Mélange

Disclaimer: not mine.

A/N:
Well, thanks to an acceptance notice from Boston University, this chapter came out rather quickly. To think I was going to review for AP Calculus B/C instead of writing this. Of course, one should not forget my beta, Telwyn Dubois, for getting me in gear. So everyone, thank my "can't beta in Time New Roman" beta and go read her stories! They are adorable and thought-provoking (those post-war thoughts ones).

So onto the story . . .

Chapter Fifteen

Once Lily answered to the title of "the girl that was attacked on New Years Eve", people flocked towards her to discuss the night she was injured, although it was more like to people congregating to gossip. With the bandages around her head practically screaming "look over here!" , it didn't take long for the entire population of the commission to find her. Lily felt cornered at her table where the Potters surrounded her like a squad of bodyguards. Those who were able to get through wished for her welfare and those who weren't by her table still talked about her.

"That English girl is here?" One person would always start.

"Of course she is," someone else would reply. "She is one of Hogwarts's representatives, you know."

"But shouldn't she be with the healers? The newspapers said she was hurt pretty badly." In other conversations, someone unfortunate yet lucky enough to have seen her at the ministry ball would have noted how awful she looked when ministry workers assembled to the attack site. For the social circles fascinated with the blood and gore of dueling, primary witnesses gave detained description of the injuries and the destruction of the curses.

"The healers that usually take care of Unspeakables in the English Ministry are taking care of her at the moment," the second person countered. Well, that was new, Lily thought to herself, comparing this conversation with others she heard. No wonder the healers in the hospital wing didn't sound like Hogwarts's own nurse. What really surprised her was how much information the other representatives knew of her situation. How was it possible that she didn't know the specifics of her own healers?

"So the English are feeling remorseful?" someone else added. Lily could hear the condescending smirk on the person's face. She noted to remember the voice and try to stay away from whomever it belonged to.

"Well, it seemed as though she's close friends with Minister Potter. She was with the family the entire time she was at the ministry ball."

Lily froze in her seat. She didn't even bother to thank whoever said she was praying for her eyesight. The comment about the Potters was alarming enough, but with the derogatory tone hinting favoritism, the comment was definitely one to be heeded. Perhaps it was her general curiosity about what the prominent family thought of her or the fact that people thought James wanted to date her, Lily perked her ears.

"I heard James Potter is very interested in her." The rest of the group snorted derisively.

"Just because the Daily Prophet reported that James leapt to save her at the ball doesn't mean he is interested in her," a proud voice rebutted with annoyance. "He was sorted into the Gryffindor house here so his noble actions were probably from his chivalrous—"

"Lily?" She jumped from her seat. Lily heard people gasp around her. "Are you okay?" Aleia asked softly. "You seemed a bit dazed; it can definitely be overwhelming having so much attention," the older girl added softly.

"I'm fine," Lily replied. She shook her thoughts away from the gossip about her and tried gathered enough confidence to actually mingle with the other representatives. After all, the Welcoming Gala was to help the representatives get to know each other before the rest of Hogwarts returned from holidays.

"One would think tonight was for understanding the points of view of other countries, but it is pointless. I get the feeling the girls are more interested in talking about fashion than about issues," Aleia snorted. "Apparently the boys are sharing sports information as well. So much for discussing politics and forming alliances – this is like a typical ministry function." Lily remained silent while Aleia sighed. "I guess this is what happens when my father sanctions an event and my brother is chosen as a representative. Honestly, how sycophantic and arrogant can some people be? The schools were supposed to choose thoughtful students who would bring a diversity of insight, not a bunch of spoiled purebloods!"

"The representatives can't all be purebloods, can they?" Lily questioned, hoping to bring some optimism in the older girl's tone of voice. It was distressing to hear such disdain in the voice of the usually happy girl.

Someone patted her shoulder.

"Sorry, Lily," the owner of the hand, whom Lily recognized as Mei, began. "Aside from one of America's schools bringing a student with a Muggleborn mother, you are the only representative with Muggle heritage."

"It's going to be one bigoted conference," Aleia moaned softly into their small circle.

Lily frowned. The Gryffindor girl must have been overreacting, "Oh, cheer up Aleia, things can't be that bad." The only response she received was a sympathetic noise and a condescending pat on her hair.

"Exactly," Mei agreed, "Some of the representatives seemed pretty open to new ideas and politically active. In the last group I was conversing with, a majority seemed keen on passing an international regulation on cauldron thickness." Lily giggled at the proposal. The idea seemed so basic that a law should have existed already.

"Are there cauldron thickness regulations?"

"Well, some nations have domestic regulations. In certain parts of Asia, regional regulations are present as well," Mei explained earnestly. "I suppose the problem is each of these agreements has different guidelines, so global trading of cauldrons is getting problematic. Some groups are demanding a world-wide set of guidelines."

"Still, while having cauldron thickness regulations are important for the safety of all persons working with cauldrons, that isn't as controversial as Muggle-wizard relations," Aleia countered. "I probably shouldn't be sharing this, but one of the main concerns the ICW wants the participants to discuss is Muggle-wizard relations. Of course, noting the people who are participating, I think the bigots will be the ones with running mouths and everyone else will either be too scared or too disgusted to participate. "

"Who came up with the issues to be focused on in the conference?" Lily asked. If most of the representatives were from families that were prejudiced, why should the conference address something so controversial? How would youths get together and make decisions when family traditions (or other cultural aspects) get in the way of neutral and clear minded decision making?

"My dad and his ministry cronies," Aleia replied. "He thought it would be a good diversifying experience for youth. With all those random attacks targeting Muggles, he figured it would be good to start teaching the youths to consider an acknowledgement of some sort with the non-magical world."

Attempting to make Aleia more optimistic about the conferences, Lily asked about the history behind the pureblood bigotry and if there was any correlation at all with the witch burnings. As Aleia addressed the European history behind the issue of cohabitating, Mei added insights from China. The group continued their conversation about the wizarding world versus the Muggle world and the possibility of living together without either party killing the other. Since Aleia was the epitome of what pureblood fanatics call a Muggle-lover, the discussion of controversial social beliefs fizzled out when no opposition excited the debate.

"Where's a pureblood fascist when you need one?" the older Potter replied. "I do wonder how they even have those old thoughts about why magic is better. Honestly, it's almost like those 'what came first?' conversations."

"Too true," Lily replied. With her friends silent, Lily took the time to listen to the other happenings around her. As common as discussions about clothing, cosmetics, and sports, people still gossiped about who she was and what had happened to her.

Lily took a deep breath and got up. "I think I want to speak with the other delegates. I'm getting tired of listening to people's suppositions about me. Honestly, it's worse than the paparazzi when it comes to rumor-building. Those people really need to be distracted from guessing my background. Besides, maybe Mei and I could excite some political activism for the conference."

"Yes, let's start with the cauldron regulation group," Mei suggested. "I think it would be a good introduction to discussing policy."

Walking with Mei's help instead of James felt more comfortable and open. When she was with James, Lily seemed to feel more self conscious and timid. Initially, she had attributed the discomfort as to not being accustomed to having friends with her all the time, but her acquaintanceship with Mei proved the excuse false. She wondered why she was so nervous, but the conclusion was farfetched. It wasn't like she had a crush on James Potter. She barely knew him despite their conversations. Her relationship with the Potter heir seemed more like an older boy looking out for a younger girl. On the other aspect, she kept on hearing whispers of James's supposed affection for her. It could be that James had a crush on her, but that was just as implausible. He didn't know her too well either, so he couldn't possibly like her in any way beyond friendship. Besides, he emphasized going to the ministry ball as friends.

.o.0.o.

Shrugging off the confusion in why she felt uncomfortable with James, Lily focused her thoughts on the environment. She couldn't always depend on having someone next to her when she couldn't see. While the healers had said she would regain her sight, dependence still wasn't a good plan even in the short term.

"Mei!" a boy shouted with enthusiasm. "Who is your friend?"

"Lily Evans from Hogwarts," the Chinese girl replied. "And Lily, He is Brendan from America. Next to Brendan are Hikaru from Japan, Christina from Canada and…?" Mei stopped her introductions, waiting politely for the other four to present themselves.

"Vladmir Kalimov and Anastasia Kiela, Soviet Union," Lily heard a boy reply. His voice was light and pleasant, his Slavic accent agreeable to the ear.

"And I am Adiva from Saudi Arabia, and the girl next to me is Mesi from Egypt." This girl's voice was rather melodic and accented, with traces of good humor.

Lily smiled in their general direction, hoping to not make herself seem more disabled than she was, like not being able to determine where each of the voices originated. Deciding that scanning the room with a smile when she obviously had her eyes covered rather ridiculous, she hoped speaking would be less strange than staring at an actually empty space. At least Mei's hand had gently tilted her towards where the group resided.

"What were you discussing with Mei before?" she asked politely, smiling a gracious smile.

"Cauldron Regulations," Brendan replied. "Vladmir was just telling us this story about the dangers of having unregulated cauldron trade."

"To make the story short," the first boy continued, "The pewter cauldron melted when my father was working in our home. The combined ingredients of the potion and our fire food made the liquid acidic. It burned a hole through our house's foundation."

Lily gasped, "Why was the cauldron defective? How did you know the potion wasn't incorrect?" She had never considered the fact that a cauldron would melt by means other than the potion having been made incorrectly.

"The cauldron was one-tenth of a centimeter too thin. Since my father was too lazy to get his thicker cauldron (he hadn't cleaned it from the last potion), he used this one, thinking that its maximum tolerance would tolerate the potion," Vladmir explained.

"So we should have international cauldron regulations? Why can't the individual nations have their own set of standards?"

"Currently, some countries have a wider range of error acceptable than others, so accidents like the one with Vladmir's father could happen more when he gets a cauldron from somewhere else." From her right ear, Lily heard Mei whisper that it was Christina who spoke.

"Why can't we just have countries set their regulations for all cauldrons in their country, instead for their cauldron factories?" Lily persisted.

"That would mean the nation's government is overreaching its jurisdiction," a girl with an accent Lily couldn't place spoke up, voicing her own opinion. As though the girl heard Lily's thoughts, she introduced herself in a whisper directed only to Lily. "I'm Mesi, from Egypt."

"Why would it mean that it's overreaching?" It was within the right of a country to protect its citizens. Setting a marketing regulation on which cauldrons would be sold legally would be within its jurisdiction of protecting its citizens. Lily thought about what she knew of international trade. Companies competed against each other by their pricing and quality. In the fashion industry, renowned designers competed for customers in daily wear so its prices were low compared that of an evening gown because of the daily wear fashion having a larger consumer base. When one company lowered its prices, it was within its rights, while being able to force forcing others to lower their prices as well, in order to make money.

"Between allied nations, there are usually agreements on trade regulations. Basically, when one nation sets a regulation, it sort of forces the regulation onto other nations," another female's similarly accented English voice spoke. Lily assumed that the person was Adiva.

"So we are at a stalemate?" she asked, shocked. It seemed like no matter what, other aspects of politics kept a perfectly logical policy from being enacted.

"Perhaps, but something has to done about it," a new voice interrupted. "Hello, I am Catalina Flores from Mexico. My fellow representative was here and I've just made my rounds over. But on the issue of cauldron regulations, since cauldrons are integral in every magical community, it is necessary and practical to have some sort of regulations. That way, no witch or wizard in any nations will be endangered because of flimsy cauldrons."

The group decided to analyze the issues further when debate actually started. After the conversation, Lily was fairly confident that those representatives were reasonable, but their stubbornness stemmed from accurately representing their home. From meeting with them, it seemed as though Aleia's worry was for nothing.

Upon coming to an agreement, Mei and Lily walked around the trying to find another group of delegates to discuss issues.

Lily's ears picked out conversation about her New Years Eve accident; she was still intent on correcting people's view of her. She wasn't just the girl that got attacked. Luckily for her, instead of talking about the James Potter and his possible pursuit of a schoolmate, the group talked about the intricacies of the duel. Feeling more confident about changing her image according to dueling enthusiasts than representatives hesitant about her possible connections with the Potter family, Lily pulled Mei towards the source of the conversation.

"Why don't we go talk with that group? I hear them talking about the latest attacks," Lily said as her hands waved in the group's general direction. "They seem political enough," she added. She did hear them share interesting international facts about dark arts. "Maybe we can redirect the conversation from the duelists' gossip column to the actual news page."

Once Mei realized which group she was talking about, the Chinese girl led Lily in the correct direction.

"Hello," Mei greeted to introduce Lily and herself. The conversation in the group stopped. Lily assumed the students were looking at them.

"I'm Lily Evans, one of Hogwarts's representatives," she introduced, followed by Mei's self-introduction. "So, what do you want to get out of this youth conference?"

There was silence. Mei shifted from next to her. Lily wondered if her questions what too direct. She imagined distressed and shocked expressions on the strangers' faces. Since Mei was quiet and no one else near them seemed to be talking, Lily wished she could see. It was one thing to interact blindly with people she knew but it was something completely different trying to be social when she couldn't understand body language because she couldn't see it. Feeling more uncomfortable as time ticked by and the background music seemed to have moved past 10 measures, Lily discreetly nudged Mei.

"Oh, well, um . . ." the other girl mumbled. Lily wondered if the group she chose was composed of people secluded in their dream world of super wizards and witches.

"Hey, aren't you the girl that faced those dark wizards?" someone suddenly asked to ease the tension, at least on their side. Lily winced inwardly and hoped her actual facial expression didn't feel as ugly as her muscles felt.

"Yes, although I would prefer it if you remember me as Lily Evans instead of some combination of words along the lines of 'that girl at the ministry ball that was attacked'," Lily corrected with a wide smile to reassure her own mind that her face was distorted to some grotesque grin-turned-frown. Distractedly, she wondered if the familiar feeling of tightening of muscles on her cheeks meant the night would result in sore cheeks and mouth like her photo shoot.

"Oh," someone from the group muttered in what Lily hoped was an embarrassed tone. It was difficult to confirm since the person was a stranger, and she had no facial expression to confirm her suspicions. "I'm Fabrice Bagot from France." Other introductions followed Fabrice's introduction. She met Tayyeb Jamil from Saudi Arabia, Guillermo Faria from Brazil, and Eisei Ito from Japan.

After the introductions, the conversation steered into everything and anything about dueling. The intellectual challenge in speaking with dueling fanatics fascinated Lily, but it also made her regret not having paid too much attention to her Defense against Dark Arts lectures. The slew of nouns involving famous dueling masters and special curses bombarded her senses. She felt more clueless trying to carrying on a conversation with these representatives than when she had History of Magic tests lying in front of her. Mei's enthusiasm towards the subject certainly did not alleviate Lily's sense of awkwardness and stupidity. She was the person that was attacked by dark magic, yet the boys (and sometimes Mei) knew more about what would happen when one was a victim of those curses.

"Supposedly the Cruciatus hurts like crazy. The pain is unimaginable and the person just wants to die," Guilliermo analyzed. "I guess that is why wizards go crazy when they are under the curse for too long."

Eisei snorted elegantly. "All dark arts have the side effect of driving one insane. The consequences are all supposedly to be unimaginable. I mean, that is why those curses are considered dark."

"Well, not necessarily," Mei countered. "I mean, some of the curses are considered dark because their effects are very well known and definite. For example, the curse that castrates has very obvious consequences."

The topic of castration seemed to have frightened the boys as they stopped showing off what they knew of curses. When the conversation shifted to the representatives asking Lily questions about her experience, she almost jumped for joy. Being fawned over felt more humanizing than blindly listening to experts discussing the intricacies of dark arts and dueling because she could actually participate instead of standing like a statue. However, Lily's happiness quickly dissipated when the representatives started treating her as though they were physicians and she was a clinical trial participant.

"How did the Cruciatus curse feel like?" one of the boy asked.

Lily bit her lip in deep thought. How would one describe all around pain? "It hurt, a lot." Lily assumed the boys were nodding to each other. "There's nothing more to say about that."

"What about the curse that blinded you?"

"I was still under the Cruciatus then. I don't remember . . ."

Her friend must have noticed she was being badgered since Mei excused their presence from the group with the excuse of mingling with other representatives. As they left the group, Lily returned to her previous conviction that she was to be known as Lily Evans, representative of Hogwarts and a normal witch.

"That was definitely an uncomfortable experience," Lily concluded.

"It certainly was uncomfortable," Mei replied. "All of them have this crazy look in their eyes when they talked about the Unforgiveable curses." She paused. "They were too exuberant about the subject."

"Exuberant?" Lily blinked. How did she not notice her friend's English vocabulary improving?

"Yes, exuberant. Feng thought we should learn one new vocabulary a day to improve and it is today's word. I am using the word correctly, right?" the Chinese girl asked, her tone suddenly insecure. "I mean, they seemed very excited about the dark arts. It is, well, fearful—"

"Morbid curiosity," Lily finished. "And yes, that was used correctly."

"When they were asking you about the curses, it looked like they wanted to feel the pain or something."

"They remind me of Muggle scientists in science fiction that so desperately want to understand that they would pay the ultimate price. It's like Nathaniel Hawthorne's Birthmark."

Whether or not Mei understood Lily's literary reference, she didn't find out since a feminine voice interrupted their gossip session about dueling-obsessed representatives.

"You're Lily Evans, right?" a hyperactive female voice asked. Lily smiled at the thought that someone knew her by simply her name. "Hello, I am Nicola Belvidere from Italy and well, I was wondering if you wanted to speak with the group over there for a moment." Lily shrugged and felt Mei's physical response as well. "That's great. Our table is just a bit away. Here, I'll guide you there."

Dodging passing students and stray chairs, Nicola successfully led Lily towards her circle of acquaintances with the help of Mei.

"Girls, this is Lily. As we've all heard from the media, she is Hogwarts's representative." There was a synchronized "Welcome Lily" greeting. "And this is Mei Chang, the Chinese delegate." Like the greeting for Lily, Mei received a synchronized welcome. For what seemed like an eternity, no one said anything.

"Um, has everyone enjoyed their stay in the British Isles?" Lily asked, hoping to make the discomfort fade. Somehow she felt as though she was being judged by whomever those girls were.

"Oh, I've been to rainy England many times," a girl speaking perfect English replied. "My father being English, we always visit my relatives during the summer. I have to say I like summer better than winter, since it's so cold."

"Goodness Lisa," Nicola countered. "It's not like Beauxbatons is any warmer than here. The climate difference is much more prominent between my school and here. The Mediterranean Sea helps to ensure that our weather is moderate."

"And you get to swim any time," a new voice commented. Turning her attention to Lily and Mei, the girl introduced herself, "I am Isabella Luna from Spain."

"So?" Nicola countered. "Escuela del Plato is in Seville. You have nearly unlimited access to the beach as well!"

"I don't care much for beaches," Lisa interrupted. "No matter, Paris has the best fashion."

"What of Milan?" Nicola retorted. "It is much less restricted than Paris. After all, Milan is full of revolutionary fashion! Paris fashion is certainly sophisticated, which is basically a nice way of saying stuffy and conservative."

"Don't forget good old New York City in America, when it comes to revolutionary fashion!" another girl joined the conversation. Lily and Mei stood next to each other feeling more out of place by each comment.

"Oh, poor little Andrea from the pseudo-European nation of the United States," Isabella cooed. "Anyhow, why don't we just say that fashion is just great anywhere?" The group laughed wholeheartedly while Lily and Mei let loose their meek version of interested laughs.

"Do sit down, Lily," Nicola requested with an audible pat on an empty chair. Lily felt Mei guide her towards to the where Nicola was and pushing her down. As the girls continued their brainless discussion of living in the lap of luxury (numerous vacation homes, holidays in exotic locations, glamorous parties), Lily's mind began to wander.

Aleia had been partially correct when she said people didn't seem serious about actually debating about world affairs. From the majority of the representatives that Lily had contact with, the entire conference seemed like a mini vacation from school. Being each school's pride and joy, the representatives were sent on a month-long vacation to the British Isles. Undisturbed by the lack of stimulating conversation and the inability to see anything, Lily drifted off into a peaceful state of meditation.

She reviewed the past events in her life. In less than a week, she was thrown back into the world of fashion, attacked, and now stuck in a place as the only Muggleborn. She never dreamed of being in a position where all the other non-purebloods depended on her actions. Completely uninterested in politics before this year, (in fact, before meeting James Potter and being thrown is a world revolving the family of the Minister of Magic), Lily had to play her political cards correctly. She had to blend so well with everyone else that they would never be able to look down on her bloodlines.

Unconsciously, she scratched her head. The gauze that covered her eyes was irritating her skin since the healing cream had dried, not to mention the fact that having something around her head for so long was making her entire head itchy. Starting to unwind the cloth meticulously wrapped around her head, Lily tried to get Mei's attention.

"Could you find Aleia and ask for some of the healing potion for my eyes? This one is dried up," she whispered. Hearing the sound a chair being pushed back, Lily knew Mei went to find Aleia.

"Do you need some help?" she heard Isabella asked in Spanish accented English. Lily nodded. Within moments, she found the group of four girls surrounding her, trying to help her unwind a stubborn cloth from her head.

"Should we get one of the healers to do this?" Lily asked. "I mean, they are the only that wrapped this so strangely . . ." However, the girls weren't too keen on giving up with Lily's words.

"We have to unbraid your hair, okay?" Lisa's asked. Lily nodded. After a few hands combed through her hair, her head felt free. Like her hair's natural state, they floated around her face and down her shoulders. She could also blink her eyes freely and rapidly even though she couldn't see. It felt nice to be able to exercise her eye lids.

"Wow, you have such pretty green eyes," Lily heard one of the girls exclaim in awe.

"Goodness, it's such an asset to your entire appearance!"

Before Lily could drown in anymore compliments, the shocked voice of James Potter rang it the hall.

"Lily Evans, what are you doing?"

The entire room seemed to have gone silent. Lily turned her face towards James's voice. If she could actually see, she would have noticed that she was looking directly into his eyes.

"It dried up, so I needed to change it," she explained plainly.

"You could have asked me. I have your healing creams and such with me." Lily noted that James replied as though he was speaking to a small child.

"Aleia got them here as well," Mei cut in. "Everything looks fine," she continued. Lily wondered if Mei was trying to comfort herself or James. If only she could see what was going on with everyone's facial expressions. The voice inflections were getting difficult to interpret.

"Go mingle," Lily ordered James. He had to stop clucking around her like a mother hen with her chicks.

Lily excused herself from Lisa, Nicola, Isabella, and Andrea to get her eyes wrapped up again. In less than a second, Mei was by her side and leading her to Aleia. Sitting down, she laid out her wrap as Mei and Aleia followed the healers' instructions on how to reload the healing creams onto the cloth. Or rather, Aleia and Mei tried to follow the instructions since they were having problems with the gauze.

"Here I'll get this," she heard James volunteer softly. "I've seen the healers do this many times."

"That has nothing to do with saving your puny, annoying behind from Miss Pomben?" Aleia asked stubbornly as though she didn't quite want to give up on the gauze. Lily wanted to be stubborn as well, but she figured having the chance to see was more important than keeping James from being a mother hen. In fact, when she could see, James would no longer have to be so protective of her.

"Or it's maybe because I really want help Lily because my sister is lousy at potions?" James retorted. "No offense, Mei," he later added. "Even if you were the best potion student in the world, Aleia can still ruin this for you." Lily heard Aleia stomp away muttering something about getting the healers to the Great Hall.

Once his sister was out of ear shot, James ranted, "Goodness gracious! I finally escaped the claws of those harpies!" So he was trying to dodge Lisa and the rest of her group, Lily mused with a wicked smile. He deserved getting pestered after that authoritative and chastising tone he used with her.

"Harpies?" Mei inquired before James could continue.

Lily turned towards her friend. "They are mythical creatures that are half woman and half bird. Their skin is scaly as well. Not exactly the most beautiful sight. In fact, they don't smell very good either, at least according to the Aeneid." The two girls returned their attention to James and Lily motioned for him to continue.

"Why are they even here?" he whined. "Sure they are rich, beautiful, sophisticated-looking, but they don't have a brain. The only thing filling their heads is fashion, which kills the brain cells too." He paused to take a deep breath. "It's a good thing you aren't like them, Lily. You don't even care about those horrendously girly stuff and you are actually good at quidditch, according to Jon. Oh Mei, let's see if we can make the gauze workable . . ."

After hearing James's rant about being girl and fashionable, Lily prayed to every deity possible to ensure no one in the wizarding world would know of her past history. Obviously fashion was looked down upon in a magical society as much as it is looked down upon in the muggle world. A model's looks just weren't associated with having a brain.

"Err!" James growled while Mei dropped her head onto Lily's shoulder. "Those fashion-obsessed, and therefore brainless, spoiled brats have completely messed up what the healers did before!" Lily wondered if her possibility of seeing was going to be ruined by an angry James Potter, an annoyed Mei, or a group of girls that acted like wizarding world princesses.

Aleia returned just in time with a new, intact and undamaged gauze to save Lily from worrying and James and Mei from throwing a fit. The three then continued down the list of instructions. When James and Mei finished lathering the cream onto the cloth, Aleia dripped the healing potion into Lily's eyes. Before they could wrap the cloth around her head again, a declaration caused another stir among those around Lily.

"I knew you looked familiar! You are a model for Christian Dior!"

Edited: March 24, 2005 10:05 PM (a couple hours later)

I suppose the end is a cliffie but my fingers are rather tired and if I wanted to get this chapter out by Easter, it'll have to end right here. Other than that, I hope this chapter was enjoyable. Feel free to address any concerns – about the grammar, plot, characterization, everything!

Thanking these people for reviewing. . .
SiriusJamesRemus'sgirl, Flame Of Desire, ydole3343, FunkyWitchOnFire, PruePotter, TamPhuoc, Keledrena, GSCer, the-wolves-howl, magiclover53, jegan, lizziee, siriusforeva, radclifflover, tinyclay, EvilQueenHannah, persona, qwertyuiop, Denierure (but it's actually Lise instead), newsieduckling, rcaqua, Lily-900121, eX Driver Liz, glaz, ArekuKatari

Addressing some concerns:

Notanauthor: Sometimes is oddly slow when a fic is updated. You can go to the direct link by putting me on your author alert. The e-mail reminder will give you a direct link to the new chapter.

moony128: Hmm, sorry about not updating "fast." 2005 has been a rather freakish year. 200 question! That is one evil final exam!

Reines im Herzen: Glad to see that my story varied your not-so-long-fiction reading list. As to your questions, yes Lily is in Hogwarts and it is still the holidays. The rest of the school will be back in the next chapter. About the "pity" thing, I think there is plenty of pity but people show more of their excitement. With them being the generation after Grindelwald, it's a bit exciting yet horrifying to see another dark wizard rise. I may add more pity to the story when I edit/rewrite it someday. Thanks for your input!

Meenyrocks: Ah, formal language . . . blame that on having my English class be so focused on SAT vocabulary for the first three years of high school. As to Lily becoming more lively, oh she'll be spitting fire in the next chapter.

beyonce-85: Lily has lost her sight for a little over a week.

Hawaiicanuck: It's so nice to see you on It's a French word so I am not too sure. According to my dictionary, it is like "m-läzh"

nerdysunny: I planned on finishing this by graduation, yes. So basically, now that I am very behind schedule, I have to work my butt off. Let's hope I can finish this around June – it's a better estimate.

Sapphire: About the MUN thing, you should have gotten my email. If you replied, I didn't get it because my hotmail account was at a high security setting. I forgot to add you to my address book so it meant I received none of your messages. Anyhow, if you replied, am so very sorry that I was being rude!

Well, thanks for reading everyone!

omniFAIRYous

(off packing for San Diego!)