Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of it's characters. I only own the plot and a few characters I made up to help shape our heroes.

She truthfully believed that there would never be a time that she got used to Hogsmeade. It didn't matter if walked through the Leaky Tavern a hundred, thousand, times. She would gape and laugh, hopping from cobblestone to original cobblestone, as her friends rolled their eyes behind her. "Lily Evans, you're making a fool of yourself!"

She ignored her best friend, no matter how many times Remus called after her jokingly, simply giggling her way through the crowd. "Butterbeers, Fizzle Pop, Lemon Drops and Poppy. I want to try them all today or I will feel something floppy. A broom, a snitch, and even a bludger too. Quidditch is easy to do!" Lily hummed the other jingles they had made up on their way from her house as she climbed the steps to the Joke Shop. "Hello Zonko, what do you have for me today?"

"A sense of pride, a lion's pride!" Zonko ignored Alice's mocking tone as she roared and talked about how Lily was truly a snake if anyone paid close enough attention. "You never know what someone is my dear, not until you know their darkest secret. Or prank with them!"

"Sir, friends don't care about dark secrets. I'm guessing you wouldn't know about that though." Aphrodite laughed as a dung bomb was chucked at her from the back room, still giggling as she erupted a shield charm to make sure she wasn't affected. "You know I'm joking Zonks, leave me alone!" She hopped down the steps when they were kicked out, being told in a serious tone that if they broke one of his products again he would make them pay for it. The wink he shot them was easy to catch and none of them had any worry.

"Where you serious about dark secrets? What if one of us was something awful?" There was a worried whisper like even the smallest mistake would ruin their view of him forever, but Lily simply grabbed Remus' hand and started swinging them between the pair.

"Of course we don't care about dark secrets. Unless your a bigot or a blood purist or something, why should we care about that stuff? We're friends, it's that simple." And for her, it was. If Venus was a Slytherin, good on her for having such strong ambitions. Lily could almost see her being Minister someday. If Aphrodite was a bit odd, who cared? Some of what she talked about sounded really exciting and maybe they would try it someday. Not to mention the fact that Sirius Black was like her annoying brother, the one thought to be the biggest arse in their year until he bought all of the girls in their year treats for Valentine's day so they wouldn't feel left out. "You don't have to worry about losing us, Lupin. You just need to make sure you get rid of us."

"How could I ever?" She was proud to say that his smile didn't disappear all day.

"It looks like the only new book we need is the one for second year Charms but that just seems silly. Maybe we should get books for the electives next year and see which ones interest us most? That way we'll already have a good understanding of it and we won't be choosing blindly." Though most of them agreed with her, n one was excited about spending extra money on books.

"What if we just buy one each and we rotate which house it's in? I'm guessing no one wants to take divination, so it should work out fine." Since everyone agreed with Alice, they pooled together their book money to get the extra texts to brush over throughout the year.

When they had Ancient Runes Made Easy by Laurenzoo, New Theory of Numerology by Lukas Karuzos, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander and each had their own copy of The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2, they went up to the counter to pay. Seeing the large group of students in Flourish and Blotts, the poor man behind the counter paled even more than his natural coloring. "Is this all together?" Taking pity on him, they each brought out the money for their books at once and handed it over so he could do one transaction then hurry them out.

Frank groaned from the weight of all his required materials, annoyed that he had to deal with it all. "Why can't we use the featherlight charm? We're in Diagon Alley, no one would care!" He sighed before noticing his mother walk over to check on them, quickly shutting his mouth.

Augusta Longbottom stood tall among the other street goers and didn't even need to speak for them to part for her. "Good for you all on getting all of your Hogwarts materials before going off to the closest broom shop. I saw a few parents trying to wrangle their kids away and I thought, I raised my boy better than that and there I am proved right again." No one mentioned that Frank didn't have a pension for flying and was quite clumsy, refusing to fly after their first year lessons. "You can run along and get yourselves some lunch now, but don't go filling up on sweets. Florean Fortescue and Tom at the Leaky Cauldron know me very well, so don't think I won't find out. Alright. Off you pop."

They headed to the Leaky Cauldron to be safe.

"THIS IS WHY EVERYONE WANTS TO GO TO HOGSMEADE?" She tried to keep her voice down, she really did, but after her first tentative sip of Butterbeer she was amazed and could not be stopped. Lily Evans was officially hooked.

Her friends could not stop giggling no matter how much they tried to smother it while the other patrons glared. It was less a muggle thing and more a why are you interrupting my lunch? thing. "You need to keep your voice down or we're going to get kicked out of here faster than you can say wicked." They quickly sombered up, stuffing their faces with the best they could get. Chips were passed around, bites stolen from each other's plates. It was like a family dinner.

"I'll be sad to have missed these when we're older, it always feels like the first time." Glazed eyes looked back at her before glaring at something entering, black eyes all of a sudden making their target feel like they were staring at the tip of an obsidian sword. "He's going to ruin it this time." Aphrodite went back to her food like nothing happened.

Lily turned around to see what she was talking about and was surprised to see James by himself. Sirius had said that he was being sent to St. Mungo's for a yearly check-up like in the muggle world, to make sure he was allowed to play Quidditch when they went back to school. "I didn't know you'd be coming to Diagon Alley, we thought you were too busy." She didn't even care enough to make her tone lighter at this point, she simply said it blunt and clear.

"Don't you all know I'm perfect in every way?" The sarcasm caught her off guard enough that she didn't comment when he sat with her. "I'm good to play this year but she made a comment about how I'm not allowed to exert my magic too much. She insinuated I would cheat!"

The rest of the conversation seemed to be actually normal, so Lily happily participated in the debate over who was going to get on the teams. "Venus has to be the Slytherin seeker, she's wicked on a broom. Then maybe…'Dite, who do you think?" She turned to the Ravenclaw with raised eyebrows, trying to engage her in the conversation.

"You know she has no idea what she's talking about, when has she ever paid attention to anything?" Realizing that Lily was tensing with a flair of protective anger seemed to encourage him to continue. "In fact, I don't know that you should be talking about Quidditch either considering the fact that you can't even keep yourself on a broom. It might just be because you're a muggleborn but even half-bloods know to hold on tight to the handle." Lily thought maybe he'd changed over the summer, maybe almost losing his best friend, his brother, would snap him out of it. But no, it just confirmed to everyone that James Potter gets exactly what he wants when he wants it.

"And even most purebloods know when to keep their mouths shut." If they weren't in public, Peter might have punched him. "You aren't welcome at this table anymore, get away from her." Even though she knew that the four boys were inseparable at school, Lily blushed lightly over being protected.

When James went to protest, Sirius grabbed his arm and dragged him away from them. "We'll see you on the train. Or at the very least, I will." The fact that all James could give was the very least went unsaid,

Petunia Evans was a proper lady when she wanted to be and all she could do to hold it together when her sister was gone, because only messy girls cry, was write letters. Ones to Lily she would never send, ones that made her kneel before her bed when her parents where sleeping and ask God to give her courage.

Dear Mr. Headmaster Dumbledore,

I apologise for not having enough knowledge to address you properly. My mother always says to address a man by Mr. or sir but I think Mr. Headmaster sounds better than Sir Headmaster. More modern, wouldn't you think?

I'm stalling.

You see my question is of the utmost embarrassment you see because I should agree that your judgment is truth as my sister Lily does. But I must beg you to reconsider my ability to go to Hogwarts. I might not be as strong as Lily, but I know I have magic. I've never failed a test even when I didn't study, I've never gotten scrapes or ripped my clothes when I went through the woods.

I hope you reconsider though I understand if it's final.

Thank you for your time,

Petunia Evans

"Mother, how do I send a letter to Hogwarts?"

Sobs were silenced as Petunia shoved her face into her pillow, hiding under her bed because that was also a great sound barrier. She had gotten her wish, a reply from Dumbledore. She hated the man and all the magic that came with him.

Dear Petunia Evans,

Questioning one of the greatestest wizards of all time is a bit of a fools game. I didn't think of you as a fool until I received your letter. I struggled with how to respond because of this, but I see this to be the best fit and put in simple terms.

I am Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Order of Merlin (first class), Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot.

I know magic potential when I see it and though I so see magic in you, there is nothing I want less than to admit you to my school. You my dear, are just not worth the expense.

Please remember your place next time.

My regards to the parents who have to deal with you,

Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Order of Merlin (first class), Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot

If that man thought he could insult her, he was wrong. Petunia picked herself up after her hour of crying was over and she was out from under the bed. If he didn't want her, he didn't get Lily. But when she told her parents what had happened, they simply yelled and sent her to her room. Lily didn't believe her and refused to speak to her even when she was home. Apparently her place was to be the quiet daughter who never left her room unless to do as she was told. So she stayed quiet and let others "guide" her.

AN: I am not really sure how I feel about this chapter so compliments and constructive criticism would be helpful!