Chapter One: The First Encounter
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"We weren't always lovers, or even friends." Lily commented.
"We definitely started off on the wrong foot." James replied.
Lily looked into the distance remembering her mother on the day of her first day at Hogwarts.
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Mrs. Jasmine Evans suppressed her doubts as she walked beside her youngest daughter. She was about to send her somewhere she could not follow or ever be a part of. Deep within she felt like she was abandoning her little girl. She looked down at her daughter and placed her hand on Lily's shoulder. Lily looked up at her with startling green eyes, just like her own.
"Are you alright Ma?" Lily asked as they reached the wall between platforms Nine and Ten.
Jasmine smiled "I'll be fine, what about you love? Are you sure you want to do this?"
Lily paused for a moment and then met her mother's eyes. "yea, I at least want to try."
Jasmine laughed "Lily, you've never 'tried' anything in your life, if you start something you usually see it through."
"I know Ma, trust me, I can take care of myself." Lily said looking up at her ma.
"Alright, now how do we get on this platform?" Jasmine asked looking at her daughter's ticket.
Lily bent over it too. "I don't know, I wish they had explained that to us in one of those letters."
"I'll go ask one of the workers."
Lily was watching her mother go when something else caught her eye, a teenager walking toward the wall between Platforms Nine and Ten. Lily was so preoccupied that she didn't see her trolley start to roll away from her.
She turned and ran to catch it as the trolley ran into a girl about Lily's age tripping her. Lily's trunk flew open and so did the other girls. As Lily ran to fetch it she slipped on a robe and fell flat on her butt next to the other girl.
"Oh dear," a woman laughed "Are you alright Jess?" she asked laughing as she began whipping clothes off Lily and throwing them into an open trunk.
"Sorry, my trolley got away from me." Lily said as she started to get up picking up clothes as she went.
"That's okay, I was bored anyway. At least that added some excitement to the trip." She said as she picked a wand out of her messy brown hair.
Lily shook her head with a huge smile. She had never met anyone quiet like this girl. "Lily Evans"
"Jess Titan. Hogwarts too?" Jess asked as she bent down to puck up her clothes.
"Yeah." Lily replied. Jasmine hurried over to help. "What happened?"
Jess's mom explained still laughing as Lily and Jess repacked their trunks.
"My name is Rachel Titan and you?" She said as she bent down to pick up some of Lily's schoolbooks.
"Jasmine Evans" she said as they locked Lily's trunk and set it back on the trolley it had fallen off of.
"Is this your first time too? Isn't it exciting!" Rachel Titan said, "I was just thrilled when Jess got her letter. Oh look at the time, we had better get these two onto the train before it leaves without them."
"Oh, do you know how to get onto the train?" Jasmine asked
"Of course," Rachel Titan said and then looked back at Jasmine. "You're muggles? Well Lily isn't, but, oh never mind, it's not important. At least to us, right Jess." Rachel said turning to look sternly at her daughter.
"Oh course ma." Jess said casually.
"To get on the train you just walk through that wall." Rachel Titan said pointing to the solid barrier between platforms Nine and Ten.
Jess saw the looks that passed between Lily and Jasmine. "Come on Lily, we'll go through it together. My ma and your mom can go next." She said as she turned her trolley toward the barrier.
"Don't worry if it's not right my Ma owes us for making us walk into a wall."
Lily laughed and nodded not realizing that they were walking threw the barrier and suddenly were in the sunshine on Platform 9 and ¾. A second later their moms came through the barrier, Jess's talking rapidly about something neither girl understood.
"Ma," Jess said interrupting her mother. "We're going to get onto the train now, Love you." She said as she gave her a hug.
Lily gave her mom a hug too. "I'll be good, and write often. I love you."
"I love you too babe, have a good time and study hard. I'll see you at Christmas." Jasmine said holding her close.
Jess and Lily hurried onto the train.
"Do you want to sit together?" Lily asked as they walked down the corridor Jess nodded still laughing about their meeting.
They started opening compartments they all seemed full. The train started moving and they still couldn't find a place to sit.
"I don't know who else I would have sat with, I don't know anyone here." Jess said as they closed the door on a compartment full of fifth year girls.
"I don't either, but at least we know each other." Lily said, "If there isn't room in this next one, we'll have to split up."
Jess nodded and said "I can't believe this whole train is full, I mean its pretty big. Besides if we did split up were would we go?"
Lily stopping to think for a minute, "I suppose, one of us could sit in that compartment toward the front, with the older girls and the other the one with the boys who were talking about Toads and potions."
"Oh please, anything but the toad boys, they were SO creepy. Let's hope this one is empty." Jess said as she opened the door.
Inside was a pair of dark haired boys. One had his face covered by the 'Quidditch Fan' the only thing they could see was his messy black hair, the other was catching jellybeans in his mouth lazily. Lily and Jess exchanged looks, eyebrows up. Then quickly slid the door shut and sat down across from the boys.
One boy lowered his magazine, and adjusted his glasses. The other looked at them from the corner of his eyes and missed a jellybean, which hit him squarely in the eye.
Lily moved closer to Jess and whispered "Well they at least they look a little better then the toad boys." Then louder, "The other compartments are rather full."
They two boys exchanged glances then the boy with the glasses said, "If you must." Then went back to reading his magazine.
Lily and Jess packed away their trunks; Lily turned, hand out.
"Lily Evans," holding her hand out to the boy with the messy hair.
The magazine slowly lowered as the boy looked Lily in eye with a bored expression.
"James Potter," He said, going back to his magazine. Lily stood there for a second, hand held out before dropping it to her side.
"And you?" She asked looking at the other boy. He stopped tossing jellybeans into his mouth long enough to tell them his name was Sirius Black and to get Jess's name before returning to once again tossing jellybeans into his mouth.
Lily and Jess took seats far away from the two boys. They all sat in silence, the only sound in the compartment was the steady sound of Sirius Black catching jellybeans and chewing them.
Jess finally couldn't take it anymore; she leaned in and whispered to Lily. "If silence could kill," and ran her finger across her neck and pretended to be dead. Lily started to silently giggle, eyes sparkling. Soon Jess was laughing too.
"Would you two stop it, I'm trying to read." James Potter said as he glared at Lily and Jess.
"Stop what?" Jess asked.
"Giggling." James said, as if it were the worst word in the world.
"Oh come on, you can't make us stop laughing. Just as I can't make you actually be polite." Lily said.
"Besides, surely you were to wrapped up in the world of the," Jess stopped to read the magazine title "'Quidditch Fan' to notice two mere mortals."
Lily raised an eyebrow in challenge.
"I don't have to be nice to you. To two stupid girls who don't have anywhere else to go." James said.
"You're a jerk do you know that?" Lily asked. James rolled his eyes. "Well, as long as you know you're a jerk and we know you're a jerk I guess we're done talking."
Jess stood up and turned her back on the boys. "I've got Hogwarts a History in my bag, want to look at it together?"
Lily nodded and Jess got her book out. They set the book between them and poured over it for the rest of the train ride, ignoring the two boys.
Jess and Lily followed a Gryffindor Prefect down to the Main Hall the next morning. They had been placed in the same house, Gryffindor. Unfortunately the two boys from the train, Sirius and James were also.
"You'll get your class schedules during breakfast." The prefect Frank Longbottom said as he showed them to the Gryffindor table. "When you hear the bell you'll have five minutes before you first class starts, I suggest you leave before the bell." Jess and Lily nodded and Frank went to sit with his friends.
"Well, what do you think?" Lily asked as she sat in a chair at the long house table, a little away from the other groups.
"It could use some redecorating, but it'll do." Jess joked. "Pass the Pumpkin Juice." Lily was half way through a French toast slice when the schedules were passed to her.
She had just about grabbed them when a passing Slytherin scattered the papers all over the table. Lily turned to the girl.
"Hey," Lily objected, "Why'd you do that?"
"Filthy mudblood." The girl spat out and walked away.
Lily didn't know exactly what the word 'mudblood' meant, but she knew it was an insult. Lily turned to Jess, "What's a mudblood?"
The Titans were one of the oldest wizarding families; they could trace their relatives back to the ancient Greek wizards whose skill in illusions was legendary. Jess was as pure a wizard as they came. "It's a nasty word for someone with muggle parents." Jess said, not meeting Lily's eyes.
"A lot of people are prejudice against them, they say they aren't as good as purebloods." Jess said gently, then added urgently "But don't listen to them Lily, my ma says those things don't matter and the people who say them are just filth."
Lily looked around Jess after the Slytherin girl and met the eye of the people around her, calmly staring them down. Showing them that she wasn't afraid, but inside she was trying hard not to cry. Lily clenched her jaw and turned back to Jess.
"Well, let's pick up these papers." She said getting up.
"Hey Evans!" A voice yelled from down the table, Lily turned to see the boy from the train, James Potter standing up. "When you're done crying your eyes out, would you mind passing the schedules down?" He called. "Some of us actually have classes to get to." Lily's face hardened even more and she turned on her heel in a huff.
"The more I see of that boy the more I hate him." She growled as she grabbed papers from the table and floor.
"I agree, we should pass a brain down for him, then we might have some improvement." Jess said as she gathered up the last papers and passed them to the fifth years on her right. "Come on Lils let's get out of here." Together they headed to their first class.
When they reached the door Lily turned around, she looked back at the Gryffindor table; James Potter glanced up at her and rolled his eyes in disgust. Lily made a promise to herself right there.
'I don't care how much work it will take I will see this through. And I will be the best there is. I'll show them, I can do anything they can. Anything you can Potter.'
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James blushed furiously. "I was such a dork." He said holding Lily close to himself.
"I'll say," Lily agreed. "what was your problem anyway?"
"Oh Lils, I guess I had an instant attraction to a small, fiery redhead. Any eleven-year-old boy would do the same. Don't hold that against me sweet." James said kissing Lily on the lips.
"Well," Lily replied with a smile, "It was fun to be enemies, wasn't it?"
James shrugged, "I suppose, but it's even better to be lovers."
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"We weren't always lovers, or even friends." Lily commented.
"We definitely started off on the wrong foot." James replied.
Lily looked into the distance remembering her mother on the day of her first day at Hogwarts.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Mrs. Jasmine Evans suppressed her doubts as she walked beside her youngest daughter. She was about to send her somewhere she could not follow or ever be a part of. Deep within she felt like she was abandoning her little girl. She looked down at her daughter and placed her hand on Lily's shoulder. Lily looked up at her with startling green eyes, just like her own.
"Are you alright Ma?" Lily asked as they reached the wall between platforms Nine and Ten.
Jasmine smiled "I'll be fine, what about you love? Are you sure you want to do this?"
Lily paused for a moment and then met her mother's eyes. "yea, I at least want to try."
Jasmine laughed "Lily, you've never 'tried' anything in your life, if you start something you usually see it through."
"I know Ma, trust me, I can take care of myself." Lily said looking up at her ma.
"Alright, now how do we get on this platform?" Jasmine asked looking at her daughter's ticket.
Lily bent over it too. "I don't know, I wish they had explained that to us in one of those letters."
"I'll go ask one of the workers."
Lily was watching her mother go when something else caught her eye, a teenager walking toward the wall between Platforms Nine and Ten. Lily was so preoccupied that she didn't see her trolley start to roll away from her.
She turned and ran to catch it as the trolley ran into a girl about Lily's age tripping her. Lily's trunk flew open and so did the other girls. As Lily ran to fetch it she slipped on a robe and fell flat on her butt next to the other girl.
"Oh dear," a woman laughed "Are you alright Jess?" she asked laughing as she began whipping clothes off Lily and throwing them into an open trunk.
"Sorry, my trolley got away from me." Lily said as she started to get up picking up clothes as she went.
"That's okay, I was bored anyway. At least that added some excitement to the trip." She said as she picked a wand out of her messy brown hair.
Lily shook her head with a huge smile. She had never met anyone quiet like this girl. "Lily Evans"
"Jess Titan. Hogwarts too?" Jess asked as she bent down to puck up her clothes.
"Yeah." Lily replied. Jasmine hurried over to help. "What happened?"
Jess's mom explained still laughing as Lily and Jess repacked their trunks.
"My name is Rachel Titan and you?" She said as she bent down to pick up some of Lily's schoolbooks.
"Jasmine Evans" she said as they locked Lily's trunk and set it back on the trolley it had fallen off of.
"Is this your first time too? Isn't it exciting!" Rachel Titan said, "I was just thrilled when Jess got her letter. Oh look at the time, we had better get these two onto the train before it leaves without them."
"Oh, do you know how to get onto the train?" Jasmine asked
"Of course," Rachel Titan said and then looked back at Jasmine. "You're muggles? Well Lily isn't, but, oh never mind, it's not important. At least to us, right Jess." Rachel said turning to look sternly at her daughter.
"Oh course ma." Jess said casually.
"To get on the train you just walk through that wall." Rachel Titan said pointing to the solid barrier between platforms Nine and Ten.
Jess saw the looks that passed between Lily and Jasmine. "Come on Lily, we'll go through it together. My ma and your mom can go next." She said as she turned her trolley toward the barrier.
"Don't worry if it's not right my Ma owes us for making us walk into a wall."
Lily laughed and nodded not realizing that they were walking threw the barrier and suddenly were in the sunshine on Platform 9 and ¾. A second later their moms came through the barrier, Jess's talking rapidly about something neither girl understood.
"Ma," Jess said interrupting her mother. "We're going to get onto the train now, Love you." She said as she gave her a hug.
Lily gave her mom a hug too. "I'll be good, and write often. I love you."
"I love you too babe, have a good time and study hard. I'll see you at Christmas." Jasmine said holding her close.
Jess and Lily hurried onto the train.
"Do you want to sit together?" Lily asked as they walked down the corridor Jess nodded still laughing about their meeting.
They started opening compartments they all seemed full. The train started moving and they still couldn't find a place to sit.
"I don't know who else I would have sat with, I don't know anyone here." Jess said as they closed the door on a compartment full of fifth year girls.
"I don't either, but at least we know each other." Lily said, "If there isn't room in this next one, we'll have to split up."
Jess nodded and said "I can't believe this whole train is full, I mean its pretty big. Besides if we did split up were would we go?"
Lily stopping to think for a minute, "I suppose, one of us could sit in that compartment toward the front, with the older girls and the other the one with the boys who were talking about Toads and potions."
"Oh please, anything but the toad boys, they were SO creepy. Let's hope this one is empty." Jess said as she opened the door.
Inside was a pair of dark haired boys. One had his face covered by the 'Quidditch Fan' the only thing they could see was his messy black hair, the other was catching jellybeans in his mouth lazily. Lily and Jess exchanged looks, eyebrows up. Then quickly slid the door shut and sat down across from the boys.
One boy lowered his magazine, and adjusted his glasses. The other looked at them from the corner of his eyes and missed a jellybean, which hit him squarely in the eye.
Lily moved closer to Jess and whispered "Well they at least they look a little better then the toad boys." Then louder, "The other compartments are rather full."
They two boys exchanged glances then the boy with the glasses said, "If you must." Then went back to reading his magazine.
Lily and Jess packed away their trunks; Lily turned, hand out.
"Lily Evans," holding her hand out to the boy with the messy hair.
The magazine slowly lowered as the boy looked Lily in eye with a bored expression.
"James Potter," He said, going back to his magazine. Lily stood there for a second, hand held out before dropping it to her side.
"And you?" She asked looking at the other boy. He stopped tossing jellybeans into his mouth long enough to tell them his name was Sirius Black and to get Jess's name before returning to once again tossing jellybeans into his mouth.
Lily and Jess took seats far away from the two boys. They all sat in silence, the only sound in the compartment was the steady sound of Sirius Black catching jellybeans and chewing them.
Jess finally couldn't take it anymore; she leaned in and whispered to Lily. "If silence could kill," and ran her finger across her neck and pretended to be dead. Lily started to silently giggle, eyes sparkling. Soon Jess was laughing too.
"Would you two stop it, I'm trying to read." James Potter said as he glared at Lily and Jess.
"Stop what?" Jess asked.
"Giggling." James said, as if it were the worst word in the world.
"Oh come on, you can't make us stop laughing. Just as I can't make you actually be polite." Lily said.
"Besides, surely you were to wrapped up in the world of the," Jess stopped to read the magazine title "'Quidditch Fan' to notice two mere mortals."
Lily raised an eyebrow in challenge.
"I don't have to be nice to you. To two stupid girls who don't have anywhere else to go." James said.
"You're a jerk do you know that?" Lily asked. James rolled his eyes. "Well, as long as you know you're a jerk and we know you're a jerk I guess we're done talking."
Jess stood up and turned her back on the boys. "I've got Hogwarts a History in my bag, want to look at it together?"
Lily nodded and Jess got her book out. They set the book between them and poured over it for the rest of the train ride, ignoring the two boys.
Jess and Lily followed a Gryffindor Prefect down to the Main Hall the next morning. They had been placed in the same house, Gryffindor. Unfortunately the two boys from the train, Sirius and James were also.
"You'll get your class schedules during breakfast." The prefect Frank Longbottom said as he showed them to the Gryffindor table. "When you hear the bell you'll have five minutes before you first class starts, I suggest you leave before the bell." Jess and Lily nodded and Frank went to sit with his friends.
"Well, what do you think?" Lily asked as she sat in a chair at the long house table, a little away from the other groups.
"It could use some redecorating, but it'll do." Jess joked. "Pass the Pumpkin Juice." Lily was half way through a French toast slice when the schedules were passed to her.
She had just about grabbed them when a passing Slytherin scattered the papers all over the table. Lily turned to the girl.
"Hey," Lily objected, "Why'd you do that?"
"Filthy mudblood." The girl spat out and walked away.
Lily didn't know exactly what the word 'mudblood' meant, but she knew it was an insult. Lily turned to Jess, "What's a mudblood?"
The Titans were one of the oldest wizarding families; they could trace their relatives back to the ancient Greek wizards whose skill in illusions was legendary. Jess was as pure a wizard as they came. "It's a nasty word for someone with muggle parents." Jess said, not meeting Lily's eyes.
"A lot of people are prejudice against them, they say they aren't as good as purebloods." Jess said gently, then added urgently "But don't listen to them Lily, my ma says those things don't matter and the people who say them are just filth."
Lily looked around Jess after the Slytherin girl and met the eye of the people around her, calmly staring them down. Showing them that she wasn't afraid, but inside she was trying hard not to cry. Lily clenched her jaw and turned back to Jess.
"Well, let's pick up these papers." She said getting up.
"Hey Evans!" A voice yelled from down the table, Lily turned to see the boy from the train, James Potter standing up. "When you're done crying your eyes out, would you mind passing the schedules down?" He called. "Some of us actually have classes to get to." Lily's face hardened even more and she turned on her heel in a huff.
"The more I see of that boy the more I hate him." She growled as she grabbed papers from the table and floor.
"I agree, we should pass a brain down for him, then we might have some improvement." Jess said as she gathered up the last papers and passed them to the fifth years on her right. "Come on Lils let's get out of here." Together they headed to their first class.
When they reached the door Lily turned around, she looked back at the Gryffindor table; James Potter glanced up at her and rolled his eyes in disgust. Lily made a promise to herself right there.
'I don't care how much work it will take I will see this through. And I will be the best there is. I'll show them, I can do anything they can. Anything you can Potter.'
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James blushed furiously. "I was such a dork." He said holding Lily close to himself.
"I'll say," Lily agreed. "what was your problem anyway?"
"Oh Lils, I guess I had an instant attraction to a small, fiery redhead. Any eleven-year-old boy would do the same. Don't hold that against me sweet." James said kissing Lily on the lips.
"Well," Lily replied with a smile, "It was fun to be enemies, wasn't it?"
James shrugged, "I suppose, but it's even better to be lovers."