Her detention was at eight the next night in the kitchen helping the houselves clean that night's dishes. She arrived early, not wanting to risk another detention. She got started right away and the houselves seemed to be glad for the help. At eight five the door opened again and in toppled…
"Potter?"
"Hello Carrot. That'd be me."
"What are you doing here?"
"Remember when Snape showed up for breakfast with pink hair, webbed feet, and his nose in a knot?"
"Yeah. Wasn't that near Halloween?"
"McGonagall took the cactus, and his ear was turned into as a personal insult."
Lily almost laughed, but only a snigger escaped.
"So what'd you do?"
"Well, I was running to tell everybody 'bout my dad and Remus' mom, and I ran right into McGonagall, the OB-GYN."
"OB-GYN?"
"Old Broad Girl? Yeah, Never."
James did laugh, and then they both busied themselves with cleaning. At about ten James spoke again.
"Hey Carrot, my mom heard about the wedding from Remus' mom. They've been friends since they were at Hogwarts, and she wants to invite your family and Remus' family to stay with us over the honeymoon… She invited Gwen too…"
Lily looked at him.
"And you're okay with that?"
"Well, yeah. I mean, I may not like you that much or anything but…well it'll only be for a few weeks, so…"
"Well then, I guess that'd be cool."
At midnight they walked back up to the common room with dishpan hands and Lily couldn't help thinking that James Potter might not be so bad.
Christmas that year was rushed. Her dad was rushing about trying to make calls that had to be made way ahead of time.
Rita was measuring them for dresses and suits bridesmaids for Celeste and Lily, a flower girl dress for Rose, a ring bearer suit for Benny. Alec and Remus would be junior ushers, and Ms. Potter was to be Rita's Maid of honor. Mr. Potter had asked an old college friend to be his best man.
Even though the wedding was to be in June they were going crazy with preparations so they wouldn't be caught in a mad rush before the wedding.
This tactic seemed to stress everyone, even more so that, in the end, Lily spent the whole vacation outside with the kids, trying to keep them from getting stepped on.
Neither of the little ones understood what was going on exactly, and she had to explain a lot.
Remus, Alec, and Lily almost spun onto the train two weeks later and Lily slept the whole ride. When they arrived, she was nearly jumped on by Gwen who had stayed over at the castle. She was weeping like crazy.
"Gwen? What's wrong?"
Lily, Alec, and the Marauders, as the boys had recently dubbed themselves, were crowded around her as they went through the portrait hole.
"Oh Lil…" She sobbed.
Lily hugged her and then led her to a chair.
"Gwen, come on, tell me what's wrong?"
"It's… It's… It's my Grandma… She was ki… Ki… Killed."
Lily gasped.
"Oh my god!!! Gwen! When'd you find out?" Her friend took a deep breath before she spoke again.
"Little while before you got here. Got a letter. Brett's okay. Was at a friends."
She spoke robotically and her eyes were blank. Lily helped her up and led her to the dorm. She went back into the common room and saw all of her other friends looking at her. Well, and James. They all looked at each other, unsure of what to do. In the end, they went to the teachers lounge and found Dumbledore.
It seemed however that he already knew.
"I was afraid of this." He told them. "Mrs. Prewet was a ministry worker a long time ago. Back when the man who is now powerful was just starting out."
"Pardon me sir." James interrupted. "But I think I heard my dad say something this winter. Is the name Voldemort?"
"Yes young James. It is."
He sent Madame Pomfrey for Gwen and arranged for Brett to come to Hogwarts a few months early. He was to stay with a family in the village.
Gwen showed up in classes two days later red-eyed but otherwise looking okay. She told Lily right off that she didn't want to talk about it, so they didn't.
Not talking about it, though, made a huge barrier in the friendship. There was something looming between them. Gwen seemed too happy most times. She was usually bubbly, but now, it was too purposeful. It was obvious she was trying to cover up.
Finally, in about April, Lily confronted her in the common room.
"Gwen, Last year it was me who was withdrawn, but this year it's you. After I apologized I promised myself I wouldn't let anything get inside our friendship again, and now, I have to act on that promise. If you want to talk, I'll listen. If you don't, I'll be here. Just know it's okay to need someone."
"Oh Lil, I'm so sorry."
Then Gwen began to cry and Lily hugged her tightly. She cried for a while longer and then she started talking about her grandmother. The two stayed up and talked for hours.
Exams were in May, and even though she had worked hard during the year, Lily spent weeks studying. She thought she was doing okay until she walked into the transfiguration classroom. She froze. On each desk was a small china cup. Everyone sat down and McGonagall spoke…
"You will have one hour to turn these teacups into an exact replica of the flower that appears on it."
'Oh GOD.'
This would be no simple spell. To do this, you had to alter the spell to comply with the direction. Lily picked up her cup. It was covered with violets that had blue stems. She thought and thought, but all that would come to her was the spell to turn it into a pink flower.
She kept thinking then remembered how to change something purple from charms. She decided that if nothing else would work she could combine the two along with the charm to turn something blue.
She tried it and to her shock the cup began to morph into a purple and blue flower. It wasn't perfect but she believed that it would be enough for her to pass the test. Sure enough she ended up with a C in transfig.