Hola! If anyone is still with this, I'm super sorry I've taken so long to update! University is craaaaaazy! But here's another chapter, I'm thinking of keeping going with this, but Reviews are so important to me! They're what keep me wanting to write! So if you could leave one, I'd be super super grateful! Many thanks, Happy Reading!

Chapter Three: The Fall Of A Petal

It was indeed perhaps far too early for Lily to be awake and functioning properly, having sluggishly pulled on her uniform only moments before departing for the Great Hall, hoping that some kind of food would awaken her slightly. After having seated herself and pulled a plate towards her, she sighed heavily, missing the smell of fresh croissants that used to greet her when she attended Beauxbatons, opting instead for a slice of toast, lathering it heavily with butter. "Yo!" A familiar and yet incredibly annoying voice sounded out from behind her before a body slung itself down next to hers, a long arm clamping around her neck suddenly and sucking her sideways. "How is the ginger Petal this morning?" Sirius smiled devilishly at her, his eyebrows wiggling viciously in her direction. She rolled her eyes exasperatedly and threw him off of her.

"'Scuse?" She asked rather laxidasically, pretending to huff a little as he shuffled a little closer. She had become used to such behaviour from him now. Over the past week or so, he had taken to throwing himself onto her shoulders as hard as he could and leaning against her fully, enjoying himself thoroughly at her desperate attempts to keep both of them upright.

"How are you?" He asked in an overly sickening voice, ruffling her hair slightly before raising an eye at James who had sat opposite then, "Swear she's either thick or deaf…" He held a hand to cover his mouth, though the volume at which he spoke did not falter and Lily had an overwhelming urge to throw her plate at him, but rather quickly decided against it.

"Shut it you!" She opted for instead, nodding and smiling at Remus who had sat down beside her and Peter who was across from him. "What do you want, Black?" She asked rather forcefully, though the corners of her lips tugged, a glint in her eyes as they slid sideways towards him.

"Honestly Lily. We just want to have breakfast." James commented, picking up a goblet and filling it with what she could only assume to be pumpkin juice. Her heart fluttered slightly but soon settled itself as he began opening a letter, scented with Lavender, one that she could not have mistaken for anyone's but her sister's stationary, and began reading it intently. She bit her lip a little, disheartened and upset, but shaking the feeling almost as soon as it had overtaken her, refusing to let this get to her any longer. She had decided that no more would she compete for his affections, they had already been won in so little time, and she would hinder herself no further.

"You not answering me then Petal?" Sirius's voice broke through to her again and she turned to him, her brows burrowing furiously, eyes squinting in his direction,

"…Why would you even call me that?" She gave a huge sniff and shovelled the remaining corner of her toast into her mouth, "What a horrific nickname." She stated, a few crumbs flicking out onto the table in front of her, earning a rather large grin from Peter, who she winked at, causing him to blush furiously and face the table immediately, and peering back up at her. But she only gave him an assuring smile, which he returned bashfully.

"I thought it was better than calling you cowbag." Sirius poked her arm furiously and her eyes widened. She sprung her hand around to catch his finger with alarming speed, crushing it in her palm and forcing it back up against his own nose. She seemed to have caught him unawares as he seemed to be rather floppy in her grasp, a momentary flash of shock crossing over him before he regained his composure.

"One: I'm not a cow. Two: I'm not stuck in a bag. Your thoughts are therefore invalid regardless." Releasing his finger she returned to her plate, taking another piece of toast as he shook his hand in mock pain,

"So rude…" He clasped it to his chest and Lily gave a small chuckle. She had to admit, she rather liked Sirius. He most certainly was not any kind of boyfriend material, but more like the annoying big brother she had never had, nor desired for that matter. He brought a certain light to her life, one that she could safely say she had not felt before. True, her friends from Beauxbatons had made the palace where she could truly call home, but he was entirely different, a real elder sibling who, more often than not, did not make her feel as though she did not have the right to life.

"I quite liked it." Came James' voice, though he did not look up from his letter to meet her gaze as she stared slightly wide eyes at him.

"Potter?" She asked cautiously, "You…You do?" He finally folded the letter and placed it inside his robes, beginning his breakfast by giving her a small smile and piling food onto his plate.

"Of course Evans," She bit her lip a little, waiting for him to continue, "Petal and Petty!" Lily drew back into herself in disgust,

"What in the name of Merlin is a Petty?" She asked him, sounding a little crazy as she looked to each of them in horror,

"Petunia of course!" James suddenly broke out into a dreamy gaze, looking directly over her head and into nothingness, his eyes glazed behind his glasses as he drifted into himself.

"Naww, Prongsey and Petty!" Sirius jeered, James coming back to his senses and reddening considerable, picking up his fork and stabbing harshly at his plate, refusing to look at any of them. He gained colour in his face as quickly as it drained from Lily's, who began hastily chewing the inside of her cheek, itching to leave the table immediately. She may have given up on him, but did not wish to have his and her sisters relationship paraded in front of her. "I do believe you've become a tomato my dear friend!" Sirius laughed to himself, only to narrowly miss the plate thrown at his head, which landed a few feet away with a loud clatter, though did not draw the attention of many of the other students, perhaps a regular occurrence for the boys of the Gryffindor table. It seemed that James had indeed taken Lily's thoughts to the next level, and where she had resisted, he had acted, his remaining titbits of food strewn out over the table in front of him.

"Shut it Black." He said harshly, gulping down juice as fast as possible. Peter made a sudden movement out of his seat, pulling himself upwards and moving quickly out of sight, though none but Lily seemed to notice his absence. She stared after him for a few moments, even though she could no longer see him, being brought back to herself only by the voice of Sirius, who was busily drawing as much attention to himself as possible.

"Hmm…Petal's rudeness is definitely rubbing off on you." Sirius huffed loudly and gave the most forced pout Lily was ever likely to see again in her life, but she had no sympathy for him, he brought it all upon himself.

"Stop calling me that!" She pursed her lips at him, but he shrugged lightly, picking at the few crumbs the plate had left in front of him and flicking them at James who seemed to be trying to ignore him,

"You know the alternative." He sang at her, Lily resisting the urge to retaliate, a soft hand touching her shoulder lightly,

"Ignore them Lily, I think it's very cute." She turned pink slightly and smiled at the sandy – haired boy next to her,

"Remus…" Her voice was soft, it seemed to always be when she spoke to him, and she couldn't help herself. Kindness seemed to be the only thing that she wished to give to this boy, for it seems that truly, it was exactly what he deserved.

"Why is he on first name terms?" Sirius spun her around to face him, his hands grasped tightly onto her shoulders, the look on his face so convincing that she could have sworn he was about to cry, yet already, she knew him far too well.

"Because, BLACK, he is not a moron nor the bane of my life." She peeled his fingers from her and stood suddenly, needing to at least get some kind of peace before the day began.

"I don't know why you complain so much, I'm practically perfect. Your life would be so boring without me." He turned his head upwards and pulled at her sleeve, dragging him down towards her, though in honesty, she did not move far, he was practically the same size as her sat down when she stood. "Besides, I like you! You're not one of those creepy girls that follow me around trying to lick my hair or steal my shoes." Her stomach gave an involuntary squeeze of disgust as she gave a shifty look around them,

"Who does that…" She muttered to no one in particular, none of them seeming to have heard her speak as she peered around at several suspicious – looking blond – haired girls from the year below her who were busily giggling to themselves devilishly and pointing in his direction.

"Well, I'm sure you'll be ready for Halloween Hysteria then." Remus laughed lightly, teasing Sirius away from Lily, who gave him a kind smile and straightened herself considerably. Her ears pricked up a little in the new direction that their conversation had taken, but she tried to hide her interest and busied herself with the retrieval of her bag from beneath the table, which seemed to have become lost amongst their various limbs. "Best to prepare early!"

"But I don't wanna…" Sirius began to moan. She had to admit, he sure was in an incredibly lamentable mood this morning, having not seen him act so whiney in all the time that she had thus far known him. She decided instead to humour him and ask the obvious question,

"Wha-" She began, but he seemed fully prepared for her,

"Some stupid party we end up at. Only fourth years and above." He said flippantly, seeing what she was searching for and kicking her bag towards her, which she pulled up onto her shoulders and adjusted slightly. The three of them seemed to have become bored with the way things had become and settled into themselves until a few moments later when Peter came and sat back down, "Wait. Where've you been?" Sirius asked suddenly, seemingly having just become aware of his reappearance, the other two staring in his direction,

"Actually, I just asked McKinnon to go with me." There was a sharp intake of breath and the three of them exchanging glances and shuffling uncomfortably. Peter's face became stony as he pulled further food onto his plate, refusing to make eye – contact with any of them. "She said yes…" He mumbled out quietly, the others falling back into themselves, and Lily rolling her eyes heavily at them.

"Oh, oh yes!" James said hastily, visibly kicking the other two under the table, but clearly missing Remus and hitting Peter instead, who whipped his head around at him furiously.

"Of course!" Remus proclaimed regardless, Sirius shaking his head furiously.

"Knew it! Knew it!" He added, the three of them turning to look at Lily expectantly, as though she could save them from drowning in the hole that they had created for themselves, but she refused to do so. She would not be the one to mother them.

"You awful people…" She squinted at them heavily, "So rude." She shook her head quickly and they returned into themselves shiftily.

"So. Who you asking?" Remus broke the silence, directing his question more towards James, who had resumed his breakfast,

"Think Dumbledore will let me invite Petty?" He asked lazily, not lifting his eyes from his plate. Lily's chest tightened, all she could think was how he literally could not go from one conversation to the next without bringing her beloved sister into play. She bit into her bottom lip and shifted her weight from foot to foot,

"I really don't think so." Remus commented back,

"Hmm, perhaps. Maybe, what you think Petal?" Lily stiffened, not really wanting to stand here anymore. Not to hear her name, nor her sisters, could not continue the charade of being a part of their entourage any longer. She turned upon her heels suddenly, whipping her hair behind her and not looking back.

~x~x~x~

"What are you reading?" A voice drew Lily from her concentrated state and she turned around to see a familiar face.

"Oh, Emma. I hadn't seen you there." She smiled widely at the new body in the room, having been so deeply immersed in her own world, her imagination taking over her as she fell into another world, away from the stresses of life and to peace. But now here her frizzy – haired friend had pushed her way into Lily's space and drawn her out and back into the world.

"I just walked in…" She commented lightly, an eyebrow raised slightly, an awkward sensation falling over Lily's shoulders as she realised the obviousness and idiocy of her words.

"Oh…Yeah…That would make sense…" She mumbled, noting Emma's eyes becoming drawn to the black book that she had been so engrossed in. "Ah, it's just a Muggle book." She held it up to show her a little and Emma bent inwards, squinting at the golden letters,

"…Barry…Trotter..?" She said slowly, giving Lily a quizzical look, clearly questioning what on earth she had been so focused upon drinking in. But to Lily, this book was the epitome of the fantasy life. The conclusion to the greatest series of books she had ever had the pleasure to indulge herself in.

"Yes. Barry Trotter and the Deathly Breath of Marshmallows." Lily replied breathlessly, a large grin forming over her face, happiness swelling within her as she thought about all the hours she had spent in the world of these books, the lessons that they had taught her and the love that she had learnt from them.

"Do I…Even want to know?" Emma straightened up slightly, reshuffling the bag upon her back slightly and wiggling her nose about as though a foul smell had entered the room. Though Lily had become used to this action, seeing it not as an action of disgust, but more as a habit that she could not break, though this did not deter others from thinking the worst of her.

"Oh it's great! See, there's Barry," Lily shut her book and held it out to show a small blue – haired boy on the front cover, dressed in a giant marshmallow, "And he's been battling the evil Viscount Baldywarts. I won't spoil it for you, but, it involves his two best friends Donald Beeswax and Persephone the Texas Ranger, AND a quest in search of these sacred Marshmallows hidden all over the city and inside their school, Green Frog Courts." She sped through, the words almost mumbling into one another as she babbled on. There was a pause before Emma spoke, the two of them shuffling awkwardly, Lily's smile faltering slightly.

"Erm…I don't really think I'll be giving that one a read actually, Griffy." She gave a small smile and shook her head, Lily giving a short sharp laugh at another of her newly acquired nicknames, though was fully aware that she only used it in rather awkward situations or in those where she was being particularly devilish.

"Really?" Lily replied, slightly surprised at her, "You're missing out on a treat!" She half sang out, waving the book a little further into her face, which drew a small smile from her friend, "It's getting craaaazy!" Lily slumped into her chair, all too aware that a dreamy look had taken over her face, the excitement as the end neared overwhelming her slightly.

"How many books are there so far?" Emma asked, perhaps out of vague interest, though Lily suspected her to only be being polite and as not to seem as though she were altogether oblivious.

"Thirteen before this one. But this is the last one. So fourteen all together." Lily looked up at her, though seeing her features twist in mild apprehension she shuffled upwards, "Come on! Don't give me that face!" She pointed directly into Emma's face warningly, with the sternest look upon her face that she could muster.

"I'll give you whatever damn face I want!" Emma slammed her palm onto the desk in front of Lily and glared down at her, the two of them suddenly locking eyes harshly. Though almost immediately they both broke out into large grins, a ripple of grins splashing out over them. She had to admit, she rather enjoyed their tempestuous battle of friendship, the challenge that they presented one another, their similarities and differences complementing one another so vividly.

"I-" Lily began, but was rudely interrupted as the door banged open behind her, a gaggle of Gryffindor's filing in behind them.

"Oi! Evans!" Came the voice of James Potter, a harsh and scathing tone lacing his words, "What are you doing?" The two of them spun around to find him but a few feet from them, scowling slightly in Emma's direction. Lily stood abruptly and took a few steps towards him, anger beginning to swell inside of her stomach.

"What now Potter?" She asked, her tone quite cool in comparison to how she felt, "Are you seriously starting again?" Lily had to admit, although the boy in front of her was indeed unbelievably attractive, was fun, kind and witty. But he was also oblivious to others and their feelings, something she had been subject to first hand.

"Leave if Lily…" Emma placed a hand upon her arm, but she wasn't going to continue with this anymore. He had to be told in her opinion, and now was the best time to do so, when he was challenging their friendship in public.

"No. It's absolutely ridiculous!" Her voice raised a little, almost as though she were hoping to frighten him, despite its futility.

"Lily!" Emma insisted, staring directly at James, the two of them not moving, even as she spoke softly to Lily, "Please." Lily looked to her, a calmness washing over her at the blankness of her friend's stare, "I have to go any way…" Her eyes breaking their bond with James' and flicking towards the door as another group of students came in, and then to Lily, "See you around." And with that, she left. Something that Lily had become accustomed to. Emma's Slytherin friends also did not approve of their friendship, and would often bully her about it, and so Lily did not wish to burden her further with their mockery and left her to return to them once they had arrived. Turning from her retreating back and towards James her brows knitted together once more.

"What is wrong with you?" She jabbed him hard in the chest and he shuffled back a little, pushing his glasses back up over the bridge of his nose and ruffling his hair shiftily, "To think I actually…" Lily threw her hands in the air and sighed exasperatedly, turning her back to him and silently cursing herself for almost allowing embarrassing words to fall from her lips,

"Actually what?" He asked, a hint of curiosity drifting towards her, but she refused to look at him, confusion and nerves spreading throughout her body, a slightly tingling in her skin at the thrill of a a possible heated moment with him,

"Thought you were decent!" She spluttered out, folding her arms into one another as she felt him move around to her side, a confused face staring down at her as his eyes searched for her, of which she tried desperately to avoid.

"I just don't like the idea of you being-" He began after a huge breath, only to stop suddenly, walking away from her and throwing behind him, "We'll talk about this later." Lily snorted, refusing to be spoken to in such a demanding way,

"We will not!" She spun around quickly, not even thinking as she called out to him, "Potter!" Not having realised that Professor McGonagall had swept into the roof and had indeed been stood directly behind her,

"Miss Evans, to your seat if you could." She said crisply, peering down at her through her spectacles, Lily squirming a little under her gaze in embarrassment, steadily reddening.

"Yes Mam." She replied quietly, "Sorry Mam." She immediately turned, sitting herself down and drawing out a piece of parchment and her quill, staring blankly down at it, losing herself a little in the grains of the table in front of her, pondering over her short encounter with James and Emma, and the uncertainty that she felt growing within herself. She was cautious of this place, and in truth, couldn't really work out why. She looked to her hands and suddenly realised her quill was gone. She looked all over the desk and under her parchment, then under her seat and desk before checking herself then rummaging through her bag.

"You are paying attention aren't you Miss Evans?" McGonagall's voice broke over her, and she snapped her head up instantly, seeing her holding out her wand in the direction of her table, and Lily could only assume that she was the source of her quills disappearance.

"Yes Mam." She mumbled, looking down into her hands, thoroughly embarrassed,

"Let's begin then shall we?" The Professor said, before shuffling over towards Lily, who had slowly drawn out her wand, internally cursing herself for not having paid attention to her elder and was now at a complete loss as to what exactly she was supposed to be doing. Indeed it came as a complete surprise when the Professor placed a small snail in front of her and she stared at it intently, "Something wrong?"

"No Professor." Lily replied, without even looking at the older woman, instead staring blankly at the small creature, completely bewildered as to its purpose. Yet there came a sudden mumbling from behind her, a certain boy from across the street who had sensed her distress and come to her rescue. She held out her wand towards the snail, and whispered lightly, "Evanesco." Mentally thanking James as the snail vanished and the corners of Professor McGonagall's mouth began to twitch, relief having previously washed over Lily at having already begun to study the Vanishing Spell before leaving Beauxbatons.

"Good…Good." She muttered turning momentarily from Lily and reaching behind her, replacing the snail with a small mouse, which sniffed happily and moved a few centimetres before becoming still, "Shall we try something a little more…Complex?" The Professor asked, standing back and little as Lily nodded up at her. Brandishing her wand, she repeated the spell

"Evanesco." Yet the mouse jumped an inch to the left and the spell disintegrated before touching anything, "Evanesco." She tried again, but it simply scurried away to the other end of the table, angering her now, "Evanesco!" Lily cried, the mouse hurting from the table and the full force of the spell she had cast blasting into the bottom of a stack of books pushed high against the back wall behind the teachers table, the bottom of them disappearing and the remainder cascading around the room in an unordered array causing a ridiculous amount of mess and noise. Lily winced heavily, her eyes sliding up to McGonagall who was staring down at her furiously, "…Sorry…"

~x~x~x~

"It's ridiculous." Marlene stated from her place upon a stone bench, shrouded in a canopy of vines shading her, looking over towards a group of girls who had surrounded James, Sirius and Remus, with Peter dragging behind, as they had exited the castle and out into the Transfiguration Courtyard where the girls of Lily's dorm had gather for one of the rare occasions where they could enjoy one another's company in the dying rays of the day. It was clear that as the days clear shorter and the Halloween party grew closer, girls grew wilder in their quests to obtain a date for the dance, with a new fight breaking out every few minutes or so as to who would win the affections of the three unclaimed Gryffindor boys.

"Abhorrent." Alice added, turning away from them and returning to Marlene, whose hair she had been busily plaiting, refusing to look any longer, having no interest in such things and considering herself above such things as a final year student.

"Disgraceful." Emmeline did not even look up from the journal she was writing in, continuing to sit upon the floor and lean against Marlene's legs.

"I'd love to go with Sirius." Came Lily's final roommate, drawing the attention of the other four, as she looked dreamily at the group of boys, her head resting heavily in one hand as she lent upon her knees from upon the floor.

"Dorcas!" Lily cried out, giving the girl a small smack upon the arm, drawing her out of her trance with a cheeky grin, poking Lily back and giggling happily. Lily had to admit, these girls could never replace her friends at Beuxbatons, those that would always hold a special place inside of her heart, a warming glow that brought back beautiful memories. In a way, spending time like this saddened her, a dying fire for her foreign friends flickering inside of her as the possibility of never seeing them again truly settled over her. And yet, these girls were still her friends. They were a different set of friends. They had brought life back to her, had welcomed her and refused to allow her to become isolated at Hogwarts. And now, she sat, as she thought a normal teenage girl would in her free time, without a care in the world, at least or the time being, she had thought. For now, in front of her was the object of her affection. James Potter. Her neighbour, her housemate, her classmate. But also her sisters…well, Lily wasn't sure exactly what he and Petunia were to one another, but from what she could tell, Petunia wasn't letting go of something she'd been able to snag so easily, and he was clearly bamboozled by her beauty. He was himself, beautiful to her, he was charming and intelligent, quirky and witty, athletic and a strong wizard. But he was also incredibly prejudice against Slytherin's, a practical joker and blinded by outer looks over inner splendour. And Lily knew that there would be no challenge against her sister. No matter how it twanged at her heart, she had come to accept that she could look from afar, but it was best for her to bury any feelings that could have developed for him.

"Lily?" Marlene asked suddenly, Lily whipping her head around to look at her, only to find Alice staring at her quizzically also, Dorcas having resumed her position staring at Sirius and Emmeline continuing to ignore the whole situation. She gave a bright smile to assure the two of them and then cleared her throat a little.

"So…Any of you lot got dates?" She asked trying to sound light – hearted, focusing her eyes thoroughly upon the group of girls before her, refusing to pay any heed to the noise of the ever growing group over the other side of the courtyard.

"Yes. Peter. Obviously." Marlene said happily, a large smile breaking out over her face, seemingly having forgotten her concern for Lily's distant behaviour, of which she was incredibly grateful.

"Whatever do you see in that boy?" Dorcas snapped her head around suddenly, clearly having no idea as to why anyone would ever find another boy other than Sirius attractive. Marlene huffed at her and Dorcas faltered a little, clearly aware that she had hit a nerve with her friend,

"Hey!" She snapped, "He's sweet when you get to know him." Marlene justified, ragging herself around to stare at Dorcas fully, Alice's fingers becoming entangled and mangled in her hair, though she seemed not to notice as Alice tried to release herself.

"That's true enough." Lily interjected, saving Alice's fingers and bringing Marlene back around to face her, "He's a good friend." Marlene gave her a small smile of thanks of which Lily returned. A small silence passed over them before Alice spoke,

"I'm going with Frank." She mumbled out quietly, though the name did not register with Lily, who was unsure of who she was referring,

"Frank?" She asked, Alice reddening considerably at this, seemingly unable to answer as she fumbled with Marlene's hair further,

"Longbottom." Emmeline commented for her, again not even bothering to look up from her position. Lily though carefully for the face that she knew matched the name, taking only a few seconds to locate and attach features to the named boy. A Ravenclaw from the year above Lily, who she knew very little of other than he was an incredibly truthful boy, tall and headstrong, wise and good with a wand, and incredibly talented wizard.

"You never said!" Lily cried, a wave of happiness rushing over her for Alice, moving over and giving her a congratulatory squeeze on the shoulder.

"Oh, are you kidding? She's been after him for years!" Marlene commented, earning her hair a short sharp tug from Alice, who she tried to round upon but could not for Alice's grip upon her hair.

"Shut up you!" She hissed, but Lily simply laughed, followed by the others, until even Alice broke out into a small smile, blushing brightly and shifting a little uncomfortably, though still looking pleased with herself. Lily had to admit, she had grown incredibly fond of the easy nature of the girls. They filled her with confidence, they gave her a relaxed strength. And for that, she was truly grateful.

Japan's Arc Angel

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