Disclaimer: I don't own anything that belongs to J.K.Rowling. I do own..uh...my stuff, though. ^_^;

The Wind Through My Hair

Lily Evans sat in the passenger seat of a bright red, 69' Mustang. She was as happy and content as a ten year old could possibly be, with the wind whipping all around her, and through her hair. Lily was the spitting image of her mother, who sat in the driver's seat, and every once in a while, glanced from the road to smile at her daughter. The scenery was speeding past; it was all going by so fast, Lily couldn't even make out exactly where they were. However, as ten years olds are apt to do, her curiosity about such a trivial matter was soon diminished, and all she really cared about was the bright, warm sun beaming down on her.

Her mother let go of the steering wheel, and looked to Lily. Strangely enough, the car could steer itself, and it wasn't slowing down. Lily wished it would though- she would love to see where they were.

"Lily dear, I have to go...but you can drive yourself, can't you? I trust you..." her mother said. And with that, her mother disappeared. Lily wasn't panicking, but was rather serene. She only wondered how her mother could trust her with such an expensive car...Still, the sun continued to shine, annoyingly bright.

Lily blinked slowly, and rubbed her eyes. She entangled herself from her orange, floral print sheets, and tried to open her groggy eyes all the way. It had been a rather strange dream. She got up and stumbled out of bed, walking toward her dresser. It had been a really pleasant dream. The wind has been so nice, and the car-- wow, she wished they owned such a nice car. But here was the real Lily Evans-- just a young girl who lived in the suburbs. Your average neighborhood, where you could always find the kids outside riding their bicycles on such a nice day. They weren't terribly rich, and they weren't terribly poor. There wasn't anything really spectacular about Lily Evans. She was just middle of the road.

Except her eyes. Her eyes were a startlingly wonderful shade of green. A deep color green, that probably wouldn't have been so special against a darker color skin. But Lily's skin was a delicate pale color, and her hair was auburn red. It only made her eyes stand out more. Oh, yes, her hair and complexion were nice- but it was those eyes that made Lily Evans...well, Lily Evans.

The dream she had had was ebbing away from her interest. It hadn't really been so horrific that it was sticking in her mind. After all, people only really recall their more scary dreams off the top of their head. The nice ones seem to be forgotten quickly. And besides, ten years olds weren't prone to analyzing their dreams very much. And Lily Evans wasn't out of the ordinary. She was just middle of the road. She was just wasn't spectacular. She was like every other ten year old. Except...she wasn't ten anymore.

Lily smiled to herself, as she picked out the special birthday dress her mother had bought her and snuck into her wardrobe while she was sleeping. It wasn't too fancy, but it was nice. A pretty white, short dress, with cherries on it and a rounded collar. She slipped it on and tied the red ribbon that was around the middle into a bow, and slipped on the little white dress shoes with ruffled socks. Her short read hair was in a bob, and she put on a headband quickly, after running a brush through her hair. It was such a beautiful day to have a birthday,

Lily walked out of her room into the kitchen, where she could smell breakfast. Scrambled eggs and toast. Mm, she could tell by the seasonings her mother was using. Lily walked in, her little white shoes making tapping sounds on the tiled floor. The sizzle of the frying pan was making her all the more hungry.

"Hello Honey," her mother said. She had her long read hair tied up in a messy pony tail, and had on an apron. "Happy Birthday, my eleven year old flower!" she said, smiling at her.

"Thanks, mum!" Lily said.

"Lily, you've got some mail. It's on the table. It was weird...the only letter delivered today, and so early too," said her mother. Then said jokingly, "I suppose even the mail-man wanted you to get your birthday cards early!" Lily laughed playfully, and reached on the table for a large, thick looking letter.

On the letter, there was her name, and her address (and her room?) written in very curly green writing. She looked at the handwriting curiously, and then openly it up eagerly. She had never gotten such a large letter before-- what could be in it? Several papers fell out at once, and she reached for the one on the top of the pile. It read,

Dear Miss Evans,

We are pleased to inform you that Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has accepted you to join us for our school year. There is a supply list attached. All of your school supply items may be found in London-- please be ready to start the school year on September the first at platform 9 3/4. We hope to see you soon.

Sincerly,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Head Mistress

Lily looked at the note disbelievingly and called to her mother...

***********************

Lily stood and shuffled her feet nervously. She was standing in the middle of the crowd of people, in a large hall. There was silence all around her, except the silent murmurs of forced conversation around her. All of them were her age, and they were all waiting to find out how exactly they were to be sorted. Some of the kids looked like they were trying to look calm and collected, but others did not even hide how petrified they were.

"ARGH!" came from the back of the crowd, and everyone turned around to look at the same time. A rather handsome boy was doubled over in laughter on the ground. Lily wondered why he was laughing so much, when she realized the boy next to him was bright purple. He looked furious and shocked at the same time.

"You're....you...PURPLE!" The laughing boy said through peels of laughter. His fit of giggles seemed contagious, as sniggers were heard through the hall. And, despite the fact that the boy who was purple was in an odd situation, and had every right to be mad, he looked like he wanted to smile very badly. The corners of his mouth twitched upward, and he laughed very quietly, gradually laughing more and more. They both stopped abruptly though, when they felt a pair of stern eyes burning a whole through them.

"Everyone, follow Professor Flitwick through the large doors, and wait to be sorted into your houses. You two, stay," she looked pointedly at the two boys, and Lily reluctantly followed the herd, out into the Great Hall. She had really wanted to find out what had happened...

****************

"Hey! Let's start a club!" James whispered excitedly, while sitting at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall.

"A club?" Sirius asked, rather skeptical. "Aren't clubs for little kids? I dunno about you, but I'm not a little kid," he said.

"Well...I don't know if I'll be able to participate all the time...I, er...get ill easily," Remus said, reluctantly.

"Hey, you guys are starting a club? Can...I join?" Peter Pettigrew, a short, mousy looking boy said, eyes full of sparkle.

"Er...yeah...sure you can join," James said.

"Wait- who says we're starting a club? I said I don't like the club idea," Sirius said.

"I said we're starting one," James said.

"Well, I don't like it," Sirius said, stubbornly.

"Well, you don't have to join," said James. "But it'll be cool. Us only, no one else allowed. We can play pranks and stuff, and trick people. Make a name for ourselves, you know," he said, impressed with his wonderful idea. "It'd be called...we'd be called...er..."

"The...troublemakers?" Sirius supplied.

"The Masqueraders?" Peter said.

"The Marauders?" Remus said.

"The Marauders! That's perfect! We'd be known as the Marauders!" James said, getting overenthusiastic.

Lily was sitting close-by, and had been eavesdropping. Gallivanting around the school and playing tricks with magic? That sounded like a lot of fun, especially to a girl who had never been exposed to the wonderful world of such magic before; the idea of going around and playing fun pranks was appealing to an eleven year old, magic or none.

"Wow, a trouble-making club? Can I join?" she asked, innocently, with no introduction.

"Er, what?" Peter asked. He had been munching loudly on his food, and really hadn't heard her.

"I...want to be a Marauder," she said. Sirius and James looked at each other, and for a few minutes, there was silence between them. Then, they both burst out laughing, a raring, side-splitting laughter.

"You? You want to be a Marauder?" they both gasped, still laughing hysterically.

"Why...er...yes. What's wrong with that?" Lily asked, slightly put-out.

"Well...you're...you're..." Sirius racked his brain for a word.

"What Sirius is trying to say is...you're a girl!" James almost shouted incredulously. Lily was absolutely shocked. A girl? Did she had cooties or something?

"Yeah, that's right, a girl!" Sirius repeated, rather unnecessarily. The both got up and left for class, still sniggering heartily at the fact that she had the "nerve" to even ask of such an absurd favor.

Lily looked at them angrily and did not say another word. That James character had been really rude to her.

"Ugh...boys," she said. "I don't like that James kid, at all."

Author's note: Did you like? So, that's how Lily came to hate James Potter. Much way better in the chapters in come, so don't leave me here. REVIEW, PLEASE!