Eleven year old Lily Evans had never been more ready for anything in her life than she was ready for Hogwarts.

She'd laid out the dress she was going to wear the night before (emerald green to match her eyes) and her trunk was packed and by her bedroom door, ready to go.

She barely slept a wink that night. She sat by her bedroom window looking out at the night sky and imaging sending letters home to her parents by owl as she surely would when she was at Hogwarts. She wondered if Sev was awake too. And if he was, was he thinking of her?

She considered it nothing less than a miracle to have met Sev in Cokeworth. What were the chances of two magical children the same age living in the same town?

But now Lily knew she was a witch, she knew more than ever that life was full of magic. Fate had brought her and Sev together. They would be friends forever.

"It's gross." Her sister Petunia said about a hundred times a week. "He looks weird, he smells and he lives in Spinner's End. Why don't you go out with a normal boy, Lily?"

"He doesn't smell." Lily replied crossly. "And he is normal." They weren't 'going out' either, but she thought it best to limit her arguments.

"Maybe to weirdos like you." Petunia said quietly so their parents couldn't hear.

Lily's parents, in contrast to Petunia, had been delighted to discover their daughter was a witch. They'd believed it quite quickly when Dumbledore had arrived at their house to tell them. Strange things had been happening around Lily for a while now. They seemed glad to finally have an explanation.

She could hear them now, bustling around downstairs, preparing for the long drive to London.

Lily wasn't sure what sense it made to be going south just to get the train back up north again, but she wasn't complaining. It would be brilliant to board a train from a magical platform no one else could see!

"Platform nine and three quarters." Petunia said sniffily, looking at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. "How ridiculous."

But Lily knew she didn't really mean that. She could see the longing in Petunia's eyes as they arrived on the platform, where students were carrying cats, owls and broomsticks and the scarlet steam train billowed smoke ahead.

"I'm sorry Tuney, I'm sorry." She pleaded with her sister. "Listen, maybe once I'm there I'll be able to go to Professor Dumbledore and persuade him to change his mind."

But Petunia dragged her hand out of Lily's desperate grasp. "I don't want to go." She spat. "You think I want to go to some stupid castle and learn to be a… a freak?!"

"I'm not a freak." Lily said, feeling hurt. "That's a horrible thing to say."

"That's where you're going. A special school for freaks. You and that Snape boy. Weirdos, that's what you two are. It's good you're being separated from normal people. It's for our safety."

"You didn't think it was such a freak school when you wrote to the headmaster and begged him to take you." Lily said quietly.

"Beg? I didn't beg!"

"I saw his reply. It was very kind."

"You shouldn't have read... That was my private... How could you?!"

Lily gave herself away by glancing over at where Sev was standing a few feet away with his mother.

Petunia gasped. "That boy found it! You and that boy have been sneaking in my room!"

"No, not sneaking." Lily said defensively. "Severus saw the envelope. He couldn't believe a muggle could have contacted Hogwarts, that's all. He said there must be wizards working under cover in the postal service who take care of…"

But Petunia wasn't listening. "Apparently wizards poke their noses in everywhere." She said. "Freak." She hissed before flouncing off.

Lily was too upset to do much besides say a hasty goodbye to her parents and hurry onto the train to find a compartment to sit alone in.

She had so wanted things to go well with Petunia today. She longed for her sister to be happy for her, so she could share this exciting new part of her life with her. But now she wondered if Petunia would even want to hear from her. Would she think Lily was a 'freak' if she sent her a letter by owl?

She didn't look up as a group of boys entered the compartment, and didn't even look at Sev as he came in some time later too.

"I don't want to talk to you." She said, staring back out of the window as the countryside rushed past. Taking her further and further away from her sister and the life she might have had had she been 'normal'.

"Why not?"

"Tuney hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore."

"So what?"

"So she's my sister!" She said, glaring at her friend. Sev didn't understand at all.

She thought he might have said something else, but she was too busy trying to wipe her eyes without him noticing to really listen.

"But we're going!" Sev said now, with such genuine enthusiasm Lily couldn't help but smile a little in spite of herself. "You'd better be in Slytherin."

Lily knew Slytherin was one of the school houses at Hogwarts. Sev told her all the best witches and wizards were Slytherins. Apparently Merlin himself had been one!

Lily smiled. She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by a boy with messy hair and glasses who was sharing the compartment with them.

"Slytherin? Who wants to be in Slytherin?!" He said, wrinkling his nose in a way that made him look like more of an idiot than he already seemed. "I think I'd leave wouldn't you?" He asked the boy sitting opposite him.

This boy didn't smile. "My whole family have been in Slytherin."

"Blimey, and I thought you seemed alright."

"Maybe I'll break the tradition." He grinned. "Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?"

"Gryffindor." The boy said, irritating Lily further by drawing an invisible sword like some kind of stupid knight. "Where dwell the brave of heart. Like my dad."

Sev snorted and the boy with glasses turned on him. "Got a problem with that?"

"No." Sev said. "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy…"

"Where are you hoping to go seeing as you're neither?" The other dark haired boy said.

"Come on Severus." Lily said, getting to her feet and glaring between the two boys, both of who were roaring with laughter now. "Let's find another compartment."

They mocked her and tried to trip Sev up as they left, but she ignored them.

"Idiots." She said, leading her friend into the corridor and sticking her tongue out at the compartment door behind her. "Whatever house I'm in I hope it's not the same as them."

Lily stayed with Sev for the rest of the day, playing the game of gobstobes Sev's mum had packed for him and buying chocolate frogs and pumpkin pasties from the trolley witch on the train.

She delighted in the way the chocolate frogs jumped out of the packaging and up the window, looking up in incredulous wonder at Sev, who she saw was watching her with a small smile.

They arrived at Hogsmeade station and were called over by an enormous man with dark matted hair and beard who introduced himself as Rubeus Hagrid.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr Hagrid." She said politely as the other students chatted excitedly amongst themselves.

Hagrid smiled at her. "Pleasure to meet you, miss." He said. "Now, let's get goin'. No more 'n four to a boat now." He instructed as he led them over to a giant lake.

"Not that one." She said quickly to Sev. She'd just noticed the boys from the train were scrambling into the boat beside it. The tall one was standing up, trying to maintain his balance as the one with glasses laughed and rocked the vessel, to the amusement of the short blond one. Idiots.

They boarded a boat with a small blonde girl and another with mouse brown hair.

"Oh hello!" The blonde girl said, smiling at her. "I'm Sylvie. Sylvie Smethwyck. This is Mary Macdonald." She gestured the other girl who looked a little like she was about to be sick. "She's a bit nervous." She told Lily and Sev in a stage whisper.

"Hi." Lily smiled at them both. "I'm Lily Evans and this is Severus Snape."

Severus didn't say anything to greet the girls. He sat down in the boat and stared over to where the boys from earlier had now struck up some sort of sea shanty.

Sylvie looked over too and then she giggled. "That boy over there's Sirius Black." She told the others, gesturing one of the idiots. "His family's famous for being pureblood and incredibly good looking. He is gorgeous, isn't he?" She smiled dreamily at the boy.

"I think he's revolting." Lily said.

Sylvie gave her an odd sort of look.

The boat started moving of its own accord. Lily gasped and jumped as it did so which made Sev smile again.

"Gosh, magic's really going to take some getting used to!" She said a little embarrassedly. "I suppose you all knew you'd be going to Hogwarts before you got your letters, did you?"

Sylvie nodded but Mary shook her head. "I'm muggle-born." She said. "Professor Dumbledore had to come to our house to explain to my parents. My dad fainted when he told them."

Lily laughed. She felt an overwhelming relief to learn that she wasn't the only one in her situation. "Mine weren't far off!" She told Mary. "Isn't it amazing? That all this existed without us ever knowing about it?"

She and Mary happily discussed their muggle lives as they'd known them for a bit longer, sharing favourite musicians, sweets and television shows before realising Sev was looking distinctly bored and so quickly wrapping up the conversation.

"Are you alright?" She said quietly to him.

He hadn't said a word to the other girls and had his eyes fixed ahead, looking, as he sometimes did, in a world of his own.

He turned to her and nodded. "Yeah." He said with a small smile. "Just thinking about Hogwarts."

Lily smiled too. She hoped being at Hogwarts might bring Sev out of himself a bit more. He was always so quiet and reserved with other people. She'd assumed he never wanted to play with other kids in Cokeworth because they were muggles, but now he was to be surrounded by other wizards perhaps he could be a bit more... himself.

They reached the end of the lake and disembarked onto the bank. Lily chatted happily to Sylvie and Mary as they stood waiting for the others to catch up and then, seeing Hagrid, went to speak to him too.

"What subject do you teach, Mr Hagrid?" She asked as he pulled a slightly sea-sick looking blond boy out of the nearest boat.

Hagrid laughed. "I don' teach anything." He turned to her and smiled. "I'm the groundskeeper, see?"

"Oh." Lily said. "Well that still sounds very interesting." She added politely. "I imagine there's a lot of work to do."

Hagrid told her about the pumpkins he was growing for the Halloween feast ("need to get m'self a flesh-eating slug repellent, mind!") and all the creatures he had to fix up after being attacked by a new tree.

"It was only planted last month." Hagrid said, frowning as he told Lily of the 'whomping willow'. "Dunno what Dumbledore was thinking, truth be told. The poor kneazles and nifflers don't know it's dangerous and not te go near it. I just hope the kids will have a bit more sense!"

Lily certainly couldn't imagine being stupid enough to go near a tree with branches that attacked anything in its reach.

They reached the front door of the castle and Hagrid led them all inside.

Lily's mouth fell open. The entrance hall was quite magnificent.

"Cool, isn't it?" A girl with short dark hair and a broad grin said to her. "The staircase is pure marble and the ceiling's fifty feet high. It was built in the ninth century. They actually paid muggles to help them do it, can you imagine? I think the founders were impressed with what they could do, I mean look at Stonehenge! And figured they'd do as good a job as anyone else."

She grinned at Lily who was a little taken aback by the girl's knowledge.

"I'm Bessie Bagshot." She said. "My great aunt is Bathilda. Author of A History of Magic."

Lily wished this meant anything to her. "Cool." She said, feeling hopelessly un-cool as she said it.

"Welcome, students." A tall witch with tartan robes was saying to them all now. She paused for a minute, looking pointedly at the two boys from the train who were still chatting.

Noticing the silence, they stopped talking and smiled expectantly at Professor McGonagall as if they'd been waiting for her to begin.

She sniffed. "Now everyone is paying attention," she said, with another pointed look at the boys, "I will tell you what to expect from the sorting."

The two boys, who clearly didn't need to hear about the sorting, resumed their whispered conversation.

"Professor?" Lily asked, raising her hand and feeling a little nervous as the rest of the hall turned to look at her.

"Yes, miss…?"

"Evans, Lily Evans." Lily supplied.

"Yes, Miss Evans?"

"Er, I was just wondering… if you're not in the same house as a friend, will you still be able to see them during the day?"

She felt Severus stiffen beside her at the question, but was reassured when Professor McGonagall told her that it was quite possible and encourageable to maintain inter-house relationships and that she mustn't worry.

"Why did you ask her that?" Severus hissed as they made their way from the entrance hall into the great hall, led by Professor McGonagall. "Just ask the hat to put you in Slytherin! It takes your choice into account. Just tell it you want to be there."

Lily nodded. "I know, Sev. But I wanted to ask just in case…"

"Well don't ask!" He said crossly. But he must have realised he was being unfair. "Sorry." He said quietly. "I just… I don't know what I'll do if you're not in Slytherin."

Lily nodded. Of course she'd ask the hat to put her in Slytherin with Sev. He was her only friend in this world and he needed her.

"Don't worry." She said, squeezing his hand as they arrived in the great hall and suddenly finding themselves under the terrifying scrutiny of hundreds of much older students. "It will be OK."

It wasn't OK.

"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat cried to deafening applause from the table of red.

"No!" Lily gasped, taking off the hat and staring at it.

It had been an odd experience, having an inanimate object talking to her in her head. It had told her it had seen courage, resilience, determination and kindness.

Remembering Severus' words to her, she thought in her head 'please put me in Slytherin', hoping it would hear her and listen but the hat hadn't listened.

She moved over to the Gryffindor table, smiling at the applause but still feeling sad it wasn't what she or Sev had wanted.

Her smile quickly turned to a scowl as she recognised the boy Sylvie had pointed out as Sirius Black already sitting there.

He grinned at her and moved up the bench to make space but she promptly turned her back on him and looked back up to the front of the hall, where a boy called Remus Lupin was now being sorted.

"Gryffindor!" The hat called and Remus moved over to join the other first years at the table.

"Lupin!" Black cried, grinning at him and clapping him on the back. They must have met already as Remus greeted the boy warmly back. That was a shame. Lily thought he'd seemed alright until then.

She clapped politely as Mary Macdonald was pronounced a Gryffindor and came over to join her and Bessie Bagshot at the table.

But her smile turned to a scowl again as "Potter, James" joined them too.

"Well, whadd'ya know?" James grinned, sliding himself over the bench and grinning at his new friend. "Guess you did break the tradition, mate."

Though Lily didn't care, she thought she saw a flicker of something resembling fear cross the other boy's arrogant looking face.

"Aha, yeah." He said a little shakily, and then looked back at the front where, at last "Snape, Severus" was being sorted.

Lily crossed her fingers and closed her eyes as Sev sat down on the stool. She knew he must be terribly nervous. He had the eyes of the whole school on him.

Though she knew it wasn't what he wanted, she hoped beyond hope that he would join her in Gryffindor.

"SLYTHERIN!" The hat cried and Lily gave a sad sigh. Well, that was that then.

Severus moved over to the Slytherin table, who were applauding with dignity.

Lily could quite see the difference in the various houses. Whenever a new Gryffindor was pronounced, the students would cheer and bang the table raucously. New Ravenclaws would be met enthusiastically too, with older students Lily assumed must be prefects moving over to shake the hands of the new members. The Hufflepuffs seemed to have devised a song, into which they would insert the name of the new sortee.

The Slytherins, however, showed none of this raw enthusiasm. Many of them looked almost bored as the new students were sorted.

Severus took a seat next to a very pretty blonde girl who looked to be about fifteen or sixteen. She looked down her nose at him and then, to Lily's surprise, looked over towards the Gryffindor table.

Sev was looking over too. His expression was full of hurt and disappointment. "I'm sorry!" She mouthed at him.

She turned her attention back to her fellow Gryffindors as the sorting finished and the table was suddenly bursting with delicious looking food. There was nothing she could do for Sev now, she might as well try and get to know her new classmates a little.

Sylvie told them all excitedly about her father who was a healer at St Mungo's and her mother who worked in alternative medicine. Bessie's parents were also magical, but they both worked for the ministry.

Lily noticed Mary wasn't saying much and wondered if perhaps she was homesick. "Try the treacle tart." She said, smiling as she pulled the dish towards her. "It's the most delicious I've ever tasted."

After dinner, they were led by two prefects to Gryffindor tower, where they were shown the dormitory in which they'd be sleeping.

"Gosh, how wonderful." Lily said, examining the four poster bed with the scarlet hangings. She fished in her trunk for her nightdress and toothbrush and began getting ready for bed.

It was quite strange being in the same 'bedroom' as three other girls she'd only just met for the first time today. She felt a little awkward undressing in front of them and wasn't sure whether to close the hangings or not after she climbed into bed. Though she was exhausted and would have quite liked to have slept, perhaps the other girls wanted to talk a bit first?

Sylvie and Mary were still up, decorating their sections of the dormitory with posters they'd brought with them from home.

"The bizarre brothers." Sylvie said, beaming proudly at the group of men who were, quite bizarrely indeed, beaming and waving back at her.

"Blimey." Mary said, her mouth hanging open. "Can you get mine to do that?!" She indicated her own poster of John Lennon who was, unfortunately, not smiling at all.

"Maybe…" Sylvie said, examining the poster with a frown. "But I can't guarantee I won't set it on fire either. That's all that seems to have happened whenever I've tried magic so far."

"I think it's probably best to wait until we've learnt a bit of magic before trying anything ourselves." Lily said quickly. She didn't want to be a bore, but she didn't much want to set their dormitory alight on their first night either.

Mary and Sylvie climbed into their respective beds and, one by one, the girls extinguished their lamps.

"Goodnight." They all said to one other and, before Lily knew it, she was fast asleep.