Romy wasn't that bad at all, Lily discovered. Secretly, Lily scolded herself for suspecting such a nice person of some suspicious, shady doings. Lily refused to tell this to her friends because more than anything, she wanted to avoid an "I told you so".
A week passed since that night when Lily, Cassie, and Nora helped the Sanger twins in that hallway. The months had changed. The faded summer air of September changed into the crisp air of October. Students put away their short-sleeved shirts in favor of the warmth long-sleeves offered.
"It's unfair, really," Hugo said, stabbing his dinner with a fork. "That quiz was announced."
"That's why they call it a pop quiz, Hugo," Rudy said, giving his friend a smirk.
"Quiet you," Hugo said, chewing now. "I mean...mrph...honestly...why-"
"Hugo Weasley, chew with your mouth closed," Lily said, fed up with looking at her cousin's dinner.
He swallowed, "Sure thing, mother."
Lily rolled her eyes at his childish comment.
"I would like to say that I for one did fine on Flitwick's pop quiz," Rudy said with a smile. "It was the best mark I've gotten on any of his quizzes."
"Good for you," Hugo said mockingly and narrowing his eyes. "You're great at Charms. Whoop-de-doo, Rudy."
"Ignore, Hugo," Lily said, giving her cousin a glare. He could have been a little bit supportive. "I'm happy that you got a nice mark."
"I'm happy that you got a nice mark," Hugo said in a voice that was supposed to mock Lily's.
"You're just chipper today, aren't you, Hugo?" Eli asked as he sat down beside Hugo.
Lily laughed at this, "He's so happy to be alive, Eli. He's just full of happiness on this fine evening."
"I don't appreciate your tone," Hugo said, looking up from his mashed potatoes. "Where were you anyway, Eli?"
"Can't a man go to the loo without questioning?" Eli asked as he grabbed a roll from the bowl in the table's center. "I told you guys that I had to go to the bathroom when we got down here."
"That he did," Lily said, nodding. "Where were you when he said that, Hugo?"
"Sulking," Rudy answered for him.
"You three are despicable. Truly the worst."
"It happens," Eli shrugged.
The four continued eating for five minutes. The usual banter flowed. That night's topic was Hugo's poor performance in Charms. Lily was about to make a comment about it when she realized someone was missing.
"Have any of you seen Romy?" she asked after glancing up and down the benches at the Gryffindor table. "She told me she'd be down."
"She's probably with Cecily," Hugo said through a mouthful of food.
Rudy shook his head from beside Lily, "Cecily's hanging out with some Hufflepuffs."
"No, she's not," Hugo said.
"I can see her, Hugo," Rudy said, his shoulders rising to his ears. "Why are you so insufferable tonight?"
"Why are you so insufferable tonight?" Hugo said in another one of his mocking voices.
"Romy's probably off with Addie," Eli said. Lily was happy someone was actually answering her question. "Addie's probably off shouting at some random student in German, and-"
"Eli!" Lily interrupted him. "You shouldn't say that."
"You can't say it's not true," Eli said, giving her a smirk. "How many times have you heard Addie yelling in German? Better yet, how many times have you heard her say anything in a clam voice? Has she ever said a word of English?"
Lily sighed, "I guess you're right."
"What's got Nora so worried?" Hugo asked out of the blue. Lily looked to him across the table, and he pointed toward the doors.
Nora was standing in the doorway, searching through the crowd of people on her toes- she was rather short, you see. Hugo stood up and waved her over. Nora, looking relieved, ran through the crowds of hungry students.
"We have a bit of a crisis," she said, not bothering to take a seat. She looked worried.
"If by crisis, you mean a surplus of food, believe me, I am on it," Hugo said, grabbing the plate of asparagus from the center of the table.
Lily groaned, and Eli smacked his hand away from the food.
"That is not the crisis, Hugo," Nora said, shaking her head. "It's Cassie."
"What's wrong?" Lily asked, any sense of joking gone.
"She's really upset. She won't tell me what's wrong, and now, she's sitting on the front stoop of Hagrid's hut," Nora said, sounding panicky.
"Hagrid's out though, isn't he?" Eli asked.
Nora nodded a confirmation. Hagrid was out, collecting some materials for his N.E.W.T. class. Professor McGonagall had announced his absence a few nights ago, and Hagrid wasn't back yet.
"Let's head down there," Lily said before wiping her face with a napkin. She was ready to help her friend.
Rudy and Eli did the same while Hugo shoved an extra spoonful of mashed potatoes in his mouth and grabbed a cookie for the road.
"Do you have six stomachs?" Nora asked.
Lily looked at Hugo, who was staring at her as if he wanted her to answer. Lily simply nodded to Nora as Hugo swallowed the last bit of potato.
The five students headed out of the Great Hall.
"Do you have any idea what she could be upset about?" Lily asked Nora.
She shook her head, "Everything was fine until we met before dinner. I don't know what changed. I saw her right after classes ended, and she said she had to put some stuff in her common room before dinner. I waited, and she came out in tears. She said she wanted to be alone."
They walked out the doors of Hogwarts, meeting the crisp autumn air. Nora and Lily walked in the front with the boys following behind.
"Hopefully it's nothing serious," Eli said.
"Hopefully it'll take a few minutes to fix," Hugo said. "I've got to start on my Herbology essay."
Lily stopped in her tracks and turned around. Rudy nearly ran into her, "First, Hugo, that is extremely insensitive to the situation. Second, we were assigned that essay a week ago, and it's due tomorrow. You haven't started?"
"And you sound surprised," Hugo said with a laugh. "Have you met me, Lily?"
Lily rolled her eyes and turned around, vowing to ignore any stupid remarks Hugo would make for the rest of the evening, which she bet would reach into the thirties at least.
"I don't know how you've put up with him for twelve years," Nora whispered to her as they got to the steps, which led down to Hagrid's.
"I don't know either," Lily said back under her breath.
The five second years took to the stairs, and sure enough, when they got to the bottom of the hill, Cassie was there. She sat on the front step to the hut with her head tucked into her knees.
"Cassie," Nora called out when they got to the bottom.
Cassie looked up from her spot and shook her head, her dreadlocks flicking back and forth, "Nora, I want to be alone."
"Cassie, we're your friends," Lily said, walking over with Nora. The boys stood back on the steps, looking unsure. "Tell us what's wrong."
"It's stupid," she said, wiping the tears from her dark cheeks. "Thanks for the sympathy, but I'm fine."
"You've been crying, Cass," Nora said, sitting down beside her best friend. "You aren't fine."
"You want to know what's bugging me?" Cassie asked, crossing her arms. "Fine, it'll seem shallow and like a stupid thing to cry over, but if you want to know, I'll tell."
"We want to know," Lily said, sitting down beside her. The boys had joined the group, taking seats on the walk in front of the hut.
"Fine," she breathed. "This is going to sound so stupid, but they won't let me try out for the Quidditch team."
"That's it?" Hugo asked.
Before Lily could scold her cousin, Eli had elbowed his side, and Rudy had hit the back of his head. Lily was thankful that she didn't have to engage for once.
"No one graduated from the team last year, and they won't have tryouts. I know I'd be such a better player, but they refuse to have tryouts. I had a blowout with the captain, Finn Wilson, in the common room about it."
"Have you gone to Flitwick about it?" Eli asked.
She shook her head, "There's no point in it. Flitwick has nothing to do with Quidditch. The Ravenclaw team is student run."
"They've sure missed a good player then," Lily said, nodding her head. "I can't believe that."
"I hope you beat them in the upcoming match," Cassie said, a small smile on her face. "Eli, Lily, if you don't beat them, I'm not going to talk to you for a week."
"Fair enough," Eli said.
"We'll try out hardest," Lily said. This was fueling her desire to win. The fires burned brighter inside of her. They had to win now. They just had to.
"Slytherin better win against Ravenclaw, too," Cassie said, looking over to Nora. "It's all on you."
"Are you on the team, Nora?" Lily asked, her smile wide for her friend.
Nora nodded, "I'm the Slytherin Keeper this year."
"That's great," Eli said, smiling. "When did you find out? How come you didn't tell us?"
"I found out this afternoon," Nora said. Lily could tell that her friend was trying to hold back a smile because of Cassie's situation. "They put the list out after lunch."
"My friends are going to kill it out on the pitch," Cassie said with a smile, putting her arms around Lily and Nora.
"So I take it you're feeling a little better?" Nora asked, giving a small smile.
"I guess," Cassie said with a sigh, pulling her arms down. "If I can't be out on the pitch, I guess the next place I'd rather be is in the stands cheering you guys on."
They fall into a comfortable silence.
"Have you eaten yet, Cassie?" Rudy asked, breaking the quiet.
She shook her head, "I probably should go get something before they shut the place down, shouldn't I?"
"We could always go down to the kitchens if the Great Hall's closed when we get up there," Nora said. "I'm sure Hugo would love that."
"You know me well, Nora," Hugo said, standing up from his spot on the ground. "Now, let's go."
The group, now containing an extra member, got up from their seats and moved to the stone steps that led up to the castle.
"You think I'll be able to get a spot next year?" Cassie asked once they were a few steps up.
Lily opened her mouth to answer and looked over at her friend but paused. Something caught her eye in the Forbidden Forest. She stopped and squinted. A silhouette in the distance. A hooded figure. A person in the forest.
"Lily?" Hugo asked, poking her shoulder. "What's wrong?"
Lily looked up to her cousin, who stood on the step above her, and looked back to the forest. Nothing. The person was gone.
"Nothing," Lily said, shaking her head. "I thought I saw something is all."
"You okay, Lil?" Rudy asked, his face in a confused smile.
Lily nodded.
Her friends wouldn't believe her. She couldn't let them know. They'd laugh. They wouldn't believe her. No way.
-+-
And there we go! In other news, my James Potter/Lily Evans oneshot is out! I know the cover is awful, but I'm working on it. I just wanted to get it out there. Anyway, it's called "Candy Hearts". I kind of like it. It's really...fluffy? I feel like my other oneshots are a bit darker, but this is nice and lighthearted.
As always, thanks for reading! Don't forget to vote and comment if you liked it!
-aquaseahorse