Alone
Summary and History:
Lily Evans is the only daughter of Duke Richard Evans and his wife, Duchess Elizabeth Evans of Wales. Growing up, she finds out she's a witch and is sent to a private school in the high mountains of Switzerland. Her magic grows and she soon is able to perform wandless magic, a feat that is highly uncommon in the witch and wizard world.
The summer before her seventh year at the school, her parents throw a ball for all the wealthy people of England and Wales as sort of a pre-coming out ball for Lily. Unfortunately, the Dark Lord, Voldemort, and his followers attack. Lily is forced to flee to the only safe place the Ministry of Magic knows, Hogwarts. Under the protection of Albus Dumbledore, Lily starts her last year of school with a new identity for safety precautions.
After a chance meeting with James at her party, it's hard for Lily not to tell James everything when she sees him at Hogwarts. Unfortunately, Hogwarts is a lot different than her boarding school and life is harder than she expected it to be. Can she ever be with James like she wants to? Or will Voldemort get his way in the end?
Author Note: This story is not meant to be accurate with the real Harry Potter story and all. I just thought it would be fun to write a story like this.
Disclaimer: I do not own Lily, James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Dumbledore, or anything else that J. K. Rowling does own.
Chapter One: The Party
Lily Aurora Evans sat on a cushion in her window seat, staring out into the dark mist that had crept into the valley earlier that day. The sun was almost gone. Dark clouds loomed in the horizon. Rain would be here in an hour or less. The green trees and fertile meadows were nowhere to be seen. They were hidden in the valley fog.
Sighing, Lily gently stroked her small kitten that had curled up on a nearby cushion. The kitten was purring softly. It was all back except for its paws, which were white.
"So, Socks, are you excited about the ball?" Lily asked her kitten. Socks only yawned and curled closer into a ball. Lily blinked her large emerald eyes and smiled with rosy lips. "I thought so. I don't want to go, but Mother is making me. I'd much rather jump on my Shooting Star broomstick and fly out of here."
Knock! Knock! Some one rapped at Lily's bedroom door.
"It's open!" called Lily. The white door opened and her Mother stepped in. She was wearing a white ball gown with gold etchings on the bodice. Her long auburn hair was pulled up into a bun.
"Why aren't you getting ready? Guests have already arrived and it's almost sunset!" Duchess Elizabeth Evans asked. Lily shrugged and looked at her Mother.
The only trait that Lily and her Mother had in common was the red hair they shared. Lily's Mother was petite and Lily was about 5'6''. Lily had startling green eyes and her Mother had grey eyes. Lily's Father was tall with brown hair and blue eyes. He was probably already down at the ball.
"I don't feel like meeting people, Mother. I have this feeling that something's going to happen tonight. I can't shake off the feeling. It's making me very nervous," Lily said. She got up from her window seat perch and walked across the white carpet, towards her Mother. Leaning against the oak bed post, she continued. "Who's down there?"
"Lots of people are. Let's see there are the Huntingtons, the Kings, the Porters, the Baron and Baroness Redding, the Count and Countess Heart –"
"Everyone important, then?" Lily laughed softly. Her Mother raised her delicate eyebrows.
"And who would you invite? Your rambunctious friends from that magic school? I will not have magic going on during one of my parties!"
"My friends are not rambunctious! And we don't practice magic openly. I've never done magic in front of anyone besides you and Father."
The Duchess closed her eyes for a second. Then, she opened them and stared hard at her daughter. Lily sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Fine. I'll get dressed and go down. I can't make any promises about having fun, though. And, I'll be polite and act like a lady with everyone," Lily complied. Her Mother smiled and hugged her daughter.
"I love you, Lily darling. Nothing will ever change that. It's just hard not having you . . . well . . . normal. I love that you love your magic and all, but it's hard for me to see other ladies with daughters who go to finishing school and tea parties." Her Mother sighed. Lily nodded. "Now, hurry up and get dressed or you won't make it to the party."
With a quick kiss on Lily's cheek, her Mother swept out of the room and down the hall towards the ball. Lily closed the door behind her and turned to her kitten that looked up at the sound of the door closing.
"Socks, you have no idea how lucky you are that you're a cat," Lily said, smiling at her kitten. Socks mewed and jumped down from the cushion. He walked over to Lily's bed and jumped on it. Lily walked over to her full length mirror. She frowned at her reflection. "Hmmm. . . what should I wear?"
Pointing at herself, she muttered a few incoherent words. Instantly, the outfit she was wearing disappeared and a dark blue ball gown replaced it. The gown was heavily beaded with spaghetti straps. Her hair was pulled back in an elegant twist. A few sparkles were pinned in her wavy hair.
"Perfect," Lily said to herself. She quickly applied some eye shadow and blush. The mascara was added last. After regarding her image in the mirror, she turned to Socks. "You like?"
"Meow," Socks answered from the bed. He proceeded to wash his paws. Lily rolled her eyes and giggled. She grabbed a shawl and walked towards the door.
Suddenly, a shadow darted across the wall to the left of Lily. She gasped and whirled around. But, there was nothing there. The windows were closed. Socks was still bathing himself. And the sun was still sinking in the horizon. Shaking her head, Lily hurriedly ran from her room.
The sounds of the ball soon filled the air as Lily walked down the stairs to the ball room. Laughter and chatter drifted from the double doors that led from the hallway to the party. A steward stood outside the doors. He nodded crisply to Lily when she paused in front of the doors.
"Good evening," the steward whispered and bowed to her. She nodded back and waited for him to open the doors. The steward was old and balding, so he slowly opened the doors.
Once open, the light and music blared out and Lily blinked, startled. The room was large and rectangular. The musicians were playing straight ahead on the stage. Couples were dancing to the waltz. Other people were milling about, chattering away with others. Lily could hear the distinct laugh of her Mother as she descended down the few steps to the ball room floor.
"Ah, Miss Lily, you are looking smashing tonight," Earl Huntington addressed her as soon as she was off the steps. Lily pasted a smile on her face.
"As do you, and where is the lovely Mrs. Huntington?" Lily asked. The Earl shrugged and smiled at her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and Lily's nose scrunched up at the smell of his tobacco scent.
"She's most likely off trying to sweet talk a young man to dance with her. Speaking of which, would you do me the honor of dancing with me during the next song?"
Lily almost choked. She looked up at the Earl's wrinkled face. His hair was all but gone and what were left were little wisps of gray. He was overweight and always tried to feel up the younger girls he danced with.
"Er, let me go get some punch first, and then we'll discuss this later," Lily made up the first excuse from the top of her head. The Earl nodded and let her go. She quickly darted into the throng of people. "Merlin, hopefully I won't run into him again."
Several other guests stopped her on her way to the punch table. Many reserved dances with her and many just made small talk to try and gain friendship with the daughter of a duke. A few men stood out. They all wore black masks to hide their faces. They seemed nice enough to Lily when she greeted them, but their auras were cloudy and Lily made a mental note to keep an eye on them the entire night.
"You simply must come to our summer castle in Scotland!" the Baroness Redding cried after she'd nearly squeezed Lily to death in a hug. "The prince of England always does and my dear daughter needs a companion!"
"Yes, that would be delightful," Lily managed to say between gasps of air after the hug. "I will talk to you later."
Shaking her head, she turned around and went to the punch table. A young boy was getting punch. He ran off after spilling his cup a little. Lily picked up a cup and reached for the punch ladle. Suddenly, a warm body bumped into her from behind. Her cup full of punch sloshed over the brim and splattered all over her gown.
"Dear Merlin! Look what you've done, you imbecile!" Lily shouted in anger from ruining her dress. She turned around to see who had bumped her.
"Oh, I'm so sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going and a lady bumped me, so I bumped you," said a young man standing there. He had messy black hair and deep hazel eyes. He reached for a napkin on the table and began dabbing at the wet dress. "I'm dreadfully sorry."
"It's fine. I'm the one who should be sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that," Lily answered. The young man's eyes met hers. A tiny crackle of electricity sparked between the two. Lily jumped and gasped. The young man looked startled and stared at her. Lily coughed and held out a hand. "Where are my manners? I'm Lily Evans, daughter of the duke and duchess here."
"Ah, so this party is for you," the young man said. He smiled. Lily's heart flip-flopped. "I'm James Potter."
"Potter," Lily whispered to herself, trying to remember what she had learned about the family in a class her Mother had forced her to take a few years ago. She had learnt all the names and ranks of the families in Wales and England, but the name, Potter, eluded her. "I'm sorry. I don't know your family."
"My parents are old friends of yours," James dismissed the comment. "So, enjoying the ball, are you?"
Lily laughed.
"Well, if you count old men trying to hit on me and ladies trying to get me to become friends with their daughters, enjoying, then, I guess I would say so."
"Sounds like you've had a fun night," James laughed. "Where do you go to school?"
"In a private boarding school in Switzerland," Lily replied. Hopefully he would not ask anymore questions than that. She didn't want him finding out she was a witch. "And you?"
"Oh, um, I go to a school in England. It's boarding as well." James seemed to not want to talk about it.
The musicians ended their song and everyone clapped for them. James smiled and turned towards Lily.
"Care to dance with me?" he asked. Lily smiled.
"Well, I don't know. You seem to be rather clumsy. I mean, you bump into me and another lady," Lily teased. James blushed, causing Lily to laugh.
"Normally, I'm not a klutz. Come on. Let's dance."
Lily let James pull her out onto the dance floor as the musicians struck up a slow song. Lily blushed at how close they were as they began to dance. James didn't seem to mind though.
"How old are you?" James asked.
"Seventeen. What about you?" Lily laid her head on his shoulder.
"Seventeen, too," James answered. Lily smiled.
I can't believe this. James is wonderful. But, where did he come from? My parents haven't mentioned anything about any family names Potter. He's so handsome and kind, Lily thought to herself. Dancing with him just seems right. I don't want this night to end.
As if James heard her thoughts, he looked down at her. She bit her lip as his warm breath rustled the tendrils of hair on her neck. But, before he could say anything, the room was plunged into darkness.
Screams and shouts filled the room. Lily clung onto James as she looked around worriedly. James grabbed her hand.
"What's happening?" Lily whispered. The musicians had stopped and everyone was trying to get into whatever light they could find to see. Some one pushed her as they ran by. James held tightly onto her hand. "What's going on?"
Then, evil laughter began to fill the room. There were several loud pops and everyone began screaming again. The room erupted in chaos. Green and red streaks of light began lighting up the room. People tried to run and get out, but something was blocking the exit.
James pulled Lily close and whispered into her ear, "Whatever happens, don't let go of my hand!"
He then began to move his way through the screaming crowd. The large windows that usually showed the green valley were dark and the rain that had loomed in the horizon had come on full force. Lily's hand started to get sweaty.
"James! I can't hold on!" Lily shouted. Then, the moon came out from behind the clouds. The room lit up and Lily could finally see what was happening. There were about thirty people in dark robes running around with wands. Everywhere, people were lying on the floor, hovering in the air and dieing. Lily gasped.
Deatheaters? Here? Why? How? Oh, Merlin! My wand is up in my room! Lily thought.She glanced at James and saw him looking worriedly at the people in robes.
Suddenly, he produced a wand from his tuxedo pocket. He quickly turned to Lily. Lily's eyes widened at the sight of his wand. He was a wizard?
"Run! It's not safe here! Run as far away as you can!" he shouted and thrust Lily towards the windows. There was a door to the right and it led out onto the patio. "Go!"
"But, James I -" Lily tried to tell him that she was a witch and could help too, but she was cut off by the sound of glass breaking. A Deatheater had just thrown a table through the window. The rain fell through and pounded against everything.
"Dammit, Lily! Go! You're not going to die!" James shoved her out the broken window and onto the patio. The screams from inside the ball room still echoed in her mind. Lily glanced up at the tower of the mansion she lived in. Her room up there was still lit.
Thinking quickly, she put her fingers to her lips and gave a shrill whistle. The window opened and her brown owl flew out and down towards her. It carried in its claws her wand.
"Down here!" Lily shouted, pushing her wet hair from her face. The owl hooted and dropped the wand. Lily caught it and ran back into the ball room. It was quite hard to do because her skirts were wet and heavy.
The moon had been covered up again by clouds and room became dark once more. Lily whispered a spell and her eyes flickered and became accustomed to the dark, like a cat's. She ran into the crowd of people still trying to escape.
"Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!" she shouted and pointed her wand at all the Deatheaters she could see. Red beams of light shot at them. Every one she hit fell down, stunned. "James!"
"Lily?" James voice called back to her from across the room. Lily started making her way over to where she had heard him.
"Stupefy!" Lily shouted a few more times. Finally, she made out James. He was battling seven Deatheaters at once. They were all coming at him, wands raised. "No!"
Some of the Deatheaters turned on her when they heard her. She pointed her wand at them.
"Don't come any closer, you evil filth!" she shouted. A scream suddenly filled the room. Lily gasped and whirled around. "Mother?"
Taking advantage of the situation, the Deatheaters hurled themselves at Lily. One grabbed her wand and two more grabbed her. Screaming, she lashed and kicked at them. They only laughed. One pointed a wand at her.
"Wait," a voice hissed. The Deatheaters looked up. "Bring this one to me."
"No!" Lily screamed and kicked her two captors with both her legs. She fell to the floor and immediately scrambled up. She ran as fast as she could, trying to get to her Mother.
Suddenly, something hit her in the back of the head. Everything went dark. Her last thoughts were of her parents and James. Hopefully, they were all right.
"Go away. I just need five more minutes," Lily whispered. She tried to feel around for her pillow, but found only wet grass. Gasping, she sat up. "Where am I? What happened?"
"That's what I wanted to ask you," the voice, which had woken her up, replied. Lily looked up and saw an older wizard staring down at her. He wore a plain black robe with a red shirt underneath it. His dark brown hair had a few gray streaks, but he had kind sky blue eyes. He handed Lily a goblet of water. "My name is Orion Greenly. I'm with the Ministry of Magic."
"Lily. Lily Aurora Evans," Lily answered. She gulped down the water. She winced as the cold water went down her dry throat. Frowning in concentration, she tried to remember what had happened. "What happened? The last thing I remember is . . . dancing with James."
Suddenly, Lily gasped again and spit out the water that she was drinking.
"My parents! James! The party! Deatheaters! Voldemort!" Lily started shouting and rambling. Orion waved his wand at her and did a silence charm on her before she could say anything else.
"Shh! It's not safe for you to be shouting like that! Deatheaters may very well still be prowling the woods around here!" Orion said. Lily frowned and looked around to see where she was. The mansion could be seen through the trees. She was in front of the small woods in back of her home. A few shrubs and tall hedges blocked her view of the mansion, except for the upper level. The grass was extremely wet from last night's rain. A few wisps of smoke curled into the air. She could hear people talking in the distance. "I'm going to take the silencing charm off, but you can't shout."
He waved his wand and Lily could speak again.
"What exactly happened last night?" he asked. Lily coughed and shook her head. "Please, I need to know."
Lily closed her eyes and tried to remember what had happened. Everything was a blur, but it was coming back slowly.
"I was dancing at the party with a boy . . . a boy named James Potter. He was so wonderful, but then, something happened. All of a sudden, the lights went out. . . People started screaming and screaming. It was horrible. I couldn't see what was happening but, there were red and green flashes of light. I'm assuming that was the Deatheaters stunning and killing everyone.
"James grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the large bay windows. They broke . . . because of a table being thrown at them. And. . . . James took out his wand. . . I didn't know he was a wizard. He shoved me out onto the patio and told me to run. But, I'm a witch and I didn't want to leave him in there alone. I couldn't run.
"I whistled and my owl brought me my wand form my room upstairs. I dashed back into the bal room to help James. There were Deatheaters all over. They were killing and torturing everyone! I called for James . . . and saw him. He was surrounded! Then, some of the Deatheaters came after me and caught me. Somehow, I broke free . . . but, there was this voice. It was so cold and so evil. It told the Deatheaters to bring me to him. I ran and ran . . . but, something hit me in the head and I don't remember anything after that.
"Oh, Merlin! My Mother and Father! Are they all right? Did they make it?"
"Calm down, girl," Orion grabbed Lily's shoulder as she tried to run back to the mansion. Tears streaked down Lily's face. Dawn made the tears on her face glisten. "Thank you for telling me what happened. I'll tell you what I know.
"The Ministry only got here a few hours ago. We arrived here and went in to the ball room. It was a mess. I have to admit that this was the worst thing I've ever seen happen. A lot of people died last night, Lily. Some Muggles escaped. We've modified their memories. But, we didn't catch one Deatheater. They all escaped before we came."
"And my parents?" Lily's voice came out distraught. Orion paused, knowing the answer was going to hurt her.
"I'm afraid they didn't make it."
Lily broke down, sobbing. She knelt down to her knees and covered her face with her arms.
"And James?" she asked between sobs. "Did he make it?"
"Oh, yes. Potter got away. He's at St. Mungo's Hospital. He put up a brave fight. Last I heard he had a broken wrist, a few cracked ribs and a cut on his forehead. He was unconscious when we found him in the ball room. Knocked out by a Deatheater most likely."
"Was I still in the ball room?" Lily asked. She touched the shredded folds of her ball gown sadly. "That's where I remember I blacked out."
"No, you were lying outside the windows on the grass. I think there was an explosion. You had burns on your back and a few cuts and a nasty bump on your head, but one of the mediwitches healed them."
Lily covered her face with her dirty hands. She slowly slid them through her hair and pushed her hair from her face. Anger had replaced the sadness on her face. Her eyes were bright with emotion.
"Why? Why me? Why did they come after us? My parents are Muggles! Damn Voldemort! They possess no freakin' power to stop Voldemort! And yet he still kills them and everyone at my ball!" Lily clenched her hands into fists. "Why?!"
"I'm afraid I'm unauthorized to answer that question," Orion answered. He placed a hand on Lily's shoulder. "What I am authorized to do is to take you into hiding. Voldemort is after you, Lily, and he isn't going to stop. You have to join the Wizard and Witch Protection Program. We'll give you a new identity and a new look."
Lily looked up at him in surprise.
"I have to do what?! No way! I am not going into hiding!"
"You have to, or you'll be killed!"
"I don't want to do it!"
"It's not a matter of whether you want to do it or not. You will. That's final. You have a special ability. You can do wandless magic. The professors at your private magic school reported to us that the claim was true. What you can do is amazing. Voldemort would – has killed for that power. You must be safe."
"Will I ever come back here again?" Lily asked quietly. She looked at her home. She'd lived there all her life. There were so many memories.
"When the threat of Voldemort is gone, you may be safe to return."
"It looks like I have no say in the matter, then. Is it safe to go pack a few things before I leave?"
"What do you need?"
"My books -"
"You'll get new ones."
"My kitten, my owl, my clothes, my music box -"
"I will pack what I deem necessary." Orion pointed his wand at the mansion. He said a quick spell. "All right, everything is loaded on the carriage waiting for you in front of the mansion."
"My wand! Oh, Merlin! What happened to it?" Lily cried suddenly.
"It's packed as well. A worker from the Ministry found it on the floor of the ball room next to Potter. It is safe. Now, we must go quickly. The Deatheaters may yet come back." Orion took Lily's hand and pulled her towards the mansion. As they passed the hedges and shrubs, Lily saw the damage that had been done from last night.
"Merlin," she whispered.
Though workers were trying to fix the mansion, the large windows were still blown out. Chairs and tables were strewn across the lawn. A flute was thrust into the grass and dirt. Bodies were being levitated away on stretchers. A small fire was still burning inside the ball room. Blood was everywhere.
Lily couldn't take it anymore. Her breathing became labored. Orion stopped and turned to see what was wrong. Swearing when he saw her, he tried to shield the sight from her. But, the image was stuck in Lily's mind.
"Oh, God," Lily gasped. She covered her mouth with one hand. The world spun. She leaned over and threw up on the grass. Orion did a charm on her and her head instantly stopped pounding and she became less sick to her stomach. "Thank you."
"Sorry about the sight. Close your eyes," Orion ordered. Lily closed her eyes. Orion led her past the scene and around the corner of hedges to the front of the mansion. "Okay, open them."
Lily opened her eyes. There was the carriage, stacked full with trunks. A man sat in front, holding the reins to the carriage. The front of her home looked exactly like it did every day. A few tears pricked at the corner of Lily's eyes as she remembered the night before.
"The carriage is bewitched to be invisible to all but you and a few of the Ministry workers. The driver's name is Todd Thornton. He'll take you to where you'll be staying. I will accompany you there as well. We will discuss the details of your new identity on the way," Orion said. Lily nodded. He opened the door to the carriage and helped her in. Socks jumped on her lap when she sat down.
"Socks! You're alive!" Lily cried and hugged her pet. Socks mewed and purred to his mistress.
A man apparated next to Orion. They talked in hushed tones outside the carriage for a while. Orion nodded and the man gave him a slip of paper. Then, he got into the carriage.
"Are you all right?" Orion asked Lily. Lily laughed sarcastically.
"Am I all right? Well, let's see . . . my parents are dead, I was almost kidnapped, a lot of people died in my home and I'm getting a new identity and will probably never see my home again. I'd say I am just peachy!" Lily shouted. She immediately regretted saying it. "I'm sorry. It's not your fault."
"It's all right. Soon, you'll be safe and you can hopefully get over what happened here," Orion answered. Lily nodded and began to stroke her kitten.
Outside, the driver whipped the reins on the horses and carriage began to float up into the air.
"The horses have wings?" Lily asked.
"It's faster and safer to fly," said Orion. He began looking at the paper he was given. Lily moved closer to the window and looked out. The dark clouds from last night had disappeared into white clouds, dotting the sky. She looked down at her home and watched it disappear as she flew eastbound, to her new home.
Author Note: Like it? Hate it? Review and tell me! I love reviews! I was reading some James/Lily fics and I really got into it and came up with this idea. This will be a James and Lily fic. This chapter was sort of the prologue and a meeting between James and Lily. More next time! Review everyone!