Sorry that we missed a week; I've been at a leadership training. Hope the wait makes this even sweeter!

Summary: Soon-to-be seventh year Hogwarts student Lily Evans finds herself an orphan living with her best friend, Alice Fortescue. When fellow Gryffindor Frank Longbottom's parents buy Netherfield, a well-to-do house just up the street from the Fortescue's home of Longbourn, Lily finds herself caught between an overenthusiastic match-maker of a guardian, the unwanted attentions of her best friend's cousin, and Frank's snooty friend James Potter. Can Lily manage to navigate the treacherous waters of the upper-class wizarding world without making too much extra trouble for herself?

Chapter 4

We do not suffer by accident. It does not happen often that the interference of friends will persuade a young man of independent fortune to think no more of a girl, whom he was violently in love with only a few days before.

The final few weeks of summer went by quickly and with very little to-do. Charlotte and Florean went on their date, which led to a series of dates after which Lily and Alice typically got a doggie bag pint of ice cream flavors that Florean was using Charlotte to taste test. Quidditch practice became a chore, rather than something to look forward to doing. Frank's new girlfriend, Millicent Redgrave, started spending more time at Netherfield and that meant Alice was trying to spend less. Netherfield parties turned into something to put in an appearance at and then disappear as soon as Mrs. Fortescue would allow it.

The only event of note was when Lily and Alice, in order to keep Lily's promise to Mrs. Longbottom that she would acquire one of her mum's prized tulips, snuck into Lily's parents' house in the middle of the night. Lily had received a note from her sister, Petunia, the week before stating in no uncertain terms that Lily could not have a single one of the 'daffodils' because they were the only thing that offered Petunia comfort at the loss of her mother and their grandmother comfort over the loss of her daughter. Thus, Lily and Alice were forced to plot a secret foray into Rose Evans' greenhouses where they could liberate a healthy tulip plant on their own without Petunia being any the wiser.

"All we have to do is sneak up quietly, unlock the greenhouse with magic, transplant the tulip into a little pot, and then leave." Lily whispered as she and Alice hid behind the hedge around the corner from the house where Lily had grown up.

"Right. What could go wrong?" Alice asked rhetorically, following Lily up the street and into the yard. She found herself wishing she had bought that Deluminator that she'd seen on sale in Diagon Alley the previous week, the one that would have extinguished all the street lights so they could sneak around without possibly being seen. Alice, who had a hard time Disaparating under pressure, jumped at every tiny sound, positive that the Muggle policemen were about to haul them off to some big house. Lily had tried to explain that "big house" didn't mean a large mansion, but the finer points of Muggle society often escaped Alice.

Alice was so startled by a dog bark from the next street over that she didn't even notice when Lily stopped outside the greenhouse door to unlock it. She ran straight into Lily and knocked them both over, and, as it turned out the door wasn't locked, both girls landed inside the greenhouse with much more noise than the dog that had caused the incident made in the first place.

"Will you get a hold of yourself?" Lily hissed at her friend. "We're taking my mother's flowers, not robbing Gringotts."

"Do you think they heard?" Alice asked worriedly, looking frantically from window to window for any sign of light.

"No." Lily stood up and brushed the dirt off herself. "Grandmother is quite deaf and I suspect Petunia has been sneaking off to her boyfriend's house. Now come on."

Lily thrust a pot and a bag of potting soil into Alice's hands and headed off, indicating that her friend should follow. She lit her wand and peered carefully at the plants until she found a healthy looking one of the variety that Mrs. Longbottom had requested. She quickly took the pot from Alice, put a little soil in the bottom, dug up the tulip, and unceremoniously plopped it down in the pot.

"Herbology would be a lot more exciting if we did it your way in the middle of the night." Alice said as the girls were walking out of the greenhouse.

"Only if we had to sneak," Lily replied. "Nighttime has little effect on the tediousness of astronomy as we're allowed out at night past curfew then."

Alice was forced to concede this was the case. The girls headed back around the corner and Disaparated, the most exciting point of the clandestine event had been the dog barking that had scared Alice so badly on the way in. Lily rather thought presenting Mrs. Longbottom with the flower the next day was certain to be more nerve wracking than the mission to liberate it from the greenhouse had been.

"Hello, Mrs. Longbottom. I apologize for interrupting your gardening." Lily said early the next day, awkwardly holding the hastily repotted tulip and trying to look happy to be there. "I thought I should get this to you early so you would have a chance to plant it during your normal routine."

"Lily, how lovely to see you. I see you finally managed to remember you promised me one of your mother's tulips. What a lovely specimen. I have just the spot for that in my greenhouse." Mrs. Longbottom hopped up and strode off quickly to the greenhouse. Lily trailed along behind her carrying the tulip plant, assuming that was what was intended. Alice shot her a pleading look from where she stood with Frank, but Lily just shrugged and trudged ahead.

"That does not appear to be in the prime condition I remember being the standard for Rose Evans." Mrs. Longbottom said as she led the way into her greenhouse.

Lily awkwardly stopped just inside the door, nearly running into the back of Mrs. Longbottom. "No, ma'am. It would appear that my sister has greatly neglected the flowers. I expect the rest will be beyond saving."

"That is a shame." Mrs. Longbottom seized the tulip from Lily and quickly transplanted it into the raised flower bed. Instantly water shot out of the sprinkler nearby. "Handy charm; it monitors when the tulips are dry and always provides the exact right amount of water needed for optimum hydration. I invented it myself."

"Impressive." Lily said, surveying the water delivery system and then turning to get a good look at the surrounding tulips. "Mum would have loved the bright colors of this one, Mrs. Longbottom. You do have a gift. I am very relieved that you wanted one of Mum's prized tulips so that her years of work will survive for others to enjoy."

"I thank you for sharing it with me, Lily." Mrs. Longbottom really did offer Lily a small smile at that. Or rather, her lips turned upwards ever so slightly. "Do come check on it at Christmas. I expect that shall be long enough to have my first generation of cross bred flowers ready."

"Thank you, Mrs. Longbottom. I look forward to that." Lily said, then desperately tried to escape from the greenhouse in a manner which appeared leisurely but was actually a hasty retreat. She was certain that she had been much more relaxed burglar-ing the blasted flower in the first place.

Lily waved to Mrs. Longbottom and booked it over to where she could see Alice was growing ever more upset by the millisecond, though she doubted that Frank could see her friend was bothered at all. Lily cringed as she approached and realized that Frank was telling Alice about his latest date with Millicent and asking her for advice about dates that girls would really enjoy as Millicent never seemed to be satisfied with his choices. Lily knew it was her duty to quickly intervene, "Thank you for letting us in, Frankie. See you on the Hogwarts Express, yeah? We have to see a man about some ice cream."

"Oh, yes, that is today, isn't it?" Alice said quickly, linking her arm through Lily's for some desperately needed moral support. "Keep trying, Frank. You'll figure out what Millie likes eventually."

"Or you'll bore her to death." Lily muttered as soon as they were out of earshot.

"Really, Lily, Frank's date ideas sounded wonderful to me!" Alice replied, quick to defend him despite the fact that he had just been upsetting her by being incredibly insensitive enough to ask for dating advice from a girl who was clearly head over heels for him. "I think Millicent Redgrave is incredibly lucky."

"I think Millicent Redgrave is after his money." Lily said honestly, earning a reprimand from Alice.

The rest of the day passed in a flurry of packing trunks and last minute shopping excursions. Lily and Alice were up half the night throwing forgotten items into their trunks and dashing about searching for misplaced items. As they were up early the next morning to make the train, Lily was rather grumpier than usual when she finally placed her belongings on the train and emerged from the train in her robes to help usher younger students and their belongings onto the train. Lily pinned her Head Girl badge securely on her robes and headed over to give Mr. and Mrs. Fortescue a last hug.

"Did we mention how very proud of you we are for making Head Girl, Lily?" Mrs. Fortescue asked loudly, drawing curious looks from several nearby parents. "Just think, Mr. Fortescue, another Head Girl in the family! Mrs. Thomas is sure to keel over from jealousy. Her Charlotte never even made Prefect, and her boys are even worse."

"Another?" Mr. Fortescue replied, "It seems to me that Lily is the first female in this family with enough brains and common sense to be trustworthy enough to receive the position."

"Oh look," Mrs. Fortescue sniffed. "They've made that dreadful Potter kid the Head Boy. Make sure you show him up, Lily dear. You might not have enough sense to pursue Florean when he was so kind as to show an interest, but at least you have plenty of book smarts."

Lily tuned out the rest of what Mrs. Fortescue was saying to confirm that James Potter had, in fact, been made Head Boy on top of Quidditch Captain. Sure enough, he had two shiny badges gleaming from the front of his robes, apparent even from across the crowded platform where he was laughing with his friends. Lily turned to Alice, who had just walked up from stowing her own belongings on the train. With a flick of her eyes, Lily indicated where James was standing, and Alice's jaw dropped as she registered the cruel trick of fate that had just been played on her friend.

"Surely not." Alice said. "Dumbledore might be a bit dodgy, but surely even he isn't that mad. I was certain a requirement of being Head Boy is that you follow the rules. James doesn't believe they apply to him."

"Clearly this badge isn't as big of an honor as I always assumed." Lily sighed, feeling much as she remembered feeling when she realized the tooth fairy wasn't real. She bade farewell to Alice's parents and headed off across the platform, reminding various groups that the train was due to leave in five minutes.

"Lily!" Sirius Black exclaimed, giving her a quick hug. "I hardly saw you at the end of the summer! You and Alice never seemed to be around much."

"Avoiding it, really." Lily leaned closer to Sirius like she was telling him a secret, "Belton left on vacation and Potter tried to draft me to be her replacement in drills. Let me assure you that it went even worse than you are picturing in your head."

Sirius laughed and waved his friend Remus Lupin over from where Remus had been helping some first years throw their trunk on the train. "I'm sure that you weren't that horrid. I've never seen you do something less than excellently in your life."

"You are nearly perfect, Lily." Remus said, giving the girl a hug. It had been two months since they had seen each other. Lily noted that the full moon had just passed a few days ago, which explained Remus' haggard appearance. The poor young man was a werewolf, as if being a teenager wasn't difficult enough on its own. "I see you're Head Girl."

"Yes, and I confess that I am greatly disappointed that I am not sharing the post with you." Lily sighed. "I cannot believe that James Potter beat you out."

"Oh, give him a chance Lily. He really is a great friend." Sirius said before excusing himself to go and greet a sixth year Hufflepuff girl who had grown much more attractive over the summer. Lily watched with amusement, half wishing that she'd been greeted as enthusiastically.

"He is, you know." Remus said.

"Who is what?" Lily asked, having forgotten what exactly they had been speaking about before Sirius had dashed off. For someone who regularly dated, Sirius Black seemed oblivious to the fact that she was a female.

"James. He's a great friend. Just the other week he talked Frank Longbottom out of dating some girl whose family was only after his money. I don't know the details of who or why, but apparently her mother was a real nightmare."

"Oh, really?" Lily raised an eyebrow. "James Potter did that, did he?"

"Of course. James really looks out for his friends." Remus said. "We better get on the train."

"Right. I'm just going to grab Alice." Lily darted off, desperate to get away. She had never liked James Potter, as he had always been a rather arrogant prick who liked to tease her, but she had never in a million years guessed that he was responsible for Frank's 180 in attitude towards Alice. James Potter had been responsible for the loss of Alice's happiness, and that was far more unforgiveable than any amount of teasing that James Potter had ever done to Lily. Lily climbed on the train and moved quickly towards the lavatory, hoping to have a moment to compose herself before she sought out Alice in their compartment.

"Evans!"

Lily swore to herself. Trust James Potter to pop up when she least wanted to see him. Not that she ever truly wanted to see him. Still, he had seen her and unless she wanted him to know she was hiding from him in the loo, which she most certainly did not, then she would have to stop and talk to him about whatever it was that he so urgently needed at that moment in time that he would seek her out. "Potter."

"I see you made Head Girl, congratulations." James said.

Lily waited a moment, expecting him to continue with whatever had inspired him to seek her out in the first place, but he said nothing. "Thank you. Congratulations to you, too."

"Thank you." James said and then fell silent again. Lily looked at him, expecting him to finally spit it out as he opened and closed his mouth several more times. He was practically vibrating as he stood there, fingers drumming on his pant legs. Just as Lily had decided enough was enough and chosen to walk away instead of standing there awkwardly, James finally said what he'd planned on saying all along. "I like you, Lily. Despite all the reasons that I shouldn't and all my efforts to suppress my feelings."

Now whatever Lily had been expecting, this was not it. She felt her jaw drop, but was powerless to close it. She just stood there, gaping at him and wondering how someone was supposed to act, feeling much as if she were in a dream and watching this scene unfold with some fictitious version of herself at the epicenter. This, apparently, was enough encouragement for James to continue, and continue he did.

"I find I am likely expressing myself against the wishes of my family, my friends, and I hardly need admit, my better judgment. You have no family connections whatsoever, and as far as I can tell your family struggled financially and their only redeeming social quality appears to be your mother's talent with tulips. Frank assures me they are of the highest quality, as his mother lectured him on the subject extensively this summer. While your adoptive family is one of considerable prestige and lineage, I find they grate upon my nerves. So no advantage is to be gained from an alliance there, in fact it appears to be rather the opposite. Despite these facts, I have grown to greatly admire you. I find myself in the unique situation of asking seriously if you will agree to a date."

"Oh," Lily blinked, suddenly realizing that this was not some horrible dream that she was observing from afar, but a real life event that was happening to her at this very moment. Surprisingly, the only words that came to mind in the moment were ones that Mrs. Fortescue had drilled into Alice to use for the purpose of refusing unsuitable suitors several years previously. "I appreciate your honesty and apologize for any pain I may have caused you. It was entirely unintentional. However, I do have to decline."

James blinked at her, looking as if a rug had been pulled right out from under him. Lily thought him rather thick if he hadn't seen this coming, because he so clearly had rehearsed his speech to her. "You are laughing at me."

"No, and I won't laugh about this in the future either," Lily assured him.

"Then you are refusing me."

"Yes, that part is very much true. I do not know of a single woman with an ounce of self-confidence who would agree to date someone who so thoroughly assured her that he was asking against his better judgment."

"No, I didn't mean-"

"That alone is inexcusable, but I have other reasons. You know I have!" Lily's voice was beginning to rise in volume, and she fought to keep it low enough not to attract the attention of her peers. The only thing that would make this moment more unbearably embarrassing for the pair of them was if there were witnesses.

"What reasons?" James demanded, his temper getting the better of him. The pair were dangerously close to having another row of O.W.L. quality, which was the last time they had downgraded from bickering and snide comments to outright shouting.

"The fact that you have ruined, possibly forever, Alice's happiness!" Lily remembered herself midsentence and dropped her voice to a whisper. "You told Frank that she was only out for his money! That isn't true in the slightest. Alice Fortescue doesn't care one whit about money, she's had a crush on Frank for ages, long before his family moved to Netherfield house."

"Well, she could have fooled me!" James roared. Lily shushed him, and he managed to drop his volume to mimic Lily's enraged whisper. "She only talks to him about Quidditch, barely giving him answers when he asks her questions on other topics."

"Yes, but not because she doesn't like him. She does it because she's shy!" Lily just barely managed to keep herself from calling James a 'nincompoop.' She felt that not resorting to name-calling could be a sign of their growing maturity. Two years ago they both would have let multiple insults fly long before this point. "And what's more, don't think I've forgotten what a bully you were to a dear friend of mine in the past!"

"Are you talking about Severus Snape? The Death Eater that called you a Mudblood?" James laughed, but his laugh had no hint of humor in it. "You said yourself that he is no longer a dear friend. How can he possibly have anything to do with us now?"

"Simply the fact that you once played a horrible prank on him that nearly resulted in him being killed!" Lily put her hands on her hips. She was now fuming and she no longer cared who heard her shouting, so her volume was creeping back up so that it was in danger of attracting curious onlookers from all the nearby compartments. "I have no desire to associate with a person who would do such a horrid thing to another human being, regardless of my current friendship status with said human! Now, if you'll excuse me, I was on my way to the loo!"

Lily strode off, now so angry that she didn't even care if James Potter thought she was retreating into the lavatory to hide from him. After all, hiding in the loo was far superior to having to interact with him in this bizarre manner for another second. She strode into the lavatory and locked the door securely behind her before splashing handful after handful of cold water on her face. She stared into the mirror, water dripping down her face, and wondered what she could have possibly done to encourage two such insulting proposals in the span of a few short weeks.

Author's Note:

And they're officially back at Hogwarts! Plus, they had the big blow-up proposal, which is always my favorite scene. Leave me a review, let me know what you think!

Love from,

MotherCrumpet