- Rating:
- PG
- House:
- Schnoogle
- Characters:
- James Potter Lily Evans
- Genres:
- Action Romance
- Era:
- Multiple Eras
- Stats:
-
Published: 06/07/2003Updated: 01/08/2013Words: 389,988Chapters: 59Hits: 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 10
- Posted:
- 07/03/2003
- Hits:
- 1,704
- Author's Note:
- Continueing the honor; may I present a few quotes from this chapter that will hopefully spark your interest?
Chapter 10 - Swapping Secrets
James awoke abruptly in the middle of the night, blinking around in confusion. He had fallen asleep in the informatory, in a chair beside the bed where Lily slept on peacefully. The invisibility cloak had half fallen off his body, exposing his head and torso. Looking around quickly he slid it off his body and stood up. His back and neck popped noisily, making him groan. Lily slept on, oblivious, as James came up to the bed and watched her sleep. Her red hair had fanned out around her face, and her piercing green eyes were shut in peace. There was a strange aching in James' chest that he didn't understand. In all his twelve years he had never looked at a member of the opposite sex and felt this overwhelming concern, except for his mother. But he felt it now, and all he could think of is that perhaps it was because she was such a good friend. Yes, that had to be it. He would feel the same if that was Sirius, Remus or Peter laying there, right? Lily stirred slightly and James draped the invisibility cloak around his body again. Touching her hand briefly, he left the informatory and headed up to the Gryffindor tower. He had no more creaked the door open to the room he shared with Remus, Sirius and Peter than a giant wind blew his invisibility cloak off. Before he could gather it back up, three voices muttered "Lumos!" and a light bathed the room. James' three best friends stared at him. "Where have you been?" Sirius pounced, stepping forward. He raised his hands, waving them around slightly. "We were worried when you didn't come back from the kitchens." "I got lost?" James said meekly, blushing slightly. Though he could hardly phantom why he was blushing. "Sirius, calm down, you're not his mother," Remus said lightly, putting a hand on his taller friend's shoulder. "So where were you?" Peter piped up, ignoring Sirius as he fell backwards onto his bed dramatically (as only Sirius can do), feet sticking straight up. "We looked for you for a while, but nearly got caught by that stupid poltergeist and came back." James chanced a glance around the room, but it was no use, he had no one to run to and his friends wanted answers. Swallowing hard, he scratched the back of his neck. "Er--the informatory?" It took a moment for the absurdity of this statement to work through the three boys minds. Then Sirius sat up on the bed again. "Hmm... let's see; kitchen is downstairs. Informatory, upstairs, top of a tower," he nodded vaguely. "You sure as hell was lost." "Even I don't get that lost," Peter mumbled. Remus slapped him lightly on the back. "It's ok, Pete. Anyone could confuse Transfiguration and Potions. McGonagall just didn't have her sense of amusement in check that day." Peter nodded, grimacing at the memory. Sirius was still looking at James, a look of realization dawning on his features. "Lily..." he muttered. Remus and Peter looked up, interested. "She's in the hospital wing. I heard Kassie telling Alexis. You went to see her, didn't you?" Sirius accused. "Eh-" James blanched. "Do you like her or something?" "NO!" James bellowed, slightly louder than he intended. His face turned red and Sirius jumped off his bed. "James, how could you--!" "Wait a minute!" the addressed yelled. "--and not even--" "I'm only twelve!" James continued, oblivious to Sirius' ranting. "--not even asked me--" "--not interested in girls--" "--and didn't ask me to be the best man!" Sirius concluded, looking highly offended. James stopped short, his mouth opened dumbly. James barely heard Remus and Peter laughing. He sat heavily on his bed, watching Sirius pretend to sob about the cruelty of life in the world out of the corner of his eye. He shook his head dejectedly. His best friend was mental. * * The bright sunlight nearly blinded Lily as she awoke the next morning. As quickly as she could, to avoid the potions that the nurse would surely pour down her throat, Lily dressed and straightened her hair. She looked horrible, she knew, and vowed to run up to her room to dress properly after visiting Dumbledore. Finding Dumbledore would be harder than first thought, however. Lily had never been to his office before and the only people she knew that has visited it quite often was one of the Marauders. As it was entirely too early to find one of them running amuck, she instead made her way to the staff room. "Miss Evans, where are you going?" a sharp voice said behind her. Turning abruptly, Lily found Professor Kittle turning the corner, his cane snapping against the stone floor as he walked. "Eh--I was suppose to see the Headmaster, but I don't know how to get to his office." Kittle studied her for a moment, as if trying to decide if she was lying or not. Satisfied she wasn't, he jerked his head to the hall he had come out of. "Follow me, Miss Evans." Lily wished a hundred times over she could have ran into any other teacher beside Kittle; he gave her the creeps. She would have almost settled for Professor Walsh, the Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House. Almost. Kittle lead her down two more halls before coming to an abrupt halt in front of a gargoyle. Lily looked around, thinking the old man just might be off his rocker yet, when he said; "Bertie Bott's Beans," and the gargoyle jumped aside. "Up you go, Miss Evans," he muttered before leaving her to stand there. Lily looked up a long tunnel that surely lead to the Headmaster's office and climbed the steps. When she reached the top, a large wooden door stood before her and she opened it slowly. "Please come on in, Miss Evans," Professor Dumbledore said as Lily peeked around. She pushed the door open a little further and was surprised to see Kassie sitting in a chair before the Headmaster's desk. "I hope you don't mind that I asked Miss Phillips to join us." "Oh," Lily said as she sat down. "No, not at all." Lily quickly took the seat next to Kassie, nervously twisting her hands in her lap. Kassie gave her a smile that was meant to reassure, but Lily was still too frightened about what happened the night before to take any comfort from it. "Now, I'm sure you are wondering what happened last night," Dumbledore said wisely, looking at Lily through his half moon glasses. "I perhaps should have told you this sooner, but alas, with other things..." he waved his hand in the air. "As you know, Lily, your great grandmother was a witch. She was in her fourth year when I began teaching. And quite a remarkable witch she was, too. In fact, I've seen only three others that rivaled her powers. One was a young man who attended school here ten years ago, the other is a student at this school now, as well as you." Lily felt her breath catch in her throat, and try as she might, she couldn't push it out. Kassie reached over, squeezing her hand gently, but Lily barely acknowledged it. "This power presents itself in males as a strong serge, so to speak. Making the wizard one of the most powerful there is. In females, it presents itself differently. Not to say you aren't a very powerful witch. But it seems, Lily, to have manifested itself in visions, as well." Lily prided herself on being smart, but what the Headmaster was telling her made little sense to her befuddled mind. "I'm sorry, Professor, but I don't see..." "You're a Seer, Lily," Kassie told her, as if it was the best thing in the world. "A what...?" "A Seer," Dumbledore said, smiling kindly. "What you had last night was a vision. A very real one, that, unfortunately, came true about five o'clock this morning." "Came true?" Lily whispered, one hand clutching her neck as the other dug into the chair arm. Kassie was no longer smiling. "I'm afraid so," Dumbledore replied, pulling out a copy of today’s Daily Prophet and showing them. A picture on the front showed a large green skeleton head with a snake protruding out of the mouth hanging in mid-air over a house that was burning. Lily inhaled sharply, tears filling her eyes. It was the same scene she seen last night while staring into the fire. "Did the people...?" "No," the Headmaster answered. "No survivors." Lily gasped. One of her nails broke on the hand that she was gripping the chair with. She tried to speak, but the words just wouldn't leave her throat. Dumbledore put the paper down. "The Aurors arrived only a few minutes too late. But we can change that," he continued, leaning forward. "Now that you've had your first vision, more will follow. With any luck, we'll be able to pin point time and place, and be able to save lives. "That is why I have also asked Kassie to join us. She, too, has shown signs of a Seer and has developed them nicely. One of the reasons I insisted that she begin school this year was to help you." Lily listened as Dumbledore explained to them both the sessions they would start attending with Professor Trelawney three times a week. The bell signaling the end of second class rang and Professor Dumbledore stood. "Please feel free to seek me out if you have any concerns." He studied the two girls for a moment over the top rim of his glasses. "I trust that neither of you will tell anyone of your... abilities, unless it is necessary." Both nodded, thanked him and left his office. Lily walked silently next to Kassie as they descended the steps and emerged from behind the gargoyle. There was a few first years running past, heading for the Great Hall, but no one said anything to them. "Are you hungry?" Kassie asked, chancing a sideways look at Lily. The red head hadn't muttered a word since leaving Dumbledore's office. Lily couldn't bring herself to feel moderately hungry at the moment, though just before going to Dumbledore's office, she could have ate an elephant. "I-I think I'm going to take a quick shower before classes." "Professor Dumbledore said that we didn't have to attend classes if we didn't want to. Are you sure you want to go?" "I have Charms, I don't want to miss it," Lily replied, turning and heading up the stair case that lead to Gryffindor Tower. Kassie stood at the entrance to the Great Hall for a moment, watching Lily worriedly as she hurried up the steps. Lily practically ran up the remaining stairs and to the portrait hole. The Fat Lady survived her reproachfully as she stopped to catch her breath. "Pixie Dust," Lily said between gasps of breath. The portrait door came open and Lily climbed inside. It took ten minutes under the steaming water for Lily to feel like she could breathe properly. Her head was jammed with things that began with "How?" and ended with reliving the vision she had last night. And trying to cope with the fact that it came true; a family actually died like that. And that is when the tears came. She slid down the shower wall, burying her face in her hands. By the time she got out, she didn't feel like going to classes. So instead she pulled on a pair of jeans and a shirt and laid down on her bed, just to rest her eyes for a moment. * * "Lily, wake up." Lily could hear someone talking to her, and tried to respond, but dragging up the energy to do so was another matter all together. She felt very drugged and her head heavy. "Lily?" Slowly she opened her eyes, blinking back the blurriness of her vision. Kassie was sitting on the side of her bed, a look of deep concern on her face. "Are you ok?" "I will be, eventually," Lily muttered, turning over on her side so she could face Kassie. The dark haired girl stood up to give Lily room and sat down on the bed adjacent to her. "When you weren't in Charms, I came looking for you..." "Oh no," Lily mumbled into her pillow, burring her face for a moment. "I missed Charms. Was Professor Flitwick mad?" "No," Kassie answered immediately, drawing her feet up to sit cross legged. "He let me leave to come fetch you, if you wanted to come to class. But you don't have to." Lily nodded, but said nothing. She found herself studying Kassie in a new light now. Kassie with her long, straight black hair and violet eyes that seemed all knowing. Much more than even Lily had given her credit for. And then some of this years events began to click into place. "That's how you knew about the desserts at the Welcoming Feast?" It wasn't really a question, but Kassie nodded all the same, knowing what Lily was talking about. She had Seen everyone getting sick, and had managed to warn all but Peter. At that thought, Kassie's eyes darkened. "Lily, that reminds me. I need to speak with you about something." Curiously, Lily sat up, pulling a pillow into her lap. Kassie looked slightly nervous, as if she didn't know where to begin. "I know that you have been practicing defense spells with Peter," she blurted. Lily looked startled. "And you don't need to do it anymore." "Why?" Kassie had known that Lily would ask that, but she still hadn't worked out a good answer. She couldn't very well say that Lily would one day regret teaching Peter to be a good dueler. No, some visions were best kept to herself. Perhaps she could even change this one... "He'll hurt you. Not meaning to, of course." "Oh," Lily muttered. "He is pretty bad at some spells, but he'll hurt me?" More than you know, Kassie thought sadly. "Yeah, a spell gone wrong. And you will be alone, he won't know the counter curse..." "Right," Lily replied. And then: "Did you See us?" "Em--yeah. I actually had that vision, and went looking to tell you about it, and found you and Peter in the common room, discussing a place to meet..." "Oh." "I didn't mean to ease drop." "It's ok," Lily assured her, laying on her side again. "Kassie, why are you here?" The dark haired girl didn't seem to want to answer that right away. She messed with a piece of her hair for a moment, her eyes averting Lily's. "My Mum wanted to home school me because I'm a Seer. It wasn't because she was sick, though I did end up practically raising my brothers and sisters. I received my letter from Hogwarts like everyone else, but my Mum wrote them back, explaining why she wanted to keep me home. She was afraid that being with so many children would cloud my Eye, and without the extra money..." "Money from what?" Lily asked, not really meaning to. Kassie didn't look like it bothered her, though. "Well, my Mum set up a Muggle Fortune Telling booth not far from our home. I tell these people a little of what I See for them, mostly the happy things, and they give us money. "But then Professor Dumbledore came last summer and spoke with my Mum and I about attending Hogwarts. He said that there was someone he would like me to help out with. But I swear, I had no idea it was you when I got on the train." Lily lapsed into silence after that, staring at the top of her four poster bed in deep thought. She felt like she was being swept up in a giant tidal wave, and against her own will, it would carry her out to where ever it wanted her. * * December slipped by after that, and Lily had no more visions. Which wasn't exactly a sore spot for her. Her and Kassie was attending classes with Professor Trelawney in the top of the North Tower, but Lily could tell by one sitting that this class wouldn't do her all that much good. After a particularly bad lesson, in which the crazed woman had told Lily she would die before reaching her twenty first birthday, Lily was ready to quit. "She's mental!" Lily exclaimed loudly as her and Kassie descended the stairs to head to dinner. "How could Professor Dumbledore ever think spending time with her would help us?" "She used to be very good," Kassie explained. "Someone told me about it, but I don't remember who. Anyways, she predicted something big, but it didn't come to pass. So she was discredited. But everyone has a right to be wrong every now and then. Look how wrong I was about the desserts. I had everyone getting sick, not just Peter." Kassie shrugged and Lily adjusted her bag on her shoulder. "I wonder what the vision was about?" "No idea," Kassie replied, not looking nearly as interested in it as Lily was. "Hey!" Lily and Kassie both jumped, the former nearly falling over the step behind her and falling. Kassie grabbed Lily to bring her upright, and Lily brought her wand out. "James Potter, I'm going to hex you into next week!" James grinned sheepishly at them, looking apologetic. "Sorry. I was looking for Lily. Can I borrow her?" he asked Kassie. "Um-" "Thanks!" James grinned, grabbing Lily's arm and dragging her off. They got three halls away before James said anything, though he was still holding Lily's arm, dragging her along at times. When he finally stopped, Lily raised an eyebrow, clearly not amused. James, again looking sincerely sorry, though the implications were not lost on Lily who had seen this face before, gave Lily a tight lipped grin. "Sorry about that, I couldn't think of any plausible excuse to talk to you alone." "About?" Lily prompted when James began studying something over her left shoulder intently. For someone who usually had one witty remark after another flying out of his mouth, James Potter seemed unusually quiet at that moment. Finally Lily seen something she was sure no one else in Hogwarts had ever witnessed. James blushed. "I was wondering if you were ok. I mean, after--" he waved his hand in the air like he was trying to clear away smoke. "I hadn't got a chance to talk to you since then, you've been oddly attached to Kassie at the hip." "Oh," was all Lily said. She had nearly forgotten James had been with her that night. She opened her mouth to tell him, but shut it again quickly. Professor Dumbledore had asked her not to tell anyone unless necessary. But James wouldn't tell anyone, right? Well, anyone save Remus, Sirius and Peter. All four of the Marauders knowing didn't strike her fancy. "I-" Again she shut her mouth. This was James, he would understand and not mention it, right? Lily actually wanted to tell him, get someone else's view of her situation. Kassie thought it was great that she wasn't the only Seer in the school, and Lily wasn't sure she agreed with her friend's biased opinion. The red head sighed, leaning against the wall. James was still watching her, patiently waiting for her to say something. She opened her mouth a third time, but she had no more begun to speak when two students turned the corner and came down the hall. They eyed her and James for a moment, but didn't stop. Lily shook her head. "Is there somewhere private we can go?" James took on a look of pure bliss. "Lily! I didn't know you liked me that way!" he announced, his eyes twinkling. Lily felt like hexing him again. "James Potter, I'm serious!" Again, not the reaction she expected: he looked stunned. "You are? Sirius, that's you under all that red hair? I had no idea!" Lily couldn't help herself, she giggled, though she meant to tell him off. Suddenly, though, his face broke into a wide grin. "Sorry Lil, I just wanted to see you smile. You know laughter can cure almost everything that Madam Pomfrey can't, right?" Actually, she did feel better. Which was unexpected at best. "So do you?" "Do I what?" "Know somewhere we can go and not be over heard?" "Sure." Lily stood there expectantly, James staring at her. "Well?" she demanded. "Oh! You wanted me to take you there? You should have said so!" And off he marched, leaving Lily to lag behind him, shaking her head. They climbed up two sets of stairs, went behind a drape that turned out to be covering a hidden doorway, and up another set of steps. When Lily was sure she would fall over from the stinging pain in her legs, James stopped in front of a wall and held his wand out. "Recludo!" Lily watched, transfixed, as the wall moved forward as if on hinges and slid to the side. Beyond it was a dark hall. "Lumos!" James commanded and his wand tip lit, casting a pale yellow light in the hall. "Just a little further," he told her, not turning to face her, but walking ahead. "Lumos," Lily said, following his lead and lighting her own wand tip. Only a few short moments later and Lily was staring out of a window to a tower that she hadn't seen before. From what she could tell, it was situated in the middle of the castle. The view wasn't any good, all she could see was the roof of the castle and a couple of towers. "This private enough for you?" James asked, sliding down the wall and sitting crossed legged on the stone floor, grinning. "Very much so," Lily replied, also sitting down. "Now, before I start, you have to promise me something." "That depends on what it is," James replied instantly. "You can not repeat what I say to another living soul, not even Sirius, Remus and Peter." James looked at her for a moment, trying to decide if she was being serious or not. From the look on her face, she was. "Ok," he answered finally. "You promise?" "I promise," James said, holding up his left hand, looking entirely too serious for Lily's liking. She sighed. "Ok, here goes..." She told him about everything that had been said in Dumbledore's office, about Kassie also being a Seer, and even about the lessons she had been taking with Trelawney. When she finished, she felt oddly better. James gave a low whistle. "Well, that explains a lot..." he mumbled, staring hard at her. "And that is also mildly interesting." "Come again?" Lily muttered, confused. "Dumbledore told you that he had only known three people since your grand mum that was so powerful. Did he tell you who they are?" Lily shook her head. She hadn't even realized he hadn't told her, so caught up had she been in finding out she was a Seer. James ran his hand through his hair distractedly. "One of them was a boy by the name of Tom Riddle. Prefect, Head Boy, had a whole list of bloody awards for this or that behind him. Know what he goes by now a days?" Again Lily shook her head, her heart beat picking up pace. "Voldemort," James spat, a hatred like Lily hadn't seen before rising in his eyes. They sat in silence for a moment, a question burning in Lily's mind that she finally pushed out of her mouth: "Who is the other person?" James stared blankly at her for a moment before running his hand through his hair again. The result was that it stuck up in even more places than usual, but he didn't seem to know or care. "Me." Funny how that one word could make Lily's mind explode in a thousand questions, and her heart skip a beat. Sure, she had always known that James was smart, but...? "How long have you known?" "Oh, since I was about eight, I suppose," James said in an off handed way, trying to grin. "Think about it, Lily, if you and I were to have a kid, they would be the strongest witch or wizard since the Hogwarts four." Lily raised an eyebrow. "How can you think of stuff like that at a time like this?" "I'm talented?" James quipped, a ghost of a grin lighting up his features. Lily stood up, picking her bag up. The sun was setting beyond the castle and her stomach was reminding her it was dinner time. "I suppose we better go." James nodded, taking out his wand and tapping the wall that at once began to move. "Hey Lily?" "Yeah?" "Thanks for telling me." Lily turned, flashing a brief smile. "Thanks for telling me." * * A week later, Lily had a hard time believing she was looking at one of the most powerful wizards of their time. Of course, it was hard to tell if he would live to be a legal wizard by the look on McGonagall's face. Granted, it was even harder to tell if any of the Marauder's would live, given the amount of Sheppard’s pie all over the Great Hall. They had started a food fight. Lily climbed back in her seat, having taken refuge under the table, like half of the girls had done. Professor McGonagall was either really mad, or someone had tried to transfigure her into an angry chicken. She pointed a long finger at the door to the Great Hall and all four boys got into a straight line and filed out, their Head of House on their heels. Professor Dumbledore, who had watched the events with a rather amused smile, stood up. "If everyone who was not hiding under the tables would be so kind as to clean up the Hall, I think we can draw a close to this rather... interesting meal." He started to sit down, but two fourth year Slytherins caught his eye. "And I do know who was under those tables," he added, giving them a stern look over the rim of his half moon glasses. Both of them came back in the room, taking their wands out. "Come on," Kassie muttered, nodding her head towards the door. "It may take me a week to get all this pie out of my hair." Lily couldn't help but giggle. "Bet you didn't See that coming, huh?" Kassie gave Lily a devilish grin and started up the stairs. "Says who?" Lily just rolled her eyes, smiling a little as she rushed up the remaining stairs to the portrait hole. "Oh great!" Lily grumbled, angry. "Looks like the Fat Lady is off visiting and we're locked out of the Common Room." "Ugh!" Kassie moaned, pulling a piece of her hair up that dripped with pie. "Now what?" Lily shrugged, leaning against the wall. "Dunno, I suppose we wait." "For what?" another voice asked. Alexis came around the corner, Madison just behind her. She noted the Fat Lady was gone and shook her head. "Do you know that makes the third time this week she's been gone?" "Well, it's got to be terribly boring, being a painting, hasn't it?" Lily asked, sliding down the wall and sitting on the floor. Kassie sat beside her, still eyeing the blank canvas with obvious spite. Alexis and Madison sat across from them, pulling out a pack of Exploding Snap cards. "Fancy a game?" Alexis asked, grinning. Not many in the Gryffindor House could claim to have beaten her, which was a sore spot with almost everyone, especially Sirius. "Naw," Kassie muttered darkly, pulling out her charms book. "I wonder if there is a charm to get this stuff out of my hair?" Lily pondered this for a moment, watching Alexis and Madison start playing a game and Kassie flipping through her book. Suddenly an idea came to her. "What about the Deletrius?" "What if you disincarnate my hair?" Kassie retorted. "I think I could make it work," Lily stated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Trust me on this one." Kassie, looking like she'd rather not, but not having an alternative, nodded. Lily took out her wand, concentrated really hard on making the pie (and only the pie) disincarnate from Kassie's hair, and said; "Deletrius!" There was a flash of light and then instantly the pie was gone from Kassie's hair. Smiling, Kassie hugged Lily around the neck. "Thanks!" "What was that?" a stern voice shrieked. All four girls looked up as Professor McGonagall came up the steps, her face flushed. "Miss Evans, I'm quite sure that you are aware of our rules: No magic in the corridors between classes!" "I'm sorry Professor, but you see Kassie had pie in her hair," At this McGonagall looked twice as angry. "And we can't get in the common room." "Where is the Fat Lady?" "We don't know," Kassie replied, pointing at the blank canvas. "She was gone when we got here." "Indeed," McGonagall huffed, giving the portrait a once over. "Very well, I shall find the Fat Lady. Miss Evans, you will come with me." Lily, giving a worried look at the three girls she was leaving behind, followed her Head of House.
That's an odd place to leave off, isn't it? Sorry! At the time I wrote it, I couldn't think anymore and needed the fresh outlook of a new chapter. HUGE Thank You to my reviewers! *huggles* By the way, I'm sorry if the "gay" comment offended anyone in the last chapter. I meant abolutely nothing more by it that what it was: a joke to completely throw Lily and Kassie. If anyone read more into that, please don't. I really didn't mean anything. About Lily: Yes, as you can probably tell from this chapter, I had (before I read OotP, but since this story line came before that, it's ok) ideas that Harry didn't just start getting visions. He inherited them in a way. And since I actually have this story written up to chapter 15 (and some later chapters already in the works: ex. when Lily goes in labor ((promises to be very funny :D)) I'm sticking with the story line I have, and as promised, not letting OotP influence my work. <3 Bethany 07.02.03