Hey guys! This is my first Harry Potter fanfiction, so please be nice! Just a reminder to everyone, it's the 1970's in the United Kingdom, so ugly fashion choices play a key role in the story. Just kidding! But it does make it more accurate.
And so you know what to expect, I will try to do about 1,000-2,000 words per chapter and I will try to update once a week, but school comes first!
Please, please, please review! Your input is so valuable :) Thanks and enjoy!
This is dedicated to the late, great Alan Rickman. Thank you for gracing the stage and screen with your talent. You will be missed.
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Lily woke with a start to the sound of her alarm clock clanging its little bell furiously. She quickly stopped it and leaned her head against the headboard, collecting her thoughts before she knew she would have to go down to breakfast.
Fortunately, Petunia, her sister, had left two days earlier to visit her new boyfriend's parents. She did love her sister, but Lily's magical abilities always seemed to be a sore spot…Petunia refused to talk about it (or to Lily for that matter).
The light from the rising sun was weak, and her bedroom was still cast in a bit of a shadow, but she knew that it wouldn't be for long. With an East facing bedroom, Lily welcomed the morning light like an old friend. She especially loved it when the light would come through her window and made lovely patterns from the shadow of her curtains, on the old wood floors.
She rubbed her tired, green eyes and stretched her arms over her head, then rolled her stiff neck. It wasn't that she didn't love her childhood bedroom, but the old mattress left her sore. She knew she was spoiled by the goose down pillows, and the wonderful, old four post canopy beds at school.
"School…," Lily murmured. She chuckled in spite of herself, she had spent an entire summer counting down the days till she would be back at Hogwarts, and now that the day had arrived, she felt a bit sad.
The line, "Parting is such sweet sorrow," had been running through her head sense dinner the night before. Her mother had looked at her and told her how proud she was, and how she loved the woman that Lily had become. And her father had kissed her on her head and said, "I'm so happy that you are able to use your gifts for the good of others. We love you Lils." She knew she would miss her parents and even Petunia, but she knew she would start crying if she dwelled on these thoughts any longer.
Lily slowly pushed the old quilt on her bed off of herself and her socked feet padded towards her vanity mirror. She picked up a brush and attempted to control the red knotted mess others called hair…she called it hell. After a few minutes of struggling, she pulled a barrette out of her makeup bag and pinned her hair back out of her pale, freckled face.
After she changed out of her button down nightgown, she decided to wear a green, paisley shirt and a lavender romper. She liked how it made the color of her eyes really pop. She pulled on tights that matched the shirt and tan-colored clogs. She added a bit of mascara and lip gloss, before heading down to breakfast.
The scene that greeted Lily was one that always made her smile. Her mother stood over the stove, stirring a pot of oatmeal, humming softly to the radio. Her mousy, brown hair was pulled up in a bun on top of her head, and she had on a maroon colored dress with her apron (the same one she had had sense Lily and Petunia were toddlers) tied around her waist. And Lily's father, a burly man with fiery red hair and a mustache to match, sat reading his paper in the chair at the head of the table. At least, he was pretending to read the paper…really, he was watching _his wife. He had a small smile on his face as she danced, and occasionally sang softly to the lyrics. This was what Lily knew she was going to miss the most.
She always liked to think her parents were still madly in love. Her father would do things like hold open the door for her mother wherever they went. Or her mother would lay a blanket on him if he fell asleep in the old wingback by the fire after a rough day at work. Sometimes, her father would grab her mother around the waist and pull her in for a kiss while she blushed deep red and laughed.
Lily walked into the kitchen and gave her father a kiss on the cheek before joining him at the table.
"Good morning, love!" Her mother greeted, scooping out some oatmeal into a one of Lily's favorite bowls, a cream colored dish, with little pink roses painted around the rim.
"Good morning Mama." She smiled and poured in thick cream before giving her breakfast a quick stir.
"How did you sleep?" Her father asked, taking a nice long sip of black coffee.
Lily pulled a face, "Badly, I'm afraid. I had that dream again."
Her mother set down her own breakfast and joined her daughter and husband at the table, "Again Lils?"
Lily nodded and prodded at her food.
For the past two months, sense she had gotten back from Hogwarts, she had had the same dream almost every night. In the dream, she was walking down a long, corridor, which she assumed was her school. It was dark, but there was a warm light that seemed to be guiding her. It bobbed along, casting weird shadows along the stone walls. But she wasn't frightened, she almost felt as though she was hypnotized. Like the she was transfixed on the light. When she reached the end of the long hall, she would be at a door. It wasn't very tall, and if she was to open it, she would have to stoop to enter. But everytime she went to open the door, she woke up.
"Maybe you should see a doctor, I hear they are very good with helping you sort out," her father pointed at his head, "this sort of thing."
"I'm not going to see a shrink." She said firmly. The idea of sharing her most inner thoughts and feelings with someone made her physically sick.
"Maybe you could talk to Severus about it?" Her mother suggested, taking a sip of tea.
It had been an innocent enough suggestion, but Lily felt a pang of anger and remorse. The loss of one of the best friends she had ever had, was enough to throw her into a spiraling depression that lasted for well over four months. She had tried to help him, to rescue him from the Marauders, and he had called her a "mudblood." After that, Lily was done. She cut him out her life completely, not even looking up when he walked by. He had tried to talk to her afterwards (several times actually), but she ignored him. Lily had forgiven him, but she did not want someone like that in her life anymore. It wasn't good for her, especially with the turmoil Wizarding World was currently in. She needed people she could trust and who would help build her up, not tare her down.
Lily sighed, "I'd rather not. He and I had a falling out, remember?"
"Oh, yes." Her father nodded and shot her mother a look Lily couldn't read. Her mother shrugged and went back to eating breakfast.
"So are you all packed? You have everything ready for King's Cross?" Her father asked, finishing up his coffee.
Lily nodded and picked up her finished bowl before washing it in the sink and setting it on the wooden rack to dry.
"I made sure everything was set last night before I went to bed."
"You have all of your books too? And new robes?" Her mother inquired, starting to clean up breakfast dishes.
"Yes," She kissed her mother's cheek and pushed the chairs around the table in, "I made sure to double check."
Her father checked his watch, "Well, it's six right now, if we want to be at the station by ten, we had better go know," Her father gave her mother a chaste kiss and then said to Lily, "I'll go get your trunk, you go ahead and get the car started." He pulled the keys out of his tweed jacket, hanging by the door and tossed them to her.
Lily gave her mother and long hug and kiss before heading out the car. When her father brought her trunk outside, the Marina was cranked and ready to go. Lily said one more goodbye to her mother before getting into the passenger side. Her father pulled out of the drive and she turned around in her seat to get a good look at the house as they were heading down the street.
There her mother was, standing at the gate, amidst the roses and daffodils, waving goodbye. Lily felt a sudden chill and uneasy feeling in her stomach settled erupted, what if this is the last time I see her. But she pushed it out as quickly as she could…they had a four hour drive ahead of them and she wasn't going to let herself get stuck in the unnecessary anxiety.
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I really hoped you liked Chapter 1, and I should have Chapter 2 up next Friday.
Please Review!