Blinding lights
A few minutes later, Lily was walking out of the club with the whole cast.
She spotted Marlene still hanging onto Cher’s neck in the VIP area. As politely as she could, Lily asked them to say their goodbyes. Marlene got Cher’s number before following Lily out without a care in the world.
"I have to tell you everything later," Marlene beamed, excitement lighting up her face. Lily tried to smile back, focusing on keeping her own chaotic mood from showing.
Lily checked her phone—it wasn’t even 1 a.m. Obviously, everyone was disappointed that their night had been cut short.
But then again, almost none of them had behaved well enough for it to last.
They all stopped in the club’s lobby while Lily called Filch. With as much reluctance and rudeness as he could muster, Filch told her he was already on his way.
"Seriously, why couldn’t you guys behave for one night?" Remus joked, though there was a hint of frustration in his voice.
"We didn’t do anything that bad," Sirius replied dryly.
"We’re never going to be allowed out again," James rolled his eyes, running a hand through his already messy hair.
"Oh, and you were a saint, right?" Sirius shot James a pointed look. Lily had never seen that happen before.
"You don’t know what you’re talking about, Padfoot," James dismissed him. "You weren’t even there."
"Yeah, you were too busy with your hands all over Mary," Remus raised his eyebrows.
"Remus!" Marlene gasped, horrified.
"It’s true!" Remus straightened up, looking at the group. "The only ones who actually behaved were me and Marls. The rest of you are a bunch of morons!"
"Not our fault you two are dead inside," Sirius’ mouth twisted into a smirk.
"I didn’t do anything either!" James threw his arms up like a kid. "Lily knows—"
"Everyone, shut up!" Lily didn’t even have to raise her voice for them to go silent. "Filch is here."
Grudgingly, they all started walking toward the exit.
The air outside was damper than inside, the chill of the dawn brushing against Lily’s face. Filch’s van was parked across the street. They were just about to cross when suddenly—
Lily’s gut screamed at her.
Two guys in baseball caps were standing a few meters away, whispering. She knew exactly who they were. And the second they started moving aggressively toward the group, she shouted—
"DON’T ANSWER ANYTHING!"
Paparazzi.
The cameras came out, and the blinding flashes started.
"JAMES! JAMES POTTER, LOOK HERE!"
James was right next to Lily, and she did her best to shield him. Sirius yanked off his jacket, covering both his and Mary’s faces as he guided her forward. Remus used one arm to shield his own face, the other steering clear of the photographers.
"Marlene, stay behind me!" he called. She obeyed, as did Peter, who was short enough to disappear behind him.
"JAMES, WHO ARE THEY?" one of the photographers yelled. "ARE THEY YOUR FRIENDS?"
James gritted his teeth, his face twisted as he kept silent. The flashes wouldn’t stop. Neither would the shouting.
"Hey!" one photographer nudged the other. "Isn’t that one of the Blacks? My God! Which one is it?"
"Must be the younger one… REGULUS?"
"FUCK OFF!" Sirius shouted, though he kept his jacket over his face. The only thing he did was stick a hand out and flip them off—earning a perfect shot for the paparazzi.
"Sirius!" Lily pleaded. "Don’t!"
They pushed forward, Lily still shielding James, who was clearly the main target.
"Are you Black’s girlfriend?" one of the photographers asked Mary, getting way too close. "What’s your name, sweetheart?"
"GET LOST!" James finally snapped, yanking Lily behind him. Then, he grabbed Sirius by the arm and pulled him across the street. The rest of them hurried after, escaping the blinding lights.
And then, suddenly, they were in the van, and the paparazzi had given up.
Lily took a deep breath. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes.
It’s all ruined.
—
The ride back was painfully silent. No one dared to say a word.
When they finally pulled up in front of the girls’ apartment, the two of them got up to leave.
Mary turned to Lily, regret in her eyes.
"I’m sorry, okay?"
Lily gave her a small nod, watching as they disappeared inside.
Sirius blew a kiss at Mary through the window, earning a small, dazed smile from her.
After that, the ride to Nurmengard Street was even worse.
James had his head buried between his knees, fuming. Remus kept bouncing his leg anxiously, the sound grating on Lily’s nerves. Peter kept sniffing, almost compulsively. And Sirius had thrown his jacket over his head, pretending to sleep.
When Filch slammed the brakes in front of the boys’ house, they all got out, and Lily unlocked the door.
She wasn’t sure if she should say something, but before she could decide, each of them had already disappeared into their rooms without a word.
—
The next morning, Lily got a call from Amelia saying they had to cancel the outdoor shoot due to heavy fog.
She was relieved—it would’ve been impossible to film in weather like that.
That Sunday, and the days leading up to the next shoot on Thursday, were incredibly strange.
On Sunday, Lily kept to herself. She organized her room down to the last detail, unpacking everything that was left. Then, she decided to call Slughorn and explain the situation from the night before—those photos would no doubt hit the media any second now.
"Lily, I’ll take responsibility for this one," Slughorn sighed after hearing everything. "I was the one who gave them permission, after all. At least you managed to contain the damage—nothing too serious was caught on camera."
"Yeah…" Lily tried. "I’m sorry, Horace, I just— I don’t know what to do. Ban them from parties from now on?"
"Lily," Slughorn chuckled through the phone. "It’s simple. Instead of fixing the problem after it happens, prepare them beforehand."
Lily’s eyebrows shot up. Of course!
"You think I should start media training them already?"
"They look like they need it," Slughorn laughed, as if the situation wasn’t already bad enough. "And you can handle it, Lily."
"I can," Lily tried to sound confident.
But she felt exhausted. Everything was a mess in her head.
In less than two days, she had moved in, met four boys, scolded them, thought they would change easily, stepped into a TV studio, given them a chance— and regretted every step of it.
They were spoiled boys, and spoiled boys didn’t change overnight.
She never should have given them a chance in the first place, because now she had put her own reputation as a PR professional at risk. What kind of PR expert let their clients almost ruin their public image in one night?
Apparently, she did.
And she had lost her sister’s trust—just when she’d been so close to getting it back.
And she was far from her parents. And from her only real friend.
She was alone.
Maybe Sev had been right all along.
—
In that day, Lily decided to isolate herself. Apparently, everyone else had the same idea.
Every time she went to the kitchen to grab something to eat, she found no one.
The house was finally clean. Myrtle had signed a chart next to the fridge, tracking her cleaning visits. That gave Lily a bit of peace of mind.
For dinner, all she felt like having was a grilled cheese sandwich. She returned to her room with the warm plate in her hands, eating as she listened to her Arctic Monkeys CD.
She felt introspective. She just wanted to sleep. A moment of peace in these chaotic days.
For a few minutes, she almost forgot those boys were there—just a few meters away, right behind the next door.
Almost.