A new beginning?
The rest of the school year was the worst time Lily had ever had in her entire life. Sophie barely talked to her anymore, the marauders ignored her entirely. James didn't ask her out anymore, and the other boys avoided her. The climax (or rather anti-climax, since it was the deepest point in her journey down) was a letter she'd received this morning at breakfast, telling her that her father had been killed last night by a horde of Death Eaters. Her sister Petunia had been at her boyfriend's, so she'd survived. Lily had already talked to Dumbledore about her future, and it turned out her father had left the house and some money to her and her sister so that they could keep on living alone. They didn't really have any other choice, anyway. Their mother had died when Lily was a baby, and both parents didn't have any siblings. She felt strangely numb, for she hadn't even once cried the whole day through. She was too busy organising all kinds of stuff. She'd quickly flooed home to help her sister, but Petunia had assured her that she could do everything alone and that she'd already taken care of the funeral. Lily had been hoping that they would open up to each other again, something that hadn't happened anymore since they were ten, but she found her sister even more cold and distant, and so she'd returned. Now she was sitting by the lake, feeling as empty and lonely as she never had in her entire life. Not only had she now lost both her parents (and probably her sister, too, at least mentally), but she'd also pushed away the only friends she'd had. Thinking about the events that had led to it, she realized that the others had been right. She had gone too far. And worse: James had been right by calling her a slut. The way she played with his feelings and used other boys to make him even more jealous hadn't been right. Or the way she always made James reproaches for everything and wasn't willing to forgive him anything. The way she wasn't willing to readjust her picture of him. She really was biased, which made her no better than any of the Slytherins. Which reminded her of the terrible threat that was looming over them, the dark shadow that was Voldemort. It had been far away, only a danger to others, but not anymore. It had reached out for her, and sooner or later, it would come to get her.Suddenly a feeling of panic mixed with the loneliness and regret and the grief for her father washed over her, and she sank down onto the muddy earth, sobbing hysterically.
Suddenly, someone sat down beside her, laid an arm around her and began rubbing her back. Lily looked up into Sophie's blue eyes.
"Why are you here?" she asked, not sure whether she should be relieved or angry.
"I heard about your father, and I decided it was time to stop ignoring you. I'm still your friend, you know." That caused Lily to cry even harder. Sophie just pulled her head onto her shoulder and let her sob into her robes for a long time, until all of Lily's guilt and loneliness had been washed out. After that, they walked back up to the castle and went to dinner together. Everyone noticed how red and puffy Lily's eyes were, but no one said anything about it. From that day on, Lily and Sophie were inseparable again.
A/N: The song for this chapter is "I'll be there for you" by The Rembrandts. As some of you might know, it is the title songto my favourite ever TV show, Friends. Sorry this chapter is so short.
