The Grey Lord
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling holds the rights towards the HP Universe and its characters. I just enjoy writing about various alternative worlds for the characters to live in.
"Speaking"
Thinking
Author's Note: Hello everyone! Yes I reposted the story. I have rewritten a lot of the Prologue and wanted to post it starting off in a new month. This is the 1971 arc. The 1978 arc shall be uploaded on April 6th so keep an eye out. Thank you all for reading and reviewing.
Prologue: A Letter By Owl
It was finally here. After years and then months and then weeks of nothing but waiting and waiting, it was finally here. Ever since her friend Severus had told her about their world, Lily had been eager to await the fated letter. A letter that would whisk her away to a school of magic that had been delivered by owl no less than two hours ago. Her first Hogwarts letter. It was indiscriminate proof to her that she did indeed have magic and would be learning how to harness it. She couldn't wait to open it. Oh wouldn't her parents be proud of her? What about her Gramma Isla, whose stories always filled her with wonder. Would she get to meet any of those fairy tale creatures? Oh wouldn't that be lovely? Lily had been too caught up in staring at her letter that she didn't even notice someone standing in her bedroom doorway.
"Well?" Petunia asked, leaning against the door frame, her blonde hair showing more curls after having been cut short a few days prior.
"Well what?" Lily replied. Petunia simply rolled her eyes.
"Are you going to open it or what?" Petunia asked.
"Am I going to open - Oh! You mean my letter?" Lily replied.
"What else do I mean, Lily?" Petunia sighed.
"You can't blame me." She replied. "I'm nervous, okay? Besides I thought you wanted nothing to do with anything freakish, Tuney." Petunia merely looked at her. She seemed quiet and withdrawn, or at least more so than usual.
"Tuney? Are you okay?" Lily asked. She put her letter down on her bedside table as her sister came inside and sat down on the bed with her. Despite both their faults, they did truly love each other. It had been evident when they had dubbed each other "Tuney" and "Riri" as toddlers.
"I was jealous, okay? I guess I still am." Petunia sighed, wrapping her arms around herself a bit.
"Jealous? Of me? Why?" Lily responded.
"Why wouldn't I be? Lily, you get to go to a school made for MAGIC. It's all you or even our parents could think about. I managed to get into a decent school that I thought would make them proud of but it's swept under the rug with all this talk about magic this and magic that!" Petunia replied, looking a bit frustrated with the situation. Lily looked at her quietly.
"Tuney..."
"You've even forgotten about the times we'd use to play together. What happens when you leave for this school and forget about me completely? What then, Lily?"
"Petunia, you know that I would never forget about -" She couldn't finish as she had been cut off by Petunia's snort.
Petunia looked at her dryly. "Yes you would. You might as well have. Lillian we haven't been around each other since my thirteenth birthday. In April. And that was only because it's a family tradition that birthdays be spent together with loved ones."
Lily spluttered. "But - But I remember we went to the local fair two weeks ago. And there was a trip to the London Library last Saturday."
"No. You went to those with your new friend, Severus. I even asked to join but he convinced you that I would just be mean and it wouldn't be as fun." Petunia replied. Lily looked at her.
"Have I really been that bad?" She wilted.
Petunia sighed. "No as we're both to blame for growing apart. But I have been trying to reconnect with you on my end and seeing you with your new friend brushing me off as always bitter left me feeling well, bitter."
"Tuney I am so sorry. I just got so caught up in the wonder of it and I guess I wanted to learn as much of it as I could." Lily replied, looking a bit crestfallen.
Petunia gave her a soft smile. "I'm sorry too. I should've supported you in your endeavor but after getting that rejection letter and then not even being allowed in exploring the possibilities left me feeling bitter and jealous."
Lily nodded before pausing. "What rejection letter?"
"Well..." Petunia turned away a bit, a sheepish red blush bloomed on her face. "When I turned eleven, I may have written to Hogwarts about seeing if I could apply. I may not have magic but surely they'd at least allow me to attend some classes."
Lily looked at her sister with awe. "You wrote to them? What did they say?"
Petunia gave her a wry smile. "What else? They said, in the politest terms, that as a muggle I was ineligible. That's it."
Lily paused a bit. To reject someone on the basis of being born different seemed to rub her the wrong way.
"That's not right though. Severus told me about potions. It doesn't even focus on using one's own magic but the magic in the gathered ingredients."
Petunia shrugged. "What can I tell you? They make it seem like a pretty package but they must be lacking in common sense."
Lily giggled. This felt nice. She had missed simply talking with her older sister. Imagine if she hadn't stopped to talk with her. How long would they have lived with this tearing at them both?
Petunia smiled. "Now open it already. You're building up too much suspense!"
"Okay! Okay!" Lily smiled brightly and opened up the letter. To her delight, she and Petunia both read about her acceptance to the prestigious Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Included within the letter was a book list as well as what supplies she'd need and what clothing she'd require. After glancing through it once more, Petunia was quick to give a snort of laughter.
"What is it?" Lily asked.
Petunia looked at her, blue eyes merry and bright. "Just where in London do you think we'll find this? And look at some of those items. Three inch parchment rolls? Really? It'd be easier if you simply picked up a bulk of mundane school supplies and books so you don't waste any of your magical ones."
Lily looked at her. "Are you sure? I doubt electricity would work well with magic, Tuney."
Petunia rolled her eyes. "Then don't get anything electrical based. But Lily, you have to agree. It's ridiculous!"
"It is a bit. But it's a magic school we're talking about Tuney." Lily agreed, before looking back at the letter in her hand.
"And you are Lily Evans. You aren't meant to stand in. You're meant to stand out. If they don't like the idea that you want to be a part of both worlds, that's their problem."
Lily began to nibble on her lower lip. "How would I even do that, Tuney? I'll be at Hogwarts all year long."
"We'll convince Mum and Dad to sign you up for homeschooling and purchase as many books as possible. You can study them with you at Hogwarts and mail back the homework." Petunia nodded.
Lily paused a bit. "I suppose so. But do you think they'll agree to it?"
Petunia rolled her eyes. "They absolutely adore you, Riri. I'm certain if you bring it up with them then they'll be ecstatic. Which is more responses than what I can get from them."
Lily looked at her. "If you say so. But we're gonna talk about that response later."
Petunia nodded. "Fine. Now let's start putting together a proper shopping list."
Lily nodded. "We know what all we'll need for Hogwarts but what could we add to it for homeschooling?"
Furrowing her brow, Petunia paused a bit to think. While the idea was a good one, they still needed to convince their parents to let Lily go through with it. It wouldn't do for one of the Evans girls to claim to be off at a prestigious board school only to show up with no equivalent of it within their world. And loathe as she was to admit, it was probably best to include that friend Severus Snape of hers in on it.
That's if he even agrees to it in the first place. Petunia thought. I'd honestly like him if he didn't treat me with disdain.
Petunia had turned back to thinking over possible additions to Lily's school list. She was certain at the end it would end up costing them more than necessary but it would be worth it at least. So caught up in her thoughts that she didn't hear her younger sister step back into the room.
"Tuney?"
"Hmm? What?" Petunia glanced up.
Lily stood with a beaming grin. "They agreed! But that's not the best part yet!"
Petunia tilted her head. "What's the best part then?"
"I told Mum and Dad that when we go shopping for my supplies, that we get yours as well. You may not be able to do active casting magic but there's nothing to stop you from learning about other aspects of magic, right?" Lily beamed.
Petunia stared at her. "Are you serious, Riri? They agreed?"
Lily nodded her head, grinning a bit smugly. Petunia beamed brightly.
"Well then lucky for you that the school I attend now has a homeschooling course." Petunia smiled.
Lily beamed brightly, moving to take a seat next to her older sister. She was quick to pull out a new sheet of paper and a pen, quick to scribble down what was definitely needed for Hogwarts.
"Okay. So what else would you suggest?" Lily asked, looking up at Petunia.
"Well for starters, Potions is like their equivalent of Chemistry right? We should see if you can get some protective clothing like lab coats and some goggles or even some hair nets. It may make you look odd but if you explain it to your professors, they should be proud that you took safety seriously." Petunia proposed.
Lily nodded, writing down the addition of lab safety equipment. "True. Oh what if we see if we could get them to be charmed with added protections?"
"We'd definitely ask about that." Petunia nodded. Lily hummed while adding in that small note. While it was still a bit unnerving to find out that magic was real, the girls were steadfast becoming firm in their belief on maintaining a part in both worlds.
"We should also see about getting you some calligraphy pens, notebooks, folders, and a possible book bag. These wizards use parchment for everything and I bet it costs them a lot to use it. At least this way you can practice good penmanship and save on using your parchment as the final draft for any of the homework you get assigned."
Lily nodded. While yes she still liked the idea of magic, even she could tell from the required Hogwarts list that wizards still lived a bit backwards.
"Petunia?" Lily paused, looking up at her. "Thank you. Thank you for talking to me. I don't want to imagine what it'd be like if we stayed apart."
Petunia paused and glanced back at her, a soft smile on her face. "I want to thank you as well, Lillian. Thank you for actually listening to what I have to say. I promise that we will always be sisters." And with that, both the Evans girls smiled.