Lily Potter: Beginnings
Synopsis: Lily Potter's first year in Hogwarts. Of Quidditch, houses, new rivals, midnight endeavors and a Dark Lord on the rise. Lily/Scorpius eventually.
-
-
One : Goodbyes and Sorting .
After years of watching her brothers board the Hogwarts Express, the day had finally arrived for Lily Potter to attend Hogwarts like the rest of them. She felt neither squeamish nor giddily excited like her brothers had been; just matter-of-fact about the whole ordeal. It was about time.
The five Potters gathered in the Station, waiting for the Weasleys to arrive so that they could go together. Although Lily was impatient, she was glad to be waiting for Hugo. At least she'd definitely have one friend in her year.
"All set, Lil?" her mother asked, ruffling her long sheet of blood red hair affectionately, causing Lily to protest with an embarrassed "Mo-om!"
Her mother laughed.
"We'll take care of her, mom," Albus put in, sticking out his chest proudly causing James to burst out laughing.
"Yeah, Lil. Like about the sorting..." James started, a wicked smile gracing his face. "You know the Hat throws curses in your head and sees-"
"James!" Mrs. Potter admonished as Harry smiled.
"What?" James started, innocently. "I'm just warning-"
"You'll be fine, Lily," her father assured her.
"I know," Lily said with a huff. "James, you're not scaring me."
"Now I'm not," James said, with a straight face. "Wait till you actually-"
He was interrupted once again by the arrival of the Weasleys. Hugo immediately attached himself to Lily's side as they put together everything their siblings had ever said about Hogwarts and wondered what it would actually be like. Although years of watching her brothers go to Hogwarts had made her more wary of being left out than eager to go, Lily started to feel excited in spite of herself.
"What if you're in Slytherin?" Hugo wondered aloud, his eyes widening.
"Me? In Slytherin?" Lily scoffed, placing her hands on her hips the way her mother did when she was annoyed. "You think I'll be in Slytherin?"
"Just what if?" Hugo hastily elaborated. "What would you do?"
"I'd die!" Lily exclaimed, wrinkling her nose. "What would you do?"
"Mom said it doesn't matter," Hugo said, hesitantly.
"Of course she'll say that," Lily said, raising an eyebrow. "I don't wanna be in Hufflepuff either. James will make fun of me!"
The Weasleys' and Potters' chattered and bickered all the way till Platform Nine and Three Quarters, where Lily bid goodbye to her parents for the first time. Lily tried to look as poised as she could as her mother and Aunt Hermione hugged her goodbye, but she did feel weird tagging along with her brothers and cousins instead of staying behind with Hugo.
"Be good, James!"
"Goodbye Lily!"
"Take care, Hugo!"
"Don't forget to write, Rose!"
"Tell Kane he can spend Christmas with us like last year, Albus!"
The feeling only increased as they boarded the Hogwarts Express, James being quick to separate himself from the clan. Rose and Albus too hastily went to find their friends.
"Nice of them to look out for us," Hugo commented causing Lily to scowl in agreement.
"Let's find an empty compartment," she told him, as they dragged their luggage from one compartment to another. They were already at the receiving end of a lot of stares and whispering. Albus had warned her about that. Being a Potter had its nuances.
-
They had managed to find themselves a compartment. Only, it hadn't been as empty as Lily would've preferred it to be. The compartment was occupied by three other First Years: a dark haired, olive skinned girl, a girl with strawberry blond hair and a boy with dark brown hair and green eyes.
By the time the lunch trolley arrived, introductions were made and opinions were already formed.
The darked haired girl who was astonishingly beautiful was Blaire Zabini, who had shown the mildest flicker of interest at Lily Potter ("So your father's Harry Potter?" she'd confirmed, closing the question with a mocking sneer) and had already decided that the others weren't worth her interest.
The boy with dark brown hair and gleaming green eyes was Jimmy Kingston, a muggleborn who was interested in the littlest thing that had magic in it which greatly amused the rest. The other girl was petite with curly strawberry blond locks, a laughing mouth and sea-blue eyes that betrayed the slightest change in her mood, and was called Kimberly Constance who preferred to be known by her last name.
While the Constances' were a wizarding family who were practically unheard of, Lily immediately knew she would get along well with the well mannered, cheery girl, despite the fact that girls like Constance usually annoyed her.
Jimmy and Hugo were already deep in conversation. Hugo seemed to be fascinated by the muggle notes Jimmy had carried with him, clearly sharing his grandfather's curiosity about muggles.
Lily rolled her eyes at them and helped herself to another Chocolate Frog.
"Uhh. I got my dad again," Lily complained, holding up the Chocolate Frog card she'd got. "You'd think they'd get tired of making more of those."
"Ooo..I've got hundred and eight Harry Potter ones!" Constance exclaimed.
"My point exactly," Lily said, letting the card fall on Jimmy's lap. Jimmy peered at the card enthusiastically.
Hugo broached the topic of Sorting once again, clearly still apprehensive about it. Blaire seemed to scorn the very thought of being sorted in Hufflepuff while Lily expressed her wish to be in no other house but Gryffindor. Hugo still seemed doubtful. Rose had been sorted in Ravenclaw, and while he was neither smart like his sister nor as brave, he didn't like the options left. Constance didn't seemed that affected by it.
Her mother had been in Hufflepuff and her father in Ravenclaw. Whatever house she was sorted in, it didn't really make a difference to her.
"Uh, what are you folks talking about?" Jimmy finally asked, after listening in on the whole conversation.
"Loser," Blaire murmured with a cough, turning away.
As Hugo started briefing him about everything once again, Lily's mind reeled on the different things James and Albus had told her about Hogwarts: the Quidditch lessons they would be having in the middle of the year, the feasts, the vast grounds and the more personal things like Albus's hatred for Scorpius Malfoy and the way James always got a kick out of teasing a Slytherin in his year by the name of Marcus Leaton.
It started raining as the journey loomed on and the compartment door opened once again; A tall boy who looked about Albus's age with a pointed chin, blond hair and glassy gray eyes walked in, with two other boys beside him.
"Your brother summons you, Blaire," he called, looking rather bored.
"About time," Blaire grumbled before following him out.
"Glad that's the last we'll be seeing of her," Constance commented as the others nodded vehemently.
She was wrong.
-
By the time they trudged into the Entrance Hall, they were all soaking wet. Lily looked down at her brand new robes critically. They were very well made but the fact that they were now sopping wet made it feel rather heavy on her. Why did the First Years have to go through the Lake on such a horribly rainy day?
The Great Hall was thankfully warm, though the ceiling was dark and bleary, bolts of lightning flashing every few seconds. Thank god it was only enchanted. Lily followed the others who trooped towards the Sorting Hat that looked shabby and worn, far shabbier than Lily had expected it to look.
"I am not putting that thing on my head," she heard Blaire Zabini whisper haughtily to another raven-haired girl whom she seemed to have befriended over the journey.
You can go home then, Lily thought, shaking her head. I'll be glad.
"Are you nervous?" Constance asked her, her blue eyes as wide as saucers.
"Not as nervous as Hugo is. I mean, look at him," Lily answered, snickering at Hugo who seemed to be chattering and trembling at the same time.
"What's gotten into you?" Lily asked Hugo, frowning, as she nudged him. "Are you that scared?"
"N-no, y-you n-nut. I-it's j-just c-cold." Hugo chattered back, tugging on his soaked robes.
Constance burst out laughing as the Sorting Hat, which opened its brim, finally burst into a song:
Years ago,
When I was but
a piece of cloth,
you see-
The Founders of this School,
they put
a bit of them
in me.
Brave Gryffindor, he-
And so it went. The older students started talking amongst themselves, though a few still stared at the Hat with bated breath. They were used to the tradition being repeated again and again. Lily's stomach was clenched as though she wanted to listen to the song, every muscle in her body was strained, waiting for the Sorting to be over and done with.
Finally, the song came to an end, as the Hat once against appeared lifeless on the stool. A tall redheaded witch started calling the names of the First Years. Yes, finally.
"Pritchard, Gray."
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Simons, Charles."
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Weasley, Hugo,"
"Good luck," Lily whispered as Hugo stumbled forward, still chattering.
"GRYFFINDOR" the Hat said after the mildest of pauses.
"Wolfe, Tatiana,"
The raven-haired girl Blaire Zabini had been talking to, made her way towards the stool.
A pause.
"RAVENCLAW!"
Raising an eyebrow at Blaire, she made her way towards the Ravenclaw table.
"Newton, Alfred."
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Kingston, Jimmy,"
Jimmy looked petrified. Constance practically pushed him forward.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Jimmy happily joined Hugo at the Gryffindor table, James and Albus clapping him on.
"Constance, Kimberly."
"You'll still talk to me even if I'm in Slytherin, right?" Constance confirmed, peering at Lily worriedly.
"Oh, I don't know..." Lily said loftily, before adding. "Trust me, you're no Slytherin."
Grinning, Constance bounced forward. She sat on the stool, comically still, as an extra long silence loomed. Just as everyone was starting to look at her worriedly, the silence was broken:
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"See you at the table," Constance told Lily breezily as she joined Hugo and Jimmy. A tall blond Slytherin Lily recognised from earlier in the train and his friends were booing her.
"Zabini, Blaire."
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Potter, Lily."
It's me. Lily thought, as she willed herself to reach the stool, feeling everyone's eyes on her. What had happened to the hushed conversations and the disinterest? Why had it all melted away? The Sorting Hat was placed on her as every person in the Hall wondered which house the youngest Potter would be sorted into.
Lily waited for the Hat to speak. Wasn't it supposed to speak? Why wasn't it speaking?
Ah. she finally heard it say, as she jumped.
Just sort me already, Hat, she thought, getting impatient. Hadn't the Hat sorted James into Gryffindor the very minute its brim touched his head?
I'm afraid it'll take longer. You, Lily Potter, are more complex than I would've foreseen.
What are you talking about? She thought, annoyed.
Intelligent, but not especially wise. Loyal, but slippery. Courage. Yes, there's definitely courage but it's the courage to take risks, to make difficult choices, to be different...courage, ambition and jealousy...Yes, Lily Potter-
She froze as she saw where this was going.
No. she said at once. Not Slytherin. Please, not Slytherin.
Not Slytherin, eh? Are you sure? You would do well in Slytherin, Lily Potter.
No, I wouldn't.
Her initial impatience disappeared as she was now shaking. She could still feel eyes on her. She, once again, noticed a pair of gray eyes belonging to a Slytherin already seated. His eyes were gleaming as his mouth bore traces of a knowing smirk. She shuddered.
Not Slytherin. Please. Definitely not Slytherin.
Well, if you're so sure...
"GRYFFINDOR!" the Hat finally shouted as Lily hopped off the stool.
She felt relief, not happiness. Still shaking, Lily joined her friends and cousins, trying not to think about what the Hat had just said. Yet, the damage had been done. Throughout the feast, nothing tasted right as a bitter taste in her mouth lingered. Should she really have been in Slytherin?
-
