One.
Saturday
Lily turned her coat up against the wind as she made her way to The Leaky Cauldron. She wished she could have worn her robes but they would certainly raise more than a few eyebrows in Muggle London. She waved goodbye to Tom, the barkeeper, and breathed a sigh as she stepped into the muggle world. The transition from one world to the other never failed to simultaneously disorient and relieve her. She blamed her family, and she blamed Snape. She could never isolate herself in or from either of her worlds. More than a couple of months amid magic would terrify her as a couple without would. Recently, however, she felt more at peace with wizardry than she ever had, and the muggle self defense classes she taught had ceased to seem as the self mandated therapy they initially had.
Popping out a cigarette, she started on her long trek to Verone Alley, a couple of kilometres away. She could have apparated, true, but the long walk served as a warm up for the class.
"Evening, Wicked!," she smiled, having stomped her fag before entering Mr Rick's establishment. He was a sharp, lean, jovial man of fifty three, who had taught Lily all she knew with regards to muggle brawling.
"You're late young lady! The little ones have been waiting over an hour!," the man roared as she edged around him to the back room, wary of his wagging finger "And don't let me catch any foul language from you in front of them, Bree swore so the last time, that the missus was left blushing!."
Lily nodded along with him. "And," he went on,"if I discover any more post-half-night sneak outings, you can find room elsewhere, you hear me?"
"Oh, Wicked, I was just letting Cheshire out for a hunt!" Cheshire was her owl. Grinning at his unbelieving snort, she made her way to her ladies in wait.
"Hello lovelies, trust you had a good day? Come on, enough dawdling already!"
She ushered them through their exercises with the ease that comes from routine, trying to plan her way through the studying she needed to finish that night in the back of her head. Unsurprisingly, her mind wandered.
She was utterly amused, utterly frustrated with how muggles and wizards were constantly affected by one other, with neither the wiser. Back, in around second year, the number of muggle muggings and random murders had mysteriously escalated. Those in the wizarding world had as well, however without any farce of mystery. Her mum had enrolled both Petunia and Lily for the classes where Lily now taught, in the hopes that they'd both atleast be safe on the streets. She hadn't known about the wizarding world crisis. About the death eaters, about Voldemort. And so Lily was sufficiently proficient in the ways of muggle street fighting. Over the years, many more parents saw the wisdom in this and more allowed girls into such classes despite it's unorthodox nature. After her mother's death, Lily needed a place to live and Mr Rick, Wicked, had barked at her to bring her things to the spare room above this very shop. Lily had volunteered to coach the kids in return. He had refused accepting rent.
Lisa, her youngest was having trouble with a kick, and Lily moved over to help. "Look here, you've got to move your leg in an arc," she demonstrated, "like this, you see, that's why they call it a roundhouse kick,hmm? Alright, lets see you try it again."
That night, tucked in bed, Lily addressed the pile of letters that had accumulated over the week. She opened Mary's first.
Lily!
You were right! Well, technically, no, Black didn't break into the house, but that's only because he didn't need to seeing as he'd charmed Mum to a stuttering,blushing mess! So, one fine morning I walk down to the kitchen IN JUST MY NIGHTGOWN mind, and he's just sitting there at the kitchen table being treated to a five course breakfast, looks up when I enter and goes all, "Nice slippers," in that smarmy voice of his. I can not believe it. So, now I owe him six galleons and a knut. Should have listened to you. But, honestly, can you believe that woman? When I brought Sam home the summer before, she hovered over us throughout his visit with this most disapproving countenance. Merlin, I hate Black.
Now tell me how you're doing? Juggling two jobs must be hard. which one's worse, you think? How's ? My best to him.
Okay, Lily, I know you know I'm going to say this, but could you please just consider visi-
Abandoning that, she skipped over to the next one.
Dear Lily,
How is your summer going so far? Are you having fun working at the QQS? James mentioned running into you when he stepped in for some new broom polish, I think? Working in Diagon Alley usually promises to be interesting, at the very least.
Have you heard from Mary? I owe Sirius a galleon. Should have learned not to bet against that git.
Quick favour, could you send in a letter to James as a Quality Quidditch Supplies employee that the new Cleansweep comes out this weekend? One of those fake posters, like you did for the Slytherin team in third year, please? Its part of this plan that Sirius is trying to pull over James.
The vacation thus far has been lively. The lads and I stayed over at Peter's for a while. Sirius and Peter somehow managed to get the local muggle postman to fart at every doorstep. Loudly and twice, if the recipient was a bird. James baked a cake. Yes, I am giving you dirt on him to get you to help me out about the prank. Mrs. Pettigrew is wildly besotted with me since I have managed to keep my hands clean. She isn't aware that I put the dungbomb in James' cake.
Don't forget to write back, you lazy arse! Oh, and any luck on Question 4, Charms homework?
Love,
Remus
Dearest Bob,
Mind writing to Mary, telling her I may have enchanted something in her house to burst into Sirius-Love-Notes should a parent touch it?
I haven't, but I reckon it'll drive her nuts, yeah?
Did I mention how smashing you looked the other day?
Sirius
After that was the letter from Hogwarts, her pay from QQS for the week, the Evening Prophet, blah, blah, she lost interest. The next day was a Sunday, she figured she could pen her replies then. Sadly, she just wouldn't have the time.
Sunday
"Lily, come on, wake up," Alice shook her.
"What time's it?," Lily asked drowsily.
"Its two in the morning, but you need to ge-"
"Get out."
"Lil-"
"Go away."
"There's been an attack, for crying out loud!"
Lily shot up straight, rubbing her eyes. "Jesus, not again. What happened?" she asked, jumping off the bed and beginning to frantically look for some pants to pull on.
"You know the kids staying over at Hogwarts all year because of Voldemort? Well, they had a Hogsmeade weekend and some Death eaters decided to tag along. Meadowes sent me an owl, told me to round up as many upperclassmen as I could and head over. I owled Marlene and came for you. Done, yeah? Lets go."
They made their way out as quietly as they could, but WIcked was waiting at the door, frowning in that disapproving-judging-aunt way of his
"I'll explain when I'm back Wicked. Emergency." The two of them must've looked a mess, Wicked just nodded, sighed and let them pass. They apparated soon as the door closed.
Lily had only seen Hogsmeade in the night once before. A well meaning Professor Flitwick had arranged for a debate in fourth year. It quickly escalated till most of the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors were locked in a screaming match. She never knew for sure who fired the first hex, but, well, there had been no more debates. Potter caught her whining about it to Marlene, called her a prig, she cursed him and they both got detention. They had to clean the trophy room under Filch's supervision. Potter kept taunting the caretaker till she asked him to kindly shut the hell up. He scoffed that she was too straight laced for any kind of fun, she ended up sneaking to Hogsmeade with him to prove a point. They tried to steal some cockroach cluster from Honeydukes, but they chickened out and left some gold in the jar. When they finally made it back, they were arguing so loudly about who got to chuck some in Black's lunch the next day that they got caught and ended up with a month's detentions.
This time there was no sense of mischief in the air. It was still, too still, made more unnatural by the evident residues of magic in the night. Lily shivered and clutched her wand tightly in her hand. They'd landed some ways from the village centre, in an alley unlikely to be occupied. They made for the Broomsticks in as hurried steps as caution could allow. Suddenly, Lily heard the pop of apparition right behind her. She spun around quickly, and James Potter was incredibly lucky he was wearing his Gryff jumper or he'd have been hexed silly by the witch before him.
"Potter, you prat!", Lily whispered furiously, her heart having yet to calm from the adrenaline.
James Potter, black haired, with a small scar around the end of his left eye, a giant of six feet, rolled his eyes. "Come now love, no need to wet yourself just yet."