Time to subject the babies to some sadness lol whoops
As September began to fly by, the Lily and her friends fell into a routine. On weekdays, Faye would wake the group up at six (much to Artemis' complaints), and they would go down to breakfast. There, they would use their spoons to fling food at each other, and generally cause trouble. Eden Smith (as it turns out was her last name), the girl with the tan skin and green eyes who had scolded Lily on their first night, would always roll her eyes and scoff.
After breakfast, they would go down to history of magic, a class they shared with the Ravenclaws. It was dreadfully dull, to the point that even the most studious Ravenclaws would fall asleep. Because it was right after breakfast, Lily often found herself dozing in the class. Baylee would try to keep up, considering she was completely new to this world, but she was just as lost.
After that, the four girls would head down to the dungeons for potions. Lily found herself quite good at it, considering all the times she'd spend cooking with her father. Professor Hawkins was a kind young witch, head of Slytherin house, and had just recently taken over Professor Slughorn's place. The only problem with the class, however, was that the Hufflepuffs shared it with the Gryffindors. Most of them weren't all bad, but Seamus, the boy who Baylee had bumped into, was awful. He would always show off his skills ("my father is a world famous potioneer, you know."), and Lily always wanted to curse his mouth shut whenever he opened it.
Violent for a Hufflepuff, but Lily didn't care.
Herbology was next, and Faye had a natural talent for it. Lily had never successfully kept a plant alive, but Professor Longbottom (Uncle Neville at home) was always kind enough to help. Baylee and Artemis weren't good at it either, and Faye would usually have to discreetly help them when the Professor wasn't looking.
Charms was fun in theory, but Lily was awful at it. Artemis, on the other hand, was naturally gifted. She would be able to get the spells on her first try, resulting in cheers from Lily, Baylee, and Faye. Artemis would soak up the positive attention with a happy smile and a giggle. This class was also shared with Gryffindors, and it was always satisfying to see Seamus' face turn bright red in anger whenever Artemis would wink at him when she got a spell right.
Lunch would be next, and Lily would stop at the entrance hall to talk with Albus and James for a bit. They'd ask how she was doing, if she was adjusting well enough, and the redhead was struck by how they actually wanted to know if she was okay. Lily told them as much one day, and Al laughed while James rolled his eyes and said, "you're our little sister Lils, of course we care."
After lunch, Lily and her friends would go to transfiguration, which was hands down her favorite class. The headmistress still taught it, and Lily absolutely adored her. Professor McGonagall had visited Lily's parents a lot when she was younger, and the eleven year old remembered that the older woman would turn into a cat and let Lily pet her. Their first lesson was to turn a piece of wood into a sewing needle, something that Lily did perfectly on the first try. Even she hadn't expected it. The professor had looked at Lily, a small smile on her face, and told her, "you seemed to of inherited your transfiguration skills from your grandfather."
Lily almost cried right there, but she'd never admit that.
James Fleamont Potter, the man her brother was named after, her granddad, and the man she'd never get to meet. The man her own father didn't really know. When Lily was old enough, her parents finally sat her down and told her about Voldemort. How he'd gone to Godric's Hollow (the place they'd visit every November 1st) and killed her grandparents in cold blood, but that since her gran had sacrificed herself, her father lived. Her father told her everything he knew about Lily's namesake, how she was kind and caring, but had a fire inside her, and that she'd be very proud of the girl Lily was becoming. Lily had actually cried that time.
Defense against the dark arts was something that wore Lily out quickly. It was extremely high paced, and Lily could only do so much after a long day. Baylee was a natural. She had been nervous at first, but she quickly found out that she was just as good as the rest of them, if not better. Professor Patil was an extremely talented witch, and had worked with the school for years. When she showed the class her Patronus at their request, she had winked at Lily and told her that it was something taught to her by her dad.
Finally dinner would come around, then bed, and the four girls would be exhausted. Baylee would always be the first to crash, followed by Faye. Lily and Artemis would stay up and talk most nights, until they couldn't keep their eyes open.
On a Saturday near the end of September was when Artemis got the letter.
"SORTED INTO THE HOUSE OF PANSIES AND PUSHOVERS," a voice shrieked, "AND CONSORTING WITH MUDBLOODS? WE OUGHT TO BRING YOU STRAIGHT HOME. YOU'VE BROUGHT DISGRACE TO THE FAMILY NAME, ARTEMIS BELLATRIX ROSIER! CONSIDER YOURSELF LUCKY YOUR MOTHER AND I AREN'T THERE TO DEAL WITH YOU OURSELVES."
A silence enveloped the dining hall, and the three girls looked to Artemis with wide eyes. Artemis herself watched as the howler tore itself to shreds, and her bottom lip wobbled. Lily heard an obnoxious laugh from the Gryffindor table, and saw Seamus pointing at Artemis and whispering to his friends, who all started to laugh too. The majority of the Hufflepuff table glared at him, which made him recoil slightly. Lily turned to Artemis, but she was quickly running out of the room.
"Artemis!" Faye called, as Baylee shouted for her to wait. The three of them took off without a second thought.
They found Artemis in an alcove near the stairs, hiccuping as tears ran down her face. Lily grabbed her hand and coaxed her out, and when she stepped towards them, they pulled her into a hug.
"I'm s—sorry, I just—"
"Shut up Artemis, it's not your fault." Faye cut her off, her tone fierce, and Artemis broke into a fresh round of sobs.
The weeks passed quickly after that. By the end of the first day, however, the entire school had heard about how Artemis Rosier had received a howler from her blood supremacist family. Seamus had made it his point to tease Artemis about it every opportunity he got, until Lily had enough and punched him hard enough to break his nose.
The detentions were completely worth it.
In October, Lily was glancing through the Prophet when she saw it. It was a small column, but still there. Bold letters spelled out:
FIVE MUGGLEBORNS DECLARED MISSING
Lily's eyes went wide, and she silently passed the Prophet to Faye. Faye bit her lip as she read the words, her eyebrows furrowing in concern.
"What is it?" Baylee asked, and Lily turned to Faye.
"Five muggleborns have gone missing." Faye replied quietly, her dark eyes sympathetic.
"Why does it matter that they're muggleborn? There's nothing wrong with that!" Baylee exclaimed, and Artemis sighed.
"You're right, there isn't. But some people disagree. Some people think your blood is dirty, and that you don't belong in the wizarding world." Artemis said quietly, uncharacteristically still. Baylee's face turned ashen, and Artemis grabbed her hand.
"They're wrong, of course. But they're also dangerous."
"Baylee, you're a witch, aren't you?" Lily interrupted, and Baylee nodded shakily, so Lily replied with, "then you're supposed to be here."
"I know, it's just—I know it's silly, but I'm scared." Baylee whispered, and Faye shook her head.
"It's not silly. You have every right to be scared. But we're your friends, and we'll protect you." She said, and Baylee smiled softly.
"I'll write my dad. He's an auror, he should know what's going on." Lily declared, and the three girls nodded.
Lily had no idea what was going on, or what would happen, but she knew she'd look out for her friends. That's what Hufflepuffs did.
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