"But Madame Pomfrey, I'm 'fine'!" Lily insisted. It was the second day she
was in there, conscious, and she seemed to be in perfect health other than
her memory loss. She was anxious to do some magic, but the fussy nurse just
'wasn't' cooperating.
Madame Pomfrey just hummed a little tune, ignoring the redhead's pleas, well use to them by now. She was carrying some folded blankets to a storage cupboard on the other end of the Infirmary with Lily trailing behind her, practically on her hands and knees begging to be let out.
'Honestly, woman.' Lily thought silently to the stubborn nurse, 'If I'm healthy enough to be out of bed, then I'm sure as heck healthy enough to attend class.' She sighed and tried again, "I've been awake for two days and I haven't so much as 'coughed' in your presence. I think I'm in good enough health. Honest!"
The nurse stopped abruptly and turned around to face her. "Miss Evans," she started, frustrated, "You were in a 'coma' for 'five months'! You've had and still 'have' amnesia since then. I think it will take a tad bit longer than 'two days' to recover from that." she went on, sarcasm evident in her voice, "Now...back...in...your...bed." she finished, pronouncing each word slowly, yet forcefully.
Lily pouted and went back to her bed. This was not how she wanted to spend the day. She had been going out of her mind without any visitors during the day courtesy of classes, which she wasn't allowed to attend. But she perked up when she thought of another thing.
'Dumbledore!' she thought silently to herself. 'He said he would try to talk Madame Pomfrey into letting me go early.' And if he arrived within the next half hour, she'd be able to eat breakfast with the Marauders. 'Please please please please come soon, Professor.' she silently begged.
The doors to the Infirmary suddenly opened as though an answer to her prayers. There stood the Headmaster. He looked over at Lily, seeing her desperate expression and winked in assurance. Lily sighed in relief.
She saw him walk over to where Madame Pomfrey was and talk to her. She looked appalled for a moment, then her eyes soften and she nodded dejectedly. This caused Lily to smile so wide someone may have thought her face would crack. Knowing the answer already, Lily leapt up off the bed and walked casually to the bathroom to wash up. Ten minutes later, she came out in her white robe and slippers, with a towel wrapped around her head to help dry her now wet hair. She saw Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey waiting near her bed.
She walked over and before she could say anything, Dumbledore spoke up and said, "I had one of the house elves bring along a set of your school uniforms and a few accessories; toothbrush, hairbrush and such." He handed her a bundle of clothes and some bathroom accessories.
"Thank you, Professor." she said, gratefully accepting it all. She walked back into the bathroom and another ten minutes later, she came out, looking like she normally did. Her hair was down; cascading down her back, and a little bit of green eyeliner on and some clear lipgloss. Her school uniform fit the exact same. It would definitely take some time to see Lily walk around dressed like that, all ready to head off to class or the Great Hall. Dumbledore had a proud look on his face and Madame Pomfrey had tears in her eyes as she sniffed loudly.
Lily looked at her, startled, "What's wrong, Madame Pomfrey?" she asked concerned.
"I just can't get over it." Madame Pomfrey said shakily, "It's been such a long time since I saw you dressed like that; almost like I'm dreaming." She really 'had' turned into a mother hen. All those months of having Lily in the Infirmary, Madame Pomfrey felt a connection to her. Weird, but true.
Dumbledore patted her on the back for a moment before Madame Pomfrey excused herself and rushed off to her office. He then turned to Lily. Immediately he reached into his pockets to retrieve something. Lily looked intrigued when he brought out what appeared to be a dark brown stick, but she knew better. A small smile formed on her face as he walked towards her and held out his hand.
"Here is your wand, Miss Evans." he said with pride in his voice. Lily bit her lip excitedly as she eagerly accepted it and stared down at it in her own hands.
"Wow..." she breathed.
Dumbledore chuckled then said, "Would you like me to inform Miss Potter and his crew to come down here to escort you to breakfast?"
Lily thought a moment before saying politely, "No thank you, Sir. I would like to surprise them." Dumbledore nodded in understanding.
"I daresay you will do more than surprise the rest of the student." He said with a chuckle. "In any case, I will be down there shortly shall you need me for anything." He checked what appeared to be a watch on his wrist, though there were no numbers on it (but he seemed to understand it anyway), and said, "Breakfast started about five minutes ago. Your friends should already be down there. Do you know the way?"
Lily smiled and said, "I think so. After that little walk I had a few nights ago, I know where just a few things are. It's the room without a ceiling, right?"
Dumbledore smiled with a twinkle in his eye and said, "Actually, it's just enchanted to look like that, but yes, that's the room you want. Your table, the Gryffindor table, is on your right when you first walk in. It's the second closest to the wall." he explained. They went on talking for another minute about Lily's school work before Lily thanked him for everything and walked out of the room, leaving behind a cheerful Dumbledore.
As Lily walked through the halls, only a few people were walking down it. Most were already at the Great Hall since class started in 45 minutes. A boy about her age with dark brown hair and dark blue eyes was walking the other direction and looked at her, not really paying attention because he said nonchalantly, "Hi Lily."
Lily looked at him, not knowing who he was but smiled nonetheless and said a perky, "Hi." Back before she passed him. He jerked his head up and turned to look at her like he had just seen a ghost. She didn't see him as she kept on walking. He kept walking backwards, looking at her in wonder, not seeing as he tripped over a trash can. Lily turned a corner and saw a few more students in this hallway.
There was a group of four girls walking a few feet ahead of her, laughing a joking with one another, oblivious to Lily. There was another group of two girls and three boys walking in Lily's opposite direction. She started to feel a little apprehensive about this whole thing. What would everyone say? She didn't even know these people, though they know her. They'd expect her to be someone she didn't know how to be. The blonde girl from the group was laughing with a light brown haired boy. She looked over at Lily, still laughing, but when she really saw her, her laughter faded into confusion.
'Finally' Lily thought as she came across the doors to the Great Hall. She took a deep breath and pulled the doors open. She saw a bunch of kids, laughing and joking without a care in the world. There were silver and green flags on the walls above everyone's heads. Four vertical tables were in front of her and another horizontal one up in front. She remembered with a small smile, her walk a few nights ago, seeing this place empty and deserted. The baby blue sky replacing the ceiling didn't have a cloud in it.
Lily noticed that Dumbledore hadn't arrived yet. There were a few teachers up at the staff table. Professor Flitwick and a few others she didn't know yet. In the cluster of students, Lily saw Professor McGonagall scolding a few younger looking kids about something. McGonagall looked up when she realized someone was watching her. Her eyes met Lily's. She just stared, unmoving for a few seconds, before she started to smile a little. She gave Lily a little nod, which Lily returned with a smile. All the teachers in the room looked at the doors, seeing her as well. A few were shocked, but most looked happy and pleased. Dumbledore must have already informed them.
The students in there didn't notice Lily's presence, too absorbed in their own conversations. She started walking, slowly and unsurely, to the Gryffindor table, which Lily remembered to be the one second to the right of the Great Hall. She started to smile when she caught James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter eating a few seats ahead. Three airheads (guess who) were looking at them with lustful eyes. A sight they promptly ignored. Sirius and James were laughing uncontrollably at something while Remus shook his head at them, trying to look stern but the twitching of his lips gave away he was trying not to smile, and Peter looked confused. A boy was walking down the same isle Lily was, eating a pastry of some kind. He looked up, staring vaguely around as though he weren't quite awake just yet.
"Hey, Evans." he greeted through a yawn. Lily, still absorbed in watching her friends, looked over at him half heartedly and said politely, "Hi." The boy seemed to realize what he had just said, and who had answered him. He jerked his head up to meet her face, choked on his pastry, and accidentally dropped his pastry on the ground.
His comment and actions gained some attention with some of the people from the Gryffindor table and, as Lily would soon find out, the Ravenclaw table beside them. The one's that heard the comment snapped their heads up and looked at Lily in amazement and surprise. The one's that only heard the boy's actions looked curiously over at him as he coughed and sputtered, not taking his eyes off a concerned red-head.
"Are you alright?" Lily asked, turning her full attention on his, patting him on the back firmly to help him gain his breath. The entire Gryffindor table held their breath when they heard her voice and saw her reaction to someone who needed help. It really was her. James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter stopped their talking when they realized how quiet it had gotten at their table. They looked around for the cause of the silence and found themselves looking straight at Lily. James jumped up and rushed over to her.
"Evans?" the boy asked in awe. "It really 'is' you!" By now, most everyone had stopped talking and watched the scene at the Gryffindor table curiously. A boy from the Hufflepuff table spit out his pumpkin juice in surprise, many students dropped their food half way from their mouths. The three slutty, mean looking girls turned pale. The teachers were all on their feet in case they were needed for anything.
Lily smiled a little and said, "I guess." James reached her side at that moment; he took her arm and gently guided her back to his seat with the rest, leaving the other boys still staring and sputtering after her.
"Lily, what are you doing here?" Remus asked in surprise when she seated herself between James and Sirius, across from Remus and Peter.
"I was released today." Lily said simply.
"Pomfrey actually 'let' you out...intentionally?" Sirius asked with wide eyes.
"Actually, Dumbledore did a little bit of persuading." Lily answered smiling a little. "But, yeah, I'm out for good, I have my wand," she held it up with pride, looking as though it were the greatest thing in the world, "I have my uniform, and I...don't have my books. Hmmm...well that may cause a problem." Lily muttered the last sentence, looking deep in thought.
"I think that's the least of your worries, Lilz." James cut in; he motioned around the Great Hall, "Look." Lily did as she was told and saw every single person in the Great Hall staring at her. Lily promptly blushed and turned back to her friends.
"Why are they all just staring?" Lily asked frantically. Then, the Great Hall broke into a chaos of chatter. They were all whispering and pointing over at her.
"Hey Lily, welcome back." A boy on the other side of James said, smiling warmly, "You probably don't know who I am. I'm Frank Longbottom, a sixth year Gryffindor."
Noticing Lily's confused look, James said, "We already told him about your amnesia." A look of understanding came upon Lily's face and she then smiled widely at Frank.
"Oh, thank you. It's a pleasure to meet you, Frank." she said sincerely.
Frank smiled back and asked, "So, you're out of the hospital wing for good?"
Lily nodded and said, "Yep, Dumbledore talked Madame Pomfrey into it. He told me something about 'OWLs' and how I would need all the time I could get for them." She looked around the Great Hall again, feeling self conscious because the students had yet to take their eyes off her.
"Oh, that's right." Remus exclaimed. "We've still got out OWLs. I completely forgot about those. They aren't going to hold you back a year so you'd be ready for them, are they Lils." He asked worriedly.
"I don't think they are." Lily said with a shake of her head, "He told me I'd be having extra lessons after classes and my friends would probably help me with the daily stuff."
Sirius, Remus, James, and Peter nodded. "Of course we'll help you. We'll do anything necessary to make sure you get top grades on the OWLs." James said without hesitation. "That's what you wanted anyway. To be at the top of the class with the OWL marks." He added, trying not to let his voice show his sadness. Lily didn't notice his tone as she reached over and grabbed a roll from a dish in front of her.
"This is amazing." She said, looking at the table filled with a truck-load of food. She looked out of the corner of her eye around the Great Hall yet again.
"Yeah, all the food a normal person can eat, which doesn't apply to Sirius' stomach." Remus joked.
"Hey," Sirius started, mock offended, "I'm a growing boy. And growing boys need all the nutrition they can eat."
James raised an eyebrow at him and said in an innocent tone, "Interesting how you use the words 'growing boy', I'm almost sure it was 'growing elephant'." Peter snorted with laughter.
"Look who's talking, Prongsie old buddy." Sirius said. "At least I eat like a man." He added in a challenging way.
"What are you implying?" James asked turning his head a fraction to the left, not breaking eye contact with him.
Sirius smirked and said, "How would you feel about a little...wager?"
James narrowed his eyes and smirked the same way, "I'm intrigued."
Lily looked back and forth between the two, an eyebrow raised. Remus and Peter looked anxious.
"Well then...I guess there's nothing left to say, but..." Sirius said in mock seriousness.
"DIG IN!!!" they both shouted as they started to shovel food inside their mouths. Lily continued to look back and forth between the two, honestly surprised two normal sized sixteen year olds could take in that much food.
As James pushed food in his mouth, he let his eyes wonder around the Great Hall. He noted with some satisfaction that most of the kids had stopped staring at Lily. 'Excellent.' He thought to himself. He winked at Sirius, who winked back.
At that moment, the doors opened once again and this time, Dumbledore walked in. He caught sight of Lily laughing at James' and Sirius' antics and smiled to himself. He also noticed all of the students watching either her or the two having an eating contest. When he reached his chair next to McGonagall, he asked her, "Any problems?"
"Not really, they pretty much just stared in shock at her when they realized who she was." McGonagall replied back. Dumbledore nodded.
"I'm going to speak to Miss Evans for a few moments, while I'm gone with her, can you please inform every student here about her...condition?" he asked. She nodded and said, "Of course."
Dumbledore stood up and said loudly over the chatter of the students, "May I please speak to Lily Evans for a few moments?" Lily looked up and nodded before she stood and walked out of the hall with the professor. When they were gone, McGonagall proceeded to inform all the students. After her speech, a lot of them had tears in their eyes. Most of the guys in the room looked as though Christmas had been cancelled. Then they thought about it a bit more and smiled as they realized they might have a better chance with Lily this way...then they thought about even 'more' and decided it was a lost cause. Now Potter, Black, and Lupin would extra special care of making sure she wasn't alone at all wherever she went, thus making it impossible for them to even attempt it.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Lily and the Marauders walked out of their last class of the day, exhausted. Lily, though, had been having the time of her life. She was jumping up and down excitedly.
"That was great. It was 'so' much 'fun'." She exclaimed.
"It was Potions." Sirius grumbled. "Potions isn't supposed to be fun." He had received two detentions and lost Gryffindor 50 points that day for pranking a kid named Severus Snape. And it was a 'really' weird class. It was the first time the professor showed any sign of pity towards a student. That was why when Lily looked confused at the instructions and messed up the potion the first time, the teacher didn't get mad. He simply walked over and attempted to help. Thus assuring many kids having almost heart attacks right in the middle of class.
"Well, if you hadn't have set off those...er, smelly things-,"
"Dungbombs" Remus supplied.
"Thank you. Yes, 'dungbombs' off in that boy's cauldron, you would have never gotten detention." Lily finished.
"The detention's not the one I'm worried about. It's the loosing 50 points that dampened my spirits. Plus, Snape deserved it. He kept," he shuddered before he went on, "'looking' at you throughout the entire class." Sirius muttered.
Lily looked confused, "I still don't understand the 'points' for the houses."
They all explained it to her, patiently.
"Oh, well then I guess that is something to be mad about." Lily said with sympathy, but then went on with happier, "But, in any case, that class was 'great'. It was soooo much fun! I made James' nose grow large."
James muttered sarcastically, "Ha...ha...ha"
Lily went over and threw her arm around James, "Aw, James. I'm sorry, but it really 'was' funny. You have to admit that. Plus, you made my hands grow larger. And you found that 'hilarious'."
James cracked a smile at the memory, "Yeah, good times."
They all walked back to the Common Room, Sirius and James making Lily laugh. When they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, Lily exclaimed, "Mary!"
The portrait sprung to life and said, happily, "Lily. My goodness, out of the Infirmary so quickly?"
Lily smiled and said, "Yeah, with a little help from Dumbledore."
"Yes, well, it is good to see you up and about." She concluded, then in a more business-like tone, she said, "Password?"
"Pumpkin clusters." Remus said. The portrait opened up promptly and Lily's eyes lit up as she saw for the first time, not literally, her living quarters for the passed five years. She stared around in awe, drinking up everything in the room. Plush chairs and couches surrounded a brightly glowing fireplace. A few desks were pushed up against walls; some were occupied at the moment by seventh and fifth years. Lily noticed that everything mostly was either gold or red. Two separate staircases lead up to, Lily assumed, the girls' dormitory and the boys' dormitory.
The guys noticed Lily's expression and chuckled.
"Welcome home, Lilz." Sirius said merrily as James and he each put an arm around her shoulder. Her expression didn't change from a wide smile and wondering eyes.
~*~*~*~*~
Lily was now in her dormitory after being escorted up there by James, who had gone back down to the common room to let her rest. She looked around at the four beds, wondering which one was hers. Just then, the door opened up and in walked the three girls that were trying to gain the attention of the Marauders earlier at breakfast. The 'leader' of the group looked at her, still appearing shocked at her appearance here.
"Well, look here. Like, Evans has finally decided to grace us with her presence." She said, snottily. Lily decided to ignore her tone.
"Yes, hello, I don't believe I know you." Lily said pleasantly. She held out her hand to the snotty girl, expecting her to shake it.
The blonde looked at her and opened her mouth, looking as though she were going to say something insulting, but decided against it. She just pursed her lips together and just said to the other two, "Like, come on," she paused and looked at Lily again, and Lily thought she could detect a sort of pitying look in her eyes, before saying, "let's just go." The other two looked a bit taken aback by her behavior, but nodded nonetheless as they followed her out the door. Lily bit her lip and shrugged her shoulders.
She noticed that the trunks at the end of each bed had a name on it. She found the one saying 'Lily Evans' and walked over to it, noting with a sigh how stiff and cold it looked. Like it hadn't been used it a while. 'Well, it hadn't...' she thought to herself as she gingerly lay upon it, sighing and closing her eyes. The last thing she thought before she drifted off into dreamland was 'I feel so lost...'
As she slept, she moved around a little, mumbling incoherent things. Her hand reached up for her locket and necklace, both of which were lighting up the room with pink light again.
~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~Dream~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~
Whispering voices spoke out all around her. She was in a haze of white nothingness.
~"It's a gold locket, look, inside there's picture."~
~~~
~"What do you want with me, Voldemort?"~ Lily jerked her head around, trying wildly to find the source of the voice.
~"I want you dead."~
~"Why?"~
~"A prophesy. One I can terminate if I kill one of you seven."~
"You 'are' the flower." a soft melody voice called out from the haze.
~~~
~"I have a question. Where did I get this?"~
~"I got that for you for your twelfth birthday. You've never taken it off."~ "Sirius?" she whispered into the haze.
"The locket...the locket...it's the key..." the soft melody voice called out. "It's the key..."
And then everything went black.
~^~^~^~^~^~End of Dream~^~^~^~^~^~
Lily woke up to the sound of a door opening. She mumbled something that sounded like, "Key" as she opened her eyes, seeing it was getting dark in her room. She sat up to see who was in her room.
"Lily?" James' voice called out.
"I'm here James." Lily said as she walked over to him.
"Oh, do you want to go get some food. It's dinner time." James said once he saw her in the darkness.
"Sure, I'll be down in a few minutes." Lily said. "Um, do you know where the bathroom is?"
"It's over there." James said, pointing to another door near them.
Lily nodded and said, "Thanks, James. I'm just going to do freshen up. I won't be long." James nodded and left the room.
When Lily got downstairs, the Marauders all stood up from where they were sitting on the couch and chairs and walked over to her.
"Shall we?" Sirius said, holding his elbow out to her, which she accepted with a wide smile.
"We shall." She said, taking James' elbow with her other hand.
"In that case," Remus said in a fake, extremely deep voice, "Onward men!" They all marched out of the common room, down to dinner.
Lily's dream was long forgotten.
~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N- the next chapter should be a little more interesting than this one. Well, thanks everyone for reading and reviewing. I hope you all liked this chapter.
Madame Pomfrey just hummed a little tune, ignoring the redhead's pleas, well use to them by now. She was carrying some folded blankets to a storage cupboard on the other end of the Infirmary with Lily trailing behind her, practically on her hands and knees begging to be let out.
'Honestly, woman.' Lily thought silently to the stubborn nurse, 'If I'm healthy enough to be out of bed, then I'm sure as heck healthy enough to attend class.' She sighed and tried again, "I've been awake for two days and I haven't so much as 'coughed' in your presence. I think I'm in good enough health. Honest!"
The nurse stopped abruptly and turned around to face her. "Miss Evans," she started, frustrated, "You were in a 'coma' for 'five months'! You've had and still 'have' amnesia since then. I think it will take a tad bit longer than 'two days' to recover from that." she went on, sarcasm evident in her voice, "Now...back...in...your...bed." she finished, pronouncing each word slowly, yet forcefully.
Lily pouted and went back to her bed. This was not how she wanted to spend the day. She had been going out of her mind without any visitors during the day courtesy of classes, which she wasn't allowed to attend. But she perked up when she thought of another thing.
'Dumbledore!' she thought silently to herself. 'He said he would try to talk Madame Pomfrey into letting me go early.' And if he arrived within the next half hour, she'd be able to eat breakfast with the Marauders. 'Please please please please come soon, Professor.' she silently begged.
The doors to the Infirmary suddenly opened as though an answer to her prayers. There stood the Headmaster. He looked over at Lily, seeing her desperate expression and winked in assurance. Lily sighed in relief.
She saw him walk over to where Madame Pomfrey was and talk to her. She looked appalled for a moment, then her eyes soften and she nodded dejectedly. This caused Lily to smile so wide someone may have thought her face would crack. Knowing the answer already, Lily leapt up off the bed and walked casually to the bathroom to wash up. Ten minutes later, she came out in her white robe and slippers, with a towel wrapped around her head to help dry her now wet hair. She saw Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey waiting near her bed.
She walked over and before she could say anything, Dumbledore spoke up and said, "I had one of the house elves bring along a set of your school uniforms and a few accessories; toothbrush, hairbrush and such." He handed her a bundle of clothes and some bathroom accessories.
"Thank you, Professor." she said, gratefully accepting it all. She walked back into the bathroom and another ten minutes later, she came out, looking like she normally did. Her hair was down; cascading down her back, and a little bit of green eyeliner on and some clear lipgloss. Her school uniform fit the exact same. It would definitely take some time to see Lily walk around dressed like that, all ready to head off to class or the Great Hall. Dumbledore had a proud look on his face and Madame Pomfrey had tears in her eyes as she sniffed loudly.
Lily looked at her, startled, "What's wrong, Madame Pomfrey?" she asked concerned.
"I just can't get over it." Madame Pomfrey said shakily, "It's been such a long time since I saw you dressed like that; almost like I'm dreaming." She really 'had' turned into a mother hen. All those months of having Lily in the Infirmary, Madame Pomfrey felt a connection to her. Weird, but true.
Dumbledore patted her on the back for a moment before Madame Pomfrey excused herself and rushed off to her office. He then turned to Lily. Immediately he reached into his pockets to retrieve something. Lily looked intrigued when he brought out what appeared to be a dark brown stick, but she knew better. A small smile formed on her face as he walked towards her and held out his hand.
"Here is your wand, Miss Evans." he said with pride in his voice. Lily bit her lip excitedly as she eagerly accepted it and stared down at it in her own hands.
"Wow..." she breathed.
Dumbledore chuckled then said, "Would you like me to inform Miss Potter and his crew to come down here to escort you to breakfast?"
Lily thought a moment before saying politely, "No thank you, Sir. I would like to surprise them." Dumbledore nodded in understanding.
"I daresay you will do more than surprise the rest of the student." He said with a chuckle. "In any case, I will be down there shortly shall you need me for anything." He checked what appeared to be a watch on his wrist, though there were no numbers on it (but he seemed to understand it anyway), and said, "Breakfast started about five minutes ago. Your friends should already be down there. Do you know the way?"
Lily smiled and said, "I think so. After that little walk I had a few nights ago, I know where just a few things are. It's the room without a ceiling, right?"
Dumbledore smiled with a twinkle in his eye and said, "Actually, it's just enchanted to look like that, but yes, that's the room you want. Your table, the Gryffindor table, is on your right when you first walk in. It's the second closest to the wall." he explained. They went on talking for another minute about Lily's school work before Lily thanked him for everything and walked out of the room, leaving behind a cheerful Dumbledore.
As Lily walked through the halls, only a few people were walking down it. Most were already at the Great Hall since class started in 45 minutes. A boy about her age with dark brown hair and dark blue eyes was walking the other direction and looked at her, not really paying attention because he said nonchalantly, "Hi Lily."
Lily looked at him, not knowing who he was but smiled nonetheless and said a perky, "Hi." Back before she passed him. He jerked his head up and turned to look at her like he had just seen a ghost. She didn't see him as she kept on walking. He kept walking backwards, looking at her in wonder, not seeing as he tripped over a trash can. Lily turned a corner and saw a few more students in this hallway.
There was a group of four girls walking a few feet ahead of her, laughing a joking with one another, oblivious to Lily. There was another group of two girls and three boys walking in Lily's opposite direction. She started to feel a little apprehensive about this whole thing. What would everyone say? She didn't even know these people, though they know her. They'd expect her to be someone she didn't know how to be. The blonde girl from the group was laughing with a light brown haired boy. She looked over at Lily, still laughing, but when she really saw her, her laughter faded into confusion.
'Finally' Lily thought as she came across the doors to the Great Hall. She took a deep breath and pulled the doors open. She saw a bunch of kids, laughing and joking without a care in the world. There were silver and green flags on the walls above everyone's heads. Four vertical tables were in front of her and another horizontal one up in front. She remembered with a small smile, her walk a few nights ago, seeing this place empty and deserted. The baby blue sky replacing the ceiling didn't have a cloud in it.
Lily noticed that Dumbledore hadn't arrived yet. There were a few teachers up at the staff table. Professor Flitwick and a few others she didn't know yet. In the cluster of students, Lily saw Professor McGonagall scolding a few younger looking kids about something. McGonagall looked up when she realized someone was watching her. Her eyes met Lily's. She just stared, unmoving for a few seconds, before she started to smile a little. She gave Lily a little nod, which Lily returned with a smile. All the teachers in the room looked at the doors, seeing her as well. A few were shocked, but most looked happy and pleased. Dumbledore must have already informed them.
The students in there didn't notice Lily's presence, too absorbed in their own conversations. She started walking, slowly and unsurely, to the Gryffindor table, which Lily remembered to be the one second to the right of the Great Hall. She started to smile when she caught James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter eating a few seats ahead. Three airheads (guess who) were looking at them with lustful eyes. A sight they promptly ignored. Sirius and James were laughing uncontrollably at something while Remus shook his head at them, trying to look stern but the twitching of his lips gave away he was trying not to smile, and Peter looked confused. A boy was walking down the same isle Lily was, eating a pastry of some kind. He looked up, staring vaguely around as though he weren't quite awake just yet.
"Hey, Evans." he greeted through a yawn. Lily, still absorbed in watching her friends, looked over at him half heartedly and said politely, "Hi." The boy seemed to realize what he had just said, and who had answered him. He jerked his head up to meet her face, choked on his pastry, and accidentally dropped his pastry on the ground.
His comment and actions gained some attention with some of the people from the Gryffindor table and, as Lily would soon find out, the Ravenclaw table beside them. The one's that heard the comment snapped their heads up and looked at Lily in amazement and surprise. The one's that only heard the boy's actions looked curiously over at him as he coughed and sputtered, not taking his eyes off a concerned red-head.
"Are you alright?" Lily asked, turning her full attention on his, patting him on the back firmly to help him gain his breath. The entire Gryffindor table held their breath when they heard her voice and saw her reaction to someone who needed help. It really was her. James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter stopped their talking when they realized how quiet it had gotten at their table. They looked around for the cause of the silence and found themselves looking straight at Lily. James jumped up and rushed over to her.
"Evans?" the boy asked in awe. "It really 'is' you!" By now, most everyone had stopped talking and watched the scene at the Gryffindor table curiously. A boy from the Hufflepuff table spit out his pumpkin juice in surprise, many students dropped their food half way from their mouths. The three slutty, mean looking girls turned pale. The teachers were all on their feet in case they were needed for anything.
Lily smiled a little and said, "I guess." James reached her side at that moment; he took her arm and gently guided her back to his seat with the rest, leaving the other boys still staring and sputtering after her.
"Lily, what are you doing here?" Remus asked in surprise when she seated herself between James and Sirius, across from Remus and Peter.
"I was released today." Lily said simply.
"Pomfrey actually 'let' you out...intentionally?" Sirius asked with wide eyes.
"Actually, Dumbledore did a little bit of persuading." Lily answered smiling a little. "But, yeah, I'm out for good, I have my wand," she held it up with pride, looking as though it were the greatest thing in the world, "I have my uniform, and I...don't have my books. Hmmm...well that may cause a problem." Lily muttered the last sentence, looking deep in thought.
"I think that's the least of your worries, Lilz." James cut in; he motioned around the Great Hall, "Look." Lily did as she was told and saw every single person in the Great Hall staring at her. Lily promptly blushed and turned back to her friends.
"Why are they all just staring?" Lily asked frantically. Then, the Great Hall broke into a chaos of chatter. They were all whispering and pointing over at her.
"Hey Lily, welcome back." A boy on the other side of James said, smiling warmly, "You probably don't know who I am. I'm Frank Longbottom, a sixth year Gryffindor."
Noticing Lily's confused look, James said, "We already told him about your amnesia." A look of understanding came upon Lily's face and she then smiled widely at Frank.
"Oh, thank you. It's a pleasure to meet you, Frank." she said sincerely.
Frank smiled back and asked, "So, you're out of the hospital wing for good?"
Lily nodded and said, "Yep, Dumbledore talked Madame Pomfrey into it. He told me something about 'OWLs' and how I would need all the time I could get for them." She looked around the Great Hall again, feeling self conscious because the students had yet to take their eyes off her.
"Oh, that's right." Remus exclaimed. "We've still got out OWLs. I completely forgot about those. They aren't going to hold you back a year so you'd be ready for them, are they Lils." He asked worriedly.
"I don't think they are." Lily said with a shake of her head, "He told me I'd be having extra lessons after classes and my friends would probably help me with the daily stuff."
Sirius, Remus, James, and Peter nodded. "Of course we'll help you. We'll do anything necessary to make sure you get top grades on the OWLs." James said without hesitation. "That's what you wanted anyway. To be at the top of the class with the OWL marks." He added, trying not to let his voice show his sadness. Lily didn't notice his tone as she reached over and grabbed a roll from a dish in front of her.
"This is amazing." She said, looking at the table filled with a truck-load of food. She looked out of the corner of her eye around the Great Hall yet again.
"Yeah, all the food a normal person can eat, which doesn't apply to Sirius' stomach." Remus joked.
"Hey," Sirius started, mock offended, "I'm a growing boy. And growing boys need all the nutrition they can eat."
James raised an eyebrow at him and said in an innocent tone, "Interesting how you use the words 'growing boy', I'm almost sure it was 'growing elephant'." Peter snorted with laughter.
"Look who's talking, Prongsie old buddy." Sirius said. "At least I eat like a man." He added in a challenging way.
"What are you implying?" James asked turning his head a fraction to the left, not breaking eye contact with him.
Sirius smirked and said, "How would you feel about a little...wager?"
James narrowed his eyes and smirked the same way, "I'm intrigued."
Lily looked back and forth between the two, an eyebrow raised. Remus and Peter looked anxious.
"Well then...I guess there's nothing left to say, but..." Sirius said in mock seriousness.
"DIG IN!!!" they both shouted as they started to shovel food inside their mouths. Lily continued to look back and forth between the two, honestly surprised two normal sized sixteen year olds could take in that much food.
As James pushed food in his mouth, he let his eyes wonder around the Great Hall. He noted with some satisfaction that most of the kids had stopped staring at Lily. 'Excellent.' He thought to himself. He winked at Sirius, who winked back.
At that moment, the doors opened once again and this time, Dumbledore walked in. He caught sight of Lily laughing at James' and Sirius' antics and smiled to himself. He also noticed all of the students watching either her or the two having an eating contest. When he reached his chair next to McGonagall, he asked her, "Any problems?"
"Not really, they pretty much just stared in shock at her when they realized who she was." McGonagall replied back. Dumbledore nodded.
"I'm going to speak to Miss Evans for a few moments, while I'm gone with her, can you please inform every student here about her...condition?" he asked. She nodded and said, "Of course."
Dumbledore stood up and said loudly over the chatter of the students, "May I please speak to Lily Evans for a few moments?" Lily looked up and nodded before she stood and walked out of the hall with the professor. When they were gone, McGonagall proceeded to inform all the students. After her speech, a lot of them had tears in their eyes. Most of the guys in the room looked as though Christmas had been cancelled. Then they thought about it a bit more and smiled as they realized they might have a better chance with Lily this way...then they thought about even 'more' and decided it was a lost cause. Now Potter, Black, and Lupin would extra special care of making sure she wasn't alone at all wherever she went, thus making it impossible for them to even attempt it.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Lily and the Marauders walked out of their last class of the day, exhausted. Lily, though, had been having the time of her life. She was jumping up and down excitedly.
"That was great. It was 'so' much 'fun'." She exclaimed.
"It was Potions." Sirius grumbled. "Potions isn't supposed to be fun." He had received two detentions and lost Gryffindor 50 points that day for pranking a kid named Severus Snape. And it was a 'really' weird class. It was the first time the professor showed any sign of pity towards a student. That was why when Lily looked confused at the instructions and messed up the potion the first time, the teacher didn't get mad. He simply walked over and attempted to help. Thus assuring many kids having almost heart attacks right in the middle of class.
"Well, if you hadn't have set off those...er, smelly things-,"
"Dungbombs" Remus supplied.
"Thank you. Yes, 'dungbombs' off in that boy's cauldron, you would have never gotten detention." Lily finished.
"The detention's not the one I'm worried about. It's the loosing 50 points that dampened my spirits. Plus, Snape deserved it. He kept," he shuddered before he went on, "'looking' at you throughout the entire class." Sirius muttered.
Lily looked confused, "I still don't understand the 'points' for the houses."
They all explained it to her, patiently.
"Oh, well then I guess that is something to be mad about." Lily said with sympathy, but then went on with happier, "But, in any case, that class was 'great'. It was soooo much fun! I made James' nose grow large."
James muttered sarcastically, "Ha...ha...ha"
Lily went over and threw her arm around James, "Aw, James. I'm sorry, but it really 'was' funny. You have to admit that. Plus, you made my hands grow larger. And you found that 'hilarious'."
James cracked a smile at the memory, "Yeah, good times."
They all walked back to the Common Room, Sirius and James making Lily laugh. When they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, Lily exclaimed, "Mary!"
The portrait sprung to life and said, happily, "Lily. My goodness, out of the Infirmary so quickly?"
Lily smiled and said, "Yeah, with a little help from Dumbledore."
"Yes, well, it is good to see you up and about." She concluded, then in a more business-like tone, she said, "Password?"
"Pumpkin clusters." Remus said. The portrait opened up promptly and Lily's eyes lit up as she saw for the first time, not literally, her living quarters for the passed five years. She stared around in awe, drinking up everything in the room. Plush chairs and couches surrounded a brightly glowing fireplace. A few desks were pushed up against walls; some were occupied at the moment by seventh and fifth years. Lily noticed that everything mostly was either gold or red. Two separate staircases lead up to, Lily assumed, the girls' dormitory and the boys' dormitory.
The guys noticed Lily's expression and chuckled.
"Welcome home, Lilz." Sirius said merrily as James and he each put an arm around her shoulder. Her expression didn't change from a wide smile and wondering eyes.
~*~*~*~*~
Lily was now in her dormitory after being escorted up there by James, who had gone back down to the common room to let her rest. She looked around at the four beds, wondering which one was hers. Just then, the door opened up and in walked the three girls that were trying to gain the attention of the Marauders earlier at breakfast. The 'leader' of the group looked at her, still appearing shocked at her appearance here.
"Well, look here. Like, Evans has finally decided to grace us with her presence." She said, snottily. Lily decided to ignore her tone.
"Yes, hello, I don't believe I know you." Lily said pleasantly. She held out her hand to the snotty girl, expecting her to shake it.
The blonde looked at her and opened her mouth, looking as though she were going to say something insulting, but decided against it. She just pursed her lips together and just said to the other two, "Like, come on," she paused and looked at Lily again, and Lily thought she could detect a sort of pitying look in her eyes, before saying, "let's just go." The other two looked a bit taken aback by her behavior, but nodded nonetheless as they followed her out the door. Lily bit her lip and shrugged her shoulders.
She noticed that the trunks at the end of each bed had a name on it. She found the one saying 'Lily Evans' and walked over to it, noting with a sigh how stiff and cold it looked. Like it hadn't been used it a while. 'Well, it hadn't...' she thought to herself as she gingerly lay upon it, sighing and closing her eyes. The last thing she thought before she drifted off into dreamland was 'I feel so lost...'
As she slept, she moved around a little, mumbling incoherent things. Her hand reached up for her locket and necklace, both of which were lighting up the room with pink light again.
~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~Dream~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~
Whispering voices spoke out all around her. She was in a haze of white nothingness.
~"It's a gold locket, look, inside there's picture."~
~~~
~"What do you want with me, Voldemort?"~ Lily jerked her head around, trying wildly to find the source of the voice.
~"I want you dead."~
~"Why?"~
~"A prophesy. One I can terminate if I kill one of you seven."~
"You 'are' the flower." a soft melody voice called out from the haze.
~~~
~"I have a question. Where did I get this?"~
~"I got that for you for your twelfth birthday. You've never taken it off."~ "Sirius?" she whispered into the haze.
"The locket...the locket...it's the key..." the soft melody voice called out. "It's the key..."
And then everything went black.
~^~^~^~^~^~End of Dream~^~^~^~^~^~
Lily woke up to the sound of a door opening. She mumbled something that sounded like, "Key" as she opened her eyes, seeing it was getting dark in her room. She sat up to see who was in her room.
"Lily?" James' voice called out.
"I'm here James." Lily said as she walked over to him.
"Oh, do you want to go get some food. It's dinner time." James said once he saw her in the darkness.
"Sure, I'll be down in a few minutes." Lily said. "Um, do you know where the bathroom is?"
"It's over there." James said, pointing to another door near them.
Lily nodded and said, "Thanks, James. I'm just going to do freshen up. I won't be long." James nodded and left the room.
When Lily got downstairs, the Marauders all stood up from where they were sitting on the couch and chairs and walked over to her.
"Shall we?" Sirius said, holding his elbow out to her, which she accepted with a wide smile.
"We shall." She said, taking James' elbow with her other hand.
"In that case," Remus said in a fake, extremely deep voice, "Onward men!" They all marched out of the common room, down to dinner.
Lily's dream was long forgotten.
~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N- the next chapter should be a little more interesting than this one. Well, thanks everyone for reading and reviewing. I hope you all liked this chapter.