Lily could barely pay attention while sitting in Potions. It was a practical day, leaving her with little to do, but she couldn't even focus when someone asked her for help. She was too preoccupied with wondering how the interviews were going. She picked up her list from the desk.
She had crossed off the names of the first years, who had done their interviews earlier this morning. She had chosen Marsh and Scott from Slytherin, and Hugo had chosen Simon Carver and Bailey Hanna. Randy had recommended Matt Stretton and Hallie McCoy, and Jaclyn had picked Klaus Aniston and Leah Barbu. Lily didn't know the other kids from the different Houses, but she had met them when leading them to Slughorn's office, where the interviews were being conducted. They all seemed nice, smart, and Klaus Aniston had been pretty witty.
But now the second years were in there. Lily was wondering how the first years had done, and what they had said. The others had assured each other that the ones the picked would definitely be on their side, but would also be great to the public image. Randy had given an example that Hallie McCoy's father and mother both worked in the higher ranks of the ministry. Her father apparently worked closely with the minister himself.
"Hey, Lily, I think I messed something up," Hunter called from his table.
Lily sighed as she moved away from the desk to help him. This was going to be a long day.
"So, we're up next?" Xavier asked during lunch. The Great Hall was buzzing with excitement, perhaps at the fact that the entire school knew about the interviews.
"After lunch," Lily confirmed. "She's talking with girls first, and then the boys."
"So, who did you choose from our House?" Megan asked. "No one dumb, right?"
Lily rolled her eyes. "No worries, Megan. I chose kids that shared our misery but will be able to talk about it in a smart way. Marsha and Scott for first years, Justin's brother John and Marley Bella from second year. Xavier's brother Alec and Monty's sister Eve as third years, Lance and Liz as fourth years. Then from sixth year I chose Tanner and Lance's sister Lisa, and Scorpius and Lana from seventh year," Lily listed.
"That's not a bad list," Lola complimented. "Have you talked to Marsha? How did hers go?"
"I haven't seen her since Hugo and I walked with the first years to the room," Lily replied. "But I did talk to Lance, and he said it went really well. And according to him, all of the other fourth years said basically the same thing."
"Hey there, guys," Hugo greeted as he came to sit with them. Immediately, he took a fork and stole a bite from Lola's plate. "So, Lil, I gotta talk to ya."
"What about?" Lily asked.
"Well, I didn't want to say anything in front of Randy, but I'm not so sure about having Robbie Ackerley being the right seventh year from Ravenclaw to do this interview," Hugo told her.
Lily raised a brow. "Really?"
"Well, I've been trying to figure out why you insisted on having him be the one to talk with Skeeter since last night. I mean, he's not the nicest guy, I know he's been prejudice against Slytherin House for a few years now," Hugo listed.
"I think he's an excellent choice," Lily retorted. "He might be on the verge of a change."
Hugo looked at her skeptically. "And why is that?"
"Well, he saved me from falling during our last match. And the Ravenclaws were all obviously angry with Slytherins after Scorpius attacked Lysander. But he still caught me. That has to mean something," Lily insisted.
Hugo scratched the back of his head. "I'm still not sure about it. I mean, he does one decent thing and he's suddenly forgiven for all he's said and done?"
Lily rolled her eyes. "I'm not saying that. But we have show kindness and tolerance even to those that have been against us in the past. Otherwise, we're not really promoting unity. The least we can do is try and be civil to each other."
He sighed. "Well, I guess you've got a point. But I think we need to be careful with that guy."
"We just need to be nice," Lily countered.
Lily sighed as she made her way down to the Great Hall for dinner. She was eager to eat and then start the JB meeting. She wanted to find out how the fifth years' interviews went. She left Divination with Hugo, since Jace hurried off with Hunter, apparently needing to "discuss" something serious. Lily didn't ask.
"So, we're finding out how the interviews when first, right?" Hugo asked.
"That was the plan. The suspense is killing me," Lily muttered.
"Ah! Lily!"
Lily and Hugo stopped on the Entrance Hall stairs to see Rita hurrying to them. Lily wasn't sure if she should be happy to see the infamous reporter yet. But she pulled out a polite smile. "Ah, Rita! Rita, this is my cousin, Hugo. Hugo, this is Rita Skeeter," Lily introduced.
Hugo held out his hand politely, and Rita took it with her usual sly grin. "Hugo? The son of Ron Weasley? The son of a famous war hero?"
Lily expected a confused or exasperated look from Hugo, but he too smiled politely. "Yes, that would be me."
"Is there something you needed, Rita?" Lily asked curiously.
Rita looked almost surprised, as if being knocked out of a thought, but then smiled again. "Yes, I want to talk to you about the interviews. Now, they all went great. But I want to talk to you about perhaps doing a few more."
"Why is that?" Lily asked.
"Well, I was hoping to talk to a few more kids that are known to the media," Rita told her.
Lily bit the inside of her cheek. She knew what Skeeter meant. Skeeter wanted to talk to more of her family. Lily had only chosen Lucy and Louis from her own family. Honestly, she had been tempted to suggest to Hugo about putting Rose on the list, but even she was skeptical about what Rose would say.
"Well, who would you suggest?" Hugo inquired.
"How about I talk to you two?" Rita suggested immediately.
Hugo and Lily looked at each other. "You mean our names would be used?" Hugo questioned.
"Well of course, dear boy," Rita said with a chuckle. "Now, don't be shy. You two would be perfect! I mean, Lily, you're very popular in the media, and young Hugo could make his break."
Hugo cleared his throat. "Well, I'm actually not very interested in being part of the media."
Lily placed a hand on his shoulder. "But we'd be delighted to do a more extensive interview with you."
Rita's grin grew. "Perfect! Come along! I had some food brought to the room. Let's do it now."
Lily followed the woman, and Hugo did so reluctantly. He raised his brow when he caught Lily's eye. "Trust Me" Lily mouthed.
Slughorn's room was as cozy as ever, and there was a large amount of food on the table. Lily led Hugo over to the couch, where they both began to eat. Rita took a smaller plate, and brought out her quill and notepad.
"So, let's begin, shall we?" Rita said. "Now, I have heard from quite a few students that, they aren't happy with the changes that Professor Heyes has made. What would you say?"
Lily cleared her throat. "Well, first of all, I don't think that it's just Professor Heyes that are making these changes. I believe that some of the governors are behind them as well."
"Really?" Rita asked.
"Well, Lily and I have been told of meetings between simply a few governors, and not all of them," Hugo told her. "We found it odd that some of them were meeting separately, and that led us to believe that they were behind the changes as well."
"Really? Some of the governors have been meeting alone?" Rita asked, her eyes alight with a new story.
Lily suppressed a grin. She was ready to give Rita a whole issue of stories. "Exactly. They were the ones that cut out our Hogsmeade visits even. And they cut down on the time where the library is open."
"Which governors, if I may ask?" Rita questioned.
"Governors Napoleon Cross, Patricia Stewart, Brady Edwards, Stanley Rock, and Marigold Brunt," Hugo told her.
"We've actually come to suspect that Marigold Brunt is actually heading their campaign to be rid of Professor Jacob Brown for good," Lily explained. "We've come to find out that it's the reason the governors have come to Hogwarts. To investigate."
"Really?"
"Now it's coming down to seeing how the school runs with a new headmaster," Hugo told her. "At the end of the year, they will apparently be holding a vote."
"You two seem very involved in this," Rita commented.
"We care about this school," Lily said easily. "And if we don't become involved, then how can we say we care?"
"All we want is for Hogwarts to be the learning institution that it has always been," Hugo agreed. "But not just a place for academics, but a place to learn about life. And that's Professor Brown did, and what those governors are trying to destroy. We just want to learn and be united as a school. Not by Houses."
Rita grinned, her eyes glinting. "I think I'm seeing two politicians in the making here."
Hugo and Lily both laughed.
"Oh no, Rita," Lily told her. "We're just two kids. We only want our school back."
"Ok, I'm not seeing any headlines about the interviews," Megan complained the next morning over breakfast.
"Skeeter had a lot of material," Lily retorted. "It might take a day or so to get it all straight and written."
"She needs to hurry," Megan muttered as she dropped her copy of The Daily Prophet.
"You can't rush the press," Christian told her. "Trust me on that one."
"So, what's our next move, Lily?" Lola asked. "I mean, we've gone to the press, which will show people outside of Hogwarts how things are going for us, you've brought your dad onto our side. What's next?"
Lily ran a hand through her hair. "Normally, I would say that we need to take a step on promoting unity to everyone outside of fifth year. But at this point, I'm out of ideas."
"And that's fine," Shannon assured. "I mean, you've done a lot already. Take a break. Focus on the group studies."
"But we do need to get others outside of our year to start unifying. I mean, in some of the younger years, it's not that bad. But with sixth and seventh? And even fourth year. If they all go about hating each other, then we're not making a big enough impact," Lily replied.
"Well then you should talk with Randy, Hugo, and Jaclyn. Get help from them. You don't have to do it alone," Izzy told her.
Lily sighed. "I could. Maybe they'll have an idea."
Lily yawned as she finally stepped back into the common room. It was just before curfew, and not far before it was time for the students' new "bed time." Lily and the others had stayed in the Room of Requirement for was felt like ever, trying to figure out a plan on how to promote House unity among the older years. So far, they were coming up blank.
"Didn't think I'd ever see you come back."
Lily whirled around to see Scorpius moving toward her. She couldn't stop the smile that crossed her lips. "Hey there, handsome," she greeted.
Scorpius smirked, but it seemed a little different. When he stopped in front of her, he reached out to brush her hair back. "I saw the others all come back over an hour ago. Long meeting?"
Lily nodded, her eyelids feeling a little heavy. "Yeah. We're trying to figure out how to get the older years to believe in House unity as well."
Scorpius sighed. "Is it necessary that you be the one to head start every project?" he groaned.
Lily looked at him with confusion. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that you have been at the forefront of every attempt for House unity or improving grades or getting rid of the governors or getting back Professor Brown. I feel like I hardly see you anymore," Scorpius commented.
"Well those things are important to me," Lily replied.
"But does that mean you have to be the one to do it all?" Scorpius retorted.
"No, but it means I need to be involved. I mean, if I do nothing, then I have no right to be upset with how things are. Nothing will change unless we do something," Lily argued.
"That still doesn't convince me that you have to do it all!" Scorpius countered.
Lily groaned. "Scorpius, I'm tired. I just want to go to bed! Can we argue later?"
Scorpius ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, fine. Just . . . go get some sleep," he muttered.
Lily felt her heart drop a little. She reached out and took his hand. "I love you," she whispered.
Scorpius glanced at her again, and then his normal smirk slowly returned. He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her lips. "I love you too. Now go sleep. You look like hell."
Lily giggled, but shoved him lightly. "Shut up!"
Scorpius squeezed her hand. "Go on. But I'm going to expect you out after curfew tomorrow," he teased. "We'll argue then."
Lily hugged him around his middle. "Not too much longer. Exams will be done with, and the governors will be gone."
"But so will I," he murmured.
Lily fought back the urge to tense up. The reminder that Scorpius would be graduating this year made Lily all the more tired. "Only for two years," she reasoned. Although, she had yet to convince even herself that two years wasn't too long.
Scorpius's arms tightened around her. "Yeah. I guess."
The next morning, Lily found herself staring down at Scorpius during breakfast. He had chosen to sit with the other seventh years. And Lily was sure it was because of the previous night.
"Trouble in paradise?" Megan guessed.
Lily sighed. "He's upset that I'm doing so much lately."
"I think he's more upset that he doesn't get to see you as often. And before you say it, Quidditch practices don't count. And you don't even go to many of those anymore because of the group," Lola stated.
"You know, that's not just my fault. The governors have also cut our time together short as well," Lily muttered.
"And all your involvement is cutting it even shorter. He's probably resenting it a little," Lola replied. "I mean, think of how much time you two used to spend together, compared to how much you spend together now."
"Well it's not just my fault," Lily insisted.
"Maybe not. But maybe you should try to include him in your plans," Lola told her.
"I don't even have a plan yet," Lily argued. "I've got nothing. The others have nothing. We're all clueless."
"Then take a break," Izzy told her. "Just stick to O.W.L. studies."
Lily sighed as she pushed her breakfast around on her plate. "I guess I could try that. But it's not easy when you've got a lot of people depending on you. Just because you guys know that it's not all on me, that doesn't mean the others in our year think that same." Lily groaned. "I know how my father felt when he was my age now. Way too much responsibility."
"Just take it easy," Shannon insisted.
"I don't know if I know how to anymore," Lily joked weakly. But when the five girls look at each other, they all began to laugh. And to Lily, it felt great
It was three days after the interviews took place that they finally came out in the paper. Jace had been the one to proudly put the paper on the table for them all to see. And Lily knew that Rita Skeeter had outdone herself. The entire front page seemed to be dedicated to the story. And the headline was the best part. "Misery and Secrets in Hogwarts: Drama Caused by Governor Conspiracy"
"That is awesome!" Xavier said with a laugh.
"It's perfect!" Shannon agreed.
"Keep reading," Lola told them. "Rita may have twisted some words and made things seem more drastic, but it's all in our favor."
"Does it mention any governor names?" Lily asked. She planned to simply read it later.
Lola scanned the article. "The ones in Brunt's collection," she told them.
Lily grinned. "Then we just may see some problems within the governors. The others may not be too happy to learn that those five have been meeting behind their backs," she commented.
"There's no way the public can still support Brunt and Heyes after this!" Jace said happily. He looked at Lily. "Think they'll kick her off the board?"
"I don't know, Jace. But that would be a great bonus," Lily replied. "But I'm not going to fight for that to happen. I just want them out of here."
"Can't argue with that," Hunter muttered. "But, uh, what do you think the governors are going to say once they see this? You know, the ones on Brunt's side."
Lily shrugged. "Don't know and I don't care."
"What if they try to give you detentions or something for this?" Monty asked.
"Based on what? They would have to point out the exact school rule I broke before I let that happen," Lily replied.
"That's why we love ya, Lil," Christian joked. "You're a clever witch."
"Hey, guys!" everyone in the Great Hall became quiet as Leighton Fawcett from Ravenclaw stood on his chair. He held up the Daily Prophet. "Read all about it! Group of school governors cheating Hogwarts. Students tell it all!"
"Mr. Fawcett!" Professor Heyes exclaimed as he stood from his seat at the staff table. A loud murmur rose up from the students as the headmaster rushed over to where Leighton was now dropping off of his chair.
Lily glanced at the others' shocked looks before looking back to the scene. Professor Heyes had a hold of the shoulder of Leighton's robes, and he was pulling Leighton out of the Great Hall.
"That guy had guts," Xavier said with a chuckle.
"Damn, dude!" Jace laughed.
"Why'd he do it?" Izzy wondered.
"How much trouble do you think he'll get in?" Lola asked.
Lily watched as Heyes finally pulled Leighton out. "Don't even think about it, Lil."
Lily looked over at Xavier, who was looking at her with a serious gaze. "What do you mean?"
"Don't even think about talking to Heyes for Fawcett. That had nothing to do with you. He did it on his own," Xavier told her.
Lily sighed. "You don't think they'll try to yell at me for that article?"
"When they choose to yell, then you can fight for us. But not now. Let Davies take care of Fawcett," Xavier replied.
"That's not really showing unity between Houses if we make Randy take care of Leighton just because he's in Ravenclaw," Lily pointed out.
"But if you go and try to, it'll just make it seem more like the fifth year group was your idea. You need to lay low. If they find out you made the group, they'll just try even harder to break it up," Xavier countered. "Let someone else do the fighting. Ok?"
Lily bit her lip as she looked back to the doors of the Great Hall, and then looked at the staff table. Each of the governors was reading the paper now. "All right," she replied. "I get the feeling I'm going to be approached soon enough anyways."
"That's looking excellent, Stacy," Lily complimented as she looked over Stacy's cauldron.
Stacy smiled. "Thanks, Lily."
Lily kept moving, checking on the progress of everyone's potions. Slughorn was grading a few essays, so she offered to take care of the class and watch over their practical lesson.
"Am I doing this right, Lil?" Connie asked as Lily came by.
Lily looked over her cauldron. "You're about two shades away from its normal color. I'd just turn the heat up a tad bit for about five minutes or so."
"Thanks," Connie said as Lily began to move away.
A knock sounded on the classroom door, and every thing seemed to freeze when Brunt stepped inside the room.
Slughorn cleared his throat. "Yes, Mrs. Brunt? What can we do for you?"
"Well, I need to steal Miss Potter from you for a moment, if I may?" Brunt stated, her tone and face polite and forced.
Lily ignored how everyone's eyes were on her, and walked toward the door, following Brunt out of the room. She shut the door behind her, and saw that Brunt was still walking. Lily followed her, but not without speaking. "Where are we going?"
"The headmaster's office," Brunt said shortly.
Lily gave a nod, and kept walking in silence. Lily could feel the tension between them, and felt it even more when they rode up the stairs to the office. But when Brunt opened the door, Lily grew suspicious. Brunt's crew and Heyes were the only ones in the room. But Lily kept her head high as she walked in.
"Please, sit, Miss Potter," Professor Heyes offered, although they all stood as well.
But Lily shook her head. "No thank you, sir. I prefer to stand. I sit all day in classrooms. It's refreshing to stand." Lily looked around at them all. "Now, what can I do for you?"
Heyes picked something up from the desk, and held it up for them all to see. Lily wasn't surprised to see that it was the front page of The Daily Prophet. "This article."
"You brought about fifty students to talk to this woman and slander us!" Patricia Stewart screeched. "And your name is in there, so you can't deny it!"
Lily reached out and took the paper from Heyes, and skimmed it all again calmly. "Well you know how Rita Skeeter can twist words around. First of all, I said 'we're just two kids' not just two teens," she said casually.
"You made us out like jackals to the media and public!" Napoleon hissed.
"Actually, I did what Mrs. Brunt wanted me to do. To talk and have an interview with Rita Skeeter. Bringing her to Hogwarts was not my idea. And when she asked for interviews, what was I supposed to say? I did the polite thing, and helped her get people to talk to. It's not my fault the entire student body feels this way," Lily replied. "So, in a way, I guess you guys made yourselves out to be jackals."
"How did you know that we'd been meeting alone, Potter?" Brunt demanded.
Lily shrugged. "I overheard about it. There are really no secrets in Hogwarts," she pointed out.
"Actions have to be taken for this article," Heyes said.
Lily looked at him with a raised brow. "For what reasons? No one has done anything wrong by taking part in that article. Why do you need to do anything?"
"You kids slandered good people's names!" Heyes retorted.
"Well, grab a rule book, and you point out the rule that bans that in Hogwarts," Lily countered. "Otherwise, you really have no reason to take any actions."
Heyes stared at her with a scowl and pursed lips. Lily looked back at him cooly and calmly. And she waited.
"Well, Miss Potter, there are actions that we can take against something else," Brunt retorted.
"We didn't bring you in here for nothing," Brady Edwards said with a cruel grin.
Lily looked back at Heyes. "Well, I'm all ears to hear your backup plan. What have you got on me?"
"Your student teaching for Potions," Heyes said as he came around to sit behind his desk. "Perhaps Professor Brown approved of it, but I do not. And since I am in control, my word overrides his. You are no longer allowed to student teach."
Lily finally let a grin show, her amusement in their play finally showing. She moved to finally take a seat in the chair across from Heyes. "I have to admit, I hadn't thought of that. Good move."
"This is not some chess game, Miss Potter," Heyes retorted.
"No, but if it was, I have the feeling that this is the moment you'd attempt to say 'check' am I right?" Lily countered.
"Miss Potter, I am serious. You will no longer be student teaching," Heyes insisted.
Lily shrugged. "Ok."
Now Heyes raised a suspicious brow. "Ok?"
"You're the boss now. Whatever you say goes, right?" Lily commented. "I'll just let Professor Slughorn know that you've changed your mind. Then he can tell the class."
"You're oddly cooperative," Heyes muttered.
"It's suspicious," Napoleon agreed.
Again, Lily shrugged. "Well there's nothing I can do. I'll just find something else to do with my free period."
"What do you mean free period? You'll be going to class," Stanley Rock wheezed.
Lily looked back at the older governor. "Actually, sir, I've already received my O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. for the subject of Potions. In other words, I've passed that class for my year. So, I would have a free period instead."
"Well you can just sit in the library and study during that time," Patricia Stewart stated.
Lily bit back a grin. "Oh, I've no need for that. Not with the study group that Professor Brown set up for us. I get all the time and help when studying I need."
"You know very well that Professor Brown did not start any such group!" Brunt screeched.
"Where's your proof of that?" Lily asked. "After all, its name The JB Study Group. It practically has his name in it. After all, he cares about us students."
"I know you're the cause of that group!" Brunt growled.
Lily gave a mock look of surprise. "Me? I'm sorry, but I had nothing to do with the idea of the group." Which in a way was true. After all, she took the idea from her father's past. She didn't make it up.
"You made it, and you lead it!" Napoleon insisted.
"You're wrong. I don't lead the group. It's all about unity. It's all about fairness. A breath of fresh air for us all," Lily replied. Again, true. Even though the other three had said they thought of her as the leader of the four of them, they led the group together. She was really just a spokesperson.
"We are always promoting unity!" Patricia argued.
"You are always trying to figure out how to discredit me," Lily argued calmly. "You know, I find it quite funny that six adults fear a fifteen-year-old girl. Really amusing, if you think about it."
"We are not afraid of you, Miss Potter," Edwards mocked. When Lily looked at him, he was looking at her with that same cruel grin. "And, I hope you don't mind if I call you that. I've heard you're not very fond of it, but it's only proper."
Lily scoffed at his attempt to annoy her. "It's fine. I've come to realize as of late that, it's just a name. The only thing I should associate it with is myself. Not my father or brothers. It doesn't really matter to me anymore." Lily looked at him and grinned. "I'd like to think I've matured and moved past childish things like that." As she turned back to Heyes, she noticed an angry glint enter Edwards's eyes.
Heyes was looking at her with a serious and grim gaze. "Miss Potter, I'm not sure I approve of your attitude and actions."
"Which actions?" Lily inquired casually. "The innocent ones that I do to fight for my school?"
"You are not your father, and this is no war!" Brunt practically yelled as she came to stand next to Heyes. "You are simply doing this to spite us!"
"Just like how you're trying to spite Jacob Brown," Lily replied simply. She looked over at Brunt. "I know what you think of him. I've heard things you've said, and I've seen things you've done. And I'm sorry, but I don't agree with how you think. Professor Brown was a great headmaster. He wasn't simply concerned with our academics, but with us as people. He wanted to make sure we were ready to go out into the world after Hogwarts. That we were prepared. And that's what Hogwarts is supposed to do for us. So when people try to take that away from us, we fight back."
"This is a school!" Brunt argued.
"Maybe to you!" Lily retorted, her passion showing in her voice. "But not to us. Hogwarts is a home for us! We learn about more than goblin rebellions here! We learn how to deal when we make mistakes, we learn how to make mistakes. We figure out how to make friends and how to avoid enemies. This may be a school to you, but to us, it's seven years of our lives!"
Heyes cleared his throat. "That's a very touching speech, Miss Potter. But it does not change the fact that Hogwarts is a school, and must be run as one."
Lily sighed and stood up. "You know, when Leighton Fawcett stood up and spoke today, I meant something to me and to others. And that was that we're not afraid to say what we think is wrong, and fight for what we believe in. If Hogwarts is a school, then it's our school. Not yours. And us students take care of what's ours." Then with a polite nod toward Heyes, Lily turned and walked from the room.