Silver Lining

Chapter 1

"Violet Andrews, I may have to take points off Gryffindor for forgetting about me." My attention snapped away from the book in my lap, and I squealed with delight at the sight of my friend.

"Lily! It's so good to see you!" I laughed, jumping to my feet to hug the gorgeous red-haired girl, already changed into her school uniform.

"You too!" Lily pulled back, looking me up and down. "What happened to that scrawny fourth year? You look wonderful, Vi!" I flicked my dark, wavy hair over my shoulder dramatically.

"It's amazing what a little Summer can do," I laughed, taking my seat again. "Now, sit down and talk to your friend. I've been alone this whole train ride because of you."

"Sorry, I was busy being briefed in the Prefects compartment," Lily apologised, but I could hear the excitement she struggled to contain in her voice.

"Didn't I tell you you'd be a Prefect? Maybe I should have kept up Divination..." I laughed, looking out the window. "Who's the other in our year?"

"Remus Lupin..." Lily answered. Oh man, I should have known. I noticed Lily had a slightly sheepish expression on her face, and waved her off.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm over it? He found them, I found you - and I'm sure we're both better off because of it." I smiled, crossing my legs casually. The amount of times I had to reassure her of this was getting out of hand. Lily nodded slowly, not convinced.

"How was France?" she finally said, grinning, and I sat up happily.

"It was amazing, despite my lack of fluency when it comes to actually speaking French."

"So, you're not going to pack up and move to Beauxbatons all of a sudden?"

"Definitely not," I grinned, then something occurred to me and my smile dropped. "Unless you decided to start dating James Potter over the summer." Lily scoffed and let out a disbelieving laugh.

"Oh, you're hilarious."

---

Lily and I spent the next while laughing and exchanging stories of our holiday, only emerging from the compartment about half way through the journey to perform Lily's regular prefect rounds.

"Lily!" Severus Snape's lightly surprised expression morphed into a something between a smile and a grimace as his eyes shifted over to me. "and Violet. Great."

"Always a joy to see you, Severus," I smirked slightly, pulling my bag up onto her shoulder. As we had grown older, Lily and Severus had slowly grown apart as Lily and I became better friends. This not only greatly annoyed Severus, but he also hated my personality and general presence in the premises. Needless to say, we weren't the best of friends.

Severus rolled his eyes and turned back to Lily.

"So, how was your-"

"Evans!" Another call from behind us turned our attention to the boys strolling down the corridor.

"What is it, Potter?" Lily sighed, exchanging a familiar look of annoyance with me.

James Potter smiled as he approached the three of us, leaning against the windowsill. He stuck a hand into the pocket of his jeans, and fixed the collar of his t-shirt, which showed off his arms very nicely. Most Quidditch players had rather gorgeous bodies and James Potter was especially fit - not that I noticed, of course. He ran a hand through his messy black hair, glasses glinting from the light of torches lining the hallway.

"How was your holiday? Still single?"

"I was just about to tell Severus, if you hadn't interrupted," she answered curtly, ignoring the second question and crossing her arms. He rolled his eyes and glared at Severus, scowling.