Lily's Brother by Lyonia
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of his alter-egos. (Linden Evans, for one…)
Summary: When Harry goes into his parents' time, you often see him becoming James' little brother. What if Harry instead became Lily's little brother? Time travel AU, WIP. Gen.
Warnings: None in this chapter.
Beta: Nada, which is why you'll likely find many mistakes. Should you notice any (grammar, spelling, or otherwise) or have any suggestions, PM me or leave it in a review please.
I'm not very good at writing long things so expect a lot of short chapters. However, I will try my best! Ganbaro!
The town itself was rather dreary and grey. Early in the mornings, men sluggishly walked towards the mill at the centre where many- if not all- of the townsmen worked. Mothers snapped at their children to wake up and eat before they had to go to school at nine. It was the same in every household, and every house was the same with identical brick, terraced houses.
Except for the children of Number Seven, Grist Road. Three bright-eyed children bid their adieus to their mothers before racing off to the old school building at the southern edge of town, by the railroad.
Leading the race was 10 year old Petunia. Her blonde hair flew behind her as she passed her younger siblings easily. She had a determined look on her face- she had her pride as the eldest! Her longer legs gave her a distinct advantage.
Following close behind was 9 year old Lily. Red haired and with strikingly green eyes, her face conveyed the same emotion as her older sister. She would never leave a challenge unanswered.
Coming from behind at a more leisurely pace was (also) 9 year old Linden. His hair was much similar to his father's in color- black as coal. His eyes were more similar to his twin's and mother's, only slightly darker and with rectangular glasses. He sighed at his sisters' enthusiasm. Couldn't they be a little more mature?
Lily touched the schoolhouse door a second before Petunia did. Petunia sighed in resignation, but there was always next time. The other kids from the neighborhood fawned over Lily and congratulated Petunia for her improvement.
Just then, the door opened to reveal an angry woman staring down at the still-panting girls. The woman scowled in distaste as she noted the wrinkles and crease lines on their dresses. "In," she barked.
The children all went in muted, all amusement gone at the sight of the grumpy teacher. About a minute later, right as the bell started to ring, Linden walked in.
He blinked. "Oh, am I late?"
Ms. Occram smiled at her favorite student. She assured him, no, he was exactly on time, he mustn't worry about such trivial things. She practically dragged him to his seat.
Lily and Petunia glared at Linden for the blatant favoritism he received, as did most of the classroom.
The school bell rang, finally dismissing the tired students from the establishment of torture. The Evans' siblings were lucky (or smart) enough that they did not have to stay after.
"Linden," said Petunia, eyes alight with mischief. "Guess what?"
Linden frowned. "What?"
"Petunia and I were exploring, and we found an old playground!" Lily boasted.
"I was going to say it!" cried Petunia, pushing Lily lightly. Lily tripped and almost lost her balance before Linden's hand grabbed her arm. "Sorry, not sorry."
Her brother glared at her. "This playground... Is it safe?"
"Huh?"
"Well, there has to be a reason why it was abandoned. Maybe something over there is defective. Maybe there are dangerous animals nearby. You have to be careful, you know. If one of you gets hurt, you know Mum and Dad are going to blame me for not taking care of you, as a 'man.'" Linden rolled his eyes at the last statement, as if it were the most ridiculous thing he heard. Which was actually true.
For some reason, Linden always felt different from everybody. He did not cry much as a child. Little spats between their siblings felt so below him, and he didn't understand why people thought of women as the 'weaker sex' when they were anything but. Anyways, Linden felt disconnected from the world, as if he were on the outside looking in. Luckily, his sisters always pulled him back, but there was always that feeling tugging deep in his mind…
Speaking of tugging, there was the hand of Petunia pulling him forward, making him stumble like a fool.
"LINDEN! Hurry up!"
Linden scowled and took his hand out of her evil grasp, wiping them on his trousers. He walked quicker, focusing on the path through the dirty streets. "Fine," he snapped.
Up ahead, Lily had stopped. Linden gazed over the area. All safety issues he may have had flew out of his head in his excitement. It was a small playground, and it was almost peaceful, peace being hard to find in an industrial city. There were two tire swings with rope that seemed sturdy enough. A metal slide (red with rust) was smack in the middle. By it was a little merry-go-round and a seesaw.
Any self-respecting kid over 13 would just walk away, thinking the entire thing too childish. But currently, Petunia, the oldest of them, was only 10. Thus, it was the perfect hideout and play place for them. Best of all, there were bushes and trees surrounding the area making it hard to see from anyone not looking for it.
Linden's sisters were already on the swings, going back and forth, higher and higher. The place was perfect, but… Linden felt something prickle on the back of his neck like a warning.
"I'm going to explore around here, alright?" he called out. The girls shouted their assent.
A branch creaked. Linden's eyes instantly picked out the direction where the sound came from, and he stalked forward.
A black haired boy with mismatched clothes looked at Linden warily.
"Well, well, well… What are you doing here, spying on my sisters?" Linden asked.
The boy gulped, trying to blend into the shadows of the bush.
TBC.
And Snape enters! Not sure whether I'll have Good!Snape, Bad!Snape, or what. Also I have to decide about the Marauders… Anyways, the purpose of this chapter was to establish the siblings' dynamic. I hope I did a good job with it. Petunia will NOT be evil. She's just a little girl at the moment. She can be a little vindictive at times, but it's no indication on how she will grow up. Also, following the same line of thought, the Marauders and Snape will not immediately be evil/good. I'm hoping for character development; you should too! Opinions will be appreciated.
