Disclaimer: If I had a million dollars, I'd be JKR. But I don't, so I'm
not.
Chapter Four-Doubts and Deliberations
Lily lay in bed, hands cupped under her head, staring up at the ceiling. Was Mr. Weasley right? Did she really have magic? If so, why didn't it ever work against Petunia? Shouldn't the magic have made her life easier?
Sighing, Lily rolled over and faced the wall. If she really did have the magic, then shouldn't she go to Hogwarts? Didn't she owe it to herself? But what if she was right? What if she really didn't have the magic? Then what if she went to magic school? Everyone would make fun of her. She'd be a freak there, too.
And if she went to magic school, she'd have to leave Mum and Petunia all alone. She didn't know if she could stand that. Lily had only been to sleepaway camp once, and that didn't really count, because Petunia was there, too.
What should she do? Lily balled up her fists in frustration. And then, unbidden, a voice popped into her head. "If you have any questions, or are in need of any further assistance, please lean out your bedroom window and wiggle your nose three times," Mr. Weasley had said. It was almost as if he'd known something like this was going to happen.
Reluctantly, Lily pushed the coverlet off her bed and stood, listening for any noise. If Mum caught her writing to "those magic freaks," it wouldn't be good. The house was silent, except for the slow drip, drip of the sink in the bathroom.
Slowly, Lily cranked open her window. And then she froze. There was a loud, clanging noise coming from the parlor. Slowly, Lily's face broke out into a grin. She had to struggle not to laugh aloud. It was the grandfather clock chiming. Nine, ten, eleven, twelve. And then Lily really did have to bite her lip to keep from laughing. It was midnight, the witching hour.
Lily stuck her head out the window, smiling, and wiggled her nose three times. A large tawny owl came zooming towards her. Lily reached out her arms and caught it, like a giant basketball falling from the sky. The owl looked at her expectantly. Lily looked right back at the owl, puzzled. The owl gave a low hoot of indignation and lifted its leg. Tied to it was a pouch with something in it. Curious, Lily tried to take it off, but she didn't see how it was attached to the owl's leg. Then the owl started nipping at her fingers until she moved them slowly away.
Okay, so what did the owl want? Lily decided not to worry about it, then took out a sheet of her lined notebook paper from her school binder. Carefully, in the neat script she used to write her school essays, she wrote:
Dear Mr. Weasley,
But that didn't look right. This man wasn't "dear" to her. In fact, he was the reason her mother had locked her in her room without supper. So Lily took out another piece of paper and wrote:
Mr. Weasley,
Much better. Now, as to what to write with it. Lily contemplated a minute, her ballpoint poised in the air, then finally decided.
Mr. Weasley,
You said I should write to you if I had any questions. I'm writing this in the middle of the night, because my Mum wasn't over-enthusiastic about me going to wizard school. So if you could please make sure that if you reply to my question, no one but me sees it, that would be very helpful.
What I wanted to ask you about is how do I know that I'm magic? You say I'm powerful, and that's all well and good, but how do I know that you're telling me the truth? What happens if I go to Hogwarts and I can't do magic? I don't want to be a freak, sir. Granted, my life here isn't perfect, but it's an imperfection I know. And if I have to leave my family, that's not something I'm looking forward to. Please, sir, show me some way to know I'm magic and I'll try to talk Mum into letting me go to magic school. If you don't, then I'll just assume this was a joke of some kind and forget the whole thing.
Sincerely,
Lily Evans
Lily set her pen down, satisfied. Before she could fold the letter, the owl came over and nudged her arm. Lily looked down at it, thoroughly perplexed now, as the owl hopped back and forth from one end of the paper to the other. Lily, finally cottoning on, began to grin as she rolled her letter up.
"Could you take that to Arthur Weasley, please?" Lily asked the owl, not really expecting a response. But what she got instead was a soft hoot and a swoosh of wings, as the owl took off into the night.
*****
She was in the middle of the forest, and there was rain. The trees seemed to be weeping, mourning someone or something. A sharp driving piece of rain kept hitting her wrist, tapping faster and faster, until it was three times as fast as the other raindrops. But that didn't make any sense.
Groggily, Lily blinked open her eyes. A smaller grey owl was tapping at her wrist. "OH!" Lily thought, as she noticed he was holding out a leg with parchment on it to her.
Dear Lily,
I do hope Errol reaches you before breakfast. He's my family owl instead of my work owl, but as I only got him about a year ago, he should be there before you wake. The answer to your question, Lily, lies in your ability to have the owl come to you when you wiggled your nose. If Petunia or your mother did it, absolutely nothing would happen. This alone proves you're a witch.
What happens if you go to Hogwarts if you can't do magic? Why, absolutely nothing, Lily. If you go to Hogwarts and you can't do magic, there's a sort of induction process to let you know this. You'll be there for all of five minutes. The other children will barely get to know you, Lily, so it won't matter to them, or to you, whether or not you can do magic. But you can, Lily. This letter is proof. You now know how to send wizard mail.
As for leaving your family, it is a difficulty every person must face at one time in their life. Personally, it is better to get it out of the way when you are young and have the opportunity to make more friends. And while you will be leaving your family, the induction process at Hogwarts puts you with some classmates that will have all your classes and live in your dormitory. It's an opportunity to gain another family, not lose your other one. If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me by owl. I have enclosed some wizarding money. You're supposed to give two of the bronze coins (Knuts) to the owl and put them in its pouch when you send it somewhere.
Sincerely,
Arthur Weasley Junior Minister Ministry of Magic, Dept. of Magical Affairs
Lily sighed, then shoved the letter under her mattress, hoping her mother wouldn't find it. She was not a moment too soon, for there was a tapping at the door. Lily walked over to open it, but then she remembered the owl.
"Hide!" she hissed, running over to her closet and opening the door. The owl gave her an annoyed look, then flew into the closet and hid.
"Just a second!" Lily called shakily. She hoped her mother wouldn't hold a grudge because she was slow opening the door. But when she padded barefoot to the door, it wasn't her mother's plump frame at all. Instead, it was her father.
A/N: What, you didn't think I'd killed Mr. Evans off, did you?
Kat, the "Wiggle your nose" thing is from the classic tv show Bewitched, which came out in 1964, about four years after Lily was born. I just thought it was cute, especially after her Muggleish dream, for something Muggle to really work in a wizard spell.
Chapter Four-Doubts and Deliberations
Lily lay in bed, hands cupped under her head, staring up at the ceiling. Was Mr. Weasley right? Did she really have magic? If so, why didn't it ever work against Petunia? Shouldn't the magic have made her life easier?
Sighing, Lily rolled over and faced the wall. If she really did have the magic, then shouldn't she go to Hogwarts? Didn't she owe it to herself? But what if she was right? What if she really didn't have the magic? Then what if she went to magic school? Everyone would make fun of her. She'd be a freak there, too.
And if she went to magic school, she'd have to leave Mum and Petunia all alone. She didn't know if she could stand that. Lily had only been to sleepaway camp once, and that didn't really count, because Petunia was there, too.
What should she do? Lily balled up her fists in frustration. And then, unbidden, a voice popped into her head. "If you have any questions, or are in need of any further assistance, please lean out your bedroom window and wiggle your nose three times," Mr. Weasley had said. It was almost as if he'd known something like this was going to happen.
Reluctantly, Lily pushed the coverlet off her bed and stood, listening for any noise. If Mum caught her writing to "those magic freaks," it wouldn't be good. The house was silent, except for the slow drip, drip of the sink in the bathroom.
Slowly, Lily cranked open her window. And then she froze. There was a loud, clanging noise coming from the parlor. Slowly, Lily's face broke out into a grin. She had to struggle not to laugh aloud. It was the grandfather clock chiming. Nine, ten, eleven, twelve. And then Lily really did have to bite her lip to keep from laughing. It was midnight, the witching hour.
Lily stuck her head out the window, smiling, and wiggled her nose three times. A large tawny owl came zooming towards her. Lily reached out her arms and caught it, like a giant basketball falling from the sky. The owl looked at her expectantly. Lily looked right back at the owl, puzzled. The owl gave a low hoot of indignation and lifted its leg. Tied to it was a pouch with something in it. Curious, Lily tried to take it off, but she didn't see how it was attached to the owl's leg. Then the owl started nipping at her fingers until she moved them slowly away.
Okay, so what did the owl want? Lily decided not to worry about it, then took out a sheet of her lined notebook paper from her school binder. Carefully, in the neat script she used to write her school essays, she wrote:
Dear Mr. Weasley,
But that didn't look right. This man wasn't "dear" to her. In fact, he was the reason her mother had locked her in her room without supper. So Lily took out another piece of paper and wrote:
Mr. Weasley,
Much better. Now, as to what to write with it. Lily contemplated a minute, her ballpoint poised in the air, then finally decided.
Mr. Weasley,
You said I should write to you if I had any questions. I'm writing this in the middle of the night, because my Mum wasn't over-enthusiastic about me going to wizard school. So if you could please make sure that if you reply to my question, no one but me sees it, that would be very helpful.
What I wanted to ask you about is how do I know that I'm magic? You say I'm powerful, and that's all well and good, but how do I know that you're telling me the truth? What happens if I go to Hogwarts and I can't do magic? I don't want to be a freak, sir. Granted, my life here isn't perfect, but it's an imperfection I know. And if I have to leave my family, that's not something I'm looking forward to. Please, sir, show me some way to know I'm magic and I'll try to talk Mum into letting me go to magic school. If you don't, then I'll just assume this was a joke of some kind and forget the whole thing.
Sincerely,
Lily Evans
Lily set her pen down, satisfied. Before she could fold the letter, the owl came over and nudged her arm. Lily looked down at it, thoroughly perplexed now, as the owl hopped back and forth from one end of the paper to the other. Lily, finally cottoning on, began to grin as she rolled her letter up.
"Could you take that to Arthur Weasley, please?" Lily asked the owl, not really expecting a response. But what she got instead was a soft hoot and a swoosh of wings, as the owl took off into the night.
*****
She was in the middle of the forest, and there was rain. The trees seemed to be weeping, mourning someone or something. A sharp driving piece of rain kept hitting her wrist, tapping faster and faster, until it was three times as fast as the other raindrops. But that didn't make any sense.
Groggily, Lily blinked open her eyes. A smaller grey owl was tapping at her wrist. "OH!" Lily thought, as she noticed he was holding out a leg with parchment on it to her.
Dear Lily,
I do hope Errol reaches you before breakfast. He's my family owl instead of my work owl, but as I only got him about a year ago, he should be there before you wake. The answer to your question, Lily, lies in your ability to have the owl come to you when you wiggled your nose. If Petunia or your mother did it, absolutely nothing would happen. This alone proves you're a witch.
What happens if you go to Hogwarts if you can't do magic? Why, absolutely nothing, Lily. If you go to Hogwarts and you can't do magic, there's a sort of induction process to let you know this. You'll be there for all of five minutes. The other children will barely get to know you, Lily, so it won't matter to them, or to you, whether or not you can do magic. But you can, Lily. This letter is proof. You now know how to send wizard mail.
As for leaving your family, it is a difficulty every person must face at one time in their life. Personally, it is better to get it out of the way when you are young and have the opportunity to make more friends. And while you will be leaving your family, the induction process at Hogwarts puts you with some classmates that will have all your classes and live in your dormitory. It's an opportunity to gain another family, not lose your other one. If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me by owl. I have enclosed some wizarding money. You're supposed to give two of the bronze coins (Knuts) to the owl and put them in its pouch when you send it somewhere.
Sincerely,
Arthur Weasley Junior Minister Ministry of Magic, Dept. of Magical Affairs
Lily sighed, then shoved the letter under her mattress, hoping her mother wouldn't find it. She was not a moment too soon, for there was a tapping at the door. Lily walked over to open it, but then she remembered the owl.
"Hide!" she hissed, running over to her closet and opening the door. The owl gave her an annoyed look, then flew into the closet and hid.
"Just a second!" Lily called shakily. She hoped her mother wouldn't hold a grudge because she was slow opening the door. But when she padded barefoot to the door, it wasn't her mother's plump frame at all. Instead, it was her father.
A/N: What, you didn't think I'd killed Mr. Evans off, did you?
Kat, the "Wiggle your nose" thing is from the classic tv show Bewitched, which came out in 1964, about four years after Lily was born. I just thought it was cute, especially after her Muggleish dream, for something Muggle to really work in a wizard spell.
