Disclaimer: Yes, I own Harry Potter! I am really J. K. Rowling in disguise! Fear my evil...evilness! Fear my awesome abilities and millionareness! Fear me! Mwahahahahaha!
Lily: J. K. Rowling?! What are you doing in my story?
Jo: Your story?! You have got to be kidding me. See that, right there? It says 'Harry Potter'...which I...ahem hem...wrote....
Lily: Ack! Nooooo! Umbrage Attack! Run Away!!!!!!!
Jo: Erm...what was that all about? Anyway, I own Harry Potter, but this fanfiction is by...what's her name again? Oh yeah, Lily Kay. Enjoy!
Summary: Lily Evans is a seventeen year old witch with extraordinary powers. Her parents are divorced, her friends committed suicide, a madman is after her, and she still has to deal with the people at school....
Jo: And now...ta da! The fic! I present to you: Simply Cutting Strings!
Chapter One: Mean to Me
She came all the way from America
Had a blind date with destiny
And the sound of te awamutu
Had a truly sacred ring
Now her parents are divorced
And her friend's committing suicide
I could not escape
A plea from the heart
You know what it means to me
She said don't walk away
I'm down on my knees
So please don't be mean to me
So I talked to you for an hour
In the bar of a small town hotel
You asked me what I was thinking
I was thinking of a padded cell
With a black and white t.v.
To stop us from getting lonely
I could not escape
A plea from the heart
You know what it means to me
She said don't walk away
I'm down on my knees
So please don't be mean to me
No, I could not escape
A plea from the heart
Mysterious sympathy
I couldn't wait for a chance
To walk out the door
You know what it means to me
I saw you lying in the arms of a poet
I heard him tell you t...tantalising lies
Well whad'd'ya know, whad'd'ya know
I could not escape
You're down on the floor
You know what it means to me
I couldn't wait for a chance
To walk out the door
Mean...
You know what it means
In the arms of a poet
You know what it means
-Mean to Me (Crowded House)
I sighed and flopped on my emerald green four poster bed and reached out to finger the lock on the small chest in front of me. It was dark dark red brown and carved with beautiful designs. I pulled the chain I wore around my neck and looked at the charms I had stung on it. Three small silver keys, one gold one, a ring, and three pearls: one red, one white, and one black. They were all magic, of course. I leaned down to the chest and slipped in one of the silver keys. I turned the key in the lock until I heard a small click and leaned back, gently opening the chest.
A tear rolled down my cheek as I reached inside and brought out a faded old photograph. A knock at the door made my head snap up and I quickly put the photo back in the chest, locked it shut, and opened the larger chest underneath it. Pushing aside some old silk scarves and heavy volumes, I buried the chest in the bottom and quickly covered it all up again.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
The knocks sounded again.
"Freak!"
Aww, my sister, Petunia Evans-soon-to-be-Dursley. I had been known as "Freak" since I was eleven and I got my first letter accepting me into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where I was a seventeen-year-old witch and Head Girl.
The banging on the door started up again and I sighed in indignation. Bloody sisters. Bloody life. Bloody hell, would she stop all that noise?
"What is it?" I ground out through my teeth. The banging stopped as Petunia hesitated outside of the door.
"Mum wants you downstairs. It's time to drive you back to your bloody school...where you belong, Freak." I sighed and stalked over to the door, wrenching it open to throw a couple of insults back at her, but her back was already turned and she was flouncing her horse-like self down the hall.
"Bitch," I said, just loud enough for her to hear. She made a rude gesture back over her shoulder at me. I stuck my tongue out at her retreating form. Childish, I know.
Soon after, I found myself in our old black and gray car, driving through the drizzly streets of London for Kings Cross Station where I would get on the Hogwarts Express at Platform 9 and 3⁄4. My mother pulled the car to a stop in front of the station and I hopped out, grabbing my trunk and dark green umbrella.
"Bye, mum, Petunia! Have a nice long holiday without me!" I called over my shoulder as I walked away from the car, seriously hoping that it would be the last time I ever had to see either one of them again.
See, I didn't hate them, well, I did hate Petunia, but I didn't hate my mother. Or my father, really. I hated what they did to me, but not them. They started fighting after I first went to Hogwarts, my dad saying that I was "pulling apart the family". They had a huge row over it. When I got back for the summer holidays after my Fifth Year at Hogwarts, I was fifteen at the time, my parents told me they were getting a divorce. I usually stayed with my mother over the summer, but dad insisted that I visit him as well.
That's when it started. The last month of summer holidays I had to stay with my dad, he would take me to the station on September the first, when school began. At first he loved me like he usually did, paying an adequate amount of attention to me. Then he started to bring his friends over and they would all down massive amounts of alcohol. They decided one night that it would be great if they took me to a photographer to get pictures of me. I was beautiful, they said, I should do it. They told me I could make a big profit out of selling those pictures.
They forced me to the photographers, shoved me down on the black silk pillows and sheets they had strewn about the room. Young men came in and ravished me while they took pictures. My dad and his mates took me home and told me I'd been a good little girl, I would get a reward. They were drunk as hell that day and all through the night. They took me one at a time and violated me, not hesitating to beat me if I protested. Even my father.
And it happened again and again. My dad would keep up appearances by going to work in the mornings and have all his mates around to keep themselves busy at night.
All right, I suppose I must consent to hating my father. But, no, mum never knew. She never found out. Even after my dad decided he would drop me off a day early. He brought me back to my mum's house and just left me standing outside the door. She saw the hollow look in my eyes when I stepped through the door. She saw the bruises on my arms when I came in, shivering from the cold. But she never bothered to ask. Never tried to find out what was wrong.
I suppose I hate her too, then, for not caring.
I've gotten over it. I'm still afraid to go to my father's house over the summer holiday where I know the same thing will happen again and again. I only stay hollowed out and depressed for a week after I come back from his flat. One of my friends would owl me or send a letter through the postman and there, I'd be all cheer and smiles again. All hugs and optimism.
I dragged my trunk along behind me until I got to a small area where they kept some luggage carts. I heaved the trunk on to the cart and wheeled it to the platforms. 6...7...8...9...10. Well, there's the barrier between platform 9 and platform 10. Here we go. I walked casually to the barrier and disappeared with a small swoosh from the Muggle world and came out the other side onto Platform 9 and 3⁄4.
"Lily!" a high pitched, giggly, female voice sounded off somewhere to my right. I turned and grinned as my two best friends ran up to me and threw their arms around my neck.
"Hullo, Rachel," I said, beaming at the one who'd called my name. She grinned and tucked some of her long brown hair behind her ear.
"'Ello, Lilsie. 'Ow was your summer?" she asked cheerfully.
I smirked at the girl and replied: "super, thanks!"
That was a lie.
"Hi, Lils," my other best friend said quietly from behind the very chipper Rachel. My grin widened and I moved forward to hug the light brown haired boy. I slipped my arms around his neck and buried my head in the crook of his neck.
"Hi, Remus." We pulled apart and he smirked at me.
"My lady, shall I take your coats and trunk?" he asked, taking a sweeping bow in front of me.
"Oh, yes, or course, Master Lupin." He held out his arms and I dropped my cat in his arms. Somehow, just stepping through the barrier and onto Platform 9 and 3/4 had turned the weather from the drizzles of Kings Cross to the sun, amazing that there was any, really, of Scotland. "No, I'll take my trunk, Remmy. I'm not a baby. I assume you two already put your trunks the train?"
Rachel nodded enthusiastically and took my arm, dragging me toward the Hogwarts Express.
Once we had gotten all settled in our compartment we sat back to chat for a while about our summers.
"France, I love that place, really!" Rachel was exclaiming. We had just pulled out of Platform 9 and 3/4 and we were rolling past the Scottish countryside in peaceful bliss. "I met this really great bloke there--"
"Was his name Pier?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Remus snorted into his hand and Rachel glared at him.
"No, his name was not Pier, Lillian Evans." I flinched. I hated it when she used my full name.
"Lily. Lily. Don't call me Lillian," I moaned to her.
"Who shouldn't we call Lillian?" a voice asked from the compartment door where James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew had appeared. They were best friends with Remus, and generally friends with Rachel and me. Although, James, he just annoyed the hell out of me.
The Marauders, that's what they called themselves, swaggered into our compartment, Peter managing to trip over his own feet while he waved his fat little arse around. He was a little lump of a boy, with ruddy blonde hair and watery blues eyes. He was the follower of the group and was quite a sinister little being under all that fat.
James plopped down in between Remus and Rachel and Sirius sat himself next to me. He did the whole, pretend-to-yawn thing and swung his arms around my shoulders. I grunted and shoved his arm off, turning to lean against the window and watch as clouds started to appear overhead.
"So, who should we...er...always call Lillian?" James asked in his stupid singsong voice that he loved to use around me. He knew it annoyed the hell out of me, and what ever were James and Sirius around for if not to annoy me? It was their mission in life: make Lily Evans explode and punch someone at least once every other day. Oh, and was I a good puncher, and James and Sirius definitely knew that.
I grumbled at him, shooting him a withering glare.
"Anyway, before I was so rudely interrupted," Rachel said, shooting looks at the Marauders, minus Remus, who was sitting quietly in his seat, staring at me with a concerned look on his face.
"I was just talking about this wonderful French chap I met while on holiday in Paris. He took me to this lovely little pavement cafe near the Eiffel Tower. And, he promised to write me! Although he is a Muggle, I always admired a bloke who could keep up a sturdy relationship. And I always say that the key to a healthy relationship is communication. Of course, Lils and Remmy know all about this. I talk about the many aspects of relationships constantly." I groaned quietly as she babbled on and on. That she did. That she did.
"Now, take someone like Sirius. If he could at least commit once and a while, why, hon, I think you could actually stay with the same girl for at least three months!" I felt Sirius groan next to me and choked back some quiet chuckles.
"Now, take Remus. Remus is a healthy young bloke. And he can commit. Now that's rare. Just like the chap I met in Paris--" I noticed how annoying it was when she said Paris in that little French accent she got right after she visited during summer hols. Damn, it was annoying. "--See, let this be a lesson for you all, mainly James and Sirius, Remus, you have nothing to worry about: commitment! Constant commitment! That's what I always say!" I'm sure if the famous auror, Alastor "Mad Eye" Moody would be proud. If he were here right now, he's be saying "constant commitment" right along with her. Somehow, Rachel sounded exactly like him when he said "constant vigilance."
And she's off again.
"Rachel!" I all but yelled at her.
"What?" she asked, genuinely startled. I gave her a look.
"Shut up, okay?" She nodded mutely and sat back in her seat. I did feel sorry for snapping at her like that, but once and a while she just really deserves it. Really really deserves it.
"Anyway, Remus, you were going to tell us about your hols?" I asked politely. Remus grinned at me and sat back in his seat as well, folding his arms comfortably across his chest.
"Good, good. I pretty much just lazed about the flat all summer, cleaning, doing some of our summer work, the same as always."
"And...." I hesitated. "How is your mother?"
A flicker of pain, hesitation, and sadness appeared in his amber eyes, just long enough for me to notice before it was gone again and replaced by the usual little sparkle of mischief.
"Fine," he said, his voice slightly restricted. I made a mental note to ask him about it when we got up to the castle.
"Well, my holidays were super-terrific! Absolutely spiffing!" Sirius said in his I've-just-had-loads-of-sugar voice. I grimaced inwardly. "I went to Prongsie's house," he said, using James's nickname. "And I went to Prongsie's house again! And then, and then and then and then...I went to Prongsie's house! And then I ran away from my stupid family after I found out they had burned my name off of the Family Tree and I went to Prongsie's house!!!"
Woah.
"Prongs was super nice to me aaaaaaaaall summer!" Sirius finished, with a pleasant sigh. He fluttered his eyelashes and clasped his hands under his chin as her did this. Absolutely disgusting.
I slapped him on the shoulder really really super-kick-ass-Lily hard.
"Oooooow!" he whined, rubbing his shoulder and wincing in pain.
"Shut up, you bloody idiot," I snapped at him.
"Ooo, Tiger Lily's in a very foul and cranky mood today," said James from across the compartment. "I wonder if...." He and Sirius giggled. I just raised my eyebrows at him. "I wonder if...." They giggled again.
"Out, with it you great prat."
"What Prongs is trying to say, Tiger, is that he wonders if someone is going through that...ahem...time of month again....?" I gasped and blushed furiously, my cheeks turning into a slightly, but still very vibrant, lighter shade of blood red than my curly hair.
I raised my hand again to slap Sirius and James and they cowered in fright. Smirking, I lowered my hand and smiled at them. They shrunk even more.
"Hey, hey, Lily, isn't time you went to the Heads' Compartment?" asked Sirius nervously. I gasped and jumped up.
"Oh my god! I completely forgot!"
"You forgot that you were Head Girl--" Rachel started to say.
"Oh no! I hope the Head Boy hasn't been waiting too long. What will I do? What will I say?! He'll automatically assume the worst. He probably thinks I'm off snogging some boy in the toilets!"
"Lily, calm down, hon," Rachel said, also standing up and putting her hands on my shoulders. "It'll be all right. Remus here's Head Boy. He's knows where you've been, unless you somehow paused time and left to snog that random boy of yours in the toilets."
"You-you are, Remus?" I asked, looking down at him. He had a pained expression on his face.
"Actually, Lils, Rachel, I'm not Head Boy." Rachel and I exchanged a worried look.
"Then who is?" I asked.
James stood up and watched my face in worried anticipation.
"I am."
Jo: Well, I think that's long enough for today. My editor will come by and rewrite the whole thing probably, make it ten times longer. Eighty pages doesn't sound so bad--
Lily: What are you doing her again, Jo?
Jo: Well, I thought it would be all right if I just told them the important information--
Lily: Jo.
Jo: Yes?
Lily: Beat it.
Jo: Okay okay. I'll just...ahem ahem...be leaving now.
Lily: AHHHHHH! UMBRAGE ATTACK! UMBRAGE ATTACK! RUN AWAY!!!
Jo: Well, that dealt with it.
END OF CHAPTER ONE