Disclaimer: All works here and in the next chapters are Fanfiction and anything you recognize does not belong to me (shocking isn't it?), but to the Goddess of recent fantasy writing, J.K. Rowling and all her peoples. If you've never seen it before, then it's mine, and if you take it without asking, I shall bite you. HARD.
Synopsis: "Born to those who have thrice defied him…." Lily and James relationship was far from simple, but with some help from their friend's things change. A series of vignettes from their school years, the evolution of L&J. Nobody ever said growing up was easy.
Chapter One
The Very Beginning
Pick me up, oh, from the bottom
Up to the top, love, everyday
Pay no mind to taunts or advances
I take my chances on, everyday
It all happened because it was meant to and that's what it came down to in the end. As eleven-year-old Lily Evens looked at the blazing scarlet of the train going to her new school, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, she remembered that strange morning a few weeks ago. When she had opened her curtains in the morning and was greeted by the starling sight of a screech owl. Mystified, she forgot that this was not typical owl behavior, and automatically let it in. The owl simply flew through the opened window, dropped the letter in her lap and, giving a resounding screech, and flew back out. Lily stared at the letter, completely stupefied, as her parents rushed in, wondering what on earth was going on. Slowly, still in something of a daze, she opened it and found two pieces of parchment paper inside, the letters written in green ink. It was this letter that changed her life and the lives of all the inhabitants in the world she had never known.
A soft hoot from Lily's own barn owl brought her back to reality. "Hullo Fates…" she said quietly, having just said goodbye to her parents, Lily was feeling extremely nervous. "Guess I better put my stuff on the train, huh?" She gathered up Fates, her trunk, adjusted her bag, and strode bravely up to the train engine. After a long while of huffing and puffing, Lily managed to stuff her bulging trunk into a compartment at the very back of the train. "I hope no one takes this, I wanna save it for Thalia and me." Smiling, she pulled out her wand, already glad she dipped into her charm work. Once she had finished that she wandered into the hallways between compartments. "Where is Thalia anyway?"
"Right behind you, silly."
Lily jumped a minimum of ten feet in the air before turning around to greet her friend. Thalia was a girl her own age, but five inches taller. She was Asian and Greek crossed and all the more stunning for it. True to the meaning of her last name, Karasuko, she looked like a raven child with her long, black hair, and eyes with the slightest bit of yellow in them. Thalia could have looked mystical if she tried, but preferred out and out boldness. She was dressed in all black and her black hair was currently streaked with gold and red in the very front section, an open declaration of what house she intended to belong to. Her first name was the Greek muse of comedy. Thalia had told Lily her mum had been something called a seer, and had known what to name her. It suited her mischievous personality, and if she wasn't making everyone else laugh, those around her would feel "inspired" to do so.
They had found each other at Madam Markins Dress robes:
"Thalia Karasuko, for Hogwarts, correct?"
Thalia nodded.
"We have another one for Hogwarts back there as well, a Lily Evens."
"Did you say Evens?"
"Yes."
Madame Malkin thought she saw Thalia's eyes light up, but then the young girl asked to go back to have her fitting, and as the customer was always right…
Lily heard a polite cough from behind her and turned around to see another eleven-year-old, this time a girl of Lily's height. She had short, real blond hair that was pulled back with a thin dark blue band and intelligent, blue eyes. She was dressed in fashionably "classic" clothes and had glasses. Lily got the impression she was facing a very intelligent young lady. She probably couldn't have contrasted Thalia more if she tried.
"Oy! Lily, this is Clio, my friend from the age of, err, what was it, 6 months in the womb?"
The girl sighed, "Nope, it was five." She stretched out her hand to Lily's "Hi, my name is Clio Aglaria, what's yours?"
"Lily Evens," Clio's face suddenly faltered. "Is something wrong?" Lily asked; had she muffed up some unwritten wizards' law on politeness? She had taken the girls hand, wasn't she supposed to?
"No, I'm okay. I just could have sworn I knew someone by that last name, but then again I was seven the last time I… Oh, never mind." Seeing the warning glare on Thalia's face and the blank expression on Lily's, she quickly diverted their attention to other matters. "So, are you a lily of the valley or a water lily?"
Lily laughed, "Well, I don't like water much, so, how about valley?"
"Valley it is."
Lily smiled, but they seemed to have run out of chitchat and while Thalia and Clio shot each other looks, Lily racked her brain for a good topic of conversation.
"Are you both named after muses?" she finally asked, kicking herself for such a dumb question.
But Thalia seemed to think it was reasonable. "Yeah, our parents thought it would be funny. Clio is the muse, the muse of history and her last name, Aglaria, is the grace of brilliance. Clio's the smart one. I guess her parents knew from birth she was going to be a good student."
A good student, the words echoed around Lily's head. "Oh, this is so nerve racking! What if I fail everything? What if they hate me? What if I can't choose one of those house things?"
"Oh come on Lily, none of that is going to happen." Thalia, from her vantage point above, patted the flustered Lily on the head.
"Easy for you to say, you're from a wizarding family!"
"So what!" Clio scoffed, "We may turn out to stink at magic, I doubt I will, but it's always a possibility." Clio pushed up her classes with one finger and smiled.
"Great encouragement Clio. Listen Lily; just do your best that's all they expect from you. Besides, I'm your friend now. I'll just beat the teachers into submission until they let you pass." Thalia finished, grinning.
"Please," Clio scoffed, not unkindly, "like that's good encouragement!"
"Oh shut up Cli'!"
"Make me!"
"Fine! I am taller than you!"
"So? Shorter people are way better!"
"No way!"
"Yes way!"
They continued with their bickering, like only best friends could, until the giggling Lily felt movement under her feet, and, getting control over herself, said, "You guys, the trains pulling away, we should get out of the hall and into the compartment I saved for us."
"Okay!" They chorused.
When they arrived in to back cabin of the train they were greeted with the sight of four boys their own age kicking at the door, presumably trying to get it open. The most violent one had black, shaggy hair, just above his ears and animated, blue eyes. Already dressed in his cloak and, for some reason, grinning his head off. The next was just as tall and maybe a little more built, if you could ever call an eleven-year-old built. He was their age, and though his chestnut eyes were laughing, he seemed to have years crowding around his face. The third was tall and skinny with dark brown eyes behind glasses. His hair was pure black and extremely messy. He was kicking the door too, but seemed to be doing it for entertainment rather than necessity. The fourth boy was short, with almost white blond hair, and extremely nervous looking. He kept rubbing his hands together in the most peculiar fashion; Lily couldn't think of what it reminded her of.
"Sirius, we should go, the door isn't going to open and we're going to get into trouble," said the last boy.
The first one, who was evidently Sirius, turned around, "My dear Peter, even if we did get in trouble it wouldn't matter because we are mischief makers and it is our duty and privilege to get into trouble!"
Years later Thalia said she just got bored and couldn't take it anymore. Years later, Clio and Lily both maintained she just wanted Sirius to look at her. In any case, there s suddenly quite a few red sparks in the air.
The boys jumped, surprised at another's presence. Sirius had just been going to tell the person to "go shove off," when he caught site of the three girls. He quickly settled with, "And who, may I ask, are you?"
"No, you may not ask. But you are banging on our compartment door. Which, by the way, is a dumb excuse for mischief."
"What makes you such an expert?" said Sirius, enjoying the conflict.
"That's for me to now and you to find out!" Thalia answered with her hands behind her back, rolling back and forth on the balls of her feet.
Sirius seemed satisfied with her answers, though they didn't explain anything, "Sirius Black" he said, extending his hand.
"Thalia Karasuko" she shook the offered hand, they made eye contact, and sparks flew.
Literally
Lily waved the smoke out of her way as the third boy said, "Nice!" looking at the others singed hair.
"Oh Thalia! I told there were down sides to that curse!" Clio wailed hopping up and down.
"Can't imagine what they'd be!" said the second boy happily.
Sirius and Peter introduced their friends. The tall, messy haired one turned out to be James Potter and the graying, yet vibrant boy was named Remus Lupin.
Lily stepped forward to the door; James was still in her way. "The reason you couldn't open the door was because I sealed it magically, no one but me can open it."
"Well, that's cheating!" said James indignantly.
"I know." Smiling, she sidestepped James and stroked the door with her wand, it slid open.
Clio threw her hands in the air, nearly knocking poor Peter over, "This from a girl who just was worried about flunking out! Honestly Lily, you of all people have nothing to worry about."
"You are a crafty one, my friend!" Thalia proclaimed proudly, shaking a finger.
"Humph! Too crafty for your own good!" James said pouting, but clearly more intrigued by Lily than angry with her.
Lily rolled her eyes and spoke like she was explaining something to a small child, "Just because I thought of the perfect way to keep our compartment safe, doesn't mean I'm too crafty for my own good. It just means I'm too crafty for your own good."
And on that sweet note, she turned and strode into the compartment. She had imaged that her and her new friends would come in and then shut the door in the boys' faces. However, as Clio and Thalia pulled Sirius and Remus in, who pulled in Peter, which made James forced to follow, it didn't happen exactly as she planned.
The trip to Hogwarts was completely uneventful, unless you count Thalia and Sirius trying to curse one another while flirting and Peter begging them to stop before they were all caught. Remus and Clio kept themselves occupied with "author talk" and eventually got into a heated argument about Emily Dickinson,
"She wasn't a real writer! Everyone's just fascinated by her mystery. There's nothing special about it at all." Remus said pointedly.
"How can you say that! Everything she wrote echoed something from another time and place! It was beautiful!"
Thalia laughed, had that sentence been uttered by anyone else in the compartment but Clio it would have been punctuated by a "Damnit!" As it was, Remus decided to back off before the smoke started to pure from Clio's ears.
And then there was Lily and James, they got along easily enough, but if one of them crossed the line they paid for it. It seemed they couldn't figure out if they hated each other or not, but for the time being, they settled on hate. Lily said that it was because James acted like a snobby pig who owned everything. James said it was because Lily let him eat a boogie flavored Beartie Bean and then got mad when her took her chocolate frog. Either way, they supplied amusement for their friends and displeasure for one another.
Left to right
Up and down, love
I push up love, love, everyday
Jump in the mud, oh
Get your hands dirty with
Love it up on, everyday
When the train stopped, they expected to see the amazing, rambling Hogwarts castle the older students had been talking about. Instead, the sight of a giant, or what looked like one, greeted them.
- "Oh dear." Clio said weakly, and everyone had to agree.
"Line up in the boat, only four to one mind you." The giant, who told everyone to call him Hagrid, said. He seemed rather nice, in a really huge person who could squish you sort of way.
Sirius, Thalia, Remus and Clio piled into one boat and Lily was forced to occupy another one with Peter, James and a very quiet girl who said her name was Isabel and then didn't speak for the rest of the eventful journey.
Once on the boats, the adventure of Hogwarts seemed to begin. And Lily and James, at least, set their tone for their next five years at the school.
"So, Evens, dipping into the homework early are we?"
"Whatever do you mean, Potter?"
Despite the obvious layer of thin ice he was jumping on, James continued. "Already know lock charms do you? It takes a lot of time to work those out. Been obsessing about your grades?"
"Are you implying I'm a nerd, Potter?"
"If the Sorting Hat fits…"
"Like you can talk, four eyes."
"Touchy aren't we? Well, excuse me!"
"If only I could!" she said, gripping her want in her pocket and wishing with all her might he was gone. Two seconds later, James flew out of the boat and disappeared beneath the surface of the water and Lily's eyes grew into saucers, realizing what she had done. "Oops! Sorry James, I didn't mean to! I don't know what happened!" she shouted, leaning over the boat.
"Nice one Lily!"
"You'll fit in just fine here!" Remus and Sirius shouted. Peter was currently in a state of hyperventilation, so he was too preoccupied to say much.
Despite the initial laughter, everyone quickly became worried, "James come out!" Lily called over the water, "Please do come out, we'll call it Pax!" Lily scanned the water, her eyes filling with tears. 'Why am I so rash!' she thought, 'all he did was call me smart and I…'
"Call it Pax?" an indignant voice behind her. Lily spun around to see the blazing brown eyes of James Potter, stare into her own greens. "NEVER!" he yelled, pulling her into the lake; wildly Lily grabbed at something, anything, to stay up.
She found it.
"Oh! I'm sorry Peter! It's all Potter! He's Ridiculous, Obstinate, Nasty, Gaudy, Stubborn and he made me!" she yelled, punching the water for effect. She always had been quite… passionate.
"Alright, alright," Hagrid said, "Break it up, move it along."
As Hagrid turned to them, the guilty party realized that an audience had been gathering. "Now look at you, going in to be sorted and you're soaking wet. Now what good did that do you, eh? None, that's what."
"It's no worries, Sir." Said Clio.
Hagrid look around wildly to see who on earth had called him Sir. "No need to be so formal, just call me Hagrid, everybody does. Now why shouldn't I worry? Look at 'em." He said, gesturing with his thumb to a soaked Lily, James, and Peter.
Clio took out her wand and said, " Acio friends, Dryurenz!" Lily, James and Peter were dry and safe on the land with the rest of the gang and a very traumatized Isabel in a second.
"All dry, oh ridiculous one?" Sirius asked, smiling.
"Very cute Sirius, but it won't catch." James said, trying to look superior. The effect was spoiled by the fact that, while he was dry, his hair was even messier than usual and he still smelled like essence of lake.
"You're probably right, but Lily gave you a whole bunch of names for me to work with. I'm sure I'll think of something."
Hagrid rushed them in the waiting room with the other first years before departing to the great hall. Thankfully the strict deputy headmistress had already left to fetch the hat
When they walked into the great hall several people started to snicker, but most seemed too nervous to say much and, eventually, became subdued. Only one group of people was having a time of it. The leader was laughing and pointing at James and Lily. They found out soon enough that this was Snape. They ignored them and lined up to be sorted instead of taking immediate revenge; James waited until the next day before cursing Snape with boils. After they entered the dizzying great hall, their names were all called and they were instructed to try on a hot, each person did so and had his or her own rather interesting conversation with it.
Aglaria, Clio:
"Hmmm" said a small voice in her head, "Very smart, perhaps a Ravenclaw?"
"That would be fine, but I'm not just smart you know, there are other sides to me," said Clio politely.
"I can see that, brave, loyal, and defensive. Something else sticks out, but I can't pin point it."
Clio squirmed as the hat continued its musings, "I think big things are coming your way. Yes, involving Riddle, Tom… big things indeed. You'll help Potter, Harry, I suppose, too."
"Whose Tom? And Harry?"
"What? Oh dear I can't tell you, it'd take all the fun out of things, Tom isn't a love interest no, neither is Harry. Forget about them for now."
"Easy for you to say. And I thought you were a sorting hat, not a fortune teller."
"I am, but one of the founders told fortunes so I see them once in a while. No matter the trimmings, you belong in, GRYFFINDOR!"
It shouted the last words and Clio eagerly took off the hat and ran to the table underneath the gold lion banner.
Black, Sirius:
"Hmmm. Another one, I dare say you'll be an interesting lot."
"What?"
"Let's just get down to the sorting. Ah… what a family lineage to live up to… and a blatant disregard for rules I see, Slytherin perhaps?"
"Dear gods, no!"
"Well, you seem to have you mind made up about that. You wouldn't work there anyway. To loyal, you'd do anything for your friends and have no regard for blood."
"Yeah, well, the way I figure it, I'm better off. Have you met my parents?"
The hat seemed to cough a little, "Never had the pleasure. You're quite opinionated for an eleven year old too."
" Damn straight."
"Brave too. Well, you shall have a time of it but in the end it will work out alright."
"Will you stop doing that!"
"My apologies, you'll do good in GRYFFINDOR!" It shouted again, and Sirius ran off to the only table he could belong to, the only table which was completely opposite of his family.
Evens, Lily:
"Hello dear, oh! Another one, another piece of the puzzle."
"What puzzle?"
"The big puzzle leading up to…"
"Well?"
"Frustrating isn't it?"
"Yes!"
"Well, then, stop listening to me."
"How can I? You're inside my head!"
"Even more frustrating"
"You're worse than James."
"It's fitting too, that you'd be together. Just, loyal, brave and fun, both belonging in GRYFFINDOR!"
Lily got off the stool in a complete daze and sat down at the gold and red table.
Karasuko, Thalia:
"Well, Thalia, complicated girl! It seems your will background make a difficult sorting."
"Oh… sorry?"
"No need to be sorry, I love a challenge. You belong in that group don't you?"
"What group?"
"The one with Aglaria, Clio, Black, Sirius, and Evens, Lily."
"Well Clio's been my friend for years and I just met Black and Lily."
"You are resourceful and hate rules, but instead of breaking them you find loopholes. Then there's the bravery and loyalty, oh dear. Karasuko? Any chance that's natural?"
"Yes," she sighed.
"Oh, not so hard anymore, definitely GRYFFINDOR!"
Lupin, Remus:
"Oh, a werewolf!"
"Don't tell anyone!" Remus said, breaking into a sweat beneath the hat.
"I won't, do you think they'd take the word of a hat anyway?"
"If it was you."
"Flatterer, but don't worry they won't leave you."
"Who?"
"Padfoot and Prongs, I suppose Wormtail will do alright at first."
"Who are they?"
"All in good time, let's see Hogwarts hasn't seen a werewolf in years! Possibly since GRYFFINDOR himself."
"What! Oh, you sorted me, tricky aren't you?"
Pettigrew, Peter:
"Let's see… you want to prove yourself and you hate getting into trouble, I think you picked the wrong best friends. Oh wait, but you're brave deep down and deeper still, you're conniving, don't give in to that Peter."
"I won't, err, sir?"
"Doesn't matter what you call me, I'm a hat."
"Oh…"
"Well, remember, whether you're the villain or the hero is up to the you and the choices you make. GRYFFINDOR!"
Potter, James:
"Goodness there are a lot of you!"
"Who?"
"You all ask the same questions too."
"WHO!"
"The future."
"You can see the future? Wicked!"
"In a way. I know your ways and how they will interact with others, thus forming the future. Ravenclaw was also a seer, and since her brains are in me, I see things sometimes."
"What do you see?" James asked exited
"That's for me to know Mr. Potter."
"You sound like Lily."
"Lily? You're too young to think about girls... Ah so your Harry's dad!"
"I'm no ones dad! I'm eleven!"
"What? Oh never mind. You're brave, just, loyal, rule breaking and still believe in Calvary, daring too. And if that wasn't enough, you're a Potter, where else but GRYFFINDOR!"
Everyone was too immersed in his or her thought to talk much, Clio was the only one to even notice when their boat mate Isabel was made a Ravenclaw; that was until Sirius shot Thalia with a tickling curse, for some reason that seemed to break the tension.
All you need is
All you want is
All you need is love.
All you need is
What you want is
All you need is love.
After the feast was over, Professor Mcgonagal's shadow fell over the group, "Are you all quite finished?" Suddenly, all previous merriment went down the toilet faster than you could say balderdash. "If you will all follow me, please." She said before striding away with an air of dignity and appending detentions. They all sighed and followed her; she practically had to dragged Isabel, James, Lily, and Peter inside her office before slamming the door in the others faces.
"So, have a good swim?"
They all hung their heads.
"What happened?"
Lily cringed it was all her fault, she was going to have to explain and then except her punishment.
Damn.
She took a deep breath and began, "I'm sorry Professor, but it's all-"
"My fault!" James said, cutting Lily off and catching Mcgonagal's attention with a wave of his hand. "Lily and I were arguing and I lost my balance. I dragged her in by accident and Peter fell in too."
Mcgonagal looked at them over her square glasses wearily, as if she had heard one to many bad excuses lately. "Is this true?" she barked to the terrified Peter and Isabel.
"Glug," was his only response; James kicked him under the table and he shook his head yes and Isabel, after shooting Lily a look the red head would never have though her capable of, nodded as well.
"Alright, you are dismissed. But anymore disturbances like this one and you will be given detentions! Now get to your dormitories, the password is 'Claptrap'."
They all filed out into the hall where Remus, Sirius, Thalia and Clio were waiting. Isabel quickly said goodbye and ran down the hall to her dormitory.
- "Did you get detentions?" the remaining group shouted at different intervals.
"No, thank goodness!" Peter gasped. "We had better get to the dormitories before we get into more trouble!" he said before turning tail and running up the staircase.
"I probably won't ever say this again, but I agree with Peter. Let's go," Clio guided the gang up the winding staircase. James went to follow, but someone grabbed onto his robes. Tuning back, he saw Lily on the end of his sleeve.
"Yeah?" he asked cautiously.
"Um, I just want to…" she squirmed, "say thanks. If Mcgonagal found out I accidentally hexed you I could have been expelled."
James was taken aback, but called on his legendary Potter cool so Lily wouldn't know, "It's no big deal, I was really protecting us both, if she found out I pulled you and Peter into the water on purpose I would at least have gotten a weeks detention. Besides, you're not that bad, for a red head you are fairly sedate."
Lily rolled her eyes and they both continued up after their friends who they were with the rest of their school days. No matter how many times Lily and James tried to keep them separate.
Pick me up love
Lift me up love
Up from the bottom, everyday
Up to the top love, everyday
Pick me up love
Everyday
A.N: The song for this chapter is "Everyday" (I know, big surprise) by the Dave Matthew's Band, off of their "Everyday" album. Second chapter is due on the 1st of October… enjoy!