After another forty minutes Lily dresses in her robes, excuses herself from her friends and walks to the front of the train to the prefect meeting. She waves to the people she knows as she walks through the corridor, feeling the train ever so slightly swaying underneath her feet. Carefully, she takes a seat around the table in the middle of the room and can't help but smile. It felt good to be there. She'd been dreaming about it since she first came to Hogwarts, sitting among the prefects. Remus sits next to Lily and greets his friend. The two fall into an easy and friendly conversation as the rest of the prefects slowly trickle in.
"Alright, now that everyone is here we can begin this very first meeting." The Head Girl stands at the front of the table, her Head Girl badge shining proudly on her robes. The Head Girl was Rachel Bridenstine, a Hufflepuff, and the Head Boy was Chadwick Boot, a Ravenclaw. The two were known to have been interested in each other but it had never been confirmed they were dating.
Chadwick goes on to explain the Prefect schedule and how the patrols worked. He also explains the rules and responsibilities of being a Prefect. Rachel adds in when Chadwick forgets certain things and tells them the password to the Prefect bathroom, warning them that they will be punished if it is shared in anyway. The two of them dismiss the Prefects, giving each of them a carriage of the train to patrol. Remus and Lily are paired together and chat happily as they walk to their carriage.
"So, what was with James and Sirius's apology? Were they being serious?" Lily casually asks, trying to make her tone aloof, as if she didn't care.
"It was. Something happened this summer and Sirius spent the summer with James and his family. I can't tell you what happened but it changed the both of them. They aren't going to pull as many pranks and won't be as big of jerks as they were these past few years. Now, I can't promise they won't be mean to Snape." Remus answers, walking with her.
"I don't care if they're mean to that back stabbing fool. I can't believe that he became a Prefect! I mean, he's the exact opposite of what we should be promoting at Hogwarts."
"Yeah, James isn't too happy about that but he'll live with it." Remus and Lily continue to patrol is a comfortable silence. Once their shift is over, they each go their own way and return to their cabin and to their friends. Lily settles into her spot and holds Paw close to her, smiling as she purrs.
As the sun disappears behind the hills, Hogwarts comes into view. It felt as if everyone on board the train, especially the first years, were leaning to get a look. They each knew that they were just a few short minutes away from their home away from home. As the train pulls into the station and comes to a stop, Lily puts Paw back in her cage and grabs her backpack. She is one of the first ones to exit the train, helping the first years find where they are going. After the first years are in the boats and headed out across the lake, Lily hurries to hop in the last carriage with her fellow prefects.
"Oh look, Evans is joining us. Are you sure that you can fit?" The Slytherin prefect, a blonde girl, sneers at Lily as she climbs in. you lost weight this summer, you don't need to listen to her. Lily tries to tell herself and ignore the girl, setting in on the opposite side of the carriage. "Oh I think I felt the carriage dip. Perhaps we need more people on this side so we don't flip."
"I think that we will be fine, thank you." Remus cuts the girl off before she can go on even longer about Lily's weight. He gives his friend a soft smile as the carriage gives a lurch and heads toward the castle.
"You see my mother would never, ever let me do any of those muggle diets. Oh no, we only use all magical weight remedies. Mother says that if a girl isn't as slim as a wand then she is wrong. I personally don't like to eat in the mornings or after six o'clock. See those are what my mother's healer says to do to keep the weight off. Unfortunately, some of us are just predisposed to gain weight faster than others." The girl continues, talking loudly so Lily can't drown her out. "Sometimes Mother even makes me throw up the food that I've eaten if I don't fit into robes. It is not pleasant but it is necessary."
As soon as the carriage stops, Lily jumps out of the carriage and walks into the castle. She hurries to her usual seat by Mary and Rebecca and greets her friends as she sits. The Sorting Ceremony begins and Lily watches as the nervous first years walk up the aisle between the Gryffindor table and the Hufflepuff table. She tries to give them encouraging smiles as she watches them gather at the front of the Great Hall. Professor McGonagall pulls out the list of students and calls the first person up.
The sorting goes by smoothly and Gryffindor gets eight new member with Slytherin getting seven, Ravenclaw getting ten and Hufflepuff getting nine. Everyone ahhs as the food appears on the table and conversation immediately breaks out as people dig into the fine meal. Lily mostly eats the lightest food possible, pushing meat and other things around on her plate, taking one bite every few seconds and continuing to chew on the food for as long as possible. It was easy not to eat because she had her friends there to distract her from all of the different foods she wanted to try.
"Lily? Could you please pass the potatoes?" James asks after a few minutes. Lily nods and passes him the bowl, jumping slightly when their fingertips brush. He doesn't really like you. He just wants to use you. He's a jerk, remember? One apology does not a new man make. Lily shakes off her goosebumps and returns to talking to her friends.
As the meal comes to an end and dessert is served, Dumbledore stands up and makes a short but simple address to the students. After they are dismissed, Lily stands up and calls for the first years to follow her and Remus. The eight wide eyed newly minted Gryffindors follow her and Remus up to the top of the stair case. Lily and Remus make sure to brief them and give them tips on surviving Hogwarts.
"And here is the entrance to our common room if you'll follow me through. You must remember the password. This year, for the time being, it is 'Flibbertigibbet'. If you forget it, you will not be granted entrance into the Common Room and could be stuck outside the entire night until someone else comes along to grant you entrance." Lily leads the way into the Common Room and stops at the bottom of the stair wells. "The staircase to my right leads to the girl's dormitories. The staircase to my left leads to the boy's dormitories. The Common Room is open at all hours but we do ask that you keep your voices down if it is late at night, particularly when it is near finals, OWLs, and NEWTs time. All of your things will be found on your bed in your dormitory. If you need anything, you only need find one of us or one of the other prefects. Goodnight, rest well."
The first years scramble up the stairs and to their new rooms, all chattering quietly. Lily sits down in her favorite arm chair as her fellow students, other than the first years, meander in from dinner. She stares into the fire, unable to get rid of the dark thoughts in her head. After about ten minutes, Lily heads up to her bedroom and gets ready for bed. As she lays in her bed, she can't help but to think about what the Slytherin Prefect had said. Could that really be the answer I'm looking for though? That seems awfully dangerous.
Lily battles with herself as she hears her dormitory mates settle into bed and go to sleep. Deciding to try it, Lily slides out of her four poster bed and lights her wand. She heads toward the bathroom, silent as a mouse. After locking the door, Lily grabs her toothbrush. All she had to do was activate her gag reflex. Should be easy enough, right? Lily opens the toilet and kneels in front of it. On three.. One.. two.. Three…
Lily's dormitory mates do not stir as the sounds of Lily's drastic measures are drowned out by their snores and the crackle of the fire in the hearth. If only one of them had heard the sobs that came forth from her body as she did so. If only one of them could have stopped her.