Disclaimer: JKR created the world of Harry Potter and all it's inhabitants.
April 1966
She is there again. That strange place she had come to realize was her own mystical, magical, wonderful dreamland. Six-year-old Lily Evans wanders into the open meadow where a tall mysterious figure stands. It is always waiting for her, taking on random forms of animals and humans alike. It stretches and shifts, nothing more than a solid shadow in the air.
“Hello my Lily-flower,” it says, today in a boy’s voice that she can tell is full of love and laughter. Though she doesn’t know it yet, it is a voice she will come to love more than life itself years from now. The mysterious figure takes the shape of a stag this night, its antlers constantly changing, moving like smoke. Lily walks up to the stag, her feet never touching the ground, yet leaving small footprints in the soft grass.
“Hello Marley,” the young redhead greets her friend. She loves it here, in her dreamland. Marley always makes sure she is happy. She is safe in her dreams from scary monsters, bullies and the like. All bad things are chased away by Marley before they can get to darling Lily.
“Come, dear child, what would you like to do today?” the shadowy stag asks.
“Let’s go flying!” replies the bouncing, redheaded little girl with glee. Laughing, the stag lowers to the ground, allowing the girl to climb on. Once she is sitting comfortably, the stag changes into a Pegasus, much to the delight of the six-year-old, and takes off into the bright dreamland sky.
August 1971
“Marley!” a ten-year-old Lily calls to her dreamland friend as she enters the meadow for the first time in a few weeks. She notices that it has been changing, as she grows and blossoms so did the spectacular lily flowers spread sporadically throughout the meadow. “Marley?” she called once more. This is the first time the mysterious figure is not waiting for the girl.
The mysterious figure slowly emerges from the opposite end of the meadow, tonight as a graceful doe. “Hello, my Lily-flower,” the doe replies in a voice Lily recognizes to be her own only older sounding.
“Marley! You’ll never guess what happened since I saw you last!” the girl bounces in place, excitement nearly bursting from every part of her. “I’m a witch!” she exclaims, unable to wait for her friend to guess.
The shadowy doe shifts into a girl, slightly older than the vivacious ten-year-old, and brings the child into a tight embrace.
“Come on, Marley!” Lily says pulling her friend by the hand. “Let’s have a magical tea party to celebrate!”
The shadow girl follows slowly and joins Lily at a table that appeared in the middle of the meadow. It plays along, with a liveliness it doesn’t feel. Lily will not see her dreamland friend for many years.
November 1979
Lily enters a familiar meadow that she hasn’t seen in eight years. Well, she had visited the meadow plenty of times during her Hogwarts career; it was her wonderful dreamland, her safe house. The figure standing in the center of her meadow was a sight for her weary eyes.
“Marley?” the young woman asked tentatively. She had awaited the return of her shadowy friend every day since she had seen it last those eight long years ago. The meadow had changed slightly since her last visit, new blooms were sprouting. Near the center where Marley stands waiting, there is a sapling tree that had never been there before.
Tonight her friend takes the form of a young boy. Lily runs to the center of the meadow, leaving footprints in the soft grass although her feet still do not touch the ground. She embraces the shadow boy lovingly.
“My dear Lily-flower,” it says in a voice she will never know. “My congratulations are in order, I see.”
“What do you mean?” the tall redhead questions, sitting with her friend on a blanket that appears next to the young tree.
“You are still unaware? My dear, you are pregnant!” the figure states. Lily is stunned for a few moments, but soon a wide grin graces her countenance. She positively glows. A picnic appears before the two figures, as Lily describes everything that has happened in the past few years. The mysterious figure does not tell the young woman that it has been watching over her in her dreams for the past eight years; instead it listens intently, shifting forms every so often.
October 1981
Her meadow has changed. It is no longer full of bright, blooming flowers. Instead the lilies are either wilting or already dead. The only thing left unchanged is the sapling tree. Seeing her dreamland like this only confirms her fears. Lily runs to the center of the meadow where the figure stands. She captures her shadow friend in an embrace. After a moment, she steps away looking to the place where a pair of eyes should be, tears streaming down her face.
“My Lily-flower…” it says. There are many voices that speak, from both the past and future. Lily silences her friend with her hand.
“Marley, please. You know what I plan to do, and hopefully it will not be in vain. But please, you must promise me one thing.”
“Anything for you, my dearest of friends,” it replies solemnly.
“I need you to look after Harry, like you did for me as I grew up. Comfort him, and listen to his stories, and tell him of me. Remind him that I always have and will always love him.” The figure nods its assent, gripping the crying Lily in a comforting hug. They stay like this all night.
At 5:00 the mysterious figure wanders back to the mystical land where the shoes meet the foot prints… Lily follows.
A/N: This story gave me tingles as I wrote the last bit. How about you? Tell me in a review? :P
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