Lily tried to push away the panic and nerves she felt creeping into her skin. It was almost noon, which meant that it was almost time for her to leave to Hogsmeade for the students' second trip. Which meant that it was almost time for her and Lysander's date. She was looking at herself in the mirror. She had chosen one of her own black skirts, one that she found much prettier than the uniform's. She had also picked out a pretty shirt that's color was a light purple. She had chosen to keep her hair down, but put in the color changing headband that Scorpius had given her a few years ago. Her bangs swept across her forehead and the tips stopped near her right ear.
"Hey, are you almost ready?"
Lily jumped, a little startled. She looked at the door to see Lola stepping in. Lily sighed and sat on the bed to put on her shoes. "Just my shoes," Lily told her.
"It's a bit windy, so I'd bring a jacket," Lola suggested as she grabbed her own grey jacket.
"Thanks for the tip," Lily said.
Lola sat next to Lily. "So are you excited?" she asked with an eager smile.
Lily gave a small smile. "That and a little nervous," Lily admitted.
Lola rolled her eyes. "Don't be. You look great, and Lysander likes you. Just relax. I'm sure you two will have fun," Lola assured.
Lily let out a small breath. "Yeah. You're right."
Lola smiled. "Now, come on. Let's go"
The two girls got up and left the room, pulling on their jackets as they walked. Lily looked toward Lola as she stuffed her hands into her pocket. "So, what are you doing today?" she'd failed to ask this over the past few weeks.
"The rest of us girls are going shopping at Gladrag's Wizardwear," she replied. "We've decided to ditch the boys and actually have a fun time."
Lily laughed with her. "Sorry I won't be there."
"Don't be," Lola told her. "You are going on a date with a very cute boy. I'd take your plans over mine anytime." The girls laughed again.
"Hey, Lil, dirty, wait up!"
Lola groaned, but the two girls stopped as Jace ran to catch up with them. "Hey," he greeted once he was next to them. They began to walk again, exiting the castle.
"Hey," Lily said with a smile.
"Was there a reason you stopped us?" Lola asked dryly.
Jace just shrugged. "I just decided that I wanted to walk with you and everyone's favorite girl. I'm meeting a few others at The Three Broomsticks," he told them.
Lola looked at Lily. "Where are you and Lysander meeting?"
"Honeydukes," Lily said with a small sigh. "I'm not sure where we're going after that."
"Maybe he'll take you to Madam Puttifoot's," Jace teased.
Lola thumped Jace on the shoulder, which then started an argument. Lily just ignored it. She actually sort of hoped that Lysander wouldn't take her there. She'd heard stories from her parents, and the place sounded a bit like a pink nightmare. She'd rather go anywhere but Madam Puttifoot's.
"Why can't you be smart for once?" Lola hissed at Jace, the argument breaking into Lily's head finally.
"Why can't you wash your hair?" Jace snapped back.
"You are so infuriating!" Lola exclaimed. "I'll see you later, Lily. Tell me about your date." Then Lola stomped off and away from the two, entering one of the shops.
Jace just scoffed. "Drama queen," he muttered.
Lily rolled her eyes. "You both are drama queens," she retorted.
Jace chuckled. "You make that sound like a bad thing," he joked.
Lily laughed too. Then she saw that they were coming near Honeydukes. "Later, Jace. Have fun."
Jace smiled. "Later. You have fun too, just not too much. We don't need a crying baby around," he teased.
Lily rolled her eyes again as her cheeks turned a little pink. "What an ass," she mumbled with a smile. She walked into the store and out of the light wind, and instantly her smile grew. It was hard not to smile when you looked at all the delicious sweets the store held in sight. She moved over to one of the shelves and grabbed a small bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, then grabbed Droobles Best Blowing Bubblegum. She took them to the counter and paid for them. Then she popped one of the beans into her mouth as she waited to catch sight of Lysander. She found herself lucky when she tasted cherry.
Lily felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see Lysander standing behind her. Her heart beat a little harder, and she smiled. "Hi," she greeted.
Lysander was smiling as well, his blue eyes shining. "Hi there." He glanced at the bag of beans in her hand. "Got everything you need?"
Lily giggled. "Yeah," she said as she put the bag into her jacket pocket.
"Good, because I'm going to take you somewhere." He took her hand and led her out of the shop. Lily felt her cheeks flush as he took her hand into his. They stepped out onto the street, and moved past a few kids staring through the window of Honeydukes.
"So, where are you taking me?" Lily asked as he led them past a dozen different shops.
"Well, I was told that the best place to take a great girl on a first date was Madam Puttifoot's. So I thought, why not?" he told her.
Lily felt her stomach tighten. It was just her luck. She wanted to say something, but she also didn't want to stomp on his attempt at a great date. So instead she showed him a fake smile. "Well, I've never actually been there," she said.
Lysander didn't seem to notice that the smile was fake, and he gave one of his own. "I've been in there once. A friend and I had to go look for our friend, and that's where we found him. It didn't look that bad."
Lily was hoping that he was right. "Did your friend like it?"
Lysander looked as if he was thinking. "He said that it wasn't bad. He just hates the color pink."
Lily gave a small nod. "Well, I'm not pink's biggest fan, but I don't hate it either."
"Agreed," Lysander said with a laugh. He stopped outside of a pale pink building with fogged up windows. He looked at Lily and smiled. "Here we are." He opened the door for, and she once again felt her heart stammer. She walked in, and bit back the dread she felt at the sight of the place. It was a lot pink and frills, two things that Lily wouldn't have chosen. But when Lysander pulled her over to a table in the corner, she smiled at him. "What do you think?" he asked as they sat down.
Lily glanced around the room again. Couples were at every table, talking, kissing, or whispering in the other's ear. Add in the lace and frills, and it was horrific. But when she looked back at Lysander, she shrugged. "It's not that bad."
Lysander smiled, and it made Lily smile again. "I'm glad to hear that. Stay here." He left the table, so Lily dug into her pocket and pulled out another bean. She didn't hesitate to pop it into her mouth, but after the first bite she groaned quietly at the taste of soap. She swallowed it quickly, but it didn't at all get rid of the left over taste. She was thankful when Lysander came back to the table and set down two cups, one in front of her.
Lily picked up the cup and sighed as she felt the warmth in her palm. "What is it?" she asked curiously.
"A coffee," he answered. "I remembered that you've always been more of a coffee drinker than a tea drinker."
Lily smiled at his memory. "Still am," she assured. She took a drink, happy that the delicious taste of the coffee washed away the taste of soap in her mouth. It was rich, and the liquid's heat felt good as it slid down her throat. "It's really good," she said once she'd swallowed it.
Lysander nodded as he took his own drink. "Yeah, the tea's not bad either."
Lily raised a brow. "You got a tea?"
Lysander grinned sheepishly. "I'm not a coffee fan."
Lily giggled. "I wasn't until I was seven. Then my dad let me take a drink of his one morning, and boom, I liked it."
He smiled. "The reason I don't like it was that I was never warned of how bitter it is black. Lorcan thought it would be funny to see my reaction to the taste before he told me."
Lily shook her head as she laughed. "That doesn't surprise me. How is Lorcan?"
Lysander sighed as he leaned back into his chair. "I've been trying to get his mind off of Quidditch and to get him to study for our O.W.L.s, but to no success."
"Head still full of Quaffles?" Lily joked.
Lysander chuckled. "It's gotten worse since he became Quidditch Captain."
"How is practice going for you?" Lily asked curiously.
He shrugged. "Same as always. The only difference is that Lorcan's scheduled a lot more practices than we're used to. You?"
"It's been rough, but to a bearable degree. You're sore at the end of them, but you've improved someway," Lily answered.
"What do you think your chances of beating Gryffindor are?" he asked.
Lily grinned. "We plan on crushing them. And I'm confident that I can beat Albus to the Snitch."
"I would never bet against you," Lysander replied. "You're one of the best Seekers I've ever seen."
Lily blushed a little. "Thank you. I take pride in my skills."
"You should," he told her.
Lily smiled a little. "So, how is it to be a prefect?"
He grinned. "I like it actually. The patrols can bite if you get one of the late ones, but overall it's not bad. My curfew extended, I've got a bit of authority, not to mention the Prefects' bathroom."
"I'm glad to hear that you like it."
"Yeah. And the late patrols aren't that bad even since we're given a partner to patrol with," he told her.
"Who's your partner?" Lily asked.
"Last month it was Kelly Epcot, the girl they chose for this year from my house, and this month it is Rose. But I think we're changing again that the end of the month," he mentioned.
Lily's insides tensed a little at the mention of Rose's name. She hadn't seen Rose lately, except for when she saw her with the rest of the Gryffindor team. But they hadn't said a thing to each other, not even one hateful word. It was probably one of the better relationships she had with any of her cousins that were in Gryffindor. Then a thought popped into her head. "Hey, have talked to Louis lately?" she asked.
Lysander looked thoughtful for a moment. "Um, not really. Why do you ask?"
She sighed. "Well, it's just that I haven't talked to him in awhile. Usually he comes and finds me so that we can hang out around the castle or something. But I haven't seen him all year actually."
"Hm. I actually haven't seen much of him either. Now that I think about it, it's kind of surprising. Louis's a pretty social guy, so I at least talk to him a few times by this time of the year," Lysander replied.
"I know what you mean," Lily said with a sigh. "He's never uncomfortable around people. That's something I envy."
"You get uncomfortable around people?" Lysander asked with surprise in his voice.
"Every time the adults stick me in a room with my cousins," Lily said automatically. When it came to talking about her family, her responses were almost instinctive now.
"How come you and your cousins and brothers don't get along anymore?" Lysander asked curiously.
"They're a bunch of idiotic gits," Lily muttered.
"With James that's understandable. Even I find him unbearable. And Albus is getting to be just as bad. But why not Rose, or Hugo, or Molly?" he asked.
"I've never really gotten along with Molly," Lily pointed out.
"But you and Rose used to be close. And Hugo was your best friend," Lysander retorted.
She sighed again. "When my brothers turned on me, Hugo agreed with them. And Rose doesn't actually accept my house or my friends."
"Does it bother you that you don't hang out with them anymore?" he asked gently.
Lily looked away from her cup and into his eyes. They were understanding, and his face was accepting and trusting. Lily knew that she could be honest with him . . . but . . . "Not really. I could really care less at this point."
But she lied anyways.
****************************
"Really? In the middle of the lecture?" Lysander asked as he laughed.
Lily laughed too. It was getting late, so the two were walking back to the castle. She had just told him about the time Lola and Jace had started stabbing each other with quills in the middle of Charms class after a verbal argument. "Yeah. Luckily Professor Flitwick was too busy showing someone the proper way to do a Cheering Charm," she replied.
Lysander shook his head, still laughing a little. "That's classic. It sounds like you've got your own Hermione and Ron."
Lily thought about that. About how her aunt and uncle were constantly bickering and fighting. When they were younger, Rose and Hugo often worried that they'd divorce. Yet the thought had apparently never occurred to the two adults. "I guess so. Only without the never-ending love part," she joked.
"Maybe they'll out grow it."
"But then they wouldn't be like Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron," Lily replied with a laugh.
Lysander laughed as well. "True." They grew silent as they walked past the gate and onto the path leading to the castle. The silence made her nervous. She was having so much fun, but for some reason this silence practically unhinged her.
"Lysander, what did you think when I was placed in Slytherin?" The question popped out of her mouth before she could stop it, and she immediately regretted it. Now her nerves rose even higher.
Lysander didn't look at her, but at the sky ahead of them. Lily wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. "I was kind of surprised. I mean, everyone that knew you personally expected that you would be put in Gryffindor. You fit the profile. But . . ."
"But?" Lily urged.
"Then I thought about what it takes to be a Slytherin. And you've always been ambitious. You know how to get what you want. You're always very determined, not to mention resourceful. The more I thought about it, the more I thought that perhaps Slytherin really was where you belonged," he explained. When he finished, he finally looked at her. "Why do you ask?"
Lily ignored his question. "Do you think I changed once I was placed in Slytherin?" she questioned.
Lysander shrugged as he placed his hands into his jacket pockets. "I think everyone changes a little once we're sorted into our houses. We think about what it takes to be in that house and then we focus on those traits we possess. But we're basically the same people."
"Do you think I've changed?" she inquired quickly. Now that she'd already brought around a tense air, she couldn't stop. Besides, what was wrong with knowing what he thought about her?
He looked at her carefully. "You're different from than how you were at eleven, yeah. You've grown up obviously." He paused, and Lily waited for him to continue. "So, why are you asking me this, if you don't mind my asking?"
Lily adverted her eyes away from him, so now she was the one looking at the path ahead of them. "My brothers and cousins said that I'd changed once I was put into Slytherin. I didn't think I had. I was just curious what you thought," Lily replied, giving a half truth. She didn't want to mention that she was scared of what he thought.
The two came to the castle, and they walked in without speaking. They stopped in the middle of the Entrance Hall, knowing that this would be where they'd have to part ways, Lily to the dungeons and him to one of the towers.
Lysander smiled as he looked at her. "Would you like me to walk you back to your common room?"
Lily finally smiled again, finding his gesture very sweet. "I would, but my friends already tease me about going on a date, and I know that you walking me would only fuel the fire. Besides, I'd hate to have to make you walk all the way down there just to walk all the way up to your common room," she told him.
"Are you sure? Because I don't mind," he replied.
Lily smiled softly. "I'm sure. Thank you though."
Lysander nodded, his eyes almost glowing. "All right then." He took one of his hands out of his pockets and grabbed her hand. "I had a lot of fun, Lil."
Her heart fluttered again. "So did I," she replied. "In fact, this was probably one of my better days of this month, thanks to you."
"Same here," he murmured. He closed his eyes and then sighed quietly. Then his eyes opened. "So, I'll see you around?" His eyes were hopeful.
Lily took in a nervous gulp, a little hesitant about what she was about to do. "Actually, I have a question to ask you."
He looked at her with interest. "What is it?"
Lily took in a deep breath. "Well, I don't know if you'd heard, but Slughorn is having a party on Halloween for the Slug Club."
Lysander nodded. "Yeah, I got the invite not too long ago."
Lily felt a little better knowing that he knew. "Well, since I happen to be Slughorn's absolute favorite student, I'm practically obligated to attend. But I was wondering if you would like to go with me?" Her heart hammered erratically beneath her ribs.
Lysander's face lifted, and his smile was the brightest it had been all day. "I think that I would love nothing more than to go with you."
Her nerves began to flutter off of her skin, leaving her smiling and her shoulders slumping a little as she relaxed. "Great," she said, not sure what else to really say.
Lysander chuckled, but then leaned down and, for the first time that day, finally kissed her. Her grip on his hand tightened a little as she kissed him back shyly. He pulled away, and a smile was gracing his lips. "Good night, Lily."
"Good night, Lysander."
*************************
"So did he kiss you good night?"
Lily sighed as fell back onto her bed. As soon as she'd stepped into the common room, the girls had instantly appeared and dragged her off to their dorm. They'd been asking questions about her date for at least twenty minutes now.
"Yes, he did," Lily told them. They all squealed and giggled as she rolled onto her stomach.
"That is so cute! I can't believe you two are going to Slughorn's together!" Shannon told her. "You are so lucky."
Lily raised a brow as she looked at her. "What do you mean, 'lucky'?"
Shannon returned the look. "How are you not lucky? I mean, you have a fifth year that is totally crazy about you! And he's so cute!"
"So are you two officially dating yet?" Lola asked.
Lily laid the side of her face onto her pillow. "I don't think so. No."
"Do you want to be official?" Megan asked cooly from her own bed.
Lily did her best to hide her blush. "Yeah."
"So then seal the deal at Slughorn's party. Tell him you want to be official, that you want a boyfriend. Don't be shy about it," Megan told her.
Lily closed her eyes, willing her blush to disappear. "I know that I shouldn't be, but I'm already beginning to regret asking him to the party."
"Why?" Izzy asked in shock. "I mean, you like each other. Why not take him as your date?"
"Some of my family will most likely be at the party," Lily pointed out. "I guess I'm afraid that James or Albs will interfere or try to ruin it."
"If they try, just punch them in the nose," Megan suggested.
"Or kick them where it'll matter," Lola added.
"Or just kill them," Shannon threw in. "It's not like they'll be missed."
"I think our house would throw a party," Izzy joked.
Lily smirked. "I know I would."
"So, why are we here?" Jace asked. He and Lily were in the library as Lily searched for a book on potions.
Lily rolled her eyes. "Slughorn asked me to pick up a book for our lesson later tonight. When I told you and Lola that I had something to do, you offered to go with me. That's why we're here," she explained for the fifth time.
Jace sighed as he examined the book titles. "I'm trying to remember now why I offered to come."
"So am I," Lily muttered. "Ah! Found it!" She pulled out the book and flipped through the pages quickly.
"Finally!" Jace said with relief. "Now let's get out of here. This place gives me the creeps."
"It's a library," Lily said with a roll of her eyes. She checked out the book, and the two left the library.
"It's still creepy," Jace said with a yawn.
"So, I never asked, but how was your trip to Hogsmeade?" Lily asked
Jace shrugged. "It wasn't bad. We ate a lot, caused a lot trouble, and bought a lot of sweets. Then we caused trouble for the girls."
Lily laughed and shook her head. "They're going to kill you guys one day."
Jace just grinned. "Nah, I'm a fast runner. I'd get away."
"Hey! Snakes!"
Lily and Jace both froze mid-step at the sound of the voice yelling to them. They both turned their bodies around to see Albus striding down the hall toward them. Lily's eyes narrowed with a glare as her eyes locked onto her brother. "What do you want?" she hissed.
Albus brought himself to his full height, which wasn't too impressive. He wasn't much taller than Lily was. Her head was just above his chin. But he seemed to be trying his best to look intimidating. "Why the hostility?" he mocked. "I was just going to ask where the big goons you carry around were? You gunna whistle for them since you can't fight your own battles?"
Lily sneered. "I think someone has forgotten about Paige Wilde. And I can't fight by myself? I wasn't the one hanging by my ankle while James's bang fell off," she retorted, admitting that she was the one who stopped them from chasing Scorpius.
Albus's eyes began to burn as he realized what she was talking about. "Oh yeah? But you're not hiding now. You're right in front of me," he growled.
Lily glared. "That's right, and you still don't scare me."
Albus grabbed the shoulder of her shirt. "Really? Too bad you aren't smarter, because you should be scared of me."
"If you were smarter, you'd let go of me now!" Lily growled.
"If you were smarter then you'd realize that you're a disappointment to our entire family, and you'd disappear," Albus snarled.
It was another one of those defensive instincts that she couldn't stop before it happened. Lily hadn't meant to pull back her fist and crush it into his nose. She hadn't meant to hit him hard enough to hear a disgusting crack. Albus's hand let go of her, and both hands went to his nose. Lily could see blood seeping through his fingers.
"You bitch!" Albus said through his hands as he tried to stop to blood flow.
"Stay away from!" Lily hissed. "Because next time it's not just your nose. And be careful about who you tell this story to. People would love to know that you got hit by a girl, and Mum and Dad would just love to hear why I punched you."
Lily felt a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, Lil," Jace urged. He pulled her away from Albus, and Lily began to walk with him away from the scene. He patted her on the shoulder. "Just breathe, Lil." He paused for a moment, then he smiled. "Nice hit."