Disclaimer: Not mine- never was mine and never will be--- I just make the
plot and force the characters to do my bidding
The train continued North, through rolling countrysides and farmland. Lily wondered how far the train would go. With each mile she began to feel quite homesick. No one had come to sit with her and so she only had Hecate, who had finally forgiven her and now lie purring on her lap.
As she stroked the cat's silky fur her thoughts turned to her family. Her parents had been so surprised when the letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry arrived by a sleek tawny, which Hecate had tried to skin. Her parents were both 'Muggles', a word she had learned in Diagon Alley. That meant that they weren't magical. Either was her older sister Petunia, which was no surprise because she despised anything odd.
The amazing thing was that Hogwarts seemed to think she, Lily Evans, was a witch. She had never had a reason to think she was different- she got good grades, had nice, normal friends, and was her parents' pride and joy.
Now here she was, with a trunk of spell books, a cauldron, and her most treasured magical possession, her wand- ten and a quarter inches long, made of willow, swishy, and containing a single hair from the head of unicorn. Lily had been utterly delighted since she had always been fond of unicorns. Of course, then she had thought they were purely fantasy. Her wand, silvery white and shiny, lay tucked under her black robes and cloak. Petunia had been utterly disgusted by the sight of it.
Lily wondered what her sister was doing- no doubt complaining to Mum and Dad about her and her abnormity. Lily giggled quietly. Petunia and Lily were as different as water and oil. It was impossible to tell they were sisters. Petunia with her bony face, blond hair, and horrible fashion taste looked nothing like her sister. All the boys at home admired Lily with her long shiny plait of deep red hair and bright green eyes. Her small and slender frame made her the envy of her girlfriends.
Suddenly, her compartment door opened, interrupting her thoughts. A girl with dark brown hair and pale green eyes stood in the doorway. She was about Lily's height but the chunky platforms she was wearing made her taller. She smiled warmly at Lily. She was stunningly pretty, Lily thought to herself as she smiled back. She seemed confident and her eyes sparkled with happiness.
"May I sit here?" she asked with a smooth accent.
"Sure," Lily replied and the girl pulled her trunk in and closed the door behind her. Sitting down across from Lily the girl smiled again, showing off pearly white teeth.
"I like your cat. I have one of my own, Cleo, but she's off exploring." As if on command, a deep charcoal colored cat appeared even though the door was shut. Hecate's yellow eyes narrowed as the other cat's own green eyes stared back. Indifferent to Hecate, the cat jumped onto her owner's lap.
"I'm Hope Michaels," she replied holding out a pink manicured hand.
"Lily Evans, first year," said Lily, liking the girl already.
"Oh me too! Aren't you excited?" Hope answered, her eyes sparkling.
"I guess so… I'm not sure what to expect because my parents are Muggles," said Lily.
"Oh, don't worry," Hope said warmly. "Lots of kids come from Muggle families and get along fine. Well, that's what my mom says. My family comes from a long line of wizards." She didn't say the last part with any sense of pride, just straightforward.
"Really? I hope I can keep up." Lily bit her lip nervously, a horrible habit she'd never been able to drop.
"Oh, you will." Hope said this rather confidently, which made Lily feel better. "I just came from a compartment of Slytherins and just couldn't stand it so I moved," she continued, a look of disgust on her face.
"Slytherins?" asked Lily who was completely lost. Hope quickly explained the four houses and what each was like.
"I bet I'm in Hufflepuff," said Lily gloomily stroking Hecate. The cats seemed to have reached a friendly agreement and were both purring deeply while they slept.
"Anywhere is better than Slytherins- all the bad wizards come out of there. Even that jerk Lord Voldemort or whatever his name is." Hope waved her hand dismissively.
"Who?"
"Some guy who claims to be a powerful dark lord. He's got some followers but with Dumbledore around I'm not worried."
"Oh! I saw his name on the letter!" Lily exclaimed, happy that she knew something.
"Yeah, Albus Dumbledore's a great wizard." Hope paused and searched through her small black bag and pulled out a card. Shrugging, she handed the card to Lily.
Lily stared in amazement at the moving picture on the trading card.
"It moves!" She exclaimed.
"All wizard pictures move if you develop them right."
Lily flipped the card over and read:
1 Albus Dumbledore
1.1 Currently Headmaster of Hogwarts
Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times,
Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the
Dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the
Twelve uses for dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy
With his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore
Enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.
Lily looked up at Hope who was pulling a large book out of her trunk.
"I can see why you're not worried," said Lily.
Hope smiled and opened her book, pulling a sheet of parchment out. Her eyes glinted as she handed it over to Lily.
"My mother made that. It's a star chart." Lily saw stars and moons labeled neatly. "My mum is big into astrology. This can be used to predict the future and according to that we shouldn't have too much trouble for the coming years, although it doesn't show the far future." Lily smiled and handed the parchment and card back to Hope.
"Well that's good isn't it? What are you reading?" Lily motioned towards the book on Hope's lap that had taken the place of Cleo who had disappeared as quietly as she had come. Hope showed her the cover- Divination ~ As a Whole.
"I love Divination. My Grandmum taught me aura and crystal ball reading when I was younger. My favorite though is Tarot." Her face lit up as she pulled a small black velvet pouch from her jacket. "I always keep them close- they were my Grandmum's."
Lily leaned forward, interested.
"I've heard of those. Some Muggles use them."
"But those aren't real. These are different- magical."
Just then the lunch cart arrived, pushed by a friendly looking lady and Hope slipped the deck in her pocket. After purchasing a large amount of food Lily had never seen, their conversation turned to other things and they talked in earnest for the remainder of the ride.
Dark had long fallen and the torch lights had been lit when the Express began to slow. Lily's nerves returned and even Hope looked pale. The time had come- they had reached Hogwarts.
The train continued North, through rolling countrysides and farmland. Lily wondered how far the train would go. With each mile she began to feel quite homesick. No one had come to sit with her and so she only had Hecate, who had finally forgiven her and now lie purring on her lap.
As she stroked the cat's silky fur her thoughts turned to her family. Her parents had been so surprised when the letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry arrived by a sleek tawny, which Hecate had tried to skin. Her parents were both 'Muggles', a word she had learned in Diagon Alley. That meant that they weren't magical. Either was her older sister Petunia, which was no surprise because she despised anything odd.
The amazing thing was that Hogwarts seemed to think she, Lily Evans, was a witch. She had never had a reason to think she was different- she got good grades, had nice, normal friends, and was her parents' pride and joy.
Now here she was, with a trunk of spell books, a cauldron, and her most treasured magical possession, her wand- ten and a quarter inches long, made of willow, swishy, and containing a single hair from the head of unicorn. Lily had been utterly delighted since she had always been fond of unicorns. Of course, then she had thought they were purely fantasy. Her wand, silvery white and shiny, lay tucked under her black robes and cloak. Petunia had been utterly disgusted by the sight of it.
Lily wondered what her sister was doing- no doubt complaining to Mum and Dad about her and her abnormity. Lily giggled quietly. Petunia and Lily were as different as water and oil. It was impossible to tell they were sisters. Petunia with her bony face, blond hair, and horrible fashion taste looked nothing like her sister. All the boys at home admired Lily with her long shiny plait of deep red hair and bright green eyes. Her small and slender frame made her the envy of her girlfriends.
Suddenly, her compartment door opened, interrupting her thoughts. A girl with dark brown hair and pale green eyes stood in the doorway. She was about Lily's height but the chunky platforms she was wearing made her taller. She smiled warmly at Lily. She was stunningly pretty, Lily thought to herself as she smiled back. She seemed confident and her eyes sparkled with happiness.
"May I sit here?" she asked with a smooth accent.
"Sure," Lily replied and the girl pulled her trunk in and closed the door behind her. Sitting down across from Lily the girl smiled again, showing off pearly white teeth.
"I like your cat. I have one of my own, Cleo, but she's off exploring." As if on command, a deep charcoal colored cat appeared even though the door was shut. Hecate's yellow eyes narrowed as the other cat's own green eyes stared back. Indifferent to Hecate, the cat jumped onto her owner's lap.
"I'm Hope Michaels," she replied holding out a pink manicured hand.
"Lily Evans, first year," said Lily, liking the girl already.
"Oh me too! Aren't you excited?" Hope answered, her eyes sparkling.
"I guess so… I'm not sure what to expect because my parents are Muggles," said Lily.
"Oh, don't worry," Hope said warmly. "Lots of kids come from Muggle families and get along fine. Well, that's what my mom says. My family comes from a long line of wizards." She didn't say the last part with any sense of pride, just straightforward.
"Really? I hope I can keep up." Lily bit her lip nervously, a horrible habit she'd never been able to drop.
"Oh, you will." Hope said this rather confidently, which made Lily feel better. "I just came from a compartment of Slytherins and just couldn't stand it so I moved," she continued, a look of disgust on her face.
"Slytherins?" asked Lily who was completely lost. Hope quickly explained the four houses and what each was like.
"I bet I'm in Hufflepuff," said Lily gloomily stroking Hecate. The cats seemed to have reached a friendly agreement and were both purring deeply while they slept.
"Anywhere is better than Slytherins- all the bad wizards come out of there. Even that jerk Lord Voldemort or whatever his name is." Hope waved her hand dismissively.
"Who?"
"Some guy who claims to be a powerful dark lord. He's got some followers but with Dumbledore around I'm not worried."
"Oh! I saw his name on the letter!" Lily exclaimed, happy that she knew something.
"Yeah, Albus Dumbledore's a great wizard." Hope paused and searched through her small black bag and pulled out a card. Shrugging, she handed the card to Lily.
Lily stared in amazement at the moving picture on the trading card.
"It moves!" She exclaimed.
"All wizard pictures move if you develop them right."
Lily flipped the card over and read:
1 Albus Dumbledore
1.1 Currently Headmaster of Hogwarts
Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times,
Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the
Dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the
Twelve uses for dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy
With his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore
Enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.
Lily looked up at Hope who was pulling a large book out of her trunk.
"I can see why you're not worried," said Lily.
Hope smiled and opened her book, pulling a sheet of parchment out. Her eyes glinted as she handed it over to Lily.
"My mother made that. It's a star chart." Lily saw stars and moons labeled neatly. "My mum is big into astrology. This can be used to predict the future and according to that we shouldn't have too much trouble for the coming years, although it doesn't show the far future." Lily smiled and handed the parchment and card back to Hope.
"Well that's good isn't it? What are you reading?" Lily motioned towards the book on Hope's lap that had taken the place of Cleo who had disappeared as quietly as she had come. Hope showed her the cover- Divination ~ As a Whole.
"I love Divination. My Grandmum taught me aura and crystal ball reading when I was younger. My favorite though is Tarot." Her face lit up as she pulled a small black velvet pouch from her jacket. "I always keep them close- they were my Grandmum's."
Lily leaned forward, interested.
"I've heard of those. Some Muggles use them."
"But those aren't real. These are different- magical."
Just then the lunch cart arrived, pushed by a friendly looking lady and Hope slipped the deck in her pocket. After purchasing a large amount of food Lily had never seen, their conversation turned to other things and they talked in earnest for the remainder of the ride.
Dark had long fallen and the torch lights had been lit when the Express began to slow. Lily's nerves returned and even Hope looked pale. The time had come- they had reached Hogwarts.