Chapter 9: Kindness is Free

Lily wanted time to freeze, she didn't want the end of the week to come. She felt like a coward but she also wanted to never have to see the look of disappointment on James Potter's face when he finally made the connection. She could just imagine how upset he'd be to know that all three witches he thought he fancied were all lying in some form or another. Especially the version of Lily that had kissed him at the ball.

Lily sat at the quidditch shop going through pre Christmas inventory and waiting to hear back from Quidditch Connections. Honestly, Quidditch Connections was the only thing keeping Lily from attempting to jump off the edge of the house when she was at home listening to Lyra harp on Petunia. It had been over three weeks since Lily sent in her article on female seeker Marieka Corber and she still hadn't heard anything. She was starting to believe Scarlet had delivered the post to the wrong magazine. Lily was okay with the distraction, as James Potter's wand was a dangerous topic to think about, so she continued throwing herself into her work to avoid the eventual confrontation.

Lyra had Lily working doubles but because of the circumstances, Lily didn't mind. Lily woke up early and made her way to the shop with nothing but an apple and a prayer James wouldn't show up. She's never been such a coward before but James somehow managed to intimidate her normal prickly personality. Lily didn't even know what she'd say to James when he finally confronted her.

"Hey, I know this is a little confusing but I wasn't try to follow you around or kiss you."

No that made it sound like she didn't want to talk to him or kiss him.

Lily happened to be partial to both those things, especially kissing him.

Everyday Lily quietly ate her small lunch on the counter and stared out her father's shop windows. She wondered, with each passing hour, how much longer she'd be able to work under Lyra. Lily had a feeling that everything she'd worked to save was going to be taken from her. She grew more depressed with each passing day.

On the second day of Lily's double, Anni stopped by the shop, confusion written on her face as she unwrapped her scarf from around her neck. Anni's hair was curled prettily and she was wearing make up, something Lily hardly ever saw her in. Anni's eyes searched the shop and she seemed to relax when she spotted Lily at the counter going through small toy brooms.

"Lily!" Anni sighed, "oh, thank Merlin, Lyra told me not to come in and I got worried that she found something out!"

"No it's fine." Lily hugged Anni over the counter, "Lyra doesn't know anything. Yet."

Anni's brows furrowed as she pulled away from Lily's hug, "Yet?"

Lily put one of the toy brooms into a wrapped box, "there's been a lot of complications since the ball."

"It's been three days." Anni half laughed, "What could've possibly happened?"

"You forget how easily I attract trouble." Lily said as she picked a stray piece of straw off one of the brooms.

"If Lyra doesn't know about you sneaking into the party or flying the broom then why on earth did she tell me not to come in?" Anni asked, crossing her arms.

"Lyra's pissed at me for arguing with her, that's why I'm stuck here." Lily explained, "not because she recognized me at the ball."

"What were you arguing about?" Anni asked.

"She did find out that I'm the one who sold James the Silver Star." Lily said, "She wanted to know why I didn't tell her and was annoying me so I was a little short with her."

Anni played with her necklace, "so you think she'll go to James? That's why she'll find out soon?"

"No," Lily said sourly, "She'll find out soon because James is going to connect the dots and realize I'm a liar."

Anni opened her mouth to likely argue with Lily but before she could even get one word out, Lyra waltzed through the front door of the shop. She was wearing her best robes and a smirk that aimed to make every person within her vicinity fell lesser than they really were. Anni bit her tongue down instantly, likely to complain out loud at Lyra's impeccable timing. Lyra's nostrils flared when she saw Lily wasn't alone in the shop.

A few customers, who had been exsaming robes near the back, looked up as Lyra barked at her two workers, "Anni, I told you that your services weren't necessary this month."

Anni blinked carefully, "Unless it escaped you knowledge, Lyra, some of us have to work to afford to keep our homes."

"Well blame Lily," Lyra said casually, walking towards them with an air of control.

"Anni did nothing wrong!" Lily said venomously, "let her have half of my shift pay, I'll work for free."

"Well," Lyra said examined her fingernails like she had dirt under them, "If it's that important to you, then I'll pay Anni your wage."

Anni had none of it, "Just give me back my normal shifts, Lyra!"

"I'm sorry," Lyra's eyes flashed at Anni, "Perhaps it's time you got a new job."

Lily felt red flash across her cheeks, "Lyra! You can't fire Anni! She's been in this shop since my father opened it!"

Lyra narrowed her eyes, "I'm temporarily removing her from service to teach you a lesson."

"Give Anni my pay then," Lily begged, "Please."

"Save it Lily," Anni said unhappily, "Craig and I will figure out rent."

"I already said you could have Lily's wage," Lyra waved dismissively at Anni, "Now Lily, come with me to the back, we must talk."

Lily paled and exchanged a look with Anni.

Had James skipped Lily and gone stright to her stepmother?

Lily chewed on her lip as she followed her stepmother to the back storage room. Lyra didn't bother closing the door and Lily saw Anni trying to peek at them from the register. A few guests glanced through the door as they continued browsing. Lily turned back to Lyra, face pouted in a frown that made it clear she felt she was being unjustly punished.

Lily watched as Lyra pulled a blue tinged parchment from her robes. It was folded professionally and as Lyra lifted the edges Lily saw it had purple wax on it, already broken from someone reading it. Lyra watched Lily's face the whole time, as if waiting for something.

"I'm afraid this bad news came in the owl post today." Lyra didn't bother lowering her voice and Lily imagined everyone outside could hear what was happening in the store room.

"Bad news?" Lily slipped one hand on her hip so as not to seem too uptight, "What's happened?"

Lyra cleared her throat, "This arrived for you via owl...it's from Quidditch Connections."

Lily pushed her hair back and stared at Lyra in horror, "Why is it bad?"

Lyra heald out the parchment for Lily to take but Lily just stood there shaking her head in disbelief. There was no way she could ruin her chances with James as well as ruin her career all in the same week, even Lily didn't believe life could get so grey. Karma had a funny way of coming back to bite a witch.

"I-what?" Lily couldn't form a complete sentence, she just stood there in her self doubt, smothered by her own insecurities.

Lyra tossed the paper at Lily who stumbled to catch it and read the first sentence, "I expect this to be a reminder that you'll never make it anywhere in life but this shop and that you're lucky to have this job."

Lily swallowed thickly. With shaking hands, she held the blue parchment up to her face, her chin wobbling, as she read the truth for herself.

Dear Ms. Evans,

Thank you for your submission to Quidditch Connections. Your submission did not make it past the editor's desk. Thank you for your time.

Mafalda Hopkins

Assistant to the Editor at Quidditch Connections

Lily crumpled the paper in her hands and the tears that had been coming one at a time were not coming like a river down her face as she watched Lyra's feet carrying her back to the door. Lily's shaking legs could no longer hold the force of sadness pressing down on Lily's shoulders and she dropped to her knees.

"For Merlin's sake Lily," Lyra snapped at the door, "Get yourself up off the floor and stop being so dramatic. It's not the end of the world. You look pathetic."

Lily dropped the paper on the floor and stared at Lyra through her fingertips, disappointment shooting through every pore. Without holding back, words came tumbling out of Lily's mouth, words she couldn't take back. Words that meant to make Lyra feel guilty for all that she had done.

"Why?" Lily asked, "Why are you so mean? I don't understand it!"

"How dare you." Lyra pulled at her robes so they no longer dragged on the ground, as if Lily was crying right onto the fabric.

"I tried from the first day you showed up at the train station with my father." Lily cried, "He wanted us to be a family. I tried to make my father proud. I tried to be kind to you."

"You?" Lyra's eyes flashed, "Tried to be kind to me?"

"Yes." Lily slammed her fists on her legs angrily, "and no one deserves to be treated as you have treated me and Anni or even your own daughter! Why do you do it? Why are you so cruel?"

Lyra didn't answer, sainted she simply walked out, leaving the door to slam behind her. Lily took a wavering breath as she watched Lyra walk down the street as Anni came rushing in. She fell to the floor with Lily and covered her cheeks with her callused hands.

"What happened?" Anni demanded fiercely, "What did she say to you?"

Lily sobbed, leaning into Lyra's shoulder, "I don't know what to do."

Anni wrapped her arms empathetically around Lily and rocked her, "Shhh."

"My career." Lily cried into Anni's shoulder, "Anni-it's over! Everything is over!"

"Your career?" Anni brushed Lily's hair from her wet cheeks, "What the Hell are you on about Lily Evans?"

"Quidditch Connections didn't like my article on Marieka Corber." Lily gasped, "They rejected it. I spent months working on it!"

"I read that essay!" Anni implored, "It was amazing!"

"Well they didn't think so." Lily sniffled in Anni's arms, "They thought it was a dud. I've failed."

"Lily Evans," Anni whispered furiously, shaking her finger swiftly, "You did not fail."

"I can't write, I can't stop getting in trouble!" Lily sucked in a sharp breath and then choked on another sob.

Anni pulled back and smacked Lily's wet cheek with her fingers, lightly, to get Lily to look at her, "You are a victim of circumstance. If anything you should be blaming me, since I convinced you take that broom for a spin."

Lily shook her head, "No, no, this is my fault. Lyra was right. I'm never going to leave this shop and I'll be stuck selling broomstick service kits for the rest of my life."

"You better not start listening to that woman," Anni chastised, "Especially now."

"I should've never taken that broomstick out. I've ruined everything."

"You haven't ruined everything and you have not failed." Lyra repeated heatedly, "How could you even say that? Everything you've done was for a good reason. Lily, you helped me keep my job and you wrote a kick ass article. It's not your fault that Quidditch Connections couldn't see that or that James Potter spotted you riding a brand new broom in the middle of nowhere.."

"I lied about all of it though Anni, I lied to everyone to cover our tracks." Lily swallowed and her throat felt like it was closing up, "I lied to Sirius. I lied to Lyra. I lied to Sophie. I mean, I even lied to myself!"

"Lily-"

"And I especially hate that I lied to James. I lied to him and now he's never going to speak to me again." Lily wiped face on her sleeve, "What am I going to do Anni?"

Anni sighed, "Your broom has hit the pitch, Lily and the only direction your broom can go now, is up."

Lily curled her knees up to her chin, trying to stall the tears floating in her eyes. Anni was rubbing her back, looking very sympathetic.

"Come on." Anni said, tugging on Lily's arm, "get up."

"Why?"

"We're going to do what your dad would've done if he were here."

"What's that?" Lily sniffed, wiping her nose on her sleeve.

"You're going to the Quidditch Connections office and asking Mafalda Hopkins exactly what she didn't like about your article." Anni tugged even harder on Lily's arm, "Come on, Evans' aren't quitters."

"No," Lily moaned, shifting her weight against Anni "I don't want to-"

"Any feedback," Anni said forcefully, "Is good feedback, it took me seven rounds to get picked for professional quidditch. Don't ever give up."

"I can't leave the shop." Lily said, "Lyra's stuck me here all afternoon."

"Lyra won't know."

Lily eyed Anni from the floor disparagingly, "This is exactly how we got into the James Potter mess."

"It's fine. Lily," Anni pushed at her, "Go on, it'll take you thirty minutes tops. The shop is right next to Gringotts, where Witch Weekly and Popular Potions is stationed."

Lily did as she was told, if only because Anni was likely about to drag Lily there herself and leave the quidditch shop empty for thieves to steal all the broomsticks. Lily waited for some of the red to leave her face and so she wasted a bit of time lacing up her cloak by the door. Lily was about to walk out when Anni whistled at her. Lily turned to look at the counter and Anni threw something at her.

Sloppily, Lily caught James' wand and her hand wrapped awkwardly around the thick handle. It still felt so weird to carry someone else's wand. His was so much thicker than hers and she hated it. She missed the willowy feel her wand had.

"Don't forget your wand." Anni chastised, "That would be very bad."

"You have no idea." Lily mumbled as she opened the door to leave the quidditch shop.

Lily shoved James' wand into her pocket alongside the rejection letter from Quidditch Connections. Outside, a light snowfall had started, leaving flakes of white in Lily's hair. The bitter cold cut through Lily's cloak and she wished she'd grabbed her thicker cloak at home. The street was lined with people getting an early start to Christmas shopping and christmas music was even floating out of some of the warm shops that she passed.

Quidditch Connections was run out of a building that served multiple magazine operations. It was the same building that Witch Weekly was run out of, as well as a few other popular wizarding subscriptions. Owls floated lazily in and out the windows of the building as Lily walked closer, her hands stuffed in her pockets. Someone had already hung a wreath at one of the doors and a few wizards were outside smoking. One of them eyes Lily up and down piggishly and she tried not to look his way.

A stone gargoyle watched Lily as she climbed the staircase to a second level door that was propped open, allowing the warmth of the building to seep out. Nobody stopped Lily as she walked through the door and started reading the office titles that were printed out in gold lettering on the frosted windows.

She passed the Witch Weekly headquarters and heard a bunch of laughter and talking coming through those windows and doors. On the other side was a studio for the wizarding radio station that Sirius liked to listen too. Lily kept making her way down the hallway, waiting to find Quidditch Connections doorway. Before Lily made it to the end of the hallway where it forked left and right to more offices, a surprised voice called out from behind her.

"Lily?"

Lily turned to find Sophie Turner exiting one of the many doors in the long hallway. She was wearing a sparkling red gown that hugged her shoulders and flowed out elegantly behind her. Her hair was fashioned in curls around her face that made her appear angelic. A few other models were crossing the hall. They were all dressed in various red, green and silver gowns. Sophie, the only one who paused, tilted her over-made face at Lily in confusion and the sparkled on her green eyeshadow made her appear even more puzzled. Lily wiped at her cheeks, hoping it didn't look like she'd been crying. Sophie saw right through Lily's facade and left the group of girls to meet Lily down the hallway with a concerned expression.

"Why do you look upset?" Sophie asked, holding the skirts of her gown off the ground, "What are you doing on this side of town?"

Lily pushed back her hair as she shrugged and said weakly, "I just got a letter from Quidditch Connections that my article wasn't picked up."

"What?" Sophie pouted her sparkling red lip, "Why not?" she asked in her familier whine, "I loved your article!"

"I don't know," Lily confessed, sighing deeply again, "I came here to ask them why."

Sophie nodded before looking back to see that her fellow models had abandoned her. Lily wondered if they were shooting for the special edition christmas edition of Witch Weekly. When Lily looked closer at Sophie's gown she saw it was embroidered with poinsettias. Sophie sparkled with every small movement.

Sophie was apologetic as she backed away from Lily slowly, "I'd go with you but we've got one of the spreads to photograph," she said, "So come find me after you talk to them?"

"Yeah," Lily promised as Sophie grabbed Lily's hand to squeeze it before racing back to the other doors.

Sophie called to Lily, "We'll be in studio 28!"

Lily settled her nerves as she continued her trek to the end of the hallway where one of the frosted windows was painted with the words Quidditch Connections. Lily opened the door and found herself in a well lit office covered in christmas decor. A blond woman sat at a desk covered in fairy lights. The desk blocked anyone from entering the door behind the woman, a door that likely led to the main offices of Quidditch Connections. The blonde woman looked up and smiled kindly when she spotted Lily closing the office door carefully.

"How can I help you?" the woman asked cheerfully, fluffing her hair.

"Hi," Lily said nervously, resisting the urge to play with her own hair, "My name is Lily Evans. I sent in a article for review and I just got a letter saying that it wasn't accepted for publishing so I wondered if there was someone I could speak too for feedback?"

The woman smiled sympathetically, "Oh honey," she cooed, "We get hundreds of submissions every week, just keep trying, okay?"

"So there's no one I can talk to?" Lily's shoulders dropped, "Even for feedback?"

Blondie shook her head, her scarlet lips curved politely, "no, sweetheart," she said, almost condescendingly, "not unless you were invited for feedback from one of the editors, I'm sorry."

"Oh," Lily tried not to let her voice shake, "Okay. Thanks anyways."

The women smiled, "Better luck next time. Merry Christmas, love."

Lily clenched her teeth together as she turned awkwardly to walk back out the door she entered. When the door closed behind her with a snap, Lily stood in the hallway, just staring at her feet. Lily had really thought that her article was good enough to be published because it was different from all the other articles Quidditch Connections was publishing.

Or maybe that was just the problem.

Maybe it was too different.

With a deep sigh, Lily started forward again and counted off the numbers on the doors until she came upon the door that Sophie said she'd be working behind. Lily could hear talking through the door labeled 28B so she took a chance and opened the door slowly. She was instantly hit with wafting heat and the scent of pine.

Inside the warm room there was a scenic set. It was littered with white snow and pine trees that were decorated with tinsel and white globes. A group of about fifteen girls sat around the trees, each of them offering their own pose as a man behind a old fashioned camera set called encouragement to each of them. The area around the girls was lit with hundreds of candles that burned dangerously close to all the pretty gowns that were dragging behind the tall women.

Lily's eyes scanned the girls to find Sophie, tall and breathtaking, in the back of the group. She was pretending to observe a pine tree with interest, her fingers barely brushing the tree. Lily could see why Sophie was made for this fake world. Her smile lit up the room in a way that didn't match the other models because Sophie had a genuine warmth about her. Lily watched in awe as she changed her pose to look directly at the camera with a half smile perched on her painted lips.

Sophie was very good at her job, no one who watched her could doubt her beauty and poise.

Lily stood, unnoticed, by the door to the room. A few assistants eyed Lily weirdly but no one told her that she had to leave as the models were repositioned into a more formal row. Sophie spotted Lily as they were released by the photographer and her eyes lit up. Sophie pushed through the other girls so she could come over and hug Lily tightly. Lily (who barely met Sophie's chin to start with) was dwarfed by Sophie in heels. Lily had to crane her neck up when Sophie let go of the hug.

"What did they say?" Sophie asked eagerly, taking Lily's hand and dragging her to the side of the room.

"They said they get hundreds of submissions and to keep trying." Lily complained, "It was a waste of time."

Sophie didn't looked surprised, instead she nodded her head, "I had to keep knocking down Witch Weekly's door to even get one photoshoot when I started out."

When Sophie saw that her answer didn't cheer Lily up remotely, her tactics changed.

"How about," Sophie said casually, "We grab some spiced pumpkin juice from the peddlers cart outside the bank?"

"If spiced stands for spiked," Lily uttered, "I'm in."

Sophie laughed and winked, "Okay, come with me to my dressing room. I'll get dressed and we can go."

"Okay."

Lily allowed Sophie to drag her back across the hallway by the hand. Most of the other models waved happily at Sophie and stared in interest at Lily. It seemed like a very positive and upbeat workplace but then Hattie Gamp brushed shoulders with Lily halfway through the hallway, purposely knocking Lily to the side. Hattie's eyes bored into Lily's as Sophie ignored both of them to continue Lily down a long row of doors until they got to one labeled with Sophie's name.

"I got upgraded." Sophie admitted when Lily pointed to her name on the door in question, "Cover girls get to claim their private dressing rooms."

"Fancy." Lily commented and Sophie laughed awkwardly, clearly not enjoying the praise.

"It's a little much." Sophie deliberately said before opening the door and leading Lily into the small room.

A vanity sat across the opposite wall and it was covered in flowers and cards. Another table heald a few bowls of what looked to be fruit and muffins. Lily also spotted a plate of the pumpkin scones that Sophie always brought into Anni and Lily at the shop. Lily always wondered why Sophie was always buying them food, when it turned out Sophie had been regifting it.

There was a window in the room, small, but it had fun little notes written all over it with lipstick from the other girls. While Sophie started taking off her makeup, Lily sat on the chair by the window to read the lipstick notes. A lot of the curly sentences claimed well wishes for Sophie in unrecognizable handwriting.

Good luck as covergirl Soph! - Nikki

You lucky witch! Muah! - AL

Love you Sophie - Maise

And then Lily spotted familiar handwriting at the bottom of the window in a black lipstick.

xoxo, Marles

"Marley was here?" Lily asked out loud, turning to look at Sophie in question.

Sophie nodded, looking through her mirror at Lily, "I love Marley." she confessed, "She always says what's on her mind and she gives really good advice. She actually came to talk to me the other day, I thought you were mad at me."

"Why did you think I was mad at you again?"

Sophie looked down at her lap, suddenly embarrassed, "I keep thinking everyone is mad at me, to be honest."

Lily stared at Sophie's face, soft in the dark light filtering in the from the window, Sophie's eyes were still staring into her lap, as Sophie pulled her curls up into a tight ballerina bun atop her head.

"I'm sorry I've been snapping at you so much, recently." Lily apologized, loud enough for Sophie to hear, "I know it's a shitty excuse, but I tend to get a bit prickish when I'm stressed."

Sophie's turned her whole body around in her chair, "Can I tell you something?"

"Obviously." Lily smiled encouragingly, "I promise to actually let you talk this time."

Sophie played with the folds of her skirt, "Do you remember when I told you that I overheard Sirius talking to James about you after that one Quidditch match?"

"Yes." Lily confirmed, "Why?"

Sophie played with her red gown folds, clearly embarrassed, "I tried telling you this after the ball, I uhm, wasn't entirely truthful with you about why I wanted to be your friend."

Sirius' voice echoed in Lily's head: keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

Sophie put her hands on her chin, placing her elbows on her knees, "I know this is going to sound totally ridiculous and childish but the real reason I invited you to lunch that one day with Mary and I was because I was jealous."

"Why?" Lily managed to speak even though her heart sinking even farther down her chest, "Why did that matter?"

Sophie's shoulders crumbled under the weight of her own secrets, "You're mad." she said, her eyes hurt, "I knew you'd be mad. Marlene said you would be but I knew you wouldn't- you couldn't possibly understand why I did what I did."

Another part of Lily pinched her memories, reminding her that she'd made a lot of mistakes and whatever Sophie did couldn't be as bad as some of the lies Lily had told. She was in no position to judge Sophie for whatever she was about to say, it wasn't fair of Lily to jump to conclusions. Lily would treat Sophie with the same respect she hoped James would show her.

"I'm not mad," Lily said, interrupting Sophie's self turmoil, "I just-why?"

Sophie shrugged as she picked at her gown, "Well we weren't best friends in school." Sophie said, "I wanted to get you to go to lunch so I could find out more about you."

"Why?" Lily slouched in the chair, "Why was that so important to you?"

" I told you." Sophie's face reddened, "I was jealous of you."

"Of me?" Lily pushed her own red hair back from her eyes, "Jealous? Really?"

Sophie leaned back in her chair and threw her arms up dramatically, "Ever since James walked into that quidditch shop to get the new broom that he spent eons talking about, things changed."

Lily's cheeks flushed, "What are you talking about?"

"Lily," Sophie explained carefully, "I saw James after he left your quidditch shop with my own eyes. I couldn't get a word out of him, he kept telling everyone about this incredible woman he'd just met at the quidditch shop."

"He didn't." Lily said, her face hot, "I mean, Sirius said he did but, I just didn't believe him."

Sophie snickered bitterly, shaking her head, "I'd never seen James like that you know...I asked Remus if he looked like that, like he'd seen the bloody queen of England, when he met me," Sophie's shoulders dropped in defeat, "Remus always was truthful and let me down easier than Sirius."

"Oh, Sophie," Lily whispered tragically, "I'm sure-"

Sophie cut her off, "Merlin, you would've thought you invented quidditch, the way James talked about you to Sirius."

"No," Lily mumbled incoherently, awestruck.

Sophie sighed dramatically, "I've known all this time how James felt about you but I was an awful friend and didn't say anything to you because I kept hoping maybe he'd wake up from his daydream and realize that I liked him-you said-you said you didn't like him."

"Do you still fancy him?" Lily asked, although she felt like she already knew the answer.

Sophie grabbed a cloth and started wiping the rouge from her cheeks, "I was trying to woo him, you know? My mum kept pushing at me to sweep James into my arms like some gold digging wrench from the 1950's and I didn't even mind. He's gorgeous, smart and hilarious," Sophie eyed Lily surely, "I thought it'd be an easy catch...I was wrong of course. Then James met you and I didn't know what he saw in you, that he didn't see in me."

"Sophie-"

Sophie cut Lily off again, "I decided the easiest way to see who he'd picked over me was to get you to come out with me but I knew that none of my model friends would strike your fancy so I wrote to Mary." she smiled self importantly as Lily's jaw dropped open, "I can be a bit devious, it's probably why the sorting hat almost put me in Slytherin at school."

"If you wanted to get to know me, you could've just asked." Lily said pointedly.

Sophie shook her head, "No, I couldn't."

"And why not?" Lily asked brazenly, "had I ever given you a reason to believe I didn't like you?"

"That's the thing about my brain." Sophie pointed to her head, "I just assume everyone hates me."

Silence rang through the air as Lily processed Sophie's deep, cutting words. Sophie, who was the popularity darling at Hogwarts. Sophie, who had been voted Cover Girl and who had let Lily borrow her clothes. Sophie, one of the kindest people on earth, seriously thought that no one could stand her.

"Sophie," Lily managed to say, finally, the anguish dripping from her tone, "You know that it's almost physically impossible to hate you right?"

Sophie looked up and her blue eyes were shining with tears, "I dunno," Sophie chuckled darkly, "I kinda hate myself."

Lily put her head in her hands, "But everyone loves you!"

"Everyone loves you," she disagreed, "Everyone who meets you, loves you within five minutes of being around you!"

"That's a laugh." Lily said, thinking of Lyra, "I can think of a few people off the top of my head that definitely hate me."

Sophie slipped off her heels and chucked them to the ground one by one angrily as she spewed, "I wanted to hate you."

Lily froze in her seat and considered Sophie's stone cold face, "You did?"

"Of course I did." Sophie confessed miserably, "I wanted to find every single one of your flaws and present them to James in a three part essay written in red ink. I wanted you to be mean. I wanted you to be vile. I wanted you to throw every nasty word at me so that I couldn't stand you!" Sophie tossed her hands through the air, "And then, of course, after thirty minutes with you I realized there was no way I could ever hate you!"

"Why couldn't you hate me?"

Sophie shook her head, a sad smile etched on her angelic face, "Because up until that moment my friends, the other models, were making fun of me and teasing me about James dropping me like a hot pumpkin...I expected you to say something at the lunch but you didn't say a word. The entire time you were just kind and polite and encouraging towards Mary and I."

"James did not drop you like a hot pumpkin." Lily said doubtfully.

"He let me down gently." Sophie admitted, "But it was still hard. Some of the other models kept asking me about him. My mum and the editors wouldn't get off my arse about him either. You were a refreshing addition to my life when I realized how nice it was to be around someone who liked me for who I am and not who I hang out with."

Lily shook her head gently, "I remember, you said you needed new friends, that day you convinced me to go to lunch."

Sophie chuckled reaching down the front of her gown to start disassembling it, "I wasn't lying, I did need new friends. These girls thrive on drama."

"Well if they're spreading rumors that certainly makes work less enjoyable." Lily said sarcastically, "Especially that Hattie, she's awful."

"Hattie's bad, but I'm just a mean," Sophie said, "I thought I was better than you. Prettier and more accomplished. I thought maybe James only liked you because you liked quidditch."

"He does only like me because I know quidditch." Lily pulled her feet onto her chair so that her chin could rest on her knees comfortably, "He literally said that to me at the masquerade."

Sophie stood up and walked over to Lily, the red gown dragging on the floor, "I know that you think that you're this normal, average, run-of-the mill witch...but Lily...you are so much more than that and James see's it the same way that I see it."

Lily smiled softly at her friend, "Thanks Sophie."

Sophie stood in front of Lily's chair and knelt down, placing a hand on Lily's shoulder with a smile. Lily tore her chin off her knee and smiled up at Sophie, not believing how far they had come in just a few months. She couldn't believe that Sirius had been right, Sophie did have an agenda when they'd become friends, but now, Sophie's eyes pleaded Lily for forgiveness.

"Since we're being honest. I was jealous of you too," Lily finally admitted, "I wanted to be more like you because you seemed to happy and carefree, like you didn't care what happened because you were content with the life you'd been handed."

Sophie shook her head, "Well, that's ironic, because I wanted to be more like you. Quidditch savvy, witty and clever. You're charms skills are pretty phenomenal too."

Both girls laughed together as they considered how life had turned out. Sophie turned and motioned to the back of her dress, asking Lily to help her take it off. Lily stood up and started undoing the ribbons that tied the back together. Sophie had her hands clasped on the top of her head, making her shoulders pop out of her back as Lily undid her dress.

Suddenly, Sophie spoke again, "Lily?"

"Hm?"

"After you stood up for me, when Hattie was making my life miserable at that Quidditch match, I realized you were one of the best friends I'd ever had." she said, "And I was so mad at myself for being jealous because I see exactly what James sees in you."

Lily wiped her own tears from her eyes and laughed when Sophie did, both of them crying. Lily's hands dropped from the dress and Sophie's hands clasped the dress to her chest as she turned so that they could hug. Lily's arms clasped around Sophie's neck and Sophie squeezed one of her arms around Lily's shoulders while the other hand kept her dress up.

"You know Sirius tried to tell me that you only wanted to be my friend to keep James and I apart." Lily smiled as Sophie pulled back from the hug, "We can't tell him he was right or he'll lord it over both our heads."

Sophie laughed, "Deal, we'll let him think I was Team Lily and James from the start."

Lily shook her head, "There's no such thing."

Sophie placed her free hand on Lily's cheek and smiled brilliantly, "I love you both, very much," Sophie said, "And I know you'd make each other happy."

"What about you?" Lily asked Sophie, "Don't you deserve your own happily ever after?"

"I'm starting to think Marlene was right when she said boys were hopeless." Sophie said, pulling away from Lily and walking away, slipping from her dress as she did so, "Just don't tell Marlene I said she was right or she'll never let me hear the end of it."

Lily watched as Sophie draped the gown across a chair and reached for a pair of joggers and a thick blue sweater. Lily walked over to Sophie's vanity and sat herself along the edge of it while Sophie got dressed in warmer clothes.

"Sophie," Lily played with lipstick from Sophie's dresser, "Can I write on your window?"

"Go ahead." Sophie said, "I'm almost done and then we can go get some spiked pumpkin juice."

Lily walked back over to the window and picked a spot just above Marlene's curvy handwriting. Lily painstakingly spelled out each word, making sure not to make any mistakes with the bright red lipstick.

All my love to the best covergirl - Lily

When Lily finished, Sophie was kneeling next to her, watching her finish the last loop to her Y. When Lily was done she capped the lipstick and smiled at Sophie warmly. Sophie pressed her lips to Lily's cheek before announcing she was famished. Lily found herself laughing as Sophie yanked Lily's cloak around her neck and then proceeded to drag Lily back out onto the snow dusted streets of Diagon Alley.

Sophie and Lily looped arms as they made their way to get some hot pumpkin juice from the ice cream shop, picking up an extra cup to-go for Anni. As they walked back to the quidditch shop, their feet sank into the powdery snow and created a patterns of side-by-side steps. They enjoyed each other's company. Sophie kept Lily's mind from wandering to James or Quidditch Connections by telling various stories about some of her more private adventures.

Once back inside the warm quidditch shop, Anni was beyond pleased to see them. The shop was empty, the snowstorm outside having scared away anyone who would be shopping early for Christmas. Sophie handed Anni the cup of spiced pumpkin juice and a small bag filled with hot rolled dough that was covered in powdered sugar.

The girls settled together at the counter of the shop, each enjoying their sweets.

"What did Quidditch Connections say?" Ann asked Lily after the girls had eaten two or three of the hot rolls, "Did anyone give you feedback?"

Lily shook her head sadly, "no, the woman at the front just said to keep trying."

"It's rare that they'd take an unknown author on their first submission," Sophie reminded Lily kindly, "You have to keep submitting, especially since Quidditch Connections is mostly made up of wizard editors who're all well known in that building for being arses."

"I'd much prefer if they took her article now," Anni complained after another swing of her drink, "That way Lily could quit this shite show."

"Lily, you want to leave?" Sophie looked suddenly confused, "But you love it here...this is your father's place!"

Lily swallowed her mouthful of food before replying quietly, "Things are going to change and I might not be able to stay."

Sophie didn't like that answer, "This shop needs you, is Lyra going to make you leave? Did she find out about the broomstick?"

Anni shook her head and Lily sighed, leaning against the counter even more.

"At the ball, I spent more time with James than I was supposed too." she explained, "and something happened that's going to make him find out who I am."

Sophie's face paled, "What happened?"

James' wand seemed to burn a hole in Lily's side as she said, "I don't want to say too much, I'm trying to keep everyone out of it."

"It's fine," Sophie suddenly decided out loud, "Whatever you did-it can't be awful. We're your friends we can help."

Lily hated that she ever had a back thought about Sophie Turner ever in her life. It was clear Sophie was loyal beyond all reason once she had your trust. Lily reached out to squeeze Sophie's hand with a smile.

"You can't help me out of this one," Lily promised Sophie, "Or I would've already asked for help."

"Well," Sophie said stubbornly, "If anything gets really bad and you need a place to go-"

Sophie reached over the counter to grab a quill and scratch parchment where she eloquently wrote out an address in Surry. She passed the parchment to Lily who glanced down at it with interest.

"That's my flat." Sophie explained, "You're welcome there as long as needed, my mum only visits on Sundays, so it's totally free from overbearing families."

"You're the best." Lily told Sophie sincerely as she stuffed the address inside her pockets, saving it for a stormy day.

"You have a place with me also." Anni said to Lily from beside Sophie, "I know my husband won't mind a little company, he misses you and your father coming by on Holidays, he said so last week."

Lily hugged Anni, placing her head in the crook of Anni's neck. Anni laughed as Lily's hair tickled her neck and pushed Lily off before warmly patting Lily's cheek warmly. Lily couldn't believe how lucky she was to have friends like Sophie and Anni. Even Marlene and Sirius were so special, they all loved her for who she was. Even when she made terrible mistakes they all believed in her and wanted to see her succeed. Friendship was the real magic in the world.

The rest of the afternoon they all spent together, going through another round of spiked pumpkin juice. Marlene appeared at half past four, her eyes lighting up when she walked through the door of the quidditch shop with snow in her mousy hair. Anni was pulling out Christmas decorations to start hanging them up around the shop and Lily spent the rest of her shift laughing with her friends as they untangled christmas lights.

Even still, with the laughter her friends provided, Potter's wand in Lily's pocket remained heavy in her pockets. It was like a dark cloud hovering over her horizon that she needed to make disappear. The wand seemed to dance against her thigh whenever she moved, calling to Lily, reminding her of all her lies she had yet to rectify.

Lily wondered when James would find her and she wondered where he would find her.

Would James corner her in this very shop or would he come to the house?

Would James be angry or just happy to swap their wands back and leave without another word?

Would James still look at Lily like she was his everything or would he be unable to even hold her stare longer than a few seconds?

She was due to find out in just a few days.


Next Time:

"Look at me." he demanded.

Lily opened her eyes and when she lifted her chin her eyes met his. James' eyebrows shot into his hairline and his jaw clenched so tight that a muscle flexed near his ear. Lily felt hot heat flash across the bridge of her nose as James' mouth opened in surprise.

"Those eyes." he hissed, ears going red, "I've seen those-shite-how?"


I am determined to have this story finished by Thanksgiving so expect sporadic (quicker) updates as I won't follow schedule now so that I can bust out the last few chapters before my finals week.

Let me know what you think! It motivates me to edit chapters faster!

Petals