Chapter One: Slimed!
Lily pulled her jacket close around her as the crisp autumn winds snatched at her long auburn hair. She glanced at the chaos surrounding her and turned around, already having second thoughts.
"Mom?" she whispered, uncertainly.
Her mom gave her one last hug and kissed her on the cheek, but started moving towards the car. "Yes, honey I'm right here. Look, we really have to go, your father is already late for an important business meeting, and Petunia needs to get to school. Good bye dear, write loads and have a great term!" Mrs. Evans was calling back over her shoulder as she ran towards the open door of the mini-van.
"Sure Mom, thanks a lot," Lily said, dejectedly. She was used to being by herself, but this was the first time she had ever felt truly alone. Her family was gone and here she was standing in the middle of a busy train station, about to go to a boarding school where she had no friends, and no one to look out for her. In fact, she didn't even know how to get to the train. Lily once again rummaged around in her pockets and extricated the ticket.
"Platform 9 ¾...9 ¾…there ISN'T a Platform 9 ¾…oh no," Tears stung in Lily's eyes as she realized that she was completely lost. As soon as my family leaves I have no idea where to go. Suddenly, there was a veritable explosion of books and feathers, as Lily felt herself being flung onto the floor. She looked up and saw a girl about her age staring back at her.
"Hi!" The girl spoke with a little Spanish accent as she reached down to help Lily off the ground. "I'm sorry about that, but I'm late for my new school and I was in such a rush that-" she stopped short as she picked up one of Lily's books that had fallen to the floor. "Wait a second! A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration? You're a witch too?" Lily nodded and smiled at the energetic girl in front of her.
"I'm Lily Evans, and yes I am a witch. It's my first year at Hogwarts. So you're a first year too?" she extended her hand and the girl, instead of shaking it, high-fived Lily instead. She grinned.
"Carolina Richardson, nice to meet you. Yeah, I'm a first year too, and there's only two more minutes until the train leaves. If we don't hurry we're gonna be late for our first day of school! Follow me!" Carolina sprinted off towards the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10, pushing her cart, laden with a large black trunk like Lily's and a midnight black owl, before her. Lily followed suit, completely perplexed, and before she knew it she was out of control, about to crash into the barrier, squeezing her eyes closed in preparation for the inevitable crash. Suddenly, there was an odd sort of feeling and she opened her eyes. She had just run through a solid barrier and ended up on another Platform. It was jam packed with loads of people, some already dressed in the flowing black robes that were school uniforms, while other were still wearing the standard seventies clothes, their bright colors blazing in contrast to the others.
"Come on, Lily! Over here!" Carolina had found an empty compartment and was waving to Lily from the steaming train. Lily bolted over to her new-found friend and threw herself into the moving compartment. She lay still on the floor for a moment, her mind slowly chewing over what had just happened to her. A few weeks ago she had been sitting at her kitchen table when an owl, of all things, dropped a letter onto her bacon. Soon she was whisked off to downtown London where she and her parents had found a whole new world hidden behind a brick wall. She bought lots of exotic books and supplies, not the least of which a magic wand, and the next thing she knew, she was running through a solid barrier and now she was lying on the floor of a scarlet steam engine train. Lily slowly sat up and got her bearings. Carolina was bouncing up and down on a red velvet seat while their trunks rested in a metal compartment above the glass door leading out into the main passageway through the train. She looked up again to find Carolina grinning at her.
"You're a Muggle-born, aren't you?" She asked, tucking her chin length, slightly frizzy black hair behind an ear.
"Am I a what?" Lily asked, bewildered.
"Well, if you don't know what ya are, then you must be," Carolina pronounced. "Muggles are non-magic folk…you would call them normal? If you're Muggle-born, then you're a witch or wizard born to Muggle parents."
"Oh, I get it," said Lily. "You're a-a-a…what's the word for magical parents then?"
"I'm a pure-blood if that's what you mean. But blood doesn't matter; it's how well you can do the spells. "Carolina sat up in her seat, pulled her wand out of her bellbottom pockets and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!" Suddenly, Lily found herself hovering two feet above the moving floor. She gasped, wide-eyed and terrified and struggled to get back to the comfortable plush carpet below her. Carolina giggled and gently lowered her wand. Lily floated back towards the ground, searching for the right words. She decided to grab a pillow off the nearest chair and hurl it at Carolina's head. She expertly ducked, however, and the pillow glanced off a window and fell to the floor.
"How do you already know magic?" Lily gaped, open mouthed at her friend, who was now polishing her wand.
"What? Oh, well, my older sister went to Hogwarts, and she graduated last year. In her second year, she thought it would be fun to try and teach me magic, and it was fun. Until Mother found out and well, let's just say it was not pretty."
Suddenly, a gaunt, slimy-haired boy with a large nose poked his head into their compartment. "Not pretty? I assume you aren't talking about yourselves, as you are the two prettiest girls on the Hogwarts train," the boy said, slinking into their compartment. "I'm Severus Snape, and you are?" He nodded his head in Lily's direction.
"I'm Lily Evans, and this is Carolina Matheson. Thank you for the complement, and we're pleased to meet you I'm sure, but if you would please excuse us?" Lily stood up and held the compartment door open for Severus, whose oily manner, not to mention oily HAIR was starting to get on her nerves. Carolina gave her a wink, and Severus looked distinctly ruffled.
"No," Snape said, greasily. "I really don't think I want to leave." There was a glint in his eyes that neither Lily, nor Carolina liked.
"Listen, I really think that you should leave. As in right NOW, slimeball." Lily was getting a little mad, and she decided that she really did not like this Severus.
"Slimeball??? How dare you, you little Mudblood! No one talks to Severus Snape like that!" He raised his wand, but Carolina was faster. Her wand was at his temple before he finished speaking and her eyes had a malicious glint in them.
"Listen Snape," she began, spitting his name like it was a foul word. "I believe my friend here did just talk to you like that, and I also believe that if you ever call her a mudblood again, you will not wake up the following morning. Do I make myself clear?" Snape's reply was a stony glare, but Lily could detect a small glimmer of fear. Carolina could too, and she shoved him out of the door and slammed it closed in his face.
"You think the door broke his nose?" Lily wondered aloud.
"Sure hope so," Carolina growled. Lily sat down across from her friend and asked, "What was that name he called me? Mud-what? Was it Mudblood?"
"Yeah, Lils, it was mudblood. But just ignore him, he's just a-"
"Carolina, just tell me what it means. I can take it," Lily pleaded.
"Okay. Mudblood is really nasty name for someone who was Muggle-born. Like dirty blood, see? But only foul people like him even care. Like I told you before, blood doesn't matter; it's how well you can do the spells." Carolina looked at Lily, checking to see how she was taking it. But Lily seemed okay, she was just thinking. Suddenly, she spoke.
"Hey, Lina, I've got an idea!" Lily exclaimed. "Listen, just in case Snape comes in here again, let's be prepared. What other spells did your sister teach you?"
"Well, let's see…she taught me how to disarm someone, how to make slime, and how to-"She was cut off by Lily, who jumped out of her seat.
"You can make slime? Excellent! Do you have enough to fill a small bucket?"
"Well, yeah, but where are we going to find a small bucket?" Carolina was beginning to see where Lily was going and was getting very excited.
"Right here!" Lily cried, as she pulled something out of her trunk. "I use it to hold my shampoo and stuff while I'm in the shower, but this is going to put it to a better use! Now pour your slime into there okay?"
"Sure," said Carolina, as she pulled out her wand again. "Filpu Emils!" A great burst of lime green slime spewed out of the tip of her wand and spattered into Lily's bucket.
"Yes! Oh gross! Hey!" Lily was speckled with slime from head to toe when Carolina pulled her wand back, thinking that the spell was finished. "You did that on purpose!" Lily shrieked, smiling.
"Did not!" Carolina cried, wiping off her wand, ridding it of the goo that had coated it.
"Fine!" they shouted simultaneously, laughing.
"Hey, look," Carolina said, motioning towards the window. The bright autumn day had turned into a chilly autumn night, blanketing the countryside in a shroud of cold darkness.
"It must be getting late," Lily said. Carolina gave her a look, which basically said, no shit, Sherlock. "I guess we had better change out of our clothes, then." Lily got the look again.
They pulled down their trunks from the racks, and pulled on their thick school cloaks, along with the shirts and skirts that went with them.
"Great uniforms, huh?" Carolina said sarcastically, while pulling at the drab grey skirt.
"Fantastic," Lily answered, sitting on the floor near the slime. Suddenly the compartment door began to open and a head with slick black hair poked through. Without stopping to get a good look at the person, Lily picked up the bucket, heavy with slime and slung it in the general direction of the door. By that time the door was open all of the way, and she discovered that she had just wasted a perfectly good bucket of slime on three unsuspecting targets.
"Oh. My. God," Lily breathed. Carolina was rolling on the floor, shaking with laughter, and the slime laden creatures were still standing in the doorway-stunned.
Then, one of the creatures moved. It began to wipe some of the goo off of it's face, and Lily found herself staring at a tall boy, about her age, with black hair, dark eyes, green tinted skin that was normally tan, and a grin. By this time, the other two had wiped themselves clean of about half of the slime, and Lily was looking them, both about her age. One was almost as tall as the first boy with messy black hair now slicked down with the green goo. He had glasses perched on his ski-jump nose, and a grim look on his face. The third boy was the shortest of the lot, but still quite a bit taller than Lily or Carolina. He had sandy colored hair, pale skin, and a small smile was growing on his sick-looking face. Then the first boy spoke.
"How's that for a greeting! Hello, my name is Sirius Black, and it's a pleasure to meet you ladies," he spoke cheerfully, as if there was not anything in the world more fun that to be covered in a thick slime. Lily liked him immediately.
"Well, hello then. I'm terribly sorry about that, but we thought you were someone else. I'm Lily Evans, by the way, and this is my friend Carolina Mateson," she pointed to Carolina who had finally gained her composure and held out her hand to Sirius.
"That's great. These are my friends James Potter," he pointed to the boy with glasses, "and Remus Lupin. May I inquire as to who exactly you were trying to slime?"
"Well, I supposed that's fair," said Carolina. "We were trying for a certain Slimeball named Severus Snape, if that means anything to you."
"Yeah, it means something to us," this time the second boy, James Potter, spoke. "He's lived next door to me my whole life and he's a load of dung. What'd he do to you?"
"He called Lily a mudblood," said Carolina regretfully.
"He didn't!" exclaimed Remus. "That's terrible. I'm sorry Lily." All three boys were looking at her with varying degrees of sympathy on their faces.
"Really, it's okay guys, I'm fine," Lily was a bit embarrassed about the whole thing, and wished people wouldn't make such a big deal over it. She glanced at Carolina, who seemed to understand. She changed the subject fast anyhow.
"So, what were you guys doing? Coming in here I mean," She questioned, sitting down.
"Well, not trying to get slimed, I can tell you that much," said James, with just a hint of hostility in his voice. Lily decided she didn't like him very much. It was just a bit of slime after all.
"Oh," said Carolina. She had caught the hint as well. "Well that's just too bad isn't it James?" she had that look in her eyes again, and Lily decided that it was time to change the subject again. Fast.
"So, where are you guys from? Is this your first year at Hogwarts?" This question got everyone back on track, but James wouldn't look at Lily or Carolina, and whenever he had to talk to either one of them, he would make it short. It turned out that Sirius, Remus, James, and Carolina were all pure-blood families for a long way back. Sirius and James had met at a Muggle elementary school in London, and they both lived in manors in the city. Remus had met up with them on the train, and was from a farm in the country a good ways away from the big city. Carolina's family had moved to London from a small town in Spain when her sister was accepted at Hogwarts and had lived there ever since. Lily lived in the suburbs surrounding London, and had attended Muggle schools all of her life with her elder sister, Petunia. As the boys and Carolina were just beginning to explain all the details of Quidditch to Lily, and Remus and James were in a heated argument about who would win the Quidditch World Cup, when a lilting voice floated through the train.
"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes. Please be dressed in your Hogwarts robes, and leave the train in an orderly fashion. Leave your things on the train; they will be taken to the school separately."
As the train slowed to a jerky stop, a shudder ran down Lily's spine. Her ears were deaf to Sirius's complaints about how they were trying to give them all pneumonia, deaf to Carolina's complaints about seasickness. Her eyes were blind to the bottomless lake, the dangling ivy, and the huge castle that was to be her home. She was so wrapped up in her own worries and thoughts, her own fears and hopes that she did not snap back to reality until Carolina "accidentally" trod on her foot as they entered the majestic Great Hall.