Before the Tale Chapter 2
I enter the train, leaving my family behind on the platform, Mum softly crying, Dad worrying, and Petunia growling. I walk through the hall of the train. I am scared out of my wits! I have never been away from home, and now it is for a whole year! I am wandering through the train when I hear a shout.
"Hey! Hey you! Lily! Over here!" I turn to see my best wizard friend, Severus Snape, shouting from an empty section. "I'm glad you made it Lily! As you can see," He said as he gestured around, "I'm not quite the most popular boy around here." I look around the cabin and take in every detail. The cabin is small and made mostly of wood paneling. The checkered red seats are worn, but still cushy. I am placing my travel bag up in the overhead compartment when the train whistle blows one last time, calling any latecomers. I settle in for the long, smooth ride.
The ride goes fairly quickly. Severus convinces me to try some wizard candies that we bought from the trolley lady. We talk about our excitement and new wands and stare out the window and watch the landscape rush by. It is all really peaceful until we hear a crash in the hallway.
"Hurry," someone hisses, "Run!" Laughing and more crashing ensues as we see a group of boys dash past our seats. As soon as they pass we hear a slower clomping and a boy jogs, looking ruefully back. He stops when he sees us watching in confusion.
"Oi! H'lo there mates! Wotcha up to?"
"Hello… umm… Who are you and…and why are you running?" I stutter.
"Well, aren't you an inquisitive one? I'm Remus Lupin, at your service, and I was, well, I was trying to keep up with my mates down that way. They seem to have smoke bombed a section, and I'm stuck dealing with the after-effects."
"Well, I-" I get cut off when a one of the boys who was running comes jogging down the hallway.
"Oi! Remus! Come on then!"
"Aye, Potter, one mo' then"
"Well," I continue, staring at the new boy, "I'm Lily Evans and this is Severus Snape. And you are…?" I can tell Severus really doesn't want to talk to these boys, as he is cowering in the corner with a scowl on his face, but I do NOT want to be impolite before school even starts!
"I'm Potter, James Potter, and you, Evans, are a lovely looking dame. Maybe if we meet again… Come along Remus, we must get going." He stares at me while Remus says something I miss. He nods a goodbye and they both rush off through the train. I look a Severus and wonder what he knows about these boys. Seeing him in such distress, I decide to leave him alone and instead bring up Hogwarts and how we should get in our uniforms. We get ready to start our journey, even with Severus holding secrets about those boys.