Disclaimer: I don't own any of the character's except for Taylor Brooks and Tabitha. To own them I would have to be JKR which I am not. Thanks for taking the time to read this and I would appreciate it if you took the time to review it when you're done. Thanks!

Chapter One: The Train Ride

Lily sat nervously on the Hogwarts Express in an empty compartment. She could hear and see the other students yelling and running up and down the train car. Suddenly a black haired boy and a brown haired girl burst into the compartment, closed the door, and ducked under two seats, holding in laughter and completely oblivious to the fact that Lily was sitting there. A greasy haired boy with an angry expression on his face stormed past the compartment. The two leapt out from under their seats still laughing and suddenly realized that Lily was in the compartment. The boy took a bow. " I am........drumroll please...." The girl started drumming on the wall and the boy's mischevious eyes danced. " I am Sirius Black." He bowed and Lily grinned. " Hi, I'm Lily Evans." The brown haired girl spun mockingly grandly in a circle. " And I am Taylor Brooks. Sirius is my cousin." Sirius took the liberty to explain. " You see, our parents are related , her mom and my dad, through a second marraige on my grandfather's part." Lily nodded. " So you guys are going to be first years, too?" Sirius nodded excitedly. " Yup! And we're going to break records!" Lily smiled. " What kind of records?" Taylor sat down " Oh, you know, pranks, detentions, you name it." she said casually. Lily was about to respond when a boy with jet black hair and emerald green eyes burst in. Lily looked at him. "Hi. Welcome to the compartment for refugees." The boy grinned apologetically. " Sorry, I just need a place to hide while the slobbering hex I put on Snape wears off. I'm James Potter, by the way." " Lily Evans." " Sirius Black." " Taylor Brooks." Sirius looked at James. " Did you really do that to Severus?" " Of course!" James answered matter-of-factly. " Cool! Grab a seat! Lily was just about to tell us about herself." Lily glanced around in surprise. " I-I was?" Taylor nodded. " Okay,.... I have a mom, a dad, and a Petunia that's suposed to be my sister but really isn't because I was adopted, thank heavens because I don't know if I could handle being blood related to her, which explains why I'm the only magical person in that family." Lily babbled and when she was done panted for breath. James held out his hand. " Then welcome to the wizarding world." Lily shook his hand. " Thank you!" she said jokingly. The four heard a shout from the front of the train saying that they were almost at Hogwarts, so they threw on their robes. " The first thing I'm doing when I get to Hogwarts is trying out for the House Quidditch team!" said Taylor. " Of course that's after we pull of an opening prank." Sirius reminded her. James's green eyes lit up. " Pranks? Can I join in? I'll take you up in Quidditch,too!" " Sure, " said Sirius, " But you'll have a hard time beating Tay on a broomstick!" Lily just sat listening to their conversation trying to learn all that she could. " So what're you planning for this year, Lily?" Taylor brushed a loose strand of hair out of her eyes. Lily shrugged. " I really have no idea." She was just about to be bombarded with ideas from her new-found friends, when a girl with dark black shoulder length hair, lots of eyeliner, black eyeshadow, and dark lipstick burst in. All conversation ceased at her entrance and Sirius suddenly got very tense. " What do you want Tabby?" he asked restrainedly. A malicious grin graced Tabby's face. " Who're your little friends, Scumface?" she taunted. " Don't insult my friends." Sirius replied through gritted teeth. " I can't believe you're making friends with girls. Of course, there is one boy in here." she looked directly at Taylor. " Well at least I have friends." retorted Sirius noticing that she was alone. " Yeah? Well you just wait until you're in my house little brother!" Tabby stormed off and Sirius relaxed visibly. James let go of Taylor, who he'd had to restrain in order to keep her from attacking the gothic-looking girl. She immediately began to fume and called Tabby some names that Lily hadn't expected her to know. She'd never heard of some of them! " Ooooo! The nerve of that girl! If James hadn't held me back I woulda pounded her for what she called me! Sirius! Why do you let her pick on you?! Why don't you stand up to her?!" Sirius looked at Taylor, his eyes dark. " You know why." " Oh...right...that..." Taylor fell silent. The mood in Lily's compartment had become very tense. " Uh...who was that?" Lily asked quietly. Sirius jumped. He'd been absorbed in his own thoughts. " Oh, that's just my stupid sister Tabitha. She's a fourth year." " What house is she in?" " So! What should we do for our opening prank?" Sirius asked cheerfully, obviously avoiding Lily's question. James and Sirius began to conspire and Tay sat down by Lily. " What was that about?" asked Lily. " Tabitha is a Slytherin. And ...you know what that means." she answered quietly. " Yeah, but why did he react like that?" " He and his sister...uh...don't exactly get along." she said slowly. Taylor's eyes grew concerned, but the moment passed. " Let's help the guys with the prank! Oh, and don't tell Sirius about this conversation." Lily nodded in agreement and followed Taylor over to Sirius and James. This was just the train ride and already things were getting interesting!