A/N: Hi everybody! So this is my first real attempt at anything longer than a oneshot, so any feedback is super welcome. I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Any recognizable characters, settings, objects, etc. do not belong to me. They belong to the lovely J.K. Rowling. Enjoy!


It was a quiet morning in Sussex, England, in the well-kept neighborhood of Silverhill. "LILY! GET THAT RUDDY OWL OUT OF HERE!"

At least, it was a quiet morning.

Lily rolled over in bed, yawning luxuriously before cracking an eye open to glare at the closed door of her room. She should have known her sister would throw a fit when her school letter arrived. She quickly got changed and brushed her teeth, grumbling softly before heading down to the kitchen, where the screams of her sister, Petunia, originated.

Petunia scowled over her eggs at Lily, shaking with rage. "I've told you before that I won't tolerate those…those things flying around in here! They're disgusting creatures, and they spread horrid diseases," she hissed at her sister.

Lily rolled her eyes ignoring her sister and went to kiss her parents on their cheeks. "G'morning," she said sleepily, walking over to serve herself up some breakfast.

"Letter for you love," her father, Robert, replied grinning at her and holding out a cream colored envelope with emerald writing on the front. Lily bounded over and grabbed the envelope, tearing it open as fast as she could without destroying the letter inside. She was surprised to see a small pin fall out, with the letters HG embossed on the front. She stared down at the pin, whispering "I'm head girl..." while her mother walked over to see what she held.

"Oh, my little flower is head girl! I'm so proud of you!" her mother squealed excitedly, hugging Lily quickly.

Lily beamed back, and then hugged her father as well. "I'm going to need to go to Diagon Alley soon," Lily said thoughtfully. "I have to pick up my new books for this year, and I head back in a few days."

"Of course dear, we can go sometime this week. Oh, another letter came for you as well." Lily reached out to take the letter her mother handed to her, and opened it. Her friend, Emmeline had written. She was glad to hear from her, since she had been on vacation to Italy and their family owl was less than reliable on long distances.

Hey Lil!
We just got back from Italy, the sights were amazing, and the boys were even better! I swear I could have stayed there forever. I've gotten my Hogwarts letter, so I wanted to see if you could if you could go on Tuesday with me. Dorcas and Marlene said they'd meet us there as well, so we can meet up. Go ahead and send your answer back with Arnet!

Lots of love,
Emmy

Lily shook her head at her friend's antics. Emmeline, with her long dark hair, pale skin, and fierce brown eyes was very popular among the male population. Her day looked brighter already with the knowledge of seeing her three best friends so soon. Lily went up to her room to write her reply, ignoring her sister's whispered sneer of "freak" as she left the kitchen.


"Lily! Lily, over here!" Lily turned around, trying in vain to spot the person who was calling her in the busy hustle that was Diagon Alley. Her mother stood nervously at her side, glancing sidelong at the many strangely dressed witches and wizards around her. Many of them gave her hostile looks when the noticed her jeans and shirt.

Just then, a tiny girl collided with Lily, crushing the air out of her. "Merlin Marlene, Let a girl breathe!" She wheezed, laughing as she extricated herself from Marlene's arms.

Marlene stood before her, beaming. Her long curling hair adding an extra inch to her tiny 5 foot frame, and her blue-gray eyes sparkled happily. "We've been waiting forever Lily, we didn't want to start shopping without you. Everyone's at Florean Fortescue's right now. C'mon!" She grabbed Lily by the hand and started to pull her through the busy street.

Lily glanced behind her and beckoned to her mother, who hurried to follow before the hole in the crowd closed.

Lily grinned once Emmeline and Dorcas came into view. She smiled even more brightly when she saw her favorite caramel ice cream sundae sitting next to a waiting seat. As their parents moved forward to greet her mother, Lily threw herself at the two girls, who barely stood in time to keep the table from being knocked over.

They hugged excitedly, trying to talk over each other. Dorcas, a tall girl with cropped blonde hair and brown eyes who was a chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team finally shushed everyone. "I have an announcement to make," she said, her voice quivering in excitement. "I've been made Quidditch captain this year!"

"Dorcas, that's brilliant!" Emmeline gasped hugging her around the middle. Lily smiled up at her. "I knew they'd pick you, you know," Lily told her. "No way they'd give it to Darrow after last year." Dorcas looked at her, and gave her a knowing look. "You're just happy that Potter didn't get it." Lily scoffed. "I don't waste my time worrying about him, you should know that!" She replied.

Potter was a sore subject for her. She no longer had a reason to outright hate him as she did in years past, especially since he had seemingly calmed down and didn't participate in so many pranks.

"I actually have an announcement of my own," Lily said proudly. "I was chosen to be head girl this year!" As the girls screeched, Lily said over the noise "Don't bother asking me who the Head boy is, I have no idea."

"Lily dear," Lily's mother said as she came over to the group of giggling girls. "We're all going to go to the L-Leaky Cauldron was it?" she asked, looking back at the group of parents who nodded in affirmation. "Yes, we're going to go to the Leaky Cauldron while you girls get your things. You can meet us there when you're finished."

Lily smiled up at her mother, nodding her agreement. "I'll see you later then!" she replied, giving her mother a quick kiss on the cheek.


As the girls walked down the road, their shopping finished, they chatted about their summers. "I didn't do much this summer," Marlene grumbled. "Me mum's pregnant again, and she said she wasn't up to going anywhere." Lily gave her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I didn't get to go anywhere either. My sister's planning 'the wedding of the century,' as she calls it," she went on darkly. "If I have to see any more bright purple and hot pink taffeta, I'm going to scream."

"Wait!" Dorcas cried, throwing her arm out to block the way and starting towards a store front next to them. "I need to stop in at Quality Quidditch Supplies before we meet back up with our parents. My chaser gloves are really worn out." The girls all nodded in agreement.

Lily, who was not a huge fan of Quidditch, murmured excuses and made plans to meet them in front of the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron. She strolled down the road, not looking at anything in particular when a large crowd caught her eye.

A burly wizard with extremely large sideburns stood in the center. "We need to prove that we're worth fearing!" he roared, while the crowd applauded. "We need to show them they won't get away with ignoring us!" Lily cautiously moved closer, trying to weave through the jostling crowd.

As she came closer, a stout witch moved quickly through the mass of people, handing out flyers. She thrust one into Lily's hands.

Lily stared down at the flyer in surprise, which quickly turned into disbelief. The flyer illustrated a crudely drawn muggle family with the words TAKE BACK WHAT IS OURS FROM THE MUGGLE SCUM written in bold letters across the top. Lily glanced around at the growing mob before turning and hurrying back to the Leaky Cauldron.


Lily pushed her way through the crowded, smoky pub, looking for her friends and the group of parents. A hand reached out and gripped her arm, pulling her through a group of middle aged witches.

"Lily, there you are. We've been waiting for you for ages! Where did you wander off to?" Emmeline asked her, towing her to the bar. Lily who still held the crumpled flyer in her hand, gave it to her wordlessly. Emmeling quickly read it, her expression showing disbelief.

"What the hell is this? Where did you find this?" she asked, outraged.

Lily pulled her to a quiet corner of the pub, away from their group of friends. "There was a group of people shouting about how we need to take back what is ours from muggles. Once someone handed me the flyer, I just left," she said with a shudder. "I didn't realize wizards hated muggles that much!"

Emmeline just looked at her. "Haven't you been getting The Prophet?" She asked doubtfully. "There have been loads of anti-muggle legislation being pushed through the ministry." She shook her head. "There've even been rumours of a dark wizard who's got it in for the muggles."

Lily watched the crowd thoughtfully. If what Emmeline had said was true, then it wasn't safe for her mother to come to Diagon Alley. Lily winced at the thought of bringing her into danger.

"Listen," said Emmeline quietly, "Don't mention this to Marlene. You know she's muggleborn as well, and she'll worry herself to death." Lily stared at her, unable to believe her ears.

"Are you serious?" she said heatedly. "Don't tell her?! She deserves to know! What if something happens, and she didn't know enough to watch out for herself properly?"

Emmeline shook her head. "Let's just keep it to ourselves for now. If it starts to get bigger and more starts to happen than just talk, then we'll talk to her. For now though, there's no reason to worry her."

She watched her friend uncertainly, unsure of the plan. Marlene was a very quiet bookish girl, and while she was brave, she worried constantly about events that were out of her control. This would no doubt terrorize her.

Lily agreed slowly, a sinking feeling in her heart.


Lily didn't talk much with her mother on the way home. She continued to look out the window of the car thoughtfully, trying to decide how best to approach the issue without frightening her mother into not letting her return to Hogwarts.

"Lily darling," her mother said worriedly, "are you alright? You're awful quiet." Lily shook herself out of her musings and glanced at her mother with a smile. "I'm fine mum," she said lightly. "Nothing's wrong. How was your day with Mrs Vance and Mr. and Mrs. Meadowes?"

As the two chatted, Lily carefully ripped the flyer into small strips. She cracked the window and slipped the strips through, watching them blow away.