14 June 2026
The Gryffindor common room was in its usual state of pre-exam chaos. A murmur of nervous voices rang throughout the expanse, and all around, people were either muttering incantations or feverishly scouring notes and books.
At the far end of the room, a small, redheaded girl sat, leaning back against the wall, with a slight frown on her face. Around her, at least thirty different books, charts, parchments, and quills littered the floor, as well as several empty boxes of Chocolate Frogs. She was deep in thought, and her eyes moved rapidly across page after page, in book after book. Her hands flipped feverishly through parchment after parchment, as she wore out quill after quill.
As the sky outside the large window darkened, slowly, students began filing out of the room and up the two adjoining staircases. But the redheaded girl did not move. Her eyes drooped, and the pace of her hand against the parchment slowed considerably, but she didn't budge. She didn't even look up when the portrait hole to the common room opened with a soft click, and two boys—both with violently untidy, jet-black hair—walked in, glancing around the room and grinning as they spotted her.
In fact, it wasn't until they were both sitting directly in front of her that she jumped, upsetting her ink pot and spilling the thick, black liquid all over the maroon carpet.
"James! Al!"
She gazed at them in shock for a fraction of a second, before bounding to her knees and engulfing them both in a tight embrace.
"What are you both doing here?" she asked, laughing as she pulled away.
"Official business from Mum," James grinned, leaning back against a nearby armchair, and kicking his legs up so that they covered Lily's study materials. "Neville let us in."
Lily rolled her eyes and shoved his legs away. "What do you mean by 'official business'?" she inquired suspiciously, picking up her quill and reaching for a piece of half-used parchment.
"Er—" Albus hesitated, exchanging a half-glance with James. "Well…apparently, you haven't written home in a while. Mum's worried—she says you haven't been yourself all term, even during the Easter holidays."
"So she sent you two idiots over here to spy on me?" Lily demanded indignantly, eyes narrowing.
"Yep," James shrugged. "Calm down, Lils. We waited until you were alone to burst in here, didn't we? Your noble brother, Albus, didn't want to embarrass you in front of your latest boyfriend—which reminds me, who is currently holding that title?" James asked with great interest, picking up an empty Chocolate Frog wrapper and twirling it between his fingers. "I want to give him a proper hexing."
Lily blushed, swatting James's shoulder. "I believe that's none of your business, James Potter," she said waspishly. "And you two can run along and tell Mum that she's got nothing to worry about—I'm perfectly fine."
"Not the way I see it," said Albus, glancing around at Lily's various books and notes in amazement. "Lily, remind me again why you're taking more subjects than James and I took together? I swear, even Rose didn't study this much in seventh year!"
"Well, I, unlike you two—" she glared pointedly at her brothers, "—am planning to do something useful with my life."
James and Albus spluttered identically.
"We're doing useful things!" Albus puffed his chest out. "Well, maybe not James, so much," he added as an afterthought.
"Playing for Puddlemere United is very useful, thank you very much," James scowled. "As for being an Auror," he smirked, "Well, there's really no point to it when all you do is sit behind a desk and fetch Teddy tea, is there?" Albus's face went a brilliant shade of red. "Yeah, I hear the trainees aren't treated too kindly in the Auror Office."
Albus glared at his brother. "Because being a third-reserve Chaser is so much more productive," he snapped.
"Ahem," Lily interjected irately, as she noticed James open his mouth to argue. "In case you two gits haven't noticed, I'm in the middle of studying at the moment, so I would appreciate it if you could clear out."
It came as little surprise to Lily when neither boy paid the slightest heed to her order.
"What's this supposed to be?" James questioned unabashedly, holding up a complex number chart to the light, and furrowing his brows at the rows and rows of digits.
"My Arithmancy notes," Lily informed him impatiently, grabbing the chart from him. "I've got my Arithmancy N.E.W.T. tomorrow—Merlin's pants, I completely forgot!" Lily shrieked, clapping a hand over her mouth, as the color drained from her face. "I haven't…I haven't studied enough…"
There were several beats of silence, as James and Albus exchanged an alarmed look.
Then— "You know what I think?" James quipped, shaking his head at his sister's anxious expression. Lily had begun to worry her bottom lip between her teeth, eyes flitting furiously across the chart in her hand. "I think you work too much, Lils. I mean, Arithmancy? When are you even going to need to know this stuff in St. Mungo's?"
"I'll have you know that Arithmancy can be extremely useful to Healers," Lily snapped, but only halfheartedly. Her eyes were still glued to the numeric scheme she was holding. "That's what Teddy's gran told me. She used to be a Healer, you know."
"Yeah, but I doubt Mrs. Tonks took ten classes in her seventh year!" Albus was now examining the timetable pinned to Lily's schoolbag, his expression incredulous. "Blimey, Lily, no wonder Mum's worried about you! How do you even get time to eat?"
At last, Lily looked up, smiling sheepishly. "I don't, sometimes."
"Lily," James groaned. "You shouldn't have said that. Now, I'll feel guilty for not telling Mum."
"Don't you dare tell her I said that, James Sirius," Lily waggled her finger threateningly at James. "I'll Bat-Bogey Hex you into the next century."
"All right, listen—I won't tell her a thing if you drop a few of these courses," James nodded towards Lily's timetable. "C'mon, Lils, honestly, when are you ever going to use Ancient Runes, or Astronomy, or Arithmancy—?"
"I'm not dropping any classes," Lily said hotly, flinging her notes onto the floor and crossing her arms. "Especially Arithmancy. It's my favorite class, James, and Professor Vector is fantastic. Even you'd be amazed at how many magical properties numbers have, and how many ways they can help predict the future—"
"Oh—well, then, that's brilliant," James interrupted scathingly, rolling his eyes. "You'll be able to write an equation to figure out whether your patients will survive."
Albus snickered.
"Oh, stuff it, both of you," Lily snapped, uncrossing her arms and picking up her notes again.
There was a brief pause.
Then— "Honestly, Lils," James said earnestly, as he finally climbed to his feet, Albus in tow. He gestured towards the various books and essays strewn across the floor. "I really think you ought to ditch a few of these courses. They aren't going to help, and you'll just overexert your—"
"Don't listen to him, Lily," Albus interrupted, shoving his elder brother towards the portrait hole. "He's just jealous you're going to get more N.E.W.T.s than he did. How many did you get again, James? Three? Two?"
Lily half-smiled as her brothers clambered out of the portrait hole, bickering in their usual fashion. But as she turned back to her Arithmancy notes, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of worry, hating herself for wondering if perhaps—just perhaps—James was right.
11 July 2026
NASTILY EXHAUSTING WIZARDING TEST RESULTS
Pass Grades:
Outstanding (O)
Exceeds Expectations (E)
Acceptable (A)
Fail Grades:
Poor (P)
Dreadful (D)
Troll (T)
Lily Luna Potter has achieved:
Arithmancy O
Astronomy E
Care of Magical Creatures O
Charms E
Defense Against the Dark Arts E
Herbology O
Muggle Studies E
Potions O
Study of Ancient Runes A
Transfiguration E
Lily gaped at the parchment in her hands, heart racing wildly. This was it. She had done it.
She was going to be a Healer.
"Lily!" her mother's voice came suddenly from downstairs. "Come downstairs and help me in the kitchen, please! Your brothers are coming over for brunch!"
Heart still pounding madly in her chest, Lily tore out of her bedroom and all but flew down Chez Potter's winding staircase, clutching her results tightly in her hand. Ten N.E.W.T.s…it was amazing, ridiculous, impossibly unreal…
Grinning to herself, Lily danced into the kitchen, giddy with happiness. "Guess what, Mum?" she asked excitedly.
"What is it?" Mum asked, glancing curiously at the parchment in her daughter's hand, as she pulled a frying pan out of a nearby cupboard and set it on the stove.
But before Lily could begin to explain, there was a flash of green from the brick fireplace in the adjacent sitting room, and Rose Granger-Weasley clambered out of the grate, closely followed by Lily's elder brothers.
"Morning, Auntie Ginny!" Rose called brightly, waving. "Scorpius sends his love. He's had to go into work today—nearly started crying when he heard I was coming here for breakfast! You know how he can't resist your blueberry pancakes." Rose took a seat on one of the nearby bar stools. James and Albus sat down on either side of her.
"Poor boy," Mum chuckled, flicking her wand at the stove. It crackled to life. "I'll save him some." Then, she ducked down to extract ingredients from the cabinets under the stove.
Rose smiled, turning to Lily. "Oh, Lily! I almost forgot—today's the day, isn't it? Hugo's going mad at home, apparently, waiting for his results. Have yours arrived?"
Lily nodded, beaming at Rose. "I did it! I got all ten!"
"What?" Mum's head popped up suddenly from behind the counter. "Oh, Lily, congratulations! Come on, then—let's see it!" She held out her hand, and Lily passed her the results, grinning hugely.
"Oh, I just knew you'd get all ten," Rose gushed, clapping her hands together. "You'll be the best Healer ever, Lily! I just know it!"
"That's right, Lils," Albus grinned at his sister. "I promise, I'll ask for you every time I blow myself up at work—ow!" he cried, ruefully massaging his head where Rose had promptly smacked it.
With cries of excitement and happiness, Mum, Rose, and Albus converged on Lily, congratulating her, fawning over her, and affirming that she would make an incredible addition to the St. Mungo's staff.
Only James was oddly silent, considering his younger sister thoughtfully, his head cocked to the side.
Lily smirked at him over Rose's shoulder. "So what do you have to say now, Jamie?" Lily teased, reaching up and ruffling his hair. "I told you I'd be able to handle the workload, didn't I? The Arithmancy N.E.W.T. was my best exam!"
James raised his eyebrows; he looked suddenly defensive. "I never said you wouldn't do well in Arithmancy," he said indignantly. "I just said you'd be better off without it. Really, why would you want to do the extra work—?"
"Oh, give it a rest, James," Mum sighed, rolling her eyes at her son from behind Lily's N.E.W.T. results. "Admit it—you've lost this one. Besides, it's not like the extra knowledge won't help." She beamed at her daughter and stepped forward to engulf Lily in a tight embrace. "I'm so proud of you, sweetheart. Wait until your father gets home—he's going to be amazed!"
Lily was only half-listening. Her gaze was still fixed on James's surly expression. She frowned.
4 May 2028
"Healer Potter!" someone shrieked. Lily jumped, looking up as Miriam—the hospital's Welcome Witch, a squat little woman with short, blond hair and brown eyes—scuttled into the employees' tearoom, looking terrified. "Healer Potter—Miss Lily—your brother's here, and he's been seriously injured! I don't know what's happened, but they told me to fetch you!"
The air was sucked out of Lily's lungs. "I—what?" she croaked. "Who?"
Miriam's face flushed with color. "It's your brother, Healer Potter, he's been injured! They've taken him to Room Seven, on the ground floor—"
But Lily had already dashed away, breathless, her lime green St. Mungo's work robes fluttering about her heels. Her shoes scratched and scraped the linoleum floors, and several of her colleagues shot her worried looks as she passed, but Lily paid them no heed.
The number seven loomed tauntingly in front of Lily, as she clutched frantically at the brass doorknob and shoved the door open. Panting, she came to a halt at the foot of the hospital cot. But rather than coming face-to-face with Albus, as she had expected to, her eyes fell on the defaced body of—
"James?"
James Sirius Potter was lying in front of her. There was a deep gash on his jaw, and his leg was placed at a very odd angle. A cluster of angry bruises and blemishes strewed his arms, and his head was lolling backwards; he was clearly unconscious.
Immediately, a gaggle of anxious nurses engulfed Lily.
"Oh, Healer Potter, don't worry…"
"What—what's happened?" Lily demanded, head spinning. She was unable to tear her eyes away from her brother's broken form. "Do my parents know? Did you Owl them? Did you Owl Albus—and Rose, and Freddie, and—?"
"They're on their way, Healer Potter," a blond nurse from the back of the room assured her calmly. "Your brother had a massive fall during Quidditch practice, but he should just be fine. Healer Hertcomb has assured us that there won't be any lasting damage."
Lily sank, weak-kneed—yet filled with a sudden rush of relief—onto a nearby stool, running a hand through her disheveled auburn hair.
"Healer Potter, since you're here, would you mind helping us clean him up and bandage him until Healer Hertcomb comes back?" the blond nurse inquired. In her hands, she was clutching a clipboard, to which an elaborate numeric chart was attached. She flicked her a strand of her hair out of her eyes, frowning down at the tables in confusion. "Julia, do you understand an inch of Mr. Potter's charts?" she whispered to a passing Mediwitch. "Arithmancy was never my strong suit…"
With a thrill of excitement, Lily looked up, eyes falling instantaneously upon the chart. "I can help with that," she offered, jumping to her feet.
The blond nurse looked positively thrilled. "Really?" she breathed, passing Lily the clipboard. "Well, then, you've just saved us all a whole lot of time." And she beamed at Lily, before hurrying to help her colleagues with the bandages.
Lily watched her go, mouth slightly open.
Then, for the first time that afternoon, she smiled.
Author's Note:
This was for lella7's "My Favorite Subject" Competition. My character was Lily Luna Potter, and my subject was Arithmancy. This was loads of fun to write, actually. I love Lily Luna and Arithmancy really seems to fit her. I also love dabbling in the future lives of these Next Gen kiddos.
Ari