Dear Lily,
I'm sure Professor Lockhart can't be as bad as you say, Percy said he quite liked him. Speaking of Percy, he's told me there's a grumbling amongst the students about you giving the professor a hard time. Don't you go giving that man anymore trouble, I don't want to hear about you getting a detention, too. The twins have already gotten three apiece.
"Thanks, Percy," Lily mumbled to herself. She noticed Neville raise an eyebrow at her over his bowl of porridge, but Ron didn't seem to notice anything. He was too busy chowing down on a much larger breakfast.
Ron's told me you've been helping him practice for the tryouts. Do try not to get hurt, dear. We heard about your nasty spill last year, and we'd hate to see a repeat. Fred and George have gotten injured plenty over the years, of course, but they can shrug it off better than anyone. It's uncanny, really. Back when they were really little, they used to laugh whenever they'd get hurt. Ron and Ginny were criers, of course, but don't tell them I said that.
"Ron, you used to cry when you got hurt?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow of his own. The current Ron she knew tried to never show any feelings at all. He was terrible at it, of course, but she'd never seen him cry at the very least.
Ron's ears flushed, but he tried to hide that with a sly grin.
"Sure, when I was four. You still cry."
Lily couldn't deny that, so she buried her face back in the letter to hide her own shame. She could hear Ron sniggering to himself, sounding rather pleased that he managed to avoid embarrassment. She'd find some way to get revenge later.
Oh, before I forget, dear, we got the rest of your things from the Longbottom's. We've decided to set you up in Bill's old room, he's already given us full permission. He had a few things in there, but he's coming to pick them up in a few weeks once he can get the time off. You let us know right away if there's a particular way you want things set up. We moved Arthur's old desk in there for you already, Bill didn't have one of his own. We also put some nice, thick curtains over the window. Try not to blind yourself.
"One time," Lily muttered.
One last thing, Lily. Weasley got into a fight earlier with a rather large toad. He seems terrified of it, but he's otherwise fine. It keeps popping up around the house, though. We have no idea where it came from. Just thought you should know.
Write back to us soon!
Much Love,
Molly
"Good news, Neville," Lily said as she tucked the letter into her robes. "They found Trevor. He's attacking my cat again."
"Oh no," Neville muttered.
"Blimey," Ron said, shaking his head with a bemused look. "What did that cat do to make Trevor hate him so much?"
"Trevor's always been vicious," Lily said with a sniff. "Attacked me my first day there."
"Did he really?" Ron asked excitedly. "A toad beat the Girl-Who-Lived?"
"The Girl-Who-Lived beat herself," Lily answered with another sniff. Malfoy happened to be passing by right as Ron said that, and she was worried he would overhear that little tidbit. "Fell right off the chair I was standing on."
"Why were you standing on a chair?" Ron asked.
"Thought I saw movement," Lily replied, taking a bit of toast. She was more-or-less full; she did to have something to do, more so than needing to eat.
"That doesn't explain the chair," Ron pointed out.
"It sure doesn't," Lily said, standing up and brushing the crumbs from her lap. "I need to go to the library, I have a report to finish. Want to come?"
"As if," Ron snorted. "I think I'll go get some flying in. You should come with me, tryouts are in just a few days."
"You just want to use the 2001," Lily said as she hoisted her bag onto her shoulder. It was a bit lighter than normal. She only had two books, this time: her Transfiguration text and a book on magical herbs she borrowed from the library. She used it to annotate her Potions book a bit more (ignoring the Herbology text, where it'd probably be more useful), but it was due now.
"I can't believe you're going to study on a Saturday," Ron grumbled. "And it's nice out! It rained all week, and you want to stay inside!"
"We'll be flying every weekend soon enough," Lily answered. "I have to get this done or McGonagall will give me a detention. You want to come, Neville?"
"You were supposed to help me with Potions," Neville mumbled.
"Sorry, Nev, I forgot," Lily apologized. Their second week of classes were over, and while Lily felt like she had progressed quite nicely, both Neville and Ron hit a wall in Potions. Ron couldn't perform with Pansy Parkinson constantly badgering him, and Neville couldn't perform because Snape kept assigning them solo projects (defeating the entire purpose of having forced partners).
"Just come with me, Neville, I'll help you after I finish my report," Lily offered.
"I can just borrow your book," Neville countered. "Maybe if I follow your instructions, I'll do better."
"They work well enough for me," Lily said with a smile. "I'll have to run up to the dorm to grab it for you, I don't have it with me."
"Give it to him later," Ron said. "He can come down and help me practice."
"What good is that going to do, Ron? He doesn't fly."
Ron thought for a moment. "I'll ask Fred and George, then. They'll be a bit rough, but they'll help me."
Lily thought for a moment of her own. "Ron?"
"Lily?" Ron countered.
"Are first years allowed to use a broom as long as it isn't theirs?"
Ron scratched at his nose. "Dunno. Good question, though. I think we could at least get out of a detention with that excuse. Who did you have in mind?"
"Ginny," Lily answered. "She can borrow my broom, and she can go upstairs to fetch that and the book for Neville."
"Can't she fly my broom instead?" Ron groaned.
"She gets the 2001, Ron," Lily refused, placing her hands on her hips in her best imitation of the Weasley matriarch. "Flying the 2001 won't help you, you need to use your own broom."
"I'll go get her, then," Ron said with a sigh. Lily left the two with that, humming as she made her way out of the Great Hall. She waved to Angelina as she exited; the girl was alone for once.
Lily made it up to the third floor, but not quite to the library, when she was stopped by a familiar, squeaky voice calling for her.
"Lily! Hey, Lily, over here!"
Lily groaned, steeling herself as she turned to face Colin Creevey. She attempted to put a smile on her face, but that faltered as she noticed Gilderoy Lockhart standing next to the first year.
Lockhart looked just as excited to see her as Colin was; both were smiling and waving at her eagerly. Lily took a deep breath, then took a few steps forward.
"Hello, Colin," she said with a fake smile. "Hello, Professor."
"Ah, Lily, perfect timing," Lockhart said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. She quickly shook it off, but he didn't seem to even notice. "We were just discussing you, you see, when you happened to walk right on by. Truly, fate is smiling upon the three of us this day."
"Discussing me?" Lily asked, all warmth gone from her voice. She had a feeling she knew what this was about, and she did not like it, not one bit.
"Yes," Lockhart confirmed, pulling Colin in tightly with an arm around the lad, "You see, Colin, here, had a wonderful idea about starting a fan club for our local celebrities. I, of course, have agreed to proctor it, and we'd be honored if you-"
"No," Lily interrupted, shaking her head vigorously as she took a step back. "No, thanks, I'm-"
"Nonsense, Lily," Lockhart said, cutting her off with a laugh. He managed to get ahold of her shoulder, pulling her in tightly on his other side. Lily was suddenly aware of how many people were in this particular hallway at this particular moment. Hermione was there, for one, and she was shaking her head at the scene as she pushed her way into the library, where Lily ever so badly wanted to be.
"I'm not-" Lily said, trying to pull away again. Some of the crowd were starting to stare and whisper amongst themselves. Lily could feel her face flushing.
"Well, if you're so sure, then how about a picture, at the least?" Lockhart said, flashing a smile at the students gathering around. "We'll both autograph it, I'll frame it, and they can keep it in the clubroom. How about that?"
"No," Lily refused adamantly, "Absolutely not, I'm not-"
"I've got my camera!" Colin said, pushing away from Lockhart eagerly so he could get a better angle. The camera was rather large, and had an larger, metallic bulb attached to the top. Colin shoved his face into the back, peering at the two in front of him. Lockhart pulled Lily in more tightly, turning them both to face the camera.
Lily could hear some of the mutterings going on around her now, and they didn't seem very flattering towards her. Lockhart, of course, was only receiving the finest praise, but Lily was pretty sure some of the girls were discussing her imminent demise.
"No," Lily said once more. "Really, I don't want to-"
"Say 'Flabbertigibbits," Lockhart interrupted, putting on his patented, award winning smile for the crowd.
"Please-" Lily said, interrupted by a loud click and a bright flash. She blinked, trying to clear the spots from her eyes, then wiped at them once Lockhart finally let her go.
"I'll get it developed on the double, you should be able to sign it after our next class," Lockhart announced.
"Sir, I-" she tried once more, rubbing at her stinging eyes.
"Don't worry, Lily, I shall see to it personally. I shall, also, see you on Tuesday. Have a good weekend!"
"Colin," Lily said, hurrying forward now that her vision was back to normal. She seized him by the front of his robes, wishing the camera was still hanging from his neck; she could see Lockhart carrying it away. "If I ever, ever see that picture getting passed around, I'm wiping that camera from existence, I swear."
"Okay, Lily," Colin said nervously, holding his hands up in surrender. Lily let go, turning and storming through the crowd while trying to calm herself. She didn't want to lose her temper any more than she already had. She shouldn't blame Colin, really, even if she couldn't help it. This was Ron's fault. He put the idea in the boy's head. Regardless, Lily needed as much distance between her and the first year as she could get right now. She knew she saw Malfoy standing in the crowd with Crabbe and Goyle, whispering with each other conspiratorially.
The library was nearly empty as Lily pushed her way in. There were only a few fifth and seventh years occupying a few scattered tables. And, of course, Hermione, sitting in the far corner table. Lily walked on autopilot, briefly forgetting their feud, and placed her own bag roughly on the table as she swung it from her shoulder.
"I can't stand them," Lily said as she sat down, reaching into her bag with one hand, "Not either of them."
Hermione sniffed, but didn't reply, not even look up from her own book, where her nose was currently buried.
Lily drummed her fingers on the table as she flipped her Transfiguration book open searching for where she'd left off.
"Could you not do that?" Hermione asked sharply.
"Do what?" Lily grumbled.
"Your fingers, you're drumming them," Hermione said.
"So what?" Lily grumbled.
"So, I can't focus, can I?" Hermione said obnoxiously. "Can't you find anywhere else to sit?"
"Oh, stuff it, Hermione," Lily said rudely. "It's my table, too, I can sit here if I want."
Hermione looked shocked and offended at the retort. Her mouth hung open, showing her large front teeth, and her cheeks flushed slightly in anger.
"How dare you," she whispered harshly, leaning forward so Lily could better hear her. "And, to think, I stuck up for you when Lavender was telling everybody that- that-"
"That what?" Lily said hotly, leaning forward so only Hermione could hear her. "Go on, then, what have you two been saying behind my back?"
"I haven't been saying anything," Hermione threw back. "She's been telling anyone who will listen about what a nightmare you are to live with, what with screaming in the middle of the night and- and-"
"Parvati said I haven't been having any nightmares!" Lily countered, drumming her fingers against the table again. "She said-"
"Will you stop the drumming?" Hermione interrupted, gesturing to Lily's own hand.
"Fine," Lily acquiesced, lifting both hands off the table. "Parvati said-"
"Parvati has just been trying to keep the peace," Hermione said. "If you didn't share a dorm with us, she'd be saying the same things. She just doesn't want you to be angry with her."
"Lavender's just mad because I forgot Weasley at home," Lily grumbled. "She'll come around, and I'll be getting an apology after Christmas."
Hermione snorted, a nasty habit she picked up from Ron last year that she never managed to kick. "Half the girls are already talking about it, will they forget, too?"
"They're just mad because I don't like Lockhart," Lily countered. "Why would I care what they're saying?"
"I like Lockhart," Hermione said far more coolly. "If you'd actually just pay attention in his class instead of arguing over every little thing, I think you'd-"
"Hermione, the man's a git," Lily butt in. "Have you actually read any of his books?"
"Of course I have," Hermione answered, tone getting harsh again. "Just because you finally have someone at the school more famous than you doesn't mean-"
"More famous than me?" Lily interrupted, a little more loudly than she would have liked. She lowered her voice again when she saw a few heads turn their way. "Hermione, when have I ever cared about being famous? I can't even stand it when somebody looks at my scar!"
Lily placed two fingers on her forehead for emphasis, and Hermione's gaze briefly flickered up to the lightning bolt before coming back down to meet Lily's eyes once more.
"Then why the ponytail, Lily?" Hermione asked shrewdly. "Why the lightning bolt earrings? How do you expect me to believe you're still nervous about it when you go about flaunting it?"
"I am not flaunting it," Lily said. "You know I got the earring at Christmas, and I just- Katie wore hers the same and she- she said it looked cute, that's all."
Hermione raised an eyebrow at that. "So you're more concerned about looking cute now than you are about your studies?"
"Where in the world did you come up with that?" Lily asked. "I'm here in the library right now, aren't I?"
"You were here everyday with me last year," Hermione pointed out. "But this is the first time you've come here at all since term started. Pince was even asking about you, did you know?"
"No, I didn't," Lily admitted. "But what does it matter? I've been busy with other things. Quidditch tryouts are in a few days, and I've-"
"That's my point," Hermione interrupted, leaning forward again. "Last year you at least seemed to care! I thought you were like me, that you liked to study, but then-"
"Hermione, nobody likes to study," Lily interrupted, matching the other girl's position. "I studied because I needed to, not because I wanted to."
"And now that you're best mates with Ron, you haven't been doing it at all," Hermione countered. "You even skipped a History of Magic lesson, Lily! You never even considered skipping a class last year!"
Lily blushed at that. "How did you-"
"Everybody noticed you weren't there, Lily," Hermione answered. "You're just lucky nobody mentioned it to McGonagall, or the prefects. What were you even doing?"
"Practicing Transfiguration," Lily admitted shyly. "I- I needed the extra practice, and Ron suggested-"
"Oh, yes, listen to Ron," Hermione said with a roll of her eyes. "He's certainly never steered you wrong before, has he? It's a miracle you haven't already gotten a detention this year."
"Is that what this is about?" Lily asked. "Are you still mad about the detention you got last year?"
"Of course not, Lily," Hermione said, shaking her head. "I would've helped Hagrid regardless of what you suggested, even if I do wish I could have thought of something else. We could have levitated the cage up to the tower, did you know? But I deferred to your's and Ron's expertise, because I'd never done anything like it before!"
"You're a witch, aren't you?" Lily whispered. "You could have thought of it just as easily as we could have."
"That's not my point, Lily," Hermione said. "My point is that you never think anything through! If you don't mind me asking, did you ever once think about what Hagrid wanted to do with that flute you nicked last year?"
"No, I didn't," Lily admitted, "But-"
"He was going to give it to you, Lily," Hermione answered. "He told me while you were still sleeping after you almost died. He seemed distraught that he couldn't find it, and that he might not have the chance to give it to you at all. It was supposed to be your birthday present that year, but you never even spared it a single thought."
"Well, I have it, don't I?" Lily argued. "What's it matter if-"
"Lily, you stole from Hagrid!" Hermione interrupted. "What matters is that you followed an impulse without thinking about the consequences, just like you always do! And, what's more, you don't still have it! You just lied to me! Neville already told me that he accidentally broke it when he fell! He told me the day he woke up, Lily, but you didn't even remember that much, did you? You didn't even remember you took the flute at all until I mentioned it, did you?"
"I- I-" Lily stammered. "This- I forgot, fine, I admit it."
"You even cast magic outside of school! You broke the law, Lily! Did you ever once consider how much trouble you could have gotten the Weasley's into?"
"No, I didn't," Lily said. "I'm sorry."
"Thank you," Hermione said in a huff.
"I'll tell Hagrid, if that's what you want," Lily offered. "I'm sorry we didn't let you come with us, Hermione, but there's no reason to still be this upset about it!"
"Lily, have you listened to a single word I said?" Hermione asked. "I never wanted to go after the stone in the first place. I wanted to tell McGonagall, to let her deal with it. But you just had to go and be a hero, and you refused to just-"
"I wanted to see my parents, Hermione," Lily interrupted. "That's all I wanted. I didn't want- I didn't want what happened. I just wanted to see them one more time. That's all."
"And what I want is for you to just leave me alone," Hermione said quietly. "My parents didn't even want me to write you over the summer at all, after the detention and everything else, but I said I promised to and that it'd be different. Instead, you ignored me and spent it all with Ron. T- they tried to tell me you weren't interested, but-"
"So it's about the Burrow, then?" Lily asked. "Is that it? You just wanted to-"
"Lily," Hermione said in a tired, sad voice. "I just wanted my friend to consider other people's feelings for once. All last year, I listened to you and tried to be there for you, and not once did you do the same for me."
"I told you, Hermione, I never got your letters," Lily said.
"Lily, please, I don't want to argue any more. Can you just leave me alone? We're lucky Pince is on a break, or she would have-"
"Fine," Lily said hotly, standing up and tossing her book roughly into her bag. She took out the library book and placed it far more gently on the table. "Return that for me. You can have the library, I won't bother you again."
Hermione didn't call out for Lily as she walked away, and Lily tried to convince herself that she didn't care. She ran into Peeves the Poltergeist outside of the library entrance, and she had to walk all the way back up to Gryffindor Tower reeking of rotten eggs. She spent the rest of her Saturday stewing in her room after a quick shower, only allowing a quick interruption when Ginny came to return her broom. The first-year girl tried to stay and talk, but was turned off by Lily's curt answers.
Lily didn't feel any more sociable the next day, although she did at least come downstairs for breakfast and lunch. Ron managed to drag her to the Quidditch pitch after the second meal, and she ran into Katie as she was fetching her broom. The third-year girl ran to grab her own broom so she could join them, and Lily was finally back to normal by dinnertime, even if they did have to avoid inviting any other Gryffindor players. None of them wanted Wood to turn it into an impromptu practice.
Monday started with more Transfiguration, and McGonagall had them all reviewing the past week's material. That served to turn Lily's mood foul again; she forgot all about her report over the weekend, and true to her word, McGonagall gave her a detention. Lily wasn't looking forward to Mrs. Weasley hearing about that. She still needed to write a response to her previous letter where she was told explicitly to not get a detention.
They started the Skurge charm in Charms, and Professor Flitwick prepared a bucket full of ectoplasm for each student to clean up. Lily knew from her reading that you could use it to scare off ghosts as well, although she had no idea if it would work on Peeves. She was too scared to offend the spirits to give it a try; they were already upset with her for comparing them to the poltergeist last year.
They covered yet another goblin rebellion in History of Magic. Lily wondered why they fought against the goblins so often; they seemed nice enough at Gringotts. All their talks of war only seemed to cover the war themselves, and not the reasons for the war. She briefly considered checking the library, but she really didn't want to run into Hermione.
Monday meant Astronomy as well, and Lily grumbled as she walked up the Astronomy Tower staircase at midnight, lugging her telescope and star chart along beside her. Those classes almost always went the same way; plotting the paths of various celestial bodies for hours on end. Lily couldn't wait to drop the class in her sixth year. She didn't understand why it was considered an essential. At least it exhausted everybody equally; all of the first-year girls, prim and proper Hermione included, collapsed into bed still wearing their school robes.
Lily received another letter from home the next day over a plate of steaming eggs. She was briefly worried as she opened it with trembling fingers, as the envelope was a bright red. She knew that meant, and Ron's sniggering surely didn't help her nerves. Thankfully, Mrs. Weasley explained that she didn't think a Howler was appropriate for a first-time offense of this magnitude, and she just wanted to put the fear of God into Lily. Lily did have to attend that detention, though, that much was clear, and she was promised an actual Howler should she get another one.
Tuesday morning meant Potions, and that was always rough right after an Astronomy night. They covered the basics on brewing a Sleeping Draught, which they'd be brewing themselves on Thursday during double Potions. Snape managed not to deduct a single point from Gryffindor, which Lily found surprising. They'd never gotten through a class without losing a single point before.
Malfoy, unfortunately, found a way to ruin a good day.
"Heard you're trying out for Quidditch again, Potter," he said with a sneer. "Best of luck. Maybe this time you'll only spend a few days in the Hospital Wing."
"Thanks, Malfoy," Lily said sweetly, "But I'm flying a 2001 this year. I don't think I need your luck."
"A 2001?" Malfoy said sharply. "Nicked it from a store, did you? Or did you sell off the Weasley's house to pay for it? That should get you at least a quarter of a broom."
"It was a present, actually," Lily said, "I happened to get an early model."
"Ah, it's defective, then," Malfoy said. "That makes sense. Father got one for the whole lot of us Slytherins, but they actually work. Best hope it can hold a daft cow like you."
Hermione sniggered at that from the neighboring table, while Neville looked furious. Malfoy looked over curiously, but seemed pleased with the results of his actions. Lily, for her part, felt hurt and confused.
As class ended and the students withdrew, she took her chance at revenge in the hallway, aiming a well-placed severing charm at the bottom of Malfoy's bag. The seam split, scattering books, quills, and ink all over the dungeon floors.
"Looks like you need a better bag, Malfoy," Lily said. "Maybe if you ask your father, he'll get one for the whole school. That ought to make you Quidditch Captain."
Malfoy narrowed his eyes at her, and she had to admit that she wasn't as good at insulting people as Malfoy was but she did intend to get better at it. She was humming as she left the dungeons with Ron and Neville, but the happiness fled quickly when she noticed the cold look Hermione was giving her.
"Do you think Lockhart has the picture ready?' Lily mumbled as she hesitated outside the classroom. The rest of the students filed in past her, while Ron and Neville hung back with her.
"Of course he does," Ron answered. "Wouldn't be surprised if he's been showing it off all day."
"I think I'm skipping today," Lily decided. "Throat's been feeling a bit sore, might be coming down with something."
"You go on, you won't be missing anything," Ron said, patting Lily on the back. "Haven't covered a spell yet, have we?"
That was true enough; most of their time was filled with quizzes on Lockhart's adventures or with long, pointless lectures on said adventures. Lily almost preferred the classes from last year; at least they did something there. Lockhart just kept promising they would do something, but they always mysteriously ran out of time before it happened.
"I'll let you copy my notes later," Neville offered. Lily appreciated it, of course, and she offered him a kind smile in return. That being said, Neville's notes were always terrible outside of Herbology. She'd copy Parvati's, instead.
"I'll see you two at lunch," Lily said, quickly passing the door before anybody could spot her.
"Don't forget your broom!" Ron called after her. "And grab mine, too, while you're up there!"
Lily waved at the two as she moved on, pushing her way through the throngs of students heading downstairs. She did briefly feel bad, but she just didn't think she had it in her to face Lockhart today.
She ducked into a hidden passage, located behind a tapestry, so she could take the map out of her robes. She lit her wands, swore the oath, and then scanned the map for a good hiding place. She ended up taking a nap in a hidden alcove on the seventh floor. The only other thing in there was a suit of armor that kept creaking slightly as it moved. She found it oddly soothing as she dozed off, taking off her robe and bundling it under her head as a makeshift pillow.
Lily woke two hours later feeling refreshed, if not a bit stiff, and she threw her robe back on before pushing her way outside. She was briefly startled by the presence of Mrs. Norris, Filch's cat, sitting outside, but the feline seemed just as startled by her sudden appearance, and went sprinting down the hallway. Lily took that as her queue to leave, and proceeded down the opposite direction. The cruel caretaker was never far behind if his cat was around.
Lily ran through gatherings of students, passing chatting painting after painting, as well as a cursing suit of armor that she was particularly fond of. Fred and George claimed they taught it everything it knew, but Percy told her it was swearing long before those two arrived at Hogwarts.
Lily ran up to the Gryffindor Tower, pausing briefly to deliver the password, and then bolted inside, pushing straight past Percy and two other prefects on their way out. Percy briefly called after her, but she paid him no mind; running wasn't technically banned inside of the common room. Besides, she really didn't want to deal with the Fawcetts right now. They were almost as bad as Filch.
Lily grabbed her broom, ran over to the boy's tower, grabbed Ron's, and then promptly left just as quickly as she came. Seamus and Dean came in as she was leaving, and Dean briefly stopped her before she could get out of range.
"Missed a good lesson today, Lily," he said. "Finally taught us a spell."
"What was it?" Lily said in shock. She couldn't say whether it was caused by the actual lesson, or that Dean and Seamus were talking to her. She couldn't remember ever sharing a word with them before.
"Lumos," Seamus said with a cackle. "He thought it would brighten up our day."
"I'm hopeless," Ron mumbled as they entered onto the school grounds. Lily gave him a strange look. Sure, he had a tendency to mope when he was doing badly, but he seemed excited about their prospects earlier. She didn't know what was causing this sudden change. She wished Neville was here; he was better at cheering up Ron than she was. Unfortunately, he decided to head upstairs with a nap rather than sit in the Quidditch stands for hours.
"You did fine over the summer, Ron," Lily said. "And you have the best broom on the field." That was ignoring her own, of course, but he didn't have to compete with her.
"I can't fly half as well as the others can," Ron said glumly. "Malfoy had the right of it, I shouldn't even bother showing up."
"Malfoy?" Lily asked sharply. "What are you listening to him, for? He's a prat!"
"The Chudley Cannons wouldn't even take me," Ron grumbled.
"That's not true, Ron, the Cannons would take anyone they could get!"
"I'm doomed," Ron said. Lily let out a sigh, but gave up. She never knew what to say whenever Ron was stuck in one of his moods of helplessness. He had a knack for making her feel better, but she could never do the same for him. She briefly wondered if Hermione was right after all, but she dismissed it just as quickly.
Lily was the only one who showed up for Seeker, it seemed, and she therefore received the position by default. She didn't expect to feel disappointed about it, but she had to admit she was looking forward to flying with the others. Fred and George dropped hints that Cormac McLaggen showed up, but that Wood sent him off after claiming the position was already filled.
"He screamed at Wood for ten minutes," George said.
"McGonagall had to come and pull him off the field," Fred said.
"Wood told him to not bother showing up next year," George said.
"Did you guys get your positions back?' Lily asked, not caring at all about McLaggen. She didn't even know what he looked like; she had yet to have the misfortune of running into him. From what she'd heard from the rest of the team, he closely resembled a troll. Lily couldn't help but picture Marcus Flint with that comparison.
"Of course," the twins said at once, puffing out their chests in pride.
"Not like Wood would have fielded anyone else, of course," Fred admitted.
"Gryffindor's never seen two Beaters like us, he says," George added. "He says he's never seen two of them more in sync."
"Course, he did say he'd appreciate it if we'd stop sending bludgers at each other," Fred said with a nudge at his brother.
"That won't happen, though, we've got a bet going on," George said with a rougher nudge. That set the two of them off, and they were soon pushing and prodding each other, with Lily taking a fair amount of them herself since she was seated in between the two.
"Do you think Ron stands a chance?" Lily asked, ignoring a pain in her ribs, looking at the much larger pool of Chaser candidates. Those positions would probably take a few hours to fill, assuming Wood didn't just pick the same three girls from last year. She didn't really want to see any of them go, to be honest, but she also didn't want Ron to be sent off.
"He's got that Nimbus of yours," George said, "So that might just give him the edge."
"Angelina is the best of the three, but she also has the worst broom," Fred said, "so she plays worse than the others."
"Still, I'd hate to see her go," George said. "She's real good when she can keep up."
"Why doesn't she get a better broom?" Lily asked. From what she knew, Angelina's parents could probably afford it; she always seemed to have nicer equipment than a lot of the other students.
"She's Muggleborn," George said.
"Her parents don't 'get' Quidditch, they think her broom is more than good enough," Fred said, shaking his head.
"I didn't know she was Muggleborn," Lily said, watching the dark-skinned girl fly around the stadium, tossing the Quaffle to other participants. She watched Ron catch a particularly hard throw, and let out a little cheer inside her heart.
"She certainly doesn't fly like it," Fred said, not taking his eyes off the girl.
"Flies like she's been up there all her life," George said.
"Just like a certain swamp plant," Fred said, nudging Lily with his elbow.
"Ow," Lily said, hand quickly shooting up to her stinging scar.
"Oh, come on, now," Fred said, "That couldn't have possibly hurt, I barely touched you."
"Not you, it's my scar," Lily said, trying to rub the soreness out of the disfigurement.
"Your scar?" the twins asked at the same time in the same, confused tone. Lily didn't feel like explaining it; sometimes this just happened. It all started last year after- no, but she wouldn't think about that right now.
"Nevermind," Lily said, rubbing at her scar one more time as she pushed the memory away. "It's gone now."
"It's not the bludger Flint hit you with last year, is it?" Fred asked in a whisper. She knew they both still felt bad about that; both of them were right next to her when it happened, but neither reacted in time to stop it. Lily's absence the rest of the year cost them the Cup, since McLaggen failed to catch the Snitch a single time.
"No," Lily said, trying to think of a way to change the subject. Last year's incident brought up too many painful memories of its own. Thinking about it set her scar to stinging again, but she did her best to ignore it. She didn't want the twins asking about it again.
"How fast do bludgers fly, anyway?" Lily asked. There weren't currently any out, since the positions were already filled.
"Fast enough to hurt, but not fast enough to do any real damage," Fred said.
"You might break a wrist or an arm if you aim it just right, but you shouldn't be able to actually kill someone with it," George added.
"Skull's can be cracked, of course, but you know that from experience," Fred said.
"In most real games, you'd have staff on standby to stop anything really bad from happening," George concluded.
"Wish we had that here," Lily said. "Could have used that last year."
"Well, Hooch or the professors are supposed to stop anything at Hogwarts," George said, "But they were all too busy waiting to catch you if you fell off your broom to pay any attention to Flint."
"Then why didn't they catch me when I fell off my broom?" Lily asked. "I broke both legs!"
"It was the shock, I think," Fred said. "Everybody thought it was over, us included. Don't worry, though, I'm sure they'll be paying more attention this year."
"I'll keep that in mind," Lily said, eyes watching Ron fly with the rest of the pack. He made another difficult catch, then actually managed to sink a goal past Wood. "Ron doesn't seem to be doing too bad, does he?"
"No," Fred said grumpily. "He might take Angelina's spot after all. I didn't know he was actually good. Just needed a better broom, apparently."
"Just wait," George said. "If he drops the Quaffle once, that'll be the end of it. He can't stand making a mistake."
Sure enough, what George said proved to be true; Ron dropped the Quaffle once thirty minutes before the end, and then couldn't keep his hands on it. Wood seemed disappointed, and kept shaking his head every time the second-year boy messed up, which only seemed to make Ron play worse.
In the end, the starting Chasers proved to be the same players from last year; Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson (bad broom and all), and Alicia Spinnet. Lily was torn between feeling bad about Ron or feeling good that the old Chasers weren't separated.
Ron was inconsolable as they made their way back to the castle. Even the weather seemed to agree with him; it was raining, now, and threatening to rain even harder if the harsh wind was any sign. The rest of the students already ran ahead, but Lily was forced to walk slowly since Ron refused any sense of urgency. Lily took this as her chance to prove Hermione wrong, throwing on her best, friendliest smile.
"Cheer up, Ron," Lily said as she began to shiver from the cold, "there's always next year."
"I'll never be good enough," Ron said morosely. He didn't even bother trying to push his long, wet hair out of his face. Lily was just thankful she had her own tied back.
"You made reserve, Ron," Lily said, "You played really well, too! You were ahead of the others for most of the tryouts, you just messed up at the end, is all. You just need more experience, that's all."
"I won't get a chance to play this year," Ron grumbled. "How am I supposed to get better if they won't even let me come to practice?"
"I'll practice with you, Ron," Lily offered, placing a hand on his shoulder. She hoped he wouldn't notice how shaky it was; the cold was starting to set down in bones, and she couldn't control the shivers. Her head was still hurting, as well, but that could just be a sickness setting in.
Ron scoffed. "You? You'll be too busy trying not to fail Transfiguration."
"Ron," Lily said in a cool tone, dropping all pretense of niceness, "If you're going to be mean, I'm not going to help you. I've had enough of that lately, I don't need it from you, too."
"Sorry," Ron grumbled, not sounding at all apologetic. Lily crossed her arms, both for warmth and grumpiness, and resolved to give the silent treatment the rest of the night.
Lily thought she felt something brush past her as she entered the castle, and she almost slipped on the slick, stone steps, but when she turned, there was nothing there. She shivered once more, then pushed inside, hoping there'd be a spot open near the fireplace for once.