A.N Hello well this is just the beta version of the chapter. It was read by my Beta Insane Anarchist-aka Allie Thank you so much for helping me with my grammar and spelling and everything involved in the writing of a story.... THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU ! ! !

Dedicated to Nicole White who made me really happy with all the reviews she has given me recently ...... really happy i was after reading them..... so this is for you

The Secret Passage?

Lily was really having a bad day. She walked into the Great Hall after the drama in Transfiguration expecting to see tables laden with plates filled with food for lunch. Instead, when she sat down she saw boat loads of gravy, piles of roast meats, and bowls upon bowls of roasted vegetables. This was clearly not lunch.

As she settled down in between Harry and Amanda she had to ask, "I take it this is dinner?"

Amanda looked at her like she had suddenly grown a second or maybe a third head. "Yes, of course it's dinner."

Lily raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Oh, I thought schools always held two lunches. Well, that's what we did at my old school."

Amanda sounded a noise in her throat that indicated that she was wrong. "No, that's just muggle schools. It says it on our timetable anyway. We have breakfast, two classes, lunch, another two classes, then dinner. Then usually after dinner there's time for us to do homework and study."

"How do you know all this?" asked Lily. "This is your first year here, isn't it?"

Amanda laughed, "Yes, I am a first year remember. Mum and Dad told me."

Lily blushed at the stupidity of her question. Why did she do that? It just made her look like a fool.

A short moment later, Harry leaned over towards Lily's ear. "Don't worry," he whispered, "I asked the exact same thing about lunch."

"Well now I feel a little bit better, thanks," she whispered back, flashing a smile.

Without another word spoken the first year Gryffindors turned and began to fill their dishes with food. Lily being the most famished as she had missed lunch today. She reached for almost everything she could reach, providing that it was something she actually liked. She wasn't the world's fussiest eater, but she sure was close. Deciding on a drink, she reached for a crystal jug that contained a substance that looked much like cordial, but then again, it could be juice. She poured herself a glass, setting the jug back in its place and raised the goblet/glass whatever it was called at this school, and tipped some of the beverage into her mouth. The moment it touched her lips Lily spluttered, struggling to swallow what was in her mouth.

"What is that stuff?" she asked in a grossed-out tone.

"Its pumpkin juice," piped up Simone from her seat just past Amanda.

"It's horrible," Lily moaned. "You actually drink this stuff?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Amanda. "It's the best stuff there is."

Lily shook her head madly. She could still taste it on her tongue. "I don't even like pumpkin, let alone pumpkin juice. Is there anything else to drink?"

"Just water," came the reply.

Mumbling to herself, Lily poured another glass for herself. This time it contained water. She couldn't believe that someone would willingly drink the juice of what she thought to be one of the most disgusting vegetables in the world. Whatever happened to serving a cold glass of milk for dinner? That's what she always had at dinner back at home. Why did they have to have this weird juice that she would have thought would have come from a health juice bar and not a boarding school? She wasn't happy. She rarely went without a glass of milk for dinner.

Lily didn't say much after that. She didn't really enjoy the fact that she had to have water for dinner. Maybe she couldn't possible asked their Head of House if milk could be served at the table too. Yeah, that was a good idea, if their Head of House wasn't Professor McGonagall, the exact teacher that was present at her excursion to the Headmaster's office earlier today. So that idea was out the window. What she could do about it now she had no idea.

"What are you grumbling about?" piped up an annoyed voice.

Looking up from her dinner, Lily looked into the cross eyes of none other than Hermione Granger. "If you must know, I don't like pumpkin juice and thought it would have been nice if they served milk at dinner," was Lily's somewhat unenthusiastic reply.

"You're worried about what drink you can have at dinner?" snapped Hermione. "If I was you I would be more worried about that stupid stunt you pulled today during lunch. Do you know you broke school rules on the first day at school? I would have been rethinking your enrolment if I was Dumbledore."

Lily has really had enough of this whole drama that occurred today. "Well, aren't you lucky? Your neither me nor Dumbledore." And with further ado, Lily raised from her chair, forgetting her dinner, and left the Great Hall without another word.

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Lily huffed as she stalked towards the staircases. This would happen to be the worst day of her life. It could probably even top the day Joe and Cathryn told her she was adopted. Lily came to a halt straight away, and shook her head. That probably wasn't true. That was in fact quite the worse day. Not bothering to go anything further, Lily stood her ground and just looked at her surroundings. Hogwarts was quite an amazing place. It was even so exciting that she was so close to her mother right now. She had walked these halls, lived in her house and had gone to her classes. She was so close but so far away.

"Is the little Gryffindork lost?" said a smug voice. Whipping around Lily found herself looking at the blonde Slytherin she saw get sorted last night. What was his name?

"Aahhh…who are you?" she asked.

The glare from the boy made her shrink back slightly. He had a look as if to say 'How do you not know me?'

"I am Draco Malfoy," the boy said "Clearly you know me."

"AAHHH…no sorry," Lily replied.

"Well you do now. And who are you, Gryffindork?" he snapped.

Lily held her hand out for a shake. "Lily Samuels."

Draco sneered at her hand as if it was covered in filth. "Isn't that nice."

Without another word spoken between the two, Malfoy turned on his heel and strutted off towards the Great Hall door. In Lily's opinion these Hogwarts people were quite strange. They could give Mrs. Figg a run for her money.

Having had enough of just standing, there Lily turned around and began to climb the stairs. The one thing she didn't like about being in Gryffindor was that the dormitories were stationed up on the seventh floor. That was God-knows-how-many stairs up.

Grumbling out the password the moment she reached the Fat Lady's portrait, Lily stomped into the room, ignoring the looks from stray students and plonked herself down onto the two-seater, over-stuffed couch.

She wasn't sitting there for that long by herself. Maybe about five minutes later, Harry showed his face. He strode over to her couch and sat down beside her. "You really aren't having a good day, are you," he said more as a statement than a question.

Lily nodded once again having tears well up in her eyes. "I've screwed everything up and it's only the first day," she whispered. "If it's going to be like this tomorrow I don't think I want to wake up"

"Things should get better," said Harry.

"How do you know?"

"I'm the boy who lived, so they say."

Lily's eyebrows knotted with confusion. "What?" Hadn't she heard someone say something about a boy who lived? Lily opened her mouth to ask questions about what he meant, but they were interrupted.

"Not breaking anymore rules are we Miss Samuels?" It was the Prefect Percy Weasley. "Your actions are quite disappointing, Miss Samuels," he continued. "we are only on the first day and already you have been sent to the Headmaster's office. I do hope this attitude does not continue as I wish to see Gryffindor at the top of the ladder by the end of the year. But it seems that might not happen anymore with you in our midst."

That had cut Lily really deep. She never meant to cause so much trouble or give herself a bad name, but that's what happened. Yet did they had to be so harsh? She knew what she had done, she was suffering from it, and on top of that she also had had to say goodbye to her puppy. Though it seemed Percy was not quite finished.

"And bringing the boy who lived down to your level? I would expect you to be involved in much better friendships, Mr. Potter. Clearly she will become a bad influence on you." And then Percy left, just like that, leaving a shocked Harry in his wake and a cut-raw Lily in tears.

Lily chocked on her sobs as the Common Room began to once more fill with noise. The words that people had spoken to her had taken their toll.

"Hey, hey, hey," whispered Harry. "Don't cry. Come on, let's take you up stairs."

Through her sobs, Lily felt Harry take hold of her upper arm and drag her to her feet. Though her tear-blurred her image she noted that they were ascending the stairs towards the dormitories. But not the girls' dormitories, the BOYS'!?!?!

"My room is the other direction," Lily managed to get out through hiccups.

"Yeah I know, but some of the girls are up there I think. Besides the boys will keep away if they know a girl is in the room," Harry shrugged.

Lily just hiccupped in reply.

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Once the door into the boys' dormitory was open, Lily was greeted with an almost exact replica of her boarding room. Except....... "Ewww…boy essence," Lily gagged.

"Hey," Harry protested, "it's not as bad a girlie floral scent."

"Lucky I don't wear that stuff then."

Harry just chuckled, "Yeah your more manly like me," greeting Lily with a sight of Harry trying to flaunt his nonexistent muscles.

Lily giggled, "Oh yes, real manly, just look as those muscles."

Harry came to an abrupt halt from leading Lily over to his bed by the window. "Are you making fun of me?" he said in an exasperated voice, faking shock.

"How could you think I would do such a thing," said Lily, faking hurt. It couldn't and didn't last long. Not seconds later did a smirk rest upon her lips.

"Why you......" growled the ebony haired boy. "OOOH, I'm going get you!"

Lily's eyes widened in shock before she screeched in surprise - Harry had bolted straight at her with a face that showed no mercy.

"Stay away from me!" Lily shrieked.

The green eyed boy cackled evilly, "Not after you hurt my feelings..... I think you deserve punishment."

Lily raised an eye brow at her best friend. "I'm so scared," she cried mockingly.

"Oh, you better be, I heard tickling is the worst form of torture."

Lily gasped in a breath. "You wouldn't." Her eyebrows now knotted in some fear.

"HA-HA, but I would," said Harry as he pounced forward.

Lily ran where she could. There was not a lot of space between the red four-poster beds of the boys' dormitory. With the heater-like machine in the centre of the room and the beds surrounding it in a circle there weren't a lot of places to hide either.

Both friends weaved in and out of the beds around the room, forgetting what had happened throughout the day and just downstairs. A happy moment within the dark. Lily was grateful Harry could make her forget her problems so easily.

The chase between the two did not last long. Harry may not look fast but he did have good reflexes and he caught Lily in no time, tackling her onto what was luckily his bed and pinning her under him. "Gotcha!" he cried triumphantly.

Lily just glared up at her friend. "That wasn't nice."

Harry chuckled, "Yes it was."

Lily grunted before pushing at Harry's chest. "Get off me."

Laughing some more, Harry pulled backwards and sat down on the end of his bed, allowing Lily to push herself up and sit at the head.
"Thanks for the pillow," she grinned cheekily.

"You're welcome," Harry answered. "Be careful though, I drooled a lot last night and haven't had a chance to change my pillow."

Lily reacted in an instant. "Yuck!" she yelled, as she lobbed the pillow at Harry. Slamming into his chest, the pillow knocked the wind right out of his lungs, leaving Harry heaving for a few moments for breath.

"That's some toss you have there, Lils," he puffed out.

Grinning from ear to ear, Lily proceeded to pick up the pillow one more time and hit Harry over the head. "One for good luck." she explained with a cheerful shrug.

"Funny," he stated, quite relaxed.

Letting out a huge sigh, Lily too let the feeling of high giddiness of their recent chase exit from her body, leaving the two friends in a happy silence as they relaxed.

"Some day, huh?" Harry asked.

"You could say that," grumbled his best friend.

"Don't worry about it Lily," Harry said. "It's just one day. It will get better, you'll see."

"Oh, is that the boy who lived talking?" Lily asked.

Harry's messy black hair shook from side to side. "No, that's your best friend talking."

"What is this boy who lived nonsense?" Lily asked. "It seems like a pretty weird thing to be called."

Harry snorted through his nose. "Yeah, and that's just the half of it."

He looked up to see Lily looking at him quite confusedly. To cure her of this moment of brain malfunction, Harry went into a full explanation of the story Hagrid had told him, about how he had lost his parents, the origin of his scar, and the how he had received the said title of the boy who lived.

After a fair amount of time passed, Harry finished his last sentence and Lily was left speechless.

"Oh my god!" she whispered. "That's just......ahhh..... wow"

"Yeah," replied Harry.

"So this Voldemort guy is dead?" Lily asked. "Did you kill him??"

Harry just shook his head.

Lily gasped, "You didn't?"

Shrugging his shoulders Harry just said what he had been told. "Some say he is still out there, you know, he just doesn't have enough energy to come back. But no one wants to believe that. It's easier if he is dead."

"And you're made out to be some huge hero," Lily finished for him.

"i don't even remember anything...... nothing..... not even my parents...... what they looked like, how they sounded, or even smelt," Harry's voice was lowered to a whisper, as if he knew tears were about to come.

"I wish i knew my mum....." Lily said. "I mean…I don't like it how my mum was murdered and left me alone...... that's why I want to find my father and ask him why he was never around, or never came for me."

Harry nodded his understanding. "I want to know if it's all true.....if I look like dad and have my mum's eyes...... I want to see them for myself and not go by other people saying I look like them..... I don't see them when I look in a mirror..... I see me."

Lily gave a half smile..... It was stuff like that she wanted to know too. Who did she look like out of her parents..... whose eyes does she have, whose hair..... the lot.

BANG!

Both heads turned towards the door of the boys' dormitory that had just slammed open. The remainder of the boys sorted into the red and gold house stood in the archway, staring wide-eyed at the girl that was in their room.

"Who's your girlfriend, Harry?" piped up Dean, who Harry met at dinner.

Harry blushed deep red. "Sh...she...she…"

"OH! We're not together," laughed Lily. "We are friends, we didn't expect to see each other at this school, and just wanted to catch up."

"Oh," mumbled the dark skinned boy in embarrassment. "Well, we sort of came up here to go to bed..... it's curfew you see so..... umm…" He didn't know how to ask the girl to leave.

"Oh yeah sure," Lily said in a rush, "I'll just go to bed. Night Harry!"

"Yeah, night Lily," piped up Harry.

Lily walked across the room and pushed through the small group of boys. She smiled at them. "Night," she said, then left the room.

Mumbled replies came from the boys as they blushed. They weren't used to being around girls.

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Lily stepped out of the showers, wrapped up in her pyjamas and towel-drying her hair as she walked. She ascended the stairs towards her bedroom for the next year, not quite ready to go to bed but ready to relax. She reached the door in silence and held out her hand to turn the knob and walk in when hushed tones reached her ears.

"I just don't get why she did it. There had to be a reason why."

"Oh please, Parvati, she did it for attention."

"She broke rules on the first day! She's going to bring the rest of us down!"

Clearly the last was Hermione, given her huge dislike against rule breaking, and the first was Parvati thanks to the second speaker, but the second voice was a mystery.

"But Lavender, why would she do it for attention?" spoke the voice recognised as Parvati. So that meant the second girl was Lavender.

"Well, she probably wants to be popular. I see she has already clung onto Harry Potter, and she is still claiming to be childhood best friends with him...... I mean really, she is just lying."

Lily inhaled a sharp breath. That had cut her deep. She was about to turn and leave for the common room when more words were spoken.

"What do you to think Amanda?"

Amanda was in there talking about her? What happen to them being friends?

"I'll admit it was a stupid thing to do," came her answer.

"What about you Sophie?"

Lily couldn't take it any longer: she turned and walked down the stairs and into the ruby-red common room. She then slumped down into a chair. Tears stung her eyes and her breathing became ragged. She felt left out at this moment. Today had gone badly, Harry had made it lift towards the end, but now she was hitting the low again. Everyone hated her this moment. Well not everyone, she had someone still friends with her. Looking up towards the boys' dormitory stairs, she thought that maybe if she was lucky Harry would still be awake.

Sighing in defeat, Lily doubted it. Harry was one to go to sleep and not even wake up during the apocalypse…well whenever he had slept over he had. He always seemed to sleep on his stomach snoring lightly.

Lily giggled, reminiscing about the first time she discovered Harry snored. That was quite a night, Lily hardly slept from all the laughter that racked her body. And the following morning had Harry claiming he had never snored and never will.

She sat there in the thoughts of bitter memories. Well they weren't bitter memories, they were some of the best she had ever had, but the events of today gave them a sour tint. So once again in less than 24 hours, Lily stared into the flames of the common room fire.

She didn't know how long she was there for, but it did seem to be quite late. The sky outside appeared to be pitched black and the fire had dwindled in size. So it must have been sometime. But Lily made no move to go to bed. She didn't really feel like going to bed in a room full of girls that gave her a hard time and talked about her behind her back. She could probably crash on the three-seater couch, it seemed comfortable enough. There were pillows in the corners, now all she needed was a blanket.

Searching the room, Lily's eyes fell on movement within a tapestry. Within the stitched lines of the material, a magnificent Lion chased around a the most beautiful bird Lily had laid eyes on. Its feathers were tinted with all the colours of the rainbow. It was such a colourful bird.

Wait...... A colourful bird? That's what Moony said a Fwooper was. So was this what a Fwooper looked like?

Lily gasped. A FWOOPER and a LION! This was the tapestry Remus was telling her about: the one that led to the Library.

Lily stood up quickly, ignoring the swirling going on behind her eyes. She didn't need to worry about the consequences of getting up too fast at the moment. She might have found her first secret passage way.

She walked over slowly, getting closer and closer to the tapestry that hung upon the stone wall. It was silent and scary, and yet she was still excited about the entire thing. She may have found a secret passageway that not many knew of. It could be all hers...... Well except Harry, she would have to tell him.

She reached the material in possibly record time, and then just stood there staring at it. Lily had a feeling that was difficult to explain. She wanted to go on, to see what was beyond the tapestry, but at the same time she wanted to go to bed and forget anything she knew about this passage. Why she felt this way she didn't know, but she did.

With a sharp intake of breath, Lily reached her hand out and grasped the side of the tapestry. Letting her breath out, she closed her eyes and began to whisper to herself. "Okay, just do it like a band-aid. Quick and painless."

Without another word she pulled the material to the side.........

A.N Quite proud i am this chapter ..........^_^

I hope you all liked...... i have a poll up too....... its your choice as to when Lily discover who her father is..... so please take a little bit to vote..... but also don't forget about a review..... i like reviews.... it makes me happy.... so therefore i type more and give dedications....

Till next time.