James settled himself into the rickety rowboat, filled to the brim with excitment. 

"Careful!" He exclaimed as Sirius tumbled into the watercraft with him. James caught his arm to prevent him falling over the edge into the black waters below. Sirius nodded in his direction gratefully as he found stable seating across from him. Remus was already at the bow of the vessel, staring a little apprehensviely out over the lake. Peter sat next to Sirius nervously, his eyes also shifting to the water. 

"This doesn't seem safe," he muttered. James secretly had to agree. Night had fallen, and it was pitch black. Their only source of light was the torch hanging over the bow of the boat, swinging dangerously close to Remus' head. In the distance, the pale lights of the castle twinkled faintly, like stars. The lake was rolling with black waves that slapped mercilessly upon the surface of the water and lapped at the hull of their rowboat. 

James noticed the older kids climbing into unharnessed carriages. As they filled with three or four people, the carriage took off on it's own, the axles rattled at every bump in the winding road around the lake and to the gates of the school. The occupants chatted merrily, and James could hear them laughing. He glanced back at the lake in dismay. He envied them. Why did the first years have to cross these dismal waters? 

The last first year clambered into a rowboat. A large man had been supervising their boarding. He was several feet tall, thick set, and wore an intimidating fur overcoat that fell stiffly from his high shoulders. James thought he could make out an umbrella in his hand.

"All set?" he asked, though he didn't wait for an answer. He made for a boat near him with only two occupants. In the dim light, Harry could just make out the redheaded girl from the train. A few strands of her hair caught the firelight with a vibrant shine, and her eyes sparkled a little bit as the flames in the torch danced in the wind. Next to her was Severus, which darkened James' mood. What was his deal?

Hagrid climbed into the boat with them. All of a sudden, the boats began rowing on their own, starting their perilous journey across the dreary waves. Peter gripped the side of the boat frantically, not having expected the sudden movement. James was hardly bothered. 

"Stay in the boat!" Hagrid bellowed a little unnecessarily. 

Maybe Severus had just had a bad day? Maybe he came from a bad home or something? The girl he was with seemed nice enough, and nice people didn't usually keep bad company. James felt a little bad. Maybe he had been too quick to judge Severus.

"I think I might be sick," Peter muttered. 

"Let's keep your mind off of it then," Sirius suggested. "Are you excited for the sorting ceremony?" Even in the scarce firelight, James could see Peter become more white then green. He groaned. 

"Ugh, not helping...." he moaned anxiously, twisting so that his face was hanging over the port side. His hands gripped the edge, his knuckles as pale as his face. 

"Don't worry," James encouraged. "I'm sure it will turn out fine. The sorting hat always sorts you where you belong. That's what mom and dad said. They said they'd never seen anyone who didn't feel like they belonged in their house."

"That's the worst part," Peter says. "What if the hat decided I belong in S-S-Sla-Sar-Sarla-"

"Slytherin," Remus offered. 

"Yeah. Slytherin. What If the hat decides I'm evil?"

"Like I said earlier, being in Slytherin doesn't necessarily mean that you are evil," Remus said. "The people sorted in it just tend to have less desirable mindsets because of their predestination to almost certainly be entirely purebloods. Do you have a tendency towards blood supremecy?"

"Um...no."

"Then being in Slytherin won't change that. Slytherins also have characteristics such as cunning and ambition. If it puts you in Slytherin, it's because it sees those in you. The hat doesn't look for evil. In fact, there have been some great wizards who were sorted into Slytherin. Merlin, for example."

"Merlin was a Slytherin?" James exclaimed. "I didn't know that!"

"See?" Sirius said. "Just don't stress too much. There's a 75% chance you won't be in that house anyways."

"I could say the same to you," Remus said. "Weren't you worried about being a Slytherin earlier?"

"No, you see, it's entirely different," Sirius said. "There's a 100% chance I will be in Slytherin. Every single Black has been. And I'm not necessarily worried about being a Slytherin, I'm just frustrated that my house has been predetermined." Remus shrugged. 

"That's valid," he consented. 

"I think you'll be in a different house," James proclaimed boldly. "I can feel it." Sirius smiled weakly. 

"Maybe," he agreed unconvincingly. Silence fell over the boat. James looked up to see their progress, and was disheartened to discover that they had hardly made any progress. They were only a quarter of the way across the lake. He could just barely see the tiny outlines of the first of the carriages with the older students arriving at the castle.

"We'll probably all be separated," Peter said sadly, and a little louder because the wind was picking up quickly. 

"Don't think about that," James insisted. "We'll still be friends." 

"Of course!" Sirius yelled, violently pushing his long, curly hair out of his face as it whipped around him because the windspeed had increased alarmingly fast. It was now pushing against their faces so hard that their cheeks were becoming numb, and they had to squint. They could just barely hear Hagrid's muffled yells, but not well enough to discern what he was saying. 

It all happened quite fast, and quite a bit was happening. The boat lurched drastically on it's Port side. Peter had shifted violently in his seat in discomfort. Sirius, who had brought both hands around the back of his head to keep his head in a ponytail, swung around to keep his face out of the direct wind. His elbow connected with Peter's face and Peter, already unstable, toppled backward over the Port side of the vessel. 

All three remaining boys cried out in alarm. Remus and James threw themselves forward to peer over the edge of the boat. In the darkness, they could barely see Peter's arms flailing above the surface, but they were already leaving him behind. The boat gave another lurch, and James grabbed Remus' robes, pulling him with him to the Starboard side to adjust the balance. 

"I don't think he can swim!" Sirius cried, still hanging over the Port side. He was looked back where Peter's flailing arms were fighting less and less. James had no idea what to do. Hagrid had not seen Peter, and could not hear them over this wind. Leaving Peter behind was not an option. So James Potter did the only thing he could think to do. He leapt to his feet, causing Remus exclaim in surprise, and he dove out of the boat.

The black waters were icy and frigid. He resurfaced and took a deep breath, but did not miss a beat to start swimming towards Peter, who's efforts to stay afloat were becoming more futile by the second. The waves rolled over him forcefully, trying to push him below the surface. James just swam. 

When he was close enough, he reached out a seized Peter's wrist before it could disappear under the waves. It was limp. He tugged forcefully, and worked his other arm under Peter's, heaving him above the surface. This took a tremendous effort. Peter was unconscious, and James prayed that he was alive, but he had no time to check. The boat was getting farther and farther away. Remus and Sirius were yelling at him, he could tell, but he couldn't hear what they were saying. 

James flipped on his back, holding Peter under his arms, and keeping  his head on his stomach. He kicked as hard as he could. He kept kicking. Sirius and Remus' cries became a little louder, but they faded away a little after. James didn't know how he was going to do it, but he had to keep kicking. That's all he knew. He had to keep kicking. He couldn't stop. Peter was counting on him. 

But James was tiring. His kicks became more burst-like and less consistent. He thrashed wildly to keep himself  moving. The water flooded over him, filling his nose and blurring his vision. But he had to keep going. He had to. His kicks were becoming weaker. He was losing strength. Why hadn't Hagrid noticed? The wind wasn't helping. It whipped against his numb face bitterly. He was starting to lose feeling in his fingers, but his grip an Peter was not something he could afford to slack. 

Just when James was coming close to resigning his fate, he felt movement beneath him. His heart raced. To have worked so hard just to be consumed by one of the terrifying residents of this awful lake seemed so much worse then drowning. At least if he drowned he would know he had put up a good fight against what ever brought him his end. Something wrapped around James' waist, but he didn't have the energy to struggle. He felt Peter being pulled away from him, and he tried to hold on but he was wrenched from his grasp. 

Then quite suddenly he was back in the boat, and so was Peter. James turned his head just in time to see two tentacles sink back beneath the turbulence of the waters. 

"Merlin!" Sirius cried frantically, kneeling over James. "Are you alright?" James nodded weakly. Sirius slugged him in the shoulder. "What a perfectly idiotic thing to do!" he exclaimed. 

"You were nearly killed!" Remus added. He had knelt next to Peter and was feeling his neck. "Merlin," he muttered. "He's not breathing." Sirius and James watched, tense, as Remus positioned himself over Peter. He locked his arms out in front of him, and began pushed down right under his sternum at a regular pace. He seemed to either humming or muttering under his breath to keep time. After a while, he tilted Peter's head back, held his chin so his mouth was open with one hand, and pinched his nose with another. His mouth went over Peter's, and after two quick breaths, he returned to his compressions. 

This was truly an impressive feat, considering that this was all accomplished in the middle of what had now become a raging storm. James could see that the other boats had cast bubble charms to shield themselves from the elements. If only they knew how to do that. Perhaps that was what Hagrid had been yelling about.

Part way through Remus' second round of compressions, Peter gasped. The other three boys let out breaths they had not known they were holding. Peter began coughing up water and the three helped him to his side so that he wouldn't drown himself again. When he was done, Peter dropped, limp, to the bottom of the boat, his chest heaving. James fell backward, feeling a little dizzy. Sirius caught him and helped him lay down. 

"Merlin, you two scared us half to death," Remus exclaimed, leaning back against the starboard side of the boat. 

"Don't ever do something like that again," Sirius agreed, joining him. 

"No promises," James said with a grin. Sirius shook his head, but he was also grinning. 

"Gotta admit, though. It was pretty freakin awesome."

"Sirius!" Remus admonished. 

"What? Yes, it was absolutely terrifying and I have no desire to feel that ever again, but all that aside, what was he supposed to do? Let Peter drown?"

"The Giant Squid saved them." So that was what that was. 

"Yes, but we didn't know that before. James just did what he thought was needed. And it was pretty freakin awesome, you have to admit. He held out for quite a while." Remus sighed. 

"Alright, fine. I guess it was pretty cool."

"Thank you," Sirius said with a winning grin. "James, you're a Gryffindor. There's no doubt about it. If you aren't I'll shave my cousin Bellatrix's head." Nobody in their group quite understood the weight of this statement. 

"Thanks," was all James could manage." As Sirius and Remus struck up conversation, he debated whether he had enough time to take a nap. This was answered, however, by the boat slamming against the shore. 

"Here," Sirius helped James up, and threw his arm around his neck, putting all of James' weight on himself. Remus did the same with Peter, which was a little less impressive, because Peter was a weedy kid. They stepped carefully out of the boat, and helped their friends up the hill to the school. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first years were gathered in a small chamber. It was pleasantly lit, a nice change from the darkness they had just endured. The students were clumped up there, where Hagrid had left them. None of the students had yet to notice James and Peter, slumped against their friends, who supported them completely. They were too excited about the sorting. 

Whispers erupted as an older witch entered the chamber. She was regal and impressive. Her hair was gray and neatly combed up under her large black hat. Her dress was an emerald green, and was perfectly floor length. Her sleeves draped over her bony wrists and she gripped her wand in her small hand.

"Welcome, first years. I am the Deputy Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall, but you may address me as Professor McGonagall. I will also be your transfiguration teacher for the next seven years you spend at this school. Now to star-" She stopped abruptly. From her position above them on the stair case leading out of the chamber, she had been scanning the first years with a trained educator's eye. At that moment her gaze had landed upon the four boys in a dreary state. Though all of the children were wet from their journey, two of the boys were soaked to the bone. They were being supported and looked about ready to pass out. 

"What on earth has happened to you?" Professor McGonagall demanded. All eyes in the room traced hers and fell upon the four boys. Sirius grinned a bit cheekily. 

"Well these two fancied themselves a swim, I reckon," he joked. Professor McGonagall's eyes narrowed. 

"Names," she demanded sharply. 

"Remus Lupin," Remus said. "This is Peter Pettigrew," he gestured to the wiry figure slumped against him. "The prick is Sirius Black, and the kid about to pass out next to him is James Potter."

"Um...Mmm.... I'm Okay," James mumbled wearily, but it sounded more like "Um Mkay." 

"And what exactly happened, Mr. Lupin?"

"Well the waves were pretty vicious out there and do to an incredible chain of unfortunate circumstances, Peter fell out of the boat."

"And Mr. Potter?"

"Well, Peter can't swim and no one else noticed what had happened, so James dove in because he couldn't think of anything better to do. He saved Peter, but couldn't quite make it back to the boat. That's when the Giant Squid saved them." Whispers flooded the chamber as the students turned to each other, deliberating on this news.

"Silence," Professor McGonagall said and silence did indeed fall upon the room. 

"Oh, and I also had to perform CPR on Peter, so he might not actually be alright," Remus offered as an afterthought. Professor McGonagall shook her head and sighed, a little incredulous, but at the same time, James felt like she had somehow seen so much worse.

"The fact that this was not brought to mine or another adult's attention at once was a serious oversight, but I suggest that you Mr. Pettigrew and Mr. Potter be taken to the hospital wing at once." Peter and James protested immediately. James would not miss his sorting ceremony.

"We're fine," Peter insisted groggily. He was shivering. 

"Mr. Pettigrew-"

"We need to go to the sorting ceremony!" James insisted. 

"Mr. Potter, I'm afraid I must insist-"

"We'll go right after!" He begged. Professor McGonagall sighed in frustration.

"Fine, but let's get on with it. I'll move you four to the beginning." She swept up the stairs and the first years hurried to catch up with her. She paused at the top, and pointed her wand at the boys. Suddenly, their cloths felt warm and dry. Then she disappeared through the door. 

-