Lily boarded the Hogwarts Express with a bit of boredom. She was excited for the new school year, but the ride was always a bit of a snore.
"In here, Lil!" Jace called from a compartment. He grabbed her things and began to put them in the overhead compartment. Christian, Lola, and Shannon were there too. Lily was a bit surprised when she caught sight of Lola. She had finally dyed her hair a complete blonde color, so it was no longer a mix of brown and blonde. It was a good look for her in Lily's eyes.
"Hey, guys," Lily greeted. She sat next to Jace, across from the other three. "Where is Izzy? I thought she'd be with you?" she asked Jace.
"Oh, we broke up a couple of weeks ago. It was for the best," Jace told her.
"Oh. That sucks," Lily said with a sigh.
"Not really. We work better as friends," he assured.
"How are you and Lysander?" Lola teased.
"You're back with him?" Christian asked with surprise.
Lily nodded. "Yeah, we're giving it another go. How about you and Rex, Lola?"
Lola beamed happily. "Rex and I are just fine. I met his family the other day."
"How was that?" Jace asked with a laugh.
Lola shrugged. "It was nice. His brother's a prick though."
"No duh. He was like that in our first year," Christian muttered.
"Um, hey." They all turned to see Lysander stepping into the compartment.
Lily smiled broadly at his appearance. "Hey! What are you doing here?"
Lysander shrugged. "Well, I just thought I'd see if you wouldn't mind me sitting with you?" he asked politely.
Lily shook her head, stood up, grabbed his hand, and pulled him down to sit next to her on one of the seats. "No. You need to meet the others anyways. This is, Christian, Lola, Shannon, and Jace," she introduced. This was one of the problems last time. Now she just had to meet his.
Lysander smiled. "Hi. It's nice to meet you," he greeted.
"Same here. Lily says nothing but good things about you," Lola assured.
"Even after last Halloween," Jace told him. Lola kicked him in the leg. "Ow!"
Lysander chuckled, and with his free hand, he rubbed the back of his neck. "It's ok," he assured. "And same here about you guys, although she does say that and you and Jace get a bit annoying when you fight."
Jace shrugged. "Yeah, well I don't care that you dyed your hair, I'm still callin' ya dirty," he warned.
"Well at least I won't be lying when I call you big ears," Lola said with a glare.
"Children," Shannon said with a bored sigh as she reached up to her bag. "Let's be adults," she told them. She pulled something out of her bag. "You know, Lil, I think this one is my favorite."
Lily looked at her with confusion, until Shannon held out the Witch Weekly from a few months ago. On the cover she was smiling, her eye lashes batting, as she laid along the couch in the Malfoy home in Ireland. Lily smiled. "Thanks."
"You look good in all the pics you've done so far, Lil," Christian added. "My mum has subscriptions to like every magazine you could imagine, so I've seen all of them. You're like a star in my house now."
Lily laughed. "Wow. That's kind of surreal."
"My sister practically worships you now," Lola agreed.
"And my mum says that you're one of the best models that Mrs. Malfoy has had," Jace told her.
Lily didn't know how to feel about their comments. She knew that Astoria hadn't lied to her, so she was obviously pretty popular among people. But for her to be popular among her friends' families? Even the ones she hadn't met? It just felt a little . . . weird.
"Don't be embarrassed," Lysander said, as if reading her thoughts, "you look amazing in your pictures."
Lily blushed at his compliment. "I know that," she muttered quietly.
Lysander chuckled, and leaned forward to kiss the top of her head. "I'm sure you do."
******************************
Lily yawned as they waited for the Sorting to begin. Apparently Justin Warrington was the only one with a sibling coming to Hogwarts this year. They all knew what House he was going to. Lily had tried to point out that people had said that about her too.
"Oh, no!" Jace had argued. "You haven't met this kid yet. He's evil."
Lily had been a bit confused, wondering how an eleven-year-old boy could be "evil", but she hadn't pursued the topic.
"Apple, Marie!" Professor Longbottom called out, starting the list finally.
"RAVENCLAW!" the Sorting Hat announced.
The Ravenclaws cheered loudly as the tiny girl sat at their table.
"Argos, Parker." A small girl stepped up to sit on the stool. She had very long hair, and misty eyes. But it didn't look like she was going to cry. Perhaps her eyes were always like that.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
The Slytherins didn't clap at all as the lions cheered.
"Bella, Marley!"
"Great, another Gryffindor. The whole lot of them have been for years. Insufferable," Lily heard Rex muttered. She glanced at him. He was sitting next Lola, her hand in his.
"Let's go, sis!" a loud Gryffindor called out. Half of the Slytherins rolled their eyes. This girl was the average height for a girl of eleven. She had ash blonde hair with dark eyes. She didn't look as confident as her brother sounded. She sat on the stool with shaking legs.
The Hat deliberated for a long time, which seemed to surprise a lot of people, bringing about a lot of whispers and murmuring. Finally, the hat spoke.
"SLYTHERIN!"
"What?" a couple of Gryffindors yelled.
Lily, as well as all the other Slytherins, got up and cheered. But inside Lily felt sorry for that girl. Her brother was sitting next to Albus, which meant that there was a good chance that he would do to this little girl what James and Albus had done to her. Little Marley Bella looked as if she were about to cry as she made her way to sit at the Slytherin table.
Something told Lily that this girl would be much more broken up than she herself was at that age.
******************************
"This is the most perfect schedule we've ever had," Jace said with a cheery smile.
"Why do you say that?" Lola asked as she fixed her plate with breakfast foods.
"Think about it. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, right after lunch, we have History of Magic. So, in other words, after we eat, we get a nap," Jace joked.
"And on other days, we got to Defense Against the Dark Arts, practice hexes on each other, screw up occasionally, and make each other puke," Lola muttered.
Jace scoffed. "I love your pessimism. It just brightens my day."
"I love how you can hear me with those big ears when I talk quietly. Keeps me from having to repeat myself," Lola quipped.
Lily sighed as she listened to the two of them. "Look, I'm not that hungry, so I'm going to go back to the common room until it's time for class," she told them.
Lola looked at her. "You want me to come with?"
Lily shook her head. "No, stay and eat. I'll probably just read the potion book we've got this year," she told them.
"If you're sure," Jace said hesitantly.
Lily stood up and smiled at them. "See you in class," she said with a mock salute. Then she turned on her heel and headed for the Entrance Hall. She waved a few people she knew, but she didn't stop to talk to anybody. But someone stopped her.
"Hey! Lily!" a voice called out.
Lily stopped and turned around, looking for the voice that was calling her name. After a moment, she finally caught sight of a young girl running toward her. Lily didn't recognize her at all. "Um . . . , can I help you?" Lily asked hesitantly. Did the girl need help or something? She didn't look like a first year. She looked to be a little older than that.
This girl was very pretty. She had honey blonde hair, mossy green eyes, and fair skin. She was smiling, looking a little mischievous. "Hey, can I ask you for a favor?"
Lily looked at this girl in confusion. "Um, who are you?"
Instead of looking offended, the girl laughed. "Oh, sorry. I'm Liz West. I'm third year Slytherin," she explained.
Lily tried to think of when or if she'd ever seen this girl, but her face wasn't matching up with any memory. "Oh. Well, what is it?"
"Well, a few of the other girls in my year are fans of yours, and one of them wants you to autograph their copy of Witch Weekly. They're just to chicken to come over themselves," Liz told her.
Lily looked at her in utter shock. "A what?" she asked.
"An autograph. She wants you to sign this," Liz said, holding out a magazine. "Her name's Judy Harper." Lily was still shocked as she took the magazine into her own hand. Liz reached into her bag and pulled out a quill and ink. With one hand, she dipped the quill into the ink, and then held it out to Lily. Lily was still in shock as she took the quill into her own hand and began writing her name. "Never done this before, huh?" Liz asked with a grin.
Lily shook her head. "No, actually. It's kind of . . . surprising."
Liz laughed again, and began to put her things away. "You should get used to it. A lot of girls are talking about your pictures. You're really pretty."
Lily blushed a tiny bit as she handed the magazine back to her. "Thanks. So, why did your friends just approach me?"
Liz shrugged. "I told you. They're afraid. You're like an idol to them. You model, yet you're smart and you can kick ass. It's kind of inspiring. It kind of makes it hard to engage in normal conversation."
Lily laughed a little. She liked this girl. She was straightforward, no bull. "Yeah, well tell them that I'm not going to turn them away if they want to talk to me."
Liz smirked. "I'll let them know. Catch ya later, Lily Luna."
Lily gave the girl a small wave, and watched as she jogged away, joining a group of girls her age. The girls crowded around Liz, one girl taking the magazine with an elated smile. Lily shook her head, which was still trying to wrap around her apparent 'popularity' as a model, and kept walking toward the dungeons. But she didn't get far before getting stopped again.
"Hey, Lily Loser! Wait a minute!" This voice didn't sound at all nice like Liz's had.
Lily slowed to a stop. She turned her head to see four girls walking toward her. They all looked to be older than her. And she did recognize one of them. Lyla Stretton, James's reoccurring whore. So Lily guessed that these other girls were Gryffindors as well. And Lily didn't have to look around to know that they were alone in the corridor. Everyone else was at breakfast.
Lily glared at the girls with distrust. "What the hell do you want?" Lily hissed.
Lyla Stretton walked ahead of the group, moving closer to Lily. "Well, we've got a message for ya. It's from James," she drawled in a bratty tone.
Now Lily really didn't trust these girls. "I don't give a damn about whatever message he sent you to give," Lily sneered.
Lyla grinned, and it made Lily want to hurt her. "Oh, but I think this one might just interest you."
Lily scoffed. "Nothing you say could interest me."
Now Lyla scoffed. "Who said I was going to say anything?"
Before Lily could question what she meant, Lyla Stretton smacked Lily across the face. Lily's head snapped to the side, and she froze for a second. Her cheeks stung, and she swore she could feel it start to swell. And her neck stung a bit too from the force of the hit. But Lily was quick to react, and just as she did to James, she brought her foot into Lyla's side. But Lyla wasn't as big as James, and she fell to the floor with 'THUMP'. But Lily did forget that they weren't alone. One of the other girls had moved forward quickly, and had grabbed Lily's hair. She dragged her toward the ground with her grip while Lily gritted her teeth, trying to ignore the pain. She had Lily bent over, and she couldn't kick her leg now. So she reached out with her hand, grabbing the throat of the girl, and squeezing it as tightly as the girl was holding her hair. The girl began to gasp, but then Lily felt a foot stomp on her knee, effectively making it give out, and making her drop to the floor with a harsh pain. Then a hand was on the wrist of the hand that was holding the girl's neck, prying her fingers away, and pinning her arm down. She felt her head getting pulled down again harshly, smashing against the brick flooring. Lily hissed in pain. Lily kicked her foot out, and felt it hit someone. A yelp followed, proving her right.
"What the hell is going on here?" a loud, and furious voice, yelled.
The girls all turned away from Lily, and Lily was able to push them off, and was able to get a look at who had found them. Dante.
Dante stomped over to them, rage in his eyes. "I said, what the hell is going on? No! You know what I see? I see a bunch of seventh year girls attacking a single fourth year girl! What the hell are you trying to prove?"
The girls all scattered away from Lily, who was starting to stand up. But her knee hurt like a bitch, and it sucked to put weight on it. She kept her weight on the other leg. Dante hurried to help keep her up. Before anything else could be said, the other girls all ran, leaving them there and leaving the dungeons.
"I know who all of those girls are. I've got ideas for detentions for each of them," Dante growled.
Lily shook her head, hating how much it throbbed just to do that. Her head was killing her. "No, don't do anything," she told him.
Dante looked at her confused. "Lil, I'm a prefect. I can make it happen. I'll go to Slughorn, Potter won't be able to say shit," he assured.
Lily shook her head again. "First of all, help me sit down." Dante helped her limp over to the wall, and helped her sit down, leaning her back against the wall, which also hurt from hitting the bricks. "Now, I don't want them to get a detention, because that's not good enough," she explained. "If James wants to play without getting his hands dirty, and without getting caught in the middle . . . well then I can play that game too," she growled. "Those girls will wish, not only that they'd never agreed to help him, but that they had never met James Potter!"
Dante nodded, letting out a sigh as he closed his eyes. "You want some help?"
"No. I'm going to make sure that those girls know that they need to be worried," Lily murmured. "They know they won't be safe, but they will never know when it's going to come, and they will never expect it." She looked at Dante, a thought crossing her mind. "Actually, there is one way you can help me now."
Dante looked at her curiously, but she could still see the rage in his eyes. "What is it?"
"I need the names of those girls, and what year there in. And if there's anything else you know about them, then let me know," Lily told him.
"You wanna know now?" Dante asked.
Lily shook her head. "No, write it all down for me first. That way I'll always have the information with me."
Dante looked at her hesitantly. "Lily, what are you planning on doing?"
Lily grinned at him. "I don't know, Dante. But I plan on sending a message to James, and I don't plan to say a damn thing to him."
**********************
Lily walked into Charms a little late. Dante had insisted that he take Lily to the Hospital Wing, so Lily had let him. They told Madam Pomfrey that Lily had a nasty accident while getting an earlier fly in before classes. She had looked at them with suspicion, making Lily think that she didn't believe them. But she didn't question anything. Madam Pomfrey checked her over completely, so Lily told Dante to go on his way. Dante assured her that he would relay what happened to the others. Lily's cheek bruised quickly, as did the upper right of her forehead. There was a sprain in her knee, causing the pain, and her throbbing headache was due to her head hitting the ground. Her back had a couple of bruises, and her wrist had a few light ones.
Madam Pomfrey had given her a few things to heal the bruises, the sprain, and the headache. Lily drank the potion to get rid of the headache, but when Pomfrey wasn't looking, Lily drained the other two potions into the nearby plant. She didn't want her bruises to disappear. She needed them for her plan. Besides, she was going to wear them proudly.
When Lily walked into Charms, she got a lot of alarmed looks, and a lot of confused and shocked looks. She also got a smug look from Paige Wilde. Lily had given Flitwick a note before going to sit down next to Jace and Lola, and letting class continue on.
"What happened?" Lola whispered in alarm.
Lily didn't move her eyes from the professor when she answered. "I got jumped by a few of James's whores," she said calmly.
"What?" Jace hissed.
Lily nodded. "Yeah. Dante came and broke it up. I told him not to give them detentions."
"Why? They deserve it!" Lola exclaimed quietly.
Lily finally looked at them with a grin. "Because I know that I can do much more damage to them myself."
******************
At dinner, Dante approached her with a list. Lily was pleased to see names, years, and even some of their classes. And two of them had a boyfriend. Lyla Stretton, seventh year. Jessie Hooper, seventh year. Jessica Alexander, fifth year. Melanie Claverdon, sixth year, and Fiona Angel, seventh year. Perfect, Lily thought with a grin. She looked up at the Gryffindor table, trying to spot the girls. They were a bit scattered, so Lily scanned each of them, choosing her first target. Lily was a little surprised at what she saw. All of these girls looked . . . anxious, and a little scared. They kept glancing at her. But one didn't. Lyla Stretton seemed as cool and casual as if nothing had happened. Lily came to the conclusion that she had only recruited the other girls. She was the only one James's asked personally to do it. She was the ringleader. Another thought occurred to Lily. If that was true, than why should she be as harsh to the other girls?
"Dante," Lily addressed, "does Stretton have any siblings?"
Dante nodded and wrote down another name on the paper. "I'm not sure what year, but she's got a little sister in Ravenclaw."
"Perfect," Lily told him as she looked at the list again.
"Are you going to use her sister?" Lola asked.
"More or less. But most of the damage will be aimed at her," Lily assured. She pulled out a piece of paper and tore off a small piece that was big enough for her to write a name on. She wrote the name of her first victim.
"Jessica Alexander, 1."
Lily folded it into a simple bird, and enchanted it to float around the room and then over to Lyla. Then Lily quickly began eating, and avoiding the Gryffindor table. She used a casual and innocent face.
"So, what's your first move?" Jace asked.
Lily grinned. "I would hate to ruin the surprise." Then Jessica Alexander stood from her seat, Lily stood up as well. "I'll see you guys later," Lily said quickly, hurrying to move down the hall. All the while, her eyes were on Alexander. Lily slowed her pace, making sure that Jessica Alexander left the hall before Lily did. Then she quickened again, making sure she didn't lose sight of her. She followed her silently up stairs, and down halls, and around corners. Alexander led her to the library, where she stepped in and went to a shelf. She pulled out a few books, as if trying to find a certain one. Lily watched from next to one of the shelves. That's right. Jessica was a fifth year. O.W.L. year. She must be getting a head start on her studies.
Eventually, Jessica finally found the book she was apparently looking for, checked it out, and began to leave the library. Lily followed her, waiting until the appropriate location. It wasn't for a couple of minutes until Lily realized that she was being led to the Gryffindor common room.
Using her memory, Lily was sure that they were close to the common room. So Lily pulled out her wand, and pointed it at the unsuspecting back of Jessica Alexander.
"Levicorpus," Lily whispered quietly.
In a flash, Jessica was up in the air by her ankle, as if hanging by an invisible rope. Her books clattered to the floor, her bag fell from her shoulder, and her things inside clattered to the ground. An ink bottle shattered, splattering the floor and some of her things with black. And it got better. The girl's skirt fell, showing a pair of flowery panties. Lily bit her lip to keep from laughing. But in that second, Jessica yelped and screamed. Lily took off down the hallway, taking a quick turn around the corner to keep from being seen
*****************
.
Rumors flew around the school the next day, all about the embarrassing situation that Jessica had been found in. But no one knew who had done it. But Lily noticed that someone from Gryffindor was looking at her at breakfast. Lyla. But Lily ignored her, kept an innocent face, and began plotting her next move.
During her break that day, Lily found herself sitting in their common room with Scorpius. They were sitting at a table. She was doing her Transfiguration homework, and he was staring at her with a brooding look.
"So, are you going to tell me who jumped you?" Scorpius asked with a scowl.
"When you're old enough," Lily replied.
She knew instinctively that he was rolling his eyes. "How am I supposed to beat someone up if you don't tell me who?" he retorted.
"I can't see you hitting a girl," Lily mocked.
"But Lana and the other girls would do it in a heartbeat," Scorpius assured.
"I know that. But I want to show James that I can take care of myself," Lily told him.
"Ridiculous," he muttered. They became silent after that.
"Um, Lily?" Lily turned her head to see Marley Bella standing next to her. This was the first time that Marley had spoken to her.
Lily smiled gently at her. "Yeah?"
"Well, I was wondering if you would sign these two magazines for me?" Marley asked, holding out two fashion magazines. Lily's own face smiled up from the covers.
Lily smiled and took them from her. "Of course," she told her.
"Isn't one enough?" Scorpius teased, although his face was still pulled into a scowl.
"Oh, one is for my older sister. She asked me to get one for her," Marley answered. Lily didn't show it, but her mind was very confused. She knew Marley's older sister. Hannah Bella, a fourth year Gryffindor. She hated Lily . . . didn't she?
But Lily didn't question it. She just smiled and handed back the magazines. "So, how are you liking Slytherin House so far?" she asked.
Marley smiled. "I like it. It's better than I had expected."
"Now that you know we don't bite," Scorpius joked. "Despite popular belief."
Marley giggled. "Yeah. I just thought that my brother would be mad. He's never really spoken fondly of Slytherin."
"I bet not," Scorpius mumbled.
Lily stomped on his foot under the table. "You haven't talked to him yet?"
"Oh, I talked to him. Him and my other siblings. They said that it was shocking, but they accepted it. I'm still their little sister," Marley replied.
Lily felt her insides freeze. Her throat felt tight. Still their little sister?
Lily stood up quickly. "I'll be back. I have to grab something from my dorm. Excuse me," she lied quickly. Lily rushed up the stairs of the girls' hall, and ran into her empty dorm room. She slammed the door, and felt her breathing begin to constrict.
Still their little sister? What the hell was the difference between Marley and her? Why had the Bella siblings reconciled over the fact that their sister was a Slytherin, when James and Albus couldn't accept that with her? Roddy Bella was Albus's friend! What was so terrible about her that being a Slytherin had made her a terrible person at eleven?
What was wrong with her?
*************
A few days later, Lily still felt . . . pained. She wasn't hurt like she'd been when her brothers had begun to hate her, but it was a new pain. A pain at realizing that there was something about her that made her bad. Becoming a Slytherin was just the tip of the ice burg for them to hate her.
That was why, at eleven o'clock at night, Lily sat in the kitchens, swirling a spoon around in a bowl of melting ice-cream, wearing a tattered shirt, pajama shorts, and had her hair put up messily.
"I thought I'd find you here." Lily turned her head to see Scorpius walking into the kitchens. He moved to take a seat across from her.
Lily placed a spoonful of ice-cream in her mouth, letting it melt on her tongue. Then she spoke. "What are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb, Lily, it's not a good look for you," Scorpius retorted dryly. His eyes were shrewd, seeing through her. "You've been brooding and pouting ever since you heard about Roddy Bella accepting Marley."
Lily felt a pang hit her in the chest. "I'm not pouting," she mumbled.
"Call it what you want," Scorpius replied. "I call it pouting and brooding."
Lily rolled her eyes as she stabbed through her ice-cream. "What's your point?" she grumbled.
Scorpius sighed. "No point. I guess I'm just curious as to what's going through your mind."
Lily bit her tongue. Why should she unload all of this on him? Even if he was asking. So she shook her head. "Nothing."
"Bullshit!" he stated. "I'm not stupid either, Lily Luna! Now what the fuck is up?"
Lily sighed, dropping her head into her hands. "I'm pissed off!" she exclaimed. "I mean, what the hell? Marley can be the Slytherin in a Gryffindor family but I can't? Her brother is friends with Albus, and they're both complete dicks! But yet he's ok with his sister being a Slytherin? What the hell did I do wrong for me to be labeled as a bad person at eleven?" she seethed. Lily hated the feeling in her gut. Hated how . . . how hurt she felt. And she hated how her eyes were beginning to sting. She blinked away the tears.
Scorpius only looked at her for a moment, showing no sympathy or anything at all. He was just looking at her. Then he ran a hand through his green and blonde hair. He ook her bowl and pushed it away. Then he reached out and took her non-bruised wrist, and pulled it away from her face. "Lily, there's nothing wrong with you. There's just something majorly wrong with you brothers."
Lily looked away from him. "That doesn't make it hurt any less," she whispered.
"I know it doesn't. But keeping it all inside doesn't either," Scorpius replied softly.
Lily closed her eyes. "I just never want to see them again," she murmured. "I'm tired of feeling this way."
She could hear Scorpius shift in his seat. Then she heard him speak. "So what are you going to do now, princess?"
Lily sucked in a deep breath. "I'm going to finish what I started, and then I am severing all ties I have to James and Albus Potter. Hatred, anger, a longing for happiness, fond memories . . . it will all burn in the ash heap of a past I will soon forget."