Lily woke to a rope of crimson bed curtain tassels tickling her nose. For a few moments she was completely dazed. Where was she? And then her memories of the previous day flooded back to her like a warm ocean wave, salted with nervousness and laughs, arguments and adventures. Potter. And that other dark haired boy, Black. Lily recalled their ridiculous antics and, she hated to admit it, their playful sense of humor, although cruel at times. This last thought brought her mind back to that other dark haired boy, the one with the terrible cold. The one she had first met at Platform 9 ¾. Well, met rather informally. What was his name? She couldn't remember.
"Mmph!" Lily gasped, the wind knocked out of her, as a giant bag of clothes landed on her stomach.
"Wake up, Lily! If you don't get ready we'll all be late!" A tall blonde girl with freckles had tossed Lily's entire wardrobe upon her. "Oh! I'm so sorry! Are you all right?" The girl rushed over to Lily's bed and heaved the load off hurriedly, a mixture of amusement and embarrassment on the girl's face.
"Its all right, Arabella. No, really, I'm fine. Yes. I'll be fine." Lily replied, trying to convince herself of this more than anyone else. Groaning, Lily rolled off the bed and slid on her green fuzzy turtle slippers. Slowly, as if walking in a dense fog, Lily made her way towards the bathroom, grabbing her toiletries on the way. Lily could hear high pitched, excited laughter from within. Everyone was eager to get to their first class and, as Lily noted despite her exhaustion, very energetic and lively. Mmmh. Lily had never been a morning person.
"Oh, what cute slippers, Lily!" exclaimed a petite, dark skinned girl with short spiky hair.
"Pthankss, Tryphena!." Lily spoke while brushing her teeth, sleep deprivation and foam impeding her speech. After rinsing her mouth, Lily added "Almost everything in my wardrobe is green. My mum seemed to think the color went well with my eyes."
"But it does." said Arabella, eyes sparkling mischievously at a sudden thought. "Too bad you're in Gryffindor. If you were in Slytherin, your attire would always match your eyes."
Tryphena choked on her mouth of toothpaste and spit it out into the sink violently. "Oh, yeah. I'm so sure that's why Lily should be in Slytherin. So her badge will match her eyes." Tryphena said sarcastically, turning the tap on violently, spraying her neighbors with water. "Like any of us would want to be with that lot."
Lily didn't have anything to say to that. She still hadn't adjusted to the hatred and rivalry that existed between the two houses, and she doubted she'd be accustomed to it very soon. The viciousness with which Tryphena had spoken did make her wonder if there was any personal experience behind her detestation, however.
"Fifteen minutes until classes officially begin!" a Head Girl's voice called up the stairs. Lily's green slippers forgotten, the girls began panicking, stuffing their belongings into waterproof bags and throwing them onto their beds, tugging Gryffindor uniforms on, and searching for misplaced glasses. (This latter task was performed by Tryphena, who had been so tired out after the feast that she had fallen asleep with them still perched on her nose, only to discover come morning that they had vanished.)
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"Oh no! I left my schedule on the bathroom counter!" moaned Arabella as she, Tryphena and Lily sprinted down the cold stone stairwell towards their first class.
"Leave it! We have the same classes, remember?" Lily reminded, gasping for breath.
"Oh. Right."
They had reached the dungeons. Lily came to an abrupt stop by a weathered door, Tryphena gracefully following suit. Arabella, on the other hand, nearly toppled over in desperate effort not to collide with them.
Lily listened intently. She could hear voices from within. A foul stench reached her nose. "I believe this is Potions." she said, pushing the heavy door open. The three girls entered, Tryphena wrinkling her nose as the smell wafted in her direction as well. Arabella gasped in disgust, quickly covering her nose with her sleeve.
"Welcome to class!"
A rotund man with a giant mustache and an almost too jovial smile waved to them from the front of the room.
"Please find your seats. My name is Professor Slughorn, Potions Master and Head of Slytherin. You needn't worry, girls. There are still...lets see… three other students that have yet to arrive. I don't mind at all. It is your first year, not to mention your first day, and I didn't expect everyone to be on time." Professor Slughorn grinned as he said this, literally bouncing at regular intervals. Lily could tell that he loved teaching.
Arabella and Tryphena went and seated themselves on the right side of the room. Lily noticed that it was densely populated by red and gold scarfed students, where as the other half sitting further left were all wearing green.
Lily was halfway to an empty seat next to Remus, (at least, she was fairly sure that was his name), when she remembered that she'd left the door open. If she'd given it more thought, she probably wouldn't have gone to close it, as there were more students to come, but her mind was so fixated on the voluntary segregation that had occurred so naturally in the classroom, she couldn't tear her thoughts away from the ridiculousness of it to think of much else.
She had the door half closed when she was violently thrown back. Three boys galloped through the doorway as she landed with a pained gasp on the solid stone floor.
Professor Slughorn rose from his chair, deeply concerned and not remotely jovial. Lily groaned as she tried to rise, her legs stabbing with pain. The three whirlwinds turned around to face her, realization only just dawning on their features.
"Evans!" cried Potter, gaping at her as if she'd just materialized out of thin air. "I…I…" The shorter boy, Peter, was the first to regain his sanity. Peter was about to reach out and help Lily to her feet, when James darted forward, nearly knocking Peter down as well. Shoving his hand out, Potter offered to help her to her feet with an air of attempted gallantry. Lily thought he looked an absolute idiot. Ignoring his hand, which he began to wave in front of her face insistently, she attempted to stand on her own.
"Don't just stand there, boy!" barked the mustachioed man, striding down the aisle towards the four of them. "Help her!"
Losing patience, Potter grabbed Lily's arm with what he undoubtedly believed to be gentleness and clumsily hauled her to her feet. Annoyed at his nerve and her own inability to stand on her own, Lily pushed Potter away, only to nearly topple over once more. At the last moment, she opted to grab onto Peter's shoulder. Surprised, Peter quickly held on to her as well, shocked that she had decided to trust him, the shorter and less muscular of the three, with her safety. Peter blushed crimson as she thanked him.
By this time the professor had reached her side and bent low to inspect Lily's leg. The ankle was swelling up rapidly. Professor Slughorn began muttering under his breath, eyebrows furrowed in concern.
"I believe a visit to Madame Pomphrey is in order. Would anyone be kind enough to help Miss…ah…what is your name, dear? Miss Evans, to the hospital wing?"
About a dozen hands shot up on the right side of the room, Arabella's, Tryphena's, and Remus's included. Lily noticed that not a single volunteer was from Slytherin. Perhaps the stigma wasn't so unjustly earned as she had previously believed, Lily thought resentfully. Professor Slughorn had noticed this distinction too, it seemed, as his frown deepened and he glared at that particular side of the room. Slughorn stood there a few moments longer, scowl deepening as he stared furiously at the green-clad individuals who had suddenly found their unopened books and unused quills extremely fascinating. The rude blonde that Lily had met on the boat the previous night sat scratching something into her desk as her neighbor, a brunette, whispered to her in a low, whiny voice.
"I repeat. Would anyone be kind enough to help Miss Evans to the hospital wing?"
Slughorn seemed quite embarrassed by his house's lack of enthusiasm. The waiting made Lily's ankle twinge impatiently. What did it really matter? She'd rather have a willing assistant than a resentful one on this particular journey.
Professor Slughorn whipped around to face a boy hiding in the shadows of the back, left-hand corner of the room. Clearly, he chose the farthest desk so as not to be noticed by anyone, including the teacher. Slughorn saw this as the perfect opportunity.
"Severus, will you be so kind as to…"
The boy was already on his feet, having anticipated Slughorn's request. Lily cringed. She didn't wish to be a bother to anyone, especially the boy that Potter and Black had been so rude to at the feast. She knew that he was probably the last person who would wish to escort a Gryffindor girl up to the hospital wing. Nonetheless, Slughorn smiled warmly as the boy came forward. Severus's expression was as void as it could possibly be in contrast to Slughorn's grin. Slughorn's expression was one of good humor, but Lily sensed that it was also one that forbid the boy to refuse the request.
The boy met Lily's guilty stare with such an ambiguous glance that Lily had to look down at her feet, embarrassed. As passionate as she had spoken the previous night on inter-house cooperation, she felt more than prepared to eat her words. Why did Slughorn have to present her with something like this on her first day? What could he possibly be thinking?