"Ow!" Lily moved her arm quickly, knocking over a glass of orange juice.
Her father looked over the newspaper at her. "What happened now?"
"Petunia pinched my arm, dad!" She was on summer holiday from her second year at
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and her older sister was tormenting her every minute of every day.
Including this one. "Ow!" Petunia chuckled evilly.
Their father disappeared once more behind the morning news, muttering vaguely, "Please don't
pinch your sister's arm, Petunia."
"Yes, daddy." Petunia had put on her "angelic" look, rather unconvincing around her
horse-like teeth and shock of blonde hair. This look didn't stop her, however, of glaring
in envious malice at Lily, sitting to her right. "Get any letters from Reeemus?"
"Dad! Make her stop!"
Mr. Evans did not like to be disturbed while he was reading the news, so he wearily looked
over to the sink, where his wife was washing dishes. "Dear, please make them stop."
She shook a soapy sponge good-naturedly at her daughters. Gabrielle Evans never took
anything seriously, even the most serious things. She was known to burst out laughing in
the middle of wakes, causing some to believe that she wasn't quite right in the head.
"Now, you two stop it!" She laughed merrily and turned back to the sink, singing in a
cheerful way. Lily shook her head despairingly.
Mornings usually went like this over the summer holidays for Lily, and most of the time she
found herself up in her room, longing to get out her wand and show her older sister a few
curses she had learned over the previous term. This particular morning, however, she
threw herself down on her bed and took out a folder labeled "Hogwarts Letters." One pocket
was thick with blank lined paper, the other full of letters from her friends, mainly Remus
Lupin...oh, and how her stomach jumped whenever she got a letter from him!
She took out a clean white sheet of paper and a pen. She never had grown quite accustomed
to the quills, parchment, and ink of Hogwarts, and therefore wrote to her friends on normal
lined paper with ballpoint pens. Lily paused for a moment, the pen poised just millimeters
above the page, and soon, her thoughts flowed out through it as the ink rolled across paper.
Dear Remus,
Do you have any brothers or sisters? I do. I have one older sister, Petunia, and I can't
stand her! I wish that I could kidnap her and drag her aboard the Hogwarts Express, then I
could actually cast a few spells on her! Ooh...how about the Furnunculus curse? She thinks
she's so pretty; how pretty would she look with a few boils on that pointy nose of hers?
Whenever I think of that, I suddenly remember how much trouble I would get into from
bringing a Muggle (and boy, is she a Muggle!) aboard a wizarding transport. Isn't dreaming
nice, though?
D'you remember that dangerous tree they planted in our first year? Poor Davey Gudgeon, he
nearly lost an eye! Why on Earth would they plant that thing? There's just one
thing, though. I remember once, I looked out my dormitory window and I saw by the moonlight
that the Willow was swinging its branches like nobody's business, but it suddenly stopped,
and I didn't see any reason for either reaction. What d'you reckon happened then?
I'm laughing as I write this. I apologize for being such a muggle...it's probably just
a wizard thing; fighting trees and all that.
Always,
Lily
Having completed the letter, Lily strode over to her closet, right in front of which was an
owl, perched in an open cage and hooting happily. "Can you take this to Remus, Foozic?"
She handed her owl a treat and stroked her head with one finger. "Thank you." Lily tied
the letter around Foozic's leg and watched her fly off out the window. She went back to
her bed and focused her attentions on her History of Magic homework. Professor Binns was
the most boring teacher in Hogwarts. He wasn't at all like Professor Fizzle, the Charms
teacher. Charms was Lily's favorite subject.
Two weeks later, it was time for Lily to go back to Hogwarts. Petunia pinched and poked her
all the way to King's Cross in their car, while her mother tried to conduct a singalong,
mainly consisting on variations of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." When they arrived at
the train station, Lily asked her mom and dad if Petunia could accompany her just to the
train, as she liked to have a relative waving good-bye. Petunia snorted derisively, but her
parents consented.
Lily, upon reaching the barrier, grabbed Petunia's arm and pulled her through to Platform
9 3/4 with her. "You're coming to Hogwarts with me, Petunia! I want you to meet some of
my friends." Suddenly, Lily's sister looked rather frightened. "Come on, sis!"
They walked up the steps to the Hogwarts Express, Lily's hand like a metal vice on Petunia's
forearm. They walked through the train. "James! Remus! Sirius! Peter! There's someone
I'd like you to meet..." She grinned at Petunia as the four boys entered the compartment.
"Petunia, meet James Potter, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew."
Her father looked over the newspaper at her. "What happened now?"
"Petunia pinched my arm, dad!" She was on summer holiday from her second year at
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and her older sister was tormenting her every minute of every day.
Including this one. "Ow!" Petunia chuckled evilly.
Their father disappeared once more behind the morning news, muttering vaguely, "Please don't
pinch your sister's arm, Petunia."
"Yes, daddy." Petunia had put on her "angelic" look, rather unconvincing around her
horse-like teeth and shock of blonde hair. This look didn't stop her, however, of glaring
in envious malice at Lily, sitting to her right. "Get any letters from Reeemus?"
"Dad! Make her stop!"
Mr. Evans did not like to be disturbed while he was reading the news, so he wearily looked
over to the sink, where his wife was washing dishes. "Dear, please make them stop."
She shook a soapy sponge good-naturedly at her daughters. Gabrielle Evans never took
anything seriously, even the most serious things. She was known to burst out laughing in
the middle of wakes, causing some to believe that she wasn't quite right in the head.
"Now, you two stop it!" She laughed merrily and turned back to the sink, singing in a
cheerful way. Lily shook her head despairingly.
Mornings usually went like this over the summer holidays for Lily, and most of the time she
found herself up in her room, longing to get out her wand and show her older sister a few
curses she had learned over the previous term. This particular morning, however, she
threw herself down on her bed and took out a folder labeled "Hogwarts Letters." One pocket
was thick with blank lined paper, the other full of letters from her friends, mainly Remus
Lupin...oh, and how her stomach jumped whenever she got a letter from him!
She took out a clean white sheet of paper and a pen. She never had grown quite accustomed
to the quills, parchment, and ink of Hogwarts, and therefore wrote to her friends on normal
lined paper with ballpoint pens. Lily paused for a moment, the pen poised just millimeters
above the page, and soon, her thoughts flowed out through it as the ink rolled across paper.
Dear Remus,
Do you have any brothers or sisters? I do. I have one older sister, Petunia, and I can't
stand her! I wish that I could kidnap her and drag her aboard the Hogwarts Express, then I
could actually cast a few spells on her! Ooh...how about the Furnunculus curse? She thinks
she's so pretty; how pretty would she look with a few boils on that pointy nose of hers?
Whenever I think of that, I suddenly remember how much trouble I would get into from
bringing a Muggle (and boy, is she a Muggle!) aboard a wizarding transport. Isn't dreaming
nice, though?
D'you remember that dangerous tree they planted in our first year? Poor Davey Gudgeon, he
nearly lost an eye! Why on Earth would they plant that thing? There's just one
thing, though. I remember once, I looked out my dormitory window and I saw by the moonlight
that the Willow was swinging its branches like nobody's business, but it suddenly stopped,
and I didn't see any reason for either reaction. What d'you reckon happened then?
I'm laughing as I write this. I apologize for being such a muggle...it's probably just
a wizard thing; fighting trees and all that.
Always,
Lily
Having completed the letter, Lily strode over to her closet, right in front of which was an
owl, perched in an open cage and hooting happily. "Can you take this to Remus, Foozic?"
She handed her owl a treat and stroked her head with one finger. "Thank you." Lily tied
the letter around Foozic's leg and watched her fly off out the window. She went back to
her bed and focused her attentions on her History of Magic homework. Professor Binns was
the most boring teacher in Hogwarts. He wasn't at all like Professor Fizzle, the Charms
teacher. Charms was Lily's favorite subject.
Two weeks later, it was time for Lily to go back to Hogwarts. Petunia pinched and poked her
all the way to King's Cross in their car, while her mother tried to conduct a singalong,
mainly consisting on variations of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." When they arrived at
the train station, Lily asked her mom and dad if Petunia could accompany her just to the
train, as she liked to have a relative waving good-bye. Petunia snorted derisively, but her
parents consented.
Lily, upon reaching the barrier, grabbed Petunia's arm and pulled her through to Platform
9 3/4 with her. "You're coming to Hogwarts with me, Petunia! I want you to meet some of
my friends." Suddenly, Lily's sister looked rather frightened. "Come on, sis!"
They walked up the steps to the Hogwarts Express, Lily's hand like a metal vice on Petunia's
forearm. They walked through the train. "James! Remus! Sirius! Peter! There's someone
I'd like you to meet..." She grinned at Petunia as the four boys entered the compartment.
"Petunia, meet James Potter, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew."