Hi guys, welcome back. The exam phase is finally over and I can now devote myself to writing again. I know I had promised that it should be ready by the middle to end of March...But unfortunately it wasn't possible.
But without further delay, I hope you enjoy reading.
Chapter 4: The Tiger's Path to Greatness I
Go not where the road may lead, but where there is no road, and leave a trace. - Jean Paul
2 September 1983, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Scotland, Europe
The morning came and with it the first day of school began for the students at Hogwarts School of 1983. The new Gryffindor first-year students were in a state of great excitement. The first day into the incredible world had begun, some of them had magical relatives and therefore knew the incredible wonders, but it was something completely different to work magic themselves and to finally learn magic. At 7 o'clock Alice, Elizabeth, Marlene, Megan, Lily, Lucy, Sophie, Olivia were punctually in the Common Room waiting for the female Perfect to pick them up and take them to breakfast in the Great Hall. While they waited, the boys also joined them, with James, Sirius and the other boys looking like they had fallen out of bed. James' hair was now sticking out even more than usual, which made him look kind of cuddly. The bags under the boys' eyes suggested to Lily that they had stayed up late as well. After an exchange of "good morning" and "slept well?" the Prefects already appeared, and they went into the labyrinthine interior of the castle. About 10 minutes later they had arrived outside the Great Hall. Lily was looking out for her new friend Sally and Sev. She was dying to know how they had fared on their first night in the castle and whether they were as excited about this new world as she was.
Sev was already waiting for her at the entrance and walked towards her with quick steps. After a short but warm hug, he asked her:
"Lily, good morning. Did you sleep well? Will you join me at my table?"
"Good morning Sev. Thank you I slept great. My new friends are great. How are your house members? Are they nice?"
There seemed to be no end to the flood of questions. Severus, however, just smiled at her the whole time, overjoyed that his Lily had not left him when he had come to the Serpent's Nest. Deep in thought, he did not notice how Lily had stopped talking and was now looking at him.
"...ervus, Severus, are you even listening to me? I'm going to my table now. The others said we'd get our lesson plans in a minute. I'll see you later"
With these words she turned and went back to her new friends. She sat down at the Gryffindor table and looked around again, waving goodbye and smiling at him. Almost everyone at the table looked at her with funny looking expressions on their faces. Lily looked back at her house mates and said a little puzzled, "Is something wrong?" To which Marlene replied, "No not exactly, everything is okay. But from what my mum and dad have told me, Gryffindors and Slytherins don't get along very well and are almost always deep enemies - It's exceedingly rare that you get on so well and are friends with this boy-Severus, right?"
"I don't care what others think. I'm not going to leave my friends just because they've been sorted into a different schoolhouse. That's beyond stupid. I'm not going to end my friendship with Severus just because someone tells me it's not right."
During her little, improvised but nevertheless flaming speech about friendship, the hall had already gone deadly quiet. No one dared to say a word, as some secretly agreed with her. The silence was interrupted by someone clapping hard. Sally had jumped up and was beaming all over. She called over from the Hufflepuff table:
"Lily, that was great. Really great. I'll definitely stay your friend."
"Indeed Miss Evans, take 10 points for Gryffindor for inter-house unity. I haven't heard a speech like yours in a long time." Explained the now noticeably smiling Professor McGonagall.
Lily blushed and ducked away from the staring eyes, she was not shy at all, but the whole situation made her extremely uncomfortable. Alice squeezed her hand and whispered in, "Well done, now we're ahead in the race for the house cup. I'll stay your friend too, no matter what." Marlene also nodded vigorously and smiled, "Friends forever."
After this excitement, everyone turned back to their breakfast. A breakfast that everyone could wish for, from scrambled eggs, toast, cereal, sausages, spreads, toppings of various cheeses and sausages to pudding, everything was there. The question of where all the food came from preoccupied some of the new pupils, and a group of three or four boys vowed to get to the bottom of this mystery and all the secrets of the castle.
However, it was interrupted by the appearance of the post owls, who brought news from home and various magazines as well as the daily newspaper. Almost all the non-magically raised first-years flinched noticeably as around four hundred owls settled in front of the various students, knocking over a plate, or knocking over cups here and there. Lily was not expecting any mail, as she would first send Selene, her tawny owl, to her parents this evening with the report on the first day of school. However, Marlene had apparently subscribed to the daily paper, because an owl landed in front of her with the rolled newspaper in its claws and a small leather bag on its leg. Marlene paid three Knuts and unrolled the newspaper. To her great astonishment, the pictures on the paper moved and she could make out a serious looking middle-aged man looking at her warily. The headline of the "Daily Prophet" read "Knights of Walpurgis cause unrest on the European mainland again" and below it "Minister Bagnold: WE must remain vigilant".
But before Lily could ask Marlene or Alice, who were sitting next to her, their head of house Professor McGonagall came to their table and handed out the timetables to all the Gryffindors. With a "Thank you, Professor", Lily took hers and looked at the parchment on which it was written:
"Gryffindor House Year 1 Student Timetable".
Monday
7-8 - Breakfast
8-10 - History of Magic Prof. Binns together with Ravenclaw
10-12 – Transfiguration Prof. McGonagall together with Slytherin
12-13 - Lunch
13-15 – Charms Prof. Flittwick together with Hufflepuff
15-17 - Herbology Prof. Sprout together with Hufflepuff
Tuesday
7-8 - Breakfast
8-10 - Defence Against the Dark Arts Prof. Brown together with Ravenclaw
10-12 - Charms Prof. Flittwick together with Hufflepuff
12-13 - Lunch
13-15 - History of Magic Prof. Binns together with Ravenclaw
15-17 - Transfiguration Prof. McGonagall together with Slytherin
Wednesday
7-8 - Breakfast
8-10 - Herbology Prof. Sprout together with Hufflepuff
10-12 - History of Magic Prof. Binns together with Ravenclaw
12-13 - Lunch
13-15 - Transfiguration Prof. McGonagall together with Slytherin
24-2 - Astronomy Prof. Diadema together with Ravenclaw
Thursday
8-9 - Breakfast
10-12 - Flying Lessons Madam Hooch together with Slytherin
12-13 - Lunch
13-15 - Defence against the Dark Arts Prof. Brown together with Ravenclaw
15-17 - Charms Prof. Flittwick together with Hufflepuff
Friday
7-8 - Breakfast
8-12 - Potions Prof. Slughorn together with Slytherin
12-13 - Lunch
13-15 – Herbology Prof. Sprout together with Hufflepuff
Finally, the time had come. She was about to have her first lesson at Hogwarts. She rocked restlessly back and forth in her chair with excitement. Sensing her excitement correctly, Olivia spoke to her with a laugh:
"Lily, you're so excited. You can't wait to get to class. But I'm afraid I must sober you up a bit, my big sister told me that history is taught by a ghost who is supposed to be deadly boring."
However, Olivia's words had completely missed their mark. Instead of calming the little red-haired ball of energy, it became even more agitated. A hail of questions pelted her after only a few seconds.
"A real ghost giving lessons. Really? And why would that be boring? Is your sister in Gryffindor too? In which..."
"WOW, WOW; WOW, take it easy Evans. Just take it easy. You'll see in a minute." Laughed James in response. He thought the way the little redhead asked her questions was just too cute.
"Thank you, Potter, for the rescue"
"No problem Simmons. Although I have to admit that it did look pretty damn funny."
During this short exchange of words, Lily stood up, moved to her full height, put her hands on her hips and gave a "Hey", whereupon all the first graders sitting around, Marlene and the others included, burst out laughing again. The ice between the first graders was broken and so at ten minutes to eight they set off for their first lesson in "History of Magic".
Olivia was to be proved right, however. The history of magic was a deadly dull affair. Not because the history of magic, its origins or the history of its spread were uninteresting, no, it was much more due to the teacher. Professor Binns had already been incredibly old when he fell asleep one evening in front of the fire in the staff room. The next morning, he had got up and gone to class as usual. However, he had not noticed that he had left his body behind. He did not seem to be aware of the fact that he had died, because even the oldest students swore that he was still doing the same lessons as he had done in their parents' time. What is more, his voice was so monotonous and soporific that many of the students either banged their heads on the tabletop in sleep or lapsed into a trance-like state of wakefulness during his lessons.
Their next lesson, "Transfiguration", on the other hand, turned out to be an extremely exciting, albeit complicated and complex subject. Right at the beginning of the lesson, they witnessed the almost unbelievable art of transformation, in which a cat sitting on the teacher's desk transformed into their teacher. She explained to them that this art of transfiguration was one of the most difficult there was. After this introduction, she began to explain a lot of theory to them and everyone in the classroom eagerly took notes. Lily, sitting next to Sev, however, surprised the teacher several times by showing a clever mind and being able to think her way into the different theories and problems. James, much to Lily's enthusiasm and Severus' displeasure, surprisingly possessed a gift for transfiguration. Professor McGonagall awarded them ten points each for their energetic cooperation.
Magic quickly became Lily's favourite subject. Professor Flittwick, a small, almost dwarfish older man, was always praising her for her acumen and quick thinking. Sally and Lily both wrote eagerly, trying to take as many notes as possible on the various theories and problems, because, as in Transfiguration, there was a lot of theory before they were allowed to do any magic.
Herbology took place in the greenhouses on the school grounds. Three times a week, their teacher Professor Sprout showed the young Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs different magical herbs and plants and explained how to plant, care for, and harvest them. The first-year pupils quickly realised that this subject seemed to be made for Alice and Amelia. During the lessons, the two were seen working together again and again.
Defence Against the Dark Arts took place in a Great Hall that provided plenty of space for practical exercises and lessons from their teacher, Professor Brown. Brown was a retired Auror who now left the catching of criminals to his best protégé, Alastor Moody. It was with him that they first began to study the general nature of magic and its manifestations in the first few lessons. Here Marlene proved that she had been born for this subject.
For astronomy, they climbed high up the astronomy tower every Wednesday at midnight. There they observed and learned about the different planets, stars and constellations and their movements and meanings under the thorough guidance of Professor Diadema. She explained to them, for example, how certain phases of the moon had a huge effect on the effectiveness of picked river grass. Strangely, this information about the moon and its effects seemed to have a calming effect on Lily. In general, she was much better focused and more receptive when she was in the moonlight, to which Sophie laughingly declared her a moon priestess.
On Thursdays, the flying lessons always took place. Under the watchful, almost eagle-like eyes of Madam Hooch, the first years from Gryffindor and Slytherin were taught the correct broom mounting techniques, take-off and landing as well as various flying manoeuvres. It quickly became apparent that James was a natural and a true flying ace on the broom. A fact that seemed to displease Severus. In general, Lily quickly noticed that these two did not get along very well and slowly but surely an enmity developed between them.
On Fridays, potion classes were held in the dungeons of the castle. Professor Slughorn, an obese middle-aged man with a conspicuous moustache, taught them the various stirring techniques and the reactions of various plants, herbs and other magical ingredients in the first lessons. First, the respective magic potion was discussed in theory, then the ingredients needed for it and their combinations and effects were discussed. The necessary care and attention with the sometimes extremely reactive ingredients were discussed each time before they started brewing. In this subject it seemed to Lily that all worries fell away from her long-time friend Sev and he was in his element. He displayed such precision, dedication, and passion that he became Slughorn's favourite student after the first lesson. But Lily had also caught the Potions Master's eye and he praised her almost to the same extent as the boy from Slytherin. When he learned that she had never worked with a cauldron before and that she came from a Muggle family, he was overjoyed. Soon she too became one of his favourite students and was repeatedly invited to several meetings of a club of favourite students.
However, the many good facts were also masked by some dark sides. Some of Severus' Slytherin friends found the fact that he, a Slytherin Halfblood, was talking and even being friends with her, a Muggle-born Gryffindor, simply wrong and there were always insults and threats. Because of this, the two friends argued from time to time, as they both had completely different views. However, they always managed to get back together and make up. James and his group of three friends did not make the situation any easier. They increasingly played pranks on the Slytherins, but especially on Sev, some of which were in extremely bad taste, which often made Lily furious. There was not only positive support from the family either. While her parents were extremely proud of her and her achievements, the once so close bond between the two Evans sisters drifted further and further apart. In the last eight weeks that she had been at Hogwarts, her sister had only written one letter and it had not been nice either. It had taken several hours and the whole posse of her new friends for the young witch to calm down.
And so, one wet and windy day, Halloween was already just around the corner. She had already spent a quarter of the school year at Hogwarts. The time had passed incredibly quickly for her, as she was so busy with homework, learning and preparing for lessons and meeting her friends. Then, as she stood outside the castle gates during lunch break, the sky cleared. It seemed to her that for a moment the sun was shining with stronger power and enveloping the autumnal castle grounds in a pleasant glow. Her heart warmed and she was filled with a bliss she had only known before her Hogwarts days.
31 October 1983, Mohawk Valley, New York, USA
Loneliness and deep sadness lay over the camp of the Hunters. For eleven long years now, they had roamed the wilderness of the United States without their patroness. Always in search of the next prey they could hunt down to overcome the pain of separation. Each of them processed the events differently, but they all had one thing in common. That they were now even more suspicious and irritable towards male demigods and gods than before, except for Apollo and Hermes. Zoë Nightshade, however, was hit the hardest by this punishment. Her second half had been gone for eleven years now, with no memory of her and all the beautiful moments they had shared together. But the lieutenant of the hunt showed her wounded, emotional side to only a few. Only the three oldest of them knew about the colossal grief that haunted them day after day. At night, when everyone was asleep and Zoë thought she was alone, she would give in to tears and cry until she fell asleep. Several times during their guard shifts, Pheobe, Atalanta and Cassandra had tried to calm her down. They held her in their arms until she fell asleep from exhaustion. Today seemed to be another one of those days and the three of them were having a silent discussion about who should stay with her today when Apollo unexpectedly appeared at the edge of their camp. But instead of his usual temperate, calm, and deliberate state, he appeared like an immature teenager, just as he had two decades ago. He radiated a smile that the mythological world had been missing for eleven years. With springy steps, he stepped into the middle of the camp and declared loudly:
"Hunters of Artemis, I bring good news. I now know where my sister is and have even seen her."
The previously clouded mood suddenly changed. All the Hunters, including the newer recruits like Layla and Daphne, jumped up and rushed towards the sun god, pestering him with questions. But ahead of them sprinted their lieutenant, who had fully awoken from her mourning.
"WOW, WOW, WOW, take it easy. Sit down and I will tell you what I know. And no interruptions for this awesome super god of awesomeness."
To which a chorus of "Yes, Lord Apollo" answered him
"So even though it's not much, I know that my sister now lives as the mortal Lily
Jenifer Evans. On top of that, she is part of Hecate's magical pet world. She goes to Hogwarts school and her childhood was a good one, no big drama, except for the 'sister' who is totally jealous of your mistress..."
Each Hunter hung spellbound on the sun god's words, all eye-rolling and snide comments for his immature and childish behaviour forgotten.
"And where do we find this Hogwarts?" asked a now gasping Zoë.
"It would do us all good to be able to see Lady Artemis one day, especially our new sister."
"Here comes the tricky part" Apollo began, his smile having visibly lost its strength
"The school is in Europe, the old world, high on the Scottish plains. The former land beyond the gods"
After which several cries of "Styx", "Skatá", "Dekára" could be heard. Their hopes of seeing their mistress and mother figure again faded. Hardly any half-bloods ventured into the Old World. It was clearly more dangerous than the current domain of the gods. But then also to the land beyond the gods within the Old World...many hung their heads at this thought.
The four veteran women, however, looked at each other for a long time, carrying on a silent conversation. All of them had travelled to Hadrian's Wall in Rome's prime. They knew the area from before. So, it would be feasible at least up to there, from the Wall onwards they would have to proceed more carefully than ever, but did they want to expose their youngest sisters to danger? They looked at the rest and their heads bowed in grief. Zoë puffed out her cheeks, took another deep breath to collect herself:
"Sisters, listen to me. The activity of the monsters is at an all-time low now, so we could dare to venture into the old world. But the road there is long, only some of us have ever walked it. The area we are talking about is full of creatures from Hecate's world of magic and the usual monsters we hunt. Should we decide to make our way to our mistress, the decision must be unanimous. If anyone has the slightest doubt, we will not attempt it. I have promised Artemis to see you all through this time of absence and I intend to keep that promise. So, all those in favour of this expedition to the Old World, raise your hands."
After a moment's hesitation, everyone raised their hands, including Apollo's hand. Atalanta noticed this and snickered:
"Father, I didn't need you to be a female virgin and part of your sister's hunt. But I am glad that you support us in this decision."
The last part, however, was spoken with such warmth and friends that the God of the Sun stood up and, against his gut instinct, pulled his eldest living daughter into a tight embrace. Atalanta's eyes widened and for a moment her body stiffened considerably. But she returned the embrace with the same intensity.
"All right Hunters of Artemis, let's pack up and get ready for the hunt. The hunt and look for our Lady." Declared Zoë solemnly
Cheers rang out from the camp, the thought of seeing their mistress again fired them up and they were ready to leave in no time. Pheobe sounded the hunting horn, the hunt and search for her mistress/mother/wife had begun.
Time passed quickly after Lily and her roommates got used to the weekly routine and Christmas of 1982 was just around the corner. The castle and its grounds were transformed into a gigantic snowy landscape overnight. The snow was a good 6 inches high, and icicles were forming, on the gamekeeper's cottage. The corridors and corridors of the castle were bitterly cold and extremely draughty because the strong winter wind blew its icy gusts through all the windows and entrances.
However, this fact did not deter anyone from looking forward to Christmas. The students eagerly shared their plans and intentions for the holidays. Like most, Lily went home to spend Christmas with her family, but others, such as Sally, stayed at Hogwarts. The reason for this was that they were too excited about a white Christmas in which the family did not provide drama. Even when asked by Lily, Sally did not reveal anything to her and kept avoiding the question.
The train ride with the others towards London was uneventful, if the young Gryffindor students refrained from the many pranks and immature actions of James and his three friends, Sirius, Peter and surprisingly Remus. Remus had always seemed to Lily like a fundamentally decent boy who took his school career seriously, as he had often sat with her and the other girls in the library doing his homework, but instead it now turned out that Remus was also capable of the silliest pranks. When Lily arrived home, her mother and father were practically pestering her. They both wanted to know exactly what it was like and wanted to know every little detail. From the names of her friends, how the lessons went, to her achievements, everything was covered. Petunia moved more and more into the background, as her parents were so excited about Lily's special gift and the almost incomprehensible pride about their little girl that they forgot there was another daughter. However, Lily, who had now had enough of the questions, wanted to focus on her sister to restore old relationships. With this aim, she turned to Petunia and asked: "Tunia, how was it with you? Have you made new friends? How is Angela? Which subject do you find best?" The flood of questions seemed to have no end, her honest interest in Petunia's life seemed to warm Petunia's cooling heart again. And so Petunia plunged joyfully into a narrative about her new school, the classes, and classmates and inside, her new friends. Petunia described in detail what her teachers were like, how she was second best in her year. Lily beamed and hugged her sister. It was incredibly important to her to have a good relationship with Petunia again. The parents now also turned to Petunia and threw in one or two additions, so that Petunia had the feeling that things were back to the way they used to be.
Christmas came and went, the year 1984 began and it was already time to say goodbye to the family again and so the little family went to London once more to take Lily to school. Beaming, she strode through the portal to platform 9 ¾, boarded the Hogwarts Express and set off in search of her friends. She passed the compartment of James Potter and his friends and nodded as she passed. But then she stopped in mid-motion because Sirius, no matter how distasteful his pranks were, had a clear black eye and a bloody lip. Her eyes widened, what had happened. She knocked on the door and asked, startled:
"Jesus Black, what happened to you?"
"Ahhh I didn't know you cared about me..."
"Oh man can't you even behave sensibly, it's so childish, now seriously did something happen".
"It's nothing Evans, I just fell down the stairs. All good"
The fact that he avoided her and everyone else with his gaze spoke volumes. But apparently, he did not want to talk about it and so Lily let it go and nodded at him: "Then get well soon Black"
She slid the door to the boys' compartment shut and made her way to Olivia,
Marlene, Alice, and the others. While she was closing the door, she heard James say
"...looks like an angel, beautiful" to which Lily blushed. Because all the same, if the compliment came from the childish James, it was still nice to get it. Arriving at Hogwarts, the returnees were greeted by a beaming Sally, who pulled each of them into a near rib-breaking hug. She thanked each of them for the great presents and the troupe of girls chattered blithely about all the happenings of the holidays. Sally told of the Prewett brothers' spectacular prank, for example, or the gigantic feast in the Great Hall, or the snowball fights in the grounds.
The year went on and on, and as time went on, it got warmer and warmer and the time for the final exams for the first grade came closer and closer. Lily managed to drive everyone in her dormitory crazy by panicking and starting to study before Easter and insisting that her friends join in. Increasingly, the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff troop could be found in the library, slowly but surely forming into a real study circle, made up of all the houses. Sev was the only Slytherin but was more or less accepted by the others after Lily had given them all a telling off about prejudice. Susana Columbus and Edgar Bones represented the Ravenclaws. Remus Lupin, one of James' three friends, was a recurring visitor to these meetings, where it quickly became apparent that he possessed a clever mind and could often explain one thing or another to the others. He dismissed comments that he would make a good teacher with the words: "I'm not serious enough for that" or even "oh nonsense, who would want someone like me as a teacher?"
It was the beginning of June when the exams were written, and they were all looking forward to the holiday season when they could really relax. The fact that Lily was no longer breathing down their necks and nudging her friends to sit down to study helped immensely. That is why they kept teasing her about it, but she accepted it with a guilty grin and replied that she just wanted to do something good for her friends. The trip to London was a fun one for the most part, except for the fact that James Potter's troupe was once again playing pranks on the Slytherins. Sev seemed to be a particularly popular target of the pranks, which annoyed Lily greatly. Her patience finally snapped when a paint bomb filled with red and gold paint hit him right in the face. The rampage that ensued would go down in history for years to come. Cries of "like a tiger" or "so small but such a loud organ of speech" would make the rounds.
The year 1984 was similar to 1983 and Lily again graduated with top marks from the second class of Hogwarts School. Surprisingly, James Potter, the immature, annoying, yet somehow charming boy was second in his year. And this even though he spent his free time playing pranks and playing for the Gryffindor house team in Quidditch. In the last year, Remus' younger sister Lyra had also come to the school. She turned out to be an extremely nice but shy girl. Despite sorted into Gryffindor, she was immediately taken under the wing of Amelia and Sally, who helped her break out of her shell. Lily's friendships with the Badger House grew closer and closer and by now the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff third form girls and the young first year could be found together everywhere.
Sally slowly but surely opened to Lily and tentatively and warily began to tell her about her family situation. It was a clearly heart-breaking story; many tears were shed by both. Sally's mother had died shortly after her birth in a magical accident and the identity of her father was also unknown to her. She lived in an orphanage and was adopted at the age of 8 by a loving couple. Mr. Jackson was a member of the Royal Navy. Mr Jackson came from the USA where she had studied marine biology at college. She had passed on her love of the sea and all its inhabitants to her daughter. At this point Lily wondered why Sally, then like everyone else had not gone home. The reason was that she had already been adopted several times by different couples, one couple had taken her back to the orphanage just a few days after the adoption. Sally's ADHD and dyslexia made her too much of a problem case, at least that is what the couple claimed. The day she returned to the orphanage had been Christmas. The event had left such a bad aftertaste that even years later and several happy Christmases later, Sally still had doubts. Lily clung to her friend throughout the narrative, too many emotions to process at once. She could understand her friend's pain, her fear in a way. After all, she had felt the same way when her big sister had labelled her a freak and abnormal. The fear of not being accepted at Hogwarts, her second home. She took the Hufflepuff in her arms and hugged her tightly. With a "Friends forever" to which Sally tearfully replied "Friends forever".
However, the third year was also the year in which the students took their electives.
Lily had chosen the subjects "Ancient Runes", "Arithmantics", "Care of Magical Creatures" and "Etiquette and Behaviour". Subjects like "Divination" or "Muggle Studies" did not appeal to her. Although four electives were a normally inadmissible number due to the high workload, Professor McGonagall allowed it. Her reasoning was simple, Lily always mastered her homework and essays on time and in a quality that was far superior to the others.
Arithmancy was a subject that dealt with the decomposition of the various aspects of sorcery into numerical equations and formulae. This allowed spells and sorceries to be broken down into different components and variations formed from them. But also, events of the future could be "foreseen".
Ancient Runes was a subject in which Lily was a true natural. The subject dealt with the various symbols and characters of lost cultures. Combining these made it possible to create effective protective wards, but also things like brooms, magical enchantment for objects. This year they would start with Latin symbols and characters. Many of her classmates had obvious problems deciphering the characters, but for Lily it was as if she was reading them normally. Sally felt the same way, always looking at Lily with a scrutinising gaze.
Care of magical creatures proved to be one of the most varied subjects she had so far. In this subject, too, she proved to have a nifty hand and a high level of comprehension. She mastered the handling of the different animals and creatures brilliantly and seemed to know instinctively what the respective animals needed.
Etiquette, Behaviour and Traditions had chosen her as the only Muggle-born. The rest of her classmates were half-bloods or purebloods from wizarding families. Nevertheless, Lily felt extremely comfortable with this choice, because despite three years at Hogwarts and the world of magic, she often felt like a stranger in another world. She slowly began to understand the context of this society and did not question or criticise every tradition of the wizarding community. A fact that earned her positive regard from some descendants of the old wizarding families. The fact that this subject consisted mainly of reading and practical exercises made her workload a lot easier.
In Defence Against the Dark Arts, they now also dealt with dark creatures such as Hinkepanks, Grindylows, Redcaps but also Werewolves. While the study group met as usual to do their homework together, Marlene noticed that Remus was not with them as usual. Lily, who had reached the point of recognising a werewolf in her essay, noticed the similarity and the many symptoms Remus displayed. The tiredness after the full moon, the missing classes the day before, on and after the full moon, the scarred face. Remus Lupin was a werewolf. But instead of feeling fear, fear of this fierce and bloodthirsty, mindless creature, Lily felt only deep pity and profound sadness for her classmate and friend. She needed to talk to him. Essay finished and all homework completed, Lily excused herself and set off in search of the ever-reticent boy. On her way into Gryffindor Tower, she saw him and approached with measured steps.
"Excuse me Remus, but do you have a moment? I'd like to talk to you in private."
"Hi Lily, sure what's so important?"
He already suspected what the conversation would lead to, as his greatest fear was to be discovered and recognised. A dark, will-less, bloodthirsty creature that the ministry would like to exterminate. When he answered her, he did not look at her, but looked at the floor. The fear of seeing hateful looks was too great and he was too ashamed of what he was.
"Okay, great. But not here, but not here. Too many people. In there!"
And with those words, she grabbed him by the collar of his cloak and dragged him into a nearby unused classroom. With a luscious bang, the door closed behind them, making the boy wince significantly. Lily put her hands on her hips.
"REMUS JOHN LUPIN, how dare you not to trust me, your friend!"
"Lily, you don't understand, I am a monster, a wild animal. If anyone finds out, that's it, I'll be expelled from school or hunted down by the Ministry".
Bam, Lily had lashed out and slapped him hard across the face.
"Don't ever say that again! You are NOT a monster! And if you think I'm going to let you down, you're wrong, you bloody idiot." She took a breath to calm herself.
"You are my friend Remus. Yes, that's right. And I don't leave my friends! No matter what happens! I'm always here for you and if you want to talk, come to me!"
Remus just stood there dumbfounded, his hand still on his glowing cheek.
Speechless. He did not know how to express his gratitude. Tears welled up in his eyes and in a sob, he threw himself into the redhead's arms. The gratitude and acceptance he felt could not be replaced by any gold in the world.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you"
"Don't mention it. After all, that's what friends are for. Two more things:
One, Do James and your friends already know about your...your illness? And second seriously, Lupin the Werewolf. Is that a joke of a surname?! That was quite an ironic twist of fate."
Whereupon they both had to laugh heartily. This coincidence was too funny and too surreal.
"To your question, yes they know. They found out through the last full moon. They saw me go to the hospital wing after dinner. I couldn't keep it from them then. You wouldn't believe how relieved I am to have 4 friends standing by me now. Thanks again Lily"
And with these words he gave Lily another tearful hug and disappeared from the classroom.
But before Lily could make her way out of the classroom, she heard a voice.
"Well done Ms Evans. I am proud to see someone like yourself, who is so committed to equality and against racism. Take 50 points for Gryffindor. His eyes sparkled and she could make out a gentle smile through his long white beard.
"Professor Dumbledore, I have not seen them. I thank you for your words, but I cannot accept the points. It would not be right. Such a thing should be self-evident."
"I understand what you mean, but I insist. I wish you a good day."
And with these words, the headmaster disappeared, leaving the young witch behind.
27 March 1984 Hadrian Wall, Former Castel Pons Aelius, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, Europe
The destination of her long journey was within reach. Only a good 300 miles separated them from their mistress. After half a year of intensive preparations, studying maps, routes, and scenarios by the veterans and the oldest of her sisters.
Amira and, surprisingly, Layla proved to be extremely helpful, as both were apparently part of Hecate's magical world. Amira, as the daughter of the Goddess of Magic and Layla as one of the many thousands of blessed mortals had been able to find some books about the creatures of this world. These books were distributed directly to the other sisters so that everyone could memorise the different creatures, their mannerisms, dangerousness, strengths, and weaknesses. Atalanta, Cassandra, Pheobe and Zoe had often pored over maps, from the days of Rome's rule over the province of Britannia and had finally decided on a path that would spare them most sources of danger. One thing that made the lieutenant sleep much better.
The journey itself had taken over a year. Everyone could still remember the long crossing with the cargo ship. A settlement of debts by the heir to the throne of Atlantis. At the time of the Founding Fathers, they had protected his daughter from the raid of the Brits, and he had promised them help in whatever form lay within his power. Arriving at the cargo port of Felixstowe, east of London, the first thing they did was to set up camp in the nearby woods and rest for a few days.
From there, they continued northwards at a cautious pace. They were always careful not to camp on the holy grounds of the Celts or Gods forbid on the holy grounds of their gods. They also disregarded the ancient Roman ruins. The reason for this was the restless and vengeful spirits of the legionaries who had risen in the eighth century and fallen fighting against the Viking invaders, their demigods, and gods. Although there was a peace pact between Asgard and Olympus, none of the veterans could forget the atrocities. Artemis, as one of the few deities of Olympus, had even made friends with some Norse goddesses, such as Gefion or Skadi. Still, no one wanted to conjure up something that none of them was sure was harmless.
When they finally reached Hadrian's Wall and Castel Pons Aelius one spring evening, they could hardly believe their luck. So far, they had only encountered individual monsters or creatures. In order not to attract the attention of larger groups and avoid being discovered, they made short work of them instead of letting individual ones escape as usual. But this journey also had very fruitful sides, the sisterhood now worked even more closely and doggedly together and became more vigilant than ever. The goal of seeing their mistress and mother, and in Zoë's secret case, wife, drove them on and gave them immeasurable strength.
Since the conversation with Remus in the empty classroom, he had been much better. During lessons, breaks and meetings with the study group, Lily had never seen him so calm and balanced. Although he continued to play jokes and pranks with his three friends, was caught wandering the castle at night and served countless detentions, she had the feeling that he, too, finally felt at home at Hogwarts. But as much as the group of Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors was becoming more and more close-knit, Lily's friend Sev was isolating himself more and more from them. At the beginning, Lily had been happy that Sev had also found friends in Slytherin, but these friends became more and more evil people. And his tone towards her was also slowly and insidiously changing, but she noticed that the two of them were arguing more and more. They always made up and remained friends, but every little argument left a mark on Lily's heart. She could not approve of the slogans of Lucius Malfoy, a seventh grader from Slytherin, or Jack Jugson, Michael Goyle, the Carrows and some others were throwing around and now seeing Severus more and more in their circle and agreeing with these speeches hurt. His spells were also getting darker and darker as time went on and for the first time in her life, she was afraid of magic. The effects, some of which Severus described with fanatic enthusiasm, made her shudder and that enthusiastic glint in her eye. She felt like crying after each new meeting with him.
But understanding came completely unexpectedly from someone she had least expected. Bellatrix Black, a sixth-former from Slytherin. Actually unthinkable. She a Slytherin house from one of the oldest pure-blood families in the British Isles and she a third year from Gryffindor with a non-magical background. The first meeting took place in the library during the Easter holidays, hardly any students had stayed at Hogwarts, everyone wanted to spend the short holiday period with their families. Lily had just secured a seat near an open window and pulled out her papers, parchment, quills, and ink when a feminine voice asked softly:
"Excuse me, is this seat free?"
She looked up. In front of her, wearing the Black Hogwarts uniform with green trim, stood a girl with raven black hair and purple eyes. Bellatrix Black. The eldest of the three Black sisters. The redhead looked suspiciously at the vacant seat. With the exception of Sirius, the Blacks had been one of the loudest promulgators of racist slogans. But looking at them closely, Lily could detect a certain fear of rejection, much like Sirius' on the first train ride. Perhaps all was not as it seemed.
"Sure, have a seat. My name is Lily"
"Hello Lily, I am Bellatrix Black. But please call me Bella. Bellatrix is what I've always been called at home." There was a hint of bitterness and unease in her voice.
"YOU are related to Sirius, aren't you? I can clearly see the resemblance."
"Yes, that's right. Sirius is my cousin. So is that idiot Regulus, or my nasty sister Narcissa." That undertone again, Lily wondered where it came from. In public, the Blacks usually stuck together. Well, at least the ones in Slytherin...
"Excuse me, this may sound strange, but why are you so nice to me? I'm a nobody, at least when it comes to wizard blood. You're not usually like this with Sirius, are you?"
Bella laughed a friendless laugh. It sounded like despair and dejection.
"I'm like that to Sirius and the others in public because of my family. I don't want to end up like him."
"Why what do you mean?" asked Lily sharply, the subject matter forgotten. She looked at the black-haired woman calculatingly.
"Sirius was the first of us who dared to rebel against our parents and their delusion of pure blood. Since then, he has been an outsider and an outcast. I don't want to suffer the same fate as him, and frankly, I don't have the guts either."
"Why, what did he do? All he did was come to Gryffindor."
"Ahhh, you've got it exactly right. There lies the root of all evil, Lily. Tradition is particularly important in our family. Blood purity and honouring House Slytherin are at the top of the list. And the moment he chose to go against tradition, he was a disgrace in the eyes of my family."
"Okay. That still doesn't explain why you're talking to me. I mean, I'm the exact opposite of what your family would approve of."
"That may be so, but I am talking to you for two reasons. First, you are not like the other Muggle-born. You don't openly criticise and question our traditions and values and cry for a revolution. You ask for the background of a certain thing before you give your opinion...My grandfather…he used to tell us stories about his youth here when we were younger, you remind me a lot of the young girl from his stories..."
"How do you know all this? Do people talk about me so much?"
"News travels incredibly fast at Hogwarts. And you are the star of the teachers these days, especially Slughorn. Don't forget who my head of house is," she winked at her.
"The other reason is that, like my younger sister Andromeda, I choose the nonobvious path. Everything I do is done in secret; I don't want to get the Cruciatus curse like Sirius did at Christmas. You have certainly seen the result..."
"Bella, does this mean that if you disobey you will be tortured at home?! That's terrible! Can't anyone help you?"
"Unfortunately, Lily, this is common practice among most old families. Arranged political marriages as another example are also still common practice..."
Lily sat there, completely stunned, staring at the sixth grader from wide-open eyes. The thought of being forcibly married sent shivers down her spine. They had not brought up these subjects in class before, it occurred to her that it was an open but dark secret of wizarding society. But another, more terrible thought occurred to her
"You've only ever talked about Andromeda, Sirius or yourself. What about your sister and your cousin, they can't approve of this, can they?! You're family, after all. You have to stick together, don't you?!"
Bella laughed again without humour or kindness
"My baby sister and my idiot of a cousin are up to their bellies in the stiff ass of my parents, my aunt and my uncle. They're right lickspittles. Disgusting and retarded. The wizarding world doesn't survive on incest but that's what my parents and my aunt and uncle preach. Only my grandfather doesn't, he lived to see the great war against Grindelwald and the horrors that rose from that delusion. Yes, he may seem conservative in many ways, but he did not succumb to the pureblood delusion..."
"Oh my God, that's terrible. How can you stand it there? I don't know if I could get through it without going crazy?"
"Not at all. I think I've already gone a little crazy. But I would do anything to protect 'dromeda and Sirius. Good family that is honest and open is rare. I don't know if you know it or you've covered this but we old families always have a motto, a motto. My family's saying is "Toujours Pur" "always pure" but not the way most of my family think, grandfather explained it to me, he..."
But before she could speak further, she flinched noticeably and rubbed her wand, which seemed to have become hot. Her face froze and a rushed expression spread across her face. She spoke in a rushed voice:
"I have to go now, Lily. Otherwise, someone will see me. But the next time you're here alone, I'll be back. You remind me a lot of Cissy when she was younger...Goodbye and take care of yourself."
She rose almost silently and disappeared with her things behind the nearby row of shelves. Lily sat motionless for a moment. The conversation with Bella was still before her eyes. The world of magic, which had seemed so happy and bright to her until now, had become increasingly dark over the last six months. She would keep the conversation with Bella to herself. Bella was her friend now and Lily Evans did everything to protect her friends. Bella had not been up from the table a minute and disappeared when a Slytherin seventh grader, Malfoy, she thought his name was, turned the corner and looked around searchingly. He spotted Lily and his expression twisted into disgust. His cold eyes rested on her for a moment, a look that did not bode well. But then he turned away from her and stalked off. Lily exhaled breath she had been holding.
Over the next few weeks, Lily and Bella met again and again in secret in the most diverse and sometimes most secluded places throughout the castle. One conversation became more and more, and a friendship began to develop between the two. Bella taught her etiquette and traditions of the magical world and in return Lily presented the traditions of the muggle world, which in her opinion could enrich the wizarding world and not replace it. Even though she reluctantly agreed at first, Bella also taught her some spells from the upper classes or from other backgrounds. She said it was important to her that her fiery little sister, as she called her now, knew how to fight back. But you could tell Bella was getting restless. Outside Hogwarts, racists were murdering and raping the countryside. Racists that her parents' thought were the right political direction. She suspected that her parents would soon arrange a political marriage with sympathisers of this movement. On top of that, her sister was having a secret relationship with a Muggle-born boy. Although this boy, Theodore Edward Tonks, was not necessarily a bad person and, like Lily, tried hard to learn the different rules and customs of her world, she was sure that as soon as the matter would come to light, it would explode in the family. In addition, the eldest sister had the instinct to look after her younger sister and a boy was a red rag for her. She had therefore made plans over the summer holidays and wanted to do everything in her power to prevent both her little sisters from becoming a victim of violence and swore to herself to protect both with every ounce of her power. Her grandfather gave her his blessing when she told her about the fiery little third grader and could understand why Bella saw her as an honourable Black. On the advice of her grandfather, she was to pick up the old volumes with the somewhat offbeat branches of magic. The idea for the solution to her problem had literally fallen into her hands while rummaging through the books of the house's own library. A blood packs.
Through this it would be impossible for her to hurt Lily and they could support each other. The ideal solution. Now she just had to convince her. And that as fast as she could. Tensions were rising in her parents' house. She could manage to protect Andy, but it made her heart arch to think about what would become of the fiery Redhead, her new little baby sister who had replaced Cissy. But of course, Sirius, that most idiotic Gryffindor boy was dancing on his parents' noses more and more and her grandfather was in poor health. All in all, an extremely unfavourable situation that required quick action.
Lily's friendship with Bella was not the only one to blossom. Sally Jackson, the young Hufflepuff had been one of Lily's closest friends since the middle of third year, along with Marlene and Alice. The bonding had begun in ancient runes. In this subject, students usually worked together in pairs, which naturally led to closer contact between the two friends. Although both rarely had problems with the tasks or translations given to them and were exceptionally good at solving the tasks independently, they always met in the library to do the homework together, outside of the study circle. During these phases, the two exchanged more and more and learned about each other's childhoods and the circumstances in which they had grown up. Sally told her more about her adoptive family and how she had fared in the first months after the adoption. During this story they both cried without inhibition and without charm, as it was a sad phase that Sally had gone through. Lily in return talked about her family, although she had grown up happy and rarely had a reason to be sad, her relationship with her big sister, her idol, and her alienation gnawed at her a lot. It also did not help that her parents, since the arrival of the first Hogwarts letter, were pushing her more and more into the foreground and Petunia was falling more and more into the shadows. She had first noticed this fact at Christmas after her first six months at Hogwarts. Insecurity and guilt lay heavy on her and Lily would love nothing more than to raise heaven and hell to repair the damaged relationship. After all, family and her friends were most important to Lily. Sally understood the redhead all too well, for although she loved her adoptive parents dearly and had what had become an extremely close and good relationship, she often wondered who her parents were. She knew neither her mother's name nor her surname and had no clues as to the identity of her father. Not knowing who she would have been if she had not been left alone in this world and not knowing if her father was still alive and why he had left her behind was a miserable feeling for the young witch. Lily did her best to cheer the badger up and build her up. She promised to help her find the identity of her parents. But they needed a clue, but as fate would have it, one day they found it. In an old library volume on families and kinship, there was talk that the goblins of Gringotts could perform a special blood test against several galleons. This test would then reveal all relatives. The girls' shrill shrieks earned them a premature ejection from the library and a long reprimand from Madam Pince, the librarian, but neither of them cared. They were both just so happy about the discovery. Sally was already counting the days until the coming summer holidays. Then she wanted to do the test together with her parents. When Lily asked her parents if they would agree and if it would not seem strange to them, Sally just smiled and answered in the negative. She justified her answer by telling how her father had used his contacts in the military to make his daughter's dream come true and how both parts of her parents were more than supportive. What Lily had not counted on, however, was the fact that Sally really wanted her to be there for the test. She said that without her it would probably have taken her years more or she might never have found out. Besides, she had become a significant part of Sally's life and Sally wanted her best friend as she called her to be part of this special moment. Tears of gratitude and emotion ran down the young lioness' cheeks. She was overwhelmed beyond words and threw herself into her friend's arms and it was full speed ahead for Mission Family Identity.
Time went by very quickly for the two of them. The events surrounding the two witches quickly faded into the background, especially for Sally. But suddenly the third year at Hogwarts was over. The train journey to London and home was a whirlwind of colours, sounds and above all emotions. Sally's family was a little further north than the Evans family and so the two friends arranged that Sally, and her family would pick her up and take her to London and then bring her back. Lily's parents were delighted that Lily was meeting up with schoolmates outside of school and promptly agreed. Lily ignored her big sister's muttered snide comments, she had more important things on her mind at the moment. When the time finally came on a sunny Saturday at the end of July, the parents of both families could not clearly see who was more excited. The journey to London was torture for the naval officer on shore leave and his wife, but they both took it in their stride. The Jackson's knew how important this information was to their daughter.
Arriving in Diagon Alley, the young witches and their parents headed unerringly for the bank. Despite their sheer excitement, Sally forced herself to be patient as they waited for a counter at the bank to become free. Then finally. After what felt like an eternity, or at least it felt that way to Sally, the nearest counter became free. A glance at Mr Jackson, however, told Lily that it had taken less than five minutes, but the smile on his face showed that he could understand his daughter's situation.
They stepped up to the counter and waited until the leprechaun had finished filling out documents and forms. When he looked up at her questioningly, Sally began:
"Good afternoon Master Goblin. My name is Sally Jackson, and I would like to engage the services of Gringotts."
"Good afternoon Ms Jackson. What kind of business can Gringotts help you with?"
"I'm here to do an ancestor test because I don't know anything about my family, and I've heard that the services of the goblins are almost legendary in this area in particular."
"All right, Ms Jackson. This is indeed within the capabilities of Gringotts. However, the test you are asking for is awfully expensive."
At this moment, Mr. Jackson intervened in the conversation for the first time
"Master Bloodaxe, money plays no role in this matter for me and especially for my daughter. As a soldier, it is important to me that no one is left behind. I have passed this motto on to my daughter. So, I am sure you understand that I cannot back down now."
"One soldier...mmm...that will be 100 galleons Mr Jackson. In pounds sterling that would be 500"
Mr Jackson nodded and pulled out his wallet and placed the said sum on the counter and waited patiently as Bloodaxe recounted the money. With a nod, he placed it under the counter.
"That seems to be all right. Rockcrasher please take this young lady and her companion into an adjoining room and tell the shaman to prepare an ancestor test."
The addressed goblin bowed to the company and led them through a labyrinth of corridors and hallways, past countless doors. They reached their destination and entered. The room was spartanly furnished. A long table with several chairs.
"One moment please take a seat" and with another bow he stepped out. The company sat down and waited. No one said a word as they were all a little nervous and excited. The silence was only broken by the rhythmic thumping of Sally's foot on the floor. After about five minutes, a goblin appeared. He bowed to them and said in a hoarse voice:
"Good afternoon, my name is Firefist, which of you is Ms Jackson?
"I salute you, Master Firefist. Sally Jackson, a pleasure."
"All right, Ms Jackson. Let's get started. I can see you're dying to find out who your ancestors are."
And with these words, the goblin pulled various objects from the pouches on his belt. A long, silver knife, a stone bowl, as well as a sheet of parchment and a quill, you laid them on the table in front of Sally.
"Please make a small cut in your finger with the knife and let the blood drip into the bowl. We need twenty drops for this test. The knife is specially enchanted so that you will not suffer any permanent damage."
Sally swallowed hard, took another deep breath, and looked at her moral support. Her father, her mother, and her best friend. Her father nodded, her mother smiled caringly as only mothers can and Lily squeezed her hand once more. She applied the knife and made a cut on her right index finger and began to count. Her companions held their breath in anticipation and counted every drop that fell into the basin. After the last drop had fallen into the pool, Sally nodded to the goblin and withdrew her finger. The wound had already closed. The goblin nodded. With his long-fingered, claw-like hands, he pulled the bowl towards him and muttered something in an unknown language, gesturing in complex hand movements over the basin. After a minute he took the quill and stuck it in the middle of the bowl. The quill absorbed the blood and now looked powerful, ready to write on the parchment. He placed it at the top of the parchment and by itself it began to write. Once again, all people present held their breath. Now the moment of truth had come. Now it would be decided who Sally's biological parents were. The scratching of the pen had stopped. The shaman took it from the parchment, looked at the latter and blanched. A flurry of goblin and another language that seemed strangely familiar to the two witches. He turned to the humans and bowed deeply once more to Sally and then to Sally's parents. With the words
"It was an honour. This test is at the expense of Gringotts," he hastily left the room, but not without bowing to Sally again. With her hands now trembling, Sally took hold of the parchment. A thousand questions raced in her mind. What had happened?
Why this reaction? There was only one way to find out what had upset the goblin so.
She looked at the parchment and read:
Ancestor Test by Sally Jackson
Mother (adopted) Mar Grace Jackson
Father (adopted) Mr. Ray Jackson
Mother (biological) Hecate, goddess of magic, crossroads, mist, witches, necromancy
Father (biological) Mr. Nolan Eibon
Silence. Stunned silence. No one had expected such a revelation. The goddess of magic. It was almost too crazy to be true. But the shaman's reaction suggested that it really was true. Then a surge of anger overcame her. Anger at her biological father who had dumped her in an orphanage like an unwanted piece of luggage. Gratitude for her parents, they would always be her parents. Gratitude for these incredibly amazing and loving people who had opened the door to her home and given her love. Fear of Lily's reaction. Lily her best friend, the next best thing to a sister she had ever had. But when she looked at the redhead, all she could see was joy. Joy for her friend who had finally got answers she had been searching for all her life.
"It doesn't change anything. You're Sally. My one of my best friends. My sister. I'm just so happy for you. Do you think if you sent her an owl, she'd answer you? I could lend you Selene."
"She is right darling. You are and will always be our daughter. No matter what happens. You have, the way I see it very simply, two mothers and a father. Your mother and I will always support you in everything you do. That's what we swore to each other when you came to us".
And after that sentence, the dam broke. Tears of boiled-over emotion burst from her. With a strangled cry and in a fit of weeping, Sally threw herself into the arms of the three of them and hugged them as tightly as she could. She had arrived. She had found her family.
Rock crasher's reaction was similar to Fire fists. Wide-eyed and bowing deeply one after the other, he escorted them out. As they turned to leave, the imp grabbed Mr Jackson by the arm as warriors of old had done. Forearm to forearm
"Warrior Jackson, it has been an honour to have you and your family in our halls. Do all you can to keep the Princess of Magic safe. Do not hesitate to ask Gringotts for help, we stand by your side."
And with that speech, he turned away, leaving the four people standing puzzled at the entrance. They left the drive back towards Cokeworth in silence. Everyone hung on to their own thoughts. Lily had an arm wrapped around Sally and was holding her close. Sally still had the bow of parchment firmly in her hand. By now you could see tear marks on it. Arriving at Cokeworth, Lily got out and said to Sally "wait a moment, I'll give you Selene directly. Ray had to smile from the driver's seat, his daughter had found a really good friend in Lily. Less than two minutes later Lily came running up, Selene and cage in hand, and hugged him to Sally.
"It was a pleasure to meet you MR. And Mrz. Jackson. I hope to see you again soon" "Us too, sweetheart. But please, for you we are Ray and Grace".
"See you soon Sally. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you. Write to me if you have anything to report. And don't worry, this thing stays between us."
She gave Sally another big hug and Sally returned the gesture no less firmly. Then the car doors slammed shut and the Jackson's drove off west. Sally waved from the back seat of the car, a huge smile on her face, her teary but beaming eyes still fixed on the shrinking figure of Lily. She vowed that from this day forward she would always have the back of her best friend and see her as the sister Lily had become.
I hope you enjoyed reading it and had as much fun as I had writing it. I would appreciate constructive feedback, so feel free to leave me some ;). Until the next chapter :)