"I'm sorry, but could you help me?" A small voice said, catching the attention of a beautiful woman. The woman pushed back her long black curls and looked around and down at a small redheaded girl, she was standing there looking awkward, pulling on the corner of a bright pink jumper that clashed with her ruby locks. "I don't know how to get to the platform, and I noticed your…" She trailed off looking at the owl cage perched on top of a large red trunk.

"Of course we can honey," the woman replied with an encouraging smile, she looked down at the boy beside her, the same age as the young girl and smiled. "It's James' first year as well, all you've got to do is run straight for that wall there, don't hesitate just go for it, James honey can you show her how?" She watched as her son built up to a run, pushing his trolley in front of him sped towards the solid brick wall. It should have been obvious what was happening, they were in the middle of a busy train station in London yet as her son disappeared through the wall and not a single person noticed.

The young girl looked positively terrified now, like she was sure to give herself a concussion if she even attempted the run. She was clearly a muggle born, the woman noted, no wizarding child was this scared. She was impressed then when the girl focused, with a look of determination she took a deep breath and went for it, disappearing behind the stone.

"You made it then," The young boy named James said as he waited on the other side of the wall, he was surrounded by people as they walked onto a completely separate platform. In a second the woman appeared she smiled at the look of relief still on the young girl's face. "Hey mum I'm gonna go, see ya!"

"Hold on, give your mum a kiss first," The woman scolded, just as James turned to run for the train, he blushed as the young girl watched him hug and kiss his mothers cheek, before disappearing through the crowds.

"Thank you so much," The young girl said to the woman timidly, her hands gripping the trolley that held her own trunk and owl cage, she looked weary still but in her stunning emerald green eyes there was still the lingering glint of determination.

"Have fun honey, don't be scared, you'll be fine," The woman said to her, it was comforting for the young girl, her own parents had been unable to come with her into the station and while they had shared similar sentiments, it was nice to hear them once more. "I'm Elizabeth by the way, Elizabeth Potter, if in any doubt just ask my son James for help."

"Thank you Mrs Potter, I'm Lily, Lily Evans."

"So I'm James Potter, who are you?" The young girl looked up, she'd settled herself into a carriage at the back of the train where it was quiet. The young boy she'd seen and had shown her how to get onto Platform nine and three-quarters, a peculiar platform if she had ever seen one. He had black hair like his mother, the colour of coal, his wasn't the same though, unlike her neat and beautiful waves, his were an unruly mass that sat atop his head flying in every direction. He seemed normal and harmless enough, wearing a simple pair of blue jeans and a black hooded top with Magpies written across the chest, what relevance it had she didn't know.

"I'm Lily Evans," The girl answered as the train begun to pull slowly away from the

station, she looked out the window to see various family members of other people

standing around and waving to people along the train, it was only seconds before they pulled away completely and begun their journey through London. "I'm new… I mean I don't have a wizard family… I keep forgetting the word."

"Muggle born?" James suggested, knowing he was right, Lily smiled and nodded at him, muggle born was right. "That's alright, my whole family are witches and wizards but we like the muggleborns, my mum says it's magic in itself that some of you can do magic."

"What about other people?" Lily asked timidly, when she had gone shopping in Diagon Alley with her mum things seemed a little different.

"Come on sweetheart, let's see what we can find," Rose Evans said as she and her daughter walked into a dark and dreary looking pub, one that neither of them had spotted before, even after years of shopping in London. Inside there were groups of people sipping drinks and smoking strange looking pipes, a smell of fish seemed to linger while a man with a dishcloth stood picking up glasses from tables, somehow making them disappear into the material. Lily's mother, a strong faced woman with beautiful features, cheek bones any model would envy and a tall slim figure which was covered by a tight pencil skirt and pretty white silk blouse, she wore black heels and had the air of someone important, she seemed to look quite out of place in this pub.

"Can I help you Miss?" The toothless barman asked peering at the well dressed woman and her young daughter.

"Perhaps, my daughter and I are looking to get to Diagon Alley, Minerva McGonagall told me to bring my daughter here for school supplies," Rose told the barman who smiled at them.

"Ah, yeh, that's easy enough, follow me, follow me," Smiling Rose took her daughter's hand in her own, leading her after the barman. They walked into a small stone yard with nothing but a few barrels in, the bar man took out a long smooth stick, something Lily had been told was a wand, and tapped a few bricks on the wall opposite the doorway. "Now yer gonna need to get to the bank, don't worry about the goblins, just follow what dey say and you be fine."

What appeared before the two muggles was like nothing they had ever seen before, a whole lane of shops running as far as the eye could see, tall and wonky buildings leaning over them, painted bright colours with strange and beautiful things all around. The first store that Lily saw was bright blue store with stacks and stacks of cauldrons. They were all different shapes and sizes, Lily looked up at her mother.

"Come on let's go to the bank first, and then we can start buying your school supplies."

They had gotten their money, it was different to what they were used to but her mother

had happily taken the gold and bronze coins handed to her. And headed back to the first store she saw, one that easily caught her attention.

"So, I was wondering, I realise my daughter needs her school robes, but is there anything else she may need when she gets to Hogwarts? I honestly hadn't heard of Hogwarts before she got her acceptance letter, and now we've been left with little idea of what she may need, other than the list we were provided." Rose said to a woman name Madam Malkin, they were in the robe store, buying Lily's school uniform.

"No you should be fine just pack for all seasons," Madam Malkin said reassuringly, Rose seemed relieved, the bell rung as another customer walked in, Lily watched as the boy walked towards the mirror she was standing before, it was large and covered most of the back wall. The boy was older than her, he had shockingly blonde hair and was escorted by another boy and two girls, the other boy was around her age, with two girls that were older as well.

"Well Sirius, let's get you dressed for school," The eldest girl said, she was pretty with pixie like features, a heart shaped face and pointed nose, she had short curly brown hair with a heavy fringe, she short and toned, like she played sports a fair amount.

"Yeah, yeah." The youngest of the said, a boy with the most enchanting silver eyes, great pools of emotion. He had a straight strong nose; he looked like he was from a well off family, not entirely unlike her own.

The last girl was the same age as the first boy, she hung around him with an air of elegance she'd never seen in someone so young, long silver blonde hair hung around her face, perfectly framing her elfin beauty.

"Don't complain," the eldest warned the boy named Sirius; she turned her back on him waiting for Madam Malkin.

"Hi," He said to Lily leaning past the first boy to wave at her. "I'm Sirius Black, you look like a first year, what family do you come from?"

"Er… I'm Lily Evans, so the Evans family I guess," Lily replied as her mum disappeared behind stands of clothes, shopping was a favourite hobby of hers.

"A mudblood then," The other boy said with a look of utter disgust at Lily, he would have commented further if it wasn't for the hand that slapped him around the head.

"Be quiet Malfoy, you're our guest and you won't use language like that in front of me!" The eldest scolded.

Lily and her mum left quickly after that.

"Malfoy, that'll be Lucius, he's always been a bit of a prat," James told her as he sat down opposite her. "I know the black family, they're one of the oldest families around, but they aren't that nice, some of them are down right crazy, my dad told me one of them tried to make muggle hunting legal, it's stupid of course, but some of them are properly mad… My Aunt Dorea Black, well a Black Potter, she's not too bad, but she won't ever tell anyone what she thinks one way or another, and uncle Charlus was always a bit of a 'black sheep', but dad says its ok, because they wont ever do anything one way or another."

Lily tried to rein in her fear, but some of these wizarding people were a little bit barmy. When she had first received her letter her own sister thought she was crazy, they'd always been close but this seemed weird, and she wasn't sure how to take it.

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Lily asked, she felt lonely here without her sister, but she was the only witch in her family, James came from a wizarding family; if he had any siblings surely they would be here.

"Yeah, I've got two older brothers and two sisters, I'm the youngest, My oldest brother is out of school already, but the others aren't, Leigh and Sophie are twins they are in their Fourth year, they'll turn fifteen soon, and Will is in his seventh year, he's on the team and head boy," James told Lily with a smile on his face, he was clearly close to his siblings, Lily was a bit jealous. "What about you?"

"I have a sister called Petunia-"

"Petunia?" James questioned, looking uncertain, it wasn't the nicest name he'd ever heard.

"My mum likes flowers, she's called Rose, and I'm Lily and my sister is Petunia, just kinda how it goes. But yeah, that's it, my mum and dad and sister, it's just us in my family," Lily replied, she would have said more, but what could she possibly say that could match up to a whole wizarding family.

"Is it easy? Coming from a non-magical family, I mean my mum gets all the stuff done using magic, except the dishes, she likes washing dishes. Everything else is done with Magic, mum makes us to our dirty washing and cleanup after ourselves, but most of it's done with magic…" James told Lily, she smiled; it seemed so easy to be a wizard.

"I have a nanny, she does a lot of the housework, my mum and dad are really busy, they work a lot," Lily admitted, looking down at her trainer clad foot, she bit her bottom lip and squirmed. "Is it good, being a witch? Am I good being a witch, my sister said that witches were evil, she doesn't think they are now, because I'm not… but are… Are witches evil?"

James looked at Lily, she was small and delicate, he saw just this girl who knew nothing. He would have answered if it weren't for the fact that the door was slammed open, and a familiar face popped around the door.

"Sorry for that," The voice said, the person was a boy, the same age as James, Lily would have assumed, he had dark hair like James but his was perfectly curled, he had an aristocratic nose, sharp and thin with matching cheek bones, he was extremely handsome even at such a young age. Lily recognised him instantly, it would have been impossible for anyone else to have those exact deep silver eyes she had seen at Madame Malkins. "Lily Evans the muggleborn, and a Potter… I need somewhere to sit, do you mind?"

"Not particularly," James replied, he obviously knew Sirius, how well Lily couldn't place.

"Andromeda said you'd be another Gryffindor, I'm kind of hoping I will be too," Sirius mentioned as he sat down by Lily, he flicked back his hair form his eyes and grinned, his grin was one that showed he wanted to cause all sorts of trouble. "What about you Lily Evans the Muggleborn?"

"It's Lily, and I don't know what you mean, Gryffindor?" Lily was confused, she didn't understand the meaning of Gryffindor, was it a person a place? She knew little about Hogwarts, when McGonagall had appeared on her door step dressed in emerald robes the same colour as Lily's eyes, she'd explained that Lily was different, she was a witch, and told her parents about the advantages of Lily attending Hogwarts, but happened there wasn't really talked about. She knew she'd be a first year, and expected to attend classes based around different areas of Magic and that was about it.

"What do you mean you don't know what Gryffindor means?" Sirius asked her with an expression somewhere between astounded and insulted. "You probably are gonna say you don't know what Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Hufflepuff are either!"

By the look of confusion and embarrassment on her face, cheeks glowing ruby, it was evident that she really didn't know what he was talking about; she looked away, her flaming locks falling over her pale face.

"It's alright," James said comfortingly, he felt a bit sorry for her; Sirius had as he knew always been a bit insensitive. James wasn't surprised by the fact she hadn't known, it wasn't like she was physic, she hadn't grown up always talking about it with her parents, she must have only found out a couple of months ago at most. "Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin are all houses at Hogwarts, you'll be put in one, it's not as bad as everyone says, unless you're in Slytherin."

The very word Slytherin sent shivers down her spine, a school house that sounded so creepy couldn't be a good thing.

"Lucius is a Slytherin, you met him at Madame Malkins, he was the one to call you…" Sirius trailed away, unwilling to repeat what was said, but James already knew what Lucius had said, and whatever it was seemed to infuriate James.

"No! Git." James growled. Sirius nodded in agreement. "In future Lily, ignore anyone like Lucius, he's a evil git and he'll get what's coming. It's alright though, I'll look after you

Lily nodded silently, and looked out of the window at the passing fields; she couldn't help but wonder… What had she gotten herself into?