Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and events from J.K. Rowling's wonderful Harry Potter books. I am writing this for my own enjoyment and hopefully for the enjoyment of readers. Anything you recognize belongs to JKR. The rest belongs to me.
Chapter 4: The Vulture Lady
Lily woke up early the next morning anxious to start her adventure. She cleaned up, threw on a pair of jeans and a blue T-shirt, and checked to make sure everything was packed. She jogged down the stairs into the kitchen.
"Oh, Lily! You're up!" exclaimed her mum. "I was going to surprise you."
As she said this a familiar aroma worked its way to Lily's nose and her stomach gurgled in anticipation. "Bread pudding? Mum, that's my favorite!"
"I know. I wanted to make you something special since you won't be back for a while." As her mum said this she turned back to the stove, but not before Lily noticed tears welling in her blue eyes. Once again, Lily felt guilt creeping through her at the thought of leaving her family.
As Lily was about to say something her dad and Petunia appeared at the kitchen door. Her dad had a mischievous smile on his face.
"What is it, Dad?" asked Lily.
"Oh, you'll see." he replied with a smile and a wink. The timer went off and he added, "Let's eat breakfast first and then I'll show you."
They sat down and enjoyed breakfast while Lily explained what she had seen in Diagon Alley the day before. "You mean to say the bricks just danced around until there was a doorway?" asked her father.
"Yes, Dad, and then it just closed behind us. Mr. McMillan had to tap the bricks a certain way with his wand to get it to open. I suppose it's that way in case a Muggle walked into the Leaky Cauldron and went out the back by mistake," Lily explained.
"Fascinating!" exclaimed Mr. Evans. "And what was that you said about your wand choosing you?"
"Mr. Ollivander, the man in the shop, said that the wand chooses the witch or wizard and not likewise. It took the girl before me two hours before she finally found one," said Lily.
"How did she finally know it was the right wand for her?" asked her mum.
"Every time Alice tried to use the other wands an accident would happen. When I walked into the store she had just knocked over a shelf of wands onto Mr. Ollivander," replied Lily. Her mum gasped while her dad chuckled at the description. Lily continued, "When she found the right one it sent out bright red and gold lights."
"What colors did your wand emit?" asked Mr. Evans.
"None," replied Lily. "As soon as I grabbed my wand, I felt this warm sensation travel from my hand up to my face. Mr. McMillan said that my eyes glowed."
After they finished breakfast Petunia helped Lily carry her things down to the car. As they closed the trunk/boot she heard her parents approaching the car and turned around, only to be startled by what she saw. Her dad was holding a large cage containing a snowy owl.
"Is that what I think it is?" she asked. They nodded. She squealed in delight. "How on Earth did you get one? He's magical, right?"
"We wanted to get you something special for your acceptance into Hogwarts so we asked Mr. McMillan for ideas. He suggested the owl, and this way you can write to us often," replied her smiling mum. "He was able to get it in Diagon Alley for us."
Her dad added, "I never could have believed that magic existed, though I've always known you were special. This is a gift you have, Lily, and we are so proud of you. We love you so much."
Lily ran to her parents and hugged them. "Thank you so much. An owl! I love him, he's absolutely gorgeous!"
Petunia stood off to the side, obviously wanting nothing to do with the owl. She had a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. It had come and gone throughout the years when her parents had fawned praise onto her younger sister yet she had been able to brush the feeling off before. After all, she loved her little sister. This time, though, she couldn't quite get rid of it. Her parents were praising Lily for some abnormal ability she possessed. And Petunia was still smarting over how quickly her parents had forgotten about her own recent academic accomplishments.
They all piled into the car and made the trip to King's Cross. Along the way Lily's mum asked her, "Do you know what you're going to name your owl, sweetie?"
Lily thought for a moment and then answered, "I think I'll name him Lancelot." She looked into his cage and he blinked at her. She took that to mean that he accepted the name. "Yes, Lancelot. I think that suits him."
When they arrived at Kings Cross and loaded her trunk onto a trolley, Lily pulled out the envelope that Mr. McMillan had given her the day before. She opened it and pulled out the ticket.
"Which platform do we need to head to?" asked Mrs. Evans.
Lily stared at the ticket and then muttered, "It says that the train leaves at 11:00 am from Platform 9 ¾. I've never heard of such a platform, have you, Dad?"
"Let me see that, that can't be right," demanded her dad. She gave him the ticket and he stared at it for a moment. "Hmmm, lets head to platform 9 and see what we find."
Once they were there they could not find any signs that indicated where platform 9 ¾ would be. They asked a guard where the platform was and he gave them a strange smirk and walked away muttering something about "crazy people." Just as they were about to give up they heard a loud crash from behind them followed by a yelling lady.
"Frank! I can't believe it! Didn't I tell you that the barrier was the next column up?! Why do I have to keep repeating myself to you?!" The yelling came from an odd looking woman wearing a large hat with a vulture perched on top. She was yelling at a boy with light brown hair about Lily's age who had apparently run his trolley into the column. He lay on the ground holding his stomach trying to catch his breath. As soon as he was able to stand up she grabbed his arm and pointed toward the next column. "Now, Platform 9 ¾ is through that column up there. Try not to embarrass me this time!"
Lily couldn't help but giggle. The lady was dressed so strangely and with her yelling she was only drawing more attention. The lady finally noticed this and told her son to wait a few minutes to let the attention die down before approaching the barrier. This gave Frank the opportunity to replace the things that had fallen out of his trolley.
Lily and her family took the opportunity to approach the lady and ask for help.
"Pardon me, madam, I couldn't help but overhear. You are trying to get to Platform 9 ¾," started Mr. Evans.
The lady eyed him suspiciously. "Why do you ask?"
"My daughter also needs to get to that platform and I am afraid we are having difficulty finding it," he replied.
She continued to eye him dubiously. "Hogwarts?"
He nodded and smiled. "Yes, my daughter Lily is starting there this year."
She nodded. "So is my Frank. He is the klutz next to me if you hadn't noticed. Surprised he got his letter. We weren't sure if he would be accepted. Quite relieved, we were." She took a moment to study each of them. "You must be Muggles. You have that clueless look about you."
Mr. Evans was about to take offense at that however he knew he needed her assistance if Lily was going to make it to the train. "We are Muggles, madam. We may be a bit clueless with magic but I am sure Lily will make us proud," he added as Petunia scowled behind him.
By this point the attention from other people in on the platform had turned toward other matters and the vulture-lady decided this would be a good time to cross the barrier to Platform 9 ¾. She led them up to the correct column. "Now, I can show Lily how to get through, however Muggles cannot pass through the barrier. You will have to say your goodbyes here."
Lily said a tearful goodbye to her parents and they again told her how proud they were to have a gifted daughter. Lily then turned to her older sister.
Petunia, while feeling jealous about her parents' attention toward Lily, couldn't help but feel sad. She would miss Lily's friendship and there nightly chats. "Goodbye sis," she choked out. "Come back and visit us, soon."
"I will be home for Christmas and we can make all sorts of plans. Please write to me!" cried Lily. They hugged and then Lily turned back to the vulture-lady.
"Getting through the barrier isn't difficult. You just need to walk through it. Some people find it is easier to run at it during their first few trips. I will have Frank show you, first." She prodded Frank along. While still rubbing at his bruised abdomen from the recent crash, Frank was able to push the trolley through the column at an awkward jog. Then he was gone. Lily couldn't believe her eyes. None of the nearby Muggles seemed to have noticed the sudden disappearance of an 11 year old boy through a brick barrier. There would be a lot for her to get used to once she settled in at Hogwarts. "All right, now. It's your turn," added the vulture-lady.
Lily took one last look at her family who waved at her, then turned to the column from about ten feet back and started to run. As she was about 2/3 of the way there she closed her eyes expecting to crash, however after several paces she stopped and opened her eyes. Ahead of her was a scarlet steam-engine with the words Hogwarts Express painted on the front. She looked up and saw a sign that said Platform 9 ¾. The vulture lady appeared through the barrier and after a quick glimpse at Lily she went to help Frank get his things onto the train.
Lily gazed at the large crowd of students, many of whom were greeting each other after being separated for a summer. Several others were hugging their magical parents goodbye. Lily felt a knot form in her stomach and suddenly felt alone. Her parents and sister were gone, and she didn't recognize anyone. She longed to find a familiar face, someone she could sit with on the train and form a friendship.
As Lily started to turn her trolley toward the train she cried out in delight at what she saw ten feet in front of her.
Relatively short chapter, I know, but I loved writing about Frank and his mother. I imagined a bit of Neville in him as I wrote.
Thanks to Harrysgrl, Remus'sweetie, sweetie513, and Anonymous for the reviews on Chapter 3. Seems like there were mixed opinions about James' personality. I want to stress that this was his personality (at least the way I'm portraying it) as an 11 year old boy who just saw the future love of his life for the first time. We still have about 5 years before we get to the infamous scene from Snape's pensieve. Never fear, for we will see more of James' personality away from Lily when he meets the Marauders. I'm just having fun making him tongue-tied around Lily (for now…). Plus, I'm of the firm opinion that James is not an arrogant jerk - events will lead to him acting like one (that, as well as becoming a teenage boy).
Next chapter: James and Sirius meet and we will be able to hear James speak an intelligent sentence (unlike the garble he uttered around Lily).
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Cheers!
MsNorris