AN: Woah…I'm feeling the love, people! Thanks for all the reviews. I'm glad you liked the story…I was actually afraid Lily and the others were out of character. Thanks again, and enjoy this next chapter.

Chapter Two: Not-So Pleasant News

"Lily, what do you suppose he is?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Whatever do you mean, Cassandra?"

"What is he? I mean, he cannot possibly be human."

"Cassandra!" I scolded.

"But Lily," whined Cassandra, "it's true! He's just so porky. A man that fat shouldn't be able to stand! Ergo, he is not a man."

I covered my mouth with a hand, struggling not to laugh. Cassandra was right. Petunia's betrothed, His Royal Highness Vernon Dursley, Prince of Hufflepuff, was a thickset man with a ruddy face and hardly any neck, and he did indeed appear to be too hefty to be able to stand.

A triumphant expression appeared on Cassandra's face. "I'm right, and you know it," she said smugly.

Cassandra and I were strolling through the gardens, gossiping about the match Father had found for Petunia. So far, neither of us had anything nice to say about the man who, upon entering the palace, had begun quite the lengthy speech on how this pedestal was absolutely horrid-looking, that tapestry would look much better on the opposite wall, what an awful color the conservatory's curtains were, and good heavens, this sort of ghastly décor would never have been permitted in Hufflepuff.

"Petunia seems happy with him," I said diplomatically.

Cassandra snorted. "Petunia would be happy with a snake, given that the snake was wealthy," she retorted. "What's the man's title again? Some sort of earl, was it, or a marquis…"

"Goodness, no, Father would have a heart attack if Petunia married someone beneath her class," I said, chuckling. "He's a prince from Hufflepuff. Not the Crown Prince, mind. He's got an older sister…Marjorie, I think?"

"The king doesn't particularly like Prince Vernon, does he?" Cassandra commented.

"Not too much, no." As a matter of fact, Father downright despised the arrogant, hefty Hufflepuff prince.

"Why ever then would he betroth her to Petunia?"

I grimaced. "To forge alliances," I replied darkly, "against Slytherin."

"Oh, yes." Cassandra glowered. "The Hogwarts Treaties won't be enough to make the king of Slytherin keep his word. That treacherous, slimy, evil son of a bi—"

"Cassandra!"

Cassandra smiled meekly. "Sorry."

"And if," I added, satisfied with Cassandra's apology, "heaven forbid, he wages war once more, Ravenclaw will be the first to fall." Our kingdom was the closest to Slytherin's borders, and therefore the most vulnerable to their attacks. "Alliances with Gryffindor and Hufflepuff are necessary if we're to survive."

We were quiet for a moment, until Cassandra broke the silence.

"So, Prince Vernon will off and take the throne of Ravenclaw, I expect, with Petunia as queen," she said, in a lighter tone of voice.

"I suppose so."

Cassandra shivered. "Good God, I'm gone for sure," she said. "I am not going to live at a court where laws are the whims of a piggy king and a horsy queen."

"Petunia is not horsy!" I exclaimed.

"Come off it, Lily! That girl's got a neck longer than…" Cassandra trailed off. "Well, longer than something very long," she finished, looking quite annoyed with herself. "And you have got to stop defending Petunia like that, Lily. Honestly, she resents you because you're prettier than she is, and even that's evolved into thinking you're some sort of uncivilized freak just because you can't sew to save your life."

"Cassandra, really," I said disapprovingly.

She gave an aggravated little 'humph' and did not reply.

Before I could say anything more, one of my chambermaids rushed up to us, her face flushed and her breath coming in short gasps. "Your Highness, Lady Meadowes," she gasped, curtseying low.

"Easy, Tabitha," said Cassandra, placing a hand on the maid's shoulders.

"What is it?" I asked.

Tabitha sucked in a deep breath and curtseyed again. "His Majesty King Jacob requests your presence in the queen's receiving room, Your Highness. And the young Lady Meadowes is to come too."

I frowned. What on earth did Mother and Father want this time? "Thank you, Tabitha. You may go now."

Cassandra cast me a furtive look before glancing meaningfully at Tabitha. Tabitha looked at Cassandra over her shoulder and raised her brows; a look of worry clouded Cassandra's features.

Odd.

-o-o-o-

Mother's receiving room was at the very fore of her apartments. It was a breezy sort of room, pale lavender walls, polished marble floors, and white lace curtains fluttering in the slight breeze. The fireplace on the left wall had emptied of the ashes from last winter's fires, and the green-upholstered furniture had been replaced with the cream-colored ones.

Only Mother was in the room, seated serenely in one of the squashy, overstuffed armchairs.

"Your Majesty," said Cassandra, curtseying.

"My lady mother," I said, curtseying too.

"Darlings," said Mother as she stood up came over, kissing first my cheek and then Cassandra's. "Come and have a seat. Would you like a cup of tea? Or something cooler, perhaps…I find this weather just so unbearable, don't you?"

What on earth is going on? "Where is Father? I thought it was he who called for Cassandra and me."

"Indeed he did, darling," said Mother, slowly sinking back into her armchair. "He'll be right here. Go on then, have a seat." She nodded at one of the couches. Promptly, Cassandra and I sat down.

"Tea? Pumpkin juice?"

"No, thank you, Mother," I replied. My stomach was twisting in such knots, I wasn't sure I could keep a cup of tea down.

While we waited for Father, I pondered on that little exchange between Cassandra and Tabitha. The way Cassandra had glanced at Tabitha and the Tabitha had glanced back suggested that both knew what this little meeting was going to be about. And if I interpreted the way Cassandra looked at me correctly, I think it's safe to say that this meeting had something to do with me.

I didn't even want to ponder what the look of worry on Cassandra's face meant.

Father's abrupt arrival pulled me out of my thoughts. As he entered the room, Mother, Cassandra, and I stood up and curtseyed, Cassandra's curtsey being significantly deeper considering she was not royalty.

"Father," I said, "what's all this about?"

Father sighed. "Best to have a seat, Lily-flower," he said, using his childhood nickname for me. "This might come as a bit of a shock."

I resumed my seat, and Mother and Cassandra did the same. Father, however, began pacing up and down the hardwood floors.

"Dear," said Mother gently, "best to spit it out and get it over with."

"Father?" I ventured uncertainly. "What's going on?"

Father stopped pacing and ran a hand over his face. Then, he looked at me squarely in the eye and said, "Lily, you're going to get married."

Well.

My mouth fell open, and I could feel my jaw working, moving, though no sound was coming out. My brain was scrambling for something to say, anything to say. I thought of asking Father, in a very dignified tone, of course, if this was all a joke.

Instead, I sucked in a deep breath and said, "What the bloody hell are you on about?!"

"Lily Susan Katherine Evans!" Mother gasped, scandalized.

"I apologize, Father, Mother," I said, playing the part of the meek, contrite lady. I did not want to hear Mother's lectures on proper dignity and decorum at the moment. "What I meant to say was, surely you must be joking?"

Father shook his head. "I'm sorry, Lily, but I'm not joking."

I clasped my hands in lap so rigidly my knuckles turned white, and I breathed in and out very rapidly. I was silent for a long while, until Cassandra, in a very small voice, said, "Lily?"

I took another deep, cleansing breath. "May I know who I am to be wedded to, Father?" I asked. I mentally patted myself on the back. I felt furious and terrified and nauseous, but my voice was calm and serene. I decided I'd freak out later, when Cassandra and I were alone.

Father, more than anything else, looked relieved. "Your betrothed is James Potter, the Crown Prince of Gryffindor. I have spoken with King Charlus and Queen Dorea, and they both agree on the match, and…"

I tuned Father out as he rattled off several reasons why such an alliance with the Gryffindors would benefit Ravenclaw, and how strong a force we would be in the looming hostilities with Slytherin, with Hufflepuff united with Ravenclaw through Petunia and Prince Vernon's marriage, and now Gryffindor and Ravenclaw would be united through my marriage…

But the thing that caught my attention was when Father said, "You will leave in two days' time."

I looked up at him, shocked. "Excuse me?"

"You will leave in two days' time," Father repeated. "By then, the escort Prince James sent will have arrived at Port Harlynne, and then you will travel by ship to Gryffindor You'll be given a month to get to know Prince James before the wedding, at least. "

I badly wanted to reply, "Oh, thank you ever so much, Father, for allowing me a month to get to know my soon-to-be husband before I wed him," in a sarcastic tone of voice, but Mother would probably have a conniption if I spoke that rudely to either her or Father. So, instead, I said, "I'd best be off and pack, then."

As I stood up, Father added, "Oh, and by the way, Lady Meadowes has requested that she be your chaperone during the journey. Quite unusual for a lady-in-waiting of the same age to be a chaperone, but I'm willing to make an exception. Lady Meadowes has a remarkably sensible head on her shoulders." And to Cassandra, he said, "I've already notified Lord Meadowes, and he approves wholeheartedly of your decision."

Cassandra inclined her head politely. "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Barely suppressing my emotions, I stood and curtseyed. "By your leave, Father, I shall need to prepare for the journey."

"Of course, daughter," said Father. "Off you go."

I waited till Cassandra stood and curtseyed to both Father and Mother, then hurried out of the receiving room.

-o-o-o-

Cassandra and I went to my bedroom, and as soon as I had closed the door, I turned round and started screaming bloody murder.

"YOU KNEW!"

Cassandra, who sat on my bed, looked down, quite unable to meet my gaze. "Yes, I did," was all she said.

"YOU KNEW!" I repeated. "You knew that Father was going to up and have me betrothed to some Gryffindor prince, you knew I was slated to leave in two days' time! You knew AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME!"

All was quiet, until I said, "How did you find out?"

"I overheard Petunia and Valerie gossiping about it. I confronted your parents about it but they begged me not to tell you. They thought it'd be better if you heard it from them."

"I'd at least have been prepared from this bombshell!" I retorted angrily.

Cassandra looked up. "I'm sorry, Lily," she cried. "If I could've told you, I would have! But your parents swore me to secrecy."

I sighed and relented. I was being really unfair to Cassandra. She'd only been doing what my parents told her to do.

I sat down beside her on the bed and wrapped an arm around her shaking shoulders. "Oh, Cassandra," I sighed, "I'm sorry too. It was awful of me to shout at you like that. I know you were only obeying Mother and Father."

"No, Lily," said Cassandra firmly. "My duty is first and foremost to you, not the King Jacob and Queen Susan."

Then, we both giggled. Ever since childhood, Cassandra and I had habits of both apologizing for things that was only one person's fault, somehow twisting the subject so it ended up the other's fault as well.

"So," said Cassandra, after our giggle fit had subsided, "Crown Prince James Potter, eh?"

"Do you know anything about him?" I asked.

"Well," answered Cassandra, "he is currently the only child of King Charlus Potter V and Queen Dorea Black-Potter, making him first in line for the throne of Gryffindor. It might also interest you to know that Queen Dorea was originally from Slytherin."

I blinked. "Really?"

"Yes, really," said Cassandra. "Queen Dorea's father was Lord Cygnus Black, the Duke of Grimmauld, one of the most prominent Slytherin nobles."

Huh. "So, how'd Queen Dorea end up married to King Charlus? I thought the Slytherins were all about 'keeping their heritage pure'."

Cassandra laughed at the scorn dripping from my voice. "I don't actually know the story," she said. "No one does. I'd imagine the Slytherins have worked hard to keep Queen Dorea's flight from the kingdom a secret."

I looked curiously at Cassandra. "How'd you find out all these things anyway?"

Cassandra laughed. "Oh, Lily, I'm your lady-in-waiting!" she exclaimed, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "It's my job to find out all I can about those who you will meet and those will meet you. Royal protection and all that." She winked.

"Oh, please, Lady Morgan certainly doesn't do these things for Petunia."

"Lady Morgan doesn't take her job seriously," replied Cassandra. "And besides, I'm a Meadowes. My great-aunt Rachel Meadowes did the same thing when she was assigned to be your grandmother's lady-in-waiting. Checked out your grandfather's history and background and everything. Went all the way back and even spoke with his previous…conquests…to see if he'd satisfy in bed." Cassandra waggled her eyebrows.

I laughed. "No! That's outrageous!"

"It's true!" Cassandra brightened. "And I just thought of something else."

"What?"

"Just think of what Petunia's going to say when she finds out you're marrying a Crown Prince!"

And Cassandra and I descended into another fit of giggles.

AN: Another short chapter…sorry, but the rest will be longer, I promise! Remember to review.