My dear readers: I am so sorry it took so long to get this out to you... it's been done for 2 and a half or 3 weeks. But I have excuses! It wouldn't let me upload any documents... It said that there was an error. Then I left on vacation and was without internet. And I just got back. So I hope you enjoy this chapter. Not as detailed as I'd like, but I hopefully will start writing better as I progress in the story.

When Lily next woke up, it was dark—the curtains were drawn and her door was closed. Shakily sitting up, she began to roll out of bed, but then tripped over something.

"Shit," she muttered, throwing her arms beneath her to catch her fall. Still trembling, she pushed her hair out of her face, and turned the light on. Looking down, she saw that the cause of her fall had been the sheets on her bed; she had kicked them off during the night.

Pushing her hair behind her ear one more time, she picked up the sheets and began making the bed. As she adjusted the pillows, she saw her arm, and with a jolt, remembered what had happened the night before.

She hadn't been able to get the wine, the groceries had been ruined, and Nora broke her arm… but her arm wasn't broken anymore. It was completely healed except for a few bruises around her elbow.

"What-" Lily murmured, perturbed. Whatever happened, she didn't have enough time to worry about it.

"LILY!" she heard the scream coming from downstairs. "Get down here now!" she heard Nora's voice say as it came closer.

Lily moved towards the door. "I can't, it's locked," she called out.

"Well then unlock it! Honestly, are you really that stupid?"

"It's locked from the outside." She heard some fumbling outside of the door, then it swung open and Nora's livid face appeared.

"I want you to cook breakfast for me and Morton right now!" she hissed.

"He's still here?" Lily asked.

"Yes, he's still here! That's why I told you to cook breakfast for him!"

"Fine," Lily sighed as Nora went back downstairs, a smile plastered on her face. She could hear Nora telling Morton that Lily had offered to make them breakfast.

Lily sighed—she couldn't cook at all. If there was a way to ruin food, Lily would find it. Nevertheless, she still did her best to microwave instant oatmeal.

"Here you go," Lily smiled, gritting her teeth as she handed the bowls to Nora and Morton. Nora grimaced as she took the bowl. "If you need me, I'll be in my room." She made a move to leave.

"Wait, Lily," Nora said. "Before you go, get the mail." Lily spun on her heel and walked outside onto the porch. As usual, the mail was lying in a pile right next to the door. She picked it up, rifling through the pile. A few of Nora's magazines, a letter from Petunia, who was at camp for the summer, some letters for Nora, two letters for Lily, and junk mail. She set the mail on the counter, and extracted the letters addressed to her. She would open them in her room.

"Petunia sent a letter," she called down the stairs to Nora. Once in the safety of her room, she closed the door.

One of the letters was from her friend Aurora. She had lived next door to Lily for years, but had moved to America to live with her aunt in Massachusetts when her parents were killed in a car crash.

Dear Lily,

Sorry I haven't written in a while. I've been busy—finishing school, then getting into private school. Aunt Gemma convinced me to go to her old school. Her cat had kittens, and there's one I think you'd really like. He's so sweet. I sent a picture of him. I miss you so much! I wish you could visit. Do you think Nora would let you? I don't have much else to say, so write back.

Love, Aurora.

In the envelope, there was a picture of Aurora holding the kitten she had written about. It was white, with golden eyes.

Lily smiled, and made a mental note to write her back as soon as she could. She usually forgot to.

She didn't know who the other letter was from. The envelope was made out of thick yellow paper, and the label was written in emerald ink:

Ms L. Potter

12 Longmire Drive

Greenwich

London

Lily flipped it over to open it. The seal had what looked like four animals intertwined around an 'H'.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Ms. Evans,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins of September 1. We await your owl no later than July 31. Yours Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

"What the-" Lily muttered. Hogwarts? Witchcraft? Wizardry? What is this? Lily asked herself. She had never believed in Santa Claus, or the Tooth Fairy, or in any type of magic. It seemed too ridiculous. But somehow, she believed this letter. She believed that she would be going to this school.

She pulled everything else out of the envelope. A booklist, and directions to get to the Leaky Cauldron, where it seemed she'd be able to get her supplies.

Her heart soared. She'd finally be able to get away. She'd finally escape…

"Nora," she said aloud softly. Nora would find a way to stop her.

No! I will go! She thought, determined. Nora won't be able to stop me!

And so she began to formulate a plan. She hid the letter in a shoebox under her bed that she knew Nora wouldn't look in. All it held was pictures of Lily's mother, and some other small things that weren't of any value. One Wednesday while Nora was gone, Lily called her father's hotel and requested to speak to her father. She told him about the letter.

"As preposterous as this seems, Lily, I'm rather inclined to believe it," her father said seriously.

"So am I," she replied.

"I've always thought there was something more in this world," he said thoughtfully.

"Dad, could you do me a favor?" she interrupted. "Please don't mention this to Nora yet."

"All right," he sighed. "I suppose you need money. I'll wire some to your bank account tomorrow. You can go and withdraw it."

"Thank you, Dad!" Lily exclaimed. If he had been there, she would have hugged him. "Bye, love you."

"Love you too, honey," he said, preparing to hang up.

"Wait—when are you visiting?" she hastily asked.

"I'm coming down in three weeks, for your birthday," he replied. "I have to go now. I'll talk to you soon."

"Bye," Lily said, and hung up. She would withdraw the money on Saturday, while Nora was getting her hair cut. She just didn't know when she'd be able to go get her supplies.

Her luck came a week later, when Nora announced that she'd be spending the weekend in London visiting a friend. "Don't fuck up the house too much while I'm gone," she said, then rolled up the window in Morton's car and drove away. Lily immediately called a taxi.

"What's a little girl like you going into London on your own for?" the taxi driver asked.

"I'm not little," she said defensively.

"How old are you, eleven?" he asked apprehensively.

"Thirteen," she said instinctively. He raised his eyebrows.

"It's your money," he said. They eventually arrived at the corner of a street.

"Just let me off here," Lily said—the Leaky Cauldron was on that street.

"Would you like me to wait for you?" he asked.

"No, I don't know how long I'll be," Lily said. "I'll just get another cab."

He drove away, and Lily walked down the street, looking for the Leaky Cauldron. Finally she found it: a tiny pub. "This is where I'm supposed to go?" she said aloud, and opened the door.

The pub was loud and noisy. No one took notice of Lily's entrance except for the barman.

"First year, are you?" he asked, grinning toothily.

"Er, I beg your pardon?" she asked.

"Going into your first year at Hogwarts?"

"Yes," Lily said, feeling rather stupid.

"Are you Muggleborn, then?" he asked. "Muggles are non-magical folks," he said, noting Lily's confused expression.

"Yes," she answered.

"Follow me, then," he said. He led Lily to a door at the back of the pub, and into an empty alley blocked off by a stone wall. Lily immediately started panicking. She had always been told to not get caught alone in alleys with strangers. She started to slowly back away. The man laughed.

"Its okay," he said as he pulled out a stick from his robes and began tapping bricks. Suddenly, the bricks started shifting and a hole opened in the wall.

"Welcome," he said, "To Diagon Alley." Lily gasped as she stepped beyond the wall. There were noises and colours Lily had never even heard or seen before. People were talking and laughing everywhere. In Diagon Alley, there was a completely different feeling. Magic in the air, Lily realized.

"Overwhelming, isn't it," the barman said, reminiscently. "Everybody gets like this their first time here. Now, I trust you have your booklist?" he asked. Lily nodded. "Good. You'll want to go to Gringotts first, that's the bank. Then just go through and get everything on your list. Come and see me when you come back through, and I can shrink everything for you."

"Thank you," Lily said, but he had already disappeared. She looked around. Gringotts was a tall marble building. She made her way to it. Once inside, she did a double take. In the bank's uniforms were creatures, Lily didn't know what they were. They were short, with clever faces, pointed beards, and long fingers and feet.

"Excuse me," she said as she stood in front of an empty desk. One of the creatures looked down at her. "Could I exchange this money?" It took the money she held out, disappeared for a few moments, and returned with a bag full of bronze, silver, and gold coins.

"What are these, exactly?" Lily asked. The creature gave her an exasperated look.

"These are Knuts," he said, pointing to one of the bronze ones. "These are Sickles, and these are Galleons," he said, pointing the silver and gold ones. "There are seventeen Sickles in a Galleon, and twenty-nine Knuts in a Sickle."

"Thank you," Lily said as she scooped up the heavy bag. She didn't know how much money she had in Wizarding currency, but she had a few hundred pounds. Once outside, she squinted at the bright lights.

Where do I do now? She thought. She pulled out her booklist, and decided to find a bookshop and get all of her books. A short ways away, she found a store called Flourish and Blotts. She handed her booklist to someone working there, who soon returned with a large pile of books. She paid and left, then went to Madam Malkins, a robe shop next to Flourish and Blotts.

"Hello," a short, plump witch said. "I'm Madam Malkin. Is this your first time at Hogwarts? Come right back here," she said without waiting for an answer. Lily followed her to a stool in the back of the room. As soon as she stood on it, a silver tape measurer began measuring her, as Madam Malkin took notes on a clipboard.

"If you come back in an hour I'll have your robes," she said. Lily nodded and left. She didn't care much for the apothecary, where she got her Potions supplies: it smelled rather badly. She got the rest of her supplies, then went back to pick up her robes.

"See you again," Madam Malkin said cheerily as Lily left.

She had only one place left to go. She had seen Ollivander's as she was getting her other supplies, but she had wanted to save the wand for last. She approached the narrow, shabby shop and entered.

"Hello?" she called softly in the empty shop. "Hello?"

"Hello," a voice behind her said. Lily spun around to see a very old man with large, pale eyes.

"Lily Evans," he said. "Yes, I know your name. I know everyone's name." Lily blinked, feeling stupid as he darted around the shop, pulling boxes off of shelves. "Yew. Dragon scale core. Nine inches," he said, pulling out a stick—a wand, Lily corrected.

Lily held it, feeling stupid yet again. "Wave it," he said. Lily complied. Nothing happened. Rather than seeming put out, Mr. Ollivander seemed delighted, and seemed increasingly so as the pile on discarded wands grew.

"Willow. Unicorn hair core. Ten and one quarter inches." Lily took the wand he held out, and a warm sensation spread through her.

"Excellent!" he exclaimed, clapping his knobbly hands. "Seven Galleons, please!" Lily paid and left.

As she walked back to the Leaky Cauldron, back into London, and rode in the taxi, she realized that there was so much she didn't know. In the Wizarding world, she was very much alone.

All right, another chapter done! I'm very sorry also. I won't be able to update for a bit over a week since I'll be busy, but after that I'll make it up to you. I swear.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Review!

XO throughthemist