"I'm sorry," the boy said again, as he held out his hand.

"No, it's fine, I wasn't paying attention," I assured him, as I took his hand and let him pull me to my feet.

I hurriedly bent down to to pick up my scattered clothes as he bent down to help.

Soon, all of my clothes were stuffed back into my now completely-zipped suitcase.

"Thank you," I said.

"No problem," he replied. "I'm Harry, by the way. Harry Potter. I…I don't recognize you. Are you new to Hogwarts?" he asked.

'Harry? Harry Potter? THE Harry Potter?' my mind screamed. Of course I knew who this was. With all my studying, his name had come up more than once in my textbooks. He was quite a celebrity in the wizarding world. He was 'The Boy Who Lived.'

"Nice to meet you. Yes, I am. It's a long story, but I'll be going into my fifth year here...I'm afraid I don't know my way around quite yet. Do you have any idea where the Gryffindor Dormitories are?" I asked.

"Yeah, I was heading there myself. So you're in Gryffindor?" he asked, sounding confused.

"I am. I wasn't sorted or anything, but, well, like I said before, it's a long story."

"I am too. Any particular reason you're roaming the halls of Hogwarts this late, not knowing where you're going?" he asked, smiling.

"I missed the train here." I said, grimacing. 'How pathetic I sound.' I thought to myself. "What's your excuse for wandering around aimlessly?"

"I couldn't sleep." he mumbled, and I had a feeling I had touched a nerve.
Suddenly, we were at a tapestry of a large woman. Harry muttered something indistinguishable, but a second later, the painting swung forward to reveal a hole. Harry climbed through first, then helped me with my suitcase and luggage.

He offered his hand to help me through the 'door.' I hesitantly took it, climbed through and looked around. We were now standing in a cozy, warm looking room. There were many comfortable looking chairs near a roaring fireplace.
"This is Gryffindor's common room." he informed me.

I smiled. I felt safe here. My smile faded quickly, as I remembered the circumstances which had brought me to be here in the first place.

Harry led me to a staircase, then stopped.

"I can't go any further. The stairs lead to the girl's dormitories." He said, almost apologetically.

"Thank you." I said, gratefully. "If you hadn't have shown up, I would have been wandering around out there until morning, probably."

He smiled. "You're welcome. Goodnight."

"Night." I said.

I turned to start up the staircase, but a hand on my arm stopped me.

"Wait, I don't even know your name." he said, laughing.

"Oh, sorry. I'm Lily." I said.

His smile disappeared. His green eyes looked sad.

"I've upset you." I said quickly.

"No, it's just…that was my mother's name." he said quietly.