Hi, I'm Tanwen. I read Oy Angelia's fic, Pensieve, and it inspired me to get something up, and I was in the mood to write a Lily/James fic. If you want to read something worthwhile, look at hers, but I'd much appreciate it if you could R/R mine, too. Oh, and in case you were wondering, I did invent the muggle suspicion about Owls just to give you yet another thing to hate Petunia and Vernon about ;)

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Invitations

By Tanwen

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Lily Evans, age 11, tripped through the grass, smiling at the postman as he handed her mail. She scanned through it. Too bad we get all this junk…ads and the lot, she thought.

"Having some sort of birdwatcher's association party?" inquired the postman pleasantly. "Just so you know, I believe that owls are a sign of bad luck. Look out for twigs in the road!"

"What?" Lily looked up at her house and noticed a large tawny owl sitting on top of it. "No, I don't know why we have an owl on our roof" she stated, more calmly than she had hoped. Something about the owl seemed to say that it was here for her. The moment this thought crossed her mind, her elder sister, Petunia, slammed on the breaks from inside her brand-new car (a sixteenth birthday present) and let out a screech which Lily was sure would scare the bird away.

"What is that awful thing doing near our house?" she—we will not say said—gave the impression that she was trying to squeeze the words out of herself before she threw up.

"It's all right, dear. Just an owl." Her ruddy-faced boyfriend said the last word as if he was terribly afraid (of the owl or the fact he felt he was about to be barfed on, he didn't specify). He stroked her leg. "Your Vernon won't let any bad luck come to his pretty Petunia."

Lily snorted up her sleeve through what she considered a joke since Petunia clearly wasn't going to be comforted without a good snog, but made sure to hold her tongue. She had been terrified of Vernon ever since he had picked her up by the collar and made her swear that she wouldn't say a word of the fact that she had walked in on himself and his girlfriend doing more than was acceptable for people of their respective 16 and 17 years. "Well, then, I guess I'll be going into the house, then." She departed, bound to see what there was to do in her room. She didn't notice that as she left, the bird left, too.

*****

When inside, she regarded her room. Smaller than Petunia's, she thought bitterly, and then immediately reprimanded herself for the thought. It was mostly bookshelves, brimming with the volumes with which she immersed herself. One bulletin board hung on the wall over her bed, from which hung pictures of her friends and a report card, which stated that she had gotten straight A's in all of her classes and all of the teachers at St. Agatha's Prepatory Boarding School for Girls thought that she was the most wonderful person in the world and they just couldn't wait for her to get into the higher forms and become a Prefect. Bit dull, really, she thought. If I ever got into trouble, or did something different from everyone else… The thought trailed away as she regarded her window. The owl which had previously attracted attention from the roof was now perched on her windowsill, respectfully trying not to crumple the tinfoil placed there to keep the water out while figuring out what it was. She felt strangely calm, and not at all surprised to notice that the owl was dangling a manila envelope from its left leg. She strode over to the window and opened it. The owl hovered expectantly around her eye level, with its burdened leg thrust out. She untied the message, and went over to her bed.

"Thank you for bringing me…well…this, Mr. Owl," she said uncertainly, waving the envelope. "The least I can do for you is get you some water." The owl hooted happily, and she ran to fill the cup on her nightstand.

When the Owl had flown off out of her window, she opened the package. The addresse was written by hand, in green ink. On the back, she noticed a crest with a badger, a snake, a lion, and a raven. The address was odd enough—

Lily Evans

Smaller Bedroom

228 Heron Drive

When she opened the letter, she found what she saw even stranger:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

[Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards]

Dear Miss. Evans.

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September First. We await your owl by no later than August 13th.

Yours Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

Deputy Headmistress

Lily was shocked to receive this letter. She had never thought, and didn't think she ever would have thought, of going anywhere but St. Agatha's Prep. A witch's school? This must be some practical joke, or a mistake. However, as she was about to put the whole 'joke' away for good, a note slipped out. It read:

A representative from a wizarding family will send you an owl as soon as he/she gets his/her invitation to school and arrange a time to talk to you. Await this contact before trying to purchase your books! This representative will also give you your train ticket.

Thoroughly perplexed, Lily sat down on her bed and awaited the owl's arrival, or at least a summons to dinner. However, as she suspected, the former came first, in the form of another owl, this time a huge snowy one. The letter ran as follows:

To Lily Evans (featherbed, smaller bedroom, 228 Heron Drive):

I have been asked to show you around and help you get to know the ropes of the wizarding world. As you can see, I have your addresse, and would like your permission to pick you up there tomorrow at nine o'clock, sharp so we can both pick up our equipment. My owl, Mirabilis, will stay with you until you have time to write a reply (which I hope will be in the affirmative) to this letter.

Sincerely,

James Potter

PS: You won't need to send your reply to Hogwarts until tomorrow, so WAIT UNTIL THEN!

Lily decided that this was reasonable, and was grateful to James Potter for setting her straight about the date. She hadn't realized that it was already August 12th, and she wouldn't want to miss an opportunity to learn about magic, even if it was all just a huge joke. She scribbled a note saying that she would love to come and learn about the wizarding world on a piece of paper on her desk, and then clumsily tied it to Mirabilis' leg and watched the owl fly off into the dusk. She heard her mother call her and decided that it was time to go downstairs for dinner…and a huge surprise for her parents.

~~~~~ Fifteen Minutes Before ~~~~~

James Potter was not surprised to find an owl awaiting him when he got back to his room from Junior League Quidditch practice. When he saw that it was a school owl, he was even less surprised and barely thought it worth his while to open it. He decided that he would open it, though, in case there were any special instructions for him…you're part of the League, please join your house's Quidditch team without trying out…and he was surprised when some special instructions did fall out.

You have been selected to show a muggle around Diagon Alley. Her name is Lily Evans, and you will find a picture of her enclosed. Her address is 228 Heron Drive, so please send her an owl immediately to set up a time to meet her. Enclosed are also seven Galleons to buy her an owl (muggles tend to have trouble adjusting to their new situations as witches and wizards so communication is comforting to them). Thank you for your trouble, and make sure your note is polite!

James didn't know what to think, but decided to send a note of acceptance back with the school owl first, and think about showing muggles around later. He shook his envelope upside down to find a picture of the girl he was supposed to lead around. Seeing her beautiful green eyes, red hair, and ravishing smile on her animated face made him think that it might not be too much of a chore to help her after all. He sent a note with his beautiful snowy owl, Mirabilis, to the addresse mentioned in his letter, and then ran downstairs to tell his parents that he would be out all day the next day and needed to borrow one of the spare broomsticks.

~~~~~

Had you been watching the proceedings at dinner on the night of August 12th, 1970, at 228 Heron Drive, you would have noticed a huge tension. The parents, Clement and Ravenna Evans, regarded their younger daughter with concern, while she nervously (and uncharacteristically) dropped her utensils. The meal proceeded in silence (as far as it could with the interludes of silverware-dropping) until the older sister, Petunia, yelled at the younger for making such a racket, and asked her (in an unusual display of concern) what in the world was the matter with her.

It was then that Lily Evans decided that she would attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, even if it was just a prank, and that she would care about her appearance the next day, and that she would invest her savings (or her parents') in the books listed in the package she had received. She cleared her throat and began.

"Mom, Dad, and I suppose Petunia, there's something I have to tell you. I won't be attending St. Agatha's next year, or ever again." Lily hoped this information was right, but doubted that she would need to go to normal prep school if she was going to be a witch. "The owl sitting on top of our house earlier today—" she said this with an uncomfortable glance at Petunia, who blanched, "—carried a message for me which I would like to relate to you. It said that I had been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and that I am to become a witch. Someone who knows about all this will pick me up at nine o'clock sharp and take me somewhere to get my materials. Mom, Dad, if I could have some money to pay for all this I'd really appreciate it, as I have so much to buy and I don't know how much any of it costs, or if I have enough. I think it's free to attend, and I'm sure that James will tell me about all that when he gets here." She said this all very fast, as if it would be easier for her family to process if she said it quickly.

"James?" questioned her father.

"My chaperone for tomorrow," Lily hastily explained.

"Wait a moment," said Petunia, with an ugly sneer on her face. "You mean to tell us that you plan on running off with some freak tomorrow, to do something totally unbelievable, impossible, and that you have no proof about, and you expect us to believe it? Ha!"

"Yes, actually, I do, and I would venture to add that this is far less unbelievable than the fact that you're going out with that—"

"That's quite enough, both of you! Petunia, one more word from you and you're grounded. Lily, if you could run and bring this letter you received from the…er…owl…" Their mother, who had started out firmly and resolutely in her statement, trailed off at the mention of the owl

"Actually, I have it right here. I thought you might want to look at it," replied Lily, casting a look of daggers at her sister. As soon as her parents read the contents of the letters (both from Hogwarts and James Potter), they were forced to admit that it would be a hard joke to pull off, especially with the owls.

"She must be lying about that!" exclaimed Petunia, hardly able to believe that for once, her sister was getting more attention than herself.

"I don't think that's possible. Well, we'll see what this young man looks like when he shows up. I think, however," said Ravenna Evans with a dazzling smile, "that you will, should he come, be allowed to at least listen to his story."

Lily thanked her parents, and then settled down to think about what she had heard.

~~~~~

James told his parents at dinner what he had agreed to do, and they smiled approvingly. His older sister, Cecilia, had mentored a young Molly Weasley when they had been on the verge of going to school. His parents, he was thankful, certainly didn't think that it was inappropriate for two eleven-year-olds to spend the day together, especially when one of them was their son.

As James got ready for bed, he thought about how thankful he was that his family had a large enough estate to provide for him whatever he chose to do, even if it was sitting around the house. He hadn't admitted it to anyone, but he was nervous about school, and he hoped that he could shake it off tomorrow. He fell asleep with Lily Evans in front of his eyes.

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Yay! My first chappy! How do you like it? Mmmmmmmmmmmm…James already likes Lily. Don't worry, they won't hate each other after Diagon Alley, but they won't have romantic interests either…He just thinks she's hot.

I hope that everyone is having a great summer and pppllleeeaaassseee review. I'm not going to demand reviews (I'll just write my fic) but if you could I might get off my lazy bum a little bit faster.

Tanwen ^.^