The Blessed One

Chapter Four~I meet Severus and Lily

It seems our friends came to their senses, as they soon began chasing after us.
Once we had reached him, me and James tackled our rather large friend in a bear hug.
"Hagrid! We missed you!" I grinned up at him.
"Yeah! We haven't seen you in ages!" James added.
Remus, Sirius and Peter had finally caught up with us, and were staring up in disbelief at Hagrid's great size.
"It's lovely ter see yer, James, and I've missed yer both aswell, little Rosie!" He said beaming down at us.
"I'm not little anymore, Hagrid!" I laughed.
Me and James knew Hagrid, from the times our parents took us to visit Dumbledore at Hogwarts, as he was a family friend, and is the head of the Order of the Pheonix, and our parents have to attend the meetings, them being aurors and all. They were quite high up in it.
"You know each other?" Asked a bewildered Sirius.
"Yeah!" said James.
"He's a family friend!" I added.
"It were lovely to see yer both, but I best be gettin' back ter me job!" He pointed out regretfully.
"Bye Hagrid!" We called in unison, as we boarded the boat next to where we were standing with Hagrid. We all fit in quite nicely.
Once all the first year had climbed into their boats, Hagrid commanded them to set sail for Hogwarts.
About halfway across the Black Lake, we felt slight tremors in the boat, and before we knew it, the boat started rocking and I fell in. Great job Rose.
In all the chaos, my boat had already started drifting on, so I pulled myself into the one behind us which only had two people say in it.
"Hello!" I said cheerfully as I squeezed some of the lake water out of my hair. "My names Rose Silverwell Heartweather." I introduced myself, whilst holding out my hand for them.
"Sorry about suddenly climbing in your boat..." I began sheepishly.
"No, it's okay," said the girl. "My names Lily Evans, and this is Severus Snape." She said kindly.
"It's nice to meet you guys!" I smiled at them. "What houses are you hoping for, then?" I asked them.
"Im hoping for Slytherin." Severus answered quietly. He had pale skin, and dark eyes, the kind that looked like they had known a lot of pain. He also had dark hair, a bit longer than Sirius', but less shaggy.
"I don't know," admitted Lily, "I'm a muggleborn, so i don't know very much about it here," she gestured around us at the castle and the grounds, "only what Sev has told me." She was very polite. She had fiery red hair, that ended at her mid back, and bright green eyes that held plenty of curiosity. "What about you?" She asked me.
"I'll be happy wherever i'm put!" I smiled at her, "I must say though, i am hoping for Gryffindor, as my whole family has been put their."
We them lapsed into comfortable silence as we approached the castle. It seemed we were too busy taking in the beautiful scenery to be chatting.
I felt the boat give a small thud as we hit the land. The students began clambering out, and up the large stone steps, approaching the large oak doors. Once we all reached the doors, they opened to reveal a familiar dark haired, stern looking woman. She was wearing emerald robes, and her hair was tied into a neat bun, her glasses were perched on the tip of her nose. I recognised her immediately.
"MINI!" I called, running up to give her a bear hug.
"Umf! Oh, Rose dear! You gave me the fright of my life!" She exclaimed, hugging me back.
I felt another person join the hug, "Don't forget me, Mini!" James laughed.
"Of course, Potter, how could anyone forget about you." It was more of a statement then a question. I agreed with her.
"Now, go join the other students, so i can inform you all about the sorting ceremony." She instructed, pushing us in the direction of the students who were staring at us, mouths agape. "Oh and, Rose dear," she said "why on earth are you all wet?"
Oh yeah. Forgot about that.
Her question caused everyone to start chuckling at the memory of me falling in the Black Lake.
"She fell in the lake!" Laughed James.
"Oh dear! Well," she announced, "we must get you dried off." She tool out her wand, and said "exaresco" and I, along with my clothes, instantly dry.
"Thank you, Mini!" I replied, making my way back to James, Sirius, Remus and Peter.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," began Mini, "My name is Professor McGonagall, and I am the transfiguration teacher, and Deputy Headmistress. I would firstly like to welcome uo to Hogwarts. The start of term feast 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 Witch's and Wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose points." I felt her gaze wander in mine and James' direction at that last bit. "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 you." Is it just me or did that sound like a threat? "The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in fromt of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting. I shall return when we are ready for you." With that, she turned around and walked through the double doors, the entry to the Great Hall.
There were a few seconds of silence, until a few light murmurings broke out. I think Mini scared them all. Mean Mini!
Then something happened, which caused many people scream in fright. About twenty ghosts glided through the back wall. Pearly white and slightly transparent, they swooped across the room talking, hardly noticing the first years until, "Niki!" I shouted to a familiar ghost.
"Rose? I say!" He exclaimed, "look how much you've grown! Its lovely to see you again!" He said looking me up and down.
"Thank you! It nice to see you too!" I said smiling.
"Move along now," Mini said in a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start. Now form a line and follow me." she instructed, as we made our way through the pair of double doors, and into the Great Hall."