Mission Status: Impossible.

Disclaimer: I don't own it. Or at least- if you recognise something, then I don't own it. If you don't recognise something, then I could possibly own it. If you find something or someone that reminds you of yourself, or your best friend/dog/cat/fish/mouse/aunt /mother/father/little sister/older brother/pet elephant in the back yard/Great Uncle Albert/elderly next-door-neighbour/great-great-great-great grandmother or niece, then I'm sorry. I'm sure it is purely coincidental, unless I know them, in which case it may not be. And please, do tell me if you have a pet elephant in the backyard so that I can come and steal it. Or a crocodile. I like crocodiles. Alligators will do fine also.

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A/N: Before I begin to even write this chapter I must put in a note clearing up my fairly large oversight of appearing to kill of two characters at the beginning of the story and then bring them back to life 14 years later. I discovered this last night while thinking about life, the universe and everything (which at this point in time revolves around the story). And then I pondered on all the possible reasons why I could have done that (eg. Her parents didn't really die at the beginning, or they weren't really alive at the end, or she discovered some amazing technique to get them back to life….) and then I remembered. The 'parents' that she visits at the end of the chapter are, unfortunately for her, not her real parents. When they died, this couple took in Lily and her sister, and treated them like their own children. Apart from her temporary lapse on her 15th birthday when she discovered that they weren't actually her parents, she has treated them like her parents, and loved them like her parents, and so she calls them her parents. But they are actually her foster parents which is why they are alive.

And who is Luke? Good question. I didn't know myself until I wrote this chapter, but I'm sure he will play his part in the forthcoming story.

And Liam? Is Lily's boyfriend. Which puts James? Out of the picture for now….

And when will the last chapter actually be edited and proof-read and fixed up? When I get off my lazy arse and around to it…which will most likely be soon.

And I think that clears up all that needs to be cleared up so far… and onto the story, chapter two.

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Mission Status: Impossible.
Chapter 2- I've seen a million faces and I've rocked them all

"Afternoon, Lily."

"Afternoon, Pat," the man behind the counter smiled at her, "And how are you today?"

"I'm well thanks. And you?"

"Yeah, alright," she replied, calling over her shoulder as she walked over to the corner of the room. "I'm seeing Emily again today. Can you shred these for me?" she asked placing a thick file on his desk.

"'Course. How's she going?" Lily slumped down in a chair, her head resting in her hands.

"I don't know," she replied honestly. She lifted her head, and looked into his eyes. Pat was put out; Lily had never shown weakness before, or tiredness. But she was sitting her in front of him, looking as if she was on the brink of tears. He reached out and gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You'll do great," he reassured, "you're the best in this business. She'll come out of her shell in the end and you'll be there to help her up when she does."

"Hey Emily." She waited for the reply that she knew wouldn't come. Emily spoke when she was ready, not when she was asked. "How are you?" She merely shrugged one shoulder.

"I got a new fish."

"That's nice. Do you like this one?"

"No."

She sighed. Leaning against the window frame, she stared out onto the street. People hurried along, heads bent, not noticing each other. Not noticing the world around them. "It's going to rain. It's going to rain, and everyone is going to complain- that their washing is not going to get dry, that they will get wet when they leave their offices, that their cars will have to be washed. And then it will stop raining and everyone will find something new to complain about. It's an endless cycle." She paused, silently observing everyone below her.

"Lily?" Emily tentatively began, "Uh, could, er…" she faded out, leaving the rest of her thought unspoken. Lily snapped around.

"Yes?"

"Could, could you continue? With, uh, with what you were, I mean, uh, you know the, well, er, the story?"

"Where was I?"

"Luke."

"Oh yes. Luke."

OoO

I rushed home, and burst in the front door. I stopped, stunned by the balloons and streamers everywhere. The room was filled with people. Friends, neighbours, relatives, all there to wish me a happy birthday. I stared around at them accusingly. "You didn't tell me Luke was back." I said it as if it didn't mean a thing to me, but I was hurting. I was burning that they told me every little bit of gossip about every person in the town, except the one piece that mattered. Except that Luke had come back.

OoO

"This isn't going to work unless you know who Luke was. Is." Emily shrugged.

"Then tell me," she merely said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Lily sighed.

"It's more difficult than that. He's…complicated."

"Try."

"He…he was at school with me. Older though, two years older. His parents were both lawyers, good ones. Brilliant ones in fact. Luke- he was very smart. But not the top of his class. He, he spent more time interesting girls than doing homework. He was close to the top in all his classes, but not the top in any. He was... the type of guy that parents would pick up small children around. He would have never hurt anyone, at least not intentionally, not at first; he just had a, well, a reputation. He was polite, charming even, but only if it would benefit him. But he was…" she sighed, "This isn't working."

"Keep going a little more. Please?"

"He was kind of a bit of a rebel. If he was told he couldn't do something, he would do his best to achieve it. If he was told that he wasn't allowed to do something, he would want to know why. And if it wasn't a good enough reason, he would go off and do it. He never did anything dangerous as such. And he would have never led any other children into danger, but he got close. He would push people to their limits, but he would always know when to stop. Sometimes he would toe the line, but he would never step over it. Which is why it was such a surprise when he did it."

"Did what?"

"Drugs. The drugs caused him to do it. People talked, saying that they knew it would happen, but no one really did. Everyone was surprised. The boy who always knew when to stop, had impeccable self control had just…" she faded off; taking a few deep breathes before beginning again. "His father was always pushing him. He always wanted him to be better, to behave better, to get better grades. He would do anything. He wanted the perfect student. He used to lock Luke in his room and not allow him out until he had done his homework. He was so mad the day he discovered that Luke had been climbing out the window. And then one day, Luke finally cracked. For a year he was just, just terrible." She spun her chair around so she was facing a wall. "Then he started coming to classes again. He started receiving awards for doing well in class. He had new friends. Older than him again, but different. He was permanently attached to his guitar. Almost two years after he started doing drugs he stopped. About six months after that he ran away with his band. He used to play the kit. 'Bash the skins' as he would say. He was 15."

"Did you know him well?" It was a simple question, but took her a long time to answer. Eventually she turned her chair around to look Emily in the face.

"Very well. He was my best friend."

"What happened that night?"

OoO

"Lil." The first thing I noticed was that his voice had deepened. He was taller too, and more muscular.

"You're back." He laughed at my obvious lack of conversation ideas.

"That I am," the smile dropped off his face, and he was perfectly serious again. "It's been a long time."

"Four years. Four years and a day."

"You've changed."

"So have you." It was awkward. Too formal. Too polite. We knew each other too well for this.

"What are you doing now?"

"I'm training to be a psychiatrist." I could barely get the words out. My mouth was parched, my voice raspy. "How…how's the band going?" Before the words were out, I knew what the answer would be. I just felt obligated to continue the conversation.

"Alright. We're taking a break."

"When did you get back?" I gave up trying to make conversation, and just asked what was on my mind. He knew me well enough not to take it as rudeness.

"About a year ago."

"You didn't contact me."

"I tried." It satisfied me for a bit. I knew it was a lie, but I pretended to accept it anyway. Oh, I wished it was true. He took a step towards me. For a moment, I felt like turning and running.

"How a…are you?" He was still walking towards me.

"My father died." He spat out the word father.

"Is that why you came back?" I knew it wasn't. He wouldn't have cared that much. I just wanted the conversation to stay on him.

"You know the answer." He smirked. He knew, he could always tell exactly what I was thinking. "It will come around to you eventually. But you were never scared of conversation before. You must have ulterior motives. You want to find out something. How he died perhaps? But you wouldn't care. Why I came back? Hmm… is that what you want to know? Ask, Lily. There's nothing stopping you." He was close to me now. About three steps away. I moved back a little.

"Luke," I murmured, a hint of pleading in my tone. His voice softened.

"I missed you Lil'." He had been trying to catch my gaze for the entire discussion- the exact thing I had been avoiding. At that point I looked him in the eye.

"I missed you too." We stood still for a little while, just looking at each other. He took another step closer. I looked away. "I…I've got to go." I walked away, as fast as I could. I heard him calling me back, but I ignored him. He grabbed my wrist, and I turned around, prepared to scream at him for touching me. The words were on my lips, my mouth was open, but there was something in the look on his face that prevented me from getting them out. I just stood there, staring at him with my mouth open. "Happy Birthday Lily" he whispered, kissing me on the cheek. He turned and walked away, not looking back. I took it as my cue to go, and headed back home.

I stood there, staring around at everyone, demanding answers. No one caught my eye. There was some reason that they had kept it from me, it was impossible for them all to forget. They look around at each other, at their hands, the floor, everything but me. I softened my voice, "Mum?"

"We thought it would be better if we didn't tell you he was back. We only did what we thought was best. Just, just put it aside for now. Enjoy the party. It's your birthday. Have fun." Her eyes were filling with tears. I nodded- what else could I do? I spent the rest of the night pretending to have fun along with everyone else. Mercifully, everyone left early from the party, claiming fatigue.

That night I cried. I cried for my party, which I had ruined. I cried for my friends, neighbours and relative I had ruined it for. I cried for my parents. They had put so much effort in, and it had all gone to waste. I cried for my real parents. If they hadn't died, would I still be so fucked up? I cried for my friends from training. I missed them so much. I cried for my friends from Hogwarts- I hadn't seen them since I graduated. Did they still remember me? Did I still remember them? I cried for my ex-boyfriend. He was a prick, but I needed someone else to add onto the list. I cried for his friends. We had gotten on alright, but when we broke up, they had done the honorable thing and stuck with him. We promise to keep in touch after school, but that all fell through. I cried for Luke's dad. I never liked him much, but it seemed an appropriate thing. I cried for Luke. And I cried for me. Since when had we become like that? How had we lost the trust? I knew everything about him. I had seen him at his worst. I had spent countless nights with him, keeping him from doing anything stupid, talking to him, comforting him. And now we couldn't even have a proper conversation. I cried for the life I once led.

OoO

"That's not all there is to the story is it?"

"If you're referring to the story about my nineteenth birthday, then yes, that is the end. But if you're referring to my relationship with Luke, and what happened on the days after my birthday, then no, you're right. There's more to it. But the rest…isn't…" she stopped, searching for a word… "important." It was a lie, she knew, but it would do. "I will tell you another story though. A different one. About when I was 11."

OoO

"Lil? Lily? There's a letter for you!" I heard my mother calling through the house.

"Coming!" I cried back. I ran a brush through my hair quickly, and straightened up my top. "Yeah?" I breathed, skidding to a stop in front of her.

"Letter" she said briskly, giving me a thick envelope, made of heavy parchment. It was addressed to me in green ink. Like every child, I loved getting mail. I still do. Excitedly I ripped the envelope open, savouring the feeling of having a letter addressed to me. I could hardly contain my curiosity as I pulled out the papers.

" 'Dear Miss Evans,'" I read, " 'We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…' Mum? What is this?" My mum, dad and I sat down and read the letter over at least three times. My dad was sitting there, muttering the words "Witchcraft and wizardry" over and over again under his breath. My mum was pondering over what "…we await your owl…" could mean. I was sitting trying to work out which friend would have pulled this prank. Our thoughts were all disrupted by a knock on the door.

"Go and open it dear," prompted my mother, distracted. Standing on the doorstep was the oddest looking man I had ever seen. He was very tall, and dressed in ankle length robes in a startling bright pink. His long white hair reached the small of his back and his beard was equally long. His half moon glasses rested on the end of his rather long, crooked nose. Balancing on top of it all was a tall, pointed hat. "Good afternoon," he stated, smiling slightly. His blue eyes were sparkling. "May I come in?" I was unsure as to what I should say. Here on the door step was a strange man I had never seen before who was asking to come in. He looked kind, and I wanted to trust him, but I had been drilled on the 'stranger danger'. I hesitated. He crouched down so he could look me in the eye. "I'm here to explain to you the letter you received today." I let him in.

"Lily," reprimanded my mum, "Who is this man?" Before I could answer, the man cut in on me.

"I'm so sorry, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Albus Dumbledore. Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." He explained to us about witches, wizards, the magical community, Hogwarts, and anything else we could possibly want to know. I remember asking him one last question, "Does this mean I can do magic?" He laughed and patted me on the head. "I'll see you on September the 1st."

For the rest of that day, and most of the night too, I jumped around. I was so excited I couldn't keep it in. my parents went around completing the necessary, boring tasks such as calling the school to terminate my enrollment, and making up stories as to what school I was going to. I just made a list of all the things I could do once I was trained to be a witch.

Turn Miss Withers's hair purple.

Make myself fly.

Turn all the bullies at my school into bugs.

Make it so I never have to clean up again.

Magic myself an eternal supply of chocolate.

I was simply an over excited 11 year old, who was just told she was a witch.

On the 1st of September, I arrived on time. Once again, I was overly animated, while my parents were overly apprehensive. "Oh, Peter," worried my mother, "Oh, do you really think this is a good idea?" My dad tried (and failed) to calm her down.

"Don't worry. She'll be right. It's only a year." After a lot of hugs, kisses and promises to keep in touch, I headed towards the barrier.

"It's quite simple," Dumbledore had explained, "All you have to do is walk into the barrier. You feel like you are going to crash into it, but it hardly ever happens. Take it at a run."

"What happens if I do crash into it?" I had asked.

"Well," he had begun, "Best cross that obstacle once you get to it. And if you do."

Shaking, I began a slow run, pushing my heavy wooden truck on a trolley. I closed my eyes, expecting a loud crash when I collided with the solid, metal barrier, but none came. I opened my eyes and found myself standing on a platform, surrounded by students, some in normal clothes (what Dumbledore referred to as 'muggle attire') and some dressed in the standard black school robes, identical to the pair I had folded in my trunk. At the sight of the scarlet train with the words 'Hogwarts Express' emblazoned on them made my heart leap, and all the previous doubts I felt, suddenly disappeared. At that moment, for some reason, I felt completely at home.

OoO

Lily beamed at the person sitting in front of her. "Hogwarts was always home for me." Emily dropped her head, looking at her hands, secretly smiling a little. She too remembered her Hogwarts days well. "Well," began Lily, "I guess that's all for today. Same time next week, okay?" Emily nodded, and walked herself out.

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A/N: It's hot. It's humid. It's raining. It's summer! It's not meant to rain! And definitely not for 7 hours continuously. It's Perth. It's not meant to rain for 7 hours continuously at all! It's the tail of the cyclone that went through up north. But then again, the only reason that I wrote this is because it was raining…

I don't like this chapter much. Maybe its just because I'm in a bad mood because I have a fucking mosquito bite on my leg that has impressively swelled to the size of a…uh… something between a golf ball and a tennis ball. And it hurts.