Chapter Two


The past few days had been mind boggling for Lily. She had never seen so many peculiar things before in her life! Moving, talking pictures, centaurs, and a lot of very weird remedies in the hospital wing...

She was staying at Hogwarts for another week, then she was going to go to a place called Diagon Alley, on September 2nd, and get all of her school supplies. Then she would get to go to Kings Cross station in London, where her mom would meet her to say a last, quick goodbye. And then....well, she had no idea what would happen after that! The rush of excitement made her whole body tingle!

She had spent most of her time with the friendly giant Hagrid, trying to convince him to take her into the Forbidden Forest. He would hear none of it. She was so incredibly CURIOUS!! Yesterday she had managed to sneak into the forest, but she had only gotten a few feet when a lovely centaur came up to her, and said vaguely, "Mars burns bright tonight. This is no place for you." And led her back to the edge of the forest, to meet Hagrid's wrath. Hagrid never got a chance to yell at her, though, because the centaur pulled him aside.

"Hagrid, Mars burns bright tonight. And Venus has been nearly extinguished. There may be war on the horizon. Keep the girl safe inside the castle."

Hagrid had turned most pale, from what you could see of his face, (he had a very large, unruly beard which he was most proud of). He said, "Thanks, 'll jus' be tekin' 'er up t' the castle. Then I mus' be getting ready fer Maxime...she sai' she would be comin' back t' Hogwarts t'night..." Hagrid and Maxime had finished peace talks with the giants, which had gone well, a few weeks ago. Then Maxime had had to go back to Beauxbatons. She had missed Hagrid's company, and so she was coming to visit for a week before the school year started.

The centaur said goodbye, mumbling something about the moon, and Hagrid turned back to Lily. "Now, Lily, I mos' certain'y tol' you not t' go wanderin' in th' forest." He tried to look stern, and mad, but he was chuckling...the girl was so curious, just like he had been when he had first seen Hogwarts. And she shared a love of all creatures with him. She was always interested in hearing about Norbert, and Fangs adored her. He was glad she had come to Hogwarts.

He had instructed her to stay inside the castle from now on, so today she had whiddled away the morning by poking around the school. Having had a very filling lunch, she decided to go up to the Divination room. McGonagall had said it would be ok, and so she excitedly ran up all the stairs, along the way discovering a few very bothersome "trick" stairs. This castle was full of surprises! She had never used a crystal ball before, or tea leaves, and she was anxious to try both. Deep into reading the crystal ball, which she was beginning to get the hang of, she realized that she wasn't alone in the room. She sighed a huge sigh of relief when she realized it was just a big, shaggy black dog. He didn't have a name tag, and she wondered if anyone knew he was here. She absently petted him, while she continued with the crystal ball. Suddenly she stopped. There was a human in this room. She couldn't read animals minds, and she was hearing someone's thoughts...she looked around, but then realized that the thoughts were coming from the dog. This dog wasn't thinking about dog biscuits or walks through to park though...it was thinking about much more serious things, like how strong her psychic powers were, and how he hoped she could help them win...while all this was flattering, she knew this...thing...was NOT a dog. She did the first thing that came to mind. She ran, straight to Dumbledore. He looked up surprised when she stumbled into his office, and asked what was wrong.

"I-I was reading the crystal ball, when I noticed this big black dog in there with me...and then I started to hear his thoughts, and I can't hear animals thoughts!! And it's still up there!"

Much to Lily's amazement, Dumbledore started to laugh, and then he said, "Don't worry about Snuffles. He isn't what he appears to be, but he's absolutely nothing to worry about! Now maybe you've had enough crystal reading for today? There's a book that I want you to read, so that you can have a better understanding of Hogwarts, and witches and wizards." He handed her a HUGE book, titled Hogwarts, A History. "Oh, don't look so overwhelmed. I'm not going to have you quizzed on it or anything...I just thought it might help you out some. I highly suggest you read it."
The tone in Dumbledore's voice made her think that he really did require that she read it, he was just saying otherwise. She chuckled to herself. He was acting just like a teacher...


September 2nd!!! Lily was so excited, she had hardly been able to sleep! She jumped out of bed at six o'clock, sharp, and started to pack. She had been instructed to just take everything with her, because she hadn't been sorted into a house yet, so there was no use in her leaving her stuff there. Professor McGonagall was going to take her to Diagon Alley today! Dumbledore had decided that the Ministry of Magic couldn't know about her, because being a muggle, she was technically not allowed at Hogwarts, so she couldn't travel by broom or Floo powder, or any other wizarding way, (he didn't want them to track her). Unfortunately, this meant Professor Mcgonagall had to drive, which she had only done once in her life. Lily was scared. After a rather rocky car ride, and an uneventful subway ride, in which McGonagall kept asking a young man if she could see his cell phone, they arrived at their destination. The Leaky Cauldron.

Lily felt like she had been here before. She noticed that no one else seemed to even see the pub they were about to enter. They entered, and she immediately checked a corner for blueness. She felt silly for doing so and couldn't explain why she had. Then she saw Tom, the orange bartender, who winked at her. He looked so familiar...McGonagall went up to talk to Tom, arranging them each a room for tonight. While she was away someone else entered. Lucius Malfoy, son Draco in tow. Lily attempted to hide, but Lucius insisted on talking to her. The way he talked to her, she would have thought they had met before. He even knew her name.

"Well...Lily! How nice to see you again...You seem to have forgotten my name...but, yes...that is understandable, its been over ten years now...I'm Lucius Malfoy, and this is my son, Draco."

Draco sort of attempted a smile, but it came out like a sneer. She couldn't read his mind! Or Lucius's, for that matter...

"Ah, Professor McGonagall...how nice to see you." Lucius said, in a greasy voice. He steered her off, leaving Lily alone to deal with Draco. He was being surprisingly nice, which sort of scared her. He seemed to remember her, and for some reason he was a little scared of her.

"So...I hear that you will be coming to Hogwarts this year...nasty school, it would be much better if Dumbledore was gone...I'm sure you're hoping you are in Slytherin, all the best people"

Lily cut him off, saying, "But, I thought that Harry Potter was in Gryffyndor? Isn't he one of 'the best people'?"

Draco laughed. "Harry? Ha. He has his fame from when he was young, but he really is nothing special, just a teacher's pet. What Harry stories have you been told?"
Lily stammered. Draco was making her very uncomfortable. She wasn't sure she believed him, and wished that she could read his mind. She wondered why she couldn't.
Luckily, she was saved at that moment by a very flustered and angry Professor McGonagall, who literally dragged her away from Draco.

"Stay away from Draco as much as you can. Like father, like son." Minerva McGonagall was enraged. "To think! Lucius keeps saying with confidence that you will be a wonderful Slytherin! Ha! I see so much Gryffyndor in you..." Suddenly she regained her composure and apologized for taking sides on houses, saying that even if Lily was put in Slytherin, she could still be a good person...All this house talk was making Lily nervous. She barely even noticed how McGonagall got them into Diagon Alley.

Diagon Alley was the most amazing place she had ever been! Broom stores, and Wand shops, an Owlery, and the wizarding bank, Gringotts, their first stop. "What are those...those things???" she asked Professor McGonagall, pointing at a Gringotts goblin. McGonagall explained them to her, and she watched them wide eyed. She could hear what they were thinking, and it was so funny, she almost fell over laughing. The one at the counter was talking sweetly to an old lady, but in his head he was making some rather lewd comments about her. After exchanging muggle money at the desk for wizarding money, McGonagall pulled her outside and said, "Well, where to first?"

"I dunno...I don't know all that I'm allowed to buy, since I can't use a wand and all..."

"How about robes first?"

And off to robes they went.

The lady that fitted her robes talked endlessly, and Lily learned more about the wizarding world than she thought that big lump of a book, Hogwarts, A History, could ever teach her. She had three plain black robes fitted for her, which thrilled her, because she loved black. She had a black fingernail polish fetish, and she knew that the robes would look excellent with her black, short, curly hair. She then had to pick what color she wanted her dress robes to be, which was difficult for her, because she couldn't decide between purple and green, her other two favorite colors, which also went well with her hair, because in the sunlight those were the colors that reflected off of her hair. She finally settled for a deep eggplant purple, with long, draping sleeves, and some dark green ribbon accents. After about an hour and a half of fittings, they were done. And just in time, too, because in walked Draco. Luckily he just waved a surprisingly friendly hullo, and kept on walking.


That morning Draco had run into a most interesting girl. She was dark and bright, and she could easily be a Slytherin, but just as easily a Gryffindor. He was mulling over that morning in his head as he got fitted for robes. After the girl had been tugged away by an angry and flustered Professor McGonagall, his dad had pulled him aside. He barely ever saw his dad, who was always off at some important meeting. But Draco really looked up to his dad, and if he loved anyone, it was definitely him. His dad told him that he absolutely had to keep an eye on that girl. He told him that if he could sway the girl, he would guarantee his father, and Voldemort, success. He would guarantee himself a life of money and power. Draco wasn't quite sure what his father meant, so his father explained a little more. The reason his coffee had tasted funny that morning was because there had been a potion in it. A potion that would keep anyone from reading his mind. This girl could read minds, but now she wouldn't be able to read Draco's mind. His father said that this girl had incredible psychic powers, and that she was going to Hogwarts to learn how to properly use them. She was no witch, which meant that she was going to be there illegally. But none of the death eaters would turn her in, because if they could get her on their side, then her power would assure victory to the dark side. No one in the League Against Voldemort would turn her in either, because, once again, if she decided to join Dumbledore, the L.A.V. would be assured victory. And so it was important that Draco befriend her, no matter what. He could not let Harry Potter win.


Lily was exhausted. She had gone to the owlery and bought herself a nice, black owl with green eyes, definitely the most interesting owl in the entire place. Then they had settled down for some ice cream, and wizard watching. Minerva (as Lily was calling her now) ran into an old friend and they started to chat. And chat. And chat. Finally Lily got up and asked Minerva if she could go off and do a little exploring on her own. Reluctantly Minerva agreed.

Then Lily had gone and explored. She had gone into the wand shop, and been forced to explain that no, she could not buy a wand, to which the old guy just laughed, as if that was the funniest thing he had ever heard. Then she went into Flourish and Blotts, where she scanned the bookshelves in amazement, and then bought all of the required books, along with a small one on crystal gazing and tea leaves, because she had heard that Professor Trelawny was not the best divination teacher, and she really wanted to learn the things her class had to offer, be it through the teacher, or a book. She also bought quills, ink and paper, muttering to herself, because she had never used a quill before and had a feeling that it would not be very easy. Then she followed a mass of boys and girls that looked to be around her age. They all stopped and gazed with wide eyes in a store window. She heard murmurs of "Whoa! I so want that broom!" and "Harry! On that broom you could defeat Slytherin at Quidditch singlehandedly!" and "Ron, I think anyone could!" and some laughter. She had gotten her first glimpse of Harry Potter...and he wasn't that bad looking either! Then she had decided it was time to go back and find Minerva, who was now chatting happily with an entirely different person, but reluctantly said goodbye when she saw how tired Lily was looking.

"How about a nice cup of tea? Or pumpkin juice? Tom will have food ready for us when we get back...its not far now. You will have a room ready if you want to take a little nap before dinner...you really exhausted yourself today, didn't you? I can remember the first day I went to Diagon Alley. I was just as tired by the end of that day. I remember my first day here...I remember how little sleep I had gotten the night before...I remember..." And Professor McGonagall talked on...


End of Chapter Two