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Chapter Eleven: Of Many Greetings

After that, the summer holidays did not go well for Lily. She never received a return letter from Carolina, and had no contact with the wizarding world whatsoever. Petunia continued to make her life as horrible as humanly possible, and her mother did nothing to help, sitting around weeping or staring morosely out windows.

One bright point on the horizon was when her father came back from the hospital. Lily hadn't seen him since Christmas because visitors weren't allowed in the Intensive Care unit, where doctors were monitoring her father's condition. When he walked slowly through the front door, Lily was ecstatic, but her joy didn't last for long. Her father was getting better, but he wasn't allowed any physical activity, so Lily spent her days alone.

Another good time was when her mother had to drive her father to the hospital in London, and dropped Lily off at the Leaky Cauldron for the day. Tom the bartender gladly traded her muggle pound notes for the correct amount of sickles, knuts, and galleons, flashing her a gap-toothed smile. Unfortunately she didn't run into any of her friends during her hour of shopping.

Lily passed away most of her time locked in her purple sanctuary, reading and playing the flute. Eventually there was only two weeks left until September first, then, slowly, one week left. As the Day came closer, time seemed to slow to a grinding halt. Every minute seemed to last an eternity. Lily had had no idea how much she had loved Hogwarts. She missed Remus's gentle sarcasm, Carolina's temper, Sirius's stupidity, Peter's quiet smile, heck; she even began to miss James.

"Now that's a sign of pure desperation," she thought desolately. The next few days saw Lily packing her trunk excitedly, unpacking it, and repacking it out of sheer boredom.

On August 31st, Lily could not fall asleep for the life of her. She just sat up the whole night, gazing into her lava lamp, entranced by the blobs of floating colors. At six o'clock she decided that her family had had enough rest, and she clattered noisily down the stairs, jumping the last seven with practiced ease. Trying to be as loud as possible, she quickly made a fresh batch of scrambled eggs. Halfway through her meal, Lily's bleary-eyed mother stumbled down the stairs, hair a-frizz and robe askew. Her father quickly followed, flashing Lily the proud smile he reserved just for his little witchlet. They ate a silent breakfast, after which Lily took a quick shower and dressed in her favorite outfit. She was ready to go, trunk and all, at seven thirty, but her parents refused to leave until they had taken leisurely showers, and three cups of black coffee a piece. After that they had to contend with late morning traffic and no parking spaces. By this time, Lily was pissed.

"Guys?" she said. Her parents turned around. "This is going to take forever. I'll just grab my trunk out of the back and run for it, all right?" Her father nodded, but her mother looked nervous.

"But Lily," she said, "be sure to look both ways before crossing the street, and be careful, don't do anything dangerous…" Lily just smiled at her mothers usual complaints.

"I'll be fine, mum. Promise," she kissed her cheek, and high-fived her father. "See you at Christmas! Love you!" She stepped out of the car and into the busy parking lot as her father called out, "Have a great time kiddo!" She waved back at him and bolted across the street, lugging her heavy trunk. With out taking any precautions, she just melted through the barrier between Platforms Nine and Ten into a world of sounds and sights that she loved.

As she soaked in the swishing black cloaks, and caught fragments of conversations ("Did anyone do that Potions assignment...?" "Mum, I can't find my wand!") something crashed into her from behind. Nimbly maneuvering herself before she could tumble to the ground, Lily caught sight of her assailant.

"Remus!" she squealed happily, hugging him tightly.

"Air Lily, AIR!" he wheezed into her ear, struggling against her death grip on his body. She grinned apologetically and let go, stepping back to look at him. He was less pale then before, and seemed to have grown even taller (or maybe she had shrunk…) over the summer; for now she only came up to his shoulder.

"You're shrinking, Evans," came a voice from behind her. She turned around to find her self facing glasses and a big smile.

"Potter!" she cried, and it was all she could do to keep from hugging him. "Couldn't manage to comb your hair once over the Hols I see." Suddenly, with a huge bang, they all found themselves lying on the ground, with a grinning lunatic on the top of the pile.

"SIRIUS!" they all yelled. Or tried to yell in Remus's case. It's pretty hard to yell when you are being sat upon by three twelve year olds. James pushed his friend off, and then helped Lily and Remus to their feet. Lily was surprised when he offered her help, but gladly accepted; she felt like she had severely bruised something or other.

"You…idiot," gasped Remus, clutching his rib cage.

"Well I wasn't the one standing in front of the barrier where just anybody could barge into them," he grinned. "Come on then, lets find a room." Seeing that this made sense, they followed him onto the train, claiming the first free compartment they found. As soon as they had gotten settled in, the compartment door opened once again.

"Well there you are," said Carolina. "You have to pick the place on the bloody end of the train." She tossed her trunk into the room, not caring where it landed. Unfortunately, it happened to end up on Sirius's foot.

"BLOODY HELL!" he cried. Carolina smiled innocently, and chucked it up onto a rack. She then looked around the room to see who else was there. When she saw Lily, her face hardened, and she sat down as far away from her as possible. If the boys noticed, they didn't comment on it, though Remus gave Lily a concerned look. She just shook her head. If Carolina wasn't going to talk to Lily, Lily wasn't going to talk to Carolina. Eventually, though, after the train got under way and Peter had joined their group, the silence grew so strained, that Remus felt he had to say something.

"Okay, I don't know what's going on between you two," he said, indicating Lily and Carolina, "but I don't like it and if you guys don't at least explain what the heck is going on…" he left his unfinished threat linger in the air. Carolina spoke first, jumping ahead of Lily.

"All I know is," she said harshly, "I sent Lily a perfectly nice letter on the first day of Hols, and she sent me one back saying how I was inconsiderate and she didn't ever want to hear from me again." Lily stared determinedly at her shoes as everyone in the compartment turned to look at her.

"Lily?" Remus said quietly. Suddenly, Lily burst into tears, shocking them all. Even Carolina looked at her worriedly, though she tried to hide it. Peter offered her a wrinkled hankie, but she pushed it aside and wiped her eyes with her shirt sleeve, sniffling.

"Sorry," she croaked. "Carolina, I understand if you hate me, but at least let me tell you the whole story…when I got home from school, I found out that my daddy has leukemia…a really severe form of it, and even magic can't cure it…I just…I was-" she suddenly started sobbing again, and hung her head, letting her long auburn locks hide her face.

James felt really strange at that moment. He had never seen Lily look so helpless before. None of them had, and it unsettled them a bit to see their strong friend, whom they could always count on for a stinging retort or a biting insult, look so weak. Remus sat down on the seat next to her, and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. She buried her head in his shoulder and cried for a few more minutes, creating a wet spot on his shirt. Then she pushed her hair out of her eyes, but left her head on Remus's shoulder.

She sniffled a bit, and then said, "I'm really sorry…Carolina, will you-?"Carolina cut her off by standing up and walking over to Lily. She looked at her closely for a minute or so, and then gave her a hug. Lily's smile was radiant, and it made everyone else smile too. Then Sirius realized something.

"Hey Jamsie," he grinned wickedly, "it looks like you've got some competition for our Lily-flower over there." He indicated Lily, whose head was still on Remus's shoulder. She sat up immediately, a pink tinge in her cheeks.

"Hey Sirius," she said quietly.

"Yes darling Lily?"

"SHUT UP!" Lily wasn't the only one that yelled. Apparently James had had enough as well. This only made Sirius's grin wider.

"Saying the same thing now, are we? Growing closer every year!" He was hit in the head by two flying pillows, and shut up. The rest of the ride passed quietly. Carolina and Lily were talking quietly, though at times there were awkward silences, and Lily knew they were her fault. When they were almost there, the girls kicked the boys out of the compartment.

"BUT MAJORITY RULES!" they screamed pitifully as the door slid shut. The girls giggled.

"Boys are such wimps," Carolina said, yanking on her sweater.

"No kidding. And they're stupid too. I mean, how smart is it to start every day by tying a little noose around your neck," Lily grumbled, loosely knotting her red and gold striped tie. They sighed, and admitted the boys back into the room, just in time for them to leave again when the train stopped.

As they stepped off the train into the cold wind swirling around the station, they saw loads of horseless carriages waiting for them that they hadn't noticed the previous year. They all crammed into one, or at least tried to. Lily was the last one to enter the cramped carriage, and by that time there was no room for her. She stopped in the doorway.

"I'll go find another carriage," she said with amusement, seeing how Carolina's face was mashed up against one side of the cart, with Sirius practically on top of her.

"You could always sit on Jamsie's lap, Lily," suggested Sirius. In response to this unwelcome statement, Lily slammed the carriage door. Soon she spotted one of the last remaining carriages and hopped inside. It's only other occupant was a girl Lily had never seen before.

"Can I sit here?" she asked. The girl nodded. "I'm Lily Evans. Second year Gryffindor. You?"

"I'm English Cook. Fifth year Ravenclaw. Pleased to meet you," she said tucking a long strand of brown hair behind one ear. They sat in awkward silence for a while until English broke the ice.

"Were you one of those first years that kept pulling pranks on the Slytherins last year?" she wondered. Lily nodded, grinning.

"Yeah, I helped with those. So you've heard of us then?"

"Heard of you? It's hard not to, with you lot being called to the Headmasters office every week." Though her face was stern, there was a smile in her voice. Lily began to like her. Then she noticed something that would surely interfere with their relationship.

"Are you a prefect, then?" she asked worriedly, indicating the shining badge on her chest. English nodded.

"Don't worry about it, though. I only got the job because no one else wanted it. Oh look, we're here," they scrambled out of the carriage and walked into the Great Hall. Lily let out a sigh of relief. After only one year, this place felt more like home than her house ever had. English noticed.

"It's great to be back, isn't it? Well, I'd best be off! Goodbye Lily!"

"Bye English! See you around!" and with that, they both walked off to their respective tables. Lily found her friends sitting at the far end of the table.

"Who was that you were talking to?" James asked suspiciously.

"English Cook. She's a Ravenclaw prefect," Lily answered, plopping into a seat beside Peter.

"A prefect?" breathed Sirius, incredulous. "You were conversing with the enemy?" Lily had to laugh at the look of sincerity upon his face.

"It'll be fine…she's nice," Lily answered. She was spared further interrogation when the doors flew open, and a white-faced group of first years entered the hall, flanked by a great oaf named Hagrid, the gamekeeper's assistant. He marched them up to the front of the hall, where Professor McGonagall produced the Sorting Hat. They stared at it nervously, jumping when it broke into song. At the end, all the students applauded the cap, and watched the trembling first years get sorted. By the time the last child was sorted, the noise in the hall had almost been drowned out by the growling of Sirius's stomach.

Slowly, Dumbledore stood up from his place at the head of the hall, and said simply, "Eat."

"Took then bloody long enough," Sirius managed to choke out around several legs of chicken. Lily just grinned and started on her mashed potatoes. The meal was wonderful; they spent the whole time talking about what was going on in the wizarding world. The boys got caught up in a heated argument about Quidditch, with Carolina tossing in the occasional snide remark, while chatting with Lily.

Lily could tell that Carolina was making small talk for her sake, trying to keep her mind of what had happened earlier that day, and she was glad.

"I can't believe I actually cried in front of them," she thought, mentally slapping herself. "Now James has a good reason to torment me. He must think I'm an awful baby…wait…since when do I care what James thinks?" She shrugged and pushed the thought as far out of her mind as possible. 

(A/N) Hello to all my lovely, lovely reviewers! You guys are absolutely awesome! I'm sorry it took so long to get this dratted chappie up, and it's not one of my best, but I've had other things on my mind…such as report cards *shudder*. Can't wait til Spring Vacation…only 8 more days (I think) and counting! YES! I won't be able to write over the Break cause I'm going on a Disney Cruise with the whole family, but if I survive the trip, I promise I'll work hard to get some decent chappies out. I promise, this year is going to have a plot, and it's going to be good. Well, it'll be better than first year, I promise. And if y'all have any prank ideas, let me know. SPECIAL SHOUT OUT TO DANI WHO DEVISED THE INVISIBLE TACK PRANK IN THE PREVIOUS CHAPPIE! You rock my sox dude! Well, I really hope y'all liked it, considering how it took me forever to write it, but this year has a twist…MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Hint: You'll see a bit more of Moldie Voldie. Reviewers- Amber- Thank you! Will Lily's dad live…you'll just have to keep reading to find out (I have it all planned out!) Musicizdbest- I win! YIPEE! Okay, whatever…um, by favorite book do you mean favorite Harry Potter book, or just book in general? I like the 2nd and 4th ones the best if you're talking about Harry, and I love pretty much all books, but I especially love the Sabriel series by Garth Nix and the Alanna series by Tamora Peirce and the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Collier and The Lord of the Rings (not to mention the movies!), and (of course) Harry Potter! You? Dani- Hey creepy separated brain! Whats up? I'm sorry about the Siri's mom thing, but they had to get them from somewhere! I LUV hot chocolate, but here in Hotlanta, we really don't need it (it's only cold for, like, two months out of the year and we barely ever get snow YARG!). I have also never understood Valentine's Day. We are celebrating the day St. Valentine was killed. I'm sure he appreciates it, but come on, he's DEAD! Yeah, I thought Siri would make a cute bunny too! Oh, before I forget, the hiccupping squid says Hi! Well, Lily's father has to die somehow…sorry. Fowl-Star- No way man, Remie is SO mine! So, what'll it be? Ravenclaw or Gryffindor? Personally, I can't decide which house I'd rather be in, but I'm not terribly clever so it'd probably be Gryffindor for me. Or Slytherin…okay, and no, my sisters are the root of all evil. They seem so sweet and innocent, until you find out they read your journal, and they listen to your conversations, and BLACKMAIL YOU! That's SO not my definition of sweet.

Keep reading! Luv yas!