Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize. I have used far more quotes from the Little Mermaid in this chapter than in any other. Be aware that I did not write those lines.

Lily awoke to the sun shining through her translucent white curtains. She quickly remembered her excursion in Diagon Alley the previous day. Thinking about Diagon Alley reminded her of James, the thought of whom brought a smile to her face. She got up and showered before putting on her favourite pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She then made her way down to the kitchen, humming her favourite song, and found her father sitting at the table drinking coffee. "Morning, Daddy," she greeted with a kiss on his cheek. She resumed her humming, grabbing an apple before heading back up to her room.

Edward watched his daughter practically dance out of the room. When she was out of sight, he turned to Petunia. "Is she okay?"

Petunia merely rolled her eyes and sighed in a 'men are so clueless' way. "Isn't it obvious, Daddy? Lily's in love."

"Lily? In love?" He was left to ponder this thought when Petunia abruptly left, calling out from the front door, "I'm going to Vernon's. I'll be back later." He wondered who Lily could be in love with. She had gone to an all-girls school, so it couldn't be someone from there. He figured that it must be the son of one of the politicians. After all, she met more young men at the parties than anywhere else. He was roused from his pondering by a knock at the door, and figuring that Lily was probably up in her room daydreaming and wouldn't get the door, he went to open it, finding Sylvia on the other side.

"Hello, Sylvia."

"Hello, sir. How are you today?"

"I'm okay. Say, you wouldn't happen to know anything about Lily's odd behaviour, would you?"

"Lily's acting oddly?" she asked, laughing nervously. "That's weird." Suddenly she had come down with a case of nerves that she hadn't gotten since she had first become friends with Lily and met her father, the Prime Minister.

"Yes. She's been prancing about here, singing to herself. It's almost as if she's in love. Now, would you care to tell me about it?" He was pretending to be really serious about it, and he could tell that his daughter's best friend was becoming very agitated. He felt slightly sorry for her, but he would let her out of her misery as soon as he found the answer he was looking for.

On Sylvia's part, she was not doing too well. She finally broke down, unable to hold it in any longer. "I don't know what's wrong with her. That girl just won't listen to reason. I tried to tell her that the wizarding world didn't exist, but she insisted, and then she dragged me there, and now she's in love with a wizard. It's insane. I –"

Since Edward had been pretending to be angry before, Sylvia didn't notice his abrupt change in manner. "She's what?" he screamed, not waiting for an answer but instead bounding up the stairs two at a time and barging in Lily's room. What he found angered him beyond belief. There sat Lily with a smile on her face, clutching a small stuffed Merlin to her chest. She must have sensed the tension in the air, because her face suddenly fell and she slowly opened her eyes. It was apparent that she knew that whatever she would find would not be good, and she was right. Her father stood at her door looking very angry. "Daddy, I –"

"I made my disapproval of this fantasy of yours very clear from the start, Lily, and you blatantly ignored me. And now, you've made a mockery of every rule that I've ever set for you. You disobeyed me, Lily. I'll never be able to trust you again. How could you go into the wizarding world? Andhow could you fall in love with one of – with one of them." The word rolled off his tongue like it was dirt.

"You told me that there was no such thing as wizards. How could you lie to me?"

"It was for your own good, Lily. They are dangerous people. I forbid you to go anywhere near their world ever again. I am going to get through to you, Lily, and if this is the only way, then so be it." On that note, he grabbed Lily's collection of magical things out of her hand and, ignoring her screams and pleas, left the room to dispose of it.

Sylvia watched her friend burst into tears and flop down on her head, burying her face in her arms. "Lily, I –"

"Go away!" Lily yelled, lifting her head to throw a dirty look at her friend. "You told him. I can't believe you told him." With that, she threw her head back into her arms and started sobbing.

"I didn't mean to tell, really. It was an accident. I'm so sorry, Lily. Please, you have to –"

"Just go, please."

Unable to refuse her friend anything at the moment, Sylvia quietly left the room. She definitely did not want to run into Lily's father again, so she discretely let herself out of the house, wiping away the few stray tears from her cheeks on her way out.

Lily was roused from her sleep by a loud cracking noise coming somewhere from in her room. She was very confused and disoriented, as she didn't even remember falling asleep. She looked at the clock, reading 2:30 a.m., and realized that she had slept through dinner. Remembering the events of the morning, she couldn't help but feel resentful toward her father, and to be glad that she hadn't gone down to dinner and had to face him. Curious as to what the noise had been that had awoken her, she glanced around the room only start at the sight of two men standing near her door watching her. "W-what do you want f-from me?" she asked fearfully, unable to disguise the tremble in her voice."

"Don't fear, Lily," said the taller one. "We only want to help."

"How do you know my name?" she asked him, at the same time looking from his long blond hair to his aristocratic face to his robes that were not unlike the many she had seen in Diagon Alley, and finding it all very unnerving.

"Lord Voldemort knows all, child."

"Lord Voldemort?"

"Lord Voldemort is very powerful," said the other man, who sported similar robes. "He knows all of you problems. He wants to help you."

"He wants to –"

"Help you, yes," replied the blond. "All you have to do is come with us."

Lily was having a battle inside herself, but she tried hard not to let it show on her face. It was all just a little fishy, so much like the situations she had been told to avoid from the time she was very young. What if these men were here to kidnap her for ransom money? The daughter of the Prime Minister was, after all, a very precious commodity. But she wanted so much just to see James again, even if just once more. And it would serve her father right if she did get kidnapped, and right under his very nose, too. Maybe then he would feel remorse for ruining her life and destroying her most prized possessions.

She opened her mouth to reply but changed her mind at the last moment, closing her lips and setting her face in determination. "No."

"Pardon me, but –"

"I said no! Get out of here! Leave me alone!"

"Suit yourself," the blond said easily, waving off a look of disbelief from the other man. "It was only a suggestion. Have fun wallowing in your misery."

The men were clearly preparing to leave, but stopped at the sound of Lily's voice. "Wait!"

"Yes?" inquired the blond, his lips turning up in a malevolent grin.

"This Lord Voldemort, he's not dangerous, is he?"

"Of course not," replied the shorter man, exchanging an amused glance with the blond, which Lily missed.

"I'll go."

"Very well," said the blond. We'd better get going then. Lord Voldemort does not like to be kept waiting. Grab my arm."

Lily did as instructed and let out a gasp of surprise as she felt the sensation of being pushed inward from all directions. She was slightly disoriented but at the same time relieved when the feeling stopped, and she took the opportunity to look around and get her bearings. The blond man still had her arm, though, and he dragged her toward a dark room, stopping at the doorway. A raven-haired man sat in a high-backed, throne-like chair. He had a very commanding face and unusually red eyes, and Lily found him very intimidating.

"Thank you, Lucius, Avery. You may go." He had a very creepy voice, and it sent chills down Lily's spine.

"But, my Lord –"

"Do you dare to disobey me? I said go." Both men bowed low before him before turning and walking away.

"Come in, come in my child. I've been expecting you," said Lord Voldemort when they had gone."

Lily was reluctant to enter, but seeing as she did not want to find out what would happen if she disobeyed, she promptly did as asked.

"You are a very bright girl, Lily Evans."

"How so?"

"You managed to get into the wizarding world, a feat that no muggle has ever achieved. In fact, very few have even suspected its existence. And now, you are in quite a predicament. You have fallen in love with a wizard."

"I don't know what to do. Not to be rude, but I really don't know why I'm here."

"Isn't it obvious, Lily? The only way to get what you want is to become a witch yourself."

"Can you do that?"

"Don't question me. I am Lord Voldemort. There is no limit to my powers." Lily apologized to him. He did not seem like the type of person she wanted to anger. "Here's the deal," he continued. "I'll cast a spell on you that will turn you into a witch for three days. Got that? Three days. Before the sun sets on the third day, you've got to get James to fall in love with you…that is, he's got to kiss you. Not just any kiss…the kiss of true love. If he does, you will remain witch permanently. If not, you turn back into a muggle and you belong to me."

Unwilling to ask the question as to what belonging to him would entail, Lily remained silent. She had a feeling that this was one of those things she really didn't want to know. "Okay" was all she could say.

"Wonderful! Come closer." Lily obeyed, and she found herself being tapped on the head by Voldemort's wand, producing a sensation rather like her blood turning to ice starting with her head and ending at her toes. She was freezing when the spell had finished, but Voldemort, who could see her shivering, assured her that the feeling would wear off soon. While she was occupied rubbing her arms to try to warm up, Voldemort discretely pointed his wand at her and muttered something inaudible, but Lily was unaware as she wasn't paying attention.

"Lily," Voldemort called, causing her to look up, "it is time." With that, he pointed his wand at Lily and said a spell that she obviously didn't recognize, causing her to black out.

I want to say thank you again to those who reviewed. It's really helpful and encouraging. If you have any suggestions for this story, please let me know. I've left the review responses up from chapters one and two, but I've now added those for chapter three. I hope you liked this chapter. Please review.