Chapter Two: The Summer
Lily had kept herself holed up in her room for the better part of her first two weeks home. Petunia had been an absolute nightmare from the moment she stepped over the threshold of the house. Not to mention her boyfriend Vernon came around for tea at least three times a week and he been made quite clear that Lily was not welcome to join them. Despite her parents' attempts at having the sisters reconcile their difference for the thousandth time. It was nearly time for dinner when there was a tapping noise from her window. A large tawny owl was outside with a letter in his beak. She recognized Alice's loopy handwriting on the parchment.
Lily,
I was so glad to hear from you! You must come and stay for a week over the holidays. I hate to admit it but I miss sharing a room with you and Marlene. It's far too quiet here with just Mum and Dad. Believe it or not I did not steal James's owl. He hasn't written to you once? I find that hard to believe. Maybe he's trying to give you space? No, don't roll your eyes at me Lily. Maybe he realizes that what he did was wrong and that it's time to grow up. I would ask Marlene, she spends time at the Potters' during the summer, for all it means she can torment Sirius without you scolding her for it.
Come stay the first week of August! We can go do all our school shopping and meet up with Marlene. Let me know!
Love,
Alice
Potter hadn't written her. Actually, Potter hadn't said two words to her since that afternoon by the lake. Lily looked out the window. She half expected him to just stroll up the walk to the house. Lily snorted at the idea that Potter might grow up. There was no way that arrogant bullying toerag could mature. Lily put out some pellets out for Alice's owl. She left the window open in case her own owl, Aristotle, returned from Marlene's. Lily closed the door behind her and went down stairs to help her mother set the table for dinner. She was not surprised but she also wasn't thrilled to see Petunia and Vernon sitting at the kitchen table.
Mrs. Evans greeted her younger daughter from the stove with a smile, Petunia sneered, and Vernon frowned. "What have you been doing up in your room, pumpkin?"
Lily glanced at Petunia quickly and gave her a look. Petunia opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by her younger sister. "Oh nothing, just some schoolwork that was given for the summer."
Lily couldn't help but smirk when she saw the blood drain from her sister's face. Petunia was trying very hard to nonverbally communicate to Lily that by no means was she to talk about the freak school she attended or anything she did while she was there. "Just an essay…for chemistry. Really fascinating stuff."
Vernon mumbled something under his breath and Lily saw Petunia pat his hand and whisper something. "It's almost like magic." Lily couldn't help herself. She felt bursting with laughter.
Almost as if it was rehearsed, Vernon and Petunia answered, "There's no such thing as magic."
Petunia glared at her sister as she watched Lily carry the plates into the dining room. Petunia excused herself from her boyfriend and followed Lily into the dining room. "How dare you?" Petunia's voice was little more than a whisper but was filled to the brim with venom. "You know not to use the M-word in front of Vernon. Stop being an unnatural freak or return to your bedroom at once. I will not have you ruining the one good thing that is going on in my life!"
Dinner passed with no excitement. Lily was miserable as had become the usual in the past two weeks. She watched her father pick at his food. She listened to Vernon tell the same boring story of how he would be moving to London to start his new job at some company that did who knows what. Something to do with drills? Petunia hung on his every word. Mrs. Evans was her usual unflappable self. She looked attentive to her elder daughter and Vernon, she was aware of the little food her husband ate, and she understood why Lily was so glum. Petunia and Vernon went out onto the porch after supper had been cleared away. Lily was washing the dishes in the kitchen with her mother.
"Lily, how is everything going? You haven't spent much time downstairs since you got home from school and you've been sending an awful lot of letters." Mrs. Evans was drying the dishes as Lily washed them. "Is there a boy I should know about?"
Lily dropped the dish she was holding in her hand back into the sink with a splash. "Mum!"
"Well what do you expect me to think? I want to see my beautiful daughter, I don't get to see her enough. What's been going on in life? How is Hogwarts? Marlene? Alice?" The barrage of questions being fired at Lily made her pause.
"There isn't a boy. I miss being home too. Hogwarts is the same old castle it was when I got there. Marlene and Alice are doing great. Alice invited me to stay the first week of August, can I?" Lily tried to keep up with all the questions her mother was asking her. How were classes going? What was her favourite thing that she had learned this past year? Did she still want to be a healer when she was done with school? Lily and Mrs. Evans moved from washing and drying dishes to the kitchen table with tea. Mr. Evans wandered in at some point and pulled some food out of the fridge and joined his wife and daughter at the table. The atmosphere was so different from the one in the dining room an hour previous. Lily could feel all her dread about the summer washing away as she listened to her parents laughing with her. She told them about skating on the lake in February when it had gotten so cold most of it had frozen solid. How Marlene had played a prank on the boys that resulted in them wearing skirts for a week. How she and Alice spent their last Hogsmeade trip drinking butterbeer and eating Honeyduke's chocolates. Lily told them about her exams and that she was nervous she didn't get enough OWLs to continue. In that small space, it felt like her world was finding a way to knit back together what had happened in the last few days of term. Lily was glad that she could share her world with her parents. They might not understand completely, but they at least accepted her.
Lily was stretched out on her bed, a copy of Gone with the Wind in her hand, when the owl pecked at the window. It was a sunny morning at the end of July. Lily opened the window for the owl and accepted the letter. She screamed with both nerves and excitement. Her OWL scores were here. Trembling hands broke the purple seal. She took a deep breath before reading down the list.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
ORDINARY WIZARDING LEVEL EXAMINATIONS
Dear Ms. Evans,
Below are you scores for your Ordinary Wizarding Level examinations. Scoring is as follows:
Passing Scores
O – Outstanding
E – Exceeds Expectations
A – Acceptable
Failing Scores
P – Poor
D – Dreadful
T - Troll
Arithmancy – E
Astronomy - E
Charms - O
Defence Against the Dark Arts - O
Herbology - O
History of Magic - A
Muggle Studies - O
Potions – O
Study of Ancient Runes - E
Transfiguration – E
Lily flew down the stairs to the kitchen where her parents were eating breakfast. She shared the wonderful news with them. She had successfully achieved ten OWLs. They understood that these had been major examinations for her and that they had an important role in her future career. The Evans's planned to celebrate that evening by going out for dinner. What made the evening even sweeter for Lily was that Petunia was away visiting a friend in London and wasn't going to be present.
"Boys! They're here!" Mrs. Potter called up the kitchen stairs. She placed the envelopes on the kitchen table. It sounded like a stampede of elephants was coming down the stairs. James and Sirius were racing each other, They skidded to a halt in front of the table and slid into their seats. Mrs. Potter laughed and placed plates of breakfast in front of them. Sirius ripped into his letter, James was a little more careful about it.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
ORDINARY WIZARDING LEVEL EXAMINATIONS
Dear Mr. Potter,
Below are you scores for your Ordinary Wizarding Level examinations. Scoring is as follows:
Passing Scores
O – Outstanding
E – Exceeds Expectations
A – Acceptable
Failing Scores
P – Poor
D – Dreadful
T - Troll
Arithmancy – O
Astronomy – E
Care of Magical Creatures - E
Charms - O
Defence Against the Dark Arts - O
Herbology - O
History of Magic - A
Potions – E
Transfiguration – O
"I'm so proud of you James! Your father will be too." Mrs. Potter kissed her son's cheek. "We're very proud of you too, Sirius!"
Sirius beamed. "Nine. You?"
"Nine. And enough to continue for Auror. You?"
"I'll be with you mate, every step of the way."
Mrs. Potter watched her son and his best friend at the kitchen table. She had always hoped to have more children but James was her only. Every day she was thankful that James had found a brother.
The train ride into London had been very peaceful. No screeching, no yelling, no Petunia. Mr. and Mrs. Evans had worried at first that Lily was too young to travel to London on her own, she had only just turned fifteen in January. Lily assured them that Alice and her parents would be meeting her at King's Cross station and she would only spend the short, four-hour train ride alone. Still skeptical, Mrs. Evans asked Lily to call from a payphone when she arrived in London to let them know that she was safe. Lily obliged and kissed her parents goodbye. They waved to her from the platform until all Lily could see were little specks. She settled into her seat and pulled out a very torn, very battered copy of Peter Pan. It was the perfect book for the train ride. She buried her nose into the world of Never Never Land and dreamed of flying like Peter.
When the wheels screeched to a halt in London, excitement coursed through Lily. She had never spent time in the wizarding world over the summer. She knew that Alice's was pureblood, or as pure as possible without inbreeding like some wizarding families. Surely they would get to spend time in Diagon Alley and the Leaky Cauldron. Lily could talk about magic without hearing a shriek from the room next to her. The next week was going to be her real holiday.
Alice caught sight of Lily first and barreled into her, knocking the wind from her lungs. Alice introduced Lily to her parents, Robert and Louisa King. All three were dressed in appropriate muggle clothing. Lily had completely forgotten that she was supposed to call her parents until they were outside the train station and she saw a phone booth. She excused herself quickly and rang her parents to let them know she was safely in London with Alice's family. Off the four went, Lily exchanged pleasantries with Mr. and Mrs. King as they made their way to the Leaky Cauldron. Alice's parents took Lily's bag and told the girls to stick to Diagon Alley and to be home in time for supper before flooing to the King residence. Lily had never in her whole life felt as free as she did in that moment.
"So? What do you want to do first on your parent free afternoon in the magical world?" Alice asked Lily who looked as if she had never been let out of an adult's sight in her life.
"Ice cream!" The two girls were of one mind. They made their way into Diagon Alley and headed straight to Fortescue's. Lily got her favourite, strawberry with real chunks of strawberry in it. Alice went for death by chocolate. They were sitting under an awning outside the ice cream shop people watching. Lily decided that it was an even more enjoyable activity in the wizarding world. There were so many different people with such interesting purchases. Alice nudged an elbow into Lily's side and motioned to two people walking out of Quality Quidditch Supplies. Green eyes caught hazel eyes as a gap opened in the crowd. Lily prepared herself to yell at him but he only nodded to her and moved away into the crowd with Sirius.
"Well that was odd." Alice looked rightfully puzzled. "James Potter not take an opportunity to ask you out? Was that James? Maybe I was mistaken."
Lily still felt anger boil through her but it was mixed with confusion. James hadn't written to her all summer. He sees her in person, which never happens over the holidays, and just walks away. "Alice, do I look different?" Alice just shook her head. Both girls sat there completely dumbfounded.
"You didn't even say hello?" Remus was in disbelief. There was no way that his best mates had happened upon Lily Evans and Alice King and not taken the opportunity to do something stupid. Sirius was pouting. James just shrugged.
"You told me to give her space. I'm only doing what you told me to do."
"Yeah, I know what I said, Prongs. I'm just in disbelief that you listened to me." Remus was sitting cross-legged in a comfy armchair in the sitting room of the Potters' home. It was the first week of August and the Marauders were supposed to be planning the first prank of sixth year. Peter was, however, not present on account of a summer cold and his mother wouldn't let him out of the house.
"I'm not stupid, Moony. I know how to listen. I do have ears." James was now pouting too. It was like nobody believed he could do the right thing. His mother had been just as surprised as Sirius when James didn't immediately start sending letters to Lily the moment he returned home for the summer. On occasion, he caught Sirius trying to get James's owl to deliver a letter to Lily addressed from James. Stella was too smart for Sirius and just pecked at him, knowing he was up to no good.
"Are you going to try to get her to go out with you when we get back to Hogwarts?" Sirius was lounging on a sofa and had his head hanging off the side upside down.
The thought had crossed James's mind but he had thought even more about just being a decent bloke and letting Lily see for herself he had changed. Even now, instead of planning something that was potentially dangerous James and Remus had convinced Sirius that their first prank should be something funny that will welcome everyone back to school. Remind them that there is still some good in the world after all the goings on in the wizarding world of late. It had taken a lot of convincing and some promises for full moons to come, but James and Remus had finally managed to convince their shaggy haired friend.
The owl nipped at Lily's finger while she dug around in her pocket for the knut. She knocked over her glass of orange juice into Marlene's lap when she unfolded the Daily Prophet. An image of the dark mark was on the cover page with the snake slithering out of the skulls mouth. Marlene completely ignored the fact that her pajama shorts were covered in orange juice. The three girls sat at the Kings' kitchen table and just stared at the image. The article gave next to no information but gave the girls plenty of shivers. Mrs. King walked into the kitchen as they tried to mop up the spilled orange juice. Alice's mother vanished the spilled juice with her wand and gave it a flick at Marlene.
"Mum!" Alice thrust the paper into her mother's hands. Louisa King's eyebrows knit together in concern. She glanced over the cover of the paper quickly and handed it back to her daughter.
"I'd like the three of you to stay here today. Play exploding snap or sit out in the garden, but stay on the property." The girls didn't have to be told twice. While they had been planning to go back to Diagon Alley for the day, no one objected to staying near home. They traipsed back upstairs to Alice's room after clearing away the dishes from breakfast.
Lily flopped down onto the bed. "Things are getting worse."
"They wouldn't close Hogwarts, would they?" Alice plopped down next to Lily as Marlene rummaged through her bag for clean shorts.
"No way. Hogwarts is the safest place to be right now. You-Know-Who wouldn't dare go near it with Dumbledore there." The two girls on the bed couldn't help but hear the small trepidation in the blonde's voice. "If Hogwarts closes, we're really in trouble."
"They won't close the school. Marlene is right, You-Know-Who is afraid of Dumbledore and there are all the enchantments that the castle has. It would take a real genius to sneak in without being detected."
"So, what you're saying is the Marauders must be Merlin?" Marlene dodged the pillow Lily threw at her. "Oh come on Lil, you know they're been sneaking in and out of the castle for the past five years and they've gotten bloody good at it."
Lily gave Marlene a look. The you-know-what-I-meant so shut up now look. Alice shrugged, "She has a point. But I see where you're coming from Lily. You-Know-Who won't chance Hogwarts with Dumbledore there."
"But don't worry Lily, I'm sure if he did show up James would protect you." Marlene winked at the red-head and caught the pillow that was thrown this time. "He fancies you quite a lot. I'm sure he'd even die for you."
"Fat chance that." Lily rolled over onto her back. She didn't know why she felt a sting in her belly. It's not like she even liked having James write. It drove her mad the number of times his owl used to appear at her bedroom window. But she couldn't help but feel weird that summer was ending soon and the last time James had spoken to her was after Sev had called her a mudblood.
"Not brooding, are we Lily?" Marlene popped up onto the foot of the bed.
"No." Lily said quickly. Her friends noticed there was a tinge of defensiveness in her voice.
"Cause it sort of looks like to us that you miss him writing." Marlene had a dopey grin on her face.
"Why on earth would I miss Potter?" Lily glared up at Marlene. "He's a bully and arrogant and –"
"Alice, did I mention Potter?"
"I don't think so," Alice caught on quickly. "Lily, what makes you think Marlene was talking about James?"
Lily flushed. She had assumed that Marlene meant James but she could just have easily meant Sev. "Cause you were talking about Ja- Potter saving me if You-Know-Who tried to attack Hogwarts!"
"Yeah, or that conversation ended five minutes ago and you've been staring at the ceiling since." Marlene tried to figure out what was going on in Lily's mind. "Just admit you have feelings for him already."
"I don't have feelings for him! Why does everyone think that I like Potter!" Lily didn't sound angry as much as she sounded exasperated.
"Oh, where to start?" Marlene looked at Alice for help. "You two have wonderful chemistry."
"He's the only one who doesn't run away when you get mad and yell."
"Actually, he thinks it's kind of cute. Another point for chemistry."
"You two balance each other. I can't explain it but you just do."
"You'd make super cute babies! They'd have his hair and your eyes."
Lily slammed her hands over her ears at the mention of Lily-James babies. Ew! No. Absolutely not. No babies. They were fifteen for Merlin's beard. "You're gonna make me puke!"
Marlene tumbled backwards off the bed from Lily's forceful shove. "You've done it now Evans!"
Marlene grabbed the pillow up off the floor and slammed it into the side of Lily's head. Lily rolled sideways off the bed and grabbed another pillow. The blonde and redhead were laughing as they beat each other with pillows. Marlene's slipped out of her hands and buffeted Alice in the face. Lily and Marlene stopped and looked at Alice. The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
"Oh, it's so on." Alice threw the pillow back at Marlene and grabbed a third pillow. She entered into the pillow fight as if it were a duel to the death.
Despite the terror that was creeping into the world outside. The three teens let laughter envelope them, keeping the darkness at bay for just a little longer. None of them truly knew what the future held for the world outside. It felt nice to hold onto childhood just a little bit longer because the next two years would go by in a whirlwind and a war would be in full swing when they would cross the line from child to adult.