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no profit from this, so there)
The Flower Chronicles: Chapter 2: Leaky Cauldron Chaos
Lily woke up to screeches of her 14- year- old sister, Petunia, "LILY!!!!!!!!!!!!" Not a pleasant sound, I guarantee it. Unwillingly Lily pulled herself out of bed, and stood up. She reached back, stretching, when she knocked something off of her nightstand. It was an envelope, a letter, a letter inviting her to a school of witchcraft and wizardry. Reading a book. Staying up late. A lecture. An owl. A letter. A squeaky stair. A father angrier than words can express. And confusion.
There was nothing she could do about it. Except, go downstairs and explain it to her parents. All of it. I mean, it couldn't be that bad, right? They were parents, they would love her, normal or not, right? Petunia. Petunia was a different story. Lily couldn't help but imagine the look that would most likely inhabit Petunia's horse- resembling face. She shuddered at the thought.
Lily began to make her way out of her bedroom but stopped abruptly when she noticed that she had never changed into her pajamas and she knew that her parents would get suspicious. Her door still shut and locked, she turned to her closet, pulled out a pair of silk, lavender pajamas and quickly slipped them on. The events of the night before came flooding back to her. Once dressed, or undressed however you want to look at it, Lily made her way down the stairs toward the kitchen and warm aroma of waffles and pancakes, yellow envelope and parchment gripped tightly in her nervous left hand.
When she entered the split kitchen and dining room, heads looked up to examine the new-comer that was much expected, but Lily wasn't so sure she was much wanted that morning. Richard Evans looked up from his coffee and newspaper just to give her a quick smile, while Petunia just scowled at her and her mother shook her head sadly. Really! What WAS their PROBLEM! It wasn't like Lily was a highly wanted criminal or something! Or was there something that Lily didn't know that they were upset about?
Faking a smile, Lily sat down at the dining room table and made an "Ahem," sound. Lily was surprised. Everyone all of a sudden paid her full attention. "Um.Well.Mum, Dad, Petunia?" In response, all anyone did was nod, as a signal for Lily to just continue. "Well, maybe it was just be easiest if you looked over this letter I received last night, before I go on that is, Dad?" She gestured for her father to take the letter and read it.
Her father reached for the letter and Lily could see how his hand slightly shook slightly when he touched the envelope containing his daughter's acceptance letter. Lily looked up at her mother, only to see that her mother seemed to be just as confused and worried as she herself was.
Richard slowly pulled the piece of yellow parchment out of the thick envelope, fingers still trembling. You could see his eyes scanning the paper, looking for something, settling on it, and then you could see his thin, pale lips curve into a smile.
Lily opened her mouth to ask him why he was smiling but he spoke before she could even get out a word, "It's real, Lily dear. It's true, he wasn't lying."
Richard Evans looked up at his family to see how confused they were, and decided that he needed to do some explaining, "Alright, well you see, my brother, Anthony, the one that we don't get to see much, well he is a wizard." Richard smiled as his family's eyes bugged out and jaws dropped to the floor. "Anyways he got a letter the summer he turned eleven also. Went off to this same school and graduated, one of the top in his class. Afterwards, he became an auror, someone who fights dark wizards. At the ministry of magic, where he worked, he met a seer, fell in love and they got married. He told me that one night, they were sitting by the fire, just talking, and he mentioned that your mother and I had just had you, Lily. He says right off she went into a full-on trance and predicted that you too would be a witch and meet---well, I'm afraid, Lily, dear that it's not my place to tell you yet, I'm sure that you will figure it out for yourself in time." Lily was a bit disappointed that he wasn't going to tell her anymore, but before she could protest her father spoke up again, "So you DO want to go don't you?" Lily hadn't been sure if she wanted to go or not but at that moment she thought the hope and spark in her father's eyes that she hadn't seen there for so long that she knew her answer right away, "Yes, Daddy, yes."
Lily immediately rushed up the stairs grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled down her reply to the invitation, yes, she could go. She rolled up the paper and tied it to the owl that had been resting in her bedroom's leg. As soon as she opened her bedroom window the owl was off and within seconds, out of sight.
The day went by rather slowly, as Lily became more and more excited each moment, and Lily couldn't wait for the day, when she could step foot into the magical world, to start.
Three days after Lily received her letter to Hogwarts, on Saturday morning, she awoke to birds singing outside her window as the sunshine parted her curtains. At first she didn't want to get up, well at least not until she remembered that today was the day that she made her first trip ever to Diagon Alley. She woke up and simply dressed in some blue jean capris and a plain lavender t-shirt. She stretched and French-braided her own long silky red hair. Slipping on her sandals she skipped down to breakfast, sure that she was going to have a wonderful day.
She could smell the sweet smell of pancakes coming from the kitchen. She walked into see her mother still cooking breakfast, her father reading the paper, and her sister sitting, just sitting, oh and glaring at Lily. Lily didn't really understand this, I mean it wasn't HER fault that she was a witch and Petunia wasn't. I mean what did Petunia really expect Lily to do about it? Oh well, she wasn't going to let Petunia ruin her day.
As Lily sat there with her family, quietly eating breakfast, her mother spoke up, "I'm so happy for you Lily, we are so proud. But by chance, do you know how to get to this "Diagon Alley"? Because I know that I sure don't, and if you don't maybe your father does." Lily turned to her father expectantly and he nodded.
After breakfast the Evans family piled into their car, all of their faces filled with different expressions. Lily was excited, while Mr. Evans was proud, Mrs. Evans face filled with worry, while Petunia's filled with hate and disgust.
Just when Lily was about to ask the infamous question, "Are we there yet?" her father answered it. "Here we are, dear. The Leaky Cauldron." Her father looked proud of himself for even remembering such a place. Lily laughed, flung open the door and jumped out of the parked car, practically skipping as she made her way toward the doors of the wizarding pub.
She walked in the door, completely forgetting about the rest of her family. She was in momentary shock. It was just a dark and shabby old pub, yet all the same, filled with as many customers as it was filled with smoke. If this was all the magical world was, well, is it all that great? Lily decided to shake that idea out of her head, she never liked to judge a book by its cover, or in this case a world by its pub.
She turned to hear the bell on the door ring behind her. Expecting to see her family she smiled, but they weren't the only ones to enter. Petunia was desperately holding on to her father's coat and her mother was trying to find comfort in his shoulder. Her father just looked scared and panic-stricken. Following in Lily's family were men (or so Lily assumed) in black hooded robes, so you wouldn't be able to see their faces. Within less than moments of their entrance the whole pub became chaos. There were screams, and tears, people ran anywhere for cover. Lily didn't know what else to do, so she ran up grabbed her sister's hand and pulled her behind the counter, knowing that her parents would follow. Thank God that they did. Lily quietly stuck her head out when the noise and chaos had seemed to die down, what she saw made her gasp. There were people just sprawled out on the floor, looking as if they were untouched, yet she knew they weren't breathing. The noise had been so loud that she hadn't been able to hear how those---those---things killed them. She looked around but all of the---murderers---seemed to be gone. No matter how much her parents begged her to stay under the counter until someone said something, she got out. That's probably what everyone else was waiting for too, someone to say that it was okay to come out.
"They're gone." Those two words caused a lot of commotion. People came out of their hiding spots tears rimmed their eyes, screaming and letting those tears fall when they saw their loved ones dead on the floor. It made her cry too. What would Lily have done without her family? She loved them dearly, even Petunia. No matter how much sometimes Petunia made Lily's life a living hell, she was her sister and she loved her.
Lily saw the bartender, Tom, well at least that what she had heard people call him, sitting on one of the barstools elbows resting on his knees, head in his hands. Lily pitied him, not only was his pub invaded and destroyed by those---things, but it looked like he had lost someone. Probably the love of his life, Lily thought looking at the young woman lying at his feet. Her long blonde hair fanned across the floor and her back, even though she was lying on her stomach on the floor, and no longer was alive, Lily could tell that she was beautiful, as her tall slender figure lay in a heap on the floor. Lily heard Tom mumble between his sobs. "Oh Julie, why did you have to leave me? Why now? I am so lost. I promise you I will never love again." Once again the scene filled Lily's eyes with tears. She knew that it wasn't necessarily the time to talk to him, but he needed to get up, he couldn't sit there forever, besides Lily still had to get her school supplies, still Lily couldn't help but feel a twang of guilt in her stomach as she approached the young bartender.
"Ahem." Tom looked up at her, eyes filled with pain and sadness but saw the small girl and the look of guilt and sorrow that rested upon her face, "It's alright dear, nobody here's fault, they have been after her for years now, that's what you get when you have a gift, when you're special, when you're different from the rest." He smiled sympathetically, more to himself that anyone else, but still trying to make Lily feel better. "Sir, I'm still really sorry to interrupt, but I still need to get my school supplies." "Of course dear, just come with me now, and you have your parents with you, I assume?" He smiled and started heading toward the back of the pub. "Oh yes, of course, how could I forget, I will go get them right away." Lily smiled back at him and ran to her family, still crouched behind the counter, pulled them out and dragged them towards Tom.
They followed Tom into a small alley behind the pub and faced a wall of bricks. Lily's dad started to speak up but Tom cut him off, "I know you, Evans, and I know you know. Don't give everything away." Richard Evans looked shocked but still couldn't suppress a small grin, Tom was right.
Lily watched as Tom pulled out a long stick, that she guessed to be his wand, and tap a few bricks on the wall. Slowly but surely, the bricks on the wall began shifting and within moments, before her eyes there was an archway opening up to a long street of crammed shop and stores. Tom must have been able to read her mind or something, "it's called Diagon Alley, dear." Everyone, including Petunia, smiled. Although, when Petunia realized she was smiling and that everyone had seen it, she quickly tried to cover it up. Lily didn't care what her sister did though. All she cared about at that moment was exploring Diagon Alley---oh, and of course, getting her school supplies.
The Flower Chronicles: Chapter 2: Leaky Cauldron Chaos
Lily woke up to screeches of her 14- year- old sister, Petunia, "LILY!!!!!!!!!!!!" Not a pleasant sound, I guarantee it. Unwillingly Lily pulled herself out of bed, and stood up. She reached back, stretching, when she knocked something off of her nightstand. It was an envelope, a letter, a letter inviting her to a school of witchcraft and wizardry. Reading a book. Staying up late. A lecture. An owl. A letter. A squeaky stair. A father angrier than words can express. And confusion.
There was nothing she could do about it. Except, go downstairs and explain it to her parents. All of it. I mean, it couldn't be that bad, right? They were parents, they would love her, normal or not, right? Petunia. Petunia was a different story. Lily couldn't help but imagine the look that would most likely inhabit Petunia's horse- resembling face. She shuddered at the thought.
Lily began to make her way out of her bedroom but stopped abruptly when she noticed that she had never changed into her pajamas and she knew that her parents would get suspicious. Her door still shut and locked, she turned to her closet, pulled out a pair of silk, lavender pajamas and quickly slipped them on. The events of the night before came flooding back to her. Once dressed, or undressed however you want to look at it, Lily made her way down the stairs toward the kitchen and warm aroma of waffles and pancakes, yellow envelope and parchment gripped tightly in her nervous left hand.
When she entered the split kitchen and dining room, heads looked up to examine the new-comer that was much expected, but Lily wasn't so sure she was much wanted that morning. Richard Evans looked up from his coffee and newspaper just to give her a quick smile, while Petunia just scowled at her and her mother shook her head sadly. Really! What WAS their PROBLEM! It wasn't like Lily was a highly wanted criminal or something! Or was there something that Lily didn't know that they were upset about?
Faking a smile, Lily sat down at the dining room table and made an "Ahem," sound. Lily was surprised. Everyone all of a sudden paid her full attention. "Um.Well.Mum, Dad, Petunia?" In response, all anyone did was nod, as a signal for Lily to just continue. "Well, maybe it was just be easiest if you looked over this letter I received last night, before I go on that is, Dad?" She gestured for her father to take the letter and read it.
Her father reached for the letter and Lily could see how his hand slightly shook slightly when he touched the envelope containing his daughter's acceptance letter. Lily looked up at her mother, only to see that her mother seemed to be just as confused and worried as she herself was.
Richard slowly pulled the piece of yellow parchment out of the thick envelope, fingers still trembling. You could see his eyes scanning the paper, looking for something, settling on it, and then you could see his thin, pale lips curve into a smile.
Lily opened her mouth to ask him why he was smiling but he spoke before she could even get out a word, "It's real, Lily dear. It's true, he wasn't lying."
Richard Evans looked up at his family to see how confused they were, and decided that he needed to do some explaining, "Alright, well you see, my brother, Anthony, the one that we don't get to see much, well he is a wizard." Richard smiled as his family's eyes bugged out and jaws dropped to the floor. "Anyways he got a letter the summer he turned eleven also. Went off to this same school and graduated, one of the top in his class. Afterwards, he became an auror, someone who fights dark wizards. At the ministry of magic, where he worked, he met a seer, fell in love and they got married. He told me that one night, they were sitting by the fire, just talking, and he mentioned that your mother and I had just had you, Lily. He says right off she went into a full-on trance and predicted that you too would be a witch and meet---well, I'm afraid, Lily, dear that it's not my place to tell you yet, I'm sure that you will figure it out for yourself in time." Lily was a bit disappointed that he wasn't going to tell her anymore, but before she could protest her father spoke up again, "So you DO want to go don't you?" Lily hadn't been sure if she wanted to go or not but at that moment she thought the hope and spark in her father's eyes that she hadn't seen there for so long that she knew her answer right away, "Yes, Daddy, yes."
Lily immediately rushed up the stairs grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled down her reply to the invitation, yes, she could go. She rolled up the paper and tied it to the owl that had been resting in her bedroom's leg. As soon as she opened her bedroom window the owl was off and within seconds, out of sight.
The day went by rather slowly, as Lily became more and more excited each moment, and Lily couldn't wait for the day, when she could step foot into the magical world, to start.
Three days after Lily received her letter to Hogwarts, on Saturday morning, she awoke to birds singing outside her window as the sunshine parted her curtains. At first she didn't want to get up, well at least not until she remembered that today was the day that she made her first trip ever to Diagon Alley. She woke up and simply dressed in some blue jean capris and a plain lavender t-shirt. She stretched and French-braided her own long silky red hair. Slipping on her sandals she skipped down to breakfast, sure that she was going to have a wonderful day.
She could smell the sweet smell of pancakes coming from the kitchen. She walked into see her mother still cooking breakfast, her father reading the paper, and her sister sitting, just sitting, oh and glaring at Lily. Lily didn't really understand this, I mean it wasn't HER fault that she was a witch and Petunia wasn't. I mean what did Petunia really expect Lily to do about it? Oh well, she wasn't going to let Petunia ruin her day.
As Lily sat there with her family, quietly eating breakfast, her mother spoke up, "I'm so happy for you Lily, we are so proud. But by chance, do you know how to get to this "Diagon Alley"? Because I know that I sure don't, and if you don't maybe your father does." Lily turned to her father expectantly and he nodded.
After breakfast the Evans family piled into their car, all of their faces filled with different expressions. Lily was excited, while Mr. Evans was proud, Mrs. Evans face filled with worry, while Petunia's filled with hate and disgust.
Just when Lily was about to ask the infamous question, "Are we there yet?" her father answered it. "Here we are, dear. The Leaky Cauldron." Her father looked proud of himself for even remembering such a place. Lily laughed, flung open the door and jumped out of the parked car, practically skipping as she made her way toward the doors of the wizarding pub.
She walked in the door, completely forgetting about the rest of her family. She was in momentary shock. It was just a dark and shabby old pub, yet all the same, filled with as many customers as it was filled with smoke. If this was all the magical world was, well, is it all that great? Lily decided to shake that idea out of her head, she never liked to judge a book by its cover, or in this case a world by its pub.
She turned to hear the bell on the door ring behind her. Expecting to see her family she smiled, but they weren't the only ones to enter. Petunia was desperately holding on to her father's coat and her mother was trying to find comfort in his shoulder. Her father just looked scared and panic-stricken. Following in Lily's family were men (or so Lily assumed) in black hooded robes, so you wouldn't be able to see their faces. Within less than moments of their entrance the whole pub became chaos. There were screams, and tears, people ran anywhere for cover. Lily didn't know what else to do, so she ran up grabbed her sister's hand and pulled her behind the counter, knowing that her parents would follow. Thank God that they did. Lily quietly stuck her head out when the noise and chaos had seemed to die down, what she saw made her gasp. There were people just sprawled out on the floor, looking as if they were untouched, yet she knew they weren't breathing. The noise had been so loud that she hadn't been able to hear how those---those---things killed them. She looked around but all of the---murderers---seemed to be gone. No matter how much her parents begged her to stay under the counter until someone said something, she got out. That's probably what everyone else was waiting for too, someone to say that it was okay to come out.
"They're gone." Those two words caused a lot of commotion. People came out of their hiding spots tears rimmed their eyes, screaming and letting those tears fall when they saw their loved ones dead on the floor. It made her cry too. What would Lily have done without her family? She loved them dearly, even Petunia. No matter how much sometimes Petunia made Lily's life a living hell, she was her sister and she loved her.
Lily saw the bartender, Tom, well at least that what she had heard people call him, sitting on one of the barstools elbows resting on his knees, head in his hands. Lily pitied him, not only was his pub invaded and destroyed by those---things, but it looked like he had lost someone. Probably the love of his life, Lily thought looking at the young woman lying at his feet. Her long blonde hair fanned across the floor and her back, even though she was lying on her stomach on the floor, and no longer was alive, Lily could tell that she was beautiful, as her tall slender figure lay in a heap on the floor. Lily heard Tom mumble between his sobs. "Oh Julie, why did you have to leave me? Why now? I am so lost. I promise you I will never love again." Once again the scene filled Lily's eyes with tears. She knew that it wasn't necessarily the time to talk to him, but he needed to get up, he couldn't sit there forever, besides Lily still had to get her school supplies, still Lily couldn't help but feel a twang of guilt in her stomach as she approached the young bartender.
"Ahem." Tom looked up at her, eyes filled with pain and sadness but saw the small girl and the look of guilt and sorrow that rested upon her face, "It's alright dear, nobody here's fault, they have been after her for years now, that's what you get when you have a gift, when you're special, when you're different from the rest." He smiled sympathetically, more to himself that anyone else, but still trying to make Lily feel better. "Sir, I'm still really sorry to interrupt, but I still need to get my school supplies." "Of course dear, just come with me now, and you have your parents with you, I assume?" He smiled and started heading toward the back of the pub. "Oh yes, of course, how could I forget, I will go get them right away." Lily smiled back at him and ran to her family, still crouched behind the counter, pulled them out and dragged them towards Tom.
They followed Tom into a small alley behind the pub and faced a wall of bricks. Lily's dad started to speak up but Tom cut him off, "I know you, Evans, and I know you know. Don't give everything away." Richard Evans looked shocked but still couldn't suppress a small grin, Tom was right.
Lily watched as Tom pulled out a long stick, that she guessed to be his wand, and tap a few bricks on the wall. Slowly but surely, the bricks on the wall began shifting and within moments, before her eyes there was an archway opening up to a long street of crammed shop and stores. Tom must have been able to read her mind or something, "it's called Diagon Alley, dear." Everyone, including Petunia, smiled. Although, when Petunia realized she was smiling and that everyone had seen it, she quickly tried to cover it up. Lily didn't care what her sister did though. All she cared about at that moment was exploring Diagon Alley---oh, and of course, getting her school supplies.