This idea has been rolling around in my mind for a while, and when I didn't do anything with it, it started poking and prodding to get out. It was rather annoying, so I just had to give it a shot. Anyway, I like it, so I thought you might, too. Without further ado, here is House of Glass.

Freedom is the oxygen of the soul
~Moshe Dayan

Chapter 1: Home Again

As I stopped to face the train that would carry me back to school for another year, a light breeze lifted the tips of my hair. Its playful attitude seemed to reflect my own mood.

After two months of enduring my mother's obsessive-compulsive need for perfection, I was finally going home.

I breathed out a deep sigh and tilted my head back, revealing my face to the bright morning sun. I relished chance moments of relaxation like this; I could almost forget the crowds of people rushing all around me, despite their frantic shouts and scurrying feet. Behind the cover of my eyelids, there was peace.

"Put your head down, girl! You look ridiculous," my mother snapped.

I gritted my teeth and did as she said, closing my hands into tight fists. Just five more minutes, I told myself. Five more minutes and you'll be free.

My brother reached over to touch the back of my hand in sympathy, and I shot him a quick grin. I knew he was just as eager to get away from our parents as I was.

"Well don't just stand there, get going!" my mother said. "We can't have you missing the train; I have a meeting in ten minutes."

I took a deep breath to refrain from saying anything that would get me in trouble and simply turned away from her.

Instead of saying goodbye like most of the kids around me, I waited until she had Disapparated and lifted my trunk off the trolley. I managed to struggle through two ludicrous, waddling steps in my attempt to reach the train before a voice behind me chuckled and said, "Need some help?"

"Remus?" I cried, whirling to face him. "Remus!" I dropped my trunk in the momentary surprise and subsequently tripped over it. I barely winced at my scraped palms as I jumped back up to hug my best friend.

If Remus was amused by my clumsiness he didn't show it, but he'd had plenty of years to learn that particular skill. "How've you been, Ash?" he asked seriously.

"Fine, I guess." I shrugged the question off noncommittally; Remus had heard enough about my home life to know that this wasn't a discussion for public ears. We would both talk about our summers later.

I squinted up at him to examine his face. "So how was -" I paused. "Geez, Rem, when did you get so tall?"

This time he couldn't help but laugh, and I glowered at him. "Maybe you just shrunk," he teased, eliciting another glare. Grinning, he bent over to pick up my trunk and lifted it with ease.

"Not possible," I told him. "Especially for me."

He ignored the comment and stowed my trunk with his. I was forever complaining about my lack of height – if I stood as straight as I could, I topped out at five-foot-three. I absolutely loathed being short.

I lingered by his side for a moment and said softly, "I'll see you at the feast?"

"Of course," he said, hugging me again. He ruffled my hair before he stepped into the compartment where his friends had already gathered, leaving me alone in the aisle.

I stood there for a minute before the train whistled and jerked me back to my senses. Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I began walking the length of the train, searching for the other Gryffindor girls, the group of people I considered to be my best friends. I would have loved to spend the day with Remus, but with Remus came his friends, and that group I wasn't so fond of.

I found my friends about halfway down the train, so caught up in a heated argument that they didn't notice when I entered and sat down by the door.

Lily Evans and Marlene McKinnon were both raising their voices at each other, standing face to face. Lily's face was a brilliant shade of red, but after listening for a few seconds I couldn't decide if that was with rage or embarrassment.

"You might as well just admit it now, Lily!" Marlene's hands were on her hips. "I don't see what the big deal is anyway; we're your friends - you can trust us."

"There's nothing to admit!" Lily said shrilly. "It was just a couple of letters, I swear!"

"If it was just a couple of letters, you would have told us about it. But you didn't. So there is obviously something more behind it." Marlene was very proud of herself at having deduced as much, and the smug look on her face only served to irk Lily even more.

"Maybe I just thought you would react like this if I told you!" Lily's glare rivaled those commonly seen in a match of Potter vs. Snape.

"Well, I think you're protesting too much. You are most certainly hiding something from us. And besides, you didn't tell us at all, the letter fell out of your bag!"

My eyebrows twitched in confusion, but I was tempted to laugh anyway. Marlene was forever convinced that Lily was in love with James Potter, and every year hours were spent on trying to get her to admit it. This letter business, however, was new to the whole equation.

"What exactly is going on here?" I quietly asked Dorcas Meadowes, the girl sitting closest to me. She was watching the argument with a rather bemused look on her face.

She chuckled before answering. "Apparently Lily's been keeping some kind of correspondence with Potter over the summer and didn't tell anyone. One of the letter's he sent fell out of her shoulder-bag, and Marlene's been tearing into her ever since."

I snickered slightly and refrained from rolling my eyes. We all knew Lily had feelings for Potter; most of us were just quieter about it than Marlene. It was easy enough to see that the constant banter between the non-couple had become more a matter of pride than of feelings. Yes, Potter loved her, but he was just as proud about making it known almost daily and not backing down as she was about turning him down. If either one of them gave in now, it would be a show of weakness. I think those two are just the last ones not to see it.

"For the last time, I am not in love with him!" Lily threw her hands up in exasperation. "I will admit, however, that I have discovered Ja- Potter to not be quite the insensitive prat I used to think he was." Lily ran a hand through her hair anxiously as she awaited her friends' reaction to the proclamation.

"Aha!" Marlene shouted. "I knew it! I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!" She began dancing a little jig around the compartment.

"Knew what?" Lily asked.

"Well you've as good as admitted it, haven't you? If you don't hate Potter, which is what you've been telling us all since third year when he declared his undying love for you, then surely that means you've come to your senses and finally realized you're in love with him!"

If I hadn't been so amused by Marlene's antics, I probably would have pointed out the fallacy of her reasoning. As it was, I was too preoccupied with trying not to burst out laughing.

I failed in that, as well, the moment I saw the helplessly pathetic look on Lily's face. As I fell over the edge into hilarity, my friends all joined me in cracking up at the redhead's expense.

"Oh, what's so funny, Ashlynn?" Lily snapped, and all my attempts at stopping fell right back to pieces. And then – "Ashlynn! Oh my gosh, when did you get here?"

It took me a few minutes to compose myself enough to respond. "About ten minutes ago, Lils."

I could tell Lily felt bad for not noticing my entrance, and I provided a quick change of topic for her. Everyone seemed to love making fun of her, and sometimes I felt bad for the poor girl.

"Lils, don't you have a prefect meeting to be Heading right about now?" We all knew that Dumbledore had made Lily Head Girl; she had sent every one of us an excited letter about it the moment she discovered the shiny new badge that had arrived with this year's booklist.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, jumping out of the seat she had fallen into only moments ago. Flustered, she bounded to the door. "I'll see you all later, I've got to run! Thanks, Ash!" Without further ado, she was gone.

Dorcas leaned back in her seat as the door slid shut behind everyone's favorite green-eyed wonder. "So," she grinned, "how was everyone's summer?"

The rest of the train ride was filled with comfortable chatter about summer fun, new plans for our last year, and concerns about N.E.W.T.s. I just sat back and enjoyed the first opportunity that I'd had in a long time to really relax.

A/N:

One chapter down, quite a few to go. I hope you liked it, and I would love to hear from you whether you did or not. After all, I can't make it better if you don't tell me what to fix!

Lots of love and signing off,
Snoball13