Hey everyone.
I'm sorry for taking months with this. I had the SATs and final exams, then went on vacay for Christmas Break. And my old beta had left me :( but I have a great new one to take her place: LoonyLIkeLuna. Unfortunetly, she isn't responding to my emails at the moment, so this chapter is only half beta-ed. I've written up to chapter four, so if my beta doesn't respond I'll post faster, but they'll be unbeta-ed.
Sorry again, hope you like this one. I messed up the tense in this, so if you find some things (is instead of was, I'm instead of I was) then if you could point them out to me I will try to fix them.
Chapter One
Lily
On the way home, Mum was silent. We were driving back. I was in the back seat, fidgeting with my jeans and tapping my fingers on the windowsill, until Mum snapped, "Stop that!" I stopped, instead cracking my knuckles…but Mum protested that too, with a sharp, "Lily Evans, stop fidgeting!"
My eyes widened and I raised my hands defensively, trying to figure out the reason for the new hostility. "Sorry."
Silence reigned once more, and I occupied my time staring out of the window, and reading a second year Charms book that Madelyn lent me for the summer. Mum was quiet, before she glanced back. "What are you reading?"
"Charms book," I said quietly. Her fingers, clenched around the steering wheel, tense.
"And in these…Charms books, do they teach you how to…" Mum trailed off, but I realized what She was trying to said. No, Mum, I think acidly, They don't teach me how to alter appearances. You're awfully subtle today.
"No, Mum. Charms was basically spells that make stuff happen—make things fly, make things come to you, you know…" I said, pausing. "Really, it's very harmless."
"I see," said Mum. I thought she was upset because she isn't an expert on this—I knew more then she—and she wanted to be an expert, so she can help me. She paused, tapped her fingers on the wheel, and said sharply and randomly, "I hope you have summer homework."
I was confused at the jump, but I nodded vigorously. "I have tons," I said truthfully. I sort of wondered why she asked, though I really shouldn't have been confused; Mum was a big fan of summer homework. "Why?" I said, when she didn't elaborate.
"Because, young lady, that's what you're going to be doing all summer!" I winced at her tone. 'Young lady?' Not good. She continued, annoyed I didn't get her point, "In your room!"
"Where else am I going to do it?" I said, a bit bewildered. I wasn't in the mood for this" I was tired, I had a little headache and I was sweating like crazy…oh, Merlin! I didn't pay attention to the magical swear as I began to panic. I was sick! I hated being sick! I was so powerless and weak and I felt miserable.
"Lily Autumn Evans!" Mum snapped, but I didn't pay attention. I stared feverishly at my hands—was it my imagination, or are little green dots breaking out? No. It was my imagination! Shhhh, Lily, CALM DOWN. Jeez.
"…are you even listening to me?!" Mum said angrily, looking at me in the rearview mirror. "Lily Evans, you are this close to being grounded for the entire summer!"
"Sorry, Mum," I said weakly. I didn't hesitate to add, "I don't feel good," because she was my mum. However mad she may be, she cared about my health.
After all, if I was dead, she couldn't yell at me.
"Don't feel well—oh, dear," Mum said, her tone of voice changing as she glanced back again in the mirror. She was at a red light, so she flipped her left-hand blinkers and when it was green, she turned into a gas station, pulling up in front of a small shop. She unbuckled her seatbelt and turned around, placing a hand on my warm, slightly damp forehead. "Oh, dear," she repeated. "You're burning up! Oh, dear, you must've caught something from the train! All those germs…I'll call Richard and told him you're ill and to run out to get some aspirin and NyQuil. Maybe some Tylenol…no, we'll wait. Wherever was my phone? Lily, dearie, stay still—Hello? Richard? I have Lily—you did? She said what? How dare the little bitch—sorry, Lily, witch—I mean, uh, how dare the little brat said such a thing? Did you yell at her nice and properly, Richard?"
I rolled my eyes at Mum as she chattered on to Dad, before I interrupted with a soft, "Mum…" I as a bit insulted at her biatch-brat-witch comment, even though I knew she didn't mean a witch like me.
Mum paused and blushed. "Oh, yes, sorry, Lily-flower!" So I've gone from being grounded to being Lily-flower in a blink of an eye? I've got to get sick more often! "Richard, dearest, will you drop by the drugstore and pick up some aspirin and NyQuil an Tylenol for Lily? She was caught an awful fever, and I simply cannot manage without some medicine. I'll be home in fifteen, twenty minutes, so can you get it by then? Oh, and some ginger beer and some bread, and—no, no milk, it's the BRAT diet, remember? Bread, Rice, Apples and Toast. Ok, fine, Richard! Bananas, Rice, Apples and Toast. Just get all of those things!"
I smothered a laugh as she huffed and hung up the phone. Now that Mum was all relaxed and normal, maybe we could actually talk—but, I didn't want to get her mad at me again.
"So, Lily," Mum said, her voice suddenly deceptively calm. She was still looking at me concernedly, but she had this crafty look in her eyes. Like a now-that-my-daughter-was-sick-maybe-I-can-get-some-information-from-her-aren't-I-a-clever-mommy? look. "Have you ever made, I didn't know, powders? In chemistry?"
"We call it Potions, Mum," I said. Don't get me wrong—I knew exactly where this was going. So much for actually talking. I pretended not to realize what she was hinting at, so maybe she would realize I was innocent in the whole Petunia thingy. "And no, we never make them."
"Not even for, I didn't know, plant fertilizer or something?" Mum said, her voice even.
"No," I said truthfully. "We make potions in Potions."
Mum flushed a little, and she sighed loudly. "Lily, I am not going to lie. I am very disappointed in you right now."
I am very disappointed in you!Why would she be disappointed in me? I felt horrible, my eyes widening as I stare at her in shock. "But…Mum! I didn't do anything!"
"Didn't you dare lie, Lily Evans!" Mum snapped, "Didn't lie! You sent home a letter, sprayed Petunia with this awful powder, and made her look simply awful!"
"No, I didn't!" I cried. "I swear to you, Mum, I didn't! I sent her a letter, sure, but it only said hi! I swear!"
"Then how do you explain this?" Mum handed me a crumpled, ripped piece of paper that had been taped together.
I took one look, and froze in shock.
He'd gone too far this time, much too far.
"Well, Lily?" Mum said in that 'I was waiting!' voice that I despised.
I ignored her, staring at the hurried, boy's handwriting with disgust. "Potter," I growled under my breath, my eyes narrowing. "I am going to kill you."
••••••••
James
"Jamsie, dearie, how was school?" Mum asked me chattily as she levitated my trunk over to the Apparation point. I was finally old enough to Side-Along Apparate! Yes!
"Good," I said absently, unwrapping a leftover chocolate frog. It leaps from my hand, but my hand shot out and grabs it.
"Nice reflexes," said a boy behind me. I turned. He's blond, blue-eyed, tall and athletic looking. "You a Gryffindor?"
"Yeah," I said, wondering who he was.
As if reading my mind, he flashed me a grinned. "I was Sam. Sam Oren."
"Oren?" I gasped. "Your brother's the Quidditch captain!"
He grinned. "Yeah. I'm in second—well, now third year, and he told me to keep an eye out for talent. You thought about trying out? Just finished first year, right?"
Mum turned, finally, and smiled politely at the boy. She put a hand on my shoulder. "James here was a very good Quidditch player," she said charitably. I grinned, thankful that she didn't call me Jamsie.
"James?" Sam said. He winked. "I'll remember you. Remember to try out for Quidditch—Andy, our seeker, isn't coming back next year."
I smiled, delighted, even though I don't want to be a seeker—I love being a chaser. It was much more fun. "Sure!" I said, smiled wide. "I'd love to!"
He grinned back. "Well, I gotta go. See you later, James."
"Bye, Sam!" I called after him, before turning to mum. She had an amused look on her face. "What?"
"Nothing, nothing," she said, smiling affectionately at me. "Now come on. Hold very tightly on to me—this might be uncomfortable…"
"Mum, let's go!" I complained. "You always worry too mu—" My voice spiraled off as we twisted into space. My head was deflating and inflating, my insides were twisting around my body, and I felt like my body was a piece of rubber that had been stretched through a too-small tube. "Aurgh!" I said when we land, shuddering. My ears hurt! "What was that?"
Mum laughed. "Apparation."
I was horrified. "Was it always like that?"
She shook her head. "First time's always the worst," she levitated my bag and ushered me into the house. "Now come on, Mr. Quidditch Player. Time for lunch."
Mr. Quidditch Player?
••••••
Lily
"What was it?" Mum said. "Potter? You used clay?"
I would've laughed, but I was staring at the familiar handwriting, feeling strangely betrayed. I didn't know why—goodness knows, Potter and I weren't loyal to one another, but this? I mean, our relationship resided on his stupid pranks and me telling him off, but this kind of…crossed a line. Even when I cursed him after he turned me into a rat, we kind of reached an understanding. He pranked me, I retaliated. Simple. This was uncalled for, and so…cruel? Mean? Thoughtless?
"Lily, what does 'potter' mean?"
I shrugged weakly and spoke softly, stomach lurching as we drove over a bump. "James Potter did this."
"James Potter? The polite, black-haired boy?" Mum said, trying to put a face on the name. "The one who, what was it, greeted us at the gate?"
"No," I said automatically. I didn't remember who greeted us, but it couldn't've been Potter if he was described as polite. Wait—"No," I said again. "That was Sirius Black."
"Then who was it? Why would they do such a thing?" Mum said, a bit angrily. I didn't blame her one bit.
"Mum, Potter and I didn't have the best relationship," I said carefully, trying to get her to understand without going into detail. "We were enemies."
"But what does he have against Petunia?" She was indignant.
I was too. "I think he just wanted to get me in trouble," I said, suddenly tired of the discussion as we pull up in front of our house. It looked exactly the same as it did last summer; there was no evidence to suggest that I'd been gone a year. "I didn't know, Mum. I was tired and I was sick. Can I just go to bed?"
Mum looks indecisive. She opened her door and climbed gracefully out, her pretty brown hair swinging in the air. She opened mine as well. "Of course, Lily-flower, but please. Can you at least give me their phone number?"
"They won't have a phone," I said. "Look, just write them a letter. Artemis can deliver it anywhere."
She sighed heavily. "Ok, you go get changed and in bed. I'll bring you some ginger beer and medicine as soon as Richard gets back." I shrugged and turn to go. "And, Lily?" I turned. "I was sorry about not believing you."
'Cause sorry really helps. "It's ok, Mum," I lied, but…it's not. I wasn't sure what I felt, but I felt betrayed by Mum this time. She jumped to conclusions, the exact opposite of what she always told me not to do. How is that fair?
••••••
James
I was clowning around with my dad after lunch, the two of us throwing a Quaffle around outside and talking about my pranks. Mum was upstairs, talking on the Floo with her friends, so it's strictly men time.
"And then, I turned her into a rat!" I said gleefully, looking at Dad for approval.
He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Why?" he said simply.
Why? Dad doesn't ask me why, I thought crossly. "Because she ratted us out!" I said more sharply then usual. Dad raised an eyebrow and I muttered, "Sorry. She deserved it, though!"
"Because she ratted you out?" Dad said, considering it. "James, human-to-animal transfiguration was serious. Trust me; you were lucky nothing went wrong."
I felt mutinous. "Dad, I was not stupid! It wasn't dangerous!"
"Was it a Zonko's product?" Dad quizzesd me. This was normal; he likes to know how I do stuff, but I felt annoyed this time.
"Yes, Dad! It was a Zonko's product!"
"James," Dad said warningly. Then, "Do you still have the bottle?"
"Yes," I said angrily. "Just summon it!"
Dad raised his eyebrow again at my tone, but I didn't felt repentant. I was older now! I didn't need to be told me what to do! I was not a baby anymore! "Accio Rat Potion," he said after opening my bedroom window with a flick of his wand.
A small bottle zoomed out, and Dad caught it nimbly. He reads all the words on the bottle while I rolled my eyes exasperatedly and stomped over to the broom shed to get my broom…wait a sec, where was my real broom? Only the training broom was there. "Dad, where's my broom?" I asked as he spoke:
"James, come here. Now."
His voice was so serious that I blanched and ran over, broom forgotten. "What?"
Dad read, "WARNING: Do not give to a) anyone older then twenty-seven b) girls during, uh, girls at certain points of the month," his ears reddened for some reason. "And c) anyone allergic to these following things…"
He reads off a list of things in the potion, before setting it down. "James, you could've put Lily Evans in danger!"
"Come on, Dad," I said dismissively. "It was fine. Why worry?"
Dad sighs. "James, promise me, be more careful next time. Ok?" I could hear the disapproval in his voice, probably something to do with the fact that I wasn't more cautious. I knew that I have to promise or he might get Mum involved, and that would be hellish.
I nodded fervently, glad he wasn't lecturing me anymore. "Promise."
He's quiet for a few moments, before he claps his hands together, mischievous look in his eyes. "Wondering where your broom was?"
I nod enthusiastically, glad to change the subject. "Guess what!" I said, grinning. "Sam Oren invited me to join the Quidditch team! As Seeker!"
He grinned appreciatively, before motioning to the shed again. "Look really hard, James, and something might just appear - Revelio! "
I frowned at the strange word — Revelio? — but looked again…and shouted in excitement. "YOU GOT ME A NEW BROOM??"
"No," Dad said, wiping the smile off my face. He winked. "I took your old broom and traded it in for this one. Top of the line, hot off the presses, whatever you young folk say nowadays."
I frowned. "So I got a new broom?"
"Yup."
I did something I rarely do anymore: I launched myself at Dad, wrapping my arms around his tall frame. My glasses are knocked askew, but I really didn't care. A new broom! Whoohooo! "THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!" I yelled, dancing in a circle. "Can I try it out? Can I? Can I?"
Dad was laughing. "Sure, son," he said, "Go for it."
I jump on the broom, plant both feet firmly on the ground like Dad always said to, and push off smoothly. I shoot into the air, wind streaming behind me and ruffling my hair as I shoot into the air at a 45° angle. The broom's got wicked acceleration, the reaction time faster then my old one. "What was this?"
"A Silver Shooting Arrow!" Dad calls up to me. "A one-of-a-kind, limited edition collaboration between Shooting Stars and Silver Arrows."
SWEET! I zoom into the air, circling around Dad like a hawk. He grinned up at me, pulled something from his pocket, careful to not touch it with his skin, instead wrapping his sleeve around his hand before he grabbed it. It glinted gold, and he threw it into the air, the wings fluttering and flashing in the sunlight.
"YOU GOT ME A SNITCH?" I yelled, extremely happy as I zoom after it. My Quidditch set was complete! My hazel eyes were fixed firmly on the golden ball, and I twisted sharply, loop around a tree and leapt off my broom in a fluid movement that had Dad swearing and summoning his broom. Me? I was flying through the air, free, and excited…until my hands closed around a golden snitch and I landed, a little harshly, on my wooden broom. "WHOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO!"
"James Andrew Potter!" Dad yelled, his graying black hair ruffling in the wind. His hazel eyes glinted behind glasses as he glared at me. "Damn broom," he muttered as he urged an old Silver Arrow up to me. "Nearly gave me a heart attack! Didn't you dare do that ever again?"
I was laughing, grinning like mad, twisting and turning on my narrow broom. "WHOOO!" I yell, extremely excited. I'd timed it just right—the broom had been going so fast that when I'd leaped off it, it had wobbled and slowed just enough that I could land on it. "Sorry Dad!" I said, but we both know I didn't mean it. "THAT WAS SO AWESOME!"
Dad reached out a hand and grabs the tail of my broom, jerking me back a bit too sharply. He was breathing harder then I am. His tanned face was pale. "James, oh James," he said, as he slid from his broom to mine, letting the older stick of wood spiral to the ground.
"Dad! Gerroff!" I said, squirming as the added weight made me slower. "Dad!"
He wraps strong hands around me, the familiar smell of ashes from the floo and cinnamon cologne —a strange but familiar combination—which made me feel safe. I leaned back into his embrace, quickly forgetting about my irritation. My heart was still beating hard from my stunt, and I could feel his doing the same. "James," he said, voice hoarse. "I could've lost you. I could've lost my little boy."
"Dad," I complained. "I was not little anymore!"
He laughed, the vibration of his chest making me smile unwillingly. He hugged me tighter. "You're still little to me, Jay. Didn't do that, please!"
I grinned slightly, rolling my eyes. "I won't, Dad," Where you can see, that is.
We rode together after that, his warm calloused hands showing me how to hold the firm wooden handle more loosely but more firmly. He said it would help me steer and suddenly grab for the snitch or quaffle if I had to. I'd just flipped us upside down by accident, and we were laughing, before Mum stormed out of the house. The door banged behind her, and she waved a letter in the air as she glares at me.
"James Andrew Potter!" Mum hissed, her greenish eyes locked to mine. Her gray-red hair was tied up in a bun, but little strands poke out. "Explain yourself!"
I shrugged, thinking she meant the whole thing with Rat-Lily. "Mum, she was safe as a rat. Honestly, didn't worry!" I coasted to the ground, dropping Dad off as I sit cross-legged on the vibrating broom.
Mum stopped short, momentarily distracted. "You turned someone into a rat??"
I laughed weakly, realizing she hadn't known…hee hee…"I was just kidding," I said hastily. "Carry on."
Her eyes narrowed suspiciously, but she dropped it. "Come inside this instant!" Mum yelled, working up steam in record time.
I didn't move, putting a hand on my broom to steady it. I exchanged a look with Dad. Well, I tried to exchange a look with him. He was staring at Mum, an unreadable look on his face. "Elizabeth," he said (and that was strange in itself—he always called her his Lizzie Rose or Liz. You get the point. Never Elizabeth!), "What's the matter?"
Mum gave him the letter silently. I waited impatiently as he scans it, the look on his face going graver and graver until his face looked like it was made of stone. I gulped. This was his Auror face, the one that showed everybody he meant business and they should start making a will, since they were busted. It had never been directed at me, though. "James," he said finally, rock in his voice, ice in his eyes (I read that in a book once), "Explain."
"Explain what?" I said, "Someone explain to me!"
"James Andrew, this was no time for jokes," Dad said. The same hazel eyes I own glint at me from within his aging face, but there was nothing old about the look he's giving me. It's…
Disappointed.
•••••••
Lily
I sat in bed, holding my head. I had a headache. As in, owwwww! I had the flu. The FLU. I felt like…like…like trash that's been crumpled up and thrown away!
I groaned.
"Shut up, Lily!" The voice was yelled from next door, and I groaned a second time. Petunia. What fun. "Lily, I mean it! Ok, so nobody's paying you any attention! Deal!"
I spitefully mimicked her, scrunching up my face as I mouthed the words, annoyed. Why hadn't Mum told Petunia that I didn't do anything! God! "Petunia, chill!" I said, knowing it'll only irritate her further. I didn't care! She was so annoying! I was tired of being the responsible, mature younger sister who keeps the peace around here!
"Chill? Chill? Excuse me?" Petunia said from within her room. She slammed something down, open and closed her door with a bang, and appeared in my open doorway. Her hair was up and her horsey face was twisted with a look of anger and disgust. "Excuse me, Lily?"
"I said, chill!" I said heatedly, before breaking off into a bout of coughing.
"Oh, boohoo, Lily's sick!" Petunia said in a mock-baby voice, glaring daggers at me. "Mum and Dad will be fussing over you as usual, then."
"Petunia, grow up," I said, suddenly tired. "Just go and be jealous in petty in your room. I didn't care! It's not my problem! Go! Go and be miserable, go and be all 'poor me, nobody likes me.' The reason nobody likes you was because you didn't want anybody to like you! You like getting attention that way—well, too bad! I was sick of it!" I glared at the shocked Petunia.
"Excuse me?" Petunia repeated.
"Oh, yeah, did I forget to mention something?" I said heatedly, "I didn't write that damn letter! James Potter did!"
Petunia was silent. Then, "Lily," she said quietly, "You swore."
I smiled, feeling a sense of…freedom. Liberation. I swore. Me, Lily Evans. I swore. It wouldn't be a big deal to, say, Lizzie, but I never swear. It felt good, though. "Yeah," I said quietly, "I did."
She looked at me somberly. "Too bad you lied."
My mouth dropped open, but she gives me this look—unreadable but somehow, as if she was trying to tell me something, but I couldn't see what—and walked out the room, closing my wooden door behind her with a soft click.
Click.
••••••
James
I stewed in my room, glaring at the door sullenly. I was
grounded. Grounded! As if! I didn't get grounded! Jeez, I had never gotten seriously grounded in my life! All because of that stupid prank we pulled ages ago. Remember? The one we pulled on Petty Petunia and Evil Evans. It was an innocent joke, but Evil Evans spilled to her mother who spilled to my mother who spilled to Dad. Ugh. Now, I was freaking grounded! How did she even know it was me, anyways? And how come Sirius and Remus and Peter didn't get busted?
"James, dear," Mum said softly from the doorway. Argh! I'd locked it! Stupid magic and Traces and Underage Laws and Meddling Mothers With Wands.
I turned my back on Mum, facing the wall. I hit the Play button on my state-of-the-art Wizard Wireless, and listened as the rock sounds of the newest song by the band Broomsticks, We Da People, fill the room. "We da people! We da people of da world!"
"James, please turn that off," sighed Mum. I obstinately turned it louder. ("Oh, yeah, baby! Harder! We da people of da whole damn world!"). Mum sighed again. "James, you know I didn't like you listening to that sort of music."
I rolled my eyes, refusing to change the channel as Broomstick's lead singer goes into a bout of crooning and swearing on the off beats. Ok, so maybe this isn't the kind of music I love, but it's loud, noisy and irritating! And offensive, I thought, cringing as one vile line blares through in the silence.
"James!" Mum gasped. "Was this what you're listening to?"
"Harder, faster, baby! Oh, yeah, right there! I was the baddest of the bad, the oooh! Oh, yeah! I was the baddest of the damn world!"
I frowned at the strange lyrics, but Mum looked faintly repulsed. "James, turn that trash off this instant!" When I didn't budge, she pointed her wand at the Wireless. "Silenco!"
The music cut off sharply and I glared at Mum. "That ruins my wireless. Stop that!"
Mum looked at me firmly. "James," she began again, controlling her voice. "I know you're upset."
I sneered. "No duh."
Mum raised an eyebrow at my tone and takes a deep breath. "What you did to Lily and Petunia Evans was wrong, James. You had no
business interfering in their lives. According to Lily Evans, you'd known about their, um, rocky relationship and knowingly interfered, trying to deepen chasm between them."
This sounded suspiciously like a rehearsed speech, and I rolled my eyes. Deepen the chasdm between them?
"Not only that, you made Mr. and Mrs. Evans furious at Lily. You could have ruined their relationship! Poor Lily was so confused."
I shrugged. "Not my problem."
"Yes, it was your problem, James! You've always been such a sweet, if mischievous, child. What had gotten in to you? Did you know what would happen?"
Time to get out of this grounding, I thought, before turning wide eyes on Mum. "I'm sorry," I said, dropping the blasé attitude. "I didn't know it would spiral out of control like that!" I sniffed. "She just made me so mad that I wanted to make her life miserable!"
Mum looked sympathetic. "I want you to write an apology letter to all of them. One to Petunia, one to Lily, and one to Mrs. and Mr. Evans. Ok?"
I nodded pitifully. "Ok, Mum. I was so sorry!" And, I guess, I was. I mean, it was funny…at first…but the prank was hateful. I supposed. Mum dropped a peck on my cheek and told me to write apology letters to all of them.
I wrote a formal and apologetic letter to Mrs./Mr. Evans. Before Hogwarts I'd had private lessons, so I would be raised as a proper gentleman and pureblood, though Mum didn't care about blood purity. My writing teacher, Mr. Gozola, had drilled me on the proper way to write an apology letter for hours ("Young James Potter, knowing you, you'll have to write bushels of those in your future. Listen up!"). It was, I suppose, paying off.
There! I set aside Petunia's letter and take out another sheet of paper. I was about to write a long, stiff, formal letter to Ev—Lily, but that's not me and we both know it. She would be suspicious. Better to write a letter that's me.
Dear Evans no, Dear Lily no! No "Dear" anything!
Evans, Lily, Lily Evans, Lily,
I am real sorry about that prank we stupidly pulled earlier. Truth be told, I'd forgotten about it. Well, not really. Remus was absolutely furious at us. He refused to talk to me for days, so that whole performance in Charms like, two months ago was to get him to talk to me again. He's a good friend.
I was kind of upset at you. You kept ratting telling on us, so I was a little upset. That's why I pranked you two, if that makes you felt any better. I'll try not to pull any more pranks on you, but that probably won't happen, I was sorry to said. Hey, I have an idea—you stop telling on us (C'mon, our pranks ARE hilarious!) and I won't prank you. Deal? Said, I have another idea. We could work together! We'd go down in history, Lily. James and Lily. Lily and James. It had a nice ring to it, after all.
Again, I was very sorry about the mistake I made. Forgive an old a friend enemy frenemy?
Sincerely, James Andrew Potter
There. that should do it nicely. Hopefully, she'd like it..I guess…
Two Days Later
James Andrew Potter,
How dare you? You are one stupid boy if you thought that I'll forgive you, just like that! You RUINED my life. RUINED it. And you thought you can just said sorry, have the NERVE to make that outrageous deal, and told me that you THINK you'll stop pranking me, but you AREN'T SURE??? Of course, you WOULD forget about a prank that ruined someone else's life! I suffered through hell—yes, damn it, I swore!—agonizing over what had happened! But, nooo, it's all good, because you were "a little upset" so it's no biggie. Let's just be friends and prank people! Of course, I have to stop telling on you, and you'll TRY to stop pranking me. Uh…no! You deserve to be told on! That prank on SEVERUS was awful! He was so embarrassed! You ruined his life, too! All of the Slytherins are constantly making fun of him. I hate you! You're a big fat git! If you'd stop being so self-centered and arrogant and actually CARED about people, then you wouldn't have done this! You didn't realize that you ruin people's lives! Poor Jack (and since you seem to forget when you ruin people's lives, he was the one where you VANISHED ALL HIS CLOTHES in the GREAT HALL) is still mortified! Everywhere he goes, people laugh at him and he has no friends, now. I hate you so much, James Potter!
LILY EVANS
"Excuse me?" I said out loud, glaring at the letter. "How dare you speak to me that way!! I apologized! I do NOT ruin people's lives!!!! "How dare she??"
I whipped out a piece of paper. "I'll show her," I muttered indignantly. "Oh, I'll show her, alright."
••••••
"Lily, sweetie, you're burning up!" I groaned, and try to lift an aching head…but I gave up. I didn't want to lift my head, I wanted everyone to leave me alone and let me sleep!
"Shh," Mum cautioned, "Didn't move. You will feel horrible."
Really, now? I wanted to say something sarcastic, but I just didn't have the energy. "Can you get me some water," I croaked slowly, my throat feeling sandpapered.
"Of course, dearie," Mum said soothingly. "Richard!" She called. "Can you fetch us a glass of water?"
"Yes, Rose!" Dad calls back. Then, "Pet!"
"What?" Petunia's snotty voice filtered through the door.
"Can you fetch your sister a glass of water?"
"Why should I?" she said, annoyed. "No."
"Pet…" Dad's voice was sharp. "Stop that. I have put up with your whining and you bad-mouthing Lily for months. It's over. She didn't insult you in any way. Now, go get her a glass of water!"
My hero… I thought drowsily.
"Of course you would stand up for your precious princess!" Petunia said, tears choking her words. "Fine! Fine!" She opened her door, slammed it behind her, and stomped down the stairs theatrically.
Mum groaned. "Petunia," she called. "Be gracious."
"I didn't want to be gracious!" Petunia yelled, the sound of running water muffling her voice. She clanked around in the kitchen for a second or two before stomping back upstairs. "Here," she said, appearing in the doorway. "Here's your stupid water." She slammed it down on my bedside, splashing my forehead with the cool liquid.
Mum wiped it off. "Petnunia, she said sharply, "Apologize."
"Sorry," Petunia muttered, before whirling around and stomping out.
"Sorry, Lilyflower," Mum whispered softly. "She was just going through a phase. Here, drink up."
I sat up, slowly, my body feeling weak. The water tasted good against my lips. When I opened them to ask a question Mum stuck a glass thermometer in. I groaned through closed lips, remembering the fluidity of the magical one.
"Ok, ok, good," Mum muttered to herself. "First, temperature. Second, hospital? I better call and make an appointment—let's see, tomorrow at lunch…no, I have a meeting with Jill…I can cancel that, she'll understand…I know I have her number somewhere in this new-fangled machine…" she pulled out her chunky cellphone and looks hopelessly at it.
I laughed. The water made me feel better. I reached out a hand for the phone, and she gratefully dropped it in my hand. Let's see…I flipped it open and accessed her address book, scrolling down to J. Jay…James…Jamie…Jill! I ignored the flare of anger that spiked when I see James, even though I knew it's not the stupid James. I selected Jill and passed the phone to my mother, waiting impatiently for the slow beep…beeep…bep of the thermometer.
Jill was like an aunt, or a second mother to me—well, a cooler one. No offense to Mum, or anything, cause Mum was just doing her job, but Jill was the one who sometimes took me out to dinner and shopping and movies when Mum was mad at me. She was the younger, cooler godmother. I loved her.
Mum began, "Hey, Jill…yeah, She was back…great time, I can told. She did what we did, remember? She looks fourteen with her hair like that…yes, looks just as pleased…I know! I remember it well…yes, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. She caught some disease at her school, She was sick. Her temperature's…wait one sec…" Mum leaned over and checked the thermometer. "She was—oh, my, Lils! She was 40.22 [104.4]! Oh, my."
I could hear Jill's voice through the phone: "I'll be right over. Can you pick me up?"
"Be right over, Jill," Mum said. Then, she smoothed back the hair on my face and dropped a kiss on my forehead. "Lils, I was going over to get Jill, ok? You can go back to sleep. Love you."
"Love you," I said back, my eyes closing of their own accord as Mum left the room. I was thisclose to sleep, when I heard a hoot and a flutter of wings. I groaned quietly, "Artemis!" Artemis hooted indignantly and I opened my eyes. Artemis was perched on my open windowsill, glaring with beady eyes at a reddish owl that I recognize. It was Potter's owl…the one named Lily. Which isn't weird at all, all things considered…not. "Artemis," I said, "Let her through."
Artemis looked balefully at me before turning her nose up (can owls do that? I guess it was turning her beak up at me?) and flying out of the room. I groaned once again. Now even my owl's mad at me. Potter really ruined everything. "Come here," I said harshly to the owl, who just looked at me with big eyes. I frown. "Come here," I said angrily, though it was hard to get mad at a pretty owl who's named after you. Lily flies over and sticks out her leg. I took the letter…
*****
I hated James Potter! I HATED HIM!!! He was a prat! He was a jerk! He was an idiot! He had nerve! How dare he? Hey, I have an idea—you stop telling on us (C'mon, our pranks ARE hilarious!) and I won't prank you. Deal? As if! I wanted to smack him! How did he somehow turn this all around and make it all my fault? He should be saying, Please, Lily, I am ever so sorry. Will you forgive me? I will humble myself at your worthy feet. The guilt burns through my heart like an arrow burns through the air. You are so wonderful, and I will be your humble and giving servant for as ever long as you wish.
Ok, so I couldn't exactly see him saying all that. But still! I picked up a sleek red feather that Lily left behind when I practically kicked her out of my room when she was carrying my letter. I'd dashed it off with angry hands. I suddenly didn't felt very tired—maybe it was the hatred that were going through me. Whatever it was, I wanted to hex James Potter into the next universe! Preferably one a couple hundred thousand million billion trillion miles away!
Argh!
Lily flew hesitantly back through my window. That was quick—only about ten or so minutes have gone by. Mum will be back with Jill soon, unless they'd gone to the store to buy me some medicine or something. I ripped open the letter with some sort of sick anticipation. I almost wanted him to said something stupid.
I was not disappointed:
Lily Evans,
How dare I? How dare you? I was just apologizing! Jeez! You didn't have to be so mean! It's just like a girl to do that—to be all mean and evil to a poor boy that hadn't done anything wrong! I didn't know what was wrong with you! Maybe you're just jealous that you aren't as smart as I am. You didn't want to join up with me because you're afraid you'll be overshadowed. Yes, that's right! And I didn't ruin lives! You just didn't want to admit that my pranks are funny, because you have a big stick shoved up your arse!
James Potter (but it's Potter to you! Only my friends can call me James!)
Ohhhhh no. No, no, no. he did not just say I was JEALOUS at him! I let out a scream of frustration. My dad yelled, "Settle down, Pet and Lils!"
Petunia appeared in my door, her eyes outlined in makeup. She held a tin of makeup in one hand, but was just looking at me. I was still annoyed, so I hissed, "What?"
She nodded towards the letter in my hand. "Nothing. Jamie Pottern annoying you again?"
"It's James Potter," I said, annoyed at him all over again. "And yeah. The nerve of him!"
Petunia raised a carefully-plucked eyebrow. "Can I read it?"
"You can read them both!" I said, wanting an ally, even if it was Petunia, who still hated me. I threw the letters at her, and grab a pen and my notebook. "To the awful, pratheaded Potter," I muttered under my breath as I write the words.
Petunia laughed, and the sound was so unexpected I looked up. "This James Potter," she said, shaking her head, "Is a piece of work."
"Do you believe me now?" I said plaintively.
She gave a little shrug, "Whatever," and turned to go. I called after her.
"Why are you so dressed up?"
She slowed, hesitating. Then, she turned. "I have a date," she said frostily. Back to hostility. "With Nick."
"Nicholas?" I said eagerly.
She blushed and nodded. "Yeah. Now, go back to sleep. Wouldn't want Daddy's Precious Magical Princess to be sick for too long." She sneered at me, but it was half-hearted.
She turned and leaft, her high-heels clicking on the wooden floor.
••••••
Two Weeks Later
James
"James, a letter came for you!" Mum called, her voice curious in spite of herself. After the…incident, She was been distant and detached but overprotective at the same time. She was doing everything to make stuff right, and still being "Mum", but I would catch her watching me, almost confused, as if she didn't know who I was any more.
It was scary.
At least the two had dropped the disappointed looks. I hated those. My parents had never been disappointed in me before. They'd been angry, sad, annoyed, irritated, happy, proud, tired, and all other emotions when dealing with me…but never disappointed.
"James…"
"Coming!" I said, throwing down Evans' latest hate-mail, which I was copying in to a letter for Sirius. I bounded down the stairs, skidded through the open kitchen doors, and leapt over my Quaffle, which was lying on the floor. Mum didn't look up.
"Careful, dear," she said automatically. "Pick that up."
"Sure," I said, though we both know I won't. Maddy will. "Maddy!" I called, and when she appeared, I said, "Pick up my stuff, ok?"
"Yes, Master James," she said, "Right after Maddy makes breakfast for the Mistress and the Master Potter."
"Maddy, if I've told you once, I've told you a hundred times," complained Mum, still not looking up from the huge pile of letters before her. She sipped her coffee. "Call me Elizabeth."
"Yes, Mistress Potter," Maddy said.
"Maddy…"
"Mistress Elizabeth," amended Maddy. "Permission to hurt my self?"
That was a rule in my family. No house elf could punish themselves without permission—which was never given. "No, Maddy," Mum said.
"Thank you, Mistress Elizabeth Potter," Maddy said, before pointing her finger at my Quaffle and winking out with it.
I rolled my eyes. Maddy. She was a piece of work, but in a good way of course. "Where's my letter, Mum?"
"Right here. It's from Sirius and some boy named Remus Lupin. Did he come to our Christmas Party?" Mum asked curiously, sliding a letter across the table. I perched on a chair and opened it.
"Yeah," I muttered as my smiled grows larger as I read the letter. They had been using a DictaQuill, and their sentences were running together.
Mate, you mean James, you need to be polite, Sirus! No, I meant mate. Calm down.
Fine. James, Mate,
This was Sirius here. And Remus. Right. And Remus. We wanted to know if you could come over. You haven't been answering your mail from me, and Lily hadn't come by lately. Yeah, that too. The owl, not the prat. Anyway. Are you mad at us, mate?
If he was, it would be obvious. As in, he wouldn't show up today and ignore this letter. Didn't put him on the spot. Now he'll be obliged to come. What's obliged? Meaning, he'll felt like he wants too. Whatever. Now, how do you turn this thing back on? You go like this—oh, wait, Sirius. It's on. So that was all written down? Yes. Well, James, didn't felt obliged.
Anyway, Remus was over at my house. Actually, He was at my house, not his… and anyway—Remus was hogging the quill! Give! I was not hogging the quill. You need to speak louder. It's not my fault you mumble. WAS THIS BETTER? Yes, Sirius. You didn't need to shout in my ear.
So, you want to meet us at Diagon Alley today at twelve? You can come over after, if you like. Even though Sirius just invited you over to MY house, you still can. Or, ask your mum if we can come over. Either one. You didn't have to, James. We didn't want to impose. Impose, shimpose. Who's imposing? James wants us to come over, duh, Remus. Yes, well, it's still up to you, James. Talk to your Mum, and owl us when you get this.
Yeah. What Remy said. Whoa, calm down, Remus! DON'T CALL ME THAT! Now who's shouting in whose ear? Sirius! Ok, ok! What Remus said. So, We were signing off now. Remus filled this letter with all this nonsense—I filled it? You did! Hey—stop that! Give it back! I was not done! No, didn't press that!
It stopped abruptly, but at the bottom the two had scrawled,
Sirius and Remus Lupin.
PS I didn't know why Remus wrote his last name. How many Remus' do you know? It's not like it's a common name. Neither is Sirius! Anyway, goodbye, James. See you later. Now who's making him felt obliged?
I chuckled. Mum looked up. "What was it, dear? Did you just giggle?"
I was insulted. "I didn't giggle. Men didn't giggle. That was a chuckle, Mum. Merlin."
Mum laughed and reached over, ruffling my hair. "Whatever you said, dear. Now, what did the letter said? Or was it private?" She winked at me teasingly, but the order was clear. She didn't want anything inappropriate in my letters, I guessed.
"Sirius Black, you remember him, and Remus Lupin want me to go with them to Diagon Alley and meet up afterwards. Either at Remus' house or mine."
"That sounds…lovely," Mum said carefully, before sighing. "I suppose you can go. Told them they can come back to your house later, ok?"
I grinned. She was letting me go! I flip the letter over and write,
Remus and Sirius,
I CAN GO!!!!!! I have SO much to told you!!! No, I was not mad at you, no, I didn't felt obliged, and YES you can go over to my house!!!! WHOOO! See you in DA at 12!
James
"LILY!" I shouted, the unfamiliar name rolling off my tongue. Mum looked up, but I ignore her, fastening the letter to her leg. "Remus Lupin Residence," I said clearly. "Go to Sirius Black or Remus Lupin."
Lily hooted and took off, her wings glinting in the sunlight. I turned and faced my mum, who was looking at me with this look on her face.
"You named your owl after Lily Evans?"
••••••
Meanwhile…
"Lily! Phone!" Mum called me from downstairs. I stretched and sat up. My head still hurt terribly, but I'd mostly passed through my two weeks of some kind of awful flu in a blur of coughing and taking pills and doctor's appointments. Oh, and that nasty red cough syrup, the one that burns my throat. I gagged at the thought.
I rolled out of bed and lazily made my way downstairs, rolling out a crick in my neck. I took the offered phone and put it to my ear.
"Hello?" I said.
"Lily?"
"Yeah, who was this?"
"It's Aliya, you know, from Hogwarts?" Aliya sounded unsure, and I suddenly realized, with a sinking feeling in my stomach, that I hadn't answered any of Aliya, Lizzie or Alice's letters.
"Aliya!" I said, with much more enthusiasm then she was expecting. "How are you? I missed you!"
Aliya's voice was tinny on the phone, and she sounds a lot younger then she really was. "Me too, uh, Lils—Lily."
I felt bad. Aliya must have thought I hated her. "Hey, Ali, I was really sorry for not writing to you. I had some awful flu, and you know how much I hate getting sick," I said, wanting her to get that I was sorry.
Aliya laughed, "Oh, yeah, I know. That's ok. Liz and Alice and I were wondering about you. Are the rents getting you down?"
I laughed, sneaking a peek at Mum. She was washing dishes, but obviously listening in to our conversation. I twirled the spiral cord around one finger. "They've been cool. Did I tell you what happened?"
"No…Petty P forgave you?" Aliya said carefully. She was obviously worried she would offend me with the nickname.
"Ugh, no! No way!" I groaned. "She was still being awfully cold and mean to me. Anyway, you know who wrote that letter?"
Aliya sighed. "Let me guess—James Potter."
I was shocked. "How did you know?" I get out, "Did you know all along? Oh, Merlin, did you?"
Aliya was silent.
"You did?"
Aliya, I guess, snapped back to life or something, because she went, "Of course not!! It's just that…and trouble with you, and it's James' fault, isn't it?"
"I guess. Why'd you get all silent?"
"Nothing."
"Told me!"
"It's nothing, LIls."
"WHAT?"
"It's just that…you said 'Merlin.' You've never done that before."
"Oh." I was quiet, but I felt terrible. Why do I felt like there was this gap between us? Aliya's my best friend. "Hey," I said, before I lose my nerve, "Want to do something with all four of us today?"
"Heck ya!" Aliya said excitedly. "We should see a movie."
"Let me ask my mom," I said. "Mom?"
"Yes, dear?" Mum said innocently.
"Can I go out with Aliya and my friends?"
"Where?" Mum said.
I relay the question to Aliya, and we talk…
And talk…
And talk…
Roughly fifteen minutes later…
"So, can we?" I said eagerly to Mum.
"Will a parent be going with you?" Mum asks, but she was definitely weakening.
Aliya, who'd heard the question, spoke up, "Say yes. We'll get my cousin or something to drive us there."
"Yes," I said. "Aliya's grown-up cousin."
"Told her she got into Harvard—it's true," urged Aliya.
I told my mum this, and that blew her over. I mean, geeky cousin from Harvard? Mum probably thinks we were going to study or something. "Ok, then, Lily. Should I drop you off, or what?"
I asked my friend, and we arranged a pick-up…and I hung up and immediately run upstairs to write to Alice. I was so excited!
My headache had mysteriously disappeared.
••••••••
James
One hour later:
"Remus Lupin Residence!" I shouted, throwing down a handful of green powder. It's the special Floo powder—you didn't spin around as much. I always get headaches when I use the common powder. I didn't know how poor people did it.
I walked in the fireplace and shut my eyes tightly as I spun around slowly, before spinning right out of the fireplace. I looked up and nearly fall—while the Potter fireplace was grand and large, and could fit Hagrid, the Lupin one was only big enough to fit a tall adult. It was a shock to see the ceiling so close.
"James!" Sirius said excitedly, bounding over to me and slapping me on the back. "Bout time you got here, mate!"
"Ooof," I gasped as he pounded my back. "Merlin, Sirius, I won't be here much longer if you keep hitting me!"
"What was this?" Sirius asked in mock surprise, drawing away. "James Potter admitting weakness? When did you turn into a girl?"
"When I was grounded!" I said.
Remus joined the conversation now. "You got grounded?"
"Yeah, Evans somehow figured out we wrote the letter—but she didn't figure out you did—and her mum told my mum."
Sirius exclaimed in disgust, but Remus remained silent. I get the idea he thinks it was only what I deserved. That prickled, but I shoved down those bad feelings. It was time to have fun. "But guess what?" I said, "I got this awesome new broom, and Sam Oren told me I should try out for the Quidditch team!!"
"Oren?" Sirius gasps, "As in, Matt Oren? The sixth year?"
"Yeah!" I said, and he shouted in excitement, pounding my back again.
"On tryouts, mate, I am coming with you. We have to practice Quidditch sometime!"
Remus looked exasperated, but didn't say a word. He just nodded to the fireplace. "C'mon, guys, let's go."
Sirius went first, leaping into the fireplace and spinning around so fast he looked like a blur. My stomach clenched, but he just whoopes, "WHOOOOOOOooooooooooo!" as he spun out of sight.
Remus was next, spinning quickly also. He also had a grin on his face, and laughed as he spun out of sight. I stepped in, threw the evil powder in, ("THE LEAKY CAULDRON!" ) and spun out of sight…and spun and spun and spun and spun, feeling nauseous and wanting to throw up.
"Merlin, James, are you okay?" A voice said, and I groaned, still spinning around.
"He's green."
"No shit, Sirius," I groaned, staggering out of the Leaky Cauldron's fireplace. Sirius caught me, sniggering.
"James Potter, getting sick from Floos? Ha!"
"Shut up," I muttered, opening my eyes and letting the dirty pub swarm into focus. I shook my head and stood up, grinning weakly at a concerned Remus. "Not your fault, Rem. It's the Floo. I always get sick."
He didn't look convinced, but lets it go. "C'mon, guys," he said, leading us to the wall into Diagon Alley. The three of us looked at each other. We didn't have a wand. Mine's locked up safely at home—I couldn't risk losing it. I can't use it during the summer, so why tempt fate?
Remus cleared his throat. "My wand's in my safe at home."
Sirius rolled his eyes, digging a hand into his robe pocket and coming up with a dirty stick of wood. He thrust it towards us. "So unprepared, guys. C'mon, let me tap the bricks."
"Won't that trigger the Trace…" Remus said worriedly, but Sirius didn't pay attention. He tapped the bricks in the special order, and we went in.
It was a blurry of motion as usual. There was the usual: gossiping witches debating "interesting" things like whether green was the new red and whether it was worth paying two sickles more (like that's a lot) for the premium editions of Witch Weekly; the young, Hogwarts graduates running around, doing odd jobs to raise money for themselves; the protesters standing in the street, waving signs and yelling about how Ministry employees are being cheated out of their rights; random kids running around, eating ice cream and pressing their faces up against the windows.
"I vote ice-cream first," Sirius said to Remus, who fingered money in his pocket. His grey robes matches his eyes (not that I will ever care about those things!) but were looking shabbier then usual. My eyes opened wide and I resolved to pay for as many things as I could.
"My treat!" I caled loudly, and Sirius punched me on the shoulder.
"Rich boy," he teased.
"Miser," I said back, and we both turn to Remus, expecting him to pitch in with an insult. He just blushed and looks down.
"Thanks, James."
"No prob," I said, leading the way to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. I slipped a hand inside my robes, feeling the money that was jangling silently (due to a silencing charm Mum set on it before I left).
We walked inside the cool shop, smelling a delicious scent of chocolate and raspberries. "I call that!" I said, without looking at the menu.
Florean Fortescue, a friendly man with longish brown hair and blue eyes, grinned down at me from behind a counter. "Hello there, James Potter."
"Hey, Mr. Fortescue," I said back. Sirius jabbed me in the rib with his elbow, and I said, "This is Sirius Black and Remus Lupin."
"Hello," Mr. Fortescue said politely, his eyes crinkling. "James, for the millionth time, call me Florean!"
"Yes, Mr. Florean," I said. This had been going on for years. He always told me to call him "Florean" but I never did. Dunno why. I felt like Maddy when I called him that, and I smirked a little at the thought. I wondered: did I learn that from her or did she learn that from me?
"I suppose that's the best I can get." He grinned. "So, what'll my number-one customer be buying today?"
"Whatever that delicious smell was," I said eagerly. I'd known Mr. Fortescue since I was little. He was friends with my parents, and had often catered at our parties.
"And you, Messrs Black and Lupin?" Mr. Fortescue said politely. Sirius preened and ordered (same as me plus a scoop of raspberry sherbert) and Remus shyly ordered a plain, inexpensive scoop of vanilla.
I groaned. "Come on, Remus! Get something fun and exciting! Not vanilla."
"I love vanilla," Remus lied. I appreciated it, but frowned at him all the same.
"Fine. I'll order for you, then. He'll have one scoop of vanilla plus one scoop of Hazelnut Twirl and Chocolate Disaster that's half and half and all swirled together, you know?" I ordered one of my favorites, a chocolaty, sweet, nutty mess that melts in your mouth.
Remus protested when Mr. Fortescue rings up the total: one galleon, thirteen sickles and eleven knuts. That's not a lot, at all, but Remus started to complain. "Shut up, Remus," I said irritatedly. He looked affronted, then he seemed to sigh. His shoulders drooped and he began to walk off. Sirius and I shared an incredulous look, before I ran after him. "Oi! Remus! Mate, what the heck?"
He shrugged, looking sad. "Didn't you want me to leave?"
I punched him on the shoulder. "Naw, you keep us out of trouble," I joked. "Just kidding. Of course I wouldn't want you to…leave," I finished in a whisper. My eyes widened and I felt my throat dry up. I'd seen a flash of red and her voice:
"Aliya! Ewww! Didn't eat that—ewww!"
It was her!
Lily Evans!
She looked up, and her green eyes met mine…
And the betrayal in them cut me to the core.
*****
Lily
About an hour and forty-five minutes before Diagon Alley…
The doorbell rung and I jumped up excitedly. She was here! I dashed to the door, swinging it open with a thump. "Aliya!" I exclaimed, running outside, still barefoot, and hugging my friend gleefully. "You're here!"
"Way to state the obvious, fire-brain," said Aliya, laughing. She pretended to shield her eyes. "Was it just me, or was your hair brighter?"
I made a face and stepped aside so that Aliya could come in. I finger a strand of my hair disgustedly. "I know! It's so darn bright!"
Aliya rolled her eyes as she pointed to her own dark, thick, wavy hair. "And you'd rather have this mess?"
"I love your hair!" I exclaimed, closing the door. "It's all thick and wavy and pretty."
She rolled her eyes again. "We should trade."
"Like that wouldn't look weird at all," I giggled, leading Aliya into the warm kitchen. "Mum, this was Aliya Patil. Aliya, this was my mum."
Mum stood up and smiled warmly at Aliya. Her brown hair was up in a messy bun, and I wished the little strands weren't sticking up. "Hello, Aliya."
"Hello, Mrs. Evans," Aliya said politely.
Mum's smile grew wider. "None of that, Aliya. Call me Rose."
I could practically felt Aliya was innocent smirked. "Flower names run in the family, huh." I suddenly wished my name was something normal, like Megan, and that Mum's name was something like Rebecca.
Mum laughed. "My mother's name was Daffodil. My grandmother's name was Alyssa."
"Ooh, I love that name," I said, changing my mind instantly. I wished my name was Alyssa. "If I have a girl, I want to call her Alyssa."
"What if you have twins?" Aliya askeds. "They run in my family." Well, they didn't run in mine. I wished I was a twin. I mean, everyone said they would hate being a twin, but I thought it would be really nice to have someone who suffered through the same body and face and personality that you did. I want someone who I could tell my deepest secrets, someone who would always understand what I felt. I wanted to do the same for someone else, too. Don't get me wrong—I loved my friends, and we'd stayed up late in Gryffindor tower, eating chocolate and talking, but it wasn't the same yet. We didn't know each other well enough to truly trust each other with our deepest secrets.
Aliya was looking at me weirdly, and I realized I must've zoned out. I grinned sheepishly and said, "Alyssa and…what's another flower name that starts with a 'A'?" I asked Mum.
"Ayanna,"
"Alyssa and Ayanna. I love those names," I said. Ayanna's a pretty cool name too, but if I had twins, how could I decide which one to name Alyssa? Ayanna might feel jealous.
"What if it's a boy?" Aliya said, breaking me out of my thoughts again.
"Ash," I joke. "Nah, I'm just kidding. How about…um…"
"Richard," Mum said. I frown. Why would you name your kid after your dad?
"Nick," Aliya added in. "Or, Sam…or, Alan, Nick—oh! Nicky, Jacob, um, Ryan, Eli…"
"Harrison," said Mum. I wrinkled my nose. Harrison was a nerd name. I know a muggle Harrison from my day school, and he has mossy brown hair, the motherlode of all braces, a spitty way of talking, no friends, and he was just weird.
"Eliot," Aliya finished.
"No," I groaned. "Of those, I like…Sam, maybe, or Jacob. Actually, I do like Eli or Eliot."
"Not Harrison?"
"Harrison was such a nerdy name, Mum," I groaned. "Gosh, I wouldn't subject my kid to that."
Mum made a face at me, and all three of us laughed. I look at Mum again with shame for thinking that earlier thought about her hair. She was a pretty cool mum.
"Anyway, girls, what's the plan?" Mum asked, suddenly professional. Ok, so maybe I didn't like it when She was all bossy, but sometimes she was cool. She pulled the elastic from her bun, and it came all tumbling down in brown curls. I felt a rush of affection for her. Her hair looked beautiful like that.
"Well, my parents dropped me off—they had to run, they said they are very sorry for not coming in, they have to pick up my brothers. Twins," Aliya said apologetically. As if she should apologize—were we being intimidating? Was Mum being intimidating? Maybe Aliya didn't want to be here. Did she want to leave? Was she uncomfortable at our house? I looked around and felt embarrassed at the mess: magazines spilling over the furniture, shoes everywhere, shopping bags and clothes near the door in a pile, empty water glasses everywhere, books strewn across the tables, Petunia's makeup piled in front of this mirror we have hanging above a table in the front hall. The chaos had never bothered me before. I usually loved living in my comfortable, lived in house, but I suddenly wished we lived in a neat orderly home with nothing out of place.
"That must be hard on your mother," Mum continued the conversation, smiling. She was obviously not ashamed of our house. Aliya smiled uneasily—she was intimidated! She was uncomfortable!
"Yeah…um, anyway, they're gonna be back in like, half an hour, and Lizzie and Alice are going to meet us at my house. Then, my Harvard cousin and all of us are going to London," Aliya explained patiently. I raised an eyebrow. London? First I've heard of it. Not literally, in case you were wondering. I meant first time I'd heard we were going to London.
"London?" Mum said, her brow furrowing. I cringed. Please don't say no! I hated it when you have a plan, and it's your uncool parent that ruins it all. "That's far away."
"Not too far, Mrs. Evans, and my cousin lives there in the summer. She was going to supervise," Aliya said earnestly. I nodded solemnly, willing Mum to say yes…
Mum raised an eyebrow. No, no, no—"Better take some money, then. Well, I won't keep you. You could go do whatever you want to do, just didn't go too far away." YES, YES, YES! I wanted to hug her, but didn't want to seem uncool to Aliya. I imagined what I would do if Madelyn was here, and smiled gratefully at Mum, tossing my hair a little.
"Thanks, Mum," I said easily, holding out my hand as she hands me some money. Then, "Hey, Aliya, come see my room.""
Aliya and I run up to my room, and she smiled. "I love it," she said and I glowed. My room was bright and airy, with sea-green curtains. The ceiling was the lightest shade of blue imaginable, and the walls are blue, but all sorts of different blue. At the top was the lightest, and the colors merged into each other, getting darker each time, and at the bottom it was a dark, deep blue. It made me feel like I was flying in the sky, or swimming underwater. My bed was a four poster bed against one wall—it's painted like the walls. My room had been a birthday present when I was, oh, nine or so. Blue had been my color. Actually, it still was, though my loyalties are supposed to lie with red and gold. Don't get me wrong, I like those colors, but red with my hair? Lizzie once said I didn't have to wear anything to be loyal to Gryffindor—my hair does it for me. Actually, I remembered Black once saying my hair was the only reason I was "dumped" in Gryffindor. Well, gold went all right with my hair, but still…
"LIls? Lily!" Aliya snapped her fingers in front on my eyes, and I blinked back.
"Sorry," I apologized sheepishly. "Zoned out there."
"No kidding," Aliya muttered. She grinned suddenly. "Hey, could I meet your sister?"
"Petunia?" I said loudly by accident. "Uh, no! No, Aliya! She hates me! She was going to hate you too—no, it would be too embarrassing!"
Aly's grin doesn't falter. "Come on, Lilypuss," she wheedled.
"Fine!" I threw up my hands in exasperation. "Knock on her door. Just didn't expect her to answer!"
Aliya's answering smile was huge and smug. She walked over to Petunia's door, easily recognizable by the large sign saying, "PETUNIA'S ROOM. NOBODY YOUNGER THEN HER OR OLDER BY 7 YEARS ALLOWED IN." There was a seven year old, Except Lily, scrawled under that. Aliya knocked on the door, and it flew open at once.
Petunia stomped out, her brown hair wet and around her shoulders. Her face hardened as soon as she saw the two of us standing there. "What?"
"I'm Aliya Patil," Aliya said confidently. She held out her hand. "I've heard so much about you."
I gaped at the pair, as Petunia looked confused, then slowly shook Aliya's hand. "Petunia," she said uneasily. I grabbed Aliya was arm to tug her away, but she shook me away.
Aliya looked her up and down. "You look like your mother."
"Really?" Petunia's cheeks pinkened. She felt her hair. "Thank you."
Aliya shrugged. "You must get that a lot. I mean, you look like twins." I looked closely at Petunia: horsey face, stringy brown hair. She doesn't look a thing like Mum.
Petunia looked at Aliya in a new light, but I was still standing in the back. My mouth was wide open, unbelieving the scene. "No," she said, "I never get that."
Aliya's eyebrows go up. I couldn't tell if she was faking or not. "Huh. Anyway, Lily used to tell us a ton about you, before, you know, Potter was a prat," she blushed and Petunia looks uncomfortable. She hurried on, "And remember at Potter's Christmas Party? You looked great! Jack Lee was all over you."
Petunia giggled self-consciously. She giggled. Petunia doesn't giggle. I looked at Aliya with respect. Merlin, She was working magic on Petunia! She must be faking. "Thanks, Aliya," Petunia said. "As I recall, there was a boy all over you as well. A black-haired one?"
Aliya blushed deeply. "Um, no. He was an idiot."
"Sure," said Petunia cheerfully. It was almost as though she was a new person. I watch, stunned, as Aliya chatted with her cheerfully. I could not believe this! I pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Petunia was acting like she used to!
"…know! I couldn't believe that he would do that!" Now, they were talking about celebrities. One of Petunia's favorite topics…but I really didn't care much.
Aliya nodded, "I know! I mean, not only did he ditch Miranda Cosenebaum, he ditched her for Miranda Rosenebaum!"
Petunia groaned in agreement, but I spoke up, feeling a bit left out. "There's a difference?"
Aliya nodded again. "Heck yeah!"
Petunia smiled at Aliya warmly. "I have to go, guys. I'm really sorry. Nice meeting you, Aliya."
"Double," Aliya said, and Petunia goes,
"Monroe!" And they both laughed. I felt really left out. It was obviously from some television program or magazine, and I didn't really pay much attention to the shows Petunia watched. Petunia nodded at me awkwardly, and walked downstairs. I get an awkward nod while Aliya gets a full out warm smile and a full sentence?
Aliya turns to me with a grinned. "I love your sister, Lil'red."
"Lil'red?" I groaned, choosing to ignore the comment about my sister. My friends had made it their goal in life to come up with the most nicknames for me. It was ridiculous. There's only so much you could do with 'Lily', but tell that to them!
"Yeah, Lil'red," teased Aliya. "How tall are you, anyway?"
"I'm one pointed four four meters tall [4'9 for all us Americans]," I muttered.
Aliya laughed, "Well, I'm one pointed five two meters tall! [5 ft]. It's ok, you're just doomed to be short. Lil, as in little, red, as in your hair. Geddit?"
"I get it, Aliya," I said, smiling a little too. I missed Aliya. When she was not in a bad mood, she was bubbly and friendly…I didn't know how she did it, but she befriended Petunia. That was magic.
The doorbell dinged. I felt disappointed that I didn't get enough time with Aliya, but I remembered that I was going to London with Lizzie and Alice as well! Yes! I grabbed my pouch of Wizarding money—just in case—and rushed downstairs to answer the door, Aliya hot on my heels.
*****
Aliya's mum was a friendly, pretty Indian women with warm brown eyes and curly black hair. She smiled at us as we drive away from my house. "Hello, girls," she said with a little accent. "How are you doing? Didn't destroy Lily's house, I hope!"
Aliya rolled her eyes. "Mum…of course not! Jeez."
I smiled politely. "We're doing lovely, Mrs. Patil. How are you?"
"So polite!" Aliya was mum said. "I'm just perfect, thanks. And please, none of that Mrs. Patil stuff. That's my mother in law," she shivered and Aliya winces. "And trust me, darling, you do not want to meet her. Call me Pavitra. Means pure. I didn't know if my parents were joking or not—I kissed my first boy at age ten and became pregnant with the twins at nineteen. Before I was married, you see."
I laughed as Aliya goes, "Mum! Didn't said stuff like that in front of my friends!" I liked Aliya's mum. She was friendly and nice, and more outgoing then Mum.
"So you have two brothers, huh," I said sympathetically to Aliya.
She groaned loudly. I didn't know what She was complaining about, personally. I'd much rather have brothers then a peevish older sister. "Yeah, and they're twins—Nikhil and Nayan."
"Those are really cool names," I said wishfully. I wished my name was a cool Indian name like Aliya or Pavitra or, um…Aranya? That's an Indian name, right? I know an Aranya who's Indian, so…
"Nikhil means 'entire' and Nayan means 'eye.' Entire eye."
"What does Aliya mean?"
Aliya shrugged. "Well, you see, Aliya doesn't really mean anything. Aalia—like A-a-l-i-a—means excellent, big, popular. AAliya—A-a-l-i-y-a—means high, tall, towering, excellent. You know?"
"That's so cool," I said enviously.
"Lily, dear, what does your name mean?" Mrs. Patil said kindly. I crinkled my nose.
"Um…a flower? I dunno," I said awkwardly.
"That's nice," Mrs. Patil said kindly. I shrugged, and we fall into silence.
Fifteen minutes later…
We pull up in front of Aliya's house: a sprawling, modern house that was a cool, normal color: a kind of brownish tan. I wished my house, with the peeling, weirdly colored walls, was as normal as hers!
We got out of the car, and run up to the house. When Mrs. Patil unlocks it, Aliya leads me up a cool spiral staircase to her bedroom: a large, circular room with green walls, green floors and a round green bed in the middle. I'm immediately jealous! We flopped down on her bed, and start to talk about random things…
About half an hour later…
The doorbell rung, and we thudded down the stairs and rushed to the door. Aliya swung it open, and squealed as she sees Alice and Lizzie standing alone at the door. They were both grinning weakly, and looking a little green. Lizzie had braided her hair into two golden braids, and Alice had let her hair loose, for once. They looked great.
"LIZZIE! ALICE!" Aliya shouted, hugging them fiercely. I waited for my turn, hugging them, before pulling away and noticing how sick they look.
"What's the matter, lizzie? Alice? You look green," I said curiously.
They wince. "Apparation was awful," Lizzie confided in a quiet voice.
"What's Apparation?" Aliya said. I nodded, glad I wasn't the one to say it.
"Oh, it's when you transport yourself instantaneously from one place to another," Alice said airly. I looked at her, unsure if she'd kidding or not. She grinned, noticing my look. "I'm not lying, Lils."
I scowled mock-angrily, but then Aliya was mum came up. She looks surprised to see the two girls on her doorstop, with no parent or car in sight, but shrugged and greeted them warmly. After exchanging hello's and how-are-you's, we piled into her shiny black sedan and drive away.
*****
I couldn't believe it! Aliya's cousin was a witch! Well, a graduated one, anyway. She was nineteen, and attended Harvard, all the way in America. Aliya's mum only learned this fact today, actually, since Aranya (I knew it was an Indian name)—Aliya's cousin—was keeping it secret until she knew whether Aliya would become one or not. Aliya's mum wasn't too thrilled that Aranya had lied to her for eight years, but she understood why. It wasn't like she was going around telling every member of their family that Aliya was a witch. She did feel better that Aliya didn't have to hide her "witch-dom" from her favorite cousin. Anyway, Mrs. Patil just left, and Aranya just admitted to us that we needed to stop by in Diagon Alley before we do whatever else we want to do.
"For the last time, Aranya, we don't care," Aliya said, exasperated. "Anyway, we want to hang out in Diagon Alley, didn't we, guys?"
"Girls," Lizzie pipped up automatically, but we all ignore her. As usual.
We nodded, and Aranya smiled. She was really pretty; tall, with dark eyes and long, and talks with an Indian accent. "Wicked!" She said. "I'm not going to Apparate all of you down to Diagon Alley," and she adds something in some language that I didn't understand, but Aliya scowled and smacked her cousin.
"I am not too young to Apparate!"
"Of course you're not," Aranya said teasingly. "Come on, my car's just around the corner."
She has the coolest car! I'm no car expert, but it's sleek, shiny and red. I love it! We fought over the front seat—Aliya won—and we zoomed off, heading for the Leaky Cauldron.
As soon as Aranya opened the brick wall that leads into Diagon Alley, we promised to meet up with her in an hour and rushed off. Lizzie wanted to go to the ice cream store ("It's so hot!"), Alice wanted to go to the bookstore ("We need our books for next year!"), Aliya wanted to get something to eat ("It's nearly lunch time!"), and I want to wander around. Finally, the need for food won us over, and Alice lead us to this little stand that sold fish and chips. We bought four orders, and wandered around, relishing the greasy, yummy fish. Hogwarts' food was delicious, but it's all unusually healthy. We had fish and chips occasionally, but it wasn't fried to perfection like this was.
Next, school books. We rushed through that in less then half and hour, paid a guy to deliver them to Alice's house (She promised to mail them to us) and dragged Alice out of the room. After that, we wandered some more. My mouth was open wide, taking it all in. Diagon Alley bustled with life. It was wonderful. I loved this place! When I had gone before school last year, it was not nearly as loud or busy, and the witch sent to manage us was so efficient we'd barely managed to sight-see before it was time to go.
"Hey, guys," laughed Aliya. "Look at this!" She laughed again, before digging in her pocket and putting something that does not look appetizing in her mouth.
"Aliya! Ewww! Didn't eat that—ewww!" I groaned closing my eyes. I wondered why She was doing that—Aliya was not usually the type. My eyes still closed, I heard something that makes me freeze:
"Was that James Potter?" Lizzie whispered under her breath to Alice and Aliya.
"That's why I ate that sweet, to distract her," muttered Aliya.
I guessed that "her" was me, and I knew they didn't mean for me to hear, but I heard them anyway and, my eyes opening, turned in the direction Lizzie was nodding towards.
It was.
I didn't know what I was expecting, really. I knew I'd have to see him in September, knew I'd sit in classes with him and watch him clown around in the common room. I thought I could handle it…but I'd not thought enough about it. I mean, this boy, this spoilt, annoying boy, had lied to me. He'd hurt me and my sister, and practically tore apart the fragile ties that had held us together. He'd made my mum mad at me. And now, he was out laughing and playing with his crew in Diagon Alley? Hello, my mum had been prepared to ground me all summer! I'd liked his mum at Christmas, but right now I wanted to tell her off. She shouldn't let him off so easily!
Lizzie laughed a little too loudly. "Nasty, Aliya!" But I was still staring at him, the shock of black hair on his head standing up. He was staring at me with wide eyes and a oh-my-God-what-do-I-do look on his face. I couldn't help it. I'd meant to look at him with a cool, icy expression, but my eyes had filled halfway with tears against my will. "Lils?" Liz said. "Lily?"
Aliya waved a hand in front of my face. "Jeez, that upset you that much?" She follows my gaze, muttering a soft, "Oh, bollocks," when she saw what I was looking at.
Hurriedly, Alice took my arm, content to pretend nothing happened. "This way, Lils! I saw this really cool book back there I thought you'd love."
Lizzie groaned, "Alice, not the book store again! We just dragged you out of it!"
Aliya joinws in enthusiastically, "We really didn't care about books, Alice. In fact, I will not set foot in there today!" The banter seems fake, unreal. It slid over me like water, and I tugged my arm out of Alice's grip, heading towards that boy. "Get her," Aliya said to Alice, who tried to restrain me. 'Get her?' Hello!
"Lily, do not go there!" Lizzie said sharply. She sounds exactly like my mum, but I ignored her. I felt like I'm drawn to his presence, like a magnet. I pulled out of Alice was restraint and began to run, my trainer-clad feet pounding the dusty road.
Potter saw me coming and muttered something to Black, who looked up, saw me as well, and pulled Potter away. "Go, James, I'll handle her," he said. I was affronted; handle me? Who did he think he was? I increased my speed, gasping. I heard my friends running behind me. Potter took off running as well, his trainers hitting the ground almost in sync with mine. His hands are clenched around a fat, piled-high ice cream.
"Oh no you don't," I hissed, reaching them. Potter turned around slowly, recognizing he was caught.
"Hey, Lily," he said, grinning sheepishly. He reached up to run his hand though his hair. "What's up?"
"What's up? I didn't know, Potter," I said sarcastically. "Just doing some shopping with my girlfriends. What are you doing out, stuffing your fat face with ice cream? Your mum didn't ground you for the rest of your life? Shame."
Potter winced, holding up his hands. "Hey, now, Lily—"
"Evans to you, pal," I said angrily. Alice laid a hand on my shoulder, but I shrugged it off.
"Pal? Pal?" Potter, darn him, laughed. "Pals are friends, Lily, and I'm pretty sure pals call each other by their first names, huh, Lily?"
I uttered a rather unintelligible word, and scowled at Potter. "What were you going to say? I'm rather tired of seeing your face."
"Jeez, Lily, you're the one that ran up to me," he said. "Anyway, I wrote you an apology letter. I'm sorry. Ok?"
"No it's not ok!" I cried. I glared at him. "It's not okay at all!"
Potter raised an eyebrow and takes off his glasses. "Um, ok, Lily. Sorry. Jeez." He shook his head at Sirius. "Merciful Merlin! Now come on, my ice cream's melting." He turned to go, but I reached out, knocking the ice cream to the ground. "What the heck?" He cried.
"You deserve it!" I shouted, and, horrifyingly, heard my voice hitch and felt my lips wobble. My eyes began to fill with tears against my will. I wanted to stand tall, strong and resolute, wanted to make Potter felt tiny and insecure until he groveled at my feet and promised to be my eternal slave…but, to my horror, tears spilled down my cheeks.
"Is she crying?" Black sniggered. Remus, darn him, was just standing back, an indecisive look on his face, not doing anything! Aliya squeezed my shoulder, before glaring at Black.
"Shut up, Sirius!" She hissed. "Leave Lily alone. I know you helped write that letter. Didn't you dare tease Lily!"
Black smirked. "Innocent until proven guilty—"
"And who cares, anyway?" Potter broke in. "What's done was done. I forgive you, and I forgive Sirius, and I forgive me! Everyone's forgiven. Let it go, Lily! I'm sorry. Now come on, Sirius, Remus, let's go."
I stood there, mouth open, tears falling down my cheeks and splattering in Potter's discarded ice cream as all three of them turned their backs on me and walked away.
*****
James
I felt bad, I really did, but I knew I had to leave then. The problem was, I knew that the attack on Petunia was uncalled for, but I couldn't admit it. Sirius would had thought I was a wuss! I closed my eyes briefly as we walked away from her, erasing the dull look of hurt in her normally bright green eyes. I heard her sniff, heard Aliya and Lizzie and Alice converge on her, muttering soothing words of sympathy. She has them. A part of me wanted to run back, apologize and make it up to her, but a larger part of me wanted to laughed scornfully to hide that first part of me and walk away disdainfully…which I just did. Without the laugh. Sirius took care of that for me.
"Did you see her?" he sniggered. "Such a girl! Crybaby!" I expected Remus to speak up in her defense for me. It was expected from him, so he wouldn't get much teasing. He could say it. ME, on the other hand, couldn't say it without getting flak for it. But Remus remained silent. I felt a heavy urge to say something settle in my stomach, but I completely ignored it, laughing weakly.
"I know, right?" I said instead.
And that was that.
