a/n: ok, i understand its been over a year since i did any thing with either of my stories. I'd first like to apologize, life has come and hit me full throttle. I feel it's time to go through and rework this story, and upon completion, start part 2 and begin reworking my other works. Now that that is out of the way, i must do this disclaimer thing since apparently i dont own anything you recognize. so here it goes:

Disclaimer: Everything you recognize has here forth been disclaimed, and is not mine. If you do not recognize something, such as dates, times, places, people, then they are mine, and if you would like to use them, i ask that you either disclaim them in your own story (not like i'll really be hawking EVERY story on ff) or ask me for permission, to which i will be MORE THEN glad to give to you. without further ado, i present to you the first chapter of the revised version of The First Four Years.

Chapter 1: Dreams, Letter, Dumbledore

"Lily, Take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off—" There was a sound of someone stumbling from a room— a door bursting open— a flash of green light— a cackle of high pitched laughter— a child crying for his father— a pleading scream— another flash of green light— another scream— a child crying loudly— a third flash of green light, and a high pitched, blood curtalling scream. Finally, just a child crying loudly for his parents, who would never answer…

Lily Evans awoke suddenly from a horrible dream. She looked over at her clock; it read 3:15 am. It was July 13, 1972. Lily had been eleven at midnight— exactly midnight if the story her mother told her was true.

Flashback: 3:15 pm July 12, 1961

Sara Evans was going into labor.

She had been shopping for baby stuff when she had a contraction and felt wetness coming from between her legs. She recognized the feeling immediately. It had happened before, a short three years prior, when her daughter Petunia was born.

John Evans came out of the store just as his wife collapsed. He acted on impulse, running to Sara, lifting and carrying her to their turquoise-colored Ford Anglia. Once she was in the car, John made a mad dash to the driver's seat, driving 90 to the London General Hospital emergency room. Once she was signed in, she was moved to the labor ward.

Approximately 8 hours and 40 minutes later, five minutes before midnight

"C'mon, Sara, push, push, come on dear— you can do it," John Evans was saying, wincing after every push. He was holding his wife's hand, and it felt like she was crushing it. Five minutes later, at the very first stroke of Midnight, there was the sound of a new born baby girl by the name of Lillian Marie Evans, crying loudly, and a woman's cries of joy.

End Flashback

By now Lily was sitting up in bed, pondering the dream—nightmare— she had just experienced. The redhead sighed. She knew that by now she would never get back to sleep, no matter how much she tried. She turned her radio on to see if there was any soothing music that would put her to sleep. Getting up, she turned on her light and pulled her radio towards her, turning the volume down so as not to wake anyone up, especially Petunia. If awoken, her tall, bony sister would probably grab a potentially dangerous object and chase Lily down the stairs. This was something Petunia often did even without being provoked.

Lily flicked on the radio to hear The Beatles singing Twist and Shout. 'Not exactly the calm and soothing music I need,' she thought, grinning despite herself, and moved the dial. She landed on another station, this time playing Athena Franklin's Respect.

'What's with all the upbeat songs?' Lily asked herself. She sighed, defeated, and turned off the radio. She headed downstairs, thinking the whole way about the dream. Thoughts flooded into her mind about the man who spoke her name, the man with the high-pitched laughter— and the green flashing of light.

Lily headed toward the small private library of her family and made a beeline for the fantasy section. Within five minutes she found what she had been looking for, and walked back to her room with an Agatha Christy book in hand. Thirty minutes and twelve chapters into And Then There Were None later, Lily fell into a deep slumber.

At least fifty miles away, in a large mansion Lily knew not of, an eleven year old was awaking from the very same dream— ' or,' the boy thought, looking at the clock reading 3:15, 'was it a premonition? It seamed far too real to be a dream, and I should be getting my Hogwarts letter soon.' He had turned eleven six months ago, in December, and he still hadn't received his letter.

His thoughts returned to his dream. Who, he thought, was this Lily in his dream? And Harry? Was it just what it seemed, a dream? Or something more? With a restless mind, he got up, pulling on a pajama top, and went downstairs to see if there is anything to help him sleep— a sleeping potion, perhaps.

Just as he reached the last step, he realized his mum hadn't brewed any recently. Shrugging it off, he instead turned left to the enormous family library. The his family, the Potters had been collecting books for generations, and their current collection was quite impressive. He found himself heading toward the section devoted to muggle books, pulling out an Agatha Christy story. He walked back up to his room with And Then There Were None. His mother in particular loved the muggle writer— though, of course, she was more than just any mystery author. She was Lady Agatha Christy, knighted by the muggle queen, Queen Elizabeth the Second.

Back in his room, he lay on his bed reading. Three hours later, he closed the book at the end of chapter 12, and finally James Potter drifted off to sleep.

Several hours later, around nine in the morning, Lily was awakened by a very loud screech. Getting up quickly and throwing a bath robe over herself, Lily ran downstairs to find that there was an owl on the kitchen table. Petunia was in the corner, staring daggers at the tawny bird. Lily slowly approached the owl, realizing that there was a letter attached to its leg. As if by instinct, Lily reached out to take the letter, and then hesitated. The owl, as though it actually sensed Lily's nervousness, held out its leg. Lily, not understanding but curious nevertheless, untied the letter. As soon as she held it in her hands, the owl took off.

"What was that thing, and that letter you took from it?" Petunia demanded, calming down enough to approach her younger sister. The sisters were three years apart, and the sibling rivalry between the two of them was great. Perhaps the rivalry was based purely on jealousy; Petunia took after her father, tall and boney, her brown hair thin, while Lily resembled her small, redheaded mother.

Lily stared, wide-eyed, at the letter the owl had given her. She just didn't understand. Why would an owl deliver mail? Was she still asleep, dreaming? Lily pinched her own leg, pain spreading across it. Nope. She definitely wasn't dreaming.

Lily grabbed a butter knife, and slit open the thick envelope. It was made of a heavy parchment, and on the back side was an ornate coat of arms in dark ink. Wide letters spelled out the name Hogwarts. ' Hogwarts?' Lily thought in surprise, and almost laughed. It sounded ridiculous. The seal showed an elaborately designed lion, snake, raven and badger, she noticed. 'What is that?'

"What does it say?" Petunia's voice cut into her thoughts.

"I... don't know." Lily responded, slowly unfolding the thick parchment of the letter and read to herself:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

(order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorcerer., Chief Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, international Confederation of Wizards)

Dear Miss. Evans,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Lily stood for a long time staring at the letter. Analyzing it. It had to be a joke. There could not be a school by the name of Hogwarts. There was no such thing as witchcraft or wizardry. Magic only exists in stories, she thought, not in real life. Little did Lily know that she would soon learn that the creatures from the stories she read, such as Trolls and unicorns, did exist, along with other fascinating creatures - and that Magic was real. Lily would also learn that not all wizards are good, and of part of her destiny.

Petunia grew impatient of waiting for Lily's answer, and snatched the letter from her sister's grasp. As she read, her eyes grew wider and wider. It was far over her head. Petunia turned and headed upstairs to take the letter to her mother.

Lily snapped out of her thoughts to notice Petunia running off with her letter. Sprinting after her, Lily dove and almost tackled Petunia, but Petunia got away.

"Petunia, do not show that letter to mum!" Lily shouted. Unfortunately for her, Petunia didn't hear Lily - but her mother did.

"What letter, Lily?" Lily's mother, Sara Evans asked.

"This one." Petunia said, approaching Mrs. Evans. Sara took the letter her eldest daughter handed her and read through it. She had known the letter would come soon. One just like it came a month before Lily was born telling her she was going to have a baby with magical powers, and that the child's destiny was to go to Hogwarts when the age of eleven. If she didn't, bad things would happen. And that a mere three days before the 31st of July, a man named Albus Dumbledore would come to collect her so she could get her school supplies. The letter also said to keep the owl that came with the letter, so she could reply to the letter in eleven years.

"Lily, I want you to go to your room, and wait there. Petunia, I want you to go to your room, and not come out until I tell you to. You got it, both of you?" Sara demanded, more than asked. Both girls nodded, and went to their own rooms.

Thirty minutes later, after some talk with her husband and serious contemplation, Sara came into Lily's room to explain everything she knew about the letter.

"Lily, that letter you got..." Sara paused, trying to find a way to word what she needed to tell her daughter. "...it isn't a joke. I received a similar letter eleven years and a month ago, saying that another letter would come. I suppose the letter you got today was the one it referred to. Lily, the first letter said that you are a witch, and are to go to this... Hogwarts.

"Well, do you want to go to Hogwarts?" Sara asked her daughter, though she suspected she already knew the answer. Lily's green eyes were brimming with excitement.

"Yes!" Lily practically shouted.

"Okay," Sara grinned. "I'll reply to the letter, saying you'll go. A man by the name of Dumbledore is to come and help you buy school supplies," Sara said, and left Lily's room. Lily soon heard her mum shout to Petunia and herself to come out of their respective rooms.

Sixteen days passed without event. The anticipation was killing Lily, and Petunia didn't help much. Her rudeness had increased tenfold since the letter. Lily assumed Petunia was jealous of her. Perhaps Petunia wished to be a witch also?

The seventeenth day, Lily woke up to the smell of eggs cooking. Getting dressed hurriedly, Lily headed downstairs and into the kitchen. Sara was in the kitchen cooking light and fluffy scrambled eggs. Lily could also smell bacon and hotcakes. Leaving the kitchen, Lily walked towards the living room. Just as Lily got to the sitting room, there were three knocks at the door. Wondering who would visit at such an hour, Lily left the sitting room, and walked to the front door.

Lily opened the door to a tall, thin man. His beard was so long it looked as though it could be tucked into his robe of brilliant magenta. His hair, even longer than his beard, was long and graying. Light, intelligent blue eyes stared past half-moon spectacles at Lily.

"Hello..." Lily said, suddenly shy, "Er... who are you?" she asked, hoping she didn't sound rude. The likes of this man were not common in her neighborhood.

"My name is Albus Dumbledore. I am the headmaster of Hogwarts," announced Dumbledore, a smile on his face. "I am here to meet your parents, and show you and them where and how to get to Diagon Ally, as well as how to get to the platform for your school train." He paused, allowing himself a smile.