Her Name Was Lily

Year 1 - Chapter 3

Christmas came and went quickly. My parents insisted on me coming home but I wanted to stay here and enjoy the holidays at Hogwarts. One day during my free period, I was sitting in the library doing a potions assignment when Malfoy and his two friends came up to me. 

"I don't believe we've met. I'm Draco Malfoy, but you probably already knew that. And this is Crabbe and Goyle." His smug expression gave me the feeling that was the school bully and that this conversation wasn't going to go well. 

"Uhh- I'm Lily Madison. Nice to meet you Draco, Crabbe, and uhh- Goyle." 

"I'm assuming, since you don't know who I am, that you're muggle-born. Just like that Granger girl you're always with." 

"How did you know I'm always with Hermione? Have you been stalking me?" I tried making a joke to lighten the mood but he seemed to take it seriously. 

His grin faded into an angered face. "No. I haven't been stalking you. I'm just very observant when it comes to mudbloods like you two." His tone was harsh and his eyes were filled with hatred. 

"Mudblood?" I ask. He snorted and walked away without another word. "Okay, bye." I say, loud enough for them to hear but didn't get any reply. 

I wondered what "mudblood" meant but considering the fact that it included "mud" and "blood" and Malfoy used the word as an insult, I didn't want to ask anyone about it. I also avoided repeating it, in case it meant something offensive. 

After the troll incident, I hadn't really seen the trio. I was really trying to focus on my schoolwork and get the best grades even though at muggle school, I didn't get the best grades. 

I was studying in the common room late one night when a boy came running in. He was breathless and seemed like he was running. "Are you okay? Why were you running?" 

He plopped himself on the couch and sighed dramatically. "I was being chased by a few older Slytherins. Managed to get away without a single scratch." He looked proud of himself and crossed his arms across the back of his head. 

"Why were they chasing you?" 

"I'm a mudblood, what do you expect?" He replied as if it was obvious. 

"Mudblood? Malfoy called me that earlier, what does it even mean?" 

His face dropped and he stared at me with concerned eyes and an open mouth. "A mudblood is someone who's muggle-born. Someone with 'dirty' blood. Someone, apparently, like us." He reached his hand out to me. "I'm Zane Roland, muggle-born." 

I held my hand up and shook his. "Lily Madison, also muggle-born." He let go of my hand and laid back down on the couch. 

"Us 'mudbloods' better stick together," he joked. "We should make a club or something." 

I couldn't help but laugh at the idea of a club with a bunch of muggle-borns. "Why does it matter so much about whether we're muggle-born or not? I mean, aren't we all muggle-born if you think about it?" 

"Well some wizards, like Malfoy and most of the Slytherins, think that if you're 'pureblooded,' you deserve more respect. Some people even think that if you're a half-blood, you're still dirty." 

"That's a load of rubbish, what's the big deal about blood status?" 

"I honestly don't know but I guess it's just something we need to get used to. And maybe try avoiding purebloods unless you're a fast runner." He laughed at his own joke and stood up. "Well, I'm going to bed, I'll see you tomorrow in Potions." 

"Okay, good night, Zane." 

"Night, Lily," he concluded and trudged up the stairs into the boys' dormitories. I didn't know anything about Zane Roland, but he was definitely one of the nicest people I've met at Hogwarts and he was also muggle-born. Even though Hermione was as well, I never really felt like we would be super close friends. With Zane, I just felt like we would become good friends over the rest of our time at Hogwarts. 

I woke up earlier than my other roommates and began getting ready for my first class, which was potions. I was hoping to see Zane but I didn't want to get myself too excited since I barely knew him.

Before leaving, I woke up Hermione and told her that I'd be going to class a little bit earlier than everyone to try and get on Snape's good side; if he even had one. I entered the classroom to see two other students, one was wearing green and the other, red. When Zane made eye contact with me, he waved happily and signalled for me to sit next to him. "Hey Lily!" He greeted kidly. 

"Hey!" I respond, sitting next to him. I was pulling out a piece of parchment and my quill when I heard Draco scoff and snort to himself. I looked at him and questioned, "Is something wrong?"

He rolled his eyes, "Yes, something is wrong. I, a pureblood, am sitting next to two mudbloods. To make it even worse, they're both annoying Gryffindors."

"Well, pureblood, if it bothers you that much, then just move. Or you could be mature and just deal with sitting next to us." I retaliated as snobbishly as I could. Draco, on the other hand, didn't seem to enjoy my "disrespect" towards him. 

"How dare you disrespect me, you piece of filth. I am a pureblood wizard and you two are disgusting mudbloods, so if anyone is going to move, it's going to be you and your little boyfriend." 

I was about to get up and punch him but was held back by Zane. "Lily, calm down. Let's just move." I complied and began grabbing my supplies to move seats. 

"Yeah, listen to mudblood idiot. At least he knows how to respect his superiors." As the words rolled off of Draco's tongue, I found myself inches away from him with my left hand grabbing his shirt and my right hand clenched in a fist about to lunge at his face. 

"You are the piece of filth! If you say anything like that ever again about Zane, I will hurt you." If Zane hadn't pried me off of Draco, I would've punched him in the face without a second thought. 

"Let's just go, Lily." He had a sense of defeat in his voice as if this was just normal for him. "Come on." 

"No!" I stomped back over to Malfoy, who was fixing his shirt. The snobbish look on his face was long gone by now and replaced with anger. "Apologize!" 

"What?" The blond boy questioned. "Why?" 

"Why? Oh I don't know. Maybe because you made a racist comment to my friend." 

"Fine, I'm sorry." Nothing about his tone was genuine but this was the best that I was going to get so I retreated to the table where Zane was seated. 

"You didn't have to do that," He whispered softly. 

"Yes I did. He's foul. If anyone ever does that again to you, you let me know." 

He let out a small but genuine laugh, "Okay I will. But promise me you won't go beating people up." 

"I can't promise that but I'll try my best," I joked and we both laughed quietly. 

"Five points from Gryffindor." We heard from the front of the classroom. The voice was Snape's and was glaring at me. 

"We weren't even doing anything, professor." Zane said as respectfully as he could. 

"You do not speak without permission," he turned dramatically away from us and faced the back of the classroom where two Hufflepuffs were giggling to themselves. "Five points from Hufflepuff. Now... let's get started on today's assignment." 

The rest of the class was dreadful due to Snape's boring lectures and obviously favoritism towards the Slytherins. The only thing keeping me from falling asleep was Zane's constant joking around mimicking our teacher. Somehow, he managed to not be noticed by anyone but me and before I knew it, class was dismissed.

(word count: 1,344)