Being back at Hogwarts wasn't as fun as Lily had hoped it would be. Now that she has seen what it is like to be a part of a wizarding family, she never wanted to leave. Having returned to school everything became droll, the same classes every day, things began slowing down just a bit, mostly reviewing for their end-of-year exams. They reviewed most of what they did in the first two quarters and wouldn't touch new material for another few weeks.

The only thing splitting up the boring routine is the occasional quidditch match. Though the games aren't too entertaining, at least that is until the Gryffindor Ravenclaw game.

Sitting in the library, Lily squeaks as a paper pigeon hits her in the face. Her friends glance at her as it falls onto her book. Reading it she begins packing up all of her things, hugging Draco around his shoulders and passing her bag off to Ari before making her way to the quidditch pitch.

Arriving she sees Harry and the rest of the quidditch team. Harry wanted her to come to watch their practice with his new broom, unaware that the others would be there Lily pauses, nervous about intruding. Harry hugs her and Oliver Wood welcomes her, "We love an audience, don't we team?"

The others agree, Fred and George throw their arms over her shoulders. "Yeah! We need you to tell us which is the better beater." "Well, obviously it's me." "Ha! You wish, it is so me." "Yeah well, I'm taller!" "I'm handsomer!" "Handsomer isn't a word!"

Oliver shoves them towards the pitch, "Take it to the skies boys, knock it off." The red-heads take off into the air and Oliver points out where she could sit in the stands.

Walking up to the stands she sees Ron and Madam Hooch watching the Gryffindor Team take to the skies. Looking up at the approaching girl, Ron's smile melts off his face.

He doesn't glare at her but Lily can tell this isn't an excited expression. Feeling small under his gaze she gestures to the empty seat beside him, "Can I sit here?"

He relents with a nod and she perches with him, careful of his reaction. They do not speak as the Gryffindors begin their practice. Watching Harry zoom all around the pitch, his steep dive has Alicia Spinnet screaming and Lily grabbing Ron's arm, gasping before holding her breath. Ron watches her face as Harry sharply veers back up safely.

He is aware of how warm her hand is on his arm, the way her eyes shine with a worried shien. When she sighs in relief he cannot help but gaze at her parted lips. His ears burn with embarrassment as she releases him. Her quiet apology is unheard as his heart pounds in his ears. Most of all he feels confused, never in his life has he felt this way. He doesn't like it. Rubbing his arm he tries to remove the lingering feeling of her palm.

Lily doesn't see the confused look on his face or the way he glances back and forth between her and the pitch. Wood releases the snitch and she is very drawn to the multiple ways in which Harry catches it.

Harry makes a move that leaves Lily enthralled. "What was that?" She says it out loud but doesn't expect much of an answer.

Ron blinks, taken aback. "Uh, that was a Sloth Grip Roll," he mutters.

Lily nods thoughtfully. "It looked impressive."

Ron's annoyance begins to wane. He always thought that some Slytherin who would be friends with Malfoy wouldn't be very interested in talking to a 'blood traitor' like him. "Yeah, it's a defensive maneuver. Keeps you from getting hit by a Bludger." He pauses, noticing her genuine interest. Maybe, just maybe, this could be a way to bridge the gap between them. His love for Quidditch was boundless, and here was someone who might listen. His family knows so much about it that anytime he tried to tell his parents anything about it one of his brothers had already told them. She doesn't seem to know much about it at all but, she seems to want to.

"Do you have a favorite team?" Lily asks, surprising him.

"Yeah! The Chudley Cannons," Ron said, his eyes lighting up. "They've had a rough few years, but they're going to make a comeback, I just know it. They've got this new Seeker, Doyle Whitby, who's supposed to be amazing. He's really fast and has great reflexes."

Lily smiles. "I've heard of them. Aren't they the ones with the bright orange uniforms?"

"Exactly! Can't miss them," Ron said, grinning. "And they have the best history. I mean, they've won the League twenty-one times! Just... not recently," he admits sheepishly.

Lily chuckles, and Ron continues, encouraged. "And the maneuvers! There are so many cool ones like the Wronski Feint. It's a dangerous move where the Seeker pretends to see the Snitch and dives straight for the ground, trying to get the other Seeker to follow. Then, at the last second, they pull up, and the other Seeker crashes. Viktor Krum's brilliant at it."

Impressed Lily sits, wide-eyed, "Whose Viktor Krum?"

"Ugh, he's this incredible seeker. He's only seventeen and has already been signed onto the Bulgarian National Quidditch team. He's still in school and already has this successful career lined up. He can spot the snitch from any angle and is incredibly fast and agile. I would love to watch a match between him and Harry. Definitely would be entertaining." Ron said, leaning forward. "He has all these different moves he does. But the Feint is his most known. All quidditch players have a move, Fred and George for example, use the Bludger Backbeat all the time. It's when a Beater hits a Bludger backwards, over their shoulder, without looking. Totally throws off the other team."

Lily nods, absorbing every word. "That sounds amazing. I'd love to see it in action."

Ron grins. "You will trust me. Gryffindor uses it sometimes. Our Chasers are brilliant, and with Harry as Seeker, we've got a real chance at winning the House Cup this year."

Lily smiles at him, "You know so much about quidditch, you must really love it."

Ron shrugged, a bit embarrassed but pleased. "Oh yeah, I could talk about Quidditch for hours."

For the first time, they shared a genuine smile, the beginnings of a bridge forming between them. They continued chatting animatedly, Ron diving into stories about famous matches and legendary players, while Lily listened intently, asking questions and laughing at Ron's enthusiastic descriptions. As the sun dipped lower in the sky, their voices mingled with the sounds of the Quidditch pitch, the conversation continuing without pause, the scene fading out as their newfound camaraderie grew stronger with each passing minute.

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Practice finally comes to an end and Harry stays behind as his teammates leave for the locker room. Leaving the stands and a sleeping Madam Hooch Ron and Lily run over to Harry, complementing his good skills and his broom. Throwing an arm around Lily's shoulder he pulls her into a side hug as he holds his broom out to Ron.

His eyes go very wide as he carefully takes the broom into his hands. "C-can I?"

Harry smiles at his friend, "Go for it."

Ron takes off quickly and the siblings laugh and chat at his excitement. Lily tells him about their talk and Harry is so happy two of his favourite people are getting along so well. As Ron comes back down Harry takes Lily up on the back of his broom, she grips his waist and screams happily as he zooms all around the pitch. Her fear of heights keeps her from fully enjoying the experience while ignoring her fear.

They mess around with Harry's broom for a while longer, only stopping when Madam Hooch woke up. She scolds them for not waking her and sends them back to the castle in the swiftly approaching night.

A pair of glowing eyes in the dark has them all freezing. Shaking Lily grips both arms as Ron casts a Lumos. With a big sigh of relief, they all relax at the sight of Crookshanks. Ron waves his arms around, scaring him off.

"Bloody cat probably looking for a nice bird to wash down Scabbers. Mangy animal." He rolls his eyes and begins to trudge back to the school.

Lily turns to Harry eyes broad with surprise. "Scabbers is dead?" She whispers to him. Harry just holds out a hand, "I'll tell you later." He whispers back.

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The next day, Lily and Draco sit side by side at breakfast. It isn't until Harry and his friends enter the great hall with his new Firebolt that Draco drops his silverware as well as his jaw. The Firebolt causes a huge uproar at breakfast. Children from all different houses change their regular walking paths so they can catch a closer glance.

Deciding he doesn't want to be left out of all the fun, Draco drags Lily, Crabbe, and Goyle over to look at the broom. The regal pair stand in front of the golden trio; the lumbering idiots flank them, keeping an eye on the hostile Gryffindors.

Draco looks down at the shining broom. "Well, well, well. Sure you can manage that broom, Potter?" Harry looks up at Draco's playful smirk.

Harry moves with a nonchalant, ​​blasé air, "Yeah, reckon so."

Draco runs a hand through his pale locks, "Got plenty of special features, hasn't it? Shame it doesn't come with a parachute- in case you get too near a dementor." His taunting gaze is taken so seriously by the redhead at Harry's side that he has to hold his arm to keep him from leaping up.

Harry rolls his eyes with a mocking grin, "Pity you can't attach an extra arm to yours, Malfoy. Then it could catch the snitch for you."

As the Gryffindor team gawfs loudly, Draco walks back over to Slytherin's table. As the blond boy leaves, Lily takes a place across from the two boys. They eat their breakfast to the sound of Ron gushing over all of the special features of the Firebolt.

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Lily walks arm-in-arm with Ari and Pansy, her thin cloak from Malfoy Manor keeping her just warm enough on such a nice day. Arriving at the pitch they take their regular seats, other first-year Slytherins who happened to sit there quickly scramble out of the way. As they wait for the match to start Lily notices a lack of three certain boys.

"Hey Pans," she calls to Pansy, getting her attention. Pansy hums to let her know she's listening. "Have you seen Draco?"

This gets Pansy's full attention and she begins looking around, "Now that you mention it, I haven't seen him, Crabbe, or Goyle since breakfast." The two keep an eye out for the missing boys until the match starts.

The sound of Lee Jordan fawning over the new Firebolt. Occasionally McGonagall makes him get back on track. At one point during the match Wood loudly yells at Harry to stop being so distracted, yes he knows Cho is pretty but he needs to focus on the game and not her lovely face.

Giggling Lily and Pansy begin to discuss Harry's crush on the dark-haired girl.

Everything is just swell until people begin screaming and pointing that they see dementors on the ground. Icy dread fills her veins and the people around her, fear gripping them as they remember what happened the last time.

Before things can get too out of hand Harry shoots a big white spell at them before catching the snitch. Watching the two dementors as the light hits them, it is apparent that something isn't right. Instead of running away, they both fall over into the sand, the bodies flailing, moving inhumanely. Standing Lily tries to get a better look, but the match is forgotten. Suddenly the dementors split in two and Draco Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Marcus Flint tumble from the cloaks. Feeling her fear turn into rage, Lily gathers her things and marches down the stadium toward the pitch.

Gryffindor's team has landed and is celebrating their win as McGonagall yells at the stupid stupid boys. Draco looks away from the fussing professor, bored and slightly irritated. It should've worked but then everything went bright and painful. What the hell even was that? Looking around the pitch he freezes. Big green eyes lock with his own. He starts to smile but it falls off his face at her look of rage. Frozen terror locks him in place, her hair flies around her in a wild, serpentine fury, each strand twisting and writhing like enraged serpents. Her green eyes blaze with a fierce intensity, glowing like molten emeralds, their fiery depths crackling with unrestrained fury. The three second years go pale, their seventh year counterpart laughs at their scared faces. That is, until the furious viper descends upon them.

McGonagall finishes her scolding and steps aside, watching the young girl cut into them. She is struck by the resemblance to a certain redhead student she once had. That girl would also often fuss at her boyfriend and his friends.

Pacing in front of them, face aflame with anger Lily shouts at the group, "What were you thinking?! Dressing up as Dementors in the middle of a match? Are you out of your mind? Do you have any idea how dangerous and irresponsible that was? You could've started a riot, people could have been hurt; and it would've been all your fault! You thought it was funny to try and scare everyone? It was a disaster waiting to happen!"

The boys, still struggling to escape their cloak prison, look down in shame. Their usual bravado squashed by the weight of her fury. Their laughter was replaced by the uncomfortable reality of Lily's reprimand.

Whirling around, she fixes her fiery gaze on the Quidditch captain, "And Marcus Flint, as the oldest you should've known better! You are supposed to be setting an example, being a leader, not encouraging this kind of immaturity and recklessness. This isn't a joke and is not something to take lightly. You're supposed to be the responsible one, not acting like a child!"

Marcus's face turns a deep shade of red, and he stutters, clearly struggling to find words. His usual confident demeanor nowhere to be seen, his gnarled smile fallen into a look of shock and embarrassment.

"This prank was beyond stupid," She continues, her voice unwavering, hands on hips. "You've not only embarrassed yourselves, but also endangered everyone around you. If you think this kind of behavior is acceptable, you are gravely mistaken. I ought to write to your mothers and tell them exactly what you've done."

Marcus's eyes widen, he looks down, clearly overwhelmed by the threat and the intensity of Lily's scolding. The younger boys behind him cowering at the veiled promise.

"And Draco," Lily starts, her voice sharp. At the mention of his name the blond looks up, scared. "You should've known better. I am deeply disappointed in you. You're old enough to understand the consequences of your actions, and yet you chose to ignore them"

Draco shifts uncomfortably, his face betraying a mix of guilt and unease. The sound of the Gryffindor team cheering on their victory turns whispers of this event.

"This is the kind of behavior that gets people into serious trouble, it is unacceptable and I cannot imagine your mother would be pleased to hear about it. You should be ashamed of yourself for acting in such a way." Reaching forward she grasps Draco and Marcus' ears, dragging them along towards the castle. "We're going inside, Professor Snape has plenty more to add I am sure.

The other boys, still struggling to free themselves from their disguises, quickly follow along.. The pitch was left in a heavy silence, the weight of Lily's reprimand and the sight of the boys trailing behind her a clear testament to the gravity of their actions.

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That night as she slept in her bed Lily stirs awake, Snuffles was slowly getting up and moving away. As she shifts the dog nuzzles her cheek letting out a quiet whine, trying to soothe her back to her slumber. Half-asleep she mumbles to him "If you have to go potty just don' forget the password, SerpantSassery." In her delirium she forgets that dogs cannot talk, and therefore cannot give passwords. Although she is asleep again before she can think about it too hard.

Time goes by and she sleeps peacefully until she re-awakens as Snuffles curls back up at her knees. Reaching down she pulls him up to her side, cuddling into his fur. She falls back asleep as Claude and Ceba lay, tangled in her hair.

None the wiser that a certain red-head boy has just awoken the entirety of his house with screams of a murderer, standing over him with a knife.