Chapter one
The scarlet train gave out one last ear splitting whistle as Lily frantically dashed onto it dragging her heavy trunk behind her. It wasn't her fault she was late, she thought as she heaved her luggage up the stairs leading to the Hogwarts express. It was that damn Petunia. Who else would have stuffed her trunk full of owl feathers and honey last night. Though Lily was still pondering where on earth Petunia had gotten all that owl plumage and honey. Well that wasn't important. Lily gave one last tug on the trunk and it slid onto the floor of the train, what was important was at least she had someone to blame her lateness on, unlike all the other September firsts.
The train gave a sudden jerk and Lily toppled over her trunk. "Ow..." she groaned.
"Hi Lily! What are you doing on the floor?"
Lily pulled herself up, "Hi Amy. Thanks for helping me up by the way."
"You handled it fine yourself," Amy grinned, tossing her curly black hair out of her face. "It's so good to see you again! I really missed you at the quidditch world cup! I wish we could have gotten more tickets."
"That's the downfall of having muggle parents," said Lily, "They don't have a clue to what quidditch is. Shall we go and find a compartment?"
"Way ahead of you. I was just with Bridget and Alice and I was voted the one who should go and find you."
"Alright, lead the way."
Amy turned left and headed down the hallway, Lily followed as fast as her heavy trunk would let her. Amy was great and all -they had been close friends for six years -but Lily did wish she would look behind her, notice the struggle Lily was a part of, and help her with her luggage. Amy tended to be a little selfish though and strongly disliked any form of exercise.
"Hi Lily," Alice cried, jumping up from her seat and rushed forward to give Lily a hug. Alice holding onto her tightly, Lily's grip on her baggage slipped and the trunk fell onto Alice's foot.
"Ow!" Alice jumped back massaging her foot. "You're as clumsy as ever."
"That's why you love me," Lily grinned and sat down beside Bridget. "Had a good summer?"
"Huh? Oh, yes, I did. I went to see the quidditch world cup," Bridget answered looking out at the brilliant blue sky.
"I think everyone except Lily did," said Alice sympathetically. "It's a good thing you're not a big fan of quidditch."
"Well, no I'm not, but that's not all quidditch has to offer. There's also the-
"Incredibly hot guys?" Amy finished.
Lily laughed, "Not exactly what I was going to say, but close enough."
"So what did you do, Lily?"
"My family went to Spain this summer for awhile. It was so nice and," Lily paused for dramatic effect. "I met someone."
"Like a guy someone?" Amy inquired raising an eyebrow. "Has Lily been naughty?"
"Corny Amy," Alice said rolling her eyes.
"He couldn't really speak English that well, but I didn't care about that," Lily smiled mischievously. "I kind of forgot to tell him I could understand Spanish..."
"Sweet, story, Lily," said Amy with unmistakable sarcasm in her voice. "Oh and Alice, please keep that toad away from me."
"Come here Froad," Alice took the toad out of Amy's lap.
"Did any of you make head girl?" asked Bridget. "I've asked a few people already and none of them made it."
"Nope," said Amy, now picking at her nails.
"No," answered Alice sounding slightly disappointed.
"Oh no," Lily suddenly jumping up from her seat, "I completely forgot!" And with that, she dashed out of the door, astonishingly managing to avoid tripping over her trunk which she had left lying in the middle of the floor. There was a silence in the compartment.
"Er...Bridget?" inquired Alice looking at her dark brown haired friend. "You don't think...?"
No one said anything for a moment. Then -
"It's possible..." Amy said looking at the door to the compartment questionably.
"I mean, you never know with Dumbledore..."
Another long pause of heavy silence fell upon the three girls.
"Hogwarts is doomed," said Bridget finally, "It has to be if Lily's been made head girl. I always thought the day Lily would be made head girl it would be the day Sirius Black made head boy."
"I'll bet you Sirius Black did make head boy," said Alice.
"Hey that's not fair," said Amy looking up from her homemade manicure and glaring at Alice. "Sirius is smart."
"So's Lily," Bridget pointed out.
"We just have to trust Dumbledore and his decision," said Amy sounding a bit unsure.
ooo
"Sorry I'm - James?" Lily spluttered skidding to a halt. "What are you doing here?"
James pointed to the "Head boy" badge on his chest. "I could ask you the very same question."
Remus looked up at the two of them, "Blimey, what was going on in Dumbledore's head when he appointed you two as heads."
"Hey, we've calmed down a bit Remus," James defended. "Remember how I didn't put a sign over myself saying "Please donate. Help save the Walrus" and walk around the halls with professor Slughorn. Remember how I refrained from that? Remember that?"
Don't laugh, Lily told herself, of course it would have been hilarious, but you don't have to laugh!
"You would have if it hadn't been for you previous detention, remember that?"
"Can we get on with the meeting?" Lily interrupted.
ooo
Lily didn't return to the compartment until the late afternoon, completely exhausted.
"Save any food?" she asked hopefully.
"Ya, here," Alice tossed her a bag of Bertie Botts every flavour beans.
"Aww, you know I don't like these," Lily told them, but took a bean anyways. A second later she had punched her had in the air and declared "Haha! Strawberry! The curse has been broken!"
"So was Sirius head boy?" Amy asked.
Lily choked on her bean, "Hot pepper!" She stopped coughing long enough to saw, "No, but you're not far off."
Alice rolled her eyes, "Oh my. James right."
Lily nodded through watering eyes.
"Mm, Dumbledore's gone insane, no question about it," Bridget said, reaching into the bag in Lily's hands and popping a purple bean in her mouth. "Though it could have been worse."
"Not by much," Amy put in.
"I can be trusted," Lily put the bag of beans aside, "I'll make sure I behave this year."
"For you, that's easier said than done," Alice took a bite out of a chocolate frog. "If I remember correctly, it was you who had the brilliant idea of suggesting to professor Mcgonnagal that the game of quidditch would be improved with the addition of muggle fire arms."
"Axes," Lily corrected. "More athletic. And it was obviously a joke."
"Looks like it's starting to rain," Bridget commented mildly, observing the scene outside the train.
"And it was so sunny this morning," sighed Amy.
The next few hours were spent in silence. Bridget was watching the scenery go by, her face pressed up against the window. Amy and Alice were playing with Lily's deck of cards and Lily was staring out into space lost in thought, a glazed look upon her face.
"What do you guys think of James Potter?" said Amy suddenly.
The girls all looked at her interestingly.
"Why do you ask?" asked Bridget raising an eyebrow.
"N-no reason," Amy looked down at her lap, hiding her now red face behind her hair. "I just thought - "
"Aw, is our little Amy getting a crush on someone?" Alice cooed.
"Maybe...I just...I've just noticed I've been thinking about him more than I should be," Amy stuttered, "And - oh Lily don't give me that look, I think he's really grown - and I had a weird dream about him last night."
"Other people's dreams are never that interesting," Bridget said turning back to the window.
"So spare us the details," Lily told her.
"He had a crush on you, Lily," Alice recollected. "Remember?"
"Like every other boy at Hogwarts," Amy said sadly.
"Not every," Lily replied casually, now playing with her shoelaces.
"Most," Alice smirked. "And I think you have a shot with him, Amy. I reckon the chances of him and Lily together are slim to none."
"Like every other boy at Howarts," Bridget smirked.
Lily looked up from her laces, "I'm just waiting for the right one."
"You're too picky Lily," Alice told her shaking her head. "At this rate you'll never find yourself a man."
"She's allowed to be picky," Bridget assured them, "Lily's beautiful. She could get any guy she wants."
"I think you're pretty too," Lily smiled at Bridget. "And you too," she added rolling her eyes at the expectation in the faces of her two other best friends. Alice laughed.
"I think we're slowing down," Bridget stood up. "We should probably change into our robes."
Lily looked out at the sky and saw it was indeed dark outside. The decline of momentum concerning the train was a dead give away anyways of how close they were to their destination.
ooo
"You know, it really makes me feel elated to have traveled all day by train, leaving behind the glorious sun and warm weather, only to arrive at the start of school, soaking wet and freezing cold," said Alice stepping off the train.
"Don't complain," Bridget told her jumping off the Hogwarts express as well. "It could be worse."
"Ya, at least you don't have to travel across the lake in this," Lily pointed at a the large figure of Hagrid calling out to the newcomers of Hogwarts.
"Good point," Alice responded, tugging her jacket around her. "Now I feel for them, but can we please get a carriage?"
"Yes, please," Amy said gratefully and together, the four friends made their way down the muddy path towards the coaches.
"It's just as cold in here," Amy sighed and they clambered into the car.
"Not as wet though."
"Oh shush Lily. We all know about you and your unhealthy fondness for the rain," Amy snapped. "What is it?" she asked turning to Bridget for she her face had suddenly turned as pale as the white lamps swinging to and fro above their heads. She looked around startled when she heard her name.
"N - nothing."
Lily was the only one who didn't turn her head away. She looked thoughtful for a moment then -
"Threstrals. You can see them?"
"Th - threstrals?" Amy asked.
Alice looked at Bridget astonishingly. "You mean those things you can only see when you've seen someone die?"
Lily nodded, even more curious, but decided it might be tactless of her to ask who she's seen. Instead she inquired, "This summer?"
Bridget nodded, then suddenly looked alarmed, "N-no, I didn't - I mean."
"It's ok, Bridget" said Alice looking a bit afraid. "We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to tell us."
"Us, you're best friends," Amy told her. Lily gave her a stern look.
"No, its okay Lily," Bridget whispered. "It must have been Poseidon, my goldfish. He died last week. Of course I thought you could only see threstrals if you'd seen a person die, but - "
"You can only see threstrals when you've seena perondie though..." Lily told her.
Bridget didn't say anything, but was spared answering when the carriage gave a sudden jolt indicating the journey's end, but none of the made any sort of motion of getting out
No one said anything at first then Amy took the first brave stab at conversation.
"Well we're here. Come on, we can't be late for the feast."
Lily broke out of the stupor she was in and nodded. "Yes, we need some warmth."
Amy leapt out of the coach, a mistake, she found out a few seconds later when she saw the mud she had splattered onto the front of her robes.
Lily laughed and ended up falling face first in the mud, having lost her footing while stepping out into the bitter cold.
Even Bridget cracked a smile at this while Alice held out her hand for Lily, grinning.
"Serves you right," Amy smirked.
Lily picked herself up from the ground, "Ok, the need for warmth is greater than ever. To the castle! Ah!"
Alice giggled as Lily tumbled into the muck once more.
Lily looked up angrily from the puddle she was in, "Alright Amy. I thought we had just agreed I had gotten my comeuppance!"
Amy stuck out her tongue, turned on her heel and broke into a run up towards the castle.
"I swear, she's like a two year old," Alice sighed, while Lily stood up trembling from the cold.
"Not a doubt in my mind," Lily said through chattering teeth. "Come on." And with that, she too started sprinting up in the direction of the castle.
ooo
"Aren't you going to change?" Amy asked surprised as Lily and Alice joined her at the table.
"And rid myself of this stunning new look you've so graciously provided me with?" Lily tossed her wet red hair behind her head as she spoke causing a few specks of mud to splatter onto her friend's cheek.
Amy wiped the grime off her face looking revolted.
Alice laughed. "It's you own fault."
"And relax. I'll clean up after dinner," Lily told her. "Changing the subject, it that our new defense against the dark arts teacher?"
The three girls looked up at the heads table and saw a man sitting on Professor Flitwick's left, a man so hairy the only bit of pale skin they could see on him were his eyes and nose. He looked cheerful enough until he dropped a piece of meat into his copper red beard and then spent a few seconds trying to get it untangled from his mane.
"Yee, if I didn't know better, I'd swear he was a werewolf," Alice commented.
"That guy ever heard of a razor?" Amy sneered.
Lily wasn't paying attention to they're conversation. She was thinking more about Bridget. Who had she seen die? Lily knew the second Bridget mentioned the threstrals she was hiding something. Lord Voldemort was still growing strong and these terrible things were happening more and more often. The question was, why was Bridget hiding it?
Lily knew that Bridget never did feel very comfortable with emotional side of things, but concealing something like this?
The redhead turned her gaze over to Dumbledore who was now speaking, but she wasn't listening to his words. She was already starting to feel her green eyes slide away from him as she searched her brains, trying to find a way to aid Bridget with this. Her face back in the carriages was more than a cry for help. There was something more Lily couldn't quite put her finger on...but she couldn't think of what.
"Hey," Alice said suddenly, bringing Lily out of her trance. "Where's Bridget?"
Lily and Amy looked around the table, sure enough, she was nowhere to be seen. Lily could have kicked herself.
"I don't see her," Amy remarked. "But I just spotted James."
Lily looked at her angrily. "How can you think about something like that now!"
Amy looked abashed. "S-sorry. Never mind."
Lily looked over to the source of Amy's attraction. Sure enough, there was the new head boy. Lily had never really gotten along with him, therefore ended up spending little time with him over the past years. What exactly brought Amy to him was a mystery. Well actually not that much of a mystery. He was the quidditch captain for one and quite a clever person, but still...
He was talking to Remus at the moment. Remus Lily talked to more often. He was a nice boy, but almost always looked worn and wasted. His hair was already graying a bit. Both boys looked a little troubled about something and were talking in low voices, something they rarely did. James looked at his watch then suddenly turned his head towards Lily. Lily quickly turned away, hoping he didn't see her watching him.
"Yes finally!" Amy exclaimed. "Food."
Lily looked up and down the table and the large mounds of food and decided she wouldn't let anything bother her tonight. Bridget was probably fine, maybe she just wasn't hungry, Lily supposed in an effort to comfort herself. With those final thoughts, she reached out and grabbed the nearest dish and spooned the mashed potatoes onto her plate.
Though despite her previous promise, Lily did end up worrying quite a bit and ended up leaving the great hall shortly after the start of pudding. She wasn't exactly sure where to start searching though, and also wondered whether or not she was prying into business that wasn't hers. Bridget was extremely touchy when it came to this sort of thing. There was one instance in their fourth year where she was doing horribly in their defense against the dark arts class and ended up tearing apart the girls dormitory, reacting on a strong burst of anger and impulse. And something like this was obviously much worse.
Lily proposed the best place to start looking was their dormitory. It was the most logical and also allowed her to check the bathrooms on her way there, more possible places Bridget could be hiding.
But Bridget wasn't in any of the bathrooms and Lily realized, with a heavy heart, when she got to the portrait of the fat lady, she didn't know the password.
Then she concluded, if she the head girl, didn't know the password, there was little to no chance Bridget would.
Lily decided this was turning into a pointless search party and started heading back towards the great hall.
She didn't get far though. As she walked down one long stretch of hallway, her combat boots causing a slightly eerie echo as they hit the cold stone floor in a steady rhythm, she caught the sound of someone crying. Of course her immediate thought was Bridget. And she rushed ahead to find the source of the noise, but when she reached the bathroom the weeping was coming from, her heart sank.
"Oh, Myrtle. It's just you."
Myrtle looked up from the sink she was sitting on. "What! Come to watch my misery? Who else would you be expecting in here?"
"Uh, no one, sorry to bother you," Lily said hurriedly, retreating back towards the door.
"No one tells me anything," Myrtle howled, sounding like she was suffering from a bad head cold. "No one bother's to visit me and spend time with me like all of the other ghosts!"
Lily knew Myrtle too well to tell her why no one would want to spend more time than they had to with her. She figured she might as well stay a tad longer and ask whether or not Moaning Myrtle had seen Bridget.
"Well," Lily started once the loudest of Myrtle's sob's had died down, "If you must know I was actually looking for my friend Bridget. She disappeared shortly after we arrived at Hogwarts."
"Bridget?"
"The one with the short dirty blond hair and blue eyes," Lily said anxiously.
"No sorry," the ghost told her. "Bridget...never did like her...Probably ran off into Slughorn's quarters to find another potion to hurl at me!" she sniffed.
"What?"
"You heard me!" Myrtle howled and Lily had to quickly jump back as the ghost zoomed past her and plunged into one of the toilets.
Lily left the room shaking her head. Myrtle really needed some help. Lily had tried hard to cheer her up when she first met her, but it was an impossible task and the younger Lily tended to give up rather easily.
The redhead's intention now was to go back to the great hall and attend the rest of the feast, but by the sounds of all the commotion on the floor below her, it had already ended.
She shrugged and turned in the opposite direction, back towards the Gryffindor common room, hoping to run into one of her friends who had found out the password from a prefect. Lily certainly didn't want to spend the night sleeping the corner of one of the many hallways.
"Lily! Lily there you are!"
Lily whirled around to see Amy sprinting towards her, black hair swinging wildly, back and forth across her shoulders.
"Lily!" she gasped, skidding to a halt. "I've been looking everywhere for you! Did you find Bridget?"
"Ya, she's standing right here beside me," Lily replied sarcastically. "I don't know where she could have run off to," she added seriously.
"Mmm, I'm sure she's fine. You're worrying too much. Now come on, let's go to the common room."
Lily nodded and the two of them set off towards the picture of the fat lady.
"Basilisk," Amy told the painting and it swung open, revealing the portrait hole.
There weren't many people in the common room. Most of them had gone off to bed, filled with warmth and good food.
Amy yawned, "Shall we head off to bed then?"
"Yes, I'm starting to feel really tired," Lily said, now following Amy up the spiral staircase leading up to the girls dormitory's.
Just as Lily suspected, Bridget was not present in the dorm. Only Alice was there, brushing out a few tangles from her brown hair.
Lily then headed towards the showers while Amy changed into her pyjama's and after about ten minutes, they were all ready for sleep.
"Stop worrying Lily," Amy said as they climbed into bed. "She'll come back."
But as Lily closed her eyes, she perked up her ears and waited for her friend to return to the dorm. Eventually, Lily was unable to stay alert for any longer and drifted off into sleep, not hearing a sound apart from the slow steady breathing of Amy and Alice.