The Hogwarts Express
Do you believe in magic,
In a young girl's heart?
How the music can free her
Where ever it starts.
Well, it's magic,
If the music is groovy,
It makes you feel happy
Like an old-time movie.
Believe in the magic that is in your soul.
Believe in the magic of rock and roll.
Believe in the magic that can set you free.
Do you believe in magic?
Lily sang
merrily as she packed her things.
Electricity filled her soul. In
two short hours, she would be on the train for Hogwarts.
"Are you
almost ready, dear?" Her father called
to her.
"Yes, Dad!"
Still
humming, Lily heaved her trunk off her bed and staggered out the door. She came face to face with Petunia. "Yes?"
Lily asked icily. Lily had taken
personal offense to Petunia's new coldness.
Before Lily had hoped Petunia still cared for her as Lily cared for
her. Now she had no hope, no illusions
of her sister. If Petunia cared for
Lily at all, it was buried deep down.
"Do you
mind not singing that?"
"Why?" Lily snapped. "Hate music now, too?"
Using her trunk, she pushed passed her sister. "Good-bye, Petunia."
If Petunia
even answered, Lily never heard her.
* * * * * * * * * *
Ten minutes
later, the trunk was packed and they were ready to go. "We're leaving now, Petunia!" Her mother called in. "You sure you don't want to come?" When she received no reply she called,
"We'll be back soon, sweetheart."
Still, she got no answer.
The station
was packed with people hurrying to one platform or another. "Which platform is it, dear?" Her mother asked.
Lily looked
at her ticket. "Nine and
three-quarters."
"What was
that?" Her father asked.
"Nine and
three-quarters."
Her mother
looked around. "Platform nine is over
there and ten is there. It should be
somewhere in between, but there is just a barrier."
Lily bit
her lip to keep her tears from falling.
This couldn't have been a joke! She thought. She had magic books, a magic wand. She had met wizards. There has to be a way! There had been a way into Diagon Alley. "Let me check it out."
Fearful of
having her hopes dashed, Lily walked to the barrier. She raised a finger, but couldn't bring herself to touch it.
"Oy!" Lily jumped at the sound of a voice. A girl about her age stood looking at her
curiously. "You lookin' fer sumpin'?"
Flustered,
Lily stammered, "Y-yes. Um, platform
nine-nine and three-quarters?" She
waited for the girl to laugh at her.
But the
girl gave a knowledgeable nod.
"Ahhh. Hogwarts, then."
Lily brightened
with relief. "Yes. Do you go as well? Can you help me?"
"Sure I
go," she answered. "I kin help, no
problem."
"I'm Lily."
Lily's
parents had come over to see what was going on, bringing Lily's things with
them. "Those yer folks?" Lily nodded. The girl looked her parents up and down, then smiled. "Nice ter meetcha. Name's Jasla. I'll be
goin' ta school whitch yer daughter. I
kin help her from here, if ya like."
Lily's
mother looked relieved. "Thank you,
Jasla. That would be wonderful." Jasla watched while Lily's mother and father
gave her hugs good-bye.
"See you at
Christmas, Lily!"
"G'bye
Lily's Mum and Dad!" Jasla waved. Taking one of Lily's bags and placing an arm
around her shoulders, Jasla lead her through
the barrier.
It was
amazing! As if it wasn't there! She
thought. One moment she was looking at
the barrier, the next she was looking at Platform nine and three-quarters,
where the Hogwarts Express waited.
"Thanks,"
Lily began to Jasla, but before she could finish, Jasla had thrown her to the
ground along with her things. Her
belongings spewed forth on the ground around her.
Stunned,
Lily looked up to see Jasla's face twisted into a huge gleeful smile at her
predicament. Then she laughed
maliciously. Her eyes shining with a
steely glint, she whispered, "That's whatcha get, Mudblood."
Laughing
again, Jasla sauntered off, leaving Lily amid the scatterings of her
belongings.
Tears stung
her green eyes at the injustice of it all.
Jasla had wanted to make a fool of her all along. She wished her parents hadn't left. She would have run after them, but she
couldn't find the exit out.
And what
had she called her? Mudblood? Whatever that was, it couldn't be good.
Lily's
cheeks were stained with tears as she hurried to gather her things.
"Let me
help," said a voice above her.
A short boy
her age looked down at her with concern.
His dark hair was a bit disheveled and a pair of glasses framed his dark
eyes, but he was a handsome boy. Lily
quickly dried her eyes. "Um, sure. Thanks."
The boy got
on his knees and picked up her last few things. "I saw what happened," he said, almost apologetically. "I'm sorry."
"It wasn't
your fault," she said.
"Yeah." But he sounded unconvinced.
With all
her things together, they stood up simultaneously. "Thanks," she said again, then sniffed loudly to her chagrin.
He smiled
warmly. More warmly, Lily realized,
than Jasla had. It was a genuine
smile. He held out a hand. "James Potter."
She took
it. "Lily Evans."
James sighed,
his eyes following the path Jasla had taken.
"A Slytherin if I ever saw one."
"Excuse
me?"
"Muggle-born?" He asked.
Lily
frowned. "Why does everyone say that as
if it's a bad thing?"
Now James
looked guilty. "It's not, though there
are some . . . I just figured . . . Well, anyway, if you've got all your stuff
. . ."
Lily
nodded.
"James!" called another boy.
"Coming,
Sirius!" He called back. "I'll see you later, then." And he rushed off to join a tall,
dark-haired boy.
Half of her
still wanted to leave all this and go home to where it was safe. But hoping students like Jasla was only a
minority and students like James were a majority, she gathered up her courage
and boarded the train.
* * * * * * * * * *
"Hey
James!" Sirius watched his best friend
return from helping the unknown girl.
"What were you doing?"
"What did
it look like, Sirius? I was helping
that girl over there."
"But why?"
James
shrugged as he slid his trunk onto the train.
"She looked like she needed it.
And don't go second grade on me, Sirius. I would have done the same if it was a guy."
Sirius
shook his head. "James Potter to the
rescue. The superman of wizards."
"And his
trusty sidekick, Sirius Black. With his
face so serious—"
With that,
Sirius shoved James into an empty compartment, chuckling slightly. "Shut up, ya weird git!" James' own laughter filtered into the hall
from inside.
* * * * * * * * * *
Take the last train to Clarksville
And I'll meet you at the station.
Singing
softly, Lily continued down the train to find an open compartment. Most were closed to what she supposed were
full compartments or populated with students as unpleasant-looking as
Jasla. Returning students laughed with
old friends and got up-to-date since the summer.
Finally,
about three-quarters the way down, a compartment door stood open with only a
girl her age inside. She was kneeling
on her seat, waving frantically out the window at someone. An open book lay next to her.
"Hello?"
The girl
jumped and swiveled around. "Oh,
sorry. Hi." She sat back correctly and placed the book on her lap. "Come in.
Sit down."
"Thanks." Lily trudged inside and stowed her trunk
above her, then sat across from the girl.
"I'm Lily Evans."
"Trisha
Vale."
"What's
that you're reading?"
Trisha
blushed. "Oh nothing, really. It's stupid . . . . The
Hobbit."
"Huh?"
Trisha's
face burned even brighter. "It's a
Muggle book. I told you it was stupid."
Lily
thought she may have heard the title before but she asked, "What's it about?"
"Silly,
really. It's about elves and dwarves,
goblins and wizards, and a hobbit."
"Sounds
wonderful. I've read all sorts of
fantasy books, but I haven't read that one."
Trisha looked stunned and a bit confused. She just sat, staring unblinkingly at Lily. "I—I'm Muggle-born." It sounded odd to say, but it was the only
explanation she had.
This seemed
to make total sense to Trisha. "Most
wizards don't take stock in Muggle-made things. I'm half and half so I've lived with both. Muggles do have some interesting things."
"I've
always thought so." Until a month ago,
"Muggle things" were all Lily ever knew.
"No
offense." Trisha blushed again. She continued, trying to keep up the
conversation. "What have you read?"
Lily
shrugged. "A little of this, a little
of that. Things on faeries mostly,
unicorns, dragons, myths and legends . . ."
Trisha's
eyes twinkled. "They're all real."
"Always
knew they were."
* * * * * * * * * *
The rest of
the trip flew by. Lily and Trisha
laughed like the old friends Lily had seen earlier on the train. They shared stories of their families—Lily
telling her about Petunia and Trisha telling Lily about her younger brother and
Ani, their pet husky.
They got to
talking about music they liked and before long began singing.
You're the one that I love.
Ooo, ooo, ooo.
You're the one that I love.
Ooo, ooo, ooo.
* * * * * * * * * *
"Ooo, look,
Lily! We're there!" Trisha, wearing her new Hogwarts robes,
nearly jumped up and down in excitement.
An
announcement overhead told them to leave their belongings aboard, so Lily and
Trisha rushed out the compartment and off the train.
"Ferst
years! Over 'ere!" A booming voice carried over the chatter of
students. Hagrid loomed above, ushering
the first years toward a lake lined with little boats. "All right, Lily?"
Lily
waved. "Hi Hagrid!"
Trisha
looked at Lily. "You know him?"
She
nodded. "He's the Keeper of Keys and
Grounds here at Hogwarts. He helped me
and my parents at Diagon Alley."
"Four t' a
boat, now."
Trisha
pulled Lily onto an empty one. A
nervous looking blond boy climbed in behind them.
"It's OK,
Remus!" someone called. Lily saw it was James Potter. "Sirius and I will meet you over there!"
Remus gave
a halfhearted wave, not at all comforted.
A second
boy half climbed, half fell into the boat behind Remus. He smiled sheepishly at them. "Hi.
Sorry about that. Frankie
Longbottom." He held his hand out to
Remus.
Cautiously
he shook the new boy's hand. "Remus
Lupin."
Frankie
turned to the girls, but at that moment Hagrid called "Forward!" and the boats began smoothly skimming the
lake.
As they
glided passed the trees, the view opened up and there it was. Hogwarts castle. Lily's eyes traveled from one majestic window to another and
lingered on each of the four towers.
"Oh my,"
was all Trisha could say.
That
statement seemed to cover it.
As soon as
it appeared, the castle was gone, the boats having had slipped under a ledge
and into a harbor inside the castle.
They
climbed out, Frankie having slight trouble, and waited as Hagrid pounded on the
large oaken door.
