Lily sat in the potion classroom, waiting for Professor Slughorn to appear. It was time for their lessons, but he'd told her that he had a quick errand to run. That had been over twenty minutes ago. To occupy her time, she began to practice a few spells from Charms class.
Lily slid a book to the far end of the table, then pointed her wand at it. "Carpe Retractum," she stated. A purple rope came from her wand tip, wrapped around the book, and then pulled it back to her. Once the rope disappeared, Lily pushed the book away again. As she continued to do this, she soon became bored. So she reached into her bag, and pulled out the Marauders' Map.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," she said with a tap of her wand. The map began to appear as she began to unfold it. She looked around the castle, taking note of who was where. Lola and Jace were sitting with Marty and Izzy, probably doing homework. Mitch, Rex, Justin, and Will were all in a rarely used Charms classroom. They'd been given permission to use it for their band practice. Lana was sitting in the common room with Dante Montague, and Lily could only imagine the amount of flirting going on there.
Lily looked at the rest of the castle, and noticed that the halls were fairly empty. After all, it was past curfew for the younger students. Lily was only out because she had a note from Slughorn. It was because of the emptiness that Lily noticed a dot moving in what had to be a run. Another dot was right behind it. Her eyes followed them, and read the names.
James Potter. Albus Potter.
Lily scowled at the sight of the dots. What the hell were they doing? They were running in an elaborate course. She looked a little further, and then saw something surprising. It was another dot, also moving in a run.
Scorpius Malfoy.
They were chasing him! Lily looked at where they were, finding that they were on the second floor. She looked around for Slughorn's dot, finding him talking with the Professor Brown in the headmaster's office. She might have time.
"Mischief managed," Lily muttered quickly. She folded the map and stuck it into her potion book, and then ran out of the room. She hurried up the dungeon stairs, and then ran up the stairs to the second floor. She pulled out her wand, and began to move around the corridors, looking for the running group. But then she heard running feet coming her way, so she moved to hide behind a statue. It was just in time, because once she was hidden, Scorpius came running down the hallway. She had no time to call out to him, as James and Albus soon followed. She pointed her wand at the pair of them as they passed.
"Levicorpus," she whispered.
Albus shot up into the air, as if an invisible rope had snagged his ankle. "What the hell!" he exclaimed. Both James and Scorpius stopped running, looking at Albus in surprise.
"What the hell, Al?" James asked in shock.
"Get me down!" Albus demanded.
Scorpius began to laugh. "Wow, and I thought all the air was in your head, not your foot!"
Lily stifled her giggles, not wanting to get caught. She pointed her wand at James. "Tarantallegra," she muttered.
James's legs began to move around, as if locked in some kind of awkward dance. His upper body obviously couldn't keep up. "What the fuck!" he growled. He pointed his own wand at his legs. "Finite!" His legs calmed, and only shook from the shock. He whirled around, looking at the empty hall. "Who's there?" he yelled.
Lily pointed her wand again. "Calvorio," she whispered. Sadly, James moved his head, so her spell only caught his bangs. But it was still worth it when his bangs sliced off and fell to the floor.
James's eyes widened comically as his hands went to where his bangs used to be. "What the hell is going on?"
"That's not a good look on you, Potter. I can see more of your face," Scorpius joked.
Lily pointed her wand at Albus. "Liveracorpus."
Albus dropped onto the floor with a thud and a groan. "Who the hell is out there?" he groaned from the floor. He slowly began to stand up.
"Aguamenti," Lily whispered. A short jet of water shot from her wand and straight into Albus's face.
Albus began to splutter. "What the -!"
"Show yourself!" James snarled.
"Everte Statum!" Lily hissed.
James flew back several feet, landing on the floor. He jumped up, a slightly scared look on his face. Albus ran over to help James stand up straight. "Let's get out of here!" Albus suggested hysterically. Then he began to run out of the hall.
James began to follow. He pointed at Scorpius as he did. "You're still a dead man, Malfoy! I'll get you back!" Then he was turning the corner of the hall, chasing after Albus.
Scorpius began to laugh, and Lily joined him, coming out from behind the statue. Scorpius caught sight of her and stopped laughing, but he was broadly smirking. "The princess comes to my rescue," he commented as he walked closer to her.
Lily grinned. "Not all princesses turn out to be damsels in distress," she joked.
"How did you know where I was?" he asked.
"I was sitting alone in potions room looking at the map when I saw you running from the idiots. In fact, I should probably head back there," she told him.
"I'll walk you," Scorpius offered.
Lily smiled, and the two began to walk. "So, why were they chasing you?"
"Oh, I found the two of them surrounded by a group of other brain-dead Gryffindors, and I saw the chance to humiliate them and attack them with a few books. And I'm not one to pass up a great opportunity," Scorpius said with a laugh.
"Who could ever pass up the chance to humiliate the golden Potter boys?" Lily mocked. She rolled her eyes. "They're both annoying."
"Agreed," Scorpius murmured as the two descended back into the dungeons. "So, I must be a terrible knight, if the princess has to come save me."
Lily laughed and rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, let's ignore the macho image." She opened the door to the classroom, and he followed her in.
Scorpius laughed. "Ah, don't worry. I'm not upset about anything like that. In fact, I like that you came to my rescue. I think a girl with a smart and cunning attitude is hot," he teased.
Lily blushed slightly, but rolled her eyes again. "Thank you, I feel so complimented."
Scorpius chuckled. "You should. I rarely think that of girls."
"Why is that?" Lily questioned with a teasing tone. "I rarely see you interested in any girl since Layla. Some might begin to think things."
Scorpius rolled his eyes this time. "I'm just not interested. Most girls aren't very interesting people. I get bored listening to them talk. They have nothing good to say," he replied.
"Boring conversationalist, another thing I can add to my list of traits," she retorted.
"Believe me, you are never boring," Scorpius laughed. "I'm just saying that most girls are. Not all of them."
"Well not all boys are great with words," Lily remarked. "I think Derek Bole is a great example of that."
"Is that something you look for in a guy?" Scorpius teased.
"I find that the ability to speak is very attractive in a guy," she retorted.
"So you are you saying that I'm attractive?" he inquired with a smirk.
"Did you expect me to say that you were ugly?" Lily questioned.
Scorpius shrugged. "Well with your upcoming date with Scamander, I just thought that your sights would be on him," he commented.
"Just because you agree to go on a date with someone, doesn't mean that you can't notice that someone else is also attractive," Lily explained.
"So you've always thought that I was attractive?" he laughed.
"Kind of hard not to," Lily said with a sigh. "It's a bit obvious."
"Really?" he murmured interested.
"A lot of girls think the same. You just never notice," Lily pointed out.
Scorpius's brow creased in thought. "Really?" Then he sighed and shrugged. "Well, doesn't matter. I don't find most of those girls appealing. You're the exception."
Lily felt her insides rush, but she kept a calm face. "Are you calling me attractive?" she mocked, using his previous question.
He smirked. "I am actually. In fact, I find that you are one of the more appealing girls that are at the top of my list," he stated.
Lily raised a brow. Meanwhile, her heart was fluttering inside her chest. "Really? Who's at the top?"
"Haven't decided yet," he said with chuckle. But then he leaned closer to her, and Lily could feel his breath fan against her cheeks. It smelt as if he'd just been chewing gum. "But don't worry. You are a contender for the spot."
Lily gave a subtle gulp as blood rushed to her cheeks. They'd been close before, they'd gotten in each other's faces before during their previous witty banters, but this was somehow much different. It felt much different, even the air. Her heartbeat was quickening, and she could feel the tiny urge to close the gap. But shock and hesitancy kept her in place. Her eyes were unable to look away from his. Their normal grey color was cloudy, like an actual storm. And they were intense, which also locked her in place. She noticed his eyes flicker a little lower than her own eyes, but then quickly look back up. She began to think that maybe he felt the same urge.
"I'm sorry that took so long - Oh! Mr. Malfoy! How delightful to see you here!"
Both Lily and Scorpius quickly moved back into their seats fully, having a respectable distance between them. They both watched as Professor Slughorn walked toward the table.
"Thank you, sir. I heard that you had a meeting with the headmaster, so I thought I would come and keep Lily company while she waited," Scorpius lied smoothly.
"Well you are welcome to stay and observe if you would like," Slughorn offered.
Scorpius stood from his seat. "No, I'd better go actually. I have to patrol tonight, and if your clock is right, I have to start soon. Perhaps another time."
Slughorn gave a nod. "Well then, I'll see you in class tomorrow then."
"Of course," Scorpius assured. Then he looked at Lily. "I'll see you later, princess."
Lily tried to get rid of her remaining blush. "Later, Sir Malfoy," she teased back.
*************************
Lily yawned as she sat at the table with her fellow third years. She'd worked later than usual with Professor Slughorn, and when she got to bed she couldn't stop thinking of what Scorpius had said. She didn't get to sleep until late.
"Lil," Jace addressed, knocking her out of her stupor, "did you finish that Potion essay?"
"Yeah. Why, you need help?" Lily asked.
"If you don't mind," he said sheepishly.
Lily smiled at him. "You know I don't."
Owls began to fill the room again, making their deliveries. One dropped off a letter to Lola, and another gave her a paper, which she paid for. A familiar owl dropped down on Lily's shoulder. It was Victoire's. Lily took the letter from his beak, and handed him a piece of bread. As the owl took off from her shoulder, Lily took a look at the letter. It was from Teddy, not Victoire.
"Dear Lil,
I've got some news for you, and I knew hat I'd be able to tell you without the news spreading around the family. But I've got to tell someone. Victoire and I are having a baby! Vic found out a couple days ago that she was pregnant, and we've been trying to figure out how to tell the rest of the family. Vic said she's around 3 months into the pregnancy, and should be due sometime in April. We've got a checkup next week. I'll try to write to you on how it goes. Remember, don't tell any one of the cousins.
Love,
Teddy"
Lily smiled as she read over the letter. A baby! She was going to be an aunt! She almost couldn't believe it.
"Hey, Lil, you've got another letter," Christian warned.
Lily looked at her elbow to see another envelope resting on the table. She picked it up and saw that it was from Professor Slughorn. "Professor Slughorn sent me a letter?"
"He sent me one too," Lola murmured.
"What do they say?" Jace asked.
Lily glanced over the letter. "It's about a Halloween party he's throwing," she told them. "It's for the members of the Slug Club."
"I didn't know Lola was a member," Shannon commented.
"I was initiated after he found out I was third in our year," Lola muttered.
"Are you going to go?" Marty asked.
"Probably," Lily said with a sigh.
"Probably not," Lola replied. "Unlike Lily, I can't handle Professor Slughorn trying to collect me."
"I like Professor Slughorn. He's a great guy, and a great teacher," Lily retorted with a grin. "Plus, he loves me."
"Well who doesn't?" Megan mocked.
"Besides my family?" Lily joked.
"Hey, Princess!"
Heads turned at the call, but most turned away when they saw that it was Scorpius, who was hurrying over to the group of third years with Lars and Dante at his sides. They stopped just by the group. Lily felt her heart quicken a little, but was proud that she kept back a blush. Last night's conversation began to float around her mind again.
"Morning, Scorpius. What's up?" Lily asked.
"This!" Scorpius said, and he held up a piece of paper. "Move over," he told the ones sitting next to her. He took a seat beside her, and Dante and Lars took seats as well. Scorpius put down the paper for Lily to see. "This is the list of this year's players for each Quidditch team."
Lily took the list and looked at it. "And? The teams look pretty much the same, except for a few changes," she mentioned.
"But look at the Ravenclaw Keeper," Dante told her.
Lily looked at the name. "Sam Goldstein? Who is that?"
"A tiny and scrawny second year boy," Scorpius told her. "I could stomp on this kid. From what Dante said after seeing the tryouts, he was most likely picked because the captain thinks that this kid can improve over the year."
"But the kid can barely catch a Quaffle from one of his teammates. The shots we take will whiz right by him," Dante assured.
"That's great to hear, but one thing," Lily replied. "We have a match with Gryffindor before we have a match against Ravenclaw. So shouldn't be worrying about them? After all, their team is no pushover."
"I was just getting to that," Scorpius retorted. "Now, you used to be best friends with Hugo, so what do you know about him and his Keeper skills?"
Lily took a drink of her juice before answering. "He's good. It's the only position he's ever played, and he's been practicing at it since we were about five or six. That's at least seven years of practice. When we all used to play as kids, Hugo was the one that both teams fought to have as their Keeper."
"Pretty good, huh?" Scorpius muttered.
"That doesn't cover it," Lily sighed. "But, there is one thing that you could use against him."
"Really?" Scorpius asked, his attention fully on her.
"Hugo is like his dad, and he tends to get insanely nervous under pressure. So if you guys all rush him, he'll freak, and your chances of making a shot will increase," Lily explained.
"Perfect," Scorpius mumbled. "Now, what about that other cousin? The new Chaser?" he asked.
"Before coming to Hogwarts, Lucy usually played Chaser. She's much better at it than she is at the Keeper position. But I wouldn't say that she'd better than the other two," Lily answered.
"And she's small, so she'll be easy to take out," Lars pointed out.
"I'm thinking that we want to take out the Keeper first," Scorpius murmured. He grabbed the paper. "I'll see you guys later. I need to plan this out." He got up and made his way to the exit. After a quiet moment, Lars and Dante said their goodbyes and followed.
"What do you think the game plan will be?" Hunter asked.
Lily bit back another yawn. "I have no idea."
*****************************
Lily ran down to the pitch, broom in hand, and trying desperately not to trip. Apparently, Scorpius had called for an emergency team meeting, and Lily had only just gotten the message ten minutes ago. She stepped onto the pitch, and stopped in surprise. Sitting in the stands was then entire Gryffindor team, a few Gryffindor strays, and a few kids from the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff teams. Why were they here?
Lily entered the locker room to see that the others were all pretty much dressed. Scorpius stood at the head of the room, giving her a confused scowl at her entrance. "Why are you so late?"
Lily tried not to roll her eyes. "I just head about the meeting."
"Well hurry and dress. We're going to go out, talk, and the practice," Scorpius told her.
"We'd better talk in here," Lily replied. "The entire Gryffindor team is out there, and some from the other two teams."
Now Scorpius scowled angrily, but not at her. "How did they know about our practice? I just booked the pitch an hour ago."
"No idea, but somehow they found out," Lily retorted as she opened her locker. She pulled out her practice outfit and pulled off her shirt. Even though the boys had all finished dressing, they still had the decency to act like they were busy with their lockers as she changed. But Scorpius didn't seem to care who was doing what.
"All right, we'll talk in here. Now, I've decided on how we're going to play this season," he announced. "Our tactic will be to knock out James Potter."
Lily glanced at him as she pulled off her skirt. "James? What about taking out Hugo?" She pulled her practice pants over her legs.
"I thought about how you said he'd get nervous if we rushed him. I want to try that first. So then I thought about how Potter won't let that happen if he also knows about it. And since he is one of the best on their team, I want him taken out," Scorpius ordered.
"What about the other Potter?" Will asked.
"Don't worry about him," Lily said as she sat on the bench and laced her shoes. The boys all turned to the captain, now that Lily had finished dressing. "I can handle him easily."
"But what if he tries to play rough and knocks you off. No offense, Lu, but he's bigger than you," Tanner reasoned.
"I'm faster," Lily retorted as she put up her hair. "Not to mention how much faster I am with my new broom. I can easily out fly him."
"Speaking of brooms," Scorpius mentioned, "you all have your old brooms, right? I don't want the losers out there knowing about them until the game. Except for Princess here, of course. Her brothers already saw hers."
"Got 'em," Lars assured, holding up his old Nimbus model.
"Good," Scorpius sighed. "Now, I want to work with Lars and Tanner today, so we'll be practicing on aiming for those two, and the rest of you will be working on dodging Bludgers. Now let's head out there. Also, ignore anything they say. A fight won't help any of us at this point of time."
The team trailed out, brooms in hand as they made their way out onto the grass. There were boos and jeers that came from the stands. The team ignored them all, but Lily could see that most of the boys were now scowling. She had the feeling that a fight was bound to happen. Lily mounted her broom, and with the slightest push from her toes, she rocketed into the air, the broom steady in its rise. She felt content once she was high above the ground. She did a few laps around the pitch, everything blurring as she flew by quickly. This was real relaxation.
"Incoming, Lu!" she heard Lars yell.
Lily stopped instantly, looking toward the rest of the team, which were lower than she was. Looking down, she saw Scorpius's figure on the ground, letting loose the Bludgers. The first one shot straight into the air, aiming for her. Without a thought, Lily moved to the right, not even a second passing as she did.
"Damn that broom's quick!" Dante cheered as he made a few laps of his own.
Lars flew up next to Lily, and when the Bludger came back down, he shot it toward Dante, who barely moved past it.
"Nice shot, Lars!" Scorpius complimented from the ground. He mounted his broom and flew into the middle of the pitch. The others all flew to join him. "All right, guys. Be ready for a rough practice."
*******************************
Lily groaned as she dragged her feet into the locker room. The others were all moaning and muttering as well. It was now dusk. They'd been practicing for hours on dodging Bludgers, and they'd all taken quite a few hits. Lily's back and shoulders were killing her, and were probably black and blue.
"I don't think I can even get my shirt off to shower," Dante groaned as he laid out on a bench. He was sweating hard, and there was an ugly looking bruise on his cheek and jaw, from where he'd taken a hit.
"Don't ask me to help," Lars muttered as he carefully tried to pull his own shirt off. His shoulders and arms had to be killing him after hours of swinging the bat around.
Lily leaned her head against the cool metal of the locker door, sighing as the metal met her sweaty skin. With clumsy and tired fingers, she opened her locker and grabbed her clothes and a towel.
"I feel as if I'm going to die," Adrian mumbled loudly.
"Quit bitching," Scorpius commanded. Lily glanced over at his locker. He was sweating as well, his blonde hair sticking to his forehead. He reached for the hem of his shirt and began to pull it up. Lily turned away quickly, blushing profusely. She took her things and made her way to the girls' shower. She peeled off her sweaty and sticky clothes and threw them into the hamper. Then she turned on the water, leaving it at a cool setting. The last thing she needed was hot water pouring down at her. She showered quickly, her legs aching just from holding her up. She dried off halfheartedly, not really caring if her clothes were a little damp when she put them on. She threw the towel into the hamper as well, and then made her way back to the lockers. Will and Tanner had seemed to have finished showering and were just shutting their lockers. Dante was still lying on the bench, his shirt lying on the floor.
"Are you dead, Dante?" Lily joked mildly as she sat onto the bench near her now closed locker.
"Practically," he groaned. "I don't think I can make it to the showers. My back is on fire."
Lily glanced at his back, which did look horrible. There were splotches of black, purple, and blue on his skin, showing all the hits he'd taken. It was a bit gruesome to look at. "I have something that can fix that back in the common room," she told him as she slipped on her shoes.
Dante turned his head to look at her with a raised brow. "Really? Is it good?"
"It works," Lily assured. "But you've got to promise to shower."
"Yeah, I can smell you from here," Adrian complained as he walked back into the locker room. He kicked his locker shut and began to put on his shoes.
"Kiss my ass," Dante muttered. Then he looked back at Lily. "Ok, princess. Once we get back to the castle, you fix me, then I'll shower."
Lily grinned. "Deal."
"Scor, you're a great captain in all, but I think you killed half of us," Lars joked as the two walked out of the showers.
Scorpius smirked. "Tough. Get used to it, too. Most of our practices will be like this."
Dante groaned as he sat up and slowly pulled his shirt back on. "I'm going to head back. I'll see you there, princess," he said as he began to slowly leave the locker room.
"He got his world rocked," Lars said sympathetically.
"He did take quite a few hits," Scorpius agreed. "I was pretty surprised." He closed his locker, and slipped on his shoes. "By the way, we're having practices every day after classes, and we should finish just before dinner. Sorry that this one ran over dinner," he apologized.
"No worries," Will told him. "You can just buy us lunch on the next Hogsmeade trip."
"Let's get out of here," Adrian insisted. "I just want to go and lay down in my bed."
"Our wish is your command, Head Boy," Scorpius teased. But Adrian only rolled his eyes.
The group left the locker room and found that it had grown darker outside. Stars were beginning to show in the night sky.
"So, what is happening on the second trip to Hogsmeade?" Lars asked as he kicked a rock through the grass.
"Well, Lil here has a date," Will teased.
Adrian looked at Lily in surprise. "Really? With who?"
"Lysander Scamander," Lily told him
Adrian gave a small nod. "Well if he hurts ya just let us know. We'll beat the shit outta him for ya."
Lily rolled her eyes. "No need, but thanks for the offer."
"Anytime, Lu," he assured.
"The rest of us will probably just hang out. Unless you've got a better idea," Scorpius told Lars.
"Fuck!"
The Slytherins stopped, listening to a distant groan of pain. "What the hell was that?" Tanner whispered.
"Came from over there," Scorpius said, pointing toward the path to the Black Lake. The group made their way down the path. Once they got to the lake, they stopped and listened to the black figures near the shore.
"Let's see how well he swims!" someone joked.
"Throw him in!" another laughed.
"Get the fuck off me!" someone growled.
The Slytherins froze. "Dante," Lars whispered.
Quicker than she thought possible, Lily watched as Adrian lit his wand, shining it on the group. It was an assembly of teen boys, mostly Gryffindors, surrounding Dante, who laid on the ground in a heap. A few girls were standing a few feet away from the group, looking unsure and out of place.
"What the fuck is going on here?" Adrian demanded, a snarl in his throat.
Lily felt her blood run hot with anger as she saw James stand up straight, dropping one of Dante's legs. "What the fuck are you doing here?" James sneered.
"I'm Head Boy, Potter!" Adrian growled. "Don't fuck with me! Now what the fuck are you doing!"
James backed off a little, but he still glared. "We're just taking Dante out for a swim. Right guys?"
There was a chorus of agreements among the other guys around.
Adrian glared harder. "Really? It looks like you're all being a bunch of dicks. So fifty points will be taken from each of you," he stated.
Now there was a roar. "What! You can't do that!" Lily watched as Albus came to stand next to James.
"I'm Head Boy," Adrian repeated, a little calmer this time. "I can do that, and I did. Fifty points from each of you. Now, I recognize a few of you, and you will each receive three weeks of detention and will be banned from the next Hogsmeade trip. I will report this to the headmaster, and I'm sure he will agree."
James glared hard and marched over and stood in front of Adrian. They were the same height almost, and their eyes locked. "You're a fucking bitch. You know that right? You just can't be a man and fight for yourself," he growled.
Adrian didn't glare, but he kept their eyes locked. "Actually, I'm just not a dumb fuck like you. I don't do things that will get me caught. But if you insist." He grabbed James's collar and dragged him to the water's edge. "Then perhaps you need a swim." Then he threw James into the water.
"Hey!" an older boy confronted.
"One more step Gills and that'll be another ten points!" Adrian hissed. He looked back at the group around Dante. "Will, Lars, help Dante up. We'll take him to the Hospital Wing."
"No, I've got something that can fix him," Lily told him. "Just take him to the common room. It's quicker."
"Just get him out of here," Adrian said. "You girls run off. I get the feeling that you were just brought along for the show. Now let's get Dante out of here."
The boys ran over to pick up Dante and get him on his feet. "I'm fine," Dante groaned, but he looked anything but. His lip was now split, and his left eye was beginning to swell. The boys began to gingerly move him across the grass.
"Lily, run ahead and get whatever you have ready," Scorpius told her. "Set it up in the sixth year dorm room. If the other guys ask just tell them it's an emergency and to get out."
Lily nodded, and without a word mounted her broom and sped back to the castle. She was there much quicker with the broom. She touched down to the ground and began to run inside. The halls were practically empty, just a few kids making their way out of the Great Hall. Lily turned to the dungeons and ran down the stairs. She hurried through the halls and turns until she got to the empty expanse of wall. "Salazar," she said quickly.
The wall opened, and she quickly walked inside. Many Slytherins were sitting around the common room, talking, reading, studying, or doing homework. She could see the other third years in a corner of their own. Apparently, Lola saw her as well.
"Hey, Lily! How was practice?" she asked from across the room.
"Tell you later!" Lily said hurriedly, and she ran up to her dorm room. She grabbed a box and ran from the room, and made her way to the sixth year boys' dorm room. She barged in to see Wade Macnair and Clete Parson sitting on one of the beds, looking closely at a magazine. They both looked up at her entrance, their faces confused.
"What are you doing in here?" Wade asked.
Lily shook her head. "Not now. Which is Dante's bed?"
"That one," Clete said, pointing to the bed across from them. "What are you doing?"
Lily moved to the bed, pushed back the blankets and set the box on the bedside table. "An emergency. We're going to need some space, so Scorpius wants you two to clear out," she told them.
The two boys looked even more confused, but they both stood up. "All right. Later then, Lily Lu," Wade muttered.
Lily just nodded as she opened the box to see a large assortment of tiny jars holding different potions. She pulled out one with a light blue liquid inside, and then pulled out the stopper. Next she grabbed one that was a deep orange color and was thick inside. She took off the cap and set it on the table. She was pulling her sixth jar when the door was opened, and the boys were dragging in Dante.
"He's not looking good," Scorpius told her quickly as the boys heaved him onto his bed.
"What happened to him?" Lana exclaimed as she followed them in.
"Those guys really beat the hell out of him," Will said as he closed the door.
"Merlin knows how long he was alone with them," Lars growled.
Scorpius came to stand next to Lily. "Adrian's talking with Professor Brown now," he told her.
"Someone get his shirt off," Lily commanded.
"I'm on it," Tanner assured. He pulled out his wand. "Diffindo." The shirt tore under the spell, and Lars began to pull it off.
"Shit," Dante groaned. "Fuck my body hurts."
Lily sighed and grabbed the bottle with the thin blue liquid. "Someone prop him up with a few pillows," she commanded.
Will took a few pillows from another bed and placed them on Dante's bed, propping him into an almost sitting position. "That good?" he asked.
"Good enough," Lily told him. She held the bottle up to Dante's lips. "Dante, this will taste really gross, but you need to take a small drink." She tipped the bottle, and a bit of the liquid poured into Dante's mouth. His lips twisted into a disgusted frown.
"What the hell is that?" Lana demanded.
"Something to get rid of the swelling in his eye," Lily replied. "Now, did you guys notice anything else besides bruises and cuts?"
"He couldn't bare to put any weight on his left leg," Scorpius mentioned.
"Someone cut off that pant leg then," Lily told them. Tanner immediately went to work on getting it off while Lily picked up the thick orange potion. "Ok, Dante, you need to drink a lot of this. Don't stop until I stop the flow. Just keep drinking," Lily ordered. She put the drink to his lips, and he began to drink it. Lily could tell that he wanted to spit out, but he kept drinking.
"Oh, gross!" Tanner exclaimed.
"What happened?" Lana cried.
Lily glanced over at the leg, and saw that it was bleeding badly, externally and internally. It was almost completely bruised, and it looked a little crooked. "Oh, boy," she muttered. She looked at the bottle to see that it was half empty. She pulled the bottle up straight, and Dante pulled his head back and hacked up a cough. "Someone press something to his leg to stop the bleeding," she stated.
"Won't that irritate the bruise?" Lars questioned.
"Yes, but it's better than bleeding to death," Lily retorted. "Just do it." She began to pick through the different bottles in the box. "Scorpius, take that pale yellow liquid and make sure that he drinks all of it. With the bruise on that leg he'll need it all," she muttered.
"Got it, princess," he replied.
Lily moved around the bed to his bad leg and pulled out her wand. She moved Will's hand, which was holding a shirt sleeve over the wound, and pulled off the cloth. The cut didn't look deep, but deep enough to continue bleeding. She pulled out her wand and pointed it at the cut. "Vulnera sanentur," she murmured. Slowly, the wound began to close, the skin stitching back together. Then she moved back to the other side and looked through the box.
Scorpius set down an empty bottle. "That's all of it," he told her.
"Thank you," Lily told him. "Now, someone get him something to bite on."
"What for?" Tanner asked. She glanced up at the others in the room, and saw that they all looked worried and confused.
She sighed. "Look, I don't know how to fix bones with a wand. But I do have a potion that can easily do the trick. The thing is, it's painful. He might scream. So give him something to bite on as an alternative," she offered.
"Here's part of his shirt," Lars said hesitantly.
Lily picked up a mint green potion. "Open up, Dante."
He didn't question it, but opened his mouth. Lily put the bottle to his lips and tipped it. Dante took in a full gulp, and Lily pulled the bottle away quickly and stuffed the shirt into his mouth. No sooner than a second after the cloth was between his teeth did Dante clench his jaw and let out a muffled scream against the shirt.
"What the hell did you do?" Lana demanded.
"It'll heal the leg, but it won't be nice about, " Lily said calmly.
"But it's hurting him!" Lana argued.
"Sis!" Lars barked.
"It hurt to get the wound, and it's going to hurt to get rid of it," Lily replied just as calm. "Scorpius, can you cap all these bottles for me?"
"Sure," he muttered.
Lily began to dig through the box again and glanced at Dante. His eyes were closed tightly, his face contorted in pain. He was sweating again, and his face was turning red. "Damn," Lily muttered. She pulled out a lavender potion and set it on the other side of the table. Then she finally found a clear liquid. It looked like water. She moved over to Dante and placed a hand on his cheek to turn his head toward her. His skin was hot. "Dante, look at me." Slowly, Dante opened his eyes halfway. "Look, I'm going to pull out the cloth, and I need to you drink two more potions. They'll take the pain away, ok? Just bare with me, ok?" Dante nodded stiffly, and unclenched his jaw a little. Lily pulled the caps off of the two potions, and held up the lavender one. She took out the cloth and quickly put the potion at his lips. He quickly began to sip, his throat convulsing as he tried not to scream, but to swallowing instead. Lily pulled back the potion and set it down. She waited until he had completely swallowed it before putting the second potion to his lips. "Just a tiny bit," she assured.
Dante took a tiny sip before Lily pulled it away from him. His mouth closed and his eyes slowly began to close as well. His started to fall back onto the pillows, and his body began to relax.
"What the hell just happened?" Will asked curiously.
"I gave him something to put him to sleep. This way he won't feel any pain while his leg heals," Lily explained.
"Nice," Will complimented.
"Some of the bruises are starting to heal," Lars mentioned, watching as one of the dark bruises started to fade to a dull grey.
Lily nodded as she began to put everything back into the box. "It'll take a few hours before everything is healed, and he still might be sore tomorrow. But if he is, I might be able to help that as well," she told them.
"You ought to be a Healer, Lu," Tanner said with a dry laugh. "You handled this as calm as Pomfrey would have."
"Thanks, but I think not," Lily replied. "It's not all that interesting to me."
"Well you're very good at it," Scorpius complimented. "How do you know all of this stuff?"
"My cousin Victoire is the best Healer I know, and I talk to her a lot about her work. Plus, if you know which potions do what, it's easy to know how much of something to give and how little," she explained.
"That and you're insanely smart," Tanner added.
Lily sighed as she closed the box, trying not to roll her eyes. "Lana, could you do me a favor concerning Dante?"
"What?" Lana asked quickly.
"Can you stay with him for a while and make sure that he doesn't get a fever, and make sure that he doesn't sweat too much?" she asked.
"Of course," Lana assured. "What should I do if he does?"
"Come get me," Lily told her.
"What if he wakes up?" Lana questioned hesitantly.
"He won't wake up until morning. He drank just enough to keep him out for hours and hours," Lily told her. Then she looked at Will. "And warn the others that I'll be coming in here in the morning to check on him."
Will nodded. "You got it."
****************************
When Lily did wake up the next morning, she contemplated not getting up at all. She was sore all over, having not taken care of herself after taking care of Dante. She rolled onto her back. She couldn't believe her brothers would be that cruel. To think that they were low enough to jump a guy that was already sore and bruised. Lily got up from bed to see the other girls getting ready as well. She followed suit and got dressed into her uniform. Then she quickly checked her Felix Felicis, and then found something in her store to get rid of the sore feeling in her muscles.
"So, Lily, what happened to Dante?" Shannon asked with a worried look. "Everyone saw the other boys on the team bring him in. He looked horrible. Is he ok?"
"Yeah, why didn't they take him to the Hospital Wing?" Megan asked demanded. She had apparently wanted to follow the boys into the room to stay with her brother, but they hadn't let her.
"A group of guys jumped him after a really rough practice last night. He was already bruised and sore. There was no way he could defend himself. We brought him here because it was quicker and I had the potions to fix him up. He'll be fine," Lily assured.
"Who would attack a guy who's already in bad shape?" Izzy muttered in disgust.
Lily sighed as she moved to the door. "My brothers. Excuse me. I've got to check on Dante."
She grabbed her bag and left the room and made her way to the boys' stairs. She knocked on the door before entering, and was happy to find them all decent. Dante was sitting up on his bed. He looked relieved when she walked in.
"Finally! Lu, tell 'em I'm fine. They won't let me get off the bed," Dante complained.
"Well how do you feel?" Lily asked.
He shrugged. "I'm just a little sore, no big deal."
Lily pulled out a small vial and handed it to him. "Drink this. It should relax your muscles and take away that sore feeling."
Dante smirked as he took the vial. "You really ought to be a Healer." He knocked back the potion and then handed her the vial. "Can I get up now?"
"Just be careful with that leg," Lily warned.
Dante nodded and gingerly moved his feet off the side of the bed. And then he slowly stood up. Lily noticed that his face was grim, and then he put most of his weight onto his right side. "It still kind of hurts."
Lily sighed. "Yeah, I thought it would. Just be careful today. No running, just walking. And I think that when it comes to practice you need to be kept away from Bludgers. Your bones are still a bit fragile, so they'll break easier."
"Well how long until they're not overly breakable?" Dante asked.
Lily shrugged. "I'd say three days tops. Just take care of it, and it might not take that long," she told him as she made her way back to the door.
"All right. Thanks, Lu," Dante replied.
"No problem," she said as she left the room. She closed the door behind her and made her way down to the common room. She spotted Lola and Jace standing by the door, leaning against the stone wall. She smiled as she approached them. "Thanks for waiting."
"No problem," Jace assured.
"How's Dante?" Lola asked.
"He'll be fine," Lily told them. "He just has to be careful with his leg. It's still a little sore."
"I just hope that Adrian took care of those idiot Gryffindors," Jace muttered angrily.
"Believe me, he did," Lily replied.
"I'd say," Lola said as she stopped walking in the middle of the Entrance Hall. "Look," she said, pointing toward where the House Points were shown.
"Whoa," Jace mumbled.
"Damn," Lily muttered.
The Gryffindor house had taken a major drop in points. They had only a few gems left in their hourglass.
"They lost three hundred and fifty points last night."
The three turned to see Adrian looking at the points as well. "There were seven Gryffindors outside last night, and three Ravenclaws. We've got all of their names. They all have detentions for two weeks and are not allowed at the next Hogsmeade trip. Longbottom was furious," he explained.
"Couldn't get three weeks?" Lily asked with a laugh.
Adrian shrugged. "I tried, but Brown thought that two was enough."
"That sucks," Jace sighed.
"They deserve much more than that," Lola agreed sourly.
"They deserve to get their asses kicked," Adrian said as they began to walk to the Great Hall for breakfast. Adrian split away from the three as he moved to take a seat with a few other seventh years. The three ate breakfast, a few of the other third years later joining them, and then they made their way out of the Great Hall and started to walk to Potions class. Sadly they couldn't make it there without some kind of trouble.
"Hey, failure!"
The small group of third years kept walking, ignoring the yelling voice.
"Hey, I'm talking to you!" Someone grabbed Lily shoulder and spun her around. It was James. Her friends stopped walking to turn and glare at James and his own small group of friends. James was holding onto Lily's shoulder tightly, keeping her in front of him.
Lily kept her calm, and raised a brow. "Oh, were you talking to me? I thought you might be talking to yourself seeing as how you failed your Potion O.W.L."
James clenched his jaw. "Tell your filthy friend Flint to fuck off and restore our points!" he commanded.
Lily grinned. "Not happy with the results? How many to do you have left now? Ten points?"
"We want our points back, and we want to be allowed to Hogsmeade," James growled.
"And I wanted a pony when I was six, but I didn't get one," Lily countered. "Life's not fair, so deal with it."
"I have a date," James seethed. "So you tell Flint to fix this!"
"How about you bite me first," Lily suggested dryly.
James's gripped tightened to a bruising hold. "Listen you little bitch! I don't give a fuck about you, so if I have to hurt you to understand, then I will. Now tell Flint to fix this!"
Her friends let out a chorus of anger and surprise at his language and threat, but Lily just fixed him with a glare. "No. I really don't feel like you deserve to go to Hogsmeade just so you can sleep with a girl and then forget her name. In fact, I think that you deserve to be banned from two Hogsmeade trips. And if don't let go, I will see that it happens. Professor Slughorn likes and trusts me, and he will not be happy if he hears about what you're doing. And from what I hear, Uncle Neville is very upset with you," Lily hissed.
James kept his glare, but Lily felt his grip loosen. She shrugged his hand off of his shoulder. "You think you scare me, Potter? You're as terrifying as unicorn, and as smart as a troll. You think you can intimidate me by bringing a bunch of other sixth and seventh years as back up? Remember that I have an entire House that hates you, and each of them will have no problem jumping you in a dark corridor. So how about you back the fuck off!" Lily snarled. She was a bit surprised at her own temper and language, but she didn't regret it. Especially when James even took a step away from her, his stance becoming less threatening and more threatened.
Lily didn't wait for him to leave or say something else. She instead turned on her heel and began to continue walking toward the classroom. The others caught up and began to walk beside her.
"That was awesome!" Jace complimented.
"Nice comeback, Lil," Christian said with a grin.
"I thought he was going to piss himself," Megan said with a laugh.
"Nice job," Lola told her casually.
Lily nodded. "Thanks, but I don't think that he's done with me," she told them. "As I said, he's not smart enough to back off."
"No surprise," Shannon agreed.
"Just be careful not to get hurt. He seemed very angry, and I think he meant it when he said he'd hurt you," Lola warned.
Lily sighed as they stepped into the classroom. "Yeah, I think so too."