"… Research shows, however, that once we do form an impression of someone, we become less and less likely to revise our opinion in light of new evidence, even if it's contradictory. Thus, first impressions are powerful."

-Psychology in Modules, Saul Kassin

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

September 2, 1971

Lily had tried her hardest to ignore the boys she was sharing a compartment with, and she was succeeding. In all the nights she had lain awake imagining this train ride, she had never thought she would spend it crying.

Despite the interesting people all around her, people who were part of a world she had only just recently discovered existed, she could only think of the fact that her sister hated her, had called her a freak, and it was Severus's fault.

She rubbed her eyes to get rid of the tears as she looked out the window at the country side passing by unseeingly, until she heard the door to the compartment slide open, and saw the familiar boy sit down opposite her, already wearing Wizarding robes. Lily suddenly realized that she looked like a muggle (that was the word, right?), and even though Severus had assured her that no one cared, she became self conscious of herself.

Lily looked at Severus, ignoring the relieved feeling she felt at seeing someone familiar. "I don't want to talk to you." She muttered, looking out the window again.

"Why not?" he asked her, sounding worried.

Lily tried to hide back more tears as she said, "Tuney h-hates me." She told him in an accusatory tone, "Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore."

"So what?"

Lily glared at him angrily, feeling as if she would love to hit him. "So she's my sister!"

"She's only a— "but he stopped himself with a guilty look, except Lily hadn't notices. She was too busy trying to wipe away her tears.

"But we're going! This is it! We're off to Hogwarts!" Severus cried, unable to hide the exhilaration in his voice. She couldn't help it, Lily was too excited to stay cranky at the mention of Hogwarts, her new school. She smiled and nodded. "You'd better be in Slytherin." He added.

"Slytherin?"

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

James liked the kid he was sharing a compartment. Well, the one he was talking to at least. His name was Sirius, and he seemed have all the same interests as James, including pranking. They had been discussing (rather loudly) the best tricked they had ever pulled on their parents when a girl walked distractedly into their compartment.

James was immediately captivated, while Sirius showed no notice. The first thing he noticed about the girl was that she had the most strikingly green eyes he had ever seen. They were like—like the color of tree frogs or the emeralds on his mother's fancy dinner necklace. And her hair was really really red.

He watched her out of the corner of his eyes with growing interest, but at the same time he really enjoyed his conversation with Sirius.

When another boy joined her, he felt slightly angry, and a little sad that they already knew each other. It was an interesting combination of feelings, and he kept tabs on their conversation. They were in correspondence with Dumbledore? They must be important.

"You'd better be in Slytherin."

James scoffed out loud, making Sirius look up in confusion halfway through a rather dull story concerning his house elf and a baking pan. "Slytherin?" he asked out loud, laughing at the thought. "Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" He asked, bringing Sirius into the conversation. Sirius didn't smile and laugh along with James however. He said a bit sullenly, "My who family have been in Slytherin,"

He was shocked. "Blimey, and I thought you seemed alright!" He realized now that he would be competing against Sirius if he was in Slytherin, just because the grudge between Slytherin and Gryffindor was notorious.

Sirius grinned suddenly. "Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?"

James pretended to lift a sword, like the magical nights in the stories James's mother used to read to him. "Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!" He said in a rather obnoxiously majestic way. "Like my dad," he added as an after thought. His mother had been a Ravenclaw, which is the house he considered second best.

Snape snorted, and James remembered that he was there. "Got a problem with that?" he asked challengingly, taking in the boys appearance. He didn't look like much, sort of neglected and like he really needed a bath.

"No," he said, his tone and expression indicating otherwise. "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy—"

"Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" Sirius interjected, and James roared with laughter, giving him a high five, watching the girl out of the corner of his eye, wondering if she was impressed with him and his new friend…

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

Lily found these boys to be extremely annoying once they started talking to them, and she glared at them for insulting her friend, the only person she had in the magical world. She hoped everyone at Hogwarts didn't act like this, or she might give up on the whole magic thing.

She stood up and flipped her hair out of her eyes. "Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment."

Severus stood up with a loathing look in the two boys' direction, as they imitated Lily's voice in a lofty "Ooooooo…"

They marched out of the compartment, fallowed by the boy with glasses calling "See ya, Snivellus!"

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

November 15th, 1977

Lily woke with a start, attempting to get used to her surroundings as was custom for her lately. Even though she had been living here for nearly two months now, it was hard to get used to the splendor the Head's dormitories offered.

Yes, Lily Evans had made Head Girl her seventh year at Hogwarts. Except, she had been appalled to find out, James Potter was her counterpart, and as a result was more than likely sleeping on the other side of her wall. She repressed a shudder as she stood and wrapped a dressing gown on over her pajamas.

The sun had barely begun to rise over the horizon, but Lily wasn't tired. After a heated argument with James the night before, over what she couldn't recall, she had retired early. He made her so angry sometimes, usually because he was doing something arrogant or stupid. This year it was more arrogance then anything. At least he was toning down the stupidity, which was something she grudgingly had to admit, seeing as how he was turning out to be a rather excellent Head Boy.

Not that she would ever let him know she thought that. He was a natural leader, but that was because most of the girls wanted to shag him, and half the boys wanted to be him. She doubted Dumbledore actually appointed him because of his responsibility, but rather because he knew how to command a room.

Lily sat down to finish homework, despite the fact that it was a Saturday morning, but she gazed out her window not looking at anything in particular. She had been dreaming a lot about Potter lately, most likely related to the fact that she was forced to spend the majority of her time with him.

A dream that revisited a memory? That was a new one. But looking back on the night before in comparison to the time she first met him, she guessed that some things just never changed.