Lily and James, The Best Years Of Their Lives.

Disclaimer: I am not and never will be JKR. This is all my own plot but all of JKR's Items and descriptions. Any parts you do not recognise from the book are mine.

A/N: I am trying my hand at a Lily and James Love/Hate fic... It's new to me cos I don't think I have tried one before... so yeah... jus read and review. Btw I have planned all this out.... This is my professional one cos I am using a notebook to make ideas for each chapter and to help me keep on track of things cos im not very organised. Lol. Well read on. Oh and this is following Lily's life around.

Chapter 1 – Getting The Letter

Lily Evans was a pretty ten-year-old. She had glowing red hair, piercing green eyes and lovely clear porcelain skin. She was the type of child that would make you sick with jealousy when you looked at her. There was one thing that most people had, however, that Lily didn't. And that was a friend. She had gone through 5 years of primary education without a friend. Well with the exception of Rosa. Rosa was Italian and had only been in Lily's classes for half a year before she had to go back to Italy. Those were the best days of Lily's life. She wasn't a nasty person or anything like that, but she had an idea of why the other kids hated her. Her looks. That had been the issue of every spat that she had ever gotten into. A stupid reason if you asked her, but it was still the reason.

There was a shrill ringing in the distance and there was something tickling her.

'No. Stop it. Please.' She squealed. Cracking open her eyes, she could see her mother exiting the room. She flopped back onto her bed. Another day. It was just going to be like all the others. Lily pulled off the covers and got dressed. She ran downstairs and jumped into a vacated seat at the dining room table.

'Move it, Stupid.' Someone said.

'Make me Petunia.' Lily replied.

'Fine then.' She whispered. Next thing she was yelling. 'Mum! Lily stole my seat and she wont give it back!'

'Lily!' Her Mum shouted. Petunia smirked at her and swiftly pushed Lily off of the chair.

'Told you.' She said.

'I hate you.' Lily mumbled.

'Feeling's Mutual.'

Lily walked to the breakfast bar and lifted some cereal. While she was pouring there was a sharp rapping at the glass of the window. She looked up. There was a large snowy owl sitting at her kitchen window. It's huge amber eyes were staring at her. Petunia walked over to Lily smirking. She stopped and looked at the owl and began screaming. Lily's Mum, Sophie, came running.

'What?' She said.

'Look!' Petunia said, pointing at the owl as Lily slinked away.

'Oh my gosh. Don't open the windows! Make sure they are all closed! No doors open! We don't want this owl in the-'

'Hey, Mum look. This owl was at the bathroom window. I let it in. It's so cute!' Lily said.

'LILY!' Sophie bellowed as a letter dropped from the owl's leg to the floor. Lily bent down and picked it up.

Miss L. Evans,

The Second Bedroom on the Left,

32 Great Manchester Heights,

Greater Manchester,

England

She tore it open and pulled out the parchment. The letter was written in green ink and was written in twirly, italic writing.

Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards.)

Dear Miss Evans, We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on 1 September. We await you owl by no later than 31st July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall Deputy Headmistress

She handed the letter to her Mum. She was speechless. What kind of practical joke was this? What was Hogwarts? Questions exploded inside her head. She wanted to know everything.

'Lily. What is this?' Sophie asked.

'I. I. Don't know.' Lily replied.

'Well it says on the equipment letter that you have to go to Diagon Alley in London. Where is that?'

'I don't know.'

'Lily are you sure this isn't a practical joke?'

'Mum. If it was a joke wouldn't the joker deliver it by post and not by owl?'

'Fair point. Well let's go down to London. Oh look there is a map here on how to get to Diagon Alley.' Sophie said.

'Ok. Maybe this way we will see if it does exist.' Lily said more to herself than anyone else.

They reached Diagon Alley at around 12pm. They walked into a pub called The Leaky Cauldron. It was packed with an assortment of strange people. There were men and women wearing cloaks or every colour and it the corner Lily would have sworn that she had seen a man holding his head in his arm. The bar was something amazing as well. It was cloaked in an antique smell and it had cobwebs hanging from every corner. It gave it an air of mystery about it and it set itself out from all of the other bars she had ever seen.

'Excuse me.' Said Sophie. 'We are here to get to Diagon Alley. The Hogwarts letter said we should come here.'

'Oh why hello there. You two must be muggles. Come on through to the back and I'll let you into the Alley. Name's Tom' The Barkeeper said.

'Muggles? What's that?' Lily asked.

'Oh a muggle is a non-magic person.' Tom replied. 'Here we go.'

'Umm sorry to tell you this, but it's, um, a brick wall.' Sophie told him.

'Patience.' He said as he pulled out a long stick. He tapped the bricks in a certain order and in no time at the entire wall disappeared to show an old crooked alleyway. It was packed with people entering shops and teenagers loitering around the ice cream parlour.

'Wow.' Lily murmured.

Sophie had her hand on Lily's shoulder and her eyes wide open. She had just seen a full wall of bricks change into an alleyway. It had to be a dream. It just had to. Lily walked forward with her mother right behind her.

'Have a good day.' Tom bellowed after them. Lily turned around to say goodbye but was faced with a wall of bricks.

'Wow.' She mumbled again.

'Well Lily.' Sophie said recovering from her initial shock. 'We had better get your supplies.'

They walked into Madame Malkin's Robes For All Occasions.

'Why hello.' Said a pleasant middle-aged woman. 'I'm Madame Malkin. Hogwarts?'

'Hello. Um, yes.' Sophie said.

'I've never seen you before. I guess you're a first year. What's your name?' Madame Malkin asked Lily.

'I'm Lily Evans. I just got my letter today. I thought it was a joke.' Lily said confidently.

'Oh you muggleborn then I guess.' Madame Malkin said as she took Lily's measurements.

'Yup. I think.'

'Well don't worry you will have an amazing time at Hogwarts. I did. I would love to go back for another seven years. Best years of my life.' She said to Lily.

'What kinds of classes are there?' Lily asked.

'Well in first year you will get the basic classes. There is History of Magic, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Transfiguration, Astronomy, Potions and Charms. Oh and you also get taught how to fly on a broomstick.'

'Wow. I can't wait!' Lily said excitedly.

'All done. Here are your robes. That'll be 4 galleons please.'

'4 what's?' asked Sophie.

'Oh, dear. You have to go to Gringotts, the wizard bank, to change your muggle money. I didn't know that this was your first shop.'

'Oh, ok. Where is it?'

'Gringotts? Just down at the end of this street.' Madame Malkin told them.

'Thank you. We'll be back to pick up the robes.' Sophie said while walking out the door.
They reached Gringotts eventually. Ever shop that was on the way had forced them to stop and look at the items on sale. When they were inside Sophie and Lily squealed when they had seen the goblins. They were at all on the cashier desks stamping away and weighing items. Sophie timidly dragged Lily to the nearest desk.

'Excuse me.' Sophie said. 'We are here to change some money.'

'Of course. How much?' Asked the Goblin.

'£700. Can we open an account?' Sophie asked.

'Yes. Just fill in these papers.' He handed Sophie a stack of papers and a feather quill. 'You only have to fill in pages 1 and 2.'

'Thank you.' Sophie began to fill in all the questions, which got weirder and weirder every time.

How old is your grandma?

Can you eat 6 eggs?

What time is it right now?

She finished and passes the papers and quill back to the goblin.

'Thank you.' The goblin said. 'Now how much of the money would you like put in the vault?'

'£500. Please.' Sophie replied.

'Okay. Here is your key and here is your £200 worth of wizarding money. The gold coins are Galleons, the silver are Sickles and the bronze ones are Knuts.'

'Thank you. Goodbye.' Sophie said. They both quickly exited Gringotts and raced back to Madame Malkin's. 'I thought you two had got lost. I got so worried.' Madame Malkin said as they walked through the door.

'We got lay-wayed by all of the stores. There are so many. Well we got the money. Here are the 4 Galleons.' Sophie said as she counted out the gold coins.

'Thank you very much. Here are your robes. Have a pleasant year at Hogwarts Lily.'

'I will. Goodbye.' Lily said as her and her mother exited the shop.
'Where to now?' Lily asked.

'How about getting your wand?' Sophie replied.

'Yes!' Lily exclaimed.

'Right I think it might be thins shop here.' Sophie said as they stopped outside a shop with a large sign at he front. It said: - Ollivanders: Maker of Fine Wands Since 382 BC. They walked into Ollivanders. It was a dusty shop, which was eerily quiet. Lily walked up to the counter and rung a bell.

'Ah Miss Evans. Hello there.' Said a voice.

'Um. Hello.' She replied.

A face appeared from behind a stack of wand boxes. The man had a wrinkly face and deep silvery eyes. He picked up a few boxes and walked to where Lily was standing.

'Try these.' He ordered.

Lily picked up one of the wands and held it in her hand. She moved it a bit but nothing happened. She tried the second. Nothing again.

'Third time lucky.' She thought.

She picked up the third wands and felt a warmth flow through her. Sparks crackled from the tip of the wand.

'Ah this is your new wand then Miss Evans. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charms. Seven Galleons please.'

Lily handed over the gold and placed her wand carefully into its box.

'That was so fun mum.' Lily said as they were sitting outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. Lily had Strawberry Sparkle while her mother had opted for Chocolate Frog Surprise. She had a surprise when her ice cream had arrived and there had been a chocolate frog bouncing around in it. Florean had assured her that it was, in fact, chocolate and not real.

'I know. We have to come here more often.'

'Definitely.'

'Lily I think we had better be getting back home now. It's almost dark.'

'Oh okay.' Lily said sadly.

They packed up their things and left towards The Leaky Cauldron and Lily glanced back at her newfound world. All hers. Not Petunia's. Not her mother's. Hers.

A/N: What you guys think? My best friend Leia will write the next chapter with me. Can't wait to write it! Please review and add in your thoughts concerns and also your constructive criticism. Thank you! Love Mel. xXxXx.

P.S. You will find out more about Lily's father as the story progresses.