Disclaimer:
All characters you recognize as J.K. Rowling's are not mine.
Also, you may recognize a few things from the House of Night series by P C Cast.
Those are also not mine.
A F L O W E R S S P A R K
Chapter One
I N T R O D U C T I O N
--x--
L I L Y E V A N S was curled up on the window bed, careful not to be found. She focused on the skies, the greyness and gloominess of which made her piercing emerald eyes stand out. The rain was pouring down, pounding against the concrete paths, splattering against the window.
Lily's desire to be out there was a great one, but even she knew the risk was too big. Mrs Potter would almost definitely catch her, and she'd be fired for sure. God knew how much Lily needed that job.
Lily had been an orphan as long as she could remember. Her parents, she was told, had died in a car crash. She knew of only but her sister's name, Petunia. She would have nothing to do with Lily, and blamed her for their parent's death. Instead she went to live with her aunt, refusing to allow Lily to live with them. Her aunt, being a feeble and easily swayed woman readily agreed, leaving Lily to fend for herself.
In 9 months and 12 days, Lily would legally be able to move out of the catholic orphanage she was currently placed in, and back into her parents' old house. Two weeks ago, after lots and lots of searching, Lily managed to acquire this job at The Potter Manor. She hopped dearly that James Potter wouldn't recognize her, even though the chances of that were slim.
Being a muggleborn, poor witch, Lily was offered a scholarship into Hogwarts, which you might think was a good thing. You'd be wrong. Obtaining a scholarship wasn't a symbol for intelligence; using a scholarship was possibly the quickest way of becoming an outcast.
In her dorm, there happened only to be three people, herself included. One of them was Katie Syde, the only person in their room who wasn't a scholar, and also the only who talked to them (and therefore was branded a nobody also). Charlotte Jones, more commonly known as Charlie, although no-one ever talked about her, at least not in a good way, was the only other person in Lily's year to have gained a scholarship too.
Both of Lily's friends were extremely pretty, Katie with her straight black hair flowing down her back and grey eyes, and Charlie with her blonde short ringlets and brilliant blue eyes. Although the only reassurance they had was from the other two, as no one else wanted to be caught dead with them.
Barely anyone bothered to even glance at Lily, so she figured James Potter wouldn't notice her. But, her vivid red hair being quite an unusual shade of red to come across, she figured wrong.
Hearing footsteps approaching, she quickly jumped, startled, and frantically began working. Desperately needing money, Lily had to grab any opportunity she could find, and was now working as one of Julia Potter's maid.
The Potters were on the other end of the spectrum from Lily Evans. They were one of the magical community's most rich, influential and highly respected families; constantly in the papers, being talked about almost all the time, people doing all they can to please them and girls practically, literally, kissing James Potter's feet.
However, Lily detested such girls and made no motion to do the same. Although Potter was undeniably handsome with his tousled, brown hair, hazel eyes and masculine figure, him and his best friend, Sirius Black, who was equally good-looking with almost black hair, grey eyes, and the features of which could rival a Greek gods, didn't seem to notice the three girls, and they weren't complaining.
The mahogany door creaked open, as a little rat scurried out from behind. Lily, unlike most girls, didn't shriek, or jump, or faint with shock. Instead she laid down the duster she was currently holding, and carefully picked it up, gently stroking it. She giggled as it attempted to struggled out of her grip, and placed it back on the red carpet just as softly as when she had lifted it.
The rat stood still for a few moments, seeming to watch her intently, until it decided it had seen enough and scuttled back out.
Lily sighed, and closed the door behind the small rodent. She stopped working in 15 minutes. Then she would be forced to return to a building she loathed.
In one week, Lily would finally receive the escape she had wished for and waited for, all summer. She'd be returning for her sixth year at Hogwarts. This year though, when Lily returned from Hogwarts, she wouldn't be going back to the orphanage.
This year, Lily thought, I'll be free.
--x--
As Lily entered the orphanage, she was careful not to step on any of the creaks, or to make any noise. If she did, she'd surely be strapped for "disturbing others" or "being the daughter of the devil". To Lily, the thought of Hogwarts was the only thing that kept the orphanage short from insufferable.
"LILY!"
Damn it, she knows I'm here.
"Yes?" Lily replied nonchalantly,
The fat, acne-covered nun narrowed her eyes at Lily, "Look, you little devil, if you can't seem to act in a way that is at least tolerable, you'll soon feel God's wrath,"
"You mean your wrath,"
"Why you little rascal," she glared daggers at Lily and beckoned her to follow,
Once in the Sister's office, Lily automatically put her hands out, which were already covered in several cuts and purple, blue and green bruises. Sister Gertrude walked round her desk and fished out a buckled belt from in her drawer.
She strode back round to Lily, a malicious look in her almost black eyes.
She lifted up the belt buckle and struck it down on Lily's hands so it hit the same place as before.
Lily did not quiver, nor did she give Sister Gertrude any sign of pain, for she would not ever give her the satisfaction of knowing she had got to her. The pain was immense and it coursed up through her arms, and she had to use all her will to keep from letting them shake. Sister Gertrude struck Lily two more times, making sure to strike in the exact same point as before, for maximum pain.
In a cold voice, Sister Gertrude said, "Leave, I do not wish to see you until dinner,"
Lily saved her backtalk, for she wanted to get as far away as possible. Nor did she want any bruises on the first day of Hogwarts. She managed to get through the next week, biting her tongue to stop any backchat she could feel building up. She only left the orphanage to run the 1 mile distance to The Potter Manor.
Tonight, Lily was going to get as much rest as she could. She would need it, for tomorrow was the first day of Hogwarts, and what an unforgettable day it was going to be.
--x--
As Lily boarded the train, she was feeling euphoric. Her mind kept travelling back to the note she left Sister Gertrude. It stated, "See you in hell, bitch,"
Although it wasn't signed by anyone, Lily was sure the Sister would guess almost immediately that it was her. She was possibly the most hated by Sister Gertrude. Thank god, they weren't going to meet again. Lily would make sure of it.
She searched for her two friends, and found them lounging with their feet up about halfway down the train. A smile appeared upon her face, one that reached her eyes, and she pushed Katie's feet off a seat and sat down. Katie pouted at her, and Lily rolled her eyes in return.
"So how's life been?" Charlie asked casually,
"Suck-ish," Lily answered, while Katie said "Unbelievably boring."
"How can your life be boring? It must be filled with balls and parties and beautiful dresses and shoes…" Charlie asked, her eyes filled with longing,
"You know I hate all those things," Katie retorted,
"I second that," said Lily,
Charlie looked offended, as though she were insulted in one of the harshest ways possible. She gave a little indignant 'humph', crossed her arms, and stared out the window. It was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky. It was a strange sight to behold in rainy old England.
The rest of train ride, and carriage ride, passed with a few conversations, nothing too meaningful. They reached Hogwarts, awe-struck once again by its beauty, especially Lily and Charlie who were both barely getting by and rarely ever entered something so magnificent.
Lily sighed contently. While waiting for the first year sorting, they had to resort to shouting over other people's conversations, just to be heard by the person sitting next to them. Lily, Charlie and Katie received several dirty looks from others, including fellow gryffindors, but mainly Mariella and her "friends" (or posse of skank bitches as Charlie referred to them as).
Mariella was a long legged, blonde haired, blue eyed, pink lipped girl in the same year as Lily. She looked like she was caked in powder constantly, used a whole bottle of mascara just for one eye, and obviously didn't know how to apply eyeliner for her eyes resembled a raccoons. She was one of the girls that refused to dorm with Charlie, Katie and Lily, and was therefore moved. The other was her friend, Lois, who had brown hair, cut into a bob, light blue eyes which were verging on gray, also always surrounded by eyeliner and mascara, but when caught on her own was actually decent, and didn't have too bad a personality. However, when she was with Mariella, she acted like a down-right bitch.
Katie, Lily and Charlie ignored their dirty looks and watched as the first years were sorted, cheering along with everyone else when "Gryffindor!" was called out.
And then Dumbledore appeared, making his usual speech,
"To our newcomers: welcome! To our old hands: welcome back! There is a time for speech-making, and this is not it. Tuck in!"
And with that glorious amounts of food appeared on the tables, surprising the first years, and filling the rest with joy as they ate until they could not fit in one more crumb.
Lily, however, had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, and merely played with her food that the rest were gobbling down so eagerly. This was not lost on her friends.
"Lily? You okay?" Charlie asked with a concern-filled voice,
"Mmm, yeah," Lily responded absentmindedly,
Charlie and Katie exchanged looks of worry, but knew Lily well enough to not question it, and carried on eating, although perhaps not as enthusiastically as before.
Professor Dumbledore stood up once again, managing to silence the hall in a matter of seconds. Lily looked up at him; having a feeling this was going to concern her.
"Would James Potter and-"
Professor McGonagall muttered a few words to him, too quiet and too far away for Lily, or anyone else, to hear. Professor Dumbledore nodded, before turning back to the student.
He wore a grave expression, as he asked, "Would James Potter, and Lily Evans please join me in my office?"
Lily's stomach churned and her jaw dropped. She made eye contact with Katie and Charlie, before nervously standing up, fidgeting with her clothes as she followed Dumbledore out the door. James Potter however, sauntered next to him, as confident as ever, and managed to evoke a fury in Lily Evans. His cockiness got on her nerves sometimes, but she was clever enough to know she would be punished if she said anything.
As they were leaving Lily could feel the students' eyes burning into her back as they watched her
Professor Dumbledore sensed Lily's nervousness, and calmly told her to relax, and that she wasn't in any trouble.
Despite his reassuring words, Lily still had an uneasy feeling about all of this. Maybe she was overreacting. Maybe it was something good.
As they approached his office, Dumbledore uttered, in his booming voice, the password, "Liquorice Wands", and beckoned them in. Inside, standing rigidly were two men. One was short, and not so much as fat but chubby, and the other was tall and masculine. They both had dark brown hair and brown eyes. Dumbledore greeted them both with nods, as they bowed their heads respectfully in return.
"I'd like you to meet John and Will," Dumbledore started, "They're both Aurors from the Ministry of Magic."
"This is all very well, but what exactly do I have to do with it?" questioned James,
"If you'd be as kind and patient to let me continue, you'd be certain to find out."
James cheek flushed slightly as he mumbled an apology and looked away.
The three men wore solemn expression as Will, the short one, took in a breath and started explaining, "You see, Ms Evans and Mr Potter, that there are these… people… to say the least…"
"He means, vampyres," said John in a very uncompassionate voice.
Will glared at him, "They deserve to know," John's words were obviously false and he made no move to conceal it.
Will sighed heavily, and carried on, "These vampyres, well, they have powers."
James snorted at this, attracting the attention of the 4 other people in the room, who all gave him questioning looks,
"You say powers as though it's completely unreal," he elaborated, "What do we wizards have?"
Will sighed once again, "These damn interruptions," he muttered, "Look, they don't have the same sort of powers we do. In fact, they don't bother with spells, or wands. Actually, only a special few even attain powers. You see they're like… a school of sorts. "
"A school… for vampyres?" inquired Lily,
"Yeah, it's a vampyre finishing school. It's called the House of Night."
"This gets stranger and stranger by the minute," muttered James,
"Anyway, the powers that they do obtain are of great quality. One girl, in her third year, has acquired a power or an affinity as they call it to see the future. And, in one of her… visions, she saw two visitors. She didn't know what they were doing there, but she knew they were to play a very very important role in the survival of their school."
"Umm, Mr…" Lily questioned,
"Just call me Will,"
"Okay, Will, who exactly are these people?"
Will looked straight at Lily, and spoke without ever losing eye contact, "You two."
Lily knew it was coming, but it still didn't prepare her for the astonishment she felt. She almost staggered backwards, as though the words were a physical blow also. Flabbergasted, traumatized, and shaken up, Lily stole a glance at James, just to see his reaction. His face was one of unreadable emotion. He'd be a good poker player. Hell, he probably was a good poker player.
Shaking her head from trivial, unneeded thoughts, she looked back at Will.
"…And?" she asked nervously,
"Mr. Potter?" Will asked, a bit frightened by his inactiveness,
"I-I'm not goin-." James replied,
"Sir, you have to go." Lily was shocked to hear someone speak so bluntly to James Potter, until he carried on, "Your parents readily agreed to it."
"You didn't let me finish," he said, teeth clenched, "I'm not going, with her."
Lily being the only female in the room, and also the only person going with him, it was obvious who he was talking about. Lily felt as though she should've been offended but she really really couldn't care less.
"Why, Mr Potter?" asked Dumbledore calmly, and Lily realized she hadn't noticed him very much, due to his unusual lack of speech.
"Because…" James stumbled over his words, looked attentively at Lily; then realization dawned on his face, "she's my mother's maid."
Lily blush, causing her usually porcelain skin to turn bright red and attempted to hide her face in her hair, which did not help the matter as her hair and the current shade of her face clashed horribly.
"You should not look down on her, Mr Potter, for I've heard from a very reliable source that she would… how do you say… kick your butt in Quidditch",
Now both James and Lily were blushing. James because he had never been so insulted or embarrassed in his life, and Lily because one, she still wasn't over being recognized, and two, the only times she had ever even dared go on to the Quidditch pitch were after curfew.
"So, Ms Evans, do I have your consent?" Dumbledore asked, the twinkle in his eye brighter than ever,
"Why does it get to be asked for its consent?" James asked conceitedly, arrogantly unaware of Lily being an orphan,
The look Dumbledore gave him silenced him immediately, and he resorted to glaring daggers at Lily, who nodded feebly, not taking her eyes of her Headmaster.
"Good then. Your things have been packed, Will and John will take you halfway, but from then on, you'll be on your own."
"P-professor?" Lily asked meekly,
"Yes, Ms Evans?"
"… Where is this House of Night?"
There was a moment of silence, a pause if you will, while Dumbledore hesitated, "the North Pole,"
Lily's eyes grew wide and she was seriously considering taking back her earlier agreement. James… well he just didn't react. He sat there unmoving, looking at the floor, refusing to think about this. He had no choice in the matter, he knew that. Once his parents said yes, that was it, he had to do it. Being the only son of a family from the nobility, he was expected to do as he was told until the day he owned The Potter Manor and everything that came with it. He wished that day were soon, but, like most children, he didn't want his parents to die. No matter how annoyingly uncaring they were towards him.
"What time?"
"Pardon?" Will questioned back to the uncharacteristically quiet Potter,
"What time are we leaving?" James replied in annoyance –He hated repeating himself.
"8 am," He replied curtly,
James nodded, not fully in agreement, but didn't say anything either,
"Can I go now?"
"Yes, you two are dismissed,"
They walked back to the Gryffindor Tower in silence, neither wanting to speak to the other. However, Lily found the silence slightly unbearable, which was unusual, for usually she didn't care about such things. She endured the quiet until they reached the tower.
"Just because we're doing this together, it does not mean we're friends." He smirked, and added, "In fact, we're the opposite."
"HAH, me – friends with you?!" Lily questioned indignantly,
James narrowed his eyes at her, but no one had ever talked to him in such a manner, so he huffed and turned around. After uttering the single worded password, he slammed the portrait of the Fat Lady into Lily's smirking and shocked face, who rubbed her nose while muttering "Ouch,"
She whispered the password and then stepped as the portrait swung open, revealing the red and gold Gryffindor common room, full of many gryffindors and even a few people from other houses.
The first years were being given talks by Remus, the sixth year Gryffindor prefect, and with a shock, Lily realized she was meant to be giving these talks too. As she watched James' retreating back as he jogged up the boys' stairs, she turned to Remus with an apologetic face.
"Hi, sorr-"
"You were talking to Dumbledore, I know"
Being a marauder, Remus was never teased for talking to Lily. In fact, he was one of nicest people in… well in the whole of Hogwarts. Remus and Katie were the only nobles to talk to Lily and Charlie. Katie became an outsider, whereas Remus remained the same as always, no one blamed him, he was just "too nice".
Lily smiled thankfully at him, wondering why he hung around with such dicks.
"Thanks, so you were saying?"
"Actually were just about finished. I think I'm gonna crash now."
Lily furrowed her brow and gave him a quizzical look. He looked slightly taken aback.
"Lily itsalready 11."
Her mouth formed an 'O' shape, as she looked to the grandfather clock near the fireplace, and indeed, it was an hour till tomorrow.
"Well goodnight Remus… and thank you" She smiled graciously once again,
"No problem!" he replied, returning her grin.
Lily slowly crept up the stairs, and, after a long, tiring, information-filled day, feel asleep with a million different thoughts flying round her head.
--x--
Words: 3,403
Pages: 8
Was it too much for a first chapter? Did my writing style change a bit? I'm not sure when I want this story to be set (time-wise) I think maybe, 1960's? Review and tell me what you think [ideas for anything are more than welcome]
-R :)
