Disclaimer.I own nothing except for October, the song and my measly attempt at a plot!

Chapter Two - Aboard the Train and Into the School

The morning of September first dawned bright and sunny. 'A perfect day for a new beginning,' Lily thought as she got out of the shower and began getting ready. She pulled on a light blue T-shirt and her black pants before sweeping her hair into a ponytail and heading down to breakfast

After finishing up her breakfast, Lily was ready to go. She went upstairs to get her trunk and take one last look at her bedroom. Then she grabbed her sneakers and jumped into the car. As the Evans family pulled up to King's Cross Station, Lily began to feel a little nervous. Her parents were unfortunately needed back at work, so after saying goodbye and fetching a trolley, Lily found herself quite alone as she began to look for platform nine and three quarters. She walked up to the barrier between platforms nine and ten, and stood there stupefied. There was no platform nine and three quarters!

Lily was wondering what she was going to do when she was taken by surprise as she saw somebody disappear through the barrier. The somebody was part of a group of boys accompanied by people Lily assumed to be there parents.

"Excuse me!" lily called to the last boy as the two others followed the adults through the barrier. "Excuse me!" lily called again, this time getting the boy's attention.

"Yes," said the boy.

"Umm . . ." Lily started, "Where you by any chance going to platform nine and three quarters?"

"Yeah," the boy told her before proceeding to ask if she was for Hogwarts too.

"I am," said Lily, "But I don't know how to get on to the platform."

"Don't worry about it." He smiled, "All you have to do is run through the barrier. If you want I can go with you since it's my first time too."

"Okay," Lily replied meekly, and off they went. One minute lily was running through a brick wall with a stranger by her side, and in a split second, she found herself on a lively platform, facing a brilliant red train. As Lily stood there taking everything in, the boy waved goodbye and ran off to find his friends and parents.

After the boy had left, Lily boarded the train and found an empty compartment. She settled in and took out 'The Two Towers' (she had long since finished 'The Fellowship of the Ring'.) The young witch sat there reading untill she was interrupted by a familiar face.

"Hello," said the boy from the barrier.

"Oh hey!" Lily replied, "And thanks again about earlier!"

"No problem. The name's Remus by the way," he stated.

"I'm Lily," she returned as she took a better look at the boy in front of her. He was quite handsome for an eleven-year-old. He was fairly tall with curly, sandy brown hair and grey eyes that looked like the sky before a storm.

Lily's gaze ended as they felt the train begin to move. Remus then said goodbye and left to find the other boys, leaving Lily to her thoughts. 'Could this be a friend?' She pondered as she turned back to her book.

Lily soon found that she didn't really feel like reading so she changed into her long black robes and dug out her journal. While Lily was rooting through her trunk, she came across a long slender package.

"My wand.' Lily thought as she pulled off the brown paper wrapping. She hadn't really given much thought to her wand since leaving Ollivander's, but now she chose to take a better look. She noticed that it was just over ten inches long and made of swishy willow wood. A Mr. Ollivander had told her that it would be good for charm work.

"Maybe I won't be such a dunce after all,' Lily thought morosely, as she went back to scribbling away in her diary. She wrote about how nervous she was, and about her excitement. She also wrote about Remus and the possibility of a new friend.

September 1, 1972

Dear Diary,

It's Lily again. I'm on the train right now and I'm very excited, but also very nervous. I'm afraid I won't know anything and that I won't have any friends. I have met one person that's kinda nice (and sorta cute.) His name is Remus and I wonder if we'll be friends. He helped me get onto the platform earlier and I think he 's a first year too. Oh well I have to go because a lady with a trolley is here with some candy. I'll write more later.

Love, Lily

As Lily was putting away her diary, a plump witch came rolling in inquiring whether she wanted to buy some sweets. After making sure that they weren't real, Lily set to work on a pile of chocolate frogs. She was very amused when she noticed the wizard cards and their moving pictures. After finishing her snack, Lily pulled out her sketchbook and began doodling a picture of the sandy haired boy she had met earlier before she was interrupted yet again. In fact she barely had a chance to hide her drawing before a boy burst through the door. Lily recognised him as one of the boys she had seen with Remus on the platform. This boy was also handsome with shaggy black hair just long enough to fall in his bright blue eyes but not long enough to look bad. He also possessed a certain charm and a very loud voice that Lily became fully aware of when he began to bellow. "FIVE MINUTES 'TILL WE GET THERE!" he boomed before exiting the compartment with a wink directed at the incredibly startled Lily. 'Who was that?' Lily wondered as the energetic boy bounced down the corridor. She was soon forced to abandon her musings however as the train had come swiftly to a halt in Hogsmeade station. Going back to her nervousness, Lily took a deep breath and stepped lightly off the train. When she got out side, it was all she could do to keep from screaming. Standing by a lake with a fleet of little boats, was the largest man Lily had ever seen. He was huge, twice as tall as an average man and he was currently calling the first years. She quickly made her way over to the lake and said hello to the giant man who had introduced himself as Hagrid, before settling into an empty boat. Once she had settled down, Lily began to take in her surroundings and she noticed Remus approaching her. "Why hello again!" Remus called as he sat down next to her. "Hey Remus!" Lily replied. "I thought you were with those other boys." "Oh yeah, I was but then James saw one of his cousins so he and Sirius went to say hi while I came looking for you. I thought you might want a familiar face to talk with," he added. "Oh wow! Thanks." Lily exclaimed. She was positively elated to have finally made a friend. The two were soon joined by a couple other eleven-year-olds and the little fleet was headed for the castle. As they skimmed across the water, Lily saw the two raven-haired boys that she could now identify as Remus' friends Sirius and James. They were sitting with a small blonde boy and a girl with long jet hair, whom Lily assumed was the cousin. Once they arrived at the castle, Lily and the other first years were standing in a room chatting nervously. Soon after they had all entered, the doors opened and they were faced by a stern looking witch. The witch, who wore her hair in a tight knot at the back of her head asked for their attention, introduced herself and proceeded to explain. Professor McGonagall told them about the four houses and about the point system soon, the first years were forming a line and filing into the great hall. Lily looked around in amazement. The great hall had a ceiling that looked exactly like the sky, floating candles, four tables with older students seated at them and one other table where the staff was seated. The one thing in the hall that seemed a bit out of place was a small stool and an old, dingy hat that McGonagall placed on top of it. In fact the hat looked so insignificant and shabby that Lily jumped a foot in the air when it began to sing. "I know I look quite shabby, But I'm better than I look. I am the sorting hat, And I'm better than a book. I've met many the great wizard folk, Like the founders of this school. Most of them turned out quite well, Though some became quite cruel. Come up here and try me on, Before you fill your plate. I am the one, who will decide, Which house will be your fate. The four houses are as standing, thus, Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff, Gryffindor and Slytherin. Hurry up and put me on, Let's see which house you're in!"

Lily was then filled with relief as the students learned that they must only try on the hat to be sorted. However, the nervousness soon returned as the sorting hat began calling out names. As Lily watched the students go up in alphabetical order, she recognised Remus' energetic friend as he flew up the stairs and rather enthusiastically jammed the hat on his head. It was only a few seconds later that Professor McGonagall could be heard yelling at the boy, "SIRIUS BLACK! NOW THAT THE ENTIRE SCHOOL HAS BEEN INFORMED THAT YOU ARE IN GRYFFINDOR, COULD YOU PLEASE TAKE YOURSELF, AND YOUR 'HAPPY DANCE' BACK TO THE TABLE." The boy then ended his own personal interpretation of riverdance and trotted over to his seat. Professor McGonagall then finished calling up the remaining students. When she finally came to 'Evans, Lily' poor Lily thought she might faint. She wasn't quite sure what to do, so she just sat down, put the hat on and waited. "Hmmm," said a little voice in her ear. "A muggle born witch with extraordinary powers. You will do much for our world I foresee, now where to put you." "Umm not in Slytherin please." Lily whispered. "No Slytherin would never do, you have ambition yes, intelligence and loyalty for sure, but it is your bravery that is greatest. It will take you far indeed. I think it's Gryffindor for you my dear!" 'Oh good!' Lily thought to herself as she slid happily into a seat at her house table. She watched as more students were sorted into their houses, and finally, after 'Lovegood, Laurence' was placed in Ravenclaw, 'Lupin, Remus' was called up to the stool. 'Oh I hope he's in Gryffindor too.' Lily thought, and soon she was happily clapping her hands with the others at her table as her friend came over and sat between her and Sirius Black. As the sorting ceremony began to come to a close, James Potter, his cousin October and the small blonde boy from the boat joined the Gryffindor table. Eventually, 'Zambini, Justin' made his way to the Slytherin table and the volume in the hall tapered down to a dull roar. Almost as if on queue, Dumbledore took this drop in noise level as the perfect opportunity to commence his speech.

"Welcome to Hogwarts boys and girls. I hope your heads are nice and empty, ready for re-filling. Please keep in mind that the Forbidden forest is well. forbidden, and that the list of rules is posted on the door of Mr. Filch's office. Now, before you collapse of boredom from an old man's rambles.Dig in!"

With that, the students started to pile food onto their plates as it magically appeared on the golden dishes before them.

* * * * *

After everyone had finished scarfing down the delicious food, they began trucking up the stairs to their respective dormitories, prefects in the lead. "Hey Lily!" someone called from behind her. "Oh hi!" Lily returned as she turned and saw Remus and his friends running to catch up with her. "Let me introduce you to the gang he called, panting slightly. "This is Sirius (pointing to the boy with the blue eyes), Peter (pointing to the small blonde boy), James, and his cousin October," Remus reeled off. "Hi," Lily said shyly as she took a closer look at the two cousins. James, like Remus and Sirius was handsome, but with his round glasses and extremely messy hair, he looked a tad comical. October on the other hand was possibly the most beautiful girl Lily had ever seen. She was tall and slender with tanned skin and violet eyes. Her hair was also very pretty as it hung straight and shiny 'till just past her shoulder blades. Lily noticed that when the light hit it, her hair revealed natural dark violet highlights against the black. Lily and the 'gang' became fast friends. In fact, those who didn't know them would have guessed that they had all known each other from infancy.

A/N : I'm soooo sorry for the length of time in which it has taken me to update but I'm afraid it might be a while before the next chapter is up too. I will try to make it as quick as possible though..please read and review! -Christina