Title: Everlong
Song: "And I wonder / If everything could ever feel this real forever/ If anything could ever be this good again/ The only thing I'll ever ask of you / You've gotta promise not to stop when I say when." - Foo Fighters, Everlong
Author's Note: This story was previously called Stiletto; I put it up several months ago and never updated it… I now have my own laptop and therefore, the ability to write whenever or wherever I want so I can finally return to my beloved fanfic writing : ). Anyway about the story, the new title is from the song 'Everlong' by The Foo Fighters (download the acoustic version, if you can - you'll fall in love with it, I guarantee it) - every chapter title is derived from a song that will set the mood of some part of the chapter. It will eventually form a soundtrack for the entire story - or at least, that's the idea. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Neh, I don't own nada up in here. Just don't steal my plot. Although it's not all that original, so I suppose you can steal it if you really really want to. But I'd prefer it if you didn't :P

Chapter One - "Anxiety" by Goldfinger
"Feel it all and know it's not your time,
Feel it all and know that this will pass."

"Oh in the name of Merlin!"

It was early. No - it was incredibly early... Four-o-clock in the morning early. The moon was just barely cresting the hills and the sun had yet to even be seen - no one in their right mind would have willingly chosen to get up at such a preposterous time... Not when they could still be cozy and comfy in their beds!

"I can't believe I let this happen! I've overslept! Again! Twice in the same week!" And it would appear that Miss Lily Evans most certainly was not in her right mind.

The short and feisty red-head threw back the covers of her bed and stared at the alarm clock that sat beside her. "You dratted piece of technology..." She hissed, feeling quite tempted topoundit with her fist- or better yet, hex it with her wand... "No wonder the wizarding world has steered clear of electricity... It never works!" Exasperated and absolutely steaming with anger, the young witch refrained from destroying her mother's antique alarm clock and grabbed her robe, storming crossly out of the room.

Lily was angry. Lily was more than angry - for lack of betters words, she was royally pissed off. Her schedule was now completely off course - she had planned the day nearly minute-for-minute and now? Lily sighed exasperatedly; she wasn't exactly sure what she would do… At this point, she was supposed to be packed for school. Lily had anticipated that it would take approximately an hour to pack - she was supposed to have woken up at 3 to get ready. But now, she had lost an hour - Lily had lost an hour of precious packing time... Her schedule was bound to be ruined all because of a useless, dumb and defective muggle alarm clock...

Stupid technology...

Lily glowered at the floor and continued onwards, paying no attention to the muffled sounds that seemed to be blooming from her sister's room – from the sounds of it, she was awake. That wasn't good. Petunia was bound to be annoyed with her younger sister... But, then again, what else was new? Petunia was always annoyed with Lily. She would come downstairs, throw a hissy fit and then go to sulk in her room. Petunia was a rather predictable person – never very spontaneous. That was one of the reasons Lily had come to dislike her so much. Well, that and the fact that she had proclaimed Lily to be a disgrace to the entire Evans family and had sworn that the instant she moved out of the house she would never speak to her ever again... But that was entirely beside the point.

An angry huff passed Lily's lips and she stared at the mess that lay on the living room floor. Her green eyes narrowed... An entire hour, lost! Forever! She still couldn't get over it - which was understandable, considering her current state of mind. Over the past couple days Lily had been battling with the concept of time; more or less having a midlife crisis... At the beginning of her life. She was entering her seventh and final year at Hogwarts and simply was not ready to accept that there were only ten months left until she would be out on her own in the wizarding world. In fact, it almost made her want to throw up... Yep, that's right - Lily Evans, proud member of Gryffindor was scared. Even that was an understatement – Lily Evans was petrified. The normally strong young woman had been reduced to nervous tears and childish fits of panic... It had been a sad day when she realized that her parents – who had been there with her for every step of the way – would be unable to support her in this new life... A sad day indeed!

An ominous shiver ran down Lily's back as she remembered this fact once more - but faster than a snidget can get away from a wizard-on-a-broomstick, she shrugged it off. Breaking down into a fit of fretful tears was the last thing she needed to do now - it could come after packing, saying goodbye to her parents, tidying her room, and going to Diagon Alley. Only then would she allow herself such a ridiculous show of emotion.

But for the time being there was packing to be done...

"LILY MARGARET-SUSAN EVANS!"

Or perhaps not.

"Bloody hell..." Lily closed her eyes and stepped away from the pile of Hogwarts supplies that lay before her. "Would you save your lecture for later Petunia? I am trying to pack--"

"And I was trying to SLEEP!" Lily's sister came stomping down the steps, her dark brown eyes wild with malice as she spotted her sister's frazzled figure. "Ever hear of that? Sleep? It's what normal people do from about ten-o-clock at night to nine-o-clock in the morning... Or do you and your dratted friends not do that either?" She shouted sarcastically as she placed her hands on her hips and stepped out into the light, awaiting her sister's response.

Lily turned to face Petunia, a grimace displayed across her face as she reluctantly placed her packing duties on hiatus. She bit her lip, but remained silent, watching her sister pensively and hoping that she would just disappear into thin air. Oh... That would have been very nice.

The thing about Lily and Petunia was that they couldn't have looked or acted less like sisters if they tried. For one, Lily – like her mother – had bright, flaming crimson hair... But Petunia? Her hair was similar to that of their father's - dark, thick, and, in Lily's opinion, not at all becoming. The two had different figures, different eye-colors, different heights, different strides... They even had drastically different personalities. The two were complete opposites. Sometimes Petunia liked to pretend that Lily was adopted and they were in no way related, explaining that 'A girl can always dream.' Despite the attempts of their parents to repair the broken ends of their kinship, it was no use. As long as Lily was witch, Petunia was bound to hate her.

"Petunia," The red-head began hastily, placing her hands on her hips to mirror her older sister's cynical stance. "I really couldn't care less about your sleeping habits – I need to pack. I don't think you really understand the desperation of this matter. I'm supposed to be at Diagon Alley in--" Lily stopped herself, spotting a distinct lack of care in the other girl's expression. It made her blood want to boil... Ugh... Petunia was such a prat... "Look at it this way – the sooner I pack, the sooner I'm gone. Got it?"

This seemed to sway Petunia's mood a little. A subtle smirk crept to her lips but she said nothing and simply stood there for a minute, watching her sister, knowing that by just being there, she would be wasting time... Petunia was quite aware of her sister's obsession with time... She was very aware... The smirk grew and she crossed her arms in front of her chest, eyeing Lily's growing discomfort with amusement... Oh how she loved to torture her sister –and this was probably the last time she'd have the opportunity to do it until, well, who knows when! Not that she thought this was a bad thing but... Oh this was just priceless...

"Oh come on Petunia!" Lily finally snapped, her green eyes flashing dangerously and fingers twitching - they were searching for the familiar wood of her wand. "Would you just leave me alone?"

The dark-haired sister thought for a final moment before shrugging her shoulders indifferently. "Fine. But only because I really cannot stand to have you in this household any longer." She added loftily before turning around and strolling rather hastily up the steps.
When she finally disappeared from view, Lily let out a sigh of relief. Ding, dong the muggle is dead... Which old muggle? The wicked muggle! Ding, dong the wicked muggle is dead... She hummed the playful tune and grinned for the first time in days. Finally. She could pack.

----------

"Mom, dad? I'm really going to miss you this year – I promise I'll write extra and then visit you over the summer... Or maybe over Christmas! But no matter what, I'll write and tell you about everything that's going on..." Lily peered into the front seat of the car, eyeing her parents fretfully. "I mean but you'll write back, yes? You remember how to use an owl – it's really easy! All you do is tie the letter to their left foot – it's simple! Really, if you want me to show-"

"Sweetheart, we'll write you. Don't worry." The voice of Lily's mother, Rosemary Evans, came from the front seat, a comforting sound to Lily's anxious ears. "You'll be fine – just enjoy your final year at school – and don't worry so much! Just enjoy yourself. I still remember my last year at school… That's when I met your father." Rosemary smiled gently at her husband, watching the rather stern-looking man fondly. He simply cleared his throat.

Lily watched her mother gently rest a hand on her father's shoulder – there seemed to be an understanding between the two of them... An understanding that Lily wished she could have with someone. She sighed to herself, remembering all of her own past relationships – they were all flops. Complete flops. She couldn't quite understand what was wrong with her – Lily liked boys, she liked being intimate with boys, she liked having an emotional connection with boys but… She just couldn't find someone who seemed to keep her interested. No Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Gryffindor had been able to capture her interest for any extended period of time. Her feelings were always overwhelmed by responsibility and school work. She just couldn't do it. Even Petunia, who in Lily's eyes was the most undesirable woman in the world, had managed to find herself an equally dreadful boyfriend. Lily had always been a bit a hopeless romantic – she rather fancied the idea of soul mates and true love and the perfect kiss...

"Lily, sweetheart, we're almost there – do you have your money and everything you'll need to check into the Leaky Cauldron?" Her mother turned around as Lily looked up, parting herself from her thoughts. She stared at her mother, almost as if she hadn't understood what she had said – Lily's mind was just somewhere else...

"Leaky Cauldron?" She repeated the word and nodded, finally snapping herself out of the preoccupied state. "Yeah, I have everything mum... You two sure you can't come in with me for a little while? A store opened up last year that I think you'd like..." Lily trailed off as she saw her mother's face fall.

"We really can't, darling. You sister is waiting at home – we have to drive her to the University before three... But perhaps later in the year we'll stop off." She said meekly in a tone that clearly read regret. She was torn by the fact that her two daughters couldn't get along. It was no easy feat to have the only two months spent with her daughters be miserable and filled with fights... Lily hated it just as much as her mother did – but she would never give up being witch. Not for anything. As she often said, finding out she had magical powers was the best thing that had ever happened to her. Ever.

"That's alright mum." The red-head announced quickly after, not wanting to place any pressure on her parents. She leaned back in her seat and gazed out the window, watching muggle London pass her by.

"You know we would, if we could, Lily." Her father spoke for the first time in the entire car ride and though his voice carried his usual monotonous sound, she still knew he cared.

"Yes, I know daddy. It's alright – oh look, we're here!" Lily rushed the response, trying to avoid the awkward silence that would inevitably arise. She sniffed a little, trying not to get too emotional – it would be best if she just hurried. If she just said goodbye and then left, everything would be fine – everything would be fine. If it wasn't, she wasn't sure just what she would do.
Getting out of the car, Lily grabbed her book-bag and assembled her cart, popping the trunk and hastily taking out her suitcases, being careful to place the cat carrier (which held her little white cat, Alan) on top. Remember, Lily told herself as she dropped a particularly large trunk on the ground, just say goodbye and then leave. The plan sounded simple – but she had a feeling that executing it would be on the difficult side.

Once she was done gathering all her suitcases, Lily stepped away from the car to face her parents. What she saw then, was almost enough to make her want to break down right then and there. Merlin. This was going to be difficult! Lily's mother was stood beside her father; they were holding each other's hands and smiling at Lily. They looked proud.

"Lily, dear, I can't tell you how pleased we are to see you here – all grown up... Entering your last year at school..." Her mother began, tone soft and caring. "When you were born, we of course knew you were going to be very special – how could you not? You were our happy little baby girl... A bundle of joy that we welcomed into our lives with open arms." The woman trembled for a moment, but Lily's father wrapped an arm around her shoulder and seemed to renew her strength. "But we never could have guess that you would turn out like... This. Lily, you've opened up this entirely new world for us – magic. You fought your way into it when you were 11 and here you are now, just barely 17 and a fully credentialed, very talented witch."

At this point, Lily's eyes began to well up with tears – she knew it had been hard for her parents to have a witch in the family. They had to lie to all their friends about where she was, put up with Petunia's stubborn antics, and immerse themselves in this entirely new world without even understanding it's existence. Lily smiled weakly in their direction, sniffing daintily and trying to suspend the tears but hearing her mother's words and seeing her father's face was just too much for a girl to bare...

"We're so proud of you. Lily, we want you to have this – it's a bit of a late birthday present... Or an early graduation present..." Lily's father reached into his pocket and drew out a long, velvet box. He stepped forward, giving it to his daughter, but never once letting go of his wife's hand. He stepped back as Lily took the box, clutching it in her fingers nervously.

The bleary-eyed girl opened the box slowly, peering in with an anxious expression on her face – what she found left her speechless. It was her grandmother's locket. Lily looked up at her parents in surprise, her face showing signs of confusion. She glanced down at the necklace once again, unable to draw her gaze away from it's presence for very long. As a child, Lily had been very close to her grandmother. She had spent countless afternoons in the elderly woman's flat, playing dress up with her old clothes, drinking tea from elegantly styled tea cups... She loved the woman. In fact, many years later, it had dawned on Lily that her grandmother might have been a witch – she had the sort of knowing smile that only someone who had seen the wonders of magic could hold... When the old woman died, Lily had been only eight years old – and she was heartbroken. She would spend hours staring at the locket, which her grandmother had worn at all times, hoping that it would somehow bring her back. Of course it never did and she soon abandoned the hope, forgetting about the locket and leaving it in her mother's care...

Until now.

Lily stared at the locket, using her finger to move it around the box. It was very beautiful. Lily remembered from her childhood, running her finger over the intricate design of flowers and vines on the front. She sniffled again, using her thumb and forefinger to carefully unlock the clasp. There was a tiny pop and it sprung open to reveal two pictures – one was her grandmother at the age of 19, looking very beautiful with her flaming red hair pulled close to her face in a stylish bob. The other was of her grandfather, dressed in a top-hat and tails with a wide and mischievous grin on his face. Her grandparents on their wedding night. Lily smiled fondly, running her pinky-finger over the edges. "I love it." She said feebly, closing the locket once more. "I love it so much – thank you mum, dad..."

As Lily moved forward to give her parents a hug, she felt a bit as if a small weight had just lifted off her shoulders – a bit of the apprehension about going away had dissipated... She pulled away, smiling at them. "I'll never take it off – ever." Lily carefully took it out of the box and put it around her neck, allowing the delicate heart-shaped locket to fall just above the top of her t-shirt. Lily gripped it between two fingers, curling a hair self-consciously around her ear. "Well, I suppose I should get going now..." Lily glanced at the entrance to The Leakey Cauldron, heart beating a little faster than it really should have. "I love you – and I'll write... Every week! I promise." She said, softly kissing her mother on the cheek and hugging her father one last time. "... Bye."

Lily bit her lip as she began to push her luggage cart towards the entrance of The Leaky Cauldron. Pausing, she stole one final look back at her parents (who were beginning to look a fair bit weepy at this point), the Gryffindor seventh year summoned all of her remaining emotional strength and marched through the door.

"Miss Evans!" Almost immediately Lily was greeted by the familiar scratchy voice of Tom, the innkeeper's son. "How delightful it is to see you again!" Lily turned to face the young man, a bright smile on her face – she was glad to see such a friendly face... Tom and herself had become good friends the previous summer when she had worked for his father as a waitress.

"Tomas! How has your summer been, good? That's excellent – listen, do you think you could get my room for me? I'd love to stay and chat but I really need a good rest... A little overwhelmed by leaving home and such." She explained, grasping his hand warmly in greeting – but she quickly let go when the young man's smile faded from his lips... Lily raised her eyebrows and stepped away, he cleared his throat and busied himself by cleaning a still half-full cup of whiskey.

"Ah... About your room, Lily dear, you know we're really very busy this time of year – what with students coming in for Hogwarts and our regular customers but... This year we're a little bit, well, full. You see, there's a Goobbstones Convention taking place in one of the Diagon Alley hobby shops and then in another store just down the road a whole bunch of Chocolate Frog Card Collectors are meeting – our rooms are packed! Who'd have thought we'd be having such a busy week, eh?" He chuckled dryly but quickly continued when he saw that Lily was un-amused. "We still have your room but..." Tom coughed.

"But what?"

"But.. uhh... We had to sort of group the Hogwarts students together. Father and I... We're going through a bit of a tough financial time right now, do you understand? We really couldn't turn people away – it's been a great season... We've made a load of money – enough to pull us out of our troubles – we've even been thinking about expanding to avoid situations like this for next year – we'll buy the place next door and--"

"My room, Tom?"

"Ah, yes, well... Not to worry about that, I saved a bed for you, Lily – you won't have to be sleeping on a cot of any sort. I made sure of that personally, and you'll only be sharing a room with four other people... And it's one of the larger rooms we have – and... And Madison Waite, that girl friend of yours, is in the room as well!" He added quickly when he saw her face flush. "I'm really, really sorry... Pops and I – we had no choice..." He trailed off, edging quietly away from Lily who looked as if she was ready to explode.

"No Tom, that's quite alright... I'll only be here for a couple days, I'll be fine. Really, don't worry about it."

"Are you sure Lily? That's wonderful – I was so certain that would were going to lose your temper on me! No offence, dear, but you remember how grumpy you were last year – I've almost come to..." Tom cut himself short, realizing that he was pressing his luck a little too far. "Well, uhhh, anyway here's your key. I really ought to get back to work. You're on the second floor, room 28 – sharing it with two friendly blokes in their seventh year, some young Hufflepuff doll and of course that friend of yours; Madison was it? We'll have to meet later, ya?" But Tom didn't wait around for a response. As soon as Lily took her key, he was off tending to a group of geeky-looking customers who were all wearing the exactly same 'Gobbstones' t-shirt. Lily stared at the young man for a moment in disbelief, still not quite comprehending that she would actually have to share a bedroom with four other people for the next two days.

So far, Lily's day had been cutting it painfully close to being classified as 'bad.' Her late start had seemed to set the trend for her mood and the fact that she no longer had a silent room to retreat to didn't exactly help. It was just icing on her big, rotten cake – most probably sugar-free frosting too... Eugh! On the bright side, though, the girl who Tom had mentioned – Madison Waite – was one of Lily's closest friends. At least she would be sharing the room with someone she knew and trusted.

Sighing wistfully, Lily marched her way up the stairs, using a clever levitation spell to carry her luggage up with her. When she finally arrived on the second floor after being stopped by a ragged old wizard who was burping up blue bubbles, the red-headed girl was officially ready to lie down and go to sleep – she could save all her shopping for the following day and everything else could just… Just wait! All she wanted right now was some good dreams and restful sleep – was that too much to ask for!

Well, apparently it was.

"Room number 28." Lily read out loud as she approached the appropriate door. "At last..." With a expression of relief dawning on her face, she fumbled with the key in her pocket before drawing it out and sticking it in the lock. Taking a deep breath, she turned the key and pushed open the door – finally! Lily would be able to rest!

----------

The room, when Lily arrived, was in a state of terrible disarray. There were clothes thrown everywhere, books lying around, various cots scattered about the floor – Lily was even surprised to find an empty liquor bottle and some half-used joints lying underneath one of the desks. Everything was filthy. It was clear that her roommates were complete and total slobs. Wonderful. Madison would undoubtedly be happy – she was pretty much the opposite of Lily when it came to most things and hygiene happened to be one of them. Their dormitory at Hogwarts was often split into two halves – there was Madison's half, which she shared with two other girls, and then there was Lily's half which consisted of herself and a quiet girl named Natalie. Needless to say, Madison's half was usually covered in small bits of food, dirty clothes, and all sorts of things that made Lily want to cringe! This room was no better. It was clear that once she had rested, Lily would have plenty of cleaning up to do!

Shaking her head and picking her way through the mess, Lily dropped her baggage on the floor and brought her hands to her mouth. "Madison! Are you here?" There was no answer. "Madi? Anyone?" She heard a rustling from the bathroom, then a familiar masculine voice...

Oh crap.

"So," The voice began, in a lofty and arrogant tone. "Our fifth and final roommate has finally decided to join us?" The bathroom door swung open to reveal a tall youth with messy black hair and a toothbrush hanging from the corner of his mouth. He grinned. "Hello Evans. Welcome to room number 28."

Lily cringed – she didn't even have to see the boy to identify who it was. She knew that voice all too well – knew it and hated everything about it.

"Potter."