Lily was walking through a dimly lit hallway. She was alone and afraid. She was aware of the cold around her. On either side of her were numbered doors. She walked past them, deliberately. At the end of the hall on the right, there was a room that was lit up. Lily took a deep breath and grabbed the doorknob with her hand.
Suddenly the dream gave way to reality. Lily got out of bed and checked the clock on her wall. It was 4:00 in the afternoon. Lily had gotten used to taking naps in the afternoon over the summer. Lately though, she had been plagued by this recurring dream. In every dream she was in the same hallway and it always ended just before she entered the room. She had tried not to be worried. There was nothing particularly sinister about the dream, but there were some elements that bothered her. She was sure she had never been to the place in her dreams and it seemed strange she would imagine a place with such great detail. Lily wondered if it had anything to do with being a "Present Seer".
In her first year Lily had discovered that she had the "Inner Eye". Unlike most Seers however, she couldn't see into the future, instead being able to see through magic that obscured the present like Invisibility Cloaks or Disillusionment Charms. She wondered if her ability had changed. Her friend Seth, a bona fide genius had said that the ability became more acute as she got older. Still, this seemed altogether different than the ability she had displayed when she uncovered the plot to find the Book of Curses in her first year.
A yell from the first floor of 12 Grimmauld Place brought Lily out of her thoughts.
"Lily, wake up! Ministry event is in an hour!" called Ginny
"I'm awake!" Lily yelled back.
Her father was going to speak at a Ministry event. Lily had gone to a few other Ministry events but none as important as this one. The entire concept of what it meant to be part of wizardkind was irrevocably shattered on the day that Lily took the Hogwarts Express back from Hogwarts at the end of her second year. She remembered reading the headline of the Daily Prophet:
MINISTRY OF MAGIC APPROVES POTION THAT GIVES SQUIBS MAGICAL ABILITIES
Lily walked down the stairs. She knocked on the bathroom door.
"Hey James, you still in there?" she asked
"Yeah!" he responded.
Lily rolled her eyes. To think that girls got a reputation for hogging the bathroom. James took longer than her to keep his hair impeccable.
As she waited Lily began to think about how the new part of the magical community had affected the British Wizarding community. Her father had explained the issue in between meetings, during a hectic summer. The practical effects of the potion were actually quite small. The potion was able to activate a magical gene that was inactive, in those who had at least one magical parent. Squibs were quite rare and the magical community itself was small so there were less than a thousand Squibs. Complicating that was the fact that there were some Squibs who didn't want magical abilities, preferring the way they were.
Opposition to the new Squib community had come from both sides. The aforementioned Squibs who didn't take the potion were called "The Sober Squibs". They were happy without magic and were upset with the idea that being a Squib was seen as something to cure, comparing it to Muggle born witches and wizards. This was an opinion Lily couldn't disagree with, but unfortunately some "Sober Squibs" were becoming violent towards those who sold and took the potion. On the other hand there were wizards who were resentful of letting Squibs into the Wizarding world saying they weren't really magical, having gotten their abilities artificially. They were mostly former blood purists who had been re-emboldened by the controversy of the potion. The leading group was called The Natural Magic Coalition.
Lily was interrupted from her thoughts by the bathroom door opening, and her oldest brother, with his hair gelled back and wearing dress robes emerging.
"The bathroom is now yours to hog," James said.
"Oh, shove off," Lily said to which James only smiled.
After showering Lily got dressed for the Ministry event. Her mother had put out her red dress robes. Lily couldn't stand dressing up for formal events but it was part of being the Head Auror's daughter. The event was for the new members of the magical community. It was designed to try to introduce the Squibs to the Wizarding World and show the Ministry's support for those who had decided to become magic. After Lily got dressed her brothers and parents were waiting for her by the fireplace.
"Are we ready to leave?" said Harry.
"Yes," the three children echoed.
"Remember, we need you all on your best behavior," Ginny said. "Don't bring anything from your Uncle George's shop," she finished.
"Yes mom we know. We're not five years old," James said.
"Alright," Ginny, dressed in green dress robes said.
Harry tossed a handful of Floo powder onto the flames, which lit up brightly and said "the Ministry of Magic."
He stepped into the flames and disappeared. The rest of the Potter family followed suit. Lily went last, making sure to say the intended location loudly and clearly. The familiar process of Flooing took over her body and when she emerged, she found herself in the brightly lit Atrium at the Ministry of Magic. People were entering from fireplaces all around her. Lily and her family walked up to the front of the room where the Fountain of Magical Brethren stood, depicting a centaur, goblin, house-elf and wizard as equals, arms interlocked. Water shot out of them.
Lily watched as James took out a Bronze Knut and tossed it into the fountain.
"Throwing away money, I see," said Lily's other brother Albus.
"Hey, you know throwing a Knut in a fountain is supposed to be good luck," said James.
"I believe a Sickle is the one that's supposed to bring good luck," Lily said.
"Look, I didn't have a Sickle, ok," said James.
Lily and Albus exchanged a look and Albus just shook his head. They were taking a lift up to Level 5, the Department of International Magical Cooperation, where the event was taking place. Lily supposed it made sense. The addition of the Squib Community wasn't unlike the immigration of Wizards and Witches from a foreign country. Meanwhile Albus and James were talking, both having become more civil during the summer.
"Yeah I've been writing to Zeke. He's still awaiting a Hogwarts letter but he should be here," James said.
Lily's heart rate quickened. For some reason the news that the Squib boy that she had met the previous winter would be there made her considerably more nervous. She could've spent a few more minutes on her hair.
They got off the lift and walked into the ballroom. There were chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. There was a podium up front with a lectern. There were regal looking tables with drinks on them. All around, Ministry officials and Squibs were milling around. It was by far the largest event Lily had ever been to.
As if on cue, Ministry officials descended upon her father like a plague of locusts, all talking at the same time.
"Potter good to see y-
"Looking great as always-
"How's the family?"
Lily and her brothers quickly made their escape, leaving their father to stay afloat in the sea of wizarding bureaucrats.
"That sure happened fast," Albus said.
"It's gonna be a long night," Lily said.
"I'm going to see if they have any butterbeer," Albus said.
Lily leaned against the wall. James seemed to be looking through the crowd. Then he started waving.
"Hey Zeke, over here," he said.
Walking through the crowd, clad in dress robes was Ezekiel Lanza. He was taller than he was when Lily had seen him the previous winter. He was still an average height, which was unfortunately still taller than her. His hair was longer on one side, combed forwards over his forehead. His skin was tan, probably slightly more than Lily's friend Jane's.
"Hey James, hey Lily," he said.
"Good to see you, Zeke," said James.
"You too, this is bollocks! I've never been to anything this big before," said Zeke.
James shrugged. "Trust me, Ministry events get pretty boring after a while," he said. "Hogwarts puts things like this to shame."
"Speaking of Hogwarts, I got my letter today!" Zeke said.
"That's wicked man!" James said giving him a high five.
Lily mumbled something like "Congratulations," but Zeke didn't seem to hear her.
"So I'm wondering whether all the Squib students will be put in first year regardless of age," said Zeke.
"You better hope not," James said. "First years are pretty hard to take."
Meanwhile Albus came back with a glass of butterbeer.
"Hey Zeke," he said. "You guys should get a glass," he said.
Lily took the opportunity to leave the awkward situation. She swore while walking to the table. Why did she have to act so stupid around a boy she barely knew? She mentally steeled herself and walked back to Zeke and her brothers.
Suddenly a voice rang out from the podium.
"Your attention please," said the calm, deep voice.
Speaking with a Voice-Amplifying Charm was the Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt. Tall and imposing as always, he was dressed in purple robes and a fez.
"Today is the dawn of a new era in the Wizarding World," he started. "We want to welcome our brothers and sisters born without magic to the Magical community," he said. "You all have just as much of a right to be part of it as those born with magical abilities," he said.
Lily was only half focusing on the speech. Shacklebolt had started to go over some of the resources for the Squibs, mostly about adult education. She was more focused on James and Zeke.
"Once you're at Hogwarts, I'll get you acquainted with the Marauders," said James.
"Marauders?" Zeke asked.
"It's an open group that I've founded. We do a prank once a year," he said.
Lily groaned. After the disaster that had been last year's prank, she was staying as far away from her brother's "Marauders" group as possible. She then was taken back into the speech.
"… we in no way are forcing or even encouraging Squibs to become magic, but are committed to allowing those who make the choice to do so. To give you more information about the potion is the Chief Executive Wizard at Rubens Winikus and Company Potions Manufacturers, Rubens Winikus!
Shacklebolt stood aside as a short, owlish man walked up to the podium. He had thick glasses and dark, gelled hair. On first sight he seemed awkward, but this changed as he started to speak.
"Good evening," he said. "I have run a potions company for more than thirty years. For as long as I've run the company we've been committed to creating potions to cure magical disorders. I've always been irked by the condition of the Squib, those born to magical parents, but unable to do magic. Through years of research, we have produced 'the Potion of Magic'," he said.
This earned applause from throughout the room.
"Now with just one dose a month for a year, Squibs can make the transition to Wizards and Witches," he said. "My researchers spent years looking for a way to activate the magical genes…" he started before going into a long explanation of how the potion worked.
"Well that speech certainly took a turn for the worst," James said after a few minutes of this.
"How long will he keep going on like this?" Zeke asked.
"I don't think it'll be long now," James said, smirking.
Lily was about to ask what James meant when, on cue a wizard burst in, drenched from head to toe. Winikus stopped talking and everyone started whispering.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," he said. "But we need all the Magical Maintenance people downstairs. The fountain's gone haywire," he said.
Albus glared at James.
"James, that Knut you threw in?" Albus asked
"Was that a trick coin from WWW?" James asked. "Yeah, looks that way."