the sorting
The candles were floating. The candles were floating. Lily had read about this in Hogwarts: a history, but nothing could have prepared her for the sight in real life. Not to mention the ceiling (reflecting the real sky if you would believe it). Lily didn’t notice the back of her hand lightly smacking Severus’ chest until he wrapped his fingers around hers to make her stop.
“Sorry,” Lily heard the breathlessness in her own voice, only noticing the giddy smile on her face when she looked at Sev, who wasn’t even looking around, just right at Lily, amused. The whole class of first years were parading slowly to the front of this giant room with the floating candles. The Great Hall.
Arnold, Simon. Hufflepuff.
Black, Sirius. Gryffindor. He did not look happy.
Evans, Lily.
Breathe. Breathe. Just breathe. There are no wrong answers, Lily. Severus had told her on the train that he was planning to be in Slytherin because his mother was in Slytherin, and that she should try for Slytherin, too. Upon reading the house chapter in Hogwarts: a history, Lily’s mother thought that she should be in Ravenclaw (“You’re just so bright, Lily”). Both of her parents agreed that Hufflepuff sounded nice, but her father thought she was too bold, too fierce, and should be in Gryffindor (“But make lots of Hufflepuff friends, dear, they sound like lovely people”). Lily’s legs moved on their own, her mind still racing through all of her options as she sat down on the stool, where Professor McGonagall placed the patched hat on her head.
Hmmm… Let’s see here… Muggle-born… determined to prove yourself… quite bright, indeed… fiercely loyal… you could do quite well in any house… Lily was determined not to influence the hat. Except for the nagging voice in the back of her head. Gryffindor.
Maybe she wanted to make her father proud, maybe it was fate, or a witch’s intuition, but something in Lily knew—this boldness was the part of herself that she wanted to nurture. Gryffindor. Gryffindor, eh? Are you quite sure? Lily set her jaw, suddenly certain of this thing that wasn’t supposed to be her decision.
“GRYFFINDOR!”
The tips of Lily’s fingers were cold, and she couldn’t really feel her feet, but something calm settled in her stomach as her tie changed from black to crimson. She grinned and went to sit next to the boy who had been sorted before her, who still looked slightly green. The sorting continued, but Lily was through paying such close attention, “Hi. I’m Lily.”
The boy took her hand and shook it, offering a weak smile in return, “Sirius.” Sirius had fair skin and dainty features, with grey eyes and black hair that curled gently around his ears. Sirius’ complexion evened out as the sorting continued and he even started to cheer for new Gryffindor students.
Soon enough, Remus, from the train, was sitting across from Lily and Sirius, and before long, they were joined by a pretty girl named Mary Macdonald, who had warm brown skin, a halo of curly black hair, highlighted with honey blonde, and the fiercest brown eyes Lily had ever seen, Lily almost felt as though she were looking at the sun.
Next came Marlene McKinnon, with her pale blue eyes, athletic build, and long blond hair. She looked perfect enough that Lily expected her to be cold, but she was as warm and friendly as could be.
Then was Peter Pettigrew, a small, chubby blond boy, who the hat took several moments to decide on, followed by James Potter, a tan boy with wild black hair, round, black glasses, and a warm, easy smile. He sat down next to Lily, where he turned to look at her, eyes growing wide before he spoke, “Wow. Hi there. I’m James. What—uh—what’s your name?”
Lily grinned, “Lily. Evans.”
One side of James’ mouth turned up, his cheeks turning pink, “Pleasure.”
Severus got his wish and was placed into Slytherin, and although Lily’s heart sank slightly at the notion that they wouldn’t have every class together, she was sure that they would still see plenty of each other. The houses were, according to McGonagall, like your family at Hogwarts, but that didn’t mean that Lily couldn’t have friends outside of Gryffindor.
Sirius cheered up over dinner, at least enough to make Lily feel almost invisible sitting in the middle of him, James, Remus, and Peter. Lily, however, was happy to get to know the rest of her housemates over dinner. After dinner, a Gryffindor prefect called Frank Longbottom led the seven first years up several flights of stairs to the Gryffindor tower and common room, which was decorated ornately in cosy hues of red and gold. Mary, Marlene, and Lily found their dorm, with their trunks on beds waiting for them.
As it turned out, Mary was muggle-born like Lily, from Faversham, on the east coast of Britain. Marlene was from an all-magic family just 20 minutes down the road from Mary in Herne Bay. Lily wished she was from the beach. Although she supposed that much time in the sun would only make the freckle situation worse.
Mary’s voice brought Lily out of her head, “I’m so glad to have met you two. I don’t know anybody here; I was worried it’d be a nightmare!”
“I’m really glad, too,” Lily said, “I only know one person here.”
“Yeah?” asked Marlene, cocking her head curiously, “Who?”
“Severus Snape, in Slytherin,” Lily responded, “D’you know him?”
Marlene shook her head, “Nah, I don’t think so. Wouldn’t be surprised if I did, though. Most purebloods and a lot of half-bloods all know each other. Peter and James, in our year; their families are the closest to mine, but the Black family, the Longbottoms, the Malfoys, the Averys, the Mulcibers, the Boneses, the Prewetts, all have children at Hogwarts now.”
“Woah,” Lily and Mary spoke in unison as Lily thought, dizzyingly, about how many of the students in her year would already know one another. Sev already knew Aubrey and
Cresswell. Lily would need to work extra hard to make friends.
The three girls stayed up unpacking and getting to know one another as long as they could, but soon enough, Lily was yawning and struggling to keep her eyes open, and when she looked around, she noticed that Mary and Marlene were in similar states.
“Well,” Mary spoke up, “We have an early morning tomorrow, ladies. I say we get some rest.”
Marlene nodded, already moving toward the loo.
Lily got ready for bed as well, with a warm feeling in her chest about her new roommates.