A small six-year-old girl huddled beneath a pile of blankets her small white hands pressed firmly against her ears. Snivelling quietly she whipped her runny nose with her sleeve. Large tears though made their way down her small heart shaped face.
"Petty?" She whispered into the dark.
"Lily just ignore them, they'll stop, they always do," Petty said wearily. Lily bit down hard on her lip, as her parent's yells got louder from the other room. She could hear the distress of her mother's sobs as her father bawled at her.
"Stop," She whispered. "Please." Her body shook, and she pulled the blankets around her tighter. A loud smashing sound come from the living room, Lily stole a look out of her cluster of blankets, her bright green eyes shone with tears. Looking inquisitively at her sister's bed, the blankets rose steadily at her deep breaths. She slowly edged off her bed and hurriedly made her way to the creaky door. Her small fist grasped the big door handle and pushed it open a smidgen, even so the rusty hinges creaked loudly. Her father was standing over their family portrait the glass was shattered across the ground, her mum was sitting on a chair shaking, but she had quite crying. Abruptly at the sound of the creaking door made the two adults look over to see their daughter huddled by the door.
"Lily," her father breathed, his voice almost inaudible. Lily's eyes widened and shut the door her body starting to tremble again as she ran back to her small bed.
"You see Lily? Just keep quite next time," Lily's older sister whispered harshly from her bed. Lily nodded into the darkness a small sob escaping her small pink lips.
"You see what you've done!" Lily cringed at her mum's harsh tones. Blocking out the sounds of her parents infuriated tones she let her mind drift to the Family Portrait her father smashed. It had been taken a few years before. Before all the fighting started, when her dad still held the door open for her mum and they still giggled giddily behind closed doors. The portrait had taken more money then they could afford but they had managed to get it after her parents saved every penny for months.
Before her mind could drift any farther her dad's voice of rage disturbed her thoughts.
"You know what? FINE! I'm gone; take care of the girls for me I don't-"
"Oh no you don't! I cannot take care of them both!" Her mum's loud voice seemed to echo off the thin walls.
"Fine! I'm taking Petunia. Petunia! Wake up pack your bags we're leaving!" Lily quivered under her blankets as her dad opened the door in fury. Petunia had already jumped out of bed as was cramming her stuff into an old carpet bag, now wanting to make her father angrier.
"I'll come back for you Lily," Petunia whispered giving Lily a hug before she was rushed out of the room.
"Petty!" Lily cried running from her room. "Daddy!" Petunia turned around, tears streaming down and gave Lily a slight wave but her dad roughly pulled Petunia to the only car. "Please don't leave! I'll be good I swear." she whispered pressing her small hands against the frosty window. Her face was so close to the window her breath fogged up the window crystals.
"Lily go to bed please," her mum said resignedly from behind her. Lily took one glance back out the window only to see the car drive away.
A pair of almond shaped green eyes scanned across the page of her History of Magic textbook. Licking her top lip she pulled the quill out from the back of her ear letting her dark red hair fall in front of her face. Scribbling down a few notes while murmuring them to herself. Turning back to the thick textbook she stuck her quill behind her ear again. A harsh laugh came flittering through the air.
"Look what we have here," a voice said laughing. The studying girl refused to look and continued scribbling notes down. "I forgot to take my own notes and I just don't think I'll be able to make them now, can I have yours Evans?" The voice turned from harsh and mocking to sugar sweet.
"Do you own Marlene," Lily said simply. Marlene raised her defined eyebrow high.
"Alice, will you do the honours?"
"Oh, erm- sure," Alice said softly. "Lacarnum Inflamre."
"Enjoy studying Evans." Tears pricked Lily's eyes as she watched her study notes go up in flames. She quickly brought out her wants and doused the flames, but it was too late the parchment couldn't be fixed. Lily's eyes rose and she watched the group walk to the dormitory stairs. Her eyes landed on the short, brown haired girl, Alice, her old best friend. Lily swallowed hard and shook her head sadly. No use fretting over it, she told herself sternly, she isn't worth it if she sells herself to be accepted by her peers.
Giving up studying Lily packed up her textbook and headed out of the common room not wanting to be bothered anymore. Her soft steps echoed down the empty corridor walls. Stopping short, her eyes widened; she heard voices, and not pleasant ones at that. She shuddered as she recognized the voices. Holding her head high she turned the corner holding onto her wand tightly.
"Oi mates, look who came to join us on this delightful night. It's that red headed mudblood," a man said. His dark eyes bore into her bright green ones; she felt a shiver run down her spine. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't get rid of her fear of them.
"She is quite enjoyable," a greasy voice sniffed. "Have you come out to play Red?"
"Leave me alone," Lily choked out her voice hoarse from no use. She raised her wand but her hand shook slightly.
"Hey guys hurry it up I'm not really in the mood tonight," a big burly black man said annoyed.
"Aye, patience Zabini," the greasy voice came again.
"Hurry it up, Severus," Avery snapped.
"Stop it!" A loud voice came floating down the corridor.
"You stepping on my foot, Prongs,"
"Well you crossed the line Padfoot so shut up."
"What line you moron?" The group of Slytherins stopped in the tracked before quickly hurrying off the opposite direction. Lily looked around, the corridor was black and couldn't see who was coming. Pushing herself against an even more shadowed part of the wall. Silent tears began wracking her small body. All she wanted was to be invisible.
"Will you stop crowding me?"
"Wormtail, shut-up!" Lily looked down the corridor again. But she couldn't see anyone. Falling deeper into the shadows she banged up against a suit of armor it fell with a clink to the ground.
"Guys; someone is there,"
"Clearly, -let's go." Another voice hissed before there was silence.
Lily gasped, her breaths came out in shallow rasps. She sank to the floor shaking just imagining what could have happened if- well if whatever had come hadn't shown up. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't quite become unseen. For years she imagined herself just fading into the background and everyone around her would leave her alone and she could get on with her life. But it hadn't happened. When she had first got her letter for this school she thought she could escape from her life back home, but over the years she ran into more problems here concerning blood and prejudice then she ever had to deal with at home.
Shaking her thoughts away Lily looked up and down the long corridor. Whomever or whatever had been here a few moments ago didn't want to be seen. She looked around but didn't hear anything so Lily stood up and quickly made her way back to the common room deciding it was safer there. Tonight wasn't the night to wander the castle.
Stepping through the Portrait Hole her ears met with the low drone of voices. Hoping not the draw attention Lily walked around the edge of the common room with her head down avoiding any eye contact. Finally making it to the stairs Lily took them two at a time. She opened the door to the sixth year girls and was thankful that her other dorm mates were not present. She grabbed her journal and headed toward the large window.
She sat on an old worn out couch that evening, waiting for someone to come home. It was her ninth birthday today, and she hoped that maybe this time someone would remember. Though somewhere deep inside her, she doubted it greatly. Her mum always came home real late tired and crabby, or she would bring home a guy who she never saw again after that night.
Her sister, Petunia, moved the Surrey with her father; Lily hadn't seen her sister since. It seemed that Petunia forgot her promise to come back for Lily. Lily sighed, she always thought Petunia blamed her for her parent's divorce, if she hadn't left her bed that night, maybe they would still be together.
Before the divorce, even though Petunia had been 6 years older then Lily, she always made time for her little sister, even if it meant ditching her friends. But now Lily never even heard from her anymore.
Hearing the door open, Lily looked at the time. 7:00. That was suspiciously early for anyone to be home. Lily bounded from her place on the couch and ran to the door. Her mum stood in the doorway with a couple bruises on her cheeks and a black eye.
"Mum?" Lily asked in concern. Lily noticed a big, burly man come up behind her mum. Lily's eyes widened; he had broad shoulders, and a thick black moustache under dark penetrating coal eyes.
"Lily, this is not the time. Go to a friend's house tonight." Her mum snapped. Lily looked at the man again, not trusting him at all. Part of her wanted to bolt and do what her mum said, and the other part of her wanted to stay and get this man as far away from her mother as possible. "Lily, I said go. Do not disobey me again." Lily scurried out of the house, not wanting her mum to be mad at her.
Once on the street Lily didn't know where to go, she didn't know very many, it seemed not many wanted to be friends with a poor girl who wore tatty clothes. Lily walked slowly towards the park; maybe she would stay there. A gust of cold wind blew through Lily's small holey jacket as if it were made of nothing at all.
One her way she noticed an old bent woman walking leisurely with a bag of groceries. Lily recognized her as Netty, the old lady that used to babysat for the Evans quite a few years ago.
"Auntie Netty?" Lily called, using the name she used to always call her. The old lady turned, for a second Lily was worried Auntie Netty wouldn't recognize her. But the old ladies bent features spit into a warm grin.
"Lily dear, is that really you? You're mere skin and bones," Netty said kindly. Lily couldn't hold it in any longer and a burst of tears erupted in the small girl. "Oh don't cry little one, come to my house I'll cook you up something quick." Netty escorted Lily back her small house.
Staring out into the new moon Lily saw a shooting star graze across the dark night. Her emerald green eyes closed and a short murmur came from her thin pink lips. Her sixth year past and nothing had yet to change. No letters from her family, even though everyday she waited for something that told her that they were thinking of her. Everyday she was disappointed. Her mother was to busy with her job and getting more and more plastic surgery to keep looking young. Her sister was now married, and the barrier between them had grown since Lily becoming a witch. Her father: Lily had no idea. They had been so close when she was young. She would never forget the countless piggybacks he would give her, and just how he made her laugh. She couldn't believe that when he left he left forever.
For years she imagined him coming back for her, but it never happened. Stepping from the common room window, she noticed she was the last one to go up to her dorm. She smiled to herself. She loved when all was quiet. It seemed so serene. Making her way down to the blazing fire, she watched the fire lap up the firewood. Biting her lower lip, she sat down right in front of the hot substance, letting the heat warm her cheeks. She didn't know how long she was sitting there, but the next moment she knew she heard a couple voices coming from the Portrait Hole. She hadn't even heard them come in; she had been too wrapped up in her dreaming.
"Who do you think that is?"
"I don't know I've seen her before but I just don't know" another hissed back.
Lily whipped around to face the group. There stood the infamous Marauders; you couldn't be in Hogwarts and not know who they where. Even she, so unconnected from the real world, knew. She sized them up; all four eyes peered at her from the Portrait Hole. Quickly standing up like a doe in headlights.
"Um…sorry," She whispered roughly as if she didn't quite know how to use her own voice. Without waiting for an answer, she darted off to her dormitory. The four boys looked at each other in confusion before bursting into uncertain laughter. Lily heard their laughter follow her up the stairs. Stalking into her room, she closed the door quietly, not wanting to wake up the other girls. She quietly slipped into her pyjamas. Thoughts of finding a world where there was no hate and no prejudice drifted her off to a dreamless sleep.
The next morning Lily slid out of bed carefully not to wake her dorm mates. Today everyone would be heading home. Lily slipped on some muggle clothes before heading down to the Great Hall for her last meal before the train left. Usually not many showed up because it was frightfully early but Lily likes it better that way. Somehow the quiet calmed her. Lily sat down at the Gryffindor table somewhere in the middle and grabbed some poppers, a wizard's cereal. When you put milk with it the cereal would start changing colours and would pop in your mouth when you bit down on them. Lilt noticed that Dumbledore was looking down on her intently; Lily gave a weak smile before pouring the milk on her cereal.
"Well everyone, I would advise that you all head back and grab your stuff for the train ride, the carriages will be leaving shortly, and Miss. Evans may I have a word?" Lily looked up shocked for a moment that he knew who she was, of course he knows who you are dimwit, she reprimanded herself, he's a powerful wizard he knows everyone in the school.
Lily walked up to him slightly frightened, he before had never addressed her, she couldn't help but wonder if she done something wrong.
"Yes headmaster?" she asked her voice shaking.
"Ah, no need to be worried, just wanted a quick word," Dumbledore started. "The Leaky Cauldron needs some help this summer." Lily gave Dumbledore a curious look.
"And you're telling me this why, sir?"
"I don't know, just had a feeling that you may want to think about it, just in case you didn't want to be stuck at home all summer. I've heard they have excellent mints they give out; I bet you could snatch a couple. Well have a pleasant summer." Dumbledore said with a wink. Lily nodded, still further shocked.
"Thank you sir, I'll think on that," Lily promised, but inside she already knew the answer to be yes.
Authors Note: Well this is my attempt of Lily/James i hope you like it so far. Tell me what you think and how i can improve it. That would be lovely. Cheers have a pleasent day.