The Original Mapmakers

What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.

~Crowfoot, Blackfoot warrior and orator, 1890

The nervous first years huddled at the end of the Great Hall, much too close for comfort. They watched as Professor McGonagall, a young but strict-looking witch, placed a ratty old hat onto a stool

"I'll bet we have to turn it into a rabbit or something," said a nervous round-faced boy named Richard Abbott.

"Oh, look what it's doing!" cried Jaime, Lily's new friend. The hat had split at the seams, revealing a mouth-type thing. The entire room went quiet.

"Oh, I might be ugly, and seem older than time,

but just listen for a second, to this Hogwarts rhyme.

Do not be afraid, I'll tell you where you belong

Just sit right here and put me on, I am never wrong.

You may be like brave Godric,

Who never backed from a fight.

He would always defend his honor

And do it with all his might.

Or you might belong in Rowena's house

Who was the wisest of the wise.

No one could outwit her,

No one could tell her lies.

Then there was true Helga

The most hardworking of them all.

She was just and loyal

And always on the ball.

Of course, there was old Salazar

A more cunning man you couldn't find.

He was always ambitious

No one ever knew what went through his mind.

And so, dear friends, as you grow older time will come to pass

Just look back on your happy youth

And remember to thank me, the Hogwarts Sorting Hat!"

The Great Hall exploded in applause as the Sorting Hat finished its song. Just as Professor McGonagall opened her mouth to call the first student, the Sorting Hat split at the seams again and spoke, this time in a much different voice than it had used before. It said:

"Beware this generation. The day will come when you shall see them split in half, one side for the dark, the other for the light. And when it is over, only a few will remain who will not have had their blood spilt."

Then the Hat closed its seams again and was silent. The Hall, which had been noiseless during the hats' entire speech, then broke into loud exclamations. Professor McGonagall, who had gone very white, stood up and yelled, "Order! Order! Quiet down." However, she herself had never heard the Hat talk in such a way, and was just as terrified as they were. Professor Dumbledore then stood up to calm them down with a few words, and then everyone waited for the belated ceremony to begin. The first years, who had just begun to calm down before the Hat's prophesy, were now more scared than ever.

"Abott, Richard," called Professor McGonagall. The round-faced boy was immediately sorted into Hufflepuff. A tiny yet nasty looking girl with spiked pig tails ("How does she do that?" muttered Sirius) named Cynthia Anderson was promptly sorted into Slytherin, and was followed by Clint Avery, the little brother of Cameron Avery, who hung around Malfoy. Then came Sirius.

"Hmmmm," whispered the Sorting Hat in his ear. "Quite a good mind, good enough for Ravenclaw, but definitely not willing to apply yourself. Quite the troublemaker, aren't you? Cunning enough for Slytherin."

Please, no, thought Sirius in his mind.

"Ah, yes, you are afraid of turning out like your father," said the Sorting Hat's voice again. "Well, I wouldn't worry about that if I were you. You are much too loyal, at least to your friends, to go wrong. And your bravery is much too strong to ignore. So, I believe you are a GRYFFINDOR!"

At this pronouncement the Gryffindor table erupted into cheers. Sirius ripped the Hat off and jogged towards it, waving merrily at James. Afterwards came Andy Bones, who was sorted into Ravenclaw. And on the list of names went, until it got to Lily. She walked shyly up to the stool and sat down, placing the Hat over her fire red hair.

"Muggle-born, I see," said the hat. "Well, that leaves Slytherin out, not that I'd consider placing you there. Quite a bright mind, but you are much too temperamental to be put into Ravenclaw. You will be great one day, no doubt about that. I think I know just where to put you. GRYFFINDOR!"

Lily practically skipped to the table, her joy overcoming all of her fears about the Hats' prophesy and being a Muggle-born amidst all the Pure-bloods. All past grudges were gone; she and Sirius began to talk animatedly.

On the Sorting went until it came to Remus Lupin. He walked slowly up to the Hat, eyeing it suspiciously before setting it atop his head. He was perhaps the most terrified of them all, but he was doing his best not to show it. What if he put the Hat on and it shouted out "Werewolf!" to the entire Hall? He was determined not to embarrass himself in front of all those Slytherins. Although, he thought bitterly to himself, he was likely to become one of those Slytherins soon. He didn't feel brave enough to be in Gryffindor, although that's what he wanted to be, and his family history was terribly diverse, all Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs and even a Slytherin or two. The only Gryffindor he knew of was his now mad Aunt Maxine.

Unfortunately, his hopes of having a quiet Sorting were disrupted, because as soon as the Hat was on his head, it whispered in his ear "Ah, a Lone One," and he promptly fell off the stool. He clambered back on, hearing the gales of laughter about him. "Oh my God, what a moron," sneered Lucius.

The Hat then spoke a bit softer to him, saying, "Well, no matter. Let's see: you have a very good mind, very creative. You would do very well in Ravenclaw. But you are also very cunning, a good liar, and no wonder, growing up the way you did. But then, although you are suspicious of anyone you meet, you will be very loyal to anyone who befriends you. Actually, you would do quite well in any of those houses."

Remus, who was very disappointed that Gryffindor was not mentioned at all, asked the Hat to hurry up.

"Well, you're a testy one, aren't you?" Said the Hat, then said, "Well, don't worry. I know what you want, and I can see what's written all over your heart, although you are afraid. It had better be GRYFFINDOR for you."

Remus walked as if in a daze over to the Gryffindor table, not even noticing the remarks coming from the Slytherins. He grinned enthusiastically as he sat next to Lily. It was the first time anyone had seen him smile, and Sirius pointed this out to him, as Lily privately thought that, although it was kind of crooked, he had the nicest smile she had ever seen.

After several mostly Slytherins were sorted, it was Peter's turn. He tripped twice just trying to walk to the Hat, and then the Hat seemed to get into such a long and heated debate with itself about which house to put him in that it is not too necessary to say everything that was said, except that it seemed that it finally decided he had more bravery than any of the other qualities, even though he had hardly any of that, and the Hat finally called out a very weak-sounding "Gryffindor?" It sounded more like a question than a statement.

Then came James. He walked briskly to the Hat, feeling everyone's eyes on him. He put the Hat on, painfully aware how it seemed to engulf his head, as he was so small.

"Another one that will be great. Let me see. Oh, you are brave... you are smart and loyal as well, but you are much too brave for me to ignore. You are definitely a GRYFFINDOR!"

James ran to sit with his friends. He was so happy that they had all made it, even Lily. She was talking to Remus about something, and both seemed happier than he'd ever seen, and for some reason it made James want to hit Remus, although he didn't know why.

They watched the rest of the Sorting. Some Gryffindor prefects that were sitting on the other side of Lily began to complain that more than half the first years were Slytherin this year. "I've never seen anything like it," said one scornfully. It was true. The only ones after James who didn't go into Slytherin were Roger Martin, who became a Ravenclaw, and Jaime Watson, Lily's friend who became a Gryffindor. It was also a much smaller group than usual.

James didn't have time to think too much about this, however, because Professor Dumbledore stood to speak. He opened his arms wide, as if he wanted to embrace them all at once. "Welcome," he said with a smile, "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. I know that our ceremony ran a bit late, and that you are all hungry, but I need to make just a few announcements. First of all, I'd like to announce that a Whomping Willow has been planted on the school grounds. For those who don't know, a Whomping Willow is a tree that is able to literally destroy anything that comes near it, so unless you want to get mauled to death, I'd suggest you stay away from it."

Remus had accidentally dropped his wand under the table and was now frantically searching for it.

"Second of all, I would just like to remind everyone here that the Forbidden Forest is, as its name suggests, forbidden. Any student caught trespassing will be severely punished."

"I don't know why they announce that every year," said a sixth year. "It's not like anyone in there right mind would want to go in there." James's curiosity was immediately aroused.

"Now that that long, boring speech is over," said Dumbledore, "Let's eat!"

Suddenly there appeared in front of them large amounts of all kinds of foods imaginable. There were even peppermint humbugs.

After everyone was finished, the prefects showed them to their rooms. Lily got a room with Jaime all to themselves, since they were the only two Gryffindors sorted that year. Of course, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter got their own room. The next day would be their first ever classes. They talked into the night about what they wanted to do when they got out of school. James and Sirius both wanted to be Aurors. Remus said he didn't care, as long as it paid well, and Peter said he just wanted to pass their first year. They all laughed and agreed with him.