Sorting
Lily looked up at the Gryffindor table and immediately spotted Petunia, who was already seated.
A moment later, Professor McGonagall's clear voice rang out again. "Lily Evans!"
Lily smoothed her skirt and hurried through the scattered crowd, coming to a steady stop on the Sorting platform. Professor McGonagall raised the old, heavy Sorting Hat and gently placed it on her thick, dark red curls.
No one had expected the hat to let out a loud, confident shout the instant it touched her hair, without even the slightest hesitation or moment of thought. "Gryffindor!"
She had been sorted almost as soon as the hat touched her head, with a decisiveness that left no room for a change of heart.
In the line, Snape's shoulders suddenly slumped. His throat moved as he let out an almost broken sigh, so faint that it vanished on the breeze, unnoticed.
Lily quickly took off the Sorting Hat and handed it back to Professor McGonagall beside her. To the cheers and applause from the Gryffindor table, she set off toward the gold and red lights. But after only two steps, she couldn't resist looking back. She glanced hurriedly at the lonely, slender figure among the first-years.
Their eyes met across the room, and Lily's lips twisted into a helpless, guilty smile.
At the long table, Sirius had already made a large space of his own accord. He patted the seat beside him, motioning for Lily to come sit down. But one glimpse of his face brought back the sight of him and James maliciously joining forces to trip Snape on the train. Aversion rose in Lily's heart, and she deliberately avoided the spot, sitting down quietly beside Petunia.
The Sorting Ceremony continued, names called out one after another. Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew went up in succession, and both were sorted into Gryffindor.
James Potter was the last to appear. He strode up to the platform in high spirits, and the Sorting Hat, again without hesitation, placed him in Gryffindor.
In no time, James, Sirius, Lupin, and Peter were all together at the Gryffindor table, laughing and horsing around without pause. Their lively gathering made Snape, at the other end of the Great Hall, look all the more lonely and forlorn.
He stood quietly among the remaining first-years, gazing across the bustling Great Hall at Lily, seated safely beneath the gold and red lights.
The dreams he had hidden in his heart and cherished countless times—the hope of being in the same house as Lily, staying by her side day and night, and spending seven years together—shattered completely at that moment, leaving a mess of fragments at his feet.
It felt as though his chest had been filled with heavy ice water, suffocating him until he could barely breathe.
What he had wanted most, to walk alongside her, had ultimately come to nothing.
The Gryffindor table buzzed with voices. Lily, naturally outgoing and easygoing, was not shy for a moment. She soon became friendly with the first-years around her and drew Petunia over to introduce her.
"This is my sister Petunia. She joined Gryffindor last year."
Her eyes bright, she greeted each of the Gryffindor students around her. Her warm, lively nature was appealing in itself, and with her striking red hair, she was especially eye-catching, like a flickering, warm flame.
James was determined to squeeze in beside Lily and talk to her, but Lily hadn't forgotten how he and Sirius had teamed up to torment Snape on the train. From beginning to end, she didn't say a single word to him of her own accord, or even deign to look at him.
James only grew more agitated, almost ready to leap straight off the bench.
Lily: What is this guy, some rare kind of lunatic?
Petunia: He's a lunatic gibbon.
At the Slytherin table, two long tables away, Snape quietly watched the red-haired figure moving through the crowd. He watched as she entered another world entirely, an unreachable distance opening between them, while bitterness and emptiness clutched at his heart.
When the grand feast ended, the prefects led the first-years in an orderly fashion to their respective house common rooms. Lily followed the door signs in search of the Gryffindor girls' dormitory. When she pushed open the wooden door, the other girls had already spread out their luggage and begun unpacking. She was the last to arrive.
"Hi, everyone! I'm Lily Evans!" she introduced herself, as warm and open as ever.
Mary Macdonald was the first to respond. She had thick, light brown curls, naturally curled at the ends, tiny freckles scattered across her wheat-colored cheeks, and a frank, cheerful look in her light brown, almond-shaped eyes. "I'm Mary. We met at the table during the feast."
"I'm Marlene McKinnon." The girl's eyes were full of longing, without the slightest trace of disdain for the Muggle world. "I heard you're both Muggle-born. Could you tell me what a Muggle town is like?"
Lily and Mary exchanged a glance. "How about we get together and have a proper chat tonight after we finish unpacking?"
Having read the Harry Potter stories thoroughly before transmigrating, Lily was meeting the Marauders' generation in person for the first time, and her heart was full of curiosity.
"I'm Alice Fortescue." The girl, who had soft, layered, shoulder-length light blonde hair and round light brown eyes, held out her hand to Lily.
Lily hurried over and shook it. "You look so gentle and cute. You're sure to be popular with everyone."
Alice lightly touched Lily's brilliant red hair with her fingertips, her eyes full of envy. "You're the pretty one. That color is so vibrant and striking. I've always wanted it."
The last girl, who had black hair, also came over to speak. "Dorcas Meadowes. My father is a pure-blood, and my mother is a Muggle. I've spent most of my time living in the Muggle world."
Marlene flopped straight down on her half-unpacked pile of clothes and sighed. "So I'm the only witch in the whole dorm who grew up in the wizarding world. My grandfather is terribly old-fashioned and conservative. No one is more obsessed with pure-blood rules than he is."
Lily had brought little luggage with her and finished unpacking in no time. She sat down at her desk and began writing a letter home.
Dear Mum and Dad,
I was sorted into Gryffindor, the same house as Petunia. I couldn't have asked for a better start. My dormmates are all very friendly, and we've agreed to chat together tonight. Also, once the quarterly earnings report comes out, you can start looking for a location for the sixth Tales of Blossoms shop. Give priority to the boundary between the Muggle and wizarding worlds. Although there won't be as much foot traffic as in the main commercial districts, it will be a great help to Petunia and me in establishing ourselves in the wizarding world later on.
That's all for now. Love, Lily.
After finishing the letter, she summoned the owl Petunia had given her the previous year, fastened the letter to it, and sent it home. Then she turned and joined her new roommates, and they launched into a lively late-night chat.