The Marauders: Year One | #Wattys2016

The Ego of James Potter

James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, and Lily all followed Bilius Weasley and the other Gryffindors out of the Great Hall and up many staircases. He brought them up, up, up - higher and higher into the castle - until they were in one of the great towers that they had seen from across the lake. "This is Gryffindor Tower," Bilius said, and, waving at a portrait on the wall, he added, "This is the Fat Lady and she is the only way in to the common room."

The portrait smiled at them serenely, fanning herself gently with a little wooden fan. "Unseasonably warm for September, isn't it?" she asked, then, "Bilius, you best be on good behavior this term, I've heard about Mr. Filch's cat."

"That was you?" James asked, laughing, "With the Filibuster Fireworks?" The three boys had laughed so hard they'd nearly cried when Dumbledore had mentioned the bit about the cat's tail catching fire. Lily had frowned and muttered something about it being cruelty to animals, as though anyone could purposely set a cat's tail on fire with a firework.

Bilius grinned in response to the accusation.

The Fat Lady sighed, "That grin is not very promising of a reform, Bilius!"

"We are in the presence of greatness, boys," James said, grinning back at Bilius.

"Hail, hail," Sirius joked.

"Okay, okay," Bilius said, waving his hands for them to calm down as Sirius mimicked bowing down to him. He chuckled. "Gillyweed."

At first, they thought he was talking nonsense or using some unknown slang they hadn't yet learned, but then to the amazement of the first years, the portrait swung open like a door and revealed a short little hole through which to climb and a great room beyond.

"In you go," Bilius said, waving them in.

They climbed through, one by one, and found themselves in the Gryffindor common room. James looked around in excitement. It was exactly as he had always imagined it from listening to his dad's stories! Great cushy chairs and a huge fireplace with lamps and couches and pillows and brilliant paintings all about depicting the heroic lives of former house members. The others stared around, too, and even Lily, who had been rather sour since being sorted differently than she had hoped, seemed to light up with awe at the room.

"Hey Alice!" Bilius called a girl over and she came. Her hair was cut short and she had wide, beautiful eyes under a pair of tortoise shell spectacles, "Could'ja do me a good one and show Lily the girl's dormitories? She's the only girl first year for Gryffindor!"

Alice's eyes widened, "Wow! Good on you, you'll get your own room then."

"My own? Like... alone?" Lily sounded uncertain.

Alice smiled warmly, "C'mon, you'll be more excited once you see it!" She waved Lily towards herself and the two girls headed up the spiral staircase toward the girl's dormitories, "You won't be as lonely as you think, us second years are just down the stairs from your room and you can come down and hang out with us any time - I've got a subscription to Teen Witch this term, we do the hair styling charms together and --" They disappeared through the door at the top of the stairs.

Once Lily and Alice had departed, Bilius led Sirius, Remus, Peter, and James up the stairs on the opposite end of the common room up into the tippy-top of the Gryffindor tower. "Here's your dormitory," Bilius said, pushing open the very top room's door wide and letting the boys in. "Your luggage should all be up here already."

Indeed, it was. Each of the four poster beds in the room had a trunk at the foot of it, a night stand beside each held a lamp and on the wall nearest them was a row of desks, each bearing a copy of the First Years' timetables on a parchment signed by Professor McGonagall.