There isn't a soul in the court yard, which is why Lily is currently occupying a bench in the corner. Since Sixth year is coming to an end soon and everyone seems to be busy with either revision or catching up on any work they have missed. This includes the nonsensical group of Marauders who are occupying the entirety of the Common Room - As there seem to be a large crowd of girls flocking around them wherever they go - and Severus and his friends hogging the library. She doesn't want to be around any of them right now and it doesn't seem like she'll be feeling up to it any time soon. Alice and Marlene have recently started to insist that they accompany her wherever she goes but when study time comes even they know better than to crowd her.
Besides, she has been successfully ignoring Potter and he seems to be ignoring her which is, frankly, infuriating her. She has been expecting the four friends to torment her for what they might have realized, but they seem to be acting as if none of it really happened. After about two weeks passed by she started to expect Remus to have "the talk" with her but even that hasn't happened. If at all, they all seem to be keen on putting the incident at the back of their minds.
What's infuriating is why none of them - not even her girls - seem to be bothered about the fact that she used two Unforgivable Curses (In her mind, Sectumsempra is an unforgivable) on the spot, on three students. She wants someone to tell her that she was wrong, that she is losing her mind and that maybe Sev's influence has driven her deep into the dark side unbeknown to her. If they - any of them - spoke to her about it, it would mean that they still care about her, that they want to fix her. But the fact that only her girls are around her seem to mean only one thing - they're all afraid of her and have asked the girls to keep an eye on her so as to make sure she wouldn't attack any more students.
Hence, her debilitated isolation has begun two weeks ago, a full month after the incident. She has successfully ignored Potter, Sev and everyone else involved all this time without being confronted by anyone about the fact. By what she could gather during her visits to the lavatories, the grapevine has it that everyone is afraid to mess with Evans during exam time and that it just gets worse the closer she gets to N.E. - which she is more than happy for people to be gossiping about.
Unable to focus on the subject matter any longer, she shuts the Potions book with an unexpected thud. Her temper seems to be getting the better of her these days, making every single action exaggerated. She looks over her shoulder at nothing in particular. The entire area, including the vast green-lands spreading out towards the outskirts of the school seems to be isolated. She packs her bag carefully so as not to crumple her books and gets to her feet.
It takes her a minute to realise she doesn't want to go to either the Common Room or the library. After giving it another minute of thought, she decides to take a stroll down to the lake and read a book.
No matter how many times Lily reads Pride and Prejudice, she responds to it the same way as she did the first time. The novel is a classic indeed. She loves how Jane Austen, the author, has managed to portrait the friendship of Bingley and Darcy, two polar opposites. She is, naturally, in love with Darcy. But she does think that he could have swallowed his pride earlier and much better than he manages to. To actually propose to a woman - albeit being in love with her - without even considering the possibility of rejection, is conceited to say the least. He was very derogative of her, a woman whose mind was sounder than most men put together at that age and time.
Her mind is wandering around in Jane Austen's universe when it happens. There is a faint rumbling of the Earth, escalating towards the castle. She scrambles to her feet and grounds herself on the spot to feel the vibrations of the Earth. She senses the disturbance coming from the far East - Hogsmead. She squint her eyes in that direction. There's a faint hue of black and green rising from the horizon. A deep fear takes root in her gut and starts to climb up her spine in the form of shivers and goose bumps. She takes a deep breath and calms her nerves telling herself that this is it.
She doesn't know what it is even after running around the grounds to a more visible spot, quite a length away from the clearing in front of the Astronomy Tower. She's debating with herself whether to inch away from the castle and towards the outskirts or to inch towards the castle, where the Professors might be better at warding off the threat while she helps her fellow Prefects to protect the students. She shakes her head in disbelief at the ridiculous thought - of course no one will probably be on time. There's not a soul to be seen anywhere. Everyone, including the Professors must be preparing themselves for the upcoming exams.
As if this thought pushes her mind out of her body, she starts to feel her feet hit the ground harder, picking up momentum. Her eyes start to glaze over but her senses begin to perceive every little detail - the rumbling beneath the castle drawing closer and the electricity in the atmosphere hike suddenly as a hundred curses hit the protective barrier around the castle. Time slows down even further when the barrier absorbs all power and sound before something almost ear-drum-shattering and mind numbing erupts from within the castle reverberating through everything that stood in-between. Her body freezes, her eyes moving up the Astronomy Tower to where the counter-spell was cast from just in time to see Dumbledore, standing there without even a wand in hand, before the power of his spell consumes her raw.
"Lily? Lily wake up"
She jolts upright, grasping for breath desperately. Her body has broken a cold sweat along her temples in this cold evening weather. She looks around her frantically, looking for the Tower, the dream still fresh in her mind.
"Hush love. It's all right now" only then does she realise she was awoken by someone. She looks up to see a concerned pair of hazel eyes peeking out from under ruffled black hair. The fact that Potter is here with her right after the dream she just saw both calms and infuriates her. She springs to her feet, her breath hitching up again and crosses her arms across her chest.
"What do you want?"
He drops his head in defeat and chuckles to himself, shaking his head in mock disbelief. He takes his time getting to his feet from the squatting position he's been sitting in and takes a step closer to her, enjoying how she involuntarily takes a step back at his advance.
"I want you to be at the Common Room at least, if you can't go to bed yet, before any of the other Prefects realise you're missing duty"
Her eyes almost fall out of her sockets "Bloody hell, Potter what time is it?"
"A little past twelve. I could have sworn you were running away from the new roster"
It's a little true and untrue at the same time. Hogwarts appoints two Prefects per House in the student's Fifth year and these chosen students remain as Prefects until they leave school. Hence, at any point of time, there are Twenty Four Prefects at Hogwarts. One girl and one boy from the seventh year Prefects are chosen to be Head boy and Head girl and these two are included in the perfect body of twenty four. Professor McGonagall had told them at their briefing that should a student outside of the Prefects Body proves to be a better suited candidate when they reach the end of the sixth year then they would be placed as Head girl or boy in addition to the Twenty Four appointed, although, this exception is yet to be witnessed by Hogwarts. The older Prefects say that this is just a norm upheld in the rules just to keep the Prefects on their toes, to ensure they don't take advantage of their power to abuse other houses.
This year, to brew unity amongst the houses despite the brewing war outside of Hogwarts, the roster has been changed with effect from today. Prefects of the same grade and house no longer patrol together. Houses are to be mixed so as to get everyone to rule in harmony.
Hence this week instead of Remus, Lily has to patrol with Mulciber.
She is not opposed to the idea at all even though she is not excited about doing any sort of activity with Mulciber. But the fact that Potter thinks she would actually run out on her duties as a Perfect is not accepted at all, to her.
"Do you think I'm a coward, Potter?"
She feels the anger rise up her body as she says this. Potter only chuckles in amusement.
"Of course not. I never thought of you that way. You were always the one person who could stand up to us four. The only one."
The fact that he admires her gut - not just acknowledge it - comes to her as shock. Blood starts to flow to her cheeks and she lowers her head quickly to hide the visible blush creeping up her face. Potter notices this and takes a step close.
"Why did you do it?" he asks staring at her intently, running a finger up and down the bare skin on her forearm.
"I-I don't know" this is the first ever time she's speaking to him so softly. She wants to sound like she used so as to not give him inkling to her feelings but all she can do right now is manage to keep her voice even without reacting to the sensation on her arm. "Maybe there's something wrong with me. Maybe I'm twisted in the head. Maybe I'm the one who made him bad" she's rambling now.
He steps in closer while she rambles on and keeps his forehead on her head as he did at the Tower. Her entire body freezes, her mind not daring to form a single thought.
"It's taking all of my energy to not-" he says roughly before disappearing yet again.
"How fucking infuriating can a boy get?" She wonders out loud before grabbing her bag and storming into the castle.
Three days later, on a Saturday night, she's walking back from the library alone listing down the pending revision list mentally. In another week and a half the sixth year finals will commence and she only has two more subjects to cover. Mentally patting herself for a job well done this year, she rounds a corner only to take a quick step back at hearing two boys argue in hushes tones. Instead of walking in the opposite direction she flattens herself against the wall because she is not going to miss a fight between Potter and Black.
"We have to do something Prongs. Her mind is poisoned. She might as well be fucking Imperiused" Sirius spits out between grit teeth.
"Yes I know. Believe me. It kills me not to do anything. But it is not our place. She needs to figure this out on her own. There's history there"
"Oh for Salazar's sake you dimwit! This is not the time to be chivalrous. Not when lives are at stake. Aren't you supposedly in love with her?"
There's a painful pause and Lily tries to step out of her hiding spot and inch towards the two to hear what Potter has to say to that.
"No. Not like this."
Before her mind can think, her body starts to walk in the opposite direction.
Her head is hanging low and her pace is slowing down now that she is far away from the conversation she just eavesdropped on. Her mind refuses to think of anything. For the first time in forever, her mind's voice is speechless.
Lily
Severus's voice reverberates within the confines of her mind and thinking he has spotted her, she flattens herself against the wall once again. She frantically looks around to get her bearings and realising she's somewhere near the Dungeons, she starts to panic. She looks everywhere but fails to find the source of the voice.
There is no point Lily. You know I'm in your head.
All colour drains from her body and she swings back and forth on the balls of her feet.
Please, Lily. I'm afraid. I'm afraid of what you might do or say if I come to see you. Please. You don't need to say anything. Just listen.
She reaches out to thin air, steadying her body. Her eyes are blurring and her head is spinning. As she counts backwards from ten she realises that her reaction is the same as it was the last time he entered her mind and she his.
I would I would never again call you a... a you-know-what. I never meant it Lily. You know I never would. You're everything to me. Everything.
She falls to her knees grasping her head in both her hands.
I've been in love with you since the day I saw you playing with your sister under that big Oak tree.
"Then" Lily responds slowly, verbally, taking control of the situation "tell me this. What would Lord Voldemort say when you tell him you want to be a Death Eater and that you're in love with a Mudblood in the same sentence?"
She feels him cringe at the word but she remains resolute. She has to know what he would pick - the special bond they shared which is obviously beyond friendship, or to torment innocent people who are born of her blood.
I can make them spare you. I'll protect you no matter what.
"Oh? How charitable of you!" She scoffs in disgust "So you mean to say that one day when the Death Eaters start marching against anyone who opposes them, directly, you'll ask the Venerable Lord Voldemort to spare me but kill the rest? Say, my husband, my children, my parents?"
They don't matter - he snaps.
"Then neither do I. If you're willing to sacrifice everything we were for eight years, I'm willing to sacrifice you for everyone else's safety. The day your lot marches against mine, I'll cast my self in between to protect them all." Her chest is having rapidly, her voice louder and venomous than is characteristic of her. She takes a deep breath before continuing. "And Severus? If he ever comes at my family, I'll be the reason for his demise. If you ever do any of the things I saw in your head last time, I'll hex you the same way I did you and your friends. I'll be the fucking death of you."
With that she springs to her feet and storms down the corridor - and right into Potter and Black.
"So you weren't being controlled" Black says, patting her shoulder.
Her eyes fall out of her sockets but she pointedly ignores Potter. "What are you talking about?"
"Well our Mr. Potter over here has the habit of stalking you and I have this unhealthy habit of stalking him. We've seen Snape try Occlumency on you but this dipshit here never let me interfere."
"Right, because he is not in love with me"
Then she turns and runs to the Gryffindor Common Room leaving a very shocked Potter and a hysterical Black behind.