Disclaimer: (sung to the tune of BINGO) There was a woman named JKR, and she had lots of money. M-O-N-E-Y. M-O-N-E-Y. M-O-N-E-Y, and Rita Skeeter was not her name-o.

Chapter 6 - Pockets full of Frogspawn

Lily sat in her room, stroking the young owl Mr. Weasley had sent. She wanted to learn magic, to be a part of the magical world, more than anything, but she couldn't leave her family, especially after what Petunia had said.

Lily took a piece of toast she had shoved up her sleeve and offered it to the owl who began to gobble it up gratefully. There were so many reasons to go to Hogwarts, but many more to stay here, especially now that her father was home.

Snippets of conversation began floating up the stairs. Lily heard her name and the word "grown-up." Lily got up from her chair and put on a record, turning the volume up as loud as she could. Lily sat silently, mouthing the words and singing into her microphone pencil, as the owl softly hooted and hopped around on the carpet.

"Lily? Lily-billy bo billy, don't make me be silly," Mr. Evans called, turning the doorknob.

"Just a second, Dad." Lily picked up Mr. Weasley's owl and put it on the windowsill. "Shoo! Shoo, little owl!" Lily tried to shove the owl out the window, but it hooted and landed gently on her shoulder.

"Get in the closet, then!" Lily said, not very softly, as she hurried to hide Errol before her father managed to unlock the door.

"Lily? Is everything okay in there?" Mr. Evans questioned, all traces of silliness gone.

"Just super, Dad," Lily said, a hint of worry and exasperation in her voice. Finally, the pesky owl got off her shoulder long enough for her to slam it in the closet. Lily walked across the room, turned off her record player, and finally went to unlock the door.

"Dad, Mum, absolutely thrilled to see you," Lily said, gesturing them into her room with a little bow.

"Lily, we need to have a serious chat," Mr. Evans said, as his wife went over to the closet door and flung it open.

"Mum! Don't-" Lily started, as Errol flew out of the closet, hooting loudly, and then out the window.

"Lily! I'm shocked at you! Were you writing to the Weasel fellow, after I told you it was not allowed?"

"Well, I-" Lily started.

"Are you really that intent on going to Hogwarts, Lily?" Mr. Evans asked, much more softly and more somberly than he usually spoke.

Lily looked back into his eyes and slowly nodded. "I don't know. Mr. Weasley thinks I have a lot of talent. And I'd like to find out how to use it. But I'm not ready to leave you and Mum and Petunia. A part of me never wants to leave."

"Well, Lily, what if we said you could go for a year? And if you like it, as I suspect you will, you can stay, but if you don't, you don't have to go back," Mr. Evans replied.

"You'd really let me go? You'd really let me go? I don't have to go back to primary school anymore? I get to learn how to use my power?"

"Yes Lily, we'd really let you go," Mrs. Evans said, smiling at her daughter's enthusiasm. "So now all we do is wait for Mr. Weasley to write back."

"I'm going to Hogwarts! I'm going to Hogwarts!" Lily sang, dancing around the room.

"That you are, Lily." Mr. Evans said. "That you are."

*****

Two weeks later, a bouncing Lily was following Mr. Weasley into a dingy looking tavern, pulling on her parents's arms to guide them. She didn't understand why they didn't follow her, but they looked almost as if they couldn't see it.

"Mr. Weasley, how good to see you," the innkeeper called from the bar. "And who is this with you?"

"I'm Lily Evans, sir." Lily said timidly, a bit in awe to be surrounded by so many witches and wizards. "And I just found out that I'm a witch."

The other patrons of the bar had gone quiet at this remark. Some of them were openly showing their wands in a menacing fashion.

"Come on Lily, Mr. and Mrs. Evans," Mr. Weasley said sharply as he began walking very fast and leading them to a brick wall. "Now, stand right there.let's see now." Mr. Weasley trailed off in thought, as if he was trying to remember something. Then he said, "Of course!" and tapped a brick in the wall three times.

Lily gasped as the wall opened into an archway, revealing a street filled with shops.

There were shops on either side of the street, filled with magical, marvelous things Lily had never imagined existed. She kept turning round and round, gaping at the funnily dressed people and the things for sale. There was a barrel full of beetle eyes sitting outside a shop, the black eyes glinting in the sunlight. A new broomstick sat in a window, and two boys about her age with black hair stood nudging each other and pointing at it. Someone walking by said, "Mudbloods," in a low voice, shaking his white-blonde head at her and her family.

"Excuse me? Mr. Weasley?" The adults stopped their conversation and looked down at Lily. "Er-what does Mudblood mean?"

"Just where did you hear that word?" Mr. Weasley said, in a much sharper voice than she expected.

"There was a boy, walking by, and he said it. I don't know what it means."

Mr. Weasley was shaking with anger. "You just ignore people like that, Lily. That's a very mean word, one that shouldn't exist. Just-just don't think about it again." He changed the tone of his voice as they arrived at a bank. "Ah, here we are. Gringotts. Everyone come on, then."

Mr. Weasley led her parents up to a counter where there were goblins, but Lily only half paid attention. What did that word mean? And why wouldn't Mr. Weasley tell her? It's not as if she was going to say the word, she just wanted to know what it meant.

"Lily? Are you even paying attention? Now, this is what you'll need to know. There are 29 Knuts (Mr. Weasley held up a coin) to a sickle and 17 sickles (he held up another coin) to a Galleon (Mr. Weasley held up a gold, shiny coin). Now this is your key to your vault, in case you ever need money or you can't get home to convert the money. Now, let's go to Flourish and Blotts."

The next two hours passed in a blur for Lily. She soon found herself laden with books, new robes, a cauldron, and all sorts of other magical apparatuses. At last, Mr. Weasley stopped in front of a narrow and shabby looking shop.

The gold letters called it "Ollivanders-Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC."

"Is this where I'm going to get my wand?" Lily asked, looking at the shop in disdain.

"You can't beat Ollivanders for wands, Lily. Now, shall we go inside?"

Lily nodded, suddenly shy.

"Ah, yes, Miss Evans," a voice said at her shoulder. Lily looked at the old man in shock. "You surely didn't think I didn't know you, did you? When those who have heard young Sybill's prediction," the old man trailed off. "But I'm getting ahead of myself. Now let's see, a wand for you. Hold out your wand hand."

Lily held out her left hand, waiting for whatever he was going to do. But instead, a tape measure started measuring her arm, in between her nose, and every other measurement imaginable.

"Here, try this. Twelve and a half inches, yew. Nice wand for transfiguration."

Lily picked up the wand, but nothing happened.

"Oh, no bother, here, try this," he said, shoving a black wand into her hand. Lily gave it a small wave, but simply knocked a whole stack of wands off the shelf.

"Oops," Lily said, expecting him to be angry, but he was smiling.

"Not quite yet, Miss Evans. Here, try this."

The wand was slim, made of willow. Lily gave it a wave and it shot blue and red sparks.

"Good, Miss Evans, very good indeed. That particular wand is ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, willow, nice for charm work. I think you may be very good at charms, very good indeed," Ollivander said, smiling to himself.

Lily paid him for her wand, and left the shop.

"Well, Miss Evans," Mr. Weasley said after leading her family back to the Leaky Cauldron, "it's time for me to go. Here's your ticket for the train, I trust you'll be there before 11 on the first of September. Have a good summer!"

"Well, my little witch," Mr. Evans said, hailing a taxi for the ride home, "shall we go home?"

Lily nodded, half asleep, as she crawled into the taxi with her parents.

***** Two weeks later, Lily, Petunia, and their parents were crawling into a taxi headed for King's Cross. The driver gave them an odd look at Lily's trunk stuffed full of belongings, but he didn't ask any questions.

Mrs. Evans sat clutching Lily protectively, practically having kittens because she was going to lose her "poor little baby," for a whole year.

"Honestly, Mum, I'll be home for Christmas."

"And if you're lucky, Lily might even send you some frog spawn as a present!" Petunia cackled, clearly resentful at being forced to see her sister off.

"Honestly, Petunia, you could be a bit more civil to your sister. She is leaving us for an entire term," Mrs. Evans said, breaking down into tears again.

"Yes, and what a horrible loss it is, too."

"Petunia!" Mr. Evans chided, "apologize to your sister."

"I'm sorry you're such a freak, Lily. Have fun at that freak school. I know I won't miss you, but maybe Mum and Dad will."

Lily didn't say anything, just nodded at her sister's words. So this was how Petunia really felt about her leaving. Perhaps if she sent her some presents, and lots of letters, Petunia wouldn't be so mean.

"King's Cross Station," the taxi driver said, as if he hadn't heard a word of the weird conversation. Lily got out of the car as the man put her trunk on a cart.

"Lily, dear, what platform are you on?" Mrs. Evans asked.

Lily pulled her ticket out of her pocket.

"Platform Nine and 3/4."

"Nine and 3/4? But that's impossible." Mrs. Evans said, taking the ticket from Lily.

"Oh, dear, freaky Lily's freaky friends messed up, and now she can't go to magic school!" Petunia said, perhaps a bit more loudly than necessary.

"Petunia!" Mr. Evans chided. "This is serious!"

"No, sir," a boy with dark messy hair said, "this is Sirius, and I'm James Potter."

"Are you a Muggleborn?" James asked Lily.

Lily nodded.

"Cool!" The boys exclaimed together. "We've always wanted to meet one," James said,

"But we were never allowed to see one." Sirius finished.

"So follow us," James said

"To Platform 9 and ¾!" Sirius said.

Lily looked slightly disturbed at their odd behavior.

"Don't worry, Lily, was it?" Sirius said in the first complete sentence she'd heard.

"We'll show you the way!" James completed.

The two boys led the family to the barrier between platforms nine and ten.

"Well, this is where we leave you," Sirius said.

"All you do to get on the platform is run straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten, but only magical people can get through, so we'll leave you"

"To say your goodbyes!" Sirius said, smiling, as he and James waved and ran straight through the barrier and disappeared.

"Well, goodbye, Mum, Dad, Petunia," Lily said, hugging each of them in turn. I'll see you at Christmas."

"Goodbye, Lily!" Mrs. Evans said, sniffling. "Be a good girl!"

"Make us proud!" Mr. Evans called.

Lily smiled and nodded at them all as she started running quickly with her cart. She was too close to the wall, she was going to crash!

But instead, she opened her eyes, gaping at the new scenery surrounding her as she crossed the magical barrier into the wizarding world at last.

A/N: Thanks for the review, Kat.