Chapter One

A Wilting Flower

Hey guys, this is my first fanfic, so please review for ideas etc. Enjoy! Mischief Managed.

Lily Evans awoke with a start to something tapping her window.

Sighing, she lifted herself off of her bed and ambled towards her window, still half-asleep. Lily was usually quite good with mornings - they were her favourite part of the day. The earlier you woke up, the better. You could see the first rays of the sun leaking into the empty sky, and you could hear the birds singing happily without a care in the world. But this time, Lily found that she wasn't able to truly appreciate the morning as she should. Her head was heavy and groggy from lack of sleep - how could she sleep, when her sister had practically ignored her the whole summer holiday?

She shook her head, as if this would help clear such unresolved matters and drive away her body's instinct to wrap itself up in blankets like a cocoon. She lifted the window latch and nearly fell over in her clumsy sleep-deprived state as an owl rocketed inside her room.

She collapsed in fatigue against her bedside table, choosing to gape at the creature instead of taking the attached letter like she usually did. Let him come to me, she begged. Nothing had come to her during the summer holidays, especially not Tuney. Her chest was aching in a place where the role of her older sister had left her, turning her pointed nose snobbishly the other way.

The owl regarded Lily for a few seconds in curiosity, before hopping towards her bravely. Lily's bright green eyes glittered as they had not during the wearisome holidays. The owl quickly dropped the envelope at Lily's bare feet before smoothly swooping out of the window into the lightening sky.

Lily remained in her defeated position, then slowly reached forward to grasp the envelope, her only connection to the world in which she belonged. She tore it open with gusto that she usually reserved for heated class debates (in which she usually won) and pulled out the thin sheath of paper providing the information she would need to start her fifth year at Hogwarts.

She scanned through the letter quickly, which stated what it always did considering the books she would need and the leaving time of the Hogwarts Express. She tossed it to the floor in agitation, wishing there was something more that she could spend her morning deciphering. Anything would be better than going down to breakfast where the still and sniffily silent presence of her sister haunted her.

But wait, what's this? Lily's fingers trembled slightly as she realised that there was indeed more to the letter. Concealed in the torn wrappings of what had once been an envelope, Lily fumbled until she grasped a sewn badge with the triumphant red letter 'P' etched on.

Lily's heart quickened. She slid out another piece of paper and read this letter more slowly, as if it were some fascinating newspaper article.

Miss Evans,

I am delighted to inform you that you have been chosen as one of Gryffindor's Prefects

She needn't read much further.

Her eager eyes had latched onto the word "Prefects" with a new hunger. Now the badge made sense. Hands trembling, she held up her Prefect badge to her pyjama top with excitement. Her top was a rusty red colour, clashing perfectly with both her hair and her new badge, but who cared? Certainly not Lily. All she currently cared about was the soft badge in her hands.

Her first immediate thought was to rush into Tuney's room with the good news. Tuney would be ever so proud of her little sister! They would sit on Tuney's bed and discuss every detail of what this new promotion could mean for Lily…

Lily's excited breaths faltered. Tuney? She felt as if her head had just been doused into the icy water of reality. Tuney couldn't care less about Lily now being a Prefect, let alone Lily herself. No, not Tuney. Petunia now. Petunia had stated rather haughtily at the beginning of the holidays that she would 'much prefer it' if Lily 'refrained from the use of such a silly, childish nickname, thank you very much'. Lily sighed a little too heavily for a fourteen year old, carefully folding the badge into her pants pocket. No, it would never do to rush into Petunia's room at this hour of the morning. That was something that had long ago become a forgotten memory of Lily's earlier childhood.

Feeling leaden once more, she pondered briefly over running to her parent's bedroom with the news, but thought better of it almost immediately. All her parents would do was gush over how clever and perfect she was, and that would make Tu-Petunia even more jealous than she already was. Yes, Lily thought bitterly, no matter how hard Petunia tried to make her feel like a freak, she could always easily tell that it was Petunia who longed to be what Lily was: a witch. And although Petunia rarely spoke the word, as if it were a taboo, she would always remember the first time Petunia had discovered her abilities.

"How do you do it?"

There had been a definite longing in Petunia's pale eyes, Lily remembered.

She shook her head, clearing it of her morbid memories. It did not do to dwell on dreams, after all. Lily dejectedly placed her new badge inside her desk drawer; maybe she would tell her parents later.

How wonderful it was to have to tip-toe around her home in the fear of angering the troll that was Petunia Evans.

She sat in defeat for a few minutes longer, before deciding that moping wouldn't help anything. Pushing herself off of the floor, she ambled over to the bathroom that her and Petunia unfortunately had to share. She hopped over to the closed door of her sister's room and pressed her ear against the wood, straining for sounds of an awake and grumpy Petunia. However, all she heard were light snores, thank Merlin.

Lily walked over to the bathroom mirror and scrutinised her reflection blearily. She was as pale as she had ever been, though thankfully she did not seem to have fallen into the trap of acne that arrived with the age of the teenager. Her dark red hair was rather messy, trailing to her elbows. Huffing in agitation, she reached for a hairbrush and tugged it through her bed-head 'do, wincing as she did. She attacked her hair with a few more harsh strokes, as if blaming her fiery hair for her problems, before replacing the brush on the counter with a slight feeling of satisfaction.

Buck up, Lily Evans. There's no need to start your fifth year with an attitude like that! Besides, you're a Prefect now!

She grinned rather forcefully, then skipped out of the bathroom, through her door and bounced down the stairs three at a time, her feet flying higher than they should be. She really was a morning sort of person.

She skidded to a stop at the kitchen entrance, deciding that she would make breakfast. Why not start off the day with her best foot forward?

Lily almost felt like Snow White as she set about making a fruit salad, humming and dancing all the while. She even took it so far as to open the window and lean out to search for any birds who could sing along with her, but gave up as she realised that the birds had long ago left. Birds were up even earlier than Lily. Sure, Lily loved mornings, but she wouldn't, she couldn't wake up at five everyday. The very thought!

As Lily worked away in a daze, her thoughts once again drifted towards her estranged sister, as if the subject was inevitable. She wondered what would have happened if it had been Petunia who had discovered she was a witch, Petunia who had received her first Hogwarts acceptance letter by owl, Petunia who had waved goodbye to her family on Platform nine and three quarters happily and boarded the magical Hogwarts Express with Severus as her only friend by her side. Would Lily have turned out to be the jealous, haughty sister who shunned the family's magical freak? How would she feel if she had been the one to watch the Hogwarts Express chug away, knowing her sister was about to embark on a lifelong magical journey that she couldn't ever experience? Lily bit her lip. She knew that even if she would have undoubtedly felt left out, she would never have treated Petunia the way Petunia had treated her.

It was unfair.

Lily had to bite her lip harder to stop her eyes from leaking tears. It would never do for her family to see her cry in the morning for a reason she couldn't possibly ever tell them, not really.

"You're up early, love!"

Lily looked up as she was meticulously laying the table to see her mother walk in, yawning. Her mum smiled at the pleasant sight before her, pale blue eyes still slightly crusty with sleep. "Well aren't you an angel," she murmured, pulling her youngest daughter into a soft hug. Lily closed her eyes, breathing in the sweet smell of her mother's blonde hair.

Her mother pulled back all too soon for Lily, gazing at her as if she hadn't seen her for a while. "Look at you," she said, eyes roving all over her daughter. "Why, you're all grown up, Miss Evans!" she sang loudly.

Lily restrained herself from rolling her eyes. "Mum, it's not like I can't cook, you know. Why do you think Potions is my favourite subject?" she responded cheekily.

Her mum chuckled. "I've always known that my two daughters would inherit their fabulous cooking skills from their mother," she pondered wisely. "It's pure British luck that you didn't learn from your father," she added.

"What is there to learn?" Lily muttered. Her mum burst out laughing.

"I'll never forget the time that he had to make dinner for you and your sister when I was out,"

Lily smiled reminiscently at the memory. "He asked me how to use the microwave, before giving up and making us toast." Her mum laughed harder. "And if I remember correctly, the toast was burnt…"

When Lily's father entered the kitchen it was to find his wife laughing almost hysterically while his daughter grinned triumphantly.

He smiled happily, keen green eyes darting between the two. "What did I miss, ladies?" He walked over to Lily, giving her a one-armed hug. Lily glanced at her mum, who was breathing rather quickly, clutching her stomach. "You don't want to know." she said darkly.

Andrew Evans gazed at his daughter's carefree expression. "I haven't seen you smile for a while, flower," he said softly. "What's been bothering you?"

Lily's expression turned strangely neutral. Trust her dad to figure out that something was up. She looked back into his eyes, finding her own bright eyes staring back at her, and opened her mouth.

"What's all the racket about?"

Lily's mouth clamped closed as her head snapped up. In the doorway stood a pyjama-clad scruffy-haired Petunia, blinking owlishly with a scowl on her face, as if still half asleep. Which is likely, Lily thought bitterly. As different as the sisters were in looks, they were in personalities, too. Petunia hated early mornings.

Petunia's stare took in the ready-made breakfast, her mum wheezing strangely, her dad's arm around her little sister's shoulder. Petunia narrowed her eyes at Lily. "Some of us are trying to sleep, you know."

The sudden silence in the kitchen was broken by a cat mewling outside.

Andrew could tell that Lily was about to retort to Petunia bitterly. "Good morning, Petunia-petal," he sang, overly cheerful.

Petunia turned to her father. "Good morning, Daddy," she responded sweetly. Lily's scowl deepened. If Lily had called Petunia by her childhood nickname, Petunia would have something nasty to say back to her.

Judy Evans appeared to have recovered, as she too was watching the silent exchange between her two daughters. "Let's eat before breakfast gets cold, shall we?" she said happily, breaking the awkward silence filling the room. "We don't want Lily's efforts to go to nothing," she turned to gaze fondly at her youngest daughter.

As the adults moved to sit down, Petunia took a step toward the food, regarding it disdainfully. "Wait," she said. Andrew and Judy looked up, clearly confused. "Lily made breakfast?"

Judy frowned. "Yes petal," she replied warily. "It has been done in the past."

Lily shot a smile at her mother, grateful. She had yet to sit down. She was watching Petunia carefully, not sure what her sister would say next. Go on, Petunia-petal, Lily thought vindictively, egg me on. Merlin knows I'm fed up with your sly comments.

Petunia scowled, lifting her nose aristocratically, but to Lily it made her look even more like a stuck-up snob. "So how do we know if she hasn't messed it all up with her hocus-pocus rubbish?"

Lily saw red. That's it, she thought. "Reckon I've gone and added poison, Petunia dear? I'm sure that's what you'd love to add to my breakfast portion."

"Girls, really," Mum began quietly, but Petunia cut her off. "That's barbaric, Lily, though probably not beneath your freak standards." she bit back nastily.

"My freak standards?" Lily raised her trembling voice. "What I consider barbaric is that my own sister hates me for who I am!" Her voice had risen to near a yell. Petunia was staring at her with wide eyes, not used to this new, angry Lily, who had always been so quiet and calm. "You could at least pretend to be nice, Petunia! I've never done anything to hurt you! Now who has 'freak standards'?"

This time the silence was absolute. Both parent's mouths were hanging open in shock. Lily was breathing rather heavily, gazing at Petunia, whose eyes were flashing from her sister to her parents. "What have I done to deserve the way you treat me, Tuney?" Lily's voice was hoarse.

It seemed as if Petunia couldn't think of anything to say. After more silence, she turned and walked out of the quiet room, stating in a detached voice: "I'm not hungry."

"Petunia," her father had awoken from his stupor and strode out of the room in Petunia's wake. Mum turned her dumbfounded gaze to Lily. Not now, Lily thought. Before her mother could open her mouth, Lily too had strode from the kitchen and up the stairs, three at a time, though not flying like earlier. She shoved her door open viciously before slamming it, crumpling onto the floor in the same spot that, just a few hours ago, she had happily received her now-forgotten Prefect badge. She lay down, hair splaying out around her, trying to block out the urgent whispers coming from the direction of Petunia's room. She turned her head to face under her bed, her vision shifting to something that winked at her, catching her eye.

Lily reached out, grasping soft material between her fingers. She tugged, and out came a toy, it's button eyes almost winking at her as they caught the morning sun streaming through her window. As she turned it over in her hands, she recognised the soft honey colour, the marmalade mane. It was Romony, her toy lion her parents had given to her when she was too young to properly remember. Lily had a love for antique teddy bears, and had received one for every birthday, making up a large colony, but Romony has always been her favourite. Her parents had given him to her way before she had discovered she was destined to be a witch, to be Sorted into the house of Godric Gryffindor, so it was ironic indeed that her first teddy happened to be a lion.

Lily pulled Romony close to her, planting a soft kiss on his mane as he continued to smiled unknowingly. She sighed with resignation, hugging him tightly.

"So much for a family breakfast," she muttered.

A/N: Hello everyone! What do you think of Lily's faltering relationship with her sister, and her family life? Do tell! Hope you all enjoyed my first chapter. Happy fanficcing!