The Adventures of the Marauders: Before the Darkness

Chapter 1

"Mum, do you hear that banging noise?" a young girl called from her spot on the sofa in the living room. She had vibrant red hair and piercing green eyes. Her nose was in a book but couldn't concentrate on it very well with the racket coming from upstairs.

"I think the whole street can hear it," her mother called back from the kitchen. She was in the middle of preparing lunch for Lily and her sister.

"Do you know what it is?" she called back.

"I've got no idea what that could be, Lily," her mother said. "Could you go and make sure that nothing has happened to your sister, please?"

"Alright, mum," Lily said. She set a bookmark to hold her place in her book and set it down on the table by the sofa. She walked upstairs and knocked on her sister's closed bedroom door. The door swung open and Lily's older sister Petunia was standing there, hand on hip, annoyed that she had been interrupted by her little sister. "Do you know what that horrid banging noise is?" Lily asked her politely.

"I'vegot no clue. It's coming from your room. I just assumed that you were doing something in there," Petunia said. She brushed her dark hair out of her face that was very different from Lily's and rolled her eyes. Unless someone knew better, no one would guess that they were sisters.

"Oh, alright," Lily said. Petunia slammed the door in Lily's face. Lily was unfazed by Petunia's outburst. Those happened all the time, and Lily had become accustomed to being yelled at by her sister. She was no longer hurt by what Petunia said during one of her fits.

Lily walked down the hallway to her room. Once she opened the door, she could tell what was making the noise. A white owl was banging its head on the window repeatedly. "Oh you silly bird," Lily said quietly as she moved to open the window. Once she did, the owl flew in and landed on her desk. In its mouth, it held an envelope.

Any normal person would have been quite alarmed by an owl appearing at their window with an envelope in its mouth. Lily was not exactly  normal. She was a witch in a family full of non-magical people. The wizarding world called them muggles. Her best friend who lived down the street from her was a wizard. He, however, had a mother who was magical and told him all about the wizarding world and what to expect. He, in turn, told Lily everything that he knew including that on her eleventh birthday, she would receive a letter via owl post inviting her to study Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Lily took the envelope from owl's mouth and looked at it. The letter was addressed to her. She flipped it over to open the letter and found a wax seal on the back. The seal was decorated with a school crest and read: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. "Brilliant," Lily said to herself. She opened the letter, and the owl flew out of her window after acknowledging that she had opened it.

"Mum, look at this!" Lily yelled as she ran down the stairs. Lily heard another door open and heard Petunia's footsteps follow her down the stairs.

"Look at what, sweetie?" her mom asked as Lily and Petunia ran into the kitchen.

"The letter came. Just like Sev said it would," Lily said excitedly. She handed the letter to her mother.

"You mean that friend of yours from across the street?" Petunia asked. "He's off his rocker. His mother is too. Always going on about magic and wizards and things."

"He's not crazy," Lily said defensively. "He's telling the truth."

"Only a naïve little girl would believe tales about magic," Petunia spat.