Disclaimer: Don't own anything, don't sue me.

A/N: Sorry for taking so long. Here it is. Hope you like it.

Chapter 3

Lily has been standing at the entrance of the Great Hall for a while now, not minding the rush of students around her. It's amazing, she thought as she stared at the ceiling. And a bit intimidating, too. Had it not been for her usual control of facial expressions, she was sure her jaw would be reaching the floor by now.

So this is Hogwarts, she allowed a small smirk to graze her features, not a bad choice, Tom Riddle, not bad at all.

She looked at the hall again, there were four long tables in the Hall, all almost with students. There were also candles floating around, giving the hall a sense of warmth and ambiance. In front was the teachers' table, the teachers chatting among themselves.

She noticed that the rushing around her was gone already, and that the students were now seated. What happens to me now? I can't just barge in—

Her thoughts were abruptly cut off when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Instinctively, her hand shot into the inside of her robe for her wand and she turned around sharply, ready to face the offender. She cursed herself for getting lost in her thoughts.

But the 'offender' was only a middle-aged woman, and by the looks of her, it was clear that Lily startled her. Lily relaxed a little and the woman quickly regained her composure.

"You must be Lily Evans," the woman said with a smile.

"Yes," she replied somewhat warily. How did this woman know who she was?

"I'm Professor McGonagall, Head of the Gryffindor House. Professor Dumbledore, the Headmaster, wishes to speak to you, so now if you please, follow me."

The woman offered a smile again, which was barely returned, before she started to walk. After a moment's hesitation, Lily followed. They marched down the empty corridors, occasionally encountering ghosts. They even bumped into Peeves, and Lily almost had to restrain herself from putting the Cruciatus Curse on the poltergeist.

Finally, they stopped in front of a gargoyle, which jumped and made way for them after McGonagall mumbled something to it. They stepped onto the spiral staircase that was moving upwards slowly, and it brought them up to a wooden door with brass door knockers. McGonagall knocked three times before pushing the door open.

Lily almost gasped as they stepped into the office. The walls were lined with shelves decked with interesting and unfamiliar things. In the corner was a cage, and in it was the most beautiful thing Lily has ever seen, the Phoenix. Lily started walking towards it, as if it was calling her….

"Fascinating, isn't she?" A voice said from behind her.

She could hear footsteps approaching her, and she spun around quickly. She saw an elderly man with long silvery hair and beard regarding the phoenix fondly, his blue eyes twinkling behind half-moon spectacles.

"Her (a/n: I'm not really sure if Fawkes is a girl) name is Fawkes, a very close friend of mine," he went on, still gazing at the creature affectionately.  Then he turned to  Lily, eyes twinkling merrily.

"Hello, Lily, I'm Professor Dumbledore" he said kindly.

"Good evening, sir." So this is Dumbledore. He certainly isn't what I expected.

"Professor McGonagall already went out, while you were busy gazing at Fawkes." He noticed Lily shift uncomfortably. "Don't worry, Fawkes has that effect on people. Come, come, take a seat."

Lily went over to the plush chairs and sat down stiffly, while Dumbledore took a seat in front of her.

"So, Lily," Dumbledore started, "welcome to Hogwarts."

"Thank you, sir."

"Let's cut to the chase, shall we. I've heard a lot about you, Lily, and I'm very well aware of who and what you are."  He paused to let Lily say something, but she just nodded and looked away.

"Through out the years, I've taken in many students who are different from others. Half-giants, half-veelas, half-sprites, and squibs. There was even a werewolf, can you imagine that?" Lily felt a little hope of being accepted openly flutter in her gut.

"But," he went on, "never have I taken in an assassin… and for Voldemort at that." Lily felt that hope die. Sensing this, Dumbledore chained the subject.

"Lily, you are fifteen now, correct?"

"Yes, sir"

"That means, you will be entering Fifth year. There would be a lot to catch up on, and it wouldn't be easy."

"I had a governess once in the Riddle House. She taught me what I needed to know."

"Very well, then."

There was a knock on the door, and Professor McGonagall came in again. This time, she was carrying a tattered old pointed hat.

"Albus, the Sorting is finished."

"Thank you, Minerva, you may return to the Feast now." Professor McGonagall placed the hat on the table in front of them and quickly went out again.

Dumbledore reached for the hat, and held it in front of Lily.

"This is the Sorting Hat. It's unfortunate you missed her song, it can be quite entertaining." Lily looked at him strangely. Sorting hat? Song?

"Now that we've established the year you will be in, we need to sort you into a house."

"A house, Professor?"

"Yes, Lily, a house. Here in Hogwarts, we have four, the Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Gryffindor. And this hat will tell us which of these four you belong to. All you have to do is put it on." He handed Lily the hat.

Lily stiffly put the hat on, readying herself for whatever's going to happen. She waited, until she heard a little voice….

Relax, girl, I don't bite. There was a short pause, and then, Hmm, so you're the one going around killing perfectly fine wizards, tsk, tsk. It's clear that I ought to put you in Slytherin, what with you being a death eater and all—no, don't ask me how I knew. So Slytherin it is…but, wait. I sense something else. Bravery, huh? And courage to stand up to something terrible…. Maybe Gryffindor wouldn't be too bad for you. So what do you think? Gryffindor? All right then, GRYFFINDOR!

Lily immediately took the hat off at the deafening cry, only to see Dumbledore smiling at her weirdly.

"Gryffindor it is, then. I must say I'm surprised, as well as pleased. There might still be hope, Lily…." Dumbledore stood up and went to his desk. He got a parchment and a quilt and started writing. After securing it to an owl and sending it off, she went back to Lily.

"That was for Voldemort. I promised to write to him after you've arrived here. Now, Lily, you must be hungry. Why don't you head back to the Feast and get something to eat?"

"That would be very nice, sir." He walked towards the door to open it, and Lily followed. But she stopped. "Professor?"

"Yes, Lily?"

"I just wanted to say that… um…thank you, for accepting me. And, that, that for the past few years, I did some things that I'm not proud of, and I'm sorry for what I did. I will never do it again, and I hope you believe me when I say that I'll try my best not to mess up this second chance I got." She knew she was babbling, but she didn't care. That has got to be the longest speech she made in a long time.

"Of course, Lily, I never doubted you for a second." Then he paused, as if contemplating. "And one mot thing Lily, you may want to do something about that Dark Mark on your left shoulder blade. We don't want people asking questions, do we?" He smiled knowingly.

Lily's hand instinctively shot up to her dark mark. How could he have known? And only Tom knows where it's located. "Professor, you'll keep everything between the two of us, right?"

"Yes, Lily, though I'm afraid I have to inform Professor McGonagall about this. She is the Head of the Gryffindor House after all."

"All right, if you say so. Thank you, Professor."

"You're very welcome, Lily."

With that, Lily exited the room.

***

A/N: So? How is it? Talk to me.  I know I've been kinda slow on the L/J romance, but I'm still working on it. Thanks for reading.

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