For as long as I can remember, I have always loved Harry Potter. It was an escape, a wonderful place to run away to. More than that, it was where I could read about the wonderful and amazing people that I didn't have the pleasure of knowing in my dull day to day life. Harry, Ron, Hermione, they were how I relived my childhood. I can't exactly say that my family approved, at least my sister didn't. I was sorry that I had fallen out of contract with them. But then again, they didn't seem to care that we had gone our separate ways. They had not bothered to check on me in the hospital only the day before after being hit by a car. I was lucky that the injuries had not been more severe, but that wasn't something I wanted to dwell on.
Right now, I wanted to meet the remarkable woman that was J.K. Rowling. The name of the woman that was on every single cover of the books that were pilled in my hands. My arms ached, still bruised from yesterday, but my excitement was enough to help me through the pain. The hefty smell of new books filled by nose, making me happy and content. I had never owned the actually books. Either the time had never arose or the money wasn't there when I spotted them, but I was happy that I owned them now. I had bought them after my crash yesterday and had read through all of them that night. I prided myself in my ability to read at remarkable speeds. I had always been particularly good at that type of thing.
The line trudged along slowly, making me bounce up and down with impatience. The doors to the building were now closed, no longer allowing anyone else in. I was at the very back of the line, lucky enough to slip in at the last minute. Tables were lined up in the limited space that was not taken up by book shelves, covered in bubbling plastic cauldrons, chocolates, and colorful beans. My stomach rumbled and I felt myself lick my lips.
No, I couldn't think of food right at this moment! I wanted to grasp the moment, seize the day! I was about to meet the woman who had changed my life! I wasn't about to break away from that opportunity just to supply my desire for chocolate. The lines moved again, making my heart leap. I was almost there! I wondered what would happen after this. The books had really left an impact on my life. What would I do after it was over?
The line moved along with my thoughts until I was the third person left. I practically danced in place I was so excited. The rest of the book store was silent, having been cleared out for the signing. It was past closing time, the sky outside of the bookstore an inky black. My heart pounded against the pages of my books as I was suddenly placed before J.K. Rowling herself. The person before me exited with their signed copy, eager to head home, leaving me entirely alone with her. She was looking down at her watch when I placed the large pile in front of her. I suddenly felt guilty for keeping her so late. She had her own life to get back to not to be bothering with me and my childish fantasies that heavily involved her books.
I wasn't exactly sure what I expected when she looked up at me. I wasn't expecting her to be overly nice, I was just another fan. But I certainly hadn't been expecting what came next. The moment our eyes met, Rowling let out a gasp and jerked back in her seat, teetering backwards dangerously. Shocked, I reacted instantly, springing forward and gripping her wrist to pull her back into a stationary position. She had nearly given me a heart attack! I seemed to have given her the same affect because the hand that wasn't clasped in mine was gripping her heart, her light blue eyes fixated on my green ones.
"Good Lord!" she whispered, her words shaky. Suddenly realizing that I was still gripping tightly onto her hand. I let go and stepped back, waving my hands and rambling in horror.
"Oh God I am so sorry! I really- I mean- I didn't-" I had somehow managed to mess up in the first three seconds of meeting my personal hero. That had to have been a new record. Rowling was staring at me as if she had seen a ghost, making me shut up. I bit my tongue and swallowed, trying to calm myself down. There was a long stretch of awkward silence before Rowling slowly stood, ignoring the books I had placed before her and scanning my face. It was perhaps the most unnerving experience that I had ever had to deal with.
"Who are you?" she asked, her tone not mean, but more awestruck than anything else. My face flushed a bright red at this. I knew that it was going to be embarrassing to tell her, but I didn't think that it would be as intense as this. Might as well get it over with. I inhaled and twisted my fingers together, trying to remember how to speak.
"I'm…well, my name is Lily Evans." The way Rowling's eyebrows shot up and her mouth dropped open sent me into another rambling fit. "I know that it is the same name as your character, but I swear to God it is my real name! I'm not some looney fan I swear, I just really like your books and my name is just a coincidence and- oh God, I have ID if you really need to see it." I stopped, knowing that I was sounding like a complete idiot. Rowling was still staring at me. This was not at all how I had expected my meeting with her to go. She took another long glance at me before walking around the table, shaking herself and quickly walking up to me.
"No, no, I believe you!" she said with a small laugh, her eyes still voicing shock and awe. I leaned a little ways away as she began scanning me with her eyes once more. "But…you don't just share her name, you looked exactly as I imagined her!" I blushed at this. I supposed my name wouldn't have been that bizarre if I didn't share some of the same features. I had long, silky straight red hair that fell to the middle of my back with green eyes and pail freckles dotting my nose and cheeks from their more prominent days in my childhood. I pulled on the sleeves of my sweater nervously, feeling like an utter fool. But what unnerved me more was the way Rowling was acting, as if I was some rare animal at a zoo.
"Well, I…" I really had no proper way to respond to any of this. After walking around me, Rowling stopped and bit her lip and pulling up an empty chair. "Would you sit down?" I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. So instead, I complied with her wishes and sat. She smiled down at me, looking the way I should have been, excited and bouncy. "I'll get us some food and then I would like to talk to you about my books." I could hardly get a 'thank you' out let alone an exclamation of shock. Why did she want to talk to me about them? Wasn't it supposed to be the other way around?
But I didn't want to be rude, and this was hardly an experience to turn down. I was pleased to see that she brought over enough chocolate to satisfy my needs along with two large mugs of what looked like an attempt at butterbeer. Finally able to thank her, I took the butterbeer as she laid the array of chocolates out on the table. Taking a seat, she patted the large pile of books I had placed on her desk and leaned towards me eagerly.
"So, Lily. Tell me what you think of my books." I blinked. Trying to collect my thoughts, I took a large sip of butterbeer, the foam giving me a white mustache. Nervously licking my lips, I tried to collect my words.
"Well, they…" Why was she looking so eagerly at me? Why did she care what I, of the millions of fans she had, thought? "I…Well, I love them!" I exclaimed, feeling my ears go a little red. Rowling beamed at me, encouraging me to go on. I felt myself gather a little more courage and I scooted forward in my seat a little. "The world you created, it is amazing! Magic, everyday witches and wizards, and Hogwarts! Not to mention your characters! All of them, they are all amazing." Rowling nodded her head, her expression becoming more thoughtful.
"Who is your favorite character?" she asked.
"Harry." I replied almost on instinct. Rowling tried to suppress a smile and I kept going, feeling more comfortable, and my excitement bubbling over. "I mean, he really is the hero. He went through so much and- " I must have gone on forever talking about Harry, eventually taking a few chocolates and speaking in between large bites. Rowling laughed at some of my responses and eat and drank while I did all the talking, sometimes asking me how I felt about this event or this person. She caught me off guard sometimes, asking questions that made my eyes grow watery. I never thought about how her books had really affected me until she went diving into the deeper parts.
I was just recovering from her inquiries about my feelings about the Potter's death when she came at me with another question. "And what do you think about Severus Snape?" That question made the tears stop almost instantly. Snape? I looked down at my butterbeer glass, the golden liquid nearly gone. I swallowed, glancing up at Rowling. She had her fingers pressed together, resting her lips against them and looking at me with intense observation. I looked away, blinking.
"Snape…" I repeated. I had never really thought about Snape, at least not as much as I did about Harry. "Well he…I feel…I am sorry that he had to die." I whispered, grasping my glass tightly. "But he was protecting Harry for…Lily." I felt my face flush brightly and I shook my head, quickly filling my mouth with chocolate so I didn't have to answer anything more about the Potions Master. Rowling nodded her head slowly before clapping her hands together, making me jump.
"Well! I think that about settles the matter!" I blinked. Thinking that she intended to send me on my way, I stood ready to collect my books. Rowling's hand rested on the pile, catching my eye. "Miss Evans, would you mind waiting here for just a moment?" I nodded my head, blinking at her in confusion.
"And please, call me Lily," I added as she turned away. Rowling chuckled, looking back at me.
"Lily. Yes, of course." She walked towards the back wall where a janitor's closet resided. I watched in utter confusion as she opened the door, entered, and closed the door behind her, swearing that she had taken something out of her sleeve to tap the door with before vanishing. I starred at the door for a moment, utterly confused. What exactly had just happened? What was she doing in there? I contemplated about sitting down but thought better of it. Curiosity pulled me away from Rowling's desk. I set my empty glass down and slowly headed towards the door, straining my ears to see if I could hear anything. Nothing. I crept closer until I was right in front of the door. I could still hear nothing behind it. I reached out, my hand gripping the handle.
I paused for a moment, thinking better of what I was doing. One more moment's hesitation before I pulled the door open. For a moment, I thought for sure that I was dreaming, or at least hallucinating from all the sugar I had consumed. When I thought of a janitor's closet, I thought of a small, confined space, littered with cleaning supplies, and dimly lit. That was not at all the space that I found before me. It was large, brightly lit, and looked as if it might be an office. The floor was made out of stone, scarlet drapes covering the walls and windows, not permitting anyone to see in. That job was reserved for the candles that floated – floated – above my head. The tall ceiling was confirmation as well that I was no longer in the book store I had been in before. Books littered the floor, some of them I noticed being Rowling's own books. Potions and empty bottles covered the counters, along with some of the strangest ingredients I had ever seen. I looked back over my shoulder through the door, and sure enough found the book store there. I looked back at the strange scene I found before me, my green eyes wide.
But the strangest thing in the room were the two people standing in it, having been talking but now noticing me. Rowling was one of them, but she was now dressed in a pair of black robes which I knew she had not been wearing before. In her hand was…no, that couldn't be wand now could it? My eyes moved to the tall figure standing next to her, a wiry old man with a long silver beard, a crooked nose and half-moon glasses. His clear, watery blue eyes found mine and I felt the blood drain from my face. The man's eyes twinkled with shock and fascination and he looked down to Rowling who was beaming as she looked from her companion back to me.
"You seem to be right in your assumptions my dear Joanne," he said, his voice ringing in my ears. "I would say…you are perfectly right." Rowling nodded her head frantically, letting out a long breath.
"I thought you might think so." She said, biting her lip and trying desperately not to grin at me. I had been standing frozen in the doorway, my hand still gripping the door handle. "Do come in Lily." Rowling said, flicking her wand. The door closed, bumping me fully into the room. I heard a click from behind me and found myself trapped in the crazy situation I had found myself in. She walked towards me, resting a hand on my back and gesturing to her companion.
"I would like to introduce you to my dear friend, Albus Dumbledore."
