My Secret Story

Tapping like a Woodpecker

Lily couldn't sleep or more specifically she wasn't allowed to sleep. It was all her own fault of course; if she'd done her homework at the beginning of the start of the summer holidays then she wouldn't be up at 2am trying to figure out exactly how to transfigure ones self into a fully working kitchen sink. Why would someone want to be a kitchen sink anyway? She'd seen some of the stuff that had been poured down hers at home. Lily shuddered at the thought of being a sink in Petunia's house; the scented bleach that she chucked down the plugholes was enough to give anyone the creeps. Lily shook her head and tried to keep on topic. She only managed to write a few more sentences before she stopped again.

Lily had thought, no, had hoped that her last night of her last summer holidays would have been spent differently from the last five. It always started the same way, she always promised herself that she would do her homework in the first week, then the second, then the third and so the promising continued until it got to the last night of the holidays and she still hadn't completed her homework. Lily tucked a lose piece of her deep auburn hair behind her ear, she squinted her oval green eyes and tried to make out her own clumsy writing.

She heard one of the stairs creek and all the tiredness Lily had felt was suddenly gone. She grabbed her wand and hid behind the lounge door. A shadow from the person was thrown faintly across the pattern carpet of the lounge. As the person went to step through the threshold Lily sprang forward and almost had heart failure when she realised it was her mum that she was pointing her wand at.

"Geez, Mum are you trying to drive me to an early grave?" Lily whispered hurriedly, her heart was pounding in her ears and she had trouble speaking her mouth was so dry.

Mrs. Evans was a medium height, thin woman in her late fifties. Her hair was just starting to turn a light grey and in the past two years her face had become worn and started to show her true age. Her worry for Lily's safety in the wizarding world had made her lose her appetite so she was looking frailer than ever. She looked at her teenage daughter with great love and as with every time she saw her now she took in her features as if they were the last her eyes would see.

She dreaded the inevitable day that a letter or a professor from her school would arrive on the doorstep to tell her that her beautiful, precious daughter was dead. She was not naïve she knew the whole story with Lily's world and she was thankful that Lily had been honest with her from the start.

"Lily what are you doing awake at this hour? We leave for London at eight" Mrs. Evans said in barely more than a whisper so as not to wake her husband or older daughter.

Lily shifted around nervously; there was no way she could hide the fact that she had been doing last minute homework. What was the point in even trying; all the damning evidence was spread out on the mahogany table behind her.

"I was finishing homework." She replied thinking that if you can't beat them, join them.

Joan

Sleeping was Joan Adams favourite hobby, if she could take it up as a professional sport, like quidditch, then she would. It wasn't that Joan slept all the time, probably the same amount as every other person, but the times when she was sleeping were particularly happy ones. That was why she was currently fuming over being woken up at 3 am by Lily's owl, Truffles. She knew it was Truffles because no one else had an owl which tapped its beak on glass like a Woodpecker.

Tap Tap-tap tap tap…

'Oh bugger off!' Joan thought in a foggy haze. She grabbed one of her pillows and tried to cover her ears. It only took a few moments for Joan to realise that she was suffocating herself.

Tap Tap Tap Tap…

Damn it! Even when they were at home she couldn't get away from Lily waking her up early. What could she want at 3am? If it was something to do with homework then she would murder Lily before she even stepped foot on the train platform.

Tap tap tap tap…

Wait a minute, that's not Lily's owl, Lily's owl would break through the glass or try to open the French doors which it's gotten freakily good at doing. I swear Lily's taught that owl to act like a human being; it eats bacon for flips sake. I slowly removed the pillow from my head and prayed that the owl would go away. It didn't. Grumbling all kinds of obscenities I rolled over and fell out of bed, literally. This owl better be worth the pain in the ass it's caused.

I shook my strawberry blonde hair and looked in the mirror. The curse of the Adams family we won't need wands to drive the death eaters away we just have to show them the scarecrow hair. It sends little children and grown adults screaming in the opposite direction. I walked over to the window and let the ruffled brown owl through into my room.

Potters owl. He needs more sleep than me so why the hell is he sending me owls at this time. It was the worst kept secret in Hogwarts that I was friends with James Potter, as long as Lily didn't find out then I would keep my hearing and a close friend. I grabbed the letter in the owl's beak and tore it open.

Joan,

Sorry to wake you but I really just had to ask if you have done the Transfiguration homework we were set?

James

P.S Why would anyone want to transfigure themselves into a kitchen sink? Do people have any idea what goes down them things?

What kind of moron does homework that was set six weeks ago at this time of night on the last day of the holidays? No don't answer that I already know. James, James and his idiot Marauders.