*

Lily woke up early one morning, but feeling very refreshed. She took a shower, got dressed, and decided to go for a stroll around the grounds. It was the last day of Christmas Holidays and everyone would be back at Hogwarts by dinner. Lily wanted to make the most of the last quiet day to make up for the long holiday.

She had eventually explained to her friends, in very skim details, about Emma's death. She had a feeling they were completely confused since she left out the part of how she saw her die. But if they were, they hid it well and comforted Lily.

Lily was by the lake thinking about what would happen tonight when Dumbledore makes the announcement. She figured everyone would probably know already since it had been over a week. She shook these thoughts from her head. She had to move on. Lily started to make her way back up to the castle to go to breakfast.

She was (surprisingly) the first student in the hall. She expected her friends were going to enjoy the quiet by sleeping in. this worked for Lily. She hadn't had a moment to herself. She filled her plate with eggs, sausage and toast and ate in peace.

Lily took so long to eat, that by the time her plate was cleared magically, her friends were entering the Great Hall for a brunch. Lily stood up hastily and headed towards the doors. She muttered a 'Good morning' and retreated to the common room.

"Geez, she has been acting so weird lately."

"Well give her a break James! She's had a rough year," Jess said.

"Yeah, just give her some time. She'll be back to normal." Maggie agreed.

Lily's friends sat down at their table and ate breakfast silently.

*The Following Day*

Lily woke up early again. She was feeling energized for the first time in a while. She has no reason to be, as Dumbledore had made the announcement to the whole school about Emma and her family. Lily couldn't pin point her sudden mood swing. She figured it was some sort of relief. Whatever it was, Lily was glad it happened. She couldn't stand being depressed and isolated.

Lily got her robes on, grabbed her books and headed down to the common room. She sat down on a couch in front of the fire and waited for one of her friends to come down so they could go to breakfast.

She only had to wait a few minutes before she heard footsteps on the girls' staircase. She looked and saw Jess heading towards her.

"Morning Jess!" Lily greeted.

"Morning. Aren't you the chipped one this morning. Sleep well?"

"Perfect thanks. Ready for some breakfast?"

"Definitely, Let's go!"

Lily and Jess left the common room and proceeded to the Great Hall talking and laughing.

About halfway through their breakfast (they had been joined by Jack and Maggie a few minutes after arriving), James, Sirius and Remus ran into the hall; grabbed a piece of toast and then ran out again. The girls gave each other puzzled looks. Then Peter came trotting in, breathless, grabbed some toast and ran out. The girls burst into laughter while several Gryffindors gave them looks.

Lily's classes went very well that day. She earned at least five points for Gryffindor in every class. She was talking to all her friends and laughing again. She felt like herself finally and it was visible. Her emerald eyes were glowing and she couldn't stop smiling. It seemed that by every class, she was getting more and more hyper. By dinner, Lily was laughing at the stupidest things. Maggie couldn't help teasing her by saying random things, but one set Lily off the edge.

"Hey Lily…bogie."

Lily went in hysterics. She fell off her chair clutching her stomach. Tears came to her eyes and she was gasping for air. The rest of her friends were laughing pretty hard at Lily. Lily was just recovering while they left the Great Hall, but Maggie would whisper something stupid in her ear and set Lily off again.

At around eleven, Lily dragged herself up to bed. Her laughing fit, as much fun as it was, put her off schedule so she had to do all her homework late. Lily was now dead tired but she had a feeling the rest of the year was going to improve.