September first of 1971. The large steam engine sat at the platform of 9 ¾, awaiting her young student passengers to take to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Every year, a handful of students are selected to attend this magical school and are sorted student by student by the sorting hat into one of four houses – Gryffindor, where the brave and bold are sorted, Hufflepuff, where the loyal and hard-working are sorted, Ravenclaw, where the smart and witty are sorted, and Slytherin, where the ambitious and great are sorted.

Young Elizabeth Hawking and her twin sister, Cheyanne, waited to board the train. Both girls were eleven years of age and were on their way to being first year students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Elizabeth was a very beautiful young girl, standing at a rather short height of 4'5 and featuring long, dark wavy hair and dark, earthly brown eyes. Her skin was fair and her smile was sweet and kind, showing a sweet disposition. Cheyanne, however, had thick curly blonde hair and eyes as light as the sky at noon. She was not the kindest of people, scowling at anyone passing by. She even scared the older students!

"Ugh! This is taking forever. Where is Mother? Get out of my way, ugly," Cheyenne snapped at her sister, pushing Elizabeth into a young redheaded girl.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" exclaimed Elizabeth, turning around to face the young girl.

"Oh, no, it's all right. This platform is very crowded, and you aren't the first to run into me," said the redheaded girl sweetly. Elizabeth smiled slightly. "I'm Lily Evans, by the way, and you are?"

"Oh, I'm Elizabeth Hawking. It's nice to meet you, Lily," said Elizabeth. Lily Evans had long, straight red hair and the prettiest emerald green eyes to ever be found. She had fair skin and light brown freckles littered her flushed cheeks. "Are you going into your first year at Hogwarts as well?" Lily nodded.

"Mhm. My parents are nonmagic, so I don't really know what is going on. I had to ask a boy who was walking by in robes how to get onto platform 9 ¾!" she exclaimed.

"I don't have any older siblings, but my mum's a witch, so that's how I got on. My sister, Cheyanne and I are both going into our first year at Hogwarts."

"I don't know much about Hogwarts except what I read in the book, Hogwarts: A History. What house do you think you'll be sorted into?"

"Oh, I don't know… but a lot of Hawkings were sorted into Gryffindor, so I'm thinking that."

"Oh… I'm not sure what I'll be sorted into. My entire family is nonmagic, so they weren't sorted into any of the four houses. But if I had to guess, I'd say Hufflepuff."

"Well, we'll have to see what the sorting hat says, right?"

"Oh, of cour-" Just before Lily could finish her statement, two young boys pushed past them quickly, running across the platform. "Ugh! Prats!" The boys stopped and turned around.

"Well, excuse us for trying to get to the train," said the boy without glasses. "Are you girls first years, too?" The girls nodded. "I'm Sirius Black. My entire family has been sorted into Slytherin, but I don't want to be anything like those hotheads. I'm hoping for Gryffindor!"

"And I'm James Potter. My entire family has been sorted into Gryffindor, so there aren't any doubts that I'll be sorted into Gryffindor!" said the other boy. Sirius Black had longish dark hair and dark eyes to match. He seemed quite annoying and prat-like, which didn't appeal to Elizabeth or Lily. James Potter had messy dark hair and hazel eyes. He wore glasses and beneath his black Hogwarts robes was a Quidditch shirt of the Tutshill Tornadoes colours and featured the Tutshill Tornadoes logo.

"Tornadoes fan, I see. Smart boy," said Elizabeth.

"You're a fan of Quidditch, too?" asked James. Elizabeth nodded.

"My family's been fans of the Tornadoes for as long as they've been around," Elizabeth told him. "I'm Elizabeth Hawking, by the way."

"That's a very fitting name for a beautiful girl," said Sirius. Elizabeth scowled at him.

"And I'm Lily Evans," said Lily. James smiled at her.

"It's a huge pleasure to meet you, Lily Evans," he told her. Lily scowled at him as well.

"Well, we'd best be off. C'mon, James! See you girls at the sorting!" Sirius shouted, dragging James away.

"Black, hm? My family has never had a good history with Blacks," Elizabeth muttered after they left.

"They seem like the most annoying pair of idiots I've ever met," said Lily.

"Agreed," said Elizabeth. "Well, we should probably board the train." Lily nodded as the two girls boarded the train and began searching for an empty compartment.

"Full, full, full…" Lily was saying as they passed each compartment. Finally, they came to an empty one. "Ah, here's one!" Lily pulled open the door and walked in, followed by Elizabeth.

"I'm so excited to be going to Hogwarts!" exclaimed Elizabeth.

"I'm a bit scared… what if Hogwarts is a bad place?" asked Lily.

"Hogwarts is one of the greatest places on Earth! So much magic happens within the walls of that magnificent castle, no pun intended," Elizabeth replied.

"Oh, I guess you're right… who knows what kind of magic will happ-"

"Excuse me, is there enough room for another?" asked a young girl who had just appeared in the doorway.

"Oh, certainly! Feel free to join us," said Lily.

"Thanks," said the girl, and she sat down next to the window. "My name is Marlene, by the way. Marlene McKinnon."

"I'm Lily Evans, and this is Elizabeth Hawking," said Lily.

"Oh, those are wonderful names!" Marlene exclaimed. Marlene was a pretty young girl with a slightly freckled face and glasses. She had mousy brown hair that was pulled back into a ponytail and she carried a book beneath her arm.

"As is yours," said Elizabeth. "Are you going into your first year, too?" Marlene nodded. "I'm so excited! What house do you think you'll be sorted into?"

"Well, my Mum was sorted into Ravenclaw when she went to school, and my Dad is a muggle, so… I'm not quite sure. Maybe Ravenclaw," Marlene replied. All three girls looked up to see a young, brown-haired boy standing in the doorway.

"Um… uh…" said the boy at being caught staring at Marlene. "I-I'm looking for a compartment… bye…" With that said, the boy ran off. The girls looked at each other again.

"Was he staring at me?" asked Marlene.

"Dunno, but it certainly looked like it," said Elizabeth.

"I wonder who he was? He looked like a first year to me," said Lily.

"Sounded like one, too," said Elizabeth.

"Well, we'll find out at the sorting, won't we, Marlene?" asked Lily.

"Mhm," said Marlene, and she leaned back and opened a book.

"What book is that, Marlene?" asked Elizabeth.

"Wuthering Heights. My father told me to read it, and it's quite good!" Marlene replied.

"Sounds… interesting… I hope those idiot boys we met earlier don't come back," said Elizabeth.

"What were their names again? Potter and Black?" asked Lily.

"I think so… I know one of them was some kind of color…" Elizabeth replied. The girls leaned back and crossed their arms over their chests, anticipation eating away at them as the Hogwarts Express pulled out of the station.