The Marauders and the Arenotelicon

It took most of the day and several boxes each of chocolate frogs to make the trip to Hogwarts but in the end, the four boys agreed it was well worth it. They became fast friends and when the locomotive hissed into the station at Hogsmeade, the village near the school, it was agreed that no matter what house the four of them went into, they would remain loyal friends.

Remus was astounded by his astonishing turn of fortune. Not only was he going to Hogwarts but he also had three good friends in a short span of time. He was getting ready to turn and ask Sirius a question but it was immediately forgotten when a deep booming voice bellowed over the noise of milling students.

"Firs' years over here! Firs' years all gather 'round me!"

"Holy God," gulped Sirius loudly. "He's bloody huge! Is he a giant or something?"

Remus wasn't sure what the man was but his instincts told him right off the giant man with the shaggy brown hair and beard was someone to be trusted.

"Who knows?" shrugged James and strode forward to join the gathering group of students.

"That alla ya?" The giant man peered into inky darkness, waving his big railway lantern about as if hoping to spot more. "Well, if this is alla ya, I'm Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. I'm to escort ya to th'school so step this way." The group followed in Hagrid's large footsteps until he stopped at a small pier. "Everyone into the boats. Ye can probably get about three or four per boat."

Remus clambered into one and helped Peter in as well. Peter's eyes were large and Remus could smell fear thick in the air. James and Sirius followed. The four boys were just settled into the boat when there was a shriek from a red-haired girl, who was pointing at the churning water a short distance from their tiny crafts.

"Ah don' worry about that, it's just the giant squid. He's harmless." Hagrid seemed unconcerned by the water's disturbance and the boats began to move magically across the huge lake.

As the mist parted, Peter leaned forward and hissed excitedly, "Look! Look! It's Hogwarts!" Not one single first year was unimpressed, Muggle or Magical. Remus caught an awed look on Severus Snape's face in the boat ahead of their as the lantern brushed a swath of light across his sallow complexion.

"Magnificent!" breathed Sirius. "I've never seen a castle with that many turrets and towers still standing!"

The boats approached the cliff on which the huge castle rested and Hagrid shouted suddenly, "Duck yer heads now!" right before the boats drifted beneath a curtain of ivy-like vines. The boats continued their course through an underground cavern until they came to rest on a gravely shore. Everyone scrambled out of the boats, helped pull them a bit more solidly onto the rocks and then followed Hagrid to a huge door, which the giant man began to pound on.

The door swung open before Hagrid finished his third knock, revealing a stately witch with a tall pointed hat and flowing robes of what looked like green-black fabric. "Got the first years for ya, Professor McGonagall." Hagrid stepped aside and allowed the students to pass through. Remus followed Sirius, walking even with Peter. He saw Peter slide a nervous glance around him, but Remus actually felt at peace for the first time in a long while. No, not peace...safe. He felt safe.

The witch led them to a small chamber just off what Remus assumed was the Great Hall, considering it was filled with all the students (or the bulk of them considering the noise). Once everyone was gathered together around her, she held up her hand for silence, which was immediately granted.

"I am Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts and the Transfiguration teacher. Welcome to Hogwarts. In just a few moments, you will pass through these doors here and be Sorted into your houses. For those who do not know, the houses are Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor and Slytherin. Each house has a long, noble history and will be your family for the next seven years. You will eat together, take lessons together and live together in your house dormitory. There is a system of house points that can be earned or lost, depending on your actions while you are here. At the end of the school year, the points are tallied and the house with the most points wins the House Cup." She paused, looking around with a slight smile. "Now, I want you to remain here and I shall come to fetch you when they are ready."

She turned and vanished through a door at the opposite end of the room. Everyone looked at each other in nervous excitement.

"Anyone know what this Sorting is?" asked Sirius loudly. There a few murmurs but no one seemed to have an answer.

"Nervous you won't pass?" sneered Snape from the outside edge of the crowd.

"I figured if you could get a letter, old boy, anyone could get in this place." Sirius turned his back on Snape but both Remus and James stepped up to defend him. Snape had pulled a wand from his robe sleeve and was pointing it right at Sirius.

"I wouldn't if I were you, Severus," growled James, pulling his own wand.

Remus grabbed James' wand hand as Sirius spun around, belatedly realizing the danger he was in. "Don't. We don't want to get into trouble," Remus advised both boys and after a moment, both Severus and James nodded stiffly at each other and turned away.

"Don't like him," muttered Sirius.

"And I told you not to turn your back on him. Sirius, he was going to hex you," James muttered back.

"Ssh!" hissed Peter as the door opened again, revealing a smiling Professor McGonagall.

"Everyone form a line and follow me please!" she called to them and there was a minor scramble to find a place. Like a line of marching ants, the first years followed the witch into the Great Hall.

Remus remembered to look up at the ceiling as his father had always told him about it. Instead of flying buttresses and ornate paintings in the cathedral style room, the ceiling was enchanted to reflect the night sky. Stars twinkled amongst clouds and Remus swore he saw a shooting star fly overhead right before he bumped into James. "Sorry," he murmured. "Look up."

James glanced up and paused. "Wow."

Sirius, who was behind Remus, saw James look up and did the same. "That's bloody brilliant!" Several students at the tables around them laughed softly at the exclamation.

"It's enchanted," Remus told them quietly. "Fantastic charm, eh?"

"Move!" shooed Peter, nervously looking at Snape behind him. Snape, however, was equally enthralled by the ceiling and hadn't noticed the pause.

The line resumed its course toward the front of the hall where a long table sat on a raised portion. At each seat was a Hogwarts teacher. Remus made a little wave at the headmaster, Dumbledore, who nodded briefly in acknowledgement. Everyone's attention was diverted back to McGonagall when she cleared her throat.

"When I call your name, please come forward and place the hat on your head. It will then tell you what house you will be in."

She fetched a three-legged stool that had on the seat a ragged, torn, and extremely old wizard hat. It had patches on it in several places and Remus figured that if it wasn't special it would have been thrown out years ago. To his and the other first years' astonishment, another tear magically appeared and the hat began to sing loudly.

"A thousand years or more ago,
When I was newly sewn,
There lived four wizards of renown,
Whose names are still well known:
Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor,
Fair Ravenclaw, from glen,
Sweet Hufflepuff from valley broad,
Shrewd Slytherin, from fen.
They shared a wish, a hope, a dream,
They hatched a daring plan
To educate young sorcerers
Thus Hogwarts School began.
Now each of these four founders
Formed their own house, for each
Did value different virtues
In the ones they had to teach.
By Gryffindor, the bravest were
Prized far beyond the rest;
For Ravenclaw, the cleverest
Would always be the best;
For Hufflepuff, hard workers were
Most worthy of admission;
And power-hungry Slytherin
Loved those of great ambition.
While still alive they did divide
Their favorites from the throng,
Yet how to pick the worthy ones
When they were dead and gone?
'Twas Gryffindor who found the way,
He whipped me off his head
The founders put some brains in me
So I could choose instead!
Now slip me snug about your ears,
I've never been yet wrong,
I'll have a look inside your mind
And tell where you belong!"

There was loud cheering and clapping. Remus found himself laughing with his three new friends. As McGonagall was unrolling her parchment of names, Sirius leaned over to Remus and whispered, "That's one very old, very clever hat!" Remus nodded as the first name, "Adder, Lucy!" was called. A tiny blonde girl scampered up and climbed onto the chair, placing the hat gingerly on her head. The tear opened and promptly announced, "Slytherin!" The Slytherin table roared its approval.

Sirius followed Lucy Adder, setting hat eagerly on his head. It took almost twenty seconds before the hat informed the student body that "Gryffindor!" was where Sirius belonged. James gave Sirius two thumbs up as the other boy swaggered to the Gryffindor table.

And so it followed. The Ls came up and there were three people whose last name started with L. Remus fidgeted through "Lipton, Casey!", who went to Ravenclaw, and "Ludd, Basil!", who went into Slytherin.

"Lupin, Remus!" called out McGonagall. Remus climbed the small steps to the stool, sat on the stool, and placed the ancient hat on his head, where it slipped down past his ears.

"Interesting! Never had one of your kind before," whispered a voice within the inky darkness of the hat. Remus stiffened in shock. "Yet there's something special about you I will agree. Takes a lot of wishing, dreaming, and courage to get here despite it all, right? So how about GRYFFINDOR!"

To say Remus was stunned would be an understatement. He'd been positive he'd be in Ravenclaw. As he slid next to Sirius, who was clapping him congenially on the shoulder, he reflected that Gryffindor wasn't so bad. Now if James and Peter would just get in. As it turned out, fate continued to play nicely with Remus for "Pettigrew, Peter!" and "Potter, James!" each made it into Gryffindor.

Dumbledore stood up and made a small speech, warning the student body against using magic in the halls between classes and staying away from the Dark Forest beyond the school. The school song was sung and the feasting began. Soon after the first years were shown the way to the Gryffindor dormitory, given the password to get past the Pink Lady in the portrait guarding their sanctuary (Higgledy Piggledy) and then shown their sleeping quarters.

Reflecting on his first evening at Hogwarts, Remus figured it couldn't get any better. "Won't Papa be surprised?" he murmured to himself right before his eyes fluttered closed.