From the Beginning, Class of '78, The First Year Options

[lupinsmyman]

Remus:


Remus hurried as quickly as the rocking train would allow back to his compartment. On his way he ran into Peter who was also, "stretching his legs".
Once they returned they found Sally Regina, and Peter also changed into their Hogwarts robes.

He sat staring down at his own black robes, noticing how they made him look more a part of the crowd. Perhaps it wouldn’t be hard to keep his secret after all.

Suddenly the train lurched to a stop and the sound of luggage shifting throughout the car echoed painfully in Remus' ears.

"Well," Regina said, "this is it. Good luck boys." And with that she and Sally sidled out the compartment door.

Seeing that they had left their luggage behind, Remus and Peter followed suit. Before them loomed a great castle. Its many windows and torches glittered in the moonlight. Its towers reached up to the heavens and the lake below looked as deep as the sea.

For a moment he was silent and motionless. It was more magical than his parents described. He was broken out of his state by a gruff voice.

"Firs' years! Firs' year o'er this way! Foller my voice!" It was coming from a man. Not an ordinary man, mind you, but a huge one. He must have stood eight feet tall. His face was covered mostly by thick black hair but two beetle black eyes could be seen shimmering kindly beneath.

After the first years had gathered around the man spoke again. "Now, I wan’ ter welcome you ter Hogwarts! I-" He was interrupted by a snobby looking boy with black hair and a rather large hooked nose.

"And how exactly are we supposed to get there? I don't suppose you’re going to have us swim across that lake."

"Boats," the man replied. He gave Hook-nose a heavy glance," These here boats will guide ya' over the lake. But we can't have 'em to heavy, so only four ter each one."

Remus peered through the darkness, his hightened senses allowing him to see the shapes of about twenty wooden boats. There was much clambering and climbing and slipping until Remus ended up with Peter, the Dungbomb boy called James, and another dark haired kid named Sirius.

[McGonagall's Cat]

Sirius

In spite of all the formal social gatherings he had been to, in spite of having had proper social deportment hammered into his head for as long as he could remember, Sirius couldnt help being a bit open-mouthed at the sight of the Castle. While he was certain this was the intention, it had the presence of the stars in the blue velvet of the midnight sky, or the power of a storm coming in off the sea.

James jammed an elbow into his ribs, "Catching flies, are you?"

Mustering a withering glare that felt exactly as his mother looked when she did it, he barely inclined his head in the other dark-haired boy's direction.

James laughed at him. "You'll have to do better than that," he sniggered.

Sirius made a silent note that he would definitely do better than that the very first chance he got - and smiled charmingly at the other boy.

[McGonagall's Cat]

Sirius

Somewhere near the middle of their passage the boat rolled partially to one side then immediately righted itself.
Sirius could tell from James' startled appearance that he'd had nothing to do with the over-rocking. Neither of the other two boys were a logical culprit, the smaller one looked green-tinged and about to vomit, while the sandy-haired kid seemed to be keenly following something retreating under the surface of the water.

With all the asuredness he could muster, Sirius whispered, "What was it?"

"Big," replied the one watching the water intently.

The glint in the boy's eyes seemed a bit unnatural and Sirius decided to file that for later, too.

[timeturner]

James:

James couldn't quite believe his eyes when they entered the castle. Never in his life had he been inside such a huge structure. Even Gringott's Bank, with its caverns and underground tunnels, couldn't compare to this.

It seemed as though the entire group of first years was holding their breath. There were many nervous whispers as some wondered what would happen next, and others did their best to explain what they had been told by their parents.

James felt a wave of anxiety wash over him as all kinds of questions popped into his mind. What house would he be put in? Who would be in there with him? Would he fit in?

[McGonagall's Cat]

Sirius


Having become accustomed to his relatives over-doing things to intimidate underlings, Sirius was completely aware that that was the point of at least half of the presentation; the ride in the small boats, the looming (and he had to admit, very impressive) castle, the huge bear of man that met them, this room with its candles and powerful stone-walled solidity, all were intended to awe the new students.

"And doing a fine job of it, too," he said just loud enough that the boy to his right glanced nervously at him.

Deciding to be a bit more covert, he thought about what life would be like for the next seven years. He'd be stuck in a pit with his cousins and some strangers who couldn't be much better considering they'd been sorted into that same House. Even that felt better than being at home and being expected to be the good son all the time. Great-grandfather Phineaus had made a point of disturbing his sleep for the past few weeks, mostly to bark snide comments about blood status, family pride, and orders concerning upholding the name. Sirius had finally put a silencing charm on the stupid painting and tossed a muddy shirt over it so he didn't have to look at the sour old curmudgeon. "The foul old prat must have said something to Mother," he muttered, remembering how, two days later, the portrait was completely able to grumble as long as it cared to, no matter what he did to it.

The boy to his right looked even more worried and took a half-step away from him.


At that moment a door swung open and the tall witch that had lead them into this waiting chamber motioned that they should follow. She was quite efficient, a bit stern, and seemed to also be part of the ambiance of impressing the new students. She wore green tartan robes. Normally he'd suppose this meant an affiliation with Slytherin House, but, since his parents had had that Professor over for dinner a few weeks ago, he knew this wasn't the case.

[McGonagall's Cat]

Sirius

Dinner that night had been fairly typical of his parents' style. The food was intended to impress and the toady Professor had soaked everything up, completely unaware of its calculated purpose. While his Mum and Dad expected their sons to accomplish levels that would continue to uphold the family name's prestige, he knew this added bit of insurance was a calculated to curry favour with the man who would be his head of House.

The push of the queue moving forward brought him back from his reverie.