On Sunday, Lily, Renee, Emily, and Henry found themselves back in Boston at the Central Station to take the train back to Ilvermorny. Renee and Lily separated from the other two, and quickly found a compartment. During the holiday breaks, there was no limits on where the students were allowed to sit. Just on the first ride during the year, the first years were required to sit close to the prefect carriage so that they could be close to them. Their friends soon joined them. Anthony was first, then was followed by Deidra and Brandy. At the five minute whistle, Lily grew worried. Where was Julia?

"Has anyone heard from Julia over break?"

Brandy said, "Her grandmother fell sick on Friday. She wasn't sure if she would be able to make the train today. I hope she let Mrs. Allen know."

Renee said, "Does she have any way to let her know?"

Lily said, "I don't think so. She didn't have an owl."

The train started to move. Lily sighed. She hoped her friend was alright. She made note to say something to Mrs. Cutter when they got to school.

Three hours later, Lily and her friends took the carts up to the school. At the school, they went to put their bags away. Renee's parents had packed a lunch for them this time around, so they didn't have to worry about eating lunch at the school when they got there.

Mrs. Cutter was in the building welcoming everyone back. Lily walked up to her and said, "Mrs. Cutter, have you heard anything about Julia Donaldson?"

Mrs. Cutter said, "I have not, Ms. Potter. Is there a reason to be concerned?"

Lily replied, "We did not see her on the train, ma'am. Brandy mentioned that her grandmother fell ill over the holiday."

Mrs. Cutter said, "I will talk to Mrs. Allen about this and hopefully will have an answer for you by supper. That is concerning."

Lily went up to her room and found Brenda and Andrea already there. Brenda said, "Did you have a good holiday, Lily?"

Lily nodded. She unpacked her two suitcases, and then used her magic to hang up the pictures of Renee, Emily, and her on horses.

Brenda said, "You got to go horse back riding? I'm so jealous!"

Lily said, "I stayed with Renee Murphy over the holidays. She's apparently a distant cousin on my dad's side of the family and they live outside of Houston on a ranch."

Brenda said, "Nice."

Lily saw Belle on her perch. Lily went over and stroked her. She said, "You up for delivering a letter, girl?"

Belle bobbed her head. Lily sat down and wrote a letter to Julia.

Julia,

Since you weren't on the train to come back to school, I was concerned. Brandy mentioned that your grandmother had fallen ill over the holiday. I was just wanting to make sure you were okay. Belle will wait for a reply.

Lily

Lily folded the letter, put it in an envelope, and sealed it. She then wrote Julia's name and address on it. After tying it to Belle's leg, Lily said, "Please wait for a reply, girl and safe travels."

Belle hooted and took out the open window.

That night, the five of them sat around the supper table, talking about their holiday and what they did. Lily was still concerned over Julia. She knew that Belle would be back probably in the next couple of days with a response unless Julia was back at school by then.

As they were leaving the dining hall, Mrs. Cutter came up to the group of friends. Mrs. Cutter said, "Lily, a word with you and your friends?"

Lily nodded and they followed her into one of the empty rooms nearby. Mrs. Cutter asked them to have a seat before saying, "Ms. Donaldson will not be returning to the school before the end of the week. Mrs. Allen visited her home and found that her family is in mourning as not only did her grandmother fall ill, she passed away. The funeral is Saturday."

Lily wanted to cry for her friend.

Renee replied, "We thank you for informing us, Mrs. Cutter."

Lily continued, "Is there anyway we can attend the funeral to support our friend?"

Everyone looked at Mrs. Cutter who replied, "Unfortunately not, Ms. Potter. However, a few of us teachers are going to show our support. If you want to, write a note to her expressing your support, and we'll pass it along."

Brandy said, "We'll think about it professor."

Mrs. Cutter said, "If you guys will keep diligent notes for her and any homework assignments that she will have for when she gets back, she will be grateful."

Lily nodded. Anthony left them to go to the boys' dorms, and then the girls split off to go to their own buildings. Lily sighed. She really wished that they were all in the same building.

Up in her room, Brenda and Andrea were talking about what they did and what they got for their families on Friday for Christmas. Brenda saw Lily's face and said, "Why the sad face, Lily?"

Lily replied, "I just found out about Julia and that she won't be back at school til next week. She is with her family during a bad time. They just lost their grandmother. I have a question though, girls. Why don't they put the years together in the same room? Like 1st years in one buiding and so on."

Brenda said, "Its like this. If you are with older years like you are now, you can get help from them about anything. If you were just with your year group, you wouldn't be able to get help with your classes and other things."

Lily thought about it. She replied, "It just wish it was easier to be with my friends especially at times like this. Julia is going to be a mess when she comes back to school. I can't imagine what its like to loose one of your grandparents. I'm fortunate enough to where I'm in the same building as her, but all our other friends are in different buildings."

Andrea said, "Right. Do you guys know about the study rooms in the library?" Lily raised her eyebrow. "I guess not. Also, did you know there are tunnels between the school and the dorms?"

Lily said, "There are?"

Andrea said, "Yep. Most of the time during Autumn and Spring, unless the weather is nasty, they are closed off to the students. Once winter hits and if its raining pretty hard, they are opened up. There are also tunnels from the school to the greenhouses. It to prevent the students from getting cold and sick from the weather."

Lily said, "Wow. Good to know."

Andrea smiled. She continued, "Tomorrow, go to the library and ask Ms. Moon if she has any available study rooms. Most students book them early. You can book them on a daily basis, weekly, monthly, or even the whole year. The study rooms can hold up to 10 people, but there are some bigger ones that the fifth and seventh years usually book to study for their OWL and NEWT exams."

The next day, Lily was just heading into the atrium with her friends, when she was approached by an older male. She felt Renee stiffen beside her.

"Ms. Potter, may I have a word with you?"

Lily said, "Whatever you can say to me can be said in front of my friends."

The man said, "My name is Thomas Branton. I'm Brenda's younger brother and heir to Branton Wands."

Lily said, "Okay. What can I do for you, Mr. Branton?"

Thomas raised an eyebrow to her. He said, "I do not know if you are aware but in December there is a dance for third years and up. I'm a third year in Horned Serpent. I was wondering if you would do me the honor of accompanying me to the dance?"

Lily was stunned. She had heard about the Christmas dance for the older years. Lily replied, "Can I think about it, Mr. Branton?"

Thomas said, "Of course."

Lily smiled her thanks.

When they sat down, Renee and was stunned. She said, "Emily has had her eye on Thomas for a few months now. You'd better not let her know that he asked you."

Lily said, "Why ask me though? I'm sure he has plenty of girls his own age to take the dance."

Renee said, "Lily, you are the catch of the decade. Many of the boys here at the school have been eyeing you, whether or not you realize it. You are smart and beautiful, a very good combination. Not to mention, most of the girls that are around Thomas Branton right now, are after his money. The Brantons are one of the wealthiest wizarding families in North America because of their success in the making of the wands. I'm sad to say, my sister is one of those girls, however, she sees him not only for that though."

Lily sighed. After breakfast, they went to their classes. After their last class of the day, the temperature on the grounds had dropped, so Lily and her friends decided to study in the library. Lily inquired about an open study room.

Ms. Moon said, "We do have a smaller one available. About how many people and how long would you like to reserve it for?"

Lily and her friends had talked about it, and had decided to reserve it 'til March for now. Renee relayed the information to the librarian.

In their study room, Renee said, "So, what are you going to do about Thomas?"

Lily said, "I don't know. After supper tonight, I'm going to mirror call my Aunt Hermione and see what she says. I don't want to ask my parents, as I'm sure they will go nuts. At least he is only a couple years older than me."

Brandy nodded. She said, "Thomas is a good man. Our families live close to one another and we grew up knowing one another."

After supper, Lily went up to her room. She noticed that Belle had returned with a letter. She gave Belle a treat, and opened the letter. She read:

Lily,

I'm sure you've heard by now as Mrs. Allen was here. My grandmother passed away on Saturday from a stroke. I'm alright. We knew it was coming. She was older and not in the best of health. Thank you for your concern.

However, I did find something out on Wednesday. The family was gathered around at my grandma's place, and they were asking me about my boarding school and where it was located. I told them that it was located in upstate Massachusetts, about three hours from Boston. My grandma's mouth dropped open. After the bigger family left, she pulled me and my parents aside and asked us how come we never told her that I went to Ilvermorny and that I was a witch. Would you believe that my grandmother is a squib? She never let her family know about magic because she didn't think that it would return so soon. My grandmother came over in the 40's from Britain after her parents disowned her. She was put in an orphanage over there and once she graduated secondary school, she moved to America. To say that my parents were shocked was an understatement of the year. They then told her that my sisters, Irene and Wanda were witches also, having been informed by Mrs. Allen. I'll tell you more once I get back to school. I wanted to come today, but mother wants me at home, which I don't' blame here none.

I'll see you next week. If you can before Wednesday, owl me the homework? It'll give me something to do until Sunday when I return to school.

Julia

Lily was shocked. She pulled out her mirror. Knowing her Aunt was awake at least, she called her.

Aunt Hermione came on the mirror and said, "Lily! How are you doing dear?"

Lily said, "I'm good, Aunt Hermione. I have a dilemma and need your opinon. Are you alone?"

Aunt Hermione said, "I'm in my study. Ronald is asleep as he has to open the Hogsmeade shop in the morning. What do you need, sweetie that you didn't call Harry or Ginny?"

Lily said, "Well, its about a boy."

Aunt Hermione raised her eyebrow and said, "Continue."

Lily said, "He's a third year student. Today before breakfast, he approached me and asked me to a dance that Ilvermorny is holding before the Christmas holidays that are only for third years and up, but if they wanted to invite a younger student they can."

Aunt Hermione said, "What did you say?"

Lily said, "I told him I will let him know my answer soon. I just wasn't expecting attention this soon."

Aunt Hermione said, "I understand, Lily and I see why you didn't approach your parents about this. From your interaction with him, what do you think about him?"

Lily said, "He's cute, and from what I hear, is also smart. I'm leaning going with him, but I don't have anything to wear to a dance."

Aunt Hermione said, "Ask Renee and see if they can help you find something to wear. I'm sure there is something you can find. If anything, she can owl her father and find you something."

Lily said, "Thanks Aunt Hermione."

Aunt Hermione smiled and said, "I best be going. Its late and I need some sleep as we have some important meetings tomorrow. Love you, sweetie. And just so you know, I won't tell you parents."

Lily replied her thanks and put her mirror away. A cough brought her attention around and she saw that it was Brenda and Andrea.

Andrea said, "We couldn't help but over hear. Someone asked you to the Holiday dance."

Lily blushed.

Brenda said, "Nothing wrong with that. Who is the guy?"

Lily didn't want to say considering it was Brenda's brother. Lily said, "His name is Thomas."

Brenda was seen thinking for a minute. She said, "My brother asked you to the dance?"

Lily sighed. She had been afraid of this. She nodded.

Brenda smiled. She said, "Good for you. Thomas is a shy guy. Since he is our father's primary heir, he tends to get a lot of attention. So are you going to go with him?"

Lily replied, "I think so. The only thing is, I don't have anything to wear to such an event."

Andrea smiled. She said, "No problem! I have a dress that will go perfect with your hair, and skin color. We'll just have to transfigure it to fit you."