Chapter 12

The Exile of Lily

Un-Beta'd

I own nothing! Have a heap-o-debt but do not in anyway claim any rights to JKR's magical world in which I am currently playing. Warning Sadness.

MostlyGoodGirl the intention at this stage is to go all the way through to seventh year and possibly all the way to join up with 'The Philosopher's Stone' and have only one chapter left to write on the third year story. I have sketchy plans for all the way up to seventh (fourth is looking a little dodgy and I may skip it and move straight on to five. This whole story is loosely based on my own childhood (though compressed into a much tighter time frame) so understandably Alison is like the culmination in all the bullies I have ever met. I should really have answered your previous comments as well (Sorry). I am not particularly efficient at writing either I started these a couple of years ago but was wanted to get them all finished before I put them up, but I figured maybe I needed a deadline, so have been trying it that way (it has not been hugely more successful, but I am working on it). Things are slow at the moment as I work full time, am studying a course that needs to be completed by the 22nd of July and also have family responsibilities, so I just write when I can. The plan is I won't start posting a story until I have finished it, having said that I am considering putting up 2 chapters of the time-travel fit I started just for comments to see if it is worth completing.

Lily snuck into the dormitory, grateful that the other girls were asleep. It had been a long fortnight since they had returned from holidays. The girls in her room took every opportunity to make snide comments within her hearing.

"You don't belong," was perhaps the kindest phrase spoken.

And they had started to play tricks on her, often hiding her clothes, textbooks, quills and parchment. They short sheeted her bed, and sprinkled her bedclothes with itching powder again sending her to the hospital wing, so she avoided the room as much as possible, slept under her bed and carried all her books with her. She spent most of her time in the library studying or in the seventh floor cell trying to get the transformation to work.

Outside of the dormitory she got hit a dozens of times a day with the mini-cutting curse on her way to class and was ignored as she sat at the table for meals. Lily was beginning to wonder if she wanted to be a part of this world. Her letters home had all come back un-opened.

Saturday morning came and Lily ran down the path hoping to see Hagrid. When she reached his hut, the door was closed, and there was no answer to her knock. Sighing she turned towards the forest and climbed her tree. The spring breeze carried with it the smell of flowers, she missed the roses in her Mother's garden and longed to go home. Half an hour later she felt she could cope with the confines of the castle and climbed down to begin trudging back up the path towards the castle.

As she entered voices echoed in the entry hall.

"She should just disappear."

Lily knew they were discussing her.

"She has no right to be in our dorm."

"I agree, but how can we get her to leave, we've tried the powder, we've tried hinting that she isn't wanted."

"I think we should just tell her flat out. She isn't allowed to sleep in our dorm anymore." Tears fell from Lily's eyes as she rounded the corner and came upon the group of girls. She pushed past them and headed up the staircase. When she entered the dormitory she packed her suitcase and levitated it back down the stairs and out of the common room. From there she turned and headed up to the seventh floor cell.

"Excuse me Sir," she whispered to the courtier.

"Is Milady injured?" he asked with concern.

"No Sir, merely evicted."

"Evicted in this castle! It is a travesty." The portrait swung open and she dragged her trunk inside, she placed it against the wall and settled in next to it to practice the transformation.

Lily's back was aching as she made her way to the Great Hall, a result of sleeping on the stone floor. She miserably stirred her porridge, glancing up when she saw the Marauders entering. Remus was joking with the others and when she smiled at him he looked away. I'm done- she thought, I have put so much effort into trying to become an animagus and he doesn't even care. She sighed her conscious prickling, she knew he needed the friendship, just not hers; she had no energy left to continue trying the transformation.

In the Slytherin common room, Lucius was again speaking to a group.

"I have been advised that we need to prove ourselves."

"To whom do we need to prove ourselves? And why?"

"That will be answered in time Snape. For now it is enough to know that our betters are watching us and they are in a position to give us power if we are deemed worthy."

"What is the test? Are we to attack the Mudblood's again?" Nott was eager.

"No this time let us aim for the blood traitors."

"Potter?" spat Severus.

"No we have instructions to leave him alone, however Pettigrew, might be persuaded to come back to the fold, if a little…pressure is applied." The grin on his face was anything but friendly. "Avery, Nott, Snape, I believe a duel would be easiest. Get him alone in some corner and then we shall see what the Gryffindor is made of." He dismissed them. Severus was glad that Lily was not the intended target and that he had been given a chance to get revenge on the Marauders.

The problem was getting Peter alone; he was always accompanied by Sirius, James and Remus.

"Where's Remus?" Peter asked.

"Hospital wing. He is unwell again," supplied James as they walked down the corridor "Sirius and I are going to skip breakfast and stop in and see him on the way to class tomorrow."

"I'll grab some toast and meet you in corridor on the way to class then."

Severus looked out from behind a suit if armour, he just needed to advise Nott and Avery.

The next morning Lily had just sent the paper bird flying to Remus' bedside and was heading down to breakfast when she heard voices issuing from a corridor off to her left, knowing she would be hexed again if she was seen, Lily quickly hid behind a tapestry and waited for the footsteps to pass.

"Potter and Black will go into the hospital wing and then Pettigrew will come up from the Great Hall by himself, we attack before Potter and Black come out of the infirmary."

Their footsteps echoed off the walls and disappeared into the distance. Should she warn them? it wasn't like they had been even remotely nice to her. However Lily's conscience wouldn't let her sighing she knew she would have to try, but how could she warn them she mused, she quickly changed direction and headed to the owlery. The disappointing thing was she recognised that voice.

Tap tap tap. The owl hit it's beak against the dormitory window.

"Ruddy hell, who sends mail at this hour." Sirius complained as he allowed the bird to enter.

Pettigrew,

Beware. If you go to the hospital wing alone you will be ambushed.

"What kind of note is that!" As they were now awake, Sirius, James and Peter decided to quickly go to the Great Hall, before visiting Remus, together.

"It's clearly a hoax."

"W..w..what if it isn't."

"Pete we'll be with you." They ate hurriedly grabbing extra toast for Remus' not trusting the hospital food.

"Remus!" they called as they entered the ward. They looked at their friend who lay pale and sweating in the bed. "You look ruddy awful."

"Thanks, that makes me feel so much better."

"Sorry mate, we'll take notes for you, and we bought you toast." They deposited the toast on the table and departed.

"Serpensortia." The shout echoed off the walls and the three dodged the snake that came hurtling towards them.

"Incisus."

"Protego." James cast a shield.

"Fighting in the halls!, Detention all of you, and 10 points each." McGonagall was furious as she escorted the six boys to her office.

Lily was working hard in the library; she hadn't seen Severus since the train back to school after Easter. She looked up as he approached her desk.

"Sev," she smiled it was good to see her friend even though she was disappointed he had been involved in planning the attack.

"Hey Lily, I can't stay long I have detention."

"What did you do?" she was hoping he would be honest with her.

"Nothing, Potter and Black attacked me in the halls, and McGonagall came along and bang detention, she wouldn't even listen to me," he whinged.

"Sev, is that really what happened?" she pressed.

"Yes. Don't you believe me?"

"I know you were planning to attack Pettigrew," She stated bluntly.

"I would never," he denied.

"I heard you Sev."

He looked down knowing he had to give her a good reason "Well it was just payback."

"Payback for what?"

"I heard what they did, I heard that they told Remus he couldn't speak to you, that isn't fair Lily!"

"It's nice that you want to defend me Sev, but I am fine thanks. Fighting them will just make it all worse! It makes you as bad as they are. I know they are bullying jerks, but you shouldn't stoop to their level, you're better than that Sev."

"I don't want to be better than that Lily! I want to make them pay, they humiliate us and I hate it!"

"Just let it go Sev."

"I can't Lily."

"Can't or won't?"

"It doesn't matter." He turned and stalked out of the library on his way to trophy room for his detention. Lily sighed as she watched him go. She couldn't help but feel his involvement would have bad repercussions. She was right.

It started the next morning at breakfast someone added onions to the jug of juice at her place at the table. At lunch her meal was filled with an emetic and she rushed to the lavatory to be sick. At dinner every time her fork got close to her mouth, the food would drop back onto the plate. Lily was getting less and less to eat.

The girls and the Marauders began to hound her if she entered the common room, looking for a quiet place to work. They followed her to the library and spoke loudly getting her thrown out. She resorted to ducking into empty classrooms to find a quiet place to read or study and she made her way to meals either very early or very late and skipped lunch altogether. She was still being cut as she walked down the halls and her banishment from the common room meant that she hadn't seen Doc, Fabe or Gideon to do more than give a nod in passing on the way to classes.

There came the day when the Marauders stalked her and followed her to the Seventh floor cell where she had been sleeping and when she left the next day they set up an elaborate series of traps. Her trunk exploded when she went to retrieve a fresh uniform, mice over ran the floor when she lay down to sleep, fortunately her concealment charm held and they failed to discover the broken bit of wall where she had hidden the two purloined books.

Lily wept in despair, she didn't know how much more she could take. Not for the first time she longed to go home! Everything was going wrong; she couldn't fight the Marauders, the girls, and the Slytherins. She walked the empty corridors that night, lost in her misery she never noticed Peeves as he approached, he knocked over a suit of armour in front of her causing her to scream in fright, she ran in the opposite direction as his laughs echoed down the corridor.

She ducked into an empty classroom and slid to sit on the floor with her back against the wall, eventually when no teachers came she fell into an exhausted sleep.

"Couldn't you find a clean uniform Lily! You look like something the cat dragged in." called Alison as they walked to potions Lily with her head down.

"Couldn't even have a shower today, you grub," sneered Louisa

Remus caught sight of her tear stained face and dirty robes and felt remorse. She looked thin and broken.

"Incisus"

"Incisus"

"Incisus"

Remus heard it whispered from all sides and watched Lily shudder slightly as the spells hit.

"Filthy Mudblood!"

"Leave, you shouldn't be here."

"Incisus"

"Incisus"

"Incisus

Remus approached the Marauders.

"Have you seen Lily lately?"

"Yep," said Sirius seeming proud. "She looks dreadful, the princess is getting what she deserves."

"I don't think she deserves what she is getting."

"Yeah, she is. Just a little more and she will be out of our hair, and will change house." Sirius threw a tripping jinx in Lily's direction and laughed as it made her fall to the ground, splitting her lip with her teeth. She collected the books she had dropped and wiped her bloody lip on the sleeve of her robes as she continued on her way, flinching.

Remus sighed and shook his head, he noted that Snape didn't speak to Lily once during class and wondered what was going on there.

"I'm hungry," Peter whined.

"Well take the cloak and go to the kitchen." James looked up from the game of exploding snap he was playing against Sirius.

"But I don't want to go alone."

"Well take Remus." He suggested as the boy in question emerged from the bathroom.

"What?"

"Want to come to the kitchens?" Peter asked eagerly.

"Sure," he shrugged "you guys want anything?"

"Some of that raspberry tart from dessert would be great."

"Yeah get some for me too!."

Peter grabbed the cloak out of James' trunk and headed to the door with Remus following. They slipped out the portrait hole covered in the cloak.

"Shall we take the short cut," Remus suggested.

"Yeah ok."

As they approached the Knight's room Remus spotted a slight figure hunkered down next to one of the plinths, her hair just showing red in the torch light.

"What's she doing here? She'll turn us in!" hissed Peter.

"She won't she is out after hours too."

"She's asleep," Peter was astounded "Why is she sleeping out here."

"At a guess because the girls kicked her out of their dorm and then we covered the floor of the room she was staying with mice."

"Oh that's right," Peter giggled.

"I don't think it's that funny actually." Remus noticed the girl stirring and made a decision. He stepped out from under the cloak.

"Lily," he whispered as he touched her arm "wake up."

She screamed as she woke.

"Shhh. Calm down. You can't sleep here Lily."

"I have nowhere else to go," she whimpered and Remus looked at her properly. Her eyes were as dull as her hair, her face drawn and streaked with dirt, as she moved he saw the streaks of blood on her arms, her lip still swollen from her fall.

"Lily, why don't you go join the Slytherins?"

"I'm a Mudblood. They hex me Remus, I'm not welcome there, even Sev doesn't talk to me anymore, since our fight."

"Go to Dumbledore?"

"No he is too busy, and it's not like I can be re-sorted, the Sorting hat's decision is final."

"At least go to the hospital wing and have your arms looked at."

"I can't, Madam Pomfrey has more important things to do."

"Well we need to go through here can you move a little so we can get by?"

"Sure." She murmured as she moved to one side and fell back into a doze. Remus activated the passageway and entered the space, followed by Peter. Remus had shown a little care- Lily thought as they moved away, she should try to repay him. If she was gone she could no longer send the chocolate frog after the full moon, he would need the Marauders.

"What do you think you were doing talking to her Remus," Peter scolded as they returned to the dormitory.

"We had to get her to move."

"We could have gone the other way, now she knows about the secret passageway."

"She was practically asleep."

"What are you guys arguing about?"

"Evans was asleep in the knights room, right by the passageway, so Remus went and woke her and got her to move."

"Remus!"

"What! Sorry if I don't think it is right, to pick on someone until they have nowhere to sleep but a draughty corridor, and they can't go to the Great Hall to eat, she is picked on by everyone, it isn't right. She has cuts and blood all over her arms from the hexes that the Slytherins throw at her!"

"She'll be fine!" Sirius stated.

"She looks like she is dying. I doubt she has eaten properly in weeks."

"She smells."

"Of course she does, she has been thrown out of her dorm, where is she supposed to bathe?"

"She's a know it all."

"So am I."

"She can go to Slytherin."

"She's a Muggleborn, of course she can't."

"She can go to Hufflepuff."

"She can't be re-sorted, the hat doesn't work that way."

Finally Sirius seemed to run out of arguments, James looked down at his feet abashed.

"Ok we'll lay off from tomorrow. Agreed."

It was a much more subdued "Aye" to normal. Sirius grumbled.

The sun gleaming through a window woke Lily, she stood and looked out of the window at the Forbidden forest. The castle felt so much more dangerous and dark to her then the forest did, her decision made she headed back towards the Gryffindor tower. She stopped by the Tower room and ignored the mice as she pulled a calendar out of her trunk and hastily up-dated it with the full moons and dates of Remus' illness, listing on the front page his other symptoms then she headed to the common room. The sun was well up and most students at breakfast by the time Lily approached the portrait.

"Que Sera," she whispered to the Fat Lady.

"You look a little worse for wear Lovely." Lily wished herself to disappear as she passed through the portal, and she must have done, for neither of the two students in the common room marked her passing as she trod the stairs to boy's dormitory. She opened the door cautiously, wondering where to place the evidence. She searched the trunks locating Remus' first and then James'. She placed the calendar in James' bed tucking it under the covers with only a small corner protruding from the top. Again she went unnoticed as she departed, making her way silently to the entrance hall. In stockinged feet she ran down the path and helter skelter towards the forest.