Rays of sunshine penetrated Lily's eyelids, forcing her to reenter reality
and leave her dreams behind. She turned over on her side and groaned. She
opened her eyes and let them adjust to the sunlight that was filtering in
through the windows. All of her roommates had already left for breakfast.
Panic rose suddenly in Lily as she realized that she must be late. She
sprang out of her bed in one smooth cat-like motion and wrestled her robes
on. Checking herself quickly in the mirror, she threw her fiery red hair
into a loose ponytail and ran out of her room at top speed. She flew down
the stairs, her heart pounding and flung open the portrait. Her heels
clacked on the stone floor as she turned round the corner and started
towards the Great Hall for breakfast. Abruptly, her progress was impeded
by something very solid. Lily fell to the floor, feeling disoriented and
in utter disarray.
"Oh, Lily, I'm so sorry!" the solid thing exclaimed. Lily looked up to see that solid thing was actually Severus Snape. Severus stooped to help her up, he took her arm in his and pulled hard. Lily cradled her hand, which had suffered several minor scratches as a result of the whole incident. "Did I hurt you?" Severus asked, concern shining in his eyes.
"No, no I'm fine, Severus," Lily reassured him with a smile.
"Where were you going in such a rush?" Severus inquired.
"Breakfast, I'm running very late today," Lily explained quickly.
"Oh me too," Severus stated. Lily suddenly that he did look a bit frazzled this morning. Together, the two of them set off at a rapid speed towards the Great Hall. They burst through the doors and went their separate ways towards their own house tables. Lily spotted an open seat next to James and sat down quickly, gathering some toast onto a plate.
"It's nice of you to make an appearance this morning, Lily," James said with a grin through a mouth of oatmeal. Lily chuckled dryly as she slathered butter onto the browned bread with a knife. "I see that you were too involved with Severus to come and nourish yourself," James added, sipping from his goblet. Lily shot him a warning look.
"James, he was running late as well, and I ran into him on my way down," Lily stated brusquely.
"Oh, well that explains things. I thought that perhaps you were just so tired from your walk with Sirius the night before that you couldn't bring yourself to leave your comfortable bed this morning," James stated, not meeting her eyes.
"James! What is your problem this morning?!" Lily demanded as she scooped a piece of bread into her hand. She pushed the bench away from the table and got up quickly and started to walk away.
"Lily! Lily, wait! I'm sorry!" James called as he stumbled after her. He chased her outside of the Great Hall. Lily turned around suddenly, her blazing red hair whipped around her face, her eyes glaring with defiance.
"Listen, James Potter. I will not sit around helplessly and be insulted and teased unmercifully by you!" Lily declared heatedly.
"Lily, I'm sorry. Please, just forget I ever said anything," James pleaded. Lily pursed her lips stubbornly and folded her arms across her chest. James sighed and ran one of his hands through his mass of messy black hair.
"Please forgive me?" James asked, regret shining in his hazel eyes. Lily's resolve began to waiver.
"James? James, there you are!" Chloe yelled as she ran up to James and grabbed his arm. "Why did you just walk out of the Great Hall like that?" James turned and looked at Chloe awkwardly, giving Lily just enough time to slip back up the Gryffindor common room. Lily couldn't believe how rude and insensitive James had been lately. She plopped herself down in an overstuffed red chair and sighed.
Several minutes after staring at her scantily polished fingernails, Lily realized with a start that she was indeed at Hogwarts right now, meaning that she did have certain obligations to attend classes. Lily let out a long sigh as she scrambled up to her dormitory to collect her things for her first class, divination. She clutched desperately at her books and quills as scrolls of parchment were floating through the air and books were crashing to the floor.
"I can't be late! It's a new professor this year!" Lily whispered to herself urgently as she rushed down the stairs and out of the common room. The divination classroom happened to be one of the most confusing to find in all of Hogwarts. Lily stopped still in the middle of a corridor to debate which way she had to turn. Lily looked left and right while tapping her foot impatiently. She'd found the classroom countless times before, but for some reason her mind had become a blank. Lily looked around her helplessly for anything to spark her memory. She spotted Sir Cadogan asleep atop his horse. She could ask him, but that would most likely prove to be an exhausting experience.
"Hey, sleeping beauty, is your crown screwed on too tightly?" Sirius asked with a smirk as he entered suddenly from a side corridor. "First you hardly even make an appearance at breakfast, and now you're going to skip divination as well? A guy could waste away to nothing waiting around for you to show up." Lily smiled slightly at Sirius's taunts.
"Sirius, I can't remember how to find the divination classroom," Lily admitted with an embarrassed laugh.
"Well then, it's a good thing that I came after you, isn't it?" Sirius asked as he took Lily's books out of her hands. Lily gladly let him carry the burdensome load, though she had some qualms about his intentions. "Now, let's see, should we go to class or should we skip it and go for a nice trip to Hogsmeade?" Sirius asked as though this decision were causing him true agony.
"Sirius Black, if you're going to carry my books like a gentleman, then you have to walk me to class like a gentleman. Not take me off on some wild adventure where you can shirk your gentlemanly duties and act like a Neanderthal," Lily replied as she shook her head. Sirius removed one of his hands from Lily's stack of books and pressed it to his heart.
"Lily, I'm wounded! We're all distantly related to the Neanderthal, but years of selective breeding have changed that!" Sirius exclaimed as he turned down the left corridor and started to walk towards what Lily now remembered was the location of the divination classroom.
"Well, as far am I concerned you and the Marauders could still possibly qualify as Neanderthals," Lily replied mischievously.
"Is that so?" Sirius inquired with a smirk.
"Indeed it is."
"Then how come this Neanderthal just found the divination classroom that you couldn't?" Sirius demanded triumphantly as he pointed at the ladder that led to the attic in which the classroom was located.
"That was just a bit of luck on your part. You can't live on luck forever though," Lily replied.
"How about good looks? Can I live on those forever?"
"No. Especially not when you don't have them," Lily shot back with a grin as she climbed the ladder.
"Ouch!" Sirius called from below her. Lily laughed, but stifled it quickly as she remembered that she was about to meet the new divinations professor. Lily quickly altered her facial expressions to give the impression of a serious and devoted student. As she entered into the attic classroom, an overwhelming odor entered her nostrils. Lily struggled to suppress her coughing.
"Oh, Lily, I'm so sorry!" the solid thing exclaimed. Lily looked up to see that solid thing was actually Severus Snape. Severus stooped to help her up, he took her arm in his and pulled hard. Lily cradled her hand, which had suffered several minor scratches as a result of the whole incident. "Did I hurt you?" Severus asked, concern shining in his eyes.
"No, no I'm fine, Severus," Lily reassured him with a smile.
"Where were you going in such a rush?" Severus inquired.
"Breakfast, I'm running very late today," Lily explained quickly.
"Oh me too," Severus stated. Lily suddenly that he did look a bit frazzled this morning. Together, the two of them set off at a rapid speed towards the Great Hall. They burst through the doors and went their separate ways towards their own house tables. Lily spotted an open seat next to James and sat down quickly, gathering some toast onto a plate.
"It's nice of you to make an appearance this morning, Lily," James said with a grin through a mouth of oatmeal. Lily chuckled dryly as she slathered butter onto the browned bread with a knife. "I see that you were too involved with Severus to come and nourish yourself," James added, sipping from his goblet. Lily shot him a warning look.
"James, he was running late as well, and I ran into him on my way down," Lily stated brusquely.
"Oh, well that explains things. I thought that perhaps you were just so tired from your walk with Sirius the night before that you couldn't bring yourself to leave your comfortable bed this morning," James stated, not meeting her eyes.
"James! What is your problem this morning?!" Lily demanded as she scooped a piece of bread into her hand. She pushed the bench away from the table and got up quickly and started to walk away.
"Lily! Lily, wait! I'm sorry!" James called as he stumbled after her. He chased her outside of the Great Hall. Lily turned around suddenly, her blazing red hair whipped around her face, her eyes glaring with defiance.
"Listen, James Potter. I will not sit around helplessly and be insulted and teased unmercifully by you!" Lily declared heatedly.
"Lily, I'm sorry. Please, just forget I ever said anything," James pleaded. Lily pursed her lips stubbornly and folded her arms across her chest. James sighed and ran one of his hands through his mass of messy black hair.
"Please forgive me?" James asked, regret shining in his hazel eyes. Lily's resolve began to waiver.
"James? James, there you are!" Chloe yelled as she ran up to James and grabbed his arm. "Why did you just walk out of the Great Hall like that?" James turned and looked at Chloe awkwardly, giving Lily just enough time to slip back up the Gryffindor common room. Lily couldn't believe how rude and insensitive James had been lately. She plopped herself down in an overstuffed red chair and sighed.
Several minutes after staring at her scantily polished fingernails, Lily realized with a start that she was indeed at Hogwarts right now, meaning that she did have certain obligations to attend classes. Lily let out a long sigh as she scrambled up to her dormitory to collect her things for her first class, divination. She clutched desperately at her books and quills as scrolls of parchment were floating through the air and books were crashing to the floor.
"I can't be late! It's a new professor this year!" Lily whispered to herself urgently as she rushed down the stairs and out of the common room. The divination classroom happened to be one of the most confusing to find in all of Hogwarts. Lily stopped still in the middle of a corridor to debate which way she had to turn. Lily looked left and right while tapping her foot impatiently. She'd found the classroom countless times before, but for some reason her mind had become a blank. Lily looked around her helplessly for anything to spark her memory. She spotted Sir Cadogan asleep atop his horse. She could ask him, but that would most likely prove to be an exhausting experience.
"Hey, sleeping beauty, is your crown screwed on too tightly?" Sirius asked with a smirk as he entered suddenly from a side corridor. "First you hardly even make an appearance at breakfast, and now you're going to skip divination as well? A guy could waste away to nothing waiting around for you to show up." Lily smiled slightly at Sirius's taunts.
"Sirius, I can't remember how to find the divination classroom," Lily admitted with an embarrassed laugh.
"Well then, it's a good thing that I came after you, isn't it?" Sirius asked as he took Lily's books out of her hands. Lily gladly let him carry the burdensome load, though she had some qualms about his intentions. "Now, let's see, should we go to class or should we skip it and go for a nice trip to Hogsmeade?" Sirius asked as though this decision were causing him true agony.
"Sirius Black, if you're going to carry my books like a gentleman, then you have to walk me to class like a gentleman. Not take me off on some wild adventure where you can shirk your gentlemanly duties and act like a Neanderthal," Lily replied as she shook her head. Sirius removed one of his hands from Lily's stack of books and pressed it to his heart.
"Lily, I'm wounded! We're all distantly related to the Neanderthal, but years of selective breeding have changed that!" Sirius exclaimed as he turned down the left corridor and started to walk towards what Lily now remembered was the location of the divination classroom.
"Well, as far am I concerned you and the Marauders could still possibly qualify as Neanderthals," Lily replied mischievously.
"Is that so?" Sirius inquired with a smirk.
"Indeed it is."
"Then how come this Neanderthal just found the divination classroom that you couldn't?" Sirius demanded triumphantly as he pointed at the ladder that led to the attic in which the classroom was located.
"That was just a bit of luck on your part. You can't live on luck forever though," Lily replied.
"How about good looks? Can I live on those forever?"
"No. Especially not when you don't have them," Lily shot back with a grin as she climbed the ladder.
"Ouch!" Sirius called from below her. Lily laughed, but stifled it quickly as she remembered that she was about to meet the new divinations professor. Lily quickly altered her facial expressions to give the impression of a serious and devoted student. As she entered into the attic classroom, an overwhelming odor entered her nostrils. Lily struggled to suppress her coughing.