"…and she has been fresh and rude and disrespectful to me since the day she was born! Robert, we need to do something about this! She doesn't listen to anyone anymore; she thinks she can just tell me what to do…"

"GAH! SHUT THE HELL UP!" Lily yelled into her pillow. She had locked herself in her room, but it didn't stop her from hearing her mother's voice complaining about her, once again.

'I cant wait till I'm 18,' she thought to herself.  'Then I'll be out of here.  She'll see. I'm not going to take anymore crap from her…'

"…and she just doesn't understand! Parents are supposed to tell their children what to do! She isn't supposed to tell us what she's doing, I decide that! I choose what she wears and how she acts, not her…"

'…and she'll be heartbroken. Her only remaining daughter, out in the world, running around by herself… no! I'll find a guy… we'll run around together, move away from here, have a family, and excommunicate Mom and Dad from us…'

          Lily Evans was a witch. Literally.  She attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  She was very smart and beautiful, but unknown to most of the students.  Lily liked to keep hidden behind books, projects, homework, or anything else that would take her mind off her family.  Lily's mother was overprotective, abusive, stubborn, and just plain annoying.  Her father was too intimidated by her mother to help her, so he just basically went along with everything Rose (her mother) said.  Lily did have one other sibling, Petunia; however, Petunia had somehow grown up "differently" than Lily, and became an all around slut by her 16th birthday.  'She's probably off laying someone right now,'  Lily thought.  All of a sudden, there was a banging noise on her bedroom door.

          "Lily Marie Evans, open up that door THIS INSTANT!" her mother's voice bellowed. Lily had no choice, she knew what was coming sooner or later…

          She opened the door, and sure enough, she was greeted with a slap in the face from her mother.  "HOW DARE YOU DISOBEY ME, BITCH! I have done NOTHING but raise you under my roof for 16 years, and THIS is how you treat me? I hope I don't have to remind you that you are a mistake, you were never meant to be born from me!" With that, her mother delivered a gut-wrenching punch to Lily's stomach and scratched her face and arms until they bled.  Then, she left.

          Lily dissolved on the floor in tears.  This was the type of pain she had to endure every day.  "She… is such a… bitch…" Lily whispered through her tears.  Suddenly, a thought came to her. 'I can run away…' she thought.  'I'll take my broom and I'll shrink all my stuff and fly to Hogwarts…'  With that, she began packing.

"JAMES HAROLD POTTER! GET YOUR FUCKING ASS DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT!" his father's drunk voice slurred.  James had no choice but to obey, for he knew what was coming sooner or later.

          "Yes father?" James asked with a sigh as soon as he reached the kitchen.

          WHAM! James was hit with a punch in the face.  And another and another… soon, his body began to go limp. Tears came to his eyes, but he didn't cry.  Crying was a sign of weakness.  His father had told him so when he was a little boy.

          'But who am I to listen to my father, anyways?' he asked himself. His mother appeared in the doorway just then. "Harry… stop beating up James for a minute, please… We'll go have some fun in the bedroom," she said seductively.

          James's father stopped the punching and grabbed his wife by the waist. "Sure thing, babe…" He carried her all the way to the bedroom. James, too grossed out to witness his parents having sex for the 5th time that week, ran to his room and slammed the door shut. 'God, I can't wait until I'm 18,' he thought.  'Then I'll get away from here…'

          James was a wizard.  He attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, also.  He was top of his class, tied with some girl he barely knew called Lily Evans.  James had jet black hair that stuck up in various places and tan skin.  His body was hard with muscles, for he was on the Quidditch team and had recently been named Captain.  His father was constantly drunk, abusive, and a bum.  His mother was a prostitute and barely knew he existed; she lived for sex and sex only.  They didn't approve of him going to Hogwarts, but each year he went anyways.  It was the only place he felt welcome.

          James was one of the 3 most popular boys in school.  He and his two best friends, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, had formed a group called the Marauders.  They were all hot, smart, and wanted by all girls. However, each boy had a different personality:

          Sirius was the ladies man.  He had a new girlfriend every week, and they were always blondes.  This didn't stop him from being a nice guy, however. He was 3rd in the class, tied with Remus.  Sirius was very tall, at about 6 feet 3 inches.  He enjoyed playing pranks and he was a beater on the Quidditch team. 

          Remus was the bookworm.  Actually, this is just what he appeared like. He was really just as outgoing as Sirius, but he took his studies more seriously and did not use girls the way Sirius did.  Remus had a girlfriend named Danni Harris, and they had been going out for 7 months.  Danni was Lily Evans's best friend, and was one of the only people who knew about her abusive life. Remus was the keeper on the Quidditch team, and, like Sirius, James, Danni, and Lily, was in Gryffindor.  He was about 6 feet tall, and also enjoyed playing pranks with his fellow Marauders.

          Finally, James was what many people called the bad boy.  He barely dated but was wanted by almost every girl in school.  He had this attitude about him that was so calm and cool and made him extremely sexy in many girls' eyes.  This, however, was just an act, and only Sirius and Remus knew this.  James was top of the class and one of the 6th year prefects, along with Remus, Danni, and Lily.  He was the seeker on the Quidditch team, about 6 feet 2 inches tall, and he was generally as loud and outgoing as Sirius, but he could be very serious (no pun intended) sometimes.  He felt everyday that he was constantly missing something, that he was looking for someone, that he needed more…

          Danni Harris was Lily's best friend.  She had shoulder length brown hair, silver eyes, and freckles.  Danni was about 5 feet 5 inches, making her average height.  Although she had been dating Remus for 7 months, she only hung around with him when Lily was in the library or studying in their dorm (which was a lot, actually).  She was a prefect for Gryffindor and about 5th in her class.  She was a chaser on the Quidditch team and lived with her cousin because she had been orphaned at birth.

          Lily Evans was what most of Hogwarts called a "social outcast." Only Danni and Remus knew the truth about her life and her parents.  Remus was Lily's only other friend.  Lily was short (about 5 feet 2 inches) and had long, wavy red hair that reached all the way down to her hips.  She wore it up most of the time, however, for fear of anyone noticing her.  She also always wore pale foundation, giving her skin a ghostly and sickly glow.  She had bright emerald green eyes, but covered them with brown colored contacts.  Only Danni knew how beautiful Lily really was, and was constantly trying to persuade her to let her beauty show.

James heard knocking on his bedroom door.  'Oh God,' he thought.  'Now I have to put up with a drunk, laid, and abusive father.'  He opened the door to reveal his father standing there with a manic grin on his face.

          "Now you will get what's coming to you…" he said.  James thought fast, he knew his father could kill him if he really wanted to.  So, he slammed the door shut in his fathers face and locked it.  He quickly packed some clothes into one of his trunks while his father tried to break down the door. After shrinking his trunk, he grabbed his broomstick, opened the window, and said goodbye to the place he once called home.  He was running away, heading back to his real home, Hogwarts.

          "Come on, broom… Go faster, please!" James spoke quietly to his broom.  He could see the castle of Hogwarts in the distance; he knew he was practically there…

          THUD! He flew right into a tree, head first. "Ouch…" he moaned as he tried to balance on his broom.  Finally, after another painful 5 minutes of flying, he reached Hogwarts. He landed his broom and ran up the stairs and inside the castle to the Headmaster's office.  Once inside, he spoke with Dumbledore about his parents and asked permission to ride the Hogwarts Express the next day so he could spend some time with his friends.  Of course, Dumbledore permitted him to do this, and immediately showed James where the prefect rooms were so he could get some rest.

(Back with Lily running away)

Lily flew out her bedroom window, not once looking back at the place she was ashamed to call home.  She flew the long journey through the bitter cold to Hogwarts, where, upon arrival, she collapsed on the grounds in front of the stairs.  Dumbledore, luckily, was out for a night stroll and happened to find her.  After telling him about her problems, she asked for his permission to ride the Hogwarts Express the next day so she could see Danni.  Of course, Dumbledore allowed her to do this, and showed Lily where her bedroom would be.

As Lily was walking up to her room, she could've sworn she saw someone else in the Gryffindor common room. 'Hmm,' she thought.  'Must've just been my imagination.' With that, she went to bed.  She and James never ran into each other for the entire night or the next morning.

"LILS!"

"DANNI!"

The two girls hugged as soon as they saw each other.  "Lilsy! How are you! I haven't seen you all summer! I heard about what happened with your parents, Dumbledore owled me and told me about you running away and everything.  I'm really sorry, is there anything I can do?"
          "Nah, just knowing that I've got the coolest best friend in the world is enough for me!" They hugged each other again.

          "Hey, don't I get a hug?" a male voice sounded from outside the compartment.  Danni turned around. "REMUS!!!!" She jumped on him and gave him a huge hug. "I've missed you so much! I never got to see you all summer! How are you? Oh, Remie!!"  Lily smiled, shook her head, and lay down across one row of compartment chairs to read. 

          "Hey, Lily! How was your summer?" Remus asked her.

          "Oh, just peachy," she responded grumpily.  "I suppose Dumbledore owled you too about my parents?"
          "Yeah," he said. "I'm really sorry. Is there anything I can do?"

          "No, it's alright.  I'll be fine, don't wor-"  Lily was cut off by the compartment door sliding open yet again.  Two tall figures appeared in the doorway.

          "Hey y'all!" Sirius said cheerfully.  "Hope you don't mind if we join the party?"

          "Nah, no problem!" Danni welcomed them in.  James walked in and saw Lily reading in the corner, completely oblivious to the world around them.  'Wow,' he thought. 'She's not too bad looking.  I mean, she is kind of pale and her eyes are plain, but hey, I might as well, seeing as I have to work with her all year…'  He walked over and sat down next to her.

          "Hey," he said quietly.  "I'm James Potter, the Head Boy this year."
          She looked up. "Hi," she said.  "Lily Evans. Head Girl." She then went back to reading her book, which James tried to see the cover of.  He finally saw that she was reading "Gone With the Wind", one of his personal favorites.

          "That's a good book," he commented. Lily's head shot up yet again. "Gone With the Wind," James said.  "One of my favorites."
          "Really?" Lily asked, "I've never met anyone else who hasn't thought it was boring."
          "Wow," James said.  "I think it's great! It's not boring at all.  I love the character Rhett, reminds me of Sirius in a way!" They both laughed over this.  "Well, I suppose I should be heading off with the boys, we don't want to intrude too much," James said a little louder so everyone else could hear. 

          "Bye, y'all," Sirius said.

          "Bye Danni, bye Lily," Remus said, giving Danni a hug.

          "Bye guys!" they both called.

          "So, Lils," Danni said slyly once the boys were gone.  "I saw you talking with James.  He's not bad, is he?"

          "No, I suppose not," Lily said, not taking her eyes off her book.  Danni noticed, however, that they seemed to be paused on one part of the page, as if she had stopped reading to think.

          "See! All you have to do it let people into your life a little more! And for crying out loud, stop wearing foundation and those brown contacts! God made you with green eyes and freckled skin for a reason you know!" Danni smiled as she spoke.

          "Eh, maybe later this year," Lily said.  "Who knows? Maybe this year will change everything…"