Disclaimer: Yes, I own all of Harry Potter! I’m a rich billionaire that all other authors envy!
And the sky is green, the grass is blue, and I eat loads of furry pink daisies every morning. Puh-lease. Did you really take me Siriusly?
Lily’s POV
My eyes opened just as the kiss of sunlight had reached my bed. I basked in the warmth of my covers for a moment. Then, with a yawn, I pushed off the covers and got out of bed. Sleepily, I trudged over to my calendar. My heart raced as I X-ed out August 31st. It was September 1st! The day had come!
To save me the trouble of packing last minute, I had packed the night before. But I couldn’t shake off the worry that perhaps I forgot something. I ransacked my bed, the drawers of my table, and my nightstand. Nope, everything was in the trunk. I let out a long breath that I hadn’t realized that I was holding. I need to relax more.
Now it was time to scrutinize myself in the mirror. I grabbed a brush and tried to loosen the tangles of my red hair. Well, people keep on calling it red. To me, it looked more orange than red. I brushed my hair slowly and carefully. That way, I won’t have to struggle with tangles. My hair, in cool conditions, is sleek and straight. But when it’s summer, it either gets very tangled or slightly frizzy, which annoys me to death. I am not very pretty, nor am I very ugly. I’m in between, or, as I like to call it, plain and boring. I have freckles. Yes, I admit it. It’s not that bad, but sometimes I long for flawless skin. Freckles just aren’t very flattering. Cute when you’re little, but when you grow up, you’ll want them to disappear. I am very pale; I’m not as tan as I’d like. Unfortunately, my paleness makes my freckles stand out more. At least, that’s what I think. Mum insists that I’m not too pale at all; that I am just the right tone and that I’m very pretty. Mums tend to say things like that. The only thing I can honestly say I like about myself is my almond-shaped green eyes. They make me feel more unique, but not in the awkward way like my red hair makes me feel. Everywhere I go, I see brown eyes and blue eyes. But I hardly see any green eyes. This makes me very happy indeed, as it makes me feel...special.
“Petunia! Lily! Breakfast is ready!” Mum’s voice carried up the stairs and into our bedrooms. I ran down the steps while Petunia toddled behind me. Her eyes drooped with sleepiness and her mouth was curled into a frown. Like usual.
I grabbed some toast and bacon, put them on a plate, and sat down. Petunia did the same.
“Girls, you better eat quickly! It’s Lily’s big day!”
“Like I care about that freak, Mum. Well, at least we can get rid of her for a while, ‘cause I”” Mum cut Petunia off with a horrified gasp.
“Petunia! You apologize to your sister right now!” Petunia hesitated, and then she looked like she was trying to choke out the apology. To save her the trouble of strangling herself in the effort, I shook my head.
“It doesn’t matter, Mum. I’m happy to be leaving her, too.” Mum opened her mouth to say something, but when she saw my firm mouth and determined gaze, she thought better of it. We ended up eating in silence. As we ate, I remembered what life with Petunia was like in the past.
Petunia had disliked me even before the letter. The letter only made her hate me officially.
Even when I was an infant, my parents had noticed strange things about my behavior. For example, whenever I was starving my parents would suddenly pop up right beside me holding a bottle of milk they didn’t remember getting. This didn’t help them very much, since Dad had to work in the office. His boss didn’t appreciate him disappearing into thin air.
And then there was two-year-old Petunia trying to steal my toys. No matter where she hid the toys, they kept on flying back to me. A bewildered Petunia tried to explain the situation to Mum and Dad, but, as there were no witnesses, they didn’t believe her.
When I could talk, Petunia and I actually became close friends. Yes, it’s surprising, but it’s true. We started to wear matching clothes and shoes. We watched television together and shared toys. And when Petunia got bored of a doll or stuffed animal, she gave it to me for keeps. There was no sibling rivalry; Petunia and I were the best of friends.
But when I was six and Petunia eight, Petunia decided that she wasn’t quite finished with a doll she gave me. So obviously, she tried to get it back. Unfortunately for her, I was still playing with the doll. The high-pitched screams that followed brought the attention of my parents. As they ran into the room, I was already boiling. I wanted to cause her pain; I wanted to do anything to make her let go.
Suddenly, she let out an ear-splitting shriek that echoes in my head to this day. She let go, but it was only to suck her fingers. When she finally pulled them out of her mouth, I saw a burn on each and every finger where they had touched the doll. She bawled until Dad was able to contact the doctor. The doctor came, saw the burns, and asked no questions. He probably assumed that she had put her fingers on the stove or something.
Now, five years later, there are still scars on her fingers. They don’t hurt anymore, but when she looks at them, her face contorts with fury at the memory. Needless to say, she forever hated me after that. Actually, it was more like fear at first. She kept on flinching every time she saw me, and I don’t think she ever stopped fearing me.
Then came the day when a handsome tawny owl flew through our window. Mum, who was baking a pie, freaked out at the sight of it. But the owl meant no harm. It just dropped a letter and took off.
The letter was for me, so Mum called me downstairs. I opened it, not knowing what to expect. I was surprised to find that it was a letter from a school named Hogwarts. I skimmed the letter, and then I gasped.
“I’m a witch? I’m a witch!” Mum stood there speechlessly. Then she grabbed the letter from me and scanned it for confirmation of this fact.
“Oh…my…God…”
An hour after that, Dad and Petunia knew, too. After a stunned silence, Dad hugged me, exclaiming that he was proud to have a witch in the family. But as soon as she heard the news, Petunia ran upstairs and slammed the door so hard that it splintered.
“Oh dear…Petunia! Oy, I’ll have to go calm her down…” Mum bit her lower lip in worry.
Dad, however, was always the optimistic one. “Oh, she’s probably too excited to face us…c’mon Lily, let’s go get you some of your school supplies!”
I wish that Dad was right…but he was wrong. Petunia now prefers to ignore my existence totally. At first, I tried to make her change her mind. But three explosions from Petunia later, I decided to give up.
After breakfast, I got dressed and hauled my trunk down the stairs. I joined my excited parents and my grumpy sister into the car. When we reached the station, my parents kissed me and said goodbye. Petunia stayed in the car.
“Bye, you guys! I’ll miss you!”
Then I stared at the blank stretch of wall between platforms 9 and 10. Platform 9 ¾ must be somewhere behind this wall. But I knew better than to ask a Muggle conductor where it was. Great…now I’ll have to wait until someone magical comes along. So I stood there and waited. Luckily, I was rather early. It was only 10:30. The train was scheduled to leave at 11:00.
After fifteen minutes, my excruciating wait ended. A black-haired woman with a trunk walked up, dragging along a blonde girl that was carrying an owl cage. The girl’s hair went past her waistline. They both had black eyes and long, pale faces, so I assumed that they were mother and daughter, despite the difference in hair color.
“Ok, Kimberly. I’ve seen my older sister do this before…walk through that wall without hesitating and you should make it to the platform. ‘Kay, bye-bye dearie! Have a safe trip! Send me some magical candy! Oh…and be nice to your cousin!”
The girl named Kimberly grumbled. “Why the hell can’t you come with me onto the platform? And I don’t wanna be nice to that git!”
“For one thing, don’t swear. Just because your father does doesn’t mean it’s ok to. And for another thing, I don’t want to come with you and embarrass you…besides, it can’t be that complicated on the platform! And your cousin is still family, regardless of how his mother treats us!” And the black-haired woman scowled for a moment, and then she left. Kimberly sighed. Then, for the first time, she noticed me.
“This your first year, too?”
“Yeah…so do we just walk through this wall, er, Kimberly?”
“Ugh. Don’t call me that. Call me Kim and nothing else. No Kimberly, no Kimmie, and definitely not ‘Berly’!”
“Why would anyone call you ‘Berly’?”
“My cousin calls me that”hey, we look stupid standing in front of this wall! Let’s just get through!” So Kim and I went through the wall. I had closed my eyes, afraid of hitting something. But we didn’t. Instead, we ended up in a platform teeming with people and noises. There was a train with a big sign saying, “The Hogwarts Express.”
“Cool,” I murmured.
“It sure is…hey, I didn’t catch your name, red.”
“Oh, it’s Lily. Lily Evans.”
“Nice to meet you…I’m Kimberly Schafer, but I’d rather be called Kim, like I told you earlier.” She held out her hand, and I shook it. “Now, let’s figure out how to get our trunks onto the train…”
In the end, each of us took an end of Kim’s trunk, lifted it, and pushed it into a compartment. We did the same with mine. I must say that Kim did most of the work. I saw a bit of muscle on her arms. Very interesting on a girl…
We sat in the compartment and talked about our family and our interests.
“I have a Muggle father and a Squib mother. I’m an only child. How’s about youse, Lils?”
“Muggle parents and a horrible Muggle sister. You’re lucky you’re an only child! Hey, what’s a Squib?”
“Someone who’s born with magical parents but has no magic ability themselves. My mother, who can’t do magic, envies her talented older sister.”
“Wish I could say the same…my sister has no talents…” And we both laughed. I had the feeling that we were going to be best friends...finally, I was going to a world where I wasn’t a freak, where I was just as magical as the person next to me.
James’s POV
When the Hogwarts owl came for me, no one was surprised. What else do you expect of a boy whose family members are all magical? It’s not like I was a Squib or something.
I am, to put it lightly, very rich. The Potters have been rich for as long as anyone can remember. I forget why...who cares why? The point is, I’m rich and I live in a four-floored mansion with thousands of acres and open woods! My parents could afford to buy me anything! I always get the best broomsticks to practice flying on. Life is good for a spoiled brat like me...
And do you know what makes life even better? I’m an only child! That’s right. I don’t have to share any of this wealth with anybody! My parents didn’t want to raise too many children, you see. Of course, if they had a nice, quiet girl as their first child, then they might’ve considered having a second child. But the lucky couple got me, the mischievous male hellion that makes sure that there is never a moment of silence here. But they love me all the same.
After the letter came, my parents took me to Diagon Alley by way of Floo powder. It wasn’t the first time that I’ve traveled by way of Floo powder, but I still hated it. The ride may be fun, but my glasses always end up broken. Father fixed them immediately. I wanted to go everywhere in Diagon Alley, but my parents forced me to focus only on my school supplies.
“Mum, can we buy another broom?”
“No, Jamesy! First years aren’t allowed their own brooms! Next year, honey, next year…”
“That sucks!”
Dad chuckled. “Everything in life sucks, son. You’ll just have to learn how to deal with it!”
“I don’t wanna learn! I wanna have fun!”
“Don’t whine, honey. People are staring at you.”
“Fine, Mum. I’ll just shut up now.” But I didn’t keep this promise for long. Soon I was jabbering away about what school might be like, with corrections from my parents.
“I’m gonna go into the forest, meet some werewolves, explore the castle at night”“
“Um, no you’re not, James. The forest is called the Forbidden Forest, and with good reason. There are a lot of dangerous creatures in there! The only time a student goes in there is for Care of Magical Creatures classes”which you won’t have until third year”and for punishment”I hope you won’t get into enough trouble to land yourself in there. Even then, you don’t get to go very far into the forest. As for werewolves, I doubt that there are any in the school. But if you do encounter one, James, I suggest you stay away from it. You don’t want to become one, no you don’t. I think there’s a curfew, so you can’t explore the castle...”
Mum continued in her attempt to dash away all of my hopes and dreams. But Dad leaned down and whispered into my ear, “Don’t worry, son. I’ll give you my spare Invisibility Cloak...I didn’t want to stay put in my dorm when I young, either. Just don’t tell your mother that I gave you the Invisibility Cloak and you’ll be fine.”
“Thanks, Dad,” I whispered back.
*One Week Later*
“JAMES POTTER! THIS IS THE FIFTEENTH TIME THAT I’VE HAD TO YELL AT YOU! WAKE UP!”
I groaned. What time is it? I rolled off of my bed with a thud. I groped for my glasses on the nightstand. I glanced at my analog clock and cursed. It was 10:30! The train leaves in thirty minutes!
“Aw, shit...”
I got dressed in a panic, not realizing that I was trying to put my feet into my armholes until I tripped. Once I finally had my clothes on the proper body parts, I ran to the mirror. I gave up trying to comb my permanently messy hair after a couple of moments. I grabbed my trunk and threw my things into it pell-mell. I heard my Remembrall crack. Stupid thing, I thought. I knew it was junk. It wasn’t even break-proof. I’ll fix it at school later. Once I finished with my haphazard packing, I flew down two flights of stairs. Sometimes, living in a huge mansion isn’t always a good thing.
I splashed butter on my toast, stuffed it into my mouth, and said, “Hi Mum” with my mouth full.
Before Mum could persuade me to stuff another piece of toast into my mouth, I kissed her goodbye and ran into the living room, where Dad was waiting for me.
“Accio Trunk!” With the trunk following his wand, Dad put his arm around me and Apparated. I felt the sensation of being squeezed into a tube. Gasping for breath, Dad and I arrived at the Muggle train station. Strangely, no one paid us mind; they were too busy bustling to wherever it was they had to go.
“Walk through the wall between Platforms 9 and 10, ok? Take your trunk with you and try not to be conspicuous. Hurry, James...it’s five to eleven!”
After a hurried goodbye, I ran through the barrier. Worried that the train would leave without me, I dashed onto it and burst into the compartment closest to me.
The two boys already in that compartment blinked at me, surprised.
“What the bloody hell was that?” The handsome boy with black hair yelled after a moment.
“What my rude friend is trying to tell you is that you should have knocked before barging in on us. I’m Remus Lupin, by the way. And that boy is Sirius Black. Who are you?” Remus held out his hand, which I promptly shook.
“I’m James Potter. I’m so sorry; it’s just that I didn’t want to miss the train. Also, you left the door open, so I assumed that there was no one in here.”
“Oh, that. Sirius left the door open so that he can ogle the girls that have walked past here in the last half-hour.”
“Hey! ‘Ogle’ is such a strong word!”
“Only because you have no idea what it means,” snorted Remus.
“Of course I know what it means! You just called me a troll!”
Remus sighed. “I said ‘ogle,’ not ‘ogre.’”
“Same difference!”
Feeling that this was going to be a long argument, I decided to cut off them off. “Are you two related?”
“Naw,” said Sirius. “We just met on the train.” The train started moving, so I took a seat by the window next to Sirius and across from Remus.
“So, what house do you guys think you’re going to be sorted in?”
Sirius grimaced. “My family has been put into Slytherin for centuries. Maybe the Sorting Hat will be just as cruel to me.” I patted his back sympathetically.
“What about you, Remus?”
“People tell me that I’m smart enough to be put into Ravenclaw. I’m not sure though...”
“Well, I’m going to be put in Gryffindor. My family’s been put into Gryffindor for centuries...I dunno if that makes us enemies, Sirius...”
“I don’t give a damn what my family thinks about you! I’ll be your friend, anyway.”
Then we started talking about less Sirius, er, I mean serious topics. In ten minutes, I found out that Remus had a Wizard for a father and a Muggle for a mother. Sirius was a Pure-blood, but he wasn’t all that proud of his family. They were dark wizards, and he preferred not to mention them. Remus wasn’t a Qudditch person, but Sirius was. So we started to discuss Qudditch tactics while Remus took out a spell-book and read. Remus seems a little boring, I thought. It doesn’t matter...smart people aren’t that bad...maybe Remus can help me with my homework.
Just then, girls started to walk past our compartment. Remus was right; Sirius did like to ogle girls. He looked at each one up and down, whistling when he saw one he liked. Which was most of them. Their reactions taught me a little about their personality. The ones that looked flattered were the ones that wouldn’t mind snogging three different boys a week. The ones that looked ready to slap him were the regular, sensible girls that thought Sirius a pervert. The ones that ignored him were either deaf or too arrogant to think him worth noticing. But the one that surprised me the most was a redheaded girl around our age that actually slapped him two times. Now that’s a feisty one, I thought. You’d have to be stupid to cross her, really stupid.
Sirius may be girl-crazy, but I just didn’t find them worth thinking about. The one girl I had cared about had broken my heart.
I had known Chanel Devereaux since...ever. When we were two, our parents had introduced us to each other. The Devereauxes and the Potters have been friends for centuries. We were both prominent pureblood families, the Potters from Britain and the Devereauxes from France. When Pierre Devereaux immigrated to Britain 500 years ago (for some reason I can’t remember), he met Malachi Potter, and they hit it off. Ever since that moment, it has been traditional for the parents of both families to introduce their children to each other. So I was destined, or doomed, to meet Chanel.
When we first met, she was an ugly, chubby toddler that gave tantrums much louder than mine (and that’s saying something). Her high-pitched wails seemed to shatter the windows. I hated her. Sometimes, I liked to see if she could smash glass with her voice. I pulled her hair, tripped her, slapped her, pinched her... anything that irritated her, but didn’t actually harm her much, I did. Once, when she was four, I broke her toy broomstick. Oh, she shattered the windows, all right...but with me, not her vocal chords. It was only when we were nine that we actually became friends.
By then, she looked very pretty indeed. She had already lost her baby fat, replaced her cavity-filled baby teeth with pearly whites, and stopped cutting her straight brunette hair so that it grew to her waist. I began to take notice of her brilliant green eyes and tall, slender frame. We still had our childish quarrels, but not that often. She wasn’t my only companion at the time, but she was the only one that I liked (besides my parents, of course). My parents had introduced me to a lot of other boys, too. They were spoiled, rich kids like me, but they were even whinier, if that is possible. Oh, they were a bunch of wusses! This git named Chad actually cried when I accidentally got mud on his 100% cashmere sweater. Let’s face it…Chanel was the only one who would rough house with me. Ah, good times, good times.
Soon, however, I started thinking about her much more than I’d like. Every free second, my mind strayed to her. When she was around me, I had a funny feeling in my stomach. Uh-oh. At first, I went into denial. She’s just my friend, my best friend, I thought. But when I started to have dreams of kissing her, I knew I was a goner. I was ten years old at the time; stuff like that wasn’t normal! But I managed to ignore my feelings for quite a while…
Then came August 15th, her 11th birthday. There was a full moon out that night, and we had gone out on her balcony to admire it. I looked at her face, features softened by the moonlight. Before I knew what the heck I was doing, I pulled her into my arms and had my first kiss with her. It started out nice and gentle, and I thought I felt her kissing me back. But this momentary feeling of elation shattered when she pushed me away. I slammed against the balcony railing.
“What the hell do you think you are doing, James? I am just your friend, and it will stay that way! Yech! I can’t handle this! Besides, you suck at kissing!” And she ran away, sobbing hard. My pride bruised, I kicked the railing. It didn’t help much for my toe, but it made me feel the tiniest bit better. Damn little...I don’t need someone like her!
After that, I never talked to her again. I just prepared for Hogwarts and tried to act like nothing happened. No one, especially not my parents, knew how hurt I was inside. It was not that I really loved her or anything. She was just a crush, I got over it eventually. But it was that fact that I, the spoiled brat named James, was denied something for the first time. That never happens! Things come to me when I ask for it! Then, just as I was pondering just how she could reject a cute thing like me, I received an owl from her.
Dear James,
I am sorry for what happened that night. I was so rude to you. It’s just…I felt it was too soon for anything to happen between us. Maybe some other time. I…I won’t be able to see you for a while. My parents are sending me to Beauxbatons because they want me to get in touch with my French heritage. I can’t even speak French! We already sent a message to Dumbledore saying that I won’t be going to Hogwarts. Oh, I regret leaving without being able to say goodbye or apologize to you in person. Please forgive me while you’re in Hogwarts.
Au Revoir,
Chanel Devereaux
PS: Please write to me!
Her owl looked at me expectantly, as if it thought I was going to give it a reply to bring to her. Instead, I crumpled Chanel’s letter and threw it at the owl. Giving an indignant hoot, it bit me and flew away.
“That’s right,” I had screamed at the owl. “Run away like your damn owner did! Both of you should burn in hell!”
Sirius’s voice brought me back to the present.
“Hello? You still there, Jamesy? I was talking to you, you know!”
I shook my head, jerking myself away from the memory. “Yes, my dear friend?”
“I propose that we make a pact.”
“What kind of pact?”
“Let’s date all the girls in this school by the time we graduate!”
Remus cut in. “To do that, wouldn’t you have to date the seventh years this year, before they graduate? I don’t think they’ll want to date a bunch of first years.”
“And I sure as hell won’t date the Slytherins!”
Sirius sighed. “Fine then! Let’s vow to date all the girls our age and under, excluding Slytherins, by the time we graduate! Older girls are optional. Agreed?”
But Remus wasn’t satisfied. “What if we fall in love with one of the girls? I couldn’t betray my girlfriend and cheat on her!”
Sirius shook his head. “Falling in love is highly unlikely in my book. But since you’re a stupid romantic, fine. If you truly fell in love with a girl and it actually lasted, you can excuse yourself from this pact. Ya happy, now?”
Remus grinned. “Yep. How about you, James?”
I thought about it. It couldn’t hurt. It was unlikely that I’d fall in love, after what Chanel did to me. Besides, I’d like to snog someone once in a while.
“Ah, what the heck. Count me in!” And we all shook hands. We ordered some lunch and waited until we could see Hogwarts from our windows.
“Look, it’s Hogwarts! C’mon, let’s change into our robes!”
As the train stopped and we got off, I could hear a loud, booming voice, saying, “Firs’ years! Firs’ years o’er here!” I ran toward the giant man bellowing out those words and got into a boat with Remus, Sirius, and some guy I didn’t know. As the boat got closer and closer to the castle, I got ready for a new adventure and a new beginning.
A/N: Some of you, maybe just a few of you, might be wondering what happened to the first story I wrote, The Beating of My Heart. Well, I decided that I didn’t want to focus on a relationship between Remus and my OC, especially since HBP came out with a promising Remus/Tonks ship. Too bad, I had had many things planned out that would’ve made a nice plot except for some huge, gaping holes. (There were too many contradictions.) But I didn’t want to waste the nice Lily/James ship I had planned out in the story. So I decided to write a Lily/James romance fanfic instead. As I love that category, I have read millions of L/J stories. To challenge myself, I made this attempt at writing one that’s different from the other two-hundred-something L/J stories on this website. I hoped you liked this chapter and that it wasn’t too long for you! I worked hard on this one, but if it needs improvements, just tell me. You don’t have to review, but I’d like it if you did. Well, see ya next time! Au revoir!