Lily skipped her Monday classes, she felt so ill from her nerves. Snape hunted her down after the day was over so he could take her potion and, after finding out why she didn't attend, assigned her a detention after practice on Saturday. That only made her feel worse about it, but she didn't argue, and she went to her Tuesday classes despite how terrible she felt.
Unfortunately, she'd forgotten to do the homework due for Transfiguration, and McGonagall wasn't thrilled to hear her excuses (although, Lily had to admit, she hadn't gone about explaining it in the best of ways). Her mind was so foggy; she was having an exceedingly hard time falling asleep.
"Two points from Slytherin, Miss Potter," McGonagall said in front of the sniggering audience of her peers, "And a detention, I think, for your attitude."
That was two detentions this weekend, and she was only two days into the week. Flitwick, at least, had mercy on her, and she managed to perform the expected spells during their class session. By the end of the day, she had even more homework than she'd had the last week, and she had no idea how she was going to get through it all. She tried to get through some of it that same night, but she was so worried about how Hagrid was going to react the next day that she couldn't focus. The common room lights snapped off while she was still trying to work, and she had to pack her things up and get ready for sleep while most of the girls grumbled at her for making so much noise. She hardly slept a wink that night.
Lily was sure she looked like a mess the next morning. She pulled her hair back just so it wouldn't stick in every direction, but her eyes felt heavy and itchy as she ate her porridge. She almost fell asleep in Transfiguration, something that would have certainly gotten her into very heavy trouble, but barely managed to stay awake due to sheer will and a hatred for the girl sitting next to her.
"Stop embarrassing yourself, Potter," Pansy said in a happy tone as they left the classroom.
Lily skived off Charms for the first time ever, hoping Flitwick would forgive her for this offense. She just really needed the nap, even if she had to take it in a hidden, dusty room behind a tapestry. She didn't want any of the Prefects returning to the common room and catching her snoring during class time.
It worked too well. She woke up with the bell ringing far above her, feeling groggy, a slight headache ringing in her skull. She rolled over to sleep some more when she realized what the bell must mean.
Minutes later, she was sprinting down the castle grounds towards Care of Magical Creatures, which had, of course, already ended. She carried her waterlogged Flobberworm cage in her hands, and she tripped over a tree root in her haste, the glass shattering on the ground when it flew out of her grasp. She stayed on the ground for a while, not daring to move, and then left it there as she walked sullenly back up the castle, feeling the worst she ever had. Now Hagrid would definitely hate her, and she couldn't bring herself to see his look of disappointment.
As he approached the steps, Lily saw Katie walking out of the Great Hall, conversing with a Hufflepuff girl, and she changed her mind, heading back outside, straight for her favourite tree. She was confused when she saw two figures sitting underneath it, but then broke into a run, relieved to finally see two friendly faces.
"Hey!" Lily said as she sat down roughly next to Ron and Neville. "What are you-"
"Where have you been?" Ron asked rudely. Neville looked a bit antsy behind him. Ron had dark bags under his eyes, books spread all around him, but he ignored them to yell at her.
"Sleeping," Lily said truthfully, with a wary tone. She pulled back a bit, just to get out of the way of Ron's wroth.
"Sleeping?" Ron said in disbelief. "What were you doing that for?"
"I was tired," Lily said, "Couldn't sleep last night, so I skipped Charms and-"
"Slept right through Care of Magical Creatures?"
"Yes," Lily said, regaining her confidence. "I didn't mean to, Ron, it just happened. What did I miss?"
Ron scoffed. "You missed a bloody nightmare, that's all."
Lily glanced over to Neville, who nodded.
"Malfoy's been talking," he said, "Err- about you."
"Me?" Lily asked. "What about-"
"Did you lose a duel to him a few days ago?" Ron asked.
"No," Lily said. It really wasn't much of a duel. She didn't feel like she was lying.
"Well, he's claiming you did," Neville said.
"Said he embarrassed you so much you've gone and dropped the class," Ron said. "Said you 'couldn't bear to show your face around him.'"
"That's a load of dung," Lily said, her face growing warm.
"So you didn't go kiss his boot, then?" Ron asked. "You didn't completely shame yourself?"
"No," Lily said, fighting back her emotions.
"He showed us the blood on his top, Lily," Ron said. "Seemed too proud to polish it off. Said he 'wished he had that mudblood fanboy there to capture it.' You're telling us that's a load of rubbish, then?"
Lily felt hot tears streaming down her face, and she forced herself up, storming back up to the castle.
"Lily!" Neville shouted after her. "Come back!"
Lily poked at her food the next morning, not quite hungry enough to eat. She almost took a bite, but then a large, brown avian smashed into the table, sweeping her plate and several platters from the table. Her face turned pink as the Great Hall began laughing at her, but she did her best to ignore it, and took the letter the fowl had risked its life so bravely to bring her.
Lily didn't like how angry the writing on the front looked. Mrs. Weasley's handwriting was usually very neat, if a little big, but this time it was slanted and messy, as if written in a rush of emotions. At the very least, it wasn't a bright red, although it was unusually light for a letter from home.
Hazel Lily Potter, ("Oh no," said Lily)
Three detentions in half a month? Have you gone mad? Clearly, you have, if your frequent trips to the Hospital Wing are anything to go by!
You are to keep your toe-in-line, missy, or we will be bringing you straight home. You are not to go strolling around the grounds, you are not to go picking fights with your classmates, and you are not to skip any more classes. Oh, yes, Lily, we've heard all about that one. You are there to learn, and you best behave yourself, and attend your classes. Next time you strike a classmate, we will be giving Professor Snape permission to suspend you, just as he wants.
We are expecting a response within the week to ensure you understand.
Much Love,
Molly Weasley
Lily tucked the letter into her robe. She'd have to borrow Hedwig or Monty to write back; she didn't think Errol could take it. He was currently drowning in a puddle of pumpkin juice, completely unable to move.
It was the shortest letter Lily ever sent home, containing just two words.
I understand.
Lily's entire body was aching by the time she left her first detention in the early hours of the morning. McGonagall had ordered her up at two in the morning for her first of the day. Lily begged for a rescheduling for the next day, but there was nothing to be done about it; the Weasleys were in agreement on the punishment. She spent the next four hours cleaning and scrubbing every inch of the Great Hall, dusting the rafters with a long pole, polishing every suit of armor, wiping grime off the portraits and paintings, and being scolded by a particularly nasty Argus Filch.
"Oh, yes," he said with a crude smile, his feline devil purring at his side, "We'll put you to work, all right. And don't miss the underside of the stairs, Potter, or McGonagall will hear about it, oh yes."
And, to top it all off, Peeves the Poltergeist taunted her the entire time, conducting songs all about how stupid she was. He even came up with a new nickname for her that never failed to get her blood boiling.
"Silly Little Lily!" He'd cackle as she worked, whenever Filch was too busy to pay attention.
And then, immediately afterwards, she had to drag herself down to the Quidditch pitch for practice. And she still had another detention after it. And she had a week's load of homework to get through.
She was starting to think that Hogwarts wasn't very fun anymore, between all the homework and the lack of companionship. The last time she'd talked to a friend was on Wednesday, with Ron and Neville. She'd only seen the two of them at meals since then, and only Neville would look at her, always giving her a sad smile. Sae she hadn't seen at all, despite sleeping right above her. The girl seemed to be ignoring Lily, and she wasn't happy about it.
Montague pushed them through such a rigorous workout that even the Beaters were having trouble moving by the end of it. Lily felt like she'd never been in so much pain in her life and could hardly breathe during any of it. When Montague finally gave them permission to fly, she found she was too tired to move a single muscle, let alone mount her broom. She still had no idea how she'd done it. Montague assigned her double drills during their next practice to make up for it. She considered skipping it, but she really didn't want to get kicked off the team. Playing Quidditch was all she had left to look forward to.
By the time she dismounted, her legs could no longer support her weight, and she laid on the grass for a full hour before she finally felt strong enough to move. The other team members left her lying there long ago, Montague shaking his head in disappointment. Her legs were so stiff that she couldn't even bend them, and she had to shuffle to the castle awkwardly, using her broom to support her weight. It wasn't good for the thing, but she had no other way of making it back to the common room; they weren't allowed to fly outside of the Quidditch Pitch. Any violation would mean instant removal from the team and a confiscation of their broom. Snape made that very clear to her.
It took all her remaining strength to walk down to his office. He barely looked up from his desk as she wobbled her way inside, throwing herself roughly into the nearest chair.
"Miss Potter," Snape said in acknowledgement.
"Professor," Lily said in a very tired sounding voice. She leaned her head back, closing her eyes.
"You are here to serve a detention, Miss Potter, not to make yourself comfortable."
"What am I doing sir?" Lily asked without opening her eyes.
"Madame Pomfrey is in need of a new stock of common antidotes. Professor Sprout is having her first years breed Venomous Tentacula, and she wishes to get ahead on stock. You will brew her a month's worth of supplies. I believe you will find the task adequately dull."
"Lovely," Lily said with a groan as she stood from her seat.
Snape set her up in the empty Potions classroom, giving her free access to the store. He sat in the far corner, still working on whatever those important papers were. Lily wished she'd been given a stool, at the least. Snape was true to his word about her comfort; aside from the Professor's, there wasn't a single seat in the entire room. She had to stand on her shaky legs for the entirety of it, brewing batch after batch of mind-numbing potions.
She fell into quite the routine. She chopped her lizard tails while the bezoar shavings boiled in the water. When the lizard tails were done, she'd plop them in, followed immediately by grinding up her beetles into a fine, white powder. The bezoar shavings had to boil for ten minutes, then you brought the water down to a simmer before adding the lizard tails. Those simmered for three minutes, then you added the beetle powder and brought it back to a boil for ten minutes. Then you took the cauldron off the heat completely, waited for it to come to a complete still, and added your venom or poison extract. It didn't matter what kind of venom it was, but it'd be especially effective against whatever kind you used, so Lily used Venomous Tentacula (some particularly strong venoms or poisons did require their specific extracts, but Lily didn't have to worry about that). After the extract was added, you brought it back to a boil for twenty minutes, making sure to stir counterclockwise three times on every second minute.
Lily yawned as she stirred the final batch of her five-hour run. She was starving, but she wasn't sure if she'd even try eating. She mostly just wanted to lay in bed and die. She was fairly certain that if she sat at the Slytherin table, she'd fall asleep before she could pile a single scoop of food onto her plate. She could do without that particular embarrassment.
Finally, after the last batch was done and portioned into vials, Lily was allowed to leave. Snape seemed satisfied with her work, although he didn't heap so much as a single word of praise onto Lily.
"Adequate," he said instead, "Although not up to your usual calibre of work, Potter. Two points from Slytherin for slacking off."
Lily was mad, but she didn't argue. She decided not to head to dinner and went straight back to the common room so she could take a long, hot shower and cuddle up with her cat for a nice, long sleep. It had been an especially hard day. Somebody tried waking her up at some point, but Lily ignored her and rolled back over, pulling Weasley closer to her chest. The feline's warmth was proving especially useful as the weather got colder.
Lily spent her entire Sunday working on her immense load of homework. She had far too much to get done in a single day, but she was determined to at least finish everything that was due up to Wednesday. That meant getting through all of Charms, Care of Magical Creatures, Transfiguration, Potions, Arithmancy, and Ancient Runes. She'd finish the rest of it on Monday and Tuesday when she was less worn out.
It was a struggle to stay awake in all her classes on Monday, but she somehow managed to do it. They didn't brew anything in Potions, Snape instead giving a dull lecture on properly brewing a Shrinking Solution, which they would be making the next week. Lily was looking forward to it. She hated the notetaking, having already completed it in her free time, but loved the brewing.
Ancient Runes was finally getting interesting, now that they were learning how to draw new ones. This particular rune, looking rather like a thick chicken, when applied to a casting circle would make the summoned object or creature significantly lighter. Lily thought that funny and spent most of the class doodling the birds. She missed the next two runes due to that, and had to ask Professor Babbling to repeat herself after class. The professor wasn't happy in the slightest, took a few points from Slytherin, and told Lily to get the notes from one of her classmates.
"Fat chance," Lily grumbled as she left the room. She was one of four Slytherins taking the class (two of which were friends with Malfoy and, therefore, not a reliable source, and one of which actually was Malfoy), and the rest of the class was made up of every single Ravenclaw third year. Lily liked Padma Patil well enough (twin sister of her former Gryffindor roommate), but she knew better than to ask any Ravenclaw about copying their notes. The House could get rather nasty about it.
Tuesday wasn't much better. She still had a hard time sleeping, with how cold the common room was getting during the night, even with her cat pressed against her. She thought about writing home and asking for another thick blanket, but she was still mad at Mrs. Weasley, and never went through with it. She'd rather suffer.
She was very tired in Transfiguration. She yawned so often that Pansy Parkinson kept shooting her glares, and McGonagall's eyes frequently flickered back to her direction. She was absolutely certain McGonagall would hold her after dismissal, but the professor never did, and Lily moved on to Charms, where they spent the hour learning Cheering Charms. It was the first spell they covered that Lily had trouble with, which certainly hurt her ego, and Flitwick assigned her extra homework because of it.
"Now, don't grumble, Miss Potter," he said after Lily opened her mouth to argue. "I know you will get the hang of it in time, but as this is the first time you have struggled in the subject, I believe it necessary for you to get ahead on it before it becomes an issue."
Lily was still seething over it in Arithmancy, where Professor Vector walked them all through a series of increasingly complicated calculations, the purpose of which Lily hadn't the slightest idea, while half the class stared at the blackboard in ever increasing horror. Lily tried her hardest to follow along. By the end of the class, her head was swimming, and she'd filled several scrolls full of indecipherable information. Professor Vector assigned them ten problems of the same sort to complete before the next class. Just one took them an hour.
She fell asleep in the common room proper that night, books and parchment splayed out in front of the fireplace. When she woke, she was drooling on a star chart for Astronomy. She felt embarrassed, but at least she was well-rested for once. Well, not really, but she at least didn't feel like she'd die. She did much better in Transfiguration that day, but Charms got cancelled. Professor Flitwick volunteered to cover Professor Lupin's classes the next two days, and they wouldn't have him until the next week. Lily found that curious. He'd seemed fine the last time she saw him, if a bit tired. But he always looked tired, so that wasn't much of a worry.
She didn't risk taking a nap before Care. She spent the time going over her Transfiguration homework, but she couldn't focus on it. She kept thinking about how Hagrid would react when she told him about the Flobberworms. She went down early, after she couldn't stand the wait any longer, and was the first student to arrive. Hagrid hadn't even come out of his hut, yet. Lily considered knocking, but as there was no smoke coming from the chimney, she figured he wasn't in.
Hermione came down first, looking bleary-eyed and exhausted, but she smiled brightly at Lily.
"How have classes been?" Hermione asked. Lily had to stop herself from saying it was lonely; she didn't want Hermione worrying after her. She settled on some sort of half shrug.
"They've been going well," Lily lied. "I- err- didn't mean to skive off last week. I needed a nap, and I accidentally slept through the whole class."
"I was wondering where you got off to," Hermione said. "Still, though, the whole three hours? Have you not been getting enough sleep?"
"I'm fine," she said, thinking about how Ron blew up at her about Malfoy. She knew Hermione must have heard it, too, and the girl was looking at her as if waiting to see if she'd bring it up.
"Lily," Hermione said carefully, "If you need help, you should just-"
"I'm fine," Lily insisted, waving at the approaching crowd of Gryffindors. Ron and Neville came down with Seamus and Dean, Lavender and Parvati trailing after them. Lily noticed Lavender talking with Parvati about something, giggling while they stared at Ron.
Ron and Neville lingered near the two girls, but they were busy talking with Dean and Seamus about the upcoming Quidditch World Cup. Lily noticed Ron refused to look in her direction. She half paid attention to Hermione's busy schedule talk, passing the time staring at her feet.
Finally, Hagrid arrived. He seemed a little put out, but he stood up a bit straighter when Lily waved to him. His mood further brightened when he noticed Malfoy's absence. Lily was just happy he didn't notice that she was the only Slytherin in attendance today. They must have organized a walk-out without her.
"Well, let's be off, then," Hagrid said cheerily. He motioned for them all to follow, and Lily skipped ahead to Hagrid's side.
"Sorry, Hagrid," she said quietly. "I had a bit of a lie in, couldn't sleep the night before." It sounded a bit practiced, and she wasn't sure if he'd believe her.
"S'all right," Hagrid said. He smiled at her beneath his big, bushy beard. "Didn' miss much anyway, did yeh? Flobberworms aren' that great. Bit boring, yeh ask me."
"I think they're alright," Lily said. She felt bad again, thinking about her poor little guys. At least Hagrid didn't ask after them. She felt stupid for thinking he'd hate her.
Hagrid led them down to the forest paddock again, where there was a stack of crates piled on top of each other. One of them shook a bit violently, and everybody took a step back from them.
Except Lily, of course, who moved closer to get a better look.
"What are they, Hagrid?" Lily asked as she leaned in to get a look.
"Best keep yer face back, Lily, they bite," Hagrid said as he pulled her back by her collar.
Lily took a step further when he let go. She'd had enough experiences with the Weasley rooster to take a chance with this one, and it was much bigger, nearly the size of the black dog Lily tried keeping over the summer. It also had the tail of a lizard, and Lily couldn't help herself. She walked a bit closer in her excitement, still maintaining a healthy distance.
"Cockatrices," Hagrid said proudly to the class. "Great big chickens, them, but don' let that fool yeh, they can be right nasty, cockatrices."
"Hagrid," Hermione said nervously from the front of the pack. "Aren't cockatrices- err- dangerous?"
"Not a bit!" Hagrid said. "Yeh'd need to let a whole pack of 'em peck yeh at once to turn ter stone. These ones are just babies, only a year old. Worse they can do is make a bit of yer skin into rock."
Lily stopped herself from reaching a hand into the nearest cage. That cockatrice was definitely hissing at her.
"Brilliant," Lily said with a huge smile.
"Really, Miss Potter," Madame Pomfrey said in angry tone as she drew the curtains around her bed. "I am getting quite sick of seeing you up here. Where is your sense of self-preservation?"
"It's just a scratch," Lily said. She scratched at her hand with her other, less stiff one. She wished Hagrid had told them that stone skin would be so itchy. "Do I really need to stay here all night?"
"It is a matter of principle at this point, Miss Potter," Pomfrey said with a huff. "Perhaps some missing free time will help you learn to stay out of trouble."
Lily somehow doubted that would work, but she didn't say anything. She was already dreading the letter she'd get from home. She sank into her mattress, staring up at the ceiling silently as Pomfrey got to work on her frozen hand. Lily really didn't see how it was her fault she got injured so often.
These sort of things just seemed to happen to her, was all. She could hear a few of her (former) fellow Gryffindors in nearby beds. She didn't understand why she was being singled out, when she hadn't even gotten the worst of it. Poor Neville could hardly move, he'd been pecked and scratched so much.
She was the only student who didn't get to leave the Hospital Wing that night, and that fact certainly didn't make it any easier to sleep. She was in far too foul a mood for rest to come that easily.
Flitwick was still filling in for Lupin the next morning, and he set about having them practice Anapneo, a friendly little charm that would free any obstructions in someone's throat, should they choke by either physical methods or magical ones. They were each given a funny little model of a human head and neck that would cough and sputter whenever they pushed something down into the throat. They were supposed to clear the airways before they stopped making noise. Lily might have found it horrifying if it hadn't been so much fun. Not even Malfoy complained, although he certainly would have if Lupin had been here to proctor.
"If you're a particularly strong spellcaster," Flitwick said after their practice was over, the bell due to ring at any moment, "You may also get it to clear a tunnel or some other blocked, physical object. I wouldn't recommend it, though; you never know how much support the blockage is giving to the rest of it. Just a fun little tidbit for you all."
"Could it be used to clear a straw, Professor?" Lily asked with her hand up. She was thinking of the time she got milkshakes with the Grangers on that day trip to London. Lily had barely been able to drink hers, it was so thick. She ate most of it with a spoon.
Flitwick was silent for a moment, and Lily wondered if he thought she was talking about actual straw.
"I don't see why not," Flitwick said at last.
The bell rang, now, and Flitwick dismissed them. Not before calling Lily to the front of the class, though. Lily did as she was told. She was starving, and really wanted to get to lunch.
"Miss Potter," Flitwick said quietly as she approached. "I can't help but notice that your work has been slipping as of late."
That surprised Lily. She thought Flitwick had finally decided to reprimand her for skipping a class. She found she couldn't respond, her voice wouldn't come.
"Now, now, Miss Potter," Flitwick said quickly, "I do not mean to say you are falling behind, you're still well ahead. I just happened to notice that you are struggling more than you used to, taking longer to get the hang of spells."
"Oh," Lily said. "Err- I've just been tired lately, is all, Professor, really. There's been a lot going on."
Flitwick nodded in agreement. "I understand. Three new classes, in addition to the Sirius Black situation, things certainly haven't been easy for you. Do not worry about the essay I asked your class to write, for this class or mine; I will speak to Professor Lupin on your behalf. Your work has been extraordinary. Use the time to get some much-needed rest, to catch up on your other classes."
"Thanks, Professor," Lily said, feeling genuinely touched. She wasn't quite sure if anybody ever offered her a break before, but as soon as he mentioned rest, she felt how weary and stretched her body felt. She had a stiffness in her legs and back that hadn't gone away since she started Quidditch practice.
Unfortunately, she still had History of Magic on Fridays, and she absolutely needed to pay attention during it. Snape was dropping hints that he'd be quizzing her from time to time on it, just to make sure she was attending and doing her work.
Today, they covered Merlin, and Lily never thought she'd be so bored learning about the single most important person in Magical British history.
"Merlin was a warlock and sorcerer of supreme skill and talent," Binns droned on. The first hour had been spent just talking about Merlin's history and family life before he came of age. "By the time he was 19, he created his famous staff, which has been left in the possession of the Ministry of Magic. He crafted it from the finest elder wood that he could find, and the magical core has yet to be discovered. The staff exudes such potent magical energies that if anybody aside from Merlin himself should try to wield it, they would be vapourized.
"Just six months after creating his staff, Merlin found the secret to travelling through time. This is where the Muggle belief that Merlin lived his life backwards comes from; he did have a habit of travelling back to previous days and interacting with those he had not met, although they had met him. He would then stay with them to learn and teach, then travel back to the point where they originally met to close the loop. To this date, Merlin is the only magical being who has successfully traveled through the realm of time. Not a single person has been able to replicate this ability.
"Merlin still appears, from time to time, always reclaiming his staff from wherever he happened to leave it. The last known sighting of Merlin was during the heights of the Dark Wizard Grindelwald. Many believed he came to us in this time of aid to strike the dark wizard down, but he claimed he simply wanted to view a Muggle Baseball game, a sort of sport quite unlike Quidditch, and left immediately to the States without a further word on the matter. He left immediately afterwards, claiming he was heading back to the fourteenth century to meet with a certain witch who, using his own words, 'owed him over five hundred quid worth of plucked goose feathers.' What Merlin intended to use these goose feathers on, we have yet to find out. Perhaps, if we are lucky, it will be in our near future. Let us now look back to his time with the Muggle legend, Arthur."
Lily stopped listening at that point, as far as she could tell. When she looked back over her notes that evening, she found a drawing of Merlin dressed as a large goose, chasing after Professor Snape and tossing eggs at the back of his head. She certainly didn't get much work done before Astronomy started; the one picture had gotten her onto a series of drawings, and she had a grand old time laughing to herself in the comfort of her bed, ignoring the mutterings of the other girls around her.
Lily tried to have a lie in the next morning, but the noises and sounds of the other girls waking and milling about before the lights came on made it impossible. That was definitely something she preferred about Gryffindor (among many other things); Hermione may have woken up at ungodly hours, but at least she didn't make an ungodly amount of noise to go with it.
Normally, Lily wouldn't have minded; when she was a Gryffindor, she liked to get up early with Hermione, to get started on their day. Now, though, between how tired she felt all the time, and all the work she had to get done, she found she wanted to lay in bed as long as humanly possible.
The common room lights made that impossible. She tried Sae's suggestion of covering her eyes with a pillow, but it just didn't work for her. Once those lights came on, Weasley always got restless, and he'd paw at her face and make loud mewling noises until she got up to escort him to the litterboxes. She missed when the cat was more independent; she was pretty sure he was taking the change in locale worse than she was, based off the weight he was losing.
Sae wasn't in her bed when Lily finally climbed down, letting her cat hop into her arms. She decided she was going to find her later this day; she couldn't take much more of this. Nobody else ever talked to her down here.
Lily wasn't hungry at all, but she wanted to at least try forcing herself to eat. Quidditch practice always went worse if she didn't. At least she found Sae at the breakfast table. She was looking very sleepy, yawning widely as she read today's Prophet. Lily found that strange; she'd never seen her reading the paper before.
Come to think of it, a lot of people were reading the paper, looking nervous and whispering about it amongst themselves. Lily saw Hermione reading it with Katie, and they both shot her a nervous look as she sat down across from her Slytherin fellow.
"Morning," she said, receiving a grunt from Sae in return. "What's got everybody out of shape?"
"Black's been sighted," Sae said, gesturing with her paper. "Not far from here, either, just down in Duffton. Prophet reckons he's heading here."
"Really?" Lily said. She was more surprised that Sae wasn't ignoring her, after all Perhaps it was just bad timing. "Perfect, marvelous, bloody brilliant, as if we don't have enough to worry about with all the-"
"Miss Potter," Snape's drawl said from behind her. She immediately shut her mouth before she could say something that would get her in trouble.
"Good morning, Professor," Sae said on her behalf.
"Asari. Potter, if you would come with me, I must have a word before your practice."
"Brilliant," Lily grumbled. She left her empty plate on the table as she followed after the professor who, surprisingly, took her up rather than down.
Snape took her all the way up to the seventh floor, right up to the gargoyle that blocked off Dumbledore's office. Lily's brain scrambled, trying to figure out what she was about to get punished for.
"Fudge Flies," Snape said with disdain in his voice. The gargoyle hopped aside, revealing a spiral staircase hidden behind. "In you go, Potter."
"What did I do, Professor?" Lily asked. There was no way she was going up there until she knew for sure.
Snape sighed, looking at her with a sense of disappointment. "I am not one to repeat myself, Potter. The Headmaster wishes to speak with you. In you go."
Lily hesitated briefly, decided it wasn't worth getting points deducted, and then climbed her way past Snape, heading up the stairways. As she made her way upwards, she thought she could make out a heated discussion coming from above.
"I will not abide those creatures within the castle walls, Minister."
"I've told you, Dumbledore, we've got to be seen doing something about Black! If the castle needs additional protection, then we must move the dementors closer!"
"They will not remain on the castle grounds, Cornelius. I will allow them no further than the border. Anymore, and I will drive them off myself."
"Very well, Dumbledore, very well, have it your way, but I'll have the press coming for you once they start knocking, mark my words."
"I welcome it, Minister. Is there anything else I can do for you?"
"No," the other man said. Then the door was opened, and Lily had to quickly act as if she hadn't just been leaning against the door, listening to every word of their private discussion. She waved at the two men, blushing fiercely. The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, looked very confused to see her standing there, and his hand was halfway to putting his bowler hat back on his head. Lily quickly offered him a handshake, to hide her own shame, and he accepted it eagerly.
"Hazel Potter," he said, all smiles and charm. "Pleasure to meet you. Staying out of trouble, then?"
"Always," Lily said with her own, cheekier smile. She ignored the temptation to point out they did already meet. She left her Order of Merlin ribbon at home, framed on her desk.
"Good, good," Fudge said. "Wouldn't want you to, with all that's- anyway, I'll be of, Dumbledore, I'll speak to you soon on- on the matter."
"Until then, Minister," Dumbledore said kindly. He was leaning against his desk, his hands folded neatly on his chest. Fudge left, closing the door firmly behind him, leaving Lily alone with him.
The office was just as she remembered it; dozens of shelves filled with instruments and gadgets she had no name for, let alone any idea what they did, with tacky (but very comfortable) furniture tucked away in the corners. There was a teapot on a table, with two chairs next to it, where Lily could only assume the two men were having a cup together prior to her arrival. Fawkes the phoenix was sleeping up in his cage, in the far corner, his snores a delightful melody to Lily's ears.
"Have a seat, Lily," Dumbledore said. Lily took one immediately, just as Dumbledore waved his wand, vanishing the pot and cups from the table. Lily thought that rude. She would have loved a cup.
"I will make this brief, Lily, so you can get to the Quidditch field," Dumbledore said as he sat across from her. "You have heard the news?"
"About Black, Professor?" Lily said. "Yes, sir, but I don't see what it has to do with-"
"Black is a supporter of Voldemort, Lily," Dumbledore said calmly, "And, as such, he will be after you. I must ask that you do not go looking for him. It is of the utmost importance."
"Why would I go looking for him, Professor?" Lily asked. "Why would I want to find somebody who is trying to kill me?"
Dumbledore looked, just for a moment, as if he was about to tell her something very important.
"That is a story for another time, perhaps," he said instead. "For now, I will ask for your cooperation. As you no doubt heard, the dementors will be moved closer to the castle grounds, and I must ask that you do not, under any circumstances, do anything that would draw their attention onto you."
"I understand, Professor," Lily said, thinking this was all just a huge waste of her time.
"I must also ask," Dumbledore continued, "that you refrain from leaving the castle outside of class time and Quidditch. Despite my threats, I have no certainty that the dementors will be able to keep themselves from wandering onto school property. You will be far safer in here."
"But-"
"I am sorry, Lily, but I will accept no arguments at this time. This is for your own protection."
"Fine," Lily said, a spark of anger in her tone. "Can I go now, Professor?"
Her mood was not improved by Quidditch practice. They didn't fly at all, today, and Lily was starting to wonder what the point was. She was covered in mud, sore to her bones, and absolutely freezing. There was a noticeable chill to the air, far more than there should have been, and it made Montague especially dour. He screamed at each and every one of them, almost reducing Lily to tears, and even got physical with one of the Beaters when they tried to tell him to sod off. She was starting to wish she'd just let Malfoy have the position.
She was still grumbling to herself as she walked through the Entrance Hall.
"Lily!" Katie's voice called out to her. Lily started, glancing back at the friendly, considering making a run for it.
"Sorry, Katie," Lily said immediately. "I need to-"
Katie grabbed her arm, stopping her flight. "Have you been avoiding me?"
"No," Lily lied, "I was just-"
"If you're going to lie, Lily, I'd at least like to know why," Katie said. The hurt in her voice made Lily panic, and the glanced around at the crowded Entrance Hall.
"Can we talk somewhere else?" she whispered.
The Astronomy Tower was divided into two portions; the staircase opened up into one of them, an inside classroom where they attended lectures and took notes, particularly when it was raining. There was an exit at the far side of the room that lead to the balcony, where they watched the night sky, and it circled around the tower. There was a large, stone banister blocking off the tower from the open air. Professor Sinistra always yelled at anybody who leaned on it, but Lily didn't think it was that big of a deal. It was sturdy enough to hold their weight.
Katie was reading from her Potions text when Lily found her, leaning against the classroom wall on the outside balcony. She slid down next to her, letting out a sigh as she reclined. The stone wasn't very comfortable, but she still felt better to be sitting.
Katie slammed her book closed, and then looked at Lily, her pretty face still frowning and-
Stop, Lily thought.
"Why have you been avoiding me?" Katie asked. "I saw you run away every time, Lily, you can't-"
"I thought you heard the rumours," Lily lied, staring at her feet.
"About Malfoy?" Katie said. She placed her hand on Lily's, and Lily tried to force the thoughts away again. "Lily, nobody believes them, not really, he's always saying something nasty about-"
"It's true," Lily said, tears flowing down her face despite herself. "I- he had my wand, and- and he said he'd snap it if I didn't- didn't-"
Katie didn't hesitate for a moment. She pulled Lily to her chest and held her, letting her get it all out of her system. Lily pulled herself together as quickly as she could, embarrassed that she'd already shown so much weakness in front of Katie.
"You've looked so exhausted lately," Katie said quietly. "You haven't been sleeping, have you?" Lily just shook her head, not able to find her voice. "Here."
Katie moved Lily's head down to her lap, forcing her to lay down fully on the stone, her face towards the sky. She wiped the tears from Lily's face with her hand, and then forced Lily to lay back down when she tried to get up.
"Lay down," she insisted. "Sleep."
"Katie, I-"
"Sleep," Katie insisted. She had her wand out, now, and was aiming it at her. Lily could take the hint, and she shifted herself, so Katie at least couldn't see how embarrassed she was. She closed her eyes, thinking one phrase over and over again in her attempt to sleep.
I'm normal. I'm normal. I'm normal.
It was a testament to how tired she really was that she woke up hours later, feeling extremely comfortable. She heard Katie snoring softly above her, but she didn't open her eyes to check. Katie had a hand resting on her stomach. She knew this was her chance to escape, to go be off on her own.
Instead, she ignored it, and went back to sleep. She'd have to return to misery later, but despite the fear pressing down on her chest, she felt so safe with Katie.