dreamergirl86 - Oh, that's fine! I'm just glad to have my reader back! Well, here's some more for ya: D
A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update...My internet's been crazy and acting all weird on me so I wasn't able to get on. I know, excuses, excuses. I can't wait- 5 more days and The Half-Blood Prince is in our hands! Oh, and when that's released, I don't know if I'll be posting as often because I'll be absorbed in that but also I have 3 weeks of dance from morning to night so I'm not going to have a lot of free time, but please stick with me anyway! I would really like some critisism, I love this story but I know it needs some improvement and I would love to hear from you what that improvement is. OK, last thing, I'm sorry this one is shorter but I had to break it into parts somewhere and it just seemed to be the right spot. Sorry I babbled so much...Enjoy!
And...Read and Review!
3. Leaving Home
One week later, Lily was upstairs in her bedroom packing for Diagon Alley.
"Okay," Lily said to herself. "I have my toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, face wash, shampoo, conditioner, make-up, pajama's, socks, shoes…" She mentally checked off her packing list.
"LILY! You've got 5 minutes!" Mrs. Evans yelled up the stairs.
"Alright!" Lily frantically answered and began running around the room checking for anything she might need. When she had finished scanning her room for any missing objects, she hurriedly walked down the hallway to Petunia's room. Lily knocked on the door, the rock music steadily flowing out through the cracks.
"Petunia? Can you open the door, please?" Lily asked over the roaring music. Even though Petunia was a complete brat, Lily felt that she had to say goodbye to her anyways. After all, she was her sister.
The door swung open quickly and a thin, blonde teenage girl emerged from it. Petunia's sudden appearance was so abrupt that Lily jumped in shock. After regaining herself, Lily peered around Petunia's shoulder, wondering how her sister managed to practically live in her room. Lily quickly scanned her sister's bedroom, something she didn't get to do very often due to Petunia's snobby way of hiding herself. Not surprisingly, Lily saw more than 20 magazines sprawled across her bed; Petunia liked to know what was going on in the world; in other words, she liked gossip more than anything else. Besides the pile of magazines, Petunia's room was remarkably clean and organized. A little smaller than Lily's bedroom, Petunia's room contained many neutral colored pieces of furniture. Lily's green eyes saw a bulletin board upon the wall that Petunia's bed was pushed against and on the board was a picture of Petunia looked particularly smug with a large, beefy boy. Must be that Vernon boy she's constantly talking about…that's when she actually opens her mouth and says something, Lily thought to herself.
Petunia noticed Lily's searching eyes and pulled the door closer to her body so that now all Lily could see of her sister's bedroom was the corner of the wall.
"What do you want? Have you come to brag about your special," Petunia looked around, as though making sure there wasn't some neighbor hanging from her bedroom window, hoping to find out some horrible secret of Petunia's family, "magical school?" Petunia snarled and glanced around her room again, staring for a second at the magazines on her bed, like the celebrities inside of them would come alive and start gossiping about Petunia herself.
"No, I've come to say goodbye. I'm off to my school and I won't see you till Christmas," Lily replied coolly.
"Good ridden…" Petunia whispered to herself, but Lily clearly heard her sister's snide remark. Ignoring it, she opened her arms and Petunia, regretfully, let Lily hug her. When Lily pulled away, Petunia stepped back and brushed her hand down her shirt, as if trying to get rid of any weird magical things Lily could have passed to her.
"Well, I hope you enjoy school…" Lily said awkwardly and, grabbing her trunk from her room, she added, "And tell Vernon 'hi' for me."
Petunia scowled and said, "I sure will!" and then slammed her door shut again.
"Lily! Come on! They're here!" Mrs. Evans yelled again. Lily heard the front door opening and warm voices greeting each other.
Desperately wanting to see her best friend, Lily rushed down the stairs, skipping two at a time, her trunk banging against the sides as it followed her. The trunk gathered speed as it hit the stairs, and it ran into Lily, causing Lily to scream. Her massive trunk pushed Lily on top of it, and both Lily and her trunk slid the rest of the way downstairs. The people to witness this: Mrs. Evans, Mandy, and Mandy's mother, Mrs. McNeill. The sight was so odd that you couldn't help but laugh at it; a distraught frustrated-looking teenager whose hair was flying everywhere, her eyes bulging, and a huge trunk open at the bottom of a staircase. When Lily had regained herself, she was greeted by three laughing voices behind her. She turned around to face them, and was embarrassed that her mother, best friend, and best friend's mom were standing there, laughing at her. Lily took in her surroundings, and then she too started laughing.
Ten minutes later, Mandy and her mom were loading Mandy's things into Mrs. Evan's car. Lily had redone her hair and tried to make herself look as though she hadn't just fallen down a staircase.
Lily headed to her room to take one last look, and her eyes watered as she opened the familiar door. As much as she loved Hogwarts, a home was still a home, and she would miss hers very much. She walked over to her display of stuffed animals, running her hands over the soft man-made furs of dogs, cats, monkeys, rabbits, bears, and so many other animals. She smiled, remembering the hours when she would play house or vet with these cherished toys when she was little. This was her home, where she had lived almost all her life. It was where Lily had drawn all over the walls with crayons when she was four, and then was scolded with a spanking for her wrongdoing; where she had received her first pet a hamster – at the age of eight, and then presented with a puppy named Snuffles, who later ran away and was never seen again; where Lily had spent entire nights talking to Mandy on her bed; where Lily had cried for hours after the loss of her father; where Lily had tried what some teenagers once attempted- committing suicide; and, although she saw no significance to it, it was where Lily had first seen James.
She slowly left her bedroom, tears now crawling down her pale cheeks. Lily walked outside to see Mrs. McNeill and Mandy clinging to each other tightly. Mrs. McNeill kissed Mandy on the cheek, gave Mrs. Evans and Lily a hug, got into her Land Cruiser, and drove away.
As Lily was about to slide into her mother's minivan, something, or rather someone, caught her attention. Lily looked up to a second-story bedroom window across the street and saw James's face peering down at her. He did not smirk or open his window and try to embarrass her, he simply watched her as though watching something entrancing and beautiful. Lily was struck by his gaze; no one had ever looked at her like that. She slowly allowed her eyes to briefly meet his and, as though struck by lightening, she suddenly saw images of her and James together. Some were of them holding hands, of kissing each other delicately, or clinging to each other as though they never wanted to let go. The last image was of Lily and James's faces and as Lily looked into her own eyes, she saw they were full of love. The images suddenly faded away as James broke their eye contact, and Lily saw James's face full of shock. Lily was sure her face mirrored his but she also felt confused and a deep blush slowly rose to her cheeks. What had that meant? Were those images from the future? Surely not! I loathe James and I doubt that will ever change, Lily assured herself but as she glanced back at James, she saw his face, and his eyes pleaded her to believe and trust those images, for he knew Lily would simply shrug it off. She confirmed his prediction by ignoring his continuous stares and she slid gently onto the warm leather back seat of the minivan.
Her confusion over James's and her "connection" drifted to the back of her mind as Mandy joined her in the back seat. Suddenly, Lily was extremely happy. She was going to Diagon Alley with her best friend. No parents. No professors. No rules. No bedtimes. No sulking sisters. And, no James. Or so she thought…
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dreamergirl86 - I'm so glad you liked this chapter! I was afraid it might be tooboring!
Lottie - Yay! Another reader! I'm so happy that you like this!
Hazelocean - I will try to update either tomorrow or Thursday! Thanks for reading!