Much More

Lily stumbled down the stairs to the kitchen, absolutely exhausted. She had barely gotten a wink of sleep last night. She kept remembering that letter - no one else knew about it but her, she had made sure. Immediately after tossing it out, she tied up the garbage bag and took it outside to the pail.

She knew she probably shouldn't be taking it so seriously, but, every time that first sentence popped up in her head, she got the shivers. It's probably just a joke, she assured herself all through the night, magic really doesn't exist....

Yesterday's experience in her bedroom conflicted with that proposal, however. How had she had such a dream? It was all so real! And....how did the article wind up in her pocket?

Lily subconsciously stirred her porridge, deep in thought, with her head propped on her elbow.

"Lily, no arms on the table, please!" chimed her mother. She strolled into the kitchen in her lilac bathrobe, sorting through the post. "Oh, you've got another letter."

Lily's heart sank. Another letter? She silently prayed that it wasn't....

But it was. It bore the same green scrawl, addressed to "Ms. L. Evans" at 4 Privet Drive. "Looks awfully similar to the letter you got yesterday," said her mother, peeking over her shoulder curiously. "Whoever is writing you these letters is trying hard to reach you, aren't they?" Her mother smiled and winked. Lily cracked a small grin too, but still felt queasy.

"Well, go ahead, open it."

Lily stared up at her mother with a terrified expression. "Er - no, I'll open it later - "

"What? Is there something wrong, dear?" said Mrs. Evans, approaching Lily slowly, one of her eyebrows raised.

"No, no, nothing - I just don't feel like it, honest - "

"Settle down, I'm not forcing you to," said Lily's mother. She took the letter from Lily's fingers.

I've got to get a grip on myself, thought Lily. I'm cracking up! Magic isn't real - it's all fake -

Before Lily realized it, Mrs. Evans had torn open the envelope and was unfolding the paper. Lily cried "No!" and dove forward to snatch it from her, but her mother just gasped and stepped aside.

"Lily! What's going on?" she cried, pulling up her daughter from the floor by her elbow. "You've been acting awfully strange!"

"Don't read it! Please!" Lily begged. She stretched out her hands for the letter, but her mother backed off even more.

"You know very well I have the right to, so don't make me send you up to your room," said Mrs. Evans in a low but stern voice. Lily had never liked that tone; she didn't dare say any more, but stood, trembling, as her mother read the note.

"We are pleased to inform you....Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry....we await your owl..." Mrs. Evans muttered as she skimmed the sentences. She quickly flipped to the attached papers, and clucked her tongue. "Lily, this is a joke. It isn't real. This - Hogwarts company, whatever it is - they're just asking for our money. It's a swindle."

It's a swindle. Lily had just been telling herself that, and she truly wanted to believe it, but she had this strange feeling that it wasn't, that it was really true....

"Mum, there's something I should tell you," said Lily, her voice soft and shuddering. "Something happened yesterday. I know I'll sound strange, and it won't seem like a big deal to you, but it really startled me - "

"Settle down," said Mrs. Evans softly, placing a gentle hand on Lily shoulder. "Tell me."

Lily took a deep breath....and told her mother about the article and the vision.

For ten seconds or so, her mother just gazed down at her and blinked, as if words had failed her. At last, she spoke up. "Lily, are you feeling alright?" She brought her hand up to Lily's forehead to check her temperature. Lily pushed it away stubbornly.

"Mum!" barked Lily. "I am not sick, and I did not dream this up! There's something going on with me - something wrong with me!"

As if on cue, a noisy lawnmower started up right outside. The door to the backyard was wide open, and Lily's father was cutting the grass. Lily groaned loudly. "Why can't I at least get some peace around here? I'm jinxed, I swear!" She gestured wildly toward the door, yelling at her mother as if it was her fault.

And the back door automatically slammed shut.

Lily's mother looked back and forth in shock between her and the door for a while, and finally it sunk in to Lily that it had not been the wind that had shut the door....

"What did - how - how did you do that?" stuttered her astonished mother. Checking to see if it was a trick, Mrs. Evans went and opened, shut, opened, and shut the door, utterly amazed. "It wasn't you - please - was it?" Her mother looked back at her from the other side of the room with wide blue eyes, wider than Lily had ever seen them.

Lily's mouth wobbled, but no noise came out. She was without words. She had done it; she had pointed at the door, and it shut. She just didn't know how. Emitting a shivering sigh, she said anxiously, "It was me, I think - it just happened, I don't know!"

Mrs. Evans glanced back down at the forgotten letter in her hands. "This is all a mistake. It's all made up, I know it! The door must be broken. I'll go down to your father's workroom for a screwdriver; yes, that'll do it. There's probably a loose hinge or something...."

Lily's mother jogged out of the room, hoping to find something that would prove all this was some sort of trick. On her way out, she bumped into -

Petunia.

Her eyes were wide and focused intently on Lily, as if she was sprouting another head.

"Hey, Petunia, did you sleep well?" said Lily nervously, wringing her hands behind her.

Petunia only nodded slightly, and inched slowly backward.

Lily was awestruck. "How much did you see....?" she croaked. Petunia didn't say anything, but didn't need to. By the look on her face, Lily could tell her sister had seen everything.

"It's not what you think - " began Lily, but she couldn't say any more. It had finally hit her - she was weird, and this wasn't fake.

She really was a witch.

"Petunia, please don't think badly of me, I didn't mean for this to happen! Maybe you're one too! We could go to the school together!"

Petunia gasped at the thought, and looked down at her hands as if they had the answer written on them. With an expression of horror, she glanced once more at Lily, and then darted away.

Lily was left in the kitchen, quietly sobbing.

***

He knows, thought Lily during dinner. Mum's told him. He's just pretending nothing's happened.

Her father was rambling on to a pale Mrs. Evans about his recent shipment of ales from Norway. She kept nodding and smiling politely, but it was obvious that she wasn't actually paying any attention. To Lily's right, Petunia had edged away as much as possible and was constantly sending uneasy glances in Lily's direction. No one except Mr. Evans had eaten their food; Petunia, Lily, and their Mum were just subconsciously cutting it up and pushing it around.

"....Fine deal, if you ask me! I think the contract will start a nice bond between us and them. I'll probably be visiting Oslo a few times within the next year." Mr. Evans stuck a mighty slab of pork in his mouth and washed it down with the remainder of his milk. "Wonderful supper, Caroline! Delicious!" He dabbed his mouth with a napkin and patted his stomach with satisfaction

There were several seconds of silence before Lily chose to speak up. "I - I'm going upstairs. Good night." She stood up quickly, and made for the door.

"What?" said her father sharply. "It's only seven o'clock! Don't you want any dessert?"

"No, I'm not hungry," Lily mumbled, and she left for her room.

The week before Lily's trip to "Diagon Alley" passed in a blur. She barely came out of her room. Each morning, Petunia got up early and went out with friends until late at night. Lily didn't have the chance to say so much as a syllable to her.

Lily set off out of the house at a run. It was two minutes to two o'clock, and she had to get to the bus station, which was more than six blocks away. She had thought worriedly about whether this "Knight Bus" would pick her up there, and concluded that naturally it would. It was a bus, and there was only one type of place that buses stopped.

She sprinted desperately the entire way, checking her ticking watch. The time seemed to move faster than usual, and she was already two minutes late. She turned the corner, and saw the bench. A great red bus was parked at the sign, and several shopping-bag-carrying women and briefcase-holding men were gradually boarding. She was only about a hundred feet away, and the last person stepped on. The doors closed after him.

"Wait!" Lily cried. She tried to run faster, but her tired legs couldn't take it. She tripped on her own feet. Huffing and whimpering, she remained on the ground helplessly watching the bus as it zoomed off, whirring tauntingly.

People didn't even slow down and offer her assistance. She just stayed on the ground, drawing deep breaths in and out, staring down the street as if waiting for her ride to come around the block. Other vehicles whizzed by, steered by people on their way to work or a late lunch. Lily hadn't eaten that morning; she was so nervous that she had lost her appetite. Her stomach grumbled annoyingly, and as she lay on the sidewalk, she thought of stopping somewhere for a meal. She didn't have anywhere else to go. Her parents and sister went out to go shopping for a new sofa and would be gone until seven or eight o'clock, and Lily didn't have a key. She could go to the library, but that was two or three miles away. Not that it wouldn't be worth it; she had nearly six hours to do anything.

"Miss?" someone called. Startled at the sudden remark, she sprang up and looked at whoever had shouted. To her surprise, an attractive boy clad in a neatly pressed red uniform and cap was leaning out of a gigantic, purple, triple-decker bus, which was leaning slightly as if about to topple over. Lily looked around her, to see who was being called.

"Miss? Are you Miss Evans?" said the boy again. Lily jumped a bit - was this the Knight Bus? She hoped so, because she didn't know how else a stranger, especially one dressed like he was, would know her name.

"Me? Yes, I am - "

"Sheesh, you put us through some trouble finding yeh." He stepped down from the doorway and took off his cap, fanning himself. "We stopped by your house, but no one was there. Had to use a Locator to find you."

"A Locator?"

"It's a wizard thing. You'll understand later. Now, why'd you come 'ere?" he asked.

"Well, this is a bus, isn't it? I came to the bus stop, like I'm supposed to," said Lily, brushing the dirt off her skirt idly. "Why would I stay at home?"

"Bus stop?" The boy scratched his head dumbly. "Hmm, must be a Muggle thing. Anyway, come on aboard."

Lily hesitated a bit before stepping into the bus. It was tipping dangerously in the curb, and, even more terrifying, she was about to enter this new "wizard" world and didn't know what to expect at all. She wasn't so sure if she was ready yet....

"Here, I'll help yeh up. My name's Myron. This here's Pete." Myron gestured to the person in the driver's seat of the bus. He was a heavyset man with curly, graying hair. He smiled, exhibiting his crooked, yellow teeth

"Hello," mumbled Lily, smiling back awkwardly. She looked around the bus - there were several other kids her age, roughly twenty girls and boys, looking equally scared. One girl in the front seat was sleeping. How could she be calm enough to actually sleep? thought Lily as she brushed past her. Each person was on a cot with a side-table and coat-rack next to it. She walked down the aisle and sat alone on one of the blue-blanketed beds. She sighed; she had nothing to do on the bus ride, and it would probably take a while. Glancing around, she noticed the other kids had books or were eating snacks. Feeling considerably dumb, she propped her chin on her hand, her elbow poking uncomfortable in her thigh, and stared down at her lap.

There was a loud "bang", and the bus began to move. The bus was moving differently than how other buses or even cars moved; she looked up to see out the window, but all of the shades were pulled down and she didn't want to disturb anyone sleeping.

"Miss Evans?"

Lily jumped once more. Myron was standing right beside her, holding some paper with curvy writing and pictures on it, looking like some type of newspaper. "I noticed you don't have anything to do, do yeh want this?" He handed the paper to her. At the top was written "DAILY PROPHET" in elegant lettering.

"Thanks," said Lily. Flushing as Myron smiled at her, she quickly looked down at the paper, and scanned it curiously. Unusual titles, such as "Cauldron Thickness a Boiling Issue" and "Minister of Magic Candidates Selected" were scattered over the pages. A puzzle which vaguely looked like a crossword took up an entire page. The newspaper was more packed than normal ones, but was more fascinating.

Lily had gotten to page twenty-two when there was a second "bang" and the bus halted. This time, though, there was a sharp screeching and the beds all rattled uneasily. Everyone was stirring in their seats, wondering if something had gone wrong.

"What happened?" spoke up a brave someone near the front.

Myron laughed at the comment. "We're here, that's what happened. Magical, isn't it?" He winked and laughed more. The doors creaked open, and Myron called everyone to gather around him. "Now, yeh just gotta walk on into the Leaky Cauldron over there, and talk to Tom behind the bar. He'll tell yeh what to do. I wish yeh all lots'a luck at Hogwarts, and perhaps I'll see some'a'yeh."

An excited murmur broke out, and the line of kids filed off the bus. As she was stepping off the bus, Myron gave Lily a playful nudge. She blushed again, nervously grinning at him, and hopped off the last step.

The group of 20 nervous, soon-to-be wizards stood, excitement and bewilderment overcoming them all at once, on the busy sidewalk of downtown London. Among the line of shops, they saw no "Leaky Cauldron". Lily turned around to ask Myron, but to her astonishment, the bus was gone. She peered up and down the street, expecting to see it driving away, but among the traffic and crowds, no enormous violet bus stood out.

"They're gone!" Another girl in the bunch had noticed, too. They all stood in dumb silence.

"Well, the "Dripping Cauldron" or "Leaky Pot" or whatever it's called has got to be around here somewhere," said a boy with curly blonde hair less than a foot from Lily. His eyes darted up and down the street, examining the store signs.

"What's that, on the corner? That grubby place....it looks like a pub!" cried out Lily. She pushed past everyone and ran up to get a better look at the sign. Sure enough, "THE LEAKY CAULDRON" was etched on a swinging, weather-worn sign hanging from the side of the building. Passersby didn't seem to even notice the pub was there; their eyes went from "Cordelia's Wardrobe" next door to "The Bread Box" on the other side. Curious, thought Lily, it must have a spell on it or something to keep people that aren't magical from seeing it.

Lily pulled open the door with a rusty ringed handle, allowing the others to enter before her. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes for a moment, and stepped inside to her new life.

***

"Robes - check; books - check; quills and parchment - check; cauldron, scales, phials, and cauldron - check....next is a wand!" It was just past four o'clock, and Lily had almost completed her shopping trip. It had taken her a while at Gringotts to start up her account, since the ugly goblin behind the desk refused to believe her money wasn't counterfeit. "You can't trust anyone these days," he'd snarl to the other goblins he'd called over to check out the money. After ten annoying minutes and a thorough examination of a one-pound coin, Lily had deposited half her money and kept the other half to spend that day and have in case of an emergency for that school year.

As Lily stepped into Ollivander's, the wand shop, a mousy boy was purchasing his wand too. "Alright, Mr. Pettigrew, good luck this year. Say 'hello' to your father for me." Mr. Ollivander winked at the boy, who left the store at a jog.

"Hmm...Muggle-born, I presume?" said Mr. Ollivander, studying Lily carefully. Lily nodded nervously - Mr. Ollivander had a piercing gaze which scanned her closely, making Lily feel like she was almost naked. She shifted awkwardly, and set down her bags.

"Hold up your arm," he ordered.

"Er...which?" said Lily, but holding up her right arm anyway. Mr. Ollivander grabbed it and measured it quickly with his eyes.

"Alright, let's see what we have back here." He disappeared behind his counter and into the back of the store, among the rows of shelves stuffed with long, skinny boxes. He emerged no more than twenty seconds later, carrying four boxes. He opened one of them and left the rest on his counter, and pulled out a wand. "Try this."

Lily held the wand in her hand, unsure of what to do with it. She then remembered her vision and how the man held his wand. She focused on an empty vase on the counter, and pointed the wand at it, giving it a small flick. On cue, colourful, exotic flowers sprouted from the vase and bloomed gracefully.

"Wonderful! I'm impressed, you got it on your first try!" cheered Mr. Ollivander, taking the wand from her hand and putting it back in the box. She paid him the seven Galleons, thanked him, and left. As she walked out the door, she heard him mutter something; she only caught the words "green eyes".

Lily rode home on the Knight Bus with a few of the others she had ridden there with. Myron was not on this bus, and she had lost her Daily Prophet. She sat in silence for the twenty minutes it took, until the bus "banged" and screeched, and the doors opened for her to get off. She slipped through her back door, and went up to her room without saying a word to her family.