Okay, so I hoped that you liked the prologue! I don't think I will update so much once I get the story going, but I wanted to get this chapter out there because the prologue was pretty short.
I am still looking for a beta, if anybody is interested.
When you're finished reading, leave me a quick note in the comments section, or private message me. You can also find me on Skype at ishouldbereadingrightnow.
Disclaimer: I do not, under any circumstances, own any characters in this story; they all belong to J. K. Rowling.
"Lily!" I jump out of bed and quickly glance at the alarm clock beside my bed and do a double take. It's seven o'clock in the morning on a Saturday. That's not all, though. It's also the middle of summer. Who wakes up at seven, on a Saturday, in the middle of summer? That's crazy talk. Let me sleep in to at least eight.
"Lily! You have mail!" The doorbell rang as mum was shouting to me, and I wondered who in their right minds would call on somebody at seven in the morning. It was probably the girl next door; her name was Melanie. She is constantly trying to hang out with me, even though she's three years younger than me.
I heard mum open the door and make a surprised "oh!" She starts to make small talk, and she sounds a bit flustered. Every few minutes mum stops talking and then she starts back up again, almost like she was in shock.
"Lily Rose! Come down here right now! You have a visitor!" I groaned and then walked downstairs. I plastered on a fake smile, but it morphed into shock as I looked at my visitor.
"Ah, Lily, isn't it? You have a beautiful name." A kind looking man smiled at me from underneath his white hair. I say hair, and I mean hair. It was all the way down to his waist, including his beard. "Happy birthday, by the way, Ms. Evans. I believe that you're turning eleven today?"
All I could do was nod in silence. That is, until I caught my mother's look and I immediately straightened up my manners. "Yes, sir. I'm Lily, and today I turn eleven."
"Well. I think I have a few things to discuss with you and your family. It's a very important matter you see." The man smiled kindly at me and I felt instantly relaxed. I smile back at him and move to go into the living room.
"What's this important matter, sir? And, if I may ask, what is your name?"
He replies, after taking his time getting seated on the loveseat. "Oh, how silly of me. I've forgotten to introduce myself! My name is Albus Dumbledore, but you can call me Professor Dumbledore."
"P-pro-professor? Did I get accepted to some kind of school?" I turn to mum and dad, wanting to know if they had any insight. They kind of shrugged their shoulders at me, and looked back expectantly at Dumbledore. "Wait. Before you say anything, I want to get Tuney. She would love to hear."
I race back up the stairs, and barge into Petunia's room, not bothering to knock. She was sitting on her floor, painting her toenails a bright red color. Recently, Tuney has been insisting that all of the girls at school will like her better if she is "more confident in her nail colors". So, she has been experimenting with the boldest, brightest, and most insane colors ever.
"Tuney!" I sang, as I walked in. "You have to come down! There's this strange man here, and he's about to tell me something really important, and I think that I got accepted into a really good school!"
"Oh, Lily, that's great! Let's go! I can't wait to hear what he has to say!" We raced down the stairs, and hopped the last two. We sat down next to each other on the sofa, and grinned at nothing. I grabbed Tuney's hand on a whim. Professor Dumbledore smiled at us and began.
"Ms. Evans, have you ever had anything strange happen to you? Has anything happened that you have no explanation for? Anything at all?" He waited for me to nod my head yes, and after I did, he continued. "I am the Headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I believe that you deserve a spot here."
All I could do was stare at him. I looked over at mum and dad, and they too, were speechless. I looked at Tuney and she looked over at me too. But it wasn't the same kind of look I was giving her. I looked shocked, and nervous, and fearful. The only thing Tuney looked like? Disgusted, envious, and admiring.
"So, what you're saying is, you think I can do magic?" He smiled and nodded and leaned back in his chair, almost like he was watching his favorite program on TV. "I can do magic? Real magic?" I looked over at Tuney, happy to share this discovery with her.
"You-you-you freak! You can do the things you do because you're a freak! That's why you do all of the weird stuff! Well, that's fine with me! If you want to go to a freak school, and make some freak friends, and become an even bigger freak, then go ahead!" She stormed up the stairs, not looking back once.
I didn't know what to do. I looked at mum and dad, and they looked incredulous. Mum looked at me and said, "She'll come around, honey. Don't worry about it. I bet she's just in shock." I nodded and turned back to Dumbledore.
"Well Ms. Evans, I have said all that I need to say. Here is your supply list. I will be by on Saturday to take you and your parents to get your school things. Your sister, too, if she wishes." He hands me an envelope, and walks to the door. "Remember, Ms. Evans, that in the darkest times, we need those close to us. We need the ones that understand us more that we understand ourselves."
He walked out the door and after a few second, I ran up to the window to watch him walk away. As soon as I got there, I swear I saw a twirl of purple and heard a loud pop.
Next Saturday, I wake up and fling off my covers. I momentarily forget how Tuney hasn't been talking to me. She's gone so far as to flat out ignore me when I'm in the same room and get up and leave the room when I walk in. I forget about how I went to talk to her after the old man left, and she only opened her bedroom door to scream at me how I was a freak and how I don't belong here, after I knocked on her door for a solid ten minutes.
But now it hits me full force in the chest, and I have to sit down. Tuney purposely made plans for today so that she didn't have to come get my school things with us. It's a terrible thing, to have the past week hit you all at once. Mum and dad say that it's just a phase, that she'll get over it. They say that she's jealous, that she always have been, of what I can do.
After sitting on my bed for a couple minutes, I get up and pick out a kind of nice outfit- something you would wear to a casual party. Nothing overly fancy, but not sweatpants and a t-shirt. I dress quickly after I shower and brush my teeth. Staring dejectedly at my vivid red mass of knots, I decide to braid it back.
I stomp very loudly down the stairs, partly to annoy Petunia, and partly to signal to her that this is her opportunity to leave the room if she wishes. Sitting down at the table, I barely catch a glimpse of blond hair disappearing through the back door before it slams shut.
After I eat, I spend the remaining amount of time before Professor Dumbledore comes over anxiously waiting for the doorbell. When it does ring, promptly at ten o'clock, I jump about a mile in the air, while dad goes to answer the door. Professor Dumbledore is there, standing in bright purple robes, the light breeze making them billow around him.
"Hello, again, Mr. and Mrs. Evans. And Ms. Evans too. I assume that Ms. Petunia Evans will not be accompanying us today?" After I shake my head no, he continues. "Today we'll be going to Diagon Alley. We won't be using any means of magical travel to arrive, as those ways are fairly uncomfortable. We'll take a car to downtown London, and I can show you how to get there from a pub called the Leaky Cauldron. Shall we go?"
Maybe thirty minutes later, we pull up in front of a dingy looking pub, that everybody passing seemed to skim their eyes right over. After Dumbledore takes us into the back courtyard of the pub and pulls out a wooden stick, that he says is his wand, and taps a combination of bricks on the wall, I look around in wonder. Before me is a long winding road, with no cars, of people rushing around, all of them wearing the same type of clothes as Dumbledore, only not as bright.
After we go to the Gringotts bank to exchange money, Dumbledore takes us around in all of the shops. I'm fascinated by the racing brooms, although first years aren't allowed to have any at the school, or be on the house Quidditch team. Whatever that is. I guess I still have a lot to learn.
The time goes by so fast, and before I know it, Dumbledore is saying goodbye from my front porch, and handing me a train ticket emblazoned with Platform 9 ¾, King's Cross Station. Just as I start to ask how I find the strange platform, he's gone.