Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter. I'm not J.K. Rowling. Therefore, I don't own Harry Potter or anything else in this story that can be found in this story. However, the plot for this story and the writing itself is purely mine- I'm just using the characters and world J.K. Rowling created. (Note: this will be my last disclaimer for this story...just remember: I will NEVER claim that I own what doesn't belong to me)

Author's Note: I used this plot line for an LJ story a while ago, as in over a year ago. But, I stopped coming onto the site while this story was still in progress. After a while, when it was clear I wouldn't be working on my unfinished stories anymore, I deleted them so that no one would read them and then get bummed out when they realized it wouldn't be finished. However, I lost all the stories I deleted- although I did find one chapter of this story. I really liked this story line, and I decided that I'd try and rewrite it. Hopefully, it will be better than it was before, because improvement is always great.

P.S. Originally, this first chapter had strikeouts. Then, I realized that the site wont let you strike out stuff anymore. So I had to go back through and take some of it out. After the lines that were originally striked out, I italicized the thoughts after each line that was crossed out . If you're still confused, let me know and I'll try to clear it up some more.

P.P.S. Edited/Lengthened as of 3/19/07, and edited again as of 5/20/07


September 2013: I'm finally doing what I've been intending to do for a long time- going through this story and fixing things up. Mostly just fixing grammar and continuity issues, as well as any discovered formatting problems. There will also, however, be some minor tweaks here and there to more closely match canon released prior to my conception/publishing of this story. Of course, it's still going to be AU because I highly doubt the concept of this story is canon. I'm also going to be adding another epilogue, just for the fun of it. I've been wanting to get back into writing and publishing for a while, and hopefully this editing project will give me the push I need.

Canon vs AU: In this AU, Snape and Lily weren't bffs before school, because we didn't learn about that until the seventh book and I started this story before then and it just didn't fit very well with the story. So Lily didn't learn she was a witch until she got her letter, didn't know anyone when she went to school, and wasn't friends with Snape. Instead, she stood up for him in that memory because she didn't like the Marauders acting like bullies- which was my understanding of the situation until Book 7 was released.

The Snape incident is also a bit AU, and the fallout is like a bit AU as well.

And given that I highly doubt there was an experimental Cultural Studies course in their sixth year with an anonymous correspondence project assigned, I rather think the entirety of Lily and James' story here is AU as well.


Hello Raven,

No, that wasn't right.

Hello!

Too eager.

Dear Raven,

Too formal.

Raven,

Well, this is kind of odd isn't it? I mean, the not knowing each other, but yet knowing each other at the same time. We've surely met, yet we have no clue who the other is. Perhaps we're good friends. Or then again, perhaps we're not. It's interesting to think about. And I'm kind of excited at this prospect. The anonymity will give us a chance to really talk, or write rather. Even though, we will meet eventually. But, that's a long way away- and until then, we have plenty of time to get to know each other.

Anyways, I suppose I should tell you a little about myself- without telling you too much, that is. We're not supposed to give away our identities and all, yeah? And maybe it'll happen eventually accidentally, but surely I can manage to avoid revealing too much in the very first letter.

I'm a Muggle-born, and I have one older sister- who is not a witch. I've become sort of alienated within my family. My parents are still great; they're very supportive of my studies, and I know they're very proud of me. But since I've joined this different world, a world they can't truly see or be a part of, a gap has grown between us, only deepening throughout the years. I write letters, and so do they. They hug me when they meet me at King's Cross, and they're genuinely happy to see me. But the distance is evident in their hesitance to ask many questions, in the long silences when conversation falls short...it's hard to explain. Although, if you're Muggle-born like me then I don't suppose you need much of an explanation.

As for my sister..she seems to be afraid of me. We were very close when we were younger, but she barely speaks to me now. I think the power that magic gives me terrifies her, which I suppose I can understand. I never would, but if I were to use magic on her- she'd be defenseless. I find it ironic that that's one of the many things I love about magic, it gives me a sense of security. With proper studying and practice, I can protect myself (Reasonable Restriction for the Underage Use of Magic notwithstanding). And what with this maniac Voldemort wreaking havoc upon our world, any security is more than welcome.

Rereading my letter, I realized that I told you a lot (really, I got rather more personal than intended, sorry about that), yet I told you so little (at least in regards to who I am). It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but I've often found it's easier to find words when writing than when conversing.

Please, tell me a little about yourself. And by little, I mean a lot- without being too forthcoming of course. You know what I mean? Well, I'm starting to babble, so I suppose I'll end for now.

Awaiting your reply,

No, too eager.

Faithfully yours,

Ugh, definately not.

Sincerely,

Too formal.

Until Next Time,

Emerald

Looking at the piece of parchment, she shook her head. Maybe she would rewrite it on another page, it was full of crossed out errors. With a sigh, she pulled a clean bit of parchment and began to rewrite it. As she did so, she thought back to earlier that morning in Cultural Studies. It was a new class Dumbledore had decided to start in response to the growing turmoil in the Wizarding world. The new class was sort of an experiment. They would be studying different cultural groups, those in the Muggle world and the Wizarding world. It was an optional class, but Lily had signed up for it in a heart beat.

-/\-/\-/\-/\-/\-/\-

Earlier That Morning

"Well," McGonagall said, putting down her attendance book, "Now, that I've passed out the syllabus and taken attendance- I'll go ahead and talk about your project."

The class groaned simultaneously.

"Yes, I know. But, this project won't be anything as boring as a long essay on some boring old topic. You will be corresponding with a anonymous pen pal for the entirety of this term. And before you groan-" she said, interrupting the students as they opened their mouths to groan and moan again, "it will not be that bad. I'm sure that after a while it might even be enjoyable." She paused, and some student's mouths were still hanging open, "However, if you prefer, you can write me a 20 foot essay on a Cultural Studies topic of my choosing."

They closed their mouths.

"That's what I thought…Now, I'm going to pass out some slips of parchment. I want you each to take one, and write down your real name and then a pen name. I will have to approve it- and I will not accept any names that are inappropriate or that reveal your identity. I've already chosen your partners, and once I get everyone's pen name, I will give each one of you the pen name of your pen pal. When you're finished, please read through the first chapter of your textbook silently while I gather the pen names and prepare your partner slips."

Silence fell as the students worked on coming up with their pen names, and Minerva reviewed her list of partners. Most were of different houses, as the point was to get to know someone whom they undoubtedly considered very different from themselves. Similarly, she had strived to pair together students of different backgrounds (Pureblood and Muggle-born, Englishman and Immigrant, for exampleS). However, she hadn't told the students that, because she feared that some then wouldn't bother to actually get to know each other. After the revealing of the partners at the end of the term, she hoped they would realize that they weren't as different or incompatible as they thought.

Each one of each pair was seemingly a stark contrast from the other, but known to be similar to the other in some way by either or both of Minerva herself and Dumbledore. There was only one pair that was of the same house. James Potter and Lily Evans. Neither realized they had so much in common. Oh, James realized Lily was special. Dumbledore and Minerva had both noticed he seemed to have a crush on the redhead and everyone had noticed that Lily couldn't stand James. Normally, she and Dumbledore would stay out of their student's affairs- unless someone was in physical harm of course, which Lily and James weren't.

But Dumbledore seemed sure that Lily and James were destined to do great things, together. Minerva wasn't sure exactly why, but she learned long ago to accept the wise old man's opinions with few questions. She did agree, however, that the two would work well together- once they got over their differences. They were both bright (even though James didn't always show it in his school work), and they both showed promise. Which was why Dumbledore was already certain he would make both Lily and James Heads next year. But, it would be total chaos unless the two started getting along better, which hopefully, this project would cause.

One by one the students started turning in their slips of paper. She began transcribing the pen names on a list by each student's real name. She rejected a few names, some of them as thoughtless as the student's initials to others as ridiculous as "Studmuffin" (really, sometimes she wondered what went on in Sirius Black's head). Finally, however, she had names from all of the students. She reviewed them as she rewrote them on slips of paper for each student, and smiled at some of them. Her favorite was probably Lily Evan's, Emerald. It was quite clever, most would describe her eyes as "emerald green" but if anyone read it they probably would think she just liked emeralds. She was sure that's what James would assume anyway. She liked his as well, Raven. Another potential double meaning. His hair was jet black, or even raven-colored as some might say, but anyone who reading it would assume he had a fondness for ravens or that he was an Edgar Allan Poe fan- perhaps he did.

On each slip she wrote the pen name of the person they would be writing to, and on one slip of each pair she wrote that they would write the first letter. Finally she finished, and began to pass them out to the students, careful to double check her list before she gave anyone anything. The students began to murmur as she went through the class room, but she was quick to silence them.

"Again, the identity of your pen pal must remain anonymous throughout the entirety of this project. Therefore, you may not tell anyone the pen name of your partner. It may seem harmless to tell your best friend, but then they might tell a friend, who'll tell a friend- and then before long, your pen pal will find out. And then the integrity of the project will be ruined." She paused, giving them a hard look to show them she was serious.

"Also, in order to be certain you are indeed writing to each other- and somewhat regularly at that, you'll be turning in the letters you have received every two weeks. You'll first turn in these letters next Friday. I will skim through each letter to make sure it's not utter gibberish, and to make sure you haven't revealed your identities. After I've read through them I'll return your letters to you so that you may do with them what you wish. Whether it be keeping them, or discarding them altogether." She paused,

"As of now, that's all I have to say on this subject. Are there any questions?" No hands went up- of course.

"Well, then. Everyone pull out some parchment and a quill. Our first topic of study will be Muggle mythology and lore of witchcraft…"


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