The scarlet engine of the Hogwarts Express billowed steam as it waited for its passengers, whistling once to remind everyone on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters of the time.
Lily Evans, with her parents behind her, walked onto the platform cradling a sleek grey cat in her arms. Her deep red hair fell in soft waves over her shoulders, and her creamy skin was pinked by the summer sun, making her emerald eyes glow underneath her fringe. She was one of the prettiest girls at school, but she was self-conscious and therefore modest about it. Beside Lily, a shorter, plumper, slightly older version of her (though with dark brown hair) walked next to a taller, thinner man with flaming red hair that was going grey at the temples. Mr. and Mrs. Evans were there to see their youngest daughter off to her fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
As Lily walked along, her father pushed a trolley with her trunk. Though she was capable of handling the trunk, he had merely said, –Lily, dear, you’re my little girl; let me do this for you.â€
So Lily strolled along the platform attempting to spy her friends. She knew Mary MacDonald, her best female friend, would blend in. She had hair Lily’s mother called golden brown that fell in heavy curls halfway down her back. Mary had a smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks, and, like Lily, the summer sun gave her pale cheeks a pink glow. From afar, she possessed no distinguishing features, and her short stature didn’t help.
A piercing ‘Screee’ split the air, drawing attention on the platform. Lily knew the sound was Mr. Bitey, Mary’s screech owl, and followed it to its source. Mary stood with her parents, doing everything she could think of to get her owl to quite down. Lily approached as Mary gave up and tossed a school robe over Mr. Bitey’s cage. While Mary and Lily had a small reunion, Mr. and Mrs. MacDonald mingled with Mr. and Mrs. Evans. The girls had been friends for years, so both sets of parents knew one another and were currently exchanging highlights from the summer holidays. Lily and Mary were chatting away when another fifth-year girl wandered over.
‘Oi! Lily! Mary!’ Marlene shouted, knocking people over with her trunk as she hastily crossed the platform. Marlene McKinnon, Lily’s other close friend, always stood out; being nearly six feet tall with platinum blond hair that came to her waist made her relatively easy to spot. Unlike Lily, Marlene was not modest about her looks but was coy enough not to flaunt them either. Lily was sure Marlene spotted her red hair from across the way. ‘Merlin, do I need to talk to you girls,’ she huffed, panting as though she’d run clear from Trafalgar Square. She dropped her trunk gracelessly to embrace her friends, putting one arm around Lily’s shoulders and linking the other through Mary’s arm.
The conductor’s whistle sounded, and Lily looked up to see the station clock read ten to eleven. Lily gently slipped out from under Marlene’s arm and turned to say a final goodbye to her parents. Her father gave her a squeeze so tight she couldn’t breathe for a moment. She relished in her father’s hug, especially knowing she wouldn’t see her father again until the end of term. ‘I love you, little flower,’ he whispered into her hair before letting her go. ‘Be safe.’
‘You too, Dad,’ Lily replied. She knew that Lord Voldemort’s continued rise meant that times were getting more dangerous for wizards and Muggles alike even if her parents were unaware of the danger. ‘I’ll write, okay?’
He held her at arm’s length, not yet ready to let go. ‘You better,’ he said with a smile. Mr. Evans stepped back and Lily’s mother turned to Lily with pride in her eyes. ‘Oh, my little girl. I’m so proud of you!’ She bundled Lily close for a quick hug and a brief peck on the cheek. ‘Work hard, but have fun. Dumbledore made you prefect, and I know you’ll do splendidly.’ Mrs. Evans gave her daughter another brief hug before joining her husband.
By the time Mrs. Evans let Lily go, Mary was done saying goodbye to her parents, and all three girls took their trunks aboard the train. They chatted as they made their way down the corridor, glancing into compartments, looking for their friends. They hadn’t bothered to find Linda or Nancy on the platform; the Parker girls were notorious for arriving early and being on board the train by half ten.
‘Marlene, what was it you needed to tell us on the platform?’ Mary asked as they passed into a second carriage, dragging their trunks behind them. Most of the compartments they passed were unoccupied or half occupied, but the girls were looking for their friends.
‘You two never wrote!’ Marlene complained. ‘I had a crazy summer. Mum and Dad took us to Majorca for a fortnight, and oh, it was so lovely. No one had any worries. There was no Voldemort, no school, I found a lovely bloke to spend my time with. It was so great for Mum to get away from the Ministry for a while; you know how busy she’s been.’ Mrs. McKinnon worked at the Ministry of Magic in the Department of International Magical Cooperation, and Lord Voldemort’s continued prominence had the entire department in a tizzy with fears of another Grindelwald. She took a deep breath and said, ‘But that’s not what I wanted to talk about. You’ll never believe what, or rather who, I saw on holiday.’ She grinned at them, primarily Lily, but didn’t wait for their response. ‘James Potter! He’s sporting glasses now, and he’s more handsome than ever, Lily,’ she sing-songed, nudging her friend.
‘That I am,’ a voice cried from behind them. ‘James Potter at your service, ladies,’ he said, ruffling the back of his black hair, hazel eyes glinting out from behind his new glasses. It seemed as though he’d had a growth spurt over the holiday because he was now taller than Marlene. His height made his slim build even more prominent, and his years on the Gryffindor Quiddich team kept him in good shape. None of that changed his boyish face, though, and with his dimples and a playful smile, James Potter melted hearts of all ages. Though she didn’t like him, Lily could admit that James was, as Marlene said, more handsome than ever.
Behind James trooped his friends, the Marauders. To James’s right was his best friend: aristocratically-haughty and royally good-looking Sirius Black, his inky-black hair falling into steel grey eyes. Remus Lupin stood just behind Sirius. Unlike James and Sirius, Remus was not classically good looking. Last year he’d been the tallest of his friends; now he was a hair shorter than James and Sirius. He was wiry and pale, almost ethereal, with a thin face and eyes that seemed far older than Remus’s fifteen years. Rounding out the group was Peter Pettigrew. He was Lily’s height with sandy blond hair and a round face that accompanied his stout frame. In any other group of boys, he would be considered on the better side of average, but when surrounded by the others, he couldn’t compete physically. He was a nice enough boy though and so close with his friends that most girls overlooked the fact that he was so much less attractive than his mates.
Lily took one look at the group and rolled her eyes. ‘Ugh, Potter, go away,’ she said, turning back from James and his friends to her own. She took her trunk in hand and continued looking for her other friends.
‘Evans, let me help you with that,’ he cajoled, reaching down for Lily’s trunk, purposefully brushing her hand as he did. She didn’t budge or move her hand but gave him a withering glare. James let go and gave her the biggest grin he could manage but didn’t move until she knocked into him with her things. She took a few steps down the corridor when she heard him. ‘Evans!’ James shouted as she walked away. He paused, clearly waiting for Lily to turn before continuing. ‘I hate to see you go,’ he said, grinning cheekily, ‘but I love to watch you leave.’
Before he could even chuckle at his own comment, James was blown backward along the corridor. His friends scrambled to where he’d been hurtled, halfway down the carriage, as Lily tucked her wand back into her jeans. The ruckus of James crashing down the corridor caused heads to pop out of compartments up and down the corridor, and the two people Lily, Mary, and Marlene were looking for were staring back at where James had been standing moments before.
‘Hi Linda, Nancy. Good holiday?’ Lily pulled her things into their compartment, and Mary and Marlene followed behind her. The two remaining fifth-year Gryffindor girls were cousins Linda and Nancy Parker; one merely needed to look at them to see the family resemblance. Both girls possessed the same small nose and oval-shaped face; both had brown hair and brown eyes, but Nancy wore glasses while Linda wore none.
Lily, Mary, and Marlene situated their trunks above the seats. Mary hung Mr. Bitey’s cage from the luggage rack next to where Nancy’s elf owl, Rascal, was already hanging. Linda noticed the new animal in Lily’s arms. ‘Who’s the handsome man, Lily?’ she asked, gesturing to the cat.
‘Oh, I hope no one’s allergic,’ Lily said hurriedly. She carefully held up the cat so all the girls could see him, smiling lopsidedly. ‘He was a gift from my parents on being made prefect.’ Though not surprised, the girls offered Lily heartfelt congratulations. She was the top student in almost every class, and the other four had discussed last term that Lily was a shoe-in for the honour. ‘His name is Prince,’ Lily said.
‘As in, Prince Charming?’ Nancy asked. The other girls grinned at one another. All her roommates knew of Lily’s somewhat unhealthy -- particularly considering she was going on sixteen -- obsession with fairy tales.
‘Yes,’ Lily said with exasperation, ‘as in Prince Charming. I figure if my prince won’t come to me, I’ll find him, and this little man is enough of a charmer for anyone.’ She nuzzled the cat, who purred contentedly, before dropping him softly on the seat below the owls’ cages. Linda and Nancy had already situated themselves across from the animals, so Marlene took the last open seat on that side. Lily and Mary sat across from them; Lily opted for the seat next to her beloved feline.
‘Just don’t let James hear you say you found your prince,’ Linda stated. ‘He’ll never stop asking after him.’
‘Or maybe, that’s exactly what you should tell him. Maybe he’d leave you alone at that point,’ Marlene said. She giggled and continued, ‘You could tell him that your prince is dark and mysterious, from a foreign land where they don’t speak English.’ She had a wicked grin on her face. Marlene delighted in teasing Lily about any boy who sought her attention.
Lily arched a delicate eyebrow; it was a look she’d perfected staring down the Marauders and their ilk. ‘Doubtful,’ she replied. ‘Besides, James is just after me because I’m the only girl who’s ever turned him down.’ The girls laughed; this was one of the reasons Lily continued saying no, and she moved the conversation away from her love life and on to Marlene’s. ‘Tell us more about your holiday, Marlene,’ she said. Mary looked excitedly at Marlene and chimed in, ‘Oh yes, what happened in Majorca?’
Marlene told everyone about her time in Majorca: how
relaxing it was, how beautiful, and, of course, the boy she met. ‘Edward was a lovely bloke, but we decided to treat things like Roman Holiday. He was wonderful to me, but he’s back in France, and I’m back here,’ she said, unaffected.
‘That’s so romantic,’ Nancy cooed. ‘How I wish I’d done more than visit Bath.’
Lily was about to chime in when she glanced at her watch. ‘Oh! I have to head to the Prefect’s carriage for a meeting with the new Heads.’ She quickly changed into her school robes and pinned her prefect badge to them. As she made her way out of the compartment, she waved and said, ‘I should be back after the meeting.’ The four other girls made noises of understanding as Lily stepped out into the corridor.
Lily walked down the corridor knowing she was going to be early for the meeting, but she felt punctuality was better than tardiness. She glanced into the compartments as she passed, looking for the one face she so desperately missed. Just when she thought she wouldn’t see him until the Welcoming Feast, she spied Severus Snape through a compartment window. She stopped, caught his eye, and motioned for him to come out and talk with her. She stepped to the side, not really wanting the other Slytherins he was riding with to see her; they always sneered at her, and while she could handle it, she didn’t like putting Severus in the middle.
Severus came out, closing the compartment door behind him, and Lily immediately went to put her arms around her oldest, dearest friend. ‘Sev,’ she said, the smile evident in her voice, ‘I missed you this summer!’
Severus awkwardly embraced Lily back, burying his head in her hair. ‘Lily,’ he replied. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t see you much. How are you?’
She leaned against the corridor wall. ‘I’m good,’ she told him, smiling. ‘Tuney still isn’t really talking to me, but that’s nothing new,’ she said, waving a hand as if brushing away a fly. ‘Guess what?’ She pointed to the badge on her robes, ‘I was made prefect!’
‘That’s wonderful,’ he gushed, ‘and well-deserved.’ He glanced over his shoulder into the compartment and saw Evan Rosier, Mather Mulciber, Albin Avery, and Peyton Wilkes watching them; Lily noticed the snide faces they were making at her. Severus continued, ‘Mather was made prefect for Slytherin. Are you heading to the meeting now?’
‘Yes, and I guess I’ll see Mulciber there,’ Lily said stiffly. She looked at her friend again and softened her tone. ‘Well, I should get going, Sev. I’ll see you tonight?’
‘Of course,’ he replied. ‘Have a good rest of the train ride.’ She started walking down the corridor. Severus watched her until she crossed out of the carriage and in to the next one. He waited another few moments before rejoining his house-mates in the compartment, hoping to deflect some of the nasty comments his Syltherin friends would make about Lily.
As Lily crossed into the car where the Prefect’s carriage was, she bumped into Remus. He smiled shyly at her and said, ‘I should have guessed you’d be prefect. Congratulations.’
She returned his smile and told him, ‘I knew you’d be made prefect. You’re as smart as Potter and Black, but you’re more sensible than the two of them combined. I’m glad I’ll be working with you this year and not one of them.’ She opened the door to the prefect’s carriage, and they settled themselves in seats across from the new Ravenclaw prefects, Rowan Bell and Kaelan Walker. Lily had partnered with Rowan in Herbology in third year and knew she would be a dedicated prefect. Lily looked around the compartment and saw Davinia Moran waiting in a seat by the window for Mulciber. Lily wasn’t looking forward to working with Mulciber on anything, but Moran wasn’t half bad; at least she didn’t seem to outright scorn Lily and other Muggle-borns. It didn’t look like the new Hufflepuff prefects were present yet, though she did recognize the sixth-year Hufflepuff prefects. Of course, Remus and Lily waved to Gryffindor’s sixth-year prefects and the Head Boy, Frank Longbottom, and Head Girl, Alice Craig, who were both Gryffindors.
Remus leaned over and whispered to Lily, ‘I heard that Frank and Alice got engaged over the summer holiday.’ At Lily’s sharp intake of breath, he said, ‘What with Voldemort on the rise, people are getting married early,’ as if that settled the matter. Lily thought about that for a moment and conceded that she could understand where Frank and Alice were coming from if they were indeed engaged. Several more students trickled in over the next few minutes, and Lily and Remus chatted politely while they waited for the meeting to start. When it seemed like everyone was present, Frank and Alice introduced themselves, welcomed the new prefects, and explained their new roles.
After being assigned rounds for both the train ride and the first week of school, Frank and Alice gave the prefects the common room passwords so that everyone could get into the dorms at the end of the night. It was the responsibility of the house prefects to disseminate the new passwords to their fellow students, so as Lily and Remus made their way back to their respective compartments, they stuck their heads into compartments with Gryffindors to share the new password to Gryffindor Tower. When they reached the Marauders’s compartment, Lily waved goodbye to Remus and left before his friends -- James especially -- could say anything to her.
The first day of term came around all too quickly for most of Hogwarts. But up in Gryffindor Tower, there was one girl in the fifth-year dorm who was practically dancing with happiness. Lily awoke with the sunrise and slipped down to the common room before anyone else was awake. She pulled herself up onto the seat nearest the window and put her potions textbook in her lap. She’d looked at it over the summer, but she hadn’t had a chance to speak to Severus about some of what she’d read. She wanted to see if he had any ideas on improving the directions. Severus was a half-blood, so he’d come to Hogwarts with some experience at magic. His favorite subject -- and Lily’s -- had always been Potions; they were both skilled in class, but it was Severus who had started changing the directions to improve them. The more Sev tinkered with the text’s instructions, the more Lily learned about Potions basics, and the better she became at modifying instructions as well. Their potions always came out better than the ones the book’s directions led to, and Professor Slughorn never ceased to be amazed at what Lily and Severus created.
By seven am students were starting to trickle in to the common room, so Lily decided it was time to rouse her roommates and get herself ready. Prince looked up from his spot on her bed when she opened the door to her dorm, but when she held out empty hands, he put his head back down and went back to sleep. She needed to remember to swipe him some bangers at breakfast. Being the first one awake, Lily took her time washing up, but soon she heard her friends wake and start moving around. When she opened the door and returned to her room, Nancy and Mary jostled for who had the bathroom next. Marlene was just pushing back the hangings on her bed, and Linda was still sleeping soundly. Lily had forgotten, in the weeks she’d been away, how nice it was to be around these girls; she knew each of their habits as well as they knew hers. As she contemplated how wonderful it was to be back at school, Lily pulled out her robes, pinning her gleaming prefect’s badge to the front. Behind her, Linda finally roused herself from sleep. She always showered the night before in order to sleep longer; once she pulled herself out of bed, she would use her wand to straighten her hair. On the other side of the room, Marlene sat at on her bed, levitated a mirror, and starting getting her make-up together.
Mary came out of the bathroom dressed for the day, her hair curling down her back. Lily looked over and saw that Marlene was dressed and fully ready. As Nancy finished her morning ablutions, Linda finished pulling herself together. Lily used her own wand to dry her wet hair then pulled it up into a ponytail. All five girls made sure they had quills, ink, and parchment in their bags then they left all the bags neatly near the door; they would come back for their books once they had the day’s schedule.
As a group, they trouped down the stairs and made their way to the Great Hall. There was a ruckus inside, and Lily merely rolled her eyes; she knew what that sound meant.
‘I wonder what the boys have done now,’ Nancy said. ‘Who wants to take bets?’ she asked, turning to her friends. ‘I say they did something to the food.’
Linda leaned in and added, ‘Ooh, and something with Slytherins. They can’t let an opportunity pass them by.’ Just then the girls heard renewed squeals.
‘Oh, Merlin. If it is them, Remus really should stop it,’ Lily said. ‘He’s a prefect now.’ She grabbed Mary’s arm and led her dorm mate in to breakfast. They both came to a halt just over the threshold, Marlene, Linda, and Nancy barreling into them. It seemed as though both Nancy and Linda were right though they all underestimated the lengths the Gryffindor boys had gone to. The Slytherins were staring at the teacher’s table, incredulous, as their house table was completely gone, but the food remained. However, every time a student reached for something to eat, the food attacked the student in what looked like a strange form of self-preservation. Somehow, some Slytherins’ voices had been magnified, and each grumble and nasty word was echoed throughout the room. It didn’t surprise most of the students, but teachers were scandalized, particularly Professor Slughorn, the Slytherin Head of House. Lily knew that while he was fairly easy going with punishments, he would have to deduct points and give detentions for what everyone was hearing.
‘Enough!’ Professor Slughorn shouted, his voice magically magnified above those of his students. ‘That’s it! Mr. Mulciber, Mr. Avery, Mr. Wilkes, Ms. Milne, Ms. Kerr, five points each for such foul language! See me after breakfast for your detentions!’ At the professor’s pronouncement, the Syltherin table suddenly reappeared and the food started behaving appropriately -- or rather stopped behaving at all. Most students in the Hall were watching the Slytherins, but Lily noticed four distinct heads near the middle of the Gryffindor table staring very intently at their food. She stomped over to where the boys were; her friends stayed at the threshold, not wanting to get to close to the explosion’s epicenter.
The Marauders sat two to a side -- Peter and James across from Sirius and Remus -- so that they could witness the madness. Standing behind Peter, in a very controlled voice, Lily demanded, ‘What in the world did you do?’
Sirius looked up at her. ‘Why Evans, good morning! Would you like some breakfast? You better get it quickly,’ he snickered. ‘It’s going fast.’ Peter snorted and James barely contained a laugh. All the while Lily became more annoyed.
‘There was no need to do all that,’ she hissed. ‘You may feel justified in getting those five in trouble, but intimidating the first years, heck, intimidating the third and fourth years is just uncalled for. You’re nothing but a bunch of spineless bullies,’ she spat at them. ‘I hope it makes you feel important to know you made children cry.’ She gave Sirius a withering glare; Remus received a look that conveyed how deeply disappointed Lily was, and his eyes flicked away in shame. She turned on her heel and strode to the far end of the room.
Lily settled herself as far from James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter as she could, and her friends sat themselves down around her. Lily grabbed her plate and put very little on it. That display -- especially how callously the younger students had been treated (for she didn’t really blame the boys for giving the older Slytherins a hard time) -- made her stomach twist in frustration and left little room for hunger.
Professor McGonagall walked over with their schedules and the girls quickly compared their days. The first day of school wasn’t too bad for anyone. Lily had Ancient Runes, with Mary and Linda, followed by a free period after morning break. Before lunch all the Gryffindors had Transfiguration, and after lunch they all shared double Defense Against the Dark Arts (with another new professor). Lily and Marlene ended their day with Care of Magical Creatures right before dinner. With only two free hours a week, Lily was glad one of them was on the first day of term, but she was disappointed that she wouldn’t have Potions until Thursday’s double. She wanted to talk to Sev before then, see if the Slytherins were in Potions with the Gryffindors again, but when she glanced at the Slytherin table, he was nowhere to be found.
Lily turned back to her friends as they finished their meal. Grabbing a banger for Prince as the food started disappearing, the Gryffindor girls made their way back to their dorm to collect their books and start the day. James grinned at her as she passed, and she glared at him in response. He opened his mouth, and she wasn’t sure what he was going to say, but she cut him off with a hissed, ‘Leave me alone, Potter!’ before storming out of the Great Hall.
The Heart's Translation by noblefate
Chapter Notes: Many thanks to hermoine_granger4life for being such a wonderful beta.
Standard Disclaimer: I'm just playing with JKR's toys.