Post by rachy on May 1, 2010 3:55:17 GMT -8
Title: Prologue [1/?]
Rating: PG
Warnings: Old fic.
Pairings: James/Lily.
Summary: They're known through history, but how did they get that way?
Author's Notes: Right. Long one. This is posted on my fanfiction.net account, and was posted until it was deleted on Mugglenet Fanfiction, in about 2006/2007. It was posted originally on fanfiction.net in 2008, and it hasn't been edited since then... I think I would have to hack it to bits if I did. This was my first fanfic, but as the chapters progress you should see some improvement, I hope, as the later chapters are written closer to now. Sorry, I just felt the need to explain. Concrit away
--------------------
I sat at my bay window in my second floor bedroom, staring across the landscape of Manchester. It was Boxing Day, 1976 and I was in my sixth year at Hogwarts. I was reminiscing about some of the things that had happened so far, when a car door slamming startled me out of my thoughts. Looking down, slightly annoyed, I grimaced even more. Petunia had brought her latest boyfriend, Vernon Dursley, home.
Vernon always bragged that he was some professional at drilling or something where he worked and was, according to his bragging darling Petunia, a 'hot and upcoming assistant.' I wondered if he was a 'hot and upcoming assistant' because while he scared away half the customers, he intimidated the other half into agreeing to a deal. Frankly, he was a quick-fuse type of person – quick to explode, snail paced to apologise. In that regard, we should have gotten along, both of us with our quick tempers.
But there was the thing of me being a witch.
The controlling of tempers was probably key, too. My temper, I could now proudly say, was pretty well controlled. Better than it was about six months ago, when I had a massive fight with James Potter over Severus Snape. I had lost my temper then, but it showed Potter what I thought of him. I decided then to blame that fight on a release of exam tension. I had just finished my OWLS (ordinary wizarding examinations) and wanted to live up to my own expectations, the expectations of my professors, and, of course, those of all the other students in my year, who regarded me as something of a workaholic. It paid off though: I earned eleven OWLS, all either Outstanding or Exceeds Expectations.
I decided the chances were good that Vernon Dursley thought I was a freak, especially if Petunia had bothered to tell him anything. Even though she hates me, I knew my sister; talking and spying were her strong points. I was not looking forward to sitting down to dinner with my father, my sister, and her boyfriend, the latter two who think I'm a freak, the former preoccupied with work. I supposed it was better than sitting outside by the lake and listening to the Slytherins call me a Mudblood, and then telling James Potter off for defending me.
Half an hour later, my father, who fancied himself a master chef, called up that dinner was ready. I sat down opposite Petunia, next to Dad and diagonal to Vernon. Petunia alternated between simpering about her favourite soap opera, bragging about Vernon's 'achievements' and gossiping about what the neighbours were up to. I ate pretty much in silence, savouring the taste of homemade lasagne with a tossed salad, until I heard a crash from my room upstairs.
I excused myself, guessing it would be an owl banging into my window, and was rewarded with the sight of my boyfriend Rob's owl, Carrot Pea, hovering outside the window with a disgruntled look on her face. I opened the window and let her in. She carefully dropped a scarlet envelope on my homework. Swearing softly, I quickly grabbed the smoking, sooty envelope and closed my bedroom door. Glancing at the ashy mess on my essay as Carrot Pea flew back out the window, I sighed. It was Potions, a subject I liked, and Professor Slughorn liked me a lot as well, so I reckoned I wouldn't get in too much trouble.
Turning back to the current problem, the envelope, I made a face. A Howler at home was better than humiliation in the Entrance Hall. If Rob had pulled this at Hogwarts, chances are, James Potter would have been nearby, too, and it would have been awkward attempting to keep Potter from cursing Rob. I still could not help but shake my head as I prised the plain wax seal holding the envelope closed. I was tempted to quickly use a Vanishing Charm or put in earplugs, but either option would take too much effort. A Vanishing Charm would get me in serious trouble with the Ministry, and earplugs meant either summoning some, (which would also get me in trouble) or turning my trunk inside out looking for them, by which point the Howler would have exploded. I closed my eyes and slit the envelope open.
'WELL, LILY EVANS, I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY WITH YOURSELF. YOU ARE THE LEAST CARING INDIVIDUAL I HAVE EVER COME ACROSS. GOD KNOWS WHAT THAT DISGUSTING, ARROGANT, UGLY, STUCK-UP GIT POTTER SEES IN YOU. NO WONDER EVERYONE ASKED ME WHETHER I HAD MADE THE RIGHT DECISION IN WANTING YOU AND NOW I CAN SEE WHY. IT'S BECAUSE YOU FLIRT WITH ALL THE GUYS. I CAN SEE THROUGH YOUR PLAN, JUST SO YOU KNOW. I WONDER HOW LONG IT'S GOING TO TAKE POTTER AND THAT OTHER GIT, LUPIN, TO SEE THAT YOU'VE BEEN THREE-TIMING THEM. THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE HAPPY, LILY. THEY'RE GONNA CHUCK A FIT, MAYBE A FEW HEXES, HOPEFULLY A FEW CURSES, AND THEN YOU'RE GOING TO BE ALL ALONE IN THIS WORLD, AREN'T YOU? BUT JUST SO YOU KNOW, LILY EVANS, YOU CAN PULL THOSE TRICKS OVER EVERYONE ELSE, BUT NOT ME, NOT ANYMORE. THAT'S RIGHT LILY, YOU'RE GOING TO LOSE EVERYONE WHO REALLY CARED ABOUT YOU. WE ARE OVER, LILY. GOD KNOWS WHY WE STARTED. WE'RE OVER AND I CAN FIND A GIRL WHO WON'T PLAY GAMES. HAVE A NICE LIFE BEING LONELY, LILY. YOU JUST LOST YOUR CHANCE AT HAPPINESS.'
Rob's voice echoed slowly throughout the room. It was so considerate of him to send a Howler, I grimaced to myself sarcastically. If he had told me that at Hogwarts, he would have been jinxed from here to Timbuktu, and not just by me. My friends would have been a little annoyed at what Rob was implying, and I imagined Remus would get a few nice little hexes off on him…and Potter—God, if Potter had heard this, and I was Rob, I would put myself at the mercy of a couple of thousand Acromantulas before letting Potter hex me. If Potter ever found out about this Howler, he would kill Rob for what he implied and what he said about me. He might have cared a little tiny bit for the stuff Rob had said about him, but mainly, he would have been furious for my sake. James Potter had his weaknesses, and I know I'm one of them. I had seen in the past just exactly how far he is willing to go if I am involved.
I went back downstairs, still thinking. I paused on the bottom step when the jangling of keys in the front door startled me. I looked up and watched my mother let herself in. Her green eyes were dull, and her frizzy, curled blonde hair hung in a ponytail. She smiled slightly up at me and said tiredly, "Another tough day at work, that's all, hon. Has your dad cooked yet?"
"Yep," I replied, taking her handbag and giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Lasagne, salad and Petunia's new boyfriend all served up to eat." She smiled and shook her head at me, motioning for me to lead the way into the dining room. I returned to my seat at the table and sat down. Ignoring Vernon's complaint about people who interrupted dinners with phone calls, I kept a watchful eye on my mother, offering her and Daddy a second serving of lasagne. When Vernon's complaints shifted to another subject, underage drinking, I moved to the television in the adjacent lounge and turned it on. The newsreader's reports of gruesome murders made me shiver, but at least it drowned out Vernon's voice. I turned the volume up and once more returned to the table, earning a glare from Petunia.
"Isn't it lovely to be up to date with current events in the world?" I said sweetly. "It's so satisfying to have conversational topics that actually mean something to people isn't it?" Returning Petunia's now icy glare, I smiled, complacent for the moment. The lull in conversation was ironic, because now we could clearly hear the news anchor say, "Today has been a devastating day. At least one hundred people have died in a freak, unexplainable explosion in inner London. The cause of the explosion is unknown and investigators are at a loss to explain why such a tragedy has occurred. We will update later tonight." I turned pale, and with a clatter, my fork fell onto my plate. I turned cold with fear. This was not an accident. This was the work of Voldemort and the Death Eaters.
Rating: PG
Warnings: Old fic.
Pairings: James/Lily.
Summary: They're known through history, but how did they get that way?
Author's Notes: Right. Long one. This is posted on my fanfiction.net account, and was posted until it was deleted on Mugglenet Fanfiction, in about 2006/2007. It was posted originally on fanfiction.net in 2008, and it hasn't been edited since then... I think I would have to hack it to bits if I did. This was my first fanfic, but as the chapters progress you should see some improvement, I hope, as the later chapters are written closer to now. Sorry, I just felt the need to explain. Concrit away
--------------------
I sat at my bay window in my second floor bedroom, staring across the landscape of Manchester. It was Boxing Day, 1976 and I was in my sixth year at Hogwarts. I was reminiscing about some of the things that had happened so far, when a car door slamming startled me out of my thoughts. Looking down, slightly annoyed, I grimaced even more. Petunia had brought her latest boyfriend, Vernon Dursley, home.
Vernon always bragged that he was some professional at drilling or something where he worked and was, according to his bragging darling Petunia, a 'hot and upcoming assistant.' I wondered if he was a 'hot and upcoming assistant' because while he scared away half the customers, he intimidated the other half into agreeing to a deal. Frankly, he was a quick-fuse type of person – quick to explode, snail paced to apologise. In that regard, we should have gotten along, both of us with our quick tempers.
But there was the thing of me being a witch.
The controlling of tempers was probably key, too. My temper, I could now proudly say, was pretty well controlled. Better than it was about six months ago, when I had a massive fight with James Potter over Severus Snape. I had lost my temper then, but it showed Potter what I thought of him. I decided then to blame that fight on a release of exam tension. I had just finished my OWLS (ordinary wizarding examinations) and wanted to live up to my own expectations, the expectations of my professors, and, of course, those of all the other students in my year, who regarded me as something of a workaholic. It paid off though: I earned eleven OWLS, all either Outstanding or Exceeds Expectations.
I decided the chances were good that Vernon Dursley thought I was a freak, especially if Petunia had bothered to tell him anything. Even though she hates me, I knew my sister; talking and spying were her strong points. I was not looking forward to sitting down to dinner with my father, my sister, and her boyfriend, the latter two who think I'm a freak, the former preoccupied with work. I supposed it was better than sitting outside by the lake and listening to the Slytherins call me a Mudblood, and then telling James Potter off for defending me.
Half an hour later, my father, who fancied himself a master chef, called up that dinner was ready. I sat down opposite Petunia, next to Dad and diagonal to Vernon. Petunia alternated between simpering about her favourite soap opera, bragging about Vernon's 'achievements' and gossiping about what the neighbours were up to. I ate pretty much in silence, savouring the taste of homemade lasagne with a tossed salad, until I heard a crash from my room upstairs.
I excused myself, guessing it would be an owl banging into my window, and was rewarded with the sight of my boyfriend Rob's owl, Carrot Pea, hovering outside the window with a disgruntled look on her face. I opened the window and let her in. She carefully dropped a scarlet envelope on my homework. Swearing softly, I quickly grabbed the smoking, sooty envelope and closed my bedroom door. Glancing at the ashy mess on my essay as Carrot Pea flew back out the window, I sighed. It was Potions, a subject I liked, and Professor Slughorn liked me a lot as well, so I reckoned I wouldn't get in too much trouble.
Turning back to the current problem, the envelope, I made a face. A Howler at home was better than humiliation in the Entrance Hall. If Rob had pulled this at Hogwarts, chances are, James Potter would have been nearby, too, and it would have been awkward attempting to keep Potter from cursing Rob. I still could not help but shake my head as I prised the plain wax seal holding the envelope closed. I was tempted to quickly use a Vanishing Charm or put in earplugs, but either option would take too much effort. A Vanishing Charm would get me in serious trouble with the Ministry, and earplugs meant either summoning some, (which would also get me in trouble) or turning my trunk inside out looking for them, by which point the Howler would have exploded. I closed my eyes and slit the envelope open.
'WELL, LILY EVANS, I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY WITH YOURSELF. YOU ARE THE LEAST CARING INDIVIDUAL I HAVE EVER COME ACROSS. GOD KNOWS WHAT THAT DISGUSTING, ARROGANT, UGLY, STUCK-UP GIT POTTER SEES IN YOU. NO WONDER EVERYONE ASKED ME WHETHER I HAD MADE THE RIGHT DECISION IN WANTING YOU AND NOW I CAN SEE WHY. IT'S BECAUSE YOU FLIRT WITH ALL THE GUYS. I CAN SEE THROUGH YOUR PLAN, JUST SO YOU KNOW. I WONDER HOW LONG IT'S GOING TO TAKE POTTER AND THAT OTHER GIT, LUPIN, TO SEE THAT YOU'VE BEEN THREE-TIMING THEM. THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE HAPPY, LILY. THEY'RE GONNA CHUCK A FIT, MAYBE A FEW HEXES, HOPEFULLY A FEW CURSES, AND THEN YOU'RE GOING TO BE ALL ALONE IN THIS WORLD, AREN'T YOU? BUT JUST SO YOU KNOW, LILY EVANS, YOU CAN PULL THOSE TRICKS OVER EVERYONE ELSE, BUT NOT ME, NOT ANYMORE. THAT'S RIGHT LILY, YOU'RE GOING TO LOSE EVERYONE WHO REALLY CARED ABOUT YOU. WE ARE OVER, LILY. GOD KNOWS WHY WE STARTED. WE'RE OVER AND I CAN FIND A GIRL WHO WON'T PLAY GAMES. HAVE A NICE LIFE BEING LONELY, LILY. YOU JUST LOST YOUR CHANCE AT HAPPINESS.'
Rob's voice echoed slowly throughout the room. It was so considerate of him to send a Howler, I grimaced to myself sarcastically. If he had told me that at Hogwarts, he would have been jinxed from here to Timbuktu, and not just by me. My friends would have been a little annoyed at what Rob was implying, and I imagined Remus would get a few nice little hexes off on him…and Potter—God, if Potter had heard this, and I was Rob, I would put myself at the mercy of a couple of thousand Acromantulas before letting Potter hex me. If Potter ever found out about this Howler, he would kill Rob for what he implied and what he said about me. He might have cared a little tiny bit for the stuff Rob had said about him, but mainly, he would have been furious for my sake. James Potter had his weaknesses, and I know I'm one of them. I had seen in the past just exactly how far he is willing to go if I am involved.
I went back downstairs, still thinking. I paused on the bottom step when the jangling of keys in the front door startled me. I looked up and watched my mother let herself in. Her green eyes were dull, and her frizzy, curled blonde hair hung in a ponytail. She smiled slightly up at me and said tiredly, "Another tough day at work, that's all, hon. Has your dad cooked yet?"
"Yep," I replied, taking her handbag and giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Lasagne, salad and Petunia's new boyfriend all served up to eat." She smiled and shook her head at me, motioning for me to lead the way into the dining room. I returned to my seat at the table and sat down. Ignoring Vernon's complaint about people who interrupted dinners with phone calls, I kept a watchful eye on my mother, offering her and Daddy a second serving of lasagne. When Vernon's complaints shifted to another subject, underage drinking, I moved to the television in the adjacent lounge and turned it on. The newsreader's reports of gruesome murders made me shiver, but at least it drowned out Vernon's voice. I turned the volume up and once more returned to the table, earning a glare from Petunia.
"Isn't it lovely to be up to date with current events in the world?" I said sweetly. "It's so satisfying to have conversational topics that actually mean something to people isn't it?" Returning Petunia's now icy glare, I smiled, complacent for the moment. The lull in conversation was ironic, because now we could clearly hear the news anchor say, "Today has been a devastating day. At least one hundred people have died in a freak, unexplainable explosion in inner London. The cause of the explosion is unknown and investigators are at a loss to explain why such a tragedy has occurred. We will update later tonight." I turned pale, and with a clatter, my fork fell onto my plate. I turned cold with fear. This was not an accident. This was the work of Voldemort and the Death Eaters.