A/N: It's been forever since this has been updated, but we've decided to give this story another go. So enjoy this chapter and tell us what you think.
The rest of the ride went by like a breeze. Lily alternated between striking conversation with Sirius, staring out the window and subtlety studying the pair of boys before her, particularly James. He was yet to utter a word to Lily directly, and she felt offended by the fact. She assumed he simply believed her to beneath him. Normally, she might have made a snarky comment about it, though she though better of it. James Potter was clearly an influential student at the institution Lily was set to attend, and she did not want to start a feud over some assumed slight.
Once they reached the station, Lily and the boys went their separate ways, but not before Sirius promised to meet up later. The sun had begun to set and Lily hurried to the Slytherin building. Lily, frankly had only got admitted into building because Severus pulled some strings. From what she had read, the Slytherin was for the snobbiest of the snobs- which obviously wasn't exactly the best news for Lily. Severus had assured her that Lily had nothing to worry about and none would dare to cross her with him at her side. It wasn't what Lily wanted to hear, but she preferred to have a familiar face in the strange new world she found herself in.
At the reception desk, a haughty looking dark haired woman sat, scrolling lazily through her phone. Lily hauled her luggage to the counter and cleared her throat loudly. The woman, Samantha (according to her name tag), looked up and gave Lily a once over and regarded her questioningly with a slightly raised eyebrow.
Lily self consciously straightened her top and handed the woman her student ID card.
"Lily Evans."
Samantha studied the card before turning her head to the computer before her, and typed rapidly. She glanced back at Lily, "I'm afraid I can't find your name, Miss. Evans."
Fear seized Lily's heart and she had to fight to keep the panic off her face. Her name wasn't registered? Did that mean she actually didn't get into Hogwarts University? She hands began to feel clammy and was likely to have had a panic attack if it weren't the voice that interrupted her train of thought, "Lily!"
Lily whipped her head around to find Snape making his way towards her from the elevator. He grinned at her and offered her a one handed hug.
"Find your room yet?"
Lily shook her head, "I haven't been registered here." She tried to stamp down the irrationality fear that was taking control of her body. Severus glanced questioningly at the receptionist, who shrugged apologetically.
"It's not here, Mr. Snape." She pointed to the computer system.
"Check again."
Samantha did as she was told, but wielded the same results once more. "Give me a moment. Let me check if she's in any of the other buildings." She continued to type furiously until she clicked her tongue in triumph. She looked up at Lily.
"Miss. Evans, you happen to have been placed in Gryffindor."
The fear washed away quickly after Samantha uttered those words, to be replaced with relief and disappointment for the fact that Severus and she would not be in the same residence hall. Lily felt Severus stiffen beside her.
"I was assured Lily would be placed in Slytherin." He said in low voice. Lily attempted to calm Severus down, but he ignored her.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Snape. If you have any complaints you'll have to take it up with your House Head."
Snape glared furiously at Samantha, "Oh, I will." He stalked angrily out of the building and Lily scrambled to follow him. She grabbed his arm,
"It's fine, Sev. I'll be fine. We can still meet up during classes and after."
The rage colouring Snape's features receded as he studied Lily. "Don't worry, Lily. I'll get you back with Slytherin. Just bear with those pretentious buffoons in Gryffindor till then."
Lily smiled uncertainly at Snape and then he accompanied her to Gryffindor hall. Snape refused to enter with her and saw her off from the outside. The inside of the Gryffindor building seemed much cozier to Lily than the Slytherin hall did. She was privately relieved a bit to have been placed in the building, because she had read that it was usually the safe haven for scholarship students.
The receptionist was the most helpful in finding her room for her, and the next thing Lily knew she was hauling her bags down the hall to her new living quarters. She was about to enter them when Sirius and James came her way.
"Lily. Darling." Sirius greeted cheerfully, "I thought you said you were in Slytherin." James sighed in exasperation at his companion's antics, but also glanced at Lily curiously.
Lily smiled shyly at the pair and shrugged, "Must have been a mistake." She gestured around the hall, "Here I am. In Gryffindor."
Sirius grinned in delight, "That's incredible news." He eyed James in glee, who seemed to look anywhere but Sirius' face. "Well, I believed, dear Evans, we are going to have much together in these halls." Lily had no idea if Sirius meant that innocently or not, but she found herself blushing furiously nonetheless.
"Well, don't let us keep you waiting." Sirius pointed to her dorm door, "I'm sure we'll be seeing plenty of each other." He grinned at her generously and started down the hall, followed by James.
Lily placed her hand on the knob, and looked back up at the pair of boys to find James glancing back at her intensely over his shoulder. They're eyes met momentarily, green on hazel, before Lily quickly looked away and pushed the door open.
Pushed the door open to absolute chaos. Lily's room was covered with an assortment of colors or clothes from what she noticed. Clothes were strewn along the floor, both the beds and literally any flat horizontal surface. Amongst the chaos, a girl emerged. She had black hair and was pretty in a wild way. She smiled sheepishly at Lily, "Sorry about the mess. I was looking for my earphones. Happened to have put it at the bottom of my case accidentally."
She kicked a pair of jeans under a bed and made her way to Lily, "I'm Josephine Vhon. Fashion designing."
Lily accepted the hand Josephine offered and smiled, "Lily Evans. Pre-Law."
The next morning Lily and Josephine were scrambling to get brushed and dressed in time for class. Josephine was quirky and laidback girl and shared most of Lily's interest. They both got on to a great start and to Lily it felt as though she had known Josephine forever rather than the ten hours she actually did. Amidst all the getting to know each other and unpacking, they had forgot to set an alarm. They were now paying the price.
Josephine head down to her class quickly while Lily was left to find her way to her class on her own. She was already late and hadn't been looking where she was going when she collided into a strong body and lost her balance. A pair of strong, muscular arms caught hold her waist. Lily yelped in surprise and looked up to her savior, to find herself looking at the deliciously hazel eyes of James Potter.
They stood like that for tad longer than necessarily, staring at each other rather intensely. Lily blushed and tried to pull back from James' grasp. James studied her face for a moment longer before letting go her slowly. He brushed the front of his surely expensive shirt before glaring at Lily.
"Look where you're going, Evans. You could've gotten hurt." He glanced down her body, looking for any injury, "Are you usually so clumsy?"
Lily gaped at James, "I'm sorry. No need to be so rude about it." James rolled his eyes, something he did quite often Lily presumed, and opened his mouth with a retort, only to interrupted by Severus running towards them and checking to see if Lily was alright. Apparently he had witnessed the whole thing. Lily scowled, she wasn't made of glass.
After fussing over Lily, Severus glanced at James, who was staring at the hand Severus had on Lily's arm with a blank expression.
"Careful, Potter. Just because you're famous doesn't mean you get luxury of not watching your step."
James' gaze snapped to meet Snape's cold one. Lily noticed his fists clench tightly at his side. He raised a lazy eyebrow at Snape, "Didn't think this was any of your business, Snape."
"It wasn't his fault, Sev." Lily quickly intervened, "I was in a bit of a rush."
Severus glanced at Lily before scowling at James. "Come on, Lily." He turned on his heel and began to stalk away when he noticed Lily wasn't following him.
Lily smiled sheepishly at Snape, "I have classes, Sev." Severus stared blankly at Lily, a flash of hurt on his face.
"Of course." He said, his tone carefully kept neutral. He turned away without another word. Lily glanced uncertainly at James before she remembered something.
"You're doing Pre-Law as well, right?" Sirius had mentioned something in the train.
James nodded in affirmation. Lily sighed in relief, "You have Mcgonagall now?"
"As it happens to be, yes."
Lily glanced shyly at James, "You wouldn't mind showing me the way, would you?"
James sneered at Lily, "Why didn't you ask your boyfriend to do so?" He turned around and made his down the corridor and Lily had to break in a slow jog to keep up with his long strides.
"Severus isn't my boyfriend."
James looked at Lily through the corners of his eyes amused, "Well, he obviously would like to be."
Lily glared at James furiously, "You have no idea what your talking about." James hummed, unconvinced. Lily huffed, irritated. They made their way to the class and Lily glanced at her watch before James and she opened the door and cursed under her breath. She was fifteen minutes late.
Professor Mcgonagall glanced severely at the pair when the entered her class. She took in Lily's slightly disheveled state from her fall and her eyes darted to James, who didn't seemed to be the least bothered by being late for their first class.
"And what have we been upto, Miss.."
"Evans." Lily gulped nervously.
"Miss. Evans?" Professor Mcgonagall waited expectantly for her excuse.
"I.. um.. I tripped." Lily could feel herself going scarlet. "I tripped and fell."
Professor Mcgonagall looked between Lily and James unimpressed, "And I'm sure Mr. Potter caught and swept you off your feet."
Lily heard a few chuckles from the class, and she had to restrain herself from placing her face in her hands in embarrassment. When the Professor put it like that, it sounded a lot less.. innocent, for lack of better word.
The Professor turned her attention to James and glanced at him disapprovingly, "Already begun your conquests, Mr. Potter?" Lily thought she heard disappointment and slight exasperation in Mcgonagall's voice.
James shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets, "It's really not what you think, Minnie." Lily glanced curiously between James and Mcgonagall, as they seemed to exchange a silent conversation. Lily realized that the two likely knew each other beforehand, especially with the way James addressed her.
"I'm sure." Mcgonagall replied. Lily had no idea if she believed James' words or not. She really hoped she did. Mcgonagall proceeded to point them to their seats, "I do not condone lateness among my students. Especially on the first day."
"Meet me during my lunch break, Miss. Evans and Mr. Potter."