marauders

         Petunia Evans flipped her flaccid dirty blonde hair over her shoulder and flipped out her compact for a quick check. Same bony unattractive face, same freckles, same pale skin, same pores, same awful hairline. She was never satisfied with what she saw as her reflection, but kept looking to check for any more recent improvements.
         There was a pile of mail lying on the doormat. She flipped through it with a sigh. Bills for Dad, a catalogue for Mum, and a strange letter for her. The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald-green ink. There was no stamp. On the back was a purple was seal bearing a coat of arms; a badger, an eagle, a snake, and a lion, all surrounding a large letter H.
         Petunia started at the envelope in avid curiosity. She never got much in the mail, except for some letters from long-distance friends from summer camps. It was just so… unusual.
         Thankfully she was the only one left in the house. Both Mr. and Mrs. Evans were hardworking adults struggling to bring in a good family income, and Lily was at the local studio taking ballet class. Walking into the kitchen, she sat on the stool and ripped open the letter. Her mouth fell open in shock.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
                   (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,                              Chief Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Miss 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.
Yours sincerely,
         
         Minerva McGonagall,
         Deputy Headmistress

         She burst into a fit of laughter. An actual school for magic? Jesus. What were these guys on? She was shifting through a mental list of people in school who could have made this up when a rather dangerous thought popped into her head. What if there really was magic…What if she was really a witch? That would most definitely explain some things, like Ralph Emerson’s hair bursting into flames when he had pulled up her skirt, revealing her underwear, or when Kate Bennett suddenly contracted a peanut allergy when she told Petunia she had stolen her boyfriend Will while munching on her PB and J. But if she really was a witch, or a sorceress, or whatever, why hadn’t the bullies in her life been turned into toads every time they insulted her, or ended up as a dragon’s lunch when they pushed her down? If she really was a witch, why couldn’t she make herself look beautiful? She wasn’t one of the Plastics…yet. She was slowly rising in status; yesterday Gwen had told her that her skirt was just “stunning brill”. It wouldn’t take magic to be one of them. She wasn’t a freak; she actually could be like that. And that was all that she wanted. To be them. Not to go to some hokey school and learn magic tricks; if she was a witch, she could teach herself, and get everything she had ever wanted.
         Without another thought she got up and quickly ripped the letter up, tossing it scornfully into the rubbish bin.
         Two weeks later, when she had almost completely forgotten about the unexpected letter, there was a knock on the door. Once again, she was the only one at home. She knew she wasn’t supposed to open the door to strangers, and neither her parents nor Lily could be back by now. Besides, they all had a key, so why would they be knocking? But her curiosity got the better of her, and she ran to the upstairs window to have a look. The knocker was a man, tall, thin, and old, judging by the silver streaks in his auburn hair and rather pint-sized beard. He was wearing slacks and a fitted shirt, both very nondescript and neither looking as though they could ever belong to him. Well, if he thought she was going to open the door to some strange old man, he must be off his rocker. Suddenly he looked up and met her gaze. Their eyes met, and there was something in his eyes that intrigued her. The corners of his mouth twitched up into a small smile. He flicked out a stick of wood from underneath his sleeve and pointed it at one of the rosebushes planted near the front door. It changed into a cactus. Petunia blinked her eyes very slowly.          Gullible as she was, she found herself disbelievingly trying to think of any other reason as to why the formerly bushy and rosy plant now stood green and spiny. The only answer she could come up with was magic. She turned and ran down the stairs, coming to a crashing stop at the door. She opened it slowly, leaving the chain connected.
         “Who are you?” She said, spellbound.
         “Miss Evans, I am quite sure you still have many questions about Hogwarts which your letter didn’t answer.”
         “No, no questions. Sorry.” She paused. He didn’t look one bit surprised by her answer. “I didn’t catch your name,” she demanded, suddenly aggravated.
         “The name’s Dumbledore. Albus Dumbledore. I would presume that name is not entirely unfamiliar with you.”
         “Mmhm.”
         Lily unlocked the chain and opened the door wide for him.
         “Thank you, miss Evans. My gratitude is everlastingly overflowing.” His bright, cheerful demeanor held a great contrast to her snotty adolescent behavior. She showed him into the retro black and white kitchen where he took a surprisingly graceful seat on one of the cheap, rickety red chairs at the counter. She lounged against the edge and gave him a fierce look.
         “So?” She raised a quizzical brow.
         “I am here to tell you more about our world,” he began. Petunia shook her head sternly.
         “Your world, you mean. This here is my world,” she said, gesturing to her surroundings. “Whatever world it is you’re living in, whatever part of your brain that it exists in, it’s yours, not mine. I don’t want it.”
         “Miss Evans, I feel compelled to remind you of what you have always been; a witch.”
         “No.” The sudden intensity in her voice scared even her. “I’m not like that. All I want is to be normal, to have a normal life. I’m not going to live my life as a freak.”
         “Oh my dear, you are not and have never been normal. Ordinary is just not for you.”
         “But I am ordinary. I mean, just look at me. Ugh, it’s disgusting.”
         “I believe that we are seeing two different things, Miss Evans.” He gave her an appraising look. “The choice to attend Hogwarts is entirely up to you. I am in no position to require you to attend. All I ask is that you are aware of the decision that you are making.” He paused, looking at her. She looked down at her knees for a moment.
         “Yes,” she said quietly. She glanced back up at him quickly. “All I want is to be normal,” she repeated again.
         “I am afraid that is quite an impossibility for you, Petunia. You can never change what you really are.” He got out of the red chair with a dignified squeak. “I will find my own way out, Miss Evans. Thank you so very much for your time.” He gave her a deep bow before he turned to leave.

Two years later…

         Lily was dancing down Ganton Street. She was ten years old, the youngest in her class, and in just a few weeks she would be starting pointe. With her green eyes bright and shining, she chirped for joy and twirled down the ragged concrete sidewalk.
         She came running in the door, her wavy red hair flowing behind her, exuberantly calling for her parents.
         “Mum! Dad!” She dropped her dance bag at the edge of the stairs.
         She ran into the living room. “I’m going to start pointe!” she exclaimed. Her mother leapt out of her chair, running to hug her, a happy smile on her face. Her dad was trying to hide his anxiety beneath a smile. Petunia gave her a genuine ‘congratulations’. Lily had been working for this for almost all of her life, ever since her parents had taken her to see the Royal Ballet doing Frederick Ashton’s ‘Swan Lake’.  Of course, the Evans’ couldn’t afford to send her to the Royal Ballet School, but she went to a pretty good arts academy in London, on scholarship. She was a pretty decent artist and musician too. Not to mention a distinguished academic student and very popular. Lily was anything but ordinary.
         And Petunia hated her for that. Petunia wanted a normal life, but not to be an ordinary person. She did pretty well in school. Her singing voice made even deaf little Mrs. Northingham cringe. Her fumbling fingers couldn’t tame the ivory keys or an artist’s brush, and dancing lessons had been a terror. What ever she did, her little sister could do better.
         “There’s a letter on the table for you, sweetheart,” Mr. Evans told Lily. She eagerly danced over and picked it up for inspection.
         She opened it in a rush.
         “Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?” Lily said in astonishment.
         “OH!” her mother clasped her hand over her mouth, her other hand clutching her chair. “Lily! We’d always wanted a witch in the family!”
         “Christ! Two good news in one day!” Her parents were the happiest she had ever seen them.
         “This is for real?” She felt a rushing in her heart, like what she imagined riding in a rollercoaster would feel like. She excitedly turned to share an exuberant smile with Petunia, but she was nowhere to be seen.



         Petunia ran up to her room in a rush. Her sister was a witch too! She slammed the door behind her. That dratted wizard could have told her, he must have known. She was swallowed by deep regret. Why hadn’t she gone to Hogwarts? She could have been the one with their parents praise and joy, instead of Lily. She kicked her dresser and punched her stuffed dragon in anger. Picking Henry the Dragon back up, she wondered, if she had gone to Hogwarts, if she could have ever seen a real one.


         The Evans’ went out to dinner that night in celebration, something they weren’t able to do all that often. They went to Lily’s favorite, the Monte Blanc, a sweet little French restaurant deep in the city of London.
         Lily noticed her sister cycling through false enthusiasm to despondency to disgust and fear and back to enthusiasm again. She could have expected nothing else from her insecure, suggestible sister, but the realization of it hurt nonetheless.
         
“What are we going to tell everyone back home about where I am over the year? I don’t really think everyone would really warm to the idea,” said Lily, voicing her concerns. Her parents exchanged a quick look.
         “I guess we’ll say you got accepted to a private boarding school,” Mr. Evans suggested.
         “A very private boarding school, and into a very selective arts program at the school,” Mrs. Evans interjected quite excitedly.
         “Well, what’s its name?” Mr. Evans asked.
         “Let’s call it St. Ann’s Unequivocally Unsurpassed Academy for Exceptional Adolescents,” Lily said with a smirk. They all shared a bout of laughter.
         It was late when they got back home, almost 11 o’clock. As they were walking up the street Lily asked Petunia
         “Who’s that man standing by our door?”
         “I don’t know. I’ve never seen him before,” Petunia answered, lying through her teeth. She had seen him before, and he wasn’t someone she was likely to forget. Lily asked her parents
         “Who’s that man?” But they only replied
         “What man? I don’t see anybody there.”
         She knew her parents to be very attentive people with good eyesight. It would take magic to trick their eyes. It wasn’t till they were at the door that they noticed the wizard standing under the cover of the eaves.
         “Hello Lily, Mr. and Mrs. Evans, Petunia,” he greeted them in turn. “I’m here to answer any questions you might have about Hogwarts.”
         “Oh! How very nice to meet you…”
         “Ah, forgive my rudeness. I am Professor Dumbledore.” Mr. Evans unlocked the door and they all walked into the house.
         “Wait, aren’t you the headmaster?” Lily asked.
         “Oh, you remember then, do you?” He sounded quite pleased. Dumbledore sat in the chair next to the fireplace, and Lily and her parents sat on the sofa. It was a small, green room with hardwood floors and Lily’s artwork on the walls. Dumbledore sat for a moment, admiring her artwork. “I believe these belong to you?” he asked Lily, gesturing at the walls.
         “Yeah,” she said self-consciously, not meeting his eyes, adjusting the edge of her dress and taking off her chunky loafers.
         “So,” Dumbledore said, “it doesn’t seem as though you’re having any trouble trusting the credibility of magic and wizards.”
         “Well, my stepmother’s a Squib, so I’ve known about magic for a long time, and my wife has too,” Mr. Evans said. Mrs. Evans smiled.
         “We’d always hoped that one of our daughters would be a witch,” she admitted.
Dumbledore looked pleased.
         “It’s a year-round school, and Lily will need a whole set of supplies, a list of which is in the letter you received this afternoon.” Lily fumbled to pull the letter out of her purse; she hadn’t put it off her person since she’d first gotten it. Out fell a second piece of paper she hadn’t noticed before. She quickly scanned the list, worry growing in her mind as she continued.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

UNIFORM
First-year student will require:
         1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)
         2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
         3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
         4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)

COURSE BOOKS
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
         Spells and Magic (Grade 1)
           by Bernice Baghammer
         A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
         Alter your life: a Hip Guide to Transfiguration
           by Rufus Tingman
         Half a Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi
           by Phyllida Spore
         Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
         Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
           by Newt Scamander
         Defense Against the Dark Arts
           by Lord Breckenridge
         Enchanting Enchantments (Grade 1)
           by Egbert Raymondson
         The Basic Book of Magic
           by Filidia Fletcher

OTHER EQUIPMENT
         1 wand
         1 cauldron (standard size 2)
         1 telescope
         1 set brass scales

Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad.

         “Where am I supposed to get all this?” Lily asked Dumbledore, looking back up at him in concern.
         “Right here in London,” he pronounced decidedly.
         “You can buy all this in London?” Right in her hometown there were magical shops full of wands and magical toads and textbooks for a school for wizards. She loved the idea.
         “If you know where to go,” Dumbledore said.
         “I want a cat,” Lily whispered to her mother excitedly.
         “Someone will come tomorrow and help you with your shopping,” Dumbledore said. The man was in trousers and a shirt and tie with a long, light cloak worn over it. He sat with his legs crossed, humming a small tune and looking up at the ceiling.

         A Ministry worker came to their house to assist Lily with her magical purchases.
         “My name is Mrs. Evangeline Potter,” a tall, brunette woman smiled down at her. “Today’s the day you get your first real taste of the Wizarding world!” Lily smiled uncertainly, gazing up at the strange woman. She was dressed in a deep blue sundress that swished as she walked and fitted her slim form quite nicely. Lily looked down at her striped jumper and wished that she could fill it out a bit more.
         “Mrs. Potter–”
         “Please, call me Evangeline.”
         “Ms. Evangeline, can my family come, or is it just us?”
         “Oh, Evangeline said, surprised, “I forgot to tell you that Muggles can’t get to the places we’re going today.”
         “Muggles?”
         “Non-wizarding folk.”
         “Ah. I see.”
         Mr. and Mrs. Evans were more than happy to entrust their daughter to Mrs. Potter. Petunia had fled from the room at the sight of the witch.
         “My son’s a first year too,” Mrs. Potter said proudly. “He’s out getting a cab. I’m just so awkward with Muggle things, and Muggle money, oh my goodness, I just had to ask him to do it. He’s so smart and clever; I could trust him with nearly anything.” They were walking out of the little house now, Lily striding beside Ms. Evangeline, patiently listening while she gushed about her son. “I’m sure you two will get along very well, Lily.”
         “Most certainly,” Lily replied quickly, realizing she was waiting for an answer.
         “Oh, there he is! James, come and meet Lily.”