Author's Note:

Here is my second post of The First Time Around for the week! I hope you enjoy it!

Reviews and Comments: To ellyann13: No, I don't think there are separate cars, but I think the older students leave the ones at the front of the train for the new students. Well, they just met, so yes, Remus is a bit quiet. Sirius isn't going to tell them about his life, they just met. Thank you! To A Huge Fan: Thank you! I agree, fate, destiny, and prophecy are all such big themes and we'll see that theme carry on into the third portion. Thank you so much! To Sara: Yes, a callback to Sirius' scars, but Sirius isn't ready to share those with anyone or talk about how or why he got them. Thank you! To CorbanD17: Senior Checkout sounds weird. Definitely an American thing lol. But good for you. Thanks! To Bellmel: They are so excited and thrilled about what they might discover! James is clearly dying for adventure and he has no idea just how much adventure he might find! Poor Remus, though, he would be anxious and to have them mention both the Willow and werewolves, he was definitely quiet for a reason! Thank you!

My posting schedule: Weekly.

Thanks to Dusk for her amazing editing skills.

As always, thank you very much for reading and please, please review!

Your reviews give me life! They give me inspiration! And they make me want to keep writing for more than just myself! Thank you for all of your continued support!

CHAPTER ELEVEN:

The One With the Separation of Houses

2nd September 1971…

Sirius made his way into the Gryffindor common room with James, Remus, Peter, and Kingsley. He moved to stand next to Lily, Dorcas, Deanna, Marlene, and Mary, listening in on their conversation.

Dorcas Meadows smiled warmly as she spoke to Lily while she adjusted the girl's tie. "Of course, my Dad is terrible at it and I've been fixing his tie for him for the last six years. He's going to be completely helpless while I'm at school."

The prefect from the night before, a boy named Aidan Cross was leaning against the wall waiting for them as they settled into the common room.

"Good morning, first years!" he said giving them a bright smile. His blond hair was a little long and tied back with a leather thong and his grey eyes twinkled at them. "I'll show you to the Great Hall and Professor McGonagall will give all of you maps as well as your schedules."

Sirius followed the other Gryffindor first years out of the portrait hole and through the castle into the Great Hall. It looked a lot less menacing than it had last night. The ceiling today looked fairly normal, but Lily gasped in surprise when owls began to fly down around them and she jumped back in alarm, bumping into James.

James laughed and grabbed her arm to steady her. "Whoa there, Evans, just the post!"

"The post?"

James nodded, grinning widely at her. "Yeah." He plopped himself down onto the bench and helped himself to some breakfast as Lily took a seat next to him at the Gryffindor table.

"Owls?"

James nodded, munching on some bacon. "Don't your mum and dad use owls?"

Lily shook her head as Sirius sat down on the other side of James. "No, my parents aren't magical at all. They use the postman. I knew owls delivered messages, but to see so many at once is quite the spectacle."

"You're Muggleborn?" Sirius asked in surprise, reaching for a glass of orange juice.

His father's voice reiterating that Muggles are filth rang in his head as he stared at Lily.

James' face lit up. "Brilliant! This berk had never even heard of The Beatles! Evans, you've got to tell him how brilliant they are! And Elvis! Not to mention The Rolling Stones and The Animals! This git thinks that I'm making it all up!"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "I didn't say that you were making it up, I just have never heard Muggle music before yesterday when you played it on the train."

"His family is hardcore purebloods, which means his knowledge of Muggles is let's just say sadly lacking," James told her, grinning. "Seriously though, how wicked are The Beatles?"

Lily laughed at the excitement. "The Beatles are brill. I have a poster of Paul in my bedroom at home."

"See, Sirius? I told you! Really, though, what's your favourite album? Ouch!" he exclaimed as the white owl in front of him nipped his fingers. "Sorry, Plato! I didn't see you!" He reached for a bit of his toast and tugged a piece off to give the owl as he unrolled the parchment, his ears burning red. "I told her that I'd write at the end of the week."

Sirius grinned as he looked over. "Aw, does your mummy miss you already, Potter?"

James ignored him as he read the letter aloud.

Dear Jamie,

Dad and I hope you have a wonderful first day of classes. We sent Plato just to say hi and to make you think of us at home. Write by the weekend and send Poseidon with a letter; we want to know everything.

We love you!

Love,

Mum and Dad

"She's mental," James muttered, folding up the parchment his ears still burning.

"I think it's nice," Lily told him as she added a generous dollop of cream to her oatmeal and berries. "And for the record, I love Abbey Road, but also Revolver, Rubber Soul, and Help. Oh, and most definitely Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, but honestly, I love all of them."

James' smile widened. "Lily Evans, I think that we just became best friends."

"Lily?" a voice said from behind them and they both turned to where Snape stood there, his hands in his pockets awkwardly.

"Snivellus, right?" Sirius said with a smirk. "I see the green and silver work for you."

Lily glared at him. "His name is Severus."

James put his hands up in mock surrender. "Ooh, how terribly rude of us. I'd apologize, Snivellus, but I can already tell that you're a git."

Lily smacked him in the arm, her green eyes blazing. "I think I know who the prat is, James Potter!" She turned around fully and smiled at her friend. "How's Slytherin, Sev? Is it everything that you hoped for?"

He nodded, glaring at the boys who were talking amongst themselves now. "Can we talk?"

Lily grabbed an apple. "What's going on?"

Severus shrugged, his hands still in his pockets as he continued to glare at James and Sirius who were clearly eavesdropping. "We're still friends, right?"

Lily looked at him in bewilderment. "Of course we're still friends! Why would you think otherwise?"

Snape looked back at the Slytherin table and then around the Great Hall where all of the students were eating breakfast merrily. "We've been separated by our houses, Lily. Everything is going to change."

Lily laughed at his pained expression. She had no idea how being in different dormitories was going to affect anything. "You're being ridiculous! Just because we're in different parts of the castle doesn't mean that we still can't be friends and that we won't still see each other. We're still going to have classes together and we can study together and see each other outside of class."

He twisted his hands in front of him, sneaking a look at her through his greasy hair. "Gryffindor and Slytherin are supposed to be enemies."

"Frenemies then, at least in our case," she said, making him smile. "Why are they enemies?"

"Not enemies per say," Snape said carefully. "But we have to be careful. Some people might not like it if I hang out with you."

Lily's eyebrow rose at that. "Who are these people and why do you care what they think?"

"Lily," Snape said in exasperation. "The magical world is different. Petunia thinks that we're freaks because we have magical powers, but in this world, it's you who's different."

"Me?" she asked in surprise, crossing her arms in front of her. "How am I different?"

Snape looked uncomfortable and he shuffled his feet as he spoke. "Because you're Muggleborn and well, some people, purebloods namely, find that… repulsive. I just wanted to give you a warning incase someone says something to you that is, you know, rude."

"You're not a pureblood, are you?" she asked him, not liking the way the word rolled off of her tongue.

Snape shook his head. "No, I'm not, I'm a half-blood, but that's still a lot better than someone who comes from a non magical background."

"Are you saying that you're embarrassed to be my friend now? You told me that it didn't matter if I was Muggleborn!"

"Oi!" James said, turning around in his seat. "Evans, is this git giving you grief?"

"Potter, go away," she said, not even turning to look at him, her eyes on Snape. "Well, are you?"

"No! No! I would never!" he mumbled, pushing his hair out of his eyes. "I just… I just wanted you to know."

Lily stared at him for a moment. "Okay, now I know. So, what now?"

Snape gave her a small smile. "Now, we stay friends, no matter what."

"I still don't really see why this changes anything, Sev, but if it makes you feel better that I know, then all right."

He nodded. "Hopefully we'll have our first class together."

Lily smiled as she watched him head back to his own house table. She looked over at the two boys as James spoke next to her.

"Honestly, mate, you have to hear The White Album, I'll play it later for you."

Sirius merely grinned at him and turned his attention to Lily. "So, Lily, how do you know that greasy-haired git?" he asked, brushing his black hair out of his eyes.

"He's not a greasy-haired git and his name is Severus Snape!" she exclaimed, taking a spoonful of her oatmeal. "He lives near me."

"So, you knew him before yesterday?" James asked as he cleaned his plate.

Lily nodded. "We met at the park. He saw me do magic and he told me that I was a witch. I had no idea, being Muggleborn and all, and then he told me all about Hogwarts and how I would get a letter. I thought that he was making up stories, but then the letter really came."

"I always wondered how Muggleborns find out? I mean, do they think the letter's a prank?" Sirius asked, looking at James for confirmation. "I mean, really? How do they find out?"

"Professor Dumbledore came to my house," Lily told them as she finished her oatmeal. "He spoke to me and my parents and told us all about the school."

"Brilliant," James said, grinning widely. "I've just been bugging my parents for years about why I couldn't come to Hogwarts yet."

Sirius laughed, snagging some more bacon and looking around to see if anyone noticed him taking seconds before he popped it into his mouth. "My parents just argued whether Hogwarts was the better choice for me over Durmstrang."

James looked offended. "How could they even consider! Durmstrang doesn't even compare!"

Sirius shrugged. "They have their reasons. But they decided Hogwarts was the better choice because our family has always been Slytherins." He grinned. "Bet I get a Howler when Mum finds out that I'm in Gryffindor."

"What's a Howler?" Lily asked, her eyes on Sirius. "And there are other magic schools?"

James nodded, smiling at her. "Oh yeah, there are schools all over the world. But Hogwarts is by far the best one. And a Howler is not something you want, trust me! It's a letter that's bright red and it screams at you."

Sirius sighed. "I better write home and break the news."

"You can use Poseidon if you want."

"Thanks mate, but I have an owl."

"Miss Evans?"

Lily turned at the sound of her name and smiled at Professor McGonagall. "Good morning, Professor."

"Good morning, here is your schedule and a map of the school. Your first class this morning is with me. I look forward to seeing you all."

McGonagall passed out the rest of the timetables to the first years, reacquainting herself with names and faces.

Lily looked at the map of the school in interest. She ignored James and Sirius, who were now bickering over whether or not Sirius should write home tonight or wait until the end of the week, and turned to Marlene.

"Want to walk to Transfiguration with me, Marlene?"

"Gladly," Marlene said with a smile. "We can try not to get lost together."

Lily thought it sounded perfect and wondered if Severus had merely been overreacting about everything being different. It made her wonder what other things her friend had failed to tell her about the magical world.