The 5th marauder

The sorting

Four

"FIR'S YEARS OV'R HERE"

Sirius, James, Peter, Remus, and Katherine grinned at each other before following the giant of a man named Hagrid down to the docks of the lake. Hagrid stepped into a large boat and raised his lantern in the general direction of a dozen other smaller boats. "FOUR TO A BOAT" He shouted over the chattering of their soon to be peers.

The friends glanced at each other, similar looks of worry on their faces. Kat quickly stepped forward and calmly asked "Sir, excuse me, but is there any way that the five of us can all be on a boat together?"

Hagrid frowned in thought before smiling "Well, I s'pose you five can ride ov'r in one of the larger boats."

Kat grinned up at him before ushering the boys into a boat identical to Hagrid's. As they climbed in, Hagrid yelled "EV'RYONE SITTING DOWN?" After various calls and shouts of affirmation, the boats moved in synchronization away from the docks, as if someone had given a silent command.

After twenty or so seconds of silence, James grinned and said, "We're finally here, can you believe it?This is going to be the best year ever"

Remus laughed quietly and replied, "I certainly hope so."

James stared into the black water for a moment, moonlight flickering off his glasses. "Wouldn't it be awesome if we were all in the same house? I mean, I kinda like you guys."

Sirius nodded, "Yeah, that would be wicked. Imagine  all the trouble we could cause if we were all together."

Before anything else could be said, the boats turned a corner and a collective gasp cut through the air as the magnificent castle came into view. "Боже мой!" Kat murmured softly. As she spoke, she unconsciously stood up to get a better view and stumbled as the boat was jostled by a dark tentacle poking out of the water. Kat let out a startled yelp and closed her eyes, bracing herself for the cold impact of the water before she was yanked back over the side and pulled into her seat. She opened her eyes to see James laughing at her.

With sparkling eyes, he jokingly said, "Well, for a Kat, you aren't very graceful."

She playfully glared at him and said, "Ugh, if I have to put up with your awful jokes for seven years, I'm not sure if I want to be in he same house anymore."

There was a jolt as the boats came to a halt in a large cavelike room. After the five climbed out, Hagrid led them up a pathway until they arrived at the front doors of the castle. Hagrid knocked three times on the monstrous doors and the first years all waited in silence until a stern looking woman wearing dark green robes opened the doors. "Thank you Hagrid, I will take them from here." she said stiffly while ushering them in through the doors. Instead of going straight to the Great Hall,  she led them to a small room, where she said, "Good Evening, I am Professor McGonagall, head of the transfiguration department. The sorting will begin in a matter of minutes, so you best try to tidy yourselves up a bit."

Kat turned to ask Peter about the sorting when she noticed the girl and boy from before. The girl looked as if she was getting increasingly more upset, and the boy looked as if he had no idea how to comfort her. After she slipped away from my friends, Kat quickly made her way through the chattering mass of students to the two friends.

After she reached them, she cleared my throat, and the girl -Lily, she had to remind herself- glared at her. "Go away." she sniffled, "You're friends with those awful boys on the train."

Kat raised her eyebrows and said, "Yes, I am, but I came over here to apologize for their actions. They're boys, they wouldn't know the definition of tact if it slapped them in the face." Lily laughed softly but then gasped in shock as hundreds of ghosts poured in from the walls. There were a few startled screams from the other children, but Kat just laughed and rolled her eyes at the ghost's antics. There had been ghosts back home, but these were more cheerful it seemed. Kat regained her thoughts and calmly stuck out her hand and said, "Let's start over, shall we? I'm Katherine Kartashova, but I suppose that you can call me Kat."