A/N: Apologies for my extreme tardiness! Travel and other factors has me a bit behind, but better late than never! I know it's not Leap of Faith for those anxiously waiting for that, but I've been neglecting these kids a bit too long. Enjoy!

Lily could honestly say that she was looking forward to the new school year. It was always fun to see giddy and nervous first years lining up to be sorted and to cheer for the ones who wound up in her own house. Their excitement was contagious. How had it been six years since she'd tried on the hat and it had almost immediately shouted Gryffindor!

Plus, it was hard not to be happy when she had her best friend back. Especially since she hadn't been expecting to sit with him during the start of term feast and would've had to brave her dorm mates. They were still sitting nearby, but wouldn't be too hard to ignore. It was tradition to sit with your house during the start of term feast, so they would've been her only option.

The alternative was much more pleasant. Even if it meant the only thing separating Lily from her ex boyfriend were two of her cousins.

"Lily, we heard you made Captain!" said Cole Sawyer, sitting across the table from Hugo as the sorting concluded and they began loading their plates with food. Cole was a sixth year student with dark skin, closely cropped hair, and a somewhat stocky build. He was also a Beater on the team and the only remaining player beside herself, Caleb, and Louis.

"Yep," said Lily, beaming proudly.

"When are tryouts?" asked Linus Cattermole, who was sitting on the other side of Cole and across from Louis. He was built almost the exact opposite of Cole, reedy and fair haired and almost always hunched over as if to hide how gangly he was. He was in Lily's year as well.

"We have to coordinate through the House Heads, but hopefully sometime next week."

"What positions are you looking for?" asked Dara Finley. She was sitting across from Lily and was the only girl in her year that she could actually stomach for more than a few minutes at a time.

"One Beater and two Chasers," she said. "Unless, of course, I manage to find two Beaters that work better together than they do with Cole."

Cole's head popped up, a forkful of mashed potatoes halfway to his gaping mouth.

"Hey!" he said indignantly. "You can't just give away my spot."

Lily smirked and tapped the badge on her robes. "I can do whatever I please."

Linus rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but there's no way you're kicking your cousin and your boyfriend off the team."

His words caused Lily to freeze up, realizing for the first time that word had not spread during the summer, and that the Hogwarts rumor mill hadn't yet kicked into gear. Thankfully, she was able to recover from the shock quickly even as she felt Bobby and Hugo tense up on either side of her.

"I plan to be a fair and unbiased captain, Cattermole," she said with a forced smile. Linus looked unconvinced, but it was the unpleasant voice of Anastasia Bennett that spoke up next.

And Lily had done such a good job of ignoring her up to that point.

"Oh, please," she said, and Lily had to restrain herself from rolling her eyes as Anastasia dramatically flipped her silky brown hair, even hitting Dara in the face with the ends of it. "Everyone knows that all you Weasleys and Potters care about is each other and whoever you happen to be dating. And sometimes not even then."

She shot a pointed glare in Hugo's direction, but he ignored her and continued eating his meal with more gusto.

"Leave it alone, Bennett," said Bobby with a warning tone. Anastasia scoffed and rolled her eyes again.

"Come on, Bobby," she drawled. "You've got Lucy wrapped so tightly around your finger that you've got absolutely no room to talk."

Bobby's cheeks turned a bit pink, but Lily was more intrigued by the way Dara seemed almost disappointed by Anastasia's observation.

"Shut up, Anastasia," said Hugo, finally acknowledging the girl he'd spent an evening snogging at the end of last term. Lily had to choke back a laugh when Anastasia immediately perked up at being addressed by him. Did she seriously think that insulting his family was the way to his heart?

"Not that any of this is any of your concern, seeing as you can't even manage to get a broom off the ground," Lily said in a bored tone, "but I plan on forming the best team possible, even if it means replacing someone who already has a spot."

This earned her a glare from a pink cheeked Anastasia.

"Except Wood," said Cole, who waggled his eyebrows suggestively at Caleb. Lily was extremely grateful that she couldn't see his face. "He probably can't do a thing wrong in your eyes, eh?"

Her tactic had been to ignore it and just wait until people figured it out themselves. Not because she wanted to protect his feelings or felt embarrassed by it, but because it wasn't anyone's business. But she didn't feel like she could let that one go. Not when her integrity was being called into question.

"I disagree, actually," she said flatly, and a notable silence fell over their section of the table as Lily focused on cutting her chicken.

"Ooh, lovers spat?" asked Linus teasingly, immediately receiving death glares from all four boys on the bench across from him.

"No, actually," said Lily, as calm as anything. "You'd have to actually be lovers to be in a lovers spat."

Whatever silence had been present before now seemed twice as obvious. No one was eating and they were all glancing between Caleb and Lily with wide eyes. She was the first to continue eating her meal, and the others all slowly began to follow.

"You two broke up?" she heard Cole whisper as he leaned forward to talk to Caleb. Lily didn't catch his response, so he probably either didn't give one or it was nonverbal.

"Shit, I did not see that coming," said Linus. "Then again, you all were in a bit of shambles at the end of last year now I think about it."

Lily took a deep breath and focused on her meal. Was there anyone more tactless than Linus Cattermole? She was being strongly reminded why she rarely hung out with the other boys in Bobby and Hugo's dorm and did her best to tune them out.

"You okay?" Dara asked softly, and Lily looked up to see her watching her with genuine concern, her light blonde hair nearly dragging in her food as she leaned towards Lily in an effort not to be overhead. Lily offered her a soft smile.

"I'm fine. Thanks, though."

Dara gave her a sympathetic smile. "Well, if you ever need anything…"

Lily nodded, truly feeling thankful for her dorm mate and grateful that she wasn't letting Anastasia's opinions sway her. Dara tended to have a mind of her own more than the other two girls in their dorm - Sophie and Amelia - did. Sure enough, as soon as Dara went back to her meal, Anastasia leaned in and started whispering to her fiercely, no doubt asking what she was thinking in being so friendly with Lily.

"You are okay, right?" asked Bobby from beside her. Lily nodded.

"Right now I am," she assured him. "Can't promise that I'll always be."

She glanced at him and shrugged, knowing there was no point in denying it, and Bobby gave her an understanding smile.

"What about you, Hugo?" Linus piped up again. "You plan on trying out?"

Hugo shook his head and swallowed a bite of food before responding. "I'm doing extra creature work with Hagrid for N.E.W.T.s, so I don't really have the time."

"Really?" asked Lily in pleasant surprise. "I didn't know you were doing that."

Hugo nodded. "He's got a new litter of Crups that were crossbred from a wolf, so I'm going to help him care for and study them. There's not a lot of documentation on that particular mix so it could be useful work outside of just earning a grade."

Lily grinned, excited for her cousin to have this opportunity. Hugo had always loved Care of Magical Creatures, but had been particularly fond of nonmagical animals growing up. This would be right up his alley.

"Isn't that dangerous?" asked Anastasia. Lily rolled her eyes. The girl had her elbow resting on the table and was cupping her chin in her hand while she watched Hugo with a gaze that was nauseatingly seductive. She seemed to have gotten over him snubbing her all summer pretty quickly.

"If they were raised in the wild, it might be," he said, his brow furrowed as if he couldn't figure out what she was trying to do. "And it won't be till they're older that we'd have to worry about that. They're just pups right now."

"Ooh, puppies?" Anastasia asked with an obnoxiously high voice. "I'd love to see them, only I'm not taking Care of Magical Creatures anymore."

Her lower lip popped out in a pout, and Lily just let herself chortle silently at Hugo's wide eyed look of panic.

"Er...shame."

His words didn't deter her. "Good thing you'll have such easy access to them. You'll take me to see them some evening, right?"

She was now fluttering her eyelashes and biting her lip. Dara looked embarrassed on her friend's behalf and shared an exasperated look with Lily as Hugo cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"Uh...sorry. Probably not a good idea. Wouldn't want to abuse my privileges."

Anastasia pouted again and seemed on the verge of trying to guilt him into giving in, and Lily was not about to let that happen.

"Can you show them to me when we go visit Hagrid next weekend?" she asked, turning to her cousin with an innocent expression. She grinned in triumph when Hugo didn't even give a second thought to his response.

"Yeah, definitely. He'll probably even want to show you himself."

Anastasia let out a high pitched gasp of outrage, her face turning red as she stared at Hugo, who seemed to realize what he'd done a moment too late. Lily almost felt guilty as he glared at her.

Thankfully, Anastasia seemed to have had enough and turned away from them with a huff to loudly complain to Sophie and Amelia on her other side.

The rest of the meal continued on peacefully, Lily enjoying catching up with Dara - Hugo and Bobby joining in their conversation. It wasn't until they were nearly done with the pudding portion of the meal that the temporary line drawn between house tables was finally crossed.

"I've got to get to the library before curfew," said Bobby, standing and stretching as he casually glanced towards the Hufflepuff table. "I need to sign up for shifts for this term and I'd rather not wait till all the good slots are taken."

"Want some company?" Dara asked, looking a little more eager than someone who was only asking to be polite.

"No, that's okay," he said with a friendly smile and a dismissive wave. "Lucy mentioned something about a book we were supposed to get in over the summer that she wants to read so I thought I'd see if she wanted to join me."

He gave a general friendly wave of goodbye and told Hugo he'd see him back in the dorm before making his way towards where an expectant Lucy was smiling as he approached.

The sigh that escaped Dara was not lost on Lily.

"He got fit over the summer," Anastasia whispered loudly to her friend. Dara glumly rested her chin in her hand and nodded, her eyes flashing back and forth between her sticky toffee pudding and where Bobby and Lucy were now making their way out of the Great Hall amongst the other first few students to begin leaving the feast.

Objectively, Lily could see what Anastasia and Dara saw in Bobby. He was on the shorter side, especially compared to the tall males in her family, but still stood about five foot ten. His sandy hair had a soft look to it and fell effortly across his forehead, cut in an attractive and stylish way. And just like Hugo, he'd started filling out a bit, even though he wasn't - strictly speaking - muscular. Not to mention he had kindness in him that radiated from his eyes and his smile, which were both rather lovely as well. All around, it was easy to see what her dorm mates saw, and Lily felt a nervous swooping in her stomach to realize her sweet and slightly timid cousin was about to face a bit of competition if the reaction of her dorm mates was anything to go by.

This was driven home even more when they finally made it back to their dorms. Lily was ready for bed and taking a moment to pin some pictures from the summer up around her bed, adding to the collection she'd been building since her first year. Some were photos with friends and family and others were drawings she'd done. She was in the middle of hanging a picture from a day she'd spent out shopping in Muggle London with James and Violet - who had taken her out to celebrate her captaincy - when Dara called her name.

She was sitting on her own bed that was next to Lily's, twisting her long blonde hair into a braid and looking contemplative as Lily turned to face her. The other three girls could be heard giggling in the bathroom and it seemed like Dara was taking advantage of their moment alone.

"Are...are Bobby and Lucy actually dating?" she asked, her eyes fixed on their task as her cheeks turned slightly pink. Lily wasn't sure how to answer. She wanted to be honest, but she also didn't feel like it would be fair to Dara to say anything that could give her false hope.

"Practically," she settled on saying, remembering how closely the two had been sitting in the compartment. "I wouldn't be surprised if he snogged her tonight, actually. They've been building up to it all summer."

"Oh," said Dara, deflating a bit in disappointment. "Good to know."

Lily gave her an apologetic smile, but Dara didn't even glance at her before crawling under her covers and pulling her curtains shut. She could only hope that whatever crush Dara definitely had on Bobby wouldn't last. To be quite honest, Lily was really hoping that the school year would be relatively free of teenage angst and relationship drama. It was probably too much to hope for but still, she could hope.

Besides, she wasn't too proud to admit to herself that part of her reasoning for wishing this was because she didn't want to be reminded of what she no longer had. And more than that, she really didn't want to be put in a situation like the one Dara now found herself in - watching the boy you like carrying on with another girl.

The fact that she was probably still in love with Caleb Wood? That would only make watching him move on with someone else infinitely more painful. She could only hope that he'd be too busy with Quidditch and studying for his N.E.W.T.s to have time for anything else.

Quidditch. As excited as she was to be captain and thrilled to take on the challenge of leading her house team, she couldn't help partially dreading the try outs and training to come. The last time she'd had anything close to a conversation with Caleb was when they'd yelled at each other during what was supposed to be a friendly game of Quidditch in her backyard. And with how he handled being in the same compartment with her early, they were in for a rocky start to the season. Especially if he couldn't handle being around her.

As Lily crawled into bed and closed her curtains, it was hard not to let a feeling of bitterness creep in. He'd broken up with her, yet he was stomping around and ignoring her and acting like it was too much to ask of him to be in her presence. Well, she most certainly wasn't going to give any indication that she had a problem with being around him. She could get over her anger and her annoyingly persistent feelings of longing. She could be the bigger person. She could be completely fine. She could resolve to be indifferent.

She could do that. Right?

"It's always so peaceful here the first night back," said Lucy, her fingers trailing along the spines of books in the Transfiguration section of the library.

"It's always been my favorite time to come here, actually," Bobby admitted. "Shame that it doesn't have moments like this more often."

Lucy gave him a soft smile before returning her gaze to the books. He leaned his shoulder against the shelf, his hands in his pockets as he watched her taking in the familiar books and searching out the new ones.

"Yes!" she eventually exclaimed in excitement, pulling down a book with a teal cover and gold lettering that held a shine to it. "This is the one I was telling you about."

Bobby walked closer as she started looking through the book, turning the pages in almost a reverent way as she grinned in excitement. It was always so infectious, her smile. The way it made her eyes go all squinty and crinkled her nose, like she didn't care if her smile was anything other than an expression of the true joy she felt in any given moment. It was never disingenuous or forced or in any way manipulative. It was just pure, vulnerable emotion. And Bobby knew how rare that was.

"It has this whole section on Transfiguration at the molecular level," she said enthusiastically as Bobby came up behind her and looked over her shoulder. "I know that's how Transfiguration works overall, but this talks about it in a more precise and selective way. Like changing a few cells versus an entire object or being."

Bobby's brow furrowed in thought as he looked at the intricate diagram she'd paused on. "So, like...partial Transfiguration?"

Lucy shook her head and turned another page. "No, more like…" She paused in thought before closing the book, holding it against her chest and turning to face him. Her gaze was distant and her expression pinched as she leaned back against the shelf. "So, in human Transfiguration, we change everything so that we are now something we weren't. Even if we partially transfigure ourselves, it changes our outward appearance. But what if we could take just a single cell or a handful of them? What if we knew how to identify a cell that contained Dragon Pox or a blood malady or lycanthropy and transfigure it into a healthy one?"

She lowered her gaze to the book and held it out in front of her again. "There's a new team at St. Mungos that's doing more research on Muggle sciences that focus on the molecular level, and the author of this book is part of the team. I just think it could be so fascinating, you know?"

Bobby nodded, impressed. "Sounds groundbreaking, actually."

Lucy looked up at him, and he was surprised to find her expression hopeful. "You think so?"

"Yeah," Bobby said with a shrug. "Not to mention bloody difficult. I'm guessing it would take all kinds of brains and N.E.W.T.s to be a part of something like that."

A nervous tension seemed to fall on Lucy, but she kept her eyes on his. "Five, actually."

Bobby's eyes widened in surprise, realizing there was probably a pretty good reason she knew that. "Is this what you want to do when you leave school?"

Lucy looked away, holding the book close to her chest again and nervously chewing her lower lip. "I'd like to," she said softly. "I feel like it could be really important and that I'd at least enjoy it. Can't say I'd be good at it, though."

Bobby furrowed his brow. "You kidding? With how brilliant you are at Transfiguration? They'd be lucky to have you."

Her expression was still timid as she looked up at him, a blotchy redness to her cheeks. It wasn't like her to be embarrassed or insecure.

"I mean it," he said, taking a small step closer so she had to tip her head back a bit more to be able to meet his gaze. They used to be the same height, and Bobby wasn't really sure when that had changed. "And you've got the dedication and discipline to do it too."

Her cheeks bloomed brighter and her breathing grew more labored. And Bobby had a feeling that this reaction had less to do with his words and more about the fact that he was the one saying them. And that they were standing rather close in a very empty library.

"Thank you," she said softly, a nervous smile flashing across her face. But she didn't look away, her eyes flickering from his eyes to his lips but never leaving his face.

Wait, was this the moment? Was he supposed to take this rather rare opportunity of being alone with her and actually make a solid move past friendship? He'd thought about it quite a few times, but was he ready for that?

He really liked Lucy. He had for a while. But with everything that had happened over the past few months with Lily and Caleb…

Things were just starting to work their way back to normal. Rocking the boat was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Come on," he said, stepping back and jerking his head towards the entrance with what he hoped was a friendly smile. "Won't be long before curfew."

It was hard to miss the disappointment in her eyes, even as she nodded and made to follow him. They paused at the front desk so he could check out the book for her before heading out of the library. The corridors were mostly empty save for a few stragglers, and Bobby and Lucy walked in silence all the way to the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room. When they reached the basement, she rested her hand on one of the barrels and turned to face him, her book still securely clutched to her chest with her other arm.

He'd never felt uncomfortable around Lucy, but there was a tension in the air no doubt brought on by the opportunity he hadn't taken in the library. Especially since he had a feeling she'd wanted him to take it.

"Want to do breakfast together?" he asked hopefully, and was thankful to see Lucy give him a soft smile as she nodded. He bid her a friendly goodnight with a promise to find her and Charlotte at the Hufflepuff table in the morning before turning to walk back the way he'd come. By the time he glanced back over his shoulder, she'd disappeared into her common room.

Bobby's thoughts stewed his whole way back to Gryffindor Tower, barely coherent as memories of Lucy and their summer and the last few years tumbled around his mind. It had been such a slow trek to where they were now, that Bobby hardly felt like he'd made any conscious choices along the way. He'd gone with his instincts and maybe a bit of what he believed Lucy and others expected him to do. By the time he reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, an unsettled feeling had developed in his stomach.

"Hey, fancy a game?" called Hugo as Bobby entered the room. He was sitting with Cole Sawyer and Louis at a table in the corner of the room, a deck of Exploding Snaps in his hands.

"How was the library?" asked Louis as Bobby sat, a slight smirk on his face while Hugo began to deal.

"Fine," said Bobby, all too familiar with the pointed looks and questions he got from Lucy's cousins on a regular basis. "I was able to get my same slot on the schedule as last year."

"Yeah, you were never clear on when exactly that was," said Hugo as he made his first move.

"That's because I didn't want you hassling me while I was trying to do my job."

Hugo rolled his eyes as the game continued. "Where's the fun in that?"

They lapsed into silence as the game sped up and concentration grew, only ending when Louis won the round.

"Not sure I've ever beaten you before," Louis said to Bobby as Cole gathered up the cards to begin again. "You're normally more on your game than this."

Bobby shrugged, watching Cole place the cards on the table. "Just tired," he said, knowing he was no such thing.

"This seems more like distracted than tired," said Hugo as Louis started the game. Bobby was saved from responding as they focused on the game, this time ending in a victory for Hugo.

"Spill," said Hugo, watching Bobby expectantly as Louis shuffled the cards. Bobby hesitated, hoping they could get the next game underway before he had to answer, but Louis simply held the deck in his hands and waited patiently for Bobby to speak up. He finally gave a resigned sigh and slouched back in his seat.

"I'm just a bit confused, I suppose," he said, gaze focused on the table in front of him rather than the far too interested gazes of his three friends. "I honestly don't know if I actually like Lucy, or if I just think I do because people have been telling me I do."

There was a beat of silence before Cole said, "Of course you like Lucy. Everyone says so."

Bobby gave him a pointed look. "Exactly. But when have I ever told anyone that? Have I ever said it to either of you?"

He glanced between Hugo and Louis, who both looked a bit perplexed as they thought over his question.

"I'm not sure you have, actually," said Louis. Hugo gave a reluctant nod in agreement.

"But you never contradicted us," he said. "I'm pretty sure we've teased you about this since third year."

"Yeah," chimed in Cole. "I'm pretty sure I remember the first time, actually. It was after our first trip to Hogsmeade."

It all came back to Bobby very quickly. The day of their first trip to the wizarding village had started out with him spending time with Hugo, Cole, and the other boys in their dorm. They'd spent time and a fair bit of gold in Honeydukes before going on to Weasley Wizard Wheezes, which is where he'd bumped into Lucy.

She'd managed to get her scarf caught in what turned out to be a box that would only open for the owner. By the time Bobby had found her, she'd been struggling long enough that she was growing so frustrated she had tears in her eyes. He'd tried to help her at first, but then quickly ran off to find a member of the staff when he'd realized he couldn't fix it any more than Lucy could. By the time she was free, she'd still been a bit upset by the whole ordeal and by her nearly ruined scarf since the boxes apparently had teeth. Without even stopping to think about his friends that he was abandoning, Bobby had taken her to the Three Broomsticks for a Butterbeer and cheering up, which was where his friends had eventually found them.

The teasing afterward had been merciless.

"Look, there was a reason you ditched us for her that day, right?" Hugo said reassuringly. "And does it really matter why you developed feelings for her?"

Bobby sighed and shrugged. "Maybe not, but I guess everything that's been going on is just messing with my head a bit. Making me more cautious and questioning things. She's one of my best friends, you know? What if something happens and we end up like Lily and Caleb and can't even look at each other?"

"Well, for starters, you two are already better friends than they were," said Louis, beginning to set the game up once again. "And it's possible that other people had a hand in getting you to where you are now, but that doesn't mean you have to let them continue to have a say. I'm pretty sure that has a lot to do with why things are the way they are with all that other stuff."

Bobby nodded, taking a moment to concentrate on the game enough to finally win one. It was as he was stacking the cards up to deal the next round that he really took note of Caleb's absence.

"Where is Wood, anyway?"

Louis nodded towards the boys dorms. "He left dinner not long after you did and wouldn't come down when the rest of us got back. He was supposedly writing a letter, but…"

He didn't need to finish his sentence. They all knew he was hiding from Lily.

"So…" Cole began awkwardly. "Lily's single?"

"Don't even think about it, mate," said Hugo, his tone resigned but holding a clear warning. Bobby had a feeling it was coming more from a place of wishing to avoid unnecessary drama than any misplaced duty to protect Lily from would-be suitors.

Bobby couldn't help agreeing, further cementing him in his conviction that he'd made the right call in the library. Yes, he fancied Lucy, no matter how that had come to be. But drama and romance and everything that went along with it all sounded too bloody exhausting to truly consider. Now was not the time to make things any more complicated than they already were.

They were only sixteen. Love could most certainly do them all a favor and wait.