Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling owns these wonderful characters. I am not making any money off of this story. Got it?

James Potter told a pretty, petite woman with auburn hair and green eyes to "take Harry and go, I can handle him." He heard her pleading with him, "No, James, no. I can help." "Lils, I can't stand to see you hurt. GO!" A man who looked more like a snake entered the room. He whipped out his wand and said, "Well, if it isn't James Potter. I thought it would end like this." His nostrils flared and his eerie red eyes flamed. James recited a spell, "Expeliarmus," but it didn't appear to have the effect he thought it would. The evil man retorted, "You thought you could disarm me?" and started laughing, a cold, heartless laugh that turned James's insides to ice, "No, this is taking far too long. Avada Kedavra!" he shouted, pointing his wand directly at James's heart. James felt his muscles seize up, felt his eyes roll up into his head, felt himself die.

James woke up with a start. He wondered what to make of the dream, if it predicted the future. He wondered who the pretty woman, Lils, was. Above all, he wondered who the man with the snake-like face was. But he pushed those thoughts out of his mind. Today was going to be his first day at Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He couldn't help but wonder what House he'd be in. His father had been in Gryffindor, his mother in Ravenclaw. He checked to make sure his wand, robes, school books, etc. had been placed in the trunk. He took the invisibility cloak that had been his father's and placed it on the very top of the trunk. He then turned and bounded down the stairs for breakfast.

His mother, a short blonde witch, stood at the stove, making breakfast. She turned, and he saw that her deep blue eyes were filled with tears. "Don't worry, mama. It'll be okay. You'll still have Sara to keep you company." Sarah was James's younger sister. "I'll be fine. Will will be there," William, or Will, was a third year at Hogwarts. He was in Gryffindor.

"I know. It's just that I worry." At that moment, Will leapt down the stairs, his amber eyes glittering with excitement.

"So, James, are you excited about your first day? I remember." but what he remembered was never known, because the post had arrived. Matthias Potter came out from the master bedroom, his black hair standing up at odd angles. "Ah, the Daily Prophet's arrived. I was hoping to find out who'd won the Quidditch game. Good morning, Miranda," he said, kissing his wife on the cheek. "Good morning boys. Nice to see your shining faces up before work."

"Good morning, Dad," they responded. Mr. Potter looked at the clock, and seemed to realize that he would be late if he didn't leave now. He kissed his wife and disapparated. James and Will sat down and ate a hurried breakfast. Mrs. Potter went upstairs to fetch the baby, and grabbed the keys to the car. Miranda had grown up a muggle, and found it easier to travel by car than anything else. James and Will went upstairs, fetched their trunks, and grabbed their owl, Mr. Poofyneck, a tan bird whose feathers always seemed ruffled about his neck. As soon as the car was loaded, they pulled out of the driveway and headed to King's Cross.

Mrs. Potter, Sarah, and the boys made their way through the barrier that separated platform nine and three-quarters from the normal muggle railway station. Will and James entered the train, leaving behind a tearful witch and a squalling baby. Will went off to join his friends, leaving James alone to find a compartment. He walked the length of the train until he found a compartment with only two other people in it. One was a boy with straight black hair; the other was a very frightened red-haired girl. The boy was the first to speak. "Hi, I'm Sirius Black, and this is Lily Evans."

"Hi," responded James, "I'm James Potter. May I sit here? All the other compartments are full,"

"Sure," said Sirius. James proceeded to sit next to Sirius, across from Lily. "Is she okay?" he whispered. "She's muggle-born. She's really nervous," came the answer.

"Oh," said James, "I see. Well, Lily how did you find out you were a witch? I don't bite," he added when she didn't respond.

"I got a letter telling me all about it. My parents were pleased but my sister Petunia.." She broke off. "Petunia's mad at me. She thinks we're loonies, all of us. As soon as she graduates high school, she says she's leaving and not coming back. I really wish she would accept this."

"You like your sister a lot, don't you?" James asked. Lily nodded. "Well, that's okay. You'll make enough friends here to make you forget about her." Lily smiled briefly. "Thank you James. I really needed to hear that."

Sirius changed the conversation. "So what House do you think you'll be in? I'm thinking Gryffindor, but Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad. What if I were in Slytherin?" he shuddered. "I think I'd turn around and just go home. What about you, James?"

James pondered aloud, "I think Gryffindor. What about you, Lily?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. Sorry."

"What's there to be sorry for? We just forgot you didn't know about Hogwarts. It'll be okay, though. My mum's muggle born and she received top marks when she was at school," said James. Sirius and James then proceeded to fill her in on the four houses and the wizarding world in general. By the time that was over, the lady with the food cart had come, and James and Sirius bought a little of everything, sharing with Lily.

By the end of the trip, Lily felt better about being a witch, although she was still worried about the classes. She was glad to have found people so nice and willing to help. A loud, deep voice broke through her thoughts, "Firs' years this way. Firs' years over here." A large, giant of a man stood beckoning to her, James and Sirius. "Well, here goes," she thought as she climbed into a small boat with her new friends.

A/N: Okay that's chapter one. How did you like it? And no worries, Peter and Remus will be appearing soon. Oh, and if I made any mistakes, will you please point them out. I promise I won't be hurt. Thanks.