Something Just Short of Perfect

Hogwarts was perfect the day Lily Evans returned for her seventh year. With its perfectly pristine lake and its perfectly planted grounds surrounded by a perfectly petrifying forest, everything was good in the world. She was going to be a perfect Head Girl and be respected by all her perfect peers. This was going to be her year. Hogwarts, always perfectly Petuntia-less, was now better than ever.

It was perfectly Potter-less.

It was this state of mind that kept Lily from grumbling at the mud caused by the currently falling rain, shouting insults at Peeves as he hit her and her friends with a well-aimed water balloon, and bursting into tears along with the rest of Hogwarts' female population when they realized that their new shoes bought specifically for the first day of school were ruined by the weather. No, Lily Evans was in a state of bliss that nothing could remove her from. Hopefully....

'Lily! Pass me the potatoes, please!' screamed Tanner McFallon, Lily's

dorm-mate and best friend, for the fourth time.

Lily's eyes focused. "Oh, sorry, Tanner. Here you go."

"You blanked out, Lily."

Lily sighed. "I know, I can't seem to stop doing it. It's gotten really bad these past few days."

Tanner laughed. "It couldn't be because our favourite group of guys has graduated, could it?"

Lily grinned. Of course it was! No longer would James Potter and his group of morons bother her. She could study in the common room, and feel safe walking alone in the hallways. The past six years of torture were going to prove to be worth it, she just knew...

"Lily!"

"Right! Sorry." Lily turned to look at her friend. Tanner, with her light grey eyes and practically grown out brown hair, simply grinned in response.

It was obvious to Lily that if she wanted to be a perfect Head Girl and a good friend, she would simply have to swallow her glee about the removal of James and his cronies and get on with her life. After all, she had N.E.W.T.'s to pass and there was no way that a bubble-headed nitwit could score the marks she hoped to achieve.

"So, Lily, as Head Girl, have you heard anything about the Transfiguration professor replacement?" Dashwood Ryann asked as he sat down beside Tanner.

Dash was a Ravenclaw and Lily's other best friend, as well as Tanner's boyfriend of one year. He held Tanner's hand underneath the table, slowly rubbing small circles on her palm.

"No, actually, I haven't. Have you?"

Dash shook his head, his blue eyes shining with concern. Lily had always been close to Professor McGonagall and he knew that Lily was affected greatly by the Transfiguration teacher's sudden and violent illness. The young professor had been in the middle of teaching last year's Sixth Year Gryffindor class, when she had suddenly collapsed on the floor. The room had erupted into madness, with confused students running in every direction and the students with slightly more sense barking directions to them. Despite their Year and sixteen-year-old intelligence, they had been unable to realize that McGonagall needed professional help until it was almost too late. Dash knew very well that Lily blamed herself for the outcome of the event and wished that there was some way he could convince her that it was not her fault. He actually did not know exactly what Lily had done when the teacher collapsed, and Tanner refused to tell him.

The new professor would only be a sub-in for Professor McGonagall, as the medi-wizards at St. Mungo's claimed that she would make a complete recovery and would be able to return by the beginning of next year. Still, Dash assumed that Lily would make it her personal business to ensure that the Transfiguration professor would enjoy his or her stay, be respected (at least by Lily's own class) and be safe from harm. What harm it was that could actually befall him or she, Dash didn't know, but he was certain, as he watched a firm look of resolve spread across Lily's face, that she would do everything in her power to evade it. And Dash knew, quite well in fact, that Lily Evans was a force to be reckoned with.