Thursday October 20th, 2016, 6:35 AM

"Lily! If you aren't down the stairs this instant, there'll be hell to pay!" The screeches of her mother climb up the stairs and meet the ears of the teen who rolls her eyes in annoyance while tying her hair in a ponytail.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" she yells back, swiping a notebook off her desk and shoving it in her backpack. "Calm down!"

"Lily!" her mother bellows again.

"I said I'm coming!" she shouts, exiting her bedroom and thundering down the stairs.

"You're always running late, every single morning!" her mother berates, tugging her coat on over her shoulders.

"First of all," Lily rolls her eyes, "it's not every single morning, as you put it. Secondly, I'm not even that late!"

"Yes, you are, don't argue with me!"

Glancing at her watch, she defends, "I don't have to leave for another ten minutes!"

"Exactly! Tell me something, Lily. How are you supposed to get ready for school, eat breakfast, and get out the door on time if you can't even wake up on time?"

"Contrary to what you believe, I don't require an hour and a half to get ready in the morning like Petunia."

"Don't drag me into this mess!" snaps the blonde, bony teen sitting at the kitchen island, scowling at her yogurt parfait.

"Just set a damn alarm and get up on time," the mother of the two girls sighs in defeat, her face softening at her firstborn. "I have to leave for work early today. Apparently there's been some issues at the office and I'm the only one that can fix them. Like always. 'Cam, the computers are malfunctioning! Cam, the printer isn't working! Cam, we have too many clients!'" she rolls her crystal blue eyes, the corners of her wine red colored lips curling into a frown. "I'll see you girls after school," she pecks Petunia's forehead and wraps her arm around Lily for a brief hug before slipping into a pair of black heels, grabbing her purse, and walking out the door.

"Hey, Tuney-"

"Don't call me that," the horse-faced teen grumbles at her sister, abruptly rising to her feet and whisking her bowl off the counter before discarding it in the sink.

"Fine. Petunia, have you and Verm- Vernon decided on a date for the wedding yet?" Lily attempts to spark a short discussion between her sister.

"Ages ago," she tosses her long, shiny, almost fairy-like hair over one shoulder. "It's set for June 24th. Mum made me schedule it after school's over for you, or it'd be in April," she glares at Lily as if she were looking at stubborn mildew invading an otherwise pristine bathroom.

"I look forward to it," Lily lies, nodding her head stiffly as she grabs a bagel from the pantry, turning her back on her sister so she wouldn't see her expression of annoyance.

"Yeah, just don't ruin anything. Freak," Petunia spits, sneering at her sister before storming out the front door.

Sighing in defeat, Lily spreads strawberry cream cheese across her bagel, swallowing back tears fueled by her sister's words.

There was once a time where Lily upheld the role as Petunia's best friend; there was a time where her mother hadn't put her sister above her; a time where her family felt complete; a time where she didn't have a care in the world, a time where she didn't struggle to hold her composure after the dramatic exits of her sister.

Yet nothing is gained from dwelling over the past, or the memories sweeter than lemonade, Lily thinks as she nibbles her bagel, except for the tsunami of melancholy that follows and submerges the forming memories of the present.

After finishing her bagel and dumping her plate in the sink, Lily swings her backpack over her shoulder and slips her shoes on, spinning her car keys around her finger while doing so.

She opens the door only to see rain pouring from the ominous storm clouds towering in the sky above and beating against the pavement. Pulling the hood of her jumper and sighing once more, Lily runs through the rain and into her car before tossing her backpack onto the passenger seat.

Her family had never been poor, yet they'd never been particularly well off either, but after inheriting a surprising amount of money from her late parents, Lily's mother had been able to afford a new car for not only herself, but for her daughters too.

Squinting through the rain, Lily drives to school while quietly humming along with the music reverberating through her car, dreading the drama that awaits her. After parking and collecting her backpack, she slams her car door shut and runs through the rain and bolts into the building, trying to stay as dry as possible.

---

7:13

Half an hour later, as anticipated, Lily's prior prediction for her day was proving to be correct: things were looking like absolute shit.

No amount of speed, stealth, or obliviousness could draw her away from the eyes sneaking glances at hers, the stolen bits of conversation transferred from mouth to ear as she passed, or the faces of her peers transforming into pity, confusion, or menace and leaving a trail of mixed emotions behind her, darkening the hallway in an instant.

Despite the music flowing in her ears, Lily can't ignore the way her peers draw themselves away from her, as if being dragged towards the lockers lining the walls by a magnet. Shaking her head, she keeps her gaze fixed on the tiled floor and paces through the halls, unable to make it to the auditorium fast enough.

Finally arriving at the meet up spot set up by her friends, Lily meets James outside the double doors leading to the auditorium, noting the worried wrinkle of his eyebrows.

"You're here," he sighs in relief and his face relaxes when his eyes finally find her. "C'mon," he grabs her hand, his grip gentle, and guides her inside the auditorium, oblivious to the increased pace of Lily's heart.

"I thought this place was always locked?" Lily glances at the closing doors behind her, her eyes adjusting to the dim lighting of the expansive room.

"Trelawney let me borrow the keys once and never asked for them back," Mary explains hastily from the shadows, referring to the eccentric Hogwarts Secondary drama teacher.

"Oh," Lily leans against the wall, sinking to the floor with James to her left and Mary to her right while trying to ignore the tumultuous waves of dread swirling in her stomach. "Anyway, what's happened? Why are we here?" she questions, unable to hide the tremor in her voice.

"I- well-" James attempts to speak before the darkness of the room and situation swallows his voice.

"What he means to say," Remus pipes up, leaning against the first row of foldable chairs, "is that Snape and his bastards found out about you two," he points to James and Lily.

"You told them?" hisses the redhead, snapping her head towards her soulmate.

"They figured it out, like our friends did," he tells her.

"I still don't understand why this is such a big deal," Peter admits, somewhere to the right of Mary.

"Because," Sirius speaks, obviously exasperated as he sits to the left of James, "Snivellus, who was Lily's best friend for five years, is obviously jealous that they're soulmates, especially because he tried to fucking kiss Lily when we were thirteen."

"How many times do I have to tell you not to bring that up?" Lily snaps, interrupting him.

"Leave it," James whispers, placing his hand on Lily's elbow in hopes of calming down her rapidly rising temper.

"As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted," the grey eyed teen glares at the emerald eyed one, his shadowed face appearing angrier in the poor lighting of the room, "Snivellus has already spread some bullshit rumor about Lily to the whole school. About her dad."

"Fuck," Lily groans, wrapping her arms around her legs and resting her head on her knees as her long hair forms a curtain around her face. "I shouldn't have told him anything."

"What happened to her dad?" Peter asks while the rest of the group, excluding James and Mary, nod their heads out of curiosity.

"She doesn't feel comfortable talking about it," James supplies, resting his hand on the shoulder of his soulmate.

"And if any of you bastards try to to ask her, I'll make sure you all end up in hell," Mary promises with a fierce glare.

"Chill, woman," Sirius holds his hands up in surrender.

"Don't you fucking dare tell me to chill, Black," she growls.

"I'll do whatever I damn please, Macdonald."

"Listen here, you son of a bitch-"

"Enough!" Remus roars, his echoing voice silencing them all. "We need a plan. Whatever you do, Lily, don't go anywhere alone. The last time this happened, someone ended up with a backpack stuffed full of raw eggs. And worse. What are your classes today, in order?"

"Psychology, chemistry, then lunch, art, economics, and English," Lily answers, hiding the undertones of apprehension in her voice.

"I'll take her from chemistry to lunch," James volunteers immediately.

"I'll go with her to psychology and take her to chem," Sirius offers.

"I'll walk her to economics from art," Mary declares.

"Who'll do art and English then?" Peter inquires.

"I'll have Benjy Fenwick take me to art," Lily begins slowly, referring to a kind, mousy haired, relatively popular teen known throughout school for his artistic talent, "and Alice Fortescue or Dorcas Meadowes can take me to English," she finishes, talking about two of her other friends.

"Great," Remus concludes grimly.

"I swear, I'll kill Snape," Lily mutters, resting her head on her knees again.

"Everything's going to be fine," James murmurs, wrapping his arm around his soulmate, hoping his words of comfort turn out to be true.

"C'mon," Lily lifts her head from her knees. "The bell's going to ring soon. Let's go."

With that, the six teens rise to their feet, bumping into each other as they throw their backpacks over their shoulders, and exit the auditorium, their faces resolute as they prepare for battle.

a/n: I'm currently at war with my mother, so please pardon any future inactivity.