Lily Evans & James Potter: Opposites Attract
Lily Evans, a red head with a fiery temper to match, is the studious bookworm and rule follower. James Potter, carefree attitude to match his dishevelled hair, is the mischievous prankster. Who knew that the two most unlikely people would end up together? You know what they say, opposites attract!
Disclaimer: credit to J.K. Rowling
Chapter 1: Letters
July 1971 (11 years old)
Red hair splayed across a pillow brightened in the sunlight as it spilled through an open window. Blankets stirred as a warm July breeze came rushing in, waking the sleeping occupant. Bright green eyes were slowly revealed as the scent of fresh made raisin bread came drifting in. Lily Evans absolutely loved raisin bread! Especially the one her mum made. She climbed out of bed, put on a royal blue t-shirt and jean shorts, and grabbed her sandals as she ran down the stairs, nearly running into her older sister as she entered the kitchen.
"Watch it!" cried Petunia Evans. She was a couple years older than Lily, with dark brown hair and eyes, and a good few inches taller.
"Lily, slow down. There's no need to rush." said her mother. Meredith Evans wasn't a very tall woman, with the same fiery red that Lily had inherited and chocolate eyes.
"Sorry mum, Tuney." said Lily as she grabbed a piece of raisin bread and sat down at the kitchen table.
Petunia, after recovering from almost spilling her cereal on the floor, sat down across from Lily. As they were about to eat their breakfast, a tapping came from the front window, startling the two young girls.
"What's that noise?" asked a tall man as he entered the kitchen. Robert Evans was a tall man, with brown hair and stunning green eyes.
"I don't know. It's coming from the front window though." stated Meredith.
Robert made his way over to the window, and upon opening it, a tawny owl swopped in. Robert ducked to avoid getting a face full of feathers. The owl flew over and landed on the table in front of Lily, holding an envelope. Confusion flooded Lily's face. Why is there an owl sitting in front of her? Apparently Petunia had the same though.
"Why is there an owl sitting in front of you? What does it want?" asked Petunia.
"I don't know?" replied Lily, looking increasingly more perplexed.
Her parents, both stunned at the bird now perched on their kitchen table, came over to Lily. The owl proceeded to try and pass the envelope in its mouth to Lily. Lily obliged and took the letter. But the bird did not move, almost as if it was still waiting for something.
"Well, that was an odd way to deliver a letter. Couldn't they just have used the post? Why don't you open the letter dear?" Lily's mum said.
As Lily opened the letter, Petunia and her parents crowded around to see what it was about.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
Dear Miss Evans,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Enclosed is a list of books and supplies needed for the upcoming year. Term begins 1 September. Please owl us no later than 31 July with your reply.
Yours Sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
'I was wondering when this was going to be arriving.' Lily thought to herself. She continued onto the second page.
Dear Miss Evans,
I know how confusing this must be for you, but please just continue to read on. My name is Albus Dumbledore. I am the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am writing today to inform you that you are a witch. This means that you can perform magic. Yes, magic is very real. The magical world remains hidden to the Muggle (non-magic people) world. As a witch, you are able to attend my school, in which you will be able to learn all about and how to perform magic. All your school supplies can be obtained from Diagon Alley, which lies in behind the Leaky Cauldron, in London.
If you have any questions, please send them back with the owl.
Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
"I've been accepted!" Lily exclaimed.
This was not as much of a shock to her parents as one might think. The summer before, Lily and Petunia got into a fight over Lily being able to make a flower fly. They had been really close sisters, but Lily was starting to frighten Petunia. That's when they met a dark haired boy, who could do equally unexplainable things. His name was Severus Snape. They spent all summer together last year. He explained to Lily about magic and Hogwarts, even showed her little things that he could do.
She told her parents everyday about her adventures with Severus and about what he was telling her. At first, they were confused. Thought even that it was just a childhood fantasy. But, when she showed them the flying flower, that's when they started to actually believe her. So, the arrival of the letter was not unexpected. The delivery method, on the other hand, was.
"Can I go?! Please, please, please!" Lily begged. She has been anxiously waiting for this chance since last summer.
Her parents looked at each other, then looked back at her. "Yes of course dear! We're so proud of you!" her mother said as she hugged her.
Petunia, watching the scene unfold, exploded. "You're nothing but a freak!" and ran out of the kitchen. A few seconds later, her bedroom door slammed shut.
Lily was heartbroken. She was always close to her sister. They were best friends! She couldn't take rejection from her. Lily broke down into tears, crying on her mother's shoulder. Her parents just looked at each other sadly, knowing there's not much they could do.
"Where's this 'Diagon Alley'?" asked her father, trying to get Lily's mind off of her sister.
"Severus told me once that it was in London. But, I don't know how to get there." Lily said through sniffles. "I can ask him."
"Why don't you send your reply first, then go find him. We'll take you to Diagon Alley tomorrow, alright?" said her mother as she was stroking her hair.
"Ok." Lily grabbed a pen and paper and wrote her reply. Gave the letter to the owl, who took off out the window it came in.
Severus took her and her parents to Diagon Alley to pick up her supplies, all the while trying to cheer her up from her sister's outburst the day prior. The following month and a half went by quickly, as she prepared her things for the school year. Her sister ignored her the entire time, was always finding a reason to not be in the house or around when Lily was there. Lily also got a head start on the readings for the year, having already finished Hogwarts, A History.
September 1st was here, and it was time to board the train. Her parents drove her to King's Cross Station. Severus had told her how to get onto the platform the day at Diagon Alley, although she will admit that she was still a little confused. Petunia opted to stay with a friend for the day, she still wasn't talking to Lily. Lily was still heartbroken, but she decided that she was going to focus on her studies and not let that get her down.
They were now standing at the junction of platforms 9 and 10, looking at the wall in between.
"So, you just run at it?" asked her father.
"I guess." replied Lily. She turned to her parents and gave them both a long hug. "I'm going to miss you both."
"Us too, dear." said Meredith. "We love you so much and are proud of you. I know you'll be amazing. Have a good year. And don't forget to write to us!" A hoot came from tawny barn owl in a cage on top of her trunk. Lily thought that having an owl would be more useful than the other animals. At least this way she would be able to write home.
"I will Mum. I have to go or I'll be late! I love you both." Lily turned around, grabbed her cart, and ran at the junction, closing her eyes the whole time. Next thing she knew, she was standing on a busy platform with a sign saying Platform 9 3/4. The old steam engine train had Hogwarts Express written on the front. She got through!
Lily made her way through the crowd towards the train. At one of the doors, she tried to lift her trunk onto the train, but it was too heavy for her to move.
'Well, this sucks' she thought, leaning on her too heavy trunk. 'Maybe I packed too much …'
"Do you need help with that?" a kind, deep voice asked from behind her. She turned around so fast she lost her balance, falling straight into the chest of a boy, who wrapped his arms around her to steady her. She looked up and saw a boy, about the same age as her, with round glasses and wildly messy black hair. He couldn't have been the source of the mysterious voice. She looked beside him and saw an older version of the boy who caught her. His kind eyes smiling back at her from behind glasses as well. There was a woman standing beside him. She was the most beautiful woman Lily has ever seen. Tall, with long, jet black hair that had a natural wave in it, and bright blue eyes.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."
"Oh it's fine! I was just lost in thought. My trunk won't move." Lily replied, removing herself from the boy's arms, turning a nice shade of red.
"Here, let me help you." The older man grabbed her trunk and placed it on the train. "Did you need help bringing it to your compartment?"
"I think I can manage from here. Thank you so much!"
"No worries. My name is Robert Potter, and this is my wife, Gwendolyn. Are you just a first year?"
"Yes!"
"So am I!" said the boy. "My name is James." He held out his hand, which Lily shook. "Nice to meet you."
"Lily Evans. You too."
"I love you. Have a good year." said Mrs Potter as she gave James a hug.
Mr Potter turned to James. "Now behave. And have a good year."
"Yes Dad. Bye!" James said as he hopped onto the train. Lily followed suit.
"Did you want to sit with me?" James asked.
"Er, sorry. I'm trying to find a friend." replied Lily apologetically. She desperately wanted to find Severus. She hadn't seen him since Diagon Alley and wanted to talk.
"Ok. See you later!" said James as he walked off, trying to find a compartment.
Lily did find Severus, and they talked the entire way to Hogwarts. Once they reached the Hogmead station, they were ushered into boats by a giant man called Hagrid. The castle was magnificent. Lily had never seen anything like it. It looked magical! They were lead up a stair case where an older woman waited.
"Once you go through these doors, you will now be sorted into your houses. The houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. The houses will be your family while you are here. Good behaviour gains you points, while rule breaking loses you points. The house with the most points at the end of the year wins the House Cup. Now, follow me." said McGonagall.
She turned and opened the doors behind her and led them into the Great Hall. Four long tables ran the length of the Hall, side by side. At the end, there was one more, long table, running in the opposite direction to the others. This looked like the professors table, judging by who was seated at it.
Sitting in front of the head table was a very old looking hat on a stool.
"When I call you name, come up and I will place the sorting hat on your head. Lily Evans."
Lily approached nervously and sat on the stool. McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on her head.
"Gryffindor!" it shouted. A table burst into cheer and applause. 'Guess I know which table if Gryffindor'. She went over, being congratulated as she sat down at an empty place.
"James Potter." The young boy from the train approached the Sorting Hat.
"Gryffindor!"
James hoped down and ran over to the table, sitting beside Lily.
McGonagall continued to call out names and the Sorting Hat shouted out houses. As each house gained a new member, cheers and applause erupted from said table. Gryffindor gained quite a few new members. But Lily wasn't paying attention to that. She couldn't stop looking at the boy beside her. He was handsome and energetic, greeting each new member. It seemed as if he knew a boy called Sirius Black already. When the boy got sorted into Gryffindor, he ran over and promptly sat on the other side James, giving him a high-five. James looked over at her, catching her staring at him. He gave her a cocky grin.
He leaned into her, "You're pretty." he told her before greeting the newest member. Lily couldn't stop blushing after that.
Once the Sorting was done, Dumbledore stood up, saying "Let the feast begin". Magically, all the plates filled with food and everyone started digging in.
After the meal, the Prefects led the first years to the house common rooms. Once Lily was settled on her bed, her trunk already in the room, she introduced herself to her roommates; Marlene McKinnon, Alice Prewett, Kyra McAvoy, and Anna Coss.
Marlene and Alice became her best friends by the end of the year. They were inseparable. James Potter, even though he was gorgeous, was an annoying prick. Over the next 4 years, he would take any opportunity to ask her out, sometimes in the most ridiculous manner possible. Him and his 'marauders' (Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew) would always be into mischief, playing a prank or getting into something. Remus was the only one she could tolerate! He was different from James and Sirius, studious and respectful. She could never understand how he could tolerate the other two. She was still friends with Severus, even though he was in Slytherin. Though, that friendship was starting to get strained, and she couldn't figure out why.
Over the summers, things with Petunia was not improving. She would call Lily a "freak" at any chance she got, and would avoid her the rest of the time. Her parents did have a talk with Petunia, but it didn't work. Petunia was never going to get over her jealousy of not being a witch also.
The years at Hogwarts was only going to get more interesting from here.
A/N: Hope you liked my first chapter! This was only supposed to be an introduction to get a bit of back story.
Mad Scientist signing out …