She smiled. No. Im not. I dont suppose I have to ask if youre satisfied, but Im going to bed. She picked up her blankets and trailed up the stairs to her dormitory. James followed her and plucked at her sleeve.
Um-Lily?
What?
Do you mind doing me another big favor?
Ten Galleons.
Really-That is, Ill pay you as soon as-
James Potter, you really have gone soppy over her, havent you? Depends on the favor.
Erm He looked very nervous and tongue-tied. Do you think you can get her to go to Hogsmeade with me tomorrow?
We have a Hogsmeade visit?
Been up on the board for ages. Do you think you could arrange for her to meet me in the Three Broomsticks?
Lily rolled her eyes. The things I go through. All right, fine, but youre paying for everything I decide to buy in The Three Broomsticks. Dont worry, I wont intrude on any private conversations! she added at seeing his rather horrified face. I will do my best. But now go to bed!"
The next morning, Lily cornered Serena as they were stepping into the carriages that were to convey then to Hogsmeade.
"Serena, I need to talk to you."
"Why are-Oh, fine. What about?"
"James."
Serena pulled Lily into the carriage, slammed the door, and faced Lily. "What about him? You didn't tell him, did you?"
"What-No. I didn't. But he asked to talk to me."
Serena's eyes narrowed. "Proceed."
"It was last night in the common room, and he asked me if I could manage to get you to meet him in The Three Broomsticks today. I told him I would do my best. What time do you want him to be there?"
Serena laughed gaily. "Tell him I'll be there as soon as I can get out of these musty carriages."
Lily nodded. "I've become the regular messenger girl, haven't I?"
She jumped out of the carriage door and managed to get into the one James was in before the carriages started to move.
"Well? Did you ask her?"
"Yes."
"And?"
"And what?"
"Exactly. And what?"
"You're getting better at this." Lily wrinkled her nose. "She's meeting you in that pub as soon as she can get out of 'these musty carriages'. Quote unquote."
He smiled slowly, then stared out of the window for the rest of the trip, not bothering to acknowledge her presence.
When the carriages finally stopped, Lily had to stand back as a charcoal-headed blur raced past her out of the door.
"Anxious, are we?"
She stepped down, right into a blast of cold wind. She saw James leading Serena, who was clutching her cloak around her and looking the very picture of a maiden in distress, to the entrance of The Three Broomsticks. She shook her head and vanished into the joke shop.
A few minutes later, she re-emerged with bright red cheeks and a wish for the common room fire. Not wasting an instant, she stepped into the small pub.
It was welcomingly warm inside, and she didn't waste an instant ordering a large butterbeer and stepping over to the two tables pushed together in a corner, seating Sirius, Remus, Peter, Miranda, John, and several others.
"Hi, all!"
They looked up. "Oh, hi, Lily. Join us?"
Lily shrugged. "Precisely what I came over here to do." She slipped into a chair between Sirius and Miranda. "Did I interrupt an extremely important conversation?"
Sirius shrugged. "Depends on whose point of view you're looking at this. From James' view, yes, you interrupted something as important as life and death-"
"Pain and death. As important as pain and death. Without pain, this world would have severe problems. Proceed."
"This world does have severe problems."
"There is that. But go on."
"Well, from his point of view, as I said, you should be lying dead, even though he isn't here. From ours, you came at just the right time."
"I did? Oh, good. For once-How? For what?"
John jerked his thumb over his shoulder. Lily peered around he shoulder and caught sight of a very secluded table, with two occupants.
"Well, how was I on time?"
"You acted as their messenger girl, didn't you?"
"What do you mean?"
Nigel sighed. "You gave them their little messages for each other and got them here together, didn't you?"
"Well, yeah. So?"
"That was stupid."
"Sirius, shut up. How?"
Remus frowned, Nigel played with his nails, and Sirius sat there, pretending he had no idea of what was going on and why he was sitting at a table with absolute lunatics.
"How?"
Miranda scowled in James' general direction. "They're planning on ditching you as soon as possible."
"What-How-When and where?"
Jacqueline de Fort, the reserve Gryffindor Beater, patted Lily on the shoulder.
"Lily, it's not your fault, they're just a bunch of airheads. We just overheard them talking, and what they were saying basically amounts to this; 'She's done what we needed done, now we get rid of her.'"
Lily's eyes were open and wide, hurt and stunned. "So what you're trying to say is that they used me?"
Sirius flinched. "Yeah, pretty much."
He stooped down to glance at her face, which had drooped down to meet the front of her robes. "Are you all right?"
She snapped back up. "Couldn't be better."
"Really?"
"Truly. I'm all right. Need to be alone for a minute, though. Excuse me." She stepped away from the table, knocking her chair over, and walked out without bothering to pick it up.
Sirius and Remus looked terribly worried. "Do you think she's all right?"
Nigel shook his head. "She should be. We didn't tell her the other half."
"Other half of what?"
"You remember what Serena hinted. They're going to try to turn the whole darn school against her when they make her wand slip and make one of the Quidditch players fall off of his broom at the next match."
"Oh, that. It better not be me!"
"John, it's going to be one of us. Me, Nigel, Anya, or Ashley."
"What about Joseph?"
"Are you kidding? The whole darned school'd applaud if she knocked him into the mud!"
Outside, a moody redhead was ambling down the lane, bumping into people and staring blankly at their "Excuse you!"'s. She had no expression whatsoever on her face, unless you counted, well, nothing. Which no one really did.
She made her way up to the Shrieking Shack, where she leaned on the top rail of the fence and stared dreamily out into space, jumping about a mile when she felt a touch on the shoulder.
"Lily?"
"Serverus-oh, hello." She turned back to wind-watching.
"Lily, are you all right? You left The Three Broomsticks in a sort of-well, twisted way. Like you were going to commit suicide is what your face looked like. Are you all right?"
Lily sighed and turned to her friend. "Serverus, I don't know what I did wrong."
"Neither do I. But then, I'm not sure of all the facts."
"Mmm."
"That was a not-so-subtle hint. You still haven't answered my question."
"Oh-I-"-Lily broke down. For the first time in weeks, her eyes started to fill with tears. Half blinded, she flung her arms around Serverus' neck, hanging onto him as if he were her lifeline. Very stunned and antsy, he patted her back a bit.
Lily regained control of herself fairly quickly. She pulled away, wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry. I just needed a hug. Badly." Leaning onto the rail again, she clutched it so hard her knuckles started to turn white and Serverus had to detach them from the fence.
"Lily, you're gonna break the wood if you keep that up. Come on." He took her arm and led her back down the lane.
"Where're we going?"
"I'm taking you back. If you stay in Hogsmeade, you're very likely going to run into Potter, and right now I have a feeling that isn't going to go over so well."
"Back where?"
"They have a new study corner in the library, with couches and a fire. We can talk there."
Gratefully, Lily re-dried her eyes. "Serverus, thanks so much."
"For what?"
"I'm not sure. Everything."
They reached Hogwarts shortly afterwards, and Serverus took Lily straight to the library. He pulled her down onto one of the couches and sat down himself.
"Lily, tell me. Trust me, you'll feel a lot better once you get all of this out."
"All right." Lily was hiccuping softly and shaking a bit, but she tried her best to sit up straight and keep her face dry. Managing to stay somewhat in control of herself, she related the whole story to Serverus, hardly stopping for breath. At the end of her narrative, she shuddered, then leaned against his shoulder, he with a drawn and pinched countenance.
"Lily, I'm so sorry this had to happen to you."
"Don't be sorry. I was stupid."
"You weren't. It wasn't your fault, and don't you dare blame yourself for it."
"Yes, sir."
"Are you sick?"
"No. Overly depressed and hurt and dehydrated and weak and wobbly and tired, yes. Sick, no."
He searched her face, looking for something he didn't find. Then, with a sigh, he heaved himself up off of the sofa.
"C'mon. I'm taking you to Gryffindor Tower."
"You know where it is?"
"I have the general direction down. Yes."
"All right." Lily wiped her eyes one last time and submitted to being pulled gently out of the library. Two corridors away, Lily stopped.
"It's probably best you stop here. I know for a fact you're not allowed inside the common room." She turned away, but Serverus pulled her back.
"Lily, a word of advice. James can convert people pretty quickly into thinking what he does, and I'd not stay in the common room if I were you. Go to your old dormitory. I mean-that is-if you want to. Please don't think I'm trying to order you around. I'm not."
Lily half-smiled. "I didn't think so. Thank you so much. I-I don't know anyone else here at Hogwarts that has been a better friend to me than you. This year," she added. "I don't mean to sound all mushy, but you're the best friend I think I've ever had. Thank you." Her expression was sincere, and Serverus had no doubt that she meant what she said. Though it did take him quite a bit off his guard.
"Er-you're welcome. I didn't do anything, though, did I?"
Pushing her hair behind her ears, Lily grinned. "You did much more than you think you did." She rounded the corner, feeling more secure and loved than she had in days. Not love-loved, she told herself, pushing open the portrait door, just friend-loved. And with what she had been through, that was the only kind that mattered.
She didn't take Serverus' advice on one point; she headed for the fire in the common room. It was empty, as was most of the school except for a few second, first, and seventh years, who hadn't gone to Hogsmeade. Amanda was sitting by the fire with Eva, both of them immersed in a chess game.
"Amanda. Eva. Hi."
They looked up. "Oh, hi, Lily. Not going to Hogsmeade?"
"I've already been."
"Already been? You couldn't have spent three hours there!"
Eva shushed Amanda with a movement of her hand. "'Manda, something's wrong. Lily, what happened?"
Lily sighed. Eva was right, there was something wrong, but she didn't know if it was best to tell her what had happened.
"Nothing."
"Liar. Lily, I know you too well. What's wrong?"
"I'm not telling anything this afternoon. Not today."
Eva looked worried. "Are you sure? You might feel a lot better."
"I've already told someone. I do feel better, but now I think that telling anyone else might bring everything back that I'm trying to forget."
"Well, can we go to that someone?"
Lily slowly nodded. "I don't think I'd mind. Yes. Go ahead."
"Well, who did you go to?"
"Serverus."
"Snape? You went to him, of all people? Why not to someone nicer or-well, more understanding, or at least friendlier. Why go to that overgrown bat?"
Lily's eyes flashed dangerously, and Amanda shrank back. "He's my friend, and I have a right to go to whomever I wish to go to for consolation. I'm going to bed." With that, she pushed herself off of her chair and stalked up the dormitory stairs, not so much angry as terribly tired. She didn't heed the calling of her old school friend behind her.
"To bed? Lily, it's not even three yet!"
She woke from her nap around six, and she found the dormitory empty. Shaking her hair away from her face, she slipped into her shoes and made for the Great Hall, where the rest of the school would be eating. The common room was empty, and she headed out of the portrait door as fast as she could.
Lily entered the Great Hall and stepped towards her usual seat for the past month; the one she had held at the beginning of last year, though Sirius was shooting warning glances at her not to come any closer. She therefore wasn't surprised to find Serena in her seat and Diana and Elspeth where Eva and Miranda usually sat.
"Hi! Any room left for me?"
James looked her up and down coldly. "No." He turned back to his food.
Lily pressed her lips together. "Well then. Someone's in a bad mood. What happened?"
He didn't pay her any mind, not even turning to look at her. Serena did, however.
"What are you doing here?"
"I might ask you that same question. You're in my seat."
"It's mine now. I got here first."
"You did. So?"
"So this is going to be my seat from now on. Go to your little second-year friends, and leave us alone."
Lily raised her eyebrows. "You're being a regular little fanged serpent."
"Yeah, well, you're being a rampaging cow. You're not wanted here, so leave, why don't you?"
"Because I'm already here, and because I don't feel like leaving just yet. I used to be wanted, or at least accepted, so what happened?"
"You don't deserve to be accepted among us."
"I used to be. James used to beg me to deliver messages to you. And vice versa."
"Exactly. Used to be. That was when you were useful."
James didn't look up. "You tell her, Serena."
Sirius frowned, but his comment was drowned out by Serena's spiteful remarks.
"You're not useful any more; you're a regular little Orc. Go somewhere else and amuse yourself with your rabble."
"Why should I?"
"Because I said so, that's why. Leave us in peace."
Lily shrugged. "I don't mind. I'd rather sit among a herd of asps than here with you. Goodbye. I go now to my rabble." She whirled, leaving Sirius and Remus behind with very relieved expressions.
Later that night as she sat playing checkers with Sirius, the portrait opened and James and Serena climbed in, both of them smiling and chattering excitedly. They stopped, however, once they got within three feet of Sirius and Lily.
"Sirius, what're you doing with her?"
Lily pushed Sirius back into his chair and faced James squarely. "He's playing checkers. Anything else you want to ask?"
"Yeah, what're you doing with one of my friends?"
"Playing checkers with him. I thought that was obvious."
"Watch your mouth, Evans."
"I can't. Not unless I stand in front of a mirror all day long, and I don't plan to do that."
"You're getting too uppity, and I suggest you shut up while you're ahead."
"Oh, I'm ahead? Thanks for admitting that."
"Admitting what?"
"That Im beating you at retorts."
Serena pulled gently at James' arm. "James, you promised me you'd help me with my Defense Against the Dark Arts homework." Her musical tones made James turn away.
"Oh, right, I did. Come on."
Lily watched them go, with an expression Sirius was rather relieved to see. Disgust.
Over the next few days, Lily, to the relief of her friends, was seemingly untouched by the treachery of someone she had thought to be her friend. Serena everyone knew she didn't care about, so they didn't trouble themselves about her., and neither did Lily. But James was out of favor with half of the Gryffindors; the rest just didn't care. But out of those that did, he was quite the image of a traitorous worm, and they were all looking forward to the inevitable quarrel all couples had, sooner or later. To everyone's surprise, though, they showed no signs of quarreling at all, not even a friendly spat after two weeks, and the next Quidditch match was drawing near.
James was practicing almost nonstop, and Lily was attending every one of the Slytherin team practices. She was getting very good at fixing small injuries, which Edgar Hatcher was getting even better at inflicting. The team was considering looking for a new Seeker very seriously.
It was the morning before the Quidditch match; a Saturday, and breakfast time. Tired and stiff, wiping sleep out of her eyes, Lily walked down to the Great Hall, where the mail was being delivered. Sliding into her seat between Miranda and Eva, both extremely excited, she had to jump back as quite a thick letter splashed into the milk jug in front of her.
Eva drew back instantly, as did Miranda. Neither of them wanted to touch the envelope, which was bright red. Lily couldn't see anything wrong with it, so she was a bit surprised at her friends' reactions. She fished it out a bit tentatively and held it by one corner, waiting for something to happen. The next moment, something did, shaking the dust off of the walls and bright sky-blue ceiling.
A screaming voice burst out of the scarlet envelope, and Lily immediately understood why Eva and Amanda had stuffed their fingers in their ears. Ringing in her own was a voice she remembered from her first visit to Diagon Alley and last Christmas. Sheila. And, from the sound of things, she wasnt too happy.
Evans, you and me are taking this one outside! You've ruined practically all-
Lily had had enough. Whipping out her wand, she pointed it at the Howler.
"Percuquo!"
The whole of the Great Hall watched in astonishment as burning remnants of the Howler fell onto the floor and the voice faded away. Lily shot a triumphant glance over to the Ravenclaw table and slipped back into her seat, under the scrutiny of the whole school.
She was the first to leave the Hall after breakfast, thinking to herself that if she hated this attention, she'd hate even more being a sort of political ruler.
Quiet and withdrawn, she dressed for the Quidditch game (Gryffindor against Slytherin) afterwards, purposely pulling out the dark green cloak trimmed with black that she'd worn last winter for the snowball fight. It would come in handy, too, she thought, as there was a strong wind blowing outside. Stepping out of the dormitory and ignoring the amazed stares of the scarlet-clad Gryffindors, she met Severus down in the entrance hall, quite as planned.
"Lily! Well, there's no doubt who you're rooting for. You're honestly willing to go through with this?"
"I'm wearing a cloak. So what?"
"Soyou're going against your House."
"If that's the way that works, I'd be going against them all the time unless I changed my eye color. I'm wearing the warmest thing I have, and I'm going to need it. Are we going?"
"Sure. Slytherin team's already in the locker room. Come on."
They set off across the grounds. But halfway to the Quidditch stadium, they were pulled up short by an explosion of magenta and blue sparks in front of them.
A voice echoed across the grounds, obviously not too happy.
"Snape, you can go. I need a word with Evans."
Sheila came walking across the lawn, taking her precious time.
"Evans, what did you do that for?"
"Do what? Put out your Howler? I didn't want to get my eardrums blasted out. I thought that was obvious."
"No. You know very well what I mean. It has to do with James and Sikora."
"Oh-getting them together? You have my word that I regret that as much as I regret ever being his friend."
Sheila's eyes narrowed, and Lily fully expected her to sprout a forked tongue and start slithering on the ground. "Do you know how much that hurt me?"
"To be honest, no."
"I need to speak to you. Alone." She eyes Serverus meaningly, and Lily sighed, but nodded.
"Serverus, that was a hint. I'll see you at the Quidditch match." She set off with Sheila towards the Forbidden Forest.
"Well? What did I do this time?"
"You don't know, do you?"
"No. I wish I didn't have to find out, either."
"Well, you're going to. Did you know, before you came into the picture, James and I were totally happy?"
"No."
"Well, now you do. That even continued up to the beginning of second year. Then something else happened."
"Let me guess. Serena?"
"He never showed any interest in her. Never. Even though she tried; I could see that. Then she started picking fights with you, and he immediately rallied to her."
"Oh, good."
"Oh, good what?"
"Finally, someone who doesn't believe that I beat the insides out of her."
"Of course you didn't. You have more sense than that."
"Erm-thank you?"
"Hum. Still, he was still normal around me, and then he begged you to do something. Probably find out what she thought about him."
"For someone who can't come inside our common room, your guesses are pretty darn good."
"I'm a jealous woman. We're usually right. But, anyway, when he got her answer, the first thing he did was come right to me. Three guesses as to what he said."
"You're not wanted any longer, go away and be happy that at one point in time you were favored by the Ultimate Conqueror?"
Sheila was stunned. "You're good. Did you hear him say that?"
"No. I guessed. I know him, and that's the kind of thing he'd say."
"Well, that about sums his speech up. It was really mean, and the last thing he was was gentle."
"I can imagine."
"Evans, stop it! You're making all this much worse!"
"Look-Im sorry. I didn't know he'd do this to you or to me, come to that, once he'd gotten what he wanted. I really am sorry." She tentatively patted a crying Sheila on the back.
"If it helps, my old math teacher had a favorite saying. Boys are like lava lamps; pretty to look at but not very bright."
That sobered Sheila up a bit. Wiping her eyes, she stood back and glared at Lily.
"Maybe he couldn't help what he did. I don't think he could help it. But you could, Evans. From now on, this is war."
Lily pressed her lips together. "Well then. What did I do that time?"
"I should think you'd have the courtesy not to ask." With which parting shot, she stalked over to the Quidditch stadium, filled with scarlet and green blurs and yells.
"Well, then, that wasn't exactly the best interview, was it?"
Serverus had stepped out from behind a tree.
Lily sighed. "You did give me a turn. No, it didn't go very well. I still would like to know, though, what on earth made her hate me. I did hardly anything."
Serverus shrugged. "I don't know. I don't want to much, either, but I suppose it doesn't matter. You coming to the match?"
Lily shrugged. "I might as well. Come on."
They jogged over to the stadium, where Lily took her place between Serverus and Malfoy, who were seated in one of the Slytherin tents. The Slytherin team was ahead, ninety to sixty; the Ravenclaw sixth year was commentating again; though Professor Zimmermann was watching him this time.
"And there goes Stephen Gregson, flying up the field thereQuaffle in handdrop it! Drop it, drop-Professor, I wasn't serious!-but there goes Miranda Shaw of Gryffindor, tailing him closely-knock him off his broom, Miranda-oh, good, and there's the Quaffle in her hands, flying towards Gryffindor goal posts-goes to Potter-Thomas-Potter-back to Shaw-and GRYFFINDOR SCORES!-well done indeed!-very nice-oh, and Clive Allen of Slytherin has the Quaffle, flying-oh, dodges Thomas, loops around Miranda, does another loopy thing-hey, Allen, you want to do ballet, the Quidditch field is the WRONG place for that-Professor, it was a joke-harmless little joke-jokes never did anyone any harm, I mean, come on, it wasn't that bad of a-"
"Cooper!"
"Oh, right, right, sorry. Anyway, Allen blasting up the field there, does a clumsy loop around Potter, who's obviously too much for him-so he resorts to hitting himself in the eyes with James' elbow-hey no fair! Slytherin penalty. All right, Slytherin Chaser Frank Crichlow heading up the field there, lousy flyer, anyway, aimes, throws-and-Nigel, come on! All right, one ten to SlytherinPotter has the Quaffle, flying up the field there-does a nice loop around Alton there, and Potter-oh, damn-that was darn, Professor, that was darn! Anyway. Slytherin Keeper Cathryn Clarik pulls off a very good save there, even if I do say so myself, and Potter in possession of the Quaffle again-whoa, wait! That did look very much like the Snitch to me, and it does to Hatcher and MacGregor, hurtling towards that small golden"
Lily, watching the two Seekers fly towards the Snitch, suddenly felt herself go limp. Her mind was wiped as if with a sponge, and only dimly could she hear herself shouting something and raising her wand, which she'd forgotten that she had.
The whole stadium had gone quiet as James' broom fell out from underneath him, and as he fell downwards, towards the two Seekers. They hadn't noticed him falling, and he crashed into Hatcher's broom, making him veer off course. Anya, free of a pursuer, caught the Snitch quickly, rising up into the stadium to cheering; halfhearted cheering.
Hatcher and James were on the ground, James unconscious. The whole of Gryffindor Tower and half of the rest of the school swarmed down towards the field, and the Slytherin students were looking up at the tent with curiosity, anger, amusement, and puzzlement in their eyes. Lily came back to consciousness, but only for a little while, then she drooped and fell backwards, and everything went black.
She woke up moments later, with Serverus and Lucius slapping her face. Lily stood up and shrank away, frightened.
"What-what happened?"
Lucius' eyes narrowed a bit, mostly from puzzlement. "I have no idea. You were sitting there, and then, out of nowhere, you raised your wand, shouted something, and Potter fell off of his broom."
Lily's eyes opened wide. "I-I did? But-I don't remember doing anything of the sort! You're lying, aren't you?" She was almost pleading.
Serverus shook his head. "He's not. You honestly don't remember anything?"
"No. Nothing. Except that I couldn't feel anything, and I was sort of dreaming. Like nothing could ever hurt me, and like I was a sort of ghost. Or like I was dreaming. Nothing else."
Her legs, which had supported her this far, gave way and she sank down. Serverus immediately ran towards her.
"Lily! Are you all right?"
"No. I feel deathly tired."
"Besides that, are you all right?"
"Sure. Sure, fine. Help me up, please. I don't want to face the school, even if I didn't do this."
Lucius nodded. "Smart girl. Let's go." They were sneaking out of the tent, and as they rounded the lake, Lucius pulled at Serverus' sleeve. Lily didn't hear; she was unconscious again.
"Do you know what caused this? I believe her when she said she didn't do it."
"So do I. It was a combination of things, but one of them I can name."
"What-which one?"
"Unforgivable. The Imperious Curse."
They were dragging her to the hospital wing; the best place they could think of, as Lily was continually fainting and growing white, when they ran into Professor McGonagall.
"Ah. Mr. Snape and Mr. Malfoy. Professor Dumbledore wishes to see Miss Evans. Please escort her there."
Serverus pulled Lily back up. "Professor, we have to get her to the hospital wing! Look at her!"
Professor McGonagall shook her head. "I am under instructions to take her to the Headmaster immediately." She swooshed down the hallway, leaving Serverus and Lucius no choice but to follow her.
They stopped in front of the statue of quite a disturbingly ugly goblin. Professor McGonagall cleared her throat.
"Fudge Fly." The statue sprang to life and jumped aside, revealing a doorway. They went inside, stepping onto a winding stair that lifted them to the top of the tower.
Serverus helped Lily into a chair, then, under Professor McGonagall's supervision, he was shooed out, leaving Lily alone with the headmaster.
He pointed his wand at her. "Ennervate!" Lily slowly raised her head, glancing about her surroundings, her glance finally landing on Professor Dumbledore.
"I have been informed that you have tried to throw a Quidditch player from his broom. Have you any idea where such an accusation came from?"
The whole darned school. "No, sir."
"Is there any truth in this accusation?"
"That depends, sir."
"Depends on what? Is this a confession?"
"It depends on the point of view of the person perceiving the happenings."
"From your point of view, what occurred?"
I had no point of view. I remember nothing. "I am not entirely sure, sir."
"I was also informed that you may have used one of the Unforgivable Curses. What do you have to say to that accusation?"
What the he-who the heck came up with something like that? "Nothing, sir."
"You do realize that expulsion is the punishment for the use of one of the Unforgivable Curses, do you not?"
Someone had way too much time on their hands if they're able to think up all of this stuff. "I am entirely aware of that, sir."
"So you are refusing to tell me anything at all?"
Lily wanted dearly to laugh; a mad impulse coming over her, but she restrained herself. "That would be my assumption, sir."
He nodded slowly. "I cannot convict you of such a charge without evidence, and at this point I have none. Although,"-here his eyes twinkled a bit-"let me assure you that, even though I am not supposed to be prejudiced, that I believe I know you too well to think of you doing something like this. Miss Evans, please answer me honestly. Are you enjoying your schooling here?"
Schooling, yeah, environment-heck no. "I am learning much, sir."
"Please give me a real answer, Miss Evans. You are not very much attached to your schoolmates?"
The amount you know about my life here is frightening. "I have several very good friends, sir."
He sighed. "Miss Evans, please go to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey is in there." He waved her out, and she left the room, falling into another faint as soon as she closed the door.
It was lucky that Serverus and Lucius were outside the door waiting for her, because they were the ones that got her to the hospital wing, since Professor McGonagall was gone.
For the next few days, Lily remained there, hovering between sleep and faint, not eating, not drinking anything but the potions Madam Pomfrey had to force-feed her with. Every time she fell into sleep or a faint, she saw great, looming, scarlet snake-shaped eyes in front of her, advancing, advancing. She'd always wake up in a cold sweat, only to find the other people in the hospital wing awake and cursing, for she had been screaming in her sleep.
It was only on the fourth day of her confinement that Madam Pomfrey revealed to her that she had an extremely rare reaction to the Imperious Curse. She either would stay in her present state for about a week or so or it would never affect her again, which, the nurse drearily added, was hopefully never to be seen.
At the end of eight days, she was permitted to return to her dormitory, though she was excused from classes, as she kept losing consciousness. Back in her dormitory, the only friendly thing she found there was Abigail; Elspeth and Diana weren't even looking at her. Lily suspected correctly that the Quidditch match story had been embroidered so much, it could have made the mantle of Marie Antoinette.
Everywhere she went, people were drawing against the walls, and even Amanda and Vanessa were growing a bit twitchy around her. Sirius, Remus, and the Quidditch team always went mysteriously quiet every time she entered a room they were in, Serverus and Malfoy were being terribly overprotective, following her to classes and to meals, the nervous part of the school was avoiding her anxiously, and the rest, led by Serena, were just plain out nasty.
Eva was the only one who hadn't changed at all. She never raised her brow so much as an inch if the talk turned to Quidditch or famous games, and she never purposely tried to avoid the subject. She never glanced nervously at Lily's wand or spoke with a tremor in her voice. It was almost as if she never knew the whole episode had happened, and Lily was thankful for that.
It was drawing close to the Christmas holidays, and, by request of Professor Dumbledore, Lily was staying at Hogwarts, as she kept blacking out about once every four days or so. Most of the school had left, and Lily wasn't surprised, one morning, to wake up and find Abigail and Diana gone, the Tower quiet, and no mobbed chessboards in the common room. It was a wonderful relief.
She sank into one of the armchairs, watching Eva and Vanessa play Exploding Snap.
"Lily! It's nine-thirty!"
Lily sighed. "I know. I was dead tired."
Eva smiled. "Well, now you have a chance to sleep. Want to play?"
"Sure." Lily sank onto the rug in front of the fire, lazily watching Eva deal.
"So, do you know who's staying over the holidays?"
Vanessa nodded. "Most of them. I think-well, I know Serena and Elspeth are. Heather and Anne-those twins in our dorm who haven't broken the window yet with their snoring-yet-well, they leftso did Amandalet's seewe have Cora Swinstead and Agatha Knight-they're seventh years-well, they're staying-so're Lucius and Serverus-but you knew that. The Longbottom kid's staying, and so are Sheila and her group. It can't be helped," she added as Lily audibly slumped onto the floor. "Well-Sirius and Remus are here, and-*"
"Sirius' staying?"
"You didn't know that? He is. And so is the whole Gryffindor Quidditch team."
Lily's small smile fell down several stories into the kitchens and into a bowl for used dishes, splashing several house-elves with hot water.
"James too, I suppose that means?"
"Unless he dropped out-and you know him-he'd never do that."
"Wish I didn't know him."
Eva stood up, moved towards Lily, and put an arm around her shoulders. "Lily, don't you think you two were happier when you were friends?" She was gentle, but Lily still snapped away.
"Even if we were, this can't be fixed. Not anymore. Not after Sikora came in and I got put under the Imperious Curse. Which no one believes but you two."
Eva and Vanessa looked at each other as if to say, "You know, she's right." She was, too.
They eventually got back to Exploding Snap. Lily didn't need to go down to the Great Hall for breakfast, as Eva had swiped a dozen scones, quite a bit of bacon, and a jar of marmalade. Vanessa went back down to get a pitcher of milk, and as soon as the portrait door closed behind her, James and Sirius came romping down the boys' dormitory stairs., James terribly wet and Sirius terribly amused.
"That was not funny."
"For Pete's sake, James, can't you take a joke?"
"No-yes-no-oh, shut up."
"It's not my fault. You set it off; I just installed it."
"How was I to know that the way to get ice-cold water dumped over your head was to sit up in bed?"
"Never sit up in bed. Nasty habit. I never do."
James snorted, wringing out his pajamas and dumping about three-fourths of a cup all over the carpeting. Lily shook her head.
"Don't snort. If you make a habit of that, you'll start doing that at the table. Nasty thing, milk, when it comes out of one's nose."
James raised his eyebrows. "And how would you know?"
"Experience. That is, making one's sister laugh when she is drinking fizzy things. But milk is best."
He frowned. "Evans, you're going to be hanged before you're eighteen."
"Mmm. Witch-hanging days are over. I should think that by now you would have slowly eased into that perception, especially as you never lived during those friendly ages."
"Friendly?"
"Oh, of course. Of course, it depends on your point of view. If you're perceiving someone being burnt at the stake, it is always nice to have that fire there to warm one's hands. If, on the other hand, you're tied to the stake, you have lots of fun with the Flame Freezing Charm. The only bad point of view is the fire's, because it gets put out sooner or later."
"You have problems."
"Please don't tell me you just noticed that. Your first clue should have been when I thought you were my friend. Then, one eases into the fact that I have a ridiculous cackling laugh, that I can hyperventilate on purpose, with a loud squeaky sound most like a car starting, and finally that I routinely stare at people, faint, and go off into another land."
"What, la-la land? You know, I could see that."
"No. The Alendoren Cove off of the coast of Albania. La-la land is so third year."
"Wh-what?"
"Go away. If you do, you'll sound less stupid, because you won't be sounding. At least not in my ears, which is the important thing."
James was clearly trying not to pull out his wand. "You better watch it, Evans."
"It as in it? Or it as in IT. Or as in It? Or just as in-go-away-leave-me-alone-it?"
"Follow your own advice."
Lily shrugged. "Fine." She stood up, dodged the sparks flying at her from James' wand, and shot up the dormitory stairs, leaving behind a rather puzzled common room.
