Chapter 2: Friendly Encounters

"Well?" Alyssa asked impatiently, and Lily just rolled her eyes. She had been staying with her for almost four days. Lily hadn't felt this happy since before her parents died back in June. "Did any owls come yet? You know that if we want to go to Hogesmeade with the girls we have to leave soon!"

"Lyssa, calm down!" Lily said with a giggle. "I am sure one of them will write back soon. You only just sent the owl this morning. I am sure that either Brittney or Alaina will send us an owl soon." Alyssa was currently pacing up and down at the bottom of her bed. Lily was lounging on said bed, and eating a box of Bertie's Every Flavored Beans. Alyssa stopped pacing and placed her hands on hips and mockingly glared at Lily.

"Are we talking about the same girls here?" Alyssa said in a loud, rushed voice, and Lily couldn't help but giggle. "Alaina, the world's best known procrastinator, and Brittney, Ms. Forgetful?" Lily dropped her box on the floor as she laughed at a new arrival. A curly, black haired girl had just appeared in the doorway, her blue eyes wide at the display. Alyssa failed to notice and continued with her rant. "I bet you anything that Alaina got the letter set it down on her desk, went out for a run, ate breakfast, took a shower, and then decided that she could answer me! And you know what the answer will be?"

"Yes?" Came the voice from the door. Alyssa spun around, and there stood Alaina Katrina Riley, with a smirk on her freckled face. "What do I win...I am positive that's the right answer." Lily fell off the bed as she was engulfed in a fit of laughter. Alyssa just smiled weakly at their other best friend, and rubbed the back of her neck.

"Prize, Lainy?" Alyssa said with a smirk. She walked over and hugged Alaina. "I don't believe I said anything about a prize."

"Oh drat," She said, with a grin. Alaina then turned her attention towards Lily. "Lils, what on Earth are you doing on the floor." Lily stood up, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes.

"I was laughing at you two." Alaina gasped in mock shock and turned towards Alyssa.

"Did you hear that?" Alaina whispered. "She was laughing at us! My word!" The three of them burst into giggles. None of them had ever been able to keep a straight face when mocking one another. They did not have the skill of the Phoenix twins.

"How did you get in here, Lainy?" Alyssa asked as Alaina sat herself down on the now vacant bed.

"Your brother let me in. I don't know if it was Wyatt or Christopher." Alaina said with a grin. "I can never tell those two apart. They are too much alike." Lily nodded in agreement. She sat up from the floor and leaned back against the bottom of the bed. Alyssa had resumed her pacing, and was taping her foot impatiently.

"What is she doing?" Alaina whispered to Lily. Lily smirked at her and passed her one of her beloved beans.

"She is waiting for the owl from Brittney to arrive." Lily whispered as both she and Alaina watched Alyssa walk back and forth across the room. "Its what she had been doing before she started rambling about how much of a procrastinator you are." Lily smirked at Alaina, who did not reply. She laid back onto Alyssa's pillow and started at the ceiling.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Lily eating beans, Alyssa walking, and Alaina just relaxing on her bed. The silence was suddenly broken by Alaina taking a deep breath.

"I am sorry about your sister, Lily." Alaina whispered. Alyssa immediately stopped and threw Alaina a glare worthy of Severus Snape. Alyssa and Lily had not talked about Lily hardly at all since the night that they had stood in the main hall together. Lily nearly changed the subject every time Alyssa mention it.

"Its not your fault my sister is a witch hating prat." Lily snarled. Then she sighed and stood up. "She blames me for their death, Lainy. It was because of me that You-Know-Who went to our house that night and killed them . If I had been home I would have been dead, too. Maybe again, I would have been able to save them." Alyssa shook her head and stood in front of Lily, with her hands on her shoulders.

"You are lucky, Lils." Alyssa said softly. "All three of us were so happy that you were not home! You can't blame yourself for your parents deaths!" Lily laughed bitterly and sat herself down on Alyssa's bed. Alaina sat up and placed a comforting hand on Lily's back.

Lily did not understand. How could Alaina and Alyssa not comprehend what she was saying. They were her best friends along with Brittney, yet they stood there telling herself that she could not blame herself. It was not right! They needed to understand that it was Lily's fault. Lily had a right to blame everything that had happened that night on herself.

"It is too my fault." Lily said bitterly, as tears ran down her face. "If I had been normal-," Alaina cut her off before Lily got too far into her uncalled for incrimination towards herself.

"No, Lily!" Alaina said. "Its not your fault! You can't think like that. Its His fault, not yours. You-Know-Who is to blame for all the horror that he is causing our world. I may know better than anyone what you are going through." Alaina snarled at this. Her younger brother Casey had been killed by You-Know-Who a year ago. He had only been thirteen. When he had died, Alaina had distanced herself from her friends, and had taken along time to pull her back out again.

"But they weren't a part of our world." Lily whispered, as she started to shake. Alyssa wrapped an arm tightly around her shoulders. "They weren't like us. We are different from them. We aren't the same." Alyssa could not help but roll her eyes at Lily's comment.

"Lily, is that you talking or your sister?" Alyssa whispered, and Lily groaned. It was true that Petunia had often said many things like that to Lily. All three of Lily's friends had been shocked at Petunia's tendencies to hate witches and wizards. All of them had grown up in a complete magical environment, and to spend time with Petunia-the-witch-hater was more than anything that they could stand.

"Alright, you guys are right." Lily whispered. She was addressing the sisterly likeness, not the real problem that had started the conversation. "So lets get off this grisly topic, and talk about something else...like Lainy and her boyfriend..." Alaina immediately blushed red and started to bite her lip. At that moment, Alaina was saved by a blond hair girl walking into the room.

"BRITTNEY!" Alaina squealed and jumped off of the bed to engulf her in a hug. Brittney looked slightly shocked as she didn't hug her back. "Oh girl, how can I thank you. You just saved me from whole lot of questions." Brittney smirked knowingly as she hugged Alyssa and Lily in turn.

"Oh about Jake?" Brittney said with a smile, and once again Alaina went red. She laughed as the girls broke into giggles.

"Drat. I am cornered." Alaina said with a weak grin.