Taste of Youth

Lily was yelling at me, her hands in the air and her cheeks matching her hair. We were up in our dorm room, Alice was standing at my side glowering as Lily paced in front of the bed. I’d walked in the common room after my meeting with Dumbledore about the Auror classes only to be ambushed by the two raging girls. The seven other Gryffindor’s watched looking sympathetic as they dragged me upstairs.

“What the hell were you thinking running off like that?” Lily screeched, “You say something about an essay and Alice and I come up to make sure you’re okay only for you to be nowhere in sight! Do you have any idea how worried we were?”

“You were worried?” I asked when she took a deep breath.

“Of course we were worried you- you toerag!” She screeched even louder the sound echoing down the stairs before she said in a slightly quieter tone, “Why wouldn’t we be?”

“I just…” I pushed a hand through my hair and sighed, “I’m just not used to having people worry about me that’s all. I’m sorry about running off but if I hadn’t gone for a run I probably would have destroyed the dorm. I’m not used to using magic just yet and it gets really out of control sometimes.”

Lily threw her hands down and collapsed on my bed with a huff, “You’re an idiot, Luciana. A complete and total idiot. And you had better get used to us worrying about you, I have a feeling we’ll be doing it for a long time. Alice, you have anything to add?”

Alice reached up and hit me hard upside the head, “You do anything like that again and I’m sending you to the Hospital Wing. You hear me?”

I rubbed the spot she’d hit gingerly and smiled, “Got it.”

Alice nodded primly and uncrossed her arms, “You’d better. So what did Dumbledore want?”

I moved aside so Alice could hunker down on my bed, “He offered me a spot in the Auror training program.”

Lily lifted her head her green eyes shining with excitement, “Did you take it? Tell me you took it.”

“It would have gone against my schedule with Poppy so I opted not to.” Lily slumped down with an annoyed grunt and I bit back a smile before I continued, “But Cormack had said that I could do night and early morning lessons with him instead of your lots afternoon sessions. So I’ll be doing that.”

Lily picked up one of my dozens of pillows and chucked it at me, “Special treatment much?”

I laughed catching the pillow and tossing it back, “Seems like it. I’m meeting with him tomorrow morning in my brothers old rooms.”

Lily and Alice’s eyes went dark at the mention of my brother and Lily sat up looking very serious.

“About him, nothing Pritchard said was true and she was bang out of order. He was actually the only good Defense teacher we had. He didn’t teach us like we were children who would understand the simplest of spells, he taught us like we were capable people. Plus he was alway there for everyone, a real sweetheart. I’m really sorry to hear that he died, Luce.”

“He died fighting for what he believed in so don’t be sorry.” I let my eyes peek at her sideways and a teasing smile curve my lips, “Bang out of order?”

Lily promptly hit me with another pillow, “You’re the immigrant here, Rein, so don’t start.”

I laughed and returned her hit with one of my own, “Oh yeah?”

Lily swung again and missed smacking Alice right in the face mid-laugh. Alice looked mockingly enraged and picked up a pillow of her own to join in the fight. We busted four of my good pillows and covered the room in downy feathers, our laughter rebounding off of the walls. We kept it up until the three of us were too tired to care. Alice flopped down on my bed and sighed.

“Can I move in here with you guys? Gigi’s going to be a nightmare after what happened with Sirius.”

Lily and I looked at her curiously jumping on my bed as well and asking at the same time, “What happened?”

“You should have seen it!” Alice popped back up a grin on her face, “I’ve never seen him so pissed off before. They had been dating you know, met over the summer or something and got together. He right told her off and broke up with her in front of the whole crew. Said what she had just done was foul and he wouldn’t be caught dead with someone so Slytherin inclined. She had a right fit.

“Then she tried to get the rest of us with her. Sam wasn’t having none of it called her a slag and reminded her that she’d wanted to have Professor Rein in her knickers. Dorcas of course went along with it, she never really was one to go against Gigi but I heard her muttering about what a bitch she was being. The whole Marauder crew left her there, James called her some filthy names as they went too. Then Frank, boy I’ve never heard him insult someone before! He told her where she could shove it and went off with me to help Lily find you. That was all I heard but Sam told me Fabian and Chase cursed her on their way up to the tower.”

Alice grinned widely at me, “Looks like you have a knack for making friends Luce. Even the seventh years wanted to come and talk to you! Gigi’s one of the most popular girls in this place, below Miss Perfect over here, not anymore I guess.”

Lily stuck her tongue out at the teasing insult and turned to me, “The older years know about what’s happening with the death’s and missing persons. We all read the Daily Prophet checking for names of people we know. We’re not too keen on people that are so rude to the people who have passed nowadays.”

I sighed, “I never meant for everyone to hate her. I mean I don’t like her at all but no one really deserves to have people turn on them like that.”

Lily gave a shrug, “We’re Gryffindors, Luce, someone slights our own we’re going to get them for it. I can’t wait until school starts so that I can try out some new spells on her.”

“Oi, aren’t you a Prefect? If you’re going to be threatening don’t do it in company.” Alice laughed.

Lily tossed her hair and gave a prim look, “I will do as I please.”