A/N. Hey guys!

Sorry this chapter took so long. My older sister died about a month ago, and I haven't felt like writing. Um, I don't think it's quite up to scratch, but I figure I can come and redo it later if I want. Hope you like it.

One paragraph in this fic has inspired a series of drabbles, which I'm in the process of writing, about the marauders. It's all set in the same universe, but the drabbles will reach from just before first year, until the Halloween of '81. It's called 'Unpaid Debts'.

Read and Review as always!

Rach

8. Duelling Opinions

It wasn't until that afternoon, in double Potions, that Lily's mood dropped. Shivering as she entered the much cooler dungeons, Lily turned automatically, as she had for the last 5 years, to the second table on the right. Sev and Lily had always sat together during Potions, even when they were fighting. If Lily had thought about it, she would have decided that this fight, this estrangement, was different. But she hadn't. So the sight of Sev's and Mulciber's heads together at their table made her stomach freeze, and her smile disappear.

"Lil?" Confused by Lily's sudden silence, Mary looked around for what had caught her friend's attention. "Oh, Lil," she sighed. Sitting down with Marly and Viv, she patted the seat next to her. "Come on then." She cocked her head towards the other girls, "This way we get to utilize your knowledge!"

Lily gave a weak smile, and sat, unable to explain her melancholy. It had been her, after all, that had refused to mend their friendship.

"Wonderful, wonderful!" Professor Slughorn entered the dungeon, his jiggling belly preceding him. "Welcome, all of you, to NEWT level potions! Now, ordinarily I make some samples of especially exciting potions for your first lesson, but I simply haven't had time this year. I've been helping one of my old students, Damocles, with his submission for entry to the Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers." He looked around impressively. "Yes! Damocles always was a favourite of mine…had as much talent as Mr Snape, or Miss Evans here!" He beamed genially at them both. Lily looked hard at her desk, sure that Sev was scowling just as hard as she was blushing.

"So I'm afraid you'll all just have to take my word for it, that potions are capable of astonishing things! We'll be brewing a Draught of the Living Death today, and you'll have to make do with a block of honeydukes finest as a prize."

Lily's heart wasn't in her potion making that afternoon. Smiling sadly as she crushed her sopophorous beans, she remembered when she and Sev had discovered the more effective technique. She had suggested it, saying that her mother always crushed garlic: cutting it never got out as much juice. Sev had sneered at the idea of a muggle knowing anything about potions. Well, he sneered until he saw her potion change colour before his. How could she have ignored his disdain for so long?

Shaking her head, as though to dislodge the memory, she added a few extra drops of hellebore to her potion, forcing herself to record it in a neat copperplate script. Her book looked odd without Sev's thick, spiky additions, and it felt equally odd that she wasn't writing in his book as well. She looked back, turning quickly to her potion again when he met her eyes. She was concentrating so hard on not looking at her old friend, she barely noticed her friends passing her new instructions onto James and Peter. Sev noticed, though he couldn't see what the changes were.

Sev had always known when to add a random anticlockwise stir, or to let the potion sit for an extra 268 seconds. Lily could work it out of course, but where he did it instinctively, it took her a few pages of complicated arithmancy. He, she realised, must be feeling just as lost as she was. If Sev knew the best way to mix the ingredients, Lily knew what to add. It was fun for her to add boomslang skin, or geranium stems, just because it felt right. It reminded her of cooking with her Mum when she was little. Sev, who's mother, she thought darkly, had certainly never allowed him to choose which spices to put in dinner, had no idea what would cause an explosion, and what could reduce a side effect of nausea.

When, at the end of the lesson, James Potter was given the block of chocolate (Lily's potion was emitting purple sparks- she had gotten lost in memories at a very inappropriate time), Sev stayed behind and remade his. And that time, instead of watching Lily's hair slowly escape her bun, he would concentrate on his potion.

Lily, who could not see into his mind, knew only that when she left with her friends, exhausted, he stayed, still scowling at the congealed mess in his cauldron.

Sirius appeared suddenly in the corridor, knowing, like all the marauders, where exactly, in a seven-story castle, his friends were. Helping himself to some of James' chocolate, he looked far more pleased than Lily felt was warranted. "Thanks James! I owe you one!" Lily remembered the glee with which Sirius had said this phrase in first year. It had slowly relaxed into nothing more than a habit, but it seemed that the last six months had reignited Sirius' enthusiasm.

James rolled his eyes indulgently. "No debts between friends, mate." Lily was trying to fathom why Sirius' grin had grown at James' lacklustre response, when James offered the chocolate to her. "Lil- Er, Evans? I mean, it was your suggestions that won it for me…"

He looked decidedly nervous, and hadn't actually said anything ridiculous. More importantly, Lily could really do with some chocolate. Comfort eating was taken to a whole new level by honeydukes.

That evening, after Ancient Runes, all Lily wanted was to crawl into bed. It seemed the attack, and subsequent fight, at Diagon Alley had exhausted her. However, upon clambering through the portrait hole, she was met with a faceful of papers.

"Marly said you wanted my transfiguration notes!" Viv was standing in front of her, elfin features lit up by her smile.

Unable to say what she wanted, (after all, she really should be grateful), Lily merely opened and closed her mouth, not making a sound.

"I'll just imagine that you thanked me profusely, shall I?"

Lily laughed tiredly, before plopping into her favourite armchair. "I hate Runes."

Sirius sat down opposite her. "Nonsense! Studying for OWLs last year you were all about 'unlocking the magical secrets of the ancients'"

Lily glared balefully at him, and then at James for good measure. James, having already begun work on an essay, was far too energetic for her liking.

"That was last year," she replied finally. "This year the ancients can go hang!"

Sirius laughed delightedly. "You use the most muggle expressions when you're tired!"

Lily ignored him in what she hoped was a dignified manner.

"Why do you have transfiguration notes?" Sirius was leaning forward, reading upside down.

Lily continued her dignified silence, scowling at the notes in her hand. She sighed, and pulled a pen and notebook from her bag.

"You have transfiguration notes?" James looked up, a splash of ink on his nose.

Lily rolled her eyes, and went back to studying the theory of human transfiguration, specifically, ears.

"Really Lily, you could be doing something useful…like helping me with this disastrous rune translation, but instead you-"

"What are those?!" James cut his friend off, wonder in his voice.

Lily looked up distractedly. "Wha-?"

"That!" James was staring at her hands. "That's not a quill! I mean, it's not even a feather…but it's writing." He looked up at her, childlike in his awe, a far cry from his usual persona around Lily.

"It's a pen, Potter. Muggles use them to write with."

"Oh." James obviously hadn't bothered to take Muggle Studies. "But, I mean, you know about quills now. Why would you use a," he paused, obviously uncomfortable with the new word, "pen?"

"You're such a pureblood, Prongs!" From Sirius this was something of an insult.

"Wha-? No, I just," he furrowed his brow. "Well, they've even invented a self-inking quill now- I don't see how muggles could compare-"

Lily was fairly angry by then. Sev had been constantly surprised by the intelligence of muggles. "Pens are self-inking, you bloody prat! And muggles are clever!"

James, wide-eyed at the turn the conversation had taken, tried to interrupt. "No, Lil-"

"Where as you lot! You use old-fashioned, practically medieval quills! Tell me, do you beat anyone who's left-handed too?"

"Oh, yeah…"

"What!?" Lily stared at James, half sure that he was joking.

"Well, I mean, some families do. They say being left-handed is a sign of a squib…"

Lily gaped for a second, shaking her head, then stood. "You have ink on your nose," she said blankly, before making her way up to bed. As she left, she heard James whispering urgently to Sirius. She didn't care. She'd had all that she could take for the day, didn't even mind that she was going to miss dinner.

At breakfast the next morning Lily more than made up for the night before's lack of food. Her plate, piled high with bacon and eggs, was attracting more than a few glances.

"What have we got today then?" Viv attacked her pancakes, somehow managing to eat quickly, and with table manners. "I think the whole year has a free first!"

Lily blushed, shaking her head as she swallowed. "Nope. I've got History of Magic. I guess there aren't many people taking it…"

The girls laughed. Professor Binns, the History of Magic teacher, was the only ghost on staff. Even when discussing bloody Goblin wars he managed to put the class to sleep. It wasn't out of the realm of possibility that Lily was the only student taking it as a NEWT.

"Well, anyway. I've got Arithmancy after, and I know that other people are taking that."

Mary gave a shy smile. "I've got Care of Magical Creatures today! Professor Kettleburn's been hinting for years about the creatures we'll do in NEWT…" She sighed dreamily.

Viv laughed. "I guess that's why I'm free practically all day. I just have double Defence Against the Dark Arts this afternoon."

""I wonder what the new professor's like," Lily said musingly. "I haven't heard anyone talking about her…"

"I have." Marly said, suddenly serious. "Zac, one of the Ravenclaw chasers," she added, knowing that Mary didn't follow quidditch, "said she's awful."

"Really?" Viv's eyes were wide. "How?"

"Well, he said she's a good teacher and all, but," she paused, glancing around nervously, "apparently she has it in for muggleborns."

"What!"

"But she can't-"

Lily's voice cut across the chatter. "Does she support Voldemort?"

"I dunno Lil. Zac's only saying what he's heard…but you guys'll be careful, yeah?" She looked anxiously from Lily to Viv, both of whom were more than able to shoot their mouths off.

The two girls nodded slowly, and stole glances at the staff table for the rest of breakfast.

History of Magic was just as boring as everyone predicted. While Lily usually enjoyed hearing about the history of her new world, even she didn't care about how NEWTs evolved, and why they were so important. Arithmancy was marginally better. Professor Pi, a balding, slightly chubby man, had more than one tone. Also, instead of sitting with two impressively intellectual Ravenclaws (as she had that morning), Lily sat between Peter and Sirius. The two boys managed to entertain her even while they napped on their desks- Sirius snored loudly.

She spent her spare in the library, once again hunched over her wandless magic text. Despite immense concentration and extensive repetition, when the bell rang, she hadn't managed to see more than a slight glint out the corner of her eye. Sighing, she hurried to Defence. After all, if Professor Griffin really did hate muggleborns, it wouldn't do to be late.

The other Gryffindor girls didn't seem to feel the same way. When the Professor walked into the classroom, Lily was still sitting alone at an empty table.

"Welcome class. My name is Professor Griffin, and I'm your new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor." The woman at the front of the room looked to be in her mid thirties- young for a teacher at Hogwarts. "As you can see, we have had to split this class into houses, because we have such high enrolment. Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws will have this lesson on Wednesdays. I suggest that you take these classes very seriously. They could well save your life."

As she paused to take a breath, the door swung open. It had been pushed too hard, hitting the wall with a bang.

"Sorry we're late!" Marly announced cheerfully. "We got held up out at the lake!" All three girls were flushed from the outdoors.

Lily glanced from her friends' happy faces, to the scowling face of their Professor. She was watching Mary worriedly when the three girls sat at her table.

"I see." Professor Griffin smiled nastily. "Before you so rudely interrupted, I was explaining to the class the immense importance of learning Defence Against the Dark Arts in these times." As she scanned the class Lily felt a jolt of nerves- Professor Griffin was not going to let it drop this easily. "Some of you will do better than others, some of you will still be alive in 5 years. I will not waste my time. I do not agree with the Dark Lord, but I also do not see the point in teaching muggleborns to defend themselves. You will be targeted, and there is no defence. However, Professor Dumbledore has demanded that I teach you all." She looked directly at the Gryffindors. "I will. But I will not compromise the education of others to do so. Tuesdays will be a practical class, a duelling class. You will be split by your house colours." She clapped twice. "Please line up, red to my left, green to my right."

The Slytherins moved quickly, leaving the Gryffindors gaping in their seats. It was one thing, Lily thought, to know that Voldemort hated you for your blood. It was another thing entirely to be told by a professor that you weren't worth teaching, because you had no chance of survival.

"Gryffindors! Move!" Her voice barked out the order, causing all 8 of them to jump to their feet. "Professors Flitwick and McGonagall have kindly volunteered to help me supervise," she said, gesturing to a shadowed corner.

Lily could clearly see the thin line of McGonagall's lips. Even Flitwick's perpetual smile had faded.

"They will give you advice where they see fit. Now, please pick an opponent from the other- Oh!" She stopped, scanning the students. "We seem to have one too many Lions. One of you will sit out. A muggleborn, obviously." She seemed unaware of the stir she had caused, sifting through a few papers on her desk.

Lily met Viv's eyes. What should she do? She knew from the practice duels in last years Defence classes that Viv would never be much of a dueller. But what does that mean? Should she do as Professor Griffin believed, and give her up for lost, or should she let Viv learn what she could, become as good as possible, and sacrifice her own considerable skills in the process.

"Professor?" Viv was considerably more subdued than 2 minutes ago, when she entered the classroom. "Would it be possible for us to alternate?" She shot a pleading glance at Lily. "That way we can both-"

"No." Professor Griffin's voice was hard. "The only chance you have to survive is to take everything you can! There's no room for Gryffindor nobility or Hufflepuff loyalty in my classroom." Her gaze moved to Lily. "Perhaps you are capable of being what your friend is not? Can you make a ruthless decision?" Her lips quirked, as though, Lily thought, she expected Lily to be unable of making a decision at all.

She smiled coolly. "I'm very decisive, Professor." She ignored Viv's twitch beside her. "I'll sit this class out."

"Li-"

"It's fine Viv." Lily turned, catching the hand of her terrified friend. "You need the practice more than I do." She tried to smile.

"Outrageous!" Professor Flitwick squeaked.

"This is my class, Filius. You are here merely to supervise the students."

"Very well, Tracy, I plan to supervise Miss Evans. I do hope that this meets your approval." His smile was far more smug than usual when he turned towards Lily. "Alright," he waved his wand casually, forming a barrier between them and the other students. "We're doing mock duels, just like last year, but this time we're going to see how you do if your opponent lands a silencing charm. Silencio!" He smiled at Lily's shock. "I'll go easy on you, Miss Evans."

Lily blinked, still wrong footed by the recent chain of events. She tried to respond, but only mouthed at him silently.

"Just nod when you're ready." Professor Flitwick was smiling kindly; Lily was, after all, one of his favourite students.

Lily took a deep breath. For the last two years, Defence Against the Dark Arts had involved practice duels, but she had never had to duel a teacher before, let alone Professor Flitwick. It was common knowledge that he had been a world champion dueller in his youth. Breathing a sigh of relief that she had learnt to undo a silencing charm (silently) only the day before, Lily nodded.

She barely had time to raise her wand before Professor Flitwick shot a red beam of light towards her. Her hurried shield charm flickered when the stunner hit it, but held.

Lily smiled, relieved, and waved her wand casually as she thought, 'Ordinarius'.

The moment that the spell took to cast gave the charms Professor an opening. He used it, sending what looked like a tickling jinx straight at her chest. Lily, her own wand still pointing at her neck, dropped heavily to the floor to avoid the yellow flash.

Ignoring the pain in her knees bought her enough time to point her wand back at her teacher, her shield charm strong enough to deflect Flitwick's disarming jinx. Lily scrambled to her feet as he dodged the ricocheting spell.

She met his gaze, already breathing hard. She didn't notice the wand movement that gave rise to a leg-locker curse, and she was unable to summon the presence of mind to cast a silent shield. "Protego!"

Lily smiled at Professor Flitwick's shock, and, if she wasn't mistaken, the pride that glinted in his eyes. It was only as she saw a trio of spells coming towards her that she realised she had given away her only advantage. Her shield held as the first spell collided with it, but faltered with the second. She jumped right to avoid the third, and winced as she felt the energy skim past her ear. When she met his eyes again he was still smiling calmly. She was out of her depth.

She squared her shoulders. She was going down, but she was damned if she'd go down without giving it her best.

"Stupefy! Tantellegra! Expelliarmus!" She broke off as Flitwick shielded, easily countering her spells, but not bothering to respond.

She searched her memory as she continued firing. She needed an obscure spell, one he wouldn't expect, that he might not have time to counter. "Reducto! Accio Wand!" Nothing. She tried vanishing, hair curling, bludgeoning…he twisted, turned, and conjured shields out of air, all the while looking completely at ease.

Sectumsempra sprung into her mind for a moment; after all, didn't it cut through ordinary shield charms? But it was dark magic, and this was only a game. It gave her an idea though. The toenail hex she had invented with Sev might just work. It had always broken through their shields. "Aditus Digitalis"

His eyes widened slightly as it flew towards him, but with a careless wave of his wand his shield, suddenly glowing a faint blue, repelled it. However, it seemed that he had finally decided to fight back. Still casting his spells silently, Professor Flitwick sent streams of colour flashing towards her.

Lily dodged; she shielded; she jumped, and even, on one particularly desperate occasion, sent a spell of her own to deflect a vicious looking purple light. It wasn't enough. Sweating and exhausted, she didn't see the orange beam streaking across the ground until it collided with her foot. Her trainer turned orange. The deadly spells that Lily had been desperately avoiding were colour change charms.

"Patronizing Prat!"

After a moment of shock, he laughed. After all, it wasn't everyday that students insult respected professors. Admittedly, when a student did, it was often Lily, but this time it wasn't just her frustration talking. She used the half-second of distraction to fling a stinging hex at him. He sidestepped at the last minute, the hex whizzing past him, but it scorched his sleeve.

"Wonderful Miss Evans!" His voice, while still squeaky, was not at all out of breath. "A shade quicker and you'd have had me!" He looked positively delighted as he lowered his wand and gestured her towards the rest of her class.

She scowled. "Wonderful?" Aside from the small scorch on his sleeve, he looked as though he had just been for a walk in the park. She, on the other hand, was red faced and panting. She could feel sweat beaded on her forehead, and could see the strands of hair that had once again managed to escape her bun. One of her sneakers was orange.

He smiled happily at her, all of three feet tall. "Yes, yes! 10 points to Gryffindor! I don't think I've ever had a student land a spell on me before. To have you do it as a sixth year, and the first time we've ever duelled? One of the best attempts I've seen at Hogwarts!"

Lily forced a smile, but she knew the truth of what Professor Griffin had said now. Being the best dueller at Hogwarts wasn't enough. Beating Bellatrix Black wasn't enough. Not if she wanted to survive.

So I hope you liked it! And please review if you have time!
Rach