Disclaimer : This story is based on characters and situations created and
owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to
Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros.,
Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is
intended.
HUGE thanks to Padfoot, my wonderful beta reader, thanks!
Oh and one crucial thing, I'm pretty sure Lily is muggle born, but if shes not well in this she is very much a muggle born. And sort of poor. Please don't flame! And Lily was before her time in taste ok :)!
Ok on with this.
« Speech »
Thought
Stressing
Lily Evans First Year
Chapter One.
A girl with blood red hair was standing in front of her house in the cold, her jacket not zipped up because she hated the feeling of being in a close space, black jeans just loose enough around her legs and a black tang top. As she thought back to the letter than had come again like every year since the summer of her eleventh birthday, her green eyes clouded over and shining with tears. She was a witch, apparently a powerful one. She had a place in a celebrated school of wizardry, if only she had the money to get in. And she didn't have it. Neither did her parents. They loved her, they were never overprotective nor did they ever make her feel neglected. They were such a wonderful image of goodness it was annoying and Lily couldnt help but snap at them if they just said good morning. School was hell, so was home, but when she was at one she longed for the other, and just wanted to be alone, stop moving altogether and just be left in her misery. She was down right depressed, and she knew it.
The school bus coming up to start another painful year brought her out of her depressed thoughts. She crossed the road, stopped at the same spot she always had, the bus stopped right in front of her. She went to the same seat, on the same side of the bus, laid her head against the window and proceeded to block out everything, including the laughs coming from behind her that she was sure were caused by her. For the first time since she had started high school, she had let her red hair grow and hadnt died it black like she had for two years now. Nobody at her school had ever seen her with red hair, they would think it was died. She didnt care. They really werent worth worrying over.
When the bus pulled in front of her small high school, she got up and walked out, taking the same door to get in the school, the same door to get into the locker section, went to the locker she had reserved a week before and unlocked the school lock, replacing it with her own lock who's numbers she had colored when she was still fairly popular because she was new. She unpacked her bag, found this year's time table, and laid back against the locker staring at the locker in front of her. She could hear the other girls talking from the corner. They were so loud that just about anybody could hear them, but they seemed to think they were discreet enough.
« Oh my gosh, she died her hair red just like you had last year Petunia! She is such a copycat! »
« Yeah I know and she has those stupid pants again, all loose and black. Is she a goth Petunia? You never told us your sister was such a wannabe! »
Petunia here, Petunia there, do they ever shut up? Why do they even follow her, she's so mean with everyone, cruel even. Yeah like you with your own parents. « Oh no you don't! » she told herself, « I don't need guilt today. » You never do...
The bell rang. Lily took her walkman, put Sabbath in it, picked up her books, and holding them to her waist she marched off in rythm with the music, ignoring the looks and pointing she got until she got into her math class.
The classes really weren't that bad, she had friends in them, pretty much all her group liked her, but she didn't like hanging out with people outside the room. She didnt have good conversation skills and she freaked people out with the strange feeling they got when around her. When Mary walked in and sat beside her, Lily started talking with her and actully felt that without Petunia spreading rumours about her, her life really wouldn't be that bad.
«Hey Mary! May the colours be with you!»
« The colours Lil? I thought you were over with that colour trip of yours! »
« You thought wrong! I think I have a fever today...or maybe I'm just delirious. Yeah, that must be it. » Lily finished with a smile, before greeting just about the whole class with colours references, most of her classmates smiling and returning her greeting with one of their own. She had started this colour thing the year before, and pretty much everybody had picked up on it, and though it had gone out after a month or so, only Lily could still use it and be considered cool.
About to ask about Jeanne's vacation and plans for the weekend, she changed her mind when the teacher begin explaining the algebra bases they'd be covering before Christmas. It was hard not to swear when looking at the crazy list and unrealistic methods and assorted time limits they were supposed to work through in just four months. « This is going to be a packed year », muttered Lily looking around and getting nods from most people around her. They all thought she was cool, nice and mature but they were scared of getting their reputation ruined by Petutina and the likes over a girl who hated socializing and loved to read.
« Today we will be starting the equal equations methods, so before trying to teach it to you all, I will give you a problem and you can try to solve it, so I can evaluate you all. Any questions? » asked their teacher looking around and daring anybody to raise their hand. «No? Good, let's start!»
After writing their problem on the board, she tunrned at a knock at the door, going to answer it and warning the class to stay quiet. Lily sighed, this is going to be especially long with this teacher! She shot a look at the door where her teacher was talking with a woman about twenty-seven years of age, who was trying to look intimidating and wasn't succeeding in much, except annoying their forty year old teacher. Poor girlthought Lily, turning back to her problem.
2x 5 = 2x 8 -x
Oh well thats easy.
X equals 3.
Lily looked around, and saw everybody's puzzled looks. She had always been very good in understanding theorys, and why things worked. But she had never been able to figure out why strange things happened in their town until her eleventh birthday. Looking back in time, she remembered how the thought of magic explained all the strange things that happened before.
Tables turning when nobody was looking, ok it could just be bad visual memory. But windows exploding without reason when Peter was being put down by the teachers? Pencils breaking when he was being bullied.
Weird.
She had always felt simpathy towards him, she felt she had a sort of connection with him. Even though they had never talked, when something happenned, only she turned to look at Peter Pettigrew. She just knew it was him somehow. And when the first letter had come, she had beleived it at once. It just all fit together nicely. And when Peter wasn't there to start fifth grade, she knew the only difference between them was that he could pay to go to Hogwarts, while she had to suffer receiving a letter each year telling her where to buy her things, where to go, when, and that she would have a place in the dormitories and classes when she had the neccesary supplies. That year all positive feelings she had for Peter left and were replaced by a jealousy only equaled by her sorrow to now being the only one of her kind into her little town.
« Lily, could you please come here? And bring your things. »
She jumped a bit at the interuption, and hid it by getting up and taking her books, happy to be out of the algebra class but annoyed at being the center of attention. As soon as she was out of the class the woman took her to an empty classroom, and made her sit on the floor while she took the only other chair. The snippy woman then proceeded into staring at her, while fingering some polished branch of some sort. Feeling very akward, and slightly ridiculous, she looked around, and twisted her fingers, a habit she had when she was nervous.
« So um...Hi? » tried Lily hopefully.
« Hello to you to miss Evans, I was wondering when you would talk. Well since I'm a very busy woman, we shall make this quick. You are aware that you are a witch yes? »
She knew?! That must mean she's one to... probably works at that school. Why is she here though? Maybe I won a prize to go for free or something.Now that is unlickly darling Oh, here goes that inner self voice again. Yay.
« Miss Evans I'll take your surprised silence and staring as a yes, so, I trust I'm not mistaking when I say you have received exacly... » the woman searched into the bag wich had suddently appeared at her foot and was presently hovering beside her before continuing. « Three letters from Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft And Wisardry yes? »
Lily only nodded.
« Then why, pray tell are you sitting on the floor gawking at me?! You should be getting ready! Buying your things and going to Kings Cross and currently waking up for your first day of class! »
Lily could only stare at the annoyed woman sitting in front of her. Did she not know she couldn't go? Had they not noticed she hadn't gone to her first, nor her second year? Clearly not.
« Madam, I can't go to your school, buy supplies and hop on some magical train or another for the same reason I couldn't last year and the year before. I cannot pay. »
The woman looked at her criticly, and turned back to her papers, clearly disbeleiving her story. She got a hold of a relativly discreet paper wich started flashing red and blue screeming « You got Mail!!! You got Mail!!! » in a strange voice. The woman raised a perfecly defined eyebrow, shot a look at Lily and proceeded into covering her mistake by reading the memo.
« Of course you can't pay. That's why, by order of the Minister Of Magical Education, my boss, you will be financed by the school. And you will be... » sly check to the everflashing but blissfully quiet memo « living with another family for the time of your education. » at this precise moment the memo stopped flashing and turned sickly yellow with black rays across it, making it quite impossible to ignore as it was buzzing around their heads. The woman was desperatly trying to ignore it, but when the memo started poking her making little oinking noises, she surrendered and picked it out of the air.
After frowning at the memo for a good five minutes, the woman turned back to Lily who looked more and more incredulous at the woman, wondering if she really knew what she was doing.
« But since the Minister Of The Well Being Of Our Children thinks it is cruel to separate you from your home, you will stay at the school for the year, and return during the summer. I, of course, could have told you that since its like every other single child, but no, they were to happy at having an opportunity to slack on the paperwork.»
Another paper flew out of the bag, blue and white and signing an harmonium song. The woman, looking on the edge of a nervous breakdown, snatched it, read it and was about to talk once again. Then a black and silver memo flew out, followed by a multitude of memos, who all had taken the opportunity to make a quick escape and were now screaming their messages at her.
Lily just stared, an eyebrow raised in confusion, head cocked and trying not to laugh at the poor woman who was trying to read them all. The woman wrestled with them a while longer before taking the branch she had been holding onto for dear life and stopping, holding the stick in a relativly snobby pause, saying a couple of Latin sounding words. The papers stopped moving and she read them all, burning them down when she was done. She then turned to deliver her final message to Lily, and relised that she wasnt even blinking. She swore, swore after relising she had sworn and kept going in a vicious circle of swearing while saying some uncomprehensible words. Lily could finally move, and though she looked slightly pissed, she was okay.
« So whats the final message? » Lily asked in a bored tone, feeling extremly tired for some reason, so weary that she couldn't have let out her exitment over being allowed to go, and feeling overall sore.
« After many Quidditch matches, drinks at the Rusty Nail, and nights at the Dancing Pixie, the many sub-sub-sub-ministers agreed on this course of action. You will be starting school yesterday, we will go shopping today, you will stay at your house during the summer, in this year you will catch up on you first and second year, next year you will do your third and fourth year, and you will be in possession of a Very Dangerous And Very Prohibited Magical Artical. Namely a time-turner.»
« Okay. So I will be going to Hogwarts? Really? No more memos saying they changed their minds? Your positive? » Lily asked in a frenzy at the thought that she might get a new start.
For the first time since she had seen her, the woman smiled genuinly, and looked proudly at her.
« Yes. Miss Evans you are accepted into Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft And Wisardry. Come now we must take your things, and arrange for a letter to be sent to your parents. »
« Okay, so whats a time-turner? Apart of course from being a Very Dangerous And Very Prohibited Magical Artical? Does it like, go back in time? »
The woman looked with awe at the fourteen year old girl, walking with her down the hallway, so absorbed in her reflexions and questions she hadn't even noticed they weren't in the same hallway as before.
« That's exacly what it does, watch your head. »
« Why? » Asked Lily looking around for real, and seeing the hallway she was in was starting to get lower, before ending in an elevator.
« Sweet... »she whispered, smiling as they entered the elevator and were taken to the white button. Litteraly, since the only button was white and had « The White Button » on it.
They walked out of the doors in a vast hall, full of people all in their mid-twentys running around answering cellphones, or what looked like it, and that was apparently called The White Button, judging by the title on the main arch which led to a...well, a big hole. With people floating up and down in it. Weird.
« What is this place? »
« The White Button, known by all the assistants here, which means everyone on this floor, as The White Pain In The Arse. »
« Why is it such a pain to work here? It looks pretty intresting, and full of activity. Almost too much of it actully. »
« Precicly, too much of it, this is where the many ministers get assistants, its a dirty job to give, you can run the whole underworld just to find the Minister Of The Defense For Tricks And Treats Halloween Victims Who Are Over Forty And Below 140 Pounds's glasses. »
Er, what a great job...well it must be all they can get, its still better than being on the goverment's help fund.
Her thoughts were cut short as she felt the woman putting a heavy chain around both of theyre necks, before she felt slightly sick. About to ask the woman about it, she decided to look up from the floor and saw they were no longer in a white hallway but in rural London. How in the world did we get here! Well it is a magical world... I suppose we...flew? Oh whatever, the important thing is I'm going to Hogwarts! Oh my god. I AM going to Hogwarts. Magic. Boarding school. It's a major change...and it took me so long to get used to my old school...do I really want to start here again.
They walked in a pub and as soon as they walked in, she felt a wave of confort wash over her. This was were she belonged, she knew it. How the smoke filled air of the pub gave her that selfconfidence, she didn't know. But what she did know, was that she wasnt the only girl on earth with powers. There would be other kids. She could actully make friends. She just had to make an effort. As the woman took her into the back of the pub, Lily made a promise to herself: she would do her best to fit in. And if she couldn't, then she would be unattaindable. She turned on her walkman and earphones around her neck the volume as high as it can be, she walked into Diagon Alley, and looked strait ahead, without looking back.
As they walked into a shop named Ollivanders and she sat down, looked around and felt like herself for the first time since she could remember.
« Sorry, miss, hi I'm Arthur Weasly » a redhead with a curious look about him, wearing black robes and barely over 17 years old introduced himself.
« Lily Evans, nice to meet you »
« I was wondering, this music your carrying around, it isin't magical is it? How does it work, Tricity doesn't work here, because of the magical waves you know, so how does it work? »
She presumed he meant electricity. So it didn't work around here hey...well walkmans were battery powered...maybe that was it.
« I think it's because my music works with batteries, it's self powered so it doesn't travel the waves as much. »
« Batteries? What are those? Self-powered you say? It must be very convenient! What a brilliant idea... May I? » he asked the amused Lily, nodding towards her earphones.
« Sure, just don't drop it okay? » she passed the walkman over to the young man, who took it reverently, and started examinating it.
« Interesting...Very smart concept...Muggles have the most brilliant ideas to replace magic...or maybe we just replace their ways...Marvelous. »
He jumped when another song came on, after a long pause caused by the man putting it on hold. He then laughed a nervous laugh, and gave it back to her, eyeing it like it was a manifestation of god himself.
Lily saw this, and figured that since he was so interested, she'd just give him something to think on. And what were muggles? He said they replaced magic...so maybe people who didnt have magic? Yeah that must be it, she concluded and then fished a pack of four AA batteries from her purse. He took them and asked what they were.
« Their batteries, you put them in this compartiment see? And that's what makes it work. »
« Thank you very much miss Evans, I appreciate it, I have to go now, but thanks again! » he yelled backing out the door and waving to her once outside. Lily laughed, if people here were that easygoing about her, then she really would enjoy herself.
« Miss Evans? » a hand on her shoulder made her snap back to reality, a man in his 40's was now with the woman and a box in his hand, eyes fixated on her, he made her uneasy, but after meating Arthur, she didnt mind that much.
He handed her a wooden stick, about the same as the one the other women carried around like it was her life. Lily picked it up, and right away felt....nothing. Since the other two looked disapointed, she tried to consentrate on the stick. Nothing still. She was about to tell them, when a box in a shelf caught her eye. She got up, walked to it and picked it up. It seemed to have a silver glow about it, silver and green and when she took the stick silver and green lights started to dance around her, before the green turned blue, than yellow before becoming red and turning into a silver red trail of light. When the two adults saw the green, they seemed to be a bit scared, and then confused when the other colours appeared, but they were now smiling greatly at the red and silver thread dancing about the room. Only Lily seemed to think it looked like a serpent, and only she seemed to notice the green glow it left around the room.
The thread came back to settle in the handle and on the lenght of the wand she was holding, making sly slightly colored squiggles engraved in it.
« Well Miss Lily Evans, it's a fine choice indeed, I hope you use it well. The wand is not good or bad, it's who uses it that makes the choices. »
« Yes, um, well I'm sure of it. Just put the bill on the minister, we're in a hurry. » Said the woman, glancing uneasily at Mr. Olivander. He always made everybody slightly creeped out.
« Which minister, there's so many of them! »
« Whichever one, it doesn't really matter, we must go Lily, hurry up. »
Lily took her wand, her purse and her walkman, and followed the woman through various stores, buying weird looking and smelling bottles and roots, a set of robes with the hogwarts stamp on them, all the books she needed, and a couple more when the older woman noticed the longing glances Lily was throwing the books. When they were finally done their shopping, it was late in the afternoon, and even though Lily was too excited to feel tired, she knew she'd be dead on her feet the next day if she didn't sleep.
The woman dropped her at the pub they had been to earlier, and told her to get a room and leave it on the minister, before dissapearing into thin air leaving a couple of strands of hair and a nail behind. Highly freaked out, Lily went into the pub where surprisignly enough, the air was now clear, and the lights brilliant, the pub now lit properly, looked pretty cosy, and she saw only a couple of boys sitting at the bar, wich now seemed to be simply sodas.
« Darn, no Bloody Marys for me tonight...shame, though I wonder if they even know what that is. »
« Well I for a fact know what a Bloody Mary is, and if you had the proportions, I'm sure we could all relax before school started. What do you think Sirius, a Bloody Mary for the Bloody Mary? » the slurred voice, clearly belonging to someone drunk, made Lily do a sharp turn and quickly regain her momentum when she saw only three guys at the bar, two clearly way too pissed to stand up straight.
I must of been talking out loud, it wasn't the first time, she talked so much to herself that when she saw somebody she always freaked out because she didn't know if she had been talking out loud. The guy who had spoken had jet-black naturally spiked hair, ice blue eyes and blood-red lips and oh dear god was he hot! Nothing like the guys at her old school, he was just plain yummy. lol His friends didn't look bad either come to think of it. The one who was leaning so much on the bar he looked like he was just lying down on it had dark brown hair, it looked thick, and sort of long, he had..well she guessed he had brown eyes cause he had closed his eyes right after oppening them to look at her, and he was pretty much as sweet looking as his friend who was now smirking lazily at her.
At this she raised an eyebrow. Why in the heck of a world was he smirking at her? Oh whatever she thought as her eyes fell on the only guy standing, he had sandy brown hair, as messy as the other two, deep light brown eyes, and yummy oh so tasty looking lips. Okay what was with her and lips? Well they all did have unbelievebly tasty looking lips. Maybe theyll be in my class...no they wont! Ill be with eleven and twelve year old students all year! Oh my dear god. I will die a painful and slow death.
« Like what you see Bloody Mary? »
Oh. So that's what he was smirking at. Oh no and now so were the two other ones. « Well it's now or never, will you be yourself for once or just take the easy way and the less life moving one? » And now her voice was coming in again. Well no time to think anymore.
« Ya pretty much. Though after a whole two years in an only girls high school, any guy would be interesting » Lily smirked back. Attitude problems anyone? And okay it wasn't exacly true, there were boys back at her old place, but the comparison really didn't help their case.
Snort. « She got you there Jamesie. » said the other drunk one in an annoyingly cheerful sing song voice.
Eyebrow raise again from Lily's part damn you'll run out of eyebrows soon « Jamesy? Nice name. Very...refreshing... » said Lily.
The drunk one laughed and proceeded into falling off his chair, causing Jamesie to laugh and of course fall off his chair to, which left them both rolling on the ground, and the only two left standing to look at each other, glance at the laughing pair on the floor, look back at each other and shrug. They both had experiences with drunks acting stupid.
« So you still want a Bloody Mary? By the way I'm Remus Lupin, the black haired one is James Potter and the other goofball there is Sirius Black. »
« Lily Karine Evans. Commonly known as Bloody Mary I suppose. And yeah sure, I'd kill for one right now. »
They both sat at the bar, made themselves Bloody Marys from the so slyly hidden real bar, stepping over the sleeping barman and the two other guys. They started a conversation about stories from cocktails and alchool adventures of their own respective friends. Lily borrowed a few from her friend's friend's stories, for lack of ever going out, and she felt quite comfortable with Remus, and soon forgot that what she had dreamed and longed for since she was eleven was coming up tomorow, according to Remus, though she wondered how she had went back a day in time without even knowing.
« So then Peter jumped into the lake after the moon, and ended up taking back a rock that we'd charmed to shine with him. »
« Peter? He's not here, who is he? »
« Well here he's coming,-- Finally Peter it took you ages! We thought you had lost yourself in a lake again. »
« Well I met this girl and we sorta walked around town for a while...before she threw up on me. Who's the girl? »
Lily turned to him, and started him in the eye after looking him over. Peter Pettigrew, the guy who had managed to get in Hogwarts, the guy who she had always silently stuck up for, was standing in front of her, with friends, an attitude, everything she had always longed for.
« Oh um Hi Lily?! » Peter stumbled over his own words, reconising the girl that he had felt such a sympathy towards before he left.
« Peter. Nice of you to say hi. » her cold voice, barely sounding like her own, made Peter shiver with guilt. She had always been looked at like a loner and a nerdy reject when he was there. He still thought she was the same.
« Remus, t'was nice to talk with you, but I gotta go. »
Ya before I kill your friend here out of undeserved jealousy.
« Peter, Remus. » she nodded to each of them in turn, and walked to the front of the pub, woke up the man sleeping there, got a room and numbly made her way to her bed.
Peter Pettigrew was in her school. Joy. My life sucks. Lily cried herself to sleep, not understanding how just Peter's arrival had made her cry. But she knew why in a way. It reminded her of her old life. The one she was running away from.
Review?
HUGE thanks to Padfoot, my wonderful beta reader, thanks!
Oh and one crucial thing, I'm pretty sure Lily is muggle born, but if shes not well in this she is very much a muggle born. And sort of poor. Please don't flame! And Lily was before her time in taste ok :)!
Ok on with this.
« Speech »
Thought
Stressing
Lily Evans First Year
Chapter One.
A girl with blood red hair was standing in front of her house in the cold, her jacket not zipped up because she hated the feeling of being in a close space, black jeans just loose enough around her legs and a black tang top. As she thought back to the letter than had come again like every year since the summer of her eleventh birthday, her green eyes clouded over and shining with tears. She was a witch, apparently a powerful one. She had a place in a celebrated school of wizardry, if only she had the money to get in. And she didn't have it. Neither did her parents. They loved her, they were never overprotective nor did they ever make her feel neglected. They were such a wonderful image of goodness it was annoying and Lily couldnt help but snap at them if they just said good morning. School was hell, so was home, but when she was at one she longed for the other, and just wanted to be alone, stop moving altogether and just be left in her misery. She was down right depressed, and she knew it.
The school bus coming up to start another painful year brought her out of her depressed thoughts. She crossed the road, stopped at the same spot she always had, the bus stopped right in front of her. She went to the same seat, on the same side of the bus, laid her head against the window and proceeded to block out everything, including the laughs coming from behind her that she was sure were caused by her. For the first time since she had started high school, she had let her red hair grow and hadnt died it black like she had for two years now. Nobody at her school had ever seen her with red hair, they would think it was died. She didnt care. They really werent worth worrying over.
When the bus pulled in front of her small high school, she got up and walked out, taking the same door to get in the school, the same door to get into the locker section, went to the locker she had reserved a week before and unlocked the school lock, replacing it with her own lock who's numbers she had colored when she was still fairly popular because she was new. She unpacked her bag, found this year's time table, and laid back against the locker staring at the locker in front of her. She could hear the other girls talking from the corner. They were so loud that just about anybody could hear them, but they seemed to think they were discreet enough.
« Oh my gosh, she died her hair red just like you had last year Petunia! She is such a copycat! »
« Yeah I know and she has those stupid pants again, all loose and black. Is she a goth Petunia? You never told us your sister was such a wannabe! »
Petunia here, Petunia there, do they ever shut up? Why do they even follow her, she's so mean with everyone, cruel even. Yeah like you with your own parents. « Oh no you don't! » she told herself, « I don't need guilt today. » You never do...
The bell rang. Lily took her walkman, put Sabbath in it, picked up her books, and holding them to her waist she marched off in rythm with the music, ignoring the looks and pointing she got until she got into her math class.
The classes really weren't that bad, she had friends in them, pretty much all her group liked her, but she didn't like hanging out with people outside the room. She didnt have good conversation skills and she freaked people out with the strange feeling they got when around her. When Mary walked in and sat beside her, Lily started talking with her and actully felt that without Petunia spreading rumours about her, her life really wouldn't be that bad.
«Hey Mary! May the colours be with you!»
« The colours Lil? I thought you were over with that colour trip of yours! »
« You thought wrong! I think I have a fever today...or maybe I'm just delirious. Yeah, that must be it. » Lily finished with a smile, before greeting just about the whole class with colours references, most of her classmates smiling and returning her greeting with one of their own. She had started this colour thing the year before, and pretty much everybody had picked up on it, and though it had gone out after a month or so, only Lily could still use it and be considered cool.
About to ask about Jeanne's vacation and plans for the weekend, she changed her mind when the teacher begin explaining the algebra bases they'd be covering before Christmas. It was hard not to swear when looking at the crazy list and unrealistic methods and assorted time limits they were supposed to work through in just four months. « This is going to be a packed year », muttered Lily looking around and getting nods from most people around her. They all thought she was cool, nice and mature but they were scared of getting their reputation ruined by Petutina and the likes over a girl who hated socializing and loved to read.
« Today we will be starting the equal equations methods, so before trying to teach it to you all, I will give you a problem and you can try to solve it, so I can evaluate you all. Any questions? » asked their teacher looking around and daring anybody to raise their hand. «No? Good, let's start!»
After writing their problem on the board, she tunrned at a knock at the door, going to answer it and warning the class to stay quiet. Lily sighed, this is going to be especially long with this teacher! She shot a look at the door where her teacher was talking with a woman about twenty-seven years of age, who was trying to look intimidating and wasn't succeeding in much, except annoying their forty year old teacher. Poor girlthought Lily, turning back to her problem.
2x 5 = 2x 8 -x
Oh well thats easy.
X equals 3.
Lily looked around, and saw everybody's puzzled looks. She had always been very good in understanding theorys, and why things worked. But she had never been able to figure out why strange things happened in their town until her eleventh birthday. Looking back in time, she remembered how the thought of magic explained all the strange things that happened before.
Tables turning when nobody was looking, ok it could just be bad visual memory. But windows exploding without reason when Peter was being put down by the teachers? Pencils breaking when he was being bullied.
Weird.
She had always felt simpathy towards him, she felt she had a sort of connection with him. Even though they had never talked, when something happenned, only she turned to look at Peter Pettigrew. She just knew it was him somehow. And when the first letter had come, she had beleived it at once. It just all fit together nicely. And when Peter wasn't there to start fifth grade, she knew the only difference between them was that he could pay to go to Hogwarts, while she had to suffer receiving a letter each year telling her where to buy her things, where to go, when, and that she would have a place in the dormitories and classes when she had the neccesary supplies. That year all positive feelings she had for Peter left and were replaced by a jealousy only equaled by her sorrow to now being the only one of her kind into her little town.
« Lily, could you please come here? And bring your things. »
She jumped a bit at the interuption, and hid it by getting up and taking her books, happy to be out of the algebra class but annoyed at being the center of attention. As soon as she was out of the class the woman took her to an empty classroom, and made her sit on the floor while she took the only other chair. The snippy woman then proceeded into staring at her, while fingering some polished branch of some sort. Feeling very akward, and slightly ridiculous, she looked around, and twisted her fingers, a habit she had when she was nervous.
« So um...Hi? » tried Lily hopefully.
« Hello to you to miss Evans, I was wondering when you would talk. Well since I'm a very busy woman, we shall make this quick. You are aware that you are a witch yes? »
She knew?! That must mean she's one to... probably works at that school. Why is she here though? Maybe I won a prize to go for free or something.Now that is unlickly darling Oh, here goes that inner self voice again. Yay.
« Miss Evans I'll take your surprised silence and staring as a yes, so, I trust I'm not mistaking when I say you have received exacly... » the woman searched into the bag wich had suddently appeared at her foot and was presently hovering beside her before continuing. « Three letters from Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft And Wisardry yes? »
Lily only nodded.
« Then why, pray tell are you sitting on the floor gawking at me?! You should be getting ready! Buying your things and going to Kings Cross and currently waking up for your first day of class! »
Lily could only stare at the annoyed woman sitting in front of her. Did she not know she couldn't go? Had they not noticed she hadn't gone to her first, nor her second year? Clearly not.
« Madam, I can't go to your school, buy supplies and hop on some magical train or another for the same reason I couldn't last year and the year before. I cannot pay. »
The woman looked at her criticly, and turned back to her papers, clearly disbeleiving her story. She got a hold of a relativly discreet paper wich started flashing red and blue screeming « You got Mail!!! You got Mail!!! » in a strange voice. The woman raised a perfecly defined eyebrow, shot a look at Lily and proceeded into covering her mistake by reading the memo.
« Of course you can't pay. That's why, by order of the Minister Of Magical Education, my boss, you will be financed by the school. And you will be... » sly check to the everflashing but blissfully quiet memo « living with another family for the time of your education. » at this precise moment the memo stopped flashing and turned sickly yellow with black rays across it, making it quite impossible to ignore as it was buzzing around their heads. The woman was desperatly trying to ignore it, but when the memo started poking her making little oinking noises, she surrendered and picked it out of the air.
After frowning at the memo for a good five minutes, the woman turned back to Lily who looked more and more incredulous at the woman, wondering if she really knew what she was doing.
« But since the Minister Of The Well Being Of Our Children thinks it is cruel to separate you from your home, you will stay at the school for the year, and return during the summer. I, of course, could have told you that since its like every other single child, but no, they were to happy at having an opportunity to slack on the paperwork.»
Another paper flew out of the bag, blue and white and signing an harmonium song. The woman, looking on the edge of a nervous breakdown, snatched it, read it and was about to talk once again. Then a black and silver memo flew out, followed by a multitude of memos, who all had taken the opportunity to make a quick escape and were now screaming their messages at her.
Lily just stared, an eyebrow raised in confusion, head cocked and trying not to laugh at the poor woman who was trying to read them all. The woman wrestled with them a while longer before taking the branch she had been holding onto for dear life and stopping, holding the stick in a relativly snobby pause, saying a couple of Latin sounding words. The papers stopped moving and she read them all, burning them down when she was done. She then turned to deliver her final message to Lily, and relised that she wasnt even blinking. She swore, swore after relising she had sworn and kept going in a vicious circle of swearing while saying some uncomprehensible words. Lily could finally move, and though she looked slightly pissed, she was okay.
« So whats the final message? » Lily asked in a bored tone, feeling extremly tired for some reason, so weary that she couldn't have let out her exitment over being allowed to go, and feeling overall sore.
« After many Quidditch matches, drinks at the Rusty Nail, and nights at the Dancing Pixie, the many sub-sub-sub-ministers agreed on this course of action. You will be starting school yesterday, we will go shopping today, you will stay at your house during the summer, in this year you will catch up on you first and second year, next year you will do your third and fourth year, and you will be in possession of a Very Dangerous And Very Prohibited Magical Artical. Namely a time-turner.»
« Okay. So I will be going to Hogwarts? Really? No more memos saying they changed their minds? Your positive? » Lily asked in a frenzy at the thought that she might get a new start.
For the first time since she had seen her, the woman smiled genuinly, and looked proudly at her.
« Yes. Miss Evans you are accepted into Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft And Wisardry. Come now we must take your things, and arrange for a letter to be sent to your parents. »
« Okay, so whats a time-turner? Apart of course from being a Very Dangerous And Very Prohibited Magical Artical? Does it like, go back in time? »
The woman looked with awe at the fourteen year old girl, walking with her down the hallway, so absorbed in her reflexions and questions she hadn't even noticed they weren't in the same hallway as before.
« That's exacly what it does, watch your head. »
« Why? » Asked Lily looking around for real, and seeing the hallway she was in was starting to get lower, before ending in an elevator.
« Sweet... »she whispered, smiling as they entered the elevator and were taken to the white button. Litteraly, since the only button was white and had « The White Button » on it.
They walked out of the doors in a vast hall, full of people all in their mid-twentys running around answering cellphones, or what looked like it, and that was apparently called The White Button, judging by the title on the main arch which led to a...well, a big hole. With people floating up and down in it. Weird.
« What is this place? »
« The White Button, known by all the assistants here, which means everyone on this floor, as The White Pain In The Arse. »
« Why is it such a pain to work here? It looks pretty intresting, and full of activity. Almost too much of it actully. »
« Precicly, too much of it, this is where the many ministers get assistants, its a dirty job to give, you can run the whole underworld just to find the Minister Of The Defense For Tricks And Treats Halloween Victims Who Are Over Forty And Below 140 Pounds's glasses. »
Er, what a great job...well it must be all they can get, its still better than being on the goverment's help fund.
Her thoughts were cut short as she felt the woman putting a heavy chain around both of theyre necks, before she felt slightly sick. About to ask the woman about it, she decided to look up from the floor and saw they were no longer in a white hallway but in rural London. How in the world did we get here! Well it is a magical world... I suppose we...flew? Oh whatever, the important thing is I'm going to Hogwarts! Oh my god. I AM going to Hogwarts. Magic. Boarding school. It's a major change...and it took me so long to get used to my old school...do I really want to start here again.
They walked in a pub and as soon as they walked in, she felt a wave of confort wash over her. This was were she belonged, she knew it. How the smoke filled air of the pub gave her that selfconfidence, she didn't know. But what she did know, was that she wasnt the only girl on earth with powers. There would be other kids. She could actully make friends. She just had to make an effort. As the woman took her into the back of the pub, Lily made a promise to herself: she would do her best to fit in. And if she couldn't, then she would be unattaindable. She turned on her walkman and earphones around her neck the volume as high as it can be, she walked into Diagon Alley, and looked strait ahead, without looking back.
As they walked into a shop named Ollivanders and she sat down, looked around and felt like herself for the first time since she could remember.
« Sorry, miss, hi I'm Arthur Weasly » a redhead with a curious look about him, wearing black robes and barely over 17 years old introduced himself.
« Lily Evans, nice to meet you »
« I was wondering, this music your carrying around, it isin't magical is it? How does it work, Tricity doesn't work here, because of the magical waves you know, so how does it work? »
She presumed he meant electricity. So it didn't work around here hey...well walkmans were battery powered...maybe that was it.
« I think it's because my music works with batteries, it's self powered so it doesn't travel the waves as much. »
« Batteries? What are those? Self-powered you say? It must be very convenient! What a brilliant idea... May I? » he asked the amused Lily, nodding towards her earphones.
« Sure, just don't drop it okay? » she passed the walkman over to the young man, who took it reverently, and started examinating it.
« Interesting...Very smart concept...Muggles have the most brilliant ideas to replace magic...or maybe we just replace their ways...Marvelous. »
He jumped when another song came on, after a long pause caused by the man putting it on hold. He then laughed a nervous laugh, and gave it back to her, eyeing it like it was a manifestation of god himself.
Lily saw this, and figured that since he was so interested, she'd just give him something to think on. And what were muggles? He said they replaced magic...so maybe people who didnt have magic? Yeah that must be it, she concluded and then fished a pack of four AA batteries from her purse. He took them and asked what they were.
« Their batteries, you put them in this compartiment see? And that's what makes it work. »
« Thank you very much miss Evans, I appreciate it, I have to go now, but thanks again! » he yelled backing out the door and waving to her once outside. Lily laughed, if people here were that easygoing about her, then she really would enjoy herself.
« Miss Evans? » a hand on her shoulder made her snap back to reality, a man in his 40's was now with the woman and a box in his hand, eyes fixated on her, he made her uneasy, but after meating Arthur, she didnt mind that much.
He handed her a wooden stick, about the same as the one the other women carried around like it was her life. Lily picked it up, and right away felt....nothing. Since the other two looked disapointed, she tried to consentrate on the stick. Nothing still. She was about to tell them, when a box in a shelf caught her eye. She got up, walked to it and picked it up. It seemed to have a silver glow about it, silver and green and when she took the stick silver and green lights started to dance around her, before the green turned blue, than yellow before becoming red and turning into a silver red trail of light. When the two adults saw the green, they seemed to be a bit scared, and then confused when the other colours appeared, but they were now smiling greatly at the red and silver thread dancing about the room. Only Lily seemed to think it looked like a serpent, and only she seemed to notice the green glow it left around the room.
The thread came back to settle in the handle and on the lenght of the wand she was holding, making sly slightly colored squiggles engraved in it.
« Well Miss Lily Evans, it's a fine choice indeed, I hope you use it well. The wand is not good or bad, it's who uses it that makes the choices. »
« Yes, um, well I'm sure of it. Just put the bill on the minister, we're in a hurry. » Said the woman, glancing uneasily at Mr. Olivander. He always made everybody slightly creeped out.
« Which minister, there's so many of them! »
« Whichever one, it doesn't really matter, we must go Lily, hurry up. »
Lily took her wand, her purse and her walkman, and followed the woman through various stores, buying weird looking and smelling bottles and roots, a set of robes with the hogwarts stamp on them, all the books she needed, and a couple more when the older woman noticed the longing glances Lily was throwing the books. When they were finally done their shopping, it was late in the afternoon, and even though Lily was too excited to feel tired, she knew she'd be dead on her feet the next day if she didn't sleep.
The woman dropped her at the pub they had been to earlier, and told her to get a room and leave it on the minister, before dissapearing into thin air leaving a couple of strands of hair and a nail behind. Highly freaked out, Lily went into the pub where surprisignly enough, the air was now clear, and the lights brilliant, the pub now lit properly, looked pretty cosy, and she saw only a couple of boys sitting at the bar, wich now seemed to be simply sodas.
« Darn, no Bloody Marys for me tonight...shame, though I wonder if they even know what that is. »
« Well I for a fact know what a Bloody Mary is, and if you had the proportions, I'm sure we could all relax before school started. What do you think Sirius, a Bloody Mary for the Bloody Mary? » the slurred voice, clearly belonging to someone drunk, made Lily do a sharp turn and quickly regain her momentum when she saw only three guys at the bar, two clearly way too pissed to stand up straight.
I must of been talking out loud, it wasn't the first time, she talked so much to herself that when she saw somebody she always freaked out because she didn't know if she had been talking out loud. The guy who had spoken had jet-black naturally spiked hair, ice blue eyes and blood-red lips and oh dear god was he hot! Nothing like the guys at her old school, he was just plain yummy. lol His friends didn't look bad either come to think of it. The one who was leaning so much on the bar he looked like he was just lying down on it had dark brown hair, it looked thick, and sort of long, he had..well she guessed he had brown eyes cause he had closed his eyes right after oppening them to look at her, and he was pretty much as sweet looking as his friend who was now smirking lazily at her.
At this she raised an eyebrow. Why in the heck of a world was he smirking at her? Oh whatever she thought as her eyes fell on the only guy standing, he had sandy brown hair, as messy as the other two, deep light brown eyes, and yummy oh so tasty looking lips. Okay what was with her and lips? Well they all did have unbelievebly tasty looking lips. Maybe theyll be in my class...no they wont! Ill be with eleven and twelve year old students all year! Oh my dear god. I will die a painful and slow death.
« Like what you see Bloody Mary? »
Oh. So that's what he was smirking at. Oh no and now so were the two other ones. « Well it's now or never, will you be yourself for once or just take the easy way and the less life moving one? » And now her voice was coming in again. Well no time to think anymore.
« Ya pretty much. Though after a whole two years in an only girls high school, any guy would be interesting » Lily smirked back. Attitude problems anyone? And okay it wasn't exacly true, there were boys back at her old place, but the comparison really didn't help their case.
Snort. « She got you there Jamesie. » said the other drunk one in an annoyingly cheerful sing song voice.
Eyebrow raise again from Lily's part damn you'll run out of eyebrows soon « Jamesy? Nice name. Very...refreshing... » said Lily.
The drunk one laughed and proceeded into falling off his chair, causing Jamesie to laugh and of course fall off his chair to, which left them both rolling on the ground, and the only two left standing to look at each other, glance at the laughing pair on the floor, look back at each other and shrug. They both had experiences with drunks acting stupid.
« So you still want a Bloody Mary? By the way I'm Remus Lupin, the black haired one is James Potter and the other goofball there is Sirius Black. »
« Lily Karine Evans. Commonly known as Bloody Mary I suppose. And yeah sure, I'd kill for one right now. »
They both sat at the bar, made themselves Bloody Marys from the so slyly hidden real bar, stepping over the sleeping barman and the two other guys. They started a conversation about stories from cocktails and alchool adventures of their own respective friends. Lily borrowed a few from her friend's friend's stories, for lack of ever going out, and she felt quite comfortable with Remus, and soon forgot that what she had dreamed and longed for since she was eleven was coming up tomorow, according to Remus, though she wondered how she had went back a day in time without even knowing.
« So then Peter jumped into the lake after the moon, and ended up taking back a rock that we'd charmed to shine with him. »
« Peter? He's not here, who is he? »
« Well here he's coming,-- Finally Peter it took you ages! We thought you had lost yourself in a lake again. »
« Well I met this girl and we sorta walked around town for a while...before she threw up on me. Who's the girl? »
Lily turned to him, and started him in the eye after looking him over. Peter Pettigrew, the guy who had managed to get in Hogwarts, the guy who she had always silently stuck up for, was standing in front of her, with friends, an attitude, everything she had always longed for.
« Oh um Hi Lily?! » Peter stumbled over his own words, reconising the girl that he had felt such a sympathy towards before he left.
« Peter. Nice of you to say hi. » her cold voice, barely sounding like her own, made Peter shiver with guilt. She had always been looked at like a loner and a nerdy reject when he was there. He still thought she was the same.
« Remus, t'was nice to talk with you, but I gotta go. »
Ya before I kill your friend here out of undeserved jealousy.
« Peter, Remus. » she nodded to each of them in turn, and walked to the front of the pub, woke up the man sleeping there, got a room and numbly made her way to her bed.
Peter Pettigrew was in her school. Joy. My life sucks. Lily cried herself to sleep, not understanding how just Peter's arrival had made her cry. But she knew why in a way. It reminded her of her old life. The one she was running away from.
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