Damn... As I am writing this, I just realised that I was supposed to post this chapter on Saturday, i.e. a few days back. I have no idea how I forgot that. Somehow, I had it on my mind that I was going to post this one on Wednesday and the one following this on the Friday... Alas, it doesn't matter now...

Here I am with Chapter 77. This one, is the first of a 2-parter.

PS - This one is also set in the Future... Enjoy!

John opened the door to his room.

"Woah!" he gasped and stood rooted to his spot. His room, in his house no longer looked like his room, or like any liveable room for that matter.

"What on earth?" he muttered under his breath as he took a couple of steps in. His cot aside, every single surface area of the room was covered by posters. The 4 walls and the ceiling had large posters with Lily's face on them. Cautiously, John walked towards one end of the room and touched the poster stuck on the wall.

"This is real... Oh, wow," he gasped. John looked around the room for a few minutes. He was stunned into silence. The shelves were covered with posters of Lily, the desk... the floor...

"Wait... what's this?" he wondered and bent down. There was something written on the floor.

"This is an... intervention. Congratulations, you have been pranked!" he read.

"You're joking... This is crossing the limit..." he thought to himself, a little angry. The next moment, he called out, "Rose... Rose..."

"Where's the bloody camera?" he exclaimed and looked around the room hastily. However hard he tried, he couldn't find the camera that was set up to record his reactions.

And then after a moment came huge roars of laughter from just outside the room.

"Look at his face... Poor Johnny boy," exclaimed Rose as she walked into the room holding a camera, the camera turning back and forth to record John as well as herself. "I got you good, didn't I?" she asked and pointed the camera to his face.

John had his hands on his face, in embarrassment. Part of it was raw real emotion he was feeling at the time, the other was just a tinge of exaggeration. "It never hurt the views," as Rose would have put it.

Rose hugged John tightly, still laughing her backside off. After a moment, she released the hug and pointed the camera to capture both of them in a single shot.

"So, John!" she exclaimed. "The followers want to know... When are you planning on confessing your true feelings to Lily?" she asked.

Rose Weasley, daughter of the one and only Charlie Weasley, was the Internet's darling. Not only did she have followers in the millions, across platforms, but she was also one of her nation's top chess players. Rose was an overnight sensation. At the age of 21, a relatively unknown quantity grew into stardom in the world of chess, with her sensational play in the 5th leg of the "Global Chess Tour". Her internet community grew manifold as a consequence. And here she was, 3 years after. John, who was 2 years younger than her, had a fan following of his own, though he never created any significant presence for himself, all thanks to Rose. John was Rose's plaything when it came to her "prank videos", for the bulk of the pranks pulled by her, were on him. And a small group of her followers always came to his defence. In fairness, John never pushed Rose away for targeting him for her videos. He had, however, just one rule. "You are to never... ever involve Lily," he would repetitively tell Rose.

"I'm not planning on doing anything of the kind," replied John, looking at the camera with a sheepish smile.

"So, you do admit that you have feelings for her?" gasped Rose with a shocked reaction. "Oh my God guys... did you hear that? Pretty boy does have feelings for Lily..." she added excitedly looking at the camera.

"I... uh... never said that. Don't put words into my mouth," retorted John. "I meant... I don't have a crush on her... and hence, I won't be telling her anything," he added.

"Nah... Not buying it... Rewind... Rewind the tape," remarked Rose. Rose was perhaps referring to the minute reaction John had when he replied to her original question. Rose had noticed a blush on John's face and she was going to edit it into the video.

Rose casually took the video out of John's room to finish her "outro". It took a few minutes for Rose to wind up the video. Once she was done, she went back up to John's room. John was carefully removing the posters and the writings with his wand. The moment he heard footsteps, he turned around.

"You are not going to publish that video," said John staunchly, the moment Rose walked in.

Rose started giggling again. "Your face... It was totally worth it," she chuckled giving John a soft hug.

"Rose... I'm serious... You can't post that video," repeated John.

"Oh, relax... You say that for every prank I pull on you," retorted Rose, casually.

"Rose... please... You cannot post that video. I've told you before to not involve Lily... You had massive posters of hers on tape. That's forbidden!" exclaimed John, desperately.

"They all know her name anyway... Everyone loves and ships Jily... They have compilations of all the times her name has been mentioned in my videos and the face you make when that happens, did you know? My clips channel is growing faster than my main one, thanks to you," replied Rose with a bright smile. "What's the big deal in getting her face out there?" she asked, nonchalantly.

"I'm game for all the BS you pull... But Lily is off limits... Or Aunt Hermione will find out and that's the end of your channel," retorted John.

"Nice try... As if the Minister for Magic has time to watch my videos..." chuckled Rose.

"Oh, trust me... she will when she finds out about Lily's face reveal," replied John.

"You would never do that to me..." retorted Rose.

"I won't have to," replied John.

"Wait... seriously? What's the deal with your girlfriend? She has 0 presence on the internet. At this rate, she would give the haters of social media a run for their money..."

"Not my girlfriend..." snapped John.

"Room-mate," corrected herself, Rose, sarcastically.

"She's different alright? She doesn't want all the attention it brings..." replied John.

"That's just plain weird... and she's a muggle. I get it if some old-fashioned witches and wizards wanted to stay away from the internet. But this?" sighed Rose, disheartened.

"She's an old-fashioned muggle, alright?" retorted John. He watched Rose's face deflate and after a few seconds continued. "Okay.. fine... I can't bear this look on your face," he remarked. "I'll film a video with you... Where you can ask me a bunch of questions... including one or two about Lily. And I'll answer them as juicily as possible. Deal?" he offered.

"Wait, really?" asked Rose, as her eyes grew wider in excitement.

"Yeah... I want to make it up to you," retorted John with a smile.

Rose tightly hugged John. "You really are the best," she remarked.

"After all... your channel would dissolve without me," quipped John cheekily and received a punch on his shoulder instantly.

"That... was... below the belt..." responded Rose as John started giggling.

Rose connected her camera to her laptop and began preparing for the alternate video idea that John had given. After a while, Rose turned towards John, who was busy reading a book.

"On a serious note..." she began. "What are you doing, brother mine?" she asked.

"I... am reading a book," replied John and pointed to his book.

"Idiot... I didn't mean, right now..." retorted Rose unamused. "I mean with Lily," she remarked.

"Wh... what about her?" asked John.

"Oh come on... Not everything you do in front of the camera is for the content or the views... I know you and I see the way you literally light up every time you are with her." replied Rose. "What are you doing?" she repeated.

"My answer is the same as the previous plenty of times you have asked me this question. She's just a friend," replied John.

"A friend from college who has now been living with you in this very house for well over a year now... Yeah, I know, I have heard this one many times," retorted Rose.

"Exactly... and the status quo has never altered," added John.

"Okay, then why don't you have a girlfriend? You're obviously good-looking and have a charming personality, might I add... And the cleverest person I know..." asked Rose.

John remained silent in response. "I'm 22! I have plenty of time for such relations..." he said, faintly.

"You haven't been in a relationship for a while now. And I don't see you doing anything to change that. Why is that?" asked Rose.

"You're asking the difficult questions of life... Why are you doing this to me?" retorted John, chuckling.

"I enjoy putting you on the spot. It's one of my guilty pleasures," chuckled Rose.

"I'm exhausted..." sighed John.

"You might have gotten away this time... You won't get lucky next time," remarked Rose.

"Let's worry about it whenever that happens," sighed John, relaxing.

There was a pin-drop silence. It was one of the reasons Lily enjoyed the basement of the house she resided in. Enjoyed... is probably a strong word. Lily didn't enjoy the tranquillity of the lonely room, she just wanted to surround herself with it. There was an energy in the basement that matched her thoughts.

John and Jane showed her around the big house. The moment they got to the basement, Lily felt it. Maybe it was down to listening to the twins talk about their father, who had spent most of his time at that very place. It looked like the hole one would dig themselves into, forcing oneself into punishment.

The basement got her to think. Thinking... was one of the things that Lily did not want to do, yet, like an addictive vice, she found herself drawn to it. For the first few weeks, Lily used the basement as an escape. The world she found herself in, was very different from what she remembered it to be. In a different life, she'd have been excited to be there.

Soon, the evanescent thoughts of the girl-out-of-time turned into something a little more permanent. It was actually John's idea.

"I am to speak with you and you will aide me..." with a smile on her face, wrote Lily on the top of the first pages of her diary, gifted to her by John. "He tells me you're a rare piece. They don't use paper or parchment to write anymore. How my world has changed!".

After a few moments of contemplation, Lily continued writing. "John told me something. I wonder how it works," she wrote and closed the diary. After a couple of seconds, she opened the diary. Her last words, "John told me something. I wonder if it is true," no longer existed. They had been erased.

After staring at the diary in awe for a few seconds, Lily continued. "I don't mind sharing my thoughts with you. It is the healthier option.".

Lily got to thinking and after a while, she continued writing. "If you are going to keep me company, you're going to need a name. I name you... The Vanishing Cabinet".

And soon, "The Vanishing Cabinet" did what it was intended to do. It became the sponge that soaked in everything Lily shared with it. Her sadness drenched its pages, her anger dented the delicate sheets, her rants made it heavier and her smiles kept the paper rustling.

...

"I'm furious with Sirius and Remus. How dare they?" wrote Lily angrily, one afternoon.

After a couple of minutes, she continued. "I don't want anything to do with magic anymore. I would gladly give up every bit of magic in me if I could. What good was it that night against You-know-who?"

"And why would I need magic? Am I not supposed to be hiding away in the muggle world, where no one knows Lily Potter or Lily Evans?"

"I told Sirius the other day that I did not want a new wand. He thought he'd convince me by bringing it up again with Remus beside him."

"It's been 3 weeks since I have been here and I already hate everything about this place."

Lily threw the diary away. After a few minutes, she got up and walked over to where the diary was lying, and picked it up cautiously. She opened the diary and looked at the last entry. And a smile appeared on her face.

"You're really good. Have I told you that before?" she wrote, right where her previous, erased entry was.

...

One day, quite early in the morning, Lily rustled the pages of "The Vanishing Cabinet". And the moment she found an empty page, she started scribbling. "It's my first day and I can't believe how nervous I am. I couldn't sleep all night. I need to relax!"

After a few seconds, she continued. "I'll be leaving in a couple of hours. John was kind enough to offer to take me to the London Perfumery."

Upon careful consideration, Lily had agreed with Remus that she needed to get out of the house, more often than she was doing. And the best way everyone around her could think of was to take up a job. It'd be the perfect thing to keep her busy, feel involved, and get to know the world around her. And the London Perfumery was going to be her workplace. Lily may have been a beginner in the world of perfumes, but she was brilliant at potions and alchemy. And that bit of encouragement from Sirius and Remus was enough to persuade her towards the scented world.

That evening, Lily came back home and made another entry in her precious diary.

"I had a terrible start today. And I don't want to talk about it."

...

"These 9 months have flown by, so quickly!" wrote Lily. "James would be delighted and overjoyed if he were to see me this way. He wouldn't stop blushing," she penned while a melancholic smile painted her face.

"I'm a mess," she added.

"Aargh... This was such a happy day, and look at me now."

"POTTER! If you're looking at me from beyond, and I find out you're laughing at my state, I'll walk in there and kill you with my bare hands."

"Take care of our son, James. I wish someone would take me away from here, to you!"

…

"Oh, thank God!"

"Tuney is fine. Her surgery was a success. I wish I could spend more time with her at the hospital"

"Dudley is already suspicious of me. He kept asking me questions I didn't have answers to. But he's such a responsible man now. I'm so proud of him"

…

"I remembered something today. Small fragments from the wretched night, just like the last few times."

"I remembered the same 2 faces, not very clearly, but there was a man and a woman. They wanted my son, my Harry. They didn't look like death eaters, though. They were dressed differently."

Lily sat on the floor, depressed, as the diary lay open beside her. The previous time, she remembered fragments of a duel. And the time before that, James' voice repeated inside her, telling her that he was going to buy them time, asking her to call for help.

...

"You are not going to believe what happened today. Poor John! He thinks I didn't see what Rose did to him, but I sneaked a peek at his room," wrote Lily with a sympathetic smile on her face.

"He has to lie again and again to everyone close to him, for me"

…

"I have good news to share with you. Jane successfully closed her first case in the Auror office today. She is just 22 and she's already leading her own investigations. She has a bright future with her incredible skill set," wrote Lily and closed the diary.

After a few minutes, Lily opened her diary again.

"The stark difference between John's and Jane's personalities is stunning. Jane is so much more open and outgoing. She's living a happy life and seems to love her life. She even brings home boys, unlike John. She's achieving great things at work, yet seems to treat it as just another part of her life."

"John is charming but loves his work way too much. He keeps himself busy at all times. Whether it is with his computer or at the ministry. He jokes about the work he does at the Ministry as a hobby. Yet, talks to his friends about how little time he has for himself."

Lily closed the diary and opened it back once again, after a while.

"I should move away from this family. I'm starting to become a burden in their lives," she wrote. "I had ambitions of getting away from this time. To go back home, where I belong. But it has been 2 years and all I have done is entangled myself with the lives of people."

After a few more minutes, Lily began writing again. "All of us went out for dinner today. And I heard John and Edward talking afterwards. I eavesdropped on them and I feel terrible about it."

"I don't know anything for sure. But I am starting to feel terrible about all of this. I like John a lot. There are so many things about him, that any girl would fall for. As much as I like him, I don't like him in the same way as he does me, I'm afraid."

"I should have never overstayed my welcome. None of this would be happening if I had not ended up in this time."

"I don't wish to inflict any pain or heartbreak on John, but I have to. I hope his feelings for me are temporary and they go away with the wind."

"John was lying to Edward, right? Yes, that makes sense. He has been lying to everyone about the two of us, right from the beginning. This is just part of the tale, nothing more. I hope it is nothing more."

Well... That's the end of that... How did you all like the dynamic between Rose and John? And of course, how did you find Lily & The vanishing cabinet?

There's more in store for all of you. The second of the 2-parter will be out on Friday.. So, stay tuned!

PS - Oh! Trust me... You are not going to want to miss the next one! Until then, Ciao!