Lily and Carrie walked out into the familiar Diagon Alley, relishing the magic in the air. "Ah, it's good to be back here, isn't it?" Sighed Carrie, and Lily just nodded. The two girls then headed to Gringotts, the wizarding bank, to get their money.

The bank was filled with people bustling around, turning their pockets inside out to find their keys. Menacing, annoyed-looking goblins stood with raised eyebrows, saying, "Could you please hurry up, sir?" Lily and Carrie went up to a free goblin and asked if they could visit their vaults.

"Key?" The goblin asked, holding her hand out. The goblin looked like it might be a female, as it had more greasy hair on the top of its head than the other goblins. However, a goblin was a creature where gender was always a mystery.

"Here you go..." Said Lily, handing the goblin two keys, and to her horror, she brought the key to her mouth and started chewing on it. Instead of just biting on the key to check if it was real or not, the goblin seemed to think that the key was delicious, and she started munching on it like a carrot. After a while, she realized what she was doing, and handed the saliva-covered keys to Lily.

"Looks like they're real..." muttered the goblin, and lead the way down to the vaults.

Lily and Carrie rode in carts down to the vaults in Gringotts. Their first stop was Carrie's vault, number 324. The goblin stepped out of the cart first, and at first looked a little impressed that two humans had survived the long and windy cart ride without turning green. Then, her (or so they thought...) expression went blank again, and she took out the key, and opened the door easily. Lily knew that if anyone else besides a Gringotts goblin tried this, they would either be fried right on the spot.

There was a medium-sized pile of gold in Carrie's vault. Galleons, knuts, and sickles sprinkled the floor, but the amount of money was nothing compared to Lily's. This was because of what had happened years ago.

It had been Carrie's 11-year old birthday party, and Lily still remembered it clearly as though it had been yesterday. Just a couple neighborhood friends had been invited to the party along with Lily, as the two girls didn't have any other friends in Hogwarts. This was the first time that Lily had met Carrie's mom.

Carrie had described her as a "free bird." She was not the stay-at-home mom, who spent all her time baking cookies and making her kids study. She was a person who liked to go out partying with her friends, a person who had let Carrie watch her first R-rated movie at the age of 7, the kind of mom who bought cake and ice cream for no particular reason. That was one of the reasons that Carrie's Muggle father had fallen in love with her magical mother--because she was so independent and different.

The woman was in her 40's, but the bright smile on her face and the hip clothes that she wore made her look like she was 25. She had long curly blond hair and chocolate brown eyes, and had perfect, up-to-date make up on. Lily remembered the exact way she smiled and said, "Hey Lily! Carrie's mentioned you more than once at the dinner table...not that I cooked it, but..." She had laughed, and shook Lily's hand warmly.

That day, Carrie's mom had baked her first cake. For a mom that never cooked, the cake was delicious. It was a chocolate cake, with foamy vanilla frosting, and the words "HAPPY 12th CARRIE!" on it in electric blue letters. Carrie looked caught off guard at the fact that her mother had, for once in her life, acted like a mother and cooked for her. She seemed shocked -- but happy at the same time.

After cake, Carrie's dad, Mr. Wattson, took them all to a roller-blading rink. Lily had expected this wonderful mom to come along, but she declined, saying she had some business to take care of. That night, when Carrie and her dad came back from the rink, Mrs. Wattson wasn't home.

After that, Carrie's mom did not come home. At Hogwarts, Lily used to hear her friend whispering in her sleep, "She's coming home..." After a while, these turned to pleas, and every night, Carrie would sit by her bed, praying that her mom would find her way home.

In June the next year, a completely changed Mrs. Wattson showed up at Carrie's doorstep. She was dressed in the latest French fashion, with her curly blond hair dyed bright red. She had visited many different countries -- America, Japan, Italy, China -- and had the adventure of her life. She looked happier than ever, being so free, but asked guiltily if they could forgive her for being so selfish, and accept her back into the family.

Carrie and her dad couldn't. After the long year that they had suffered and longed for Mrs. Wattson, they couldn't accept her back into their hearts. The place that Carrie's mom used to occupy in her daughter's heart, was now an empty hole. Shortly afterwards, Carrie's mom fell into a deep depression and ended up killing herself only two days later.

She had stuck a sword in her stomach, and screamed so loudly that Carrie and her dad rushed to her room. Mr. Wattson called the police immediately, keeping his cool, but Carrie couldn't do the same. She fell by her mother's side and sobbed uncontrollably, asking one question. "Why?"

Her mother gave one last, sad smile and said, "Carrie, sometimes even free birds get caught."

Carrie and her dad were so overwhelmed by a feeling of guilt and sadness, that they both stopped caring. Her dad, who had worked as a doctor for a large hospital, resigned from work and spent his days lying around with alcohol. The family income went to 0 very quickly, and the two could barely eat.

That was the period when Carrie changed. Every single shirt, key chain, and stuffed animal that she owned with a bird on it--she burned. She went through a phase of all black, and started listening to depressing lyrics that ended up in her crying. She bought all the vile-sounding colors of hair dye (such as bloody death) and dyed her hair until it turned into a strange mixture of mud.

Carrie's dad eventually came to realize that if he didn't work, his daughter would starve to death. He took a job as a pediatrician at a smaller hospital, and tried regaining all their money that was all lost. However, Carrie didn't change back into the happy girl that she once was. A hardcore, angry punk remained. 

Now, Carrie spent less nights crying over her dead mother, and she didn't shoot evil glances at birds anymore. However, the death of her mother never ceased to haunt her.

However, Lily's grandmother's income had not undergone any dramatic changes for about 40 years, and a cash flow kept the whole family alive--and rich. Lily also provided some of the money. At age 12, Lily's grandmother had forced her into the job of modeling, something that she used to do, and since then, Lily had steadily gained popularity, and was one of the top teen models at this time. She was on the cover of Seventeen, and YM constantly, and she had model shoots often in the summer. This modeling job kept the money coming.

So, Lily's vault, 482, was much fuller than Carrie's. It had a huge pile of galleons just rolling around, waiting to be used. Lily always asked if Carrie needed some extra money, but her best friend would always refuse, pride getting the best of her.

Both the girls picked up a pretty good amount of money, and headed out, ready to shop.

About two hours later, the two girls showed up in front of Flourish and Blotts, arms loaded with bags. Lily and Carrie had gone around shopping for new robes, quills, dress robes, cauldrons, and everything else besides...books. Both the girls thought they could get their book shopping done pretty easily, and have enough time to wander around Diagon Alley, devouring ice creams on the way. How wrong they were.

When the girls got to Flourish and Blotts, their mouths dropped open. The place was crammed with people desperately trying to get a place in the huge line, and many were bickering over things such as cutting. Lily saw a 2-year old girl crying because her big brother had accidentally knocked over her ice cream cone in the chaos. The redhead had never seen a bookshop so crowded before, so assumed that there was something going on.

"Carrie, can you go check what's up with this place?" Asked Lily, but her friend just pointed to a huge red floating in the sky.

"England's Quidditch Team-visiting Diagon Alley today, get your autographs in Flourish and Blotts!"

"Looks like this is going to take a while," muttered Lily, and took her place at the very back of the line.

"So? Do you want to meet the Quidditch team, Carrie?"

"Hell yeah!" Cried her best friend. "I mean--not like I really like Quidditch, but it's always fun to meet famou--" Carrie stopped dead in her tracks, and her mouth fell open. Surreptitiously, she reached into the pocket of her pants and pulled out a black, jagged mirror. She turned it sideways so she could see behind her, and gasped at what she saw.

"Don't look now, but I think the Rauders are right behind us..." she hissed at Lily.

"The Rauders? As in, James Potter, Sirius Bl--"

"Shut up! They could hear us!" Carrie took out the mirror again, and gazed dreamily at what Lily guessed was the reflection of James. "Oh my gosh...I think her just winked at me..." She muttered.

Lily doubted highly that even girl-loving James would flirt with the back of a girl's head, but did not dare mention it. As Carrie did not look in any mood to talk, she decided to listen in to the Rauders' conversation.

"Oh my god! We're going to get to meet the Quidditch team!" Squealed an excited voice behind her, who Lily guessed was Peter. Peter was a pudgy boy with blond hair and watery blue eyes. He was not ugly, but not exactly what Lily would call hot. She often wondered why Peter would be included in the Marauder's group.

"Peter, you sound like such a girl..." said a voice that Lily recognized as Remus Lupin's, the only voice of the Marauders' that she did not hear with a tingle of contempt. The Marauders were a group of arrogant, disgusting guys who spent all their time playing dangerous pranks and flirting with girls. They cheated on their girlfriends all the time, and Lily had seen quite a few threesomes going around. She hated the fact that guys took advantage of girls without even the slightest twinge of guilt, as she was a strong feminist believer.

However, in Lily's eyes, Remus wasn't that bad. He was a boy with dirty blond hair and chocolate brown eyes, a well-built body, and a soothing voice. He was usually quieter than his friends, and didn't make fun of anyone much.

The other two were a different story. James Potter and Sirius Black. The two biggest eggheads in the history of Hogwarts. Sirius Black was a boy with shiny black hair and mysterious gray eyes. He had a charming smile, and although Lily hated to admit it, was unbelievably good-looking. James Potter looked a bit like his friend, except with unruly black hair and hazel eyes. He was even more arrogant than Sirius, and usually spent his time boasting to girls about his amazing Quidditch moves.

"Hey guys, did you hear that we're getting some new students?" Asked Sirius. "Since there's been a lot of Muggle-attacks lately in England, a lot of Aurors from America and France are coming over here, because their parents' jobs were moved over here. I heard we're getting a pretty hot group of girls from the States."

"Oh, good, I could use a new girl..." replied James. "Caroline is really getting on my nerves lately, I needed a good reason to break up with her..."

"Oh yeah, same with me and Mandy." Said Sirius, much to Lily's disgust.

"Oh, I think that's them right now..." said James, and Lily could almost see him grinning stupidly.

Prats, she thought to herself.

Lily turned quickly around, and saw a group of girls that she had never seen before walking (or more like sashaying) towards the Marauders. The obvious ringleader of the group had gorgeous blond hair and sea-green eyes, and was wearing a halter-top and skirt very wisely. She winked at James and stuck her hand out saying, "Hi, I'm a new transfer from America. Liza Pluto."

James grinned broadly and winked back. "James Potter." He replied, and the rest of the Marauders smiled, nodded, or winked in reply. Liza and her crowd of girls giggled noisily.

"Ok...well, this is Mary-Ann, Beth, Nelly..." Liza went around introducing girls who looked like exact clones of her, with perfect hair and beautiful make-up. Then she came to one girl who looked nothing like the others.

The last girl had beautiful brown hair with golden highlights, and soft chocolaty eyes. She was chewing on a piece of gum incessantly, and had an expression that screamed "attitude" on. She was wearing a black tank top and black cargoes with a silver chain dangling from the belt. She spit out her gum and landed it perfectly in the garbage can 5 feet away from her. Bull's eye.

Liza stuttered. "Um...this is...erm..."

"Kaylee Eloin." The girl said, holding out her hand.

James Potter looked Kaylee up and down, examining her. He looked down at her unmanicured nails, her pants that were 5 times too big for her, and her jaws, which were still chomping gum. He upturned his nose and turned to Liza.

"So...what's America like?" He asked, his back completely turned on Kaylee. The girl rolled her eyes, ran a hand through her golden brown hair, and stuck her hand in her pocket, pulling out a pack of gum.

It's always been this way... she thought. I was so stupid to think that I'd ever fit in. To think that anybody would ever like me and let me in their group. I'm always the outcast, the freak, the bitch, the disgusting girl with the uncombed hair...Jeez, why does everyone hate me so much?

Kaylee fought back tears as she watched the rest of the guys turn their backs on her and tut, muttering something under their breath that sounded like, "Wow, that girl looks like crap..."

She was about to run out of this stupid book store, forgetting her dream about meeting the star Quidditch players, when a voice cut through her heavy thoughts.

"Can I have one?"

Kaylee looked down at her hand, and saw that she was still holding her favorite pack of gum. She looked up again, at the person who had been speaking. Kaylee was faced with two girls who were actually smiling at her. They were both wearing their hair in messy ways, and wearing black. Neither of the girls were flirting with guys, or making snide comments about her---just smiling and asking for a piece of gum.

The girl who had spoken first, the one with flowing red hair and sparkly green eyes, said, "I'm Lily Evans." The other girl with a strange mixture of muddy colored hair said, "Carrie Wattson."

Kaylee looked at the two for a second longer, and then picked out two sticks of gum for them. "Here you go..." she said, a little shyly.

"Thanks," replied Lily, and then motioned in front of her. "Do you want to stay in line with us, or hang out with that ditzy Liza-girl?"

Kaylee grinned. That wasn't a choice worth much thinking about.

"So, do you like Quidditch?" Asked Lily to Kaylee. The redhead was really starting to enjoy Kaylee's company, as the girl was hilarious, witty, and very clever. She had a habit of cracking jokes about how ditzy Liza was, which always made Lily and Carrie double up in laughter.

"Yeah, I love it. I used to play beater on the team at my school."

"Were you any good?" Asked Carrie.

"Well...I don't mean to brag, but there were a couple times when I kicked some serious jock-butt out on the field."

"Jock butt, eh? Well then, you should join the Quidditch team and help make Potter look like an idiot." Lily intervened, grinning.

"Potter? Is that the kid with the black messy hair who ignored me? Is he a jock?"

"Yeah, he is...isn't he hot?" Replied Carrie, completely ignoring the disgusted tone of voice that Kaylee had been using. "I think he's so cute, with his ruffled black hair and his hazel eyes..." Carrie trailed off, and her mouth sagged open. Lily sensed the danger of drool output from her friend, so turned to Kaylee.

"Sorry, she's a bit obsessed with that stupid jerk..."

Kaylee smiled. "That's ok. You have to admit, he is kind of cute, but you can't judge a book by its cover."

"No, you can't." Agreed Lily.

Lily was actually very excited to meet the Quidditch stars. Of the seven players that made up the England Quidditch team, she was only nervous about meeting one of them. Maria Muddies. Maria was the Seeker of the Quidditch, one of the first women to ever play on a Quidditch team. And to add to that, Maria was also a Muggle-born. For this reason, most magazines made fun of her, and called her "Maria Mudblood," instead.

When she made a spectacular save in a Quidditch match of the snitch, the press would always twist the whole story around and make it sound like Maria had had an easy game. Referees liked to call fouls on Maria, and if someone deliberately crashed into the poor, 19-year old girl, they would ignore it. However, it was not an arguable fact that Maria was a wonderful seeker. She always managed to catch the snitch, and the England Quidditch team had not lost one game after she had joined. But everyone denied this proven fact, and just called her the some horrible name such as "Dirty Mud."

However, Lily could not understand this sort of discrimination. She thought that Maria was just as good as anyone else, and supported her fully. In fact, Lily had Muddies posters all around her bedroom and was a very faithful fan.

As the line grew shorter and shorter, Lily took out her notebook for autographs and a pen. Carrie started matting down her strange-looking hair, and batting her eyelashes nervously. It was obvious whom Carrie wanted to meet. Chris Poole. The Chaser of the Quidditch team, with perfect blond hair and beautiful icy blue eyes, that in Carrie's words, "you could just drown in."

"Oh my gosh---I think I see Chris!" Whispered Carrie excitedly, snapping Lily back to reality.

Just as well as Carrie could see her beloved Chris, Lily could see her idol Maria. Without even looking at the other Quidditch members, Lily walked over to Maria. She looked just like she did in the magazines, with wild brown hair and fiery blue eyes.

"Hi. I'm Lily Evans. I'm your number one fan." Said Lily, grinning cheekily, but thinking in her head, Man, why do I sound so stupidly lame?

However, Maria did not roll her eyes at Lily's clichéd remark, and instead smiled. "Hi Lily." She said, and stuck her hand out. Lily gladly shook it, wondering how many people had said to Maria that they were her number one fan. She asked her thoughts, and Maria's expression contorted sadly.

"You're my first one, Lily." She sighed, and the redhead sensed much sorrow in her voice.

"Huh? How could that be? Don't girls support you? Don't people see you as a person who managed to make their dreams come true, even when they were female and a Muggle-born? I would have thought..."

"Yeah, I did too." Maria cut in, nodding. "I used to have all these stupid fantasies of people saying, 'I'm your number one fan!' and waving posters with pictures of me on them. But reality's different. People don't like things that they aren't used to. And a woman Seeker who can beat up the guys is definitely something that they're not used to." Maria paused, looking at Lily apologetically. "I'm sorry, you probably don't understand..."

"No. I do. In fact, I understand so much that it pains me. Please keep trying, Maria. When people do get used to you, they're going to love you. I have a dream, too. Even though I'm a girl and a Muggle-born, I want to become an Auror." Lily hardly knew why she was spilling her life's ambitions to some one she hadn't even spoken to before, but she just felt...comfortable around Marie.

"Well, I hope your dreams come true, Lily. Thanks for being my number one fan. You're awesome." She said, and smiled, giving Lily a specially autographed photo.

"I hope so, too."

Lily walked out of Flourish and Blotts, cradling an autographed poster of Muddies, grinning broadly. Carrie was telling her and Kaylee about a great save that her idol, Chris Pool, had made in a Quidditch match, but Lily really wasn't listening. She was lost in her own thoughts.

Now, Lily wasn't one to make friends easily. She was very...different, so most people chose not to get to know her, and just labeled her as the "weird outcast-punk." Lily usually didn't care, but she admitted that not having friends could become a little depressing, too. So, it was a pretty big deal for a 19-year old girl that just happened to be her idol, to make good friends with Lily and be kind to her. If Marie doesn't succeed in becoming popular with the crowd of Quidditch-lovers, I'll make sure I do. I'll become the most famous Auror ever, and I'll throw every single bad guy in jail. I will be great. Thought Lily, fiercely and positively.

Then, Lily looked down at her watch.

Suddenly, all positive thoughts were lost.

"Carrie!" Lily screeched, her face looking nervous. "It's 7:00!"

"What?" Asked Carrie, who had been in a frantic explanation of how Chris had narrowly missed crashing into another fellow Quidditch player in the Cup Finals last year. "Oh my god...it is. Wasn't Orri supposed to pick us up 30 minutes ago?"

"Yes..." trailed Lily's voice off, dryly. "If I'm late coming back home, Grandmother's going to hurt me..."

Little did Lily's two friends know that what the redhead had just said was completely literal.

"Well, then I guess we have to go...bye, Kaylee, nice meeting you!" The two girls cried, and ran off, the last sounds of, "Bye!" echoing in their ears.

Lily and Carrie ran into the Leaky Cauldron about 20 minutes later, panting, sweating, and looking altogether disheveled. They gave each other what looked like a cross between a reassuring smile and a worried look, and then walked over to the bar, where Borris was sitting. Lily looked at what Borris was sipping, and did a double take.

A butterbeer. Borris was drinking one of those bubbly, sweet wizard drinks that were common in a pub called The Three Broomsticks. However, Borris was not one to try new things, and Lily would have bet all her life belongings that the guy sitting at the bar, talking easily to Tom, and drinking butterbeer like he did it every day -- was not Borris. But it was.

Lily walked over tentatively to who she thought was her butler, and tapped him on the shoulder, expecting him to burst about how worried he was. What she got was a friendly greeting and a smile.

"Lily! Hi! Where have you been? You're a little late...oh well, that's fine...I know how girls can be when they go shopping," Borris said, chuckling appreciatively at himself.

"Uh...Borris? Are you OK? You're not acting like...yourself." Lily asked, a little worried. Borris was acting like one of those laid-back, carefree types, when really he was one of the most uptight guys in London.

"I'm fine, Lily dear. I was just chatting with Tom about the first day he met you."

Something inside Lily's head snapped, and she finally understood. Borris was acting the way he was, because he had finally made a friend. When he was growing up, Borris's family was always rich and prestigious, and never let him play with his friends, something that normal kids do. Instead, Borris went to a male finishing school to learn how to play the piano, table manners, and the art of bowing. All of the guys at his normal school teased him for doing that, and thought he was a disgrace to the name "man." Borris never had any real friends after that, and became a very uptight, serious guy who wouldn't recognize the difference between a joke and mortal danger.

However, now, Borris seemed to be making up for his friendless days by talking with Tom on the one subject that he wasn't totally clueless on--Lily, his almost daughter. The subject of conversation slowly smiled, ordered a butterbeer for herself and Carrie, and listened in closely to Borris and Tom's conversation. It sounded like they were old friends, who stopped at bars frequently to talk about pretty much everything.

After about an hour of the lingering conversation, Borris suddenly realized the time, swept the two kids into the parked limo outside with a hurried good bye to Tom, and drove home frantically. They dropped Carrie off at her house without even a proper farewell, and raced home, miraculously avoiding all traffic. They arrived home at 9:30, about two hours later than expected.

Lily gulped. She could foresee the reaction of her grandmother, and it was not going to be good. The two walked in the house with hands hanging low, both gritting their teeth. Madam Evans greeted them both in a silk pink bathrobe, her wispy gray hair tied up in a knot at the top of her head.

"Well...hello," she said, rather pleasantly. "You're home a little late," she said, smiling sweetly. "I bet you're both tired. Would you like a cup of tea?"

Lily could hardly believe her ears. What's she playing at? The girl thought to herself, biting her lip. Her grandma had not acted like a normal grandma in years, and here she was--acting all...nice and fluffy. Lily had been expecting the rough bulldog approach, and what she got was a cute, cuddly kitten instead.

"Erm...sure, tea would be great..." trailed Lily, looking at her pink grandmother unsurely.

"All right, I'll order it right away from the kitchens. Why don't you sit down in the living room?" (By living room, Lily's grandmother meant something more like a grand hall) "We can sit down and chat about...Pigwarts."

"Hogwarts, Madam." Lily corrected.

"Call me Grandmother."