I do not own Harry Potter.
That Faithful Morning
"Lily Ann darling, hurry up." A formidable-looking woman with braided brown hair tugged on the hand of a hassled-looking little girl.
"We're not going to get on this train of yours with enough time to find good seat!"
"Mum…. At least we found the platform…" Lily Evans grumbled quietly so as not to let her mother hear her.
It was true. It had taken them close to twenty minutes to find someone that looked like they were going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Mrs. Evans, having been very selective on who too ask regarding how to get on the platform (what if they aren't wizards or witches?), had finally set her eyes on a woman who was carrying an owl to help them. It had taken them a painfully long time, but at least they had made it.
"Here." Her mum stopped so abruptly that Lily almost bumped into her.
"Alright, darling. Straighten your jacket now, and the skirt. Make sure you look nice to make good impressions on your new fellow classmates." Mrs. Evan's turned to her daughter and began dusting off the her outfit.
A slightly balding man with reddish hair walked up next to them, panting slightly. He puffed, catching his breath. "Rea… ready, Lily?"
"Yes Daddy." She moved a hand to her face to brush her auburn-red hair out of her bright green eyes.
"Lily Ann! You're mussing up your hair. Don't do that now; we spent so much time on it."
"Sweetheart, let her be. She looks fine. She's almost a grown woman. You can take care of yourself, right Lily?"
Lily giggled, "Yes Daddy."
"Well, I do see one thing wrong. Only slightly…" Her daddy peered down at her, adjusting his glasses on his nose quite a bit.
"What?"
"Your nose is a bit off center." He tweaked it lightly, "There we go. Now the princess is all set to go off to school without her Mummy and Daddy."
Lily giggled again, and then sobered, realizing that she wouldn't be living with her father's humor, and, though sometimes overbearing, her mother's love.
Her mother saw her face, and her once strict expression softened "Lily, love, don't worry. Everything's going to be fine. You'll come back during the holidays, and we'll send you lots of letters."
The three of them shared an intimate moment together, silence filling their tiny ring while the rest of the world hustled about. The silence was broken by the high-pitched whistle of the train, scaring them.
"… Time for me to go?" Lily's chin wobbled slightly as she was folded into her father's loving arms. She took in his smell in for a moment, and then backed away, commanding her tears to not fall. She hugged her mother just as tightly.
"Bye darling. Have a good year. Be good."
"But not too good. We don't want a little sissy."
"John! She has to be good!"
"But she can't be absolutely perfect. That's just… annoying."
"Being good isn't annoying!"
"Let us stop quarrelling, or that is how Lily's going to remember us by."
"We aren't dieing John. And we aren't quarrelling, it's a simple discussion!"
Lily smiled as she boarded the train, still listening to her parents' semi-argument. As she walked through the hall, she saw that all the compartments were filled with 4 or 5 students already chatting away, all looking older than she was. She quickened her pace, and found a seemingly-empty compartment. Lily stowed her carry-on bag away, and pulled a book out to read as the train began rolling.
"Umm… excuse me? I was sitting… right where you are." A girl stood at the door, hidden by the shadows of the trees that were in the forest.
Lily looked up, and then followed the girl's gaze to the floor. Sure enough, the handle of a carry on bag that was not Lily's was there. Lily had missed it in her rush to get settled before the train moved. A blush came upon her face. "I'm sorry. I'll leave…unless.. do you mind if I stay here? There isn't much other room…"
"Yes, I mind. Leave." Seeing Lily's startled face, she laughed. " I was joking. Sorry about that, I didn't mean to scare you. Should have seen your face, though."
Lily drew out a small smile as the girl sat opposite to her. She was a quite a beauty, petite, with pixie-cut dark brown hair. She wore tattered jeans with grass stains upon the knees, and a tie-dyed t-shirt.
"I'm Lily. Lily Ann Evans."
"Pleasure to meet you, Lily Ann Evans. I'm Alexandra. Alex, to my friends. Alex Thompson."
The girls had been chatting a few minutes when another girl came to the door. She had honey brown hair that came down to her shoulders, and big brown eyes. She wore jeans and a sweatshirt bearing the words "Oxford University."
"Hi, sorry bout' this, but do you guys mind having an extra person in? All the compartments but this are fully taken, and thanks to a dire need to use the privy…. I don't have a seat."
"Sure, come on it." Alex smiled at the girl pleasantly. "This is Lily Ann Evans, and I'm Alex."
"Your name's quite a mouthful" The girl replied, looking at Lily with a smile. "Any nicknames?"
"It's Lily. My mum's actually the only one that calls me Lily Ann."
"I know that feeling. Mum's tend to do that to you."
Lily smiled at this. She thought she would like this girl.
"You haven't told us your name yet." Alex inquired.
"Amorina Myazoi. Most people call me Rina. Do you guys know each other from before this?"
"Nope." Lily replied. "I don't really think I know anyone here, unless there were wizards and witches I didn't know before. I'm not born into a witch or wizard family… "
"Muggle-born?" Alex interrupted.
"What?" Both Rina and Lily stared back at her.
"Muggle. It's what we witches use for people that aren't… our kind."
"So I'm guessing you're not M… Muggle?" Lily asked.
"No. Neither are you guys either, come to think of it. Now that we're going to enter Hogwarts, we're all witches. You are Muggle-born though, Lily. What about you, Rina? Muggle-born?"
"I actually don't know what I am. According to my dad, there is some blood in the family. But I guess I'm the first one my immediate family. What about you, Alex?"
"Full-blood." She proclaimed in quite a proud manner. "I've basically been trained from birth to go to this school."
"So I guess you aren't nervous about going to school then?" Rina asked. "I am. I didn't even know what the wizarding world was until a month ago."
"Nah. I'm not nervous at all." When the two girls looked at Alex in disbelief. She let out a little smile "Okay, a little. Or.. a lot. But it can't be that bad, can it? I mean, hundreds of wizards and witches have gone through this school."
"I suppose." Lily bit her lip. The three sat in silence for a moment, each living in their own thoughts. Suddenly, she heard a voice coming from out of the cabin. It was becoming louder and louder, and repeating the same thing over and over again.
All three girls looked up, wide eyed.
"Potter? Potter? Oh, Potter dear, where are you? POTTER?"
"What in the…" Alex asked.
" I…" Lily giggled. " I don't know. Maybe its another word for.. the bathroom?"
RIna laughed, "The bathroom?"
"Yeah.. like… pots. You know, chamber pots?"
"Potter darling, I really need to see you. We have some business we need to do." The voice was now right outside their door, and now identifiably a male.
The girls burst out laughing. "Dire need, I suppose." Lily laughed, short of breath, which got them into another dose of laughter.
Three giggling girls, one long train-ride. This is how our story began, surely.
