Disclaimer: I own… what's the word again? Oh, right. Nothing.

And without further ado, here it is: CHAPTER THREE: Apple Core in a Beehive

The boy was wearing a set of black robes that looked a little big on him and had a pair of wire-framed glasses perched on his nose.

"Hullo!" Benjy said. "Fancy a sit? Are you a—"

"—first-year?" chorused Michael and Robert, sounding bored.

The boy cast an eye around the compartment, his eyes lingering on Lily – in particular, on the leaf in her shirt pocket.

"Why've you got a leaf in your pocket?"

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Who are you?"

The boy blushed. "I-I'm James. Potter." He stuck out his hand. "James Potter."

"Nice to meet you, James Potter James Potter!" Lily grinned and shook his hand.

"Yes, nice to meet you, I'm Benjy Fenwick!" Benjy patted the seat between him and Lily and James sat down gratefully.

"Just a moment!" Michael peered into the boy's face. "James Potter? As in Charlus Potter of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement?"

"That's the one, yeah!" Robert's eyes lit up. "Your dad's helped my mum out of a few tight spots over the years! Really knows his stuff, he does!"

James puffed out his chest and grinned. "Yep, that's Dad. He left for a conference in Bulgaria 'bout a week ago and—"

"Ooh, law enforcement?" Lily grabbed his arm, her face shining. "My dad's the Chief of Police in our town!"

James chuckled nervously. "Yeah, it's great." Lily let go of his arm, blushing furiously.

"Some say Potter's a shoo-in for the Minister of Magic position when ol' Bagnold retires," Robert continued thoughtfully. "'course, Dumbledore will probably get it."

Michael grinned at the indignant look on James' face. "Don't worry, you don't want your father being Minister. Daily Prophet blokes following your family around everywhere? Spare me, I'd say."

The conversation wandered from the Ministry to the merits of magic carpets to which were better – Chocolate Frogs or Peppermint Toads – in a very short space of time; Benjy was very talkative. One person, however, seemed reluctant to join in on the conversation. Robert kept glancing at his watch, and when it reached noon he jumped as if surprised.

"Er… sorry, mates, but I've got to go and meet someone – catch you later, yeah?"

Smirking, Michael waved him away. "Go on, go on. Snog Bertha if you have to."

Robert flushed a deep red and whacked his friend on the side of the head.

"Who's Bertha?" Lily asked, giggling.

"Bertha Jorkins – Robert's girlfriend!" Michael teased, punching Robert on the arm.

Standing up indignantly, Robert put his hands on his hips. "She is not my –"

"Robbie, dear?"

The compartment door opened to reveal a plump girl. She had curly blond hair and was wearing a lavender summer dress.

"H-Hello, Bertha." Robert said, his face red. "Did you have a good—"

"My summer was just spiffing, darling, and yours?" Not giving him a chance to answer, Bertha dragged poor Robert by the elbow to stand next to her. She had an annoying habit of smacking her gum as she talked.

"My summer was pretty good, I th—"

"Oh, that's marvelous. Robbie, I've got someone in my compartment you've simply got to meet…her name's Eliza Becketts and she's just the dearest thing—"

"Eliza Becketts?" Lily sat up very fast. "Was that her name?"

"Er… yes, that's—" Bertha began bemusedly.

"Might I come along to your compartment and see her?" Lily asked.

"I suppose—"

"Lead the way, then… Robbie," Lily said, smirking. As she followed the other two out of the compartment, she distinctly heard Michael say, "You know, I reckon I really do like that girl."

After walking along the corridor for a few seconds, Bertha stopped in front of a door and opened it. Lily walked in excitedly.

Sitting next to the window was her good friend from primary school, Eliza Becketts.

"Eliza?" Lily shrieked, her mouth dropping open. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, hello, Lily!" Eliza smiled at her. "I had a feeling I'd be seeing you here."

"What? How'd you know?"

"You told me when we were younger you always made funny things happen… remember that disappearing black eye?" She shrugged. "Reckon I just put two and two together."

Lily gaped. "So you're not – Muggle-born, then?"

"No, I'm a half-blood," said Eliza, "because my mum is a pureblood witch but my dad is a Muggle. That's why I went to Muggle school."

"Sorry to interrupt this little – party," said Bertha, her nose in the air, "but could you two move to a different compartment? Robbie and I need some…alone time." She swung Robert's hand back and forth, looking adoringly at him. Robert looked as if he wanted the ground to swallow him up.

"Some alone time? How very touching." Lily giggled. "Eliza, would you like to come back to our compartment?"

"Yes, please," said Eliza gratefully. They left the compartment and she let out a huge sigh of relief. "You saved me! She introduced me to this fat man with an enormous moustache, Lily, it was so—"

"Miss Becketts?"

The two girls turned and Lily's first impression was of a large walrus waddling down the corridor toward them. The man was short and squat with a marvelously big moustache. He was wearing a set of emerald green robes.

"Hullo, Professor Slughorn, sir," said Eliza, stifling a giggle. She exchanged a look with Lily.

Slughorn beamed at Lily. "And who is your little friend?"

"Professor Slughorn, this is my friend Lily Evans. She –"

"Evans? Evans?" Slughorn squinted at her. "Could you possibly be related to Scanaper "Scrappy" Evans, renowned inventor of the Lumos charm?"

"I don't think that's possible, sir!" Eliza said. "You see, Lily's Muggle-born."

"Ah!" Professor Slughorn peered at Lily. "Well, we'll just have to see how sh – that turns out then, won't we?" He frowned slightly. "I must be going, my dears, I've got to get back to Belby and the others! Andromeda Black was telling me the most delightful joke about a leprechaun, a hag, and a Venomous Tentacula that all walk into the Leaky Cauldron—" He patted Eliza on the shoulder and nodded genially to Lily before entering the compartment on their left.

Lily turned to Eliza and giggled. "He's definitely something!" she said. "His moustache…!"

"Isn't it the biggest thing you've ever seen?"

"What's the biggest thing you've ever seen?"

The girls spun around. Behind them were three tall boys, all already wearing their robes. The one in the middle had long silvery-blond hair and was glaring at them suspiciously through cold grey eyes. The two flanking him on either side were dark and sinister-looking. One of them cracked his knuckles and Lily heard Eliza gulp.

"Well? Let's have it, then!" said the one on the right. "Biggest thing you've ever seen?"

"Reckon I know what it is…," murmured the one on the left, elbowing the boy in the middle in the ribs. They both sniggered.

"I-I was just t-talking about—" Eliza stammered and fell silent.

Lily stepped forward. "We were talking about Professor Slughorn's moustache," she said politely, but there was a slight steely edge to her tone, "but why do you ask?"

The blonde boy raised an eyebrow at her. "What's your surname?"

"I don't see what business that is of yours." Lily said coolly.

"If I ask your surname, it would be in your best interests to tell me," the boy said menacingly.

"My surname is my personal information and you'll only know it if I choose to divulge it!" She said swiftly, and tugged on her friend's arm. "Come on, Eliza."

They had only just turned around when Lily felt something hit her back. Her legs began to jerk around uncontrollably in a sort of wild dance. Hard as it was to do under the circumstances, she turned around.

"Funny," Lily said calmly. She pulled her wand out of her skirt pocket and pointed it at her legs. "Finite Incantatem." Her legs stopped moving.

The boys' eyes widened. "What the—"

"Lily, where did you learn that?" Eliza whispered.

"In a book—"

"What year are you in?" said the boy, his eyes narrowed.

"Again, that's personal information that I'm not choosing to give out. At least, not to you." Lily smiled sweetly at the boy's outraged face. "Now, if you'll excuse us…?" She pulled on her friend's arm until they were outside the door of Benjy and Michael's compartment. Ignoring Eliza's awestruck expression, Lily slid the door open and sat down as if nothing had happened.

Benjy took one look at Eliza's face and frowned. "What happened?"

"Lily stood up to – to Lucius Malfoy!" Eliza exclaimed.

"She what?" Michael and Benjy looked shell-shocked.

"He was being all mean and nosy, you know what he's like, and Lily just about snapped her fingers at him!" Eliza's eyes were still huge.

"No, really? Did – no, really?" Michael grinned hugely. "Well, go on, tell us what happened! What was he being a nosy bugger about?"

"I didn't know it was Malfoy…he asked my surname. I refused to tell him, and he jinxed me," ("He didn't!" exclaimed Benjy) "yes, he did, but I just said Finite Incantatem—"

"It was brilliant!" Eliza said.

"I'd read about it in books, you know, but we're not allowed to do magic outside of school. That was the first time I got to try it out." Lily blushed at the rapt attention she was getting from Michael, James, and Benjy.

Eliza took over the story. "And she ended the jinx just like that! Malfoy was really surprised, though, you should have seen his face! He asked what year she was in, but she refused to tell him that, too, cool as you please, and then we just walked back to the compartment!"

"And Malfoy didn't – attempt anything after that?" Benjy asked, his face worried.

"Oh, no, he was just standing with his thug friends, all surprised!" Eliza told him.

"Pardon me, but who are you?" Michael asked her.

"Oh! I'm Eliza Becketts. Lily and I are friends from primary school."

"The girl Bertha was mooning over?" Michael inquired. "What've you got to interest her?"

"Our parents are old friends…she watched me a lot when we were younger. Nosy thing she is, though," Eliza added.

Michael snorted. "Don't we know it, eh, Benjy?" The other boy nodded.

"Apparently her mum's a reporter. One of the top ones at the Daily Prophet. 'Course, the Prophet only accepts the best, doesn't it?"

"But Bertha's not exactly the swiftest spell in the book!" Michael chortled. "Dumbest girl I've ever met. Don't know what Robert sees in her, really I don't. Each to his own, though, I suppose."

There was a knock on the compartment door. It slid open to reveal Sam, the boy Lily had met earlier, still with Remus in tow.

"Fancy meeting you here, Lily!" Sam said, grinning.

"Good lord, that girl is more popular than an apple core in a beehive," Michael muttered.

"And I reckon I know you, as well." Sam moved forward to get a better look at James. "You're James Potter!"

Eliza whistled. "James Potter? Wow, your house is gigantic! I went there once for some boring old Ministry function with my mum."

James muttered something about "only a modest castle."

"Well! Sorry for intruding. We can't stay in our compartment, now, though."

"Why not?" Michael asked, looking as though he would very much like to be rid of the flood of first-years infiltrating his compartment.

Sam made a face. "Some idiot let off a dungbomb in there. Stinks something awful now."

"What? Where did he get a dungbomb? Zonko's was all out when I went there last weekend! Same with the shop in Diagon Alley!" James exclaimed incredulously.

Looking at him strangely, Sam shrugged. "Well, I dunno. It wasn't a bloke, though. It was a girl." He looked around. "Looks a bit crowded in here—"

"It is," Michael grumbled.

"—mind if we sit down?"

Michael sighed but scooted over to the window to make room for Sam and Remus. There were now seven people in the compartment.

Benjy clapped his hands. "So who's up for a game of Exploding Snap?" he said cheerfully.

So that's it, innit? Review review review, my lovely readers! Longest and most descriptive review gets… some levitating sherbet balls, maybe?

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