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Lily Luna Potter stared at Emma and Alice Boot. With their chestnut hair in braided pigtails and their gleaming azure eyes, they made a striking pair. The two of them were so perfect. They were beautiful and smart. They always had the best clothes. In fact, they had the best of everything. Not to mention the fact they were also always surrounded by people who adored them.
They were everything Lily aspired to be.
Lily believed she was liked. After all, she had many friends, but part of her worried they only tolerated her because of her famous parents or because of her popular older brother, James. Even Albus, although lacking James' popularity, had a very loyal circle of friends. Lily always felt like she might not belong in her own family. She didn't have to explain how amazing her parents were; everyone knew that. James was the school's Quidditch star, just like their dad, and Albus was the studious one that got O's in everything, even History of Magic. She just didn't think there was anything special about her. There was nothing that really set her apart from everyone else.
That's why she was drawn to Emma and Alice. The twins looked as if they had the whole world at their feet. She wished she had their kind of self-confidence as they glided into the Great Hall, heads bent together in whispers.
'What can they be talking about?' Lily thought.
And suddenly, the girls looked up, their eyes on Lily, and she held her breath, waiting for whatever was about to happen as their eyes glinted with excitement.
With wicked smiles that promised glorious conversations and magical friendship, they practically pranced over to where Lily sat at the Gryffindor table.
"Hello. Lily, right?" Emma asked.
Lily quickly nodded, her mouth unable to form any words, afraid she'd sound like a blithering idiot.
"We've noticed you," Alice said.
Lily cleared her throat. "Noticed me? How?"
Emma and Alice shared a look. Emma took a step forward, taking the lead. "Well, you're not like everyone else for one thing. But at the same time, you have a unique talent of slipping under the radar."
'In other words, there's nothing about me that stands out,' Lily thought bitterly but stopped that train of thought to consider it more fully. 'Well, that's not necessarily true. They noticed me. Emma and Alice Boot actually noticed me! And they're here talking to me. I should talk back or I'll move from being unique to being weird.' "Um, thanks, I guess. I've noticed you two as well. Then again, practically everyone at Hogwarts knows the two of you."
Emma grinned. "Come sit with us at the Ravenclaw table."
Lily didn't think twice. She knew she usually ate with her roommates, but this was Emma and Alice Boot. No way was she going to say 'no' to a chance to sit with them. Hopefully, it would lead to everlasting friendship.
She got up and followed them to the table decked in blue. There were two seats free together where the girls usually sat.
Lily frowned, not seeing any room for her anywhere near the two empty seats.
Alice looked over at the boy that sat on the left side of the opened seats. "Daniel, move," she ordered.
Lily blinked, taken aback by the rude command.
"B-B-But—" Daniel stuttered.
"You heard my sister. Move," Emma commanded.
Lily watched as Daniel quickly got up and moved to an empty seat a few seats down the table, completely abandoning his plate of food.
Alice turned to Lily with a smile on her face. "Come sit, Lily." Alice sat down next to Emma.
Lily felt awkward and bad for Daniel as she guiltily took the now vacant seat. "Did you really have to be so rude to Daniel? I mean, if you asked him nicely, I'm sure he wouldn't have minded moving to another seat."
Emma rolled her eyes. "Oh sweet, sweet, naive Lily. We need to show everyone who is in charge. Otherwise, they'll walk right over us."
Alice nodded. "Daniel has thick skin. He'll be fine."
Lily glanced at Daniel who was busy staring at his plate. He didn't look fine. And he certainly didn't look like he had thick skin if his flushed cheeks and angry tears were anything to go by. But she pushed her worries aside. After all, she was sitting with the girls who could be friends with anyone they wanted. And for some reason, they wanted to be friends with her. She was going to enjoy it.
Lily liked to believe she was observant. She heard hushed comments about something Emma or Alice did.
And what was being said about her two new friends… It was ugly. It made something acidic bubble up in her stomach and threaten to rush out in uncontrollable waves.
Lily knew how bad gossip could be to someone's reputation. And she knew that they embellished the truth. After all, she was related to Lucy and Dominique Weasley: girls that made it their lives' work to be the ultimate gossipers. They always had to know everything about everyone else and then spread it around.
Because of her cousins, Lily decided it was best to ignore the nasty comments (No way did Alice and Emma cheat on exams. And she refused to believe they were rich snobs that held their money over everyone else's heads.) They couldn't possibly be true. And she resolutely pushed away the memory of how they spoke to Daniel that day at the Ravenclaw table.
They were her friends. Lily knew what she was doing. Everyone else needed to mind their own business.
Lily walked to where Alice and Emma were sitting on the bleachers. She stopped a few feet away, watching them from the sidelines. Neither girl noticed her presence.
Their heads were bent together as they looked at a girl sitting near them on the bleachers. The girl's robes were off as it was such a hot day, revealing a sleeveless, pale blue blouse and a dark blue skirt that stopped above her knees.
Emma wore a smirk, a nasty glint in her eyes. "Hey, Maya, I have a question for you."
Maya looked over her shoulder, her curly auburn hair swinging with the movement. She didn't smile as she narrowed her eyes. "What?"'
Emma's smirk widened. "You bother to look in a mirror today? I don't even know how you can stand to wear that. Then again it matches what a slag you really are."
Maya stood up and began walking away, going in the other direction.
No one saw Lily standing there, watching the entire exchange.
Alice's laugh rang out from behind her hand. "Yeah, you look like you belong on a street corner."
Lily gasped at the cruel words. She turned and fled before anyone saw her. She ran to the Gryffindor common room, avoiding eye contact with everyone as she rushed up the stairs to her dormitory. Thankfully, at this time of day, it was empty.
She crawled onto her bed and pulled her curtains closed around her. She took out the crinkled letter she angrily shoved into her bag after she had read it this morning. She had been furious at the words written. No matter how delicate her mum tried to be, she felt as if she was being judged for being friends with Alice and Emma.
Now, though, she smoothed out the parchment and read the letter with new eyes.
Dear Lily,
We hope Hogwarts is finding you well. We know you're doing your best with your studies, but we hope that you're also finding some time to have fun. No matter what your Aunt Hermione might say, school isn't the most important thing in the world.
Albus has told us about your new friends. And we're worried. He told us these girls are known bullies. He says they go out of their way to be cruel to others, even other students in their own house.
Your dad wants to put a stop to this friendship. He doesn't want you to be involved with kids who enjoy tormenting others. He's worried about you.
And Honey, I agree with him. You've always had a good head on your shoulder. (I learned that saying from your Aunt Hermione.) Please, think about what you're doing.
Do these girls deserve your friendship? I might not know them, but Albus is worried for a reason. Be honest with yourself. I know you're better than them.
Love,
Mum
Lily took a shuddering breath. Earlier, it had felt like a kick to her stomach. How dare Albus talk about her behind her back with their mum and dad! And how dare he spread such lies!
But now… After hearing Emma and Alice say such horrible things to Maya. And she remembered how they forced Daniel to change his seat to suit their needs. And although she ignored it, she saw the looks some of the other students shot at Alice and Emma, the ones not in the twins' protective bubble. Mistrustful looks. Angry looks. Glares.
Lily closed her eyes. She messed up when she chose her friends.
That night at dinner, Lily made a beeline for the Slytherin table, ignoring the Ravenclaw table completely. "Al, you talked to Mum and Dad about me." It was lightly accusing, but it lacked any of the heat she initially felt when she first read the letter.
Albus didn't deny it. "Yeah, I did. I knew you were making a mistake, but I also knew you wouldn't listen to me. I hoped they would be able to talk sense into you. Did they?"
Lily shrugged. "Not really. I only saw sense after seeing their cruelty up close and personal."
Albus' eyes softened. "Are you okay?"
Lily opened her mouth, but she closed it without saying anything and gave a mute shake of her head.
Albus moved a little over and patted the empty seat beside him.
Lily sat down.
"I have to ask you this. Why did you want to be friends with them?"
"I've always felt so ordinary, especially in this family, but them liking me made me feel special."
Albus rolled his eyes, bumping his shoulder against her's. "You're not ordinary; you're extraordinary. And if it makes you feel any bed, when Dad first started school, he wasn't all that. In fact, he was pretty embarrassing. Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron told me some stories you wouldn't believe. I'll be happy to pass them along to you."
Lily's lips tilted into a small smile that she couldn't contain. "I'd like that."
"Good."
Lily looked over at the Ravenclaw table and gulped nervously. Alice and Emma were staring her down. She could almost imagine they were fire-breathing dragons. "They're not going to like that I snubbed them by coming to sit here with you. And they're going to like it even less when I stop talking to them."
Albus placed his arm around her shoulders. "If they mess with you, come get me. I will teach them a lesson. No one messes with a Potter and gets away with it."
Lily nodded. She appreciated the sentiment, but she had a feeling she had made two enemies in the forms of Alice and Emma Boot.