Harry had eaten his dinner at top speed in order to get back upstairs to check out the diary. He was in higher spirits than before and Mrs. Weasley was happier because of it. The best part, in Harry's opinion, was that she didn't ask questions about his sudden happiness. Harry figured that Mrs. Weasley just thought the stuff put in his tea was still at work. Hermione, Ron, and Ginny stared at Harry while he ate ravenously and as he nearly choked on his sandwich. Harry felt that he had actually remained seated for about five minutes all together when he jumped up and handed Mrs. Weasley his empty plate.

Mrs. Weasley looked at him suspiciously, "What's the rush, Harry? I think that was a new record."

"Oh…I…uh…I…just wanted to get back to cleaning, that's all," Harry said rather pathetically.

"Right," said Mrs. Weasley who looked very unconvinced. "Just don't sit up in that room all day by yourself, alright?"

"Yeah, sure," said Harry as he turned to leave the kitchen. He was a little surprised that Mrs. Weasley had let him off that easily but he was also glad she did.

"Harry?" Ron called across the room. "Did you want to go play a game of wizard's chess?"

Harry stopped and turned towards Ron, "Uh…not right now…sorry."

Ron's face fell, "Oh, all right then."

Harry quickly changed his response after seeing the look on his face. "I was just going to take a nap…I'll play with you tomorrow, maybe."

"But didn't you just say you were going to finish cleaning?" asked Ron.

"I changed my mind." Harry's face was starting to redden.

"Oh, okay," said Ron looking crestfallen, "well, whenever you feel like playing, let me know."

"Right," said Harry, heading towards the door again, "thanks for lunch, Mrs. Weasley."

Mrs. Weasley smiled at him as he left but only half-heartedly. Hermione and Ron watched as he left and both of them feared that he would never change; he would always want to be alone. Harry hadn't noticed the mixed emotions spreading throughout the room as he darted out of the kitchen and up the stairs. He was too excited about the diary. He reached for the small blue book under his mattress and plopped down on his bed as his heart started to pound. The adrenaline was flowing throughout his body and he knew that he was finally going to learn things about his mother. He had always heard stories about his father from Sirius and Remus but he never got a chance to hear his mother's side of things.

He took a deep breath as he opened to the first page and again found it blank. He stared at the blank page for a little while. Why would somebody buy a diary and leave the first few pages blank? It just didn't make any sense. After staring at it for a few more seconds, Harry began to turn to the next page when something peculiar made him stop. The page he had been staring at had just flashed a bright green color as if someone had quickly turned a light on and off within it. Harry sat there confused for a second, wondering if it had just been a hallucination, but then something else happened. Dark ink began to form at the top of the page and then, like a small stream, it trickled down throughout the paper. Letters appeared, then words, then sentences, until finally the page was full. Harry was dumbfounded. He blinked twice just to make sure it was real and when he was satisfied that it wasn't going to vanish, he began to read, his heart beating ever faster.

September 10, 1977

Well, I've finally done it. I've started a diary. I felt I needed to get some of my feelings out on paper before I was to explode. You may ask why I waited until I was 16 to start a diary, but I probably wouldn't be able to answer that question. The truth is that I'm not very fond of diaries. I almost find them boring and a waste of time but my mother gave me this thick blue book just before I left for sixth year. She told me I'd be happier if I wrote about my experiences but I really didn't believe her. I almost gave it to my friend Somara but I held onto it for reasons I'm unsure of. Now here I am, pouring my heart and soul into this book. Actually, now that I think about it, that's a little scary. If someone were to find this, they'd know everything about me. Oh well, maybe I'll learn a spell this year to keep curious eyes away. I'm getting excited thinking about what I'm going to learn this year. I know that sixth years get into extremely advanced magic. I'm already pretty good at charms so maybe I'll learn some new ones. This is actually soothing, writing in this diary. It looks like my mother was right. I have to remember to send her a letter to thank her for this. Speaking of my mother, why don't I tell you a little about my family so I don't keep rambling on about this diary?

My mother and father are muggles. I know, it's an odd word that I only learned the meaning to in my first year here, and here is Hogwarts just incase you don't know. I had never even been aware that another world besides the one in my childhood existed. I was eleven years old and it was a shock when an owl flew in through the kitchen window with a letter clasped in its beak. My sister Petunia nearly jumped from her seat and through the ceiling as the bird landed in her porridge and eggs. My father started to swat at it until I showed him that it was holding something. I took the letter from the owl and it immediately flew back out of the window. I looked at the thick letter and found that it was addressed to me. I tore it open with intrigue, very aware that my whole family was watching me. It was from a place I had never heard of so I was slightly confused. I showed it to my father and he slapped his hand over his mouth so fast that I thought he was choking. He told me later after all of the celebrating had died down that the letter meant that I had magical abilities. I was a witch and I was to go to, according to my father, "the best wizarding school in Britain". I was more shocked than my father for I nearly fell off my chair. Apparently my father had a friend when he was eleven who had received a letter from Hogwarts and he told me that I was very lucky to have such a rare gift.

My sister however wasn't very happy. Hmm…how can I describe Petunia? For one thing she is very stuck-up and I had never really noticed it until that day. She's selfish and she always wants things done her way. When she found out what Hogwarts was she went to her room and locked herself in, she didn't even congratulate me. Before the letter we would always get along like normal sisters would. Occasional fights here and there but we would always tell each other secrets and stick up for each other. After the letter, she constantly ignored me, and when she was forced to deal with me she sent me insults that only I could hear. I don't know what happened with us. I never knew she would be so jealous over something that I had no control over.

But enough about that depressing stuff, I'll tell you about school. School is wonderful. I love coming here every year. I have so many friends and what's better about it is that they have gifts just like I do. However, there is always a bad side to everything. There is a particular boy named James Potter that I cannot stand. He and his group of worshipers who follow him wherever he goes are the biggest losers I have ever had the displeasure of meeting. Except for Remus, he seems like he actually has some common sense, but I doubt the other two, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew, have any whatsoever. Boys! Why do they have to be so tactless? I'll never understand this Potter boy. He acts as if he is the star of the school. You should see the way he walks down every corridor. He walks with his head held so high that I doubt he ever really sees where he's going. AND he and Sirius Black go around hexing people! For fun! Normally I wouldn't be wasting my ink writing about this boy but he has chosen me as one of his targets. He never hexes me, no, but he teases me every chance he gets. My other friend Jenna reckons he fancies me. Ha! If this is true he has a great way of showing it! Plus, I would never date him because he is such an egotistical maniac!

Sorry, I had to take a breather. I was starting to tear the page with my quill from writing so hard. Well, I'm looking at this entry and it seems formidable for the first one. I will return to share more with you on another date but now I really should get to sleep. It's almost ten-thirty. Wow, I feel better now that that's out. I really have to remember to write my mom a letter thanking her for this. Okay, that's all for now. Good night, diary.

Harry frowned. It just did not make sense to him that his mother and father had ended up being married. She had written in the diary that she would never date him yet they married practically right out of school. Harry wanted desperately to learn more about his mother and even more desperately how they became a couple. He also remembered Lily describing her sister. Was Petunia really jealous? Harry had always wondered why she was so bitter towards her sister, but jealousy? Harry tucked that away in the back of his memory for possible future use. If he and Petunia ever got into another argument, he'd definitely know what subject to bring up. He flipped anxiously to the next page as if it was a riveting novel and to his surprise it wasn't blank. His eyes devoured the page feverishly.

November 16, 1977

Wow, it's been a while. But I have been seriously bombarded with homework ever since the beginning of October. But there is a good side to this. I've learned a new charm. Well, on my own really. Our teacher just hinted about it in class, he said it would be on our NEWTS next year so I figured I would get a little bit of a heads up on it. Anyway, it's a charm called the Portal charm. What it does is… Oh why don't I just show you?

That was the end of the entry. Harry sat there confused.

"What in the…?" But he was spared of any more thought. At that very moment, Harry felt the room shift. At first he thought it may have been an earthquake but he didn't hear any shouts from downstairs. He felt a tugging sensation pulling at his arms and legs. It was a peculiar feeling that he was positive he had felt before. Then the room shifted again and he fell face first into the journal. He felt himself falling in a rush of swirling color. He could hear voices that sounded distant and muttered. The colors that had been swirling around him were starting to take shape and the voices were becoming clearer. Finally he felt himself become still and he stood up trying desperately to gain his balance.

He was suddenly standing in a room, a bedroom. It looked strangely similar to the boy's dormitory only slightly different. There were multiple bunk beds as there were in the boy's sleeping quarters and there were scarlet and gold colored blankets. But the walls were a different color than it was in Harry's dorm. In here the walls were painted gold, in Harry's the walls were painted red. It finally hit him as he heard the muttered voices again. They were female voices. He was in the girl's dorm. He had taken another trip into the past like he did in his second year with Riddle's diary. Only this time it was his mother's memory. He looked around the room with much interest. He had never seen the girl's dormitory before because, as he and Ron had found out the hard way one year, boys were not allowed inside. As his eyes traveled around the room in slight amazement he heard a noise behind him. He turned sharply around and discovered his mother sitting on her bed. He hadn't even noticed her. Her fiery red hair was illuminated by the sunlight that was streaming in through the window. She was writing in the familiar blue book that Harry was currently wandering through. Harry wondered if Lily had ever guessed that her son would one day actually be inside of her diary.

Another loud noise made him jump again and he turned around to see two girls giggling and running towards Lily's bed. Harry figured that these were the muffled voices he was hearing. Lily quickly hid her diary from sight, tucking it under her mattress just as Harry did.

"Are you ready, Lily?" asked the girl with very dark brown hair in loose curls swirling around her face. She was fairly short but she was also thin. Her eye make-up made her bright green eyes pop out and a few freckles dotted her round cheeks.

"Where are we going?" Lily asked with an apprehensive look on her face.

Both girls looked at each other and giggled.

"We're taking you to Hogsmeade," said the other girl who had blue eyes and a face full of freckles. Her straight light brown hair stretched far down her back.

"You aren't taking me to see him again, are you?" Lily asked furrowing her brow.

Him? Who was she talking about? Was it James? Harry was dying to yell out and ask them but he knew it wouldn't work. He was forced to stand there in suspense.

"No way. Never. We wouldn't do that to you Lil," said the dark haired girl, who Harry noticed had her fingers crossed behind her back.

Lily crossed her arms and frowned slightly. "I know a lie when I hear one. You two are trying to set me up again."

"Oh come on Lily," the light haired girl pleaded. "He's a cute guy, he's popular, and he's nice."

"And he's conceited, he talks about himself too much, and he has more outfits than I do."

"So what, Lil. He's one of the hottest guys out there right now. Come on you have to meet with him again!"

"No, I will not."

The two girls looked extremely put out, but they also looked far from giving up that easily.

"If you do this one last time we'll never make you do it again, okay?" the light haired girl reasoned.

"That's what you said last time, Jenna. Why do you want me to see him again so badly? Why don't you date him?"

Jenna looked disgusted at the thought. "He would never go out with me. He's on a whole different level than I am."

"What?" Lily looked shocked. "And I'm on his level? Seeing as the type of person he is, I don't want to be on his level, and neither should you." She got up off of her bed and walked over towards the door as if she was going to leave. Harry heard Jenna address the dark haired girl.

"Somara, help me out here!" Somara seemed to be searching for something to say very quickly for Lily now had her hand on the doorknob.

"Lily wait!" she finally yelled.

Lily turned around and leaned against the door crossing her arms again. She looked fairly exhausted.

"Let's just go to Hogsmeade. Not to see him, just to shop." she added seeing the look on Lily's face. "Then unless you change your mind we'll come back here."

Lily seemed to be contemplating this. Her brow was furrowed and her lips were pursed.

"Come on, it'll be good just to get out and we aren't forcing you into anything. You'll be able to decide for yourself. Plus, you can get away from James for a day."

The effect that last sentence had on Lily was almost instant. She stopped staring at the floor in thought and looked up at her friends with a serious look. "Well, alright, I guess a little shopping trip won't hurt."

"Great!" chimed Jenna and Somara in unison.

Harry watched the three of them leave the room before the same odd swirling sensation occurred once again. Harry thought that doing this too often would eventually mess up his equilibrium and he made a note to himself to invent a spell that didn't involve so much spinning.

As the swirling stopped and the colors took shape he noticed that he was just outside the Three Broomsticks. Lily, Somara, and Jenna were standing there, bundled up against the cold holding bags in their hands from various stores ranging from Honeydukes to Dervish and Banges. Harry noticed that it was snowing slightly and it felt bizarre to him that he was so warm with nothing but a short-sleeved shirt on. He wondered why they were standing outside in the cold when they could just walk right into the bar and order a nice butterbeer but as he moved closer he found out why.

"No, I'm not going in there!" Lily said angrily. "You said you weren't going to force me."

"Yeah but we thought that after some shopping you'd change your mind," said Somara.

"I'm not changing my mind. This isn't even a possibility. He doesn't even go to Hogwarts anymore. He's probably three or four years older than me!"

Jenna and Somara exchanged smiles. "So what," Somara said. "That just means he'll be more experienced."

"I can do one year older, maybe two, but four years older? There is something morally wrong with that, especially since he's of age and I'm not."

"Nobody has to know that," Jenna said, still grinning.

Lily rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "Can't you two understand that I don't like this guy? Were you two even listening back in the dorm? I don't like him."

"Lily, you need a man in your life and we're just trying to help you out," said Jenna.

"Well you don't have a boyfriend and you don't see me forcing you into a relationship!" she yelled at Jenna. "I can find a boyfriend on my own without any help from you two."

Her friends looked hurt and Lily seemed ashamed of her outburst but before anyone could say anything else, a young man dressed in long flowing lilac robes walked straight into their conversation. He had the air of an extremely wealthy and pompous businessman. Harry noticed Lily's eyes and Jenna and Somara's smile widen.

"Hello ladies," the young man said, flashing a very charming smile and showing his big pearly white teeth. Harry thought that this guy looked vaguely familiar.

He went on without waiting for a response. "I don't mean to impose but I see we are standing in front of the Three Broomsticks all shivering cold. It is such a coincidence that I happen to be signing autographs inside this very bar for my latest accomplishments in Spain."

Lily rolled her eyes when no one was watching her. Somara and Jenna were staring at him dreamily, most likely not hearing one word.

"You have all heard," he went on, "about my encounter with a bunch of rogue giants, yes? How I single handedly wiped them out all at once with a single wave of my wand?"

Somara and Jenna sighed and batted their eyelashes at the young man who apparently failed to notice that they were even still there. His focus was resting on Lily who was hiding her face and searching through her bags in attempts to ignore him.

"Lily," he said very suddenly. Her eyes traveled slowly to his face as if she were dreading what he was going to say. But he didn't say anything he just flashed his huge, toothy, cheesy grin. Wait a minute. Harry knew that stupid grin. Oh no. No, it couldn't be. It was a twenty-year-old Gilderoy Lockhart. Harry smacked himself in the head for not realizing it sooner. It was so obvious with that grin and those lilac robes. He had always said his favorite color was lilac. If Harry had ever felt sympathy towards his mother it was nothing compared to now. He could tell she was at a disadvantage. She was already practically inside the bar and she was seriously outnumbered. Before Harry knew it, her friends, who were staring at Gilderoy with very hungry looks, were pulling his teenaged mother into the Three Broomsticks. Harry wondered, like Lily had before, why her friends were trying to set her up when it was so obvious that they liked him more.

Harry reluctantly followed them inside and when he entered, several camera flashes blinded him. Harry thought for a moment that the cameramen were taking pictures of him until he realized he had walked right through Lockhart. He stood there posing for several hundred pictures with Lily under his right arm trying to hide her face. Jenna and Somara were hanging off of his other arm trying very hard to act as if they were his girlfriends. Lockhart didn't even seem to notice either of them. After Harry's eyes had adjusted, he weaved through the crowd, still not really appreciating that he was invisible to these people, and found where Lily and Lockhart had sat down. Jenna and Somara disappeared in order to give them some time alone but they were very far from being alone.

Lockhart placed Lily beside him at a very large table piled with pictures of his big grinning face. A line that was made up of hundreds of young witches immediately formed in front of the table. Lily turned red as more pictures were taken. Harry watched in agony as every last witch received a signature from him and as the bar slowly emptied. Every few minutes, Harry would see his mother try to get up and escape but every time she tried someone would ask for a photo in which Lockhart would pull her back over and tell her to smile. After what had seemed like hours, Lockhart put down his quill and turned to face Lily who had been so obviously nodding off.

"Wasn't that fun, Laura?" Lockhart sighed.

"No," said Lily groggily but with attitude, "and my name isn't Laura, it's Lily."

"I am so glad you agree, Lisa," said Lockhart who hadn't heard a word she said. "You see, I've always wanted a girl who could endure the pressures of fame with me." He wasn't even looking at her; he was staring at the ceiling as if recalling a favorite memory. "Ever since I met you I have felt a special sort of attraction to you."

"Why was I wearing your favorite color or was I holding up a mirror," she mumbled.

"When I was fighting those giants with my bare hands I thought of you as inspiration. Of course, I could have fought them off without it."

"I thought you said you used a wand," Lily asked, not really expecting him to answer.

"But anyway, when I was near death, I thought of my dear Linda and I was given a sudden new hope."

"Can't he just stick with one name?" Lily mumbled under her breath. She was completely positive that Lockhart would never hear her unless she complimented him.

"Your face and my excellent use of a wand brought me back safely. Oh excuse me."

He stood up to take a picture of himself for a Ravenclaw girl who had wandered over. She was giggling profusely and both Harry and Lily rolled their eyes. Lily seized the opportunity to escape but was again too slow.

"Now, what was I talking about, Louise?" he asked.

"Oh I don't know. Your enormous ego I suppose?"

"Oh, oh, right, the giants. Well, as you know..."

"Gilderoy!" Lily snapped so suddenly that even Harry jumped in surprise.

"Yes, Lizzie?" he replied calmly.

"Could I have an autograph?"

Harry was surprised. Why was she asking him for an autograph?

Lockhart smiled widely. "Of course you can! How could I forget to give my dear Lola an autograph? Silly me."

He scribbled his name down in big twirling hoops and stared at it for a long time until handing it to Lily. "Thanks," she said and then tore it straight down the middle. Lockhart froze and then his smile melted straight off of his face. Harry had never seen him look so gloomy.

"Look, Gilderoy. I am sick of hearing about your stupid adventure with the trolls..."

"Giants, Lori."

"...My friends set me up with you, I don't like you, and you should buy a mirror so you can talk to yourself all day instead of boring me or any other girl to sleep!"

"But, Lois, I thought you liked me. You asked for my autograph."

"That was to get you to listen to me! You wouldn't stop talking! Now listen up! I am leaving and don't you dare try to stop me, and leave my friends and I alone for good! Got it?"

"Uh, okay, Leelee," he said. Harry could definitely tell he was in fear for his life.

Lily put on her coat and gathered her bags and then turned to leave. When she was half way across the room she turned around to look at him. "Oh and by the way, my name is Lily!" With that she grabbed her friends and stormed out of the bar, receiving several stares as she went.

Harry felt himself swirling again as he left the diary.

I still cannot believe those two talked me into that today. I thought they were my friends. They have no idea what it's like being with that guy. Every subject he talks about has something to do with himself. I'd probably rather spend the day with James. No, never mind. I don't think I'd go that far. Wow I must be really tired, thinking about rather spending the day with James than another guy. I'm starting to scare myself a little. It's been a long day and I need to go to bed. But don't worry I will be back to write another entry. I'm really enjoying this new spell. All right then, good night.

Harry was once again sitting on the bed at Number twelve, staring blankly at the pages in which he had just come from. He couldn't believe that Lockhart, his self-absorbed former Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was interested in his mother. Well, he was actually more interested in himself that day. Harry thought of how exhausting it must have been for him to be so egotistical his whole life. He also thought about Lily's outburst. He would have never imagined that something like that would happen, but it was extremely amusing.

Wanting to find out more, he opened the next page to read on. But suddenly, a noise outside of the room made him close the diary and shove it under his mattress. He realized that the room he was sitting in was now very dark. He must have been wondering around in Lily's diary for hours. He quickly pulled the covers up to his chin and closed his eyes as the door opened.

"Yeah, he's asleep," He heard Ron whisper.

"Oh okay, well goodnight, Ron." Hermione whispered back.

"Goodnight."

Harry heard the door shut and then Ron climbing into his bed. After a while he heard Ron's snores and it didn't take long for him to realize that he too was exhausted.