The Story of Lily Evans Potter - Year 1 (Chapter 1)

A Mysterious Boy

       Somewhere in Cokeworth, England, lived Mr. and Mrs. Evans and their two daughters in a small, brick building with an unused sundeck, identical to every other house in the dreary, quiet town. They were normal, meaning no one thought much of them . . . why would they? Tall, gangly, blond-haired Mr. Evans loved his job, as did short, squat, horse-faced Mrs. Evans. Of course their daughters were good-natured as well. They both received good marks in school, had lots of friends, and weren't the kind of kids you'd talk about with your family at the dinner table for evening gossip. They were just another family with no secrets, and nothing they'd do would be worth talking about. Mr. and Mrs. Evans loved each other, and their daughters were closer yet.

       Yes, Petunia and Lily Evans were very close. Lily looked up to her elder sister, and Petunia looked down on her with pride. Still, I myself have wondered what Petunia would say if someone told her years from now that their sisterly bond would be broken. I wonder, what would blond, bony, long-necked Petunia Evans say if someone told her years from now she utterly loathed her sister and thought of her as her darkest secret.

       I wonder what she'd say if someone told her years from now, her eyes would widen and she would faint in shock and disbelief if she heard a complete stranger mutter the name, Potter.

       I wonder. But fortunately that is ahead of our tale. At this moment in time, Petunia and Lily are great friends, and were just heading down to the playground.

It was the summer of 1969.

       Lily Evans was standing in the driveway, waiting for Petunia to hurry up and come outside. Her eyes scanned the neighborhood. The grass was slowly yellowing, and every house looked even more dismal and depressing than usual underneath the cloudy sky. It seemed like the sky was never blue in Cokeworth, just a nasty shade of grey. Her feet squished, impatiently. If Petunia wasn't coming, she'd go by herself. She was a perfectly capable nine-year-old girl.

       Lily skipped down the driveway and into street, clinging to the curbside. No one would notice, would they? It was no big deal, her sister went down to the playground by herself, all the time, when she was nine. She knew, despite her mother always denying it, that Petunia was the favored child.

        Finally, Lily reached the playground. It wasn't much, the mulch was damp and muddy, and the three metal swings were painful and rusted. She sat down on the middle swing, waiting for Petunia to show up. The sun peaked at her through the many clouds, heating the seat of the metal swing.

       "Lily!" the elder sister called, angrily, "Mummy said you had to wait for me. You can't come here without me. You're not allowed."

        Lily didn't look up. She didn't see or hear Petunia scolding her. Her focus was on the ground, watching a spider devour a fly. Suddenly, the fly seemed to heal itself, and free itself from the spider. The spider's eyes began to droop, and one by one, each of the spider's hairy, black legs curled back into it's body, and the lifeless ball that was the spider rolled back into the weeds.

       "Lily!" Petunia shouted, grabbing her sister by the ear, "You came here without me; Mummy said you had to wait for me! You had to!" she hissed.

       Petunia towered over her sister, blocking some of the sunlight from Lily's eyes. She resembled Mr. Evans; tall, thin and blond, but she had her mother's horsy-teeth. She was wearing a grey dress with matching sandals, two, thin, lengthy legs giving a good distance between the two. Her long, blond hair fell at her sides, and her long neck craned over Lily. She was in a sour mood, judged by the thinness of her lips.

       On the other hand, Lily looked nothing like her sister, mother, or father. She had dark, curly, elegant, red hair, and freckles dotted the bridge of her nose, which paired well with her distinctive, almond-shaped, green eyes. Her face was very pale, but also very attractive. She was far prettier than her sister, and there was hardly any resemblance between them.