Chapter 1: New Life

It was pouring down rain. It was the type of rain where one feels like the sky must surely run out of water soon, because our Earth would soon be flooded. This is not a true fact, as witches and wizards alike know many spells to stop said floods. A small suburban area was deserted at the moment, because of these rain. Families were shut away in their homes on this summer night, keeping warm by the fireplace as the storm passed by.

But suddenly, there was a loud pop, and a red-haired girl appeared out of nowhere. She took off at a run to the nearest house, dragging her trunk behind her and her hair and clothes getting thoroughly soaked, as is expected in the rain. With two enormous leaps up the stairs, she reached the front of house number 35. She pressed her long pale finger to the doorbell, and shivered as she waited for the door to open, a padlocked trunk in her hand.

It suddenly flew open and standing before the redhead girl was a boy of 15. He had brown hair and stood at 5'8. His bright blue eyes were twinkling with mischief. A frown fell onto his handsome face as he saw the red-haired girl standing before him.

"Lily?" He asked as he opened the door wider. The boy waved for the girl to come in. "What are you doing here? I thought you were staying with your sister." Lily nodded her head slowly and stood next to the boy as he shut the door.

"I was, Wyatt, but I decided to come here." Lily said, looking slightly dejected. Wyatt placed a hand on the girl's tense shoulder. She relaxed slowly underneath his hand. "I couldn't take her anymore." Lily started to sob into her hands, and Wyatt looked surprised. His eyebrows furrowed and he rubbed his heel into the marble floor.

"I, uh...I am going to go and get Alyssa..." Wyatt said, as he slowly inched away from the pretty redhead. "This is girl troubles. Yeah, Alyssa is a girl. She can deal with girl troubles." With these last words, Wyatt sprinted from the main hall and into another room.

Lily was left sobbing all alone in one of her best friend's home. Over the past summer, Lily had made frequent trips to Alyssa's, especially after what had happened to Lily's parents. Marigold and David Evans had been murdered by the Dark Lord Voldemort. Lily had been living with her sister Petunia and her boyfriend, Vernon Dursley. Both disliked Lily for her 'abnormalities', as Petunia called them. Petunia also blamed Lily for their parents' death, and, truthfully, Lily could only agree.

"Lils!" Just as Lily looked up from her hands, a girl with dark blond hair tackled her into a hug. Alyssa Phoenix had once again come to Lily's rescue. Lily cried into her best friend's shoulder, and Alyssa just stood there, looking unperturbed. She gently rubbed her friend's back as she waited for the tears to pass. Alyssa was smart enough to know that she wouldn't get anything out of Lily until she stopped crying.

"I hate her!" Lily sobbed into Alyssa's shoulder. She just rolled her eyes and pulled Lily's face away from her shoulder. Alyssa cupped her hands on either side of her face and looked straight into Lily's bright green eyes.

"No you don't. She's your sister." Alyssa whispered, and then she let a smile come over her face. "Deep, deep, deep, deep down, you and Petunia both love each other immensely...I think." Lily let loose a giggle, and Alyssa grinned happily. "There's the Lily Evans I know and love!"

"Lyssa, do you think your mom and dad would mind if I stayed here until we go back to Hogwarts?" Lily whispered, her laughter fading. Alyssa nodded.

"Of course you can. They know how hard this has been on you. Just let me go ask them, you stay here." With those parting words, Alyssa went through the same door Wyatt had gone through just moments before.

Lily had never felt out of place in the Phoenixs' home. Brian and Holly Phoenix had always graciously accepted Lily, and she had begun to think of them as second parents. Yet now, they were all she had left for parents.

"Well hello, hello!" Lily immediately rolled her eyes and turned around to face Christopher and Wyatt, the identical twins. They were both standing on the stairs behind her. Christopher had been the one that had spoken. "Looks like we have a flower in our midst!" Lily just shook her head.

"Chris, can't you come up with something more creative than that?" Lily said with a grin. "I mean, seriously! A flower?" Christopher smiled at Wyatt, and they shared comical looks towards another.

"I believe she thinks I am not creative..." Christopher said and Lily wished that she could have taken back her words. Wyatt grinned towards the redhead.

"Yes, I do believe something must be done about that..." Lily's eyes widened as Wyatt and Christopher jumped five steps down onto the landing. They walked towards her at a small rate, and Lily backed into a wall.

"Hey!" Lily breathed a sigh of relief as Alyssa came into the room. She drew her wand and pointed it at her brothers. "Leave Lily alone! Do you guys have no decency?" Wyatt and Christopher stepped away, and Alyssa put her wand back into her pocket. Lily smiled gratefully at Alyssa, as Wyatt put his left pointer finger to his chin.

"Decency?" Wyatt asked, mocking thoughtfulness. "No, no, I think me and Chris missed that line while we were standing in line for good looks." Lily and Alyssa both laughed out loud as Chris and Wyatt faced each other pretending the other was a mirror.

"Brothers! You can't live with them, can't live without them." Alyssa said, but then she grinned. "No, no. Just can't live with them." Wyatt and Christopher stopped their fake mirror act and turned towards Alyssa!

"I say! How rude you are, Alyssa!" Christopher said, pretending to be hurt. Lily just grinned at the display of sibling love, something she never knew very much about.

"I agree. What a painful thing to hear!" Wyatt said as he pretended to wipe a tear from his eye. Then a smile crossed his face. "Want to go get some of mum's famous cakes?"

"I say!" And with that, Chris and Wyatt skipped towards the kitchen. Alyssa rolled her eyes and turned to Lily.

"Are you sure you want to stay with those goof-balls around?" Alyssa asked, and Lily smiled and nodded her head.

"Anywhere is better than with my sister, trust me." Lily muttered. Alyssa smiled weakly at Lily.

"Ok then, Lils. Your home is now my home!" Lily and Alyssa proceeded to drag Lily's trunk up the stairs to Alyssa's room.

'Here's to a new beginning,' Lily thought bitterly as Alyssa and Lily walked into her bright room.