hi, hope y'all enjoy. sorry for the delay between updates. i'd tell you it won't happen again, but that's probs a lie *kisses*
.: Chapter Six: An Ominous Premonition :.
"Sure, it was nice now, but eventually there would be running and screaming and blood on the floor." – Kim Harrison, A Perfect Blood
Lily was back in the field, the one with the bees and the bright sunlight… the one where Potter was standing in the middle and calling her name. This time though, there's a darker tinge around the edge and, as she watches, the sun sinks behind the horizon and the bees all die in mid flight.
Suddenly, everything seems to morph at once, no longer a gradual change. It set a funny and uneasy tingle loose in her bones when she looked around and saw the trees decay into crumbling wood and the billowing wheat fields turn to dust. It was as if everything was in fast forward while she was stuck in slow motion.
She was torn from her pseudo nightmare by a hard pillow smack in the face, and she yelped before falling sideways and landing in a heap on the floor, entangled with the red hangings from her four-poster. After the dizziness and the split second disorientation of having no idea where she was had passed, she groaned into her arm and pulled her blankets closer to her body.
"Ailana!" she cried, throwing her pillow—which she had dragged to the floor with her—in the general area she knew her friend usually stood to wake her up.
"Ah," Ailana sighed. "I missed the 'morning-time-Lily-throws-things' tantrums."
"That is the one thing I definitely did not miss," Emmeline snickered. "I no longer volunteer to wake up the beast after I got a shoe to the head at the end of fourth year."
Ailana chuckled as she ripped Lily's blanket off of her. "Up and at 'em, my curvy ball of hell-fire," she drawled, leaning down to pat Lily twice on her bottom. "Classes are in forty, and I assume you want breakfast."
Lily struggled to her feet, groped around for her clothes, and unceremoniously stumbled towards the bathroom, leaning against the doorway to regain her balance. She stood there until she nodded off again. Ailana spotted this and gave her another push, laughing some more. Mornings were not Lily's friend, and this one was made worse by the fact she'd stayed up later than usual, talking late into the night with the girls.
"Do I need to undress you as well? Or can you manage that much on your own?" Ailana asked dramatically.
"Yeah, yeah, Ailana. I'm getting ready," she mumbled, closing the bathroom door. Lily splashed some water on her face in a vain attempt to wake and rouse her still sleeping brain.
She was out of the bathroom, book bag in hand, and into the stairwell before she knew it. She was running on autopilot, her body knowing what it needed to do before her brain could catch up. Mary was the only one that had waited for her to get ready, and she chatted away as they made their way through the portrait hole.
Lily was only absently listening to her friend because her sense of foreboding had followed her into the corridor, and she couldn't shake her unease. She had only had this panicky, something-bad-is-coming feeling twice before. The first time, she was nine, and it was the day her dog, Sam, had died. As soon as she'd woken up, this overwhelming sense of dread settled on her shoulders until later that afternoon her father came up to her room and relayed the news. The second time it happened, she was fifteen and that was quite possibly the worst day of her life. Losing your best friend tends to have that effect on someone.
So as Lily walked into the Great Hall, she scanned the tables for any signs of chaos before settling next to her friends at the end of the Gryffindor table. She rested her head on her hand and continued looking around the hall, working herself into a slight panic as she did. Her mind was whirring with all the horrible possibilities.
"You okay, Lily?" she heard Remus Lupin ask.
"Oh, 'm fine," she mumbled, shaking her head as if that would help her clear it.
She was listening to the conversation around her in silence, still contemplating the buzzing feeling in her nerves, when the usual influx of owls bombarded the Hall. Lily watched the magnificent display, a sight that she still found mesmerizing even after all these years, and tuned out the conversations around her. She remembered being quite startled the first time the Owl Post had arrived, not knowing that that was how they delivered the mail in the wizarding world. She still found it funny that wizards, of all people, used such medieval ways to communicate and still managed to brag about how 'advanced' they were over other creatures and Muggles. She usually liked to watch for her owl, but this time her stomach was twisted into knots as she searched for Aurelian.
She feared he would be carrying bad news.
But when she didn't see him, she let out a sigh of relief. Then immediately wondered if him missing was the reason for her shakiness.
Lily scarfed down the rest of her breakfast quickly when she saw Professor McGonagall making her way around, collaborating schedules with the sixth years that were taking on or dropping subjects for their N.E.W.T. years. Lily was the last of her friends to be consulted by her Professor, and it seemed to take longer than usual. After what felt like forever, she managed to qualify for the five classes she had wanted, leaving her with two free periods a day. Happy with her schedule, she strode out of the Great Hall, only slightly bleary-eyed at this point, and walked quickly to the Transfiguration classroom, not wanting McGonagall to somehow beat her there.
Mercifully, she made it to the classroom before McGonagall, and plopped down in the seat next to Ailana. Lily smiled weakly at her best friend and pulled out her Guide to Advanced Transfiguration textbook.
"Finally awake, Lils?" Ailana greeted, tucking a strand of hair behind Lily's ear. "Are you alright? You don't look too good."
"So far," Lily chuckled. "Ask me again at the end of the day."
Ailana had grown over the summer, and she was even an inch taller than Marlene now. Courtesy of the Beater position she occupied on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Ailana was always physically fit, and she had cropped her hair short—it was only long enough to curl slightly at the ends and bounce as she walked. Her skin was smooth and of a darker tone—the color of melted caramel, which was merely a shade lighter than her chocolate brown eyes. Ailana was born and raised in the south of Spain, but moved to the London countryside in order to attend Hogwarts like her parents did.
It was because of her parents, and the way that they raised her, that she always wore something of color with her school uniform, saying, "The whole black and white thing really isn't my style." On one occasion, Lily remembered Ailana sporting a bright yellow sunflower in her hair that clashed horridly with the patterned scarf around her neck. She didn't seem to mind the stares of those around her, though. That was one thing about her; she disregarded everything that people said about her, and was the type of person who literally didn't give a damn what anyone thought of her.
"Well, let's talk about me now," Ailana sighed, once again pushing her traitorous hair out of her face. "Did you hear the rumors flying around about me already?
There was a fellow sixth year Slytherin that was always saying nasty things about Ailana. Ailana had never told her why Ami was so spiteful, and Lily wasn't sure she'd ever get the whole story. Once Ami had realized attacking Ailana's appearance wouldn't faze her, she started spreading heinous rumors about her. Some of the rumors were sometimes the exaggeration of the truth, but most of the time they were really horrible lies. The rumor mill at Hogwarts was renowned for its speed at getting cruel and falsified information out to its population, but information about Ailana always seemed to circulate first. In the last few months of fifth year, the rumors had become so astronomical that it had become almost a game between them—Lily trying to guess the rumor and Ailana exaggerating the lie even more. Laughing at the situation together was a lot better than letting them get under Ailana's skin.
Lily hoped it always stayed that way, and that Ailana never took any of it to heart.
"I didn't hear the rumors, no," Lily responded. "It's first period on the very first day of term. How much material could she have to work with already?"
Ailana just shrugged and pulled her long legs up under her. "Take a guess, Lils."
"Well, let's see then," Lily began, recalling some of the rumors from last year. "Did you bribe Potter with a shag to secure your Quidditch position? Or did you kiss a Slytherin in the Charms corridor? Better yet, Remus Lupin… it always has something to do with Remus Lupin."
"Wow, you're really close Lily," Ailana deadpanned. "I had a secret rendezvous in a broom cupboard—with a Slytherin and Remus Lupin."
"Hardy-har har Ailana, what is it really?"
"Oh the usual," Ailana sighed, rolling her eyes. "I argued with that Ravenclaw chick, you know the one I'm talking about… big boobs, small brain, always carries around that awful looking feather quill?"
Lily nodded, not even bothering to hide her amusement as Ailana continued.
"Well apparently I was 'asserting my dominance' over her boyfriend—her boyfriend, by trying to seduce him into going up to the Astronomy tower with me. As if! First off, that's where straight couples go because it's drafty and convenient. No girl wants to get hot and heavy next to a rickety old railing and a who-knows-how-long meter drop. That is just... unrealistic."
"I've busted more than a few couples in the Astronomy tower, and the girls didn't seem to complain about the location too much," Lily rebutted. "Also, there's this—"
"That's because they have no standards," Ailana interjected. "The only evidence I need to support this argument is that they like men."
"Liking boys doesn't mean you don't have standards," Lily laughed.
"But why would you like boys when girls are so much prettier?" Ailana continued. "The only purpose that men serve is to reach things on high shelves, but—one, I'm already tall, and—two, I'm a freaking witch, so I can just levitate things down to me."
Ailana was grinning, clearly pleased with herself, when McGonagall waltzed into the classroom. She flicked her wand at the chalkboard and the letters N.E.W.T. wrote themselves out in a neat loopy scrawl. Below that, notes on today's lesson began appearing as well, and the class began to copy them down in near silence. Near silence, meaning that Sirius Black was still whispering fervently behind her, and when Lily looked around, his head was bent close to Potter's and his hand was waving wildly.
"Mr. Black," McGonagall called from the front of the room. "I assume you have already written down what you needed? Or would you like to indulge the class on what you're speaking of, as it seems far more pertinent than copying down important notes?"
"No, thank you, ma'am." Sirius smiled, flashing her a cheeky grin. "Strictly Marauder business, I'm sure you understand?"
The professor raised an eyebrow. "Of course, Mr. Black, but if you would, please refrain from discussing it when I am trying to start a class," said McGonagall sternly.
Sirius saluted her with a finger to his temple and then slung an arm around his knee, pulling the appendage closer to his chest. He still didn't write anything down, but Lily knew he didn't need to. Whatever Sirius Black read or saw, he'd remember. Lily had jokingly asked him about having an eidetic memory, or whatever the 'advanced' wizarding equivalent was, in their fourth year when Lily had forced him to the library with her. His face had immediately lost its smile and gone blank. "Remembering everything that has ever happened in your life isn't as great as it sounds," he had said. Lily had snapped her mouth shut and was unable to find a worthy enough response.
Sirius had dutifully sat with her, staring aimlessly out the window, for the hour that he had promised. She hadn't brought it up again.
"Okay class, today you are entering your first N.E.W.T level year at Hogwarts before you are thrust—hopefully not completely ungracefully—into the real world. Everything you learn in this class from here on out will be to prepare you for said N.E.W.T examinations that you'll take at the end of your seventh year. You will need to study very hard in order to scrape up a passing grade for my class, but a good grade in my class usually corresponds to a good grade on your N.E.W.T.s. These exams are critical, and doing well on said exams will be the key to getting a well-paying job once you leave Hogwarts. This Transfiguration course is necessary to be able to pursue a great number of different professions, including an Auror or a Healer.
"For these next two years," McGonagall continued, "we will begin with larger animal transfigurations and progress to full Human Transfigurations by the end of the year. Now–" McGonagall grabbed her wand from its place on her desk and began her lesson plan. She dropped so many hints about the 'biggest test of their lives' that Lily's already frazzled nerves sent a zing through her brain, and a slight ache began forming at her temples.
Nearing the end of the class period, McGonagall released them to practice the spell they had just spent forty-five minutes learning the theory for. When the clock was nearing the dismissal time, and the class was packing up their things, the older witch assigned a three-foot long essay that made the entire class groan. Lily heard James's exclamation of discontent over the rest of the conversation in the classroom. It made her shake her head when she heard him say, "How does she expect me to even want to do her homework when she assigns this much on the first day? It's like she thinks that I have an affinity for her subject or something."
When her next period rolled around, Lily was already tired of the N.E.W.T. speech. Flitwick talked of the same things that McGonagall did; how this was the beginning of their most important years of schooling, that slacking off wasn't an option, and that the only thing lying ahead of them were their mindless jobs and the real world. It was as if the teachers were trying to psych them out or something.
By the end of her second class of the day, Lily was so bored that she'd almost completely forgotten about her own personal cloud of dread that was following her around. The free period spent catching up on sleep in her dormitory was well needed, but apparently her brain didn't think it was enough. Only a teacher could drone on for hours at a time about the importance of one bloody test and then assign mountains of essays that would take them all night.
Her patience was especially thin as she stepped into last period Potions. Having to stop a first year from walking through a trapdoor, breaking up a fistfight between two fifth year boys, and still having no idea why she felt so weird, could do that to a person. She had no desire whatsoever to deal with even her favorite professor as she took her seat at one of the middle tables. Of course, Lily greeted him with as much enthusiasm as he greeted her with, but she could tell that he knew it was forced. He patted her on the shoulder and told her it was lovely to see her anyway.
When Severus sat down next to her, Lily visibly stiffened. She knew that they'd be paired up because who else would Slughorn reasonably put them with? Even so, it was still an unpleasant thing to sit next to your ex-best friend and know that he thought less of you for something you couldn't control.
Lily didn't even look his way when Slughorn began one of his own tirades about N.E.W.T. expectations; she just dazedly looked in front of her and rested her chin on her open palm. Lily already knew that the political climate outside of Hogwarts was sketchy at best, so finding a reasonable job as a Muggleborn was likely to be hard. People were scared and didn't want to be targeted. Lily really couldn't blame them, even if it did frustrate her to no end.
So instead of listening to Slughorn talk amicably about his former students, Lily fell into a daze. She didn't know where she was looking, or for how long, until her elbow slipped off the edge of the table with a loud 'thwump'. She jumped, regaining her focus quickly, and found herself staring at the back of James Potter's head. She looked around quickly to make sure no one saw anything before she looked back at him. The little curl of hair at the nape of his neck was seemingly very important to her subconscious mind, and her conscious mind had to agree—if only a little.
Lily furrowed her brow in confusion, though, when she realized she'd never had the opportunity to stare at the back of Potter's head before. Him sitting in front of her was not something that happened. His sole purpose in class was to sit behind her and flick notes at the back of her head until she turned around to glare at him. He would then try and look innocent, but the whole act would be lost when his trademark smirk would make its way across his face. She would usually huff in response before spinning back around, but one day one of the notes fell into her bag and she'd found it later that night. There was a small heart written on the crumpled up paper. She started grabbing them then, and there was always something sweet written on the inside of those little pieces of paper. Now Lily grabbed them when she could—subtly grabbed them, of course. There were still two such notes in a small box tucked away in her trunk, safely stored under her bed.
One note simply read, "I like your eyes when you're angry," with the word 'angry' underlined twice and a small smiley face with angry eyebrows in the corner. The other was a little longer, the longest that she'd ever found, and the existence of those words was proof to her that Potter had no idea that she snagged the notes sometimes. Lily had uncurled it so often in those first few days after finding it that she'd memorized it easily, but removing it from her pocket was a must. The ink had started to fade, and she'd had to repair the bottom corner carefully—oh so carefully—with Spellotape.
It said, in an untidy hand that Lily had learned to decipher some time ago, "When you dropped your favorite book in a puddle last month, you didn't know that I was watching. You sat down right next to it, not caring that the mud was soaking into your robes. You hadn't made any noise, even as you fumbled to catch it, or when you thought the pages were ruined beyond repair. After you had left it behind, I ran to grab it. I have never wanted to kiss you as badly as I did the day I set the repaired book in your favorite armchair and you found it. I really love your smile, Lils."
When she had read it for the first time, she had cried. She had never known how her book had ended up in the Gryffindor common room, looking the same as it had the day her grandmother had given it to her—right down to the tiny tear on page fifty-seven. It must have taken weeks to repair—and money that she didn't have. The note made her feel fuzzy to think about. Her insides got mushy and she retreated into her own mind.
When she had read it for the first time, she had known that she'd liked Potter back. Someone who would do something that sweet, without demanding any compensation for it, deserved to be admired.
Everyone around her jumping up and moving at once startled her and wiped the dreamy smile off her face. With one look at the board, she was back on track with the real world. The instructions were listing the ingredients of a potion that she recognized, and she let out a tiny sigh of relief. Today they were brewing the Draught of Living Death, a potion she had already perfected in her advanced lessons with Slughorn. She snapped out some curt instructions to Severus before rising to grab ingredients from the class cupboard.
She could brew this potion in her sleep.
When Lily was brewing a potion, she worked methodically. Everything but her task seemed to fall away around her, and that was what made Lily the best potion maker in her year. Well, one of the best, she reminded herself when Severus's arm brushed hers. Having Severus as a potions partner for five years made them virtually the same person. They worked the same way, and required very little outside instruction when attempting new things. The only good thing about still being stuck with her ex-best friend as partner was that they were attuned to each other, and they rarely had to ask each other for things out loud. They had usually filled their silent potion making with idle conversation, but neither of them spoke now.
When Lily saw Severus reach for the stirring rod before she thought was appropriate she said, "No, wait!" and pushed his arm out of the way before he could pick up the instrument, ignoring his little jump as she did. Lily knew what was coming, for they always disagreed at one point when brewing this particular potion. The directions in their textbook said to use twelve Sopophorous beans, but Lily knew that you'd get a better consistency when you used thirteen. Severus seemed unable to accept this, and Lily believed he was just bitter that he didn't come up with the modification himself.
Lily wasn't surprised when he refused to add a thirteenth bean, and she also wasn't surprised that it resorted to a screaming match in the middle of the class.
"Severus you know that the thirteenth one helps!" Lily hissed.
"I do not!" he yelled back. "That one time could have just been a fluke and you know it. No one, not even me, can ever brew the same potion the exact same way twice!"
"Oh for Godric's sake, Sev," Lily groaned. "Get off your damn high horse and listen to me for once in your life. Add the thirteenth bean before we waste too much time arguing and the whole bloody potion goes down the drain!"
Her face was flushed and she was so mad at him that it hurt to breathe. She had never wanted to speak to him ever again, and all this yelling about potions had brought on memories of when they had done this all the time, but had always walked out of the room together. That wasn't ever going to happen again, and she was furious at him for reminding her of the time when they were friends.
When Severus still wasn't making any move to add another bean, Lily audibly growled, and reached across the table to grab the bean to crush herself. When she went to grab the knife out of his hand, he jerked his arm back at the last second and it cut a large slice across her palm. Lily jumped and let out a small yelp, more in surprise than pain. Adrenaline had been flooding her body for the last three minutes and the shock of what just happened stopped her from feeling any pain besides a slight pressure. She looked up to meet Severus's eyes, and he looked just as shocked as she did.
The cut wasn't that deep when Lily looked down to inspect it, but blood was dripping all over the floor. She squeezed her hand into a fist, but that hurt a little so she stopped.
"Merlin!" Hestia Jones squeaked from across the table. "Professor Slughorn, Lily is bleeding!"
Slughorn wobbled over quickly and exclaimed, "What happened, Ms. Evans?"
"We had a little… accident with the Sopophorous bean," Lily said, allowing Slughorn to examine her hand. "May I go to Madam Pomfrey, please?"
"Of course, of course," her professor said. "Mr. Black or Mr. Potter can take you, they seem to be finished already."
Potter immediately stood up and grabbed his bag. "I can do it, Professor," he said.
Lily started shoving her things in her bag, but she wasn't left handed and the task wasn't moving as quickly as she'd hoped. All of a sudden, a larger pair of hands gently took her book from her and placed it in her bag. Potter also closed her potions kit and grabbed her notes, placing them in her bag as well. Before she could insist that she carry her own things, he slung the bag over her head and adjusted the strap. The ease of the gesture almost calmed her rage, but then she looked back up at Severus and saw the disgust in his eyes as he looked at James.
Later, she would claim that the blood loss made her lose her rational mind, but she was completely aware of the next thing that came out of her mouth. Her brief eye contact with Sirius across the room was enough for him to know she was about to say something rash, and he shook his head very quickly—even as he smiled in anticipation, never one to say no to a good telling off of Severus.
"My blood doesn't look very much like mud now, does it, Snape?" she snarled quietly. "I bet that might be a bit of a shock for you, but before you wreck all the work I just put into that bloody potion, I'd pull your giant head out of your arse and add the thirteenth fucking bean."
She leveled Severus with a deadly glare before she stalked towards the doorway with Potter on her heels.
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Severus couldn't seem to process what he'd just done. It was a natural instinct to pull his arm back when someone reached for him; he just happened to be holding a knife this time, and he just happened to cut Lily's hand because shejust happened to be the one that was reaching for him. He switched between staring at the blood that was dripping onto his hand from the knife and Lily's shocked expression.
He couldn't believe that he'd just done that—that that had just actually happened.
Everything seemed very loud. He watched as Professor Slughorn inspected her hand and gestured to Potter and Black. He didn't recognize what that meant until Potter was placing Lily's things in her bag while she cradled her hand to her chest. He felt the anger rise unbidden as Potter gently placed the bag on Lily's shoulder and adjusted her hair from under the strap. What right did he have to touch her? What right did he have to that look Lily was giving him?
When Lily turned her blazing eyes back to him, he wished he didn't have to hear what came out of her mouth next.
"My blood doesn't look very much like mud now, does it, Snape?" she snarled—just loud enough for him, her, and Potter to hear. "I bet that might be a bit of a shock for you, but before you wreck all the work I just put into that bloody potion, I'd pull your giant head out of your arse and add the thirteenth fucking bean."
He cringed.
She had never spoken to him like that before. Spoken to him like Potter and Black always did. It hurt more than he cared to admit. Severus avoided everyone's eyes as he turned back to his potion. He grabbed a rag and slowly wiped the blood off his knife. His thoughts were jumbled, flipping between anger at himself and rage at James Potter. He slowly reached for another Sopophorous bean and crushed it with the blade.
Snape crossed off the number twelve in his textbook and scribbled in the number thirteen instead.
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Lily had spent the rest of the day in the library, meticulously writing her essays and steadfastly ignoring everyone in her life. She hadn't said one word to Potter on the way to the hospital wing, and he had left her to her own devices after asking her once if she wanted to talk about it. The shake of her head had sent him on his way easy enough—leaving her with an understanding parting glance and a gentle squeeze of her arm.
Darkness had fallen now though, and it was time to find Remus for rounds. She always had a weird prefect schedule because Remus had to work around full moons, but Lily didn't mind. The wacky schedule actually gave her more time for other things, even though they did the same amount of work as the other prefects. On the way back to the common room to collect Remus, Lily stopped at the end of the Charms corridor and squeezed the strap of her bag until her fist turned white. She didn't know what was wrong, but her neck tickled like someone was watching her.
A quick look around yielded no other presence, so Lily spent the rest of her walk with her wand clutched in her hand. She had hoped her screaming match with Severus and the subsequent slicing of her hand was the thing that she'd been dreading. Apparently not, though, if her instincts had anything to say about it. Unbidden, her mind supplied her the image of the masked axe murderer from the horror film she'd watched over summer. On any other day, Lily would have laughed at the thought of an axe murderer, of all things, running rampant in the corridors of a wizarding school, but today the thought only made her substantially more anxious.
She finally climbed through the portrait hole, and she spotted Remus immediately, lounging on the sofa in front of the fire. Alice and Frank were curled together in one of the small armchairs, and Remus seemed completely oblivious to their longing stares. They were too nice to tell Remus to bugger off so they could kiss, and Lily had an inkling that Alice's desire to set a good example as Head Girl stopped her from saying to hell with Remus and just snogging in front of him.
Lily smiled as she walked up behind him. For someone who was so smart, Remus Lupin could be particularly dumb.
"Rounds, Remus," Lily said, tapping his shoulder lightly in greeting. "Let's allow the poor couple to kiss in peace."
Remus's face was priceless, and he jumped up so quickly he stumbled. "Awe Remus, you're like a shy little kitten." Alice smiled, leaning her head on her boyfriend's shoulder.
"I am not," he mumbled, grabbing Lily's elbow as he pulled her out of common room.
Lily liked Remus; he was the small voice of reason within his group of friends and rounds with him were something that she looked forward to. At first glance, he seemed to stand in complete contrast to the rest of the Marauders. He didn't have Peter's mousy, but calculating demeanor, or James's penchant for mischief, and especially not Sirius's outgoing personality. If you knew him though, you knew to look for the glimmer in his eyes that told you he'd just pulled off a prank. You would notice the carefully worded phrases that he used to draw his friends out of a mood. He was just Remus. He came with calm touches and a reassuring presence that held the Marauders together. Without him, the whole group would fall apart.
Remus was also surprisingly laid back and easy to talk to. Lily always took his advice to heart, and relied on him for more than she'd like to think. He was more than pleasant company, and they passed their time on patrol with good natured teasing and conversation. Today, he was telling Lily more about the comment Potter had made when they'd ran into each other at the pub. The story involved a very sleep-deprived Sirius, five-inch heels, and half a pink feather boa. Lily was laughing so hard there were tears in her eyes, and she had to wipe them away with her sleeve.
Their laughter continued until they were checking their final corridor.
The sight stopped Lily in her tracks. At the other end of the Charms corridor, a small girl was suspended in midair. Her arms were limp by her side, and her chin was resting against her chest. Lily had the sinking feeling that she was looking at a dead body, but as Remus and Lily jogged closer to her, she saw the shallow rise and fall of her chest. Her robes were torn, hanging off one shoulder, and there were rust colored stains on the white oxford she wore.
It was the first fucking day of classes! Lily thought. How much can happen in the span of twelve hours?
At least Lily now knew why she'd been agitated all day. And if this wasn't the source of her nerves then Lily wasn't ever coming out of her dorm again.
Despite the horrid sight before her, the most terrifying part of the scene was the sloppy words written on the wall underneath the girl, glistening scarily like blood in the torchlight. It read, 'WE'RE RECRUITING' and Lily refused to think about what that meant until the girl was safely tucked away with Madam Pomfrey. Lily was breathing heavily, and as she got a better look at the girl's face, a burst of recognition flooded through her. Her name was still escaping her, but she knew that she'd helped her find her way to the Hufflepuff common room earlier in the day. Her small feet were dangling just above Remus's head, and Lily was finally jolted back to her senses when he lifted a hand to grab ahold of her foot.
"Remus no!" she yelled, startling even herself.
"Lily?" Remus asked, talking slowly as she'd gone mad. "We've got to get her down. We've got to get her to the hospital wing, Lily."
"I know that, but there might be a jinx or a-a-a curse or something that's attached to her," Lily reasoned, her voice bordering on hysterical. "You could be hurt when you touch her!"
"Okay," Remus said, catching onto what she was saying. "Okay, give me a second to think."
As Lily watched Remus pace, something he did when he was agitated or to help him think, she chewed on her thumbnail and continuously shot glances up to the girl. She wished that she knew the girl's name. She deserved to have her name known if she went through… all this tonight. It felt like the longer Lily stood there, the bluer the girl's lips got, but she reasoned that it was a mere trick of the light—it had to be a trick of the light. When Remus pulled his wand from his pocket not thirty seconds later and strode towards the girl she thought she was about to see some big show.
"Specialis Revelio," he said, rapping his wand sharply. Nothing happened. "Well… there's no charms or hexes surrounding her, but I'm not sure how far that spell extends. I haven't been able to research the concept and theory as much I would've liked, so I don't know if it covers any darker magic or if it's strictly the general area of magic. There is–"
"Remus!" Lily snapped. "Can we talk about that later? What are we supposed to do if it doesn't cover all the bases and there's darker magic at work and it curses us anyway?"
"Well," Remus said. "What we should do is get a teacher and wait for them to cast the more complex spell, but–"
"Remus we can't wait that long, what if–"
"But," Remus stressed. "I'm not a Marauder just by association. Also, I don't believe there's anything else surrounding her. I can't… um I can't sense anything, and I don't think that anyone would want to risk harming the professors or students that found her."
"Why?" Lily asked, watching nervously as he reached up to touch the girl.
"Because," Remus said, "there was no way to know that it would've been a Muggleborn prefect and a Werewolf half-blood that found her." As he came in contact with the girl's uniformed black shoe, whatever was holding her snapped and she fell, dead-weighted, into Remus's waiting arms. He sighed as he continued, "I'd imagine that they'd want to avoid harming a Pureblood."
Finally everything clicked into place and Lily felt light-headed. Someone attacked this girl just because of her parentage. Someone attacked this girl because she couldn't defend herself. She was a first-year for God's sake! She did nothing to deserve being ridiculed, and she definitely didn't do anything to deserve being strung up in the rafters with open wounds. More pieces of the puzzle were falling into place in Lily's mind, and she realized that the girl was one of two new Muggleborns who were sorted yesterday evening.
"She's got a weak pulse, and her skin's as cold as ice," Remus said, pressing the back of his hand to her check as he held her close to his chest. "I'll take her directly to Madam Pomfrey, and you can go get McGonagall or Dumbledore and get them to the infirmary as quick as you can."
Lily continued to stare at the way the girl had curled, subconsciously, into Remus's chest as if she recognized he was a safe haven. "Lily!" he yelled. "Go and get McGonagall or Dumbledore and meet me in the Hospital Wing!"
She jumped. "O-of course," she stammered. "Sorry, I'm going." Lily took off in the direction opposite of Remus, running faster than she had in a long time and trying to keep her tears at bay.
Lily, being a Muggleborn herself, tried to keep tabs on all the younger Muggleborns to help them as best she could with the transition from Muggle to magical. She knew how difficult it could be, and she tried to show them that they could do anything they set their minds to despite the roadblocks they'd likely face. Lily also knew the persecution of Muggleborns had become more of a fixture in today's society than it was when she was a first year, but if this is what happens to a first-year girl on the first official day of term… what was it going to be like for her after she graduates?
one of my favorite scenes that i've written for this fic is the lily x severus scene in the middle of this chapter. i hate snape with a passion, but it's super interesting to look into his mind when he's younger and examine the friendship he had with Lily—especially looking at how that relationship effects her. also, i really like to think that lily had a hand in the half-blood prince's book that harry gets later on—makes me soft :'))
anyway, thanks for reading. i love all of you, and your reviews, favorites, follows, and attention. you've succeeded in making happy brain chemicals, but a bitch is depressed jskdjsk
(also, i've posted another one-shot for characters from krista & becca ritchie's na romance series, so that makes two other stories! look at me go jkdjsjk :)) give em a look if you've got the time, they need some lovin)
