Author's note: I'm back

Lily's First Year: Part One

Lily could hardly believe it. Here she was, in the car, on her way to King's Cross, going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

She could very well remember the day she had gotten the letter. It had been a very hot summer day, and she was very bored.

Lily sat in the living room, more bored than ever. Suddenly, she heard the sound of paper going through a slot. 'Mail's here,' she thought to herself. She looked around, and then decided to get it herself, as she had nothing better to do.

She flipped through the usual junk, like catalogs and bills and stuff. It was rare that she actually ever got a letter, but it was nice to check anyway. At the end of the pile there was a purple envelope. In green ink, Lily saw her address on the envelope. She turned it around carefully, and noticed a seal with a large H surrounded by a lion, snake, badger and eagle.

Lily stood up, still examining the letter carefully. She opened it eagerly. Someone named Minerva McGongall told her that she had been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She had never heard of this school before, and neither had her parents or big sister. The letter had also said to get supplies in London near a pub called The Leaky Cauldron.

To Lily's surprise, her parents seemed delighted when she told them about the letter. Her big sister, Petunia, however, had not been happy at all. The next day, her mother had taken her to London, and they found the pub and her supplies. Her mother had even been nice enough to get Lily a black cat, which she named Ebony. She had begun to look forward to September 1, when she would be going to this school.

And now, that day was here. Lily wondered what the school would look like, and whom she would meet there. She hoped she wasn't the only kid there that had no wizard relations. "Are we there yet, Dad?" she shouted to her father.

"Obviously not, Lily, if we were, the car would stop." Petunia sniffed impatiently. Lily's parents had forced the 15 year old to come with them, although Lily wouldn't have minded if she had to stay home.

"Oh, Petunia, don't act like such a sour puss. You should be happy for you sister." Lily's mom glared at Petunia unhappily. "Why are you so against this school of hers?"

Petunia didn't answer. Lily shrugged and stared out the window.

"Which platform do you get off from, Lily?" Lily's dad asked as he unloaded her luggage.

Lily looked at her ticket. "Nine and Three-Quarters."

Petunia burst out laughing. "Who ever heard of a platform Nine and Three-Quarters?"

Lily's mother frowned at Petunia and then looked at Lily. "Are you sure, dear?"

Lily nodded and handed her mother her ticket. Her mother frowned again, but helped Lily's father get Lily's luggage to Platform Nine. Next to Platform Nine, there was an empty wall, and then Platform Ten. Where was Platform Nine and Three-Quarters?

Lily and her parents looked around uncertainly while Petunia laughed at the absurdity of it. Lily hated it when her sister laughed at her. She would find Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, just to show Petunia.

"Ouch!"

Lily turned around. She had bumped into a boy. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bump into you."

The boy rubbed his knee. "Are you starting at Hogwarts, too?" he asked.

Lily's eyes opened wide. "Yes, but I can't seem to find the platform."

The boy laughed. "Just take all of your luggage and walk to the wall in between Platform Nine and Ten. You'll get there." He turned and saw some people motioning for him to come to them. "I have to go. See you on the train!" He ran away. Lily sorted what he had just said and decided to try it. She found her parents looking rather disappointed.

"Maybe it was just some sort of a trick," her father grumbled. "I should have known…"

"Mom, Dad! I think I know where the platform is." Lily brought them to the wall in between the two platforms. She grabbed her cart for them and ran for the wall.

"Lily Stevens! What are you doing?" She heard her mother shriek.

The wall was almost upon her. She closed her eyes, waiting for the impact. But is never came. She opened her eyes to see a train station filled with parents and children. Lily turned and looked at the wall. Maybe she should go back and tell her parents. They might be worried. She decided not to for she wanted to get on that train as soon as possible.

Lily tried to lift a bag from her cart. It was really heavy, and she could only lift it for a few seconds. This was going to be a problem.

"Need help with your luggage?" A tall boy with messy black hair and glasses stared at Lily expectantly.

Lily smiled gratefully. "Yes. It's so heavy, I don't know what I was thinking, bringing so much stuff…" She watched as he rolled his sleeves back and tried to pick it up. He held it up for ten seconds and then collapsed. He breathed hard.

"What…what do you have in that thing, bricks?" He panted looking at her incredulously. Lily blushed.

"I think I'm going to need some assistance." Lily opened her mouth to protest but the boy had already turned around and started yelling, "Sirius! Sirius! Where are you?"

Suddenly, a dark brown haired boy dashed over to them. "Were you addressing me, James?"

"If your name's Sirius, then yes, I was," James muttered impatiently. "By the way, my name's James Potter," he said to Lily.

"I'm Sirius Black." Sirius drew himself up proudly. James snorted. Sirius gave him a dirty look.

"Lily Stevens." Lily smiled. "Thanks for helping me."

"Hey, we haven't helped you yet." James said.

"It's in advance."

"Oh."

Sirius looked at Lily's suitcase. "James, why do you always need me for stuff like this?"

"Isn't that what friends are for?"

"I guess." The two boys lifted up the suitcase and heaved it on the train. Lily followed, rather embarrassed by now.

"Please tell me you're sitting in this compartment." Sirius begged as they reached the first compartment.

"She can't Sirius, the first two compartments are reserved for prefects." James grunted. Lily blushed again.

James and Sirius put the suitcase down when they reached the third compartment. They sat down on one of the seats, thoroughly exhausted. "Thanks again." Lily smiled. "I can carry the rest of my stuff here." She disappeared, and returned a few minutes later carrying a smaller bag and Ebony's cage. "You can leave now, if you like."

"Okay." James looked around. "Actually, I think I like it here. We'll be back."

"We will?" Sirius asked, looking confused. James dragged him out of the compartment.

Lily sat down on the seat. 'Those two seem to be good friends,' she thought. 'I wish I knew more people here.' She rummaged through her suitcase, looking for a book to study out of. She looked up as the door to her compartment opened. A girl with red hair and blue-green eyes stared back at her. "Hey, can I sit here? Everywhere else is full."

Lily looked around. "I guess. Some boys are sitting here, too, but there'll be room." The girl put her luggage away and sat down next to Lily. "I'm Leona Valdez," she introduced herself.

Lily stuck out her hand. "I'm Lily Stevens." Leona stared at Lily's hand, and then shook it.

"So, Lily, what house do you think you're going to be in?"

"House?"

"Yeah. You know, Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw?"

Lily hadn't the slightest idea what Leona was talking about. "I've never heard those names before."

"You haven't?" Leona seemed shocked. "Are your parents wizards, or Muggles?"

"If Muggles is the term for non-magic people, then yes, my parents are," Lily admitted uncomfortably.

"Ahh…" Leona nodded. "That's probably why you don't know anything. Well, at Hogwarts, students are sorted into one of four houses, Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Everyone I've met so far says that Gryffindor's the best. My sister and parents were in that house." She sighed and looked out the window. "I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw would be too bad, but I'd hate to be in Slytherin."

"Why?" Lily asked, eager for more information.

"I don't know, but it's like that house has a curse or something, because a lot of the students in that house have turned evil." Leona shuddered. "They even say that You-Know-Who was in that house."

"Who is this 'You-Know-Who', anyway?" Lily wondered out loud. "I saw his name in my Defense Against Dark Arts book."

"You saw his actual name?" Leona looked frightened at the very thought.

"No, just those words."

"Good. I would be rather surprised if you had. Anyway, I'll write down his real name for you, because I don't want to say it." Leona grabbed a sheet of paper. Lily watched as she slowly wrote the name-Voldemort. Then, Leona quickly erased the name.

Suddenly, the compartment door opened again. Lily looked up to see James and Sirius lugging their suitcases in. They stopped short when they saw Leona. James raised an eyebrow. "Lily, who's this?"

"Who are they?" Leona asked Lily. Lily sighed.

"James and Sirius, this is Leona Valdez. She's going to sit in this compartment with us. Leona, this is Sirius Black and James Potter."

All three nodded at each other. James and Sirius put their luggage away, and sat in the seat in front of Lily and Leona. They got to a conversation about their families. Lily learned that James was a pureblood wizard with no brothers or sisters. Sirius was half-blood, his father had been a Muggle, but he had died five years ago, of disease. Sirius also had a little sister who was eight. James and Sirius had also been friends ever since they were in diapers. Leona had one big sister who was seventeen and two pureblood wizard parents. . Lily was starting to feel uncomfortable. She hadn't met anyone yet who had no wizard relations, like her.

"Hey, Lily." Lily saw Leona looking at her. She was whispering.

"What is it? I thought you were talking to the boys."

"I think your friend Sirius is cute." Lily looked at the dark-haired boy. He certainly was a little handsome, but definitely not her type.

"He isn't really my friend. He and James just helped me get my luggage on this train," Lily admitted.

"Whatever."

Of course, by now the train hard started and was well on its way to Hogwarts. A boy peeked in their compartment.

"Are you still looking for a seat?" James asked, amazed that the train could be so full.

The boy shook his head. "No. I found an empty compartment, but some nasty boys kicked me out of it." He looked at the empty seat next to Sirius. "Can I sit with you?"

James looked at Sirius, who shrugged. "Okay, go ahead. By the way, what's your name?"

"Remus Lupin." The four introduced themselves to Remus, and he told them about his family. He had two parents and was a pureblood wizard. Remus didn't seem to like talking about himself much.

Suddenly, a small boy with brownish-blonde hair rushed in, looking very flustered. He saw the open seats and looked pleadingly at the five of us. "C-Can I sit here? Some Slytherins kicked me out of a compartment." They all nodded, and he put his stuff away before sitting down.

"Who are you?" Remus asked, curiously.

"P-Peter Pettigrew," he stammered nervously. They all introduced themselves once again, and Lily found it curious that Peter was the same age as the rest of them when he looked only nine to her. He had two parents, no siblings, and was from a pureblood family, like James. Peter stammered a lot when he talked, and seemed like a coward to Lily, but she said nothing. She was grateful to have met so many people on her first day.

An ugly boy with black hair suddenly entered their compartment. He frowned at all of them.

"Are you looking for a seat, too?" Sirius asked, about to explode with laughter.

The boy looked at Sirius. "No. I am merely trying to get to know my fellow students. I am Severus Snape, a pureblood. What are all of you?"

"James Potter, pureblood."

"Remus Lupin, pureblood."

"Leona Valdez, pureblood."

"P-Peter Pettigrew, pureblood."

"Sirius Black, half-blood."

Lily twisted a strand of hair nervously. "My name is Lily Stevens. I…I have no wizard relations." She admitted.

Snape looked at Sirius and Lily, his face full of disgust. "What are you two doing here, especially you, Mudblood?" he pointed at Lily.

James stood up. "What do you mean? They're both wizards or witches, no matter who their parents were, and that's why they're here!"

Sirius stood up, too. "You don't have to stand up for me, James. I'll teach this git a lesson…" He glared at Snape. "Don't insult Lily and me again or else!"

Snape smirked. "Or else what, half-blood?" He waved a hand in the air. "I don't have time to waste with you goody-goodies. Farewell." He stomped off, gloating.

Sirius looked ready to follow him, but sat down instead. James sighed. "I hate people like that. They think only purebloods should be wizards."

Lily shivered. Leona put an arm around her. "Don't worry, Lily. That guy's just a jerk. A genuine Slytherin." Lily smiled her thanks. Just then, a witch came by, pushing a cart full of food, and distracted the six while they paid for treats.

Two hours later, they were at Hogwarts. Lily got lost in the sea of students, but heard a bellowing voice, "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" It was a giant with black hair and black eyes. He saluted to Lily. "Hey, are yeh new?"

She nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Don't call me 'sir'. It's too formal. Call me Hagrid. Everyone does."

"Okay, Hagrid." She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Leona.

"Hey, let's get a boat," she said. Lily climbed into a boat with Leona and two other girls. When they got to the shore, Lily looked at the school. It was beautiful.

Hagrid led them inside and turned them to a black haired woman with a bun. "Firs' years, Professor McGongaall."

Professor McGonagall nodded. "Thank you, Hagrid. I'll take them from here." She led the students through the gigantic Great Hall and to two big doors. There, she turned around and introduced herself. She told them about the four houses at Hogwarts, and the point systems. "There will be a feast after the Sorting. Please wait here while we get ready for you." She opened a door enough to let her slip through. A murmur went through the crowd.

"Excuse me." Lily felt a tapping on her shoulder. She turned to see a girl her age with blond hair tied up in a ponytail.

"What is it?" Lily asked.

"Well, I was wondering, do you know how we get sorted?"

Lily sighed. "I'm not wizard born, so you really shouldn't ask me about anything here."

The girls' eyes widened. "Really? I don't have wizard parents either!"

Lily looked about to collapse with relief. "So I'm not the only one!"

"Lily, who are you talking to?" Leona asked, looking at the girl questioningly. Lily looked at the girl. She smiled.

"Oh, that. My name is Kayla Trecle." Leona and Lily introduced themselves, too.

"By the way, Leona, did your sister ever tell you about what they do to sort us?" Lily asked, smiling.

Leona shook her head. "No. She wanted to keep it a secret. I don't really talk to her that much, because she usually ends up yelling at me. Molly can really make you feel sorry if you do something bad. My parents and I always say that she'll make a great mother someday."

"Molly? Is that your sister's name?" Kayla asked, thoughtfully.

Leona nodded. Suddenly, the doors opened to reveal a huge room. In each of the four corners there was a large table with a lot of people around it. Leona showed Kayla and Lily her sister, who was standing by a tall red-haired boy at the Gryffindor table. Molly looked a lot like Leona, except she had an overall more mature look.

A man with half-moon glasses stood up above the students. He beamed at them. "That's the Headmaster, Dumbledore." Leona whispered to Lily, and then to Kayla.

Dumbledore introduced himself to the students and took out a stool. He placed an old battered hat on top of the stool. To everyone's amazement, the hat opened a flap and sang them a song about itself and the four houses.

Lily was relieved that you only had to try it on to be sorted. So were her friends. Professor McGonagall unrolled a very long piece of parchment and called the first name. "Aarika, Stephanie!" A girl with mouse-brown hair walked nervously to the stool and sat down, pushing the hat on her head. After a moment's pause, the hat yelled, "RAVENCLAW!" The girl stood up, placed the hat on the stool and rushed to one of the tables.

Lily didn't pay much attention to the names, as she knew hers would be near the end. However, she was listening when Professor McGonagall called, "Black, Sirius!" Sirius walked up to the stool, looking very confident. He jammed the hat on, and waited patiently. The hat waited about twenty seconds before yelling, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Remus, James, and Peter all got put in Gryffindor, as well, but what was most interesting to Lily was the time the hat took to choose. James was chosen for Gryffinor right away, while Remus took the hat about the same time as it did for Sirius. Peter, however, had been sitting for almost a minute before the hat chose to put him in Gryffindor.

After James' name was called, Lily knew it would soon be her turn to be chosen. She hoped that she would be in the same house as Leona and Kayla, and if possible, James, Sirius, Remus and Peter. Lily was called after that boy, Severus Snape, was put in Slytherin.

"Stevens, Lily!" Leona gave Lily a thumbs up and Kayla winked. Lily took a deep breath and walked to the stool. The hat was way too big for her, but she put it on, anyway.

"Hmmm…interesting. A very brilliant mind, yes, very brilliant, much like a Ravenclaw…but no, I see that it would be wrong to put you there. Where will you go then?" Lily heard a small voice inside her head. She shrugged to show that it didn't much matter.

"Don't care, huh? Well, then it better be…GRYFFINDOR!" The last word was shouted to the crowd. Lily scooted out of the seat and found herself walking towards the Gryffindor table. The tall boy who was standing next to Molly shook her hand. "Very nice to hear that you've been chosen for Gryffindor, young lady. My name is Arthur Weasley. I'm a seventh year here." Lily nodded at him shyly. She introduced herself to him and sat down next to James.

"All right, Lily, you got in the same house as us!" James smiled at her. Lily nodded, and then looked up to watch the rest of the sorting.

"Thomas, Nathan!" Professor McGonagall called. Lily recognized the boy as the one who had told her how to find Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. He put the hat on and waited. "GRYFFINDOR!" The hat shouted out. The boy waved to Lily as he sat down. After him, Professor McGonagall called a few more names and then called, "Trecle, Kayla!"

Lily waved at Kayla and crossed her fingers. Kayla smiled at Lily and put the hat on. The hat waited for awhile, and then after thirty seconds it shrieked, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Lily clapped loud while Kayla walked to the table. Kayla sat down next to Lily. "Yes! Kayla, we're in the same house!" She told her happily.

"I see you've made a new friend, Lily." Remus smiled at the two girls. Lily introduced the Kayla to James, Sirius, Remus and Peter, and turned to watch the sorting again. They were on the V's.

"Valdez, Leona!" Leona stood up and rushed to the stool. Lily saw Molly whisper something to Arthur Weasley, probably telling him that Leona was her sister. The hat wasted no time with Leona. As soon as the hat touched her head, it yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!!"

Lily and Kayla cheered as Leona raced over. Molly congratulated her sister, and yelled at her to not to run inside. "You're not my mum…" Leona complained to Molly and walked to Lily and Kayla. "Honestly, she treats me like a baby. I'm eleven years old!" Lily laughed.

After the last person, Zubu, Daisy, was made a Hufflepuff, the Sorting was over. Lily sat down in the middle of Kayla and Leona at the table to eat. Before they were allowed to eat, Dumbledore made an announcement.

"Students, you need to know that a Whomping Willow has been placed outside the castle. This tree is very dangerous, and you will do very well to stay away from it. Now, let's eat!" Everyone dug in. James, who was sitting across from Lily, wondered out loud why a Whomping Willow had been placed anywhere near the school. To everyone's surprise, Remus suddenly became very interested in his food.

After dinner, Arthur, Molly, and a bunch of other fifth-seventh years led the Gryffindors to their tower. They stopped in front of a portrait of a very fat lady in a pink dress. "Password?" she inquired.

Arthur turned to face the Gryffindors. "Never forget our password, for this lady will not let you in if you don't tell her the right one. Out password is Flobbergerm. It will probably change often, and we will tell you when it does." He repeated the password to the lady and the portrait swung aside to reveal an opening to the Gryffindor common room. Molly showed the girls their dormitory while Arthur showed the boys theirs'.

Lily settled down in her bed. Ebony mewed pitifully. "All right, Ebony, I'll feed you." She found one of the treats she had bought at the Magical Menagerie and gave it to Ebony. Kayla looked at Ebony. "Your cat's beautiful," she murmured.

Lily smiled. "Thanks."

Leona and Kayla had also found their beds. All the girls changed and settled down to sleep. Lily snuggled under her covers. Ebony slept at the food of her bed.

'I think I'm going to like it here. This is where I belong.' Lily thought as she closed her eyes and settled down to sleep.

Author's note: This is part one of a story with many parts; I'm not sure how many yet. As usual, all characters here (with the exception of Lily's friends, other Hogwarts students and some teachers) belong to J.K. Rowling. I hope you liked this part, and I promise to have the next one up soon. Please review and tell me what you think! –April