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Lily Evans looked out the compartment window at the crowd of parents waving goodbye. As she scanned the faces she had a faint hope she'd see her own parents among the crowd, but she knew deep down they weren't there. Being muggles, they could only drop her off at the muggle station and hope for the best. Lily almost missed the train. However, putting on her most confident face, she walked up to a lady who was carrying an owl and said, "Excuse me, but can you help me find platform nine and three-quarters?"

The lady, being a very nice one, directed Lily to the correct station and told her what to do.

Before she walked off, she said, "Do have a lovely time, dear, and have fun. I'm sure a polite young lady like you will do just fine."

Lily had nodded, smiled, and had tried hard not to puff up at the compliment of her being a polite young lady. It wouldn't do, she supposed, to appear arrogant.

Now, after seeing many of the other children with magical parents, she wished hers were magical too. She was different than the others, and she was afraid of being called a freak.

There was a light rap at the compartment door, a pause, and then it slid open to reveal Severus. She gave him a light smile and he returned it as he say down across from her. Neither said anything; they had a loose-friendship. They weren't especially close, to be honest, but he was the one who showed her she wasn't strange for her magic talents, and she appreciated that. He was, in essence, her only friend.

There was another rap on the door, much harsher this time than it had been with Severus' knocking. The door slid open to reveal four young boys.

"D'ya mind if we sit here? The other compartments are all full." The boy with short, straight black hair asked.

While Severus looked appalled at the idea, Lily nodded to say that, yes, they could come in.

The small, blondish haired boy sat across from her, next to Severus, and the tall boy with golden hair sat on the same side, but by the door. This left the two black-haired boys to sit next to Lily. The boy who had first spoken sat down next to her, leaving the boy with curly, unruly hair to sit at the end.

There was a small, awkward silence for a moment before the first boy turned to her and spoke again.

"I'm Sirius Black, and that's Peter Pettigrew,

Remus Lupin, and James Potter," he said, pointing to each boy in turn.

"I'm Lily Evans," she said softly. She was slightly scared of these boys. They all seemed like they had grown up with magic, making her seem all the more foreign. She waited for Severus to say his name, but by the way he and the group were reacting to each-other she supposed they had met before and hadn't gotten along.

"Lily's a pretty name," the one named Remus stated, trying to cover over the tension in the air. The other boys all nodded along to his statement, and Lily blushed.

"What house do you hope to be in?" Peter piped up.

"I-I don't know what they're all like," she admitted truthfully.

"Well," Sirius started in, "There's Griffindor, which is for the bravest, Ravenclaw for the smart ones, Hufflepuff for...Hufflepuff for the not-so-intimidating ones, and Slytherin for the so-called cunning ones. Slytherin's bad though, you don' want to go there."

Severus snorted and rolled his eyes at this, looking out the window and focusing on the countryside rather than what was being discussed in the compartment.

"I don't think Slytherin could be as awful as you say it is," she said, remembering that Severus wanted to go to that house, "I don't really know which house I want to be in," she was a bit worried. Did they have to know what house they wanted by the time they got to the school? She didn't want to be the only one not knowing which to go to.

"I'm not sure what house I want," said Remus. Peter nodded in agreement.

"I want Griffindor," James declared. It was the first time he had spoken.

"I just don't want Slytherin," Sirius said defiantly. Lily wondered what exactly he had against Slytherin, but she decided not to ask. She didn't want the rest of the ride to be more uncomfortable than it was. So, she just nodded and turned to look out the window to show she was done talking. She wanted some time to think over everything. The boys then started their own conversation about something or other, leaving her to her thoughts.