Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter (although I wish I do) so don't sue
Chapter One: New Friends
The compartment was too crowded for Lily's liking. Lily Luna Potter preferred quiet, empty places. She wasn't exactly claustrophobic, but cramped spaces made her nervous.
Unfortunately, the compartment she sat in for her first year on the Hogwarts Express made her feel very nervous indeed.
At first, it had only been her and her two brothers; James Sirius – Hogwarts prankster, part of the Marauder2s, and fourth year at Hogwarts – and Albus Severus – top of the class, bookworm nerd, and third year at Hogwarts.
But her cousins started to pop in and most decided to stay because they couldn't find their own compartments.
Rose, Albus, and a few of their friends began a deep conversation – physically and metaphorically – about the books they read over the summer. Fred, James, Louis, Hugo (how Hugo got in since he was only a first year too was a mystery to Lily) and some of their friends then began plotting the pranks they would pull this year. Dominique and Roxanne then dragged their friends in so they could gossip about what was the latest style on robes – what is it embroidery or geometric shapes? – according to Witchly Fashion and did they see the six-pack abs and muscles Greg got from his summer job?
Finally, Lily couldn't take it anymore. She stood up abruptly and swung her bag over her shoulder. She ignored the stares as she pushed past people.
But as soon as she got into the hall, someone grabbed her wrist. Lily turned around and saw James standing behind her; his large, tanned hands gripping her thin, pale wrist.
"Something wrong, dear brother?" Lily asked cheerfully.
"Yes, actually." James didn't seem very happy at all. "Where are you going?"
"Well, it seems like the compartment was getting a little crowded, so I decided to go find a quieter space."
"I can get some of them to leave," James offered.
Lily sighed. She didn't want to make a scene, but she'd have to hurry it up if she didn't want people trying to get by them. "None of the others seem to mind it much, and besides, it's much easier to move one person who's willing to go than a group of complaining people."
"Mum and Dad told me to look after you," James protested.
He could be such a sweet brother at times. "I'm not the little girl who ran to you from nightmares anymore. I can take care of myself now, James. Thanks though."
"I just don't want you alone," James tried feebly. "Some of these people – especially the Slytherin –are quite...mean, Lils."
"She won't be alone," said a new voice. The siblings turned around to see William Longbottom, a close friend of the Potters (and Weasleys), carrying two trunks and trying to fit them both through the doorway at one time. He grinned sheepishly. "You forgot your trunk."
"Thanks," Lily said, taking her trunk from Will.
James sighed. "Fine. But if you get into any trouble at all –"
"Bye James," Lily interrupted. "See you at Hogwarts."
Lily and Will went down until the end of the train, where they managed to find a compartment that was empty except for one boy. He was small, so they concluded that he was a first year too.
"Can we sit here?" Lily asked.
The boy looked up from the book he was reading. He had pale skin and white-blonde hair. His wide grey eyes swept over Will and Lily and mumbled a "Sure" before delving back into the story, curling up even closer to the wall. He must be pretty shy, Lily thought.
Will helped Lily with her trunk and the two of them sat opposite the boy.
An awkward silence settled in and Lily wanted to pull out the journal her mother had given her, saying that it's always good to record your feelings and such, but had this strong urge to talk to the boy. "Hi. My name's Lily Potter and this is my friend Will Longbottom."
The boy's eyes widened and he quickly shoved his book in his bag. He began to pull down his trunk when Lily suddenlybecame irritated at the automatic two reactions to her last name. It was always either "Merlin! You're Harry Potter's daughter, aren't you? L..L...Lily, right? You look just like your grandmother. Your brothers must take after your dad" or "Your father was lucky when he faced the Dark Lord. You Potters are too confident anyways." "Sit down, Malfoy," Lily snapped. "I'm not gonna hex you just because of your last name. Besides, I don't even know how to properly use a wand."
"You knew?" Malfoy asked, shocked.
"Of course. 'No one's as pale as a Malfoy boy'," Lily quoted, "or so my uncle Ron always says, anyways." She shrugged. "But enough about that; I want us to be friends."
Scorpius wasn't the only one who stood up at that. "What?" Will asked, stunned.
"Shush, Will," Lily hushed. "It doesn't have to include you, you know."
"James'll still have a fit," Will warned. He knew the fourth year Gryffindor well; his parents had stopped by the Potters' house countless times and he had been thrown together with the kids.
"James doesn't have to be friends with him," Lily pointed out. "Besides, I'm perfectly old enough to make my own decisions, as I so very often have to remind James - and apparently everyone else, too."
"Whatever," Will relented, pulling out a deck of cards. "But you might as well count me in; someone's gotta watch you." Lily rolled her eyes. "Now who wants to play exploding snap?"
"My dad won't be jumping for joy, but he's usually not home so Mum'll probably tell him," Scorpius said. "And as for exploding snap, you're gonna be begging for a rematch Weasley."
Will snorted. "We'll see, Malfoy."
As it came down to it, Lily realized as she watched the two pass out the cards, boys will always be boys.
After a few explosions, Lily decided that she should at least tell James where they were. And besides, she was choking on all of the ash in the air.
But just as she stood up, the door to the compartment banged open and a raven-haired girl burst in. She had her hands covering her face and was obviously crying.
Lily frowned. She didn't like bullies and somebody - probably a higher year - had obviously been picking on the girl. But she needed to comfort the girl first, since she knew from experience that guys did NOT have much experience with that.
Lily placed a reassuring hand on the girl's arm. "What's wrong?"
The girl sniffled and looked up. She had warm, chocolaty eyes and long lashes that stood out, since she had a perfect golden tan. "Some fourth years were...were..."
Fourth years? Lily narrowed her eyes. It was possible, but what was the likelihood that...? "Did one have messy, reddish-brown hair?"
To her surprise, instead of becoming more upset, the girl actually began to smile and she giggled. "Yeah and he looked really hot. There was also -"
"A boy with flaming red hair and freckles," Lily finished. "Yeah I know. He's my cousin. And that jerk? That's my brother James. You can ignore him."
"Wow," the girl said. "Your family's really good-looking."
Lily laughed, and then blushed when she realized that that included her too. "Thanks. It's mostly cuz my dad appears in the papers so much that it's automatic to try to look your best in my family."
"I think my dad used to date your mom," the girl randomly blurted out.
"What's your name?"
"Oh sorry! I'm Diana. Diana Corner. My dad's Michael Corner and my mom Cho Chang."
"My dad used to date your mom, you know," Lily said. "And I'm Lily. Lily Potter."
"Do any of you girls want to play?" Scorpius asked suddenly, startling Diana. Both he and Will were covered in soot, but Scorpius was the one who was grinning so Lily concluded that Will's skills still needed some fine tuning.
"Di – do you mind if I call you Di? – these are my friends Will Longbottom and Scorpius Malfoy. Guys, this is Diana Thomas. And no, I don't think I'll play. We're bound to reach Hogwarts soon and I don't want anything messing up my robes."
"Perfectionist," Will muttered under his breath. Scorpius and Diana laughed while Lily glared daggers at her longtime friend.
"But do you think the Sorting's gonna be scary?" Di asked. "My dad told me all about the principle of the Sorting but...he never actually told me how we were Sorted."
"James told me that we have to fight one of the professors," Lily confided. "I think I'm gonna pick Slughorn; he is a slug, after all."
The four managed to keep a straight face for five full seconds before doubling over in fits of laughter. Actually, it wasn't that funny, but there was something that compelled the four.
"Let's make a pact," Lily gasped out between giggles. "No matter what House we're Sorted in, we'll always be friends." The other three agreed immediately.
And thus began the forming of the quad.
Sky: Not very interesting, I know. I promise I'll put something fun soon.
