A/N: Ok so I had one person reading this. I'm hoping to get more than that this time around. I started re-writing this chapter last night, and the rest of it just flowed. It is now twice as long as it was the first time I posted it, and I'm a lot happier with the beginning. Enjoy the revised version of chapter one.

Lily Evans was just a normal eleven year old girl, that was, until the letter came.

Lily was sitting at the kitchen table making her breakfast just like every other morning. When she heard the flap of the mail slot close, she went to the door to pick up their usual horde of letters. She flipped through them as she usually did, halfheartedly looking to see if there was anything for her. She was about to put the stack down when she saw the last letter. It was addressed to her in emerald green ink. The envelope was thick, and had a slight yellowish tint to it. She flipped it over. On the back was a red wax seal, depicting a snake, badger, eagle, and lion around a capital 'H'. She popped the wax with her thumbnail and opened it. The first page of the letter said:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Ms. Evans,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

The second page was a list of all of the supplies that she would need for school. She had no idea how she was going to get all of this, but she assumed that her parents would know, her parents knew everything. When her parents came down for breakfast, she showed them the letter. An hour later, Professor McGonagall showed up and helped them purchase all of her school things. She also explained some things about the wizarding world. Lily was excited to go to a school for magic. For the next few months until September, Lily was having a difficult time containing her excitement.

Finally, September came. Lily had managed to locate another witch who told her how to get onto the platform. The witch had a daughter Lily's age. Her name was Alice. The got on the train and started talking about how excited they were to start school and soon became good friends. Just before the train started moving, another girl starting first year came in and introduced herself as Marlene McKinnon. She joined the conversation and was easily accepted into the growing group of friends. Then the train started moving, making the girls even more excited, they couldn't wait to get to the school.

After an hour of travelling, two boys came in and sat down. They seemed nice, and normal at first, but the girls soon realized that they were far from it. They told them that they were James Potter and Sirius Black. They then proceeded to put on a ridiculous show of jokes. The whole situation was strange, though comical, and the girls weren't sure exactly what to think of the two.

After the strange pair left, the trio sat in silence before bursting out laughing. Alice regained composure first and said, "Well, that was... interesting." The others nodded in agreement. "I hate him" Lily deadpanned seriously. "Who? Potter, or Black?" Marlene asked, her attention now drawn to Lily. "Potter, theres just something about him that feels off, he just irritates me for some reason. Like you know, when you just don't like someone." she replied hotly. "Hey! Don't start yelling at me, you're the one who brought it up!" Marlene replied defensively. Lily sighed in defeat and settled down to read her transfiguration textbook. The other two looked at her warily, watching her to make sure she didn't explode again.

The rest of the trip passed rather uneventfully (thank goodness). After a while a voice echoed throughout the train announcing that they would be arriving at the school in ten minutes, and reminding the students that they needed to be in their robes before unboarding the train and that their luggage was to be left on the train, as it would be taken to the school separately. The three exited onto the platform and heard a loud booming voice yell, "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" They found the source of the voice to be a man at least three times the size of a normal human. The man led them to a vast lake the size unlike any lake Lily had ever seen in her life. They climbed into a boat and the man shouted, "FORWARD!" and the boats glided across the glassy surface towards the cliffside.

When they reached the castle, they were led into a small room to wait to be sorted. Potter and Black came over to Lily, Alice, and Marlene. They had two more boys with them, a short slightly chubby boy with a rat-like face whose name was Peter Pettigrew, and a boy with sandy brown hair and amber eyes who introduced himself as Remus Lupin. Lily liked Remus, he was nice, quiet, and from the five minutes she had spent talking to him, intelligent as well. When McGonagall came back, they all got in line and walked behind the professor. She led them into the Great Hall, where all of the other students were waiting. They walked down the middle of the hall, many of them, including Lily, were staring at the ceiling, which she found out was enchanted to look like the sky outside. Professor McGonagall stopped them at the front of the room, and had them stand on the platform where the staff table was. Then she set down the stool she was holding in her hand and set an old looking, tattered hat on it. Lily was confused. She had no idea what a hat had to do with what house they were sorted into. Then the hat began to sing, and the entire situation made a little more, and a little less sense. Lily didn't really pay attention to the song, she was too focused on the fact that the hat was singing. The song ended and McGonagall pulled a scroll from her robes. She began to call peoples names. Apparently, the hat could read your mind and then it would decide what house to put you in based on your thoughts. It didn't make much sense to Lily, but she figured that it didn't matter.

Then her name was called. She walked over to the stool, picked up the hat, sat down, and placed the hat on her head. She was nervous. A lot of not so positive thoughts ran through her head. Things like, 'What if I'm not sorted into the same house as Alice and Marlene?' 'What if the other people in my house don't like me?' Then a voice was in her head. 'Calm down child, you'll be fine!' Lily was startled, it wasn't normal to have voices in your head. After the shock died down, she realized, with some help, that the voice was the Sorting Hat. They had a conversation about her, and the hat sorted her into Gryffindor. It was great. She waited patiently, and before she knew it, the name Marlene McKinnon was called, and Marlene was sitting next to her at the Gryffindor table. A few moments later, the name James Potter was called. She crossed her fingers, hoping that he wouldn't be sorted into Gryffindor. To her dismay, he was. Next was Alice Prentiss. She also joined them at the table. The rest of the sorting she didn't pay attention to. After it was finished, McGonagall rolled up her scroll, picked up the stool and hat, and walked away. Then the headmaster spoke, and dinner appeared. It was more food than Lily had ever seen in her entire life. She piled food on her plate and began eating. Potter harassed her for the entire meal, and when dinner was over, and the prefects led them to the common room, and he bothered her even more. It was just before she fell asleep that Lily realized that it was going to be a long seven years.