Chapter Four
(disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or claim it as my own. I am only inspired by the characters and write about them. After all, isn't that what fanfiction is? I write for others to enjoy! So please do!)
(Warning: Alcohol Reference and fighting. But very funny.)
(A/N: Here's where the plot picks up now, for those who were questioning. But I've been hinting at stuff since the beginning, it's just a matter of looking for the clues. Just like JKR LOVES to do in her books... Everything before now has been mainly all comical, but now it picks up in the drama, but still keeps you laughing. Trust me, with my mind, there will be humor. Especially sexually referenced humor. )
When Lily awoke the next morning, she felt terribly groggy. Her eyelids seemed to have gained weight, as if the sandman had built a castle over them to make sure they kept shut. But she managed to open them, only to seal them once more with her hands. The sunlight was enough to make her pull the covers over her face.
There seemed to be something pounding inside her head, as if a little man was chiseling away at her eardrums. But Lily realized the pounding was actually someone knocking on her bedroom door. Unfortunately, her massive headache was amplifying the sound.
"Go away!" Lily moaned, turning onto her stomach and burying her face in the pillows. She wasn't about to admit she had a hangover to her mother.
"Lily, wake up! We have History in fifteen minutes!"
Greta's voice suddenly shook Lily into reality. She wasn't at home, in her upstairs bedroom, with Petunia on the other side of the wall. The voice at the door wasn't her mother's, inviting her to eat a bountiful breakfast. It was an unwelcome reality: Lily was late for class.
Lily jolted up in her bed, looking at the grandfather clock that was by the door. Once her aching mind processed that she had fifteen minutes to take a shower, dry her hair, get dressed, eat breakfast, gather her books, and get to class, she had only thirteen minutes left.
There was a louder knock on the door; or perhaps it only seemed louder, since her headache was growing in intensity. Kassie's voice carried through the wood, and for once, Lily found her chipper voice intolerable. "Lily, we've got ten minutes to get to Binns' classroom. We're going to have to run."
"Go ahead without me," Lily called back, much to her own dismay. Even her own words were stabbing at her pain. "I'll meet you there."
She heard their rapid footsteps leading away from her room, down the tower. Lily fell back against her pillows. She was half tempted to stay here, sleeping away the pain. But she thought against it. It would be poor show if the Head Girl played hooky on the first day of school.
Pulling off her pajamas and hastily putting on her skirt and sweater, she peeked at the clock. She had exactly ten minutes before the bell rang. Tying her hair up in a messy ponytail, Lily slipped her school robe on, stepped into her shoes, and gathered her books. She never had to run to a class before, but there was a first time for everything.
Since she didn't know what classes she had today, and had no clue when she would make it up to her room again, Lily cast a shrinking spell on her books. Stuffing all the small books in a bag, Lily hoisted it over her shoulder and opened the door.
"Zora!"
Zora's hazel eyes were smiling at her. "Well, sleepy head. I've never known you to be late."
Lily walked past her, leading her down the staircase. "You didn't have to wait for me. Now you'll be late on my account."
Zora had caught up with her at the bottom of the steps and shrugged. "I don't care," she grinned. "Not like Professor Binns will notice us arriving late. He doesn't even know our names."
The two girls raced through the empty halls. Occasionally, they came across a stray student or two, apparently first years that were lost. Luckily, Sir Nicholas and The Fat Friar, two ghosts, were helping them, saving Lily the trouble of stopping and giving directions.
The bell rang just as Lily and Zora stepped over the threshold of Binns' classroom. They halted, nearly crashing into Potter, who seemingly had just arrived as well.
"Morning, ladies," he smiled charmingly. He, apparently, was unaffected by last night's events. Black, however, was sitting in the back of the class, cowering low in his seat. It was as if he was trying to hide under it. Zora walked over and sat next to him, a teasing smile on her full red lips.
Lily was now alone with Potter in the doorway. He turned slightly, allowing her to pass. She saw an empty desk in the middle of the room, and unfortunately, Potter sat down next to her. Lily turned her attention to the front, expecting to hear the teacher begin his drawling lecture. But he wasn't there.
Kaitlynn Trams, the Ravenclaw prefect, gently tugged on Lily's right sleeve. "Where's Binns? He's a minute late. That's not like him."
Before Lily could shrug her answer, their attention was averted. Crystal Marx, the girl Lily had met on the train all those years ago, was screaming and waving at the chalkboard.
"It's a sign! The world is ending! The chalk bunnies are coming to life and are going to turn us into dinosaurs!"
Why Crystal was in Ravenclaw, Lily would never know.
As Crystal ducked under her desk, whimpering, Lily noticed that something was different about the chalkboard. There was no previous chalk marks on the green tinted wood, but yet, something chalky was forming on the board. It was growing clearer, and closer.
The room gasped as Professor Binns appeared in the classroom through the wall. Their History of Magic teacher was...history. Or, rather, a ghost. But Lily knew that this would definitely be talked about in days to come.
The class became chaotic as several Ravenclaw girls shrieked and the boys were laughing. One girl fainted from shock, since she was in the front row, getting the full view of Binns' dramatic entrance.
And yet, despite the commotion, the ghostly Binns started his lesson. His voice was just as dry and monotone as when he was alive. "The goblin rebellion made a turning point..."
History couldn't end soon enough. When the bell rang, many students raced out of the room, undoubtedly going to tell the rest of the school what had happened. Greta nudged Lily while she was picking up her books.
"Here's your school schedule. I picked it up for you since you slept through breakfast." Greta handed her Lily's paper.
"Thanks," Lily replied, tucking it into her bag after seeing that Potions was next. She looked at the front of the class, where Lupin was talking to Professor Binns, who was oblivious to the fact that Black and Potter were throwing paper through him. Lily rolled her eyes and joined her friends in the hall.
Potions was a little more upbeat compared to History. Of course, Professor Boyle didn't appear through the wall, but she did have them make a Memory potion, to make sure no one had forgotten how over the summer.
Lunchtime was more that welcome to Lily. She was starving and in need of that free hour. After grabbing a sandwich from the Great Hall, she took headed up the staircases to the fifth floor. After passing the statue of Boris the Bewildered, who looked extremely baffled this morning, Lily disappeared into the Prefect's bathroom.
She was relieved to see that it was empty. Of course, most students hadn't slept in like she had and were able to take a shower before classes. Discarding her clothes next to her books and bag, she indulged herself in the warm, colorful, bubbly water.
"My, my."
Lily nearly had water up her nose; she had dropped so low under the bubbles. Crossing her arms over her, she looked around for the giggling. Of course, it didn't come from the doorway or the ground. It came from above.
"It's been a while since someone's visited the bathtub at lunch time," the pearly figure of a young girl giggled. It was very rare to see this particular ghost giggling. She was popular for her loud wailing.
"Hello, Myrtle," Lily said politely, though slightly irritated that Myrtle had interrupted her peace. "Do you mind turning around so I can get my clothes?"
Myrtle frowned at her. "I live in the bathroom. There's nothing I haven't seen." Her lip started quivering. "Though, I never got to see the things I have now when I was alive..."
"Then wouldn't it be one of the benefits of being dead?" Lily replied hopefully.
Obviously that was the wrong thing to say. Myrtle's eyes welled up with fat tears, and she let out a tremendous sob. "You try being dead and see how you like it!" she cried angrily, before disappearing down the drain.
Lily rolled her eyes. Never had she met such an emotional ghost. Then again, she had never seen one before she came to Hogwarts. Pulling herself out of the giant tub, she dried off and put her clothes back on. She still had half an hour until her next class. Sitting down and opening her bag, she found her class assignment. She had Double Transfiguration next, which wasn't too far from the bathroom.
Deciding to finish reading the chapter she has started last night, she pulled out her book and enlarged it, and watched as an envelope slid out from the pages. Puzzled for a moment, she remembered she had left it there after finding it in her robes.
"I guess I could read it now," she said to no one in particular. She ripped it open, pulling out the folded paper. She instantly recognized the handwriting as her mother's. She smiled at the thought of receiving a last minute letter from her mother, reminding her that she loved her and was proud of her. But Lily quickly realized this wasn't one of those letters.
My dear Lily,
I write this letter out of my love for you, and also of great fear. Recent events that have been arising have pushed me to reveal to you what I have not shared with anybody. I have not told Petunia, although I believe she has her suspicions. Not even Thomas knows.
It is difficult for me to find the words to tell you this. But I must. You need to know because it is important for you to know. I have harbored this secret since I was twenty years old, since I left my family. I'm not sure anymore if it was because they embarrassed me, or they were embarrassed by me. But I do know that my father and I shared different views, and I ran away. The last thing I heard about them was that they had told everyone I had died in a train accident while on route to France. Rather unlikely, in my opinion. But with everybody believing I was dead, I was able to start a new life. One without spells and potions and magic.
That is, until you were born. I'm sure this is shocking to you. Or at least, I believe it is. But Lily, I am a witch, born to an old wizarding family. Hearing you talk about school and your friends, and all those times you told us of those who called you just foul names, I've wanted to tell you that you weren't. But that would risk exposing myself, and I didn't want to bring my past upon you and your sister and Thomas.
But now, I must reveal the truth. For as I have said, certain events are occurring, and I fear that you will soon be affected by them. Hopefully, you will not become involved in them, if I can find the strength to tell you the truth about me.
There are so many things, and I am afraid to tell you because I don't want you to hate me. I have done things I regret doing, but I know that some of them had to happen, or I would not be able to have you. Lily, I love you, and that's why I will tell you about
Lily flipped the paper over, and found it blank. Eyes wide, she kept turning it, as if hoping more words would magically appear on the paper. Why would her mother send her a letter that wasn't finished? And why was her mother choosing now to tell her that she was a witch?
The bell for class was her only answer, and Lily gathered her things and rushed down the hall to Transfiguration. But her mind was clouded as she bumped into students who were passing her. She was numb to anything but what was written in the letter. She didn't notice Zora waving to her, showing her an open seat next to her. Lily slid into an empty desk in the back, staring at her book.
'She's a witch?' Lily thought to herself, replaying the letter in her mind. 'How could she now tell me before?' Lily thought of taking the letter out again, which had been shoved violently into her bag, but Professor McGonagall came into the room.
"Today, we will be working on Switching Spells. Put your books away and take out your wands." The classroom was filled with a rustling noise as books were shoved into bags, and Peter Pettigrew dropped his rather nervously on the floor. McGonagall conjured two different animals for each student: one, an ugly, tan bat, the other, an adorable little puppy dog. Peony Bleckenstain, a seventh year Slytherin, was struggling with her dog. Apparently, it wanted to be with Greta more than the girl who was pulling on its tail to make him stay.
Lily's puppy was looking at her with innocent eyes, and was slightly whimpering. He rubbed his cold nose against her hand, as if sensing her stress and wishing to cheer her up. She forced a smile and scratched its ears.
"We will start with switching the ears of the bat and canine, and once everyone has done that successfully, we will continue." Professor McGonagall stepped down from her desk to walk among them.
"But that's going to look awfully horrid, bat ears on a dog," Kassie said, hesitating.
"We will change them back at the end of class, Miss Lionel."
As the class began to work, first switching the ears, and then the tail for the bat wings, Lily felt pity for her animals. They did look rather odd. But they didn't seem to notice anything different. The puppy dog was playing with her feather quill, while the bat slept. A few rows in front of her, Lily noticed that Potter and Black were finding something very amusing. She would have thought it was just their animals' appearance, but they weren't looking at their desks. Their wands were pointed low, so McGonagall couldn't see, and in the direction of another student.
Lily allowed her eyes to fall upon Severus Snape, a young man who didn't seem to take much care in personal hygiene. His hair always seemed to be drowning in grease, and his pale complexion made Lily wonder if he was suffering from some illness. But those small features didn't matter at that moment. What was currently drawing attention to his figure was his ears. Or what were now his ears. They were fluffy and droopy, and matched the tail that had sprouted from his backside.
Slowly, a case of giggling broke out, and Professor McGonagall looked up from Danyel's desk, gasping. "Black! Potter! Detention for both of you this evening. See me after class."
"What did we do?" Black said innocently, although laughing.
"I personally think he looks better like that," Potter said thoughtfully, smiling at an oblivious Snape.
Snape eyed him curiously, and realized that everybody was staring at him. "What the bloody hell is so funny?" he grumbled. Lavynia Roach, Snape's housemate, handed him a compact mirror from her bag. She wasn't trying hard enough to hide her smile.
Snape's eyes turned sharply from his reflection to the mischief pair, practically growling at them. "Change...me...back...NOW!"
McGonagall swooped in to stop Snape from pouncing on Black, who was giving him a cheeky look. With a simple wave of her wand, Snape's rightful body parts returned to him. "Now, if there will be no more disruptions, we will continue." She eyed Potter and Black, and their smirks disappeared rather quickly.
Dinner at the Gryffindor table was full of laughter as several students recollected their earlier classes. Some were reenacting Binns's entrance in History that morning, while others were commenting about Snape's fluffy ears.
But Lily wasn't taking part in any of the conversation. She was hardly eating her food, either. Even though she had barely eaten anything today, her mind was blocking out any thoughts but of her mother. Was she serious about being a witch? If she was, her mother had been very successful at hiding the fact. But what was it that she regretted doing, which she felt Lily needed to know? And why did she end the letter in the middle of a sentence? Perhaps someone had come in while she was writing it, and she never found the chance to finish it. Whatever the reason, the letter was haunting Lily.
Before she knew it, Zora was tapping her on the shoulder. "Are you all right?" Students were getting up to return to their dorms to attack the books for the first night of homework. "You've haven't seemed yourself since after lunch."
Lily shrugged, not sure if she should share her mother's letter with anyone. She had said, after all, that she was telling Lily her secret because she might be in danger. Or at least, that's how it seemed. Now Lily was worried about what danger she could be in.
"Can you help me with my History essay, Lily?" Kassie asked, stepping beside her as Lily stood up to leave. "You know history is my worst subject."
Lily just nodded in reply, and walked towards the doors that led to the grand staircase. But a crowd of students was blocking the way. Several boys were eagerly shouting, while girls were gasping in awe.
"Let me through! I'm Head Girl!" Lily shouted, pushing her way through. Some students willing moved, others she had to shove out of the way. An arm reached out and held her back, and she looked at the owner's face. "Let me pass, Black."
He shook his head. "It won't do any good. Snape asked for it. He struck first."
Lily looked ahead, and saw Potter and Snape hitting each other with nothing to hold them back. "Somebody needs to stop them!"
Black shook his head. "Like I said, you won't be able to do anything. Snape was upset about our little prank, and struck James. So James is just defending himself."
Lily watched as Potter's right fist connected with Snape's nose, and everyone gasped at the sound of the bone breaking. As blood splattered on the floor, Lily couldn't stand by and watch anymore. She ducked under Black's arm and grabbed Potter's robe.
"Stop right now!" she yelled, taking hold of his arm.
But he was taller than her, and determined to continue. "Stand back, Evans." He jerked his arm away. "Snape needs a lesson in manners."
"This isn't how to do it," Lily said firmly.
Snape sneered at them. "You should listen to your Mudblood girlfriend, Potter. If you know what's good for you."
"Don't call her that!" Potter yelled at him, lunging out to hit him again.
But Lily beat him to it. She stepped in front of Potter, her right arm moving swiftly, straight into Snape's already broken nose. He cried out in pain, slumping to the ground, clutching his face. His hands were soaked with blood, and the crimson fluid flowed down his robes and dripped on the floor.
Lily's eyes were wide and fearsome, and everyone around them took a step back. Nobody dared move, not even Potter. He gaped in awe at her, and then finally spoke. "Bloody hell, woman. I didn't know you could throw a punch."
Lily was angry. It finally hit her that her mother had kept a secret from her. Lied to her. And she wasn't who she thought she was. She wasn't a 'Mudblood,' as Snape had called her all these years. And she was infuriated. She needed an outlet for her anger.
Lily turned around, glaring at Potter. "Don't call me 'woman,'" she mumbled, and before she could think about her action, she drew her arm back again and punched Potter in his own nose.
His cries were apparently enough to finally call some professors into the hall, as well as the Headmaster, Dumbledore. He looked at them, and for the first time, Lily realized it was with an expression of disappointment.
Professor McGonagall was the first to speak. "What is going on here?" she demanded, pushing her way through the crowd. "Miss Evans, can you tell me?"
Lily could only hang her head.
"I saw it all!" a very excited voice chirped. Lily looked up to see Crystal ducking under people's arms, appearing beside McGonagall's side. "The dirty haired boy yelled at the Head Boy who likes to get kissed by other boys, and he yelled back, and then the slimy one hit him in the cheek, and they started hitting each other over and over and over and over and over and over until Miss Head Girl came in and hit greasy boy in the face and then she hit the boy kisser and then you showed up."
Lily wasn't surprised to see a look of shock on McGonagall's face as her eyes landed on hers. She turned her head away, looking down at the blood that was still sprinkling from Snapes' nose.
Dumbledore was the one who broke the silence. "Mister Black, I will kindly ask you to assist Mister Snape to the hospital wing. I will visit him in a moment after Madam Pomfrey has tended to him. Mister Potter, Miss Evans: please follow me." He turned and slowly walked back up the steps.
Lily did as she was told, and Potter followed behind her. But they both stopped as they heard a cry of pain. Snape was rocking back and forth on the floor, lying on his side, and Zora was now yelling at Black. "Why did you hit him?"
"Everybody else was doing it," he honestly replied.
