DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, JK Rowling; the goddess of
Potterdom owns everything. Unless, of course, there's anything I made up, in
which case that's mine.
I realize there is a whole warehouse full of fics about the courtship of J&L…However, I was hoping maybe to establish a little bit more about how and why they formed their bond, and how Lily inadvertently falls into the secret's of James' world…you know…*those* secrets…the ones I can't say lest I give the plot away!
So, sit tight, and be patient. Here goes everything!
Milady's Eyes
By Adia
Lily Evans was deep in thought.
Although the three other bodies that occupied the small house in Surrey were quietly slumbering (and dreaming of sweet and wonderful things), the ignorance that evaded Lily's mind had gotten the best of her consciousness. Ragged and weary as she was, her mind had yet to be silenced.
Her itchy eyes ached for rest, and she shaded them with her hands as she stared out the window. She secretly wondered what her friends were up to.
Probably getting into loads of trouble, she thought, and began to muse about the possibilities.
A cloud passed over the moon, and the light that once flooded the space became dimmer. Lily rolled over onto her back and stared at the ceiling, wiping the drippy red curls off her face.
Lucky stiffs.
A sigh of resentment escaped her mouth.
You aren't going to find what you're looking for there, a small voice said.
The ghost of a smile fluttered on her lips as Lily silently wondered what, exactly, she was looking for.
The answer was, of course, nothing. Not at the current moment, anyway. Not so far away from the world she desperately wanted to return to, and from the owl that was quite occupied with finding a meal at the moment.
The sudden thought of Gwideon reminded her of the letter she had received the previous day.
First contact with Hogwarts in months…
Although it was simply a generic letter reading off the school things she needed before the new term, the thought that someone remembered…where I belong…pushed her along…
Hogwarts.
She closed her eyes.
There was so much she missed. Of course, there was an equal amount of things she was dreading, but those seemed to fade from view after awhile…
She missed the green of the quidditch pitch, the roar from the crowd and her own throat and she cheered on her fellow Gryffindors with all her might. The songs of the sorting hat, the giant squid, and her big empty four-poster bed by the window.
Lily Evans loved her family…but try as she might; there was a small hole in her heart that could only be filled by a great castle that seemed to sit in the sky…
Lily jumped. She heard a small thud outside her door, and let out a sigh.
Well, almost all her family.
Perhaps it was ignorance…or more likely, jealousy.
Perhaps both.
Petunia was on patrol again.
It was common knowledge that underage wizards were not allowed to perform magic outside of school; however, it was unknown to Petunia Evans how stiff the penalties were for breaking this rule. Nevertheless, she was convinced that one day she would catch Lily in the act, and perhaps prove to her parents once and for all what a menace a witch was to the household.
Which was a pity, because deep down, Lily only wished for her sister to find a certain amount of…self-acceptance.
Perhaps then she wouldn't be so focused on bringing other people down.
Without making a sound, Lily got out of bed, and tip-toed across the room, careful not to cross the line of sight created by the crack under the door. She reached it, then grabbed the handle and with a deep breath, began to shake it furiously while shouting as many nonsense words as she could think of:
"Oggly Poogly, dippity drippity do! Higgildy piggildy!
Ippity Skippity!
The scurrying of feet down the hall-way assured Lily that the imp had gotten what she'd come for, and perhaps a little more. Unfortunately, with little evidence, Lily didn't foresee a conviction on her part.
Who says divination isn't my strong subject? Lily chuckled to herself as she slipped back underneath the sheets, and resumed her dreaming.
But most of all…most of all…she missed her friends. Her real friends.
Oh, her girlfriends were all well and good, but something deep inside Lily secretly wished she could be a member of the boy's dormitory. Every once in awhile, anyways; preferably when they remembered to have their robes washed.
She crinkled her nose.
She could still see their faces as though she had only left them yesterday. And she hadn't seen any of them since her birthday.
But what wonderful friends they were.
Remus, sunny and serene, full of a quiet vigor that showed itself on most appropriate occasions, Peter, round-faced and wonderful (he sort of reminded her of the brother she never had), and Arthur, tall, lanky, and red. The type of person you wanted around when you were feeling homesick, or when you'd just failed a potions exam.
Of course, none of them compares to Sirius.
Which meant nothing other then the fact that they were best friends. Although she had often tried to consider what it would be like…if he was anything else…but the pictures were shapeless, blurry at best.
Probably an omen.
She had a fairly good sense of what was plausible and what wasn't by how she could picture it, and Lily reckoned that she would probably get a mental preview if anything were to change.
But if those walls could talk, she mused, what
stories they would have to tell!
Oh, Sirius was a gentleman, of course. He always shouldered any burden of punishment that should have been shared by them jointly. As a result, Lily's record was a bit cleaner then she suspected it should have been.
However, it had always been Sirius' goal in life to "Get
in good with a prefect."
"But if you'd keep your temper and curiosity under
control, perhaps that wouldn't be such a problem."
"Perhaps if you spent less time trying to steal food from
the kitchens, there wouldn't BE any problem!"
"…"
"What?"
"Never reprimand a girl on what she eats, Sirius."
"What a load of old tosh. It probably just goes straight
to your hair, anyway. Maybe that's why it's so FAT!"
"Ouch! Stupid git, don't pull it out!"
"Now, now, I'm sure your mother would want you to share…"
And yet…though it seemed hardly believable on the surface…their bond was unbroken by anything…But Sirius rarely said what he was really thinking. Sometimes this made the discussion of darker subjects considerably lighter for her.
Lily knew that the time would come when her life would move in a different direction then that of her friends.
But your favorite partner in crime will always be
by your side.
She tried hard to make herself believe it, lest the cockles of her heart feel what it would be like to lose another part of herself…
But the seasons of their lives…as tends to happen…were changing. Quickly. And there were even some parts of it Lily was having trouble grasping. The odd bits of chemistry she sometimes felt between the friends she'd had when she was more of a child.
The seemingly more urgent intentions of her professors to encourage an active role in "career choices."
How good is that if you can't decide on meals from day to
day?
But then…then…
There's the way you feel when James Potter enters the room…and he looks right through…
But she preferred not to think about it. She forced herself not to think about it, and instead became very interested in the schoolbooks on her bedside table. But reading the spines gave way to a certainty that the studious, rule-abiding student she appeared to be was not the type of girl Potter would fawn over.
How ironic, she mused, that it's hardly who I
really am…
She smiled in spite of herself.
Furthermore, it caused knots to form in her stomach when she thought about what Sirius would say:
"Well, good. At least now I have someone to share your
punishments with."
Of course…Sirius would have never said what he was really
thinking…
And Lily's mind at this point was much too mushy to imagine it. Slowly, she let her lids drop down over her sight as thoughts of the places and people that awaited her became blurry…and misty…and began to fade into a dark, dreamless sleep…
But not before a pair of black beady eyes appeared in shadows in her window…
A/N: Hey, guys. How are we doing? Alright? Interesting? Yes? No? Maybe? Please let me know. I am open to anything and everything, seeing as though I serve as my own beta. g
I apologize for the absurdity of the made up words.
Next (couple of) Chapters: Lily arrives at everyone's favorite magic school and we get to see a little more character action between all these crazy kids. ;) O rapture! Just a little exposition. Now we can move on to the fun parts!