Disclaimer: There's a song in me that runs through my head, it's a melody I'm humming! When I start to doubt, I sing it instead. Oh I hear it all day long! And I sing it when I'm feeling sad and I sing it when I'm happy! It's the kind of tune that makes me feel glad and I know I can't go wrong...

"I can't believe I'm really going to go to Hogwarts," Lily said nervously in the car ride to King's Cross station. She stroked Snitch, who purred loudly.

"You really are," Rose said, smiling proudly.

"I'm so happy for my little Lily Rose," Andrew said affectionately.

Petunia had chosen to stay home, rather than be seen with her "freak family," as she phrased it.

"Here we are," Andrew said after some time. "Ready, Lily Rose?"

Lily nodded, her stomach full of butterflies.

Andrew parked the car and they all got out, Andrew pulling Lily's trunk. Lily was carrying Snitch, who was still purring loudly.

"Mum," Lily said suddenly. "Mum."

"What is it, Lily?" Rose asked, alarmed.

"My ticket says Platform Nine and Three Quarters," Lily said.

Rose smiled. "Yes, it does."

"But there's no Platform Nine and Three Quarters," Lily said, not understanding why her mother was smiling.

"Just wait," she instructed.

Lily still didn't know how she was to get to Hogwarts, since there was no Platform Nine and Three Quarters. But she just held tightly to Snitch and followed her parents.

"All right, now Rose, Lily, I'm going to go first," Andrew said suddenly.

Lily looked up and saw they were standing in between platforms Nine and Ten.

"Fine with me, Andrew," Rose replied. "Lily, watch carefully."

"Yes, Mum," Lily said, her eyes on her father.

Andrew started walking briskly toward the barrier between the two platforms. Just when Lily thought he was going to crash into the barrier, a tourist walked in front of them and - Andrew was gone.

"Where'd he go?" Lily asked frantically. "Where is he??"

"On Platform Nine and Three Quarters," Rose answered with another smile. "Come here."

"I don't get it," Lily said, her brow furrowed. "He almost hit the barrier, and then he was just...gone!"

"Lean up against the barrier," Rose said, standing right next to it.

Lily did as she was told. Rose leaned on the barrier as well, glancing at the delicate watch on her wrist.

"Don't be scared when we go through, Lil," she said. "Here, take my hand."

"I won't be scared," Lily said. However, she took her mother's hand, just in case.

Suddenly, Lily felt like she was falling. The sensation was over as quickly as it had come, and Lily opened her eyes to see a bright, crimson- colored steam engine sitting on the railroad tracks. Rose was standing right next to her, smiling and still holding her hand.

"Where are we?" Lily demanded.

"On Platform Nine and Three Quarters," Rose answered. She indicated for Lily to turn around. "Look, there's your father." Rose let go of Lily's hand and went over to her husband.

Lily simply stood for a few seconds, stroking Snitch and gazing around with wonderment. "Snitch, I have a feeling our lives are going to be very different from now on," she said.

Suddenly, she felt something - or someone - crash into her. She fell to the ground, Snitch escaping her arms and fleeing. Whatever it was that had hit her then fell on top of her.

"Snitch!" Lily cried, trying to stand up but unable to because there was someone on her legs. "Get off!"

"I'm so sorry!" the person said, standing immediately. "I didn't know there was anyone standing right there, otherwise I wouldn't have run through the barrier. I'm sorry!"

Lily stood up and got a good look at the person that had fallen on her. It was the boy from Diagon Alley - the one that had fallen in the mud.

"Oh, it's you," she said, rather frostily.

"I'm James," he said, sticking out a hand.

Lily didn't take it. "You scared my cat away, and you could've killed me!"

"I'm sorry, truly I am. It was an accident," James said, with a hurt expression on his face. "I'd never hurt anyone intentionally! Which way did your cat go? I'll get her for you," he offered.

Lily pointed. "She's black with white paws, and little," she described.

James nodded and took off in the direction Lily pointed, mentally kicking himself for landing on top of the prettiest girl he'd ever seen.

"I'm sorry about my brother," a girl's voice said from behind Lily. "He's an idiot."

Lily turned around to see the girl that James had been with at Diagon Alley.

"My name is Michelle Potter," the girl said, holding out her hand. Lily shook it. "My brother's name is James."

"I'm Lily. I know his name, he told me," she said.

At that second, James came back, holding Snitch tightly and barely out of breath.

"I had to chase her around the whole platform, but I got her," he said, handing the cat back.

"Thank you," Lily said, scratching Snitch's chin and smiling at James for the first time.

James stood, dumbfounded and stupidly grinning back. Michelle rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Jimmy, let's go," she said, tugging on his sleeve.

"Uh, yeah, right, let's go," he said, pulling his arm away.

"Bye," Lily said, walking over to her parents.

"James, you are quite possibly the biggest idiot in the world," Michelle informed him.

"Shut up."

"Lily, I'd like you to meet Patrick and Lynnette Kirke," Rose said as Lily approached. "Lynnette was my best friend when I was in Hogwarts, and Patrick was Andrew's best friend."

"Nice to meet you," Lily said politely.

"It's nice to see you again," Lynnette said, smiling. She pushed her blonde hair out of her face. "Because we've met before."

"We have?" Lily repeated.

"Yes, before your parents decided to leave wizarding society," Patrick put in. "You and Petty were always over at our house, playing with Isabelle."

"And Izzy was always at your house, playing with you two!" Lynnette said. "By the way, where's Izzy?"

"She's putting her stuff on the train," Patrick said. "There she is. Isabelle!"

A tall, thin girl with a halo of blonde curls hurried over to them. Lily noticed that she had already changed into her Hogwarts robes.

"Hello," she said, smiling brightly.

"Hi," Lily said, smiling as well. "I'm Lily Evans."

"I know," Isabelle said, grinning even wider. "You were my best friend when I was little."

"I heard," Lily said. "So..."

"Do you think," Isabelle suddenly blurted. "Do you think we could be best friends again? I miss having a best friend, and we got along really well, my parents said."

"Yeah, I think we could be best friends," Lily replied happily. She was relieved. She had been so worried about being a loner at Hogwarts, and now she had a friend to hang out with.

"Come on, let's get your stuff on the train," Isabelle said. "By the way, call my Belle. Everyone does. Besides my parents, that is. They call me Izzy, but I don't like that nickname."

"Okay," Lily said. "I don't really have a nickname. Some people call me Lil, so you could call me that, I guess," she added. "Daddy, could you put my trunk on the train?"

"Yes, sweetie," Andrew said, tearing himself away from the dull, grown-up conversation that he had been having with Patrick, Lynnette, and Rose. All Lily heard them say was something about a Tom Riddle.

Whoever the heck that is, Lily thought. Still, she couldn't help shuddering. The name just sent shivers down her spine.

"Here, this is the compartment I'm sitting in," Isabelle said. She opened a door to a compartment and sat down.

"Well, Lily Rose, I guess I'll be leaving you then," Andrew said, bending down and kissing her forehead. "Go say goodbye to your mum, okay?"

"Be right back," Lily said to Belle. She ran out of the train and over to her mother, who she hugged tightly. "Mummy, I'm scared," she whispered.

"You'll be fine, darling," Rose whispered back.

Just then, a nearby student who looked to be at least fifteen yelled "Come on, everyone! Train's leaving!"

Lily let go of her mother and ran up the steps onto the train.

"Bye!" she called, leaning out the window and waving to her parents. "I'll write you as soon as I can!"

"All right, sweetie!" Rose called back. "We love you!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Lily saw James leaning out a window as well. He wasn't waving to his mother, however. He seemed to be shouting at her frantically.

"Mum, I don't know where she is! I haven't seen her since she pulled me away from one of my friends!" he yelled.

"I can't find her anywhere!" Kathleen shouted back. She looked as worried as could be. "She's not anywhere on the platform!"

"I don't know where she could be!"

Before his mother could reply, the train went around a corner and the whole platform disappeared from view.

"Damn it!" James swore. He pulled his head back inside the train and ran down the corridor. When he saw Lily, he stopped abruptly. "You haven't seen my sister, have you?" he demanded.

Lily stared at him like he was crazy. "No, I haven't."

"Damn it, I think she snuck onto the train," he said, going past her. "See you later," he added over his shoulder.

"Yeah, see you later," Lily said. She rolled her eyes and went into the compartment Belle was in. Except Belle wasn't the only one in the compartment.

"Hello again," Michelle said. She was sitting across from Isabelle.

"Hi," Lily said, giving Belle a questioning look.

Belle just shrugged and mouthed "Don't ask me."

"Your brother's looking for you," Lily said instead, to Michelle.

"I know," Michelle said, rolling her eyes. "He doesn't know that I'm on the train."

"Why are you on the train?" Belle asked. "I thought that you were younger than James."

"You know my brother?" Michelle asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah, I went to school with him for a year," Belle explained.

"Well, I'm sick of going to that school. I'm advanced enough I could be in the same year as James," Michelle told them.

Lily raised her eyebrows at this, but said nothing. She sat next to Belle.

"MICHELLE! Where are you???"

"Uh oh, hide me," Michelle said, looking at the door with a terrified look on her face.

Michelle quickly grabbed Belle's cloak, which was lying on the ground. She threw it over her head and scrunched up. "I'm luggage, okay?" she hissed.

Their compartment door opened and James peeked in.

"You haven't seen my sister, have you?" he asked tiredly. Lily wasn't sure, but she thought she could hear a hint of worry in his voice.

"No, we haven't," Belle said, jerking her head toward Michelle, who was trying as hard as she could to stay still.

"No, we haven't seen her at all," Lily said, pointing at Belle's cloak and nodding.

James got the hint.

"I see." He strode over to Michelle and yanked on one end of the cloak. "Michelle, what are you doing here?"

"What do you care?" Michelle asked angrily, sitting up. "You were so busy talking with Sirius about how pretty Lily is that you didn't even notice me get on the train behind you!"

Belle raised one eyebrow, looking at Lily. Lily rolled her eyes. James, however, blushed deeply.

"Still, that's no excuse for you to sneak on the train!" he said, trying to be stern. Finally, he gave up. "Chelle, Mum and I were worried to death! We didn't know what'd happened to you!"

"Sorry," Michelle said, crossing her arms and trying to stay angry. Her lower lip trembled. "Jimmy, do you think I'll get in trouble?"

"I don't know, Chelle," James said, sitting next to her and putting his arm around her. Both Potters seemed unaware that Lily and Isabelle were even alive. "We'll see when we get to the castle."

Someone standing at the door coughed loudly. All four people inside looked up. The boy that James had been with in Diagon Alley was standing there.

"I see you found Chelle, James," he said, grinning. He went inside the compartment and made James move over, then sat down. "I don't believe we've met," he said to Belle and Lily.

"Isabelle Kirke," Belle said, sticking out her hand and smiling. The boy shook her hand, then turned to Lily.

"And you are?"

"Lily Evans." Lily shook his outstretched hand.

"Sirius Black. And this here is James Potter, in case you didn't know, and his sister, Michelle." Sirius poked James. "Did you talk to her?"

"Yes, and don't poke me," James said irritably.

Lily giggled, then quickly turned and pretended to have been staring out the window. Green countryside flashed by, trees, meadows, and even a lake or two before anyone said anything.

"So..." Sirius said finally. "What house do you all think you'll be put in?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure hoping that I get Gryffindor," Belle said emphatically.

"Same here," James put in. "And I know you want Gryffindor, Sirius."

"I don't even know what you're talking about," Lily said, looking from Belle to Sirius to James with a lost expression. Michelle quickly explained.

"There are four different houses. When you get to Hogwarts, you will be sorted into a house, which you will be in for all your years at school. You attend classes with students that are in the same year and house as you. You also earn or lose points for your house," she added.

"The four houses are Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin," James tacked on. "Anyone who's in Slytherin is usually evil at heart. Ravenclaws are the really smart kids, Hufflepuffs are - in my opinion - the ones that aren't really anything else, and Gryffindors are the brave students. Most students want to be in Gryffindor."

"Really," Lily said, trying to imprint all that in her memory.

"I don't want to be in Gryffindor," Michelle announced. "I'd rather be in Ravenclaw."

"Good for you, Chelle," James said, resuming the 'my-little-sister-is-so- annoying' attitude. "As soon as we get to Hogwarts, you're going home. You do know that, right?"

"Yes, I know," Michelle snapped, poking James' arm.

"Oh, both of you, stop it," Sirius said, exasperated.

Just then, a witch stuck her head in and glanced around.

"Anything off the cart, children?" she asked.

"No thanks," Belle said. "I'm not hungry."

"Me either," Michelle and Lily chorused.

Sirius and James both stood and went out into the corridor, buying as much food as they could afford.

"So, it sounds like James Potter likes you, Lily," Belle said, grinning slyly.

"He can like me all he wants, his affections won't be returned," Lily said simply. "I'm not interested in him. Or Sirius."

"He thinks you're really pretty," Michelle informed Lily. "Both of them do, actually."

Both boys came back in right as Michelle said "Both of them" and both immediately assumed that Michelle was talking about them.

"What are you saying about me?" James demanded.

"I hope it's nothing bad," Sirius said, winking at Lily. "I mean, I wouldn't want these two" Michelle glared at him "excuse me, these three lovely ladies to think anything bad about me."

"Oh yeah, we were just talking about what horrible people you are," Michelle scoffed. "No, we weren't."

"I know."

Just then, the compartment door opened again, and in walked a thin boy with long, greasy black hair and cold black eyes.

"Oh, hello, Severus," James said awkwardly. "Nice to see you again."

The boy glared at James. "I see you're busy entertaining, as always," he sneered. His eyes landed on Michelle, who cringed and scooted closer to James. "What's your baby sister doing here?"

"I'm not a baby!" Michelle objected.

"She's not a baby!" James said at the same time.

"I'm sure. Who are you?" Severus said to Lily and Belle, rather rudely, Lily thought.

"I'm Lily Evans," Lily said coldly.

"Isabelle Kirke," Belle said, just as coldly.

Severus glared from one person to another, then turned around and left.

"Well, that was fun," Belle remarked.

James snorted. "Being around Severus is always loads of fun," he said sarcastically. "He knows more curses than anyone I've ever met, and says that he'd use them in a second if he had to."

"He needs to shower more often, if you ask me," Sirius threw in. Lily looked over and saw he was pinching his nose. She laughed, relaxing a little.

"I'd tell you to be nice, Sirius, but it's true," Michelle said. "He stinks."

"And his hair is so greasy, you can see yourself in it," Belle added.

James and Sirius laughed so hard they fell off their seats.

"I can see it now - 'hey Severus, I lost my mirror, can I use your hair?'" he asked, mimicking a girl's voice.

"Ooh! James, prank idea!" Sirius yelled, snapping his fingers.

James' eyes lit up. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I think so!"

"MARAUDERS STRIKE AGAIN!" they both yelled, high-fiving each other.

"What are the Marauders?" Belle asked Michelle.

Michelle rolled her eyes, sighing exasperatedly. "It's their gang of friends. They go around, pulling pranks. So far, there's a grand total of two Marauders."

"We'll get a couple other guys," James said, suddenly realizing what the girls were talking about. "We only need two more."

"And then I suppose you'll wander the halls, bringing terror to those you meet?" Lily scoffed.

"No, we'll just pull pranks," Sirius said blankly.

"And maybe bring terror to those we meet," James added. "More likely, though, Severus Snape will do that."

"Yeah, probably," Belle giggled.

They spent the next few hours talking, joking, and wondering about school. Finally, the compartment door opened and a teenage boy of about seventeen stuck his head in. "We'll be at Hogwarts in about ten minute's time," he informed them. "Change into your robes if you already haven't."

"We will," the kids chorused.

"All right, since Lily and I were in here first, you two have to leave," Belle said to Sirius and James. "Go on. Shoo."

James and Sirius rolled their eyes, but left, taking their robes with them.

Lily changed into her robes quickly, worrying about what she would do if Belle was in a different house.

"Oh, Belle, I'm so nervous!" she said, biting her lip. "I just have this horrible feeling that we'll be separated, and that I'll be the worst student in the class, and that everyone will hate me!"

"They won't," Belle said, hugging her friend. "And if we do get put in different houses, we'll just tell each other where the entrance to our house is and then meet each other, or something!"

Michelle patted Lily on the back. "I just hope you don't get put in the same house as James," she said, her eyes laughing.

"Can we come back in yet?" Sirius yelled.

"Yes," Lily shouted back.

The boys clambered into the compartment, dressed in their Hogwarts robes. There was a tentative knock on the door. Whoever was standing outside opened it slightly.

"Can we come in here?" a boy asked. "Some of the older students kicked us out of our compartment."

"Yeah, come right in," Belle said.

The door opened fully and a thin boy with brown hair and eyes walked in, followed by a shorter, rather plump boy. Both were wearing their Hogwarts robes. The thin one looked around at them with interest, while the plump boy looked at them like they might hurt him.

"Hi, I'm Remus Lupin," the thin boy said. "And this is Peter Pettigrew."

"Hi," Peter mumbled.

"I'm James Potter, and this is Sirius Black," James said, gesturing to Sirius. "And this is my sister Michelle."

Michelle smiled, rather annoyed, it seemed to Lily. "I can introduce myself, thanks," she said to James under her breath.

"And you are?" Remus asked, turning to Lily and Belle.

"I'm Lily Evans," Lily said, smiling. Remus might not've been the best looking boy in their compartment, but his manners were the best, it seemed to Lily.

"Isabelle Kirke. Call me Belle," Belle said, smiling a tiny smile and blushing ever-so-slightly.

Lily giggled slightly. Belle gave her a dirty look. Lily stopped laughing in mid-giggle.

"Pleasure to meet you," Remus said, laughing inwardly at how funny girls were sometimes.

"Same to you," Lily said.

"So, are you looking forward to being at Hogwarts, everyone?" Remus asked. "I think it's going to be awesome. I heard that the main prankster graduated last year."

"Really?" Lily asked, not really interested.

"Yeah. That's too bad, really," Remus said, a thoughtful expression on his face. "I would've liked to see what type of pranks he pulled. And I would've liked him to teach me some, too."

James turned to Sirius. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" he mouthed.

"I think so," Sirius mouthed back.

Lily, who saw them both and understood perfectly what they were saying, rolled her eyes and sighed.

"What? Is something wrong?" Remus asked, seeing Lily's eye roll and sigh.

"No, just that two are two of the biggest idiots in the world," she said, pointing at James and Sirius. The two pretended to be horrified.

"What, us? Idiots? How could you?" Sirius moaned.

"Never!" James added. Then: "Lily, I thought that you believed we were more than idiots."

"You thought wrong, obviously."

"You are idiots, and you know it," Michelle threw in.

Just then, the train slowed to a stop.

"Well, here goes," Remus said, smiling again. Lily thought she detected a hint of nervousness in his smile.

Peter, who hadn't said anything the whole time he had been with them, gave a squeak and tripped on the hem of his robes. James, Sirius, and Remus helped him up.

They got off the train and stepped out onto the platform. All the older students were milling around, shouting to one another and basically ignoring the first years. Suddenly, the group heard a voice calling over all the others.

"Firs' years over here! Firs' years! Over here!"

Looking around, Lily quickly saw who the speaker was - a man taller than any she'd ever seen before, with wild black hair and a beard. He was beckoning for all the first years to go over to him.

"Come on, everyone," James said, also noticing the giant. "Let's go."

A/N: Whew! That was a LOOOOOOOOONG chapter. Much longer than I usually do. Oh well, maybe it'll make you guys (aka "the readers") happy. Keep reading and reviewing! Especially reviewing. It makes me feel special when I get reviews. Hee hee, Michelle, you snuck on the train! You naughty child, you! I told you I'd put that in there. PLEASE, I BEG OF YOU, REVIEW!! OTHERWISE, I'LL...I'LL...okay, I don't know what I'll do. But PLEASE, review it!