Lily Evans: A History

Lily Evans shut the book she was currently reading (Quidditch
Through the Ages) and looked expectantly up at the clock on her
bed stand. It was eight forty-five, which meant that she still had
another hour and thirty minutes to kill before they left for King's
Cross Station. Time had a funny way of slowing down when you were
anticipating something, she mused. Putting her current read back in
her trunk, she got up and crossed the room to where her pet owl sat
watching her from it's cage. "Not too much longer now," she told the
owl, opening it's cage and allowing it to come out to sit on the
window edge. "You need a name, don't you?" she sighed, again running
a list of names through her head. The owl gave a short hoot, as if
to agree with her.
	"Well, I'd feel funny giving you a name that so obviously
Muggle,(another hoot of agreement) but I don't know much about
wizard names yet." Lily pulled out her book Hogwarts, A History,
and skimmed it for names.
	"Lily! Petunia! Breakfast!" her mother called up the stairs.
	Lily shut the book, placing it back in the trunk. "You'd better
go stretch your wings now, we'll be leaving shortly and you'll be in
your cage the rest of the day. But do make sure you come back before
we leave, ok?" The owl had stared at her as she spoke, as if
understanding every word she said. Lily grinned as it hooted once more
before soaring off into the morning sky.
	"Girls! Hurry up!"
	"Coming Mum!" Lily called, shutting her trunk closed and hurrying
out of her room just in time to knock into her older sister, Petunia.
"Oh, sorry Petunia," she apologized at once.
	Petunia looked at her as if she were a small speck of dirt, and
everyone in the house knew that Petunia despised dirt more than anything
in the world. Lily was soon to find out, though, there was one thing she
disliked more. "Lily, can I talk with you a minute?" Petunia asked in a
would be nice voice, and might have pulled it off if she didn't look
ready to kill someone.
	"Er, sure," Lily replied hesitantly, following her sister into
her room.
	Petunia closed her bedroom door behind Lily, waving her hand to
offer her a seat. Lily sat nervously, glancing up at Petunia and nothing
else. Petunia paced for a moment before Lily, glancing at her now and
again before beginning. "Lily, I may never have told you this, but I've
always thought you were a smart girl." Lily looked at her incredibly.
"No, I mean it. And a smart girl like you can do something, well, smart
with your life." She turned here, and Lily finally caught her real
meaning behind this 'sisterly talk'. "This whole becoming a witch thing,
Lily, it's just not smart. You'll go off and learn a couple of magic
tricks, and then when it's over with, you'll have to come back and catch
up on all your school work so that you can make something of yourself."
	"Petunia, I am going to make something of myself," Lily began
softly, in a some-what pleading voice. Above everything Petunia had ever
done to her, Lily had some fleeting dream they could still be sisters.
"I'm going to become a witch."
	From the look on Petunia's face, that fleeting dream just flew
out the window. Petunia's dropped her sisterly facade and turned mean,
sharp eyes on Lily. "Lily Evans, if you step out of the house today and
go to that... that place! You will not be my sister anymore! I mean it!"
	With tears in her eyes, Lily stood up to her full four feet three
inches. "Petunia, you don't mean that! You can't stop being my sister
because of what I am!"
	"Yes, I can!" Petunia roared and turned on her heel, swung the
door open and pointed out it. "Get out of my sight, freak."
	Lily stomped past her defiantly, her chin held high. But once that
white door shut in her face, tears spilled down her face. Lily started
to turn, knock on it and agree until she remembered everything in her room.
And above all, she remembered James, Sirius and Peter. Turning, she
brushed the tears from her face and went down the stairs.

	At a quarter past ten, Daniel, Christine and Lily packed everything
up in the car and headed towards King's Cross Station. They arrived shortly
after and Mr. Evans went to fetch a cart to put all of Lily's things on.
They entered the station and Lily looked around.
	"Well, what platform do we need to be at?" Daniel asked.
	"Er," Lily pulled the ticket out of her purse, puzzled. She had
stared at this ticket every day since she had received it, but still it made
no sense. Silently, she handed it to her father.
	"Platform Nine and Three Quarters?" he asked incredibly, looking at
Lily like she might understand it better than him.
	"Nonsense, there's no such thing," Christine said, taking the ticket
from her husband, and then wearing an equally shocked expression upon
finding out that, indeed, it did say that. "Now what?"
	Lily looked around at the people rushing everywhere, but none looked
familiar to her as being a witch or wizard as opposed to a Muggle. "Do
you think it's like the Leady Cauldron? It appears only for witches or
wizards?"
	Her father nodded absentmindedly and, without anything else to do,
they started towards Platform Nine. When they arrived, no Platform appeared
out of thin air. Lily sighed, frustrated, when suddenly she heard a
familiar voice ring out through the crowd. "Lily! There she is, James!"
	Running through the crowd was James, Sirius and lastly Peter. Lily
felt a smile break out on her face. James caught up to her first, breathing
hard. "When you weren't on the train, we figured you couldn't find the
platform," James huffed out, putting his hand on Sirius while he caught
his breath.
	"We've only got five minutes, let's go," Sirius said, pushing James'
hand off his shoulder, nearly causing him to fall. "When they say the train
leaves at eleven o'clock, they mean it."
	"But, where is the train?" Lily asked, looking back and forth between
the two taller boys.
	"Right through there!" Peter announced, pointing at the brick wall
between platforms nine and ten. Lily raised an eyebrow.
	"Just run at the wall," James said.
	"You'll run through it to the Platform," Sirius continued.
	"But don't be scared, or you'll crash!" Peter ended, his eyes wide.
	Lily's face lost some of it's color. James grabbed her cart, putting his
hand over hers. "Come on, I'll go with you. Sirius, you and Peter help Mr.
and Mrs. Evans."
	James looked at Lily, who, while still pale, nodded her head firmly.
They began walking at the wall briskly, Lily repeating over and over in her
head I'm not going to crash, I'm not going to crash.
	And she didn't.
	Suddenly they were standing on a platform next to a bright red train
that read Hogwarts Express. Wizards and witches were standing here
and there in groups, and children were running every which direction with
luggage, owls and other pets. Lily's face broke into a grin.
	"Oh dear," Christine Evans said as her, Daniel, Sirius and Peter came
through the barrier.
	"Isn't it great?" Lily laughed as the train whistle blew.
	"Sirius Black!"
	Sirius' head ducked as a woman with waist length black hair came
bustling towards them. "Young man, I just knew you were going to miss the
train! And dragging James and Peter with you!"
	"But Mum--" Sirius began.
	"No buts young man!"
	"Mrs. Black, you see, we had to find Lily. She didn't know how to get
on the platform!" James insisted, looking like he was the one Mrs. Black's
rage was centered on.
	The woman's nearly black eyes turned towards Lily, then her parents and
softened some. The whistle blew again. "All aboard!"
	Sirius pecked his mom on the cheek, followed by James and lastly Peter,
grabbed Lily's luggage and started on the train. "See you next summer, Mum!"
Sirius called, Peter and James waving also. "Come on Lily!"
	Lily turned, hugging both her parents tightly. The train started to
pull away. Lily ran to catch up as James held the door open for her. "I love
you!" Lily called, waving frantically at her parents. They both waved until
she was out of sight.
	Lily followed James, Sirius and Peter to a compartment near the back
where they stored her luggage on the racks next to their own. Lily watched
out the window silently as the train left the station, heading north through
the countryside.
	"How long does it take to get to Hogwarts?" Peter asked, breaking the
silence.
	"Mum said about eight hours," Sirius replied, also looking out the
window. "You ok, Lil?"
	Lily nodded, tearing her eyes away from the window, and thus her
thoughts about Petunia. She was doing it, she was going to become a witch.
And the friends she had now would take the place of the sister she never
had, and now never would. She smiled sadly. "It's the first time I've been
away from my Mum and Dad."
	Peter nodded understandingly.
	"Er, excuse me?" a new voice said. All four of them whipped their heads
around to see a boy standing in the doorway, dragging his trunk behind him.
"I'm sorry, but everywhere else is full, do you think I could...?"
	Lily, who instantly recognized him as Remus Lupin, nodded her head.
"Sure Remus," she smiled, moving to help him put his luggage up on the racks.
"This is Remus Lupin," Lily said, pointing to the boy while speaking to the
others. "This is James Potter, Sirius Black ("Didn't pick the name.") and
Peter Pettigrew," Lily introduced, giggling at Sirius and his insistence
about his name.
	"Nice to meet you," Remus said shyly, sitting next to Lily and looking
uncertain.
	As they sat, Lily noticed that Remus looked slightly better than he
did last time she seen him. The dark circles under his eyes were nearly
gone and there was more color in his complexion.
	"Did you get that book, Lily?" Remus asked quietly to break the silence.
	Lily nodded. "Yes, and Quidditch Through Ages. The game sounds
fascinating."
	That, Lily found out, was a subject everyone had an opinion about.
They talked about everything Quidditch, to the latest broom sticks, and
then started on what houses they wanted to be sorted in.
	At one o'clock a plump witch with a friendly smile came through the
hall, pushing a cart full of all the candy that Lily had seen in Diagon
Alley. They each bought something different and then began swapping out.
Lily opened a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans with a wicked
smile.
	"You're too brave for my taste," Peter said instantly, eyeing the
box with disgust. "I got a toe nail flavored one last time I tried."
	"Oh, come on!" Lily insisted, handing a brightly colored bean to
all four boys. "We'll all give it a go at once."
	Sirius, looking determined, nodded his head. "On the count of three,
then?" Everyone nodded and held their bean before them. "One.. Two..
Three.."
	Everyone threw the bean into their mouth and began chewing. Within
a second, Peter, Sirius and Remus had spit theirs back out. Lily giggled,
swallowing. "Well?"
	"Salt," Sirius said, taking a swig of pumpkin juice.
	"Baking soda," Peter spat.
	"Cement," Remus added, taking a bite of a chocolate frog.
	Lily and James began laughing at the looks on their faces. "What
about you two?" Sirius asked while swishing the pumpkin juice around in
his mouth.
	"Apple Juice," Lily grinned.
	"Banana."
	"Beginner's luck," Remus warned. "You wait until you start eating
them and bite into a frog leg flavored one. Yuck!"
	Soon enough they were all full of Cauldron Cakes, Acid Pops, Fizzing
Whizzbees, Bertie Bott's Beans, Chocolate Frogs and Pumpkin Juice. The train
drifted along the country side for hours as the five friends talked of
everything from Quidditch to Hogwarts. "According to Hogwarts, A History,
the ceiling in the Great Hall is enchanted to look like the sky outside!"
Lily said dreamily, trying to imagine it in her head.
	"And there's secret passages everywhere," Sirius added, giving a
knowing look to James.
	"You can't start the year off getting into trouble," Lily warned.
Peter looked scared at the prospect of secret passages.
	"You're only in trouble if you get caught," Sirius said pointedly.
	"And we've got a secret weapon," James added.
	Lily shook her head dejectedly.

	A little while later a tall, handsome boy with dark hair and dark
eyes came to the door of the compartment. On his shoulder a silver gleaming
badge that said "Prefect" caught Lily's eye. "You should change into robes,"
he said in a voice full of authority. "We'll be arriving soon."
	All five of them nodded and began putting the rest of their candy
away in their trunks. Lily took her robes and left to find a compartment to
change in. When she returned, all four sat in matching black robes. The
only difference in their outfits and hers was that Lily wore a skirt and
knee high socks. She took her seat and watched out the window for any sign
of the village of Hogsmead, where the train would pull in.
	About ten minutes later the train slowed down before coming to a
halt in the Hogsmead Station. A voice over the intercom informed them
to leave their luggage on the train and proceed to the platform. Lily
once more felt fear grip her stomach as she stepped off the train,
looking around at all the students that were also standing around.
	"This way! F'rst years o'er here!" a booming voice called.
	Peter started towards the voice first, following other first years.
Suddenly he came to a stop. Sadly the others were following so close
behind that Sirius knocked into him, James colliding into Sirius, Remus
tripping over James and Lily, not noticing the chain reaction, fell
right into Remus' arms. "Watch it!" the voice called as the five tried to
unwind themselves. Around them the other kids were laughing nervously.
	"Peter, what you do that for?" Sirius hissed.
	The small boy, instead of answering, pointed a shaking finger
in front of them. The booming voice was coming from none other than
a giant man. He was at least ten feet tall with solid black hair that
grew in even more odd directions than James'. His beard was long and
tangly and so full you could barely make out his eyes under it all.
	The giant came over rather quickly, taking about three strides
per foot fall. Remus pushed Lily up to her feet just as the giant
picked him up by the back of the neck and sat him on his feet. He did
the same for Sirius, James and finally Peter, who quickly dodged
behind Sirius once he was back on his feet. "A'right there?"
	All five of them nodded silently.
	The giant smiled, or at least they thought he did, and held up
his lantern to make his way up to the front of the group again.
"A'right, first years, follow me!"
	Lily was still shaking. When the giant had came over to them,
the top of her head had barely reached the top of his leg. Giving
a nervous look around, she bounded up between Sirius and James,
grabbing onto James' hand and squeezing tightly. He looked over at
her quizzingly, but when he seen how shook up she was, he said
nothing.
	The giant lead them to a group of boats sitting on the lake.
Beyond the lake they could see the outline of a massive castle
sitting against the dark sky. There was torches rising up out of
the middle of each boat. The kids looked around nervously.
	"No more than four to a boat!" the giant instructed.
	Lily squeezed James' hand tighter. "But.. in Hogwarts, A
History, it said there was a giant squid in the lake!" she
whispered urgently, looking around at the quiet, still water.
	"They wouldn't put us in danger, Lily," James told her.
	Still unsure, Lily boarded the boat with James, Sirius and
another girl they hadn't met before. When all of the students had
boarded, the boats suddenly began moving by themselves. Lily,
frightened at first, began to look around at the castle and
surrounding land in awe. "That must be the Forbidden Forest!"
she squealed, pointing off towards a large patch of trees. "It's
said that there is werewolves, unicorns and all sorts of things
living in there."
	"We'll learn about them in Care of Magical Creatures next
year, I'd wager," said the girl none of them knew. When all heads
turned towards her, she grinned. "My name is Rachel Bones. What's
yours?"
	"Lily Evans," Lily said, reaching out to shake her hand.
	"James Potter."
	"Sirius Black."
	"Nice to meet you," Rachel said, looking up towards the
castle again. They were drifting into a large cave where they
could see a very stern looking witch standing by a staircase
waiting on them. "Well, here goes nothing. Good luck in the
sorting," she said as she stepped out of the boat.
	James, Sirius and Lily got out of the boat and stayed
back to wait for Peter and Remus. Together the five climbed
the stairs after the other first years, passing the giant who
was waving and saying "Good luck!" as they passed.
	They climbed three sets of stairs, coming to a stop at
the top of the third. "Can I have your attention please?" the
witch at the top said, causing everyone to quiet down. "Thank
you. My name is Professor McGonagall. Welcome to Hogwarts. In
just a few moments you will pass through these doors and enter
the Great Hall were you will be sorted into your houses. The
four houses are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin.
	"The house you are sorted into will become your home for
the next seven years. The students; your family. Your
accomplishments will win your house points, any rule breaking
will loose them. At the end of the year, the house with the
most points will win the House Cup, a very high honor. Now,
I will leave you for just a moment, when I return, we will
enter."
	As she walked away, Lily once more felt like she had
swallowed lead. The crowd of students around them began to
talk in excited whispers, telling each other the house they
hope to be in. Lily wasn't sure which house she wanted, but
hoped that she remained with James, Sirius, Peter and Remus.
	Suddenly someone in the back gasped loudly, causing
everyone to turn around. About ten feet away was a ghost
floating in mid air. He wore a rather old outfit with ruffles
around the sleeves, and neck. He grinned broadly at the
students. "Hello everyone!" he called. "How are you?"
	There was a mummer of "fine" from a couple of students,
but otherwise nothing. The ghost didn't seem upset by
it. On the contrary, he laughed heartily. "Don't fret!
I am Sir Nicholas de Mimsey-Porpington, Gryffindor ghost!"
	"Sir Nicholas..." Rachel Bones said incredibly, a
look of realization dawning on her face. "Nearly Headless
Nick?"
	This time the ghost did look upset. "Er, yes, but I
prefer Sir Nicholas, if you don't mind."
	Despite herself, curiosity took over Lily's mind and
she spoke. "Nearly Headless? But how?" Sirius poked Lily in
the shoulder, but she ignored him, looking expectantly at
the ghost.
	Sir Nicholas flew over to float before Lily, who now
thought to stand back, once more grabbing James' hand. "Like
this," he said and Lily suddenly gasped, as well as the
surrounding students, when he pulled his head to the side,
revealing his colorless spine and insides. His head was
barely being held on by a couple of inches of skin on the
left side. He popped his head back up.
	"Ugh," Lily whispered as he turned back around.
	"We're ready for you!" Professor McGonagall said from
the open doorway.
	The students proceeded through the doorway in sets,
looking around at the Great Hall. They were walking through
four large tables that seated the older students. At the
front was a long table that Lily presumed to be the staff
table, where the only adults in the room were sitting, save
Professor McGonagall, who was pulling out a long piece of
parchment.
	Lily craned her neck to see stare at the ceiling, which
indeed mimicked the sky outside. Bright stars twinkled back,
visible through a sea of lit candles floating in air.
	On a stool in front of the staff table was a rather
large, and really old wizard hat. As they stared, the brim
opened up and began to sing:

Many years ago four wizards with
powers greatly told, came together to
build a school where the youngest witches
and wizards could go.

Godric Gryffindor, brave, strong and true,
wanted his house to be full of young ones
that had his same values.

If you're not afraid to work hard at every
thing you do, then you'll be sorted into
Ravenclaw, because Rowena was like that, too.

The ones who value faithfulness above all
of the rest, will surely rest in Hufflepuff,
Helga said to me.

And last, but not least, those who are
sly and cunning, will have a place here, too.
Salazar Slytherin's house you'll go if
ambitiousness is for you.

But who to deem each student worthy after
their time was through? A sorting hat,
they declared, will carry on our dues!

So get up now, don't be shy. I'll find the
best place for you. Put me on your head and
I'll see which house you ought to be sorted
into!

	The hat bowed and the student body broke out into applause.
Lily, clapping, snickered to herself. She was about to put a
singing hat, that couldn't rhyme all that well, on her head.
She wondered what it would see in her.
	"Now, when I call your name, you will come to the front,
sit on the stool, and place the sorting hat on your head," Professor
McGonagall said, looking down the bridge of he nose at the parchment.
"Adams, Crystal!"
	A cubby girl walked nervously up the step to the sorting hat,
sat down and placed it on her head. The whole room was quiet until
suddenly the hat shouted, "RAVENCLAW!"
	The table to their left burst into applause. Smiling, the girl
ran over to sit at the table with the rest of the Ravenclaws.
	"Black, Sirius!" McGonagall cried.
	James slapped Sirius on the back, wishing him good luck as he
took off towards the front. Bravely he took the hat, sat down and
placed it on his head. Almost instantly it cried "GRYFFINDOR!"
	The far left table burst into applause as Sirius hurried to
join them, smiling broadly.
	"Bones, Rachel!"
	Lily squeezed her eyes closed nervously as James and Peter
chatted behind her. When she reopened her eyes, she noted that Peter
looked nearly white, as did Remus. "HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat roared.
	Another burst of applause, now from the table to their right.
	"Brown, Nick!"
	"GRYFFINDOR!"
	Lily watched as the table to the far left stood once more and
cheered as Nick Brown joined them.
	"Cannon, Michael!"
	"HUFFLEPUFF!"
	"Dobbs, Celeste!"
	"RAVENCLAW!"
	On and on it went as three more students went to Ravenclaw, three more
to Hufflepuff, two to Slytherin (who really looked as if they belonged
there by the sneers on their face) and three to Gryffindor.
	"Evans, Lily!"
	Lily felt fear nail her to the floor. James gave her a small push
and Lily found her feet guiding her towards the front of the Great Hall.
There was a pleasant looking man sitting in the middle of the staff table
that Lily guessed to be Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster. He had a gray
beard that was so long it disappeared under the table, and half moon
glasses half way down the bridge of his nose. He smiled her way as she
took the hat in her hands, sat on the stool and placed it on her head.
	For a second nothing happened, and then suddenly she could hear
a voice inside the hat. Or was it inside her head? "Hmmm... brave," it
said. "And smart, loyal, a longing for friends. Hufflepuff? No, no,
you also like adventure, trying new things. I know... GRYFFINDOR!" The
last part was screamed out to the hall and Lily grinned broadly.
	She took the hat off and nearly ran to join the table at the end
that had burst into applause as she got up. A few slapped her on the
back as she went, congratulating her.
	Lily sat down next to Sirius, still grinning, and looked up at
the table just as "Jones, Tim!" became a Ravenclaw.
	"Oh, I'm so glad I got in the same house as someone I know!" Lily
said excitedly to Sirius, applauding as "Johnson, Mark!" became another
Gryffindor.
	Four more went to Hufflepuff and five to Slytherin when Professor
McGonagall called, "Lupin, Remus!"
	For some reason, Lily noted, Professor Dumbledore looked more
interested to see where Remus ended up at. He leaned forward slightly as
Remus put the hat on his head and waited, swinging his feet nervously.
Suddenly the mouth of the hat opened and yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!"
	Sirius and Lily stood up, clapping and whistling as Remus came over
to join them. He looked breathless, but happy, as he sat down on Lily's
other side. Lily grinned from ear to ear, applauding politely as "Mann,
Olivia!" became a Ravenclaw.
	"Oh, I do hope James and Peter get Gryffindor, too!" Lily said as
she watched another student be placed in Slytherin. For some reason when
she mentioned Peter, Sirius looked worried.
	It seemed they didn't have long to wait to find out, for next
"Pettigrew, Peter!" was called up. Peter nearly tripped as he went up
and picked the hat up. His face was as white as Nearly Headless Nick's,
and his eyes wide. He shoved the hat over his head, his hands shaking.
	For a long minute nothing happened. Lily looked at Remus, who
looked just as confused as she was, and then to Sirius who was mumbling
something under his breath. Finally the hat's brim opened and yelled,
"GRYFFINDOR!"
	Sirius, Remus and Lily shot up, applauding as Peter stumbled
towards them, looking relived. Lily patted him on the back as he
sat next to Remus.
	"Potter, James!"
	Lily's attention was fixed on James as he walked coolly up to
the stool, took the hat, sat down and put it on his head. Almost
immediately it yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!"
	Lily's hands were numb from clapping, but she didn't care. She
also feared loosing the hearing in her left ear because Sirius was
whistling so loudly in it. James ran over to the table, sitting on
Sirius' other side, grinning.
	They hardly took notice as two more students were sorted into
Ravenclaw, another four into Hufflepuff and a whomping six in Slytherin,
including "Snape, Severus!"
	"Expected nothing less from a git like that," Sirius mumbled to
James just loud enough for Lily to hear.
	"Turpin, Lee!"
	"GRYFFINDOR!"
	"Valentine, Lisa!"
	"RAVENCLAW!"
	Finally, after two more were sorted into Gryffindor, three more
into Ravenclaw, two more into Hufflepuff and one more into Slytherin,
the sorting was over.
	Professor McGonagall took the sorting hat and stool away as the
Headmaster stood up, beaming around at all the tables. "Welcome to another
year at Hogwarts! I know you are all hungry, so we will eat before I
make this years announcements. As such, I have only four words for you
all; Cackle, Pimpet, Lattle, Rattle!"
	Lily had barely time to think what an odd assortment of words that
was when suddenly a huge feast appeared on the table. Every food one could
think of (as well as some Lily had no idea what they were) lined all four
tables. Lily, Sirius, James, Remus and Peter began piling food on their
plates, talking excitedly.
	"I can't believe we all got Gryffindor!" Lily said as she put a
spoon of mashed potatoes on her plate.
	"No kidding!" James replied, also filling his plate.
	Peter nodded his head as he took a huge bite off a chicken leg
and chewed.
	The Head Girl for Gryffindor, a seventh year, Molly Edwards, was
sited across from Lily. She was a plump girl, though not terribly
heavy, with deep red hair and freckles covering her nose. Next to her
was a fifth year, Frank Longbottom.
	Lily looked around at the staff table as she ate, noting there
was a ghost sitting at the end, looking rather sour. Raising an eye
brow, Lily swallowed. "Hey Molly, who is that ghost sitting at the
staff table?"
	James stopped his conversation with Mundungus Fletcher, a third
year, to listen as well.
	"Oh, that's Professor Binns, History of Magic. He's our only ghost
teacher. I heard that he fell asleep in the teacher's lounge, got up the
next morning and went to teach class, never realizing he died!" Molly
said matter of factly.
	"Did you know they planted a Whomping Willow this year?" Fletcher
said, catching the attention of Molly and Frank.
	"I bet Sprout loved that," Frank commented, taking a drink of
pumpkin juice.
	"Who's Sprout?" Sirius asked, confused.
	"Professor Sprout, Herbology," Fletcher supplied, pointing to a
plump witch at the staff table. "She's also head of Hufflepuff. Next
to her is Professor Flitwick, Charm's Teacher. He's head of Ravenclaw.
He's so short that he has to stand on a pile of books just to see his
students. Madam Hooch, she's the Flying teacher, and Professor Ricochet
is the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.
	"To his left is Professor Walsh, the Potions teacher. She's a mean
one, watch out for her. She's also head of Slytherin house. Sitting on
Professor Dumbledore's other side is Professor McGonagall, she's the new
transfiguration teacher and head of Gryffindor this year since Dumbledore
went to Headmaster and the other teacher was killed."
	"Killed!" Lily gasped, taking a second, longer look at the stern
witch that had done the sorting. "How'd it happen?"
	"It was You-Know-Who," Molly said darkly, putting her fork down.
	"Actually, I don't know," Lily replied, giving a confused glance
around.
	"His name is Voldemort," Sirius said, James nodding beside him.
"And should be called by his name." Half the table suppressed shutters.
	"He's a Dark Wizard, a very strong one at that," James continued
when Lily looked no more informed than before. "He started gaining power
about last year, got a bunch of followers that call themselves Death Eaters,"
he said quietly.
	"Can't someone stop him?" Lily asked, her eyes wide.
	"Many have tried, but all have failed. He's killed anyone who
tries, their families, too," Molly said, looking scared. "Arthur joined
the Ministry, and he said that it's not looking good."
	"Who's Arthur?" Remus asked.
	"Arthur Weasley, he graduated last year," Fletcher said. "Molly
and him are engaged, aren't you?" he asked Molly, who's face turned as
red as her hair.
	Lily smiled, taking a bite of chicken. Her stomach quivered at
the talk of this Dark Lord. How many wizards had went bad?

	When they had all finished with their dinner, the plates magically
cleaned themselves, replaced by every kind of desert Lily could think
of. They all ate until they couldn't eat another bite.
	When everyone had finished, the plates suddenly cleaned themselves
again, sparkling like they had when they had first sat down. Again Albus
Dumbledore got to his feet, blue eyes sparkling.
	"For those of you who know the rules and so forth, I ask that
you be patient while I review some things for our new students and then
add some notices for our returning ones.
	"The Forbidden Forest at the edge of our property is just as the
name suggests: forbidden. I ask new students to be sure to stay clear
of that area, as well as remind some old ones of that rule." Here he
glanced towards the Gryffindor table and Lily heard Fletcher clear his
throat. "Our caretaker, Mr. Adams, has asked me to remind you that no
magic should be performed in the corridors between classes. Anyone who
would like to play Quidditch this year should contact Madam Hooch, as
usual.
	"Now, this year we have something new. A Whomping willow has been
planted on our grounds. I ask that you do not attempt to go near it,
unless you wish to loose several limbs." He smiled lively around, though
Lily could hear a couple of students gulp. "Let's have a good year, shall
we?" With that he sat back down, cueing the Prefects and Head Boy and
Girl to escort their houses to the dormitories.
	"Follow me, please!" Molly called to the first years, motioning
them out into the hall. They walked along side the Hufflepuffs down
a couple of halls until they came to a room full of stairs. Lily stared
up, but couldn't see the ceiling, although some of the cases were moving.
"Gryffindors this way!"
	"Hufflepuffs this way!" called a boy Lily recognized from the train.
She heard someone say his name was Amos Diggory.
	They followed Molly up three sets of stairs to the left as the
Hufflepuffs went off the to right. Lily stared around as they passed
moving paintings, some waving and others sleeping. They turned a corner
and a loud, squally voice seemed to vibrate off the walls. "Look! It's
inkle winkle first years!"
	Molly stopped dead, causing some of the students behind her to
knock into one another. Floating in the air before them was a short
little man with wild hair. He zoomed upside down for a moment, sticking
his tongue out. Molly pulled her wand out, looking threateningly at
the creature. "Peeves, please move out of our way."
	"Hmmm, no!" Peeves shouted, spraying Molly with a wet raspberry.
"Can't make me, no!" he laughed shrilly.
	"What is that?" Lily whispered to the girl standing beside her,
trying not to draw any attention to herself.
	"It's Peeves the Poltergeist, he is always causing trouble some-
where," she whispered back.
	"Peeves, I'll tell the Bloody Baron, I will!" Molly shouted,
looking angry.
	Peeves seemed to rethink his situation for a second. "No fun,
ole' Molly Golly Lolly. No fun at all!" he sang, bouncing off the
ceiling and walls as he disappeared down the hall. Molly let out a
deep breath and began walking again.
	Just when Lily thought they'd never stop climbing stairs, they
came to a stop in front of a large portrait of a lady wearing a pink
frilly dress. She smiled at the first years, before saying in a very
thick English accent, "Password?"
	"Flabergoat," Molly said loudly so that the students in the back
could hear. "Remember that, or you won't be able to get into our
common room," she warned as the picture opened and she climbed through
a hole.
	"Like we'll ever find our way back up here again, anyways," Sirius
muttered.
	Slowly all the first years climbed in, moving to the back of the
room. "Welcome to the Gryffindor common room," a prefect named Tom Mead
said as they all crowded in. "The girl's dormitories are up the stairs
to the right, the boys the same on your left. First years names are on
the doors."
	Lily bid good night to Remus, Sirius, Peter and James as she climbed
up the stairs to the right and found a door half way up with her name on
it. She pushed it open, seeing another girl with shoulder length brown
hair already sitting on the bed to the left of a large window.
	Lily found her trunk at the end of one of the five four-poster
beds next to the other girls. "Hi! I'm Alexis Wells, what's your name?"
	"Lily Evans," Lily replied, shaking the offered hand.
	"Nice to meet you," she smiled, taking out a gown from her trunk.
"I'm so happy to be in Gryffindor, is it where you wanted to be?"
	"Yes," Lily answered, also sliding a gown over her head.
	Just then the door opened and a set of identical twins came in,
followed by a short girl. The twins, Gabrielle and Kathleen, were the
most identical twins Lily had ever seen. They wore the same clothes,
had the same hair style and Lily soon found out, ended each other's
sentences.
	The last of her dorm mates was also muggle born, like Lily.
Unlike Lily, though, she didn't have Sirius, James, Remus and Peter
to explain everything to her. She looked around like a frightened
rabbit at the other four girls. She tried to open her trunk, struggling
for a minute while Gabrielle and Kathleen talked to Alexis.
	"Is it stuck?" Lily asked in what she hoped was a friendly way,
making her way over to the girl. Said girl jumped slightly when Lily
approached her and nodded.
	Lily tried to open it, but to no avail. Biting her lip, she
suddenly had an idea. "Hold on," she said, going to her own trunk
and getting out her wand. The other three girls stopped talking to
watch her. "Alohomora," Lily said, praying she said it right.
The trunk snapped open.
	"Thank you!" the girl breathed, looking up at Lily in awe. Lily
flushed, putting her wand away.
	"Where'd you learn that?" Gabrielle asked, breaking the silence.
	Lily shrugged, pulling her covers back. "Standard Book of Spells,
chapter seven."
	"Cool," Kathleen said, Alexis nodding beside her. "What's your
name?" she asked of the muggle born girl.
	"Ma-Madison," the girl said, looking nervous again.
	Alexis smiled at her. "My name is Alexis, this is Kathleen and
Gabrielle, or maybe the other way around. Who knows?" she laughed.
"And that is Lily."
	"Hi," Lily said, smiling. "You're muggle born, aren't you?" Lily
asked. Madison's face paled as she nodded. "Don't worry, I am, too.
If you have any questions, you can ask me, ok? I have some friends who
explained a lot to me."
	"You can ask any of us," Gabrielle added.
	"We don't mind," Kathleen said.
	"Anytime," Alexis added, climbing into her bed. "After a good
night's sleep, that is."
	Madison laughed, looking relived to know she wasn't the only
muggle born, and that perhaps it wasn't as bad as she was thinking.
Soon they all climbed into their beds, pulling the curtains around.
	Lily laid awake for some time, thinking about her day. It
certainly was different than her other schools. She seemed to belong
here. With a smile on her face, she fell asleep.

--End Chapter 2.