“Bye Mum, Bye Dad!” called James one last time before boarding the Hogwarts express for the first time. Turning the corner, he ran right into a skinny boy, causing them both to topple to the ground. James’ glasses hit the floor of the train with a piercing crunch.
“Watch where you’re going, mate!” said the boy. He handed James his broken glasses and offered him his hand. Through the cracks, James noticed that the boy was very skinny and had dark brown, if not black, hair that grew just below his ears.
“Right back at you!” said James. He shook this new boy’s hand and gave him a small smile.
“Sorry ‘bout your glasses. I’m Sirius, by the way,” said the boy as they went looking for an open compartment.
“It’s fine, happens all the time! I’ll fix them eventually. I’m James,” he replied as he took off his specs and evaluated the damage. They were a bit bent and he wished that he knew some spells that could possibly return them to their normal state.
To answer his prayers, a shabby looking boy who was behind Sirius and himself asked, “Do you need some help with that?”
“Sure, do you know any spells?” asked James. This boy looked like a first year, too and James doubted that he could do much for him. In the end, he agreed and handed over his glasses.
“Reparo!”
To James’ surprise, the cracks disappeared and the wire unbent itself until they looked even better than before. “Wow, thanks a bunch,” he said. The boy nodded and headed to find a compartment of his own. Finally, James and Sirius found an empty place to sit.
The boys started talking about how excited they were to be going off to Hogwarts and all about their previous adventures on brooms and former pet gnomes. Then, they herd the door slide open as another boy walked in. Then, for the first time James noticed a red-headed girl who was sitting in the corner. The boy sat across from the girl.
* “I don’t want to talk to you,” she said to him quietly. She had red hair that grew a little past her shoulders and bright green eyes. As she turned her attention away from the boy across her, James noticed that her rosy cheeks were stained with tears.
“Why not?” asked the greasy-haired boy who sat opposite the girl. He had a hooked nose and black hair and he had already changed into the Hogwarts uniform.
“Tuney h-hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore,” replied the red-head. James tried to listen without seeming too interested. Who was Tuney and why did Dumbledore send him or her a letter?
“So what?”
At this, the girl gave the greasy boy a glare that could kill a basilisk. “So she’s my sister!”
“She’s only a---” but the boy stopped.
She’s only a what? What could she be? The girl didn’t seem to hear her friend because she was too busy brushing away a tear that had escaped down her cheek. James glanced over at Sirius who had a curious look on his own thin face. Their voices drifted back to James and the subject had changed.
"You'd better be in Slytherin," said the boy. The girl's face unbelievably brightened.
This girl couldn't want to be in Slytherin! thought James. She must not know anything about the houses and the types of students who get placed in Slytherin. They were slimy, greedy, mean, and cruel; this young girl just didn't fit that description.
"Slytherin? Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" he asked Sirius. But Sirius didn't laugh like James had expected him to. Instead, his face turned stony and he frowned.
"My whole family have been in Slytherin," he said.
"Blimey, and I thought you seemed all right!" That got the response that James was hoping for. Sirius smiled at him.
"Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?"
James pretended to gallantly lift an imaginary sword through the compartment's ceiling. "Gryffindor," he replied, "where dwell the brave at heart!' Like my dad." The greasy boy made a sound. "Got a problem with that?"
"No," replied the boy with a sneer plastered across his pale face, "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy--"
James tried to think of a quick come-back, but Sirius was the first to reply. "Where are you hoping to go, seeing as your neither?"
James burst out laughing and rolled onto the floor. Picking himself up, he wiped a tear from his eye and continued giggling. That was much better than the one I was thinking of, he thought. No one would have even smiled if he had said, "Oh yeah? Well brawny is the new brainy!" He internally kicked himself for coming up with such a lame response.
The girl scowled at the two hysterical boys before turning to her friend and saying, "Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment."
"Ooooooo...." replied James and Sirius between fits of laughter. "See ya, Snivellus!" said James as he watched the girl and Severus leave, slamming he door shut behind them. This caused Sirius to shove his face into the back of his cushioned seat, in order to stop the giggles that overcome him.
"Looks like we have met some new friends!" said James. "Snivellus and Red-head!"
The two continued laughing until the train came to a halt and they were forced to throw on some robes, last minute.
“And did you see the look that she gave us? Priceless, I tell you!”
“If looks could kill...”
They headed off the train and walked towards a voice that was summoning all first year students. James looked up to see a huge man who was ten times both Sirius and himself put together. James looked around. To his left, he saw the boy who had fixed his glasses with a group of students. There was a watery-eyed boy near him who hung to every word he said and followed behind him closely. A little beyond them, James noticed Snivellus and his little friend and nudged Sirius, who imitated her voice, “Come on, Snivellus!”
The giant man led the first years to a lake and James’ attention turned to the huge castle in the distance. It was absolutely gigantic, with thousands of windows and multiple towers. It was even more remarkable than the Quidditch world cup that his father had taken him to a couple years ago.
He hopped on a small boat with Sirius and another girl and they magically started floating towards the school. The lanterns on each raft flickered on and glistened in the lake, creating a mystical mood worthy of the occasion.
James didn’t even notice the boat touching shore until he saw Sirius rise and jump out. He followed him to the front doors of the castle that opened slowly as they arrived. They got their first look at the school. There was an enchanting glow from the candles that floated up and down the high walls. Moving portraits bowed and waved at the new students as they wandered down the corridors, following the half-giant. They were then led into a great hall with four long tables that seated the older students.
James gasped when his eyes wandered to the ceiling, which was bewitched to look like the sky. A few wispy clouds hung eerily in the starless night sky. The first years were taken to the middle of the hall, in front of a stool with an old hat laid upon it. They looked at each other nervously, almost expecting it to explode any minute. A tall witch with a scroll of parchment stepped up and started calling names.
“Abosey, Daniel,” she said and a scared looking boy made his way up and sat on the unsteady stool. The witch placed the hat on Daniel’s head and waited a matter of seconds.
“Hufflepuff!” the hat shouted at once. James was slightly relieved that this hat was picking the houses, but he couldn’t help but wonder how it worked.
“Black, Sirius!” shrieked the stern witch. Sirius hesitated before slowly walking up to the stool. He flinched as the hat was placed on his head and then waited. He took several more seconds then the last boy.
“Gryffindor!” yelled the hat as the table on the far right burst into applause. A grin spread across Sirius’ face as he let out a sigh of relief and accomplishment. He met James’ gaze and mouthed, “See you there.”
A few more students were sorted. A Ravenclaw, two Hufflepuffs, and a girl in Gryffindor. “Evans, Lily!” Then, James saw Red-head, from the train, walk shakily up to the hat. Lily Evans, thought James, Much prettier of a name than Red-head... He saw Sirius raise his eyebrows up and down and tried to suppress a snicker.
“Gryffindor!”
James couldn’t believe it! The annoying girl on the train was put in Gryffindor! This was all some mistake. Sirius’ face had a shocked expression on it as Lily approached the table. Recognizing him from the train, she chose the other side of the table and was ignoring him.
And the sorting ceremony went on. Was Red-head brave? She did stick up for her slimy friend. But how could she be put in Gryffindor? Wouldn’t she have preferred to be in Slytherin with her good mate Snivellus? The questions raced through James’ mind. He clapped along with the Gryffindors as Remus Lupin, the boy who fixed his glasses, was placed with Sirius and Evans.
“Potter, James!” Finally, his name was called. The moment the hat was placed on his messy hair, James herd a tiny voice in the back of his head that made him jump.
“A Potter!” said the hat, “This one shows bravery beyond the rest. Seems like quite the trickster, too.” James hoped that only he could hear the hat talking. “Well the choice is obvious, is it not? Better be... GRYFFINDOR!” Thank Merlin! He could finally relax and he quickly headed over to the Gryffindor table, but not before bowing to his peers. Laughter filled the hall and James saw Lily roll her eyes.
He strutted over to the table with Remus and Sirius and smirked at Lily as he sat himself down next to her. “Humph,” she said as she whipped her head around to watch the rest of the ceremony.
He turned to Sirius, who was giving him the thumbs up and Lupin, who was laughing slightly. Black had probably enlightened him on the situation.
“Thanks again for fixing my glasses, Remus,” said James happily.
"Of course, James. James Potter, right?"
Lily turned around sharply and gave Remus a sad look that said, You know him, too?
"Snape, Severus!"
Lily gasped and watched closely as the boy with the hooked nose walked up to the hat. Only two seconds had past before the hat screamed, "Slytherin!"
She gave Snape a sad smile and he shrugged his shoulders in return.
"Sorry about your boyfriend," James said to Lily.
"He's not my boyfriend," she replied, scowling at him. Her emerald-green eyes were shooting daggers at him and he almost didn't dare continue. But, he did.
"Oh, good. He didn't seem your type, you know. You don't want a guy who leaves grease marks with his nose." said James matter-of-factly. Sirius and Remus sniggered a little, but Lily went crazy with anger. Tears brimmed her eyes and she exploded on James.
"My type?! My type?! You are an arrogant jerk whose head is too big to see that Sev is a good person! So, I suggest you just shut up, Potter!"
"Ladies first, Evans." he responded. Lily's breathing got heavy and her eyes narrowed as she tried to think of something to say. She decided it wasn't worth it and so she got up from the table and walked away to find some other girls to sit with.
"Sorry," James mumbled, but only he could hear. She had seemed nice and, although he would never admit it, rather pretty. Why did have to be so mean?
"You’re blushing, mate," said Remus, but James quickly covered it up and clapped as the last girl, Shelly Warbeck, was sorted into Gryffindor.
A watery-eyed boy, who James recognized as the boy following Remus around earlier, scooted closer to them. "I can't wait 'till the feast! I'm Peter, by the way!" he squealed. James thought that he slightly resembled a mouse.
The boys chatted a while longer and after a short speech by Dumbledore, they began the feast. Every food imaginable was stacked high on platters and the aroma was unbelievable. James forgot about Lily for a little while and stuffed his plate with everything in arms reach. The Gryffindor boys ate more than enough and finally retired for the night. The prefects stood up and led the students to the Gryffindor common room.
They must have walked up fifty different staircases that all changed and moved at random. James wondered how he would ever remember which ones led where and the exact location of the vanishing step. There wasn't a speck of bare wall visible, for portraits hung over every square foot. Little girls having a tea party would stop and wave and a man studying a telescope stopped to smile at the passer-byes. It was all truly magical.
"Mormoop," said the prefect once they stopped at a portrait of a large woman dressed in pink gowns.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," she replied. The portrait swung open revealing a room on the other side. A fire was crackling and two giant, red couches looked very inviting. It was a very cozy atmosphere and the students flooded in to lounge on the chairs or explore the common room.
"Girls are on the left, boys on the right," concluded the boy wearing a prefect badge. He sat down on the couch to catch up with his friends as James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter scurried up the stairs to their dorm. There were four four poster beds, one for each of them, waiting with trunks by their sides. James fell upon his own bed and dozed off before he had time to even change into his pajamas or brush his teeth. Soon, he was dreaming. His new friends were all there, laughing with him when he spotted the girl with dark red hair and bright green eyes glaring at him from a distance. She came closer and closer, and James braced himself for the nightmare.
* Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling, pages: 670-672
The Marauder's Map to a Gryffindor's Heart by The_Dream_Team
Story Notes:
Everything you recognize most likely belongs to JK Rowling
Chapter Endnotes: Thanks for reading! Did you like it? Hate it? Please review!