Hogwarts' Original Pranksters' Fantastic First Year

When she first walked into the Entrance Hall, Lily almost got dizzy. The ceiling was so high that Sirius and some others had to twist their neck to try and have a better look. Only James didn't look too surprised -- he had already seen halls of that height before. Peter let out a little squeak when a cold wind blew through him, as several strangled cries broke from the group. Lily, gaping, watched the two ghosts who had just crossed the wall in front of them. Sirius looked delighted.

Professor Walsh stopped in a room so small that the students had to stand rather close together to all fit in -- which didn't please some at all.

"Get your paws off me," Lily hissed to a too close-standing Severus Snape.

"Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," said Professor Walsh in a cool voice contrasting with the welcoming phrase. "Before you join the other students of the school for the start-of-term feast, you are going to be sorted into one of the four houses of Hogwarts, that is Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. This house will host you for a seven-years period. It will be your home, your family.

"Each of you will be to keep the honour of his or her house as if his or her own family's." At that moment she looked Sirius, who was still grinning, straight in the eye. Remus was gradually turning pale, while Peter was looking scared and James was just looking curious. "Each time you get good marks and achieve good things, you'll earn your house new points. If, on the contrary, you break the school rules, your house will loose points because of you. The house with the most points wins the House Cup, and this is the greatest honour a house, whichever it is, can get. The Sorting Ceremony is about to take place in a short time, I'll fetch you when everything is ready. I strongly advise you to smarten yourselves a bit before I return."

As she talked, Professor Walsh spoke sharply and coldly. At the end, she laid her eyes on James's and Sirius's soaked clothes and Snape's greasy hair -- he didn't even seem to be aware of it. However, she didn't seem to notice Remus's patched cloak, which Lily thought was tactful.

James was beginning to feel tense. Lily was getting more and more nervous. Remus was getting paler and paler. Sirius looked quite calm; he was chatting with one of the two ghosts who had followed the students into the room.

"So then, young fellows," asked the other ghost -- a tall lady with a vaguely sad-looking face -- to the new students, "are you ready? Not too scared, are you?"

"Now, dearest friend," said the spectre who was chatting with Sirius, "of course they are afraid! Don't you remember your Sorting? It's quite normal."

"Of course, Sir Nicholas," the Grey Lady sighed wearily. "How could I forget such an important thing?"

"Don't you worry too much," the spectre said kindly to the students -- he was wearing breeches and a big ruff around his neck. "It goes very quickly, you'll see. I hope you'll be sorted into Gryffindor. To me you look like a good batch."

"Oy there," said a third voice, belonging to a little fat monk who had just crossed the wall, too. "Haven't you seen the Bloody Baron around there? Peeves's fooling around in the trophy room and Adams is sitting at the banquet. Oh, hullo there!"

Lily, emboldened by the ghost's friendly voice waved a little with a shy smile. Peter looked as though he was about to faint.

"Good luck with the Sorting, youngsters!" said the Fat Friar cheerfully.

"The Bloody Baron just came to the Great Hall for the start-of-term feast," said a sharp voice. Professor Walsh was back. "Let's go, now."

Sirius waved goodbye to the ruff-wearing ghost; he replied jovially, "See you later, my young friend!"

"You know what?" Sirius whispered then to James. "If I'd had a camera, I could've won five pounds. I'd bet a pal ghosts did exist."

"Five what?"

"Quiet!"

Sirius sneaked between James and Remus without adding a word. Better not to annoy Professor Walsh. The students followed her back into the Entrance Hall, then they crossed a pair of double doors -- and held their breath.

The Great Hall wasn't as high as the Entrance Hall was, but it was beautiful. All Hogwarts students were sitting at four long tables, staring at the newcomers. At the end of the room, another table was set for the teachers. The golden plates and goblets were sparkling, shining almost as much as the candles hanging in midair. The bright, silvery spots of the ghosts made a rather sharp contrast with the yellow twilight made by the candles. And the clouds were gathering above their heads.

"Maybe you'll know, Remus," Sirius whispered. "What's that thing?"

It was Lily who answered instead of Remus, who was very pale and too choked to talk, "It's an enchanted ceiling, it was bewitched to look like the sky."

"Ah. Oy, Remus? Why do you look so green?"

Sirius got no answer. He tried to ignore his heart's own throbbing and looked at the Great Hall again. He even gave a broad, defiant grin as he recognised his sister sitting at the same table as the friendly ruff-wearing ghost. I'm not showing her I'm scared.

James's heart was yo-yoing in his chest. Up, down -- up, down. He was almost sick. He suddenly felt someone grip his hand -- it was Lily. She looked desperate as she whispered very quickly, "What -- what if they don't want me? I'm not even a true witch, after all -- if I'm not magic enough -- or too much -- I don't know ... do you think they'll -- ?"

James turned to her, hiding his own fear behind a kind smile, "If you were not a true witch, you wouldn't be standing here. Look, they even wanted Malfoy. And he's a git, isn't he?"

He pointed to Lucius Malfoy, who was sitting at a table on the left. Crabbe and Goyle were sitting at his sides. Lily relaxed a little, but didn't let go of his hand. James hardly even noticed.

Professor Walsh was gone, then back, holding a little four-legged stool and a hat -- the oldest, dirtiest, and most patched hat James had ever seen.

"I'm not putting that thing on my head," muttered a girl with sleek brown hair and black eyes who was standing behind Lily. For a few minutes, there was total silence. Everybody -- the professors and the students as well -- stared at the hat. Then it stirred slightly, a mouth-like rip opened and the hat began to sing:

Young wizards and witches, girls 'n boys

The Great Hall burst into applause. The Hat bowed to the four tables, then stood still.

"We just have to wear the hat?" whispered a boy near Fergus Finnigan and Peter Pettigrew. "My cousin told me we'd have to recite every formula of The Standard Book of Spells ..."

Lily sighted with relief. Wearing a hat -- nothing was simpler. She noticed, however, that Remus looked greener than ever.

"You'll put the Hat on your head and sit on the stool when I call your name," said Professor Walsh as she unrolled a long scroll of parchment. "Let's start now. Alcott, Helena!"

A girl wearing a blue headband took a firm step. The Hat fell down on her eyes as she sat on the stool, then the rip opened again and cried, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

Helena went to sit near the Fat Friar, who beamed at her. Then Professor Walsh called a unpleasantly familiar name, "Avery, Thomas!"

The Hat had barely touched his head when it cried, "SLYTHERIN!"

James guessed the following name. He glanced at Sirius. His friend had eventually given up his mask of indifference and looked pale.

"Black, Sirius!"

Sirius walked to the Hat. When he put it on his head, he didn't see anything anymore, then a small voice whispered in his ear, "Well, well, a second Black. Your sister brought us good things, you know ... oh, yes, you do want to prove yourself, interesting. Quite an amount of courage, rashness, even. Much loyalty, too. Maybe Hufflepuff ... no, you're rather vindictive, dying to prove your worth -- you are smart, as sly as a fox. You'd make a good Slytherin if you were more ambitious, but you are not ambitious enough. So then Sirius, brave, daredevil, unpredictable, vindictive, smart, foolish, generous -- you are quite complicated, my boy. You'll make an excellent GRYFFINDOR!"

The hat had yelled in Sirius's ear; he stumbled slightly, then put the hat back on the stool and went to sit at the Gryffindor table. He still looked a bit pale, but that special grin of his was back on his face. He smiled encouragingly at the others, looking as if he didn't notice the applause -- and especially Vega's ironic congratulations, "'Twas about time! I thought you would walk away with the hat on! And why are you soaked through and through?"

"Yeah, Vega, I'm glad to be with you too," he said over his shoulder, as "Connor, Sarah" was sorted in Hufflepuff. Then "Delaney, Fleur!", the brown-haired, black-eyed girl who didn't want to put the Sorting Hat on stumbled to the stool -- "GRYFFINDOR!"

Lisa Dodger was sorted in Gryffindor too. She sat near Fleur Delaney and they started to chat as though they had known each other for ages. After "Dolohov, Antonin!" ("SLYTHERIN!"), it was Lily's turn. She started when the hat covered her eyes and Sirius realised she was hearing that funny little voice, too.

"My, what a thirst for knowledge, it's a pleasure to see in a Muggle-born. So then -- Ravenclaw? It's the house of serious, hardworking people. You've got the qualities of a Hufflepuff too, you know. Loyal, faithful ... But I can't be mistaken about a courage and a generosity like yours. Well, my child, no doubt it'll be GRYFFINDOR!"

Lily, beaming, sat near Sirius, who was applauding like mad. There were a lot of students left yet. It was the turn of "Finnigan, Fergus!" ("GRYFFINDOR!"), then "Gudgeon, Davey!" ("HUFFLEPUFF!"), "Katapan, Mira!" ("SLYTHERIN!") and then, "Lupin, Remus!"

Remus, looking green, walked up to the stool. His hand was shaking when he put the Hat on.

"My, my, can this be true? A Lone One?"

Lily and Sirius from one side, James from the other, wondered what the Sorting Hat could have said to make their friend jump so violently.

"Don't be afraid, dear boy. I'm not used to see one around here, that's all. You are an exception in decades, maybe a hundred years, you know. Let's see then ... you are afraid indeed, but you know how to control it. You know rather well how to control your anger as well, which is quite rare in a child of your age. No hatred at all, but an intense loneliness -- that nickname of your kind's suits you too well, unfortunately. A deep need for affection, much to give, a limitless loyalty and a great strength of mind -- Hufflepuff would be good for you. But ... no. Seeing what's written all over your heart ... GRYFFINDOR!"

Remus put the Hat back down on the stool and walked like a sleepwalker to the table where Lily and Sirius were sitting, cheering and clapping hard, without hearing the warm applause greeting him -- like the Gryffindors greeted anyone joining them.

Still three boys, "Lovett, Sean" ("HUFFLEPUFF!"), "McKinnon, Charlie", the boy with the joker cousin ("GRYFFINDOR!") and Michael Nott, who was of course sorted in Slytherin. Then it was Peter's turn. It took three or four good minutes to the Hat to decide, but eventually it sorted him into Gryffindor and he collapsed on a chair, looking relieved.

"Potter, James!"

James stepped forwards. Lily, Sirius and Remus kept their fingers crossed.

"The last Potter in date, let's see -- you live up your family's tradition, dear boy. A quick mind, a hot temper, a very strong sense of fairness ... not very keen on studying, but a surprising ability to understand. And a strong will to distinguish yourself. You could do with being sorted into another house than Gryffindor -- you could do great things even in old Salazar's house, you know -- but it would go against something that is in you ... deeply rooted in you ... So then, young Potter, it'll be GRYFFINDOR for you!"

James was beaming as he settled down at the Gryffindor table between Sirius and Remus; he high-fived them. Now, whatever happened, they'd be together to face it. The four of them -- five, if you count Peter in. They hardly noticed Rosier then Snape being both sorted into Slytherin, applauded a pair of twins, Marissa and Marietta Scott who sat near Fleur and Lisa -- so did Martin Riley and Tim Thomas who rejoined their friends Fergus Finnigan and Lisa Dodger. Soon they were only three first-years left -- Wilkes ("SLYTHERIN!"), a boy, William Wilson ("GRYFFINDOR!") and a small girl with big hazel eyes, Zoey Zig ("GRYFFINDOR!").

Once the Sorting was over, Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster, got up from the High Table and laid his cheerful, twinkling blue eyes over the four tables in front of him. His long and silvery hair and beard shone the same misty silver as the Hogwarts ghosts. He beamed down at the students, and Lily couldn't help but smile, too -- this grin was infectious. She saw Remus relax, too.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Albus Dumbledore. "I know you're all starving, so I'd suggest starting the banquet at once. I've got only two words: eat well!"

As the first-years stared, amazed, dozens of dishes appeared on the tables, filled with steaks, chips, pastas of all sorts, fried potatoes, crudités, diverse vegetables, hams, sauces of all colours ... and even mint humbugs in a small punnet.

"That's a classic," said an older Gryffindor to Lily, who was looking at the humbugs curiously. "They give us some each year. Some must like, I'd reckon."

"Sorting lasted a long time, this year," Vega told Sirius as she helped herself to tomato salad. "But there should've been one student more."

"What d'you mean?"

"Don't you remember? It was all over the headlines of the Daily Prophet a few days ago, just before start of term. That family that Death Eaters attacked in Devonshire -- the Jones. They had an eleven-year-old boy who was about to enter Hogwarts this year. And a four-year-old little girl."

"Filthy, slimy, evil monsters!" Lily cried, horrified, as she dropped her fork -- it fell in her plate. Remus -- who in the meantime had regained the use of his voice -- said on a bitter tone, "They've done far worse than that. Death Eaters are vile creatures, they've sold their soul to evil. They committed countless abominable murders."

Lily heard a snap. It was Sirius, who had just put back down his goblet on the table rather violently.

"Help yourself to that peppery sauce, Lisa," said Tim Thomas, handing her the sauceboat. "Have you heard that too? Looks like they've planted a Whomping Willow this year, over there in the park."

"Oh yeah?"

"The biggest kick, that'd be to try and touch the trunk and engrave initials."

"You'd be dead before you managed to approach it," said Lisa Dodger in a squeaky voice. "It's a very dangerous thing, a Whomping Willow. It punches you with its branches, very violent."

"Wonder why they've planted it."

"For all the time Sprout must have been dreaming of it," said the brown-eyed boy who'd spoken to Lily about the mint humbugs. "She must've jumped with joy when she learnt that. Oh wait, I haven't introduced myself -- Mundungus Fletcher, third-year. Who're you?"

Names burst forth from the whole table; when everybody had more or less remembered everybody's name, Lily asked, "Who's Sprout?"

"I forgot, you're first-years. Sprout's the little witch over there. She's the Herbology teacher, she's the Head of the Hufflepuff house. Next to her, that's the Potions teacher, Rowena Walsh. She's the one who brought you here, she's the Deputy Headmistress and Head of Slytherin. She can turn very mean, be careful. Next to her, the tiny wizard is Flitwick, teaching Charms; he's so short that in class, he has to stand up on a pile of books if he wants to see his class. He's Head of Ravenclaw."

Mundungus stopped to regain his breath; a tall, slim, very red-haired boy named Arnold Weasley went on.

"Over there, that's Binns. He's the only ghost teacher in the castle, History of Magic. But be careful, his classes are so boring that he annoys everybody to sleep. At his left, the little old man who looks as if he's about to fell asleep down in his plate is Rebus Ricochet, the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. The place was said to be jinxed before he got it, but he's been scratching at it for sixty years, so, well ... It's his last year before retirement. And as for the tall witch over there ... I don't know her at all. She's probably the new Transfiguration teacher, the last teacher got killed by Death Eaters four months ago."

"But that's horrible!"

Lily stared round-eyed. Maybe she was thinking that teachers were immortal.

"And what about the ends of the table?"

"The giant who brought you up to the castle is Hagrid. He looks very fierce but don't trust appearances. He's really kind," said Vega. "He once invited me to have a tea at his hut. He's got a huge hound that drools all over you each time he sees you -- just 'cause he's happy to see you."

Lily looked at Hagrid; Hagrid caught her glance and beamed behind his goblet. Then she turned her eyes towards the other end of the High Table, and suppressed a shiver. The man sitting there was tall and broad-shouldered; he had a thick skull, a very pale complexion and dark, cold, sunken eyes.

"Who's the other, just there?" she asked.

"Adams? Oh, he's another thing. Brutus Adams, the caretaker. Better to avoid that one," said Mundungus. "You can never know what to expect with him. It's said that one day, he hung a student by his ankles down in a dungeon, and he left him hanging there for three days just because he had a Dungbomb explode in a corridor."

"Three days?"

"That's what they say. But they say so much ... Chicken, Sirius?"

The desserts appeared gradually as the main courses disappeared. Sirius had started his conversation with the ruff-wearing ghost again and now he was asking him something.

"C'mon, Sir Nicholas, please ..."

Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, alias Nearly Headless Nick, didn't like this kind of request that much. He was asked the same question each year and wasn't one to show off -- but it was asked so politely. With a sight, he took his left ear between two long, slim fingers and pulled it up. Lily, Remus, James and the others watched in awe as his head tipped over to the right, tied up to his neck as if on a hinge.

"Well, young man, are you satisfied now?"

Sirius's delighted grin spoke for him. Nearly Headless Nick, rather flattered, put his head back in its place, then sighted, "I get this each year, you have no idea of how annoying it is."

Once the desserts all eaten, the plates cleaned themselves up in a blinking of an eye. Albus Dumbledore got up, and everyone was silent.

"Now we are all satisfied, and before you all go to bed in your respective dormitories, I have to say few words about the school rules. As Mr. Adams pointed out to me, using magic is still not allowed between classes in the corridors; and the Forbidden Forest is still, as its name says so, forbidden. Some of our older students should set a good example to the youngest ones."

Lily would have sworn that Dumbledore glanced at Mundungus Fletcher as he spoke.

"We have something new this year: a Whomping Willow has been planted this summer in the Hogwarts grounds, and I'd like to warn you not to get too close to it. These trees are extremely violent, and I'm sure you care about your limbs enough not to want to loose one."

Sirius and Tim Thomas winked. Lisa Dodger rolled her eyes.

"Now as far as Quidditch is concerned, those who'd like to play for their house can contact Madam Hooch. Players will be chosen on the second week.

"And I would like to welcome a new teacher."

He turned to the unknown witch sitting almost at the end of the table and smiled again.

"Professor McGonagall will teach Transfiguration, and she'll be the Head of the Gryffindor house."

McGonagall got up; she was tall, dark-haired, and looked stern with her tight bun and square glasses. However, if you looked attentively, you could spot some tension in her way of blinking slightly behind her glasses. She sat back on her chair.

"Finally -- I'm sorry to end on such a grim subject, but I have to -- we should observe a minute's silence, to the memory of those who have been murdered this summer. We are at war. But that doesn't mean we must resign ourselves and forget."

The silence that had fallen over the Great Hall was deafening. You could only hear the sobs of a Hufflepuff second-year who knew the Jones family. At the High Table, all the professors bowed their head; Lily guessed they were thinking about their colleague. McGonagall in particular looked really ill-at-ease. Even Mundungus Fletcher looked sombre, too.

Once the minute's silence over, Dumbledore bid good night to everybody. The students got up from their tables; Vega got up first and said to Gryffindors, "First-years, this way!"

"A bit more of training and you'll manage to sound like Hagrid," Sirius yawned. "You'll even end up looking like him with all that we ate tonight ... Aren't you afraid 'bout your diet?"

"Si! I'm a Prefect, I don't want you to ruin my authority! Shut up and follow me, or else I leave you here all alone!"

Sirius just shrugged.

"Prefect?" James whispered, once Vega out of earshot.

"Don't you see the badge on her robes? She got it this summer. A prefect is an older student in charge of the discipline. And you know what? We're going to get it in the neck, pal. 'Cause dear lil' sister knows quite a lot about discipline."

They walked up a great marble staircase, then along endless corridors where characters in the pictures on the wall kept talking among themselves or calling out to them. A knight mounting a fat grey pony in particular was so annoying that Sirius furiously sent him packing. All he got as an answer was a challenge to a duel and a lecture from his sister.

At the end of a corridor, there was a picture on the wall, showing a very fat lady all dressed in pink silk. Sirius watched her suspiciously, not very enthusiastic from his first experience with characters from pictures.

"Password?" the Fat Lady asked in a low voice.

"Medusa", answered Vega, and the picture swung open, letting a round hole in the wall.

Gryffindor common room was a small, circular room, filled with big, squashy armchairs and lopsided tables, with a chimney on the left. They just had time to take a glance at it -- they were ready to drop. Vega showed the doors to the girls' and boys' dormitories; James, Sirius, Remus and Peter said goodnight to Lily and Vega, then got up the stairs with the other boys.

The four friends walked past a couple of doors -- there were five beds in each dormitory -- and settled in the last. It counted only four beds, four-posters hung with red velvet. James supposed they removed a bed because of the boy who died -- it didn't make any sense, but he was way too sleepy to think, and it was really too late. Their stuff had been brought there already -- Sirius saw with relief that his guitar had been brought in too; James worried as he looked for his owl, Merlin, until he remembered he was probably at the owlery with the other owls. He pulled on his pyjamas and watched the others. Peter, looking slightly ashamed, took his teddy bear out of his trunk and stuffed it under his pillow; Sirius left his robes and clothes untidily on a bar of the bed and collapse into his bed; Remus folded his clothes neatly and put them in the wardrobe nearby.

A few minutes later, they were all in bed, curled up in warm sheets. Peter was already sleeping, sucking his thumb. Sirius, James, and Remus chatted until they drifted off -- Sirius fell asleep so suddenly he didn't end his phrase. James followed closely, and didn't hear -- much later at night -- Remus give a slight sight of relief, "Here we are. And I'm in."

And he was smiling in his sleep.