Mudbloods and Monsters

Mudbloods and Monsters

"Give that back!" yelled Lily Evans as Marge Dursley held Lily's copy of Emma out of her reached. Lily's older sister, Petunia stood there with her boyfriend who was Marge's brother, Vernon, laughing. Tears filled Lily's eyes. How could her sister let this happen? Lily finally was overcome with rage and kicked Marge in her pudgy shin.

"Lily, you little brat!" yelled Petunia as Marge shoved Lily to the ground.

"Are you alright, Marge?" asked Vernon.

"I'm fine. This little runt can't hurt me," answered Marge who glared at Lily as though she were some horrible insect that needed to be squashed. "I think I'll just tear up this dratted book." As Marge was about to rip the book apart, Lily screamed.

"No!" And then something happened that shocked the four of them. The book flew out of Marge's fat fist. It soared about twenty feet before it came down and landed in Lily's lap.

"What the...?" said Vernon.

"Let's get away from this freak," said Marge and the two Dursley siblings waddled down the street as fast as they could.

"LILY," screamed Petunia outraged. "LILY!" Petunia was at a loss for words. She turned on her heals and ran after the Dursley's. Lily just sat on the ground dumbstruck. How had she gotten her novel away from Marge?

"Wow, that was really something!" came a voice from behind Lily. She turned around to see that the speaker was a boy of about fifteen or sixteen. He was accompanied by two girls who were the same age.

"Are you alright?" asked one of the girls as she held out a hand to help Lily up.

"Fine," Lily answered as she brushed off her skirt. "The Dursleys just think they own this town."

"There's too many families like that around," commented the second girl.

"Would you like us to take you home?" asked the first girl.

"No, that's okay," said Lily. "I live right here." She pointed to the house directly in front of them.

"The way you made that book fly out of that cow's hand really was amazing," said the boy.

"I don't even know how I did it," said Lily.

"What's your name?" asked the first girl.

"Lily Evans."

"Well, Lily it's nice to meet you. I'm Veronica McKinnon." Veronica held out her hand and Lily shook it. "These are my friends Arabella Fennigan and Teddy Figg."

"Nice to meet all of you," said Lily.

"Well, we must be going," said Veronica. "But I expect we'll be meeting again very soon." She gave Lily a wink and left with her two companions. Lily stared after the trio. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she felt a kinship with them for some reason.

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Sirius Black, James Potter, and Annie Spinnet spent the afternoon zooming around on their brooms. Flying seemed to ease their nerves. Any day now their acceptance letters to Hogwarts would be arriving. They had all managed to do accidental magic so they knew that they would be getting letters, but were on edge all the same.

All three children came from old wizarding families. It was very frustrating for them to be surrounded by magic and not be allowed to practice it. Annie was looking forward to meeting other girls she could talk to. She loved hanging around with James and Sirius, but they were boys; at times she felt like a third wheel. There were just some things she couldn't talk to them about. Annie had always preferred the company of James and Sirius to the other girls in the area because they were more fun. She was not as concerned about make-up and jewelry as other girls her age, this made her different. As much as she hated pink, she was still a girl, this fact made her different from Sirius and James. She needed someone who was like her.

"Nice flying," called Teddy Figg. Annie, Sirius, and James all dove to the ground and landed in front of Teddy, Arabella, and Veronica.

"Madam Hooch'll be impressed," said Veronica.

"Think you'll play quidditch for Gryffindor?" asked Arabella.

'If we ever get our letters," said Sirius.

"Don't worry about it," said Teddy. "They never arrive until July anyway."

"Hey, we think we met one of your future classmates," said Arabella brightly.

"Oh?" asked James curiously.

"Yeah," said Veronica. "There's this muggle born girl who lives a few blocks from Teddy. She was being bullied by a couple of fat gits. One of them took her book and she made it fly out of the cow's hand."

"Cool," said Annie. "A natural at disarming."

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It was about four in the morning as Derek Lupin tiptoed into his parents' home. He had gotten some time off work and decided to pay his family a surprise visit. He thought about waking Remus up. Derek knew that his little brother had been feeling a bit depressed recently. Remus had just turned eleven a few weeks ago. This was the year he was supposed to start his formal wizard training, but a werewolf was not likely to be allowed to attend Hogwarts. It wasn't fair. Remus was a victim, not a monster. The Lupins had not known that their neighbor, Samuel Faulkner was a werewolf until Remus was attacked. One of Samuel's old enemies had decided to let him out one night. He bit Remus and hung himself two days later.

Derek peeked into Remus' bedroom and saw that it was empty. "Tonight was the full moon," Derek reminded himself. He found it strange that his parents were not up yet. The moon had set. Derek crept out to the shed where his baby brother was locked once a month.

"Alohomora," he whispered pointing his wand at the lock. It sprang open. Remus was curled up in the bloody sheets. Derek quickly moved to his brother's side. He began to gently clean and bandage his brother's wounds. Remus let out a small groan. He opened his eyes and looked up to see his big brother standing over him.

"Derek?" Remus whispered in a hoarse voice.

"Sshhh, Remus, you've had a rough night."

"What're you doing here?"

"Visiting you," Derek replied as he gathered Remus gently in his arms and started to carry him to the house. As he reached the door, he heard a horrified gasp from outside.

"Stephen!" Tabitha Lupin's voice traveled into the shack.

"Oh, God!" Derek heard his father say. Remus had passed out in his arms.

"Mum, Dad, it's me," Derek said in a loud whisper so not to wake Remus. His parents rushed into the shed.

"Oh, Derek, thank Merlin!" Tabitha exclaimed. "When we saw the door open we thought..." She gave a dry sob.

"Sorry, Mum," said Derek. "I didn't mean to give you a fright. I got a few days off work and decided to pay you a surprise visit."

"It's alright, Derek. We're always glad to see you." Tabitha kissed her oldest son on the cheek.

"Let's get Remus to the house," said Stephen. Derek and Tabitha nodded in agreement and the Lupins set off for their house.

At breakfast an owl arrived carrying a letter addressed to Remus. Derek recognized the Hogwarts crest on the seal.

"Mum, Dad, look at this," said Derek as he showed the letter to his parents.

"Stephen, it came!" Tabitha exclaimed.

"What's going on?" asked Derek.

"We spoke to Albus Dumbledore," Tabitha explained. "He's agreed to let Remus attend Hogwarts."

"I always liked that man," said Derek. Professor Dumbledore had been one of Derek's favorite teachers. Dumbledore became Headmaster a year before Derek graduated.

"We haven't told Remus yet," said Stephen. "We didn't want him to be disappointed if Dumbledore hadn't agreed"

"I knew he would agree," said Tabitha. "Dumbledore would never let anyone with talent go without an education."

"We'll give Remus his letter when he wakes up," said Stephen.

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As Lily sat at the breakfast table with her parents, a beautiful Tawny owl flew into the window and landed right in front of Lily causing her to drop her glass of orange juice. Her father spilled his coffee all over himself, but her mother remained calm. In fact, Lily swore that her mother looked pleased to see the owl. The beautiful bird held out his leg. There was a letter addressed to Lily tied to it. Her hands trembled as she reached to untie the letter.

Dear Miss Evans,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been

Accepted at Hogwarts School of witchcraft and Wizardry.

"Mum." Lily handed the letter to her mother.

"Greg," Rose Evans exclaimed. "We have a witch in the family. Isn't it wonderful!" Lily's father looked thoughtfully at the letter for a moment and smiled.

Witch, Lily thought. Why does mum seem to know what this letter is all about?

"Mother! That isn't wonderful, it's terrible," shrieked Petunia who had just entered the room.

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"We're all very pleased to meet you, Remus," said Professor Dumbledore. His eyes twinkled. "May I introduce Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Rubeus Hagrid, and Nurse Pomfrey?"

Remus shook their hands. "I'm pleased to meet all of you," he said shyly. Remus' parents and his older brother were beaming. Remus could not remember a time when there were so many guests in his home. It was also a new experience to have people outside of his family who knew that he was a werewolf and not look at him with the utmost revulsion.

"As long as certain precautions are taken," said Professor Dumbledore. "There is no reason why you should be denied your right to become a fully trained wizard.

"Thank you, sir," said Remus as he fidgeted nervously.

"We're certain you'll make a great wizard," squeaked Professor Flitwick. Remus grinned at him. He couldn't help but like the tiny professor.

"Madam Pomfrey will take care of you after your transformations. You couldn't be in better hands," said Professor Dumbledore.

"We look forward to having you at Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall with a smile.

"T'ain't no place finer," said Hagrid. "No place in the world. No finer Headmaster neither." Hagrid was a rather large and fierce looking man, but Remus was not afraid of him.

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Lily sat on her front porch reading her letter over and over again. People had always said that there was something different about her, but she had never imagined that the something different was her being a witch. She felt both excited and nervous. Maybe Hogwarts would be the place where she'd finally fit in. On the other hand, Lily knew nothing about magic. Did she have any right to go to Hogwarts?

"So you did get a letter," said a voice from the front yard interrupting Lily's train of thought. Lily looked up startled. She saw that the speaker was Teddy Figg.

"So this is what Veronica meant when she said she'd be seeing me soon," said Lily holding up her letter. Teddy nodded with a grin. "Er-could I ask you a few questions about magic?"

"Fire away," answered Teddy. Lily patted the seat next to her on the porch swing and Teddy came up and sat down. Lily racked her brains for a question.

"Well what' Hogwarts like?" Teddy looked thoughtful for a moment and then began to answer.

"It's a castle, about 1000 years old. Well, it was supposedly founded 1000 years ago by two witches and two wizards. The four houses are named after them."

"Houses?"

"Yeah, the students are sorted into one of the four houses. There's Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and..." Teddy made a disgusted face. "Slytherin."

"What's wrong with Slytherin?"

"They're a lot of bullying gits. Well, a few of them are alright. Some people say that there's not a witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. I'm sure that's not completely true, but after some of the experiences I've had with them, I can see why people say that."

"Which house are you in?" asked Lily.

"Gryffindor," Teddy answered with a grin.

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Derek had insisted that he go with Remus to pick out his wand at Olivander's. He felt that it was his brotherly duty to be there. After what felt like ages, Remus left the shop with a ten inch ebony wand containing a phoenix feather. He never thought he'd own a wand.

"Derek? Derek Lupin?" Derek turned to see one of his old school friends, Philip Mahoney. Remus recognized him from his occasional visits to the Lupin home.

"Phil, it's nice to see you again," said Derek.

"Want to join me for a drink?" asked Philip.

"Will you be alright getting fitted for your robes by yourself?" Derek asked Remus.

"I'll be fine," Remus answered and walked into Madam Malkin's.

"Hogwarts, Dear?" asked Madam Malkin as Remus entered.

"Yes," answered Remus.

"Right this way," she said and lead Remus back to a room where a boy with round glasses and untidy black hair also waited. Madam Malkin took Remus' measurements and left the room. The black haired boy grinned at Remus. Remus smiled back shyly.

"First year?" asked the boy.

"Yep, you?"

"Yep. James Potter. Pleased to meet you." James held out his hand and Remus shook it.

"Remus Lupin."

"Are you related to Derek Lupin?"

"He's my brother."

"He's a legend!" said James. "My neighbors, Veronica and Arabella talk about him a lot." There was an awkward pause.

"Cool," Remus said breaking the silence.

"So...are your friends from primary school coming to Hogwarts too?" asked James. Remus felt the color leave his cheeks.

"I-er-didn't go to primary school," Remus stammered. "My family moved out to the country when I was four." James looked a little embarrassed.

"I'm sorry," said James. "I didn't mean to..."

"Forget it," said Remus with what he hoped was a winning smile. There was an odd expression on James' face. It was a mixture of concern and pity.

"Which house d'ya think you'll be in?" asked James. Remus shrugged.

"My parents and my brother were all in Gryffindor."

"My Parents were in Gryffindor too," said James. "They expect me to get into Gryffindor. What about your parents?" Remus merely grinned in response. James returned the grin. Remus was fairly certain that his parents did not care which house he was put in to. They were thrilled that he was going to Hogwarts at all. Madam Malkin entered carrying two packages. She handed one to each boy. The both handed her some gold and left the store together.

"Where are you headed next?" James asked Remus.

"Dunno," said Remus. "I have my wand and my parents picked up my books and supplies for me."

"Let's check out Quality Quidditch Supplies," said James. "I want to get a look at the new Silver Arrow."

"Alright," said Remus. He was not used to interacting with other children his age, but he was glad for the experience.

"BOO!" someone shouted from behind the two boys causing them to drop their packages.

"Sirius, you prat," said James with a grin. Remus looked up to see a black haired boy with a mischievous grin.

"I am the king of prats," Sirius declared proudly. "You'll do well to remember that, James."

"Remus, may I introduce you to the king of prats, Sirius Black. Sirius, this is Remus Lupin," said James.

"Not Derek Lupin's brother?" Sirius exclaimed. Remus nodded. "I am humbled in your presence, good sir," said Sirius as he shook Remus' hand vigorously. Remus couldn't help laughing.

"Where are you two off to," asked Sirius.

"Quality Quidditch Supplies," said James. Sirius slung one arm around each boy.

"Sounds like a jolly good time, chaps. Let's proceed, shall we?" Sirius said as James rolled his eyes at Remus. Remus grinned more broadly than he had grinned since he had been bitten. He decided that he liked meeting new people. He liked James and Sirius. The three boys walked down the street to Quality Quidditch Supplies where they were greeted by a girl their age with long, dark brown hair. She waved eagerly at them.

"Hi James, hi Sirius," she called. She was standing outside of a small circle of people who seemed very interested in something.

"Hey Annie," said James as the trio reached her. "Remus, this is our neighbor, Annie Spinnet. Annie, this is Remus Lupin." Annie grinned and held out her hand for Remus to shake. Remus smiled and shook her hand.

"You poor thing," said Annie.

"Huh?" asked Remus.

"Well, you seem like such a nice boy. I hope you're not in over your head with these two prats."

"I suppose I should be honored to be in the presence of the king of the prats," said Remus nodding his head toward Sirius. Sirius snickered and patted Remus on the back.

"Clever this one is," he said.

"What's going on here, Annie?" asked James.

"Oh Veronica ran into Ben Prewett again," said Annie.

"Great!" said Sirius. "Free entertainment!" The four children squeezed into the circle.

"Think you'll manage to stay on your broom this year, McKinnon?" asked a sandy haired boy of about fifteen whom Remus assumed to be Ben Prewett.

"Think you'll manage to catch the snitch, Prewett?" the McKinnon girl replied.

"I'll see you on the field, McKinnon," said Ben.

"I'm sure you will, Prewett, but you'll never see the snitch," Veronica McKinnon replied with a grin as she stuck her nose up in the air in a mock fashion.

"They're smitten with each other, those two," a fifteen-year-old girl whispered to Annie. They both giggled. Remus was confused. He had very little social experience but he was quite certain that people who argued were not smitten with each other. "I don't believe I've met your fair-haired companion, Annie," the girl said indicating Remus.

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"I'll be picking up your books while you're getting fitted for your robes, Lily. Will you be alright?" asked Rose.

"I'll be fine, Mum," Lily answered.

"We'll meet at that ice cream shop over there," said Rose pointing at Florean Fortescue's. Lily nodded.

"Hogwart's, dear?" asked a woman whom Lily correctly assumed to be Madam Malkin. Lily nodded. The woman led her back to a fitting room where a blonde-haired girl Lily's age stood. Lily thought that the girl would have been very pretty if it weren't for the fact that she looked like there was pig dung under her nose.

"Hi," said the girl.

"Hi," said Lily smiling nervously.

"First year?"

"Uh-Huh, you?"

"Yes. I'm getting fitted while mother and father buy my books and supplies, then I have to got pick up my wand," the girl said haughtily.

"I just got my wand," said Lily proudly. She pulled it out of her pocket. "Ten and a quarter inches, willow. Mr. Ollivander said it's excellent for charm work."

"That's nice," said the girl absent-mindedly. "So which house do you think you'll be in?"

Lily thought for a moment. She remembered her conversation with Teddy. "Gryffindor," she answered.

"Gryffindor?" answered the girl twisting her face with disgust. "That was Dumbledore's house. Can you believe the riffraff he admits?" The girl was really beginning to remind Lily of Petunia. "I'm going to be in Slytherin, I just know it." Lily remembered all the things Teddy had told her about the Slytherins and was beginning to believe them.

"What's your name," Lily asked.

"Narcissa Cross," the girl answered. "And you?"

"Lily Evans." Narcissa looked utterly repulsed.

"I've never heard of the Evans'. You're a Mudblood!" Narcissa declared. Lily remembered what Teddy had told her about the attitudes some pureblood wizards had toward muggle born witches and wizards. She decided that she wasn't going to cower. She had been bullied enough in her life.

"That's right," said Lily. "You've been talking to a Mudblood." Just as Narcissa was about to respond, Madam Malkin returned with a package for Narcissa who took it and ran as if she was afraid of catching a deadly disease. Lily doubled over with laughter. Teddy had been right, people with prejudices were not worth knowing.

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"Remus, where have you been? We've been looking all over for you!" said Derek causing Remus to jump. He looked up to see his parents standing behind his brother looking very worried.

"Wow, Derek Lupin!" said Sirius.

"Stephen? Stephen Lupin. Why I haven't heard from you in years!" said Joseph Potter, James' father. Remus felt the colour leave his cheeks. For a moment he could have sworn he saw James out of the corner of he eye noticing, but then he was certain he'd imagined it. Before Stephen could reply to Joseph's greeting, a scream came from the direction of Madam Malkin's.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" came a girl's voice.

"Go back to where you came from, Mudblood!"

"Oh, no," groaned Teddy. "Malfoy." The small group of students and parents hurried in the direction of the shouting. Remus saw a tall, blonde, rat-faced boy a few years older than he was holding a package above a short, red headed girl in a taunting manner. A blonde-haired girl stood off to the side with her arms folded across her chest and a satisfied sneer on her face.

"What d'you think you're doing, Malfoy?" demanded Veronica.

"Why McKinnon," said Malfoy. "Still standing up for Mudbloods, I see. Honestly no one would ever know you're a pureblood. There are too many people like you who would just let the wizard community get tainted with Mudblood."

"At least muggle born witches and wizards earn what they get on pure talent. You just don't like them because they're competition. Maybe if you actually worked a little instead of living off your "old family" name, your father would have to buy everything for you like oh say...your spot on the quidditch team." said Veronica. Two boulder sized teenagers stepped forward. Malfoy held up his and they stopped.

"You'll want to be more polite, McKinnon," said Malfoy. "Or else..."

"Or else what?" asked Ben Prewett stepping forward.

"You really shouldn't meddle in other people affairs, Prewett," said Malfoy.

"You'd better watch what you say, Malfoy," said Ben. "You're outnumbered here, Malfoy." Malfoy looked around at the group that had been watching the scene. He gestured sourly to his companions, thrust Lily's package at her and left.

"I didn't need your help, Prewett," said Veronica through gritted teeth. "I can take care of myself."

"Fine, McKinnon, just...fine!" Teddy couldn't come up with anything better to say. He stormed off angrily.

"Lily! Oh God! Lily! Are you alright?" asked a hysterical woman who was rushing toward the red headed girl. With her red hair and green eyes, Remus deducted that the woman was Lily's mother.

"I'm fine, Mum," said Lily who was brushing tears from her eyes.

"Mrs. Evans," said Teddy. "I'm so sorry about that. Most wizards aren't like the Malfoys."

"That's quite alright, Teddy," said Mrs. Evans. :There are plenty of muggle with the same attitudes."

"Are you really alright, Lily?" asked Veronica.

"I'm, okay, really. Thanks for standing up for me."

"Any time," said Veronica with a kind smile.

"Ready to go home, Mum?" asked Lily.

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"Are you sure you feel up to going, today?" Stephen Lupin asked his son on the morning of September 1^st. The full moon had been only a few days before and Remus still looked pale and exhausted. He had been rather quiet since the trip to Diagon Alley several weeks before.

"I'm fine, Dad," Remus answered shortly still staring at the table.

"What's wrong, darling," Tabitha asked caressing her son's cheek gently. Remus looked up, his eyes over bright.

"That day in Diagon Alley Mr. Potter said that he hadn't heard from you in ages. You've had to cut yourselves off from the world because of me, haven't you?"

Stephen and Tabitha looked at each other as though trying to figure out a good response. When words failed them, Tabitha simply wrapped her arms around her son and began rocking him back and forth.

"You've sacrificed everything because I had to go and get myself bitten. You're practically outcasts now because of me," Remus sobbed into his mother's robes. Stephen stood up and walked around the table to Remus. He placed his hand on his son's shoulder.

"Look at me, Remus," he said. Remus looked up. Tear streamed down his face. Tabitha wiped them off with the sleeve of her shirt. "We haven't sacrificed anything because of you. It has always been you we were not willing to sacrifice."

"None of what has happened has been your fault, Remus," said Tabitha squeezing Remus tightly as though she was afraid he slip right through her arms. "You were a victim. Do you understand, a victim. It was horrible when it. For a while we thought we were going to lose you. Don't you ever thing that our lives are more difficult because you're here."

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"Are there any empty compartments in this ruddy train?" asked Sirius impatiently as he James, and Annie were making their way through the Hogwarts Express.

"Here's one with some space, but there's someone sleeping in here," said Annie as she slid the door to one of the compartments open. "Oh my, I think it's that boy we met at Diagon Alley." Sirius and James went up to the compartment and looked in.

"That is Remus," said James. "How can he sleep at a time like this?"

"Maybe he isn't feeling well," said Annie.

"Maybe someone slipped some sleeping potion into his pumpkin juice," Sirius suggested. James and Annie both rolled their eyes. The three of them slid into the compartment. Sirius sat down next to Remus and poked him in the arm. "Hey, Remus, wake up," he hissed. For about a minute, Remus didn't move. James, Annie, and Sirius all looked at each other nervously. Then without any warning, Remus' body gave a sudden jolt and he collapsed onto the floor. Annie jumped to his side.

"Oh!" she shrieked. "Are you alright?" Remus opened his eyes and looked around with a puzzled expression. His eyes flickered from Annie kneeling over him to James standing behind her, to Sirius on his other side.

"Annie? James? Sirius?" Remus asked.

"Er-yeah, it's us," said James.

"Are you alright?" Annie asked more earnestly. "You had a nasty fall and you look really pale." She put her hand on his forehead. "And you're really warm."

"I'm okay, really," said Remus. "I was ill a couple days ago, but I'm just tired now. That's all." He smiled at the three concerned faces above him.

"C'mon," said James. "Let's get you off the floor." James and Sirius each took one of Remus' arms and hoisted him back onto the seat. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back for a minute.

"That's better," said Remus as he opened his eyes again. "Thanks."

"Hey, don't mention it," said Sirius with a huge grin. James looked at Remus carefully. He still looked very pale and tired. James couldn't help but wonder how Remus was treated at home. He remembered Remus telling him that he had never gone to primary school. Then he remembered his own father saying that he hadn't heard from Mr. Lupin in years; but the Lupin's had seemed like perfectly nice people. They were Derek Lupin's family. Maybe James was just reading too much into things.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" a voice screamed from a little ways outside of the compartment.

"You'll go back to where you came from if you know what's good for you, Mudblood!" Lucius Malfoy's voice echoed. James, Sirius, Remus, and Annie all jumped up and walked outside of their compartment. The redheaded girl from Diagon Alley was being bullied again.

"Leave her alone, Malfoy!" said James stepping right up to Lucius Malfoy and staring him in the face. Malfoy's two boulder-sized cronies Crabbe and Goyle began to crack their knuckles menacingly. Although James was about a head shorter than all three boys, he stood his ground. Annie ran up next to the redheaded girl.

"Are you alright," she asked.

"I'm fine," the girl answered.

"Started helping Mudbloods, have you Spinnet?" came Narcissa Cross' voice from off to the side.

"Eat dung, Narcissa!" said Annie

"Don't meddle in my business, Potter," said Malfoy. "You may just meet a sticky end if you keep putting your nose in the wrong places."

"Were you just threatening my friend?" asked Sirius stepping up to James' side. "That really makes me angry. When I get angry, slimy gits get hurt."

"We'll see who's in pain when I finish with you, Black," said Malfoy.

"You'll have to finish with me too," said Remus stepping up next to James and Sirius.

"Alright," said Malfoy with a sneer as Crabbe and Goyle began cracking their knuckles even more. "I'll give you runts a choice. Either my buddies here'll crush you quickly or we can take it really slow. I personally prefer the latter." The three boys refused to budge.

"Why don't you guys try crushing me?" came Teddy Figg's voice from behind Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. Teddy wasn't a large boy, but he was much more burly than Lucius Malfoy. Ben Prewett came up behind Teddy.

"Still trying to bully people half your size, Malfoy?" asked Ben.

"I'm warning you, Prewett, mind your own business," said Malfoy.

"I'm warning you, Malfoy; I'm a prefect this year and I'll be watching you. Now get back to your compartment." Malfoy gave Ben an insolent stare and gestured to Crabbe and Goyle. They all glared at Remus, James, Sirius, Annie, and the redhead as Narcissa followed them past.

"Are you guys alright?" asked Teddy.

"We're fine," James answered.

"You'd better go to your compartment," said Ben. "The train's about to start."

"Have you found a place to sit?" Annie asked the redhead. The girl shook her head. "Good, you can come sit with us." The girl smiled gratefully. "By the way I'm Annie Spinnet. These two prats," Annie jerked her head at Sirius and James who gave mock affronted looks. "are Sirius Black and James Potter, and this poor, unsuspecting, nice young man," Annie nodded at Remus. "is their new victim, Remus Lupin."

"I'm Lily Evans; pleased to meet all of you," said the girl with a small, but sincere smile. The five children slid into their compartment and sat down. Without thinking, James quickly took the seat next to Lily.

"That was really cool what you did back there, Remus," said Sirius.

"What was cool?" Remus asked.

"Er-gee, could it be standing up with us against Malfoy and his two brainless bodyguards?" asked Sirius with a touch of sarcasm.

"Oh, that," said Remus.

"That is a pretty big deal," said Sirius. "I mean you barely know us and you're already sticking your neck out for us. I've decided to like you in case you were wondering." Remus grinned broadly at him. James thought it was the happiest Remus had looked since he had met him at Madam Malkin's. He got the impression that Remus wasn't used to being around other children his age, but had a natural ability to adapt to new situations.

As she watch the conversation between Sirius and Remus, Lily couldn't help but feel relieved that she had found company. Annie seemed really nice and didn't appear to like Narcissa Cross any more than she did. Lily looked at the three boys. These boys are cute, she thought. Petunia would be so jealous if she could see me right now. Then again, Petunia wouldn't know a cute boy if he danced naked in front of her. She fancies Vernon Dursley.

"Er- is something funny, Lily?" asked Annie.

"Oh, I was just thinking about my sister," Lily answered.

"Do you miss her?" asked Remus.

"No way!" said Lily. "She's a stuck-up git. That Narcissa girl kind of reminds me of her, and that Malfoy guy kind of reminds me of her boyfriend." Sirius grinned and began rubbing his hands together.

"Sounds like a couple of people I'd love to meet," he said with a devious twinkle in his eyes. "Hey, something just occurred to me."

"Do we want to know the answer to this one," asked Annie.

"We're allowed to do magic now. I've been reading my books all summer and have been dying to try something." Sirius reached into his pocket and pulled out a glass ball. He threw it on the floor hard causing everyone else to jump. He then pulled out his wand, pointed it at the broken pieces and said "Reparo," The shattered remnant magically pulled together.

"Wow!" exclaimed Lily.

"Here, try it," said Sirius handing Lily the glass ball. Lily hesitated for a moment then threw the ball to the floor.

"Reparo!" she said pointing her wand at the shattered remnants, which instantly pulled together to become a whole ball again.

"Bravo!" said Sirius. "Here, you try it, Remus." Sirius picked up the glass ball and shoved it into Remus' hand. Remus looked uncertain for a minute. Sirius gave him an encouraging nudge in the ribs. He then took the ball threw it to the floor, pulled out his wand and yelled

"Reparo!" Yet again, the ball magically pulled itself back together. Remus beamed. It felt wonderful to do magic, especially since up until a few months before he hadn't dared to dream he'd ever be allowed to do magic.

"Exploding Snap, anyone?" asked Annie.

"What's Exploding Snap?" asked Lily.

"You'll love it," said James with a huge grin. The five young wizards engaged themselves happily in the game until the witch with the snack trolley rolled past about two hours later. Lily's parents had exchanged some muggle money for enough wizard gold to last her until Christmas break. She decided to try a little of everything. Teddy had not said much about wizard treats. The first thing she tried was a chocolate frog, which contained a trading card in the pack. She was shocked to see that the picture was moving.

"What's wrong, Lily?" asked James.

"The picture's moving!" cried Lily.

"What's wrong with that?" asked Sirius.

"Muggle pictures don't move," said Annie.

"How do you know that?" asked James.

"Teddy told me," Annie replied. "By the way, Lily, wizard pictures move." Lily's face relaxed and her cheeks started to burn. She suddenly felt very stupid.

"Oh, okay. Sorry," she said.

"It's alright," said Annie with a reassuring smile. "I guess there are things about the wizard world that can seem a little strange to people who haven't grown up with them."

"Yeah, don't worry," said James. "You'll catch on. Some of the best witches and wizards have come from muggle families." Lily smiled.

"We'd better change into our robes," said Annie looking at her watch. "It's getting late."

"What right now?" said Sirius with pretended alarm. "I can't change in front of girls!"

"That won't be a problem," said Annie. "C'mon, Lily. Let's spare ourselves a very scary sight, shall we?" Annie took Lily's arm and the two girls left the compartment carrying their robes to look for a place to change. They found an empty compartment at the back of the train and slid inside.

"Have you known James and Sirius long?" Lily asked Annie.

"As long as I can remember," Annie replied. "We all grew up in the same neighborhood."

"And Narcissa Cross?" Annie screwed up her face.

"We went to primary school together unfortunately. She likes to make herself feel superior to others any way she can."

"So I noticed," said Lily. "She started acting like I had some sort of disease when she found out I was muggle born back at Madam Malkin's."

"Don't worry about that, Lily. She's probably just afraid that you'll make a better witch than she will."

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"Fir' years, this way!" a giant man called as Lily got off the train with her new friends.

"Hi Hagrid," called Remus waving at the giant.

"Hullo, Remus. You alrigh'?" said Hagrid. Remus grinned at him. His grin faltered a little as he saw the shack, which he knew he would be spending one night a month in. James noticed Remus' sudden change in expression, but decided not to say anything. "To the boats, everyone. Four to a boat please."

Lily followed Annie to one of the boats while Remus got into the next boat with Sirius and James. Lily and Annie were joined by Narcissa Cross and another blonde haired girl.

"Look at this, Daisy. Spinnet's making nice with a Mudblood. I guess some people just don't care about purity anymore," said Narcissa.

Lily saw that Annie's jaw was tightening and she was gripping the side of the boat so hard that her knuckles were white. She put her hand on Annie's arm. "It's alright," Lily whispered. "I don't care what a snotty git like her says about me." Annie took a few calming breaths and smiled at Lily. Lily smiled back as Annie made a subtle gesture at Narcissa behind her back. Lily really did not care what Narcissa said to her. Petunia and other children at primary school had said horrible thing to her for her entire life. It felt good to finally have someone willing to stand up for her.

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"Avery, Tibalt!" called Professor McGonagall. A sour-faced boy strolled up to the stool and Professor McGonagall placed that hat on his head.

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Black, Sirius!" Sirius grinned at his friends and walked up to the stool.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted immediately. The Gryffindor table exploded. Lily stood there in a daze as five other students and then...

"Evans, Lily." Lily's legs felt like Jell-o as she made her way up to the stool.

"Hmmm," the hat whispered to her. "Quite a good mind and a very hard worker...but aah... you're not afraid to let those with prejudices know that you're muggle born. Stand up for yourself, you do. Well there's not doubt about where you belong. GRYFFINDOR!"

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"Blimey, I'm stuffed," Sirius declared as the new Gryffindors made their way up to their dormitory.

"Watch out for the trick stair," Veronica called.

"What trick-ouch!" said Peter Pettigrew, a short, round faced boy who had just fallen through the trick stair. James and Remus reached down and heaved him out. "Thanks, guys," he said.

"Don't mention it," said James with a friendly smile.

Lily couldn't believe her luck. She had ended up in the same house with Annie, James, Sirius, and Remus; not to mention the three older kids she had met just before she had received her letter. Teddy had taken a liking to her and taught her a few things. Veronica and stood up for her in Diagon Alley. Arabella seemed really nice too. Padima and Violet, the other new Gryffindor girls seemed very nice as well. Lily felt as though she had finally found a place where she would fit in.