The morning of September 1st dawned bright and sunny. Lily couldn't help but be happy, lying in bed allowing thoughts of her friends to fill her mind as the sun escaped in through a gap in her curtains. She'd be going back to Hogwarts today. Back to her friends. Back Home.
Oh, how she missed it there!! Her fellow Gryffindor girls….her best friend, Melody, and her good friends Becca and Amberly. They were never without each other. Except this summer, when Melody went to Australia and Becca and Amberly took off to the states, leaving Lily all alone with her jealous, jerk of a sister, Petunia, and her laid back dad. But even more than her friends, she missed James Potter. This confused her a great deal. She felt so guilty, as well. Why should she miss JAMES? He never did anything but annoy the crap out of her….She had been facing this problem all of 6th year and the summer. A battle between her mind-which could only think of all the horrible and annoying things James had ever done to her and her friends, and her heart-which dwelled on the sweet acts James had gone out of his way to perform for her. And how adorable he was…..hazel eyes…..black hair……long, lean, muscles….. Shaking James from her thoughts, her mind sternly telling her heart that he was a prat, a git, just plain awful. Her heart didn't listen. But Lily shoved the thoughts away in favor of thoughts of her friends and years past…
Now, while Lily was tall, slender, and had lustrous red hair that cascaded to her lower back, Melody was pure-blood, and had black, pin-straight hair. It complimented her tan skin and almond-shaped eyes, which were a deep, chocolate brown. She was very smart, Lily often wondered why she hadn't been put in Ravenclaw. She was down to earth, and always honest, but totally sweet at the same time.
Becca on the other hand was super stubborn and very athletic. She was a muggle-born, and loved soccer, and of course, after she discovered her powers, quidditch. There was no mistake she was a Gryffindor! She had a light brown color hair and kept it cropped slightly longer than a boys, and it was always spiked in a million different directions. Her eyes were very plain-colored, a kind of washed out brown , although no one would ever say so, for they were always sparkling!
Amberly was a half-blood, and as pale as snow, and her friends often teased her about it. She just couldn't tan!! The sun was her enemy if she hadn't slathered on half a tube of SPF 15 at least! Her hair was gorgeous, a honey blond, and was always curly. Her eyes were a vivid cerulean blue.
But these weren't the only Gryffindor girls in their year. There was also Winter, a pureblood. Winter was….complicated. She had white blond straight shoulder-length hair, and blue-gray stormy eyes. Behind those eyes, secrets were hidden. The girls always knew she never was completely truthful, but when in 4th year she suddenly turned on them and started dating Lucius Malfoy and Kelsie Illescas and Anisa Brooker became her new friends, they were shocked, and hurt. They were Slytherins. It still pained Lily greatly to know that her friend was there, but completely lost. How a bubbly Gryffindor girl could suddenly become as snooty and sickening as the worst of the Slytherins, she didn't know.
Thinking of her friends present and past, Lily glanced at the clock and realized it was 10:15!! She flew out of bed, startling her coal black Greater Sooty Owl Zuri (who had been a gift when she became prefect in 5th year). She quickly took a shower, magically dried her hair, and set to work. She had to look fabulous, after all, she was Head Girl! As it was chilly outside, Lily donned her favorite ivy green sweater and jeans, pairing it with some black flats. Scrutinizing herself in the mirror, She added a simple pair of silver hoops, and her signature necklace, a white silver lined lily flower, with a dazzling emerald at the center. It had been a gift from her mother, the Christmas before her departure to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She rarely went without it, it made her feel closer to her mother, who had died of breast cancer, in Lily's third year. There were limits to magic, and cancer just didn't have a remedy, magical or otherwise. But that was exactly why Lily was studying to become a healer. She didn't want other 13 year olds to lose their moms. It just wasn't fair.
Sighing, she glanced at the picture of her mom that was tucked into the corner of the mirror on her vanity.
"Mum, I miss you. I'm going into my 7th year at Hogwarts! I'm a legal adult now in the wizarding world!"
Lily suddenly froze. Seventh year? She pondered the thought. Of course she knew that it was her seventh year, but she just hadn't realized exactly what that meant. NEWTS. Graduation. Stepping into the unknown, where a war was raging. Fear crept into her heart, accompanied by a great deal of sorrow. Her last year…..no more Hogwarts? The thought was unbearable. Pull it together Lily! She reprimanded herself as tears prickled in her eyes. You're Head Girl! You're a Gryffindor! You can do this. With that thought in mind, she gathered her things and, bracing herself, began descending the stairs of her simple 2 story house.
"YOU!!" exclaimed Petunia, pointing an accusing finger at her.
Rolling her eyes at Petunias dramatic outburst, Lily shoved past her.
"DON'T WALK AWAY FROM ME LILY MARIE!!YOU-YOU….."Petunia faltered.
Lily had whipped out her wand. "Petunia, SHUT UP! I didn't do anything! I'm leaving now. And this summer I'll be moving out, and you won't ever have to see me again, so can't you at least be civil?" frustrated and way over trying to make peace with Petunia over something she could not control, Lily proceeded downstairs.
"Morning Daddy!" she greeted her father.
"Well somebody's happy today. Glad to be rid of me?" He teasingly pouted.
Laughing she hugged him. "You know I'll miss you! And I'll write you every day!!"
Pulling away, her father, Daniel Fredrick Evans, raised his eyebrows skeptically, as if saying "ya, right".
"Well, maybe once a week…."
He raised his eyebrows further. She made this promise every year, and always broke it.
"Ok ok!! Once a month! More, if anything important happens. Satisfied?"
Grinning, he nodded and hugged her close. "I can't believe that you're 17!! My little girl is growing up!!"
Groaning, Lily pulled away. "Puh-lease! Besides, I'm gonna be late! It's already 10:50!!"
"Alright, alright. Goodbye, my gem. I love you!!"
"Love you too, daddy. Talk to you soon!!"
She gave him a kiss on the cheek and he returned with one on her forehead. Smiling, she apparated away with a tiny pop.
She suddenly appeared in Kings Cross Station, facing the scarlet steam engine that was the Hogwarts Express. Smiling in a blissful sort of way, she took in her surroundings. This would be the last time she'd ride aboard the Scarlet engine to Hogwarts, her beloved school. Bittersweet memories flooded her mind….meeting Melody and Winter in a compartment…them explaining the whole muggle/witch thing…Unaware of her surroundings, she was shocked when a large force collided with her. She lost her breath and found herself on the ground, with someone's heavy torso lying over her legs, making it impossible for her to move. "OWW! "she exclaimed in an irritated voice. "Get off me!!"
The two quarrelling boys froze at the sound of her voice, and quickly scrambled off of her.
One of them was grinning ear-to-ear. "Hello Lily!! How was your summer?"
Glaring at Sirius Black, the mysterious trouble maker Lily knew to be one of the four marauders, Lily turned her attention to the boy next to him. James Potter.
"Hello Potter" She said as coldly as she could manage, secretly wondering why it caused her so much effort to do so. She hated him! What was wrong with her?? He DID look very handsome, those gorgeous hazel eyes, that lustrous black hair, she could just run her fingers through it all day….Snap out of it Lily!! She thought frantically. No matter how much James had changed over the summer, going from teddy-bear-cute gangly Quidditch player to a God of all that is Hot-for there was no way else to describe him. He was fine!! Wait a second, since when did she fancy James? Snapping back to reality, she saw James smiling guiltily at her.
"Good morning, my darling Lily. I trust you enjoyed your summer?" He asked sweetly, a look of pure love in his eyes.
Mustering a glare, she huffed and whipped around, hitting him in the face with her crimson locks, and walked away.
"What's got her knickers in a twist?" muttered Sirius.
James glared at him. "What do you think Padfoot? Use your BRAIN. Now I already have a strike against me for this year. Don't you remember plan "get-Lily-to-go-out-with-me-before-the-end-of-the-school-year-and-hopefully-marry-me-because-she-is-the-love-of-my-life-and-I'm-hers-but-she-doesn't-know-it-yet"??
If Lily would have glanced back, she would've seen James gazing longingly after her, completely crushed.
"OHH!! Plan GLTGOWMBTEOTSYAHMMBSITLOMLAIHBSDKIY??"Sirius spoke quickly in hushed tones, all in one breath. "I forgot. Sorry, mate. Tough break."
There was a brief pause, with James staring after Lily, and Sirius looking serious as he concentrated on something.
"You know, Prongs, we need a better plan name." He joked.
James broke out of his melancholy mood, and lunged at his best friend, continuing their previous pointless wrestling match.
Rolling her eyes as she stalked away, irritated, Lily deposited her luggage in their usual compartment, and released Zuri from her cage. Zuri loved flying to Hogwarts, it was invigorating to her, and she loved racing the train. Stroking her beloved pet, she gave Zuri a kiss and then Zuri was off. Watching her owl fly off into the distance, following the winding railroad, she regained her previous ecstatic mood. Zuri never failed to calm her. Still watching the speck that was her owl, she was completely oblivious to Melody calling to her.
Melody was tired of trying to get Lily to come to her, she stealthily approached Lily. Holding her breath, Melody crept up behind her best friend, and tickled her sides while shouting "Hi Lily!!" Lily shrieked, jumping five feet in the air, startled into using explosive wandless magic, like she used to do when she was a small girl, before she knew of Hogwarts and witches and wizards and muggles and Quidditch and the Ministry of Magic.
Laughing, Melody hugged her friend, and Lily let a chuckle escape her.
"Melody!" she complained. "You're such a meanie!" pouting playfully, Lily turned away, crossing her arms.
Shocked, Melody tried to get Lily to face her. "I was just playing Lily! I didn't mean to scare you! You didn't hear me calling you!!"
Grinning and turning around, Lily once more hugged her friend, saying "Melody, Melody, Melody. When will you ever learn? It's called joking. Sarcasm. Kidding. Playing around. You take things WAY to seriously." Laughing, satisfied that she had gotten her revenge. Melody was always so serious. Lily tried and failed to loosen her up, but it was hopeless. But ya gotta love her. She was just a little special sometimes.
Melody had a slightly confused look on her face. Some might call her a pineapple. Dark on the outside, light on the inside. In other words, she was blond at heart.
The whistle blew loudly, once again starling Lily. She was just so jumpy these days! And despite her great mood, she couldn't shake this feeling something just wasn't quite right…..
When Lily and Melody found the compartment where Lily had earlier deposited her luggage, to find there were already two people in there….
"LILY!!" shrieked Becca and Amberly in unison. They hugged their friend, so happy to see her, and turned towards Melody, greeting her similarly.
The girls settled in, and told tales of their summer apart.
"Petunia was HORRIBLE!! She wouldn't stop ragging me, and she's got this new boyfriend, Vernon Dursley, although he's more of whale than a human-"
"We toured all 50 states! I would have to say Florida was my favorite-"
"But I liked California better, all the gorgeous beaches, none of the humidity-"
"Australia was AMAZING!! Bluey, you know how witches and wizards there thought Billywig's went extinct? Turns out some git, something Fletcher, had gathered them all and was selling them!! The magical law enforcement found him last month, amazing really that a duffer like him could actually catch them, ya know? Honestly from what I've read about them-"
"Melody! Melody! That's great and all about the Billywig's, but WHAT THE HECK DID YOU JUST CALL ME??
Now Lily had heard several stupid nicknames, all concerning her flaming red hair, particularly from Sirius, but Bluey?? Her hair wasn't blue the last time she checked…it hadn't been since Sirius magically dyed it in second year to a vivid turquoise, but why would she drag something from that far back up again?
"Oh, Bluey. It's what they call redheads in Australia. Cool huh? Kinda like 'onya' means 'well done', 'g'day' is hello, if you want to say "cup of tea" you say 'cuppa' instead of 'cup of'-"
"We get it, Melody," interrupted Amberly. "What about us? Any coolio Aussie nicknames for us?"
"Umm…….ya! I'll call you both drongo!" Melody burst out laughing at the confused expressions worn by Becca and Amberly.
"What?" Amberly, Becca, and Lily inquired.
Wiping her eyes, she settled down and replied "Oh, it's nothing."
The girls kept badgering her about it, but she just ignored them and instead directed her attention to the glistening silver-and-gold badge pinned to Lily's sweater.
"Congratulations!" she squealed, which caused Becca and Amberly to finally notice that their dear friend had made Head Girl, as they had all assumed she would have.
"We knew it!'
"Brilliant! That's great Lily! It'll look good on your Healer applications!"
"Eh, they'd want her anyway. She took every single OWL class, got OUTSTANDINGS in ALL of them, and still had time for the Charms, Potions, and Transfiguration clubs, not to mention her prefect duties and being head of the pep squad!! I don't know how you do it, Lily!"
Lily found herself blushing a deep red that could rival her hair any day. She smiled at her friends praise, and just shrugged it off.
Their day continued merrily, the friends joking and laughing at completely random things….rolling their eyes when Becca brought up the fact that a fair share of her muggle friends thought a black whole was going to swallow up the Earth and kill us all….which spurred a conversation on Bucket Lists, them announcing serious things like they wanted to find true love, ranging all the way to wanting to scale the Eiffel tower with Super Spidey Powers by being bitten by a radioactive spider, fly a pair of underwear from the tippity top, and then bungee jump down. Oh ya, Lily thought. It was good to be back!
Mid-day rolled around and the girls were getting hungry. Before the friendly witch, Magda, who got the job pushing the cart after she mysteriously dropped out of school in her 5th year, their was a knock at the compartment door.
And who walked in? Why the Marauders of course! James and Sirius swept in gracefully, each carrying a tray laden with food, followed by a timid Remus and a nervous Peter, also carrying trays.
"Helloooooo Ladies!!" James said in a sing-song voice while settling down next to Lily. "Hungry, my love?"
Lily looked disgusted and scooted as far away as possible, practically sitting on top of Melody. She should have known this was coming! Not one year had he failed to make an appearance in their compartment with his little friends. He always attempted to be chivalrous, and as Melody and Remus had been dating since 5th year, and Becca with Sirius since last year, they had been expecting them a lot sooner.
"Shove off, Potter." Lily snapped.
"Don't be like that baby! You know you love me!" but in a more serious voice he added, "And you know I love you."
She gave him a disgusted look, and then shrieked, loudly and shrilly.
He grabbed her hand, concern flooding his face. "LilyPad? What's wrong?"
She ripped her hands out of his and pointed a shaking finger at his chest. She was shaking in anger. How? HOW, HOW, HOW the heck could JAMES…??
He glanced down at himself, and his mouth formed a small "O".
His badge. His Head Boy badge. Strike two, he thought to himself miserably.
"Look Lily, I know you hate me and want to avoid me, but I didn't ask for this! It's not my fault Dumbledore's crazy. I never expected it either! I'll resign, if it makes you happy. That's all I want. Besides, Remus deserves it more…I won't bother you again. Not this year, not the rest of our lives." He dejectedly turned away from her and walked out the compartment door, his shoulders slumped.
Lily was shocked. She stared after him, her mouth agape. She hated him, right? So why did it hurt so much to hear him say that? Shouldn't she be jumping for joy? He was going to leave her alone!! That's what she always wanted….right?
Sirius broke the silence. "I'll consider the operation a failure." And he followed his best mate, leaving the girls and Wormtail and Moony to puzzle over his words.
"Ummmm….I better go see if he's ok…See you around." He, too got up and followed, Peter scurrying to keep up with his long strides.
"Lily-" began Amberly hesitantly, but Lily cut her off.
"Just leave me alone. I need to think."
With that she left the compartment, heading towards the Heads compartment where she could be by herself.
Wandering through the corridor, she pondered her contradicting thoughts. What was wrong with her? From day 1, when Lily had set foot on the Hogwarts Express for the first time, she hated James. He was an arrogant prick. He'd proved that to her, time and time again. While Lily was famous for giving second chances-or even firsts to those whom no one else would give one-she made an exception with James. But was that changing? What happened to suddenly change her mind about liking James Potter? She was so confused!! She loved James, but she hated him too!! How could this be? He seemed to have no doubts about his feelings, why should she? Why couldn't things just be black-and-white this-or-that simple?
She came to the reserved compartment, with it's "Heads Only" plaque. She opened the door, her eyes filled with tears of frustration. She hated feeling confused. She plopped down onto the seat and huffed loudly, only to hear someone catch their breath.
She blinked and looked around, noticing for the first time she was not alone. James was there, too. Huddled by the window. He nodded to her, but got up and made to leave.
"James, wait!" she exclaimed, her voice cracking.
He turned around, facing her with unmistakable sorrow in his eyes, and said" No, Lily. I'm tired of waiting and getting my heart stomped on. I can't do it any more. I love you, and you made it perfectly clear that the feeling isn't mutual."
Lily's heart broke then and there.
She couldn't take it. He whipped out of the compartment, reducing her to tears. She came to the conclusion she MUST love him. Why else would she be thinking about him and crying when he breathed the words she used to think she wanted to hear? But something had changed, inside of her. In her heart. It was sudden, unexpected. She loved him. She knew it. It had to be true. And he loved her….or did. Lily curled up in a ball, later to be found by Remus and Sirius.
There was a soft knock on the door, and Lily choked out a muffled, barely audible "Go away".
But they didn't listen to her. They opened the door silently, closing it equally so. Remus rushed over to her. They had met on the train first year and had been like siblings since. She had a disappointing sister that didn't want her, and he had and older brother, Callum, who shunned him for being a werewolf. They both were outsiders in their own family for something they could not control. It brought them together, and they became just like siblings. Real siblings. That cared and loved you the way you are, plain and simple. He pulled her into a brotherly hug, and the waterworks REALLY started then. She couldn't stop.
It seemed like hours-and probably actually was- before she hiccupped herself into silence.
"Red, what's wrong?" Asked Remus gently, still holding her in his arms, while Sirius held her hand comfortingly.
Through her puffy red eyes, she could see the concern etched on both the Marauders faces. She took a deep breath, and asked in a scratchy, hoarse voice, "What are you doing here?"
"Red, you were crying of course we're here!"
"How'd you know? And why'd you bring HIM?"
"We were walking to the front to buy some snacks, and heard you. Do you want us to leave?" Remus asked in a confused voice.
"No!" she frantically protested, clutching both of them closer. "Don't leave. It's just-why do You care, Sirius?
"Because, you're my best mate's girl. Seeing you hurt would be seeing him hurt."
"You're wrong." she quietly countered. She then proceeded to tell the two boys exactly what had happened. Not just James' crushing words, but the battle between mind and heart that had been raging all summer. She told them of her hearts victory. And it's recent breakage.
Remus's face hardened with every word, and Sirius went from surprised to aghast to shocked to just plain appalled. Sure, Prongs had two strikes against him and plan GLTGOWMBTEOTSYAHMMBSITLOMLAIHBSDKIY was looking more and more impossible, but for him to just give up and intentionally allow strike three to come about, and right when Lily discovered his true feelings for him too!! It was just unbelievable.
"We've got to talk some sense into that boy, Moony."
"No, Sirius. I appreciate it, but after what he just said, I don't want to talk to him or see him again. I finally know how he's been feeling all these years. To have your love not return the feeling? It's unbearable. But this is between me and him. It obviously wasn't meant to be. I'll learn to live….. I've done it before," She muttered the last bit, allowing her true sorrow to creep into her voice that she was trying to keep so calm and collected. But Remus heard. His enhanced senses allowed him to pick up on everything. He knew she was referring to her mother, to her sister, and to her ex-friend Winter.
Sirius just wouldn't listen, though. He huffed, and swept out the door. Hopefully NOT to go tell a certain raven-haired boy everything she had just allowed to pour from her mouth.
IT was silent for a few moments after the door slammed shut. But then Remus whispered, "Lily, you're my friend, my sister. James is my friend too, but I will NOT allow him to do this to you. You certainly don't deserve it. But then again neither does he. You've been denying him all these years!! Ironic that he stops loving you right when you start!! Go figure!"
His only answer was a glare.
He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Well, uh….ya, sorry….it just slipped out!"
She rolled her eyes and smiled. "I know, I know. I love you Remus."
Unfortunately Remus wasn't the only one to hear her heartfelt sentiment. James had been filled in by Sirius, and had been hovering outside the door, working up the courage to apologize.
Fire coursed through hid veins and a little green monster blurred his vision. He turned on Sirius. "She loves ME, huh?? Ha-Ha really funny Padfoot." he glared at his best friend, turning on his heel and storming down the corridor. Sirius didn't know what to say. He felt betrayed by Remus and Lily both. How-? Why-? His mind couldn't wrap around the thought that Lily had just lied to him. She loved REMUS? Shocked and hurt, and also feeling guilty that he had rose Prong's spirits only to see them crushed before his eyes, he retreated to the compartment where his girlfriend Becca sat with her two friends, all very confused. Apparently it would be up to him to break the news to Melody. Her boy friend was cheating on her with her best friend. This sure was turning out to be a dramatic year.
Needless to say, the usually level-headed and understanding Melody didn't take the news well. She flipped. Screaming curses at the top of her lungs, she stormed down the corridors, causing many heads to turn and compartment doors to fly open. She knocked down a pair of nervous first years headed to the bathroom, and lashed out at the food cart, causing Magda to shriek and knocking down pumpkin pasties, licorice wands, chocolate frogs and various other candies, causing boxes of Bertie Botts Every Flavored Beans to burst open and scatter. She didn't stop. She shoved shocked people out of her way, and stormed straight up to the Heads compartment, not even bothering to knock. She threw the door open, causing Remus and Lily, who had been chatting about their summers and complaining about their awful siblings, to jump. They were startled by her livid face, and Lily rushed up to her best friend in concern.
"Melody!! What happened?? Are you ok??"
"You know very well what happened and I'm obviously not bloody ok!! Just shut the bloody hell up and never speak to me again Lily Marie!!" She looked at her best friend disgustedly, who had confusion and absolute shock written all over her face. The tears that had so recently left cam back, flooding her eyes and blurring her vision.
"And YOU!!" she turned her attention to her boyfriend, glaring at him, slapping him clear across his face, leaving a crimson hand print on his cheek. "I hate you, you rotten, filthy, untrustworthy, good-for-nothing WEREWOLF!!"
Pain flooded Remus's face and he reached out to stop his love, who whipped around, her hair slapping him across his face, stinging his face which was hurt physically and showed his emotional pain. He grabbed her arm, but she pulled out her wand in a flash, screaming the spell relashio, burning his arm and making him let go.
He stared after her, heart heavy, his eyes reflecting Lily's pain. Two break-ups in one day! Oh ya, this was going to be a VERY interesting year...