Previously:
Ten minutes later, Lily's potion was nearly done. She closed her eyes as the scent of lemongrass, bagels, and her mother's Chanel perfume met her nose. In a month, there would be no more homemade bagels. There would be no Chanel perfume. No, she thought. I will not cry here.
It's funny how your mind and your body disagree.
"What's wrong with her?" James asked Sirius.
"Dunno." Sirius replied off-handedly.
CHAPTER TWO
It seemed as though Lily's indifference to the pranks the Marauders played only egged them on, for through the next few weeks, they picked on her almost every class. Lily was scared to walk through the halls. She was the mystery child of Hogwarts; she never showed any emotion or anger. Her face was always blank and her mind seemed to be somewhere else. Potter and Black had everyone figured out- everyone except her.
Lily felt only safe in the library. Never would they give up their dignity and step through the doors of intellect and opportunity. She signed lightly as she looked up from the small-print brown book that was in front of her. Maybe she should send a letter to her sister. When her mother was gone, she would have no one. Yes, a letter to Petunia. Maybe with her mom being sick, she would be more sympathetic.
Lily pulled out a quill, ink and parchment:
Dear Petunia,
How are you? And Vernon? I know that you won't be exceptionally thrilled to hear from me, but I really wanted to talk to you. With mum gone, we will only have eachother. Please, Pet, can we reach a peace? I do love you, and I know somewhere you love me. With your beauty and kindness, I'm sure you will find it in your heart to try.
Love your sister,
Lily
There. That seemed sufficiently sweet. It didn't hurt to try. She closed the book with a loud clap, pulled her things together, and headed for the owlry.
"Mate, I don't know what you were thinking." James said, shaking him head fervently and looking at Sirius.
"You know perfectly well what I was thinking."
"Why would go ever go out with Simana Vance? She's about as shallow as the kiddy-pool back at my mum's."
"As a matter of fact, I always loved playing in that pool"
"No you didn't. You always made fun of Peter for going in it."
"I was in denial"
"No you weren't."
As Lily heard this, she made a b-line for the nearest classroom. She tripped over a rise in the floor and fell flat on her back. She could feel the cuts opening and the bruises pounding in complaint. Wow, it hurt.
"Evans, dear, why must you make it so easy for us to prank you?" said a sly voice coming from the end of the corridor. It was Potter and Black. Shit.
"I know, padfoot, it's getting rather boring. Petrificus Totalicus"
They laughed and left the hallway, still arguing about Simana Vince, or whatever her name was. Lily's eyes followed a stream of blood that was trickling down a crevice in the stone floor. 'Oh shit,' she thought. Suddenly there were footsteps on the staircase and from the darkness, someone whispered something. She could move her fingers- he legs; she was free.
"Hello?" she whispered quickly, calling out to the dark. No one answered. She slowly picked herself up with a cry of pain and muttered a few scab-spells to cover her cuts as best she could and a clean-up spell for the blood on the floor. No one would ever, and could never know.
Things did not get better by breakfast the next morning. Petunia sent a reply in form of a snake with a letter attached saying, "Love, your sister Petunia". Miranda and Sylvia walked over.
"That's funny. You got a snake in the mail."
"Who was it from?"
"That is certainly none of your concern. Please let me eat in peace" Lily replied in a fake polite tone.
"Hmm- Sylvia it's from her sister," Sylvia said, looking at the card. "What a funny name- Petunia. Is that a dog or something?"
Lily remained silent.
"That's sad Miranda. A snake for breakfast from your sister. I guess even her family thinks that she's foul."
Lily's hands clenched into fists. She stood up, gathered her things, vanquished the snake, and walked out of the hall.
The next Saturday, Lily stayed up in her room doing her remaining homework. From her dormitory window, Lily would see all of the north grounds, which included the Quiddich field. Though no one knew, Lily was an excellent flyer and was very interested in England's chances in the World Cup the following league. She didn't bother with small leagues that change players constantly. Lily focused her attention on the pitch, where the quarter-final game had just been played- Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff.
"Ah, yes.." she muttered. Gryffindor supporters were pouring out of the stands, cheering madly. Lily went back reading her book.
Two hours later, Lily found herself incapable of reading anymore. The effect of different kinds of mushrooms on potions was possibly one of the driest topics Slughorn had ever assigned for a report.
'I think I will go down for some food' she thought.
Everyone was too busy drinking and partying to notice her, or so she thought. She headed strait for the table with ham and pasta.
"Little Miss Evans, showing some house spirit. Who would of ever thought?" bellowed a tipsy Sirius Black from the corner of the room.
"Oh trust me, Black, I purely here getting food. I am not spirited, nor do I care that Gryffindor won their bloody match." Lily replied heatedly. It was then that she realized Potter was standing across the table from her.
"Tell me Evans, you're a sour bitch, your sister sent you a snake for breakfast, what in God's name is wrong with your mother?"
He had crossed the line. There was a line, and Potter had stepped gleefully into the emotional, hurtful side. She dropped her dish and the knife she was holding to cut the ham, and ran as fast as she could back into the dormitory, sobbing all the way.