"You still like me, right, boy?" Lily said, dragging the little mouse along on a string (a Muggle toy gifted to her from Ashley since she wasn't currently allowed magic). Weasley scampered right after it, swatting it at in feline delight. "You want to come with me to Hogwarts, don't you?" Weasley jumped straight at her lap when she dangled the little mouse over herself, and Lily took that opportunity to scoop him straight into her arms and give him a little kiss on the head.
"You remember what day it is, don't you, boy?" she said, much quieter.
So far, only Sirius had, but her complete refusal to let him sing to her over their one shared meal of the day seemed to have soured his current opinion of her. That, and the fact that she hid in her room all day instead of any activity Sirius suggested.
"Lily!" Sirius called from downstairs, as if he knew she was thinking of him at that very moment. "It's almost time! Get down here!"
Lily glowered at her closed door, sighed, and stood from where she'd been sitting cross-legged on the floor, kissing her cat on the head again. Weasley was purring in her arms and not trying to fight the cuddles, which seemed a little uncharacteristic of him, but Lily didn't mind one bit. She decided to just treat it at as her gift from the little guy. Balancing him in one hand, she smoothed out her skirt with the other, grabbed her trunk by the handle, and began dragging it out the door behind her, taking her sweet time descending so Sirius wouldn't think he'd won.
It wasn't even an argument, but Lily felt like it was.
"I told you to leave the trunk," Sirius said when she made it to the final landing. "I don't want the steps getting all scuffed."
Lily just looked him directly in the eye and moved even slower, allowing her trunk to hit each individual step with a solid and lingering thunk, Sirius continuing to glower at her disapprovingly, his face crinkling in a little wince at every little noise.
"Come off it, Lily," he said. "Do you have any idea how long it took to get those looking so-"
When she reached the ground floor, she gave it one final tug, letting the wheels at the base skitter across the ground while Sirius's lips became a thin white line.
"I'm ready," she said. Sirius took a deep breath and pointed directly at the cat she was holding.
"You can't bring two animals, Lily," he said cautiously, as if the slightest argument would set her right off. "Weasley's got to stay."
"Zeus is staying," Lily said, kissing her cat's head again. "I'm bringing Weasley back with me."
"Lily-"
"He'll be fine," Lily said a bit snappishly, rolling her eyes in an attempt to relieve tension immediately afterwards. "We've got private rooms, now. Should have sent for him earlier."
"Lily," Sirius said, crossing his arms. "You've got to bring Zeus."
"No." Lily said, forcing determination and authority into her posture.
"Lily, you have to stay in contact with people!"
"With who, exactly?" Lily said, raising an eyebrow. "Nobody writes me except my adoring fans."
"You just started your sessions, what if you need to-"
"I'm bringing Weasley," Lily said. "And that's final." She didn't expect it to work, but Weasley chose that exact moment to let out the cutest noise she'd ever heard, and she saw Sirius's glum face soften a bit.
"Fine," Sirius with a relenting sigh. "But you've got to at least put him in his cage. You can't take the Floo with him, if he got scared and jumped away he could get lost or hurt."
"Fine," Lily said, happily squatting towards the ground, near the stairs, and opening the front of Weasley's cage.
"You prepared this ahead of time, didn't you?" Sirius said. Lily had to imagine his frown; she couldn't see it like this.
"Yes," Lily admitted, shutting Weasley tight in his little temporary prison. She stuck her index finger through the largest gap, letting Weasley chew at it in what she hoped was affection.
"Come on, Lily," Sirius said. He was glancing at his watch when Lily turned to look at him. "McGonagall's fire is only going to be open for so long. We've got to get you back to school."
Lily kept her mouth shut and didn't at all mention that she could have gone back on the train, like everybody else, if she hadn't been so unjustly punished. She could even feel the words at the tip of her tongue before she remembered she was supposed to be thinking before acting on her impulses. She rose from the ground, giving Weasley's cage a fond pat on the top, and then walked briskly over to the fireplace and grabbed the bag of Floo Powder sitting on the mantel.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Sirius said as she tossed a pinch of the stuff into the flames.
"No," Lily said, moving one leg over the grate to step inside. Sirius cleared his throat, grabbing her attention back, and then twirled her wand between his fingertips.
"Thought you were," Sirius said with a soft smile.
"Thought I wasn't allowed it," Lily said, reluctantly pulling herself out of the fire. As much as she wanted to get one last act of defiance in, she also really wanted her wand back. She just didn't feel right with it gone.
"I wasn't going to actually forbid you your wand, Lily," Sirius said, allowing Lily to take it gently from his hand. "I want you to be able to protect yourself, and you can't do that without it."
"And the cloak?" Lily said, still not looking him in the eye, twirling the long vinewood between her fingers. "Don't suppose I could have that back too, then?"
"No," Sirius said after a long pause. "Sorry, Lily."
"That's not fair!" Lily protested, hands snapping to her sides.. "It's mine, you can't just take it!" Merlin, she was even stomping her foot. Her face grew red when she realized she was having a childish little tantrum, but Sirius seemed to take her embarrassment for vivid anger, if the way he was raising his hands was any indication.
"Lily-"
"Forget it," Lily said, breathing hot air out her nose and turning back to the fireplace. She didn't want to be this angry over something so insignificant. It was just a normal occurrence in the life of Hazel Lily Potter: she never got to keep one of her most beloved possessions for very long. This was hardly any different. She took another deep breath as she stepped over the mantle again, foot entering the cool, green flames.
"Oh, come here," Sirius said, grabbing her by the shoulder, turning her around, and pulling her into a tight hug.
"Sirius-" Lily gripped hard on to the sides of the fireplace, trying to keep her balance so she wouldn't topple over and spread hot ash all over their nice carpet.
"I know it hasn't been easy, lately," Sirius said, still holding tight to her. "But I'm still on your side, Lily. I'll always be on your side."
"Then why can't I have the cloak?" Lily said before she could think about it. She opened her mouth to change her mind, to say she didn't want it, but didn't quite get the chance.
"Look," Sirius said, pulling back and holding her chin in one hand so she had no choice but to look him in the eyes. "If you can promise me- promise me- that you'll stay out of trouble, and that you won't go sneaking about behind my back, then I'll return it. If you can promise that you won't pull another stunt like you did over the holidays, you can have it. I don't want it. It is yours, but I can't have you putting yourself in danger like that again, Lily. I just can't."
Lily blinked slowly, completely surprised at the tremble in his voice on the last word. She opened her mouth to make the promise but closed it again at the desperate look in Sirius's eyes.
"I love you, Lily," Sirius said, pulling her into a hug again. "Just because you're in trouble right now doesn't change that. Give me a shout later tonight, yeah?"
"Alright," Lily said, staring at her feet when Sirius finally broke contact again.
"Go on," Sirius said, giving her a gentle nudge back towards the fireplace. "We'll talk later. I'm sure your friends are dying to see you again. Shouldn't keep them waiting any longer, should we."
Lily shook her head and then stepped back into the fireplace. With one final look at Sirius, smiling at her and raising a hand in salute, her throat thick, she tried to say something just to assure him that she wasn't still feeling angry.
"Hogwarts," she said instead, eyes flicking downwards in shame.
The familiar sensation pulled at her stomach, and with a great woosh, she spun around and around for just a couple of seconds before her feet hit solid ground at her destination.
"Welcome back, Potter," McGonagall said from her desk, where she was grading papers. "Supper should still be going downstairs. If you're quick, you should be able to get some."
"Right," Lily said, stepping out of the fireplace. She supposed that was as good of a greeting as she was going to get. She stepped straight over to the door, beating ash off her robes and rubbing at her eyes. She was stopped at the exit, hand resting on the handle, when McGonagall cleared her throat to grab her attention.
"Is something wrong, Hazel?" McGonagall said, her voice kinder, glasses perched at the tip of her nose.
Lily shrugged.
"Hazel," McGonagall said, removing her spectacles and setting them gently on the stack of papers in front of her, "if there's anything I can do, you need only-"
"Our meetings are on Saturday, right, Professor?" Lily said.
"Yes?" McGonagall said, blinking slowly.
"And today is Monday, yes?" Lily asked, feeling irritated all over again.
"Yes," McGonagall said, pursing her lips.
"Then I'll see you then," Lily said, pushing her way out of the room.
The hallway immediately outside of McGonagall's office only had a few lingering students in it. Of course, those students immediately turned to gawk at her, a couple of them even having the gall to point, whispering something to each other with a very unsubtle smile on their lips. Lily tucked her hands into her pockets, kept her head low, and moved downwards as quickly as possible. She wished she'd had the sense to use her powers to change appearances before leaving Grimmauld Place, but that would have meant explaining to McGonagall, and she didn't want to know what kind of restrictions would be placed on her should the staff find out about that. It was a miracle Sirius hadn't told them herself.
That was a bit of an assumption, sure, but there was no way Snape knew, and that, hopefully, meant the others didn't, either; if he did, he would have made it excruciatingly clear in some miserable, new way.
It was a little difficult to remain incognito when she turned the corner to the grand staircase only to be met with dozens of students heading either upstairs or downstairs. She tried pulling further into herself, trying to make herself appear as small as possible, but that was hard to do when she was taller than most girls her age. She was initially thankful that they at least weren't trying to accost her directly, but that only lasted a total of seven seconds before she was mobbed and surrounded.
"Potter!"
"Where were you?"
"I saw your picture in Beasts and Freaks!"
"I heard you were dead!"
"I heard you spent a week in the jungle! Visiting family, were you?"
"Did you lose your magic?"
"Hungry, Potter? I've got a banana for you, here."
Lily turned, jaw clenched, to glare at Clara, Malfoy standing nearby and smiling eagerly, her hand reaching for the wand tucked in her sleeved holster. One good bang should send them all scurrying off like the rats they were, and, so long as she didn't hurt them (which they very much deserved), nobody would even be able to complain about-
No, think, Lily. Don't go and-
"You know," Malfoy said, ignoring all impending signs of danger, "I thought it was strange that you managed to survive that night when your parents died. Who would have thought Dumbledore just put a dress on an ape and expected us to buy it?"
"Well, it's awful convincing, isn't it?" Clara said, adding an obnoxious little giggle.
Alright, then, Lily thought, pulling her wand fully out. Maybe just a little cursing.
Thankfully, as she raised her wand (and as Malfoy and Clara backed away, being far too slow to draw their own), she was saved a potential expulsion by the hand of a friendly face clamping down firmly on her shoulder.
"Piss off, Malfoy," Ron said, squeezing her in support. "Give her some space, you freaks. Go on, get out of here."
"I heard what you did, Potter," Malfoy said, grabbing Lily by the arm. "Think you can just go and-"
"And what are you going to do about it?" Lily said, shaking Ron off and getting right up into Malfoy's face. "Whine to daddy about it? I seem to remember he was there, and there wasn't a single thing he could do to stop me."
"How dare you impersonate mother," Malfoy growled almost inaudibly.
"Don't you wonder where I got the hairs for the Polyjuice, Malfoy?" Lily said, matching his volume and planting the seed of her preferred story. "Spent a lovely little weekend with her down in Tuscany. Plucked them straight off of her-"
"Know your place, Potter," Malfoy said, his face turning a bright, furious red.
"Funny, coming from a-"
"Oh, leave him alone, would you?" Ron said, shoving the boy away (and stumbling down a few steps). "Come on, Lily, he's not worth it, let's get you out of here."
"I can handle him," Lily said, head pounding, neck craning to trace Malfoy's path through the crowd down in the opposite direction.
"Obviously," Ron said, rolling his eyes. "That's not the issue here, is it? You really want to get suspended again, right after you got back?"
"Keep it down, would you?" Lily hissed, pressing a finger to her lips. "Nobody knows about that part."
"If you say so, mate," Ron said, rolling his eyes again.
"Sorry," Lily said quietly when the ginger boy lapsed into an awkward silence. "You're right, I shouldn't have egged on Malfoy. I'm supposed to be acting more calmly."
Ron scoffed. "I'm not saying don't curse him. I'm just saying don't do it in front of half the school. I mean, blimey, mate, you looked like you were about to use an Unforgivable."
She wasn't going to go that far. She was just remembering a spell labelled 'for enemies' that she'd yet to try out; whatever Sectumsempra did, it didn't work against inanimate objects.
"I still shouldn't have," she said with a sigh. "I'm supposed to be thinking about stuff before I do anything, I promised I would. Now I have to write somebody and explain how I was a huge idiot that almost get herself-"
Lily swore as she realized she had no way of writing Maraktis without borrowing an owl; perhaps she should have brought Zeus over her precious little kitty.
"Say," Lily said apprehensively. "Err- you still haven't replaced Scabbers, have you?"
"No," Ron said harshly, looking away from her at the mere mention of the murderer he used to share a bed with.
"Listen," Lily said, "err- you're birthdays in just a couple of months. If I get you an owl- and you can have one early, just don't expect anything else- would you let me borrow it?"
"Of course I would," Ron said, looking at her oddly. "You don't even have to ask."
"Thanks, Ron."
"Course," Ron said, scratching the side of his nose, "It's your birthday we should be talking about, isn't it?"
Lily stopped short, staring at him incredulously. "You remembered?"
"Blimey, do I really come across that daft? Listen, come up to Gryffindor Tower later- had to pull a few favours for Charlie, but in return, he's got us a few of those stouts you liked so much. Nev's never had a drink, so I thought we'd include him."
"Excellent," Lily said, smiling and now feeling much better about how her day was going.
"Come on," Ron said, grabbing her by the arm again and moving them up the stairs faster. "We've got an appointment to keep."
"An appointment?" Lily said, blinking slowly but allowing Ron to continue pulling her along.
"Sure," Ron said.
"Err- I was hoping to grab something to eat."
"Well, it's a good thing you've got a House Elf working for you that can bring food wherever you happen to be, isn't it?"
"Oh," Lily said, blinking slowly again. She couldn't believe she never thought of it before. Hiring Dobby just had so much potential. Her stomach turned again when they passed another group of students on the fourth floor who seemed to think squawking and screeching monkey noises at her would be a good idea.
"Right," Ron said, dragging her by the arm into the library, while she continued shouting obscenities at the group of idiots. "Doubt anybody will bother us in here. I mean, who comes to the library right after the holidays?"
"Hermione does," Lily said, trying not to point out that they were two weeks into the new term.
"Yeah, well, who do you think dragged the rest of us here?"
"The rest of us?" Lily asked, narrowing her eyes. "Who are us?"
"S.P.E.W.," Ron said, turning a corner between shelves and pointing at quite the crowded table.
Neville waved at her first, laughing at something the girl next to him was saying. That girl happened to be Ginny Weasley, who just smiled in her general direction before turning straight back to Neville. Sae was sitting at her side, talking with Luna Lovegood, and both girls waved at her happily, with Luna even looking up from whatever it was she was sketching (Lily assumed Sae or Ginny must have invited her, but the rest of the table's occupants were looking at the girl as if they didn't understand why she was there). The twins were next, whispering conspiratorially with each other, Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet leaned in with them. Lavender Brown was trying her best to draw Ron's attention (or hers, Lily hoped, swallowing down the sudden nerves), waving at him very happily, while both Patil twins rolled their eyes at her. It was the last two members that completely surprised Lily.
The first was Fleur Delacour, arms crossed, fingers tapping impatiently while she listened to the chatter of people she no doubt considered beneath her. Her other hand was holding her S.P.E.W. badge, which the others were all wearing, and she was staring at it as if in deep concentration. When she looked up and noticed Lily staring, she gave a decisive nod and then pinned it to her chest. Then, she pat the empty chair next to her, inviting Lily to sit.
The other one was Cedric Diggory, and he happened to be sitting in the seat across from the one Lily was now taking. He seemed incredibly nervous to be here at all, his eyes looking anywhere but at the other people, but he had his badge pinned proudly to his chest, as if daring anybody to question it.
Lily was more than happy to do just that.
"What are you doing here?" she said.
"I was invited," Cedric said simply.
"By who?" Lily said, looking around at the others and wondering who would be brave enough to fess up.
"By us," Fred and George said together.
"See, way we figured it," Fred said, gesturing to all the people around him, "if there's a war brewing, we'll need a little help."
"Wait, there's a war?" Lavender whispered to the twins (Patil twins, not Weasley).
"Lav, did you listen at all when they invited us?" Parvati said with a deep sigh.
"There's not a war brewing," Lily said angrily. "All we did was run a little rescue mission." She shot a glare at Angelina and Alicia after she finished, as if it was their fault that Katie Bell wasn't currently sitting at the table instead of hers.
"Lily," George said patiently. "You're ignoring all the literal death eaters that tried to kill us on the way out."
"Death Eaters?" Lavender said with a little gasp. "Wait, I thought this was to get a study group going."
"Oh, Lav."
"Look," Lily said, starting to get annoyed. "I'm honoured that you all just decided to join S.P.E.W., but this isn't what it's meant for."
"Oh, just forget the elves for a moment, would you?" Ron said, rolling his eyes. "They like working."
"Ron, shut up," Lily said warningly. She was dangerously close to now refusing those drinks entirely.
"You own one!"
"I don't own one!" Lily hissed. "He works for me. I pay him."
"Look, Ron doesn't speak for the whole of us," Fred said carefully. "You and Hermione can still focus on your little 'political activism' schtick. We just want to-"
"It's not a shtick!" Lily said, really starting to get well-and-truly angry. "Our entire platform is built on improving the education and wellbeing of oppressed peoples. We're fighting for-"
"Alright, alright, save the sales pitch," George said. "We all paid the entrance fee, we've all got our badges, and Hermione's already approved it. This complete knucklehead is just explaining it badly, is all."
"Oh, she did, did she?" Lily said with a scoff, crossing her arms and tapping her foot. "Where is she, then? Called a little meeting and couldn't bother coming to it herself, could she?"
Lily looked around the table and couldn't help but notice that nobody was meeting her eyes. She drummed her fingers angrily on the table, her patience wearing very thin.
"In your dorm," Sae said finally. "Hardly left it since she came back, actually."
"And that's supposed to convince me that she's approved of- of militarizing S.P.E.W.?" Lily said incredulously.
"Look, just go ask her yourself," Sae said, holding up her hands. "She told us that-"
"Excuse me," Madame Pince said, crossing into view from behind a bookshelf, face completely red. "But do you have any idea where you are?"
"The library," all the kids said at once.
"Then why are you shouting?" Pince said, pointedly looking straight at a certain redheaded girl.
"It's just Lily!" Ron said quickly.
"Thanks for nothing," Lily grumbled, crossing her arms.
"Potter." Pince pointed straight towards the exit. "If you cannot keep your voice down, you'll have to leave."
"Fine," Lily hissed, standing from the table abruptly. "I'm going."
"Lily, we never even told you what you'll be doing!" Ron said, standing to follow after her.
"I already know what I'm doing, thanks," Lily snapped. "I'm the treasurer, and I'll be gathering funds for our next bout of recruiting, plus organizing the making of fliers and advertisements."
"Lily, come on, just- don't go!"
Lily clenched her jaw and didn't listen to another word. She stomped off as quickly as she could, following Pince's pointing finger towards the exit. She continued her little stomping tantrum all the way down to the dungeons, and all the way through the common room. A few people called out to her, some made some noises vaguely resembling that of an ape, but Lily ignored them. She could really only focus on one thing that was making her angry, at the moment.
"Can you believe that lot?" Lily asked immediately upon entering their shared dorm.
"Believe what?" Hermione asked from her desk, where she currently had her head bowed low over her desk, scribbling away at a long wreath of parchment.
"Fred, and George, and- and all of them," Lily said, gesturing towards the ceiling as if the murky lake water would explain everything. "Did you hear what they're co-opting S.P.E.W. to do?"
"Of course, I did," Hermione said, setting her quill down and stretching her back against her chair, arms raised towards the ceiling. "I approved it."
"Pardon?" Lily said, blinking slowly.
"Lavender and the Patils are in charge of dispersing recruitment materials," Hermione said standing up from her seat. "They're cute enough, don't you think? I'm told everybody loves listening to pretty girls."
"Err-"
"And Fleur is in charge of our Beauxbatons division," Hermione continued while Lily's mind was still trying to comprehend the last comment. "I've given her full permission to do whatever she needs to do to keep it in shape, up to and including appointing a successor for after she finishes school."
"Hermione?"
"Fred and George, I've placed in charge of Hogwarts," Hermione continued, now pacing back and forth across the room and still not looking at her friend who she hasn't seen in ages. "I didn't want to give one power over the other, see, and they know the castle better than anybody, even without the map. Currently, they're looking for a larger, more private area for us all to meet. I want a gathering at least once a week, but the Secret Chamber won't do, because that would mean telling everybody where it is and how to get access to it."
"Hermione, I don't-"
"They're the ones who recruited Angelina and Alicia," Hermione said, still pacing away, ignoring the rising danger signs appearing in Lily's posture. "They're just members, honestly, but they didn't want to do anything else, what with Quidditch keeping them so busy. They did at least agree to wear their badges during matches for advertising purposes, at least. You, Sae, Ron, and Ginny will be, too."
"Hermione." Lily flexed the fingers on her left hand, trying to calm herself down.
"Neville's been helping me research," Hermione said, tapping her books. "Not doing the actual reading, of course, but he finds law books and what not for me, and I go over them myself."
"Hermione!" Lily snapped. "Listen to me, would you?"
"Viktor is a member too, of course," Hermione said, ignoring her. "He came and asked me to let him join right after our first meeting. He's leading the Durmstrang division, but he's been very busy with Quidditch and the Tournament, so he hasn't made many meetings yet. Karkaroff runs a tight ship, and he won't let Viktor sneak away even for a-"
"Hermione!" Lily shouted, finally pulling the girl's attention away from her planning. "They're militarizing S.P.E.W.! They don't care about any of what you're saying!"
"Oh, it's not anything quite like that," Hermione said calmly, waving a hand at her dismissively. "See, purebloods have an unfair advantage, and we're aiming to narrow that gap a bit by having weekly training sessions. We're focusing on the recruitment and training of Muggleborns third year and below- and we have a very full signup sheet, Dumbledore approved and everything- but Purebloods are more than welcome, too."
Lily blinked slowly, mouth hanging open in horror. "You- you really did approve it?"
"Of course, I did," Hermione said, turning back to her notes and sitting back at her desk. "You and Cedric are in charge of it. The two of you will be holding tutoring sessions for the younger Muggleborns every Sunday afternoon."
"I- what?"
"See," Hermione said, "I've had a bit of a- a realization, we'll say, over the Holiday. We're just not doing enough! I mean, I've been working on this for a while now, and we haven't even freed a single elf!"
"We've got Dobby!" Lily protested.
"And you freed him ages ago!" Hermione countered. "I hardly think that counts as a victory for S.P.E.W.."
"And how is this going to help?" Lily asked, crossing her arms.
"Changing priorities for a bit," Hermione said, waving off her concerns by (literally) waving another hand. "People just aren't listening to us. Our largest recruitment success is still from the beach party, and we only sold eleven badges that night."
"So?" Lily said with a disbelieving scoff. "We did good, Hermione! You were saying from the beginning that this would take years to even make a dent!"
"Yes, well," Hermione said, "do you know how many of those members stuck around?"
"No," Lily admitted.
"Of course, you don't," Hermione said, "because every time I've tried to get you to go out with me, to help me do another round, you find something else to focus on and make me go by myself."
"Hermione, that's not fair!" Lily said. "I'm in a death tournament!"
"I'm not blaming you," Hermione said, ignoring that it sounded an awful lot like blame. Lily opened her mouth to argue further and then decided against it and moved over to her bed. Another spike of anger sparked up in her when she found her things waiting on top of her mattress.
"You couldn't even bother letting him out?" Lily said, moving to Weasley's cage to give the boy his freedom.
"What are you- oh. When did those get there?"
Lily watched as her cat jumped from the cage and did a long stretch on the stone floor. Then, Weasley set off for a tour of his new living quarters, sniffing around and staring at everything. Lily saw Hermione's eyes trace the cat's path around, her lips curling in a soft, fond smile, and then realized once more that Hermione had yet to even so much as look at her.
"Oh!" Hermione squeaked, a hand quickly flying over her mouth and wide grin. "Lily! You're back!"
"Who did you think you were talking to?" Lily said incredulously.
"I was distracted!" Hermione said, quickly skipping forward and raising her arms for a hug. Lily did the same, her smile betraying her will to stay mad, only to be met with Hermione stopping short, clearing her throat, and then moving her arms to instead offer Lily a deflated handshake.
She didn't get angry at it, though, because Lily quickly realized that she was being a complete and utter berk, too. Hermione looked different from the last time she saw her, and the reason should have been immediately clear. For one thing, Hermione's usually bushy, untamable hair was now much shorter, ending just above the base of her neck, and tied back behind her head in a loose bun. For another, the girl was wearing makeup. Lily couldn't remember ever seeing her in makeup before, not even when they were showing off their Ball dresses and planning how they'd look. Hermione claimed she wanted the final reveal to be a surprise.
She was also wearing a Hogwarts uniform, the bright blue of Beauxbatons gone in its entirety.
"What did you do?" Lily asked, her brow furrowing and stomach turning to stone as she finally, briefly, accepted Hermione's terrible replacement for a hug.
"Well, don't look so disappointed," Hermione grumbled, crossing her arms.
Lily didn't know how to do that when she was starting to feel hurt and angry again from the way Hermione seemed to draw back from even the slightest physical contact.
"That's not-" Lily took the moment to clear her throat and calm down and reassess the situation. "I- err- you look good, but-" She couldn't help but notice that her tone was still strangely cool, but, try as she might, she couldn't get it out of her voice.
"But what?" Hermione said impatiently, her fingers tapping against her right bicep.
"Why?" Lily said, gesturing to her hair. "It just doesn't seem like you."
"I'm going to choose to ignore that," Hermione said, turning back to her desk and books.
"Hermione-"
"I just wanted a change, alright?" Hermione snapped, scooping her quill up from where it was laying. "What's wrong with that?"
"Nothing! But- err- you're back at Hogwarts, then?"
"Yes," Hermione said, nodding. "I didn't really want to, but Professor Moody has my parents terrified a war is about to break out at any moment, and they don't want me abroad where they can't keep an eye on me if it does."
"Moody?" Lily asked, her mind working slow to catch up.
"He visited my place over the holidays," Hermione said dismissively, rifling through a few papers on her desk.
"What? Why?"
"Because he wanted to ask questions about you," Hermione said, not at all sounding pleased about it. "Had me on the verge of a panic attack and then he just left because Dumbledore called for him without so much as a 'sorry for upsetting you.'"
"Oh."
"Just leaves me to explain everything to my parents that I was trying to keep secret," Hermione continued, now sounding truly displeased. "So now they're aware of every little problem we've been having here."
"Oh."
"And they wrote to Dumbledore about it," Hermione said after a brief pause, her quill now sitting motionless on her parchment. "So then he showed up at my door and I had to go through it all over again."
"Oh."
"And Dumbledore's given my mother a job," Hermione said, for some reason sounding absolutely livid about it. "Professor Burbage wants to move abroad, so she'll be teaching Muggle Studies starting next year, which means she'll be keeping a close eye on both of us. IN fact, Dumbledore ordered her to, right in front of me. Said we 'get into too much mischief.'"
"Oh." She supposed she understood a bit, now.
"And that's how I had to find out that you got outed by that awful woman," Hermione said with, what Lily hoped, was anger directed solely at Rita Skeeter. "Because, apparently, you couldn't be bothered telling me yourself."
Lily clenched her jaw again as the rant lapsed into silence. She supposed that at least explained the lack of letters over the holidays, and even the complete absence of a Christmas gift; Hermione was mad.
Well, two could play at that game.
"Well, big deal," Lily said, her voice shaking. "I mean, you probably think I got what was coming to me, don't you?"
"Come again?" Hermione said, looking up from her papers, her brow furrowed.
"I mean, what's it matter if I didn't tell you?" Lily said coolly. "You've been treating me like rubbish since you found out, anyway."
"I have not," Hermione said, setting her quill down gently and then jumping straight to her feet. "I was excited for you, if you'll remember."
"Saying so and feeling so are entirely different," Lily said. "The instant you found out I was actually dating a girl, you couldn't even stand looking at me."
"That- that's not true!"
"Really?" Lily asked incredulously. "What is it, then?"
"I- that's not- err-" Hermione's eyes grew wide, her face turning a bright red. "I- I don't see how that's any of your business."
"See?" Lily said. "You can't even be bothered to come up with an excuse."
"Because it doesn't matter any more!" Hermione said, still glowing as brightly as Ron's hair. "I'm past it."
"Come on."
"Err- I'm working on it," Hermione corrected, turning eyes to look straight up at the ceiling. "It's been a rough few weeks for me, Lily."
Lily scoffed and turned to her trunk, settling on unpacking her things.
"Here," she said, grabbing a wrapped parcel from the top and tossing it to the other girl.
"What this?" Hermione asked, catching it awkwardly in her spread apart arms.
"It was supposed to be your gift," Lily said, tossing her socks out onto her blanket as quickly as she could. "I thought it might be fun to meet up over the holidays so I could give it to you. You'd know that if you actually read my letters."
"Err-"
"It's a painting," she said. "Spent hours on it. It's the two of us in our ball gowns, dancing. You're welcome."
"Oh- err- I- thank you. Really, Lily, this means a lot to me."
Lily snorted at that.
"I'll do your stupid S.P.E.W. rubbish, Hermione," Lily said, pulling her shirts out, next, and laying them in a nice and tidy pile. "But don't pretend you care."
"I do care!"
"Yeah?" Lily said, gently moving Weasley off her clothes and back to the floor. "Can you tell me what day it is, then?"
"Monday?"
"The date."
"Err- I think it's the 16th- no, definitely the 23rd of- oh."
"Yeah," Lily said, noticing how quiet Hermione's voice got at the end. "Oh."
"Lily-"
"Don't worry about it," Lily said. "It's not like you're the only one who forgot."
"I didn't forget!" Hermione said quickly. "I just- I forgot what day it was, is all. Really, Lily, I've been so busy, the date just- it just slipped my mind!"
Lily snorted and tossed her skirts over Weasley. If he was going to keep laying in the way, the least she could do was give him a blanket.
"If you say so," Lily said with a shrug, wondering if she should bother unpacking her ties at all. It wasn't like she ever bothered wearing them anymore, now that McGonagall seemed to have given up on her.
"Lily- come on, I promise! You know I wouldn't actually forget!"
"Look, it doesn't matter," Lily said exasperatedly. "I don't know why I even bothered getting my hopes up. I didn't even have birthdays until a few years ago. I guess I just got my hopes up. I'll adjust them accordingly."
"Lily-"
"I mean, come on," Lily said, tossing a pair of pants to the side in an angry little ball. "I expect this kind of thing from Ron- but he remembered!" Lily made a little scoff again. "Figures that the one person I expected not to did."
"I didn't forget it," Hermione said.
"I mean," Lily continued, really starting to get into the motion of tossing clothes and books into a pile, "apparently I can't expect anything. I can't rescue somebody without everybody telling me I'm the world's biggest pillock, I can't fly a broom without the papers printing a hate crime, and I can't even come back to school- on my birthday, I might add- and expect my supposed best friend to even show up to a meeting I didn't even know about to see me."
"Lily, I wasn't- I was just trying to-"
"Just forget it," Lily snapped, slamming the lid of her trunk down a bit too hard and scaring her cat out from under the pile of clothes to be folded and put away. She took a deep breath to calm herself back down; it felt stupid to be upset at something as trivial as a birthday. Then she turned back to Hermione, putting on a fake little smile, only to drop it at the look of determination on the girl's face.
"I didn't forget it!" Hermione said very quickly. "I told you, didn't I? That I'd save your present for today?"
Without another word, Hermione turned on the spot and stomped straight over to her trunk, snapping the lid open and crouching down next to it. Lily was starting to feel silly again for her little outburst when she heard a distinctive little sound of panic from Hermione's direction, immediately followed up by a frantic rummaging through the very bowels of the storage case.
Hermione stood from the trunk slowly, her nails rising to her lips and teeth as she turned to face Lily.
"It's in there," she said nervously.
"Yeah?" Lily said, crossing her arms expectantly. "Where is it, then?"
"Err-"
"I'm waiting."
Hermione chewed at her nails and Lily just kept standing there and staring at her. The only sound in the room came from her cat mewing in the background, begging for them to focus their attention on him, instead.
"I left it at home," Hermione said finally, her gaze flicking down in defeat.
"Right."
"I must have unpacked it!" Hermione said quickly. "I needed to get to stuff below it and- err- I just- I must have forgotten to put it back in."
"Right," Lily said again, slower this time. She glanced at the clock on the wall, shrugged at Hermione, and then moved towards the door. "Well, I've got to go meet Ron. He's got a little something for me."
Lily didn't mean for that to sound as bad as it did, and the little look of hurt that flickered over Hermione's face made her feel a bit worse.
"Lily," Hermione said quickly. "I'll write to my parents, have them send it over, I promise."
"Forget it," Lily said, already halfway to the door. "I don't want it. Happy Christmas. Enjoy your gift."
"Lily-"
The rest of Hermione's voice was cut off by Lily slamming the door behind her. Another deep breath, and Lily walked back towards the common room, where she was met with a chorus of ape noises and a dozen fools wearing gorilla masks.