Christmas
After the first Quidditch season ended, Lily could finally breathe a sigh of relief. She was both nervous and excited about the approaching Christmas holiday. The excitement of the holiday at Hogwarts also came with the beginning of darkness in the wizarding world.
The First Wizarding War officially broke out in 1970, and 1971 was its first year. The darkness had only just begun to spread. In 1970, he had abandoned the name Tom Riddle entirely and taken the name Voldemort. The Death Eaters shifted from recruiting underground to operating in the open. Their actions included night raids, control through the Imperius Curse, and torture. After killing, they would raise the Dark Mark above the house, striking fear into every wizard in Britain who saw it. Many senior Ministry of Magic officials were under the Death Eaters' Imperius Curse, and spies had been planted in both the Department of Mysteries and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, causing a steady leak of intelligence.
The Aurors were short-handed, casualties continued to mount, and their efforts to capture Death Eaters were highly ineffective. The authorities deliberately suppressed news of the casualties, unwilling to cause widespread panic among wizards.
The authorities had no unified, powerful organization to fight back. They could only defend themselves and make arrests after the fact, with no solution to the root of the problem. Public trust in the Ministry of Magic plummeted.
During Lily's first year, Dumbledore formally founded the original Order of the Phoenix as a secret underground organization to oppose Voldemort:
Rumors spread through the school, and relations between Slytherin and the other three houses grew increasingly strained.
Lily's relationship with Snape also began to change in the tide of the times.
The two spent less and less time together in private. Snape began seeking out certain Pure-blood Slytherin students, deliberately trying to fit into the circle that had once rejected him. Lily didn't know whether this was a good thing. She knew what Snape longed for. Should she be glad that he had finally found a place in that circle and gotten what he wanted, or sad that he was walking step by step toward an unknown future, drifting further from his original intentions?
But she never brought it into the open, just as Snape would not easily mention it. By unspoken agreement, they avoided the subject and talked only about Potions or spells, just as they had when they were children. In countless quiet moments together, a humble, extravagant hope would rise in Snape's heart: How wonderful it would be if time could stop here forever and nothing ever changed.
The bullying at school grew worse and worse. Emboldened by the chaos and the power of their families, Slytherin students began to bully those they called "Mudbloods" and Half-blood wizards at will. At first, it was only malicious insults, isolation, and exclusion, and people could still endure it and back down. Gradually, though, the bullying escalated to maliciously injuring people with Dark curses. Older students bullied younger ones without restraint, and violence was everywhere in the school.
Lily, who already had a strong sense of justice, stepped in. She couldn't beat the older students, but she was very good at drawing their hatred. She knew prank spells like the Bat-Bogey Hex, which wasn't very powerful but was extremely humiliating. In the Marauders' eyes, Lily could practically join them and make them a group of five. Lily promptly refused. Who would want to join the Marauders? She wasn't that bored.
After the first Quidditch match, December arrived, and Lily began preparing Christmas presents. One night, Lily couldn't sleep as she looked at the puzzle in her mind. Her frequent use of the Reducto Curse had turned its proficiency from its initial white to gray, and many everyday spells had turned gray as well. Seeing that Mary and the others were already asleep, she cast a Disillusionment Charm on herself and decided to go to the library to light up the other puzzle pieces.
The common room was quiet, and the fire was still burning in the fireplace. She slipped out alone and headed for the library. With a Seeker's keen senses, she avoided Filch's patrols and made it to the library. Madam Pince had already gone to bed. Lily searched the library for spellbooks that interested her, with advanced Ancient Magic at the top of her list. Even if she couldn't use it, she wanted to light it up first. Glimmering Living Creature Guidance: a practice passed down by ancient Druid wizards, requiring no wand, using gentle intent to soothe injured Magical Creatures and dispel the chill of Dementors.
Remnant Soul Purification and Redemption Rite: an ancient ritual for healing souls. The various kinds of Ancient Magic drew her in. By the time nearly half the puzzle had lit up, most of what remained was Dark Magic. She wrestled with whether to enter the realm of Dark Magic. She longed to be powerful, but being powerful didn't necessarily mean pursuing Dark Magic. She swore to use Dark Magic only to protect herself and the people around her.
So she entered the Restricted Section and opened books she could understand. The darkness in them crawled over every inch of her skin like maggots clinging to bone. Lily forced down her discomfort. Rather than examining the cruel core of the spells word by word, she simply read through them quickly and committed them to memory. Dawn was approaching, and most of her puzzle had lit up. She didn't know what magic the remaining pieces represented, but perhaps she didn't need to know. This was already more than enough. She put down the book, cast a Disillusionment Charm on herself, and hurried back to the tower. She had no classes in the morning, so she could sleep straight through until noon. Lily fell back into bed.
Time flew, and the Christmas holiday arrived in the blink of an eye. Lily and Petunia were both preparing to go home. Sirius clearly wasn't very willing to go home; even people who didn't know him well knew that he and his family could hardly stand the sight of one another. "If only you were my real brother, you could come live at my house with me. Of course, you're already my best mate." James put an arm around Sirius's shoulders. Sirius smiled bitterly. "If only that were true. My brother has already been brought around by that mother of mine. All he wants now is to be their good little boy."
Lily sat opposite the two of them, with Petunia beside her. Snape had flatly refused to share a compartment with Potter and Black, but he and Lily had still agreed to meet at the little park over Christmas to discuss their schoolwork. Petunia was surprisingly silent, as though she didn't want to talk to Lily about private matters with others around. Lily listened as the two opposite her spent the journey talking about how they would prank Slytherin next term. "Oh, Lily," James suddenly called to her. Lily looked up blankly, wondering what scheme he had come up with now.
"What?"
"I got you a Christmas present, so don't forget to get me one."
James grinned as he asked for his Christmas present. "You're the last person I'd forget a present for, don't worry."
Lily actually meant that her memory couldn't possibly be so bad that she would forget anyone's present. James, however, thought she meant that no matter whose present she forgot, she would never forget his. He made himself happy with that thought and sat there grinning foolishly to himself. Sirius moved a little farther away from him, afraid James's love-struck foolishness might be contagious.
The train slowly pulled into King's Cross Station. Lily and Petunia walked side by side through Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Mr and Mrs Evans were already waiting at the exit, gazing tenderly at their two returning daughters.
As Lily stepped out of the platform, she caught sight of Sirius nearby out of the corner of her eye. A beautiful woman was leading him away, his face full of reluctance. The woman's features were exquisitely beautiful, but the deep-rooted Pure-blood arrogance and vicious malice in her expression ruined her beauty.
Lily recognized her at once as Sirius's mother, Walburga Black. Before she could think further, Lily got into the car Mr Evans was driving. She and Petunia discussed finishing their holiday homework first, a habit Petunia had picked up the previous year, so they could spend the whole following week enjoying themselves at leisure.
On Christmas Day, lunch at the Evans family home was especially lively. While the sisters were away at school, Mr Evans had bought the house next door as well and built two swings at home for them. Lily had the idea of inviting Snape over for Christmas. When Petunia heard this, there was clear reluctance in her eyes, but she didn't object. She would wait for Lily to discover for herself that Snape was not a good person.