Author's note: Hello all. Thank you for being patient with me while I was on hiatus. I am so sorry that I haven't updated sooner. Anyways, here is the new chapter and I hope you like it! Review please!

Chapter Seven: Hangovers and Alchemy

Lily thought her head was going to explode. She regretted so much from the previous night, but it was one of the best evenings she had had in a long while. She slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes. When she looked around, she noticed that she was sitting in her bed. Funny, she didn't remember how she got there. She groggily stood up and stumbled over to her bathroom.

She turned on the shower and, while she was waiting for it to heat up, grabbed her robes and set them on the counter. She stepped in the shower and let the warm water wash over the previous night. When she was done, she got out and dried off with her towel. She stepped into her school things and turned to look in the mirror.

Lily groaned as she saw that her hair was a damp mess. She picked up her wand, dried her hair, and gave it a little wave. She walked into her room and grabbed her bag.

The Head's common room was empty and quiet. She wondered if James was already down at breakfast. She did not check, though. Instead, she headed out into the main common room. Marlene and Emmeline were waiting for her at the fire.

"Lily!" Marlene cried then scrutinized her face. "You look terrible."

"Thanks, Marls. My head is pounding and I'm thirsty and hungry, but I don't think I want to eat anything…" Lily said grumpily.

Emmeline laughed and said, "We can get you some pumpkin juice at breakfast, come on!"

The three girls started making their way to the Great Hall.

At breakfast, Marlene was searching for Sirius. The table was crowded with students chattering excitedly. Schedules were supposed to be handed out once breakfast was over. Lily was anxious to see when her Alchemy class would be held.

The girls gathered to a spot near the middle of the Gryffindor table. Dorcas was already seated there; her dark hair was pulled back in a plait that hung over her shoulder.

"Dorcas!" Lily greeted and took the seat next to her. Marlene and Emmeline sat across from them. "Where did you run off to last night? We missed you."

"I wasn't feeling too well. I think I ate something funny at the feast last night or I was just nervous for my classes today." Dorcas replied, lowering her hand from the table to her stomach.

"I hope you're feeling better today," Lily told her honestly.

"I am, Lils, thanks," Dorcas said. She continued eating her eggs and sausage; the smell of it made Lily's head pound and her stomach squirm.

She took a deep breath and poured herself some orange juice.

"Feeling alright, Evans?" a voice asked. Sirius had appeared with Peter and plopped down next to Marlene. He gave her a peck on the cheek and started piling food onto his plate.

"Oh yes, Sirius, I am feeling fine! Never better," she said brightly, grimacing as she caught a whiff of the food he was putting in front of him. He let out his bark like laugh and began to eat. Dorcas shot Lily a curious look but didn't say anything.

"How are you on your feet?" Marlene asked Sirius in wonder. "I saw you drink so much of that bottle! Lily was close behind, but you had so much more than she did."

"I'm an alcoholic, love. So, I am always drunk," he told her.

Marlene rolled her eyes at him.

Dorcas turned her eyes to Lily. "You drank last night?" she inquired with wonder.

"W-well… yeah. It's been a rough end to the summer and-," Lily responded. Dorcas pursed her lips.

"I see," Dorcas said. Lily didn't feel comfortable with the way Dorcas was eyeing her.

As the meal progressed, Professor McGonagall was maneuvering around the Great Hall and hanging out schedules. Before she arrived at their section of the Griffindor table, Potter came sprinting into the Hall and slid into the seat next to Lily.

"It's about ruddy time!" exclaimed Sirius.

"Yeah, yeah, well I'm here now," James said. His hair was a wreck, his shirt was half tucked in. He had some toothpaste on the corner of his mouth and his glasses were slightly askew. Lily saw him glance at her.

"James… are you alright?" she asked.

"Never better! Why?" he looked around nervously.

"Because it looks like you're just… not prepared…" she signaled to his mouth. He touched his face and hurriedly tried to wipe off the toothpaste.

"Oh my god. I overslept and now I'm just a right mess," he began. He straightened his glasses, ran his hands through his hair, tucked in his shirt, and poured himself a giant glass of pumpkin juice.

"Better?" he asked Lily, raising his eyebrows.

"Your hair looks fine, Potter!" snapped Professor McGonagall, who rolled her eyes and handed him his schedule.

She passed one to Lily as well. She eagerly took the schedule from her and devoured its contents.

Times- Monday/ Tuesday/ Wednesday/ Thursday/ Friday

9:00-10:30 Charms/ Potions/ Arithmancy/ Transfiguration/ Alchemy

10:30-10:45 Break

10:45-11:30 History of Magic/ Defense Against the Dark Arts/ Transfiguration/ Potions/ Spare

11:30-1:00 Alchemy/Herbology/ History of Magic/ Ancient Runes/ Defense Against

the Dark Arts

1:00-2:00 Lunch

2:00-2:45 Muggle Studies/ Spare/ Defense Against the Dark Arts/ Herbology/ Potions

2:45-3:30 Arithmancy/ Charms/ Spare/ Spare/Potions

3:30-4:15 Arithmancy/ Astronomy/ Spare/ Muggle Studies/ Spare

4:15-6:15 Dinner

6:15-7:00 Spare/ Spare/ Spare/ Alchemy/ Spare

7:00-7:45 Spare/Spare/Spare/ Alchemy/ Spare

7:45-8:30 Spare/ Spare/ Astronomy/ Alchemy/ Spare

8:30-9:15 Spare/ Spare/ Astronomy/ Alchemy/ Spare

9:15-10:00 Spare/ Spare/ Astronomy/ Spare/ Alchemy

"Potter! We have Alchemy TODAY at eleven thirty and on Thursdays and Fridays!" she shrieked with excitement.

"Geez, Evans, calm down," James stated exasperatedly. He took her schedule and looked over it. He furrowed his brows.

"What is it?" Lily asked curiously.

"We have the exact same schedule," he said. Lily didn't believe this. She grabbed his schedule and stared down at the same classes she had on hers.

"Well… I guess we have common interests then?" she said with a hint of doubt.

"I guess so…" James responded.

Lily wasn't thrilled to have James as an odd companion for her classes. It would be too much of James all the time.

"Dorcas, what's your schedule like?" Lily asked her curiously.

Dorcas handed her the schedule. Lily was disappointed to see that they only shared Alchemy and Arithmancy.

"I wonder who else is in our Arithmancy class," she wondered out loud.

"I guess we'll find out when we get there," Dorcas snipped. Lily looked at her in shock, but Dorcas just stood up and left.

"What in the world?" she stated, looking at Marlene and Emmeline.

"She must be upset about you drinking last night or maybe you leaving her out," Emmeline said, wisely. "It must be hard to have been the only girl in the seventh year to not have been there."

Lily got quiet, she hadn't thought of it that way before, however she had asked Dorcas to join them the previous night. She finished her breakfast in silence. When it was time to leave, James stood up.

"Well, Evans. I guess we'd better head off to class?" he said.

Lily braced herself. The first day of class promised to be interesting.

While James was thoroughly confused by the schedules, he was quite excited to be spending his last year at Hogwarts with Lily Evans as his unenthusiastic companion. They walked out of the Great Hall and up the wide marble staircase until they reached the third floor. The walk passed in awkward silence as James tried to think of something to say.

It seemed as if Lily was in deep thought, so he thought it best for them to remain in silence. The early morning bustle was annoying and small first years kept stumbling about trying to locate their first class. Finally, this annoyed James so much that he grabbed Lily's arm and tugged her down a hidden corridor.

"James! Where are we going?" she asked.

"Oh calm down, Evans, it's a shortcut. All the first years are giving me a migraine," he retorted.

"God, Potter, don't you remember what it was like when we were their age?" she asked, shaking her head as he led her to the corridor that their classroom was in.

"Oh yeah, I was an amazing first year! I knew exactly who I was, what I was doing, and where I was going." he told her confidently.

"Oh yes, you're quite right. You weren't late to every single Astronomy class our first week, that must've been some other chap named James Po-"

"Oh shush up, Evans. It wasn't my fault that I couldn't figure out the stupid Grand Staircase! Every time I thought I was going the right way, I wound up on the other side of the castle!" They entered the classroom and started putting their books down on a table on the second row, where Remus was already seated.

"Moony! Are you in this class as well? That's excellent, I won't have to do any homework all year!" he joked, slapping Remus on the back.

"Ah, Prongs, you're so funny," he replied, rolling his eyes and added, "Nice you see you, Lily."

"I didn't see you at breakfast, Remus. Where were you this morning?" she asked, curiously.

"Ah, I was down at breakfast rather early so I asked McGonagall for my schedule so I could go ahead and prepare for class. You were simply late, Lily." he said, jokingly.

"Yes, well, I was indisposed this morning. It was not agreeing with me." She heard James snort.

She turned to him, "Got a problem, Potter?"

"Ah, Lily, you are too funny… 'indisposed'," he said, laughing to himself again.

"I don't think I understand your tone, Potter."

"Lily, last night I had to bloody carry you up to bed, so you saying that all you were was 'indisposed' is just simply hilarious," he told her.

"Well, I'm so glad that I can count on you to tell me how I feel. Clearly, you know me so much better than I do myself. Tell me, Potter, how am I feeling right now? Please, illuminate this situation for me," she snapped.

Remus coughed.

James could literally see the anger boiling under Lily's skin. He was no fool, he knew when enough was enough…

"Well, Lily, right now you are feeling downright overjoyed that I am here to help you through this confusing time in your life," he replied, haughtily. The moment he had said this, he knew he had made a horrible mistake. While he knew when enough was enough that never stopped him from toeing the line.

Lily got up, gathered her things and went to sit with some seventh year Ravenclaw, whom it appeared that she already knew.

James rolled his eyes and saw the Remus was shaking his head.

"What?" he said, rounding on him.

"Prongs, you are a blundering idiot," he said, simply.

"It's not my fault, she overreacted."

"She didn't overreact James, you pretty much were telling her how to live her life and pretending like she's so simple that she can't know any better."

"Did it really sound like that?" James asked, starting to feel guilty.

"Hell yes." Remus replied.

"Bloody shit." James responded.

Professor Flitwick entered the class and not once, during the whole class, did Lily Evans look James's way. When class was over, Lily got up and left the room before James could say anything to her.

Not even during their History of Magic class, did she say one word to him. There was even a moment where he sent her an origami bird with an "I'm sorry" on it, but she didn't so much as open it. Instead, she lit it on fire. Good old Professor Binns was so wrapped up in his lecture that he didn't even look up. Sirius had said that he poor man was so close to death that he was lucky the heat from the fire didn't kill him.

By the time the class was over, she was already rushing to their Alchemy class.

"Evans! Wait up!" he yelled, and she finally turned to look at him.

"What do you want, Potter?" she said, exasperatedly.

"I want to apologize for this morning. I realize that was I said was stupid and disrespectful and insensitive and 'I have no right to tell you how you feel because that is your job' and I'm just… I'm just sorry. I let my ego get the best of me, and generally I have been keeping that in decent check. Lily, I don't want you to be mad at me." he told her, sincerely.

"Thanks for the apology, Potter, but I'm still pretty pissed," she said.

"What can I do to make it up to you?" he asked.

"Well, for starters not being late to my first Alchemy class would be bloody nice!" she grumbled and grabbed his hand to pull him down the hallway and on towards the South Tower. "I swear, if we're late, I will personally rip your head off and feed it to the giant squid. As for your totally rude comments about me, I can think of so many things that you can do to change this stupid stigma of-"

All James could think about was her hand in his hand, and her rant about the ways that he could be forgiven was totally lost on him. She dragged him into class and pulled him down into the chair next to hers just in time for the classroom doors to be magically closed. James noted that Remus was sitting on his right.

"Welcome, to Alchemy," was all that Professor Flamel said. The whole class went silent, which wasn't saying much as there were only ten of them. Flamel was standing at the front of the classroom, his eyes were glancing across the room.

"Before we begin, I will ask you all to go around the room and say your names. Since this is not a large class, I intend that we all get to know each other rather well this term. We will begin with the gentleman in the front." Flamel gestured to Snape, whom James had not even noticed. "Please stand and introduce yourself and why you want to learn Alchemy."

Snivellus stood up, "My name is Severus Snape. I am taking Alchemy because I am interested in the changing of metal to purer more valuable substances."

"Ah, an interesting point. However, I will say that alchemy is less materialistic than you might initially think," Flamel commented. The next student stood up.

"Alecto Carrow, sir, and I am interested for the same reasons as Snape, here," he said, in a slimy voice.

Two Hufflepuffs and three Ravenclaws followed them, and then it was Dorcas's turn.

"Dorcas Meadows, Professor, and I am interested in the practicality of this subject," she said, sharply.

Flamel laughed a little, "You have a good point, Dorcas—was it? Many people question the truth of practicing alchemy, some even say it's all fictitious." He said no more. Leaving all the students extremely curious.

Lily rose. James had noticed that she had been tapping her toes since Flamel had started talking. "Lily Evans, sir, and I am interested in everything." James smirked as Flamel laughed.

"Very well, my dear. I am pleased to have your enthusiasm in my class," he told her, his eyes twinkling.

James stood. "James Potter, sir, and I just wanted to learn more about the subject."

"I am Remus Lupin and I am interested in the principles."

"Well, well, now that we have all been introduced—" Flamel began but was cut off by the door being thrown open.

"Sorry, I'm late, Professor Flamel, McGonagall said she spoke with you," Sirius said, as he strode into the room and sat in the seat next to Lupin.

"Ah yes, you must be Sirius Black, correct?"

"Yes, I am."

"Would you mind telling the class what about Alchemy you are interested in?" Flamel asked.

"I am interested in the Philosopher's Stone," Sirius said.

"Ah yes. Many witches and wizards are calling it my legacy and I am not surprised that you are interested in it too. I will preface this class by saying that I will not be teaching you how to make a Philosopher's stone. While that is a result of my alchemical findings, there is so much more to the art of Alchemy than that trivial item.

"While the Philosopher's Stone seems to be the only thing that some people know about alchemy, I will be teaching you much more than that... For example, the Primary Philosophical Principles, as our friend Remus mentioned. These principles dictate how everything is made. If I were you, I'd start writing this down…" he winked, "Everything as big as a planet or as small as a mineral is composed of the same principles. Salt. Sulfur. Mercury. Those are the three main principles that you are required to know. Today we will be focusing on sulfur."

He went on to explain how sulfur represents the soul. It's hot, diffusive and piercing. He related it to plants and while James was scribbling away, he started to feel slightly lost in the lecture. He glanced at Lily who was also writing furiously, her hair was pooling over her parchment.

"It is important to note that when I am talking about sulfur, or in the upcoming classes when we discuss salt and mercury, I am not talking about a chemical substance but a philosophical substance. Try to think about larger meanings for these principles and do not get so caught up in your own head that you fail to grasp a wider concept. I will close with this, is it not called a Philosopher's Stone? I will see you at lunch." And with that Flamel exited the classroom.