The Slug Club
The Owlery was alive with the sounds of the birds fluttering around, several turning to stare as Lily entered. Their curious eyes followed her, a particularly fluffy barn owl hooting at her.
“Well hello there.” She smiled, reaching a hand out to the owl. It cocked its head in response, fluttering its wings. “You’ll do just fine.”
She pulled a thick letter from her pocket, carefully tying it to the owl’s foot and sending it out the window. She watched the bird grow smaller and smaller in the early morning sky, dutifully making its way to Cokeworth.
Her dad had always been the most fascinated with the wizarding world in her family, and he lived to hear about everything Lily learnt at school. So, she made sure to write him at least once a week, detailing the potions she had brewed or the new spell they’d learned in Transfiguration. She couldn’t wait until she was 17 next year, and could finally show him everything she had been learning. While her mum loved Lily’s magic side as well, she avoided the topic as much as possible because of Petunia. She was desperate to keep peace in the Evans household, which she thought was best accomplished by making sure Petunia was happy no matter what.
Lily snapped herself out of her thoughts as she stepped back from the window, unable to handle the cold air any longer. She crossed her arms, wrapping her jumper around herself tightly as she left the Owlery. The sun was just starting to rise, and seeing as it was a Saturday, Lily was the only one of her friends up right now. Well, excluding Marlene, who was probably being forced to fly drills by Potter right now.
She took her time, aimlessly walking down the stairs then through the quiet hallways. Lily loved these small moments of isolation in Hogwarts, where it felt like it was just her and the castle. She ran her fingers along the cold stone walls, going no place in particular.
Her peace was quickly broken, however, by loud footsteps and an equally loud voice to match. She groaned internally as James Potter appeared in her periphery.
“Evans, what are you doing up?”
He jogged to catch up with her, clutching his broom in one hand and grinning. Although, he wasn’t in his quidditch robes, instead in a simple pair of joggers and a t-shirt. If it was possible, he had also managed to grow even taller in the past few months, towering over Lily even more now.
“Sending a letter.” She replied in a measured voice, keeping her eyes trained forward.
“Oh, nice. To your parents?”
“My dad.”
“And what makes you need to write him at 6:30 am?”
One thing about James Potter was that he was one persistent person. No matter how cold and dismissive she was towards him, he always carried on talking like they were the best of friends.
“I just like the Owlery better when it’s not busy.” She shrugged.
“I get that! It’s so much more peaceful in the early morning, like you get Hogwarts all to yourself.”
This made Lily turn to look at him, tilting her head in surprise. “Yes, exactly.”
“Well, you had it to yourself until I rudely interrupted, anyways.”
“Obviously, you’ve clearly ruined my morning beyond redemption.” Her words were angry, but her tone was lighthearted.
“Was that a joke, Evans?” He smiled at her, the dimple in his cheek popping out.
She simply shrugged in response. “Maybe.” She motioned to the broom still clutched in his hand. “Where’s Marlene and Sirius, and the rest of the team?”
“Oh, there was no team practice today. I realized giving people a day off would do wonders for team morale.”
“And do wonders for Marls not murdering you in your sleep.” Lily pointed out.
“Remus was already threatening that for waking him up this morning.” He muttered, sighing. “He wakes up so easily, I was literally tiptoeing!”
“Does he sleep light, or are you just obnoxiously loud?”
“It’s him!” Potter insisted, running a hand through his hair.
Lily scoffed. “I always know you’re coming before I see you solely due to your thumping footsteps.”
“So you recognize my footsteps? Intimate.” James smirked as they climbed up the stairs to Gryffindor tower. Lily hadn’t even realized she’d lead them here, her feet moving on instinct alone.
“Only because no one else is as loud as you.” She countered, turning to tell the Fat Lady the password. “Redcaps.”
The portrait hole swung open and Potter clambered in behind her, hitting himself with his broom in the process.
“Ow.” He rubbed his shoulder, frowning momentarily before turning back to Lily. “I better go shower now, Evans. I’ll leave you to it.”
With that, they parted ways to go to their separate dorms. As she climbed the spiral stairs, the realization that she had an entire conversation with Potter without it devolving into a petty argument hit her.
~
“Don’t you look gorgeous?” Mary complimented as Lily stepped out of the bathroom in her dress. Marlene made a big show of clapping and whooping as she twirled around, the big sleeves around her wrists spinning in the air.
“You look great.” Dorcas added, glancing up from her book from where she was curled up on the window seat.
“Thanks guys. Honestly though, I really don’t want to go.” She groaned, running a hand over her face.
“What does Slughorn have you do anyways?” Marlene questioned from where she was hanging upside down on her bed.
“Nothing really, it’s just a dinner party. I’m only annoyed because all the people he invites are so-“ She paused, trying to find the right word.
“Bigoted, rich, pretentious?” Mary listed.
“All of the above!” Lily exclaimed sarcastically, digging through her dresser for a purse. “At least Sirius is going too, so I’ll have someone to talk to.”
“ He’s going? Really?” Marlene raised an eyebrow.
“I’m making him go.” Lily amended. “I refuse to go alone, and I can’t very well say no to Slughorn.”
“You could.” Dorcas said without looking up from her book. “You would say, ‘Professor, your dinner parties are mind-numbingly boring and you shouldn’t make me come just because I’m a genius.’”
“What Dorcas means,” Mary interjected, “Is that you’re too kind. It’s okay to be selfish once in a while.”
Lily sighed, shaking her head. “Even if that’s true, it’s still much too late to cancel. In fact, I’d better get going.”
“Good luck!” Marlene called, Mary and Dorcas echoing her words.
She bid them goodbye, shoes clicking on the stone steps as she left. The common room was filled with students laughing and enjoying their Saturday night by the roaring fire, making skipping the dinner a much more enticing option. She spotted Sirius perched on the arm of an armchair Remus was sitting on, wearing a white button-up and black trousers. Peter and James were sitting on the floor by them, hunched over a chess board.
“Lily, you look great!” Remus spotted her first, waving her over.
“Thanks, Remus.” She smiled back, walking over.
“Watch out, Prongs is going to get jealous.” Peter muttered in a sing-song voice, so quiet Lily could barely hear him.
Sirius, Peter, and Remus promptly burst out laughing, while James turned red in the face, glaring at them all. This just made them laugh harder, Sirius almost falling from his precarious position before Remus grabbed him. Even Lily couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her, causing James to turn a shade of scarlet that was only comparable to the common room.
“You told her?” He asked in horror, whipping his head around to Remus. “Moony!” James yelled when he didn’t reply, still doubled over laughing.
“Sorry.” He sat up, smiling apologetically. “It was too good not to.”
“Don’t worry, Potter.” Lily grinned. “I’ll be sure to let you know the next time Remus ravishes me.”
This actually sent Sirius tumbling down, knocking over the chessboard as he gasped for air. “R-ravishes! Did you hear that?”
Peter, who had also just finally calmed down, was set-off again as well, slapping Sirius’ back as he cackled. It was a testament to his glee that he didn’t even get mad at Sirius for knocking over the board just as he was about to win.
“Guys, please.” James had his face buried in his hands, groaning at his friends’ antics. Lily almost felt bad for him, mostly because he looked so pitiful it was endearing.
“Aw, have mercy on the guy and leave him to his shame.” Remus said to Lily, still chuckling.
She glanced at her watch, smiling. “You’re right. Sirius, we should probably get going anyways.”
He groaned from the floor. “Do we have to? James is just about to have a meltdown!”
“Shut up, Padfoot.” James still had his head hidden, muffling his words.
Remus kicked him with his foot. “Get up, you’ll be late.”
“Why do you abuse me so?” He complained, but got to his feet anyway and turned to Lily. “Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.” She sighed, motioning for him to follow her out of the common room.
“So, ten galleons we convince James I'm secretly in love with you next?” Sirius asked as they ducked out of the portrait hole.
Lily laughed, shaking her head. “Tempting, but no. He might actually believe you, unlike Remus’ whole secret boyfriend thing.”
Sirius turned to her in surprise. “He told you about that?”
“Mhm, wouldn’t tell me who though. ” She confirmed. “I’m guessing you know?”
“Oh, yeah.” He responded, an odd look in his eyes.
Something had changed in his demeanor, and Lily suddenly felt she’d said something wrong. Maybe he was uncomfortable with Remus’ relationship. Although Remus had told her that his friends, Sirius included, had been more than fine with his boyfriend- so that didn’t make sense.
“Something wrong?” She settled on asking, frowning.
“What?” He looked at her, snapping out of his thoughts. “Sorry, I’m fine.”
“Alright.” She replied, not fully believing him.
“So who else is coming to this thing?” Sirius asked, clearly trying to divert the conversation topic.
“Severus for sure.” Lily wrinkled her nose.
He groaned loudly in response. “Lovely.”
“Yeah.” She grimaced. “Knox, Avery, probably all of those Slytherin kids.”
“It’ll be just like those awful dinner parties my parents used to force me to go to, then.” He rolled his eyes.
“They couldn’t have been all bad.” Lily tried. “No cheerful memories?”
“Well, the fights were always entertaining. I’ll never forget the time when I was 12 where my cousin, Andromeda, stood up and declared to the whole table she was in love with a muggleborn before running away to elope. You should’ve seen my aunt’s face.” He smiled at the memory.
“Oh my god, was she alright?” Lily’s eyes widened with concern. However, the fact that that was what came to mind when she said ‘cheerful’ was equally worrying.
“Oh, Andy?” He turned to her. “She’s great! Got disowned that night, of course, but had a kid two years ago and everything.”
“Glad to hear you’ve got at least one sane family member.”
He laughed, shaking his head. “Me too. Speaking of, how’s your sister?”
Lily sighed loudly at the mention of her. “Still hates me for being a witch, still dating the dumbest man on earth.”
“You know, in a world of muggle-hating wizards she decided to be a wizard-hating muggle.” Sirius pointed out. “I admire the originality.”
“If you think about it, she’s doing really important work for the cause.” Lily nodded. “A true radical.”
They began their descent to the dungeons, green light replacing the warm glow of the rest of the castle.
“Tell me more about this idiot boyfriend of hers, then.”
“Oh, where do I begin?” Lily snorted. “He’s thick as shit. He once asked ‘What kind of bird is ham, again?’ at a restaurant.”
“You’re kidding.” Sirius laughed.
“No, really! Petunia then proceeded to get mad at me and my dad for laughing, can you believe it?”
“Merlin, who wouldn’t?”
Lily almost replied, cutting herself short when she heard Slughorn’s loud voice echoing throughout the hall.
“-actually, that’s exactly when I met your father! Lovely man, brilliant as you are.”
He beamed when he caught sight of Sirius and Lily in the doorway. “Mr. Black, Ms. Evans, come in!”
Slughorn, along with about a dozen other students, was sitting around a large round table covered with food: roast vegetables, salad, chicken, bread rolls, and more Lily couldn’t see. Everyone’s heads swiveled around as they arrived (apparently last), and Lily recognized a handful of faces. Severus was seated next to Knox and Mulciber, empty seats on the other side of him. Glancing around, she quickly realized that those were the only two empty seats at the whole table.
Lily leaned over to whisper in Sirius’ ear. “Sit next to Severus for me.”
“Works out fine for me.” He muttered back, eyes trained on the girl on the other side of the free chairs. She was a rigid, slim person, with long blond hair cascading down her back. Her sharp eyes were trained on Sirius, betraying none of her feelings.
Realizing how long they had been standing there awkwardly, Lily smiled at Slughorn and went to sit down.
“Good evening, Professor. Sorry we’re late.”
“No, no worries!” Slughorn waved a hand in the air.
In the corner of her eye, she could see Severus’ face fall as Sirius, and not Lily, sat down next to him.
“All right, Snivellus?” She didn’t have to look over to see the smirk on Sirius’ face and the glare on Severus’. Lily kicked his leg under the table, glaring at him.
“Can you behave, please?” She hissed under her breath as Slughorn turned to the student next to him and struck up a loud conversation.
“My bad, Lilyflower.” He solemnly raised his hands in surrender. “I’ll be on my best behavior.”
Lily didn’t even bother trying to tell him to stop with the nicknames, just nodding her approval and turning her attention back to the table. A girl with pin-straight, dark hair was animatedly telling a story, the curly haired girl next to her chiming in intermittently.
“The potion-making techniques are so unique over there, Professor. Ancient Egyptian influences-“
“Greek too!”
Giving herself permission to zone back out, Lily started serving herself food like Sirius was. Chewing on roast potatoes, she glanced around the table. Most people looked as bored as she felt, some engaged in the discussion about the merits of Egyptian potion making. She stole a glance at the girl seated by her that Sirius had been staring at earlier. Upon further inspection, she bore the same high cheekbones and clear grey eyes that characterized the Black family, which would explain why Sirius hadn’t wanted to sit by her. She was whispering something to the tall, pale blonde guy on her other side.
Dinner carried on like this for a while longer, with the most riveting thing happening around her being the occasional time she had to chime into conversation and politely laugh and agree with something. It wasn’t until dessert that things grew interesting.
A particularly gangly Ravenclaw Lily recognized from Transfiguration interrupted Slughorn’s story about his travels in Albania over the summer.
“Professor, If you really have Albanian Blood Flower on you, might you consider showing us?”
“I believe it’s in my storage closet somewhere.” Slughorn sighed.
“It’s just that it’s extremely rare, Professor. I would really appreciate it.”
“Oh, how could I say no?”
He left the room, presumably heading to look through storage for this flower. Almost as soon as he left, Severus leaned forward in his chair to try to catch Lily’s eye, like he had been all night. She finally met his gaze, raising her eyebrows.
What?
“Can we please talk, after this?” He whispered, eyebrows furrowed together. She felt bad for him, especially knowing that he had no real friends now. As much as he pretended to be one of them, those Slytherin boys would never treat him, a half-blood, as an equal. Still, these were all consequences of his own actions.
“Please Severus, just leave me be.” Lily whispered back.
“I just-“
Sirius cut him off, glaring. “She clearly doesn’t want to talk to you, so piss off. Talk to your little blood supremacist buddies over there.” He jerked his head towards Knox and Mulciber.
“Nobody was speaking to you, Black.” Severus sneered.
“He didn’t say anything untrue though, did he?” Lily gave up on avoiding the situation, fully turning to face him now.
“Why do you associate yourself with the likes of him now, Lily? It’s not like you.” He scoffed. Anger at the idea that he knew anything about what she was like filled Lily.
“What, and I should associate with people that hate me for my blood?” She spat. “Ask your friends how they feel about me, go on.”
The whole table was listening in now, everyone’s eyes going straight to Severus, Knox, and Mulciber.
Mulciber fixed her with a look of disgust. “Shut up, you and your blood-traitor friend.”
Severus stared back at her slack-jawed, clearly finally having realized that he could not have both Lily and his Slytherin friends. And just like that afternoon by the lake, when it came down to it, he would choose them.
“That’s not the insult you think it is.” Sirius scoffed next to her.
“It is baffling, how one manages to lose the position of heir to the most powerful family in wizarding Britain.” Mulciber continued taunting, smirking.
Next to her, the blond girl shifted uncomfortably when a few people glanced at her, whispering, confirming for Lily that she was in fact, a Black. The Ravenclaw that had asked Slughorn to fetch the flower glanced nervously at the door, seeming to regret his decision now.
“It’s baffling to me that you think I’m upset about that.” When the blond girl scoffed at that, Sirius snapped his head around. “Something you’d like to say, Cissy?”
She pressed her lips together tightly, not bothering with a response.
“I forgot, you can’t besmirch the family name.” Sirius said mockingly.
“I’m not the one who chose to leave.” She snapped suddenly. Everyone, including her, seemed surprised by her outburst. Excluding Mulciber, who looked positively gleeful at the look on Sirius’ face.
“Chose to leave?” Sirius started to stand up, chair sliding back. “You know bloody well what happened.”
There was a vaguely guilty look in her eyes, like she knew she had said something wrong. However, the tall guy on her other side spoke for her, clutching her hand in his.
“By associating with filth, you made your choice.” His voice was cold, with the same posh accent.
The anger that had been building up in Lily for the past few minutes exploded; unable to take it anymore, she stood up, slamming back her chair.
“Oh, shut up, you bigoted piece of shit.” She grabbed Sirius’ hand and marched them out of the room, not waiting for anyone’s response to her words. Her heart was pounding, blood rushing through her head, and she was vaugely aware of the whispers and glares she was receiving behind her.
Slughorn was standing just down the hall, a small jar clutched in his hand.
“Leaving so soon, Lily, Sirius?” He asked, frowning. It was astonishing how he had managed to miss the entire ordeal, Lily thought.
“Tired.” She muttered as they passed him, neither of them able to muster a better response. They walked in silence for a minute longer before Sirius finally spoke.
“And you told me to behave.” He turned to her as they trudged up the dungeon stairs, grinning.
Lily smiled in spite of herself, still feeling the high of yelling in that Slytherin’s face. “That felt good. Really good.”
“Malfoy deserved that, the git.”
“Who was that girl, by the way?” She asked.
Sirius sighed, rolling his eyes. “My cousin, Narcissa. Andromeda’s little sister.”
“Jesus Christ.” She muttered. “You’ve got one messed up family.”
“I keep telling you.”