They were walking down a long path, now, with tall trees surrounding either side of them. Lily could see the large house in the distance, where the Diggorys would be waiting for them. Lily just hoped they wouldn't be terrible people.

"Have you enjoyed your holidays, Lily?" Dumbledore asked at last.

"Yes, Professor," Lily grumbled. "Why did I have to leave the house?"

"For your protection," Dumbledore said simply. "You made sure you had everything?"

"Yes, Professor," Lily said. "Why did I have to set the snake free?"

"I do not think the Diggorys would appreciate you bringing a wild snake into their household, Lily," Dumbledore said with a hum.

"I don't see why we couldn't wait for Duke," Lily grumbled. She kicked at a loose stone. She was carrying Weasley's cage, while Dumbledore levitated her trunk ahead of the both of them. The rain was kept off of them by some sort of charm. Lily had no idea what it actually did, but it was as if there was an invisible barrier all around them.

"I am sure the dog will be fine, Lily," Dumbledore said "You are not far from the Burrow. Perhaps, if you are lucky, he will even find you out here."

Lily doubted she would be that lucky. She could see somebody waving to them from the house now. The Diggory home wasn't as large as the Burrow, but it certainly seemed much sturdier, with hardly a curve to speak of. There was a light flickering from one of the first-floor windows.

"I believe I will leave you here," Dumbledore said with a flick of his wand. Lily's trunk shot forward, speeding towards the porch and landing gently upon it. "I am sorry to leave you so suddenly, but I am afraid I have a lot of business to attend to with the Minister. I wish you a good holiday, Lily, and I will see you at school."

"Wait, Professor," Lily said. She latched onto his arm before he could apparate away. "Can you sign my permission slip before you go?"

"Ah, yes," Dumbledore said slowly. "For Hogsmeade?"

"Yes, sir."

Dumbledore took a long pause, and Lily could feel her heart sinking. It was never a good sign when Dumbledore took this long to speak.

"I do not think it wise for you to visit Hogsmeade at this time, Lily," he said at last. "I am sorry. Perhaps next year."

"Right," Lily said. She didn't wait for the headmaster to argue any further, and she stormed off into the heavy rain while muttering to herself.

"'Happy birthday, Lily.' Why, thanks, Professor! I can't believe you remembered! Thank you so much for signing my slip! What a birthday gift, you really shouldn't have! Thank you so much for not getting rid of my new dog and snake!"

Lily was soaking wet as she reached the porch, and she heard Weasley hissing in his cage. A glance down showed her that the rain was pouring through the gaps in the wiring, soaking the feline as much as it was her. That made her feel just a bit bad. She'd forgotten about him in her own misery. She hoped the cat would forgive her.

There was a kind looking woman sitting on the porch in a comfy looking chair. She was knitting away at what seemed to be a sweater. Lily wondered if it'd be better than Mrs. Weasley's, which certainly wasn't an insult towards the woman. Mrs. Weasley actually made remarkable sweaters, and she was very much looking forward to getting another one for Christmas. She'd be wearing her previous one right now if it wasn't for having outgrown it. The knitting woman smiled at Lily, showing off her perfect teeth. She had her hair tied back, but it seemed to be blonde. It was hard to tell in this lighting, in this storm. Lily was pretty sure her eyes were gray, though. The sudden flash of lightning helped with that much.

"Cedric is inside, dear," the woman said as she set down her needles and cloth. Lily was much taller than she was, something that always made her feel good. She was almost as tall as the twins, now (or at least as tall as the last time she saw them), and she'd be lucky to reach them. She was pretty sure she was almost done growing. She'd never reach Ron's height, he seemed to hardly be started, and he was already well above her.

"Who is that?" Lily asked. She sounded a bit grumpier than she meant it, but she couldn't help herself. She was having a rotten day. She wrung some of the water from her hair, and it dropped onto the porch below.

"Our boy," Mrs. Diggory said. She opened the door for the both of them, letting Lily pass inside first. Lily did so, noticing the bear rug laying on the floor of the foyer. Charming, she thought.

The rest was more normal, thank Merlin, with a rack for coats and hats, and staircase leading to the upper floor. It only seemed to have the two. There was a turn immediately on the right that went to the kitchen, and there was a turn on the left that went to the sitting room, where Lily saw a large, musty looking couch with a rustic coffee table in front. It didn't seem to have the space for an armchair, but there was another door leading further back. Lily could only guess what was in there.

"I'll take you to your room, shall I?" Mrs. Diggory said kindly. Lily grunted in response, dragging her trunk and sodden self upstairs behind the woman. Her trunk made a thunk on every step, but the woman didn't seem to mind, and Lily didn't care. She just wanted to get changed and hide in her room all day. If she was lucky, they'd have an owl she could borrow, so she could write to Katie and let her know where she now was. She could just imagine her owl, Monty, waiting at the Burrow for her, unaware that she'd just left. She'd remembered to bring a tin of biscuits with her, thankfully.

"Here you are, dear," Mrs. Diggory said. She opened a door at the end of the hallway for Lily, holding it open. Lily shuffled in. It was dark and musty, filled only by a single bed and a bare bookshelf, but it was better than nothing, she supposed. She could make do, here.

"I'll be downstairs if you need anything," Mrs. Diggory said. "I'll leave you to get changed. Supper is at six, I'll come get you when it's ready."

"Thanks," Lily mumbled as Mrs. Diggory shut the door. It was really dark in here, now, and there wasn't even a candle for Lily to light. She left her trunk on the ground, let her cat out, and pulled out a fresh pair of clothes, all the while feeling absolutely miserable. The rain had gone straight through her cloak and robe. There wasn't a single thing she was wearing that wasn't dripping wet.

The door clicked open as she lifted her shirt over her head, and she hurried to cover herself in her surprise. She expected to see Mrs. Diggory's face in the doorway, but was instead met by the shocked and awed face of a teenage boy. She let out a scream, the boy shouted "sorry," and then the door was closed.

Lily ran forward and clicked the lock on the door, just to make sure it didn't happen again. She didn't know the son's name, but she made a mental note to kill him later.

His name was Cedric, it turned out (only afterwards did she remember she was already told), and he was very sorry about the intrusion. Lily was pretty sure it had to do with his mother. She heard her yelling at him from downstairs while she finished changing. She thought about coming downstairs to calm the situation, but she also thought he quite deserved it. Not even Ron was stupid enough to make that blunder. Lily chalked it up to Cedric being an only child, but she hadn't forgiven him quite yet.

Cedric had the same gray eyes as his mother, but the dark hair of his father, as Lily found out when the man came home from work. He was shorter than both his son and wife, and he had a habit to brag a bit too much about his son, but he seemed decent enough over supper. He worked at the Ministry with Mr. Weasley, although in different departments. Lily tried her best not to feel too mad at the dinner table. It was hard, though. Cedric kept finding a new way to apologize in every conversation.

"I tell you, work has been a killer, lately," Amos Diggory said as he chewed a piece of his steak. "I'll be glad when all this nonsense is over. Why they thought it would be a good idea to host the World Cup and the tournament in the same year, I'll never know."

"The what?" Lily asked.

"The World Cup, dear!" Mr. Diggory said with a tone of shock. "Surely you've heard? Britain is hosting next year, it's been all over the news! Err- it would be, if Black wasn't the front page. Speaking of, he's been a nightmare too, Ministry has all hands on deck trying to find him, we'll be lucky if-"

"I think she meant the tournament, dear," Mrs. Diggory piped up. She'd already finished her own much smaller meal.

"Yeah, that," Lily said, pushing around a chunk of meat with her fork. "What tournament?"

"I'd like to know, too," Cedric piped up. He was a bit too eager to agree with her, Lily thought.

Mr. Diggory completely ignored the question. "Awful weather we've been having, isn't it?"

"Yes," Lily agreed, "But what about the-"

"Now, dear," Mrs. Diggory said kindly, "Don't go getting Amos in any trouble, now, he wasn't supposed to let that slip."

Mr. Diggory took another bite of his steak, his face turning a bright red. "You're in for a real treat, though, I'll tell you that much."

"Come on, dad," Cedric said, "You're really going to hide it from us after that?"

"Have to," Mr. Diggory said. "Sworn to secrecy, all of us who are working on it have been. I really should not have told you that. I heard you need to head to Diagon tomorrow, Hazel?"

"It's Lily," Lily said, "And, err- yes, I do, actually. Where'd you hear about that?"

"Flourish & Blotts has ads posted all over," he said with a chuckle. "I imagine it'll be quite the packed event."

"I'll go with you," Cedric offered. "Just in case."

"Atta boy," Mr. Diggory said proudly. "Don't want young Miss Potter getting hung out to dry by the press, eh? Make sure you get her out of there at the first sign of trouble, son."

"I can handle myself, thank you very much," Lily said with a sniff. Her stomach was rolling now from the nerves, and she didn't think she could finish her steak.

No cake was served after the meal, much to her disappointment.

Lily collapsed onto her bed after supper. She was absolutely exhausted. The only thing keeping her from falling asleep immediately was her cat swatting at her nose. She tried growling at him so he'd sod off, but Weasley didn't buy it one bit. He just swatted at her harder.

"Fine," Lily said. She got back up, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She still needed to check her letters, anyway, even if she'd rather just sleep. She had to light a candle, first (graciously given to her after she asked, of course), but she did it with her wand. She was staying with wizards again, now. She didn't think the Ministry would notice. The single thing was barely enough to light up her dingy room. The rain was still pounding against her window.

She didn't have to dig very far into her trunk to reach the bundle of packages and letters. She tossed those onto her bed, then jumped onto it with them. Weasley hopped up afterwards, sitting at the edge of the mattress, where he curled to sleep. Why he couldn't do that when Lily wanted him to, she had no idea.

The first package she opened had no sender listed. Just her name and the address of the Burrow. She tore it open, expecting at least a note on the inside, but there was nothing. Just a large book. A Master's Guide to Potions Ingredients. That brought a smile to her face.

"A master," she said as she flipped the pages open. A slip of paper slid out, and she picked it up.

For your studies. You've clearly earned it.

"I like to think so," Lily agreed. Potions was one of her best subjects, one of the two she'd manage to score the top marks in last year. She'd look over it more later. She set the book inside, for now, and set the slip of paper to she side, where she'd make a pile for the letters. She chose one of those, next, one from Hagrid, the groundskeeper at Hogwarts.

Dear Lily,

Happy Birthday!

Made you a cake, but Fang got into it when I wasn't looking. I'll have another one ready for you when you get back to school. Does tea that first Friday sound good?

Happy Holidays

Hagrid

P.S.

I sent you another gift, as well, it'll be the squirming brown one. I think you'll find it useful in the next term.

Lily put that one in a new pile, for the letters she'd need to respond to before she filed them away. Her heart was feeling much warmer, now. She grabbed one of the packages, next, the squirming brown one Hagrid had mentioned. She really hoped he didn't send her something dangerous. She still had the scars on her hand from where his dragon bit her.

As she tried to tear open the paper, whatever was inside bit at her, and she threw the thing away from her with a loud squeal. The parcel hit the wall, made a sort of gurgling noise, collided with the floor, and then tore out of the paper. It was a book, or at least something that looked like a book, and it scurried off beneath Lily's bed before she could do anything about it.

If this thing bites me again, I'm not having tea with him, Lily decided. She leaned over the side of her bed, trying to get a look at the thing without touching the floor. Her hair dangled onto the ground below, and she had her wand clutched tightly in her left hand. She almost slipped off when somebody knocked on her door.

"Are you okay in there, Lily?" Cedric asked through the closed pane of wood.

"Yes," Lily called out. She couldn't see the book anywhere. "Just- just dropped a book."

Lily could hear Cedric walk away after a moment's pause, his feet surprisingly light on the outside walkway. She briefly considered calling him back, but she saw movement in the dark space under the bed. She wished she hadn't stored so many things down there; it was hard to get a good view of the monster. She decided to leave it for future Lily to deal with, and tossed her weight back onto the top of her bed. She still had more letters to get through.

She still had one more package to open, and this one had a letter to go with it, written in Hermione's scrawl. She started with the letter, one hand idly stroking her growling cat. He was still very preoccupied with the noises coming from under her bed.

Dear Lily,

I know we already celebrated, but I found something that I thought you'd like while we were in Paris, and I thought I'd send it off for you. The magic shops are a lot more varied here than in Diagon. They're not even tucked away in some back alley, they're right in the open, Muggles just can't see them.

Oh, and I heard from Neville, and he said Ron's bought the tickets for the Quidditch game: Holyhead Harpies and the Caerphilly Catapults, August 19th. I'll see you there, he sent me mine already! He said Ron was trying to keep it a surprise, so try to pretend when he gets home.

Happy Birthday!

Hermione Granger

Lily set it aside on her little pile, then grabbed Hermione's parcel. She was a bit hurt to not see one from Katie, but she still had a few letters to go. Maybe she'd be getting one in person?

Lily tore off the paper, revealing two books, both large and new looking. One was a French dictionary, the other was a Charms book written in French. It was just like Hermione to assign her homework as a birthday present. Lily set them aside, feeling amused, and decided she'd start on them later. It'd be tedious work, but there could be some very interesting spells in there.

Weasley was perched carefully on the side of her bed, poised and ready to jump. Lily poked his butt with her foot, he hopped to the floor, startled, then Lily heard a scuffling from under the bed. The book tore from out of the covers, snapping at Weasley, who hissed again, and hopped back on the bed as quicky as he could. Lily took her chance, snatching up her wand, aiming at the book, and crying out the first spell that came to mind:

"Incarcerous!"

Ropes shot from her wand, curling around the book and tying it shut tightly. It tossed and fought against the incarceration, but it couldn't break it. Lily let it tire itself out as she turned her attention back to the pile.

The next letter was from somebody she hadn't at all expected, somebody she'd barely talked to, but she supposed she could now call a friend. It was as close as she was likely to get, as far as the Slytherins were concerned.

Dear Potter,

At my mother's suggestion, I've decided to write to you. You can thank her for this. I never would have, otherwise.

I'm sorry about the voucher. My mother thought it'd bring in some good business. You don't have to come to the shop.

Happy Birthday.

Sae Asari

Lily pulled out the slip of paper she'd been sent alongside the letter. It was a voucher for a free cauldron, so long as you also purchased 10 galleons worth of Potions ingredients. She supposed she could use a new one; her previous one was starting to wear a bit thin. Their last few Potions of the year had already been corrosive in nature, and she only made it worse by making hers extra potent. She'd stop by the Asari Apothecary, for sure, if only to say hello. Ten Galleons seemed a bit much too spend on ingredients.

The last letter was in the writing she'd been looking forward to seeing, and it brought a smile to her face. She checked around the sheets, but there wasn't one from Ron. She tried not to feel disappointed; she'd be seeing him soon enough.

"Finally," she said out loud as she tore her letter open, Ron already forgotten.

Dear Lily,

You can't come visit. I'm sorry. My mum decided she didn't want you over, and my dad won't overrule it. He never does.

I'll see you on the train.

Happy Birthday,

Katie Bell

Lily was even more grumpy the following morning, which she really wouldn't have thought possible based off the preceding night. Unfortunately, she'd left the gnawing book on the ground during the night. She'd been too upset to clear it. At some point, it managed to break free of the bindings, and when she finally managed to crawl out of bed to get ready for the day, it bit at her feet, and she'd done a full faceplant. It didn't help when Cedric came into her room to help, since she really was making a big ruckus, while she'd been in her sorry state. She took it out on him, and she was feeling bad for that now. Plus, she was having a very hard time getting her hair to cooperate; she was pretty sure the book tore out a clump, and that was only making her feel worse. Her curls were proving unruly, and she was starting to wish she hadn't visited the Grangers, if only for that one reason; she hoped it would flatten itself again as time wore on.

She did the best she could, even though she was feeling particularly gross that morning. She went a bit light on makeup; she didn't trust herself not to mess it up. She almost always did when she wasn't in a good mood. Lavender always did it for her when she was having one of these days. That was yet another item she'd have to add to the list of things she'd no longer be able to do once school started.

Cedric wasn't happy about having to get up so early, but Lily wanted to finish her shopping before her interview, and she still had an appointment to make with Madame Malkin's, as well. She also really wanted to stop by her vault while she had the chance without the Weasleys being present; her vault contained far more gold, and she would feel terrible if they saw the contents. She made Cedric wait outside the great bank while she went in alone, daring to take the whizzing and whirling minecart without a companion to speak to. That seemed to make the nausea worse. She was absolutely shocked when the bank goblin opened the vault for her, turning her key in the heavy mechanism.

"Why is it bigger?" she said a bit too loudly. It echoed in the caverns around them.

It wasn't even just a tad bigger, no, it was substantial. Not quite double, but nearly, with all new piles of gems and gold to speak of. And she'd already been massively wealthy.

"Some of your late father's investments have come to maturity," the goblin said with a toothy smile. "Wise man, that one. Knew how to play the market. The last of the bonds won't mature until you are 20. You can expect it to at least double by the time you graduate, I think. I can give you a full count of the contents, if you'd like."

Lily didn't know if her heart could handle that. Her head was already swimming with the thoughts of gold. She settled on removing the usual amount, plus a bit extra to buy an apology gift for Cedric. She'd treat him to lunch or something. It was the least she could do, at this point. As she was leaving the marble steps of the bank, Cedric following closely behind, it occurred to her that she could definitely afford that Firebolt, now. It took all her willpower to walk past the broom shop. She had a schedule to keep, after all.

"Where to first?" Cedric asked. He seemed a bit unsure of what to do, so he followed just behind Lily.

"Malkin's," Lily said with a gesture. "I have an appointment. Then I need to buy my school things, then the interview."

Unfortunately for Lily, though, the appointment with the Madame turned out to be a lot more involved than she had originally expected, and would take up the entirety of the time she had been expecting to use on shopping. She sent Cedric off instead, with her list and her pouch of coins, but only because he volunteered to do so. They argued about it for ten minutes before Lily finally gave in. Then, Madame Malkin started taking her measurements. Lily didn't get the point. She was just getting a set of robes, as agreed upon in their contract. The measuring alone took half an hour, during which Lily was extremely uncomfortable. Malkin's tape measure went over every inch of her body automatically, and Malkin took notes on every one of them. They argued for another half hour over how "form fitting" the robes would be. Malkin wanted to "show off your true beauty," while Lily wanted to not be ogled at. She already got far more attention than she would have liked.

Lily lost the battle, since the contract stipulations were clear, and she settled on cursing Lockhart later, should she ever see him again. He was the one that got her into this mess.

So Lily left the tailor wearing a bright set of green and silver robes that clung far tighter to her than she would have liked, all adorned with serpents on the sleeves and edges. She thought it was entirely too gaudy and would have preferred walking about in plain school robes. It made her feel excruciatingly uncomfortable, and she considered calling off the whole thing then and there, and just dealing with the fines she'd have to pay for breaching the contract. She ducked into a back alley at the first possible opportunity and used a sneaky Enlargement Charm to make it a bit baggier, at the least. She felt much better once she did so.

She met Cedric outside of Flourish & Blotts, just as she promised, carrying her new school robes. Those, at least, were made to her normal comfort levels.

"You look great," Cedric said as he took those bags, too. He didn't at all seem bothered by how much weight he was already carrying.

"Yes, I'm very green," Lily said with a little twirl. "She really wanted to 'draw into the Heir of Slytherin angle.' I have no idea where she even heard the story, the paper was still calling me a Gryffindor, last I checked."

"I imagine they've all heard by this point," Cedric said. "It was all over the school, wasn't it?"

"I suppose you're right," Lily said with a sigh. It was just something she'd have to get used to. She entered the building first, holding the doors open so Cedric could follow her inside. The storefront was already packed, and there were quite a few mutterings and stares when they noticed who had come inside.

There was a new display case at the front of the shop, although it could hardly be called so. It was really more of a cage, if anything, sprawled out around the ground as it was. It contained dozens of the monster books Lily received from Hagrid. They seemed to be gnawing and biting at each other, while a grumpy looking salesperson occasionally beat at them with the end of a broom.

A large sign read "The Monster Book of Monsters! On sale now!" Lily thought that was a very fitting name, but couldn't imagine what they'd need it for at school. Before seeing it on the list, she just assumed it was some quirky little thing Hagrid thought she'd like. She might have done, if it would just stop trying to eat her.

"Already picked that one up for you," Cedric said. He shook one of the bags to demonstrate. "They had to bind it up for me so it wouldn't get into the other things."

"Oh," Lily said in a squeaky voice. She didn't want to tell him she'd already received one. She decided to leave it out. She'd let Ron have the extra.

"Miss Potter," a feminine voice spoke from behind. Lily turned with a fake smile plastered on her face, as she tried to remember the advice Lockhart had implanted into her brain. That thought, of course, repulsed her, but she tried to ignore it.

"Mrs. Blott," she guessed. The older woman was wearing a dark red robe, and her face was plastered in far too much make-up. She smiled back at Lily, and stretched out her hand, which Lily gladly took. There were a few flashes of light as she did so, and she noticed, for the first time, how many reporters were in here, in addition to the normal crowd. That made her smile falter a bit. She could already imagine what Malfoy would say to make fun of her, once he saw what she was wearing. She cursed Malkin under her breath, deciding she'd do her shopping elsewhere from now on.

"A pleasure to have you," Mrs. Blott said. "If you'll just follow me into the back, dear, we'll get you all settled. We still have ten more minutes before the event starts."

"I thought it was just a one-on-one interview and a signing," Lily said nervously. Mrs. Blott gave her that fake smile again.

"We elected to turn it into a full press conference. Brings in more business. You'll find it fits perfectly into the rules set by Mr. Lockhart. Follow me, please."

"I'll just wait out here," Cedric said. Lily waved to him as she followed Mrs. Blott, who didn't seem to notice or care about Cedric's existence. The crowd stared at and whispered about her as she passed through them, but she tried not to give them any mind. She was already feeling embarrassed enough with how many people had showed up. The sign hanging out front didn't even have Lockhart's name on it, just hers, and the store was still packed with people. It made her feel as if her stomach was tied in knots. She tugged at her collar again, wondering if she could risk another charm.

The back of the store was crowded with boxes and items, and could have used a good sweep or dusting, but Lily didn't mind it too much. It somehow felt less crowded in here than it had outside, and Lily felt like she could breathe.

"Nice robe," Mrs. Blott said. "Although you could have shown off a bit more, I think."

Lily blinked in surprise. "Pardon?"

"Your robe, girl," Mrs. Blott repeated. "This was an opportunity to really show off what you have."

"I didn't want to do that," Lily said plainly. She was feeling uncomfortable again. She didn't like people talking about how she looked.

"Suit yourself," Mrs. Blott said. She went back to the door, opening it ever so slightly. "I'll call for you when it's time. Feel free to make yourself comfortable."

"Miss Potter! Miss Potter!" voices called out to her. Lily was feeling a bit overwhelmed. She was smiling a bit too much, she felt like, and her eyes were already developing dark spots just from the few seconds she'd been seated at her little post. She had a stack of books in front of her, bearing the artwork she'd made for Lockhart's newest book, Hiking with a Hydra. Lockhart was standing proudly over a slain hydra, smiling and waving triumphantly over her fallen foe. It was actually quite good, Lily thought, and it was the only reminder she had of Lockhart that she didn't absolutely despise. She still never wanted to see it again.

The artwork was hers, of course, although touched up significantly by a professional. She'd be there, soon enough. She was already much better just from her practice over the summer. She was planning on framing her drawing of Duke on his little hill, and even had Cedric purchase a frame for it. It was back at the Burrow, though, which meant she couldn't get around to it until the Weasleys returned.

"Err- you, there," Lily said, pointing to a man near the front. She had absolutely no idea what she was supposed to be doing here. Nobody had given her so much as a rundown. They all seemed to be vying for her attention, though they settled down when she picked somebody.

"Miss Potter," the man said as she stood, "Nigel Thornwood with Brighton Publications. What was it like working with Gilderoy Lockhart?"

Lily thought for what felt like a bit too long, trying to pick her words very carefully.

"Exciting," she settled on. "Never was a dull moment with him."

She pointed at somebody else, a bit further in the back. A different person stood up, but she didn't correct him.

"Miss Potter," he said, "There are rumours abound that Gilderoy Lockhart has been hospitalized due to actions that you took during the foray into the Chamber of Secrets. Any comment?"

"I can assure you," Lily said with a smile, "that Lockhart's affliction was of no fault of mine." It was almost true; she reflected the Memory Charm back at him, sure, but he was the one who cast it in the first place.

"Miss Potter," the next woman said. "Angeline Markwood with Teen Witches Weekly. Our readers are just dying to know all about you, if you don't mind me asking a few questions."

"Go ahead," Lily said nervously. She knew this particular magazine was read by former dormmate Lavender Brown, and she was sincerely hoping she wouldn't embarrass herself. She'd get a letter from the girl for sure, if she did, which was almost tempting enough to mess up on purpose. She quite enjoyed Lavender's company.

"What is your favourite subject at Hogwarts?" Markwood began. That was an easy one.

"Charms," Lily said with a confident smile. "Although Potions is a close second. Most people don't like Professor Snape, but I've never had any problems with him, and I'm quite good at it. Charms, though, for sure, Flitwick always has me practicing ahead, so I can help out the others who just aren't quite getting it."
"It's safe to say Flitwick is your favourite professor, then?"

"Yes," Lily said, saying a silent apology to Professor McGonagall.

"And the rumours that you were having private tutoring sessions with the professor?"

Lily paused at that one. She was wondering why everybody suddenly seemed so excited. It hardly seemed noteworthy.

"It wasn't just with him," Lily said, "In fact, I only met with him once every month or two, and they stopped in January. I was mostly practicing with Penelope, she's a Prefect."

"Final question, Miss Potter," Markwood said as she scribbled something on her notepad. "And this is one we get letters about almost daily: are you seeing anybody?"

Lily felt her face flush, and she heard more than a few laughs from around the room.

"No," she answered.

"No schoolyard crushes, then?"

"Not interested in any boys, no," Lily said with a shake of her head.

"Not even the strapping young gentleman you had carrying your bags, then?" Markwood said with a smug smile. Half the heads turned towards Cedric, who suddenly seemed very embarrassed to be there. Lily had to agree.

"He's not my boyfriend," Lily said. "I'm staying with him while my fam- while the family I live with are on holiday."
"You didn't go with them?" Markwood asked. "You chose instead to stay with a handsome fellow, instead?"

"I didn't choose to, no. I was quite comfortable staying at home alone."

She pointed to another woman near the front, hoping to move on from this.

"Miss Potter," the high voice said as the gaudy-looking woman stood. "Rita Skeeter, special correspondent with the Daily Prophet. I have a few more questions for you, if you don't mind."

"Go ahead," Lily said a bit more warily. She didn't want to offend anybody, but she really didn't enjoy the last set.

"Is it true that you've been sorted into Slytherin?" Skeeter asked, with a clear jab towards Lily's fancy, tight robes. Lily said a silent curse to Madame Malkin.

"Yes," she said. "Only a Slytherin could get into the Chamber, so the hat resorted me."

"You are the Heir of Slytherin, then?"

"No," Lily said, remembering clearly advertising herself as such several times. Those were just boasts, though, she hadn't really meant them.

"You can't speak Parseltongue, then?"

A quiet hush came over the crowd, an assortment of mutters and whispers filling the air.

"Of course I can," Lily said. "That's how I got into the Chamber. That doesn't make me the Heir. I was sorted into Gryffindor, first. I chose to join Slytherin so I could save my friend."

Skeeter smiled widely. "You were saving a friend, were you? And who would this friend be, that you were so willing to risk your life for him?"

"Her," Lily corrected, "And I won't say any more. I would have gone down there regardless of who it was. I just didn't want them to die."

"A true hero," Skeeter said in a sickly-sweet voice. "A true Gryffindor. Are you worried at all about how you will be treated in your new House? After defeating the famous monster of Slytherin?"

"I'm sure we'll all get along quite well," Lily said. "We'll be holding hands and singing shanties before September is over."

"Lovely," Skeeter said. "A change of topic, perhaps? According to my sources in the Ministry, you were casting spells over the summer, in the presence of Muggles. Care to comment?"

Lily felt her face flush again, and the room once more grew silent. She decided she didn't like Rita Skeeter very much. The woman was giving her a greedy smile.

"It was accidental," Lily said after far too long of a pause. "I- err- lost my temper. The Ministry gave me a warning, said I wasn't in trouble, but not to do it again, and I haven't been."

"Lovely," Skeeter said, turning to her notepad, where her quill was writing by itself. "And what about last summer, dear? When you were hospitalized for, once again, casting magic outside of school?"

"I didn't cast it," Lily said, knowing full well it was a lie. "It was cast accidentally by a friend, who wasn't even a first year yet." She did cast the spell, of course, but the Weasleys elected to blame it on Ginny so she wouldn't get in trouble; you weren't given the official warning not to use magic out of school until after your first year.

"Interesting that both incidents on record were deemed accidents," Skeeter said knowingly. "You deny casting magic outside of school, then?"

"On purpose, yes," Lily said, pointing towards the back. "Someone else, now, I've had enough from Ms. Skeeter."

Skeeter sat down as the next person asked their question, a satisfied smile on her face. Lily had a feeling that she'd already gotten everything that she wanted.

"That went well," Cedric said as they finally left the building hours later. Lily's hand was cramped and painful from all the books she had to sign, and she was ready to crawl into bed and die.

"It was a bloody nightmare, is what it was," Lily said, massaging her writing hand with her other.

"Sorry I left afterwards," Cedric said. "Err- Don't remember her name, but that Witch Weekly reporter kept trying to ask me questions, and I didn't want to get you into trouble."

"I assume she asked if we were dating," Lily said, starting to feel angry.

"That was most of it, yeah," Cedric said with a smile. "Wouldn't take my 'no' for an answer, either, kept asking about what dates we've been on. I didn't give her anything, don't worry."

"Well, thanks for that much."

"And sorry about- well, you know, yesterday," Cedric said, scratching his nose.

"Can you please stop bringing that up?" Lily said with a groan, brushing a friendly little beetle out of her hair. "It was an accident, I get it, I feel bad enough about it as it is. Let's just talk about something else, yeah?"

"You haven't been casting magic, have you?" Cedric asked far more quietly. "Only, I definitely heard some- well, some noises- from your room last night."

Lily glanced around, to make sure nobody was listening, then leaned in, lowering her voice, wishing she'd been more specific about a change in topic. "Just a Flame Charm and a Binding Charm. Didn't have a match for the candle, and I had an- err- an incident with a book, we'll say." She left out the part about enlarging her robes.

"Lily, we're not supposed to use magic out of school," Cedric said, stopping her in front of a narrow alleyway.

"It'll be fine, Cedric," Lily said. "I don't think they can tell the difference between magic we cast and what gets cast around us. If they know we're supposed to be surrounded by the stuff, they don't bother checking into it."

"Still," Cedric said, brushing the beetle off his own shoulder, "You'll get us all into trouble if they find out."

"And how are they going to manage that?" Lily said as she rolled her eyes.