A/N: To FireOpal: Thank you very much for my first review, and of /course/ it'll slow down after arrival. Don't you worry your pretty little head.

Now, to the disclaimer. I think it's pretty obvious that I don't own any of the main characters. I would, however, like to point out that Kathleen and Kara and Elham belong to /me/. And I don't own Ikea(duh).

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CHAPTER TWO: OF CROSSED PATHS AND CROSSED WIRES

Steam billowed from a scarlet steam-engine as hundreds of young witches and wizards milled around the concealed platform 9 3/4, prepared to set off to school for the year. Parents gave their children last-minute hugs, gave them money for the year, even warned them to be good, as was the case with Mr. and Mrs. Potter. Young James, however, wasn't about to miss getting a good spot on the train to be scolded. "Bye, mum!", he shouted behind him as he ran for the train. School at last. Of course, maybe he would have done better to heed his father's whispered advice to be careful, as, before he had even managed to find a compartment, he nearly ran a poor girl right over.

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"OW!" shouted Lily protestingly. That wasn't very nice. Lily had been trying to heave her trunk up the stairs, which was proving to be difficult with others attempting to do the same. And now, some snot-rag of a kid decided he would trample her? Oww. She pushed her dark, gleaming red hair out of her face as she gave her trunk one more fruitless tug, and collapsed over it. Hopeless. Completely hopeless.

Lily had come extremely close to screaming when a boy came up to her, offering a hand. "Thanks, you're so helpful", she said. Looking him up and down, she took in a number of cuts and scratches, and messy, sandy hair. A country boy, no doubt.

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"No problem. Are you alright?" Oh, come on. There was no reason for this girl to be run into the ground, just because she couldn't lift her trunk. Remus eyed the trunk appraisingly. No wonder she had trouble lifting it, it looked like it weighed a ton. Hauling it up the last of the steps, he gave her a feeble smile before setting off alone for a compartment.

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He walked down the hallway, breathing heavily. Maybe the task of lifting Lily's trunk wouldn't have been so daunting if the full moon hadn't been the night before, but alas, it had. Peering from compartment to compartment, Remus came across one that was nearly empty. The one person inside was the selfsame boy who had nearly trampled Lily. Of course, Remus had the habit of seeing the good in everyone, and was sure it had been an accident. "Hello there, may I come in?"

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"Knock yourself out." James was immersed in a comic book, his favorite pastime. Running a hand through his hair, he hadn't even glanced at Remus. After all the excitement before coming, he was quite suddenly a bit bored with the concept. That is, bored until even more visitors came to the compartment.

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"Oi, you got room in there?" Sirius Black had never been accused of having good manners. He wanted to get into the compartment, so he would tell them that. He shifted his shoulders slightly, trying to relieve the weight of a large corn sack draped over one shoulder. Of course, he had been in a very odd mood today, away from his family. For once, he had the chance to be different from the rest of them, and he would be. He grinned mischeviously. Whether being different was a good thing or not, had failed to be specified. He strolled in without waiting for an answer, gesturing behind him. "Oh, and this young lady would like entrance as well." He stood aside, revealing Lily,who waslooking rather nervous.

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"Erm... there were no compartments left, except for one, and there was this creepy kid in there, he looked like he never bathed." Ok, maybe not the best way to introduce yourself, but...she smiled to herself. At least it was more polite than the reaction of her sister before she left for school-not that this had any relevance to the situation at hand.

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Severus Snape, lurker extraordinaire, had boarded the train before anyone else, so as to secure a compartment for himself. He didn't want to spend a whole train ride listening to snot-nosed kids whine about how much they missed their mums. Black hair draped over his face, he opened a small leather-bound book, and immersed himself in it. What a people-person, eh? Who cared, anyway? Image was far from important to Severus; the last person who had attempted to invade his privacy (some stupid red-headed girl) had the door slammed in their face.

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Late. LATE. Why always late? Peter dashed onto the train, a complete wreck. His parents had taken his luggage aboard for him, thankfully, but they spent so long saying goodbye that he had almost missed the train and now, he was left with the task of finding someone to let him in their compartment. Oh, he would NEVER get used to this. Maybe he should have waited another year, or three. He had also found himself checking and re-checking his supply list to make sure he had everything and--- Oh, thank goodness. A compartment that wasn't full. He knocked timidly on the door, standing well back.

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All together at last. Well--kind of. There was still Severus, but....who cared about him, right? Nearly half an hour had passed, and the group in the compartment had all opened up mostly, talking about their home lives. All except Lily. It appeared that everyone in this compartment was pure-blood, and, having read books on the matter, she wasn't sure what they would think of her parentage. So, of course, she had settled for maintaining a stony silence as she listened to Sirius joke about the number of pranks he had played on his family to get back at them, and had to suppress a giggle when he told about a certain incident that involved stuffing dungbombs in someone's knickers. The group was well on its way to becoming close, but...no. Hang on just one minute. No she wasn't the only one keeping quiet. While he had contributed to the conversation a great deal, Remus had not once spoken of his own life. Lily shrugged. Ah, well, maybe he was just shy.

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Sirius leaned back comfortably in his seat, looking over the rest of the group. Wow, he had something close to friends, this was new, and not unpleasant. Remus was leaned against the window, sleeping soundly, Peter was yet again looking over his supply list to ensure that he hadn't forgotten anything, Lily was also asleep, head rested on her shoulder, and James was staring off into space, muttering random words to himself. They were barking mad, to be sure, but, hey, Sirius was also guilty of that, right?

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Severus put down his book irritably. Doesn't the human system stink? He stood up, leaving his compartment and braving the hallway to use the onboard washroom.

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Meanwhile...Sirius had become rather bored with watching the group, and began fiddling with his feet. Not a great idea when his corn sack was at his feet. The contents of this sack became immediately apparent when a large amount of Dr. Filibuster's fireworks went off with a loud BANG, shooting out of the open compartment door and hitting a very-disgruntled (understatement of the year) Severus Snape square in the chest.

Lily jerked to awareness with a start. WHAT was that? She looked wildly around the compartment, expecting an explosion. And....well, she wasn't far off, being forced to duck to avoid a large whizzing firework taking her head off. "What exactly was that?" She looked out of the compartment door.

Sirius stood over Severus, wearing a look of intense dislike. "Ah," he said. "Snivellus." Yes, this pair were quite familiar with each other; Severus's father was right in with the Black family. Sev and Sirius, though? Hate at first sight. Severus gave him a very ugly look indeed.

"Back off, Black."

They both had their wands raised, Severus on the floor breathing heavily, and Sirius, standing tall, wand pointed right at the other's chest.

"Hold it, hold it, what do you two think you're doing?" A plump witch wheeling a cart stacked with sweets had just emerged from the front of the train, taking in the scene before her. "you'll both just be taking your seats now." "Go on", she added.

Shooting each other venemous looks of purest loathing, they turned their backs on each other and went on their way.

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Sirius, re-entering the compartment, realized that every single occupant was wide awake and staring.

"Who was that?", James breathed.

"Oh, you know, friend of the family." Sirius had already told the group what kind of people his family were.

"I thought he looked like a slimy git". James crossed his arms as if that settled the matter.

"Come on, now, it wasn't his fault, after all, you hit him with a bunch of fireworks." Lily glared at Sirius accusingly.

Lily and James may have continued arguing like this for hours on end if Remus hadn't cut them off. "Oi, you lot, the train's slowing down."

"Oh, NO!" Peter jumped up, nearly hitting his head on the ceiling. "I forgot my owl." The group laughed as Peter, apparently oblivious to the fact that owls could fly, mourned his forgetfulness.

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Okay, Lily wasn't sure whether she really liked these people or not, but one had to admit, their personalities were strangely addictive. Addictive indeed, especially--her train of thought was broken by James's voice in her ear.

"Oi, Evans, you going up to the castle at all, or were you planning to stay here all term?"

Lily blinked. Everyone else had stood up, and were preparing to get off the train. "Are we there already?", she asked lamely. How embarassing. Not like it was her fault, Lily had learned everything she knew about Hogwarts on the train. She had learned that there were four Hogwarts houses, and there was a ceremony that decided what house you would be in;Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, or Hufflepuff. She sincerely hoped that whatever house she were put in, she would be accepted. These thoughts carried her all the way off the train and into the muddy grounds. Encouraged by a punch in the arm, she looked up, taking in her surroundings-and had to suppress a gasp of awe.

The castle of Hogwarts in all its splendor, sprawled over the vast grounds, its reflection glimmering in a clear, still lake. Lit windows twinkled merrily like stars in the darkening sky, and a trickle of smoke issued from a cheery-looking cottage on the edge of an immense forest that stretched as far as the eye could see.

"Firs' years this way, over here, firs' years!" Enormous Rubeus Hagrid stood near the lake, holding a lantern in one huge hand, hailing the first years with the other.

Peter ducked behind Remus, eyeing Hagrid fearfully, causing Remus to chuckle.

"Don't worry, Peter, he won't eat you."

"Yeah," added James, smiling mischeviously."I heard he's on a strict no-pork diet."

Lily rolled her eyes skyward, and pointed to the lake. "Boats, gentlemen."

James grinned hugely. "Gerbils, gentlemen."

Remus smiled lazily. "postboxes, gentlemen."

-And the ever charming(or so he liked to think) Sirius took a bow. "Didja hear that? She thinks I'm a gentleman."

Remus raised an eyebrow. Hey, he was capable of humor too. "Your awful stench must have addled her brains."

"My awful WHAT?"

"My brains are not addled!"

Peter tugged on the sleeve of Remus's robes. "Don't you think we should get in the boats?"

Boats, indeed. Waiting at the edge of the lake were a number of small rowboats (but no oars?), each seating four people. In one boat were Remus, Peter, Sirius, and James, leaving Lily in another boat with two girls she didn't know, and (ick) Severus Snape. Gee, thanks, guys.

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Severus grunted his displeasure at the seating arrangement. Not only were they all girls, it was that redheaded brat, Daisy, or some stupid name like that. He surveyed the other two girls, face expressionless.

The one right in front of him looked plain enough. Plain, green-blue eyes shone from a freckled face framed by a wealth of (frizzy) curly blonde hair. From what he could tell (she was, after all, sitting), she was only slightly more than average height, and slender. The very definition of plain.

The other girl, however, was somewhat remarkable. A bit shorter than the first, her shoulder-length black hair was perfectly groomed, olive skin clear and blemish-free. Eyes of deepest mahogany were the clearest visible feature, and-no. She was smiling openly, welcomingly, even. She would be eaten alive as a Slytherin, and Severus was sure that he would be a Slytherin, his entire family had been. With his luck, he was probably surrounded by a bunch of Gryffindors. How utterly revolting.

The man called Hagrid had ordered the boats forward, and they glided silently across the lake, leaving no wake, defying all rhyme and reason. Under Hagrid's orders, the first-years ducked their heads as the boats glided under curtains of ivy masking a hole in the sheer rock face.

Once free from the boats, the first-years walked towards the towering castle of Hogwarts, and were currently in a large room off the Entrance Hall, waiting to be admitted into what they were told was the Great Hall to be sorted. They had formed a line in no particular order, nervously straightening their robes or fixing their hair. The majority of students did not know what the sorting involved, and were discussing how they might be sorted, not a few theories involving decapitation.

Whatever wonderful theories they were cooking up, they were cut off by a stern-faced woman with her black hair drawn back into a tight bun. "Follow me into the Great Hall to be sorted."

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James actually felt somewhat sick to his stomach. They were all standing in the Great Hall, staring at a hat which had --surprisingly-- sung a song to them, and now, students were putting the hat on so they could be told where to go...how weird. Sirius and the Evans girl had already been sorted into Gryffindor--Oh, this was frightening.

"Lupin, Remus", called the stern-faced professor who had told them her name was McGonnagal.

Remus stepped forward calmly, concentrating on where he wanted to be.

"GRYFFINDOR!", roared the hat.

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Lily leaned back at the Gryffindor table, applauding lazily. Gryffindor, huh? She could deal with that. She raised her head as 'Malekzadeh, Elham' was called. It was the black-haired girl who had been in the boat with her.

"GRYFFINDOR!", shouted the sorting hat. Lily smiled, watching Elham approach the table as 'McDonald, Alexandra' was made a Ravenclaw.

Next to be sorted was Peter, for whom the hat had taken nearly five minutes before declaring a Gryffindor. The small boy looked near-hysteria as he made his way to the Gryffindor table.

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"Potter, James", called professor McGonnagal. He stepped forward, heart dropping into his stomach. No turning back now. He pulled the sorting hat over hishead, hearing it speak, seemingly inside his mind.

"Why, hello there, Potter. Now, where do we want to go?"

He thought desperately of all the people he had met on the train.

"Hmmm...that can be arranged....GRYFFINDOR!"

He stood up, ears ringing. He would be with friends.

Now, they all sat together as 'Snape, Severus' became a Slytherin, just as he had predicted.

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The welcoming feast had passed in a blur, and now Professor Dumbledore was standing before them. "Good evening students, old and new. I have -er- a few notices before term begins. Firstly, older students may have noticed the absence of Professor Dippet. He has retired, leaving me in his stead." This last bit was said, almost as if it were worth no notice, but nonetheless, there was a great deal of applause. "Also, you will remember the quite" he paused, smiling, "rigorous Defence Against the Dark Arts classes with Professor McGonnagal." A few murmurs ran through the hall, punctuated by a bit of derisive laughter, "And now, she will be trying her hand at transfiguration". "And lastly, older students may have noticed the addition to the grounds of a piece of rather-" his eyes twinkled benignly-"violent shrubbery. I ask that if you value your limbs, please avoid the Whomping Willow at all costs, and I promise it won't hurt you. And now" He raised his arms is a huge sweeping gesture, "Go sleep."

The students filed out of the Great Hall, chatting animatedly as they were led to their common rooms. A Gryffindor prefect stopped outside a large portrait of a rather large woman.

"Ikea", he had said to the portrait, and it swung wide. But all of this, of course, was a half hour ago. Now, the students were all in their dormitories discussing school, and home lives, and whatever would pass the time.

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Lily sat, cross-legged on her four-poster bed, talking to Elham. "Where's the rest of your friends, like that blonde girl?"

"Crystal, Sydney and Alex got sorted into Ravenclaw."

"Oh. I see." An awkward silence stood for a moment, only to be broken when a girl called Kathleen leapt onto her bed.

"So, scope out any good-looking guys yet?"

"NO! and...who are you?" shouted Lily, scandalized. As if she would dare think about that.

"I did", said Elham thoughtfully.

"Oh really?" Kathleen cocked an eyebrow, leaning forward.

"One of your friends", she pointed at Lily, "Sirius or something."

"EWW!" Lily mimed vomiting. They all fell back on their beds, giggling helplessly.

Many friendships had been forged that day, as well as many rivalries that would carry on for longer than anyone could have possibly anticipated.