AN- Hello again! Sorry it's been a while so you might want to read the first chapter again (which I have updated slightly) :) It's all a bit nerve racking, but I should be posting more regularly now. So here's chapter two: I hope you like it just as much as Chapter 1- or maybe you'll like it even more? Thank you so much to you faithful three who have reviewed and everyone who has favourited and followed. I'll try not to waffle too much, but please please please keep reading. I have big plans... Stay safe x -Elle


Chapter 2 - The Red Stag

It's funny how these things tend to happen. Well maybe not funny as such but quite remarkable- all the same.

It starts (as incidentally all things do) with the Theory of Causation. This is that, being contingent and all, each effect is in turn caused; and equally each cause is in itself an effect. Every cause has a cause; every effect has an effect.

Or, in layman's terms, if Peter Pettigrew hadn't smuggled firewhisky under his cloak on the first day of his fourth year, Lily Evans might have seriously never made it to Hogwarts that Evening. But of course he did, and therefore so did she…

7.30pm June 7th 1975

"Padfoot- you complete nonce!" James hissed.

His coal-black hair was still soaked, sticking-up haphazardly in all sorts of which ways. He just knew if Lily Evans had been there, she'd have taken superfluous gratification in mocking him for looking like he'd just hopped off a broom. To which he'd wittily reply, that actually, he had just hopped off a broom, thank you very much. She would then of course giggle reverently at his charming retort and then-

James Potter snapped back to the problem at hand. He couldn't afford momentary… distractions.

"What the hell were you thinking?" It was Moony this time, his eyes were sore and hollow because of course, the full moon was in two days.

"I'm sorry- alright!" Sirius shouted, raising his hands backwards in indignance because he was just about able to admit that he might, perhaps have screwed up, this time. "I wasn't thinking!"

"This is the end." James muttered dramatically. "The end of the Marauders as we know it-"

"Prongs." Remus interrupted.

"It's social suicide. We've committed social suicide." James said. He was pacing now. He never paced. Merlin knows what Lily would think of him when she found out.

"Prongs- are you listening?"

He could just see her face. Disappointed at his inability to follow through on a single promise.

"Prongs! Get a grip mate!" Remus shouted. James Potter snapped back once more to reality.

"Get a grip?" James repeated incredulously. "GET A GRIP? I'm sorry, Moony, but if you haven't noticed- we, the marauders, have promised a bloody brilliant victory party for the bloody great feat of winning the bloody incredible Quidditch cup. But bloody Padfoot over here has taken it upon himself to drink the entirety of our bloody stash- to impress some bird!"

Sirius let out a low whistle. "That's a lot of blood, Prongs."

James shot his best friend a hostile glare.

"They're all down there-" James gulped as he glanced towards their dormitory door. "Waiting for us to bring the booze. But we have none. Absolutely fuck all. Zero."

Remus collapsed backwards on to his bed. It squeaked a little. Sirius just looked vaguely remorseful.

"We had a good run." Remus muttered lightly as he stared blankly at the ceiling.

"Oi you lot- what are you doing sulking up here?" A voice squeaked from the Dormitory door. A shorter than average boy, his sandy-haired fringe obscured his beady eyes almost entirely.

"Pete- are we screwed?" James asked rather over-dramatically as he ran through a series of worst-case scenarios. He grimaced as he visualised the moment when he was to come face to face with a disappointed auburn, dreamy eyed-

"No it's brilliant!" The short one grinned, and for the first time, James Potter noticed that Peter Pettigrew was swaying slightly. "Everyone's missssing the man-f the hour though."

Under usual circumstances, James Potter would be flattered, after all he and the quaffle had practically destroyed the Slytherins singlehandedly and he was only in fourth year. But now was not the time for self-indulgence.

"So- everyone's enjoying themselves-" James potter shook his head puzzled, both Sirius and Remus had propped themselves up and were looking at the fourth marauder curiously. "Alcohol-less?"

Wormtail cackled as if he had just suggested something utterly ridiculous.

"No -course not, P- Prongs" Pettigrew sung. He was slurring and lilting very seriously now. "What d'ya take us for- Ravenclaws?"

Apparently this was the funniest thing in the world to him because Peter Pettigrew was now clutching his stomach, keeled over from the laughter whilst his three best mates looked on at him wildly.

"But where did they get the…" Remus trailed off quietly. At least he was fairly sure the Seventh year Gideon Prewitt had put the marauders on securing drink for the party- it was to be an initiation of sorts. "Booze?"

"Oh!" Peter squealed, and he began to hop up and down as if he knew the answer to a question McGonagall had just asked him. "It was I!"

"You- Pete?" Sirius asked disbelievingly.

He giggled conspiratorially clapping an arm on James' shoulder. "I sm- smuggled firewhisky under my cloak the first day of school. Didn't tell any of you lot because I knew Sirius would slosh it."

Sirius began to protest but James and Remus sent him a stifling glare.

"So- when you were at the match- Sorry Prongs I didn't actually watch you play- but heard you played smashingly." He paused to catch himself. "Anyway, then I used a simple duplicating charm- Easy." He waved his hands in a sort of ta-da way, and looked mildly disappointed when he wasn't met with applause.

"Merlin Pete," Sirius began dazed, his grey eyes wide with joy. "I have never wanted to kiss anyone so much as I do right now!"

"Please don't." Peter Pettigrew stated deadpan but smiled excitedly when all three of the marauders hugged him and praised him and slapped him on the back and for the first time since he came to Hogwarts, he felt like he had done something that had mattered.

"Let's go get pissed!" Sirius thrust the air in excitement and the marauders charged down the common room below, the raging party already in full stride.

9.30pm, Later that Evening

James Potter wasn't really an arrogant boy, but he was of the order that it was perfectly appropriate to appreciate one's own talents- like his natural prowess on the Quidditch pitch, or his affinity for Defence Against the Dark Arts or- but that was beside the point. This victory party was for him. Well alright, not explicitly for him, but Wormtail had said it himself- he was the man of the hour. He had won the Quidditch Cup

But despite this, despite the copious amounts of Ogden's firewhisky poisoning his liver, he was thoroughly miserable. He had won the Quidditch Cup, not him. He was the hero of Gryffindor at fifteen! Not him. So why, when James Potter had scowered the marauder's map, he had discovered Lily Evans in the Library with Severus Snape, he could not remotely comprehend. He had spent the entire evening worrying about how Lily would react to their potential disaster, but she hadn't even bothered to turn up when he had saved the day. All right when Peter saved the day. But still, how selfish of her.

He was almost going to give up on the whole thing entirely and go to bed when something large ran straight into him. No- he wasn't sure it was a something. More like a someone.

"Oh, Hi Marlene." He greeted glumly, looking up at the girl (because at that stage Marlene had reached her full height potential of 5"9 but the majority of boys in her year, including James, were still hoping to start growing).

"H- hi J-ames." Marlene looked politely at him, trying incredibly hard not to burst into tears in front of him, of all people. Marlene wasn't a crier, and there was absolutely no way that she would be changing that in the presence of James Potter. She tugged a strand of her ebony hair behind her ear in an attempt to brush away any attention from her puffy eyes.

Now, James was a teenage boy. However, he did pride himself on not being entirely oblivious to the world around him. He supposed he could be quite empathetic if he really wanted.

So on noticing her puffy eyes, considerately asked, "What's got your wand in a knot?"

Marlene gaped at him. How insensitive, she thought. But her eyes gave her away as they settled on a very particular sofa.

James' jaw dropped. "Is that my best mate- getting with the fittest bird in the year?" Well fittest bar one, he mentally added, but that was of no consequence now because he was feeling immensely proud of Sirius.

CRACK.

James Potter's hand immediately reached to his extremely sore and extremely red face.

"Oi!" He snapped violently. "What the fuck was that for, McKinnon?"

And only when she sobbed did it dawn on him. He had been a complete tosser. Marlene McKinnon had fancied Sirius Black, and had just witnessed her best friend Ophelia Clarke, wandering all over him. His mind flicked to if the roles had reversed. If he had seen Sirius and her. Merlin he wanted to slap himself too.

Midday-ish September 1st 1976

"God she's a witch." Ophelia Clarke slammed the door shut.

Moony was in the prefect's carriage already and as he looked over at Padfoot and Wormtail, James Potter was relieved, because they looked just about as interested as he felt.

There was no doubt whatsoever about whom she was referring to.

"Funny, that." Sirius muttered gloomily. "Does she carry a wand too- and a broomstick?"

Ophelia scowled.

In every other mood, James Potter tolerated spending time with Ophelia Clarke. She was fit, mildly intelligent, occasionally funny, and of course extremely close with a particular- James scolded himself. He had sworn not to let his mind wander there this year.

He had tried talking to her that morning, to apologise more than anything. Although, talking was a loose term because all he had been was a bumbling idiot. But that didn't matter much anyway, because Sirius Black, who was supposed to be his best mate, not a severe cock-blocker, had rocked up and royally screwed everything up. Entirely. But that didn't matter now, because now there was another problem at hand.

Unfortunately, Ophelia Clarke was in the sole mood, which every single marauder detested. It was Remus who was friends with Clarke anyway, James thought bitterly. And he wasn't even there, so why should they have to deal with her?

"Not like that Black." Ophelia snapped. "Marlene McKinnon is a hedonistic bitch with a fetish for shagging anything with a pulse."

"Sure you're not talking about Sirius?" James piped up with a vague smirk.

"Oi!" Sirius bellowed half-heartedly. "Just because you're still bitter that I rejected your advanc-"

"Not half as bitter as you were when Kreacher rejected yours."

"Touché Prongs," Sirius half-grinned. "That really did scar me."

"I remember well- you were in tears for weeks!" James looked off into the distance as he pretended to reminisce.

"I'm surprised you remember anything from last year because you were so distracted trying to screw Lil-

"Boys!" Ophelia glared at them both impatiently.

James shot Padfoot a murderous glare.

"Now back to my impending problem with a certain slag."

James much preferred Marlene anyway.

Almost Present September 1st 1976

And that of course was how James Potter had ended up taking the scenic route to Hogwarts that evening, instead of the warm, cosy and efficient one in the carriage.

Sirius Black got with the bird once- just once! Yet, he, James, was forced to suffer the repercussions over a year later. There had been four spaces in the carriage, and seeing as the marauders had been joined by a rather unwelcome visitor, James had done the chivalrous thing, and offered to walk. (Not that he didn't feel a small sense of relief when he realised he wouldn't have to spend another minute in Ophelia Clarke's company).

He was never letting Sirius Black, the oblivious git, get with another bird again. Even if she was fit.

And that's when he saw it. He wished he hadn't. It was definitely her and him. James watched on resentfully as the greasy-haired sallow-faced git clambered onto the carriage after her.

It was none of his business, James reminded himself. She had made that very clear at the end of last year. Lily Evans had every right to go off gallivanting with Muggleborn-hating dark lord-defending Slytherins. Why should he care?

Except of course he did.

It took every fibre of his being, but he managed it. He turned away from the carriage, forced his limbs to step towards the woods, but his head was turned once more.

James recognised the two brutish boys immediately: Rosier and Mulciber. James supposed that Snape was a death eater (mostly out of childish resentment for the boy, not because he actually believed it), but James knew that these two were. Well, she was just asking to be murdered now, wasn't she?

James Potter cursed Lily Evans and jerked into action. He thought very hard, clenching his fists together, biting down on his teeth as he kicked off into a run. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say, he kicked off into a gallop.

James cursed as he charged after the carriage. He had sworn he would leave her behind this year! He had bloody promised himself! He couldn't even get to Hogwarts without having to chase after her. Spurred on by his anger, the stag leapt onto the roof of the carriage.

"Confringo!"

The door blasted off the side of the carriage as Prongs bucked backwards. He needed to change back, now.

"Turn around- you bitch!" A course voice hissed and Prongs felt the blood boil within him as he heard the shattering screech of the flailing girl. "Silencio."

Her shrieks ceased.

James clenched his face tightly; everything blurred and morphed as he tried desperately to return to his human form. He heard the vague whimper of the slithering git but thought little of it as he reached around him fumbling madly for his wand and glasses.

"Crucio!"

And that is where we find ourselves once more. Because ultimately, if Peter Pettigrew hadn't smuggled in that bottle of firewhisky, the party would not have been saved; if the party hadn't been saved, Sirius might not have gotten with Ophelia Clarke; if Ophelia Clarke hadn't earned herself the wrath of Marlene McKinnon, she wouldn't have joined the Marauders in their carriage that day; if she hadn't joined the marauders, James wouldn't have walked.

No. James thought. Not Lily.

"Stupefy!"

Mulciber looked stunned, as his wand clattered onto the carriage floor followed by his limbs.

"Potter?" Rosier hissed viciously his wand hand snapping up. Severus Snape was nowhere to be seen.

"Rosier." James whispered curtly from the forest outside, his wand pointed at him in retaliation. Lily was laying senseless along the carriage between them- the cruciatus curse being feeble and swift, she was conscious, barely, but still conscious.

"Come to rescue your filthy little mudblood?" Rosier's voice dripped in disdain.

"No- just fancied a chat actually." James stated humourlessly, his hand clutching onto his wand. A bead of sweat dripped decadently down the side of his brow onto the pale ivory skin of Lily Evans. Her hand twitched, hanging off the side of the carriage.

"Witty- Potter." Rosier snarled. James fumbled around with his feet across the forest floor. "Pity the Dark Lord doesn't favour wizards for their wit."

James snorted.

"Clearly." Too easy. He raised his left foot, Lily Evans' wand balancing on its tip.

"Yes, well." Rosier's eyes flashed angrily. "Your stunning spell will wear off soon and it will be two against one. Not even you are arrogant enough to believe that you could single-handedly defeat two death eaters."

Mulciber mumbled something, as his broad shoulders began to twitch.

"Ah- well." James Potter began, his eyes glistening slightly. "That's where you're severely mistaken, my friend.

"Sonorous! Now Evans!"

Lily sprung into action as James ducked below Rosier's line of sight.

"EXPELLIARMUS!" Lily shrieked and Rosier's startled wand leapt out of his hand.

"Evans- come on!" James hissed, grabbing her by the wrist as they sprinted towards the front of the carriage. They didn't have much time.

"Stupefy!" the green sparks narrowly shot by James' neck instead shattering a branch beside him.

"Rictusempra!" Lily shot back blindly over her shoulder. The lack of response indicated she had missed.

"Reducto!" James bellowed angrily and the carriage tug blew apart wildly.

"What are you doing?" Lily shrieked as the spell was aimed nowhere near the Slytherins behind them.

"Shut up Evans." James Potter snapped as he chucked her into the air.

"JAMES POTTER!" Lily screeched, airborne, before landing atop something scaly. "What in the-

"Stupefy!" The sparks grazed James' nose.

James was clambering blindly onto whatever she was sitting on quickly, his face ridden with panic. With a kick they were off.

Lily jolted backwards into James, screaming wildly, as the invisible creature beneath them thundered through the moonlit forest, her mind numb and swirling around her, the wind thrashing past her, as James shot hexes into the shadowy nothingness behind them reassuring her something about thestrals.

Breathless, she descended the creature, furious and frustrated and fully able to hex something into oblivion. At the Entrance to Hogwarts Castle, Lily Evans' face was a scarlet rivalling that of her hair.

"What the hell was that Potter?" Lily shot finally as she stormed through the hollow courtyard.

"What the hell was what?" Potter yelped indignantly, he had very visibly snapped his nose.

"You…" Lily clenched her jaw tightly, an effort to keep herself from quite literally biting his head off.

"Oh you mean- saving your life!" Potter bellowed snarkily as he tried to catch up with the girl.

The were in a deserted corridor now, what with everyone being at the welcoming feast, and Lily was quite certain that if she so desired, she could hex Potter as much as she wished and his body wouldn't be discovered for quite some time.

On seeing his cracked nose, blood eviscerating off his blotchy face, she decided against it.

"Hold still-"

"He was bloody assaulting you!"

"Hold still-"

"What was I meant to do? Watch? Who the Fu-"

"For the love of Merlin, hold still!"

James blinked at her blankly.

"Episkey!"

"Gah!" Potter keeled over, clutching his nose. "What the fuck, Evans?! Trying to kill me?!"

"Merlin, grow up a little!" Lily hissed, her red hair splayed wildly around her bruised face resembling something of a savage creature.

Potter grimaced sulkily. "Thanks."

Lily shrugged.

"Are you alright?" Potter muttered tepidly. "After the…" He trailed off.

"Yeah, um." Lily began awkwardly as a chill swept up her arms. "Mulciber's an incompetent magician- it would have hurt more if it was Rosier doing the um- the crucio-ing.

You wouldn't mind not telling anyone about…"

"Evans of course I have to tell Dumbledore! You could have been killed!" Potter's eyes were wide with worry and sincerity.

If Lily Evans didn't know Potter as well as she did, she would have been mildly touched. But alas, she did. And so they stood in a vacuum of blissful silence for a moment, before Lily came to her senses again.

"GAH! WHAT!" She shoved him. "WERE!" She chucked her wand at him. "YOU! THINKING!"

Thus began the chaos.

"I was doing fine until you-

"Well I'm sorry I thought-

"So rudely interrupted, and if you didn't have-

"Saving your life was-

"Such a bloody hero complex and-

"A good idea because obviously-

"Had half an ounce of common sense-

"You're so conceited and stubborn that you were-

"I wouldn't have needed rescuing-

"Thick enough to be in that situation-

"IN THE FIRST PLACE!" They shrieked in unison.

"Ugh!" They yelled, both resisting the overwhelming urge to shove each other.

Lily stormed off first.

"Well, you're welcome!" Potter spat behind her.

"Oh, get over yourself Potter!" Lily responded with a military salute of her middle finger.

Merlin- She couldn't stand that boy. He was arrogant, entitled and bloody pretentious. Marlene McKinnon hadn't just hit the nail on the head that morning she had absolutely obliterated it. Lily Evans just couldn't comprehend how someone could be so absolutely moronic that they just went around in their spare time saving people's lives and then acting all noble about it.

And she told the Fat Lady about as much as well. The others hadn't returned from the feast and so she had resorted to complaining to a non-sentient being.

"Please dear- just say the password!" The Fat Lady spat viciously after the Evans girl went around the same rant. Again.

"No!" Lily snapped, her face red and blotchy. "Why should I say the password? There's no rule that says I have to say the password. In fact- there's absolutely no reason I should say the password!"

"Excuse me?"

"What?!" Lily snapped as she whipped around to face the source of the noise. Her face softened slightly as she faced a younger student whose name she couldn't quite place. "Sorry."

"No, no. That's okay." The boy bumbled along timidly. "You're Lily Evans, right?"

Lily nodded warily. Blood rushed to her cheeks as she realised that she had just snapped at someone quite undeserving of her wrath.

The boy took this as leave to go on. "Um- Professor McGonagall told me to tell you that Professor Dumbledore wants to see you in his office."

Lily bit her lip. Running her hands through her matted hair, the only thought running through her mind was that she was going to murder James Potter.

"Is- Is that everything?" The little boy squealed.

"What?" Lily sighed, not quite hearing him in her frustration.

"Can I go?" He looked up wide-eyed.

"Oh sorry- yeah of course." She said smiling feebly. He turned to go. "Wait- what's your name?"

"Oh, um. Ollie." He said shyly.

"Thanks, Ollie." She smiled because she knew well the importance of a name. That's why she refused to use Potter's.

Speaking of which… She stormed towards Dumbledore's office: Angry, frustrated and with a slight inclination towards committing a homicide.

Lily's auburn hair flashed in a fury of flames as she saw the distinctive lid of obnoxiously broom-swept hair step out of Dumbledore's office stairway. His thick eyebrows knotted as Lily's shoes clacked angrily against the stone floor.

"Potter!" She spat across the corridor before squaring up to the bewildered boy. They were so close that their noses would have brushed if Lily had been seven inches taller.

"Evans." Potter swallowed nervously, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"How dare you?" Lily's voice was hollow, menacing.

"Merlin, not this again." He breathed darkly.

"Yes this again. You had no right." Lily threatened, her hand fumbling for her wand.

"No- you know what Evans?" Potter shot suddenly, "I had every right!"

"Oh really- why's that?"

"Because you're being selfish Evans!"

"Selfish?" Lily snapped in disbelief.

"Yes! This isn't about you- it's bigger than either of us!" He spat, his brown eyes not teasing or angry- desperate.

"Oh go ahead Potter!" Lily scoffed with outstretched arms "Explain it to the rest of us- cause I'm dying to see why you think that me being assaulted isn't about me!"

"Merlin Lily, this isn't about some petty feud between you and two seventh year pricks. There's a war going on outside these walls, and in wars, you make sacrifices!"

"Do you think I don't know that?" Lily shot in horror. "In case you haven't noticed- I'm a muggleborn! I can't afford to go around accusing death eaters of crimes because I live in the constant fear that I'll be jumped on my way back from Herbology. We can't all be you, because we don't all have the luxury of a vault of gold or pure, un-afflicted blood. If I want to live through this war? I shut my mouth."

"No, you don't-"

"Yes, I do Potter!" Lily snapped.

"No, you don't." Potter hissed, his eyes flaring. "Stay silent, or shout his bloody name from the Astronomy tower for all I care because you and I both know Voldemort has a curse with your name on it either way."

Lily tried not to flinch as the boy spat his name.

"So you may as well do the other muggleborns in this school a favour by reporting Mulciber and Rosier- even if it puts you at risk." He finished quietly.

Lily resentfully looked up at his red cheeks. They stared at each other for a brief silent moment.

"How much did you tell Dumbledore?" Lily said softly.

"Nothing." Potter answered.

"I don't believe you."

"Fine by me."

"Fine."

Potter took a blank step backwards. "You're a lot of things, Evans. But I never took you for a coward."

Something jolted within her. Lily blinked as Potter trailed silently out of the corridor. That was out of order. They both knew it. They always insulted each other, this wasn't out of the ordinary, but something about Potter was different this time. He actually meant it.

"In essence, Miss Evans, what happens next is entirely up to you." Dumbledore said reassuringly.

Restless, Lily glanced around the room pausing as she watched Fawkes nip at a tattered leather-bound book on one of Dumbledore's shelves. She could spend an eternity among those books; exploring and wandering amongst their pages in an Elysian state of ecstasy- forgetting about it all. Potter, Tuney, Voldemort.

"Miss Evans?" Dumbledore repeated, his genteel eyes gazing at her curiously.

"Sorry professor." Lily muttered politely. "I don't quite get what you're trying to say."

"Well, unfortunately, without the identity of the attacker, there is very little we can realistically do."

"Right." Lily blinked blankly. "So- what you're saying is that we just forget all about this?" She offered hopefully.

Dumbledore smiled lightly. "No Miss Evans. As I understand it, there are two possible courses of action available to us. The first, you make a formal complaint to the ministry and in such a circumstance you would have my upmost support. The second, is that we simply document my memory of this meeting so that if in future we find ourselves in a similar predicament, we have prior evidence to support the case."

"Oh I really don't think we need to bother the ministry with this!" Lily insisted.

Dumbledore glanced at her. "Are you absolutely cert-

"One hundred percent." Lily laughed nervously. "Besides, it wasn't even really that bad- I'm only lightly bruised."

He paused. "Then what I recommend you do is write a witness statement recording what you experienced in detail. I understand that your memory is obscured and you do not know the identity of the perpetrators, but should either return to you," he cast a knowing look and lily glanced at her hands guiltily. "I should write that down as well. Date it and send it to me by owl, anonymously if you so wish, and it will remain sealed, even from me until that day arrives when it is needed."

"Okay." Lily bit her lip, getting up to leave. "Just out of curiosity sir," Lily said tentatively. "How much did Potter tell you?"

"Very little indeed," Dumbledore beamed down his moon shaped spectacles, as he twiddled his wispy beard. "In fact, Mr. Potter seemed to think that it wasn't his place to disclose anything other than his evident concern for you."

"Oh." Lily mouthed. She had expected some heroic recount of his chivalrous and daring rescue of an incapable girl. "Thank you, sir."

"And miss Evans?" Lily spun around as she reached the door. "Never belittle the importance of asking for help. Sometimes admitting defeat is the most courageous thing a person can do."

Lily stared at him for a minute, the guilt of her dishonesty threatening to crawl its way up her throat and manifest itself in an apology.

"Goodnight, professor Dumbledore." Lily said simply as she began to descend the stone escalier.

The walk back up to the Gryffindor common room was bitterer than Lily remembered. She had lied twice; not to mention the intentional witholdal of information and the blatant dishonesty with her own conscience. Merlin, what had stopped her from just trusting Dumbledore? Three words, seven syllables- not a particularly challenging ask for a witch of her calibre. 'Mulciber crucioed me.' That was it. All it would take to expel the deatheater and prevent it from happening to other muggleborns because as difficult as it was to admit, she thought James Potter was right. What if she was being selfish? What if she was a coward? Lily stopped suddenly. Sweet Morgana she had forgotten about Potter. He didn't even tell Dumbledore what happened. That unnerved her. More than she could say.

"Lily!" Lily beamed as she recognised Remus' voice immediately. A chat with Remus was exactly what she needed right now. The familiar warmth of the Gryffindor common room was empty save a few stragglers on the various plush sofas and armchairs.

She spun around eagerly. Her face dropped.

"Evans." Potter said surprised. He kind of hopped up awkwardly from a worn-out sofa.

"Potter." Lily said, equally as awkwardly. She felt the blood rush to her cheeks and was only slightly reassured by the dishevelled blush that the boy adorned.

"Black!" Sirius chimed in with a lopsided grin as he glanced between the two; Lily snapped back into focus. James Potter awkwardly sidled back down. Remus snorted.

"Uh-" Lily mouthed quietly as she glanced around the group once. "I should be getting to bed."

"Nonsense, Evans." Sirius smirked as his black hair swooped backwards elegantly. "There's space next to Prongs."

The boy shot a glare at his best friend. Lily glanced over. There was indeed space next to the said boy. It would be rude to refuse. Then again she had been rude to him plenty today and figured what the hell- why not go full out?

"Goodnight Remus." Lily sighed before glumly climbing upstairs.

She wasn't sure what to do with herself, she just felt so deflated. In essence her day had pretty much been routine. Ward off a few Slytherins, argue with Potter, and chat with Severus. The only difference being that the stakes were so much higher. She supposed, that's what it felt like to be at war. And this, she thought, was a war she would lose either way.

"Where've you been? You missed the Feast!"

Lily glanced up dazedly as she reached to door to her dormitory. It was Alice. There were six beds, one more than she was used to seeing, not that she had noticed. Ophelia was on the one nearest to the door, followed shortly by a loudly punch-drunk Emmeline and Marlene.

"Been riding Thestrals." Lily explained absentmindedly.

"Riding what?" Alice asked confused as she motioned her best friend to join her on her dormitory bed. Alice's head was wrapped in a shower turban and she was painting her toenails a shade of sunny yellow.

Lily smiled softly because it felt natural to be back, away from home, and away from how tiring the summer holidays had been.

"Never mind." Lily shook her head lightly. "Oh I'm sorry you must think I'm so rude!" Lily jumped up, noticing a sixth, unknown person hovering stiffly in the room.

"Just a little." The girl smiled curtly.

Alice and Lily blinked at each other.

"I'm Lily Evans." Lily tried again with a smile as she reached out a hand.

The girl stared down her pointed nose as if considering it, then deeming it clean enough, took it and shook it gently.

"Freya Silva. I'll take this bed." She added pointing to the bed that usually belonged to Lily. The girls ignored her, as she wandered into the bathroom.

Lily glanced up at Alice, lost for words.

"She's new." Alice muttered quietly. "Daughter of the Brazilian Ambassador. She's um…"

"Spoilt?" Lily offered with a raised eyebrow.

Alice deliberated this. "I was going to go with used to a certain lifestyle…" She winced. "But spoilt works fine too."

Lily and Alice began to laugh.

"And yes," Ophelia hissed as she wandered over to the bed, "She's been like that all evening."

"Oh Fucking Nargles!" Emmeline shrieked loudly.

"What- what's happened?" Alice snapped up quickly to where Emmeline was standing, mildly put out.

All the girls followed in suit, crowding around the other girl. She was standing, wide-eyed, against the end of her bed, staring blankly into the open suitcase in front of her.

"This isn't my suitcase." Emmeline breathed lightly.

"What do you mean- it isn't your suitcase?" Ophelia mouthed dumbly.

"I mean, Philly, that this suitcase in front of me, is not mine. It does not belong to me. It belongs to someone else!"

Both Lily and Marlene collapsed into a fit of contained giggles.

"How did you manage that?" Lily breathed when she did eventually come up for air.

"Well I didn't do it on purpose!" Emmeline yelped indignantly.

"You must have taken some muggle's off the tube by accident." Marlene muttered disbelievingly as she began to sift through the items in the suitcase. She lifted up a piece of clothing. "What the fuck is this meant to be?"

"Why'd you use a muggle suitcase- not a trunk?" Alice asked as if it were the most ridiculous thing in the world.

"Well I didn't exactly want to look like a nutter with a trunk and an owl on the underground- did I?" Emmeline snapped disbelievingly.

"Sorry- just trying to be helpful." Alice walked away and sat on her own bed.

"Does that mean some muggle's running around London with your case?" Lily asked suddenly, realising the implications.

"Oh shit." Emmeline snapped up. "Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit!"

Marlene found this the funniest thing in the world and simply burst into another fit of giggles.

"I do love you Emmeline." Marlene chuckled as she patted her friend on the back.

"Excuse me," Freya Silva had just walked out of the bathroom. "Where is my House-elf?"

"Your what?" Ophelia asked in disbelief. The girls all stared at her in awe.

"My House-elf?" She snapped. "To wash my hair?"

"Up your Silva arse." Marlene muttered quietly.