The first place she checked for Hermione was the Prefect's car. That, unfortunately, turned out to be a rather bad idea, as the instant she poked her head through, their resident Head Girl was flagging her down. Lily reluctantly stepped inside and slid the door closed behind her, walking slowly towards where the woman was speaking with Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot. Neither of the two Hufflepuffs seemed at all pleased to see her, if their pursed lips were any indication. Their noses also crinkled as she got closer, as if Lily smelled like a particularly foul bundimun (and she was fairly certain she didn't).

"If I have to deal with you, Potter," Amelia Manderly said, "then I'm going to make use of you."

Lily would have been fine with ignoring each other's existences, personally. She didn't appreciate the way Manderly was looking down on her despite being a full foot shorter.

"Snape's got a special request for the Prefects this year," Manderly continued through Lily's silence. "Some students were caught with contraband at the end of last year, and Hannah here just caught a couple Gryffindors trying to smoke in their compartment. Snape's certain the supplier is in his house, but nobody could find them before the school year ended. I want you and Granger hunting them down, so we can cut it off at the source."

"I'm a little busy," Lily said. "I've got-"

"It doesn't matter what you've got," Manderly said, and Lily glared at the two Hufflepuff girls when they giggled. "You follow my orders, or you turn in your badge. It's that simple."

"Right," Lily said through clenched teeth. "And I suppose neither of you two got that ultimatum, then?"

"Neither of us are convicted murderers," Hannah said, but she at least had the decency to seem ashamed about what she was saying.

"Neither am I," Lily said, looking pointedly at Susan Bones. "What's Diggory got to say about this?"

"He thinks it's a great idea," Manderly said. Lily thought it was a lie, but what proof did she have? "Seeing as how you've gone and chased off the rest of our Slytherins, you might as well make up for it somehow. You can start by checking all the loos for smokers."

"But-"

"Do I have to repeat myself?"

"No," Lily said, clamping her mouth shut when the fingers of her left hand twitched towards her wand. Before Manderly could put herself into any further danger, Lily turned on her heel and walked as briskly as possible, doing her best to ignore the renewed giggles and whispers the instant they thought she was out of earshot.

"-little slag has it coming," she heard Manderly say just as the door behind her closed. Lily stomped off faster, then, ignoring how some of the windows fogged up as she passed. She was happy Hermione's mum hadn't taken the train, because she was sure the former dentist would not appreciate how much she was grinding her teeth. She almost walked straight by the first bathrooms, determined that she was absolutely not going to be talked down to like that- only, that would mean turning in her badge, and when the memory of Hermione's beaming face from when they received their letters popped into her head, that didn't seem like a good option at all.

Nobody was smoking in there, although a few older boys, led by Cormac McLaggen, threw some rather inappropriate japes at her when she poked her head in.

"Hope you enjoy my leftovers, Potter!" Cormac shouted after her. "I got her nice and loosened up for you!"

Lily had no earthly idea what that was supposed to mean, but she gave him a detention for it anyway.

Nobody was smoking in the next few bathrooms, either, nor did she find any traces of contraband. Although, it did occur to her, as she neared her next destination, that she had no idea what else even was contraband. Lee Jordan had a large rat that had a frightening amount of legs, and he was showing it off to a few wowed first years. Did that count as contraband? Lily rewarded him points for it anyway, since he let her pet it, and made a mental note to check the rules later.

She ducked into the next loo afterwards, this one for the girls. The door was just swinging shut behind her when she noticed it- the entire room had an odd smell to it. It wasn't smoke- in fact, it smelled rather like coconut- but, now that she was thinking about it, who said that magic cigarettes had to smell as terrible as the Muggle ones? She might not have bothered doing her job at all, honestly, because what were the odds of it actually being exactly what she was looking for? Only, the same instant that she noticed the smell, and the same instant that the door made an audible click, she heard a faint swearing come from the furthest stall, followed by the sound of someone hurriedly flushing something down a toilet. Whoever it was, they clearly weren't very accomplished at hiding things- and now Lily would be forced to uphold her responsibilities.

"Who's in here?" she asked, trying to contain her sigh and taking a step forward. "If you come out now, I won't give you a detention, I swear."

She didn't get the time to receive an answer, because the door was opening directly behind her. Lily spun, reaching for her wand purely on instinct, only to find Mandy Brocklehurst standing at the threshold. Lily swore herself, then.

Honestly, aside from the sad look that'd been permanently pressed on her face since they got on the train, she didn't look half bad. Her long brown hair was as light as honey and tumbled down to her shoulders in waves that made Lily wish Hermione's own hair was not so short these days, because the first thing she imagined is how nice and soft it would feel if she were to play with it. Her eyes were a bright blue, her fringe ending just above it, and they did seem to liven up a bit when they found her.

The door closed behind her, and the two stood in silence for a stupidly long time, just staring at each other.

"Hello," Lily finally said, thinking she sounded rather stupid.

"How come you never responded to any of my letters?" Mandy asked.

Going straight for it, huh? Lily thought. Lily really had no idea what to say. Should she just admit she hadn't even read any of them? That didn't seem like a good idea when one was cornered in a very private area. She almost wished one of the nearby mirrors would goad her into getting angry and leaving, but, apparently, they decided the best way to make her miserable was to say nothing at all.

"Sorry," she settled on.

"Did I do something wrong?" Mandy asked, and her blue eyes started to get rather worryingly shiny.

"Err-"

"I didn't mean to ignore you!" Mandy said. "Only, nobody knew I was seeing you, and if my parents found out, they would have lost it- so- so, I just- I waited it out. I'm really sorry. I realised how stupid I was being after the trial, and I just wanted to apologise, and I only realised just two days ago how overbearing I must have seemed like, and I wanted to apologise to you all day, but you've been avoiding me!"

Lily blinked slowly. And here she thought Hermione's rambling when she got nervous or agitated was a trait only she had. The speed Mandy spoke at just now could have rivalled her best friend at her worst.

"It's alright," Lily said when she realised Mandy was waiting for her to say something.

"I'm really, really sorry," Mandy said, hurrying forward and now standing awfully close. "Can I make it up to you?"

"Err-"

"I've been doing a lot of thinking," Mandy said, grabbing Lily's tie in both her hands. "And I think I really like you."

"Err-"

"Course, a girlfriend's supposed to like their partner, aren't they?"

"Mandy, I don't know if-"

"I'm sorry I missed your party," Mandy said, pulling her face closer. "Hermione invited me, but my mum found the letter, first, and they locked me in my room for a whole week. I had to swear that I'd never see you again, because mum works right under Fudge and she could get into a lot of trouble if he found out." Mandy chewed her lip for a moment. "But I do really like you. If- if you're willing to keep it a secret just a bit longer, we could- we could still- you know."

Lily blinked slowly. This seemed like the perfect out, and she couldn't believe how well her luck was finally working.

"I don't think we should-" she started to say.

But Mandy was already pulling on her tie again, and then their lips were pressed together, and Lily completely forgot what she was going to say. For somebody that had seemed on the verge of tears just seconds ago, Mandy seemed to be feeling rather enthusiastic about the whole thing, if the happy little noise she made was any indication. They might have continued on for a bit, too, if a sudden noise coming from the closed stall hadn't reminded Lily why she was here in the first place.

"Oh!" Mandy said, releasing her tie and hair (when had she grabbed the back of Lily's head?) and jumping back a whole foot. "I'll- I'll see you later, Potter."

And before Lily could say so much as a "wait" or a "actually, I'm not sure if I want to see you again," Mandy was out the door.

"Brilliant," Lily said, running a hand through her now ruffled hair. She supposed she should just be happy that Hermione didn't walk in on her snogging this girl, or she'd never get the opportunity to test what her friends seemed to be insinuating. Or, at least, she hoped Hermione hadn't witnessed it- because there was still the mysterious stall inhabitant to deal with.

"Right," she said, drawing her wand and turning to the stall. "You've got five seconds, or I'm vanishing the door."

"Using the loo isn't against the rules," a familiar, muffled voice said.

"No," Lily agreed. "But smoking in one is." The girl swore again. She really wasn't very good at this. "Five seconds."

She only had to wait two before the door clicked and Daphne Greengrass sheepishly stepped out of it. Her blonde hair was tied up in a bun on the back of her head, and she had wrinkles around her blue eyes that made her look exceptionally tired. Lily could only guess as to what was causing those. She was wearing her school robes, but while they were usually as prim and proper as her posture, both were slacking at this particular moment. Greengrass clearly was not having a good day.

"Hello, Potter," she said, moving to the sinks and washing her hands. "Did you have a good summer?" She wasn't looking at Lily at all. Perhaps she thought that by ignoring it Lily would just forget.

"No," Lily said. She was now thoroughly considering just leaving instead of conducting an investigation. Honestly, what did she care if a few kids wanted to smoke?

"I wouldn't imagine so," Daphne said quietly as she dried her hands off on a nearby towel. "Pansy tells me it was rather terrible. But, of course, Malfoy has always been a terrible host."

Lily clenched her jaw and began tapping her wand against her thigh. Sparks shot from the end of it, catching on the end of Lily's robe and sizzling as they burned themselves out. She saw Greengrass glance at them nervously.

"I was only-" Daphne said quickly before pausing and holding her chin high. "My apologies. I didn't mean to offend you. I only meant that Pansy's always enjoyed staying at my house more than Draco's. She's told me so herself- among other things."

"Right," Lily said, really dragging the word out. She started tapping her wand faster. "I suggest you tread very carefully, Greengrass. You can start by turning out your pockets."

Daphne stared at her for a moment, and Lily could practically hear her brain working. Her hands had just started to fidget, and when Lily's eyes moved to them, Daphne moved them behind her back.

"So," she said as casually as she could. "You're seeing Mandy Brocklehurst?"

"No," Lily said pointedly. Daphne seemed to make up her mind about something, and Lily watched as Daphne pulled a small, white package out of her robes.

"It's alright, Potter," Daphne said, smiling slightly and shaking her cigarettes. "You caught me in my secret, and I caught you in yours. Looks to me like we've got a mutually beneficial-"

Daphne didn't finish her sentence, because she was busy being slammed into the wall after Lily grabbed the tie around her neck and shoved her, her wand pressed to the girl's pale throat. She dropped her cigarettes, and Lily heard them hit the floor.

"Are you threatening me, Greengrass?" Lily asked quietly.

"No," Daphne said quickly. "I- I was only trying to-"

"You're going to keep your mouth shut," Lily said, poking her wand a little further into Daphne's neck. "Mandy isn't out yet, and I'm not going to let you ruin that for her." Even if she didn't really want to be seeing her anymore.

"Right," Daphne said. "Of course. As you say."

We should kill her.

Lily's eyes flicked over to the mirror on her left. It was an odd angle, but she could just make out her own reflection staring at her. She turned her eyes back to Daphne's frantic, wide ones.

She knows about our imprisonment, the mirror said. She will tell the others in return. You know she will. We can't let her go.

"Shut up," Lily mumbled.

"I'm sorry," Daphne said really quickly, "please don't hurt me. I- I won't tell anyone, I swear."

We can't believe her. You know we can't.

Lily wanted to believe that, but right now, with her hand still clenching the front of her robes, she couldn't help but notice how badly Daphne was trembling. Her hands were raised up past her shoulders, and they were shaking. She hadn't even tried going for her wand. It was just like Malfoy, when she'd had her wand trained on him.

She looked so small.

"If I hear so much as a peep from Parkinson or Malfoy or anyone about this," Lily said, her voice softer than she wanted it to be, "nobody will ever know where poor little Daphne Greengrass disappeared to. Got me?"

"Yes," Daphne said in a squeak.

"Good," Lily said, and she let Daphne's robes go. The other girl's legs apparently couldn't support her weight, as she collapsed right to the ground, staring blankly into space. Lily noticed there was a bright red burn at the spot where her wand had been pressed. Daphne put a still trembling hand over it and rubbed softly.

We can't let her go unpunished, the mirror said. They must be made to fear us, or they will only find new ways to hurt us.

At this particular moment, Lily wasn't sure she wanted to be feared. She knelt down, meaning to put a hand on Daphne's shoulder and offer some small form of comfort, but stopped when the girl flinched away from her. Instead, she scooped up the discarded pack of cigarettes and held it up so Daphne could see them.

"I'm keeping these," Lily said, tucking them away into her robes. "I won't tell anyone where I got them. I'm sorry for scaring you."

Daphne nodded absently, and Lily left the room.

She never found Hermione. She was missing throughout the entirety of their little trip on the Hogwarts Express. This was rather impressive to Lily, seeing as how a train is a single straight line with almost no place to hide, but she was more worried than excited about it. As the train began to slow, the night sky dark through every window, Lily started knocking on compartment doors wherever she happened to find first years. She didn't really want to, but she figured she might as well try to be an actual Prefect. Perhaps, if she was lucky, it would wash out the terrible taste in her mouth that confronting Greengrass had left.

"Leave your things on the train, they'll be sent up to the castle for you," she'd tell them, adding upon, if seeing them still dressed like Muggles, "oh, and get changed into your school robes. You'll want to be wearing them for the sorting." The ones that were wearing their uniforms, she told, while pulling on her own, "oh, and pay attention to your ties and the hems of your robes once you're sorted, you'll get a nice surprise."

There was one curious girl that just stared at her and said nothing at all, but she was already wearing her robes, so Lily didn't stay to make sure she understood.

When the train came to a full stop, Lily was the first off the train. That made it much easier to finally spot Hermione as she hopped off a distant car, calling for first years to follow after her. Lily immediately started pushing through the crowd of students to get towards her when she noticed something- or, rather, the lack of something. There was a familiar, booming voice that should have been calling for the first years that seemed to be missing.

Where's Hagrid? she thought, turning around and scanning up the path. He shouldn't have been hard to miss, given that he was nearly nine feet tall, and, yet, she couldn't see so much as a single, thick hair from him. Instead, there was a scrawny, small, elderly witch calling for the first years in a high, thin voice. The lantern she was carrying was on a long stick, and she swung it above her head to be more noticeable.

"First years, this way," she said.

"Who is that?" Hermione asked, and Lily startled, having not realised that the girl was even at her side.

"Haven't the slightest," Lily said, breathing deep. It's Hermione. You're just on edge over the Greengrass thing. Just calm down. She took her hand away from her wand."Listen, where were you? I was looking all over for you." Her voice sounded a bit too whiny for her own tastes.

"I was with Professor Slughorn, if you must know," Hermione said with a dignified sniff, crossing her arms and looking away. "I didn't feel I was wanted elsewhere."

Lily cleared her throat. Now seemed as good a time as any to test things.

"I wanted you," she said quietly, praying no one around them could hear.

"He had a Slug Club meeting on the train with his favourites," Hermione said, but her cheeks were a bit pink and she sounded immensely pleased. "Come on, let's get a carriage, I'm starving." Hermione grabbed Lily firmly by the hand without asking, linked their fingers together, and began walking towards the village proper, where a line of carriages would be waiting to take them to the castle.

"What, the Slug didn't feed you?" Lily asked. She had to push her way past quite a few students who preferred to stand motionless and chat right in the middle of everyone's way, but that was far more preferable than letting go of Hermione's hand. "That seems a bit unlike him, don't it?"

"Oh, he did," Hermione allowed, rubbing her thumb over Lily's. "But he had his house elf serving the portions to us, and- well-"

"Let me guess," Lily said, "he doesn't pay them at all?"

"Of course not," Hermione said, and Lily could feel the rant coming on.

"I wonder what Dobby's been up to," she said before Hermione could get into it.

"Oh, well, he's alright," Hermione said. "Ron tried to borrow him to break you out of the Ministry, but they have all sorts of protections to keep uninvited elves out, else anyone would be able to send theirs in and steal government secrets. I paid him over the summer just to keep him working, though, and he got my console working at Grimmauld Place- did you know the power outlets were all empty?"

"I'm aware, yeah," she couldn't help but notice that she said nothing about sending Dobby to free her from Malfoy Manor- but, well, they'd likely had the same protections on that, even if nobody'd thought to try. Otherwise, Pureblood families could have used house elves for assassinations for centuries in- Merlin, I'm starting to think like Hermione, aren't I?

"Well, it's really quite fascinating, what he did," Hermione said. "He had to crack open the plastic shell and-"

"No, stop right there," Lily said quickly.

"What's wrong?" Hermione said, staring at Lily, lips slightly parted so that she could just see the large front teeth.

"I don't want to know how he did it," Lily said. "Not until I figure it out myself. Anything else is cheating."

"Oh, you're still on about that?" Hermione said, swotting her playfully on the arm with her free hand. "You know, your Walkman would work by now if you'd just let him take a look at it."

"I don't want it to work, I want to figure out how to make it work. It's no fun if I don't do it myself."

"You don't have to do everything yourself, you know," Hermione said quietly, and she was rubbing Lily's thumb again. "You're allowed to ask for help."

"I don't need help," Lily said, fully aware that their conversation was now about something else entirely. "I can manage on my own."

"Lily-"

"I haven't hexed anyone all day," Lily said. "Even though I definitely could have." The accidentally burn did not count. "I can do this. I just need-"

Lily stopped in her tracks. They'd reached the carriages, and right when she lifted a foot to climb into the nearest one, she saw what was tied to the front of it. It should have been nothing, just as it had been every other year- but it wasn't. Two giant, skeletal horses were attached to the reins, with great, bat-like wings that reminded Lily of Professor Snape on his worst days. They had milky white eyes that Lily thought were pupilless, up until she noticed a foggy, cloudy distortion rippling through them. One of the horses was pawing at the ground, while the other was nibbling at a bit of loose flesh hanging off the ear of its companion- or, perhaps, now that Lily thought about it with an increasingly ill stomach, that was the ear. Lily felt a hand touch her arm, above her Dark Mark, and she nearly jumped out of her skin.

"What's wrong, Lily?" Hermione asked, her voice soft and her eyes worried.

"Those," Lily asked, pointing at the terrible horses. "What- what are those?" She couldn't help but feel like she'd read about them before, but her mind was currently drawing a total blank.

"Oh," Hermione said, her eyes following Lily's outstretched finger. "I- I didn't think you'd be able to see them. You never have before."

"Hermione- what are you-"

"They're called thestrals," she said. She squeezed Lily's hand and watched her very carefully. "You can only see them if- if you've seen someone die."

"Oh," Lily said, quietly watching the tail of the nearest thestral swing back and forth.

Barty was always an excellent dancer. Why, that's even how he first met his wife- perhaps, if he's lucky, you'll be his next one.

"Come on, let's get inside," Hermione said, and it took until her arm was moving for Lily to realise that Hermione was trying to pull her into the carriage. When had she even passed by her? Lily glanced around, and found several people watching them, whispering and staring.

You could at least look at your date, dear girl.

Lily shook her head. She felt somebody push her down onto a cushion. When had she even stepped into the carriage? Why was the door closed? Lily shook her head to try and clear her thoughts.

Give him a kiss, Black!

"Lily? Are you-"

"Shut up," Lily snapped, squeezing her eyes shut tight. "Just- just give me a moment."

"Alright. I'm right here if you- Ron, now is not the time!"

"What?" Ron said. Lily opened her eyes again and found three people clambering into the small door. "What'd I do?"

"We were hoping for a private carriage," Hermione said. Lily finally noticed Hermione was sitting across from her, holding both of her hands between hers. Lily could only feel the warm pressure on her left.

"Oh," Ron said, seeming to notice that too, his smile growing cheekier. "Didn't realise we were interrupting something."

"You're not!" Hermione said, suddenly pulling both hands away from Lily's. "We were- I- I was just trying to- really, can we just some privacy?"

Ron just smiled wider and sat on the bench next to Hermione, Luna taking up right next to him. Luna was sitting awfully close to Ron again, Lily noticed, but neither of them said a thing about it. Neville took up on Lily's side, with plenty of space between them.

"Too late for that, isn't it?" Ron said, and, indeed, right before he spoke, their carriage began moving off. He wiggled his eyebrows at Hermione. "Don't let us bother you, now. You two just go ahead and continue whatever it was you were doing."

"We weren't doing anything!" Hermione said quickly. "And what are you doing here, anyway?" Hermione asked Luna. Lily thought that was quite a rude thing to say, but she was just happy that nobody was currently focusing on her, as it was allowing her to take some very deep breaths in her attempts to calm down. Now that there were others with them, and all without focusing on her little panic attack, she was rapidly feeling much better.

"There was an open spot," Luna said nonchalantly. Lily noticed one of her knees briefly graze against Ron's again, just as they had when they were in the train compartment. "Also, Sae wanted to try asking Derek out, and Ginny thought she'd have better odds if it was just the two of them."

Lily thought that was a little rude, too, but, suddenly, all three of the new occupants gave Hermione a pointed glance. She promptly ignored that by turning to stare out the window, her cheeks a bright red. Lily wasn't sure how much clearer the implication could get.

Hermione said nothing, though Lily did notice her eyes dart towards her occasionally.

"Did you have a good summer, Neville?" Lily asked, not looking away from Hermione. Honestly, why did she even care if Hermione fancied her or not? Didn't she have better things to worry about?

"Oh, it was brilliant!" Neville said, and she could hear the smile in his voice.

"That's nice," Lily said. She did have better things, and she felt like she should just be completely miserable all the time- but she was feeling almost close to her normal self right now, and had been pretty much anytime Hermione was near her. Well- the panic attack got her, sure, but that was just because the thestrals came up unexpectedly.

"Do you want to see what Gran got me?"

"Sure," Lily said. Didn't she deserve something nice, at least, after all the pain? If Hermione wasn't going to do it, then, fine- Lily would. "Hermione?"

"Yeah?" Hermione asked, still staring out the window.

"Do you want to-"

Neville shoved an ugly plant in her face, and Lily's question died in her throat.

"Look!" he said far too happily. "It's a Mimbulus Mimbletonia!"

"Brilliant," Lily said, gently pushing the pot away from her orifices. "Err- I don't suppose you've already harvested its ooze today?" Lily thought the giant purple sores on the pale green flesh of the plant looked alarmingly close to popping. It was rather like a cactus, although it looked sickly and had giant, swollen cysts in the place of spines, each of which was undoubtedly filled with a yellow slime that, while extremely useful in potions, the plant would spray in every direction if it felt threatened.

"Well- no, but-"

"What's the big deal?" Ron asked, and, to Lily's great horror, he leaned forward and poked the largest pustule. "It's- AGH!"

Agh was quite right, in Lily's fine opinion. Upon the second poke, the pustule popped, spraying foul ooze all over the enclosed carriage interior. Ron even got a bit of it in his mouth, but Lily didn't have any time to be sympathetic to what it must taste like, because she was busy gagging and trying not to lose what little food she'd managed to consume that day.

It took forever, and dozens of cleaning charms, before Lily felt even the slightest semblance of clean again, and by that time, the glowing castle had gone from a distant object to a clear, towering behemoth before them. Everything from the parapets to the towers were lit with hundreds of candles and torches, spreading light over every inch of the otherwise moonlit grounds. Even the lake that bordered the grounds, and which the first years would soon be sailing over, was bright and lively, soft ripple echoing over the surface, the giant squid just barely visible under the water. Turning her eyes back to the castle, Lily could have sworn she even saw a few ghosts dancing a top the astronomy tower.

She was the last to leave the carriage, since she was stuck the furthest inside, and the fresh air was a game changer from the putrid fumes trapped inside of their transportation. She was still casting sweet smelling fragrance charms on herself (Fructuntum got close enough to her preferred perfume) as they climbed the stone steps to the castle. Both she and Hermione were giving Ron (and therefore Neville and Luna) a great berth, since he was the cause of their recent problem, and they got into the Great Hall first when Luna lagged behind to inspect a pair of suits of armour that seemed to be whistling the national anthem.

The Great Hall of Hogwarts was just as impressive as always, and before entering it, Lily hadn't had the slightest idea of just how much she missed it. There were candles floating all around the walls and open air, lined and connected with cobwebs enchanted to be inflammable, and the ceiling reflected the clear night sky that was present outside (Lily could see a couple of second years pointing out and naming constellations to each other). The four long tables were lined up in clear rows next to each other, each with their House tapestries hanging above them. The walls themselves were lined with Hufflepuff ones, and Lily realised at that moment that they must have won the House Cup at the end of last year. The staff table was crowded with the professors, all of her favourites (like Flitwick and McGonagall, the former of which gave her a friendly wave that she returned), least favourites (such as Snape and Babbling, the former of which with a nod that she did not return), and the ones she was indifferent to (such as Professor Sinistra, the woman who dressed all in black at all times and taught them Astronomy). Sirius was sitting next to Mrs. Granger, and she only noticed that because Hermione let out a happy little squeal and waved eagerly to her mother. She was wearing a suit that looked remarkably similar to the one Hermione had been wearing weeks ago, and Lily tried very hard to ignore her tumbling stomach. Sirius tried to catch her eye, and she turned away.

Lily's good feelings started to vanish when she noticed how many people were staring at her, but she held her chin high, straightened the badge on her chest, and walked towards the Slytherin table, pausing only briefly to send a Hufflepuff third year to their own, since they were sitting with some Ravenclaw friends. And then, of course, as she straightened up from whispering in his ear, she noticed that Dolores Umbridge was sitting at the staff table, wearing an awful pink cardigan, and smiling sweetly straight at her.

Ignore her, she thought, quickly looking away. There's nothing she can do to you that's worse than what Voldemort did. She should have remembered that she'd be here, she'd known for ages that she was supposed to be teaching a Wizarding Culture class or something. Lily plastered a smile on her face and walked briskly towards her table, not looking at anyone else or making anymore stops. She felt Hermione slide in next to her a moment later.

"You're alright," she whispered, patting her dead hand.

"Yeah, I know that," Lily snapped. She stared at her, wishing desperately that she could feel the warmth of Hermione's fingers. Perhaps it was a good thing she got interrupted by Neville's plant. She'd be a completely rubbish girlfriend. She needed to find a way to explain that to Mandy, too, so the girl wouldn't go trying to snog her again.

"I was just trying to help," Hermione mumbled, slipping both her hands down to her lap. "There's no reason to talk to me like that."

"I know," Lily grumbled, and then Sae sat down across from her before she could apologise further.

"Alderton's still Quidditch Captain," she said quietly, leaned forward over an empty silver platter. "Heard from McCliver that she's holding tryouts third Thursday, though. Fancy going?"

"No," Lily said simply. She wished the feast was here, already, so she could occupy her hands and mouth. She could still feel Umbridge staring at her.

"Come on, Potter," Sae said, a pleading whine in her voice. Lily could hear her feet tap on the ground below the table. "We didn't get to play together last year, and we can be on the same team again!"

"She'll think about," Hermione said, quickly interjecting the moment Lily opened her mouth to tell Sae to piss off and leave her alone. "She needs to order a new broom, first- and, yes, you're going to, we both know you'll want to fly- and we're bound to be busy, now that we're Prefects. I want to make sure we get settled into our study schedules before we commit to anything else, because we've got a lot of ground to cover before our OWLs."

Lily closed her eyes and took a deep breath, rather than redoing an old argument. Just be normal, Potter. Fake it until we make it, remember? Just be happy, damn you.

"Yeah, alright," Sae grumbled. "But I'm not letting it go. It's happening."

"Alderton isn't going to let me back on the team after last year," Lily said, opening her eyes again.

"Course she will," Sae said. "You'll just have to change up how you play, so you stop earning so many penalties."

"I'm not changing anything," Lily said, a heat growing in her chest. "In fact, maybe I'll try out for Beater this year, just to get a bat. Then I'll really-"

"Wait," Sae said excitedly. "Why don't you play Beater, instead?"

"Because I like being Seeker?"

"Yeah, but your style of play is better suited for-"

"I'm not changing positions! I'm good at-"

But their argument died before it could really get going, because, at that moment, the doors to the Great Hall slid open, and McGonagall entered the room, a horde of first year students following behind her.

"Blimey," Sae said, brushing a stray hair out of her face. "There sure are a lot of them this year, aren't they?"

"We say that every year," Hermione said. "But, yes- this is our largest class since 1973. It's fascinating, really- I've talked to some of them, and almost a quarter of the girls from wizarding households are named Hazel."

"Lovely," Lily mumbled. She started counting them and gave up when she hit forty, since that was just slightly less than half of them all. Their own year when they were sorted had maxed out at thirty-seven, and some of those were gone, now, having transferred away to other schools (like Sally-Anne Perks, for instance). Lily felt a tightening in her stomach when she considered the implications of it all. She couldn't help but wonder if, in another decade or so, the class sizes would once again be minimal like theirs had been.

McGonagall walked up the dais while the first years waited below and produced a wooden stool, upon which she placed a worn leather hat. Lily leaned her chin against her hand, her other hand drumming its fingers on the table, while she waited for it to sing. Just as she had the thought, the brim of the hat opened wide, like a mouth, and bellowed.

Oh, Hogwarts is the home we keep,

the price of safety mighty steep,

So listen to me careful-like,

And your head won't end up on a spike.

Dramatic though I might seem,

My words are dire, you might deem,

The times we're in are mighty dark,

The danger looking rather stark.

Those of you in Gryffindor,

The brave who bellow "here I roar,"

Would do well to tread in care,

And be careful when you dare.

And all you clever Ravenclaw,

Can not ignore your fatal flaw,

Hoard not the secrets that you hold,

Or under pressure you shall fold.

The loyal and true Hufflepuff,

Those who hold the true stuff,

Support your friends, let them in,

Do not be fooled by the din.

And for those of you in Slytherin,

You I warn, avoid your sin,

Join with the others, lest you fall,

And empty out your hallowed hall.

Do not ignore that which I say,

And we may make it to next day.

In times long past I used to sort,

To put you in your proper court,

But now I do not dare to split,

And so my choice may not seem legit.

I will put you where we need you most,

And there you'll sleep, they will host.

Do not fight, do not whine,

And we all may turn out fine.

But if you fail, the sort is done!

I will not read, not a single one!

The time for strife is now long past,

Heed my words, or this is the last.

Unite against the coming dark,

Fight against it, light a spark!

The Houses Four must unite,

Or we all will suffer in the night.

Lily applauded awkwardly, along with the rest of the hall, her hands coming together in a very slow rhythm and mostly because it was expected of her. She had no idea what to make of the Sorting Hat's new song, nor, did it seem, that McGonagall did, as she was staring at it with a furrowed brow. Hermione was doing the same, but she was also chewing on her thumbnail, and Lily had to reach out and gently remove it from her lips.

"Thanks," the other girl said, but it was back at her teeth the second Lily moved her hand away.

"Abercrombie, Arthur," McGonagall read out from the list she was holding. A small, blonde boy walked forward on shaky legs, and McGonagall put the Sorting Hat upon his head the instant he was seated down on the stool. Lily almost expected the hat to declare him immediately, as most people were, but it seemed the boy was a hatstall, because it took five minutes before the hat shouted out-

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Hufflepuff applauded, Cedric loudest of all, and Sae leaned in close.

"One already?" she said. "Usually, it takes a bit."

"Alderton, Hazel."

Mia Alderton let out a sole cheer as her little sister walked very quickly towards the stool. The small, blonde-haired girl seemed extraordinarily confident as she sat down upon the stool. McGonagall lowered the hat onto her head. Another couple of minutes passed, and during each second, Mia and Hazel both seemed to be growing increasingly uncomfortable.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat finally shouted. Gryffindor applauded loudly, the volume just enough to drown out the anguished cry coming from the older sister.

"That's strange," Hermione said, watching the small girl walk slowly towards the Gryffindor table. "Why didn't the hat put her with her sister?"

"The hat doesn't always put siblings together," Lily said slowly, watching as Applebaum, Celeste came forward next.

"But why did it take so long?" Sae asked. "We've never gotten two in a row."

Lily just nodded. It was strange. She expected another hatstall, but the second the hat was put on Applebaum's head, it shouted out-

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Guess it was just a fluke," Lily muttered, applauding loudly, only to notice that most of Slytherin wasn't. Applebaum seemed to take that as a sign, and she nervously hurried over and took a seat next to Lily's other side. Lily took a deep breath, smiled, and waved her onwards.

Showtime, she thought.

"Well done, well done," Lily said, patting the anxious girl on the back and trying to put some enthusiasm in her voice. "Welcome to Slytherin!"

As the next first year hurried forward, Lily felt Hermione lean in close to her.

"She's a Muggleborn," she whispered in her ear. "I had a few words with her on the train, because she was asking me about the houses. She wanted to be in Ravenclaw with her sister."

"Lovely," Lily said, clenching her teeth. "She'll have a hard time of it in here, then." She found the sister at the Ravenclaw table, wearing a Prefect badge on her chest and staring at her sister with a very sad look on her face.

This one was a hatstall, too, and Lily took the extra time to lean in towards Celeste, telling her all about how wonderful Slytherin was (mostly lies), and how she'd personally show her around the common room as soon as the feast was done, when, suddenly-

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The next five took just as long as the first two had, going to Ravenclaw three times in a row, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor, in precisely that order. The next one was-

"Carter, Elisa."

"Another Muggleborn," Hermione murmured next to her, watching the small, dark-haired girl approach the stool. It, too, hardly touched her head before-

"SLYTHERIN!"

Lily clapped loudly again, standing up and waving their new addition towards them just as she had the first, all smiles and eager greetings, while her heart was beating quickly in her chest. She glanced up at the staff table and found Snape with his brow nearly knit together. Hermione gave Elisa the welcome wagon this time, and when Lily sat down again, she whispered to her-

"You don't think the hat is-"

"Collins, Conner."

"I think he might be," Hermione said, and by the way her eyes followed the boy, Lily knew he, too, was a Muggleborn.

"SLYTHERIN!"

This time, Lily put her fingers to her mouth and whistled enthusiastically. Collins ran forward with a nervous smile, only to have to turn around halfway so he could return the hat to McGonagall. She welcomed him to their house, sat him down next to Sae, and then watched as the next set of students went to different houses. The most notable name was George Goyle- he went to Hufflepuff, and the large boy's larger older brother actually stood up and shouted curses.

"Calm yourself," McGonagall had to say. "Graham, Allison."

The small girl who had just stared at Lily on the train came forward, but only after McGonagall repeated herself, this time making a funny little motion with her hands. Her face seemed awful pink. McGonagall moved her hands some more before placing the hat on Allison's head.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Lily welcomed her warmest of all, trying her best to keep all the first years from noticing the glares and grimaces they were receiving from the rest of their new House. At this point, Lily was certain that her and Hermione's fears were most definitely true. Whatever had possessed the hat to do this, she had no idea.

But sending all of the Muggleborn to Slytherin seemed like a tremendously stupid idea.