Blood Status || Marauders Era

Chapter 2|| My house at last

The train ride was a lot longer than I first imagined and we got to our stop a lot later on in the day when the sky was a lot darker than I expected. In the end, it had been myself, Remus, Sirius and James in the one compartment - alone after a few altercations - talking, and eating, and swapping stories of our childhood. Some happy, some scary, some really just very.. James and Sirius.

A tall, brunette girl opened the compartment door when we first arrived, and asked, "Are you midgets first years?" Remus and I had nodded but the other two boys rolled their eyes, and one particular curly brunette mumbled, "Who are you calling a midget?" I had noticed something totally different about her other than her words. Her tie and school robes. She was a Slytherin.

"What's your name?" I asked her. She eyed me and said, "Aurelia Greengrass. Why?" I shook my head and let her continue, "Anyway, you lot have to go on the boats and I'm a Prefect and stuff so the Head Boy and Girl told me to tell you lot to leave your sh- luggage here. It'll be moved to your dorms later. I wouldn't have had to tell you this if the Head Boy wasn't a di- so and so. We've never had to do this before." She then left.

I had wondered who she was for two reasons, the first, just out of curiosity, the second was because my parents had invited many Slytherins or ex - Slytherins to our house before, and I knew the name of most of them who turned up. Aurelia Greengrass I did not know, but I did know the Greengrass name, and it was a very important one.

"What a character she is," Sirius drawled. I chuckled and James agreed with him. Remus hurried us all to the boats fretting that we would miss them, but the rest of us quickly dismissed that they wouldn't leave us behind, he had obviously never read Hogwarts a History. Then, as we got on a boat together James grabbed onto Remus' arm hard. 

Giving the boy an annoyed look, James hurried to explain himself, "I don't like boats. They're flimsy and we could fall right in." I grinned and turned backwards to face him wanting to tease him after being the victim for the train ride, "You're afraid of boats?" He stuck his tongue out at me.

Once we were officially in front of the castle and walking up the stone steps, we stopped when a teacher told us all to wait outside, two people bumped into me and the shorter girl quickly apologised, the other boy staring right at me. "Oh I'm sorry about that. I'm Lily Evans and this is Severus Snape. He's a little bit quiet and.. we didn't mean to, you guys just stopped suddenly and I-" 

I stopped her rambling.

"It's fine. I'm Athena Pattinson, by the way. Remus Lupin. Sirius Black and James Potter," I introduced us all. Lily Evans looked at us all nervously but Severus Snape still just stared. James finally turned around to say something to Snape but the strict - looking teacher came back, introduced herself as Professor McGonagall and led us into the Great Hall ready for the sorting. This was the moment my parents were waiting for. When I would be thrown into Slytherin.

The list of names was read out and it was Abbot, Asgaard, Albers and then onto the B's where it was Sirius' turn. From what little I knew about him, his parents were as desperate as mine for him to be in Slytherin, and I also knew that our parents had mentioned the Blacks as part of the Sacred 28 before. This was a very important moment for him. I crossed my fingers to wish him luck.

"Gryffindor!" the hat called out. My eyes widened in surprise and it seemed so did his. His eyes flashed in an emotion he couldn't control, and then it was like someone had set off a firework of voices, some confused some happy most shocked. It seemed I wasn't the only one that knew of the Blacks. Even one certain rotund and greying Professor at the end of the table seemed shocked. 

The list of names went on and on and suddenly it got to E and Lily Evans was placed into Gryffindor too, and not soon after the G's came up. There was a few people before, and then a name that was extremely rememberable to me as I spent most of my childhood sneaking to even speak to her. A girl named Evelyn Green. But she couldn't be here, she was a Muggle. 

No, I thought as I stared at the girl, it was her, it was her pretty red hair and delicate brown eyes, and suddenly, it was Evelyn. My Evelyn, the girl I had known for years, and had grown up with. I stared at her as she was sorted into Ravenclaw, and she caught my eye last minute and stared at me.

I never told her I was a witch, it was against the statue of secrecy, but now, we both were witches and as we both looked at each other, it was really strange. Like a magician had just revealed his trick or secret, but that magician was me. And now I was sharing the secret with my best friend. Which, for some strange reason, I didn't particularly like.

Soon enough, It got to the L's and Remus Lupin was sorted with Lily and Sirius and many other first years that came before and after him.

Then, time seemed to fly by and it was amazingly the P's. It was someone Pace who got into Hufflepuff, and then myself. Athena Pattinson. My legs trembling, I walked up to the stool and the hat so many before me had worn was placed on my head, and, my surroundings became dark. 

A voice in my ear whispered, "Another Pattinson. Long time no see. It seems only yesterday I sorted your parents and their parents and your great grandparents. Every single one in Slytherin, apart from that young Hufflepuff who married into the family. That's not what this is about. I sense many good and bad things about you, a great but dark future, terrible but amazing, calamitic but fun. Be careful, because people may be out there as you shall be in GRYFFINDOR!"

The hat shouted my house name, and the sound suddenly muted, and the walls seemed to be closing in on me, and as my legs moved towards the Gryffindor table, they seemed oddly detached with the rest of me. The hat had given me a warning, maybe it knew that my parents would cut me off, maybe it meant to put me in this house to torture me for some reason. My parents would kill me.

James was sorted into Gryffindor and then someone called Peter Pettigrew and then it was Severus Snape's turn and as he was sorted into Slytherin, I caught sight of Lily's sad but hopeful expression and Snape's immense look of disappointment. They were obviously going to hit some rocky paths in their friendship. It was many more S' and then when it finally got to Akari Zaitsu, the feast started.

I made conversation with Sirius and we both mentioned briefly how we were both doomed, before starting up a conversation on how you could cause a scene in the corridors without getting a detention. Remus quickly joined in saying how he thought we were both completely mad and that he would not partake in many of these events. James said how it was a great idea and maybe if they could set off some fireworks in the process, the result would be complete. 

Peter Pettigrew was obviously listening in to the conversation as he said, "That sounds like a really fun idea. Oh, and it's really cool how we're roommates isn't it guys? I'm Peter by the way." I ate a bite of Yorkshire Pudding, staring blankly at the boy. He reminded me of a pet, someone that would follow their friends around just for fun, or try to insert themselves into a conversation. But looks couldn't predetermine much.

 Finally swallowing my food, I spoke to him, "Cool, I wasn't aware you was in the discussion, but if we ever want to do anything like that, you'll be the first person I will ask. OK?" He nodded not taking in any of my original sarcasm. James snickered.

As we were following the Gryffindor Prefects (Sheila Johnson and Rory McLaggen) to the common room, they told us the password - Philosophers Stone - and we walked inside and took in the room. It was cosy and reddish orange and quite warm, what with the fire blazing and the lamps lit all around the walls, and the squashy comfy looking armchairs. It looked more homely than I expected the Slytherin common room to be. Then, they told us to go to our dormitories. 

The boys left us and us first year girls all unpacked and got ready for our beds and the classes tomorrow. The girls I was sharing a dorm with, I got to know, was Lily Evans, a blonde Marlene McKinnon, a small brunette Mary McDonald, a kind looking Alice Fortescue, and a Muslim girl with a gorgeous blue hijab called Aafiya Abdalla. They were all so nice looking that it made me feel rather intimidated.

When we were all in our beds, we introduced ourselves and Alice asked, "What's your name and tell us a bit about yourself girl with brown hair and who is friends with the Gryffindors already?" I assumed they meant me because that described me very well so far, and I said, "I'm Athena Cynthia Pattinson, someone who likes Puddlemere United in secret, because someone called Darren Wood is in it and my parents hate Quidditch."

Mary gasped like she'd realised something, "I love Darren too. But I support Holyhead Harpies, the girls are just Queens." I decided I liked my new roommates and spent a lot of time learning about them late into the night. It was so late that we had to force ourselves to stop the conversation at one in the morning.