From The Beginning Till The End

Lily woke up at six in the morning on the day of departure. She was feeling thrilled over the fact that she's a witch and going off to Hogwarts. Looking out of the window, she started thinking about her past, her present and a little of her future in school. I'm going to be in Hogwarts until Christmas break. It's wonderful to escape from Petunia. But I'll miss mum and dad although it's only going to be three months. She had this excitement in her ever since she received the letter from Hogwarts over a month ago. I'm going to meet Arabella and Stefanie at King's Cross in five hours time. I just can't wait to see them and get far away from Petunia. Lily smiled at her thought.

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Arabella had bid her headmistress and friends from the orphanage goodbye the day before. She had hugged Celeste tightly, her best friend there since young. Most girls had gone a little teary since everyone would be going on their separate ways and Arabella was the first to leave. This would be the first time she was leaving the orphanage. I'm going to miss everyone here so much. All of us seem to be heading to a new boarding school to study. I probably might not even be coming back here again. At least I have Lily and Stefanie now. A tear flowed down her cheek as she sat on the swing at the playground, looking at the small but cozy little building. Four more hours and I'll be gone from here. Away from the place I know as home. Will it be forever?

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Remus was eating his breakfast alone in the huge dining hall. The house-elves, his regular companions since he did not have any friends, had served him his favorite breakfast dish. His parents had just come by to say goodbye with kisses and hugs just before they Apparated to work. I simply can't wait to go to Hogwarts. It's so boring here. And I'm lonely. No friends. Anyway, who would want to befriend a werewolf? Remus thought sadly. James and Sirius. Suddenly, impulsively, he had an idea. He ran upstairs to his room and wrote a letter to them. My friends. Half excited, half worried, he looked at the bedroom clock. It had just stroked nine. His house had many Muggle objects since his parents had done much research on Muggles when they had started working for the Ministry.

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James had spent the night at Sirius's house. He was lying on Sirius's king-sized four-poster bed. His blue-eyed friend was still sleeping soundly beside him. His parents were away for meetings again. I would rather have a father not working in the ministry. At least now that I've Sirius... It's so lonely at home. My parents said goodbye to me a week ago. Which set of parents bid their son a week before they leave?!? Well, but I know I'm going to have the most wonderful seven years at Hogwarts. I don't miss my home at all. I won't.

Tap, tap, tap. A light brown owl from Remus interrupted his thoughts. Since Sirius did not even stir in his sleep, he had to drag himself over to the owl.

The owl's wings fluttered slightly in surprise.

"Wake up guys!" Stefanie barged into Sirius's room without knocking. She was still in her pajamas but she looked very awake for ten in the morning.

"Morning James," Stefanie greeted and then to Sirius, "Time to go!" She was pulling and dragging her twin out of bed.

"Five more minutes," murmured Sirius. He turned and took a pillow to cover his ears. Stefanie jumped onto the bed and began pulling and pushing him. Finally Sirius gave up; he knew that Stefanie would never let up until he got out of bed fully.

"Okay... okay!" complained a sleepy Sirius as he was pushed towards his bathroom. What have I done to deserve a sister like this?

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It was ten forty-five and Mrs. Black had dropped all the three kids at King Cross station. James and Sirius had left Stefanie alone to wait for her friends at Platform 9¾

Lily and Arabella spotted Stefanie as soon as the boys left. They exchanged warm greetings and Stefanie led her two friends to a brick wall. She informed them that to get to the platform, they would have to cross that barrier.

"We are going to walk into the wall?" Lily asked incredulously.

"Yup, the guys had walked in already. No problem. We'll walk in together, okay?" Stefanie comforted but she was not too sure herself.

The next thing they saw was a scarlet steam engine waiting next to a platform packed with a lot of people and animals. Their eyes paused to look at the great clock. Ten more minutes to eleven.

The three girls climbed up into the train and found that it was already rather packed. They walked through the compartments until they reached the last one.

"What are you doing here?" Sirius asked as the three girls walked in and settled at the seats across them.

"Why can't I be here? I don't see your name in gold written anywhere in here," Stefanie retorted.

No introduction was made or whatsoever. Lily and James shared a quick glance and they turned back to their friends.

The guys started playing a game of Exploding Snap while Stefanie was telling Lily and Arabella about what she knew about Hogwarts and all things magical.

After several more games and the train had started moving, James, Sirius and Remus sat closer together to discuss some upcoming pranks. The three of them had filled half their trunks with prankster supplies for the whole year. Remus had suggested a quick prank on the train in the letter that morning and they were thinking how to go about doing it.

The three boys then took some stuff from their trunks, hid them in their pockets and walked out of the compartment. The girls noticed but ignored them completely and carried on with their conversation. The next moment, chaos erupted from the other compartments. Clattering of feet and some screams were heard.

The boys rushed back in and closed the compartment door quickly. They burst into giggles hysterically.

"What did you guys do this time?" Stefanie asked with a tone of annoyance.

"Nothing much. Just set some Dungbombs in some of the compartments. That's all." Sirius grinned and the three began to laugh again. The chaos died down after an hour or so. Nothing exciting happened after that.

A prefect came in and advised them to change into their robes. The girls chased the guys out of the compartment. They changed quickly and let the boys have their turn.

The train slowed down and finally came to a stop.

"Firs'-years! Follow me!" a gigantic man with long shaggy mane of hair and wild, tangled beard, shouted over the crowd of students.

The first-years stood in awe at the humongous castle with many turrets and towers. However, they had to cross the lake, which was commonly known as the Black Lake to get to the castle first. They quickly climbed into the boats. Sirius got onto the same boat with the three girls while James and Remus shared the same boat with two boys. One had peculiarly silver hair while the other had black hair that looked greasy at close range. Later, James, Remus, and Sirius came to know that the boys were Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape, respectively.

Sirius winked at James and in approximately five seconds, splashing sounds were heard.

Sirius had pushed the three girls into the lake while James on the other boat with Remus had pushed Lucius and Severus into the lake.

Chaos began to spread among the first years. They were chattering excitedly and were looking over to see what happened. Another boy, Frank Longbottom, fell into the lake as well as he looked to investigate what had just befallen the girls.

Hagrid had taken quite a bit of time to fish everyone out from the lake and calm the first-years. James, Sirius and Remus stifled a small giggle. The shivering girls and the two boys were glaring at them.

Finally, they reached the castle. A tall, black-haired witch with a stern face was waiting for them at the door. She made a short speech before leading them into the grand hall for sorting.

Lily and Arabella were feeling rather nervous about the sorting. No matter how much Stefanie tried to calm them down, it hadn't been successful. The boys certainly did not help as they added more fabricated details about fighting dragons and knowing spells.

Lily and Arabella exchanged a fearful look. Those who had fallen into the lake were shivering. The stern-faced witch, who introduced herself as Professor McGonagall, came into the Great Hall carrying an old tattered-looking hat. Soon the sorting hat started to sing.

After Sirius and Stefanie were sorted into Gryffindor, Lily was hoping that she would be with her friend too. "Evans, Lily," McGonagall called. Lily went up and sat down nervously. Please put me in Gryffindor. Please put me in Gryffindor...

"GRYFFINDOR!!!" announced the hat. Phew. She walked towards the cheering Gryffindor table to join Stefanie and her brother. Arabella and Remus were sorted into Gryffindor as well. Sirius was giving a high-five to Remus as the boy came down to join them.

"Potter, James."

James walked up, not nervously but anxiously. His only two friends were in Gryffindor. Put me in Gryffindor, please. The sorting hat seemed to be reading James's mind as a small voice was saying that he would do great in Slytherin. I only want to go Gryffindor. He prayed silently.

"GRYFFINDOR!!!" exclaimed the sorting hat. He got up quickly, walked towards Sirius and Remus, and started high-fiving with each other.

Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster, gave a quick speech after the sorting and then the food appeared suddenly on the empty plates in front of them. Lily and Arabella looked amazed by that but started eating. James and Sirius were soon stuffing their face with food, looking as though they had not eaten in days.

After the banquet, the Headmaster made some quick announcements and then they had to sing the school song. They followed their prefects namely Arthur Weasley and Molly Johnson up to the Gryffindor tower.

"Chocolate Frog," Arthur said to the portrait of a fat lady in pink dress. Then he turned to the students looking curiously at him. With a wink, he said, "That's the password."

The portrait swung open and revealed a room with red and golden tapestry. The two prefects gathered the first-years and gave them a short briefing. They the boys went through the door on the left and the girls went through the door on the right to their dormitory.

Introductions were made in the dormitory of five girls and all of them washed up quickly. It had been a long day after all.

Lily was lying in her bed, deep in thoughts. What a day it is. I'm a witch. Oh my god! I've trouble believing that myself. Well, I can't wait for the days to come. Hmmm... that guy named James is actually quite cute. She smiled at the thought and soon fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

At the other side of the tower, James was lying in his bed, eyes closed. He was about to doze off when a face sprang into his mind. Lily Evans. What a sweet name. She seems nice too. But nah... girls are just girls. Within minutes, he fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

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