Ψ~*~ Ψ
"James," a voice called. James Potter turned around to see Sirius Black, his best friend running towards him, carting a large trunk behind him. He reached his friend, panting, his somewhat long, black hair all over the place.
"There you are, going on about all the girls we'll meet now that we're grown men and you've already let your hair go all messy," James remarked dryly.
Sirius smiled as if to say it's alright and proceeded to pull out a large hat from his bag. It was a bright acid green and had red feathers poking out from it in all directions.
"Now, don't deny it, James. The girls are going to go wild over me with my little friend here." He patted the hat and winked at a passing girl, who, with bright pink hair and four nose rings, looked worse than Sirius.
James, however, was looking at a group of girls, or, rather, one in particular. She stood at the edge of the group, looking somewhat alone. Her long hair was a fiery red and reached down in a long plait all the way down to her waist. She was glancing around and saw him looking at her. Her eyes were a deep emerald green. She blushed and looked away.
Even though he knew it was rude, James couldn't help looking at her. Finally, he was dragged away by Sirius and Remus Lupin, his other close friend.
"Come on," Remus and Sirius said in unison. All three of them boarded the train. They walked along, trying to find an empty compartment. All of a sudden the train moved, jerking forward suddenly, making them fall down.
"Whoa!" Lily Evans muttered as she fell forward, her trunk heavy. She was nearly at the end of the train and looking to the left of her, she saw a compartment with only one person in it. Peeking in shyly, she looked at the small girl occupying it. She had blond hair, tied messily into two pigtails. Her cheeks were pink with either excitement or heat, Lily wasn't sure which, and her eyes were a bright blue.
"Um- is it alright if I sit here with you," Lily asked tentatively. The girl, who had been reading a book, looked up and smiled.
"Of course you can." She motioned for Lily to join her. Lily put up her trunk and sat across from the girl.
"I'm Chloe Longbottom," the girl said, offering a podgy hand. Lily took it, noticing how warm it was.
"Lily Evans," she replied. She was surprised at how easy she found it talking to Chloe. Ordinarily, she would've blushed furiously talking like that to a complete stranger, but it felt easy talking to Chloe. She just hoped that she hadn't blushed when she saw that boy looking at her at the station earlier on. He scared her; he had been staring at her so intensely that she was sure she had food on her face or something.
She felt so scared when she arrived at the station that morning. She would have been happy, if it hadn't been for her sister, Petunia. No matter what Lily did, Petunia always seemed to despise her. She ignored all the times Lily did something good, unaware that Lily only did it in the hope that Petunia might warm to her and they could turn into the friends that sisters were supposed to be.
At that moment, however, the compartment door banging open interrupted her thoughts. A face peeked through and looked around, seeming to completely ignore the two girls already sitting there.
"Sorry girls, looks like you've got company," the boy said, grinning.
"James, Remus," he called out. "There's room here." Lily heard grunting noises as trunks were pulled along the train floor. The first boy walked in, plonking himself next to Chloe.
"Sirius Black," he said, offering a hand which neither of the girls took. Then walked in a boy with light brown hair and eyes. He smiled at both of them and introduced himself.
"I'm Remus Lupin," offering a hand which, again, no one took. The last boy walked in backwards, pulling along his trunk. Lily presumed that this was James. He sat down next to her, bending over to tie his shoelace, grunting his name while doing so. He was very skinny and his black hair was extremely tousled. Finally, he looked up, turning to face Lily. She gasped. It was the boy from the station. He stared at her for what seemed eternity before facing Sirius, Remus and Chloe.
"Honestly, Sirius, it was a lot less squashy down in that other compartment. We could have stayed there if someone hadn't dropped a Dungbomb," he said pointedly, glaring at Sirius who was whistling and gazing out the window, purposely ignoring James. James shifted in his seat (he and Lily were squished in very tight).
Lily looked out the window, watching the countryside fly by. She and Chloe shared some disgusted glances, both glaring at the three boys. Lily was beginning to feel a little hungry when she heard a cart rattling. The compartment door slid open and a witch was standing there with a cart, laden with all sorts of sweets. Lily looked at the price list taped to the cart and her heart fell. Foolishly, she had put her money away safe into her trunk and there was no hope of getting it out without making a fuss. So she sat there, looking out the window, trying to ignore Sirius' shouts of joy as he listed the sweets there were to buy.
"Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans! My mum never lets me eat these, says they're bad for my stomach and look- pumpkin pasties, yum…"
Without turning around to see the boys and Chloe walk in with their sweets, she heard the compartment door slide close and the witch rattling her cart up the corridor. She was trying to take no notice of the sweet wrappers being scrunched up noisily when she felt James nudge her softly. Turning around, she looked at him.
"I-uh-well, I thought you might like something to eat, so um- I got you some stuff…"he said, his handing offering some delicious looking pasties and the beans that Sirius had been talking about. Her tastebuds went into overdrive, yet she felt wary.
"No thanks, I'm alright-"she began, before being interrupted by James.
"No, you're not. You need to eat, you're skinny and you look hungry and I've already bought them for you!" With that, he dumped them on her lap. Lily looked at them, angry. How dare he call her skinny!
"I'm not hungry, and it's a bit rich coming from you, your as skinny as a beanpole," she retorted, gathering the sweets and placing them into his lap. He grabbed her hand and looked at her with his brown eyes. Lily felt a ripple of warmth go down her back, though she couldn't figure out why. Never taking his eyes off hers, he picked up the sweets and placed them into her lap. Quick as a flash, he turned around so she couldn't give them back to him.
Lily resolved to eat them and made a mental note to pay him back later. (It was just as well that James had his back to her, because she didn't see the smug smile on his face as he heard her delicately opening the sweets).
A short time later, once the sweets had been eaten and James sitting properly again, the door slid open. A boy stood there, with black hair and a hooked nose. He glared at the three boys before smiling at the two girls. James, Sirius and Remus stood up, glaring at the boy.
"Let me introduce myself. Severus Snape," the boy said sitting down next to Lily. James stood next to Severus and pulled him up by his collar.
"Since when do you get off chatting up my girlfriend?" he whispered in a menacing tone. Lily opened her mouth in surprise but closed it after seeing James wink. He looked as if he was about to punch Severus in his face. Lily stood up, coming between the two boys.
"Look, I don't think any of you should be here so, Severus, it was very nice to meet you. Goodbye," Lily said. Severus seemed to oblige, yet, just as he reached the door, he spun around quickly and shoved James, who stumbled backwards and fell to the floor, landing on something very soft. Lily. Severus laughed and walked out, while Lily lay stunned on the floor, James on top of her. Had it not been an awkward situation, Lily realised that it seemed very intimate; James' face was only a centimetre away from hers and her hands were pressed against his chest where she'd tried to protect herself. James stood up slowly and, extending a hand, helped Lily up. Sirius and Remus sat back down, engaging in a conversation about some weird thing called Quidditch.
"Sorry about that," James whispered to Lily "You don't want to hang around with Severus. He's bad news, I'm telling you. You could be in great danger around him."
"Well, it seems, James, that I could also be in great danger around you as well," Lily replied coolly, referring to the position they'd been in only a minute ago. James blushed and Sirius, overhearing Lily's remark, laughed out loud.
"Well, I didn't mean to fall on you, Snape pushed me," he said defensively. "And I didn't mean that about the girlfriend bit, I was trying to get rid of him, okay. Shut up Sirius. Remus, I'll punch you if you don't stop grinning like that…"
Ψ~*~Ψ
James stared at the large man before them. He seemed just too large to be real. His hair and beard was a mangled mass of black and his feet were as huge as baby dolphins. Through the nest of his hair, his eyes, like two black beetles, were sparkling.
"I'm 'Agrid. Right, youse all ready? Good, come on," he ushered them onto some boats that were waiting on the large lack. Sirius, Remus and James climbed into one, closely followed by a short, stout boy with blonde hair, watery eyes and a pointed nose. He tucked himself into a corner and looked down, completely ignoring the three other boys. This didn't really matter, because the three boys ignored him too. Sirius poked his head out the boat, running his hand through the freezing water, even though it was blisteringly cold. He splashed James and Remus who attempted to push Sirius in. Hagrid, the giant man, however, interfered and pulled the three boys by the scruff of their necks back into the boat properly.
Across the lake, Chloe and Lily sat with two other girls who looked decidedly male. One had dark blonde hair, cut short to her neck and a disgusted, burly expression on her face. She was hefty in size and seemed to take up half of the boat. Which was a bad thing, because the other girl seemed to take up as much space, leaving only a tiny bit of room for Chloe and Lily to squeeze into. The other girl had long black hair and seemed to be built just like the other, only a bit bigger. They greeted Chloe and Lily with distinct looks of hate on their faces and introduced themselves as Gorgina (the blonde) and Hetty (the brunette). Lily reached as far back as she could, to get away from their overpowering presence. She looked at the three boys who'd been in her compartment on the train ride. They were sitting with another boy, who Lily didn't recognise. They were splashing and fooling around, only to be reprimanded by the large man who'd put them onto the boats.
For some reason, she couldn't help looking at James in particular. There was something about him that bemused her. Perhaps it was his eyes, behind the rounded spectacles he wore. Then again, it may have been his hair, which seemed to be permanently tousled. Whatever it was, she was just mystified by him. He looked over to her and said something to his friends. They all looked at Lily and then started to row over towards her. Lily groaned. She could just imagine what they were going to do.
"Quick," she said to Chloe, "Row faster. Those losers on the train are coming over." Chloe nodded and together, they rowed with all their might. The boys seemed to be too fast for them and pulled up alongside them. On the count of three, they cupped their hands, dipped them into the icy water and proceeded to throw the chilly droplets onto Lily, Chloe and, unfortunately, Hetty.
"You idiots," Hetty screamed. She stood up, rocking the boat dangerously. "How dare you do that! Just wait!" She continued yelling. Lily and Chloe sat there, trying to steady the boat as it rocked to and fro. Just before Hetty sat down, the boat gave way and upturned, tipping Lily, Chloe, Hetty and Gorgina into the sub-zero water. The four girls screamed.
James and Sirius cursed, while Remus tried to turn over the girls boat. Hagrid came over to them and yelled at the four boys, even though the small one in the corner had nothing to do with any of the events that had just occurred.
"…Could get sick, or anythin'. Wait til Dumbledore hears 'bout it. Come on, 'elp 'em up," he urged the boys. Hagrid grabbed Lily and picked her up, throwing her on top of James. Chloe was picked up and squeezed between Sirius and Remus but there was no way that Hetty or Gorgina could fit into the boat at all.
"Oh, go on, you'll miss the Sorting. I help these two…" Hagrid grumbled, pushing the boat along.
Lily fumed as she sat in James lap. She tried to move but only rocked the boat more, which meant that she had to stay in James' lap and suffer. How come I always get stuck with James, she thought, exasperated.
Just then, at that precise moment, something gripped her heart, freezing it with an icy grasp. She convulsed violently and tried in vain to stop a darkness that was penetrating her mind. Oblivious, she gripped James in utter fear. It went hazy and when the mist cleared, she saw a boy, James, only it couldn't be James. This boy had emerald green eyes like her own, yet every other feature was James'. His hair was messed up and he ran around, running over to a little redhead girl, lying limp in front of a huge snake. The boy moved his hair out of his eyes, and she glimpsed a horrible scar running down his forehead; it was a beige-pink and looked like a lightning bolt. A voice echoed around her head, hollow and blank.
"Lily, Lily, Lily…"
"Lily, wake up," a voice screamed into her ear. She felt icy cold water splash over her face and she opened her eyes, squinting to see the people above her. She could see Chloe's pink face, concerned, looking down at her. Behind Chloe, Sirius and Remus were getting more water. For a moment, she couldn't see James and her heart was gripped with sudden fear, for some silly reason. Then, he knelt over and she saw his round glasses. Her head was resting in his lap.
Dazed, she raised her head.
"Are you alright, Lily?" Chloe whispered to her, helping her up into a sitting position. Lily nodded; she couldn't really speak. They had reached the dock and the other boy had gone.
"Come on," she gasped, trying to get the words out, "We'll miss the Sorting-whatever that is."
Shakily, she stood up, using Chloe's shoulder for support. She wobbled up the steps to the great castle. The boys followed suit and soon they'd caught up with the rest of the group. A lady with a fierce bun pulled tight to the back of her neck led the first years into a large room, filled with long tables. At the foot of the hall, a man with a crooked nose and long silver white hair was sitting at a large table, filled with what Lily presumed were teachers. The lady, who introduced herself as Professor McGonagall, led the children to the front of the room where she proceeded to pull out a hat, ripped and torn, that looked extremely old. The whole hall stared at it waiting which, Lily thought meant that she should too. All of a sudden, a rip on the brim opened wide and the hat began to sing.
"Over a thousand years ago,
When I was as new as you.
There were four wizards,
Great and wise.
There was brave Gryffindor,
From the wild moor.
And Ravenclaw
Hailing from the Glen.
A sweet one, from valleys afar,
Hufflepuff by name.
And Slytherin, shrewd and wise
Came from fen.
Together they yearned for a
School for the chosen.
And together, they made their dream true.
They chose the ones they wanted,
Painstakingly by hand
But faced a dilemma;
Who would choose when they were gone?
A simple answer, they came across
By placing their brains in me.
Now I can choose where you belong.
Don't fear, I'm never wrong."
The hall was silent, and then Professor McGonagall pulled out a long scroll of parchment and began to call out names alphabetically.
Agrole, Jenny was the first. She walked over to the stool, placed the hat on her head and a second later, the hat yelled out 'Hufflepuff'. A table in the corner cheered loudly and Jenny made her way over. Sirius went to Gryffindor, though it took some time for the hat to choose. When Lily's turn came up, she sat down, a bundle of nerves.
"Yes, who do we have here? Very smart, I can see- maybe Ravenclaw-no that won't do. You're not sweet and innocent enough to be in Hufflepuff, no offence intended- definitely not Slytherin, you won't do well in there. So, it has to be GRYFFINDOR!" The hat yelled out the last word and Lily sat up, her heart beating as she made her way over to the cheering table.
James watched Lily as she sat a seat away from Sirius, saving the one next to her for, he presumed, Chloe, whose turn was coming up. He wasn't really nervous. He didn't really mind what house he got into as long as it wasn't Slytherin and had at least one of his friends in it. He wouldn't be able to survive without his friends…
Just then, the hat yelling out GRYFFINDOR very loudly interrupted James' thoughts. He saw Remus on the stool, tugging the hat off his had. He looked over to the Gryffindor table, where Chloe sat with Lily. Remus walked over and sat next to Sirius, which left one more seat saved for James- in between Lily and Sirius. He couldn't understand how they were always thrown together. So far, he'd called her his girlfriend, fallen on top of her, had her thrown onto him by Hagrid, had her clutch his robes in terror and now he had to sit next to her and it was only the first day. The lady, Professor McGonagall, kept reciting the names. Finally, the line came to the P's.
"Pettigrew, Peter," she yelled out. James watched the boy that had been on their boat step forward. The hat took only seconds to yell out 'GRYFFINDOR'. Then it was James' turn.
James stepped up and placed the hat on his head. It whispered into his ear.
"Well- too mischievous for Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw too for that matter. Lets see…I know-SLY-no, wait. That is completely wrong. Replay that thought you had-yes. Absolutely not. Yes, that's what you said. Well, you are a bold one then, so I'll have to make it GRYFFINDOR!"
James breathed a sigh of relief. He pulled the hat off his head and walked over to the Gryffindor table, joining Sirius and Remus. Lily turned to him as he sat down and smiled congratulations. Then she glanced at his hand, and her smile was quickly replaced with a frown.
"What happened?" she asked, pointing to some deep red scratches running down his hand.
"That's where you clawed me on the boat," he replied, smirking. She went red and quickly turned around to watch Olive Qindec join Ravenclaw. James tried his hardest not to, but he was overcome by an urge to touch Lily's long red hair, which was drying from her swim in the lake. He looked away and turned to face Sirius and Remus.
"Snape, Severus," Professor McGonagall said. James turned around, as did Sirius and Remus, to look at the boy come forward and try the hat on. The minute it touched his head, the rip opened wide and yelled out 'SLYTHERIN!'
Finally, it was all over. The man, Albus Dumbledore, stood up and spoke.
"All of you eat and enjoy," was all he said. James, Sirius, Remus, Lily and Chloe turned around and looked at the table, now laden with beautiful food. They tucked in greedily, starving. When they had finished, they turned again to look at the Headmaster.
"I would like to welcome all the first years. Argus Filch, our caretaker has told me that he will be posting a list of forbidden items in his office, so you may refer to it if you are in any doubt as to whether or not your 'toy' is allowed. Also, I'd like to remind you all that the Forbidden Forest is, obviously, forbidden to everyone as is the village Hogsmeade to all below the third year."
A tall boy with brown hair led the Gryffindor first years up to their common room. Sirius, James and Remus stood huddled together, as did Lily and Chloe.
"The password is 'Lion'," the boy, who was a prefect, informed the first years. He led them to a portrait of a fat lady, dressed in a pink dress. The Prefect whispered the password to the lady, who then swung open, revealing a hole. Crawling through, they entered a circular room, with a fireplace at one end and large stuffed armchairs scattered around the room. Lily and Chloe walked straight up the stairs the Prefect pointed out to them. They were tired and wanted to sleep immediately. The boys felt the same, yet, as boys and girls tend to do, no one could rest without having a little chat to reflect on the day's events.
"…Those boys were so annoying!" Chloe exclaimed as the two girls changed into their nightgowns. They'd greeted the girls they shared the dormitory with (who, thankfully, were nothing like Hetty and Gorgina, who'd both ended up in Slytherin).
"Especially that James," Lily replied, buttoning her gown up. She slipped into the warm covers of her bed. "They're just so- I don't know. Upfront, you know. I mean, come on, would you barge into a compartment uninvited and think that it's okay, or capsize someone's boat and think it hilarious? I don't know. James goes to me that you can't trust Severus, but I'm more worried about them three more than Severus."
Chloe nodded in agreement and got into bed. Before they knew it, both girls were asleep.
James pulled on his pyjamas and climbed into bed. He turned to face Sirius, who was already in bed.
"What about them girls, huh, James? Aren't they weird? That Chloe barely said a word and Lily was like, you know, stubborn and superior or something," Sirius said, looking at James. James shrugged and rolled over, facing away from Sirius and tugging the curtains closed on his four-poster bed. He could hear Remus and Sirius talking but he ignored them. All he wanted to do was think about Lily. He didn't know why. She annoyed him for some reason. It wasn't because she was everywhere he turned; it was because…well, he didn't know. Maybe it was because she wasn't hanging off him. He didn't really know why, but for some reason, when he saw her by herself at the train station, he felt wretched for her. She looked so alone and forlorn that he wanted to go over to her straightaway and talk to her. He couldn't believe his luck when they got stuck in the same compartment on the train. He remembered the look in her eyes when he gave her the sweets; she was longing for them. He wanted her to long for him-
Whoa, he thought. Slow down! It was obviously that pumpkin juice he'd had at dinner, it was making him think strange thoughts. He shook Lily out of his mind and before he knew it, was asleep.
Ψ~*~ Ψ
Professor McGonagall came around and handed out the timetables. Lily looked at it. First period was Herbology with Professor Kilden, then Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall. Lily noticed, with a sinking feeling in her heart that all her classes were shared with the other Gryffindor first years, which meant that…
"Hello, my dear," Sirius Black yelled in Chloe's ear, placing a ridiculous bright acid green hat on her head. Chloe yanked it off and glared at Sirius who had begun to steal her toast. She slapped his hand away as he reached for more.
"Hmph," he muttered and moved over to Lily. "Lily, darling, it's been ages." He kissed her noisily on both her cheeks, which were burning red as the Gryffindors turned to stare at Sirius.
"Perhaps you would appreciate the honour of being able to wear Rosa here," Sirius continued, showing off 'Rosa' as if the hat were a prized possession.
"I'll pass, thanks," Lily muttered, making a solemn vow to humiliate Sirius to the point of tears.
"Hey, James," she said, trying to look past Sirius' ridiculous hat to speak to James. James yanked the hat off Sirius' head so he could see Lily.
"Yeah?" he said calmly, ignoring Sirius who was attempting to arm wrestle the hat off him.
"Here's some money, to pay back for yesterday on the-" Sirius, who turned around sulkily, interrupted Lily.
"See what you've gone and done, Lily? You've made James go over to the girl's side. He's taken Rosa hostage, see? I miss her so much…" Sirius pretended to sob furiously into Lily's shoulder. James laughed and shook his head.
"Doesn't matter about the money, Lily. No, honestly I don't care," he said as Lily attempted to force the money into James' hand. "And here's your stupid Rosa, Sirius," he laughed and gave Sirius the hat. Sirius squealed in delight and hugged the hat.
"Rosa, darling, you've come back."
As they were leaving for class a little later on, Lily noticed that Rosa was lying abandoned on the table. She raised her eyebrows in question to Sirius.
"She didn't like me," he said. Lily looked bewildered until Remus leant over and whispered to her.
"He choked on the feathers."
Ψ~*~Ψ
That night, in the commonroom, Lily sat reading a Chloe's Witch Weekly. Chloe sat on the desk next to her on a desk, doing her Herbology homework.
"So, did you like Professor Hunter?" Chloe asked.
"She was alright. Couldn't compare to Professor Kilden though, she was great, wasn't she? What do you thi…" Lily trailed off as she saw a look of shock on her face. "What's wrong?" she asked anxiously.
Chloe jumped up, grabbing Lily.
"I just saw those three idiots go into our dormitory," she hissed.
"What?" Lily said. Chloe motioned for her to follow as she walked up the steps. They reached the dorm door. Pressing their ears against the closed door, they could hear bits and pieces of the conversation.
"…do you think Lily and Chloe sleep," they heard Sirius ask.
"What on earth is this?" Remus asked disgusted.
"No, don't show me. Let me guess. Hah, from the look on your face, I'm guessing it's a… picture of Lily!" Sirius replied. Lily made to open the door and bash up Sirius, but Chloe (just) managed to restrain her.
"…didn't like Rosa," Sirius muttered. The voices disappeared as the boys walked further into the room. "…breakfast…the money…saw it…galleons, James," Remus and Sirius were talking to James.
All of a sudden, the voices were quite clear as the boys came back towards the side of the room closer to the door.
"She looked so skinny and I don't think she has a lot of money, you know. Besides, I nicked half of it; no I'm serious, well a pumpkin pastie anyway. Besides, I felt sorry for her, don't think she has many friends, well Chloe, but that's all. Unless she counts those two giants who were on her boat…"the three boys burst into laughter and Lily could stand it no more.
She opened the door and burst in. She caught a glimpse of the boys ducking behind a bed; obviously, they thought she hadn't heard them. She smiled to herself and made her way over to the bed the boys were hiding behind. Chloe walked in behind her and sat on Lily's bed, watching Lily as she walked over to the boys.
Lily stopped, just before she reached the boys hiding place. She counted to three and spun around, attempting to surprise them.
But they were gone. She stared blankly at the space where the boys should have been. Kneeling down, she flipped the cover of Chloe's bed and peeked under it, to see if they were there, but all that greeted her was and old sock and mounds of dust. She stood up frowning.
"Well, where are they?" Chloe asked, standing up.
"They're not here. But they have to be; they couldn't just disappear into thin air. Did you see anything?" Lily replied. Chloe shook her head. Out of the blue, a ring of laughter came from the door. It opened and Melissa and Cara, two of the girls who shared the dormitory with Lily and Chloe, walked in.
"What's wrong?" Cara asked as she saw the bewildered looks on Lily and Chloe's faces.
"Did you see the look on their faces?" Sirius collapsed on Remus' bed, laughing furiously.
"Gosh, I thought I was going to explode. I could barely breathe, I was trying not to laugh so hard!" Remus replied, stretching and running his fingers through his hair. James stood at the foot of his bed and opened his trunk. He delicately placed a cloak made of a silvery shiny material into it and shut the lid firmly.
"Where'd you get that, James? It's awesome! Just as well you had it, huh?" Remus laughed as James sat on his bed. James chewed the bottom of his lip thoughtfully.
"You don't think they heard me talking about nicking the pumpkin pastie, do you," he muttered, concerned. Sirius stopped laughing for a second.
"Nah, and even if they did, they wouldn't tell anyone. Chloe is too shy and Lily wouldn't dare sink that low," he said. At that moment, the boys heard a rustling noise coming from the side of the room. Remus walked over top the spot where it came from (a bed) and looked over to the other side. A small figure sat there, and at Remus' command, stood up, shivering.
"You're Peter, aren't you?" James asked the boy, who was quivering with fear. The boy nodded, his eyes watery. James studied him for a minute before slapping him good-naturedly on the back.
"So, why were you by yourself today in Herbology? You should have come with us! Did you see that stunt that we pulled on Professor Hunter?" he led the podgy boy over to Sirius, who nodded at James, saying to keep going. Remus breathed a sigh of relief, as the boy's trembling ceased and seemed to forget about all that he had just heard moments ago.
Ψ~*~ Ψ
A week later
Ψ~*~ Ψ
Lily sat in the common room, gazing into the fire, which was flickering gently, casting soft shadows against the walls of the round room. It was a quiet Saturday evening, where most people were too tired to be bothered doing anything. Sirius, James and Remus were on detention for putting frogs down Hetty's robe in the middle of Potions. Chloe was in the infirmary; she'd caught a bad cold from her little spell in the lake and the minute that Madam June, the nurse, saw Chloe's blotchy face, red eyes and bright nose, she had forced her to stay over night.
So Lily was alone, staring at the fire. She sighed; she didn't realise how boring things could be when you didn't have your friends with you. Sure, there was Cara and Melissa, but they weren't close to her like Chloe was. Chloe and Lily had grown together over the short time they had spent together. Chloe was funny and goofy, yet at times could be the sternest girl Lily had ever met. Even though she looked timid, she was as ferocious as an enraged tigress. Her eyes had a knowing look about them, as if they always knew what you had been up to.
As for the other three, well, Lily basked in the pleasant silence that surrounded her, now that they were off scrubbing tables and not putting little bits of parchment in her hair. She had noticed that for the last couple of days, a short boy, the boy who'd been on their boat on the first day, had followed them. The boy's name was Peter, Lily recalled, and he was the quietest boy he'd ever met. He seemed out of place with James, Sirius and Remus.
Lily sighed again, looking back at the fire. The glowing embers throbbed and her eyes were incredibly sore as she gazed at the burning wood. The fireplace swam before her and she was gripped with an icy feeling, the same one she had had when she was in the boat with the others. She fell forward, darkness penetrating her mind. When she came to, she could see a boy, the same one as before, staring at the same fire she'd been staring at, talking to the head that was-
Lily shook her head firmly. A head in a fire? What was she thinking? Heads did not sit in fireplaces and talk! Yet, as she attempted to convince herself, the head was there, talking. She looked at it, perhaps it was a trick. As she squinted at the head, she felt that it was familiar; even though it was gaunt, and unshaven, she felt she had seen that person somewhere before.
Suddenly, there were steps coming from the stairs and a red-haired boy appeared, wearing pyjamas far too short for him. He looked at the other boy and Lily noticed that the head had disappeared. Even though she couldn't hear anything, she knew the boys were arguing, their mouths flapping violently as they flung insults at each other. The black haired boy, the James look-a-like, picked up a badge that was dimly flashing some words Lily couldn't make out. The badge hit the boy on the steps on the forehead, and, after a few more insults, the boy spun around and walked back up the stairs.
Then it was black again.
"Er- are you alright Lily?" Lily opened her eyes to see Cara leaning over her, surrounded by practically the rest of the common room. Lily sat up, and nodded her head, even though it hurt immensely to do so. She stood up and walked over to the hole that led out of the common room, ignoring the concerns of Cara and Melissa.
For some strange reason, she had to see Dumbledore. This was quite silly, because, firstly, she had no idea where Dumbledore was. Secondly, she had no idea as to why she needed to see Dumbledore. After walking for a while, her confusion seemed to calm down and she walked slowly. As she was turning a corner, she walked straight into a man, who, as fate would have it, was Professor Dumbledore.
"Sir, I've got to speak to you, please," she cried, as she took the hand the old man offered to help her off the floor.
"What's the matter?" the man's blue eyes twinkled with concern.
"Well- I don't really want to talk about it here, somewhere private would be better…" Lily trailed off; perhaps she was being too rude.
"Of course. Come into my office." The man led her to a stone gargoyle statue, which stood motionless. He muttered something that sounded like 'Bug guts', yet Lily couldn't be sure. He led her into a large circular room. Portraits were hung around the wall of different men and women, who, Lily presumed, were the previous Headmasters of Hogwarts. On the large desk, an extremely ugly bird sat; it seemed to have little or no feathers and was crumpled down, looking gnarled and twisted. Next to the bird sat a boy, who turned to face the people who had just entered the room. When he saw Lily, he spun around quickly, but Lily had already recognised him.
"Remus? What are you doing here?" she exclaimed, walking over to him. Remus coughed and looked meaningfully at Professor Dumbledore.
"Well, Lily, what are you doing here?"
"Lily here has something to talk to me about and as for you, Mr. Lupin, I have had a quick conference with the other teachers and we are working on something for your-uh-problem. You may go now," Dumbledore dismissed Remus, who walked out the door.
"Now, Lily, what is it you wanted to talk about," Dumbledore smiled at Lily, who sat down in the seat Remus had been occupying.
"Well, twice, since I've come to Hogwarts, I've had these-visions, I suppose. They're kind of like dreams, yet I'm not sleeping," Lily looked at the Professor's face; she didn't want to look like an idiot. "There has been a boy in it, the same one both times. He looks exactly like James Potter, do you know him?"
"I believe that he is one of the two responsible for putting frogs down Hetty Clam's back," Dumbledore replied, smiling.
"Yes, him. The boy is the spitting image of him, except for two things. This boy's eyes are an emerald green and he has a scar on his forehead, shaped like a lightning bolt. The first time it happened, the boy was saving this little red-haired girl and the second time, the boy was talking to a head in a fire when a red-haired boy came down the stairs. I know it seems stupid, but I don't think that they're dreams," Lily finished off.
"Quite right, they are in no way silly. If I'm recalling correctly, these 'visions' are probably premonitions, the foretelling of the future. Yes, I'm quite sure. This is by far a serious matter, as you may find out something horrendous," Dumbledore stated, fiddling with a quill on his desk.
"Now, don't get offended, but I wonder; you don't have any particular feelings for this James Potter, do you?" he continued delicately.
"What?" Lily exclaimed.
"Don't jump to any confusions, but you do know that your eyes are emerald green as well, don't you? Maybe, you are seeing your child or something…" Dumbledore stopped, gazing out the window in thought.
"Of course not! Sir, please, I assure you there is no 'particular feelings' at all!" Lily could feel her cheeks flush with anger. "I-I can't believe that you could even suggest that something was going on between him and me…" At that point, Lily remembered her manners and calmed down.
"Sir, I'm sorry, but your interpretation must be wrong. Perhaps I'm mistaken, and it is James or something. I'm not sure…" Lily felt that she could no longer stay in the office; her mind was not at ease. She stood up and made for the door. "Thank you, Sir, for your help. Goodnight."
"Goodnight," the old man replied, his blue eyes sparkling. Somehow, he didn't agree with Lily; he felt his interpretation was truthful enough.
Ψ~*~ Ψ
The blur of scarlet raced through out the field, weaving in and out of the scarlet and yellow. The crowd cheered as the Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team flew up into the air, his arm thrust triumphantly in the air, and the little gold wings of the Snitch fluttering weakly between his fingers. James cheered, jumping up. The first game and already Gryffindor was in the lead. He stared at the whirl of broomsticks across the field as the Gryffindor team applauded and hugged each other, balancing on their broomsticks fifty feet high. He'd only seen this one game, and already he knew that he wanted to be on the team; he wanted to be in the action.
Sitting down, his face flushed, he turned to Sirius and Remus.
"That was great! Did you see the way Kyrr caught that Snitch? Man, what would it be like to be on that field with half of Hogwarts cheering for you…" he looked wistfully out to the field.
James had only been at Hogwarts for three weeks and he had had the greatest times. He didn't think he would ever forget his first detention for putting frogs down Hetty's back. Just then, he heard a voice pipe up from his left.
"Wouldn't you feel scared?" Peter's quaky voice asked. James turned to face Peter. Peter had tagged behind them for so long, ever since he'd overheard them in the dormitory, that he'd eventually accepted into the group of friends.
"Me? Scared? Peter, how dare you even ask that sort of question!" he leant of Peter, glaring at him.
"I-I'm s-sorry, Ja-James," Peter quivered, cowering under James stare.
"Pete, I was joking," James said. He turned around to face the field again.
"Only time we can get him to stop thinking about Lily is when he's watching Quidditch," Remus whispered to Sirius. James turned around and looked at Remus.
"What was that?" he said, narrowing his eyes. Remus shrugged his shoulder and stretched out, deliberately ignoring James.
"Remus, take that back right now!" James yelled. People turned to look at them, but James ignored them.
"I thought you didn't know what I said," Remus replied calmly; he knew that the whole thing would blow over eventually.
James felt Peter tugging on the end of his robe. He turned around, irritated and stared into the (very ugly) face of Severus Snape.
"Well, Potter, I hear you enjoyed the game today. Just wait until Slytherin verse Gryffindor; you won't be in high spirits then. And, as for that girlfriend of yours, well, it looks like you won't be with her much longer…" Severus said, pointing to Lily and Chloe who were a few seats behind them, talking to a very handsome fourth year, who James recognised as Amos Diggory. James was at a loss for words; he couldn't think of anything to save himself.
"He just isn't a jealous loser like you, Snape. Of course he lets Lily talk to guys, he's not her father. Look, he'll even go over to her right now and kiss her. Go on James," Sirius said nudging James along.
"Oh yeah, is that so? Well, if Lily lets him kiss her, then Peter," Severus replied, snatching Peter's Remembrall off him, "-can have his toy back. If not, then I get to talk to Lily without you nob-jobs barging in every time I have a conversation with her. Agreed?"
Sirius nodded. James turned away from Severus, facing Sirius with a worried look on his face. Sirius crossed his fingers and discreetly slipped his wand out of his pocket, keeping an eye on Severus. Peter, who'd realised what was going on, distracted Severus by trying to get his Remembrall off him.
James walked over to Lily. Amos had gone and it was only Chloe and Lily there. He glanced back at the others; Sirius who muttered something under his breath and Severus with a smug grin on his face. James saw some gold sparks fly out of Sirius' wand and hit Lily's hand, who broke out into a huge smile and wrapped her arms around James.
"James!" she cried. "Where have you been?" As James opened his mouth to explain, Lily kissed him full on the lips, much to the amusement of those around them. She kept her arms around James and motioned for Chloe to follow them as James led them back towards Sirius and the others. Severus' face was pinched in distaste.
"Peter's Remembrall, please," Remus said to Severus, extending a hand, onto which Severus dropped the Remembrall. After that, he stormed off.
As they made their way up to the castle, Lily's arm was firm around James' waist and she gazed at him adoringly.
"Gosh, Sirius, what did you hit her with?" James asked in awe. Chloe, who was following close behind tut-tutted and shook her head, as if she expected something like this from them.
"Simple love charm. Should wear off in a couple of hours."
"A couple of hours!" James exclaimed, "I don't know if I could put up with this for that long, it's a bit sickly," he added as Lily played with his hair, admiring it as if it was the greatest thing in the world.
"Sure, whatever you think James," Remus laughed as James attempted to throttle Remus while making sure Lily did fall down and get trampled on by the students making their way up to the hall.
They walked in through the doors of the castle, the warmth greeting them. When they reached the Fat Lady, they were mighty confused to see Professor Dumbledore standing there. Upon seeing the six first years make their way up the steps, he smiled and hurried forward.
"Ahh, Remus, I've been hoping to speak to you," he said. "Please, come into my office, I've found the answer to your problem." With that, he ushered Remus down the hallway, as if in a great hurry. James and Sirius stared after him.
"What problem?" they both asked each other.
"Probably the one he was seeing Professor Dumbledore about a couple of weeks ago," Lily murmured. James and Sirius both froze and stared at Lily.
"When did he see Professor Dumbledore?" Sirius asked, peering intently at Lily.
"Oh, about the first week into term, when you two had the detention for putting frogs down Hetty's back in Potions, remember?" Lily climbed into the hole and right into the festivities; the whole of Gryffindor were celebrating their Quidditch win.
"Come on Lily," Chloe said, taking Lily's hand.
"No," Sirius stopped her. "We need to talk to her. It's okay, we'll only be a couple of minutes." He added, as Chloe cast him a doubtful look. She shrugged and walked up the steps to her dormitory. James and Sirius led Lily into their dormitory.
"Lily, where exactly did you see Remus that time?" Sirius asked, trying to get her from stroking James' face tenderly to listen to him. He sighed, annoyed. James looked at him and asked instead.
"Lily, where was it exactly you saw Remus?" he said delicately.
"In Dumbledore's office."
"What were you doing there?"
"That's private."
"Okay then. Do you know why Remus was in his office?"
"No, he left straight after I came."
"Oh, I see. And you didn't notice anything particular on the desk while Remus was there did you?"
"He had a book, something about werewolves, I think."
"Werewolves?"
"Yes, I'm pretty sure that's what it said. Why'd you ask?"
James and Sirius looked at each other and shrugged. They sat on the bed. By now, the charm had worn off and Lily was herself again.
"What on earth am I doing here?" she said, disgusted as she looked around at the boys messy dorm.
"Nothing. You can go if you want," Sirius replied, distracted.
"If I want, it's more like I need to! You guys should use this spray that my mum uses, gets rid of the smell after my dad's been to the toilet…" Sirius pushed Lily out the door.
As James and Sirius sat, pondering over what Lily had said, they heard Peter, who they hadn't acknowledged until then speak up.
"Uh, James? Sirius? You know, how Lily said that stuff about Remus and the book he had? Well, I was looking for my Remembrall and I kind of came across this book, hidden under Remus' bed…" Peter held up a thick book. On the side, in faded gold lettering, James and Sirius could make out, vaguely, the words All about Werewolves.
Ψ~*~ Ψ
A couple of days later, the whole school was gossiping about the tiny plant that had been added to the Forbidden Forest. It was a tiny sapling that desperately tried to fend off any trespassers. For some reason, Hagrid, who was Keeper of the Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts, had dubbed the tree the 'Whomping Willow'.
Typically, Sirius loved it. He begged the others to join him on nightly trips to the willow, in attempts to break off it's branches, yet they refused and, even though he couldn't admit it, Sirius was too scared to go by himself. Remus, however, hated talking about it. One night, in mid-November, the moon shone brightly in a full circle, penetrating through every window on the left side of the castle. James, Sirius and Peter had been playing wizards chess when they saw Remus sneak out of the hole.
Concerned, they left their game and snuck out, to follow him. After casting glances around the room, the crawled through the hole.
Lily looked at them from across the room.
"Probably up to no good," she muttered to Chloe, who was reading a book next to her. Lily had been in a foul mood ever since the Quidditch game and the charm they'd cast on her. She couldn't believe that she had kissed James, of all people. She couldn't remember a thing, yet Chloe had retold the story in full detail when Lily had staggered into the girl's dorm.
Lily looked at the letter on her lap. She'd just finished writing to her sister Petunia.
Dear Petunia,
Hi. How are you? How is everyone at home? I'm fine. Send my love to mum and dad!
So much exciting stuff has happened while I've been at Hogwarts. It as a shame that you weren't chosen to be a witch, but at least I'm able to tell you all about it (I wouldn't be able to, normally as I don't have an owl, but I've borrowed a school one). Firstly, I've been sorted into Gryffindor, one of the four houses at Hogwarts. There is also Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. I think that I've gotten into a good house, you wouldn't believe the rumours I've heard about Slytherin. It would be great in Gryffindor, if it weren't for these four really annoying boys. They're names are James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew.
I'm having the best time with my subjects, they're so much fun. I only wish that you were here with me, even though I've made a great friend. Her name is Chloe Longbottom and she is really nice. She's in Gryffindor, like me. She feels the same way about the annoying boys as I do; they tease her as well. Can you believe that last week they put a spell on me at the Quidditch game (Quidditch, by the way, is a game played fifty feet high on broomsticks) and made me kiss James!!!! I'm so angry at them, but I've got a plan. They'll regret ever doing that to me for the rest of their lives.
It is really hard finding my way around Hogwarts, it is so big. I'm getting used to it though. As you can see, I've run out of parchment so I'll have to leave it at this. I promise I'll send a longer letter later, okay?
Lots of love,
Your Sister,
Lily.
Satisfied, Lily folded the letter up.
"I'm going up to the Owlery. Wanna come?" she asked Chloe.
"Oh, no, I'll stay here, it's just getting to the good part," she said, referring to the book she was reading. Lily shrugged and walked out the hole. She never realised how dark Hogwarts could be; the only light cast on her was from the dim torches lining the walls. She turned around corners and walked up all the stairs before seeing the Owlery straight ahead of her. She sighed with relief; it had been getting a bit scary in the dark shadows of the suits of armour hanging on the walls.
Suddenly, she heard a rustling noise coming from behind her. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and she spun around quickly. Nothing. Warily, she walked towards the Owlery, aware of every movement around her. She was sure she'd just heard faint footsteps behind her. Holding her breath in fear, she stepped in the Owlery. Then a hand reached down and gripped her shoulder.
Ψ~*~ Ψ