Disclaimer: Nothing in the Harry Potter universe belongs to me. It is all J.K. Rowling's. However, I have the great pleasure of owning these written words right here. Minus anything you recognize of course.

Chapter 4. He's what now?

"What the fuck?" Cas says.

"Hey language!" I admonish her.

"No, what the fuck is right," Alice agrees.

"You mean to tell us-"

"That Potter-" Alice jumps in

"The same Potter who's asked you out-"

"For over 3 years-"

"Is scared of you?" Cas finishes.

"Yes," Mary says, "that's exactly what we're saying."

"No, I don't believe it." Cas says.

"Well I didn't either, but I told you what I overheard, what else could they be talking about?" I question.

"And," Mary interjects, "I saw his boggart, and there is no way that wasn't Lily."

"But it's Potter…" Alice says incredulously.

"I know," I reply.

"It almost makes sense, in a weird way," Mary adds.

"In what world does this make any fucking sense?!" Cas asks.

"Well, he always does listen to Lily. Whenever she requests anything."

"True," I say. "If I ask him to stop being annoying, he'll stop, in that stupid cocky way of his, but he does stop."

Cas rolls her eyes at me, "that could be for a million other reasons."

"Actually, they have a point Cas" Alice remarks, "he may be an arrogant toerag, and he always bothers Lily by asking her out every other day, but maybe that's just his way of 'facing his fears' or whatever."

Cas facepalms, "fine. Sure. I don't believe it, but if you think Potter's scared of you, go ahead and believe it."

"Well, there's no other logical explanation Cas," Mary argues.

"Okay then, if Potter is scared of you Lily, then what're you going to do about it?"

"I'm not certain," I respond, "Right now, I just know I need to become as scary as a Pygmy puff, but I have no clue how."

Alice nods along and says, "So instead of the ignore Potter plan, it's the somehow-make-Potter-unafraid-of-you plan."

"We need to come up with a way for the plan to work though," Mary says, "and I have no clue where to start,"

"Well I do," Cas adds with a glint in her eyes.

"Look who's being helpful now," Mary mutters under her breath.

"It's fine Mary, what's your idea Cas?" I say, trying to avoid an argument.

Cas grins, "It's simple. Befriend Potter."

Me, Mary, and Alice look at each other, then burst into laughter.

"Thats a good one Cas," Alice giggles.

"Yeah, Lily, befriend Potter, as if!" Mary snorts.

Cas just stares at us with a straight face, her eyebrows slightly raise.

"Oh no. You're not joking are you?" I realize.

"Nope." She says

Mary and Alice gape at her, and I feel like joining them, "How can you expect me to befriend Potter Cas? He's been nothing but arrogant and rude to me for the past 4 years."

"Look Lily, I've been on the quidditch team with Potter for the past two years, and he's not a bad guy when you get to know him." Cas explains.

"Not bad?" Mary asks, "You can't expect Lily to befriend somebody who's sole purpose for existence has been to spite her."

Cas glares at Mary, "I'm not saying they'll become best friends immediately, but Potter is annoyingly loyal to his friends, me included. And, I actually think they could get along if they tried."

"Okay." I hear myself say.

"Okay?! You're agreeing with this already?" Mary blurts out.

"Well, it's not a bad plan if you think about it. He can't be scared of me if we're friends."

Mary shakes her head indignantly, and turns to Alice, "You can't agree with her. This is absolutely insane!"

"I'm sorry Mary," Alice apologises, "It does sound like the best way to make Lily seem less scary. If she acts more friendly to him, he can't be scared of her."

"Besides Mary, anything is better than how they act towards each other currently." Cas says.

"True," I say, "It can only get better, and if I have to be on the same quidditch team as him, I might as well be as friendly as possible, and hopefully rid whatever fear of me he has."

"See, it's perfect." Cas smiles.

"Oh shut up Cas, you don't even believe that he's scared of her!" Mary shouts.

"I may not, but at least I'm trying to help Lily instead of being a stubborn and whiny baby like you!" Cas yells in response.

Mary stands up from the armchair she's lounging in, and stalks over to Cas, "Well I'm trying to protect her and keep her safe from someone who's only ever caused her annoyance!"

Cas shoots up from where she's sitting on her bed, "Is that what you're doing? I wouldn't have guessed."

"Oh cause what you're doing is muucchhh better, sending her straight into danger?!"

"IT'S NOT DANGER! IT"S POTTER!" Cas shrieks.

"WELL THEN JUST GO TO YOUR BEST FRIEND POTTER INSTEAD OF STAYING HERE WITH US, MAYBE HE'D APPRECIATE YOUR STUPIDITY!" Mary yells before she pushes Cas.

Cas's eyes flash dangerously, and she pushes Mary back before reaching for her wand.

"Guys! Stop!" Alice screams, stepping in between the two of them.

'Not until she apologises!" Mary says angrily.

"I'm not apologising," Cas scoffs, "If anyone owes someone an apology, its her."

"Hey!" I yell, now annoyed at their childish fight. "Both of you are great friends, and both care about my well-being equally. You don't get to use that in an argument against each other!"

"Sorry, Lily." Mary and Cas mumble.

"Are you going to apologise to each other now?" I ask.

Both of them glare at each other, and Mary answers by storming out of our dorm, slamming the door behind her.

"Ugh! Wonderful," I mutter.

"Well she was being an idiot," Cas defends herself.

"Just shut up about it," Alice says, shaking her head, "I am not talking about Mary behind her back."

"Okay," Cas agrees.

PPPPPPP

I throw the quaffle to Cas, and fly over to the quidditch hoops, acting as Keeper while she tries to score. We played 2v2 games over summer, and now the two of us are practicing in order to prepare for quidditch tryouts next week. I'm very nervous, especially since I've never played a full game of quidditch, only the mini matches me and Cas played against each other.

"Just make sure you keep your elbows tucked in when you fly!' Cas calls, "It'll make you fly faster."

"Got it, elbows tucked in."

I swerve to the right trying to catch the quaffle that Cas was trying to score, but miss it as it flies past the tips of my fingers.

"Accio quaffle," I summon the ball back towards me, and proceed to fly over to the other side, where Cas is already positioned as keeper. I start to throw the quaffle to the right, but at the last minute throw it to the left. Despite me faking where I threw it, Cas still flies over to it, and manages to keep me from scoring.

I groan as the two of us fly to the ground and land. "What am I doing wrong Cas?"

"You're not doing anything wrong," she responds, "It's just practice. You have to remember, I've played my whole life, and you just started this summer. There is no way you would be able to beat me all the time."

"Yeah, but I want to be prepared for quidditch tryouts," I complain.

"And you will be," Cas says encouragingly, "We'll just have to do some drills and you'll be in tip top shape."

I snort, "tip top shape? That makes me feel much better."

"You know what I mean Lily," Cas laughs.

Suddenly I hear two voices growing closer, and me and Cas turn towards the noise to see Potter and Black walking out to the quidditch pitch.

"Great, Potter," I groan.

"Just remember the plan," Cas says, "be friendly."

They approach us, and James yells, "Do my eyes deceive me or is that Lily Evans. At a quidditch pitch?"

"I think it is Prongsy," Black announces.

"Yes, it's me. Poke all the fun you want."

"No offense Evans, but what the hell are you doing here? With a broom?" Potter asks.

Cas gives me a meaningful glance, and I say "I'm trying out for the quidditch team."

Potter's and Black's jaws drop.

"No.."

"You're joking?"

"Be nice guys," Cas scolds.

"Ha ha," I reply, "Cas actually taught me how to fly over the summer, and I enjoyed it so much that I decided to try out for the team."

Potter's look of shock still hasn't disappeared, but now it's mixed with something else too. I sure hope it's not fear, or I might be going about this all wrong. Black however has completely recovered from his initial shock and is now asking me questions at spitfire speed.

'What positions are you trying out for? Are you any good? You must be somewhat good if Dorcas taught you," Cas glares at him, and he corrects himself, "If Cas taught you, sorry."

'Well, I'm by no means a professional player, but I'd like to think I can hold my own. And, I'm going to try out for chaser I think. That seems the most fun because it's actually in the action of the game."

Potter finally snaps out of his shock and says, "I agree, that's why I love playing chaser, because I feel like I'm in the action of the game."

"Yeah, finally something we agree on," I can't help adding.

Potter's eyes light up, and he smirks at me, "Had to happen someday, maybe the next thing will be you agreeing to go out with me."

I scoff, "Not gonna happen."

"Worth a shot," he shrugs.

"Okayyyyyy," Cas says, pursing her lips, "Well you guys can have the pitch, me and Lily are going to head in now."

"Thanks Cas," Potter says, "Bye Evans."

"Bye," I say, rolling my eyes as I turn around.

"Well that didn't go terribly," Cas tells me.

"No, but it certainly could've gone better." I mutter.

"It's a start." Cas says,

PPPPP

Me and Cas enter the common room, and see Alice and Mary lounging in the armchairs next to the fireplace. Alice waves us over, and we take our seats. Cas sits as far away from Mary as physically possible.

"Seriously Cas?" I shake my head.

"Yeah, you two are being ridiculous," Alice says.

"I'm not being ridiculous," Mary states, "I felt insulted, and I am waiting for my apology."

"Same," Cas says with a glare in Mary's direction, "And we get to be angry at each other at least 3 days before you guys step in, as according to the Friendship Handbook."

"Ugh, the point of that isn't to wait the longest possible amount of time before making up, and you know that!" I complain.

"It's our choice," Mary says.

"Why…" Alice questions, "Out of everything to agree on, you agree to argue as long as you possibly can."

I look at Mary, and then look at Cas before saying, "You guys are much too stubborn for your own good."

"Right you are." Cas replies.

"Well then, I'll leave you with the two 5 year olds, Alice," I say, "And I'm going to go to my prefect rounds with Remus."

"Have fun Lily!" Mary says cheerfully

"Bye!" Cas waves with a smile.

"Yeah, sure, have fun Lily, I'll just be here with the two arguing children," Alice grumbles.

"I'm sorry. Not really though." I whisper in her ear as I hug her.

PPPPPPPP

"Hi Lily, you ready?" Remus asks when I greet him outside of the Gryffindor tower.

"Yep," I answer, "We should probably start here and move up to the astronomy tower from here."

"That sounds like a plan," he agrees.

We start our rounds in an amiable silence for a few minutes, before I break the silence, "So, I was wondering, when we did the boggarts in Barner's class, what was yours?"

Remus's face blanches for a second, and he clears his throat before answering, "Um, it was a moon."

"You're scared of the moon.?"

"Yes, you see, when I was younger I thought the moon was a giant block of cheese, and erm I really hated cheese when I was younger, even though my mum would sneak it into all of my meals, so it just kind of stuck that I'm scared of the giant block of cheese that is the moon. What was yours?"

I stare at him, completely unbelieving of his story, but ultimately nod, and take his cue of the subject change. If he doesn't want to talk about it, I won't pressure him. "Um, mine was actually my sister, basically just telling me what I always feared, just that I don't belong there with her and my family, nor here at Hogwarts."

"Oh, I'm sorry," he says sympathetically, "I know what it's like to feel like you don't belong."

"Yeah, it's the fear of not belonging, mixed with the fear of losing my sister."

"Well, I don't have siblings," Remus tells me, "But, from being friends with Prongs and Padfoot, I know that when people are family, or just friends close as family, they'll do anything for each other, and even when they argue, they always make up in the end."

"Maybe in a normal loving family, but Tuney hates me. She thinks I'm a freak, and she didn't even see me off before I left for Hogwarts."

"Just, have faith in her. She may never come around, but just give her every opportunity you can, and she might surprise you."

"Thanks Remus. I'm sorry or dumping this on you."

"No, it's no problem, really, that's what friends are for."

"Yeah, thank you," I smile at him.

We continue walking, without any trouble, until we start the climb to the astronomy tower, and hear voices up there. I turn to look at Remus, and the two of us quicken our pace slightly. As we approach, we hear the quiet mumblings of their conversation.

"I don't care Snape. That bitch deserves it."

"Yeah, did you hear what she said to him today."

"That doesn't mean you need to-"

"Quiet, I hear footsteps."

At that, me and Remus step into the astronomy tower to see Avery, Sev, and Mulciber standing up there.

"Sev?" I ask, "What are you doing with them, they're bad news."

He looks at the ground, but doesn't answer.

"Ah the Mudblood thinks we're bad news," Mulciber grins mockingly.

"Terrible isn't it," Avery sneers.

"Well I'm very glad I get to do this," Remus says calmly, "15 points from Slytherin, you're out of bed past curfew. Oh, and another 10 for your language, I'd suggest not to insult a prefect in the future."

"Whatever," Mulciber scoffs, "let's go."

"Sev?" I ask, catching him by the arm before he follows Avery and Mulciber down the stairs "What're you doing with them, did they threaten you too?"

'No," he says coldly, "they're my friends."

"Oh." I mumble, letting go of his arm. He follows them down the staircase without another word.

Remus turns to me, "are you okay Lily?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, it's fine." I wipe my eyes before tears pool in them, "let's just finish the rounds."

The rest of the rounds go without a hitch, and an hour later I find myself sitting at a desk in my dorm, staring at a blank sheet of parchment. I dip my quill in ink, and start writing.

Tuney,

How are you doing? I didn't get to see you before I left for school, so I just wanted to say goodbye now. I hope you're doing well, along with Vernon. I know we don't always get along, and maybe that's my fault, but as Dad always says, follow every misdirection in order to find the right way. We always used to laugh at him, telling him he wasn't using that word correctly. But, somehow it works right now.

There's these creatures in my world, called Boggarts. And basically they're shapeshifters that show us our greatest fears. I know you don't like things relating to magic, but it's a part of my life, so I hope you can accept it. My point here is that, when I faced the Boggart in class, I saw you. I saw you saying all these things about me, that I'm a freak, and that I don't belong in the family, and that you wished we weren't sisters. But, I don't want that to happen, Tuney. I know we've grown apart in the past couple of years, but I wish that we could go back to our bond when we were younger. I don't know what happened to us.

Just, please write me back. I'd love to hear from you. We don't even have to talk about magic at all. If you don't want me to mention it, I won't. I just can't lose you.

Love, Lily

I set down my quill, and seal my letter in an envelope. Then I grab the two letters I wrote for my parents earlier, and give them to my owl Ellie.

"Ellie, stay there and wait for a response would you? I should at least get two, hopefully a third from Petunia, but don't wait more than a day for her."

Ellie blinks at me, and I open the window to let her fly out. She opens her wings, and I watch her fly off into the stars, until she's nothing more than a brown speck in the distance.

Author's Note: I'm actually kind of proud of this chapter. Parts of it at least. I feel like I have a much more solid direction that I am going to take this story now, so hopefully everything will get more cohesive as I continue writing, and it won't feel too choppy or predictable.

I bid you adieu for now. If it's available, enjoy the next chapter, and have a great day/night :)