Author's Note: The one time I could have gotten the chapter out early, the site closes down....I give up!
Lily stood frozen in a state of shock.
"Liz?!" She repeated.
"What is Liz doing in Slytherin?!" Jenn asked, stunned.
Lily turned back towards Natalie. Her friend was watching Liz intently, but instead of acknowledging her sister, she abruptly turned her head back to her Ravenclaw friends, like Liz no longer existed.
"Odd." Sirius said simply from behind her, taking a bite out of an apple.
"Where'd you get that from?" Lily asked him. He gestured to their once empty table, which now held a bountiful feast.
"Ah..........there." She sat down in between James and Mandy and helped herself to mashed potatoes and steak.
"So, why don't we go around the table and introduce ourselves...learn a little about each other." Jenn suggested.
Sirius stood up and cleared his throat dramatically. "My name is Sirius Benjamin Black. My favorite color is green. I enjoy sunsets, long walks on the beach, and poem readings. My favorite animals are ponies, unicorns, and butterflies. Oh, and I'm proud to say that I've been butterbeer free for 65 days now." He sniffed emotionally.
The boys clapped and James patted Sirius on the back.
"Yes...um, thank you for...........that. Let's continue clockwise." Sarah announced.
Mandy stood up as Sirius sat down, wiping fake tears from his eyes. "Okay, I'm Mandy Arabella McQueen. My parents are Cara and Christopher, then I have a little brother named Shane. I come from a Muggle family, but my mum's sister, Kelly, is a witch, so I know a little about magic."
Next up was Lily. "I'm Lily Elizabeth Evans. My mum is Diana, my dad is Stephen, and I have a 14-year old sister named Petunia. My godmother, Ella Warren, is a witch, but I just found out about that like 3 weeks ago. I don't quite understand magic yet, because it's all so new to me. I'm also aware that adapting to my new life is going to be difficult. All I know, is that I'm up for the challenge!"
"Was that like pre-written on a note card or something?" Sirius quipped.
"At least it was for real!" Lily argued back.
"Okay, you guys want for real, you got it. My name is Sirius Benjamin Black. My parents are the one and only Theresa and Drake Black. My best friends are Remus, Joe, Mike, and Frank. My surrogate brother is James. My only REAL sibling is my sister, Heather."
"Heather Black?!" Jenn blurted out, her brown eyes widening.
"No, Heather Stephandopplestonoppolis!" Sirius teased sarcastically.
"Did you have that on a note card?" Lily asked, amused.
"No, I'm just a creative thinker. Anyway, yeah, Heather's my sister."
"........and my brother's girlfriend." Jenn stated clearly.
"OMIGOD, we could like totally be in-laws! Give me a hug, sister..I mean sister-IN-LAW!" Sirius mocked in a girlie voice, pulling Jenn into a hug.
"Joy," She muttered dryly, pulling out of his embrace.
"ANYWAY, it's James's turn." Sarah interjected.
James stood up.
"WAIT!! I've got one more thing, and then I'm done, I swear," Sirius added, "I got out with Gwendolyn Lindsay." Lily saw Mandy frown slightly, but it lasted for all of 5 seconds before turning back into an attentive smile.
"YOUR TURN, James." Sirius boomed, mocking Sarah.
"I'm James Tristan Potter. I come from generations of witches and wizards. My parents are Tricia and Robert. I have two siblings, my 3-year old twin brother and sister, Alex and Annabelle. My favorite sport is Quidditch and I love pranks. Sirius, Remus, Joe, Mike, and Frank are my best friends. Oh, and I've been dating Paige Alston for about 7 weeks now." Now, was Lily's turn to mask a frown.
Next in line was Jenn. "Hello, I'm Jennifer Ainsley Ryan. My parents are Robert and Shannon. I have a brother, Zach, who dates Sirius's sister. My dad is a wizard, but my mum's Muggle. That's about it!"
Joe stood up. "I'm Joseph Matthew Bell. I have a sister named Samantha, who's 4, and 2 wonderful parents, Tina and Perry. Then, there's my role model, my brother, Sean. For all the ladies....I just wanted to let you know... that I'm free...single, sexy--."
"Oh, sit down!" Sarah pushed him back into his seat as she stood up.
"I'm Sarah Denise Blanton. My parents are Sheila and Dean. Then, there's my dumb little brother, who shall remain nameless. Only my mum's side is magical, but I know a good amount about magic. My interests are boys, boys, boys--."
A sandy-haired boy named Remus cut in. "Okay, I think we get the picture. I'm Remus J. Lupin. My parents are Donna and Marcus. I'm an only child, and from things I've heard, I believe that's a GOOD thing. My best friends are those lunatics over there--James and Sirius waved--and they're just lunatics--he pointed to Mike and Joe, who bowed. Anyway, that's...all, I guess."
Violet was next. "I'm Violet Rose Leosis, but my friends call me Vee. My mum and dad are Talulah and Aiden and I don't have any siblings, either. I'm into fashion and hair, and I used to play softball at my old school--I'll explain that to you guys later. Oh, and I think Joe's cute." She smiled at him and he winked at her.
Next was a short, chubby boy named Peter Pettigrew. "Uh, hi..I'm Peter Pettigrew." With that, Peter sat down and turned his head away from the group shyly.
Michael Johnson, a kind looking African-English boy stood up. "Hey, I'm Mike. I'm friends with those losers--James, Sirius, Joe, and Remus mouthed "that's us!"--over there. My parents are Elena and Dorian. My mum is half witch/half Muggle, but my dad is pureblooded. Oh, and I'm single." He winked at the girls, who laughed at his antics.
Last at the table, Frank Longbottom stood up. "Hey, I'm Frank and I'm from a wizarding family--."
The man Lily had been told was the headmaster of Hogwarts cut their introductions short.
"Welcome back for another great year of learning! I'm Professor Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts. I'm pleased to inform you all that this year, in addition to your studies, you will be doing a special project. Different years and different houses will team up to accomplish a given goal. So, without further ado, my dear friend, Professor O'Connor." To Lily, he already seemed like someone she'd like.
Professor O'Connor cleared her throat. "Now, I'm going to be calling your year and house while dividing you up. Each group will have 4 different years from each of the 4 different houses. When you are called, you will proceed to the table marked with your group's number." She gestured to a group of several tables in the center of the hall.
"Once there, you will receive an assignment and a group name. Both have been pre-selected for you and are written on the parchment at the center of the table. Now, let's begin!"
"Group 1 will be the Ravenclaw 1^st years, the Hufflepuff 3^rd years, the Slytherin 7^th years, and the Gryffindor 2^nd years."
"Group 2 is the Slytherin 6^th years, the Gryffindor 5^th years, the Ravenclaw 2^nd years, and the Hufflepuff 4^th years."
"Group 3 is the Hufflepuff 1^st years, the Ravenclaw 4^th years, the Gryffindor 7^th years, and the Slytherin 3^rd years."
"Group 4 is the Ravenclaw 6^th years, the Gryffindor 4^th years, the Slytherin 5^th years, and the Hufflepuff 2^nd years."
"Group 5 is the Slytherin 2^nd years, the Hufflepuff 6^th years, the Ravenclaw 5^th years, and the Gryffindor 3^rd years."
"Group 6 is the Hufflepuff 5^th years, the Slytherin 1^st years, the Gryffindor 6^th years, and the Ravenclaw 7^th years.
"Lastly, Group 7 is the Gryffindor 1^st years, the Slytherin 4^th years, the Hufflepuff 7^th years, and the Ravenclaw 3^rd years."
Lily turned chalk white. "PAIGE?!" She mouthed soundlessly to Mandy, who shrugged sympathetically as they got up to move to their table.
Before they even got there, they found themselves confronted by Paige and a group of her friends.
"Just thought I'd introduce you to my absolute best friends in the world." Paige replied sweetly.
One by one, Paige's friends introduced themselves.
A girl with poker straight, midnight black hair and brown eyes was first. "I'm Scarlett West."
Next was a tall girl with long, shimmery golden hair, and bright blue-green eyes. "I'm Gwendolyn Lindsay."
Lily saw Mandy refrain a scoff.
A girl with medium-length red-brown hair and hazel eyes came after that. "Liza Carrini."
Lastly was a girl with choppy, layered dark brown hair, containing caramel colored highlights. She had green eyes, and looked very nice. "I'm Tenley Ellis." She spoke in a friendly voice and smiled at them.
"Lily Evans--."
"Mandy McQueen--."
"Jenn Ryan--."
"Violet Leosis--."
"And Sarah Blanton."
The girls introduced themselves, then sat down.
"Shall I retrieve the parchment?" Paige asked the group. Nobody seemed to care, except Lily who was hiding her disapproval from James, so she went and got it. Paige began to read aloud:
"Team # 7,
From now on, you will be called Team Infinitus. You will be given an assignment each year, along with new members to replace the departed. You will also be assigned a secret meeting place, password-protected, that will be your group's personal haven. Tomorrow, you will be showed this place and be allowed to decorate it as you wish.
Your first assignment: Find a way to convert a dark wizard back to the light side. This may be complicated and a little overwhelming for you, but you are expected to put your very best effort into this.
We don't mean to pressure you so fast, but in addition to your yearly assignments, each group will be given an assignment that each year in the group should complete by their final year of Hogwarts. That is, to come up with a new spell or magical device that could be useful to our world. Since, 6^th and 7^th year don't have very much time, we can assure you that you will not be penalized for faults in your assignment.
When finished this letter, please proceed to your individual houses to go to bed. You have a long day ahead of you, so please get a good amount of rest.
Goodluck.
Professor Dumbledore
~And the rest of the Hogwarts staff~"
"I guess that's goodnight." Lily remarked.
"Yup, later guys.....I mean ladies." James gave Paige a kiss and waved good bye to the other Ravenclaws. Sirius did the same with Gwendolyn.
"Bye!" Tenley waved.
"See ya later!" Lily waved good bye to them, well all except Paige, that is.
Just then, 2 tall boys came over to their group. "Follow us, we're prefects." The boys collected the rest of the Gryffindors and led them out of the Great Hall.
"That is SO the guy from the train!" Violet squealed.
"Vee, you're drooling." Mandy replied, amused.
"Who cares?" Violet said in a dreamy tone.
"So, Lil, looks like you've got yourself some serious competition in the group." Jenn commented.
"I know. I swear that somebody up there doesn't like me." Lily admitted with a small sigh, defeated. The girls laughed.
At that very moment, though, above the girls on the stairwell, Paige Alston commented to her friends, "God, do I HATE that Lily Evans."
Disclaimer: All the usual stuff, and the new characters introduced.
Author's Note: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! If the next chapter doesn't show up by this Friday, then don't expect it out until mid-to-late next week. I have a busy weekend coming up. COMPETITION IS THIS WEEKEND...hehe..I'm just a little nervous....
Chapter 8: Partners in Crime (Or at least Transfiguration)
NOW GO REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!
