Ethan Frome

Once Upon a Time...

A/N: Okay... this is my first entirely L/J fic...don't worry, it'll be one...er...someday. But anywayz, for now, review, and hope you enjoy it (even though there are a million of these out there...)

Disclaimer: None of these belong to me! Only the plot...not the characters...

Chapter One: A Single Tear

"Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful princess who lived in a fairy-tale castle..."

"Mummy, what did it look like?" A small, chubby girl, six years of age, with short strands of wispy red hair and pearly white teeth, fingered the little storybook held in her mothers hands.

"Well, what do you think it looks like?" her mother asked, rubbing the little girl's nose with her finger. The girl giggled happily; a sound that put the mother in mind of water trickling down a narrow brook.

"Gleaming white, shining from every corner...Tall towers...a moat surrounding it...filled with maidens and princes and courtiers..." The little girl propped her chin wistfully in her hands, dreaming of the castle. "Wondrous smells float through the halls—of bread, cake, stew...and candy," she added as an afterthought, flipping a brilliantly colored page of the book.

The mother laughed, her auburn hair bouncing from her shoulders as she did so. "That's exactly what this fairy-tale castle looked like, honey. Exactly."

"Good! The princess should be happy there!" the girl pronounced, showing her two dimples as she smiled at her mother, green eyes sparkling eagerly. "Read me the rest of the story!"

"The castle was gleaming white, shining from every corner, with tall towers, and a moat. Housed in the safety of it were maidens, princes, and courtiers, and cooks, baking every kind of delicious food. Wondrous smells would float all day through the hallways...breads, cakes, stews, and candies. Now this particular princess we're talking about was happy—except for one thing. That one thing that was missing..."

------One Year Later------

"Now honey, be good for your babysitter..." Mrs. Evans said, leaning down over the now seven-year-old girl.

"Yes Mummy!" she said happily, knocking over the blocks she was playing with and hugging her mother tightly over the stomach.

A tall man with dark brown hair walked in next, his blue eyes shining merrily. "How's my little Lily doing? Now Mommy and I are going to the theatre to see a play...you listen to Christina, will you? Okay, Tiger?"

The girl, Lily, twirled her red hair around her finger, appearing to think hard. Her face broke into a wide grin. "Of course. Now you be off with Mummy, and have a good time! Be good..." she said playfully as her parents slipped on their jackets and stepped out the door. A few moments later, the crunch of tire on gravel could be heard.

Lily stared blankly out the window for a while, her green eyes bleak, before her babysitter, Christina, gently tugged her away and led her back into the living room.

They both tumbled into a stack of pillows on the floor, a storybook clutched in Christina's hand. Lily carefully fluffed up a pillow and burrowed comfortably into it while Christina opened to the first page of the book and began reading.

Lily listened intently, barely aware of the rain that had started pouring outside. It splattered against the windows; pelted on the roof, sliding down in little streams of clear water. Sudden flashes of lightening and thunder sent Lily hurtling into Christina's arms, trembling slightly.

"It's okay, you know. It's just a storm, Lily..." Christina started, glancing out the window nervously.

"What about Mummy and Daddy?" Lily worried, pulling herself up in a dignified manner.

"They'll be okay. I expect they've reached the theatre by now." Christina, too, stood up, and put the book aside. "And I expect that you're sleepy and need to go to bed. Off you go!" She gave Lily a gentle push toward the staircase. "Before you know it, it will be morning and your parents will be home."

Grumbling quietly, the little girl obliged, climbing the stairs rather sluggishly. After she had gone up the third step, the phone rang loudly, causing both babysitter and child to nearly jump out of their skins. Breathing a sigh, Christina hurried over and picked up the receiver. Intrigued, Lily ran back down the few stairs she had managed to climb and sat next to Christina on a small wooden chair.

"Hello?" Christina listened for a while before her eyes bugged out and her lips froze. "W-w-what?" Her face turned white as she slowly faced Lily, whose blazing eyes awaited her voice eagerly. She forced her cold lips into a smile.

Instantly, Lily knew something was wrong as she watched Christina struggle to speak. Finally, she knew exactly what was wrong.

"Remember how you were worrying about your parents in the storm?" Christina started, her mind racing as she tried to put the news in the least dreary way possible. "Well, as it turns out, the storm was something to worry about. Your parents—they were driving—and your Daddy took a sharp turn on the highway...the car crashed into the roadside..."

Lily nodded, wondering what Christina was getting at. "The car crashed, and your parents—they were fine—but—but—you know what lightning is, right?"

Lily nodded again.

"A stray lightning bolt—it struck your parents as they were trying to evacuate the car. I'm sorry..." Christina surveyed the little girl sitting in front of her, watching as the true meaning of the news sank in.

"Mummy's gone? Daddy's gone?" Lily spat out, her eyes turning moist.

"Yes, honey...It's okay to cry...it's okay..."

But Lily refused. She stuck her chin out stubbornly. "Where will I go?"

"I don't know...your mother told me you didn't have any other living relative...I really don't know...I bet some nice family will ask you to live with them, though. Don't worry..

Trembling, the girl tossed her red hair behind her back and dashed up the stairs, picking herself up quickly as she fell heavily on the first step. As she went up, a single solitary tear trickled down her cheek, shining like early morning dew on fresh grass.

It dried up quickly, leaving Lily dry-cheeked and slightly red eyed.

She stood next to her bedroom window, gazing up at the stars, a fluffy teddy bear clutched in the nook of her left arm, and began praying.

"Dear God, please take Mummy and Daddy to Heaven with you, and let them be happy please...and please grant me a good family to live with. Amen."

She clambered wearily into bed, still clutching the bear. It gazed up at her, friendly brown eyes seemingly understanding.

And she dreamt of voices lost.

"Once upon a time...there lived a princess in a castle..."

"Mummy, what kind of castle?"

"Any kind you want it to be."

Feeling very alone, Lily finally fell asleep, huddled tightly under the covers. Unknown, Christina hid behind the door, feeling pity well up in her heart for the girl.

************************

"James Potter! Go clean up and stop zooming about that broom!" Mrs. Angelina Potter grabbed nervously at the small blur of a figure that was her son.

"Can't catch me, haha, can't get me!" a small boy with extremely untidy black hair taunted as he tried to spiral his broom upward. Being the toy broom that it was, it wouldn't go more than three feet off the ground, but went at a fairly quick pace.

"Oh yeah?" A pair of strong hands grabbed James from behind, and James found himself staring into the deep chocolate brown eyes of his father. He wriggled around impatiently.

"Lemme go! I gotta fly!" James continued squirming until Mr. Potter was forced to let James down, or drop him otherwise. He clambered back onto the broom and began flying back and forth again, as fast as the little green broom would allow.

Angelina Potter pushed a stray strand of hair back into her elegant bun and stood up to her full height. "James Harold Potter! We have guests tonight, and I want you to stop acting like this and tidy yourselves up!"

That stopped the little James in his tracks. "Who's gonna come? Any kids?"

At this, his father's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. When he spoke again, there was a slightly cold tone to his usually soft voice. "Cassius Malfoy. His son, Lucius, is coming to. Ministry business. I want you to stay out of trouble, stay alert, and be on your best behavior."

"Cassius? What kinda cheesy name is that?" James wrinkled his nose and silently got off his broom, sensing how important this dinner was to his parents. "Is Lucius nice?"

Angelina exchanged glances with Alex (James's father). "Well, maybe not the nicest child, but...er...pleasant enough, I'm sure...you two will have fun together...er...you can show him all your neat toys..." With another glance, the two adults hurried out of the room as the doorbell proclaimed the arrival of the infamous Malfoy's.

James sat alone in kitchen, trying to smooth out his hair. When it didn't work, he jumped onto his feet and plodded out to the front door, where he came face-to-face with a pale, thin boy.

"Cassius, Aranice..." Alex stood facing the couple with his arms folded behind his back, his eyes boring straight into the cold ones of Cassius Malfoy.

"Potter." Cassius slipped off his coat, used his wand to direct it to the coat rack, and invited himself into the room. His eyes swept over the room and the decorations, a smirk beginning to form on his drawn face. "Rather small, isn't it?"

Alex ignored him and instead shooed the two little boys upstairs, with a whispered, "be nice, take him to your room," to James.

Away from the adults, James finally dared to speak up. Brown eyes sparkling, he turned to Lucius in anticipation as he slowly opened his bedroom door. It swung open, revealing James's messy room. Books, toys, and blankets were strewn all over the place, with the occasional toy leaping up and flying across the room.

Lucius stood icily at the door, as if the room wasn't good enough for him. "Is this it? My room, at home, is at least three times as large as this...do you have a broom, at least? Or an owl..."

Crestfallen, James shook his head, but then brightened up again, holding up his little green broom. "My Daddy bought it for me at Diagon Alley!"

Lucius shook his head, as if talking to a two-year-old. "NO, no, not a toy broom. I mean a real one. Father said that he would get me one soon...a Comet 15."

Deciding that he didn't like this boy very much, James stuck out his chin and shoved Lucius onto the ground rather roughly before storming away, purposely dropping his broom on the boy's silvery head.

"Hey!" Lucius rolled right back up, throwing James's broom aside fiercely. "Come back here! No one, especially a Potter, pushes a Malfoy down!" He grabbed James's arm and flung him to the ground, biting and pinching as hard as he could. Biting his lip to avoid crying out, James twisted around until he was positioned on top of Lucius before pinning his arms down and pummeling his stomach.

Instantly, tears began running down Lucius's face. "Father! Mother! Potter's hitting me! Come quick and set him straight!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. Fear settled in James's heart. He rolled off and tried to escape back into the safety of his room, but it was too late. The four adults rushed up the stairs, each pair of eyes trained on the two boys standing side-by-side.

"He started it." Both pointed at each other before daring to look back up at their parents.

Cold fury was etched into Cassius's pale face. He turned around to face Alex. "I don't know what you're playing at, Potter, but you'd better get that—that—son of yours to apologize. We will leave immediately, of course, and you will pay. Do you hear me, Potter? You're whole family will pay! No one touches my son!" he spat bitterly, grabbing Lucius's fine hair and storming out without waiting for James to apologize (which he probably wouldn't).

Wondering what was going to happen next, James tried to sidle back into his room, but was stopped with a Look from his father. "James? Did you really hit him?" Alex asked, kneeling down next to his messy haired son.

James nodded feebly. "But he made fun of my toys! And my room!"

Alex allowed himself a grin before heading back downstairs, Angelina close behind him. Sniffling a bit, James threw himself (finally) in his room, settling himself by a chair next to his large window. Shining brightly in the velvety sky were masses of stars, all winking mischievously to him. The same sky that Lily Evans was wishing on.

A/N: Hmm...this might turn out interesting...review and tell me....