-Five years previously-
"Slytherin!" The Sorting Hat's hoarse voice rung through the now silent Great Hall, echoing off the sturdy stone walls that had been there for hundreds of centuries. Slowly, the students of Hogwarts began to murmur amongst themselves, shooting disapproving looks at Slytherin's latest addition: a tiny, slight girl with peculiar eyes and a long tangle of red hair that just brushed her elbows. She had an odd look about her, perhaps it was that one of her eyes was brown and the other was green, or that her ears poked out just a bit too much from her thick curtain of fiery red hair, or the fact she wore a pendant with the symbol of the Deathly Hallows upon it. Despite the reaction, her pale lips stretched into a sly smile, and she hopped off the wooden stool and made her way to her House's table. The Slytherin students, although surprised by the Sorting Hat's choice, welcomed the girl and clapped her on the back, introducing themselves and taking turns to shake her small hand while her robes transformed. The lining of her cloak shimmered into an emerald green and an emblem with a serpent appeared on her jumper. Her tie, once plain black, grew green stripes and now she looked ever the part of the Slytherin House. The reason why most of the student population were so confused about her sorting was because her whole family had been in Gryffindor; in fact her two older brothers and sister were peering over with curiosity from the opposite side of the hall. However, seeing that their little sister was content, they relaxed and clapped and whistled, yet they couldn't help thinking:

Why would a Potter be sorted into Slytherin?

-Present day-
"Lily! Hurry it up, you'll miss the train!" Ginny Potter shouted up the spiralling staircase to her daughter, who was still packing. It was her sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and although she was excited as she was every year, she still wasn't ready to go. Her cat, Henry, peered at her as she rushed about her room, flinging the odd item into her trunk as she went.

"Don't give me that look." Lily Luna Potter glared at the ginger bundle of matted fur that was spread over her pillow, looking very comfortable. One last sweep of the room and she decided she had everything: her robes, cauldron, books, potion ingredients, scales, telescope, parchment, ink, quills, weekend clothes, money… and her wand (12 inches, unicorn hair, pear) was tucked safely in her pocket. She slammed her fit to burst trunk shut and locked it, before hurdling downstairs with her trunk banging every single step as she lugged it behind her. Henry scuttled at her feet, clearly pleased to be on their way. Ginny and Harry Potter were at the front door, looking panicked and glancing at the large grandfather clock in the hallway.

"At last!" Harry growled as his daughter finally made her appearance. "Are you planning to miss the train or shall we get going?" Lily grinned sheepishly and linked arms with her father and with a stomach-churning jolt they apparated to King's Cross Station. Ginny appeared a moment later with Henry in her arms, who was hissing and spitting, despising being away from his owner. He leaped onto Lily and wrapped himself around her neck like an ugly purring scarf, enjoying the warmth.

"Two minutes to spare." Ginny sighed with relief, and quickly gave her daughter a rib-cracking hug. "Keep out of trouble and work hard okay? We'll see you at Christmas." Lily nodded and hugged her mother tightly, and then moved to embrace her father.

"Have fun. We love you." Harry said, ruffling Lily's hair. She grinned.

"I love you too." And with that, she turned and ran into the wall, trunk in tow, between the platforms 9 and 10. Darkness drowned her vision for a split second and then she was there: Platform 9¾, the Hogwarts Express before her emitting steam violently and whistling to warn it was about to leave. Lily sprinted through the doors and shut it behind her; she was the last to board. A shiver of appreciation coursed through her body as soon as her trainers meet the plush carpet of the old steam train's floor. Already she felt more at home than at her actual house; the Potter mansion was extremely huge and luxurious with more than two hundred rooms but it was at Hogwarts where she felt she truly belonged. Just a few seconds after Lily had boarded the train, the gears shifted into life and the wheels begrudgingly began their continuous circuits, slowly but surely pulling the Express towards its destination. The familiar musty, magical smell polluted Lily's nostrils and she inhaled gratefully, for she had been deprived of it for six weeks.

Lily slowly shuffled down the rickety train as it gradually picked up speed, peering into compartments as she went. She was seeking out her friends, and she eventually found them right at the back of the train. A Slytherin girl with short, straggly blonde hair was reading aloud an article about strange creatures from this month's issue of the Quibbler, her pale blue eyes piercing through her thick glasses and a Ravenclaw boy with unruly mousey hair was pretending to listen whilst absentmindedly eating a rather large pile of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. As Lily slid the compartment door open, both their heads snapped up and smiled hello.

"Lils, I missed you so much!" The blonde girl said softly, leaping up (the Quibbler going flying) and wrapping Lily in a warm hug. Henry hissed and jumped from Lily's shoulders and onto the boy's lap, who scowled and attempted in vain to prise him off.

"Alice, I missed you too! How was your summer?"

"It was okay, Mum and Dad took me Nargle hunting." Alice Longbottom's parents, Luna and Neville, had been friends with Lily's dad during their time at Hogwarts. They had a taste for the eccentric and things that grow, and their garden was like a jungle packed with unusual and rare plants. The mousey boy rolled his eyes.

"I'd hug you but your creature has pinned me to the seat." He muttered to Lily. Henry's adoration for him wasn't mutual. His name was Oliver Finnegan; he hated anything out of the ordinary and had a taste for mischief that earned him countless detentions that normally only a Gryffindor would manage.

"Don't be mean; he thinks you're his friend." Lily teased, kicking her trunk into the compartment and sitting down next to him, scratching the cat on his lap behind its ears.

"I hate cats." Muttered Oliver, his remark rewarded with an evil looking glare from Lily, who he then grinned cheekily at in a way of apology.

The Hogwarts Express rattled on while the three friends caught up. Menacing grey clouds hid the sky from view and frothed over tree tops, mixing with the steam that shot up from the train. Drop by drop, the clouds precipitated, faster and faster, until water was being unleashed at full torrent. It trickled down the carriage window and Lily followed a particularly big raindrop with her index finger. The heat that radiated from her hand caused a damp fog to cover a small section of the window, affirming her assumptions that it was bitingly cold outside the comfort of the train. The conversation had died out as Oliver had fallen asleep, snoring lightly while Henry mewed pathetically, desperate for attention. Alice had gone back to reading her magazine. She was frowning, seemingly not able to concentrate. She turned the magazine upside down and instantly her melancholic expression subsided. Bored, Lily deftly opened her trunk and grabbed her uniform, and with a quick mumble about where she was going, left the compartment.

She turned, heading for the toilets, and walked into a wall. At least, she thought it was a wall, but walls don't wear robes and smell like toast and butter and sunshine and a hint of smoke.

"Sorry," Lily said automatically, peering up (this non-wall was rather tall) though her hair until her eyes met cool grey ones staring back at her. It was a boy who she'd never seen before, but he couldn't have been a first year because he was about six foot tall and had six 0' clock shadow hugging his clenched jaw. His hair, an unnatural looking shade of pale blonde, hung scruffily down to his eyebrows which almost met in the middle due to his glower. He had a small scar in front of his right ear and his Adam's apple bobbed slightly as he swallowed. His robes were plain black, he hadn't been sorted yet, and they had that too-neat look that only new uniform could achieve. His tie was undone like his top button and he wore dark jeans instead of the regulation black trousers.

He nodded, accepting her apology, and strode past without another word. Not thinking much of it, Lily continued shuffling towards the ladies and locked the door behind her. She pulled on her tights (lord, she hated tights.) her skirt which was only just above the knee to avoid detention, white shirt and black and green stripy tie. Her jumper, with the snake crest hovering proudly over her breast, was warm and soft and smelled of potions. Last but not least was her cloak, it seemed too long compared to the other students' due to her lack of height and kissed the floor if she didn't stand perfectly straight. It was black, like most of the uniform, but the lining was a gorgeous emerald green that shimmered as it caught the light, even in the dim glow of the toilet cubicle. She scooped up her jeans and t-shirt, slipped on her school shoes (clunky black lace up boots) and plodded back to the compartment. She was greeted with the scene of Henry, who had abandoned Oliver's lap and had curled around his neck and Alice, hanging upside down from her seat and reading the Quibbler, although now near the end.

"You should get changed." Lily chuckled. It was getting darker outside, and they'd be arriving at the castle soon.

"In a bit."

"Remove your animal from my shoulders and I'll go." Yawned Oliver, stretching and jostling Henry slightly who hissed in protest. It took ten minutes to persuade the cat to abandon the warmth that was Oliver's neck and get him to sit on Lily's lap. He hurried out of the compartment with his robes in tow.

"I hate the uniform!" Alice whined, pressing the magazine against her face.

"It's okay for you, at least yours fits." Lily sighed, peering down in dismay at her baggy jumper.

"Eat more; you're so skinny and tiny like a doll. It's not fair!" Alice wasn't overweight, not at all, but she was curvy and tall and found it difficult to find clothes that fit her. Lily actually wished she had Alice's figure. Oliver only took a couple of minutes to change, and arrived back clad in his black and blue robes. The black seemed to lengthen his posture, making him seem taller than he actually was which was shorter than Alice.

Lily pulled up her legs and huddled by the compartment window, and allowed her mind to drift. The train jolted to a stop and she opened her eyes, realising she had managed to fall asleep. Alice and Oliver were playing cards over-competitively and Alice had finally gotten into her uniform. It was dark by now, and a clear night. The stars shone brightly against the black velvet sky and the moon was full and large, beaming down and lighting the path to the school. Instead of getting in the carriages with everyone else, Lily decided to walk up the hill and over the bridge to the school. She did this every year, she could think and breathe in the night air and hear the pine needles crunching under her toes. After saying goodbye to her friends ("just get in the carriage you idiot!") she began the half hour walk towards Hogwarts.

"Lumos." She muttered, her wand tip illuminating the leaf ridden path before her. Animals scurried through bushes and owls hooted as she walked, eat footstep seeming deafening in the silence. Suddenly, the sound of a twig snapping behind her made her whip her head around and point her wand at the offending culprit. It was the boy from earlier, shielding his eyes from the glare of the light of her wand. Slowly, she lowered the tip, but stayed on guard.

"What are you doing? Shouldn't you be with the new students?" Lily snapped. He had made her jump.

"I missed the boats." He mumbled, frowning at her tone. "I was following you to the school." He pulled a cigarette out of his pocket, lit it with his wand, and took a long drag. The red embers lit up his features.

Lily sighed. "You scared me, you should have said something, or coughed so I knew you were there. What's your name?"

"Scorpius Malfoy." The boy said. His voice was low and husky, as if he had a permanent cold, and every so often he cleared his throat. "Yours?"

"Lily Potter. You wouldn't happen to be Draco Malfoy's son?"

"Yeah, why?" He flicked his cigarette.

"My dad knew yours in school. They didn't get on." Lily said sharply. She had heard all too many stories about the Malfoy's from her parents, and although they had told her that they'd changed, she still couldn't get the stereotype DEATH EATER out of her mind.

"Right. I heard about your dad; the boy who lived, huh? What's it like to be the daughter of the most famous wizard in the world?"

"Irritating." Lily sighed. She blinked her odd eyes. "We should get going or you'll miss your sorting." Malfoy nodded, and together they walked in silence up the hill towards the castle.