Dreams Come to Those of the Purest Heart

4. Hogwarts

A/N- It's been a while since I last posted, and considering the fact that only like 5 people have read this, I don't really think that anyone cares so this is really for me. I hope you enjoy it! All characters and places that you recognize belong to J.K. Rowling, please don't sue me.

"Firs' years, over here," the booming voice of an extremely large man announced. He was a bit larger in the stomach than the average man, but that was normal considering the fact that everything about him was larger than the average man. He had to have been roughly 7 feet tall, and his beard was quite impressive. Lily was intimidated by him, but she would never show her fear.

"Hello," Lily said in a clear voice, proud of herself for not letting it shake. "I'm Lily. How are you?" All her newly made friends looked at her in some mix of awe and interest. Obviously they were intrigued by him, but they let their fear stop them from approaching him.

"Well, aren't you jus' a perky fella? My name is Hagrid, and I'm the groundskeeper. I'm doin' quite well, thank you fer askin'. Are ya excited ter be off to Hogwarts under the finest Headmaster the school has ever seen?" the large man replied.

"Yes, I can't wait to study magic and learn how to become a great witch! I want to make my parents proud!"

"Well, then feel free ter hop into a boat to get across the lake fer yer sorting ceremony! I'm sure I will see yer around the school grounds, and if not, then ya can feel free to visit me in me hut by the pumpkin patch," Hagrid said with a smile, amused at her eagerness.

"Of course! See you later!" she replied with a bright smile. "C'mon Sev, we can't be late!"

Sev grumbled something but followed her, not liking that Lily was making a group of friends already when Sev could not seem to find one new one. He didn't want to be alone, and he didn't want to be stuck befriending the lonely muggleborns or social outcasts while Lily became popular and forgot about him.

There were only 3 spots per boat, so Lily, Sev, and Emmeline broke off from the rest of the girls once they found a boat. Lily, of course, sat in the middle because although they had just met, Sev and Emmeline were not exactly off to a good start. They didn't dislike each other, per say, but they did not look like they wanted to be BFF's. They had nothing to say to each other, so they didn't try to force pleasantries.

Lily, of course, could get along with a rock if she tried to, and Emmeline had no problems befriending her. Lily was the sunshine that others soaked in and clung to as if they would shrivel up without it, even if it hurt her in the process. The only thing that could stop Lily from making friends was Sev, and so far that hadn't been much of a hindrance.

"So, I hope to either be in Ravenclaw, or Gryffindor," Emmeline stated, smiling brightly, confident that she would get one or the other. Sev had turn away from her to hide a slight sneer on his face when she said the name of the second house. Of course Lily would befriend a Gryffindor loser.

"Well, I hope you get in. Personally, I don't care where I end up, so long as I have friends and do well in my classes," Lily responded, careful with her answer since Sev was close. She didn't want to hurt his feelings, but she didn't want to lie either.

"But we would prefer Slytherin," Sev had to chime in. "I mean, we don't want to be seen as weak, right Lils?"

"Well, I just want to have fun. If people think I am weak, then who cares? I know that I am not, and my friends will know that I am not, and that is really all that matters," Lily finished, letting her emotions fill her words. Emmeline was looking at her with a slight smile.

"I know you're not weak, because if you were then you wouldn't be so assertive and friendly. You could make a good Hufflepuff, or maybe a Ravenclaw! Ooh, do you think that we could be Ravenclaw's together, and then be roommates? That would be awesome!" Emmeline squealed.

"Let's find out!" she responded right as the boat hit the edge of the lake. They got out, careful to not soak their robes, but they still got slightly damp from the ride over.

As the approached the castle, a dazed look clouded Lily's eyes. Although it was dark, Lily could still see the grounds well. As she fell into her quick daydream, she saw herself hanging out with her friends as she grew on these grounds. She saw snowball fights, quick swims, lessons, laughs, picnics, reading sessions, maybe even love play out in her head. This might finally be my home.

She thought that her home was perfect, until she met Sev. Lily had the perfect life, and a best friend that she loved more than anything, but when Sev came into her life and filled that position, her sister became cold. It wasn't a noticeable cold, but a slight chill, distancing herself from her younger sister.

Until that morning, actually, Petunia had never made it official that their time of talking over cones of ice cream was done. Lily hadn't realized it, but when she reflecting upon the past two years, she realized that her home hadn't been the welcoming place that she had loved for years.

It was hard to wrap her head around, but on the train ride, when she wasn't talking to her new friends, she started to accept it. What she did not expect was that she would find a replacement so soon. It was literally a few hours ago, and she felt horrible, but when Lily looked around, she saw that many kids were experiencing the same feeling of belonging.

As she shook her head to focus, she started towards the castle. "Um, Lils? That's the wrong way," Sev said, hiding a slight smile.

"Right," Lily said, not letting that deter her from her happiness. There were like, a hundred different entrances to the castle. Who wouldn't get confused which specific one they were meant to use?

Giggling, Emmeline hooked her arm through Lily's, and the rest of their newly formed group joined them.

Lily looked expectantly at Sev, hoping that he would join in on their silly antics, but Sev thought that he was too cool for that, and he decided to walk a safe distance from them so that no one would suspect that he was with them.

"Aw, Severus doesn't want to be seen with us. Apparently we embarrass him. Don't worry, we'll stop," Marlene said, right before her face split into a smirk and she started belting at the top of her lungs.

"WE'RE... OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD, THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF HOGWARTS!" Marlene screeched, and everyone's head turned as the rest of the group joined in, somehow simultaneously changing the lyrics to fit in with their new wizarding world.

Sev turned red at the attention they were grabbing, feeling relief when he realized that none of the older kids would be able to see what was occurring at the moment. He tried to grab Lily's attention to stop her from "embarrassing herself" any further, but when he saw the look of pure joy on her face and the amused smiles she was getting from the rest of the first years, he decided against it.

Maybe he wanted Lily to fit in and act like him, but he also wanted her to be herself. He wanted her happy, and if it caused him a bit of embarrassment in the end, so what? Her smile made it all worth it. Little did Lily know that he would walk off the edge of the Earth for her. (But he knew that the Earth was round so technically that would not be possible, but you get the jist).

And with the singing group of skipping girls leading them, the first years entered the castle that would house them for the next year.

A/N: Well, that made me happy so sorry if you didn't enjoy it. Thank you to the like 1 person reading this, and I hope that you stick along for the journey to come. I may not give the Marauder Era the justice that it deserves, but it deserves some recognition and if I can give these characters some sort of story, then my effort is worth it.