Chapter 3: To the Brightest Star

"Come on, this way," said James as he pulled up right behind him on the broom, and the next thing that Lily knew was that they were in the air. Lily let out a startled scream as she felt her feet leave the floor, and up they began to soar into the night air.

"Put your arms around me, quickly," James cried over the sudden gust of wind and she quickly grabbed his waist and they were off, flying above the buildings, her hair blowing around wildly behind her. Soon she was soaring high enough that the park looked like a small greenish square, surrounded by four grey snake-like roads. At least it did when Lily finally opened her eyes very slightly before they widen in shock.

She stared down as James banked a turn, showing her the whole city. She stared around at everything, never imagining she could ever see something like this from the air. She had dreamt of flying before in the air for as long as she could remember… but this was enough to strike her speechless. The city itself sank beneath them as they rose high into the starry sky. She could see the lights of the lampposts beneath them shine their lights and illuminate the buildings and streets. She gasped in amazement as they hovered in the air for a moment before they turned and began to head up and up… going closer to the sky.

If she couldn't have felt the cold air and the wind making her eyes water, she would've sworn that she was dreaming. It was all a blur as she stared around, feeling her heart beating so hard it was as if it wanted to burst out of her chest.

James slowed down now; rising higher he was now making slow lazy circles around the gargantuan buildings that rose way into the velvety clouds. Rising still higher she looked down, realizing that the whole world looked like a dreamland below them.

Amazed by everything, she ran one of her hands through her hair so that she could hold it back from getting into her face. She could feel the wind underneath her bare feet and they went up even higher like a balloon would before they were eliminated against the bright moon. And she even laughed a little when James went into a short dive before he grinned wildly back at her.

"Come on," he said, "We have a long way to go!"

And so, he turned the broom around and they went off into the direction of the brightest star you could see.

Lily wasn't sure how long this ride was, it had to be several hours at least, all she knew for sure was that they were over the ocean and the moon was constantly at their backs. She wished that she thought to grab a coat before she left though… she was starting to get cold. Thankfully, soon enough, the moon sank away below the horizon, and a sun was coming up instead.

Lily couldn't recognize anything below her as they ended up leaving the sea behind them and were now flying over large green fields and a thick forest to their far side.

"We're almost there!" James called to her. "And boy, will they be surprised when they see you!"

"Don't people usually come here?!" she yelled at him.

"Sometimes, but that's really rare," James admitted. "I mean… kids are the only ones who came come here. There are plenty of grown-ups in the town, but they were all about our age when they got here. They just chose never to go home."

"Why?" Lily asked curiously.

"Maybe like you, they were looking for an adventure," James admitted. "They can leave whenever they want, but they want to stay here."

"How is it that kids are the only ones who can come here?" Lily asked curiously, wondering why that was the case.

"Don't know," he shrugged. "But look at it this way… even if they did go back, where could they go? Most of them had been gone for a few decades."

"Not much reason huh?" Lily asked, slowly understanding what he was getting at.

"I came here by accident when I was really little," James went on. "I don't remember how it happened or where I came from before. Only that I ended up here."

"You mean you don't know who your parents are?" Lily asked in surprise.

"I know my name… James Potter," he said, "And a few other things like my birthday and how old I am… I think I was about five when I came here. But everything else…? I have no idea."

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

But he shook his head, waving his hand a little in her direction. "Don't be," he said. "I mean, I've got a family here! My friends and everything! It's not easy all the time. But we all have each other and that's good enough for us!"

She smiled a little, her heart pounding a little harder before she said, "I'm not sure I like flying this way though!"

He laughed. "Don't worry!" he promised. "You'll get used to it! AH! I can see it now!"

He pointed straight ahead of them and she leaned dangerously over the edge so that she could see for herself. She gasped once more. In the bright sunlight, she could see it… over a large, sparkling lake, perched atop a high mountain was a vast castle with many turrets and towers, its windows shining in this morning light.

"Home sweet home," James said, and he was smiling as he looked back at her. And they began to descend. Lily was so transfixed by the castle, she didn't even notice at first that they were sinking over the lake. It wasn't until she felt her toes skimming over the water did she realize where they were and she laughed a little.

"Show off," she informed him and he grinned back at her.

"Of course!" he laughed, "That's what I do best! Or so everyone says!"

She rolled her eyes until they continued to fly off in the direction of the forest and landed on the very edge. Lily touched down but stumbled and almost fell until she grabbed hold of a tree to keep herself balanced.

"You alright?" he asked cheerfully.

"Yeah," she said shakily as she eventually was able to get her bearings straight. "I'm fine."

"Great!" he said happily as he clapped his hands together. "Now then… we should go see Dumbledore quickly."

"Dumbledore?" Lily asked in surprise and was even more so to see him hide his broom among the trees.

"He's the one in charge around here," James said as he led her up the pathway. "Now we get new kids coming through all the time. So all we have to do is act like you suddenly showed up here."

"Why don't we just tell him that you brought me here?" she asked before she saw how nervous he looked and she understood. "You weren't supposed to?"

"He's pretty lenient on rules," James whispered as they headed up the path. "But he doesn't like it when we go flying off at night. If he found out about that, I'd be in detention until I was his age! And that's pretty darn old, let me tell you. So please… just say you don't know how you got here? He won't complain! Even if he did get angry, it'll be me he yells at. Not you. He'll take care of you. You can trust him."

Lily frowned a little, not sure she liked that idea, but she nodded as she felt her feet beginning to ache, and she was now wishing she grabbed her shoes along with her coat. But she ignored that as they headed up the steps; James told her that since it was so early, they surly wouldn't be spotted until they reached Dumbledore's office.

"Is this a school?" she asked curiously as she raced up the stairs with him.

"Yep," he said brightly. "There's a town too! It's called Hogsmeade! All the adults you see there were kids who found their way here by accident. Most of them move on to other places around here and build towns or travel the land. That's what I'm gonna do! Once I'm done with Hogwarts, I'm going out with my friends to see this whole world."

"The magical one? Is it really big?" Lily asked eagerly.

"I think that Dumbledore should be able to explain it all to you," James said as they wandered the stone hallways, passed suits of armor, and—to her amazement—moving paintings. She stared around her in amazement as they climbed up another flight of stairs and ended up going straight to the end of a long hallway to where an ugly stone gargoyle was waiting for them.

"Me and my best mate Sirius get into trouble all the time," James told her, pride in his tone. "We're almost daily visitors so we know how to get it."

He turned to the statue and said confidently, "Lemon Drop!"

And Lily let out a hastily stifled cry of surprise as the gargoyle sprang alive and jumped out of the way to reveal a spiral staircase that was moving up. She stared at it in amazement as James pulled her inside and they began to ride it all the way up. Up and up… until… slightly dizzy, they were standing in front of a door with a fancy knocker.

"Don't worry," James told her. "The guy's a big softy! All we have to do is tell him that I found you by the forest or something and I brought you here! And no one will ever need to know what really happened."

She nodded in understanding as he knocked and entered the room. Lily had never seen anything like it. It was a large and beautiful circular room, full of funny little noises. A number of curious silver instruments stood on spindle-legged tables, whirring and emitting little puffs of smoke. The walls were covered with portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses, all of whom were snoozing gently in their frames. There was also an enormous, claw-footed desk, and, sitting on a shelf behind it, a shabby, tainted wizard's hat…

"Professor Dumbledore?!" James called loudly, beaming confidently. But after a few minutes, he frowned a little and called again. "That's weird," he said to her. "Normally he's always here this early."

"Yes," said a deep, aged voice behind them and Lily froze as she spun around with James to see an elderly man, in sweeping purple robes with golden stars, standing there. He had long beard that was so long that it went past his belt and twinkling blue eyes behind his glasses. "And he's probably wondering just why he spotted a couple young ones landing by the forest and hiding a broomstick before coming up here."

She felt James gulp next to her as the man walked forward.

"James?" he said quietly, before smiling at her, "Who is your friend here? And where were you last night?"