Grimmauld Place
It is a truth universally acknowledged that it was physically impossible for Lily Evans to be in a good mood before ten o'clock.
It was a pity, Remus often said, because between cook Pomona’s delicious breakfasts and Alice grudgingly accepting her siblings’ requests on the pianoforte (which often led to early dancing sessions), mornings always were a rather joyous time in the Evans household.
This particular morning turned out to be one Lily would have rather slept through. She was awoken, as usual, by the animated conversations from downstairs. As she turned to find Marlene’s side of the bed empty, she resigned herself to be in a sour mood all day long, for nothing vexed her so much as being drawn from her bed against her will.
She’d never admit it to anyone, but she often resented being a late sleeper and never in the right state of mind to enjoy those early family times, though. This morning, as she paused down the stairs to take in the scene that laid before her eyes, she felt she had, indeed, missed something big.
“Oh, Lily-Flower ! Have you heard the news?” asked Marlene, before a word of greetings was uttered from any part. That was Marlene for you. “Grimmauld Place is let at last!”
Marlene, first child in age (and beauty, if the neighbourhood's gossips were to be believed) of the Evans family, was a comely, athletic girl of twenty-two, the pride and joy of Godric’s Hollow. Indeed, with her soft curls the colour of honey in the sun, natural grace, quick wit and sharp tongue, she was deemed quite a catch for any potential bachelor around. However, she remained a maid - though not for lack of trying from said bachelors. People were drawn to her like moths to a flame, and she proudly collected passionate love letters from all her admirers that she would read aloud and make fun of on a regular basis, much to her siblings’ delight. Yet Lily knew - from their nocturnal confidences, whispered in the darkness of their shared bedroom – that Marlene, beneath her sarcastic demeanour and shameless flirtations, was a romantic at heart and would settle for no less than a genuine love story. Still, if said great love could come in the form of a scandalously rich man, well... She was still a vain girl who dreamt of luxury, fancy dresses and dazzling balls. Therefore, it was no wonder that she’d be excited at the prospect of a new bachelor in town, especially one rich enough to rent a huge place like Grimmauld.
“Good for them,” replied Lily, taking her seat at the breakfast table. “But what does this have to do with me?”
“Two rich, noble single men settling in nearby and four daughters of mine unmarried and not getting any younger. It has everything to do with us, dear.” declared Father from his end of the large table.
“Good luck with that” Remus whispered to Lily, leaning in to kiss her proffered cheek in greetings.
Remus Evans. Second born and only son, and therefore apple of their parents' eyes. Lily’s favourite sibling and best friend in the whole world. With him born barely a year before she, they had always shared everything ; wet-nurse, crib, meals, fevers, friends, lessons and punishments. As Marlene was training to be a proper little lady already, Lily and Remus had spent their childhood wandering around the Evans Estate, climbing trees or playing out their favourite stories ; he was always a prince or a knight, and she a pirate.
Then Remus get sick, and the time of innocence was over.
He did get better, eventually, but has had a weak constitution ever since. Too pale to be completely healthy, tall and lean muscled but too thin, there were dark circles under his eyes that miraculously disappeared whenever he would laugh a real, genuine laugh. And so, Lily had sworn to always make him laugh. She had made this promise to herself with his cold hand encased in hers, mere weeks before her eleventh birthday, after they all thought they were going to lose him for good. They didn't, but as a result of this tragic episode, he had been forced to lay in bed, weak and feverish, for the greater part of his teenage years. Ironically, those were the years the pair really grew close, while confined inside the house and robbed of their childish games. They both refused to give up their adventures of wizards, princesses and dragons; instead of impersonating them, they would merely learn new stories from the books Lily read to him. She spent hours and hours by his bedside, and they talked about everything and anything; their mutual annoyance at their father, the bother of growing up, the embroidery lessons she hated, the embarrassing crushes, his disastrous first kiss, Marlene's multiple suitors, Alice’s infatuation with Pastor Longbottom’s son; and their own dreams for the future, far away from the extravagant weddings Father planned for his only son and favourite daughter. Weddings that were, it seemed, very much in Father's mind at the moment.
“Are you still talking about Mr Black now? “ Alice groaned, entering the room.
“Mr Black?” Lily was confused. If Grimmauld Place had just been let, how on earth would they already know of his name and marital status?
“Aye aye, my captain. The young, dashing, very single and very, very rich Mr Black has come riding his white horse to save us all from utter misery and marry one of us!” Marlene proclaimed, to which Alice immediately reacted.
“Well, if he was a real gentleman, he’d marry all of us. He certainly has enough money to entertain four wives, and it would be very charitable of him to rescue poor Papa from the burden of his herd of unmarried daughters.”
For all their differences, the one trait all five of the Evans siblings did share was a sharp wit and an even sharper tongue, to their parents’ misery. This, combined with a deeply rooted competitiveness, resulted in frequent and quite violent arguments between them. Marlene, for example, mastered the art of making fun of unsuspecting neighbours with burning sarcasms; but they were laced with such sweetness that the victims were none the wiser, and the comments were mostly made for her own enjoyment or those of whichever sibling overheard. Mary was downright rude, Lily remarkably outspoken (or, according to Mother, plainly insensitive) and Remus would offer the wittiest comebacks without missing a beat, but Alice was the softest of the lot. She was a shy, sweet wisp of a girl, usually so well-behaved that family friends thought of her as an angel descended on earth to bless the world with her gentleness, heart-shaped face and rosy cheeks. And yet, behind closed doors, her timidity was gone and her close family greatly enjoyed her witty, if not sassy analysis of their world. She was eighteen and bright, the most studious of the lot, and divided her time between practising the pianoforte, reading Shakespeare and Keats and writing young Frank Longbottom love poems she’d never send.
“No need to worry, sweet sisters of mine! Mr Black is for me. No one would look at you all twice, now that I’m out in the world!” Mary boasted, her freckled face appearing from under the table. What she was doing there in the first place, Lily dared not ask.
Mary had always been the most turbulent of the lot, and, as a child, the servants’ worst nightmare. Now aged seventeen, nothing had really changed, except that she’d resort to her womanly charms to get what she wanted, instead of puerile tantrums. With light brown hair, light blue eyes, pale white skin, a round face with remarkable dimples in her cheeks and a petite frame, she looked like a doll. Her easy looks had been the talk of the town ever since her debut last season, and God was she aware of that. Like Marlene, she’s had her fair share of suitors and has turned them all down with undisguised delight, ever hoping that her prince charming would eventually arrive to whisk her off her feet.
“Sure, Mary.” Lily agreed, her annoyance conveyed by a mere roll of her eyes. It was too early in the morning to start a fight.
In this army of fair-haired, easy going siblings, Lily often thought she didn’t fit. Short, clumsy and lacking the feminine grace that seemed to come so naturally to the three other girls, she often wished she’d been born a boy instead. The world out there did seem to open every door to any boy who’d dare ask for it, and Lily had never lacked daring after all. She didn’t care for doing what was expected of her, and often loudly repeated she would rather travel the world on her own than to lock herself in an advantageous match, for the sole purpose of annoying her parents. She still would also rather blend in the mass than being singled out but, unfortunately for her, everything in her made Lily Evans hard to pass by. She had striking dark red hair and eyes so green Remus swore he’d never seen the likes of them anywhere else; she had freckles covering her cheeks, nose and shoulders and, most of the time, a frown that betrayed her terrible mood. In spite of (or maybe because of) said bad mood, she was still her father’s favourite, and Horace Evans always made it very obvious.
“There’s still this friend of him, though. What’s his name already, Papa?”
“Potter, Mary dearie.”
“Is he rich as well?”
“Twice as rich, if Mrs Skeeter is to be believed.”
Mary paused, scrunching up her nose in a comical show of reflection. “I changed my mind. I want to marry the rich one. My sisters can share Mr Black, and Remus can have one of his sisters.”
Remus groaned, as their father and youngest sister bonded over their love of good old gossips and started planning everyone’s future.
“Well, the youngest is married already, but there’s still Miss Bellatrix who's said to have a very large dowry, and our darling son deserves no less after all ...”
“Mother, please !” pleaded said darling son, none too pleased with their matchmaking abilities. Fortunately, Mother answered his prayers.
“Enough of that. Mary, stop being so vulgar, it’s unbecoming. Mr Evans, no one is marrying anyone right now, so let us finish our breakfast in peace. Also, you should know by now that Mrs Skeeter is never to be trusted. And Lily, eat with your mouth shut, for God’s sake. This isn’t how I’ve raised you.” Lily glared but complied. When Minerva asked for something, you obeyed.
“How would you know all of that, anyway?” The red-haired girl asked with her mouth full of scones, but promptly swallowed before Minerva’s warning glance.
“Well my Lily-love, I called on them, of course!” Horace looked very pleased with himself, and Marlene and Remus didn’t even try to hold back their embarrassed sigh.
“And, do you want to hear the best part?” cooed Mary while wrapping her arms around Father’s shoulders. They both directed the same enthusiastic grin to the rest of the family, and they had never looked more alike. Nor more stupid, Lily thought.
“Oh, I’m dying to.” replied Alice, not bothering to hide the sarcasm dripping from her words.
Mary all but squeaked. “They’re all coming to the dance on Saturday!”
Lily nearly banged her head against the table. It was too early for this shit.