Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter book series. J.K. Rowling does.

Part One: Before Hogwarts

Chapter One: Blacks, Malfoys and Snapes

The Blacks were one of the most ancient and richest families in the wizarding world. And it was a well known fact that almost every member of 'The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black' was very prejudice. And I'm not talking about racism about skin color here.

You see, the Blacks were a pureblood family, which means of course, that every single member of their family was a wizard or a witch. They certainly didn't like Muggles (the term that magic folk called the non-magic folk), but they seemed to hate the half-blood wizards or witches even more. Those were, of course, someone who was a witch or a wizard, who had some non- magic family members in them.

And they had a really nasty, derogatory term that they called these Muggle- borns wizards: 'mudbloods.' And just to give you an idea of how bad of a term that was, think of calling a black person the "n" word; it's that bad. Although for some reason, the term Muggle isn't really considered derogatory at all.

So if you were a Muggle, a half-blood wizard/witch or even a pureblood wizard/witch who wasn't prejudiced, you would be hated very much by the Blacks. And I'm sure that you would hate their stinking guts right back.

But if you were a pureblood wizard/witch who was not a 'blood traitor', you would probably get along just fine with fine with them (And if that is you, then shame, shame on you!). And if you had a lot of money, you'd probably be up very high of their list of the greatest people.

Though I suppose they would still probably think themselves the best wizarding family to ever exist, they might tell you that the Malfoys would come in second place. The Malfoys were also one of the richest and prejudiced wizarding familes there was. (Not that being rich is a bad thing, just as long as you're not snobby about it. In fact, the Potters were very rich and they are one of best wizarding families to ever exist.) The Blacks and the Malfoys had been friends for a long, long time.

The Blacks and the Malfoys were also good friends with the Snape family. The Snape family, though certianly not poor, far from it; didn't have as much money as the Blacks or Malfoys, but they were definitely in agreeance with the whole pureblood thing. Most people in these families wouldn't be caught dead being friends with anyone who is a 'mudblood' or a 'blood traitor'. And though, at least in the time this story starts, most of them wouldn't voice it out loud, many of them wouldn't even mind if all the muggle-born witches and wizards were to die horrific deaths.

The Blacks, Malfoys, and Snapes would get together and have nice little (Well, not that nice or little) parties. The kids were taught from an early age who their friends should or shouldn't be (from their own evil point of view, of course). So before we get to the action, you should probably know a little something about who the people in these families are.

Gorgio and Carlotta had three daughters. Bellatrix was twelve years old and she was a real terror. She had taken every word her parents said about the pureblood thing straight to her heart. She was probably already coming up with plans on how to kill muggle-borns even then. Unlike Bellatrix who had black hair, Narcissa (age eight) was a blonde. She was almost as bad as her sister was. However, there was good in the middle (age ten) sister Andromeda (with the brown hair), she didn't believe the pureblood crap, and she was known as a disgrace to the family. Still she tried her hardest to get along with her sisters despite their differences.

Gorgio's younger brother Regiel had two young sons with his dreadful wife Agatha. The first was an adorable little black haired seven year boy named Sirius, named after the dog star. He did not care about about pureblood stuff, he was too busy being a mischievious little prankster. The youngest son was Regulus was only four. That small boy with no brain would do just about anything to make his parents proud of him.

On to the Malfoys. You know, strangest thing about them, they always tend to be blond and they always tend to marry blonds. Luther and his wife Wissca only have one child, the rotten, nasty, and unfortunately cute nine year old Lucius. Yes, the Malfoys were proof that sometimes the good- looking witch can be the bad one and possibly the ugly witch could be a good one, despite the impression you may get from watching The Wizard of Oz.

Despite the fact that they agreed with each other on the blood issue, Sedante and Selena Snape were having a few marriage problems, which naturally they hid very from everyone, everyone except the children that is. Their son Severus was the same age as Sirius and their daughter Serena was five. Both Snape children had pale skin, greasy hair and big noses; just like their parents.

When all the families got together, things didn't always run smoothly. You see the children didn't always get along. And it wasn't just Andromeda who was different. Sirius didn't get along with his brother, his cousins (except Andromeda), Lucius, or the Snapes. Bellatrix, Narcissa and Lucius looked down on the boy because he didn't always say he agreed with the 'mudblood' comments. But I suppose it was Sirius who may have been the one to look down on the Snapes. He may not have cared about pureblood, but he did seem to care about hair grease and oversized noses, and would constantly tease Severus and Serena. But we can't blame the boy, now can we? I mean, after all, it wasn't as if his parents ever taught him to only judge people by their character and nothing more.

But the Snape kids weren't just gonna sit around and take it from him, especially the very young Serena. She would use every chance she got to insult him back, to outsmart him, to outprank him. Anything to show him that she was just as good as he was and that he wasn't hurting her at all with his comments. And the truth was, he wasn't. She could hardly give a darn what Sirius or anyone else said about her. She was one happy little carefree, outgoing child. It was Severus who was most hurt by Sirius's taunting and teasing.

One day when the Snapes were visting the Blacks, Sirius had decided he had had enough of listening to all the pureblood crap, and that he would rather fly on a broomstick instead. So he snuck out and took his dad's broomstick and flew high up in the air. Sirius was proud of himself for knowing how to fly at such a young age. Serena, who didn't care for the pureblood crap either, followed Sirius.

"Sirius, get down from there! You know you're not supposed to be flying yet!" the five year old scolded him. "You're just jealous 'cause you don't know how to ride a broom yet! Now go back inside and leave me alone you slimy grease girl!" "I can too fly on a broom! And I can fly even faster than you can!" "Oh yeah?" "Yeah!" "I'd like to see you try!" "You will!" She said and stomped off.

Sirius just laughed. "Silly little five year old girl, thinks she can beat me!" Serena came back soaring on Agatha's broomstick. Sirius stopped laughing. "OK, so you can fly. But I can still fly faster!" "We'll race," she told him. "First one to fly all the way around the house (12 Grimmauld Place was a big house) is the winner." "Fine, I'll race you." Severus had also wandered out of the house just in time to see the big race begin.

"Ready, set go!" said Serena. And they were off. Serena quickly passed Sirius and she won. "See, I told you I was faster!" "It's not fair, you were the one who said ... you had a head start!" Sirius complained. "What's the matter, Black?" Severus sneered at him. He was proud of his sister. "Can't stand that the fact that you got beat by a girl younger than you are?" "Oh go blow your nose, Snivellus," Sirius said as he got off his broom. Just then their parents finally came out of the house to see what was going on. Both Serena and Sirius got lectured for 'stealing' the brooms and flying when neither of them were allowed to fly until a few years. But for Serena, it was worth it.

A few years after that, Serena got the chance to beat Sirius again at something. But this time Lucius and the cousins were there as well. All the kids were having a huge argument and Serena had heard Sirius say, "Wash your hair Snivellus" one too many times. "You better watch your mouth, Sirius," Serena said. "I may not know magic yet, but I can still kick your ass!" "I'd like to see you try."

"Remember what happened the last time you said that," she said and then taking him by surpise, she did a karate move and flipped Sirius onto the floor. "Ha!" she told him. All the kids except Andromeda was laughing at him. "How does that feel, Black knowing that you can lose in a fight to a girl?" Severus asked him. "How does it feel, Snivellus, that you can't stand up for yourself and you have to have all your battles fought by your little sister?" Sirius shot back. That comment seemed to shut him up. Sirius may not have won the fight with Serena, but he could at least win the one with Severus.

Later that day, Andromeda decided to have a little chat with her favorite cousin. "Siri, I wanna talk with you about Serena?" "I don't wanna talk about that evil little girl! I hate her!" He said said getting mad at her, which doesn't happen very often. "But see, that's just it. I don't think she's evil at all." "Then why is she so mean to me, Andie? It's like she's dedicated her whole life to humiliating me."

"I'm just saying that I don't think she's like them. She's not into that 'purebloods good, muggle-borns bad thing'. I know it's hard for you being in this family, and I know exactly how you feel, because we're stuck in it together. Your parents are trying to choose your friends for you. And I think that if you and her can just . . . act civil around each other, you end up being good friends." "Never. I'll never like her."

"Never, I'll never like him," Serena said to herself, later that day. "I know we both feel the same same views about the blood not mattering and I know Severus feels that purebloods are better than everyone else. But he's my brother, and I love him. Unless Sirius can start being nice to him, then we'll never be friends. I'll never like him."

Chapter Two: Potters, Pettigrews and Lupins

The Potters were also a rich wizarding family. They had more money than the Snapes, but not as much as the Blacks and Malfoys. They were probably some of the most talented wizard and witches to ever exist. The men of the family were certainly some of the best Quidditch players.

Most of the family were purebloods, but they did not have anything against anyone in the family being friends with, or even marrying a muggle-born. Sure, they didn't hang around with the muggles, but it wasn't because they didn't like them. It was because of the dangerous things which might happen if muggles ever discovered that witches and wizards existed. They despised dark wizards/witches and hated anyone or anything that was related to the Dark Arts.

Harold and Amy Potter had two children, James and Tara. James was a cute kid with extremely messy black hair that seemed to grow all over the place. Like Sirius and Serena, James also knew how to fly at a young age. His room was full of Quidditch posters and he couldn't wait to go to Hogwarts and play on his house team, and of course, play a lot of pranks as well. Tara was three years younger than James and they seemed to be complete opposites. She had perfectly straight blonde hair, and she really didn't like playing pranks or Quidditch at all.

The Pettigrews did not have a huge sum of money; I suppose they were what some might call middle class. They were a quite a mixed family indeed. Some were pureblood, some were muggle-born, some were sqiubs, and some of them weren't even British. Doris and Tony Pettigrew had relatives in France, Italy and even some in the states. They also had a small son named Peter.

Peter hasn't shown any signs of being magical yet, and some relatives think he might be a squib. His parents hope not. They wouldn't love him any less if he was. But Peter really wants to do magic, and Doris and Tony just want their son to be happy.

The Lupins were also somewhat of a poor family, but certainly not poor enough to be in poverty. Daniel and Rachel had two boys, Romulus and Remus. Romulus was two years older than Remus. Although, Romulus wasn't a prejudiced wizard, he still wasn't a very nice boy. But cute little sandy- haired Remus was a very nice boy. However, something very tragic and unfortunate happened to him at the age of five.

One night when Romulus and Remus were playing outside they got into a huge fight, and Remus ran into the woods. His parents had told him about the dangers of the woods and had forbid him to ever go there, but he didn't seem to care. Rachel, who had been watching the boys from the window, saw her youngest son run into the direction of the forest and ran out of the house and after him hoping to catch him before some beast did.

She was too late. Remus could hear a growling noise and turned around to face a very large, fierce werewolf. When Rachel found her son he was unconscious, already bitten by the wolf. Daniel and Rachel took him to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries at once.

"Is he ... a ... ?" Rachel asked the healer with tears in her eyes. "Yes, I'm afraid so, Mrs. Lupin," said Madam Victor. Rachel cried in Daniel's arms, who was on the verge of tears himself. "I'm so sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Lupin, but there is no cure," Madam Victor continued. "I think it would be best for his sake, if you were to put him down."

Rachel looked up at her in anger and disgust. "Put him down?! You talk as if he's just some rabid dog! Well, he's not! He's my son! And we will not ... " "Rach, calm down," Daniel told his wife. "Calm down! No I will not calm down! This wretched woman just said we should have our on son killed! Surely, you're not agreeing with her!" "No, of course not dear, but let's try not to lose our tempers."

Daniel was always a calm, gentle man who never lost his temper. Rachel was usually the same way, but not when it came to people telling her to kill her baby! "Mrs. Lupin, I wasn't saying you should put him down because he's an evil dark creature. I don't believe that, but unfortunately, not many others will share that opinion. He will most likely be shunned by people his whole life. Not accepted into schools or hired by anyone. Not to mention his transformations will be very painful indeed. And he'll have to lock himself up once a month. He's not going to have a very good life."

"How stupid do you think I am!?" Rachel yelled. "Do you think we don't know all that. But he's our son. We will not have him put down. We're not giving up on finding a cure, and even if we can't find one, we will do our best to make his life happy and fullfilling, no matter what it takes." Madam Victor turned to Daniel. "I agree with my wife," he said simply. The healer sighed. "Very well, then," she said. "You may see your son as soon as he is awake, which should be by tomorrow." Then she walked out of the room. "Bloody bint," Rachel muttered to herself so quietly that Daniel didn't hear.

Remus woke up early the next morning, Rachel, Daniel and Romulus were already by his bedside. He remembered being bitten by some large animal, but he didn't know what animal it was. "Am I gonna be OK?" he asked his parents. "Yes, sweetie, you'll be just fine," his mother lied to him. "Rachel, we have to tell him," Daniel told his wife calmly. "Tell me what? You said I was gonnna be fine!" Remus was now panicing and Daniel and Rachel were trying to find a way to tell their son that he had become a werewolf.

"You're a werewolf," Romulus told him bluntly. "No, I'm not! You're lying! Please, Mum, Dad, tell me he's lying!" Daniel and Rachel looked sadly at Remus. "I'm afraid he's telling the truth, son," Daniel told him. "Yeah, and we're gonna chain you up in a cage ... " "Romulus!" Rachel screamed. Poor Remus was now looking terrified.

"Honey, no one's gonna put you in chains or a cage. But you will have to stay in your room with the door looked every night where there is a full moon." Remus looked very sad. "Does this mean I won't get to go to Hogwarts?" he asked. "Probably not, but we'll home school you if we have to. We're gonna try and give you the best education possible," Daniel told him. "Remus isn't go Hogwarts! Remus isn't going to Hogwarts!" "Romulus," Rachel yelled again. "You stop teasing your brother or you'll be grounded for a very long time!" "Alright, fine," he grumbled. Daniel and Rachel spent some more time talking with Remus. They were allowed to bring him home in a few days. They knew that his life ahead was certainly not going to be easy.

Chapter Three: Hogwarts Letters

An eleven year old James Potter always knew he would go to Hogwarts; there was no doubt about that. But that didn't lessen his excitement when the owl came to deliver him his Hogwarts letter. "Mum! Dad! It's here!" He yelled throughout the house. He ran into the kitchen where his parents and Tara were already eating breakfast. "Great son! Congragulations" Harold told his son. "Let us see it, dear," Amy told her son, smiling. James proudly handed it to his parents. He was finally going to go to Hogwarts to learn magic and play Quidditch. He was one very happy boy. But he wasn't the only one.

Sirius Black had woken up with a headache. It probably had something to do with the beating he had received from his father for telling him to stop calling people mudbloods. He went downstairs to see his parents glaring at him. They were obviously still mad. A second later an owl drooped in delivering the mail. "Make yourself useful for once and go get the mail," Agatha told him.

Sirius was not happy about doing Kreacher's (the family house elf) job, but he picked up the mail and noticed a thick envolope on yellow parchment addressed to him in green ink. It was his Hogwarts letter. He gave his parents the rest of the mail and sat down to read his letter. "What have you got there! Give it here!" "But it's for me. It's my Hogwarts letter." "So, they accepted you, eh?" Regiel said. "You had better be in Slytherin boy, and not like that traitor Andromeda in Ravenclaw" Agatha threatened him. "Or you'll be even bigger disgace to the family than you already are. And if you're in Gryffindor, you'll be sure to be blasted out of the family tapestry!"

"Maybe I want to be blasted off that stupid wall!" Sirius yelled at his mother earning him a hard slap across the face, but he didn't care. He was finally going to Hogwarts, where he could get away from his parents, and finally be able to choose the kids he wants to play with. And he was also going to get away from Serena, who's life purpose seemed to be beating Sirius at everything they did. Unfortunately for Sirius, that purpose was being filled.

Severus was right. Sirius didn't like getting beat by a 'little girl'. He knew that Severus would be starting this year too, but Sirius knew how to handle him. He would just be happy about no more Serena, no more Aunt Carlotta and Uncle Gorgio, and especially no more Mum and Dad.

Remus was sad. He had just turned 11, but he didn't have any hope of ever going to Hogwarts. His family, including him, did not think that a school was going to accept a werewolf. And if even if they did, they could not afford to send Remus. Thinking that they didn't need it, they had spent the money that were saving for him at Hogwarts, on trying to find him a cure. Needless to say, they didn't find one.

However, Remus did in fact receive a Hogwarts letter. Forgetting about the money issue he ran happily into his parents bedroom and woke them up. "Mum! Dad! Hogwarts sent me a letter! I'm in! They said I can go!" Remus looked happier than he had been since he was first bitten, but Rachel and Daniel didn't want their son to get his hopes up. Maybe they didn't know about his condition; maybe it was a mistake.

Rachel picked up her wand off the nightstand and said, "Lumos," and there was light in the room. "Hand us the letter, dear," she told her son. Remus gave his mother the letter and she and Daniel read it. There was no mistake. The headmaster knew about Remus's condition and he was still going to let him come to school, provided that they take the necasary precautions. The headmaster, Albus Dumbledore was a teacher when Rachel and Daniel went to Hogwarts and they knew that he was a great wizard. Well now they knew that he was the best wizard in the world. It would be hard to come up the money they needed, but somehow they would do it. There was no way they were going to stop Remus from going to Hogwarts.

Peter did not think he would be getting a Hogwarts letter either, because as already mentioned, some of his family members thought he was a sqiub. But they were wrong. "Dad! Mum! I got a Hogwarts letter! I'm not a squib! I'm going to Hogwarts. "That's wonderful news son!" said Tony. "Way to go, Petey!" Doris said. Peter and his parents were very overjoyed.

"Severus! Severus!" said a very excited Serena running into her brother's room. She was carrying the mail. "It's here! Your letter!" she handed it to him. He opened it and read it. But he wasn't jumping up and down like Serena was, but he was still very happy. He walked into his parents room to tell him that he had received his Hogwarts letter, but they were too busy yelling at each other. He would have to tell them later. For now, he could celebrate with his sister.

An eleven year old red-headed Lily Evans, had no idea that she was a witch. She lived with her older blond sister Petunia (14) and their parents Laura and Bruce. Lily went to get the mail early one morning and noticed a strange letter addressed to her. The person who sent the letter to her even knew what bedroom she had!

"Dear Miss Evans," she began reading, "we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." She didn't even stop to think of how strange this was. She just ran excitedly into the kitchen. "Mum! Dad! I got accepted to a magic school! Can I go? Please can I go?" "Magic? Magic, doesn't exist Lily, don't be stupid," Petunia told her.

"Yes it does and I'm . . . " "Lily, can we take a look at this?" Laura said. Laura and Bruce read the letter. "Well, this is what the letter says," Bruce told them. "But it has to be a joke," Petunia insisted. Bruce pulled out another piece of paper from the envelope. "It says here that they thought maybe that we would think it was a joke, and they would be sending an official from the Ministry of Magic as soon as possible to explain everything and to show us where to get all the school books and uniforms." "Ministry of Magic?! Nonsense, it's all nonsense!" said Petunia. "Well, I suppose we'll be finding out soon enough," Laura said.

Right after she said that, there was a knock on the door. Bruce opened it. "Hello, Mr. Evans, Mrs. Evans, Lily. I'm Christopher Hanson, from the Ministry of Magic." "Come in," Laura told the wizard. "I know you're all probably wondering if this school is real, and I can guarantee that it is." Chris told them all about Hogwarts and said if they were to allow Lily to go, that they could all (minus Petunia) come with him and his daughter Emily, who would also be a first year, to Diagon Alley.

"So can I go, please, please?" Lily pleaded with her parents. "Well, I don't see why not," Bruce said. "Yes, I think it would be a nice oppurtunity for you," Laura added. "Good, I will see you soon. Goodbye, Lily, Mr. and Mrs. Evans." Then he walked out the door. Lily was very excited to be going to a school where they would teach her magic instead of math and English. Petunia spent most of the day complaining about having a sister going to a 'freak' school.

Chapter Four: Lily Goes To Diagon Alley

A few days later Chris came back to Lily's house with Emily. He knocked on the door just like a muggle would. Lily opened it. "Hi, Mr. Hanson, come on in. And you must be Emily," Lily said as they walked inside the house. "Yup, that's me," Emily said smiling. "Mum! Dad! They're here!" Lily yelled for her parents to come downstairs. "Hello, Mr. Hanson. We're ready to go."

They all got in a Muggle car to get to the train station to take the to the Leaky Cauldron. "So, where's your mum?" Lily asked Emily. "She ... uh ... she died a few years ago," Emily said sadly. "I'm sorry." The two girls rode the rest of the way in silence while Chris was having a huge discussion with Bruce and Laura about how the television and telephones work.

When they stopped in front of the Leaky Cauldron, Laura said, "I don't see anything." "Neither do I," Bruce added. "Oh, that's right. I almost forget. There are charms set up around many wizard places so that muggles can't see them." Chris did a spell so that Bruce and Laura would be able to see the Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley, but that other muggles would still not be able to. "Alright then, shall we proceed?"

They all walked into the tiny, grubby-looking pub. It was dark and shabby, but Lily still seemed impressed. "Hello, Chris," Tom, the bartendar said. "The usual?" "No, I can't stay long. I'm here on business. I'm gonna take Lily and Emily to get there Hogwarts stuff." They stayed for a fews minutes to talk to people and then Chris led them through the bar and out into a small, courtyard.

"On to Diagon Alley," Chris told them. He started counting bricks on a wall above a trash can. "Three up . . . two across . . . " Then he tapped the wall three times with his wand. A small hole appeared in the wall, and then it grew bigger and bigger. They all walked into the hole which had grown into a huge archway.

"Welcome, to Diagon Alley," Chris said to all of them, but mostly to Lily. "Wow!" Lily said as they walked around. "This place is awesome! It's better than Disney World!" Her parents chuckled. Their first stop was Gringotts. ("Oooh cool! Goblins!" Lily said in amazement.) They had to exchange muggle money for Wizard money and start Lily's new account. ("This is like a roller coaster!" Lily said while riding in the carts to get to her new vault.)

After they were done at Gringotts, they decided to get their uniforms next, so they headed to Madam Milkin's Robes for All Occasions. "Hello," Madam Milkin said cheerily. "First years at Hogwarts?" "Yup," Emily answered. "I've got a boy finishing up right now, and then I'll get right to you both." They looked to see who it was and a boy with messy black hair. "Do you know him?" Lily asked her new friend. "Yeah, that's James Potter. Isn't he cute?" Lily took another look. She shrugged. "No, not really." "Lily, you must be blind," Emily teased her.

After James was finished, he walked over to the two girls. "Hello, Ladies," he said and Emily blushed. Lily didn't want to tell Emily this, but she thought that Emily was too young to be blushing over any boy. "Emily, who's your friend?" James said. "This is Lily Evans. She'll be a first year at Hogwarts too." "James stop flirting and come on," Harold said to his son. "Alright Dad. I'll see at Hogwarts, then," he said and then walked out to join his dad. "He's so handsome, isn't he?" "Yeah, sure," Lily said not sounding all that impressed.

After Lily and Emily were fitted for their robes they went to Flourish and Blotts to buy their school books. Then they all decided to have a lunch break. While Chris kept asking Bruce and Laura about muggle devices, Emily told Lily all about Quidditch. Lily had never liked muggle sports such as basketball because she thought it was boring to watch a bunch of guys run around and throw a ball in a hoop. But a game where they flyed on broomsticks and had four balls sounded like it would be a lot more interesting to watch. "Are you gonna try out for the team second year?" "No, I'm not athletic," Lily admitted.

Next Emily explained to Lily about the four houses. "At Hogwarts there are four houses. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin." "I hope I'm in Gryffindor, that where's all the best wizards and witches go. Ravenclaw is mostly for the really smart and studious ones, Hufflepuff is kinda for the left over kids, and Slytherin is where the evil ones are. Mostly that house is filled with the Blacks and . . ."

Emily saw Lily looking at her very strangely and quickly figured out why. "No, not black people, a family with the last name Black." "Oh," Lily said understanding. "Their whole family is into the Dark Arts. And they don't like anyone who's not a pureblood." "Like me?" "Right, so it's best we stay away from them."

That had kinda put a damper on Lily's good mood. She was so excited to be going to magic school, and she hadn't even thought that people may not like her because she was the only magical person in her family. But then she thought, at a muggle school, there is prejudice too. There is always gonna be kids who don't like other kids because of race, or they make fun of someone who's gay or practically anything. Might as well face the facts, the grass will never be greener on the other side, no matter which pasture it's in.

After lunch they headed toward Ollivanders to get their wands. "Ah, Lily Evans and Emily Hanson," Mr. Ollivander said as they walked in. "How does he know our names?" Lily whispered to Emily. "I dunno know," she said. They spent quite some time in the shop waiting for the right wand to 'choose them'. Lily's wand was ten and a quarter inches long and made of willow. Mr. Ollivander told her that it would be very good for charm work. Emily's wand was seven inches made of maple and phoenix feather.

"Can I get an owl?" Emily asked her father. "I want one too." Lily said. Emily and Lily both bough owls. Emily named her male owl Ruffles and Lily named her female owl Sunshine. She went home that day a very happy and excited girl, despite what she had heard about the Slytherins and the Black family.

Chapter Five: The Filthy And Most Horrible House Of Black

Daniel and Rachel had not yet come up with the money for Remus's school supplies, but they were working on it. Miraculously, Dumbledore was allowing Remus to go to Hogwarts, and they were going to find a way to get him there. Daniel was walking down the street deep in thought. He was trying to decide whether or not he should just smallow his pride and ask friends or family for the money, when he accidently bumped into someone.

"Watch where you're going blood traitor!" "I'm sorry, Mrs. Black. I should have been more careful," he said politely. Then Daniel turned to walk away. He greatly despised Agatha Black, but he did not wish to stay and have an argument with her. "Come back here, you filthy scum! You should pay for ruining my new robes!" He turned around. Agatha's robes actually did have a small dirt spot on them, but they were certainly not ruined, and could be very easily washed. But Daniel didn't say that to her, he just turned back around and started walking again; he hated confrontation.

"Go on walk away, I know you can't afford to even buy yourself some robes. You probably don't don't even have the money to send that sick son of yours to Hogwarts!" Daniel stopped again. She was right, of course, but there was no way he was going to admit that to her. "My son will be there," he told her a tad less politely than he had just spoken to her before. "If he does go, you had better keep him away from my son."

"Of course, Daniel's son will stay away from yours. And you can bet mine will too," said another voice walking up to them. The voice belonged to Harold Potter. "Our boys know better than to be hanging around the filthiest and most horrible wizard family there ever was." This enraged Agatha. "How dare you speak that way about the noble house of Black!"

Harold rolled his eyes. "Come on Daniel, let's get outta here." They both walked away from a yelling Agatha Black. "Dan, don't let what that wretched woman said get to you, alright?" "I'm not." Harold tried to figure how to say what he wanted too without insulting him. "But ... uh ... if you do need any help with . . . you know . . . money . . . I'd be happy to lend you some."

Daniel thought about it for a few moments. "Yeah, thanks I appreciate that." "No problem. We can go to Gringotts and get the money right now." As the two headed toward Gringotts, Harold said, "Your son's name is Remus right?" "Yes." "I met him a few years ago. He's a real nice kid." "Thanks. He's rather shy sometimes though." "My son James sure isn't. Eleven years old and already flirting with all the girls at Diagon Alley." Daniel chuckled. "But he's a good boy. Mischevious sometimes, but still . . ."

"Rachel?" Daniel called out to his wife when he got home later that day. "Hi, honey," she said as she walked into the room. "I've got the money to get Remus's school supplies." "That's great! Where did it come from?" "I saw Harold Potter at Hogsmeade. He's going to lend us the money." "God bless him," Rachel said. "Those Potters are such a nice family." "Yes, they certainly are. Unlike . . . other families."

Daniel paused. "I litterally bumped into Agatha Black today. And she said that I should pay for getting her robes dirty." "And what did you say, dear?" Rachel asked him knowing full well that her husband wouldn't dare be mean to anyone, not even Agatha Black. Daniel ignored the question and went on. "And then she said that our son should stay away from hers."

"Well, I never thought I'd ever live to see the day where I'd agree with Agatha Black," Rachel said. "Our son should stay away from him." "That's what Harold said, but . . ." "But what?" "We've never even met the boy. What if he's . . . different. He could be a very nice boy for all we know." "Somehow, I doubt that very much. No one in that family is any good." "I think one of them is in Ravenclaw. I hear she's not all that bad." "Yes, but she is neither Agatha's son, nor is she the heir to Black family." Daniel sighed. If there one thing he didn't want more than an argument with Agatha Black, it was an argument with Rachel Lupin.

Harold was also having a discussion with his wife, Amy. "I ran into Daniel Lupin at Hogsmeade today. That terrible Agatha Black was harassing him." Amy shook her head in disgust. "Daniel's such a nice man, he wouldn't even be say a bad word back to her. Though I suppose if it had been Rachel . . ." "She'd be yelling and cussing her out. I could see Rachel calling Agatha a bloody bint straight to her face." "Oh, I'm sure she could come up with something worse than that."

"Yeah, I bet she could, but Harold, I don't think we'll have to worry about her." "Oh, it's not her I'm worried about, it's her oldest son, Sirius." "What's he done?" "Nothing yet, but he will." Amy looked confused. "He'll be starting Hogwarts this year with James and the Lupins' son." "Oh yeah, that's right," Amy said looking a tad bit worried. "We'll have to talk with James about him," Harold added.

"Our son, going to school with the heir to the Black family. I hope James will be alright." "I'm sure he will. He knows how to defend himself. It's the Lupins' son Remus, I'm more worried about," Harold admitted. "I've met him once, and he's just like his father. Way too shy and polite to stand up for himself when he needs to. Add that to the fact that Remus has been sick a lot (Somehow people in the Wizarding world seem to know about 'that sick Lupin kid who's spent a lot of time at St. Mungo's. It might have something to do with Romulus's big mouth.) and the Lupins don't have a lot of money, he'd be an easy target. I don't want to be choosing our son's friends, but I do hope that James can befriend and help him out if he needs it. Oh, and I almost forget. I loaned Daniel some money to help him out, I hope you don't mind." "No dear, of course not," Amy said truthfully.