CHAPTER 2: Awoken

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Juniper woke with the sun in her eyes and smiled. The first morning of the last year. The last first morning. She yawned, stretching her bare, pale arms above her head and swung her legs out of bed. Her friends didn't call her a morning bird for nothing. Friends that, she noticed with a smirk, were still asleep. Not for long.

Lily awoke with a shout when Juniper pounced on her. She hit the other girl over the head with her pillow. "What in hell were you thinking?" Lily was not a morning person.

Awyn awoke with a sigh. The start of what promised to be an ugly year. Last night had been fine...but being woken with a shout…not promising, to say the least.

The girls had already fallen into their old patterns: Juniper would awaken Lily and then Lily would awaken Awyn, the only one with enough courage to awaken their remaining roommates: Jenny Castler and Fern Danvers. The two other girls were Lily's former friends and detested all three girls. It made the dorm situation a bit awkward, but what could one do?

After being woken and changing into her robes, Awyn headed down to breakfast, skipping a shower. Lily and Juniper took the stolen time to discuss their friend's waning humour worriedly.

"Ever since her sister…I'm really worried, J. I mean really worried."

"I know. It's frustrating because she never talks about anything. She's too private. You know that. She'll never tell us what's wrong."

"We'll have to beat it out of her." Lily joked viciously.

"We may have to," replied Juniper sadly.

"I hope not." Lily sighed. "She's going to have to talk to someone about it eventually. I hope."

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Meanwhile….

Awyn entered the Great Hall to the shouts and laughs of the Marauders, who each greeted her with a large hug despite the fact that they had spent hours in the common room the previous evening.

"Ace! What's up kid?" Sirius had on a cheeky grin as he slung his arm around Awyn, who shrugged it off.

"Not much. Just a bit tired." She glared at James and Sirius as she said this and they blushed, knowing they had been the ones to keep her up in a discussion about Quidditch.

"Aww, come off it, Ace." James laughed at her angry expression.

"These two buffoons keep you up?" joked Remus, sliding onto the bench next to "Ace."

"Of course. They do every opportunity they get."

"It's the same here," grumbled Peter. "Every night. You should hear them in the dormitory. James is all 'Lily this, Lily that,' and Sirius is just…well you know."

Awyn rolled her eyes. "Unfortunately, yes I do."

"We're not that bad," pouted Sirius who was on her other side. James and Peter were walking around to the other side of the table and soon Marauders surrounded Awyn.

"Well, let me think about it for a sec." Awyn mimed a thoughtful pose. "Yes, yes you are," she concluded as Lily and Juniper walked into the hall.

"Hey beautiful."

Lily hit James playfully on the shoulder. "Hey ugly."

"Hey Remus." Juniper scooted in next to Remus and he turned towards her. The two began to animatedly discuss what the NEWT level Charms class would be like. Awyn smiled at the two before turning to Sirius.

"So. You ready for DADA?" She pronounced the acronym as though it were a word.

"Dada? Are you my daddy?"

Awyn rolled her eyes yet again.

"I swear, if you keep doing that you're eyes will just stick like that," commented James.

Awyn rolled her eyes again for spite.

Lily had sat down with Peter and was currently asking the boy how his summer had gone.

"Oh not terribly. I was at James's a lot. That was terrible…"

Lily smiled. Peter seemed more confident this year. Maybe he had finally grown into himself. Then he took a sip of his tea and let half of it drip down his chin. Or not.

McGonagall came around with their schedules. Awyn, Lily, and Sirius had identical ones. Peter had classes with Remus and James, who had two classes (DADA and Transfiguration) with the others. Juniper had all classes except Herbology with Awyn.

The first class of the day was DADA and all of the Gryffindors were pleased. They all had it together, they were all aces at the subject, and, better yet, they all loved it. So they headed off to class with smiles on their faces.

Awyn, who held up the back of the Leo procession, frowned softly to herself. As glad as she was to be back among friends, something was still tingling at the back of her mind, like a sixth sense alerting her to the fact that something was missing.

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"This year we shall be studying the most complex of all the defence skills. I expect that by now you have all mastered nonverbal spells…" Looking around the classroom and seeing the uneasy faces, the new young professor sighed. Only one girl looked unfazed by the news that they should know this defence mechanism. A girl who looked uncannily like…no, but it couldn't be.

He called on her, the girl with amber eyes and wavy hair. "Miss…"

"Wencuvie."

"Yes, Miss Wencuvie." The young man was only thrown off guard for a second. "Would you be willing to demonstrate a nonverbal spell?"

The rest of the class looked at Awyn with pity in their eyes for having been put on the spot, but Awyn simply lifted her wand and the paperweight globe on Professor Larkin's desk began to levitate.

"Well done. Ten points to Gryffindor. Is anyone else willing to try?"

A cocky looking boy with smooth black hair in the front row raised his hand.

"Mr…Black, I believe it is?"

"Yes sir." Sirius raised his wand and the paperweight blew up and then magically fixed itself.

"Ten more points to Gryffindor! Anyone else?" No one raised their hands. "Alright then, pair up and try them out. Mr. Black and Miss Wencuvie, if you could please see me."

The two gave each other curious looks as they headed up to Professor Larkin's desk. The new professor was young and, if Awyn recalled correctly, had graduated from Hogwarts when they were second years.

"You two seem to have mastered the nonverbal spells. So now I want you to try to use wandless magic. It's very advanced magic…Miss Wencuvie are you paying attention?"

Awyn had begun to look around the room at the others attempting nonverbal spells. She turned back to Larking with a bored expression. "I already have," she replied in her soft Welsh accent.

"Already have what?"

"Worked on wandless magic. My father taught me when I was," she thought for a minute, "thirteen. It runs in the family."

"Would you please demonstrate?"

Awyn kept her hands by her sides and glanced straight ahead. Next to them the desk began to levitate and then burst into flame.

"Impressive. And you Mr. Black?"

"I know it too." The desk was extinguished by a stream of water and then dried magically by a gust of hot air.

"Well, you two are certainly very advanced for your age. Any reason?"

"It's our families. We're both from old families. Very powerful old families. They like their kids to carry on the tradition."

Larkin sighed. What was he going to do with these two? And then it came to him.

"Do you two know of Occlumency?"

The stunned looks on their faces told him they did.

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Lily was exhausted by the end of the day. Nonverbal practice always gave her headaches and it seemed that all of the teachers expected them to be aces at it. But only Sirius, Awyn, and two Ravenclaws did it perfectly every time. There had even been rumours that the four were going to learn wandless magic.

Lily sighed. Head Girl responsibilities were also more than she had expected. Good thing for her that James was Head Boy. At least he did his work. If it had been Sirius…

Besides, James was fun. He made her laugh. He had since fourth year, truthfully, but she could never show it. Not since she promised she would hate him until the day they saw Dumbledore ride a broom. An incident which they had in fact witnessed at the end of last year when he went off somewhere during a Quidditch match. So she was off the hook, thank god. She didn't know much longer she would have lasted.

Now, all of this is not to say she liked him. She wanted him as a friend, but she wanted a certain Ravenclaw prefect as more…

Lily was not the type to openly confess her love for anyone, so none of her friends even knew. But Evan Farling turned her on in a major way. She was permitted, in the secret depths of her heart, to think this way. But on the outside she was merely sweet innocent Lily. Her friends knew better, but not much.

It was always assumed that Lily was the innocent, Juniper the wild one, and Awyn the middle child. In fact, in some ways Juniper was more innocent than Lily. And Awyn…well no one could speak for that girl.

Lily pondered her friend for a moment as she sat in one of the plush chairs by the roaring fire. The girl was, as Juniper and she had noted that morning, particularly mellow. It used to be that Awyn laughed uproariously at the smallest of things. Now, she barely laughed at all. Lily thought there must have been something more than just her sister's death, but she couldn't put her finger on what it could be.

Just then, James plopped into the armchair next to her. "What's all the sighing for, Flower?"

"What is with your addiction to nicknames?"

"I like them," James shrugged. "Don't you?"

"Not really when mine is something wilting and impermanent."

"But a flower is beautiful."

"James give it up. I won't go out with you. I like someone else." The words were out of Lily's mouth before she knew what was happening. Shit, shit, merde!

"Oh, well, who?"

"Evan Farling." Once more Lily was shocked at herself.

"That prat? You could do much better."

"With you?"

"Better even than me." It was the first truly humble thing James had ever said in Lily's presence. She sighed again.

"You won't tell anyone?"

"Of course not, Marauder code of secrecy and all that."

Lily laughed. "All that?"

"Yea, all that."
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Awyn watched silently from a corner as James and Lily chatted for the next hour. She had walked into the common room to see the two engaged in conversation and had immediately decided to spy. Everyone but Lily knew they were perfect for each other. It was like nonverbal spells to Awyn: it should just happen quickly and easily. No fuss, no mess. But there had been almost seven years of mess for the couple.

She hoped it was coming to an end. That would be one less headache.

She sighed, rubbing her forehead. The current headache was caused by a thing she would not, could not, mention. A thing she knew her friends were beginning to wonder at. She couldn't risk the relentless questioning they would submit her to. Couldn't risk breaking down and revealing everything. She would have to put up a braver face. She sighed again.

"Should I start playing the violin?" Sirius's voice gave Awyn a minor heart attack, or at least what felt like one.

She sighed again for effect and Sirius lifted up his arms as though he were tuning a violin. She giggled and tugged him down next to her. "Shhh, I'm spying." She pointed out the cosy couple on the couch.

"Oh. Progress." Sirius sounded unexpectedly melancholy.

'What? Jealous of your best mate?"

He surprised her with his honest answer. "A bit, yeah."

"What?"

"The girl I want never laughs at my jokes. She barely even sees me at all."

"No girl would turn you down Sirius. I'm sure if you just tried…"

"I did," he replied glumly. "She just wants to be friends.'

"Who is this elusive girl?"

"Miranda Bar. Ravenclaw."

Awyn wrinkled her nose. "You know what they say. Ugly name, ugly girl."

"Do they really?" Sirius cocked an eyebrow at her.

She laughed. "No, not really."

"Didn't think so. She's gorgeous."

"Bit of a big nose if you ask me. And small ears. Bad proportions."

"Shut it!"

Awyn laughed jovially. "You're in lurrrvvee."

"No!"

"Yeah. You love Miranda. I bet you didn't even ask her out, you're so afraid of being rejected."

"Shut it! Be serious."

"You are already." Awyn laughed again. "That…was…such a…bad…pun!" she snorted.

Sirius shoved her, knocking her out of her seat and started to laugh at the expression on her face before she shoved him back and they collapsed in a heap.

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Across the room, James and Lily watched the two. Lily's mouth was open in amazement.

"That's the happiest I've seen her yet."

"It's only the first day."

"Still…you know Awyn."

"Yeah, I do know Ace."

"Why do you guys call her that?"

James shrugged. "Because she's an ace at everything.

Lily sighed. "Except telling people what she feels."

"Yeah." The two sat in silence for a moment before James perked up.

"Maybe she's in love with Moony and she knows she can't have him."

"Why wouldn't she be able to have him?"

"Because he's a…" James caught himself just in time. Lily was just too easy to talk to.

"A werewolf?"

James drew in a sharp intake of breath. "How long have you known?"

Lily shrugged. "Since fourth year. It's not that difficult to figure out. How did you know Awyn knew?"

"Moony told her. I think he's in love with her."

"Really? Now that is interesting."

"Why?"

"Oh nothing, just nothing."

"What's up guys?" Peter had just entered the common room and, avoiding the pillow fight now ensuing between Awyn and Sirius, had come to sit next to Lily.

"Not much, just talking," answered Lily. "How was your day?"

"Eh, decent. Completely blanked in Transfiguration, thought McGonagall would blow a gasket when I changed the lizard into an alligator."

James guffawed at this. "Pete, you are my hero. Did the alligator do much?"

"Wreaked a bit of havoc among the girls, bit Alex Boot's pant leg: he's lucky it didn't eat his leg."

"That's awesome!"

"It's awful."

"Oh, come on Lils, the prat deserves it."

Lily shrugged, unwilling to comment.

Remus joined the three soon, followed by Juniper. Sirius and Awyn sat in their corner discussing Quidditch while the rest sat by one of the many fireplaces and discussed the coming year, making plans, and predicting what would happen. As the night came, they slowly filtered off to their rooms, until just James and Sirius were left.

The two smiled at each other quietly, looking around the room in peace.

"It's the last year mate," Sirius spoke in a mere murmur, but James understood him perfectly. He nodded.

"Best make the most of it."

And with that, the first day was finished.