Hey everyone... if you thought the Time Turner scene in PRISONER was confusing, wait until you read the next chapter... things are gonna get insane!
Heheh... I feel so eeevil...
THX FOR TEH REVOOS, PEEPLE! YAY!
Chapter 1.2
With a little gasp, Lily's eyes snapped open.
"Hey, sleepyhead! Come on, we're almost at Hogwarts! You've gotta change into your robes!" Rose Weasley said, smirking at her cousin. Lily sat upright, eyes wide. "What…?" Suddenly, she realized that she was sitting on a red upholstered seat, her face had once been pressed against a window, and the whole room seemed to be shuddering with movement.
"I'm on the Hogwarts Express!" she cried suddenly, leaping to her feet and running to the compartment door. She looked up and down the aisle, surely the Room couldn't recreate this. Outside the windows, they were rattling over a tall, long bridge, and in the distance, a great black shape loomed on a hill.
"This is impossible!" Lily said, grinning nonetheless, still half standing in the corridor. Someone grabbed the scruff of her t-shirt and pulled her back into the compartment. She sat on the seat, still grinning madly. "The Room of Requirement… and the Sorting Hat… I've got another chance! I don't have to be in Slytherin!" Rose and Hugo stared at her, clearly confused. "That must have been some dream you had, Lils." Rose said finally, gently. "Now, get out, Hugo, we're changing!" she shoved a grumbling Hugo out the door and closed the curtains.
"But where are James and Al, with the spell that turned my hair purple?" Lily said, partly to herself, replacing her muggle jeans-and-t-shirt with the Hogwarts robes. There was a little scoff from behind her. "What, you want that to happen? That must have been a really wacko dream!" Rose laughed. Lily smirked, but decided to drop the matter. Why ruin what could be a wonderful reprieve?
Before she knew it, the Hogwarts Express was squealing to a stop at Hogsmede station. Lily followed Hugo outside, and was shocked to see not Firenze, but an enormous, hairy man. "Hagrid?" Lily called, incredulous. The half-giant looked down and saw the kin of his favourite trio, and grinned hugely.
"Ello there, Lily! 'nd yeh too, Hugo! FIRS YEARS, O'ER HERE!" He bellowed the last part, making at least a dozen people nearby jump. "What about Firenze?" Lily asked. Hagrid glanced back at her. "He's sick… somethin' I 'aven't 'eard of, some Centaur sickness. But 'ow did you know – yer just a firs year?" For a second, Lily realized her mistake, but quickly recovered, "James mentioned something about a Centaur leading the first years…" she trailed off, but it didn't matter. By that point, the mass of eleven year olds were moving towards the lake and the boats.
Lily sat beside Hugo, who was looking somewhere between painfully nervous and overjoyed. Lily still looked up at the castle in awe. The boats lurched, and Lily gripped her lantern post firmly. Behind her, two other first-years were shifting excitedly. "You're rocking the -" Lily started to say, turning around. But then she caught sight of one of the first-years, with jet-black hair and eyes to match, and turned back to face forwards, suddenly nervous.
The population of the little boat was unusually quiet, all the other first-years were babbling uncontrollably. After a while, Lily broke the silence, still facing forwards. "So, what houses are you hoping to be in?"
Silence. "Ravenclaw, of course. Everyone in my family is." Sarah Parker said, sounding a little snobbish. The boy beside her shrugged. "I dunno… I'm muggle born." Hugo twisted around. "Well then, hope for Gryffindor! That's were Lily and I are headed." He said. "Hugo Weasley, and this is my cousin Lily Potter." Lily saw Sarah's eyebrows lift a little at their surnames. "Kids of the Golden Trio… nice." She said with a little smirk. "I'm Sarah Parker." Lily tried to hide her recognition of the name. The boy next to her, with sandy hair and a gap between his front teeth, grinned. "I'm Tomas. Tomas Little." A little part in Lily's brain clicked – Hufflepuff.
The boat jolted and bumped against the shore. The four eleven-year-olds clambered out and pulled the boat further up the beach, then started after Hagrid and the others. The castle seemed even larger, walking alongside it. Even Lily couldn't help feeling a little awestruck, the second time around.
Back through the front doors. Back to the steps, to hear McGonagall's speech again. And again, down the aisle in the Great Hall, underneath the enchanted ceiling of midnight blue…
"Parker, Sarah!" Sarah went up to the stool, and McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on her silky black head. Lily, now at the front of the line, stared at her friend, and thought she saw the tiniest glimmer of recognition. "Ravenclaw!" The Sorting Hat called. Instantly, Sarah's face was glowing, and she walked over to sit between two near-identical boys.
"Potter, Lily!" With shaky knees, Lily walked up and sat down. She felt the eyes of the whole school on her again… she scolded herself for being nervous, though she couldn't help it. She saw James and Albus, Rose and Hugo grinning at her from the Gryffindor table, they had already made room for her on the bench… The Sorting Hat touched her dark red hair, and she heard the voice, this time so quiet only she could hear it.
"Back again, Miss Potter? Perhaps, this will suit you better… GRYFFINDOR!" Lily nearly cheered herself as she set the Sorting Hat back down and walked over to her ecstatic family. Her eyes slid to the Ravenclaw table, where Sarah was clapping with the others out of respect. Sarah took no notice of Lily, but she didn't care. Settling in between Rose and Albus, she felt like nothing could bother her.