Living A Legend
Book 1- A Clash of Wills
Chapter 11- Cheer and Chaos
After the incident in the corridor, it seemed that the boys spent a lot more time with Peter, and he became one of the group. The foursome seemed to be concocting some sort of scheme involving barnyard animals and revenge on the Slytherins.
Meanwhile, the Winter Holidays were approaching and most students were looking forward to the break from school.
While Lily couldn't wait to see her parents, she dreaded spending a whole two weeks with Petunia. She knew that she would also miss her friends from school. The castle had become her home over the past few months, and it felt strange to think of leaving it, even for a short time.
Dora had begun to talk excitedly about the holidays, she couldn't wait to see all of her friends at home. Brittany however, seemed a little less eager to leave the castle.
"Hurrah!" Brittany spoke sarcastically, "Two whole weeks of mothballs and knitting. My grandmother is so boring."
"Why do you live with your grandmother Brittany?" Lily asked impetuously, before realizing what a personal question she was asking.
Brittany turned pale and huffy. "I don't want to talk about it." She quickly turned away and stalked off without further comment.
Dora winced and Lily blushed. "I didn't know it was such a touchy subject," Lily sighed.
On the last day before the Holidays, all students were allowed to go on a special trip to Hogsmeade with Dumbledore's permission. This was a big deal to the younger students because ordinarily, only fourth years and above were allowed to go.
For once, Lily did not stick closely with Brittany and Dora, for they were on her shopping list, and all three of them wanted to split up.
Lily found a magical duster which operated of it's own free will for her mother. She thought this a particularly apt gift, as Lily herself was often stuck with the tedious task of dusting, and magical duster would eliminate this chore altogether.
For her father, Lily bought an ordinary looking square box, with lids on each side. When each lid was opened a new compartment appeared, so one could fit numerous objects into a very small box.
Lily got Dora a small wizard chess set, as she was very good at the game but did not have a set of her own. And for Brittany, she bought a all sorts of wizard candy and put them in a pretty silver bag tied with a gold ribbon.
That left her with the unpleasant task of Petunia's gift. Every year Lily got her big sister a gift, usually some impersonal, useful object which Petunia would accept with an impassive face. Petunia's gifts were usually of the same sort. One year she had given Lily six pairs of plain white socks. Lily had given Petunia a pack of batteries.
It was just that the two girls had so little in common. Lily used to try to get her big sister to like her, but eventually she realizes that no matter what she did, Petunia would always see her as a nuisance.
Lily only had twelve knuts left, so she splurged on a cheap brass souvenir spoon, and headed to The Three Broomsticks to spend her remaining knuts one of their famous butterbeers that she had heard so much about.
When she entered the tavern, she saw Brittany sitting over in a corner, and headed over to greet her friend, making sure all of her gifts were safely hidden inside her bag.
It was only when she reached the table that she noticed that Brittany was not alone. Sirius Black was sitting across from her and the two were engaged in what appeared to be serious conversation.
Haughtily, Lily joined them, a bit put out at her friend for associating with one of James's friends. "Hello Brittany. Sirius." She sat down and waited for the waitress to come take her order.
Brittany smiled at her friend, and oddly Sirius did too. "Well Lily, did you get all your shopping done? I got everything I need." She leaned forward secretively and carefully dug through her bags, withdrawing a small paint set that she had bought for Dora and an old fashioned mini piano which kept playing classical music. "The paints are for Dora, and the piano's for my grandma."
Lily showed off most of her presents, withholding Petunia's and of course Brittany's own present.
The girls decided to exchange gifts by mail over Christmas break.
The next morning, the students boarded the train in excitement. The holidays had begun.
James was bouncing off the walls with excitement, he and the other boys were still in the midst of creating a plan to deal with the Slytherins. Only Sirius and Remus both seemed a bit melancholy.
When the train finally arrived at the station, Lily climbed off the train behind her friends. Petunia was waiting along with Lily's parents looking sour as always.
"Is that your sister?" Dora asked. "She would be pretty if her nose weren't up in the air so high, she looks like she's straining her neck."
Lily giggled. "Yeah, she's always like that. I'm going to miss you Dora!" The two girls hugged, and then Brittany ran up and threw her arms around her two friends.
"I love you guys!" Brittany squealed. "Please don't leave me with my Grandmother! Take me away, anywhere! I don't care where, just take me away!" Then Brittany pulled away from her friends, went into a fake swoon and ran over to Sirius to inflict some drama on him.
When Lily was done with her goodbyes, she ran up to her parents, and was instantly enveloped in yet another group hug.
Lily gabbed happily at her parents as they left the station. She was so happy that she barely noticed Remus standing by himself at the station. James and the others had already joined their families. She wondered where his parents were.
Petunia was silent on the way home. Lily was not. She chattered constantly about her friends and enemies, her teachers and classes. Lily's mom and dad were very interested in Lily's life, and were very proud of her accomplishments.
It wasn't until Lily had been home for quite some time that Petunia decided to talk to her.
Lily was in her room going through some of her old books when Petunia burst through the door.
"Geez, can't you knock?" Lily rolled her eyes. "Hello Petunia."
"Tomorrow my boyfriend is coming over and I just wanted to tell you that you will not be talking to him. If you so much as hint at your freakishness, I will make your break a living hell. I want you to stay in your room and not say a word about your. . .your. . .magic!"
"No problem. It's not like I want to meet your loser boyfriend anyway. By the way, since when have you had a boyfriend?"
"None of your business freak!" Petunia glared at her little sister and stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
Lily had no problem staying in her room. She loved her room.
The walls were pale purple, and she had sheer glittery drapery over her doors and windows. Adorning her walls posters of her favorite movie stars and singers. Mementos of all of Lily's past hobbies covered the walls.
Lily had had so many hobbies over the years, "phases" as her mother called them. She had ballet shoes hanging from a nail on the wall, that hobby had lasted almost two months, a violin stored under her bed, a basketball in her closet.
Lily's room was a cluttered paradise.
Petunia's room was spotless. Her walls were white and undecorated. There were no posters or even pictures. The only furniture in her room was a desk, a dresser and a bed, each neat and organized. Her comforter was a dark blue color with no flowers or frills.
Lily hated Petunia's room. In her opinion it lacked any type of personality.
But as much as she wanted to stay in her room and avoid all contact with Petunia and her new boyfriend, Lily had to come out for dinner.
Lily came to dinner dressed in ordinary muggle clothes with her hair neat and straight. Deep down, part of her still wanted to please Petunia.
Petunia and her boyfriend were already at the table. At her mother's request Petunia introduced him as Vernon Dursley.
At this point, Lily began to seriously question her sister's sanity. Vernon was large, to put it mildly, red faced, and ill mannered. Above all, he was boring.
Through dinner, he talked monotonously about the stock market. At first Lily could see her parents trying very hard to act interested and be polite, but eventually they tried to change the subject. Lily wriggled restlessly in her chair.
Vernon suddenly stopped talking and glared at the red head. "I say, will you sit still?"
"I'm trying, it's just that, you're so very um, interesting that I find myself growing impatient." Lily stammered quickly, fearing her sister's wrath.
Vernon stared at her icily and then began another boring speel, this one on the fiscal benefits of owning your own business.
Lily couldn't wait for her meal to be over and for her parents to excuse her. She gladly spent the rest of the night hiding in her room.
The next morning Lily was awoken early by Petunia. "Last night you behaved absolutely atrociously! I expect that today you will be polite when Vernon comes to visit!"
Lily gasped. "He's coming again? But that's not fair!"
This time, Lily knew that she could not stand to sit through that, and being in her room all night was beginning to get a bit tiresome.
Vernon came over almost everyday during the holidays, and Lily was miserable. Only on Christmas did she get a break from him.
Christmas was one day of her break that Lily enjoyed immensely. Petunia got her a new waste-paper basket. The rest of her gifts however were much more pleasing. Lily got a self stirring cauldron, a magical camera, and heaps of candy.
She also got a magical makeup kit from Dora, some exploding snaps from Brittany, and a poster of the illustrious John Potter, from John Potter. John had also sent her a funny book full of prank ideas and a letter telling her to keep his brother in line.
Lily knew that she wasn't supposed to use magic over the break. Lily also knew that it was wrong to use magic on muggles. Yet Lily could not resist adding a few special ingredients into Vernon's pudding as directed by John's book.
Dinner with Vernon was much more interesting when his speech about domestic policy was interrupted by his transformation into a toad.
Petunia was horrified and went into a faint, and Lily's parents were very disappointed in her and forced her to deliver Vernon the antidote. Vernon was very huffy towards Lily after that, not to mention fearful. He left the house a few minutes later very pale and frightened. Petunia later managed to convince him that he had eaten some bad meat and underwent some hallucinations, but his attitude towards Lily was never the same.
Petunia underwent a long period of crying and screaming and slapped her little sister several times.
The mood was tense the following morning when Lily's parents escorted her to the train station. Petunia did not join them.
"Good bye Lily! Remember we love you and we are very proud of you even when you and your sister squabble." Lily's mom gave her a hug goodbye."
Lily said goodbye to her parents and then joined her friends on the train.
James, Sirius, Remus and Peter were all sitting together and whispering excitedly but they all got quiet when Lily approached them.
The trip back was fun. Lily told Brittany and Dora all about Vernon and how she had finally handled it. Dora was horrified, but Brittany was proud of her friend and even told the tale of Lily's prank to James and Sirius.
Sirius laughed but James was not amused. "My brother sent you a book?"
"Yeah, and a letter and a poster of himself! John's so funny." Lily smiled. "He said to keep you in check."
James glared. "My brother doesn't like you. Stay away from him."
Lily shrugged and rolled her eyes, going back to her friends to chat some more.
Most of the Gryffindors spent the evening in the common room, getting reacquainted with friends as if eons had passed between them. Some seventh year had managed to smuggle in some butterbeer and a good time was had by all.
Lily was baffled however, that four first year boys were not to be seen.
"What are they up to now?" Lily wondered aloud.
Book 1- A Clash of Wills
Chapter 11- Cheer and Chaos
After the incident in the corridor, it seemed that the boys spent a lot more time with Peter, and he became one of the group. The foursome seemed to be concocting some sort of scheme involving barnyard animals and revenge on the Slytherins.
Meanwhile, the Winter Holidays were approaching and most students were looking forward to the break from school.
While Lily couldn't wait to see her parents, she dreaded spending a whole two weeks with Petunia. She knew that she would also miss her friends from school. The castle had become her home over the past few months, and it felt strange to think of leaving it, even for a short time.
Dora had begun to talk excitedly about the holidays, she couldn't wait to see all of her friends at home. Brittany however, seemed a little less eager to leave the castle.
"Hurrah!" Brittany spoke sarcastically, "Two whole weeks of mothballs and knitting. My grandmother is so boring."
"Why do you live with your grandmother Brittany?" Lily asked impetuously, before realizing what a personal question she was asking.
Brittany turned pale and huffy. "I don't want to talk about it." She quickly turned away and stalked off without further comment.
Dora winced and Lily blushed. "I didn't know it was such a touchy subject," Lily sighed.
On the last day before the Holidays, all students were allowed to go on a special trip to Hogsmeade with Dumbledore's permission. This was a big deal to the younger students because ordinarily, only fourth years and above were allowed to go.
For once, Lily did not stick closely with Brittany and Dora, for they were on her shopping list, and all three of them wanted to split up.
Lily found a magical duster which operated of it's own free will for her mother. She thought this a particularly apt gift, as Lily herself was often stuck with the tedious task of dusting, and magical duster would eliminate this chore altogether.
For her father, Lily bought an ordinary looking square box, with lids on each side. When each lid was opened a new compartment appeared, so one could fit numerous objects into a very small box.
Lily got Dora a small wizard chess set, as she was very good at the game but did not have a set of her own. And for Brittany, she bought a all sorts of wizard candy and put them in a pretty silver bag tied with a gold ribbon.
That left her with the unpleasant task of Petunia's gift. Every year Lily got her big sister a gift, usually some impersonal, useful object which Petunia would accept with an impassive face. Petunia's gifts were usually of the same sort. One year she had given Lily six pairs of plain white socks. Lily had given Petunia a pack of batteries.
It was just that the two girls had so little in common. Lily used to try to get her big sister to like her, but eventually she realizes that no matter what she did, Petunia would always see her as a nuisance.
Lily only had twelve knuts left, so she splurged on a cheap brass souvenir spoon, and headed to The Three Broomsticks to spend her remaining knuts one of their famous butterbeers that she had heard so much about.
When she entered the tavern, she saw Brittany sitting over in a corner, and headed over to greet her friend, making sure all of her gifts were safely hidden inside her bag.
It was only when she reached the table that she noticed that Brittany was not alone. Sirius Black was sitting across from her and the two were engaged in what appeared to be serious conversation.
Haughtily, Lily joined them, a bit put out at her friend for associating with one of James's friends. "Hello Brittany. Sirius." She sat down and waited for the waitress to come take her order.
Brittany smiled at her friend, and oddly Sirius did too. "Well Lily, did you get all your shopping done? I got everything I need." She leaned forward secretively and carefully dug through her bags, withdrawing a small paint set that she had bought for Dora and an old fashioned mini piano which kept playing classical music. "The paints are for Dora, and the piano's for my grandma."
Lily showed off most of her presents, withholding Petunia's and of course Brittany's own present.
The girls decided to exchange gifts by mail over Christmas break.
The next morning, the students boarded the train in excitement. The holidays had begun.
James was bouncing off the walls with excitement, he and the other boys were still in the midst of creating a plan to deal with the Slytherins. Only Sirius and Remus both seemed a bit melancholy.
When the train finally arrived at the station, Lily climbed off the train behind her friends. Petunia was waiting along with Lily's parents looking sour as always.
"Is that your sister?" Dora asked. "She would be pretty if her nose weren't up in the air so high, she looks like she's straining her neck."
Lily giggled. "Yeah, she's always like that. I'm going to miss you Dora!" The two girls hugged, and then Brittany ran up and threw her arms around her two friends.
"I love you guys!" Brittany squealed. "Please don't leave me with my Grandmother! Take me away, anywhere! I don't care where, just take me away!" Then Brittany pulled away from her friends, went into a fake swoon and ran over to Sirius to inflict some drama on him.
When Lily was done with her goodbyes, she ran up to her parents, and was instantly enveloped in yet another group hug.
Lily gabbed happily at her parents as they left the station. She was so happy that she barely noticed Remus standing by himself at the station. James and the others had already joined their families. She wondered where his parents were.
Petunia was silent on the way home. Lily was not. She chattered constantly about her friends and enemies, her teachers and classes. Lily's mom and dad were very interested in Lily's life, and were very proud of her accomplishments.
It wasn't until Lily had been home for quite some time that Petunia decided to talk to her.
Lily was in her room going through some of her old books when Petunia burst through the door.
"Geez, can't you knock?" Lily rolled her eyes. "Hello Petunia."
"Tomorrow my boyfriend is coming over and I just wanted to tell you that you will not be talking to him. If you so much as hint at your freakishness, I will make your break a living hell. I want you to stay in your room and not say a word about your. . .your. . .magic!"
"No problem. It's not like I want to meet your loser boyfriend anyway. By the way, since when have you had a boyfriend?"
"None of your business freak!" Petunia glared at her little sister and stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
Lily had no problem staying in her room. She loved her room.
The walls were pale purple, and she had sheer glittery drapery over her doors and windows. Adorning her walls posters of her favorite movie stars and singers. Mementos of all of Lily's past hobbies covered the walls.
Lily had had so many hobbies over the years, "phases" as her mother called them. She had ballet shoes hanging from a nail on the wall, that hobby had lasted almost two months, a violin stored under her bed, a basketball in her closet.
Lily's room was a cluttered paradise.
Petunia's room was spotless. Her walls were white and undecorated. There were no posters or even pictures. The only furniture in her room was a desk, a dresser and a bed, each neat and organized. Her comforter was a dark blue color with no flowers or frills.
Lily hated Petunia's room. In her opinion it lacked any type of personality.
But as much as she wanted to stay in her room and avoid all contact with Petunia and her new boyfriend, Lily had to come out for dinner.
Lily came to dinner dressed in ordinary muggle clothes with her hair neat and straight. Deep down, part of her still wanted to please Petunia.
Petunia and her boyfriend were already at the table. At her mother's request Petunia introduced him as Vernon Dursley.
At this point, Lily began to seriously question her sister's sanity. Vernon was large, to put it mildly, red faced, and ill mannered. Above all, he was boring.
Through dinner, he talked monotonously about the stock market. At first Lily could see her parents trying very hard to act interested and be polite, but eventually they tried to change the subject. Lily wriggled restlessly in her chair.
Vernon suddenly stopped talking and glared at the red head. "I say, will you sit still?"
"I'm trying, it's just that, you're so very um, interesting that I find myself growing impatient." Lily stammered quickly, fearing her sister's wrath.
Vernon stared at her icily and then began another boring speel, this one on the fiscal benefits of owning your own business.
Lily couldn't wait for her meal to be over and for her parents to excuse her. She gladly spent the rest of the night hiding in her room.
The next morning Lily was awoken early by Petunia. "Last night you behaved absolutely atrociously! I expect that today you will be polite when Vernon comes to visit!"
Lily gasped. "He's coming again? But that's not fair!"
This time, Lily knew that she could not stand to sit through that, and being in her room all night was beginning to get a bit tiresome.
Vernon came over almost everyday during the holidays, and Lily was miserable. Only on Christmas did she get a break from him.
Christmas was one day of her break that Lily enjoyed immensely. Petunia got her a new waste-paper basket. The rest of her gifts however were much more pleasing. Lily got a self stirring cauldron, a magical camera, and heaps of candy.
She also got a magical makeup kit from Dora, some exploding snaps from Brittany, and a poster of the illustrious John Potter, from John Potter. John had also sent her a funny book full of prank ideas and a letter telling her to keep his brother in line.
Lily knew that she wasn't supposed to use magic over the break. Lily also knew that it was wrong to use magic on muggles. Yet Lily could not resist adding a few special ingredients into Vernon's pudding as directed by John's book.
Dinner with Vernon was much more interesting when his speech about domestic policy was interrupted by his transformation into a toad.
Petunia was horrified and went into a faint, and Lily's parents were very disappointed in her and forced her to deliver Vernon the antidote. Vernon was very huffy towards Lily after that, not to mention fearful. He left the house a few minutes later very pale and frightened. Petunia later managed to convince him that he had eaten some bad meat and underwent some hallucinations, but his attitude towards Lily was never the same.
Petunia underwent a long period of crying and screaming and slapped her little sister several times.
The mood was tense the following morning when Lily's parents escorted her to the train station. Petunia did not join them.
"Good bye Lily! Remember we love you and we are very proud of you even when you and your sister squabble." Lily's mom gave her a hug goodbye."
Lily said goodbye to her parents and then joined her friends on the train.
James, Sirius, Remus and Peter were all sitting together and whispering excitedly but they all got quiet when Lily approached them.
The trip back was fun. Lily told Brittany and Dora all about Vernon and how she had finally handled it. Dora was horrified, but Brittany was proud of her friend and even told the tale of Lily's prank to James and Sirius.
Sirius laughed but James was not amused. "My brother sent you a book?"
"Yeah, and a letter and a poster of himself! John's so funny." Lily smiled. "He said to keep you in check."
James glared. "My brother doesn't like you. Stay away from him."
Lily shrugged and rolled her eyes, going back to her friends to chat some more.
Most of the Gryffindors spent the evening in the common room, getting reacquainted with friends as if eons had passed between them. Some seventh year had managed to smuggle in some butterbeer and a good time was had by all.
Lily was baffled however, that four first year boys were not to be seen.
"What are they up to now?" Lily wondered aloud.