Lily Evans: A History

Lily Evans, A History
Chapter 21 - Land of Lies
By: Bethany
Rated: PG
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The Hogwarts Express came to a slow crawl and finally stopped completely at Platform nine and three quarters. The winter sun played through the window, shining off the snow that covered the ground and lighting up small areas of the compartment. As the train rolled to a stop, the sun disappeared, only to be replaced by a grand view of a brick wall. The whistle blew, the engine halted and the noise level increased by double. All the while Lily Evans didn't move from her position next to the window.

The occupants of the train all rushed out to the corridor, eager to see their families and return home for the holidays. Eager voices drifted through the corridors, excited squeals and laughter. The sound of cats, toads, owls and other animals filled the compartment that Lily sat in, staring out the window to the crowded Platform beyond.

She sighed.

It wasn't that she didn't want to see her parents, because she did. And a part of her wanted to be in the hustle and bustle of the jammed packed corridor, slowly making her way off the train, eager to be home for two weeks. But that small part was squished by a looming darkness that had settled over her since getting out of bed this morning.

For reasons Lily couldn't put her finger on, she suddenly had no desire to go home.

Across from her, still rooted firmly to her own seat, was Kassie. She gave Lily a puzzled look as the red head continued to stare out the window, showing no sign of getting up anytime soon. The crowd in the corridor thinned out and finally Lily spoke.

"I wonder what would happen if we didn't get off the train?"

The black haired girl raised an eyebrow, a quite comical look, had her friend chanced a glance her direction. "We'd get hungry."

"There's the food cart."

"True, but it wouldn't last two weeks."

Lily didn't seem to like that answer. She sulked further down in her seat, her eyes never leaving the platform. There she could see the Marauders greeting Olivia. A smile wanted to tug on her frowning lips. All of the boys treated Olivia like she was their mother, each of them kissing her cheek when they spotted her. Lily suddenly wished she was going home with them. She knew Olivia would be more than happy to have her.

"Ladies, it's time to get off the train," a man at the door said. Lily guessed him to be the conductor from the clothes he wore. "Come on. Holidays and all that. Up you get." He didn't look any more excited than either Lily or Kassie.

With a deep sigh and a dull pain throbbing in her temple that warned of an impending headache, Lily gathered up her trunk and she and Kassie exited the train. The Platform was mostly clear now, leaving them plenty of room to cross the barrier into the Muggle platform at King's Cross.

"Lily! Lily, over here!"

Lily looked up and saw her mother rushing towards her. As soon as she was close enough, she gathered her youngest daughter into a hug, and then (to Kassie's complete surprise) yanked her close as well. "Oh, it's so good to see you. I'm so happy you've come home for the holidays." Christine pushed Lily's hair behind her and pulled lint from her travelling cloak. "And Kassie! Are you coming with us?"

Kassie gripped her trunk tighter and smiled. "No. But thank you for inviting me. I'm going to my aunt's house to be with my brothers and sisters." Kassie put on a brave sort of grin, but Lily knew better. Kassie had talked nothing of seeing her siblings again for the last week.

"Oh good, good," Christine muttered distractedly. "Come on, Lily, we should get to the car and get going now."

As Lily was dragged away by her rather over enthusiastic mother, she threw Kassie one last sad smile over her shoulder. Kassie watched her go with a sinking feeling of dread that nearly matched Lily's own.

* *

Christine Evans talked a blue streak from the moment they pulled out of King's Cross until they pulled in the drive. Lily looked up at the quiet house and down the roll of houses that looked almost identical to the one she grew up in. She didn't want to go in. But there was her mother, talking happily of the upcoming holiday, and how happy she was to have Lily home. Resigned, Lily pulled her trunk from the backseat, and walked in ahead of her mother.

The first thing that greeted her was Petunia's high pitched voice talking very quickly and excitedly. Lily peeked into the living room to find her older sister laying on the couch, a phone stuck to her ear as she gossiped away to which ever friend she hadn't informed of the latest. As soon as she spotted Lily, she sat up. "Oh, I'm sorry Gwen. My sister is home. Yes, yes, I agree. I'll call you back. Goodbye."

After cradling the phone, Petunia's face took on a well rehearsed sneer and she stood.

If anything, it seemed that Petunia had grown, again. Lily wondered when her sister would stop shooting up like a weed, she was already much taller than Lily, and taller than most of her friends. Her height did nothing but exaggerate her bony structure and horse like face. Lily pushed these thoughts away. "Hello, Petunia."

Petunia said nothing. Gathering up a few magazines, she stalked straight past Lily and up the stairs. Lily watched her go before exhaling deeply. "Happy Christmas to you, too," she muttered under her breath. Her temples began throbbing worse as she started up the stairs and to her room.

After leaving her trunk at the foot of her bed and shedding her travelling cloak, Lily went back down stairs. There were subtle differences in the house; and then not so subtle ones. The halls were indeed wider, to accommodate Daniel's wheelchair, a lift had been placed on the steps, making it possible for Daniel to travel up and down the stairs. Safety bars had been installed in the bathroom and tub. Lily hated to look at it.

Willing herself to ignore all the signs that her father would never walk again, Lily burst into the kitchen where her mother was sitting at the table, pouring over a pile of letters. When she saw Lily enter, she gathered them up quickly and stuffed them back in a large envelope. "Hello dear. Are you hungry? I was about to start dinner. What would you like?"

Lily eyed the envelope that her mother was hurriedly putting away, but was unable to figure out what it was. Christine wasn't sharing that information, either. "I thought about making chicken. Would that be ok?"

"Sure," Lily replied, opening the refrigerator in search of something to drink. "Where's Daddy?"

Christine's eyes clouded over with an emotion Lily couldn't put her finger on. It was gone quickly, though, and Christine smiled. "He's out back. We built a small green house." She sighed. "He spends a lot of time in there."

Lily poured herself a glass of milk. Then, without a thought in the world to what she was doing, took her wand out of her belt, and said, "Accio cloak!"

There was a faint scream from up the stairs, and Lily looked horror struck from the wand in her hand to the cloak that was now flying down the stairs. She caught it, barely, and bit her bottom lip hard. "Oh no... I wasn't suppose to do that. It's so hard to remember not to..."

Christine was listening worriedly, hoping that one simple spell wouldn't land her daughter in trouble. That thought was gone within the second. A large tawny owl had appeared at the back door, and gulping loudly, Lily allowed it in.

The letter was from the Ministry for Magic.

Lily tore it open, gnawing so hard on her bottom lip that she tasted blood.

Dear Ms. Evans,

We have received intelligence that a Summoning Charm was used at your
place of residence this evening at forty-five minutes past seven.

As you know, underage witches are not permitted to perform spells
outside of school, and further spell work on your part may lead to
expulsion from said school (Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of
Underage Sorcery, 1875, Paragraph C).

We would also ask you to remember that any magical activity that risks
notice by the members of the non-magical community (Muggles) is a
serious offense under section 13 of the International Confederation of
Warlocks' Statute of Secrecy.

Enjoy your holidays!

Yours sincerely,
Mafalda Hopkirk
IMPROPER USE OF MAGIC OFFICE
Ministry for Magic

Lily gulped audibly. Before she could open her mouth, however, Petunia came tearing down the stairs and into the kitchen, looking for all the world as if the fires of hell were chasing her. "YOU!" she screamed as soon as her eyes found Lily. "YOU!"

"Me?" Lily asked as innocently as she could muster. It took all she had not to laugh at her sister. As it was, despite the letter she held, she would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when Petunia saw her cloak go down the hall on it's own accord.

"Mum!" Petunia screeched, high pitched enough that Lily flinched and gave a worried glance to the glass she had poured her milk in. She waited for it to break.

"Now Petunia, don't get so--"

"Don't tell me not to get upset! Did you see what she did? It's just the sort of thing I was telli--"

"Petunia, that's enough."

Daniel Evans was at the doorway to the kitchen, a bouquet of freshly picked pink roses in his lap. He wheeled himself further in the room, staring Petunia down. She seemed to shrink under his intense gaze. "You will behave while under my roof, is that understood?"

Petunia looked as if she were deciding whether it would be worth the punishment to go ahead and finish her sentence. She must have decided against it, though, because with a huff she turned on her heel and marched up the stairs. As soon as she was out of sight Lily opened her mouth, but changed her mind when she saw the look her mother was giving her. Changing tracks, she smiled warmly. "Hi Daddy."

"Hi sweetheart," Daniel said, his voice much calmer now than it had been when speaking to Petunia. "Look what I found out in the green house." He picked up the bouquet and presented them to Lily, who's eyes sparkled. "And I thought, who could I give them to? And then I remembered, my beautiful baby girl loves roses."

Lily laughed despite herself. Inhaling the fragrance of the roses, she bent down and kissed Daniel's cheek. "Thank you Daddy."

"You're welcome angel."

There was a hiss towards the door. Lily turned to see Petunia standing just inside the hall, her long arms crossed over her chest. "I'm going out with Vernon." She turned, but then stopped before making it all the way around. "Vernon said yes, to Christmas dinner," she added and stalked out the front door.

Lily groaned inwardly. "There went a decent holiday meal," she muttered.

Christine threw her a half glance and went back to pulling the chicken out of the oven. "I suppose that makes it just us for dinner, then. Lily, will you set the table?"

Lily nodded, placing her roses in a vase that she sat in the center of the dinning room table. All the while wondering if Daniel had given Petunia any flowers from the green house.

She somehow didn't think so, and the thought didn't sit well with her at all.

****

On Christmas day Lily once more found herself setting the dining room table. For all the good it did. Ten minutes after she finished, Petunia was rearranging everything, re-folding napkins and doing her normal pre-dinner-with-Vernon fuss about everything in the house.

Lily tried to summon more patience than she felt. Ignoring the glare Petunia gave her as she came back in the dining room, Lily veered off and up the stairs. The presents she had received were still piled on her bed, where she left them. Her mother and father had bought her a jewelry set that included a necklace with a tear drop diamond, matching earrings, bracelet and ring. Gabrielle and Kathleen had sent her a bag of Honeyduke’s Best Chocolate; Alexis a small purse with an embroidered butterfly and Madison had gotten her a golden quill. Each had thanked her for their gifts, said a few words in a card about their holidays and left Lily feeling that she must have one of the most dysfunctional families in Britain.

Grabbing up her clothes, Lily went to shower and change for dinner. When she returned, there was another owl perched upon her window and Lily gave a sigh of relief. She bound over, took the parcel from the owl's leg and watched it soar off again into the evening sky. Ripping open the package, Lily read the letter first.

Dear Lily,

I'm so sorry I couldn't write back to you sooner! Morgana left after
delivering your letter, and my aunt's owl was delivering a present to
her friend in Scotland.

So everything is good here. I'm glad I came home this year, it's great
being with my brothers and sisters. I miss my Mum like crazy, but my
Aunt Wanda is being wonderful to us. I still want to come stay at your
house next summer, though. So we can make Petunia wish she had never
been born.

Thank you so much for the quill and parchment set. I'm not sure I'll
ever use it (because it's so pretty!) but it's wonderful! I hope you
like what I got you. It isn't much, but then again, I couldn't think of
what to get you.

Don't let Petunia make your life miserable! I'll see you in a week!

Love,
Kassie

Lily let the parchment spring back into a roll and picked up the package. She ripped it open and out fell a book entitled Everything You Never Wanted to Know About the Wizarding World. Lily rolled her eyes, but laughed. A note was also placed inside the front page.

There's some interesting facts on butterbeer! I just hope you still want to drink it after reading it!

Putting the book with her other presents, Lily began dressing, hoping that nothing would happen at dinner tonight that would spoil her good mood. But then again, things never did seem to work out for Lily the way she wanted them to.

**

Christmas dinner, before Lily began attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was usually a fun occasion. It was at least one night out of the year that her and Petunia seemed to get along. When everyone talked, laughed, and enjoyed each other's company. But since Lily had received her letter, she had not came home for Christmas.

And now she remembered why.

Petunia sat to her father's left, and Lily to his right. Beside Petunia sat Vernon Dursley, a large, beefy looking man that Lily never wanted to lay eyes on again. Much less have to eat Christmas dinner with. Her mother sat at the opposite end of the table, two seats down from Lily and one from Vernon. Since the fight that had broke out between Lily and Petunia (if one could call it that) the day that Lily had came home for the holidays, Petunia had ignored the entire family. The fact that they were even here together amazed Lily, who half expected Petunia to spend Christmas with Vernon's family. But the reason why Petunia had stayed home became clear soon enough.

Lily had just taken her first bite of a wonderful looking pudding when Petunia suddenly stood up. All eyes landed on her older sister and with a knot in her stomach, Lily saw Vernon nod her direction and give her what he probably thought was a comforting smile. Petunia didn't seem to take much comfort in it, however. She looked as if she might be looking for an escape route. Instead she gripped the napkin in her hand tightly and looked, not at either of their parents, but at Lily. "I have an announcement I would like to make."

Her hard hazel eyes bore into Lily, who refused to look away. They had a staring test of sorts, and finally (much to Lily's relief) Petunia looked down at her hands that were twisting before her. "Vernon has, err, asked me to marry him. And I've accepted."

There was a ringing silence after Petunia spoke. Lily was almost afraid to look at her father or mother, and Petunia had sat as suddenly as she stood, still staring at her twisting hands. Vernon reached his hand over and covered Petunia's, smiling at her fondly. Lily felt as though someone had thrown a bucket of ice water over her. Finally finding his voice, Daniel spoke; "Well. That certainly is... unexpected."

Lily looked up in time to see Christine shoot Daniel a reproachful look and plaster one of her fake smiles on that she usually reserved for business guests that she didn't much care for. Lily knew on the inside her Mum was just as much shocked by this announcement as the rest of them was. But she hid it well. "Congratulations Petunia, Vernon. When do you suspect you'll name a date?"

Petunia gave her mother a small, grateful smile and visibly relaxed just a fraction. Vernon, meanwhile, had decided to begin staring at Lily (again) and Lily felt a sudden urge to throw her pudding across the table to see if it would make him look any better. "Well, not until I finish school, I imagine."

Daniel's complexion didn't look nearly as waxy as Petunia said this, but his lips were still pursed to the point that he reminded Lily forcibly of Professor McGonagall. The rest of the dinner was pretty much a one sided conversation between Petunia and Christine. Daniel said little, eating in silence and chewing on the same bite for nearly five minutes before swallowing and repeating the process with his next bite. Lily tried to avoid the gaze and occasional wink that Vernon would send her direction, and finished her meal quickly and started clearing the table.

"Oh, Lily, leave those, will you? We can take care of them later," Christine said when Lily began collecting plates.

"It's all right," Lily said, still stacking dishes together to carry into the kitchen. "I'll at least stack them in the sink."

Without waiting for a reply, Lily took the dishes into the kitchen and placed them on the sink while she ran hot water. Her eyes travelled out the back window to the dark night beyond, where nothing more than lights in their neighbors house could be seen. Lily strongly suspected their dinner was coming along better than hers had. Suddenly the door from the dining room swung open, and Lily's least favorite person in the Muggle world came through, carrying five glasses.

"Here you go, fair Lily," Vernon said, laughing to himself at the name he bestowed on her and setting the glasses down so close to Lily that he rubbed his arm against hers. She stepped back, trying to keep from having to speak at all. "Do you want me to help you wash these up?"

"No, thank you," Lily bit out, turning the water off and resisting the urge to scrub her arm where he had touched her.

"So," Vernon continued, taking another brave stab at conversation. Lily wished over and over again he would leave her be. "We're going to be related soon."

Lily ignored him, wishing for an escape. She had all but decided to go back to the dining room when she heard her father's deep voice say rather loudly; "Petunia, for heaven's sake! Marrying when you're eighteen? You need to live a little first!"

This announcement was followed by Petunia's slightly whiny and very high pitched voice. Vernon chuckled, drowning out whatever Petunia had said back. "I figured your parents wouldn't be too happy."

Lily couldn't help herself, she sent a glare his way, itching to throw some of the scalding hot water his direction as well. "Then why did you ask her?"

Vernon's lip curled into a smile that made Lily's blood run cold. "You want to know why?" As he continued to smile, Lily was sure she really didn't want to know. He reached out, running his sausage like finger down her arm. Lily suppressed the urge to scream. "Because I found out that my wonderful girlfriend has a beautiful sister. And there is nothing like the closeness... of family."

Lily's heart was hammering in her chest. Vernon's large hand was reaching towards her arm again and horrified, she noted his face was inching closer to hers, his hand was now firmly gripping her arm... Lily wanted to run, to scream. Anger, disgust and something else took hold of her and with a sharp light and an even sharper pain in Lily's head, Vernon Dursley suddenly found himself thrown across the room, sprouting large and angry looking boils over his round face.

Lily watched, horror struck, as Vernon tried to get up off the white tiled floor. A colorful stream of profanity came tumbling out of his mouth as he glared at her. He reached up to grab a hold of the counter to haul himself out of the floor, and instead grabbed a pot and brought it smashing to the ground with a loud clatter.

As if things couldn't possibly get worse (though Lily imagined they could) Petunia came running out of the dining room through the swinging door and into the kitchen. She stopped just short of where Vernon lay, a large boil growing at an alarming rate on his already overly large nose, and screamed to the top of her lungs. "VERNON!" Lily felt fear nail her feet to the floor as she watched Petunia drop to her knees next to Vernon and take his now boil covered face in her hands. Her eyes were wild with rage, and before Lily could feel properly surprised, Petunia turned and lunged at her.

"YOU BITCH! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?"

"PETUNIA EVANS!" Christine gasped as she ran into the kitchen. "What is the meaning of this? Why are you..." Christine's eyes moved from where Petunia had Lily pinned against the wall to Vernon laying sprawled legged on the floor, looking much like a beached whale. Lily had never seen her mother's eyes quite that large before as she turned back to her daughters. "What happened?" she asked very quietly. Lily didn't like the sound of her voice at all. If she had screamed it would have been better, but at her small whisper, Lily could feel her disappointment.

"Lily," Petunia supplied, glaring at Lily again and pressing her so hard against the counter that Lily was sure she'd have a bruise on her back. "Used her stupid magic on Vernon!"

"Magic?" Vernon said, blinking rapidly, but looking as if it pained him to do so. A boil that had sprung up on his eyebrow looked like it was throbbing fit to burst.

Before anyone could respond to this sudden announcement, there was two loud popping noises, followed shortly by Petunia screaming again. This time she was so close to Lily's ear that the red head feared she would be deaf before long. She glanced around Petunia (who still had her pinned to the counter) and seen two men in Ministry robes surveying the scene. Lily felt as if her heart had dropped to her stomach, and was currently pounding there painfully. Surely they had come to expel her and snap her wand. The letter had warned her...

One of the men was a short, bald man who looked to be somewhere in his mid-fifties. He reached his hand up, scratching his ear and blinked owlishly at everyone in the room. "This is a mess, isn't it?" he asked no one in particular. The man next to him, a younger man with blonde hair so light that it nearly looked white, nodded uncertainly. "Which one of you is Lily Evans?"

"I am," Lily squeaked from behind Petunia. She gave her sister an irritable shove, and Petunia, who wasn't paying as much attention to Lily as she was the new wizards in the house, let her go. "I-I didn't mean... are they going to snap my wand?" she asked worriedly.

The older man smiled, showing that he had two missing teeth and was probably older than Lily first assumed him to be. He reminded her forcibly of someone's kind old grandfather. "No, no. Goodness, no. We're from the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad. Just here to clean up this mess, modify some memories..." He laughed heartily. "After some of the stuff I've seen Harold's son up to, I doubt that they would snap your wand for this."

Lily wanted to laugh, imagining what all James could have gotten into, but was too nervous to offer much more than a small squeak. The man, without introducing himself, waved his wand at Vernon and did the counter curse. "Now for the memory modification. Probably shouldn't bother the Obliviators for something this small..."

Vernon's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. "Memory modification?" he muttered, staring at the wand the wizard held as if it were a gun, or better yet, someone’s' idea of a joke.

"Sure," the wizard said kindly. "Doesn't hurt. You won't even remember it," he added, then laughed heartily at his own joke. "Get it? You won't reme--ah." The wizard beside him gave him a small glare and he cleared his throat. "Right, then--Oblivate!"

A light pierced the room, but missed Vernon, who had rolled out of the way. The Ministry wizard raised his wand again, but Vernon stood up (faster than Lily would have given him credit for had she not seen it) and backed away. "That's ok. I won't te-tell anyone. You needn't to bother with the memory... stuff."

Both wizards looked uneasy, the blonde wizard raised his wand when Daniel rolled forward in his wheelchair and raised a hand. "It's all right. No harm done, and he won't say anything."

"You're sure?" the younger wizard asked. His voice was very deep and he talked as if he were trying to explain to a one year old that one plus one equaled two.

"Quite," Daniel assured them. The older man shrugged and with a small wave at Lily, Disapparated with a pop! The other wizard gave one last sweeping look around the room before fixing his gaze on Lily. He stared at her for a second as if he wanted to say something, changed his mind, and raised his wand on himself.

As soon as he was gone, Vernon pointed a shaking finger at Lily. "What... What...?"

Lily swallowed hard, feeling everyone's gaze on her. "I'm a witch," she said simply. "I'm sorry for hexing you," she added as an after thought, though she really wasn't sorry at all. It served him well after the way he had been talking to her. But when she thought about saying this aloud, her stomach gave a painful squeeze.

Christine threw Lily a reproachful look and pulled a chair out for Vernon. "Here dear, sit down. Petunia, get him something to drink."

Lily couldn't believe what she was seeing. Even though her parents didn't know the reason she had hexed Vernon, surely they realized she wouldn't do it on purpose? Lily mind's eye once more replayed the lustful look he had when his hand had approached her, and with a half sob, half hiccup, she turn and ran out the backdoor of the house, ignoring her father who called after her.

Her feet pounded the ground angrily as she ran down Hollis Drive and through an alley that would lead to Privet Drive. She passed houses that looked identical to her own, all filled with families that probably led less bizarre lives. No matter how much she ran, or how bad the stitch in her side burned, Lily couldn't get images out of her mind. Vernon leering at her, his hand reaching towards her arm; Christine's disappointed glare that she had sent Lily without even knowing the truth. Lily felt tears burning her eyes, mixing with the sting of the cold wind that whipped her face, arms and legs. Determinedly she pushed them back, biting her lip to keep a sob from escaping.

Her running had brought her to a near by park that used to be her and Petunia's favorite place to spend a sunny afternoon. The swings creaked with the wind, the leaf-less trees looking angry and foreboding in the dark of night. Her left hand pushed against her side, Lily sat down on one of the cold metal swings, staring ahead but seeing nothing. Her mind was working in over time, wondering if she could find a place to Floo to James'. Wondering if she should owl Kassie, and tell her. But even as these thoughts went through her mind, she dismissed them. How could she tell any of her friends what had happened? Even if she told James, Sirius or Remus; what would they do?

Lily laughed bitterly to herself. She knew what they would do. Vernon would be sporting some more hexes, half a dozen curses and anything else the Marauders could think to throw out. Kassie would probably have the same reaction. And no matter how much better the thought of Vernon as a pea sized termite brought her, she couldn't let any of her friends get in trouble over this. And besides, how would she go about telling them? Oh, yeah, my sister's boyfriend tried to kiss me. No, no.. this isn't unexpected. He's been staring me up and down for nearly a year now. Lily shivered. She felt dirty, unworthy of her friend's sympathetic ear. Vernon's round face, full of yearning and lust hovered before her and she felt like taking a scalding hot shower to rid herself of the dirt that seemed to crawl on her skin.

How much time passed as Lily sat on the swing, idly pushing herself back and forth and trying to organize her thoughts, she didn't know. Eventually she got up and started back towards her home, dreading what she would find there.

The first thing she noticed as she came down the street was that Vernon's car was still sitting in their drive. Lily felt herself groan, sure that this meant they were all waiting for her return so they could attack her. Taking a deep breath, she came up the sidewalk and pushed open the door.

Vernon and Petunia were sitting in the living room, watching television. Petunia looked up as Lily came in, and if looks could kill, Lily knew she would be long dead. She walked on quickly, intent on getting up stairs and to the safety of her room. She had almost thought she had made it when suddenly her bedroom door slammed open and her older sister stalked in, fuming.

"What did you think you were doing? Hmm? Doing your... your... you-know-what on Vernon?" Lily could have sworn she saw smoke emitting from Petunia's ears. "How dare you corrupt normal people with your strangeness?!"

Lily took a deep, calming breath. And then another one. Somehow, by the third deep breath, she realized that it wasn't doing any good. Instead Lily glared hard into Petunia's hazel eyes, loathing clear when she spoke: "The reason, dear sister, that I hexed your boyfriend, is because he was trying to kiss me."

There was a silence in the room that was punctuated only by Morgana sweeping through the open window and settling on her perch, a dead mouse clasped firmly in her beak. Petunia seemed unable to form words. For several moments her mouth opened and closed with no sound coming, until finally she pushed her voice out. "Codswallop! What bloody bull are you trying to pull?"

Lily laughed bitterly; her voice sounded insane even to her own ears. "Bull, is it? Codswallop? No, no, Petunia. I don't think so. Tonight in the kitchen your darling tried to kiss me, had his filthy hands on me, and would have probably forced--"

"SHUT UP!" Petunia screeched, both her hands pulling on a handful of blonde hair each. "You're lying!"

"Am I?" Lily asked quietly, her green eyes homed in on Petunia. "I'm not. And I think you know that." Lily took a step forward, intending to shut the door, but before she knew what had happened, Petunia had slapped her.

Lily's face burned where Petunia's hand had landed. Her jaw dropped, unable to believe what had just happened. Of all the things Petunia and she had ever done to each other... nothing of this kind of violence had ensued. Petunia, looked deeply satisfied with herself, turned and stalked out of Lily's room, leaving Lily standing there in disbelief.

**

There was nothing enjoyable about the next week in the Evans's household. Lily tried to gather up the courage to say something to her mother about what had happened, but every time she tried she would either loose her nerve, Petunia would interrupt or something else of equal distraction would happen. Either way, by the last day of Christmas holiday, Lily still hadn't spoken a handful of words to the other members in her household.

Finally on that Saturday night, a determined Lily set off for her mother's room. Daniel was in the green house, Petunia was out on a date with Vernon, and Lily knew it was now or never. She knocked gently on her mother's closed bedroom door and awaited an answer.

"Come in," came a voice at last. Lily had began to wonder if she had been mistaken, and her mother wasn't in her room at all. She slowly pushed the door open, peering around the edge much the way she used to do when she was younger. Christine bestowed a smile to her youngest, though to Lily it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Lily, come in dear."

Lily stepped into her parent's room, looking around at everything out of pure habit. The king sized bed still sat against the far right wall, a small bed side table on either side. A long dresser lined the back wall, filled with pictures, knick-knacks and other keepsakes. Her mother was currently sitting at the vanity along the left wall, pulling a brush through her hair. "Mum, can I talk to you?" Lily asked, feeling an overwhelming urge to run and bury her head in her mother's breast and cry a small river. She bit her bottom lip, dismissing the thought as soon as it arrived. She was thirteen years old, not five.

"Sure. Actually, I wanted to speak with you before you left for school, anyway."

Lily raised an eyebrow. She hadn't spoken much more than a few sentences to either of her parents since Christmas night. That her mother had wanted to talk to her about something struck her as fairly odd. Lily perched on the edge of her mother's bed, watching her apply lotion to her face and neck. When she was done, she turned to face her youngest with a face full of forced brightness. "Petunia came to speak with me this morning." Lily instantly felt her heart lodge itself somewhere in her throat. Christine bestowed what Lily assumed was suppose to be an understanding smile at her. "She told me what happened in the kitchen Christmas night. And Lily, I want you to know, I understand completely."

Lily blinked several times, unsure if she was hearing correctly. "Y-You do?" she asked uncertainly as her mother leaned forward and placed a hand on her knee, giving her a shaky smile.

"Of course, dear. I had simply over looked that my baby girl was growing up. You're a bright, beautiful young lady and it's about time in your life that you started, well--looking at the opposite sex. Now, there is nothing wrong--"

Lily felt her jaw go slack. Wrinkling her eyebrows together, she reached down and pinched her arm, hard. It hurt rather badly, which meant that this wasn't a nightmare. Her mother actually believed she had wanted Vernon Dursley to kiss her. Lily shook her head, trying to clear it enough to speak, but her mother wasn't done.

"Now, Petunia has assured me that she will forgive you this time, but that you must promise not to--"

"I can't believe this!" Lily said angrily, jumping to her feet. By the time she had found her voice her temper had rose alarmingly. Her fist were balled at her sides and an overwhelming urge to track Petunia down, wherever she was at, and punch her, consumed Lily's entire being. "I did not want that--that--thing touching me! And I certainly didn't want him to--ugh! Mum, how could you believe her?"

But to Lily's everlasting horror, Christine again gave her a smile that suggested Lily was out of her mind. "Lily, there's nothing to be ashamed of."

Lily found herself backing up towards the door, desperate to get away from the lies that were floating in the air like oxygen. She swallowed, thinking that if she tried once more, surely her mother would understand... "Mum, Vernon tried to kiss me. I didn't want him to, he was going to force..." But Lily stopped. It was clear by the look on Christine's face that whatever Petunia had told her was more convincing than anything Lily said. Feeling hurt, betrayed and extremely angry, Lily slung open the bedroom door. "Wake me in time to go to King's Cross tomorrow." And she walked out, slammed the door and went straight to her room. Without so much as changing clothes, Lily fell onto her bed and buried her face in her pillow to muffle the sounds of her sobs.

**

With zombie like movements, Lily dressed the next morning, packed her trunk and went downstairs just in time to get in the car and return to King's Cross Station. Her mother drove her in silence, and barely kissed her cheek when Lily got out of the car. As Lily walked through the train station, passing Muggles and Wizards alike, she realized she had never felt so lonely. It didn't matter how many people surrounded her, Lily felt like she was alone in a large world where mothers didn't believe their children, sisters hated each other, and families were so far from being close that they might as well be strangers. It was such a change from the way she remembered her childhood. She wondered what had gone wrong. Trying to ignore the thought that this all started with a barn owl swooping in the house that fateful day in July nearly three years ago, Lily crossed the barrier between the Muggle train station and platform nine and three quarters.

All around were the sounds of animals, the whistle to the train blowing and kids talking excitedly as they said spoke to their families. Lily watched with a thick sadness as families hugged, kissed and said farewells, with promises to write often. Her family had been like that, not too long ago...

"Lily!"

Lily spun around, shocked out of her thoughts by the sound of her name being called. She saw a black haired girl running towards her, violet eyes shining as she approached. As soon as she was close enough, Kassie threw down her bag and hugged Lily. "How was Christmas? You didn't write! Come on! Let's go find a good seat!"

With the whirlwind that was Kassie, Lily had a hard time harping on how horrible she felt. As much as she would have liked to have curled up in the corner of a compartment and had an all out pity party for, Kassie wouldn't allow it. Pretty soon, despite herself, she was laughing and talking as the train rolled her back to Hogwarts; the one place she felt like she belonged.