Tears of Flame: Storm Approaches
To all my patient readers – I hope I haven't lost you due to the wait! The vast majority recommended a separate story for Lily's second year, so here it is! If you haven't read Tears of Flame: From the Ashes (Lily's first year at Hogwarts) I recommend you do so before you read this. Now, I think you've been waiting long enough, so enjoy Lily's second year!
Disclaimer – I own very little of this. Harry Potter and all related characters and ideas belong to JK Rowling. Unfortunately.
Chapter 1 - Trials and TribulationsLily breathed a sigh of relief as she forced her way into the entrance hall and out of the vicious wind, glad to be back in the warm. She flashed a smile to Sirius, who had got in just before her, sheltering behind a large Hufflepuff sixth year.
"Good to be back, isn't it, Siri?" Sirius's vehement reply told her he was, on more levels than just escaping the gale. Then again, she had more reasons for relief at her return than just shelter from the weather, too.
The summer has, by and large, been fun – or Arabella had tried to make it so. However, it had been overshadowed by the increased tension in the wizarding world over Lithara, the Dark Queen. Unnoticed by the sheltered Hogwarts students, over the previous year she had grown in power and influence, several prominent Aurors being killed and common folk just… disappearing. Still, Lily had seen the Dark Queen as a malevolent phantom – frightening in the shadows, but unlikely to affect her. That was, until Arabella received an owl bearing a black envelope, telling her of the death of an old school friend. She had been distraught – for Lily, it was almost a return to the 'bad old days' when she took care of herself. Arabella ate little and slept less, mumbling to herself and bursting into tears when asked a question. She returned from the funeral, red-eyed and pale, refusing to talk about it. Normality returned, or some semblance of it. Arabella had been a little quieter, a bit more subdued. Lily had been guiltily glad to escape the tension and return to the haven of Hogwarts.
Remus, deceptively frail, hauled James into the entrance hall. Still slight and skinny, the wind had been attempting to abduct James until Remus, with his enhanced strength, came to the rescue.
"Thanks, Remus. I thought I was going over that cliff. Much as I like flying, I prefer it with a broomstick."
Lily rushed over. "Rem! Oh, it's great to see you." The pair hugged, grinning.
"Break it up there, you two. That's enough mush. Let's get to the feast!"
Giggling, Lily loosened her hold on Remus, and the four of them made their way into the Great Hall.
-a-a-a-
The next morning, revitalised by a huge meal and a good nights sleep, Lily was fizzing with excitement. She was going to get her magic unblocked. She'd finally be able to do spells properly. She fidgeted restlessly through breakfast, barely touching her food, and then all but skipped to Dumbledore's office. Her good mood, however, didn't last much longer.
-a-a-a-
"What!" she screamed.
"I'm sorry, Miss Evans. I know it's not what you were hoping for, but…"
"But nothing! It's mine. I can use it if I want."
"I'm afraid, Miss Evans, that you cannot. I have the other three hundred people in this castle to think of, and I will not allow you to endanger them. You need more control – over your magic and your emotions. Your temper is volatile, and this is dangerous. Another six months, and we'll review the situation."
"What if I don't get enough control, then or ever? This is a school for magic, and you're not teaching it to me."
"Better that one pupil may not reach her full potential, than three hundred lives are in jeopardy, don't you think, Miss Evans?"
Lily growled, glared, and stormed out, eyes glowing golden.
-a-a-a-
Remus was concerned when Lily didn't show up in Transfiguration, and worried when she still hadn't returned for DADA. When she didn't arrive in the lunch hall, he excused himself to James and Sirius. He was approaching frantic now – his packmate was missing, in trouble, hurt. She was not in her dorm or in the common room. She wasn't in the kitchens or the library. She wasn't out on the Quidditch pitch or by the lake. He prowled through the school, not caring that he, too, was missing Charms, searching. Eventually, he found her in a deserted fifth floor classroom. It was her sobbing that alerted him to her location, and he sped up. He turned into the room and paused. She sat in the middle of the floor, hot tears falling slowly, knuckles raw and bleeding. He looked around and was impressed – and slightly taken aback – at the amount of damage she had managed to do to the furniture until her ferocious anger had been spent, and she'd evidently collapsed in exhaustion, still crying tears of anger and frustration. He sat down next to her and held her, as she tried to tell him what had happened, and he tried to get her to relax. She refused to do so until he knew why she was in such a state and so he gave up, and let her talk. As soon as she had done so – with an edge of anger still in her voice – she visibly relaxed, and soon after the exhaustion claimed her and she fell asleep. Remus gently shifted her onto the floor, using his cloak for a pillow, careful not to wake her. When she was comfortable, he left the room in search of his prey. Someone had hurt his packmate, had taken something that he had no right to, and that someone was going to pay.
-a-a-a-
Morosely, Remus slumped into the Owlery. It was eight o'clock at night, and he'd much rather be playing exploding snap with Sirius and Lily, planning a prank on the Slytherins – even doing his History of Magic homework. Instead, he had a three-hour detention for bodily attacking the headmaster. It had not, perhaps, been the wisest of moves, particularly not in the Great Hall, with the entire student body, all the staff, and particularly the unyielding Professor O'Cairn looking on. But one of his packmates had been hurt, and his instincts had taken over. He'd attacked without a second thought, intent on revenge. Settling into a rhythm as he scrubbed away, he shrugged philosophically. It could have been worse. His punishment had been reduced due to extenuating circumstances, and he had managed to give the most powerful wizard in the world a black eye.
-a-a-a-
With the exception of Remus's attack on Professor Dumbledore during dinner, very little made Lily smile over the next week. James and Sirius, worried by her sullen silence, tried to snap her out of it by pranking the Slytherins, each other, and eventually managing to add insult to Professor Dumbledore's injury by enchanting poison ivy to grow in his beard. Nothing seemed to work. Lily, uncomfortable with the pair's boisterous antics and Remus's quiet sympathy, had taken refuge in the library, burying herself in the most obscure tomes she could find.
It was about two weeks into term when she finally began to cheer up. It was James, in the end, who managed it, and he couldn't help but laugh at the transformation of Lily's face from a sullen scowl to childish excitement as he informed her of the Quidditch tryouts that weekend. The pair of them – Remus being a cautious flyer at best, and Sirius astonishingly clumsy in the air for someone so self-assured on the ground – proceeded to spend every spare moment they could flying, leaving homework to the hours of darkness, or else completely undone. The teachers, although they scolded the pair were inwardly relieved, especially Kitty McGonagall – Lily's spellwork, dependent on her emotions, had been suffering badly over the previous weeks.
The weekend dawned mild and misty. The nervous hopefuls – Ryan Crumpet, another second year, two fourth year girls, Lizi Nicol and Victoria Maxwell and a bulky sixth year, Martyn Johnson – cast appraising glances at each other, eyeing up the competition. There were, after all, only two places – for a Chaser and a Keeper. Lily, normally fairly undauntable, was feeling the pressure. Her stomach felt like it no longer wished to be part of her body, especially ass the Gryffindor students began to filter into the stands to watch. Even Sirius's and Remus's cheerful waves did little to alleviate her nerves. It was only when she kicked off and began to feel the freedom in the air that they began to diminish.
She smiled across at James, and he winked at her and looped the quaffle over the head of James Pritchard, one of the beaters, and into her waiting hands. She soared up the field, swerved a bludger, and deposited the quaffle neatly past the potential Keeper, Lizi Nicol, and through the goal hoop. She grinned down at the captain, Olivia Copley, in the stands, waved at Sirius and Remus who were whooping and cheering, and did a loop-the-loop to show her elation. Her last butterflies died down, and bubbles of excitement replaced them. Merlin, she loved to fly!
-a-a-a-
This was the part of tryouts Olivia Copley – known by her middle name of Jess if you wanted to keep your teeth – hated the most. A gentle, refined girls most of the time, Olivia became a demon out on the Quidditch pitch, but still hated to hurt the feelings of those she was rejecting.
"As ever, it's been a tough decision. With so few places on the team, there's inevitably disappointment. If you're not picked, don't lose hope. There's always next year." Jess began to ramble, and realised she was stalling. "Anyway, without further ado, I'd like to welcome to the team Tori Maxwell as Keeper and James Potter as Chaser."
Slightly taken aback by the shrieks of joy from the successful pair, Jess shook her head to stop her ears ringing, and scanned the faces of the hopefuls. Martyn Johnson looked resigned – he'd tried out every year since he turned twelve, and had never quite made the grade. Lizi, too, looked like she had been expecting it – especially since her appalling fumble of the Quaffle and resulting own goal. It was Lily Evans she was most worried about. Her face had gone very pale and her expression blank. As the others dispersed to tell their friends the news – good or otherwise – Lily stood stock-still. Jess, who knew the slight second year had not had a good time of it at Hogwarts, approached and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Choosing between you and James was my hardest choice, Lily. You're both very skilful flyers. You may even be the superior – you have a great flair for the dramatic, and are almost fearless in the air. But James has more of a feel for the sport. James is a Quidditch player – but you, Lily, are a flyer. We'll have a Chaser spot for you next year, Lily, if you want it."
Lily's eyes had brightened somewhat during Jess's speech and she smiled tentatively. The vulnerability of the slight girl touched Jess, and she smiled gently back. "Do you mean that? Do you really think I'm a good flyer?"
Jess nodded solemnly. "Yes, Lily. You're an excellent flyer."
Lily's beam lit up her face and her eyes began to sparkle. "In that case, don't worry about the Chaser spot. Can you give me a few names of other good flyers? What do you think about…"
Jess grinned at the determined redhead, and replied, "It's an excellent idea. I'll talk it over with the flying instructor, see if we can book you some practice time, and see if I can spread the word and find out who's interested. I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"
-a-a-a-
Remus, who knew his fiery best friend well, was puzzled at how well Lily took her rejection from the Quidditch team, especially as James was physically unable to contain his excitement and self congratulation. He was so smug that Remus frequently itched to punch him, but Lily, who should have been more upset by it, smiled vaguely at him, eyes sparkling.
She'd been behaving oddly in other ways, too, spending a considerable amount of time closeted with Jess Copley, the Quidditch captain. Although pleased that one of the older Gryffindor girls had taken Lily under their wing, Remus was puzzled as to what they were up to, and slightly offended that Lily hadn't told him about it. As the pair were joined by the rather delicate fifth year Clearwater twins, and a raucous third year called Charlie Bridge, Remus's puzzlement grew. It was evidently something, as they disappeared off together for increasingly long periods of time. After one Saturday, when Lily had rushed her lunch and disappeared until dusk, he decided he'd had enough. He missed his friend.
When confronted, Lily remained remarkably closed mouthed.
"Oh, Rem, I'm sorry I've been neglecting you. You're my best friend. But I need to make other friends too – especially girls. As for what we're up to, you'll find out soon enough."
Lily promised to spend more time with Remus and the others, which mollified him somewhat, but no matter how Remus coaxed and cajoled her, would not reveal what she was up to with Jess.
"You'll have to wait and see," was her only reply, which just served to peak his curiosity more.