Disclaimer: None of the characters (except for in later chapters) in this fanficition belong to moi. They all belong to the wonderful J. K. Rowling. So please don't sue me. Oh yes, but several characters coming up in future chapters are mine... I'll let you know, though! Thank you for your time and patience. And now on to the story! *Giggles insanely*

Chapter Seven: Strange Children, and the Sorting

Lily's head bounced as she heard the compartment door open, and she took a quick look out the window. The scenery outside was dark now, and no one had really bothered her on the train ride to school. She looked toward the doorway.

A girl about her age stood looking at her from underneath a fringe of light brown hair. She arched her eyebrows.

"Hi," she said softly.

"Hi," Lily said.

"Can I sit?"

"Sure,"

The girl dragged her trunk in behind her and stuffed it underneath one of the seats and sat down next to Lily.

"I'm Lily Evans," Lily said sticking out her hand, "what's yours?"

The girl shrugged but didn't take Lily's hand. "Julie... Julie Burgesen."

"Oh," Lily took her hand away.

Julie stared blankly at the other wall for a few minutes. Something there must've been very interesting to her. She didn't take her sleepy looking blue eyes away for a second.

"So..." Lily said.

"So what?" Julie managed to spare a short glance at Lily, but turned her head away quickly.

"We're almost there, you know."

"Almost where?"

Lily looked at the girl in shock. "You know... The school?"

"Oh... That..." The girl let out a short laugh. "Exciting though, isn't it? My older brother went to Hogwarts."

Lily smiled. So the girl could talk. "What is he doing now?"

Julie shrugged. "Nothing, I suppose. He got his sorry ass expelled in his third year. Mum and dad're trying to find a school that'll actually take him. He's only fifteen...."

"How'd he get expelled?"

Julie grinned and laughed again. "You don't wanna know."

Lily nodded. "Yes I do."

"No... Believe me... You don't."

Lily grinned back.

About another hour passed, and Lily and Julie talked for the whole trip. Lily soon found out that her new friend was extremely vulgar and had a sick, twisted sense of humor. She noted that James had never been as perverted as this, and couldn't see why she had shunted him. But then again, she was never the butt of Julie's jokes or language. If Julie ever met James, she'd surely give him a run for his money.

Julie was standing on one of the seats waving her arms around and clucking like a chicken when the train finally lurched to a stop. She lost her balance and fell flat on her face, and Lily burst out laughing.

"Fluck you (A/N: FLUCK is NOT spelled wrong. Don't ask)," Julie said as she hauled herself up off the floor. Lily went over to help her new friend get up, but Julie didn't bother.

"You ripped your robes," Lily said as soon as she was able to calm down.

Julie glanced down at her black school robes. There was a large tear running from the hem to her knee. She shrugged. "Sexy,"

Lily burst out laughing again and Julie smiled and rolled her eyes. The two girls wandered out into the corridor where all the other children were beginning to file out of the train. Lily noticed that some of the other first years were getting kicked and jostled by the older children. She gulped. What if life at Hogwarts was just going to be one big kick-around-the-runts fest? How long would it last?

"FIRS' YEARS! FIRS' YEARS OVER 'ERE!" someone boomed. Lily looked to see where the voice was coming from. She gasped at what she saw.

Standing in front of her was a very large man. He looked to be over eight feet tall and was about three times as wide as any other man she'd seen in her life. He was dressed in a very long overcoat and had a thick, bushy black mane. Beside her, Julie tried to stifle a giggle.

"What's so funny?" Lily demanded. The giant, who had introduced himself as Hagrid, was leading them down a small dirt path to a lake.

Julie shook her head and nodded for Lily to continue. But she wore a smile. An insolent one at that. She was probably thinking things she shouldn't be.

The giant man turned around abruptly and stopped. He grinned, and his two black eyes scrunched up warmly. Lily thought he reminded her of a teddy bear she once had. Of course Hagrid was much larger though. Lily went to tell Julie this, but decided against it. Julie would infer something and probably twist that comment into one huge, disgusting mess that Lily just didn't want to deal with. Julie seemed to infer a lot of things.

Slowly Hagrid stepped aside and raised his huge dinner-plate sized hands. A chorus of gasps and whoops erupted from the children. "Welcome, all of yeh, to the greates' school of Witchcraft 'n Wizardry in th' world..... Hogwarts!"

Behind him was an enormous castle, sitting on top of a high mountain on the other side of a lake. All of its towers and turrets seemed to glow with twinkling lights. Even Julie was enthralled with it. In fact, she wasn't watching where she was going, and stumbled over an uncovered tree root. Several other children snorted.

Hagrid didn't seem to notice. He led them down to the water's edge, where several small row boats were waiting. "Watch yer step now. The ground's all muddy. And all of yeh! Sort yerselves out, no more 'en four to a boat!" Behind him a boy whimpered as his shoe sank into three inches of muck. "I SAID WATCH YER STEP!"

Lily and Julie clambered into a rowboat. Almost immediately it began to glide across the inky black water, creating smooth little ripples which distorted the reflection of the castle. Lily skimmed her fingers along down by the sides of the boat. The water was icy cold, but she loved it.

All around them, the tiny boats containing two, or three, or four people floated quickly towards the castle. They seemed to be charmed with some sort of spell; they knew exactly where they were going. Lily also noticed that Hagrid took up one entire boat by himself.

Beside Lily, Julie was sitting with a blank look on her face. She leaned over and whispered into Lily's ear, "Mis pecho es grandes,"

Lily tore her eyes away from the glowing castle. "What?"

Suddenly Julie stood up in the rowboat. It rocked dangerously. "MIS PECHO ES GRANDES!"

Hagrid roared for the stupid girl in the front boat to sit down, and Lily would have laughed if the boat had not capsized. In a second the two girls were dumped into the icy cold lake, screaming.

Lily had never been so cold in all her life. The water pressed on her from all sides, she couldn't breath. It was dark, she couldn't see, and she was terrified.

Suddenly a hand burst down from above and caught her collar. It hauled her up, up, up.... Lily thrashed madly to get away from the hand. It was wrapped around her collar and was slowly twisting the fabric tighter and tighter.

Lily broke the water gasping for air. Julie still held on to her collar. If hypothermia didn't kill Lily, Julie's death grip surely would.

"Leggo of me," Lily sputtered.

Julie let go of Lily's robes and pushed her over toward the upside down boat. Lily grabbed it thankfully.

"Sorry a-about that," Julie said simply. Lily noticed, with pleasure, that her teeth were chattering wildly.

"Were y-you trying to get us k-killed?"

"N-n-no, it just seemed like a f-f-fun idea at the time."

Julie's nonchalance infuriated Lily. "You're stup-p-pid, you know t-t-that? You want to get

y-yourself expelled j-just like your brother?"

Julie turned defensive. "No, you f-freak,"

Lily was just about to snap back when she felt something slimy graze her foot. "What was that?"

"What was what?"

As if to answer her question, something long and slimy rose out of the inky water, covered in suction cups as big as hubcaps. Lily paled. The thing was huge, and it was coming straight towards her. She could see it happening almost as if it were in slow motion. The long tentacle was reaching out towards her head, about to crush her. She heard Julie behind her saying, "Oh, you mean that,"

Lily clamped her eyes shut as the thing came down on her head. She didn't want to see the bringer of her death in the murky water. Instead she waited for the blow, for her to be dragged under....

But it never came. She dared to open her eyes a sliver. Julie was treading water, a large grin on her face, but she wasn't looking at Lily. She was looking past her. Lily turned around.

The large tentacle had wrapped itself around the capsized rowboat and was turning it over slowly, great splashes of water going everywhere. Lily could feel the icy water as it rushed over her head once again. She sputtered.

Hagrid had just arrived in his small rowboat. It had taken him a good while to get where they capsized. He was a very big man, and it was a very small boat. "WHAT DO YEH THINK YOU WERE DOIN'?"

Julie turned around slowly in the water and looked up at him with her sleepy eyes. "I dunno,"

Hagrid was visibly trying to calm himself as he grabbed Julie by the shoulders of her robes and set her down in her boat. "You coulda killed yerself with that 'lil stunt, yeh know. And yeh coulda killed her too, 'cause you weren't being right in yer head!" Lily noticed, as he picked her up and lectured her, that he was very red in the face. She had the sinking feeling that Julie was going to be in a lot of trouble.

"We'll see what th' Headmaster has t' say 'bout this," Hagrid grumbled deeply. He towered over Julie, but she looked back up unafraid. Suddenly he reached into his overcoat and pulled out a little glass bottle. The liquid inside it was an angry red color. "Take a sip o' this," he said gruffly "Professor Dumbledore always said teh be prepared. I knew this'd happen some day... lt'll warm yeh up. Hold yeh through til' the sortin' ceremony's over. Then yer going to the infirmary."

Julie took the small vial and uncorked it. She handed it to Lily. "You first,"

"Why?"

"To make sure it isn't poison,"

Lily rolled her eyes as took the vial from Julie's hands. She lifted it to her face and sniffed it. A spicy, burning scent wafted up into her nose and made her eyes water. She gagged.

"Drink it," Hagrid said simply. It was an order.

Lily pinched her nose and tipped the bottle into her mouth. Half of the liquid spilled onto her tongue. It burned like fire. She tried to swallow it, but it seared her throat on the way down. She started to cough violently, and when she did, little puffs of smoke issued. Julie began to laugh, but Lily bad temperedly poured the bottle's contents into her open mouth. Julie began to sputter viciously.

Hagrid impatiently tapped the back of the girls' rowboat with a large pink umbrella and it sped off across the lake again.

***

Lily felt the boat jerk suddenly as it hit the embankment near the castle. They seemed to be in some sort of underground chamber, most likely underneath the castle. Slowly she began to get up and stretch her legs. She marveled at the fact that she did not feel cold at all, even after her plunge into the lake. Instead of pain of numbness, she felt only a warm tingling throughout her body. She figured it must've been the potion's doing.

Lily stepped out onto the rocks along the water's edge and jumped onto the dry land, Julie doing the same behind her. All of the other children were already walking over a large lawn to a huge set of double doors. Lily glared at Julie. They were the last ones because of her. Julie only shrugged and looked on blankly as she continued walking to the doors. She didn't seem to care that Lily was angry with her at the moment.

Immediately the two giant doors swung open, and the children were greeted by a strict-looking professor wearing dark blue robes. "Welcome children," she spoke, her voice strong and unwavering, her words brisk, "to Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Hagrid went up to the woman and spoke quietly to her. She nodded and looked towards Lily and Julie. Lily gulped. Julie, as always, had the blank look on her face. "I see, Hagrid," she said softly. Abruptly she turned her attention to the rest of the children. "My name is Professor McGonagall. I will lead you to where you are to be sorted. Please follow me."

The professor turned on her heel quickly and set a brisk pace up the stone steps and into the heart of the castle. The children hurried to keep up. Professor McGonagall lead them to another set of double doors, smaller than the first, but just as grand. Behind them Lily could hear voices joking and cheering loudly. She bit her lip. There were more people here than she would have imagined.

As if the professor could sense Lily's anxiety, she said, "Now don't be nervous. Even though this is an important part of the next seven years of your life, there is no need to worry. The rest of the pupils will be more than happy to assist you in anything you need. Just remember, however, that your house is your family. Treat them with the respect you would for your own family members. Now please wait here quietly while we prepare the rest of the students for the Sorting Ceremony, and don't try pulling any foolish stunts." Several children looked at Julie. She kept on looking ahead blankly.

Professor McGonagall turned quickly on her heel and disappeared through the set of doors. Lily thought about the professor's words. "The rest of the pupils will be more than happy to assist you in anything you need." Lily had almost laughed out loud at that comment. from what she saw on the train, the first years were given a generally hard time by the rest of their older peers.

McGonagall reappeared. "Follow me through the doors, please. The Ceremony's about ready to begin."

Lily gasped as the two wooden doors swung wide open. She hadn't expected to see so many people here. She felt her legs begin to shake with fear. There were too many people. Way too many. Was she to stand up in front of all of them?

Around her, many of the other children began to pale. Julie, however, looked straight ahead. None of this seemed to bother her.

All the children walked, two by two, to the front of the giant room. Lily noticed despite her fear, that there seemed to be no ceiling at all above the room. It was just open to the vast, starry sky.

In front of them, Professor McGonagall placed a rather old, dirty hat on a small stool. Lily wondered if they had to make it fly or something.

Suddenly the hat began to sing loudly for all in the hall to hear. Lily tried to be polite, to listen, but the words were all just a blur. She was too nervous to focus on what the hat was saying.

When the hat had finally finished its song, Professor McGonagall stepped forward with a large scroll of parchment in her long fingers. "Sit down on the stool and place the Sorting Hat on your head when I call your name, please.

"Black, Sirius!"

A tall boy with raven colored hair stepped up to the hat confidently. In one quick motion, he scooped it onto his head and flopped heavily onto the stool. After only a few seconds, the hat's rim split wide open and shouted "GRYFFINDOR!" Everyone burst into cheers.

Sirius leapt off the stool and took a ridiculous-looking bow for the whole hall to see. Then he strutted toward one long table with a bright red banner above it. On the banner was a golden lion.

"Brocklehurst, Jonathan!"

After a few minutes the hat boomed, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Burgesen, Julianne!"

Julie looked and grinned at Lily before walking up to the hat calmly. It seemed to sit on her head for an awfully long time before it shouted out "SLYTHERIN!" The table with the green snake banner erupted into cheers for their first new member.

"Dennehey, Michaela!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Earnstaple, Darien!"

Lily began to shake even more as Darien ran off to the Ravenclaw table. She had to be very soon. She might even be next! She now cursed her awful last name.

"Evans, Lily!"

Lily thought she heard a small squeak come from the part of the line behind her. She ignored it though. She needed all of her concentration now, to just put one foot in front of the other. Lily hated huge crowds, and the fact that her robes were still wet didn't help her at all. The other children just seemed to stare at her even more.

She bent down slowly and painfully to pick up the hat, restricted by her wet, heavy robes. The potion seemed to be wearing off now; she could feel the cold numbness in her toes.

The hat flopped down over her eyes, and Lily relaxed, for it hid the crowd from her view. She tensed up again as the hat began to speak to her however.

"Lily Evans," the hat whispered into her ear.

"Hat," Lily stammered back, very softly. A few children in the front row snickered.

"So," the hat went on, "A very bright young girl. You'd make a fair Ravenclaw, you know. Courage is also present... And a whole lot of it. That's the sign of a true Gryffindor."

Lily bit her lip nervously. 'Where are you going to put me?'

"This is a very difficult decision, you know," the hat said. "You could do very well in both houses, there's absolutely no doubt about that. But where should you go?"

Lily clamped her eyes shut.

"Ah! The first potion you ever saw was red, correct? And that is also the color of your hair... I know this sounds a bit silly.... but.... GRYFFINDOR!"

Lily exhaled, relieved, as she walked over to the table lad in scarlet. So this was to be her house for the next seven years. She glanced at all the faces. Not one of them seemed to be monstrous or angry or mean. They all looked at her with genuinely smiling faces, glad to have her here. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all.

But then she remembered. Her first friend here, Julie, was placed into another house. She looked over sadly at the Slytherin table. Julianne stared back at her, her blue eyes melancholy. She didn't smile or wave, just looked back at Lily calmly, sorrowfully, then looked away. Lily bit her lip again.

Lily sat, bored, as the rest of the sorting droned on. There was nothing much to do here, except to clap when some other kid managed to find their way to your table. Instead. she looked around at the other characters that were already there.

There was one girl who looked to be about three years older than she was who was sitting at the other end of the table. She was rather plump with mousy brown hair and had a lot of freckles. She turned and saw Lily looking at her and smiled. Her two front teeth stuck out at odd angles.

Lily smiled back weakly and returned her attention back to the sorting. Another boy was just sent to her table, and she noticed in amusement that he was about a head shorter than every other person in line. She noticed again that he seemed very tired. And again she noticed that he seemed to look very benign and gentle, with kind-looking gray eyes. Lily smiled at him, and he smiled back and very timidly took a seat next to her.

After sitting in silence and watching three other children go into Ravenclaw and Slytherin, Lily opened her mouth to say something to the boy.

"Hi," she whispered.

The boy looked startled for a moment, but then he smiled. "Hello,"

Lily was about to say something on the dullness of the sorting, but then something caught her attention. A certain name....

She thought it was Potter.

Lily shrugged her shoulders. It couldn't be him. That boy was still back near Middlesbrough, and Lily wasn't stupid. The odds of him being magical just like her were too large. There was absolutely no way that he could be here. She turned back to the boy.

She was about ready to open her mouth again when something else caught her attention. The boy next to her looked at her with a bit of curiosity. Why did she keep stopping like that?

But yet another name had reached her ears. A name that she knew so well....

It couldn't be.... Lily looked over to the Hat just to be sure. She gasped at who she saw....

It was Alison.

She was sitting on the stool, her hands gripping the sides so hard that her knuckles turned white. The eyes behind her oval shaped glasses were squeezed shut, and her teeth were bared in a grimace. She seemed to be concentrating very hard. Perhaps the hat was giving her a hard time.

Finally after what had seemed like an eternity, the hat shouted out, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Ali, who was now red in the face from holding her breath so long, happily bounced over to the Gryffindor table, and happily sat herself down in the seat next to Lily. She beamed. "Surprise surprise,"

Lily pinched herself underneath the table. It stung. All this was real. Her best friend was actually sitting at the table next to her, a witch, and she was happy. Lily guessed that it wasn't just because she was a witch. She looked like she would almost burst into tears of joy sitting next to Lily.

The two girls managed to sit in silence as the last child, Zarvis, Taylor, was placed into Hufflepuff house.

Lily suddenly grabbed Ali's shoulders and shook. Hard. "You're a witch!"

"So are you!" Ali said, trying to pry Lily's hands from her shoulders. "Now let go of me!"

Lily dropped her hands, but Ali suddenly drew her best friend into a quick hug. She pulled back abruptly. "Why are you all wet? Were you one of the kids who got dunked in the drink?"

"Yes, Miss Evans was one of the children to get 'dunked in the drink'."

Both girls stopped laughing quickly and looked up. Professor McGonagall was towering over them, her lips drawn into a tight line, with Julie standing right behind her. The rest of the hall was silent, every pair of eyes on them.

"And she is also one of the children preventing the Headmaster from giving his start-of-term speech!"

Lily gulped.

"Miss Evans, if you were to stop your discourteous gabbing, would you follow me up to the infirmary?"

Lily shook her head yes, then got to her feet slowly. She nodded to her friend, then silently walked out of the Great Hall with the Professor and Julie.

Up in the front of the room, Headmaster Dumbledore watched the redhead follow McGonagall, his blue eyes twinkling intently. He did not remove his gaze from her until she disappeared behind the two wooden doors. Then he stood up, cleared his throat loudly, and began.

"Welcome to Hogwarts...."

A/N: I'm SO sorry for not updating. It's been what... Almost two weeks? I'm deeply sorry, but I've been busy with school, my life (haha, that's a good one! I have so much of a life that I'm writing fanfiction!), and other activities. Please don't let these gaps between updates discourage you though! Keep on reviewing!!!