"Serena! Serena wait up!" The voice belonged to a boy with very untidy black hair and deep, dark blue eyes. Following him were 3 other boys. One also had black hair, but it was neater, and he had dark eyes. Another had blonde hair with what looked like some grays, gray eyes, and a very exhausted look. All of these 3 were also of good height. The fourth, however, was short and plump with small, dark, watery eyes. His blonde hair was also very thin.

"James!" Rini yelled. She ran up and gave 3 of the 4 boys a hug. "It's so good to see you 3 again! And who's this?" Serena asked, pointing to the fourth boy.

"This, Miss Avalon, is Peter Pettigrew. Peter, meet Serena Avalon. Just call her Rini."

"Hi," they both said.

"It really is good to see you all. You've got to tell me all about your summers. So Sirius, who'd you ask out this summer?" Rini had turned to the boy with neat black hair and dark eyes, but Sirius wasn't listening.

Sirius was looking at a girl with dark, gingery red hair and brilliant emerald green eyes. Rini saw this and said, "Oh my gosh! I feel like an idiot! Come over here, Lily!"

Lily slowly walked over and Sirius's eyes immediately fell to the ground. 'So she's a friend of Rini's' Sirius thought to himself.

As Rini introduced each boy, Lily made some mental notes. "This is James Potter," Lily looked at the boy with untidy black hair and blue eyes. "Remus Lupin," Lily looked at the boy with blonde hair and the exhausted look. "Sirius Black," Lily now looked at the boy with dark hair and eyes and noticed they wouldn't look into her own eyes. "And Peter Pettigrew. I myself have just met him." Lily looked at the last boy and was a bit disgusted. He had thin blonde hair and small, watery eyes. 'He has the look of a rat,' Lily thought. "Boys, this is Lily Evans," Rini said.

After she said this, James, who had a way with words, took Lily's right hand, bowed, said "It is a glorious day when heaven sends one of its angels back to us," and kissed her hand.

Lily blushed and said, "Heaven has sent more than one."

Rini was getting anxious. "Are we going into the shop or not?" she asked a bit more fierce than she meant to. Everyone followed her in and got sized up with robes. Then it was off to Ollivander's for wands.

Lily's wand was willow, 10 ¼ inches long with a unicorn hair. Rini's was oak, 11 inches with a dragon heartstring. James's was mahogany, 11 inches with a phoenix feather. Sirius's was cedar, 13 inches with a dragon heartstring. Remus's was pine, 9 ½ inches with a unicorn hair. Peter's was birch, 7 inches with a unicorn hair.

They spent the rest of the 2 hours shopping and then headed the bookshop. James asked where Lily's parents were and she explained that she was muggle born. After she said this, James, Sirius, and Remus exchanged worried looks. Lily stared at them and asked, "What?"

James looked at her and said seriously, "Be careful whom you tell that to. If the wrong people hear that, you're in for a very unwanted insult."

Rini nodded. "Especially that third year Lucius Malfoy and, in our year, Severus Sn…" her voice trailed off and a look of horror crossed her face. The 4 boys turned and saw why.

Standing behind them was none other than Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape. Lucius had very bleach-blonde hair gelled back and silvery-blue eyes. Severus had greasy black hair, dark eyes, and a very hook shaped nose.

"Did I hear this right, Potter? You're hanging around a mud blood!" Lucius asked.

Rini was furious. "HOW DARE YOU CALL HER THAT!" she screamed.

James was being held back by Remus and Sirius. Peter had hidden behind a bookshelf. "Don't you ever call her that again, Malfoy!" Lucius was not, however, paying attention.

Instead, he said to Severus, "You know, for a mud blood, she's awfully cute. What do you think Severus?"

Severus was looking Lily up and down as he said, "I quite agree, Lucius. A tasty little dish, no doubt."

Right as he said this, James struggled free and was giving Severus a beating he'd never forget before anyone could stop him. Lucius was about to team up on James when Sirius jumped on him and was giving him a beating very similar to the one James was giving Severus. Both Lucius and Severus were pinned to the ground. It was only when James and Sirius felt a hand on their shoulders' that they stopped swinging fists.

James heard Rini say clear and stern, "James! Stop it!"

Then he heard Lily over by Sirius, "Stop it, right now! Hitting him won't help the situation, no matter how much better it makes you feel."

"All right. But I warn you," Sirius growled at Lucius and Severus, "If you ever call her that again, you'll have more than a broken nose!"

As James and Sirius stood up, Lucius said loud and clear, "You'll pay for this Potter! You and Black will pay!" With this, Lucius and Severus left.

"Why did you just do that!" Lily screamed.

"He called you 'mud blood'," James said as if that explained everything.

Lily looked dumbfounded. "Which means?"

This time Sirius answered. "It's slang. It means 'dirty blood', a magical muggle."

Suddenly, they heard Rini gasp. "Oh my gosh! I just remembered I need to get you your birthday gift!" She ran to her mum, said she'd be right back, and ran out of the shop.

"When was it?" Sirius asked.

"Huh? What?" Lily asked, still staring at the door Rini had just ran out of.

"Your Birthday!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Oh!" Lily said feeling like an idiot. "Yesterday."

"Happy birthday!" the boys chorused as, one by one, James, Sirius, and Remus kissed her hand.

When Rini returned, she had a cage in her hand. In the cage was a beautiful snowy owl. Lily's eyes lit up when she saw it. "He can deliver letters for you and he's a faithful friend and pet," Rini said happily.

"He's beautiful!" Lily exclaimed. "I'll name him after you since you gave him to me, Rini. I'm using your middle name though." At the last sentence, James, Sirius, and Remus started paying even more attention than they were. "What?" Lily asked with a sly smile on her face. "She never told you? Well, maybe Emrys and I can tell you."

When Lily said 'Emrys', Rini turned red and the boys started snickering. Lily started telling her story. "Emrys, if I've read three of my books correctly (which I have), was the last name Merlin the Enchanter went by as a child. He was called Myrddin (dd makes an 'th' sound like in the word then) Emrys before he found out he was Aurulius Ambrosius's son. Just like Ambrosius, Emrys means 'Protector of Light,' just in different languages. I wonder why I didn't connect that with you being a witch before?" The last part was more to herself. "I've also read other stories with Merlin and the name 'Emrys.'

They had finished shopping so Mrs. Avalon took the girls home after they said good-bye to the boys. Though Lily's parents were thrilled with the news of Lily being a witch, Petunia wasn't. She snubbed her sister even worse than before the letter. Lily couldn't wait till September 1st. Finally, it arrived.