Finally the students’ carriages arrived at the gates of the school. After they stepped out, Cassie continued walking and talking animatedly with Sirius. When they entered through the double doors of the school, Andy and Lily separated themselves from some Ravenclaw friends that they’d been chatting with, and sat down at the end of the Gryffindor table with Fabian and Gideon Prewett, Alice Winters, and some loud third year boys. Cassie met Andy, Lily, and the others at the table after she said goodbye to the Marauders.
The room, which had been extremely loud a moment before, silenced. The headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, stood up behind the long staff table. The man was kind, but he commanded respect. He had startlingly blue eyes, and a long beard and hair, which had once been auburn but had gone mostly gray now. He smiled at the students wanly in his blue, peacock feather-adorned wizard hat.
“Welcome, one and all, to our old students and new! And, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Greenbaum.” Lily clapped along with the usual polite applause that echoed through the hall for the new teacher, a prim, black-haired woman who looked to be about thirty. The students had had a different DADA teacher every year since their first, and they were used to this. “Professor Ludwig had to go on a bit of a hiatus, I’m afraid.” Dumbledore said with another small smile. He sat down.
“It is time to begin the Sorting of the new students!” Professor McGonagall said loudly as she summoned a stool from the corner of the hall while carrying over the frayed old hat. The students already sitting at tables knew the drill. Gideon complained about his empty stomach while McGonagall coached the tiny, knock-kneed, frightened first years about the use of the Hat. Lily knew all her friend ever wanted was food, especially steak and kidney pie.
She shushed him. Lily loved the Sorting. Most of the students didn’t really care about it, like Gid, but every year, Lily couldn’t wait to see who would be new in her house. This year was even more exciting- Andromeda’s little sister, Vega, was getting sorted.
Soon the hat had sung its song, and McGonagall began reading off the names on her list in alphabetical order. Lily watched eagerly.
“Abrams, Liza!”
“Hufflepuff!” The redhead grinned and ran off to her table with a flushed face.
“Anton, Mitchell!”
“Slytherin!” The boy, pale and thin, placed the hat down and strolled coolly to his cheering table.
After a few more names had been called, Vega’s was. Andy looked kind of nervous. Most of the Black family had been Slytherins, except for her and Sirius.
After a long pause, the tatty old hat shouted out, “GRYFFINDOR!”
Andy practically fainted with relief. She couldn't bear to see her baby sister turn out like the rest of the Blacks- cruel, bitter, and dissatisfied, not to mention dabbling in the Dark Arts.
Vega was grinning widely as she ran over to her sister. Andy, Lily, and Cassie congratulated and hugged Vega.
Soon all the first years had been sorted. Vega introduced another first year, Nina Mullins, to Lily, Andy, and Cassie. Nina was awed to meet the seventh years, even the Head Girl. They seemed so old and mature to her, like real grown-ups. Soon, Vega and Nina moved off to sit with a few other girls they’d met on the train.
After some huge helpings of mashed potatoes, baked beans, and pork, Gideon and Fab left for the other end of the table to talk to some of their friends as well.
Andromeda, the champion gossiper, turned to Alice Winters. “Alice- guess what? Cassie and Sirius are-”
“Hey, I didn’t even tell you yet!” Cassie laughed.
“Oh, yeah. Tell away!”
Lily had known it was coming for a while now. Cassie and Sirius would be perfect. She had been trying to tell Cass for years, for goodness' sakes. At least it was finally going to happen. They would probably be going to Hogsmeade together.
“He asked me to go to Hogsmeade with him!” Cassie said happily.
Lily said, “Well, when’s the Hogsmeade trip? Two weeks?”
The trip was scheduled for a September Saturday this year. There wasn’t going to be a Hogsmeade trip in October, so it was scheduled a month early. Lily grinned at the thought of Honeydukes'.
As the girls brainstormed about possible outfits, Lily thought about how very excited she was to start the new term. She was finally going to take her NEWTs this year, and she could go on to become a St. Mungo’s Healer, like she had always dreamed of. Since her third year anyways, when she broke her wrist practicing Quidditch with Cassie, who was a Chaser. Needless to say, Lily was not a good flyer. But she had been fascinated by the medical magic Madam Pomfrey had used on her and the other few sick students she’d seen while holed up in the infirmary.
After supper she, James, and Remus directed the eleven Gryffindor first years to the common room. The children stared up at the two Heads and the Prefect. Remus and James, whose heads almost touched the top of the doorframe, and even petite Lily, towered over them.
“I was never that small!” James leaned down to whisper in Lily’s ear. She giggled, surprising herself.
James looked a little smug for making Lily laugh, but luckily Lily didn’t notice. She was feeling exhilarated all of a sudden and she didn’t know why.
They reached the painting of the fat lady, and Lily said the password, “Fortunato.”
The new students looked around in awe at their new common room. It was cozy, filled with armchairs and fireplaces, as always. Then Remus and James led the six small boys up one long flight of stairs. Lily took the girls up the other. Vega spoke up.
“Hey Lily!”
“What?”
“The Head Boy is so cute!”
Lily laughed and said, “You think so?”
“Yeah. I heard his name’s James. James Potter. He plays Seeker on the Gryffindor team- he’s supposed to be really good,” Vega said to the other first year girls.
“He’s pretty good,” Lily allowed.
Then the tiniest girl of all spoke up. “My dad works at the ministry, in the Auror office. A friend of his named Harold Potter was killed this summer. But there’s no relation, right?” she asked in a squeaky voice.
Lily stopped. Could it have been James’ dad? “I don’t really…know,” she said slowly.
At that moment, they reached the top of the stairs and Lily showed the girls their room. It had a sign on it reading, “First years”; with a chalkboard underneath for them each to write their names on. The girls signed. The list read, Vega Black, Nina Mullins, Paula McMahon, Lee-Ann Summer, and Nat Clearwater.
Lily left the girls to explore their dorm. She was tired, and wanted to fall asleep listening to the quiet buzzing of her friends' chatter. She entered the seventh year room. Andy and Cass still hadn’t arrived. Lily put her purple pajamas on and lay on her four-poster bed, thinking about Harold Potter. She had seen that name somewhere over the summer, but where?
Cassie and Andy walked in loudly talking with the two other girls in their year, June Fitzpatrick and Elaine Feldman. The girls were friendly, and Andy liked them, but they’d never really clicked too well with Lily and Cassie. June and Elaine pretty much kept to themselves, but now they wanted to know everything on Cassie and Sirius’ status.
“Oh my God!” Lily screeched, interrupting their conversation. They all looked at her.
It had come to her- she had seen an obituary for the man in the Daily Prophet stating that he was succeeded by a wife called Maggie and a son called… James!
“James’ dad was killed over the summer!”