Chapter One- The Train Ride

Jessica and James Potter were both eleven years old, both wore round glasses, had hazel eyes and incredibly messy black hair. If you were to look at the two of them together you would know instantly that they were twins. The only way you would be able to tell either of them apart would be by Jessica's stubby, scraggly little pigtails that hung limply off of her head. They were inseparable; always with each other every second of the day and would throw a tantrum if either had to be separated. James was the elder of the two, by three minutes and he took delight in informing his younger sister of this whenever he had the chance.

At the moment, both siblings were standing in front of the barrier of platform nine and three-quarters, ready to board the train to Hogwarts. Jessica let out and involuntary shiver as she saw how many people were running through the platform; wizards and witches of all ages, carrying impressive owls and other pets.

James put a shaky hand on his sister's shoulder. 'This is it then... eh, Jessie?' said James, nudging his sister's shoulder.

Jessica shook her head and smoothed back some of her hair with her hands. 'I suppose so,' she replied. 'It just all feels… weird, you know? Leaving mum and dad, that is.'

'Yeah, I know what you mean- but we can still visit in the holidays, right?' asked James, a little uncertainly.

'Of course we can!' laughed Jessica, playfully punching James on his arm. Then her face became thoughtful and she said: 'Hey, James? What if we… what if we don't both get sorted into the same house? I don't think I could bare it if you were in Gryffindor and I was in stinking Hufflepuff…'

James sighed and shook his head as if he was a professor and Jessica was the student. 'Don't be ridiculous, Jessie. We both get into Gryffindor, I promise. Besides, don't families always get sorted into the same houses? Well, Dad was in Gryffindor and so will we be,' said James, patting his sister's shoulder reassuringly.

'But Mum was in Ravenclaw!' shouted Jessica, her eyes wide with fear. 'Everyone knows that you'll be in Gryffindor, you're brave James! Nobody knows what house I'll be in,' said Jessica, her shoulders slumping.

At that moment Charlus and Dorea Potter chose to join their children.

'Merlin's beard! Would you look at the time? It's almost eleven now!' came the worried voice of Dorea Potter. Dorea was a short and pudgy looking sort of woman. Her hair was a soft brown that hung smoothly on her shoulders in lovely waves. Her eyes were hazel, seemingly the only aspect of her that James and Jessica inherited.

'Hush, now Dorry. Don't worry, they'll be on the train soon enough sweetie,' said Charlus Potter. Charlus was a very stocky man, contrasting frighteningly well with Dorea. His hair was raven black, and stuck up and odd ends just like his children's did. James and Jessica looked almost identical to Charlus in every form except for his eyes, which were a clear blue.

Jessica let out a sigh of relief at her parent's figures. 'Thank goodness you're here!' she yelled at both of them, trying to be heard above the hustle and bustle of the station. 'We thought that you'd splinched yourselves or something!'

James laughed a little at that comment. 'What if you had, Mum? What would we have told our friends then? I really don't think: "Hi, my name's James and I've got a dad and two mums," would go down well at Hogwarts…'

'They'd probably think you were in a nasty accident of some sort… the rumours would spread like wildfire: "James and Jessica Potter; children of mutant hybrids-"'

'Yeah, mutant hybrids that won't even let me get the newest Shooting Star!' piped in James, crossing his hands over his chest.

Dorea huffed impatiently and pushed her children in the direction of their trolleys. 'Be quiet!' she hollered. 'We need to leave!'

Jessica clamped her hands over the smooth metal of her trolley and turned it into the direction of the barrier. 'You can go first, James!' she yelled at her brother.

He frowned at her. 'Whatever happened to "ladies first", Jessie?' asked James.

Jessica grinned back at him. 'It died with your looks!'

James grabbed his middle, as if he had been shot. 'You wound me!' he yelled, before running through the barrier.

Jessica stood rooted to the spot, staring down at her firm hands holding her trolley. An uncomfortable feeling of nausea engulfed her as she stared at the seemingly firm brick wall that her brother had just disappeared into. Before her mother could start yelling at her, Jessica broke into a run, her eyes shut so tight she could feel tears pricking her eyelids.

As Jessica met the barrier, the most peculiar feeling encompassed her. It was like someone had an invisible string and was lifting her up through it, but pulling her down at the same time. Then, as soon as the feeling came, it went and Jessica opened up her eyes only to see the majestic Hogwarts Express, emblazoned with wonderful gold lettering. People bustled about, and the sounds of parents' fare welling their children were about. The air smelt of liquorices, strangely enough, mingled with freshly chopped grass from outside the platform. Jessica could almost feel her magic crackling on her skin with anticipation.

'Jessica! Jessica?' came her mother's shrill cry. Jessica turned around to face her mother running up to her.

'Yes, mum?' replied Jessica, cocking her head to one side.

'Where is James? Have you seen him? He wonders off so often, that boy! He drives me insane!' yelled Dorea, wringing her hands.

Jessica huffed and rolled her eyes. It was so incredibly like James to disappear somewhere right before they had to leave. Jessica's eyes skimmed the crowd, looking for that scrawny boy with black hair and glasses.

'I can't see him, Dorry,' said Charlus, patting his wife on her back in a futile attempt to comfort her.

'Don't worry mum!' said Jessica, smiling brightly. 'He's probably on the train already with friends.'

Dorea nodded, still clearly upset that she couldn't say a proper goodbye to her son. 'I suppose so... Oh, dear! Look at the time, Jessica! You should be on the train by now...' said Dorea, pulling a flustered Jessica into a warm hug.

'Bye, mummy!' said Jessica, inhaling her mother's flowery perfume. When Dorea broke the hug, Jessica was suddenly enveloped by her father.

'Remember to write, sweetie,' he murmured. Jessica held back tears, determined to put on a brave face for her parents.

'Of course, daddy,' said Jessica, her eyes now watering despite all of her efforts. 'I love you!' yelled Jessica, before running onto the train.

Jessica casually sauntered through the train corridor, every now and again checking through the glass windows to see if anyone around her age was in one. Just as her hands were growing tired of lugging her heavy suitcase around, Jessica heard noise coming from inside the last compartment. She ran down towards it and peeked through a crack in the curtain, not declaring herself because she was afraid of embarrassment.

Inside, there were four people. Two were boys, their heads bent downwards so that she could not see who they were. Another was a boy with greasy black hair who seemed severely underfed. There was also a girl with stunning red hair and emerald green eyes. The latter was in a seemingly heated discussion with the greasy haired boy, so Jessica moved her ear closer to the door.

'You'd better be in Slytherin,' muttered the greasy haired boy to the red haired girl. Suddenly, one of the boys in the corner perked up, and Jessica immediately recognized him as James.

'Slytherin?' said James. 'Why would you want to end up there?'

Jessica's hand edged closer to the door handle, but she pulled it back when she saw that the greasy haired boy was about to answer James.

The greasy haired boy turned to face James. 'And where would you like to end up?' he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

James smiled. 'Gryffindor,' said James before placing a hand over his chest and adding in a funny voice, '"Where dwell the brave at heart!"' Then returning to normal- 'Like my dad.'

Jessica held in a laugh, covering her mouth with her hand. The greasy haired boy, however, did not seem as pleased with James' comment as Jessica did and scoffed at James, rolling his eyes. James frowned.

'What?' asked James.

'Nothing,' said the greasy haired boy dismissively, before lowering his voice and adding, 'If you'd rather be brawny than brainy...'

The boy who had been sitting next to James frowned. 'My whole family's been in Slytherin,' he said.

James laughed and punched the boys shoulder. 'And I thought you seemed alright!'

The boy next to James let out a barking laugh. 'Yeah… maybe I'll break the tradition…'

The red-haired girl rolled her eyes and stood up, clearly tired of the bickering going on. 'Come on Severus, let's find another compartment.'

The greasy haired boy (Severus) stood up with her and frowned down at James and the other boy. James laughed cruelly at them, leaving Jessica feeling a little uneasy.

'Ooooooooh!' said James nastily. 'See ya, Snivellus!' yelled James at Severus, putting his foot out to try and trip him up.

Suddenly, the carriage door was opened sending Jessica flying backwards. The red-haired girl and Severus looked down at her accusingly.

'Have you been listening all that time?' spat the red head at Jessica.

Jessica thought she might melt under the other girl's gaze and was quite happy when Severus pulled the other girl away.

'Jessie!' yelled James delightedly from inside the carriage. 'Come on in!'

Jessica smiled and hopped up immediately, pulling her trunk towards the door when a feeling of uneasiness washed over her. She bit her lip awkwardly and stared at James. Jessica had no idea what to say to her brother, and decided to go for the blunt approach.

'You weren't very nice to them, James,' whispered Jessica, her gaze dropping to the floor.

James' eyes became confused. 'What do you mean, Jessie?' said James, cocking his head to one side.

The boy sitting next to James laughed. 'What are so upset about? That boy's weird… just look at his clothes! He looks like a bloody bat!' said the boy, sending James into peals of laughter.

Jessica shuffled her feet awkwardly. 'That's not very nice,' she muttered. 'You don't know him at all, he could be perfectly lovely!'

The other boy scoffed. 'Who are you?' he asked accusingly.

'She's my sister, Jessica,' answered James, nodding in Jessica's direction.

Jessica suddenly felt a surge of anger towards this boy. 'Who are you?' she asked, mimicking his tone perfectly.

The other boy's gaze became stony. 'Sirius Black,' he replied, glaring at Jessica. 'I would say it's nice to meet you, but seeing as it really isn't-'

'Same goes for you!' interrupted Jessica, placing her hands on her hips. She then turned to James. 'Don't pretend that you don't know what I'm talking about. You were really very rude to those people and I think you should apologize.'

Sirius scoffed at Jessica's furious expression. 'Mate, did you say she was your sister? I feel sorry for you…' said Sirius, laughing. James let out a small laugh and Jessica turned on him, her face etched with betrayal.

'James!' she exclaimed.

'What?' he protested. 'They had it coming to them! That boy wasn't normal…'

Jessica exhaled deeply, trying furiously to control her temper. When she finally felt like she wouldn't yell if she opened her mouth, she said a quick goodbye to James and left the compartment to try and find Severus and the other girl to apologize on behalf of her brother.

When Jessica did find the right compartment, she stood outside for what seemed like an age- just deciding on how best to apologize. Soon, she heard footsteps approaching and Severus saying that he needed to use the bathroom. Jessica backed away in fear and almost fainted when she saw Severus open the door.

'What are you here for?' he asked her. 'Come to gloat, have you?'

Jessica shook her head profusely. 'N-no!' she stuttered. 'I-I just wanted to ap-apologize f-for my b-brother…'

'That was your brother?' asked the red headed girl, coming out of the compartment after seeing Jessica.

Jessica nodded. 'Yes, well, you see… he wasn't very polite, and he should have been nice- but he wasn't, and he's not saying sorry so I thought I should, and…' Jessica stopped when she realized that she had been talking so fast that they probably didn't understand a word she had said. 'Look, I was just wondering if I could share your compartment. My brother and his "friend" didn't really like the fact that I thought that they should apologize.'

The red head stared at Jessica in shock for a while, before nodding. Severus sauntered off towards the bathrooms, glancing back every now and again at Jessica.

'So what's your name?' asked the red head.

'Jessica Potter. You?'

'Lily Evans, and that was Severus Snape,' replied the red head, still looking strangely at Jessica.

Jessica sighed. 'Look, I know that I sort of came off as a bit of a freak and all… with the eavesdropping, then the apologizing, then the stuttering… and I'm sorry if I talked too fast, that just happens when I'm nervous-'

'You're doing it again, the talking-too-fast thing,' interrupted Lily.

'Sorry,' muttered Jessica meekly. 'I'm actually sort of normal once you get to know me…'

'Sort of?' asked Lily, smiling.

Jessica smiled back at her, suddenly feeling immensely relieved. 'Yeah, sort of.'

A/N: Ok, so that's the first chapter of this story! Reviews are loved and greatly appreciated if you want me to write more!

Lots of love,
Purple 3