"Snape was at school with us."
Chapter Two: The Sorting
When Professor McGonagall left the foyer, leaving her new students behind to ponder her words, the first years instantly erupted into a fit of chatter. Each immediately talking about what the task could possibly be, worried about what their fate would be.
"Task?" Peter squeaked as he turned around to face James. His face was lit with nothing but blatant fear.
Despite himself James rolled his eyes at his new friend. "I told you not to worry, so don't. They are not going to try and kill us on our first day at Hogwarts. So just relax." James stated firmly to Peter slightly frustrated by the boy's overreaction. All the while, Sirius stood beside James and nodded his agreement at his friend's words.
Suddenly, the doors that lead to the great hall flew open once more, after what had seemed like an eternity of waiting for the worried first years, and McGonagall entered the foyer. She stood in the doorway for a few seconds, taking her time so she could have a good look at each child. When she felt she had a good assessment of the new class she smiled, ever so slightly, at the small crowd in front of her before she spoke. "We are ready for you now. Please, follow me."
She then whipped around on her toes and headed back into the great hall. The group of first years followed reluctantly behind her up the stairs and into the hall. As they entered the great hall all the older students attention was drawn to them. James felt his face flush slightly at the added pressure of the many eyes that were on them as they made their way past all of the other older students, who were already seated at their designated house tables. McGonagall lead them to the front of the room, where each of the students lined up before the teachers, who were each looking at them with smiling faces as the students eyes traveled past the loan chair that was sitting at the front of the room with a worn out, grubby looking hat sitting upon it.
"First years, the sorting is about to begin. When I call your name you will come forward and place the sorting hat on top of your head. Once it has decided which house you will be placed in, you will, then, join your fellow classmates at your table. Do you understand?" All of the students nodded a reply, not knowing whether or not the clearly strict woman had wanted a verbal answer. "Then let the sorting begin."
A moment later the hat began to sing about the founders of Hogwarts and why the hat itself had been created. Once the hat had completed its song the hall broke into a wild applause. While the first years just stood in front of the room, still slightly unnerved by the situation they had just been unwillingly placed in. Then Professor McGonagall came forward once more with a large scroll in her hands and quickly called off the first name, "Andrews, Caitlyn." The four boys watched as the small blond haired girl walked over to the stool and gently picked up the hat. She, then, sat down on the stool and placed the hat on top of her head, as instructed, and sat for a long while as she waited for something to happen. Eventually, the hat announced that she had been placed in Hufflepuff. Instantly, with an obvious sigh of relief combined with applause from the older Hufflepuffs, all of the first years were at ease.
They watched silently as McGonagall called off all of the "A's" which was followed with "Black, Sirius." Sirius let out deep sigh and looked over at James with a half smile. James just grinned back and offered him a thumb's up, before Sirius walked over to the stool and placed the hat on his own head. The hat had barely touched his ears before it yelled out "Gryffindor!" More applause followed the declaration.
And so the sorting commenced regularly for the remaining three until Remus' name was called and he was also sorted into Gryffindor. James watched him join Sirius with a wide smile that grazed wildly across his face as a group of red heads, who were all standing up at the Gryffindor's table, started giving him catcalls as he walked towards them. Remus just smiled even more widely than he had when his house had been called as he sat down beside Sirius and turned his attention back to the front of the room. James gave Remus a small wave before he too turned his attention back to a "Mogenson, Wesley," who had just been sorted into Ravenclaw.
James clapped for the boy, along with the other students, and continued to wait as patiently as he could for his own name to be called. The "P's" started to be declared and for the first time that entire night James felt his stomach start to do small back flips in anticipation of his own sorting. When Peter's name was called James noticed that he seemed to be visibly shaking in fear. Peter had to sit for a very long time before the hat eventually yelled out "Gryffindor." The Gryffindors began to clap the loudest they had up until that point as he made his way to the table, with a shocked expression on his face. James laughed at the small smile for the poor boy had nearly had a heart attack when the Gryffindor table erupted with clapping and more catcalls from the red heads. While all along Peter just smiled politely at them and sat down across from Remus.
"Potter, James."
James jumped slightly at the sudden shouting of his own name but quickly regained his composure and walked up to the old stool. He took a deep breath before he picked up the hat, sat down, and put it over his head. The hat had barely even hovered over his hair for a second, before it yelled out Gryffindor. He smiled triumphantly and then joined Remus, Peter and Sirius. "I'm glad it's over." He stated before he looked back up at the front of the room as the ceremony began to wind down. James' brain slowly began to drift away from the sorting and started to fill with thoughts about the upcoming feast that was merely minutes away.
McGonagall called out only a few more names before "Snape, Severus" echoed throughout the room. They watched as a small boy with greasy black hair and a smug smile on his pale face came forward out of the small line of remaining first years. Sirius grimaced at the boy and whispered "Slytherin" as the hat yelled out the same as it grazed the first couple of stray hairs on his oily head. Severus quickly put the hat back down on the stool and walked past the four boys as he made his way towards his own house table.
Peter watched him closely as he walked by. "He's kind of… creepy, don't you think?"
Sirius nodded, "He's a carbon copy of every member of my family, I bet you." James nodded. He was getting the same vibe from the boy as Peter. James watched the boy get acquainted with a few of his fellow house members before he turned his attention back to the ceremony once more. The last of the names was called out, Weasley, Christopher, who was also sorted into Gryffindor. The boy walked slowly to the back of the room at the end of the table and sat down by them. He only sat about a foot away from the four boys and had joined the group of red heads, who were most definitely his family members. They other red heads were still yelling and screaming as loudly as they possibly could in celebration for their younger brother's apparent victory even after he had been completely seated at the table with them.
As soon as the ceremony was over the students assembled, immediately began to talk loudly with their friends. The loud chatter about the upcoming year gradually increased with volume as they tried to hear themselves over the countless number of other students in the hall. James sat smiling with his friends as they went back to talking quietly over their own plans as they waited patiently for the food to be served, but, unfortunately, nothing came. James' stomach rumbled loudly and he looked up towards the staff table where an elderly man with a very long white hair and half moon eyeglasses rose from his seat, immediately the hall fell silent.
"I have only a few things to say, as most of you have noticed, I am the new Headmaster of this school. Most of you already know that I am Professor Dumbledore, and for those of you that don't, now you do. There are only a few minor changes for me to note. One, a new tree has been planted on the school grounds as a gift from the minister. Although, he seems to have an odd sense of humor because it happens to be a Whomping Willow, and therefore no student is to go near it unless they want to suffer tremendously." He looked the room over and James could have sworn that he had stopped to look at the four of them before he continued. "As always the forbidden forest is prohibited to all students, and on a final unpleasant note, dungbombs and frog spawn have been added to Mr. Filches' list of objects forbidden inside the castle. Now, let the feast begin."
In the next instant the gold plates and goblets in front of them were filled with mountains of delectable foods. Sirius and James began to dig into it without any signs of the manners that their parents had instilled in them from the time they had been born. They piled mountains of potatoes, chips and chicken onto their own plates while Remus looked at the food obviously deciding what he would like most, and Peter just began to munch on a chicken leg with an evident lack of being able to decide on what he wanted at all.
"What are we going to do about the dungbombs?" Sirius asked after swallowing a very large amount of mashed potatoes.
Remus shrugged his reply, honestly, not caring about any of their prank problems at that particular moment. Right now he was just glad he was at Hogwarts. He wouldn't want to be anywhere else and he didn't want to worry about anything else either. He looked over at James, who was smiling widely and now was busying himself by talking with Peter about making the Quidditch team. James looked down the table at all of the other Gryffindors before he turned his attention back to Peter and exclaimed that he was going to be the best Chaser Gryffindor team would ever see. Remus just chuckled when he heard the announcement before he received a glare from his three new friends.
James' smile faded only a few notches by Remus' outburst and continued slightly on in defense. "What? I am."
"Sure you are, James. I'll never doubt you again." Remus said with a calm tone before he looked up at the enchanted ceiling where a waning crescent moon stood predominately in the 'sky,' shining brightly.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" All four of the boys jumped at the sound of the unexpected female voice.
James, who had been looking intently at the grimacing face Remus had made at the enchanted moon, turned to look at the owner of the voice. She was a pretty red headed girl with bright green eyes and a smile to match. He smiled reluctantly back at her, still not very happy to be interrupted with his discussion in the first place.
"Are you done with the mashed potatoes? The boys at our end of the table ate them all."
"Yeah, sure, take 'em." Sirius said through a mouthful of chicken, forgetting his manners completely. She frowned at him and took the bowl away from Peter who had held it out to her patiently waiting for the weight to be lifted from his small arms. James watched her walk away, down a little ways from them to the very end of the table where the whole family of red heads were seated.
"You think they're related?"
Remus shook his head at the question, "I doubt it. She just said 'the boys' if they were related she would have probably addressed them like they were siblings or something." James nodded in agreement and went back to his food, finding that it was more important that anything else at that moment.
The rest of the feast was just quite typical of feasts. The chatter went on as the food slowly but surely began to disappear. Once the students were finished with their food they sat back in their seats talking with their friends entirely full and relaxed. Eventually, the headmaster gave his last little speech ("Classes start in the morning and now: bedtime.") and the students quickly shuffled out of the hall into the foyer where they met up with their house prefects who were to help them get to their common room.
"First years, this way." A prefect yelled, "Follow me."
Remus, James, Sirius, and Peter followed their Gryffindor prefects down the hallways and up the hundreds of staircases, or so it seemed to them for they were all quite tired by the time they reached this point, until they reached a painting of a fat lady in a pink dress. They stopped as the prefect began to try and get their attention. Once he was sure that he had most of the first years attention he began his speech.
"Now, listen carefully, I am only going to say the password once. This is the only way to get into our common room. You will never give this to anyone else, or else. Have you all got that?" Everyone nodded his or her heads, too tired to say their answer verbally. "Alright then." The prefect then turned to face the painting, which smiled at them as she greeted him and the herd of first years behind him who were waiting patiently until they were let into their common room. Then, she asked for the password. "Pear Drop." In an instant the painting flung open and the first years stepped inside. Most of which were too tired to be amazed by the scene that had just played out before them. While others, mostly Muggleborns, stood with their mouths open at the fat lady, and then continued to gape at the interior of the common room as the prefect told them whose dorms were up which staircase.
After the prefect was finished with his information, James and his small gang of friends climbed up the winding staircase up to the first years dorms and walked down to the end of the hall with droopy eyes. They entered the last room to the left and walked slowly over to their trunks that were already waiting for them. They opened their trunks, pulling out their belongings for the nights sleep. After putting their pajama's on, they fell asleep almost the instant their heads had hit the soft pillows.