked after I caught his attention, gesturing towards our other classmates.
"Sorry Lily!" he said, turning to the other first years we hadn't met yet "Hi, I'm Remus Lupin, this is lily Evans" I waved "James Potter and Sirius Black, nice to meet you all!"
The girl beside me, Alice, smiled "Hi! I'm Alice Prewitt, it's nice to meet all of you!"
Frank Longbottom introduced himself, rather shyly. The other girls just stuck their noses in the air and turned away from us, I rolled my eyes before turning to the last three boys.
"I-I'm P-Peter!" said the pudgy blonde boy from next to James. The brunette boy introduced himself as Paul Patill before turning to talk to Frank who was opposite him, and the last boy who introduced himself as Franklin Brown.
Alice decided to talk to us instead of join the other snobbish girls.
"So, y'all excited 'bout being in Gryffindor? I am, both my brothers were and my sister are in Gryffindor, it runs in the family I guess!" though she seemed to ramble I decided I liked Alice and that she would be a good friend.
All the boys confirmed their pleasure of being put in Gryffindor, James and Sirius a bit more enthusiastically than Remus. Alice then turned to me and asked me if I was excited.
I began to panic, she wouldn't understand me, I looked to Remus for help when Sirius butted in, "Oh she won't answer you she's mute!" I stared at Sirius shocked he would say something so rudely and loud enough for our end of Gryffindor table to hear and turn and stare. I felt my face turn red then the hot tears running over my cheeks, I stood and bolted out of the doors into the entrance hall. I continued to run up staircases and along corridors until I was out of breath, then I sat in a corner or the dark corridor and sobbed uncontrollably.
After what seemed like forever I heard the faint sound of footsteps getting closer quickly. Eventually the footsteps were loud enough for me to tell the person was just around the corner, and to tell there were three people coming not just one.
I looked up as the footsteps came around the corner to see Remus and Alice running towards me with an older girl with red hair who looked similar to Alice in some ways.
"Lily! We've been looking everywhere!" Remus skidded to a stop and sat beside me and put his arm around me.
"Yeah! When you left everyone panicked 'cos you would get lost so I got my sister, Molly, to take me and Remus to find you!" Alice dropped in front of me and pulled me into a rib cracking hug, only letting go when I pat her back to signal I couldn't breath.
"Why'd you get so upset in there? So what, you can't talk? Big deal! My brother Fabian is blind in one eye! Quite funny actually, 'specially when you put things where he can't see and he trips over them!" she laughed before looking at Molly and seeing her disapproving stare, then she stopped and looked at the floor sheepishly.
"What Alice is trying to say Lily is that you don't need to be afraid of your disability, the people worth knowing will understand and accept your situation" said Molly.
I nodded, drying my eyes on my sleeve, Thank you I signed.
"You're welcome" replied Molly.
You understand me?
"Our cousins partially deaf so we had to learn sign language for him!" explained Alice.
For the first time since the sorting I felt truly happy, people who understood me!
Back at the feast Sirius apologised and we ate the wonderful food which, Alice explained, Creatures called house elves created in the kitchens underneath the Great Hall. After this Molly and her boyfriend Arthur Weasley led all the first years to the common room and explained what they could on the way, they did this because they were Prefects.
After they showed us to the common room they left to go to the Heads Common room on the floor below.
"Well then, Goodnight girls!" Sirius said as he and the boys started to head up the stairs to their dorm.
Hold up just a second! Girls?! We are Ladies! Lily gestured, stepping in their way so they would see me.
"What?"
"Huh?"
"Sorry Lily!" Remus exclaimed.
"Why? What's wrong?" asked James.
"We offended her by calling them 'Girls'!" Remus explained to the first year boys around him.
"But why? They are girls!" Sirius was promptly wacked over the head by James for his stupidity, "Sorry 'bout him, and sorry we offended you! Forgive us?" Lily and Alice nodded and bid the boys good night before climbing up the stairs to their dormitory.
When Lily and Alice entered their dormitory they were greeted with the noise of eleven year old girls, these girls would be their roommates for the next seven years.
Shall we introduce ourselves? Lily asked Alice, Alice nodded her agreement and turned to their roommates who had all stopped and watched the exchange when they saw the two girls come in.
"Um, Hi! I'm Alice Prewitt and this is Lily Evans," Lily kicked her shin then gestured to her mouth, "who would like you to know that she is mute. And if any of you say anything horrible about it I will personally make your life hell as she is a lovely person and, and I'm getting off track! Anyway, nice to meet you all" Alice finished talking and the girls moved towards the two unoccupied beds and sat down on their own.
"Hi, I'm Marlene Mckinnon! Half-Blood witch and it's just awesome to meet you! I wasn't at the beginning of the feast and they sorted me before you two came back with that pale fellow!" Marlene was a brunette girl with sparkling blue eyes and a chipper personality, her bed was next to Lily's and Lily's was opposite Alice's. The other girls just rolled their eyes and got into bed muttering something that sounded like "Worthless" before drawing their hangings and going to sleep.
"Just ignore them, biggest bunch of Blood Racist snobs I've ever met! First thing they asked me when I walked in was my blood status, bleurch, disgusting!"
Blood Racist? Lily asked, having never heard the term as she was muggleborn.
"Oh I'm sorry, I don't know Makaton! Hmmm... I could learn though!" Marlene exclaimed, feeling bad that she couldn't talk to Lily on her own without a parchment and quill.
"Don't worry about it for now Marlene, She asked what blood racism is!" Alice supplied.
"Oh, you must be muggleborn, come from muggles?" Lily nodded, "Well there are three main types of "Blood" in the wizarding world, Muggleborn where you are from a family of muggles, Half-blood where you have one wizarding parent and one muggle parent, then there's Pureblood which is when you are from a completely wizarding family! Then you have good and bad blood, people who believe in that are usually bad wizards, evil wizards! They believe that those who associate with muggles and muggleborns are "Blood Traitors"! Horrid if you ask my opinion!" Once Marlene was finished Lily looked at her in horror.
"My family, the Prewitt's are seen as blood traitors, so are the Weasley's, Potters would be to if they weren't so high up in society!" Alice said.
Well that's lovely, how can people be so horrible about other people? Well anyway, I suggest we go to bed now, big first day tomorrow! Goodnight guys! Lily then went into the bathroom to get ready for bed. Once she was changed and had brushed her teeth she went back into the dorm room and climbed into bed, both looking forward to and dreading her first day!
Next chapter:
The first day...