The Queen, The Knight and The Marauders

3. The Kingmaker

Chapter 3

It was the day before Hallowe'en, the day of the Hogsmeade trip. Lily wore a large, dark grey sweater with a green scarf and mittens, shivering in the cold as she walked trough Hogsmeade with her best friends. The boys were quiet, Hugo undoubtedly sour about having to cancel his date and Frank looking blankly ahead on the road.

"Let's go to the Three Broomsticks, shall we? I'm literally freezing to death over here," she said and did not wait for the other two to nod as she already headed towards the pub.

They had bought some candy at Honeyduke's and visited Uncle George at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. She had managed to evade Jason Wood during the trip, which could be counted as an achievement. But now, she had no idea why the boys were so gloomy.

She decided to let the boys mope in peace, ordering three Butterbeers from the counter and finding her way to the table Frank and Hugo had occupied.

"Oh, cheer up, you two! It's Hallowe'en tomorrow! It's going to be a blast."

Neither of the two answered her, both taking a sip of their drinks.

"Oh, fine! Be that way!"

The day of Hallowe'en came. Lily enjoyed seeing the whole school so happy and buzzing. The students were ecstatic, the teachers nervous wrecks (no doubt waiting anxiously for the mischief of the night), and the castle was decorated with live spiders in their enormous webs, skeletons walking around, their bones clacking, and everything horrifying and fun one could imagine. The corridors were filled with cold mist, gloomy candles lighting the way, giving the castle an eerie look, the windows draped over with spiderwebs and torn pieces of cloth, tainted with blood.

Oh, how she loved Hallowe'en.

It might sound odd, knowing that her grandparents had been killed on Hallowe'en, but for as long as Lily could remember, Hallowe'en had been celebrated in their family like no other day. Even Christmas came second. Lily's dad said that it did the dead no good for the living to mourn them. Instead, they should celebrate the lives of their loved ones as loudly as they could. And so they did.

When Teddy came to Hogwarts, he brought their tradition with him. Then, one by one, the Potter children entered Hogwarts, keeping the tradition alive and well, much to the dismay of some of the teachers. Hallowe'en —the Potter style— had come to stay.

Lily entered the Great Hall, taking in the wonderful decorations. Bats were flying around, giant jack-o'-lanterns floating in the air, the castle's ghosts singing morbid songs.

She loved it all.

The Hall began to fill with students, and Lily hurried to the Slytherin table, nodding and smiling to her house mates. She was so proud to be a Slytherin, even though she only was close with few of them. Besides, many Slytherins preferred allies instead of friends, and Lily didn't want or need those. She wanted subjects.

And an occasional friend.

Still, she had a few friends in her house. One of them being Daisy Nott, a blonde and petite girl from Lily's year, who looked and sometimes acted like a fairy, but in reality was nothing of the kind. Daisy was one of the most Slytherin people Lily had ever met, and she counted herself in that lot. The other girl was seriously cunning. Naturally, she was Lily's closest female friend.

Lily sat next to Daisy, snapping her fingers in front of the girl's face to get her attention. Her friend was always looking for conquests, and she preferred them rich and influential.