Summary: James and Lily Potter are shadows of Harry's past. Mere echoes. Everyone's favorite characters that aren't really there. But once, they were so full of life and love that it's hard to believe they're gone. James and Lily have their own story to tell. Discover the true roots of Harry Potter. Go back…to The Beginning.
Disclaimer: I do not own or have any exclusive rights to the Harry Potter world, its characters or its charm. I do however, have a deep love for them…and have chosen to express that love in this story. Hope you enjoy.
The Beginning
By Rebecca
Can't wait
Lily Evans couldn't wait to get out of her house. 3 months in the company of a woman who loathed her, was no way to spend the summer holidays. Why couldn't she have been allowed to stay with her friends from school? Or with some distant unknown relative who would have given her money every weekend to get her out of the house?
But no, Lily was still 17, forced to endure the wrath of her cruel sister, Petunia and Petunia's fiancée Vernon. Orphaned by a fatal car wreck just last winter, Lily had been deprived of her parents, the only sources of love in her normal life. And now, she felt practically abandoned. She'd been concealed from the public, practically locked up and kept from entertaining guests or talking with her friends. What in the world did Petunia think she was going to do? Blow the bloody buggers up?
Well…actually, yes that was exactly what Petunia feared. You see, Petunia didn't always hate her sister. When they were really young, they were the best of friends. It all started on Lily's 11th birthday, the year she got the letter…the letter accepting her to a school no normal boy or girl would ever hear of…the year Lily found out she was a witch.
"Lily! I told you! Keep your furry friends away from the house!"
Lily set down her scarves and robes with a sigh and hurried downstairs. Trying desperately not to laugh as Petunia stood shaking atop the kitchen stool, feather duster in hand while a beautiful barn owl fluttered around her. Lily came to the rescue and offered him her arm which he perched upon right away, happy to at last have found his destination. "It's not as if I can help it, Petunia," she said, plucking a piece of parchment from the owl's mouth, "Owls don't understand the boundaries between-"
"Oh don't try to educate me about your…your…abnormal friends. Vernon will be here soon and you know he hates those bloody birds!"
Lilly rolled her eyes as she reached for the counter, snitching a few scraps of bread from the cutting board while Petunia wasn't looking, "Sorry old boy," she whispered as the owl nipped it from her fingers, "that's all I have right now." The owl cocked his head, staring at her with knowing eyes and flew out the window. Lily tucked the letter in her pocket and took a deep breath.
"Petunia," she began.
"What?" her sister snapped.
"I assume you'll want to leave early tomorrow."
"Leave for where?" she asked, absently smoothing out her hideous mustard-brown skirt, as she climbed down from her stool.
"I'm going back to school tomorrow."
Petunia's head shot up with a glare at the mention of Lily's school. Lily had learned this summer never to even say its name, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Petunia's head was liable to explode. "Yes…" she said slowly, black beady eyes boring into Lily's, "very early."
"Excellent!" Lily said cheerfully, un-phased by her sister's reaction—after all, she was used to it…all the more reason to be excited. She was headed into her 7th and final year of Hogwarts…and she would never be coming back.
You see, Lily was engaged to be married at the end of the school year. Petunia didn't know…she wouldn't come anyway. She would marry right after graduation…a little young of course, but he was worth it…and then she would never have to return to her puny muggle (non magic folk) town of Erroll. In fact, the note she'd received from the owl was probably from her brilliant and handsome intended. As she headed back to her trunk to finish packing spare cauldrons, ink, quills, parchment and her eagle feather redwood 11 inch wand, Lily sighed happily as she thought of the day she would cease being Lily Evans…and become Lily Evans Diggory!
Author's Note: Those of you for whom this text looks and sounds suspiciously familiar, don't be alarmed. This is the same story that you have read before. All of you whose reviews kept me going for so long, I truly thank you and wish I could've kept them all. But the story begged to be revised, rewritten and reworked to accommodate changes that came about as a result of JKR's latest masterpiece.
Thus The Beginning has been revised to reflect those changes, and enforce continuity between JK's books and my own story. I will be re-posting it in its entirety, a text I hope to be the final draft! (In other words…I better finish this before book 6 comes out, otherwise I'll have to change everything all over again!)
Some things to keep in mind: This story WAS largely written before Order of the Phoenix was released. I have updated everything I found to be inconsistent. But I'm only a muggle. There may have been something I missed. Should you come upon such a detail, please just accept as a minor lapse into AR/AU and continue on.
Hope you enjoy. Plenty more to come…so stay tuned.
=/=Rebecca