"Lily, are you feeling well?"
"Pardon?" Lily looked up from her drawing to see what Ron needed. She felt a breeze blow past her, but the spellwork kept her warm. She'd finally gotten that spell McGonagall used all those weeks ago working. It took forever, since she only had an incantation to go off of, and it only worked half the time, but she was proud regardless.
"It's just, err- you're drawing Lockhart?"
Lily looked down at her portrait. It was Lockhart, yes, triumphantly standing over the body of a slain hydra, his golden hair blowing triumphantly in the breeze. It wasn't animated yet; that'd come later, and she wouldn't be the one doing it.
"It's for his next book," Lily said happily as she got back to work. "He thought it'd sell much better with a cover by Hazel Potter. I don't think I'm good enough for it, to be honest, but I thought I'd give it a try! What do you think? I think it might need a professional to retouch it once I'm done, but I'm almost happy with it!"
Lily held up the drawing for the boy to survey. She was eagerly anticipating any sort of praise. She actually thought it was quite good, to be honest. She'd spent a very long time on it. She had over three dozen discarded drafts tucked away under her bed. She was still having a hard time getting his smile to look perfect, but she was getting there. She needed to turn it in today, regardless, but there was always time for more revisions afterwards.
They were sitting by the lake, today. It was the first sunny day since winter started, and while it was still cold, there wasn't any snow left around the campus grounds. And Lily's spell could do for the cold, although a stronger gust of wind would still cut right through it. She still had Katie's scarf bundled up around her neck to keep warm. She'd been meaning to return it, but just kept forgetting.
Ron gave Lily a strange look. "Lily- and don't take this the wrong way- but have you lost it?"
Lily felt her heart sink. "What do you mean, Ron, I-"
"Not the art," Ron said quickly, "It's brilliant, actually, but- but Lockhart? Why are you doing anything he asks?"
"What's so weird about that?" Lily said angrily. "Why are we having this conversation again? I've already heard enough of this from Lavender and Ginny, can't you leave it alone, just this once? We were having a pleasant day, weren't we? Do you really want to ruin that?"
Ron let out a sigh, and Lily briefly hoped he was about to give it up. She really was tired of having this conversation. Instead, the boy looked at her defiantly, and opened his mouth to continue speaking despite the look of warning she was giving.
"Don't you think you've been a bit too- too chummy with the fellow lately?"
Lily sniffed as she began packing her things up. "I like Lockhart, Ron, I'll have you know. Just because you've been jealous of him all year doesn't mean-"
"Jealous? Lily, you have lost it, haven't you? You hate him, too!"
"We got off on the wrong foot!" Lily argued hotly. "Why are you being so mean? Why do you always do this?"
"Lily, he almost killed you!"
"He was just trying to help!" Lily said as she began to walk away. She had to rub at the sides of her head to relieve the headache she was getting. It didn't help that her scar was pulsing continuously without so much of a hint of the break she used to get. She felt like it'd been forever since she didn't have some sort of pain in her head.
Lily wondered how much time she had left before she had to be in the Great Hall with the other students. This was the first (and most likely last) time they'd been allowed to mill about the school freely, an honor granted them due to Lockhart's Valentine's day event. Nobody knew what it was, yet, but Lily was looking forward to it. Lockhart never disappointed. Already there was quite a smattering of students milling about in the Entrance Hall, waiting for the doors to open. Lily suspected half of those were just for lunch, although there were a few giddy girls clearly waiting for Lockhart to show up. Lily had some business of her own to settle with the Defense professor, but it could wait until the next day. She was in no hurry.
She wanted to let Lockhart know about the response she'd gotten from Flourish & Blotts; they were set for a signing on the first day of August, right after Lily's birthday. She'd be spending the weeks afterwards working with them as a clerk, as promised. She was looking forward to the experience.
She also had gotten into contact with Madame Malkin, per Lockhart's suggestion, as she needed some nicer robes to wear to their joint event. She couldn't look bad in front of Lockhart and the press, after all. And, as it turns out, the Madame was more than happy to provide outfits to Lily free of charge, and even agreed to pay her for the modelling. Lily was a bit unsure about that front as of yet, but she had the contract waiting for her upstairs, sitting on her bedside drawers.
Lily chose a wall to lean against while she waited for the doors to open. She saw that Justin kid spot her as he came out of a side-corridor, and he hurried up the stairs where she couldn't get at him. Half the school was convinced that she was still trying to kill them, even after Dumbledore made his official announcement to the school. The fact that it was a Basilisk only made her skeptics more certain she was behind everything. She was having a hard time getting used to it. She spotted a friendlier face coming down the stairs, though, and she waved at her eagerly as the other girl approached.
"Hey, Gin," Lily said. Ginny joined her in leaning against the wall, throwing her bag off her shoulder and to the ground, which she then sat upon. Lily thought was cute.
Ginny glanced up with a friendly smile. "Hey, Lily, mind helping me with Transfiguration?" She was already pulling the thick text from her satchel. It seemed a bit hard to do with her weight on it. A few scrolls came out right after. Ginny placed most of them in a separate pile, and opened one to check over.
"I don't know if I'm the right one to ask for that, Ginny."
"Well, I tried asking Percy, but he said he had to meet Penelope downstairs for a patrol."
Images of Penelope's unbuttoned shirt flashed briefly through Lily's brain, but she pushed it back down in an attempt to keep her cool.
"They've been spending a lot of time lately, don't you think, Lily?"
Lily cleared her throat before speaking. She was certain it would have broken if she hadn't. "Pardon?"
"Percy and Penelope," Ginny repeated. "You don't think they're dating, do you?"
"Why would I know?" Lily asked with a high voice crack. There it is, she thought.
Ginny narrowed her eyes. "You spend a lot of time with Penelope yourself, don't you? With those lessons Flitwick has you doing?"
"Haven't done any since November," Lily said quickly. "I was in the hospital, remember?"
"You know something," Ginny said as she crossed her arms.
"Let me take a look at your work," Lily said as she grabbed at the scroll laying in front of Ginny. She had to slide down to the ground to do so. She crossed her legs underneath to get more comfortable. She noticed a spelling error immediately in the first sentence and corrected it with Ginny's quill.
"They are dating, aren't they?" Ginny whispered.
Lily felt her face flush deeper. "How would I know?"
"How do you know?"
"I don't!"
"Lily, it's pretty clear that you do."
Lily cleared her throat again. It felt awful stuffy in this room, all of a sudden. She scratched out a word that Ginny accidentally wrote twice.
"I don't know a thing, Ginny," she lied.
"Sure," Ginny said. "Where are they now, do you think?"
"Probably in- I don't know, Ginny, why would I?"
"What were you about to say?"
"Nothing!" Lily glanced around the Entrance Hall, praying desperately for somebody to come rescue her. She noticed Katie quickly look away from her, but she was clearly more interested in talking to some of her fellow third years as they waited for lunch. She tried to turn her attention back to the essay, instead, but she was having a hard time focusing.
"You saw them, didn't you?" Ginny said excitedly. "Oh, just wait until I tell mum, she's been asking him about a girlfriend for ages now!"
"Ginny, please don't," Lily said quietly. "I wasn't supposed to say anything, please, they'll think it was me!"
"But you did just tell me!" Ginny said with a clever smile. Lily didn't know if she could possibly feel more embarrassed than she was at this very moment.
Lily cleared her throat again. "Ginny, please, I am begging you."
Ginny smiled further. "Why would they even want to keep it a secret, anyway?"
"Ginny, please, you're going to get me into trouble."
"You saw them snogging, didn't you?"
"I-" Lily had to clear her throat again. She saw a good deal more than that. "Ginny, do we really need to talk about this?"
"Oh, just wait until Fred and George hear about this, that's probably why they wanted to keep it a secret in the first place!"
"Hey, Lily!"
"Bless you, Katie," Lily said a bit too loudly as she turned to her savior. Katie seemed a bit surprised about it, and quickly glanced away from Lily's gaze, her face a bit red.
"Hello, Katie," Ginny said happily. She was clearly still planning something.
"I- did you want to get lunch together?" Katie asked. "My friends are all taking Arithmancy, and they have class in ten minutes. Didn't want to eat alone.
"I'd do anything with you, Katie," Lily said as she quickly stood up, hoisting her bag back around her shoulder.
"I thought you were helping me with my Transfiguration homework," Ginny grumbled from the floor.
"I can do that!" Katie offered kindly. She even leaned down to help Ginny pack her things. "Transfiguration is my best subject, actually."
"You should have mentioned that before," Lily said. "Want to tutor me?"
"I'd love to!"
"Well, now that that's settled," Ginny said as she rose from the floor, "I think lunch is ready."
She was right, of course. The doors were open, and most of the waiting students were already flowing through the doors. Lily heard a few disappointed moans and some laughs, and didn't take that as a good sign.
Lily briefly thought she'd wandered into the wrong room. The Great Hall was decorated in all sorts of bright pinks and tacky, red hearts plastered all over the words. A strange sort of confetti was raining down from the ceiling clouds which were, of course, dyed a rose pink. Lily had to pick a bit out of it out of her cup of pumpkin juice, and she was pretty sure she accidentally ate a bit of it along with her sandwich. Lockhart was wearing a bright pink set of robes, while the other professors wore mutinous expressions behind his back. Snape in particular looked like he might commit a felony.
I hope he does, Lily thought briefly, eyes locked onto Lockhart. She shook her head to clear that thought. She had no reason to wish any sort of harm onto the professor.
"Happy Valentine's Day!" Lockhart shouted. "And may I thank the 46 people who have already sent me cards! Yes, I have taken the liberty of arranging this little surprise for you all- and it doesn't end here!"
Lockhart clapped his hands, and an assortment of dwarves walked into the Great Hall to a collected assortment of groans and laughs. Lily didn't know how to feel about it, really. They were all wearing bright golden wings, and carrying harps. One particular dwarf kept scratching at his beard; it was almost the same size as the rest of his body.
"My card-carrying Cupids!" Lockhart continued. "They will be roving around the school today delivering your valentines! And the fun doesn't stop here! I'm sure my colleagues will want to enter into the spirit of the occasion! Why not ask Professor Snape how to brew a Love Potion! And while you're at it, Professor Flitwick knows more about Entrancing Enchantments than any wizard I've ever seen, the sly dog!"
Professor Flitwick buried his head in his hands to hide the shame, while Professor Snape looked like he'd personally force feed poison to the first person that would ask him to brew one. Lily was awfully tempted, but she didn't have the class on Fridays.
"This is the last chance you'll have to roam about freely!" Lockhart announced. "After today, it's back to business as normal until our petrified friends are restored. Believe me, you're all perfectly safe while I'm here! Hasn't been a single attack since I placed a series of protections around the school. You can read all about it in my future book, Bathing with a Basilisk, it's still being thrown together. Don't know how it'll end, yet!"
Lockhart laughed and threw out a wink. Lily felt sick to her stomach, although she couldn't have said why. She tried to plaster a smile on her face.
"Lastly," Lockhart droned on, "This evening, we will be hosting a ball to celebrate the occasion! Find your valentine, ask them to attend, and spend the night dancing together!"
Lily heard a rush of excitement spread around some of the corners of the room, particularly where the girls were gathered. Ginny just snorted as a response, her nose practically buried in the stack of homework she was rushing to finish.
"It won't be that bad, surely," Lily said optimistically. "Maybe- maybe it'll be fun?"
"When is anything Lockhart sets up not a complete nightmare?" Ginny asked. "And nice of him to give as a notice of, what, a few hours? And while a quarter of the school is present. I'm sure it'll go very well."
Lily opened her mouth to protest further, but she forgot what she was going to say. That was strange. She shook her head a bit to clear away the fogginess. It happened occasionally, now. She thought it might be from the constant headaches.
"Where's Dumbledore?" Ginny asked. Lily glanced up at the staff table, noting, for the first time, that the kind old man's seat was taken up by Professor McGonagall, who was looking especially grim.
"We'll ask alter," Lily said. "Maybe he isn't feeling well?"
"Maybe," Ginny mumbled.
"Are you going to finish that, Katie?" Lily asked, pointing to the last half of Katie's turkey sandwich. Katie was staring over at the dwarves, as if she was thinking hard about something. Her face flushed a bit as she came back into reality.
"Go ahead," she said, happily shoving her plate towards Lily. "I'll be right back, have to run to the loo. I'll help you with your homework while Lily finishes her classes, Ginny, don't worry."
"Thanks," Lily said with her mouth full of food. The quality of meats here at Hogwarts was really quite good, she had to say. Never dry, not even once, and always packed full of flavor. She'd have to track down the kitchens someday, just to see how it was done. She could see them on the Marauder's Map, but they always seemed to be empty.
Curious, she thought as she took another delicious bite. Her scar was still throbbing, but she was getting better at ignoring it.
The dwarves were running in and out of classes all day, much to the annoyance of Professor Sprout. She had both Lily and Lavender in her afternoon class, after all, and they both received a dozen cards in just the one class period. Lavender even received two songs, which she seemed utterly thrilled by. Lily didn't think she'd have been able to handle one, herself.
"Another one?" Ron groaned from her right as yet another dwarf came into the greenhouse. It was hard to pot their Radiant Veronicas with all the constant distractions. The fluorescent plants could blind you if you stared too long. They all had to wear shaded goggles to prevent any damage, but Lily still felt like she was seeing spots.
"Wonder who it's for?" Lily said with a happy hum. The dwarf was heading straight for her. She knew.
"If you get one more card, I'm going to scream," Ron grumbled.
"You should have sent me one first, Ron," Lily said. "Too bad you skipped lunch. Oh, look, this one's from Katie!"
"Katie?" Ron said with a laugh. "Bless her. Needed the laugh."
"Oh, look," Lily said with a wide smile. "She wants to go to Lockhart's stupid dance with me. I'll have to let her know I'd love to. Better than writing back any of these." Lily gestured towards her ever-increasing pile. Some of them wrote her truly embarrassing poems. She didn't recognize any of the names, but she appreciated the gesture.
Ron snorted. "Back to normal, then?"
"No," Lily said quietly. "I don't know why I said that." She shook her head again. "Look! She wrote me a little poem! 'Your hair is red as rubies, your eyes as green as mine, you're always fun to tease, won't you be my Valentine? Really warms the heart, doesn't it?"
"I didn't even know you liked this kind of thing."
"I don't!" Lily said, glancing again at Katie's card. She drew a little heart around the poem. That was adorable. "Well- actually, I do, these are all great, I love it. I think I might get a few of them framed."
"Lily," Ron said quickly, "Don't touch the thorns, remember? Sprout said they're mildly poisonous. And where are your gloves?"
"Oops," Lily said as her face grew red. She had to dig into her bag to find her gloves. She was pretty sure she'd left them in the dorm. She couldn't find them anywhere. "Sorry, Ron, I forgot."
"You forgot your gloves?"
"Among other things." She'd also forgotten her History of Magic essay, it seemed. That was due in thirty minutes. "Bugger."
She met Katie in the common room a few hours later, after the rest of her classes were finished. She didn't have the time to collect her essay before History of Magic, but Binns never collected them, so it didn't matter. That was good. What wasn't so good was that Lily kept spacing out more than usual during the lecture. Even Ron noticed, and he kept nudging her to wake her up.
Katie seemed very excited to see her, and was even more excited when Lily agreed to her offer. They settled on playing some chess in the Astronomy Tower while they waited, and Lily went up to the dorm to drop off her cards and fetch her set.
Hermione, on the other hand, looked far less happy to see her, if her stony, pale face was anything to go off of.
"Still pretending to be petrified?" Lily asked with a raise of her eyebrows. She had no idea what she'd done to make the girl ignore her again. She thought they'd been getting along quite well before this little stunt.
"No," Hermione said rigidly.
"Well, don't let me disturb you," Lily said. She was already digging through her trunk. "Just came to grab something, I'll be out of your hair shortly. You coming to the thing later? Of course you are, don't answer that, it's mandatory. Do you want to go down together? I'm going to play chess with Katie before it starts, but I can come meet you later, if you want."
"N-no," Hermione said. It sounded like it hurt her to do so. Lily ignored her pulsing scar. She really hoped it would go away once they woke everybody up.
"Suit yourself," Lily said with a shrug. She tucked her chess set snugly into her bag, taking care not to crush any of the papers inside. She probably shouldn't bring the bag down with her, come to think of it, but she did need to deliver Lockhart's drawing. The Sorting Hat was sitting next to her Potions book. She left it there. She still wasn't sure what she was supposed to do with the thing.
"L-Lily," Hermione struggled out. It sounded like she was fighting for every syllable. Lily turned back, hand resting on the doorknob.
"H-Hermione," she said with a smile.
"W-why didn't y-you talk with D-Dumbledore?"
Lily furrowed her brow. "What are you going on about? I did talk to him, didn't you see the paper? He wouldn't apologize to Lockhart, so I did it myself."
"N-not that," Hermione said before her mouth clamped firmly shut. Lily could hear the click from across the room as her teeth clattered together. She had a feeling Hermione's dentist parents wouldn't approve of that.
"That's all I had to say?" Lily said. Her head was starting to hurt a bit more as she thought about it. She had the distinct feeling she was forgetting yet another thing.
Didn't I go up there to ask something else? No, she couldn't have, she met with Lockhart beforehand specifically to discuss what she was going to say to Dumbledore. Lily stared at Hermione for what felt like a long time, their eyes locked together, but Hermione didn't speak again.
"I should get going," Lily said after what felt like way too long. "I'll, err- I'll see you around."
Hermione grunted as Lily left the room, shutting the door gently behind her.
That was weird, she thought as she skipped down the stairs. She couldn't help but feel that something was off, but her brain hurt to think about it.
"Katie, the castles can only move horizontally or vertically," Lily said after the second time Miss Bell tried to move the piece diagonally.
"Right," Katie said with pursed lips. "Err- what about this?"
"You can't make that move, Katie, it'd put you in check."
"Right," Katie said once more. "I'll just, err- move this, then?"
Lily nodded. "That's legal, sure. But, err- I'll just take your queen, I suppose."
"Merlin, I'm not very good at this, am I?" Katie asked with a nervous chuckle.
"Well, it is only your fifth game," Lily said with a reassuring smile. I would have thought you'd know how the pieces moved by this point, though.
"We should probably get going, anyway," Katie said as she glanced at the sun overhead. "It's almost time."
"You're conceding, then?"
"Merlin, Lily, I've taken three pieces off you this game, I think it's safe to say I lost."
"I'll just pack it up, then," Lily said. It was better this way. She severely underestimated how bad Katie would be, and even actively trying to lose the games failed drastically. She settled on never asking Katie to play again, lest she hurt the other girl's feelings. She didn't think Katie had much fun, anyway. Lily had to keep reminding her to take her turns, since the girl was very distracted by something.
Soon enough, they were walking down the staircase together, and joined the small stream of Gryffindors heading down towards the entrance hall. Lily noticed Hermione dragging her feet way in the back, but she was enjoying her chat with Katie, even if the girl still seemed like her heart was elsewhere. Ron was trying to chat with her, but she seemed to be ignoring him.
"Come in, come in!" Lockhart called from the entryway. Lily couldn't quite see him, but she could hear him. There were far too many people in the way. "Grab a partner, grab a spot, and let's get this party started!"
"Well, that seems promising," Lily said.
"Does it?" Katie asked. "Half the crowd is trying to leave."
They were, but the other professors were herding them inside, although they didn't seem happy about it. Professors Snape and McGonagall seemed especially displeased as they herded students around, McGonagall not even bothering to try cracking a smile to the nervous students around her.
"I'm sure it'll be fine," Lily said. "When has Lockhart ever let us down?"
"Err- do you want an honest answer to that question?"
"Come on, Katie, it'll be fun!" Lily grabbed her by the hand, lugging her forward. Katie seemed a bit embarrassed, her palms a bit sweaty, but she came along without a fight. Lily didn't see Ron anywhere, nor Hermione (she lost her a while ago). She pointedly ignored a couple of Ravenclaw boys trying to get her attention as she pushed towards the Great Hall. She wasn't going to accept any of their offers. Even the Slytherins were nicer to her.
"Oh, Merlin, that's awful," Katie said as the event finally came into view.
Lily, unfortunately, had to agree. The entirety of the Great Hall, while expanded to have more space, was decorated in tacky red, white, and pink frills and ornaments, with large, ornate hearts dangling from the sunny sky ceiling (in addition to the confetti from earlier). There were a few tables scattered around the room, although they were already completely occupied, and the confetti was still raining from the sky. At least Lily could they were supposed to be hearts, this time. There was some cheesy love song playing from who knows where, and it was far louder than Lily could think.
"Go on, pair up!' Lockhart called to the students filling the halls. "It's a dance, people, live a little! My little Cupids, here, will deliver any Valentines or gifts you wish to give! You can find them all over the school, so don't be afraid to wander about, but I must remind you, all dancing and mixing is to be done here in the Great Hall, where we can supervise you! Get moving, everyone, it's back to normal lockdown starting tomorrow!"
Lily thought most of the student body looked incredibly nervous all of a sudden, although some took the chance to sneak out now that they had permission (Lily noticed Ron almost bolting from the back of the room). There were some students pairing up, though, and dancing in the middle of the Hall, although they were by far the minority. Lily dragged Katie over to the corner of the room, where they could mostly stand unnoticed while others moved about in nervous packs.
"No food," Katie noted nervously.
"No food," Lily noted sadly. "I don't think we'll be getting any until supper, assuming that even happens."
"Knowing Lockhart, he's planned this to last the rest of the night."
"I'll ask him to arrange some in a bit," Lily offered. "He probably didn't think about it, he's always been a bit-"
A bit daft? Lily's head was hurting again.
"Lily, err-" Katie said.
"Hmm?" Lily turned to look at Katie, whose face was a bright red. "Are you okay, Katie?"
"Can I, err- Can I have my hand back?" Katie gave Lily's hand, still holding hers, a squeeze.
"Oh," Lily said, her own face turning red, and her stomach doing a somersault. She quickly let go, wondering why on earth she suddenly felt so nervous. She was fine until a second ago, and she'd held hands with Katie before. Merlin, she used to hold hands with Hermione all the time, before they started fighting.
"Do you, err-" Lily said, scratching the back of her head. "Do you want a dwarf song? I never sent you a card back, did I?"
"Pardon?"
Lily pointed to one of the dwarfs that was currently singing some song (she couldn't hear over the loud pop music that was currently playing) to a very embarrassed girl.
"They sing, see? Might be good for a laugh. Maybe we should send one off to Ron, I'd like to see them hunt him down."
"I don't think they chase people down, Lily."
"Katie, that one is chasing a boy down right now!"
Katie's eyes followed the sprinting boy as he charged out of the Great Hall, the Cupid right on his heels, screaming the verses of the song he was being forced to sing.
"Merlin, this is horrifying," she said.
"Potter!"
"Here it is," Lily said with a sigh a she turned to face a smiling, handsome Slytherin boy. Lily guessed that he was at least two years older although, somehow, Lily was still taller than him.
"Care to dance, Potter?"
"No thank you," Lily said as she turned back to face Katie. "What do you think they charge? I reckon it'll be higher the further away they have to go."
Katie's face was still red, and Lily could see that she was watching the Slytherin boy walk away.
"I don't think they charge anything," she said at last. "I think Lockhart's already paid them. They didn't take anything for- for my card."
"Merlin, I hope so, it seems just like him to-"
To not pay them? Where were these thought coming from?
"Excuse me, Hazel," a nervous Hufflepuff third-year said as he approached. Lily could see his friends standing a distance away, cheering him on silently. That was an improvement, at least; most of Hufflepuff was actively terrified of her.
"Sorry, not interested," Lily said nicely. "You should try her, though, she's staring at me angrily. I think she fancies you."
"Err- thanks," the boy said, his eyes flickering over to the Ravenclaw girl that was shooting her daggers. Lily gave her a thumbs up as the boy walked towards her, and she could see his friends sniggering about something. A few moments later, and the couple walked off together, the girl seeming much happier.
"You're, err- you're popular, aren't you?" Katie asked.
"I'm the Girl-Who-Lived, Katie," Lily said. "I think I'd be more offended if I didn't get asked out at least once, today. I've been getting cards all day."
"I didn't see any boys lining up to ask you last year."
"No, but I was avoiding crowds last year, unless I had Ron near me," Lily looked around again, trying desperately to find a bowl of punch of punch or something. She felt like she needed something to occupy her hands, they kept fiddling around nervously.
"Do you, err- Do you fancy Ron?"
"Merlin, no," Lily said a bit too quickly. "I think he fancies me, though, we tease him about it all the time. He's not very subtle about it."
"Err- you don't feel bad, like you're leading him on?"
"No, he's just a friend," Lily said with a shake of her head. "I think he knows, like I said, we tease him about it all the time. He'll give up on me eventually, I hope. I think Lavender likes him, she keeps staring at him when she thinks none of us are looking. If Ron didn't run as soon as Lockhart said we could go, I might have tried to get him to dance with her, she's a nice girl."
"That's, err- That's nice of you."
"You feeling alright, Katie?" Lily asked. "Your face is all red, and you keep stammering."
"I think it's just the lighting in here," Katie said a she stared up at the blue sky. "There's a lot of pink and red, you know?"
"Hazel!"
"No thank you," Lily said without turning.
"Sorry."
"You didn't even look at that one," Katie said as her eyes followed the mystery boy off.
"I just came here because we had to," Lily said. "If you want to go dance, Katie, go ahead, I don't mind."
"No, I'm fine," Katie said. She cleared her throat quickly, then spoke with more confidence. "I don't suppose you'd, err- like to dance?"
"No, I'm fine, too," Lily said. "You don't see Dumbledore anywhere, do you?"
Katie looked around for a bit, trying to find the Headmaster.
"No," she said, "But what do you need Dumbledore for?"
"I don't," Lily said. "But he's the only staff member who isn't here, Ginny mentioned he wasn't at lunch, either. I just thought it was curious, is all. Even Mad-Eye is here, see, over there in the corner?"
Katie's eyes followed Lily' outstretched finger. Mad-Eye Moody was standing in the corner opposite theirs, tapping his staff angrily against the floor, his magical eye darting all around.
"Should I ask him to dance, you think?' Lily said with a smile. "I bet they'd all get a great laugh out of that one."
"Why's Dumbledore the only one not here?" Katie asked.
"Dunno," Lily said as she waved off another approaching boy before Katie could see him. She briefly felt bad that Katie wasn't getting anybody to approach her. She noticed Fred and George standing against a wall, whispering to each other about something with their friend Lee Jordan. They kept pointing at Mad-Eye, and Lily had a feeling they had the same idea she did. Jordan kept shaking his head vehemently.
"You're not worried about it?"
"Should I be?" Lily asked.
"It's not like Dumbledore to skip something like this," Katie said, "He normally loves goofy stuff like this."
"Hmm." Lily didn't know what to say about that, but Katie was right.
"Lily!" Lockhart's voice said from nearby. "Glad to see you're enjoying yourself! Anything I can do to make you more comfortable?"
Lily smiled at her favourite professor. "Yes, sir, we were wondering if you could send for some food?"
Lockhart slapped his forehead softly. "Of course! Why didn't I think of that? I'll send word to the kitchen right away, Lily, don't you worry! Is there anything else I can do for you? Hold your bag, perhaps?"
"Oh!" Lily said as she slung the thing from her shoulder. "Actually, sir, that'd be perfect! I finished the cover, like you asked me to, it's all in there, plus the contract for Madame Malkin's, I decided to accept."
"Excellent!" Lockhart said happily as he slung the bag over his own shoulder. "I'll go get it sent off right away. Don't worry about your bag, I'll have it sent back to your quarters once I'm done. You girls enjoy yourselves, now, and don't be afraid to ask any boy yourself if they won't come to you!"
"We won't, Professor!" Lily said cheerily as the pink man walked away. She turned to say something to Katie, but stopped after seeing the strange expression she was getting.
"You, err- like Lockhart, Lily?" Katie asked.
"Why wouldn't I?"
"Well, it's just, err- You haven't been off on the best of terms, have you?"
"I'm not having this conversation again, Katie, I just had it with Ron." Lily crossed her arms to prove the point.
"Sorry, it's just- I didn't know you- err-"
"Please drop it, Katie," Lily repeated. She got a headache whenever this conversation came up, but people kept bringing it up anyway. She rubbed at her temples to try and relieve some of the pressure.
"Sorry," Katie muttered. "A bit nervous, is all."
Lily didn't know what Katie was nervous about, but at least she apologized. That was more than she'd gotten from Ron.
"We should ask why Dumbledore is gone, Lily," Katie said.
"Katie, I'm sure he's fine! Look, Lockhart is bringing out some trays! Do you want something to eat?"
"Err-" Katie glanced over, her cheeks a rosy red. "Sure. Why don't you go grab a plate? I think I'm just going to go ask Mad-Eye a few questions."
"If it worries you that much, Katie, I'll go with you," Lily relented. She took Katie by the hand again, pulling her across the dance floor and towards the far corner. She noticed a few students giving them an odd look as they entered into the center of the Great Hall, but that passed once they realized they were just walking across.
"Evening, err-" Lily started as they approached the peg-legged fellow. "Are we supposed to call you Professor?"
"Not a professor, am I?" Mad-Eye barked, both his eyes snapping to attention as they locked onto Lily. "Scar hurting you, Potter?"
"All the time, sir," Lily said. "But that's not why we're here. Katie had some questions for you."
"A Gryffindor girl, I see," Mad-Eye said as he scanned the Chaser girl. "So, you agree with my analysis on the situation, then? Is she the one that's doing it?"
"No, sir," Lily said. "She just had some questions, that's all."
"What's she so nervous about, then?" Mad-Eye growled. "Face all red, girl, refusing to meet my eyes? Got something to hide?"
Lily glanced over at Katie, noticed that she was staring at the ceiling with a bright red face, and then finally realized she was still holding the girl's hand after she went to scratch the back of her neck.
"N-no, sir," Katie said. "I- I was just wondering where- where Professor Dumbledore was, sir."
Mad-Eye squinted his one good eye at Katie, his magical one back to surveying the rest of the room and castle. He drummed his staff on the ground, and Lily noticed that the area around them was a bit quiet, as the nearby students tried to tune into their conversation. The most important person of note was Draco Malfoy, who was standing nearby with those goons of his, smirking as he switched his gaze between Katie and Lily. She made up her mind to curse him later, supposing she even remembered.
"Why do you want to know about Dumbledore?" Mad-Eye asked finally.
Katie blinked slowly, her face still a bit red. "Well, sir, he's- he's not here, is he? This seems like the sort of thing he would love, doesn't it?"
"Dumbledore's gone," Mad-Eye said at last.
"Another meeting?" Lily asked innocently.
"Removed from his post, actually," Mad-Eye corrected. "He's been gone for a few days now, if you hadn't noticed."
Lily let her mouth fall open. "He's gone? He can't be gone, that's-"
"The worst possible thing they could have done," Mad-Eye agreed with a firm nod. "Regardless, the Governors made up their mind. McGonagall has assumed his duties, until a new Headmaster can be arranged."
"He's gone?" Katie asked. It seemed her brain was working a bit slower than Lily's was. "But- but why would they do that?"
"They believe he was trying to cover up for his dear friend, Hagrid," Mad-Eye said with a snort. "Dumbledore wouldn't give him up, and when they forced the issue, the attacks stopped, so they took that as confirmation, and removed him for refusing to do his due diligence."
"That's- that's-" Lily stammered awkwardly.
"Preposterous," Mad-Eye agreed. "They didn't even consider that the lack of attacks was due to the heightened security. You tell me if that scar starts up again, Potter. There'll be killings next if you don't, now that Albus is gone."
"He's really gone?" Lily asked one more time.
"He is. Now, if you'll excuse us, Potter, I have some more questions for this friend of yours."
"Pardon?" Katie asked nervously.
"Nothing to be afraid of unless you're guilty, young lady," Mad-Eye said with a smile that Lily suspected was supposed to be reassuring. "But I wouldn't be doing my job properly if I didn't question every suspicious individual."
"Katie's not suspicious, she's my friend!"
"And you'll get her back soon enough, Potter," Mad-Eye grumbled, "supposing your trust in her was well-placed. Go talk with that Granger friend of yours, she's been trying to get your attention for the past ten minutes."
Lily followed his outstretched finger, spotting the sickly-looking Hermione staring at her from near the Entrance Hall. Lily gave a friendly wave, and Hermione's hand twitched in return, not quite raising into the air. It was something, she supposed.
"Fine," Lily said, "But you better not hurt her, we have a Quidditch match in a month."
"Please don't leave me with him," Katie whispered as she held onto Lily's arm.
"Sorry, Katie," Lily said with a wave over her shoulder, "But I did try to talk you out of talking to him. I'll see you in a bit."
Lily ignored a few boys who called out to her as she made her way back across the hall. A few more she politely declined. She got a few offers from girls to just stand near them, since no boys would approach any of the packs, but she declined them, too, although a bit less reluctantly. She didn't know how to feel about her current popularity. She expected this from Slytherin and Gryffindor, considering her current status, but she even had quite a few offers from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, as well. She just wasn't interested in dancing with any of these boys, of that, she was very much sure.
Hermione seemed a bit more excited as Lily finally approached, although still sickly pale. Lily considered hugging her, but she didn't want to catch whatever bug Hermione had at the moment. It looked absolutely miserable.
"You feeling better, Hermione?" Lily asked nicely, placing a hand on Hermione's shoulder despite her reservations. She ignored the pain in her head in her efforts to keep a straight face.
"No," Hermione said. "N-need to t-talk to you."
"Okay, sure," Lily said. "You want to go somewhere else? It's a bit loud in here."
"Y-yes. Second f-f-floor bathroom."
"With Myrtle?" Lily asked suspiciously. "Are you sure? She's a bit of a-"
Another brief pang of pain went through Lily's head, as a fragment of memory returned to her.
"I needed to ask her something, I think," Lily said quickly. "What was it?"
"Yes!" Hermione said excitedly, her body practically quivering from the anticipation. "We should g-g-g-go ask h-her."
"Let's go, then," Lily said. She grabbed onto Hermione's cold, clammy hand, if only to offer her some physical support. It really looked like the girl could fall over from the slightest breeze, and Lily didn't trust her to make it up the stairs on her own. It was a miracle she'd made it down them.
"What did you want to talk about?" Lily asked as they made it up past the first floor. There weren't many students around; they already had privacy.
"C-c-can't say it," Hermione said, every syllable a measure of pain. "H-h-h-h-have to s-show you."
"You sure you don't want to go to the Hospital Wing?" Lily asked. "You sound absolutely dreadful, Hermione. Worse than I did when I had that flu, although I don't know if you saw that. Would have passed out on the stairs if Angelina hadn't practically carried me. Err- before the attack, that is. If she hadn't been there, the Basilisk might have just eaten me, since nobody else was around!"
"B-b-b-basilisk c-c-c-couldn't," Hermione choked out.
"Nice to see you believe me about the Basilisk, now," Lily said as she stopped short on the second-floor landing. "Although, at this point, it's hard to deny, I suppose. Still, though, welcome to the club, Hermione, I'm sure there's a lot more you need to catch up on. You're sure you don't want to go see Pomfrey?"
"Y-y-y-yes," Hermione said with a committed yawn. "N-n-n-need your h-help."
"Need my help? Lily asked. "Alright, then. If you just wanted some girl talk, I suppose there's worse places. Nobody will interrupt us in there, at least."
"N-n-n-not that," Hermione said.
"Well, whatever it is, it can wait," Lily said as she was reaching for the doorhandle. "I need to ask her some questions first."
"Wait!" Hermione suddenly said as a brief pang of fear and pain rushed into Lily's head.
"What?" She asked, quickly wheeling around as her hand reached into her robes towards her wand. "Did you see something?"
"No," Hermione said. "I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I c-can't-"
Hermione's jaw clamped shut again. Lily thought some tears were coming to her eyes, and she tried to calm herself down as she pulled Hermione into a tight hug.
"It's okay," Lily said as she supported the crying girl. "I'm here, Hermione. What's wrong? Did Malfoy do something to you again?"
Hermione grunted and Lily pulled her a bit tighter.
"Let's get in the bathroom, we can talk in there," Lily said with a reassuring squeeze. She pulled away, grabbing for the doorhandle again.
"D-d-d-d-don't," Hermione said. Lily turned again, watching her reach her shaky hand into her robes. "P-p-p-p-p-p-p-please, don't."
"Hermione," Lily said with a kind smile. "It's okay, really, we can talk-"
Hermione pulled out a bundle of silky, silvery cloth from inside her robes, and presented to Lily in both of her trembling hands. Lily frowned, and reached out a hand of her own to feel the familiar cloth. This was hers. She'd been looking for it all year.
Hermione stole her Invisibility Cloak.
Lily took it into her own hands, staring at it in disbelief.
"L-L-L-L-L-Lily," Hermione choked out between sobs. "P-p-p-p-p-p-please."
"You took it?" Lily asked in a whisper. She swallowed to push down the lump in her throat, then looked up with misty eyes of her own. "Why?"
"L-Lily, p-p-please."
"You- you took my dad's cloak? Why, Hermione? I want an answer. I- Why didn't you just give it back sooner, why did you wait so long? I- You had so long, and this- this whole time, you were just pretending to be my friend again? Why give it back now?"
"L-Lily," Hermione struggled out before her jaw set like stone again. Lily thought she could her a tooth break from the effort. It served her right.
"Fine," Lily said with venom in her voice. "Forget it, Hermione, I can't believe I was ever nice to you. How could you do this?"
More tears ran down Hermione's face as her eyes silently pleaded for Lily to forgive her. That only made Lily more angry. She might have done it, if she'd just speak.
"You could at least try to defend yourself!" She yelled out. "I can't believe you, Hermione! How could you? You know what this meant to me, you knew!"
"Lily," Hermione whispered through clenched teeth. "Please."
"Don't talk to me," Lily said as she stormed off back the way they came. She made a point of shoving into Hermione as she passed, and the other girl fell onto the ground. Lily turned the corner, heading up the stairs, ignoring the sound of Hermione sobbing.