The Gift of a Rose
By Pegasia Silverfeather

It was always a pathetic site during the holidays at the London Orphanage for Girls. The children could be seen playing worn-out games with missing pieces and with chipped marbles. This year was particularly awful. Only three girls were there this year because most people didn't want to adopt a 10-year-old girl. Their names were Lesley, Verona and Lillian. Each girl was slightly different yet each held the same haunted look in her eyes.

For Lesley, things were great. She was out of the cold air, in clean clothes and had food in her stomach: which was more then she could say when she was living in the streets. Veronica was Lesley's twin sister and their matching raven hair was always in tangles but both had happy, haunted, storm-gray eyes.

Lillian Evens was the only child who knew her last name. She was there because she had seen the murder of her parents. Nightmares filled her mind as she slumbered. Visions of dark pools of blood and a flash as a gun was fired would flash through her mind during the day.

Unlike the other girls she wasn't fond of group attention and spent most of her waking hours at the window looking out into the distance. Today was grievingly dismal and she felt the cool air rush against her face through the cracks in the insulation. With a muffled sigh she closed her eyes and when she opened them she saw a sight that made her fall off the window seat. There, in front of her, was an elderly man with a long beard. He pointed down and in the blink of an eye he disappeared.

A strong feeling of hope filled her and she raced to her bed and grabbed a worn stuffed bear and raced out into the dark hallway. Immediately a chilled gust of wind filled the room and she watched as a boy her age walked in, his wild hair swaying in the wind. The orphan-keep walked to confront him and he pulled out a scroll and she knodded. After she pointed towards the stairway the boy began to climb them two at a time.

The stopped before her and looked into her eyes. "Lilly." He said. She ran the few feet and wrapped her arms around him with a smile. She shivered and he removed his jacket and wrapped it around her. "Come, we leave now."

She knodded and gave him one last hug and the walked down the stairs and she whispered a good bye to the other girls as she stepped out into the pouring rain. He wrapped an arm around her as they ventured through the dark, damp London streets and met at Kings Cross. Putting a blindfold on her face he led her through the station and onto a train where he took the cloth off.

She shivered once more and looked him in the eyes. "What's your name?" She asked softly.

He smiled warmly "James. I'm an orphan too. You'll like Hogwarts." He said.

She smiled as the train moved on. Resting her head against the chilled pane, she watched as her future started to form. The two children sat silently in the cab for hours. When the train stopped James grabbed her hand gently and helped her into a small boat.

With one look at the beautiful stone walls of Hogwarts, Lilly knew her life was going to change forever…