Title: Spider's Web
Author: RadioactiveDuck
Rating: T
Summary: Lily was happy in life. She had everything she'd ever wanted, and now to seal the deal she was going to marry a lordling, one Severus Snape. But her life is knocked askew when she falls into the wrong hands. Lily/James, AU
Beta: None
Disclaimer: I'm not Rowling. I have no wish to be Rowling. The characters you recognize are not mine. This disclaimer applies to all future chapters.
A/N: I'm going to try not to waste your time, but I do need to make a few statements about the fic. First off, it is way AU. Usually I try to stay true to the books, but this is an exception. I've taken liberties. Lily is going to be slightly OoC, at least in the beginning. Eventually this will be Lily/James, but be patient, it's not yet there. The rating is currently only for language. I am unsure content-wise of where I'm going with this, but I'm sure the rating will factor in eventually. It usually does. And, lastly, I don't want to waste space by thanking you all/answering your questions in a chapter at the beginning or end. Just let me know if you'd like a reply (by saying so in your review) and give me the means to email you. Thanks in advance. And yes, before you ask, the chapters will probably get longer. This one is more of a Prologue than anything else.
And now, without further ado, I give you Spider's Web.
Delilah Victoria Evans could not help but consider herself perfect. She'd been told her entire life that she was beautiful – with her stunning green eyes and brilliant, fiery hair, milky white skin without so much as a freckle to mar its flawless surface, and tapered waist that was tiny enough for her fiance to wrap his hands around – and had long since come to accept it as fact. Not only was she beautiful, she was also remarkably intelligent. Just turned sixteen, she had recently completed her last course of schooling, earning top marks in each of her classes, including geography, Spanish, reading and writing, arithmetic, and of course fine etiquette. To top it all off, she was quite wealthy. Or at least her parents were.
Her parents, of course, could not help but admit that their precious Delilah was so much better than her eldest sister, Petunia. It was just the two girls, and Mr. and Mrs. Evans favored their baby girl as anyone would, doting upon her with fine silk dresses and the best jewelry and trinkets they could afford. Whatever she wanted, they got for her. Petunia had her share, of course, but it was painfully obvious to the whole of London that it was the younger daughter who ran the family. Needless to say, Petunia was very put out with Delilah and the tension between the sisters was almost tangible. They loved each others, as sisters do, but after Petunia had been married off to one Vernon Dursley she rarely bothered to come around.
Delilah was thrilled with the prospect of her own upcoming marriage. Her fiance – a Lord, no less – was almost as good a catch as they came. He was young, only a year or two older than she, and not altogether ugly, though his hair could do with a good washing and his nose was slightly hooked. All the same, Delilah thought him to be a kind enough man when it suited him, and after her agreement to his proposal it had suited him just fine. He was rich, besides, rolling in enough old money that Delilah could not even begin to fathom how she would begin to spend it. She could hardly wait for the day when she would become Lady Delilah Victoria Evans Snape. It was a good-sounding name, and she was happy.
Content to think upon only her upcoming marriage, Delilah never dreamed of a day where things did not go her way. Little did she know that destiny would see fit to intervene and knock her from her comfortable bubble into the swirling turmoil of reality.