Here I am one month later. Whoops. Blame the fact that school started back. Also this was probably the hardest chapter thus far for me to write because of the focus of it. Hopefully I did it justice. Thanks for all the lovely reviews so far!

Chapter 3

#BringUsHOME was trending on Twitter after the last issue was published, giving me flashbacks to four years ago, a veritable feat considering I tried to block out most of experiences from back then.

Even more impressive was the interaction between The Marauders and Evans that spawned on Twitter as a result of the fanfare. While they have been known to tweet each other in the past, this was perhaps the longest conversation in any sort of public forum between them. It all started when Evans merely quipped 'Wow, that #BringUsHOME hashtag is really stirring up some memories!' and then things just snowballed out of control from there when Potter replied with a cryptic, 'Oh God. No,' and about a dozen different emojis.

Yes, this included the double heart, and yes, I'm 83% sure that on certain corners of the internet, fan girls were 'unable to even' as a result of this.

(Screenshots of the conversation can be found on page 17.)

But now let's get down to the real things. The real reason why #BringUsHOME is trending once more.

If one were to ask any hardcore Marauder fan (or any Marauder fan, let's be honest) who Lily Evans was four years ago, they would either scream, get very angry, or a combination of them both.

Although Evans' first album had already been released for quite some time- and included some fairly well known chart climbers- she still had a relatively small following, at least when compared to The Marauders.

Considering one was a boy band comprised of four good looking boys who sung pop/ rock and the other was a lone redhead living and breathing indie, I can sort of form some conclusions as to why.

Twenty one year old Evans was perfectly fine with that, being able to do her own thing, go out whenever she wanted, talk to whomever she wanted, all with very little fanfare. She admits to liking her privacy, and while it was a common occurrence to have a few people come up to her in the street, she was never swarmed and was free to do whatever she wanted without much criticism.

And then HOGWARTS decided to take on a little collaborative album with some of its top artistes called Home bringing all of that to a screeching halt.

The album sold over 215 000 copies within the first week. And it produced three top ten hits. Plus it raised more than seven million pounds for the Potter Project. Not to mention incited anguish and pain into the hearts of fan girls everywhere (#feels).

You may have heard of it.

Home was a joint venture between Potter Project and HOGWARTS and is arguably one of HOGWARTS bestselling albums of all times, featuring almost all of their top musicians- from The Weird Sisters to Celestina Warbeck, and, of course, The Marauders and Lily Evans. Even dear old McGonagall took a break from retirement to cover Survivor's eighties hit 'Eye of the Tiger.' A few decades later and she's still got it. You go McGonagall. Show these younglings how it's really done.

In addition to seeing the famed, feminist idol coming out of retirement for the first time in over three decades, the album also saw the Rise of Lily Evans.

A week before any news of her and album was released, she was able to walk freely in and around London, buying her groceries which mainly consisted of cat food, biscuits, and juice pouches. Two days after news was released, she was swarmed on the metro by hysterical Marauders' fans.

'Before I was asked to take part in that project, I had sold about 145 000 copies of my album in the year that it had been out for,' Evans says, a tinge of colour still marring her cheeks. She pauses to tuck a vibrant red curl behind her ear. 'After the, er... duet with Potter, album sales quadrupled.'

Ah yes.

The famed duet that started it all. (And caused the anguish/ pain/ '#feels' in those fan girls.)

'Rekindle,' which was written and produced by the small song writing executives over at HOGWARTS, was perhaps the biggest hit on the entire album, managing to snag that coveted number position for not one, but two straight weeks only to be knocked off by McGonagall.

It is reported that McGonagall is the one that set the ball in motion for this. Despite having met Evans only once, the retired performer took an immediate liking to the up and coming singer. It is also reported that the two originally bonded over their love of cats and that it was McGonagall who eventually persuaded Evans to adopt Perseus. This has yet to be confirmed however, though when the question is posed to Evans, she can't help but laugh while drawing an increasingly grumpy cat onto her lap.

'I just saw him one day in the shelter while I was volunteering and knew I had to get him,' she says, nuzzling her face against her cat's. Perseus scowls at the affection and I can't hold in a giggle. This draws his attention over to me and he hisses threateningly. For the sake of my life I hurriedly get back to the interview.

(This takes a while however as Evans spends at least 3 full minutes cooing and cuddling her cat. He is not impressed the slightest.)

Later on she does confirm that McGonagall is the one who came up with the idea of the duet and Evans was all for it until she heard who she was going to partner with.

'She explained that she thought Potter would be able to harmonise with me better than most. And I guess that was sort of true.' Her cheeks glow just the slightest bit and she draws the flannel shirt a bit closer to her body.

Can you say understatement of the year?

While Potter's vibrato had become well known to the hundreds of thousands of fans of The Marauders, Evans' contralto was not. Despite the fact that the 'first' meeting between them was caught on tape and placed on YouTube, it didn't go viral until fans of The Marauders found out who Potter's leading lady in 'Rekindle' was. In fact, most of them didn't particularly care at first, but when their two voices harmonised for the first time, well, cue the madness.

[icequeen197: holy shit how is this real #HOME]

[Oliviaing: omfg is this what heaven sounds like they must be angles or something #HOME]

[2skool4cool: OMGGGG I CA N'T BR EATHE!11!1! #HOME #WHATARETHESEFEELINGS]

And then with the release of the promotional image for the single (which is another can of worms in itself) fans got a hold on the name of the person singing along with their beloved James: Lily Evans.

'I think within 24 hours after the picture was posted, my Twitter and Instagram followers doubled and I kept getting tweets from all of Potters fans with things like 'James is mine!' and all of that nonsense,' the singer says, rolling her eyes, though the light flush on her cheekbones stubbornly persists.

Of course, with any rapid rise to fame there always come the unsavoury aspects of it as well. 'By the end of the week, I had paparazzi tailing me. I think I threw a shoe at him when he tried to follow me into a bathroom.'

She's completely unfazed as she says that, picking at her nails while Perseus rubs his head against her legs. In fact, Evans goes on to bemoan the loss of one side of her gilded heel pumps for at least a good five minutes or so. At the end of mini tirade she shrugs and says with a smirk, 'I tend to throw things when I'm angry. It's caused some problems for me.'

That may be quite an understatement.

The album art accompanying the song featured Evans and Potter sat back to back on the floor with a wall separating one from the other, both in varying stages of anger, misery, and regret. While it was originally promoted as intentional- with lyrics like You were always first to come and last to go/ But now, darling, you don't even show/ It's so easy for me to hate you/ Though we both know that's not true it's not that much of a stretch to think so- it wasn't until filming began for the music video that the truth came out.

For those of you wondering, 'Huh? There was a music video?' never fear; the video was never finished and subsequently never premiered on any site. While the higher ups at HOGWARTS claim that it was because 'we couldn't seem to capture the angle we were quite looking for,' mention Evans and Potter to anyone who worked with them for that short bit of time and watch how quick they pale and start perspiring. A set director who wished to remain an anonymous says 'Those two are the fucking worst with their fucking yapping about everything while I'm over here trying to do my fucking job.'

I'll take that to mean that Potter and Evans weren't necessarily on friendly terms when producing the song and the anger that was shown in the album art was completely unwanted and simply just there between the two.

'She threw her water bottle at me while we were recording. Three times,' huffs Potter, 'Said I sounded like a 12 year old boy on the verge of puberty.'

'You kinda do sometimes, mate,' Black points out before breaking into a round of sniggers with Lupin and Pettigrew. Barely a few seconds later he winces and I assume it's because Potter has kicked him underneath the table. This has been a regular occurrence from all of the boys over the course of this interview. I do not question it anymore and barely manage to repress an exasperated (yet fond) sigh in fear of seeming too mother hen-like.

Finally, after a good amount of prodding, Evans admits that she didn't want to do the song when McGonagall first approached her, with a sheepish smile and cheeks blazing. What finally made her reconsider? Severus Snape.

(I know, I was shocked too.)

Considering that Snape has never been one to shy away from talking about his dislike for The Marauders with anyone who was willing to listen, it comes as a surprise that he would be the one to inadvertently get the ball rolling on the Evans/ Potter front. How ironic.

'He got me drunk and then went on saying that this would give me the leg up the fame ladder and stupid drunken Lily thought that it was a brilliant plan and agreed,' she huffs, glaring at some wilting gardenias on her coffee table. 'Don't drink alcohol, kids, you'll end up doing dumb things when you drink alcohol,' she advises.

(A few minutes after saying this, she leaves to go get a glass of red wine. It's two in the afternoon.)

Snape's incessant prompting for the star to (unknowingly) agree to become one of the biggest names in music marks the beginning of the end of their relationship. The fight that everyone and their mother know about. The fight that caused the abrupt toppling of Lily Evans after only fifteen minutes in the limelight.

And the fight that changed her into the women she is today.

But more on that later.

No one doubted that Home would be a success, but its popularity however was severely underestimated. Within less than two months from its release date, the album went platinum, becoming the quickest ever to achieve such a feat in all of HOGWARTS' history.

(Many a fan, music critic, and even the average Joe on the street, attribute this to the hype that 'Rekindle' generated as well as McGonagall's reintroduction into the world, but this has never been confirmed by any of the HOGWARTS higher ups. When McGonagall was contacted for her statement on the matter a few years ago, she simply stated, 'I've not done an interview in nearly thirty one years; this is not going to change because I've covered one song,' and then gave the reporter a coupon for 15% off kitty litter.)

Because of this accomplishment, celebrations must be had, and what better way to do it than throw a party right?

The entirety of the well established nightclub, The Leaky Cauldron, was rented out for the event which included- in addition to the free seventy calorie finger foods and fruity cocktails- the ceremonial handover of the album's profits to Fleamont and Euphemia Potter, the Potter Project's founders and CEOs as well as James Potter's lovely parents. It was to be a night of joy and celebration and perhaps one of the biggest life altering experiences in young Evans' life.

Things first kick off with the arrival of Potter the Elders and the Marauders at promptly 8:30pm, the first set of guests to arrive for the night. Cameras flashed, Potter and Black dished out matching smirks, Pettigrew waved at everyone, Lupin messed around with some fans, and Potter the Elders smiled fondly at it all. They're all dressed to the nines, in sharp dark suits and hard, clean edges. Pettigrew posted a group photo of him and his band mates earlier in the evening with the caption 'Chilling with my boys #squadgoals,' which featured all four of them lounging in a hotel room and holding glasses of champagne. Whether it was staged or not, no one could deny that they were in fact 'squad goals.' I too wish to lounge around with my friends while drinking champagne that probably cost almost a month's worth of rent and looking like we just stepped out of a fashion mag.

Evans arrived nearly an hour later, just ten minutes before the handover of a very large, very fake, plastic cheque to Potter the Elders. She shows up wearing a floor length sheer, black lace gown and with Severus Snape on her arm. Snape's suit doesn't fit him as well as the no doubt custom made suits The Marauders don, but it doesn't matter; not when he has Lily Evans by his side. Her usual cascade of curls is pinned in an artfully messy up do, but it's the dress that really takes the cake. It's almost made entirely out of black lace, save for some strategically placed solid black panelling that just barely Vs down her chest before pleating together with the lace.

It's been almost four years and I'm still not over that dress. I don't think I'd ever be over that dress. (Nor would I ever be over Lily Evans wearing that dress. Once again Evans has me questioning my sexuality. To quote many of her Twitter and Instagram followers 'SLAY ME.')

Seeing as it was a private party- and for HOGWARTS no less- not just any and everyone could get in. In fact, if you didn't have a gold embellished, hand lettered invitation to present to the bouncers at the door, you would be kicked out faster than you can actually say out HOGWARTS. Despite this little speed bump in the road, a substantial amount of information was still divulged to the public.

'That night was just... crazy,' Pettigrew says, staring off into nothingness. 'There were so many things happening, and then so many things happened- it was just insane.' Pettigrew seems to be the only one off The Marauders willing to divulge information, and even then, it's all cryptic at best.

An anonymous source said that, while Evans and Potter were both there at the same time, they stayed far, far away from each other as if just being within a certain distance from the other would trigger the next world war.

(Let's be real though; with those two? Anything is possible...)

You would think okay, giant room packed to the brim with people, booze, and shitty lightning. No way they're going to run into each other.

You poor, naive soul.

Yes, usually all those things meant that having to talk to people you didn't like was highly unlikely and yes, the two of them were particularly adept of steering conversations away from themselves, but no matter what you do or how hard you try, nothing can stop you from collecting your own award, and that's exactly what happened between Evans and Potter.

And so starts to most interesting part of our story.

Neither party knew of the surprise award ceremony- for both them and McGonagall for tying for most popular song released from the album- so when it was announced, all hell broke loose. Figuratively of course. All stars go through the same type of conditioning on how to act in the public eye, and for Potter and Evans it's no different. Though, it's no secret that they tend to make the other go a bit crazy when in the same room together.

Evans and Potter made their way on stage and accepted their awards- a golden HOGWARTS crest- with fake smiles at each other and real smiles for the camera. There was a good three inches of space between the two in the released photographs but inside sources say that Potter couldn't keep his eyes off her.

With her in that dress, I don't blame him. I can barely keep my eyes off of Evans when she's dressed in slouchy, casual clothes. I can just imagine what it would be like with her in couture. I'm surprised he wasn't actively drooling.

As soon as the last camera flashed, Evans' smile dropped and Potter became flustered, causing his attempt to chat her up to fall flat. She walked away before he could finish talk about the weather, leaving him alone with their award.

Half of the golden HOGWARTS crest is perched on Evans' mantle next to one of her Teens Choice Awards. When asked where the other half disappeared off to, she blushes and mumbles something unintelligible.

'They broke it,' Lupin deadpans.

Potter's cheeks flame. 'In my defence, she's the one who did the breaking. I was just an innocent bystander.'

'You did provoke her,' says Pettigrew slowly, 'You pissed her off and she threw it at you. Missed though.'

Ah yes; the return of Evans' throwing skills.

The other Marauders explain that the award hit the wall and broke in two when Evans tried to bludgeon him. Meanwhile Potter holds his head in his hands.

'Thanks guys. Really. This entire interview is you telling her all the embarrassing things I've done,' he groans.

'If that were really the case then I would have told her about the edible-' Black starts with a smirk but is cut off by Potter who literally lunges at him and tackles him to the ground.

I'm not even joking.

The two of them are actually, honest to god, rolling around on the ground fighting right now. I wish I had a camera to record the whole thing.

(God bless Mrs Potter for still managing to stay sane while raising these hellions.)

After leaving Potter looking like a kicked puppy, Evans goes in search of Snape, who is in turn searching for Evans while snooping on the Marauders. Snape acquires his targets first, stumbling upon Black teasing Potter on his failure to woo the songstress.

Snape's dislike for The Marauders is known by all, but it's that night that the world learnt of the magnitude of Snape's dislike for Potter.

No one exactly knows how the fight started- and Potter refuses to comment on the matter- but everyone sees when Black shoves Snape away after he had gotten up in Potter's face.

'Look, Snape is...' Black starts with a dark look across his face, but after a pointed throat clearing from Potter, he pauses, sighing faintly, before continuing. 'Snape is... many things, but I was friends with Evans before she had her fall out with him so I would be lying if I said that he didn't care about her a little. Or a lot. Too much really if you ask me but-'

I think Potter steps on his foot under the table to shut him up but I can't be too sure.

Black's face is pinched and sounds as though the words are being forced from his throat, but his sentiments are just about right. While Snape and Evans' friendship was bizarre to most, they did genuinely care for each other.

After Black pushes him away, the crowd nearby turns to witness the fight and they cheer on the pair of Marauders while heckling Snape. He turns on Sirius now yelling, 'That's rich coming from you Black. The only reason Lily's your friend is because she knows it would bother him,' before jerking his head in the direction of Potter and then trying to punch Black. His sloppy, stumbling movements give away the fact that he's drunk and also give Black more than enough time to duck out of the way of his oncoming fist.

Meanwhile, Evans is still searching the club for her inebriated friend completely unawares. It isn't until she hears the brawl that it begins to dawn on her what might've been going on.

'Evans shows up out of nowhere when the bouncers were trying to escort Snape out,' says Lupin who states that he and Pettigrew were trying to find Mr and Mrs Potter while the three had it out.

Reports say that Evans begins to yell at them- all three of them- for causing a scene and acting like a bunch of tantrum throwing three year olds.

'Lils has the best angry mum face I've ever seen,' Sirius sniggers, 'It's almost like Mrs Potter has been giving her lessons on how to master it.'

When asked why he finds it so funny, Black smirks and says, 'Because it's directed at James 90% of the time, and it's fun to see him cower in fear.'

Potter looks very put out and seems to regret letting Black have full reign on the interview. It's his own fault though, considering he's taken up a temporary vow of silence during this part of the interview.

The day after the event, the fight was reported as a minor skirmish between the three, with many taking a 'boys will be boys' stance behind it, choosing to focus instead on the fallout between Snape and Evans rather than the 'bit of roughhousing between Snape, Potter and Black.'

'Snape broke my nose.'

And here we see that tabloids are big, fat, dirty, liars.

Potter's blunt statement throws me off a bit, but none of the four boys seem to notice as Lupin continues speaking right after, saying, 'He didn't see it coming because he's a blind git who was too busy making moon eyes at Evans.'

He is on the receiving end of a glare from his band mate. 'Thank you Remus,' Potter snipes.

'Anytime mate,' Lupin replies and then has to duck from the napkin Potter throws his way.

It seems like someone is picking up Evans' habit of throwing things when angry. (Yes internet, you may read this any way you wish.)

After the appearance of Evans, Snape begged her for forgiveness. The two were standing too close for onlookers to hear the brief conversation, but they did catch the end where he pushed away from her.

'And then this git comes forward trying to act like a knight in armour and gets his nose broken when he tries to get him to back off,' Peter interjects.

Black feels to cut in with a very necessary, 'He doesn't seem to quite grasp the fact that Lily doesn't need anyone to save her.' Having met Evans, I can attest to this being 100% true.

Meanwhile Potter glares sullenly at all his friends. He's run out of projectiles and seems to be contemplating whether or not throwing his cutlery will be worth it. It might be, but it also might land them in the hospital so I crossed my fingers in hopes that he wouldn't. Luck seemed to be on my side however, as Potter does not reach for desert spoon to throw at his mates.

When Evans tries to intervene between the two boys, Snape whirls on her and snaps, 'I don't need help from a girl!'

Cue the finger snaps and 'oh no he didn't's.

It's no secret that Lily Evans is a hardcore feminist, so at that allegation she stepped forward and goads Snape into telling her what he really means. And it's not pretty the slightest.

He accuses her of not seeing everything he's done for her, how he was the one who's been there from the beginning, when she was nothing more than someone trying to make it on Youtube. Before Evans can even get a word in, Snape yells out, 'I got you here! I made you who you are today! If it wasn't for me, you would have never agreed to do that song and blow up. And what do I get for it? Lumped in the fucking friendzone.'

Ouch. This boy is just the king of putting his foot in his mouth.

The entire crowd was silent for nearly a full minute as they all gaped at him, until Evans broke it, the crack of her palm hitting his cheek sending a jolt through everyone.

And then she just turned on her heel and walked away without saying a single word.

The crowd buzzed back to life, no doubt already gossiping about the incident, and Potter scrambled after her, award in hand. What a beautiful, naive little idiot that boy is at times. (That line is courtesy Sirius Black.)

The shouting match that ensues between Potter and Evans is not quite as loud or dramatic as the previous one, starting with Potter apologizing before culminating into Evans throwing the award at him and leaving through the back.

'I mailed her back her half,' Potter says, the tips of his ears turning red. 'And an apology note. But she texted me a video of her burning the note in the sink so I don't think she was ready to forgive me just yet.'

Later on I take to Evans to see if I could get her side of story, but all I get is a few words.

'I don't like talking about that night much,' she divulges, 'It's just- I don't, okay. Things happened and while they made me into who I am today, if I could go back and have that stupid fight never take place, I probably would.'

She fidgets in her seat and I let the topic drop, though not without asking one more question.

What happened after it all?

'After, I needed to take a break from everything. I got in to everything too hot and it burned me in the end,' she says. 'I needed to take some time for myself. So I left.'

When asked if it was really all that easy, Evans throws her head back and snorts. 'God no. I wish it was. I mean, I did just pick up and leave that same night, but the following week or so was a nightmare. I maybe spent six or seven hours on the phone a day with Slughorn and HOGWARTS. In the end it was McGonagall who got the okay for me. I won't go in to all the details, but it was a pretty good deal she managed to spin.'

And so, after skyrocketing in to the spotlight, earning rave reviews for her performance on Home, breaking up with her best friend, and fighting with one of the most prominent boy bands in this day and age all within two months, Lily Evans disappeared.

-written by Marlene McKinnon of TIME magazine

There was a bit of an easter egg in this chapter (where I hope I was more subtle than the last) so cookies if you find it and understand what it means. Hint: it's something in a Lily scene.

Much love,
Nai xoxo