Chapter 2: Sixth Year
"Lily!" She heard a voice call out behind her on the platform. A bouncy blonde was running toward her. Despite the teen's short stature of five feet four inches, her body was full of womanly curves. She had stormy gray eyes that seemed demanding of answers that Lily didn't have.
"Marlene, it's so good to see you!" Lily hugged her friend, red hair swinging to hide her face. She had cut it short the previous year and left it at a length above her shoulders for the coming school year. Her almond shaped green eyes were sparkling. She had her prefects badge pinned to her summery top, unwilling to wear the long robes quite yet. Her long legs being shown off the cropped shorts she was wearing.
"How was your summer? We didn't owl nearly enough." Marlene insisted. She was wearing a summery dress that complimented her olive skin tone. Platform heels in place.
"It was quite dull, mum and dad had me help around the house a lot. I didn't go out much as consequence—but tell me what your summer was like! Italy? Did you meet any attractive men?"
"What's this I hear about attractive men?" Sirius asked coming up behind Marlene.
"Hullo Black," Lily greeted, sullenly looking at the other three teenagers appearing behind him. His long hair was still curly and he was even more frustratingly handsome.
"Good summer, Lily?" Peter asked with a flushed face. He looked thinner than he had the year before. His blond hair was a mess, but he was still rather attractive.
"Dull," she told him.
"Sorry to hear that Evans, hopefully the start of the school year will cheer you up." James' hand shot into his black hair, effectively making it messier than it had been. His square framed glasses were crooked and Lily felt the urge to reach out and straighten them.
"No one ever likes the start of a school year James," Marlene threw back at him.
"I don't know. It's nice to not be bothered by my sister or Sev for a change. Though I'm sure Severus will be trying to hunt me down this year as well to try and apologize." Lily sighed, glancing down at her watch. "Oh shit, the prefects meeting is going to be starting soon."
"I'll take your stuff onto the train for you; you and Remus go off and do your goody-two-shoes thing." The other girl pushed her away, grabbing the trunk in her free hand.
"I'll get Moony's," Sirius grinned, pulling away the battered trunk from his friend. "You two have fun in there discussing patrols!"
"Would you like help with Lily's trunk?" They heard Peter offer as they headed towards the front train car.
"Have a good holiday Remus?" Lily asked politely as they walked.
"It was fair, got to stay at Prongs' house so it was much more bearable than usual." Remus smiled at her. "You're still having trouble with Snape?"
"Yeah," Lily sighed, grabbing the handle next to the doorway so she could swing herself up the stairs. "I'm sure it'll settle down eventually though. I hoped it would happen sooner rather than later."
"If you hung out with us more I'm sure it might deter him," Remus offered politely.
"I might take you up on that. I never thought you were that bad, at least, not after third year when you calmed down with the harmful pranks. A lot of my hatred was aimed towards you lot because Sev hated you." Lily admitted before pushing open the door to the carriage.
"I'm sure Prongs' will be happy to hear that." He smiled at her; Severus was already tucked away in the corner reading his potions book for the year. The seventh year Slytherin head girl was sitting next to him with a sour look on her face. Lily glanced up at the oily glands of hair which curtained away the pale skin of her former best friend. His legs were stretched out, showing his lanky form off.
"Random question for you Remus," Lily said. Severus glanced up from the book. "Well, two."
"Go for it," Remus told her, a small smile on his face.
"Since we are turning seventeen this year, have you heard of anyone having a different animal on their tattoo from their soulmate?"
"I've heard about it, but it's supposedly extremely rare. Only a few people manage to get each other's names with animals that better suit their personalities than suit the relationship."
"This is fascinating, I keep wondering whose name is going to show up on my tattoo. I wonder if I'll even like them."
"Hoping for anyone in particular?"
"I have some, wants you might say, but it'll probably lead to disappointment."
"And as for your second question?" Remus prompted.
"Why do you and James call each other by such weird names? I mean, Wormy, for Peter?"
"Since when have you and Prongs been on a first name basis?" He chuckled.
"We're not, it slipped." Lily's face flushed.
"I'm going to tell him."
"No Remus, don't you dare!" She cried out, clutching at his arm.
"Alright everyone, settle down. The train is due to start moving in the next few minutes. Let's get this meeting started." The head boy told them, waving around several pieces of parchment.
-oOo-
"Lily called you James earlier," Remus spilled as soon as they stepped into the compartment with their friends.
"Remus!" Lily hit him in the arm.
"We are friends Evans; we can call each other by our first names without it being awkward." James told her, eyebrows crinkling with laughter.
"As you call me Evans, nice one." Lily rolled her eyes, throwing herself into the seat across from him.
"Trolley will be coming by soon, let's gather up a paper with our orders and money." Peter suggested, providing the parchment.
Lily added several fizzing whizbees, a few licorice wands, and a cauldron cake. She put a pile of sickles and a few Knuts into the small bag Sirius carried with him for valuables. She had absolutely no clue why, but it came in handy.
"Bit bare, isn't it Lily?" James teased, his list containing three inches of sweets.
"I'm not big on candy; those are a few I can stand."
"Do you not like chocolate?" Remus asked.
"Lily likes to make sweets at home." Marlene told them.
"I also like Acid Pops, but you can only get them from Honeydukes in Hogsmeade." She argued.
"Oh yeah, last year I gave you a whole lot of them for your birthday." Marlene smiled, flipping her blonde hair behind her shoulder.
"We'll make a note of that for this birthday," Sirius chuckled.
When the trolley arrived, they handed over the list and money, collecting their individual snacks. Remus and Lily had to leave at one point to patrol the train corridors and break up fights between younger students. Their ride was relatively peaceful, something they hadn't experienced the previous five years. It felt like no time before they were pulling into Hogsmeade Station, ready for the opening feast and the coming school year.
-oOo-
Their quiet, relaxing time didn't last long. The first morning after the opening feast brought an argument between Severus and Lily, putting her in a bad mood.
"Lily, I wanted to apologize."
"For what? For pretending to be my friend? For calling me a mudblood? For acting like I mean something to you when you so obviously want to be off gallivanting with your Slytherin friends hurting others?" Lily hissed at him as they stood in the doorway of the Great Hall.
"I never pretended to be your friend," Severus looked pained at her response.
"Well whatever it was, it's over now. You made your choice last year," Lily made to turn away, but he grabbed her arm, spinning her back.
"Please Lily, I swear I didn't mean to call you—you that word."
"Oh, so now you don't have the gall to say it? Do I need to hex you so you can manage to spit it out? Well guess what, I am a muggle-born and I'm damn proud of it. Leave me alone, it's already too late to take back what you've said." She told him. With a huff, she pulled her arm away and made to turn for the second time when a concerned voice stopped her.
"Are you okay Lily?" It was James. He was watching her quietly.
"Fine, I'm craving some eggs." She hurried to the Gryffindor table, shaking the entire thing when she sat down. It made several scared first years look up at her in surprise.
James opened his mouth as to say something, shook his head, and followed the lead of his fellow Gryffindor. He took his seat much calmer, striking up some sort of conversation with Lily which made her stop scooping the large portions of scrambled eggs onto her plate.
They ate for a long while, the heads of houses starting in on students schedules. The rest of their friends joined them about halfway through eating, eagerly discussing classes.
"Do you know what classes you plan on continuing this year Miss Evans?" McGonagall asked Lily when she arrived at their portion of the table.
"I was thinking of Charms, Potions, and Defense Against the Dark Arts—but I can't decide between Care of Magical Creatures and Transfiguration."
"You're considering dropping Transfiguration?" James looked up at her in surprise, his fork falling with a clatter to the table.
"I don't think I'm good at it. I've always struggled and I know I barely managed to scrape and E on the O.W.L.s." She ducked her head.
"Well, I for one would like to see you continue my class, but the decision is up to you." She paused. "I'll give you a moment to decide while I help the other five."
Lily nodded. Professor Kettleburn was an eccentric teacher, but she enjoyed his classes. Caring for various creatures was fun, especially when they were injured. Yet, at the same time—she wanted to be with her friends in Transfiguration. Lily heard James say he was taking Herbology and she realized it was also a class she hadn't chosen. Unlike her mother, she did not have a green thumb. She would have to say no to taking that class, it was out of the question.
"Have you decided Miss Evans?"
"I'll take both. I know it's a full load, but I want to." Lily smiled up at her.
"Very well, you have fun this year, NEWTS are coming up sooner than you expect."
"Thank you professor." Sirius smiled at her, surprisingly polite for a change.
"Free period first for me," Lily told them looking at her new schedule.
"Same for everyone I think, Charms is the first class up at ten." Marlene commented.
"Transfiguration at eleven," James grinned. "That'll be a good class."
"Let's go enjoy relaxation while we can," Remus decided. They nodded, grabbing their schedules and heading off to enjoy their quiet hour.