Times of Turmoil

Disclaimer: Hehe…no, I don't own the Harry Potter characters, sorry. Do you? Ha ha…

Chapter Two

Lily ducked through the large doors seconds before the rain began, followed closely by Laura, who was still laughing at some of the boys who were now racing to beat the steadily growing downpour. The castle was warm and inviting compared to the murky gray world outside. Soft light bounced off the cool stone walls as they walked along the hallways, casting their shadows in long, dark figures as they passed. Lily couldn't wait to settle into her bed and wrap the comforting blankets around her, but there was still the Sorting to come, and of course, the feast. Laura was talking animatedly to bunch of fifth-year girls who were walking alongside her. Lily smiled affectionately. Leave it to Laura to talk to every person in the school. It was just her nature. As they rounded the corner, headed for the Great Hall, Laura nudged Lily's side.

"I don't know about you, but that food isn't going to come soon enough. I'm starving!"

Lily shrugged; she hadn't had much of an appetite lately it seemed. "The Sorting shouldn't take long," she replied.

They entered the Great Hall to see the faces of the many students, the buzzing of conversation filling the air. As always, the vast room was bright and welcoming, filled to the brim with laughter and excitement that only the first day could bring. The four long tables were quickly filling up, and Laura grabbed Lily, hoping to find a good seat to watch the Sorting. As they walked the length of the table, Lily's eyes caught James', who was sitting with his usual group. Sirius Black had just made a remark and the four were having a good laugh from it. She quickly looked away, avoiding him, and remembering the incident on the train.

"This is so stupid, Lily," she thought, "Forget about it. Honestly, James Potter? He's the worst of the lot." She sat down near the end of the Gryffyndor table and watched as a group of very nervous looking first-years waited to be sorted.

"Were we ever that young?" She reflected the years that had passed, almost in the blink of an eye, and realized just how far she'd come. It was eerie how time could move so swiftly. One of the girls glanced at her, fidgeting with her long chestnut hair. Lily smiled softly and the girl returned it, turning back to her friends.

Almost ten minutes later, after Clarke, Ralph had been sorted into Hufflepuff and Evercrest, Adrienne into Ravenclaw , Lily found out that the girls name was Fiona Dorsey. She clapped with her house as Fiona joined the Gryffyndor table and was greeted by the rest of the students. The opening speech didn't take as long as she thought it might, and in no time food had appeared on the tables. Delicious aromas filled her nose and she watched amusedly at Laura who was already piling food on her plate. A roll whizzed past her nose and hit Laura squarely in the face. Laura scanned for her attacker and, upon seeing that it was Sirius, reached for her wand and levitated a saucer of gravy over his head. His eyes grew wide, and much to the amusement of his friends, continued to do so as the saucer hovered dangerously over him.

"This'll teach him," Laura giggled, and before Sirius could dart away, the gravy came splashing over him, soaking his robes and covering his face. He let out a strangled cry of surprise and anger and glared at Peter Pettigrew, who was laughing so hard Lily thought he might explode. James had fallen out of his seat and was now in a heap on the floor, tears streaming down his cheeks. Sirius wiped the back of his hand on his forehead and flung gravy at him, splattering his glasses. All the while, Remus Lupin was observing the chaos and chuckling softly.

Lily turned to her friend, " See what you've started?"

Laura smirked at her, "Well, you have to admit, it is somewhat entertaining. They'll go at it until supper's through."

Lily stole a glance at James, who was now wiping his glasses on his robes, trying to make them wearable again.

" They might." Lily murmured.

~~**~~

Lily walked beside Laura to the portrait hole, stopping in front of it.

" Eternai Etonius." The portrait swung open, allowing them to enter the common room.

"Glad you knew that," Laura laughed, "we might have been out there for a while."

Inside, the room was full of life, and not to mention full of people. Lily nearly got plowed over by Gerald O'Connor, a big and burly sixth-year, and jumped out of his way as he charged full speed after his rat, which was now scampering under a chair.

"Look out for Charlie," he bellowed, catching several students' attention, right before diving onto the floor and reaching frantically under a chair. It was a miracle that Charlie wasn't stepped on or squished in the mayhem. Gerald picked him up and carried him off to the boys dormitory, muttering under his breath.

Lily decided she didn't really want to be tackled or run over, and slipped quietly out of the room, headed for the comfort of her bed. The girls' dorm was completely deserted when she got there, and silent save for the murmur of insects outside. She crossed the room and stood gazing out the window, her eyes roaming over the deep silhouette of the forest and the rest of the grounds. The night air was cool against her face, and for a change, t had stopped raining, but she doubted it would last. There were no visible stars, and even the moon was mostly blocked by dreary clouds. The sky looked desolate without any twinkling light. She closed her eyes and let the breeze wash over her.

"Only another year," she thought, " a year isn't so long…"

Sighing softly, she turned from the window and crawled into her four-poster bed. She lay there for some time, eventually drifting off to sleep.

~~**~~

Day broke dreary as ever the next morning, much to Lily's dislike, though she thought the Quidditch team might have been slightly more irked than she was. James had come trudging through the common room covered head to toe in mud, his feet making squishing noises with every step. Lily had been reading, a result from waking up and not being able to fall back asleep, and had glanced at him from behind her book. He'd muttered something under his breath about "practice on the first day" and "complete lunacy" and had marched past her, not acknowledging her presence. Whether or not she cared, she wasn't sure, but she pushed the thought from her head. Now, standing by her bed, she ran a brush through her crimson hair and walked quickly down the stairs to meet Laura. She was sitting on the floor, and when she saw Lily enter the common room, she smiled brightly.

"I'll bet you five galleons my schedule's worse than yours, Lil."

"Can't be," Lily smiled, reading over her shoulder, "I've got Transfiguration this morning, and then Potions. But hey, we have Defense Against the Dark Arts together."

Laura laughed slightly, 'Well, that should be interesting. You'll get to watch me flub up, at least."

~~**~~

"I don't see why this class is so important," Peter grumbled, walking alongside James, "Essence of bulbweed this and powdered dragon claw that. It's a load of-"

"hey Wormtail, send Snivellus my regards," Sirius yelled from down the corridor, "and make sure to give him a good kick in.." He trailed off as a flock of giggling sixth-year girls swarmed around him, competing for his attention, much to Remus' annoyance, who had been jabbed by book corners and elbows a fair share of times.

"Ah, the joys of being Sirius, eh?" James said chuckling.

Peter shrugged, "What can I say, when you're mates with Peter Pettigrew, the girls just find you irresistible."

James snorted as the entered the dank Potions classroom. The fact that it was a dungeon was quite ironic, James thought, considering that the hours spent here were very similar to prison. Now where are the torture devices?

Peter nudged him in the side, pointing to Lily, who sat taking notes. James said nothing, but nodded slightly and walked down to where she sat, taking his seat, as well as Peter, behind her.

"Hey, Lily," Peter said, "Have a good summer?"

Lily tuned around, first looking at James with her bright eyes, then to Peter.

"It was fine."

"Er..did you do anything?" Peter glanced at James, expecting him to jump in, which he did not.

"Yeah," thought Lily, "I worried all the time and had nightmares every time I closed my eyes." but she simply replied, "Not really." She was focused on James, but turned around before Peter could ask anything else. He glanced at James questioningly, but was distracted as Severus Snape sulked past them, sending a glare of hatred at both him and James.

"Hey Snivellus," Peter called, "Forget to take a bath over the summer? You're looking awfully greasy, my friend."

Snape shot them a look of detest and sat down by himself in the corner of the room. James raised an eyebrow, looking at Peter.

"I think Sirius has been influencing you, Wormtail. He would have been shocked."

Peter grinned, taking out his quill. "Thanks, I do try."

Surprisingly, the first potions class of the year went by without many major catastrophes . Margaret Thomson, a Hufflepuff, added a bit more bog root to her Laughing Potion, which was supposed to put one into fits of helpless giggles, and created a small explosion. Other than being slightly singed, she was fine. James' potion didn't turn out quite like it should have, but he figured that might be because Peter kept poking him and making cracks about Snape. Or, he thought, it might have been because Lily Evans was sitting right in front of him. Pick and choose. She'd looked at him once during the class, but only when he'd cursed softly after dropping a vile of one particularly foul-smelling ingredient on the floor, getting it on his robes. Even that time, she hadn't said anything.

On their way out, he caught up with her by the door and stopped her in the middle of the hall. Peter sniggered as he walked past, racing off to find Remus and Sirius.

"Evans," he said softly, "Lily."

She stopped at looked at him silently, pressuring him with glowing emerald eyes, making him feel lightheaded.

"Listen, I…erm..I'm sorry about the train, I.." She wasn't making this easy. "That is to say, I was just-"

"James, I've got to head for class, can it wait?"

He resisted the urge to yell, "No it can't wait, by God," but thought better of it. He sighed, "Fine. Let it wait. Go on."

She eyed him for a moment, feeling that same awkwardness creep into her stomach. Maybe it was the way he looked at her, so intensely, as if he could see straight into her-

She shook the thought fiercely, and took a step back, becoming instantly aware of how close they were standing.

"I've got to go," she repeated, and set off down the corridor, feeling his eyes on her as she went.

~~**~~



A/N: So, there's chapter two, a little longer than the first one at least. I know the plot is really slow in developing and I apologize a thousand times for the boring bits, but once again, I PROMISE things will begin to speed up soon. So, please tell me what you think so far and any suggestions, thoughts, whatever. Thanks!!