Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry didn't look like it could possibly be real. Warm pinpricks of light in the distance danced across the rippling water of the lake, where the Giant Squid was lazily waving its tentacles at the newest batch of first year students. The moon was not full, but its light shed an ethereal glow on the world. Stars twinkled like winking eyes, telling them the next stage of their lives was only beginning. Muggleborns, purebloods, everything in between… It mattered not, as they were all children with no idea what the world had in store for them in the years to come.
The boats came to a halt on castle grounds, and the large man taking an entire boat to himself led them into the castle, where they were left alone to wait. John stood by the mousy boy- Peter Pettigrew was what he called himself. James and Sirius stood nearby, nervously discussing what the sorting ceremony could entail. John thought it was silly to worry about it. Agonizing over it would only cause one to grow fearful and freeze up. Best to face the challenge head on and react in the moment.
Soon, a stern looking woman with a tight bun approached them, and a hush fell over the first year class of 1971. She practically radiated authority, and John had the feeling she wasn't someone to cross. The woman cleared her throat and recited a speech she had likely spoken on this day many years previously, would would continue to say for future generations. Afterwards, the group of eleven year-olds were led into the Great Hall, and nearly everyone's eyes shot up to the ceiling, jaws dropping as they saw twinkling stars shine above floating candlesticks.
A ratty old hat was brought out, along with a worn stool. Many first years stared at it in confusion, some with suspicion. A seam near the brim tore itself open, and the ratty old hat burst into song. John stared at it in wonder. It seemed like an absolutely useless bit of magic, but he loved it. He wondered if he could have a singing hat one day. The song it sang described each of the four houses, and John came to the conclusion that the boys he'd met on the train had a bias against Slytherin house.
Soon, Professor McGonagall (as he'd learned the stern looking woman was named) was calling out names. It was alphabetical by last name, so John Smith assumed he probably wouldn't be sorted for a while. He sincerely hoped he wouldn't be called the wrong name. That would be an awful way to start the school year. The young boy listened for names he might recognize, and it was quite soon that one of his train companions was called to the stool.
"Black, Sirius!"
There was a confident air about him, but John couldn't help wondering if it were real or not. The long table clad in green looked rather confident. They were ready to clap, and John assumed they were the Slytherin house. As McGonagall lowered the hat onto Sirius's head, however, the young boy's eyes nervously caught James's. James gave him a grin and thumbs-up, both of them looking hopefully toward the Gryffindor table. The hat was only on his head for a moment before reaching its conclusion.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
The grin threatening to split Sirius's face in half was infectious. James cheered loudly for his friend, who all but ran to his new house table after taking the Sorting Hat off. It only took the Gryffindors a moment before they began to cheer, because somehow a Black was sorted into their house, and by Merlin they would make sure he turned out different from the rest of his family if it was the last thing they did. None of them knew they wouldn't have to try; Sirius Black was nothing like the rest of his family, and he was damn proud of it.
"Evans, Lily!" McGonagall called, and the redhead from the train walked up to the stool. She met Severus's eyes, but the sallow-skinned boy looked away with a frown as the wide rim of the hat blocked her vision.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Lily smiled and went towards the sea of red, sending a hopeful look towards Severus, who would not meet her eyes. Her smile dampened. John felt sorry for the two of them. Severus, in the brief moment John had met him, did not seem like Gryffindor material. He didn't know much about houses, but he thought it was a shame that they had the potential to tear friendships apart. There was no doubt in his mind that, had Sirius been sorted into Slytherin, James would have stopped pursuing his friendship.
"Lupin, Remus!"
John didn't recognize his name or face from anywhere, but he desperately wished he did. Remus was slight, with scars littering what little skin was visible. His hair and clothes were disheveled, and there were heavy bags beneath eyes that almost looked like gold in the warm light. John quickly realized this observation was wrong, and they were actually a dull sort of green. He wondered why he thought they were gold. The boy looked much older than his eleven years of age as he carefully sat on the stool, as if worried his bones would break. It took a couple minutes for the hat to decide where to put him.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Poor Remus Lupin jumped in his seat at the shout of the hat, and John wondered just how loud it really was when one was so close to it. He handed the hat back to McGonagall before walking towards the Gryffindor table. Sirius grinned at him enthusiastically, and Remus returned the smile in a tired manner. He seemed somewhat fidgety and nervous, and John found his curiosity spike. The next name he recognized didn't surface for a while, and he idly hoped he would find a place in Gryffindor. It's where all the interesting people seemed to be going, at least.
"Pettigrew, Peter!"
The mousy boy from the boats scampered over to the stool. He was very round, John observed. The ratty old Sorting Hat flopped down over his eyes, and the usual hush fell over the hall. John had thought Remus's sorting had taken a while. He had nothing on Peter Pettigrew. The hat took a long time, and Peter fidgetted. Sweat beaded on his forehead, though nobody in the hall knew but him, and perhaps the hat, if hats could feel such things. After an agonizingly long time, the hat decided.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Peter scampered off to the Gryffindor table, nearly taking the hat with him in the process. He received a warm welcome, and John couldn't tell if his eyes were naturally watery or if he were about to cry with joy. The crowd of first years had thinned considerably, and a glance to his side showed a relaxed James. John met his eye, receiving a calm smile. James returned his gaze forward, shoving his hands into his pockets. There was a slight tremor to them, betraying the nerves that the rest of him refused to show.
"Potter, James!"
If anyone in the future claimed that James Potter did not strut, John would have to smack them upside the head, because he fully believed James Potter would spend all seven years at Hogwarts strutting about the castle as if he owned the place. James Potter ran his hand through his already messy hair, messing it up even further before sitting on the stool. John rolled his eyes. It took only moments for the hat to cry out the answer everyone was expecting.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
As James went to join his new family and get pulled into a hug by Sirius, John glanced at the few first years left. He looked at Severus, wondering what his last name was and which of them would go first. Severus caught his stare and glared at him. John failed in his attempt not to be offended, and instead wondered what his problem was. He childishly stuck his tongue out at him before suddenly, his name rang out, and his heart soared with joy.
"Smith, John!"
John grinned, practically running up to the stool, because that was his name and there had been no mistakes in which name should be said. He almost hugged Professor McGonagall in his excitement, but she only nodded to the stool. If he knew her better, he would perhaps be able to tell she was fondly amused by his giddiness. The hat was lowered onto his head, and he closed his eyes, wanting to focus entirely on the hat. He wondered how the sorting process actually worked, before a creaky old voice filled his mind.
'Well, aren't you an interesting fellow?'
'Hah?' John very articulately responded.
'You're practically bursting with joy now, but how long do you think you can keep your secret?' The hat asked, and John was very glad nobody could hear a thing they were talking about.
'I… don't know what you're talking about…'
'My dear boy, I can see everything in your mind. Even if you were good at manipulating others, you wouldn't be able to lie to me.'
'I've never been very good at secrets…' John admitted.
'Exactly the reason you won't be going into Slytherin.' The hat said decisively, and John jumped a little at the sudden change of subject. 'I see you wish to follow in your parents footsteps and become a healer, but you don't have the thirst for knowledge as a Ravenclaw would. Hufflepuff would seem viable, but you have a hard time trusting in others. You're brave in ways most people wouldn't have to be, you know.'
'You mean…?'
"GRYFFINDOR!"
John grinned and ran off towards the sea of red. James and Sirius were already sitting beside each other, so John sat across from them, beside Remus. Unfortunately for the four of them, the sorting ceremony wasn't quite finished yet. They watched the last students get sorted, including one Severus Snape. The hat had barely touched his head before sorting him into Slytherin, and he had the defeated look of someone who knew he couldn't win in the first place. Lily deflated slightly, but there was a fiery resolve in her emerald eyes.
The student body looked up as Professor Dumbledore welcomed everyone to Hogwarts with an eccentric speech. He took the time to introduce the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor before instructing the students not to break any rules. James and Sirius whispered to each other suspiciously. The headmaster then hardened his face, and the shift in mood caused everyone to take him completely seriously.
"I must ask everyone to keep their distance from the new Whomping Willow that has been planted on school grounds. If you get too close, you will suffer grave injuries you may be unable to recover from." Dumbledore paused, before letting his expression soften, smiling at the students with twinkling eyes. "Now that we've discussed that order of business, I'm sure everyone must be starving. Please, enjoy your meal."
Food materialized on golden platters on every house's table, but John felt a lump in his throat. Why in the world would Professor Dumbledore plant a tree like the whomping willow on school grounds? He wasn't exactly sure what a whomping willow was, but it was evidently capable of doing permanent damage to anyone who went near it. Beside him, Remus sat stiffly, barely touching his food. He didn't join in the cheerful banter of James and Sirius, and John sent him what he hoped was an empathetic smile. Remus only looked away from him, staring down at his plate and cutting into his meat.
Not wanting to push the issue, John focussed in on James and Sirius's conversation. The two purebloods seemed to have glossed over the bit about the extremely dangerous tree. James was telling Sirius about all the shenanigans he gets up to at home. Sirius, while quite interested, seemed a bit thrown off by his tales. John wondered what that was about. He was dragged into the conversation when James asked him about his own life, and all John really had to say was that his parents were boring doctors and he missed his childhood friend.
"Childhood friend, eh? What's his name?" James asked.
"Her name is Allison Whitney, but she'd kill you if you called her that." John said with a smile. "She's a year younger than me, and obsessed with trains."
"I bet she'll love the Hogwarts Express." James said.
"Well I mean, it's not like she's a witch…" John frowned.
"Maybe she is." Sirius shrugged casually before drinking his pumpkin juice.
"If Allie can use magic, you'll find me hiding in the nurse's office." John said, rather firmly.
The three of them laughed after the confirmation that 'nurse's office' meant 'hospital wing' and dinner passed pleasantly. When dessert came, John could hardly force another bite into his mouth, and he was exhausted. He hoped there would be more delicious desserts to try in the future, but that thought left his head in favor of finding his bed and sinking down into it. After learning the password and being shown to their dorms, John couldn't hold in the sigh of relief that everything had been so easy. His roommates likely read this as a reaction to finally reaching a bed, and he wasn't one to correct them.
John hoped it would always be this easy, but knew in his heart that the Sorting Hat was right. He was horrible at keeping secrets. It would be a miracle if he managed to get through his schooling without any of his roommates discovering his body didn't exactly match theirs. As he drifted off to sleep, he supposed he would deal with that particular predicament whenever it did finally come to light.
Word Count: 2,320
EDIT 6/14/18: I honestly can't remember what I changed, but it was probably just little grammar things. I've been working intensely on this fanfic in the past week, particularly on the outline and what I have planned for it, so please don't give up on it quite yet because I have big plans and don't want to be disappointed and lose motivation thanks to the lack of attention.
(original A/N)
I know, I know, it's been ages. Sorry to the 8 people who are following this (though I'm sure you've forgotten about it in my half-year absence). I kind of have depression and huge issues with motivation at any given moment, so I won't be able to give you an estimate on when the next chapter will be out. I'll be starting college come this fall, so we'll see.
I also scribbled out a quick (hopefully temporary) cover for this fic that I mainly did to show you guys what John looks like, though his design is pretty simple anyways.
I don't really know what to say right now, so I guess I'll just stop typing up this author's note? I don't even really think anyone cares about this fic anyways