The Best (and the Worst) Years
Summary: James and Lily go through school together. They come to realize that they hate each other, and love each other. This is the story of their good times and bad times.
Chapter 1: Owls
Disclaimer: I own NOTHING Harry Potter. I wish I did, but ya...
A girl was sitting at the table. Her skin was fair, with bright freckles blown across her face. Her hair fell a little past her shoulders. It had beautiful little curls at the ends of her hair, and it shone as brightly as the orange sun. Her eyes were pure emerald green that sparkled when she smiled.
Sitting next to her, was another girl. She had milky white skin, and her hair was dark brown. It ended just above her shoulder. It was wavy and frizzy at the time because she had just woken up. Her eyes were pale blue, almost grey. Her nose turned up, just like her sister's.
"Lily, what do you want to do today?" asked the brown-haired girl.
"I don't know Petunia. Should we go bother that boy down the street?" Lily asked.
"Yes!" replied Petunia excitedly.
As the two sisters were planning, there was another boy, in another town, in another place…
"Mum!" a boy cried.
"What, James?" replied a woman? She sounded tired. The woman was pretty. She had fair skin, and dark, curly brown hair. She was about five feet, nine inches tall, and thin.
"An owl came! The letter's from Hogwarts!" said James excitedly.
"What?" said James mother. She was so happy for James. She had always wanted him to go to Hogwarts. She rushed into the room where James was.
James had pale skin, with a little bit of color. He had jet black hair that stuck up at odd angles all the time. His eyes were a light blue with flecks of gold in them. His eyes always had care in them for the people he loved, even though people hardly noticed.
"Mum!" James yelled.
"I'm coming," replied James's mother.
When she got to James, he waved his letter in her face. "Mum! It says I'm going to Hogwarts! It has my supply list! I'm going to HOGWARTS!" he yelled again.
"Congratulations James," his mother said. "Would you like to go get your wand tomorrow in Diagon Alley?" she asked. "Maybe we could get you an owl," she suggested.
"Yes! What are the kinds of owls?" James asked
"Oh, there's snowy, barn, and lots of other kinds. We'll look at the shop tomorrow," James's mother said. As James ran off joyously, his mother shook her head and smiled.
"Okay, Petunia. What we'll do is go around this way, and throw rocks at his bedroom window. Just pebbles, mind you. He's always in there, so he'll notice them," explained Lily. The two sisters had been planning for the last half hour to bother the boy down the street.
Petunia asked Lily, "What do we…," but she was cut off. All of a sudden, an owl burst through the open kitchen window. The girls screamed, and ran into the den. They hid behind the large couch. They stayed there for around five minutes.
"Do you think it's gone?" Petunia asked her sister.
"I don't know. I'll go check. Are you coming with me?" Lily asked. When Petunia shook her head furiously, Lily knew she was going to have to do this alone.
Lily crept past the couch, the lazy chair, and then the T.V. As she got closer to the kitchen, she began to sweat. What if it attacks me? she thought. When she got to the kitchen door, she peeked inside. The owl was sitting quietly on the round kitchen table with something in its beak.
She started toward the owl, and suddenly something occurred to her. Owls don't go flying around in broad daylight, and definitely don't just fly into people's houses. So there must be a reason for an owl to be sitting in the middle of her kitchen. Lily decided to go see what was in the owl's beak.
When Lily got to the table, the owl fluttered its wings. Like its tired of waiting, thought Lily. She moved closer to it, and it moved closer to her. When she was near enough to touch it, she reached out her arm, and it moved its head under her hand, and had her stroke it. Lily was amazed. She was amazed at how at home she felt with his owl. She felt like they were old friends, but she didn't know why.
Suddenly the bird moved its head. It dropped whatever it was that was in its beak, and flew out the kitchen window. Lily picked it up. It was an envelope. It had HER name on it! It was in emerald green writing. She flipped it over to open it. It had a strange crest on it. It had a golden lion, a black bird, a badger, and a venomous green snake.
Suddenly, Lily felt nervous and excited, but she couldn't understand why. She started to lift the flap up off of the envelope. She started to pull the paper out. When she unfolded the paper, she read the words at the top of the letter.
Dear Miss Evans,
We…
"Mum and dad, it says right here on the letter that I'm supposed to go to a school where they teach magic!" Lily squealed to her parents as they walked in the door.
"Slow down Lily! Let us breathe!" Lily's father said. The two adults set down their papers, and went to sit on the couch with Lily.
"Now what is all this commotion about going to a magic school and being a witch?" Lily's dad inquired.
"I'm going to Hogwarts! Here, read the letter!" Lily said, as she thrust the piece of parchment at her parents that held all of the information.
After a few minutes, the pair of them just sat there, looking incredulous.
"George," said Lily's mother. "Do you think this could be true? Could our little girl be… magic?"
"I think, Rose, that some congratulations are in order," he said.
As the two parents and Lily were celebrating, Petunia was sitting in a corner sulking. How could Lily be a witch? It's not fair! Lily gets all of this attention from mum and dad just because she can do a few stupid magic tricks.
A voice cut through Petunia's thoughts. "Petunia, do you want to go with me to get my supplies for school in Diagon Alley tomorrow? Asked Lily.
"Not on your life," replied Petunia icily as she stalked up the stairs to her room, leaving her family with their mouths gaping.