Lily's face turned an interesting shade of crimson, clashing violently with
her hair. She opened her mouth to say something but she was fortunately
saved from answering as the witch with the food cart rolled by.
"Hello, dears. Would you like anything off the cart?" She was quite a pretty woman, about in her twenties, with brown hair and black eyes that danced with laughter. When she spoke, she smiled at them, her dimples showing.
Sirius, being himself answered jokingly, "Not really. I'd rather have you."
She blushed and said, "Really, dears, would you want anything?" The teenagers gave their orders and carried their food (Chocolate Frogs, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Bertie Bott's every Flavor Beans, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Ice Mice, Cockroach Clusters and finally, some Fizzing Whizbees), back to the compartment.
Munching on a Chocolate Frog, James turned to the small redhead, who was sitting beside him. "Lily Flower, you didn't answer your question. Who do you fancy?" Seeing her flushed face he decided to go on. "C'mon, Lily Flower! Tell us before- Oh, look! I got Agrippa!"
After the lot crowded around to get a look at the rare card, Remus pointed out the question of Lily which hadn't been answered yet.
"Do tell us, Lily! Who is it, already? I'm, like, dying to, like, know!!" Sirius bounced up and down, saying this in a mocking girl's voice.
Seeing she was cornered, Lily made one last attempt to escape answering it: Quidditch. Fortunately for her, she saw James' very battered copy of Quidditch Through the Ages peeking from under his trunk lid.
She cried out desperately, "Quidditch! Are we gonna win this year or what?"
That seemed to snap up the boys' attention. The question lay forgotten as their conversation turned to the flying sport.
Clara and Dana tried to look menacingly at her, hands on their hips. "You may avoid the question but you'll have to answer it sooner or later!" Dana wagged a finger at Lily. They all burst out laughing because she sounded so much like Professor McGonagall.
"Oy, did you hear? Patricia Flank's on the team this year! You know, she looks pretty good, so we could use her as a distraction!"
"Yeah, nice one, Moony!"
"Thanks, Padfoot. How about you, James? Who'd you reckon'll be captain, seeing as Sean Finnigan left last year?" "Yeah, Prongs! Don't you want to be captain? You deserve it after all the games you've won for Gryffindor."
"Really, Wormtail? You guys think so?"
Lily caught bits of their conversation. She wasn't much of a Quidditch fan and so were her friends so they dozed off.
~*~
When she was aroused from her sleep, the sky out the window was darkening quickly. Lily took a glance at the silent compartment and at her slumbering friends. Dana's head rested on the crook of Sirius' shoulder and his arm was around her arms. Remus had Clara in his lap and his arms were wrapped around her body. Peter was snoring softly, curled up in a tight little ball. She yawned, stretched her arms and rubbed her eyes.
"What did you dream of, Lily Flower?" She jumped at the voice which came from beside her. James was the only one awake besides herself.
Lily smiled at him, "Nothing, no dreams." The train gave a sudden lurch and when Lily recovered from bumping her head on the wall, she found herself on James' lap. Her friends were slowly waking up, grumbling.
She grinned at the look on Remus and Clara's faces as they sprang away from each other. Sirius withdrew his arm as I he touched hot coal and Dana lifted her head quickly. Peter was still asleep and curled into an ever tighter ball.
An awkward silence took place among them as they all grinned sheepishly at each other. Sirius broke the silence as he kidded, "Seems like Lily here has found a nice sleeping place!"
Lily looked down and found that she was still on James' lap. She leapt of and said amidst the giggles, "I wouldn't be so smart if I were you Sirius," she gave him a sly grin, "AT least, I didn't have my arm around a certain girl a while ago!"
He turned red. Clara asked, "How many more hours 'til we're due at the castle?"
James looked at his watch. "About fifteen more minutes or so. Let's just talk."
IN no time at all, the train pulled up at Hogsmeade. Carriages were waiting to take the students to Hogwarts. James, Lily, Sirius and Dana got in one. Lily and James ended up sitting together, squashed.
When they reached the magnificent castle, Lily's breath stopped short. Five years of Hogwarts still couldn't take away the wonder of seeing the castle all lit up like that, glowing in the night. James grinned at his friend's awe-filled face and said, "Still takes your breathy away, huh, Lily Flower?"
She smiled stupidly back at him and to her surprise, he linked arms with her and they set off for through the pathway leading to Hogwarts' main doors.
"Hello James, Lily! Nice to see you're back again!" Sir Nicholas de Mimsy- Porpington or Nearly Headless Nick, as everyone called him, waved to the pair.
They waved back and made their way through the oak door to get in the Great Hall. As soon as James came into view, a large group of girls swarmed over to Lily and James. The disgustedly brushed her away and she felt a pang. Her face grew very hot and she was about to yell at the blonde Hufflepuff for pushing her away when James saw her.
Not wanting Lily's redheaded temper to cause a scene (as he had bad experiences with her hot temper), he yelled over the commotion, "I'll meet you in Gryffindor table. Save me a sit beside you, okay, Lily Flower?"
Her anger left as soon as it had come. She gave him a small smile and with a wave, she ignored the scowls sent her way by James' admirers. A particularly nasty Hufflepuff whispered before she could slip away to her House table, "Stay away from him, you little freak. He's mine. And you're just an ugly geek everybody ignores."
Lily couldn't help but feel bad. She felt as if part of it were true. Actually, it was but not really. Her red hair was wild, but only a little. It was wavy and curled at the bottom. She always hid her green eyes behind thick glasses, which in actuality, didn't need. She just wore them for fun. She was short, too.
Hot tears sprang to her eyes and she felt embarrassed. She sat down with the rest of her friends, her usually held-up-high head down. James caught up a few minutes later, out of breath, and sat beside Lily.
Just at that moment, before James could ask what was wrong with her, Professor McGonagall came leading the new, nervous-looking first years to be Sorted. Professor Flitwick came through a door at the side of the Great Hall, carrying a stool and a tattered looking wizard's hat. He placed it in front of the teacher's table.
A rip tore through the bottom of the hat-
Once again, I'm here to judge the newcomers of our school |So, come on up, and put me on, sit on the three-legged stool| I'll put you in different Houses, depending on how you act| I'm the greatest judge, don't doubt me, and that is one pure fact| You could be in fair Hufflepuff, where to your friends you are so true| Or Ravenclaw, if you're intelligent, this House is just for you| Gryffindor, on the other hand, where go the most courageous| Hence Slytherin, go all the proud and most terribly ambitious| Put me on, no worries here, your house will suit you fine!| Where to put you will all be revealed in just a few minutes' time!|
The hall clapped as the hat bowed to the four tables. McGonagall droned on, calling out a name, and a nervous student would make the walk to the hat and would run to whichever House the Sorting Hat put them in. Lily didn't pay much attention to the Sorting, her mind was on the comment of the Hufflepuff girl.
She snapped out of her torpor as Professor Dumbledore stood up and cleared his throat to make some announcements.
"Hello, dears. Would you like anything off the cart?" She was quite a pretty woman, about in her twenties, with brown hair and black eyes that danced with laughter. When she spoke, she smiled at them, her dimples showing.
Sirius, being himself answered jokingly, "Not really. I'd rather have you."
She blushed and said, "Really, dears, would you want anything?" The teenagers gave their orders and carried their food (Chocolate Frogs, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Bertie Bott's every Flavor Beans, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Ice Mice, Cockroach Clusters and finally, some Fizzing Whizbees), back to the compartment.
Munching on a Chocolate Frog, James turned to the small redhead, who was sitting beside him. "Lily Flower, you didn't answer your question. Who do you fancy?" Seeing her flushed face he decided to go on. "C'mon, Lily Flower! Tell us before- Oh, look! I got Agrippa!"
After the lot crowded around to get a look at the rare card, Remus pointed out the question of Lily which hadn't been answered yet.
"Do tell us, Lily! Who is it, already? I'm, like, dying to, like, know!!" Sirius bounced up and down, saying this in a mocking girl's voice.
Seeing she was cornered, Lily made one last attempt to escape answering it: Quidditch. Fortunately for her, she saw James' very battered copy of Quidditch Through the Ages peeking from under his trunk lid.
She cried out desperately, "Quidditch! Are we gonna win this year or what?"
That seemed to snap up the boys' attention. The question lay forgotten as their conversation turned to the flying sport.
Clara and Dana tried to look menacingly at her, hands on their hips. "You may avoid the question but you'll have to answer it sooner or later!" Dana wagged a finger at Lily. They all burst out laughing because she sounded so much like Professor McGonagall.
"Oy, did you hear? Patricia Flank's on the team this year! You know, she looks pretty good, so we could use her as a distraction!"
"Yeah, nice one, Moony!"
"Thanks, Padfoot. How about you, James? Who'd you reckon'll be captain, seeing as Sean Finnigan left last year?" "Yeah, Prongs! Don't you want to be captain? You deserve it after all the games you've won for Gryffindor."
"Really, Wormtail? You guys think so?"
Lily caught bits of their conversation. She wasn't much of a Quidditch fan and so were her friends so they dozed off.
~*~
When she was aroused from her sleep, the sky out the window was darkening quickly. Lily took a glance at the silent compartment and at her slumbering friends. Dana's head rested on the crook of Sirius' shoulder and his arm was around her arms. Remus had Clara in his lap and his arms were wrapped around her body. Peter was snoring softly, curled up in a tight little ball. She yawned, stretched her arms and rubbed her eyes.
"What did you dream of, Lily Flower?" She jumped at the voice which came from beside her. James was the only one awake besides herself.
Lily smiled at him, "Nothing, no dreams." The train gave a sudden lurch and when Lily recovered from bumping her head on the wall, she found herself on James' lap. Her friends were slowly waking up, grumbling.
She grinned at the look on Remus and Clara's faces as they sprang away from each other. Sirius withdrew his arm as I he touched hot coal and Dana lifted her head quickly. Peter was still asleep and curled into an ever tighter ball.
An awkward silence took place among them as they all grinned sheepishly at each other. Sirius broke the silence as he kidded, "Seems like Lily here has found a nice sleeping place!"
Lily looked down and found that she was still on James' lap. She leapt of and said amidst the giggles, "I wouldn't be so smart if I were you Sirius," she gave him a sly grin, "AT least, I didn't have my arm around a certain girl a while ago!"
He turned red. Clara asked, "How many more hours 'til we're due at the castle?"
James looked at his watch. "About fifteen more minutes or so. Let's just talk."
IN no time at all, the train pulled up at Hogsmeade. Carriages were waiting to take the students to Hogwarts. James, Lily, Sirius and Dana got in one. Lily and James ended up sitting together, squashed.
When they reached the magnificent castle, Lily's breath stopped short. Five years of Hogwarts still couldn't take away the wonder of seeing the castle all lit up like that, glowing in the night. James grinned at his friend's awe-filled face and said, "Still takes your breathy away, huh, Lily Flower?"
She smiled stupidly back at him and to her surprise, he linked arms with her and they set off for through the pathway leading to Hogwarts' main doors.
"Hello James, Lily! Nice to see you're back again!" Sir Nicholas de Mimsy- Porpington or Nearly Headless Nick, as everyone called him, waved to the pair.
They waved back and made their way through the oak door to get in the Great Hall. As soon as James came into view, a large group of girls swarmed over to Lily and James. The disgustedly brushed her away and she felt a pang. Her face grew very hot and she was about to yell at the blonde Hufflepuff for pushing her away when James saw her.
Not wanting Lily's redheaded temper to cause a scene (as he had bad experiences with her hot temper), he yelled over the commotion, "I'll meet you in Gryffindor table. Save me a sit beside you, okay, Lily Flower?"
Her anger left as soon as it had come. She gave him a small smile and with a wave, she ignored the scowls sent her way by James' admirers. A particularly nasty Hufflepuff whispered before she could slip away to her House table, "Stay away from him, you little freak. He's mine. And you're just an ugly geek everybody ignores."
Lily couldn't help but feel bad. She felt as if part of it were true. Actually, it was but not really. Her red hair was wild, but only a little. It was wavy and curled at the bottom. She always hid her green eyes behind thick glasses, which in actuality, didn't need. She just wore them for fun. She was short, too.
Hot tears sprang to her eyes and she felt embarrassed. She sat down with the rest of her friends, her usually held-up-high head down. James caught up a few minutes later, out of breath, and sat beside Lily.
Just at that moment, before James could ask what was wrong with her, Professor McGonagall came leading the new, nervous-looking first years to be Sorted. Professor Flitwick came through a door at the side of the Great Hall, carrying a stool and a tattered looking wizard's hat. He placed it in front of the teacher's table.
A rip tore through the bottom of the hat-
Once again, I'm here to judge the newcomers of our school |So, come on up, and put me on, sit on the three-legged stool| I'll put you in different Houses, depending on how you act| I'm the greatest judge, don't doubt me, and that is one pure fact| You could be in fair Hufflepuff, where to your friends you are so true| Or Ravenclaw, if you're intelligent, this House is just for you| Gryffindor, on the other hand, where go the most courageous| Hence Slytherin, go all the proud and most terribly ambitious| Put me on, no worries here, your house will suit you fine!| Where to put you will all be revealed in just a few minutes' time!|
The hall clapped as the hat bowed to the four tables. McGonagall droned on, calling out a name, and a nervous student would make the walk to the hat and would run to whichever House the Sorting Hat put them in. Lily didn't pay much attention to the Sorting, her mind was on the comment of the Hufflepuff girl.
She snapped out of her torpor as Professor Dumbledore stood up and cleared his throat to make some announcements.
