September 28, 1977

"What have we got today? I keep forgetting." Lily asked as she buttered her toast.

"Herbology, transfigurations, and double potions." Mary replied scanning their schedule.

"That's not so bad." Lily took a bite from her toast as the four "marauders" came in groggy and a bit beaten up. Lily watched them discreetly as they sat further down the table and silently and slowly ate their breakfast.

After breakfast Lily left with her group and entered the great hall. All the students were dispersing and going to their respective classes and classrooms. The gryffindors and ravenclaws stepped out onto the grounds to the greenhouses where Professor Sprout was waiting for them.

"Alright ladies and gents, let's get to it. We're going to be working in the second greenhouse and you will need your dragon hide gloves." With that the professor turned and led the class to the second greenhouse and inside to a cluster of plants with strange purple fruit hanging from it.

"These are Shrivelfigs, they are useful in many potions and you may remember our discussion of this particular plant in your second year. However, now I will be teaching you an easier technique for opening them, it is more difficult and similar to that which we use for the Exploding Pod plant we covered last term. Alright pair up and I will demonstrate."

Lily's roommates had a system for when these types of things happened, since there was an odd number of them they couldn't all be partnered. It happened this time was Lily's turn to be on the outside. She didn't mind, she knew several ravenclaws who she wouldn't mind partnering with but they all seemed to be partnered at the moment.

Lily heard a small commotion as she looked at all the other students in the greenhouse and she heard "she'll appreciate it, Prongs," and turned to the source which was, unsurprisingly, James Potter, the prat.

"Need a partner?" James said rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. There was something strange about him today that Lily couldn't put her finger on.

"Need is strong, but I'll take one, is Remus offering?" James' cheeks turned a deeper shade of pink.

That's what it was! James Potter was blushing! Lily couldn't remember a time when he had so much as colored slightly even with all the fine occurrences that would have made any sane person turn purple.

"Well it seems I've been forced out by Remus and I see that you are also without a partner so I thought that a logical solution would be for us to partner." He looked sheepish, Lily couldn't believe it. Perhaps that's why she agreed to partner with him, because she was dumbstruck.

"Quiet now, please. Everyone have a partner, alright good. So the process is simple, you will need to put your gloves on…" The professor continued detailing how the class should go about opening the fruit in a manner that didn't result in getting squirted with its thick disgusting juices. The work was hard and required complete concentration and two people. Lily would've liked to ask if the full moon last night had been a bad one, since all of the marauders sported beautiful bruises and several nicks and scrapes, however the task simply did not allow for conversation.

When the class was over Lily left James to walk with her friends, they were discussing inane things, like whether Frank and Alice's children would have her aggression and how that would make the rest of them less likely to babysit. Lily let her mind wander and her eyes found their way to the marauders, who were looking bone tired and in danger of collapsing.

Inside the gryffindors split with the ravenclaws and headed for the transfiguration hallway, there they joined the hufflepuffs in entering the transfiguration classroom where Professor McGonagall was waiting at the front of the classroom looking over papers. When the students entered she looked up and smiled.

"Welcome students, today we will be practising conjuring items. Split into pairs and you will tell your partner what to conjure and they will attempt to conjure it."

Lily glanced at the marauders, they still looked exhausted.

"Lily, sorry that you've got to be on the outs so much today, we'll do something nice this evening." Mary told her joining Marlene at the table in front of Lily.

"It's alright, Mary."

Again Lily heard a shuffling and a muttered "fine!" and James Potter appeared standing over her table looking, if it was possible, sheepish.

"Looks like you need a partner again?"

"Well Potter, I suppose I do." James smiled and Lily felt a strange fluttering in her stomach.

"Alright everyone, settle down, I'm going to ask that you try to keep it down somewhat with your requests, since all of you talking will make this classroom quite loud. Begin!"

Lily pulled her wand from her bag and watched James gingerly do the same.

"Feeling okay Potter?"

"Fine, why?"

"Potter I'm not oblivious or dumb," Lily lowered her voice, "I know what you and your mates are, remember?"

James flushed, "Right, thanks again for not saying anything. I guess it was just a hard moon, and we're all a bit sore, Moony especially, he almost didn't come to classes today."

"Oh."

They were quiet for a minute then James said, "Alright Evans, conjure a bandage."

"Why a bandage?"

"I don't know, your a knowledgeable about healing and that's the first thing that comes to mind in that profession."

"Alright." Lily concentrated on what she knew of bandages and of the conjuring spell. Finally she flicked her wand and a shimmer was visible on the table before fading. Lily felt her shoulders slump in disappointment.

James frowned and furrowed his brows. "Lily, how were you thinking of the bandage?"

"Just what I know, isn't that what Professor McGonagall said?"

"No, Lily you've got to think about a specific item, like alright tell me what to conjure."

"A pear."

"A pear?"

"Yeah, I'm hungry, it's almost lunch and I want a pear." James visibly tried to contain a smile, but failed miserably.

"Alright then, I'm thinking of a nice golden pear, with a short stem, and a bit watery and sweet. Now I'll cast," he flicked his wand, "And a pear should appear." The table shimmered and a pear exactly as James had described appeared on the table.

"Nice one."

"Now you try, think of a specific bandage and then cast."

Lily thought of the bandage she had when she'd tried to fly off the swings and ended up just hovering for a moment then falling on her arm cutting it badly. She flicked her wand and there on the table appeared the same bandage that had been on her arm for nearly two weeks.

Lily felt herself smile and James held out a tentative fist bump hand. Lily obligingly bumped his fist with her own.

They went on through the class conjuring more and more food as lunch break grew ever closer. Finally they seperated for lunch, James joining Sirius, Remus and Peter and practically limping out of the classroom while Lily joined her friends and strode out to the the entrance hall then the Great hall, where they sat at the Gryffindor table and began eating.

"I tell you, this NEWT is going to be a tough exam, that conjuring spell is so difficult I fear I may never get it."

"Oh it's not so bad, just focus in specific objects and imagine them in your mind." Lily offered.

"When did you become such a transfiguration wiz, Lils?" Marlene asked.

"I'm not a wiz, but I happen to understand the concept."

"Yeah, bet you do." Mary muttered.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Lily asked slightly incredulous.

"Nothing...just that your a good student is all." Mary tried.

"Yeah right." Lily felt a stinging in her throat and tightness in her eyes. She stood, "I'm gonna go to the library." Her friends all felt a little resentful to Lily for being better at classes then them, but they didn't understand that she had to better because she was muggleborn and therefore treated differently. Even, Lily thought bitterly, by supposed friends.

Severus didn't often haunt her thoughts, she had spent a lot of energy summer after fifth year trying to put him out of her mind, but when he came up waves of sadness came on her.

Lily stalked out of the Great hall and turned out onto the grounds and went to sit under the beech tree that so often sheltered the marauders. She hugged herself and tried to dam her eyes. Even though no one was around she still felt strange about crying. Lily pulled her knees up and put her head down breathing slowly trying to calm down.

"Alright Evans?" James called approaching.

"Sod off, Potter." Lily said not looking up.

"Such anger, it really isn't very becoming, Evans." Sirius said. Lily hadn't realized Sirius was there.

She looked up and saw all the marauders looking at her.

"I'm not really of the mind to care whether my anger is becoming, Black." Lily packed as much venom into her words as possible. It wasn't really fair, Sirius was probably one of the nicer people about her bloodline, trying to be as different from the rest of his family as possible, but she still took out her anger on whoever was nearest.

"That much has always been evident." Remus said diplomatically. He glared at Sirius who looked affronted in response. "Are you alright Lily?"

"Fine." Lily said standing and walking away. Lily noticed that people said they were fine when they were really anything but fine.

She walked back to the castle and slid down against the wall next to the entrance hall door. She chanced a glance back at the marauders and saw James looking at her, concern plain on his face.

But Lily was fading, she just didn't have the energy to really care. And she still had double potions.

A/N: Yeah a nice long one! Hope you enjoy, please review, I love feedback!