As the whole of Hogwarts sat in the Great Hall at breakfast the next morning, nothing seemed out of place. Lily was sitting with Nikeia and Josephine, and the Marauders were talking together about some prank that they were going to do. The three girls recognized the signs. Frank and Alice sat next to each other, smiling and eating calmly.
As everyone continued to eat, Filch, the newly instated Caretaker who took over from Apollyon Pringle a few years back, came up to the staff table and whispered something to Dumbledore. The Headmaster looked pleased, and walked out of the Great Hall. Twenty minutes later, he returned with a girl walking behind him. Whispers took place of some of the talking, and there were even a few wolf-whistles. The girl following Dumbledore was a brunette; her long hair was left down past her shoulders. She had sharp blue eyes that appeared smart and rather cunning. There was also a strong amount of bravery in them, which was why she was walking behind the headmaster to the Gryffindor table.
�Miss Evans?� asked Dumbledore, stopping beside Lily.
�Yes, Headmaster?� she said standing up and turning to the Headmaster.
�We have a new student. Her name is Stacey Wilson and she has just been made a Gryffindor, thanks to our great Sorting Hat. I would greatly appreciate if you and Mr. Potter could take her on a tour of the building at some time. Perhaps during lunch; or even if you could miss a class. However you plan it, I�m sure Miss Wilson would learn the school magnificently. Ah, Mr Black!�
Sirius looked up, his mouth full with a bunch of grapes, a stunned look on his face. Nikeia had to bite back a laugh.
�How are those grapes? I was about to try some when Mr. Filch came to get me.�
Sirius�s eyebrows furrowed, and he looked sideways to Remus. Moony smiled and raised his eyebrows as if saying �Well, answer the man!�
�They�re brilliant, Headmaster,� responded Sirius after he had swallowed.
�Splendid, splendid! Well, good day, everyone!� and with that Dumbledore turned and walked back down the aisle to the staff table.
�Oh, what a funny man�� sighed Lily, gazing after Dumbledore. James stood up, offended.
�Oi! I thought I was the funny one!�
�No! I�m the funny one!� cried Sirius as he stood and shoved James.
�No, James, you�re the pathetic one, and Sirius is the stupid one,� stated Remus calmly. The two men whose personalities were in question lifted their hands and �OI!�-ed at Remus. Sirius even said �humph!� with his hands on his slim hips.
Lily laughed. She turned back to the new student. Her brown eyebrow was arched confusedly.
�Sorry about them. There�s not really any viable excuse. My name is Lily Evans, and the pathetic boy with the messed up hair is James Potter,� she said, glancing at James, who glared at Lily. Stacey snorted softly.
�James and I are both the Heads of our class here at Hogwarts. These are some of the other seventh years with whom you�ll probably have classes. Oh, you are a seventh year, right?� Lily realized that Dumbledore hadn�t actually said, but was reassured when Stacey nodded. �Well, that�s Remus Lupin, he�s a prefect. Um, then there�s Sirius Black�the, uh, stupid one�and Peter Pettigrew. These four are more... fondly, for lack of a better word, known as the �Marauders.� The most terrible group of ne�er-do-wells in the whole of Hogwarts history!� Lily had what she hoped was a disinterested look on her face.
To Lily�s disgust, but partial amusement, and Stacey�s amazement, all four of the boys who had been addressed stood and bowed to the new girl. Lily rolled her eyes. She turned to Frank and the other girls.
�This is Frank Longbottom, and his girlfriend Alice Walker, so don�t get any ideas about him.� Stacey chuckled and nodded to Frank and Alice, both a marvelous shade of pink. �These are another two of my dear friends, Nikeia Strathmore and Josephine Bretten. You�ll meet everyone else later in your various classes, or in the common room. Oh! And I can�t forget the most recent addition to our group, if you will: Samuel Donnelly and Monica Terra, both first years. Well, breakfast isn�t quite over yet, so sit down and grab a plate.�
Lily took her seat, and Stacey took the seat that was empty between Lily and Remus. She looked over the food, and only took only small amounts of bacon and scrambled eggs, and one half slice of toast.
�Stacey, what�s wrong?� asked Frank. �Eat! You�ll never regret eating a Hogwarts meal!� To emphasize Frank�s statement Sirius nodded vigorously, always the food lover.
�Well, I�m sure the food is great. It�s I just that I don�t think the long distance Floo agreed with me,� said Stacey, biting a bit of bacon. When she looked up, everyone was looking at her as if she had bright green hair. �What?� she asked, shocked.
�You- you�re- oh my!� said Peter, in a squeaky voice.
Stacey cocked an eyebrow. �Me; I�m what?� she asked.
�Uh... an American!� said James, just as surprised as everybody else.
�Well, of course I�m American! What else would I be? If I was British, I would�ve been here all along. If I was European, I probably wouldn�t have transferred here,� she said amused, but putting on a face of surprise.
Everyone thought for a moment, realizing that she was right. The fierce sense of nationalism and secrecy between magical schools was epitomized in the European schools. They would have considered it rather appalling to transfer amongst the three of them. So, the idea of an American coming to Hogwarts was much more acceptable. Plus, she looked American. Something about her� The large earrings and stick-straight hair held back by two braids helped identify her. She was in a Hogwarts uniform. Of course, her tell-tale American accent gave the whole thing away.
Nobody responded to her question, though, and she continued to eat her bacon. Any further questions were hindered for the moment when owls started sweeping in from the high windows. An owl that was impeccably groomed and rather prim and proper sat down on the edge of James�s water goblet, perfectly balanced. James was rather surprised, but pleased to have a letter from his parents.
Stacey was looking around in amazement. �Well, never seen that before.�
The others smiled at her reaction.
�Hey, Evans-� said James, holding up his opened letter. �It�s a letter from my parents. Listen to this: �Well, I am glad that your partner is a good-natured girl, maybe she�ll help you give up your tiresome ways.��
They chuckled, and Sirius said: �I always have liked your mum. She just seems to understand things.�
�Here�s another bit,� James continued: ��Maybe your father and I will go and visit her parents some day. Your father does admire the Muggles and, I quote, �their ability to do so much without magic�. Ask this young lady if we could have her home number, and we will set up a date for the near future.� Well, Lily, my mum has taken a liking to you.�
�Really? I never would�ve guessed,� said Lily, sarcastically.
James smiled back with mock sweetness, and folded the letter. He turned to Stacey. �So, Stacey, what part of America do you come from?�
�Chicago. Though I went to school in Salem,� said Stacey shortly, taking a sip of pumpkin juice, and wrinkling her nose slightly at the strange taste of the drink.
�Chicago; I�ve heard about that place. It�s not exactly the best city in the world is it?� James asked.
�Well, neither is London!� said Stacey fiercely, taking James�s words as an insult.
�I�m sorry! I didn�t mean to offend you. I merely meant to say that it has it's faults. And you�re right, so does London,� responded James.
�I�m sorry, too. I grew up in Chicago, but when I moved to school, the stereotype followed. All because of Al Capone,� said Stacey, trailing off. She glanced around, as if expecting them to understand something. �That was a joke�� They still didn�t get it. �Oh, come on! Al Capone?�
�Who?� asked Peter, finally.
�Al Capone,� she repeated again.
�That doesn�t help much, Wilson. Care to actually explain who he is? Or what?� said Sirius, reaching for some more sausage.
�He was a famous mobster. Murdered, stole, lied. All the good stuff. Finally got caught for tax evasion. Died in prison.� Stacey�s explanation was as lost on those around her as her joke.
Lily asked the question that most of them were thinking: �Stacey, are you� Muggleborn, by any chance?�
The American girl nodded. �Yup. Well, kind of. My mother was a witch. I�m actually related to Capone in some way. I don�t know if it�s actually been proven, but it�s cool to say. You know, to be related to a famous mobster?�
�I suppose so,� put in Alice, when the others seemed slightly reluctant to respond.
�Yeah, and if any of you dare crack jokes about it, I�ll have you know, I am quite good with a few hexes,� said Stacey through clenched teeth. She seemed to be looking right at Sirius, as if knowing instinctively that he would be the one to do anything untoward.
He smiled engagingly, and waited for her to turn back to her bacon before mumbled something about how it�s �bad to get on their bad side, those Americans.� Thankfully, only James and Remus heard.
�So, what�s this school like?� Stacey asked. �Salem was split into two schools, one for girls and the other for guys, but I bet it was different than here.�
The others turned to Lily, expecting her to answer. She noticed the gesture, and rolled her eyes, but took up the job. �Well, Hogwarts is a great school, with a great history. There are the four houses�Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin-� James and Sirius interrupted with hisses- �Slytherin, and Gryffindor. Each is known for different characteristics, and I�m sure you�ll be able to find those out eventually.�
�Slytherin is known for being gits, slimy, and Dark,� interjected Sirius, glaring at the table at the far end of the hall.
Stacey�s eyebrows raised, both in confusion and shock.
Remus gave the explanation this time. �Sirius�s family is known for turning out Dark wizards. He�s a bit of a dark horse, you could say. Not only does he hate his family, he�s also in Gryffindor.�
�I see�� said Stacey, slowly.
�Naturally, there are things you�ll pick up slowly as you go about your days here at Hogwarts. If you�ve had enough to eat�� Lily looked to James and saw that his plate was nearly empty. �We can give you that tour Professor Dumbledore promised you.�
�I think that would be groovy. I�d love to see the school and grounds.�
The other students snorted at her colloquial Muggle term�American Muggle term, no less�but did not raise an issue.
�Um, Potter, what do you think?� asked Lily.
�What? Now you�ve gone back to calling me Potter? What happened to last night?� asked James, another smile playing in his eyes.
Sirius looked at James and wiggled his eyebrows. A loud thump was heard, and Sirius�s face screwed up in pain.
�I�m sorry, James,� said Lily, looking over at the black-haired seventeen-year-old.
�Ah, that�s better. Well, our first class is Potions and we can both afford to miss it. And unless Stacey has any really famous wizard relatives, Slughorn won�t be much interested in her. So I-�
�Wait,� interrupted Stacey. �What is that supposed to mean?�
James cleared his throat. �Slughorn loves having special people around him. Loves the idea of greatness and knowing great people. So, if you know famous people, he�ll love you. If you don�t, you better suck up to him or be a really great student. And, unfortunately, I don�t think knowing a Muggle mobster will qualify.�
James pointed the large professor out to Stacey, and then continued, �I�m perfectly up for missing Potions to show the American around.� He got up and pulled his bag over his head. Lily followed suit.
�What? I�m �the American�, now?� asked Stacey, putting on an accent as she threw her own bag onto her shoulder. James started to stutter an explanation but Stacey smiled, her nose crinkling. James sighed.
�Great; she likes teasing. Absolutely wonderful.�
Stacey and the others laughed, and followed Lily up to the staff table.
�Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall?� asked Lily. The two addressed professors turned and looked to Lily, James and Stacey.
�Yes, dear?� asked Dumbledore.
�We are going to show Stacey around the school during our first period, Potions. Will that be all right?� asked James, speaking before Lily could.
�Well, yes, it is fine with us, but do ask Professor Slughorn first.� Dumbledore and McGonagall turned back to each other, talking softly. Lily and James did as they were told, and sure enough, Slughorn asked whether Stacey had any famous relatives. When she said that she had none other than a notorious Muggle mobster, Slughorn�s face fell and he nodded his assent for their missing of his class.
James led the girls to the far side of the hall, naming off the tables to Stacey as he did so. They walked along the wall next to the Slytherin table. Stacey noticed that James didn�t wave to anyone at this table. She turned to Lily; �What�s up with James? Why isn�t he smiling to anyone?�
�This is the Slytherin table. Gryffindor and Slytherin are enemies of the largest sort.�
�Interesting.�
Lily looked back to the table and caught gazes with Severus Snape. She smiled curtly and followed James. She noticed that Stacey turned her head to look back at Snape.
�Who was that?� she asked. Lily wondered if she heard a bit of interest in Stacey�s voice.
�That�s Severus Snape. He�s great at Potions�he�s in our class�but he and James are just about the worst enemies ever. I�m not sure why, but they are. It might have something to do with something that happened a few years back, but��
�Strange��
�If you two are going to walk that slow, I�m going to go back to the table and get more food; Lily can do the whole tour,� complained James. Lily glared at him, sped up her walk, and bumped his shoulder with hers when she came even. James winced softly, and muttered thanks. Whether it was for the hit or to her faster pace, Lily wasn�t quite sure.
They walked around Hogwarts, informing the new student about the trick steps, short cuts, and how to stay safe from the Slytherins. She laughed at that, and asked sarcastically how to stay safe from the Gryffindors.
When Stacey asked about the outside, the two Head students led the new girl outside onto the extensive Hogwarts grounds. Stacey seemed to gravitate toward the Quidditch pitch.
As they walked towards the pitch, Lily sighed; it always turned to Quidditch.
�You like Quidditch?� asked James.
Stacey�s footsteps stuttered. �Oh, I guess this would be a Quidditch field�I mean pitch�wouldn�t it?� She pulled a disgusted face.
�Well, of course it�s a Quidditch pitch,� said James, his eyebrows raised. �What else would it be?�
�A Quodpot field.�
Lily just raised her eyebrows, not sure what Quodpot was. She was familiar with Quidditch, of course, and had watched a few football games with her dad, but Quodpot?
James, who apparently knew what it was, scoffed. �Quodpot? What a rubbish game.�
�Don�t you dare!� cried Stacey. �It�s actually a harder game to play. There are more players, which means more people to watch out for when you�re flying around in the air, and�� She smirked. �More gorgeous men to admire from the stands.� She bit her lip, and sent a meaningful look to Lily.
Lily's lips twitched. She had experience with decent-looking Quidditch players, not that she would admit it in present company.
James scoffed again. �More players mean more opportunities tpass off the Quaffle.�
�Quod.�
�Whatever it�s called.�
Stacey rolled her eyes. �It also blows up.�
�What?� cried Lily, surprised in spite of herself.
�Yup. If it�s held for too long, the Quod blows up.�
Lily raised her eyebrows. �Well, that does sound more difficult. No wonder Potter doesn�t play it.�
She smirked and started walking back towards the school. She glanced back once when she heard Stacey snort in laughter and saw James standing with his arms spread.
�Oi!� he cried, running to catch up with the girls. �That�s not fair, Evans. I�ve never played it. Not because of choice, just because we don�t play it here in Britain.�
�Oh, Potter, relax.� Lily cast him another smirk.
Stacey laughed, lightly punching James�s shoulder. �It�s like soccer and baseball.� At their confused glances, she explained about two of the Muggle sports played in the United States. Soccer, or football, was played, but it was nowhere near as popular as the purely American Muggle game of baseball. Lily could tell that James appreciated the attempt at soothing his ego. She just sighed, and listened as they discussed favorite teams as they walked around the castle.
Stacey followed the national Quidditch team, but preferred following the Midwest Eagles Quodpot team, calling the players �her boys� and listing a great number of games (she didn�t use the term �matches� as James and Lily did) that she had seen. Lily didn�t say anything, but she got the feeling that Stacey didn�t actually pay to attend every match.
Nevertheless, Lily enjoyed the hour that they walked through and around the school, appreciating the quick wit and sarcasm of the other girl. She didn�t seem to be as enraptured and attracted to the Quidditch captain as other girls were, which further added to Lily�s liking of the girl. The allusions to sneaking into Quodpot games, rivalries with schoolmates, and possible family history did make Lily slightly wary, however.
Later that night, after dinner, Lily was walking up the girls� dormitory stairs. She smiled, remembering how Stacey had marveled at the school, and how all of the teachers loved her. As she was about to enter her old dormitory, she heard her name spoken from within.
�So, what is it with Lily and James? Are they together or what?� asked the tell-tale American accent.
�Well, ever since second year, James has had a crush on Lily. She has disliked him from the start. Probably because of the manner that Sirius and James walk about the school; notorious troublemakers they most certainly are!� said Nikeia.
�So, they aren�t dating?� asked Stacey. Lily heard some chuckling and pressed her ear closer to the door.
�Not yet they aren�t. It�ll only be a matter of time. If you had asked us a few weeks ago, we would have been able to say that she would never allow herself to sink to that level!� said Josey, though Lily heard laughter playing on her tone. �Soon enough,� she ended, rather enigmatically.
Lily squirmed a little bit. The part about the past was true, but she couldn�t say anything about the future.
�But, Stacey,� came Alice�s voice, a note of surprise in her voice. �If I didn�t know better, I would think that you fancied James!�
��Fancied?� That�s a term we don�t hear often in the U.S.�
�Well, it means the same as �like�,� said Josey.
�Oh well, yeah, I figured that out!� said the American. �Well, James is cute, and he seems to be nice enough, so I don�t see what would be wrong to try to... At least, while Lily�s making up her mind�.� She let her sentence fade away, guessing that the others knew what she meant.
As Stacey spoke those words, Lily felt a strange and foreign sensation in her stomach. It couldn�t be jealously, could it? No. She had nothing to be jealous about. She didn�t care if James and some other girl got together. She and James were just friends. Lily wouldn�t allow herself to be jealous. She would allow herself, however, to put an end to this conversation before Nikeia and Josey could give anything else away. She composed her face and opened the dormitory door.
The girls were lying on their own beds; Stacey had taken the one that stood where Lily�s bed once stood. A navy blue trunk sat at the foot, from which spilled a few articles of Muggle clothing, including a tie-dyed shirt.
�Oh, Lily!� cried Nikeia. �You�ve come back to us again?�
�Yes, well, I just thought to come up and see how you terrible girls were treating our new classmate,� said Lily, putting on a stern face. �Making sure you weren�t trying to get her to, I don�t know, spill the secrets of the guys she has �wooed� back in America, hmmm?...�
Lily�s disapproving face soon crumbled and she began laughing with everyone else.
The rest of the night was spent in easy chatter. The girls of Hogwarts told Stacey about the teachers to avoid, if possible, and the students. Strangely, Stacey seemed eager to meet Severus Snape again and give him a piece of her American mind. Everyone laughed again, and not long afterwards finally said goodnight.
Lily had her fourth detention to attend to and after she and James cleaned the Charms classroom, McGonagall said that she would tell them when the next detention would be. Lily was thankful that she wouldn�t have to worry about the dreadful detention for awhile.