A/N: This is a shorter chapter. Hope you like it! Lily's first classes will be in the next one.

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Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns what she created.

Next Monday's Potions class was very awkward for Lily. Conversation was either with Slytherins or Gryffindors. The houses seemed to revolt if she tried to carry on a conversation with both at once.

She finally gave up and settled on talking just to Evan. He had been highly amused by the whole thing, because Lily had kept on muttering nasty things about the warring people.

"Why can't they just get along?" she moaned to him.

"Do you really want an answer to that?"

"I know why they don't want to get along, but I still think it's nonsense."

"You happen to be the only one who thinks that."

"Not true! Fabian agrees with me! Sort of."

"Who's Fabian?"

"Quidditch team captain."

Evan snapped his fingers, "That's right! I heard that you made Beater! Congrats!"

"Thanks!" Lily smiled, "We have our first practice today. I'm nervous."

"Don't be. Maybe I'll get some people to come watch you."

Lily clutched at his arm, "Oh no! Don't do that! My team would freak!"

"You mean James and Sirius would freak. All the more reason to do it."

Lily frowned, "You're not funny."

"Shame, I thought I was."

"Ha ha."

"Oh!" Evan brought his face closer to Lily's and dropped his voice, "I'm supposed to tell you about where you're going tonight. Don't go back to your common room after your last class. Go out the front doors. There will be some older students going out for some fresh air at that time, so you won't look too suspicious. Go around the left side of the lake to where the forest comes and skirts the shore. We'll be meeting up there. You'll be paired up with an older student, probably someone taking the same subject, who will Apparate out with you. Don't be late; we won't wait for you."

Lily nodded, "Where are we going?"

"Only the people apparating know that."

"Oh."

They worked in silence for a little, then Evan spoke up again.

"You know, I think I will get some people to come watch you. It'll be fun. We'll have a party."

"I can't imagine some of you partying."

Evan looked at her in surprise, "We have big parties all the time in the summer, after hard work sessions."

"Work sessions?"

"Summer in our chance to learn without being under someone's supervision."

"How do you learn anything then?"

"Well, we have older people there to help us teach, but they're not like Dumbledore, or anything like that."

"Sounds like fun."

Evan winced slightly, "Not exactly."

He wouldn't talk any more about it after this, and Lily had trouble getting anything at all out of him. She wondered a little what exactly they did over the summer.

It made Lily rethink her decision to take these classes.

"Amos was right, you know. You have no idea what you're getting into."

She was quiet through her next couple of classes and only responded vaguely when Severus tried to ask her what was wrong during Ancient Runes. She was still thinking when she walked down to the Quidditch pitch that afternoon.

James pulled her aside when she got there.

"Lily, what were you thinking?" he hissed at her.

She brushed his hands off crossly, "What are you talking about?"

"How could you possibly think that was a good idea?"

"James, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Your friends that came to watch our practice! All they're going to do is spy on our practice!"

Lily felt heat begin to rise in her face as she realized that Evan had actually made good his threat. Then James's last comment registered and she got angry again.

"Spy on our practice? James, I think maybe you're overreacting. They just came to support me. And by the way, I didn't invite them," she turned and walked away.

When she got onto the pitch, Fabian came towards her.

"Lily, I know you are friends with those people, but they are going to disrupt our practice."

Lily sighed, "I already asked them not to come. They're not going to leave if I ask them to."

"Would you make sure they don't start antagonizing the team?"

"Yeah, ok," she went over the small group in the stands that had cheered when she came out onto the pitch. Severus, Evan, and Bellatrix were there, and Lily was surprised to also see Emmeline and Rabastan.

"Hey Lily!" Evan waved at her, "See how many people wanted to watch you?"

Lily waved at everyone, "Look you guys, I appreciate you coming, but could you refrain from saying anything to everyone else. They're kind of upset that you're here."

"Good," Bellatrix said.

Lily frowned at her, "Please, you guys?"

"But that's what I was looking forwards to most!" protested Severus.

"You were not!" Lily said, dismayed.

"No, of course not. I came to watch you and see if I actually have to worry about you hitting me with anything."

"We'll be quiet," promised Evan.

"Except when we're cheering you on," added Rabastan, whose mohawk was bright green today.

"You know that this is the only time that we're probably going to cheer for you," said Bellatrix, "We can't cheer for you publicly, because that would be cheering for Gryffindor, and we can't do that."

"It's taboo," added Severus.

"You should probably get going," Emmeline pointed behind Lily at the pitch. Lily turned and saw Fabian waving at her to come over.

"Ok. Remember to keep quiet, guys!"

When she got down to the pitch, Fabian gave her a funny look, but didn't say anything.

"Ok, you guys. Today we're just going to play against ourselves. Me, Lily, and Gideon are going to be on one team. Everyone else will be on the other. Let's go!"

The practice went reasonably well, Lily thought, for her first one. The Slytherins kept their promise and were mostly quiet. They couldn't resist cheering loudly when Lily smacked Sirius in the head with a Bludger, making him drop the Quaffle. He glared at her and rubbed the spot where she hit him.

"Nice shot, Lily!" yelled Fabian as he swooped by, "Fly it off, Sirius."

By the end of practice, Lily was aching in places that she didn't know she could ache in. She looked at the stands, but the Slytherins had all left.

"Ok, you guys. Great practice! We ran a little late, so you guys should hurry for dinner."

As everyone dispersed, Fabian pulled Lily aside, "Wait and walk up to the castle with me."

"Ok," said Lily, wondering what she did wrong.

She helped him get all of the equipment together and strapped back into the case. They started to carry it up to the castle together.

"Now, Lily. I know that you like the Slytherins, and I respect that you can hang out with whoever you want to. As a captain though, I have to worry about team dynamic. If you don't spend any time with your own house, you're not going to develop that synchronization that is essential within a team. I'm not asking you to stop hanging out with your friends altogether, I just want you to try to make an effort to hang out with the team more often," he looked at her sideways.

"That shouldn't really be a problem, Fabian. I like hanging out with them, they just weren't very nice when I decided I wasn't going to shun who they wanted me to."

"James and Sirius again?"

"They've calmed down a lot. I guess we've kind of made a truce," Lily grinned.

"James and Sirius compromised? I can't believe you got them to do that, Lily! You're amazing!"

"Oh, not really. Alice helped."

"Don't be modest. It's a -"

"Weakness?" Lily interjected.

"No," said Fabian, giving her a funny look, "I was going to say that it's a good thing only in moderation. Take credit where you deserve it."

"Oh."

When they entered the Great Hall, everyone was already well into dinner. They got a couple of funny looks from various people. Lily saw that Severus was watching them pass with narrowed eyes.

"Uh oh," Fabian sounded amused.

"What?"

"We've given everyone something new to gossip about."

Lily groaned, "I can just imagine Bertha's reaction."

"Yeah well, you don't have to deal with her in all of your classes."

"Good point. I feel really bad for you."

"You should," he said with a grin.

Lily laughed and went to sit by her group. Alice winked at her and James looked a little sour.

"Not you too!" she exclaimed, "Look, Fabian just wanted to talk to me about developing a better team dynamic. He wants me to spend more time with you guys!"

Sirius laughed, "There you go, James. You got all worked up over nothing."

James scowled at him and punched his arm.

"Ow!"

Lily looked determinedly away from James, who was blushing furiously. Alice grinned at her and wiggled her eyebrows in an exact imitation of Sirius.