Lily Evans was late.


She knew it was such a trivial, superfluous thing to be worried about, but when Lily was in a hurry, other problems slipped away to make room for the frenzied frustration taking over her mind. As she pushed through the crowded, Muggle-filled King’s Cross station, she barely noticed other wizarding families moving towards the same destination. They were huddled closely together, unsmiling, silent. This was unusual, especially in families with young children going to Hogwarts for the first time. Their excitement was normally uncontainable.


But these days, nothing was normal. Lily’s mind filled with the grim vision of Diagon Alley, where she had done her school shopping the week previously. The bleakness of it, the boarded-up shops, the darkly cautious people, all were enough to heavily dampen her joy of having finally got her driver’s license that summer. She had gone so far as to stop reading the Prophet, delivered to her house every morning, because it had only sent her spiraling into a dark chasm of grief and fear. She constantly dreamt of finding her friends in the obituaries, and had lost sleep accordingly.


Lily tried to push the image out of her mind, and physically shook her head like a dog trying to shake off fleas. As a result, she crashed into a passing Muggle, who gave her a reproachful look. She apologized quickly before hurrying onwards.


Lily slipped through the barrier surreptitiously thirty seconds later, and her ears met the screaming whistle of the Hogwarts Express. She realized with horror that it had started to move, so she bolted to the nearest door possible, threw it open, hurled her trunk forward, and launched herself inside just before the passing station turned into a blur.


Gasping slightly, Lily took a moment to regain whatever composure she had begun with before setting off to find the compartment her friends were in. As fate would have it, they were in the first one she looked in. She had a brief moment to look at two of her favorite people in the world before she was crushed by two squealing bodies. The squeals seemed to be coming from the masses of brown and blonde hair smothering her face.


“Oof!� she mumbled, for their bodies were muffling her speech, “Gwen, Bridget, geroff!�


They obeyed at once, Bridget exclaiming with what Lily thought was a little too much relief, “I’m so glad to see you!� Gwen nodded enthusiastically, and Lily noticed for the first time that there were dark circles under their eyes.


“I’m fine,� she told them both, more meaning in her voice than the average passerby would catch. “Nothing’s happened this summer. We’re all safe.� Both of the other girls sighed in relief. They knew that, of the three of them, Lily was in the most danger because she was Muggle-born. They were both pure-blood, and their lives had been far less affected by the war.


Lily glanced at her watch. “Bugger,� she muttered, and looked up at her friends. “I have to go to the prefect meeting. See you two later.�


To her surprise, Bridget burst into a fit of giggles, her short, blonde hair rippling with every heave of laughter.


“What?� Lily asked, curious. Had she missed out on an inside joke?


Gwen’s dark eyes sparkled mischievously. “Oh, you’ll see soon enough.�


Lily turned to Bridget again. “What?� she demanded, irritated now.


Bridget only smiled, attempting to stifle her giggles. “Just go,� she managed to say before collapsing on the floor with Gwen in a fit of hysterics.


Lily rolled her eyes and left the compartment, leaving the two to their antics. As she began to walk towards the back of the train, she wondered what could possibly have made them both so insane. Laughter at unexpected moments was, well, expected from Bridget, but certainly not Gwen. She was always the serious one, keeping the always-amused Bridget in line when she (so frequently) pointed her toe across it.


Lily smiled to herself thinking of her roguish friend as she approached the Prefects compartment. She turned and opened the door to find Remus Lupin standing in front of her, facing the window, his hands clasped behind his back.


“Oh, thank Merlin you’re here, Remus,� she sighed, flopping down onto a seat. Had he dyed his hair? “At least that’s one of us who’s not late,� she laughed quietly, realizing how ridiculous she sounded, talking about punctuality in the midst of the chaos, the terror of it all. “Hey, where’re all of our Prefects? Later than me… that’s new. How was your sum –?�


He turned to face her, and Lily realized with a sinking feeling that Remus had not dyed his hair, because it wasn’t Remus.


“P-Potter!� she stammered, unable to speak clearly out of astonishment. “This – this is the prefects’ carriage! What are you doing here?"


He grinned that maddening grin that made her want to blast a hole through his head. “What else would I be doing here, Evans?�


She just stared blankly.


“I’m Head Boy – no, I’m not joking,� he added when Lily raised a disbelieving eyebrow. “Moon – Remus felt that with all the classes he’d be taking this year, N.E.W.T studying to be done, and… ah, other issues, Head Boy duties would break the camel’s back. So, Dumbledore thought it best to give the position to me.� He smiled again, his hazel eyes lighting up.


“Proof that he’s barking,� Lily muttered. She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot, staring pointedly away from James.


“Weren’t you going to ask me how my summer was?� Lily noticed for the first time that, when he addressed her, James did not use the pet names he had in the years previously, always calling her darling, peanut, dearest, the list was endless. Lily was relieved he seemed to have kicked the habit.


“No,� she corrected, still looking at the wall and not at him. “I was going to ask Remus how his summer was.�


Lily couldn’t believe this was happening to her. Of all the people she would have to do rounds with, gold weekly meetings with, and (it was rumored) share a dormitory with, why James Potter?


“Well, my sum –� James began, but Lily cut him off.


“Where are those prefects?� She was beginning to grow extremely irritated.


However, her question was answered almost immediately by bloodcurdling screams sounding from the train.


“What the…� Lily stood up and went to open the door, but the train suddenly stopped with such a violent jerk that she was thrown backwards and into James’s arms.


“Are you all right?� he asked concernedly, holding a furiously blushing Lily by the elbows as she struggled to free herself.


“Yes, yes I’m fine. Now will you let me g –?�


BOOM!!!


The train shook. The lights flickered, then went out. The screams from somewhere down the train elevated. As if by instinct, James wrenched the compartment door open and stepped outside.


It was absolute pandemonium. Students were running around senselessly, screaming, sobbing, calling for their mums. James tried to call some order to the crowd, though his attempts were in vain, while Lily grabbed a passing student.


“What’s going on?� she asked the boy.


“I don’t know,� he replied. The terror in his eyes made Lily want to squeeze him and take him away. “Stacy Grant’s just told me that we’re being attacked. We’re stuck here!� he cried. “I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die!�


“Shhh, shhh,� Lily said, patting his head awkwardly. “It’s all right. We’ll keep you safe.� Something in her bright green eyes calmed him, for he put on a brave face and nodded at her. She smiled and let him go, standing straight to find James.


“Potter!� she called. He was there in an instant, gripping her elbow as if she could be carried away any moment by the crowd. “What’s going on?� Lily yelled over the noise.


“No idea!� he yelled back. “Let’s go to the front – see what we can find out!�


She nodded, and they set off toward the front of the train, struggling through the swarm of frenzied students. They were about halfway to the front of the train when they were stopped by a rather unexpected explosion. The wall to their right burst into large chunks that went flying everywhere, and a blinding flash of light burned into Lily’s retinas. James hooked his arm around her waist and brought them both to the floor, out of the way of the flying debris.


He’s probably just saved my life, Lily thought dazedly. She didn’t have time to thank him, though, because three cloaked figures came striding into the train at that moment. Under their hoods, Lily saw skull-like masks that made her body turn cold.


“Oh my God,� she gasped. “Potter! Death –�


“I saw them," he grunted, getting to his feet. They hadn’t seen Lily or James yet, and the former fancied they looked rather drunk. They were laughing raucously and staggering slightly.


A fourth year girl screamed from somewhere behind Lily, and the Death Eaters turned. They simultaneously drew their wands and began advancing towards the body of students, now in a worse state of panic than before. Suddenly, a jet of red light shot out from where James was standing, and one of the Death Eaters fell.


Lily watched in horror as a jet of green light shot from one of the Death Eater’s wands. She stood frozen while the train seemed to light up around her, spells coming from both sides. She couldn’t think. She couldn’t breathe.


Move it, Evans, she thought to herself. Death Eaters were Apparating onto the train now. They seemed to multiply exponentially as the seconds whizzed by. You’ve got to move! You’re going to get yourself killed!


Through some miracle, Lily was able to snap herself out of her reverie. She drew her wand out of her robes and started firing. More than once, James crossed her vision, shooting spells at Death Eaters, barking orders at the other students, and somehow winning the battle. While Lily shot numerous stunning jinxes repeatedly at the body of Death Eaters, she wondered how on Earth James could keep such a cool head. He wasn’t panicking; he wasn’t cowering against a wall, desperately trying to fend for only himself.


He also didn’t have a very solid, very large knife careening toward his middle.


Lily screamed, but it was too late. Pain exploded in her gut, blooming out through her body until it consumed her. Somewhere nearby, a man was laughing. She toppled over.


Something hard and loud against her head.


Hot blood in her fingers.


“LILY!!!�


Darkness.

Lily awoke in a soft, white bed. She would have thought she was in heaven if it weren’t for the unbearable pain that shot through her side as she tried to sit up. She gasped, and James Potter’s face was suddenly above hers, worry in his bloodshot eyes.

Definitely not heaven, Lily confirmed.

“Lily,� James breathed. “You’re awake.�

“Really, I didn’t know,� she replied, unable to keep her sarcasm at bay even through her extreme discomfort. James laughed softly. Lily grunted in pain as she propped herself up against the back of the bed. Outside the hospital wing windows, she noticed, it was dark.

“How long was I out?� she asked James.

“Around six hours,� he replied. Lily realized he must have been at her side all night. She also realized she was not wearing the same clothes as she had been before. Madam Pomfrey must have changed her bloodied robes to tend whatever wound was throbbing above her left hip. Had James been present while she was being disrobed? She decided she really didn’t want to know. James, seeming to have read her thoughts, turned slightly pink.

“What happened on the train?� Lily asked, trying to change the subject.

“Well, after you fainted –�

“I did not faint,� Lily interrupted defensively.

“Oh, very well. After you were brutally attacked with a Muggle weapon and lost consciousness,� James continued, “Dumbledore arrived and did some serious duelling with the Death Eaters. All the ones he didn’t take care of Disapparated almost right away. He fixed the train up and brought us all back here.�

“Who… who else is hurt?� Lily asked. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer to that, either.

“Well, most of those who were in the same car as we were got scraped up somehow. There’s one Gryffindor with a broken leg, a Hufflepuff missing some fingers, three Ravenclaws with more broken somethings, and… and one dead.�

“Who?� Lily demanded urgently. Her thoughts were jumping to Gwen and Bridget. Frantically, she looked around the hospital wing, her eyes darting from one nondescript form to another, unable to tell who was who in the dark.

“A second year,� he replied, noticing the fear in her eyes. “I don’t know his name.�

Lily sighed with relief, then mentally kicked herself. How could she be relieved that someone else had died instead of her friends? What sort of witch did that make her?

“Are you okay to get up?� James asked her. “Dumbledore wanted me to take you to his office as soon as you woke up. Pomfrey’s gone now, so if we hurry we can probably get past her.�

“Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s go now.� She moved to get out of the hospital bed, but her side protested with a monstrous wrench of pain and she sat back down, gasping loudly.

“Maybe you should wait awhile…� James said tentatively.

“No,� Lily gasped. “No, I can go now. Madam Pomfrey’ll just come back and won’t even let me wiggle my toes.� Slowly this time, she sat up straight and got out of the bed. Why are there no painkillers in the wizard world? she thought bitterly. Surely magical morphine was not out of the question?

Halfway to Dumbledore’s office, Lily got very dizzy and collapsed into the wall. James immediately rushed to her side and, grabbing her hand, slung her arm over his shoulder. She tried to tell him she did not need his help, she was perfectly fine, and that he ought to give her arm back before she hexed him.

“Shut up, Evans,� he told her bluntly. “I will carry you if need be. You can’t do it yourself.�

Lily wanted to protest, but she knew he was right. Though he wasn’t exactly her first choice for a human crutch, she appreciated the assistance. Besides, she was too light-headed to really argue.

When the two finally reached Dumbledore’s office, James reluctantly let Lily go. It had been intoxicating, being so close to her. Three and a half years of chasing after the same girl, and that original infatuation had never faded into something more practical. He savoured the moment of her small hand sliding around his neck, trying not to act as if it hadn’t given him goose bumps. He then muttered “Bogey Bertie Botts� to the stone gargoyle. It immediately began spiralling upward, and Lily and James climbed on the stairs. The thin stairs made for tight quarters, and James grinned down at Lily from where he stood, very nearly pressed up against her, his breath against her face.

Lily scowled. “Don’t push it, Potter,� she grumbled. He only laughed. Even after she was attacked by Death Eaters with a giant gash healing fast in her side, Lily could still manage to be that feisty little red-haired devil he had fallen in love with so long ago. Why didn’t she notice how well they fit together? How could she possibly miss the sparks that flew when he looked into her bright green eyes, the eyes that never failed to leave him breathless?

James sighed and turned away to face Dumbledore’s office, now in front of them. The headmaster was sitting at his desk, waiting for them. James made sure Lily was sitting secure in a chair before he took his eyes off of her.

“Miss Evans, Mr Potter,� Dumbledore spoke. His normally twinkling blue eyes were grave beneath his half-moon spectacles. “As I’m sure you are aware, the situation we are in is very serious. Never before have Hogwarts students been attacked by Death Eaters. Of course…� he trailed off for a moment before continuing, “Never before have there been Death Eaters in these numbers. Lord Voldemort is a very powerful wizard, and his followers are growing faster than I could possibly imagine.� Dumbledore ignored Lily when she winced at the name. Surprisingly, James stood still, unaffected.

“This is why I am expecting you two, as Head Boy and Girl, to take extra care in your duties. This year, you must not only work to keep the student of Hogwarts in line, but to keep them feeling like they are in good hands, safe from harm. The last thing I want for this school is to have students who feel unsafe.� Lily fancied she saw Dumbledore’s eyes clouding, as if he were about to cry. Dumbledore crying? “The Hogwarts staff and myself will be working as hard as we can to ensure the school’s security,� he said when Lily opened her mouth to protest that students shouldn’t feel safe if they weren’t. “But I need you two and the other prefects to help prevent the outbreak of panic among the students. Hundreds of fear-crazed students are far less safe than calm ones. Can you do that for me?�

“We’ll do our best, Professor,� James said. Dumbledore peered deep into his eyes for a long moment, seeming to pierce James’s soul. It was not an entirely comfortable moment, as James had the distinct feeling that Dumbledore was able to read his every thought, that his memories and emotions were laid bare on the table for Dumbledore to examine from behind his glasses. He did his best to return Dumbledore’s gaze with his chin held up in confidence until the headmaster finally nodded his approval.

“Very well,� he said, seeming to have put the entire issue behind them. “All that remains now is to show you your room.�

“Professor,� Lily laughed, “we’ve been here for six years now. I think we’ll be able to find our way.�

“I am well aware of that,� Dumbledore replied with a wave of his hand. “However, as Head Boy and Girl, you receive extra privileges throughout the year. One of these includes your own personal common room. In it, you will be able to hold prefect meetings, study in private, or even take advantage of the large vine that grows outside the window to escape from the stressful N.E.W.T. lifestyle, if need be. But I didn’t tell you that.� Dumbledore grinned at them both, his previous seriousness appearing to have been left back in his office.

Lily blanched. Share a room with James Potter? Even if it was only a room for meetings, she would still have to be in those meetings with her least favourite person on the planet. She thought murderous thoughts as Dumbledore escorted them to their new Heads’ common room. The headmaster eventually came to a rather abrupt stop, and James bumped into Lily, who grabbed her side in a sudden spasm of pain.

They were facing a very faded portrait of a pale woman in some sort of toga – Lily was reminded of the goddess Aphrodite. Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak, but instead of saying a password like Lily and James had expected him to, he simply said, “These are the new Head Boy and Girl, Lily Evans and James Potter.�

There was a moment of silence that followed, in which the woman in the washed-out portrait gave each of them a rather appraising look. Suddenly, though, the portrait regained all its colour. It was as if it was instantly brand new again. The waterfall roaring behind the woman was a brilliant, sparkling blue, the leaves on the olive trees turned a dark green, and the woman’s eyes and hair were suddenly a warm, deep brown. Lily, despite having spent six years at a magical school, couldn’t help but be surprised at this transformation.

“Let us hear the boy’s mind tonight,� the woman spoke. Both Lily and James turned to Dumbledore, confused, but he only nodded toward the portrait. “Young Mr Potter,� she said, but then Dumbledore interrupted.

“Start out easy, if you will, Romana. It is, after all, mildly unsettling the first few times.� The woman in the portrait nodded, and then continued.

“Mr Potter, how many are there in your life who are more important than the one to your left?�

Lily was confused. How many what? And who was the portrait talking about anyway? She was standing to James’s left! James looked over at her and blushed before speaking. “Three, Miss.�

The portrait nodded, as if in approval, and swung open. Dumbledore preceded them into the room, and James allowed Lily to enter first. The room on the other end was not unlike the Gryffindor common room, only about tenfold more marvellous.

It was enormous. The high, vaulted ceiling was dotted with skylights, allowing the moonlight to seep in and illuminate the contents of the room. Here a writing desk stood, equipped with numerous colourful inks and different sizes of parchment. There stood a tall, deep purple chair, accompanied by a matching couch, both of which faced the smouldering fireplace that was about as tall as Lily was. On the other side of the room was a large window overlooking the grounds, framed – as Dumbledore mentioned – by thick, climbable vines. Lily could spy the lake winking at her with reflected, fragmented moonlight.
She could not help herself. A small “wow� escaped her lips. Beside her, James stood ogling at it all, his eyes wide. The effect was deepened by his glasses, which made his already wide-open hazel eyes appear enormous to an alien degree.

“Dumbledore, is this a joke? They can’t have built this place just for prefects and the Head Boy and Girl.� Lily was slightly taken aback at the informal way James addressed his headmaster.

“No, Mr Potter, it is definitely not a joke. This room has existed since Hogwarts was built.�

“But, Professor,� Lily interjected, “if this room has always been here then why have I never seen it? When I was a prefect, meetings were always on the grounds or in the owlery or some other random place.�

“Patience, Miss Evans, I was just about to get to that,� Dumbledore said. “As Head Boy and Girl, you will be required to hold meetings with the younger prefects at least once a week. These meetings will mainly consist of everybody arguing over who gets the best spots for rounds in the next week, but you two should try and make them more productive. Talk about the past week, ask them if they’ve had any problems with the other prefects or students, remind them to stick to their duties, et cetera.

“Though it is recommended you hold the meetings in here, you can opt to simply hold them elsewhere – like the grounds, the owlery, and other places I’m sure you’re familiar with, Miss Evans. In the past, you see, Head Boys and Girls have preferred to keep this room a secret, as it is an incredibly convenient place to retreat from the hectic student life and to study,� he turned his head pointedly towards James at this, “in peace and quiet. Any questions?�

Lily and James shook their heads. James found himself impressed by the way in which Dumbledore had regained his composure from being near tears only minutes ago. The casual way in which he was addressing the two teenagers filled them with assurance that everything was going to be fine, that there was no need to worry about the evils outside the castle walls.

“Right then,� Dumbledore rubbed his hands together, “better send you two off to bed – long day tomorrow, I’m sure. Miss Evans, you can get to your dormitories through the tapestry to your right, Mr Potter, the same is to your left – no, not the scenic one, the one with the angry gargoyles. Straight ahead of you both, that door takes you to the prefects’ bathroom. Good night!�

“But – Professor!� Lily called as Dumbledore turned to leave – partially because she was curious and partially because she wanted to prolong for as long as possible the time before she had to be alone in a room with James Potter. “How does it work? The tapestry, I mean. If there’s only one passageway – and there’ve been Heads from all four houses – how does it… know which house to go to?�

Dumbledore winked at her and whispered, “Magic.� And then he was gone.

As soon as James and Lily were alone, Lily made a beeline for the tapestry that would lead her to safety. Before she could get away, though, James called after her. “When should we do the first meeting?� he asked.

Lily shrugged and didn’t turn around to face him. Maybe if she just stared straight ahead and her eyes never found his body, he would disappear. Maybe if she didn’t acknowledge his existence for long enough, she’d be able to resist the urge to break something.

“I guess I’ll talk to you about it tomorrow, then?� he offered.
Lily gave a noncommittal “sure.�

“Well… good night then,� he finished lamely. She took this as her chance to leave, slipped behind the tapestry, and opened a door that led into a small, dark passageway. She felt her way through the dark and, after about five steps, bumped into what she assumed must be the door. She chuckled and remembered Dumbledore’s last word: “Magic.�

Slowly, she opened this door and slid out from behind the heavy piece of fabric that, until today, had only ever been a tapestry to Lily. She wondered why she had never bothered to check behind it – or any of the tapestries, for that matter. I guess I never expected any of them to be hiding secret passageways behind them, she thought, laughing at her ignorance.

Tip-toeing gently to her bed so as not to wake her already sleeping friends, Lily slipped into the pyjamas that Gwen must have laid out for her. She crawled into her familiar four-poster bed and welcomed sleep with a tired smile. Only right before it came did she realize Madam Pomfrey was probably wondering where she had gone.



Lily was woken before the sun by the sound of loud breathing. She opened her eyes slowly – and shrieked. Gwen and Bridget were both kneeling on the side of her bed, leaning over her with expectant, puppyish looks on their faces.

“What the hell is going on?� Lily gasped, her heart still racing furiously. A furious throbbing above her temple was now accompanying the one in her side.

“We want to know all about what happened last night!� Bridget whispered.

“Yeah, how was it with Potter?� Gwen asked, raising a suggestive eyebrow and nudging Bridget with her elbow.

“Where’d you go?�

“How’d you get away from Madam Pomfrey?�

“Yeah, sorry we –�

“ENOUGH!� Lily roared. She sprang out of bed, knocking her shocked friends to the floor. Hastily, she grabbed her robes from her trunk and dashed under the tapestry and through the door before her friends even realised what had happened. She was in the Heads’ Common Room before either of them stood up, and sank to the floor by the time Bridget asked Gwen where she was.

Lily sighed heavily. It was only the first morning of term, and already she had to retreat to the place she wanted least to spend her time in.

It was going to be a very long year.

“Come on now, class. This is hardly new material. I need to see shiny by now!�

Professor Slughorn was pacing round the potions classroom, now thick with the shimmering steam of dozens of bubbling cauldrons. It was the very first day of term, and the seventh year N.E.W.T. students were all ready picking up where they had left off last year – that is, a rather precarious stage in the making of Felix Felicis. Timing was vital now after the potions had sat for three months. Slughorn opened his mouth to comment on Bridget’s potion, now an unsightly shade of puce, but instead erupted into a violent fit of coughing. The steam was getting increasingly thick.

Lily was in her element. Already far ahead of the class, she was setting about adding some ingredients of her own, variations she had brainstormed over the summer.

“Beautiful, Miss Evans,� boomed Slughorn as he waddled carefully through the tightly spaced tables to where Lily was standing. “Absolutely perfect. I shall have to use this as an example for my fifth years. And ho! What’s this?� He sniffed the air for a moment, leaning so far Lily feared he might tip over and roll away. “Miss Evans, have you put honey in your potion?�

Lily nodded a little smugly.

“Why, that’s brilliant! Honey would not only make the potion rather tasty but, I do believe, prolong its effects by at least fifteen percent! Oh, well done, Miss Evans. Twenty points to Gryffindor!� Beaming, Slughorn clapped Lily on the back and continued on his way, stopping to scold Severus Snape, who had left his potion unattended, and which had now frozen solid. Lily couldn’t help but suspect he had been staring at her.

From across the room, Sirius Black yelled something snide to “Snivellus� and Lily tried to tune it out. She had given up on defending Snape last year when she found out the lot he hung around with were Death Eaters. While she mostly couldn’t stand Sirius’s arrogant, often cruel behaviour, she had to accept that he was actually a better person than Severus.

Lily focused exclusively on the potion in front of her. She put more care than was necessary in stirring it every so often so the honey would set in properly. She stared deeply into her full cauldron, losing herself in its shimmering swirls, letting her mind carry itself to a world where there was no war, no Voldemort, and no annoying James Potter…

When the bell signalled the end of class, Lily gathered her things and left immediately, letting the world come back to her in a rush of colour and noise.

By the end of the day, though, she wished she had stayed in Potions. As Lily stared glumly at the enormous pile of homework in front of her, she wanted desperately to go back to her cauldron. The very first day of term, and I’m already up to my eyeballs in work. Brilliant. She wondered if she glared at the stack of work in front of her long enough, it would get itself done. Her train of thought – or lack thereof – was interrupted by a stampede of voices coming from the entrance hole.

First years.

Lily panicked: she didn’t want to deal with the noisy, giggling, mob of short people who would undoubtedly want to tell the Head Girl all about their first day. Without thinking, she threw her books into her bag and bolted out of the common room, taking the stairs to the dormitories three at a time. Before she knew it, she was back in the Heads’ common room for the second time that day.

She now understood what Dumbledore meant when he said past Heads didn’t want to tell anybody about this room. It was the perfect place for her to go when she needed to be away from people – which she clearly did. It’s just a shame that I have to share with Potter, she thought bitterly.

Pushing this depressing thought out of her head, Lily walked over to the writing desk that had caught her eye the previous night. She slumped into the squishy chair, sighing loudly. Straight ahead of her was an Everest of homework she would rather eat before completing. Turning her head toward the window, her thoughts roamed again to James Potter. How did he manage to never do anything at all, yet seem to do everything? Lily had always been a good student, but she’d had to work hard for every grade she’d got. She rarely ever had time for much else besides schoolwork. James, on the other hand, managed to be entirely lax about school and get good marks and be adored by the entire student body. How does he do it?

She was saved from guessing, however, by sudden, concentrated heat coming from her pocket. She fished around until she pulled out a small, round stone, which was glowing warm and yellow. It was pulling on her hand, as if by a giant invisible magnet, in the direction behind her. The Call Stone was an invention of hers from fourth year. It was part of a set of three, the other two belonging to Bridget and Gwen. When one girl whispered another’s name into her Stone, the latter’s Stone would glow warm and become magnetised to its partner. Lily exhaled in a loud, horse-like raspberry. She’d have to deal with them some time.

“Hey, Evans.� Lily turned around just before she reached the door and found James poking his head out of the tapestry of the gargoyles. “You leaving?�

Lily nodded.

“Could I use the writing desk, then?�

For a second, Lily wondered if she had heard him wrong. Where was the smug flirtation? Where was his thousandth attempt to get her to go out with him? For the past two years, his pursuits of her had been so incessant, she’d not only grown used to them but come to expect them. This didn’t make them any less annoying, but the fact was that they that come to be a part of her life. Now that James had not so much as winked at her, she felt like something was missing. She told herself this was a good thing. Then why are you so frustrated?

“Fine. Whatever,� she answered. “Let me get those out of your way,� she offered, and moved back towards the desk.

Before she could get there, however, James said, “Don’t bother – let me,� and took his want out and flicked it at the books. They vanished instantly, and Lily knew they were now sitting somewhere in her dormitory.

“Thanks,� she said grudgingly, noting a hint of the familiar smirk returning to his face. She turned around once again towards the entrance hole and paused for a moment, waiting for James’ next inevitable attempt to win her heart, and mentally prepared to find a witty way to shoot him down once again. But it never came. Amazed, Lily continued to follow the pull of her Call Stone, which took her out of the Heads’ common room and away from James Potter, who stood behind her without so much as a loudly-blown kiss in her direction.

Lily found her friends by the portrait of the Fat Lady, where Gwen held her Call Stone to her mouth, whispering to it to bring Lily to them. She ran to hug them both, trying to ignore the pain in her side which had receded to only a dim throbbing since the previous night.

“What’d you Call me for?� she asked them. “I only just saw you two in Defence Against the Dark Arts less than an hour ago.�

“We know,� Gwen said, waving her hand as if it were an irritating detail, “we just wanted to talk to you. You disappeared this morning and then we couldn’t find you anywhere after class.�

“Yeah… er, sorry,� Lily mumbled, looking at her feet, “It’s just… I’ve got a lot to deal with right now. I couldn’t do people just yet.�

“Well thanks for that!� Bridget huffed dramatically. “If we’d known you didn’t want to hang out with us, we wouldn’t have bothered Calling you!� She set her hands on her slender hips and turned round theatrically, making to stomp off.

“No! Wait!� Lily cried, playing along, but when she reached to grab Bridget’s arm, a sudden twinge in her side made her gasp out loud.

“Are you all right?� Gwen asked, her dark brown eyes wide with worry.

“Yeah, I’m fine. The knife hit some major nerves, which apparently takes awhile to heal. And Madam Pomfrey reckons this one may have been cursed. You should’ve been there when I woke up – that potion was horrid.�

“We’re so sorry we weren’t there, Lily, when you woke up,� Gwen said.

“Yeah,� Bridget explained, “Madam Pomfrey told us we had to leave, because she had to take care of you and undress you and apparently your wound was pretty nasty. But James wouldn’t leave.�

“Refused, point-blank,� Gwen cut in. “Threatened to hex her if she made him go.�

“Gwen reckons it was sweet of him, but I’m pretty sure he just wanted to see you naked.�

Lily laughed softly at her Bridget’s inability to be serious for more than a few moments. She felt a momentary twinge of guilt, though. She had always been so cruel to James, so annoyed by him, that she’d never really taken the time to consider that the reason he was so bothersome was because he actually cared for her. She was interrupted from this disturbing revelation by Gwen’s change of subject.

“They’re having a service for that second-year who died tomorrow morning – everybody gets off their first class.�

“Do either of you know who he was?� Lily asked. It made her sad to think that this boy had died in such and unfair, sordid way, yet she didn’t even know his name. He was the faceless, nameless unfortunate soul who hadn’t survived the subject of today’s gossip.

“He was Daniel Rittenberg,� Bridget said quietly, “in Hufflepuff. Curtis Abbott told me, but I’ve no idea who he is – was.�

“Nor me,� Gwen said.

This made Lily even more miserable. Daniel Rittenberg was dead, and here stood three girls who had never even known he existed.

At a loss for what to say, Lily, Gwen and Bridget all looked down at their feet. In their silence, the all shared a sense of loss for the boy they would never know. Unbidden, tears began to fall from Lily’s bright green eyes.

* * *

The next morning, Lily felt like she was teetering on the edge of a very high cliff. Having learned the name of the dead boy last night had filled her with a gravity she hadn’t felt before. It made the terror looming over her world seem so much more solid and real.

She was taking an unusually long time to get ready, trying in vain to make her make-up cover up her blotchy eyes, still red and swollen from crying herself to sleep the night before. She had not only felt inexplicable sadness for the boy she never knew, but she had been filled with a terror of what might happen to her friends and family if things kept going the way they were.

Pull yourself together, Evans, she told herself, staring down her heavily made-up reflection. The last thing she wanted was to show the world Voldemort had gotten to her.

When she got to the Gryffindor common room, she found James waiting for her, dressed soberly in black robes and a black tie – instead of the customary red and gold one he wore loosely around his neck.

“Your friends went ahead,� he answered to the question her eyes asked when they scanned the room. “All right if I walk you down?�

“Fine,� she said. She didn’t have the heart to fight him off today. Plus, they were on the same side of this all, weren’t they?

When they entered the Great Hall, it was barely recognizable. It was dark and gloomy, the mass of floating candles even seeming to give off a dreary, half-hearted glow. The usually red, yellow, green and blue banners hanging on the walls were now all pitch-black. The enchanted ceiling above depicted an appropriately stormy sky, the pregnant clouds hanging low and threatening above the silent students.

There was a giant poster of a young, blonde boy in Hufflepuff robes, who was waving cheerily at the mourning crowd, oblivious to the fact that the real Daniel Rittenberg was dead.

Lily stopped breathing.

Daniel Rittenberg was the same boy she had comforted on the train when they were being attacked.

“What’s going on?�
“I don’t know! Stacy Grant’s just told me that we’re being attacked. We’re stuck here! I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die!�
“Shhh, shhh. It’s all right. We’ll keep you safe.�

She had known Daniel Rittenberg, if only for a short while. She had comforted him, told him he would be safe, that everything would be all right. But everything did not turn out all right. Voldemort’s followers had killed him, and he had spent his last moments in fear.

Lily’s words had been powerless to stop this tragedy.
She turned round and fled from the Great Hall, leaping out of sight of James just in time for tears to sting her eyes, hot and angry and afraid.