Lily smiled sleepily. It was very comfortable under the nice warm
covers.
With a sigh, she got out of bed anyway. It was early in the morning, but she had to get a start on her chores before Petunia could gripe about how she ALWAYS had to do them when Lily was at school. Her older sister was always whining about something or other, and it had gotten much worse about this time six years ago, when the first owl had brought a message to her house, telling Lily she was accepted to Hogwarts.
Lily was going to begin her seventh year in about three weeks, and she couldn't wait. She had so much to tell Ara and Hazel… and James. She missed everyone so much. A lot had happened over the summer, but life was not especially exciting without the Marauders to jazz everything up, or her two best friends to share it all with.
Students about to enter their seventh year were permitted to use magic outside of school, thankfully. Minor mending and cleaning charms are so useful around the house, Lily thought to herself as she began dusting the furniture, washing the laundry at the same time. A wave of a wand, and all her chores were done in less time than it would take to do one task.
Everyone else in the house was getting up as Lily was finishing. She hurridly put her wand away. Not that her parents were scared of magic or anything. Quite the opposite. They expected her to cast magic to help everyone with their work, and there simply was not enough time in the day. If they saw she had her wand out, there would be at least fifteen different things that they needed her to do.
Lily had put her wand into the big pocket of the pair of shorts she was wearing as she walked into the kitchen. Then she sat down at the counter. "What's for breakfast?"
"French toast, honey," her mother replied sweetly. Her mother was a short, pleasantly plump woman with the same red hair as Lily.
Lily's father came in and sat down. "Good, I'm starving!" He was average height, with blonde hair and green eyes, which Lily had inherited.
"Get out of my way, brat!" Petunia practically shouted as she flew down the stairs and barreled into Lily. Petunia was as graceful as an ostriche, with her gangly limbs and long neck. Her thin face was always snobbish when she looked at her little sister, and her straight, dull blonde hair was pulled back into a bun most of the time.
"Oh, go get a job at the library. They'll hire you on looks alone!" Lily replied irritably. Her sister rivaled some of the worst Slytherins in terms of attitude problem, and Lily was anything but patient around her.
"Oh, be good both of you, for once!" their father grumbled. "Honestly, at seventeen and nineteen, one would think two sisters would get along."
"One would think that a normal family would kick out any freaks that turned up," Petunia replied coldly.
Lily's mother just sighed. She had long since given up any hopes of making peace between the two sisters. "Breakfast!" She laid a heaping stack of French toast on the counter.
All four family members dove into the food. Throughout the meal, Petunia chatted about 'Vernie', her boyfriend of the week. Though no one was listening to her, Petunia continued to babble aimlessly about him.
When the French toast was almost gone, there was a scraping sound at the kitchen window. Lily leaped up to let the tawny owl in, pointedly ignoring her sister's disgust. Lily deftly untied the small package from the owl's leg with one hand as she reached into her pocket for some owl feed. The owl fed and gone, Lily opened her package.
It was a large envelope, thickly padded. Inside it, there were several pieces of Hogwarts stationary. The first paper was simply a list of required materials, like she received every year.
The second paper was inside a sealed envelope. She read aloud, " 'To be opened by Lily Evans and no one else.' Hmm, interesting." Lily tried not to convey her excitement. There were only two things this could be. A prefect letter, or …
Swiftly tearing open the envelope, she found a single piece of paper and a small box, little bigger than a ring box. With trembling hands she read the paper under her breath. " 'Congratulations, Lily Evans. Through your exemplary grades, you have earned the title of Head Girl. Your coleader, the Head Boy, is James Potter. Inside the attached package, you will find your Head Girl pin. Upon arrival at Hogwarts on September 1, please report immediately to Headmaster Dumbledore for further instructions.' And so on and so forth, signed by Professor McGonagall."
Lily began laughing. "Mum, Dad! I did it! I'm Head Girl!" Seeing the blank looks on her parents' faces, she added with a sigh, "It's like being valedictorian. James is the Head Boy, I can't believe it!"
Her mother ran over and gave her a little hug. "Honey, we're so proud of you!" Her father nodded enthusiastically, Petunia glared. It is going to be a great year, Lily thought to herself with a smile.
With a sigh, she got out of bed anyway. It was early in the morning, but she had to get a start on her chores before Petunia could gripe about how she ALWAYS had to do them when Lily was at school. Her older sister was always whining about something or other, and it had gotten much worse about this time six years ago, when the first owl had brought a message to her house, telling Lily she was accepted to Hogwarts.
Lily was going to begin her seventh year in about three weeks, and she couldn't wait. She had so much to tell Ara and Hazel… and James. She missed everyone so much. A lot had happened over the summer, but life was not especially exciting without the Marauders to jazz everything up, or her two best friends to share it all with.
Students about to enter their seventh year were permitted to use magic outside of school, thankfully. Minor mending and cleaning charms are so useful around the house, Lily thought to herself as she began dusting the furniture, washing the laundry at the same time. A wave of a wand, and all her chores were done in less time than it would take to do one task.
Everyone else in the house was getting up as Lily was finishing. She hurridly put her wand away. Not that her parents were scared of magic or anything. Quite the opposite. They expected her to cast magic to help everyone with their work, and there simply was not enough time in the day. If they saw she had her wand out, there would be at least fifteen different things that they needed her to do.
Lily had put her wand into the big pocket of the pair of shorts she was wearing as she walked into the kitchen. Then she sat down at the counter. "What's for breakfast?"
"French toast, honey," her mother replied sweetly. Her mother was a short, pleasantly plump woman with the same red hair as Lily.
Lily's father came in and sat down. "Good, I'm starving!" He was average height, with blonde hair and green eyes, which Lily had inherited.
"Get out of my way, brat!" Petunia practically shouted as she flew down the stairs and barreled into Lily. Petunia was as graceful as an ostriche, with her gangly limbs and long neck. Her thin face was always snobbish when she looked at her little sister, and her straight, dull blonde hair was pulled back into a bun most of the time.
"Oh, go get a job at the library. They'll hire you on looks alone!" Lily replied irritably. Her sister rivaled some of the worst Slytherins in terms of attitude problem, and Lily was anything but patient around her.
"Oh, be good both of you, for once!" their father grumbled. "Honestly, at seventeen and nineteen, one would think two sisters would get along."
"One would think that a normal family would kick out any freaks that turned up," Petunia replied coldly.
Lily's mother just sighed. She had long since given up any hopes of making peace between the two sisters. "Breakfast!" She laid a heaping stack of French toast on the counter.
All four family members dove into the food. Throughout the meal, Petunia chatted about 'Vernie', her boyfriend of the week. Though no one was listening to her, Petunia continued to babble aimlessly about him.
When the French toast was almost gone, there was a scraping sound at the kitchen window. Lily leaped up to let the tawny owl in, pointedly ignoring her sister's disgust. Lily deftly untied the small package from the owl's leg with one hand as she reached into her pocket for some owl feed. The owl fed and gone, Lily opened her package.
It was a large envelope, thickly padded. Inside it, there were several pieces of Hogwarts stationary. The first paper was simply a list of required materials, like she received every year.
The second paper was inside a sealed envelope. She read aloud, " 'To be opened by Lily Evans and no one else.' Hmm, interesting." Lily tried not to convey her excitement. There were only two things this could be. A prefect letter, or …
Swiftly tearing open the envelope, she found a single piece of paper and a small box, little bigger than a ring box. With trembling hands she read the paper under her breath. " 'Congratulations, Lily Evans. Through your exemplary grades, you have earned the title of Head Girl. Your coleader, the Head Boy, is James Potter. Inside the attached package, you will find your Head Girl pin. Upon arrival at Hogwarts on September 1, please report immediately to Headmaster Dumbledore for further instructions.' And so on and so forth, signed by Professor McGonagall."
Lily began laughing. "Mum, Dad! I did it! I'm Head Girl!" Seeing the blank looks on her parents' faces, she added with a sigh, "It's like being valedictorian. James is the Head Boy, I can't believe it!"
Her mother ran over and gave her a little hug. "Honey, we're so proud of you!" Her father nodded enthusiastically, Petunia glared. It is going to be a great year, Lily thought to herself with a smile.