Hello All. It's still me, MissChievous, and yes the story looks the same.
But it's probably been a long time since you've read it, so maybe you don't remember anyways.
Either way, the story has changed and developed since the last time you've heard from me.
First, it was stuck in my head.
Then, it was eaten by a computer.
Next, it was transferred and saved, and copied and pasted, and transferred and saved, and... you get the idea.
But now, it is getting a thorough make over.

So, if you will, please enjoy :) It would be most appreciated :D

DISCLAIMER: Although I would love to claim every idea in this story as my own,
I truthfully cannot say I made this all alone.
So remember the intelligent J.K. Rowling is in the lead,
For the characters belong to her, so for crying out loud just READ!


Chapter 1- The Last Journey

It was a bright summer day when Lily awoke in her small blue bedroom, in her normal sized house, in her average neighborhood in Cokeworth. She got up like any girl of 17 on the first day of school, except that her thoughts about going back to school were much too happy to be the thoughts of an average high school girl. Though she had spent the entire summer at home with her Muggle family, in her Muggle town, at her Muggle job, she could still see the sky in the Great Hall, where she dined three times a day with her fellow witches and wizards in training. Together with her two best friends, she roamed the corridors wearing long black robes. They spoke with the paintings and ghosts, and practiced wand work and counter-curses. But, the only bits of magic she got during the summer, were letters from her two best friends and countless rereadings of her her school books. Even though she was now "of age" in the magical world, she lived in a non-magical community and was always surrounded by Muggles. Performing magic in the presence of a Muggle was still prohibited. Usually she would spend time with Severus, but he was so fickle.

Lily stared at her own piercing green eyes in the bathroom mirror. Okay, she thought to herself, it's our last year, and it's going to be amazing! She swept her long dark red hair back into a loose bun and began washing her face and brushing her teeth. Then, she packed her school things. Scrambling across her powder blue carpeted bedroom to collect her robes, books, cauldron, clothes, dress robes, and wand, she remembered her first couple years of going back to Hogwarts. Sometimes she packed a week before going back to school. But as the years went on, she put off packing further and further until this morning, when she was throwing things into her trunk just an hour before she had to leave. She felt like her best friend Katarina, whom would not answer to anything but Kat, and was always rushing before class started to finish her homework. There was even one time last year, Kat had spent the night out with her new boyfriend instead of preparing a final report for Charms class. She dotted the very last "i" just as Professor Flitwick climbed onto his stack of books to accept the papers.

Finally, all packed and ready to go, with Scarlett, her owl safe in her cage, she hopped down the hall. Noticing the door to her sister's room was open, she backtracked and peeked in the door to see Petunia on the phone again. With a heavy sigh, Lily turned and continued down the stairs to breakfast.

"Good morning," Lily greeted her parents.

"Hi sweetie," Lily's mother crooned, tucking a lock of long red hair behind her ear.

"Hey there Lil. What will it be for breakfast?" her father asked as he took out a frying pan, a bowl, a whisk, and pancake mix.

Lily gasped, "Do we have blueberries?"

"That's what I forgot! Sorry Lil," he replied.

"Oh. That's okay," Lily tried to hide her disappointment by turning to set the table.

"Of course we do! You are really out of it this morning. Heath isn't here today. Don't you remember?" Lily looked down and realized that she had taken out five plates for breakfast. Her father chortled, his golden eyes twinkling like the surface of Felix Felicis. "Are you sure you are ready for your last year?" Her father began mixing the batter, resting the bowl against his soft belly as he spoke.

"Cut it out," said Lily with a pouting face. She fiddled with the forks. "I hate talking about that, and you know it."

"Well Lily, you know you have to think about it," her mother interjected.

"I know, I know," Lily replied.

"Your future is very important," her mother began as Lily mouthed each word behind her back. Lily had heard this speech at least 20 times just yesterday, not to mention suffering through an entire summer. "You really ought to start getting prepared. Your success in your final year will predict the course of your whole life." Lily's mother turned, "And stop mocking me," her mother laughed.

But soon the laughing died. "I told you what I want to do." Lily began seriously, and the tone in the room changed as it did every time this subject was breached. Breathing got more difficult for Lily, her dad turned his attention to the stove, and her mother started bouncing her thin leg nervously. "I need to help fight against-"

"The evil wizards," her mother cut in annoyingly. "I know sweetie, but isn't that... well it sounds very dangerous." Lily gave a huge sigh, closed her eyes, and wished that this conversation wouldn't turn out like all the rest of them. "Can't you leave all of those dangerous jobs to other people?"

Lily looked into her mother's pleading blue eyes. Here she saw honesty and worry, love and fear. "Mum, I can't leave a job for someone else to do just because it's dangerous. I'm good at everything a person needs to become an Auror."

"Sweetie, I'm sure you are. You're good at so many things. But is it really right for a girl-"

"The pancakes are ready," Lily's father called as he carried a plate piled high with blueberry speckled pancakes. Both thankful for the interruption, Lily and her mother served themselves some pancakes. "Petunia! Come down, and eat some breakfast!" Lily's dad called up the stairs.

"I'm coming! Jeez," Petunia yelled back.

The first pancakes were eaten in silence. Everyone was either too hungry, too nervous, or felt too awkward to speak. So Lily was left alone with her thoughts. Of course she needed to become an Auror to fight and protect her friends and family, but she didn't want to upset her parents. Or worse, make them worry or hurt them. Lily remembered the single time the sparkle was missing from her father's eyes. Lily had asked what was wrong, and her father tried to smile and explain as best as he could to a four year old, that Lily's grandparents weren't coming back from Rome. They had been flying home from their visit when the plane crashed into the ocean. Since then, Lily never trusted planes, and she never forgot the way her father's eyes looked. She never wanted to see the sparkle gone from them again.

Soon the breakfast conversation began dancing around light subjects. Lily told her parents that she would miss them and promised to study hard. Her parents told her how much they would miss her, and if she needed anything to just write, and all the usual parent stuff, so that by the time they were finished eating, Lily was a little happy to be leaving home and going back to school where her parents couldn't bug her anymore.

When Lily and her mother began clearing the table, her sister still hadn't come down. Petunia and Lily couldn't have been any different despite their being sisters. Petunia had poofy blond hair, dull brown eyes, and horsey front teeth with braces. Petunia was also obsessed with her steady boyfriend, Vernon Dursley. Petunia had met him in the office where she works, and if they weren't in the same room together, they were at least sharing the same phone line.

Before she knew it, it was 10:30am. Lily raced up the stairs to grab her trunk. She snatched a few lip glosses that she thought she may need, and the picture of her parents that always watched over her as she slept. She shoved her glosses into her trunk, save her favorite one, which she stuffed into the pocket of her jeans, and carefully wedged the picture between her robes on which her brand-new, golden "Head Girl" pin was fastened and ready to be shown off. Then, she closed, locked her trunk and began dragging it out of her room.

Lily wished she could just levitate it down the stairs, but she lugged it down instead. She then raced back up the stairs, poked her head in Petunia's door and shouted, "Bye!" Petunia's only response was to yell at Lily to get out.

Hurriedly, Lily said her farewells to her parents, as her father dragged her trunk to the taxi. She gave them both enormous hugs and kisses on their cheeks, then set off to King's Cross.

As the taxi wound its way to King's Cross Station, Lily realized that this would be her last time making this journey, until maybe one day later in her life her son or daughter would be accepted into Hogwarts and ride the Hogwarts Express. Smelling the sweet summer, and feeling the strong wind flick her hair around the corners of her face, she thought that time was still a long way into the future. Today, her parents could not come to send her off to school. Her father was only able to get the morning off from his job in the lab, and her mother had to take Petunia to the office since Petunia refused to learn how to drive. Lily wouldn't admit it, but she secretly wished her parents had come with her. It was her last year, and it just seemed right to have her parents beside her. Especially, she would have loved to have her mother's energy backing her up.

No matter what happened, Lily's mother could make her feel better and put a smile back on her face. Lily always thought that if she could be like her mother in the future, she would be lucky. Her energy and her hair. That's why Lily had long hair. She always loved watching her mother's hair swish each time she turned her head, and when she was little, her mother let her brush and style it, even when she got it stuck in the comb. Their personalities were similar, their looks were similar, but their opinions on what jobs were suitable for Lily, were very different. Lily really wanted to be an Auror, but she longed for her mother's approval to give her strength.

Before she knew it, Lily's taxi pulled up to the station. Jumping out, Lily paid the driver and grabbed her trunk and cage, nearly knocking over an old lady on the sidewalk. She hastily offered an apology while dumping her things onto a trolly, then she hurtled through the overcrowded station. Barreling past mothers and fathers, grandparents, and children, Lily watched the bold black numbered gates rise until the number 9. Leaning against a brick wall, Lily caught her breath, and checked the time. Good, she wasn't late.

She straightened her clothes and tamed her hair. Then she walked up to the barrier between platforms nine and ten, until she noticed three boys already standing there. To her dismay, she had gotten to Platform 9 and three-quarters, just in time to meet the infamous Marauders, minus Peter, Lily noted. She tried to divert her path, but it was too late!

"Hey there pretty lady!" called the second tallest boy with glasses and painfully untidy black hair which, Lily noticed, he now began to ruffle, making it even messier.

"Hi James," she replied with no enthusiasm whatsoever. Lily knew that many people would say that James was one of the two best looking boys at Hogwarts. He was the seeker on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, and though that was a job often held by scrawny students, he was surprisingly muscular. Lily admitted that he was rather attractive, but his personality made him as unattractive as the underside of a toilet seat in a public bathroom. What made it even worse, was that he liked to torment Lily by asking her out at least five times a day.

"How was your summer?" James asked with a huge crooked grin on his face.

"Better when I didn't have to see you, Potter." She replied lazily.

"Oh. I…I just-" he stammered. She had caught him of guard.

"Yeah. Exactly," she cut him off.

"Well, ladies first!" said Sirius jumping in to save his best friend's dignity. Dropping into a low bow, he motioned Lily through the gateway first. Sirius was what most people in the school would call, the other one of the two best looking boys at Hogwarts. He had shaggy jet black hair, which reminded Lily of a dog, and mysterious blue eyes. He was the tallest Marauder, with a knack for both conducting huge pranks and attracting large amounts of trouble. The most noticeable thing about him though, was his sense of humor. Sirius was always cracking jokes, despite the implication of his name.

"Well thanks Sirius, but seeing as you 'guys'," she motioned with air quotes, "were here first acting like immature first years, you can go first." Lily of course looked at Remus to let him know she wasn't referring to him. Remus was the only Marauder Lily could stand. He had light features and was Lily's fellow prefect. He would no doubt be Head Boy. He was smart, sensible, good-looking like his friends, though not completely prank-crazy.

"Wow men, it looks like we've got a little 'firecracker' on our hands," James retorted, mocking Lily's air quotes.

Lily gave him a death glare, turned, and walked through the gate without so much as a glance back.

Through the gateway Lily was met with a cloud of steam and a shout of, "LILY!" as two girls ran up to her at top speed and almost knocked her over.

"Kat! Ali!" Lily hugged them.

"Come on! Let's go find a compartment so we can talk! Pronto!" suggested Kat, her hazel eyes sparkling with excitement. Ali and Lily followed behind Kat as she led the way to the bright red Hogwarts Express shouting, "Move it or lose it! Head Girl and Head best friends coming through!"

"So," Ali started, once the three girls had found themselves a compartment towards the front of the train, "how was your summer?"

"You don't remember from the 8,000 letters I sent you?" asked Kat as the girls loaded their things into the luggage racks above their heads and set their owls on their seats.

"Oh yeah," Ali replied, her beautiful face pulled into an apologetic grimace.

"Sometimes I wonder how you have some of the best grades in our class," Kat teased, as she pulled her wavy brown hair into a ponytail.

"And sometimes I wonder how you haven't failed out of school." Lily joined in.

"Hey!" Kat gave Lily a soft punch on the arm and pretended to look offended.

"Are you going out with Potter yet?" Ali asked.

"What?" Lily stared at her friend, surprised by the sudden question. "Why on earth would I be going out with him? I loathe him! What kind of a question is that?"

"No," Kat interjected, as she turned to braid Ali's shimmery blond mane, "she's got a point. I was also wondering if you two were finally going out."

"Yeah, remember that one time last year when we were in potions class?" Ali started.

"And she finished brewing that 'lust loving' potion!" Kat added excitedly, obviously remembering the exact time her friend was talking about.

"The 'Love's Luster' potion," Lily corrected dully.

"Yeah, whatever," Kat continued, "And James literally knocked his cauldron on the floor!"

"And the Ravenclaws sitting around him had copper patches on their hands and faces for three weeks!"

"And the one on Bill Galbraith's nose turned green!"

Kat and Ali howled with laughter at the memory. "You are both insane," Lily stated.

"Well," Ali hesitated, wiping the tears from her large, round, blue eyes, "we saw him come through the barrier right after you, so you must have been talking to him."

"Don't you know anything about me?" Lily stood up. "Have you forgotten how much I hate him?"

"Of course not," Kat stood up too, stretching her height that wasn't much taller than Lily's. "We just thought that you'd finally realized how hopelessly perfect the two of you are."

"Yes, you are crazy," Lily threw up her hands.

"That's strange then. Because there are two of us, and one of you," Ali stood now, casting the other two girls in her tall, thin shadow. "So maybe, you're really the crazy one, and the two of us are the sensible ones."

"I concur," Kat threw her fist into the air. "You are the crazy girl," she pointed at Lily.

"That's 'Crazy Head-Girl' to you." Lily replied smugly.

Kat and Ali both exploded with laughter. "Crazy-head girl! Yes, that is you!" screamed Kat through fits of laughter.

"Ha, ha," Lily replied sarcastically, though unable to prevent a real smile from spreading across her face. "Well this 'Crazy-head Girl' has to go set up the prefects meeting. I'll be back in a bit!"

Lily extracted her wand from her trunk, then left the compartment, still able to hear Ali's screeches of 'crazy-head girl' as she changed into her robes. Laughing to herself, she checked her new golden "Head Girl" pin in the mirror. Lily wiped an invisible smudge from its shiny surface, and thought that it's oval shape and curly calligraphy suited her style just perfectly. Wearing her pin proudly, she proceeded to the prefects' carriage. The bright red carpet on the train's floor matched the color of the steam engine, perfectly. Lily still remembered the first time she laid eyes on the Hogwarts Express.

She said goodbye to her parents and sister, and had gotten through the barrier just fine. But on the other side, she was in shock. The bright red steam engine made her stop in her tracks. She'd seen trains before but this one was different. Maybe it had just been her mind making things seem larger than life, but the engine was much bigger and much more intimidating than all of the other trains Lily had seen before.

As she was admiring the train and trying to find where to go, she was knocked clear over by someone or something. By the time she righted herself, she looked up to see a boy about her age, helping her collect her things. His hair was black and messy, and his eyes were golden beneath his glasses. He didn't say sorry. He didn't ask if she was alright. He just helped her pick up her things, and then walked away into the train. In Lily's memory, it was not a very pleasant first encounter.

Lost in thought, Lily hadn't realized that she had opened the door to the prefects room, until her eyes came upon a scene that she simply could not register. It just couldn't be possible.