Disclaimer: JKR thought it, I filled in the gaps.
Chapter Two - Of Magic Cats
Lily climbed out of bed and walked towards the window, her feet padding gently on the carpet. When she reached the window, the cat stopped moving and sat and stared.
Lily pulled her desk chair from across the room and pulled up a chair to stare at the cat. Then the cat did something very strange. It stood on its back two legs and encircled itself with the front two, almost as a human would if it were cold. Then the cat began to shake. Taking pity, Lily went to the window and opened it just a crack. The cat leapt into her arms.
Lily shut the window with one hand, stroking the cat and crooning at it. "Poor little kitty. You must be hungry. I'll go make you some warm milk."
"That won't be necessary, dear." Lily turned around and the cat was gone. In its place, a tall, severe woman of about seventy was staring at her.
The woman muttered a word before Lily could scream. When she opened her mouth to speak, nothing came out. She then started yelling, screaming, but there was no sound.
"Calm yourself, my dear. I'm not going to hurt you. I just wanted to make sure no one else was aware of my visit."
"Who are you? Leave me alone!" Lily said, getting ready to threaten the older woman before she remembered she had no voice.
At this, the woman smiled and laughed. "Oh, you'll be a Gryffindor for sure!"
The woman laughed again at Lily's confused look.
"I'm sorry, dear. Let me introduce myself. My name is Minerva McGonagall. I'm the head of Gryffindor house at Hogwarts, and I'm also the deputy headmistress.
Lily remembered something. She inaudibly gasped, then pointed at a piece of paper on her desk.
"Yes," the woman said, smiling more broadly, "it was I who sent you your letter. Now, if you nod your head that you won't scream, I'll remove the silencing charm."
Lily nodded, flabbergasted, at the woman.
"But I thought.I thought this was all a cruel hoax of my sister's. Magic doesn't exist! It's not real!"
"My poor dear! Magic is VERY real. What have those Muggles been teaching you?"
"Muggles?"
"Our word for non-magical folk, Lily."
Lily nodded. This couldn't be real. She was going to wake up, and she'd be in bed, and it would be morning, and there would be no more of this nonsense ever again.
"I know what you're thinking, Lily. I thought it too, when I first got my letter. But you ARE a witch, and magic DOES exist. Watch."
The woman pulled a long, thin stick out of her pocket and muttered something about wings to one of Lily's pencils. It floated above the woman, as if on her command. But that was impossible. Magic didn't exist.
Lily walked over to the woman's stick, feeling it for the wire the woman must have tied to the stick.
"There's no wire, dear. It is magic, whether you choose to believe me or not."
"Magic only exists in fairy tales."
"Is that so? How did I make the pencil float? How did I take away your voice so you couldn't scream?"
"You're a hypnotist, you've hypnotized me."
"My dear, Muggles really WILL go to any lengths to deny the existence of magic. Let's look at it a different way. Has anything strange ever happened to you when you were angry or upset?"
"There was one time, when I was four.I thought my sister was drowning. And I was halfway across the lake, but I got to her much too fast."
"And you don't honestly believe that this was a result of you swimming fast, do you dear?"
"Well.not really, but what other explanation could there be? For eleven years, I've grown up learning magic doesn't exist. There's no way to explain the adjustments I'm going through right now."
"I understand that, dear. And once you go to Hogwarts-for you WILL go to Hogwarts, even if I have to drag you there myself, you'll learn that magic is a real, powerful thing."
"But how do I convince myself and my parents that magic really is real? I'm sure when I wake up in the morning I'll consider this all a very strange dream."
"Even if you do, we will be sending a ministry official to your home in three days time to explain our world to you and your parents. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got other doubting Muggle-borns I must see before daylight. Good night, Miss Evans."
Lily turned to bid the odd woman good night, but before she could, she heard a small pop. When she looked around her room, she found the woman had disappeared.
*****
Lily woke to the sunlight streaming through her open window.
Odd, she thought. I don't remember leaving the window open last night. WAIT A MIN-
"Lily! Lily darling! It's time to wake up! I made your favorite breakfast, waffles with whipped cream and chocolate chips!"
"Coming, Mum," Lily replied before she remembered why she wasn't speaking to her mother.
Lily paced her room, trying to decide what to do. On the one hand, if she went downstairs, she could tell Mum that magic really was real. On the other hand, if she went downstairs, she'd have to pretend she wasn't mad anymore.
"Lily dear, your breakfast is getting cold," Mum sang up the stairs.
"I'm coming, but only because I'm hungry, not because I like the company," Lily shouted back.
Lily donned her traditional moping clothes-black jeans, a black turtleneck, a beret, and dark sunglasses, sucked in a breath, and went downstairs.
"Freak," Petunia hissed at Lily.
"Here you are girls," Mrs. Evans said, coming in from the kitchen and setting a plate in front of each of them. Lily glared in response. Unfortunately, this was ineffective, as she was wearing sunglasses.
"Lily dear, please take off those sunglasses. I like to be able to see your eyes," Mrs. Evans said.
"You may like a lot of things, mother, but that doesn't mean you get them," Lily hissed back.
"Lily, you shouldn't talk to Mum that way. She's an adult to be respected and loved," Petunia said in a high falsetto, batting her eyelashes. "And she's not a freak," she growled across the table.
"Petunia, stop calling your sister names. Lily, stop being a freak," Mrs. Evans said automatically.
"MUM!" both girls protested.
"Sorry dears, I just didn't sleep much last night. I was worrying about both of you."
"Well, maybe you wouldn't be worrying if you stopped accusing people of things they didn't do!" Petunia shouted, running out the door and into the yard.
Lily opened her mouth to protest, but before she could, Mum began speaking.
"Lily, dear, I know Petunia has been a pest to you lately, but please, don't accuse her of doing things she didn't do. I know you don't like her and she doesn't like you, but just once, can't the two of you pretend to get along?"
"But Petunia's right, Mum," Lily said across the table. "I AM a freak."
"No you aren't, dear. No girl of mine is a freak."
"Yes I am, Mum. The letter I thought Petunia sent-it was for real. A woman appeared in my room, silenced me, and explained all about the school. They're sending someone to explain it to us in three days."
"Lily, you know magic doesn't exist. I think you're letting a dream get your hopes up for nothing."
"Mum, I KNOW what I saw. Magic does exist. Wait and see."
"I will, dear. I'm quite interested to see this 'magic' for myself."
A/N: Thanks for reviewing, Kat!
Chapter Two - Of Magic Cats
Lily climbed out of bed and walked towards the window, her feet padding gently on the carpet. When she reached the window, the cat stopped moving and sat and stared.
Lily pulled her desk chair from across the room and pulled up a chair to stare at the cat. Then the cat did something very strange. It stood on its back two legs and encircled itself with the front two, almost as a human would if it were cold. Then the cat began to shake. Taking pity, Lily went to the window and opened it just a crack. The cat leapt into her arms.
Lily shut the window with one hand, stroking the cat and crooning at it. "Poor little kitty. You must be hungry. I'll go make you some warm milk."
"That won't be necessary, dear." Lily turned around and the cat was gone. In its place, a tall, severe woman of about seventy was staring at her.
The woman muttered a word before Lily could scream. When she opened her mouth to speak, nothing came out. She then started yelling, screaming, but there was no sound.
"Calm yourself, my dear. I'm not going to hurt you. I just wanted to make sure no one else was aware of my visit."
"Who are you? Leave me alone!" Lily said, getting ready to threaten the older woman before she remembered she had no voice.
At this, the woman smiled and laughed. "Oh, you'll be a Gryffindor for sure!"
The woman laughed again at Lily's confused look.
"I'm sorry, dear. Let me introduce myself. My name is Minerva McGonagall. I'm the head of Gryffindor house at Hogwarts, and I'm also the deputy headmistress.
Lily remembered something. She inaudibly gasped, then pointed at a piece of paper on her desk.
"Yes," the woman said, smiling more broadly, "it was I who sent you your letter. Now, if you nod your head that you won't scream, I'll remove the silencing charm."
Lily nodded, flabbergasted, at the woman.
"But I thought.I thought this was all a cruel hoax of my sister's. Magic doesn't exist! It's not real!"
"My poor dear! Magic is VERY real. What have those Muggles been teaching you?"
"Muggles?"
"Our word for non-magical folk, Lily."
Lily nodded. This couldn't be real. She was going to wake up, and she'd be in bed, and it would be morning, and there would be no more of this nonsense ever again.
"I know what you're thinking, Lily. I thought it too, when I first got my letter. But you ARE a witch, and magic DOES exist. Watch."
The woman pulled a long, thin stick out of her pocket and muttered something about wings to one of Lily's pencils. It floated above the woman, as if on her command. But that was impossible. Magic didn't exist.
Lily walked over to the woman's stick, feeling it for the wire the woman must have tied to the stick.
"There's no wire, dear. It is magic, whether you choose to believe me or not."
"Magic only exists in fairy tales."
"Is that so? How did I make the pencil float? How did I take away your voice so you couldn't scream?"
"You're a hypnotist, you've hypnotized me."
"My dear, Muggles really WILL go to any lengths to deny the existence of magic. Let's look at it a different way. Has anything strange ever happened to you when you were angry or upset?"
"There was one time, when I was four.I thought my sister was drowning. And I was halfway across the lake, but I got to her much too fast."
"And you don't honestly believe that this was a result of you swimming fast, do you dear?"
"Well.not really, but what other explanation could there be? For eleven years, I've grown up learning magic doesn't exist. There's no way to explain the adjustments I'm going through right now."
"I understand that, dear. And once you go to Hogwarts-for you WILL go to Hogwarts, even if I have to drag you there myself, you'll learn that magic is a real, powerful thing."
"But how do I convince myself and my parents that magic really is real? I'm sure when I wake up in the morning I'll consider this all a very strange dream."
"Even if you do, we will be sending a ministry official to your home in three days time to explain our world to you and your parents. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got other doubting Muggle-borns I must see before daylight. Good night, Miss Evans."
Lily turned to bid the odd woman good night, but before she could, she heard a small pop. When she looked around her room, she found the woman had disappeared.
*****
Lily woke to the sunlight streaming through her open window.
Odd, she thought. I don't remember leaving the window open last night. WAIT A MIN-
"Lily! Lily darling! It's time to wake up! I made your favorite breakfast, waffles with whipped cream and chocolate chips!"
"Coming, Mum," Lily replied before she remembered why she wasn't speaking to her mother.
Lily paced her room, trying to decide what to do. On the one hand, if she went downstairs, she could tell Mum that magic really was real. On the other hand, if she went downstairs, she'd have to pretend she wasn't mad anymore.
"Lily dear, your breakfast is getting cold," Mum sang up the stairs.
"I'm coming, but only because I'm hungry, not because I like the company," Lily shouted back.
Lily donned her traditional moping clothes-black jeans, a black turtleneck, a beret, and dark sunglasses, sucked in a breath, and went downstairs.
"Freak," Petunia hissed at Lily.
"Here you are girls," Mrs. Evans said, coming in from the kitchen and setting a plate in front of each of them. Lily glared in response. Unfortunately, this was ineffective, as she was wearing sunglasses.
"Lily dear, please take off those sunglasses. I like to be able to see your eyes," Mrs. Evans said.
"You may like a lot of things, mother, but that doesn't mean you get them," Lily hissed back.
"Lily, you shouldn't talk to Mum that way. She's an adult to be respected and loved," Petunia said in a high falsetto, batting her eyelashes. "And she's not a freak," she growled across the table.
"Petunia, stop calling your sister names. Lily, stop being a freak," Mrs. Evans said automatically.
"MUM!" both girls protested.
"Sorry dears, I just didn't sleep much last night. I was worrying about both of you."
"Well, maybe you wouldn't be worrying if you stopped accusing people of things they didn't do!" Petunia shouted, running out the door and into the yard.
Lily opened her mouth to protest, but before she could, Mum began speaking.
"Lily, dear, I know Petunia has been a pest to you lately, but please, don't accuse her of doing things she didn't do. I know you don't like her and she doesn't like you, but just once, can't the two of you pretend to get along?"
"But Petunia's right, Mum," Lily said across the table. "I AM a freak."
"No you aren't, dear. No girl of mine is a freak."
"Yes I am, Mum. The letter I thought Petunia sent-it was for real. A woman appeared in my room, silenced me, and explained all about the school. They're sending someone to explain it to us in three days."
"Lily, you know magic doesn't exist. I think you're letting a dream get your hopes up for nothing."
"Mum, I KNOW what I saw. Magic does exist. Wait and see."
"I will, dear. I'm quite interested to see this 'magic' for myself."
A/N: Thanks for reviewing, Kat!
