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Lily and Alice by Wenlock

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Chapter Notes: Again, I don't own anything.
Late August, 1978

Lily was exhausted. It had been a long day at work. As the newest intern in St. Mungo’s apothecary, she had been tasked with inventory. All she wanted to do when she got home was take a nap then maybe wake up and eat some ice cream. She thought longingly of the almost full carton of Fortescue’s best in her freezer. Guiltily, she thought of all the unpacking she still needed to do to. She ran her hand through her hair and immediately changed her list of priorities. She would shower before her nap. What was in her hair? It felt sticky, but with large crunchy bits. Hoping it wasn’t toxic, she turned on her heel and Apparated with a soft pop.

When she arrived at her flat, Sirius and Peter were on her couch, each with an open bottle of champagne. –Shurprise!” Peter slurred.

Lily rolled her eyes and went into her room to grab a change of clothes from her suitcase so she could shower. On the walk down the hall, she decided that what she really needed was a nice long soak in the tub. So she began filling said tub. Just as it became full and she was ready to remove her clothes, sink into the water and relax, she heard James come in.

–Sirius! You were supposed to save that for when Lily got home. It’s for celebrating her good news, not so you and Peter can get drunk! Remus and I weren’t even gone that long. Do you have any self control? Oh, Lily, you’re home already.”

–Yeah, and I was about to take a bath before I heard you come in. What good news?”

–Well, I was out of milk this morning, so I came to your flat to borrow some, and I saw this on your doorstep.” He pulled out a copy of Potente Potions.

–I don’t understand.”

–Page 36.”

–No way! I thought Master Le’Engle was just being nice.”

She grabbed the magazine, quickly flipped through its pages. There it was: Techniques for the Elucidation of Lunar Cycle Variations in Adsorption Kinematics of Bezoars, by Lily Evans. She stared at the article for a minute, then threw her arms around James, squealing excitedly. He kissed her and grinned. –It’s not everyday I get to kiss a published potioneer. I’m so proud of you!”

–Yes, congratulations Lily,” said Remus. –This is the most prestigious potions publication in Europe. Quite an achievement for any potioneer, let alone one your age. When was the last time an apprentice got an article there?”

–1937,” Lily replied, –But it was just a stroke of luck, really. My dad teaches microbiology, you know. So when I told him about my bezoar research, he sent me a microscope and said that changes in the surface properties would explain the variations in potency. He was right, so that gave me the idea to use some chemistry in my research as well. ”

James grinned. –So you’re an outstanding potioneer because of your Muggle knowledge. I’d love to see the look on old Snivelly’s face when he reads the article.”

Peter looked up from perusing the article and asked, –What does-” hiccup –ciliate mean?”

–Well, I won’t bore you with the details from Muggle science, but essentially the bezoar gets covered in tiny hairs during the week of a full moon. They increase its adsorption capabilities by increasing the surface area. The kinematics can then be modeled by the Freundlich Isotherm-”

She was cut off by Sirius’ hearty laugh. –Moony, it looks like you have a friend. Who knew bezoars had a furry little problem.”

–Yeah but only if it can jump off the table, bite you and turn you into a bezoar.”

–Hey that would have been a brilliant prank back at school.”

–Not really. I think you’re losing your edge.”

Sirius rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Lily. –So I still can’t believe that in the year you spent there, you didn’t do anything but stare at a microscope all day.”

–Not true! I didn’t start my capstone research until halfway through. Before that, it was much like Slughorn’s N.E.W.T. potions class. Oh and there was the conference in Bavaria and the guest lecture at Beauxbatons...”

–No, I mean anything fun. You were in the south of France. Beaches! Bikinis! French women! And you sat in a lab all day.”

–Not all day. I went to the beach... twice.” She paused, then said, –Padfoot, what would I do with a French woman anyways?”

–Hopefully nothing,” James cut in, –Now, how would you like some dinner?”

–Well...”

–On second thought, maybe you should shower first. What in the world is in your hair? That chunk there was blue earlier and now it’s more of a purple-ish brown. While you’re in there, I’ll just go grab some take-away since it’s late and we have the Order meeting in the morning.”
Chapter Endnotes: The sorting hat told Harry he has a thirst to prove himself. I think he got it from his mother.