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Chapter II: The Rampant Frogs
The Hogwarts Express had trudged along quite smoothly for the most part. Lily had ensured Jane had found a compartment before she headed off with Hugo to the Prefect Compartment. There was the rumor circulating around the train that a boy had spotted a dragon flying over the horizon as he gazed out the window once they had passed the muggle towns and were well into the stretch of green pastures, but no one else was able to confirm anything other than it may have been a bird. Therefore, Lily saw no harm in spending a few moments with her non-prefect friends. Plus, she, Iris, and Penelope had much to catch up on before the start of term.
However, the moment Lily slid open the door to the prefect compartment, she found a timid second year, judging by her small size and the Hufflepuff accessories adorning her robes, standing in her way with her knuckles poised in the air as if ready to knock. With her brown orbs widening at the sight of the redhead, she quickly put down her arm. "Um…" she began, her voice soft and her eyes concentrating on the shoes upon her feet just barely visible from under the hem of her robes. "The trolleys tipped over in my compartment and now chocolate frogs are jumping everywhere."
Lily's lips fell into a frown. She was looking forward to conversing with Iris, Penelope, and Lorcan. Reaching into her own robe for her wand, Lily pulled it out as she admonished, "Well, I hope you've closed the doors." She was just about to follow after the girl, when she spotted Lysander Scamander headed towards the Prefect Compartment with his nose in the latest issue of the Quibbler and his wand tucked behind his ear-she never did understand why he chose to store his wand there.
"Scamander," she called out.
Curiously, he pulled down the Quibbler just enough so Lily was beamed with his grayish eyes. They squinted in her direction, few strands of his unruly blonde hair falling handsomely over them.
"Prefect duty calls. Chocolate frogs."
He rolled up The Quibbler as a charmingly annoyed look graced his chiseled profile, and he tucked the magazine into one of the long pockets of his robe. Lily spotted his tie, adorning the colors of the Ravenclaw House, hanging loosely around his neck and still waiting to be fashioned appropriately, while the crisp white button down worn underneath had the first few buttons undone.
The timid second year was staring at him with flushed cheeks, but as usual Lysander Scamander was oblivious.
Tearing her own eyes away from him, Lily instead reached forward and wrapped her hand around his wrist, her fingers warm around his cool skin, as she twirled him around to follow her and the girl in her second year.
Once Lily released him, he caught a whiff of her floral scent. She smelled like the wildflowers in his mum's garden where he would often sit, read, or write in his journal.
xoxoxox
It had become quite apparent on their trek towards the offending compartment that the trolley cart hadn't merely tipped over. Outside the compartment doors stood the usually friendly witch who was responsible for pushing the trolley cart along the carriage doors, asking students if they wanted any snacks off the cart for a fair price. However, her usual demeanor was now replaced with a scowl. Her bouncy curls were frazzled and her robe was disheveled.
The second year Hufflepuff winced at the sight of the squatty witch.
Impatiently, tapping her foot, the witch unraveled her arms when she caught sight of the three approaching, a miniscule smile making its way onto her lips at last. "Thank heavens!" she uttered in exasperation. "Frogs jumping everywhere."
Lysander turned to the small girl with narrowed eyes, which turned cold. "What exactly happened?" he asked, his jaw rigid.
The girl fumbled. "It-It wasn't me," she stammered.
The witch extended her index in the direction of the compartment. "Well someone decided to summon the cart with accio."
Lily nearly laughed as the witch explained how she ran after the cart, trying to push away the thought of the round little witch chasing the out of control object down the corridors. However, she swallowed her giggle the moment Lysander's stern expression turned towards her.
"I've cleaned up everything else," the witch continued, pointing her wand to the upturned HoneyDukes Express. "It's just the frogs that were too fast for me."
Prying the door carefully open, Lysander fluidly stepped through it. "Let's get this over with," he sighed.
xoxoxox
The prefect pair ushered the students out of the compartment one at a time, careful to not let any chocolate frogs jump through. A few of the students pointed at the placement of Lysander's wand behind his ear before their exit, giggling. However, as usual, the brooding blonde was oblivious. Then there were the girls, whose giggles entailed to more than Lysander's odd wand placement for they gazed at his profile longer than necessary, whispering about the prefect Ravenclaw's handsome appearance to one another. And finally there were those who found the idea appealing for one uttered, "Shame mine won't fit behind my ear." He held up his wand, which was stubby. "I often forget where I put it."
Once the compartment was clear of students, the pair directed their attention to the frogs, still bouncing from one area of the compartment to another. Scurrying away the one that had just jumped off her head, Lily pointed her wand in the direction of another chocolate frog, which had attached itself to the window. "Stupefy!" The frog was just about to leap when she had first opened her mouth to mutter the incantation, but Lily had secured her target, and it now had its arms outstretched, frozen in movement, and legs still attached to the window.
Lysander followed suit and the pair worked in silence until they had frozen every frog in the compartment. However, just as Lysander was stunning the final frog, he missed, and the spell hit strands of Lily's hair. His eyes widened as she turned to him in bewilderment for she had felt her hair fly as if a breeze had ruffled through the compartment. Following his gaze, she saw what held Lysander's current attention. Strands of her silky red locks stuck straight out in a horizontal fashion. "Lysander!"
"My apologies, Miss. Potter."
She frowned at his charm.
Pointing his wand towards her hair, her hair fell back around her shoulders in the same silky fashion as usual before Lily even realized. "Beautiful once more," he muttered quietly. Seating himself opposite her, he helped himself to a chocolate frog.
Lily held back her blush. She wasn't sure if she had even heard correctly. Lily slid into the seat behind her. "I didn't even hear you mutter the incantation."
"Nonverbal," he stated nonchalantly. "We'll be practicing this year."
"Ahead already," she said, impressed.
He shrugged his shoulders.
Lily helped herself to a chocolate frog as well. They were her favorite after all. She had a whole collection of the cards, which depicted famous witches and wizards and were included in the packaging. An unbearable silence fell in the compartment, and just as Lysander pulled the Quibbler back out, Lily said, "We should talk more."
Her sentence was quiet, softly spoken. Lysander turned to her, studying her features. He didn't doubt her sincerity. Her words had just caught him off guard. He nodded very slightly, regardless. "I-I should go." After all, the previous residents of this compartment probably wanted their seats back. "…Finish my reading." He stood up suddenly, and Lily sighed, watching him exit.
It felt as if she had indeed been stupefied.
xoxoxox
Following the queue of students out of the train and into Hogsmeade Station, Lily's ears were bombarded with the bellows of the half-giant, Hagrid. "Firs' years! Firs' years!"
Glancing up, for Hagrid towered above the thicket of students, Lily sent him a wave.
Spotting the redhead amongst the crowd, he returned the gesture eagerly.
Lily hoped Jane made her way towards the boats ok. Wading across the black lake in small boats was the traditional way all first year students were required to travel to the castle. After all, Lily did send Hagrid a heads up by the family owl before the start of term.
Noticing Penelope Krum's long mane of black hair glistening under the velveteen star filled sky, Lily made her way through the crowd and towards her, finding Iris Finnegan already beside her.
Giggling excitedly, Iris pulled her into a hug, and by Lily's unusual stiff demeanor, Iris was able to sense her not so cheerful mood. "What's the matter?"
"Let's just get to the carriages first," Lily stated grumpily, ushering the girls towards a throng of carriages that appeared to be without anything that could pull them. However, her father had told her otherwise. In fact, gaunt horse-like creatures called thesterls pulled the carriages. Those who had witnessed death were the only ones capable of seeing these eerie creatures. Picking the first empty carriage she found, Lily clambered inside it, Iris and Penelope following her wake with eager curiosity.
Sequestered in the corner of the seat opposite the one Iris and Penelope occupied, Lily folded her arms, her head gazing out the window. The carriage gave a tiny lurch before it slowly began to move. The open window laced the space with a gentle breeze. "He hates me," Lily said finally, watching the passing scenery of the Hogsmeade Village.
Penelope and Iris shared a glance, their eyebrows rising in confusion before they turned back to Lily.
"Hugo?" Iris theorized.
From beside her, Penelope nudged the brunette with her elbow. "Not everything has to be about Hugo."
Scowling, Iris was about to argue that she didn't only talk about Hugo Weasley, but decided against it. Instead, realizing from Lily's shake of the head that Hugo wasn't the answer to the girl's current woes, she went for another name. "Lorcan?"
At the mention of the Scamander twin, Penelope frowned.
Again, Lily shook her head. "The other twin."
This time, Penelope rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Lily, you are so dramatic." She tossed her long hair over her shoulder, causing both Iris and Lily to wrinkle their noses. "I'm sure Lysander does not hate you." However, when she met her friend's green eyes, she was sure Lily didn't agree with her.
xoxoxox
It was after their first flying lessons with the Ravenclaws, and the two houses of first years were trudging back up to the castle for lunch. There was a slight chill in the air, foretelling that autumn was ready to creep in. Animatedly, Lysander was discussing a recent article from the quibbler with his housemate, Sakura Cavanaugh. The girl didn't look all that interested, but she nodded politely.
In the middle of their trek back to the school, the students ran into a group of first year Slytherians heading to their first flying session. Picking up bits of Lysander's conversation about gnargles, one of the Slytherian students pulled the Quibbler from his hands, stating it was an unworthy source, and most of the featured creatures were "a load of parp".
Lysander Scamander said nothing, but turned a bright shade of red that clashed horribly with his sandy blonde hair, which was streaked with gold from the sun looming over the castle grounds. Everyone had erupted into laughter, a few agreeing that he was a strange child indeed.
Lily, on the other hand, continually stared at the ground below, wishing it would somehow swallow her up. She didn't dare meet Lysander's eyes, and she didn't dare say a word. Instead, she followed her fellow housemates away from him, leaving him feeling stunned.
When Lorcan, Lysander's twin, learned of the incident, he didn't speak to Lily for a whole week. Lily had known the twins since before their journey began at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She had grown up playing with the twins. After all, her middle name was in honor of their mother. However, in the proceeding days Lysander didn't look at all offended. Instead, he kept to himself, often choosing the library or the Ravenclaw common room over hanging out with Lily, Lorcan, and their friends. As the days turned into years and the twins looks had matured handsomely, Lysander's quiet demeanor had drifted into a mysterious persona that had the girl's of Hogwarts gushing as they passed his brooding self in the halls.
xoxoxox
"I should've stood up for him," Lily, concluded, resting her head against the wall of the carriage right at the edge of the window. "Some Gryffindor."
Penelope, however, was frowning. Her previous notion about Lily's theatrics appeared to be proving correct. Rolling her eyes in agitation, she said, "We all laughed because we thought he was strange for going off about gnargles and wrakspurts." How she even remembered the names of those so-called creatures was beyond her. "He just flaunted it more so than Lorcan."
Iris, however, smiled. "I found him dreamy even then."
Lily ignored her.
"He was always a bit of a loner," Penelope concluded as the carriage came to an abrupt halt. "It's just helped him now since he's hot."
This time Lily merely rolled her eyes.
"Have we arrived?" Iris asked, her eyes skittering towards the window. She leaned towards it, poking her head out of the carriage and her blue orbs now beamed with the grand castle with all its turrets and towers twisting towards the heavens.
xoxoxox
The sight of the castle always caused her heart to perk up. In her opinion, Hogwarts was truly a home away from home.
"Lily!"
Turning her head to the side, she spotted Lorcan Scamander approaching. As the twins grew older, it became easier to distinguish between them. Lorcan's features were slightly rounder, more childish, his shoulders broader, and his physique more muscular. His eyes too were bluer in color and his hair almost brown like his father's. Lysander, on the other hand, was not only 13 minutes older but also an inch taller than Lorcan. Where Lorcan's features were rounder, Lysander's were thinner and more chiseled. Additionally, his build was leaner, and his hair color matched his mother's to a tee.
"Hey, Lor." Lily greeted him with a smile. Her lip twitched into a smirk as both turned their eyes towards the castle simultaneously. "What ways are we landing in detention this year?"
"Lily, Lily, Lily," he chuckled, turning his head to face her once more, a childish grin playing at his lips. "Detention is never the goal, it's an impediment to our fun. However, winning back the lead in Qudditch is."
Lily flipped her silky red locks, a hand to her hip. "Dream on Hufflepuff."
At this, Lorcan rolled his eyes. Slytherian had won the lead in the wizard sport the previous year, in part due to Lily's brother, Albus. The year before that it had been Hufflepuff. Ever since Lorcan had joined Hufflepuff's team, in their third year as a Beater, their team had become quite the competition for Gryffindor and Slytherian. "And now that Albus is out of the way…"
"Albus was good," Lily mused.
"James was better," Lorcan finished. James, Lily's eldest brother served as Chaser for the Gryffindors during his time at Hogwarts, which made gaining the lead in the sport quite a tough competition for the other houses.
When the great oak doors finally parted, Lily was just about to follow the queue of students into the school when the first years approached. Grabbing her hand, Lorcan pointed in their direction. "Look someone's fallen in."
Lily prayed it wasn't Jane. Her eyes glazed over the first years, looking for the one whose robes were all drenched. However it wasn't. Instead, it was a girl she didn't recognize.
Lorcan laughed. "It might as well be tradition. There's at least one in every year."
Lily giggled as well. "Remember our boat ride."
"Of course. Lysander fell in."
xoxoxox
Settling into the boat with the Scamander Twins and Hugo, Lily watched as the boat began to magically sway across the black lake towards their first year of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Many stars draped over them through the heavens, twinkling back their silvery glow.
Carefully peering into the depths below, Lily stated, "James said a giant squid lives in there." However, she couldn't see much. The lake looked like a rippled sheet of black.
Hugo pulled her back to a sitting position by a pull on her robes. "You don't want to fall in."
Folding her arms, she turned her head towards her mousy-brown haired cousin. "I was being careful." She then turned to gaze at the Scamander Twins seated across from she and Hugo. The moonlight had doused the twins in her glow, making their hair appear almost silvery. "Albus said you can see the squid from the Slytherian common room."
Lysander's eyes widened. "What else lives in the lake?" He leaned over the edge of the boat, seated directly across Lily, and gazed into the darkened waters below.
"Daddy said mer-people."
"Mer-people!" Lysander exclaimed in fascination, leaning further over as if this might help him catch a glimpse of the creatures they were discussing.
"Lysander, be careful," Lorcan warned as the boat bobbed in the water.
However, Lysander wasn't listening. "I think I saw a tentacle." Or perhaps that was the glimmer from the moon and the ripple of water due to the boats swaying across. All he had to do was lean over just a bit further to be sure. However, before Lorcan could grab him by his robe, Lysander had already leaned too far over.
Lily gasped as she saw Lysander disappear from their boat, splashing into the water. "Hagrid!" she wailed. "Lysander's fallen in!"
"Dun worry!" she heard Hagrid's voice boom over from a few boats to the left, his lantern shining like a bright golden ball in the night.
In the next minute, Lysander had emerged from the lake, his blonde hair darkened and dripping with water as Hagrid maneuvered him with his umbrella back to the boat. Coughing and spluttering, he gazed back at the frowning faces of his brother and friends.
"You could've drowned!" Hugo exclaimed.
"It was brilliant!" Lysander countered, running a hand through his wet locks.
"Did you see anything?" Lily asked, her green eyes glittering back at him.
"I may have seen a tentacle!"
"Lysander!" Lorcan groaned. "Mum will hear about this."
xoxoxox
They laughed at the recollection of their boat ride all the way into the Great Hall, which greeted them with the floating candles and a seemingly never ending ceiling portraying the night sky just as it was outdoors. Bidding Lorcan a goodbye, Lily maneuvered her way towards the Gryffindor table, seating herself between Iris and Penelope, and finding Hugo across from them. Her eyes glazed over at the head table, lined with professors and Headmistress McGonagall. Hagrid sat far too the left, easily noticeable due to his large size, and to the far right sat a petite witch with almond eyes and a sweet smile, Lily thought was vaguely familiar.
"That's Professor Chang. Professor Cho Chang," Penelope stated, catching Lily's gaze. "Sakura's mum."
So that's why the witch seemed a bit familiar. Lily had seen her in pictures the Ravenclaw girl had showed her.
"Chang? Isn't Sakura's last name Cavanaugh?"
"She never changed her last name," Penelope answered Iris's inquiry.
"She'll be taking over Charms this year," Hugo added his two cents just as Headmistress McGonagall cleared her throat, indicating the sorting would soon commence. They watched the first years glide into the Great Hall, fresh faces glittering with a mixture of nerves and excitement, towards the stool with a tattered and patched up old pointed hat.