Wow, look at her…she’s amazing, thought the young boy, as drool, unnoticed by him, came out of his open mouth.




He was, in his opinion, looking at the prettiest girl alive. With long, wavy brown hair, blue eyes, and a kind face, Melinda was easily the most gorgeous thing he had seen in his eleven years.




James Potter had first noticed her a week ago, when he was in his enormous backyard playing Quidditch. She had been next door in her own backyard, on a gleaming new swing set, playing with a little boy who James assumed was her brother. James had been flying around with his makeshift Quaffle (an enlarged apple; his parents had done the magic, of course) when he had first noticed her brilliant brown locks shining in the afternoon sun.




He instantly developed a crush on little Melinda. He made it his goal over the next week to find out everything he could about her. He kept his findings on a piece of spare parchment, and he added more to it every night. So far, he had a list of ten observations.




Things I learned about Melinda Thompson


By James Potter




Day 1


1. Her favorite color is purple.


2. She has four siblings: two older brothers, an older sister, and a younger brother. Her parents must be busy.




Day 2


3. She loves carrots and eats them all the time. Mum says she’s going to turn orange. Too bad her favorite color is purple. Maybe she should be eating plums instead, then she would turn purple, not orange.




Day 3


4. She doesn’t like it when people tell her she should eat plums instead of carrots so she won’t turn orange. Trust me, I tried.


5. She slaps hard.




Day 4


6. Her birthday is March 18th




Day 5
7. She loves dogs. She has five of them. Maybe I should get one so we will have something to talk about. Yes, that’s what I’ll do! I’ll get a dog and name him Humphrey. It’s settled then; now I just have to ask Mum.




Day 6
8. She doesn’t like Humphrey! I showed him to her and she said he looked more like a lumpy sock than a dog! Mum said she would adore him. I knew I shouldn’t have trusted Mum when she made me a stuffed dog out of a sock, since a dog would be “too much work for an eleven year old.” That’s the last time I listen to her about girls. And dogs.


9. She doesn’t know how to play Quidditch. Who in the name of Godric Gryffindor doesn’t know how to play Quidditch?




Day 7


10. I found out why she doesn’t know how to play. She’s a Muggle. Who’d have guessed?




That was the only thing wrong with James’s dream girl. She was a Muggle. Well, that and she couldn’t play Quidditch.




What would she think of him if she found out? She already disliked him because of that turning orange comment. Would she think being a wizard is cool, or would she think he was making it up to impress her? He didn’t know much about Muggles, but he knew they didn’t believe in magic. He thought hard, almost making his brain hurt, when he finally thought of an idea. He jumped off his chair in the living room, lost his balance, and fell flat on his face. His mother dashed in from the kitchen, where she was making lunch.




“James, honey, are you alright?” she asked worriedly.




James stood up and smiled, trying to hide his excitement. “Yeah Mum, I’m great! I have to go. Don’t worry, I’ll be back for dinner.” He hugged her and walked off, mumbling something about “I’ll just have to make her believe.”




Mrs. Potter sighed. She knew about her son’s mischievousness, and she wondered what kind of trouble he would get into this time.




~*~




James ran over to Melinda’s house, the whole time thinking about what he was about to do. He went over his plan (or lack thereof) five times in his mind. It was perfect; she would have to believe him. What could possibly go wrong?




Famous last words.




~*~




“James Edward Potter! How could you be so irresponsible? Do you realize that you not only acted foolish, but you broke the law? The Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery is very important, and the Ministry takes it very seriously. Not to mention you did magic in front of a Muggle! You’re lucky you weren’t expelled before you even began!” thundered a slightly upset Mr. Potter.




Slightly, if you compared him to a mental baboon whose stash of bananas had been stolen.




James sent a scared glance over to his mother, who tried to step in on her son’s behalf. “Now, Henry, dear, don’t be too harsh. James is just eleven; he didn’t know what he was doing. He didn’t understand that it was wrong.”




“Don’t you Henry me, Maggie! I told him over and over again when I bought him that wand last week that he was not to use it until he got to Hogwarts!”




“But Dad, nothing happened! They Obliviated Melinda, even her dogs!” James cried. “If you ask me, it was all just a huge overreaction.”




“Overreaction, eh?” growled Henry, while Maggie smiled behind him, rather amused at her son’s antics.




“Yes, I remember it as if it happened yesterday…,” said James nostalgically.




“It happened this morning, for Merlin’s sake!”




~FLASHBACK~




James finally reached Melinda’s house and, slightly out of breath, pounded on her door. Her mother answered and said kindly, “James Potter, am I correct? Are you here to see Melinda?” When he nodded, she ushered him in and went to get her daughter.




When Melinda came into the room, James practically pounced on her. “I have something to tell you,” he panted. “I’m a wizard!”




Melinda looked slightly put out, which he hadn’t expected. He had thought that once he told her the truth they would jump on his broom and fly into the sunset.




“D-do you believe me?” he asked nervously.




She thought about it, then answered diplomatically, “I’m not sure what to believe, James. I want to believe you, but what if you’re just trying to impress me? I mean, you made a stuffed dog out of a sock for goodness sake!” Damn, he thought, why did she have to bring up Humphrey? It was still a sore subject for him.




“Well, to be fair, I wanted to get a real dog, but my mum said no,” James pointed out. “But that’s not the point; I’m a wizard. Look, I’ll show you!”




With that, James took out his recently purchased wand and, after fumbling to hold the right end of it, pointed it at a crayon and said proudly, “Wingardium Leviosa!”




Melinda gasped as the crayon rose a few inches into the air, then plopped back down.




“You…you really are a wizard,” she stuttered.




“Yup! My dad taught me that one. I bet no one at Hogwarts will know it.” James puffed out his chest, completely ignoring the fact that the crayon had only levitated a few inches. He looked at Melinda’s confused expression and chuckled.




“Hogwarts is the wizard school. It’s- well, I’m not exactly sure where it is, but it’s far from here. It takes almost a whole day to get there by train!”




Before Melinda could express her sadness that James would be leaving, an owl flew over her head and she screamed.




James just laughed and caught the owl on his arm. “Hey, little guy. Are you bringing me a letter?”




The owl let out a hoot and nipped at James’ finger affectionately. James untied the letter from the owl’s leg and read it as the owl flew off.




But when he saw what the letter said, the smile dropped right off his face.




Dear Mr. Potter,


We have received intelligence that you performed the charm, ‘Wingardium Leviosa,’ at thirty-two minutes past eleven this morning in the presence of a Muggle. This is an infringement of both the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery and section 13 of the International Confederation of Wizards’ Statute of Secrecy.


Seeing as this is the first time we have been notified of an offense, it will be considered a warning. Please be aware that any further offenses will result in your expulsion from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.


Enjoy the rest of your summer,


Yours sincerely,


Jasmine Robbins


Improper Use of Magic Office


Ministry of Magic




“Um, Melinda…I have to go,” James mumbled. He hurried off, leaving a bewildered Melinda behind. As he left, he saw wizards from the Ministry come and Obliviate her.




~END OF FLASHBACK~




“See Dad, nothing happened,” James tried to reason. He made the cutest puppy dog face he could muster.




Unfortunately, neither reason or cuteness couldn’t help him this time.




“Just go to your room and stay there until I say you can leave,” Mr. Potter growled.




“Fine,” James shouted, losing control of his anger. “I’m happy I’m going to Hogwarts! I’ll be far away from you. You’re the worst dad ever!”




As James stormed up to his room, he heard his father ask, “where did we go wrong with him?”




Fuming, James decided to pack his trunk and run to his best friend Sirius Black’s house. He left a note so his mother wouldn’t worry and went outside. He flung out his wand arm and backed up as the Knight Bus showed up. When he sat down on the bus he was ushered to a bed by a man in tattered robes, Arthur Weasley, who seemed to be a few years older than him. They struck up a nice conversation and after a while James fell asleep, dreaming about Hogwarts.




Author's Notes: Sorry Lily wasn't in this chapter, but I swear on my social life (or lack therof) that she'll be in the next one! I just thought it would be cute to start with a bit of James' history. Plus, that little fight with his dad becomes important later. Anyways, reviews pretty please? I want to know what I'm doing wrong so I can fix it. Thanks a bunch!

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry….What an odd name for a school. Brentwood Academy, her old school, sounded much better. But she guessed that everything in the Wizarding world was strange.

Lily Evans was walking along Platform 9 ¾, trying to comprehend the fact that she had just walked through a seemingly solid barrier. True, she had gotten her letter almost two months ago, but she still had trouble believing she was a witch. Lily Evans, the boring redhead, a witch?

Her parents, on the other hand, had had no trouble believing the strange letter that had arrived on their doorstep just a couple of months ago. They had been ecstatic, and they had even thrown her a party. It had only consisted of Lily and her immediate family, of course, because it seemed like the wizards were intent on keeping themselves a secret. This had been told to the Evanses when a stern looking woman had knocked on their door and introduced herself as Professor Minerva McGonagall. She had explained everything to Lily and her parents, from wizard money to how to get onto the platform.

Her parents had been so proud, in fact, that they had gone with her to Diagon Alley, even forcing Lily’s older sister, Petunia, to come with them. Neither sister was happy about that. Lily and Petunia had never been close, but for the past couple of months since Lily got her letter, Petunia had been even more distant. It made Lily sad to think of the relationship she could have had with her sister, and the one she had instead.

But, Lily thought, now is not the time to be sad. I’m going to a new school, and I won’t have to deal with Petunia for nine months. Not counting holidays, of course. Then I’ll just have to put on a brave face and �“

WHAM!

Something knocked into Lily, and she fell, her arms and legs getting tangled with someone else’s. She sat up, rubbing her head, and looked around. She saw a boy with longish black hair looking at her mock innocently, although she thought she detected a mischievous gleam in his eyes, and, more disturbingly, she noticed another boy sitting almost on top of her. This boy looked to be about her age, and he had messy black hair that completely overshadowed the rest of his features. She scrambled away and tried to stand up, but she tripped over her trunk and fell again, straight onto the boy’s lap. From her seat, she noticed that the boy was skinny, and he had big hazel eyes behind simple but nice glasses.

Grinning, the boy stood up and offered her his hand. She reluctantly took it and let him pull her up. She immediately let go once she was standing.

“Sorry about that, Sirius over there pushed me,” the messy haired boy said, pointing at his best friend and running a hand through his hair. “I’m James Potter, by the way. What’s your name?”

“Lily Evans,” she told him fiercely as he looked her up and down.

“Well, Lily Evans,” he said, taking her hand in his, “please allow me to escort you to the train, to make up for so rudely knocking you over.” He ended his request by bringing her hand to his mouth and kissing it.

A little confused, Lily nodded and allowed James and his friend, Sirius, to lead her past compartments full of giggling girls, tough boys, and every teenage label in between, until they finally reached an empty compartment. She opened the door, wondering why James had suddenly let go of her hand, and why both boys were standing back and giggling uncontrollably. She soon found out.

As soon as she opened the door, Lily felt herself get drenched in cold water. She looked up and saw an upturned bucket dangling from the door. She turned around, shivering, and stared at the two boys who were now rolling on the ground and laughing.

“Is this your idea of a joke?!” she screamed. A few compartment doors were opened as curious students stuck their heads out to see what happened.

“Y-you two are s-such prats! If you ever d-do this again I s-s-swear, I’ll…I’ll…,” by now she was so cold her teeth were chattering.

“What, you’ll stutter at us?” Sirius grinned.

Lily shrieked and stormed off. She looked for the nearest bathroom, and once she found it she tried, unsuccessfully, to dry herself off with a towel, muttering the whole time about stupid boys.

After ten minutes of useless efforts to get dry, Lily heard the door to the bathroom creak open, and a girl who looked to be about seventeenish came in.

“Hi, I’m Krissy Morgan, Head Girl,” she introduced herself, and pointed to a shiny badge on her chest. “You’ve been in here a while, is anything wrong?” Lily shook her head.

“Nothing’s wrong. Two idiots just dumped water on me, that’s all.” She mumbled, and smiled weakly.

“Oh, let me help you with that.” Krissy took out her wand and waved it around, and Lily instantly felt her clothes become dry and warm. She looked up at the Head Girl in awe.

“Wow, how did you do that?”

“Magic,” Krissy laughed, with a twinkle in her eyes. “You’re a first year, right? Well then,” she continued after Lily nodded, “do you know anyone yet?” When Lily shook her head no, Krissy took her hand and pulled her into the hall. “Let me introduce you to some people; everyone meets at least one of their lifelong friends on the Hogwarts Express. It’s like a rule or something.”

Krissy walked down the train, practically dragging Lily after her, chattering pleasantly the whole time about life at Hogwarts. Lily learned things about the four houses that McGonagall hadn’t mentioned, such as the rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin, the wit of Ravenclaw, and the loyalty of Hufflepuff. Finally, when they reached a compartment near the middle of the Express, Krissy opened the door and walked in, smiling at four girls already sitting there.

“Well Lily, I’ll leave you here, and I’ll see you soon. Come get me if you need anything, I’ll be in the compartment at the very front of the train.” And with one last smile, Krissy was gone, leaving Lily alone with the girls.

“Um, hi,” she mumbled. She tried not to show her nerves; she knew she had to be bold if she wanted to make friends. “I’m Lily. Who’re you?”

Three of the girls, who had all stopped talking when Lily and Krissy walked in, started talking again, all at once. All Lily could hear from the jabbering were the girls’ names and some random ‘fun’ facts. The blonde near the window was Carolyn (she had an older brother named Roger), the brunette closer to the door was Robin (her mother was the hair stylist of some famous Muggle singer), and the blonde in between the other two was Bree (she had every flavor lip gloss they sold at Madam Josephine’s Beauty Shoppe). Lily smiled politely at them, then moved to sit in the seat farthest away. When she was sure no one could see, she rolled her eyes sadly. These girls seemed nice, but they were a little too talkative and girly, and although Lily was no Seer, she didn’t predict they would be best friends like Krissy said. Lily was beginning to wonder if she would fit in at Hogwarts, what with the two boys she had met earlier, and these girls who would undoubtedly become obsessed with them as they grew older.

“Hey,” a voice broke into Lily’s musings. Lily looked up at the fourth girl in the compartment, who she had previously forgotten about due to the other girls’ incessant babbling.

“Hi,” Lily smiled politely.

“My name is Penina, but my friends call me Penny,” the girl explained. Lily nodded briefly, and then turned to look out the window. She expected Penina to be exactly like the other girls, chatty and annoying.

“You know,” Lily turned around when she heard Penina whispering in her ear, “their chatter is so annoying. Do you want to come with me to find an empty compartment? We can talk about something other than boys, lip gloss, and our nails.” She said the last few words in a sing-song voice that sounded exactly like the girls she was imitating.

Lily smiled a smile that was, for the first time that day, genuine. She walked out of the compartment with Penina, stopping only to say a quick goodbye to Carolyn, Robin, and Bree.

The two girls walked down the hallway, peering into every compartment, with no luck. Finally, Penina called from the back of the train that there was a compartment that was ‘as empty as it’s gonna get.’ Lily hurried over to her and glanced through the window. Deeming the compartment satisfactory, she opened the door and walked in. She sat down across from the only occupant, a girl with short brown hair and her head bent over a book. Lily felt Penina sit down next to her as the girl looked up at them blankly.

“Hello,” Penina started. “I’m Penny, and this is Lily. What’s your name?”

The girl looked around shyly before answering.

“Faith Hutchins,” she said in a quiet voice.

“Well, hullo Faith, mind if we ride with you? Our previous mates were…not our type.”

“Oh no, I don’t mind at all,” Faith answered, with a smile on her face.

A conversation soon struck up between the three girls, and they became fast friends. They learned more about each other in those last hours of the train ride than Lily knew about half her friends back home. Lily told Penny and Faith about how she hadn’t even known she was a witch until she got her letter, but she had always made strange things happen when she was younger, like the time she accidentally made Petunia’s hair turn green after a particularly nasty comment from her sister. Penina told the other two about her life in Israel, and about how her Grandpa used to sit her on his lap and tell her stories. Faith shared memories of playing Quidditch with her older brothers when they were home for the summer, and how she had always longed to go to Hogwarts.

~*~

Later that night, after the exhausting boat ride across the lake, the Sorting, and the feast, Lily was finally climbing into bed. She had been sorted into Gryffindor, along with Penina, Faith, and unfortunately, James Potter and Sirius Black. Thankfully, Carolyn Pierce, Robin Graham, and Bree Holland (or C.R.a.B. as they were now called by Lily and her friends) were sorted into Hufflepuff, and they were far away from Gryffindor Tower.

As Lily slowly drifted off to sleep, she recounted her day. She had left home for a magical world, gotten knocked to the ground, been on the bad end of a prank, and made two amazing friends, who she intended to stay close with for the rest of her years at Hogwarts, if not for the rest of her life.

Her last thought before she fell into a deep sleep was one of her happiest thoughts in a while.

Krissy was right. I think I’m going to love it here.

A/N: Once again, I'm so sorry it took so long to update! Hopefully next time it won't take so long. But until then, reviews, anyone?
In case anyone's wondering (is anyone wondering? If not, oh well...) Penina means pearl in Hebrew. Penina is from Israel, but since there aren't many Israeli witches and wizards, there isn't a school there, so she goes to Hogwarts.