Author's Note: If you have read this previously, you'll probably notice that I changed Chapter 1. I never really liked it, and I finally buckled down and re-wrote and revised it. I love it now and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! Thank you!

Please read and give me as much of an in-depth review as possible! I'd greatly appreciate it!

~*~ Kristy ~*~

Chapter 1: A Birthday Truth Revealed

A young lady of 10 sat outside on her porch in the early morning of August 2, 1963, watching both the sunrise and the ticking of the second-hand on her wrist watch.

In exactly 12 seconds, I will be 11 years old, she mentally congratulated herself.

11...10...9...

Her beautiful red hair, which under normal circ-umstances would have been pulled back, lay sprawled against her shoulders, radiating her face like a halo.

...8...7...6...

Her brilliant green eyes looked back at her through the reflection of her watch.

...5...4...3...2...1!

That split second, she felt a rush of wind swoosh past her and something land in her lap. Automatically, her head flew up to see what had caused this and saw a huge barn owl resting on a thick tree branch.

She looked at it skeptically. What in the world...Owls are nocturnal birds, and if my memory serves me right, they aren't apt to be treated as carrier pigeons.

Shrugging, she shifted her attention back to what the owl had dropped in her lap.

A letter? How peculiar.

She rotated it in her palm to view the wax stamp on the back. It read 'Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry'.

Ok, she told herself. This is really weird...

She hastily tore open the envelope, quickly noting that it was made from a very thick parchment; something she imagined would have been used in medieval times. It most certainly wasn't the thin paper society commonly produced.

Once opened, she read the elegant script:

Hogwarts School or Witchcraft and Wizardry

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. or Wizards)

Dear Miss Evans,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than August 3.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,
Deputy Headmistress

Jumping Jahosafat! What in creation was this!? 'Mugwump'? 'Witch'? 'Wizard'? "We await your OWL'!? This has got to be some really lame joke my parents are playing on me. Yes, that's it. It's all a joke.

Her eyes bulged as she saw another owl swoop down with another letter addressed to her. It read:

And no, this is not a joke. Here are directions to a magical town called Diagon Alley where you will get your supplies. Go there as soon as possible, and you will see that this is indeed real, as false as it may seem.

"Oh my God..." Was all that she could say.

She glaced once more at the barn owl in the tree, shook her head disbelievingly, and walked in through the door to the kitchen.

"Lilian Paige Evans, watch your mouth! If that pottymouth of yours doesn't stop, I'll make you taste soap. Don't force me into doing it on your birthday." Her mom was a strict Catholic and didn't like her children to take the Lord's name in vain, especially around her, and Lily had gotten into the bad habit of doing just that.

"Yes Mother, but look at this letter. Did you send it? Because if you did, I think I might have to give you a few lessons on how to really trick a person."

Chloe Evans, also a red-headed beauty, took a look at the letter and shook her head. "No, I didn't. Why?"

"Strangely enough, as I was sitting outside, a barn owl of all things delivers this into my lap. Go on. Read it."

Her eyes scanned the paper. "Humph. Load of rubbish if you ask me. Just a birthday joke I suppose."

Lily nodded. "That was my initial reaction. Then just as I was thinking the same thought, a second owl gives me this."

She watched as her mother quickly read the note. "What do you think?"

"Well..." She breathed deeply, looking as if she really didn't want to say anything. "I really can't tell you. This is all beyond my belief. If it is true, congratulatins! If it isn't, no biggie."

"So are we going to this Diagon Alley place?" She asked hopefully.

"Yes, but not today."

"Why not?"

"Because I have a birthday party planned for you! A bunch of your friends are coming: The Wallaces, Kristy, Ashley, and the Potters. They'll be arriving any minute now."

Lily's grin instantly fell from her face. "Thanks a lot Mum, but....James!? Please tell me not James!"

Mrs. Evans looked at Lily with her eyebrows slightly raised. "Of course James! You don't expect me to invite Mr. and Mrs. Potter and not James!" Lily's parents were best friends with the Potters and secretly, Chloe and her husband hoped that Lily and James would somehow get 'closer', but considering the present circ-umstances, it seemed to be highly unlikely.

"Fine fine." Despite finding out that the last person she wanted to see was coming to her birthday party, she was still in a state of great excitement. If this school was real, she knew she'd have something above all those prissy, rich girls at Clydesdale School for Girls. This was the private academy that she and her older sister, Petunia, attended and she hated it. She was the only one there who was a tomboy and wasn't interested in hookups and what other people thought of her. Being teased for wearing jeans and a tee instead of a frilly dress was not her idea of fun.

She finally decided on khaki shorts and a blue sleeveless shirt and heard the doorbell ring just as she finished. "I've got it!" She ran down the stairs and ripped open the door to see her friend, Ashley standing there. "ASHLEY!"

"LILY!!"

They screamed, giving eachother a hug. Lily hadn't seen any of her friends for over a month.

"Where do you want me to put this?" Ashley asked, holding out a present wrapped in Lily's signature color, emerald, the same color as her eyes.

"Over there," Lily pointed to a table in the corner that already had some gifts on it. "Come on! Let's go upstairs!" Lily and Ashley hung out in Lily's room until the doorbell rang again.
"I'll get it!" Lily yelled, knowing it was her other best friend, Kristy.

"HI KRIST..." She said as she opened the door, but stopped dead in the middle of what she was saying. It was James.

"Uh-hi Lily!" He said kind of sarcastically, showing off his brilliant smile and holding out his nicely wrapped gift. His family was very wealthy so he was wearing something between a tux and what American people called "Elvis Clothes". Lily got this sudden urge to push him and his suit into the large mud puddle right behind him or at least slam the door in his face, but his parents started to walk up towards the door yelling "HAPPY 11TH BIRTHDAY LILY!"

"Hello Mr. And Mrs. Potter! Thanks for the present," she said, trying to sound as polite as possible.

"Anytime dear!"

Kristy arrived right after the Potters and the Wallace's soon after that. Once every one got there, Lily opened her presents. From Ashley she got a drawing pad and some pencils. (Lily was quite an artist.) Kristy gave her two Abercrombie shirts. From the Wallace's she received a board-game. Her parents gave her a brush with dolphins on it, pink earrings, and a dress to match. She personally didn't think this last gift would ever be put to use, but she kept her face looking grateful all the same. James' gift came next and surprisingly, it was her favorite one! He bought her the book "King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table" and she adored it!

"Thank you James! Mr. And Mrs. Potter!"

After eating cake and icecream, everyone changed into their swimsuits and headed out to the pool. Lily was having a blast with her friends and the party continued without any more major events until…

It happened when everyone was swimming...Lily had just done a back-flip off of the miniature diving board and landed perfectly. It was James' turn next and he had just did a cannon-ball off when Kristy screamed "JAMES! NO!! WATCH OUT!!" but it was too late...James hadn't seen Lily who was still submerged after jumping in, and he landed right on top of her!

"OH MY GOSH!!!" Mrs. Evans screamed. "LILY!! Are you alright??"

Lily and James soon came up out of the water with Lily clutching her head. "Owww..."

"Lily! Are you alright?? I am SO sorry! LILY!"

Lily had started to swim furiously after James. She had an expression that matched a possessed murderers'.

"JAMES! I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!! YOU COULD HAVE DROWNED ME YOU IDIOT!!!" Lily had never been so infuriated at anyone before; she had almost died! She wanted to hit James so hard...

She was chasing him around the pool concentrating on all of her fury when he suddenly flew back off the ground and landed 5 feet behind with a big "oomph!"

Everyone gasped, including Lily. James looked at her bewildered and the next thing she knew, Mr. Potter had her by the arm, pulling her into the house. James followed.

Lily was directed into her father's study where no one could hear them. James was the first to speak..."Lily! You're a witch! Why didn't you tell me? I've never seen anyone as young as you do magic without a wand!! UNBELIEVABLE!!"

Lily was struck with sudden awe and bewilderment. "James! How do you...what do you know about..." She stuttered. "…so it IS true!…"

Mr. Carson Potter chuckled. "Let me answer for him. You see...James, his mother, and I belong to one of the oldest, pure-blood wizarding families in existence. And I am the Minister of Magic, the head of all things magical in Britain. Trust me, this is no joke. I was notified by the Hogwarts Headmistress that you would probably have a hard time believing your letter."

"Wow, I can't believe this is real. So I'm a witch, huh? What do we get to do? Zap people light beams that shoot out of our hands? Fly? Ooh! Please tell me I get to fly!"

James laughed so hard he was clutching his sides to breathe. "Zap people? Fly? You are too funny!"

"Ok, evidently I have no idea what being a witch means."

"That's alright, Lily. We don't expect you to. Us magicals, we don't 'zap' people nor do we fly, not without the aid of something that can fly that is, and magic doesn't protrude from out hands. It comes from our wands."

"Ok, now that I've made a fool of myself, I need another question answered before I worsen my situation: What exactly is the Minister of Magic?? Is that like the king of Magic?" She asked him seriously.

This last statment made James and his father roar with laughter. James was wiping away tears. "KING?!?!?" More laughs. "No Lily! More like...'President of a ministry that deals with all magical affairs' type of guy."

James was on the floor, laughing still while Mr. Potter was recollecting himself. "Ahem!" He cleared his throat. "Ok...now that you know this is no joke, we need to get back to the matter of what happened outside. Lily, do you know what you just did out there?"

"Not really...I was just thinking about how mad I was at James. The next thing I knew, there was a sharp pain in my head and James was flying through the air."

"You're going to be surprised when you hear this...maybe even a little bit scared, but you should know...Lily, I have NEVER in my whole life known anyone as young as you to do such powerful magic such as levitation without a wand! It is very rare and only found in extremely powerful wizards! Statistically, there are only a handful of people like you every century. This is really quite tantalizing and I have to alert Dumbledore of the situation immediately. It boggles my mind to think that a muggleborn with no training whatsoever could do that, and I hope this power isn't dangerous to you. Just try to keep it under your hat until Dumbledore or I inform you otherwise. I don't want anything to go amiss with this. Do you understand?

"Yes sir...I do."

"Good girl! Just restrain from using your power until you get to Hogwarts. I'll need to put a memory charm on all your muggle friends out there; they can't know anything about this and if I know any better, they're probably all already gossiping about it. Be sure to go to Diagon Alley very soon and I'll expect to see you at the platform on September 1st! Don't forget what I said!"

Later that evening, Lily flopped down on her bed and recollected all the day's events. She was excited beyond all comprehension and took no time in determining that this was by far, the best birthday she had ever had.