Lily Evans stepped onto the Hogwarts Express, squaring her shoulders and putting on a brave face. She looked completely composed and confident, but inside her heart was thumping uncontrollably and her mind was racing. She found an empty compartment and sat in the window seat so she could wave goodbye to her family. As the train pulled away from Platform 9 ¾, the compartment door opened. A scrawny, nerdy looking boy peered in.
"Hello," Lily said, trying to smile. The boy didn't reply. He quickly backed out of the compartment and scurried away. Moments later the door opened again. Two older-looking girls entered, deep in conversation. They didn't even acknowledge the timid first year sitting alone across from them. Another scrawny boy, this one blond and very short, opened the door soon after, but he did not flee like the first one had. He smiled nervously at Lily.
"You a first year too?" he asked her, his voice thickly accented. German, Lily noted.
"Yes. What's your name?"
He sat next to her and extended a small hand. "I'm Freidrick Klein. I thought you may be older. You look older." It was true. Lily was tall for her age, and adults often thought she was older because she was so mature and poised.
"Good to meet you, Freidrick. I'm Lily Evans."
The two spent the rest of the train ride pleasantly, discussing their families, friends, homes and expectations for the next year. As the train slowed to a stop, Freidrick brought up the issue of houses. His older sister was a third year in Hufflepuff, Lily learned earlier.
"What houses are there, aside from Hufflepuff?" Lily asked her new friend.
"Ravenclaw, where the really intelligent go. And there's Gryffindor, for the daredevils and the like. And Slytherin, for the cunning . At least, that's how Anna described them all. She says Hufflepuff's the nicest."
"I'm certain there are nice people in every house," Lily said confidently. Looking across the compartment at the older girls, who still hadn't said a word to the two first years, Lily saw Hufflepuff crests on their robes, confirming in her mind that there were all sorts in each house.
"Which house do you hope to be in, Freidrick?"
"I really don't care too much. But my whole family's been in Hufflepuff all these years, so I think I'd like to be different." Lily smiled understandingly.
"I'm being different from my entire family just by coming here," she said with a grin. "Mum and Daddy went into shock when I got my letter. And my sister still thinks it's a joke. She expects I'll show up on the porch tomorrow to announce that there is no Hogwarts." Freidrick laughed.
"There's a Hogwarts, I can promise you that."
As the two followed the crowd of people off the train, the scrawny, nerdy boy who fled Lily's compartment earlier that day appeared behind them, with two others--a handsome, dark-haired boy and a rather owl-like boy with very unruly jet-black hair and wide hazel eyes framed by owl-like spectacles. Lily frowned at the nerdy boy and turned to talk to Freidrick.
"What's this girl got against you, Pete?" the owl asked. The nerdy boy shrugged.
"She's pretty," the handsome boy said, looking Lily up and down in a way that made her feel very awkward. Lily moved closer to Freidrick.
"Eh, I've seen prettier," the owl said. "And she seems like a snob."
"James Potter!" someone squealed from behind them. A girl came running up to the owl and embraced him hungrily. So his name is James Potter? Lily mused. And she remembered it from that moment on, for James Potter was the first boy she ever in her life distinctly disliked.