***OKAY, CHAPTER 3! I PROMISE THAT IT WILL GET MORE ACTION PACKED AS THE STORIES GO ON, AND I HAVE TO GET THROUGH THE FORMALITIES OF HOGWARTS. BUT ENJOY A LITTLE L/J INTERACTION, SOME SIRIUS MOMENTS, AND A LITTLE BIT O' SNAPE...***

OH, AND PLEASE FORGIVE FORMATTING PROBLEMS! I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO PRESERVE THE INDENT AND SPACING IN MY HTML DOCUMENTS!!!

ON BOARD THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS

"Now, do you have everything you need?" Dad asked.

Lily nodded, glancing around King's Cross Station at the area between Platforms nine and ten. "I don't see it, Dad." She looked back down at the ticket in her hands. "Platform Nine and three-quarters. Where exactly is that?"

"This is utterly ridiculous. Platform Nine and three-quarters. Who ever heard of such a place?" Petunia stamped her foot on the cement huffily. "Someone's played a prank, this is a lot of foolish nonsense, and my sister is the biggest fool of all."

"That's enough, Petunia. You know this is not nonsense, not in the least. The Gentleman from the Department of Muggle Enlightenment at the Ministry of Magic helped us with this, as you are well aware. I've seen Diagon Alley. I'm sure this exists too." He turned back with a comforting smile for Lily. "We've just got to know where to look."

"I wonder why Mr. Goodwin forgot to mention this."

"Well, I'm not waiting around for her to make fools of us all." Petunia turned on her heel.

"Petunia! Come and bid your sister farewell!" called Mum.

Petunia flipped a hand in the air, but kept walking.

"She's just a bit jealous, you know," said Mum, ruffling Lily's hair. "Not used to you getting so much attention."

"What if she's right, Mum? What if it isn't there?"

"You got your wand, right? And your books? We spoke with Mr. Goodwin. What kind of a joke could it be? Now here, take your cart, we'll just go up through here and see what we can find."

The platforms were long and narrow, with just enough room to allow people to board the trains. But there were no signs to Platform Nine and three-quarters anywhere.

"I suppose Abler forgot to tell us about this," sighed Dad. "He did seem in a bit of a rush."

"Hurry, we'll be late!" Two boys rushed past them, their thin black coats billowing. They had an owl between them, and were hurriedly pushing their carts at full speed towards the last pillar on the platform.

Lily recognized them immediately—the two boys who had been leaving the wand shop in Diagon Alley. They were rushing fast towards the great stone pillar, and if they didn't check soon, they would crash into it! "Watch out!"

One of the boys—the boy with the round spectacles—turned to glance at her just as he hit the pillar. He stumbled, then fell—right through the wall!

Lily gasped. Just like magic…

She grabbed her Dad's wrist. "This…this way, I think!"

They reached the pillar where the boy had fallen. It seemed normal.

But if that boy got through…

She laid her hands carefully on the red stone, pushing ever so gently. And stumbled forward, through the wall, as though there had been no pillar to begin with. To her surprise, the pillar gave way to a platform—a platform at which sat the most beautiful train she'd every seen, painted a bright scarlet and black, with gold letters: HOGWARTS EXPRESS

In front of her, the boy she'd seen trip was still sprawled on the concrete, trying to gather his stuff together, which had spilled off the cart. His friend, instead of being helpful, was clutching his sides, breathless with laughter.

"Oh, bravo, James, bravo!"

The boy named James glared at him, then reached around, as though searching.

"I'm terribly sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. Can I…can I help you find something?"

James squinted up at her, pushing his wild black strands of hair out of his face. "My glasses."

"Oh." Lily stepped backwards.

Crunch.

James stopped feeling the ground. "I think you've found them."

Lily lifted her foot. Beneath the heel, one of the two lenses of his beautiful round glasses was completely smashed.

James's friend was now doubled over with laughter.

She lifted the broken glasses off the ground, her face matching the auburn of her hair. "I'm terribly sorry."

James just sighed. "It's alright. This happens all the time. Especially with him." He pulled out his brand new wand.

"Oculus repairo".

The glass from the broken lens lifted off the floor, filling the empty space within the frame. In a moment, they were brand new.

"Amazing! You can do magic!"

"That's what we're here for, isn't it?" James pushed his newly repaired glasses onto the bridge of his nose and looked at her properly. "Glasses repair spell. One of the few my parents forced me to learn, and the ministry allowed me to do, since I needed it so often. My name is James. James Potter. And this delightful giggling lout," he motioned to his companion, "although you wouldn't know it, is my best friend, Sirius Black."

Sirius stopped laughing for a moment to glare at James, then bowed politely.

James turned to her expectantly.

"I'm Lily," she said with a smile. "Lily Evans. My parents should be coming through any minute, so you'd better hurry."

"Are they Muggles?"

"What?"

James blushed for a moment. "I don't mean to sound choosy. If they're Muggles, they can't come through without a wizard escort. It's enchanted that way."

"Oh! Thank you!" Lily rushed back through the doorway.

"Why did you say that for?" Sirius leaned over and punched James in the arm as the Muggle girl rushed back through the pillar.

"Say what?"

"This 'delightful giggling lout'…" Sirius frowned at him. "That was uncalled for."

"Its only a girl, Sirius. Why are you so upset?" James grinned as Sirius blushed as red as the girl's hair. "Maybe if you'd helped me up, instead of laughing yourself sick, I might have been more polite. Now help me with this. Knowing my luck, she'll come barreling through with a cart packed with items and run me over."

Sirius frowned, but placed James's books and owl cage back on the trolley. No sooner had they moved out of the way than a trolley, packed with items, pushed quickly through the barrier.

The girl, Lily, paused beside them again as her father moved to hurriedly load her baggage onto the train. "Are you…real wizards?"

James stifled a laugh. Sirius shouldered him, then nodded. "We come from wizarding families, if that's what you mean."

"Would it be too much trouble…I mean…could you sit with me on the train, and tell me a little about…well…you? I really don't know anything at all, and I would really appreciate your help."

"Of course!" stated Sirius at once.

James rolled his eyes. "Of course—except we don't know that much."

The girl's face fell as Sirius blushed again.

"Don't worry," he continued, "we can tell you a little bit about what we do know. But its customary in wizarding families not to reveal what goes on at Hogwarts. Preserving the experience, I suppose you could say."

The whistle on the train blew shrilly, and as James and Sirius moved their trolleys towards the edge of the platform, another trolley breezed through the causeway, just clipping theirs and missing Lily by inches.

"Oy! Watch where you're driving that..." Sirius grumbled.

A sallow faced, hook-nosed boy stared back at him. James knew him immediately–the same boy who had bumped into them at Diagon alley, the day they bought their wands.

"Don't you even have the courtesy to apologize?" James questioned, narrowing his eyes. "Or are manners unnecessary for Dark Wizard wannabes?"

The boy watched them for a moment, thin-lipped, then turned to guide his trolley towards the train.

"Hey!" yelled Sirius. "My friend is speaking to you!"

"I have nothing to say to him," replied the boy darkly.

Sirius's lip curled, and he snarled menacingly. "I think you do need to learn some manners."

"I think," Lily spoke suddenly, "that you should leave him alone."

All three boys turned in surprise. She was standing behind them, arms crossed, a scowl on her face. James and Sirius gaped at her.

"What?"

"What has he done to you? Why are you picking on him? You don't even know his name."

The sallow-faced boy snorted, and left them facing one another without so much as a thank you.

"Do you see? Did you see what he did? How could you defend..."

"There is no good reason for picking on someone, Mr. Potter. NO good reason."

"Pardon me, Miss Evans, but..."

"Fine," huffed Sirius, interrupting them. "James and I are very sorry. We need to be going, anyhow. The train will be leaving in a few minutes. My apologies, Miss Evans. Might we meet you on board, then?"

A glimmer of a smile appeared on Lily's face, though her fists were still clenched. "Yes, thank you." She turned and rushed over to her parents, her head stubbornly upright.

James turned back to Sirius stiffly, his lips set in a thin, tight line.

Sirius chuckled at him. "Sorry, mate."

"Why did you do that? Why didn't you just explain to her what he is?"

"Because she'd never have believed it. Besides," he shrugged. "In a way she's right. We don't know him yet. Better get to know his name before we teach him about manners."

His blue eyes sparkled as he grinned meanly.

James half-smiled, and glanced once more over at Lily and her family, fluffing his hair as he went.

* * *

"And these are..?"

"Chocolate Frogs. Each pack has a famous witch or wizard card, so you can start collecting."

Lily opened the frog box, lifting out the card. "Hmm. Merlin."

Sirius smiled. "He's one of the best. I've got almost all of them. Save for Circe. And Dumbledore. He's new."

"Dumbledore—isn't he the Headmaster?"

"Yes. And one of the greatest wizards of all time. He actually defeated Grindelwald the Great—while he was teaching at Hogwarts!"

"Grindelwald—I've read about him. Wasn't he the wizard who tried to destroy London?"

"Yes. It was a great big disaster. All the Muggles were confused with the war that was going on, and he didn't really succeed in stirring up any more trouble than they already had with non-wizarding enemies. But Dumbledore stopped him just the same—locked him up in Azkaban until there was nothing left of his mind. Azkaban is, by the way..."

"The wizarding prison. I've heard of it."

Sirius stared at her blankly for a moment.

"Mm. Uh, James, do you collect these to?" Lily seemed slightly remorseful over their words on the platform, and leaned over to the other boy, who'd been staring out the window for the majority of the conversation.

"What? Oh, no."

Sirius grinned at his friend. "You'll have to forgive James. He doesn't care about much except books and Quidditch these days."

"I beg your pardon, but I do so. I've just never been a fan of chocolate—or cards—is all."

Lily giggled. "What's Quidditch?"

Both boys turned to her in astonishment; Sirius actually looked like he might choke on his frog. "You've never heard of Quidditch? You know about Azkaban...but you're never heard of Quidditch?"

James, ignoring him, turned to face her. "Quidditch is the most wonderful sport imaginable. It's a bit…a bit…"

"A bit like your…uh…football," said Sirius.

"Except," said James with a mischievous grin, "it's played on broomsticks."

"Broomsticks?!"

"Yes," he continued, "there are seven players."

"But how is it played?"

"Well, there are three goalposts set up very high. The players get on their broomsticks, and the referee releases four different types of balls. The largest is called the Quaffle. Three of the seven players, called Chasers, take the Quaffle, trying to get it into one of the three goalposts. The Keeper, another player, guards the goalposts. Each time a Chaser scores, it is worth ten points.

"The second size ball, of which there are two, are called Bludgers. They are enchanted to try and attack the players, knocking them off their brooms. Two more of the team players are Beaters, and their job is to prevent the Bludgers from attacking their teammates and also to send them to attack the other team.

"The last team member is called the Seeker—and he's responsible for only one thing. The Golden Snitch."

James's eyes were sparkling now, and he leaned in towards Lily. "The Snitch is the smallest ball in the field—no bigger than the palm of your hand. It has silver wings that make it incredibly fast. The Seeker spends the majority of the game searching the field for the Snitch. If he catches it, before the other team's Seeker, then his team gets one-hundred and fifty points."

"And they win?"

Sirius sat back, a half-grin on his face. "Not always. If the team is really good, then their Chasers may be able to score one-hundred and fifty-points before the Snitch is caught—so that even if it is caught by the opposite team, the first team will still win."

"What the catching of the Snitch does do," interjected James, "is end the game."

"And if the Snitch is never caught?"

James grinned. "Then the game never ends."

"But that's never happened," said Sirius, "although it has gone on quite a while. Forty days is the record, I believe."

Lily's eyes widened. "Is this Quidditch played only at Hogwarts?"

"Oh no! It takes place all over England. And around the world, as a matter of fact."

"We told you it was like your—football, is it? Every four years, there is a match held amongst the best of the teams called the Quidditch World Cup. The winner is the considered the very best team in the world."

"Do either of you play Quidditch?"

Both boys suddenly shifted in their seats.

"Not…really," said James. "We've practiced a little at home. But no students are allowed to play on the Quidditch House teams until at least their second year."

"James is going to be the youngest Quidditch player ever, though. He plans on making one of the teams in his second year."

Lily chewed her chocolate frog thoughtfully. "What are the House teams?"

"Well, there are four houses at Hogwarts. All first years are placed in a House. And all the Houses have a Quidditch team that play against one another for the Quidditch Cup."

Lily was interested now. She hadn't heard anything about Hogwarts. "What are the four houses—are they all the same?"

"No. As we said, there are four houses—Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin."

"And they're very different too."

"How?"

"Well," began Sirius, "one of them is really, really evil…"

"Sirius," James cried, "don't make assumptions—we don't even know what house we'll be in yet."

"Well, it won't be Slytherin, that's for sure."

"Is Slytherin the evil house?" Lily asked.

"In a manner of speaking." James replied, a sour look on his face. "If there are to be any dark wizards or traitors, they'll come from Slytherin."

"I see."

"The Houses each have a different reputation. Slytherin is known for being home to self-absorbed wizards—especially those who are pure-bloods and who value pure-blood over Muggle born wizards and witches."

"Why would they care about that?"

James pursed his lips, staring at her uneasily. "Well, some wizards believe that if you're born with muggle blood, you're–tainted."

Sirius had a disgusted look on his face. "As though pure-bloods are better. The truth is that no pure-blood wizards really care about the difference except those who end up in Slytherin. And they turn out bad anyway."

"Anyway, Slytherin house colors are green and silver, and their symbol is a snake. Ravenclaw students are typically very clever—it's the hallmark of Ravenclaw House. They are white and blue, and, of course, a Raven is their symbol.

"Hufflepuff…"

Sirius had to stifle a laugh.

"What?"

"Hufflepuff is—to some—not the most…desirable of houses. But not because they're like the Slytherins."

"They're a bunch of softies, is what it is. They never win anything."

"They're wonderful people—all of them. There's never been a dark wizard to come out of Hufflepuff. Anyways, Hufflepuff is black and yellow, and their symbol," Sirius grinned even wider as James narrowed his eyes at him, "is a badger."

"But Gryffindor," said Sirius, his bright blue eyes flashing, "is by far the best."

James did not argue this time; he just sat back, and for the first time since the House discussion began, grinned.

"Gryffindors are considered the most courageous of the Houses. They are the strongest, the cleverest—the best."

"And you're going to be in Gryffindor?"

Sirius suddenly looked uncomfortable. "Well, we really don't know."

"There's some kind of special test that is given which determines which house we end up in. But we don't know exactly what that is."

"So we really can't know until we get there?"

James and Sirius nodded. As the compartment fell silent, Lily glanced out the window at the passing scenery, hoping Hogwarts would come into view soon.

***Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far! I appreciate them so much! Ch 4 will be packed with sorting action, a new Sorting Hat song, glimpses at some mentioned but non-described characters, and some new interactions with the rest of the Marauders!***