*Chapter One*
So This Is Witchcraft...
All characters are copyright J.K. Rowling, I take no credit whatsoever for them. Please enjoy the fic...
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Lily looked closely at the letter, hardly daring to believe what it all said. She glanced up at her mother. "Mum...?"
Mrs. Peterson could only stare back. Her face was red and flustered, and she had not the slightest clue to what was happening.
From behind them issued a large wail. "Mu-um!" A small, horse-faced and bony child stood atop a chair, bellowing at her mother.
Mrs. Peterson glared at her dangerously. "Petunia...!"
Petunia quickly shut her mouth, but her face had gone splotchy in disbelief at the letter tightly clutched inside of her sister's hand. "What do those freak people want with her?"
Lily felt herself going hot all over. Under her breath, she quietly muttered, "They're not freaks, and if you say it again I'll slap you so hard --"
"Lily!"
"Sorry..." Lily wanted to hide, to disappear, to do anything to get away from the rest of her family, who all stood peering at her through wide and curious eyes. After receiving this letter, her life would be changed forever... imagine the fun that her schoolmates would poke at her...
A small voice rang inside of Lily's head. "Ah, but you won't be going to school with them, will you?"
Lily sighed and said aloud, "If what it says is true..."
Petunia and Mrs. Peterson looked at her. "What?"
Lily blushed deeply. "Nothing, nothing..."
Across Petunia's thin face, a wicked smile spread steadily. "Lily's going mad, just like the lot of them who sent her the invitation." Her eyes sparkled maliciously. "So, Mum, does this mean that Lily's a wit--"
Mrs. Peterson clapped a hand to her mouth. Lily could feel her face burning. "Mum, make her stop it, there's nothing wrong with any--"
She looked up at her mother, who's eyes were filled with tears. Lily's face went blank. "What?"
Mrs. Peterson drew Lily into a tight hug. "Oh, Lily, we're so proud..!"
Lily laughed. "Mum, please..."
Lily stole a glance at Petunia, and she sincerely wished she hadn't. Petunia's upper lip was curling horribly, her eyes were narrowed, and she was letting out a noise that sounding remarkably like snarling.
Lily pulled away from her mother. "Mum, I don't think Petunia's too pleased..."
Mrs. Peterson took a sharp look at her daughter. "Yes, Petunia dear, we'll have to let you off somewhere while we pick up Lily's school supplies, is that all right with you?" She took Lily's list, shaking her head and laughing.
Petunia looked up at her as if she were absolutely mad. "Yeah, whatever." With these words, she stormed out of the room with her nose held high in the air.
Lily burst into laughter. Brimming with cheerfulness, she asked her mother, "So, when do we go get my stuff?"
Mrs. Peterson bent close to her and whispered, "As soon as we figure out where to go."
Z Z Z Z Z
Mrs. Peterson peered over Lily's shoulder.
"Lily, dear, what does it say?"
Lily pushed the letter towards her mother.
"Thanks..." Mrs. Peterson pushed up the glasses on the bridge of her nose, and read the untidy scrawl skillfully.
To the parents of Lily Peterson,
I am proud to say
that another one has joined the ranks of Hogwarts, and that, if necessary,
we would be happy to show her and the folks the lots of Diagon Alley to
gather her supplies, and exchange currency. Meet me at the nearest underground,
and rest assured I'll be there.
-Rubeous Hagrid,
Hogwarts Gamekeeper
Mrs. Peterson blanched. "The nearest underground? Is he a bit mad? How will he know where to go--"
Lily sighed. "I don't know, but it'd be in our highest spirits that we take the chance, then, if it fails..." She looked hopefully at her mother. "The least we can do is try."
Her mother nodded, then grabbed a thick jacket off of the coat rack. "Come on, Lily, we don't want to be late..." The tone in which she used was unconvincing, but Lily heeded the words, and followed after her. She locked the door swiftly behind her, then stepped uneasily into the small Ford.
Mrs. Peterson pushed hard against the accelerator, and the car burst out of the driveway at full speed. Lily held the letter tightly to her chest, as if holding onto it for good luck. She could only hope that this crazy idea would work...
It was hard to keep this pleasant view in mind, however. Lily couldn't help but cringe when she thought of all the possibilities, waiting to happen. Suppose this was all some cruel joke, that she would be laughed at and tormented forever more? Or, worse still, if it hadn't, the whole thing was real, but it was indeed a mistake... Lily shook her head severely, causing her red hair to bounce wildly off of her shoulders.
She car suddenly halted to a stop. Lily was caught off guard and slammed face first into the back of her mother's seat. Blood dripped heavily against the seats, floor, and Lily's skirt. Lily watched in horror as red splotches formed upon her white silk skirt. Tears joined the ranks of the blood, and Lily's heart shattered.
"Mummy!" cried Lily, clutching the letter and the white silk between her one hand. With her other, she was hastily holding the bridge of her nose.
Mrs. Peterson whirled around in her seat. "Oh Lily--" She took a tissue and began dabbing it across Lily to no effect - the bloodstains were permanent, and Lily's wailing wasn't helping in the least.
Mrs. Peterson's shrill screech broke the noise. "Lily! Get a hold of yourself --"
"But my skirt --"
"Wear your coat, Lily, and be sensible, no one will notice..." Mrs. Peterson's temper was running high, and without further adieu, she took Lily's hand and pulled her out of the car. She ran off to the station with difficulty, tripping occasionally on her high heeled shoes.
Panting with exhaustion, Lily and Mrs. Peterson sat down upon a bench at the station. "Well," began Lily. "We're here. Now all we've got to do is wait..."
Lily's mother gave a sarcastic sigh. Apparently she though the whole idea was rubbish, and that they were simply wasting their time. However, this notion proved untrue, for with great pleasure, a large man came striding towards them.
A dark man with wild hair and a long shaggy beard walked closer. His hands were the size of trash can lids, and his feet were boat like.
Mrs. Peterson backed away in fear that this was the man named Hagrid. Surely, someone such as this would not be sent out to help navigate a poor young woman and her eleven year old child?
Her worst fears were confirmed as the man extended a massive hand.
"Mrs. Peterson, I reckon?" His black eyes glistened. He looked straight at Lily, who was shaking slightly in the shadow of this man. "Yer Lily, I s'pose? Pleased teh meet yeh, th' name's Hagrid." He glanced back at Mrs. Peterson, who's face had gone a sickly pale. "Rubeous Hagrid, gamekeeper of Hogwarts, at yer service." He grinned gaily, but the smile was not returned. Lily had never seem someone so.... huge.
Lily shook her head. She was being horribly prejudiced, but, all the same... She raised her head and smiled weakly at the stranger.
"Mr. Hagrid, sir, would you be so kind as to direct me and my mother to Dia--" she stole a glance at her first letter, confirming the location, "Diagon Alley, and to help me gather my supplies and exchange money?" Hagrid averted his eyes towards Mrs. Peterson, and noticed that she was indeed clutching a black leather purse; he nodded.
"Lily, 'course I will, be glad teh. Come wit'
me..." Hagrid beckoned the two on, Lily followed bravely, her mother sidestepping
through the crowds of people, her face still deathly pale and shaken.
Lily's head drooped onto her mother's shoulder as she rode through the underground on an itchy plastic seat. She glanced up at her with round, glossy eyes. "When are we going to get there?"
Mrs. Peterson's lips pursed. "Heavens, how would I know, child?"
Lily knitted her thin red brows. She shot a look at Hagrid. "Sir, how far are we towards reaching Diagram Alley?"
Hagrid laughed. "Hold yer horses, wer' almos' at Diagon Alley now..."
Surely enough, a small but sharp whistle blew, and all passengers exited through the doors. Every one of them turned left but Hagrid, Lily, and Mrs. Peterson. They continued walking towards the right, until they came to a dead end. Towering above them was a large brick wall, covered in dirt and grime. Mrs. Peterson shuddered. Lily's heart raced. Now that this man had got them all alone in the corner of the street, what would he do to them? He was certainly large enough to smash them into a very unpleasantly thought out pulp. Lily tried to block this distracting view from her mind.
Hagrid, however, grinned warmly. "We're almos' there." From within the depths of his overcoat he pulled out a small - very filly - pink umbrella. Lily watched it curiously, fighting the strong urge to laugh. From the look on Mrs. Peterson's face, her mother apparently felt the same way.
Hagrid took no notice. He tapped a single brick on the wall three times, and to Lily and her mother's utmost surprise, the brick wall vanished into a hole, exposing a small pub. Lily could make out 'The Leaky Cauldron' on the door sign. Hagrid pocketed the umbrella and said roughly, "Come inside."
Lily stepped inside quietly. Inside, however, no one took notice of her, it was terribly noisy, and Lily felt her ears would burst. Hagrid, Lily and her mother made their ways steadily back through the pub, occasionally stopping so that Hagrid could catch up on social events with other (Lily assumed) witches and wizards. At last they reached the back, where a small door was located. Hagrid turned it slowly, then pushed it open, revealing a pleasant looking street filled with dozens of quaint little shops.
Beneath Hagrid's bushy beard they heard, "Diagon Alley."
Lily's eyes sparkled. Never had she seen so interesting a place, full of mysterious items and fascinating people. Lily's legs longed to run freely through the streets, but she thought better of the opportunity and kept close to her mother and Hagrid.
Hagrid turned his bushy face towards Mrs. Peterson. "First off, yeh'll be needin' teh exchange yer money, wizardin' shops won't accept none o' yers."
Mrs. Peterson nodded. She was beginning to get over her fear of this large - but rather friendly - man. "And... where exactly will I be needing to go?"
"Gringotts," replied Hagrid shortly. "Follow me..." He led them through a couple of streets, then stopped at a stretch of white marble steps. This pause only took a moment, though, as he quickly led them inside to a golden rimmed counter.
"We'll be needin' to exchange some --"
"Say no more," said a thin man from behind the counter. "Notes, please?"
Mrs. Peterson reluctantly handed the man a thick wad of ten pound notes. "Thank you," was the man's short dialogue, and he quickly left to busy himself with the money. Before Mrs. Peterson had the chance to tap her feet with impatience, the man had returned. He laid upon the counter a large, royal purple bag. Lily picked the smooth velvet bag up carefully, but the weight was overwhelming, and without warning, all of the bag's contents had scattered across the floor. Small silver coins rolled across the ground, bronze ones landed with a loud clink, and large gold coins bounced off of the smooth marble so harshly that Lily was afraid they would dent it. After the ear shattering noise, Lily buried her face in her hands, burning with humiliation. Through the thin cracks in her fingers, a dry sob filled the air. The man behind the counter laughed heartily at the small girls anguish.
He reached down and pulled her hands from her eyes. "Come on now, don't be upset, there's a girl --" From within the depths of his deep blue robes he pulled out a thin wand. He directed it at the piles of coins now lying hopelessly across the floor, and whispered under his breath, "Accio!"
Instantly, as though by magic (which, of course, it was), each and every coin zoomed through the air and landed back inside of the bag, now stabilized between Lily's arms. Her dazzling green eyes went wide with wonder at this simple feat, and she could not have been more impressed. Her mouth hanging open, she added a quick, "Thank you.."
The banker smiled gently, and said softly, "Anytime, little girl." Lily flushed at the title of 'little girl,' but smiled nonetheless and skipped outside to the streets, Hagrid and her mother trailing behind her.
Lily took no notice of the two adults standing behind her. She was busy fingering through the strange coins, wondering what on earth they were called, how much they were worth, and what you could do with them.
Almost instantly, she turned to Hagrid. "Which coins are which, sir?"
Hagrid laughed. "Yeh can call me Hagrid, Lily." He then sat down next to her upon the marble steps, and pulled out from the bag three different coins. He held a single bronze one up to her. "These here are knuts, they're not worth too much, bet yeh'll need 'em anyhow." He then took a silver one up to her. "Sickles." He gave no identification of them, but Lily understood that the little coin must have been more than the knut, and less than the large and shiny gold one Hagrid now held in his hand.
"These," said Hagrid. "Are Golden Galleons. They're worth the most, and very valuable, so don' yeh be losin' em." He grinned cheekily, then stood up, grabbing Lily's hand and pulling her up as well.
"We'd best be goin' to get your school supplies, Lily..." Lily nodded in agreement. Hagrid then turned to Mrs. Peterson, who was standing alone. "If you don' mind me takin' 'er, I think it'd be bes' if me an' Lily could do this together?"
Mrs. Peterson, who had been longing for an excuse to go, now shook her head delightedly, then left towards the bus station. She knew instinctively that she could trust this Hagrid character, though how she knew it she could not say. However, she left Lily alone with her heart free.
Lily was neither hurt nor surprised by this, as she too felt safe near Hagrid. She smiled up at him, and let him lead her towards a small shop, windows filled with sticks. At least, this was what Lily had originally thought.
Hagrid walked Lily into the shop, and she at last realized what was filling up the display windows to the fact that they were brimming over.
Wands.
An innocent smile crept across Lily's face. She turned up to face Hagrid. "Sir - uh, I mean, Hagrid... am I going to get a wand?"
Hagrid smiled and nodded. He then pushed open
the doors and led Lily in.
About half an hour later, Lily Peterson walked out of the shop, a triumphant smile upon her face. She was beaming with pride, holding the long, thin, and flexible wand between her fingers.
"Unicorn hair, birch, nice choice..." said Hagrid. (a/n : sorry, but I really don't remember which wand type Lily had) Lily grinned.
"Thanks." She kept fiddling with the wand, not knowing what on earth it was good for, or what spells or charms she could cast with it, but all the same, it gave her a strong sense of power. It's smooth texture and creamy color had cast it's spell upon her...
Hagrid had suddenly clapped his enormous hand upon her should, shaking her a bit. After being a bit shaken, she asked between small fits of laughter, "What was that for?"
Hagrid laughed. "I nearly forgo' th' other supplies..."
Lily took the hint, and pulled out her supply list. She squinted her eyes, then read carefully, "All first year students will require three sets of plain work robes --" Lily nodded. "Okay... and we get my robes where?"
Hagrid began to stride off towards the other end of the street, beckoning her to follow him. Lily followed him into a roomy shop full of racks upon racks of colorful robes. Some were laced, frilled, or hemmed, others trailed the ground gently... a pale blue one caught her eye...
Hagrid chortled a bit. "Lily, all yeh need is black..." Lily looked up and blushed. She walked to the back of the store where she found a large section of jet black robes. She randomly chose three pairs, all which seemed large enough. She quickly pulled them on over her clothes.
"They fit yeh?"
"Like a dream..."
"Good then, we'll be off..." Hagrid took the robes within his massive arms, bought them with the surplus of money in Lily's sack, and carried them out of the shop in a large bag.
"What now then?" asked Lily curiously. Hagrid motioned towards the list. "Right then..." She held the list to her face, and began to read, "One plain pointed hat for day wear, one pair of dragon hide gloves." She looked back at Hagrid. "Oops, guess I should've mentioned that earlier..." She made a grab for her sack full of coins, then dashed back into the shop. Lily emerged carrying a black wizarding hat and a sleek pair of dragon hide gloves.
She tossed them into the bag with her other supplies. She hadn't bothered to think twice about the dragon hide gloves, she had figured that if all of this could be real, so could these monsters.
"Wha' next?" asked Hagrid. "It's been so long since I've done this..." Lily grinned, she was grateful to have a helping hand to get her through this ordeal.
Lily once again took out the list of supplies and ticked off names. "And the following sets of books --" Hagrid stopped her there.
"Say no more. Before yeh get into this, we might as well ge' there."
"Where?"
"Flourish an' Blotts, bookstore."
"Oh." Once again, Lily took off across the street, stopping in front of a rather large bookstore. "I reckon we should get the books now?" Hagrid nodded, and she skipped into the store, carrying the pewter cauldron that she had purchased a few shops down. Hagrid shook his head, laughing softly.
Lily took out the book list and stretched it across the cauldron so that it should be read easily. She knew that Hagrid had left her to do this by herself, and she was grateful for a chance to prove that she could be mature. However, this opportunity would be outshone by the chance to prove herself unladylike and careless.
"'The Standard Book of Spells' by Miranda Goshawk..." She quickly identified the book and tossed it into her cauldron. "'A Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi' by Phyylinda Spore... 'A History of Magic' by Bathilda Bagshot..." Lily too added these books to her pile. She continued her hunt up until book number eight, "'The Dark Forces : A Guide to Self Protection' by Trimble."
At last, Lily felt her cauldron gaining considerable weight, meanwhile becoming quite full of books. She walked slowly towards the counter to pay for her books. The line was tremendous, and Lily personally felt that her turn would never come, but at last it did. However, that was were the trouble began.
Oh, the purchase went well, that was no problem. It was when Lily whirled around to walk over to Hagrid. She attempted a run, but the cauldron was heavy, and made her odd and awkward. So, as she ran over to Hagrid, she never expected to crash.
But, of course, she did.
And into someone.
Lily's cauldron toppled over onto the ground, and her books spilled everywhere. That was offset, however, by the horrible throbbing in Lily's forehead. And judging by the moaning of the person in font of her, they too had felt pain as the foolish girl crashed into them.
"I'm so sorry; I didn't mean to; it was ever so heavy..." Lily looked up and met a pair of gorgeous brown eyes, half hidden by jet black hair. She stopped talking abruptly as the boy in front of her forced a grin through all of the pain that he felt.
"Sorry for running into you, miss..."
Lily's face splotched horribly. "Oh no, it was my fault, I'm terribly clumsy..."
The two took each other's hands and hoisted one another up. The boy then extended his hand. "James Potter's my name, might I ask yours?"
Lily smiled. "Lily. Lily Peterson."
James nodded and stalked off. "Well, Lily, hope to see you around!" And with that, he disappeared around a book shelf.
Lily gave a small sigh, then went to collecting her books. As soon as she had placed them all back into her cauldron, she raced back over to Hagrid, who was overcome with laughter.
"It's not funny!" she said, stamping her foot impatiently.
"Sorry," said Hagrid. "It's jus'... ne'rmind,
let's go finish gettin' yer stuff."
Hagrid sighed deeply as Lily brought the small white owl out of the store.
"Don't yeh think yeh could've gotten one that was a bit quieter?" The owl screeched noisily at him.
Lily gently stroked the owl's back. "Don't be silly, she's perfect." The owl cooed and nipped affectionately at her finger.
"Whatever yeh choose..."
Lily glared at him, then went back to stroking the owl which she had fallen in love with once inside of the shop. It was only a wee little one, only a couple months old. However, it's large yellow eyes had won Lily over, and she was now completely head over heels.
Hagrid smiled warmly at the pair. He may not have liked the owl, but the affection they shared was worth the trouble of it. "Lily, we've gotten all o' yer stuff, best we'd be gettin' to th' pub."
Lily turned to him. "Hm?"
Hagrid simply stated, "They've got rooms there, yeh could spend an overnih' and be read' for tomorrow." Lily nodded in agreement.
"Lead the way."
Lily heaved her packs over the other side of the bed, and sank herself into an armchair by the fire. For such a torn up looking bar, they certainly had beautiful rooms. From the other side of the room, her snowy owl hooted softly in contentment, submerged into the warmth of her coat.
Lily watched the rain pour from the window, feeling safe and secure inside. She sighed dreamily, then hugged her knees to her chest. Reasons unknown, she was overcome with bliss that her life could be going so smoothly.
She smiled warmly, and with a final hoot from her owl and a droop of her eyelids, she fell into a deep sleep upon the satin armchair.
Z Z Z Z Z
Lily awoke the next morning, the sun splashed across her face, her owl curled up beside her, and a small ringing in her ears.
"Wassamatter?" Lily asked groggily. She squinted her eyes to avoid the light, and rolled over, almost squashing the owl, to see what the ringing was. At first, she couldn't put her finger on it.
Then she saw the clock.
Lily's eyes doubled in size and she toppled out of her armchair, the snowy owl shrieking indignantly. She ripped off the clothes she had slept in and hastily pulled on a fresh pair.
"Oh my god, oh my god, I'm soo late!" Angry tears were swelling in her eyes - she had a strong tendency to cry over the little things. Although, missing the train to a school thousands of miles away wasn't really a little thing...
Lily grabbed her bags, her owl, and shoes, and raced down the stairs three steps at a time in stocking feet. She advanced the counter without a second thought, shoved a couple of coins on the counter, and grabbed a large piece of buttered toast with a mumbled "Thanks."
She then tore out of the buildings door, with a piece of toast in her mouth, one shoe on her foot, and another one being hopelessly jammed on. It was to her great surprise that she was suddenly lifted off of the ground and swept into someone's arms.
"Hagrid!" He grinned. "You're a miracle! I don't know where to go to catch the train..."
Hagrid escorted her to a train station, while she continued to lace up her shoes. He then let her down, where she stiffened herself up, in an attempt to look proper and ladylike, which - with both shoes on - she now did.
"Lily, yeh'll board the train a' platform nine an' three quarters. See yeh there!" And with that, he left, leaving her feeling confident. Now, all she needed to do was find platform nine and three quarters.
Unfortunately, that was just the trouble.
Lily's eyes scanned the station, but nowhere did she see the platform matching Hagrid's description. Her nervous green eyes darted between platform nine and platform ten fiercely, but there was nothing in between. Nothing at all...
Lily feared that she would break down, and that she would be hopelessly lost at this station until someone decided to come and find her, which would be in about - a years time.
Lily's lower lip began to tremble. She didn't know what to do...
Until she saw the young boy she had met at Flourish and Blotts stride past her, surrounded by a couple of other boys.
Lily's heart took strength again. She called out cheerfully to the boy, "Jake, it's me, Lily! Could you lend me a hand?"
The boy turned to face her. So did the rest of his crowd. A certain black haired boy nudged him in the ribs and sniggered.
"My name's James, Lily!" he cried.
"Oh." She ran over to him, and quickly noticed that every boy but James was in tears of laughter. She asked, pointing to them, "What's that all about?"
James kicked the black haired boy abruptly in the shins, and he immediately stopped laughing. The others followed suit. "Nothing," he lied quickly, as he tried to hide a smile. "Now," he continued. "What did you want?"
Lily put a hand behind her head and asked slowly, "Um, well, it's my first year at Hogwarts..."
A shorter boy stepped out from behind James. He had a thin and handsome figure, and a strong smile. "So are we, you're in luck." He extended a hand to the girl. "My name's Remus Lupin, and I'm assuming that yours is Lily?"
Getting very flustered, she politely took Remus's hand. "Yes, Lily Peterson. But, I was wondering..."
The tall black haired boy was getting quite caught up in the fun, however. He took Lily around the shoulders and said manfully, "My name's Sirius Black, miss, and I'd be ever so grateful to you if --"
James kicked Sirius in the shins again, and he let out a howl of pain. "Why you...!"
James - who was quite red in the face now - asked politely of Lily, "Please excuse my friends, they're a bit --" He paused as Sirius and Remus finished their laughter after batting eyelashes at James. "Immature."
Sirius pushed James out of the way. "Ah, of course we're not immature, James here is just jealous that we're so much more good looking and funny --"
Lily had sighed pathetically, for perhaps this was not the right crowd of people to ask. They had certainly taken an interest in her, though how far it was getting her...
Perhaps Remus had noticed the air that Lily was putting on, because he said steadily, "You guys, I think Lily needs to finish her question..."
Lily smiled gratefully at Remus, who returned it.
A much shorter and smaller boy looked up at her. "Yes, get on with it, quit wasting our time..."
James, Remus, and Sirius all hit him on top of the head. "Peter! C'mon, don't be mean to a girl..."
Lily flushed. "Um, yeah, sorry for wasting your time..."
James shook his head. "No, no, that's just Peter, ignore everything he says..."
Lily tried desperately to ignore the dirty look that Peter was sending at James. Lily was beginning to feel quite left out in the conversation, and if an argument broke out, all five of them would miss the train...
James turned back to Lily. "So, what was your question?"
Lily smiled. 'Finally...' She began her problem, "Well, I've told you that it's my first year at Hogwarts..." Peter nodded his head coldly, and Sirius kicked him. "And that this will be my first time boarding the Hogwarts Express, but I was wondering how exactly you reach platform nine and three quarters. Seeing as how I don't really know how to, uh... get there..."
James laughed. "Oh, of course..."
Lily looked up at him curiously. "'Of course', what?"
James stifled a laugh. "You wouldn't know how to get there... but don't worry..." The crowd of boys advanced upon her, and her palms began to sweat. What on earth were they going to do to her?
Sirius shot a look at James, who nodded. "We'll show you." With that, Sirius and James pushed her straight into the wall that divided platform nine and platform ten. Lily's eyes widened with horror, and she was just about to let out a scream as she crashed headlong into the barrier. However, the crash never came.
Lily opened her eyes slowly. She was standing in a small portion of the station, but platforms nine and ten were nowhere visible. Instead, as she noticed on a sign hanging above the trains pull up, it read "Platform 9 ¾." Lily grinned.
There was a small whir, and James, Remus, Sirius and Peter approached her. "Enjoy the ride?"
Lily turned away from them and said coolly, "Ha ha, that was very cute. You know, you could have told me that was the way here, instead of surprising me like that. I thought you were going to smash me into the barrier..."
James grinned. "Come on Lily, do we look like people that would do that to you?"
Lily turned to face them. All four were wearing very cheeky smiles, and Lily tried harshly to control her laughter. "All right, I forgive you, but you really shouldn't have done that to a girl." Lily grinned slyly.
James laughed, then punched her gently in the shoulder. "Quick on the uptake, are you. We'll see you at Hogwarts..."
Peter added solemnly, "Sadly..." He was quickly hushed by the rest of the group.
"See you," said Lily shortly, and she walked away. However, her attention was turned by a sharp whistle. She looked around, and saw with amazement, a large scarlet steam engine approaching the platform.
Lily glanced back and saw that each of the boys was being cuddled - to their complete disgust - by parents and relatives. Lily laughed, and advanced the train.
She walked around for a good bit, trying to find an empty compartment, but it was a much harder feat than it would have seemed. Every place she turned, people seemed to have met up with one another; while the only people Lily knew were James, Sirius, Remus and Peter: an awfully sad lot for a girl.
At last she settled down in a small one, with no people. Lily gave a grateful sigh, the pushed her bags into the overhead compartment, sat her owl's cage beside of her on the ground, and closed the door. Only moments after she had sat herself down on the seats, though, the door slid open.
Lily shook her head and said, "Hello, James."
Sirius pouted and said, "I believe you've forgotten me."
"How could I," said Lily under her breath.
Remus gathered in his gentlemanly air again and asked pleasantly, "Would you mind so much if we would share this compartment with you?"
"Not terribly," she said, failing to hold back a smile.
"Good then," said Sirius, and he sat down next to Lily. Lily groaned, Sirius heard, and he put on a mock look of hurt expression.
James sat down next to Sirius, then Remus, and then Peter. All five fit well, but it was an odd looking bunch.
After about 5 minutes of sitting together, speechless and motionless, the train began to move. "All right then!" shouted Remus, throwing off his manners at once. And as soon as the Hogwarts Express began to move, so did the conversation. All at once, the four boys rounded on a conversation of Quidditch tactics.
Oh, it all sounded very interesting, problem was, Lily was muggle born, and had no idea what Quidditch was.
"Um, excuse me...?"
The conversation immediately ceased, to the great displeasure of Peter.
Lily blushed deeply. "I was just wondering... what exactly is Quidditch?"
The effect upon the rest of them was tremendous. Well, it was to Sirius. He grasped his heart and fell to the floor, very well staged. The rest of them laughed. James asked quietly, "You really don't know?"
"How would I?" was Lily's answer.
James nodded his head. "True..." He grinned. "Are you sure that you want to know?" Lily nodded. "Okay, suit yourself..."
James launched into a huge explanation of Quidditch, the broomsticks, the balls, and the positions. After nearly an hour, Lily stopped asking questions, and finally understood the purpose. James's throat was dry from talking.
"Do you get it now?"
Lily smiled. "Yes, I do. Thank you." James grinned back. She might have been a girl, but she was a pleasant one to be around, and didn't mind very much their boyish behavior. If Lily had known what a tomboy they would have made of her, perhaps she would have chosen to go with another crowd. But, she didn't, and was content enough talking about sports, pranks, and various other things that would have horrified her mother half out of her wits.
After a very descriptive talk, the door slid open once more. A young, plump witch entered the compartment, pushing a trolley full of various chocolates and candies.
Lily's eyes sparkled. "Ooh..." She took out her sack full of coins, and pulled out a handful. She had never seen candies such as the ones on the trolled before, so she ordered a little of everything. Every boy but Remus eyed her enviously.
Remus reached within his bags and pulled out a large piece of granola. "It's the healthiest option..." The rest of the compartment sighed heavily.
At last, after everyone had placed their orders and received their share of chocolate, the witch left.
Lily tore into her pile of goodies.
James laughed. "Not very ladylike, are we?"
Lily glared at James, her mouth coated in chocolate. "Of course I am..." She looked down at her smudged hands and skirt. "This doesn't count..."
James snorted.
The train came to a very sudden stop. Peter was thrown out of his seat, much to the amusement of Lily.
He looked up at her harshly. "It really isn't funny."
"'Course not."
The train's whistle blew, and a voice rang throughout the quarters. "Please exit the trains - your luggage will be taken up to the castle - and exit towards the carriages... " The voice rang a bit longer. "First years, please make your ways to the lake with Hagrid."
Lily smiled. She then turned to the rest of them. "C'mon, let's go...!"
She tore out of the compartment in the blink of in eye.
"Energetic sprite..."
"Too energetic," groaned Peter.
James turned to face him. "Peter, what do you have against her?"
Peter sighed. "The fact that she's a her." James was blank. "You idiot, she's a girl."
Sirius broke into a huge fit of laughter.
Lily, James, Remus, Sirius and Peter all stood by a large black lake among every other first year, next to Hagrid.
"Firs' year all here?" he bellowed. "Good then..." Hagrid led them all a bit farther, and they all stood gaping. A dozen little boats lay docked in a small harbor of the lake.
"We're not actually going to ride up to the castle, are we?" asked a nervous little boy.
"'Course weh are!" boomed Hagrid. "Four teh a boat, move i' along..."
Lily stood with her mouth open, and looked desperately at James, Sirius, Remus and Peter, all who were huddled tightly together. She sighed longingly. Naturally, there were four of them, and she'd be forced to go along with someone else...
James felt torn between her and his friends, then drew an arm around her. "Come on, Lily, you and Peter are both fairly small, we can fit five of us in a boat..."
Lily beamed at him. Peter looked disgusted, but made no argument. One more, and he'd be kicked out of the boat.
James climbed in first, followed by Peter and Sirius. Remus went last, then reached out his hand to help Lily in. It was a bit cramped, but Lily didn't notice. For someone she had just met, every someone in the boat but Peter was being considerably kind to her.
Hagrid then tossed oars to everyone, passing by the fact that one boat had more people than allowed. He had taken a liking to Lily.
"All read'? Row awa'!"
James and Lily each took an oar, being in the front and back. Remus had offered to row for Lily, but she felt that he had already been considerate enough. Besides, Lily was surprisingly good at this...
Lily and James each worked in sync with each other, rowing smoothly and steadily, harmonious. Never missing a beat. Until, that is, Sirius got a bit too comfortable.
The boat had been moving along smoothly, and Sirius kicked his legs up over the side of the boat, and laid back. He was a bit too tall for this, however, and the weight of his upper body toppled him over; as well as the rest of the boat.
Sirius flipped backwards, the rest of the crew fell sideways, and the boat capsized upon them. Lily came back up through a jet of bubbles, accidentally hitting Remus with her elbow. He came up directly under her, and she fell back upside down as he pushed through her legs.
"Oops, sorry there..."
James went up last, puling Peter as he went. Peter wasn't gifted in swimming, and would have drowned otherwise. Sirius came up, his face red with laughter.
Both Lily and James took their oars and swung them upon Sirius's head. Lily tried, but she couldn't manage to stifle the giggles that echoed against the inside of the boat.
"We've got to get the boat back up..."
"Gee, you think?"
James poked his tongue out at Sirius.
"Come on, help me out here..."
With those words, Sirius and James lifted up the boat and pushed it back to it's right side. With a small boost from Remus, each one made it back into the boat.
Lily looked around at the other boats. "They're all way in front of us, we've got to hurry..." She and James took the oars again, and the began to paddle harder than they'd ever paddled before. (not that either one had before anyway...)
Finally, soaking and dripping wet, they made it to the shore with the rest of the first years. Everyone pointed, stared, or giggled. The five of them, however, were shaking too hard to notice.
Hagrid began to walk up to the castle. "C'mon now, wer' gonna get' back up teh the castle..." And so, they followed him, up the hill and through the large oak doors.
Inside of a large room, other students peered at them curiously.
From inside of the room came a young witch, her black hair in a tight bun atop her head. "Move it along, first years, that's right, make an orderly line against the wall, don't file into the Great Hall yet, mind your step..."
The five of them stared blankly at each other, but piled into a straight line, Lily taking up the rear.
After what seemed like half an hour, they were finally instructed to enter the Great Hall.
"We're going to be sorted!" whispered James excitedly.
"Sorted?"
"Yeah, split up into four different houses. They're like... well, they're groups that we'll spend the rest of our seven years here at."
Lily gulped. Suppose she was split into a different house than either one of her boys? She'd spend the rest of the seven years without them...
"How do we know where to go?" she asked nervously.
Sirius answered this time. "It's some sort of test... really painful..." Lily gasped.
Remus elbowed him. "It isn't painful, Lily, but I hear that it's a test... of courage and cunning, something like that.
This didn't raise Lily's spirits. She didn't feel that she had either at the moment.
However, a small grin from James improved her mood. "Wish us luck that we'll make it in the same houses!" Lily nodded. Each of the five friends gave each others hands a tight squeeze; even Lily and Peter.
"Move it along!" shouted the witch. They all raced into the Great Hall.
As Lily, James, Sirius, Remus and Peter walked along, though, an older student pointed at them and called out to them.
"Oi, yeah, you five, what happened to you?"
"We fell in..." said Lily, her face burning. She then turned to Remus. "By the way, Remus, sorry for sitting on you..."
Remus grinned. "It was my fault, but it wasn't such a bad view."
Lily's face went a bit more confused. "What do you mean?"
Remus laughed, then said quickly, "Blue undies suit you very well."
Lily's mouth hung wide open, and James snorted again.
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
All right, so ends chapter 1. ::sigh:: Sorry, I'm no good at writing long chapters. There may be alot, but each one is gonna be pretty short... ^^;; This one was nearly fourteen pages (without margin, of course), that's pretty good, don't ya think? It better be, I spent all day writing it... Anyway, hope you enjoyed, I'll be putting up the next few shortly. I've already got some of them typed, but I'm waiting to put them up. I can't just let you read them all at once, now, can I?
Okay, I already wrote this, but no characters belong to me, no ideas (except for the story line ^^) or anything else. The only thing that is mine is Lily's last name, the story line, and the color of her underwear. ::grins:: Okay, if that part was unnecessary, sorry, but I just had to!
Please review! Flames are welcome, but I'd be eternally grateful if you'd write something nice! If I used incorrect grammar, please say so, or if I slipped up in the story line... ect. ect.... just review, kay?
~arch angel