Chapter 1: First Classes and Prejudices
"Beep beep." Eleven year old Lily Evans stirred and sat up in bed, yawning as she did so. It took her a moment to realize she was at Hogwarts. She sighed and jumped out of bed to get dressed. Today was the first day of classes and Lily was very nervous. What if she couldn't keep up with the other students? What if she couldn't do magic? Yesterday on the train after she had escaped from those two awful boys with Severus, she spent the rest of the ride reading her textbooks, hoping to keep up with the class. She finished dressing and grabbed her stuff when she realized no one else in her dorm was up yet. She checked her watch. It was nearly eight o'clock. "Um... It's time for breakfast!" She said aloud to the room. The curtains on the bed closest to Lily opened up and a round-faced, blonde haired girl poked her head out. "Is it that time already? I knew I shouldn't have stayed up late last night." She grumbled. Then looking at Lily, she smiled. "Oh sorry! My name's Alice. Alice Dearborn. Lily smiled back. " Lily Evans." Alice rolled out of bed. "Why don't you go down to breakfast, I'll wake the other girls." Lily nodded and descended the staircase.
She had taken a few steps out of the portrait hole when she realized she didn't know how to get to the Great Hall. Last night, when the prefect had led them to the common room, she had been in too much awe to watch where they were going and thus, she had no clue how to get there. "Need help finding your way?" Lily turned around and saw a tall, brown-haired girl climbing out of the portrait hole. "Y-yes please. I can't remember how to get down." She said. The girl smiled. " Are you a first year? Yeah, I thought so. I'm Dorcas by the way. I"m a third year." Lily followed Dorcas down multiple staircases and at last, they reached the Great Hall. "Well, we're the first Gryffindors here." Said Dorcas, waving at several people at different tables. They sat down in the middle of one of the tables. "This is where I always sit. You should stay here, you'll get to meet the other first years." Said Dorcas. Lily nodded and noticed the staff table. The teachers were all sitting there in discussion with one another. She saw Professor McGonagall, the strict woman who had done the sorting talking to Professor Dumbledore. Dumbledore caught Lily's eye and smiled. Lily couldn't help but smile back.
Five minutes later. the doors to the Great Hall burst open and people filled up the long tables. Alice Dearborn sat down next to Lily. "Hey Lily! This is Marlene Mckinnon and Mary Macdonald. They exchanged greetings. All the way up and down the table, people were introducing themselves. "I'm pure blood, my family lives in London." Said Marlene. "Oh, I've heard of you, the Mckinnons are blood traitors right?" Said Sirius Black. Marlene's eyes narrowed. "Yes we are Black and I'm proud of it!" Sirius grinned. "Relax, I didn't mean it that way." An older Gryffindor boy looked at him from across the table. "Black, we all know your family. They're one of the oldest, purest..." "And craziest families around yeah." Sirius finished for him. James laughed. The older boy however glared at him. " You ought to have been in Slytherin!" "Oi! Watch your mouth dung head!" James snapped.
Lily heard her name being called and she looked up. Mary was looking at her. "Lily, where are you from?" "I live in Cokeworth." She replied. "What do your parents do?" "My parents are muggles and they own a store near Spinner's End." Mary looked thrilled. "Ooh! You're muggle-born too! I was so worried I thought I was gonna be the only one!" Lily felt her spirits raise, knowing that she wasn't the only one in this predicament. Professor McGonagall passed out their schedules and pretty soon the bell rang, sending Lily to Charms.
"Hello Class!" Squeaked Professor Flitwick, a tiny, balding wizard. "I will be teaching you the basics of Charms this year. But first, roll call everyone!" Once they had all said their names, Flitwick climbed back atop his chair. Lily saw James potter and Sirius black sniggering out of the corner of her eye. They had been mean to Severus on the train and now they were making fun of a teacher? "Alright Class. Today, we will be practicing the levitation charm. The incantation is Wingardium Leviosa." He demonstrated the wand movement and passed out feathers. "Okay, let's go everyone!" Lily rolled up her sleeves and stared at her flower.
Doubt started to creep into her mind. Could she really do this? What if she couldn't and they sent her back home? To Petunia?"
She snapped out of her thinking when Alice set her feather on fire and Frank Longbottom rushed over and smothered it with his robes. Alice was stammering her thanks to him and he was blushing as he returned to his seat. Turning her attention back to her feather, Lily took a deep breath. "Okay. Wingardium Leviosa." To her shock and pleasure, her feather rose steadily towards the ceiling. "Oh my! Miss Evans has it!" Squeaked Professor Flitwick. Alice was staring at her in awe and even Potter looked impressed. By the end of class, only Lily, Remus, Marlene and a Ravenclaw boy had managed to do the charm. As they filed out of the room, Flitwick smiled at Lily. "You have an affinity for Charms Miss Evans. Good luck in your next class." Lily smiled at him. "Thank you professor." Someone tapped her arm. It was Remus. "Lily, that was some great spell work!" He said smiling. Lily grinned at him. "Thanks Remus, and you too!" She heard someone groan and turned around. It was Potter. "We have potions with the Slytherins now." He was saying to Black. Lily felt excitement pull at her mind. She couldn't wait to see Severus again. She wondered if he had made any new friends and hoped that she would still be his best friend.
As the Gryffindors entered the potions classroom, Lily spotted Severus sitting in the front and sat down next to him. "Hey Sev!" She squealed. He grinned at her. "Hey Lily, I haven't seen you for a while!" People were giving them strange looks. "Hey Evans! Why are you sitting up there with Snivellus? Come back here!" Potter called from the back. Lily bristled. "Don't call him that!" She snapped. "And I'd rather sit with him than with you!" Just then, the teacher entered the room. He was a large man with a moustache that make him look like a walrus. He sat down in his chair, which made a loud squeaking noise. The class tittered. "Well, hello class!" He said brightly. "I am Professor Slughorn, the head of Slytherin House and leader of the Slug Club. If any of you shows great talent and wit in your years with me, you will be allowed to attend." Some people frowned at his pompousness, Lily included. Slughorn proceeded to walk around the room talking to his students. "Avery! How's your father? I remember when he was in this very classroom! Say hello to him for me would you? There's a good boy..." He passed by the boys in the back of the room. " Mr. Black! I was so distressed when you were sorted into Slytherin and out of my hands!" Sirius just shrugged and grunted. Slughorn seemed unperturbed by his response and turned to James. "Ah, Mr. Potter. How is your father doing?" "He's on a mission now, says he'll be back soon." Said James. Slughorn nodded vigorously. "Yes, all the great Aurors do that don't they?" He swept past Lily and Severus without a word. "Alright class, I thought we'd start the year with something fun. You will brew me your best concoction of unicorn hairs, minced roots and beetles.
"One. Two. Three. GO!" He shouted. People moved very slowly as if to mock Slughorn for his eagerness. Lily returned with the materials. "Here." She said to Severus, handing him the knife.
Lily found herself actually enjoying herself. Each step seemed easier than the last and she finished right when Slughorn yelled, "TIMES UP!" He passed by, checking everyone's cauldrons. "Er, Mulciber. That is an unflattering shade of brown I'm afraid." "Oi Mulciber! What a nice looking potion you've got there!" Potter yelled across the room. Mulciber made to stand up but Slughorn seated him. "That is...alright Pettigrew." He said grimacing at Peter's potion which was black. Lily was busy inspecting her fingernails when she heard Slughorn say." Oh my, it's perfect! Lovely shade of green." She realized that he was talking about Severus and her. He bent down. "Now what is your name dear?" "Lily Evans sir." "And your parents are...?" "Muggles sir." Slughorn's eyebrows went up and Lily felt a stab of annoyance. Her teacher was prejudiced too? But then Slughorn laughed loudly and nodded. "Fantastic job you two master potioneers! And twenty points to Gryffindor and Slytherin." Lily blushed as people looked that them from all over the classroom.
When class ended, Lily was talking with Severus outside the room when Alice caught up to her. "Wow Lily! Nice job on the twenty points." She noticed Severus and nodded. "Snape." Severus grunted. "I'll see you later Lily." He stalked off sullenly. Alice looked at her, frowning. "I don't know why you're friends with him." "We've been friends since we were nine." Said Lily. "Yes I know. It's just strange you know? A Gryffindor befriending a Slytherin. Everyone was talking about it in class." Lily frowned. "Well, I'm not gonna let some rivalry affect my friendship with Sev."
"He'll be just like them soon."
Lily whirled around and saw James Potter standing behind her. "What do you mean?" She asked narrowing her eyes. "Slytherin's full of crazy pure blood extremists and before long, they'll corrupt him to think just like them." Lily felt anger boiling in her chest. "No he won't! He told me before we came here that it doesn't matter if you're muggle-born or not!" James nodded earnestly. "Of course it doesn't matter, but he's in with a bad crowd."
"He's not like the others, he's a good person." Said Lily and she walked off, more determined than ever to keep her relationship with Severus intact.
It was nearly dinner time and Lily was sitting in an armchair by the fire finishing her first homework assignments. Nearly everyone had already left for dinner. She finished the last sentence and put it in her bag, deciding to hurry down to dinner. This time, she remembered the way down and had reached the Great Hall when a snide voice said. "Hey carrot top." She turned and saw a blonde haired Slytherin prefect smirking at her. "Yes?" she asked politely. "I've heard from certain people that you're something of a star pupil in your classes aren't you." He sneered. "I don't know about that..." Lily began, feeling uncomfortable with the stares they were receiving as she made her way to the Gryffindor table. "I agree." The prefect said coldly. "You don't belong here with us, untainted pure bloods. You will never be anything but a mudblood." He whispered in her ear. She felt a chill down her spine. Just then someone said, "Leave her alone." She looked up and saw the entire Gryffindor table standing up and glaring daggers at the prefect. "Back off Malfoy!" Snarled an older girl. She looked at Lily. "Are you alright? Did he do anything to you?" She asked. Lily shook her head. The girl took her to the other first years and they sat down.
"Lily!" Said Alice from across from her. "What did he say to you?" Lily shrugged."Just some stuff about how the supposedly the teachers like me." Alice raised an eyebrow. "Is that all?" Lily looked at her friend and shook her head. "He- he said I shouldn't be here because I'm muggle-born." She whispered. "What? Damn that nasty, evil Slytherin!"
"Evans! Hey, Evans!" Lily looked up to see Sirius seated diagonally across from her. "Don't listen to a word that scum says to you." He said sharply. "I've grown up listening to that crap and I think It's disgusting! None of it's true!" Marlene was looking at Sirius with an odd expression on her face. Lily was surprised by his words and smiled slightly. "He hasn't left yet." Said Remus and they all turned to see Malfoy sneering at the twins Gideon and Fabian, who were looking murderous. "You leave her alone Malfoy!" Yelled Fabian. Malfoy saw her looking and walked towards them.
"So, redhead, have you thought about what I've said?" He smirked. "No." Snapped Lily. "And can you please go back to your own table?" Malfoy drew bent down. "I hear you're friends with young Severus over there. Shame, he could do so much better than you, don't you think?" Lily could feel her anger returning. "He's ten times the wizard you are!" She growled. "He only hangs around you because he lusts after you silly girl." Said Malfoy.
"What?!" Lily yelped. James Potter stood up. "Get. The. Hell. Out of here Malfoy, before I hex you." He snarled savagely. Malfoy laughed and said once more."Remember what I said prissy little redhead." He stood up, straightened his tie and ran a hand through his hair. Suddenly, there was a loud bang and Malfoy was flying across the Great Hall. Lily jumped violently and turned around to see Potter's wand tip smoking at the tip. He was smirking at her arrogantly. "Alright carrot top?"
Lily could not believe he had just called her that. "That's what Malfoy calls me sometimes." She said quietly. James seemed to realize his mistake and looked sheepish. Peter looked at James in awe. "How did you do that?" He asked. James laughed. "I don't know, I just said the first curse that came to mind." Remus tapped him on the arm. "I think you've outdone yourself mate." They all looked at Malfoy, who was struggling to get up with the aid of Professor McGonagall and was dancing violently, his arms and legs swinging all over the place and smacking McGonagall in the face several times. James shrugged. "He deserved it."
"Uh, James?" Said Remus wearily. "What?" Remus pointed. James turned to see a very angry-looking Professor McGonagall with a red hand mark on her face. "JAMES POTTER!" James took a step backwards and tripped over his chair, sending him tumbling to the floor at McGonagall's feet. Everyone laughed at him and even Lily smiled a bit. McGonagall placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright Miss Evans?" Lily nodded. "I"m fine professor." McGonagall smiled at her. "The other professor's tell me that you are one of the brightest students in your year." Lily blushed. "Thank you professor." McGonagall then turned her attention to James. "And Mr. Potter." She said, her lips disappearing into a thin line. He gulped, still sprawled on the floor. "Do get up off the floor!" She snapped.
He refused. "Detention for cursing a prefect." "What? But I was provoked!" He said indignantly. McGonagall narrowed her eyes at him. "He was messing with Evans! I had good reason to.." "Enough. you're lucky you only get a detention and no house points are being deducted. She said crisply. "Tomorrow night at Seven o'clock in my office, am I clear?" "Yes, Professor." He grumbled from the floor.
Once McGonagall left, they all laughed at him. "Bad luck mate." Smirked Sirius. James looked up at him smirking back. "You owe me three galleons." Sirius looked confused. "What? Oh! Damn it!" He cried. "Why does he owe you three galleons?" Asked Marlene, laughing. "We made a bet to see who would get the first detention." Said James. Remus rolled his eyes. "Well, are you gonna get up off the floor or what?" James turned to Lily. "I can't." He said in a flat voice.
Lily got out of her seat and helped him up. He looked surprised and she suddenly realized that they were holding hands. His hand felt warm in hers and she found herself looking up into his eyes, which she noticed, were a soft, hazel. James was staring back at her intently and she felt a blush creeping up her cheeks. People were wolf whistling at them and their friends were staring at them. Potter seemed to realize he was in danger of losing his dignity. He cleared his throat and smirked at everyone. "Well, what are you all looking at? Do you like what you see?" He flexed his biceps and girls from all around the room giggled. Lily sat down in a hurry and dug into her potatoes ferociously. Alice and Mary gave her knowing looks. She ignored them and stuffed her face with food. In ten minutes, she was stuffed to the brim and leaned back in her seat nearly toppling backwards if not for Remus grabbing her arm. She blushed gratefully and he smiled. Lily had not forgotten about Malfoy's statements, but now, all she could think about was her soft bed awaiting in the dormitory.