A/N: Oops, I had a mess-up in the first chapter. It should be Carley Summer (without the "s").
Thanks to my reviewer!
Jasmine-enimsaJ—Yup! Yeah, Lily's good at Charms and it was James! Thanks for my review, by the way. You should get a popsicle for being my first reviewer and getting those right! Haha. I'm glad you like this idea.

Disclaimer: It's all JK Rowling's, not mine… okay, Rachael, Morgan, Shannow, Carley are all mine…

The Ordinary and the Unordinary

Chapter 2: Shannow and Summer

"Rachael! Give it back!"

Morgan, still in her pajamas, raced between the four-poster beds after Rachael.

"Nuh-uh, not until you start to get ready!" she called over her shoulder. In her hands she carried a book, Transfiguration Tips, by Charlotte Pattletat.

Lily let out a laugh as Morgan reached for her Hogwarts uniform. Apparently she wasn't the only one attached to her books. And now she couldn't be embarrassed about having already read the Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Potions, and Herbology books. Their History of Magic textbook had been far too boring to hold her attention for more than twenty pages, as anyone could imagine.

Rachael tossed Morgan's book onto her pillow and clipped her short hair back. "C'mon," she said enthusiastically as she bounded out the door and down to the common room.

Grabbing their bags, Lily and Morgan headed after her.

At breakfast, Professor McGonagall went up and down the Gryffindor table distributing schedules, as did the other heads of houses.

"Looks like we're the first to have the new Defense teacher," Lily told her friends.

As plates empty all through the hall, every student went off to their first class of the year. The Gryffindor first-years trudged all the way to the third floor.

Once inside, Lily, Rachael, and Morgan say in the front row. Two dark-haired boys took the seats behind them.

Just as class was about to start, Professor Shannow waltzed in. "Welcome, everyone," she said, "to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Let's begin with role. Morgan Aurei."

"Here."

"Sirius Black."

"Huh?"

Professor Shannow looked over the top of the parchment she was reading from. "We are seeing who's here, Mr. Black. Please pay attention."

The boy sitting directly behind Rachael smiled with a mischevious glint in his eye.

"Lily Evans."

"Here!"

"Rachael Li."

"Here."

"Frank Longbottom."

"Here."

"Remus Lupin." There was no answer to this name. "Ah, yes, Professor Dumbledore said he was in the Hospital Wing…" she mumbled to herself. "Peter Pettigrew."

"Here."

"James Potter."

"Yeah?"

The professor sighed as she found the second of her troublemakers, but continued. "Alice Retton."

"Here."

"Anna Vim."

"Here!"

The gray-haired woman rolled up the parchment and placed it neatly on the edge of her desk. Much to Rachael's disappointment, she then proceeded to tell them to take out their books and turn to page three and read the first chapter. The young witch had been hoping for more of a hands-on approach, especially on the first day. Lily sighed and began to re-read the chapter.

Most of the eleven-year-olds thought the day had been a put down. All the classes commenced in the same way: the teacher took role. Then, especially Professor McGonagall laid out the rules. It was either major note taking or book-reading from there on out.

"Aww, cheer up, Rachael," Morgan told her on the walk back to the common room later that evening.

"Yeah. Sure, it could've been a better start to the year class-wise, but we've got out first band thing tonight," Lily added. "I heard they're matching instruments!"

"Really?" she asked excitedly. "What time again?"

"I think seven. It's everyone first, then it'll be broken up by houses."

The Gryffindor tower was full of students waiting for seven o'clock to come. Lily was one of the few that chose to use the time for homework. Morgan tried to join her, but with Rachael's constant interruptions, it was hard, and she soon gave up.

"You two are just wasting the rest of your free time, you realize that?" Lily questioned.

"I don't get it Lily," Rachael answered. "We just had a full bloody boring day of classes, why do homework now? Besides, you already know the books by heart…"

"Do not!"

Morgan decided to play along with Rachael, and, pretending to get back to her homework, asked politely, "Say, Lily, do you know the answer to number three on the Transfiguration stuff?"

"Hmm?" She looked up, glanced quickly at the question, then replied, "Yeah, it's at the bottom of page thirteen, 'Wand movement is crucial to correctly transfiguring—"

They broke out in fits of giggles as the redhead fell into their trap.

One of the seventh-years, who'd been staring at the clock, leaped off the couch. "Ten minutes!"

Lily piled her homework up and followed everyone out to the hallway and down to the Great Hall for the fourth time that day.

"Welcome back," Dumbledore said from the front of the hall. "I'm glad to see you've all taken an interest in band, but I'm sorry to say that I have no musical talent. That is why Carley Summer will be taking over from this point on. I expect you all to be back in your rooms by no later than half-past nine. Thank you!" As he left, Carley took charge.

"Shut up!" All the babbling stopped and she went on, "Thank you. Now, I've done a lot of work on this over the summer… Choosing an instrument is much like choosing a wand. So, let's form a line for each house."

Everyone did as she bid, and one of Carley's friends stood at the front of each line; she took the Ravenclaw line.

Each house table held one of each instrument. There were trumpets, flutes, clarinets, tubas, trombones, saxophones, drums…

"Morgan, what do you think you'll get?" Rachael asked.

"Oh, I dunno…"

Lily couldn't help but tune her friends out and hear the conversation going on behind her as they waited.

"Aww, c'mon, Remus. You can tell us…"

"No, I'd rather not…"

"We're the ones that saved you, you know… Right, Sirius?"

"Don't we at least get to know?"

"I told you. I was sick the night before. I was just recovering! Okay?" Remus harshly whispered.

"Lily. Lily! It's your turn!" Morgan told her. "Rachael and I'll meet up with you when you're done."

Lily nodded and stepped up to the blonde girl who was waiting. "Okay, what do I do?"

"Well, I'm just going to have you try to play each of these," she explained, "It'll be pretty obvious when one picks you. And then you'll get your actual whatever-that-one-is later when you meet with the rest of the Gryffindors."

The trumpet was first up to test her. That one did not work out too well. After trying the flute and saxophone, the girl offered her the clarinet. As soon as she put it to her mouth and attempted to play it, Lily and the girl helping knew it was a match.

Before finding Rachael and Morgan, Lily noted that the Gryffindor line was almost empty. They'd be starting in no time, and it was hardly eight o'clock.

"And…"

The two girls stopped their chatting and diverted their attention to Lily.

Morgan said, "I got the tombone."

Rachael grinned. "Well, I get to be the conductor!"

"Really?" Lily thought Rachael would be perfect for that job. She soon realized they were waiting for her to answer her own question. "Clarinet."

The intenseness that filled the room soon ceased as Carley made her way to the Gryffindors. "You lot had the biggest group, and Marian just finished up with the last couple Gryffindors. I've already talked to the rest of the houses. Your instruments are in cases in McGonagall's room, since she's your head. Just go and tell her what you're going to play."

She looked at the group of eager faces before her. This was her mark she'd be leaving at Hogwarts. She hadn't even expected this big a turnout.

"Your conductor is Rachael Li," Carley said. "Even though she's a first-year, the job clearly picked her over the rest of you. You all head over to McGonagall's while I talk to Rachael for a minute."

They were the only ones left in the Great Hall by then, and they slowly drifted out, leaving Rachael alone with Carley. Even Morgan and Lily had left, after urging on Rachael's part.

"I suggest you make practices two to three times a week. That's what I'm doing with Ravenclaw. Quidditch is starting up soon, and you might want to practice down there at least once every two weeks or so…"

"Sounds good," Rachael said. "Where do I have all the other practices, then?"

"Talk it over with McGonagall."

With their little chat over, Rachael went off to the Gryffindor tower. No one was back yet when she got there. She walked over to Lily's stack of homework and took a blank piece of parchment, on which she wrote Gryffindor band practices: Tomorrow morning, Quidditch pitch. Satisfied she climbed up to the girls' dormitory and fell asleep before everyone returned.

A/N: I really liked that part when they were waiting in the common room… Haha, poor Lily!

Mystery of the Chapter: Remus was… (that one is so easy, though…) Okay, and this one really isn't a mystery question, but just out of curiousity, what do you think the Mauraders' instruments are?