27 Chapter 24

[A/N: So after reading through a lot of comments about the house choices, Ravenclaw won. Honestly, I was expecting like 50 to 100 comments, but waking up to see 300+ was overwhelming. So in the end Ravenclaw won by a narrow margin.

Now I bet some of you are disappointed by this but if there's one thing I have learnt writing on webnovel, it is that you can't satisfy everyone so the final choice has been made and no changing it now.

Update speed might be slowed down as I have to plan stuff and look through the wiki. I don't get much time to write usually so update speed might be reduced to like 3-5 chaps a week.Thanks for reading.]

....

A giant of a man approached us as he walked towards us in large strides. The man was probably over 10 feet and loomed over the short first years.

This man was Rubeus Hagrid, the half-giant Gamekeeper of Hogwarts. The movie clearly didn't portray his height accurately as the man before I was terrifying.

He was twice as tall as an average man and about three times wide. His long mane of shaggy hair and beard made him look intimidating.

But since I knew what kind of a person he was, I quickly overcame my shock and calmed down.

The same could not be said for the other first years though as they cowered in fear as the half-giant approached with a lantern.

"S-Sev...who is that?" Lily said as she used me as cover.

"Ah..don't worry Lily, I am sure that it's someone who works here and they are probably friendly," I reassured her.

She relaxed a bit at my words but judging by her expression, she was still unconvinced.

"Firs'-years! Firs'-years over here!" Hagrid shouted as he called out to us.

The first years were initially hesitant but I walked over following which they all did the same. I noticed two boys next to me making jokes or found something funny as they laughed.

The first boy had unkempt black hair and had an amused expression on his face. He had an air of confidence around him and looked familiar.

The second boy had medium length hair similar to mine but a shade lighter. He had a haughty expression on his face and an air of casual elegance.

If my guess was right, then these two were the first marauders, James Potter and Sirius Black.

I took my eyes off them when Hagrid hoisted us onto the boats.

"Alright kids, my name's Hagrid, Rubeus Hagrid. I am the Keeper of Keys and Grounds." Hagrid introduced himself.

"Now...All the firsties form a line and then follow me!" Hagrid said and started walking down a shady path as we followed behind.

Before long we arrived near the lake bank where a fleet of small boats was anchored.

Hagrid stopped and addressed the first years again, "Right now...all of you get into boats one by one. No more than 8 in one boat mind you."

At that moment, a boy said, "Um...Sir, m-my pet rat has gone missing...can-can I search for him?"

"Don't worry about it boy, it will arrive with your luggage in your room once you get sorted."

"Pfft… you bought a dirty rat as your pet, seriously?" James burst out laughing as the boy blushed in embarrassment or anger, I couldn't tell.

"Hey...you mean Siriously!?" Sirius said as he looked at James. They both burst out laughing at the horrible pun.

I ignored them and climbed onto an empty boat.

"Sev, wait for me." Lily came up to me as we got on the same boat.

Hagrid soon followed after making sure everyone was aboard and then pulled his umbrella wand out. He flicked it towards the castle and shouted, "FORWARD."

And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass.

Everyone was silent as they stared up at the great castle overhead. It towered over us as we sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff it stood on.

I couldn't help but look at the Castle in awe. It was a magnificent sight to behold. The movies didn't do it enough justice. It was much bigger and taller. It looked ancient giving off a vibe that even the oldest muggle buildings couldn't replicate.

I tried searching for any other characters I knew, but the lantern's light was too dull and couldn't make anything.

Soon we were ashore and reached a landing stage near the base of the castle. Hagrid waited for everyone to get off their boats and then led us to the castle.

He knocked on the door three times and the door swung open after a series of mechanical noises. Once open, I saw a young McGonagall making her way towards us.

She was still wearing her emerald green robes and had donned a pointy witch hat.

"Here they are, Professor…" Hagrid said.

"Thank you, Hagrid, I will take it from here."

She then led us to the great hall whose walls were very tall. Soon we reached an empty chamber off the hall.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room."

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours."

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

And with that, she promptly walked away but not as all the first years started chattering amongst themselves.

"So...Lily, are you nervous?" I asked.

"..Yes, Sev, how do you think they are gonna sort us? What if I don't get sorted? What if…"

"Relax Lily.." I held her shoulders to calm her down. She seemed very nervous as we were minutes away from the sorting ceremony.

"I am sure everything will turn out fine, just remember to be yourself," I said.

"Um...Excuse me if I may." A voice interrupted us.

I turned towards the source and it was none other than Jame Potter.

"Hello there, I am James Potter," he said, extending his hand out to Lily.

Lily hesitantly took his hand, "I am Lily Evans…"

"Ah Lily...such a lovely name," he said, completely ignoring me. He was just a kid in my eyes but he was already irritating me.

"You see...I just overheard your conversation about the sorting ceremony. I think I can guess how they are gonna sort us."

"R-really?" Lily asked, surprised.

"Oh...then pray tell us how?" I asked.

It was only then that James turned to look at me. "You are..?" he asked.

"Severus Prince." I answered.

"I see...I am sorry but I didn't notice you."

My face twitched a bit at that. I didn't know why but he seemed hostile to me. I don't recall aggravating him so what was the reason?

I didn't really have an opinion of him that much other than the fact that he was a canon character or maybe just a little negative opinion because he bullied Severus.

"Right...so go on. Tell us how they are gonna sort us." I repeated.

"Okay...here me out then. I think they are gonna conduct a bravery test."

"Really, a bravery test?" I asked in an amused tone.

"Yes..as I was saying, I think the ones who do the best go to Gryffindor, the ones who win using tricks go to Ravenclaw and the ones who win through dirty means go to slimy Slytherin." he finished.

"Ah...that sounds very…" I began struggling to find an appropriate word that doesn't sound too demeaning. "....Interesting."

"What do you think, Lily?" I asked her.

"Well...I think it's unfair for the other houses as this seems very Gryffindor oriented." she said.

"Indeed...it seems you might be wrong Mr Potter." I said in an amused tone.

"Oh yeah...let's hear your theory then Mr Prince."

"Hmm….well I think its gonna be something that tests one's character. Perhaps they will employ some device or artefact that determines your character and sorts you according to your strongest trait that matches any of the houses."

"...That sounds a lot more convincing...as expected of you Sev." Lily said with a hint of admiration in her tone.

I just nodded towards her which prompted a smile from her.

I then turned towards James. "So what do you think?"

"Well I am not too sure about that...we will see how it goes." he muttered and walked away but not before sending a glare my way.

I was about to continue my conversation with Lily when I heard screams from the first years in front of me.