This was written primarily for the Master of Sentences Challenge. Its entire 594-word body is exactly one (grammatically correct, non-run-on) sentence.

Special

Lily turned the thick envelope, which was punctured at the top by the owl's talons and slightly crunched from being clutched in its feet, over in her hands and felt a slow smile begin to grow across her face, because this was it: this was the letter Severus had told her about, the one he'd explained she'd receive on her eleventh birthday, the letter she hadn't really expected to receive at all (because yes, she was odd, and yes, she could do freakish things without explaining how she'd done them, but magic and wizards and Hogwarts and letters delivered by owl all seemed a little too fanciful to come true) and yet here it was, in her hands, punctured top and all, begging to be opened; she slid her finger beneath the flap of the envelope and dragged it along the edge, tearing the paper (no, not paper - it was too heavy to be just paper - this was parchment) and dipping her trembling fingers inside to pull out the loose papers folded up and squirreled away inside, and even though it was addressed to her, Lily still felt a terrible thrill, as if opening this bit of mail was forbidden and she was Pandora unleashing the contents of the infamous Box; she could feel her heart pounding, and for a split second she wondered if this was Sev's idea of a practical joke, and if maybe Tuney was right, she was just a freak and magic didn't exist at all (because as much as she liked Sev, she didn't know him all that well, and he could have been insane or a bully or a liar, and he'd never shown her any proof of his magic, either, he'd never pulled out his wand and shown her any spells, and maybe he was just wrong); Lily had unfolded the letter, but she hadn't started to read yet, she was too busy staring blankly at the green ink and trying to decide whether she wanted to believe in the impossible, because Tuney hated the impossible and Severus loved it and she, Lily, wasn't totally sure where her loyalties lay yet; she knew her family was waiting in the kitchen with a great big birthday cake, and she knew she'd already been standing out at the mailbox for far too long, and that any second someone would come outside to see if she was alright, but she didn't move, she couldn't move, she had to read the letter (she didn't want to read the letter), she had to make a choice (between family and her own nature), she had to decide whether to run inside and tell her parents everything or whether to throw the letter into the air and let the wind carry it far away; Lily took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and began to read; the green ink told her she'd been accepted ("We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…") and that someone would be coming to explain it all to her parents ("...as a Muggle (non-magical person) -born student, you are likely unaware of Hogwarts, but we will be sending a representative from the school to enlighten you and your family…") and that she had until September 1st to decide, but Lily didn't need all that time, she'd made up her mind after only one line, because it wasn't a joke: magic did exist, after all, and that meant she wasn't a freak, but rather that she was very, very special.

[Master of Sentences Challenge: Easy]

[Collect a Collection Competition: Lily Evans]

[100 Prompts challenge: Acceptance]

[Star Challenge: Adara - write about Lily Evans]