Lupin grinned broadly and reached out to Harry. Grabbing his arm, they plummeted into the basin, but instead of hitting the bottom they fell out into King's Cross Station. Harry looked around eagerly. "What year is this? Will I see you and my dad as well as Lierre?" he asked Lupin.
"It's our first year at Hogwarts and yes, you will be seeing all of us." Lupin replied. "In fact… Lily and Lierre are standing right over there. They came from a muggle family obviously, so they are very concerned about being late for the train. I don't know if you care much, but Petunia is with them as well."
Indeed, the three sisters were standing in front of platforms 9 and 10. Lily was looking rather confused, while Petunia pursed her lips in a way Harry had seen her do countless times in the future. The two sisters would glance at each other occasionally, but did not seem to be interested in speaking. Suddenly another girl went streamlining towards them, talking very quickly. From the way she looked and acted, Harry was positive this must be Lierre
"TUNIA! LILS! Well I've been talking to the guard who runs this station, I didn't mention you-know-where obviously, and I think I know how to get on to the platform! The guard(his name is Kirk by the way), he's an absolute dear, and he mentioned to me that every year this very day you simply get the oddest people around! Kirk's been working here for 20 years and September 1st seems to be the day that people decide to come to the weirdo convention. That's what he said anyway. I don't think they're as strange as he made them out to be." She paused here thoughtfully. "But anyway, he said (and don't tell him I told you two this- Kirk told me this in confidence) that for the past five years or so he has been trying to see where all these people go, because they all seem to know each other. Then he said that they all seem to disappear, now here's the interesting part, right into the barrier between platforms nine and ten! So I think that all we need to do is run into that barrier and we'll be able to get onto the platform."
Neither Lily nor Petunia seemed surprised that an old guard would choose to divulge this fascinating information to their sister. Instead, all Lily said was "All right then, let's go." However, Lierre looked slightly uncomfortable. Lily was too nervous to notice this, but Petunia did.
"What is it Lierre?" she asked kindly
"Er… well it's a two things actually." said Lierre apologetically
"I'm listening."
"All right…the first thing is Kirk. He's rather lonely, I can tell, and he just wants some company, but I'm going to be gone! What if no one visits him? His birthday is October 16th and I'll miss that too. I wanted to hear him play the cello- he used to play for high school band, you know, even got a scholarship for it. But the poor dear couldn't go because his brother got sick and Kirk wanted to take care of him. Kirk really isn't getting any younger, and sure he's tough, but quite frankly he won't be getting much older either if someone doesn't take care of him. I tried to tell Mum, but you know, she thinks that since I'm only eleven…."
"Is that all Lierre? I need to do a community service project this year at my school, and this is perfect! I can take care of Kirk while you're at school, and I'll write you every week to let you know how he's doing. Now, what's your other problem?" Petunia asked in her brisk manner.
"Oh Tunia! Would you really?" Lierre was overjoyed, but her face fell slightly as she answered Petunia's question. "My other problem…is about you Petunia. I mean, I've always known you and Lily didn't get along well, but these past few weeks were terrible! Lily was being a bit of a show-off, but you really shouldn't take it personally! Just because you didn't get a letter doesn't mean your not special too!" Petunia seemed to want to comment, but Lierre stopped her. "I know you think you don't need to hear this, but you do. Petunia, you are just as good as Lily, just in different ways. You're more organized than anyone I know, and I know quite a few people. I guess I just feel bad leaving you with nobody else to tell you that Tunia. I guess I just feel bad leaving everyone."
Petunia sighed. "Don't feel bad Lierre, I'll watch out for all your strays you've collected, and as for me, well I'll be writing to you each week won't I? I'll be fine- ignoring Mum and Dad's long-winding rants of praise for you and Lily can't be that hard." Catching the look on Lierre's face she added, "Don't worry, they almost never praise you as much as Lily. They know how much it annoys you." "Thanks Tunia. I guess I should be going now, so, bye!" Lierre hugged her sister tightly before following Lily over to the barrier. Petunia smiled back before turning around to go back with her parents in the car.
"Lily! Oh come off it, it isn't that hard! You just walk through the barrier!" Lierre said exasperatedly. Although her sister had gone back and forth several times through the barrier, Lily remained rooted to her spot a few feet away from the brick wall. "I'm not moving. It's a wall! I'll crash into it!" Lierre then got an idea. "Lily, do you trust me?' "Of course!" Lily replied, bemused
"Close your eyes."
Lily gave a slight hesitation before obeying. At Lierre's command, she walked six steps forward, while Lierre chatted away to her about anything that came into her head.
"All right we're here!" Lily opened her eyes to see a scarlet train in front of her, with children and teenagers with their parents all around her. The young people all headed onto the train. Lily looked behind her. She looked stunned that she had just walked through a seemingly solid wall.
"I'd better read those textbooks I bought. I don't want to seem stupid!" she muttered to herself
"LILY! Come on!" Lierre raced over towards her sister coming from who knew where. Lily had taken so long getting onto the platform that, despite how early they'd been, they were now running quite late. The two sisters climbed onto the train.
Harry and Lupin followed the girls. Harry loved how bubbly and selfless Lierre was, and couldn't wait to see what she'd do in a place she was a complete stranger in. When the sisters found an empty compartment, Lily immediately settled down with a textbook, reminding Harry irresistibly of Hermione. Lily motioned that Lierre could leave if she wanted to, and Lierre dropped her belongings and bounded out of the compartment. Harry made to go after her, but stopped when Lupin remained next to Lily. In response to his questioning look, Lupin made the same gesture that Lily gave Lierre.
Following Lierre was harder than one would originally think. Panting, Harry reflected that Lupin probably knew this and was smart enough to remain behind. Lierre moved so fast that it was difficult for anyone to keep up. Harry would have lost her completely if she hadn't stopped to chat with people. These chats were generally quick, but Lierre was a seasoned talker. By the end of a five minutes, she generally knew everyone in the compartment's names, backgrounds, favorite dessert, and other information. After going through compartments full of Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws in years two through six, Harry was positive that the entire school was going to know Lierre before she ever even got to Hogwarts. Finally, Lierre came to the compartment he really wanted to see.
"Hello!" Lierre said brightly, skipping into a full compartment. The compartment contained five girls and four boys. They all remained silent. "Well you all aren't very talkative are you? Do you all know each other?"
One of the boys answered. "No. none of us know each other, but we're all first years so we may as well sit in the same compartment." The boy was rather bespectacled with very untidy black hair and hazel eyes. "I'm James, though. James Potter."
Lierre smiled. "Well at least you can talk. I'm a first year as well, and so is my sister. Her name's Lily. She's sitting in the other compartment. Reading, if you can believe that. Not that there's anything wrong with a good education of course, but personally I'd rather make friends than read any day. Speaking of which," she asked the five girls, "would some of you feel like going and talking to Lily? I think socialization with real people might do her some good."
"Err… I'll go I suppose, I mean, I don't really know anyone besides Alice…so.." a small girl with straight brown hair was speaking. "My name is Miranda Anniston."
"I'll come too" Miranda's friend, Alice Longbottom was speaking. "By the way James, you were wrong about that no one in this compartment knew each other. I know Miranda and I think I've met her," she pointed to a girl with wavy dark hair that reached her shoulders. "Aren't you Bertha Jorkins?"
"Yes. I am, and I would like to go with you and Miranda if that's all right. This compartment is a bit crowded." The threesome then left, leaving Lierre to face the remaining six people. She beamed around at them all.
"Well I don't know any of you yet, so how about you all tell me your names. Except for James of course."
A handsome young boy called from over in the corner of the compartment "My name's Sirius Black, and the kid across from me is Remus Lupin. I'm telling you that because the poor bloke look's like he's half dead and he just fell asleep a few minutes before Lierre came in."
At the mention of Sirius' last name James' eyes narrowed. "A Black, huh? One of the infamous Blacks? My parents told me to stay away from you."
"Yeah I'll bet they did, and if you're going to judge me by my name then maybe they were right to tell you that." Sirius said indifferently
Lierre stepped in here. "Oh your Sirius! I met your cousin earlier. Just in passing, she was looking for you with someone named Lucius. And James- really! Isn't the reason you don't like Dark families because they stereotype particular groups?"
James looked slightly sheepish at being told off by Lierre. He turned to Sirius. "Sorry, I suppose. I just hate it when purebloods think their better than everyone else. You aren't like your family then?"
Sirius shrugged. "I get people hating me all the time. I guess I'm not like the majority of my family, but most of the kids in my family are just like me. The only reason they're ever that mean is if someone is mean to them first." Turning to Lierre he asked, "You met my cousin?"
"Well I didn't actually talk to her. I ran by her on my way here and heard a bit of her conversation, that's all. After I finish meeting all of you I'll go back and try to find her again."
A pudgy, rat-like boy piped up, looking warily at Sirius. "I'm a half-blood, and my parents told me to stay away from the Blacks too. My name's Peter Pettigrew, and I think my mum wouldn't have told me that if she had met Sirius."
Sirius looked a bit surprised, but then grinned. Looking around the compartment he asked
"Who likes wrecking complete havoc as much as I do?"
Lierre, who had been introducing herself to the other two girls, smiled.
"I think this year is going to be quite fun. I have to meet some more people though. Toodles!" With a small giggle she skipped out of the compartment and down the hall, her golden blonde hair bouncing as she moved.
Harry was smiling at the Mauderer's first meeting, but reluctantly left to follow Lierre. From what Lupin had told him before, he had an idea of the kind of people Lierre was going to meet next. And sure enough, when he got to the compartment, it contained none other than Bellatrix Black and Lucius Malfoy, along with the other older Slytherins. With a surge of hatred, Harry saw that Snape was there also, almost invisible in a small corner with his nose in a book. Lierre was standing in the middle of the compartment, smiling in response to the stunned look most of the students were giving her. Finally a particularly snottish-looking seventh year broke the silence.
"Are you a pure-blood?" His expression made it clear that Lierre had better be a pueblood in order to talk to him. Harry was positive Lierre was going to fail, for possibly the first time, in making friends. Slytherins wouldn't spare her another glance when they found out she was a muggle-born.
Lierre seemed to guess this, and planned her next move accordingly. "Oho! Now I'm not going to answer your questions until you've answered the ones I asked. I asked you first, you know."
The Slytherin looked incredulous. "You pretty much asked us each for our life story! We'll be at Hogwarts by the time we finish!"
Lierre grinned slyly. "Well then you'd better talk fast then."
In spite of himself, it seemed, the Slytherin grinned. "I think I like this girl." He announced to the rest of the compartment. Each person proceeded to sum up what they were like. Harry, busy giving Snape unfelt blows to the head, barely listened. After Bellatrix concluded that her favorite color was lime green, Lierre looked thoughtfully around the compartment.
"Could you all tell me something? Why don't you like Muggle-borns? And how do you tell if someone is a Muggle-born?"
The Slytherins looked taken aback at being asked such an (apparently) obvious question. Lucius Malfoy spoke up. "Mudbloods? They have dirty blood, you know, unclean. That's why we don't like them. Normally you can spot them by their fascination at anything magical at first. My father says that an easier way to tell is that if you spend more than twenty minutes around them, your stomach feels sick." All the Slytherins murmured their agreement with Lucius' words.
Lierre looked confusedly around at them. "So you all get stomachaches when you're around Muggle-borns?"
"Erm…. I suppose… Sure.." rang around the compartment.
Lierre took a deep breath. "Do you all have stomaches now? Because I, in fact, am a Muggle-born and I've been in here for an hour." She closed her eyes. Harry stopped beating up Snape, interested in spite of himself.
Choruses of "No!" and "You are!" came from all over. Bellatrix gasped and Lucius gaped. Snape however, stood up.
"I don't think it matters." He stated simply, and Lierre beamed. When the Slytherins still looked doubtful, he continued. "I mean, we all liked her before, so let's keep liking her and if our parents ask about her we can always lie and say she's a pureblood." Harry looked at Snape, shocked. Snape said that? The past was a strange place.
The Slytherins seemed satisfied with Snape's idea, and Lierre laughed. "When we get to Hogwarts, can I teach you all how to tap dance on a piano? I think you'll find it entertaining!"
Suddenly the world blurred and Harry felt Lupin's hand on his shoulder. "We're skipping to the Sorting." Lupin explained. "This is an interesting part."
Harry looked around. They were standing in the middle of the Great Hall. The first years were in the middle of getting Sorted. Lierre was standing with Lucius to one side, and Lily (along with Alice and Bertha) to the other. Harry craned his neck to see Sirius at the Gryffindor table talking with that Miranda girl. He also saw that Lierre was waving to Belletrix, who was smiling at them from the Slytherin table. Harry turned to watch the students get sorted just as McGonagall- looking incredibly young, began to Sort the Evans'.
"Evans, Lierre" Lierre strode confidentally over to the Sorting Hat. The hat stayed on her head for what seemed to be an unusually long time before yelling, "GRYFFINDOR!" Lierre seemed to be thinking hard as she walked over to the cheering Gryffindor table.
There weren't really many surprises in the Sorting as far as Harry could tell. The Mauderers seemed to already be thick as thieves. They were all talking animatedly. Lierre sat on the edge of the table, looking wistfully over at the other three tables. She still chatted with the other Gryffindors, but not as happily as she has on the train.
With a "Vargat Nougen" Dumbledore began the feast. Harry wondered why Lupin thought this was so interesting. Nothing was happening.
Finally everyone had stopped eating. Harry only half-listened as Dumbledore explained the school rules, but then gave a start when he looked at Lierre. She was looking fixedly at Dumbledore with her hand in the air! Not to mention that, because of her small size, she was standing up on her seat. Dumbledore paused in his speech, obviously surprised. "Yes Miss Evans?" he asked politely.
"I'm sorry for interrupting, Headmaster, but you see, I was wondering why we need to be Sorted into different Houses. That is, why can't we just all be in one house? I know each of the Founders made a House, but I think that the Houses keep us from making other friends. Professor McGonagall said our House would be like our family, and I don't think its fair that only one House can be our family then. I want to be in all the Houses" Lierre spoke loudly so as to be sure everyone could hear her.
Professor Dumbledore seemed to consider the bold first year. "Well Lierre raises a fine point, and we would not want to limit her in any way. But the Houses have stood for so long that to get rid of them would be more difficult than one would think. However, I think I see a solution. If it is all right with the rest of the students, Miss Evans can indeed be in all the houses. She can spend one day and one night with each House on a rotating basis. Any points she earns or loses can be split evenly among the Houses, so the staff should be reminded to try to make it divisible by four." He spoke directly to Lierre. "One condition of this unusual arrangement, though, is that you may not be on the quidditch team, and later on you may not become prefect."
"Ooo! Thank you so much Professor Dumbledore!" Lierre squealed in delight "I am sorry for interrupting your speech though."
The entire hall gaped at her.
"Time to go Harry." Lupin said. Harry wasn't listening. Instead he was, along with everyone else, gaping at Lierre. "She was in all the Houses?" he asked incredulously.
"Yes she was, and now we need to move on to year two in her life, if you don't mind. Harry?" Harry snapped out of it "What? Oh, yes, let's go then." The world around them began to blur.