Green Eyed Shadows

Before Hogwarts

Ten year old Lily Evans squinted against the morning sunlight. Her lungs burned, and sweat ran down her reddened face. She swung her leg and "GOAL!"

Cheers erupted from the sidelines and her teammates came up to congratulate her for scoring the winning point. Lily thanked them but was watching for a single face in the crowd of people. Her father, Dill Evans, came rushing up and you could tell by his face that he was bursting with pride. He picked her up beneath her arms and swung her in circles, and together they laughed in pure joy.

"I think this deserves a treat," Lily's father proclaimed as they walked back to the car. "Let's go to that little ice-cream parlor that you love so much."

Lily, still breathless from the previous events of the day, just nodded her head in agreement.

As they sat in the high stools covered in a shiny varnish Lily's feet (which were still a few inches short of the ground) began to swing back and forth. From as far back as she could remember Lily had been able to know things. It wasn't something she could explain. Once, when she and her father had been eating dinner, Lily had asked if he wanted to get the telephone or if she should. Dill had been about to inquire as to what she was talking about when the phone rang. Later, when Lily was tucked under her covers and her father tried to figure out how she was able to predict the call, Lily had told him, "It was just one of the buzzies in my head. I don't pay much attention to them, but sometimes when they're too loud I just have to listen. Doesn't everyone have them?" and that was the first clue they had that Lily Evans was no ordinary girl.

At that moment, in the ice-cream shop, Lily felt a sickening drop in her stomach, like speeding down a roller coaster's hill, and she knew that after this moment something was going to change drastically. And looking into her father's eyes Lily knew that he knew that she knew.

"Do you remember that woman I'm seeing?" her father asked somewhat anxiously. "She has a daughter around your age you know."

"Rose Cummings absolutely hates me, and her daughter is fifteen," Lily said flatly giving him a hard stare.

Dill cleared his throat and looked at his life. Her thin, athletic build already showed signs of maturing. The deep red hair that she had inherited from his side of the family was tied up in a messy ponytail. Her sun-kissed skin was evidence that all her free time was spent outdoors, and the light freckles that were sprinkled across her nose and cheeks would fade away when she got older, just as Violet's had. Even now, nine years after her death, Dill felt the pain go through him at the thought of his beloved wife. Although most of Lily's features were from the Evans' side, her eyes were clearly from Violet. They were clear emerald green, and almond shaped. Most of the time, her eyes glittered with happiness and mischief, but right now they had taken on a darker quality that he rarely saw.

"Rose does not hate you. She told me herself. And Petunia's absolutely fond of you. She'll be that big sister you've always wanted. The truth of the matter is—you're growing up, Lily. I've raised you as best I tried, but you're not a little boy. You should be interested in fashion, and soap operas and…boys," he managed to say against the wave of protectiveness that claimed: "No, she's my baby. No boy is good enough!"

"Lily, there are things about the female body that we've never discussed and I'm not sure it should be me that explains it to you," he said awkwardly.

Lily almost burst out laughing at the comical look on her dad's face but bit it back for his sake. "Dad," she said calmly, breaking him out of his rant, "Mrs. Figg gave me this talk ages ago."

Arabella Figg was their batty old neighbor who would often watch Lily when Dill had to go out of town. She wore her frizzy gray hair in a loose knot on her head and her horn rimmed glasses on a chain around her neck. She presently had about five cats—all of which she adored and would tell you just how great each individual one was if given the chance.

"Mrs. Figg?" sputtered Dill incredulously. "She's old enough to be your grandmother!"

Lily rolled her eyes. Men these days. "She's got loads of experience, Dad. And you should hear her stories! Once, when she was in France on holiday, there was this male stripper who—"

"Alright enough! I don't ever want you to bring up Mrs. Figg and a male stripper in the same conversation again. Got it?" Mr. Evans asked hopefully.

"Sure Dad," Lily laughed.

"Anyway," Dill hedged on," I think it's time you had a real mother, Lily. And I really like Rose. She would make the perfect wife for me and the perfect parent for you. She already has a teenage daughter, who you'll grow to love in time…"

"Dad," Lily said. She stared into her father's eyes and knew this was more serious than she had originally thought. "Aren't I enough? We're happy right—just the two of us? It's always been that way. I don't need a new mum. I have you, and you're the best parent I could dream of. Who cares if my body goes through a few changes? I'm still gonna be your little tomboy. That's not ever changing! I don't like Rose or Petunia. I don't trust them. How do you know they're not just after your money like all those other women? Please Daddy, let it just be you and me."

Dill stared at his daughter. In his heart he knew she was partially right, but he was a grown man and had been without a whole family for so long. "You're being selfish, Lily. I need this. I can't just have a little girl around all the time; I need mature people who understand things. I've asked Rose to marry me and she's accepted. We are going to be a big happy family and love each other. Now the Cummings have never given you a reason to not like them and if it's one of those freakish little feelings you have then it's wrong!"

The parlor had gone quiet at Dill's outburst and everyone had turned to look at them. Tears had begun to form in Lily's eyes, but before they could fall she rushed out of the room. Dill paid for the sundaes and walked outside, trying to ignore the withering glares of the mothers present.

Outside, Lily was nowhere to be found. Dill glanced around the street but didn't spot any red. He got in his car and headed home, already regretting his words to Lily. She had always been a special child. She was amazingly smart, already taking high school courses and acing them too. It was though she could soak up knowledge—read her a bedtime story and she could recite it back to you word for word; her mother had been like that too. She was one of the kindest people he knew, and though he would like to say she got that from him, he knew it wasn't true. Most parents dreaded getting calls from the school, but for Lily, it was always for something good: she had saved a kid from a bully and then talked to the bully and helped them too, she was learning a new language to communicate with a new foreign student, she found a wallet on the ground filled with money and returned it to the office. She was…the perfect child. Everyone told him so.

But…she didn't have any great friends. She had always kept to herself, never getting to attached to anyone, yet being there for everybody. The only person besides him that she actually loved was her imaginary friend. Dill shook his head. He had thought she would be over this stage by age six at the most. Mione. He didn't even know if it was a boy or girl. When he asked Lily what it looked like she had replied, "I don't really know. We talk to each other, but we don't see each other. But we're really close." Dill pulled into the winding driveway and saw Lily in the backyard climbing her favorite tree. His temper was still running high, so he decided to talk to her later. They had all the time in the world.

Two months had passed since the wedding and Lily was absolutely miserable. Rose had convinced Dill to get rid of most of the servants, claiming they were stealing her jewels. She insisted that the girls have chores to build their character. Lily wouldn't have minded this at all—she had often helped the old maids in their work—but instead of giving Lily and Petunia equal amounts of work, she left it all to Lily. All the cleaning and washing was being done by her, and her father didn't even notice.

A sharp pain shot through her heart at the thought of her father. An unshakable wall had formed between them that Lily desperately wanted to break. He had taken in his new family with open arms and a happy heart, never even noticing how they treated what was once his pride and joy.

One day—the twentieth of August to be exact—an owl arrived for Lily. She wasn't very surprised; Mione had told her this would be happening soon. She took the letter off its talon and fed it part of her breakfast. Lily tore open the wax seal and read the first two lines on the heavy parchment before letting out a squeal of delight and racing off to find her father.

She ran all around the large house calling his name but received no answer. A sharp pain grew in her and she fell on the floor breathless. When she blinked back her tears she crawled back upstairs to her father's room. He was lying on the king sized bed, moaning in pain. Lily looked into his face and knew his time was short.

"Daddy," she cried. "What happened? Who did this to you?"

"Men," he rasped out. "They were in masks and dark cloaks. They wanted something—a key. I didn't understand and they…I'm not sure what they did."

"I'll go call the police," said Lily.

"No," Dill gasped. "There isn't time. Stay with me my daughter. I'm sorry for these last few months. I know we haven't been together enough. And I'm sorry about not listening to you. I want you to know how much I love you my little flower. I would move the sun and the moon for you if I could."

"I know Daddy. I love you too," Lily cried.

"You are so much like your mother," breathed Dill in wonder. "You don't really look like her. Most of your face comes from my side of the family, all but your freckles and eyes, but the way you are…the type of person you'll grow into. You're gonna make a difference in the world someday Lily. You can't help it but to be great. I love you."

And right before Lily's watery eyes, her father's life was snatched away into greater hands.

She made the necessary calls and was appalled when the first thing Petunia and Rose asked about was the reading of the will. Rose made it clear just what kind of a hell she would put Lily through, but Lily was making other plans in her mind already.

London wasn't that far away and with the directions that had been included with the letter she was sure she could find Diagon Alley on her own. And once she got back she would simply wave her wand around and Rose Evans would be so terrified that she would gladly take the little witch away to the train station. And it would be an added bonus not having the "freak" around until next summer. Lily smiled grimly to herself and began to make her traveling preparations.

Authors Note: i'm sorry for all the spelling mistakes i made. i know they're wrong and there's going to be a lot of mispelled words later on. thanks a lot. peace.