"It is done, my lord," Quirrell said, leaning in front of her. "It's all over the papers."
"And the preparations, Lucius?" she asked, turning her attention to the handsome man readying himself at the corner mirror.
"I will be departing shortly, my lord," Lucius said, not taking his eyes from the glass. She knew he had a hard time hiding how revolted he was at her current form.
"The boy is not capable of the First Task, my lord," Quirrell said warily. "I have seen that much for myself."
"Can you not change anything, Lucius?" she asked.
"It is too late for the First, my lord," Lucius said. "The monsters will be delivered soon. At best, I will only be able to influence the last two."
"It will have to suffice," she said, trying to hide her disappointment. "He will be able to make up the difference in the future tasks. Lucius, you will ensure that our contact within the school remains satisfied. The fool will need as much help as he can get."
"You are certain, my lord? It is not too late to enact our-"
"He will win, Quirrell," she said, cutting him off with a cold glare. "I am sure of it."
"And if he doesn't?" Quirrell said.
She laughed again. She quite enjoyed Quirrell's presence at times. It wasn't often she found a follower willing to question her, and, in the right circumstances, it never failed to be amusing.
"Then we'll use whoever does," she said nonchalantly. "I would prefer Potter's blood, but anybody capable of winning the Triwizard Tournament will have power more than suitable for my purposes."
"And if the tournament kills all the Champions?"
"Very well, Quirrell, I see your point," she said, the irritation in her tone causing the ill-looking man to flinch. Yes, she needed to remind him not to push things too far. His punishment would come later. She still needed him, for now. "Lucius, you will make the arrangements. The sooner, the better. Utilize Skeeter, if you must, but focus her on Potter. Do not let her get a hint of our plans."
"As you command, my lord," Lucius said, walking to the nearest door where there was a very pretty woman waiting for him in fine robes. "Come, Bertha. The Minister has invited us to tea to extend his congratulations."
"Oh, old Fudge won't mind one bit if we're late," Jorkins said with an annoying giggle. Her eyes passed over Lily's terrible form without so much of a hint of recognition as she linked arms with her fiancé. "You know, we really should do something about this empty house, don't you think? Have you ever considered-"
Lily snapped out of her very comfortable sleep, awaking into a dark room, illuminated in a faint green light from the glass dome above, with a hand pressed over her stinging scar. She moved both palms over her eyes, trying to cool down how hot they felt. Despite the cold temperature of the room, she felt like she was sweltering, but there wasn't much she could do about it with another body so close.
"Lily!" she heard faintly from her wardrobe.
Lily ignored the voice, rolled over, and pulled the blanket tighter around herself, earning a slight groan from the girl next to her. It was only after the sixth time the voice shouted, when Hermione woke up and lifted her head, groggily glaring at the wardrobe in question, where she finally realized sleeping was a hopeless endeavour.
"I think Sirius wants you," Hermione said, pulling the blanket fully off of Lily and around herself, leaving her in lonely cold.
Lily swore and took her time getting out of bed, not caring if she disturbed her sleepy companion, and scrambled towards her wardrobe once her bare feet hit the cold stone, yanking the doors open and digging through the pile of clothes laying at the bottom (as Hermione's took up all the hangars) as she searched for Sirius's voice.
"Sirius-"
"What were you thinking?" Sirius interrupted, his face unshaven and irate. Lily was fairly certain she could see coffee dripping down the wall behind him, although how it ended up there she had no clue.
"I didn't enter!" Lily said quickly.
"That's not what I meant!" Sirius said. "Why didn't you tell me, Lily? Why did I have to find out because Skeeter reported on it?"
"Oh, no!" Hermione said with a soft gasp from her bed.
"I forgot," Lily admitted slowly.
"Lily. This is important, how could you forget?"
"Look," Lily said impatiently, "I have a lot going on, alright? It was my bloody name that came out of the Goblet, and I had to deal with everybody freaking out over it, plus dealing with Beauxbatons kicking me out, plus-"
"They kicked you out?" Sirius repeated in horror.
"For now," Lily admitted, wishing she hadn't mentioned it at all. "Maxime thinks- err- well, let's just say she is not happy with me."
"Right," Sirius said, turning his head as he grabbed something offscreen. "You stay right where you are, I'm coming to get you, and we're getting you out of this god forsaken-"
"You can't, Sirius," Lily said. "I'm magically bound. If I don't compete, I lose my magic and go insane." Well, that was just one possibility, but it was the one she couldn't stop thinking about.
Sirius swore, and Lily heard what sounded like him throwing another cup.
"Right," he said, running his free hand over his face in an effort to calm down. "What's the First Task, then?"
"Don't know," Lily said carefully. "They- err- won't tell us until the day of."
"I'm going to kill Dumbledore."
"Please don't get yourself sent to Azkaban again."
"I won't, they'll never find his body."
"Look, Sirius, I need to go," Lily said, glancing at their clock on the wall. "We've got a lot of things to get a head start on, and I still need to-"
"Go," Sirius said. "I need to head to the Ministry. If Fudge can't get you out, he can at least tell me what it is you'll be doing so we can plan."
"I'll go to the library!" Hermione offered scrambling out of Lily's bed and running for the wardrobe (Lily paced as she talked and was no longer near it). "I'll look up the previous tasks from prior tournaments, maybe there will be a pattern to it!"
"Lily," Sirius said, lowering his voice so Hermione couldn't hear. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"No," Lily said very slowly.
"It's alright to be scared, Lily," Sirius said soothingly. "I promise you: I will get you through this tournament alive, even if I have to do the task for you."
"Thanks," Lily said, feeling a bit better. Lily heard the door to the dorm click moments later, as Hermione ran off to begin her investigations.
"Call for me tonight," Sirius said. "I need to get going before Fudge can make up an excuse, but I'll work with Remus, and we'll prepare a list of spells for you to learn before the task. You go see Moody, he's bound to have some advice for you. Have a good day."
"Bye," Lily said as the connection broke.
Now that Lily was left in the complete silence and loneliness of the empty Slytherin dorm, she was really missing Hermione's warmth. After a quick shower, she grabbed her bag, slung it around her shoulders, almost left when she heard voices passing by the other side of the door, thought better of it, and then covered herself with the Invisibility Cloak before heading out. She snuck out with a couple of other Slytherin girls, following Greengrass's steps as she walked towards breakfast with her healthy-looking younger sister who, Lily suddenly realized, was one of the first year girls that sat at her table in the previous year.
Lily followed the pair of girls to the Great Hall, where she took one look at the large, eating crowd in absolute horror, many of which were most definitely watching the entrance for her arrival (and she even heard her name mentioned quite a few times in vile tones from the Hufflepuff table to prove it) and then instead snuck off into the side hallway to head to the kitchens. It took her slightly longer than normal to find the painting of fruits, but as soon as those grapes were tickled, she was in, taking off the cloak just as soon as the portal behind her was closed.
"This way, young miss," a House Elf said, grabbing her by the hand and immediately leading her to a platter of freshly cooked egg. "It is being a while since you last visited, miss."
"I told you all to call me Lily," Lily said, happily following along. She couldn't remember any of their names, of course, but that was due, in part, to there being a hundred of them. Plus, not a one of them wanted to introduce themselves, since that "wouldn't be proper."
She made a mental note to never mention that to Hermione. She did, however, decide to tell the girl that their plan seemed to be working; every single elf in the kitchen was wearing their terrible, knitted hats. It was at that moment Lily realized Dumbledore must have cloned the things, since they most definitely did not make nearly enough of them.
"I don't mean to be disrespectful, miss," the House Elf squeaked.
"You wouldn't be if you used my name," Lily said, taking the offered seat and lifting the offered fork. She was starting to wonder if Hermione was making any progress in the library on their little issue. She was even considering stopping by to help when she dropped her fork, completely startled by a House Elf staring at her from across the counter, his bright, familiar, green eyes already filled with happy tears, his head wearing a dozen of their hats, all stacked on top of each other.
"Dobby?" Lily asked in horror.
"Oh, Hazel Potter remembers Dobby!" Dobby called out to the surrounding crowd of elves.
"Dobby, what are you doing here?" Lily asked, leaning in and pushing the eggs away.
"Dumbledore offered Dobby a job, miss," Dobby said happily. "Dobby makes one Galleon a week, although he had to haggle him down; Dobby likes freedom, but he likes work more, miss."
"Dobby, please drop the honorifics," Lily said. "Really, the rubbish makes me feel old."
"Dobby is sorry, Hazel Potter," Dobby said, wringing his hands in his gaudy Christmas sweater (that, they definitely did not make). "Dobby has some habits he needs to get over."
"How's Hogwarts?" Lily asked, moving the eggs back in front of her and lifting her fork. She was just too hungry to ignore them.
"Hogwarts is keeping Dobby very busy, mi- Hazel Potter," Dobby said. "Especially with so many new students crowding the halls. Dobby is very happy here."
"Better than Lucius Malfoy, then?"
"Dobby thinks anything is being better than that, Hazel Potter," Dobby said, eyeing Lily's knife with a look she didn't like.
"What have you been spending all your money on?" Lily asked, picking up the knife so Dobby couldn't use it and ignoring the sudden glares from all the other house elves.
"Clothes, Hazel Potter," Dobby said, pulling at his sweater to show it off.
"You don't need to keep saying my full name, either."
"Dobby needs to call Hazel Potter something."
"Nothing is fine."
"Hazel Potter is sounding just like her godfather, miss," Dobby said sternly.
"Dobby, saying both is even worse!" Lily said, chewing her egg very slowly and squinting her eyes. "Hang on. How do you know Sirius?"
"Dobby had the honour of assisting the great Sirius Black in cleaning out his household, Hazel Potter," Dobby said, puffing out his chest. "Dobby even got paid seven Galleons for it, although he had to argue it down from-"
"Hang on," Lily said, taking a bite from her toast after a house elf set a platter gently at her elbow. "You were the house elf he was going on about? The fun one?"
"Dobby doesn't know about fun," Dobby said, doing the house elf version of blushing. "Dobby was just doing his job, miss. Dumbledore asked for more, but Dobby was the only one willing to accept pay, and Sirius Black refused any work for free."
"Good," Lily said, nodding her agreement. "You know, Dobby, if you hadn't skipped out so quickly after I freed you, I was going to hire you myself. Course, it is pretty nice here, so I get why you'd want to-"
"Dobby is sorry, miss," Dobby said, blinking slowly, "but Dobby is not sure he heard correctly."
"I said I was going to hire you," Lily said, shoving another piece of hot bread into her mouth. "Don't know what I'd have you do, but-"
Dobby popped out of existence with a snap of his fingers, startling Lily enough to choke on her breakfast. A house elf was thumping her on the back hard when Dobby popped back in, starting the whole process over.
"Dobby is a free agent, Hazel Potter," Dobby said, barely able to contain his excitement, "and is ready to enter your service."
"Pardon?" Lily said, still sputtering on pieces of bread.
"Dobby has left Albus Dumbledore's service," Dobby explained happily, "and is ready to enter Hazel Potter's, after negotiations, of course. Dobby is told those is very important."
"Oh," Lily said, her mind catching up. "You- you actually quit your job?"
"Yes!"
"Because of what I said?"
"Yes!"
"Oh," Lily said, supposing now she had to go through with it, even though it had been a good natured joke. "Err- what did you say you were making?"
"A Galleon a week!"
"Right," Lily said, straightening her posture. "Well, Hermione would kill me if I paid you so little, so- so you have to take three a week."
"Dobby doesn't know about that, Hazel Potter," Dobby said, suddenly sounding nervous.
"And how many days off do you get?"
"One a week, miss."
"Oh, come on, Dobby, that's got to be a joke."
"Dobby likes work, miss!"
"Well, you've got two a week, now, just like the rest of us," Lily said. "Saturday and Sunday. I don't want you even lifting a finger, got it?"
"If that is what it takes to work for Hazel Potter, then Dobby will have to put up with it, miss," Dobby said.
"First order of business," Lily said, shoving egg in her mouth. "Don't call me anything but Lily, I can't stand it."
"Dobby understands, and he will do his best."
"Second order," Lily said, setting down the empty bowl. "I need you to find out what the First Task is going to be, without alerting anybody who could get me into trouble. I don't think using a house elf to gather information is strictly allowed."
"Dobby will get Lily what Lily needs," Dobby said, bowing low and then disappearing with another snap of his fingers.
"Can I get some more of those delightful little pastries?" Lily asked a passing elf.
When Lily finally left the kitchens (still hiding under her cloak), she came out into an Entrance Hall completely crowded with Beauxbatons students, each one cheering and making a show for Fleur. Fleur looked bright and happy, with perhaps just a twinge of exhaustion at the corner of her eyes. Lily thought about slipping the cloak off and giving her own congratulations, since she forgot the previous night with everything going on. She changed her mind after hearing a few students complaining about her trying to steal the spotlight.
"I mean, really, who does the roast beef think she is?" one girl said far too loudly. Lily had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but it still managed to sting when everybody started laughing at it.
She let out a little sigh, wondering how long she'd have to put up with the usual rubbish, and turned to head upstairs instead. She found Ron and Neville coming down the stairs for a late breakfast (since Ron refused to get up until he absolutely needed to) and decided to join the two of them. She stayed under her Invisibility Cloak and waited until they were right in front of her. Then, she flicked Ron on his nose.
"Bloody hell," he said, nearly jumping out of his skin.
"Sorry," Lily said, not feeling sorry at all and falling into step with them (still under the cloak. "Sleep well?"
"No," Neville said, rubbing at his eyes. "House was up all night, celebrating."
"Celebrating?" Lily said, blinking in surprise and stopping short (causing Ron to run into her from behind). "Celebrating what?"
"Well, you're our Champion, aren't you?" Ron said, rolling his eyes. "Once a Gryffindor, always a Gryffindor, no matter what the doubters say. Hey, how'd you manage that, anyway?"
"I didn't," Lily said with a sigh. "Mad-Eye reckons it must have been done before the Goblet even got to Hogwarts. Sirius is down at the Ministry right now screaming at the Minister."
Ron laughed, and then dug through his bag for a bundle of papers.
"No, he isn't," he said, plopping them straight into Lily's lap. "Give that a read, why don't you?"
POTTER NAMED HOGWARTS CHAMPION:
TRAITOR TURNS TO TREASURE?
"Do I have to?" Lily said with a groan. "I mean, really, what's the point? All it's going to do is make me feel worse about everything."
"You might as well, mate," Ron said. "Malfoy's never going to let you hear the end of it, is he? Might as well know why."
"Fine," Lily grumbled, opening the paper back up.
The Triwizard Tournament has arrived at Hogwarts! An ancient tradition, spawning back hundreds of years, finally returning in all its spectacle and grandeur (for a full list of the tournament's activities and dates, see page 23). Each school is allowed one, single champion, selected by a magical artifact crafted by Merlin himself, and elected to represent their schools magical prowess.
While the Beauxbatons Champion is of no particular remark-
"Bloody hell," Lily said, "it's no wonder they're all mad at me."
-, the Durmstrang Champion is none other than International Quidditch Superstar, Viktor Krum.
You might be wondering who the Hogwarts Champion is. There are certainly quite a few favourites among the Hogwarts staff, and this clever little reporter happened to get a few of those names: Angelina Johnson (Captain of Gryffindor's Quidditch Team and a favourite prospect among this year's scouts), by Professors McGonagall and Hagrid, Penelope Clearwater by Professor Flitwick (the current Head Girl), and, favourite of Professor Sprout and Headmaster Albus Dumbledore himself, Cedric Diggory (son of a high-ranking Ministry Head and a favourite for next year's Head Boy).
And, yet, imagine my surprise when, late last night, as I waited by my fireplace for news on the drawings, I was told Hazel Potter was Hogwarts's Champion.
A girl of hardly 14, (Lily snorted at that, wondering if she should just get the truth out before Skeeter could find it) a notorious troublemaker and lawbreaker, rumoured to have been expelled for her poor marks and penchant for dark magic and violence.
"So, we're upgrading up to dark magic, now?" Lily whined.
"Mate," Ron said carefully, "did you see your face when we started learning the Suffocation Curse?"
I, for one, am immensely curious how such a person could be chosen as the perfect representation for a school she does not even attend. And that is ignoring the fact that she is too young to enter to begin; the Ministry press release we received the previous day states that absolutely nobody under the age of 17 is allowed to enter the main tasks themselves. So, how is that she did?
Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge himself, at least, had an answer for that.
"Of course I don't know how the girl bloody did it," Fudge said early this morning. "She's a nightmare, is what she is, probably slipped it in when nobody was looking, or even paid someone off to- err- Lovely girl, couldn't have been a better choice."
Well, Minister Fudge, we'll just have to see if the French traitor truly is up to snuff. Perhaps she'll earn her return as our distinct National Treasure. Or, perhaps, she'll be claimed as another tragic victim of a tournament responsible for the deaths of many.
"Great," Lily said, handing Ron back his paper with a sigh. "You lot really threw a party for me? Even with that?"
"Well," Ron said, scratching his nose and ignoring the look he was getting from Neville. "Err- it wasn't really a party, really. Fred and George tried to get it going, but Angelina was seething, and then- err- well, we'll say it didn't go well. I had to slug Seamus last night after he got into it, and Katie looked about to do the same to half the girls, way she was screaming about it. Should have heard her, honestly, you'd be proud."
Lily let out another sigh and leaned her forehead against the nearest wall. "Lovely."
She couldn't hide forever, and after spending the whole day trying to relax and forget with Ron and Neville, she finally allowed them to convince her to attend supper. Without the cloak, despite Lily's best efforts.
Imagine her surprise when, upon entering the Great Hall, every single Hufflepuff in the room stood as one and marched straight past her and out without so much as a word or a look. Even her fellow fourth years, who she thought she'd been on good terms with, refused to acknowledge her presence.
"Bit dramatic, don't you think?" Ron said. The little joke didn't make her feel any better, though, nor did it abate any of the embarrassment she was feeling when the rest of the eating students broke into a chorus of laughter and jeers (aside from the Slytherins, but the little hisses they did to show support were almost more mortifying).
"I think I'll go," Lily said, turning around. "I- err- I'm not very hungry anymore."
"We'll go with you," Neville said, immediately grabbing Ron by the arm before he could head to their table.
"Right," Ron said with a sigh. "We're with you, mate."
"You guys believe me, right?" Lily asked as they walked outside, her stomach turning. "That I didn't enter myself?"
"Course we do, mate," Ron said, clapping her on the shoulder. "If you knew how to do it, there's no way you wouldn't have invited me."
That, admittedly, did make Lily feel a bit better. She felt even greater when Ron and Neville agreed to come with her to see Moody. Ron might keep complaining about how mad they looked talking to something unseen, but they never even asked her to leave her cloak. They wouldn't go inside his office, of course, as the man terrified them on a level she'd yet to see, but they were more than happy to wait at the end of the hallway for her to return.
Lily knocked and pulled her cloak off at the same time, and she was just tucking it away when it opened.
"Potter," Moody said, magic eye swiveling back and forth to check other directions. "Where'd you come from?"
"I was-"
"Nevermind that," Moody said, herding her inside with a strong hand on her shoulder. "Get inside before anybody sees you. Don't know if those are the real Weasley and Longbottom down the hall."
"I spent all day with them!"
"Doesn't mean anything," Moody said, seating her in front of his desk. "Could be using Polyjuice."
"Or they could be Metamorphmagi in disguise," Lily said sarcastically.
"Exactly," Moody said. "Never trust anybody. Always exhibit constant vigilance."
"Then how do you I know you're Mad-Eye?"
"You don't!" Moody said with a barking laugh.
"Right," Lily said, doing her best to move on. "Listen: Sirius told me to come see you, he thought you might have some ideas."
"On who put your name in the Goblet?" Moody asked.
"On what spells to learn, actually," Lily said, crossing her legs.
"Right," Moody said, jumping up from his seat and heading straight towards the shelf. "Good idea, Potter. Get to practicing as soon as possible. Start with the Warning Wards. Wait until the rest of Slytherin is asleep, and then plaster as many of them around the common room as you can, wherever you can."
"Pardon?" Lily asked. "Why? What are Warning Wards?"
"You'll cover them next year," Moody said dismissively. "Easy as can be, but easy to break, too, supposing you can find them all. Anybody or anything, spells included, passed between two of them, and you'll immediately be alerted to it. Won't tell you what, but any information at all gives you time to react."
"Alright, but why would I put them all over the common room?"
"You're smart, Potter," Moody said, slamming a thick tome down on his desk and moving back to the shelf again. "You can put it together."
"But-"
"What kinds of students go to Slytherin?"
"The ambitious and clever," Lily said.
Moody snorted. "Perhaps you aren't as smart as I thought you were. You think Malfoy is clever or ambitious? How about Crabbe and Goyle? Have you seen the essays they've turned in to me?"
"Alright, I get your point," Lily said. "But you really think they'd just attack me in the common room?"
"Are you saying they wouldn't?"
Lily wasn't and couldn't, considering they already had.
"Exactly," Moody said, correctly interpreting her silence. "And even if they don't this year, it's only a matter of time until they try it. There's a war coming, Potter, and they've already picked their side of it. Keep the wards up. Spend as much time sitting around the common room as possible until you get used to it. It'll hurt, at first, with all that information, but you'll acclimate."
"Alright," Lily agreed reluctantly.
"Now," Moody said, slamming down another book and then taking his seat once more. "Let's discuss combat spells, shall we?"
The next couple days were some of the longest of her life. The wards were easy to learn, just like Moody promised, and she did place them everywhere she could think of that first night. At first, it was easy. They only warned her when she was in them, herself, and that late at night, there was basically just herself and Hermione sitting in the room. In the morning, though, on the way to breakfast, she nearly collapsed from the sudden mental strain of over a hundred people milling about. By the end of the day, her migraine was so bad she nearly couldn't sleep. Plus, between Sirius's constant advice and everything Moody hauled off on her, she now had so much material to sift through she wasn't sure she'd ever get a chance to rest again.
At the very least, though, nobody insisted that she leave the common room after a Beauxbatons girl and a Durmstang boy teamed up to accio things out of her hands every time she want to take a bite, and Hermione was more than happy to bring her back food at regular intervals. When Clara and Malfoy even met, let alone agreed to work together to make her life miserable (as well as Henri's, if the look he gave Clara every time she did something was any indication), she had no idea. Merlin, she had no idea when Clara even got the Summoning Charm to work, but she wasn't at all happy about it.
By the time Wednesday rolled around, Lily was far too exhausted to get up, and she had absolutely no desire to attend classes, no matter what Hermione said or tried to threaten her with. The girl refused to talk to her until Saturday (and Lily had to sleep without her favourite blanket, as Hermione kept stealing it), as Lily refused to attend any classes before that point. It was only a combination of McGonagall and Snape summoning her to the latter's office and spending an hour lecturing her that changed anything. They weren't even mad at her. They were mad that her blatant insubordination led to Sae staying with her in the common room in a show of solidarity, meaning the other girl was also skipping her classes.
"I understand your situation, Potter," McGonagall said, ignoring the Potions Professor rolling his eyes behind her, "but you can not encourage other students to abandon their own studies. Do I make myself clear?"
Hermione's smug "I told you so" got her to spend that night on the floor, but Lily's grudge didn't last through the next day.
At the very least, nobody else said a thing to her before Potions on Monday morning (Ron and Neville even argued in her defense when Hermione tried to start up again). As they all filed in and waited, and even as they entered the classroom itself later, they were all warned off by the ugly glares she kept giving them. At least her reputation for violence was good for something, even if she would never thank Skeeter for that particular little favour.
The only person she allowed to say anything at all was Lavender Brown, who she partnered up with since Hermione didn't show her face until right before the bell rang for class to begin (she was still spending every moment she could in the library). She didn't say much back, of course, but that's because she was busy trying to ignore the glares from the half of students trying to kill her.
She was very surprised when Slughorn came through the door instead of Snape.
"Well, well," Slughorn said upon reaching the front of the classroom. "Try not to look so glum, dear chaps! Welcome to Hogwarts, and welcome to Potions! My name is Horace Slughorn, and I will be your professor for the week; next week, you will be visiting with Beauxbaton's Belby, and the week after Durmstrang's Ivanova, before returning back to me!"
"No Snape?" Ron said, his voice unbelievably giddy.
"Severus will be handling the OWL years and higher from here on out," Slughorn said, his moustache bristling. "Not that I mind, of course! Nothing I love more than molding the minds of our younger students!"
"Right," Lily said, noticing his eyes darting over to her.
"Oh, I hope they switch again next year," Lavender said as they started work on their poison of the day (nasty stuff that could leave someone quite literally glued to the toilet for days on end). "Snape's been truly awful while you've been gone, Lily."
"Can you pass me the tongs?"
"We needed tongs?"
"What, you want me to pick up the pickled toad tongues by hand? Do you have any idea what they were stewing in?"
"Toad tongues?" Lavender said, a hand covering her horrified mouth.
"Never mind," Lily said with a sigh, reaching for them herself. "Just be careful handling them, yeah? What's Snape been up to?"
"Oh, he's dreadful!" Lavender said again, completely ignoring her own cauldron and instead scooting closer to Lily.
"I think we covered that part, Lav."
"Say, what was Beauxbatons like?" Lavender asked, scooting even closer.
"What, we're not talking about Snape anymore?"
"Oh, who wants to talk about him?" Lavender said, giggling and placing a hand gently on Lily's arm. "I haven't seen you since the summer, Lily! We should catch up!" Lily felt a lot of things at that moment, the largest of which was relief that Lavender Brown seemed to be on her side.
"I really need to concentrate here, Lav," Lily said, ignoring how dry her mouth suddenly felt. "If I mess up this brew, Slughorn might mention it to Madam Prinpernelle, and then I might not get to-"
"Madam Prinpernelle?" Lavender said with an excited squeal. "He knows Madam Prinpernelle?"
"Yes," Lily said. "He's set me up with an apprenticeship at her lab over the summer, and I'd really prefer not messing it up, thank you."
"Oh, you have to help me meet her, Lily!" Lavender said, clinging desperately to the arm she wanted to stir her potion with. "Oh, please, please!"
"I can't," Lily said, shaking her off. "I've only just met her, myself!"
"How did you get it?"
"By being good at potions?" Lily said with a shrug. "That's why I don't want to mess this up?"
"Lily, you have to help me!" Lavender said, turning back to her own cauldron in a tizzy.
"What?"
"Show me how!" Lavender insisted. Lily's face contorted in horror as Lavender began tossing in random ingredients, and she was the first person in the room to run for cover when the whole thing exploded.
"I'm disappointed in you, dear girl," Slughorn told her when she stayed behind to help. "A good Potioneer should always look out for her partner."
"Sorry," Lily said, not sure what else to say, since it really wasn't her fault. She only had a second to react between Lavender's first choice of ingredient and when the thing started billowing out black smoke.
"There's always next time!" Slughorn said, clapping her on the back jovially. "One little mistake won't harm you in the long run! We all make them, really, don't worry about it. Best to take it as a lesson and do better the next time!"
She was still feeling sorry for herself when they all moved on to attend Charms with the Durmstrang professor, although Lavender at least had the decency to mope on the other side of the room from her. She didn't get to talk with Hermione until after returning from Astronomy late that night.
"How did it go?" Hermione asked when Lily collapsed face first onto her bed.
"I don't want to talk about it," she said into her pillow.
"That bad?"
"You know, Hermione," she said, turning her head so her voice wasn't muffled, "as it turns out, joining a class months after it starts, without learning anything that was covered previously, might not be so easy. I have so much homework to catch up on, I'm considering just giving up and accepting a T on my OWLs."
"No!"
"Yes."
"Lily."
"Hermione."
"You absolutely can not take a T on any of our exams, Lily!" Hermione said, her voice getting that shrill quality again. "They determine our entire future!"
"And killing myself getting an O will help me as a Quidditch player how, exactly?"
"It wouldn't," Hermione admitted, "but it's necessary if you want to be a decent Potioneer, considering how many high level potions require specific lunar and solar cycles."
"Guess I'll give up Potions, then," Lily said, closing her eyes. "Find anything about the tournament?"
"Nothing, yet," Hermione said reluctantly, flipping a page lazily in her book. "I have a lot to go through, Lily. I don't imagine I'll find much at all for a couple of weeks. It'd really help if we at least knew what it was, then I could look up records and see what others did to handle similar issues!"
"Right, well, we don't, so-"
Pop!
"Dobby has returned, miss!" Dobby announced proudly, his little chest puffed out and everything despite the terrified reaction both Hermione and Lily were expressing.
"Call me Lily, Dobby," Lily said with another long sigh, wondering if Dobby would ever get it right or if this nightmare would be the rest of her life.
"Dobby?" Hermione said, her hand still clutched over her heart. "Wait, Lily, is this the elf from second year?"
"Yes," Lily said, laughing nervously.
"Why is he here?"
"Hazel Potter hired Dobby to investigate the first task for her," Dobby said, somehow getting even prouder.
"Lily. Please, I'm begging you."
"Did she now?" Hermione said, narrowing her eyes.
"I'm paying him!" Lily said very quickly. "He's an employee!"
"How much?"
"Three Galleons a week!"
"Three?" Hermione said in outrage. "Lily, you pay your workers at the store ten."
"First of all, how did you know that?" Lily said. "Second of all, we pay well above average, thank you very much. Poached most of them from Flourish & Blotts myself, and the rest are all werewolves Lupin chose. Are you saying they don't deserve the pay?"
"Lily."
"Hermione."
"Don't be ridiculous," Hermione said, crossing her arms. "Why isn't Dobby getting the same pay?"
"Dobby is confused, miss," Dobby said, scratching at his head.
"Because offering him that much might kill him," Lily said, patting the little guy on the head. "He's been brainwashed all his life to think he doesn't deserve anything, Hermione. I'll give him a raise when he's good and ready."
"Lily."
"Also, Dumbledore was only giving him one Galleon and a single day off a week, so- you know- in your face."
"Dobby, how many days off are you getting now?"
"Two, miss," Dobby said, wringing his hands together nervously. "But Dobby was thinking of getting a second job, miss, because Dobby does not want to miss too much work, miss."
"Dobby," Lily said sternly, "if you get a second job, I'm going to pay you fifteen a week and give you three days off."
"He should be getting that anyway!" Hermione said, completely ignoring the look of sheer horror Dobby was now wearing.
"What? Hermione, you're barkers, nobody gets three a week!"
"Well, they should!"
"Blimey, you really think so?"
"And a month of paid leave, extended maternity and paternity leave, shorter work days, equal pay, equal opportunities-"
"Hermione, I'm starting to think our platform is getting a bit bloated. I thought we were just for equal rights?"
"What did you think that entails, Lily?"
"I don't know- freeing the elves and getting rid of anti-Muggle legislation?"
"And what about worker's rights?"
"I- what-"
"Think about it, Lily. How often does Mr. Weasley have to work long hours, at all odd times of the day and night, because he's so overworked? How much time has he sacrificed for his family just so they could eat, or have a roof over their heads? Do you really think that's fair?
"No, I suppose not," Lily said, blinking slowly.
"And that's just the beginning, Lily!" Hermione said, smacking her palm with a closed fist. "The Wizarding World is supposed to be better than the Muggle one, isn't it? Why shouldn't we strive for more?"
"Well, blimey, Hermione, don't you think you're shooting a bit too far? I mean, we've gone way past the moon, at this point, and found ourselves somewhere near the Andromeda Galaxy."
"Dobby is here to talk about the task, miss," Dobby said, his eyes darting between the two girls.
"Right," Lily said, turning her attention back to the elf. "Well, what did you find out, Dobby?"
"Dragons, miss."
"Come again?" Lily said, her lips pursed tightly.
"The first task is dragons, miss," Dobby said, wringing his hands again as his ears drooped. "Dobby found out from Hagrid, miss, and he has invited you to come see them tonight."
"Oh," Hermione said with a frightened little squeak.
"Tonight?" Lily squeaked herself. "Right now?"
"Yes, miss," Dobby said, holding out his hand. "Dobby can take you, miss, but Hagrid thinks it best if Hazel Potter grabs her cloak first, miss."
Lily didn't move or say anything. She sat there, staring in horror, as Hermione rose from her own seat and dug out the cloak from her wardrobe and then placed it gently in her lap.
"You should go," she said, her frantic tone betraying her calm demeanour. "I'll- I'll start digging stuff up. Try to find out everything about the dragons that you can, so- so I know what to look at."
"Right," Lily said, swallowing the lump down her throat and then taking Dobby's hand.
The apparition was quick, and Lily found herself standing in the bright, warm living area of Hagrid's Hut. Hagrid hardly looked up at all from the mirror near his sink, where he was attempting to comb his hair with the largest comb Lily had ever seen. Dobby gave a quick bow and then apparated away again, leaving her alone.
"Hagrid," Lily said, her voice way too loud. "Dragons?"
"Shh! Not so loud!" Hagrid said, dragging her off to the side with his strong grip before turning back to his sink. Lily couldn't help but notice that a few of the comb's teeth were broken off in his facial hair.
"Please tell me it's not true, Hagrid," Lily said desperately.
"Oh, yeh'll love 'em, Lily!"
"Oh," Lily said, her voice somehow getting higher. "Are they little, at least?"
"Grand, majestic beasts," Hagrid said dreamily. "Brooding mothers, far as I can tell. Think I saw a few eggs."
"Oh."
"Was gonna show yeh later," Hagrid said, grumbling when the comb broke off again in his thick hair. "But I 'spose it's easier ter show the two of yer at once."
"Two?" Lily said, her brain still not quite working right.
"Best get yer cloak on," Hagrid said, standing and straightening his bowtie. "She'll be here any minute."
"Cloak?" Lily repeated stupidly. "Oh." She threw it over herself, and then did a doubletake once she was completely invisible. "Hang on- what're you all dressed up for?"
"Non' a yer business," Hagrid said, wearing the worst, tackiest suit Lily had ever seen in her life. "Some of us prefer lookin' sharp."
"Hagrid, I have never once seen you out of your moleskin coat. What are you up to?"
"Nothin'!" Hagrid said, right as there came a loud knock on the door. Hagrid quickly shushed her question, despite not seeing her open her mouth to say one. "Jus' stay quiet and follow behin' us, yeah? Not 'sposed ter be helpin' students."
Right, Lily said, clenching her jaw as Hagrid opened the door. Then why is she here?
Madame Maxime allowed Hagrid to kiss her hand as he welcomed her, and then Hagrid didn't so much as look back at her as he began leading the tall woman towards the Forbidden Forest. Lily considered accepting her doomed fate and at least returning to get some sleep before remembering that Hermione fully expected information and would never let her rest until she got it. She, very reluctantly, followed behind the two while they had their romantic little walk in the woods.
"Better not hurt Hagrid," Lily grumbled.
"What was zat, 'Agrid?"
"What? Oh- err- Nice out, innit?"
Eventually, after passing signs of charred wood and stamped grass, they started hearing shouts in the distance. When the shouts turned to bright flashes of orange flame, Lily really started to get worried. When the flashes turned into straight up infernos, with dragon tamers and calmers running around, trying to stun a particularly thorny beast, Lily thought she might die on the spot from fright.
"Hagrid!" Charlie Weasley shouted from where he was attempting to drag a Welsh Green by a very large leash, "stay back!"
"Right," Lily said out loud to herself, her hands and legs trembling. "Right."
There were four of the great beasts: Charlie's Welsh, a Chinese Fireball, a Swedish Short-Snout, and a Hungarian Horntail.
No big deal. They were only the four most dangerous dragons on record.
The Welsh Green could blast noxious, poisonous fumes along with its blasts of scalding flame. Despite the name, the colours of its scales were a deep purple; it got the name because said fumes turned the fire a bright green. The way it left trails along the ground reminded Lily very much of acid, even if it was actually a base, of all things.
The Chinese Fireball looked completely different from the European counterparts, but that made no difference, as far as Lily was concerned. They were long, fast, and with fire that burned hotter than magma that shout out faster than the average human could think, let alone react.
The Swedish Short-Snout was a pale, sickly white, but that was just so it could blend in with the mountain snows it called home. Unlike its counterparts, it shot a stream of freezing water, which didn't sound too bad, until you took into account the fact that the water was actually a diluted acid meant to not only encase victims in ice but to also turn them into a soft sludge once the dragon decided to thaw them for a tasty little snack.
The Hungarian Horntail looked the most menacing, but it had the tamest fire. The true threat came from the spikes encasing it's body and tail. It could curl into a ball and roll at high speeds, crushing and impaling its path like a large porcupine filled with angst and murder, and it could also shoot the spikes if it became desperate enough. The fire was already bad enough; Lily really wasn't looking forward to having to dodge two different forms of projectiles.
"Dobby," Lily whispered frantically.
"Yes, miss?" Dobby said, popping into existence right next to her as she whisked off her cloak.
"Take me to Sirius."
"But-"
"Now."
Dobby grabbed on to her, and with another quick pop, she found herself standing in the sitting room of Grimmauld Place. Sirius was sitting on the couch with a very pretty woman Lily recognized from her ships, their hands resting on each other while they talked quietly.
"I miss her too, Sirius. I think about her every-"
"Lily!" Sirius shouted from fright, noticing her first and jumping from his seat, the woman screaming along with him. "What are you-"
"Dragons, Sirius!" Lily shouted back, grabbing the sides of her head. "The first task is dragons and I am going to die!"