Necessities

The next class was Ancient Runes. Though it was an elective in the Ordinary Wizarding Levels, Pomona had no intention of skipping it. Ancient things were not necessarily better than modern ones, but Pomona had a feeling that learning this would prove useful.

Lily's next class was Divination. Though she did not particularly want to attend, if Pomona left, she would be alone in the greenhouse. Her interest in plants did not mean she liked growing them; she preferred chopping them up, which was what she called enjoying the process of cooking.

"I think magic where you wave your wand once and end up with a table full of food is so boring. Have you ever tried Muggle cooking, Pomona?"

"No," Pomona said wearily as she climbed the slope. She had cleaned up almost that entire cauldron of Pixie Palsy Potion by herself just now. Luckily, she knew Scourgify, but it had drained her magic quickly, and she felt utterly exhausted.

"Cooking is pretty much like brewing potions. You should give it a try."

A strange thought suddenly occurred to Pomona.

"Lily, have you ever tasted anything Snape cooked for you?"

Lily was stunned, her green eyes widening.

"I'd wager his food tastes exactly like the recipe says it should," Pomona said with a laugh. "He might even weigh the salt on a scale."

"But then the food wouldn't taste like home." Lily lowered her head. "My dad always complains that Mum's cooking is too bland, but I think that's because she wants him to stay healthy."

Salt was a substance present in only tiny amounts in the body, yet utterly indispensable. Without it, people could not live. Plants, like people, needed all sorts of trace elements. That was her gift.

She had lived with Madam Sprout for eleven years. Aside from Pete, she had no friends her own age, so she had never noticed how old-fashioned she seemed. Only now, with Lily, did she realize how little vitality she had.

"You like The Beatles?"

"They were really popular when I was in primary school. Everyone loved listening to them." Lily sighed dejectedly. "It's a shame that after going to boarding school, it's been hard to see my old friends again."

"Don't worry. You'll meet lots of new friends soon." Lily did not have Snape's gloomy personality. Pomona believed she would quickly make new companions.

"The girls in my dorm keep their distance from me," Lily complained. "But you had a picnic with them on the grass."

"Our situations are different. Remember what I told you? Keep your distance from Slytherin, because you're in Gryffindor."

"That's so stupid." Lily pursed her lips. "Why should we be pushed around by a hat?"

"It's tradition. It's been around for a thousand years." Pomona was getting tired from the climb, so she stopped to rest. "What traditions do you think can last for more than a thousand years?"

"Christmas. It's lasted almost two thousand years."

"Christmas is a lie made up by merchants. You don't really believe Santa Claus exists, do you?"

"Of course not!" Lily flushed red. "I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was four!"

Pomona had no idea why she was so agitated. Was ceasing to believe in Santa Claus early some sort of accomplishment for Muggles?

"No matter how ridiculous you think certain practices are, if they have endured for so long, you shouldn't underestimate them." Pomona looked at her seriously. "Slytherin and Gryffindor are hereditary enemies. Even if people set aside some of their prejudice after graduation, things are different now. Have you heard of Death Eaters?"

Lily shook her head.

"They did it." Pomona motioned for Lily to look toward the greenhouse. "Two adult Death Eaters brought along two Slytherin students, Avery and Mulciber. Together, they used Unforgivable Curses to torture that House-elf."

Lily did not seem particularly surprised.

"Why didn't you tell the professors?"

"Because I want to stay alive, and I want to remain in the wizarding world." The sun disappeared behind the clouds. The temperature began to plummet, and the wind picked up. "This time, we went to war with Slytherin because of a Muggle girl. Like you, both her parents were Muggles. Her name was Nancy Puatier. The day before last year's winter holiday, Bella Black's group locked her in the girls' bathroom on the second floor for an entire night. They nearly frightened her out of her mind. The Hufflepuff boys planned to teach the Slytherin boys a lesson during this year's Quidditch match. To keep things from escalating, us girls stepped in. You saw how casually everyone treated poisoning. That's just how this society works—strength comes first. It's different from the environment you used to live in."

"She was only locked in a bathroom for one night..."

"Do you remember what James Potter said at the dock? A Ravenclaw girl died there. Like you, she was a Mudblood." Pomona avoided saying the insulting word aloud. "If you don't want to be the next girl Bella teaches a lesson to, keep your distance from Slytherin and spend more time with Gryffindors."

It took Lily a long time to accept the fact that she was being discriminated against. She was a pretty girl with an endearing personality, and she had probably been very popular at her Muggle school. She had always been the one protecting the weak, just as when Sirius Black had called her a Mudblood right after they got off the train, and she had immediately defended Pomona. Now, she had fallen from the very top to the very bottom.

"You're in the same House as James Potter and Sirius Black. What do you think of them?"

"I don't know them well," Lily said coldly. "But they're just like the rich kids at Muggle... no, private schools."

"They're the ones at the top, especially Sirius Black. They're one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight Families—very, very distinguished." Pomona repeated the last words. "Do you remember the Sorting Ceremony? The whole school was stunned. If you don't want your face ruined, stay away from those two."

"You're all mad." Lily gathered her windblown red hair. "Disfigured? Are you serious?"

"Dear, our first attack on Slytherin will leave people disfigured, along with bad luck and disease." Pomona sneered. "It isn't dark magic. It's just a prank."

Lily was stunned once again. Apparently, if this was not dark magic in her understanding, she had no idea what was.

"Rather than waste time on cooking, I think it would be more practical for you to learn a few defensive spells. Your Severus won't always be by your side. You need to learn to protect yourself."

"What about you, Pomona? How do you protect yourself?"

"By hiding," she said coldly. "Don't breathe a word of what I said to Snape just now. If Slytherin learns of our plan beforehand, you and I will become enemies. Neither I nor any of the girls in Hufflepuff will make things easy for you."

"What are you going to do? Force me to leave school?"

"I'm not threatening you. I'm just telling you things you need to know to survive in this world. Snape won't tell you any of this."

Lily looked toward the castle. After a moment, she said, "You're telling me to keep my mouth shut, but you told the plan to Severus? A Slytherin?"

"He won't tell," Pomona said with a cold laugh.

"Why?"

"Slytherin puts profit first. Do you know how much an antidote costs on the market? Thirty-two Galleons. The school doesn't allow outsiders in and out as they please, and Hogsmeade doesn't sell that sort of thing. Once the war officially starts, antidotes will cost even more. He can make a fortune. From the look of his clothes, his family probably isn't very well-off, right?"

"I don't want to discuss this."

"Lily, people need money to live in human society. Don't say things like you don't want a share next time." Once she had rested enough, Pomona continued up the slope. "You're not a saint. You don't need to sacrifice your own interests. Severus Snape is protecting you."

"I don't need his protection." Lily wrapped her arms around herself as if hugging herself. "I can take care of myself."

"Then start thinking now about whether you want to stay in the wizarding world or the Muggle world." With her back to Lily, Pomona spoke coldly. "If you don't want to become a witch cut off from everyone else, living alone in the wilderness, doing research and having to produce every necessity yourself—believe me, there are quite a few people like that. I lived with one of them for eleven years."