A/N- This chapter may be a slight born in the beginning, but continue reading. I am summarizing what has happened to Lily before she turned eleven. Please, I promise it will be better if you keep reading.
Disclaimer- I do not own anypart of the Harry Potter series. If I did you would see my name on the books, and I don't recall them being there. Plus I'd be rich enough that I wouldn't need to continue with school.
Chapter Two: A change in the wind
Born on May 11, 1959 to Jacqueline and Harold Evans, Leilabeth Amelia-Mackensey Evans had become a marked woman from the minute of birth. From the second she had been alive; Leilabeth had been referred to as "Lily," the baby born with deep red hair and bright emerald green eyes. Petunia, her older sister by four years, had adored having a little baby around. Weighing two pound, four ounces and only sixteen inches long, Lily was an extremely small baby.
Her due date was July seventeenth. Born over nine weeks early, Lily had a high chance of having Down syndrome or being autistic. A strange thing happened though, instead of having a low intelligence she was gifted with the brain of a genius'. This was discovered on her second birthday when she read each and every one of the birthday cards she was given.
But, alas, because of her premature birth, Lily was not fully developed and always struggled physically. She became burdened with thick, bottle-shaped glasses that were too big for her face and slid down her nose all day long. She never reached the average height for her age. Leilabeth was an odd child, though. The doctor who prescribed the glasses at six months had predicted that Lily would need glasses all her life. By the age of five her vision had become perfect and she no longer needed the frames.
When Lily started school, she barely could reach her classmates' shoulders. On her first day of school Lily's mother, Jacqueline had chosen Lily's least favorite outfit to wear. She threw a temper tantrum, but Jackie refused to cave in. When she tried forcing a pink-polka dotted dress on Lily it suddenly turned into a blue princess dress. Every other piece of clothing that Jackie tried getting her daughter into transfigured into the same dress. By the time Lily's mother had forced every outfit in the closet onto her, Lily's floor was lined with blue princess dresses. Having run out of clothing for Lily to wear, Jackie allowed her daughter to wear a blue princess dress to school. That made quite the impression.
Through her teachings, Lily became a very bright student and excelled in her studies, surpassing the grade she was supposed to be in four times until she was outshining her sister, Petunia. By the age of eight she was the highest in her class. Years had gone by smoothly until another peculiar even had happened to Lily. When she was nine years old, Jackie had decided to clean Lily's messy bedroom. She had tossed out a few old notebooks that didn't look like they had any importance. The books had contained a novel Lily had been writing on. When she had discovered what her mother had done Lily became furious, until they suddenly appeared in front of her.
It was around this time that Jackie Evans stopped thinking that these occurrences were just accidents. This theory was convinced when Lily fell off the upstairs banister when she tried to replace a light bulb. Instead of crashing to her death, Lily merely floated down without a scratch.
It was July 1, 1970 when the puzzle was to be solved. This was a busy summer morning. Jackie Evans had given three tours of a house that never seemed to 'catch' any buyers. A nice couple with a son around Petunia's age seemed very interested. It had been a very wonderful day. She had scheduled a conference later that afternoon with some representatives from a high ability school who were considering Lily for a spot. Woghearts or Wohgrats, it was called something along those lines.
Jackie pulled the cookies out of the oven and scattered them onto to a plate. She instructed Petunia to open the door when their guests arrived. Meeting with the people would only take any hour or so, Jackie thought. Jackie had to be polite to the schools before she turned them down. Lily had already enrolled in the highest secondary school available in the U.K. Lily's IQ was over one hundred and thirty points, so academies were always sending employees to try and interest their family.
Around one-thirty two middle aged people showed up at the door. Lena Nosan and Sean Phillips-Stone dressed as normal muggle teachers would and patiently waited as the fifteen-year old took them to the dining room. They walked in and introduced themselves to Lily and Jackie, as did they.
"Thank you for inviting us into your home," Lena politely acknowledged as she sat across from Jackie.
"Anyone interested in Lily's future is welcome in our home," Jackie kindly nodded, shining a big and bright, fake smile.
"Well, you received our letter inviting Leilabeth-"
"Lily," Lily interrupted.
"Lily," Sean corrected himself, "to Hogwarts a few weeks ago, and arranged this little meeting. So, Lena and I are here to certify why we have chosen Lily and the qualifications she meets," Jackie groaned inside as Sean spoke. Everything he had begun to say, she had heard a million times before. Great.
Taking over, Lena continued, "As you have discovered, Lily's special talents go above and beyond her intelligence level," Jackie frowned, "Has anything strange ever happened to Lily when she felt a certain, high emotion?" Jackie looked quizzically over to Lily, who was wrapped up, in her own thoughts. Jackie reviewed all of the strange coincidences that happened to Lily before.
"What does this have to do with your school?" Jackie inquired.
"Everything," Jackie shook her head 'no,' answering the question. "Nothing? Well, then there must be a mistake. Hogwarts is for the peculiar children, the ones who can do strange things. Lena and I will go if Lily doesn't fulfill the standards," Sean replied nicely, but firmly.
For the third time that afternoon the small girl to the right of Jackie spoke. "But mother, you're wrong!" she piped up. "All those times! It wasn't science, but yet it wasn't controlled gravity. You always ignored the happenings. This has got to be what their here for! It has to be!" Sending the two guests a look full of though and uncertainty, she softened her voice a few decibels and whispered, "It's magic, isn't it?"
Lena smiled brightly as Jackie gasped and covered her mouth. "You are a bright girl! You'll be perfect at Hogwarts!" Sean nudged the grinning Lena and sent her a look that said that their biggest problem had not been conquered.
"Now, Mrs. Evans, I'm sure you're surprised. This is a bit of a shock for you," he softly condoled.
"Magic," Jackie stuttered. "You've got to be kidding me. Don't believe them Lily. Don't believe either of them for a second. You're a bunch of lunatics," she rambled, addressing the wizards. "I need proof."
"Of course we'll give you proof Mrs. Evans. You'll have to calm down first though, all right? We don't want your reaction to scare any neighbors," Sean calmly instructed.
"Fine," Jackie snapped, "but if it isn't good enough, you'll have to leave. I'm not interested in watching silly magic tricks.
"As you want, Mrs." Sean nodded, pulling a long wooden stick out of his coat pocket. Pointing the wand at the table, he muttered a simple spell. The table began to rise into the air. As it floated up to the ceiling, Jackie could only blink and Lily's eyes were wide in amazement. The two had never seen anything so brilliant. When it reached the ceiling, Sean spoke clearly again and in its place stood a bubble. That bubble descended back down to the floor and returned to the kitchen table.
"You'll have to come back another time. I need my husband to see this," Jackie stated, her eyes transfixed at the table. Lena and Sean left, but first handing Lily a letter from Hogwarts, which 'contained something important.'
Lean and Sean did return another night. They performed the same spells and fascinated three of the Evans' family members. The pair explained that they were a witch and a wizard. The duo took turns deciphering how Lily had become a witch and why she was eligible to attend a school that taught magic to students her age. If interested, she would attend Hogwarts for seven years. Lena explained a lot of terminology that would be important to know.
They also explained what would happen to Lily if she declined a position at the academy. According to them, Lily's magic would slowly deteriorate and eventually be lost. They didn't mention that the families' memory would be erased if they declined. The family had been given 30 days to determine whether this was the best choice for Lily or not.
Later that night, after the meeting, Jackie and her husband Harold discussed what to do about Hogwarts, while washing the dishes.
"I just don't know what to think, Harold," Jackie sighed, passing a dish to him. "I mean, it's a wonderful opportunity, but is it for Lily? She's already enrolled in Arete."
"Jackie, we can't make the decision on facts or what has happened already. It even can't be based on our opinions of their schools. It has to be on which school would be best for Lily," Harry commented, grabbing the plate from her.
"That's why I think that choosing to send her to a school with a bunch of magical freaks is wrong. She should continue her education at Arete. There she'll get the teaching we've always had in place. By going there she'll have a wonderful degree and future."
"Don't call them freaks, Jackie. You know they aren't. Anyway, are you sure that Arete is the best decision? Yes, she'll be with the best of the best. There she'll be the smartest and the prettiest, but is it really what Lily wants, and I mean what she really wants. At this Hogwarts Lil will be challenged. She won't be the smartest. For once Lily will know what it's like to be like everyone else," Harold defended.
"But what does it matter, being like everyone else? At our age it won't. Lily's different, she always has been. Think about her education."
"How do you know that the education program is better. They're two totally different schools, Jackie. How can you say one's better, when you haven't even considered one of them? I'm not going to say that Hogwarts is better than Arete. I'm not, Jackie. But it's the same way with Arete."
"Of course Arete's better, Harold! Look at all the scientists, lawyers, and engineers that have come from Arete. What happens to these 'magicians' that come from Hogwarts? What do they do when they leave? Are they dropped back into society like bums?"
"Jackie, be sensible. Did these two, Lena and Sean, look like bums? They looked very well off. You know what I'm going to say, Hun."
"Harold, no. She's only eleven. What eleven year old makes wise decisions?"
"I'm sure Lily would."
"And you know what I'm going to say, Harold."
"Don't be so close-minded, Jackie. You never know."
"One year, Harold. One year. That's all I'll give her. If she only knows a bunch of absurd tricks, she'll be sent to Arete."
"I think that's agreeable. But we haven't asked her yet. You should have more faith in her than that."
So, the dishes sat quietly in their cold water. Lily had, of course, overjoyed told her parents that she chose Hogwarts. Jackie advised her to not make a hasty conclusion. She did. It had been compromised that that Lily would be allowed one year at the establishment, until she was quizzed up to her mothers standards. Three of them were rejoiced happily, as one hid in the shadows, jealously etched on their face.
A/N- Hope you all liked this chapter! I fixed the errors, as I said I would. Next chapter will be on James' childhood and August 31st, the night before they both leave for Hogwarts. I have edited a few things, mainly the title and summary of the story. I promise that nothing else important will change. Remember to review! It only takes a quick second and gives me more inspiration to finish the next chapter faster. Again, that you all!
Acknowledgements
J.K.R. said in an interview that the ministry sends representatives to explain the wizarding world the muggleborns. That's why Lena and Sean come and why Lily doesn't recieve a letter through an owl.
Maddie
R & R
