Where The White Roses Grow

Where The White Roses Grow

Written by Laucia Siandel

* * * * *

Chapter One

People are always many different things by the time they are seventeen. James Potter was a Quidditch star. Sirius Black was in love. Peter Pettigrew was independent. Remus Lupin was a werewolf. Lily Evans was a murderer.

It had started, as many things had, on a bright summer morning when an eleven-year-old Lily Evans had woken up with the sun shining through the open window of her Middlesex home. The breeze coming in through the window was the first thing she noticed, and the brown feather on the floor was the second. Lily picked up the feather and looked at it for a moment before placing it on her desk and walking into the bathroom to have a shower. The letter on the windowsill went unnoticed.

* * * * *

In another house, far away from the leafy suburb of London, two dark haired boys were engaged in a pillow fight. White feathers were falling from the two boys' pillows, mixing with the scattered sweet wrappers and chocolate frog cards that covered the floor.

"Hey Sirius, that's not fair! I can't - oww!- see without my glasses."

"S'not my fault, this is open war. You stole my Agrippa card!"

"Boys! What is going on in there? It sounds like the whole house is falling down!" The voice at the door halted the two fighters and they drew apart, both panting for breath.

"Morning mum," Sirius replied brightly. "We were just, er... cleaning things up a bit. It was a bit... untidy?"

Lucinda Black threw her hands in the air in desperation. Single-handily running a household as well as managing a small Divination shop in Diagon Alley would be enough for any single mum in her thirties without two boisterous eleven year olds to handle as well.

"Come on boys, leave that for now, you can pick it all up after breakfast. Your Hogwarts letters have just arrived. Yes, yours too James." she went on, looking at the tall boy with glasses. "Do you want to send your mum and dad a quick note to let them know you've got it? I'm afraid you'll have to wait until Sirene returns, she's still out hunting at the moment...."

* * * * *

The shallow breathing from the house elf standing next to his bed woke Peter up. One moment he was sleeping peacefully, then he was sitting bolt upright in bed as the scared elf jumped backwards in fright, tripping over her pillowcase frock and landing headfirst in Peter's old cauldron.

"Luckily the elf had already put my tea down," thought Peter as he took a sip of the streaming hot liquid, ignoring the pair of feet waving wildly from the pewter cauldron.

Finally the elf had managed to upright herself and was now straightening out her ears at the same time as trying to break her toes with the cauldron.

"Deenie is very sorry, she did not mean to wake master up. Deenie had come to stand ready for master when master needed her but she did not mean to do such a terrible thing as to disturb master's sleep." With these last words there was a loud 'crack' as one of Deenie's toes snapped.

Peter sighed to himself. These house elves were more trouble than they were worth, and why his mother still insisted having them around the house he did not know. But at least it was always amusing.

By the time Deenie had succeeded in breaking all of the bones in her foot, Peter had finished his cup of tea and was showered and dressed.

"Is master ready? Deenie must say that master got a letter this morning and madam is very pleased. Madam wishes to speak to master over breakfast."

* * * * *

Not everyone got a letter that July morning. The absence of the owl delivered parchment went unnoticed by many Muggles. A few wizarding families sat waiting for the letter that would never come, confirming the worst of their fears regarding their child's magic ability. Some young wizards had already received their Durmstrang letters the week before, so they did not even note that morning as something special.

William and Ruth Lupin were not concerned by the lack of their son's letter. They had spoken with the headmaster of Hogwarts the night before and discussed the prospect of their son and school in great detail. They were now waiting for Remus to wake up before presenting him with the current proposal. Let him sleep a bit longer, they thought, they had all the time in the world.

* * * * *

All day the letter sat on Lily's windowsill. She was at the beach for the day with her family so the letter lay there waiting, its emerald ink on the front fading in the bright sun. A large tabby cat sat in the garden under the window, sheltered from the sun by the shadow of one of the many rose bushes. The cat's tail flicked lazily as the day wore on, but its amber eyes were ever watchful.

By midday the cat had moved and was now sitting stiffly on the narrow window ledge, looking on to the neat and tidy living room, it's walls painted pale cream and covered with pictures. The cat appeared to be staring at a framed photograph on the opposite wall. It was a picture of two girls sitting in front of the very rose bush that the cat had been sheltering under. The taller brown haired girl had her arms around what could only be her younger sister. Although she had dark red hair and round green eyes half hidden by a fringe, the narrow face and the wide grin was a mirror of that of the older girl.

The cat jumped in fright as she heard a faint 'pop,' and as if from nowhere, a witch stepped out from behind a car in the drive next door to the Evans house. Her black hair was done up in a tight bun and she was dressed in Muggle clothing. Professor McGonagall was wearing a smart grey trouser suit over a white blouse and black lace up shoes. In her hand was a large black leather bag with a big gold clasp.

When McGonagall saw the cat, she stopped tweaking the jacket of the tight suit and pressed her lips into a thin frown. Her own cat instinct in her rose up, and she felt the urge to hiss at the predator, so she did. The tabby looked as if it had never seen anything so frightening in its life. It leapt of the windowsill and over the neighbour's fence.

McGonagall smiled to herself as she walked into the Evans garden. She paused for a moment at the rose bush, lifting the white bud of a flower up to her face and inhaling the thick scent.

Memories rushed back to her; another garden, another age. A small girl with long black hair was running through the long grass. She was about seven or eight years old; too old to be mothered over, yet young enough to not worry about the trials of growing up. Round and round the garden she ran, twisting in and out of the rose bushes, laughing as she went. A woman who could only be her mother stood watching, with the same flowing black hair, and the same laughter lines around her bright eyes. The girl was being chased as she ran by a short but slight brown haired man, his face still young and merry, despite the many troubles it had seen.

It was a garden filled with sunlight and love, untouchable by anything other than peace. Or so they thought. The man had caught his daughter and was swinging her around in the air as she laughed, forever laughing. With no warning, a sudden rush of green light darted through the thick hedge, finding a target in the centre of the man's chest.

It took a single second for all the life to drain out of him. His arms went limp and fell to his side as he unknowingly dropped his daughter onto the grass, the last thing he would ever do. The young girl screamed, but it was too late. He was already dead. The dark haired woman was already running to their aid, her wand drawn and firing spells at the attackers. There was another flash of green light, speeding through the air towards the second target....

"BANG"

The slamming of a car door down the road brought McGonagall back to the present day. Dropping the white rose to the ground she walked towards the window where looking up, one could see the rectangular shape of the letter still sitting on the sill.

Glancing around to make sure none of the Muggles were watching, McGonagall drew out her wand.

"Wingardium Leviosa." she muttered.

A storey above her, the letter rose up of the windowsill, floated six feet across the room and landed with a 'flop' in the middle of Lily's bed. On the yellow sheets it lay there, its contents soon to be life changing for the reader. Back in the garden, the presence of a dark tabby cat where just moments before a woman had been standing went unnoticed by the busy neighbours.

The hours passed slowly, even for a cat. Every few hours McGonagall would get up and walk around the garden to stretch her legs, all the time staying in her Animagus form. At last, when the summer sky was dark and the church clock in the town was chiming nine, a car drove up into the driveway.

A tall brown haired girl, still wearing a large beach hat and flip-flops, was the first person to climb out of the car. She was followed by a sleepy looking eleven-year-old with red hair, who clambered out of the back seat, rubbing her eyes. The small family made their way inside, returning to carry the last of the bags in from the car. After they were all inside, McGonagall sat and waited for the puzzled shout.

"Mum! Come quickly, look at this!"

Wait for the footsteps coming down the stairs. Count to ten.

One... two....

"I have no idea where this has come from Lily. Dear, are you sure this isn't some kind of joke from one of your friends?"

Three... four....

"Petunia honey, you haven't been playing jokes on your sister have you?"

Five... six....

"Look mum, it says I need a cauldron, and books, and a magic wand!"

Seven... eight....

"Mark, can you come and look at this for a minute? I don't like the look of this one bit Lily, and how did these people get into our house in the first place?"

Nine... ten....

"I told you mum, it's magic! It's a magic school, oh please say I can go!"

Change back in to human form, walk up the garden path.

"Do you think it's some sort of terrorist group Mark? They might be following us, they might even be outside at this very moment watching our every move!"

Straighten out suit, ring doorbell.

"Don't be silly Claire, there is no one outside at the moment. I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of this...."

Everybody inside the house froze as the buzz of the doorbell ran out through the hallway.

"It's them, they've come for us! Don't open the door whatever you do Mark!" squealed Claire Evans.

Mark reached for the latch and slowly opened the door as everyone inside held his or her breath.

"Good evening, I'm sorry to bother you and your family this late in the evening, but my name is Minerva McGonagall. I am deputy headmistress at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Is it possible to have a word with you concerning Lily?"

No one said a word in reply. McGonagall sighed to herself. She had had a large amount of practice in communicating with Muggles over the years, but it never seemed to get any easier.

"Might I come in and have a cup of tea? I have been waiting for your return for most of today and unfortunately tonight is rather a chilly evening."

It was Petunia who seemed to recover her manners first. Giving Lily a nudge with her foot she replied politely, "Certainly Ms. McGonagall. Come through to the dining room and I'll bring out your tea for you. Milk and sugar?

Lily followed the rest of her family and the stranger through the painted plywood door and into the best room in the house, the dining room.

This was a medium size room at the back of the house that was usually filled with sunlight. A pair of glass doors allowed the family to walk straight out onto the patio of the back garden. The room was painted pale cream and richly furnished; the huge ash table, chairs, and sideboard that had belonged to Mr. Evans's father taking up most of the space. Displayed upon the sideboard was Mrs. Evans's pride and joy: her collection of Waterford crystal pieces. The surrounding walls, much like the rest of the house, were covered in framed pictures of Lily and Petunia.

McGonagall sat down with her cup of tea and looked at each member of the Evans family in turn. A faint smile rose to her lips.

"Thank you very much for your kind hospitality, and now I'm sure you would like me to explain the purpose of my visit and give you a chance to ask any questions that you might have." She paused to take a sip of tea before going on,

"As I said, my name is Minerva McGonagall and for the last six years I have held the position of deputy headmistress at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Hogwarts is real and I am a real witch.

"I'll get to the point straight away. Your daughter Lily has magical skills. We are offering her a place at Hogwarts to train and develop these powers and to enable her the best possible future.

"Hogwarts is a boarding school in Scotland, located in the south of the Grampain mountain range, near the river Tay. Four of the most learnt witches and wizards of the time established it as a school almost one thousand years ago. The current headmaster of the school is Albus Dumbledore.

"If you take up the offer, Lily will become a student for the next seven years, and be taught in a wide range of subjects. She will be joining the small, but powerful British Wizarding community. We have nothing but Lily's best interests in mind and will help her achieve her very best in every way possible."

Minerva McGonagall finished talking and took another sip of her tea. The whole Evans family was staring at her with their mouths wide open, with Lily's in amazement, and her parents' and sister's in disbelief.

"Where can I get a magic wand from? Will I learn how to make gold? When do I get to leave? Is Petunia a witch too?" Lily gabbled a continuous stream of questions at Professor McGonagall, not pausing to wait for an answer.

A stern look from her mother and a sharp nudge from her sister however, brought her back to her senses. She quickly shut her mouth and ducked her head down, hiding behind her hair with a red face. Mrs. Evans made a move to walk away from the doorway and sit down next to her husband, who was already seated in a stiff-backed wooden chair next to his two daughters, opposite Professor McGonagall.

"How can we trust you? How do we know all of what you are saying is true?"

"You don't," McGonagall replied to Mrs. Evans. "For all you know I could be a murderer coming to kill you all. But I am not. I am a Professor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and I have come to offer Lily a place, if she should want it."

Turning to Lily, she smiled. "And in answer to your questions my dear, you can purchase a magic wand in London along with the rest of you school supples. You will not learn to make gold, instead you will be learning such subjects as Charms, Potions, Defence Against the Dark Arts and Transfiguration. You will be leaving on the 1^st of September, which is in forty-three days time, and no, Petunia is not a witch. You are the only one in your family with this ability."

With these words Lily glanced over at her sister. Petunia refused to look back at her. Mr. Evans put a comforting arm around his elder daughter's shoulders as he spoke for the first time.

"And what if we refuse to let her go? What will happen then?"

Lily gasped when she heard her father, her face going pale. "He couldn't stop her going could he?" She thought to herself, "I'd run away if my parents did that! They don't have the right to make up all my decisions..." Suddenly, Professor McGonagall's voice broke Lily's train of thought.

"You have all the right in the world to refuse to allow Lily to attend Hogwarts, after all she is your daughter, and you hold all responsibility over her. However, if you do choose that route, I'm afraid that I will have to modify your memory so you have no record of this conversation."

Upon hearing this Lily looked pale and jumped out of her chair, onto her feet.

"You can't stop me from going, you just can't! I have to go to Hogwarts. Please Mum, Dad? Please let me go?"

Lily's voice ran to a near hysterical cry as she stood in the middle of the floor, a pleading look on her face and her eyes glistening. She made no move to wipe the tears that were running down her cheeks but instead stared at her parents through unmoving eyes. Professor McGonagall's heart warmed at the sight of her. She had a feeling that this young redhead would be another one for her house, Gryffindor.

Claire Evans stood up, walking across the room to Lily and placing her small pale hands on her daughter's shoulders.

"We just need to think about it Lily dear, it's all a bit sudden, that's the problem. And there's the cost as well, boarding school is expensive. Your father and I will need to work out if we can afford it or not."

"What about the money Gran left me? I can help pay for it with that, can't I?"

"But my mother left you that money to spend on something important, to help you for the future."

"And you think this won't? It's my money, you said before that I can do what I want with it..."

"When you're 18!"

"...And this is what I want to do! I want to go to Hogwarts and if this is the only way I can get there then I will!"

Their eyes met. Two pairs of emerald eyes, one set in a defiant glare, the other in a look of defeat. Claire Evans looked pleadingly at her husband.

"Mark? What do you think?"

Mark Evans sighed. "Well, this is Lily's future, therefore only she has the right to make the decision. I'm sure we will be able to find the money somehow, after all we can always sell the car and go a few years without overseas holidays."

Petunia looked shocked at this suggestion and was just about to open her mouth when Professor McGonagall broke in. By the looks on their faces, most of the Evans family had forgotten that she was still in the house, let alone the room.

"Hogwarts does offer a scholarship to able students from the second year up. Of course this will all depend on Lily's performance in her first year. If it is up to the standard of scholarship students, then we will be able to offer her free board for her next six years at the school, provided that she keeps up with this standard. For the moment, there is also the option of second hand robes and books. This will be no problem."

McGonagall looked Lily straight in the eye as she addressed her next sentence towards the girl.

"If you are sure that you want to study at Hogwarts, you must understand the seriousness of the situation that you are entering. We are a hidden race; we stay apart from Muggles, non-magical folk, and hope to keep it this way. No one outside this room must know where you really go for ten months of the year. No one else must know what you are. Do you understand this?"

Lily nodded her head.

"Good. And after what I have just said, do you still wish to go Hogwarts?"

Again, Lily nodded.

"This means leaving all your friends behind, being away from your family for most of the year, and when you do see them, you will still be apart from them because of what you are and what have you learnt."

Lily's voice came out in a choke. "I've never been more sure of anything in my life!"

"Well my dear, congratulations. I certainly look forward to teaching you." She produced some sheets of parchment from the bag at her feet and turned to Mr. and Mrs. Evans. "You will need to sign these for me." she said, handing over the sheets and a quill. Mark Evans looked warily at the quill before signing his signature at the bottom, stating that he gave permission for his daughter to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Lily let out a gleeful squeal and ran to each of her parents in turn, throwing her arms around them, covering their faces in kisses. "I'm going to Hogwarts. I'm going to be a witch!" Lily turned to face her sister, a wide smile on her face. Petunia smiled back at the younger girl. However, to Lily the smile seemed somehow sad.

"I don't want to start sounding like Mum or anything," Petunia said. "But are you sure about this? I mean one hundred percent sure. You don't know anything about this place apart from what that women has told us. You could be going anywhere!"

"Petunia, I'm sure I'll be fine. After all, I can always come home if I don't like it, can't I?"

"Yeah," the older girl said slowly, before turning to where their parents were talking. "I'm sure you can."

Lily sensed something strange in her Petunia's voice, but her sister now had her back to her and was listening to the adults busily discussing Lily's school supplies.

"The only place to get all you need is somewhere in London." McGonagall said, "Fortunately, this is not too far from you; other Muggle families have to travel down from other cities such as Manchester. There are three dates in the coming months when employees of the Ministry of Magic will escort Muggle born first years and their families to Diagon Alley to show them around and help with their purchases. Would you be interested in doing this?"

Mr. Evans nodded before he spoke. "That would probably be for the best. When are the dates?"

"There is one in a few days on the 30^th of July. The other dates are the 15^th and 28^th of August."

"Well we are going to stay at my mum's in Ireland for most of August, so July the 30^th would be better, wouldn't it Claire?" Mark looked at his wife.

"Well, yes I suppose so. Where do we have to meet anyway? I've been to most places in London over the years and I've never seen a shop that sells a magic wand." she paused, "Apart from toy ones that is!"

McGonagall smiled. "Lily will not be needing a toy wand at Hogwarts. Don't worry, we can find the real thing for her at Diagon Alley."

"At where?" Mrs Evans replied.

"Diagon Alley, it's the wizarding part of London. Now you'll have to meet your guide...."

"Wait, there's a wizarding part of London!?" Lily exclaimed, "Where is it? Do all the wizards live there?"

"Not all the wizards live in Britain, my dear, it would be an awful squash. But yes, some of the wizarding community do choose to live in London." McGonagall explained. "Now as I was saying, you will meet your guide outside the North Entrance of Kensington Tube Station at 11am. Diagon Alley is a short walk from there. The 30^th of July? Right, I'll just put your name down on the list."

She took another piece of parchment out of her bag, headed '30^th of July MoM escorts.' Taking up her quill, she added 'Lily Evans and family' to the list. Lily squinted to make out the other names but found she could not make out the different scripts of scribbled writing. McGonagall coughed sharply, and picking up the parchment on the table, put everything back in the bag and closed the clasp. Lily felt her face going slightly red as she backed away from the table.

"Well", Professor McGonagall said. "If you don't have any more questions, I'm afraid I have to off. I must return to Scotland tonight for an urgent meeting. I look forward to seeing you in September, Lily.

Lily grinned. "Thank you," she said breathlessly. "For everything."

Professor McGonagall took one last look around the room. Mark Evans had his arm around his wife who, having sat back down again, was perched on the edge of her chair. Both parents' faces were tired and worn. They looked shocked, giving the impression that this was all happening against their better judgment.

Petunia sat on her own, arms across her chest, staring at the various pictures of her and her sister around the room with a strange look in her eyes. Lily was the only person still standing, and the only person smiling. She looked small and pale, thought McGonagall, as though she needed a good meal to bring flesh to her tiny figure and colour back into her cheeks.

"Goodbye." she said, smiling a sad smile. "And good luck." This family would need more than good luck to keep them together through all this. She guessed they had no idea what this had in store for all of them. She nodded her head once at Lily before disappearing from the room with a loud 'pop' that caused Claire Evans to jump out of her chair in shock.

"Goodbye." whispered Lily in return.

* * * * *