Written For:
Quidditch Fanfiction League Competition: Caerphilly Catapults - Round 9 - Keeper
Meeting one's doppelganger (Restriction: May not use any canon twins)
Betas: S. L. Blake, NevilleGonnaGiveYouUp
Never to Meet
Lily and James stepped out of the alleyway as the Knight Bus sped down the street, invisible to Muggle eyes.
"Are you sure about this, Lils?" James asked. It must have been the twentieth time he had posed the question.
She rolled her eyes. "Yes," she answered, stressing the word as if that would get James to back off from the endless questioning.
"I just…" James looked around, a tinge of fear in his eyes. Although he would deny it if asked. "I just have a feeling that something bad is going to happen. Maybe we should go home and try this another day?" he all but begged.
Lily put her right hand on her hip as her left hand rubbed the swell of her stomach, massaging the bump as if she was soothing her unborn child. "James, I'm Muggle-born. I'm pregnant. I want our son to know about his Muggle heritage. He will be raised in the wizarding world, but I want him to know and understand the world I came from. And I think you need to know and understand my world as well. If you show your unease every time you come to the Muggle world, it's going to rub off on Harry, and I won't have that. He will be well-rounded, despite living in the wizarding world."
"You know I have nothing against Muggles or the Muggle world. I just have a bad feeling. Call it a hunch. But something bad is going to happen today."
"Mr. Doom and Gloom, we're not going home until I say we're going home. Are we clear?"
James shuffled his feet, a pout forming on his mouth. "Clear," he muttered mulishly.
Lily strode down the sidewalk as if she hadn't been out of this world for years, not including the summer months. James hurried to keep up with her fast pace, his arm winding itself around her back protectively, his eyes glinting as he assessed any possible danger that might come upon them.
"How about we go somewhere fun? Maybe a place we might bring Harry one day when he visits the Muggle world?"
She rolled her eyes, her exasperation fading as she realized James wasn't just being annoying. He truly felt nervous about being here, but he was trying to put up a good front so she could have what she wanted. "Well, there's a park not that far away. I spent many years there. Before I started Hogwarts. And I even visited it during the summer."
"A park, huh? Nothing bad happens at parks. Let's go." He smiled, his eyes lighting up as his shoulders lost some of their tension.
'Nothing bad happens at parks? I'm not going to mention how many children are kidnapped from parks. What James doesn't know won't hurt him, and it won't annoy me.'
Lily walked ahead of James. She knew that annoyed him, but he would just have to deal with it. They reached the entrance to the park, and it was just as she remembered it. There was a swing set and a huge jungle gym. Trees and bushes enclosed the park, creating a nice green hideaway. Benches lined the perimeter under the shade of trees, plenty of them for resting parents, so they could keep an eye on their children.
Lily's heartbeat slowed down as she took in her surroundings. It felt nice to return from her home away from her childhood home.
She looked behind her and was satisfied as James watched a couple of kids play on the swings. He seemed to be relaxing in his new surroundings, which is what she wanted. She truly wanted her children to understand their Muggle roots, and it wouldn't do any good if they saw their father being nervous in the Muggle world. They would think the Muggle world was something to fear.
Lily walked over to the slide, placing her hand on the metal edge. She remembered how much she loved the slide. It was her favorite thing at the park. Petunia would watch her as she went down the slide over and over again, in a repetitive loop.
Her heart felt heavy at the memory of Petunia. She had written a letter to her older sister, telling her about her pregnancy. Petunia's reply was short, but definitely not sweet.
I've told you before, and I'm telling you again. Don't write to me! I want nothing to do with you or your world!
Lily still hoped one day Petunia would be open to rekindling their relationship. She wanted her children to know their maternal aunt, but she knew Petunia's stubbornness. She couldn't force it and just had to hope for the best.
A laugh sounded from the walking trail to her left. Something about the laugh piqued Lily's curiosity.
She looked over at the entrance and walked over to it, stepping past the trees and out of James' eyesight. She saw a redheaded woman with striking emerald eyes stumble over a branch, her arm twined around that of another girl's arm as she giggled helplessly.
Lily gasped.
The girl, who looked so much like Lily, stopped in her tracks. Her eyes widened. She let go of her friend's arm and stepped closer to Lily. "Who are you?"
"Lily Potter. My last name, before marriage, was Evans. Who are you?"
"Jane Lamox. And I'm not married yet."
Lily tilted her head. "You look just like me."
"Like a twin. But I'm an only child. And I know I'm not adopted."
"I have a big sister, but that's it. And same for the adoption."
Suddenly remembering that there was a third person witnessing this weird meeting, they turned to Jane's friend. The friend who was frozen. Not frozen in shock. But actually frozen. As if she was petrified.
Jane touched her index finger against her friend's shoulder. "Melissa, are you okay?"
No response.
"Mel, you're scaring me. Say something. Anything."
Still nothing.
Lily automatically reached for her wand but stopped. Jane looked like her, but did she know about magic? "Something is very wrong here," she muttered. She looked over her shoulder, realizing it wasn't like James to leave her on her own for so long, especially when he felt nervous about this outing in the first place.
Lily turned her back on Jane and Melissa, planning to get James and hoped he had an explanation, but she found her feet stuck to the ground. She tried to lift her foot.
"Great, now what?" she moaned.
She turned her head and saw Jane was also now frozen. Lily blinked. "James!" she yelled. He couldn't be that far away from the walking trail.
Instead of James, though, there was a pop of Apparation, and a wizard in a mask and long flowing maroon robes appeared before her.
"Is this your doing?" Lily demanded.
The masked wizard took out his wand.
Lily felt fear creeping up within her, but she was never one to back down. "What's going on!? I deserve to know!"
"You deserve nothing, Muggle-born, but I'm feeling generous. Maybe because this hasn't happened in centuries."
"What hasn't happened?"
"A Magical being and their Muggle counterpart meeting each other."
"What?"
"Silly Muggle-born. Every magical being has a Muggle counterpart. It's a way to balance the world, the same way dark and white magic is needed for balance. Like Yin to Yang. But, there's a magical rule. To keep balance, the two are never to meet."
Lily swallowed. "What happens when they do meet?"
"It's my job, along with other Unspeakables, to clean up the mess ."
"And how do you do that exactly?"
The wand was now pointed at her. "Obliviate."
XxX
James looked around. Something was wrong. He knew it. He was at a park. Why was he at a park? He furrowed his eyebrows. The kids playing… It made him feel something. He hoped to one day be a dad. There was nothing he wanted more than to be a dad. Except maybe to fall in love.
Still, why was he at a park? Especially, what looked like a Muggle park? Did he come alone? He couldn't imagine knowing where this place was by himself. He had very limited experience with Muggle culture. He knew a little bit from his Hogwarts friends, but not enough to comfortably venture out into the world by himself.
"I feel so out of it," a girl said as she entered the park from a wooded area, speaking to a friend. "I mean, I feel like I've been hit by a truck."
James' breath caught in his throat as he saw the pretty girl. "Excuse me," he called. "Do I know you?"
"My name is Jane, and we've never met," she stated with utmost certainty.
"Jane, huh? You kind of look like a Lily to me."
Jane smiled. "Well, I believe everyone has a twin. Maybe you know my twin."
James smiled, but he felt like his heart was breaking a little bit. "Yeah, maybe. Sorry to bother you."
Jane shrugged and continued talking to her friend as they moved over to sit on a bench.
James looked down at his feet, trying to recapture a fleeting memory that almost felt like a dream.
'Why do I feel like I'm missing a piece of my soul?'
XX
(word count: 1,550)