In the Dark

Chappie 1: The Beginning

Lily Evans sighed. She leaned her copper hair against the misty
windowpane of the Hogwarts Express. The rain lashed the window again
and again. Lily closed her eyes, imagining herself out there in the
rain, being washed clean and pure again. Unbidden, memories of the
summer tried to force their way into her mind. Lily turned her head
away, renewing the force of her will.

"No," she whispered. "No, no, no!"

Putting her head into her hands, she forced herself to think of happy
things, such as returning to Hogwarts, getting away from Petunia, and
seeing Cass and Steff again. Raising her head, she was just in time to
look around the Head Boy and Girl's carriage before the lights
flickered and went out. Great, just what I need. Time to sit in the
dark and think. Lily could just feel the thoughts niggling in the back
of her conscience. Leaning back, she let out a small sigh. Life really
didn't like her, did it? All it wanted to do was torment her with
unwanted memories. Lily could feel the barrier blocking her emotions
start to slide down. Quickly, she started to think of other things. Or
she at least tried to. Just then, the door to her carriage opened, and
someone came in. Since it was still dark, Lily couldn't see who it was.

"Wh-who's there?" she said, her voice wobbling dangerously.

Please, let it be Cass, or Steff, or another girl . . . I don't need a
guy right now. Not after . . .

"Lily?" said someone tentatively. "Is that you?"

Lily gasped. Oh no! she thought. Please, just go away! I can't deal
with this right now!

Suddenly, the lights came on, which was both a good and a bad thing.
For one, Lily could actually see what she was doing. But then again,
she could also see the person who had entered the carriage, whose voice
she had recognized.

"Lily! I knew you were in here!" Smiling, James Potter came into the
carriage and took a seat next to the girl, not noticing that she had
started to shiver as he came near.

"Ja-James. How good to see you," Lily stuttered.

Oh God, what am I going to do? I can't stay in here. I have to get out
of here.

James turned towards Lily and was about to address her, when he
realised that she had disappeared.

What the . . .Where did she go?

WHOOSH! Lily leaned over the sink as she looked in the mirror. She
scrutinized her reflection to see if anything had changed, but nothing

seemed to be any different. Reddish-gold hair fell to midway down her
back. Creamy skin was dotted with just a smattering of freckles. Her
nose was still small and ordinary. And last but not least, her infamous
emerald green eyes stared back at her in the mirror, the eyes that had
seen into to the hearts of so many, had seen the weariness, the sorrow
. . . and the pain. Lily quickly closed her eyes. With a small sob she
turned away. How could life be so cruel? Just days ago, she was a
young, carefree girl, with all the hope in the world. But then her
world had ended, both in her heart and her soul. Now she was reduced to
a wreck of a woman; her hope gone and her dreams shattered.

"Lily? Are you in there? Hey, hon, come out, I'm not going to bite!"

A knock on the door and the sound of a voice laughing disturbed her
thoughts.

"Yeah, just a minute."

Quickly, Lily performed a charm to make her eyes seem less red and her
hair look smoother. Slowly, she slid open the door and was greeted by a
familiar face.

"Hey Lily girl, I was getting worried! I haven't seen you in the
longest time, and you just vanished when you got on the train!"

Steff, one of Lily's best friends, hooked her elbow through Lily's and
started walking down the corridor. Lily looked at her. Steff hadn't
changed: long honey-coloured hair that always looked amazing no matter
what she did to it spread across her shoulders, hazel eyes sparkled out
at Lily with mischief and fun, and a wide mouth never stopped talking!
There was one difference, though. She was taller, and had gotten a tan
over the holidays.

"Steff, will you ever stop growing? I am starting to feel positively
LITTLE next to you!" Lily laughed good-naturedly. She knew that she
would never catch up to her long legged friend, but she could still
dream, right? Steff laughed as well, respecting the long borne joke
between them.

"So, I've planned a prank for the welcoming feast this year. I don't

know about you, but I agree with Cass that we were well and truly
beaten last year by those Marauders. That can't happen again!" Smiling,
Steff chattered on, unaware that Lily had turned a shade of white.

Oh no. The Marauders. That means . . .

She pulled her arm from Steff's and stopped in the middle of the
passage.

"Lil'? Are you OK?" Steff looked at her quizzically. "Honey, are you
feeling alright, you look a bit peaky."

"Uh, Steff, maybe it would be better if just you and Cass carried on
with our . . . thing . . . this year. Umm, it might not be such a good
idea for me to be in amongst that stuff anymore." Lily looked away as
her friend looked at her.

"Ex-CUSE ME? You STAY OUT of this 'thing'? Lil', this is the Marauders
we are talking about here! This isn't just some petty rule breaking!
And how come you don't want to do it any more? You never felt bad about
it before! If I remember correctly, it was your idea in the first
place!" Steff looked at her best friend. Yep, something was definitely
wrong. Lily looked . . . scared.

"Lil'? Come on hon, it's the Marauders!"

Lily stepped back as though something was coming towards her.

But that's just it! That's the whole point! I can't do it BECAUSE it's
the Marauders! I would have to be with . . . him . . .

She shook her head. Memories, memories, go away, don't come back
another day . . .

"Lily? Are you alright?" Steff went towards her, arms outstretched.
"Look, just tell me why, 'K? Then I'll stop bugging you about it. It's
obviously bothering you, so I won't push it."

"Umm, yeah, it's just that, umm I'm meant to be in the Head Boy and
Girl compartment right about now because, hey funny, I'm Head Girl, so
umm, maybe I'll just go back there now, and I'll talk to you and Cass
later, though I might be late because of Prefect meetings, because I'm
Head Girl, did I mention that? Th-that's why I can't do anything,
because I'm He- uh, I think I'll just go now, 'K?"

Lily rambled on, knowing that she wasn't making sense, but wanting to
get away. There seemed to be an incredible pressure in the room,
weighting down on her mind.

"Hey Lily, what . . ." Steff was getting more and more worried the
longer that Lily spoke. It was obvious that she had said something to
upset Lily, but for the life of her she didn't know what!

"Sor-sorry, gotta go!" Lily turned around to leave . . . and walked
straight into the last person she wanted to see.

James Potter.