That night, alone in her bed, Lily recalled the day's events. Sirius
had walked her home and they had kissed once more on Lily's porch. It was
not as long as their first kiss, mostly because Lily had heard Petunia
approaching the door, and did not want to be seen by her older sister, so
Sirius had left before Petunia had seen him. Her mother had called to her
telling her she had had an owl. Lauranna had written to her. Lily got out
of bed, since sleep was not so easy in coming to her, and read the letter
once again.
Dearest Lily, How was your summer? Mine was not so great. I studied half the time. Oh, did I tell you that Severus Snape wrote to me? I have no clue why, but I think he likes me, but I truly don't like him. He hangs out with people that are too interested in the dark arts. Oh, did you hear of You-Know- Who's attack on some muggles? I heard that he showed up on Knights' Hill and murdered the Prewetts. I remember when Anna Prewett used to go to school, it was only five years ago, only her name wasn't Prewett then, it was Johnson. It feels really wierd, knowing someone years ago, and finding out they died. The story was all over the Daily Prophet, but since you don't get the Daily Prophet, I assumed you didn't hear about it. Rita Skeeter wrote the story, she is quite young and inexperienced, and yet so good at lying. Anyway, just watch out for You-Know-Who, as he is getting stronger. He generally targets strong witches and wizards, and then corners them somewhere to ask thm to join him, and you are pretty strong, so I suggest you stay out of dark alleys for the time being. Well, keep in touch, although school starts in three days, (but it will probably be two when you finally get this), so you can just send me one owl and that would be good enough for me. See you on September the First! Love Always, Lauranna
Since Lily couldn't sleep, she decided to write to Lauranna. She picked up a quill and a piece of parchment, and wrote:
Dearest Lauranna, My summer was not so great either. I have a friend named Maia, but she lives next door to none other than Sirius Black! Anyway, I didn't find out until Maia came over with him and said that they were going out. She invited me to come along with them on a picnic. Sirius also brought a friend: James. We had a great time 'til nightfall. I went to the lakeside alone, and Sirius followed me. We couldn't even stay five feet away from each other, Lauranna! Anyway, we kissed, and got caught by Maia. And that's not the worst part! Maia turned out to be from Durmstrang! And, she is transferring to Hogwarts! Oh, this is so bad! Not only have I ruined a lifelong friendship, but I also will have to put up with her at school. Oh, I feel so guilty. Anyway, she broke up with Sirius, and kissed James while he was comforting her! Then, she flirted with him the whole rest of the time! And, she knows how to apparate and disapparate! We all saw her! She will get a big surprise next year when she finds out she can't do magic over the summer! She wants to be in Slytherin, so watch out! I think I have a rival. Love Always, Lily
Lily tied the letter to the leg of her snowy owl Angel, and watched her fly off into the night. She thought about the Prewetts. She had known Anna, and had even been at her wedding three summers ago. It had been so beautiful, and a tear slid down Lily's cheek as she thought about Anna. Anna had been so pretty, and even though she had been in Ravenclaw, she had always seemed like the big sister Lily had always wanted. Then, all of a sudden, Sirius appeared in her mind. She thought of him standing next to her by the lake, and how she had felt. She tried to recall the exact feeling she had when he kissed her. It was something between the soaring of doves and the flitting of butterflies, Lily didn't know which was the feeling she liked the most. And then, for reasons she couldn't explain, James's face popped into her head. It was odd, how she couldn't think of Sirius without James, or of James without Sirius. It was as if someone said, "You can't have one without the other." Well, that was certainly true. Lily couldn't imagine James without Sirius as his best friend, or vice versa. Lily slowly drifted off to sleep, pondering all these things. The next day, Lily went to Diagon Alley to get her things. She got there by the London Underground. Her mother decided not to come this time, but gave Lily the money instead. Once in Diagon Alley, she exchanged her pounds for galleons, and went out to buy her things. The first thing she needed was her uniform. Her old robes, no matter how hard she tried to keep them as good as new, had somehow gotten frayed in her mother's washing machine. So, she went into Madam Malkins first. She also bought dress robes, which she would wear to the Yule Ball, and other such occasions. They were green, to accent the color of her eyes, and a deep emerald green at that. Then, she went to the Apothecary to refill her potion ingredients. After that, she found Lauranna outside Flourish and Blotts, where she bought all of her sixth year books. After going to the cauldron shop and all of the other stores, she decided to buy one thing for herself with the remaining ten galleons. Her and Lauranna were debating what to buy, when Lily felt a soft tap on her shoulder.
Dearest Lily, How was your summer? Mine was not so great. I studied half the time. Oh, did I tell you that Severus Snape wrote to me? I have no clue why, but I think he likes me, but I truly don't like him. He hangs out with people that are too interested in the dark arts. Oh, did you hear of You-Know- Who's attack on some muggles? I heard that he showed up on Knights' Hill and murdered the Prewetts. I remember when Anna Prewett used to go to school, it was only five years ago, only her name wasn't Prewett then, it was Johnson. It feels really wierd, knowing someone years ago, and finding out they died. The story was all over the Daily Prophet, but since you don't get the Daily Prophet, I assumed you didn't hear about it. Rita Skeeter wrote the story, she is quite young and inexperienced, and yet so good at lying. Anyway, just watch out for You-Know-Who, as he is getting stronger. He generally targets strong witches and wizards, and then corners them somewhere to ask thm to join him, and you are pretty strong, so I suggest you stay out of dark alleys for the time being. Well, keep in touch, although school starts in three days, (but it will probably be two when you finally get this), so you can just send me one owl and that would be good enough for me. See you on September the First! Love Always, Lauranna
Since Lily couldn't sleep, she decided to write to Lauranna. She picked up a quill and a piece of parchment, and wrote:
Dearest Lauranna, My summer was not so great either. I have a friend named Maia, but she lives next door to none other than Sirius Black! Anyway, I didn't find out until Maia came over with him and said that they were going out. She invited me to come along with them on a picnic. Sirius also brought a friend: James. We had a great time 'til nightfall. I went to the lakeside alone, and Sirius followed me. We couldn't even stay five feet away from each other, Lauranna! Anyway, we kissed, and got caught by Maia. And that's not the worst part! Maia turned out to be from Durmstrang! And, she is transferring to Hogwarts! Oh, this is so bad! Not only have I ruined a lifelong friendship, but I also will have to put up with her at school. Oh, I feel so guilty. Anyway, she broke up with Sirius, and kissed James while he was comforting her! Then, she flirted with him the whole rest of the time! And, she knows how to apparate and disapparate! We all saw her! She will get a big surprise next year when she finds out she can't do magic over the summer! She wants to be in Slytherin, so watch out! I think I have a rival. Love Always, Lily
Lily tied the letter to the leg of her snowy owl Angel, and watched her fly off into the night. She thought about the Prewetts. She had known Anna, and had even been at her wedding three summers ago. It had been so beautiful, and a tear slid down Lily's cheek as she thought about Anna. Anna had been so pretty, and even though she had been in Ravenclaw, she had always seemed like the big sister Lily had always wanted. Then, all of a sudden, Sirius appeared in her mind. She thought of him standing next to her by the lake, and how she had felt. She tried to recall the exact feeling she had when he kissed her. It was something between the soaring of doves and the flitting of butterflies, Lily didn't know which was the feeling she liked the most. And then, for reasons she couldn't explain, James's face popped into her head. It was odd, how she couldn't think of Sirius without James, or of James without Sirius. It was as if someone said, "You can't have one without the other." Well, that was certainly true. Lily couldn't imagine James without Sirius as his best friend, or vice versa. Lily slowly drifted off to sleep, pondering all these things. The next day, Lily went to Diagon Alley to get her things. She got there by the London Underground. Her mother decided not to come this time, but gave Lily the money instead. Once in Diagon Alley, she exchanged her pounds for galleons, and went out to buy her things. The first thing she needed was her uniform. Her old robes, no matter how hard she tried to keep them as good as new, had somehow gotten frayed in her mother's washing machine. So, she went into Madam Malkins first. She also bought dress robes, which she would wear to the Yule Ball, and other such occasions. They were green, to accent the color of her eyes, and a deep emerald green at that. Then, she went to the Apothecary to refill her potion ingredients. After that, she found Lauranna outside Flourish and Blotts, where she bought all of her sixth year books. After going to the cauldron shop and all of the other stores, she decided to buy one thing for herself with the remaining ten galleons. Her and Lauranna were debating what to buy, when Lily felt a soft tap on her shoulder.