The Marauders

Chapter Two: The Black-Haired Boy

          Lily had decided to find the black-haired boy, but she hadn't decided how. After hearing what Petunia said about the boy's peculiar habit of staring out windows, she made it a point to try and catch him looking out the window. Unfortunately, the boy was not to be seen. Lily was frustrated. How come her sister had seen this boy so frequently, but she had yet to see him once? Lily decided she would just have to make him look at her.

        She pulled on a jumper and went outside in the rain. In a matter of minutes, she was soaked. She ran around in rain, her red hair streaming behind her. When she looked up, she saw her plan had worked. The boy was looking out the window laughing slightly. Lily smiled and waved at the boy and at first he glanced down, but then he waved back. Lily was about to walk over to his window when she heard Petunia's shrill voice.

         "Lily Evans!" she shouted, "What do you think you're doing? You're going to get pneumonia and then you'll be too sick to go get our new uniform in London. Come back inside before I go get Mum."

          Lily gave one last sad glance at the boy in the foggy window, and turned to follow her sister. Her sister ushered her inside where she was surprisingly met with a smile from her mother. Mrs. Violet Evans was a tall woman who had honey-blonde hair like Petunia and bright green eyes like Lily. She was kind, gentle, and loved animals. She was the type of person to leave a saucer of milk out everyday for the stray cats.

          Mrs. Evans had gone to the girls school that Petunia went to, and there she had learned all she needed to know to be a wonderful secretary and an even more wonderful mother. After school, she had met James Evans, a red-haired, spirited gentleman, and the two soon got married. Mr. Evans had come from a wealthy family who had a history of marrying socialites and becoming prominent members of society.

          Mr. Evans had always wanted a son to raise into the next heir to the fortune, but had two daughters instead. He decided from day one that they were to be raised into proper young ladies. He loved his daughters and always took an interest in what they cared about. Petunia had shown herself to be well-suited for the life of a socialite, but his Lily had different interests. She'd spend nights by the fireplace describing birds she had read about in her book.

          Lily was surprised her mother was not mad she had run out and gotten soaking wet. Instead she smiled and simply said, "Oh, Lily. How similar you are to me when I was younger," before handing her a towel to dry off.

          Petunia looked absolutely livid that Lily had not been scolded, so she went to her room to sulk. Lily changed into warm clothes and went to read a book. After a while, she got bored and went to see if the boy was back. The rain had stopped and she had a clear view across the street.

          To her delight, the boy was there. He was watching the sky and Lily wondered if he was watching for the owls as well. Suddenly a snowy white owl came swooping down and the black-haired boy opened his window to allow it inside. He took something from the owl and pet it gently. Lily was jealous; she had always wanted to pet an owl. Something about them was so majestic and so graceful.

         She opened her window and called out, "Is that yours? He's beautiful."

          The boy looked up in shock, but called back, "Yes, my family has a couple of them. Would you like to come pet him?"

           Lily didn't respond. She had already ran out the door and was dashing across the street. She and the boy spent the afternoon petting all the owls and he told her all of their names. The two became fast friends.