The next morning at breakfast, Lily ran to sit next to Severus.
"You... you can't sit here," he blurted out. "I mean, well we have to sit at our house table."
"Well, we need to talk, So lets go somewhere else."
"Alright, then. I think I know where the library is, we can talk there."
The Slytherin stood up from the table, moving his greasy hair from his face. Lily tried to take his hand like usual as they walked through the hallway, but he avoided her grasp. When they reached the library, he led her to a table in the back of the room. A bookshelf hid them from view.
Severus hated that he was ashamed of Lily. How was he supposed to know that she would end up being a bloody Gryffindor? She wasn't daring or bold. She was clever. She should have been a Ravenclaw or a Slytherin, right? It didn't make sense. She had seemed so nice. How was he supposed to tell the other boys in his dorm, and how was he supposed to tell his parents that he was friends with a Gryffindor? Why couldn't there be a way that he could be friends with Lily and not be ostracized?
"How do I change houses?" Lily asked.
"You can't."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean you can't change houses."
"Well then how do I become a Slytherin? I hate Gryffindor house. My roommates are weird."
"You're stuck in Gryffindor. And what do you mean, weird?"
"They're like Tuney." Lily said with a sigh. "All obsessed with looks. One girl, Florence, she took a whole hour putting on her makeup."
"You'll get used to them eventually. Besides, they can't be worse than my roommates."
"What's wrong with them?"
"They're... nevermind."
"Aww, come on!"
"No..."
Just then, Lily felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see Marlene (at least she thought the girl was called Marlene) holding a sheet of paper.
"Lily, right? I didn't see you at breakfast. I have your timetable. We have double Charms in ten minutes with the Huffepuffs."
Lily grabbed her books. "Bye Sev," she waved.
James and Sirius were wolfing down their pancakes. There breakfast was actually mostly syrup, with only little bits of actual pancake in it. Remus was looking at the pair disapprovingly, and not because of their eating habits.
"How could you be so irresponsible? Getting caught like that. Two detentions, and it's only your first day!"
"Relax, Remus! It's not like it really matters. It's just detention," Sirius told him.
"Whatever. Just be careful. I don't want to get in trouble."
"Fine. If you want to miss out on all the-"
Remus Lupin never did discover what it was that he would be missing out on all of. Two tawny owls landed in James' bowl of syrup, shortly after dropping a parcel on the boy's lap. "It's from my Dad!" James said excitedly as he tore open an envelope. Inside was a piece of parchment. It was written in a messy scrawl, as if the author was in a hurry. He began to read:
James,
I am so proud! I always knew you'd take after your old man. But next time, be more careful. Your mum's right upset, I think she's in shock. Just don't get caught. Here's something that should help you. I meant to give it you before you left, but your mum would have had a fit if she saw. Don't open it until you get back to your dormitory, and don't show it to anyone unless you absolutely trust them. Make sure to double check the security spells on your trunk, too. Oh, and be careful not to lose it. It's almost impossible to find.
Use it wisely
P.S. This letter never happened.
"Emmeline Vance," called Professor Flitwick, concluding roll call.
"Here."
Lily stared at her teacher. He was a tiny, middle-aged wizard. He seemed very energetic, albeit somewhat nervous. She felt almost let down. She thought her first magic lesson would be more impressive. He had informed them that they would going over the syllabus for the year. The redhead took her notebook out from her bag and proceeded to jot down the course information.
"Hello class, and welcome to Charms. I assure you that this class will not be too easy. However, please if any of you are in need of extra practice, do not hesitate to see me. I hope that all of you will work hard to receive good grades. I've never actually had to give anyone a Dreadful or lower, so you lot should be fine," he said with a chuckle.
"Now, classwork will make up about 50% of your grades, so make sure you work hard," the professor continued. "Exams are worth 35%, so make sure to study. The remaining portion will be homework, although I'll try not to give too much of it, as you're only first years.
"Here's a list of some of the spells you'll be learning this year: Aguamenti, Alohamora..."
Lily began to doodle absent-mindedly as he spoke. Would all of her classes be this boring? No. Definitely not, the girl decided. It wasn't unusual, she thought, to have a slow first class. Of course they would have to go over safety precautions and the whole nine yards. But then...
At that point, she glanced at the clock. Class was almost over. She turned her attention back to Professor Flitwick.
"... and you'll have your first exam in one month from Tuesday. You are all dismissed early to lunch."
As many of the students began to chatter excitedly about the class, Lily quietly packed away her notebook. It was only the first day, and her notebook was already covered in doodles. She still hadn't made any friends, and magic seemed to be a lot more about rules than about real magic. She hurried off to lunch. She only hoped that Hogwarts would become much more interesting.
Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns all of this.
Hello again to my readers and reviewers! I'm so glad that you've (hopefully) enjoyed LFM so far!
If any of you have any suggestions/comments, please feel free to comment. 'Til Chapter 5!