Heart of Fire, Named by a Flower
Chapter One
Welcome to Hogwarts
Lily bounded up the steps of the Hogwarts express, her trunk swinging in one hand, a small screech owl clinging to one shoulder. She was early. Sighing, she sat down in an empty compartment to wait. She knew no one else who was going to Hogwarts, and waiting for someone to come made her nervous. The silence seemed endless, and she was exceedingly aware of her own breath and heart-beat. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, footsteps rang in her ears. Lily started. The noise was a shock after so much silence. The door to the compartment creaked open and another girl walked in.
"Hello! I'm Molly, Molly Richardson! Can I sit here?"
Lily smiled. "Sure. Lily Evans." She moved to make room for the girl, then held out her hand.
Molly took it, before beginning to chatter. She showed Lily a small cage holding a miniature
great horned owl.
"Your owl is adorable Lils! I love animals!"
Molly chattered on about her family, pets, Hogwarts, and literally anything she could think of.
Lily was content to listen, and add her own impute every once in a while. She was glad of Molly's company. When the snack cart arrived Molly ordered for the two of them, since Lily knew nothing about magical sweets. They enjoyed testing Botty Bert's Every Flavor Beans, and Molly talked about the different famous wizard and witch cards from the chocolate frogs. It wasn't long before they needed to change in to their school uniforms.
Afterwards, while Lily sat, sipping some cool pumpkin juice, as the train came to a halt,
something flew across the room, landing in her cup. It was only a few seconds before a miniature firework shot out of it. She glanced up quickly. A gangly, hazel eyed boy with messy black hair was watching her intently. Molly observed the events from her own seat, in the part closest to the window. Neither Lily nor James noticed her at the moment. Lily whipped out her wand, smirking. Well, I'd been wanting to try out that curse I'd read about...
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Lily Evans stepped off The Hogwarts Express and glanced expressionlessly at her new surroundings. A large lake stretched out before them, light reflecting off of the rippling water. A lawn of assorted types of grass, and small weeds covered the ground. Several odd trees were scattered across the lawn. The castle its self stretched up so high that she could barely see the top. The stones it was made of were a dark gray that was nearly black, but they shone too, reflecting the light, so that in many places you could see only the reflected light instead of the color of the stones. There were four spiraling towers, the tallest of which had a balcony. It would be wonderful to be able to be able to go up there at night, to gaze into the moon and stars...
Lily 's thoughts were interrupted as Molly Richardson, a new friend Lily had met on the train, dashed down the steps of the train after Lily. The girl's long black robes swayed in the wind, while her bright red hair simply flew. She had smooth, pretty skin and rosy cheeks, a slightly round face and wide brown eyes. She reached Lily, and then her eyes widened as she took in her surroundings for the first time.
"Wow!" she exclaimed, amazed. "I mean my folks said it would be nice here an' all, but I
never expected it to be this nice or impressive! What do you think, Lily?" Molly asked eagerly.
"Sure." Lily responded, smiling mildly for her friend's sake. As far as she could tell it looked
wonderful, but she wasn't about to judge Hogwarts until she had seen the rest of it.
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September 1st, 1962
Hogwarts is beautiful. Filled with magic, mystical. It is filled with endless excitement and places to explore. The Great Hall is amazing, all the glory and wonder of the night sky above, torchlight glimmering of black stone, candles illuminating the tables, and great tapestries of the houses and the Hogwarts seal hanging nearby. We were sorted into houses by a hat that could somehow see in side my mind. I found this rather creepy. I chose Gryffindor, since I wanted to be with Molly. The feast was wonderful! So many delicious foods! To get from the train to Hogwarts castle, the gamekeeper, Hagrid, had guided across the lake, and Professor Dumbledore, the transfiguration teacher, had brought us inside. I was suprised to find that there were ghosts here. In fact, this came as quite a relief. I had my first death experience last year, when my grandfather died. I was there, holding his hand, and I saw him die. It seemed so unreal. How could he be gone? I knew he was gone, but I couldn't except it. It also seemed impossible for there to be anything beyond that, after that experience. The warmth and life fading… How could anything else matter? Seeing ghosts here is very reassuring, that there is something afterwards. It would be horrible not to exist, to have no more awareness or thought or feeling. It's an idea that has been haunting me. You might say that I grew practically addicted to the written word, since I love stories, and it took my mind off my worries. I don't like textbooks in general, but I've taken a brief look at my school (Hogwarts) books. Some of them have some pretty interesting information. I HATED school back home. I don't think its possible to hate anything that involves learning magic though. Magic, to, brings hope to me. It was one of those things I always loved, yet the hope that it existed dimmed as I grew. I am happy to be here, but I am still nervous, because this is really life, not a fantasy or a game, and nothing is perfectly simple or easy in real life. I miss my friends at home. Being muggle born, I didn't know anyone when I entered the wizarding world. I think I'm going to tell my two best friends about this place. I miss them. I wish they were here. It's hard, leaving things behind. I can't wait till classes start though. Magic is fascinating! I managed to curse a boy on the train! Spells just come so naturally for me. I can't wait to learn more! The boy and some friends of his were playing more pranks during the feast. It's quite entertaining, though I won't get them get away with any pranks on me. Molly is really nice, and I think we will both enjoy this year!
Lily Evans
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Lily was nervous. And excited. So was Molly, which caused her to alternate between
chattering and fidgeting. Today would be the first day of classes. Lily would begin to learn magic today! But would she be able to keep up? What if she couldn't do it? Sure, Lily had glanced through her books and studied a few simple curses, but what if she was already behind? She picked at her food a bit, trying to keep herself calm, but succeeding only in keeping these feelings hidden from all but the observant. Most people were either too busy in their own thoughts, or were too busy chattering (and in the Marauder's case, plotting their next prank) to notice or care. Molly was the only one who did.
"You're nervous too, huh?" Molly commented, smiling feebly.
"Yeah." Lily smiled gratefully. Molly was one of those people who talked (chattered) a lot, but at the same time gave close
attentiveness and deep thought to her surroundings. Like appearance, her chatter was a surface thing, and mask. When she and Lily were alone, that mask was always tossed aside. It was part of her but it was only a cover to hide behind. Molly was shy then, though she showed it in a unique way.
Finishing breakfast early, the two girls left for classes, wanting the extra time to find their way.
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First was potions. To Lily's disappointment, they didn't actually learn any magic there yet. The first class merely consisted of
a friendly lecture on the theory of potions, and what they would be learning during the coarse of the year, and throughout their Hogwarts education. At the bell, she and Molly hurried out of the room and down the corridor. The staircases kept changing around, and it took them a while to find their way. Upon finding the classroom they hurried inside and took their seats, several minutes late. Before them stood a tall wizard with a long white beard and hair. He had an appearance of wisdom about him, though he didn't appear elderly. He was smiling warmly, and his eyes were twinkling merrily. It was of course, the teacher who had taken them into the Great Hall, Albus Dumbledore.
"Good morning, Miss Evans, Miss Richardson. I was about to do a transfiguration demonstration. Glad you could join us." With
that he turned towards his desk. With in moments the desk was replaced by a beautiful, sleek black mare. Dumbledore smiled as he looked at the faces of his students, who where utterly awed by the display. His hand absentmindedly stroked its mane. It whinnied softly. After letting the student come up and stroke it for a few minutes, he transformed it back into a desk and sent them back to their seats. Next, they took some complicated notes on the theory of transfiguration. Then, to Lily's excitement, he announced that they would actually get to try some transfiguration, today! Based on their notes, they were supposed to try and transform toothpicks into needles. By the end of class, only James had been successful. Lily couldn't make sense from the notes of what she was supposed to do. She went over to look at James work. At first she was impressed, but then she noticed the "needle" didn't have an eye to thread it. Clumsy Potter! And he hadn't even noticed! Sighing, she picked up her bag and followed Molly out of the room. They headed towards the Great Hall for lunch.
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Charms, their last class for the day was taught by young Professor Flitwick, who was just fresh out of school. After briefly
practicing a swish and flick motion with their wands, they were aloud to attempt at hovering charms. To Lily charms came naturally. She was successful on her first try. Her feather soared into the air, then stayed hovering a few feet above her head. She was allowed to start her charms essay during class, and finished by the end of it. Professor Flitwick was inexperienced, and didn't know what else to have her do for the rest of class. Lily was quite pleased. Finally she had actually learned some magic, plus her charms homework was done!
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That evening Lily sat by the fire, toying with her transfiguration toothpick. I wonder what would happen if I just concentrated on
making it transform… She reached for her wand. Pointing it at the toothpick, she closed her eyes. She held the image of the toothpick in her mind. Then slowly, she changed her mind's image. First color, then shape… Suddenly she felt something prick her finger. She opened her eyes. Between her thumb and forefinger she held a perfect needle. She smiled, then sourly wiped a drop of blood from where the needle had pricked her. She gazed into the flames. So alive, and fierce and wild. Dancing heat and illusion… she loved fire…
"Are you coming Lily?" call Molly's voice from their dorm, interrupting her thoughts.
"I'm coming!" Lily replied, grinning, before dashing up the stairs.
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