The Marauders. Bright Beginnings

Chapter Two: The Feast

When she entered the Great Hall, Lily was greeted by a sea of pointed hats and floating candles. The prefects' carriages had been among the last to leave Hogsmeade, so the feast was about to start. Mary and Marlene, whom Lily considered her best friends besides Severus, beckoned her to come over and sit with them.

A few moments after she had sat down, next to Mary and opposite Marlene, the huge wooden doors swung open and Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall, an energetic and resolute witch of about forty, entered the Great Hall, the first-years trudging after her like geese. They had all kinds of expressions on their little faces, from amazed to excited to frightened. The Sorting Hat sang his usual song to present the four Hogwarts houses: brave Gryffindor, cunning Slytherin, smart Ravenclaw and kind Hufflepuff

Lily could still remember the first time she had set foot into the Great Hall, and how mesmerized she had been by the enchanted ceiling. Looking up at the starry sky above her had finally convinced her she had entered a world full of magic and miracles. Her excitement had, however, worn off a bit when the Sorting Hat had separated her from Severus. She would never forget his expression of utter disbelief, or the relief on Sirius Black's face when he had been sorted into Gryffindor, or the tears in his eyes when a howler had arrived at breakfast the next morning. As much as Lily despised Black for his way of hexing and mocking others, what she had heard about his family through rumours frightened her, and even caused her to pity the arrogant pure-blood. It was obvious he was mistreated at home, as he regularly showed up to classes with bruises after the summer or Christmas. How this escaped the professors' notice or whether the simply did not care, would always remain a mystery to Lily.

The Sorting went rather smooth, without hatstalls. Each new student sat on the wooden stool, then was examined by the Sorting Hat and sorted into one of the four Hogwarts houses. When their house was announced, the first-years would go to their table under cheers and clapping.

That is, everybody except for "Lockhart, Gilderoy", a boy with incredibly wavy blond hair and what Lily's dad would have called a "toothpaste smile", would. Oblivious to the procedure Professor McGonagall had explained, he did not go to the Ravenclaw table after his sorting, and instead motioned the cheering Ravenclaws to calm down. He got onto the stool and gave ridiculous little bows, smiling widely. Unaware of the bemused looks he was getting from both students and staff, and not noticing the increasing frown on Professor McGonagall's forehead, Lockhart waited for the crowd to go silent, then magically amplified his voice.

"Thank you, thank you. Thank you so much, everybody. This welcome you have given me really does warm my heart," he said with a cheesy grin.

Professor McGonagall looked as though she was going to explode any second, while headmaster Professor Dumbledore had a mildly amused smile on his lips.

"I understand you'll be queuing up to get autographs later on- " said Lockhart.

A fuming Professor McGonagall interrupted the little boy, "Mr Lockhart, new students are not expected to give a speech on their first day at Hogwarts."

"Oh, I'm glad to exceed your expectations," Lockhart said, while his grin grew even wider. "So, as I was saying... As many of you will want to have my autograph, I won't be able to meet with the high demand." The first muffled giggles emerged all over the Great Hall. Opposite Lily, Marlene's face grew increasingly red as she stuffed her fist into her mouth to hide her amusement.

In the meantime, Professor McGonagall became pale with rage. Fair as she was, the head of Gryffindor house was not known for her ability to deal with inappropriate behaviour kindly. "Perhaps I have not expressed myself clearly enough. New students are not allowed to give a speech. So why don't you head over to your house table and enjoy the feast like everybody else?", she said, twisting her thin lips into an attempted smile.