"It's not given to people to judge what's right or wrong. People have eternally been mistaken and will be mistaken, and in nothing more than in what they consider right and wrong."
"You know actually a lot of people have told me I should not get a nose job"
"I think they might just be worried you get addicted to the pain drugs."
Marlene threw a pillow at Dorcas.
"Let me tell you, I miss Summer already." Mary said putting on yet another pair of socks.
"I don't," Lily mumbled with her toothbrush in before spitting out "my freckles take on a whole new level of excitement"
"Same" Dorcas and Jamie echoed.
"Lily you're wiser, you've been alive much longer than all of us- like decades…"
"Shut up, I'm like three months older than you" Lily responded on her way to her bed.
"Yes, as I said, decades." Marlene moved away from the flying pillow Dorcas threw back. "Do you think Mary should cut bangs?"
"Yes"
"No!"
"See Mars, it's unanimous."
"It's not, bangs will never be unanimous, it depends on the planets positions at the moment you sit down at the salon." Mary was pulling another cover on her bed.
"I think if anyone can rock bangs it's you Mary, with a chic bob" Jamie added from her bed.
"Aw thank you."
"Don't say thanks, that's her way of saying you got a big forehead."
Three pillows flew over Marlene.
"Ugh, I do not want to have DADA first thing in the morning" Lily complained.
"Me neither, god-"
"I hate that man."
"Oh I do!" Dorcas this time, "It's the only time I can actually be fully serious and stoic."
"At opposing other times you're what, whimsical and fun?" Lily asked cheekily.
"Oh wow-"
"Finally living that Aquarius energy I see-"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Lily apologized smiling. "It's sleeping so close to this one, the sarcasm is infecting me through osmosis"
"I don't know what that is but you're welcome" Marlene was laying down, careful with her hair.
Lily chuckled before biting her lip with a thought.
"Night ladies." Mary said, reaching for the light.
"Night!"
Lily opened her mouth to speak. "Hum, actually-"
Mary stopped and Dorcas pulled her eye-cover up.
"I-I actually wanted to tell you something girls- all of you", she looked at Jamie who sometimes kept it more to herself. Lily sat up on her bed, playing with her nails. "I kind of wanted to-hum, apologize to you, for- you know, in the past I thought that being friends with Snape mostly was just being hurtful to myself" she took a quick look around, "but that wasn't fair-" she swallowed. "It wasn't fair to you, he- well he clearly has very prejudiced views and- and you know, even if he himself didn't show it as much, well he chooses people who are quite opened to their prejudiced ways and that… well, that was never OK."
She bit her lip, feeling her eyes watering. "It shouldn't have taken him to be cruel to me, for me to- to take a firmer position." She looked at her friends and her voice broke "I'm so sorry if I ever made you feel like you couldn't count on me."
Dorcas and Mary got up from their beds and went to Lily, but all chanted.
"Aw Lily-"
"Lilyy-"
"You don't have to apologize-"
"…exactly, but thank you for doing it-"
The girls hugged, cramped up in a single's bed, and Lily stretched her arm to get Marlene's hand. Jamie was smiling from her bed.
"You OK?" Mary asked, patting her hair.
"Yeah, it's just an odd start of year, that's all." Lily said, cleaning off any tear remains.
"You tell me, it looks like the boys went through another level of puberty." Marlene said, getting cosy in bed again.
Dorcas made a grunting sound and went back to bed while Lily, Mary and Jamie giggled.
"Hopefully it will be a quieter year this time." Lily wished.
Mary hugged her one last time "Sure".
As they all went to sleep, Jamie stood awake with her eyes opened in short breath for what felt like a terribly long time, before being able to fall asleep.
"So yes, I would say my favourite colour is somewhere between pink and hot pink."
Dorcas looked dumbstruck at Lily who was trying not to laugh.
"Marlene, I asked you if you had an extra quill."
Lily snorted.
"Oh. Then no." Marlene said before putting her bag away.
"Did you know that the boys are still in detention?" Mary joined, laying her things on the table.
"Really?" Lily asked, "That's a bit harsh, it's been what- almost three weeks?"
"It might have something to do with the fact that they don't seem to look at it as detention."
"Typical" Dorcas replied.
Lily smiled "What do you mean?"
"Sirius and James seem fascinated with doing stuff the 'muggle way'", Mary used air quotes and Lily furrowed her eyebrows.
"Go check it yourself- they're over the ancient Greek wizardry section."
Lily's curiosity took the best and she went to look at what her friends were referring to.
Remus was standing on top of a struggling James, with his feet on the latter shoulders, sneezing from the dust of the shelves he was currently swiping, held by his heels.
"Prongs look, I've got a mop!" Sirius joined, overly excited about his finding.
James looked slightly to the right, with his head between Remus' legs.
"You've got a mop, mate!"
Remus sneezed once again but this time, he couldn't hold on to the wooden frame in front and lost balance.
Sirius looked up and Lily gasped loudly before casting a levitating spell to a falling Remus Lupin.
She breathed out relieved, dropping him on the ground.
"Good catch there Evans!" James brimmed, "Ever considered Quidditch?"
"Heavens, how have you managed 16 years alive?" Lily asked still shaken.
Sirius shrugged. "McGonagall told us to clean from top to bottom without magic."
Lily opened her eyes wider. "Did you think of- oh I don't know, a ladder?"
"A ladder!" James and Sirius echoed, looking excited to each other.
Lily rolled her eyes and stretched a hand to the boy who was still on the ground "Expected more from you, Remus."
He took it and grimaced "I was honestly not in the mood of looking for one. I figured 'why not'"
"I don't see why you put Moony here on a pedestal, Evans. He's the worst of us." Sirius commented, using his mop to clean books.
Remus turned to Lily "I sincerely hope that is not true."
"So what're you doing here, Evans?" James asked, leaning on a shelf and raising his eyebrows. "Looking for a certain Greek god?"
Sirius snorted.
"No Potter, the girls and I are working on our charms assignment."
"Oh, have you figured out question 4. already?" Remus asked.
"Yeah, have you figured out questions 1., 2., 3., and 4.?" Sirius added.
Lily pretended not to smile "They're on the Renaissance section."
"Neat- be right back" Remus patted James on the back quickly as he strode away.
"Brilliant, I could use a pause…" James said rubbing his shoulders, starting to head the same direction.
Lily stepped in front of him.
"Actually, d'you think we could talk for a minute?"
James eyed her curiously and then turned back to Sirius who dropped his mop nonchalantly without a minute's thought and followed Remus.
James turned to her again and it stroke her the height difference.
"Alright there Evans?"
She was nervous. "Yeah I-… I just wanted to say thanks, for saying what you said last time we were here."
She looked up at him and the corner of his mouth started to curl. She continued,
"It… it meant something to me. A lot actually, meant a lot. Look, I'm not saying we can start completely clean, I don't think it works like that but… But I guess life keeps showing me that things change. People change. Or at least how you see people… I don't know, I guess what I'm trying to say is that, if you're really trying to grow and be better, then you can count on me, I guess- if you want." She spoke quickly and muddled up.
Lily breathed in before concluding "I'm rooting for you."
He was grinning now "Is this your way of saying that perhaps maybe one day who knows, I can try to be your friend? Do I have your permission then?"
She started to smile. "Yes, you have my permission to perhaps maybe one day who knows, try."
He nodded complicit.
"As long as you behave" she quickly added.
"It's a journey Evans," he sighed "Morgana didn't wreak havoc in a a day"
She rolled her eyes and he enjoyed it. They started walking towards the others.
"OK so what, can I ask you friendly questions now?"
She shrugged. "I guess."
"So like, what's your favourite colour?"
Lily stopped. "See now, that's too far."
He opened his mouth to complain but she burst out a laugh and James looked surprised for a moment before smiling back at her. He realized that this was probably the first time Lily Evans had laughed with him.
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding" she said in between chuckles.
"You kids better not be playing around." The old librarian reprimanded, appearing suddenly from behind a shelf.
Lily gasped surprised and covered her mouth.
"Bloody hell- no sir, not at all. I don't like jokes in general." James said, coming down from his scare as well.
Lily shook her head at the man, still with her hands on her face.
He stared at the two for a few seconds longer before sliding away from view. They looked at each other with wide eyes before joining the group.
"Lily look here," Remus went to her with some notes, "Dorcas told me how she solved that Arithmancy issue we were losing our minds over."
Lily gasped happily "Really?"
"Right, I'm off. Hi there, Wormtail" James said, joining the others.
"No, you weren't supposed to tell her Lupin, we have a bet going on." Dorcas said loudly over a table full of 6th year Gryffindors.
"Eheheh too bad Meadowes" Lily snickered. "All is fair in love and war."
Dorcas rolled her eyes.
"So, you and Prongs OK?" Remus asked Lily lower.
She nodded with a smile. "Yeah I mean- let's see. I'm done with tension and bickering, enough of that. That's not to say I won't hit him in the head with a frying pan if needed"
"Of course"
"But I guess now I might not heat the pan with boiling oil first" she conceded.
"That's great Lils, proud of you"
"Thank you" she smiled at him.
"I for one do not like pitted olives" Marlene announced.
"WHAT?!" Sirius questioned dumbstruck.
"That's very dumb" Dorcas agreed
"How can you not like pitted olives? You just get there and toc toc toc" Peter motioned the movement of eating hypothetical olives without pits.
"I don't like them," Marlene continued "It takes- It takes the essence off of the olive"
"Get out of here, McKinnon" James added.
"It's true" she pressed. "Imagin- Ima-IMAGINE" (she tried to continue without interruptions) Imagine a world with only pitted olives-"
"Amazing"
"Beautiful world"
"Flew powder me there right now"
"Oh yeah? How would you plant any more olive trees?" Marlene asked, looking around the table with big eyes.
There was a pause before Peter added:
"Damn."
"Yeah she's right" Sirius agreed
"She's got a point." James was considering
"Ahh" Marlene pointed.
Remus leaned on Lily's ear to whisper
"It's like this but everyday"
She was wide-eyed looking at the scene "Merlin."
"I know."