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Disclaimer: I wish I could say I'm the proud owner of the basic idea, but I'm not. So everything belongs to J. K. Rowling except for most of the things you don't recognize, such as some of the characters.
Dreaming of You
By Samantha Kensington
Chapter Two: New Beginnings
Lily placed a small child in a crib and wrapped it in a blanket. She smiled at the child's messy black hair and gave his tiny little hand a small squeeze. She was about to kiss him goodnight when she heard a noise downstairs. She floated down the long hallway to the staircase. She began to step down but the stairs seemed to go on for miles. Lily could hear the sounds of anger below. He needed her help..
She ran as fast as she could-the staircase kept getting longer-so far to go-keep going-down-down-loud voices-faster-she wouldn't make it- shouts-booms-a bright green flash-
a body falls…
"No!"
Lily sat up in bed with beads of cold perspiration forming along her brow. Her head began to throb with the onset of a headache: she could not tell if it was from sitting up so fast or from the shock of the dream.
That dream had been so real; she almost thought it actually had happened. And that child. She was so frightened for him. She didn't even know him, but at the same time she felt such a connection- like she had known him all her life. And that man…
Lily's thoughts were interrupted when her bedroom door suddenly opened.
"Lily, darling? Are you ok?" Mrs. Evans rushed to her daughter's side. She started to rub Lily's back soothingly.
"I'm fine, mum. I just have a bit of a head ache," she tried convincing her mother and herself.
"I'll get you some warm milk. Maybe that will help. After all, you have a busy day ahead of you. It's your first day of school" she squeezed Lily's hand before disappearing out of the bedroom.
Lily gave her mother a forced smile and lay back down. She watched her mother leave and allowed her thoughts to venture to the upcoming day. Suddenly a flood of nerves and excitement engulfed her.
She could not wait to start learning magic, but she was so very nervous. What if all the kids feel the same way as James' mother? What if they hated her? What if she really doesn't have any magic in her? What if she is a terrible witch and the kids laugh at her? All these questions and more floated through Lily's mind.
Her mother returned with her milk. Lily reassured her mother that she would fall back asleep and finished the whole glass before her mother would finally leave. She then slowly fell into a restless sleep; the last thought going through her head of James not defending her.
Lily awoke the next morning with a splitting headache. She had not slept well due to her dream- if you could call it that- and worries. She heard of people talking about butterflies in their stomach. Her stomach felt more like she had giant pterodactyls doing somersaults in it.
A dazed state clouded most of Lily's senses that morning. She was relieved that she had packed the night before as she caught site of her trunk by the door. She was so nervous she could barely do much more than brush her teeth.
She managed to slip on a simple pair of flared jeans and a white blouse over a forest-green tank top. She forced down a bowl of cinnamon oatmeal and put her flaming red hair up in a low ponytail. She stared into her emerald eyes reflecting on how much they made her look like an alien with her abnormally fiery hair.
Lily glanced at the clock. "Oh dear God! Mum, Dad, Petunia! Hurry, we're going to be late!" she shouted through the house.
"We're coming!" Mrs. Evan's voice could be heard from upstairs. She came rushing down the staircase with a sulking, thirteen-year-old blonde behind her.
"Why do I have to go?" Petunia whined.
"Because we have to see Lily off, Pet. It'll be four months before you see her again," Mitchell said while buttoning the last button on his shirt.
Lily could hear Petunia mutter something along the lines of "good riddance" but chose to ignore her. She tried to lift her trunk to take it outside, but it was in vain. The trunk was just too heavy. Unable to decide what to bring, Lily just packed everything that could fit.
"Let me help, my little Lily of the Valley," her father said smiling at the nickname. Lily muttered a thank you and took a last glance around her room to check if she had forgotten anything.
Lily ran through King's Cross trying to find the platform. She paused in front of the space dividing platforms nine and ten and looked down at her ticket again to make sure she read it right. "They must have made a mistake, there is no platform 9 ¾," she thought to herself. Her family finally caught up to her and stared with her at the column.
"That's strange," Mr. Evans said as he patted the brick with his hand.
"I know," Lily remarked. She could feel tears welling in her eyes at the thought that maybe the whole thing was just a hoax. Maybe there was no Hogwarts…
She stepped up to mimic her father's move, but instead of hitting hard brick, her hand went through it.
"What the- " Lily said as she pulled her hand back. It then dawned on her how to get to the platform. "That's brilliant!" she exclaimed staring at the bricks. Her relief that there was no hoax made the tears flow anyway.
Her parents' faces held confusion and her sister looked at her as if she had just grown an extra head. Lily proceeded to explain, "Its simple. If you're a witch or wizard, you step through the wall to get to the platform, but I guess you all can't because Dad's hand didn't go through the barrier. I'll just have to say good bye here."
Lily kissed both her parents good bye and gave her sister a quick hug which Petunia seemed to stiffen under.
"I best be off now. I'll write every week!" she promised as she waved at her family. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she stepped through the barrier.
An amazing sight met her re-opened eyes. Mothers crying, families hugging, people disappearing and reappearing, and one long train spanning the huge platform. She looked more closely at the students and she caught sight of one in particular she was hoping not to run into. She quickly rolled her trolley to the train hoping he wouldn't follow. James, however, saw a flash of red hair and ran to catch up.
"Hullo, Lily," she heard the boy behind her. She kept walking, pretending to be temporarily deaf.
"Lily, wait up! Where are you going?" he exclaimed as he quickened his pace. "Come on, Lily! I know you can hear me!" he said as he grabbed her arm.
"Let go of me!" Lily exclaimed trying to wrench her arm free of James's grasp. She didn't really know why she was being so mean to James suddenly, he had not actually done anything wrong. Nevertheless, her stubborn streak held firm.
"What is wrong with you?" James asked, still holding onto her arm.
"Nothing, now let go!" Lily said tugging herself out of his grasp.
James finally gave in with an exclamation of "Fine!" He proceeded to storm up the stairs to board the train. Lily scowled at his back and rubbed her arm where he had held it so tight.
Lily then attempted to lift her trunk off the trolley to bring it onto the train with her, but she could not budge it. It was at this point that she wished her father could have crossed the barrier to help her. She tried lifting the trunk, again, but only to have it fall on her big toe.
"Oh, bugger!" she whined as she kicked it with her hurt toe, increasing the pain ten fold. "Could this day get any worse?" she asked no one in particular. She plopped down on the bottom stair and proceeded to stare at the ceiling, hoping to find an answer up there.
"Must be a pretty bad day," Lily heard a voice behind her. She turned around to a very handsome boy with dark brown hair and eyes.
"The worst," Lily moaned.
"I'm sorry to hear that. Do you need a hand?" he asked kindly.
"That would be nice," Lily said, smiling at him, finally feeling like the day was turning in her favor.
"I'm Mark, by the way. Mark Holleman," he said and returned the smile.
"I'm Lily. Lily Evans. It's a pleasure meeting you," she replied.
"The pleasure is mine, Lily," Mark said as he gazed into Lily's eyes. He stood there for a moment transfixed until he caught himself staring and jumped toward the trunk. Lily had a hard time finding this odd as Mark was not the first to be caught staring at Lily's eyes. It seemed like people did that a lot, which the red head found odd and embarrassing.
"Now let's see what we can do about this trunk," he smiled and grabbed hold of one side. Lily lifted the other side of her trunk and followed Mark onto the train. The two then continued to carry the trunk into a compartment where the rest of the students had deposited theirs.
Lily thanked her new friend. "You're welcome. So what year are you?"
"It's my first year," Lily said timidly.
"I didn't think I had seen you around last year. This is my second year," Mark informed her.
"Oh cool, then you know everything about Hogwarts. I don't know a lot about magic…" Lily shut herself up. She didn't want anybody to know she had non-magic parents.
"Are you muggle born?" Mark questioned and then wished he hadn't.
"Yes. Is that a problem?" Lily replied defensively.
"Not at all, I was just wondering," Mark replied in a calm voice.
"Oh, all right," the read head muttered, feeling a bit sheepish for her outburst. She almost let out a sigh at the relief that not everyone felt the same way as Mrs. Potter about her being a muggle born.
Lily and Mark talked a little longer while walking to no where in particular on the train. Lily found out that Mark's mother was a muggle, which made him half-blooded. She also found out that he was going to try out for his house's quidditch team this year.
"Quidditch?" Lily asked confused.
"What? You don't know what quidditch is?" Mark asked in disbelief. When Lily shook her head he continued to explain the sport to her. Mark's explanation captivated Lily with his descriptions of wizards flying on broomsticks and the different balls involved.
They continued to talk more until they were interrupted by a shout from a nearby compartment
"Oy, Mark! Come join us!" Mark walked up to the door.
"Hello everybody!" Mark greeted the group. "Lily, these are my mates. Fellas, this is Lily," he introduced the now very shy girl.
"Hey Lily. I'm Taylor," a boy with light brown hair and baby blue eyes acknowledged.
"Its nice to meet you," Lily had to fight to prevent her voice from cracking.
"I'm Chad," a blonde attractive boy drew her attention. He then introduced the two people sitting next to him as Alex and Emma.
"Its nice meeting all of you," Lily replied still a bit timid. Lily noted the not-so-amiable smile Emma gave her. What's her problem? Lily thought to herself.
"So where did you find such an attractive lady, Mark?" Chad asked making Lily blush. He grinned.
"Well, Lily was having a little trouble with her trunk," Mark smiled at the red head.
"Why don't you join us, Mark?" Taylor asked.
"Sure. Do you mind?" Mark asked Lily. Her face brightened at the prospect of spending the train ride with Mark, and his other friends of course.
"That'd be lovely!" Lily said.
"You know, you don't have to sit with us," Emma said with a bite. Lily's smile dropped.
"Step back, Emma. Everyone is welcome here. Including Lily," Mark stepped in, narrowing his eyes at Emma as he said the word 'including'. Emma gave Lily another death glare before Lily went to sit next to Taylor. She looked up and to her surprise, she saw Mark sitting next to her. Lily had to try hard not to radiate her excitement.
Mark leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Don't worry about her," he indicated to a ruffled Emma, "she's just a bit touchy. Don't let her skew your first impression of Hogwarts." Lily smiled up at him and nodded her understanding.
"So are you a first year, Lily? I don't think I've seen you around," Chad asked. Lily nodded her answer afraid her vocal chords might not work around the group of strangers.
"Splendid! Maybe you'll end up in Ravenclaw with us," Taylor commented. Lily noticed the apparent huff coming from Emma but ignored it as she ignored her sister's not-so-under the breath comments.
"I'm sorry, but what do you mean by Ravenclaw?" Lily asked, beginning to feel braver.
"There are four house you can be separated into in your first year," Mark explained. "There is Ravenclaw, the best of course," he smiled a dashing smile, "Then Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, which isn't half bad, and then Slytherin. You don't want to be in Slytherin. They're a rotten lot, that bunch," he concluded.
"Oh that would be fabulous to be in Ravenclaw with all of you," Lily said smiling. Lily heard another noise of disapproval from Emma.
"Shut it, Em," Chad said firmly getting a bit annoyed by the frizzled blonde sitting next to him. Emma straightened a little upon realizing she was bothering the rest of her friends.
Taylor chose to change the subject, "Hey Mark, did you watch the World Cup this summer? Who would have thought the Chudley Cannons would beat the Melbourne Mob?"
"Blimey, I know! That catch by Snider was amazing!" Mark replied. The group continued to talk about nothings in particular for the rest of the ride. Mark would occasionally fill Lily in on magical things such as the minister of magic and goblins. Lily was very grateful to Mark and they were getting along great. She was actually somewhat sad when the train came to a stop.
The seven new friends walked out onto the platform. Lily looked up to see a beautiful crescent moon and thousands of glistening stars. She wished she had remembered her telescope so that she could have gone star gazing later. Lily loved the nighttime sky and everything about it. Before she found out she was a witch she wanted to join the astronaut program in America but now she knew she had many more options to discover. Lily sighed loudly.
"Everything all right, Lily?" Mark asked. She loved how he said her name.
"I just wish I had my telescope. I left it at home and you can see so many more stars out here than in the city where I lived," Lily said longingly. Mark chuckled a bit at this.
"What? My passion for stars is funny to you?" Lily jumped to defense mode.
"Not at all! I was just laughing because it hadn't occurred to you that astronomy is a field of magic," Mark said grinning at Lily. Lily's face brightened up.
"So they have telescopes here?" Lily asked excited.
"Not just telescopes, love. Giant telescopes and actual classes on the subject. There are two astronomy towers, as well," Mark informed the red head. Lily's smile was so wide she thought her face would crack.
"That's wonderful to hear! I can't wait!" Lily exclaimed. Then a booming voice echoed across the platform.
"F'rst y'rs! This way!" shouted an enormous man with a rugged looking beard and long, wild hair. His beetle black eyes, however, glistened with kindness, throwing off the look of a monster.
"That would be you, Lily. I'll catch up with you later," Mark waved at her as she made her way to the congregating first years.
"A'right then. I'm Hagrid, keeper of the keys and ground at Hogwarts," the almost giant man bellowed. Lily, staring at his untamed hair, was not really paying attention to where she was going. It's no wonder she bumped into somebody.
"Oh no, clumsy me," Lily exclaimed as she almost knocked down a girl with long blonde hair.
"No worries," the girl replied as she caught her balance. The blonde then introduced herself as Meredith and the two began to chat while they followed Hagrid.
"So where do you think he's taking us?" Meredith asked.
"I have no idea. I'm very new to all this," Lily said.
"Really? Are you muggle born, also?" Meredith asked timidly.
"Yes! Are you, too?" Lily said, happy to know she wasn't the only one new to everything.
"Yea! Oh wow, I feel so much better," Meredith exclaimed.
"Same here," Lily replied lightheartedly. They chatted and found out that they shared a love of cats, hate for spiders, and a freakish obsession with astronomy.
When they reached their destination, Lily looked out at a bank with fifteen or so boats docked.
"Board three ter a boat," Hagrid shouted.
Meredith and Lily attempted to find an empty boat but failed. They were about to split up when they heard a voice.
"You can join me if you'd like," said a tall and thin girl sitting alone in one of the boats. She had short, choppy brown hair and wore thin-framed glasses that hid misty blue-green eyes. The girls thanked her and climbed in.
"Thank you so much…er… I didn't catch your name," Lily said.
"Its Kate," she replied.
"Well its nice meeting you, Kate. My name is Lily and this is Meredith," Lily pointed toward her blonde friend.
"It's great meeting you two, as well. So are you both as excited as I am?" Kate asked. Lily and Meredith gave a loud and giggly agreement.
"Wonderful! We're going to have so much fun!" The girls burst into random giggles. Just then, the boats began to move on their own, catching the girls off guard. They fell into a pile in the middle of the boat making it rock back and forth threateningly. This only increased their giggles.
A certain messy-haired boy with glasses was watching the blonde, brunette, and red head. A master plot then hit the boy who was still flustered from that morning.
"Hey, Sirius! Remus! Lean in, I have a plan," James said with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
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Luv ya,
Sam