A Lesson for Lily

The name's Lily. Lily Evans. You might know me now as Lily Potter. But when my story takes place, I'm still Lily Evans. And this is how it goes.

"Lily!!!!"

"What?" I yelled down the stairs to my mother.

"We have to go! Your train leaves in fifteen minutes!!!!"

"Okay, Mom. Don't blow a gasket..."

I walked down the stairs, lugging an immensely heavy trunk down the stairs. Thump. Thump. Thump.

Loading the trunk into the back seat of my mom's old station wagon, I slid in up front.

"Now, Lily..." Mom began.

"Mom, I know. I won't make out with any boys this year, or do anything like that. I know this little speech; you don't have to tell me again. I'm a big girl now, in 6^th year."

"Well, if you say so, Lily..."

Arriving on the Hogwarts Express, I sat down in a compartment with my friends Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. James Potter, my boyfriend, was also there. I felt something hit the back of my head and I turned around.

BOOM!

My face was covered in ashes as I narrowed my eyes and glared at Sirius for throwing the ash bomb at me. All the boys were cracking up and I had to laugh, too. You must admit, it was a little funny.

Someone walked in front of our compartment door. They briefly stared into the room before moving on.

"Uh, um, Lily, excuse me for a second, I have to go to the bathroom." James untwined his fingers from mine and sped out the door.

"James!" Sirius called. "Your blonde roots are showing. The bathroom's THAT way." He pointed to the left.

A little embarrassed, James headed in the direction that Sirius had pointed towards.

I rolled my eyes, thinking nothing of it.

Sirius and I played Exploding Snap while Remus read a book. I was beating Sirius soundly when James walked back into the compartment.

"God, how long did you have to go for?" I asked, not looking up from the game.

"James, are you wearing lipstick?" Remus asked, laughing again. Out of the corner of my eye I saw James hastily wipe his mouth.

"No," he said defensively.

This is where things started to get a little fishy. I raised an eyebrow at James and continued to play as the cards exploded in Sirius' face, singing his eyebrows.

I really am an observant person. But I wasn't using my best brain that day, because I should have suspected something odd about the way James was acting.

When the truth came to bite me on the nose, we were leaving the Great Hall after the Sorting. I was looking around for James to walk upstairs with him.

*He's always been waiting for me after the Sorting! Where is he now?* I thought.

The Entrance Hall had cleared, and I still hadn't found James. I decided to go upstairs, it wasn't worth it.

I had one foot on the first step when I heard something in the corridor to my right. I slowly turned, still with my foot on the step. And there I saw it.

James was kissing another girl.

"James!" I shrieked.

He stopped dead, the color draining from his face.

"L-Lily! What are you doing h-h-here?" he asked sheepishly.

"No, James, the question is, what are you?"

I turned and ran up the staircase, tears filling my eyes and threatening to spill over.

"Lily, wait!" he said, and dashed up the stairs. He caught up with me and put his arm around my shoulders.

"Get your filthy hands off me!" I yelled, turning around to face him. "We're through, and you know it. I never want to see you again. Get away from me, James."

I continued to run up the stairs, until I smacked into someone.

"Sorry," I grunted and made to keep running but the person grabbed me by the back of my robes.

"Hold on, Evans," a cold voice drawled.

*Great...* I thought. *Just what I need, Lucius Malfoy! Ugh.*

"Get off me, Malfoy," I snapped, and tried to keep going but Malfoy would not let me go.

"Turn around and face me."

"No."

Malfoy seized my shoulders and spun me around.

"You're crying, Evans. Tell me why."

"Didn't I say get off me? Go away."

But then I looked up at him. I noticed that he looked different. He wasn't mousy-looking anymore, but on the contrary rather handsome. Still, he was not a nice person and I didn't feel like being around him.

"No, Evans. I won't until you tell me why."

"Fine. James was kissing someone else and so I dumped him. Happy now?" And I ran away before he could question me further.

Back up in the Gryffindor common room, everyone tried to ask me what had happened.

"I'M NOT TELLING ANY OF YOU!!! LEAVE ME ALONE!!!" I finally had to yell this so people would stop talking to me.

I went out the portrait hole and slammed the painting of a young girl in a pink dress behind me.

"Watch it!" the painting called as I stormed off down the corridor.

I angrily ran out onto the grounds and dove into the lake, landing on someone.

"God Almighty, Lucius, can't I get away from you?" I asked in an agitated tone as he came to the surface. "And why are you out here, anyway?"

I climbed onto the shore and sat down. He stayed in the water but put his arms on the bank to hold himself up.

"Because I knew you would be here and I wanted to talk to you."

"What do you want, Malfoy? You're being too...well, civil."

"Nothing, Evans." Lucius Malfoy drawled.

"Well, then, if you don't mind I'm going back inside to get away from Slytherin filth."

"Wait!" he called. Something in his voice made me stop.

"What?"

I walked back to the banks of the lake, wringing out the bottom of my robes as I walked.

"Listen, Lily. Come sit next to me."

"Okay," I said, and stiffly sat on the bank next to him.

"I don't think that James is the kind of person that would do something to hurt you. Not just you, but anyone. I think you should listen to him. See what his side of the story is. As much as I hate him, I think he deserves another chance. Remember that, and go talk to him."

I just stared at Lucius. What in the world was he doing? What was he saying?

Then it registered in my brain. He wanted me to give James another chance?

*Well, it wouldn't hurt to hear James' part of the story...* I thought.

"Okay. Thank you." I said, and almost sprinted to the castle to talk to James.

As it turns out, the girl kissed James. She also had him under a spell that would make him like what he was doing. He had hated this girl, Narcissa LeBlanc, but under her spell there was nothing he could do.

That night I learned a lesson from someone I never had expected I would. But I did. And giving people chances doesn't hurt, I guess. Because without the help of Lucius, I would never have gotten back together with James, and we never would have had Harry.

So now I'm going to say what I should have said to Lucius.

Thanks.