(MUST READ THIS!!)
Hey! This is based of a really strange (and scary) dream that I had involving a guy I like and his friend. Since its really long and I cannot wait for you to read it, I'm making it a two part one-shot.
The story takes place during the summer before Lily's 7th year at Hogwarts and the story I posted around Christmas called "The Magic of Christmas" (SO READ THAT TOO!… if you want). If I come up with enough ideas, I will combine all the one shots written with my main characters (Lily, Lacey, Rachael, and the Marauders) into one big story. Until then, they will be one shots.
Hope you enjoy the story!
Disclaimer: YES! I am J.K. Rowling. I am also the King of Norway, Queen of England and been to the moon! GO ME! (rolls eyes)
My Worst Nightmare
(Part I)
OoOoOoO
I knew my relaxing summer was over the minute Mom opened her mouth.
"Lily, you need a job."
Why? It's my last free summer before I go out into 'the real world'. And I'm not liking the whole 'real world' idea right now. Voldemort is getting stronger and gaining support.
I know, it is horrible! How could people be so stupid to join him? He is just going to kill them later on. That much is obvious.
So I would just like to ignore the fact that by this time next year I'll be most likely fighting against them (on account to Dumbledore's invitation to join his a-elite group called 'the Order of the Phoenix'). It was a real honor to be asked. Dumbledore did it himself right before sixth year ended.
And who can refuse Dumbledore?
No one can! Except, maybe, people in Slytherin. But they are insane, so it's expected.
So, I being the most reasonable in the family, I decide tell my mom just that. She just has to agree. Besides, I'm an adult. I should make my own decisions on whenever or not I need a job.
"But, it's my last free summer!" I whine to her.
Ok. Not very adult like.
But she caught me at a bad time. I don't like being disturbed when I'm reading in the yard. I lose my whole 'happy place' feeling and I did NOT want to leave the wonderful world of fantasy, which I went to a few hours before (you know, when you get so into a book you just, well, leave? Yeah… I guess that's the best way to explain it.) Besides, it's a super nice day. It's not raining like it always does, but sunny and warm. The sky is clear and the wind crisp, clean, and very soft.
Who would want to work on a day like today?
Um, try, no one?
"Lily Marie Evans! You will get off your lazy bum and get a job right now! You need to save up for college," Mom demands, her face getting red with anger. I can see the spawn of the devil—I mean, Petunia, laughing as she stands in the kitchen doorway, listening to the little brawl.
Hey! Wait a second…
"BUT," I start, jumping to my feet so Mom can get message (she is very dim at times), "Petunia doesn't have a job! And she is two years older than me!"
I smirk as I see the smile vanish from my sister's horse-like face. "AND," I add, "We don't go to college. That's a Muggle thing."
Haha! I have her there.
There is no way that she can make a come back from that.
You see? I don't need a job yet! Besides, I plan to get a job at St. Mungo's after I graduate as a healer. And there is not way they can turn me down. I am one of the top students in the school AND a prefect! They would be loony to say 'no'.
A vein in my mother's forehead begins to pulse in a weird… um… pulsing motion? This cannot be good.
"THEN SAVE UP SO YOU PROVIDE FOR YOUR CHILDREN! LILY! YOU ARE PUTTING DOWN THAT BOOK AND GETTING A JOB! AND THAT'S FINAL!!"
Whoa! What children? I'm not having children any time soon. Also, I don't even have a boyfriend (much to the dismay of James Butthead Potter, who's been claiming since fourth year that I am his girlfriend, which I certainly am not.)! Someone is defiantly PMSing.
But I am not—and I repeat, not—giving up without having my last stand.
"What about Petunia?" I complain.
"Petunia is getting married," Mom says, making a face of pure disgust.
"What!"
Why haven't I heard of this? When did this happen?
"Lily! Where have you been? We told you two weeks ago about her engagement,"
"You did?"
"Yes," Mom says slowly as if she was talking to a small child.
Lets see… what was I doing two weeks ago. Um… reading, owling Rachael and Lacey, reading some more…. Wow, I've been busy.
"She's marring," I pause to thinking, "that cow, Vernon Dursley? EWW!" The name of that man sudden hits me like a freight train.
Oh my God! How can she marry that pig slash dinosaur-like man! He is so ugly, dull, slow, brainless, and… and well, there are really no other words to describe that man. The only thing that comes to mind is that a whale looks smaller then him.
Eww! He is so, so, so, so, so, so GROSS!
Mom made a polite coughing noise. "Well, um, yes. She is marring Vernon. He is already has a decent job at a drill manufacture and has said that Petunia is in no need of a job."
Crap. This is so unfair! Petunia is such a baby!
"But why can't I enjoy the last month of my summer?"
"Because I said so. Now go find a job. I'll hold your book until you do."
'Because I said so, bah bah bah…' Don't you hate it when parents say that? And why did she have to take my book away? What did my book ever do to her?
Nothing! My point exactly.
"Fine!" I yell, before stomping off into kitchen, pushing my way past a snickering Petunia.
I grab the crumbled newspapers off the kitchen table and begin my I-am-a-rebel march up to my room. Upon entering, I step around piles of clothes and schoolbooks, tripping over my pewter cauldron, before lying, stomach down, on my unmade bed.
"Ok," I say to myself, "Time to find a respectable job." And I was going to do just that… I think.
OoOoO
"So, did you find a job?" Lacey Leevi asks when I talked to her later that evening on the phone. Lacey (who is one of my two best friends in the universe) is a Muggle born, just like me. So, besides writing owls, we talk on the phone. Last summer, we attempted to teach Rachael (who is pure-blood) to talk on the phone. Lets just say, it didn't work so well.
"Um," I riffle through the job advertisements I cut out of the newspapers.
"Top ones are dog walker, magicians assistant, and professional tennis player. Whatcha think?"
"Since when have you been able to play tennis?" Is the first thing out of Lacey's mouth, her voice shocked and suspicious.
"Never. BUT the pay is £50 per half hour (A/n: which is about $100 in the U.S).
"Lily, you have never been good with sports."
Good point. I am most likely the most uncoordinated person on the planet. I sometimes trip over my own feet!
"And don't do the dog walker. You do know you have to clean up after them, which is sometimes really, really gross. I have a dog. I should know." Lacey makes a gagging sound in the background.
"What about–"
"You're a witch. WHY would you want to be in a MAGIC show??"
She does have a point. I don't.
"Besides," she continues, "those Muggle magicians are so cheesy…"
There is a dead silence on Lacey's end of the phone.
"Lacey?"
I think the line is dead or something. All I can hear is, well, nothing… besides that annoying buzz (dial tone?).
"Hello? Lacey?" I speak into the phone again.
"OH MY GOD!! GREAT IDEA!" a shrill voice yells into my ear as I nearly drop the phone. She sounded like a high-pitched squeal.
"What?? What idea?"
"I cannot believe I didn't think of it before! It's perfect! It's legen—wait for it! I hope you aren't lactose intolerant because the next word is–dary!"(1)
I kind of shut her off after that, since she kept on going on and on about how brilliant and glorious and magnificent and yada, yada the idea is. That, and I could NOT understand a word she was saying. It, to me, she sounds like she was speaking Norwegian or Finish or something. Why couldn't she just tell me her idea?
I wait five minutes before interrupting.
"LACEY!"
"What?"
"What's the job?"
Her end was silent… again.
"Wha... OH YEAH! The job!"
Silence…
"And?"
"My cousin Heather–Heather Simmons–she is looking for someone to take the evening sift at some clothing store. You know, help the costumers out, use the cash register, all that fun stuff. So, are you interested?"
Working at a clothing store sounds fun… I MIGHT EVEN GET CUTE OUTFITS!
"Sure, give Heather a call. I'll do it. Call me back afterward to tell me what time."
"Ok!" says Lacey brightly, before hanging up the phone.
Ten minutes later, Lacey calls back to tell me that we would be going into London tomorrow morning for my interview.
I go to sleep with a good feeling about tomorrow. I mean, how bad can it be?
OoOoO
"Lily, this is Heather. Heather, this is my friend Lily Evans." I shake hands with Lacey's cousin who has straight blonde hair and ice-blue eyes. Her round face holds a huge smile as she greats me. We are standing in front entrance of a large mall that looks like that is made of windows from the outside. I been in here a few times in the past, shopping with Petunia and Mom. But that was before I found out I was a witch.
"Hello, Lily!" Heather sings, "I have heard so much about you. You go to that private school up in the Scotland Highlands, right?"
I look at Lacey and she nodded. Heather had no idea about Hogwarts.
"Yes. I go to school with her." I was going to ask a question about the job, but Lacey beat me to it.
"Doesn't she look like a marshmallow that is on fire?"
What? She is really random. AND I do NOT look like a marshmallow that is on fire. My skin is not that pale, nor is my hair that red! It's scarlet. So HA!
To my dislike, Heather finds this highly amusing.
"You know what? She kind of does! Except, her eyes look like emeralds."
Hmm… emeralds. I like the sound of that.
But…
"I beg to differ," I say, placing my hands on my hips and trying to throw off a 'posh' look.
"Of course you do, Lily. But I bet James LOVES it! You can be his 'marshy-mallo pie!'"
Where does she come up with these things? And why did she bring up Potter? WHY??
"Oooh! Who's James?" Heather draws out Potter's revolting name, as she flutters her eyelashes at me.
Great. She has Lacey's not-so-funny-humor (since almost all the jokes are pointed at me).
Before I could even open my mouth, Lacey– Miss Step-on-Lily's-words– gets there before I do, her mouth running a marathon as she spill everything I don't want people to know.
"JamesisinlovewithLilyeventhoughIthinkshelikeshimtoobutshewillnotadmititbecauseheissuchatroublemakerandialsothinkthatsheshouldgooutwithhimsinceheisreallyreallyhotandtheywouldmakesuchacutecouple!"(2)
Huh? To my surprise, Heather understands. I know this because she starts squealing and giving me these gleeful looks. It scares me a little bit.
"Why don't you date him then?" Heather asks me, throwing her long hair over her shoulder
"What?"
"If James is in love with you and if he is hot--"
"AND SMART!" Lacey yells as if she is playing some game.
"And smart, then you should go out with him."
I give Lacey an evil glare, wishing I had Superman's heat vision so I could melt her into a puddle.
Of course, being Lacey, she misinterprets it.
"You're welcome!" she smiles at me.
I have had enough with this.
"ANYWAY! What is the job? When can I start?"
"Ah… the job. I was hoping you would ask that."
When? Before or after Lacey and you started going off the deep-end about Potter? This family is seriously weird.
"As you know, I want you to take the evening sift. I talked to the manager and told her that you are extremely responsible and are good with people. She says all you need to do is sign this form," Heather pulls out a crinkled form and hands it to me, "and she'll talk to you when you come in for work at four thirty." I unfold the paper and read the store name.
"Victoria's Secret?"
Oh my! I was NOT expecting this.
"Lacey! You told me I was going to work at a clothing store! This is lingerie!"
Lacey gave me a not-so-innocent what-did-I-do-? expression. She is going to get it.
"But it IS clothing!" Lacey made it sound like it was the obvious thing in the world. She is right, though. Underwear is clothing. Just not the type of clothing I want to sell. Why couldn't I be of age so I could work in a normal wizard store! Like Flourish & Blots? That would be awesome! All those books…
"Think of it this way. At least James wouldn't dare to enter a lingerie store, unlike some other places"-she winks-"that I can think of where he might show up."
She got me there. The more I think about it, the more I like it. She is absolutely right!
"Lily?"
I mean, what are the chances of James going into Diagon Alley and entering a store in search of, well, me? Very high. But what are the chances of Potter coming into a Muggle mall?
Lets try, um, none! Nada, zip, zero.
You know what? I'm starting to L.O.V.E this idea!
"Alright. I'll do it."
Lacey and Heather clap wildly at my acceptance.
"Tubular!"–Tubular??–"Meet me here at four. This is going to be so much fun!" Heather then yells and she and Lacey start jumping around like mad woman. They are so much alike it's scary.
OoOoO
I arrive at four as I was supposed to. Heather says hello and leads me down the maze of late shoppers.
"Well," she says stopping, "here is your new DOMAIN!"
I look at the store, a millions thoughts running through my head.
"It's… it's so PINK!"
"Well, duh! It's a woman's store! Don't tell me you have never been to Victoria's Secret?"
In truth, I haven't. I get all my undergarments Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. There ARE other things in there besides robes. Behind a green tapestry in the back of the store is where she keeps all the women's under stuff. But I couldn't tell Heather that.
"Uh… I don't really have time to shop. My mom gets all my stuff."
Nice! I am super proud of my explanation.
She rolls her eyes at me.
"Oh. Come on! Let's go meet Jill." Heather takes me by the hand and drags me inside the store.
It is REALLY pink in here. And frilly. It looks like an angel threw-up.
As we pass the rows of leopard print bras and thongs, we open a black door that has 'employees only' written in pink, cursive letters on the door. Heather pushes me through the door, and into a small, organize room. Sitting behind a wooden desk that is pushed up against the back wall is a petite woman with short brown hair, who looks like she is around her mid-thirties.
She grins at us, exposing overly white teeth; she looked like Barbie!
"Good day. You must be Lily Evans," says Jill, standing up and walking over. She is shorter then I am! OH! This is so going into my diary! "I'm Jillian Ackerman, but please call me Jill."
"Hello," I say shyly.
"Oh! You are such a doll! Heather, isn't she pretty? Oh! Look at those green eyes and red hair." She gives me a teasing look. "You must be a model!"
Ok… I am a little weird-ed out right now. And aren't models supposed to be tall?
I see Heather give me an amused look.
"Now, Lily dear, do you have your application?" I slip the form out of my jeans pocket and hand it over. Jill's wide brown eyes scanned the paper, her Barbie smile getting bigger as she went down the page.
"Excellent. Excellent. Aw! Perfect! Welcome to the family, Miss Evans. Your new job here at Victoria's Secret starts now. Have fun! Heather, please be a dear and help Lily get situated." Jill then smiles at me again, before heading back to her desk.
We leave the office and Heather bursts out laughing.
"Oh my god! That was hilarious! You should have seen your face!" She draws her bottom lip down and over top lip, resembling a bulldog with her bottom font teeth showing. How don't see how I could have looked like that. Heather sees me roll my eyes and breaks down. I had to support her as she continued her giggle-fit.
"Is she always like that?" I ask.
"Yep."
"How old is Jill?"
"Fifty nine," Heather says, settling down a little.
"Really?? I thought she was thirty-something!"
"She had plastic surgery done in the past three years."
I really do not approve of plastic surgery, but wow.
Heather shows me around the store and where things are. Soon, I was working the register, helping confused woman find the right size bra and… er… other stuff.
I final finished my first day of work around closing time at ten o'clock.
"So, when do we get paid?" I asked her, as we left to catch a bus to head back home.
"At the end of the week. I won't worry about it too much, Lily. This job is really fun."
It was then when I realized that Heather was much more serious then her younger cousin. I can see her dedication to her job on her face. Heather could one great witch if she had received the gift. It's a shame she didn't.
OoOoO
It's been a week since I started my job at Victoria's Secret. Not only I am paid at the end of each week, I also get free knickers! It's bloody brilliant! Now I will never run out of clean underwear.
As I hand back the change to a costumer, a very tired looking Heather walks behind the counter and stands next to me.
"Lily, there are two gentlemen standing around the corner in the bra area. Could you please help them? I'll run the register. I need to sit down. Stomachache."
I nod and head off to help the costumers. Poor Heather, I think, shaking my head. During the past week, Heather dumped her boyfriend, Craig, because she caught him cheating. The dummy was at some restaurant with another girl, when Heather came in with some friends and found them. She's been having a ruff time, lately.
"What are we suppose to be looking for?" a deep voice asks as I draw near.
"I don't know. I don't wear them!" another deep voice answers, though this one sounds like smooth silk and my stomach feels as if it's tying itself into knots.
The hairs on the back of my neck rise.
They sounds familiar…. Too familiar.
Not wanting to be distracted from my duty, I shake off the feeling.
"What happened to that blonde girl? I thought she was going to help us," says the first voice.
"She said she was going to find someone to help us."
"She was hot."
"You think every female that you come across is hot."
"At least I'm not obsessive like you are about a certain someone!"
As I walk up behind them, the feeling of familiarity grows. Where have I heard these voices before? I round the corner. The voices belong to two very tall, lean and, as far as I could tell, muscular guys. One has dark brown hair, almost black, that hangs in a side-swept fashion. The other has messy jet-black hair that is sticky up in the back…
OH MY GOD!!
NO! IT CANNOT BE!
NO, NO, NO, NO!
It's….
What do you think? I hope it makes you excited for part 2.
I stole this line from "How I Met Your Mother", which is the greatest show in the world!
(2) For all of those who had trouble making this out, here it is again but easier to read: "James is in love with Lily even though I think she likes him too but she will not admit it because he is such a trouble maker and I also think that she should go out with him since he is really, really hot and they would make such a cute couple!"
Ok, the Part 2 will be up when it's done (which it isn't, but will be soon).
NOTE ON OTHER STORIES (Closet Vortex, Skiing Towards Disaster): They will be updated—hopefully—soon. I am working on other, more personal projects at the moment, so I haven't been work on them. Please read the note I post on my homepage.
Thank you and I'm very sorry that I am such a bad updater.