She had no make up on; her mum wouldn’t let her until she turned thirteen. It didn’t matter anyway, at only eleven, she didn’t exactly have any wrinkles, and her brilliant green eyes lit up her whole face with colour.


She tried to pick up her trunk, but it was far too heavy. Lily sighed, and then looked up hopefully. "Petunia, could you please help me carry my trunk to the car?" she called out, timidly.

For as long as she could remember, she and her sister Petunia had been very good friends. That is, until The Letter arrived. The Letter which had informed her that she was a witch, and explained about Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The Letter that had earned Lily her parent’s undivided pride and attention, and at the same time, earned her Petunia’s jealousy and resentment.

An angry voice rang out from the room near hers. "What am I, your slave? Reality check sis, just because Mum and Dad worship you, doesn’t mean you can boss me around as well!"

Lily’s Mother stormed upstairs furiously and reprimanded Petunia, while her Father helped her to carry her trunk downstairs.

Shouts of, "It’s not my fault," and, "spoiled little brat," followed by outraged cries of, ‘you can’t ground me for a week!’ told Lily exactly how the conversation in Petunia’s room was going. Lily trudged over to the car and sat in the backseat.

Mr. and Mrs. Evans got in as well, soon followed by Petunia, who was slouching horribly and dragging her feet. She hadn’t even bothered to brush her shoulder length dark brown hair, and it was frizzed badly.


Lily fidgeted the whole car ride, and Petunia scowled at her. Lily ignored her sister; she was much too excited and nervous.


It wasn’t long before they had arrived at Kings Cross, and Mrs. Evans turned around to her youngest daughter. "What does your ticket say darling?" she asked.


Lily read her ticket, and then frowned in confusion. "Platform nine and three quarters." She read out.


"Where on Earth is that?" asked Mr. Evans. "We’ll ask a conductor," said Mrs. Evans, and they all walked up to the nearest one, Petunia groaning loudly.


"Excuse me, would you be so kind as to tell us where to find platform nine and three quarters?" asked Mrs. Evans politely. The conductor snorted.


"A bunch of nutters, the lot of ‘ya." He said rudely. "Gullible too. Madame, I do believe there’s been a mistake. Let me assure you, as I have assured many people so far, that there is not, and never has been, a platform nine and three quarters. If you ask me, this is all just some elaborate hoax sent in the mail. Sorry to take up your time."He said, shaking his head as he walked off.

Lily’s grey cat, Ambrocious, meowed impatiently. She wasn’t used to being cooped up in a cage for so long.


"Great!" said Petunia sarcastically, and Lily bit her lip, looking around hoping for something to show her where this seemingly non-existent platform was.


She saw a boy coming towards her, dragging a nervous looking girl by the wrist. The boy had dark hair and hazel eyes framed by a round pair of glasses, and a thin face. The girl had straight dark brown hair that reached her waist, and blue green eyes.

The boy walked up to Lily confidently, the girl close behind. "Hi, I’m James Potter, and this is my cousin, Jada Stile. Do you need any help?" asked the boy, kindly. Lily was rather taken aback by his outgoingness, but he seemed friendly enough.


"Well, yes, you see-" she started, but she was interrupted by a slim dark haired woman, who came marching up to them with her hands on her hips.


"James Potter, how many times do I have to tell- Oh never mind. Hello," she said, addressing the Evans family. Petunia was the only one who didn’t smile.


"Hello," replied Mrs. Evans. "I’m Rose Evans, and this is my husband Mark, and my daughters Petunia and Lily."


"I’m Sylvia Potter," said the woman. "I’m very sorry if this seems rude, but does the word Hogwarts mean anything to you?" she asked.


"Yes, it’s my new school," said Lily, shyly. "See mum!" said James.

"Yes, well, do you need any help getting onto the Platform?" Lily nodded. "Well, you simply have to walk into the wall that divides platforms nine and ten." Mrs. Potter said, casually.

"Walk into…?" Lily trailed off, disbelievingly. Jada, who had remained quiet until then, spoke up.

"It’s really very easy, I’ve done it before with my sister, Rhea. You can hold my hand if you want to." She said to Lily.

"Thanks," replied Lily, eying the barrier warily. Usually, she wouldn't agree to holding hands with someone, but the thought of walking through a solid wall didn't appeal at all to her.


"Can we please go now?" asked James impatiently. "Wait, will we be able to get through the barrier?" asked Mr. Evans.


"No, only Witches and Wizards can, you’ll have to say your goodbyes now," said Mrs. Potter, apologetically.


Lily hugged and kissed her parents, but only received a glare from her sister. James frowned. "You know, it really would have been more polite to say goodbye." He said to Petunia, and Jada nodded.


"James!" scolded Mrs. Potter, as she pushed him forward. "You three go first." She said to the kids, and Lily clasped Jada’s hand, and James stood on Lily’s other side.


Lily held her breath and walked forward. As she approached the wall, she closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact, but it never came. She opened her eyes, and smiled.


"Cool," breathed James from her other side, and the three kids moved forward, leaving some space for James’s Mum to follow.


Lily looked around at the bustling people, and at the enormous train with the words; 'Hogwarts Express' printed on its face.


"You’d better get a carriage dears," said Mrs. Potter, and the three kids jumped on the train. "Lets find a compartment," said Jada, and James bounced ahead to find one.


"Is he on a sugar high, or is he always like this?" asked Lily, jokingly. "He’s always like this," confirmed Jada.


James soon came back to them. "I’ve found a carriage with only one person in it," said James, and he ran ahead. The two girls followed him.


They soon entered a carriage with a dark haired boy in it. The boy smiled, and James grinned.


"Hi, I’m James Potter, and this is my cousin, Jada, and my friend, Lily," he said, indicating the girls.


"Hi, I’m Sirius Black" Jada drew in her breath, and James looked startled. He regained his composure quickly though. "Oh, hi, um, Sirius." He sat down next to Sirius and began to talk to him.


Jada and Lily sat across from them. Lily leaned over to Jada. "What was the matter with you and James before?" she whispered.

"Our parents say we’re not supposed to talk to the Blacks, they’re bad news. They’re easily the most stuck up purebloods ever," Jada whispered back, darkly.


"He seems nice enough," commented Lily, as Sirius let out a laugh. "Maybe he is, you can’t judge a book by its cover." Jada agreed.


Lily nodded, and then changed the subject. "So, what’s it like being able to do magic?" she asked, eagerly. "I wouldn’t know," replied Jada, truthfully. "You aren’t allowed to do magic until you’re 17."


Lily frowned. "That’s too bad, I was looking forward to making Petunia’s hair fall out!" she said, disappointed. Jada laughed.


Suddenly, the doorway burst open, and a boy entered. He was quite handsome, with light brown hair, and large eyes. "Do you mind if I sit in here?" asked the boy, awkwardly.


"Sure," said James, and he moved over to make space for the boy to sit down. "I’m Remus, Remus Lupin." The boy said.


Lily glanced out of the window, and saw that it had started raining hard. "Look outside," she remarked, as a flash of forked lightning lit up the dark sky.


"Cool, I love storms," said Sirius, and James nodded eagerly. Lily smiled weakly. "I’ve never really liked them," she admitted.


"Really? I think they’re beautiful," remarked Jada. "The thunder's the best," said Remus. "Definitely," said James and Sirius in unison, then they both laughed.


Lily looked closely at James, and noticed how his beautiful hazel eyes lit up when he laughed. James flicked his messy, dark hair out of his eyes, and glanced at Lily. Horrified at being caught staring at him, she quickly looked away.


She hadn’t felt this way about anyone for a year, not since Christian Tamberse. She had been absolutely smitten with him, but this was different, even more powerful.

Lily felt an overwhelming urge to be near James, to talk to him, as though something in the air around him were pulling her towards him like a magnet.


He sneaked another look at her, and Lily smiled. Lily glanced to her left at Jada, who was looking between the two of them, an interested look on her face.


"What do you think, Lily?" asked Remus. Lily looked up, startled. "Oh, me? I, um, agree with you."

Sirius snorted, and Remus laughed. James glared at them, fiercely.


"I said, which house do you think you’ll be in?" repeated Remus, patiently. Lily stared blankly.

"There are houses? I thought it was a castle." She said, confused.


"No, there are four houses, like groups, that people are sorted into. You have to take a test or something like that," said Jada.

"The names are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin," explained Sirius.


"Gryffindor’s for bravery, Ravenclaw’s for intelligence, Hufflepuff’s for Loyalty, and Slytherin’s for Selfish prats," said James, grinning.


"My whole family’s been in Slytherin," said Sirius, darkly.

James looked horrified. "Sorry, I …"

"It doesn’t matter," Sirius interrupted him. "I don’t like them much, anyway."

James looked at him, sympathetically.

The kids rushed out of their compartment, and Lily bumped into a girl with shoulder length strawberry blonde hair. She had dark brown eyes, that didn’t look quite as friendly as the girl seemed to be.


"Hi, I’m Calista, and this is my twin sister Thaliana, and our friend, Roxanna." the girl said, as two other girls appeared by her side.


Thaliana looked exactly like her twin sister, though she seemed much nicer and more sincere when she smiled.


Roxanna wasn’t incredibly pretty, with a square face and unruly, flaming red hair, but her eyes made up for her appearance. They were a dark, rich blue with flecks of purple.


"Hi, I’m Lily, and this is Jada, Remus, Sirius and James."

Calista stared at James. "Hi," she said, not taking her eyes off of him.


James glanced at Sirius, who shrugged. The large group walked off of the train, and were instantly drenched with rain.

A voice rang out, amongst the commotion.
"Firs' years, over ‘ere.”

Lily looked up, to see a giant of a man, who towered over everyone else. "Cool," said Sirius, and they all ran over to the man, who was holding a lantern.


He led all the first years over to a lake, with a group of boats in it. In the distance, they could all make out a majestic castle, on top of a high hill. Hogwarts.


Lily climbed into a boat, and Jada sat on her right side. James climbed in on her other side, and Sirius and Remus sat in front of them, and turned around to talk to James.


Calista and Thaliana sat behind them, next to a rather unpleasant looking boy, with greasy black hair, and a sneer on his face. He scowled at James, who was laughing with Sirius, and splashing water onto him.


As the boats moved along the fierce waters of the lake, Lily grew quite sea sick. It wasn’t raining as much anymore, but the water still churned, and threw the boat around.

Jada buried her face in her hands, and Lily leaned over to comfort her, as the boat rose and dropped with the waters movements.


A cry of alarm to her right caused Lily to whip around to see what the matter was. James was nowhere to be seen.



thankyou very much to lilyevans91, lilyemraldevans, SexY_LydZ, Harry_potter_hunni_01 and Dawn Lionheart for reviewing!!! You guys are all sooo nice!!!

Also, thanks to Harry_potter_hunni_01 for pointing out about the speech marks, which I changed immedietly.

Please let me know what you think!!! Do I get a gold star? *looks hopeful* or....do I get a telling off for my disgraceful writing-if-you-can-call-that-writing?

PS I just want to ask everyone something. I always review the stories that I like, so does that mean that out of the 374 people that have read my story, only 4 like it???!!!!Please let me know if I'm wrong!!!

Disclaimer- I don't own anything Harry Potter. my name is not J.K Rowling, it never was, and unless I decide to change it by law, it never will be. Hope that clears a few things up.

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Lily watched in terror as Sirius and another boy hauled James onto the boat. He seemed only half-conscious, and Lily’s heart skipped a beat as he dropped to the ground, completely still. His eyes were closed, and his head was resting on his shoulder. Sirius and the boy pulled James up and into a sitting position with Remus’s help. James began to cough, and Lily let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “James, are you alright?” asked Sirius, anxiously. James stopped coughing, and then he smiled, faintly. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he choked out. Jada made a strange, strangled sort of noise and threw her arms around her cousin in relief. “Jada, I’m OK!” hissed James, embarrassed. “What happened to you?” asked Lily, anxiously. James opened his mouth as if to say something, but Sirius cut in. “Nothing,'” he lied. “James just…lost his balance.”

Lily wasn’t sure, but she thought she saw Sirius shake his head slightly at James, as if warning him not to say anything. The boy Lily didn’t recognize smiled. “Well, as long as you’re alright now,” he chirped, brightly. “I’m Robert Goldstein,” he grinned, extending his hand. “James Potter,” said James, as he shook it. Robert had a perfectly sculpted face, with a straight nose, and almond shaped brown eyes. He had a very toned body with broad shoulders, and Lily knew that he would most probably be very popular in the years to come. “Oh James!” cried a voice behind Lily. Lily tuned around to see Calista climbing over the seats toward them. “Are you alright? What happened? This is terrible! Are you hurt a lot? Is there anything I can do?” Calista babbled, a panicky note to her voice. “I’m fine, really,” insisted James, shivering. Calista took off her cloak and wrapped it around James. “You must be freezing,” she cooed. She’s just trying to help James, Lily told herself. Then why do I want to rip her neck out? ________________________________________________________________________ The rest of the boat ride was uneventful for James. Calista sat next to him for the rest of the ride, having kicked Lily out of her seat. (Much to James’s dismay.) When they all arrived at the castle, James was immediately rushed to the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey, a pretty, middle-aged woman, began to fuss about him fretfully the second he arrived in the Hospital Wing. “Insisting children ride in boats in this weather,” she muttered angrily. “I'll show him tradition… could have drowned… you’ve probably set the record for earliest visit to the Hospital Wing, young man… here, have some chocolate,” she said, handing James a large slab of chocolate. James took it, but he didn’t eat it. “Will I miss the sorting?” he asked, worriedly. Madame Pomfrey rolled her eyes. “Not if you hurry up and eat that,” she said, sharply. “Though whyyou’re worrying about that after such a traumatic experience I’ll never know… it must be the shock…You’ll be having memory relapses of this until you’re forty… it wouldn’t be the first time…” James just stared at her as she bustled around, muttering to herself, then he wolfed down his chocolate. “Can I please go now?” he demanded, impatiently. “Yes, yes, off you go then,” James jumped up and sprinted down the stairs. When he entered the Great Hall, no one noticed him. They were all staring at a girl, who was sitting on a stool, wearing a large, tattered hat that engulfed her entire head.

James crept down to join the group of nervous first years, who stood, huddled together, nervously. He stood next to a plump boy with watery eyes, who smiled at him. James looked up at the hat, whose brim opened, and it spoke clearly. “HUFFLEPUFF!” James jumped, but no one else looked surprised.

The girl skipped down to join one of the four tables that sat in the hall. A tall, thin woman with small glasses that rested on her nose, and grayish hair that was tied up in a bun, read out a name off of a scroll of paper. “Pettigrew, Peter.” The boy next to James began to tremble, and he walked over to the stool. The woman placed the hat on his head. The hat stood still for a long, then it opened its brim (mouth?) and cried; “GRYFFINDOR!” There was some polite applause. “Potter, James,” the woman read out, and James swallowed. Was there anything that he was supposed to do while the hat was on his head? He tried to remember all of the spells he had learnt, but his mind went blank. He numbly walked up to the stool and gingerly sat down. The hat was placed on his head, and he suddenly saw nothing but blackness. A voice was in his ear, suddenly. “Hmm, James Potter. I have a good feeling about you. You have a sharp mind, my boy; you would do excellent in Ravenclaw. You are a good and loyal friend; you would put your life on the line to save them, which would have you in Hufflepuff.” James grimaced at this. “You have determination and charisma, you are good at getting your own way. These are qualities that Slytherin himself prized. But, no, you have too pure a heart for that particular house. You are most extraordinarily brave. I saw that instantly. Yes, I have come to a decision. But keep this in mind Mr. Potter, Gryffindor did tell me to give this message to anyone who looks as if they can use it, and you will definitely need to use this.” James was curious at this. What did the hat want to say to him from Gryffindor himself? “Keep your friends close, James, but keep your enemies even closer. This may not seem much to you now, but I believe you will find it useful in the future.” “GRYFFINDOR!” The hat shouted aloud, and James jumped again. The hats’ words were met with a burst of applause. Sirius cheered the loudest, for he was sitting on the Gryffindor table. He could see Remus alongside of him, as well as Thaliana, Roxanna and Lily. He was especially pleased to see her there. He could also spot Calista in Slytherin, looking extremely disappointed. James ran over to sit next to Sirius at the Gryffindor table. There were only a few kids left to be sorted now, and Jada was soon sorted into Gryffindor as well, which surprised James. Jada had always seemed too withdrawn for that house. Professor Dumbledore, the Headmaster, stood up. "Thankyou, Professor McGonagall," he said.

He began to say something else, but James paid no attention. He had to talk to Sirius. “Why did you tell everyone I lost my balance?” he hissed. Sirius gave him a wry smile. “His name’s Snape. Severus Snape, and believe me, it will take more than getting into trouble for pushing you overboard to. Besides, my motto is; Don’t get mad, get even.” James rolled his eyes. “But getting him a detention would be getting even!” he whispered, exhasperated. “Yes, but we can do worse than that, and telling on him will give us a motive for doing whatever we’re going to do to him. If no one knows we don’t like him, then no one will suspect us,” Sirius explained. James smiled. “Good point,” he remarked. The two boys looked up just as the platters in front of them filled up with food that seemed to appear out of thin air. Sirius, James and Remus loaded their plates with mountains of food. Lily looked across the table at James, slightly disdainfully. James ignored her. You could only go too far to impress girls, and cutting down on food intake is way over the line. Robert, on the other hand, was picking at his food, and looking over at Lily, hopefully. Peter was stuffing his face, eagerly. He occasionally had so much food in his mouth that he couldn’t manage to swallow. James stifled a giggle, as another one of Peter’s attempts to swallow failed miserably. Suddenly, Peter’s face turned a peculiar shade of blue, and he started choking. James’s eyes widened and he desperately tried to remember one of the spells he had learnt in his studying. “Anapneo,” James recited, pointing his wand at Peter. Peter swallowed and gulped down some air. He looked over at James. “Thanks,” he said gratefully. “Any time,” shrugged James. Lily, who had been watching Peter, a mixture of horror and repulsion on her face, now turned to smile at James, admiringly. James sat up straighter in his seat, proudly, as the people around him congratulated him.

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Thankyou to everyone who reads this, I really hope you liked it! Please say you did! I would really appreciate it if you would review with feedback, like was there anything you particularily enjoyed, is there anything that I could have done better?

I really want to know, I'm fully open to criticism, though i don't particularily enjoy it, it gives me info about what I'm doing wrong! PLEASE REVIEW!!