She sat in the infirmary with her arm in a sling. She looked down towards her feet and saw the bump they made under the white, starched sheets. They were completely restricting but emitted a feeling of comfort and safety. She laughed inside at the thought of how similar the sheets in the infirmary were to the witch that ran it, Miss Pomfrey. Just as she thought of the kindly young woman, she rounded the corner and gave Lily a gentle smile. Lily smiled back but could only think of her feet, which had now started to tingle after falling asleep. Miss Pomfrey came to her side, pulling the already tight sheets closer to Lily's chin. It was already boiling hot under the covers but Lily simply gave a small grin and murmured her thanks.
"Think nothing of it dear. Oh, you have a guest, and a very important guest at that."
Before Lily could say a word or form a questioning look, in walked Professor Dumbledore. He glided towards her bed and sat gently on the bed beside her. She had been expecting his visit after what she had done and she had not been looking forward to it. Of course, there would be some sort of punishment that Lily would dread. Everyone in the school dreaded the punishments received by Dumbledore simply because he always had a way of finding the perfect punishment. The punishment was never overly harsh or even difficult in the physical sense. But he always seemed to know everything about his students, including their biggest annoyances and fears. The punishment would be simplistic but would make her wince when she heard it. It would be fitted perfectly to her and would drive her up the wall.
"Good morning Miss Evans. I do hope you are feeling better. I told Miss Pomfrey to not heal the break quite yet. I figured a little physical pain would help you learn your lesson."
Inside Lily let out a sigh. Perhaps that was her punishment. Perhaps she would simply have to let the arm heal naturally. But it seemed too easy. No, the punishment could not possibly be the arm because her punishment would be sure to test her mental and emotional state instead of her physical. She was again holding her breath in anticipation for his words to come.
"I am feeling slightly better Professor. But I must say that awaiting your visit was causing me more pain than this broken arm."
"Oh, I am terribly sorry that I would cause such dread within you Miss Evans. So why don't we just decide what to do with you so I can relieve you from that inconveniance."
He smiled a warm smile at her and she knew that Dumbledore would always remain her favorite here at Hogwarts. Despite the punishment, he was a kind man who was completely fair with all his students. She felt comfortable and safe whenever near him and his graceful movements and old smile made her feel only tremendous respect and love for him. Whatever the punishment, she knew it would be just. But that didn't make it any easier to deal with.
"Well, as you very well know, what you did this afternoon was completely unacceptable at Hogwarts. I know that you believe that he deserved what you did, and I partially believe he did as well, but that does not make it right. And you also know that reason you got hurt was because you could not properly operate that broom you were riding. You a very talented young lady Lily but you simply are terrible at flying. So this punishment seems only to proper. Every day after school from now until the end of the school year, you shall be taking flying lessons."
Lily waited a second expecting more before she spoke.
"Is that it Professor?"
The professor had been right. Lily was just awful at flying. She like everyone else was amazed to find that she was bad at it because she was, well, good at everything. She excelled in all her classes and was a natural leader. Just this year she had become a perfect. The idea of flying lessons actually sounded like a wonderful idea. That way she would be good at everything. Where was the part she was dreading? Perhaps there was nothing else. She slowly let a smile slip across her face, not waiting for the Professor's response.
"Well, I'm afraid not. When I say you will be taking flying lessons I did not give you all of the details. For example, who you will be taking them from."
She gave him a puzzled look before asking, "Who?"
"The same boy you delivered your actions to this afternoon."
Her heart dropped along with her jaw and she couldn't breath. He couldn't possibly mean him. She hated him more than, than, well than the worst punishment one can think of.
"You can't be serious Professor! You can't possible mean that, that you want me to, to take lessons from…"
"That's right Miss Evans. You shall be receiving instruction from James Potter."
She couldn't speak. No words would come out. She was in utter shock and it took a gentle shake from Professor Dumbledore to make her come out of her short coma. She shook her head slightly and turned towards the headmaster. The glazed look on her face was soon replaced with a look of sheer panic.
"Professor, this is too harsh! I couldn't possibly do this. You know how much we hate one another. Why would you wish me to go through such torment?"
"For the same reason that you put me through such torment this afternoon with your little escapade Miss Evans. This is your punishment and you must deal with the consequences of your own actions. Do you realize how much damage you could have caused this afternoon? I hope you realize how lucky Hogwarts and the students within it were when only you were injured."
Lily was slightly offended by this remark before she realized that Dumbledore was only speaking the truth. She lowered her head and squeezed the bridge of her nose as her migraine formed behind her eyes. She looked up at she heard the springs of the bed next to her squeak softly. The headmaster had risen from her side and was walking towards the door. She spoke quickly so as to say it all before he was walking down the hallway away from her.
"Wait! Professor, I'm sorry for disappointing you this afternoon but I beg for you to
reconsider."
"I'm afraid that will not happen Miss Evans. But have no fear, my respect for you has not been lowered a bit."
With those last words, he gave her a quick smile and exited with speed Lily did not know the old professor possessed. She was left alone in the room on the brink of tears. Why was she almost crying? She never cried; it was so unlike her. She twiddled her fingers unconsciously and wondered how she was going to do this. Maybe James would flat out refuse to do it. He hated her just as much as she hated him and perhaps he couldn't possibly bare the thought of them together for that long either. She took a hold of herself and shook her head slightly, as if to shake off the oncoming tears. She scooted up in her bed holding on to James' refusal as her only hope in life. She continued to twiddle her fingers as her best friend walked in. Lily failed to notice her entry and Rose quickly sat down on the end of her bed and pinched Lily's toe through the crisp sheets.
"Owww! What the… Oh hi Rose."
"Why the glum Chum?"
"You have no idea. This glum will be lasting for the rest of eternity or at least for the rest of the school year."
"I think I know why. I saw Professor Dumbledore in the hallway and he said that he had been visiting you. He told me to hurry to your side because I would need comforting. I asked what had happened and he just smiled and said justice had been served. How cheesy is that? That's like a line from a Muggle comic book! So anyways, I'm here and ready for comforting. What happened?"
"My punishment is… whew, I have to take a deep breath to even say it… is to get flying lessons from my worst enemy."