A Hogwarts Tale (Year 1)

#5 - Exploding Snap & Exceptions

L I L Y E V A N S
Lily stretched out her arms and yawned. "We should be getting to sleep. It's almost midnight." Suddenly, she realised the severity of the situation. "Oh my gosh! Oh no! It's almost midnight! We're going to be walking zombies tomorrow! Like the undead on our first day of school!"

Silently agreeing with Lily, Dorcas nodded. Marlene rolled her eyes. "Oh, Lily, don't get your knickers in a twist! It's the first day of school, the teachers aren't going to give us such a huge load of homework!"

Despite Marlene's reassurance, Lily shuffled around uncomfortably. "Well, I'm going to sleep. And you should too," Lily huffed and made for the bed. Alice said hesitantly, "Y'know, maybe Lils is right. It is kinda late."

Marlene moaned, "Bah! The lot of you are way too boring. I didn't plan to sleep at all!" Alice got up and followed Lily's actions. All eyes landed on Dorcas. She trembled, anxious on whose side to take. Lily tapped her foot on the floor impatiently.

Dorcas stuttered, "I-I-I..." She muttered something about writing a letter to her parents. Lily decided to follow suit, since her parents would probably want to hear all about her 'Voodoo School' as her dad called it.

Petunia probably wouldn't care, but still, Lily didn't care about her. However, at the thought of Petunia, Lily's stomach clenched uncertainly.

Plopping herself onto one of the four desk chairs, Lily wrote to her parents about everything.

Glancing to her right, Lily saw part of Dorcas' teeny-tiny handwriting.

Dearest Mummy and Daddy,
I miss you so much! I find it easier to write than to speak, so I will feel more contented with this. I was Sorted into Gryffindor, but I don't understand why! I'm not brave, I'm a complete weakling and

"You're not a weakling," Lily blurted out to Dorcas, feeling genuinely sorry for the poor girl. Dorcas looked up, startled. She noticed Lily staring at her letter, and blushed, covering her words with her hand.

Lily lowered her voice to a whisper. "Dorcas, seriously. You were Sorted into Gryffindor because the Sorting Hat saw bravery in you. Don't ever think otherwise."

Dorcas' face broke into a beautiful smile. Her brown eyes silently thanked Lily, and she scribbled a small note on a spare piece of parchment.

You are a really nice person.

Lily felt touched by this small gesture and returned the favour.

So are you. No matter how quiet you are.

Dorcas flashed her another grateful smile, before she went back to finishing her letter. Lily also continued on her writing, having something new to write about her friends.

••••••• T I M E S K I P •••••••

"I've finished my letter. Dorcas, why don't I help you bring your letter to the Owlery?" Lily asked. Dorcas nodded and said quietly, "Thank you, my owl is Pierre. He's a tawny owl." Lily made a mental note of that information. Alice jumped up, offering, "I'll come with you, Lily!" Linking arms with Lily, Alice practically dragged her out the door.

Alice looked like she was about to explode. When Alice and Lily exited the common room, Alice asked excitedly, "So, what do you think of them?" Lily did not need to ask to know Alice was referring to Dorcas and Marlene.

"Well, Dorcas is very quiet. But she seems like a nice person. I don't really like Marlene though. She seems kind of rude. Basically, this year is going to be interesting."

Alice nodded in accordance to Lily's comments, although she then said, "I agree with you on Dorcas. But Marlene is awesome. She seems like one of those cool kids."

Lily frowned. "Marlene reminds me of those bullies back at home who used to constantly tease and bully Sev." At Alice's questioning look, Lily explained, "Severus Snape. He's my best friend, and he was the first person to explain to me about magic. My parents are Muggles, you see." Alice nodded, although the same confused exoression lingered on her features.

"What house is Severus is?" Alice asked curiously. Lily answered quickly. Alice gasped, "Slytherin! Your best friend is in Slytherin! Gryffindors and Slytherins are mortal enemies, they can't stand each other, let alone be best friends!"

Lily folded her arms stubbornly. "Are you just going to be like all the others, looking down on the Slytherins. We never know, maybe Severus and I will be an exception."

Alice sighed, "Well, I suppose that if he is your best friend, he must be a good person. If there's anything about you that I know, it's that I trust your judgement."

Revealing a small grin, it was Lily, this time, who linked arms with Alice as they trottes off to the Hogwarts Owlery. Maybe there was more to Alice than aimless chatter. Somehow. Lily felt that she had just gained a new friendship.
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Hi! I hope y'all have enjoyed the story so far. I have a lot planned for it. I'm thinking about making this a series, so it follows their journey from first year, all the way to seventh year.

Tell me what you think in the comments 😉

Megs R. 🖋