Title: For Better or For Worse
Author: Tonallan
Disclaimer: Any recognizable character is not mine.
Nearly all people and places are property of J. K. Rowling author of the Harry
Potter series. I claim rights to my original characters and names.
Summary: Lily Evans attends Hogwarts School of
Witchcraft and Wizardry. She makes friends, crushes, and comes into terms with
herself as she studies magic and works out some problems.
Authors Note: This is a trial chapter. If you all
decide you want me to continue, the next part will be posted in about a month.
This has to be a Lily/James story, because that's how it turns out, but both
Lily and James will have other relationships. This is not a love/hate story,
and it is not a love at first sight story. Some characters will die, due to
failure to mention them in the Harry Potter books. Love to all who review,
brownie points if you put me on author alert, favorite authors, or favorite
stories. The title is taken from an original poem I wrote, and one line will be
inserted in every part. If my storyline goes as planned (which it has to, as
I'm using the poem) there will be ten parts. Eleven, possibly, if I wrote the
whole thing in one part. This is only of course, if you all like my story.
***
For better or for worse I
fly
***
Why is it that popular girls can go out with geeky guys,
and everyone thinks it cute, but popular guys can't go out with geeky girls? In
movies, the popular girl always "make ups" the geeky guy, and
everyone is all cool with it. But guys cant all of a sudden decide they like
that quiet girl in math, or that cute girl in science.
But in my story, that's exactly what happened.
***
Luster Creek, England, was a cute little town about an hours drive away from
Greenwich. In fact, if you went there right now, you would have never guessed
that something was happening to someone that would change history. This someone
was Lily Evans. This something is she just received a letter.
"Um-hm," said Petunia absentmindedly. "So if it is real, do I
go? And what'll I tell mom and dad? And what about my friends! They'll hate
me!" Lily collapsed on her sister's bed, and Petunia swirled her desk
chair to face her. "Lily, talk to mom and dad. They'll tell whether or not
it's real. Then you can decide what to do."
Lily nodded fervently, and as she left the room, she called "Thanks
Petunia! You always know what to do!" Petunia nodded, and turned back to
her deskwork. She wasn't really concentrating on it though. She was trying to
control the indescribable jealousy about Lily getting a letter from Hogwarts.
Three years ago, Petunia's friend Minny had been accepted into Hogwarts.
Petunia was now fourteen, and past the age of being accepted. She leaned back
and let out an aggressive sigh. "Why her?" she moaned.
* * *
Lily skipped alongside her mother as they headed through the streets of London.
It seemed like ages ago that she had been crying to Petunia about what to do.
Really, it had only been a week, but it seemed like eternity. After many tears,
many arguments, debates, and what have you, Lily's parents had decided to allow
her to attend Hogwarts on September 1st.
They were looking for the Leaky Cauldron. In the letter the owl had delivered,
it stated that in order to enter Diagon Alley, they must enter it through the
Leaky Cauldron, with the help of Jim, the old innkeeper.
Suddenly, Mrs. Evans stopped in her tracks and tapped Lily's shoulder.
"There it is," she whispered, pointing. Lily stared. Not an old
place, nor a new, the Leaky Cauldron looked like a middle aged, small pub.
When they entered, they saw an elderly man wiping the counter. Lily went up to
him. "Aren't you a little young to be drinkin', missy?" Lily smiled
politely. "I'm sorry to bother you sir, but we're looking for the entrance
to Diagon Alley? I'm attending Hogwarts in the fall." The elderly man
smiled and nodded, then they heard a crash and the sound of breaking glass. Jim
hurried back into the storeroom and began to yell.
"Dammit, Tom! That's the third glass this week! One more, and you're outta
here!" Jim returned leading a man, no older than twenty or twenty-one, by
the ear, and over to a broom closet, where Tom picked up a dustbin and went to
go clean up the mess.
Jim returned and told Lily to follow him. Lily beckoned for her mother to come,
and the three headed outback and to a trashcan in front of a brick wall. He
took out a long stick, and tapped a brick which wobbled for a moment then began
to grow into an arch that revealed a busy looking street. Lily and her mother
gazed in wonder.
"That's Diagon Alley. Have a nice day," and Jim hurried off to the
sound of breaking glass. Lily and her mother entered into Diagon Alley.
Her first thought was "Oh god, this is majorly scary." But at a
second glance, it seemed……different. Not what she was used to, but in a good
way. She had no idea where she was going, but that was all right.
Lily got out her Hogwarts list. First were books. She and her mother looked
down the street until they spotted a store, which could only be a bookstore,
because it had a display of them outside. She and her mother found the eight
required books on the list, then went to the checkout counter.
"That'll be one galleon, ma'am," said the young, pimply boy.
"Beg pardon?" Said Mrs. Evans. "You deaf or sometin'? I said one
galleon." "Erm, what's a galleon?" Mrs. Evans asked. The
checkout guy slapped his forehead, "Oh dang you muggles! Look lady, you've
gotta go all the way down to the great marble building. Go to the counter and
exchange some money. You're lil' girl will hold your spot.
Mrs. Evans nodded, and left the store. This left Lily in a
very awkward position. "Hey! What's holding up the line?" yelled a
guy in the back. "Just a moment!"
Lily's mother returned, and paid the man with money Lily couldn't see. When
they were outside Mrs. Evans said, "Oh god Lily, look at this!" She
held out a large gold coin. Lily was memorized.
"Hey!" a young boy, perhaps a year or two older than Lily,
deliberately pushed into her. The boy was medium height, slightly overweight,
and decidedly mousy looking. "Watch where your going!" the mouse-kid
said, sneering, and hurried into the crowd.
Lily scowled at his retreating back, then hurried after her mother, now several
paces ahead.
Along the street, Lily saw more people. There was a pet shop, which was dark
and had strange noises coming from in; a wand shop, which Lily figured they
would be going to later; a nick-nack shop, which she could only assume had
absolutely nothing to do with her. But the thing that interested her most was
Quality Quidditch Supplies.
It appeared to be a broom shop. (The irony of this was enough to make her
laugh) Outside were posters of different young men and woman, holding
magnificent broomsticks, (all of which seemed to say Silver Arrow), and wearing
multi-colored robes. They were all smiling and waving. Lily turned to point
this out to her mother, when she stopped in her tracks.
Six people, three boys, and three girls, were standing outside of Quality
Quidditch Supplies. They were all dressed in such a manor that Lily recognized.
All of them had that look. The look that only "popular" people had.
They wore brand name clothes, their hair was always perfect, the girls wore
make-up, and they never seemed to stop smiling.
Lily longed to be one of them. At her old school, she had never quite cut the
bill. However many people she knew, no matter what she wore, no matter who she
hung out with, she never was quite cool enough. She never felt like one of them
"Hey Lily!" Chase Maddison walked up beside her on the way to
school. "Sup?" Lily smiled and told him that she had a flute
rehearsal tonight. "That's cool," he said. They walked without
speaking for a few minutes, then Chase broke the silence.
"Your friends with Ashton, right?" Lily nodded. "Do you know
if she likes me?" Lily's heart sank. Couldn't Chase see that SHE like him?
No of course not, she thought bitterly, he only wants that blond-headed, blue
eyed, airhead who giggles and whines that her lips are chapped.
Her eyes darkened as she answered curtly, "No, I don't."
"Dang!" Chase said. "No one does! I really like Ashton, she is
so pretty, and she's really popular, I mean no offense, 'cuz I know your not
really one of us……" Lily stopped to turn and stare at Chase.
Never in her life had she been so insulted.
"Hey Lily, what's up with you? Your face is turning all purple."
"You, Chase Maddison, are THE most insulting, un-feeling, and incredibly
pig-headed person I have ever met in my life!" And with that, she kissed
him squarely on the mouth, and turned crying and running home, leaving a very bewildered
Chase to stand and stare.
Lily closed her eyes in memory of this incident. She had stayed home from
school for a week after this, and had refused to speak to Chase when she
returned, though he tried to make amends several times afterwards.
Lily and her mother went into Madame Malkins where she bought several long
black robes, that were rather dull, though they fitted perfectly. Then, her
mother went to buy her potion ingredients and cauldron while Lily entered
Ollivanders Wand Shop alone.
A new bell tinkled jovially, and a man, a very short man for that matter, came
skipping out of the back of the shop. "Customers!" The man squealed
excitedly. "And where's your mummy, little girl?" Lily told him that
her mother was getting her potion ingredients.
"Well, that's all right, we may as well have you fitted up for a
wand." Lily came over to him, and a tape measurer flew off a shelf, and
began to measure her right arm. She screamed softly, and Mr. Ollivander fell
off of an extremely high shelf. He got up, brushing himself off, "What's
wrong, dearie, what's wrong?"
"The tape measurer…….it was attacking me!…….It just flew off the shelf
and……" Lily made dramatic motions with her arms to emphasize this. She was
hurt that Mr. Ollivander was practically rolling on the floor in his laughter.
"What?" she asked, genuinely annoyed that he wasn't taking her
seriously. "It did!" Mr. Ollivander, regaining his composure, told
her "Of course it did! It's supposed too! That's its job!" Then Mr.
Ollivander began to climb back up the ladder, muttering and giggling to
himself.
The tape measurer flew back to Lily's arm and began to measure other parts of
her body, while she eyed it suspiciously and listened to Mr. Ollivander at the
same time.
"Ollivander wands are best wands that you can find on this side of the
country. They are made from over one hundred variety of woods, ranging from
beachwood, to oz bark, to holly, to mistletoe. We use only the finest
ingredients: dragon heartstring, unicorn tail hairs, and phoenix feathers!
Every Ollivander wand is different, the wand chooses the wizard you know,"
he said, releasing a titter.
"Here we are! Try this one: thirteen inches, oz bark and unicorn
tail." Lily, feeling extremely nauseous, waved the wand the air. Nothing.
Mr. Ollivander placed the wand carefully back into its box.
Mr. Ollivander then had her try a wand made of beech wood and dragon
heartstring, twelve inches. Still no results.
Her third wand seven inches, made of oak and unicorn tail. But still there was
nothing.
"Here we are, ten and a quarter inches long, willow and phoenix
feather." When Lily held this wand, she felt suddenly as through she could
do anything, anything at all. She might even have the guts to face Chase again.
Smiling in amusement, she waved the wand. Bang! A barricade of silver stars
cascaded from above her head. Lily heard clapping and turned around to find her
mother, and another family all clapping and smiling. Lily grinned in amazement
and gave an over exaggerated bow.
The father of the family came over to her and shook her hand. "James
Potter," he said, beckoning, "And this my son, also James. I assume
you'll be attending Hogwarts in the fall?" Lily nodding, flushed with
happiness.
James Potter Jr. stepped forward. He had lovely dark hair, and deep brown eyes.
Lily guessed that he was about her age. "Pleased to meet you," he
said, taking her hand and kissing it. "I'm sorry I didn't catch your
name?" Lily drew her hand back, embarrassed and said more to the floor
that to either of the James "I'm Lily."
Lily and her mother went to the back of the room, where they paid for her wand
(seven galleons!) and left the shop just as the younger James had found a wand,
making a large boom and creating a lot of smoke.
Feeling contented and happy, Lily left Diagon Alley, swinging her back jovially
and skipping alongside her mother.
* * *
September first finally came, much to the disappointment of Petunia. Lily had
washed and ironed her robes, read all of her spell books, and played with her
wand a bit. She couldn't wait for her lessons where she could be the first one
to turn a match into a needle.
When she got to the train station though, she had no idea how she was going to
get to Hogwarts, much less get to her lessons. Her father went off to find out
where platform 9 ¾¾ was, and she and her mother and sister waited patiently.
When her father returned feverishly telling them that there was no Platform 9
¾¾, Petunia threw her first fit ever.
"I told you!" she shrieked. "It doesn't exist! It was a joke!
She's a freak! Now what'll we do?!" Lily was stunned. She had never seen
her sister behave so, and it didn't occur to her that Petunia was jealous.
Her father led Petunia off to cool down, and her mother and Lily began
frantically searching for Platform 9 ¾¾ .
Fifteen minutes later, at 10:30, Lily was frustrated, as she leaned back
against a barrier-
And fell right through it. Lily stood up and saw a scarlet steam engine, and
around it, hundreds of people. There was a group of goys, leaning around in a
circle, with a cage in the center; There were a few girls leaning out of
windows talking to their parents; There were older teens climbing onto the
train, and meeting friends; Then, there was "that" group. Lily
sighed. I hate cliques.
It suddenly occurred to Lily that she should get her mother. Turning around,
she noticed that where she had fallen through, there was a large archway, like
the one in Diagon Alley. Lily closed her eyes and walked through the barrier
and ran smack into her mother.
"Mom!" She said excitedly, "I found it! I found Platform 9 ¾¾.
Its here! Its here! Oh come on, get my trunk!" And Lily dragged her
mother, half dazed through the barrier to the Hogwarts Express.
Once on the platform, Mrs. Evans helped Lily load her trunk into one of the
empty compartments. They stood awkwardly for a moment, until Lily threw her
arms around her mother.
"I'm going to miss you!" she wailed. Lily buried her head in her
mothers chest, breathing in her scent, and her mother held her close. Mrs.
Evans held her away for a moment. "Oh, baby, you're going to have so much
fun! Just promise to write me every few weeks, and I'll send you presents, and
you'll be home for the holidays……" Mrs. Evans trailed off as Lily pulled
away.
"G'bye, mom." Lily said the words with finality, and gave her mother
one last hug before she left.
|
|
Once her mother had gone, and the train had started
moving, Lily settled down into her seat with a book, and was reading intently
when she heard someone gasp in surprise. "Lily Evans?" Lily look up
on hearing her name, and was surprised to see a familiar face.
"Minnie!" she squealed, recognizing one of her sisters friends. The
two girls embraced.
"I didn't know you were coming here!" Minnie squealed, "Petunia
should have told me! Oh wait till you see it, Hogwarts is the best!"
"Is it really that good?" Lily asked. Minnie smiled secretively.
"C'mon, I'll show you." Minnie took Lily by the hand and led her down
the hallway into another compartment.
"Guys," she said upon entering, "I want you to meet Lily. She's
an old friend of mine." Instantly, Lily received four "Hellos"
and several welcoming smiles. "I'm Molly," said a short girl with
shockingly red hair. "Nice to meet you."
A girl with stringy blonde hair and a sunny smile said "I'm Susanna."
Lily grinned back.
"Name's Mike," said a tall boy with dark hair.
"And I'm Andrew, but most people call me Andy. 'Cept my mom." The
people in the compartment laughed. Lily turned to see the most gorgeous boy she
had ever seen sitting in the seat by the window. She smiled nervously.
"Sit down," said Minnie, taking a seat herself. Lily nervously took
the only empty seat in the compartment-next to Andy.
"Say Lily," said Mike, "Have you ever played Quidditch before?"
Lily shook her head, wondering what on earth Quidditch could be.
"No," she asked curiously, "What is it?"
Mike was amused. "It's a game," he said, "played on broomsticks
in the air. There's three goal posts at each end, and four balls." Mike
began to explain about the players and the balls. "There's three Chasers.
They throw the quaffle, a large red ball, through the hoops at each end. The
Keeper guards the goal posts. Then there are two Bludgers. They shoot around
knocking people off their brooms. So that's why they have Beaters, who protect
their team from Bludgers, and send them towards the other team.
"The last ball is the Golden Snitch. It's really tiny, and it's the
Seekers job to catch the ball. It's very difficult, and only the most daring and
bold players-"
"Oh, quit bragging!" Said the girl they called Molly. She rolled her
eyes at Lily, "Mike plays Seeker for Gryffindor."
"What's Gryffindor?" Asked Lily. "It's one of the houses."
Said Susanna. "There's also Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Hope you
don't get in Slytherin-but you don't seem the type."
"What's so bad about Slytherin?" Lily asked. The others glanced at
each other. "Well, I don't want to bad mouth the other houses," said
Andy, "But Slytherin has a reputation for turning out bad wizards."
"How do you know what house you'll be in?" asked Lily, now nervous
that she might end up in Slytherin. The others glanced at each other again.
"Cant tell ya," said Mike, "School secret." An awkward
silence followed.
"Say," said Andy suddenly, "Why I don't I introduce you to my
brother and his friends." "How olds your brother?" asked Lily.
"Eleven, and as annoying as hell," the others laughed, "But he's
a first year, like you, so he might be better company then us."
"What year are you in?" Asked Lily. "Third," said Minnie,
"We all are." "Will I have any classes with you?" Lily
asked. Minnie shook her head, "Most likely not. You'll be with people of
your year, in your house. If your in Gryffindor though," she added,
"We'll see you more often." Lily nodded.
"C'mon," said Andy, leading her out. "Bye Minnie," said
Lily as she left.
Andy led her down the corridor, and knocked softly on a door before opening it.
"Hey squirt," Andy said, pulling the door open. Three boys were
sitting hunched up on the floor, all squinting at a piece of paper with lots of
little x's and o's on it.
"Hayter, I want you to meet Lily Evans. Lily, I want you to meet my
brother Hayter." A blonde boy with dark eyes looked up from the parchment,
and smiled mischievously at Lily. "Hello," said Lily nervously. The
other two boys looked up, and Lily recognized one of them as the boy from the
wand shop. The other one had brown hair, and was clearly the most energetic of
the group.
"Now," said Andy, crossing his arms over his chest. "You're
going to be nice to Lily, and you're going to introduce her to some of your
friends. And don't tease her, either, she's a friend of mine." He glared
at the three boys, and Lily beamed at Andy.
"We will," all three boys said at once, smiling innocently up at
Andy. Andy gave them a last glare, and left the compartment.
"So," said the boy called Sirius, "You're friends with Andy, eh?
I feel sorry for you." Lily smiled slightly. "Well, his friend Minnie
is an old friend of mine- my sisters, really-and she introduced me."
The boys stared at her. "I'm muggle-born," she said, "what about
you?" This instantly cleared up any questions the boys might have had.
"We've all got wizard parents," said James. "Say," he said
suddenly, "You wanna help us with something?"
Lily nodded reluctantly. Whatever they were doing, it might help to get
involved. She and the others crouched down around the paper. Lily could now see
it was a map, a map of what appeared to be an extremely large castle. On one
edge, Lily could read an untidy scrawl that clearly read "Hogwarts".
She gasped in surprise.
"It's enormous!" She squealed. The boys laughed. "'Course it
is," said Hayter, "I heard that when it opened, it had ten thousand
students," he said smugly. Sirius laughed even harder. "Where'd you
hear that?" he asked through peels of laughter. "Did you tell it to
yourself?" Hayter play punched him, and then they bother burst out
laughing again.
"So what are you guys doing anyway?" she asked. The boys were
suddenly somber, eager to explain what they were up to. "We," James
began, "are going to pull of the Sorting Scene of the century."
"Only the century?" Hayter asked in mock confusion, "If this
goes as planned, it'll be the prank of the millennium!" Sirius hurried to
explain.
"When the kids are getting sorted, we're not going to be there. When they
call our names though-well, technically my name, since it comes first
alphabetically- we're going to put out the lights and come out in glow in the
dark clothes and freak everybody out."
The boys again bust into laughter. "Man, this is going to be the
best!" James said. He, Sirius, and Hayter, then proceeded to engage in a
handshake that consisted of a shake, a punch, a duck, and a
"Wooga-Wooga". Lily grinned, and it occurred to her that they had
been friends for a very long time.
When the train began to slow down, Lily was beginning to think that boarding
school might not be so bad. They had discussed 'the Plan' as it was dubbed, in
more detail, and Lily had had a few ideas to contribute. Now, the boys were
going to wear glow in the dark hats as well, so the effect would have greater
impact. Their costumes would also emit ghastly music, and would mildly shock
anyone who touched it.
Though Lily was no where near advanced enough to perform these spells, the
three boys seemed to know exactly how to do it.
Hayter had also succeeded in explaining Quidditch to Lily far more
understandably (and with less bragging) then Mike. She also learned that all
three boys were Quidditch players. Hayter played Beater, and was pretty decent.
Sirius played Seeker, as he was a bold flyer, but had a tendency to release the
Snitch in his excitement at winning, causing his team to be disqualified. James
was apparently the best. He as a Chaser, and was, as far as Lily could tell by
their descriptions, the youngest and best flyer on this side of the Atlantic.
Although Lily liked all of the boys, she couldn't help but have a slight crush
on Hayter. Like his brother, he had stunningly good looks and the ability to
make people laugh. He practically carried an aura around him that shouted to
you "Look at me!"
When they got off of the train, the first years students were grouped together,
as the others were herded onto a path. The first years were ushered to the edge
of a large moat, where they were greeted by a woman of about sixty who
possessed more energy then the anxious first years could muster.
"Four to a boat, and hurry! We're going to be late!" Lily climbed
into a boat with the boys, and tried not to feel too apprehensive as it pulled
away from shore without any sign of a motor or oars.
After they passed through a tunnel, Lily had her first view of Hogwarts.
Out of a story book, Hogwarts was positioned on the top of small rise, and
silhouetted against the moon, its rays reflected across the water to it,
casting an alluring light on the castle. With many indistinguishable turrets
and towers running through its boundaries, Hogwarts gave the impression that
one could get lost extremely easily. Light poured out of nearly every window,
and the sound of chatter and laughter echoed across the lake.
"It's magnificent, isn't it?" Hayter whispered in her ear, making her
shiver even more. He draped his arm casually across her shoulder, under the
impression she was cold, as James and Sirius sniggered behind them.
When they grounded, he took her hand and led her up the path with the other
students, and they came face to face with large, oak, double doors, which the
energetic old woman pounded on impatiently.
A middle aged woman with soft brown curls, and pleasant features answered the
door, her features not looking so pleasant, rather looking harassed.
"Thanks, Professor Litoff," she said, ushering the students into a
magnificent marble hall. "Students," she said, turning to them, "Since
my mother has obviously not introduced herself, this is Professor Litoff, your
future Professor of Astronomy.
"I am Professor Vaskas, your Deputy Headmistress. If you would please
follow me, I will take you into the Great Hall, in which you will be
sorted." Lily and the boys dropped behind the students, and Lily promised
to save them seats. James laughed, "Only if we're in the same house and we
don't get expelled first." Lily then caught up with the other students,
and the boys hid behind the staircase.
The first years filed
into the Great Hall, facing four tables in which students of every age were
sitting. Behind them was the staff table. As they filed in, Lily heard other
students mutter "That's Albus Dumbledore." Lily craned her head around
and got a glimpse of a man with a silver hair and beard, before a small man
carried in a stool and a rather battered looking hat. The entire student body
stared at the hat silently, so Lily did too. Momentarily, a wide rip near the
bottom opened up and began to sing.
Of the great four founders
Each one was poles apart
They all prized different qualities
Though all were true of heart
Gryffindors were bold and tough
And were among the bravest
And Ravenclaw chose the ones
Who would be the cleverest
Hufflepuffs will always be
Fair, and true, and loyal
Slytherins are powerful
And with their dreams they toil
For many years, I have chosen
Those of every house
And never yet have I been wrong
No game of cat and mouse
So sit me atop your head
Lets have look inside
I'll tell you what house you're in
Its no trouble to decide!
As the hat finished its song, the entire room burst into applause. Lily grinned
at the hat as the first student (Abott, Daniel!) was called forward to try on
the hat. After a moment, the hat shouted out "Hufflepuff" and the
table on the middle right applauded as he joined them. Secretly, Lily thought
they applauded so that Daniel sat at the right table.
Four more students were called, then as "Black, Sirius!" was called,
the entire room when black. Lily had to bite her lip to keep from laughing as
three figures with green glowing robes and pointed hats entered the room, and
loud sounds of music centered around them. Some students screamed, most just
sat petrified in their seats.
The three figures danced around the hall, waving their arms and emitting their
horrifying music. Every now and then, one could hear students yelping in pain
as they touched their clothes.
The music and glowing stopped as the lights flickered on. I looked up to find
that (1) the lights were not electric, they were candles and (2) the ceiling
was either invisible or enchanted to look like the sky. I thought that it was
enchanted.
The boys froze in place. In one motion, everyone began laughing, first a low
chuckle, then a loud rumble. The short man who had brought in the Sorting Hat
told James, Sirius, and Hayter to go stand in line. Grinning like Cheshire
cats, James and Hayter came to stand next to me, and Sirius went and sat on the
stool with the hat which quickly shouted "Gryffindor!" everyone
clapped very hard, but none harder then us three.
Of us four, I was next being sorted. Before me was "Earlinger,
Andrea" who was a Gryffindor. When my name was called, I nervously went
forward and sat on the stool as the hat was placed on my head. The hat fell
over my eyes, and all I could see was darkness. I felt as though my brain was
being shuffled through, my memories read and carefully considered. Please
let me be with the boys, I thought to myself. Oh, you like them do
you? Should have known. Well, you're very brave, Miss Evans. I think you'd make
a good GRIFFINDOR! The last word was shouted out and the table on the far
right exploded with cheers.
Shakily I walked over and sat between Andrea and Sirius who hit me hard on the
back. The next Gryffindor was Remus Lupin. He came and sat across from me. He
seemed like a nice boy, but very nervous, exactly how I felt.
James came just a few people after Remus. He was sorted into Gryffindor, and
the entire hall clapped very hard. James stood and bowed rather mockingly, and
came and sat by Sirius grinning like a maniac.
Another memorable student sorted was a boy with rather dark and greasy hair
called Severus Snape. He was sorted into Hufflepuff, and several evil looking
boys from Slytherin and from the line still waiting to be sorted smirked at
him. In disgust, he walked at sat alone at the Hufflepuff table.
The last person to be sorted was Hayter. The hat no sooner touched his head
when he was declared a Gryffindor, and rushed to come sit by James. Sitting at
the table, I had a better view of the staff table, and could see Albus
Dumbledore more clearly.
Like his school, he was right out of a storybook. He was tall, with long silver
hair and a beard that fell past his waist. He was dressed in typical fairy tale
style in a robe of dark purple with gold stars and a matching hat. He wore
half-moon glasses and a look on his face that he knew a great many things, and
many of them not worth knowing.
He stood up as the students finished congratulating each other on their houses.
Gradually, the students fell silent and Professor Dumbledore said with much
dignity "As much as I'd like to speak about Hogwarts, and new students,
and what an absolutely marvelous time you'll have here, I won't. You'll hear all
about it from older students. For now, let us dine on our simply scrumptious
food, and then I may trouble you with a few announcements."
As soon as Professor Dumbledore sat down, food of every kind appeared on the
golden platters. All the students and staff immediately tucked in, and the
sound of people enjoying themselves soon filled the hall.
The girl on Lily's right, Andrea, turned to Lily and whispered "Isn't
Sirius cute?" Lily nearly choked as she turned to face her. She giggled
uncontrollably and Andrea joined her. "Personally, I prefer Hayter,"
she said, keeping her voice low so as Sirius might not hear. "By the way,
I'm Lily," she said. "Andrea," the girl said, shaking Lily's
hand. Lily nodded and smiled at her new friend.
When Lily had eaten as much of the scrumptious food as she could, she leaned
back in her chair and listened to the chat that was going on around her. Most
of it was about lessons, but some of it was about Hogwarts itself.
Soon after, Professor Dumbledore again stood. The Great
Hall hushed almost instantly. "I have only a few words for you before we
go off to bed. For those new students, the Forbidden Forest, is, well,
forbidden, and no one is under any circumstances to enter it.
"Also, several Quidditch posts are open. (The boys
glanced at each other excitedely) Gryffindor is in need of a Chaser and a
Beater, Slytherin a Keeper, Ravenclaw a Seeker, and all of Hufflepuff posts are
full. If you are interested in playing for your house, contanct your head of
house. The heads of houses are: Professor Litoff, Hufflepuff, Professor Vaskes,
Gryffindor, Professor Quartez Slytherin, and Professor Lasaigh Ravenclaw. First
year flying lessons will not begin until October, and they are not permitted on
the house teams. Good night everyone."
Sirius, James, and Hayter seemed outraged that first years
were not permitted on the house team, and started complaining loudly as our
prefect led us to our common room. "It's just not fair, Lily!" Hayter
said to me, as we walked behind a tapestry. I was thoroughly confused and had
no idea which way we were headed.
Hayter however, was concerned with the matter of
Quidditch. "Hey, it's allright," I told him comfortingly. "Now
you get to practice for a year and then blow everyone away next year."
Hayter smiled at me and took my hand as we reached a
rather large portrait of a fat woman in a pink dress. "The password is
'Hard Days Night'" the prefect told us, "You know, like the
song." The portrait hole swung open to reveal a large room with a large
fire place with large squashy purple couches and chairs positioned around the
room and tables. There were two dormitories leading upstairs and the prefect
pointed the boys up one, and the girls up another.
I bid the boys goodnight at the foot of the staircase, and
smiled at each of them in turn. Before I went up to my dorm, Hayter called me
down. "I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked desperately. I nodded
happily.
I followed Andrea up seven flights of stairs into a large,
circular, and beautiful room. There were four beds, one for each me, Andrea,
and our two other dorm mates, Laura and Alex. Between each bed was a night
stand and a large window, floor lenght, that opened onto a small, central
balcony. Along one side of the room, opposite the beds, was an extremely long
dresser, designed to fit the curve of the room. Positioned at intervals along
the dresser were four mirrors. There was a door at the opposite end that led to
a batheroom with showers and several sinks.
Andrea and I fell down onto two beds next to each other,
glanced at each other, and burst out laughing.
Too tired for words, and for changing into my pajamas, I
fell asleep on top of the covers dreaming of different scenarios that involved
Hayter asking me out.
Authors Note: I did not mean for Lily to become
such good friends with James and the gang. Rest assured, we will see much more
of the gang, though less interaction and Lily will begin to like Hayter from
afar.
If you decide you want me to continue, in later
chapters, Lily will again learn to deal with the fact of unpopularity, but will
be more accepting about it. Also, Lily gets an admirer (not who you think! You
will be surprised!) And she will also, over the summer, meet Chase again. This
story is going to be original!
Love always,
Tonallan