Chapter 1
The Easter holidays had somewhat passed by her as in a dream. Being home in the small village of Cokeworth was always comforting for Lily, especially going on long walks with her parents. But lately life at home had not been so idyllic. Petunia, her sister, was soon to be married to a rather horrible man, in Lily's eyes. She couldn't understand why her sister, previously her closest confidante, had settled for such a brute. Or why Petunia seemed to now despite Lily with every fibre of her body. She somewhat understood the resentment her sister might have towards her, being a muggle, yet she never thought this would lead to such hatred. It seemed that apart from her parents, she had lost all ties to her life in Cokeworth, especially as she was no longer on speaking terms with Severus, her former Slytherin friend. Tears filled her eyes and her cheeks became hot with anger every time she was reminded of his betrayal, of the casual way he called her a 'mudblood' in front of his Death Eater friends. Then there was that issue too, the death eaters and the rise of the so-called Dark Lord. At times Lily was afraid to let her father leave for work, in case he was attacked. Yet the warmth and comfort of being with her parents in her childhood bedroom always had its benefits and was a good distraction from all the holiday work they had been set.
Looking over her to-do list, Lily realised she had one essay for Transfiguration to complete. Begrudgingly she picked up her quill, wishing she had not left her least favourite subject till last. Lily was an undoubtedly gifted witch, as many of her Professors had told her, yet she had always grappled with Transfiguration. She often wondered why someone like Potter, whose philosophy was to put in minimal effort, still seemed to be the best at Transfiguration (and many other subjects) in the year. More often than not, Lily had let her pride get in the way instead of asking Potter for help, as he would surely mock her. Instead, she would often complete homework with her trusty friend Remus, or Moony as Potter's gang liked to call him. Smiling, Lily was reminded of how she would be seeing Remus soon, as well as Sirius Black, who Lily had grown to like recently, despite his antics with Potter. Even Peter Pettigrew, the silent member of the group was a friend to Lily, as she often helped him with his work in order to make sure he got through each year and exam. And of course, her dormitory would be most welcoming, especially seeing her old friends Hestia Jones, Dorcas Meadowes, Marlene McKinnon and Mary MacDonald. She was particularly grateful to these girls in her life as they had become closer since the end of her friendship with Severus.
Entering the final term of her 6th year was rather daunting for Lily, as despite knowing she had an entire year left at Hogwarts, she couldn't imagine life without it. Suddenly, she felt her hand go wet and looking down, she realised she had let the ink run on the failed start of her essay. Quickly fixing this with her wand, she decided it was time to stop musing and instead, focus on the task at hand. She would be back at Hogwarts tomorrow.
Crack.
A loud noise startled Lily and she grabbed her wand instinctively. Pointing it at the emerging figure, she felt her heart beating out of control but her wand arm was calm. As the figure began removing its cloak, Lily thought it looked familiar until
"Hestia!" she cried out, recognising the long black hair of her friend. "What on earth are you doing here?" She hurried over to help her up, "you frightened me!"
"Blimey Lily I didn't think you'd be prepared for an attack - I thought you were about to hex me!" Hestia's voice came as a wash of comfort to Lily, as the two hugged each other.
Lily chucked. "Sorry about that Hest - you caught me at the wrong time".
"What? Thinking about Potter were we?" Hestia asked her slyly.
"As if" she replied "so what are you doing here?" She asked, swiftly changing the subject.
"Well mum and dad are at work, my sister is out so I wondered since we are both at home if you might like to go to Diagonal Alley for the day? I need a new Cauldron anyway".
Lily chucked again. She remembered how Hestia's last cauldron had melted in Potions the term before.
"Sure, I would be grateful to get out of the house for a bit" said Lily. The thought of having another family dinner with Petunia's fiancée Vernon filled her with instant dread. Diagon Alley sounded like heaven compared to that.
"Let me just leave a note to my parents" as Lily said this a quill rose out of nowhere, doped itself into the nearest pot of ink and began scribbling on parchment.
"You've got to teach me how to do that" said Hestia. "Also do you mind if I leave my cloak here - wouldn't want any odd looks".
"Sure" replied Lily, "why don't you leave it in Petunia's room - that would show her right".
Hestia laughed but soon stopped when she saw the sadness in her friend's eyes.
"C'mon Lils - I'll buy you an ice cream!" cried out Hestia, leaving Lily with only a few seconds to grab some money and her new red leather jacket that had been a hand-me-down from Tuney. Packing could wait until tomorrow.