Lily and Carter were still arguing over Quidditch teams as the train pulled into Hogsmeade Station. Pippa sighed as they exited the train, all three of them glad for the fresh air.
"I've seen the Holyhead Harpies a million times. My mum used to play for them, and she's amazing. They're clearly the best team." Lily protested, but Carter just laughed.
"The Montrose Magpies have won almost every game since they gained Kevin Frost as Chaser, and Joey Hancock as Keeper. They're unstoppable!" Carter said, and a boy next to Carter jumped into the conversation.
"Sorry Carter, but little Potter over there is right. Harpies crushed the Magpies in their last match." He said, and Carter frowned at the boy. "Betrayed Travis. I stuck up for you against my psycho sister last month, and this is how you repay me?"
The tanned boy grinned, brushing dark hair out of his eyes. He ignored Carter, but smiled at Lily and Pippa. "Hey there. I heard that the youngest Potter was gonna be in our year. It's Laurel, right?"
"Lily." She corrected. Travis smiled kindly. "Sorry. I'm Travis Zabini. Hey Pip." He said, nodding at Pippa. She smiled back as Lily shook Travis' offered hand. "Hey Travis." Pippa smiled. Travis let go of Lily's hand, and bumped shoulders with Carter. "Where were you dude? Harvey, Nate, Jamie and I were waiting for you." Carter smiled, and performed a handshake with Travis as the first years congregated around Hagrid.
"Sorry bro, I was caught up with Lily and Pippa. We started on Quidditch, and couldn't stop." The boys and Lily laughed as Pippa rolled her eyes. "I know the feeling. It's cool. We'll chat later." Travis said as the boats drew closer. Lily felt herself be pulled away from her new-found friends, and turned to see Hugo standing behind her meekly. "Hey Hu!" Lily grinned, and Hugo smiled at her slightly.
"Hey Lils. I know you've got some other friends, but it was always the plan to ride the boats together to Hogwarts. You still good with that plan?" Hugo asked, and Lily looked back at her friends, biting her lip, but she looked back at Hugo. "Course Hugo. It's been our plan since we were eight."
Hugo grinned, and the two cousins hurried towards the boats. "You grab a boat, I'm just gonna say bye to Pippa, Carter and Travis." Lily said as Pippa waved her over. Hugo watched her go, then turned and gave a thumbs up to James, Albus, Rose and Molly, who were hiding behind the plants. James smiled when he saw them, and turned to his cousins.
"The plan was successful. Hugo got Lils in the boat with him." He said, and her cousins celebrated quietly. "She can't stay friends with those stupid Slytherins." Molly murmured, and Rose and Albus nodded in agreement. "Hopefully Hugo can pull her back in our direction. She'll stick with us if she knows what's good for her." Albus agreed, and James bit his lip nervously. He agreed that Lily belonged in Gryffindor, but was this right? Forcing her? James sighed, and followed his cousins into the carriages.
Lily sighed as she clambered into the boat with Hugo, Tommy Hall and Tanya Hall. Tommy and Tanya were the two children of one of Lily's dad's old Quidditch teammate, Alicia Spinnet and a Ravenclaw named Martin Hall. The four had grown up together, along with the children of their family friends. All four had planned to join Gryffindor when they were younger, but now Lily was regretting those plans.
After talking with Pippa and Carter the entire train ride, Lily had realised how sheltered she had been, and how much her brothers and siblings had kept from her. She turned to Hugo as the boats began to move forward.
"Hugo, just say we weren't in Gryffindor. Say we were in Slytherin. What would happen?" Lily asked, and Hugo frowned at her slightly. "Well, our family probably wouldn't like it. But Grandma will love it. She'll just be happy we made it to Hogwarts." He said, and Lily smiled. "I've just been thinking, what if Gryffindor wasn't right for me? I'm not like the rest of our family." Hugo scoffed. "Yeah, you could say that." Lily frowned at him. "What?" She asked, and Hugo looked up at her.
"What?"
"You just said I'm not like everyone else. How?"
Hugo paled slightly, and looked down into the water. "Just going along with what you said. Hey look, its Hogwarts!" He exclaimed, and Lily broke her gaze away from her cousin.
There it was, the large castle glistening in the moonlight ahead of them. The three tallest towers; Ravenclaw, Gryffindor and Astronomy, stood proud and tall, and the Owlery stood out among the grounds, a tall tower. As Lily watched, a number of owls flew inside, settling themselves for the year. The Forbidden Forest rustled and the trees whispered among themselves as the boats approached. Lily and Hugo climbed out of the boats, and they were quickly joined by Pippa, Carter and some other boys.
"Lily, this is Nathan Rosier, but he goes by Nate. And you met Travis." Carter pointed at the two boys, and Lily nodded again at Travis as she checked Nate out. He had muddy brown hair, and dark blue eyes. Lily smiled at the boys, then introduced Hugo.
"Hu, this is Carter Goyle, and that's his sister Pippa. This is Travis Zabini, and that's Nate Rosier as you just heard." Lily smiled, and Hugo nodded nervously at the crowd. As the first years began to follow Hagrid up to the castle, Hugo pulled at the sleeve of Lily's robe.
"I don't think Rose would like us hanging round them. They are Slytherin families after all." He noted, and Lily sighed.
"Look Hu, if you want to go with Tommy and Tanya, fine. But I'm gonna stay with these. Rose doesn't get to dictate who I'm friends with." She said, and Hugo sighed. "Okay. See you later Lils." He said, before hurrying over to Tommy Hall. Lily rolled her eyes as she re-joined Pippa. What a pushover. Pippa linked her arm with Lily's, and smiled as she joined them.
"Okay Lily?" She asked, and Lily nodded, forcing a smile back onto her face. "All good. Just Hugo being a pushover when it comes to Rose." She noted, and Pippa rolled her eyes, much like Lily did. "He'll get over it. We don't need another Gryffindor golden child. According to Juliette, Albus Potter and Rose Weasley act like they rule the school along with Molly Weasley."
Lily smiled. She was going to change that. She wouldn't let her brothers and cousins dictate her every move.
Hagrid knocked on the door, and Neville Longbottom opened the doors, and smile on his face.
"Hey Hagrid." He smiled, and Hagrid moved out of the way of the first years. They began to filter into the Entrance Hall, and Neville smiled at Lily as she walked past him. Lily grinned back at him, thinking about how hard it would be to call him Professor Longbottom. Lily couldn't imagine if her father took the DADA job he was offered. Calling him Professor Potter would just be embarrassing.
Neville closed the door once all the first years were inside. He led them up to the Entrance Hall in silence, but there were occasional whispers of excitement from some of the first years. Lily just smiled, looking at Pippa as they both freaked out internally. Usually the muggleborns were the most excited, according to Lily's family, but Lily was sure everybody was equally excited. Lily had been to Hogwarts three times before, once for Teddy's graduation, once for Victorie's and once to visit James after a nasty Quidditch accident.
Professor Longbottom, as Lily now had to call him, stop the first years just outside the Entrance Hall. "Wait here. I'll be back in a moment." He said, and as soon as he disappeared out of the doors, people began murmuring and laughing. Excitement filled the room as the first years chattered, looking all over the castle. If Lily looked directly up, she could see the many, many staircases moving around above her.
"Amazing, isn't it!" Pippa said next to her, and Lily's face broke into a grin as she looked at her new found friend.
"It's magical." She murmured, and both girls began to giggle as Professor Longbottom returned at the doors.
"We're ready for you." He said, and he opened the grand doors.
Lily pulled Pippa closer as they began to walk down the aisle in the hall. Lily smiled at her cousins, though oddly most of them frowned at her, and Molly gave an icy glare. Lily tried to ignore it as they all stood before the Sorting Hat, but found it was beginning to nag at her mind. What would happen if she was a Slytherin? She knew they'd accept every house but that one.
Lily watched the Sorting Hat nervously as 'Blishwick, Harvey' approached the stool. She watched as Professor Longbottom place the hat on Harvey's head. It took thirty seconds for the hat to cry out
"SLYTHERIN!"
Lily watched as the Slytherin table erupted in cheers. She heard Pippa hiss happily under her breath, and she saw Carter and Travis Zabini fist bump casually. She noticed a pair of twin girls hug Harvey, and he blushed slightly as he sat between them, looking happy and at home. She looked over at the Gryffindor table, and her eyes found her family again. This time, Lily saw that they had saved two seats in their group, probably meant for her and Hugo.
As the sorting continued, and Pippa and Carter were sorted into Slytherin, Lily scowled slightly as she clapped for her newfound friends. She was beginning to doubt Gryffindor. Did she really want to follow in her family's shadow? James and Freddy were the hilarious pranking duo, Molly and Rose were brainy, Roxanne and Albus were sporty, and Lucy was the over achieving one. Dominique and Victorie were the beautiful ones and Louis was the charming one, always working around the adults to get his own way.
Hugo and Lily were the youngest, and that's all anyone really said about them. Although both of them were old in their year, Hugo being born October 18th, and Lily being born November 12th, they were still known as the young ones among their family group. Lily longed to break out of her families shadow, and she knew, as she watched 'Jordan, Liam' go up to be sorted, there may only be one way.
But was she willing to let her family down to do it?
Lily watched Liam sit nervously under the Sorting Hat. Lily had known Liam for a long time. His father, Lee Jordan, was a friend of her father, and her Uncle George's best friend. He was usually around at the summer party her grandparents held at the Burrow every year, as a reunion for all of the family and their friends.
"SLYTHERIN!"
Lily looked up in shock as Professor Longbottom took the hat off of Liam's head. Liam's face had turned white, and he was shaking slightly. Lily could see him try to hold back tears as he rose from the chair. The Slytherin table cheered loudly, though in a slightly confused manner as Liam went to join them. Lily watched one girl with curly dark hair hug Liam as he sat down. She watched Liam freeze slightly, then relax into her hug.
Lily turned to the Gryffindor table, and searched for his sister, Harriet Jordan. She had her head on the table, and her friends, Ashley Watts and Dominique Weasley, were attempting to comfort her. Liam wasn't looking any better, but at least he wasn't crying. He was just sat next to another first year, a blank look in his eyes,
Lily began to get more nervous as 'Montgomery, Seth' was being sorted. Where would she go, if not Gryffindor? She wasn't patient and kind enough for Hufflepuff, not like Teddy and Victorie. She wasn't as smart as Louis or Lucy for Ravenclaw. That left Slytherin.
But as Seth Montgomery was accepted into Ravenclaw, Lily watched. Would she be accepted into Slytherin? Not just by her family, but by other Slytherin's too? Would James, the biggest Slytherin hater of all, accept Lily in the house of his enemies? Would Albus and Rose accept her in the house of their nemesis, Scorpius Malfoy, and all his friends?
Lily watched 'Peralta, Ezra' smile as he walked towards the Hufflepuff table, and she froze when Professor Longbottom spoke her name.
"Potter, Lily."
The hall went quiet as Lily walked up to the stool, and Professor Longbottom placed the hat on her head.
"Another Potter, eh? You must be the final one."
A voice echoed in her head as Lily jumped slightly at the hats voice, even though she was expecting it.
"Yes. I… I'm the youngest. Not counting Hugo." Lily thought, and the hat responded in her mind.
"Yes, yes. Now, I know just what to do with you."
"SLYTHERIN!"
For a split second, the hall was deadly silent. Lily felt her eyes water slightly, but quickly blinked away the tears. Yes, she had considered this, but the silence was terrifying. She wanted to be different, but the way everyone was looking at her now was making her regret that. James had half risen from his seat, but Lily watched Freddy pull him back down.
That split second of silence lasted until Professor Longbottom took the hat off Lily's head. And suddenly, that was everyone's key to move. Whispers broke out, and Lily shakily rose to her feet.
Suddenly, Lily heard clapping from the Slytherin table. She looked over to see the brown haired girl who had hugged Liam on her feet, cheering for her. Then Liam stood up, and clapped as well, and so did all the other Slytherin first years. Next, a blonde boy next to the brown haired girl rose, and soon enough the entire table was cheering as Lily walked over to them. As soon as she reached the table, the brown haired girl pulled her into a hug. She smelt flowery, a homely, comforting smell. She pulled Lily in-between herself and the blonde boy as the next boy moved up to be sorted.
"Come on Nate." The girl next to Lily murmured, crossing her fingers. The blonde boy on the other side of Lily laughed lightly. "Chill Nixie. Nate's a shoe in for Slytherin." The girl, Nixie, glared at the blonde boy. "Not true Scorpius. We all thought Lily here would be another Gryffindor golden child."
The blonde boy, Scorpius, smirked at Lily, and then focused on the boy who was currently being sorted, Nate.
Lily caught her brother's eye from across the hall. James was smiling at her nervously, but Albus had his glare fixed on Scorpius next to her. Lily shifted towards Nixie when she realised this was Scorpius Malfoy, as in the son of her father's old nemesis and Albus and Rose's own nemesis.
Lily looked back at Nate, the boy on the stool, as the hat reached its decision.
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
Without missing a beat, Nixie leapt up and began cheering for her younger brother. The Hufflepuff table cheered as Nate joined them, but Nate only had eyes for his sister. Nixie beamed at him as she sat down, giving him the thumbs up. Lily just focused on her plate for the rest of sorting ceremony, only looking up when Hugo was sorted into Gryffindor. All the family jumped up and cheered for him, and Lily just stared at her plate, lost in her thoughts.
"Time to eat Lily. I'm Nixie Rosier, by the way." Nixie placed her knife down and stuck out her hand. Lily shook it, before beginning to spoon peas onto her plate. Nixie continued to introduce herself to the first years, and Lily caught Scorpius rolling his eyes in her peripheral vision.
"You're not a Prefect Nixie and you're not a Puff, stop being so nice." He said, and Nixie laughed. "Just because you don't have a nice bone in your body." She said, and Scorpius smirked as he cut into his meat.
"So, a Potter in Slytherin. What are you going to tell dear old daddy?" The girl opposite her asked, her blonde hair pinned half up half down, curling at the ends. Lily stiffened slightly, knowing this was her make it or break it moment. The other first years, as well as the students around her turned to face her. Lily put on the Potter smirk, and looked straight at the girl.
"I'm going to tell him not to be surprised when Slytherin wins the Quidditch Cup next year." She said confidently, and all the Slytherins who had been listening laughed, and raised their glasses in agreement. Lily cocked an eyebrow at the blonde, who smiled widely at her.
"Good answer. I'm Lizbeth Greengrass-Hostly." She said, and Lily smiled back at her. "I'm Lily." She said simply, and the boy next to Lizbeth scoffed, eyeing Lily. "Not going to use your father's name?" He asked, and Lily tensed again. Honestly, she had been expecting this since she sat down.
"Who are you?" she asked politely.
"Jamie Farley. My dad's Head of Beast Division in the Department of Magical Creatures at the Ministry." He bragged. Lily laughed under her breath. Jamie had recited that as if it was taught to him. Albus did the same thing, as did Molly.
"See, I don't start with Lily Potter because I don't need my dad to get me ahead. I do it myself." She said, and the surrounding Slytherins laughed, but Jamie just looked tense. Lily spotted this, and quickly tried to diffuse the tension. "Besides, if I'm calling in famous relatives, telling people my mum used to play for the Holyhead Harpies usually works. So does 'my uncle owns the joke shop where you spend all your money.'"
It worked. The Slytherins roared with laughter, and this time Jamie joined in. "I have a feeling you'll fit well into Slytherin Lily." Scorpius whispered in her ear.
