Rating:
PG
House:
Schnoogle
Characters:
James Potter Lily Evans
Genres:
Action Romance
Era:
Multiple Eras
Stats:
Published: 06/07/2003
Updated: 01/08/2013
Words: 389,988
Chapters: 59
Hits: 80,010

Lily Evans: A History

Bethany

Story Summary:
A story of Lily's life from pre-Hogwarts to marrying James Potter. How she coped with growing up with Petunia to her friendship with the four boys that would change her life - and eventually the course of history - forever.

Chapter 06

Posted:
06/10/2003
Hits:
1,573
Author's Note:
I seen this somewhere on a fic before and thought it was extremely funny. So, in honor of something so funny that I still remember it; here are a few phrases from this chapter that hopefully will catch your interest :)

Chapter 6 - Mousey business of all kinds

    Lily awoke the next morning rather early, excited that in just a few short hours she would be leaving for James'. As quietly as she could, so not to wake up Petunia and have to fight with her this early in the morning, Lily began packing her school trunk with all the things she would need for the school year.

    At ten o'clock she wandered downstairs for breakfast. Petunia was nowhere to be seen, her mother had made her favorite food (blueberry pancakes) and it was a beautiful day. Lily was sure nothing could ruin her mood as she happily put away four pancakes and her juice.

    Unfortunately, things would not stay so peaceful. Upon reflection, Lily realized she should have known something would happen. Wasn't it Murphy's Law or something that insisted if something could go wrong, it would? So, really, it shouldn't have came as too big a surprise when the serene morning stillness was shattered by Petunia screaming, and running down the steps at break-neck speed.

    "Petunia, what is it?" Christine demanded, her eyes wide as her oldest daughter came bustling into the kitchen, looking livid. Daniel looked up from his morning paper with something akin to annoyance on his face.

    Of course, her wild eyes landed on Lily and the addressed sighed, standing up to face her sister. "Yo--It--Ugh!" Petunia shrieked, pointing upstairs.

    "I may be a witch, Petunia, but I still speak English..." Lily said impatiently. Daniel's lips twitched slightly.

    "There is a--a--a dead rat in my room! That bloody owl--!"

    "Watch your language Petunia," Christine warned.

    "Get it!" Petunia demanded.

    Lily wanted to laugh. She really did. But as she also wanted to get out of the house in one piece, she kept her face straight and walked up the stairs, Petunia on her heels.

    As she reached Petunia's bedroom door and pushed it open, Morgana gave a huge hoot from where she perched on Petunia's open window. Lily walked past the bed and towards the window. Indeed, Morgana had brought Petunia a dead mouse that she had laid on the floor so it would be easily seen. Lily fought laughter. "She, eh, wanted to give it to you, I think," Lily said slowly, with a as much of a straight face as she could muster. "A gift."

    "I don't want anything to do with that--that thing," Petunia replied. "I'll have to disinfect this entire room. Oh, the germs that is probably on that thing..." she mumbled.

    Lily shrugged and pointed to the mouse. "Get it, Morgana," she said to the owl softly. "Take it back outside."

    Obediently the owl glided to the floor and picked the mouse up in her beak. She went back out the window, landing in the tree in the back yard. Lily slapped her hands together. "No harm done."

    "How can you say that?" Petunia spat. "A dead mouse! There's germs and... Oooh, I'll have to spend all day cleaning in here now..."

    "Better get started, then, before the nasty germs spread all over everything," Lily said, raising an eyebrow as she went towards the door. "Of course, never mind that Morgana brings them to me all the time and I'm still healthy."

    "Hmph." Petunia rolled her eyes and went into the bathroom, searching for disinfectant and cleaning solutions.

    True to her word, by the time lunch time rolled around, Petunia could still be heard cleaning her room. Lily couldn't imagine how it could take so long to clean one area of carpet, but then realized that Petunia was probably cleaning the entire room.

    At one thirty Lily started coaxing Morgana into her cage, apologizing that she hadn't bought her a new one yet. It took nearly ten minutes to convince her to get in the cage. Anxiously she checked her room for forgotten quills, parchment or books.

    Lily wandered into the living room and sat down on the sofa, her eyes on the clock mantel.

    "How will they be coming, dear?" Daniel suddenly asked, turning the page of the newspaper.

    "Eh-" Lily blinked, stumped. She had no idea how wizards traveled. Did they drive? Did they fly? She didn't have a broomstick of her own, and wasn't sure how she would juggle her trunk, Morgana's cage and herself on one anyways. "I'm not sure," she admitted, looking at her clasped hands.

    Christine smiled, a bit nervously Lily thought, and went back to knitting as if nothing were amiss. Lily assumed she was soon to find out.

    When the clock struck two, Lily went to the window and looked up and down the street. There was a few children playing on the sidewalk, and an occasional car would go by, but nothing out of the ordinary. Chewing on her bottom lip, she started back across the living room towards the sofa.

    She had barely sat down when she jumped back up again, followed by her mother. There was a crack, like a whip, and suddenly James was standing... in her fireplace?

    Lily's eyes scrunched up in confusion as he ducked his head and walked out into the living room, retrieving his glasses from his cloak pocket and putting them on. "Hey Lily!" he greeted, grinning, as if appearing out of one's fireplace was normal.

    "Hi," Lily replied, looking beyond him as again there was another crack, and Remus appeared. Remus grinned as he, too, stepped out and was shortly followed by Sirius, who's face was a tad bit green.

    "Ugh," Sirius moaned as she stepped out, shaking his head. "I can't wait to get my Apparition license, life will be so much easier."

    "You've got another five years to go," a deep voice replied. Lily, grinning happily, looked past Sirius to see a tall man come out of the fireplace. He was without a doubt James' father and Lily had no doubt this is what James would look like in about ten years. Mr. Potter was tall and thin with messy black hair, glasses and blue eyes. He had a friendly smile, though, as he reached out to shake Daniel Evans' hand. "Harold Potter," he introduced. "James' father."

    "Daniel Evans. Nice to meet you," Daniel said, taking his reading glasses from his face and putting them on the table. "This is my wife, Christine."

    "Oh, very nice to meet you," Mr. Potter smiled, taking her hand and kissing the top of it. Christine smiled back. Mr. Potter let her hand go and turned his blue eyes to Lily, who was now standing beside James and Remus. "And you must be Lily." Lily nodded, smiling. "James has told me so much about you."

    Lily felt herself blush, but to cover the awkwardness, she turned her to parents. "Mum, Dad--you remember James, right? This is Remus Lupin," she said, nodding her head towards the guy on her right. "And Sirius Black."

    "Oh, Lily has told us all about you, of course," Christine said, her eyes twinkling with laughter. Lily felt herself go even redder.

    "If it was bad, not a word of it was true," Remus replied, grinning. Sirius and James were both nodding their head in agreement.

    Lily blanched, trying to smother her own giggles with a cough. "My, eh, trunk is upstairs in my room," she told the three boys.

    "Lead the way," Sirius proclaimed.

    Lily hurried up the stairs, James, Remus and Sirius on her heels. When she opened her bedroom door, she laughed. "Not a word of it was true, honestly Remus," she laughed, wagging her finger at him.

    Serious faced, James raised an eyebrow. "Now Lily, we can't have you telling lies on us. Especially when you probably didn't do any of our pranks justice."

    Lily just smiled. "I told Mum about throwing mud at Snape, I seriously doubt after that she would mind the rest of the pranks."

    "Like the slime on the Slytherins? Oh, but we got even bigger stuff in store for them this year," Sirius said, rubbing his hands together like a mad scientist.

    "This all your stuff, Lily?" James asked. Him and Remus were each holding one end of Lily's trunk.

    "I think so," Lily replied, putting her cloak around her shoulders and fastening it. "Just have to get Morgana's cage."

    "Got it," Sirius replied.

    "Then that should be it."

    They started out of the door, Lily bringing up the rear, when suddenly James stopped dead. Remus, who wasn't prepared, dropped the trunk on his foot. "Ow! James, what'd you stop for?!"

    "Who are you?!" the unmistakable voice of Petunia demanded. Sirius grinned evilly as Lily rushed forward.

    Lily pushed past Remus and into the hall just as James held his hand out to Petunia. Lily bit her lip. "James Potter. And you must be Lily's charming sister, Petunia. I've heard much about you," he said, still holding his hand up to Petunia, who had backed away. To some people, James would be presenting himself like a gentlemen. To Lily, seeing James this way was reason for alarm.

    "Eh-" Lily looked from Petunia to James. "Yeah. That is my sister. Petunia, this is James, Remus and Sirius," she said quickly, pointing to the other two boys who had crowded into the hall.

    Petunia stared for a moment longer and then suddenly jumped into her room and slammed the door. James raised an eyebrow. "What I do?"

    Lily giggled. "I guess Petunia can stand me being a witch, but seeing other wizards is too much for her. So James," she said, pointing to his hand that he had put in his pocket. "What were you going to do to her?"

    "Who? Me?" James said, looking shocked and slightly hurt.

    "Yes," Lily said. Sirius snickered.

    James picked up the trunk again, a small smile on his lips. "I'm insulted, Lily Evans, that you would accuse me of doing anything to your sister. I'll have you know that I was just going to shake her hand."

    "Yeah, and never mind the Skay's Skaley Skin he had in his hand," Remus laughed as they started down the stairs.

    Sirius laughed out right, obviously having been too far from James to see what he had. "Too bad, she would have looked good with green scales."

    "Purple," James corrected.

    "There you boys are," James' father said as they came back in the living room, trying to keep straight faces.

    "I thought I heard Petunia?" Christine asked, looking behind them puzzled.

    "Eh, she's in her room," Lily explained. "Daddy, I'll need some money to get my school things."

    Daniel nodded, pulling out his wallet. James, Sirius and Remus watched interestedly as he handed her muggle money. "You won't have any problems getting the other kind of money?"

    "Oh, no. I'll just go to Gringotts," Lily replied, putting the money away.

    "All ready, then?" Harold asked, slapping his hands together. "I think Olivia is probably waiting for us."

    "Bye Mum, Dad," Lily said, hugging both her parents. "I'll write to you as soon as we get to school."

    "Be good and have a good year," Christine told her, hugging her once more before Lily got away to stand next to James.

    Harold pulled out his wand, pointed it at the fireplace and muttered "Incendio!" At once a fire came to life in the hearth, crackling like it had been there for hours. He then took out a small leather bag from his pocket and offered it to Sirius. Sirius took a handful of the powder within and threw it in the fireplace.

    At once the flames turned from red to emerald green and roared higher. Lily bit her lip as Sirius stepped into the flames and said, "Potter Manor!" and disappeared.

    "Eh, James," Lily whispered urgently, pulling on his sleeve as Remus disappeared within the flames with her trunk. "What is that?"

    James looked at her as if she were joking, and then after realizing she wasn't, slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand. "Oh, sorry Lily, I forgot. It's Floo Powder. You just throw it in the flames, step in, and say where you want to go."

    "Just make sure to keep your elbows tucked in, and speak clearly," Mr. Potter added, holding out the bag towards her. Lily gulped.

    "And don't get out before you see Sirius and Remus. You don't want to get out at the wrong fireplace," James added thoughtfully. "Gran did that once, we about never found her..."

    "You're not helping, James." Lily swallowed, her face pale. Her mother looked even more worried than Lily was. "Could I... could we go through together? I'm a little... well, I've never traveled this way before..."

    James looked to his father. "Well," Mr. Potter said, his eyes scrunched up thoughtfully. "There's no rules against it. Of course, I've never tried it myself. And, well, you'd have to be very close together. Very close," he emphasized, raising an eyebrow. James flushed red.

    "It's ok," Lily said, stepping forward and swallowing the frog that seemed to have rose in her throat. "I'll be ok." She didn't sound it.

    "Come on," James said, trying to keep the blush in his face down. He took Lily's hand, and together the two squeezed into the fireplace. Lily gasped as the green flames roared around both of them, but they were only mildly warm, and actually tickled a little.

    After putting his glasses in his cloak pocket, James put his arms tightly around Lily. All the while thinking this wouldn't be so bad if they weren't being watched by his father and her parents. "Close your eyes," he warned. "Potter Manor!"

    There was a great rushing sound in Lily's ears and instinct fully she buried her face in James' cloak. They spun around very fast, and for a second Lily braved opening her eyes, only to see tidbits of fireplaces go by as they spun.

    Then almost as quickly as they began, they stopped. Lily felt James lurch to the side, but quickly regain his balance before they both fell. She opened her eyes cautiously to see Sirius and Remus staring at them, open mouthed and wide-eyed.

    Sirius closed his eyes, his face uplifted and a smile playing on his lips. "Shhh," he whispered at Remus when he began to laugh. "I want to imprint that forever in my mind."

    "Shut it," James warned, untangling himself from Lily and stepping out of the fireplace. "She never traveled by Floo and was scared."

    "MmmHmmm," Sirius mumbled, eyes still closed.

    Remus busted out laughing. "That was classic, James."

    "Lupin, leave it alone," James warned. Lily felt herself blush even deeper. "Come on Lily, I'll show you where you're staying." He picked up one end of Lily's trunk and waited for Sirius to pick up the other end. "Ah-hem!"

    Sirius chuckled merrily. "Oh, right," he grinned, picking up the end closest to him.

    Walking along side Remus, who was still grinning stupidly from time to time, Lily followed Sirius and James through the kitchen they had arrived in and into a hallway beyond. Lily stared around curiously at the pictures that lined the walls, all showing pictures of what she assumed was James' family, and all were moving. Most waved, some pointed and gave someone else in the picture with them a nudge and a knowing smile, some were asleep. They walked up a set of stairs and into another hall and James stopped at the third door down on the left.

    "You'll be staying in the guest room," James explained, pushing the door open with his foot. Beyond was a fairly large room with a four poster bed in the middle. There was a dresser and night table, as well as a small love seat next to the window. James and Sirius dropped her trunk at the foot of the bed. "My room is across the hall," he said.

    Sirius coughed. "In case you want to visi--oof!"

    James slapped him hard in the back. "The loo is two doors down, those two are staying in the next room over."

    "James? Is that you dear?" a female voice said suddenly from the hallway. Before they could answer a woman came to the doorway, smiling. "Oh, hello. Lily, is it?" she asked kindly. "I'm Olivia, James' mother."

    "Hello," Lily smiled back. Olivia Potter reminded Lily of Harold Potter strongly; both were tall, thin with dark hair. James had inherited his mother's brown eyes and long lashes, as well as her smile.

    "I've just got finished making lunch, in case you four are interested," Mrs. Potter told them.

    "Food!" Sirius and James yelled, running past her and out the door.

    Lily shook her head, noting that Olivia was doing the same thing. "Boys," Olivia said as Remus ran past them. They could distinct fully hear the sound of footfalls on the steps. Lily nodded her agreement. "Did my son manage to tell you were the restroom is before departing?"

    "Oh, yes Mrs. Potter," Lily replied, following her out and into the hallway.

    "Please, call me Olivia," Mrs. Potter insisted. "All of James' friends do, except Sirius. That boy has called me Livie since he could talk."

    "How long have they been friends?" Lily asked, realizing that while she had suspected Sirius and James of knowing each other before Hogwarts, she had never asked.

    "Since they were babies," Olivia replied. "Harold and I have been friends with the Blacks since we were in Hogwarts. Of course, now--"

    She stopped suddenly, looking sad. Lily wanted to ask what was wrong, but didn't feel comfortable doing so. She wouldn't wonder for long, however. "I don't know if James told you or not, but I'm sure he will." She stopped at the end of the hall, away from the kitchen. "Kathy, Sirius' Mum, fell ill last year while Sirius was away at school. She died just after Sirius returned home for the summer."

    Lily inhaled sharply, her eyes tearing. "Oh no," she whispered, clasping her hands over her mouth.

    "Yes, the poor dear was so upset."

    "I seen her," Lily whispered, feeling like her stomach had been hollowed out. "Just before school started, she was lecturing Sirius, James and Peter for running back into the muggle train station to find me."

    Olivia smiled sadly, pulling a handkerchief from her apron. "Yes... Since Patrick died last year, we of course took Sirius in. It's so sad, though. I've known them nearly my whole life."

    Lily nodded, afraid that if she tried to speak, she would burst into tears. She couldn't imagine loosing her parents.

    "Oi, come on Lily, Livie's a great cook!" Sirius suddenly called from the kitchen doorway, his mouth full of food.

    "Don't talk with your mouth full Sirius!" Olivia called, going towards the kitchen.

    "What were you two doing?" James asked as they came in, arching an eyebrow as he dished out more casserole into his plate.

    "Just girl talk," Olivia replied, grinning at him. From the twinkle in his mother's eye, Lily was almost sure where James' got his mischief from.

    "Mum's always wanted a girl," James explained as Lily sat down at the table.

    "Doesn't she have one?" Sirius asked, face blank as if confused. James threw a roll at him.

    Suddenly there was a crash, like a pot dropping to the floor, followed shortly by the shuffling of feet. The swinging door between the kitchen and dinning area was pushed open and a short house elf came bustling through. He (or she, as one could hardly tell) stopped short of the table and bowed. "Young Master James, I sure is glad you back," she (Lily now knew, because her voice was so high)squeaked. "Never seen such a mess in my life as you leaves your room in. Tator, I says to me, I ain't cleaning this up again, even if I is a house elf and my Gran would surely spin in her grave if she knew."

    James blushed and Lily seen that Olivia was smiling as she watched. Lily had never known a house elf to speak that way to their masters, and was quite shocked. Some of her thoughts must have showed on her face, because Olivia explained, "Our house elves have been around so long, they are like family. Tator helped raise James and is fully justified to say what she wants to him." She laughed as James blushed further. "Merlin knows he needs it from time to time."

    "Too true, Misses, too true," Tator replied, banishing a dish rag at James.

    "Ah, Tator, I have company. Could you please clean it this one time? And I promise not to let it get that way again..." James drawled, smiling the smile that had gotten him out of trouble with even Professor McGonagall.

    "Young Master, I knows you too well, I do. I know you is lying to Tator. But I is a house elf, and I reckon I is having to listen. But I is doing it no more after this!" she squeaked and left the room.

    James grinned. "She says that nearly everyday." Lily couldn't help but laugh.

    Life was as different as possible at Potter Manor than at Lily's own home. She soon found out that she was right in thinking that James was a lot like his mother, for Olivia had a few good tricks up her sleeve. Her second day there James came running out of his room in an uproar because Olivia had cast a spell on his room that make the illusion of everything being upside down. James had 'fell' from his bed when he got up and had a bump to prove it. James, Sirius and Remus had tried to get her back, but without the aide of magic, they didn't have much to fall back on.

    James was right about one thing, though, Olivia had wanted a daughter. And since she hadn't had one, she delighted in Lily. Not that Lily didn't spend time with James, Sirius and Remus--but it was also fun to sit and talk to Olivia. She was great to be around, not at all like Lily would have pictured James' mother.

    On Friday afternoon Peter arrived. The four Marauders at once started making lists of pranks to be pulled at school; at any time you would see them huddled over a piece of parchment or flipping through a book. Lily couldn't help but laugh and go on with them about some of their more far fetched ideas, even if they would be impossible.

    After a late dinner Friday night Olivia ushered them all off to bed, because they were getting up early to go to Diagon Alley the next day.

    Saturday morning came very quickly. Lily had a suspicion that the bed might have sleeping charms on it, because she knew she had never slept that sound in her life. At a little past eight the door to her room was pushed open by Tator the house elf, carrying a tray of tea and toast.

    "Miss Lily, it is being time to get up," she called, sitting the tray down beside the bed. "Master says he is leaving in one half hour to go get the young masters school things."

    "I'm up," Lily yawned, sitting up. "Is James up yet?"

    Tator made a face that caused Lily to giggle. "Tator is telling him to get up, but Master's son, he doesn't listen to Tator."

    Lily nodded, taking a bite of her toast. "Tator," she said suddenly, curious. "How long have you been with the Potters?"

    The house elf pulled herself up taller. "Tator was born here at Potter Manor, Miss Lily. My great grand mum, she did serve Master's father. My mother, she is served Master and I, I tries to serve Master's son. Tator knows Master's son makes mischief, Miss Lily, but Tator tries."

    "Remarkable," Lily said, taking a sip of her tea. "I was under the impression that house elves couldn't talk bad about their masters."

    "Only if the masters says no. And Tator, she has the best masters in the world, Miss Lily. And Master and Master's son, they knows Tator loves her family. They knows Tator is a good house elf."

    Lily nodded in agreement. Very suddenly Tator whipped her head about, staring at the bedroom door. Lily stared, open mouthed, as Tator snapped her finger and the door flung open, James, Sirius, Peter and Remus falling through it. The four crashed, tangling themselves up in what looked like a giant pile of legs, arms and different colored hair.

    "Ow! Sirius, you git, get off!"

    "Me? Dang--ow! That was my eye--!"

    "Ouch! That'll bruise!"

    "Move!"

    "You move!"

    "I told you first!"

    "JAMES!" Quite suddenly the four of them detangled, and quickly, Sirius panting and standing a good four feet from the others. His face was beet red and he was gasping for air.

    "Don't - EVER - touch me there again!"

    Lily was nearly on the floor in laughter. Tator had her arms crossed over her chest and was glaring at all four of the boys. "Oooh, Master James, you is getting in trouble early today."

    James, who was already red faced, grinned quirkily at her. "Sorry Tator."

    Tator shook her head dejectedly, staring at all four boys who suddenly had the most sincere looks of apology on their faces that even Lily was impressed. They lined up, heads hanging and looked at Tator through doe eyes. The house self threw her hands up in the air, exasperated. "You is better getting clothes on," she warned. "Tator is not going to tell Master you is not ready when he calls." And with that, she walked out of the room.

    James grinned. "Merlin, but it's fun to annoy her."

    "How'd she do that, anyways?" Lily wondered aloud, putting the lid back on her tray now that she was finished with her breakfast.

    "What? Open the door?" James asked, waving a hand. "Oh, house elves have very powerful magic. Mum and Dad let Tator, Binkie and Latt use theirs, too. Most wizards don't let them use their magic for anything but seeing to the house. But as our house elves are practically part of the family, Dad lets them do whatever."

    "She's stern," Lily commented, opening her trunk to look for jeans.

    "Naw," James retorted, smirking. "Anyways, we'll be going to get ready now." And with that he walked out of the room, Sirius, Remus and Peter tagging along behind him.

    Lily shut the bedroom door before going into the adjoining bath to shower and get dressed.

    Twenty minutes later everyone made it into the living room, dressed and ready to go. Lily snapped her cloak at the neck and tugged on her shirt nervously. They were going by Floo Powder, which was definitely not Lily's favorite way to travel. She would be traveling alone today, as she couldn't quite bring herself to show up in the Leaky Cauldron's fireplace so close to James that she could hear his heart beat.

    Biting her lip so hard she could taste blood, she took a handful of Floo Powder and threw it into the fireplace after Sirius and Remus. With a deep breath she stepped in, shouted "Diagon Alley!" and prayed it would be over soon.

    With the dreaded trip to Diagon Alley over, they were free to have fun. First off they headed to Gringotts to get money. Once everyone's money bags were full, they stepped out into the warm August sun. "Ok, I have to get a few things for Olivia," Mr. Potter told them. "So you kids run along and get what you need and we'll meet up in the Leaky Cauldron for lunch about two, ok?"

    All five of them nodded and headed off in the opposite way of Mr. Potter. "Where to first?" James asked, eyeing Quality Quidditch Supplies with an almost hungry look.

    "How about we get our school stuff and get that over with?" Lily suggested. Her response was four groans.

    "How about we get our school stuff last and get prank supplies first?" Sirius retorted, heading towards Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop without so much as waiting for a response.

    All four of the Marauder's first purchase was a bottomless bag to store all of their prank supplies in. Lily, having never seen one before, was fascinated to no ends and ended up buying one for herself as well. From there they bought a huge supply of dung bombs, two jars of Skay's Skaley Skin (one in sea green, one in violent orange), Filibuster's No-Heat Wet-Start Fireworks, and a variety of other products that Lily had never heard of. There was harmless potions that caused the drinker to do a number of silly things, from breaking out in song to speaking backwards for an hour.

    They left the joke shop and Lily drug them next door to Flourish and Blotts to buy school books. Sirius sulked about this until he stumbled across a book labeled One Thousand and One Original Pranks. Grinning like a Cheshire cat, he put the book in his bag.

    "I just don't know!" an old man who worked at the store was telling a woman who looked ready to pounce him. "You can look, if you like, but we haven't been able to find them. Honestly! The Invisible Book of Invisibility! Cost a fortune, those books did, and I can't find them anywhere!"

    Lily thought this extremely funny and was having a hard time keeping herself from laughing. "Ooh, look here!" James suddenly said, picking up a book entitled What To Do When You Know the Worst is Coming. He flipped through it, showing Remus pictures of large dogs called a Grim and other end of the world signs. Lily rolled her eyes, but Peter looked truly frightened and refused to look when James found a page with a hooded black figure bearing down with a pitch fork.

    Finally they managed to gather all their school books and stuffed them in their bottomless bags. "Can we please go to Quality Quidditch Supplies now? Please?" James pleaded, rather loudly, walking backwards in front of Lily so as to look at her with his eyes huge.

    "Oh, ok, then," Lily finally gave in after she found that James wasn't going to quit. Not only was he not going to stop pleading, but Sirius and Remus had started mimicking him. So far they had ran into several wizards and Sirius fell over a barrel of owl treats outside the Magical Menagerie.

    The year before Lily hadn't gone into the Quidditch store, having left before they got there. But it seemed that she wouldn't get to enjoy it today. The shop was crowded with witches and wizards of all ages. It was so crowded, in fact, that they had a hard time taking a step forward without bumping into someone. Twice someone stepped on Lily's foot and a tall man elbowed Peter in the face.

    "What is going on? Why is it so crowded?" Sirius mumbled, pushing his way towards the wall.

    They all managed to slide against the wall, which was a feat indeed, so that no one was pushing and shoving them. A wizard in front of them moved and Lily could make out a banner hanging on the far wall. "Oh," she said, pointing. "It says Ludo Bagman is signing autographs toda--"

    "WHAT? Where?!" James demanded, trying to push himself up on Sirius' back so he could see better. "He's here? Really?"

    "Ow! James, I'm not a stepping stone!" Peter grumbled.

    "Who's Ludo Bagman?" Lily asked, looking confused.

    "He's only the best beater the Wimbourne Wasps has ever had! He's great!" Sirius exclaimed, also trying to see over the heads of the witches and wizards crowded into the store. "Dang! We'll never see him from here!"

    "The Wimbourne Wasps?" Lily muttered to Remus.

    "England's team," he replied knowingly, although not nearly as excited as Sirius and James seemed to be. Remus always was the calmer of the four.

    "This isn't going to work, I can't see a thing!" James grumbled, still trying to use Peter as a stepping stool.

    After a few minutes of trying to push and prod their way to the back of the shop, they admitted defeat and headed towards the exit. Sirius looked as thought they had canceled Christmas and James was no better. Peter looked as if he didn't care and Remus so far had been quiet.

    They headed into the Apothecary to get potion ingredients and from there went to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, as, believe it or not, Sirius and James had grown even more over the summer. When Lily stopped in the Magical Menagerie to buy owl treats and a larger cage for Morgana, someone suddenly shouted her name.

    "Over here! Lily!"

    Kathleen and Gabrielle Watkins were standing a few feet away. They were identical twins, also in Gryffindor and Lily's year. Both looked extremely tanned and their brown hair was sun bleached. Kathleen had on robes of coral while Gabrielle wore sea green, both, as usual, had their hair pulled back the same way so that it was rather hard to tell them apart. Lily, however, shared a room with them all last year and could easily tell the difference.

    "We are so sorry we didn't call," Kathleen was saying, her hands moving around as she spoke. "Some old bloke came by giving us this weird look because we were trying to stick a sickle in the telly phoney." She shook her head sadly.

    "We'll have to take Muggle Studies next year, and then we'll give it another go," Gabrielle finished.

    "Don't worry about it," Lily laughed, a mental picture of them trying to stick a piece of silver about three times too big into a telephone coming to mind. "So, what are you buying?" she asked.

    "Oh, Mum said we could buy an animal," Gabrielle explained. "So we thought about getting kittens."

    "Oh, how cute!" Lily exclaimed, noticing for the first time a large glass play area with about twenty kittens in it. There was every color imaginable.

    "Or maybe an owl? They're dead useful," Kathleen was saying, but Gabrielle looked doubtful.

    "Well, I better get going," Lily said, seeing Sirius prodding a box of rats with his wand a few feet away. Obviously he was bored, and a bored Sirius meant trouble for sure. "See you at school!" Lily called as Remus dragged Sirius away.

    He was too late, though, as suddenly the rats in the box turned an array of pastel colors. A plump witch behind the counter started shrieking at Sirius and they left quickly, her shouting following them out the door.

    From the corner of her eye, Lily seen the witch coming out from behind the counter, pulling our her wand. "Eh- run!" Lily shouted and the five of them took off running down the cobble walkway, dodging past witches and wizards.

    They finally got far enough away that they felt safe and stopped to catch their breath between laughing. Sirius was almost beside himself. "Did you see her face when they started turning pink and blue?"

    "We have to be sure to avoid that shop the rest of the day," Remus advised, laughing.

    "Remind me not to leave you alone with any pets of mine," Peter wheezed.

    At two o'clock, all of their school supplies in their bottomless bags, the five of them made their way back to the Leaky Cauldron to meet Mr. Potter.

    They had an enjoyable lunch and was joined by Tom the bartender, who was a friend of Mr. Potter's. They got in a heated discussion about the Dark Lord, Voldemort, and the best way to stop him ("Let the punishment fit the crime, I say," Tom said firmly. "Use the killing curse and be done with it.") and when Mr. Potter asked how their day had been, they conventionally left out the part about the different colored rats.


I hope you all enjoyed this chapter -- I know it's a little boring right now, but school starts back up next chapter, mayham caused by a certain four marauder's ensue, and some dark activity close to the school causes some problems.

HUGE thanks to everyone who reviews *huggles her reviews, nearly cutting off their air supply* ^^; There is nothing like sitting down to write a story that someone is actually reading. It really does matter to me what you all think, so please take a moment to let me know your thoughts. Just know that if you have bad stuff to say, my grandma claims to be a witch since the last time she wished something bad would happen to someone... it did. ^^;;; I swear she doesn't read Harry Potter.

Read? Review! Because I stink at reading minds! <3 Bethany