I walked into my common room and I went to flop down on the couch but stopped when I realized a boy was already there. So instead I awkwardly sit down on the other side of the couch. The boy was the one that looked familiar to me, and I knew his name from the sorting to be Neil Walter. I didn't dare mention it to him.

I studied him intently from my own side of the couch. Neil had short brown hair and brown eyes to match. He looked to be about the same height as me which is around 4'4''. He looked over and caught my eye, and he smiled.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hi," I said, slightly embarrassed to be caught staring.

"Neil. Neil Walter," he held out his hand for me to shake.

"Melody Potter. But don't call me Melody, I go by Lily," I said shaking his hand.

Neil chuckled. "So you're the famous Melody Lily Potter."

"In the flesh," I said smirking.

He laughed and we talked for a bit, getting to know each other. The itching sense of familiarity was ever present, and yet I still hadn't figured out where I knew Neil Walter from. Maybe he only looked like someone I knew? Maybe even someone from one of Dudley's TV shows.

"So, where is the famous Lily Potter from?" Neil asked with a smile.

"Little Whinging, Surrey," I said with a shrug.

"Wait Little Whinging?" Neil said, his curiosity peaking. He sat forward in interest.

"Er... Yeah, why?" I said, slightly nervous.

"I live in Little Whinging!" Neil exclaimed happily.

"Really where so?" I asked, hoping to finally have a friend for the summer.

Not that Harry wasn't enough, but I could use another friend to spend time with, alongside Harry, in the summer. Though I wasn't sure how we'd get back and forth. Vernon would never drive us.

"Privet Drive, 9," he said excitedly.

"Privet Drive?! I live on 4 Privet Drive!" I said happily.

Of course. I'd seen Neil passing by on the streets with his mother sometimes. I'd seen him shortly before we'd left for Hogwarts. He was the one I'd felt compelled to hide my copy of Fantastic Beasts from.

"You live in a muggle town?" I asked him curiously.

"Yeah," he shrugged. "I'm half-blood which is why I'm really surprised I got sorted into Slytherin. I've got a witch mother and a muggle father."

"I'm a half blood as well,"I said remembering what Hagrid had told us. "Muggleborn mother and pureblood father."

He nodded. "Hey, we should hang out next summer. I haven't really got any friends back home. No other magic folk live around where we do."

"Thanks, Captain Obvious," I chuckled, and he gave me a light punch in the arm.

While we continued to talk, a girl walked down the stairs from the girls dormitory. She had long wavy black hair and bright blue eyes that really stand out against her black hair. The movement caught my immediate attention.

"You guys wanna quiet down a bit?!" She growled, but looked wide awake. She smirked and sat down beside us. "Name's Sadie. Sadie Bennett."

"Neil Walter."

"Lily Potter."

"Potter?" she asked curiously, her eyes flickering towards my forehead, where my scar was hidden beneath my bangs.

"Yep," I said, smirking. "The better one."

"Nice to meet you," she said with a chuckle. We shook hands. "Hey not to be annoying or anything but can I see your scar?"

I laughed. "It's not annoying, I don't mind."

I swept my long red bangs away from my hazel eyes, and Sadie looked at my scar intently. I cocked an eyebrow.

"Interesting," she mused. "Nah, that's really cool."

I laughed again. The three of us chatted for a while about our house, what we want to do first at Hogwarts stuff like that. We also learn that Sadie is a pure blood witch and a cousin of the Malfoys, who I learned had a very bad reputation among Gryffindors and all them, but a really good reputation among us Slytherins.

"Draco Malfoy?" I asked, recognizing the name.

"Yeah, Draco. Why?" Sadie said, frowning slightly.

"Er, I may have high fived him really hard when he tried to tell me what to do," I said, biting back a laugh. "He was annoying me."

"Merlin's beard you slapped him?!" Sadie laughed, eyes glancing at the boys dormitory stairs.

"Well I slapped him on the hand but I guess technically yeah," I chuckled. "He deserved it, trust me."

We all laughed and joked around and bullying each other gently. I laughed harder when Neil made a joke about Sadie and she pushed him off the couch. He landed with a thud, and I could've sworn I heard a shift coming from the dormitories.

"I'm going to bed," said Sadie at about 10:30.

She stood up, and looked at me expectantly. Slightly tired, I stood up with Sadie. 

"I'm with Sadie, see you tomorrow, Neil," I said, waving.

"I'm probably gonna head up too," Neil said. "Night guys."

I walked up the stairs towards the girl's dormitory alongside Sadie. I changed into one of Pig's huge hand me down shirts and a pair of my sleep shorts. The Dursley's had bought me clothes but not Harry because, first-of-all I was able to manipulatively get my way with them, second-of-all Petunia thought I needed girl clothes presumably to keep her reputation up, third-of-all though Harry was small, I was smaller and if I tried to wear Pig's pants or shorts, they fell off.

I walked over to my bed by the window and sat. My owl sat quietly in a cage beside the window. I opened the cage door and the small owl jumped out and onto my hand. I chuckled quietly.

"What'cha got there?" asked Sadie, sneaking up behind me and surprising me, putting me into immediate defense mode.

"What?" I said surprised, still ready to strike, one hand balled up in a fist. I was a reaction I'd gotten after living with Dudley for a whole decade.

"Chill, Lily," Sadie laughed quietly, putting her hands up in surrender.

"Sorry, to your question, it's an owl," I whispered back. I watched the owl, about the size of a robin, hop onto the bed and jump around.

"That thing's tiny!" Sadie exclaimed. "How's it going to carry mail?"

"The species of owl is only in the magical world," I said, remembering what I'd read on Azorian owls over the summer. "They're really rare and they're extremely fast, smart and strong."

I hopped off the bed and reached under the bed. I pulled out a small rope with a tiny handle at the top.

"This handle hook's on to her feet," I said holding up the tiny handle, "These six ropes tie around whatever package she's carrying. They're enchanted to hold anything no matter how heavy and expand to perfectly fit whatever Stripes is carrying."

"Woah," said Sadie. "But why did you name her stripes?" 

Sadie's eyes travelled over the spots dotting over the owl's wings. I shrugged and picked up the tiny owl. I set her in the cage once again, and let the door click shut. I moved to sit back on my bed.

"Night," said Sadie walking to the bed next to mine, and lying down.

"Night," I said.

Harry? You there? I think to Harry using our telepathy powers, knowing iPods won't work here.

Yeah. Why aren't you sleeping? He asked.

Why aren't you sleeping? I retort. Just wanted to say goodnight. Go to sleep!

Okay. Night Lils.

Night Harry.

I sit in bed and look around. One girl with light hair snored softly, but not enough to be a disturbance. I observeed the four other girls in the room, and notice one other girl sitting up and glaring right at me.

"You know Potter," she said, catching my gaze, "you should've got sorted into Gryffindor with your stupid brother," she paused. "No, you'd be a better Hufflepuff. That is, if you're good enough to even stay in Hogwarts."

This was the girl who had pushed me during the ceremony; Millicent Bulstrode. With no Professors, and no crowd of 1000, I was more confident. I stood and walked to where she sat, hard eyes staring each other down. 

"Don't you ever talk bad about my brother!" I spat in her face, ignoring all her bad talk about me, and caring only for Harry.

"Just because you're one of the chosen one's doesn't give you the right to talk to me like that!" she says, pointing a fat finger in my face.

I glared at her and become slightly aware of the other girls now awake and watching, and Stripes squawking loudly. I wasn't going to be the next one to speak, nor was I going to be the first one to back down from the locked glares we had. It was a personal victory for me when Bulstrode did.

"I'm sorry, am I being too mother like? 'Don't you talk to me like that, young lady'." she laughed. "Of course, you wouldn't know, would you?"

I stepped forward and pointed my wand towards her face, even though I didn't know any magic yet. All the girls gasped. I smirked lightly at the barely noticable look of fear that had begun to creep up a wandless Bulstrode's face.

"Lily we have to go," said Sadie whispered urgently, grabbing my arm. "Come on, now."

Confusedly, I followed behind Sadie, wondering one thing,

What happened?