A/N: Hello! Welcome to A Slight Change of Plans. This will be my first full-length fanfiction, so I hope you guys like it :) I know that the whole Lily-and-James-get-thrown-together-during-the-summer thing has been done before, but hopefully I've put my own spin on it.
Disclaimer: I am not now, nor have I ever been, J.K. Rowling. Not mine.
And now, without further ado, onward to the story!
23rd July, 1977
Lily dearest,
I have some bad news… Please don't hate me! I know I promised that you could stay with me until the start of term, but there's been a slight change of plans since we last spoke, and I'm not sure if you'll want to come anymore. In fact, I'm rather close to begging you to let me stay at your house, if it weren't for all you've told me about your lovely sister (I can just imagine you snorting at my excessive italic-usage right now. Wipe that smirk off your face, young lady! You know it's unbecoming).
Anyway, I've told you how my mum and dad are friends with James Potter's parents, right? I think they're my mum's distant cousins, actually… third or fourth or something once removed, I can never remember. Anyhow, Mr. and Mrs. Potter have to accompany the Minister to France for some diplomatic… meeting… thing. By themselves. So, my parents, who seem to have forgotten that they have a daughter they love and cherish and that they would never want to do anything against her wishes, have offered to take Potter and Black (he moved in with Potter a few years ago, you remember) for the duration of the summer.
I'm sorry! You're still welcome to come, of course; Mum said we could put Potter and Black in Matt's old room since he's staying in London for work the whole summer, and you could stay in the guest room. I know you've never been their biggest fan, though, so I understand if you want to abandon me to suffer alone. Honestly, it hasn't been that bad. They've been keeping to themselves for the most part, and somehow refraining from being too bothersome – I know, I never would have thought it were possible! Plus, after Black showers, he always walks from the bathroom to his room in nothing but a towel around his waist. Now, Lily, I know that he's a bit immature, but even you have to admit that he's fit. And his abs…. oh, Lily, his abs!
So, am I still going to get to see my lovely Lily this summer, or am I going to be deprived of your company until 1st September? Owl me soon!
Yours,
Mary
P.S. If you do still come, feel free to Apparate to our porch. No need to worry about being inconspicuous; we live a few miles away from the nearest Muggles, so no one will see you.
28th July, 1977
Mary, Mary, to the contrary!
(It doesn't have quite the same ring to it, does it? Oh well, I tried.)
Of course I'll still come! I'd put up with a great number of things if it meant that I could spend time with you, my dearest mate. Besides, there's no way that Potter and Black could be worse than Petunia. They're merely a bit annoying, whereas she is pure, unadulterated evil. I'm starting to think that she's really the offspring of a giraffe (she looks just like one, minus the adorable spots and look of innocence) and History of Magic homework (the most evil thing I could think of), and that my parents stole her from a zoo. (Do you know of any zoos that breed giraffes and magical assignments? Maybe I could return her. They might even pay me out of gratitude for my selfless (ha!) deed). And yes, I did just use parenthesis inside of parenthesis. Don't you laugh at me, Mary Macdonald! My grammar rules become loose when I'm agitated.
On the topic of grammar, indeed, I did laugh at your italics. There's cause for concern when nearly half of the words in a sentence are emphasized; and you don't believe me when I tell you you're overdramatic?
Back to the subject: at least at your house I'll have a bit of Mary to make up for any nuisances; here, I'm stranded alone with my sister all day long while my parents are at work. Besides, it'll be nice to be around magic again. Even though I'm 17 now, my parents forbid me from doing magic at home. They said they want me to avoid causing "undue conflict with my sister," because anytime I so much as say the "m-word," as she calls it, she throws a hissy fit. I feel so cut off from everything and everyone, and even more than that, from myself. Somewhere in the last six years, I stopped feeling at home in the Muggle world. It'll be worth it simply to be in my world again, you know?
If Potter and Black get to be too irritating, I'm sure we can find ways to avoid them, anyway; we've managed for the past six years at Hogwarts! Granted, there are several hundred more people there, which makes the whole avoiding bit easier, but I have full confidence in our abilities.
Unless I hear back from you soon, plan to see me on your doorstep bright and early on the 1st of August. I'll be fully prepared for all of the adventures we'll have, junk food we'll eat, and the Vanishing of any irritating teenage boys who may or may not be staying in your house. Until then… stop gawking at Sirius Black's partially naked body!
Lots of love,
Lily
I'm not one of those authors that says I'll only upload a new chapter after I get x number of reviews, because that's annoying, but I will say that reviews are very motivational. I'll update whenever I can, and favorites, alerts, and reviews in particular make me want to update more often. So... if you liked it, or even if you didn't, review? :)
