I'm glad you liked it, Paul. I'm kinda depressed that no one else does, though.
Oh well. Here's the next chapter!
Chapter Two: The Sorting
<font size=-1>"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" called a huge man about 3 meters ahead of us.
"Looks like we're supposed to go over there." I said to the Marauders, pointing to the large man. They nodded and followed me to him.
"Firs' years! Anymore firs' years? Alrigh' then, follow me!" The man started walking down a rather rocky path.
~Yikes! I better make sure I don't trip!~
After about 2 minutes, we reached a beach. I heard a loud 'Wooowwww' sound from the boys and a loud 'oooooo' from the girls. I looked up and saw what the 'oooo'ing and the 'wowww'ing was for. Up ahead on a large hill, there was a humungous castle. It's turrets and towers were a beige-gold, the many windows glistening in the setting sun. Then I realized my mouth was open and quickly shut it, fortunately, no one noticed.
"Yep, tha's Hogwarts! By the way, me name is Rubeus Hagrid. But jus' call me Hagrid, everyone does." said the man."Now inter the boats yeh go, no more than five ter each boat.(A/N-I know it was only four to a boat, but I felt like I should put the Marauders and Lily in the same one.)
James, Peter, Remus, Sirius, and I climbed into a small wooden boat and sat down.(A/N-You'll notice I said their names in alphabetical order...)
"Everybody in? Alrighty, then. FORWARD!" Hagrid commanded. The boats automatically shot forwards, almost throwing me into the water. "DUCK!" Hagrid called out. We all dipped our heads when we passed through a thick curtain of ivy. Finally, we got out of the boats and followed Hagrid once more up the stairs to Hogwarts. With his huge, cannon-like fists, Hagrid pounded on the door three times. It opened.
"Ah, Hagrid. You've brought the first years?" the woman who answered the door asked. She had gray eyes, and black hair tied up into a bun with some streaks of silver in it. To me, she looked very strict and important.
"Yes, Professor McGonagall. I believe there are 36 of 'em." said Hagrid.
"Thank you, Hagrid. I'll take them from here." Proffessor McGonagall led them to a wide, open area which I could only assume was the Entrance Hall.
(A/N-Okay, I decided to use the exact same speech McGonagall made in the first HP book, so it might be a bit long.)
"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Proffessor McGonagall."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 because, while you are here, you house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common-room.
"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house-points, while any rule-breaking will lose house-points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is rewarded the house cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.
"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." (A/N-*huff, huff* FINALLY I'm done! Ouch, my fingers hurt....)
As McGonagall finished her speech and left, the hall burst into loud whispers about topics like 'I wonder how they'll sort us' and 'I hope I get put into Gryffindor, my brother says it's the best!'
~I hope I get put into a house with the Marauders in it...I really don't want to face the first year alone.~
"Hey, Lils! Better hope you'll be put into a different house than us if ya wanna win that house cup!" whispered Sirius.
"Why?" I asked, startled.
"Because we'll be pulling pranks all year long and losing points....so there is a big probability that the house we're in won't win the cup!" Sirius replied.
"And how do you know you four will be in the same house together?"
"Because......uhh....." Sirius put his head down, muttering something like 'if they don't put us Marauders in the same house I'm leaving the school', or something like that. I laughed. It was most likely that we'd be in the same house because all of our minds work the same.
"Alright, the Great Hall is ready for you." McGonagall had obviously come back while I wasn't paying attention. "Now, get into a line, no pushing or cutting in front."
I immediately rushed to the front, with Sirius behind me, then James, then Peter, then Remus. We followed McGonagall to huge bronze doors when she stopped and pushed the large handles. I gasped. The Great Hall was magnificent. There were four tables, probably one for each house, under tiny, glittering candles hovering above them. The walls were covered in maple paint and Hogwarts banners. One had a golden lion with a scarlet background, another had a bronze raven with a blue background, one with a black badger and yellow background, and finally, one with a silver serpent on a green background. Then I looked at the ceiling. It didn't look like a normal ceiling at all. It looked like the sky outside, the sky that we had just been under a few minutes ago.
~Well, I'm no idiot. Since we're in the 'magical world' now, the ceiling's obviously been bewitched to look like the sky.~
Then I remembered where we were and quickly traveled up the steps to the staff table and faced the rest of Hogwarts' students. There must have be over a thousand! Each table looked like a different species. The Gryffindor table looked happy and excited. The Ravenclaws looked pleased to be back at Hogwarts. The Hufflepuffs looked unsure and jumpy, while the Slytherins looked unpleasant and menacing. I turned my attention to McGonagall, who was placing a old, dirty hat on a wooden stool. Confused, I stepped backwords as the hat began to, believe it or not, sing. (A/N-Okay, I'm no good at writing poems, so here goes another first book phrase.)
[i:1hjpakr8]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 folk 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![/i:1hjpakr8]
The hat finished its song and the whole hall started clapping, even the pictures on the walls.
~Wow! That's a pretty smart hat if it can make up a song like that! Well, at least we don't have to cast a spell or something.~
"As I call your name, you will step up, sit on the stool, and place the hat on your head. When it calls your house, walk down to your appropriate table and wait for the banquet to end." McGonagall announced.
"Aqua, Annabella!"
"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat shouted. The table at the far right cheered as Annabella sat down.
"Arsetta, Ressore!"
"RAVENCLAW!" This time, the table on the near right cheered.
"Bellitary, Renee!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Black, Sirius!" I could see Sirius was a bit nervous as he put on the hat.
"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat shouted after a minute. I smiled at Sirius as he skipped to the Gryffindor table.
"Brandatee, Anastasia!"
"SLYTHERIN!" The table on the far left congragulated Anastasia.
"Bulstrode, Brad!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Caressa, Noah!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!" The table on the near left shouted.
"Chang, Michelle!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Elyna, Tom!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Epoller, Rick!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Evans, Lily!"
"Good luck, Lils!" I heard James whisper. Holding my breath, I put the hat on.
"ah, very brave...intelligent....some mystery about you....where should you go? Wait! I see a bit of eagerness for the future and a thirst for a chance to prove you're not just a weak little girl....maybe I should put you in GRYFFINDOR!" The hat cried. Relieved, I walked to the Gryffindor table, sat down next to Sirius ("Great Lils! You made it to the best house!")after shaking a few hands, and watched the rest of the Sorting.
"Figg, Arabella!"
"GRYFFINDOR!" Sirius and I welcomed Arabella.
"Finelty, Derek!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Gradell, Lisa!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Gyant, Terra!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Heart, Anthony!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Lupin, Remus!" I saw him clench his fists as he sat on the stool wearing the hat.
"GRYFFINDOR!" Sirius and I cheered as Remus took a seat next to me.
"Malfoy, Lucius!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Well, at least he's in a different house..." I heard Sirius mutter.
"Olaque, Jennifer!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Patil, Samantha!"
"GRYFFINDOR!" Sirius, Remus, and me greeted Samantha.
"Pettigrew, Peter!" Peter tripped over the stool, and remarkably, the hat fell on his head. The hall burst into laughter until the hat spoke.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Good job, Pete!" Remus congragulated Peter.
"See Lils? Told ya we'd be in the same house. Now we have to wait for James." Sirius said to me.
"Potter, James!" I crossed my fingers and toes, crossing my arms and legs as well. I know I looked silly, but I needed all the hope I could get so James could be in Gryffindor.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"YAY! NOW THE MARAUDERS ARE TOGETHER AGAIN!" I yelled enthusiastically when James sat down across from me beside Peter.
"Okay, could you like, shut up, Lils? They could hear you from Hogsmeade and I want to hear the rest of the ceremony." James told me. I blushed and looked at the stage. They were on the R's now and 'Rainbow, Siriana' was being sorted.
"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat shouted. We greeted Siriana and she sat down beside Sirius, who looked interested in her. Ten more people got sorted and then the Headmaster stood up.
"Hello, and welcome to Hogwarts. I am Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. Before we begin feasting, there are a few important notices to tell you. As older students know, the Forbidden Forest is, of course, forbidden. The only time you may go in there is with Hagrid, our gamekeeper, at detentions. Hopefully, there won't be many." Dumbledore's eyes lingered on the Marauders for a moment, as if he knew they were pranksters.
~Which he probably does.~ I reminded myself.
"Another is that no quidditch will be played this year because of some parents thinking it is too much of a dangerous sport." Some people groaned, others had furious looks on."Instead, we will be having dances where normally Quidditch Matches will be held. We will notify you whether it is casual or formal. Also, there is one more thing." Dumbledore suddenly tuned his voice into a mysterious one."We have decided to try a new system this year. A new social system. Every week starting with tomorrow, we will put out seven boxes for each year and let each student pick a slip from the box that has their year labled on it. The slip has the name of a person and his/her best subject. That person you pick will be your partner for the rest of the week, and your partner will not be able to pick a name other than you. There will be no switching partners or you will get a detention and twenty points taken away from your house. Now that the speech is done, let the feasting begin!" Dumbledore flicked his wand.
My jaw dropped. Now, instead of empty golden plates, there were tons of different kinds of food.(A/N-I'm too lazy to name all the food, so I'm just going to name Lily's favorites.)
~Yum! Steak, corn, chicken, mashed potatoes, perogies..........and my favorite, tomatoe sauce & meatloaf!~
All the Marauders, especially Sirius, loaded their plates with food, and stuffed themselves greedily, only once in a while taking a sip of pumpkin juice. After they were all done, appetizer, entree, and dessert, the food cleared and the plates were sparkling clean like they had been about two or three hours ago.
"Now that we are fed and watered, it is time to go to bed. Prefects, would you please take your house to their tower. Good Night, and pleasant dreams." Dumbledore said, the whole hall could hear because he put a magnify charm on his voice. Now he muttered a spell so he could talk normally.
"Over here! Hi, I'm Molly Coffly (A/N- sound 'coffly' out. Now say weaseley. Get where I'm goin'? ^_^) and I'm a Gryffindor Prefect. Please follow me to the Gryffindor Tower." said a young girl with flaming red hair. A lot more red than mine, but too bright. My hair was darker, in other words, aubourn.
Me, the Marauders, and Siriana, who had made friends with the Marauders and me, especially me and Sirius. Siriana was my best girl friend now, because I wouldn't be able to live being friends with just boys forever. Sirius seemed to think Siriana was beautiful, and used every moment to charm her. But, she was pretty. Her eyes were different colours, usually changing when she changed moods. Right now she was happy, but tired so her eyes were a mixture of blue and yellow, making them greenish. Siriana's hair was a straight, browny-blonde, reaching down to the middle of her back.
After about twenty minutes of walking through doors and tapestries, we came to our cozy common-room. There were about twenty or thirty sofa chairs and ten couches surrounding a large fireplace. Too tired to look around, me and Siriana walked up the stairs to our dormitory, saying goodnight to the boys as they slept in the other dorms. After a half an hour of dreadful getting-ready-for-bedtime, we plopped onto our beds, falling asleep almost instantly.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Wake up, Lily! You just can't miss the first day of school!" Siriana shook me until I fluttered my eyes open.
"Siriana......I want to sleep......" I told her. But then she shoved the clock in front of my face. 8:41 AM. My eyes opened wide with horror as I jumped up from bed.
"Hurry, Lils! I'll meet you in Transfiguration!" Siriana rushed out the Dorm door, handing me a piece of toast before she left. I shoved the toast in my mouth and got ready to go downstairs.
~Darn! Transfiguration starts at 9:00 AM! Bad enough that I don't even know where it is....~
I raced down the stairs, still attempting to put my hair in a ponytail. After making sure I looked okay, I grabbed my bag off the floor and sped through the portrait hole.</font>
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<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Firebolt360 on 2002-04-21 00:45 ]</font>