30 ~ Evans' as Muggles

Every unfamiliar sound carried the weight of a world that had never been meant to include her.

     A short while later Dumbledore said goodbye and Lily showed me her room. She had prepared a second mattress for me and in that moment I looked around her room. It was larger than I had expected from the way the house had been built. Next to her bed she had a lovely windowsill. One whole side was filled with books and there was a desk as well as a wardrobe. The colour schemes in her room were, like in the whole house, wood as well as yellow and green. And since Lily spent most of the year at Hogwarts, she had lovely cacti in her room. I liked the room.     "I know it's not much, but it does the job," said Lily, yet I contradicted her: "No, it's perfect."          After these words Lily smiled and gestured for me to sit beside her on the bed, and I did.     "So how's it going? How were the O.W.L.s?" she asked, pulling her legs into a cross-legged position.          "It was quite alright. Hogwarts hasn't changed of course, but I discovered lots of new corridors. And the O.W.L.s were alright. I talked a lot with Dumbledore. How was your holiday in Ireland? You already wrote about it in your letters."     "That's good to hear; you studied well, Phil," she smiled, "Ireland was simply wonderful. I took photos and even some from the aeroplane for you, wait, I'll show you."     Lily jumped off the bed and fetched developed photographs. She showed me a great many and in one photo I saw Lily's whole family. Her sister Petunia had blonde hair and a slightly too long neck. She looked more like Mr Evans than Mrs Evans, yet I would meet the two of them later at dinner.     At dinner I was warmly greeted by Lily's father. The greeting with her sister was cool and I understood what problems Lily had with her. Nevertheless I felt welcomed, yet it was strange to take part in a normal family life.     Lily's parents asked me many questions about myself. Of course I could not answer all of them. I told them that both the Muggle- as well as the wizarding world were unfamiliar to me and that I had grown up in a forest, that I now lived in Hogwarts. I told them no more than that, for I did not want to cause Lily's parents any discomfort.     Not much more happened that day. We went to bed early, talked a lot with each other. Lily told me that in the last weeks she had had a Muggle summer job and that she was looking forward to sixth year. Tomorrow she wanted to go into town with me.     And so it happened. We got up early and Lily first had to explain to me that Muggles used a different currency. I must also have looked rather strange as I boarded a bus, yet everything has a first time, after all.

     Just like now, when it came time to get off. The bus stopped and Lily stood up, then the doors opened. I jumped onto the pavement beside Lily. The bus closed its doors and drove on. My eyes still watched the bus until it disappeared around the next corner. My gaze must have looked unsettling.          "Don't stare like that, Phil!" Lily laughed. "Everyone will know you're not from this world."     "I'm not..." I muttered and followed Lily along the path. We were in the nearest town and it was busy. Everywhere mostly women were doing their shopping. Just now we passed a small café. Two women were sitting there smoking and laughing about something. But Lily was right, so I stopped staring.

Even if it was hard, with all these impressions.

     We walked through the town. The sky was completely grey today. On the radio - a device from which human voices came as if they were trapped inside - rain had been forecast for today, but Lily did not care; we had brought umbrellas.     We continued on our way. Lily first bought herself books, Muggle books. I too was taken with the bookshop, since there were no ordinary books in Hogwarts. For that reason I bought some, or rather Lily bought me three books, although I insisted that Lily accept my Galleons, which she could use in Diagon Alley. After some persuasion she finally accepted the money and we continued our journey.     We passed many peculiar things, well, peculiar things for me. What fascinated me most was a shop window with television sets, then a telephone box, although I did not understand the concept of a telephone, and the many cars and bicycles were strange as well. However, apart from these odd things, not much seemed to distinguish Muggles from wizards.     As we sat down in a café, Lily told me about the schools of Muggles, when we were interrupted by a voice: "May I already bring the ladies something to dri-, Lily? Lily Evans?"     The addressed girl turned around and faced a blond-haired boy who wore a white waiter's apron.          "Will!" Lily exclaimed happily and the two greeted each other.     "I didn't even know you were in town today," he said and Lily sat down again, "though, right, it's the summer holidays."          "Phil, this is Will," explained the redhead, who noticed that I did not know what was going on, "we were in the same class together until I went to boarding school."     "Yes, it broke our class's hearts, but we got over it," the boy joked. I simply nodded.          "Will, this is Phil, she goes to boarding school as well. She's staying with me for two weeks."     "Nice to meet you," replied Will and held out his hand to me. I did the same and his brown eyes studied me. Naturally his gaze fell on the scar on my right cheek, as well as a scar on my forearm.

It is always present...

     This Will said nothing about them, but instead asked: "And where do you come from, Phil? An interesting name for a girl."          After his words I had to think for a moment, since I could not tell him that I came from a Forbidden Forest.     "My parents have a forest property a few hou-, hours away by car. Quite remote, which is also why I go to boarding school. My name is an abbreviation, because my full name is even stranger," I explained.     While I had been speaking, Lily's gaze had rested on me. Yet she nodded, so I had said nothing unbelievable.     "Interesting," said Will, even if I believed that he did not find it interesting at all, only pretended to. "I'd very much like to hear more about this boarding school sometime, but right now I'm working. What can I get you to drink, and to eat as well?"     He took our order, then disappeared and Lily watched him walk away.           Not in a good way.     "I don't like having to make up lies all the time," she explained, "Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if I weren't a witch. At Hogwarts I feel comfortable, but in summer I live here. It's only through magic that I feel different. Like now, because I always had a good relationship with Will, yet I have to lie to someone constantly."     "Is it lying if you simply don't say the truth, but don't say anything else either?" I asked.           Lily tilted her head from side to side.     I continued: "Perhaps your life as a Muggle-born witch might be easier if you had remained a Muggle, but I'm glad that you're a witch, otherwise I wouldn't have you. You've been so kind to me since our first meeting and I feel comfortable with you. Your life as a Muggle would probably be easier in a certain way, but many would miss you if you were gone. Even a certain James Potter, if one is not mistaken."     "You're ridiculous!" Lily raised her voice, I laughed, "but because you said nice words before, you'll be forgiven."          Lily managed a smile and shortly afterwards we received our order. Outside, meanwhile, it had begun to rain.

James' POV:

     Hesitantly I awoke from my dream because something kicked me. Well, it was someone, and waking up with a knee in my back was wonderful, so not.     A grunt left my throat and I sat up in bed. I blinked against the light, for I had forgotten to draw my curtains. In keeping with the summer holidays, I was at home, and judging by the sun, it must be afternoon - I only got the afternoon sun in my room.     Yawning, I ran my hand over my face, rubbing the grit from my eyes. I had not slept much though, for one thing I generally went to bed late during the summer holidays, and for another I was even still wearing my everyday clothes from yesterday.     I lowered my hands from my face, found my glasses beside a pillow and looked to the other side of the bed. Sirius lay there, still dressed in yesterday's jeans and shirt. His arms were under the pillow, his left leg drawn up and he was sleeping.     I would not wake him, since his presence had not been planned. Yesterday my parents and I had eaten dinner. Afterwards I had sat in my room for quite a while and read a new comic. Until there had been a knock at my front door.           It had been Padfoot.     He had been agitated, rain pouring down on him. Soaking wet, crying and with nothing but a rucksack, he had stood in my front garden. I had known at once that something had happened.     Without words I had hugged him and brought him inside. He had been given fresh clothes, then he had told me that his family had thrown him out.

Disinherited as well.

     My parents had woken up and of course had allowed Sirius to stay with me. They would certainly speak with him again today, but yesterday it would have been too much.     We had gone into my room, then Padfoot had told me everything. It had actually been a normal evening at the Blacks'. As a family they had been sitting in the drawing room, but then an argument about the usual things had broken out; what a disgrace Sirius was. Sirius' parents had accused him of needing to be more like his brother - like Regulus, who according to Padfoot was his parents' puppet. A Black in Slytherin, obedient, and therefore the complete opposite of Sirius.     There had been such discussions many times before. I knew Padfoot's family problems, which had begun even before Hogwarts, for he had told me as a child on the Hogwarts Express that he wanted to go to Gryffindor.     Yesterday the final straw had been reached when the argument had turned to the Death Eaters and Sirius' mother had ended with the sentence that her son ought to be grateful to still have a roof over his head. Other honourable families would have thrown Padfoot out long ago or killed him.     Sirius' father had said nothing, yet for two years now he had acted as though he had only one son left. Padfoot did not care, since he had never felt like a Black anyway.     Yesterday he had continued to provoke his mother, since he always called his parents cowards because they had punished Sirius with beatings throughout his childhood. Or they had locked him in his room, denied him food.     Already terrible enough for a child, yet even as one Sirius had stood up to his parents. Early on he had discovered his love for pranks. Back then Regulus had still stood by his side, but when his parents' punishments had begun, as well as the verbal manipulation, Regulus had stopped joining in.     Sirius' parents had played the sons against each other, made them fight for their attention. At home they had additionally been taught a great deal about etiquette and the history of magic.

Brainwashing, why Muggles are nothing more than filth.

     Padfoot had still stood against his parents, accepted their punishments. Regulus had been forced to watch. They had made him believe that he had to behave properly, otherwise they would do worse to his brother, or take out every misbehaviour of Sirius on Regulus.          Even so Sirius had not stopped.      In Hogwarts he had gone to Gryffindor and ever since the relationship with his parents and with his brother, who had gone to Slytherin, had worsened. I remembered to this day how much it had affected Sirius that his little brother had gone to the snakes.

He is a coward and deep down he knows it, he had said to me, and he does not even belong in Slytherin.

     The next years had been pure hell for Padfoot. Yesterday Sirius had answered his mother's words by saying that he would rather sleep on the streets than live with them. He had gone into his room, packed a rucksack and left. His mother had lost her temper, had spat something about gratitude in his face and had driven him from the house with the fireplace poker. While doing so she had shouted that if he left now, he would no longer be a Black. They would never open their front door to him again.     Sirius had left anyway. He had called the Knight Bus, given it his last money and had come to me. He would be allowed to stay with me as long as he wanted, even if Padfoot might feel uncomfortable about it.

I'll just have to threaten him with ending our friendship, I thought, and I knew that my parents liked Sirius. They knew his story a little, since he had often stayed with me. My parents had always wanted more children anyway, but it had remained with me. Mum had already joked several times that she wanted to adopt Sirius.

     And now he was here.          I let Padfoot sleep for another two hours, then I woke him and we had a very late breakfast. My parents would be leaving for holiday in three days, so we would have the house to ourselves, or we would come along, which my parents still had to discuss.     Both suited me. I was a sociable person and loved my friends more than anything. The holidays were often boring for me and I was exchanging letters with the boys constantly anyway.     During the first two weeks of the holidays I had been with my parents visiting relatives. For the next three weeks Sirius had been with me, Remus and Peter for one of those weeks. I had actually expected to see Sirius again only at Hogwarts, but like this I preferred it. I was not bored and my friend did not have to be with his family.      An absolute win then.

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In honour of the 30th chapter I wanted to drop by and say thank you to everyone who reads this fanfic :)You're welcome, hehe

Special thanks to @Neith333 for voting and a sarcastic thank you to the bot/spam accounts as well; you're a plague ;)At least some of them vote this fanfic XD

Jokes aside, I hope you are enjoying this fanfic so far?You will hear from me tomorrow!

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Much love,RaVen