"Class is dismissed," Professor Belby called out to her packing students. "For homework, go over the step-by-step instructions for brewing a Potion of Unending Nightmares. Potter, please stay behind."

"It was nice knowing you, Lily," Henri said as he passed by her, sending an elbow playfully into her ribs.

"Want us to wait outside?" Hermione asked, her narrowed eyes following Henri.

"No, you go ahead," Lily said with a sigh. "If she's anything like Snape, she'll keep me for a while."

"If you take too long, you'll miss charms," Clara said, her hand trailing along the back of Lily's neck, sending an uncomfortable shiver down her spine. "Don't you think Henri will miss you?"

"What?" Henri said, missing every word of it.

"He'll keep without me," Lily said. "I'll see you lot later."

"You sure you don't want me to wait?" Hermione whispered as Clara walked away, her eyes not moving towards her. Lily was starting to think they had a thing going on, too. Between all their Quidditch practices (they both made the team!) and their study sessions with Clara and him both in the library, she caught Hermione (and Clara, for that matter) staring at the boy quite often. Even now, she was staring at him as he walked out the door with Clara.

"I'll be fine," Lily said, rolling her eyes. "She can't possibly be any worse than Snivellous."

"Snivellous?" Hermione asked, finally turning to look back at Lily with a crinkled brow.

"I'll tell you later," Lily said with a wink.

As Hermione walked away, Lily could have sworn she heard her muttering the word "listery," but Lily was sure she must have just misunderstood. Lily stayed near her seat until the room was empty, Professor Belby patiently waiting at the front when she finally made her way down the amphitheater.

"I was reviewing your potions from the last couple weeks," Professor Belby said, gesturing to a whole bunch of vials laying on her desk. "If I'm correct, the first one is intended to improve one's French, correct?"

Lily nodded. "I brewed it last year for me and Hermione, so we could get ready for Beauxbatons." She'd brewed some more since they got here, to help them get used to how quickly everybody spoke the language here. It was working wonders, as far as she was concerned; she no longer had to ask everybody to speak to her as if she was a toddler. Now, she was just a very slow seven-year-old.

Belby nodded. "And this second potion. Elixir of Mirth. Quite the complicated brew for one so young. And an especially good one, at that. After testing it, I couldn't stop smiling all weekend. Very interesting, indeed."

Lily held her chin up high. "Is there a problem?"

"What is the most complicated potion you've brewed?" Belby asked plainly, crossing her arms. Lily tried to ignore the pang of anxiety crawling over her brain.

"Polyjuice," she said, deciding immediately afterwards that she definitely should have lied.

"Really?" Belby asked with a raised eyebrow. "Then you should be able to tell me the precise brewing process, shouldn't you?"

"Are you- err- You don't really want me to do that, do you?"

"Very astute, Potter," Belby said, a slight smirk crossing her lips. "I am trying to get an accurate gauge of your ability. These potions are both of remarkably high quality, especially for a fourth year. I watched you while you worked, as well. You don't work out of the book like the rest of your colleagues. You referenced a little notebook, and when I tried to observe from close by, I couldn't help but notice it was blank."

"It's magic," Lily said, doing a fancy little wave with her hand. "Only me and people I allow can read it."

"Interesting," Belby said, stroking her chin. "My husband used to use the same method to store his research notes."

Husband.

"That's where I know you!" Lily said, realizing too late she spoke in English. "You were married to Damocles Belby!"

"You've heard of him?" Belby said, sounding legitimately surprised. "I don't think a single student here at Beauxbatons has recognized him from his work."

"He made the Wolfsbane Potion," Lily said, now very glad that she paid attention in History of Magic at all. "A very important friend of mine is a werewolf. I was sad to hear he died before he could complete his cure."

Professor Belby stared at her for a very long time, her dark eyes appraising her like Hermione finding a particularly interesting research article.

"I thought it may just have been an excellent Potions Master you had at Hogwarts," Belby continued, picking up one of Lily's vials and holding it up to the light. "It really is excellent work. But, when I moved on to Miss Granger's work, I was disappointed to find it was nowhere near the same calibre."

"It has nothing to do with our instructor," Lily said carefully. As much as she hated him, she didn't think insulting Snape to another Professor would be a good idea. "I put a lot of time into researching and studying Potions ingredients and brewing methods. I used to write it all in my textbooks, before I got the notebook."

"And you didn't want to share with your friend?"

Lily laughed. "I'd share with her in a heartbeat. Hermione just hates going off book. When we used to work as partners, she'd whine and argue on every step, even though my potion always came out better."

"So, it is your own personal talent, then," Belby said, rubbing at her chin again. "I will be keeping a very careful eye on you, Potter."

"Why?" Lily found herself asking.

Now it was Belby's turn to laugh. "You'll understand soon enough. Beauxbaton students have a habit of lowering their own standards fourth year and beyond, especially in difficult subjects. Girls become more interested in attracting the boys, and the boys become more interested in doing anything they can to do the opposite. Beauxbatons, for all its beauty and glory, has had falling academic standards for three decades now."

"Really?" Lily asked, surprised she was being told this at all.

"I would imagine you'd find it much the same at Hogwarts," Belby said. "Although, I'm told the staff there is stricter at managing its students."

Lily didn't know how to respond to that. Sure, she received detentions and got in trouble all the time, but most of that wasn't her fault. Plus, she also was allowed to get away with far too much, at least in that first year.

"There are exceptions, of course," Belby admitted, ignoring Lily's silence. "Miss Delacour has remained a bastion of academic integrity, even with her more- let's say worldly- pursuits. I am interested in seeing if you will follow the same course, or if you'll follow in the footsteps of Miss Lavigne. The two of you seem close."

"What's wrong with Clara?" Lily asked. Belby laughed again.

"Clara is a notorious troublemaker around these parts," Belby said. "Stealing, lying, breaking curfew, refusing to turn in assignments, causing disturbances in classes – you'd be wise to distance yourself from her."

"I'll keep that in mind," Lily said, no longer feeling quite as warm to the new Potions professor.

"And I will keep observing your work," Belby said, placing Lily's potion vial in her hand. "If you keep this up, Hazel, I may have certain- opportunities, we'll say- to help you further your education, if you'd be interested."

"Really?" Lily asked, a spark of that warmth coming back.

"Of course," Belby said with a nod. "A Potions talent such as yourself is rare enough, especially in these parts, and I am interested to see what you can develop into, given the proper guidance. Just try not to let the other students lower you to their level. Madame Maxime is impressed with the progress you've made thus far, and I would hate for you to mess it up."

Lily stewed on that as she walked to charms. She continued thinking about it as she perfected her banishing charms, sending pillows and other soft objects zooming across the room. She was only briefly interrupted by her study group asking her questions and vying for her attention (all except the mean girl, who had done nothing but mope since Henri started being very friendly with Clara).

"You look a little down, Lily," Henri said, floating a feather down just a few feet further than it started.

"The professors have been talking about me in private," Lily admitted, swishing her wand forward and sending Henri's feather across the room. It was moving fast enough that, when it hit an armoire at the other end, it exploded into a puff of fluff.

"That's nothing new," Clara said, rolling her eyes and pointing across the room. "See? Professor Bricoleur is talking to Maxime, right now."

"What?" Lily said, turning her head and sending a cushion straight into the other girl's face.

Sure enough, Maxime was towering over the small, frail man in the doorway, bent low so they could keep their conversation from prying ears. Every once in a while, Lily saw the two of them glancing in her direction, and she wished very much she had her invisibility cloak on her. She even left her little tan blob-of-an-ear sitting in her trunk, a truly grievous error.

"I am not surprised they are looking your way," Henri said coyly. "Aside from Clara, there's not much better to see around these parts."

"I don't think that's what they're after, Henri," Clara said, smiling anyway.

"Lily!" one of the other girls shouted. "A little help?"

"What did you do this time?" Lily asked, sighing as she turned and found the small, blonde girl wrapped in vine-like tentacles sprouting from her wand.

Madame Maxime appeared during all of their Charms classes as they finished up the Banishing Charm, always standing in the doorway and chatting with Professor Bricoleur while they occasionally glanced over at her. After the third time, she did bring both the cloak and the extendable ear with her, but she never got a chance to actually use them. Every time she started edging over, one of the group (usually Clara or Henri) would notice and drag her right back.

But Charms wasn't the only class she noticed Madame Maxime watching her in the next two weeks. In Arithmancy, between bouts of terrible, awful maths, Lily would occasionally glance up from her doodling or figures and notice Maxime talking with the professor at their desk. During Transfiguration, after working hard and finally transforming her pebble into an entire swarm of bats (or a cauldron, as Hermione kindly informed her groups of bats were called), she turned to brag to Hermione, wiping some sweat from her smiling face, just in time to see an approving look on Maxime's face as he exited the classroom.

But the most obvious clue of all was when she arrived in Potions one Friday morning, chatting happily with Clara and Henri (Hermione wanted to run to the library before class), only to find Madame Maxime standing next to Professor Belby and inspecting a vial of potion that Lily knew had to be one of hers. She recognized the faint glow and the small, green particles that occasionally whirled around in a small tornado as her Poison of Inner Turmoil.

She sat down at her usual table, silent and with a belly full of nerves, as Maxime actually took a sip of the thing.

"It is good work," she said, nodding to Belby, her voice carrying across the silent room (she wasn't the only one startled by the presence of their Headmistress). "I can almost feel it, myself."

"I haven't seen anything like it in years, Olympe," Belby said far more quietly (Lily only heard it because there may have been a small lump of clay laying next to them, tossed by a certain sneaky redhead, with a string leading to her ear). "Her talent is being squandered by these lessons. Do I have your permission?"

Maxime nodded after a brief pause. "So long as it does not interfere with our other endeavours, I will allow it."

Lily yanked back her ear before either woman could see it, earning a sharp glance from Clara as she tucked it into a hidden pocket of her satchel.

"What was that thing?" she whispered, leaning in so Henri couldn't hear (the lad's English was improving quickly, now, between practicing with Lily and her brewing English Language Assistance Potions for him).

"Top secret, I'd have to kill you," Lily said with a dignified sniff. Hermione was just sitting down at her other side, an excited look on her face and a crinkly, old book in her arms. The last thing she needed was for the girl to convince Lily never to use the Extendable Ear ever again.

"Potter, I must have a word with you," Belby said once class was over. Lily let out a little sigh, set her bag back down on the desk, bid farewell to her companions, and then approached the shorter woman.

"Yes, Professor?" Lily asked innocently.

"I have a proposition for you, Hazel," Belby said once the room was empty.

"Pardon?" Lily said, having fully been expecting a scolding over her distraction during class; she just couldn't help it. She was getting so sick of brewing antidotes and taking notes on the process was just far too much to ask, so she instead spent the class drawing Clara and Henri talking softly, laughing over a bubbling cauldron while Hermione looked on disapprovingly.

"Your progress in this class, as well as others, has been tremendous," Belby said, sounding unnaturally pleased. "I would like to offer you supplemental lessons on the weekends, to help you hone your craft."

"Really?"

"Really," Belby said with a rare smile and a nod. "This is a great opportunity, Hazel; extra lessons with me, and, I think, a letter of recommendation, will get you into any apprenticeship you may desire."

"Really?" Lily asked, her eyes wide and her voice squeaky.

"Sunday afternoons, right after your Quidditch training," Belby said. "Meet me in this classroom. We have a lot of work to do. I believe we will start with a Polyjuice Potion; I want to see if you were telling the truth."

And so, Lily's life became even more busy. Between the hours she spent in classes and homework, as well as her personal exercises and Quidditch training, she found she had very little free time for anything else. She was so tired after each day, she was beginning to collapse into bed straight after returning from her nightly jogs, ignoring both a bath (instead substituting for a cleaning charm so she wouldn't stink up her bedding) and her nightly calls with Sirius. She wrote to him the morning after the first night, feeling absolutely terrible about it, just as Zeus returned with a parcel from Bill; the eldest Weasley child failed to send the book she needed of his own volition, so she had to pursue it herself. She had no time to work on the watches, but she hoped to have some once they got to Hogwarts.

Her homework she did whenever she had a spare moment, including when taken written notes during any class she felt she didn't need to pay attention to, as well as brief respites to catch her breath during Quidditch. And that was ignoring her three-a-week sessions with Fleur.

Lily paced nervously in the empty room, her wand spinning between her fingers. She was early, but she was so excited (at least prior to actually arriving). She didn't really want to practice any more spells, since Fleur was really mean during the training itself, always talking down and a with a lofty, superior tone, but every time she succeeded, when Fleur would beam at her, hug her, and spend the rest of the evening giving her compliments until she felt entirely too- well- it made it all worth it, in the end.

She scarfed down her supper and then ran to the appointed meeting place, hardly saying a word to anybody she ate with. Henri and Clara were heading off on a walk or something, and Hermione would be off to her own mentoring session, soon enough. It occurred to her that she never asked the other girl who she was with, even after all her teasing about having Fleur. Perhaps she should-

When the door opened, Lily turned with a huge smile on her face, only for it to fall when it wasn't who she expected.

"Been looking for you everywhere," Clara said, clicking the door shut behind her. "What are you doing in here?"

"Waiting for Fleur," Lily answered.

"What are you waiting on her for?" Clara said, a hint of irritation to her voice. "Like the stuck-up slag would ever spare you a glance."

Lily shot the girl a warning glare and then resumed her pacing (and wand spinning).

"You know she's my mentor, Clara," Lily said.

"Right," Clara said reluctantly. "How could I ever forget. So sorry. Listen, Henri got his hands on some cognac- nicked it from his dad's before he left- you should come have some with us."
"I'm alright," Lily said, remembering her last misadventure with alcohol. "I'm supposed to-"

"Don't you ever do anything fun?" Clara asked. "All you ever do is hang around Hermione and study."

Lily paused in her pacing and blinked, surprised by the cool tone she was receiving.

"I play Quidditch, don't I?" was all she could think of to defend herself.

Clara rolled her eyes. "Quidditch is just more work. Come to the beach with us, have a drink, and let's take a little dip!"

"No," Lily insisted. "Fleur will be here any minute now, I can't just leave."

"You aren't a first year," Clara said. "You don't need a mentor."

"It's required!"

Clara rolled her eyes. "If you just tell Fleur you don't want it, she'll let you go. Doubt she wants to spend her time babysitting you anyway."

"I'm staying," Lily said determinedly, crossing her arms.

"Come on, Potter," Clara said with a whine. "You owe me."

"For what?" Lily said with a scoff.

"How about all those lunches I gave you, for starters," Clara said. "I seem to remember you never even thanking me for those."

"And I seem to remember you giving them to me because we were friends," Lily said.

Clara rolled her eyes again. "Sure, there was that. Come on, Potter, just a couple of drinks, and then you can go back to your dorm with your little follower. We'll have some fun and then you can go back to being boring."

"Maybe later," Lily said.

"Next weekend, then," Clara said, taking it as a firmer commitment than Lily meant. "I'm holding you to it, Lily, you promised."

"The party?" Lily asked after a pause.

"Yup!" Clara said with a toothy smile. "Got it all set and everything- Henri invited me on his own, by the way, not much help you were- so now we can go and-"

"What is with you today?" Lily snapped.

"What?" Clara asked, blinking slowly.

"Forget it," Lily said after a sigh. "I'll go this weekend, I promise, but I'm not skipping out on Fleur."

"It's a date," Clara said with a wink, walking backwards towards the door. "Wear that little outfit you go running in, I think I fancy a nice view."

Lily opened her mouth to protest, but then Clara was out the door. She let out a little sigh. She didn't know what to think about Clara. She supposed she'd just have to let the girl down lightly over the weekend. She started resuming her pacing, trying to get back on track. Just as she started thinking about Fleur, that stupid smile came back on her face.

She really wanted to do well today. She didn't really want to, and she always tried to push the thoughts away as soon as they came, but she couldn't help but wonder what her reward would be if she really managed to impress Fleur.

When ten more minutes passed, and Fleur was well and truly late, Lily couldn't contain herself anymore. Her body was too eager, she had too much energy just waiting to get burned, so she pulled her wand out from her sleeve and settled on practicing by herself.

"Silent casting is an entirely different beast from normal casting," Fleur said weeks ago. "Rather than saying an incantation- which, obviously, you wouldn't- you don't even want to think it. Not really. It helps, just a bit, at the beginning, but what really matters is your own will. You want to focus really hard on what you want to happen, and if you're powerful enough, it will."

"What do you mean?" Lily asked in return.

"Exactly what I said," Fleur said as if that explained a damn thing. "After practice, you will get the spell to work simply by thinking of the spell you want. You will think, 'Levitation Charm,' and it will get cast. But words are a crutch. The truly skilled, the truly powerful, need no such thing. They will be moving their wand, and the wand will know what you want without thinking it."

"What? How?"

"By willing it," Fleur said, drawing her wand. With a quick flick of her wrist, and faster than Lily could comprehend what was happening, her spell went off.

And that was what Lily was trying to replicate now. She had her face screwed up in concentration, and she could feel her face flushing and turning red from the effort. Fleur often laughed when she saw it, which gave Lily such a swirl of emotions that it made it very difficult to concentrate, but with the girl gone, her mind was far more clear.

With her usual breathing techniques meant to calm, and the familiar tingle at the back of her mind as she focused her thoughts on only the one thing she wanted, applying her occlumency, it became even more so. Another deep breath, a push from inside, forcing her magic outwards, a spark from her wand, and planting a firm image in the soil of her mind.

And then, from the ground, without a single word, a tree sprouted from the ground, reaching up to the chamber's ceiling, at the exact moment Lily heard the door open from behind her. Lily whooped, a smile on her face, and whirled backwards.

"Did you see it, Fleur!" she said, skipping forward, arms raised as she awaited her hug. "I did it, I-"

She paused midstride, her smile faltering, her arms drooping, as she noticed a bemused Madame Maxime standing next to the beaming, prettiest girl in the world.

"An excellent cast, Hazel," Maxime said, crossing the room and passing Lily in just four quick strides. "You have done great work."

"I knew you could," Fleur said, finally wrapping Lily in that touch she so desperately craved. Lily clung to her like her very life depended on it, only breaking away when Fleur did. Together, and with one of Fleur's arms draped around Lily's shoulders, they watched Maxime as she appraised Lily's spell work.

"How many spells can you cast silently now, Hazel?" Maxime asked.

"Ten," Lily said proudly, the feeling in her chest not leaving even when Fleur's arm slipped from her shoulders. She had the memory, and that was all that mattered.

"It is a start, I suppose," Maxime said, glancing at Fleur as the girl stepped up to her side.

"She has been working very hard," Fleur said on her behalf.

"Name the spells, Hazel," Maxime said, turning her attention back to Lily.

"Err- stone to tree," Lily said, pointing at the obvious answer. "Levitation charm, stunner, reflection charm, disarming jinx, anything with my hair or-"

"Those don't count, Lily," Fleur said gently. "You're not casting any spells, you're a-" Lily didn't understand the last word one bit.

"What?" she asked.

"Metamorphmagus, as you Eenglish would say eet," Maxime answered for her. "You can tell by ze yellow 'air."

"My what?" Lily said, grabbing it by the hand and finding herself absolutely startled by the bright yellow it now was.

"Did you not know?" Fleur asked. "I thought you were mimicking mine on purpose every time we met!"

"You said you didn't know what I was doing!" Lily said defensively.

"Well, yes," Fleur said, the blush on her cheeks making Lily feel things again, "but- but it wasn't hard to find out what it was! I thought you were just hiding it from me, Professor Créer said most like to keep it a secret!"

"You are confused," Maxime said, watching her. "A Metamorphmagi is a witch or wizard with the ability to transfigure their body at will."

"I know what a Metamorphmagus is," Lily said. "That doesn't mean I am one."

"No?" Maxime said, raising an eyebrow. "Then why, pray tell, did your hair flash back to red in your anger?"

"I'm not!" Lily said, brushing hair from her eyes and ignoring the colour. "I just- I can only change my hair! I can't do anything else!"

"Try, now," Maxime said.

"I don't know how!" Lily said. "I can hardly get my hair to go back to normal!"

"Then we have found another thing for the two of you to work on," Maxime said, turning back around and placing a hand on Lily's tree. "I will leave this here, as a reminder of the lofty goal the two of you are reaching for."

"What goal?" Lily asked, still stewing in her mix of emotions.

"From here on out," Maxime continued, ignoring her question, "You will not cast a single spell vocally, Hazel."

"What? Have you gone-"

"I want every spell you learn to be silent," Maxime said, cutting her off because she could say something incredibly stupid. "You have the potential to be far more powerful than even Fleur. I can see it in you, and I know Dumbledore has seen the same. He would not have been so reluctant to give you up, otherwise."

"You said you only took me because of him!"

"Yes," Maxime agreed, "but I did not say why, did I? I took you because of what he didn't say. I can read between the lines; Dumbledore wanted to keep you himself, at his school. A second year earning an Order of Merlin? A third driving off a horde of dementors with a single Patronus? Not even he could have done that at his age."

"I was lucky!" Lily said. "I couldn't have done any of it on my own!"

"Yes, but luck plays a part in all things," Maxime said dismissively, still staring at the tree. "Even with Felix Felicis, you would not have been able to survive theses thing if you weren't powerful enough to do so. Luck can only care you so far, Hazel. In you, I see greater potential than any pupil whose soles have crossed these sands."

"I'm not- that's- that's preposterous!"

"Miss Delacour agrees with me," Maxime said. Lily finally turned her eyes to the beautiful, clearly embarrassed girl standing well at the edge of the room. "She was reluctant to take my suggestion to teach you silent casting, but it has worked wonderfully."

"Wait," Lily said, narrowing her eyes. "She told me 'all self-respecting witches should know a few silent spells by their third year!'!

"Did she, now?" Maxime said with an amused chuckle. "And did she mention that she did not manage a silent cast until halfway through her sixth year?"

"No," Lily said, staring at Fleur as she tried to hide her face behind a hand scratching at her forehead.

"And, yet," Maxime said, patting the tree again, "look at what you have managed. Yes, I think you will make an excellent champion."

"What?" Lily asked after brief, confused silence.

"You see," Maxime said, leaving the tree and approaching Lily, a look of pure determination in her eyes, "nobody else knows, yet, aside from us Headmasters and our respective governmental leaders. We intended to announce it at the tournament's commencement, once we arrive at Hogwarts. But the Triwizard Tournament will not occur every four years, as it has in the past. It will occur every three, and the next will be here, at Beauxbatons."

"What?" Lily asked again, her brain still not quite caught up. She flinched slightly when Maxime placed two hands on her shoulders and squatted so they were closer to eye level.

"Fleur will not be here for the next tournament," Maxime said. "She will take this one, bringing our school glory unseen in centuries. For the next, you will be Beauxbatons' Champion."

"Me?" Lily said in complete disbelief.

"You," Maxime said, releasing her and nodding. "I dare to say that, with the way you're shaping up, not a single person will be able to match you. I will leave her in your care, Fleur. Double the length of your sessions. Teach her everything you know. The future of our school relies on it. Good night. I expect great things from the both of you."

"You lied to me," Lily said just as soon as the door was closed behind Maxime's retreat.

"Yes," Fleur said, at least sounding ashamed about it.

"Is this why you wanted to teach me?" Lily asked, her hands trembling. "Because- because you were told to?"

"No!" Fleur said quickly, approaching her but pausing at the look on Lily's face. "Please, Lily, it's not like that! I did ask to teach you, she just agreed to it because-"

"Because she wanted to use me?" Lily snapped, her pacing beginning. "Is that why Belby is teaching me, too? Because Maxime wants her to?"

"I don't know," Fleur said. "I'm not privy to the thoughts of each Professor, Lily. I only know my own."

"Then why did you do it?" Lily asked, turning, face red and angry, surprised just at how much this hurt her.

Fleur stared at her for a long time, long enough for Lily to consider storming out. She was just about to, too, when the other girl finally spoke up.

"I went to the Quidditch World Cup as a school trip," she said. "We were waiting in the woods, during the attack, for Maxime to arrive and tell us what was happening."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Shush, and listen. We were waiting for her, when that friend of yours- Hermione, correct? She came to us, with the other children, begging for help. The other girls I was with, they wanted to ignore her, but I could see the fear in her eyes. So, I allowed her to lead me through the forest, where we came upon you, and not a moment too soon. I was certain that with the pitiful littles spells I saw, you wouldn't stand a chance without me."

"So, that's it?" Lily interrupted snappishly. "You're helping me because you feel bad for me?"

"Shut up. I am getting there." Fleur took a deep breath before continuing, and Lily finally noticed her hands were shaking. "I thought you were dead, Lily. I saw it happen, and I could do nothing. I wasn't powerful enough to- all I could do was break the vial that monster tried to funnel your blood into."

"My blood?" Lily asked. Everything after the curse hitting her was just so fuzzy.

"When he fled, I tried to help you," Fleur said. "I've been training to be a Healer my entire life. I knew I could save you, and, yet, your Ministry wouldn't let me get anywhere near you. And then they packed us off, sent us home, without even telling me who you were or whether you'd survive."

"Really?"

"Imagine my surprise when the girl I thought died in front of me instead showed up at my school, healthy and smiling," Fleur said. "I knew right then I had to take charge of your mentorship, so that you'd be able to handle yourself in the future. I happen to agree with Madame Maxime; you are powerful, even if you haven't begun harnessing it yet. If anybody else had taken that curse, they would have died."

"Oh," Lily said, suddenly feeling very ashamed of her little tantrum.

"Now, raise your wand, Lily," Fleur said, drawing her own. "We have work to do."

Lily toyed with her wand in between her fingers as she thought and as Fleur watched her.

"Am I really a Metamorphmagus?" she asked.

"I can think of no other explanation, can you?"

"No," Lily said, reluctantly raising her wand.

When she returned to the dorm that night, much later than usual, Hermione was already fast asleep, collapsed at her desk. Lily placed a blanket gently over her, enjoying the smile on Hermione's face as her sleeping brain pulled it closer around herself. Lily craved to join her in the world of dreams, but she had questions she needed answered. She closed the bathroom door behind her as quietly as she could, sat on the toilet, and clutched the mirror between her hands.

It took her ten attempts before Sirius finally showed up on the other end.

"Lily?" he said, rubbing at his eyes. "I was sleeping, didn't think you'd-"

"Did you know I'm a Metamorphmagus?" she asked.

"Did you not?" Sirius asked after too long of a silence.

"You did know?" Lily asked, her nostrils flaring.

"Of course I did, Lily."

"How long?"

"Lily. Do we really have to do this now?"

"How long?"

"Since the shack," Sirius said with a sigh. "I saw your hair shifting when they were- do you really want to talk about this?"

"Yes," Lily said, her head pounding. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I thought you knew!" Sirius said. "Thought you just didn't like using it or talking about it. Blimey, Lily, it's not the first thing you'd have kept from me, is it? I mean, I told Remus not to bother you, but he insisted on trying to talk to you about-"

"He knew, too?" Lily shrieked. "Is that why he wanted me to meet Tonks? He thought that I'd- that- that I'd admit to it? That I'd- I'd-"

"Come out?" Sirius finished for her. There was a long pause before he spoke again. "Lily, this isn't about being a Metamorphmagus, is it?"

Lily clenched her jaw and stared up at the ceiling, refusing to look at him.

"I don't like people trying to make me admit to something," she said at last, choosing her words very carefully. "I- Mrs. Weasley did it, too, and- and, I-"

"I know, Lily, I know," Sirius said. "I understand why you're mad, I do, but Remus didn't mean anything by it. He probably knew that you didn't know, and just wanted to help you. And I promise he doesn't know about the other thing."

"Are you sure?" Lily asked quietly.

"I wouldn't lie to you, Lily," Sirius said with that smile that always calmed her down. "I haven't asked him, because I don't want him to catch on before you're ready to talk about it- but I'm sure that, if he suspected, he'd have brought it up to me."

"He promised that he wouldn't talk about anything I say!"

"And he hasn't!" Sirius said. "I don't know a single thing he's told you, Lily. Any information we have in common, I've found out elsewhere, I promise."

"And what about the blood, then?" Lily said. "Why were you keeping that from me?"

"Pardon?"

"My blood!" Lily snapped. "Why didn't you tell me Voldemort was trying to get my blood? Why didn't anybody?"

"I was hoping you didn't want to talk about it," Sirius said, at least having the grace to look ashamed about it.

"You knew that, too, then?" Lily asked. "After all that rubbish about 'no secrets?'"

"Lily, it's not like that," Sirius said. "I was going to tell you that night, but you were sleeping after the Order meeting, and- and I didn't want to bother you."

"What about after?'

"You know what happened after," Sirius said. "When I woke up with you laying next to me, I- I just wanted to protect you from it all, Lily. I wanted you to not have to worry about something for the first time in your life. I wanted you to be able to sleep peacefully like that every day. I wanted you to worry about kissing girls, about homework and spells, about Quidditch practice, about normal teenager things. I just want to keep you safe."

Lily clenched her jaw and refused to look Sirius in the eyes. She wasn't feeling angry anymore, but she had no idea how to describe what she was feeling. She felt ashamed about it, and she wished she hadn't called Sirius at all.

"Dumbledore thinks Voldemort wants your blood," Sirius said, continuing on through her silence. "He thinks that's why he came after you. He thinks the Death Eater attack was just a diversion, that the real purpose was to kidnap you."

"Why?" Lily found herself asking, her voice thick.

"We're looking into it now," Sirius said. "I promise, Lily, I don't have the full details. Dumbledore thinks that he- he wants to use your blood to bring himself back. That's why Dumbledore called the Order back together, he wants to get ahead of it all before he does come back."

"He'll try again?"

"Of course, he will," Sirius said. "But you're safe at Beauxbatons. We think he'll try something once you're back at Hogwarts, but with all the extra protections Dumbledore has in place, he shouldn't be able to get to you there, either. We can't account for everything, obviously, but we think we know enough to react to whatever happens."

Lily nodded and ran a hand along her chest, tracing it along the edge of her rapidly fading scar.

"You don't have to worry, Lily," Sirius said, smiling again. "If anything goes wrong, anything at all, I'll be there to fix it, I promise. And, hey, look on the bright side- now that you know about your abilities, think of how much you can do! No more weirdos approaching you in public, no more stares- hell, not even Voldemort will be able to find you!"

Lily nodded and took a deep, steadying breath.

"Right," she said, trying to plaster a smile back on her face. "How do I use this rubbish?"