Hi! I'm Spirit. Some people say I'm above average at writing, and I do like to write, so here goes. Attempt numero uno. This is a story about Lily's years at Hogwarts, not just about her and James. It's in a diary, which starts from sixth grade and ends when I get bored of her, sometime after her seventh year. Pay attention to the dates, if you would. I imagine that her birthday would be 1965, if Harry was 11 in 1997, and he was born when she was 21. Also, I'm American, so any Britpicking would be great. And I hate when authors get their facts wrong, so if I even get one tiny detail incorrect, you have absolute permission to yell at me, hard. Any constructive criticism would be great, since I'm a newbie at this. Hope you'll enjoy!

Thanks,

Caroline

July 15th, 1976

(My eleventh birthday.)

Morning

Dear Diary,

It's finally here! The first day of school! I can't wait to see Amy and Em again. And of course, Sev. All summer, I've been in Ireland, on a forced family vacation. Don't get me wrong, Ireland is beautiful, but I miss my friends a lot. We got home at nearly twelve last night, and I sat in bed, watching the clock until the moment I turned eleven. Double digits age, yes! I set an alarm to go off at that exact time, but no one woke up. I kind of wished they would. Oh well. I switched everyone but Mum's toothpaste into soap, so there's that to watch. I'm going downstairs in a second to see that. Maybe it's not nice to do it, but I just want to get in one last birthday prank before I go to school again. I have all my stuff packed, of course. Textbooks, pencils, and a little irish ceramic heart I'll give to Sev, as a souvenir from Ireland. I hope he'll like it. I really want to be back at school. I got Ms. Pratchet, whom no one's ever talked about. I don't think she will be mean. I've gotten the meanest teacher in every grade, or so the others say. Mrs. Lelles in first, Mrs. Arevalo in second, Anderson in third, Tobin in fourth, and Baker in fifth. But each and every one of them was nice to me, and very supportive. I hope Ms. Pratchet will be, too. Ha. Pratchet, prat, you see the connection?(I hope Mrs. Pratchet doesn't read this.)

Tuney's calling me for breakfast now. I'll be back.

Afternoon

I just read over my morning entry and have realized that I am a very scatterbrained person. Mum used to keep a diary, and she says it's a good idea for when you become, like, a teenager. So, here I am. Something about me. Odd things happen around me. Sev says I'm a wizard. In my opinion, the world is just a big coincidence. He's joking.

I went to school today, with my letter, and asked everyone about Mrs. Pratchet. You know what I discovered? She doesn't exist. Sev got Mrs. Pratchet as well, and Marlene McKinnon. We were the only ones. We all got put in Ms. Daisy's class. She's the sweetest teacher ever! But, don't you think that it's odd that the letter sent out had a teacher that doesn't exist on it? And it wasn't normal paper when I looked it over. Tuney says i imagined it, and that it was perfectly normal to her. The paper the note was printed on looked a little like the parchment the Egyptians used, from our field trip to the museum. I'll ask Severus about it later. In the meantime, I have another issue. Tuney's jealous again. She had the ninety year old Haggs as a teacher in fifth, and she failed all her exams, which she says is because she wasn't taught anything. Our parents were very disappointed in her. So when I told her I got the best teacher in the school, she was fuming. Still is, in fact. Ihopesomeoneinmyfamilywishesmeahappybirthdaytoday. Iknowit'sselfish,butIcan'thelphoping. Noonesaidanythingaboutittoday. (This is my code for when Petunia goes snooping. Yeah, Petunia, I'm looking at you.) My parents are very busy with their jobs. We live in the city, so there's always work for two doctors.

The day at school was great! Miss Daisy is pretty and kind, and praised me on my introduction writing we did in class today. My school starts a few days early, but ends a few days early, too. That's the reason I'm writing about starting school when it's the beginning of August. Severus got me a gift, he gavve it to me a t lunch. It's a set of beautiful watercolors! I wonder how much they cost him. His family's not that rich. Amy didn't get me anything, but she doesn't know my birthday, though she still wished me a happy birthday when she found out. My friends are great to me.

See you later,

Lily

Oh, and before I forget, the reaction when Dad and Tuney used soap instead of toothpaste to brush their teeth was hilarious. Tuney screamed, and immediately started scratching at her tongue like a dog, and then washed her mouth with water for twenty minutes, until we had to go to school. That's another reason why she's angry with me. And Dad kind of froze up, then did the same thing Tuney did. I'm laughing my head off right now.

So as you can see, Lily is feeding Tuney's eventual hatred for her very subtly, even though she doesn't mean to. I need a few chapters to explore Lily's relationships before magic, so you can compare the two. Lily lives in the city, but Snape lives in the run down suburbs. She's going to get her Hogwarts letter soon, and meet Mrs. Pratchet. Any guesses as to who she is? I hope you enjoyed reading this not very interesting story, and criticize me for all it's worth if you have anything to say. Now I understand why everyone says review all the time. So, Review!

With Gratitude,

Spirit