Chapter 4

It was two weeks until the end of August and Lily had just turned eleven. She was excited because Uncle Harry thought that she had a bit of magic in her and just the other day she'd done a couple of flips off of the swing set. No one had seen her do them but she knew she had and was brimming to top with excitement. She had a feeling that she was going to get a Hogwarts letter just like James had yesterday. So here Lily was listening to music from the magic radio Aunt Mel had bought her when they'd gone shopping at the beginning of the summer. She was listening to a Beetle's song. She'd gotten the radio to tune into the muggle channels and found her favorite song on and started singing into her brush. She was a pretty good singer but no one knew. When she got to the chorus she heard a tap on the window and looked. She saw a large brown owl with a letter tied to its leg. She opened the window and the owl flew in and landed on her silver desk. It stuck out its leg for her to take the letter. She grabbed some of the treats James had given her for when he got his owl and sent her a letter from Hogwarts. She handed the owl some and untied the letter. The owl affectionately nipped her hand then flew off. She opened the letter and read the address on it.

Ms. Lily Evans
3rd room
2nd floor
Potter House

Lily was stunned. She didn't know who this was from but they sure were specific on the addresses. She broke the seal and pulled the thick letter out. Her eyes got big and wide when she read what the letter said.

Dear Ms. Evans,

We are happy to invite you to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You are welcome to turn this invitation down and attend a muggle school. Your list of supplies is in the envelope should you choose to attend Hogwarts.

Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Head Mistress
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Lily stayed gaping at the letter and when James came into her room he got worried. He walked up to her and she still didn't respond. He snapped his fingers and still nothing. "Lils? Hey, Lily, are you okay?" James waved his hand in front of her face. Then Lily shook her head and closed her mouth and beamed. She started jumping up and down and dancing, waving the letter around victoriously. She still couldn't believe that she'd gotten in. James just stared at her with a dumbstruck look on his face. He still didn't know what Lily was so happy about. "Hey Lily why are you dancing around your room?"

"I got a letter! I got a letter and I'm going to Hogwarts with you!" Lily sang as she continued dancing.

"Are you serious?!" James asked shocked. He saw Lily nod then went to dance with her.

They were laughing and dancing when Melony came in the room. She had an amused look on her face when she asked what was going on. "Lily, James what in the world are you two so happy about?"Lily ran over and handed Melony the letter she'd been holding. Melony read over the letter twice to make sure she was reading it right. Then she grinned and picked Lily up to spin her around. "Oh now I'm going to be all alone in this big old house. What am I going to do without either one of you in the house? Oh but I'm so happy for you Lily and you too James. I can't believe that both of you are going to Hogwarts." Melony let go of Lily and hugged James. She didn't know what to do with herself. She couldn't wait to tell Harold. He would be extremely happy. He'd known all along that Lily would be going to Hogwarts with James. "Well we're going to have to wait and tell Harold until he gets off of work but we're going to have everyone's favorite tonight."

"Pizza?" Lily and James asked at the same time. They looked at each other and smiled.

"Exactly, so you guys figure out a way to surprise Harold when he gets home. I've got to start cooking. It's going to take a little while for the dough to rise." Melony walked out of the room to hear laughing and planning. She started humming while she walked.

When Harold stepped out of fireplace he smelled pizza and wondered what the occasion was to have pizza twice that week. He dusted himself off and walked out the living room to go tell his wife hi. He heard Lily and James chatting. They sounded sad and that was extremely odd. Maybe something bad had happened and Mel was cooking their favorite to cheer them up. He walked in and saw Lily sitting there staring gloomily into her glass of water. He frowned and was truly concerned. Lily had been smiling more lately and had accepted the role of his little girl even if she didn't call him dad yet. "Hey, Lils, what's wrong munchkin?" Harold and Melony were the only two people she allowed to call her munchkin.

"I got a letter today."

Lily handed him the letter and hid a smile when she took a sip of water. Then she set the glass down and beamed at him. He was taken aback at her sudden mood change. He read the letter she gave him then stared down in shock. He'd known she'd get in but when James' letter had gotten there and Lily's hadn't come with it he figured he was wrong. He looked up and saw both his kids and his wife grinning from ear to ear at him. He cocked a brow at them but Melony just urged him to read the letter. He looked down and a shocked look took over his features. He looked up at Lily and could see the beaming grin on her face, then looked back down at the letter. When he finally comprehended everything he picked Lily up and spun her around. He'd done the same thing with James only it was a bit more guyish. He set Lily back down and kissed her cheek. "This is wonderful Lily! Now we've got someone to look after James and make sure he doesn't get into trouble." Harold winked at Lily and she giggled.

James however looked indignant. "Hey! I'm not the one that causes all the trouble! It's Lily! She just makes you think she's all innocent. I'm the good one." James smirked and it made him look like anything other than innocent.

"Now you're lying James. I'm the good one and you, my dear brother, are the prankster. I don't have to make people think I'm innocent because I already am." Lily giggled. "You will also need someone to help you get out of trouble when you do get into it, which you more than likely will." Lily pointed out and swung her legs. Melony and Harold had noticed when Lily had called James brother and had been a bit phased by it but also noticed that James wasn't.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever, shorty." James dodged the swing at his head when he'd called Lily shorty. Lily hated being called short even if she was.

"Alright you two, pizza's almost done so calm down, and both of you better be good at Hogwarts." Melony smiled and dished up the pizza. She was happy that they both got into Hogwarts but she wasn't quite ready for the house to be empty just yet. She guessed she'd get over it and she'd always have the holidays to look forward to.

Lily and the Potters had finally gotten to Kings Cross twenty minutes before the train left. Melony had a hand on each of the two kids' shoulders as if she were trying to keep them with her instead of sending them to Hogwarts. Harold was dragging Lily and James' trunk behind him. They reached the platform and Melony turned to Lily and James and wrapped them in a hug.

"You two don't cause any trouble for the teachers." Melony let go of them and looked pointedly at James but he just gave her an innocent smile, the mischief in his eyes gave him away though. "Lily, you need to watch this one for us." Melony hugged Lily again.

"Yes ma'am. I don't know if I'll be able to keep him under control but I'll do my best." Lily smiled and saluted them.

Harold turned to James, "James you watch over Lily. Make sure that no one hurts her. You also make sure that a boy doesn't break her heart." Harold winked at James then hugged him and ruffled his hair, making it even messier than it was. He pulled Lily into a hug then kissed her on the nose. Melony got in one more hug. Harold helped them put their luggage on the train then said, "Have a good year you guys!" He waved and stepped back.

James and Lily waved before they started walking down the long train. James was dragging his and Lily's luggage behind him as they went to the back of the train to get an empty compartment. James got tired of dragging the trunks though so they stopped about half way. "Hey, Lils, let's grab this compartment. I'm getting tired of carrying the luggage." James opened the door and saw someone else in the compartment. "Sorry 'bout barging in on you. You mind if we sit with you?" James grinned when he saw that it was someone their age.

"Nah, I don't have any friends to reserve any seats for so it's fine." The boy shrugged a shoulder. "Name's Sirius Black by the way." Sirius studied James in the door way with his stormy gray eyes. He had shaggy black hair that was a bit long but looked good on him.

"I'm James Potter. This is my sister Lily Evans." He'd gotten so used to Lily being his sister that he didn't think of telling Sirius she was living with them and that's why they had different last names. James pointed to Lily when he moved and she became visible. She waved shyly and smiled at him.

"You didn't say you had a pretty girl with you. Now you guys are even more than welcome to stay." Sirius winked at Lily and grinned when she laughed.

Lily took a window seat and James sat down right beside her. He'd taken Sirius well seriously, so he had a mild glare on his face. Lily noticed. "Thank you for complimenting me Sirius. Quit glaring James he was just kidding around." Lily poked James in his side and made him squirm and hold in a giggle.

"Hey if you guys are brother and sister then why do you have different last names?" Sirius was just realizing that fact.

Lily's smile drooped a little and she looked out the window and into the faces that were slowly moving away. James looked at Lily with concern. He turned to Sirius with somber hazel eyes behind his circular glasses. "Lily's family was killed in an attack on a muggle town so she's living with my family now."

"Sorry for asking, Lily." Sirius apologized and you could hear the sincerity in his voice.

"It's all right Sirius. You didn't know and if you think about it, it is kind of odd to introduce ourselves as brother and sister with different last names." Lily said and gave him a small smile.

James watched and sighed when Lily smiled even if it was small. He got an idea of how to make Lily just as happy as she was a little while ago. "Hey Sirius, I bet you a chocolate frog that you can't beat Lily at wizard's chess." James grinned and had a mischievous look in his eyes.

"Sure!" Sirius dominated at wizard's chess. He was confident that he would pummel Lily at it. He looked at Lily to see a nervous look on her face. He smiled gently. "Do you want to play?"

"Well, I guess, but would you mind going a little easy on me. I don't think I'm very good." Lily pouted cutely and batted her eyelashes. She wanted to see if he would believe her and think James stupid for betting on her. If he did then she'd eat him for breakfast and split the chocolate frog with James, if not well then she'd congratulate him on seeing through her sneakiness.

"Absolutely, Lils! Don't want to be mean." Sirius said. This is going to be too easy, Sirius thought.

Twenty minutes later Sirius jumped up and pointed at Lily. "You cheated!" He thought she said she didn't think she was any good. This was downright evil. Lily had easily blocked every move he made and then countered it. She'd checked him fifteen minutes into the games then not five minutes later had checkmated his queen. It was an outrage!

"I did not!" Lily stuck out her chin stubbornly. It wasn't her fault if Sirius had fallen for her innocent act and so she told him. "It's not my fault you thought James was stupid enough to bet on me and not win something or the fact that you fell for me thinking I couldn't play. You should've played the game and not have gone easy on me anyway." Lily folded her arms when she finished.

"Okay, maybe you're right. You are one sneaky little lady though." Sirius said with a smile that served as his white flag.

"Well…I do try." Lily acted like she was brushing dust off her shoulders. All three laughed and started chatting. They put up the chess board and split the candy Lily had thought to bring while waiting for the trolley to pass. They were talking about what class they thought would be the hardest when the door to the compartment slid open.

A sandy haired boy stood there with his luggage behind him. He looked worse for the wear and had a couple of scars on his uncovered arms. He had honey colored eyes and seemed shy. "Do you mind if I sit with you? All of the other compartments are taken and I'm tired of dragging my luggage." He spoke softly and looked at the floor when he talked.

"No we don't mind. I'm Lily Evans, the boy with the glasses," Lily pointed to James and he waved, "is my adoptive brother James, and the last one is Sirius who just got his but beat at chess by me." Lily smirked at Sirius.

"I went easy on her and it was a close defeat!"

"Quit arguing you guys. So what's your name?" James asked the boy as he helped him put his luggage up.

"Remus Lupin." Remus said then turned his eyes to a book he'd brought with him. He'd already figured out that it was no use making friends when he was just going to lose them whenever he told them he was a werewolf. He figured he'd save himself the pain. James and Sirius just shrugged and went to talking between the two of them.

Lily just looked at James and Sirius like they were crazy. Here was another potential friend and they didn't even try to make him talk. Lily wouldn't give up that easily though. She already liked Remus and was determined to make him one of her new friends, even if it was against his will. "Remus what book are you reading?"

"A murder/ mystery, sorry but I don't quite remember what the title was." Remus never looked up from his book when he answered Lily.

Lily almost let out a frustrated sigh but kept it silent so she wouldn't be mean. She tried thinking of anything to get Remus to talk. Then it hit her. "Hey Remus can you lay a game of wizard's chess with me?" Lily looked at him with pleading eyes.

Remus looked up from his book and sighed. He knew he should just walk away and not get involved with these kids. He couldn't though when he saw Lily's pleading eyes and it wasn't in his nature to be rude to people who were just trying to be nice. He gave a reluctant nod then nearly laughed when Lily clapped her hands. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to make a few friends and keep his furry problem a secret.

Lily had Remus laughing and opening up and James and Sirius had taken sides. James was on Lily's and Sirius Remus'. She was having a tougher time beating Remus than she had Sirius. Then again Sirius had been taking it easy on her and Remus wasn't. They were forty-five minutes into the game when Lily found her opening to win. "Check mate! I won!" Lily smiled at Remus and held out a hand. "Good game. You did better than Sirius over there."

Remus laughed and shook her hand. He smiled and his eyes were sparking with happiness. "I don't think that would be a hard feat." Remus said jokingly and grinned when Lily laughed along with James. Sirius put a hand over his heart.

"Oh and I was on your side. Now I know just how much you guys like me."

"Lighten up Sirius. You and I will have a rematch this weekend." Lily smiled at him then sat back down in her seat. She now had two friends to add to her new family. She thought that was just fine with her. The more the merrier.

A/N: hey thanks for the reviews and thanks for reading…really glad you all like it….anyway I don't feel like putting a disclaimer at the top so here it is….I own nothing except for plot and characters you don't recognize!! Keep reading and reviewing!!