The Divine Experiences of Lily Evans and Company

James Potter walked down the crowded street with his parents. A wheel on his trolley was squeaking and it was really annoying him. He was a tall, lanky eleven year-old, about 4' 7" with striking, yet warm, coco eyes. But, of course, they were hidden by stupid black horn-rimmed glasses. He blew away a pesky piece of hair that flew into his face. His stupid hair was more annoying then...well, anything. His mother always said "Go brush your hair!" She still didn't get it. James's hair couldn't be tamed! You think that after living with her father for the past thirteen years, she would figure it out! The Potter curse was the stupid, messy hair. His father said it wasn't that bad. The Potter messy hair and the trademark Potter grin was what enabled them to be so attractive to the opposite sex. James wanted to puke. Sure, he was kinda attracted to girls but they were girls! Why would you want to like them? They didn't like to play the stuff boys do or get dirty. While girls thought that flobberworms were gross, boys thought it was fun to squish out their brains. James never understood girls and he never will; that was his outlook on it. His thoughts drifted back to the annoying squeaky wheel. *I swear for the love of all that is magical if that wheel does not-*

"Here we are!" cried his mother happily, clapping her hands together.

The three stopped at a Platforms Nine and Ten. James was still in a daze. He heard a mumbled, "Go on dear," and a push on the back. Before he knew what was happening a scarlet steam engine appeared in front of him. He moved out of the way and stared mesmerizing at the train. A strong pair of hands rested on his shoulder, James took no notice. He walked towards the train with his owl, Herald. James's father came back from putting the trunk in a compartment and took the cage. James ignored him and stared into the smoke. He closed his eyes, breathing in the surroundings. When he opened them again, it was because someone ran into him. James fell to the ground and hitting his head. He looked up at a pair of dull, worried sea-green eyes. They were so- complex. A dozen different emotions were in those eyes; confusion, worry, anxiety, stress, depression, fatigue. They were so cold, like ice. Yet they were strong and breakable, like glass. James blinked a few times. Realization flooded into him. The ice-eyed person was a young woman. She had long thick copper hair with thin streaks of black and clear ivory skin. She extender her bony hand, with long perfectly French manicured nails, to him. He took it and stood up. Now seeing her height, the girl must have been sixteen or seventeen.

"I said, are you alright?" asked the girl, her voice was soft and creamy.

"Yes," he replied stupidly.

"I'm really sorry about that. I didn't see you down there."

"No harm done."

The girl smiled down on him. Her thick copper hair pooled around her face and she ruffled his hair. The slim girl glided back to an extremely hyper little girl with ginger watching her with adoring eyes. The girl skipped around, jumping on the older girl before she tripped over her shoes before falling to the floor. James watched as the older girl ignored her and stepped on the train. The girl hopped up and followed the older girl. James's father interrupted his observing.

"James!"

"Huh?"

"Welcome back son," his father teased, fixing his crooked glasses. "Come on; let's get you on the train."

"Dad, do you know who that was?"

"Violet Edward's kid, I'm not sure what her name is but I think she's a sixth year Ravenclaw." With that, Mr. Potter shepherded his son onto the train.

James sat down in the compartment his father reserved for him and looked out the window as the train started to move. His father and mother waved after him, his mother was crying. James waved until they were out of sight. He heard stifled shouting outside and the door open; the shouting became louder for a moment. None other than Sirius Black was standing there, grinning mischievously. The tall boy stepped in and closed the door. He had the same body type and height as James, about 4' 7" but he had more brownish, longer, straight hair and blue eyes. (A/N: I'm thinking like ear length hair, if you know what I mean!)

"Blimey! There are two girls out there about to rip off each other's heads! They're giving me a bloody headache!"

"SIRIUS, WATCH YOUR BLOODY LANGUAGE!" reprimanded James mockingly.

"Bloody! Bloody! Bloody!" laughed Sirius. "You wanna check out what's happening?"

"Yea!" cried James excitedly. The two boys poked their heads out the door. The copper-headed girl and the hyperactive girl were arguing.

"I can't believe you Rosa! Mum said you had to help me! Why are being so mean?"

"Look here, dragon breath, I don't have to do anything!"

"But mum said you had to!"

"No, she asked me to-"

"And you said yes!"

"I'm not arguing with you, fire brat! I'm a sixth year and you're a first. Now, go find someone else to annoy and leave us 'big kids' alone!"

"Don't treat me as if I'm stupid! 'Cause I'm not! My mum and dad take you in and this is how you repay them! Thanks for nothing, thorn butt!" she screamed. The two boys laughed to themselves.

"Don't call me that, fire head!"

"Thorn butt! Thorn butt! Thorn butt! Flat chest! Metal head! WEB FEET!"

"SHUT UP!" yelled the older girl, named Rosa.

Rosa attacked the younger girl, who grabbed her hair and pushed her away. Rosa, seized the back of the shrieking younger girl's shirt, who retaliated by jumping on Rosa's foot. Then ran away screaming and flailing her arms like a maniac. She ran by James and he snatched one of her arms. He pulled her into their compartment, covered her mouth while Sirius quickly made a hiding place behind their trunks. James stuffed her behind the trunks and piled stuff on top. They did all of this in a matter of seconds. The red-head was about to scream but the door slammed open. The copper-headed girl stood there fuming like a mad hippogriff.

"OK, WHERE IS SHE?"

"Who?" asked Sirius innocently.

"YOU KNOW WHO- THE FIRE BRAT! I SAW YOU PULL HER IN HERE!"

"No, we didn't," said James, confused. James wasn't a bad actor at all! Rosa stood there disbelieving. "Ok, do you see her then?"

Rosa didn't respond and left huffily. The boys stood up and did a small victory dance. Another knock came from the door and they swiftly sat down, hoping that it wasn't Rosa. A small face appeared in the doorway and stepped in. A boy about 4' 5" stepped in. He had sandy brown-blondish hair and pale grey eyes.

"Um...hello, do you mind if I sit in here? Stupid sixth years down the hall kicked me and this other girl out of 'their' compartment. Even though I was there first," he said the last part to himself.

"Not at all," replied James.

"Thanks! I'm-" Another knock interrupted him. This time a black girl stepped in. Her hair was pitch black pulled into lots of small braids that covered her head.

"Hey! I'm back! I got the- oops! Sorry! Wrong compartment, I'll just lea-"

"Helph! Leph me ouph oph here! I can'ph brephe!"

"Bloody hell, what was that?" asked the black girl and the boy.

Sirius and James stood up and pulled the stuff off the girl. She stood up, brushed off her robes and panted, "Thank you!"

"Hey, I know you! You're that girl in the compartment! Remus Lupin," said the sandy haired boy, holding out his hand.

"Lily 'dragon breath' or 'dragon' or 'dragon head' or 'fireball' or 'fire brat' or 'fire head' Evans," she replied shaking his hand.

"Imani Kigali," said the black girl with a nod.

"Sirius Black," said the boy with messy black hair and glasses. (A/N: Hehe)

"James Potter," added the last boy. "It's wonderful to meet you all!"

"Yes, absolutely splendid!" shouted "Sirius" and shook the three's hands like they were the Minister of Magic.

Lily, Remus, and Imani looked at each other and shrugged. Imani stared at the two boys with an incredulous face. "Well I'd better go. Why don't you come with me Lily? Unless you'd like to stay in here with the boys."

"I think I'll take you up on that offer. Bye Remus, Tweedle-Dumb, Tweedle-Dee!" she exclaimed waving. The two girls ran off laughing.

The three glanced at one another and laughed. They spent the rest of the train ride and next six years as the best of friends.

* * *

Lily gazed at the up at the stars. She sat the window seat in her Hogwarts dormitory. The sixteen-year-old, had always been different, she knew that. While other little girls always played house, dolls or pretended to be mommy and put on "make-up". Lily Daniela Evans was reading and writing stories of magic, pretending she was a witch and gazing at the stars. The only thing that she loved more than stars and magic was water, she found that water and stars were the most peaceful things in the universe. Only in its depths was where you could find life. On the outside, everything looked peaceful. IN the water, you couldn't hear people talking about how weird you were and you couldn't feel the pain. You could only feel the soft liquid on your skin, complete weightlessness, and the need for air. That's how Lily felt before she found out she was a witch. She taught herself to be in the water, to shut away the hurtful words and feelings and only come up for air, her fantasies to keep her strong. But sometimes when you have someone pushing you down, it's hard to get the air.

The person pushing her down was her older sister, Petunia. Petunia was the one who gave girls the stereotype of always caring about boys, makeup, and hair. While Lily had their mother read her stories of far away places, Petunia asked their mother to paint her nails.

When Lily was little, she always dreamt about a grand castle with girls and boys riding broomsticks and an enormous lake. This castle was where people learned magic, everyone there was happy, and when she was there, she felt accepted. Because Lily wasn't like everyone else, none of the girls wanted to be her friend. Lily only wanted the castle and her fantasies, to shut herself away from the prejudice world and make her own world of the things that she loved, the things that existed because she made them exist; her stories.

Every one of her stories had her in them. She was the main character, she lived in a world with magic, her "prince" would take her away, and they would live happily ever after. Just like a fairy tale. That was never the case with anything in the real world, and they were only stories.

But when Lily got her letter from Hogwarts, it was the air the drowning girl needed, no- it was the sky and beyond! Lily kept gazing at the stars, she felt so small. She remembered the evening she received her letter.

*Flashback*

Lily sat on her bed drawing her castle she often imagined. She set the picture down and opened the window. The evening breeze grazed her cheek and made Lily drowsy. A faint "hoot" came from a tree next to her house. It must be an owl. Very rarely were there owls in Surry especially when it was still light out, she watched it with curiosity. This owl was different, it was a snowy owl and she knew that snowy owls weren't indigenous to England and she kept observing it. The owl flew into her room carrying a letter and dropped it into her lap. On front, in green ink was written in very nice cursive:

Lily Daniela Evans

The Second Smallest Bedroom

35 Kingsford Avenue

Little Whinging

Surrey

On the back was a read seal was a badger, lion snake and raven surrounding a large "H". It looked like some coat of arms. She couldn't read without light very well so she ran over to her bed, turned on the lamp and tore open the letter. The letter read:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Ms. Evans,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31. Please send your answer with the delivery owl.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Lily looked at the rest of the letter, there was a list of supplies and a ticket that said 11:00 Kings Cross Train Station, Platform 9¾. She set the letter down on her bed. She looked back up at the owl, it didn't fly away; it just stood on her desk chair, cocking its head. Could this be a dream? Lily pinched herself to make sure, the letter and owl were still there. Why isn't it flying away? Lily approached the owl it still didn't fly away. She advanced more; she reached out her trembling hand and petted it. *This definitely can't be dream! I'm petting an owl, I have a letter to a school that teaches magic and I'm going!* Lily sprinted downstairs to the kitchen as fast as her feet would carry her.

"MUM! MUM!" she yelled excitedly and stopped in front of her mother panting.

"What is it Lily? What's the matter?" her mother asked worried.

"Mum, you won't believe what just happened! An owl came swooping into my room and delivered me a letter! The letter said that I've been accepted to a school called Hogwarts that teaches MAGIC!" Lily exclaimed jumping up and down.

"Ben! Ben dear, go get the thermometer, Lily's hallucinating!" Lily's mother screamed with a fake smile on her face not taking her eyes off her daughter. "Are you feeling well, Lily?"

"NO! MUM I'M NOT HALLUCINATING!" Lily shouted. "I can prove it!"

Lily ran back up to her room, grabbed the letter, and let the owl climb onto her arm before walking back downstairs. When Lily's mother saw the owl; screamed and stammered over to the chair next to the table to sit down. Lily had the owl climb onto another chair and slid the letter to her mother, who read it with eyes and mouth open in shock.

"See! I told you! Didn't I tell you!" said Lily ecstatically.

Lily's mother, Hannah Evans Greller, couldn't believe it. The letter did seem real but looked like it could have been a joke; that was the only excuse she could give. But she couldn't explain the owl. The only explanation was the most obvious and it was right in front of her face. Lily, her daughter, was a witch.

"Mum this explains everything! This explains why I'm so different, why I love magic, fantasy, and everything! I can go mum can't I? Please? I want to go where there are people like me! I want to go to Hogwarts! I want to be a witch! You have to say I can go! If you don't, I'll hate you forever! Can I? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease!" Lily said all of this in one breath.

"Ben! BEN!" Hannah exclaimed and she smiled to her daughter as her father came into the kitchen. Hannah handed him the letter. His reaction was the same as his wife's.

"DAD, CAN I GO PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE? IF YOU LET ME GO, I'LL NEVER ASK FOR ANYTHING EVER AGAIN! PLEASE?" Lily screamed again and was on the floor holding onto her father's pant leg looking up at him with puppy-dog eyes.

He let out a sigh letting it all in and glanced at his wife. He pulled her into a corner leaving Lily sitting impatiently on the floor. "What do you think dear? I'm having a hard time believing it. But there is the letter and an owl in our kitchen so it's also hard to think up any other excuse. I think we should let her go. She's always been different we both know she has. She seems very excited about all of this and if it does end up being a joke then the joke is on us, eh? Hannah, our daughter is a witch!" he whispered excitedly.

"Well, if it is a joke then we will laugh it off and have a few good stories to tell." Mrs. Evans turned to Lily. "Lily, your father and I are very proud of you, you're special and we've decided to let you go," Hannah said to her daughter, and gave her a big hug. Lily let out a huge scream, ran up to her room, and wrote a letter to Hogwarts. She gave the owl the letter and it flew off. Lily ran into her sister's room with a very smug look on her face and found Petunia listening to music.

"Get out Lily!" Petunia barked at her sister.

"I know something you don't know!" sang Lily.

"What?" Petunia spied suspiciously.

"I'm a witch and I'm going to a school called Hogwarts where they teach you maaaaagic."

"Sure Lily. After all these years of reading about magic and witches you've finally cracked, are you sure you didn't hit your head?"

"Yes."

"Right . . . . MUM!" Petunia screamed extremely nervous.

Their mother came running upstairs panting. "What's wrong dear?"

"Something's wrong with Lily! She's finally cracked, I think she needs to see a doctor, she says that she's a witch! And that she's going to some sort of magic school!"

"She is dear, she received a letter accepting her to a boarding school called Hogwarts, we're very proud. Petunia, we have a witch in the family! Aren't you excited for your sister?" Hannah asked.

"Um...yes mum, I suppose."

"Lily will be leaving on September 1. Oh, dear! What's today's date?"

"July 20, mum," replied Lily; she had always had a good memory.

"Well, how about we go to get you're supplies tomorrow? You do need to get supplies right?" Lily's mother asked.

"Oh! I forgot the rest of the letter! I'll go get it!" Lily said and sprang out of the room.

"Petunia, you should be a little more excited for your sister. Lily has never felt like she's belonged anywhere and she's so excited for this. She's finally happy," their mother said scolding Petunia.

"Mum, this has to be a joke! There's no such thing as witches and wizards! Do you honestly believe it?" Petunia sighed.

"Dear, my brain agrees with you, that there is no such thing and that this has to be a joke. But my heart say's that it's true. Your sister has never been like you or your friends, she always loved magic and has a very vivid imagination, and she's done some things that we couldn't explain. Petunia, listen to me, if this does turn out to be some sort of sick joke, don't tease her about it. She's happy, don't it away from her? She's never been happy like you have; she's never been like you and your friends. All right, sweetie?" Hannah stroked her daughter's face lovingly.

"Yea, sure," sighed Petunia.

"Thank you. I love you, Petunia," she said giving her daughter a kiss on the cheek.

Lily bounded up to her mother. "Here you go mum. Here's the supplies list and what looks like some instructions to get the supplies."

"Thank you dear."

Lily ran to the guest bedroom, she had to tell her cousin, Rosa.

*End of Flashback*

Yes, Lily loved that memory. That day changed her life. She found out that day that she wasn't the only witch in the family. Her cousin, Rosa, who was staying with Lily for the summer while her parents were in Italy, was also. She stood up and silently rested her body in bed before falling asleep.