****Quick Note****
I do not own some of the dialogue in parts of this chapter. I took a few of the scenes from The Prince's Tale in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (the book not the movie) and did a little improvising to make them in Lily's point of view. I've put a * at the scenes that were taken from the book. With that said, here's the 3rd chapter. I hope you enjoy. :)
*"I'm sorry Tuney, I'm sorry! Listen—" Lily grabbed her sister's hand tightly as Petunia tried to pull away. They were standing at Platform 9 and 3 quarters. Wizards and witches bustled around the two girls; Lily's parents were standing just a few feet away trying to take in everything around them. Severus and his mother were standing somewhere in the crowd of people saying their goodbyes.
Petunia had stopped talking to Lily earlier that morning and desperate to make things right again between her and her sister; the small redhead was begging Petunia to listen to reason.
"Maybe once I'm there—no Tuney, listen!" Lily begged as Petunia tried to pull away again. "Maybe once I'm there, I'll be able to go to Professor Dumbledore and persuade him to change his mind!"
"I don't—want—to—go!" Petunia snapped wrenching her hand out of Lily's grasp. "You think I want to go to some stupid castle and learn to be a—a—." She stopped and looked disapprovingly at the children running in every direction; a few students had already changed into their long black school robes. Wizards in blue uniforms were taking people's trunks for them and loading them onto the scarlet steam engine.
"—you think I want to be a—a freak?" Lily gasped at her sister. Her eyes started filling up with tears; is that what Petunia really thought of her, a freak?
"I'm not a freak," Lily said trying to fight her tears. "That's a horrible thing to say!"
"That's where you're going," Petunia snarled. "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." The comment stung Lily; she felt hurt that her own sister would think these things about her.
She suddenly grew angry; hadn't Petunia written a letter to Dumbledore just the other day? She had practically begged the headmaster to let her come with Lily to Hogwarts. She and Severus had read the letter that Dumbledore wrote back to Petunia. Lily frowned as she tried to recall what he'd written her sister.
Dear Ms. Petunia Evans,
I understand your reason for wanting to join your sister at Hogwarts of Witchcraft and Wizardry. However, I'm afraid that it just cannot be. You see, the subjects we teach at Hogwarts are strictly for witches and wizards who have magic in their blood and since you are non-magic it wouldn't be affective for you to attend. I hope that you understand and please don't be upset about this. I'm sure that in the future you will be great in the non-magic world and I wish you well.
Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore.
The letter had been very polite, and Lily had great respect for the older wizard. He had taken the time to write to a Muggle child when he could have been doing something more important. It just made Lily more enthusiastic to get to Hogwarts.
Lily quickly glanced at her parents to make sure they weren't listening and turned back to Petunia with fire in her eyes. She lowered her voice so only her sister could hear.
"You didn't think it was such a freak's school when you wrote to the headmaster and begged him to take you." Petunia's pale hazel eyes grew huge and her face turned scarlet.
"Beg? I didn't beg!"
"I saw his reply. It was very kind," Lily shot back coldly.
"You shouldn't have read—" Petunia whispered; her fury was causing her to stutter. "That was my private—how could you?" Lily sheepishly glanced over at Severus, who was watching the two girls talk with interest. Petunia gasped.
"That boy found it! You and that boy have been sneaking in my room!" Lily tried to defend herself, although she knew that she was every bit guilty.
"No—not sneaking," She hastily tried to explain. "Severus saw the envelope, and he couldn't believe a Muggle could have contacted Hogwarts, that's all! He says there must be wizards working undercover in the postal services who take care of—"
"Apparently wizards poke their noses in everywhere!" Petunia cut in turning pale with fury.
"Freak!" She spat at Lily before turning and walking back to their parents. Lily stared after her with her mouth open in shock. How could her sister be so cruel? Did Petunia really hate her?*
Hot angry tears filled her eyes as she grabbed Serenity's cage and her trunk and slowly walked to the train just as it whistled. A nice middle aged wizard took her trunk for her and helped her board the train. There was only one empty compartment left and she quickly took a seat at the window.
Petunia hated her; she'd seen it in her sister's eyes. Petunia would never forgive her for snooping around in her room. It was all Severus' fault; he was the one who went in her room first. Lily had just followed him to make sure he didn't break anything. The tears were gathering faster now, and Lily just gave up and let them fall; she was alone anyway, what did it matter?
So caught up in her misery, she almost didn't notice the compartment door open. She casted a half glance at two boys who were laughing as they walked in.
"Is it alright if we sit here?" One boy asked; Lily recognized him to be Sirius Black; the other boy was James Potter. Lily shrugged half-heartedly and turned her gaze back to the window hoping that they would get the message and leave her be.
Fortunately for her, they didn't pay her any mind and continued their conversation.
"I can't wait to get to Hogwarts!" James said excitedly. "Imagine all the spells we'll get to learn!"
"And all the secret passages to explore!" Sirius added. James grinned at his new friend.
"You're alright mate," He said clapping Sirius on the back. "What do you say we have a go at the Great Hall tonight? I managed to sneak some dungbombs into my trunk when my Mum wasn't looking." Sirius grinned mischievously.
"Count me in!" They excitedly started hatching a plan, and Lily couldn't help but roll her eyes. She would never understand boys. Growing bored of listening to their chatter, Lily pressed her face against the windowpane and watched the scenery go by.
*Snape entered the compartment a few minutes later; he'd already changed into his school robes. The boys didn't pay him any mind as he walked in and took a seat in front of Lily. She glanced up, and seeing who it was, frowned and looked back out the window.
"I don't want to talk to you," She said quietly; her voice was constricted from crying earlier. Snape tilted his head and frowned at her.
"Why not?"
"Tuney h-hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore." James and Sirius glanced curiously at the couple as they talked. They knew better than to ease drop, but the conversation seemed very interesting to the two boys.
"So what?" Severus asked in a bored tone. Petunia had always hated him, so it didn't matter to him what she thought. Lily didn't seem to share the same feelings about it.
"So she's my sister!" She snapped narrowing her eyes at him.
"She's only a—" He caught himself before he said Muggle. Lily was trying to wipe away her tears without anyone noticing and Severus quickly decided to change the subject.
"But we're going!" He said enthusiastically in an attempt to cheer up his friend. "This is it! We're off to Hogwarts!" Lily looked up at him and smiled, mopping the rest of the tears off her face. Snape felt relieved; for a minute he'd thought that she would quit talking to him. He began to relax a bit and grinned back at the redhead.
"You'd better be in Slytherin."
"Slytherin?" James, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, could no longer contain himself.
"Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave don't you?" James turned to Sirius expecting his friend to agree with him. However, Sirius looked offended.
"My whole family have been in Slytherin," He said frowning. James raised his eyebrows in surprise. He hadn't expected that.
"Blimey," He said trying to make light of the hole he'd just dug himself into. "And I thought you seemed all right!" He teased. Sirius grinned.
"Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?" James pretended to wave an invisible sword.
"Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart! Like my dad." Severus snorted in amusement. James glared at him.
"Got a problem with that?"
"No," Severus sneered. "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy—"
"Where're you hoping to go since you're neither?" Sirius retorted. James roared with laughter. Lily stood up and glared at them.
"Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment." She turned and opened the door; Severus was right behind her.
"Oooooooo…" James and Sirius mocked, imitating Lily's voice. As Severus walked passed, James tried to trip him.
"See ya, Snivellus!" He called as Severus angrily shut the door behind him.* James and Sirius laughed and then started working on their scheme again.
"Don't let them get to you Sev," Lily said as they tried to find another compartment. "There is nothing wrong with being in Slytherin if that's what you want." Severus huffed but didn't reply. They walked in silence for a few minutes.
"Let's go in here," Lily said suddenly; she'd just caught a glimpse of Remus Lupin sitting in one of the compartments. If she had to sit somewhere she'd rather sit with people she knew. Severus shrugged and opened the door.
"Is it alright if we sit in here?" Lily asked. She immediately recognized Peter Pettigrew sitting between Remus and another girl with strawberry blonde hair. A girl with long black hair sat beside the blonde, reading a book.
"Hi Lily," Remus greeted, recognizing her at once. "I think there's enough room for both of you." Lily smiled gratefully and took a seat beside Remus; Severus sat across from her.
"This is Willa Darcel," Remus said pointing to the blonde.
"I go by Will, though."
"That's Alice Murray," Remus continued, ignoring Willa. The girl with black hair smiled politely before going back to the book she was engrossed in.
"And that's Peter Pettigrew," Remus concluded.
"We've already met," Peter said shyly. "Severus' Mum and my Mum are good friends." Severus nodded in acknowledgement but didn't say anything.
"That's Remus Lupin," Lily quickly explained to Severus. "I met him at Madam Malkins."
"What are your names?" Willa asked.
"I'm Lily Evans," said Lily; she pointed to Severus, "this is Severus Snape. You'll have to forgive his rudeness; he's still fuming over the conversation we had with Black and Potter." Alice looked up from her book and raised her eyebrows.
"I heard that those two were hanging out. That's a very peculiar friendship." Lily looked at Alice curiously.
"Why's that?" Alice raised her eyebrows further up.
"Everyone knows that the Blacks and the Potters despise each other. They've been enemies for years. The Blacks are supporters of You—Know—Who and the Potters are against all Dark Magic. It's just peculiar that a Black and a Potter would be friends." Lily was very confused. She looked at Severus for help, but he stared straight ahead not wanting to meet her gaze.
"Sorry, I'm a little confused," Lily confessed blushing slightly. "I don't know what you mean by You—Know—Who." All eyes, except for Severus', turned on Lily in shock. Then realization hit Remus.
"Um, are you Muggle-born?" He asked uncertainly. Severus shot him a look and Lily nodded slowly.
"Oh," Willa said with an unconcerned shrug. "Well, You—Know—Who is a Dark Wizard who's giving the Ministry of Magic a hard time right now. He's got a group of followers that are called Death Eaters; they've been terrorizing the Wizarding World for a couple of years now."
"My Mum's friend, Douglas McCarther, tried to form a group against You—Know—Who ," Peter piped up unhelpfully. "A few days later they found him and his whole family dead at their home. The Dark Mark was hovering above their house. His daughter, Cynthia, was supposed to go to Hogwarts this year too."
This information was very new to Lily; Severus had never told her anything about a Dark Wizard before. Now that Lily thought about it, Severus had never told her any bad things about the Magic World. A small bit of fear settled itself in Lily's gut; what on Earth had she gotten herself into? She had just left the safety of her home and the Muggle World to go to a mysterious world that she hardly even knew. Was that why Severus never told her about the bad stuff, because he thought she would be too afraid to go to Hogwarts with him?
Noticing Lily's unease, Remus spoke up.
"We'll be safe at Hogwarts," He assured her. "You—Know—Who is afraid of Dumbledore. He would never even consider going near the school." That thought made Lily feel better. Deciding to change the subject, Willa leaned forward excitedly.
"So, what do you think the castle will look like?"
They chatted excitedly for the rest of the ride, only stopping to get some treats from the food cart and to change into their school robes. By the time they arrived at Hogwarts, Lily was more than ready to get off the train and see her new home.
That is, until she got a good look at the giant man who was escorting the 1st years over a lake that had a giant squid in it…..
*"Evans, Lily!" Lily's heart pounded in her chest as her trembling legs carried her to the old rickety stool where Professor McGonagall stood holding the Sorting Hat. She'd just sat down and placed the hat on her head when the Sorting Hat announced,
"Gryffindor!" Lily could barely make out a groan from Severus over the shouting from the Gryffindor table. She shakily stood and made the short trek to her new house, casting a sad look back to Severus before sitting down. A boy quickly made room for her and she turned to thank him before she realized it was Sirius Black. How he'd managed to get into Gryffindor was beyond her, but she was not about to be nice to him.
She quickly turned her back on him; he frowned at her for a minute before shrugging it off and turning back to the sorting. Lily clapped politely when Remus, Alice and Peter joined the Gryffindors at the table. She ignored James completely as he proudly flounced his way over to Sirius.
Come on Sev…. Lily thought to herself as the roll call continued. She hoped that by some miraculous chance Severus would be placed into Gryffindor as well, but she was greatly disappointed when the Sorting Hat fell on his head and shouted,
"Slytherin!" He silently gave the hat back to Professor McGonagall and made his way over to the cheering Slytherins. A boy with long blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail and wearing a gleaming Prefect Badge clapped Severus on the back, but Severus didn't smile.*
Lily let her head fall as she half-heartedly listened to Professor Dumbledore welcome everyone to a new school year at Hogwarts and the feast began. There was a large variety of food, but Lily didn't really feel like eating. She picked at her plate while everyone else around her chatted excitedly. Suddenly a ghost appeared beside her.
"Good evening," He greeted cheerfully. Severus had told Lily about the ghosts at Hogwarts, but she hadn't prepared to see one right beside her. She let out a startled yelp; catching unwanted attention to herself.
"H-hi," She replied, quickly recovering from her shock. James had taken interest in the ghost and suddenly exclaimed.
"I've heard of you! You're Nearly Headless Nick!" The ghost frowned at the name.
"I prefer Sir Nicholas de Mimsy Porpington," He said sounding offended. Lily tilted her head to the side and studied the ghost.
"How can you be nearly headless?" Nick sighed.
"Every year…" He mumbled to himself. "Like this." Lily gasped as Nick pulled at his head and it fell off, only hanging to his neck by a few pieces of skin.
"Cool!" Sirius said excitedly. Lily thought that she was going to vomit.
"What's wrong, Red?" James teased. "Not a fan of gore?" Before Lily could retort, Dumbledore stood up and the Great Hall fell silent.
"Before we head off to our rooms for the night I'd like to make some announcements. For those of you who are returning to Hogwarts, I ask that you be patient while I go over the rules for the new students." There were a few groans from the older students, but Dumbledore ignored them and continued.
"For those of you who do not know, the Forbidden Forest beside Hogwarts is, in fact, forbidden. I ask that no one enter the forest unless given permission by a Professor. Also, our caretaker, Mr. Filch has kindly taken the time to make a list of items that are banned from the castle; you can find that list on his office door." Someone at the Gryffindor table snorted in amusement.
"If anyone is interested in Quidditch, tryouts will be held at the end of next week. Please see Madam Hooch for more information. Please do not use magic in the halls and don't taunt the Giant Squid; we don't want a repeat of last year—" He glanced at the Gryffindor table; Lily followed his gaze and noticed that two 4th years were looking down at their feet.
"—And now some new information for all of the students. We have planted a Whomping Willow tree over the summer. As its name suggests, the Whomping Willow will hurt you. We ask that you do not go near the tree under any circumstances." The room erupted with excited whispers. Dumbledore cleared his throat and the room became silent once more.
"With this said, I wish you all a good night. If the Prefects would please escort your 1st years, you've all been dismissed to go to your dorms."
"First years follow me!" A girl with short black hair called. Lily got up and joined the 1st years crowding around the girl.
"Is that everyone?" She asked counting heads. "Wait, I think we're missing tw—" A loud bang cut her off. All heads turned to the Slytherin table as they roared in surprise and anger. A smelly cloud of green smoke wafted through the Great Hall; someone had let off a dungbomb.
"Gross!" The Prefect girl exclaimed pinching her nose. Out of the corner of her eye, Lily saw James and Sirius sneak back to the group of 1st years. She rolled her eyes at them as they held their stomachs and laughed.
"Let's go!" The Prefect shouted hurrying out of the hall; Lily had to run to keep up with the girl and soon became lost in the sea of black robes as students ran out covering their noses.
"This way, Lily!" Remus said grabbing her arm; she'd almost started following the Hufflepuffs by mistake. Blushing madly, Lily quickly followed Remus the opposite direction and caught up with the group once more.
"That was very rude," She chastised Sirius and James as they followed the Prefect up several stair cases. The boys tried to look innocent.
"What did we do?" James asked; he would have looked convincing if it weren't for the gleam in his eyes.
"You know exactly what you did!" Lily hissed. "Don't think I didn't notice when you snuck off to the Slytherin table earlier."
"Oy, Red," James hissed back. "Do yourself a favor and keep your mouth shut." Lily glared at him angrily.
"Are you threatening me?" She demanded. James shrugged.
"You can think of it like that if you want too, Red."
"Stop calling me Red!" Lily snapped hotly. "My name is Lily Evans." James was about to say something sarcastic when the line of 1st years suddenly stopped and he ran into Alice.
"Oy! Watch it, Potter!"
"Sorry Murray," James said quickly.
"Everyone gather around," The Prefect ordered. There was a lot of pushing and shoving as the 1st years tried to get to where they could see. A boy Prefect had joined the girl now; he was dark skinned and very tall compared to the petite girl standing beside him.
"I'm Amrita Patil; this is Kingsley Shacklebolt. I hope you were paying attention and know how to find your way back here again. This—" She paused and motioned behind her to a large portrait of a rather plump woman in a pink silk dress calmly studying each student.
"—is the fat lady. She is the entrance to our Common Room. She won't let you in unless you know the password so listen up and remember this. The password is Wizzbee. If you want to get in you have to know that password."
"Also," Kingsley spoke up, "the password changes every so often. We will announce when it has changed so stay alert when you hear us making announcements in the Common Room." Peter groaned softly from behind Lily; she turned and gave him a reassuring smile as the Prefects led them into the Common Room.
"The boy's dorms are on the left; the girls are on the right. No boys are allowed in the girl's dorms and vice versa. No one is allowed in the Common Room after curfew and please remember to respect students who are trying to study, any questions?" They shook their heads.
"Good, if you have any problems just let us know." With that, they walked off leaving the 1st years by themselves. Lily followed Alice and Willa upstairs to their room. She found her trunk by a bed in front of the window. Serenity was perched on top of the canopy fast asleep.
Two more girls walked in giggling. The taller girl had long brown curly hair tied back in a ponytail and dark brown eyes. The other girl was a little shorter than Lily with short wavy brown hair and round hazel eyes.
"Hello," Alice greeted sitting on her bed as the two girls searched for their trunks.
"Hi," they said in unison.
"I guess we're all roommates then, eh?" Will asked pulling her dressing gown out of her trunk.
"Looks like it," the taller girl replied. "I'm Lynnette Carver, by the way, and that's Mary MacDonald." Mary smiled politely to everyone as she walked over to the bed beside Lily.
"I'm Alice Murray. That's Willa Darcel (she goes by Will) and Lily Evans." The girls exchanged greetings and began getting ready for bed.
"Do any of you snore?" Lynnette asked looking worried. Mary, Lily and Alice shook their heads.
"I've never stayed awake long enough to find out," Willa replied sarcastically. The girls laughed and settled in for the night.
"What?" Several 1st years exclaimed angrily. Severus stood silently and glared at the Slytherin Prefects as they sneered at the younger students.
"You heard us, only worthy Slytherins are allowed inside the Common Room. That's our rules; if you want the password you have to pass our test."
"What's the test?" A Slytherin girl asked; her fierce amber eyes bored into Lucius Malfoy's cold beady black eyes.
"You have to stay out all night and not get caught," Narcissa Black announced. There were several gasps and angry mutters. Severus boldly walked over and stood in front of the Prefects.
"I take it that this rule was just put in place this year," He said coldly. "And only for your enjoyment." Lucius smirked.
"So what if it was? We're Prefects and what we say goes. Have a nice night kiddies. Now scram!" Most of the 1st years quickly hurried away to find someplace to hide till morning. Severus took one final look at Lucius and Narcissa before slowly walking away. Fury was growing in him as the Prefects laughed.
"I love our job," He heard Narcissa say gleefully.
"Look at them run! The twerps." Severus turned a corner and stopped. He was getting into that Common Room tonight even if he had to jinx the older Slytherins out of his way! Stealthily, he waited until Lucius and Narcissa stopped laughing and turn to the statue. He silently crept up behind him just as Lucius said the password and walked through the hole. An evil grin spread over Severus' face as he waited a few minutes to make sure that the Prefects wouldn't be near the entrance.
Footsteps from behind told him that he wasn't alone. He turned and saw the girl who had spoken earlier.
"Did you get the password?" She asked. Severus nodded and she grinned.
"I don't suppose you'd mind relying that information onto me would you?" Severus shook his head.
"I'm Darcy Walesa, by the way. Who are you?"
"Severus Snape."
"Well, Snape. Are you going to just stand out here all night, or are you going to say the password so we can get to our rooms?" Severus grinned and turned to the statue.
"Parsel Tongue."
"Well I guess it's just us four," James said plopping down on his bed next to Sirius.
"Yeah," Remus replied lying on his bed and staring up at the ceiling. Peter said nothing as he grabbed his pajamas and jumped onto his bed.
"I don't think we've met," Sirius said to Remus and Peter, "I'm Sirius Black."
"Remus Lupin," Remus replied glancing sideways at Peter. "That's Peter Pettigrew; he doesn't talk much." Realizing that the boys were looking at him, Peter blushed and gave a quick nod in acknowledgement before closing his curtains for the night.
"I'm James Potter," James said. An amused smile made its way on Remus' lips.
"A Potter and a Black hanging out together, eh? I almost didn't believe Lily when she told me on the train earlier." James scowled.
"You mean that Evans girl? She's really nosey. Are you friends with her?"
"Her name is Lily, and she's not that bad if you give her a chance."
"As long as she doesn't rat on us, I don't care," Sirius replied haughtily. Remus raised an eyebrow but didn't ask any more on the subject.
"Just out of curiosity, how did you two meet anyway?" Remus asked James and Sirius. The boys grinned mischievously.
"We met at Diagon Alley," Sirius explained. "We both snuck away from our parents and went to the joke shop; we started talking to one another at a display case. James made the comment about how grumpy the shop owner was and we decided to lighten him up a bit." Remus couldn't help but roll his eyes as James picked up where Sirius left off.
"We set off a few exploding toys and the shop keeper ran us out. It was bloody hilarious!"
"The whole time we didn't even know each other's names. I have to admit that I was very shocked when James' mother ran up and called him a Potter."
"Then Sirius' mother grabbed him by his ear!" Sirius rubbed his ear and scowled.
"It hurt too! That old bat will be the death of me yet!" Remus shook his head in amusement as James and Sirius excitedly chatted away. He pulled his curtains around himself and settled in for the night; he had a feeling that this would be a very interesting year.
*****Author's Note*****
Hoped you liked Chapter 3. Once again I'd like to mention that some scenes (it's mostly dialogue) were taken from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. If you've never read that book you need too! It's my favorite HP book besides The Prisoner of Azkaban. It doesn't count if you've only watched the movie; the book has way better details. Glad to get that off my chest. :) If anyone is reading this out there, how am I doing? Write a review and let me know. Did you notice any spelling or grammar mistakes, or maybe bad use of words? (I'm known for doing that; that's a problem with living in the South, no one talks properly down here.) I'm also not very good with British vocabulary; everything I know I got from TV shows, video games and books so if you see any words that need to be changed or sayings that don't make sense please let me know.
Special thanks to my readers,
Anna :D
