It took Lily, James, and Sirius a good half an hour of sneaking around the Ministry of Magic before finding Cassie, Bess, and Jill. After checking several doors, most of which were locked, Lily tried one that led to a room with a single fireplace. She was about to close the door and continue her search when a reflective sign caught her eye. It was a list of Wizarding buildings in London and their pronunciations, acting as a reference of names for witches and wizards to call out while traveling via Floo Network. In dark purple script, Lily read, St Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
–They’re at St Mungo’s,†she whispered.
–Of course they are!†bellowed James. –They were injured, even Muggles go to Mungo’s, especially if they were affected by magic. That way they can--â€
James froze, his jaw slacked and his eyes stared blankly ahead.
–That way they can... what?†asked Lily. She looked over at Sirius, expecting him to share her confusion, but he was wearing the same distant expression. –What’s happening?â€
James finally closed his eyes and shook his head. –They’re going to have their memories wiped.â€
–It’s probably already happened,†added Sirius, gloomily.
Without even properly thinking about it, Lily reached out to the pail of Floo Powder that sat on a stool next to the fireplace and grabbed a handful of the sparkling silver substance. It felt like dust between her fingers, remarkably soft, but somehow incredibly solid. A plan started formulating in her head as she inched closer to the hearth of the fireplace. She could feel Sirius and James watching her, trying to gauge how she was taking the news of her friends’ memories. They were rational. The boys might be trouble makers, but even they knew when to draw the line if The Ministry was involved. Surely they would try to stop her, so she knew she must act quickly.
In one quick movement Lily grasped a handful of powder, knocked over the stool, and swiftly stepped into the fireplace. In the same breath, she threw her Floo Powder to the ground and shouted the name of the magical hospital as clearly as she could while bright, emerald flames engulfed her. The last thing she saw was the look of panic on James and Sirius’s faces as she was whisked away by the blaze.
Coughing from the ash in her mouth, Lily emerged in a white brick room filled with fireplaces and couches. A little witch sat behind a glass window and stood up to greet Lily, but she didn’t get the chance. Lily had already sprinted out of the room and down a corridor. She had bought herself a little time by crashing the pail of Floo Powder during her escape, but she knew that James and Sirius would be after her soon.
Lily had never been to St Mungo’s before, so her first step was to find out what floor her friends were on. Her feet carried her as she ran through the long hallways. Her mind was racing with everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. The Death Eater attack, the Aurors taking them to The Ministry of Magic, their trail, it was all too much to think about. And on top of everything, now Lily’s three best friends were going to have their memories erased.
It was common knowledge that Muggles were required to have their memories wiped if they were exposed to magic, but Lily never thought it would apply to her friends. In her head, she just assumed that they would finish their vacation, go home, and be able to keep the secret that had initially divided their friendship. But now The Ministry was involved and Lily should have known that this would happen. Cassie, Bess, and Jill were threats. A group of Muggles protecting the secret of the Wizarding world objectively wasn’t a good idea, but Lily’s heart ached at the thought that her friends would lose everything they had been through together. That an entire portion of their lives could be stolen from them just because they didn’t have magical blood. This was the closest Lily had been with the girls in years, since before she had gone off to Hogwarts. She was desperate to fix this.
A large floating, grey sign read that Muggle Services was on the fourth floor in the Spell Damage department.
She took off to the staircase and climbed to the fourth floor. Breathing heavily, she swung the door open to a large room filled with Healer stations and bustling witches and wizards in bright green robes. Lily darted in between the Healers, causing a bit of attention to herself. A few called after her, asking if she was lost or distressed, but she ignored them. Up ahead, she could see a large sign that read Muggle Services with glowing cursive letters. As Lily reached the door, she heard a shout from behind. her.
–LILY!†yelled James, Sirius running up behind him. –PLEASE, THERE’S NOTHING YOU CAN DO!â€
She stared at James. His eyes were pleading with her to not do anything stupid. His hair was a ruffled mess and he was practically panting from sprinting after her. Lily looked at the boy who she had been through so much with. The boy who she had grown close to... much closer than she ever thought possible. Her chest felt light as she watched him slowly walk towards her, begging her to be rational. She wanted to explain to him in that moment that even though she was stubborn and even though she was resistant, she really did love him. But there wasn’t time for that right now, so instead Lily smiled softly at James and took one last look at him before bolting through the door.
Lily ran faster than she ever had through the hallways in the Muggle Services corridor. Frantically, she scanned the rooms for any sign of her friends. She could hear James and Sirius bursting through the door and the weight of their feet slapping against the ground as they chased after her. But Lily was determined and finally got what she was looking for at the end of the long hallway. There was a large glass wall and behind it Lily spotted Cassie, Bess, and Jill.
The three girls were strapped into large, metal chairs. They all wore light blue gowns and were drowsy, but awake. Lily’s panic set in as she watched a Healer start to approach Jill, his wand stretched out in front of him.
Ignoring the shouts coming from James and Sirius, who were sprinting down the corridor, Lily broke through the glass wall as the Healer shouted, –Obliviate!†The sudden crash caused all three girls to sit upright, snap back to reality, and for the Healer to turn and face Lily mid-charm.
Lily could feel the Forgetfulness Charm rush over her. Immediately, she felt faint and queasy, unsure if her legs could support her. She looked around the room and already had the sense that something was terribly wrong. Her mind kept grasping at the things she already couldn’t remember. Desperate to keep any kind of memory from the past few weeks, she tried her best to hold on to an image of her and James on the ski lift. She focused on James, smiling at her, laughing with her, and pointing at the little people snowboarding below them. She remembered the forest below and the bright sun overhead. She could remember the snow.
But she hadn’t been skiing since she was a little girl. That was so long ago, she hoped to go back soon. But first Lily needed to figure out why there were cuts on her arms and glass shards on the floor. She grimaced in pain as she rubbed her injured arm. Thank Merlin it seemed like she was already at the hospital! Maybe this man in green robes could help her find some bandages.
Even though her eyesight was going in and out of focus, Lily could see her friend, Bess, sitting on a chair, struggling to get down.
–Lily!†Bess shouted as she freed one of her arms and reached out to Lily, who had now dropped to the floor.
–Hey Bess!†Lily said. –What are you doing here?†She smiled at her friend and made a mental note to write to Bess, Jill, and Cassie after she went back to Hogwarts. She hadn’t seen much of them this summer and she felt bad that they had been growing apart for years. Maybe they could get together over winter break and reconnect.
There was another shout behind her, but Lily could barely see who it was calling to her. It was a boy’s voice. She squinted at the figure and could see, just barely, that it was James Potter.
–LILY, PLEASE, ARE YOU OKAY?†he bellowed at her.
That’s odd,†thought Lily. When was the last time Potter called me by my first name?
And with that final thought, Lily lost consciousness.
***
Lily tapped her foot. She had been waiting for fifteen minutes for Remus Lupin to meet her at the front of the Hogwarts Express with all the other Prefects. It was not like Remus to be late for his responsibilities, so she assumed it was one of the Marauders that was keeping him back. She huffed and took off down the train to find their compartment.
Finally, she found them and flung open their door.
–Remus,†she declared, –what are you doing? We’re late for rounds.â€
The four Marauders, made up of Lupin, Pettigrew, Black, and Potter, snapped their heads in her direction and grew quiet.
–Okay, don’t all speak at once, boys,†she said to the silent group. She put her hands on her hips and sighed. She had a sinking feeling they had all just been talking about her before she walked in.
Finally Sirius cleared his throat. –Evans,†he said politely, –how was your summer holiday?â€
–Uneventful,†she responded. For some reason, her simple response seemed to stab Potter like a dagger. He looked at his shoes to hide the pained expression that Lily already saw. She chose to ignore this. To pass the awkward time, Lily looked around and checked her watch as she waited for Remus to gather his things. –Did you all have a good break?†she finally asked, wanting to be polite.
The boys mumbled various things about studying, relaxing, being with family, and not doing much. Peter claimed that he had read the entirety of Hogwarts: A History, which Black claimed couldn’t have happened seeing as –Wormtail†was illiterate. There were some chuckles, but Lily noticed that Potter’s eyes were still transfixed on the floor.
–Okay, ready,†said Remus as he stood up to join Lily.
–Bye, Moony!†Sirius and Peter called and Remus waved back at them as the two Prefects left the Marauders' compartment.
–Bye, Lily,†said the faint, somewhat hopeful voice of James Potter.
Lily whipped around, to look at him, confused by the use of her first name. She and Potter had always called each other by their surnames and it felt strange to hear him say Lily out loud. Strange... but nice. There was a new, but somehow familiar feeling stirring in her chest as she stared at James Potter.
–Cheers, Potter,†she said. And with that, she turned and walked towards the front of the train with Remus, her heart beating noticeably faster and her head muddled with thoughts of messy hair, hazel eyes, and snowboarders sliding down a mountain.
Snowflakes by The_Dream_Team
Chapter Notes: Um hey guys… It's been about three years... sorry. I was randomly inspired to finally write the last chapter of this story! Here we go!
Chapter Endnotes: The end! If there is actually anyone out there who comes back to finish this story, thank you so much. You've all been through a lot and I appreciate all of you. This has been a great experience and I'm really glad that I finally got around to finishing Snowflakes, even if it took way too long… Anyway, thanks to everyone who has stuck with this story and made it to the end. You're all wonderful. I hope you liked it :) -The_Dream_Team