A/N: Hey everyone! I'm back to writing!!! This here is a story that's been in my head for awhile, so please let me know if you like it. This is a James/Lily fic, even though it starts in Harry's time. BTW, this is NOT a Harry travels back to the time of his parents story.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter, and I write this fanfiction only for the enjoyment of myself and others who are interesting in reading it, not for profit. No copyright infringement is intended.
UNCOVERED MEMORIES
Chapter 1
Harry Potter had always hated summer. It meant that he had to go back to his aunt and uncle's house at four Privet Drive. It meant that he had nothing to distract him from his thoughts; no Quidditch, no schoolwork, no homework, no Ron or Hermione, no visits to Hagrid's hut. He hated being in Surrey almost as much as he hated what his life had become. Back in the summer of his fourth year, Harry had been somewhat happy. His godfather wrote him every so often, he was allowed to visit his friends and he was able to watch the Quidditch World Cup. Now, two years later, he was miserable. His godfather was dead, Voldemort was back and more powerful than ever, and to top it off, he had to stay with his horrible relatives, who insisted he come down from his room to keep appearances in front of the wizards that came to check up on him. They were terrified of what might happen to them.
It wasn't like he had anything to look forward to either. Arthur Weasley and Remus Lupin had come two days ago to tell him he'd be escorted to Grimmauld Place. After that, he'd go to Hogwarts and be stared and goggled at like some animal at a zoo. Then, he'd have to face Voldemort and-
'Don't think about that, don't think about that,' he thought to himself. He got off his bed and began folding his clothes and packing all his things. He'd be 16 in two days; like hell he was going to return to the Dursley's next summer. In the wizarding community, he was considered an adult. He could do magic. Maybe he'd take a room at the Leaky Cauldron. Staying with the Weasleys might put them in danger. But then, what about all the people that visit the Leaky Cauldron? Damn, he might have to move to a whole different country if things stayed like this.
"You know, you could always stay at Grimmauld Place," a voice said behind him. Harry turned and met the eyes of his old professor, of one of his parents' best friend, Remus Lupin. "You don't have to run away."
"I didn't hear you come in," Harry said, blushing slightly, and looked away from Lupin's brown eyes.
"Harry," he began. "There are many people that care about you here. And we are more than willing to make sacrifices to help you. Now, I'm only going to say this once to you: Don't disappoint us by running away. You should know by now that we have decided to stand by you no matter what the risk is to us."
Harry responded by gloomily throwing a last book in his trunk and slamming it shut. He grabbed Hedwig's cage (the owl had already gone to the Order's headquarters) and placed it on top. "How are we getting there?"
"Portkey," the werewolf answered, searching for something in his pocket. He pulled out a lighter and handed it to Harry. "It'll take you directly to the kitchen. Molly and Arthur will be waiting for you. I should be back in about an hour or so."
Harry nodded, grabbed his trunk and the cage and waited for the portkey to activate. Two minutes later, he felt that uncomfortable tug behind his belly button and he left Privet Drive forever.
Harry landed inside the kitchen of number 12 Grimmauld Place. He had regained his balance when Molly Weasley rushed to him and gave him a bear hug. He thought he felt a few ribs crack, but said nothing as Mrs. Weasley started her usual rant.
"You look like you haven't been fed properly for days! And look at your eyes, have you been getting any sleep at all? Maybe you should go upstairs and rest for a bit while I finish dinner, all right?" She gently shoved him out of the kitchen. "You'll have the same room you did last time, with Ron. I think he's in there right now, with Hermione and Ginny." She gave him a final push in the direction of the stairs then bustled back into the kitchen to make dinner.
Harry slowly went upstairs, refusing to look at anything in his surroundings. This was the house Sirius had hated so much, the one he had been locked up in for the last year of his life. 'If only I could go back and redo the past two months,' he thought miserably. Maybe Hermione knew where McGonagall kept the time turner they'd use back in third year to save Sirius.
He entered his room without knocking. Once again, he was enveloped in a tight hug by his best friend, Hermione Granger. She began crying, blubbering on about how much she'd miss him.
Ron and Ginny looked on amused. Ginny stuffed her mouth with her fist to keep from laughing at Hermione. Ron snorted. "He's only been gone for three weeks, 'Mione."
"I'm sorry," sobbed Hermione. "Were the muggles treating you all right, Harry? You look like you've missed meals. And you haven't been sleeping much, have you? Well, I suppo-"
"Hermione! Give the poor guy a break! He just got here," Ginny giggled.
Hermione looked slightly ashamed and went to sit next to Ron. "How are you, Harry?" Ginny asked.
"Well, other than the fact that I'm responsible for my godfather's death, almost getting you all killed, and that I have no place to live anymore, I'm just great, Ginny. I'm wonderful," he answered sarcastically.
Hermione bit lip tightly, her eyes wide and watering. Ron flinched and looked away, but Ginny only raised an eyebrow. She smiled. "I'm so glad to hear you're doing so well. Here I thought you'd be wallowing in self-pity, " she replied, equally sarcastic.
"Ginny, please," Ron said.
"No, Ron. Let her say what she has to say," Harry demanded. He didn't know exactly why he was angry at Ginny. He was rude to her and was only getting as good as he gave. But Ginny's reply had brought up the rage he had been suppressing for the past two months. He knew that he really shouldn't take it all out on Ginny; she wasn't responsible for anything that had happened. He was. But he couldn't help himself.
"I don't have anything to say you," she said, getting up from his bed.
"Are you sure, Ginny? Because whatever it is the three of you want to get out, now's the only chance I'm ever going to give you!" Oh, Great, he thought. 'Now I've brought Ron and Hermione into it, too. What the fuck is wrong with me?'
"Oh, is that so?" Ginny crossed her arms. Hermione sniffled, burying her face in Ron's shoulder. "That's enough, the both of you," Ron said firmly.
"Ron, your sister obviously has a problem with me. I'm letting her get it out in the open so we can move on."
"That's your problem, Harry! You can't move on!" Ginny exclaimed. She felt offended that he would take out his anger on her. "You can't get it through your head that everything is not your fault. Maybe you just like playing the tragic hero. Is that it? That you act like it's the end of the world if you don't take responsibility for other people's action so you can get all the attention?"
"Ginny, stop, please!" Hermione begged, shocked.
"Is that what you think? That I want these things to happen?" Harry yelled. "Do you think I like my family having been killed, my godfather? If I hadn't been born, none of this would have happened! You would be home at the Burrow, safely enjoying your summer. My parents and Sirius would be alive right now! Do you think I asked for any of this?"
"Well, you act guilty enough!" she retorted.
"Ginny!" Ron yelled.
"How dare you?" Harry screamed, grabbing her arm forcefully. She bit her lip to keep herself from crying out in pain.
"Harry, please!" Hermione sobbed.
"Let go of her!" Ron ordered him, pulling Harry away from his sister.
"Of course I don't believe that, Harry. I know exactly what you're going through.!" Ginny shouted.
"You could never possibly know what I'm going through!" he screamed at her, while Ron restrained him. For a moment, Harry wondered when Ron had gotten so strong, or if it was just that he had lost so much weight it didn't take much effort to hold him back, but Ginny's next words brought him crashing down to earth.
"Of course I do. I felt the same way after the Chamber of Secrets! I almost killed my friends! I almost killed you and my own brother! Do you honestly think that I've ever forgiven myself for that?"
Harry stopped struggling against Ron. "But that wasn't your fault," he mumbled.
"Yes it was. If I hadn't been so stupid and gullible, I would have taken the diary to Dad, or Dumbledore. But I didn't. And under Tom's spell, I opened the Chamber and let the basilisk loose. And Colin and Hermione were petrified and you and Ron could have died trying to save me. Not to mention the others that were petrified as well. My only consolation was that they lived and I could tell them how sorry I was. Even though they forgave me, I haven't been able to forgive myself for what happened. But you know what, Harry? I don't take it out on my friends. And I've come to peace with what happened, and I've moved on. I suggest you do the same." Ginny pushed past him and Ron and left, slamming the door after her.
Harry looked guiltily at the floor under his feet. Ron sighed, and led the sobbing Hermione out of the room, leaving Harry alone. He threw himself on his bed, covering his face with his hands. How could he be so stupid? He shouldn't have let his temper get the better of him. Besides, Ginny blew up at him because he was being an idiot in the first place. The day could have gone smoothly, but no, he had to be a sarcastic jerk and ruin it.
"You know, that little red haired hellion is right," Phineas Nigellus appeared in his portrait.
"Leave me alone," Harry responded curtly, turning to his back on the old headmaster.
"You weren't the only one who lost him that night," the old man replied.
"You never wanted him."
"He was still family."
"You only wanted him to carry out the family name," Harry said, disgusted.
"He couldn't really do that stuck here," Nigellus said. "You don't really know how much you miss a person until you lose them. I have lost my great-great-grandson because I was too much of an idiot to understand what it was he was fighting for." He gazed at Harry's back. "Dumbledore's been worried about you."
"I don't care," Harry said simply.
"Your friends too. They've spent the last three days lamenting over you and what might happen," he continued. "I can assure you they never expected you to try to harm one of them."
"I didn't try to hurt Ginny."
"No, I guess you didn't have to try. Dumbledore wants to see you. Says he'll be here tomorrow at noon." And with those parting words, Phineas left his portrait.
Sometime after Phineas Nigellus left, Harry had fallen asleep. He didn't wake up until Dumbledore had arrived. Dumbledore and Remus Lupin sat at the head of the table, talking. Ron and Hermione were clearing the table, and Ginny washed the dishes. Mrs. Weasley smiled at him sympathetically, served him lunch, then ushered everyone out of the kitchen, except Dumbledore and Remus.
"Hello, Harry," the headmaster said after they were alone. "Phineas came to tell you I'd come see you, did he not?"
"Yes, he did," Harry said tonelessly. He stared at the plate in front of him and realized that he wasn't really hungry.
"I've been concerned about you," Dumbledore continued. "From what Remus and Arthur tell me, you haven't been doing well lately."
Harry glared at Lupin, who suddenly became very interested in the pattern of the tablecloth. "I'm doing absolutely peachy," he said sarcastically.
Dumbledore raised his eyebrow, but decided not to comment on Harry's behavior. "Two things bring me here today, Harry. One is the matter of Sirius' will. He made it very clear that Remus was to be your legal guardian should something happen to him. Also, Remus has inherited this house and part of Sirius' fortune. You inherited his flat here in London and the other half of his money."
"I don't want it," Harry declared flatly.
"It's out of my hands. Everything has already been put under your name," Dumbledore answered him. "Now the next thing is this." He waved his wand, and a medium-sized cardboard box appeared on top of the table in front of Harry. "It was supposed to be sent to your magical guardian," the headmaster said. "But as Sirius was in Azkaban, it was put away in a locker with your name on it at the Ministry. You were to receive it tomorrow, since it is your sixteenth birthday and you're considered an adult in the wizarding community. You now have access to all your records, bank accounts, files, etc."
"I already have access to my Gringotts' vault," he responded.
"You have access to the vault your parents set up for you, however they had a joint vault separate, and a muggle bank account," Dumbledore handed him a Gringotts' key and a booklet with the logo of Fleet Bank on the cover.
Harry blinked, trying to absorb all that the professor had said. He had inherited an apartment in London and half of Sirius' holdings, and his parents had left him even more money both in Gringotts and a muggle bank. All that money. He wouldn't be able to spend it in a lifetime. But it came with too big a price. He would rather be poor and have his parents and Sirius with him than be this filthy rich.
Not knowing what to say, yet knowing that if he didn't say something he might break down, Harry turned back to Dumbledore. "What's in this box?"
Remus cleared his throat. "It was all the things we were able to salvage from Lily and James' house," he answered. "Um, there's also- there's also the things they had on them when they were- well, when they died. And the things that were in their offices at the Ministry. I don't know if you know, but James was an Unspeakable, and Lily was an Auror."
Harry found it very hard to breathe all of a sudden. He tried to say something, but no sounds came out of his mouth. He bit his lip, then he got up and left the kitchen.
Harry walked around aimlessly. He had never really explored the house, which was very big. The downstairs was taken up by the kitchen and the drawing room, but there were people there. On the second floor were all the bedrooms that were being used by the Order and Buckebeak's room. As far as Harry knew, only Sirius had gone up to the third floor. Trying to get away from everyone and their questions, Harry had made his way up the third floor. He had wondered in and out of grimy rooms. The furniture in most of them was covered by white sheets, or at least they had been white at some point. The other rooms were completely empty.
Finally tired of walking, Harry went downstairs to his room. He opened the door and found Lupin sitting on his bed, the box with his parents' belongings on the floor. Lupin looked up and smiled sadly. "I hope you don't mind," he said, holding up a little black book he was reading. Harry frowned, not knowing what it was. Lupin put the book in the box. "Your father kept it in his office. We kept writing in it until you were born."
Harry turned, ready to leave again. Lupin stood and put a hand on his shoulder. "You had questions about your parents a few months ago that Sirius and I could not answer fully. Maybe you can find the answers you need in there," he motioned to the box. He looked at Harry sympathetically. "I miss them too. They were the only friends I really ever truly had. You aren't alone. You've got me, and Ron, and Hermione, and Ginny. Arthur and Molly consider you their son, and their children see you as their brother. You have a lot to be grateful for, and a lot to mourn. You just have to learn how to balance the two."
Harry sighed. He wanted to say something to Remus, but he couldn't find the words to thank him. The werewolf, however, seemed to understand. He nodded to Harry and left him alone with his thoughts.
"You know what we have to do, right?" Hermione asked Ron and Ginny. They were all sitting in the drawing room, the two siblings playing a game of chess.
"Yeah, stupefy Harry and give him a nice, swift kick in the b-"
"No, Ginny!!!" Hermione exclaimed. "We will not be inflicting bodily harm on anyone, no matter how much they deserve it." She sighed exasperatedly. "We need to have an intervention."
"An intervention?" Ron asked skeptically. "I don't know, 'Mione. Maybe we should leave him alone to figure it out himself."
"But he needs to talk about it," she said.
"No, he needs to get over it," Ginny said, frowning as Ron destroyed her knight. "Talking about it might make it worse. He'll think we're throwing it in his face or something."
"Fine. The two of you can just stay here playing chess all day if you'd like," Hermione said angrily. "I'm going to go talk to Harry and help my best friend find a way to deal with all the pain he's been going through." She turned around and left the room.
"Damn, now we're going to have to follow her, aren't we?" Ron asked Ginny. She nodded, getting up and following Hermione. Ron reluctantly went after them.
Hermione knocked on the door to Ron and Harry's room. A strangled 'come in' sounded from inside. The three friends exchanged worried glances before Hermione opened the door and led them inside. Harry was sitting on his bed, a black book opened in his lap, and he was laughing over something he read in it.
"Harry?" Ron asked tentatively.
"You guys, look at this," Harry motioned them over. He handed Ginny the book in his lap.
" 'The Pranks and Antics of the Marauders'," she read. "What is this? Who are the Marauders?"
"The marauders were my father, Sirius, Remus, and Wormtail," he answered, his face frowning as he said the last word. "They wrote down all the pranks they pulled together in that book. I'm guessing since it's so neat and organized that Moony did most of its writing."
"They kept a record book?" Hermione asked, appalled.
"They were worse than Fred and George," Ron said laughing.
Ginny giggled as she read some about some of the pranks. "They could really give the twins a run for their money."
Hermione grabbed the book from Ginny's hands and flipped through it. "Wow, this is impeccable record keeping. But can you imagine what Dumbledore would say if he saw this? What if someone had turned it over to a professor? They could have gotten expelled!"
"But they didn't," Ron put in. "And they can't get in trouble for it now."
"Where did you get this, Harry?" Ginny questioned.
"Oh, Lupin and Dumbledore brought over some things of my mom and dad's," he answered. "Look what else I found." He reached into his shirt and pulled out two pairs of dog tags. "My mom was an Auror, my dad an Unspeakable. They were wearing these the night they died. But check out the back on my dad's."
Ginny flipped them over. "The Hogwarts' crest?"
"Look closer."
Ginny looked at the dog tags again. Instead of the Hog warts 'H', there was an 'M' surrounded by a stag, a wolf, a dog, and a rat. Hermione rolled her eyes, "The Marauders," she said. Ginny smiled, letting go of the dog tags.
"I can't believe them. They were way worse than Fred and George, having their own crest!" Ron laughed.
Harry grinned. "Yeah. And check this out," he pulled out a black box from under his pillow. He opened it carefully. "My mom's wedding and engagement rings. I'm wearing my dad's wedding band right now." He showed them.
"Oh, Harry, that's so beautiful," Ginny said, admiring the rings. Lily Potter's engagement ring was an amazing gorgeous diamond ring with two emeralds set on either side of it. The wedding rings were matching gold bands with the letters 'J & L' inscribed on the back.
"There's not that many things here, other than that," Harry said. "A few magic books, pictures, a baby blanket, my baby book, and this." He pulled out and unfolded the most stunning dress Ginny had ever seen.
"Oh my goodness!" Hermione gasped. Ginny's mouth had dropped open. It was a beautiful white silk strapless wedding gown. The bodice had lots of rhinestones sewn onto it, and the light made them sparkle so they looked like diamonds. The skirt was long and full, and it was trimmed with more rhinestones. On one of the side were a ridiculous amounts of tiny pearl buttons.
"It's gorgeous," whispered Ginny.
"And it looks like it could fit you," Hermione said, taking the dress from Harry and putting it in front of Ginny to see the size. She frowned, realizing what she had done, and folded dress and gave it back to Harry. "Sorry, Harry."
"It's all right. And it does look like it would fit you, Gin," Harry replied, setting the dress aside. "Look, you guys. I'm really sorry about last night. I don't know what exactly came over me and well, it's just things have been very hard for me lately and I just didn't feel like talking to anyone and.."
"It's okay Harry," Ginny shrugged. "I understand completely."
"Um, so what are those pictures of?" Hermione said, changing the subject successfully.
"Oh, pictures of my mom and dad when they were younger, and a few baby pictures of me," Harry answered.
"I wanna see baby pictures of you!" Ginny exclaimed happily. She had never seen any pictures of Harry before Hogwarts. She had seen pictures of Hermione, but never of Harry, and she was really curious as to what he looked like as a baby.
Harry pulled out the pictures and showed them to his friends. Most of the pictures were labeled on the back, with the names of the people and date the picture was taken. Some even had small notes, like 'Lily's sweet sixteen,' and 'James' first broom ride,' and 'Harry's first picture.' Ginny and Hermione had seemed most interested in Baby Harry and proceeded to ooh and ahh over the baby pictures.
"Wow, mate, you really do look like your dad," Ron said, looking at a photo of James and Sirius from June 1975, the end of their fourth year.
"Yeah, Harry, look at this," Hermione rummaged through the photographs, finally finding what she was looking for. She held up two baby pictures. "Try and guess which one is James Potter and which one is Harry Potter," she said to Ginny and Ron.
"That's impossible 'Mione," Ron protested. "They're identical."
"Yeah, I can't tell the difference either." Harry said, frowning.
"The one on the right is Harry. See the green eyes?" Ginny said, pointing them out. "Oh yeah!" Ron said, looking at the picture closely.
"Wonder who this is," Harry said, looking at a picture of his mother and his aunt Petunia with a man of about 18. The others shrugged.
"I don't know who he might be, but look," Ginny handed Harry a few more photos. "He's in all of those."
"Just ask Professor Lupin," Ron suggested. "He'll know who it is."
Hermione, who had taken to flipping through the magic books that Harry had pulled out of the box, supplied the answer quickly. "That's Bradley Evans."
"Bradley Evans?" Harry repeated. "Who is he?"
"Your uncle," she responded.
"How did you know that?" Ron asked her.
She handed Harry the book that she was looking through. The cover had been burned beyond recognition, but the rest of the book seemed intact. He opened the book and soon found what it was. "It's my mom's diary."
"Maybe we should leave you alone to read that, Harry," Ginny said after a short, yet awkward silence. "Let's go, guys."
"No, no. Stay." Harry replied. He swallowed. "I don't think I can read it."
"Harry, maybe you should," Hermione whispered. Harry looked at her oddly. She cleared her throat. "Well, you wanted to know more about your parents. That's why Fred and George helped you sneak into Umbridge's office last year. And your mom's diary can tell you anything you'll ever want to know about your parents."
"You're right, but I can't read it alone." Harry looked pleadingly at Ginny, hoping to get them all to stay. Ginny sat back down next to him. "Thanks," he whispered. He handed her the diary.
Ginny took a deep breath before reading the first page. "August 1st, 1976. I love my brother. I really, truly do, but one of these days I will end up killing Bradley Evans…
Flashback (Lily's point of view)
I cannot believe that he brought me to James Potter's house. The nerve of him! He knows how much I hate and despise Potter! True, the Potters had invited us to stay at the beginning of the summer, but still. Brad and I could have stayed at the Leaky Cauldron for the rest of the summer. I must have suggested it to him about a million times since we left home, but he just said 'it's too dangerous' in a tone that meant that the discussion was closed.
It all began when we arrived at home at the end of the school year. Brad and I were at the train station, waiting for mom and dad to pick us up for about an hour before Brad, impatient and at his breaking point, made me walk all the way into the Leaky Cauldron. Last year, after a long discussion with our parents, we had convinced them to link our house to the Floo network. Of course, my older sister Petunia immediately started to argue, but Brad, who's a year older than her (and two years older than me) had nastily told her to butt out and mind her own business. Not wanting to argue with him, Petunia had backed down.
But back to the story. At the Leaky Cauldron, we bumped into my least favorite people in the world: Sirius Black and James Potter, who were there with Potter's parents. Potter nodded to my brother and winked at me. I could have hexed him right there and then if it wasn't because his mother noticed us and motioned for us to join them. Brad, of course agreed.
"What are you two doing here?" Mrs. Potter asked amiably. "I would've thought you'd be home by now. Come on, sit down. Jamie, scoot over, give Lilian some room."
Potter smiled and moved, making space for me to sit. Keeping my temper in check, I sat on the bench next to him. Brad sat across from us, next to Mr. Potter.
"What will you kids have, butterbeers?" he asked, smiling at me and my brother, who now seemed more calm.
"Oh no, Mr. Potter, that's quite alright," I said. "We're just passing through, and we should really get going."
"There's no rush, Lils," Brad said smiling. "It's not like Mom and Dad are waiting for us." He looked at me, daring me to contradict him. Now, Brad rarely looses control, and he almost never looses his temper, but when he does, it's really, really, terrible. I could tell that he was very near to loosing it right now, and I really didn't feel like being on the receiving end of it. So I bit my lip and sat up straight.
"And why aren't your parents expecting you?" Mrs. Potter asked as her husband ordered us butterbeers. "You did tell them that you'd be arriving today, did you not?"
"Yeah, we did," Brad answered. "But they had some very important business they needed to take care of, so they asked me to take Lily home."
"Oh, I see," said Mrs. Potter. She didn't look too comfortable with Brad's response.
"So, son, what are you planning on doing now that you've graduated Hogwarts?" Mr. Potter questioned my brother. James and Black were whispering besides me, and I tried really hard to ignore them.
"Well, I'm going to spend most of the summer at home. Then I'm going to move to London and go into Auror training in September," Brad explained.
"Auror training?" Mrs. Potter gasped, while Mr. Potter looked at Brad, impressed. "Isn't that dangerous?"
"Of course it is, Mom," Potter said. "But nothing Bradley can't handle. I mean, he's Bradley Evans." Potter's opinion of my brother reflected that of everyone else at Hogwarts. Brad was liked and adored by everyone, a model student, he was Gryffindor through and through. Brad was brave and courageous, and had a knack for getting himself into and out of tight spots, many of which had ended with either him or his rivals in the hospital wing at school.
It was obvious that James and Sirius had told the Potters stories about my brother, as they seemed to accept that explanation.
Mr. Potter, Bradley and Sirius Black immediately plunged into a conversation about Auror training and Ministry policies, while Mrs. Potter patiently listened.
"Lily," Potter said, smiling smugly.
"Potter," I growled, making a face at him. I have no clue why Potter had become obsessed with me, but I only wanted him to leave me alone. I glared at him, daring him to talk to me. He seemed to get the hint (finally!) and turned and joined in the others' conversation.
I had to sit there, listening to all of them talk about Auror training. Mrs. Potter seemed to believe that it was much too dangerous for anyone, and had paled when James declared he was going to join training as soon as he graduated. After the subject had been exhausted, I looked at Brad and mouthed to him that we had to leave. He nodded reluctantly and we started to thank the Potters for letting us join them and for the butterbeers.
"Well, darlings," Mrs. Potter said as she got up and gave us each a hug. "If your parents don't mind, we'd love to have you stay with us at our house for the summer. Why don't you run it by them and let us know, hmm? Michael and I will pick you whenever you're ready."
"Thanks very much, Mrs. Potter," Brad said smiling. I smiled gratefully. It was just starting to dawn on me that Potter was nothing like his parents, even though he did look very much like his father. The resemblance was a bit scary actually.
Brad and I dragged our trunks to the fireplace and floo'd home. When we got home, I tried very hard not throw up at the scene that met us. Petunia and some guy who looked to be about three times her size, were making out and practically doing each other with their clothes on on our couch.
"Petunia Diane Evans!" Brad yelled. "What is the meaning of this?"
"Bradley! What are you doing here?" Petunia demanded, breathing heavily. I put my fist in my mouth, trying very hard to control my stomach and keep my butterbeer down.
"What I'm doing here? I live here!" Brad roared. "Who the hell is this?" Petunia's boyfriend had paled slightly at the sight of our angry, older brother. "You know what, I don't want to know who you are, but I want you out of our house right now before I blast your fat ass out of here!" The guy didn't need to be told twice. Without so much as a look at Petunia, he grabbed his leather jacket and literally ran out of the house.
Brad turned to me. "Lily, take your trunk upstairs and stay there." It wasn't a request; it was a command. I obediently grabbed my trunk and took it upstairs, not wanting to turn Brad against me too.
Petunia and Bradley spent the next week arguing. But it was nothing compared to Mom and Dad's arguments. The day we'd arrived from Hogwarts, they had gone to see their lawyers about a divorce. It was a long time coming; my parents had been fighting a lot since my third year at Hogwarts, and Mom's last letter had told us to expect the divorce. Every night, when they came home from work, it was a new fight. I couldn't exactly hear what they were arguing about, because every time they started to fight, Brad ordered us girls to our rooms. Once I made the mistake of following Petunia into her room and asking her if this was how mom and dad were when we were at school, and that conversation resulted in Bradley and Dad having to separate us, and Mom blaming Dad for our 'shameless' behaivor.
By second week of the summer, I could tell that Brad was about to explode. He burst into my room at one in the morning and told me to get up and dress quickly.
"Where are we going?" I asked, ignoring Mom and Dad's yells from downstairs.
"We're going to stay with the Potters until I find an apartment in London," he answered. "Hurry up. If we leave now, we'll get there by lunch."
"Wait, you can't go," Petunia said, entering my room. "What about me?"
"What about you?" I replied.
"You can't leave me alone with them!" she shrieked.
"Of course we can," I answered her. "Right, Brad?"
"No, Lils, we can't," Brad rubbed his temple. "But you probably don't want to stay in a wizard's house, or do you?" he asked Petunia.
"No! I'd rather rot here!" she screamed.
"Fine!" Brad pulled out his wallet and handed her a bunch of muggle money. "Take that and go stay at a friend's house. A girl friend. And don't let me here you've been with that imbecile again. You're too good for Vernon Dursley, and don't you forget it." Brad kissed Petunia's forehead, one of the few times that I ever saw my siblings show any love for each other.
"Thanks, Brad," Petunia said, but the words seemed forced, like she wasn't used to saying them. She turned to me, then shrugged. I enveloped her in a hug, not knowing when I'd see her again. Because if I knew Brad, we probably were never coming back here again.
Within an hour, we had dropped off Petunia at her best friend's house and started the long drive to the Potters' house. Brad knew the way already; he had gone to stay with the Potters last summer, back when he was declared captain for the Gryffindor Quidditch team and James Potter insisted that he stay with them so that the team could get in some early practices. According to Brad the whole quidditch team had been invited and they spent the whole summer practicing and fooling around the Potters quidditch pitch.
I kept trying to convince him to drive to the Leaky Cauldron, or Hogsmeade even, and we could stay at the inn. But Brad said we didn't have enough money to stay at an inn for the whole summer, so we ended up at Manderley, the Potters' huge mansion in Wiltshire.
And now I'm stuck here until Brad decides to drive us back into London, which I don't think it's anytime soon. He's having too much fun with Potter, Black, and Lupin. It actually isn't as bad as I expected. Mrs. Potter is very nice, and she treats us all like we were her own kids. Mr. Potter is a very interesting and entertaining character- he's just as crazy as his son! And Black has not even tried to pull a prank on me in the two weeks that I've been here. Remus Lupin has always been a sweetheart and right now I'm very thankful that I get along with him, because otherwise I would have no one to talk to here other than Brad.
James Potter, on the other hand, is absolutely thrilled to have me here, which worries me. He's doubled his efforts on asking me out! Why can't he just take the hint and leave me alone?
August 4th, 1976.
I really cannot take much more of this. First off, the Potters' house, Manderley mansion, is so big! I've gotten lost at least once a day since I've got here. What do four people need a huge house like this for? (Apparently, it's not just James and his parents that live here, but Sirius Black too. And the Lupins come to stay for weeks at a time as well, but do they really need a house with almost 50 bedrooms?)
Second, ever since we got here, the boys only do three things: sleep, eat, and play Quidditch. Even Remus joins them, and he hates playing Quidditch. So I'm here stuck in this huge house with no one to talk to and nothing to do.
And the most horrific thing happened last night. During dinner, Bradley had mentioned that he wanted to see his girlfriend, Kate. He asked the Potters if he could go for a few days into London and leave me here with them so he could go see her, and look for an apartment near the Ministry.
"Of course she can stay here, Brad," Mrs. Potter answered immediately. "Don't you worry about your sister. We'll be fine here, right, Lilian?" I smiled and nodded, but as soon as Mrs. Potter was distracted, I gave Brad a deathly glare, but he just shrugged.
"Lucky my girlfriend isn't in London," Potter said. "I don't think I could bear to be separated from Lily for too long."
"I am NOT your girlfriend, Potter," I snapped at him.
"Oh, but you will be," he whispered. "See, I know of a way to ask you ask you and leave you with no choice but to accept."
"Liar," I said simply. I was really tired of him asking me out. What exactly is his fascination with me, anyway?
He cleared his throat and then asked loudly enough for everyone at the table to hear. "Lily, would you like to go out with tomorrow night?"
Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at me. Brad was trying to hide smirk by wiping his mouth with a napkin. Remus shook his head at James, while Sirius grinned at him, completely unfazed by his friend's boldness. Mrs. Potter looked at me impassively, and Mr. Potter just raised an eyebrow.
Damn! I thought. I couldn't say no without seeming ungrateful to the Potters for all they'd done, or snobbish, like their son wasn't good enough for me. Which is true, but I'm not snobbish. I caught Potter looking at me, very proud of himself. I forced a smile and muttered, "I'd love to."
What else was I supposed to do? I couldn't say no. So tomorrow night I have to go with Potter. Hmm, maybe I should take my wand, just in case…
A/N: I know that I should probably be working on the sequel to my other story, but I just couldn't concentrate with this story floating around my head. Because of school and work, I don't really know how often I can update, but I'll try to not keep you waiting too long for the next chapter. Please remeber to read and reviews. The more you review, the more I'll know you guys want to read this story, the faster I'll update!
Love,
Amalia