SEPT

operation goldfish!

"AH MS EDWARDS! Mr. Potter! Two of my best students and Head Boy and Head Girl no less! Are you coming to my dinner this weekend?" Professor Slughorn inquired. 

McGonagall had kept him on, he was a superb teacher after all, but he had announced his retirement ( again ) and intended to leave after that year. This meant that he was determined to collect as many people, that he deemed worthy, as possible. Lily and James being two of them. 

"Of course, Professor," James said with a smile. 

Even though he had his qualms with Slughorn's judgement, James knew he always had good intentions. 

"We wouldn't miss it for the world!" Lily said with a smile as well, unknowingly feeling the exact same sentiment as James. 

James looked at Lily, she had referred to them as 'we' not 'James and I' and at that thought, his smile became bigger. 

"Good! Good! Everyone, take your seats, let's start the lesson. Today, we will be brewing a calming draught," Slughorn cheered as he started the lesson and Lily took a seat next to Charlie, opposite Fred and James. "Take a look at the person next to you, someone whom I presume is a friend, and shake their hand! They will be your potions partner until further notice! Now, open your books to page 86 and you may begin!" 

Charlie and Lily brewed their potion in a disjoined harmony. They didn't know each other that well, but they liked each other and knew that a connection would be forged with time and this class would certainly help with that. There was a silence at the table, until Fred interrupted it as he hated silence. 

"So, Charlie, you play quidditch, right?" Fred asked. 

"Yeah, I do, I'm a beater for Hufflepuff," Charlie replied. 

"And a bloody good one at that!" James exclaimed from across the table. "Last year, you almost hit me at least 200 times."

"I think that's exaggerating it a bit, mate, but you are good Oswald," Fred added in.

"Thanks!" Charlie exclaimed. 

"Are you ready for the upcoming match?" Fred inquired. 

"Slytherin against Hufflepuff? Of course we are! We've been training our arses off every night. Thanks for letting us use one of your practice times!" Charlie said as he grinned and stirred in the crocodile heart. "Hey Lily, how many times do I have to stir?"

"Uh ... let's see ... 6 times clockwise, 8 times counter-clockwise then 4 times clockwise again. We have to sprinkle the chopped peppermint intermittently. That should do it," Lily said as she furrowed her brow, trying to read the book. 

The lighting in the dungeons was truly horrendous. No wonder so many Slytherins studied in the library and Great Hall. Charlie nodded and Lily started to mince the peppermint. The finer it was, the easier it would blend into the potion. 

"Have you ever considered quidditch Lily? You're the only one here who doesn't play," Fred inquired. 

"Oh, no. Once in third year, but not really. I don't even know a position I would be suited for. Also, I'm terrible at flying. So that's also a big problem," Lily said as she shrugged. 

"Wow, something Lily Edwards isn't good at ..." James teased.

"Oh believe me, I'm terrible at a lot of things," Lily joked.

"Like what?" James challenged.

"Divination. Caring for Magical Creatures. Flying — " Lily listed.

"Alright, alright," James said and shook his head. 

Lily finished chopping the peppermint and started to sprinkle it into the cauldron. Charlie continued to stir in the directions that he was supposed to. 

Eventually, with all of the ingredients combined and the stirring almost done, a lovely peppermint-lavender aroma wafted up. Everyone at the table greatly enjoyed it, Lily most of all as she loved lavender more than anything as it reminded her of the endless fields in Provence. Slughorn reached their table as he went around, helping students and grading those already done.

"Ah, some of my best students! Ms. Edwards, Mr. Oswold, this potion is very good, per usual! Top marks for you both! Clean your cauldron and then you are free to go," Slughorn exclaimed. Charlie and Lily started to clean up as he assessed James and Fred's potion. 

Charlie muttered a quick spell and the potion drained itself. He put his cauldron in his bag as Lily put the materials and books into hers. They walked out together, Lily was expecting to be stopped by James, but she remembered that he hadn't finished yet. 

"So....you want to become a healer, right?" Charlie asked, breaking the awkward silence as they walked. 

"Yeah, and you want to become a spell maker?" Lily asked as she nodded. 

"I do, it just seems so cool, you know!" Charlie explained.

"Totally! And you're really good at charms, so it should be easy for you!" Lily remarked. 

Charlie laughed a little and Lily smiled. They went quiet for a little bit.

"So what did you think of the Black Widow movie?" Charlie asked. 

"I loved it! She's so cool. And Florence Pugh, ugh, she could propose and I would ask when the wedding was!" Lily gushed. 

He was in hysterics. Lily just shrugged, it was true, she could remember when she first saw Midsommar. That was the moment when she knew that she was bi. She had an inkling when she saw Lily James in Cinderella because she looked gorgeous in that dress and not gorgeous like how you'd call your friend gorgeous but fuck I want to kiss you gorgeous. 

To Lily, being bi was something that was confusing. She was in a constant state of 'oh that's a cute boy, am I just faking liking girls and am actually straight to then seeing a cute girl and being like oh am I faking like boys and am I actually gay, what the hell is going on in my body'. So she didn't really like to talk about it much. 

It wasn't something that she was ashamed of, by no means, but like most things about her — aside from favorite colors or Hogwarts house — she wasn't very keen on sharing. She was a very private person. It's not like she didn't tell people, it's more like she wouldn't bring it up, if not prompted. That's one of the things that she had always admired about Estelle. She was so sure of herself and wasn't afraid to announce to the world who she was. But Charlie knew. He was friends with her friends after all.  

"I agree with you on that one, objectively, Florence Pugh is quite beautiful, but we all know I'm head over heels for Rubes!" Charlie said with a wide grin. 

Lily chuckled a bit. 

"More like you're tripping over yourself at this point. She could tell you to jump into the black lake naked in front of McGonagall and you'd do it," Lily teased. 

"I'm not that — " Charlie protested.

"Don't deny it! Yes you are!" Lily exclaimed. 

"I'm not that lovey dovey!" Charlie protested, again. 

"Own up to it Charlie! It's adorable!" Lily said softly. 

"Alright fine. Maybe she's the most beautiful person I've ever seen. And the smartest. And the funniest ... wait I'm sorry ... is this — " Charlie gushed. 

"Oh no no, please, do not stop on my account! I'm enjoying this!" Lily said with a cheeky grin. 

Charlie rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Are we friends Charlie?" Lily asked. 

"Well I would hope so!" Charlie exclaimed. 

"Sorry, just making sure," Lily muttered.

"Don't apologise. You did nothing wrong," Charlie said as he nudged her side. 

Lily paused for a moment and smiled.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I can see why Ruby likes you so much," Lily said with a smile. 

"I won't and thank you very much, likewise," Charlie replied.  

They smiled at each other and reached the Great Hall in time for lunch only to find that the doors were bound shut. They found Nyah and Henry already standing near them, trying to open the doors using both spells and brute force. A crowd started to form as more students were being let out of classes to head to lunch. The students were growing restless, calling for people to open the doors and asking for McGonagall. Eventually she showed up, her cape billowing behind her as she marched over.

"What in the name of Merlin is going on? Ms. Edwards?" McGonagall asked. 

"Well Professor, it seems that the doors to the Great Hall have been magically shut and no one can get in. I've asked the elves to send up some food because people are getting quite hungry," Lily explained. 

"Very well," McGonagall muttered. 

And with that, she drew her wand and everyone cleared, making way, this was Minvera McGonagall we're talking about. She muttered a quick "Alohomora" and the doors clicked open. They started to slide open while creaking ominously. 

They revealed the Great Hall entirely submerged in water with various sea creatures and plants growing and swimming in it. The water did not spill out when the doors opened, but rather stayed, as if sealed in by glass. McGonagall cautiously walked forward and the water tension suddenly broke and spilled all over everyone in proximity to the Great Hall. 

The sound of laughter and high fives were heard from behind them. The crowd parted to reveal  Fred, James, Lysander and Lorcan, laughing hysterically. Professor McGonagall walked over to them in quick strides, grabbed each by the hoods of their cloaks and promptly dragged them, protesting, to her office. 

"Professor! It was just a little bit of fun!" Fred exclaimed as she heaved them up the stairs.

"Yeah Professor, they needed it!" James reasoned.

"I will not hear a word of it, especially from you, Mr. Potter! You are Head Boy! You need to be setting an example for the rest of the school! Not prancing around like a hooligan!" McGonagall said sternly as she took her seat behind her desk, the four boys standing in front of it. "I gave you a responsibility, the younger students look up to you and this is how you behave?" 

She shook her head. "Now, I will let you off with a warning ..." McGonagall said in defeat. 

This prompted a cheer from the boys. 

"A warning ... if I catch you doing any shenanigans like this again, I will replace you!" she said sternly. 

This caused the boys to stop their self-congratulations. 

"Thank you Professor, it won't happen again," James said as he mustered an innocent smile and curt nod. "If you'll allow us, we'll be on our way."

"Not so fast, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Messrs Scamander ..." She sighed. "You all have incredible talent and aptitude for magic, that is apparent. It takes a very talented wizard to pull off what you did in the Great Hall, no matter the age. Please use your talents for something more productive. I will be taking house points away from all of you ..."

This caused the boys to protest.

"Be grateful I am not punishing you more!" she exclaimed. 

This shut them up, once again. 

"80 points from Gryffindor and 40 from Hufflepuff and Slytherin. You may go," she instructed. 

They all smiled guiltily and proceeded to head out the door. Only once they were sure that she couldn't hear them, did they speak to each other. 

"I told you not to do it!" Lorcan exclaimed. "I told you we would get in trouble!" 

"Wasn't it you that suggested the fish, Lor?" James challenged. 

"Yes, but ..." Lorcan said. 

"No buts ... you were in it just as much as us," Lysander said as he crossed his arms over his chest. 

"No butts! Now come on Ly, let the guy have a social life!" James joked. This earned him a hit over the head from Fred.

"Haha, very funny James," Lysander said as he rolled his eyes.

"But you have to admit, though we got caught, that was wicked!" Fred cheered. "I have a great idea for the greenhouses ..."

"Fred! You heard what McGonagall said! If we get caught, James could loose his Head Boyship!" Lorcan protested. 

"Well James does have his dad's invisibility cloak ..." Fred started saying. 

"And if we aren't near it, then how could it be us?" James finished for him. 

"And you'd break a million school rules in the process," Lorcan protested. 

"Who gives a damn about rules?" James laughed.

"What a wonderful Head Boy you are James!" Fred laughed along with him. 

Fred started walking backwards in front of the group, talking animatedly about a new idea for a prank. Eventually, they all reached the Great Hall, again. Once they did, they were greeted with applause and whistles from some of the students and grumbles from others. They reveled in the attention. Then, suddenly, a furious looking Lily Edwards approached the group. 

"Are you serious, Potter? Really? Turning the Great Hall into an aquarium? That's what 'operation goldfish' was?" she huffed as her cheeks turned as red as his tie in her fury. 

"Sirius is my middle name, darling," James said with a cocky smile. 

"I can't believe you ..." she muttered as she pinched the bridge of her nose as she calmed herself.

 He then used his finger to push her chin upwards, so she was once again face-to-face with him. 

"Oh but you can, love, I even included turtles, just for you," he said with a smile. Her face went a little red. Perhaps from anger, perhaps from ...

"Oi! Shove off Potter!" Ben called out, coming to stand behind Lily, arms crossed and a threatening look on his face. 

"Nice to see you too, Thomas. Edwards, have a fantastic day!" James said with a wink and proceeded to walk with his friends to the nearest table and sat down. 

"Honestly, the nerve of that boy ..." Lily huffed as Ben guided her back to the table. "Is he a good Head Boy? Yes. He does every I ask him to, and he's nice and respectful. But sometimes ... sometimes ... he pulls shit like that and it's just so confusing!" 

"What's confusing Lil?" Henry asked while smiling knowingly. She froze. 

"Nothing. Nothing's confusing," Lily stuttered as her cheeks flushed.

"You sure?" Henry challenged with a smirk.

"Yup," Lily stated, her face setting in annoyance.

"Ok then ...." Henry trailed off.

"I am sure Henry," Lily exclaimed.

"I never said you weren't!" Henry said as he put his hands up in surrender. 

"Well you implied it! I'm sure. End of conversation," she huffed and then took a deep breath to compose herself. "So, how has everyone's day been going?" 

Like usual, they all took turns, recounting something funny that happened in class or complaining about the loads of homework that was being assigned.

"I mean honestly, Clearwater won't teach us anything else until they've handed in their essays. You know they won't!" Nyah complained. 

Lily thought for a moment. She too wanted to start learning more because as fascinating as learning about Basilisk's was, there were only so many times you could label the uses of their venom and still maintain sanity. 

"I could always take one for the team ..." Lily said to herself, but it was overheard.

"What?" Henry asked. 

"I could always ask Potter if he wanted to work on it with me. I'm positive Lorcan's already done it. Lysander is probably almost done and I don't know about Weasley. But I do know that even if none of them have done it, Potter doing it will force them to as well. I could always offer to work on it with him. He won't say no," Lily explained.

"That's actually kind of brill Lily. I mean ... could you try and schedule it during quidditch? I'm all for more practice, but Ben and I need to figure some last minute stuff out for our party and we have no time," Nyah asked. 

"Uh, sure, I can definitely try," Lily replied. 

"Well, Lil, now or never." Henry exclaimed, pulling the girl up from the bench.

"What? No! I just sat down ... Henry ... stop." Lily protested.

"You'll back out and then you'll forget. That's how these things go with you," Henry reasoned.

"I will not back out!" Lily exclaimed. 

"Do I need to remind you of the Mallory Winston episode of '16?" Henry asked as he raised an eyebrow.

Lily blew a piece of hair out of her face and pouted. 

"Fine," she muttered. 

And with that she started walking, more like trudging, over to where the boys sat, happily chatting. 

"Edwards! I never expected to see you approach us! How may we help you?" Fred exclaimed, throwing his arms up in welcome. This caused James to look behind in surprise and then put on a goofy smile. 

"You just couldn't resist me, could you Edwards?" James asked. 

She rolled her eyes.

"Sometimes I hate you, but I'm not here to scold you, on the contrary actually," Lily huffed as she tried to feign cordiality.

The boys looked up at her expectantly. Lorcan grabbed Fred's hand in anticipation. Both blushed. She noticed and her eyes widened a little as more dots started to connect. 

"Um ... Potter ... I was wondering if maybe you wanted to ..." Lily stuttered. 

"Date me? Marry me? Date me, then marry me?" James suggested cheekily. 

"What? No! You know what, forget it. This was a lost cause," she exclaimed as she turned on her heel and started to head back to her table. 

James scrambled up from his seat and stopped her by grabbing her hand. The Great Hall held its breath. People stared, some more discreetly than others, at the standing pair.

"I'm sorry, what did you want to ask?" James asked quietly. 

"Nothing," she muttered.

"Yes you did, you wanted to ask something," he insisted. 

"Fine, I wanted to know if you wanted to work on the Basilisk essay with me for Defense. I noticed you hadn't turned it in yet," Lily finally said as she gave him an annoyed look.

James was speechless.

"Oh ... uh ..." James stuttered. 

"Right, so the library?" Lily asked.

"The library," James repeated.

"On Thursday?" Lily asked.

"On Thursday," James repeated.

"At five?" Lily asked.

"At five. Wait, I have quidditch practice," James said, furrowing his eyebrows. 

"Oh, well, I don't know when else I'm available, I can go and check ..." Lily trailed, knowing she had him. 

Lily turned to leave, but James stopped her again, head shaking. 

"No no, missing one practice won't hurt. Thursday at five in the library," James said with a small smile and a nod.

"Don't be late," Lily softly said with a smile as she turned back to her table. James pumped his fist in the air and ran back to the boys. 

"The deed is done," Lily sighed as she plopped back down. 

"You two looked cute up there," Henry said. Lily glared at him.

"Let's talk about less depressing things like ... how epic your birthday party is going to be!" Lily exclaimed.

"Saturday. Gryffindor common room. Drinks, dancing, dares. Be there!" Nyah announced to the group. 

"Or you're a fucking square," Ben exclaimed, grinning and high-fiving Nyah.

"We're going to be 18!!!" Nyah yelled with pure excitement.

"My only  rule is that the younger years don't get their hands on any alcohol. It's bad for them and I don't want to have to mother a group of drunk third years who have no sense of their tolerance level," Lily begged, remembering birthdays past. 

"Why do you think we need the extra time? Ben and I are going to try and charm the cups so fourth years and under can't get their hands on any. Ben found a book, so we just need to figure out how to do it without making shit explode," Nyah explained. 

"Oh, perfect then! That's settled, I can't wait!" Lily cheered.

"We have the Edwards stamp of approval, Ny, I think we go full steam ahead!" Ben said, nudging Nyah in the side. Lily winked playfully at Ben. 

"I think so too Ben!" Nyah cheered, "we've got to dash, we only have a few days and we want to be charming the cups by Thursday!" 

Nyah and Ben packed up their stuff and headed off to the Library for the remainder of lunch. Lily and Estelle worked on homework, Ruby found the Hufflepuff that she was talking to, Henry finally mustered the courage to ask out a 6th year Gryffindor that he'd liked for a while and Charlie found some other members of the Hufflepuff quidditch team to discuss plays. 

Lunch went by quickly and so did the remaining classes for the day. People were in a good mood. Halloween was the next week, the Thomas birthday bash was that weekend and the air was cold, which meant hot chocolate and hot pastries. 

Before she knew it, it was Thursday and Lily was freaking out because of studying with James. Normally, she would talk to Nyah, but she was preoccupied with her birthday party. She had offered to listen, but Lily declined, knowing how important the party was to the girl. So, she found herself talking to Henry Stints in the courtyard. 

"I just ... wait why am I so worried about this?" Lily asked.

"I don't know Lil, maybe you like him?" Henry suggested.

"What? No! He's James Potter for Merlin's sake! No. No. No," Lily denied profusely. 

"You sure? You seem to be denying it more than normal — " Henry pressed.

"Because I really don't like him," Lily growled.

"If you say so ..." Henry trailed off. 

"Let's talk about something different!" Lily exclaimed. 

"Alright, but you know you have to sort out your emotions sometime," Henry said warily. 

"I do not like James Potter!" Lily exclaimed. 

"Alright fine! You don't like Potter! What do you want to talk about?" Henry asked.

"How did it go?" Lily asked with a mischievous grin. 

"What do you mean?" Henry asked.

"You know what I mean! With Will! Only if you're comfortable telling me," Lily said. 

"No, no, you're all good. It went really well! Next Hogsmeade trip, we're going to the Three Broomsticks together and I'm really excited! He's ... different ... than all of the others," Henry exclaimed. 

"Wait, really? That's brilliant Henry! I'm so happy for you! I'll talk to Potter and Professor McGonagall and see if we can move up the date," Lily said.

"Lil you don't have to!" Henry protested. 

"Oh but I will! My sugar quill stash needs replenishing anyway," Lily said as she waved it off. 

Lily winked and Henry grinned. 

"Then of course you need to move up the date!" Henry said with a laugh. 

"Yes! It's just a happy coincidence!" Lily exclaimed. 

They giggled to each other. The wind swept through their hair and the faint call of a bird was heard. Henry's green tie fluttered a bit in the wind, the same wind picked up the ends of Lily's blue scarf. His curls rustled slightly and a few strands of her hair flew themselves in front of her face. 

Her half-ponytail had done a poor job of keeping her hair contained. Henry sat cross legged in the grass while Lily had her legs hugged to her chest, resting her chin on them. They heard the oncoming rush of laughter and joyous talking as classes were starting to be let out.

She shifted her head to face Henry who had closed his eyes, feeling the air. They had been through so much together. She may go to Nyah for advice, but Henry knew the most about her. They had spent many late nights together in the Slytherin common room comforting each other in front of the fire. He had had such a tough childhood. It's a wonder how he was who he was now. And yet there he was, smiling, as the wind caressed his face. She smiled. 

"What?" Henry murmured.

"Hm?" Lily hummed.

"You're staring," Henry said softly. 

"You're happy," Lily said with a small smile. 

"I am," Henry confirmed.

He looked at her with an unreadable expression.

"And that's in no small way thanks to you," he said. 

"Well I love you Henry," Lily mumbled.

"Well I love you too Lily," Henry teased slightly. 

"Good. I'd hope so," Lily retorted.

"And I always will," Henry said. 

"Well that's a relief, because I had the same plan," Lily teased. 

She laid her head on his shoulder. He kissed the top of it. 

"You're my sister," Henry said finally. 

"And you're my brother," Lily replied.