Year 7

Lily

"Such an idiot,"

"Mosongonist,"

"Who says that in this day and age?"

I stomped down the corridors, leading the group of girls. I felt powerful yet full of anger. Who in their right mind says that to a group of teenage girls?

"Hey, Lily," Alice tapped my shoulder. "Where exactly are we going?" I heard some girls murmur in agreement.

"To… we… are going… to McGonagall!" I exclaimed, clutching my books. I stared straight ahead of me but I knew the girls were confused.

"McGonagall? Wouldn't she have a class right now?" I heard Rose, who sounded like she was in the back. I huffed a little and turned a corner. The girls followed.

"Probably, but… we'll just… actually I change my mind. Let's go to Dumbledore." I was making up everything as I stormed down the corridors.

The girls cheered and we walked up to Dumbledore's office entrance. I racked my brain for the password. I knew it had to be something he liked…

"Licorice snaps!" Alice squeaked. The gargoyle turned to showcase a spiral staircase that lead straight up to Dumbledore's office. I stared in shock at her.

She shrugged. "I was here the other day. McGonagall lead me." All the girls shrugged with her and followed me up the stairs. We were all silent except for a few whispers here and there.

"Headmaster?" I called out. We opened the door that lead to his office. He was standing, petting a bird that looked very old. It's fading red feathers were falling off with every stroke that Dumbledore gave him.

"Lily Evans, come in." Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling as he turned to face me. "Ah, and company. It seems as though you have something to complain about. I saw you witches walk across the grounds from your Care of Magical Creatures class." He stated. I swallowed and lead the girls inside his office. They all filed in and spread across the office, not getting near Dumbledore. I took a step forward as he returned to his desk.

"Um, yes, sir we do." I stumbled over my words. I never really felt confident around the Headmaster. He always looked welcoming and I know he cared for me. There was always the intimidation, though, of knowing he's one of the greatest wizards of our time. Then, I remembered what that rat of a professor said.

"Our new substitute, Professor Tikli, has offended me and my fellow female classmates by saying…" I swallowed again. My confidence had left as fast as it had come.

"He said girls like Lily should be seen not heard!" Alice piped up. She was in front of the group but not as far up as I was. Dumbledore directed his attention to her and she looked like her confidence had disappeared as well.

"And he also said that he wants Hogwarts to not allow girls in and he… he questioned why you allowed them." Rose called out. She was in the back corner because she was so tall. Dumbledore turned his head to see her. She was on the opposite side of Alice.

The Headmaster nodded his head slowly and looked back at me. "Thank you, ladies. Lily, did he direct this to you?"

"Yes, sir. I had wanted to ask a question about this creature he was showing us and he responded with what we've just stated,"

"What creature, if I may ask?" Dumbledore asked, sitting down at his desk.

"Uh, a Golden Snidget." I exclaimed. Dumbledore looked as though he was well aware of the situation with the Golden Snidget species.

"Headmaster," Clover shouted out, raising a hand. "Aren't those supposed to be illegal?"

"Yes, correct Miss Brim. They have been made illegal to buy." Dumbledore said, adjusting his half moon spectacles. All the girls waited in anticipation as he studied the group. Then, his eyes returned to me.

"I am aware that Professor Tikli snuck some illegal creatures into this school but I had no idea he was so old fashion." Dumbledore slimmed his beard down with his hand.

"So, what should we do about it?" Some girls asked in the middle of the crowd. I heard another girl shush her.

"Well, I think I'll have a word with him." Dumbledore said, calmly. I felt anger started boiling up inside of me. My cowardness left me and my confidence. I was filled with rage and I wanted to punch a wall.

"Professor, this man is a sexist! It's offensive to have someone judge you by your gender! Honestly, men don't get that because they don't face sexism!" I yelled out, flinging my arms up in the air. I saw a little glimmer in Dumbledore's eyes and within a second, he was standing up, walking over to me.

"Men do face sexism, everyone faces some sort of sexism or racism in their life." He said, very seriously and quietly. I took a step back but didn't break eye contact. My dad always told me to never break eye contact when talking to someone.

"I-I'm sorry-" I started. Dumbledore waved a hand dismissively to the girls behind me. They all nodded quickly and scurried out of his office. Dumbledore's eyes returned to me once the door closed.

"Ms. Evans, you are correct that women get the worse half of sexism. They are seen as objects more than men." Dumbledore turned on his heel and started pacing very slowly. He held his hands behind his back.

"But men do get the pressure of being seen as the 'strong ones'. That's why men always are afraid to show tears…" Dumbledore sighed and observed the paintings of previous headmasters.

"I-I'm sorry, I just-"

"Lily, do not apologize for stating the truth, except for that last part. I understand that you are a feminist and that's quite excellent." Dumbledore looked at me from the side of his eye and smiled slightly. "You have to understand that sexism is a tricky subject. I admire that you defend and fight for your rights but be careful. Be very," He walked over to his desk. "Very careful. You could upset some people in the wizarding world…" He sighed and waved his hand.

"You are dismissed. You may go to your next class." He shook his head and turned away from me. I looked at the bird one time as it moaned out in pain. Then, it burst into flames. I gasped and pointed at the bird.

"Sir! Your-"

"Yes, he does that all the time. A new bird will appear out of it's ashes, now go before you're late!" He snapped. I took another step away and then turned around. I held in all the anger and sorrows I had from upsetting Dumbledore. Had I upset him though? I was confused and I needed to think. So I opened the door and bumped right into James.