Chapter Three

At the end of the year, I spotted Lily right away on the platform, even for all the other people swirling around. She made it quite easy with her bright red hair and jumping every three seconds to try to see over everyone else's heads. The moment the train stopped, she slipped out of Daddy's hand and raced to the door. Somehow, she managed to get to the right door, the one directly in front of the compartment I was sharing with my friends. I laughed and pulled open the door, anticipating the hug she came flying at me with.

After much laughter and hugging, we separated. To everyone's surprise but my own, Lily then hugged Marly and Lottie, just like she'd known them as long as I had. There was more laughing, and more hugging, and lots of promises of letters, before we finally managed to get off the train to where Mummy and Daddy were waiting. "Hello, darling," Mummy smiled, hugging me tightly. I hugged her back, trying to ignore the way her ribs stuck out a little bit more than they had at Christmas.

But I was wrapped in Daddy's arms before I could dwell on it much. "Ah, my Tunia, how I've missed you!" he cried dramatically, throwing one hand over his heart. "I don't know if I can bear to part with you next year!"

Lily and I giggled. "Daddy, you know I'll always come home for holidays," I reminded. "And I would have been gone for just as long if I had gone to Ashford's."

"I know, Pet, but it's still hard to be away from my girl for so long. You'll understand when you have little girls of your own someday," he said smiling. Then he quickly frowned. "But not too soon, you hear? No boys until you're thirty."

"Really, Roger. We have two beautiful daughters. I seriously doubt we'll be able to make it past their Third Years before boys start noticing them," Mummy teased. "If they haven't already. Who was that lovely boy in your compartment, Petunia?"

"Oh, that was Nic. He's my friend," I explained, then hurriedly added to it. "He's just my friend."

"Good," Daddy said gruffly. "And he'd better stay that way, too. No boyfriends for my girls."

…

Summer passed in a lovely blur. Lily and I played together every day, by the river on nice days, in the attic on rainy ones. Severus joined us more days than not, though he didn't play very much, but I tried not to mind. After all, Marly and Lottie came over quite often, as well, after Marly's mother helped us connect our fireplace to the Floo Network.

When August came rolling in like the air from an oven, so did my Hogwarts letter. Lily pouted for a moment, before I reminded her that she only had one more year before she could go, too. For the rest of the day, she chattered on about how much fun we would have together, once she was at school. And then the next week, we met Marly and Lottie, and their families, in Diagon Alley for school shopping.

Lily started the day sad, since Severus's mother wouldn't let him go to London with us, but she quickly perked up once we met up with the others. Soon enough, she was laughing and joking with Marly and oohing and awing over girly things with Lottie. I was so glad my friends had accepted her, but I shouldn't have been surprised. After all, Hufflepuffs are known for being accepting of everyone.

And then came my birthday. Lily woke me early by bounding onto my bed, the way we had forever for birthdays, it seemed. After giggling and tickling, we went downstairs to the delicious smell of Mummy making pancakes, my absolute favorite. There were presents, and cake, and a picnic in the park. And then, as a special surprise, that afternoon saw Marly, Lottie, and even Nic tumbling out of the fireplace. "You helped us celebrate our birthdays," Marly said logically. "We couldn't let you do it without us!"

I waited for a quiet moment with Nic before asking, "How did you manage to come? I mean, I know your mum doesn't like you being friends with-"

"I told her I was going to Marlene's, and since she's from a respectable Pureblood family, it was alright. I simply didn't tell her that wasn't the final stop of the afternoon," he answered with a sly grin, reminding me why he was in Slytherin.

Lottie spent the night, and she, Lily, and I stayed up giggling under the blankets in the attic. Lily pestered us for more stories about Hogwarts, until she said she finally felt like she'd been there with us. I eventually fell asleep, sandwiched between two of my closest friends.

My birthday marked a change. Now, the closer it got to school, the sadder Lily got. It wasn't a constant thing, but whenever she remembered I would be leaving, she would mope for a bit. Conversely, it seemed that Severus got more and more chipper. Or at least what passed for chipper for him. He quit glaring at me, settling for smugly smirking in my direction. I couldn't help but worry about Lily whenever I saw him.

The morning of September first dawned cold, but sunny. It seemed that the weather understood my mood perfectly. On one hand, I was terribly excited to go back to school and practice magic. On the other, I was already missing my family dreadfully. But the hustle of getting me to the train soon pushed it to the back of my mind.

We got to Platform 9 ¾ early again, but not quite as early as the year before. Now that we knew what to expect, it wasn't nearly as nerve-wracking. Once again, Daddy tugged my trunk onto the train, comically pretending to buckle under its weight. "What do you have in here, Tuney? A dead body?"

"Nope, just books," I replied cheerfully. "Lots of books."

"You are definitely your mother's daughter," he grinned, ruffling my hair.

Soon enough, Marly and Lottie showed up with their families. Mummy and Daddy chatted with their parents, while we spent the last few minutes trying to cheer Lily up. "We'll send you loads of letters," Lottie promised.

"And before you know it, it'll be next year and you can come, too!" Marly added.

"And no matter what, you'll always be my best friend," I whispered in her ear, hugging her tightly.

The train whistle sounded, and those of us heading to Hogwarts gave last minute hugs and promises to behave. We crowded onto the train, waving as it left the station. Then we girls sank into the cushions in our compartment. Not five minutes passed before Nic found us. "Sorry about that," he said, meaning the fact that he hadn't joined us earlier. "Mum still doesn't like that fact that you lot aren't, well, you know," he finished lamely, looking a bit ashamed.

"It's alright, Nic," Lottie assured. "Now, who's up for some Exploding Snap?"

…

That year started off quite similar to my first. The only noticeable difference was that Lucius Malfoy, the older boy who had tormented me, was now more vocal about his Pureblood ideology. And more prone to bullying, but only when there wasn't a teacher around. And he knew terrible jinxes, which meant no one wanted to stand up to him. Except one.

"Honestly, Lucius, you don't have to pick on every Mudblood you see," Andromeda Black said wearily. "He's done nothing to you."

The he in question was a tiny First Year Ravenclaw. The girls and I had been walking from the Great Hall to the library one September Saturday afternoon to study, and we witnessed the boy accidentally step in front of Malfoy, who then began ranting about the boy's unworthiness to even walk Hogwarts' halls, before Andromeda stopped him. He then turned on her. "You're taking his side?" he nearly screamed at her.

"No," she replied cooly. "I just don't think it's worth it to terrorize First Years."

Before Malfoy could blink, Andromeda stalked off down the hall, perfectly poised as usual. Every person in the hall stared after her, some in awe, some in anger. Then, we quickly scattered, not wanting to be in Malfoy's general vicinity when he blew up.

"I don't understand the Pureblood thing," Marly said later, once we were safely away from Malfoy. "I mean, I'm a Pureblood, and I'm not better than you, Petunia. In fact, you're better at everything! Except flying, of course," she added teasingly.

It was true. In almost every class, I got better marks than Marly. And I was terrible at flying. But before I could reply, Lottie said, "Speaking of flying, are we going to the match tomorrow?"

And before I could groan, Marly immediately said, "Of course!"

"But why?" I whined. "It's not even Hufflepuff playing!"

"It's Quidditch," Marly said, like that should explain everything. "If I don't go, Max will be upset that I didn't go to see him, even if he is only a Reserve," she continued, referring to her older Gryffindor brother. "And I need to watch the opposition and study their moves if I'm going to know how to beat them next year when I make the team."

So that was how I found myself going to the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin match, the first of the year. We sat with Nic, since Slytherins usually got along with Hufflepuffs, but we got dirty looks every time Marly cheered for Max, who'd gone in after the starting Gryffindor Keeper took a Bludger to the head five minutes in. "Just how many brothers have you got, McKinnon?" Nic asked incredulously.

"Seven," she sighed. "And I'm the only girl. Go Max!" she then screamed, cheering her brother on.

"Now you understand why she likes Quidditch so much," Lottie giggled.

The match wasn't terribly long, and for once, I didn't wish to be somewhere else. "I think all those long Quidditch rants you give have finally done some good," Lottie teased Marly. "It looks like Pet has finally caught on."

I blushed, but it was true. For once, the figures flying above me made some semblance of sense. I found myself following the Chasers the most, since they seemed to be the ones who had the most to do. "The Prewetts have to be the best Chasers in Hogwarts, and they're only Third Years," Marly told me, noticing my attention. "They're twins, and it's like they can read each other's minds. Ollie used to hate playing them as Keeper, because just when you think you've gotten the better of one, the other shows up out of nowhere."

I watched the Prewetts for the rest of the match, and it did seem like they knew what the other was thinking at all times. And when one was in trouble, the other was always right there to help.

But even though the Prewett twins scored one hundred and ten points between the two of them, the match went to Slytherin, who cheered so loudly around us, I thought my ears might burst. And then the Slytherin Seeker, who'd just caught the Snitch, was thrown onto shoulders and carried back to their common room. "Well, girls, it's been fun," Lottie said. "But I think we should go back in now. Before it starts to rain."

That match was a turning point for me. What had once been a confusing game with far too many players and balls to keep track of, now became something entertaining, exciting. I still couldn't fly, even to save my life, but Lottie and I started helping Marly train. She was determined to become the Seeker the next year, once our current Seeker graduated. We would spend nearly every free moment we could outside, simply throwing balls or other small objects for her to catch. And sometimes Nic would even join us, flying at her so she could learn to avoid other players. I think he had a bit too much fun trying to scare her, though. His delighted laughs always lasted quite a while.

Lily also loved hearing about Quidditch, though she agreed that it wasn't really something either of us should play.

It would be really silly, Tuney, since we're both afraid of heights. But I can't wait to go to matches with you! And Sev, of course. I think he would like Quidditch, don't you?

I personally couldn't agree, but I didn't tell Lily that. I couldn't see the surly little boy liking anything, other than my sister.

…

Christmas holidays came and went with the usual fervor and delight. Lily, of course, wanted to hear about everything that had happened at Hogwarts, and even though I had already told her through my letters, I told her everything again.

And Severus Snape was a near constant in our house, though he never participated in any activity. When my friends from school came to visit, both Lottie and Marly tried very hard to be kind and friendly, but to no avail. But he and Nic took an instant dislike to each other. The rest of the visit was filled with them sniping at one another, trying to outdo the other's sarcasm. Finally, Mummy had enough and sent Lily and Sev upstairs to the attic, while the rest of us stayed downstairs. Nic seemed far too pleased with himself at that.

…

Back at school, life went on as usual. The girls helped me get Lily's birthday present by owl-order, a pretty locket engraved with lilies. Lottie and I helped Marly train, even with snow on the ground. I got rather good with warming charms, mostly to survive. But I was still grateful when spring finally arrived.

One Sunday in April, Lottie and I were once again helping Marly train. After nearly an hour on the Quidditch pitch, we were tired from throwing balls in every which direction. Marly, however, was not. "C'mon, girls, you can't give up now!" she encouraged. "How am I ever going to be as good as Glynnis Griffiths if I don't train?"

This was the fourth time that afternoon she had mentioned her idol, the legendary Seeker for the Holyhead Harpies, and it was beginning to grate. "You're the one training, not us," Lottie grumbled, halfheartedly throwing a golf ball in the air.

But then I had an idea. "Wingardium Leviosa," I whispered, and the various balls we'd been using rose into the air as one.

"Perfect, Pet!" Marly giggled, immediately going after the farthest ball from her.

We were laughing at her enthusiasm when some of the Gryffindor team came on the pitch. "Marlene, what are you doing?" Max asked her, incredulous.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" she yelled back, not breaking her concentration on the ball until it was in her hand. "Training for next year."

"But it looks like you're training for Seeker," Max said dumbly. "What about Keeper?"

It was a well-known fact throughout Hogwarts that all the McKinnons were some of the best Keepers the school had ever seen, and had been for generations. Most of her brothers who had graduated already had received offers to play professionally. What wasn't as well known was that Marly wanted to stand out from her brothers in as many ways as possible.

"I want to be a Seeker. That's where the glory comes," she replied, landing lightly by us.

Two laughs broke Max's dumbfounded expression. "If she wants to be a Seeker, let her, McKinnon. After all, Godric knows how many of you have been Keepers. Maybe it's time to branch out."

It was one of the Prewett twins, though I wasn't sure which. They just looked too much alike. And then the other picked up where the first left off. "And it looks like she's a pretty good Seeker, at that. But it's our time on the Pitch, little Huffles. We've got it booked, and we can't have you all spying on us for your team," he said with an easy grin.

"It wouldn't help our team anyway," Lottie said with an answering grin. "They're all rubbish this year."

The Gryffindors laughed. "That's true. Now, whose idea was it to Levitate all the balls for McKinnon here?" the first Prewett twin asked.

"Mine," I answered, a bit shyly. After all, they were all Third Years, and rather popular. Not to mention, attractive.

"That was a good idea. We'll have to tell Carter about that one. Nice going, Huffle," Prewett Number One said with a wink in my direction. My face instantly flamed, but he kindly didn't mention it.

We girls went inside after that, leaving them to their practice. "Did you see Max's face?" Marly crowed. "It was priceless! I haven't been able to surprise any of my brothers like this ever!"

"Did you see the Prewetts?" Lottie asked. "They are so handsome! And one of them even winked at you, Pet!"

Once again, my face flamed. "He was just teasing me, Lottie," I replied, trying to brush it off like it hadn't sent a thrill down my spine.

It didn't work. For the next few weeks, every time we even saw a glimpse of a dark head of hair, both girls would immediately start to tease me. Frankly, I wouldn't have been surprised if the whole school knew that I supposedly had a crush on one of the Prewett twins. I didn't, of course, but that didn't matter, not to Lottie and Marly.

AN: I am so sorry it's taken me so long to update. Life's been a bit crazy, and I'm a huge slacker. But I'm putting myself on a schedule for writing, so updates will be more frequent. Also, I did edit a bit, changing just a few things, mostly to keep things canon.

I do want to thank you all for reading, and a big shout out to all who reviewed/followed/favorited. It totally makes my day getting those little emails!

Look for the next chapter of What Now Is in the next few days!