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Lily had always been a brilliant witch. She was the best of their generation, according to some professors. Definitely gifted, according to all of them.
She had always been curious, even as a child. When a vast new world opened up before her, Lily plunged into it. Her best friend was by her side, ready and determined to know everything she could about it, eager to learn everything there was to know, and impatient to find out what she didn't know yet but would discover.
Now, she wished she had been less curious, less ready, less determined, less eager, less impatient.
Less Lily.
Her mind wandered, finally focusing on Severus, who was her best friend up until a week before.
Mudblood .
Someone who wasn't a real witch, just a fake . Someone who had stolen magic from deserving wizards, true wizards , and smuggled himself into the wizarding world. A thief, a miserable and petty bein g who deserved nothing but pain and loneliness.
That was the world where Lily belonged.
Well, the world she half belonged to, at least. The other half was in the Muggle world, where her parents and sister awaited her. She was also too strange , too monster , too magical to be one of them.
She was too Muggle for the wizarding world, and too magical for the Muggle one.
She had two feet in two different worlds, and she didn't feel like she belonged in either of them.
"I never thought I'd find you here, of all places." A sudden voice startled Lily, who turned to see Black standing before her, a sad smile on his face. "Although, I guess it's not my place to ask you why you're here."
"No, it is not," Lily snapped, glaring at him. “Not after what you did.”
Black looked surprised and mildly offended. “Look, I may admit we overdid it with Snivellus, but… I didn't make him do anything. Whatever he said, it's all his own ."
Lily looked away, hurt that Black was right .
Neither Black nor Potter had prompted him to call her Mudblood. That had been all Severus, the person who, most of all, had consoled her, and made her feel a part of the wizarding world.
If she was to be honest, Potter had even tried to defend her, before Lily stopped him and walked away from the scene. She didn't want to be seen crying. None of those present deserved her tears. Black didn't even deserve them now, so Lily answered, annoyed. “You didn't help either. Severus hadn't done anything, and… you took it out on him, again, for no reason !”
“You know it's no longer your place to defend it, right?” Black asked her, furrowing her eyebrows. “We may have been wrong, I admit it. We overdid it. But… Snive… Snape , he's not someone who deserves your continued and strenuous defense. He didn't defend you."
Lily pursed her lips, even more annoyed that Black continued to be right.
“May I ask if what happened has something to do with the broomstick you are holding?”
Lily looked down at the broomstick in question. As Prefect, Lily had the right to request access to the school's Quidditch supply closet and occasionally check that everything was in order.
Seeing what had happened, Madam Hooch had also given her access without a specific request, convinced that she would fly a little there would reassure her. Many witches found comfort in flying. Many real witches did .
Lily couldn't fly.
"No," Lily answered, before saying, "I wanted to fly a bit, that's all."
" You ?" Black asked, incredulous. “You were never really very good… at flying.”
Lily looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "And what do you know?"
“James has offered to teach you to fly many times in the privacy of our dorm.” Black shrugged, ignoring the surprise on Lily's face, saying instead. "I found it slightly pathetic, but luckily for him, Remus always stopped him from chasing you down the halls to offer you his experience."
"I'll remember to thank Remus, then," Lily said, feeling extremely grateful for the shrewdness of her fellow Prefect. It would have been embarrassing, having everyone know she wasn’t able to fly. That she wasn’t a real witch.
Black returned his gaze to her. “But you want to learn to fly, right?”
Lily pursed her lips, averting her gaze.
“I won't insist, you know, but… I guess that's my sorry. Was I an idiot ?”
Lily's neck snapped so fast that she was surprised she hadn't broken it in the process. “Would you teach me to fly?”
Black shrugged. “It can be difficult, alone, in the dark. Some help from an expert would be preferable, but I can do at least something good.”
"I..." Lily stopped, before sighing and nodding. "I would really appreciate it. Thank you, Black."
Black nodded, looking at the broom Lily was holding. “I would use that one to sweep the floors, honestly. Let's put it back safely before a gust of wind blows it away and have fun squandering the Black wealth for a while." The boy handed her a broom, which Lily recognized as the broom Mary could never keep silent about. A new broom that was just put on the market.
"Where did you get that?" Lily asked, her mouth dropping.
Black shrugged. “My parents despise me, but they can't let me ruin Black's image even more . So, I have the best clothes, the best brooms and the best equipment. They hope showing how much money they have will blind people to the color of my tie.”
Lily snorted. “Well, I'm afraid they're wasting their time. It really stands out on the school tunic.”
Black smiled at her, before handing her the broom, which this time the girl took.
“Gets on the broom. Let's see if we can do anything about the posture first."
Lily climbed onto her broom, stiffening as she felt Black's hand on her back.
“Black…”
"Take it easy. You have too much strain on the back of your back; this will cause problems. You must have control over the broom. If you're too scared, the magic might not react well."
" What ?" Lily opened her mouth, and Black moved his hand soothingly up the girl's back. " Take it easy . It practically never happens, but it's written in broom theory. Just as wands are made of particular woods, cores, and lengths, reacting in different ways to different wizards so that they get to choose their rightful owner, brooms can, theoretically speaking , unseat their steed if they're not satisfied with it. These are just guesses and theories, but…”
“Black, stop talking !” Lily exclaimed. "It's not reassuring."
"My apologies." Black at least had the decency to look embarrassed. “I got excited. So, relaxed posture. When you take off, stay close to the broomstick; when you fly, it's your choice. Just know that the less space you occupy in the air, the faster you can go.”
Lily nodded. She corrected her posture before looking at Black for approval.
"And now?"
“A light tap with your feet, and take off. The feeling is incredible."
Lily did as she was told.
When the wind ruffled her hair, she laughed in amusement, free . She decided to try faster and reclined her body closer to the broomstick, grinning madly as it picked up speed.
She laughed, her laughter filling the Quidditch Pitch, reaching Black, who sat in the stands, a smile on his princely face.
When Lily finally felt at peace with herself and ready to face the whole world head-on, she glided, reaching the stands and getting off the broom next to Black.
“So, how did it go?” Black asked her.
Lily, smiling, said. “I think I learned to fly. Thank you, Black."
Lily held out the broom to the boy who, after a moment spent in silence, took it, saying. "Now, no one will question you being a witch, Lily."
The girl looked at him with a smile on her face. Sirius was the only one that understood the real problem, and tried to help as he could.
She had never felt more part of the wizarding world like in that moment .
"Thank you, Sirius ."
Sirius smiled once again, and then his name was called from the other side of the field.
Remus, Potter and Pettigrew were there, waving their hands to call their friend.
“Uh, I have to go… Would you like to join us?” Sirius asked her.
Lily shook her head. “I think I'll fly around a little more. Just to… pacify my mind.” She smiled as Black handed her his broom once again.
“Have fun, then.”
“I will.”
While Sirius was reaching his friends, Lily once again took height, aiming the broom at the sky, the stars looking less and less like distant dots and more and more like something within reach.
The wind in her hair, the air underfoot, the broom as her only prop made Lily brave.
If she could fly, she could do anything .
She closed her eyes, knowing she would encounter no obstacle.
Probably, thought a small part of her, as she recalled the conversation that had just happened, that had been the best way to apologize she had ever seen.