Lily Bud

Year 4 Chapter 37

A first year muggleborn was in the hospital wing, because he was hexed by some older student. That wouldn't be so surprising. Students land themselves in the hospital wing all the time and often it was because older students made fun of them. But it was the fourth muggleborn in the hospital wing for being hexed by older students in the last two weeks.

There was restlessness among students, especially muggleborns. They started to group together. No muggleborn really walked through the halls alone anymore. The attacks got more and more brutal. Sulfia and Dorcas always stayed close to her when they went from one class to another and they never were very happy when she wanted to go down to the dungeons to experiment on some potions with Severus.

"You know, that's where ALL the SLYTHERINS are. I just don't think that it's very safe for you." Dorcas once told her.

"Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself." Lily answered her and hugged her. But if she was honest with herself she was feeling a bit uneasy down there.

There wasn't a week going by without hearing someone mumbling "Mudblood," under their breath.

Things were getting tense. Even among friends. She heard how a big group of Ravenclaws that had always been tight, broke apart because they disagreed about these kinds of things. Hufflepuff switched a beater and rumors said, it was because he was dating a Slytherin girl, who insulted muggleborns or worse. One chaser on the team was muggleborn and allegedly the two had came blows during a training. The rest of the team voted the beater out. But all those things were hushed up.

Lily saw in the common room how Mary MacDonald was talking with the younger muggleborns and to cheer them up and warn them who to stay away from and to always stay in groups. People looked at her and felt hope. Lily felt hope. They wouldn't go down without a fight and Mary was the one that could lead them into that battle. Lily still hadn't really talked to her, but soon she promised herself, soon she would go over there and become friends with her.

No that time was now! Lily thought to herself and took the first step.

Lily took a deep breath and did it. She went over to Mary. Her hands were sweaty. Never did Lily want to be friends with somebody so much as she wanted to be friends with Mary.

Lily wasn't far. She could hear Mary talk to some younger students.

"No, don't ever be ashamed off your origins. You are muggleborn and you can be damn proud of it. You know how to live and learn in two worlds. We are the once that understood all of it, not just a fraction. We descended from muggle, who thrived in this world like nobody else. They are the ones that are rule this world just by being damn cleverer than everybody else. Muggles are adaptable and innovative in a way that even the magical world can't compare, because really everybody who thinks candle light is the way to go, is some centuries behind." There was passion and conviction in her voice and Lily wanted that. This unshakable believe that they would turn out victorious in the end. Listening to Mary made Lily believe in her, in a better future. Right in that moment Lily would have followed her into every battle.

Lily ended up not speaking to her that day, but thinking about how she showed her pride for her heritage. It wasn't that Lily hid the fact that she was muggleborn, but she wasn't really showing it either. She was still thinking about it when she was doing her homework later that evening.

A big drop of ink leaked on her essay and she cursed under her breath, really quills and inkwells were so unpractical, why couldn't witches use normal pens. Lily stopped. Yes, that was a great idea. She pulled out a fresh piece of parchment and wrote a letter home to her parents.

Hello mum and dad

How are you? I'm fine. Not much happened here, but I miss you.

She didn't write about the attacks and insults against muggleborns. There was no reason to make her parents worry about things they couldn't change, right?

Can I ask you for a favor? It would be great if you could send me some pens and some notepads, maybe some files and some post-its. I'm a bit sick of the quills all the time.

Thank you and love you

Lily

Please hug Tuney for me.

Lily folded the letter and put her books and essay away. The rest could wait for tomorrow. Dorcas and Sulfia already went up to the dorm. Lily looked around. Remus still sat down with his friends.

"Hey Remus, could you do me a favor and keep an eye on my bag? I'll be back in twenty minutes tops." Lily asked him. She trusted Remus, enough that he would defend her bag against Potter and Black.

Remus looked up from his essay and frowned. "Where do you want to go at this time?"

Sirius snickered next to him.

"Only to the owlery, mama." Lily replied with a cheeky grin. Remus looked conflicted and bit his lip. His eyes wandered between Lily and his unfinished essay.

"Really? I needed to go to the owlery as well. I'll come with you." Potter declared and hastily stuffed his homework into his bag. Remus smiled at him.

Lily rolled her eyes. "I would prefer if you don't."

"Too bad, that it you can't forbad me where I can go." He just grinned and walked over to her. Lily thought about going later, but she really would like to send this letter today. Well she would just ignore Potter all the way there. But he didn't seem to get that memo and didn't ignore her back.

He had no problem with talking to her about all kind of stuff, even if she didn't answer him. Only directly in front of the owlery did she pay him any attention.

"So where is your letter, Potter?" Lily asked and pulled her letter out.

"I don't have one." He just asked and shrugged his shoulders.

Lily turned around and glared at him. "So you really just followed me here? What are you a creepy stalker?"

He glared back and crossed his arms. "First just because I don't have a letter didn't mean, I don't have something to do here and second, take it up with Dorky, she made us promise to not let you wander round on your own when it's dark."

"Dorcas asked you to?" Lily didn't know what to think about it. Sure Dorcas often went with her and was always worried when Lily went off on her own, but surely she wouldn't ask those boys to protect her. They were bullies themselves! But then Dorcas was friends with them and would trust them. "I'll ask her."

He just shrugged. "Do that. You are our only Gryffindor muggleborn in our year. We all watch out for you." That was kind of really nice. Lily felt warm at the idea that her house would defend her no matter what.

"So is there something you want do here or did you only follow me here?" Lily tried to change the subject because she really didn't know how to reply to James' words.

"Sure I have." He grinned at her and stepped into the middle of the owlery. A moment later a loud owl shriek came from above them and when a mostly black hawk owl dived down from the nests, only to claw itself into James' robes. It hit Potter with its wings and pecked at his face and hair. "Yes, yes, I'm sorry Bludger for leaving you all alone forever since the morning! I'm the worst, I know." James just laughed and petted the aggressive owl.

Lily stayed away and looked warily at the owl. "Is that yours?"

"Yes." Potter seemed ridiculous proud about owning an owl that attacked him. "This is Bludger. Isn't she beautiful and sweet?"

"That is one way to describe her…" Lily said diplomatically. Potter only grinned wider and pulled an owl treat out of his robe.

"Bludger, say hello to Lily." James told his owl and sent her flying in her direction. Lily took a step back and prepared herself for an attack, but the owl only gently landed on her shoulder and nuzzled itself in her hair. James laughed. "Bludger loves everything red. It's a good thing I was sorted into Gryffindor or I'm sure she would downright refuse to carry any letters for me."

"That's nice." Carefully she lifted her hand to stroke the dark feathers.

"She likes you." James told her and stepped closer. "You know you can borrow her to send your letter. One of the reasons she is always angry with me is because I don't send enough letters, according to her."

"I don't really want my family to be attacked by your owl. My sister is already afraid of them." Lily wasn't sure why she told Potter that. It was one of the reasons why Lily couldn't have an owl on her own.

"Oh, don't worry. She only does that with me and Sirius, but he always calls her demon bird and threatened to hit her with a beater bat not that I would ever let him, oh and Peter for some reason. But she adores Remus and you as it seems. She was still voted out of our dorm…"

"Oh, but I can't send her. She would have to wait for an answer and I asked my parents to send me some stuff, so it could take a day or two." Lily still petted to owl, that in return groomed her hair.

"Oh, a packet? Bludger do you want to carry a packet? Yes you want to!" James cooed at his owl that peaked up at the mentioning of the word packet. "She always feels important when she can carry a packet. The bigger the better. My parents sometimes just put stuff in a too big box only to let Bludger carry a bigger packet. It is really disappointing to get a huge box only to open it and find a note and your forgotten tie."

What really made Lily laugh was how funny he enacted this scene while telling her. Sometimes James could be funny, if he didn't pick on others for it.

Somehow this conversation really ended with Lily tying her letter to Bludger's leg with the instruction to wait for an answer. Three days later the dark owl landed in front of Lily with a packet from her parents and everything she asked for. Bludger got a sausage from Lily before she flew off to Potter to land on his head and pull on his hair.

A.N.

This chapter deals wit a few things. How the war and tension is growing in Hogwarts, how Lily notice more of it, how Lily admiration for Mary is growing and how she search for hope in Mary, how Lily deals with her identity as a muggleborn, how others around her worry about her and how there are moment between her and James that are nice and funny, how Lily can see that he is a caring guy. That there is a part of her that trusts him, how he can make her feel at ease, even when everything around them is falling apart.

And I wrote this chapter, because I had this idea of James' owl in my head and I needed to show her off. I hope you like Bludger. I like her and James will be very offended if you don't ;)

Please tell me what you think and have a nice day.