(Author's Note: Hey there! Well, this is my first story. Right now it's pretty cliche, Lily finding out she's a witch and all. Anyway, right now it's rated K+ because there's not much going on, but in later chapters, as we go through Lily's seven years at Hogwarts, it'll get more mature, with swearing and sexytimes and the like. So I'll change the ratings and summary accordingly. Also, it's taking place in the present time.
Not that this is going on after the books ended, but you might need to suspend your disbelief a bit, because of things like Dumbledore and McGonagall not being teachers, cell phones existing, things like that. Anyway, I hope you like it!)
"Lily!"
"Coming, mum!"
Lily Evans had just woken up.
It was a perfectly gorgeous summer day in England. School had just gotten out, and everyone was looking forward to their summer vacations.
And so was Lily. Or… well, until this morning she was.
See, what was happening to Lily Evans was quite beyond her understanding. Even though she wouldn't admit to anyone-let alone herself-strange things had been happening to Lily. Bees that were about to sting her would suddenly fly away. The tap in her bathroom would shut off without her having touched it.
All little things that Lily could explain away, but this morning, what had happened was different. This… this was big.
At some point during the night, Lily's room had decided to rearrange itself. Her bed, desk, bookshelf, and dresser were now in all different places than they had been 10 hours ago. And it was quite a coincidence that Lily had just been thinking to herself the other day that her room could use a bit of redecorating.
How was she going to explain this to her mum?
"Lily! Come down for breakfast already!" Lily's mom was growing impatient, and she wouldn't wait much longer. She started work at 9:00, and it was now 8:15. She liked to have breakfast with Lily, her older sister Petunia, and her younger brother Luke before she left the house.
Lily didn't think anyone would come into her room before she finished breakfast and figured out a way to deal with this mess, but just in case, she stuck a note on the door that said, "WARNING: I FARTED. IT SMELLS REALLY BAD."
That ought to keep everyone out.
Lily walked downstairs and saw her family sitting at the table, eating French toast. "Morning, everyone!" She said cheerily, trying to act like nothing was wrong.
"Morning, Lily," everyone replied in unison. Lily took in the scene. Her mother was now bustling around looking for something, presumably her keys. Her father was calmly reading the newspaper and enjoying his daily coffee. Her sister and brother were both eating their French toast with obvious enjoyment.
"So," Lily said. "What's everyone doing today?"
"Well," her father began. "Your mother and I are going to work, as usual. Petunia's going to a movie with Isla. Luke is going to play over at Noah's."
"Oh, that's good," Lily said. "What exactly am I doing today?"
"There aren't that many options for an 11-year old in England alone for the day, Lily. You should have told us what you wanted to do yesterday," her dad replied.
"Well, I was busy!" Lily exclaimed. The truth was, she hadn't been that busy. She'd been over at her friend Severus's house. But as of late, she sensed Severus was starting to pull away from her, and she had no idea why. Was it something she'd said?
"Aha! Found 'em!" Lily's mom shouted, holding up her keys triumphantly.
"You'll just have to stay home today, Lily," her dad said.
This wasn't actually a bad thing. Maybe she'd be able to figure out what was going on with Severus. Yes, she thought. I can call Severus and ask him to meet me at the park, and I can pack some sandwiches, and we'll sort everything out.
"Okay, that's fine," Lily said, ending the discussion.
Everyone ate breakfast in peace and soon enough it was time for Lily's mum and dad to leave. Her mum left to walk to the bus station, and her dad took the car. He would have given her a ride but Mrs. Evans liked walking better. She said it gave her time to think.
Noah's mum came by to pick Luke up, and then it was just Lily and Petunia. Lily adored her sister; there were five years between them, but Lily liked to think that they were the same age, because they thought pretty much the same things about everything.
So Lily and Petunia watched TV, and Petunia waited patiently until it was time to go meet Isla at the movie theatre. "Tuney," Lily said. "What movie are you going to go see? Can I come?"
"God, no," Petunia replied. "We're going to see an adult movie."
"Did you tell mum and dad? Would they be okay with it?" Lily asked mischievously.
Petunia looked away from the television, and shifted her body so that she was facing Lily. "Listen, Lily," she said. "You cannot tell mum and dad, understand? No, they wouldn't be happy."
Lily had no intention of tattling on Petunia, she had just been joking around. "I'm just kidding," she said, and Petunia visibly relaxed.
Eventually Tuney left for the movie, and Lily was left alone in the house. She went into the kitchen to get a snack, and saw something shift out of the corner of her eye. She looked a bit closer and realized a letter had been pushed through the mail slot. It was thick and heavy, and had a wax seal. Thinking it was for her dad, she made her way upstairs to his offfice, where she would leave it on his desk.
But when Lily turned over the envelope, her dad's name wasn't on it. It was addressed to her.
Lily walked into her bedroom, intending to sit on her bed and read the letter, but she walked into her bookshelf instead. The letter fell to the ground as Lily put her hands to her head. "Crap!" She yelled. She had completely forgotten about her bedroom! What was she going to do? She definitely wouldn't be able to move all this heavy furniture by herself.
As 11-year-olds often do, Lily chose to procrastinate. She made her way to her bed, sat down, and took a closer look at the letter.
She saw it was addressed in a very peculiar way:
Ms. L. Evans
The Newly Rearranged Bedroom
… followed by her address.
She quickly opened the envelope, noticing the wax seal was molded into a coat of arms for what looked like a place called Hogwarts.
Why would anyone name anything 'Hogwarts'? Lily thought.
And as she opened the letter, something very strange began to happen. Her entire room began to tidy itself. Her furniture-including her bed, with her on it-started to glide as if their bases had been greased. Everything shifted until it was right back where it had been when Lily had gone to sleep.
The clothes that had been on the floor floated into the air and folded themselves, then were placed back in the dresser. The books that had been on her desk in a haphazard pile got bookmarks, then were sorted back onto her bookshelf.
Bloody hell! Lily thought. She didn't normally swear, being only 11, but she thought that if there was ever a time to swear, it would be now.
Suddenly the cleaning stopped, and Lily's room was the cleanest it had been in months. Lily shook her head in astonishment and pulled the letter out of the envelope.
This is what it said.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Headmaster: AlbusDumbledore
(OrderofMerlin, FirstClass, GrandSorc., Chf. Warlock, SupremeMugwump, InternationalConfed. ofWizards)
DearMs. Evans,
WearepleasedtoinformyouthatyouhavebeenacceptedatHogwartsSchoolofWitchcraftandWizardry. Pleasefindenclosedalistofallnecessarybooksandequipment.
TermbeginsonSeptember 1. WeawaityourowlbynolaterthanJuly 31.
Yourssincerely,
MinervaMcGonagall, DeputyHeadmistress
Well, Lily thought, that clears everything up. She now had more questions than answers. And her gut feeling was that the only person she could talk to about this was… you guessed it: Severus. Lily grabbed her phone and dialed the number. Severus picked up on the second ring.
"Lily," he said.
"Yes, Severus, it's me. Listen, I really need you to come over. It's important."
Severus lived about a 15-minute walk away.
"I'll be there in 10."
He was there in 7.
"Yes," Lily said. "You're here." She dragged him upstairs.
"Did you do something with your room?" He asked. "It looks… clean."
"Now is not the time for cleanliness, Severus!" Lily admonished. "Look what I got in the mail today!" She shouted, waving the letter in the air.
Severus took the letter in his hands, and his eyes lit up. "I didn't know if you would get one," he said quietly.
"Get what? What does this mean, Severus? What is this 'Hogwarts school for…witches'?"
"Lily," Severus said, putting down the envelope, and looking into her eyes. "I know you don't understand it right now, but let me explain it to you."
And so Severus Snape told Lily Evans that she was, in fact, a witch, and he was a wizard, and come September 1, they would both be first-years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
(Author's Note: Well, there's the first chapter. A bit of an abrupt ending, but you know what would have gone on anyway. Reviews, please! Even if you just say you liked it, it'll make my day!)
