Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I know that. You know that. We all know that. So don't sue me!
Author's Note: Thanks for all those reviews! They made me happy! :D
FairySprinkles: Thanks! I love MWPP stories, too. Here's the update you wanted!
Prowler: Thanks for the compliment! I'll update as regularly as I can… but school can get in the way… :\
Emily: Ooh…cliffhangers are the best, aren't they? Heehee… Well, you'll find out the answer to your question in this chapter!
Val Kyrie: I have a friend who just recently came here from England… she says starkers all the time for something that's crazy… maybe it's just her, then? She is rather weird…I'll change that as soon as I can. Thanks for the compliment and the pointers! …but I haven't seen Catch 22, but I'll try to it as soon as I have time- anything to help out my story!
The Sweet New Zealander: Thanks for the compliment!
Lanette: Hmm…that was a pretty good idea, I think I actually will use that as a prank the Marauders will play later on…maybe in the classroom? Thanks for the idea! Have a cookie!
Fiona Opal: Thanks! And I actually like that idea…I think I'll use it. I was thinking of something along the lines of hexing her hair green or something, but this works rather well, too! ::Hands Fiona cookie:: There you go! :D
Ronbaby: Don't worry, I'll write more… writing this story is so much fun! Thanks!
The Fyrbird: I thought that Ron's mother was talking about the groundskeeper before Hagrid. But you're right, that is a problem… well, I think that wizards can live to be pretty old, right? So maybe, he might have become the caretaker during the last year of James's parents. But thanks for pointing that out! I'm picky, too - it annoys me to no end to find timeline mistakes…do you think this one could pass? Thanks for the compliment!
BlueBell300: I like your idea, too… I think I'll use it for one of the many, many pranks that the Marauders will eventually pull on Lily. You can have a cookie too! I haven't gotten a chance to read your story, I probably will sometime, though. I bet you're a great writer! And thanks for the compliment!
Chapter Three: A Long Slimy Tentacled Something
James stared at Lily in confusion, wondering why she was accusing him. Slowly his eyes took in the scene, with him holding his wand straight at her, and Sirius leaning back in his chair, obviously amused. Damn Sirius and his quick reflexes. He groaned as he realized his compromising position, and what she must have been thinking. And all I wanted was for her to like me. He stumbled over his words as he attempted to explain to her what had happened.
"Sirius…curse…I…stop…counter curse- too late…" he babbled. Obviously, his explanation wasn't turning out too well.
"Don't you try to pin it on me, mate. I told you not to hex her, I warned you. Now look what you've done." Sirius leaned back in his chair, observing the spectacle with great interest.
Lily just seemed to have realized that the hex had indeed hit her, and she hurriedly fished out a pocket mirror from her trunk. She opened it, dreading what she would see. What is wrong with that boy, James?! I didn't even do anything to him! She turned her eyes slowly to her reflection. Studying her face, she didn't see anything wrong, that is until she angled the mirror a bit so her hair would show…
Lily shrieked, dropping the mirror, causing it to break into several shards scattered about the floor. My hair! The one thing I actually liked about myself, and now it's green!
Sirius smirked at the hysterical girl, and then gazed at James who was still mumbling his explanation. Oh, this has got to be one of my more ingenious ideas.
James looked worriedly at Lily, who seemed to be near tears. He tried soothing her, "Uh, don't worry…your hair matches your eyes, now. I-isn't that good?"
This, however, did nothing to improve the distraught witch's mood. Instead, it did quite the opposite, and she mustered a death glare that was heightened by her green eyes, which had turned even more vivid and bright, altered because of her anger. "I'll get you for this!" she spat at him, fury as she had never felt before wormed its way through her veins. Why are my feelings so strong against this boy? I'm not just mad…I'm furious, and even through it I realize that it was just a harmless prank. "You just wait, James….James…"
"Potter?" he supplied helpfully, as if this would help in quelling her anger.
"Yes, well, Potter, you just wait. No one messes with Lily Evans, and especially not with her hair!" She stalked out of the room in a huff, grabbing her things as she passed through the door.
Behind her, she could still hear Potter's cries, "But it wasn't me!"
I'll just have to find another place to sit…even though there isn't any. She walked along the narrow corridor, coming at last to one she had overlooked before. She peered inside, and rejoiced at seeing only one other passenger inside, a rather pale, lank haired fellow who was reading a thick, blood-red book rather intently. "Er…hullo. May I sit in here?" she said hesitantly; the boy seemed to be rather annoyed at being disturbed.
He looked up at her, a snarl ready on his face. Catching sight of her, however, the snarl slowly disappeared, to be replaced with a hesitant smile that looked more like a grimace. "I guess so. I'm Severus Snape, and you are?"
She smiled, relieved at finally finding a cabin. "I'm Lily Evans. I was sitting in another carriage, but the two boys in there pulled a prank on me. My hair is still green!" she gestured towards the aforementioned hair, feeling tears prickling her eyes once more.
Severus's face seemed to darken as he spoke. "Those two boys wouldn't happen to include Sirius Black, would they?"
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak lest she start crying. I don't even know enough spells to find the counter curse!
"Sirius Black is an arrogant little git. I'll fix that for you." He put his hands into his robes, and upon taking his wand out, Severus whispered the counter spell, restoring Lily's hair to its rightful color once more.
"Thanks!" She sat down across from Severus, glad to have finally found someone friendly on the train. He didn't seem to be in the mood to talk, however, as he had gone back to intently studying his book. She glanced at the name, and being confused by it, asked him to clarify it. Lily wanted to learn as much about the wizarding world as she possibly could.
"Er, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly are the Dark Arts?"
He looked up at her, scowling. "Don't tell me you don't know? You must have been extremely sheltered your whole life." He scoffed at her, puffing his chest out in pride. "I know a lot about the Dark Arts. They're very intriguing, y'know. Controlling others with a simple spell- there's so much power to be held."
Lily looked at the boy, contemplating whether to tell him the fact that she had just found out she was a witch. Why not? It's not like it could do any harm. "Actually, I didn't even know I was a witch until this summer, when I got a letter to come to Hogwarts. Imagine my parents surprise!" She smiled, obviously expecting the boy across from her to do the same.
His reaction, however, was quite the opposite of what she had imagined. His face contorted into a horrible grimace, and he looked at her with contempt in his eyes now instead of friendliness. "You mean, you're Muggleborn?"
"Er, you could say that, yes." She replied, thoroughly confused at the boy's actions.
Severus suddenly stood up, using his newfound height over Lily to threaten her. "Get out of here, you little Mudblood, before I do it myself." He pointed his want threateningly at her, leaving no doubt as to whether he'd actually do the said action.
Lily hurriedly gathered her belongings, rushing out the door. She ran a little ways down the corridor, finally slumping against a wall, sighing. This trip was certainly not turning out the way she'd expected.
Meanwhile…
James turned towards his new friend, furious. "What did you do that for?!" he yelled.
Sirius just looked up at him, a smug smile still on his face. "To prove that you really do fancy her. If you admit it, maybe I'll tell her the truth."
James growled, raising his hands in defeat. "Fine. I fancy her. Now will you tell her that you were the one who hexed her?"
Sirius's smile just seemed to get wider. "Nah, I don't think I will. She seemed pretty angry at you, mate. I don't want that anger directed at me."
James spluttered, "That's not fair! You said you would!"
"I said I might."
James huffed, turning around to slump in his seat, where he gazed moodily out the window. He looked oddly reminiscent of a three year old.
"Aw c'mon, James. It's all in good fun. The girl will probably forget by tomorrow. Let's get back to our rather interesting discussion of Dungbombs versus Filibusters, eh?"
James looked up, still pouting slightly. "Fine. But I'm still mad at you."
Sirius patted James on the back. "Sure you are, mate, sure you are."
And so the train ride passed, with no further incident. James and Sirius did indeed come up with a rather ingenious plan to make themselves known at Hogwarts, while Lily sat dejectedly outside in the hallway, not having all together too much fun.
When the train finally stopped, Lily was the first to jump outside, glad to be out of the cramped hallway at last. She growled as she saw Potter and Sirius step out of the train, laughing and looking rather suspicious.
"First years here. First years here!" A rather large man who's eyes were too close together and who's hair too unkempt and long was gesturing wildly from a small dock where thirty or so boats were tied. He looked rather dimwitted, and his way of speaking proved him to be so. "Four to boat!"
Lily might have been one of the first to leave the train, but her rather heavy trunk caused her to be one of the last to reach the boats. To her dismay, the only empty seats were between Sirius and James, and a rather pudgy looking boy who sat by their side.
She sighed, resigned to her fate, and stepped carefully onto the rickety wooden boat. "Hey Evans!" Lily turned to give James a scowl, saying "Shut up," along with it.
To her surprise, he did, although he looked rather put out by her curt response. Free to enjoy the sight around her, she did, gazing into the depths of the still lake water. She tentatively touched the dark water with her hand, reveling in its coolness.
However, when her hand was suddenly grabbed by a long, slimy tentacled something, her calm demeanor disappeared as she began to scream bloody murder.
James was the one to spring into action first. He whipped out his wand, murmuring the first spell that came to his mind. "Furnunculus!" he yelled, feeling rather satisfied as he saw the green beam of light shoot through the dark night, hitting the black tentacle twined around Lily's wrist.
Whatever it was let out a shriek, which sounded extremely odd as it came from underwater. It hastily withdrew it's arm, which was becoming rapidly covered in nasty looking boils.
He grinned up at Lily, who was still staring at the spot where the tentacle had grabbed her in shock. "Hey, Evans. I rescued you! Aren't you going to thank me?" he joked, grinning at her cockily.
She had intended to just that, but seeing Potter's smug face made her change her mind quickly. "No, I'm not," she said, and turned to look ahead of the boat once more.
Finally, the magnificent castle that was Hogwarts came into view, looking even more majestic against the light of the moon. The first years whispered excitedly, eager to get a closer look at what was to be their home for nearly a year.
The boats finally stopped, tying themselves to a dock nearly identical to the one on the other side of the shore. Lily and the rest stepped cautiously off the boat, happy to be on solid ground again.
The large man lead them all to the door, at which he stopped, knocking hard against the metal. Instantly, the gate was opened, allowing all to get their first glimpse at the vast entryway.
"Thank you, Ogg. I will take charge from here." A prim witch with her hair in a severe bun gestured at the children to follow her inside. James nudged Sirius, who nudged him back, both grinning maniacally. The pudgy boy who had sat with them on the boat stared at them, shrugged, and nudged both of them as well. They stared down at him strangely, and walked on.
The tall witch lead them to an empty room off of the Great Hall, turning towards them with a stern expression on her face. "I'm Professor McGonagall. Welcome to Hogwarts. I will be leading you into the Great Hall soon, at which time you'll be sorted into your houses."
Lily looked around, feeling rather lost and confused. Sorted? Houses? Oh no…what have I gotten myself into?!
Author's Note: Well…What do you all think? I'll admit, this chapter was rather rushed, but I felt a little guilty that I haven't written anything in over a week. I hope it's up to standards… Please review! It makes me so happy! ^-^