"GRYFFINDOR!" the sorting hat shouted, much to Lily's relief as she took the hat off and walked over to where her brothers were waiting for her.
"Congratulations Lily. Mum and dad will be so proud." James said happily.
Lily nodded and said "You two should consider yourselves lucky that I don't know any good jinxes for how nervous you made me about the sorting."
"We were just messing with you." Albus said.
"Whatever." Lily said as the sorting came to an end, with Hugo join them at the Gryffindor table.
Lily's first week at Hogwarts was relatively calm, except for her becoming literally every single one of her teacher's star pupils. In charms, she'd impressed everyone, even Professor Flitwick by levitating her new friend Audrey Wood's pet toad several feet off the table, earning her 10 points for Gryffindor.
In Transfiguration, she'd earned Professor Miles Dynasty's approval by successfully transfiguring a match into a needle with ease. Herbology was a snap considering she'd already been tutored by Professor Longbottom (who supposedly favored the Gryffindor students), over the summers. Her biggest success had been in Defense Against the Dark Arts when she'd managed to perform a perfect Knockback Jinx on her third try, not that Professor William Meyers was surprised, saying that considering who Lily's father was, it was not surprising that she was an ace at defensive magic.
Now today was Friday and Lily was preparing for her first Potions lesson with Professor Slughorn.
"Lils, you've nailed every single one of your other classes and have all of the teachers wrapped around your finger. I don't think you need to worry about impressing Slughorn." Albus said.
James nodded and said "Yeah, having the last name Potter will be enough to add Slughorn to the list of teachers you've got wrapped around your fingers. I know Albus and I do. Slughorn may be a bit with a pest, but really, he's harmless and doesn't realize he's being a burden."
"Thanks for the reassurances." Lily said, right as Minerva dropped down in front of her with 2 letters in her beak.
"The first one is from mum and dad." Lily said, opening it.
Dear Lily,
Sorry for not writing you back sooner, but things have been a bit hectic around here. Your father and I could not be prouder to hear that you're in Gryffindor. Of we would've been proud regardless of which house you were in, but still, I cannot deny that we were particularly pleased to receive the news. We are also pleased to hear that you have been doing well in all of your classes, since we received an owl from Neville last night telling us how well you were doing. We hope you are making lots of friends and please let us know when your first flying lesson is and how it goes. Depending on how it goes, your father says he might buy you a broomstick. Say hi to Hagrid for me and don't believe all of the stories he tells you about your dad.
Love,
Mum.
P.S. Tell James that just because he's a prefect this year doesn't mean I won't send him a howler if he steps too far out of line again.
"Of course she felt the need to mention that." James grumbled under his breath.
"Your last howler was hilarious." Albus laughed, remembering the moment.
"Open the other letter, it looks like it's from Hagrid." James said to Lily, who nodded.
Dear Lily,
Why don't yeh and yer siblings and cousins come down to me hut this afternoon during your free period.
Hagrid.
"Can I borrow a quill to say yes?" Lily asked her brothers.
Albus handed her a quill to reply with.
"Thanks." Lily said as she scribbled down a quick yes and gave it to Minerva to send to Hagrid.
"See you at Hagrid's Lily." James said as the bell rang, signaling for everyone to get to their classes.
In the dungeons, Lily was between Alicia Wood and Hugo as they waited for Professor Slughorn to enter the dungeons.
"I'd like to welcome all of you to first year potions class. Before we begin I'd like to make it clear that this class is not one where wands will be required. If anything, wands should be put away and not touched for the remainder of my lessons. Potion making is a very beautiful, yet tricky and dangerous form of magic. It requires a skill that most other forms of magic do not, patience. But with patience and care, I hope to teach you all how to bottle up luck, brew fame, create glory and even stopper death." Slughorn said cheerfully as he then went through role call.
As Lily had expected, Slughorn paused when he reached her name.
"Lily Potter. You truly look just like your grandmother did when she was your age. Accept for your eyes of course. It's your mother's eyes you've got. Very talented girl your mother was, even if I only had her for 3 years. And of course your father, well, I may have only taught him for a single year, but I can hardly say I didn't get to see his talent at magic. And of course, I've been teaching your brothers as well. They both seemed to inherit your grandmother's skill at potions and I'm hoping that you have as well." Slughorn said.
Lily blushed as Slughorn continued to move down the list until he reached Hugo, who he also complimented due to his mother's own talent.
Lily was relieved when the afternoon finally rolled around, since she was looking forward to seeing Hagrid and hearing stories about her parents back when they were at school.
Which is why Lily found herself walking through the grounds with James, Albus, Rose and Hugo towards Hagrid's hut.
"Is that a hippogriff?" Lily asked, since a large creature was tethered outside of Hagrid's hut.
"Lily be careful. You have to bow to him first." James said as he, Albus and Rose bowed to the hippogriff and Lily and Hugo quickly followed their example.
After the hippogriff bowed his head back towards them, Lily cautiously approached the beautiful creature and began to stroke it's head.
"'Bout time you lot showed up." Hagrid said with a grin as he noticed Lily petting Buckbeak.
"I see Beaky's takin' a likin' to yeh Lily. Can't say I'm surprised, given yeh're dad's the one who saved Beaky's life." Hagrid said happily.
"His name is Beaky?" Lily asked.
"Buckbeak actually." Hagrid said.
"Maybe we should go inside so you can tell us more stories about our parents." Rose suggested.
Hagrid nodded and showed them all in, though Lily was rather reluctant to leave her new friend.
"If there's one thing yeh all should know, it's that your parents, particularly Harry, Ron and Hermione, had a bit of a talent of knowing more than they ought to. Got them into loads of trouble while they were at school, though they to use it to their advantage. And crikey, I doubt there's a single student, past or present, from this school who knows it better than Harry did. Not a single passageway in the castle exists that he hadn't found." Hagrid said over all of the laughing kids.
"Did mum ever break any rules?" Lily asked.
"Actually, up until her 5th year, your mum was too starstruck around your dad to even speak to him without getting tongue tied. No, it was always your dad and Rose and Hugo's parents, particularly their dad that broke rules." Hagrid said.
"What rules have they broken?" James asked.
"The same ones you have. Wandering around after hours, sneaking into the forbidden forest, heck, Harry has actually snuck in and out of the castle into Hogsmeade and back." Hagrid said.