Hey, so, a while ago, I posted this story. I just re-read it and realized that it was awful. Here's a re-write for you, coming chapter by chapter as I finish editing. Enjoy :) PS. The lyrics/quotes at the beginning of each chapter are meant to be from James' POV.
"Should I give up or should I just keep chasing pavements?
Even if it goes nowhere"
-Adele
In the early hours of the morning, on a tiny street of an inconsequential mill town in Northern England, there was a single light on at the end of the lane. Lily Evans sat, staring out her bedroom window. She was waiting for something to happen. She wanted to hear the flutter and flap of owl wings, or to see one of the birds fly across the moon. She'd been staying up, almost every night for the last two weeks waiting for her Hogwarts letter to arrive. It had never been this late before, and she was beginning to grow worried. She had finished all of her summer work, reread all of her old textbooks, and packed and repacked her trunk several times over the last week. She had simply run out of things to do. Tired of sitting still, changed out of her pajamas, pulled on a pair of jeans and an old pair of trainers, and tucked her wand into her back pocket. As quietly as possible, so to not wake her sister or father, she snuck out the front door.
The sun was still hours away from rising, and the grass was very wet. It had been a very rainy and gloomy summer. Lily left her neighborhood, looking at the stars. She walked with no knowledge of where she was going, until she found herself as the sun was rising, on bridge over the river that divided the two parts of town. The river was dirty and the banks were strewn with litter.
Lily walked on the uneven cobblestone road. She had only been in this part of town once before in her life, and that was many, many years ago. Lily lived in the nicer part of town, this section, known as 'Spinner's End', had fallen into disarray after the mill's closing. There were pools of water filling sections of the street where stones were missing from the road. A heavy film of smoke and fog hung low in the narrow streets and alleyways. Broken glass and cobwebs filled the windows and alleyways of some of the older houses.
Lily continued to stroll absently through the neighborhood, trying to come up with different scenarios of what could have happened with her letter, and why it was yet to arrive. She toyed with the idea that the owl had gotten lost. That was the most logical explanation. The owl that was assigned to deliver her supply list was given the wrong address, or got sidetracked and flew to Majorca. That was it.
When she reached the town limits, Lily turned around and started back to her house. The silver haze of the new day's sun brought her back to reality. In the daylight, she realized that she was in an unfamiliar environment that was quite intimidating. She was starting to see the shadowy outlines behind the heavy, moth-eaten curtains of the houses that lined the street, people getting ready to leave for work. She began to walk faster. Her father and her sister would be up soon, and she had forgotten to leave a note.
When she finally reached her street, she could hear raised voices radiating from her house. As she got closer, she heard her sister's shrill shrieks. Lily reluctantly walked through the front door, preparing for the wrath of her sister that she had faced so many times before.
"…AND I WAKE UP TO THIS IN MY ROOM!" Petunia Evans screamed, as Lily walked through the door.
"Petunia, dear, you should be used-" Their dad said, weakly.
"DO NOT TELL ME THAT I SHOULD BE USED TO THIS- THIS FREAKSHOW?"
"YOU!" Petunia said, as Lily entered the room. Lily realized what all of the fuss was about immediately. There was a large, handsome screech owl circling the kitchen. It recognized Lily, and flew down onto her shoulder straightaway. "This thing was looking for you." Petunia said, coldly. "Flew straight into my room, it did. It made a racket."
"Next time, Tuney, close your window." Lily snapped, irately. "If any more owls come around, kindly direct them to my room. Good Morning, Dad."
She turned on her heel, and started back up the staircase to her bedroom. The owl flew off of her shoulder, and dropped a large letter on her bed, and then zoomed out the window before Lily could say anything.
She hastily opened the letter, and pulled the parchment out from inside. It was significantly heavier than usual, and when Lily unfolded the paper, a silver badge bounced onto her bedspread. 'HG' it read. Lily put a hand over her mouth as she read the first page of the letter.
Dear Miss Evans,
I am pleased to inform you that you have been selected as Hogwarts Head Girl for the 1977-1978 school year. In your time at Hogwarts, you have displayed exemplary conduct, outstanding work in classes, and a tremendous sense of school pride. Choosing you as the female head was quite an easy task. Choosing your male counterpart however was more difficult. Alas, that is the reason that this letter was so late, (Which I am terribly sorry about, I do hope that it did not cause too much concern.)
I am very interested to see how you're seventh year plays out.
Very Best Wishes,
Professor Albus P.W.B Dumbledore
The next weeks past extremely fast. Soon enough, Lily found herself approaching the solid wall between Platforms Nine and Ten. She wasn't expecting at all, but crossing the Platform for the final time was an extremely sentimental moment for her. She walked through the wall slowly, pushing her trolley at a turtle's pace. She remembered her first year at Hogwarts, when she ran through the portal as quickly as possible. Now, she felt the need to savor every step as she approached her seventh and final year, and it was her year.
The low whistle of the scarlet steam engine made both her heart flutter and her stomach turn. She wanted to laugh and to cry, to jump aboard and to turn around, and go home. She slowly boarded onto the train, making her way to the compartment labeled 'Prefects'
However, voices inside compelled Lily to press her ear against the door rather than enter. There were three male voices in a whispered argument.
"Cut-it-out!" said the first voice, strained and authoritative.
"They give you a badge, and suddenly you're a wet blanket…" A second voice said, in a slight laughing drawl.
"Likely!" The first boy protested. "I just don't want to make a bad impression on the first day."
"I hate to break it to you mate, but you've already made enough bad impressions to last a lifetime. What's a little fun? It's our last year. I implore you."
"Don't use words you don't understand, Padfoot," said third voice, coolly.
Lily took this as her cue to enter. She slid open the glass and curtained door. There were four boys sitting in the compartment. "Lily!" James Potter proclaimed loudly. His dark hair was as messy as ever, his glasses were slightly askew, and his hazel eyes were suddenly sparkling. Lily didn't acknowledge him.
"There is going to be a prefects meeting. If you don't belong here, I suggest you find a place to belong." She said, quickly.
Sirius Black quickly shoved a handful of Dungbombs into the pocket of his robes, and strode toward the door. "Nice seeing you again too, Lily-Pad." He said, sarcastically with a laugh as he passed her. She had a sincere urge to pull out her wand, and hex him at that very moment, but it took all of her self control not to.
Peter Pettigrew followed Sirius. "Hi Lily." He muttered under his breath, before following after Sirius.
James Potter was left sitting on the compartment bench with Remus Lupin, who looked like he was on the verge of laughter. "Potter." Lily demanded. "Are you deaf?"
"Well there has been some debate amongst healers, but…" He began smartly. Lily cut him off abruptly.
"Out, Potter." She demanded as people began to walk in.
"No can do, Lils." He said, sticking out his chest. A shining silver badge adorned his chest, nearly identical to Lily's own badge.
Lily blinked a few times as she stood rooted to the spot. She was reduced to stutters. "How did you?- What?- Is Dumbledore-?"
James just smiled and sat down beside Remus. "If you don't plan on finishing any of these questions, then I think we should start the meeting."
She let out the breath that she was holding in furious surrender, and sat down beside the grinning Head Boy.
The meeting was only fifteen minutes long, but Lily felt like she was sitting there for an eternity. As she discussed the school rules and regulations, she kept feeling James' eyes flash back toward her. She didn't want to serve out her year as Head Girl with James Potter, the bullying, arrogant, womanizing toerag.
When the meeting was finally over, and the prefects began filing out, Lily mumbled a hurried goodbye to Remus, and got up to leave. James grasped her arm before she could escape, though. "Can I just have a word with you, Lily?" He said, slowly. "Please?
She reluctantly sat back down as the last prefect left. "What is it, Potter? She said, trying her best to sound annoyed.
James looked at his shoes for a moment, and then back at her. Then, like words were spilling out of his mouth, he began speaking. "I know you don't like me, Lily. You might even hate me." He said, and before she could protest, he spoke again. "And I know, I've been the world's biggest prat for the last six years. I decided that I'm going to do my best to, I don't know, be better maybe."
Lily raised an eyebrow. Not knowing how to respond, she stood up and walked out of the compartment. She quickly found the one that she was seeking. "Dumbledore is barking." She said, as soon as she sat down.
Her two best friends instantly started laughing. "Who's your Head Boy then?" Alice Prewett said, with a grin turning up on her lips. "Is it that Diggory boy from Ravenclaw?"
"Not quite." Lily snarled, biting her lip.
"Is it Remus?" Marlene McKinnon asked, still laughing.
"Getting warmer." Lily said, leaning back on her seat, and closing her eyes.
"James?" Both girls said, in unison.
"Well, he is top of our class, after you of course." Alice said, running a hand through her short brown hair.
"And he's cuter than Diggory." Marlene snuck in right after Alice's comment.
Lily rolled her eyes, and looked out the window. She watched the scenery roll by, the grasslands change to mountains, and then into forests.
The train pulled into Hogsmeade Station, as it always did. The sorting began and ended, as it always had. Professor Dumbledore spoke, the food appeared, and they were sent on their way. Once back in the Gryffindor common room, Lily collapsed into her favorite armchair, and stared exhaustedly into the fire that looked as though it had been crackling and burning for hours. There was nothing on her tired mind; it was blank after the night's festivities.
"Hey! Get to your dormitory! Early curfew on the first night!" A voice said from behind her, as Lily snapped out of her dreamlike state. She quickly turned around to see James Potter with a surprised look on his face.
"Oh, hi, Lily." He said, apologetically. "Just making sure all the first years knew where they needed to go, and- whatnot…" He mumbled.
Lily yawned, and shook her head. "I was going up in a minute anyway. Just wanted to have a sit, you know." She said, yawning at the end of her sentence.
"You were dozing." James said, with a sly smile.
"Good night, Ja- Potter." Lily said a bit more coldly than she intended, as she got up from the chair, and stared up for the girl's dormitories.
"Goodnight, Lily." He said, in a bit of a singsong voice. "I'll see you in class tomorrow."
She groaned, audibly.