~*~ Change ~*~

~It's all changing ~The world that is around me ~It's leaving me behind ~Moved out of what I know ~It's all changing ~Altered into something new ~Turning into different times ~No time for me to grow

~It's all changing ~Everyone all around me ~I feel like I'm not a part ~Like I'm not meant to be ~It's all changing ~Morphed to new dimensions ~Everybody is so changed now ~But I'm still me

My birthday was fun, I guess. Petunia was off shopping with her friends, thank god. It wasn't a big party, just me, mum, Joey, Joey's mum, and three of my friends from school. Elizabeth was quiet and shy. Conservative, always playing by the rules, hair always pulled neatly back in those same pig tails, forever soft spoken and gentle. She was the one that understood anything. If you wanted sympathy, she was the one to go to. Liz had blonde hair the colour of cornsilk that looked almost white. Beautiful blue eyes that looked lavender when she wore certain colours. I'd only known her for a little while, but she came with the gang.

René was awesome. I'd known her the second longest out of my friends. We met in detention at school. Yes, I got a detention. For somehow managing to cover a boy who was teasing me in bright orange paint. I know why that happened now, but we'll get to that later on. Anyway, René was a really fun person to be around. She was a dare devil, risk-taking type. She was forever dying her hair. It was naturally a really light, soft brown colour - but it was nearly a different colour everytime I saw her. Reds, burgundies, purples, blues - she even tried lime green once. And she was always trying new styles. Up, down, afro, braids, plaited, straight, frizzy, curly, wavy, down past her waist, halfway up her back, just past her shoulders, up in a bun. She managed to look great no matter what. Everyone loved René. You couldn't help it.

Then there was Melody. There was only one word I could ever use to describe Melody. Beautiful. And she was. She had long, straight raven hair that hung around her waist. Pretty, petite features. Stunning green/blue eyes framed by dark lashes. Curvy pink lips. Everything about her was long and slender. Her voice was beautiful, too. Made you feel like dancing. It was a coincidence about her name. But boy could she sing! Melody loved animals. She had a dog called Ralph and a pig named Wilbur. Millions of fish, birds and so on. I loved going over her house almost as much as I liked going into Joey's room.

Anyway, to tell the truth, the party wasn't that exciting. We mostly sat in my room and talked while we played Go Fish and Poker, which René's dad had taught her. After awhile we got sick of that though and besides she kept forgetting the rules, so we played War and Crazy Eights for a bit instead. Then we had cake and Liz, René and Melody went home. We all said a really big goodbye to Elizabeth because she was going to another school and we probably mightn't see her again. Not that I was complaining. I never really liked her that much. Then it was just Joey and me. That's how we liked it best, when it was just the two of us. We giggled and talked about things that only best friends can talk about. We messed around with each other's hair, pretending we were famous hairstylists from Paris. It might seem rather childish, but we enjoyed it. It didn't matter what anyone else thought.

Joey was sleeping over that night. Her mum went home after dinner and we went back up to my room again and made up our own versions of Poker. Talked some more. Resorted to Go Fish. Talked some more. Drew funny pictures of our old teachers. Talked some more. After awhile we got really bored so I suggested we go watch a movie. Mum made us some popcorn and we watched Superman. 'Oh no! I hope he doesn't die!' I pretended to gasp when Clark Kent fell off a cliff. Joey laughed. 'You're right! Where would the world be if Superman died?' she asked in mock horror. 'I don't know,' I giggled. Joey placed a hand to her head and closed her eyes with a dramatic sigh. Lois Lane screamed because she just realised what had happened to Clark. 'He'll live. He always does,' I sighed after awhile. 'This is TV, Lily. The hero never dies, remember?' I laughed. When we were little, Joey and I used to love a little cartoon about super hero vegetables. We liked it so much that one day Joey's mum bought her a video of one of the episodes, and we practically learnt it off by heart, the whole thing. During the movie one of the vegetables appeared to have died but he came back at the end and the last line of the movie was, 'The hero never dies'.

After Superman we watched the news for the sake of staying up longer. We weren't really paying attention to it but if my mum thought we were actually absorbed in it she might let us stay up until it finished. Our plan worked pretty well.

'Boys,' Joey said in disgust as a story came on about a guy who had ditched his girlfriend just because someone better came along. We looked at each other and grinned, starting up one of our favourite clapping games, starting slow and gradually getting faster.

'A boy is a useless thing that is always a total bore They knock you up then dump you down and say that you're a.... Horses, horses, white pony's fun to race and ride Better mates than boyfriends who want you to open... Wide hips just come naturally I swear to God it isn't flub If any loser tells you otherwise then he's just a plain old ... 'Scrubbing at the kitchen floor the maid she finds a rat No way in hell my boy can treat me blind like a... Batting on the baseball field our team's colour's red Stupid crummy players that want to get you in their... Bed time, bed time, beauty sleep can really work Don't matter what your boy may think coz guys are total jerks.'

My mother came in at about ten and told us we should probably be getting some sleep. She turned off the light but that didn't stop us. We talked right into the night, falling asleep mid-conversation. Who cared? We didn't have to go anywhere the next day. We could sleep in as long as we wanted.

Except for the next morning. We were rudely awoken at roughly six thirty by a bird screeching outside my window. An owl to be exact. I told it to get lost in a not-so-polite way. It didn't seem to care and continued scratching and pecking at my window. I got up, crossed my room, and opened the window to yell at it. However, the minute I lifted the glass, the stupid thing flew right in. 'Aaaahh!' I yelled. Joey rubbed her eyes and sat up. 'What the hell... ?' she asked, throwing back the covers and coming over to inspect the owl, which was happily sitting on the foot rail of my bed. It extended a foot, to which a letter was attached. 'Well? Are you going to open it?' Joey demanded. I cautiously accepted the letter, tore it open, and read it aloud. The piece of parchment read:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbeldore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)

Dear Miss Evans We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term Begins on 1 September. The Hogwarts Express leaves Platform 9 3/4 at 11 O'clock sharp. We await your owl.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall Deputy Headmistress

'Ummm,' was all I said. Me and Joey just stared at the paper in her hands. 'Joke?' I asked doubtfully. 'I don't know. Would you go through all that trouble to get an owl for something like this?' Joey asked, examining the paper. 'You're right. But... me? A witch?' 'I've always known you were a witch,' Joey said solemnly, and I hit her playfully. 'No, seriously. What are we going to do?' 'Well... what do the other papers say?' 'One's a ticket... for the Hogwarts Express, to depart platform nine and three quarters of the King's Cross station at eleven o'clock.' 'There is no platform nine and three quarters,' Joey scoffed. 'I know.' 'What does the other one say?' 'It's a book list.' 'Oh.'

We continued staring at the paper. 'Are you going to tell your mum?' 'Definitely not. She'll think I'm bonkers.' 'You are bonkers,' Joey giggled. 'Hey! Well, maybe I should tell her. Come on.'

We marched downstairs. My mum was busy with breakfast. I decided this was an excellent time to approach her, as she would be preoccupied and in her most rational state of mind, if you ask me. I can get her to agree to anything when she's occupied like that. 'Morning, mum,' I said hesitantly, hovering behind her. 'Hi Lily dear. Sleep well?' 'Yeah. Um...' Joey was encouraging me from the doorway. 'I, um... got a letter this morning.' 'Oh really, dear? Who from?' I glanced down at the letter. 'Erm, Minerva McGonagall.' There's silence for a moment. 'I'm sorry, Lily. Who?' 'Minerva McGonagall.' 'Oh! That was nice of her to send you a letter. Do I know her?' 'No. That's the thing, mum - neither do I.'

'Well why is this girl sending you letters if you don't know her?' she asked, clearly confused. 'Er, well - maybe you should read the letter. It um, it came by owl.' 'By what?' 'By owl. As in, the letter came tied to the foot of an owl that was screeching outside my window and woke us up this morning.' My mum looked up from making breakfast and ran a hand through her hair. 'Give us a look.' I handed her the letter. She read it, and Joey and I exchanged glances. Joey was rocking on her heels. I crossed my fingers behind my back.

I could barely imagine it. Me! A witch! How cool could it be, knowing magic? A million thoughts were running through my head. The pranks I could play on the boys from school, the tricks I could impress everyone with. I'd never have to clean my room again! My mum was frowning, and I smiled hopefully at Joey, who looked just as anxious as I felt. 'Lily, where is this owl?'

If I was expecting anything, it wasn't that. 'Er, I left it in my room. I don't know if it's still here,' I said, looking at Joey out of the corner of my eye. 'Can you go see if it's still there please?' 'Ummm, okay,' I said, and Joey and I slowly walked out of the kitchen and upstairs. 'How cool would it be if you were a witch?' Joey whispered excitedly as soon as we were out of earshot. 'Very cool!' I giggled back.

I opened the door to my room. The owl was still on my bed. Tentatively, I extended my arm and to my surprise, the bird hopped on right away. Joey grinned at me and we dashed back into the kitchen. By now, Petunia had come downstairs and was sitting at the table. 'What's with the bird?' she asked snootily. We all ignored her. My mum looked surprised to see the owl. She had probably thought I had made it up or something. 'Well,' she said. 'It says 'we await your owl'. So, we'll write back and see what they say,' she said, nodding her head as if she were saying this to herself. She took out a pen and paper and sat down at the table.

To Whom It May Concern, We have received your 'owl' and are slightly reluctant to believe the information you have sent us. As we have had no experience with magic of any kind, we hope you do not take offense in us requesting more details.

If this is indeed not a prank of some sort, we would also require directions to Diagon Alley, as named in your booklist, and the Platform 9 3/4, as we had no idea of its existence prior to this date.

Yours sincerely,

Marie Evans Mother of Lily Evans

'Right,' she said, folding it and placing it in an envelope. 'That should sort them out if it's a prank. If not, well... we'll deal with that if it arises.' Petunia was watching this all with a sour look. I noticed this and poked my tongue out at her. She scowled and looked down at her Cornflakes.

Mum attached the envelope to the little clip on the owl's leg. 'Go and let it out of your window, dear - if that's where it came in.' I nodded and Joey and I walked right back up the stairs again.

'What do I do with it?' I asked Joey. She shrugged. 'I don't know. On TV they sort of flick their arms up, like this and they fly off,' she said, flicking her extended arm up slightly. 'Right.' I moved to the window and leaned my arm out of the window. 'Take this to... to whoever sent you here,' I told it. I don't think it understood me, but it was worth a try. 'Off you go.' I flicked my arm like Joey had suggested, and the owl flew off. I let out a big sigh and fell back on my bed. Joey sat down on my inflatable chair. 'Weird,' she muttered. 'Tell me about it.' 'But how cool would it be? I mean, if you were a witch, think of all the things you could do!' 'All the pranks I could play!' I grinned back. 'The revenge you could get!' 'The tricks I could do!' 'Your mum wouldn't have to cook, you could just magic stuff up!' 'Yeah,' I sighed, laying back on my pillow and smiling.

Right then, I had decided it must have been a prank. How could I be a witch? Boring, plain, cat-eyed, Lily? It was fun imagining all those things though. Whoever had sent that letter had at least given us a laugh. We talked about it for ages, Joey and I. Thinking of deadly potions and love spells and turning certain people into toads. That's all it was. A joke. Until the owl came back.

When we first heard the squawk, we thought it must have been a bird outside. Then it got louder. And the owl landed on my window sil. Joey and me went quiet and exchanged looks. What was this letter going to say?

I let the owl in, and took the message from it's foot. I unfolded the piece of parchment. It was in different writing this time; a long, scrupulous script done carefully in red ink. I knew it couldn't have been a pen by the way the lines stained the paper. This letter had been done by quill.

Dear Miss Evans We are sorry for troubling you with information that is obviously quite foreign to you. We however would like to express that this is no joke and that we would greatly value your input into our school. Magical children born into families with no wizarding blood is extremely common in today's society. I can only imagine your doubts and please feel free to ask any questions that could make this any more processable for you.

Diagon Alley can be accessed several ways, the most common being through a pub found in London that goes by the name of the Leaky Cauldron. As for the train platform, this can be found by simply walking through the barrier between platforms nine and ten. I know this may seem unrealistic, but I speak truth.

If it would assist you in anyway, I could perhaps arrange a meeting with a wizarding family nearby. Please contact me and I shall arrange it immediately. Perhaps then they could assist you in finding Diagon Alley, Platform 9 3/4 and such. They should also be able to explain magic a lot more deeply than I can discuss by letter.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any queries; the owl awaits your command. I hope this may have cleared a few things up for you.

Yours sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

'Joey, what the heck do we do? How do we know it's not a trick?' 'Go take the letter to your mum,' she pressed. So, off we trotted for about the fiftieth time that day I was sure we must have worked off a couple of pounds going up and down those stairs. 'Mum!' I yelled. Petunia glared at me from the couch, and I ignored her. 'Yes, dear?' Her voice came from the laundry, so Joey and I made our way up the passage. 'The owl came back,' I said, giving her the letter. She frowned, and read it. 'Well. This is all very hard to believe,' she sighed. 'But it all seems so sincere. Maybe we should agree to this meeting with another wizarding family?' I nodded. What else was there for us to do?

So mum took out another piece of paper and her pen and wrote back to the Headmaster. Me and Joey took the owl outside and let it go again. Then we sat down under a tree. 'I wonder what they'll say next?' 'Yeah,' I muttered.

The rest of the day passed very normally. Until about dinnertime, that was. Joey and I had convinced our parents into letting her sleep another night. Secretly, we both just wanted to be together if another letter came. Hours flew by and no owl came. We were just finishing dinner, in fact, when something out of the ordinary finally happened. The doorbell rang.

We never have visitors. OK, so we do, but it's a big rarity. And who comes around dinner time anyway? My mum sent me to answer the door, and she didn't say anything when Joey snuck out after me. We exchanged thumbs ups and I took a deep breath and opened the door. Standing on the step were three people; a pretty girl that looked about my age, a boy that was possibly a few years older, and a kind looking lady. 'Hello, you must be Lily!' she cooed, extending her hand. I shook it. 'My name is Mrs Mornington. This is Jessica, and Nicholas. Is your mother home?' 'Yeah, I'll go get her...'

Joey and I walked very slowly back into the dining room. 'Um, there's a lady and two kids there. Mrs Mornington, she said. She wanted to know if you were home,' I rattled off. Mum nodded and followed us to the front door. 'Mrs Evans!' Mrs Mornington exclaimed immediately. My mother smiled timidly as the woman continued raving. 'Professor Dumbeldore asked us if we could, ah, drop by. He said you wanted a few things cleared up.' My mum's eyes opened wide. 'Yes. Please come in side!' The three Morningtons shuffled inside. 'Why don't you dears run off and play, hmm?' asked Mrs Mornington. 'Jessica is your age, Lily dear. Nicholas is twelve. Oh, who's your friend?' 'My name's Joey,' Joey said confidently. 'Pleasure to meet you,' the lady smiled in return. My mum turned to me. 'Lily, why don't you show everyone the garden? It's a lovely evening outside. Can I interest you in some tea, Mrs... Mornington, was it?'

So mum and Mrs Mornington went into the kitchen, and Joey and me directed Jessica and this Nicholas outside. 'So,' I began. 'My name's Jessica,' said the girl politely. 'I'm a witch, too. It's my first year this year as well. Nick will be in his second.'

Jessica looked like a bit of an air head to me. She had frizzy auburn hair and foggy blue eyes. Her teeth were perfect, all straight and dazzling white. At that moment she was wearing a grey dress. Usually, I would find that a very boring colour, but it was almost as if she wore it for a reason. The plainess of the dress seemed to make her features more noticeable.

Nick had dark brown hair and dark brown eyes that were almost black. His hair was spiked, and bleached blonde at the tips. He looked like he had an echidna on his head. I liked it. Joey seemed to, too, as she gave him a coy look and began to talk shyly with him. 'My name's Lily,' I told Jessica, seeing Joey and Nick go sit on a bench a few metres away out of the corner of my eye. 'So, you're really a witch? We thought it was a joke!' 'Well, I guess I would have, too, if I were a muggle born.' 'A muggle born?' 'Non-magical family. But my whole family is magic. My mam is a witch, and my pup's a wizard. I've grown up with magic.' 'So it's really happening? This is so cool.' Jessica nodded. 'I've waited forever to go to Hogwarts.' She gave a dreamy sigh. Yep. Definitely an air head. I looked over at Joey, who was flirting her pants off with Nick. OK, maybe the pants metaphor wasn't the best example to use, but she was really toying with him. He was going along with it, too - he didn't seem to mind having an extremely beautiful girl chatting him up and I didn't blame him. It looked like better fun than small talking with Jessica the ditz.

I knew Joey wasn't interested in him. She never was. She loved stringing guys along for fun - but she never took it any further. She wasn't interested in boys whatsoever. Not then, anyway. She just found it amusing how some guys literally threw themselves at her feet. We had great fun, the two of us - singling out guys and making them think they'd gotten lucky and then moving on to the next boy before anything happened. Mean, I know - but they were too young to really get hurt by it. Just a bit of wounded pride.

An hour later, my mum and Mrs Mornington came out. We all politely said goodbye and Mrs Mornington left and took her kids with her thank god. 'Well, Lily. It looks like you're going to Hogwarts! Imagine it! A witch in the family!' Petunia mouthed 'freak' at me from behind mum's back. I mouthed back 'bitch' and she shut up. Joey and me were so excited. The next day I would be going to Diagon Alley with the Morningtons, and Joey was allowed to come too. It would be so cool.

Up in my room that night, Joey told me about Nick. 'He's such a loser!' she giggled. 'He was making all this stuff up to make me think he was so cool. I asked him if he cold show me some magic but he said you're not allowed to do it outside of school. And even grown ups can't use it front of muggles or what ever it is they call us. It was so weird, but how cool is it?' 'I know. But we won't be going to school together now,' I sighed. Joey smiled and rolled over onto her stomach. 'Yeah, but we'll see each other on the holidays. And you can write to me! How awesome will it be, I'd love getting a letter by owl! It would be far out!' 'I promise I'll send you lots of owls,' I said solemnly, saluting her and trying not to giggle. We stayed silent for awhile. 'It's hard to believe this is all happening. I mean, my best friend - a witch. I'll miss you so much!' 'I'll miss you more. At least you'll have René and Melody.' 'Yeah, but they aren't you,' she sighed.

I knew what she meant. It was like me and Joey were meant to be best friends. We never got on with anyone as well as we did with each other. It felt weird doing things with other people. We practically lived at each other's houses. I think Joey was more of a sister to me than Petunia was. As much as I knew to ignore her when he called me a freak, it still hurt my feelings.

'Yeah...' I replied, sinking into deep thought. Being a witch would be cool, but Joey meant a lot to me. Joey sat up and wriggled closer to me, where I was laying on my bed. She had been lying on the floor. 'Friends forever, right?' she asked. 'Right,' I said firmly, and hooked her pinky. 'Pinky promise,' we said together. 'Jinx!' I giggled. 'Oh, you'll be knowing much better jinxes than that when you come home for Christmas,' she said evilly, grinning and rubbing her hands together. 'Think what we can do to Sam!'

Sam van Loon was a boy that had been in me and Joey's class since prep school. I happened to think he was rather cute, but my liking for him stopped there. Ever since first grade, when he had stuck bubblegum in Joey's hair, we had hated him. We were constantly tormenting each other, and using a few curses on Sam would be very sweet revenge.

'Except we can't do magic outside of school,' I pointed out. Joey looked downcast. 'Damn. Hey, you realise I have to put up with him for a whole year all on my own now? No fair!' 'Suck,' I laughed at her, throwing her a magazine. I picked one out for myself and we began to leaf through them. 'I'll bet the boys are worse at Hogwarts. And there'll be heaps from wizarding families!' 'Yeah, you better be nice to them. They'll probably know magic already, and you don't know what they'll do to you!'

I laughed. Joey didn't notice me watching her until she looked up from her magazine a minute or so later 'Gods, Joey. I'm going to miss you like hell.' 'Hell and back again,' she added. 'I'd only make that trip once and that would be for you,' I murmured. 'And don't you know that is the truth.' 'So don't use that 'again'.' 'I swear you've broken me too much.' 'But it was worth it, worth it.' 'And I'd go to hell and back, for you.' 'But there's only once I'll make that trip.' 'And though there will be no 'again'...' 'I'd make that trip for you,' I smiled, finishing the verse. It was one of Joey and me's favourite songs. 'Come here,' Joey laughed, tears in her eyes as she pulled me into a hug. 'We've got two weeks, I know... but I miss you already,' she grinned. 'Like hell?' Joey pulled back and messed up my hair with her hand, grinning at me from under the long strands of brown hair hanging in her face.

'Hell and back again.'