"Lily, please open the door? Mom and dad are getting worried, and they think I did something to you." Petunia's concerned voice called through the locked door.

Lily merely re-situated herself on her bed, and kept reading Victor Hugo's Les Miserables, as Petunia kept talking. It was the afternoon of the next day, and Lily had been surviving on a leftover bag of jolly ranchers and a few spare bottles of water. She didn't want to leave her room and try to explain what had happened. Severus had come to the front door twice, and had thrown pebbles at her window three times since last night. Petunia was coming to her door every half an hour, at least, trying to convince Lily to let her in. She knew her parents were mad, and that Severus felt bad, and that Petunia was worried, but Lily was scared out of her mind, and for once, she was going to be more concerned about herself than everyone else.

She heard another stone hit the window, but ignored it. Getting her letter soon. A letter. To a school for witches and wizards, so she could learn strange things. That wasn't really what scared her; in fact, magic was an exciting thing. She was afraid of the unknown, afraid of leaving her parents, and afraid of herself. She'd shattered a picture! What if she couldn't learn to control her powers? Lily dropped Les Miserables on the floor and hugged the nearest pillow closer. She'd just have to buck up and do it. The tapping on the glass continued, much like Petunia's concerned voice. Lily rose and began to storm over to the window, a speech was forming in her head for Severus, but the sight at her window stopped her dead in her tracks.

A small tawny owl was fluttering around the glass, tapping its beak on the window again and again. Lily rushed over, saddened to see the owl hitting itself, and she pulled the window open. The owl flew in, landed on her bed, and held up its leg. It was then that Lily spied the roll of paper attached to the owl's leg. Her heart began to race, but she forced herself toward the owl, and untied the parchment.

It fell onto her lap and unrolled:

Lily Evans

The bed in the smallest bedroom

64 Spinner's End

Dear Ms. Evans,

You have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Attached you will find a list of the things you will need for your upcoming school year, as well as instructions for your parents to follow about your impending trip to Diagon Alley. Term begins September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours Truly.

Professor Dippet

Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Lily held the letter with trembling hands, and walked to her door. She opened the door, glided right past her babbling sister, and kept walking until she reached the entrance to her father's study. It was only then that she looked up.

"Lily? What's wrong?"

Lily walked to her father and laid the letter on his desk. He read it quickly, skimmed over the following pages, and then looked up at her.

"Do you think this is real?"

"Severus is…Severus said he…Oh Daddy!"

She found herself hugging her father tightly, excitement building slowly. Her mother walked into the study, with a hysterical Petunia behind her, and Lily spun away from her father. Before she was aware of herself, she had begun to babble, telling them what had happened with Severus, and about the letter. Her mother's eyes glowed and her father looked incredibly proud, but Petunia looked put out.

"Where's my letter, then? We're sisters! We should both have gotten one." Petunia frowned at Lily, who looked dejectedly to the floor.

"I want you to come, Tunia. I don't know where your letter is, though."

"I think we need to have a talk with Severus, Lily." Her father spoke in a hushed voice, as her mother nodded along, "And perhaps you could try and show us what you did with the picture frame?"

Lily pointed her hand toward a picture on the wall of Petunia and herself when they were very young, and in the bath, and let the excitement flood her. She supposed that any strong emotion worked—as long as it was very strong. Sure enough, in just a few moments, the picture frame shattered and fell off the wall.

Her parents both smiled and hurried to embrace her.

"We don't know what this means, really, Lily, but we're excited for you." Her mother smiled down at her, and her father beamed.

Behind the smiling trio, a horse-faced girl sunk back into the shadows, tears filling her eyes. Her best friend was leaving her for a stupid school? To become some sort of a…a witch? How dare she! How dare she!! Petunia Evans raced out of the room and out the door. It was on that evening that she met a young Vernon Dursley on the playground, and they became friends. After all, she needed someone.