Chapter 1
James Potter had thought that going to King's Cross Station by himself was a splendid idea. Not only would he be saving his elderly parents the trip, he could cement himself as a strong, confident person. In hindsight, attempting to go somewhere he had never been before by himself hadn't been the brightest idea. Now it was far too late to go back, and James had no choice but to press onwards. He submerged himself into the flow of muggles going about their daily business, trying his best not to be knocked over. He'd been lucky enough to snag a trolley on the way in and was precariously balancing his trunk, and several other items he could not fit inside. He was by no means short, but the crowd was thick and swift, and he was bumped into more than once.
"Nine and three quarters." James said, wincing as a large man in a business suit stepped on his foot. "Nine and three quarters, nine and three quarter-" He flinched as a handbag smacked him in the face. James silently swore vengeance on all the muggles who dare step on him, or walk into him, or smack him in the face with their overstuffed handbags. Had his mother been there, she would have scolded him for being too hot tempered. His mother wasn't there though, so James delighted in the thought that he could get as hot tempered as he wanted.
Finally, James spotted the large plastic signs for platforms nine and ten. At long last, this miserable trek would be over! He could spot a few others with trolleys milling around the area between the two, occasionally vanishing one by one as crowds hustled past. James pushed his trolley towards it, barely able to contain his excitement. He could feel his wand in his pocket as he walked. He had been told to keep it in his trunk, but James had been too excited to wait. His father had told him many extravagant tales of his time at Hogwarts, and all James could think of was the splendor that awaited him. And the homework of course, but he wasn't thinking about that at the moment.
A kindly looking woman gestured for him to go first as he arrived at the unofficial gathering place for wizards and witches entering platform nine and three quarters. James barely remembered to thank her as he pushed his cart quicker, soon breaking into a run. He was sure that a few muggles were staring, but what did he care? He couldn't resist closing his eyes just as it looked as if he was about to crash, despite knowing that he wouldn't. Still, he didn't open his eyes until he heard the shrill whistle of a train.
The Hogwarts Express. It was even more astounding than James had thought it would be. It was as crimson as the horrible sweater his mother made him wear every winter when the weather started to get cold (Fortunately he had "forgotten" that particular sweater at home). James watched as several owls fluttered overhead, and a cat wound between his legs. His heart was pounding so fiercely with excitement that he wouldn't be too surprised if it burst out of his chest. That would be a shame though, because if his heart exploded, he wouldn't be able to go to Hogwarts. He'd heard that there were ghosts there, but he wasn't too keen on becoming one.
Having no one to say goodbye to, his goodbyes had been done at home, James proudly stepped on the train, already feeling like a full grown wizard. Sure, the only magic he had done was accidentally set his father's hair (his pride and joy aside from James and his wife) ablaze, but James had a feeling that he would be destined for greatness. He hoped that wasn't just wishful thinking.
He'd only just turned to walk down the aisle of the train when he slammed roughly into another student before him. Already tired from his journey, James had reached his limit.
"Hey! Watch where you're bloody going!" he snapped, before he could stop himself. The subject of his ire turned to face him, brushing a dark mane of shaggy hair out of his eyes. Instead of being intimidated like James had hoped, he only smirked.
"So sorry, didn't realize that someone as important as you was on this train." he gave James a mock bow, stepping aside. The smugness only made James' already heated temper flare more. Instinctually his mother's voice floated through his head, telling him to be the bigger wizard and take the high road. James decided to do just that, yanking on his trunk to get it up the stairs.
But it was stuck. He yanked harder, but the trunk had wedged itself on the stairs. He yanked with all his strength, but the trunk refused to budge. He fully expected the dark haired boy to laugh, or make another comment, but to his surprise he saw the boy grip onto his trunk and yank it with him. It started to slide, slowly yet surely, until it was shoved roughly from the other side, sending James and his new acquaintance nearly toppling over backwards.
"Sorry!" squeaked a voice. "I saw it was stuck and thought I might help." A mousey looking boy peered over the trunk, nervously wringing his hands. Mousey was the only way James could think to describe him. His front teeth were longer than the rest, his hair somewhat thinning despite being the same age as James. If he had whiskers, the look would be complete.
"Well, that solves that." the dark haired boy said, brushing the hair out of his eyes again. "Shall we go find a place to sit?" James was mildly surprised at the minor declaration of friendship. He'd wanted to stick his wand up somewhere not very nice before, but a truce seemed to have been established.
"Yes! Of course!" the mousey haired boy said, climbing all the way into the train. James could now see that he was slightly chubby, and almost quivering with excitement. Something nasty inside James stirred, and he briefly thought about shunning the strange boy, but he quickly ignored the thought. He'd helped him after all, and there was something so...Pitiful about him. James didn't think that he could leave the boy on his own without feeling immensely guilty.
"It's alright with me." James said, and with that the three began to drag their trunks down the aisle, the dark haired boy in the lead. He stopped about halfway down the length of the train, sliding open the compartment door. To James' surprise, there was someone already sitting there.
He appeared to have been sleeping before their arrival, but had jolted upright, startled by their entrance. "Hello." James said, breaking the silence. He was never one for silence. The boy sitting before him looked terrible, and that was putting it politely. He was pale and thin with unkept brown hair framing his face and dark circles under his eyes. James briefly wondered if he was sick.
His dark haired companion clearly hadn't thought about being polite as James had. "The hell's wrong with you?" he asked. The sickly looking boy looked irritated for a moment, before appearing nervous and averting his gaze. "Just didn't sleep well." He said, looking at his hands.
"You aren't contagious, are you?" asked the dark haired boy. The sickly boy shook his head, and the dark haired boy beamed. "Mind if we join you then?" He pushed his way into the compartment, tossing his trunk up on the racks before sitting next to the sickly looking boy. These actions made him appear even more startled and he pulled to the side, almost shrinking into himself. "Oh...You're going to sit here?" there was something akin to horror in his voice.
"Yeah." James said, also grinning. "Don't want to leave you in here by yourself now, do we?" He hoisted his own trunk above before helping the mousey looking boy, who was struggling immensely. James hadn't a clue where the strength from earlier had come from. The mousey boy didn't seem to contain a single muscle in his body. James sat across from the dark haired boy, the mousey boy excitedly scrabbling onto the spot next to him. The four sat in silence for a moment, all awkwardly avoiding eye contact. Once again, James proved that he was not one for silence. "So, who're you all? I'm James Potter."
"Sirius Black." the dark haired boy said. "You're not related to that hair product guy, are you?" James nodded, mildly elated that someone had heard of his father's work. His father would have been thrilled. "Yeah, that's my dad!"
"Cool." Sirius said, turning his attention to the other two. "How about you?" he said, elbowing the sickly looking boy, who once again jumped at the physical contact. After recovering, he looked upwards, making consistent eye contact with the others for the first time. "Remus. Remus Lupin."
"Never heard of your family." Sirius said. Remus merely shrugged, and Sirius turned to the last boy. "What about you, Ratface?" Rather than be hurt by the insult, the mousey boy seemed thrilled that he was being addressed at all. "Peter Pettigrew!" he said, voice shrill with excitement. "I've heard of the Blacks! They're an old family, very rich-" Sirius held up a hand, cutting him off. "I'd rather not talk about my family."
James ignored the previous statements, excitement only building. "Well, nice to meet you all." He looked out the window, only to be disappointed that the train hadn't left yet. Oh well, he'd make do with some good old fashioned conversation. "You all excited? I am." Sirius merely shrugged, but James had a feeling that the boy was just playing cool. Remus nodded. "Yes, I, well, didn't think I'd be allowed to go..." James tilted his head curiously at this. "Yeah? Why not?" Remus instantly looked nervous again, and mumbled something about money problems. Strange, James didn't think that Hogwarts admissions required money. Maybe he was referring to all the supplies? Still thinking, he turned to Peter. "What about you?"
"You want me to talk?" Peter said. When James nodded, his eyes lit up. "Yes, I'm so very excited! Mother said that I wouldn't get to go, that I'm not very bright and Hogwarts doesn't take ugly, stupid little boys, but I got the letter! I got one, so I can go!" Peter said, eyes still shining. James felt another pang of pity for Peter, silently resolving to take the boy under his wing. If they were in the same house, that is. He was about to ask his seatmates about their thoughts on the different houses, when the compartment door slid open once more.
"Oh, sorry! Guess this one's full." A girl with brilliant red hair and shimmering green eyes was standing at the entrance, a pale, greasy haired boy standing behind her. James' heart skipped a beat, mouth falling open. Sirius snickered, but James didn't care. "No! We always have room for more, c'mon in!" He shoved Peter to the side, who squeaked indignantly. The girl smiled, making James' heart flutter. "Oh, thank you! Come on Sev, there should be room for both of us."
James would never be sure what it was exactly, but something about the sallow-skinned companion the girl brought with her twisted his insides. He knew with the briefest of glances that they wouldn't be friends. The girl however...James decided to start the introductions. "Name's James Potter, nice to meet you miss." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sirius nudge Remus and whisper, "Miss?", the two snickering quietly. James ignored them, focusing on the girl instead.
"I'm Lily Evans." the girl said, brushing a girl of red hair behind her ear. One by one, Sirius, Peter and Remus introduced themselves, until only the greasy haired boy was left unknown. Noticing that he was the only one left, he finally spoke in a voice that James would describe as oily. "Severus Snape." Before James could make a snide remark however, the train rocked forward with a jolt. They were leaving!
"Want me to open the window?" Remus asked. "Surely some of you have family out there." James shook his head. "No, my parents are on the older side, I didn't want them to have to make the journey." He turned to Sirius, who remained quiet, seeming to reject the question. Peter shook his head. "No, my mum nearly beat me out the door with her broomstick! I had to take the Knight Bus. Have any of you ever been? It almost hit me!"
James wasn't listening to him, instead turning his full attention on Lily, who suddenly looked sheepish. "No, um, I came with Sev. My family isn't...You know...Not like us."
It was at that moment that James made a very foolish mistake. Had his mother been there, she would have dragged him away by the ear and given him a stern talking to. But James was feeling emboldened by the day's adventure so far, so emboldened that he decided to break one of his parents' only rules. He said a word. "So you're a mudblood then?"
The entire compartment went silent. Sirius raised an eyebrow, and Peter gasped audibly. Snape however, visibly swelled with rage. "How dare you!" he hissed. "How dare you, you arrogant, idiotic-" Lily clutched her friend's arm, trying to calm him. "Sev, it's ok. Did he say something bad?" Now the compartment was staring at her. Lily's cheeks reddened slightly. "Did I say something wrong?"
"No." Remus said, voice calm despite the conversation. "It makes sense you wouldn't know. There's some...Conflict over wizarding bloodlines. The purebloods, those are wizards with two magical parents, believe that their blood makes them superior to others, to the point of looking down on those who aren't. Half bloods, one magical parent, one muggle parent, are generally accepted but still looked down on by purebloods. And then there are...People with two muggle parents who still develop magic. There's nothing wrong with that, I don't think blood really makes all that much difference. But a lot of older pureblood families think that wizards shouldn't breed with muggles, and that anyone with no clear magical heritage shouldn't be accepted as a wizard or witch." Lily nodded, looking stung. James wished he could take everything back. He could have sworn that there were tears slowly filling Lily's eyes. Remus must have noticed too, as he kept talking. "It's all a load of horse crap really. It doesn't take blood to be a good witch or wizard, much less a good person. Being pureblood doesn't give you a pass to anything."
Lily nodded, looking at Remus gratefully. "I guess I should have known that wizard society had classism. So a mudblood...is a bad thing?" Snape glared daggers at James, who had the grace to look away. "It's hardly a nice thing to say." Remus said, clearly the most calm and mature of the group. He gave James a sideways look. "Don't let anyone ever call you that, Lily."
Snape nodded. "Anyone who calls you that is a miserable excuse for a person." he sneered. James knew he was in the wrong, he felt horrible, but something about Snape's voice just filled him with rage. "It was an accident! But you can slap me if you want to. Go on." He closed his eyes, not expecting her to actually do it. He was wrong. Lily slapped him across the face, a loud smack sounding through the compartment. Sirius burst out laughing as James yelped in pain. "You hit me!"
Lily smiled coyly. "You said I could. And I think it's only fair. Since I'm a lovely and kind person, I'll let it slide this time, James Potter. We're even. But if you do it again I swear-" James quickly cut her off, utterly relieved that he was given a second chance. "Right, yeah, I'm sorry, I really am. I dunno why I said that. But yeah, I'm sorry. Really really sorry." He hoped that Lily could hear the earnest tones in his voice.
"Personally, I don't think he should get a second chance. You should slap him again." said Sirius. James promptly kicked him in the shin. Peter quickly copied him, shrinking back in fear as Sirius went to kick him. For a short time, a small kicking war broke out between James, Sirius and Peter. James could have sworn that even Lily joined in a few times. Snape looked down his nose at all of them, only making James want to kick him more. Remus just tucked his legs out of the way, and started reading a book.
"Alright, alright! I yield!" James said, mourning his bruised shins. "The war is over. You kick really hard..." Lily rolled her eyes at them, but kept a smile on her face as she did. "Thank goodness we can all have peace again." she teased. "Is anyone hungry? I packed sandwiches. They're probably a little dry, but if you want any, I'm happy to share." James would have eaten the world's driest sandwich if that meant getting to see Lily's smile just one more time. "My dad said that there's a snack cart that goes through the train, but I'm happy to try one of your sandwiches." Sirius pretended to retch, rolling his eyes at James. James glared at him, but decided against trying to kick him again.
"Hey, here's a conversation idea." Sirius said. "Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?"
The answer was easy for James. He needed no extra clarification, he knew that Sirius was talking about Hogwarts houses. "Gryffindor, where dwell the brave of heart! Like my dad...Got a problem with that?" He took Sirius for a Slytherin. He certainly had the looks. To James' surprise, it was not Sirius who answered, but Snape. "No, if you'd rather be brawny than brainy."
Once again, James felt his temper flare. "What was that, you ugly prat? Are you insulting my dad?!" He would have said more, but a glare from Lily quickly shut him up. He quickly changed the subject. "Uh, so what about you all? What house would you choose?"
Remus shrugged. "It doesn't really matter to me. Just going is enough." He idly turned the page of the book he was reading. Sirius snatched it out of his hands and held it over his head. "He's going to be a Ravenclaw. I can already tell. That's where all the bookish people go." Remus only glanced at Sirius with an unamused look on his face. He either didn't, or was too tired to care. That seemed to resound with Sirius, and he handed the book back. "He'd be a Hufflepuff." Sirius said, nodding to Peter. "That would probably be the only house that would take him." Peter deflated somewhat at the slight rejection.
"I suppose anyone can be brave at heart." James said, coming to Peter's defense. "Looks can be deceiving. Anyways, what about you?" At this, Sirius' expression turned bitter. "Don't think there's been a single person in my family that hasn't been a Slytherin. So I suppose I'm headed there as well."
"Wait, why don't you get a choice?" Lily asked. "You shouldn't have to be a Slytherin if you don't want to. Isn't that just cruel?" James quickly jumped at the chance to be the one to speak to her. "It's about what's inside you. The sorting hat takes a look at who you are and puts you where you'll succeed. Even if you think you know what you want, that might not be the right choice. So that's why the sorting hat does it for us." He looked at his friends proudly.
"I could have told you that." Severus said snidely. James wanted to smush his face up against the window, make an example out of him, but Lily seemed fond of him. It was very unfair in James' eyes.
The next two hours passed full of friendly conversation, and a brief pause to change into their school robes (No one was sure what to do when it was Lily's turn, and all five ended up exiting the compartment to give her privacy). James had bought an array of snacks with his pocket money, sharing with everyone (He wouldn't have shared with Snape if Lily wasn't around). He'd been more than happy to share too. Despite Peter mentioning that the Black family was rich, Sirius stated that he didn't have any money. Peter didn't seem to either, and Lily was still learning how wizarding coins worked. Remus had said he wasn't hungry, but judging by how thin he was, James wasn't sure.
"We've got to be nearly there, right?" Remus said as he looked out the window. There was a note of worry in his voice. That was peculiar to James, he didn't see why Remus would be worried about arriving, unless he was one of those nuts who loved arriving on time. James looked out the window as well, admiring the sunset. "Going to be a full moon tonight, should make for a great first night." he commented. Remus flinched as if he'd been slapped, something James gave him a curious look for. Before he could question there were shouts from other compartments. James quickly looked back out the window, grinning wildly. "There it is! I can see the towers!" The others crowded around him, all trying to see. James got slightly squished and was dangerously close to touching Snape, but he didn't mind. The great castle before him had his attention.
Even Sirius looked excited, smiling with the rest. "Alright, it's cool looking. I'll admit that. Woah, hey, you alright?" James turned at the sound of Sirius' concern. Remus looked considerably worse than he had at the beginning of the journey. He was gripping the seat tightly, looking increasingly worried. Lily stepped forward, her voice filled with concern (James was almost jealous). "Are you feeling ok?" she went to press her palm against Remus' forehead, but he pulled away. "Yeah, I-I'm fine. I just need to get off of this train."
No sooner had he finished speaking did the train jolt to a halt. Remus was on his feet before any of the others. James could see that he was trembling slightly. He appeared to be worsening by the second. "Reckon we should call someone for help?" he said, whispering to Sirius. Sirius shrugged, equally confused by the strange behavior. Before anyone could say a word, Remus opened the compartment door and stepped out of it. "Hey, where are you going?" said Peter. "I thought we had to wait a moment and exit in an orderly fashion."
Remus gripped the doorframe tightly. "Right, I know, I know. There's something I've got to take care of. Thank you for sitting with me..." he trailed off, not having anything else to say. Finally he nodded at the others and walked quickly down the aisle, glancing at the sinking sun every few seconds. James pressed himself up to the window, watching Remus exit the train and walk towards a woman. Was she a teacher? They shook hands, so they didn't seem to know each other. No sooner had they greeted each other, they were walking away, the woman quickly guiding Remus into the swirls of fog and out of sight. James' brow furrowed. Curious...
"Do you think he'll be alright?" Lily asked nervously. Everyone looked at each other. No one seemed sure. James continued to think about it as they exited the train, deep in his thoughts as they all road in small boats towards the castle. He ended up with Peter and Sirius in his boat. Lily opted to take a different one so she could sit with Snape.
"This is so exciting." Peter squeaked, before frowning. "Do you really think I'll be a Hufflepuff? I don't want to be a Hufflepuff..." James briefly emerged from his thoughts to answer. "Don't worry, ok? I'm sure it'll all be fine." Even Sirius began to look increasingly worried as they approached the castle. "You really don't want to be a Slytherin, huh?" he commented.
"Does it really matter?" said Sirius. "I'm going to end up there one way or another. I suppose your girlfriend was right about the fact that we don't get a choice." James felt his cheeks burn. "She's not my girlfriend!" His hasty retort was enough to make Sirius smile for a brief moment.
Finally, they arrived at the shore. The new first years carefully made their way out of the boats, some stumbling (Peter fell out and into the water). Finally, they were left in a dark hall, shaking with both cold and fear.
"Little creepy in here, isn't it?" Peter squeaked, teeth chattering. Both Snape and Sirius seemed to come alive in the dark, something that James thought might be some sort of Slytherin trait. His parents had told him that all houses were good, but even his father had a thing or two to say about Slytherin. James couldn't think of anything worse than being in Slytherin.
The next few moments were a blur of activity. Between ghosts floating through the walls and starting conversations, a stern bespectacled woman organizing them into a line, and being walked into a massive, shining great hall with a sky that reflected the evening stars, James could hardly keep up with it all. Before he knew it, he was starting to watch his fellow first years get sorted into houses.
"Did that hat just sing a song?" Lily whispered.
"Supposedly it does that every year." said James.
"And that's the hat that puts us in houses?"
"It's called the sorting hat, isn't it?" Sirius snapped. He'd become more irritable since the sorting had begun.
"Don't worry." Severus said quietly, his words directed at Lily. "The hat's more powerful than it looks."
The entire group jumped as the name "Black, Sirius" was called. Sirius went rigid, hands clenching into fists. "Good luck." Lily whispered quietly. Sirius didn't respond, looking more nervous than James had ever seen him.
"Hey." James said, laying a hand on his shoulder. "See you on the other side, alright? No matter what happens." Sirius offered him a strained smile in response before walking over to the stool and allowing the sorting hat to be placed on his head.
"It's taking a long time." Lily said, after several tense, silent moments. "Is that normal?"
"Sometimes it takes a bit to figure out the best choice." James said. "I guess this means that he wasn't one hundred percent destined for the snake house, yeah?" He grinned, hoping that Sirius was also comforted by this fact.
Finally, the house shouted out "GRYFFINDOR!", breaking the silence. Stunned, Sirius walked over to the Gryffindor table, nearly being shoved over by other excited students. "That's certainly not Slytherin." Peter squeaked, grinning before frowning. "I'm going to be the only one in Hufflepuff, aren't I..."
"Hey, don't lose hope. After that, I'm convinced anything is possible." said James. "Even you could end up in Gryffindor, Snivellus."
"It's Severus, and I highly doubt that." Snape said coldly, staring daggers at James, who returned the glare. The disagreement may have gone further had the name "Evans, Lily!" not been called. Lily's face went ghost white, her green eyes filling with momentary terror. James was about to reach for her hand, but Snape got to her first, much to his dissatisfaction.
"Just try to relax." Severus said, squeezing her hand. "I know it all seems completely mad, but no matter where you end up, you're going to do great things Lily. Even if we're in different houses, you'll still have me." His words seemed to calm Lily, and James' dissatisfaction deepened at the fact that the two seemed to have a genuinely strong bond.
"Alright then, here goes nothing." Lily said, taking a deep breath. She squeezed Snape's hand one more time before walking over to the hat. It took longer than most others, but not as long as Sirius before the hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!" Awestruck, Lily made her way to the Gryffindor table and was almost knocked over herself before Sirius grabbed her by the sleeve. She gave her unsorted friends a shaky smile. James gave her a thumbs up.
"If we're doing this alphabetically, I'm next." Peter said glumly. "Oh joy." James nodded, watching the rest of the E's get sorted, and then the F's, and then the G's, and so on so forth. "Wait a sec." He said, realization coming to him. "Remus' last name was Lupin, right? Maybe he'll show up. I can't imagine someone missing the sorting." James watched the J's, and K's, and then finally L's get sorted before they moved on to the M's. Remus was nowhere to be seen. "He's got to be really sick if he couldn't be fixed up in time for this." he said.
Peter flinched as if he'd been slapped when his name was called. He looked up at James for reassurance, who was happy to offer it. "It'll be alright." James said. "If Sirius can do it, anyone can." Peter nodded and made his way to the stool, tripping not once, but twice before he reached the hat, much to the amusement of the rest of the school. Again, the hat took longer with him, leaving James alone with Snape for an unfortunate amount of time.
"She's out of your league, you know." James said, unable to resist. "And you're hardly her type, so this is a friendly suggestion to stop hanging around her like a lovesick cat."
"I beg your pardon?" Snape hissed, pale cheeks coloring slightly. "Well then, here's a friendly suggestion for you Potter, what the hell do you know?! I've known her for months, you've just met her today. So tell me Potter, what's something you know about her? Favorite color even? Nothing? That's what I thought." Snape said, giving him a nasty grin. "Mummy and Daddy spoiled you, didn't they. Welcome to the real world Potter, out here, you're not worth shit."
James felt his chest swell with anger. "At least I'm not some greasy little weasel everyone would rather leave behind. Let me guess, Mummy and Daddy didn't love you enough?"
Snape's dark eyes flashed with an intense combination of anger and hurt. James was pleased to see that he'd struck a nerve. "Watch yourself Potter." Snape spat. "You may think you're untouchable, but you hardly are."
"Oh yeah? What are you going to do?" James said, unable to resist the adrenaline a good argument provided him. "You're a scrawny, oily, loveless little rodent. So tell me Snape, what the hell are you going to do?!" Despite the fact that they were still whispering, other first years around them were beginning to stare, whispering and laughing to themselves as Snape recoiled. James grinned, knowing he'd won. As if to confirm it, his name was called next. "Let's not meet again." James said, whacking Snape on the back, hard enough to shove him forward.
As he walked to the sorting hat, he could see a thrilled-looking Peter at the Gryffindor table, smiling before he was accidentally shoved face first into the table by accident. Sirius roared with laughter as Lily helped a slightly bruised, yet still smiling Peter to his feet. Then the hat dropped over his eyes.
"James Potter." James jumped at the little voice that spoke. The voice wasn't exactly speaking into his ear, more like it was speaking in his head, pushing his own inner voice away to give itself center stage. "I remember your parents. I remember every student I've ever sorted, but your father does stand out to me." James felt himself smile with pride. His father would be pleased to know that the hat remembered him.
"Let's see what we have here." the hat mused. "Brave, loyal, a bit hot tempered but a strong heart. Why so quiet, boy? Have nothing to say? Usually I hear students wishing for a certain house, or to not be placed in a certain house."
James wasn't sure whether he spoke out loud or not. "I don't want to impact the result. I want to see where I belong."
The hat chuckled, a strange sound that tickled the corners of James' mind. "How interesting. You needn't bother, your every desire is apparent to me right now. I will tell you that your choices are your destiny in a way, they're what make you who you are. So a word of advice for you, James Potter. Don't stand by waiting for destiny to happen. Make the choices that will bring destiny to you."
James was silent. Did the hat offer advice to everyone? Had he done something wrong? Or had he done something right? He wasn't sure. The hat chuckled again, seemingly amused at his inner spiraling's. "Well, I shan't keep you any longer. Brave of heart indeed, I'll put you in..."
"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat yelled the last word to the entire great hall. The hat was gently pulled off of James' head, the bespectacled witch who had lead them in nodding at him approvingly, a small smile on her face. James made his way to the cheering masses over at the Gryffindor table. Sirius practically jumped him, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him back and forth. As his brains were being shaken loose, James could see Lily smiling warmly at him, making this moment all the better.
"Alright Sirius, alright!" James yelled, wrenching himself free. "I told you, didn't I! Look at us now!" Sirius only grabbed Peter and started shaking him as well, seemingly unable to process his elation in any other way. Lily laughed, watching Peter cheer and yelp at the same time.
James hardly payed attention to the rest of the sorting, only tuning back in when he heard Snape's name called. As he had suspected, the hat had barely touched Snape's head before shouting "SLYTHERIN!"
"Order is restored." Sirius said, releasing a woozy looking Peter. Lily nodded, looking slightly disappointed, but still clapped. "We can still talk to people in different houses, right?"
"If you really want to." Sirius said. "But trust me, there's not a single person in Slytherin who doesn't have a lump of coal for a heart. Best not to waste your time in that snake pit."
Lily shot him a poisonous glare. "You were the one who thought he was going to end up a Slytherin, so what does that say about you? None of you know Severus, he's my best friend and he's been there for me when no one else was. So I won't tolerate you insulting him, got it?" This took away part of James' good mood. Why was she so hung up on Snape? Hopefully she'd forget all about him as soon as classes started. That would probably be best for everyone.
James had thought that the elation would never wear off, but after a speech from Albus Dumbledore, (James had been astounded that Lily didn't know who he was) a feast to end all feasts, and a tour of the Gryffindor Commons, James was nearly falling asleep on his feet. He was almost glad when it was time for bed. He, Peter and Sirius bid Lily goodnight before heading into the first year dorms. The bed was pleasantly comfy, and James' previous worries about uncomfortable beds were erased.
"I'm going to forget the password." Peter moaned. "I'm going to get locked out and look like a dimwit."
"You don't need any help with that, don't worry." Sirius laughed. "What a day, huh? What a day." He flopped back on his own bed, looking up at the ceiling. "Hey, here's a question. There are four beds here and only three of us. Who's the fourth for?"
"Dunno." James said drowsily. He may have drifted off in that moment, if it weren't for the harsh, piercing howl that sounded from outside. James sat up, looking out the window next to his bed. "What was that?"
"A wolf." Sirius said. "Nothing to wet the bed over." Despite his nonchalance, he seemed mildly interested in the noise as well. "Sounds pretty close though. You see anything out there?"
"Not a thing." James said. "Didn't know there were wolves on the property. Then again, anything could be running around in that forest. My dad said there's centaurs out there. But besides, we have magic now. What's a wolf gonna do?"
"It could be a big wolf." said Peter. "A biiiiiig wolf." He seemed somewhat nervous, despite being high above in a safe, stone tower. Sirius snorted as he took in Peter's nervous state. "Bet it's a werewolf. Then you'll have something to be scared of." He only laughed harder as Peter looked more concerned. "You're kind of a pansy, aren't you?"
"Be nice to him." James said, tossing a pillow at Sirius. "It's late. You can pick on him tomorrow." James waited for a moment, but no further sounds echoed from the forest beyond. "Well, I'm going to sleep. Night lads. Wake me up and the first thing I'll do is shove your own wand up your-"
Sirius burst into laughter before James could finish speaking, causing James to laugh too. "There you go Peter, an actual threat to fear." Sirius snickered. "We'd better heed it. I'd hate to wake him from his dreams of a certain redhea-" James' second pillow smacked Sirius in the face. "Oh, it's on now."
A fifteen minute all-out war ensued, ending with Peter cowering on the floor, being beat with pillows on both sides as he was the easier target. Only after had the bespectacled witch briefly appeared to yell at them (Her name was Professor McGonagall and she was the head of Gryffindor) did they settle back into their beds. James stared at the ceiling for a while, listening to Peter snore. Thankfully it wasn't too unbearable. He briefly thought of Remus, wondering what had become of him. He really had looked ill in the moments leading towards his abrupt departure, and he hadn't reappeared. Had he been sent home? That was unfortunate, James had taken a liking to him.
James' thoughts drifted to Lily, before finally drifting to sleep. Eyes closed, he slept deeply and comfortably, dreaming of future mayhem, and if all worked out, future dates. He did not stir as far outside the castle's walls, a creature threw back its head and shrieked.