On the early morning of September 1st, there was a figure hovering over Lilith's bed, and when the young witch finally came about, her name was merely an echo through the sleepy state she had been in. Her eyelids fluttered open by the time the demanding words became more clear.
"I refuse to be late on the first day back on your account, Lilith."
This made the girl sit up straight, nearly knocking the man off his feet. "Good morning, father," she said groggily, her voice still feathered with exhaustion. She blinked a couple of times before the realization hit her. It was her father's first day. Which meant it was hér first day. And that meant it was September 1st. Which ultimately came down to fact that if she didn't make haste, she'd be missing the Hogwarts Express.
Lilith scurried to her feet, hustled her father towards the door and shut it once he finally took off in the direction stairs. The 12 year old got dressed, already having showered the night before, checked her trunks and glanced around the room. A neatly stacked pile of books caught her attention. Muggle books that her father had gathered over the years for her. Lilith has always had a sense of curiosity when it came to Muggleborns. The more she'd learn of them, the more it fascinated her. This particular interest being the one her father despised. Nonetheless, the girl already made up her mind. She couldn't leave without them.
Lilith pulled out her wand. A Beech wand with dragon heartstrings, 13 inches. Even though she had been extremely proud of the wand that choose her, her father was not as pleased. Pushing that thought to the back of her mind, a single word rolled over her lips as barely a whisper, "Accio."
As soon as the pile was merely halfway across the room, her bedroom door flung open, her father barging through. The books dropped to the ground. She spun around and defensively held her wand out in front of her.
Lilith widened her eyes when she saw who it was and with a swift movement, slipped the wand back into her pocket. "Yes, father?" The smile pulling at the corners of her mouth was innocent.
"If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times-"
"No underage magic, I know," she grumbled in annoyance as she gathered the books in her arms and placed them into her trunk. She slid the suitcase off of the bed and handed it over to her father, huffing under the heavy load.
"Watch it," the older figure warned and paused, taking a quick glance around her room. Lilith waited for a remark. But to her surprise, he simply asked, "Do you have everything you need?
With a nod, she pushed past her father, leading the way. "Come on, father. We're late."
The man simply muttered, "Yóu're late."
Lilith's father wouldn't be joining her on the train. Even though she wouldn't say it out loud to him, she was grateful for that. Having a parent as a professor was already too big of an embarrassment to the young girl, she hadn't need him holding her hand on the way to Hogwarts as well.
Before the young witch could even say platform 9 3/4, she was standing right in front of a wall. To her, it looked as solid as can be. Lilith then shifted her gaze up to her father for a few moments before returning it to the wall. "I just run?" She asked. "Straight into a rock solid wall..?"
"Yes."
"But-"
"We don't have the time for this foolish conversation, Lily."
Lilith pursed her lips together, in thought. Contemplating whether she should actually go through with it. After another moment of silence, she gripped the trolley and ran straight for the wall. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the impact, but it never came. When she opened her eyes, she was standing in front of a bright red train, the words "Hogwarts Express" written on the sign. She felt a hand on her back and tensed, but relaxed at the sound of her father's words, "I told you."
"Now you behave, Lilith. And no mixing with- the wrong sort," he drawled, looking down at his little girl. She only nodded, mumbling a "yes, father."
Lilith leaned up and her father bent down, the two of them meeting halfway. She pressed a kiss onto his cheek and said a quick, "Love you" before she disappeared into the crowd of children and their parents. She was already on the train when her father decided to go. Even though she couldn't see him, she could've sworn hearing him mumble a string of curses to the "bloody muggles." Lilith only giggled, starting her search for an empty compartment.
After some time and having very little luck, she decided on one with two boys inside. They looked friendly enough and to her relief, the same age as her. She opened the doors, a polite smile remained on her face as she asked, "Mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is full." The girl didn't wait on them to give her an answer when she took the boy in front of her into account. Her eyes grew wide.
"Bloody hell," she exclaimed and sat down across from him, right next to the ginger one. "You're harry potter, aren't you?"
Lilith's father had told her well enough about The Boy who Lived. Well, almost enough. The man left out the part where Harry's parents were Lily and James Potter. Left out the part where she was named after said woman. Even though the two of them were close, there was just some things he didn't think of sharing with his little girl. His past included.
She flashed a toothy smile in the wizard's direction, "It's my pleasure, Harry. I'm Lilith. Lily for short." She extended her hand and could see him hesitate for a moment before he accepted the handshake. The young girl wasn't fazed by this and rather turned to the other boy in the compartment, finally acknowledging his presence.
She took in his bright red hair, his robes and instantly knew who it could be.
"Ronald Weasley."
"I presumed as much."Lilith chuckled and then took his hand as well, shaking it. The boy had an overall nervous demeanor, his rather sweaty hands a result of it.
The rest of the train ride passed quite quickly for young Lilith. She had her nose burried inside of a book and had only looked up when Ron mentioned something about a spell. With curiosity twinkling in her eyes, she watched the boy pull out his wand.
"Fred gave me a spell as to turn him yellow. Want to see?"
He earned an eager nod from Lilith and a "Yeah!" from Harry. Ron cleared his throat and pointed his wand towards Scabbers, "Ahem. Sun-"
The ginger was interrupted by a girl with bushy brown hair who appeared at the doorway. "Has anyone seen a toad? A boy named Neville's lost one."
Lilith looked up at her, letting her gaze run over the girl. She was already in her robes. Lily raised a curious eyebrow.
"No," Ron said.
"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see then."
Ron was slightly taken aback by this, but nonetheless, raised his wand again. "Aghhhemm. Sunshine, daises, butter mellow, turn this stupid fat rat yellow!"
There was a zap and then silence. The boy shrugged, it seemed nothing happened. The girl then asked, "Are you sure that's a real spell? Well, it's not very good, is it? Of course I've only tried a few simple spells myself, and they've all worked for me. For example..." She marched over to where Harry sat and took a seat across from him, right next to Lilith. She pointed her wand at his glasses. "Oculus Reparo," she said loudly as the glasses repaired itself. Harry took them off and was amazed by what just happened. Lilith found herself leaning slightly forward, suddenly intrigued.
"That's better, isn't it? Holy Cricket, you're Harry Potter. I'm Hermione Granger...and you two are...?"
Lilith smiled awkwardly, "Lily."
"I'm...Ron Weasley," said the red haired boy with a mouth stuffed full with candies.
"Pleasure. You three better change into your robes. I expect we'll be arriving soon," Hermione said and got up. She left, but not for long. After a few moments, she came back into the compartment and looked at Ron. "You've got dirt, on your nose, by the way, did you know? Just there," she pointed to the bridge of his nose. Ron scratched his nose, his cheeks heating up in embarrassment. When the girl left for good this time, the three kids looked at each other before bursting out in a fit of giggles.
Once they've all gotten dressed in their robes, the train blowed its whistle and pulled into an outdoor station. Right on time, Lilith thought as she made her way out.
A large man made his way towards them, walking past all the people pouring out of the train. "Right, then! First years! This way, please! Come on, now, don't be shy! Come on now, hurry up!"
Harry seemed to recognize the familiar face and walked up to him, follwed by Ron and Lilith. The two shared a quick greeting before the man, who's name they've learned was Hagrid, led them to a number of boats.
Across the vast lake, a huge castle came into sight. Lilith knew exactly what it was. It was Hogwarts. School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was exactly the way her father had described it, every detail down to the last brick. She earned a choir of laughter from a few of the students whilst she stood there like a gaping fish on dry land.
Little Lilith spent most of the trip hunched over into the dark lake, her knuckles eventually as white as freshly fallen snow caused by her grip on the side of the boat. The only thing that stopped her from hurling was Hagrid patting her back, which was quite a comforting gesture.
Once the students got off the boats and had made their way into the castle, a professor, Professor McGonagall, could be seen on a higher level. Once all the children were inside, she went to the top of the stairs to greet the newcomers.
"Welcome to Hogwarts. Now, in a few moments, you will pass through these doors and join your classmates. But before you can take your seats, you must be sorted into your houses. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Now while you're here, your house will be like your family. Your triumphs will earn you house points. Any rule breaking, and you will lose points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup."
Lilith looked over to the door of the Great Hall and then back to the professor. Her father was in there. Sitting, waiting, worrying, most likely, Lilith thought. Even though she knew her father loved her dearly, she also knew that he had pride. The sorting ceremony was extremely important to him. There had been a lot of pressure on the both of them.
Suddenly, she was snapped out of her thoughts by a voice speaking up behind her.
"So it's true, then. What they're saying on the train. Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts."
Lilith turned around and was met with a pale boy who's white hair was slicked back. She raised an eyebrow as all the first years murmured in excitement. The boy pointed to the boys next to him. "This is Crabbe, and Goyle. And I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy." She only stared at the trio, watching them closely. The middle one, who had just introduced himself as Draco, was obnoxiously full of himself. Ron gave a snicker next to her and a cough follwed in attempt to cover it up. Draco's eyes shot to him.
"Think my name's funny, do you? Well, no need to ask yours. Red hair, and a hand-me-down-robe? You must be a Weasley."
In an instant, Lilith felt a sense of protection towards the ginger. She rolled her eyes and looked over to Ron who'd gone exceptionally quiet all of a sudden. In an attempt to comfort him, she gave his arm a soft squeeze. He only flashed a sheepish smile in return; a thank-you.
Just as everyone thought the boy was done speaking, he turned back to Harry, "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there." As he offered his hand to him, Lilith scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Bloody hell. You do like hearing yourself talk, don't you, Malfoy?" She snapped in his direction and before he could say something back, Harry replied coldly, "I think I can tell the wrong sort for myself, thanks."
Just then, the professor returned and tapped Malfoy on his shoulder. He glared in our direction one last time before he left. She led the children through the large door and into the Great Hall. Upon entering, Lilith's eyes immediately locked with her father's and she smiled nervously. She then tore her gaze away and instead, it fell on the four long tables, packed with food and thousands of students. The roof was bewitched to look like the night sky, Hermione confirmed it from behind the trio.
"Will you wait along here, please? Now, before we begin, Professor Dumbledore would like to say a few words," the professor said and Lily looked over to the main table where Dumbledore rose from his seat.
"I have a few start of term notices I wish to announce. The first years please note that the dark forest is strictly forbidden to all students. Also, our caretaker, Mr. Filch," he paused and motioned to an old man standing with a red-eyed cat. He then continued, "has asked me to remind you that the 3rd floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a most painful death. Thank you." And with that, Dumbledore sat back down.
Professor McGonagall, stood up and said, "When I call your name, you will come forth, I shall place the sorting hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your houses."
Lilith looked around the room, but didn't dare gaze at her father.
"Hermione Granger."
The Sorting hat was placed on her head, "Ah, right then... hmm... right. Okay... Gryffindor!!" The girl jumped from the chair with a smile and joined the rest of the Gryffindors at the red and gold table.
The students kept going up and getting sorted and so far, Ron and Harry was in Gryffindor and Draco, as expected, was in Slytherin.
Just as Harry went to sit down, Lilith heard a pair of boys cheering, "We got Potter, we got potter!" She chucked to herself, but the fun was soon cut short when she heard her name being called out.
"Lilith Snape."
Her heart started racing, pounding harder and harder with each step she took. She tried to ignore the stares she got from the children when they heard her surname, too worried about what was going to happen next. The girl sat down on the chair and the hat was placed on her head. There was silence for a while.
"Now you're a difficult one," She heard it mumble. "Very tricky, indeed."
Lilith closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Please be Slytherin," She breathed out. She repeated in a quiet tone, almost begging the hat, "Please be Slytherin."
After another few minutes of silence, waiting, torture, the hat finally decided to speak up.
"Slytherin would be a watse of your talents. Better be... GRYFFINDOR!!"
Lilith once again locked eyes with her father. Her eyes were wide and her lips slightly parted as she tried to hold back the shock of what just happened. She blinked and then looked at the Gryffindor table who had all gone silent. The young witch hopped off the chair and made her way to her seat. She could feel the disappointment from her father burning into her back with every step. As soon as she reached the table, two voices came into earshot.
"Blimey, Fred."
"Blimey, George."
"We got snape, too!" They exclaimed at the same time causing the whole Gryffindor table to erupt into cheering.