Chapter I // The Brave at Heart

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Authors note: First chapter, there will be a plot later on *nodnod* and of cause I don't
own these lovely characters - I'm just borrowing them from the lovely author J.K. Rowling
(with exception for prospective oc's (in this case this far that means Linda and Thomas)).
But I would love to have them all to myself but I know that is impossible...

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The whistle blew - the Hogwarts Express were about to leave.

Lily looked out the window, her mother wasn't there but she saw a lot of other parents
waving off their children. Hers wasn't there while the barrier between platform 10 and
9 at the King's Cross station didn't let mugglers to enter platform 9 3/4. Her mother
and sister had said goodbye to her outside the barrier like all the other years.
This were her 6th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The door of the compartment opened. It was a boy her age that looked in through the door.
'Hi Lily, could I sit here?' he smiled at her; Remus was a boy in her school house -
Gryffindor. His whole appearance were wolf like but his heart was made out of gold.

Lily nodded at him, even though she never really liked his best friends James Potter and
Sirius Black she somehow liked this boy 'Sure Remus.'

He sat down opposite her and didn't speak, just looked out the window.

'Feels good going back after summer'

The boy nodded, his yellow moon shaped eyes looked kindly at her. 'Yes it will, but
Snape will still be an ass.'

'What is it about him you hate' she had herself never really like Severus Snape - but
still never hated the guy.

Remus sighed, he really didn't know 'He's kind of annoying, but I wouldn't say I hated
him...' he looked at her with a guilty expression on his face. 'Snape is just Snape, he
doesn't like me so I don't know...'

She knew what he meant, she had seen it million times when Snape had expressed his
opinion on things he had no right to do so; and how many times he had picked fights
with Remus best friend Sirius. She just smiled and looked out the window.

The an open moor were outside the window, sometimes a bush or a lonely tree flashed by
the window. It was midday and the sun stood high in the sky.

Lily heard the compartment door open and looked around; James Potter and Sirius Black
were standing there peering into the sunlit compartment.

'Nice choice of date area you have found yourself' Sirius smiled as he walked in 'Mind
if we join your little *family*?' he were smiling with a smile that annoyed both Lily
and Remus.

'It's not really what you think...' Remus begun.

'What is I'm thinking?' he said with a superior smile.

'Oh, I really thought you were smart enough to read you own mind - ah, well I was
wrong. Good day gently men.' she said with a mischievous smile and left the
compartment to find her best friend Linda Verus.

James felt his cheeks go warm when Lily pushed him away from the door to leave the
compartment.

'Sorry, 'bout that' Sirius said 'We'll find you another girlfriend'

'Lily isn't my girlfriend, no more that *you* are' Remus said. These were the first
word he had uttered to his two best friends since they said goodbye at King's Cross
before the summer. 'How has you summer been Sirius?' he changed subject.

'Great, I've been in Canada with my dad. Not any summer feeling there, if you know
what I mean.' he turned to talk to Potter but noticed him still looking out the door
in the direction Lily left. 'I think Potter fancies the Flower.' he said and laughed.
'You is a lucky guy I tell you, she is as far as I know - no ones girlfriend - better
than that Ravenclaw you were after last term.'

Remus noticed that James looked questioning at him and just shook his head 'I'm as free
as a bird, don't worry.'

'I'm not in love' James tried but noticed that both of his friends were looking at him
as to say //sure-why-are-your-cheeks-so-rosy//

Remus found this very amusing but he felt sorry for James 'So how were you summer James,
anything you want to share with us?'

Sirius gave Remus a hurt smile, he would have liked to milk this for at least some more
minutes but he knew that Remus was doing the right and most "humane" thing by changing
the subject once again to the summer vacation.

'Oh - nothing really, the usual. Me and dad went so a Quidditch game and, well not
much.' it felt good to see that both Sirius and Remus smiled at him with real smiles.

'Same thing here - I wish I were Sirius. Canada - WoW' he looked excited to hear
everything 'Did you see any dragons?'

'Dragons!?! I will tell you about mountains of crystals and diamonds' he gesticulate
with his arms widely and his face was blessed with a broad smile 'And about monsters
far more frightening that "dragons"...'

He didn't get any longer before a boy with black greasy hair started to talk behind him
in the doorway. 'I beet you couldn't see the different between mountain salt and
diamonds Black - and monsters for that matter, we wouldn't be *blessed* with your
presence if there were any' Severus voice were dead cold and the words was bathing in
irony. Two boys snickered behind him, those were Crabbe and Goyle.Two boys that not many
knew the names of and who's brains seamed to have turned into fat. By Snape's side a boy
with silver blond hair were standing smirking, this was Lucius Malfoy.

'We are so happy you are back safe - Black. Who else would tell these amusing made up
stories?' he said waving is left hand with a gesture of indifference.

All three knew that this meant trouble, it wasn't often you saw Snape in the company of
those three. Snape was bad because he had a way of bullying the weaker or making remarks
on people he didn't like, he wasn't afraid to lose points because he started to fight
with other boys. Malfoy on the other hand saw himself to be more that the people around
him. Crabbe and Goyle were his "soldiers" who did all his "dirty work". When he himself
come to say things it often meant something bad.

'If you have the chance to drop by out compartment later you'll find something very
peculiar' Snape said with a smile that gave the three a very unpleasant feeling.

***

They were almost at Hogwarts when James, Sirius and Remus decided to see what every was
so "peculiar" about something in the compartment of the Slytherin boys.

James were almost chocked to find Lily in it, she was sitting and leaning her head
against the window - bored to the look of it. Next to here were her best friend and room
mate Linda who seemed to be in a deep conversation with Lucius Malfoy and the Slytherin
prefect Thomas Jacobs.

Lily looked up from her boring position opposite Severus Snape and noticed the funny
looking expression on Sirius face and the look of horror in James', 'Excuse me,' she
said and stood 'I'll see you later Linnie, okej?' she decided that she wouldn't get any
more of an answer from her friend that the nod she was given and walked out of the
compartment.

'Explain yourself' it was James who spoke - the line was so unlike him that she would
have laughed if not his face had looked so - the look was hard to describe, he looked
both angry and hurt.

'Why I was in there?' she smiled and looked down on the ground. Then she leaned closer
to the boys and lifted her head up, still smiling gentle; and with only a wisped she
spoke 'Linda has a crush on Thomas' then she leaned back and and smiled mysteriously.

'With *that* idiot?' Sirius said in an hush voice.

'Seem like it, and if you asks her... she would say that he's a genius'

'You think he is?' Remus asked from behind Sirius.

'No,' she said in a soft laugh, 'I think he is a moron. But Linda likes him - and really
if you look at him there is nothing wrong with the appearance, is there?'

All three of them looked disgust at her.

'Oh guys, common he doesn't look bad' her eyes turned dreamy but she snapped right out
of it, 'But of cause look isn't everything...' she said and walked back to the
compartment where she originally had been sitting with Remus, but had left when Sirius
and James had turned up.

***

'You don't mind?' she asked when the boys turned up after a couple of minutes. 'I couldn't
stand their self-righteousness any longer.'

'They are that bad - hu?' Sirius said and sat himself down next to her. Both James and
Remus nodded and sat down opposite them.

'Worse than "that bad", I didn't know how we all fitted in there - their egos took most
of the room...' she sighed and started once again to look out the window.

'Wonder what kind of song the Sorting hat will sing this year?' Remus said out of the blue
'The one last year was very witty, but the year before' he shook his head.

They all knew he had said it to start a conversation, but it was good enough even though
the sorting hat song wasn't any of their favourite subject.

All first year students had to go trough with it, be sorted into one of the four school
houses - Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor and Slytherin. This was taken care of by a
special hat that once had belonged to Godric Gryffindor; who together with Helga
Hufflepuff, Salazar Slytherin and Rowena Ravenclaw he built Hogwarts School of Witchcraft
and Wizardry. Each of the four like different things in their students, so four school
houses were built for the different students. To make it easier to sort students in, they
gave Godric's hat some brains so it could chose. This hat had been with the school all
these year. The first years stepped up in front of all the houses and had to put on the
hat, after a few minutes it shouted out the name of the house the student had been place
in. The four of them, Lily, James, Remus and Sirius were in Gryffindor house. The students
in this house were brave at hearts. Malfoy, Snape, Crabbe and Goyle on the other hand were
Slytherins - they didn't care who they did hurt just as they got what they wanted in the
end. As to the other housed Hufflepuffs were loyal, patient and were not afraid of work;
Ravenclaws were merry and liked to learn new things, they were the wise ones.

'Well we're about to find out' Lily said as the train stopped at Hogwarts.

As they came out on the platform they heard a familiar voice tell the first years to come
with him to the boats. This was Hagrid the Hogwarts Gamekeeper, he was huge but kind. He
had once been a student, but in his third year he had been expelled. Professor Dumbledore
had made sure that he could stay at Hogwarts as Gamekeeper, for which he would be forever
grateful.

But the other students who were not first years wasn't going to Hogwarts the boat way -
there were horse less carriages that waited to take them to the feast which begun the term.