Sweet Lily
Chapter Two: A Train, the Sorting and a Delicious Feast
Lily was up at the crack of dawn on September the first. The first rays of the sun were only just spilling over the horizon, giving the view a peaceful air about it. But Lily didn't see the beautiful sunrise. She was too busy darting round her room collecting everything she was going to take to Hogwarts.
"Would you quit stomping around so I can get some sleep!"
Lily looked up suddenly from her sock drawer. Petunia was standing snootily in the doorway dressed in the most horrendous, permanent mental scarring nightdress. It was a pale pink, short and see through.
"Are you naked enough?" Lily couldn't help asking, grimacing.
Petunia glowered threateningly.
"This nightdress, sister," Petunia spat. "Is a product of the most famous and spectacular designer. It cost seventy-two pounds and is worth over a hundred!"
"Well, it cost an awful lot for something that's too small," Lily said daringly.
"It is not too small!" Petunia nearly yelled. "It's perfect! Now keep the noise down or I'll tell mum that you deliberately woke me up."
With a final glare, Petunia stomped out, leaving the door wide open. Lily irritably stood up and shut the door quietly, but was tempted to slam it.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Lily, go fetch your sister. We're already two minutes late!" Mr Evans said breathlessly, rushing out the front door, heaving Lily's silver padlocked trunk.
Lily obliged, racing up the stairs to pound on Petunia's door.
"It's time to go!" she yelled at the entrance to Petunia's domain, waiting with crossed arms for her sister to trudge out.
"You know I don't want to go!" Petunia hissed as they descended down the stairs together.
"I know, Petunia darling," Lily teased, earning a death glare from her sibling.
"Hurry along, girls," Mrs Evans urged, sticking her head out the front car window. "Can't be late!"
The trip lasted about an hour, but to Lily, it was like an eternity. She fiddled with her hands and counted the cars they drove past, but still nervous excitement took over her.
Finally, her father parked the car at Kings Cross. Lily rushed out, slamming the car door with a bang. Petunia reluctantly exited the mobile and stood glued to her mother with crossed arms and an unreadable expression.
"What platform is it, Lily?" Mr Evans asked, hauling his daughter's heavy trunk into the station.
"Platform Nine and Three Quarters," Lily piped instantly, looking around for either the platform or Tamara. Neither was in sight.
"Honey, there is no Platform Nine and Three Quarters," Mrs Evans said gently.
Petunia's face turned into one of triumph.
"I guess we'll just have to go home," she said silkily.
"We'll just wait for Tamara or someone that'll know where it is," Lily suggested happily, seating herself on a steel bench against a brick wall.
Her parents sat down beside Lily, but Petunia stayed standing, glaring furiously at a small boy that looked only about four years old. The boy, noticing Petunia's glower, tugged his mothers skirt and looked tearfully up at her. The mother then dragged the little boy away, giving Petunia a disgruntled look.
"Hey, Lily!"
Lily looked to her right and jumped up.
"Tamara! I thought you'd never come! We don't know where the platform is!"
Tamara laughed and placed a curly lock of dark hair behind her ear.
"Don't worry. Mother is coming with my trunk and Nathaniel."
Renata and Nathaniel Scott then appeared behind Tamara, pushing a wooden trunk with golden padlocks.
"What's with the padlocks?" Lily inquired curiously.
"Decoration," Tamara replied simply, winking for some reason.
"Right. Anyway, where's the platform?" Lily said, eyeing her family. (Mrs Evans was conversing with Renata, Petunia stood stiffly beside her mother and Mr Evans was just minding the trunk.)
"Oh, yeah. Well, all you have to do is walk into the wall between platforms nine and ten. Simple really," Tamara explained, shrugging her shoulders. "I'll just tell Mother we're going so she can follow afterwards. Mother?"
Renata turned to face her daughter.
"Mother, we're going to go onto the platform now. Bye," Tamara informed, smiling.
"Okay then. I'll be there soon," Renata said, turning back to Mrs Evans and Petunia.
"We have to walk into the wall?" Lily questioned timidly, noting that the wall looked extremely solid.
"Yep!" Tamara agreed.
Tamara grasped Lily's arm incase Lily freaked out before they hit the wall and began pacing forward.
"Are you sure about this?" Lily asked anxiously as her pace quickened.
"Yeah!" Tamara twittered eagerly as they dodged an elderly woman with a crooked walking stick. "I've done it heaps of times when we took Nathaniel to school!"
Lily prepared herself for a splitting headache as the wall neared. The crash would come any second now… But it didn't.
Lily stared around in wonderment and shock. Through the wall was a completely different world, and a crazy one at that. Adults and children were bustling around lugging trunks and wickerwork baskets, yelling to each other deafeningly. Cats were darting around people's ankles and meowing up a storm, owls were hotting indignantly to each other and other animals were causing a loud row. Behind them all was a scarlet train billowing out smoke.
"Marvellous, isn't it?" Tamara said, watching Lily gape in awe.
Lily nodded dazedly. But the look didn't last long. Lily and Tamara were both knocked forward by a heavy force, landing on the ground with a painful thud.
"Ouch," Lily said bluntly, looking at Tamara.
Both of them had been squished by something. Tamara rolled her eyes and wriggled slightly.
"James Potter! Get off me at once!" she hollered, trying to squirm away from under the person on top of her.
There was a sniggering from above Lily.
"Whatever you say, Your Majesty."
The weight on top of Lily was lifted and she could breathe deeply once again. She helped herself up, dusted her clothes and looked to see what had landed on top of her and Tamara.
"Lily," Tamara said rolling her eyes. "This is James, that's Sirius."
Tamara gestured to a boy beside her (James) and another closer to Lily (Sirius). The two boys both had black hair, but each with a completely different texture. James' was messy, sticking up in every direction. Lily had to hold back a giggle. He looked absurd. Sirius, on the other hand, had much more tameable hair. It grew to just below the ear and was pretty straight, save for a slight mischievous wave. James had creamy brown eyes and Sirius had a cool blue-grey.
"Er… Hi," Lily mumbled, her jittering nerves taking over. "I'm Lily."
"Sirius Black at your service, My Lady," Sirius smirked, bowing deeply and taking Lily's hand.
Lily didn't know what to do or say.
"Um… Okay…"
Tamara and James snorted.
"Sirius, you're scaring her!" James exclaimed, chortling.
"Sirius, you're scaring her!" Sirius mimicked in a high-pitched voice, dropping Lily's hand. "Come on, James. We better scoot. They'll be coming through soon."
James and Sirius waved their goodbyes and disappeared into the hustling crowd.
"Let's go find a compartment," Tamara said, heading towards the glimmering train.
Lily followed, admiring every little detail of the people surrounding her. Most of them were wearing robes of every sort and colour. It was indeed fascinating. She couldn't wait til they were at Hogwarts.
"Oh, look! This one's only got one person in it!" Tamara said, entering the compartment.
The girl who sat alone in the compartment looked up from her book. She had glorious, silky blonde hair, blanketing her back. Her eyes were a deep, penetrating blue framed with lush black lashes. Her skin was a pallid white with not a freckle to spot.
"Hey, you mind if we intrude?" Tamara asked the girl, standing in the doorway.
The girl shook her head and Lily and Tamara entered.
"I'm Tamara and this is Lily."
"I'm Ella," the girl said timidly, smiling.
"Hi," Lily said, sitting down next to Ella as Tamara stuck her head out the window.
"What's she doing?" Ella asked quietly, watching Tamara inquisitively.
"Have no id-"
"MOTHER! WE'RE OVER HERE!"
Lily smacked her ears. Tamara's voice was thunderous when she wanted it to be.
"I'll be back in a sec," Tamara said breathlessly. "Our parents are deaf."
"Okay…" Ella said, perplexed.
"She's just a bit crazy," Lily whispered, grinning.
Tamara had returned with a bang - literally. She had tripped before entering the compartment, falling on Mr Evans. Mr Evans, who was hauling Lily's trunk, fell forward also, dropping the trunk with a powerful thud. Lily and Ella burst into fits of giggles as they stared at the tangle they were in. Mr Evans was lying on his stomach on the trunk, Tamara was awkwardly sitting on Mr Evans and Renata and Mrs Evans stood behind with shocked looks on their faces.
"Ugh," Tamara moaned, getting up. "Sorry, Mr Evans. I tripped."
"Quite alright," Mr Evans groaned with a strained look, rubbing his stomach.
Mrs Evans strolled past her husband, shaking her head. She smiled at Ella and turned to her youngest daughter.
"The train's leaving in a few minutes. Remember to study hard and have fun. You can always come home if you don't like it."
Lily nodded.
"I'll be going now. Don't forget to write!" Mrs Evans said, planting a kiss on Lily's forehead.
Lily's cheeks flushed.
"Bye, Mum. I promise to do all those things," Lily said as her mother left with Renata and her father.
Tamara and Lily kneeled on the cushioned seats and stuck their heads out the window as the train began chugging along.
"Bye, Mum! Bye, Dad! See you later!" Lily screamed, waving frantically as her parents got smaller and smaller as the train moved on.
Soon they were both just a spec on the horizon. Lily and Tamara pulled their heads in and sat down next to Ella.
"So, where're your parents?" Tamara asked, looking politely curious.
"Dead," Ella replied simply.
"Sorry," Lily and Tamara said in unison.
"Oh, it's okay," Ella said, shrugging. "My father died before I was even born and my mother died when I was five. I live with my Grandmother. She's ancient and couldn't come."
"Must really bite living with your grandmother," Lily said, frowning. "Mine's really strict."
"Nah… She's okay. She let's me go out a lot."
Around lunchtime, there was a knock at the door. Lily got up and slid the door open. A portly young witch stood before her, gripping a trolley piled with mysterious sweets and savouries. The woman smiled and gestured to the food.
"Is anybody wanting anything from the trolley?" she questioned benevolently.
Tamara and Ella instantly appeared behind Lily, moneybags in hand.
"Um… I'll have five Liquorice Wands (delicious), a box of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans…"
Ten minutes later, Lily, Ella and Tamara sat gossiping away while munching on various yummy delights.
"What house do you want to be in, Ella?" Tamara said, chewing a particularly tough Bertie Botts bean. "This steak flavour-" (She munched a little heavier) "-is really realistic."
"Well, I don't really care," Ella answered, swallowing a mouthful of Cauldron Cake to speak. "Just as long I don't get into Slytherin, I'm happy."
"I agree," Lily said, licking a Chocolate Frog. "What I've heard about that house, (which is not much), is not all that good."
"Nathaneil's in Gryffindor," Tamara said absently. "I wouldn't mind that house either."
Suddenly, the door burst open and three breathless people collapsed onto the floor. Slamming the door shut. Tamara, Ella and Lily bolted up to see what was all the fuss. Two girls and a boy were squirming on the ground, fighting. Well, more like play fighting. They were laughing hysterically as they muffed up each other's hair.
"What in the world…" Lily murmured, raising her eyebrows.
"Okay, break it up, break it up!" Tamara yelled, pulling a girl with strawberry blonde hair away from the tangle.
Each person stood up and straightened themselves up.
"Er… Sorry for intruding. The older kids kicked us out. I'm Cassidy."
A girl with thick, light brown hair stuck out her hand.
"I'm Lily," Lily said, shaking Nicole's hand. "This is Tamara and Ella."
"These speechless idiots are Blake-" (Nicole nodded to a boy with spiky blonde hair) "-and Aimee." (She nodded to the girl with strawberry blonde hair.)
"Well, we'll just be moving on…" Aimee said pointedly, tugging on Blake and Cassidy's sleeves.
The three left, leaving Ella, Lily and Tamara to stare at the closed door.
"They were weird," Tamara stated, returning to the food.
"Tell me about it," Lily agreed, picking up her half eaten Chocolate Frog.
"Well, they seemed nice enough to me," Ella commented. "Just a little… Energetic?"
They laughed.
A few hours later…
"We will be arriving at Hogwarts in five minutes. Please change into your robes and leave luggage behind when you exit the train. They will be taken up to the castle separately."
Lily jiggled her hands nervously.
"We're nearly there!"
Tamara, who had been digging through her atrociously untidy trunk, looked up.
"Uh huh. And you'd better get your robes on like the announcement said. Otherwise you'll be the little oddball of all the first years," she said, chuckling.
Lily widened her eyes.
"Oh yeah…"
Lily began searching through her trunk and ended up dressed in her robes before Tamara.
"I can't find my robes!" Tamara exclaimed in despair, throwing her arms up.
The compartment was littered in her things after she'd thrown them out of her trunk, looking for a single robe to wear. Lily and Ella snickered, both dressed.
"Don't know how you could miss them, Tamara," Ella laughed, picking up a black robe that was draped over a chair.
"Oops," Tamara muttered, taking the robe from Ella. "Thanks."
Just as Tamara slipped the black robe over her head, the train slowed and finally came to a halting stop. The doors slid open and a stampede of teenagers began. Ella, Lily and Tamara joined the hustle and bustle, only to loose each other in the process.
The sky was a dull purple when Lily managed to escape the train. There was a biting chill in the air that nipped her skin. She was also lost.
"Tamara? Ella?" Lily began calling, pushing her way through the crowd of taller people.
"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"
Lily followed the booming voice, hoping it would lead her to her friends.
The voice belonged to a giant of a man. He was about twice as tall as a normal man was and five times as thick. He had beetle black eyes that scanned the crowd for lost first years and pulling them to safety. The bottom half of the man's face was buried deep within a knotted mass of black hair, and so was his head.
"'Ello there," the man said in a friendly manner, patting Lily on the head.
"Um… Hello," she answered nervously, chancing a smile.
"Lily! Have you seen Tamara?" Ella said.
For the first time, Lily noticed a pack of restless first years, hardly speaking. Ella was apart of them, but Tamara was not.
"Ah, don' worry," the giant man consoled, his hidden lips curling into a smile. "We'll find 'er in the end."
The man was right. After the crowd of older students died down, Tamara was spotted crouched on the muddy ground, curled up in a ball. She tentatively looked up and saw the clan of first years.
"What on earth are you doing down there?" Lily laughed, helping her friend to her feet.
"Everyone was pushing me," Tamara said sulkily, gazing at her robes in scorn. They were splattered with sticky mud.
"Ye all here now?" the man said in a deep voice.
He began counting heads.
"Ye are. Now, come along. We're already late."
The man led them down a rundown trail that had rocks embedded in the grimy mud. This path led to a splendid, glittering black lake with an awe-inspiring fortress towering above them all. Turrets and towers stood tall, coming off the main building at the oddest angles. The windows glowed yellow and reflected off the still lake.
Lily gawked with saucer-sized eyes at the amazing sight. Ella and Tamara were beside her, doing the exact same.
"Come along," the man ushered. "Into the boats."
Lily, Ella and Tamara stumbled towards shore, slipping and tumbling over the slimy stones. The water was icy cold, but once ankle-deep, they could climb into the boats. Lily peered in the dark, murky water, shivering from the frosty air.
"This is better than I ever imagined," Tamara admitted, rubbing her hands together.
"Everyone in?" the man asked, looking around. He had a boat all to himself. "FORWARD!"
The boats began sailing across the lake and towards the cliff the castle stood upon, barely rippling the silk-like surface of the black water. Everyone ducked their heads as the boats went through a dense tunnel in the cliff face, not wanting to be decapitated. After the quick ride was over, the boats hit the opposite shore of more slippery pebbles, allowing the new students to climb out.
The giant of a man led the first years up a small staircase and mightily knocked on the door that stood before them. The door was instantaneously thrown open. A slender, tall (but not as tall as the man) woman stood in the doorway, examining the students in front of her. She had white skin, thin lips and her black hair was pulled up on top of her head into a perfect bun without a hair out of place.
"Thank you, Hagrid," she said stiffly, her piercing eyes laying on the giant man. "You may go."
The man called Hagrid bowed slightly and walked along the lake's shore, then disappeared from view. The stern-looking woman shepherded the first years through the door and into a small room made of stone with blazing candles positioned in brackets on the walls.
"I am Professor McGonagall, Deputy Head Mistress and Head of Gryffindor House," the lady said, launching into a rehearsed speech about the four Houses, House points and the Sorting. "Now line up and tidy yourselves up!"
Lily lined up behind Ella and Tamara with a pretty girl with blonde hair and a look that suggested that something stunk horribly behind her. Professor McGonagall began leading all the first years through a side door and into the largest room Lily had ever seen. It was enormous. Then through another door and into the room where the whole school was waiting.
Lily recoiled a little when she noticed that the whole Hogwarts population was staring at the first years. Lily watched as a stool was placed before the school and a ragged, old hat was sat upon it. Wondering what on earth it could mean, Lily dazed up at the ceiling.
It was like looking directly at the sky. There were swirling clouds and flashes of lightening flashing across the ceiling. It was most certainly magical.
Lily's eyes were jerked away when a song began to ring through the hall. She looked around for the singer, but everyone's eyes were on the hat. And it was the hat that was singing the song! Lily stared with wonderment as the hat sang from a rip in the brim.
(A/N: I am dearly sorry if you were expecting to see a proper Sorting Hat song here. But I cannot write poetry to save my life. Adios!)
Lily was still in a trance of awe when Professor McGonagall produced a long, yellowing scroll and began reading names off it.
"Allard, Regan!" McGonagall announced to the silent hall.
A small boy with mouse coloured hair stepped forward, sat on the stool and placed the hat on his head. He sat there for nearly a minute before the hat shouted his destined house.
"RAVENCLAW!"
Regan Allard took the hat off and returned it to it's place on the stool and made his way to the loudest table of them all.
"Avery, Luther!" McGonagall said, narrowing her eyes as a sour looking boy placed the hat on his head.
"SLYTHERIN!"
The Sorting continued, and Lily's nerves grew as her name drew nearer.
"Beattie, Samson!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Black, Sirius!"
The boy that had landed on Lily earlier skipped forward, supposedly not as anxious as Lily felt. But she did spot a look of fright on Sirius' face before the Hat slipped over his eyes.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Sirius threw off the hat and whooped loudly, leaving the poor Sorting Hat tilted on the ground as he dance over to the Gryffindor table. The Sorting Hat coughed loudly. McGonagall shook her head in disapproval and returned the Hat to it's rightful place before yelling out the name of the next first year.
"Bristow, Jennifer!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
Lily was getting impatient. The Sorting was going awfully slow!
"Bunker, Brayden!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Burton, Kenny!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Cadwallader, Constance!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Chambers, Ella!"
Lily grinned and gave Ella thumbs up, wishing her good luck. Ella ambled forward, her hands visibly shaking. She sat down on the stool and placed the Hat on her head. It was one of the longest Sorts. After nearly five minutes, the Hat announced it's decision.
"RAVENCLAW!"
Ella unsteadily placed the Hat back on the stool with wide eyes and sat next to someone at the Ravenclaw table with a small smile. The Sorting continued.
"Collett, Vance!"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Craddock, Joshua!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
Lily was just thinking that there seemed to be an abnormal amount of people that had surnames starting with letters in the first half of the alphabet when the next name was called out.
"Cummings, Narcissa!"
The girl behind Lily walked forward and put on the hat.
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Dalton, Norman!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Evans, Lily!"
Lily widened her brilliant green eyes. She had temporarily forgotten that she too had to be Sorted. Timidly, she staggered over to the Hat, vaguely aware that about four hundred people were staring at her. Carefully, she placed the Hat on her head, afraid it would fall apart in her hands. Blackness came after it slipped over her wide eyes.
My, my, there is a lot in here, isn't there? Lily concentrated on listening to the voice in her ear. Lots of knowledge here, I see. You would do outstandingly well in Ravenclaw, you know? And there's bravery, boldness and a fiery temper hidden behind your shy appearance. And you're extremely loyal to the one's that get close to you. A very odd combination of assortments. So where shall I put you? Hmm… I'm thinking-
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Lily sighed in relief. She took the hat off and walked over to the Gryffindor table with legs of jelly.
"Hey, Lily!" Sirius greeted her brightly, flashing a roguish smile and offering her a seat.
"Hey," Lily said, smiling.
"Fenton, Osmond!" McGonagall declared, continuing with the Sorting.
Lily watched a tall boy with black hair put on the Hat.
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Bah! Stinky little snake," Sirius muttered, shaking his head darkly.
"Finch, Artemis!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Floyd, Johanna!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Geddes, Cinnamon!"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Cinnamon Geddes seated herself next to Lily, grinning. She had waist-length caramel coloured hair, dark brown eyes and skin the same colour as her hair that was sprinkled with freckles.
"I never wanna do that again!" she piped, stilling showing off her pearly white teeth.
Lily laughed and nodded her head as the next person was called.
"Hawkins, Basil!"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Kingston, Shelby!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Levy, Malory!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Lupin, Remus!"
Sirius seemed to know the pale boy with wispy brown hair that had put on the hat.
"Go, Remus!" he howled, shaking his fist and hooting.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Remus Lupin stumbled over to the Gryffindor table with a weak smile. He sat opposite to Sirius, who was patting Remus on the head rather powerfully.
"Matheson, Blythe!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Maynard, Savannah!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
"McAllistor, Carmel!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"McCaffrey, Aimee!"
Aimee with her strawberry blonde bob, placed the Hat on her head, trembling.
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
Aimee smiled uncertainly and made her way to the Hufflepuff table.
"McCaffrey, Blake!"
Lily widened her eyes in surprise. They were twins?
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"McCaffrey, Cassidy!"
If possible, Lily's eyes widened to the size of beach balls. Triplets?
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Cassidy sat across from Lily, looking a little surprised. Lily was about to ask how she was doing, but McGonagall had already shouted out the next name.
"Pettigrew, Peter!"
A short and particularly chubby boy staggered forward, tripping over his own feet several times. He wore the Hat for over five minutes before his house was decided.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Lily laughed as Sirius jumped up to clap the shorter boy forcefully on the back.
"Potter, James!"
The boy with the disastrous hair stepped forward and let the Hat fall over his eyes. Lily could see Sirius in the corner of her eye, pleading under his breath for James to be in Gryffindor.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Sirius' hollers were easily the loudest as he forced everyone to move down one to let James sit next to him.
"Pye, Beatriz!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Qualters, Albert!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Richards, Butterfly!"
Lily was just thinking what an odd name Butterfly was when her house was announced.
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Rosewarne, Kachina!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Scott, Tamara!"
Lily waited with bated breath as Tamara placed the Hat on her head, glancing nervously at Lily. But it had barely touched her head when the hall rang with the Hat's decision.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Lily jumped up to applaud and cheer as Tamara ambled to the Gryffindor table. Lily made everyone move down once again so Tamara could sit on her left.
"Sibley, Salvador!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Skittler, Natasha!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Snape, Severus!"
Lily spotted James and Sirius scowling as an extremely pallid boy with greasy black hair put on the Hat. He did look like a nasty fellow.
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Telfar, Ian!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Treadaway, Tyler!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Tresilian, Idalee!"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Vachin, Kyle!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Walton, Pepper!"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
There were now only two people left to be Sorted. Lily was thankful for that. She ravenous! The sweets on the train seemed like days ago!
"Webster, Phillip!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Zing, Dahlia!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
Lily turned toward the staff table. An ancient looking man stood up, surveying the students. He had a very lengthy silver beard that could be tucked into his belt. He was wearing dazzling blue robes with vibrant yellow stars that shot across the blue velvet. A pair of half-moon spectacles were perched on his crooked nose, covering two glittering blue eyes.
"What is there to say?" he said in a clear voice with a smile playing on his lips. "Eat up!"
Magically, food instantly appeared on the golden dishes before Lily. Lily had to blink twice to realise what had happened. But the delicious smells tempted her and she began piling her own plate with the food.
"Hey, James," Sirius said, nudging James in the ribs.
"Ow! What?" James answered, rubbing his ribs with one hand and holding a chicken leg with the other.
"I bet I could get more detentions than you," Sirius challenged with a maniac grin.
Lily snorted into her mashed potatoes, spluttering the white mush all over the platter of grilled steak.
"Hey, watch it!" an older kid said, who had their hand near the steak.
"Er… Sorry," Lily apologised, her cheeks pink as she offered the boy a napkin.
"Lily, Lily," Tamara sighed, giggling. "What am I going to do with you?"
"Hey, you're supposed to be my friend!" Lily chuckled, swiping Tamara with a pumpkin juice soaked napkin.
"I am!" Tamara squealed, chucking the soggy napkin down the table. "Look innocent!" she hissed.
Lily put her head down and tried not to grin as she ate her gravy-drowned beef.
"It's a pity that Ella was Sorted into Ravenclaw," Lily said once the coast was clear.
"Yeah… But she looks pretty happy," Tamara replied, looking over at the Ravenclaw table.
Ella was giggling at something Butterfly Richards had said. Her eyes fell on Lily and Tamara and they each gave the other a wave and a smile.
"She's your friend?"
Lily and Tamara swung round. Pepper Walton was looking at them expectantly, her dead straight black hair beginning to fall out of its ponytail.
"Yeah. Met her on the train," Lily answered.
Pepper nodded as she spooned the last of her corn into her mouth.
"You got magic parents?" Tamara said, pushing her plate away so she could prop her elbows on the table.
"Both my parents are Muggle-Born. What about you two?" Pepper said, also pushing away her plate.
"I've got Muggle parents," Lily said.
"Both my parents are pure," Tamara said, throwing her chest out. "I would hate to live as a Muggle!"
"That reminds me…" Lily said distantly. "I promised Mum I would write. I'll do it after tea. Er… What owl do I use?"
"You could use one of the school one's," Pepper suggested. "But you can use Twinkles. She's my owl."
"Thanks!"
Seconds later, the golden dishes were emptied and replaced with chocolate eclairs, jam doughnuts, treacle pudding and other sweet-tasting delights. It was a full on race to snatch away what you wanted as everyone went for everything at once.
"This is the best," Tamara praised loudly, except that the words she said didn't come quite right as her mouth was stuffed full of chocolate topped custard tart.
"I could easily get used to this," Pepper agreed, licking some toffy off her chin.
Lily nodded eagerly, swallowing a mouthful of treacle pudding.
After everyone was stuffed full of food, the plates were cleared away and the old man Tamara had said was Professor Dumbledore stood up.
"Now that you're tastebuds have been satisfied and your stomachs filled, I have some brief announcements to make before you drift into Dreamland," Dumbledore said in a melodious voice as he gazed down at everyone. "Firstly, we have a new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. Please welcome Professor Fidley-Wigg."
A small wizard stood up behind the staff table. He didn't look overly confident in himself. He didn't have much hair either, and the thin wisps of hair he did have were bright orange. Professor Fidley-Wigg just waved a little and avoided everyone's eyes before sitting back down.
"Now, as all the older students should very well know, the Forbidden Forest is strictly forbidden, as obvious as it seems," Dumbledore continued. "So could you please avoid going there at all costs, or you may, I'm sorry to say, lose your head, literally." Dumbledore looked around his students in a sombre way. "We have recently transferred an old and extremely dangerous tree onto the grounds. I beg you not to get too close to it. It is very protective of itself and will attack even if you mean no harm. I do believe that is all I have to say, so could Prefects please lead the other students to your Common Rooms. Good night and don't let the bed bugs bite!" Dumbledore finished brightly.
"Why'd they put a dangerous tree on the grounds anyway?" Tamara retorted. "It's obvious that some dim-witted person is going to try get near it."
Lily and Pepper nodded in agreement.
"First years! Gryffindor first years!"
Lily, Pepper and Tamara glanced over at a taller Gryffindor with vivid red hair and a golden badge. He was motioning them to follow.
"I am one of the Gryffindor fifth year Prefects," he said, looking quite smug. "I'm Erwin Weasley and this is Flora Viktonstine, the other Gryffindor Prefect."
A girl beside him with red-brown hair waved cheerily.
"Follow us and pay attention," Flora said good-naturedly. "Can't have you getting lost tomorrow, can we?"
Flora and Erwin led the Gryffindor first years through a series of confusing passages, both secret and apparent, trapdoors and up and down staircases of all descriptions. Even though Lily was paying rapt attention, she doubted whether she would find her way down stairs the next day, let alone to classes!
Finally Flora and Erwin stopped at a large portrait of a fat lady.
"This is the entrance to Gryffindor Tower," Erwin instructed. "The password to enter is Hot Chocolate. Don't forget that or you'll be locked out until someone finds you."
The portrait of the Fat Lady swung open and the first years clambered in.
Inside was a room that was as homely as homely gets. It was a circular room carpeted with a rich, soft red carpet. There were several huge, spongy scarlet armchairs scattered around the room, some right in front of a crackling fire. Two slender staircases led up to elsewhere, one labelled 'Boys' and the other 'Girls'.
"Alright!" Flora said enthusiastically, clapping her hands together. "Girls, follow me, boys, follow Erwin."
Flora led the girls up the staircase labelled 'Girls', explaining how this was where their dormitory was. She opened a door identified as 'First Year Girls' Dormitory'.
"I bags the bed closest to the window!" Tamara shouted, racing over to the end bed.
There were six four-poster beds with crimson canopies and curtains. Each looked awfully warm and snug, and thinking about it was making Lily's eyes droop. She chose the bed in across from Tamara's, already finding her trunk placed at the end.
"Hey, Lily," Tamara said. "Shouldn't you change?"
Lily got up and dug through her trunk for her pyjamas. She found them reasonably quickly as she liked to keep things neat, much unlike Tamara who began throwing garments over the dormitory floor.
"Where are they?!" Tamara cried out, chucking a pink sock over her shoulder and hitting Idalee Tresilian in the process.
"Um… Would you be looking for these?" Idalee said, holding up a pair of purple paisley pyjamas.
Tamara pounced on Idalee, looking thankful.
"Thank you, whoever you are!"
"Idalee."
"Thank you, Idalee!"
"G'night, Tamara," Lily said sleepily, pulling up the covers. "'Night, Cassidy. 'Night, Pepper."
After a chorus of goodnight's, each girl was snoozing peacefully and didn't even stir when a loud bang erupted from the boys' dormitories.
A/N: Thank you for the reviews I got, I am very grateful. I've been awfully naughty by not getting this up for AGES! I'm very sorry for that. Adios!