Startled Faces
The next morning, Lily arose from her bed bright and early, as always. She threw on her robes and tied her hair up into a messy bun, slapping on some mascara and a faint layer of eyeliner. She stared at herself in her mirror, gazing into her own eyes, searching for something worthwhile. Hogwarts had been surprising her more frequently than ever before, and she was starting to become worried. She started to hear more and more about how so and so had become a couple, which happened at least five times a day. Another more serious matter was that people had been mysteriously disappearing. They were mostly muggles, and if not muggles, then the muggle-supporting families and people. More of her classmates hadn't showed up to class, simply because of horrible tragedies striking their families.
As she started to walk towards the door, she noticed something rather odd lying on her pale hardwood floor. Lily crouched down and picked up an oddly colored letter, enclosed with a red stamp on the back. The insignia in the wax was mysterious, and Lily had absolutely no idea whom it was from, or what the strange symbol meant. She sat herself down on the nearby chair, and carefully cut the envelope open.
She pulled out a letter that was neatly written, to her surprise. She felt her eyebrows furrow together as she began to read:
Lily Evans,
Surely by now, you have picked up a newspaper and seen an article about a muggle family or person gone missing. Don't pretend you don't hear it on the radio, either. I know who you are, where you live, and what you look like.
You are muggle-born. A mudblood, if you will. I know it is rather rude, but it is what it is. Now, let me make this quite clear: I am not writing this letter as a threat. I am writing it because I care about your safety, and because I know you are in grave danger. Yes, you read correctly. Grave. Danger.
This is not a joke. I need you to stay on the Hogwarts grounds at all times, and it is not wise to make trips to Hogsmeade. It may be a feature of the everyday Hogwarts experience, but it is not guarded nearly as well as Hogwarts is.
You are indeed a very special girl, and student. I wouldn't want to see you disappear like your friends' families have. You know whom and what I am talking about. But you must swear that you will never, ever walk outside Hogwarts grounds until you receive another letter from me. It isn't safe out there. You know that.
I plead you, listen to me. You are in grave danger, and you being injured is not what I need or want.
Sincerely,
The Illusive Doe
"Lily! C'mon! Breakfast is ready. You like scrambled eggs, right?" James shouted up her doorway.
Lily, who naturally was very startled by this outburst, jolted over to the nearest drawer and stuffed the letter in it. She didn't want James to know about the letter. He would completely lose it-he was more than protective of her.
"Er...sure I do. I'll be down in a jiff!" she shakily replied, as she took one last look at herself in the mirror before stepping down her stairwell.
They quietly ate a normal English breakfast outside on the balcony. Birds chirped energetically and soared through the sky, with not a care in the world. The sunlight lightly dabbed the sky, leaving only a faint darkness. Despite James gulping down his food, and Lily barely touching hers, they both managed to sneak glances at each other at least once every two minutes. Finally, Lily completed her breakfast, and James snapped his fingers in the air. With a loud crack, a jovial-looking house elf appeared, and offered to take their plates downstairs to the kitchens to be washed.
