Chapter 3

The day had come. It was finally my eleventh birthday! My parents decided to invite my grandparents and go to my favorite restuarant, Lil's Diner. I wanted to take Severus with me, but his parents didn't want him to go. They wanted it to be a family outing. I was disappointed that he could not come, but maybe he could come to my birthday dinner next year. Petunia, on the other hand, was happy that he wasn't going with us. My mom fixed us a special birthday breakfast. After breakfast, a knock was heard at the door.

My mom was confused and asked, "Who could that be? Is it our neighbor, Mrs. Eddings who has promised to make Lily apple pie for her birthday? She never comes this early though."

My dad sighed and said, "It's probably a salesman." Another knock convinced my dad that it may not be a salesman, and he got up to go to the door. I was hopeful Could it be a person from Hogwarts who came to tell me that I was a witch? Was Snape right all along and my sister wrong! Oh how I hoped so. However, my happiness and hopefulness were soon gone as I saw the look on Petunia's face. Petunia's face that was once happy and pleasant this morning had changed to anxiousness and dread. She was hoping that it was a salesman, instead of a person from Hogwarts. Her look touched my heart, and I wished that it too was a salesman and the person from Hogwarts should come tomorrow so that we could all enjoy my eleventh birthday.

I heard my dad opening the door, and a cheerful voice said, "Hello, My name is Professor Slughorn. I am a professor of Hogwarts School. Is this the home of Ms. Lily Evans?"

"Yes," my dad said, and I knew he was confused as to why a professor of a different school would want to speak to his daughter, "Umm... yes she's here. We have just finished breakfast."

We heard my dad's footsteps and he told us that Profesor Slughorn wanted to speak with me. "That's odd!" my mom exclaimed, "Why would a professor from a different school want to speak with Lily? She doesn't have good enough grades, though she is doing much better than she did before. If any private school was interested in any of my girls, shouldn't it be Petunia, who always made excellent grades since kindgergarten?"

My dad shook his head and said, "I don't know my dear. I am confused myself."

We got up and went to the living room. When I opened the door. I found the professor sitting on the couch reading my dad's real estate magazine. I saw that he was a short man with a large belly and a bald head with a big, enormous, walrus-like moustache. He also wore old-fashioned clothers that was popular in the forties era.

When Petunia saw him,she laughed and whispered, "This must be a big joke. He should realize that this is the seventies, not the forties!"

I glared at her and whispered back, "You have no right to judge someone's appearance. He is a professor, and deserves respect!"

"Yeah right! A professor in the circus he may be!"

I was shocked at how my sister was acting towards this man. She was not the type of person to insult upon first sight. She was calm, reserved, and respectable. Someething must be wrong with her to act like this. I decided not to think about my sister's behavior, and instead turned my attention to the professor.

I smiled, shook hands with him, and said, "Hello Professor Slughorn! My name is Lily Evans! Welcome!"

My mom then asked if he would like any refreshments. He refused. He then turned his attention to me. "Good morning Ms. Evans. Do you know why I'm here?"

I nodded. I must remain calm. The dreaded moment of me telling my parents that I was a witch had indeed come. I should tell them now so that I can get this over with. "Yes, it is because I am a witch, isn't it?"

My parents looked at me with shock and astonishment. My dad fell to the floor when he heard what I said. My mom shouted angrily, "Lily Elizabeth Evans! How dare you call yourself a witch in the presence of a very respectable professor! You must apologize to him for this rude and imperitnent joke!"

"It's okay. Lily is right. She is a witch and soon she will become a young brillant witch. I am potions master at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It is a school only for witches and wizards in the whole country and is known to be one of the top wizardry schools in the whole world. We have found that your daughter, meets the qualifications to attend the school."

My parents were still shocked, and my mother looked like she was about to faint. My dad said, "Are you joking sir? Did Lily beg you for help to pulll a birthday prank for her birthday?"

"No sir, Mr. Evans. This is no joke. This is a serious matter. Tell me, Mr. Evans and Mrs. Evans, was there ever a time that Lily did something that was unexplainable, almost magical?"

My parents squinted their eyes, trying to remember when I had done magic. "Yes, when Lily was four years old. She was playing with a round ball, her favorite toy, and she tripped over the top step and fell down the stairs. We thought that she would be dead or seriously injured after such a fall. But she was not hurt. She was alive and well with no bruises, no broken limbs. She was perfectly fine. There have been other unexplainable incidents that happened to her life that had to be magical."

My dad nodded in agreement and said, "I thought that it was just luck. I never thought that it could be magic. Professor Slughorn, are you really telling the truth? Could you really do magic?"

Professor Slughorn nodded and said, "Yes, I am telling you the truth, and I will perform magic for you. Our headmaster, Professor Dumbledore has allowed professors to show non-magical parents a little magic to help them realize that we are not joking." Professor Slughorn took out his wand, and with a delicate flip of his wrist, lifted up the coffee table and moved it to the other side of the room. After a few seconds, he moved the coffee table back to its regular place. My mother and dad were delighted at seeing magic, and they asked him to do it again, which Professor Slughorn was very happy to comply.

My parents stood up and clapped their hands and exclaimed, "Bravo! Will Lily be able to do that?"

"Yes, she can and do much more than that. However, she would not be able to show you any of her magic until she turns seventeen. For she is forbidden to do magic outside of school."

"Seventeen?" my dad asked, disappointed, "Seventeen? I would have to wait that long to see her doing magic. That is ridicuolous. Parents who give their consent to see their children going to a magic school, can't even watch their own children performing magic until seventeen? That is really disappointing."

"I am sorry, Mr. Evans. It is not only the school's rules, but our government, the Ministry of Magic who made the rule. The school has to comply. But just think if you do send your daughter to that school, then all you need to do is wait seven years to finally see your daughter performing magic. Besides the school is not only to teach students how to use magic, but to teach students to have skills neccesary to live in the wizarding world. You see witches and wizards even though they live in the same country as you do, have their own government and careers. Hogwarts will help make a pathway for Lily to have a career in the wizarding world."

"So, not only am I choosing to go to this school, but I am also choosing a way of life?" I asked.

"Yes," Professor Slughorn said, "but in order to choose your way of life, you must first accept who you are and who you would want to be."

My parents nodded, for this was good advice. Professor Slughorn then took out a letter from his pocket and said, "Here is your letter from Hogwarts. I must leave at once but in case you decide to go to Hogwarts, I shall leave an owl for you to respond back."

Professor Slughorn shoved the letter from Hogwarts, said good-bye, and left. My family turned their eyes to me to read it. I could not help but look at the Hogwarts stamp, for it looked very interesting. The stamp looked medieval with a shield, and with a snake and a lion at the top and a badger and a golden raven in the bottom with the colors red, green, yellow, and blue. I could not help but wished to study it longer. I felt everybody's eyes on me expecting me to read it to them. I opened the letter and read aloud:

Dear Ms. Evans,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You receive quality training. I trust that Professor Slughorn has told you about our school. Please send word by owl if you are interested in coming so that in late August Professor Slughorn come back and help you get your school supplies.

Professor McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

The letter comfirmed Professor Slughorn's words. We re-read the letter twice. My parents were very proud of me.

"Well Lily, do you want to attend this school? I think it would be good for you. This school will help you not only help help you accept yourself, but to love who you are. This school seems to be right for you." my mom said.. I could not help but smile, for my parents were really proud of me being a witch. I then turned my look to Petunia. She had said no word at all during Professor Slughorn's visit except to insult. The sight of her nealy crushed my heart. Her face looked as white as death. She then got up and didn't say anything. I was very upset. Never before had I ever seen my sister looking like this.

My parents said to me, "Lily, you have until lunch time to decide if you want to go Hogwarts."

I nodded, went up to my room, and I cried. I could not get Petunia's face out of my head. Should I go to this school or not? Which one should I choose? If I went to that school, Petunia would be so unhappy, but if I did not go to that school then Petunia would be happy, and I would be unhappy. I didn't like my school and my classmates. They called me weird. They made my life miserable for four years. Severus would leave me too for I would not see him again until Christmas. I would be alone with Petunia, and Petunia having her own friends would leave me alone too. I sighed. This was a tough decision, and I finally decided on Hogwarts, for while I did not wish to upset my sister, I should make a decision in which I would be happy.

I then came down and I told my parents that I would be going to Hogwarts School of Witchraft and Wizardry. My parents burst out with excitement, hugged me and told me how happy they were for my decision. After my parents left to get the owl, and I had sat down to confirm to Hogwarts that I was going, I was alone with Petunia. It was an uncomfortable silence.

I finsally said, "Petunia? Are you mad at me about my decision to go to Hogwarts?"

"No. I'm not. I want you to go to Hogwarts. Our parents want you to. It would be unreasonable if you didn't go," Petunia said after a few moments of silence.

My eyes lit up with complete happiness, for I really wanted to go school.

"Really? You don't mind?" I asked.

"Of course I don't mind," said Petunia as she turned and walked out of the room. I couldn't help but feel that Petunia was lying to me.

After I wrote a letter of confirmation to Hogwarts and delievered the letter by the owl, I asked Petunia if she would come with me to the playground. She shook her head no. I decided that I would not to the playground at all for I did not feel like going after Petunia's behavior So I stayed in my room and read The Mermaid's Pearl comic books. At 3 o' clock, Mrs. Eddings stopped by to give us the apple pie. We sat down and ate it, but no matter how good it was, it still tasted sour, for I couldn't help but to notice Petunia glaring at me while she was eating. Afterwards, we both went up to our rooms. I could not wait to go to Lil's Diner, where seeing the sight of my grandparents could help put both Petunia and I in a better mood.

When we got to Lil's Diner, we ordered our meals and my parents told my grandparents about me being a witch. They jumped for joy and congratulated me. "Lily, promise your family that you will strive hard at Hogwarts and that you will be the top in your class," my mom said. I promised.

After dinner we went back home and I checked my clock and saw that it was midnight. "Well, let's all go to sleep. It's past your bedtime," my dad said. I said good-night to my parents who said good-night back. Then I turned around and said good-night to Petunia, who didn't say good-night. She just went to her room. I went to my room, and I went to bed hoping that tomorrow Petunia would forgive me for making my decision and to support me in going to Hogwarts. I then fell asleep wondering if I had an excellent or horrible birthday.