From Beginning to End

Chapter 22: Freak

Lily Jade Evans was a freak. Well, at least she felt like one.

Everything was awful. Her hair was frizzy, too frizzy. It was bright red and slightly wavy and the humidity in the air from all the rain was not helping her cause of not looking like the inside of a pumpkin.

Over the past few weeks spots had come up on her face and with it oil and grease. She felt like the chips she'd get down at the sea with her family over the summer holidays.

A delicate finger poked at her stomach. It was protruding more than normal. Her mum's and Petunia's didn't do that. Was she getting fat? But she felt so hungry. She'd eaten only a couple hours prior, but chocolate sounded really good at this time. Plus, her stomach hurt – really hurt. It had never felt like that before. Were belly growing pains a thing?

Lily groaned, suddenly feeling a wave of nausea. This couldn't be good.

"Are you alright, Lils?" asked Mary MacDonald from the next bed over.

She'd been in the middle of a History assignment but Lily was in pain and obviously that was more important.

"I- I don't know. My stomach really hurts," she panted.

Mary jumped off her bed and was by her friend's side in an instant. She pressed a hand to Lily's forehead.

"You don't have a fever," she said. That was a good thing. At least Lily wasn't coming down with the flu or something similar. But merlin, she looked ill.

Mary quickly helped Lily into the restroom. "Do you have to vomit?"

"Maybe," Lily groaned.

The pair stayed that way for a while. Mary gave Lily some Tylenol but that didn't seem to help much. She felt awful for her friend. Maybe it was a good idea to fetch Madam Pomfrey. That would be done if this lasted much longer.

"Shit. Lily are you alright?"

Marlene had come back from wherever it had been she had gone and now was faced with a very concerning scene.

Lily responded with a groan.

"She had a bad stomach ache and some nausea. I gave her some muggle pain medication but it didn't do anything."

"What does it feel like Lils?" asked Marlene, squatting down to a sitting position on the bathroom tile.

"Like my insides are being wrung out."

Marlene's eyes lit up. "Do you feel anything in your knickers?"

"Marlene!" Mary gasped

Marlene held up a hand.

"A bit. It feels slimy."

"Check. Is it red or brown or just clear?"

Lily shooed the other two out of the washroom for a moment. The pieces were being put together quickly. She felt rather stupid. Of course her menstrual cycle would explain all this.
Her mother had told her about all this a couple years ago. How had she managed to forget?

She quickly confirmed Marlene's suspicions.

The girls spent the night binging on ice cream, singing silly muggle songs and praising Lily for her entrance into womanhood.

While Lily still felt like a freak, that thought was put on the backburner for a few hours as she enjoyed her friends' support and celebration. The chocolate helped too.

Across the tower, James was desperately begging his friends to come and spend the Christmas holidays with him at Potter Manor the next month.

He wanted to spend even more time with his best mates, who he saw as brothers, even when not at Hogwarts. Sure, there was still a good five weeks or so before the holidays came, but it was never a bad thing to plan ahead.

His friends were being quite stubborn however, and raining all over James Potter's parade.

"I'm sorry mate." Sirius said for the fifth time, "My parents would never allow it, you know how they are."

"Why though?" James whined. "Not even for a couple days?"

Sirius sighed. "Because... The Christmas holidays are extremely important to them. They have this huge fancy ball on Christmas Eve and New Years. I am not allowed to miss it. Ever."

"Oh come on!" James cried out. "Can't you come from like the twenty-sixth through the thirtieth or something? Then you wouldn't be missing your ball."

Sirius scoffed and shook his head. "Nope. Forget it mate, it's not happening. After last summer I doubt they'll even let me anywhere near a home not belonging to a Slytherin Pureblood."

James looked at him in confusion. "But nothing bad happened?"

"My cousin was disowned for falling in love with a muggleborn. Believe me, over the holiday I'm on house arrest."

A frustrated groan left James' lips as he turned to Remus.

"What about you Moony? Any chance you could?"

Moony had become a nickname bestowed upon him first by Sirius and quickly adopted by Peter and James. At first Remus was scared it would be too noticeable, an easy callout, but after a week no one had so much as looked their way.

Remus shrugged. "I doubt it. My parents are pretty protective about that kinda thing. They don't like me away from home or Hogwarts much."

     "I'm available," Peter volunteered, over James' pleading.

James instantly turned to him, hazel eyes lighting up like fairy lights. "Really Pete?"

Peter nodded quickly.

"Brillant!"

He then turned to Sirius and Remus. "Fine, you can't come this time but I will have all of you together at my place sometime before we graduate. Mark my words."

Sirius just scoffed again.

Remus muttered out, "If you say so mate."

The fact simply was; their families would never approve.