By the time the sorting was over, they had ten Muggleborn first years, divided between six girls and four boys, and not a single halfblood or pureblood sitting amongst them. Slytherin had, by far, the smallest amount of new students joining their house. To keep them away from the undoubtedly ravenous junior Death Eaters, Lily and Hermione pinned them all between the two of them. That meant the two girls now had to sit far, far away from each other, but it was either that or leave the fringes open to enemies. Lily took up on the side closest to where the Death Eater children were sitting, hoping her presence would be enough to keep them all silent.
"Look at them all," she heard Crabbe whisper. "Filch'll have a hard time keeping the floors clean of all that mud."
"Why's that?" Lily said loudly as she popped a sprout into her mouth. "Planning on taking more baths this year?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Goyle said, still watching his little brother with his dark, beady eyes.
"Oh, well," Lily said, eating another sprout. "His relatives live down at Hagrid's hut, and they're all so fond of mud baths, aren't they?" She noticed one of the boys kept trying to slide his peas onto another's plate and used her wand under the table to float some broccoli into its place.
"What are you on about, Potter?" Runcorn asked, her hair tied behind her head. "Only thing that oaf has down there are-"
"Pigs," Lily finished for her, nodding along happily. "I always knew you were quicker than the average Slytherin. Shame your sister isn't, or she might have ended up in Ravenclaw instead of Gryffindor."
"Watch your tongue, Potter," Pansy Parkinson said, her face going a bit red. "Your time's done. You should be showing us some respect."
One of the girls was too busy chatting with another to eat, but before Lily could handle it, she saw Hermione lean forward and whisper something. Seconds later, the girl was shoveling potato into her mouth, her cheeks growing a bright pink.
"Oh, I am!" Lily said, chewing the last of her sprouts and eyeing the quiet girl next to her. "I'm showing you more kindness than I do the other sea urchins."
"We're Prefects, Potter," Zabini said in a deep voice that only cracked a bit. He tapped the badge on his chest to distract everybody from it. "Shouldn't you be making a better example?"
Lily glanced at where he was pointing. There were definitely a few first years looking, but the one directly next to her was Allison Graham- and as Lily had learned just ten minutes ago, the girl was deaf. That added a whole host of problems that Lily wasn't looking forward to managing, but it also meant she could talk as much shit as she wanted without fear of it being repeated, as the girl's eyes were currently focused on the porkchop she was cutting up instead of Lily's lips. She was the only first year that was eating without being picky about it, and that made her Lily's favourite by default.
"You don't think it's good for our first years to learn how to treat the dung swipes of society?" Lily said, finally moving on to her own potatoes. "Maybe you should consider who you're sitting with before lecturing me, Zabini. Your mother isn't likely to find her next husband amongst any of these fine families. Course, I hear Malfoy's father's available again- he's missing a hand, though, so she might not be interested. What's wrong, Draco? Awful quiet, aren't you?"
"Shut up, Potter," Malfoy said. His face was pale, and he was definitely doing his best to avoid looking at her. He was seated all the way at the end, and Lily couldn't help but notice that there was a gap between him and the next student. Usually, Crabbe and Goyle would be right at his side- but they weren't. They were sitting several places down, and neither was giving him the slightest bit of attention.
"Aww, don't be like that, Draco," Lily said. She had to lean over her plate and raise her voice louder just to make sure he could hear her. "It's not my fault your new mummy decided she'd rather vanish from the face of the earth than have you as a son."
"I'm warning you, Potter," Malfoy said, and he finally looked at her. "Stop."
"What?" Lily said, a bit of mad warmth welling up in her veins. "Going to beg me again?"
"Shut up, Potter," Goyle said. His face turned almost as dark as his eyes were. "Another word out of you and-"
"You'll what?" Lily said before he could finish. "I seem to recall that trying to kill me didn't go very well for your father. Did you find a nice tombstone for him?"
That was too much, and Lily knew it the instant Goyle stood and lunged at her. Despite there being three people between him and her, he managed to grab her by the tie. Lily was swinging her wand, first years were screaming behind her, and Goyle was raising a fat fist to smash her face in when, suddenly, he froze. Lily did, too, as a matter of fact, her wand and hand stopped in mid-swipe. She couldn't even move her eyes to find what was wrong. She was forced to stare into Goyle's beady, evil little eyes. She could hear more shouts, as well as nervous laughs, coming from the other students around them.
"None of that, thank you," Dumbledore's voice said from the staff table, and the students immediately quieted down. "Professor Snape, please escort Mr. Goyle to your offices. Professor McGonagall, please take Miss Potter out of the hall so she may calm herself."
"Hem hem." Lily knew that terrible little sound, even if she couldn't see the culprit.
"Yes, Professor Umbridge?"
"I think it best if I handle this, Professor Dumbledore. We can't have a Prefect getting into a physical altercation on her very first day, can we?"
"I believe I am more than capable of handling the punishments of my own students, Dolores."
"Prefects are supposed to be the utmost best of us, and she-"
"Was attacked first. Hogwarts tries its best to not punish its victims, Dolores. We do not always succeed, but we try. Minerva, Severus- as you were."
"FAVOURITISM!" Pansy Parkinson shouted. "FAVOURITISM! JUSTICE FOR GOYLE!" Some of the Slytherins joined in, but not enough to drown out Dumbledore.
Neither of them were unfrozen until the professors had separated Goyle from her. That was for the better, because as soon as they were able to move again, Goyle was trying to lunge at her again. He was dragged bodily from the hall by Snape, swearing and sputtering all the while. Snape looked extremely displeased when a bit of it landed on the collar of his robes. He whispered something in Goyle's ear, and the boy clamped his mouth shut.
Lily, on the contrary, was treated very gently. Hermione even grabbed on to her hand as they passed by her and gave it a little squeeze.
"What were you thinking, Miss Potter?" McGonagall asked as soon as they were out of the Great Hall.
"Nothing," Lily said, crossing her arms and glancing into the hall. She could still feel Hermione's fingers on hers.
"You are a Prefect. You cannot goad your fellow students into-"
"I wasn't goading anybody."
"I highly doubt that," McGonagall said with a scoff. She was almost a foot shorter, but she always had a way of making Lily feel incredibly small. "Your godfather was watching you the entire time, and he was rising out of his seat to stop you when Mr. Goyle attacked. You have got to be more careful."
"I didn't need Sirius's help," Lily said. She found the girl she was looking for- Hermione was out of her seat, walking down the rows and checking in with each of their first years to make sure they were alright. "I had it covered."
"Hazel," McGonagall said much softer, and this time she put a hand on Lily's shoulder. That was enough to get Lily to finally look at her. "I cannot stress this enough. You need to watch yourself carefully this year."
McGonagall looked very tired. Lily had always been aware that the woman was technically growing old, but she'd never shown it until now. Her face was lined with more wrinkles than it had been just a few months ago, and her hair was more silver now than it was black.
"I can handle myself," Lily said. "I'm not scared of them." Lily turned back to the Great Hall. It was easier to feel better about herself when McGonagall's eyes weren't piercing straight through to her soul.
"You should be," McGonagall said very sternly. "Mr. Goyle is not the only Slytherin who wants revenge on you. You are personally responsible for many of their parents being injured and put under investigation. You must be very, very careful around them- and around Professor Umbridge, as well. Let the staff handle these matters and keep your head down."
"And how is keeping my head down going to help in the common room?" Lily snapped, finally turning her eyes away from Hermione just as the other girl had found her staring. She scanned the rest of the hall, instead. Ron was laughing something that Dean was telling him so hard that she was worried he'd choke on the chicken he was chewing.
"You are not to linger in your common room any longer than necessary," Professor McGonagall said sharply. "You are to sleep in the Prefect dormitories, where the Order can ensure that you are protected."
"Is that where Tonks is going to be?" Lily said with a sneer. "Make her a Prefect, too, then?" She moved on from Ron. Tonks was a Hufflepuff, and the Hat was adamant that he wouldn't resort a single other student, but she found no Prefects whose faces she didn't recognize.
"Of course not, Miss Potter," McGonagall said. "Think- you know all of the other Prefects already."
"She one of our new professors, then?" They only had about a dozen of them. She looked at them, too. That had to be it- but most of them were complete strangers. She didn't have enough information to make a guess.
"You are not to inquire any further about Nymphadora Tonks," McGonagall said. "She is here for your safety as well as the safety of our other students. Putting her identity in jeopardy would be an incredibly foolish thing to do- especially with Dolores Umbridge in the castle. Let the Order handle this, Potter, and just focus on your Prefect duties and your studies. Your OWLs should be your top priority."
"Right," Lily growled, and without another word to the professor, she stepped back into the Great Hall. It was hard to ignore the looks and whispers she got as she crossed back to her table. She smiled at her first years, ruffled Allison's hair, sat down in her old spot, and scooped some ice cream onto her plate.
She'd take care of Tonks later. She had a little plan forming.
She didn't have much of a sweet tooth at the moment, but she ate until she was well and truly stuffed anyway. She was ready to turn in and get a good night's sleep for once in her life when Dumbledore rose from his seat to give his annual little speech.
"Hello," he said, "and welcome, old and new, to Hogwarts. I am your Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, and I would like to say a few things before we retire to our beds. Our caretaker, Argus Filch, has asked me to remind each of you that the use of magic in the corridors is prohibited, and you may find a full list of banned items posted on his office door. I am told to bring special attention to any goods created and sold by Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. No matter how spectacular they may be, they are not allowed on the school premises. In addition, the Forbidden Forest is off limits to all students.
"Now, for our new members of staff," Dumbledore said, gesturing to his left and then right. "Please join me in welcoming Professor Fletchley for Charms, Pebblebrook for Transfiguration, Fornax for Astronomy, Grubbly-Plank for Care of Magical Creatures, Black for Defense Against the Dark Arts, Granger for Muggle Studies, Umbridge for Magical Culture, Historia for Arithmancy, Dustlock for History of Magic, Jones for Herbology, and Diggle for Ancient Runes. In addition, we have another professor joining us for Defense Against the Dark Arts later this year, but Professor Black has happily volunteered to teach her classes until her personal business has concluded, as has Professor Grubbly-Plank for our dear Rubeus Hagrid. Now, with all that out of the way, allow me to-"
But Dumbledore went silent, his head turned to the side as a wave of shocked murmurs spread over the staff table. Professor Umbridge was standing, tapping her glass of wine with a silver spoon, the sharp tinking carrying through the silent room.
"What's she think she's doing?" Lily said to the deaf girl beside her, having completely forgotten that she was not sitting next to Hermione. She made a mental note to explain everything Dumbledore said to the girl later, just to make sure she understood, because right now she was chewing her lip in a worryingly confused manner.
"Thank you, Headmaster, for those kind words of welcome," Umbridge said after Dumbledore finally took his seat. His eyebrows were raised in a politely curious way. "Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say! And to see such happy little faces looking up at me!"
Lily, for her part, was wearing a look of pure loathing.
"I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all, and I'm sure we'll be very good friends!"
Lily flexed the fingers on her left hand. Umbridge's terribly high voice was like taking a cheese grater to one's own eardrums. She was very much wishing Dumbledore had given her a punishment, too, if only so she didn't have to be sitting here listening to it.
Umbridge cleared her throat with another little hem hem to settle down the bout of whispers that broke out, and when she spoke again, her voice was nowhere near as falsely sweet.
"The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance," she said, and Lily decided she'd had quite enough of this little speech.
She stood to her feet, and Umbridge's voice ended in a futile little squeak. She could feel every eye on the room moving to her, and she started to wonder if this was a good idea at all, because she could see McGonagall rapidly shaking her head back and forth. Her eyes moved to Sirius next- she had no idea why, what did she need his approval for- and he gave her the slightest of nods.
Keep your head down, Potter, she thought. She scoffed to herself. Fuck that.
"First years, this way!" she said, grabbing Allison gently by the arm and pulling her to her feet. "Follow me, please! First years, this way!"
"Miss Potter," Umbridge said in a cutting voice, "what do you think you are-"
"First years!" Ron said, jumping to his feet and physically lifting the nearest one. "Follow me! Come on, you lot, get moving!"
"First years!" Lily shouted again before Umbridge could get started. A couple of them looked at her nervously, but then Hermione was at their side and touching them gently on their shoulders.
"First years!" she said in a slightly quavering tone. "Follow us, please!"
"Now, wait just a moment!" Umbridge said. "I am not-"
"First years!" Cedric shouted, and then he was standing, too, a laugh breaking up his words. "Please, follow your prefects to your dormitories," and then that was that. All of the firsties were now on their feet, and a good portion of the older students were standing, too. Those that did were laughing or smiling, while those that stayed seated looked more confused or perhaps even angry. Lily didn't care one whit about them.
"First years!" she said again, gently steering Allison through the crowd with a hand on her back. "Follow me!"
"Sit down this instant!" Umbridge shrieked. "You have not been-"
"You are all dismissed," Dumbledore cut in, his voice completely drowning hers out. He sounded immensely pleased, and when Lily looked back at him, his eyes locked on to her, twinkling with approval. Lily stuck her tongue out at Umbridge, who was still standing, her little firsts balled at her sides and her face a brighter pink than the awful cardigan she was wearing, and then led her first years out of the hall.
"This way, please," she said, waving over her shoulder, one hand still on Allison. She led the first years across the Great Hall and with a lazy flick of her wand opened the heavy wooden doors that led to the dungeons.
"I thought magic was banned in the hallways," she heard a first year whisper to Hermione.
"It is," Hermione said with a very deep sigh.
"I'm not a big fan of rules," Lily said, turning her head to wink at the boy who'd questioned it. "What's the point of being in a magic school if we can't use it?" She lit her wand as she took the first step downwards and held it above her head to make sure everybody could see. "Right. Welcome to Slytherin house, where they force us to live in the dungeons. I hope you're all fans of the dank and dark! This way, please- and pay attention. I don't want anybody getting lost down here."
"You'll want to dress very warmly," she heard Hermione say from behind. "It can get dreadfully cold down here even when it's sweltering outside." Lily agreed. She could feel Allison already shivering from the hand she had on her shoulder.
Is this patronising? Lily wondered. She's deaf, not blind. She took her hand off and made a mental note to ask somebody later. Even if she didn't like Lily touching her, though, Allison Graham still stuck closer to her side than any of the other first years did. Lily took that as a sign that she at least hadn't screwed up entirely, yet.
She made sure to point out every turn the Slytherins had to take to reach their common room. There were very few landmarks down in the dungeons. Every other floor had paintings you could ask for directions, or suits of armour to mark intersections and paths. The dungeons had walls, cell doors, and sconces with unlit torches. When she stopped in front of a blank stretch of wall in a seemingly random section of hall, she could tell the first years were confused.
"Right," she said, making sure to speak very slowly so Allison could read her lips, her wand held close to her face to keep it lit. Was that patronising, too? "Here's your first lesson about Hogwarts." She could see Allison staring right at her, her own lips repeating Lily's movements soundlessly. That was a good sign, wasn't it? "It's absolutely filled with secret entrances. Our common room is just one of them. Subservience is worse than death."
It wasn't exactly the password Lily would have picked, but the phrase still opened the wall anyway. A couple of first years gasped as the stone slid open and the hallway filled with warm light.
"You'll want to remember the words I just said," Lily said, snapping her fingers to bring the attention back onto her. "That's our password. 'Subservience is worse than death.'" Allison repeated the lip movements again. Could she speak the password? Was thinking that patronising? Merlin- was she going to be able to cast spells? "A bit dramatic, but you'll learn very clearly that that's just how Slytherin is." Lily waved for them to follow her, extinguished her wand, and then stepped inside, all the while panicking over how she was going to make sure Allison didn't fail all of her classes.
"How are we supposed to remember where this is?" she heard a girl whisper to another firstie. "The walls all look the same." Isabelle? That sounded right. Merlin, she'd have to make herself a cheat sheet with names and descriptions just so she could remember everybody. How did the professors manage every student in the castle?
The common room was the only warm place in the entirety of the dungeons. The stone walls had a dozen fireplaces built into them, six on each side, their smokestacks rising towards the glass domed ceiling above them (it only occurred to Lily just then to wonder where the smoke went; they couldn't open to the waters above, or the whole place would flood). Lily pointed out the giant squid above them, its long tentacles swatting away a school of fish, and then gestured to the many couches, tables, and armchairs around them.
"You can sit wherever you want," she said, pointing next to the softest armchair near the fourth fireplace on the right side. "Except there. That's my spot. Take it and die."
"Lily," Hermione said, playfully swotting her on the arm while a few first years laughed nervously. "Don't threaten our charges."
"It was more a of promise, really," Lily said, using her wand to gesture towards the hallway directly in front of them. "That one leads to our private library and training center. You can feel free to practice jinxes and what not in there, but keep in mind that absolutely none of the books are allowed to leave that room. And do not mention it to people from other houses. It's our little secret."
"We'll show you around it tomorrow," Hermione added in quickly. "And if you lot get up early enough, we'll show you around the castle, too."
Lily wasn't happy about Hermione volunteering her time, but she said nothing- it was something she'd already been considering, anyway. She was just about to explain how to get to their dormitories when she spotted two other individuals slinking across the common room, prefect badges pinned to their chests. She put her fingers to her lips and whistled to grab their attention.
"Oi!" she shouted when that only seemed to speed up their paces. "You two want to do your jobs and show the boys to their quarters?"
"You're the one who loves the taste of mud," Malfoy said with a sneer towards Hermione. "You deal with them."
"Mud?" Lily heard one of the first years repeat.
Lily's fingers twitched over her wand. She felt Hermione pull at the corner of her sleeve.
"Lily," she whispered through smiling teeth. "Don't."
"Right," Lily said, grinding her jaw as she watched Malfoy and Zabini disappear towards the boys' dorms. She could hear Crabbe and Goyle laughing as they followed. "Hermione. Why don't you take the girls? I'll make sure the boys get settled in. We'll meet back here."
"I'm not sure that's-"
"This way," Lily said, grabbing the nearest boy by the arm and pulling him towards the prolonged sounds of echoed laughter.
Lily had never been down to the boys' side of things. She just never really saw any need for it. Why would she want to be around the likes of Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle? It was bad enough having to deal with Parkinson and her group of simpering, sycophantic sirens. She could feel eyes on her as she walked with the four smaller boys, and she kept her hand near her wand at all times, daring anybody to say or try anything. The boys' side ended up being a clone of the girls'- a large, circular room serving as a common hub of sorts, and doors lining every bit of the stone walls. She spotted Goyle at the furthest possible table, and it was his leering that she felt most of all.
I can't keep coming down here, she thought as she showed the boys how to engrave their names on a door to claim a room. It's only a matter of time before he or someone else tries something. Even now, it felt like the hairs on the back of her neck were standing at attention, and every instinct inside of her was telling her to run as fast as she could.
But if she didn't feel safe, how long would it take before the first years felt the same? Lily clenched her jaw as the last two first year boys disappeared inside her chambers, her fingers rotating her wand slowly in her hand. She looked around the room again. Some of them were definitely watching her- Malfoy was whispering with Zabini and Crabbe in the corner, and Goyle's eyes- she hadn't felt that uncomfortable since she was locked in Malfoy Manor.
"If anybody messes with the first years," she said as loudly as she could, the room deafening so they'd carry, "they'll have to deal with me."
"And what're you going to do about it?" Goyle said in his thick, stupid voice.
What was she going to do?
She found Hermione waiting for her in the common room proper, covering her mouth while she tried to suppress a yawn.
"Ready to go?" she asked, perking up the closer Lily got. "It's a long walk up to the sixth floor." She started walking off, stopped after a few steps, and turned to look at the motionless Lily with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm not going," Lily said reluctantly, still spinning the wand in her hand.
"Come again?" Hermione said warily.
"I said I'm not going," Lily repeated, looking around the common room again. Most had already retreated to the dorms, but a few were still milling about. Pansy Parkinson and Daphne Greengrass were huddled in the corner, arguing furiously about something in whispers. How long until they go for the girls, too? She wondered.
"Lily," Hermione said quietly, leaning in real close to her. "You can't stay down here. The entire point of the Prefect dorms was to keep you safe."
"I know," Lily said, still watching the two rowing girls. "But if I'm not down here, it's only a matter of time until something happens to the first years. I've got to be down here. I- I have to protect them."
"Lily-"
"You go up," Lily said, patting her on the shoulder. "I can handle myself, Hermione. You know I can. There's nothing any of these troll brains can do that I haven't already beaten."
Lily expected Hermione to argue. Hell, she knew that Hermione would be able to convince her to change her mind, if she really wanted to- she'd get angry, she'd probably threaten her, she'd curse a lot, and she'd act like a total toddler. But she'd go with what Hermione said, in the end.
"Are you sure?" Hermione asked.
"No," Lily admitted. "But- look, I know I didn't get the job because I earned it," she said, tapping her badge. "But what kind of Prefect would I be if I let a bunch of children sleep in a pit of snakes without a lion to protect them?"
"Then I'm with you, one hundred percent," Hermione said with a confident nod. "Let's go claim a room before all the good ones are taken."
"You're serious?" Lily said, blinking slowly. This certainly had not been a part of even the optimal scenarios she'd run in her head.
"Two lions are better than one," Hermione said happily. "And if you really thought I'd leave you down here by yourself for even a second, then you truly are an idiot. Wherever you go, I go, remember?"
Lily felt an immense satisfaction in her chest as she stared at the wonderful girl in front of her.
"Come on, then," she said, turning to start down the hallway before the smile threatening her lips could make its appearance. "We've got some planning to do." She heard Hermione trot and then slow to walk at her side, and then felt fingertips brushing her own.
"You know," Hermione said, her fingers snaking their way between Lily's, "if we're lucky, maybe we can trick Hogwarts into only giving us one bed again."