2.

She rubbed soothing circles on the back of the crying boy. Every sob was like a knot tightening in her stomach.

She should have been there.

She shushed and comforted him, whispering "It's okay" in his ear every now and then. But that was just the thing. It wasn't okay. It was everything but okay.

She didn't know this kid well. She saw him a few times in the hall and the common room, but never really talked to him. He always seemed clumsy and timid, and she mentally kicked herself for not trying to get to know him. It would have been the right thing to do. And now she was at a lack of words, a thing that rarely happened to her.

She thought everyone deserved a chance. This boy certainly did. I mean, he definitely had a hard childhood. And even the reason he was crying was completely valid. It was only their third month at Hogwarts. Lily made a lot of friends, but Andrew here just didn't.

Ugh, how she hated bullying. Even as a little kid, she always tried to protect those who were bullied. Maybe it was because she was the child of a Potter and a Weasley, so chivalry pretty much ran in the family, but she believed that her protectiveness over the weak was so strong due to the fact that she was once bullied. A flashback rushed to the front of her mind.

It was early July, and it was extremely hot. She just got back from playing Quidditch with her brothers in a nearby field, and was now sitting under a secluded linden tree by the river that she liked to consider hers, drawing in her notepad like she did almost every day in the past month. She could remember the smell of the leaves and the grass, the texture of the tree bark against her back and the breeze that cooled her overheated skin. It was so quiet, so peaceful. And then they came.

There were 4 of them: two girls and two boys, all older than her and much taller. They were laughing at something the biggest of them, a dark haired boy just said. They annoyed Lily, but she didn't say anything. She didn't want any trouble. But then one of the girls pointed at her, whispering something to the other one and the two started laughing. The incredibly funny joke that Lily didn't seem to understand soon reached the two boys. They made their way over to her through the tall grass.

"Hey ginger. I seemed to miss the black cat, did she take off on a broom too? Or did she use a vacuum cleaner?"

Lily was confused. She didn't get at what he was aiming. But then she realized: the shiny Nimbus 2012 was lying on the grass next to her. The boy picked it up.
"Seriously? Did you polish it just for make-believe? Pathetic." He threw the broom at the other boy, who caught it and started bending it to test its flexibility.
"Ooh, nice model, Witchy! Mind taking me on a ride?" he grinned at the other three.

Don't say anything stupid Lily, she told herself. You're smarter than that.

"Can you please give me that back?" she said quietly.

The boy faked being in deep thought."Um, NO."

One of the them, a scrawny girl with mousey brown hair, grayish skin and a cigar in her hand bent down and took the notebook that was sitting in Lily's lap a couple of seconds ago.

"Ooh, what's this? Does Witchy think she's a little artist?" she cooed at her, showing her yellow teeth. She made Lily sick.

"Give that back!" she shouted at her, trying to grab the notepad in her hands. The girl just moved it out of her reach, laughing with the rest at her failed attempts at of retrieving it.

"Feisty, are we? And why would I do that?" the girl said. Her eyes were glinting with malice and amusement. She was obviously enjoying having control over the younger girl.

Be strong, Lily she thought to herself. You're a Potter. Be brave. She's not the boss of you.

"Because it's MINE! And I worked hard on it, and you're not going to ruin it!" she screamed with all the courage she could gather.

"Oh, really? I guess it would be a shame if it just slipped out of my hand into the water…"She casually threw the notepad into the river. "Whoops." She said coldly.

Lily yelped as all her joy, pride and hard work sunk into the clear blue water, disappearing in its depths.

"Maybe you should go find it." The tall boy grabbed her forearms bruising her, picking her up and in a split second she was in the river, the water filling her nose, her throat, her lungs…She felt a sharp pain in her forearm as rushed to the surface, gasping for the air she desperately needed, before one of the girls pushed her back in, holding her under the water until she nearly collapsed; then letting her surface again. She clawed her way out of the water onto the muddy shore, coughing and gasping. She felt dizzy, her muscles trembled, that pain getting worse, and her throat burned. She looked down to see a big cut on her arm and blood coloring the grass around her bright red as well as her already completely soaked clothes.

"Go….to…Hell." she spat out with the remaining bits of her energy.

The girl stopped laughing immediately and gave her a look that could kill. She grabbed Lily by the collar and shook her violently.

"What did you say to me, you little bitch?" She yelled in her face.

"Lily? Are you there…?"She was never so happy to hear Al's voice. He stomped into her view, followed shortly by James. She noticed his wand sticking out his back pocket. She felt relief flushing over her, followed by the thing her dad usually said:"Never put your wand in your back pocket, unless you want to burn your buttocks off."She chuckled, despite the lack of humor in that whole situation. She never really asked him where he got that from.

"HEY! LEAVE HER ALONE!"She could hear Albus's shouting as the blackness took over her. She could hear some arguing but she couldn't really recognize the voices anymore. The last thing she was aware of was a furious, strong voice and the next moment a pair of concerned green eyes watching her and knew it was going to be okay. She blacked out.

Lily opened her eyes, shuddering at the memory. She was terrified of water ever since. She swore to herself that day that she will never be that helpless again. And Andrew….

The poor boy had a remembrall. A simple thing, a memory of his passed away father.

And they just had to destroy it. He had to destroy it.

You know that whole "chances" thing? Yeah, well, screw that.

Malfoy's going to pay.