Semele Perdita

I guess I should put a proper AN in here instead of the pissy one I put up last night. I really am sorry that this chapter took a little while to get out. It was a mixture of miscommunication and me going on vacation with no internet for a while that delayed it. Hopefully it was worth the wait. :-)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Semele Perdita

Chapter 21: Reluctant Homecoming

Author: LadyAkako

Rating: PG-13

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

[ James ]

`One more week…just have to get through one more week' had been my mantra to myself for the past three weeks actually, but now…now it really was the last week of school. Finally, freedom was in sight once more. Of course, the teachers were giving out summer homework assignments like crazy to all of us leaving sixth years, but nothing could damper the sense of relief that had swept over the entire grounds and student populace. Tests were over and we only had one more week.

The dorms were in a complete uproar and it looked like something had exploded in each and every corner of each of the rooms in the boys' hallway at least. Of course, most of the rooms looked like that normally but there was some added melee this week because of everyone trying to cram everything back into the trunk or suitcase it had come in. It always seemed at the end of the year, nothing would fit like it did at the beginning at that same year, even same semester.

I sighed, running my fingers through my thick hair and looked around my own dorm room. It was a complete and utter wreck and I couldn't even tell where my junk ended and the other guys' junk started. I would probably end up taking home half of Sirius' wardrobe and he would probably end up with all of mine if the past years were any reference. It didn't really matter, we wore the same size and everything but it was still frustrating not to have any matching socks in the morning because your best mate has packed all of them away.

The dorm was empty, all the rest of the Marauders were down in the common room. Peter and Remus were playing a cut-throat game of chess which looked quite brutal and Sirius was brooding in the corner, as he had suddenly taken to doing as of late. I didn't bother asking him what was getting to him; I knew that if he wanted to talk, he would come to me.

I had opted to go up to the dorm, feeling restless sitting down there with them and not being able to really contribute to anything that was going on besides offering (bad) advice to Remus on what move he should do next on the chess board.

I flopped down on my bed, exhausted all of a sudden, and forgot all about my intentions to pack. I needed to sleep. I hadn't slept through the night since the last full moon, which was almost a week ago.

I didn't know why I was so restless, but I almost felt reluctant for the summer to start and to leave Hogwarts. I knew from the vague snippets in the Daily Prophet the `situation' that had caused my father so much stress over Christmas break was worsening. It would only be a matter of time before it becomes a full-blown war on the Ministry from this group of pure-blood fanatics that called themselves Death Eaters. There had been all sorts of attacks and conspiracies reported already and they were only getting more terrible as time went by, but worst of all, the Ministry had no idea how to stop their masked attackers.

The world was growing darker now and the peace that I had known my whole life was seeping away before my eyes. No one else seemed to notice and I guess they wouldn't. I only noticed because I knew something was wrong from both my father's reports and Sirius' brooding countenance as of late.

The comfort of Hogwarts had quieted the discomfort I felt within for the latter half of the year, but now a new dread was crawling within me. The world was changing and I didn't want it to yet.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Before I knew it, it was the last day of school and it was once again time to board the train home. Peter was doing all of his packing last minute and Remus was looking for a book that he had misplaced. This book in particular had developed a nasty habit of disappearing whenever someone needed ever since Sirius had borrowed it earlier that year.

Sirius had flopped upon his bed, watching as the two scrambled around the room and I checked under my bed to make sure I hadn't missed anything. Without fail, I always left something behind and for my next to last year at Hogwarts.

“You know,” Sirius said suddenly, sounding optimistic for the first time in days, “We, as of the moment we board that train today, my friends, are officially seventh years. We have the full reign of the school from now on. We are gods from this day forward.

“I think the word `god' might be a bit extreme, Padfoot,” Remus said mildly, looking up from his search.

“Not if you act the part,” I quipped. “Which for Sirius isn't that hard.”

“You think I act like a god, Prongs?” Sirius said with an overly conceited smile, pretending to preen. “I think I look one, does that count?”

“Just because you act like a god, doesn't mean you are one,” Peter finally joined in. “It doesn't mean you get the good looks for the part either.”

“Hey now, don't insult his looks, he might get violent!” Remus laughed.

I got up from the floor and sat the edge of my bed, laughing as well. Sirius looked a bit put out but he usually took the teasing in stride. Soon enough he was joking along with the rest of us, recalling the events of the year.

We got cleared out of our dorm at lunch time by Frank Longbottom, who had been Head Boy that year. I didn't know him well but he was always congenial towards our group, laughing along with most of our pranks even as he had to give us detention.

Heading down to lunch (our last one as sixth years, as Sirius pointed out), people were already saying goodbye and girls were getting teary-eyed. My eyes strayed across the Great Hall for one redhead in particular but I failed to see her no matter how hard I looked. I didn't see Meara either; they must still be up in their dorm, even though they should be down here because Dumbledore was going to be making the end-of year announcements soon.

Remus led the way to our table and we sat down in the place we had always sat, looking around at the chaos that still reigned in the Great Hall. We all looked up when a sudden silence swept through the room to see Dumbledore gliding to the front. Everyone scrambled to take their seats before he reached his customary position at the head of the staff table and out of the corner of my eye I saw two particular Ravenclaws sneaking in to sit at the end of their own table, both looking rather downcast.

“Well…another year gone,” Dumbledore's calm voice traveled easily over the Great Hall. “First and foremost, I would like to thank you all very much for having such a competitive and wonderful year. The House competition has just been delightful to watch, but in the end only one House can win, of course.”

The silence in the Hall erupted in small whispers of speculation over which House would snag the title this year. I knew that Gryffindor had won, there was just no denying that we had had the best Quidditch team this year, we were so far ahead it was just impossible to lose now.

Dumbledore cleared his throat and raised his hands for silence once more. Finally he began, “In fourth place with three hundred and seventy two points is Hufflepuff! In third place with four hundred and ten points, Slytherin!” He paused for a moment and let the tension in the Great Hall simmer. “In second place with four hundred and forty seven is Ravenclaw and finally, of course, with four hundred and ninety five points is GRYFFINDOR!”

As he announced this, a huge cheer from our table rose up and grins were swapped all around as yellow and red burst into life in the ceiling of the Great Hall to celebrate our winning. Sirius had jumped up and was cheering loudly and I laughed, joining in on his enthusiasm.

We fooled around for about another ten minutes before settling down and eating. All four of us wolfed down food as we had slept through breakfast. It would be quite a while until we got substantial food too, since the train only offered sweets and we didn't get into London until late that evening.

After lunch was winding down, Dumbledore announced we should all get ready and meet the coaches that were to take us into Hogsmeade. The four of us all stood up and once and walked out the Great Hall, Peter and Sirius still going on about the House victory.

“Well, what are you planning on during over the summer, James?” Remus asked suddenly, breaking the silence between us.

I grinned and shook my head before I said, “Absolutely nothing, hopefully. My mum hinted we might go to Cardiff to visit some relatives at some point, but other than that, the agenda's empty. Why, want to escape from home for a while?”

“Maybe,” he answered with a short, brittle laugh. I knew Remus' home life wasn't always smooth and caring even though his parents tried. They had always had a hard time accepted their only son was a werewolf.

“What's this about a jail break?” Sirius broke in, wagging his eyebrows at us. He slung his arm around both Remus and I, with Peter drawing even with on the other side of Remus.

“Not much, just discussing how the summer will play out this year,” Remus said before I could say anything. There was a certain stiffness in his voice that had been present most of the year when he wasn't in a joking mood and he was talking with Sirius. Relations between the two were amiable, but there was still a cold distance between them that both Peter and I felt.

“Oh yeah…about that, Prongs…I—uh, might need to stay with you for a good bit of the summer. I have a very strong feeling I won't be welcome at my own house much longer, especially since my dear little brother Regulus is suddenly my mum's shining star,” Sirius said, a tone of bitterness tingeing his words.

“Dear old Regulus still overshadowing you then, Padfoot?” Peter joked, but all in good humor. “I always thought the older brother was supposed to overshadow the younger until I met your family.”

The jab at his family affairs was met by a snort by Sirius, who had always been something of a black sheep in his family. Being sorted into Gryffindor had nearly given his mother, who was descended from an unbelievably long and proud line of Slytherins, a coronary. Sirius didn't talk about it much and when he did it was with a dark, biting tone.

The one time he did mention it without someone else bring it up was when his favorite cousin, Andromeda, had been blasted off the family tree for running off with a muggle named Ted Tonks. He had thrown down the letter, which had been written to him by a distraught Andromeda, in an absolute fit of rage at his own family. I had never heard him curse more strongly than that night.

Conversation died away for a while and Remus wandered from our group to bid farewell to a few Prefects that he was friends with and Sirius had busied himself with amusing a group of younger years by taunting a Slytherin, a former favorite pastime of his. He had rarely participated in it this year, mostly because of the trouble it had caused to all of us last year.

Peter and I stood in the doorway, watching other people reminisce about the year while waiting for some carriages to arrive in the courtyard. Peter didn't talk as much as he used to anymore, he was mostly an observer these days it seemed.

“Do you ever think about what you'll do after we leave here, Prongs?” he asked, after quite a while. His face was thoughtful and crow's feet dotted his brow prematurely.

I shrugged, heaving a sigh and shifting my position.

“I don't know, I guess. Not seriously, I don't think, but sure I think about it,” I said, pensively.

“What do you see yourself doing in a few years?” Peter pursued the topic.

“I don't know…maybe something at the Ministry. Why?” I asked curiously, having never really been seriously in thought about the future.

“I was just wondering. I think I'd like to do work in Intelligence…maybe an Unspeakable. I think I've learned a bit about stealth and all that from you guys,” Peter said with a smile, eyes shining in the sunlight. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and leaned against the wall, staring off into the distance.

I smiled at him but before I got a chance to answer, the tell-tale sound of horse hooves told of the arrival of the black, tattered carriages that would carry us to Hogsmeade and Sirius and Remus had once again joined us. We all grabbed a carriage to have to ourselves and we finally were off to board the train to take us home.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

[ Lily ]

“Hurry up, Lily, the train can't wait for you forever,” Meara growled at me, as we got off one of the last carriages to arrive in Hogsmeade. I sighed and gave her a smirk, there was always an empty compartment for a sixth year going on seventh year. Now that we were the top year, I didn't have too many qualms about sometimes abusing the power. Especially if it meant privacy.

“Don't worry so much,” I replied and walked off in front of her to the train. We climbed on and began our search for an empty compartment. It took a while but soon we found a smaller one at the end of one of the cars and settled in.

Meara shimmied out of her robes and I took out a book to read, it was always such a long ride. I always wondered why they wouldn't cast a spell or something to make the train travel a bit faster. Not that the Scottish countryside wasn't gorgeous, but trains aren't always the most comfortable method of travel.

I soon shed my robes and tie as well, leaving only the skirt and Oxford shirt on. I yawned, not even cracking my book open, and my mind wandered ahead to what the summer entailed for me.

I had to go back to the house and gather up all my stuff, at least the things Petunia hadn't thrown away out of pure spite. I had to travel to my mother and father's lawyer and finally collect what money they had left for me, which the lawyer was holding until I turned seventeen which was only two weeks away. Then Meara and I had decided we would live in the house her parents had left her, Richard, her older brother by four years, was going to be staying with us for most of the summer.

I would help her go through everything in the house, which had scarcely been touched since her own parents' deaths, and she would help me deal with my sister. We had determined, in the quiet of our dorm before lunch that we would never leave the other alone at any point during that summer.

I was sad to leave Hogwarts, reluctant at best to be going back to face what I had left behind before I came to school last year. I know Meara's grief was still on the surface but she rarely showed it except for a brief flash in her eyes. She was always so good at shielding her emotions from other people, a talent I had never been able to develop. Meara had grown into herself even more in the last few months; her one moment of freeness had come that night almost a month ago when we had snuck out with the Marauders. The rest of the time she had buried herself in some book or another or had busied herself with tutoring some of the younger students. To her chagrin, Kingsley Shacklebolt was still under her charge. I suspected if she got him again next year, she might strangle him, he annoyed her so much.

In our compartment we sat in a comfortable ease as we usually did until about half way through the trip, the sweet old lady who pushed the candy trolley rolled by our door.

“Anything off the trolley, darlings?” she asked in a warbly voice. Her graying hair was pined back neatly and her hands were wrinkled and ropy as she gestured to the trolley.

Meara looked up from her book and studied the cart for a moment before asking, “Can I have a few chocolate frogs please?”

The old lady nodded and gave her three of the chocolate confections after collecting the required amount from Meara. I myself bought a pumpkin pasty and Drooble's blowing gum, chomping on them thankfully after the old lady had toddled away. Meara pondered over her chocolate carefully, studying the wizard cards that came with them with an idle attention.

“I think this trip gets longer ever year,” she sighed, and swung her legs off the seat, looking at me with pursed lips. “I almost want it to be long because I don't actually want to go home, but still…”

I nodded in understanding and exhaled heavily.

“I know what you mean,” I commented tiredly. I leaned forward, resting my head in the cradle of my palms and started out the window to the fields that were flying by. “It's just because we've taken the same trip for so long, that it gets boring. I mean, remember the first time on the train? This trip couldn't have lasted long enough.” I smiled at the memory, recalling my own timidity. I was practically shaking whenever someone tried to introduce themselves and the Sorting was a whole other story.

“Yeah,” Meara chuckled quietly, with a distant look creeping into her eyes. “My mum was really reluctant to let me go. She could have sworn she had another year with me, she kept saying. She didn't want to let me go, but she was always glad to get a bit a reprieve from Richard, I think.”

I sat quietly, glancing at my friend. She hadn't talked much about her family since the news of her parents' terrible deaths had reached us. I knew it was harder for her than it was for me. She may have been able to suppress it from other people, but I knew Meara experienced pain deeply over the time that had passed. I had just pushed it away until it couldn't hurt me anymore, I had never let my grief even be noticed by myself until it had already mostly passed.

“Dad always said I would be in Ravenclaw, `family tradition' he said. It would have broken his heart if I had gotten sorted anywhere else, I think,” Meara continued. “You know the Sorting Hat asked me if I wanted to be in Slytherin?”

I blinked. She had never told me that before. I doubt she had ever told anyone, her whole family lineage had been Ravenclaw; it would have been a huge deal if she had been put in Slytherin.

“No, I didn't,” I said softly, wanting to coax her to go on.

“I don't have anything against Slytherin really, but I never understood why the Hat wanted to put me there,” she said with a sudden aloof shrug, as if realizing herself. She sighed and stared out the window, lost in her thoughts.

“Well,” I started, recalling my own Sorting experience, “it was all set to put me in Gryffindor and I think that would have been a truly detrimental choice.” I laughed at myself and found to my surprise to hear Meara's chiming laughter agree with me.

“Not detrimental,” she corrected. “You would have done well, just as you have in Ravenclaw, but I don't know if you would have ever made it through six years of dealing with those boys with whom you now insist on consorting with.”

“I doubt it.” I smiled and brought the images of the four boys from Gryffindor to my head. They had grown quite tolerable in this last year and I found myself intrigued by the relationships they had with each other more and more as I grew to know them better. “But you must refer to them by their self-acclaimed title, the supposedly infamous Marauders of Hogwarts!” I joked, flaunting their title ridiculously.

Meara made a noise in the back of her throat in disbelief and rolled her eyes. We continued on in this vein of discussion until finally a voice came over the train, announcing that we would be arriving in London in a mere thirty minutes. We both began to prepare ourselves to arrive, changing our clothes and straightening everything else.

When the train screeched to a halt not too long afterwards, we slowly made our way off onto Platform nine and three quarters.

Everyone was already hugging each other and saying their goodbyes. I smiled to a few people and after being practically attacked by Marlene McKinnon, who had become a tentative friend of mine after sharing a few classes together, we agreed that we would have to visit each other over the summer. After promising me she would follow through on the promise, she bid both Meara and me a friendly goodbye.

Just as we were about to go through the bricks to find a car, I turned at hearing a familiar voice calling my name.

“Lily!” James Potter called out to me from across the Platform. When he saw that he had caught my attention, he gestured me over to where he was standing with his friends. I nodded and turned to Meara.

“I'll be right back, I think my presence is requested,” I said, with a roll of my eyes.

“That's fine. I'll just go through and see if I can't tack down a cab for us. Don't take too long though!” Meara bid as she walked calmly through the brick barrier, waving.

I walked in the other direction, making my way towards James, who was now joined only by Sirius.

“Hey,” I greeted, with a small smile.

“Hey…um—I just wanted to uh—say goodbye,” James said, suddenly seeming uncomfortable. My smile widened a bit against my will and I bit my lip to fight back a laugh.

“Well, yes, that's what most people say at the end of the year,” I teased him. I just couldn't resist.

He smiled with a short laugh and ran a hand through his hair, I noticed with only a small tinge of dislike for the habit.

“So—uh, goodbye. I hope you have a good summer.” He nodded, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

“Goodbye, James, I hope you have a nice summer as well. I'll see you next year,” I said softly, amused at his discomfort. He smiled at my words and caught my eye, when he did, an involuntary shiver shot down me.

“Yeah, see you next year,” he responded, the confidence coming back into his tone. I turned to leave and stopped when he said, “And, Lily?”

I turned to face him again, asking, “Yeah?”

“Thanks.” He smiled and I think I understood at that moment why so many girls seemed to have crushes on this James Potter.

“I'll see you next year, James,” I said again, for lack of anything else to say. He nodded at me and gave a small wave.

I walked away from him, feeling a strange sensation in the bottom of my stomach that I had rarely associated with a boy before. I smiled at the though, but nonetheless hurried to find Meara once I had crossed through the barrier.

I found her just catching a cabbie and having him stow our things into the back of his car. I smiled at her and climbed into the car after her, giving the address of my parents' old house.

Twenty minutes later, we arrived in front of the small house and I turned to Meara, suddenly unsure. What if Petunia was there?

“Don't worry,” she said reassuringly, as if reading my mind. “It's going to be okay.”

I nodded resolutely and climbed from the car, taking my things from the man who had driven us. Meara took her things as well and shrugged her shoulders in an almost cheerful matter.

“Ready?” she asked.

“No,” I answered, biting at my lip again and staring at the house I had grown up in with dread.

“Well, too bad. We're here and our cab's already gone, so it's too late to go back. I suppose we'll have to just go in,” she said, with a push at my back. At that moment, I almost regretted asking Meara to come with me, but I knew if she hadn't I would have never gone in.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Review.

It makes me happy:-)

Tell me what you would like to see Lily and James do over the summer and such. Look forward to hearing from you all!