"For the last time, Lavender, I didn't forget Weasley on purpose," Lily said in an annoyed tone. She set her fork down, since she apparently couldn't even get through a single breakfast without interruption. She was having a pleasant time before the other girl showed up. She still needed to read over the letter from home, but she couldn't do that with Lavender standing nearby.
"But he's-" Lavender began, motioning with her hands to express her distress.
"I'm not talking about this anymore," Lily said, setting her fork down. "You can see him again after Christmas, I'll make sure to bring him."
Lavender huffed, but she turned to stomp back off to where Parvati was sitting. The Indian girl whispered some comforting words, then smiled apologetically at Lily once Lavender was sitting back down. She was almost as sick of the arguing as Lily was, and they were only on the first day of term. Lily wondered if asking for a picture of the feline from the Burrow would do anything to calm her down. She didn't know if she could stand a full semester of arguing with Lavender.
"How long has that been going on?" Ron asked, sitting down across from her. His tie was askew, and he yawned widely as he began piling food onto his plate. Neville joined shortly after, dressed far more properly (but looking just as tired). Lily was an hour into her own meal; she woke up as Hermione closed the door to their dorm shut. She was hoping to find the other girl down here, but she had no such luck.
"All night," Lily said, picking her fork back up. "I hope that's the end of it, I can't take much more."
"Where's Hermione?" Neville asked, looking around for her. Lily could feel her lips frown, but she tried to force a smile back onto them. No need to make Neville feel bad for an innocent question.
"Not back to normal yet," Lily said. "She didn't wake me up, and I couldn't find her anywhere."
"Did you check the library?" Ron asked.
"No, I thought I'd give her some space if she was in there," Lily said, taking a bit of egg. They were starting to get a bit cold. Lily cursed Lavender's name for it.
"What's that letter?" Ron asked, pointing at the brown envelope. He had a look of suspicion hidden in his squinting face.
"It's from your mother," Lily admitted.
"She wrote back already?" Ron asked. "Usually takes me a few days to get one."
"Mine was urgent, wasn't it?" Lily asked snidely. "We don't all write home about our-"
"Don't you start," Ron interrupted, his ears turning red. Neville grew a smirk of his own, quickly replaced with a yawn as his pudgy face stretched.
"You aren't eating, Neville?" Lily asked, noticing his empty plate still sitting before him.
"I can't eat yet," Neville mumbled, eyes cast down. "If we have Snape first, I won't be able to keep it down."
"We'll find out soon enough, mate," Ron said, placing a hand on Neville's shoulder in comfort.
Lily set her fork down, cracking upon the wax seal on her letter. Best to get it over with, Lily thought, hearing the phrase in Mrs. Weasley's voice.
Dear Lily,
We're sorry we didn't tell you about the enquiry, dear, but we thought it best not to worry you. Arthur reckons it won't be an issue for much longer, and we'll all be laughing about it soon enough. He said he has a few friends in the department doing the investigation, and they've all been having a nice laugh with him about the whole thing. Try to keep it out of your mind.
As for Weasley, don't you worry one bit about him. We found him in the garden, playing with the gnomes. I don't think he ever even realized we left without him. We'll make sure to take good care of him until you return for the Holidays.
Sorry for the short letter, dear, I'll make sure to send you a longer one later, I just wanted to make sure you got this one right away. Make sure you give Errol a nice, long sip of water before you send him back off.
Much Love,
Molly
Well, that made Lily feel a bit bad. She sent Errol off without offering him a single thing. She hoped he at least went to the Owlery to rest; she'd hate for the Weasley owl to die just because she didn't think to water it.
"Weasley is okay," Lily told the two boys, who were eagerly awaiting this news with every fiber of their beings.
"Course he is," Ron said, mouth stuffed with food, not so much as glancing over at Lily.
"When did you write home?" Neville asked sleepily.
"Mate, we discussed it last night," Ron said with a roll of his eyes. "She wanted to write home about the enquiry, remember?"
"Oh," Neville mumbled. "Is it fine?"
Lily opened her mouth to answer the question.
"If it wasn't, she would have mentioned it first, wouldn't she?" Ron interrupted. "I told you not to worry about it, didn't I? Dad will be fine."
"But what if Ginny gets in-"
"Fred and George blew up the shed right after they got their wands," Ron interrupted once more. "They were practicing their charms when mum wasn't looking, and then boom! I lost my eyebrows to it, and mum almost didn't let them come to Hogwarts. Nothing ever happened to them."
"How did you lose you eyebrows?" Lily asked curiously, interested in a new subject. She could refocus herself later on, but this needed to come first. She knew her priorities.
"I was trying to help them," Ron admitted. "They said they'd let me have a turn if I read them the instructions. Anyway, my point is early magic happens all the time. Dad told us the Ministry doesn't really start enforcing the rule until after your first year at Hogwarts."
"Why didn't you say any of that last night?" Lily asked. "It would have saved us all a lot of-"
"I was worried you'd write mum about it," Ron cut her off. "We're not really supposed to know about it, you know?"
"How would the Ministry even know we were doing magic outside of school?" Lily asked. "I was doing magic all summer before St. Mungo's, but never heard so much as a peep."
"I dunno," Ron said, shrugging his shoulders. "Dad refused to talk about it when Fred and George asked, but he said he'd report us personally if he ever found out."
Lily scoffed. "And then he went and blamed his own daughter instead of ratting me out?" She didn't know if she should thank him for that yet; Ginny was still ignoring her, although that could still be for the train thing. She'd have to find time to ask later.
"He'll have to think of something else before the summer, or Fred and George will be taking full advantage of it," Ron said.
"McGonagall is passing out the schedules now," Neville said, nudging Ron. Lily and Ron both turned as once, watching their head of house make her way down the table. She was wearing a green robe and a matching hat, same as almost every time Lily has seen her. She couldn't help but wonder if she only own green robes.
Lily quickly pressed on the knot of her tie, having it tighten around her neck to avoid a scolding from McGonagall, noticing Ron didn't bother sorting his out. He wiggled his eyebrows at her, and she stuck out her tongue. She would have risked a ruder gesture, but McGonagall was almost to them now.
"Good morning," the professor said as she reached the three of them, handing them each a sheet of paper. McGonagall paused, her thin lips changing into a slight smile as her eyes panned over Lily. "I see your attire is in order, Miss Potter. Good work. It seems you've finally learned to keep it together. A point for Gryffindor."
"Thanks, Professor," Lily said, feeling guilty about cheating now. She hoped that feeling wouldn't last. She resisted the urge to tug at her neckline; the tightening feature was nice, but it clung to her neck rather tightly.
"I'll be taking more if you let me find it out of order, as a word of warning. I shall see you all momentarily." McGonagall nodded, then continued down the table, handing out more schedules.
"How come she never goes for you?" Lily snapped upon noticing Ron's grin. The boy was too busy ignoring her, going over this year's class schedule with a growing expression of horror.
Ron groaned, letting some of his emotions out. "Double Transfiguration and double Charms back to back?" That made Lily glance down at her own schedule, letting out a similar noise once she saw the results.
"And we have Herbology right after," Lily said, joining the dismay. She didn't much enjoy that particular subject, even if it was Neville's favorite. In fact, Neville was the only reason for hers and Ron's success the previous year; the Weasley lad didn't much care for it, either.
"We won't have time for lunch on Wednesdays," Neville said. "It'll be over by the time we get out of Herbology."
"And then we still have History of Magic!" Ron said, laying his head down on the table. Lily pressed the knot against her neck, making the tie go loose again so she could breathe a little.
"Why are both Defense classes doubles?" Lily said. "We didn't even have a single double last year."
"Lockhart really is full of himself," Ron grumbled mutinously, eyes darting over to where the handsome professor was sitting. "He probably couldn't bear having shorter lessons."
"Mondays and Wednesdays are terrible," Neville said optimistically, "But at least we're done at lunch Tuesdays and Thursdays."
"It's the small blessings," Ron agreed. "That Monday is absolutely awful. Astronomy, followed the next day by double Potions? First thing in the morning? That's torture, that is."
"It could have been History of Magic," Lily said. "Then we'd definitely fall asleep." History of Magic was their only class taught by a ghost, and a rather boring one at that. Every student, with the exception of Hermione, had problems staying awake during any lecture hosted by Professor Binns.
"I'd take Binns over Snape," Neville said darkly, eyes darting back down to the schedule. Lily didn't know why he was complaining so much. He wasn't the one who had their least favorite class as the first one of the new year. Lily just hoped McGonagall would go easy on them.
"They could have just moved Wednesday's Herbology to Monday, and we'd have plenty of time for lunch," Ron complained, smacking the paper with his free hand as he raised his voice in contempt.
"We're done much earlier this year, at least," Lily said, "Even if everything is packed closer together. We might actually be able to keep up with our homework."
"I wonder if that means we'll be getting the mornings off next year," Ron said, losing his grumpy voice. He did enjoy sleeping in, didn't he?
"Did Fred and George have them off last year?," Lily asked, motioning to the two now-fourth-years sitting further down the table, going over their own schedules. They were smiling and joking about something with their friend, Lee Jordan, and the three Gryffindor Chasers (from last year), Angelina, Alicia, and, of course, Katie.
Lily's motion caught Katie's eye, and she waved eagerly, shooting a bright smile her way. Lily returned it, feeling pleased with herself. She turned back to Ron and Neville once Katie turned back to her own friends.
"What was that about?' Ron asked curiously.
"What was what about?" Lily asked curiously, mimicking Ron's eyebrow movements as best she could. She threw him a sweet smile, piling some more eggs on her plate as she maintained eye contact.
"We should probably head to class," Ron said, shaking his head, breaking the contest first. Lily always knew he was weak. He grabbed his grab, slinging it over his shoulder. Neville followed suit, picking up his plate to shove the last remaining bits in his mouth. Lily mimicked that action herself, downing a cup of pumpkin juice afterwards.
"Since when do you want to get to class so early?" Lily said, grabbing her own, much heavier bag as she stood up to follow the two boys.
"Best to get it over with," Ron grumbled. "We'll be in classes for hours."
Transfiguration was both worse and better than Lily expected. The Gryffindors had the class to themselves, and they spent the period reviewing material from last year. Lily even got Avifors to work on her first try, something that made her immensely proud.
Unfortunately, Lily could not be proud of the rest of her work. She only managed to get a few spells to work at all, and those after repeated attempts. Her eyes stung briefly when Lavender sniggered at her, but she felt better about it when McGonagall deducted a point for it. Even so, though, Lily had to admit that she was still struggling with the subject. McGonagall assigned her extra homework for the day, to "help her" figure everything out.
Lily had the opposite experience in Charms; she was exempted from this week's homework, on account of her excellent work both the year before and during their practice session. Flitwick clapped his hands together in excitement as she made her pineapple dance across the room. Lily was proud of that as well; she didn't get to show off very often. She quite enjoyed the grumpy face Lavender was making, and she had her own turn to snigger when Lavender had trouble getting her own pineapple to so much as wiggle.
Lily packed her things up slowly as the Gryffindors filed out of the room, followed shortly after by the Ravenclaws. This was the first of their shared classes, although she was sure it wouldn't be the last. She waved Ron and Neville ahead; she'd meet them at the greenhouses soon enough.
"Professor, could I ask a question?" Lily asked, taking the chance while they were alone. A thought occurred to her over the summer, and now seemed like her best chance to test it, since she was currently on good footing with the professor.
"Of course, Miss Potter, of course," Flitwick said in a cheerful tone. Lily thought he was small last year, when she already towered him, but his miniscule stature was becoming even more obvious the more she grew. She barely had to incline her head at all, even with the professor standing on a pile of books.
"I have a couple of advanced charms books," Lily said, pulling out the one she had just received for her birthday. He already knew about the previous one, since he picked it out for Hermione. "I was wondering if you could help me learn a few, just in our spare time?"
Flitwick took the book, quickly flipping through to get a good idea of what it contained. The book was almost half his size, Lily noticed, although it was a rather large book. To be frank, Lily wasn't even sure how she'd gotten it into her bag, or how she'd get it back in now that it was out. The professor twirled his moustache as he flipped through the pages, levitating it in front of him with his wand.
"I'll have to go over it this weekend," Flitwick said, placing the book on his desk, wish a quick flick of his wand. "Some of it seems beyond your current level, but I should be able to find something for you to work on."
"Thanks, Professor," Lily said, feeling relieved. Flitwick was always very nice to her, but even so, she didn't actually expect him to say yes. There was always a tension in her chest anytime she had to have a discussion with an adult at all, always a nagging sense of doubt.
"Don't thank me, yet," Flitwick said, trying to sound stern. Lil felt the nerves come back. "I haven't accepted yet, and I am rather busy. But I think I can find the time for at least one session every month. That's assuming you keep up with your other work, of course. I won't have your Charms distracting you from other classes."
Lily bit her lip. She'd been hoping for more frequent lessons, and she didn't expect the restrictions at all. She couldn't help but fear McGonagall would ruin this opportunity for her. "But, Professor-"
"No arguing, Miss Potter," Flitwick said, sitting at his desk and shuffling through some papers. "Keep your Transfigurations marks up, and I will gladly teach you some advanced Charms. You better head off, now, or you'll be late for Herbology."
"You're doomed," Ron said over the plant they were working on. Herbology did not start off with a review, and they jumped straight into Leaping Toadstools. They were rather a pain, Ron and Lily agreed, but Neville seemed to have a knack for getting them to hold still long enough to pile soil on them.
"I know," Lily said, sighing as her toadstool once again jumped free of its pot. Lily thought they were rather ugly, with squashed, grumpy faces and large, red hats on their heads. They weren't hats, of course, but Lily didn't know what else to call them, she wasn't paying attention when Professor Sprout was describing them.
"If you just keep studying, you'll at least pass all the written assignments," Neville said, "And so long as you're passing, why would Flitwick refuse you?"
"I wish I wasn't so bad at it," Lily said. "Why can't I be good at it, like Charms?"
"Who knows?" Ron said. "Can't be good at everything, can you? Can you hand me those pliers?"
Lily tried to hand over the pliers, but Neville put a hand on hers ever so gently, forcing her to set them back down.
"We'll be starting Mandrakes next week," Neville said, taking over Ron's work for him. Ron tore his gloves off his hands, happy to let someone else take over. Lily continued fussing over hers grumpily, upset that Neville took mercy on Ron instead of her.
"Mandrakes?" Ron asked. "I thought those were deadly. Dad said-"
"They're only deadly when they're fully grown," Neville explained. "Professor Sprout said we'd be dealing with the babies, and then the upper years would be take over as they grew."
"Oh, good," Ron said. "Good to know our deaths have been delayed until seventh year."
"You really think you'll be taking a NEWT in Herbology?" Lily said, scrunching her eyebrows together as the toadstool gnawed at her gloved hand. "You barely passed the first year."
Lily, for one, fully intended on dropping the class as soon as she was able to; she hated coming back to the dorm covered in sweat and dirt every day, and she really, really hated tending to gardens. Even when she was trying to help Neville back home, she always gave up as quickly as she thought she could get away with. She chalked that up to Petunia forcing her to tend theirs back when she lived with the Dursleys. At the very least, the ponytail made dealing with the class easier, since she no longer got quite as sweaty.
"How'd you find out about the NEWTs?" Ron asked shrewdly. "I thought you didn't know anything about the wizarding world."
"Ron, I read," Lily said, blushing. That was certainly not the turn in conversation she had expected.
"That, and Percy's been freaking out about his OWLs all summer, hasn't he?" Neville added, Lily nodding her head in agreement. "Hardly saw him at all the entire time we were visiting."
"I still don't buy it," Ron said.
"Ron, the book you just bought me has an entire foreword about preparing for the NEWTs," Lily said. And she'd know that for certain, having read the whole thing over several times.
"Why does it have that?" Neville asked.
"Because most of the charms are NEWT level," Lily explained. "You both picked some advanced work."
"How are you supposed to get any of those, even with Flitwick's help?" Ron asked.
"Well, there has to be something in there I can get," Lily said exasperatedly.
"And what about that spell that blinded you?" Ron asked. "That one didn't seem very hard."
Lily blushed again. "That- that was- it was easy, yes, but it's that high up because of the drawbacks, I think."
"So, naturally, the first thing you did was cast it on yourself," Ron said.
"Well, I had to try it out, didn't I?" Lily said. "And it worked, Dobby just ruined it."
"Dobby?" Ron and Neville asked in unison, sharing a look with each other.
"Dobby," Lily repeated in a tired, fed up tone. "The house elf? The one I told you about on the train?"
"Oh, right," Ron said, scratching his chin. "The one that- err- pushed you down the stairs?"
"I-" Lily started, raising a finger, then letting it fall back down. "I don't even remember telling you about that part."
"We discussed it while you were moping about Weasley," Neville added, picking up Ron's pot to set it on the ground next to his own. He pushed Lily aside so he could work on hers now that it was the only one remaining.
"If you discussed it, how'd you forget it?" Lily asked.
"Well, you only said the name once," Ron answered. "We just called it the house elf."
"Are you going to try it again?' Neville asked.
"Pardon?" Lily asked, brow wrinkling in confusion.
"The charm that blinded you," Neville reminded her. "The thing we were just discussing?"
"I don't blame her for forgetting that one, mate," Ron said, shaking his head. A toadstool leapt past them from nearby, Seamus quickly giving chase so it wouldn't give away. Lily leaned against the wall to let him pass.
Lily leaned forward again once Seamus returned with his fungi, lowering her voice. "I was going to sneak out this weekend, actually, try out the map Fred and George gave me."
"Map?" Neville and Ron asked together. They were getting quite good at that; they could almost give the twins a run for their money.
"Oh, right," Lily said, blushing again. "I was supposed to keep that a secret." She tried to avoid their eyes with her own, but she could feel them staring at her in anticipation.
"Well, now you have to tell us," Ron said.
"Yeah, go on, Lily," Neville agreed.
"No, I'll keep it to myself for now, thank you very much," Lily said, getting back to work and ignoring the pleas from the boys. Not that there was much work to do, of course, but she could at least pretend to be busy. It was something she was quite good at, actually.
History of Magic was nothing notable in the slightest; it was just as boring as it was last year. Lily had a hard time staying awake after their jampacked first day of classes. The only reason she didn't nap like Ron was the hunger pangs; she hadn't eaten since breakfast. Just like Neville and Ron feared, it didn't seem like they'd have time for lunch on Wednesdays.
"Finally," Ron said as they left the classroom, stretching widely. His stray hand almost hit Lavender in the face as she tried to pass, and she huffed grumpily as she shot him a look. "I thought Binns would keep going until we were all dead."
"You slept through the whole thing, why are you complaining?" Lily grumbled. She was pretty sure she'd be the one paying for Ron's lack of attention.
"I caught the last ten minutes," Ron said, scratching his nose. "Luckily Hermione wasn't nearby to keep me from getting some shut-eye."
"I could have used her, myself," Neville said, rubbing at his eyes. He fell asleep during the class, too, but he hadn't meant to. Nothing Lily did was capable of raising him from the dead; he only woke when the bell rang to signify the start of supper.
"Did anybody see where she was sitting?" Lily asked. "I haven't seen her all day." Lily tried to sit in the front of every class (except Herbology) in attempt to force the girl to talk to her, but it clearly hadn't worked.
"She was in the corner, by herself," Ron said.
"Why would she sit all the way back there?" Neville asked.
"Why don't you ask her?" Ron said, motioning to the bushy-haired girl walking a few meters ahead of them.
"I don't know if that's a good idea," Lily said shyly. She had no reason to feel so nervous about it, of course; she was pretty sure that if she just kept forcing the issue, Hermione would give up and talk to her again. She just wasn't willing to do that. She wanted Hermione to want to talk to her.
"Not you, Lily," Ron said, nudging his friend with his elbow. "I meant Neville. She's not mad at him, is she?"
"I don't know, actually," Lily said, giving it a thought.
"Let's find out," Neville said, taking a deep breath and then walking ahead of his two companions. He was soon walking in step with Hermione, who seemed to be giving him very short responses to any inquiry he made.
"Really, how long is this going to last?" Ron asked. "We need her help with Transfiguration, she's the only reason we passed it last year."
"You'll just have to study with me," Lily said, feeling slightly pleased. That was one good thing to come from this, she supposed. At the very least, she'd have more study partners.
Neville returned to the two of them before they reached the second floor, falling into step with them instead.
"How'd it go?' Lily asked nervously.
"She said I'm welcome to study with her anytime," he answered.
"And what about the two of us?" Ron asked far more confidently.
"She said if the two of you can find it in you to behave yourselves, she'd be more than welcome to associate with you once more," he answered.
"Associate with us?" Ron scoffed. "Where does she get off?"
Lily felt a tingling in her scar as she tried to fall asleep that night, exhausted from the day's activities. She was almost there, too, she could tell. She was even on the precipice of a dream, although she couldn't recall what she was thinking about. She just knew it made her feel excited, and it might have involved Quidditch, since Katie was there. The memory quickly faded into the background of her mind, and she chalked it up as another failed event. She never remembered her dreams. She finally fell back asleep later, listening to the sounds of Hermione writing on parchment and of Lavender softly snoring in the corner most bed.
Thursday morning came far too quickly, even if Lily woke up far later than she would have liked. There was only an hour left before classes start, and she was used to having a far longer meal than this while at Hogwarts. She stopped by the library to find Hermione, hoping to ask the other girl to wake her even if they weren't talking, but she wasn't there.
Lily found her sitting alone in the Great Hall when she arrived. She went to sit down next to her, but Hermione got up and left when she saw Lily coming. Lily watched her bushy hair turn out of the dining area, heading straight towards the entrance of the dungeons.
Lily sniffed, sitting down at the far end of the table. To be honest, she expected to feel more hurt, but she found she was annoyed instead. She settled on ignoring Hermione, too, since she was the one being obstinate. She felt much better once Ron and Neville arrived downstairs to join her. Even Ginny came down early, and Lily hadn't seen her at all the previous day. She liked nice in the bright red of Gryffindor, Lily thought.
"How were classes, Ginny?" Lily asked as the youngest Weasley sat next to her. That was certainly a good sign. At least that was one less girl ignoring her now.
"They were fine," Ginny answered. "Colin can be annoying, though, he wouldn't stop asking about you after he found out you were staying in my room over the summer."
"How'd he find that out?" Lily grumbled. She shot a glare at the mousy haired Gryffindor, who was sitting at the other end of the table with a few other first years. He was also wearing the red and gold of Gryffindor now, although it didn't look as nice on him. He looked too small for the proud, brave colors. Of course, Lily was one to talk; she was smaller than he was when she arrived, even if she was already much bigger. Colin waved brightly when he noticed Lily staring at him, and she quickly turned away.
"I told him," Ron said, between mouthfuls of food, looking far too pleased with himself.
Lily shot him a look of utter contempt. Ron shot her back a look of utter delight.
"Ron, why would you-" she began.
"Did you have Lockhart, yet?" Ginny asked, cutting her off. Lily huffed, but went back to eating. "His class is really easy, all he did was give us a quiz and then talk for an hour about his adventures."
"Not yet," Neville said, taking the initiative on the response. "We have him today, though, right after Potions."
"And then we have the rest of the day off," Ron said, smiling dreamily. Lily knew what he was thinking about; he was dreaming of a nice, long nap in his nice, warm bed. She knew because she was thinking much the same.
"We have homework to do," Lily said, trying to bring them both back to the cold, hard reality of their life. At the very least, she really needed to finish up her Transfiguration work before she relaxed, since McGonagall expected it all to be done by tomorrow.
Ron scoffed at the sheer thought of it. "It's nice out, and you want to be cooped up inside?"
"Yes," Lily said. "I need to get this Transfiguration work done, or McGonagall will-"
"You can finish it later, Lily, let's go flying," Ron complained. "I need some more practice before try outs if I'm going to stand a chance."
"Fine," Lily said, grumbling, "But you have to help me later, or I'm taking back my broom." It seemed like a fair compromise to her, since she was the one who desperately needed to get some work done.
"You can't do that, you already gave it up," Ron said.
"That didn't stop you from returning it several times over the summer," Neville mumbled. Lily assumed he was speaking more quietly now that Ginny was here; he always did that around people he didn't know well.
"Can I have it instead?" Ginny asked brightly, shooting Lily her best attempt at puppy-dog eyes. Lily just shook her head.
"First years aren't allowed a broom," Ron snapped.
"You're just worried I'll out fly you," Ginny said.
"Cut it out," Lily said. "You're giving me a headache."
As a matter of fact, she did suddenly have a headache, although she didn't know why. Her scar was hurting, and it was causing the whole thing to throb with a dull pain.
"What's wrong?" Neville asked, looking worried.
"I dunno," Lily said. "My scar hurts."
Ron frowned, suddenly looking worried as well. "Didn't that happen last year, too? You know, with Quirrell?"
"Yes," Lily said, forcing the memory of Quirrell out of her brain as quickly as it came in. Don't think about it, she told herself once more.
"You don't think he's here, do you?" Neville asked, voice dropping to a whisper. Lily could feel her stomach drop at the mere mention of it.
"How could he, he's a wanted criminal," Ron said. "Dad thinks he's not even in Britain right now, or they'd have found him already."
Lily desperately needed a different topic; she could feel her body breaking out in a cold sweat, and it felt like a scream was building up deep inside her.
"Where did you get the Gryffindor tie and robe, Ginny?" she asked, hoping somebody would latch onto it.
"What do you mean?" Ginny responded, making the same look of confusion that all Weasleys were good at.
"You didn't know you'd be in Gryffindor ahead of time," Lily explained. "That's why they had us buy all the black ones. Where'd you get the Gryffindor ones?"
"Lily, really?" Ron asked. "Where do you think you got yours?"
Lily couldn't think of answer to that; she had no memory of ever receiving any. She was pretty sure she just put them on the next morning, not even noticing that they were different at all.
"The colors change when the hat sorts us, Lily," Neville explained, deciding to have mercy on the poor girl.
"Oh," Lily said, blushing. She supposed embarrassment was a better feeling than primal fear, at the very least.
"Really, now, how did you never notice?" Ron asked.
"Well, then, what about the spares?" Lily asked. "The ones we weren't wearing? How did those get changed?"
"See, now that's a better question," Ron asked, taking a bite out of his toast. "If I had to take a guess, I'd say probably through magic. I'm sure we'll learn a similar charm at some point. We could even ask Percy, he'd probably know."
"We should be going," Lily said, standing up to save herself from any further embarrassment. "If we're late for Potions on the first day, Snape will kill us."
"I think you'd be exempt from that," Ron said, sighing as he, too, stood up. He took one last, wistful look at his plate of food, then began to walk away, Neville following behind him.
"I'll see you at lunch, then?" Ginny asked.
"See you later, Gin," Lily said, waving as they left the cafeteria. She had to jog to catch up; Ron always set the pace of their walking, since he had by far the longest stride. Lily was worried she was done growing now; she didn't get so much as an inch over the summer.
As Lily tried to enter the dungeons, rubbing at her still tingling scar, she ran into a Slytherin girl coming out of it, knocking the books right out of her hands.
"Sorry," Lily said, quickly bending over to help her. Their heads knocked together, and she rubbed the sore spot. The other girl gave out a squak of surprise, then quickly got out of the way to let Lily scoop up all her things. Lily didn't mind; it was her fault.
"Sorry," she apologized again, handing over an armful of books. "You should carry a bag with you; I dropped my things all the time last year before I did." Lily gestured with her head to her satchel. It was currently weighing her down heavily on one side. She had a tendency to lean with it, which probably didn't help her balance.
"Thanks," the smaller, Asian girl said. Lily gave her a once over as she took the books. She wore her short, black hair in a bob, Lily noticed, and the green and silver on her robes matched nicely with her green eyes. She was also blushing from the embarrassing scene, and was refusing to meet Lily's own gaze. Lily couldn't blame her; she would have been mortified if this happened to her during the first year. Merlin, I'm mortified that it happened now, she thought. She could see Ron and Neville sniggering ahead of her. At least they were the only witnesses.
"Sorry again," Lily apologized once more, giving another rub on the sore spot of her head. At the very least, she couldn't even feel her scar anymore now that something else hurt.
The girl's eyes wandered up Lily's face, locking onto Lily's scar. That made her feel uncomfortable, so she apologized once more, pushing past the girl to where Ron and Neville were waiting.
"See you around, Potter," the Slytherin girl called as they all walked away, trying to find their way to Professor Snape's classroom.
"Nice to know not all the Slytherins are bad this year," Lily said, feeling a little pleased. It didn't outweigh the shame, of course, but it was a start.
Ron snorted at that. "Give her time. She'll hate you like the rest of them soon enough."
They found Hermione to be the only person currently waiting outside of the Potions classroom, but she didn't look up as they entered the hallway. They took up position on the other side of the classroom, giving her some space. She seemed to be taking some notes in a small journal.
"What do you think she's writing about?" Ron whispered, apparently also taking note of it.
"Who cares?" Lily asked, not returning the same volume. She heard Hermione sniff at that, but she tried not to let it bother her.
"Who's your partner going to be, Lily?" Ron asked, no longer whispering.
"Err-" Lily whined, happening to notice that Hermione's quill stopped moving for a few seconds.
"You have to work with one of us," Ron said. "We can't do it without you, he'll fail us."
"Please choose me," Neville said, looking pale. "I can't handle Snape standing near me."
"Well- Well, I was-" Lily stammered.
"Just going to work with me," Ron said quickly.
"I'll go with Neville," Lily said. "At least he isn't pushing me into a decision."
"Oh, come on," Ron groaned. "What am I supposed to do, now?"
"Just sit next to us, Ron," Lily said, rolling her eyes. "You know, like you did last year? I'll still help you."
The doors suddenly flung open, and Professor Snape was standing in the doorway, crooked nose and greasy hair framed by the dim-light of the dungeons. He was wearing all black, as usual, and looking rather dour.
"You three," he barked in a commanding tone. "Quiet down, they can hear you all over the castle."
"We were just-" Ron began to argue.
"Three points from Gryffindor, Weasley," Snape said.
"But-" Ron started before receiving a sharp elbow from Lily.
"As for your seating arrangements," Snape began, narrowing his eyes at the three of them, "I have decided to pick them for you this year."
"You can't just-" Ron said, earning another elbow from Lily.
"Of course I can, Weasley. Don't think I didn't notice the high marks you earned last year, despite your absence of ability. No doubt Miss Potter was giving you instructions. You'll be working with Miss Parkinson, I'm afraid."
"Parksinson?" Ron said in disbelief. He looked about to argue again, so Lily gave him a harder elbow.
Snape smiled, showing off his yellow teeth. That was always unsettling; you never wanted to make the Potions master smile. It was never a good sign. "Yes, Weasley, Parkinson. Longbottom will be with Granger, as much as I loathe it. If I gave him anyone else, it's likely he'd kill us all."
"See, Neville," Lily said, feeling a little relieved herself, "Nothing to worry-"
"And you, Potter," Snape interrupted, dark eyes focusing in on Lily. "You will be working with Mr. Malfoy."
"Malfoy?" Lily said in shock. "You can't-" She was stopped from a quick elbow in her ribs, courtesy of Mr. Weasley. She rubbed at while she glared at the Potions professor, suddenly wondering why she'd ever defended him at all.
"I believe we've already determined that I can," Snape responded. "Consider it a punishment for helping these two to cheat the system."
Snape held the door open, ushering the four of them inside (for Hermione had stood up to join them upon hearing her name). Lily dragged her feet as she entered, making sure to show the professor just how displeased she was.
"Potter, left desk at the front. Granger and Longbottom, the front on the right. Weasley, left at the back. There will be no conversation prior to class time."
Lily grumbled, sitting down at her designated workstation. From what she could tell, Neville seemed to be the only person happy with this arrangement, although Hermione didn't seem too displeased. Lily couldn't help but noticing she was receiving a few too many self-satisfied smirks from the other girl. She could practically hear the lecture Hermione was giving in her head, and that didn't please Lily one bit.
The rest of the class filed in slowly over time. Lavender and Parvati were separated and, much to their dismay, each assigned to Crabbe and Goyle, respectively. They were the last two Gryffindors to be sorted with a Slytherin; Seamus and Dean still managed to be together, while the remaining Slytherins had no one else to be sorted with from a different house. Lily thought it was an extremely unfair arrangement; they couldn't help it that Slytherin received more first years than Gryffindor did during the previous sorting.
Malfoy looked just as unhappy with his partner as Lily had been, although he voiced no arguments to Professor Snape. He ran a hand over his slick, blonde hair as he sat down, trying his best to sneer confidently.
"You're welcome, Potter," he said.
Lily narrowed her eyes. "Pardon?"
"For the easy grade," Malfoy said. "Clearly, Snape was trying to-"
Lily laughed, losing her composure and earning a sharp glare from Snape. That didn't stop her, of course.
"What's so funny, Potter?' Malfoy grumbled.
"You didn't even crack the top ten last year, Malfoy, whereas I did," Lily said, trying to regain the straight face she lost.
"That was only-" Malfoy started, cheeks flushing.
"Because you were absolutely hopeless in the last two months," Lily cut him off. "Don't think I didn't notice, we had the same class last year, too."
"Watch yourself, Potter," Malfoy whispered, trying to sound threatening. "You're in Slytherin territory, now."
"I'm so scared," Lily said, rolling her eyes. When she saw the look Malfoy returned with, she decided it might be best to make peace with the boy. She didn't want to spend all year dreading Potions; not when it was one of her best subjects. "Look, why don't we just-"
"Silence," Snape ordered, striding towards the front of the class. "Turn your books to page 32, and begin work on the Fire Protection Potion. Pay careful attention to the directions; one small mistake could turn your insides to ice. This is not partner work. I expect each of you to brew it individually." Snape's eyes trailed over to where Neville was sitting.
Lily read over the summary, smiling to herself in a smug way. The potion seemed easy enough, but she already found several ways to improve upon it over the summer. And since Malfoy couldn't screw this one up, she felt confident that it'd be an easy assignment.
Lily took far longer to make her Potion than she would have liked, unfortunately, mostly due to Malfoy's interference. He kept extinguishing the flame under her cauldron, or replacing her finely curated ingredients with the ones he'd purposefully messed up. Since Snape was once again avoiding her table (the same thing he had done all last year), he was never caught in the act, and Lily couldn't even try to complain about it.
She only finished at all because she started fighting back, abandoning the plan for peace, using a softening charm when the Slytherin boy wasn't looking to ruin his cauldron. His potion melted right through the bottom, quickly spreading over the dungeon floor. Lily and Malfoy both had to hop up on their stools to avoid it, although Lily was pretty sure it wouldn't do anything to their boots.
Snape wasn't anywhere near as rough about it as he would have been for a Gryffindor, and still gave Malfoy half points for the day's work. Lily, of course, received full marks, although Snape made sure to mention that it wasn't anywhere near up to snuff compared to the last year's work.
"You'll regret that one, Potter," Malfoy whispered under his breath as Snape walked away, voice full of malice.
"Do your worst, Malfoy," Lily responded, tone light and cheerful.
Whatever he was planning, he didn't do it that day, and he flew out of the classroom before anybody else once the bell rang. Lily packed her bag up quickly, then trotted over to Ron at the end of the room as they waited for Neville.
"That was horrible," Ron said.
"It could have been worse," Lily countered, shrugging. She'd have to be on guard from now on, of course, but the first day wasn't too bad.
"Snape spent much longer at my table, I swear. Parkinson kept pointing out every little mistake I made, and he gave her a point for each one."
"That's awful," Lily said, suddenly realizing her own time hadn't been anywhere near as bad. Now she felt terrible, even though there's nothing she could have done to prevent the situation.
"Slytherin's up thirty points, now," Ron grumbled under his breath. He shot daggers at the professor, and Lily was pretty sure she could hear him muttering curses under his breath.
"Thirty?" Lily whispered in a hiss.
Ron nodded, his ears turning red.
"How are we supposed to catch up after that?" Lily said, pulling at her hair. With the self-tying tie around her neck, she had to find a new way to relieve her stress and nervousness.
"I don't know," Ron said, groaning.
"What don't you know?" Neville asked as he joined them. He seemed pleased with himself, at the least. Lily couldn't remember Snape complaining about his work today, and that seemed like a first.
They filled him in on the way to Defense, heading up several floors. They passed scores of other students along the way, and Lily exchanged a quick set of greetings with Katie as they crossed each other's paths on the second floor.
"I could get a few from Flitwick," Lily said, biting her lip as she thought. Flitwick was always willing to give her a few points whenever she performed well. She'd probably have to try a bit harder, but she didn't mind that too much.
"I could get a few from Sprout, as well," Neville said. "It's not all bad, we'll get there."
"But that was the first class!" Ron whined. "How am I supposed to make it through more? Mum's going to kill me when she hears about this. Do you think they include points earned for other houses on those monthly reports?"
Lily considered it a moment. "Copy my notes," she said at last.
"Pardon?" Ron said.
"My notes," Lily said, taking her Potions book out of her bag, trying to flip through the pages to show what she meant. It was a little hard to do while they were climbing stairs, but she managed. "Just follow all my directions, and you'll do great."
Ron took the book eagerly, quickly shoving it into his own bag. "Thanks, Lily, that's a good idea."
"I have those sometimes," Lily said, humming as they entered Lockhart's classroom.
The class was already packed, much to their astonishment. The front desks were all taken, almost entirely by the female students. Lily and the others took a seat in the back, near a few Ravenclaw boys. Lily was grumbling; she didn't like to sit away from the front. She could see Hermione at their old, usual seat, looking excited for the lesson. She couldn't help but wonder how the girl made it up here so quickly, considering they both came from the dungeons. Lavender and Parvati were near the back, too, and they were first out the door.
The classroom was filled with smiling, winking portraits of Lockhart, each wearing a different set of fancy and extravagant robes. All of them seemed far too full of themselves, and a few were even shaking hands with each other. There was staircase in the back leading up to Lockhart's office, and a large, shaking form sitting near Lockhart's deck. Lily thought she could hear noises coming from it, and she could only assume it was some sort of cage covered by a rather large cloth.
"Good morning," Lockhart said when he arrived, flashing a toothy grin at everybody, and winking a few times. His blonde hair was suave, as usual, and he was wearing a fancy set of yellow robes.
"Good morning, Professor Lockhart," the class chanted back in response. He made eye contact with every single student in the room, making sure to give them all a slightly different version of his trademark smile. It took forever to get through. He didn't even walk down the stairs from his office until he was done, and then he leaned against it, which Lily thought was rather unprofessional.
"We'll be starting with a brief quiz," Lockhart said, scooping off a stack of papers from his desk. He handed the first one out to Hermione, smiling brightly down at her as he did so. "Just to test out how much you've already read. We won't count it as a grade, not just yet, but the highest score will earn a few House points, so do try your best."
Lockhart may give each student a smile, but he didn't seem to pay any attention to them. He didn't even bother calling roll, or even asking any of them what they preferred to be called. Lily had the foresight to cover her scar before her reached her, otherwise she was sure she would have been the exception. Lily stared down at the paper once she received it, staring at the first question.
What is my favorite food?
Lily frowned, looking around the class. Lockhart was sitting at his desk at the front, smiling around at everybody again. Most of the students (especially the Ravenclaws) were already scratching away, but Lily couldn't help but notice that a few of the male students looked just as confused as she was.
She leaned over to Ron.
"What is this?" she whispered.
"Dunno," Ron grumbled, writing what looked like randomly picked answers. "Just go with it."
"No, talking, please," Lockhart said, letting out a chuckle afterwards. "I know my tales were rather fast paced, but there's no need to ask your fellows for their own recollections. Just try your best."
Lily grumbled, turning back to her paper, reading the second question.
What brand of detergent do I use to wash my robes?
Lily raised her hand.
"Yes?" Lockhart said. "The red-head in the back, you have a question?"
Lily saw quite a few faces turn towards her, Hermione's included.
"What is this?" she asked.
Lockhart's smile faltered for a second. "Pardon?"
"This is just about all your favorite things."
"Yes? What's the problem?"
"Why are we taking a quiz all about you?" Lily asked, as if it should be obvious. She heard a few mumbles of agreement from around her.
Lockhart laughed, flashing a smile around at the student body. "And your name, Miss?"
"Lily," Lily said. "Lily Potter."
Lockhart gasped, then smiled, taking advantage of the situation. Lily noticed his eyes were locked right onto her forehead, and she resisted the urge to cover up the scar, knowing full-well it wasn't currently visible. She could feel tension building in her tummy, but she steeled herself, trying not to give into her nerves for once.
"Of course, Potter, I apologize, I should have known. Can't believe I didn't notice you before! I was just testing to see how well you were all paying attention during your summer reading. A friendly competition, that's all. If you didn't read them yet, that's fine, too, although shame on you." Lockhart let out another laugh, and a few students laughed along with him.
"I did do the reading, sir," Lily said.
"Then I think you'll have no trouble," Lockhart said. "My accomplishments are far less than yours, I'm afraid, but I will say I'm doing my best to catch up to you."
Lily frowned, reading aloud the third question on her paper. "How many years in a row have I won the award for 'Most Charming Smile?'"
"A bit of a trick question, that one," Lockhart said, laughing again. "That won't be in the book proper, no, but you will find it in the foreword for the most recent one."
Lily set her quill down, deciding she wasn't going to answer a single one of these questions. Ron kept giving her the side-eye during it, worried she'd be getting in trouble. Lockhart didn't even seem to notice that her paper was blank when he came around to pick them up, although his brow did furrow (and his eyes briefly flickered up towards Lily) as he flipped through them, trying to see who the winner was. That took forever, too, since he insisted on grading each and every single one of them before moving on. At least Lily knew now why each of their Defense classes was slotted as a double.
"That'll be ten points to Gryffindor," Lockhart said once he reached the end. He hoisted up the winner's paper, and Lily thought she could recognize the handwriting, even from this distance. "Miss Granger was the only one who could answer every single question and, I must say, I'm quite impressed that you even managed every detail."
"Thank you, sir," Hermione said, sounding equal parts embarrassed and proud.
"Now," Lockhart said, turning to the face the class with a more serious expression. "I'm sure you've all noticed the rather large, covered cage I've had sitting here."
Lockhart gestured towards said cage, the one he had covered with a rather large, beige curtain. Lily tried not to let out a grown as half the class gasped in amazement and surprise.
"Who here is the most accomplished as spellcasting, and be honest now?" Lockhart said, looking around expectantly.
Lily saw quite a few heads turn towards her directions, while a few more went towards Hermione. Lockhart didn't seem to notice that, though, and he focused on the more famous individual.
"Ah, Miss Potter, yes, I should have known," Lockhart said, clapping his hands and smiling. "Now, why don't you come up here, and we'll have a little demonstration, hmm?"
Lily hesitated, then stood, walking up to the front of the classroom. She could feel all eyes on her, and she got more than a few murderous looks from the Ravenclaw students as she made her way over. Lockhart threw an arm around her shoulder, turning her to face the class while he stood next to her. She did not like the physical contact, but she remained standing there anyway, not matter how uncomfortable it made her.
"You all remember this moment. It's not every day you get to see two world-class wizards in the same room." Lockhart laughed, and Lily stared at the ground while she blushed, trying desperately to not look her peers. She could already feel the mutinous energy in the room; she didn't need to see it, too.
"Now, Lily," Lockhart said, turning Lily to face the cage. Lily snapped back to attention.
Lockhart strode forward, yanking the sheet off of the cage. There were a few gasps around the room, but Lily heard a few laughs as well.
"Cornish Pixies?" Seamus said from the back in a mocking tone.
The pixies were small, blue, and going absolutely wild. Lily thought they were a bit noisy before, but now that the sheet was off, they were absolutely losing it. The room quickly filled with the sounds of manic, ravenous pixies. They tried grasping and squeezing their way between the bars, but they were just a tad too big for that.
"Freshly caught Cornish Pixies," Lockhart corrected. "You'll find that they're a tad more dangerous than you think they are. A bite from a single pixie can give a rather nasty infection, and here we have a veritable army of them. Nothing to fear from them, of course, as long as I am here. Now, Lily, on the count of three, I am going to open the cage."
"Err-" Lily stammered. She took a step back as she drew her wand, shaking her head vigorously. "I don't think that's-"
"Not to worry, just do your best to stop them, and I'll get them all under control if you can't." Lockhart smiled, hand resting on the lock, pixies trying to attack him through the gap between the bars.
"Wait-" Lily said.
"One," Lockhart said.
"What do I-"
"Two."
"This is a bad-"
"Three!" Lockhart shouted, clicking the lock and attempting to swing the door open.
"Colloportus!" Lily shouted, snapping the door to the cage shut and locked. The pixies beat against it, disappointed that they didn't get to escape. Lily thought she could hear them cursing at her, but she wasn't sure if pixies could even talk.
Lockhart was silent for a moment, and then he began to laugh. He gave Lily a pat on the back, throwing an arm around her shoulder while he faced the class. Lily felt even more uncomfortable now.
"Excellent job, Lily, excellent job," he said, herding her back to her seat. "Yes, the best way to handle a threat is to neutralize it before it can become one. I used the same trick against the vampires in Voyages with Vampires to keep them from breaking into the house I was staying in."
"Vampires have to be invited in," Lily said as she sat down, but nobody seemed to hear it, as Lockhart was loudly regaling the class with tales from his adventures.