All the Young Dudes - Lily's Perspective

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/46034872.

Rating: Mature
Archive Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Categories: F/M, Multi
Fandom: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Characters: Lily Evans Potter, Lily Evans, Marlene McKinnon, Mary Macdonald
(Harry Potter), Severus Snape, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, James Potter,
Peter Pettigrew, Minerva McGonagall, Albus Dumbledore, Yazmin Patel
(MsKingBean89), Lily Evans Potter's Mother, Lily Evans Potter's Father,
Petunia Evans Dursley
Additional Tags: Inspired by All the Young Dudes - MsKingBean89, fanfic of a fanfic,
Marauders, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Marauders Friendship (Harry
Potter), jily, wolfstar, Slow Burn, its very slow, Canon Compliant,
Canonical Character Death, Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Not A Happy
Ending, You Have Been Warned, but its happy before the ending, First
Wizarding War with Voldemort (Harry Potter), 1970s, Period Typical
Attitudes
Language: English
Stats: Published: 2023-03-26 Updated: 2023-08-23 Words: 12,665 Chapters:
11/173
 All the Young Dudes - Lily's Perspective
by robynlovesrobin

Summary

since reading ATYD i've been very interested in the girls's pov so here it is!! please please
please read all the young dudes by MsKingBean89 first, its absolutely incredible. also!! read
all the young dudes - sirius’s perspective by rollercoasterwords which is also incredible!! all
credit goes to MsKingbean89 for creating atyd, i’m simply rewriting the chapters but from
lily’s pov :)

Inspired by All the Young Dudes by MsKingBean89

Inspired by All the Young Dudes - Sirius's Perspective by Rollercoasterwords
 Summer, 1971: Diagon Alley

Saturday 7th August, 1971

Lily Evans was certain that nothing, absolutely nothing, would compare to seeing Diagon
Alley for the first time. As soon as she stepped past the old and battered pub, her veins fizzed
with the magic flowing inside, and felt like she belonged.

Her parents, unknowing to what was going on, ushered her into the crowded alley, full of
strange people wearing robes and pointed hats and carrying around sticks – no, wands. The
August sun beat down on them, and despite only wearing shorts and a t-shirt, sweat clung to
her skin. A few awnings from various shops and cafes provided some shade, though the
humid British weather still hung around.

“Where to first, Lils?” her mum questioned, after consulting a piece of parchment given to
them by Professor McGonagall, who had visited a few months prior to explain Hogwarts to
her and her family. Lily, of course, was expecting it, thanks to Severus, though it came as
quite a shock to her parents. She didn’t know what Petunia thought about it.

She stared around for a moment, before her eyes finally settled on a bookshop.

“There.” she pointed. “Flourish and Blotts.” she grinned back at her parents, and her dad
clapped his hands together.

“Smashing!” he exclaimed, making his way over, ignoring the puzzled looks from the
witches and wizards around him. Lily and her mum followed, exchanging amused looks.

Inside, the bookshop was busy and smelt of leather and old pages and dust, a stark difference
between her local bookshop, which was mostly empty, and smelt slightly of cigarettes. She
preferred this one much more.
Spotting the bookshelf labelled Hogwarts: First Year , she grabbed a hold of her mum and
dad’s hand, dragging them forward. Luckily, the only other people around the Hogwarts
shelves were gathered next to the shelf labelled Sixth Year. She wondered which houses they
were in, and if she would ever get to know them.

The books were luckily sorted by subject, so finding the correct ones took only a matter of
minutes, and before Lily knew it, she was being ushered back outside, into the hot and humid
air.

“Goodness, it rather hot, isn’t it?” her mum exclaimed, putting on a pair of sunglasses. “Do
you have suncream on, Lily?”

“Yes.” Lily replied, rolling her eyes.

“Don’t roll your eyes at your mother, Lily Evans.” her dad chastised, voice full of humor.
Seemingly distracted again, he pointed further down the street, to a dinky shop names
Ollivanders. “Isn’t that where Professor McGonagall told us to get you your wand?”

“Yeah! C’mon, lets go.” Lily lit up in excitement, leading her parents through the crowded
street, to the other side. The shop was shaded, and looked as though even this heat couldn’t
stop it from staying cold inside. Her suspicions were proven correct when her dad opened the
door, and a blast of cool air hit her, provding relief from the outside.

An old man looked up from where he was sitting at the counter, curly and slightly greying
hair sticking out at all angles, like some kind of cloud. His eyes lit up when they found hers.

“Here for your wand, my dear?” he asked kindly, sitting up in the chair and leaning forwards.
She nodded.

“Give me a second.” he said, before disapearing off into the maze of shelves. “What’s your
name?” his voice echoed down, and she looked to her parents for reassurance. They nodded,
and she replied,
“Lily Evans, sir.”

“Evans… Evans… doesn’t ring any bells.” the voice replied, carried down with a draft of
cool air that felt delicious to Lily’s hot skin.

“I, am Mr Ollivander.” the man emerged from the shelves, carrying a long and thin box.
“And this, I believe, is your wand. Now, the wand chooses the witch, Miss Evans. So if it
doesn’t work, not to worry. We have plenty others.”

She nodded again, and he removed the lid, showing a thin wooden wand, flowers and leaves
carved into it. Though she could see they were simple daisies, she pretended they were lilies.

She gently picked the wand up, and this, this could compare to seeing Diagon Alley for the
first time.

She could feel the magic popping and buzzing and she felt as if she was floating.

“Give it a wave.” Mr Ollivander prompted gently, and she did as he suggested. A few gold
sparks flew out of the tip, and the old man nodded.

“It seems the wand has chosen you, Miss Evans.” he smiled, and she replaced the wand in its
box, taking it from the man who held it out to her.

“How much will it cost?” her dad asked, while her mum rummaged around in her purse. Lily
jumped in surprise; she had completely forgotten her parents were there.

Returning to the counter, Mr Ollivander started muttering under his breath.

“Ten and three quarter inches, willow, dragon heartstring…” he looked up. “Eight galleons, if
you please.”
“Splendid.” her mum handed him the money.

“Thank you ever so much, Mr Ollivander!” Lily piped up, just before stepping back outside.

“You are welcome, my dear. I hope you’ll put that wand to good use?”

“Of course, sir.” she replied, and she meant it. She really, really did.
 First Year: The Hogwarts Express
Chapter Notes

happy birthday to james potter he wouldve been 63 today :(

See the end of the chapter for more notes

The journey to King’s Cross took a rather long time. Lily was bored out of her mind the
whole way there, and she couldn’t talk to Petunia, who was sitting next to her, arms folded
and looking sourly out the window. She occupied herself by plaiting her hair, then running
her fingers through it, and plaiting it again. By the time they got out of the car, her hair was
so frizzy that her mum had to plait her hair for her, and made her promise to keep it in until
she went to bed.

“Where do we go from here?” her dad asked, looking around. They had been told to go to
platform 9¾, but here, standing between platforms 9 and 10, there was nothing but a bin, and
a scrawny looking boy who kept glancing between the wall and a large woman walking
towards the ticket office.

Her suitcase weighed down her hand, and she felt a knot forming in her stomach. What if she
never got to Hogwarts?

“Goodness sake.” her mum muttered as she and her dad peered at the letter they had received.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the small boy run straight into the wall. She flinched
as he hit the wall, expecting a crash and for him to fall to the ground, but he just disappeared.

“There!” she pointed at where the boy had just been. “We have to run into the wall. I just saw
someone do it.”

“Don’t be stupid, Lily.” Petunia scowled, but her dad nodded slowly.

“I think I remember Professor McGonagall mention something about running. Best give it a
try!” And with that, he grabbed ahold of Lily’s hand, glancing down at her. “Ready, my
love?” she nodded, ignoring the knot in her stomach coiling tighter and tighter, and the two
ran at the wall.

Despite having seen the boy make it through perfectly fine, she still expected a huge crash.
Instead what happened was her dad and her stepped out onto a large platform, and she once
again felt like she belonged.

Her mum and Petunia came along after them, and even Petunia’s sour face lit up slightly at
the view of The Hogwarts Express. The train was grand and gorgeous, and steam curled up
and around the chimney.
“C’mon, Lils, we better get a move on.” she felt a hand on her back, bringing her out of the
trace like state seeing the train put her in. she could feel the tears pricking her eyes, but barely
minded as they began to slide down her cheek. So many other children were crying as well,
holding onto their parents and siblings, saying their goodbyes.

“Goodbye sweetheart.” her mum pulled her into a tight hug, and she let all her tears out, not
caring that others will be seeing her soon.

“Don’t forget to write to us.” her dad whispered as he joined the hug, and she thought she
even felt Petunia’s hand round her shoulder, but she didn’t look to check, incase she would be
let down.

“Yeah, I will.” she sniffed, taking a step back and picking up her suitcase again, after what
felt like an age. “You sure you can handle owls?”

Her parents laughed through tears, and pulled her in for one last hug, until a whistle blew,
signalling only one minute until the train left the station.

“You better get going.” her mum laughed wetly, wiping her eyes. “Or else I feel I’ll never let
you go.”

Her dad kissed her forehead once more, moustache slightly tickling her, and she stepped onto
the train, running through the corridor, trying to find an empty compartment. Finding one, she
flew in, pressing her hands up against the windows and trying to spot her parents. Once she
did, she waved frantically at them, and they waved back, blowing her kisses, while Petunia
stood there, watching.

The train started to move, and the waving became more desperate, and then they were gone,
and buildings were zooming past. She sat down on the worn leather seats with a deep sigh,
only then noticing someone was in the compartment with her.

“It’s so horrid saying goodbye, isn’t it?” she asked him, trying to appear unfazed. She knew
her face probably looked blotchy, and she tried to wipe at her salt encrusted eyelashes.

“Uh, yeah, I s’pose.” the boy nodded, and Lily thought he recognised him as the boy who
inadvertantly showed her how to get onto the platform.

“Are you from a muggle family, too? My name’s Lily.”

“Remus.” he replied, looking at his feet. “My dad was a wizard, but I didn’t know him… well
I grew up with muggles.”

“I couldn’t believe it when I got my letter,” she smiled, trying to cheer herself up and make
Remus feel more comfortable. “But I can’t wait to see what it’s like, can you?”

Lily waited for an answer, but it never came, as the door burst open, and a boy with long dark
hair peered inside.

“There you are Lily, I’ve been looking ages.” he said, and Lily finally recognised him.
 “Sev!” she exclaimed, jumping out of her seat and flinging her arms around him. He patted
her shoulder slightly.

“Come and sit in my carriage, there’s plenty of room.” he offered, and she pulled away,
looking back at Remus.

“Oh… Can Remus come? He’s all by himself.”

“I don’t know.” Severus looked Remus up and down, seemingly sizing him up. Lily was only
just noticing his closely shaven head, and fraying jeans and t-shirt, though she didn’t mind.
“There might not be that much room.” Sev seemed to though.

Remus slouched down, propping his feet up.

“Get lost then. I don’t want to go to your stupid carriage.” he stared out the window,
purposely not looking at either of them.

Severus dragged Lily away before she could respond.

“Oh, c’mon, Sev, no need to be so rude!” she told him, once they were on their way down the
corridor. Though, looking back, Remus could’ve been nicer as well. He was kind of scary, to
be honest.

“It’s not that big of a deal. Anyway, I have some people I want you to meet.” he smiled at her,
and led her into his compartment, where two even scarier boys were sitting.

Chapter End Notes

hope you liked this!! feel free to leave commentssss :)

 First Year: The Sorting

Lily was certain that she was dead. There was no way that this place – huge stone walls with
wide windows and four long tables, and actual floating candles – could be real. You couldn’t
even see the ceiling; some kind of spell must have been cast to let you see the stars and
clouds and moon in the night sky.

Most of the other first years looked almost bored as Professor McGonagall led them between
the middle of two tables, though some carried worried looks, faces pinched into either frowns
or over the top smiles as their eyes darted around. Lily tried her best not to trip over her long
robes as she followed Severus, looking down and trying not to catch anyone's eye.

They were eventually led to a stop next to a small stool, on top of which sat a ragged and
worn looking hat. Professor McGonagall stood beside it, and Lily remembered what Severus
had told her about the houses. She knew there was some kind of test to decide which one you
fit into, and she wondered if this was it. Looking around, she noticed the four tables were
decked out in different colours; red and gold, blue and bronze, green and silver and yellow
and black. She liked the colours of the yellow house, and decided that, if given a choice, she
would choose that one.

“Simon Arnold!” McGonagall’s stern voice rang clearly throughout the room, and the small
chatter between students was silenced. He stumbled up to the stool, and the hat was placed on
his head. He was sorted into Hufflepuff, the one with yellow and black decorations.

Sirius Black was called next. He looked restless as he made his way up, fidgeting with his
hands and he looked as if he were about to be sick. A round of shouts and calls came from
the green table, from two older girls in particular. They bore a startling resemblance to him,
with the same dark hair and high cheekbones. She wondered if they were siblings. The hall
became silent again as the hat was placed on his head, and even Lily felt she was holding her
breath.

“Gryffindor!” the hat seemed to speak, and Sirius blanched completely, white a ghost,
looking pleadingly over to the other table. The two girls were now hissing at him, eyes wide
and baring their teeth. They looked almost like animals. McGonagall gently took the hat, and
ushered Sirius off with a small smile, and he took his place on the red and golden table.
The sorting continued, and too soon it was her turn. When her name was called out, Lily
pushed her way forwards politely, still keeping her eyes down. She tried extra carefully not to
trip, not wanting to embarrass herself in front of the whole school.

She sat on the stool, smoothing her skirt over her knee and held her breath as the hat was
placed atop her head. It covered most of her sight, and blocked everything else out, and Lily
wouldn’t have minded staying there for a few hours.

“Well well well… what do we have here?” a voice spoke into her head, and, for just a second,
she froze in fear. It was unlike anything she had experienced before.

“Very kind and loyal, yes, you would do well in Hufflepuff.” the voice purred. “But, what’s
this? Sharp mind. Very sharp. Possibly Ravenclaw. Where shall we put you?”

I don’t bloody know, Lily thought, before she could even stop herself.

The voice chuckled.

“I think you would do very well… yes, very, very well… in GRYFFINDOR!” The hat
screeched aloud, and Lily jumped off the stool as soon as the hat was taken off her head,
bounding over to the Gryffindor table – her table. She sat next to Sirius, who looked
completely and utterly miserable. This didn’t stop her from probably grinning like a madman,
but she didn’t mind. Though she didn’t get to wear a yellow tie, she liked Gryffindor more
than the other houses, from the way they reacted to each sorting.

Two more girls were sorted into Gryffindor: Marlene McKinnon and Mary Macdonald, and
three more boys: Remus Lupin, who she had met on the train, James Potter and Peter
Pettigrew. Peter had been on the stool for so long that even some teachers were casting
worried looks over him, and it seemed like an age before the hat called out his house. She felt
very sorry for him, the poor lad.

Once her sorting was over, the rest became tedious, and she felt almost lulled to sleep by the
pattern of name, house, name, house, name, house, so it came as a shock to her when the
pattern stopped, and instead, James Potter’s voice took over.
“How great is that! We all made it!” he seemed to be only talking to the three other boys, so
Lily tuned him out, instead turning to her right, where the two other girls were sitting, heads
bowed together, whispering. She coughed slightly, and the closest girl – Marlene? – turned to
face her. She had light brown skin and humorous eyes, shining brightly, as if she was about to
tell a joke. Her dark hair coiled tightly and puffed up around her, and she grinned widely at
Lily, instantly putting her at ease.

“Hi! You’re Lily, right?” she asked, and the girl next to her leaned slightly round her to look
at Lily.

“Yeah. Sorry, I-” she coughed again, her nerves acting up. “I didn’t quite catch your name?”

“Mary!” Lily was glad she asked, she didn’t want to have addressed her with the wrong
name. “And this is Marlene.” She turned to look at the girl next to her. She had lightly tanned
and freckled skin, with dark blonde hair and large, curious eyes.

“Hi!” she smiled sincerely. “You from a muggle family?”

Lily looked between the two before answering. “Yeah.”

“Stellar! I’m the same.” Mary announced, slinging her arm round Lily’s shoulders. “Marls
comes from a fancy wizarding family.”

Marlene opened her mouth to reply, but looked up and her eyes widened slightly. Lily and
Mary followed her eye line, spotting Professor McGonagall approach the boys opposite
them.

“Mr Lupin.” she tapped Lupin on the shoulder, and he swung around. “If you would come to
my office after dinner? It’s next to the Gryffindor common room. One of the prefects can
show you.”
He gave a small nod, turning back to his friends, and Lily turned back towards the girls.

“What do you think that was about?” Mary whispered under her breath scandalously, though
neither Marlene or Lily could reply before huge plates of food appeared in front of them.
Marlene laughed at Mary and Lily’s shocked faces as they marvelled at the feast before
them.

Whole golden roast chickens, fluffy yet crispy looking roasted potatoes, creamy mash
potatoes, jugs of thick and luscious gravy and steaming plates and bowls of vegetables.
Though it couldn't compare to one of her dad’s roasts, it was still absolutely delicious.

By the end of the meal, a Gryffindor prefect called Frank Longbottom led the first years to
their common room. The walk took many twists and turns, and Lily tried her best to
remember certain paintings that were hung up every so often, hoping not to get lost when she
would be on her own. Lupin also seemed to be paying close attention, though he looked like
he needed a good lie down.

Eventually, reaching the corridor, she noticed that he had branched off, and was talking to
Potter by a large oak door. She assumed that it was Professor McGonagall’s office. Potter
jogged to catch up with them as Frank waited.

“Lupin already causing trouble, Potter?” he asked, amused, to which Potter shook his head
profusely, scrunching his nose up.

“No.” he replied defensively, “I just need the password, then I’ll wait for him.”

“Widdershins.” Longbottom provided, before continuing to the end of the corridor, where
they came to a stop in front of a huge painting, depicting a rather large lady, clad in all
different hues of pinks, while Potter waited opposite the door that Lupin had disappeared
into.

“Each year, there's a new password to get into the common room,” Frank explained, and all
the first years looked up at him eagerly. “This year, it’s widdershins.”
As he said the password, the painting swung to the side like a door, and they were led down a
short passageway to the common room.

Lily first noticed the lack of a television , and was slightly disappointed, though immediately
forgot all about that. The room was vast, yet warm and comfortable, with red drapes and
plush sofas and a roaring fire, keeping the room from getting cold. Maroon carpets covered
most of the floor, and a few students sat on one, playing a loud card game.

“Girls, you three are up there.” Longbottom pointed to a winding staircase in the corner, then
directed the boys to a similar one at the other corner. “If you need any help, just come down
and find me, though I’m sure anyone will be willing to help here.” he gave them a reassuring
smile, and Lily followed Mary and Marlene up the stairs.

Once at the top, another door opened up to reveal a circular room, just as cosy as the common
room, with three huge beds arranged in a triangle. Next to each there was a bookshelf,
armchair and mahogany trunk, and next to that was each girl's suitcase. Her’s was stationed
next to the bed on the right, so she made her way over.

She set about putting her clothes away, throwing a few books she had brought on her bed,
hanging her cloak up, and checking she had all of her things for lessons. She finished before
Mary and Marlene, and, though they had both been perfectly nice to her so far, she didn’t
want to intrude on their friendship, so dragged herself to the bathroom, changing into her
pyjamas and brushing her teeth. On her way back to her bed, Mary caught her eye and
offered a smile, which Lily returned tiredly.

She lay down on her bed, curtains closed, reviewing the day. Lessons didn’t start until next
Monday, so she resolved to find Severus tomorrow to find out how he’d been. The two other
girls continued to rummage around for a good half hour after Lily had finished, so she slowly
got under the covers and allowed herself to be lulled to sleep.
 First Year: Marlene & Mary

Sunday 5th September, 1971

Lily generally tried to avoid both Mary and Marlene as much as she could until lessons
started, usually hanging around with Severus or, every now and again, braving the library.
The two girls seemed incredibly close, and Lily thought they must’ve grown up together.
They did try to include her, once, but she brushed them off, thinking they were just taking
pity on her. Since then, they haven’t really spoken past pleasantries.

She had written a letter for her parents already, though hadn’t sent it yet, wanting to send
something to Petunia as well. By the time Saturday had rolled into Sunday, and they only had
one more day until lessons, Lily decided to get it over and done with. She avoided her room
as much as possible, so ended up seeking refuge in the library once more.

She sat down at her favourite seat – a desk overlooking some kind of pitch with large, multi
coloured stands – and began trying to write.

To Petunia,

She scribbled it out.

Dear Petunia,

It’s been awfully exciting here at Hogwarts so far, and I’m supposed to start lessons
tomorrow. You won’t believe how big the castle is, there's even moving staircases and talking
portraits!

She continued to describe Hogwarts, omitting the fact that her only friend lived in a complete
other half of the castle to her. She did the same when she wrote to her parents.
Can’t wait to see you, mum and dad at Christmas!

Love, Lily

She folded the letter up, pocketing it and starting to make her way back to her dorm, where
she had left the previously written letter to her parents. She hoped neither Marlene nor Mary
would be there.

She was, unfortunately, not that lucky.

“Where’ve you been?” Marlene asked as Lily walked through the door, heading straight for
her bed.

“Library.” she replied, trying to find the other piece of parchment. She could’ve sworn she
left it on her trunk.

“What for?” Mary peered over, from where she was sitting on Marlene’s bed, as they both
pored over a muggle magazine that Mary had brought.

“Writing to my family.” she replied stiffly, finally spotting the letter. She grabbed it, and
made for the door.

“Going to send it now?” Marlene asked again, and Lily replied without looking back.

“Yes. God, do you two ever stop asking questions?”

She left before she heard either of the two reply. She could already feel the prickling of tears;
why had she been so rude? It had just slipped out, she hadn’t meant it. She resolved to
apologise later, right now she needed to send the letters.
 Making her way to the owlery, she spotted Lupin entering the hospital wing, and hoped that
he was alright. It was getting dark already, so she hurried up slightly. Jogging up the winding
stairs, she entered the owlery. It smelled bad. It smelled very, very bad, and from the state of
the floor, she could guess why. Owl droppings covered it, and there was only just enough
space to walk through to an owl.

Trying not to breathe too deeply, she stepped inside, peering around for an owl to use. One
swooped down, a gorgeous snowy owl, with coal flecks and piercing yellow eyes, and Lily
held her arm out. They headbutted her head, not unlike a cat, and she immediately loved
them.

“Hey,” she whispered, and the owl hooted softly. “Could you take this to my mum and dad?”
She didn’t entirely know how to use an owl, but she’d seen Severus do it once, so she had an
idea. She attached the letters to the owl’s foot, tying them tightly and running her hand down
the feathers on the owl’s back. They were slightly coarse, but also soft. Hooting once more,
the owl took off, and Lily watched them until they were a small speck in the sky, and then
watched some more.

She didn’t know how long she was there, watching the sky grow darker, but by the time it
was practically pitch black, she realised just how late she had stayed. It wasn’t past curfew
yet, but would be soon. Panicking, she began to hurry down the stairs, hoping not to be late,
or get in trouble.

She cursed the moving staircases that she had previously found amusing, and rushed past
older year students, who side eyed her, though didn’t do much more. She supposed they must
be used to watching first years struggle to get to places on time.

By the time she reached the Fat Lady, she was nearly out of breath, but just on time.

“Widdershins.” she wheezed, desperately wanting to sit down, and the painting swung open
without complaint. Only then did she remember Mary and Marlene.

She hesitated at the bottom of the staircase, but she knew she had to go up there eventually,
so decided to get it over and done with. She closed the door softly, and went straight to the
bathroom to get changed and to brush her teeth. She could hear murmuring outside in the
room somewhere, but ignored it.
Her stomach began to knot together. Not only did she now have to deal with two roommates
who probably hated her, but lessons began tomorrow. She had been so called ‘gifted’ in
primary school, all of her teachers told her parents she was a joy to teach, but needed to
participate more. She got called a know-it-all, even though she still didn’t know lots of
things. She didn’t want that to happen here. She needed to do well in lessons, regardless of
how her social life was going.

Finished brushing her teeth, she padded back to her bed, past Mary’s bed, where the curtains
were drawn and the murmuring got louder. She stopped, considering her options, before
slowly turning back and approaching the bed.

“Could I talk to you? Just for a second.” she asked the curtains, and drew back when they
opened just enough for Marlene to pop her head out, long hair swinging beside her ears.

“Which one?” she narrowed her eyes suspiciously, which made Lily’s heart clench, but she
didn’t back away.

“Both of you?” she requested, and the curtain drew back all the way. Now facing both Mary
and Marlene, her heart started pounding, and she wouldn't be surprised if either of them could
hear it.

“I’m sorry,” she began, and Mary cut her off with a wave of her hand.

“It’s alright.” she smiled, sincerely, and Lily’s racing heart slowed to a simple run.

“Sure?” Lily asked, and this time Marlene replied.

“Yeah. We were kind of overstepping, it’s alright. We understand.” She also offered Lily a
small and rare smile. Lily nodded.
“Right. Sorry, again though,” she took a step back. “I’m tired, and lessons tomorrow…”

“I might do the same.” Marlene thought for a moment, before scrambling off the bed, back
into her own.

“Night you two!” Mary called, once all three girls were settled.

“Night!” Lily and Marlene chorused back, and Lily started to climb the hill that was
attempting to get to sleep.
 First Year: Potions

Friday 10th September, 1971

By the end of her first week of lessons, Lily had gained ten house points, learnt too many
spells to count on one hand, and made a pinecone levitate three feet in the air.

She had thrown herself into each lesson with vigour, scribbling down notes onto pages and
pages of parchment, and doing the homework the day it was set. No one else seemed very
bothered, but she supposed they had been doing magic since before they could speak. She
had to try much harder to fit in.

In charms, Professor Flitwick was very quickly becoming one of Lily’s favourite teachers. He
enchanted pinecones to whizz around the room, then taught the students the spell. Only Lily
and Sirius Black had managed to get theirs completely off the table, though Black’s was sent
crashing into a window when he lost control. He lost five house points. Lily earnt them back
within the hour.

Competing with Professor Flitwick, was Professor McGonagall. Though she was rather stern
and serious, her lessons on transfiguration were incredibly interesting, though they weren't to
do any practical work for the first week, instead she set piles of homework that Lily had
already worked through.

History of Magic was the only lesson that had Lily almost asleep. The teacher was a ghost;
Professor Binns, and all he did was drone on and on, not even noticing that half of the class
was asleep, with the rest of the class well on their way.

She had been looking forward to potions, however, as she had heard a lot about it from
Severus. She supposed it was very similar to the science that she did in school, though she
hoped they would do more than wet some bread and wait for it to grow mould. Best of all,
they shared potions with the Slytherins, so she and Severus could work together.
“Black, Sirius – aha there you are! Quite surprised at the sorting my boy, quite surprised! I’ve
had every one of the Blacks in my house since I started teaching! Shan’t take it personally,
young Sirius, but I shall be expecting great things!” Lily resisted her urge to roll her eyes as
Professor Slughorn continued to comment on everyone’s names and families.

He was around the same age as Professor McGonagall, and had rosy cheeks and a rounded
nose. He was annoyingly upbeat and cheerful, and Lily thought him quite ridiculous.

“A Potter and a Pettigrew, eh? Well, well, along with Mr Black here this class has quite the
pedigree, eh? Let me see… Lupin! I knew your father; not one of mine, but a damn good
dualist. Nasty business…”

Lily looked up in surprise at Remus, who was nervously looking around, scuffing the toe of
his worn down shoes against the stone floor of the potions classroom. He looked like he
wanted a hole to open up in the floor and swallow him whole.

“Alright, then, time to crack on!” Slughorn boomed, looking around at the students. “Best
thing is to just get stuck in. Now, if we all work four to a cauldron…”

Lily looked over at Severus, who nodded back, smiling slightly, and she started to make her
way over. Garrick Mulciber had also joined Severus, but they were one short.

“Remus! You can join us!” Lily grabbed ahold of the other boy’s wrist, noticing him
wandering around like a slightly lost puppy. The three other Gryffindor boys were working
with a Slytherin. She ignored the glare that Severus sent her, and the small smirk that
Mulciber sent Remus.

She started chatting away to Severus, laying out ingredients and reading the instructions from
his book. It was already full of scribbles and annotations, making it tricky to read.

Lily shook a small jar, peering inside.

“Here’s the desiccated snail-eye stems. I think we need a quarter of an ounce…”

“You can be fairly liberal with them, Lily,” Snape offered helpfully, looking over at what she
was doing. “They don’t add much overall.”

She measured them out anyways, not wanting to get it wrong, and tipped it into the potion
that was already bubbling away. Mulciber then snatched the book from her, and started
stirring, only looking away from the potion to figure out how to stir it. When he was done,
Lily took the book back, and handed it to Remus, who stared down at it like it was something
from Mars. She offered him an encouraging smile, but he didn’t look up. He looked away,
shrugging.

“Oh hurry up, ” Severus bit, “It’s not as if it’s difficult.”

“Leave him alone, Sev,” Lily stepped in. “The book’s covered in your notes, no wonder he
can’t find his place. Here, Remus.” she opened up her clean copy of the book, pointing at the
task. He simply stared at it blankly, before shrugging again.

“Why don’t you do it, if you’re so clever.” he snapped at Severus.

“Oh Merlin,” Severus smiled cruelly, and Lily wished she could unsee it. She knew Severus
had a mean streak, but hated when she was reminded of it. “You can read , can’t you? I mean,
even muggle school teaches that, surely?”

“Severus!” Lily gasped, shocked at how smug he sounded, and looked. She knew he wasn’t
fond of Remus but there was no need to be so rude to both him and muggles!

Before she could say anything else, Remus had launched himself over the desk, fists hitting
Severus in the face. Mulciber acted quickly, pulling him back with his collar, and punching
him square in the face. Lily burst into tears, shocked.
“Stop!” The whole class fell silent as Slughorn’s voice boomed out. He stormed over,
shouting at the two boys sprawled on the floor, “Get up, both of you!”

They both climbed to their feet, both of their uniforms having been rumpled.

“Explain yourselves!” he demanded, looking between the two boys and Mulciber. Snape’s
nose was bleeding, Remus had a bruise forming on his chin, and Mulciber grinned smugly.
“Very well,” Slughorn began crossly. “Detention for both of you, two weeks. Ten points from
Gryffindor and ten from Slytherin.”

Lily thought this was unfair, as Severus had started it, but she wasn’t brave enough to voice
the opinion. James Potter was, however.

“That’s not fair!” he shouted from the back of the classroom. Next to him, Black grinned at
Lupin. “Should be twice as many from Slytherin, it was two against one!”

“From where I was standing, it was Mr Lupin who started it.” Slughorn replied, shaking his
head. “Still, you are quite right – Mulciber, five points for punching Remus. Violence does
not solve violence, you know, as I’ve told your eldest brother on a number of occasions. Miss
Evans, please take Mr Snape to the hospital wing. Lupin, you can clean up the mess you’ve
made.”

Lily nodded, heading straight for the door. Severus followed her.

“You didn’t have to say anything. We all know he grew up in a children’s home; he probably
didn’t go to school!” Lily scolded, as soon as they were out of the door, but softened when
she saw Severus’s face. “But, I suppose he shouldn’t have punched you, either.”

He huffed a reply, speeding up slightly, leaving Lily to catch up.

 First Year: Letters

“Ow!” she yelped, looking at Mary and Marlene, who sat opposite her, and put her spoon
back into her porridge. Marlene was wearing a sheepish smile, so she assumed it was her.
“What was that for?”

“Sorry! Didn’t mean for it to hurt. We tried to call your name, but you weren’t listening.” she
explained.

This time it was Lily’s turn to look sheepish. She glanced down at her essay that McGonagall
had set; fourteen inches on the basic laws of transfiguration. She had, luckily, just finished it,
after a gruelling attempt at understanding Gamp’s Law.

“Oh,” she began, smiling nervously at them. “What did you want me for?”

“You’ve a letter.” Mary rolled her eyes at Marlene, sliding an envelope across to Lily. She
took it, realising it was her dad’s handwriting.

“Thanks.” she smiled at them, genuinely, and ripped open the letter. She hesitated for a few
seconds. Petunia would’ve replied, wouldn’t she? She had no reason not to.

Her heart was beating like a drum, and Lily was surprised that Marlene and Mary showed no
signs of hearing it. She reached into the envelope, and pulled out one letter.

She pulled out one letter.

She pulled out one letter, a letter that said love from Mum and Dad xoxo at the bottom. No
mention of Petunia, other than that had a good start to year 9 on Wednesday. Lily felt like
crying.
“‘ou m’kay?” Marlene’s voice was slightly muffled from the mouthful of bacon sandwich she
had just taken, but she sounded so genuine, that it almost made Lily burst into tears right
there and then.

“Yeah, yeah I think I’m just gonna go up to our room.” Lily tried to smile reassuringly, but
from the pitying look she got from the other two, she failed. She drained her mug of tea in
one gulp, set it down, and rushed out of The Great Hall, clutching the letter and envelope in
her hand, porridge long forgotten.

She managed not to cry as she sped up to the common room, and she managed not to cry as
she crossed the room to get to the girl’s dormitory. She launched herself onto her bed once
she got into her room, closing the curtains in case Mary or Marlene came up, though she
doubted they would any time soon; Marlene still had a whole other sandwich to finish, and
Mary went nowhere without Marlene. They were never far from each other.

She read through the letter three times, and barely noticed the tears streaming down her face.
Nothing in the letter made her upset. It was what it was lacking.

Lily woke up a few hours later, after falling into a tear-induced sleep. She guessed it was past
lunchtime, if her grumbling stomach was anything to go by. Her pillow was wet and as she
sat up, blood came rushing to her head and she felt the need to lie down again, vision going
dark for a second. She reached out for tissues, and once she blew her nose she felt slightly
better.

“You awake?” she heard Mary’s voice from outside the curtains. Lily wanted to crawl into a
hole and die.

“Yeah,” she croaked back, cringing at her voice. “What time is it?”

“Half two,” said Mary. “Marls has gone to the kitchen to grab you some lunch. We didn’t
want to wake you though.”
Lily almost started to cry again. The two girls had been so thoughtful, and she’d barely even
said anything to them, other than to tell them to essentially shut up.

“Thanks.” Lily choked out, trying to stem the tears threatening to break.

The two sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, though the curtain was still separating
them, Lily knew Mary was still there, before the door swung open, signalling Marlene’s
return.

“Mary! Is she okay? I brought some pork pies and sandwiches, I didn’t know which ones to
get, so I got three of each…” she trailed off as Lily opened the curtains. “Hey Lily!” she
smiled at her, and Lily almost laughed at the sight of Marlene McKinnon practically
drowning in pies and sandwiches.

“Hi,” Lily replied, marvelling at the selection of sandwiches that Marlene had set down on
the floor. She really had brought three of every type. Tuna, marmalade, jam, cheese, ham,
cheese and ham, you name it, and Marlene would have it.

She sat slightly uncomfortably on the floor, and Mary and Marlene joined her. They ate in
silence, apart from the few comments about the food, and Lily liked that, however awkward
it was.

Once the food was finished, Mary and Marlene flitted in and out of the room, but mainly let
Lily be by herself. How they knew that was what she wanted, she didn’t know, but she was
grateful for it all the same.

She skipped dinner; too tired to go down, and still stuffed from the lunch Marlene had
brought. She wrote back to her parents, mentioning her first week of school, and finally
mentioning Mary and Marlene. She also wrote another letter to Petunia, hoping that the other
one got lost, and that was the reasoning behind her non-existent reply.
By eight, she was completely exhausted, despite her four hour nap during the day; when she
cried, she cried hard, and it took it all out of her. Mary and Marlene were still downstairs in
the common room, so she got up to brush her teeth. Looking in the mirror, her face was
slightly swollen, red and blotchy, and her eyes felt very dry in the light of the bathroom. She
quickly turned the lights off, as her head was starting to hurt more than before, and she was
squinting, so she spent the remaining time brushing her teeth in the dark. There was
something incredibly peaceful about it that Lily loved.

She shuffled into her pyjamas, and once she lay down, it didn’t take long for her to fall into a
dreamless sleep.
 First Year: Marauders

Wednesday 15th September, 1971

The next few days consisted of trying not to think about Petunia, and she did that by
immersing herself in lessons even more than usual. She got top marks on her essay for
McGonagall, and was rarely absent from the library. She had barely spoken to either Severus,
or Mary and Marlene.

Usually, she would take less than three minutes at breakfast, shovelling whatever she saw
first into her mouth, and then making her way to the library still chewing, but some of the
Slytherins were acting incredibly strange, and the Gryffindor boys – well, mostly Potter and
Black – were looking incredibly excited. She poured herself a cup of tea, a luxury she hadn’t
allowed herself recently, and took another slice of toast, watching the scene before her
unfold.

The Slytherin boys were shuffling uncomfortably, and one brawny sixth year had even ripped
his shirt off, revealing a red and scratched chest. She felt incredibly sorry for him. She heard
whispers from Mary and Marlene beside her, and she widened her eyes slightly in surprise;
she hadn’t noticed them come in.

It was nearing ten past seven when Severus came in. He had his face bowed as he neared the
table full of wriggling and scratching boys and alarmed girls. She caught a glimpse of his
nose, and it was swollen and red. She made a move to get up, but was cut off by Potter.

“Oi, Snivellus!” he yelled at Severus, who turned sharply, and his hair parted, revealing just
how red and irritated his face really was.

“Looking good!” Black hooted, and the four boys burst into giggles, and Severus spun on his
heel, storming out of the hall. Lily rushed after him, only catching up with him in the hospital
wing.
“Sev!” she gasped, slightly out of breath. “Are you–” she was cut off by Madam Pomfrey,
who came bustling out of her office.

“Miss Evans,” she glared at her, though her eyes were kind. “If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like
some privacy.”

“Oh, yes, sorry, miss.” she nodded, glancing at Severus.

“I’ll be okay. It’s dark arts first, you always love that,” he supplied, and she nodded again,
making her way to her first lesson.

After lessons were over, she went back to the hospital wing and hung out with Severus for
several hours, until it was time for his detention with Lupin that Slughorn had given the two.

“Miss Evans, could you please tell Professor Slughorn that Mr Snape will be unable to make
his detention?” Madam Pomfrey requested, bustling out of her office, holding a vial
containing dark purple liquid. “I would like to give Mr Snape a sleeping draught to help the
swelling go down.”

She jumped off the stool that she had dragged next to the bed and put her dominos back into
the pack, bidding Severus goodbye.

On the way to the dungeons, she bumped into Remus, and walked beside him. She was very
glad of the company; whilst Remus did scare her slightly with his buzz cut and snarky nature,
she was far more scared of going to the dungeons alone. How the Slytherins managed, she
had no idea.

“Hiya Remus.”
“Hi.”

“You going to the dungeons?”

He nodded slightly.

“Me too. I have to tell Slughorn that Severus can’t make his detention.”

“Oh, right.”

“Did you hear what happened to the Slytherins?” she asked, already knowing the answer as
she had seen him there in the Great Hall when it happened, and even if he hadn’t been, the
whole school would know by now. She did slightly want him to feel bad about laughing at
Severus.

“Yeah.”

“Crazy, isn’t it?” she continued, missing his slightly guilty look. “Poor Sev was allergic to
whatever they used. Madam Pomfrey gave him a sleeping draught while the swelling goes
down.”

Remus snickered, before glancing at Lily, who stared at him with disappointment.

“Look, I know he wasn’t very nice to you. The other day in potions or on the train. He’s…
well he’s a bit of a snob, okay?” she admitted, looking down at her feet. Remus let out a short
snort.

“But I just wanted to say sorry,” she continued, “I need to stand up to him more. Shouldn’t let
him get away with it. He’s actually a really nice person when you get to know him.”
“If you say so,” Remus replied, stopping outside Slughorn’s office. Raised voices floated out
from behind the closed door.

“Horace, whoever it was, they must have been a Slytherin!” Lily recognised the voice as
Professor McGonagall. “Who else has the password?”

“Why would a Slytherin attack their own house, Minerva?!” Slughorn sounded exasperated.

“You did say it was only the boys dorm affected. Perhaps it was one of the girls.”

“Really!”

“Well, who else? Peeves? He never enters the common room – doesn’t enter the dungeons,
either, come to that – too frightened of the bloody baron.”

“We ought to place a ban on all Zonko’s products.”

“From what Poppy says it wasn’t a Zonko’s product. Rosehips, from the greenhouses.”

Lily was intrigued with where the conversation was going. She was incredibly curious as to
who carried the attack out.

“Rosehip eh?” Slughorn sounded impressed.

“I suppose you’d like to blame the Ravenclaws now?” McGonagall sighed, and Lily just
knew she was pinching the bridge of her nose.

“I just wish I knew who’d done it!” he gave out a hearty sigh. “Perhaps the truth will come
out. I suppose it does seem more likely that it was one of the Slytherin girls than…”
“Than a gang of marauders creeping into the dungeons under a cloak of night with malicious
intent?”

Both Slughorn and Lily chuckled quietly at that. It sounded rather ridiculous.

“Yes, quite.”

“Now I must be going,” McGonagall’s footsteps were approaching the door. “You will let me
know if you catch the culprit?” The door swung open and Remus and Lily took a guilty step
back. McGonagall peered down at them through her spectacles. “What are two Gryffindors
doing so far from their tower?”

“Please, Professor, Remus and I were only–” Lily started rambling, but was cut off by
Slughorn.

“Ah!” he smiled at them. “Lupin, my boy – and Miss Evans! Come to offer Snape’s
apologies, eh? No need, dear girl, no need. With everything going on I think we can cancel
the boy’s detentions, for now.” He looked down at Remus severely. Lily thought that if a
teacher ever looked at her like that, she would cry. “If it is understood that there will be no
more fighting in my classes? Or any classes, for that matter, hm?”

Remus nodded, offering his word.

“Excellent.” Slughorn locked his office, beaming at the two of them. “Then if you’ll excuse
me, I’ve some inquiries to make.”

The two Gryffindors almost made it to the end of the hall, before McGonagall called out to
Remus.

“Mr Lupin?”
Lily looked over at him, and he looked incredibly disappointed.

“Yes, Professor?” he replied.

“That isn’t to say your detention with me has been cancelled. Come along now, we’ll get an
early start.”

He sighed and hurried after McGonagall, leaving Lily alone to wander back to the Gryffindor
tower.
 First Year: Secrets
Chapter Notes

sorry if some of the chapters are boring they will get more exciting!!! also i am keeping
some of the original chapter names, either because they relate directly or are similar, but
some will be changed bc they have no relevance to lily's story/pov :)

Tuesday 5th October, 1971

Lily awoke late to excited whispering. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and slowly drew
the curtains open, mentally chastising herself for forgetting her alarm. The whispering
stopped immediately.

“Morning Lily.” said Mary, smiling nervously. She was sitting on Marlene’s bed, and there
was a piece of parchment between them that Marlene was scanning over.

“Morning.” Marlene added distractedly, only just glancing up.

“Morning,” Lily offered a smile. “What’s first?” She knew, of course, that they had
Transfiguration first, but wanted to ease some of the tension in the room.

“Transfiguration.” Mary added, and Lily nodded, picking up her uniform and going into the
bathroom to change. Brushing her teeth, she noticed the dark eye bags under her eyes, and
wished that she knew the spell that Mary used for her and Marlene’s blemishes. Lily was too
nervous to ask.

“Lily!” she heard Marlene shout her name, and spat her toothpaste into the sink, quickly
wiping her mouth and sticking her head out of the bathroom.
“Yeah?”

“Have you seen my tie?” Lily sighed, joining the blonde girl in her attempts at finding the red
and gold striped material. Mary was struggling to tie hers in front of the mirror, and Lily
sighed again. She was rarely up in the dorm by this time, opting to go down for an early
breakfast, so she usually missed the morning kerfuffle.

“Mary,” she looked away from the mirror, though her puzzled look stayed on her face. “Want
me to help?” Lily offered.

“Oh, would you?” she said appreciatively, and Lily stood up to help. “Usually I can do it but
my fingers are made of butter this morning…”

Lily nodded sympathetically.

“Got it!” Marlene screeched, and both Mary and Lily burst into laughter

Lupin didn’t do his Transfiguration homework again, and the whole class was surprised
when McGonagall didn’t give him a detention, instead making him promise to bring it in next
time. Lily wished she could be so brave as to not do her homework, but she knew that if she
got into any trouble she would feel like the teacher hated her forever.

On the way to Charms, there was a hold up in the hall, and Lily strained on her tallest tip-toes
to see what was going on. She spotted the Gryffindor boys were the cause, and someone else
she couldn’t quite see, until Mulciber stepped beside them, arms crossed menacingly. It was
Severus.

“Move along now, gentlemen.” Professor Flitwick said sharply, breaking up the argument.
Lily didn’t catch what else the professor said, too busy keeping her head down and making
her way into the lesson.
They’d been trying levitation charms for the past few weeks, and most people had picked it
up by now. Lily had gotten it in the first lesson, so she spent most of the quarter of an hour
levitating pillows through hoops Flitwick had set up, whilst thinking about what she would
say to Severus. She had told Remus that she was going to try standing up to him, and she
hadn’t been lying.

Nearing the end of the lesson, Flitwick notified them all about the book he expected them to
be able to levitate by the end of the week – though it was nearly as big as the professor
himself, Lily knew she could manage it – and dismissed them. She headed straight to the next
lesson, trying to put all thoughts of Severus out of her mind.

Thursday 7th October, 1971

Lily didn’t get an opportunity to talk to Severus until a rainy breaktime on Thursday. The rain
lashed against the windows as Lily hurried through the halls, and clouded the further away
students once she rushed into the Transfiguration courtyard. She could only just make out
Severus, standing next to Mulciber and someone she had only met on the train, Avery or
someone.

“Sev!” she shouted, making her way over. He turned around and smiled at her.

“Hey, Lily,” he said, ignoring the rolling of his friend's eyes. “You alright?”

“Fine, yeah, just could I have a quick word with you?” she eyes his two friends suspiciously.
He nodded, and followed her when she led him away. He looked at her expectedly.

“What was that about, in the hallway on Tuesday?” she hissed, and his face fell.
“What thing?” he replied.

“With Potter and Lupin, y’know, themlot?”

“Oh,” he had a thoughtful expression on his face for a moment, as if trying to remember.
“Not much.” he settled on, finally.

“You’re lying.”

“Am not!”

“Sev, c’mon! I’ve known you ages, stop lying.”

“Fine,” he huffed. “I was just telling them that I knew it was them who snuck into the
Slytherin dorms!”

Lily gaped at him for a moment, before she started to laugh.

“What?” Severus asked, baffled.

“You can’t possibly think it was them!” she wheezed. “I mean, they’d have to have some
kind of invisibility spell, first of all, and they would have to have known the password to the
common room, which I highly doubt!”

“It had to be them! Who else would it have been?”

“I don’t know,” Lily said, finally stopping laughing, and, remembering what McGonagall had
said, added, “Must’ve been a Slytherin girl. Maybe a boy annoyed them or something, I don’t
know.”
“No,” Severus still didn’t look convinced. “It was them, I know it.”

“How, Sev?”

“I’ll prove it, you’ll see.”

“Will I?” she asked, friendly sarcasm dripping from her words. Severus nodded eagerly,
before the bell sounded, and the two hurried off to lessons.
 First Year: Flying
Chapter Notes

i'm still writing this i promise!! or at least i'll try to lmaohsfjhs, but also i was recently
brought to attention that someone posted abt this fic on tiktok!!! so tysm to
@laurennaissance and to my friend for showing me that video bc otherwise i would've
never seen it hsjfds,,, i'll try to upload more often!! im glad some people are enjoying
this<3

Friday 15th October, 1971

The following Friday brought around their test in Charms, and Lily passed with flying
colours, levitating the book to nearly twice the height of Professor Flitwick. The rest of the
class also did incredibly well, though none as well as Lily, so the short professor let them all
off to lunch a few minutes early.

They then had their first flying lesson, something Lily was not looking forward to. She had
always been slightly scared of heights, something she discovered when her dad had taken her
climbing once, for her tenth birthday. She had cried, so her dad had then taken her to get ice
cream. Overall, it was one of her favourite birthdays to date.

The previous week had been full of rain showers, and Thursday had been raining non stop, so
the Gryffindors squelched to the training rooms, mud coating their shoes. They had to wear
thick boots and scarlet flying kits, and Marlene had been kind enough to put Lily’s long hair
into a long plait, before trudging up towards the Quidditch pitch through barely visible
sodden grass. Lily still didn’t know what Quidditch was, though she had figured from
Marlene’s magazines that it was basically football but magical and on brooms. On the way to
the pitch, Potter kept bragging about his ‘top of the line’ model of broomstick at home, and
Lily was mentally trying to place a silencing spell on him, despite her only having read about
them.

The pitch was extremely muddy, and she felt as if she were sinking into the ground whilst
they waited for the teacher, a young woman named Madam Hooch, to give their first
instructions. Her hand was growing increasingly cold and stiff as it clutched the broom; she
was surprised it hadn’t fallen off already.

“Right, mount your brooms please, ladies and gentlemen!” Hooch’s voice boomed around the
pitch. “Nice strong wind today, so I want you all to take good care. Potter, no showing off!”

Lily climbed onto the broom, trying to calm her nerves and racing heart. No one else seemed
scared, well, apart from Remus and possibly Mary, and she supposed they had all grown up
flying.

“I’d like five clean laps around the pitch, then a good landing back here from each of you,”
Hooch glared around at the first years who stood shivering in the cold wind. “Mind the
puddle and remember to lean into the wind where possible. Use it to your advantage. Five
points to whoever’s back first.”

Her and Remus were the last off the ground, though Lily gained her balance quickly,
compared to Remus, who wobbled around like jelly.

As she flew upwards, she could hear Madam Hooch behind her, urging Remus to go slightly
higher. She urged herself not to look down, or else she was sure she’d start to feel dizzy.

Flying wasn’t as bad as she initially thought. Though the cold wind bit her face, it was
exhilarating and she was having fun, even if she couldn’t go nearly as fast as Potter or Black,
who were streaking ahead. They must’ve been on at least their second lap, possibly their
third.

Marlene was actually close behind them, and she looked determined to overtake them. Her
dark blonde ponytail flapped in the wind behind her as she leant close to her broom. Mary
was further behind, though she was doing much better than Lily. Her dark voluminous curls
had been tied back into bunches, and she was even managing to keep up with some of the
other non muggle born students. Though she still didn’t look quite as comfortable as
Marlene, she still looked as if she were having fun.
For the next few laps, she tried to quicken her pace, and she ended up near enough to Mary
that they could have a conversation.

“Having fun?” she asked, grinning.

Lily hummed a response, suddenly aware of just how high up they were. She tried not to look
at the ground as they came up to the bend of their last lap. Potter had already finished,
looping around the stands, and Black started to hang back, seemingly waiting for Remus.

Landing was no easy feat, though Lily thought it must get better over time. You had to stick
your legs out at just the right angle to stop your ankles from breaking, which she had just
about managed, avoiding the large puddle. The rest of the first years were now waiting
behind Madam Hooch on the ground, staring up at the sky, where Remus and Black looked to
be wrestling in the sky.

Someone grabbed hold of the other’s broom and they came crashing to the ground, a tangle
of limbs among the muddy puddle. Black got up first, shaking his hair out and offering
Remus a hand.

“Black! Lupin!” The rest of the class hurried over after Hooch, who was staring amusedly at
the two boys. Some of the Gryffindors were sniggering and giggling, and Lily could hear
Marlene whisper something about her brother to Mary, who promptly burst out laughing.

“What did I say about minding the puddle? A point each from Gryffindor. You’d better go
and wash off in the showers. Off you go.” Hooch watched the two slog up to the changing
rooms, before turning back to the rest of the class.

“Right, up in the air then, the rest of you.” she blew her whistle, and by the end, Lily could
nearly keep up with Potter.

-
“I’m gonna try out for the Quidditch team next year.” Marlene said tiredly, stretching out in a
cat-like manner. The three Gryffindor girls were on their way to History of Magic, with Lily
deciding to tag along for once. Severus had a completely different timetable for the whole
day.

“What position?” Mary asked eagerly, eyes wide. Lily presumed Marlene had talked about
Quidditch enough for Mary to catch on.

“Beater,” Marlene said, then added smugly, “My brother, Danny, plays as a beater for the
Chudley Cannons.”

Lily recognised the name from one of Marlene’s many posters that she had adorned her side
of the room with, and nodded, as if she understood, turning into the classroom.

“I heard James Potter’s trying out next year.” Mary said thoughtfully, taking a seat. They
continued talking, with Quidditch apparently providing a much more entertaining
conversation than whatever Professor Binns was going to teach them today.

“Yeah, chaser. He’ll probably make a good one.”

Lily, tired of not understanding, spoke up.

“What’s a chaser?”

Mary and Marlene turned to her. Marlene looked shocked for a second, before recovering.

“Oh, it’s a position in Quidditch,” she started explaining the roles of Quidditch, and all the
different types of ball. “So, when the seeker gets the snitch, they get 150 points, and the game
ends.” she finished, slightly red in the face. Upon checking the clock, Lily realised Marlene
had been talking non-stop for the past ten minutes, and the three had been completely
ignoring Binns.
The lesson dragged on, and when it was finally time to pack up, Marlene leaned over and
spoke in a low tone to Mary and Lily.

“Cheers, by the way.” Lily gave her a puzzled look, and she laughed lightheartedly, and
shrugged. “Usually no one listens to me when I ramble on about Quidditch.” and she smiled.
 First Year: The Gargoyle Strike of 1911
Chapter Notes

sorry i disappeared for a while, i went on holiday for a few weeks and also then forgot to
post BUT its here now!! i hope to update more often (i say that every time but i do mean
it i promise!!!)

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Saturday 23rd October, 1971

“You in the library again?” Lily’s head shot up as she heard Severus’s voice. She had been
poring over her Herbology book, having not picked the subject up as quickly as the others.
The words seemed to go in one ear and out the other, despite her paying full attention. They
had a short test on what they’d covered so far in lessons, and she wanted to make sure she did
well.

“Yeah,” she said, “Can’t remember much from the lessons.”

“You’ll pick it up soon enough. Herbology’s really similar to Potions, and you’re great at
that,” he said matter of factly, peering over to look at the book before setting his bag down
and drawing out a piece of parchment and quill. “Shame I’m not in your classes to help you
though.”

Lily stared at him, shocked. Was she not good enough? Did everyone think that she needed
help in lessons? Did Severus think she needed help in lessons? After a few moments of her
not responding, Severus looked up from his parchment.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Lily looked back down, closing her book and drawing out a piece of parchment,
pushing those thoughts to one side. She would deal with them later. Or not. “Did Binns give
you that essay on the Gargoyle Strike of 1911?”

“Yeah. That's what I first came here to do. Then saw you so...” he opened a large book that
thumped on the table.

“Alright. Wanna work together on it? I have loads of notes.” Lily offered, rustling around in
her bag for the extensive notes she had made on the topic. She slapped them down on the
table triumphantly. He nodded, taking the first page and reading it over.

The two worked in silence for a few hours, occasionally exchanging facts or quips, until they
were eventually finished.

“It’s time for dinner.” Lily glanced up at the large clock at the top of the library, packing her
things back into her bag. Severus followed suit, stuffing the large book back into his bag and
slinging it over his shoulder.

“Should be sausage and mash today.” he said, and Lily’s stomach rumbled; she had
accidentally skipped lunch in favour of Herbology.

“Cheers for the help on the History homework, by the way,” Lily said as they made their way
down stairs to The Great Hall. “I wasn’t so sure on how I was going to structure it.”

“No problem. Thanks for letting me use your notes.”

After a few more moments of silence, Lily spoke again.

“How’s your mum?”

Severus inhaled sharply before replying.

“She’s okay.”

“Have you written to her? Or she, to you? You know you can talk to me about it.” Lily urged.

“Yes, I have, and she replied.” he said shortly.

“What did she–”

“Leave it, Lily.” Severus said sharply, cutting her off. They had reached the Great Hall, and
he ignored her attempt to apologise instead walking over to the Slytherin table, and
immediately helping himself to sausages. Lily stared for a moment, before also making the
way over to her own table. Mary and Marlene were having a passionate discussion about
something, and she didn’t want to disturb them, so instead spooned mash onto her plate.

Her attempt at not disrupting them was in vain, though, as Marlene leaned over.

“‘Ello Lily,” she said, voice slightly muffled, and continued once swallowed, “Pass the
sausages, would you?”

She nodded, passing the platter over.

“Where were you at lunch?” Mary asked, taking a sip of pumpkin juice from a goblet.

“Library.” Lily supplied, pouring gravy on her plate and stabbing a sausage with her knife
and fork.

“You’ll burn yourself out if you’re in there too often.” Mary gave her a pointed look which
Lily chose to ignore.
Their dinner soon disappeared, quickly being replaced by millionaires' shortbread.

“Y’know,” Marlene said, taking a piece of the shortbread. “I dragged Mary along to watch
the Gryffindor Quidditch team practice. You should come along! They’ll practise on Monday
next week, I think.”

“Maybe.” Lily said distractedly, taking a bite of her own biscuit.

“It was actually quite fun.” Mary said. “You should see the way some of them fly! That guy,
uhh–”

“Frank Longbottom.” Marlene cut in.

“Yeah! Longbottom’s really good. So’s his girlfriend, Alice.”

Marlene hummed in agreement.

“It’s not really for me, like I won’t try out or anything, but I love watching it.” Mary
continued, and Lily started to zone out. It had been a long day and she wasn’t a huge fan of
sports…

“Pete!” Potter’s roar could be heard all around the hall. Lily snapped out of the state she was
in and it seemed as if every head in the Great Hall had snapped over to where the Gryffindor
boys were sitting. She let out a snort, for the sight was utterly hilarious. Three boys, all
covered in grey fur and hissing under their breath at each other. Potter and Black seemed
oblivious to the hundreds of pairs of eyes watching them, though Remus seemed incredibly
distressed, and as if he wanted the ground to swallow him up. She could see his shallow
breathing even from where she was sat.

The whole hall was laughing and giggling now, pointing at the three boys, who were now
making their way out of the hall, their very furless friend Pettigrew hurrying after them.
 “How’d you reckon that happened?” Mary asked, still wheezing slightly from the laughter.

“Dunno,” replied Marlene, who’s eyes were watering slightly, “But whoever did it must’ve
been out for revenge. Probably a Slytherin.”

Lily snuck a look over at the Slytherin table, only to find them all roaring with laughter,
though none were laughing as much as Severus.

Chapter End Notes

i hope u guys enjoyed this chapterrr, they should hopefully get longer + more exciting
soon (evans sister angst yay!!)
feel free to leave kudos/comments and lmk what u think!!!
 First Year: Birthdays
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR SIRIUS!” Potter and Pettigrew’s raucous voices bounced off
the stone walls of the hall.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUUUU!” They ended, finally, and Lily looked away from the
cup of tea she was clutching. Her hand hurt from the scalding mug, but it distracted her from
the splitting headache she had woken up with, that had then been amplified by the morning’s
events, so she didn’t mind. Mary groaned quietly next to her, head almost falling into her
porridge. She still had not quite gotten used to the early lesson times, despite it being nearly
November.

“Blimey, what was that racket?” Marlene asked, sliding into the seat next to Lily, earning
herself a reproachful look from both Lily and Mary.

“You’re bloody lucky that you couldn’t find your Herbology book this morning.” Mary sat
up, glaring at Marlene.

“I told you two that you’d regret not helping me find it.” she grinned at them like the
Cheshire Cat.

“What, is this the curse that you said would follow both us and our bloodlines for as long as
they exist?” Mary asked, humour returning to her eyes.

“Yes. You two will also either die before the age of twenty five, or wish you had died then
because your life will be so miserable.”

“Bit bleak, isn’t it? Especially for just wanting breakfast.”

Lily zoned out from their bickering, picking at her brain for something she had been
wondering just before Marlene showed up. Another glance down the Gryffindor table
reminded her.

“Where’s Remus?” she asked, mostly to herself, but both of the other two heard her.

“Hmm?” Mary asked, cocking her head slightly.

“Remus. He’s not with them.”

“Dunno. Didn’t see him in the common room when I came down. He’s probably still in bed.”
Marlene shrugged.

“Don’t blame him,” Mary sighed wistfully. “Wish I could’ve stayed in longer.”

“ You asked me to wake you up earlier!” Lily laughed, before her mind wandered back to
Remus. “I hope Remus’s alright.”

“I mean, me too and all that, but he is kinda scary, isn’t he?” Marlene scrunched her nose up a
bit, and in the early November light Lily had noticed that her freckles had almost completely
disappeared, alongside her summer tan.

“I guess,” Lily muttered, though she clearly remembered finding him rather scary on the
Hogwarts Express. “But he was alright when I went down to tell Slughorn that Sev would
have to miss his detention.”

“Why are you friends with Severus, Lily?” Mary enquired, peering over at where he was sat
at the Slytherin table.

“I’ve known him ages,” Lily shrugged, not wanting to get into detail, and was met with
Mary’s thoughtful brown eyes. She stared at Lily for a moment or so, before turning away
and saying, “Fair enough.”

“Are you two planning on moving?” a Scottish accent said from behind the two girls, and
Lily jumped out of her seat, gathering her things, noticing that almost everyone had cleared
out of the hall, off to lessons.

“Yes, miss…” Mary said, but stopped halfway through her sentence, as she burst into
laughter. Lily turned around, expecting to come face to face with a rather angry McGonagall,
but instead was met with the very amused Marlene McKinnon. She stood with her arms on
her hips, a smile splitting her face.

“Godric! You should see your faces!” she wheezed, clutching the two girls by their shoulders.

“God, Marls, where did you learn to do that?” Mary snorted.

“Danny. He taught me how to do impressions of most of the teachers when I was younger.
Always thought my McGonagall was the best.” Marlene straightened up, grabbing her things
from the bench. “We should probably get a move on, though. Don’t want to be late, or else I
think McGonagall will actually bite our heads off. She’ll go full cat mode and everything.”

“Imagine!” Lily smiled at the thought as she stepped into place next to the two girls. “I bet by
the end of the year she’ll have done something like that to Potter and Black. They’re
insufferable.”

“Willing to put money on that, Lils?” Mary raised an eyebrow at her, and Lily guessed her
face must’ve looked rather comical from the way the two other girls reacted.

“She’s joking, don’t worry.” Marlene sighed, shaking her head slightly.

“For now.” Mary replied, grinning.

“Just wait till I’m prefect,” Lily smiled slyly. “There’ll be no gambling then.”

“No fun.” Mary frowned overdramatically, before the three girls burst into laughter.

“Lily, you’re not just gonna be a prefect,” Marlene started once they had stopped giggling.
“You’re gonna be head girl, then work in the Ministry of Magic, then become the Minister of
Magic, then you’ll become the muggle Prime Minister and then you’re gonna rule the world.”

“No, Marls, that can’t happen, remember?” Lily said matter of factly as they reached the
classroom.

“Why not?”

“Because of your curse!” Mary finished the joke off for Lily, the two girls sharing an amused
look between themselves. “It’s hard to rule the world if you can’t live past 25.”

What they found in the classroom was a rather bizarre sight indeed. Potter and Pettigrew had
pulled out Black’s seat and were ushering him to sit down, with his head held haughtily high,
nose sticking up in the air, looking quite the pureblood that Lily had read about, though she
thought that they would probably lack the humour in his eyes, and the way he then spent half
of the class sleeping.

McGonagall rapped his table with her wand, looking down at him through her spectacles,
raising her eyebrows.

“Sleeping, are we, Mr Black?” she said, and Lily caught Mary and Marlene’s eyes, stifling a
laugh. Luckily no one noticed.
 “No, miss.” he replied, looking up at her cheekily, clearing his hair away from his face. “Just
thinking about the best way to go about transfiguring a goldfish.”

“Well then, if you were, which I highly doubt, please, go ahead.” she placed a small spherical
bowl down that contained one goldfish, swimming endlessly around and around and around.
Lily was thinking about what it would be like to live that life, when the goldfish disappeared
entirely, replaced by a small green vial with marble patterns and an elaborate stopper. Black
looked up again at McGonagall, smirking, and she was about to offer her reluctant praise
when Potter and Pettigrew shot out of their seats, bowing down in front of Black.

Lily rolled her eyes, as did McGonagall.

“Enough you three!” she shouted, giving them a glare that sent them right back to their seats,
though cheeky grins still remained. “I was just about to award Mr Black here five points,
though you have now lost them.”

She looked them up and down, before returning to her desk at the front of the class. “I’d
expect better from my house.”

Lily looked straight ahead at the blackboard, though Marlene’s impression of the strict
teacher still echoed in her head as did the thought of what it would be like to be a goldfish.
She pushed them aside, however, and focused on the lesson.

When provided with her bowl, Lily concentrated as hard as she could on beating Sirius,
though did end up failing. She still transfigured it, into a rather pretty vial, though only
managed to get a cork as a stopper, instead of the twisted vines of Sirius’s. She vowed to do
better next time, and she left the class in a much worse mood than she had started it in.

Chapter End Notes

didnt?? 🤨
ofc i had to introduce marlenes famous mcgonagall impression bc who would i be if i

anywayssss i hope u guys enjoyed this!!! lily is so me with that need for academic
validation and her perfectionism pls 😭
get ready for some sibling angst in the next few chapters bc fun!! right!!! right????
Please drop by the Archive and comment to let the creator know if you enjoyed their work!