A Fairy Tale | Chapter 12

"Oh, snap!" Andie said suddenly. She was in the Gryffindor Common Room Friday morning with Ronnie.

"What's wrong?" Ronnie asked. "You rarely use twenty-first century talk unless it's something really important."

"Lily's potion wears off today!"

"Yeah…?"

"We're going to go to Hogsmeade in a bit!"

"I think you've been hanging with Sirius for too long. What does Hogsmeade have to do with Lily?"

"Ron, what if the potion suddenly wears off in Hogsmeade??"

"Oh. Well, I guess Hogsmeade would be James's death place then."

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"What about this one?" Lily asked James, holding up an Egyptian pharaoh costume in the Muggles' Traditions and Customs section of Gladrags Wizardwear.

"I don't really care for it," James said honestly.

"Well, what do you like?"

"I--"

"I've got an idea," Ronnie spoke up. "Why don't we all shop separately? Our costumes can be surprises."

"That's a great idea," Andie chimed in.

"But I want to shop with Jamie!" Lily pouted.

"Don't you want your costume to surprise him though?" Ronnie asked.

"Well…"

"Come on. Look, some of us can go on to buy other things. Just as long as we meet up at the Three Broomsticks later with our mysterious costume. That'll be fun, Lily. Keep 'em guessing, you know?"

"Okay, I guess."

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And here, the seven split up, each going their own way. At one point during the day, one of them would stop by Gladrags, check to see that none of his or her friends are there, and get their mysterious costume. Now, the author would gladly tell you what each of them bought, but she will not because the author is evil like that. Well, not really. The author is just too lazy to write a little situation whenever one of the seven enters Gladrags. She will shut up now.

By the way, are you wondering why the author is referring herself in third-person?

Simply because the author is crazy like that.

Sorry for the interruption.

She will shut up for real now.

Really. Look under the line.

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"I'm going to put this up in the dorm, okay?" Lily told Andie and Ronnie.

"Yeah, sure," Andie said. When Lily disappeared, she whispered to Ronnie, "Why hasn't the potion worn off yet?"

"I don't know…" Ronnie said. "Perhaps it's too strong and it's going to last a while longer or something."

Meanwhile, Lily pulled out her costume from the Gladrags' shopping bag. It was a Medieval Princess costume. It consisted of a long, creamy gown, sort of puffy around her waist (you know, those kind of dresses that makes your butt look really big?), a beautiful diamond studded tiara (fake, of course), a cream-colored mask that covers her eyes, and a silver heart-shaped pendant that hung on a chain that the shopkeeper had thrown in for Lily. Lily held the dress up in front of her and stood in front of her mirror to see what she'd look like wearing it. It was beautiful but…but something was wrong. Whatever it is, it was deeply disturbing her. This princess thing…it reminded her of some things…

Unsurprisingly, it's time for a--*Flashback*

"Daddy!" a little Lily said. "Come on! It's time. You promised you'll read Petty and I a nighty story tonight!"

"Petty and me," her father corrected.

"You promised you'll read Petty and me a nighty story tonight!"

Her dad chuckled. "All right." He and Lily settled down in the family room, followed by Petunia and their mom with a tray of hot chocolate. Mr. Evans pulled out a short book from the shelves and began to read. Lily listened attentively, while sipping her hot chocolate, stopping to gasp at amazing or scary parts of the fairy tale.

"…and so Princess Lily got rescued by her knight and they lived happily ever after along with her family and friends." Mr. Evans snapped the book shut.

"Wow!" Lily said. "That was the bestest nighty story I've ever heard!"

"That was the best," her father corrected again.

"The best," Lily repeated absentmindedly. "Are fairy tales real, Daddy? Are there really princesses and dragons and witches and--"

"No, stupid," Petunia cut in. "That's why it's called a tale. There're no such things as dragons and witches. And people don't live happily ever after. Especially, not freaks like you."

"Petunia!" their mother scolded.

"Well, it's true!" Petunia got up and left the room.

"Is…is it true?" asked Lily timidly, who looked like she's about to cry.

"Er…" Mr. Evans hesitated. He didn't want to crush her dreams, but lying to her about these stuff doesn't solve it. "Well…they might be. You never know, Lils."

"Okay!"

"Look," Mrs. Evans said, "it's getting late. Go to bed, Lily."

"Aw. Can't I stay up for another nighty story?"

"No, Lils," her dad said firmly. "Listen to your mother."

"Okay," Lily said reluctantly. She kissed her mother and father good-night and hurried to bed. Who knows? Maybe if she's really good, her father would read her another fairy tale!

*End of Flashback* (Don't worry. You'll get another one)

Lily smiled to herself. Oh, those were the good days…but like we all should know, good times never last forever.

You've all been waiting for it--*Flashback*

Lily had just return home from her first year at Hogwarts for the summer break. She had so much to tell her parents! After a day of catching up with news in the Muggle world, Lily asked her father to read her another fairy tale.

"Aren't you a bit too old for that?" Petunia asked sourly.

"I'm never too old for a nighty story from dad!" Lily said, smiling.

And so, the Evans spent another night listening to a fairy tale. Although Lily now knew that there are witches and dragons and such, she still couldn't help but be amazed.

And you've all been waiting for the bad part right? Well…here it is.

About three weeks after Lily came home, she received terrible news. Her father had been killed in a horrible car accident. Nobody voiced a word that night. Except for Petunia.

"You stupid freak!" she yelled at Lily. "You see? This is all your fault! You just had to go to that freak school, and bring home your stupid freakiness."

"Petunia, that's enough," Mrs. Evans said weakly. "It's not Lily's fault and you know it."

"It is her fault, mum. None of this happened when she was away!" Petunia turned back to Lily. "Are you happy? Dad's gone and it's all your fault. And guess what? You're not going to live happily ever after! I told you, there was no such thing as 'happily ever after.' Your 'knight' isn't going to come and rescue you, you freak. You'd better learn to depend on yourself, because no one will want to be with you!"

"Petunia, go to your room, please," Mrs. Evans said. "You're grounded."

"Fine! I don't want to be in the same room with her anyways!"

After Petunia left, Mrs. Evans turned to her younger daughter. "Lily…" she began, but never had the chance to finish. Lily had ran up to her room and locked the door. Petunia was right, she though. There're no such things as 'happily ever after.' If there was, her father wouldn't have died. How could she have been so stupid to believe this stuff?

*End of Flashback*

A tear slipped down Lily's cheek, who didn't bother to wipe it away. She missed her dad so much. He was the one who'd start calling her Lils. After he died, no one ever called her that again. That is, until James. James…

The warmth that Lily had felt earlier had suddenly disappeared. Flashes of what happened over the past days flooded into Lily's mind. She angrily threw down her dress and thundered down the stairs. The Marauders and her friends were all there.

"Lily!" Ronnie said. "What's wrong?"

Lily looked at her friends, hurt. "How could you?" she whispered.

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A/N: I know that this chapter wasn't very funny, but things are getting serious here.

I am so sorry this chapter took forever! I have a bit of writer's block. I didn't really expected it, since this story is all planned out, but these things happen. Sorry.

Check out my newest project! Britttany (the lovely Loraliant Angelisa Snape) and I are writing a James/Lily story together! Here's a little info on it:

Title: Yours Truly
Author: Golden Ducks Violet Ribbons

Category: Books
Sub Category: Harry Potter
Characters: James Potter and Lily Evans
Genre: Romance
Secondary Genre: Humor
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Spend the Marauders' 7th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry through James' and Lily's amusing journal entries.

I'd written the first chapter and it's posted. Britttany'd written the next chapter and it's posted too. I'm writing the one after that, and so on. I'm writing for Lily, she's writing for James. Clear? Good. Check it out please!

Thanks to everybody who reviewed the previous chapter. Here are some personal replies:

American Mione: One of the funniest of this story? Aw, that's too sweet. Honestly, I just wrote it…I sat down and just…wrote it. It was pretty amusing to me, but I wouldn't say that it was one of the funniest. But my beta told me so too, so I guess it's not too shabby! Thanks.

avery22: Thanks. I try my best to update. I get lazy a lot though. And I know the other author on your favorite authors' list, Babylilz. I am her beta. She tries her best to update too, but she's really busy. I'll make sure to talk to her for you, okay?

Britttany: ::Laughs:: You know what? I just guessed! I think we know each other better than we thought! See you later, sister.

Yukura: Thanks! That was very nice of you.

Paddycake: I'm sorry there're a lot of author notes for this chapter too. It's just…I have so much to say! At least the chapter's a bit longer, right?

Disclaimer: None of the characters in this fan fiction belongs to me. They're owned by J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros and a whole lot of other companies and people, but certainly not me. The only ones that belong to me are those that you don't recognize.