Disclaimer- I don't own anything Harry Potter. my name is not J.K Rowling, it never was, and unless I decide to change it by law, it never will be. Hope that clears a few things up.

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Lily watched in terror as Sirius and another boy hauled James onto the boat. He seemed only half-conscious, and Lily’s heart skipped a beat as he dropped to the ground, completely still. His eyes were closed, and his head was resting on his shoulder. Sirius and the boy pulled James up and into a sitting position with Remus’s help. James began to cough, and Lily let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “James, are you alright?” asked Sirius, anxiously. James stopped coughing, and then he smiled, faintly. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he choked out. Jada made a strange, strangled sort of noise and threw her arms around her cousin in relief. “Jada, I’m OK!” hissed James, embarrassed. “What happened to you?” asked Lily, anxiously. James opened his mouth as if to say something, but Sirius cut in. “Nothing,'” he lied. “James just…lost his balance.”

Lily wasn’t sure, but she thought she saw Sirius shake his head slightly at James, as if warning him not to say anything. The boy Lily didn’t recognize smiled. “Well, as long as you’re alright now,” he chirped, brightly. “I’m Robert Goldstein,” he grinned, extending his hand. “James Potter,” said James, as he shook it. Robert had a perfectly sculpted face, with a straight nose, and almond shaped brown eyes. He had a very toned body with broad shoulders, and Lily knew that he would most probably be very popular in the years to come. “Oh James!” cried a voice behind Lily. Lily tuned around to see Calista climbing over the seats toward them. “Are you alright? What happened? This is terrible! Are you hurt a lot? Is there anything I can do?” Calista babbled, a panicky note to her voice. “I’m fine, really,” insisted James, shivering. Calista took off her cloak and wrapped it around James. “You must be freezing,” she cooed. She’s just trying to help James, Lily told herself. Then why do I want to rip her neck out? ________________________________________________________________________ The rest of the boat ride was uneventful for James. Calista sat next to him for the rest of the ride, having kicked Lily out of her seat. (Much to James’s dismay.) When they all arrived at the castle, James was immediately rushed to the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey, a pretty, middle-aged woman, began to fuss about him fretfully the second he arrived in the Hospital Wing. “Insisting children ride in boats in this weather,” she muttered angrily. “I'll show him tradition… could have drowned… you’ve probably set the record for earliest visit to the Hospital Wing, young man… here, have some chocolate,” she said, handing James a large slab of chocolate. James took it, but he didn’t eat it. “Will I miss the sorting?” he asked, worriedly. Madame Pomfrey rolled her eyes. “Not if you hurry up and eat that,” she said, sharply. “Though whyyou’re worrying about that after such a traumatic experience I’ll never know… it must be the shock…You’ll be having memory relapses of this until you’re forty… it wouldn’t be the first time…” James just stared at her as she bustled around, muttering to herself, then he wolfed down his chocolate. “Can I please go now?” he demanded, impatiently. “Yes, yes, off you go then,” James jumped up and sprinted down the stairs. When he entered the Great Hall, no one noticed him. They were all staring at a girl, who was sitting on a stool, wearing a large, tattered hat that engulfed her entire head.

James crept down to join the group of nervous first years, who stood, huddled together, nervously. He stood next to a plump boy with watery eyes, who smiled at him. James looked up at the hat, whose brim opened, and it spoke clearly. “HUFFLEPUFF!” James jumped, but no one else looked surprised.

The girl skipped down to join one of the four tables that sat in the hall. A tall, thin woman with small glasses that rested on her nose, and grayish hair that was tied up in a bun, read out a name off of a scroll of paper. “Pettigrew, Peter.” The boy next to James began to tremble, and he walked over to the stool. The woman placed the hat on his head. The hat stood still for a long, then it opened its brim (mouth?) and cried; “GRYFFINDOR!” There was some polite applause. “Potter, James,” the woman read out, and James swallowed. Was there anything that he was supposed to do while the hat was on his head? He tried to remember all of the spells he had learnt, but his mind went blank. He numbly walked up to the stool and gingerly sat down. The hat was placed on his head, and he suddenly saw nothing but blackness. A voice was in his ear, suddenly. “Hmm, James Potter. I have a good feeling about you. You have a sharp mind, my boy; you would do excellent in Ravenclaw. You are a good and loyal friend; you would put your life on the line to save them, which would have you in Hufflepuff.” James grimaced at this. “You have determination and charisma, you are good at getting your own way. These are qualities that Slytherin himself prized. But, no, you have too pure a heart for that particular house. You are most extraordinarily brave. I saw that instantly. Yes, I have come to a decision. But keep this in mind Mr. Potter, Gryffindor did tell me to give this message to anyone who looks as if they can use it, and you will definitely need to use this.” James was curious at this. What did the hat want to say to him from Gryffindor himself? “Keep your friends close, James, but keep your enemies even closer. This may not seem much to you now, but I believe you will find it useful in the future.” “GRYFFINDOR!” The hat shouted aloud, and James jumped again. The hats’ words were met with a burst of applause. Sirius cheered the loudest, for he was sitting on the Gryffindor table. He could see Remus alongside of him, as well as Thaliana, Roxanna and Lily. He was especially pleased to see her there. He could also spot Calista in Slytherin, looking extremely disappointed. James ran over to sit next to Sirius at the Gryffindor table. There were only a few kids left to be sorted now, and Jada was soon sorted into Gryffindor as well, which surprised James. Jada had always seemed too withdrawn for that house. Professor Dumbledore, the Headmaster, stood up. "Thankyou, Professor McGonagall," he said.

He began to say something else, but James paid no attention. He had to talk to Sirius. “Why did you tell everyone I lost my balance?” he hissed. Sirius gave him a wry smile. “His name’s Snape. Severus Snape, and believe me, it will take more than getting into trouble for pushing you overboard to. Besides, my motto is; Don’t get mad, get even.” James rolled his eyes. “But getting him a detention would be getting even!” he whispered, exhasperated. “Yes, but we can do worse than that, and telling on him will give us a motive for doing whatever we’re going to do to him. If no one knows we don’t like him, then no one will suspect us,” Sirius explained. James smiled. “Good point,” he remarked. The two boys looked up just as the platters in front of them filled up with food that seemed to appear out of thin air. Sirius, James and Remus loaded their plates with mountains of food. Lily looked across the table at James, slightly disdainfully. James ignored her. You could only go too far to impress girls, and cutting down on food intake is way over the line. Robert, on the other hand, was picking at his food, and looking over at Lily, hopefully. Peter was stuffing his face, eagerly. He occasionally had so much food in his mouth that he couldn’t manage to swallow. James stifled a giggle, as another one of Peter’s attempts to swallow failed miserably. Suddenly, Peter’s face turned a peculiar shade of blue, and he started choking. James’s eyes widened and he desperately tried to remember one of the spells he had learnt in his studying. “Anapneo,” James recited, pointing his wand at Peter. Peter swallowed and gulped down some air. He looked over at James. “Thanks,” he said gratefully. “Any time,” shrugged James. Lily, who had been watching Peter, a mixture of horror and repulsion on her face, now turned to smile at James, admiringly. James sat up straighter in his seat, proudly, as the people around him congratulated him.

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Thankyou to everyone who reads this, I really hope you liked it! Please say you did! I would really appreciate it if you would review with feedback, like was there anything you particularily enjoyed, is there anything that I could have done better?

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