Chapter Two
August, 1979
The bright morning sunlight streamed through Lily's bedroom window, falling onto her bed. Only, she wasn't in it.
"MUM!" came a scream from down the hall, "LILY'S HOGGING THE BATHROOM!"
"AM NOT!" yelled Lily.
"YOU'VE BEEN IN THERE FOR ALMOST AN HOUR!! AND I'M GOING TO THE MOVIES WITH SARAH TODAY!" screamed back Petunia.
"GIRLS!!" yelled their father, "STOP ARGUING!"
There was a short silence, broken only by the sound of a shower running. Then it too stopped. A few minutes later a soaking wet girl, wrapped in a towel stepped out. Water still dripping from her red hair, Lily glared at her sister. Petunia scowled and brushed past her, slamming the door behind her.
Shooting her sister another furious glare, Lily stormed into her bed room. Muttering furiously about annoying sisters and stupid look-obsessed girls, Lily searched her closet for the right clothes. She couldn't find what she wanted! Then again, she didn't exactly know what she wanted, but that was not the point. Growling in frustration Lily started tossing clothes onto the floor, breaking a couple plastic hangers as well. Finally she found something to wear. A green tank top, jeans and flip-flops. After rummaging through her dresser for under garments she threw it all on and flung herself onto the bed to comb her hair.
'Why do they have to be so - so SECRETIVE! It's not fair! They only let me see her three times in the last five months of her life! And only that much because Grandma REQUESTED that she see me!'
"Lily," called her mother from outside the bedroom door. She walked in and sat down beside her on the bed. Lily turned away. "Honey, I know Grandma's death is really hard for you, it's hard for all of us, but it's not okay to do things like this. You need to calm down and act reasonable."
Lily rolled her eyes and ignored her. Her mind began wandering off. Lily started thinking about the ice skates in the back of her closet. She hadn't told anyone about them yet. Not even Jackie, she hadn't spoken to her best friend since the day she got the skates. She'd hardly spoken to anyone.
"Look, Petunia's just as sad as you are, but she hasn't thrown such silly tantrums. She didn't refuse to eat for the days up until the funeral. She's handling it like a lady and you'd be wise to try look up to her -"
Suddenly an owl flew in through Lily's open window and dropped a letter on her lap. "What the heck…" Lily muttered. She picked up the letter, it read:
Miss. L. Evans
South East bedroom
27 Raven Lane
Black Hedgehogs
Kent
Flipping it over she fingered the wax seal on the back, a badger, lion, raven and snake on a shield, connected by a golden 'H' in the center. Opening it, she pulled out a letter.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. 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.
Professor Willow will arrive at 12 'o clock, July 17 to explain everything. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagal,
Deputy Headmistress
"Mum…" Lily began uncertainly.
"What does it say dear."
"I'm a witch."
"What? Lily, I'm not in the mood for jokes right now. What does it really say."
"I told you the truth!" Lily yelled, standing up, "Here! YOU read it!" and she ran from the room.
"Oh, oh dear." Mrs. Evans muttered, staring at the door Lily had just slammed behind her.
'Why does she always have to be so stupid! Why would I say 'I'm a witch' if it wasn't true? It's not like I constantly lie to her. Okay, I Haven't been great these past few weeks, but they haven't been good these past five months! And I haven't been lying, just ignoring them. Humph.'
Still furious, Lily stomped out the back door and stormed over to the old Oak, climbing up it till she reached her favorite branch, and leaned her back against the trunk.
'It's so unfair! Petunia's the perfect one. She's dealing with it perfectly. She's do everything so lady-like and maturely. It's stupid. I wish I really was a witch, just so I could rub it in Petunia's fat face!'
Suddenly her musings were interrupted by the sound of her mothers voice. "Lily! Come in here!" Not wanting to face her mother or the talk she was going to get about slamming doors, Lily took as much time as she could getting down from the tree. But when she walked into the living room she could tell that slammed doors were the last things on her mothers mind.
For standing in the middle of the room was a strange lady. She had grey hair streaked with white, well weathered skin, and wise brown eyes. But the strangest thing about her were the brown robes, yes ROBES, she was wearing. They were plain and simple, stained by dirt and grass. She had the look of a gardener.
"Hello, I'm Professor Willow, you can call me Rayna if it makes you more comfortable. I'll be your Herbology teacher at Hogwarts, Lily." She noticed the wide eyes, and opened mouthed looks of bewilderment the Evans family was giving her and chuckled. "Sorry, this is my first time doing this. I'm just covering for Dumbledore today, he usually does this type of stuff."
"So, Lily's really a - a witch?" stammered Mrs. Evans.
"Yes, I'm afraid so. I'm sure this is all very shocking for you, but I can assure you, you'll get used to the idea pretty soon. It'll take a while for me to explain…"
"Here, have a seat," Mr. Evans gestured to the couch with his hand.
"Oh, thank you." Professor Willow took a seat and the family followed suit. "Now, first things first. I know most muggles don't believe in magic until they see it, so what would you like to see me do for you. Just to make sure I'm not tricking you, of course. You'll ask for so sort of transfiguration no doubt."
"You, you can't bring back the dead, can you?" Lily asked quietly.
"No, dear, not even the most powerful witches or wizards can bring back the dead." said Willow softly. "I'm sorry." There was a short silence then,
"Could you get Mum's coffee cup? It's in the kitchen," said Petunia, curiously.
"Accio coffee cup!" cried Professor Willow. The Evans all stared as Mrs. Evans flowery coffee cup came whizzing thruogh the living room door and into Willow's hand. "Here you go," she said, handing it to it's owner.
"Oh, oh my. You really are a witch."
"BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP-- SLAM!!" Lily threw her alarm across her bedroom.
"Lily!! DID YOU BREAK YOU'RE ALARM AGAIN?!" Mr. Evans yelled from downstairs. Lily sighed and dragged herself out of bed. Riffling through her closet Lily pulled out a red tank top and jean shorts. Bare foot she jogged downstairs and sat down for breakfast.
Her father was already seated, reading through the newspaper, a half eaten pancake on his plate. Her Mum dropped a plate down before her and Lily grinned. Digging in, Petunia joined beside her. "Morning Mum. This smells great!" said Petunia.
"Thanks dear," Mrs. Evans looked up, and noticed petunia was still in her P.J.'s "Go get dressed first though. We're leaving soon after breakfast."
"No, Mum. I don't want to go to Dragon Alley! Carol invited me to the mall and a movie, so can't I go with her instead?"
"But, I thought - Thought it'd be a nice family time…" Mum complained.
"No. I don't want to go follow Lily around getting school supplies." Mum sighed and looked at Dad. He peered over his newspaper.
"Alright, you're old enough to do what you want, and you can always visit Dragon Alley next year if you'd like." Petunia smiled, hugged Dad and ate her pancakes.
"See you later!" She called as Carol knocked on the door.
"Be back by five!" Dad called after her, she waved, and left.
"Thirteen inches exactly, dragon heart string made of oak, go on, give it a wave!" Mr. Ollivandars, a small and highly energetic man, was flitting around his shop in Diagon Alley, handing Lily new wands to try so fast she barely had time to try them. She was starting to worry that they'd find the right one but he'd snatch it out of her hand so fast he wouldn't notice that they'd found it! The pile of tried wands was quickly growing.
"Ah, here, 10 and a quarter inches, willow with a unicorn tail hair. Nice and swishy, good for Charms work." Lily took the offered handle, expecting it to be as normal as all the other wands, and break something, or perhaps do nothing. But to her amazement, as well as her parents, it did neither, instead shooting out a mix of black sparks and rain drops. "Ah… the perfect wand for you. Interesting, hmmm… truly remarkable. 13 sickles. You're a promising young witch you know. Aye, very promising…" and he disappeared into the back of the shop, the boxes of wands flying back to their appropriate shelves. Professor Willow helped Lily sort out the money and they placed it on the counter before making their way back out into the crowded street outside.
"There, all done unless you want a pet?" said Miss Willow.
"No thankyou, ma'am," said Lily. Miss Willow nodded, and lead them back to the muggle world.
Standing just inside the front door of the Evans house, Professor Willow remembered something, "Oh! And I'll meet you at Platform Nine on September 1st to show you how to get onto Platform 9 and three quarters. Good bye, Lily." and with a CRACK! she disappeared.
Thanks for reading, please review!
Echo Chambers
