A/N I've done another chapter (obviously) and would really appreciate it if you reviewed. I know I'm the not greatest writer, but would really like your advice on becoming better. So please do review, because frankly – I need it. Your thoughts (what ever they are) will indeed be happily greeted.

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The grass was freezing and wet with dew. I didn't mind though, I needed the fresh air. Lying back on the lush green I watched the sun rise. Bathing the ground with a regal orange light. At Hogwarts. My stomach fluttered with joy. I would finally be able to learn magic. I all really knew how to do some things, like make basic potion, play Quidditch and stuff. Dad had taught me those. And Mum, before she was replaced by an evil doppelganger. Thinking of Dad brought tears to my eyes. He was such a good father. Why did he have to die? I mean, he didn't even die doing something brave. He died in a muggle car crash. The boy who lived died in a muggle car crash. Ironic. He died a year ago almost a year and a half ago, to the day. April the 13. Friday. Mum, James, Albus and I dealt with it in different ways. Mum had closed up and didn't do anything fun any more. She was constantly working and had hardly any time to talk. When she did, she would shout, scream and cry for no reason. James had started pulling pranks every day. But you could hardly call them pranks. They were downright mean. He had turned into a complete bully. Albus had buried himself in his textbooks. Not that he was particularly smart. It was just something to do. The only person he would talk to was me. He ignored everyone else and had become a bit of a loner. Well I couldn't talk. When Dad died, so did my sanity. Now I talked to myself and seemed to live more inside my head than in the real world. I was dreamy and barely exited the safe haven, inside my head where dad was still alive. But I tried, I truly did. I tried to be a good daughter to Mum. Having dinner cooked and keeping my room tidy. I had to. She would go on long walks – for the whole day and well into the night, coming back with shells, flowers and red, puffy eyes. She'd come home and scream at me for cooking when I was too young and my brothers for letting me. So I'd stopped trying. Instead I sat up in my room, or up a tree and I'd think. About the good times.

The sun had completely risen now, so I took it as my cue to emerge into the real world. I shook my head as if to clear the memories away, it had become a sort of habit now. Though it never worked.

I stretch out and stood up. Hogwarts was so beautiful. Especially in this morning light. The sun seemed to colour the lake, rendering it in blue, green, orange and yellow. I watch all day. But sadly I knew that I would have to go upstairs. Soon my room-mates would wake up and think I was a weirdo going for walk when the sun hadn't even risen. So I began the long walk up to the Ravenclaw common room.

I slipped into my dorm, trying not to wake anyone, and sat on my four poster bed, surveying the room that I didn't have a chance to look properly at last night. It was rectangular with a jutting window seat at one end, that had magnificent views of the surrounding grounds and looked like a perfect place for daydreaming. On one side was three, four poster beds and on the other were another three beds. Next to those three beds was a door leading to, I assumed, a bathroom, and another leading somewhere else. On the other wall was the door that led out of the room. Next to it were two plush, armchairs, that looked surprisingly comfortable. The curtains, and bedspreads were all decorated in blue and the walls were painted a softer, paler sky blue. It looked, and felt like home.

I decided to see where the 'mystery' door led to, hoping for excitement and secret passageways. Instead I found 'dressing room' as such, but was pleasantly surprised despite myself. It large (somewhat larger than it looked from the main room) and very spacious. It was long and rectangular and on one wall, had six ample chest of draws, while on the opposite, had two large wardrobes for coats, dresses and robes. The door I had come through sat on a wall paved with mirrors and the opposite wall had curtained area to get changed in. It also a had a door that led to (again I assumed) the bathroom, that would make sense.

Next I looked at the bathroom. It was large (like the last room larger than it should be) had a shower, loo and a sink laid onto a long bench. Next to the shower was a towel rail, with five towels, each labelled with a name. Elywn, Lily, Scarlett, Verity, Olivia and Marie. I assumed they were all the girls in the dormitory. I would meet them soon, after all it was now seven, and lessons started at eight.

"Well," I said to myself, "I had better meet my new room-mates," and strode out of the room.

Finally, the girls were awake and excitedly chatting to themselves.

Ellie, who had been lingering near the edge of the group, spotted me and screamed with joy, "Lily!" She had obviously feeling a bit left out.

"Guy, guys," she said dragging me by the arm, "This is Lily."

I tentatively smiled them. They were quite intimidating as a group like that.

"Hi!" This came from a girl with spiky black hair, stone grey eyes and a cheeky grin. "I'm Scarlett. Scarlett Chambers. And this," she gestured towards a girl with honey blonde hair tied into a bun, and warm, chocolate brown eyes, "is Marie Bonnard."

"Hello." she said in faintly French accent.

"Excuse me," exclaimed a petite girl with the wavy, brown hair, tanned skin and the exact same eyes of Marie, running to the bathroom.

"That's my twin sister, Olivia," muttered Marie.

"Hey, Verity!" screamed Scarlett to a girl drawing love hearts on her arm, "Introduce yourself to Lily."

"Oh! Hi." Said an oriental girl with long black hair and pretty black eyes, blushing red. "I'm Verity Aldridge. I'm a .. muggleborn? Is that how you say it?"

"Yes," laughed Scarlett.

Verity blushed red again.

"We'd better get dressed, it's nearly time for breakfast." Marie reached a hand out to Scarlett, who accepted.

***

Elle chattered all the way down to breakfast.

"I went to a muggle school in Bournemouth. It wasn't very good. I didn't like it all that much. I didn't have any magic friends, so we couldn't talk about articles in Wand Weekly or anything. Do you read Wand Weekly?"

"Mmm."

"I have a subscription. It's really good. I can lend you one of my magazines sometime...And I'll...." Her eyes grew round at the sight of the tables groaning with food. Eggs of every kind, toast, porridge, jams, preserves, cereals of every shape and colour. Orange, Cranberry, Grapefruit, Watermelon, Pumpkin, Lemon and million more flavours of juice.

"Oh!" screamed Elle, "They've got Broom Flakes! Mum never lets me have them at home, she thinks, she thinks," lowering her voice,"I'm fat..."

"Your not fat!" I objected, "I think you're a perfect size."

"You talked!" she screamed with delight and hugged me, "Come on I'll show you the Broom Flakes!"

***

Broom Flakes as it turned out flakes of corn (like muggle cereals) that were in the shape of witches on brooms. They would swoop and loop on their brooms and then fly straight into your open mouth when you said 'Here comes the witch'. They, as it turned out were very fun, as sometimes they would completely miss you mouth, instead head into you nose of you neighbours mouth, nose ear or even in one case, eye.. They resulted in some roaring laughter from Elle, and some timid giggling from me. It was nothing on what my reaction would have been two years ago, but I hadn't even snorted with mirth since Dad died. There was nothing funny about having your Dad dead.

Elle interrupted my dark thoughts, shouting, "Our timetables! Lily, out timetables!"

Any self respecting Ravenclaw stomach would flip excitedly and I was no different, though I wasn't particularly self respecting. But today would be my first lesson in magic. Professor Hart was handing out timetables to the Ravenclaws.

Tapping a piece of parchments she said, "Lily Potter. Enjoy your first lesson."

She smiled at me and handed me my timetable, but I could see the pity in her eyes, I was used to it now.

I stared down at the little piece of paper that would be my life for the next year.

First up I had Charms with Professor Stimpson and the Hufflepuffs. Elle did too. As much as I was quiet and a bit of a loner, it was still nice to have friends. Well a friend. I suppose that's what Elle was becoming. It kind of made my chest warm up and my cheeks flush. My family had to like me, but Elle didn't. She chose to. And so with a furnace blazing deep inside me, Elle and I walked to truly begin our life of magic.

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Thank-you for taking the time to read this far, I would love it if you reviewed. Again, thank-you for reading.

Holly