A/N:
Written for the International Wizarding School Championship.
This is just a few of Lily's and her Ilvermorny Friend's letters to each other; I figured they would probably write as often as possible.
Thanks to Liasis for Beta-ing!
School: Beauxbatons
Year: Year 1
Theme: Ilvermorny
Prompt: 17.) Purple (Color)
Word Count: 2790
Dear Ilvermorny Student,
Hi! I'm your Hogwarts penpal, Lily Evans! I'm a second year, and I absolutely love Hogwarts! It's the best place on earth! I have an older sister, Petunia, who is 14, and isn't the biggest fan of magic; she's a Muggle. She calls me a freak, but I'm used to it by now. I have three roommates, who are my absolute best friends; they're Dorcas Meadowes, Marlene McKinnon, and Mary McDonald. We're all Gryffindors. I have another best friend, Severus Snape, but he is a Slytherin. He's the one who introduced me to magic, but I'm worried about his other friends. They're very intense.
What is your favorite color? Mine is purple, not red, which is funny, because I'm a Gryffindor. It's also the combined color of the houses the Sorting Hat almost put me in, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. I don't even know why it chose Gryffindor; I'm not especially brave. The other second year Gryffindors call themselves the "Marauders," and they love to prank people. I'm friends with one of them, Remus Lupin. The others are all insufferable. One even insists that I'll wind up marrying him! He follows me around and calls me "Mrs. James Potter," which is so annoying! I probably would be able to stand him more if he didn't keep pranking Sev. What Ilvermorny house are you in?
What are your favorite classes? I love Charms and Transfiguration and Potions.
Write back soon!
Yours,
Lily Evans, Second Year Gryffindor Student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
March, 1973
Lily signed the letter with a flourish, and tied it up with a pretty purple ribbon. She practically ran to the Owlery, dodging James Potter proclaiming his adoration for her, and picked out a strong snowy owl that belonged to the school. She was so excited to be part of the pen pal program at Hogwarts, and couldn't wait for her reply as she watched the graceful owl take off.
Little did she know how strong her new friendship would become.
Dear Lily Evans,
That is so cool, I adore purple! It's definitely the best color, mostly because it's a blend of cranberry and blue, my school colors! That's funny how we're both a blend of different houses! I'm a Pukwudgie, which I think is the equivalent of Hufflepuff. When I was Sorted, I could have become Horned Serpent or Pukwudgie. I think Horned Serpent is like Ravenclaw, which makes sense, because Isolt Sayre founded that house, and she wanted to be a Ravenclaw, which is why one of our house colors is blue. Enough of boring school history, though! I love DADA and Transfiguration, though I'm terrible at both. Potions is fun, too, which I'm glad of because I'm good at it. I don't really have many close magical friends, as I'm No-Maj-born, but I'm friendly to one of the school's guardians, a grumpy old Pukwudgie named William. He's nice and funny and very loyal, you just have to get to know him. The Marauders you mentioned sound evil but funny; I do appreciate a good prank, though not when they're mean spirited or aimed at people you like. I can't wait to hear more stories about them! Your sister sounds kind of mean, but I also have a brother like that who's a No-Maj, so I can relate, though I love him deeply, like I'm sure you love your sister. Does Hogwarts have elective classes? If so, when do you start them? At Ilvermorny, we choose end of second year and start them third year. I'm thinking about Divination and Astronomy. Tell your friends I said, "Hi!"
Write back soon!
Sincerely,
Your Ilvermorny Pal, Second Year Pukwudgie Student at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
April, 1973
P.S. Try and guess my name!
Dear Pen Pal,
How are things going? I'm going to guess this time that your name is Amelia. How has third year been going so far? I really love the electives I chose, and Arithmancy is so much fun, though it is challenging. Do you like Astronomy? I love it, mostly because I get to take it without any of the Marauders. That toerag Potter is so bothersome! Anyways, do you get outing days, where you can explore a nearby town? We get Hogsmeade weekends sometimes, and it is so great. Hogsmeade is an adorable little village near Hogwarts where all the students can shop for anything you want. There's this amazing candy store there called Honeydukes, with the best candies ever! I was recently introduced to butterbeer, the most delicious thing on earth. It is always fun to hang out with friends out of school, especially Sev. He's grown distant, and I'm worried about him. His friends are especially into the dark arts, and one of them is the younger brother of Sirius Black, the second-most annoying person in the school. I bet you can guess who takes first place. He can be nice if you are complimenting him, I suppose, but he's such a flirt! And if you mention any number of random things, he'll get all weird and defensive! Remus has mentioned that his home life isn't the best, because his parents are very...Anti-Gryffindor? Anti-Muggle? They're just bigoted, I suppose. Some of the purebloods are.
You know what would be fun? Getting to meet each other in real life. What about eight years from today, and no sooner or later? That would be November 6th, 1981. How about then? Eight is my lucky number, you see. Write back soon!
Yours,
Lily Evans, Third Year Gryffindor Student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
November, 1973
Dear Lily,
Nope, Amelia isn't my name, though you're getting closer. Things have been going well, I adore Astronomy! Third year has been great, I made a new friend in Thunderbird, his name is Eric. We're both kind of outcasts, as we're both really shy, so we get each other, though you'll always be my best British friend! We get outing days, but they start in fourth year, and we visit a No-Maj village. Is Potter still bothering you? How many marriage proposals have there been this year? I love your idea on meeting each other! Eight also happens to be my lucky number, so that's perfect! Would I go to Britain, or would you come to America? Or should we do both? Then we could show each other our favorite places! Oooh! We could do a road trip of America together! That would be so much fun! We could go to Disney World in Florida, Las Vegas in Nevada, and Mt. Washington in New Hampshire!
I can't wait for 1981!
Sincerely,
Your Ilvermorny Pal, Third Year Pukwudgie Student at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
November, 1973
P.S. Purple ribbons have become a bit of a tradition for our letters, haven't they?
Dear Pen Pal,
Thank you so much for that beautiful pendant! I love how there is the emblem of Pukwudgie and Gryffindor next to each other, in purple, of course! It was the best gift I received! Much better than Tuney's; she gave me a box of matches. Creative, seeing as I'm a witch. I don't hold it against her, though. She's my sister; I love her. I did have a small party in the Room of Requirement, though, with a few friends and Sev. I invited Remus, but he looked sick, so he didn't come. I'm worried about Remus; he gets ill looking every so often, and I have some suspicions, but for his sake I hope they're wrong. I still can't wait for 1981; only six years to go! It's almost here! On another note, a note I probably plague you with every letter, I'm worried about Sev. He isn't who he used to be; he's grown more distant, if that's possible, and really defensive. I feel like I almost have to tiptoe around him when we're hanging out.
Tell Eric and William I said "Hi!"
Your Best British Friend,
Lily Evans, Fourth Year Gryffindor Student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
February, 1975
P.S. Anastasia?
Dear Lily,
Nope. Not Anastasia. You've been closer, but you're still close. I'm glad you liked your gift! I spent forever trying to figure out what to get you. Eric and William say "Hi," too. Well, Eric said "Hi," William just grumbled something about owls and the mess they make. Pukwudgies. You gotta love 'em. How are your friends? I'm really sorry about Sev, but you should stop worrying about him. Just tell him how you don't think his friends are good for him. And really, if he's that into the dark arts, maybe you should tell him that you don't think your friendship fits together anymore. About Remus, though, you said he gets sick every so often? And on the night of your party? Your party was a full moon, I believe. Are your suspicions that Remus is a werewolf? If you think so, I would either ask him directly or ask one of his friends. Maybe Peter would be best to ask, from what I've heard, or Potter, though you can't stand him. Sirius sounds like he would jump to conclusions too quickly and probably get overly defensive. Or make it into a whole scene.
On the subject of people, Lily, I need help. There's this group of girls who seem to really hate me, and I don't know why! Thankfully, they're aren't Pukwudgie, so I don't see them all the time, but when I do, they really go out of their way to make me miserable! I don't get it; to my knowledge, I've never done anything to them! They make fun of me for being No-Maj-born, too, which is something else you and I share in common, I guess. They never make fun of me when Eric is nearby, though. It's okay, I'm used to it, and I've gotten stronger because of them. Oh, and I've told William about them, so next time he sees them teasing me, that should be fun!
Until next time,
Your Best American Friend,
Your Ilvermorny Pal, Fourth Year Pukwudgie Student at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
February, 1975
Dear Pen Pal,
I can't believe Severus Snape! I can't believe that we were ever friends! I was trying to help him while Potter was being a toerag, surprise surprise, and bullying him, and he called me a Mudblood! It's a derogatory term that means "Dirty Blood." He's too invested in the dark arts and I believe that he's probably going to go down the same path as all of his precious, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named loving, Death Eater pals. Lord Voldemort, or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, is an evil wizard who believes all Muggles and Muggleborns are worthless. Death Eaters are his followers, and are pureblood bigots, and their bigotry has seeped into their children's minds, which is who Severus hangs out with now. It explains why Snape said what he said, though for me, it was the final straw. I can't look at any of my friends now, as they didn't like him in the first place. You're the only one who gets it, Abby. I'm guessing that it's Abby.
Your Best British Friend,
Lily Evans, Fifth Year Gryffindor Student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
June, 1976
P.S. I'm worried about Remus, as it's a full moon in two days, and he already looks ill.
Dear Lily,
What is Snape's address? I'm going to go hex him, even though I have no way of getting there and can't yet apparate. Maybe I'll send him a Howler. That would be fun. Ooh, how about the first day of school next year? Start the year off right. Tell Remus I send him my thoughts.
Your Best American Friend,
Your Ilvermorny Pal, Fifth Year Pukwudgie Student at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
June, 1976
P.S. Not Abby!
Dear Pen Pal,
That was beautiful! I couldn't stop laughing when you called him a "Greasy, hook-nosed jackass." Haven't heard that one before. Remus and my roommates looked like they were trying not to laugh, while Potter, Black, and Pettigrew had literally fallen off of the bench, they were laughing so hard. Even McGonagall, our Deputy Headmistress and Transfiguration teacher, looked like she was hiding a smile. How did you make it so loud, by the way? It was very impressive. How did your exams go? I got eight OWLS, again with the number eight. Speaking of which, five years, two months to go!
Is it Ally?
Your Best British Friend,
Lily Evans, Sixth Year Gryffindor Student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
September, 1976
Dear Lily,
Glad you enjoyed the Howler. I'm sure Snape wasn't thrilled, though, but I'm glad I brought some humor to your school year! My exams went well, I passed eight also! Nope, my name isn't Ally. I added a Growing Charm that I modified slightly to make it that loud.
Five years, two months!
Your Best American Friend,
Your Ilvermorny Pal, Sixth Year Pukwudgie Student at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
October, 1976
Dear Pen Pal,
Oh my gosh! Graduation was the most amazing thing ever! James proposed to me, seriously! Or, should I say, "Siriusly!" I can't wait! To think I ever complained about him and his band of Marauders. I'm getting married! I truly wish you could be there, Annie, but we have to uphold our promise we made when we were thirteen. I promise you the wedding theme will include purple, though. I'm thinking purple, red, and gold. It's going to be a quiet ceremony, with just our friends and family. Petunia doesn't count, of course. She wouldn't come anyways.
Yours till the end of time,
Your Best British Friend,
Lily Evans, Recent Gryffindor Graduate at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
June, 1978
Dear Lily,
You're getting married! To James Potter! I guess he was right, all those years ago, when he called you "Mrs. James Potter!" I would love to attend but of course we have to uphold our agreement. I've included your early wedding gift, I hope you like it. It's a necklace made out of gold, amethysts, and garnets, your wedding colors. Eric chipped in, and William did also, so it's a joint gift. I hope you like it.
Your Best American Friend,
Your Ilvermorny Pal, Recent Pukwudgie Graduate at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
July, 1978
P.S. Annie? Really? I was going to tell you my name as a wedding gift, but I think I'll just wait until we can meet in real life.
It was a cold autumn evening, the fifth of November, and Amorie McEwin was packing her bags. She was going to meet her pen pal friend who she'd written to since she was thirteen. Lily had been the first real friend Amorie had had, and now Amorie was going to visit Lily, her husband James, and their little baby Harry. She was going to meet all the people she had heard about from all of Lily's letters, and felt like she was going home to a family she had never even met. She was just checking Lily's last letter to get the address when she saw an owl, a big snowy one, come looming towards her window. She could instantly tell something was wrong - the letter hadn't been tied with a purple ribbon, Lily's telltale sign. The ribbon was black. She took the letter off of the owl's leg with shaking hands, and opened it with a sinking feeling.
Dear Ilvermorny Pen Pal,
You can probably tell by the writing, but this letter isn't from Lily. I'm Remus Lupin, a family friend of the Potters. I don't know how else to tell you, but Lily and James were murdered on Halloween by Lord Voldemort. I'm so sorry; you and Lily were obviously close. She talked about you all the time, and you meant a lot to both her and James. She called you her closest confidant and trusted your advice more than anyone's. The funeral is the eighth; you're welcome to come to it. You can come tomorrow, as per the plan, and stay at my place. The full moon won't be for three weeks, so you can stay as long as you want.
I'm so sorry,
Remus J. Lupin
Amorie sunk to the floor, shocked. Lily… dead. How? Why? She was so young. Was Harry alright? Hundreds of thoughts and questions flooded through her mind, before it stopped on one, potentially the most devastating one: She never even knew my name…
A/N: Hope you enjoyed! If you did, please review! I'd love to hear from you!