"I'm done with all of this. You have to be such a cow, don't you Petunia? You are just jealous that I'm different, that I can do things you can't." Lily Evans, face reddened in anger, stormed across the once tidy living room. Pillows tossed in anger rested above the fireplace, on the coffee table and one in Petunia's hands.
"You little bitch. You think you're all that Lily. But you aren't anything. . Just because you've got a stick of wood and 'magic'." Petunia snarled the last word, face turning ugly as rage overtook her. She fisted the pillow, nails ripping through the patterned fabric. "You're a FREAK. An unloved, stupid FREAK! I bet all your 'magic' friends don't like you either. Too 'normal' to be one of them, but too 'different' to be one of us. Alone and nobody likes you!"
A cruel smile etched its way across Petunia's face as Lily froze. She'd hit a soft spot, a little bit of doubt in 'Princess' Lily's head.
"You don't understand. You'll never understand. Muggle." Lily's expression was one of disgust as she spoke the last word. "Fuck you, Petunia. Enjoy the rest of your boring life getting done up the ass by your whale husband."
Pulling her wand out of her pocket, Lily concentrated on the stairs for a moment and her trunk floated down them.
"Tell mum and dad I said bye." Lily touched the trunk, and with a crack that echoed round the room, Disapparated.
Lily stumbled as she landed on the lawn of Chelsea Porter, one of her closest friends and roommate at school. Tears streamed down her face, the pain of Petunia's words hitting her heart hard. How her sister could be so cruel was unimaginable. Yes, they didn't get along, yes, that sometimes escalated into screaming fights and silence that lasted for days, but for Petunia to say that none of her friends liked her because she was muggleborn was something too close to the truth in the wizarding world. A rising political party was setting their ideals into everyone's heads, especially those who thought they were being looked over, namely 'pureblood' families with bloodlines stretching back centuries.
"Lily?" Chelsea, all blonde hair and brown eyes, opened the front door. "Are you alright?"
"No. Petunia and I had a fight. A bad fight and, and, I left. I couldn't. Oh, I swore at her and called her a cow and, and." Lily dissolved back into the tears she thought she'd stopped. "I'm such a bitch, Chelsea. I've got to go back and apologise."
"No you don't. Stay with me for a little while. It's only a week till school goes back anyway. Call your parents and tell them what happened and that you're staying her." Looking up at the sky, Chelsea gave Lilly a reassuring hug. "Let's go inside. I think it might rain." Lifting Lilly's trunk with a wave of her wand, Chelsea led her teary friend into her house.
"Where'd you go, Chels? Oh. Lily. Are you all right?" James Potter was standing in the hallway of the Porter house, a decorated mug in his hands. He placed the mug, steam curling off it, on a sideboard and was quickly at Lily's side.
"Her sister." Chelsea wrapped an arm around Lily, who was still wiping her eyes. "Honey-boo, it'll be alright." She stroked Lilly's back comfortingly and clicked her fingers with her other hand. A house elf appeared, looked at Lilly and disappeared again. Seconds later, it was back with Chelsea's mother.
"Dearie me, what have we got here? Lily, it's lovely to see you again, even like this." Eliza Porter was a short woman, with a motherly air and a pear-shaped figure. She hugged Lily and dropped a kiss on her head. "Come into the kitchen and have a tea. Milfred, could you put Lily's case in the bedroom across from Chelsea please?" The house-elf disappeared, taking Lily's case with it as the four moved down the hallway and into the kitchen.
"Now, hunny. Tell mumma 'Liza what happened." Mrs Porter had poured Lilly a cup of tea and sat her down at the kitchen bench with a plate of ginger cookies.
After taking a few sips of the citrus tea, Lily began to speak.
"Petunia and I got into a fight about something or other and it ended with her telling me that I was alone and unloved and me telling her to 'eff off and, yeah, some other things I won't repeat." She took a cookie from the plate in front of her and twirled it in her hand before taking a slow bite. "I'm such a bitch. It was so out of line and I really need to go back and apologise. God, I just feel so awful."
"Lily, I don't doubt that you and your sister don't get along but you aren't a bitch. I bet she started it, and you've always had a fiery temper." James adjusted his glasses, and reached for Lily's hand, "Go back and apologise when you don't feel like collapsing into your bed and crying for ages."
"Thanks James." Lily gripped his hand. "I think I'd just like to go to bed, honestly."
"It's four in the afternoon Lily. Go to bed now and you'll be up all night." Chelsea sipped her tea, blowing out her cheeks at Lily's idea.
"I'm not going to sleep, just lie there or read or something." Standing, Lily placed her mug in the sink. "I just want to be alone for a little bit."
3am. An inappropriate time to be awake. Lily crept down the hall, moving silently down the stairs, treading carefully on the edges so the old house would not creak. Entering the kitchen, she moved to the fridge and opened the door. The light spilling out reflected off the glasses situated on the face of a young man, frozen in the midst of eating stolen piece of rich chocolate cake.
"Lily?"
The person in question nearly dropped the large plate she was holding, on which sat a large cake, with several pieces cut out of it.
"Shit." She spun, wand out and at the ready. "God, James you scared me."
"Sorry. Couldn't sleep either? Lumos" James motioned to the seat across from him at the kitchen bench and tapped his wand to light it. "Have a seat. The cake is really good."
Lily cut herself a piece and sat, taking in James, black hair mussed from sleep, no shirt and (she was hoping) pants of some kind. His hazel eyes had light bags underneath them, a product of too many late nights.
"Feeling a bit better about yourself now?" James drummed his fingers on the table, possibly nervous, possibly bored.
"Definitely. I just needed to get out of the house and out of my own head. Away from Petunia and her snobby outlook. This is going to sound sad, but I can't wait to get back to school. Hogwarts is like home. I spend more time with Gryffindor than I do with my family." Lily gestured with her fork and the piece of cake that had been sitting on it flung off and hit James in the chest.
"Gee, thanks Lily. I did want a bit more cake." He licked his finger and wiped of the cake before sticking in his mouth. "I know what you mean about Hogwarts. I mean, Remus, Peter and Sirius, they're my brothers. We're more than friends, we're family. I mean, the people we know now we'll probably know for the rest of our lives. Take Chelsea. I've known her since I was about six and she's like family. Sirius too, I've known him since first year and he's my brother in every way but blood. Actually, probably blood too. Pureblood families. Always marrying their siblings." James shivered at the thought. "Sirius is visiting his uncle this week, the sane one," He stated, seeing Lily's raised eyebrow. "So I got bored and decided to spend the week here instead. Eliza's like a second mum."
"It's hard to think that sometimes, like this is nearly it. Halfway through sixth year, this time next year, we'll be preparing for our final exams. At least we aren't being smashed with homework yet." Lily shook her head, amazed at the speed at which time was flowing.
"Not being smashed with homework? You're dreaming, Lil. I bet five galleons you'll be head girl next year. Remus' probably be head boy, or that Hufflepuff, Rick something." James brushed his hair, a little too long, out of his eyes and checked his watch. "It's four am. Time to go back to bed?"
"Nah. I can't sleep. Reoccurring nightmares. They kick in when I get stressed. Bits and pieces of things. I see the crash over and over again." Lily ducked her head, embarrassed at mentioning something so personal. Most of her closest friends didn't even now.
"Crash? What crash?" James reached over and slipped his fingers under Lily's chin, lifting her head.
"A car crash. You know what a car is, right?" James nodded. "Well my family got into a head on with another car and then it turned into a pile-up. Three dead, my dad in hospital unconscious with a broken leg, mum with a punctured lung, Petunia relatively unharmed, bar a broken arm and a few scratches."
"What about you?" Now James looked intrigued, wanting to know more about Lily's past.
"I got off the worst. Dislocated shoulder, four broken ribs, unconscious for two weeks and a badly damaged liver. They operated and removed about a quarter of it. I was ten." Lily shook her head at James shocked look. "I'm fine now. Got a nice scar though. I tell the girls it's from a piece of glass when I was little. Chelsea and Hestia know, but they're about it."
"And now me."
"Well yes, and now you." Lily look at her hands, which had been absentmindedly 'playing' the piano on the table.
"Why me? Why tell me? We aren't particularly close and I've never told you something like that about me." Lily stilled her hands, looking at James as he questioned her.
"You were here and, for some reason, I trust you. You make me mad and you make me laugh when I'm crying. It's like, I don't know, and this sounds stupid, but like I've known you for years."
"You have." James smirked, "We've seen each other two hundred days a year for the past five years."
"Not like that. Like, we've been best friends before and then we weren't and we already know each other but we don't." Lily dropped her head to the table. "I know it sounds stupid."
The pair sat in silence for a while, mulling over themselves and each other.