Not such a good day

Date: November 12th 1975
Location: Library
Status: Incomplete

Private


It was almost nine at night when Lily quickly made her way to the Library, hoping Madam Pince would let her in even though she was about to lock the doors. She really needed that book for her History of Magic essay and she couldn't believe herself, having forgotten to pick it up before the very last minute - it was probably the first time in her seven years at Hogwarts that she was late (well, not exactly late as the essay was not due before two days from now) doing a school work. Her rushed footsteps could be heard echoing through the empty corridors as most students were either finishing a late dinner in the Great Hall or already sitting in their Common Room in front of the warm fireplace, chatting with their friends and studying for the end of term. A soft sigh escaped her lips as the thought crossed her mind. After Christmas, there would be only half of the year left to her final year at Hogwarts, and then she would have to leave, for good. Unless she asked Dumbledore for a job as a Professor, but no matter how much she loved this school, she knew - and he would know to - that this was not what she aspired to do. Though she wasn't quite sure yet what she did aspire to do, teaching was surely not part of it. Maybe she would enjoying being an Auror though, or perhaps a Healer. She wanted to help people as much as she could, that was certain.

When she got to the Library, she glanced at her watch to see there were fifteen minutes left before nine. Biting her bottom lip, she tried to push open the door only to find it was already locked, though she could still see Madam Pince and a few students inside. Sighing, knocked on the door, hoping that the library lady would let her in, considering she quite liked her as a student, which was rare as the old lady seemed to share many of Argus Filch's opinions on teenagers, though she was not quite as bitter. The second time she knocked, Madam Pince looked up with a stern expression on her face, which softened slightly when she noticed who was standing on the other side of the door. She walked over to where Lily was standing and opened the door slightly.

"I'm sorry miss Evans but the Library is soon closing, I cannot let you in," she said. "You should be heading back to your dormitory."

"Madam Pince, please, I really do need a book, it's for school work. I know it is quite late but I was on patrolling duty last night, and I had planned to come and get the needed books then. I was the one who planned everything wrong but I really need it, it won't be longer than five minutes I promise," she pleaded.

The old lady considered her for a moment before sighing and stepping aside, opening the door completely to let Lily in. "Five minutes," she said sternly though there was a rare look of kindness in her eyes. Lily nodded and smiled gratefully, hurrying to where she would find the needed books, biting her bottom lip lightly as she looked around. To her dismay, she found that the book she needed the most was at the top of a very high pile of books, which she could not reach, and even though the books usually moved by themselves to be more accessible to the students, this one seemed stubborn enough and would simply not budge. Sighing exasperatedly, Lily looked around to see if Madam Pince was looking in her way - she could have easily performed the summoning charm, but she had been silly enough to forget her wand in her dormitory, her who never went anywhere without her wand. It was as though today had been planned to go wrong. Seeing that Madam Pince was, instead of looking her way, hurrying the other students out of the Library, Lily grabbed a garbage can and turned it over, glad that it was empty. She stepped on it and found herself almost reaching the needed book, stretching her arm as much as it would stretch, but she still could not reach it. Forgetting where exactly she was standing, and how unstable that particular emplacement was, she jumped the last few inches that were separating her from the book and finally managed to grab it. However, her feet did not land back on the reversed garbage can and she found herself falling to the ground along with a few books, her head colliding with the floor as she did so.

"Ugh... this is so not my day," she groaned, not wanting to open her eyes or move at all.