Jily oneshots

Change

by bluerainlilies

Spring and summer meant beginnings, the opening of flower buds, the grass greening on the Hogwarts ground, and the return of creatures from the Forbidden Forest. From the windows of the seventh grade Gryffindor girl's dorm, Hagrid could be seen pulling out a giant makeshift grass clipper, tending to his garden, presumably planting his famous giant pumpkins for the next year's Halloween feast. With a sharp longing in Lily Evans's stomach, she realized that she wouldn't be here to see it. She half-heartedly settled down a red tie onto her bed, where a growing pile of scattered clothing laid, resolved to pack up later, and didn't dare to make a noise as she tipped toed across the room.

There were five beds in the dorm, but only four girls in Lily's year at Gryffindor, including herself. The bed closest to hers belonged to Marlene McKinnon, who stirred slightly in her sleep. Her princess curled blonde hairs was tied up in a ponytail, wild from a night of Quidditch playing most likely, though she technically wasn't on the team anymore. As she passed, Lily straightened out the stack of books that looked as if it was going to fall over any moment. The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Seven, was opened to a page, detailing how to make pear-flavored radishes, left from the intense exam studying only a week before. Could that be right? Only a week before Lily's mind was on exams? Only a week before she still calling herself as a Hogwarts student. She remembered quizzing Marlene on this exact spell on the day of their Charms exam.

"What's the spell to make a radish taste like a pear?" Lily asked impatiently, expecting the racing answer just as she would've done, but Marlene being Marlene, sighed deeply, making a huge show.

"Is something bothering you Marley?" Lily looked up, unwillingly, from the book, "Other than the fact that our NEWT Charm Exam is in an hour?" She then looked to her watch, "Less than an hour."

"It's a stupid spell." Marlene grumbled, Lily didn't take it too hard, her Quidditch-loving friend was prone to criticizing every detail that wasn't fit to her desire, "If I wanted a pear, I would've just summon one from the grocery."

"Okay…" Lily said, "What's the spell to summon a pear?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Marlene yelled, "I don't care! It's an old spell, I just don't think it's very practical, that's all!"

"Old but gold." Lily chirped her mantra, "Now come on Marley, let's squeeze in ten more questions before we start on Transfiguration, Emme is coming in a few moments, and that's her specialty."

"Is the great Lily Evans admitting to not be good at something?" Marlene gasped dramatically, though still obviously avoiding studying, "Are Slytherins handing out cupcakes in the Great Hall right now?"

Lily rolled her eyes, "I'm improving, all right? I can admit when I have a problem, and fix it."

"Took you three months to get with Potter when you finally figured out you like him." Marlene mumbled, though Lily pretended not to listen, and resolved to mentally quiz herself instead. Marlene played around with a loose snitch between her pointer finger and thumb until Emmeline Vance came through the portrait hole.

Lily looked to Emme now, her black hair ravenous and hide most of her face in the shadows, though not disguising her smeared lipstick quite well. She smiled fondly at the memory of the night before, the smuggled firewhiskey, the mysterious underwear, and the unlimited supply of treacle tart that seem to appear all over the Gryffindor common room, and Emme was in middle of it all. She was a darling friend, and most of the time, reasonable as well. Emme's one weakness was alcohol, evident by an empty glass bottle of violet drink on her bedside.

"Lils!" Emme yelled from across the room. Lily was engaged in a discussion with Remus Lupin about their answers on the Transfiguration Exam (so it had been Aguamenti, not Aguamentus), when Emme bursted out laughing. If not for the fact that at least two thirds of the population was drunk, Lily would've felt a burning sense of second hand embarrassment for her friend.