LOST - CHAPTER 1
The morning sun filtered in through the open window, flooding the bright white walls of Lily Evans' bedroom in warm, summer light. The bright orange carpet radiated and looked to be almost on fire. Outside the sky was bright blue with no cloud visible and the sound of birds was the only noise heard in the late English morning. Lily felt her eyes flutter and urged them to just stay shut and allow her a little extra time in bed, with no success. She breathed heavily, allowing the cool air to wake her up and she smiled slightly at the gorgeous morning. Leisurely, she sat up, running a hand through her messy auburn hair before pulling her covers off and carrying them to the alcove at the opposite end of the room. This was the reason she had wanted to move into this house when she was seven. The wooden block covered in pillows and blankets was situated right in front of the huge window. The window looked out over the straight lines of the perfect, old houses in her little town of Ashburn. Lily had put her huge bookcase directly next to it and it was the perfect reading spot ever, in her opinion.
Lily stood in front of her full bookcase, deliberating for a few seconds before pulling out a small, ancient and tattered book that sat on the top. She had been given it by her grandmother when she was fourteen and read it roughly fifty times in the three years she'd owned it. She sat down, pulled her covers over her small frame and got lost in her favourite world. It was the perfect morning. The first day of the summer holidays and Lily silently prayed that every day for the rest of the holidays would start like this.
The dark curtains of James Potter's bedroom blocked out all traces of the outside world. His crimson and gold walls and grey carpet remained flooded in blackness. His Gryffindor banners weren't vibrant like usual, but gloomy and grey, like the rest of the room.
"James? Are you in here?" Came the lofty voice of James' mother, Hazel. She was gorgeous with dark brown hair that fell in waves down her back. Strangely, Hazel's name was not a forecast of her looks as her eyes were sparkling opals, yet her husband and son both shared eyes of gold, green and brown.
"James?" Hazel called again, ascending the great staircase to her son's bedroom. "I can't believe you insist on living in constant darkness James!" Hazel manoeuvred around the vast clutter of junk and food on the floor of her son's bedroom until she was able to reach the curtains. She gave a sharp tug of one curtain but it wouldn't budge.
"James! What did I tell you about using spells to stop the curtains from opening? It's a beautiful day and you'll turn yellow if you never let in the natural light!" Hazel exclaimed as she pulled out her wand and flicked it at the curtains. Suddenly the room burst into colour and Hazel had to squint to block out the sudden sunlight. Once her eyes had adjusted she looked over to the huge heap on James' bed. She quietly pulled the covers off the bed, carefully avoiding the thing moving under them.
"James honey? Sorry for waking you but we really have to..." Hazel's sentence was cut short by a huge black dog jumping out from under James' bedcovers, licking Hazel in the face and bounding out the room. Hazel Potter was left standing shell-shocked in front of her son's empty bed, wondering where her son was and what the hell had just happened. Besides, she didn't even have a dog!
Lily skipped down the stairs a few hours later, humming some muggle music softly to herself.
"Good morning, Lils!" Came the booming voice of David Evans from his spot at the kitchen counter. Lily brightly came over and planted a kiss on her father's cheek before coming behind her mother at the sink and kissing her too.
"Good morning, my amazing parents! What's for breakfast?" Lily chirped sitting down next to her father. He was reading a muggle newspaper about some disappearances and Lily felt sick in the stomach. Three disappearances in the past two weeks, all muggles. Lily knew who was behind it and it made her angry and nauseous.
"Whatever you're going to make!" Laughed Rose Evans, looking over at her husband and daughter. "What's up, honey? You look pale. Are you feeling okay?" She asked, coming over to check Lily's forehead for a fever.
"I'm fine, Mum. Really. I was actually thinking of going over to Cuppa to see Mr Smith. I could grab some food while I'm over there."
"I still don't know about you working all holidays... We were all looking forward to spending some time with you before your final year. Soon you're going to be out in the big wide world and we won't see you much!" Rose said all this quite fast and put on a sweet puppy dog face at the end, desperately trying to convince her seventeen year old daughter not to grow up too quickly. Lily sighed and looked away. Her mother was renowned for that face. Luckily for Lily, she had inherited that ability too.
"But Mum. I already told Mr Smith that I would be working there again this summer. I only worked for a little while last summer and a week over Christmas! Please... I'll spend as much time with you guys as I can when I'm not working." Lily begged and crossed her fingers behind her back. The summer before her 5th year, Lily had worked for the hottest place in Ashburn: Cup o' Coffee, shortened by everyone to Cuppa. She had made heaps of friends that summer and really enjoyed hanging out with the muggles. The owner, Andrew Smith, had thought she was a waitressing prodigy and so good behind the counter so was constantly begging her to work as much as possible.
"Fine! You can work there." Sighed Rose, defeated. "But on one condition! No fighting, rude remarks or anything of the sort with Petunia this summer... She's always so upset that she hasn't spent any time with you in the summers, and then you're away for the rest of the year..." Lily closed her eyes and sighed. Hardly. Petunia hadn't spoken to her since she was eleven, and when she did it was either because she was forced to by Rose or it was a demeaning comment on Lily's magic. Lily had learned that the only way was to fight fire with fire.
"Okay, I promise," Lily winced as she said this. Luckily Petunia had a whale of a boyfriend this summer so hopefully wouldn't have time to be horrible to Lily.
"Good girl, Lily. I know you love your sister and she loves you. While you're out, grab her a muffin or something, will you? Thanks, honey." Lily agreed, said goodbye to her parents and practically raced out the house. She wouldn't bother to get something for Petunia. She wouldn't eat it for two reasons. A, Lily had bought it for her, and B, Cuppa didn't sell anything with no calories in it. Lily walked around to the garage. She had contemplated apparating but her pride and joy was in the garage and it hadn't been driven since Christmas.
Hazel Potter stood in her son's bedroom for a few more minutes with her mouth agape. Suddenly she came to her senses and ran gracefully from the room, down the grand staircase and into the vast kitchen. Her husband, John Potter, was sitting eating a full English breakfast without difficulty at the kitchen counter. Boys and their eating habits, she thought to herself before shrieking and waving her arms madly in the air before him.
"John! John! John! Honey! John!" She hollered in his ear. Slowly and deliberately, John rose from the kitchen counter and walked over to his wife. He held her close to him and murmured reassuring words in her ear. Hazel started to relax until she remembered the reason she was so worked up.
"But John... I've lost James! And there's a huge dog somewhere in our house!" She screamed, tears threatening to run down her face and smudge her perfect makeup.
"Hush, Hazel... I don't know what this dog that you're talking about is, but James and Sirius are right behind you..." John murmured in a low and soothing tone. Hazel spun around abruptly, knocking John's glasses askew to give a hurt and angry glare at the two seventeen year old boys standing in the doorway.
"Urmm... Hey Mum? We woke up early to play quidditch?" James suggested with a shrug and a sheepish smile. Sirius nodded in agreement beside him giving the same innocent look.
"Boys..." Hazel sighed to herself for the second time that morning, "You had me worried sick! I thought you'd been kidnapped or... Or worse! Oh my! Have you boys seen a huge, black dog?" She asked, getting confused and worked up again. John grasped her hand and rubbed small reassuring circles on the back of it.
"Uhh... No, I haven't. Have you seen a huge dog recently, Padfoot?" James asked with a suspiciously innocent smile and shrug towards his mother.
"No, I haven't seen one anywhere, Prongs... Are you sure that you're okay, Hazel? Maybe you should head back to bed..." Sirius suggested, desperately trying not to laugh. Hazel looked confused.
"I swear it was real..." She muttered, trying to reassure herself that she wasn't crazy.
"It's okay, honey... Let's get you to bed. You boys go outside and play for a little while and Mum can make breakfast when she's feeling a little better." John said, casting a sharp look at the boys before guiding his flustered and muttering wife up the grand staircase towards their bedroom. The two boys sprinted outside the house eagerly.
"It was real, John. I know it was..." Hazel muttered again.
"I know, honey. I know..." John said, pulling the covers of the huge double bed aside so his wife could climb in. Their blue and white room looked out over the peaceful, calm ocean to the left and the huge paddock, lake and forest that was their back garden to the right. Near the lake and far out of sight, two teenage boys were doubled over laughing hysterically at the antics of the morning. For poor Hazel Potter had unknowingly talked to the great black dog only a few moments ago.
Lily's bright yellow Volkswagen Beetle, Lady, pulled onto Main Road. The centre of the town had Cuppa, a supermarket, a pretty cute boutique, a hairdresser and a stationary store. The nearest town from Ashburn had everything else but was thirty miles away. Ashburn was beautiful though. It was one of the highest rated holiday destinations in England with its pristine ocean, beaches and cliffs. Rose was the owner of the boutique and hairdresser so she worked almost 24/7 on new trends, fashions, employees and the accounting behind it all. David worked in London most of the year but came back for long weekends and holidays. The Evans family was renowned all over Ashburn and everyone knew David, Rose, Lily and Petunia. Lily had heaps of muggle friends before Hogwarts and had made friends with almost the whole town when she worked at Cuppa the first holidays. For some reason, everyone had always preferred Lily to Petunia.
Lily parked Lady and walked over to Cuppa. It was a busy day today with roughly twenty teenagers crowded around the benches and tables in the tiny coffee shop. She walked up to the counter where a very cute guy about Lily's age was talking on the phone. He had dazzling sea green eyes, and longish brown hair. He grinned at Lily when she approached and held up a finger to indicate that he wouldn't be long.
"Hey gorgeous. What would you like?" He asked in an Irish accent with a wink and a grin. Lily blushed a bright pink colour at this and giggled softly.
"I'd like to see Mr Smith if he's in, please," Lily replied, twirling her crimson hair around her finger flirtatiously.
"Afraid not. He's out for the day, but I could take a message," the boy answered with an apologetic smile, "Why'd you want to see him anyway?" He added. Lily started to answer when she was interrupted by a flash of pink, a scream of her name and a girl wrapping her arms around Lily's shoulders.
"Zoe!" Lily shrieked back, hugging the girl before stepping back to admire the changes in her since Christmas. Zoe was twenty years old and moved in with her aunt a few years ago after her mother was killed in a car accident. Zoe's dad had abandoned her when she was two and she had been really close to her mother. After this she got caught up with the wrong things and people. She'd dropped out of school when she was fifteen, dyed her gorgeous, long black hair bright pink, and worked full time at Cuppa now. Since Christmas Zoe had cut her hair short and spent most of her weekends out of town at parties and shopping. Despite her difficult upbringing, Zoe was one of the friendliest and talkative people Lily had ever met. She had been Lily's first friend when she'd started working at Cuppa and, despite their huge differences, they were still really close.
"Oh my god, Lily! You're even more gorgeous than you were last Christmas! And you're taller, which Emma's not going to be happy about! Have you seen Emma, yet? Or Carly?" Zoe shrieked really fast. "This is Dylan, by the way. He started working here when Amy quit, thank god! She was such a b..." Zoe was interrupted.
"Hi Lily. I've heard heaps about you from Zoe and Emma, and a little bit from Carly, but she doesn't talk as much as her." Dylan murmured, jerking his thumb in Zoe's direction. She was looking annoyed that she had been interrupted. Lily blushed. She'd had a lot of memorable experiences with Carly, Emma and Zoe, some good and... Some pretty embarrassing...
"Where is Carly?" Lily asked, deciding to change the conversation. At that moment, a tall, graceful asian girl came running over and hugged Lily. She had silky dark hair, gorgeous brown eyes and fashionable glasses. It was Carly: the quiet, smart artist and author that worked at Cuppa during the holidays. Lily hugged her back eagerly. Lily always thought that Carly was the most gorgeous person she'd ever seen.
"How are you, Lily? I've missed you so much!" Carly murmured in her soft, sweet voice. She was never caught without at least one earphone in either ear.
"I'm good, Carly! How are you? Where's Em..." Lily started but was interrupted by a tap on her shoulder. She spun around to see the second most gorgeous person she'd ever met. Emma was 5 foot tall with dyed flaming orange-red hair and the most amazing voice Lily had ever heard.
"Emma!" Lily shrieked, flinging her arms around her. Dylan looked on these reunions with an amused smile.
"You're definitely not a usual customer then, are you Lily?" He murmured with a cute smile at her. Lily blushed bright red and shook her head.
"Definitely not..." She murmured with a flirtatious smile at him before linking arms with Zoe, Emma and Carly and sliding into a booth to catch up. She felt Dylan's amused eyes on her for the rest of the morning.
James lived in the middle of nowhere. He wasn't too far from a sleepy, little muggle town but his 17th birthday came welcomely with the ability to apparate. He had never been into the nearby village, he had never seen a need. He couldn't begin to understand why his mother and father had decided to move to a muggle village; being pureblood and all. James didn't dislike muggles at all, he wasn't one of THOSE purebloods, he simply wished that he was close to someone he knew or the wizarding world. His father was always off on auror trips and his mother was a popular author. On top of that, the Potter family were rather wealthy.
After the hilarity of the morning's events had worn off, James and Sirius soon started plotting their plans for the impending summer holidays. Once they had finished owling letters to Peter and Remus to join them frequently and stay over for the last few weeks of holidays, they were left sitting by the lake and wondering what on Earth there was to do.
"Why do you live in the middle of nowhere, Prongsie?" Sirius asked after another few moments of awkward silence. They lived with each other at home and at school, hung out constantly at school and had no secrets from each other. This also meant that they ran out of things to talk about sometimes. Rarely, but sometimes none the less.
"Blame my parents. They claimed it was because of all the 'peace and quiet'. I think they forgot that was I coming to live with them too..." James answered, giving his trademark grin as Sirius chuckled loudly.
"Let's go into the muggle village, James! They'll be cute muggle girls and fun things to do... Hopefully..." Sirius added as an afterthought. James grimaced.
"Don't bet on it. I heard it's tiny and mostly populated with seniors... I hope it doesn't get so bad you resort to that." James asked seriously. Sirius was known for doing stupid things.
"Let's go anyway. Saves us a few more minutes of planned awkward silence. I'll owl Moony and Wormtail and force them to come too." Sirius said, sprinting off towards the house. James sighed softly. He truly hoped that this school year coming would be the start of him and Lily. Maybe he hadn't always shown it the right way (jinxing her best friend and all) but he really did like her. He couldn't get her out of his head. She plagued his dreams and every thought and, on the rare occasions he was by himself, James found himself promising that this year he would get the girl. After all, he already had the friends, the sport, the grades and the popularity. All that was left was the perfect girl and James had convinced himself since he was eleven, that Lily Evans was the perfect girl.
Sirius came loping back after about twenty minutes with news that Remus was picking up Peter and apparating over to the Potter's house as soon as possible. Apparently Sirius had told them it was urgent so that they'd be there right away. He always did over exaggerate.