A girl with long, bright, red hair and astonishing emerald green eyes, pushed her trunk across platform 9 ¾. She blew her red bangs out of her eyes and watched them fall right back into place. 'Why do I keep these stupid bangs when I hate them so much?' She thought as she glared at them. Just then a tall, muscular guy with dark, brown hair she knew was in Ravenclaw walked by. "Hey Lily. Love the bangs." She grinned as he winked at her. 'That's one reason.' She thought. "Lillian Alexandria Evans!" Lily turned around and saw her best friend of six years, Danielle Michelle Carlson, running towards her at pretty good speed, considering she was elbowing her way through tons of people rushing to get on the Hogwarts Express.
Dani! Stop!" Lily yelled but it was too late. Dani ran into Lily and knocked them both to the ground. Dani giggled as she pulled Lily up.
"Sorry, Lils. I see you took my advice and didn't cut your bangs." Dani said as Lily dusted herself off. Dani had waist-length black hair with red streaks in it, and of course bangs that fell into her brown eyes. Lily had finally caught up to Dani in the height division. The year before, Dani had been 4 inches taller then her. Now, Lily stood tall at 5'9, with Dani at 5'10. Both of the sixteen year old girls were rather skinny, but each weighed 115 ponds. Dani stayed in shape because she was one of the beaters on the Gryffindor House Qudditich Team at Hogwarts. Lily just had a high metabolism. Dani started to drag Lily's trunk on the train, with Lily trailing behind her. As they searched for Dani's compartment, Lily thought back to her first time on the platform.
An 11 year old Lily Evans stared with her mouth wide open. She turned around and touched the solid brick wall she had just walked through. She turned back around and looked at the giant red and black train labeled The Hogwarts Express. Lily pinched herself for what had to be the 1 millionth time in the past 2 minutes. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a long, thin piece of wood she had bought a couple of days ago. She twirled it around in her fingers, when it slipped out of her grip and rolled away. She chased after it, but got a little sidetracked because of all the kids screaming and running by. When she finally got through, she had to get down on her hands and knees and look for it. She saw it and just as she touched it, another hand grabbed it and a head smacked hers. "OW!" They both yelled. Lily looked up to see a girl about her age with dark, caramel skin.
"Sorry. I thought that was my wand, but looking closely, it's not." The girl said as she helped Lily to her feet. "What's your name?" She asked while smiling. Lily couldn't help but smile in return.
"I'm Lily. And you?" The girl opened her mouth to respond when, "DANIELLE!" Lily jumped while the girl winced.
"Danielle, there you are! You forgot your wand." A man and a woman appeared behind Lily. Once again, the girl who Lily assumed was Danielle once again winced at the sound of her name.
"Mom, dad, how many times do I have to tell you? My name is Dani. D-a-n-i." The man and the woman shook their heads, but smiled down at their daughter. Lily guessed that by their accents that they were from Britain and somewhere else.
"Fine sweetie. Your name is Dani. Now aren't you going to introduce us to your friend?" They said while smiling at Lily.
"Dad, mum, this is my new friend Lily. Lily, these are my parents, Waken and Miranda Carlson." Dani replied.
"Nice to meet you Lily." Waken said as he kissed her hand. Miranda checked her watch, and pushed the girls forward.
"Hurry up, or you'll miss the train." Dani and Lily got Lily's trunk and pulled it on the train. "Have a good year Dani!" Her mom yelled over the train.
"Yeah, and stay out of trouble!" Her father added. Dani grinned but didn't answer. The girl's dragged Lily's trunk until they reached Dani's compartment.
"Hey Dani?"
"Yeah?" Dani said as she concentrated on something.
"Where are you from? You've got an odd accent." Lily commented.
"Well, I was born here in Britain, but my parents and I moved to the States when I was 2. When I was 4, we moved back here to London." When Dani finished, she looked under the seats. When she stood up again, her eyes were big and fearful.
"What?" Lily asked knowing something was wrong.
"I can't find Mike." Lily arched an eyebrow.
"And Mike would be…"For 15 seconds, Dani looked anywhere but at Lily
"Now Lily, don't overreact, but he's my anaconda." Lily stared at her for 30 seconds to make sure she wasn't joking. When she was sure, she let out a blood curling scream and jumped on the seat. "Lily, remember when I said not to overreact? This would be classified as overreacting." Lily either didn't hear her, or choose to ignore her.
"You lost a giant snake on the train?!" Lily yelled as she looked around on the floor. Dani placed her hands on her undeveloped hips and glared up at Lily through her bangs.
"Hey! He's not that big! He's only 7 feet long now! And besides, I didn't lose him." Just then, a girl screamed.
"SNAKE!"
"I just found him." Dani said as she raced out into the hall. Reluctantly, Lily jumped off the seat and went after thinking,
"What an interesting first year this will be." And she didn't know how right she was.
"God Lily, come back to Earth!"" Dani yelled as she stared into her friend's glazed green eyes. "Damn!" Dani yelled as she paced. She was really beginning to worry about her friend. She had been in the same trance like state since they got on the train.
The compartment door slid open and in walked James Potter, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew, aka The Marauders. James was leaning against the doorframe, his perfectly messy jet-black hair falling into his glasses-covered, Hazel eyes as he stood tall at 6'3. His muscles flexed as he crossed his arms and put on a lopsided grin only he could pull off. He and Sirius were tied for Hogwarts #1 Hottie in the guys and each had their own fan club. Sirius, unlike James, had straight black hair that stopped at his shoulders and grey eyes that held dark secrets, and a very dark past. He was just a bit taller then James, reaching 6'4. He had a certain air about him that clearly said, 'I'm a sex god. Bow at my feet.' Remus Lupin was the lankiest of the group being 6'5. The sixteen year old looked like he had just fought a bloody war rather then spent the past 2 months at home. Already small gray hairs were beginning to pop out from behind his light brown hair. Peter Pettigrew was the odd ball of the Marauders. His height was 6 feet, and he was rather chubby with sandy blonde hair and watery blue eyes. He was constantly jumpy and gave off the aroma of a rat. Sirius winked at Dani.
"I saw you getting dressed this morning. Have I told you how hot you are?" Dani rolled her eyes, but her heart began to quicken like it usually did whenever Sirius got near her. Dani had had a crush on Sirius since Second Year. And since they had the same classes, and he spent his breaks at James' house which was next door, she obviously saw more of him then she could handle. James looked at Lily who was sitting down on the seat, still in a glazed trance. He got down on his knee and stroked her cheek.
"Lily are you okay?" He asked.
"No matter what I do, she won't snap out of it!" Dani exclaimed. "I've tried everything! I've yelled, I've screamed, I've shaken her, I've…"
"I'll have you expelled for this! You'll leave the blasted school before you even start!" a livid Fifth Year said. "You're just like you're snake. You ain't worth shit!" Bellatrix yelled as Mike curled himself around Dani's shoulders. Mike lifted his head, stuck out his tongue, and hissed. Dani turned her head towards him and spoke in Parseltongue. Bellatrix's pale face grew even paler. "You can speak to it? What did you say?" Bella said as she pointed her pony finger at Dani. Dani rolled her eyes.
"Yes, I'm a Parselmouth. And for all you know, I could have told him to kill you in your sleep. So I wouldn't mess with me if I were you." Bellatrix was about to say something else, when Mike let out an even louder hiss. Bella's lips snapped shut and she walked away. Dani turned around to face a shocked Lily.
"Who was that, what's a Parseltongue and Parselmouth, and why does she hate you?" Lily asked as they walked own the hall. Dani sighed.
"That was Bellatrix Black. And Parseltongue means snake language. It's a very rare talent because few witches and wizards can do it, and it's also associated with the Dark Arts. And Bella hates me because, well she's a Black and they hate anybody who's, what are their words exactly? 'A mudblood lover.' Lily's eyebrows disappeared into her bangs showing she didn't understand. Dani rolled her eyes playfully. "You are definitely muggleborn. A mudblood lover is someone who associates with mudbloods. And a mudblood is someone who has non-magical parents, or is muggleborn."
They opened the compartment door to find four boys inside laughing and joking. One had messy black hair that stood in every direction and warm hazel eyes hidden behind glasses. One had shoulder-length straight black hair and Smokey eyes. Another had light sandy hair and looked paler than usual. And one was chubby and trying to hide in a corner. No one spoke till Dani broke the silence.
"James?" The boy with messy black hair spoke.
"Danielle?" Dani winced at the use of her full name, but grinned anyway.
"James!"
"Dani!" James grinned, stood up, and opened his arms. Dani ran into them without a second's hesitation. Lily hung back and watched. "I can't believe you're here tomboy." James said into her hair as he rubbed her back. Dani grinned as she gently tugged on his black locks.
"You better believe it Jamie." There was a cough from behind them. They turned to see it was the boy with straight black hair and grey eyes.
"I don't mean to break up this Kodak Moment James, but who is your hot friend, and who is her hot friend?" Sirius flashed a dazzling white smile at Lily, causing her to blush a deeper red then her hair. Dani went over to Lily and pulled her away from the corner she had been shrinking against and walked back to James.
"James, this is my new friend Lily Evans. Lily, this is my best friend and next door neighbor since I was 4, James Michael Potter." Dani said as she subconsciously leaned against James.
"Dani, Lily, these are my new friends Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew." He said while pointing to each in turn. "Guys, this is Lily and my own personal tomboy, Danielle Michelle Carlson," Dani winced. "Who prefers to have her first name sound like a guy's no matter how many times I tell her she's a Girl!" Dani elbowed him in his stomach and he groaned loudly. "And if I kept quiet once and a while, I'd have fewer bruises on my stomach." He sad as he straightened up. Dani giggled as James wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her down into his lap. "Ow!" James yelled when he sat down causing Dani to jump up. He smirked. "Just kidding."
Dani slapped him before returning to his lap. Lily felt quite uncomfortable being in the room, which didn't go unnoticed by Dani. "Lily don't be shy. Take a seat. Sirius move over." Dani said. Sirius stared at her and crossed his arms.
"Make me." Dani stared right back.
"Fine." Dani turned to face James, put her hands on his chest, and gave him her award-winning puppy dog pout. "James," she said while touching his forehead with hers and entwining their bangs. "Please make Sirius move." James looked at Sirius with pleading eyes.
"Man. Come on." Sirius shook his head violently like a dog trying to get rid of excess water. Lily and Remus watched in amusement, while Peter stared into space.
"No, no way. Not gonna happen!" Sirius said. James looked back at Dani.
"Jamie!" Dani said while running a hand through his hair. James looked back and forth between the guy next to him and the pretty girl in his lap, and looked oh so confused. He was about to speak, when Dani whispered something in his ear. His eyes widened, and with one arm around Dani's waist, he pushed Sirius off the seat and onto the floor.
"Have a seat Lily." Dani smirked.
"So besides being a Parseltongue and having the gift of persuasion," Lily said while looking at Sirius who was on the floor rubbing his bum. "What other special abilities do you have other then being a witch?" James decided to answer for her.
"Dani is a Temperantrus. That means when her temper gets out of hand, she could kill you with a simple look. But the worst part is Temperantrus' tempers will go off with a single insult. Trust me. I've know her for over 7 years. And so far she's sent me to St. Mungo's twice. Once caused she tried to kill me in my sleep, and once cause, well let's just say it's what she whispered in my ear, and I'll be lucky if I have children." Everyone laughed including Peter, though he was a little late. They all sat in comfortable silence the rest of the way to Hogwarts. The only that ran through Lily's mind was, 'New friends, new schools, how bad can it be?'
Do you honestly think that's going to work, or is this for your own personal gain?" Dani asked James who was still kneeling so he was eye level with Lily.
"49 gonna work, 51 my own personal gain." James said. Dani shook her head.
"I'm amazed you can say that with a straight face." Sirius arched an eyebrow.
"Why? I'm not." Remus snorted from behind his book.
"Coming from the guy who nailed 6 girls at a school dance." Remus looked confused for a second. "How'd you do that again?" Dani interrupted before Sirius could answer.
"Please discuss this when I'm not here. Now can we get back to Lily? Remus, should he do it?" Remus shook his head.
"I don't want to get in this."
"Peter?"
"What?" Dani rolled her eyes.
"Aren't you gonna ask me?" Sirius questioned. Dani crossed her arms and gave him a look. "Well anyway, I think he should do it." Dani opened the compartment door.
"When she comes out of this trance Sirius, she's gonna kill you and me. So be prepared to run." She turned back to James. "You may proceed."
James looked as if Christmas had come early. He turned back to Lily and placed a strand of red hair behind her ear. He then leaned in, closed his eyes, and gently touched Lily's lips with his. It was the best moment of James' life. He had finally kissed the girl he had fantasized about since he met her on the train. Unfortunately for him, Lily took that moment to come out of her trance. As soon as Dani saw her eyes widen, she grabbed Sirius and ran. Lily pulled away from James with her mouth open. James knew Lily was going to slap him when she raised her hand. Before it made contact with his face, he grabbed it.
"Lily, I personally don't think you should hit me. I mean Dani and Sirius said I could. Well, I mean Sirius shouldn't have meant anything, but…" Lily's ears had stopped working after he said Dani's name. She began to shake with anger, and if she were a Temperantrus, Sirius and Dani would be dead. Remus pointed toward the open compartment door.
"They went that way." Lily ran out and looked down the hall. Since the end of the train was on her right, she ran left screaming,
"DANI! SIRIUS! YOU'RE DEAD!"
Dani and Sirius reached the end of the train when they heard Lily. "Shit!" Dani said and pulled Sirius into a corner. "Lily's gonna kill us."
"You more then me though." Sirius pointed out. Dani placed her hands on her hips.
"And why would she kill me more then you?" Sirius scoffed.
"Because she'll have expected my answer. I mean come on. I'm Sirius Black. But you. You're supposed to be her best friend. Shame on you." Dani began to look guilty just as Lily's footsteps got closer.
"Crap1 she's gonna kill me!" Sirius pushed her against the wall.
"Dani! Get a grip! Do you want Lily to kill you?" Dani raised an eyebrow. "Don't answer that. I've got a way to stall her from killing you." As Sirius spoke his heart began to pound like every time he touched her. He licked his lips and crashed them down on Dani's.
Dani froze for a moment, before hungrily kissing him back. Sirius' hands went from her shoulders to her waist and pulled her body against his. Dani's hands snaked their way around his neck. It was easily the best kiss either had ever gotten, considering just how much experience both had had with the opposite sex. Sirius cautiously flicked her bottom lip with his tongue asking for entrance. She obliged without hesitation.
Dani's hands left Sirius' neck and went under the back of his shirt. Sirius moaned in pleasure as Dani's hands moved up and down his back. He moved his mouth to her neck and bit softly earning a gasp from Dani. Lily took this second to come around the corner and discover them.
She was about to scream at them for letting James kiss her, when she saw her "best friend" entangled in the one guy she had liked for 6 years instead of 2 weeks. Lily didn't want to interrupt because 1) she knew all the millions of guys Dani had dated in the past were to keep her mind of Sirius, and 2) she was a little grossed out at how much they were going at it. Lily stomped away, knowing her anger had filed out.
"Sirius," Dani gasped once Lily was out of earshot. "She's gone. You can stop now."
"Hmmm." Was the intelligent response Sirius came up with as he continued on his 3rd hickey. "What is she comes back, Ashley?" Both Sirius and Dani's eyes widened. Ashley. The main reason Sirius shouldn't have been touching Dani. Ashley Craver.
Ashley was a 50 Spanish, 50 Italian, and 100 Hufflepuff slut. Dani knew why Sirius liked her. She was easy and would give it up to a complete stranger. Sirius was a playa and was known to date stupid, busty wannabe models. It hurt to know he would never see her as more then a hot friend. And to speak of the devil, who should come strutting out of her compartment but Ashley herself.
She was wearing an extremely tight tube top that accented her chest and curves way too much. Under it was a short white skirt and on her feet were matching white platforms. As she approached them, Dani shoved Sirius off her. Ashley squealed when she got near Sirius and clung to his arm like a leech.
"Sirius! I've been looking for you everywhere." She then turned to Dani. "Oh, hi tomboy. Shouldn't you be crawling around in the mud?" She said with a fake smile. The hem of Dani's skirt and the edge of her waist-length hair turned red. Dani smiled in return. Everyone knew about the Ashley-Dani-Lily hate thing. Ashley hated Lily because she was pretty and had a figure she didn't have to work for. She hated Dani because she hung out with the hottest guys in school, aka The Marauders on a daily basis. It was impossible to find a girl at Hogwarts who wasn't jealous of Dani. (Except for Lily of course!)
"Ashley, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be looking for a strip pole and a boom box?" Just then an evil idea on how to piss off Ashley popped into Dani's head. She looked at Sirius. "Catch you later Black. Oh, and if you need anymore help with distressing yourself," she said as she pressed her body against Sirius. "You know where to find me." And with that, she turned and walked away, taking extra precaution to sway her hips the whole time.
