Several things.

One: Harry is here! He's here and he's seventeen just like me and I'm absolutely ecstatic about it. Equius, you have to meet him. Actually, you still need to meet James, too, don't you? Same goes for...most of the rest of the trolls. I haven't heard from some of you in awhile, though. I hope you're all alright! But anyway! The point is that Harry is here. And he's brilliant.

Two: I was doing a bit of reading today in my potions library and I stumbled upon a book on linguistics. I thought that this bit might interest several of my housemates.

"Marauder" didn't mean "roving plunderer" until sometime in the early 1700s. Originally, it was the dialectal French word "maraud," which was intended to mimic the sound of a cat -- more specifically, a horny tomcat. So it does make a kind of sense that the word became synonymous with somebody out late at night, looking for trouble. For a long time, "maraud" was only the French word for "prowler," but some claim it entered international parlance during the Thirty Years' War, when it gained popularity as a pun on the imperialist general Count Marode's name. His men -- known as the Marode Brothers -- were so ruthless, cowardly and vile that they may as well have been criminals, and so came to be referred to as marauders.

Mmhm. Explains a lot. Horny tomcats, the lot of them.

And I suppose that's all for now. We've clearly got an influx of new people, so welcome to Vatheon. My name is Lily Evans. If you need anything, let me know.

[ooc: source]

[Lily is curled up on her bed crying, the SFC on her vanity broadcasting from where she threw it after checking the list and seeing that James is gone.]

This isn't fair.

[She's kind of a mess. Oh dear.]

[The SFC makes a noise, like she's got a message and she sits up, quickly wiping the tears from her eyes. Nope, no message, but...it's on. Oh bugger it all, it's broadcasting. This is embarrassing and probably the worst possible moment. Note to self, Lily. Don't throw the SFC.]

[She clears her throat, desperately wiping her tears away and trying to smile.]

James is gone.

[And with that, a tear slips down her cheek. There's no point in continuing this, she's not going to be able to say much more, so she just shrugs helplessly and hangs up.]

[Lily's set herself up in the library in her house. There's a cauldron in front of her, a small flame flickering beneath it. She stirs the pot three times clockwise, and then four counterclockwise.]

Hello, Vatheon. There are quite a few new people floating about again, so I thought this was a perfect time to post. I'm Lily. As you can see I've been doing a bit of potion brewing. I finally made it down to the Nostalgia Nook, and the shop from my world is absolutely brilliant.

[She pauses to check her potions book and adds an ingredient, tapping the cauldron twice with her wand. Potions is very complicated and delicate.]

I stocked up on ingredients, so after I brewed a few potions for friends of mine, I thought I'd brew a few other useful ones. First of all a big batch of Pepper-Up. [She gestures to the cauldron.] That'll be a cure for the common cold. And hangovers. So if anyone's feeling a bit under the weather, let me know.

That said, [She turns the heat under the cauldron down.] Equius. Sollux. I'm ready when you are.

[Lily's set her SFC up on her vanity and is sitting on her bed, which is meticulously made. She's wearing bright red, James' favorite color. Her hair is slightly askew, but she's not aware of it. She's positively beaming.]

I didn't properly introduce myself last time, as things were a bit...abnormal, let's say, for a bit. But Sirius is back and Remus is gone and I've decided to just make the most of this experience. It's not all bad. In fact some parts have been quite brilliant.

[Her eyes drift for a moment and her cheeks darken, slightly.]

[She snaps back to attention with a guilty smile.]

But...yes. My name is Lily Evans. I'm a witch. I've encountered several people here who are very skeptical about the existence of magic, or at least magic in the way that I understand and practice it, so I thought it might be fun to do a demonstration here on the network.

[The view is broad enough that you can see the lamp on the bedside table next to her. She pulls her wand out of her sleeve and waves it around a bit, letting small sparks fly out of the end, wordlessly.]

I've discovered that Transfiguration, or changing an object into something else, is the most convincing form of magic. At least in my experience so far. I haven't had to convince many Muggles that magic existed before, but considering the wide array of people here from so many different places...I doubt the International Statute of Secrecy applies here.

[She grins again, and points her wand at the lamp, transforming it into a beautiful ceramic vase full of red lilies, all of them still buds. She sets down her wand on the table, making the flowers bloom with just a flick of her wrist. One bloom floats up from the middle of the bouquet, and over to Lily, who takes it and tucks the blossom behind her ear.]

Anyone still need convincing? I'd be happy do do more.

Also, as a side note, James, Sirius, and Shin, I'd like to discuss putting some more permanent wards on the house. To protect us more permanently against...anything that might happen. It's better to be safe than sorry. Also, I want to invite someone to live with us. He's a Gryffindor from the future and he's been homeless for the last few weeks. It's completely intolerable as we have several empty bedrooms. It's the only proper thing to do.

Any comments, questions, or concerns on how I'm playing Lily? Feel free to leave them here! I'm always open to constructive criticism. Comments are screened, anon is on. Thank you!