Falling Forever: Ex Adyto Cordis

James had seen the hug, and couldn't help but think that it belonged to him. He had had some reason for sitting next to Roxy instead of Lily, but now he couldn't remember what it was. Something stupid.

And now Lily was probably interested in that second-year who had come into the compartment. Great. Just great. He was an idiot.

Annoyed, James focused his attention on Sirius and Remus.

The first-years were all piling into wooden boats and preparing to drift across the moat. The water was pitch black. As the girls climbed into the boat next to him, James heard Kate ask, "Who was that, Lily?"

He missed the answer as Remus recited the rumors he had heard about the moat and the boats shifted into action.

"-and apparently there's a giant squid or something..."

Sirius grinned. "Think it wants company?"

James returned the grin, good humor restored, instantly knowing what Sirius was thinking. "Must be lonely in there."

Sirius' smile widened and he whipped his robe off and, the rest of his clothes still on, dived into the lake.

Kate, Lily, Roxy, and Hestia saw the dive- Kate screamed- and all four eagerly watched to see what would happen. He didn't resurface for a few seconds and all the surrounding watchers leaned towards the edge of their boats, intent on the water.

Suddenly, Kate let out a long, high-pitched scream. A cold, wet hand had clamped down over hers and quite a few people jumped.

It was Roxy who laughed first, as Sirius resurfaced and beamed at the girls. The spectators laughed and most turned away. Kate slapped him indignantly as he rose out of the water, held by a long, slimy arm.

Not afraid in the slightest, Sirius was still laughing as he was lifted back into his boat.

"Owl me!" yelled Sirius to the vanishing tentacle.

James high-fived him as the three boys burst into laughter and the boats landed.

********

The first-years stood where they had been told to wait, in a large but mainly undecorated hall, the woodwork spectacular, but with little else to capture your attention.

James leaned against the railing of the staircase, watching as Sirius begged for Kate to forgive him for the hand incident. The whole affair was, of course, for the purpose of being funny- Kate wasn't mad at Sirius and everyone knew it. But, for the sake of entertainment, Sirius was making a huge show of apologizing and Kate was making a huge show of not accepting.

Lily was watching too, inwardly laughing. The whole affair ended predictably enough, with Sirius asking out Kate and Kate accepting.

The happy pair were smiling at each other, Sirius' arm finding its way around Kate's waist, when a fairly young woman, probably in her early thirties or late twenties, entered.

She had black hair which had been hastily pulled up into a bun that threatened to fall out at any moment. She had sharp eyes, to the dismay of one girl who had been chewing a very noise piece of bubblegum, and she smiled quickly as she entered.

"Hello class, my name is Professor McGonagall."

There Minerva McGonagall paused. Why had Headmaster Dippet given her this task? It was her first year teaching for crying out loud. What was it that Professor Dum- Albus- had said?

"I think the Headmaster gave you this task because you're young, and you remember what it's like to go to this school. You know Hogwarts as well as any of us, you may well be better at explaining it. Trust yourself, Minerva." His eyes had twinkled as he paused. "And besides, they're only first-years. They don't know any better."

Minerva smiled again, relaxing, and faced the first-years. She didn't hold with favoritism- what good did it get you anyway? Nothing- but deep down she knew this would always be her favorite year. Perhaps she had known it the second she had walked in the door and seen their nervous faces. They were new too. She and them- they'd fight their way through this year together.

"Welcome to Hogwarts!"

A few of the less nervous students clapped. Next to his new found girlfriend, Sirius gave a yell.

"I know some of you already know some or maybe all of this, so pardon me while I fill others in." As quickly and interestingly as she could, Minerva explained about Houses and points. "And now," Minerva gave a small, and unconsciously mysterious smile, "time for you to get sorted."

The openly- and some secretly- worried students filed into the Great Hall, and all were instantly amazed.

Few, in the school's history, hadn't been. The hall was immense, after all, hundreds of unnaturally bright candles hanging suspended beneath a magnificent blue sky, stars scattered and shining like diamonds.

Aware that the entire of the student body was staring at them, many first-years chose to focus their attention back. Lily sought out Tom, but she didn't know where the Slytherin table was, and all Lily knew was that Slytherin was Tom's house. She quickly gave up the search.

Tom's penetrating eyes had already found Lily. God damn it, the girl knew how to keep your attention. Tom didn't really mind though, Lily was so- pure. So very, very childlike, and Tom intended to keep her that way. She wasn't like Tom at all, and he did not want what had happened to him to happen to her.

Tom scowled at the memories. What was done was done. He didn't want to think about it any longer. He tore his eyes off Lily Evans and focused on the hat. It was about to sing its silly little song anyways.

Lily gasped as the hat started singing. She had a lot to get used to. Lily sighed as she realized how much she needed to adjust. Roxy's parents were both wizards, and one of Kate's was, so they could help her, she supposed. Reflecting, it was rather odd that her two best friends had magic in them, and even more curious that she had never even guessed. They had only told her when she had confided in them that she was going to learn witchcraft. Instead of being shocked that such a thing existed, as she had imagined, they had been excited. They were going too!

Lily tried to tune into the hat's song but figured it was some cutesy opening thing and didn't give it much effort.

I wonder what Petunia would think of this...

Lily stifled a giggle at the thought of Petunia in this room. Petunia had been far from thrilled to discover that her sister was going to be a witch. Of course, Petunia always disapproved of what Lily did. Lily frowned, trying to figure out what she had done to earn her sister's hatred so much.

The Great Hall burst into applause. Lily jumped, startled, and hurriedly began clapping, embarrassed that she hadn't heard one word the song had sang.

Professor McGonagall stepped up next to the hat and the stool upon which it rested. She drew out a long piece of parchment and carefully unrolled it.

James was thinking about what the hat had said about the respective houses. As long as Sirius was with him, it didn't really matter where he went. His dad had been a Hufflepuff, his mum, Ravenclaw, so those two must be OK. Gryffindor sounded pretty good too. The hat hadn't said anything especially nice about Slytherin, though.

Tom agreed with James on the latter. He was fuming at the blatant disrespect for Slytherin House and the man- the worthy, most noble man- who had founded it. Who the hell did that hat think it was?

There was no one singled out house. That would come later. All four houses got along with each other, and the only rivalries were friendly, Quidditch ones. As for dating, different house relationships were frequent. While Slytherin typically didn't date people outside their house, it wasn't frowned upon. Each house had their own characteristics. A so-called popular house depended on the people in it.

There was no such thing as a bad house.

"Abraham, Lisa!"

A pudgy, rosy-cheeked girl stepped nervously forward. Everyone took in a breath, waiting, like a defendant at a trial for a blessing or damning verdict.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Cheers from the table to Lily's left.

"Black, Narcissa!"

Sirius' eyes narrowed. Oh how he loathed being a Black. Narcissa loved it, as far as Sirius could tell. He glanced at Kate and then back at Narcissa.

Oh sure, Narcissa was pretty. Actually, she looked a lot like Kate, except with paler hair, skin, and eyes. Except no one would ever like her like they loved Kate, because unlike Kate, she was cold, distant, and completely lacking Kate's aura of approachability and radiance. She was so arrogant, so sure she was better. You could tell the moment you saw her, with her nose those couple of millimeters higher in the air. No, Sirius doubted if Narcissa would ever truly be loved.

He had every certainty she would be used.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Cheers from the table to the far left. Lily's head whipped to the side and this time, she was able to find Tom.

She was surprised to find Tom looking at her as well.

Realizing she was looking at him, Tom smiled and then, very quickly, winked.

Lily blushed and watched as Sirius was called to be sorted.

Kate gave his hand a squeeze and Sirius gave his biggest smile to the Hall as he walked up and casually placed the cap on his head. Only James saw through the mask and knew how Sirius was really feeling.

He was petrified. Oh sure, it was easy to pretend otherwise, but Sirius would die if he was in Slytherin.

Sirius knew he had no logical reason to think this but he could almost hear his mother's shriek of triumph if he was put in the same house as her. If he was surrounded by people who were just like her.

"Don't want to be in Slytherin, eh?"

What the fuck... was the hat talking to him?

"Watch your language, Mr. Black."

"Where are you going to put me?"

"That depends entirely upon you, Mr. Black. Slytherin seems a natural choice."

"NO."

"Why not? Your whole family was in Slytherin."

"Why do you think I don't want to be in it?"

If hats could smile- even talking ones- Sirius was pretty sure this one would have now.

"Ah, yes, well, maybe this house will suit you better. GRYFFINDOR!"

Sirius grinned as the Gryffindor table burst into enthusiastic applause at its new member. James gave him the thumbs up, knowing his relief.

"Caprilet, Katherine!"

"It's okay, you can call me Kate," said Kate with a grin as she walked up. A couple people laughed and Professor McGonagall returned the smile. Lily burst into silent laughter.

"Don't tell me," said the hat inside Kate's head almost as soon as Kate placed it upon her head. "I know exactly where you want to go. GRYFFINDOR!"

Kate beamed at the hall and sat next to Sirius.

"Crabbe, Devon!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

And so the dialogue went. "Dantuwa, Luke", a handsome boy with blue eyes and light brown hair, went to Ravenclaw. Hazel eyed "Dreston, Apollo" went to Hufflepuff.

"Evans, Lily!"

Uncomfortable with being watched by so many people, Lily carefully walked up to the Sorting Hat. Sitting down and seeing all those pairs of eyes staring at her, Lily squeezed her eyes shut and put the hat on.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Satisfied that she had been placed in a good house, Lily happily joined Kate and Sirius.

Tom watched her go with a mixture of disappointment and relief. The former was the lesser emotion- he'd probably never see Lily. The latter was because now Lily was safe.

Tom felt guilty using that word- he loved his house. The people in it were no better or worse than anyone else- despite what that damned Sorting Hat had implied- but they had been around their parents too long. It was the same with their parents before them. They had adopted their way of thinking. It was a virus, and he himself had been-

Tom didn't want to think about that anymore. The less he did the better. This was who he was now. The past meant nothing...

"Lang, Hestia!"

Lily and Kate leaned forward eagerly to see where Hestia would go.

"RAVENCLAW!"

The two girls sighed, relaxing backwards. They were about half way through the first years, they decided, as "Lestrange, Rabastan!" went to Slytherin and "Lupin, Remus!" was called forward. Kate leaned forward again.

"Sick of me already?" laughed Sirius.

Kate pushed him, laughing. "Of course not. He's my friend; I wanna know where he goes."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Kate, Lily, and Sirius stood up cheering.

James shuffled his feet forward a bit as a pale, cold looking boy by the name of Lucius Malfoy joined the Slytherin table. He hoped Lily would cheer for him as much as she cheered for Remus. A timid girl with pigtails sat down at Hufflepuff table.

"Petrova, Roxelena!"

The four newest Gryffindors- Kate, Sirius, Lily, and Remus- instantly quieted. Kate and Lily were nervous. At least they had each other, but they wanted Roxy to be with them too.

However, Roxy's older sister, Anya, was in Ravenclaw. Anya, a very pretty girl with blonde hair and green eyes was quieter than Roxy, but generally nice and friendly to all she met. Slightly more introverted than her younger sister, Anya was in her fifth year and was Ravenclaw's prefect.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Lily and Kate burst into excited screams and a mousy looking boy named Peter Pettigrew followed Roxy as he was, surprisingly, sorted into Gryffindor, which the Hat had called the courageous house. Sirius and James shot each other identical looks of surprise, but the Sorting Hat had never been wrong in all its many years of experience and nothing suggested it was malfunctioning now. The boys shrugged and forgot all about Peter as James was calling up to the stool.

"Come on!" said Sirius, letting out a huge cheer which other, more reserved persons would have saved for after the sorting.

James grinned and sat down.

"Why hello, Mr. Potter. And where should I put you?... Gryffindor? Really? Lots of brains you know, you'd do wonderfully in Ravenclaw."

"Are you calling me a coward? Come on, I belong in Gryffindor!"

"Very well, but are you sure that bravery is the reason you want to be in Gryffindor?" The hat gave a small chuckle and James reddened. "Very well, if you're so certain, then- GRYFFINDOR!"

Sirius led the table in applause.

*******

Tom sat on a couch in the Slytherin common room, as the new first-years filed in. No one sat near him, he was by himself. Each one gave them their name, and Tom introduced himself. However, each first-year quickly picked up that they could not, by some unwritten rule, call him Tom. They would have to think of something different, more respectful.

Tom introduced them to the ways and rules of Slytherin House. He was the one they would answer to if they did anything wrong. The older students listened, aware of the policies, but giving Tom their attention anyway.

They forgot that Tom was only twelve years old.

********

"Lily? Kate? Aren't you two ready yet?" groaned Roxy.

"Yeah, yeah, hold on," said Kate. "Gotta look good for Sirius."

Roxy rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Kate. No need to impress him, you're going out. Remember?"

"Hold on, almost done." Kate smacked her lips with lip gloss. "What are you getting all jazzed up for?"

"Never know who you might meet," replied Lily, poking a silver hoop through one of her ears.

"You don't have classes with Tom, remember?"

Lily whirled around, her red hair fanning out and complimenting the blush spreading to her cheeks.

"What?"

Kate and Roxy burst into laughter.

"OK, you've made your point, now" Lily dabbed her lips with a finger and looked in the mirror for one final reassurance. She turned around to face her friends and held out her arms. "Let's go."

*****

Tom rolled out of bed and hurriedly reached for some clothes. Rubbing his eyes, he got dressed and looked for a suitable robe.

Lord knew he hadn't slept a wink. Damn Lily Evans for that red hair and green eyes and that hug and smile for being a first-year!

He ran out the Slytherin entrance and headed to class. This whole feeling was entirely new to Tom and he had just managed to focus on something other than Lily when he saw her again.

Tom smiled to himself. Well, the girl knew how to make an entrance, that's for sure. A trio of first-year Gryffindor boys stopped and stared as well, although much more obviously than Tom had.

Lily had linked elbows with two other girls, a blonde on her left and a dark-haired girl on her right. Walking with the same rhythm, they strolled through the center of the hall, robes flailing backward, hair swept backward.

She looked fabulous. Her perfectly straight hair had been pulled up into a high ponytail and was catching light and shining almost as much as her pale pink lips. Her eyes were glittering and in front of two silver hoops two sections of hair were falling and framing her face. Lily saw Tom and flashed him a last minute smile and turned into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Tom smiled and looked down, shaking his head.

He sighed and continued walking, knowing he'd be distracted the rest of the day. Oh well, he had History of Magic first anyway.

*********

Minerva smiled. As far as first classes went, she was sure hers hadn't been half bad. The Gryffindors had been kind, and two students- James and what was his name again? Sirius! - had promised to prove troublesome. While outwardly she was stern, inside she didn't really mind their boisterous ways. Perhaps she could earn their respect and keep their sure-to-get-crazier antics out of her classroom.

******

The six Gryffindors did exceptionally well their first year. They all got excellent marks- James and Sirius with seemingly no effort.

Kate, Lily, Hestia, and Roxy were quickly established as the most popular girls in the year, not only for their looks, but because they were all extremely nice and unaware of their social status.

As for James and Sirius, their popularity was undisputed. Funny and mischievous, they could make anyone laugh. Their good looks didn't hurt things either. They were becoming increasingly better at being able to pull anything off, continually pushing the limits. Not quite as popular was Remus, although everyone- even those who occasionally found James and Sirius a bit much- liked the quieter, smart member of the trio (his looks didn't hurt either).

Peter Pettigrew unofficially became part of the group, as he clung to James, Sirius, and Remus and went everywhere with them. While at first they found him rather annoying- an occurance they would occasionally repeat as they grew older- they grew to tolerate and accept him as a friend. He was shy and quick to agree with anything anyone said. Peter lacked his friends' cleverness, and often needed aid, but no one doubted his loyalty.

Lily was proud of her marks, and generally she thought she was quite good at most of her classes. However, she was struggling with Potions. So, she had elected to ask Tom for help.

She was taking a tremendous risk. Lily had never been so bold with a guy she had liked before- the fact that she had really liked few boys before was irrelevant. Lily and Tom were still quite friendly- they greeted each other in the halls, had sent an owl or two to each other over winter holidays, but Lily wasn't sure if Tom would want to help her.

It was worth a try. Lily walked to the library, silently praying he was there. He was. Lily sat down and Tom looked up from his book.

"Oh, hey!"

"Hey, Tom."

Tom leaned back and closed his book.

Oh God, thought Lily, he really is good looking...

Lily quickly diverted her eyes, realizing she had probably been staring. Tom smiled. She was rather transparent, but not enough that it bothered him. It was actually quite appealing. None of this hidden emotions crap.

"How are you?"

"I'm good. Tom, I was wondering... this is really going to sound stupid... do you think you could help me with Potions? You don't have to if you don't want to, it's just that-"

"Lily, relax. I'd be glad to help."

Lily beamed.

"What do you need help with?"