A/N: Hello there! I'd just like to start by saying this is my first real foray into writing, so any feedback at all is greatly appreciated! I think I should explain some about this story. My plan as of right now is to take this story from the very beginning (ahh, get it?!) of Lily and James's first year all the way to October 31, 1981. Things might change, but that is what I'm hoping for at this time. This story is going to start off a little slow, but I promise things will pick up once we get to Hogwarts! I hope y'all enjoy reading this as much as I'm enjoying writing it! And, once again, any feedback would be lovely!
Much love,
L
Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing from the original books written by J.K. Rowling. If I did own anything, I wouldn't be a poor college student.
"It's pretty simple, pretty obvious: that people's first impressions of people are really a big mistake." – Vincent D'Onofrio
"And they really carry the post?"
"Yes, Mr. Evans, I assure you, I am not mistaken."
"That's marvelous! However do they train them all? And how do they read the address?"
At this, the snowy owl Mr. Evans was scrutinizing so carefully fluffed her feathers and turned her head away, as if embarrassed and offended by the man's utter cluelessness. Minerva McGonagall, on the other hand, accessed all of her hidden reserves of patience to explain to the gentleman, who was clearly out of his element, once more exactly how the Wizard mail system worked. The man and his wife listened with wide eyes and mouths agape, as they reminded themselves that this was really the world their daughter was now a part of.
Mr. and Mrs. Evans had been in this same dreamlike state since the stern, upright looking Scottish woman arrived at their door carrying a letter of acceptance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And that was seven months ago. Though they struggled to believe what the woman was telling them at first, that their youngest daughter was indeed a witch, they soon realized that it explained an awful lot. From the time their daughter Lily was a baby, she seemed to bring odd occurrences wherever she went. Even when she was a baby, Mrs. Evans didn't dare leave her baby crying for more than a few moments, at risk of the bassinet beginning to bounce up and down, as if stomping it's feet impatiently. Once when Mrs. Evans couldn't find Lily at the grocer's one day when Lily was six, every glass jar in the shop shattered before she could be found. Yes, it made perfect sense when they really thought about it.
Lily Evans was not quite as shocked as her parents upon their first glimpse into the wizarding world. Everything was exactly as Severus described it; the bustling street full of men and women in black robes, the children playing in front of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, the large group of teenaged boys gathered in front of Quality Quidditch Supplies, and the smell of books as they entered Flourish and Blott's were all exactly as she had expected them to be, but left her breathless with excitement nevertheless. Lily had spent the last two years dreaming of the moment when she would be here, and now she finally was. When Severus first told her the truth about her abilities, she was skeptical. Witches only existed in fairytales, and even then they were usually bitter old hags who liked to curse normal people for the fun of it. Lily didn't think she was a bitter old hag. The more Severus told her of his world, though, the more she wanted to be a part of it, and the more she feared that it might not be true. Perhaps it was all an elaborate joke he was playing on her. Petunia certainly hoped so.
As soon as her letter arrived, though, all of her doubts were forgotten, replaced by enthusiasm for her new life. Lily and Severus had been meeting every day to talk about Hogwarts, magic, and anything having to do with wizards. Lily didn't want to seem daft when she arrived at her new home for the next seven years. She had pried all of the information she could out of her friend, though he was a more than willing participant. Severus even gave her his mother's dingy old copy of Hogwarts, A History that he found in his attic one day, though he insisted it was really no problem. Lily had dived into the book with a single-minded purpose of being the most informed student to arrive at Hogwarts, regardless of how realistic or unrealistic that goal may be.
The only damper on Lily's mood was the notable absence of her older sister, Petunia. Lily and her parents had begged Petunia to come along on the adventure, but Petunia had pleaded a headache and a bad cough to their parents when Professor McGonagall arrived to escort them to buy Lily's school supplies. Lily kept it to herself that Petunia had whispered in her ear that she was allergic to freaks. Being around Lily and that little demon boy was bad enough; such a concentrated amount of freakish activity at once would be too much to bear. Lily was sure Petunia would come around, though.
Professor McGonagall had taken Lily and her parents first to Gringott's bank to set up an account for Lily's use while away at school, as well as to exchange her parents' muggle currency to the proper wizard currency to make the day's purchases. Mr. Evans was characteristically amazed by the wizarding monetary system, and proceeded to interrogate their guide until they arrived at Ollivander's. Lily walked gingerly into the shop, wondering at its walls lined with thousands of rectangular boxes. The old man behind the counter smiled kindly at her.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Ollivander," Professor McGonagall started. " We're here to purchase this young lady's first wand."
"And who might this young lady be?" Ollivander inquired as he glanced down at the red-haired eleven-year-old.
"Lily Evans, sir." Lily attempted to sound confident, and held her head high. She feared some of the effect was lost though, by her wandering eyes that she couldn't force to stop glancing around the dimly lit shop.
"Well, Ms. Evans, you seem rather eager to begin. Let's have your wand arm, then." Ollivander held out his hand expectantly.
"Er-what?" Lily looked at him with confusion in her eyes.
"The arm you'll hold your wand with." Ollivander answered her patiently.
"Oh."
Lily obediently gave him her right arm, which he proceeded to measure from different points. He continued to attack Lily with his measuring tape, measuring not only her arm, but also her torso, her hand, and even her head. Lily wasn't quite sure what purpose this served, but didn't dare question his methods.
"Mr. Ollivander supplies wands for all of Hogwarts' students. He's truly the best there is at his craft. His family has been in this business for more than two millennia." McGonagall explained to the Evans's.
Mr. and Mrs. Evans looked enthralled by what McGonagall told them and watched Ollivander with great respect as he continued to examine their daughter.
"I've made all of the wands in this shop, and can remember every wand I've ever sold. No two wands are the same, each compliments a specific set of abilities and characteristics. They are conscious beings, working with the witch or wizard who wields them. In many ways, the wand makes the wizard as much as the wizard makes the wand," Ollivander explained, finishing his measurements.
Ollivander turned away from Lily and purposefully walked to the shelf on the far left of the shop, climbed the ladder, and pulled a box from near the top. Lily had no clue how he knew what he grabbed, all of the boxes looked identical, and none seemed to be marked. Ollivander opened the box, and pulled the wand out.
"Nine inches, Cypress, with a Dragon Heartstring Core. Noble, powerful" He explained, handing the wand to Lily. "Go on, then. Give it a try."
Lily wasn't sure what was supposed to happen when she flicked the wand about, but she did so anyway. She had barely even moved it before Ollivander snatched it out of her hand and shook his head. He returned it to its box and then disappeared into the aisles and aisles of wands. He returned with a new box, or so Lily assumed.
"Ten and a quarter inches, willow, with a unicorn hair core. Rather swishy, I'd say. Good for charms work," he said, pulling it out of its box and weighing it in his hands, before passing it to Lily.
Lily took the wand with more confidence this time, and didn't hesitate to swish it about. The movements were rewarded with brilliant sparks that shot out of the end. Lily and her parents both started at the sight.
"Is that supposed to happen?" Mr. Evans asked, concerned.
"Yes, indeed it was. I believe your wand has chosen you, Ms. Evans." Ollivander smiled proudly.
Lily looked down at the wand in her hand. Her wand. This was her wand that she would perform real magic with. She smiled down at it and once again began to swish it around with gusto. Sparks flew from the end, and a breeze suddenly picked up in the small shop, blowing papers off of the counter and sending them swirling about the room.
"Perhaps we should put this away for now," Mrs. Evans suggested, gently taking the wand away from her daughter and handing it back to Ollivander. The old man put it back in its box, while Lily frowned to herself. She tried to remember not to look like too much of a pouting child in front of her future professor, and told herself that soon enough she would be away at school where she could flick her wand to her heart's content.
After paying for the wand, the group had then made their way to Flourish and Blotts for Lily's schoolbooks, followed by a trip to Potage's Cauldron Shop and then Slug and Jiggers Apothecary for potions supplies. A trip to Madam Malkin's for Lily's school robes followed had followed that. Lily was already beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed when they arrived at the Magical Menagerie. Mr. Evans had been fascinated to learn that Wizards sent all their post by owl, and had wondered at wizards keeping the birds as pets. By this point, he had been testing McGonagall's patience on the matter for at least a quarter hour when Lily spoke up, saying she thought she'd rather like a cat for a pet better than an owl, requesting that the group make their way over to the feline area. Professor McGonagall sent her silent thanks with her eyes, to which Lily smiled in return.
After observing the kittens rolling around with each other, Lily plucked out a small tabby, far smaller than the rest of the kittens. Seeing that he was about to be ambushed by a horde of furry feline assassins, Lily plucked him out of the cat play area and turned to her parents.
"I like this one," she told her parents.
"An excellent choice," McGonagall told her, with approval and a sparkle in her eye that Lily didn't quite understand.
"We'll take this one," Mr. Evans told the clerk.
With Lily's packages in tow, the group made their way back into the crowded street of Diagon Alley to return to the muggle world.
Euphemia Potter's eyes scanned Diagon Alley once more in search of an unusually shaggy head of black hair. Her son, James, had managed to lose her once again in the crowded street. This was the second time since their arrival, less than an hour before, to pick up some last minute items for James's imminent departure for school. He had already snuck away to Gambol and Japes Joke Shop while she had been distracted trying to make their way through the crowded street. When she had finally caught up with him, he claimed that he had lost sight of her and thought it best to make his way to a location at which she would think to search for him, and her discovery of her son really only proved his point.
Mrs. Potter had already checked Gambol and Japes and Broomstix, when she spotted the familiar mop of jet-black hair beside a display window.
Of course, she thought to herself, he would be near the Quidditch supplies.
James Potter stared glassy eyed at the display in front of him. The Nimbus 1001 was the newest model in the Nimbus line, and it was absolutely perfect in every way; fast, sleek, and agile. It was exactly the broom for him. Now all he had to do was convince his mother of that… He did a quick mental calculation of how much time would need to be spent begging, groveling, whining, and giving doe eyes to his mother before she would cave and buy it for him. If his calculations were correct, the broom would be his by November.
He smiled to himself, picturing himself stepping off of his Nimbus after single-handedly winning Gryffindor the Quidditch cup. The wind blowing through his hair as the entire Gryffindor team lifts him up on their shoulders and carries him all the way to the Gryffindor Common Room. The girls swooning when he throws them his winning smile. The entire school chanting his name: James! James! James! James!
"JAMES!" his mother's shrill cry pulled him out of his daydream. "There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you, must you always run off? I'm getting far too old for this…"
"Don't be ridiculous, Mum, you could never be old," James told her, while sending her one of his famous crooked grins. He could already see her resolve to be angry with him slipping. "If anything I'm helping you stay young, keeping you on your toes!"
"Thank you, dear," Euphemia said, patting her son's cheek, "but I rather think my feet prefer being firmly on the ground. "
At her son's look of disbelief, Mrs. Potter shook her head and grabbed the boy's shoulder to lead him back towards Madam Malkin's.
"You know, mum, I've been thinking…" James began.
"Oh dear, that's never good. "
James continued on, ignoring his mother's quip. "I really want to get involved once I get to Hogwarts. I've heard quidditch is a great way meet older students to help me study, but I don't think my broom is quite up to Gryffindor standards…"
"James, there's nothing wrong with you broomstick, we just bought it for you last year."
They entered the door of Madam Malkin's just as another group was exiting. James was distracted by a flash of bright red, but quickly turned his attention back to the matter at hand.
"I'm only trying to ensure that I can exceed everyone's expectations at Hogwarts. You want me to be successful, don't you, mum?"
Euphemia took a deep calming breath; it was going to be a long afternoon.
Severus Snape looked around him with extreme satisfaction. Today was the day. It was finally time to leave his miserable home behind and start a new life at Hogwarts. He had been waiting for this day for as long as he could remember. The only thing missing was Lily Evans. She had promised Severus that they'd meet up, but he had yet to see her.
He scanned the crowd around him in search of her dark red hair. All around him were families hugging and kissing as they said their goodbyes until Christmas. He and his mother had barely said a word since their arrival. This wasn't unusual, though. They just didn't have much to say to each other. Severus briefly let himself wonder what his mother would do now that he would no longer be living with her, during the school year at least. Perhaps she would get a job so that she wouldn't have to be home with Severus's father. Severus briefly wondered what kind of job his mother could get before deciding he didn't much care and shrugged the matter off.
His eyes flew over the crowded platform once more before he finally spotted the girl he was looking for. He lifted his hand to wave before he noticed that she wasn't paying attention to him. She was deep in conversation with that vile sister of hers. Severus had no affection for the elder Evans girl. He was sure that genetics had played a mean trick on Petunia Evans, giving all of the kindness and gentleness, not to mention magical ability, to her younger sister and leaving Petunia with nothing but bitterness and unusually horse-like features. He found himself sneaking closer in an attempt to hear their conversation.
"…I'm sorry, Tuney, I'm sorry!"
Lily was desperately trying to grab her sister's arm as she spoke. Leave it to Lily Evans to apologize after doing nothing wrong. In fact, Severus thought, if anyone should be apologizing it should be dear "Tuney."
"Listen, maybe once I'm there- no, listen, Tuney! Maybe once I'm there, I'll be able to go to Professor Dumbledore and persuade him to change his mind!"
Severus shuddered at the idea of Petunia Evans at Hogwarts. She was about as magical as porridge with a personality to match. He really couldn't understand why Lily even cared. She was clearly far too good for her sister.
Severus watched as Petunia fought persistently to remove her arm from her younger sister's grasp, but Lily was holding on for dear life.
"I don't- want- to- go!" Petunia shrieked. "You think I want to go to some stupid castle and learn to be a-a…"
Severus could see the wheels turning in Petunia's head to come up with the most hurtful thing she could. Whatever came out of her mouth could not be good for Lily to hear.
"-you think I want to be a-a freak?"
And there it was.
"I'm not a freak. That's a horrible thing to say!"
"That's where you're going," Petunia said, with a level of malice Lily had never seen from her sister, at least not directed toward her. Usually Petunia's malice was focused on Severus. "A special school for freaks. You and that Snape boy… weirdos, that's what you two are. It's good you're being separated from normal people. It's for our safety. "
Lily could feel her eyes filling with tears. Her own sister thought she was a freak. Sure Petunia got nervous when Lily caused some abnormal occurrence, but she had never told Lily that her abilities were freakish. Lily glanced over to see if her parents heard what Petunia had said, but saw that they were too busy admiring Platform 9 ¾ to notice. She also saw Severus standing a few feet away, but was too distraught to wave. She couldn't be telling the truth; Lily knew Petunia was only jealous. So jealous that she wanted to ruin Hogwarts for Lily. Well Lily Evans was not about to let that happen.
"You didn't think it was such a freak's school when you wrote to the headmaster and begged him to take you."
Lily watched as Petunia's face turned bright red, but Lily wasn't sure if it was from anger or embarrassment.
"Beg? I didn't beg!" Definitely anger.
"I saw his reply. It was very kind."
"You shouldn't have read- that was my private-" Petunia struggled to form a coherent sentence. "-how could you-?"
Lily glanced over to where she had seen Severus only moments before. Petunia's eyes followed Lily's.
"That boy found it! You and that boy have been sneaking in my room!" Petunia had now surpassed anger and reached the point of outright rage.
"No –not sneaking…" Lily attempted to defend herself and her friend. "Severus saw the envelope and couldn't believe a muggle could have contacted Hogwarts, that's all! He says there must be wizards working undercover in the postal service who take care of—"
"Apparently wizards poke their noses in everywhere!" All of the blood had drained from Petunia's face. Lily thought she might have preferred it when Petunia's face had been scarlet. With a final glare at her sister, Petunia spat the word "Freak!" at Lily and turned away.
Lily fought the urge to burst into tears. She didn't want to upset her parents before she left them for months. She just had to make it to the train.
Lily heard the train whistle blow, and turned to her family to say her goodbyes. Petunia's eyes were fixed on the entrance back to the muggle world, but that was fine with Lily. Lily's parents grabbed her into a tight embrace.
"Oh, sweetie, you're going to have so much fun! We love you so much and we're so proud of you! Don't forget to call us once in a while!" Mrs. Evans told Lily.
"They don't have telephones, remember, mum?" Lily reminded her mother. At Mrs. Evans's embarrassed look, Lily smiled and kissed her mother's cheek. "But I'll write as often as I can." This seemed to mollify her.
"You're gonna do great, Lilypad." Lily blushed at her father's use of his favorite nickname for her. "Don't forget about your old man while you're away." Mr. Evans' eyes were getting suspiciously watery, which only served to make Lily want to cry more.
"I love you, dad. I love you, mum." Lily said, struggling to keep her composure.
"Petunia?" Lily's mother called to her older daughter. "Come say goodbye to Lily, you won't see her until Christmas!"
"Bye," Petunia said, monotone, barely turning her head toward her sister.
"Petunia!" Mr. Evans admonished. "Come over here and give your sister a proper goodbye!"
Petunia grudgingly left her station by the wall, and pulled Lily into a reluctant hug.
"Freak," she whispered as she pulled away.
"Bye, Tuney." Lily knew she had to go now or risk an emotional breakdown for all to see. With a final hug and kiss for her parents, Lily boarded the Hogwarts Express.
Sirius Black walked down the corridor of the Hogwarts Express in search of an empty compartment. His search had been fruitless thus far, and he was quickly running out of patience with the whole situation. He glanced into another compartment only to see it occupied by a girl with red hair. He took note of this compartment as a possible last resort. The girl didn't seem like one to turn someone away from an empty seat. Just as he turned to take another lap around the train, he something run into him hard, knocking him backwards and onto his backside. Sitting up and shaking off his surprise, Sirius took note of the shaggy black hair and surprised expression. Make that someone.
"Watch where you're going!" He said to the boy who had run into him.
"Sorry, mate, but maybe you shouldn't be standing in the middle of the corridor," shaggy hair said. "Just a suggestion."
"It's fine," Sirius muttered, standing and brushing himself off. "Sorry I overreacted." Sirius blamed his current frustration and lack of patience on his mother. She had felt it appropriate to give him the "Black Family talk" for the hundredth time before he got on the Hogwarts Express.
The Black Family talk generally consisted of reminding Sirius that he belonged to the Ancient and Noble House of Black and that it was his job to uphold its honor by being sorted into Slytherin and only associating with Purebloods, just as his family had always done. Just like his cousins, Bellatrix, Andromeda, and Narcissa had done. Bellatrix was already out of Hogwarts and engaged to be married, but Andromeda and Narcissa were still in school. His mother encouraged him to seek their guidance. Fat chance. Not that Andromeda was bad, she was certainly the sanest of the lot, but he would rather not associate himself so soon with the notorious Black sisters.
Sirius shook himself back into reality. Shaggy Hair was asking him a question.
"What's your name?"
"I'm Sirius."
"That's great, but what's you name?"
"My name is Sirius." Sirius fought the urge to roll his eyes. His name was a constant struggle. It may have been one of the reasons he had some resentment toward his mother.
"Oh, ha! Sorry, mate!" The apology lost some of its effect since James was still chuckling to himself. "I'm James. James Potter." He held out his hand. Sirius took the proffered hand and shook it firmly.
"Good to know you, James. I don't suppose you're out here looking for a place to sit?" Sirius asked. "Because if you are, I was thinking of joining her." He gestured toward the compartment beside them, empty except for the redhead.
"Interestingly enough, I am. I was sitting with some other first years, but they didn't know what Quidditch was, so I figured I had best take my company elsewhere."
"Didn't know what quidditch was?" Sirius was as incensed as James. "What, do they live under a rock?"
"That's all I'm saying!" James agreed.
"So are you Magpies or a Cannons man?" Sirius asked.
"Neither, I'm a Puddlemere man myself."
Sirius thought to himself that this James bloke wasn't half bad as the pair entered the redhead's compartment.
James did his best to avoid making eye contact with the girl in front of him. He had to admit, he was doing a pretty admirable job, if he did say so himself. He wasn't sure how Sirius was faring, but he assumed just as well, if not better than, himself. They had asked the redheaded girl if she minded them sitting with her. She shook her head, and told them they could sit. James and Sirius introduced themselves, and the girl gave them a halfhearted smile, and told them her name. Something Evans.
James and Sirius had just struck up a conversation of the flying abilities of the Comet versus the Cleansweep when the Evans girl started crying. Sirius noticed first, nudging James to get his attention. James was surprised she was so emotional about the poor performing abilities of the Comet. He was going to offer her small consolation in that it at least didn't look as bad as it flew, but Sirius had firmly shook his head at him.
So they had been tactfully ignoring the Evans girl's tears every since. A few other first year boys wandered in after them, apparently having a sixth sense of where to find quidditch conversation. The group had grown rather large and rowdy, but the girl still hadn't so much as moved her head from the window. James was about to ask her opinion, at least in the hope of ending her incessant waterworks, when the door to the compartment swung open, revealing a boy in secondhand robes with a hooked nose and the greasiest hair James had ever seen. James considered offering the boy some of his hair potion, just in case he didn't know that such a thing existed, but was distracted when the boy plopped himself down across from the Evans girl.
Odd that he seemed to know her. They didn't seem like the type to intermingle. Oh well, James thought to himself. It's not like he knew anything about the girl except that her tear ducts were in excellent working condition. For all he knew she was just as opposed to hygiene as Greasy Hair over there. James decided it would be tactful to ignore the pair. He wasn't sure what was going on there, but the girl didn't seem happy to see him. He threw himself back into the boys' conversation with even more vigor when he heard someone mention the Holyhead Harpies' chances of taking the League this year. He didn't notice the boy and girl again until he heard the only word that could get a reaction out of him faster than "quidditch."
"Slytherin? Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" James looked to Sirius for support. To James's surprise, Sirius didn't grin back at him.
"My whole family has been in Slytherin." Sirius frowned.
James was dumbstruck by this information. "Blimey, and I thought you seemed all right!"
Sirius smiled at this. "Maybe I'll break the tradition."
James certainly hoped he did. This Sirius bloke seemed all right. He was definitely someone he could see himself hanging around with at school.
"Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?" Sirius wondered.
"Gryffindor, where dwell the brave of heart. Like my dad." James stated proudly, and, feeling this also required a visual demonstration, pulled out an invisible sword and pretended to swing it about.
James heard greasy hair make a choking noise in the back of his throat. He turned on the boy-what was his name? He knew he'd heard Evans say it. Severus, that was it. Stupid name. "Got a problem with that?"
"No," Severus told him, but his sneer told James otherwise. "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy-"
"Where're you going, seeing as you're neither?" Sirius interrupted.
James couldn't stop himself from roaring with laughter. He had been right; this Sirius bloke was a quality guy. Evans apparently disagreed, though.
"Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment." She said, grabbing Severus's arm and pulling him from the compartment.
James looked at Sirius, and both simultaneously let out an "Ooooo…" and roared with laughter again.
James reached out his foot just as Severus tried to pass him, and was disappointed when Severus stumbled, but didn't fall. Sirius made up for it, though, by shouting, "See ya, Snivellus!" just before the Evans girls slammed the compartment door.
"Can you believe that guy?" James asked Sirius.
"I think we're going to have a lot of fun this year," Sirius told James, grinning.
"Can you believe those guys?" Lily asked Severus, as she pulled him down the train corridor to another compartment. "They were such jerks! You didn't do anything to them to deserve that!"
"They're just a bunch of gits." Severus told Lily. "Probably got bored and wanted to start something before we even get to Hogwarts."
Lily and Severus walked down the corridor in search of an empty compartment. Lily stopped when she saw a compartment that was empty aside from a small, blonde girl sitting by herself. Lily looked at Severus with a question in her eyes; he shrugged, which she took as acquiescence.
Lily opened the door to the compartment, and poking her head in, asked, "Is it all right if we join you?"
The girl nodded, "Yes, that'd be wonderful!"
Lily smiled at the girl enthusiastically. It looked like not everyone going to Hogwarts was a git after all. "I'm Lily," Lily introduced herself, and then gestured toward Severus, "and this is Severus."
"Mary. Nice to meet you both." The girl smiled sweetly at them, and Lily took the seat beside her while Severus chose to sit across from the girls.
"Are you a first year, too?" Lily asked Mary.
"Yeah, what gave it away?" Mary joked.
"What can I say, these things just come to me." Lily joked back.
"So do you both have parents who are wizards?" Mary asked.
"Nope. My mum and dad are both muggles. My sister is two…" Lily bit her lip when she said this, then decided to put Petunia out of her mind. No need to open up that topic again.
The girls both looked at Severus expectantly.
"My mum's a witch, yeah." Severus told them, and left it at that. They both looked as if they expected him to say something else, but he kept his mouth shut.
"My parents are both muggles, too." Mary told them, breaking the awkward silence. "I'm so relieved I'm not the only one!"
"You couldn't actually think you'd be the only muggle born in all of Hogwarts." Severus interjected. Mary looked a bit taken aback and deflated at this. Lily shot Severus a warning glance.
"I was a bit worried, too, to be honest." Lily told the girl, smiling. "I'm glad I won't be the only one who hasn't the faintest what's going on."
Lily and Mary continued to talk for the rest of the ride, discussing their parents' shock at receiving their letters from Hogwarts.
"My mum nearly fainted! Then Professor Slughorn conjured up a glass of water for her and my dad really did faint!" Mary told them.
"My parents were a bit shocked, but I think they were just happy to have some explanation for the things I could do. Apparently, I was quite a fright as a baby. My mum was afraid to leave me alone; she thought I'd burn the house down without constant supervision."
Lily and Mary's eyes lit up when they saw the sweets trolley come by. Both girls bought a pack of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and four Sugar Quills each. Severus merely shook his head when the Trolley lady asked him. Lily offered him some of her candy, but he told her he wasn't really hungry. Lily was shocked to notice the sun had already gone down and the lights in the train had come on. A curl of anticipation formed in her stomach when she realized they must be getting close to Hogwarts.
Lily turned to Severus to tell him, and realized that he had remained quiet for most of the ride, letting the girls talk. Lily turned to him, feeling guilty that she had ignored him this whole time.
"Severus, can I ask you a question?" Lily asked.
"I suppose so."
"What's quidditch?"