Lily Chapter 53: A New Beginning, a harry potter fanfic

A/N: Okay...I guess that certain among u were confused by the last line of the last chapter. Don't worry, we'll clarify that here. :O)

In response to a reviewer's question, we're Americans.

Lily

Chapter 53

"It's sort of an old magic," Kipper explained as they walked through the familiar hall of mirrors. "Nobody invented it or anything, but all us shape-shifters have it. Turn right."

Sirius turned to his right and pointed questioningly at what seemed to be a solid wall of glass. "Here?"

Kipper nodded, now in the shape of a floating tropical fish. "Trust me."

"Okay, but if I break my nose or something, it's your fault."

As Kipper continued to speak, the trio slid unharmed through the entrance to another mirrored hallway. "We just have an innate sense of where the
mirror-passages lead. Kind of like how some wizards have the 'Sight,' and that helps them with - take a left now - Divination. We can even go through a mirror that's been blocked from passage, as you probably already figured out. That's why he was looking for me. Well, not me specifically, but any shape-shifter. Now, I was just buzzing merrily along, minding my own business, and you can imagine my shock when this big ugly wizard claps me in his fist like I was some sort of housefly! Er...I was actually in the shape of a housefly at the time, but that's besides the point. Before I knew it, he'd forced me to transform into a little glass ball and welded me to the end of that blasted wand. By the way, you might want to steer clear of those orange-coloured mirrors, because they have a reputation of turning people into teddy bears. It's actually a pretty good life, really...you might get lucky. A little kid drools all over you, teeths the living daylights out of your nose, then throws you to Daisy, the family rottweiler."

Carefully sidestepping the orange mirror, Lily voiced a question that had been weighing on her since the incident had began. "So...was he really Perry Mifflebey?"

"You bet."

"Why did he want to...do whatever he was going to do?"

"That psycho? He's been after you since the day you were born! I'm assuming you've heard the story about what happened to his parents and their little gift shop?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"All true," Kipper cut her off abruptly. "Every word of it. Turn left again. I don't mean to sound melodramatic, but you would have done much better finishing him off right then and there. He's out for your blood, my dear."

"You really brighten up a bad situation, don't you?"

The tropical fish vanished with a small pop and was replaced with a large sun, much like the kind that a little boy would draw, grinning obnoxiously. "That's me. Mr. Golden Sun. Well, m'friends, I guess this is the parting of our ways. That's the mirror that'll bring you to your friend's father."

"Okay. Thanks for your help, bye." Lily started towards the mirror, but was quickly held back by a sudden heaviness on her right ankle. She looked down in surprise, only to see a blue sandbag tied around it.

"Don't leave meee!" Kipper whined from an unseen mouth. "It's really lonely being me! There isn't anyone perfect enough to hang out with! Come on! Pleeeeeease?"

Lily bent down and tried to untie him, but he only tightened his hold on her ankle. "Don't be ridiculous! Listen, you're way safer in here, what with Perry looking for you."

"Well, by that logic, you two might as well stay in here with me!"

"No!" She said firmly, now trying to drag the sandbag along the floor so that she could reach a mirror. "Besides, you wouldn't like it- you probably wouldn't even be able to survive at Hogwarts!"

"Right, McGonagall would probably smash you into a pulp," Sirius spoke up dryly.

Lily shot him a heated glare. "I don't see you helping me out any," she said angrily.

He grinned. "I would, but this is too much fun."

"See?" Kipper turned into a rubber ball and started bouncing rapidly. "Seeseeseeseesee? He thinks I'm fun! I'll bet you need fun in your life! Oh, yeah, and you need a friend, too!"

"Why?"

"To replace that guy that Perry put in a marble!"

"Listen," Sirius said patiently. "Thanks for getting us away from Perry and all that, but you're too much trouble to have around. No offense."

The rubber ball's bouncing slowed until it came to rest at a hover around Sirius's knee. "Fine! Go ahead and leave, forget about how much I helped you."

"Thanks for the offer. Bye!" As they went through the mirror, they heard Kipper's delighted voice giggling after them.

"You can leave, but remember...I can find anyone I want, anywhere I want, anytime I want!"

It turns out that Mr. Potter had just been down the street a few houses, at the local Ministry office. He was, needless to say, shocked to see that his son was encased in a marble. It was a fairly simple counter- spell to perform, and in no time, James was back to his old self, so to speak. The summer slid back into a pleasant lull, until one very humid day around mid-August. Noon found Lily, James, and Sirius sitting around the kitchen table with a pitcher of iced tea and some sandwiches in which nobody seemed particularly interested. The window was open, but it wasn't helping the heat at all.

A light brown owl with black speckles and rather large wings swooped quietly in through the window and dropped a letter on the table in front of James, then fluttered to the center of the table and started pecking at the sandwiches. It didn't seem very excited to fly back outside.

While the owl removed the watercress from between two slices of white bread, James read the letter. "Oh, no...not this year!"

"Who's it from?" Sirius asked listlessly.

"Er...Harvey Locksmire."

"Isn't he that huge sixth year beater?"

James threw the letter down on the table and leaned back in his chair, putting a hand over his eyes. "Seventh year, now. But you aren't going to believe this. He was flying with his big brother, just practicing his Quidditch technique, and he had a bit of a run-in with an owl..."

"Oh, no."

"Toppled right off and practically shattered his shoulder. It's not going to heal till Christmas."

Sirius let out a moan. "What are we going to do now?"

"Get a replacement, I guess. But can you believe that? I mean, I've already started writing up special plays for him! There isn't a single Gryffindor I can think of who'd be even half the beater he is."

"That's just our luck," said Sirius resignedly. Then, he suddenly looked up and smiled as though he knew of a Gryffindor who'd be much more than
half the beater Harvey Locksmire was.

This, in a nutshell, is why Lily Evans found herself hovering seventy feet above the ground on a broomstick, clutching the handle with white knuckles and not even thinking about the beater's club that James had tied to her right hand.

James wove in and out of the trees that surrounded his house, building up agility in case Lily hit something at him too quickly. "Okay, I'm going to throw a nice big rubber ball at you now! All you have to do is hit it with the club, okay?"

"Why couldn't you have broken your arm instead of Harvey?" Lily shouted shrilly.

"Because then they'd need a new Seeker, and you'd have the bludgers getting beat towards you," said Sirius with an evil grin, before whizzing off to join James.

"I'm throwing the ball on three. One...two...three!"

Lily sat up slowly, still grabbing tight hold of the broom handle with her left hand, but now holding the club slightly aloft and out to the side. She gritted her teeth and swung it at the ball with all her might.

"Whoa!" James yelled.

"Holy ----!" But luckily, Sirius's words were blocked out by the ball shattering an upstairs window in James's house.

She gaped at the window. "Er...sorry!"

"Don't be!" Yelled James, smiling from ear to ear. "This is just about the best thing that ever happened to me! We just need to work on your fear of heights..."