IWSC - R7 - Ilvermorny - Year 1.

Theme - Redemption - Write about a character who achieves redemption in some people's opinion but fails to do so in the eyes of another.

Special Rule - Ilvermorny: A Muggle

Prompt - (Mandatory) [Character] Original character and (Optional) [Song] The Gambler by Kenny Rogers; [Setting] A new house (just moved in)

Word count: 2307

Beta(s): AshTreeOnTheHill, AccioBoom, Aya

Julie Martins bit her lip as the dealer turned over the final card. She had never been good at bluffing, and therefore, when she agreed to meet up for a housewarming games day, which included poker, she was apprehensive. She had heard of gambling before but didn't think it would be a problem when playing with friends.

However, as her eyes floated over the large number of coins in front of her, she didn't feel like she could fold. Unfortunately, her cards weren't playing nice for her all of a sudden. She had nothing. Not even a pair. Her hopes rested on that last card.

Her mouth parted and her heart pounded loudly in her ears when she realised what hand she had.

She dropped in the two tokens to meet the previous bid.

Julie pulled her blonde hair out of her face and looked over the person next to her: Lily Evans—nearly Potter. Her childhood best friend, who went away to a boarding school and never looked back.

When Julie had heard from Lily, she felt like it was a ghost contacting her. Over the years, she and Lily had drifted apart and gradually stopped meeting up during the summers. And it wasn't because of Julie. She had made the effort to visit Lily over several occasions but eventually started to feel invisible in her presence. So, she just gave up.

"Fold," her ex-best friend—current friend?—said, laying down her cards in front of her. Her green eyes moved from her to her fiancé.

Julie followed Lily's gaze to James, the man she had met merely an hour prior. His hair was a messy heap, and he had pulled it to one side in some sort of attempt of containing it. But with him constantly running his hand through it, it wasn't maintaining its neat condition.

"I see you," James stated, placing the matching amount of bids down.

She turned her attention to the next person at the table, and the only one left in, Sirius. He was James' best friend and incredibly hot. She had to keep herself from swooning every time her brown eyes met his grey ones and was sure she had a permanent blush on her pale cheeks.

"Stick," he whispered, matching the same amount as James had just done.

Julie smiled nervously and slowly flipped her hand, revealing the straight. She had to bite her lip as both boys' jaws opened, and they dropped their cards down in defeat. A small giggle left her as she pulled her winnings into her pile and began to organise them.

"You have to teach me your ways," Sirius spoke, giving her his full attention.

She chuckled. "Maybe next time we could play strip poker." She dropped a wink his way and felt her cheeks get even hotter. Julie wasn't one to flirt with someone she had just met or with anybody, really. But she was enjoying flirting now. After all, it was just a bit of fun.

"Okay, you two, get a room," James teased.

Julie's eyes widened. She knew—or at least hoped—that he was joking. "Maybe another day," she babbled, turning her eyes to Lily. "Today, it's about reconnecting."

Lily returned her smile. "How about we have a catch-up then," she suggested, standing up from the dining room table.

Julie smiled and stood, glad that she could take a break from poker and hoping they wouldn't go back to it. It had been fun, but it was not something she'd like to play regularly. She wasn't a gambler and did not know when to fold a lot of the time. She was just lucky with her cards. Beginner's luck, James had said.

Julie and Lily walked through the small cottage into the living room and sat on the couch. Julie had to admit that it was more awkward with just the two of them. After all, they were supposed to be friends, but currently, Julie felt like she knew Sirius better than her ex-best friend.

"Do you remember when we would do our hair and nails during sleepovers, get all dressed up as if we were going out to a fancy restaurant?" Lily asked.

Julie nodded, curious as to where this might be going.

"I still remember some of those tips you used to give me."

A laugh left her. "We were eight. My tips were to choose a pretty colour!" She shook her head as the memories of the two of them picking what nail varnish they would use returned to her head. Lily had always chosen a flowery colour, usually pink or orange, which didn't always go with her hair but always went with her outfits.

"But it worked! Though, I don't choose bold colours any more. More pastels."

Julie glanced down at her nails, which she hadn't painted in years. Occasionally they got a clear coat over them to keep them strong, but painting her nails had dwindled from her interests around the same time that Lily had stopped contacting her.

"Can I ask you something?" Her voice was more serious than she expected, and when Lily's expression turned flat, it was clear that she had taken notice.

"Of course."

"Why did you ignore me? Forget about me? And why did you decide to contact me now?"

Lily's whole demeanour deflated, and Julie felt momentarily guilty for asking, but it would be looming over their heads, so why not ask now?

"James and I are engaged, as you know. And when we were looking over our guest lists, I realised that you weren't on it, and I wanted you to be," she explained simply before pausing. After a few seconds of silence, allowing Julie to take in the words, she continued. "I never forgot about you. Things just got busy. School took up a lot of my time and was hundreds of miles away. It wasn't like I could pop home for the weekends to say hi."

Julie bit her lip for a second, trying to keep back her emotions. "Lily, this wasn't just when you were at the boarding school. It was when you'd ditch me to hang out with that boy down the road, when you didn't have enough time to have a sleepover during the summer and, eventually, just walked past me on the street without even saying hello." She took a deep breath and tried to remember why she thought it was a good idea to come to Lily's house for a 'housewarming party'. After all, it wasn't even a party. "I was best friends with eight-year-old Lily Evans. I don't know eighteen-year-old Lily."

"You know me!"

"Do I?" Julie retorted. "Is your favourite colour still pink? Do you still want to be a lawyer? Are we still going to marry brothers and live next door to each other? Is going on a swing still your favourite activity?"

Lily opened her mouth at each question to reply but never did.

"I agreed to come because of how close we used to be, Lily. But I have a bigger connection with a guy named after a star than you!" Julie took a deep breath and pulled her hair out of her face. "Why did you really invite me here? It's not a housewarming party. Is this even where you live?"

It took a few seconds before Lily answered. "Yes, I live here. James and I moved in two weeks ago. I thought it would be good to catch up instead of inviting you over with a mass amount of people that you didn't know! And for all those questions, no, my favourite colour isn't pink. Being a lawyer isn't really an option anymore. James doesn't have a brother. Living near you is still a nice idea. And I do still enjoy going on a swing." She took a breath, her face reddening with frustration as she continued to answer all of Julie's pent up questions. "I invited you here because I missed you. I missed our friendship, and I'm sorry that we lost contact. I invited you here for a games day because of the games we used to play as children and decided to start with poker because of how many times you complained that your parents would play and not let you." Another break but not long enough for Julie to intervene. "So if you don't want to be here, then just leave!"

Julie blinked a few times and stood up. She looked at Lily, then the door, and couldn't work out if she was angry, upset, or disappointed. "I'm happy that you've found James and are living in this great place. But I have another question."

"What?" she snapped.

"What do you know about me now?"

Lily huffed—that was something she did a lot as a child when she was annoyed. And Julie waited and watched as Lily calmed down. Confusion crossed over Lily's features, and she looked up. Realisation had obviously hit her.

Julie decided to speak up. "I'm sorry about your parents' death. And I'm glad to hear that you have a lot of friends from your boarding school. I'm sorry to hear that things are a bit complicated and whatever troubles you're going through. But you and your friends were giving me half-truths; I've been here for nearly two hours, and none of you really started a conversation. You've all avoided questions. And nobody bothered to ask what I was currently up to in my life."

With a glance towards the door, Julie knew she shouldn't be arguing, it wasn't healthy. "Thank you for inviting me. And if you're truly sorry about losing contact, then that's fine. I forgive you. But right now, I'm not sure if we can reconnect what we had before. Both of us have changed, and maybe it's not the time for us to be friends again."

Julie walked towards the door, catching James and Sirius lurking. "But hopefully, one day, that can change." She looked at Lily, wondering if she would say anything but decided that waiting around wouldn't be worth it. She had clearly overstayed her welcome. She turned her attention to the two men. "Thank you for the game of poker." And then turned towards the front door without another word.

The door felt heavier than usual as she pulled it open, and stepped out into the bright August day, the sun almost blinding her.

She closed the door behind her and walked into Godric's Hollow. It was peaceful here. Clearly, Lily had done well for herself. Julie couldn't help the feelings of jealousy that rose through her entire body.

Julie turned around to glance back at the cottage with a frown. She wondered what would be different if Lily hadn't gone to a different school. Would they still be close friends? Or were they destined to fall apart?

"Julie?"

That voice sounded familiar. She turned around and came face to face with one of her oldest friends, Kate. She had gone to a different primary school but lived down the street. The two of them grew especially close when they went to the same secondary school. It was one of the things that helped her when she and Lily started to drift apart.

Though her being here was perplexing. "Kate? What are you doing here?"

Kate smiled. "Did you know that Lily lived here? I bumped into her when she was moving in. My uncle lives down the road, and I was at the church with him when I saw her."

"Oh…" Julie verbalised, unsure of how to respond.

"It was incredible to catch up. I gave her your mobile number. I hope that was okay. She said she felt bad about losing contact."

Julie nodded. "That's fine. I just don't think we'll be as close as before."

"Why?"

A sigh left her. That was a good question. "It's just been too long."

Kate gave her a soft smile, an understanding look in her eyes. "She went to a different school, Julie. It wasn't like it was an hour's drive away or anything. Didn't she tell us it was over a five-hour train ride?"

Julie shook her head. "What about the summers?"

"You gave up too. We both did," Kate reminded her.

"I think it's too late," Julie admitted. She ran her fingers through her hair, pushing it out of her face as she sighed. "She chose that Severus boy over me, always played with him instead of me. Doing those weird things… I noticed. I knew that it wasn't normal, but I didn't care. I told her that! Yet, when she went away, she didn't care about me anymore. I gave her parents letters all the time to send to her because they refused to give me a way to send them personally."

Julie looked away, glancing around the peaceful location and lowered her voice. "Then, out of the blue, she invites me to a housewarming party but doesn't take the time to really talk to me. What does she want? Because all I've received are lies and secrets. That's not a friendship I want to rekindle."

Julie took a breath after her little rant. She noticed the expression on her friend's face and settled down. "You've forgiven her."

"I lost touch with a lot of my friends who went to different secondary schools. I wasn't always good at replying to their messages. So for somebody to admit they've made a mistake in regard... yes, I'm going to forgive them." Kate adjusted her blue jumper. "Just think about it. Lily's not going anywhere."

Julie nodded. She didn't think it would be any time soon, but she was sure that in time she might be willing to try again. For now, though, she wasn't ready to forgive the best friend who abandoned her.