The usual disclaimers:
None of the characters, places, spells, and names that HP fans recognize
are mine; they belong to JK Rowlings. Also Lily had many similar
experiences to her son while she was growing up, so if you see a few similarities
in some of the events, esp. to the first book, know that no copyright infringement
is intended.
Lily's Beginning: Year One at Hogwarts
By: CNJ
PG-13
1: Beauty and the Freak
Lily:
I was named Lily because every year, my mum's great aunt Beatrice planted lovely purple and blue lilies in her window box in her kitchen. Mum often spent holidays with her as a girl and since she was close to her great-aunt, she has very warm memories of the place. But Beatrice has been gone since I was three, so now it's just Mum, Dad, my older sister Petunia and me.
"Uuuup!" Someone screeched right outside my door that late July two months before my eleventh birthday. "Get up, you little freak...now!" I was jolted out of a slumber by Petunia banging on the door.
"Yehhh..." I rolled over and ran a hand through my long straight red hair. Mum and Dad most likely sent her to wake me up since today we were headed out for a picnic. Company picnic with Mum's company, I remembered, sliding out of bed, rubbing my eyes. Mum's an architect while Dad's a dentist.
"What?!" Petunia screeched. Shut up, I mentally told her. She's fifteen and is the biggest pain in the arse.
"I'm coming..." I muttered. Long ago, I learned that the best way to deal with her is to just stay mostly quiet and out of her way. I get dressed, listening to Petunia thunk down the stairs, ran a brush through my thick red hair, then headed down.
I'd just reached the kitchen when Petunia, who's much taller than me, leaped out from the side closet, smacked my head, shoved me into the closet, then ran into the kitchen herself. Shit, I thought, struggling to regain my balance. I had to extricate myself from the pile of bags, a mop and hangers before continuing into the kitchen, rubbing my head.
"Good morning, Lily dear!" Mum greeted.
"Hello," Dad added, putting more bacon on his plate.
"Mor'ing..." I mumbled, still feeling a bit sleepy. Petunia snickered at me before wolfing down the rest of her pancakes.
"How many pancakes, dear?" Mum asked from the griddle.
"Three..." I told her, bringing my plate over. Petunia muttered some insolent remarks about me being Mummy's girl. I ignored her and sat, pouring myself some orange juice.
Mum and Dad tell me that Petunia's jealous of me because I have special abilities that are extremely rare in this world. I guess I do have great abilities in some areas, mainly musical talent. I love to play the violin in my spare time and was in the band at my primary school.
But there are other things that none of us have been able to explain...it'll sound bizarre, but I sometimes lift things by just looking at them. I also remember a time when Petunia sneaked into my room at night and cut my hair off, but the next day it grew back to the shoulder-length it had been. Mum and Dad had been astonished, then relieved while Petunia had nearly been sick as a pig with disgust. It was around that time that she starting referring to me as a freak.
I'm so glad she's not in the same school with me now; she's starting her fifth year of secondary school in September while I'll be starting a different secondary school. Mum, Dad, and I have talked about the possibility of me going to Crestmeade School, which specializes in the arts.
I'd love to try it since at my primary school, some kids saw me as an oddball and often made fun of me. Last year especially was bad and this one boy taunted me as a freak just like Petunia. No doubt Petunia has told some of her friends what a weird little thing I am.
They used to come around and Petunia would play some nasty prank on me and her friends would laugh. I'd try to pretend it didn't bother me, but it always hurt and sometimes I'd end up in tears. If Mum was upstairs or something, I'd cry in her arms and she'd stroke me, telling me to try not to let Petunia get to me. It's easier said than done.
Now since early last year, Petunia has been seeing a Vernon Dursley, who's two years older than her. Her other friends haven't been around as much ever since. I guess I should be relieved, but the truth is, Vernon isn't much better. I've heard them snickering about me once or twice and Vernon sometimes looks at me with a curled lip. So I stay out of their way.
"So, Mum, can Vernon come on this trip?" Petunia asked, running a comb through her light-brown hair.
"I'm afraid not, dear," Mum told her. "It's just family."
"But Vernon's almost like family," Petunia insisted. "And you let Lily bring her weird friend with us on that little culture shenanigan."
"That was a school affair," Dad told her. "This is different."
"It's aaaaalwaaaays different with the little freak!" Petunia screeched, glaring at me. I silently finished my buttered toast and methodically licked my fingers, hoping that Petunia wouldn't find some way to rope Mum and Dad into letting Vernon join us. Just the thought of it made my breakfast lurch in my stomach.
"Petunia!" Mum told her firmly.
"I know, I know, don't call your sister naaames," Petunia mimicked, getting up noisily and throwing her plate into the sink.
"She spoils everything, yet you always stick up for her."
"That's enough," Mum told her firmly. "We have half an hour to get ready." Letting out my breath in relief, I headed upstairs to brush my teeth and finish getting ready.
Combing out my bangs, I looked at the face in the mirror. A strange face, some would say. Large greenish-hazel eyes framed by thick brows, a wide rather flat snub nose and plump full lips. Still very short, only about four-seven.
Mum says soon I'll be going through a growth spurt, within the next few years. I ran the comb through my straight, rather messy red hair, debated on putting it into a ponytail, but decided to leave it loose and headed downstairs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The day had started out cloudy, but had cleared by the time we got to the park near Picadilly Circus. Most of Mum's co-workers were there and Mum introduced Petunia, Dad, and me to them.
What a swell day, I thought, looking around. The recent hot spell had broken and it was a pleasant warm, but not hot or humid.
We grabbed some food, then a while later, I saw a frisbee game going and asked my parents if I could join. They nodded, so I went. Some of them were kids a year or two older than me while the rest were adults. I slid into the game quietly and even caught the frisbee a few times.
"Aaaand she catches it again!" a teenage girl bellowed when I caught it twice in a row. Around me, players applauded. I blushed some and tossed the frisbee to the girl, who caught it and tossed it on.
"Hi, I'm Alice Forrester..." she grinned at me. "You are...?"
"Lily Evans..." I smiled back at her. "Pleasure meeting you."
"Me too," Alice told me. "Your parents work for Builders and Etcetera?"
"Mum does...she's an architect, so my family's here for the picnic."
"My dad's a builder for them," Alice told me. "Aaaand here it comes, here it comes!" The frisbee was sailing toward us. We ran toward it and I had it nearly in my outstretched hand when I tripped over something and wound up flat on my arse. Not to mention in a muddy patch too. I heard laughter and saw none other than Petunia behind me. The frisbee was way down the field.
"Looks like you never looked out, did you, freak?" Petunia jeered and went into another roar of laughter. It's hard to say how it happened next, but as I glowered at her, she'd vanished from above me and I heard her yowl and looked around as I stood up.
People began to laugh and point in the direction of the comedians and artists. I followed their gazes and saw Petunia right in the middle of the horse corral with a horses' costume over her body while her face was painted to look like a donkey. I had to stifle a smile myself. Petunia ran out of the corral, screeching and pulling off the costume.
"That little freak!" she screamed, running toward Mum and Dad, who'd sat up and looked puzzled. Petunia kicked off the last of the costume and threw it across the field, nearly smacking a couple under a tree. "She did it!!!" Petunia carried on like this for I don't know how long while Mum and Dad tried to calm her down.
"I didn't do anything," I told them, coming up to them. "I...she tripped me and I fell and the next thing...she was in the corral with the paint and costume. I don't know how it happened."
"Oh, stop with the innocent act, you little witch!" Petunia screamed.
"Petunia, calm yourself," Mum told her firmly. "I'm sure it was an accident. Let's get you cleaned off...there's a washroom over there..."
"And I'm not spending another minute with that weirdo! Petunia snapped, storming off. "I knew coming here was a mistake!" A lot of people were looking at us by then and I felt my face redden in embarrassment.
"I really didn't know..."
"It's all right, dear," Dad told me, stroking my arm. I sat shakily and Mum offered me a can of grape juice, which I took. The frisbee game went on and Petunia didn't come back. I saw her in the distance stalk over to the car and sit in it, probably pouting. Good, she wasn't rejoining us. Mostly, it's just easier if she's not with us. She acts like a spoiled jackass too often.
On the way home, Petunia kept sulking while my parents and I talked around here. Once in a while she'd make a t sound and heave a gusty, I guess hoping to ruin the rest of our day. But we just ignored her. I couldn't wait until September when school started again.
More later!