Semele Perdita

`Cha…well that's what you get when I only get 5 reviews…a long wait. I really don't care about the number, that was only a joke but I do like getting feedback from more than 1% of the people that read this story. Even just two words would suffice really. :-/

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Semele Perdita

Chapter 19: `Exsisto Semele Perdita'

Author: LadyAkako

Rating: PG-13

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From Chapter 18::

We pulled the few books I would need to write the last few feet of the essay and on a whim I pulled a few books from the surrounding shelves on Locating Spells, deciding I would begin to look into that special charm the Gryffindor boys needed as soon as possible to avoid any more uncomfortable situations with James Potter.

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[James]

Our progress as stalled on the map and Remus said that the locator spell would be one of the last puzzle pieces to put it together. It would be the magnum opus of everything we had done at Hogwarts, I was sure. All we needed was for Lily to find that enchantment for us and we'd be set.

I wasn't sure if she was the one avoiding me or I was subconsciously avoiding her after our last encounter, but I didn't see much of Lily for the next month and the school year was beginning to wind down into its last month and a half before she sought me out to talk again.

It was a particularly sunny day and everyone was outside, lounging in the welcomed light. For the last weeks the skies had been an unrelenting gray and it had cast a bleak mood over everyone. The fifth and seventh years were most especially effected by the weather and most had taken the opportunity to come outside for the fresh, sun-filled air.

The rest of the Marauders and I were lying under our favorite tree that shaded quite a large area. Remus was leaning against the gnarled trunk with a beaten up copy of Advanced Potions and Peter was absorbed in idly throwing pebbles in the vague direction of the lake. Sirius and I were engaged in a rather lackluster game of Exploding Snap, the deck we had grabbed was old and had very little of its snap left in it, but neither of us felt like going back up to the dorm to get a different set of cards so we kept on playing.

“Potter!” Lily's breathless voice cut through the idle silence sharply. I looked up to her in a state of disarray that I had never before thought possible for her. Her hair was mussed, though very slightly, and her simple t-shirt looked wrinkled as though it had been on the floor for a few days and she had just thrown it on.

“Yeah?” I asked curiously, raising an eyebrow at her and fighting the urge to run my fingers through my hair. I noticed off-handedly after I spoke that she had a very hefty-looking tome in her hands and I jumped to my feet instinctively to grab it from her.

Her face flickered with surprise as I relieved her of the book but the expression was soon chased with a small, appreciative smile that made the bottom of my stomach flip a little bit. I sat back down, setting the book to the side and looking again to Lily, who was trying to catch her breath.

She now had the attention of the whole group, Remus had set his book to the side, Peter stopped his hand mid-toss and Sirius had abandoned the sputtering cards that had been our Exploding Snap game. We were all waiting for what she had to say.

She settled herself on the grass near me and finally said quietly, seeming to be fearful of being overheard, “I think I've found it.”

My heart skipped a beat and I looked at her with a strange sense of pride. Remus looked intensely intrigued as Lily began to frantically flip through the pages of the large book she had brought with her until finally coming to what seemed to be the right page.

“Here.” She pointed excitedly at a colorful section on the page and scooted the book forward so we all could see more clearly. The page has Latin printed on it in large bold letters and the section she was directing us to look at had fancy scripted letters spelling out “EXSISTO SEMELE PERDITA.”

“What does it mean?” Peter asked quietly, staring down at the page in fascination. His Latin skills had never been up to par, which was half his trouble with mastering most spells, but I could never find it in myself to fault him for it.

“Roughly, it reads `to find—or really to emerge—the once lost.' Interesting find, Lily. It sounds promising,” Remus answered thoughtfully, “care to explain what exactly it does?”

“Well, it was first used to find people wandering in the Elfish mazes that were constructed in the 15^th century around many of the castles. The officials of the wizarding community found it slightly disconcerting that so many people would get lost in the mazes that they had had built merely for amusement that they had to find a way to show where people were when they got lost inside,” Lily explained in a rush, her face alight in the history. “After a master Charmsmaster, Lionel Childers, wrote the first version of this spell for them, they found they needed a way to transfer it to some sort of paper or map of the mazes to find the ones lost inside faster, so they added the `emerge' part and charmed a piece of parchment to reflect the locations of anyone inside the location they specified. It's all outlined here how to do it.”

“It's perfect,” Sirius breathed, his eyes glowing with excitement as he stared down at the page, scanning its contents quickly. He looked up at Lily with a huge, dog-like grin and before I could say anything he had swept her up off the ground in a huge hug, spinning her around playfully. I looked on in a kind of trance as Lily giggled at Sirius' enthusiasm and told him how glad she could help. All the while she had that pretty smile on…

I became fleetingly aware that Remus was talking to me and tried my best focus my attention away from Sirius' antics with Lily as they continued to joke about around us. Remus was reading aloud the pages' words to me and my eyes drifted to where Sirius was now offering Lily a flower and she was almost bent double for laughing so hard.

“You like her a lot, don't you?” Remus' quiet inquiry startled me so much I almost jumped into the air. I clutched at the grass absently before tearing my attention away to look into my friend's curious gray eyes.

I swallowed, struggling with how to answer. Of course, I liked her, but did I like her, like her?

“Yeah,” I finally croaked out, looking back down to my hands again, twisting blades of grass in them restlessly. I heard the book close shut with a thud and looked up to Remus who was gazing at me strangely.

Before he got another chance to speak, a great clod of dirt hit the side of my face and I looking around wildly for the thrower until another clump came sailing to land just short of Peter who had been quietly listening to our conversation. It was clear that the second clod had come from no other than Sirius who was grinning from ear to ear and had Lily ducking behind him, no doubt afraid of a retaliating onslaught which of course would occur.

I jumped up quickly and searched for a likely looking clump of grass to throw back at him. After a moment, I just gave up and broke a branch off the tree, hurling it back at Sirius who of course caught it easily. He laughed and I couldn't help but join him. Fetch was always his favorite pastime as a dog, why not as a human as well?

Lily was looking on in confusion but also amusement as well. She was still laughing at us when Remus joined the fight by conjuring a icy stream of water and directed it at him. Her laughter and Sirius' hoots were interrupted by surprised shrieks at the cold temperature of the water and I watched in heightening spirits as Remus' water made them run for cover, right by the Lake. The three of us remaining under the tree looked at each other in unspoken agreement at their retreating figures.

Into the lake they would go.

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[ Lily ]

I was going to be late for dinner, I just knew it. I was sopping wet and I was going to be late, but for once I didn't care. I had just had one of the best times of my life with the most unlikely of groups and I found that I didn't mind.

Besides pushing Sirius and I into the Lake, the rest of the time I spent with them was peaceful and friendly. The group of them had just absorbed me into their activities as if it were normal for a Ravenclaw girl to be hanging out with them.

After being helped out the Lake by James, who was laughing uncontrollably but nonetheless cutely, I had bid my farewell to the boys for the day and rushed up to my dorm to find a dry change of clothes. I arrived in the room with a thankful sigh, seeing that it was empty and immediately began to change the clothes I was in to much dryer and warmer counterparts. I shook out my wet hair from its ponytail and then refastened it when I had squeezed the water from it. I breathed a sigh and rolled my eyes at myself when I checked my appearance in the mirror. My face was flushed and glowing for the first time in a long time and the smile on my face just wouldn't come off.

I entered the Great Hall with only moments to spare but proudly observed that none of the boys were to be seen in their normal spots. They would be rushing in a minutes later in the middle of announcements no doubt.

I slid into my seat opposite Meara and looked up to see her eyebrow raised in question at me.

“Why so chipper?” she asked, her voice dry with humor.

“Nothing, just having a good day. Is that allowed?” I teased back, forgetting all the problems that had plagued both of us for the last weeks. My smile was eventually infectious to Meara even and I had her actually cracking a real smile by the end of dinner. I felt accomplished and proud that I could bring out at least some trace of happiness in the melancholy presence that had been hers for the last months.

Just as I had predicted to myself though, the boys from Gryffindor rushed in halfway through the meal, grabbing the attention of everyone in the Great Hall. Peter led the way with a slightly nervous expression on his face and Remus came in after him with a calm countenance, but the other two, James and Sirius, came in laughing amongst themselves and flashing smiles to everyone.

For a moment, just as he sat down, I imagined that I saw James throw a glance my way and catch my eye, but before I could know if it was on purpose, he turned back to Sirius leaving me to my dinner and the sudden sensation in my stomach.

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Would anyone like to apply for the position of beta reader? I promise I don't bite and would actually shower you with praises. ;-)

Anyways…reviews=good. :-) I would like to know…whose POV would you like to see more of James or Lily? Or do you want it just equal like I've been doing? The end of the year is coming soon(probably next chapter) and then onto their summer…:-) I command you to be excited about that, by the way. ;-)

EDIT:: okay, since I was tired of posting on my personal LJ about this story, I made a LJ just for this story, here, go check it out! I'm working on making chapter notes for every chapter so far and will be posting updates and cookies there! Most everything won't be f-locked but it would be great for you to friend me. ;-)