A/N: First, I'd like to clear up a few details about the last chapter, mainly, the Sorting. There were more people entering Hogwarts than the ones I mentioned, but I wasn't about to go throught and name them all and their houses. Sorry, but my imagination and my memory aren't quite up to that. So I only told you about the ones I'd already introduced. Clear? Good. Thanks to those who gave me some ideas in their reviews, I'm always open to suggestions. Now this note is way too long, so I'll start the actual story now...
After the Sorting, a tall man in brilliant blue robes stood up. "Welcome to Hogwarts! I am Professor Dumbledore, and I have a few messages for you all, if I could only find them...ah-hah!" The wizard pulled a sheaf of papers out from his hat, prompting giggles from the students. "Let's see...Mr. Filch would like to remind all students that there will be no magic used in the hallways, and the teachers would like to remind you all that the Forbidden Forest is called that for a reason!" He looked out at the hall over the tops of his glasses. "In other words, it's off limits. Any students interested in playing Quidditch, please see the heads of your houses. Now, enjoy your feast!" He sat down to polite applause. Lily turned to Ari with a puzzled frown on her face.
"Ari? What's..." her voice trailed of and her eyes widened as she stared at the heaps of food on the table. "Where'd that come from?"
James grinned at Lily's astonishment. "The kitchens, where else? Have some potatoes?" Lily gave him a 'look' before accepting the dish. "What were you going to ask before you noticed the culinary delights?" That earned him a shove from Sirius. "What'd I do?!" he cried, pretending to be hurt. Lily and Ari rolled their eyes at him.
"Well, I was wondering what Quidditch was." Lily replied, filling her plate. She looked up and saw all her new friends staring at her. "What?"
"Sorry, I guess we forgot that you have muggle parents. Quidditch is the wizarding sport." answered Ari. "It's played on broomsticks, and there's four balls - one quaffle, two bludgers, and the golden snitch..." The rest of the meal was taken up with explaining Quidditch to Lily. Afterwards, they all followed a prefect up to the Gryffindor common room.
"First year girls, up those stairs. Boys, up those. Lights out by eleven!" shouted the prefect. "Schedules will be passed out at breakfast tomorrow!" Lily and Ari grabbed their trunks, which had been brought up, and started up the stairs to their tower. The boys did the same.
"Oof!" Ari dropped her trunk next to a bed and collapsed onto it. "I must've packed rocks instead of clothes!" Lily grinned at her before turning to greet the other girls who shared their tower.
"Hi, I'm Lily Evans, how do you do?" The three other girls introduced themselves as Becky Merkson, Elisabeth Cabler, and Vanya Bast. After choosing beds, the girls all sat down on Becky's to chat.
Up in the boys dorm, Sirius, Remus, and James found Peter asleep in one of the beds. "Guess they sorted him in the infirmary." said James. He sighed. "I had so wished he'd be in a different House!" The other boys laughed. "James Potter, " he said, introducing himself to their dorm mate, "How are you?" The other boy was Eric Townsend, who turned out to be rather quiet and studious. He chose the bed furthest away from the rowdy three, on the other side of the unconscious Peter. "So Sirius, going to play Quidditch?" asked James. Sirius snorted.
"I wish! First years can't play, remember? Say, James," he said slyly, "What do you think of Lily?" James turned bright red, and Sirius and Remus laughed.
"Oh, mind your own business!" James said, flopping onto his bed. "I'm going to sleep." Sirius and Remus also got into bed, Sirius humming "Lily and James, sitting in a tree" the entire time.
Up in the girls dormitory, all but Lily were asleep. She rolled over towards Ariella's bed and called out her name softly. "Ari? Are you awake?" She didn't get an answer, so she rolled back and continued to think about James.
The next day at breakfast, schedules were passed out. Ari leaned back to survey hers. "Let's see, Transfiguration with the Ravenclaws - oh good, I'll see Kerstie - then Potions with the Slytherins - talk about bad luck - and then...Yes! Flying lessons with the Hufflepuffs!" Ari bounced up and down in her chair until Sirius placed his fist over her head. "Ow! Not nice!" she declared, glaring at her twin. She looked at Lily for support, but Lily was off in her own little world. "Humph. Lily, how much sleep did you get last night?" Sirius poked Ari, who yelped and turned to hit him, but he whispered something to her first. Ari's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. "Really? How fascinating." Both Lily and James swung around to stare at the twins, but the two of them just smiled sweetly before bursting into laughter.
The first class of the day, Transfiguration, went fairly well. It was taught by Professor McGonagall, who was also the head of Gryffindor house. She gave them a lecture on how dangerous and difficult the art of Transfiguration was, then gave them pages and pages of notes. At the end of class she turned her desk into a pig and back to cheer them up...then told them how many years it would take before they could do it themselves. Still, compared to what came next, it was heaven. The whole of Gryffindor house got off to a bad start in the next class - they got lost.
"I know it's in the dungeons somewhere." complained Sirius. "But all the dungeons look the same. How are we supposed to find anything?"
"Perhaps if you had thought to ask directions, you would be on time." A dry voice responded. "Obviously, you do not have enough respect for your fellow students to bother arriving promptly." The group spun around to face a tall man so thin he looked skeletal, with greasy black hair and deep set eyes. Behind him were the first year Slytherins, smirking gleefully. "Well, enter!" thundered the teacher suddenly. "Or do you think to hold us up further? 10 points from Gryffindor for your attitude!"
"Well excuse us," muttered Becky. She jumped as the professor appeared behind her.
"And another 5 points off for your sass, Miss Merkson." Once they were seated, the professor introduced himself. "I am Professor Vorn, and I am here to teach you the art of potion brewing. You will obey my every word while in my class...or I will not be responsible for the catastrophe that results. Am I making myself perfectly clear?" The class nodded, Gryffindors fearfully, and Slytherins eagerly. "Good. We will begin with a simple quiz, to see how much you already know." What followed was a nightmare, for the Gryffindors at least. No one knew any of the answers, not even those from wizarding families. They struggled for half an hour, while the Slytherins finished in ten minutes. After the 30 minutes had passed, Professor Vorn collected the papers. "Tsk, tsk. Didn't think we had to work in this school? Well, at least one half of the class has done well." He beamed at the Slytherins. The rest of the class was more of the same. Once out of the dungeons, the group exploded.
"Did you hear him?" "I couldn't believe his attitude!" "I heard he favors his house, but really!" "He must have told the Slytherins the answers beforehand!" Muttering and grumbling, the Gryffindors made their way out onto the Quidditch field for their first flying lesson.
Madam Umbrell, the short, squat, professor in charge of Broom lessons, eyed them sternly as they came onto the field. "Everybody stand by a broomstick!" she commanded in a high, squeaky voice. "Now, I will tolerate no foolishness in this class! It is to easy to get hurt, especially if you have never been on a broom before!" Lily shuddered. "Now, place your hand above your broom and say, 'up'!" The class all bellowed the word, and most of the brooms jumped into their owners hands. Lily was so suprised, she dropped hers.
"Oops," she said sheepishly. "Up!" Madam Umbrell walked down correcting grips and telling students how to mount. She then instructed them on how to kick off and steer their brooms.
"Now, on my whistle...Phweeeeeeeeeet!" Everyone kicked off. The boys immediately started chasing each other all over the field. To everyone's suprise, Lily was a natural. She swooped all over the field, flying circles around Ari and the other girls. She even swooped down and helped Layla Frumple back on her broom when Layla had slipped and almost fallen. Madam Umbrell was most impressed by the end of the lesson. "Wonderful job, all of you! Now, off you go. Oh, Miss Evans! I hope we shall see you on the Quidditch team next year!" Lily grinned from ear to ear before racing off to join the rest of the gang.
After the Sorting, a tall man in brilliant blue robes stood up. "Welcome to Hogwarts! I am Professor Dumbledore, and I have a few messages for you all, if I could only find them...ah-hah!" The wizard pulled a sheaf of papers out from his hat, prompting giggles from the students. "Let's see...Mr. Filch would like to remind all students that there will be no magic used in the hallways, and the teachers would like to remind you all that the Forbidden Forest is called that for a reason!" He looked out at the hall over the tops of his glasses. "In other words, it's off limits. Any students interested in playing Quidditch, please see the heads of your houses. Now, enjoy your feast!" He sat down to polite applause. Lily turned to Ari with a puzzled frown on her face.
"Ari? What's..." her voice trailed of and her eyes widened as she stared at the heaps of food on the table. "Where'd that come from?"
James grinned at Lily's astonishment. "The kitchens, where else? Have some potatoes?" Lily gave him a 'look' before accepting the dish. "What were you going to ask before you noticed the culinary delights?" That earned him a shove from Sirius. "What'd I do?!" he cried, pretending to be hurt. Lily and Ari rolled their eyes at him.
"Well, I was wondering what Quidditch was." Lily replied, filling her plate. She looked up and saw all her new friends staring at her. "What?"
"Sorry, I guess we forgot that you have muggle parents. Quidditch is the wizarding sport." answered Ari. "It's played on broomsticks, and there's four balls - one quaffle, two bludgers, and the golden snitch..." The rest of the meal was taken up with explaining Quidditch to Lily. Afterwards, they all followed a prefect up to the Gryffindor common room.
"First year girls, up those stairs. Boys, up those. Lights out by eleven!" shouted the prefect. "Schedules will be passed out at breakfast tomorrow!" Lily and Ari grabbed their trunks, which had been brought up, and started up the stairs to their tower. The boys did the same.
"Oof!" Ari dropped her trunk next to a bed and collapsed onto it. "I must've packed rocks instead of clothes!" Lily grinned at her before turning to greet the other girls who shared their tower.
"Hi, I'm Lily Evans, how do you do?" The three other girls introduced themselves as Becky Merkson, Elisabeth Cabler, and Vanya Bast. After choosing beds, the girls all sat down on Becky's to chat.
Up in the boys dorm, Sirius, Remus, and James found Peter asleep in one of the beds. "Guess they sorted him in the infirmary." said James. He sighed. "I had so wished he'd be in a different House!" The other boys laughed. "James Potter, " he said, introducing himself to their dorm mate, "How are you?" The other boy was Eric Townsend, who turned out to be rather quiet and studious. He chose the bed furthest away from the rowdy three, on the other side of the unconscious Peter. "So Sirius, going to play Quidditch?" asked James. Sirius snorted.
"I wish! First years can't play, remember? Say, James," he said slyly, "What do you think of Lily?" James turned bright red, and Sirius and Remus laughed.
"Oh, mind your own business!" James said, flopping onto his bed. "I'm going to sleep." Sirius and Remus also got into bed, Sirius humming "Lily and James, sitting in a tree" the entire time.
Up in the girls dormitory, all but Lily were asleep. She rolled over towards Ariella's bed and called out her name softly. "Ari? Are you awake?" She didn't get an answer, so she rolled back and continued to think about James.
The next day at breakfast, schedules were passed out. Ari leaned back to survey hers. "Let's see, Transfiguration with the Ravenclaws - oh good, I'll see Kerstie - then Potions with the Slytherins - talk about bad luck - and then...Yes! Flying lessons with the Hufflepuffs!" Ari bounced up and down in her chair until Sirius placed his fist over her head. "Ow! Not nice!" she declared, glaring at her twin. She looked at Lily for support, but Lily was off in her own little world. "Humph. Lily, how much sleep did you get last night?" Sirius poked Ari, who yelped and turned to hit him, but he whispered something to her first. Ari's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. "Really? How fascinating." Both Lily and James swung around to stare at the twins, but the two of them just smiled sweetly before bursting into laughter.
The first class of the day, Transfiguration, went fairly well. It was taught by Professor McGonagall, who was also the head of Gryffindor house. She gave them a lecture on how dangerous and difficult the art of Transfiguration was, then gave them pages and pages of notes. At the end of class she turned her desk into a pig and back to cheer them up...then told them how many years it would take before they could do it themselves. Still, compared to what came next, it was heaven. The whole of Gryffindor house got off to a bad start in the next class - they got lost.
"I know it's in the dungeons somewhere." complained Sirius. "But all the dungeons look the same. How are we supposed to find anything?"
"Perhaps if you had thought to ask directions, you would be on time." A dry voice responded. "Obviously, you do not have enough respect for your fellow students to bother arriving promptly." The group spun around to face a tall man so thin he looked skeletal, with greasy black hair and deep set eyes. Behind him were the first year Slytherins, smirking gleefully. "Well, enter!" thundered the teacher suddenly. "Or do you think to hold us up further? 10 points from Gryffindor for your attitude!"
"Well excuse us," muttered Becky. She jumped as the professor appeared behind her.
"And another 5 points off for your sass, Miss Merkson." Once they were seated, the professor introduced himself. "I am Professor Vorn, and I am here to teach you the art of potion brewing. You will obey my every word while in my class...or I will not be responsible for the catastrophe that results. Am I making myself perfectly clear?" The class nodded, Gryffindors fearfully, and Slytherins eagerly. "Good. We will begin with a simple quiz, to see how much you already know." What followed was a nightmare, for the Gryffindors at least. No one knew any of the answers, not even those from wizarding families. They struggled for half an hour, while the Slytherins finished in ten minutes. After the 30 minutes had passed, Professor Vorn collected the papers. "Tsk, tsk. Didn't think we had to work in this school? Well, at least one half of the class has done well." He beamed at the Slytherins. The rest of the class was more of the same. Once out of the dungeons, the group exploded.
"Did you hear him?" "I couldn't believe his attitude!" "I heard he favors his house, but really!" "He must have told the Slytherins the answers beforehand!" Muttering and grumbling, the Gryffindors made their way out onto the Quidditch field for their first flying lesson.
Madam Umbrell, the short, squat, professor in charge of Broom lessons, eyed them sternly as they came onto the field. "Everybody stand by a broomstick!" she commanded in a high, squeaky voice. "Now, I will tolerate no foolishness in this class! It is to easy to get hurt, especially if you have never been on a broom before!" Lily shuddered. "Now, place your hand above your broom and say, 'up'!" The class all bellowed the word, and most of the brooms jumped into their owners hands. Lily was so suprised, she dropped hers.
"Oops," she said sheepishly. "Up!" Madam Umbrell walked down correcting grips and telling students how to mount. She then instructed them on how to kick off and steer their brooms.
"Now, on my whistle...Phweeeeeeeeeet!" Everyone kicked off. The boys immediately started chasing each other all over the field. To everyone's suprise, Lily was a natural. She swooped all over the field, flying circles around Ari and the other girls. She even swooped down and helped Layla Frumple back on her broom when Layla had slipped and almost fallen. Madam Umbrell was most impressed by the end of the lesson. "Wonderful job, all of you! Now, off you go. Oh, Miss Evans! I hope we shall see you on the Quidditch team next year!" Lily grinned from ear to ear before racing off to join the rest of the gang.