Harry pulled out of the Pensieve at the conclusion of Madame Hooch's last memory. He found himself laughing and saw Slughorn smiling at him.
"What'd you see m'boy?" he asked.
"I was in Madame Hooch's memory. I saw my mum learning to fly. She was actually pretty bad, if I'm being honest."
Slughorn chuckled, "Yes, flying seemed to be one of the few areas of the magical world that your mother couldn't quite master. You evidently inherited that from James."

"And I can't believe that she would ever sneak out," Harry continued excitedly. "The way Sirius and Lupin talked about her, I knew they liked her, but they never let on that she broke the rules."
Slughorn chuckled, "She didn't make it a regular occurrence and it certainly didn't happen at all until she started going out with James."
"And she was so spirited. I didn't think a Quidditch match would have been her cup of tea."
"I told you, she was a Gryffindor, through and through. Really a pity that she didn't sort Slytherin. I could have used some of that bright, kind, proud spirit in my own house."
Harry said, "I don't mean to argue, Professor, but wouldn't you say that Slytherins are proud enough of their blood?"
Slughorn quieted down before he almost shamefully admitted, "Perhaps you're right there Harry. They may have had enough pride, but it was different from your mother's. Lily's came with a sense of enthusiasm and sheer joy, not a sense of elevated class status the way some members of Slytherin house may present. It was admirable, and I wish I could have had someone like that to represent Slytherin. Perhaps then, it made sense that she was sorted into Gryffindor."

Harry nodded, grasping the vial which contained Professor Sprout's memories. He entered the Pensieve and found himself in Greenhouse 2. His mother looked a bit older than she had at her sorting, not quite as old as at the Quidditch match. Harry gathered she was a second year at this point, and his suspicions were confirmed when Professor Sprout rolled in a cart of immature Mandrakes. He recognized the lesson from his second year, and chuckled to himself as he recalled Neville's fainting episode. He watched closely as the students began repotting the Mandrakes, and he noticed that while the other students covered their ears, hastily and brutishly moved their Mandrakes to larger pots his mother was gentler, and she even appeared to be smiling as she moved the shrieking Mandrakes about. The other students left as soon as they did their required four Mandrakes, which still left Professor Sprout with about twenty to repot herself. Professor Sprout got Lily's attention as she began repotting her sixth Mandrake, and after the plant's screech was safely muffled by soil, the two removed their ear muffs.
"Miss Evans, you're free to join the rest of your classmates. I am fine to finish these by myself."
Lily looked thoughtful and asked, "Would it be alright if I helped? I'm just really enjoying this and I would like more practice."
"Do you have another class dear?"
"No, this is my last class until after lunch."
"Alright, pot away Miss Evans," Professor Sprout said cheerfully, clapping Lily on the back before the pair replaced their ear muffs until the remaining Mandrakes had been successfully potted.

In an instant, they were in Greenhouse 3, Lily looked fourteen, and Harry could tell she was mad. He decided it didn't suit her and liked it much better when she was smiling. Harry quickly realized why she was so unhappy, and realized he heard his father's voice calling across the greenhouse. Harry felt divided; he was upset that his mother wasn't the happy girl he had seen in previous memories, but he loved seeing his father. He turned his head back and forth between the two, determined to take in as much as each of them as possible.

Lily's head snapped up at James' voice and she stared at him, unimpressed and obviously waiting for him to continue. Harry gathered this was a regular occurrence. The way Lily reacted looked practiced, tired, and appeared to be muscle memory. Her mouth curved into a scowl, her eyes hardened and narrowed, and she set her gloved hands on the workbench and waited.

James glanced up and down at Lily, obviously his rehearsed response to Lily and continued, "So, Evans."
"Potter."
"I heard that you and Robertson broke up."
"And you thought that was your business, did you?" Lily replied without skipping a beat.
"I mean, he's on the Quidditch team. It was bound to come up sometime," James grinned. "Since you're a free agent now Evans, how about it? Go to Hogsmeade with me?"
Lily snorted, made sure Sprout was looking, and flipped James off.
James clutched his heart dramatically and said, "You break my heart more and more each day. That you do. One day Evans."
Lily rolled her eyes, signaling that she was done with the conversation. Harry wasn't even sure it could qualify as a conversation the more he thought about it.

Harry couldn't help but watch as James horsed around with Sirius before Professor Sprout demanded they calm down. As James started walking backwards away from Sirius, taunting him about his skills as a beater Harry turned his attention back to Lily and he was glad he did because he saw her pick up her wand and whisper an incantation which sent a bag of soil falling away from a wall and into James' path. James didn't see it, too distracted with taking the mickey out of Sirius and promptly tripped over the bag, finding himself covered in soil. Thinking to himself that his father got what he deserved, Harry turned his attention back to Lily and saw her giggling with Marlene and another girl, one with short hair who Harry couldn't place immediately. Again, he thought back to the picture of the original Order and realized this was Neville's mum, Alice. He watched Lily laugh with her friends and found himself enjoying it.

He listened and heard Marlene say, "Honestly, good for you Lily. He's a git and he deserves to be put back in line every once in a while."
"If not more often," Lily chortled.
Alice chimed in, "It's pretty funny, but you're lucky you don't get caught."
"It would be worth the detention," Lily said flippantly.
Alice didn't believe the façade for a second and laughed, "As if! Lily, you have never gotten a detention and I doubt you would even be able to handle it."
Lily tried to deny the accusation but with Marlene and Alice teasing her, she broke, "Fine! I wouldn't be able to handle it, but that's why I didn't get caught." The end of the sentence was triumphant, until Lily felt Professor Sprout's hand on her shoulder.
Harry could see her freeze at the touch, saw her eyes widen with fear before she turned to face her teacher.
Sprout whispered, "You did get caught though, Miss Evans. Although, I will say, I could perhaps turn a blind eye, given the circumstances of this outburst. Don't let me see you spilling my supplies again or I'll have you sweeping this greenhouse without magic."
Lily flushed a bright red, horrified that she'd been caught. Sprout walked away, merry as ever, leaving Alice and Marlene to roar with laughter at Lily's apparent petrification.