Chapter 6 : Birthday Girl
As she walked down the stairs to the common room on the fifteenth of September, Lily felt better than even she could have imagined. It was a Sunday morning, the day promised to be nice and warm, and it was her birthday. Sixteen years old…
She felt much older than that for some reason, but since the calendar said it was 1975, she was indeed sixteen.
"Oh, isn't that sweet." Marian drawled from behind Lily as they got to the bottom of the stairs. "Hogwarts' greatest and brightest waiting like dutiful knights for the fair red haired maiden."
Lily tried to stifle a giggle. It wasn't everyday you saw James, Sirius, Remus and Peter lined up in front of the fire place, angelic smiles on their faces, and wearing what looked like old and somewhat rusty suits of armour.
Remus was holding a medium-sized box wrapped in Gryffindor colours and a loud grating sound could be heard as he made his way across the room towards Lily. A small group of second years snorted as they watched Remus' noisy progress, but they were quickly reduced to silence when Sirius glared at them jokingly and drew a remarkably nasty looking sword from its sheath. Peter slapped him playfully on the shoulder with his metal-gloved hand and Sirius nearly went flying across the room.
Lily had to admit that Remus looked impressive from close up in his current attire, at least now that he wasn't squeaking anymore. He stopped in front of her and was awkwardly bending a knee, offering her the golden box.
"The Marauders of Hogwarts are proud to present thee with this humble gift and would be honoured to be thy faithful knights for the day, O fair Lily!" (Good line.)
Lily took the box and found herself quite at a loss as to what to say. In fact, she felt like laughing more than anything else. Trying hard not to smile, she decided to play their game.
"I thank you, Sir Remus. Would you accept a kiss as a reward for your generous and faithful service?"
Sir Remus barely had the time to open his mouth before three voices chorused a loud, "Wait!"
More grating and squeaking was heard as James, Sirius and Peter hurried across the room and pushed Remus ruthlessly aside when they reached Lily.
"What about your other faithful knights, my fair Lady?" Peter asked. "Don't they deserve a kiss too?"
"Hear! Hear!" shouted James and Sirius.
They looked so ridiculous standing like that in their oversized armour that Lily burst out laughing.
"Sometimes I wonder how we would all make it through Hogwarts without you four here to entertain us," she managed to say after a while. "Where the hell did you find this armour?"
"We borrowed them from the fifth floor corridor of the west wing," Remus answered with a huge grin. "That part of the castle is quite abandoned and no one will notice."
"Why don't you open your present?" James put in, a merry light dancing in his eyes.
Lily looked suspiciously at the box in her hands. Five years of acquaintance with the four boys had taught her to be wary of everything that went through their hands.
"Alright," she said, walking towards a table to avoid blocking the staircase any longer. Her little group followed and watched with amusement as she cautiously first untied the red ribbon, and then took the red paper away. Nothing happened and Lily decided it was safe to touch the 'thing'.
The 'thing' was a plain rectangular casket made of dark, smooth wood, which looked quite sturdy. There wasn't any lock and Lily ran her fingers all over it to try and find a way to open it.
"It's a Secrets Keeper," Sirius explained. "Inside is much larger than it looks and you can put anything you want to keep safe in it. Once it's closed, nothing can open it but the password its owner chooses. We made sure of it."
"And how does the new owner open it for the first time?" Lily asked, trying to force the lid open in frustration.
"Not like that in any case," James warned, taking the box out of her hands. "You'll only scratch the wood with your nails. All you have to do is tap the lid once with your wand and say the password of your choice."
"You'd better do it somewhere no one else can hear you, though," Peter chimed in. "We couldn't manage a voice recognition charm and everyone with the password can open it."
"I see." Lily took the casket from James and considered it briefly before turning back to her friends. "Why don't you go and put that armour back where you found it and meet us in the Great Hall for breakfast?"
There was quite a commotion as the boys made their way out and stepped through the portrait hole, but Lily didn't pay attention as she thoughtfully turned the casket in her hands.
"I wouldn't place anything really important in there if I were you," Marian cautioned.
"You're probably right. It looks authentic though. I've heard about Secrets Keepers, they're really helpful when they're well done. I'll check it for any suspicious spells and I'll see what I'm going to do with it then."
"Don't say I didn't warn you."
Lily grinned. "I won't, don't worry. I'll go and drop it in the dorm. I'll be back in a second."
When she stepped into the dorm she found Cléobulle sprawled in a patch of sunlight on her bed. He opened his eyes briefly before returning to his little nap at the sight of his mistress. On her bed were the presents she had received from her friends and family. From Beth and Amy she got a pocket Teen-witch make-up set, a glittering barrette and the dubious honour of becoming a decorating assistant for the newly scheduled Winter Ball. Marian went for something useful and gave her a diary that the owner could customise. The instructions for 'charming it to your taste' were printed in a book twice the size of said diary and looked quite complicated. Lily was quite interested in having a diary that would write back to you but it looked extremely complicated to do. From her parents and Muggle relatives she got various things ranging from home-made sweets to a pair of plain black shoes.
She placed the casket with her new possessions, promising herself that she would examine it and check it for any suspicious spells later. Snatching the barrette from the small pile, Lily pinned it at random in her hair and went to the mirror hanging on the stone wall to look at the effect. The green clip nicely complemented her eyes, and she made a mental note to thank her friends again for their flair.
Just as she was inspecting herself more closely, her stomach gave a loud rumble and she felt relieved that no one else was in the room except for her sleeping cat. She was always quite embarrassed when it happened in public.
She went down to the common room, where Marian was waiting, and they hurried to the Great Hall together.
**************
"Hey, Lily. Listen to this."
Lily looked up from her porridge to Marian. Her friend had that morning's Daily Prophet spread in front of her, while her breakfast stood almost untouched, discarded on the side.
" 'The heir to the Malfoy fortune announced that he would make donations to several of our renowned institutions such as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and the excellent St Mungo's Hospital. Still affected by the sudden and mysterious death of his cherished father, young Lucius Malfoy, twenty five years of age, has firmly decided to take on all of his father's charges and duties. "One of the charges I hold close to my heart," he told us, "is being on the Board of Governors at Hogwarts. The other Governors and I will stay at the school for a few days and see what can be done to ensure that its administration and direction are the best they can be." ' Well, what do you say to that?"
"I say that this Malfoy sounds like a very generous person."
Marian snorted. "Generous? I can see you've never met him."
"Is he that terrible?"
"He's the most snobbish wizard in all England. Very anti-Muggleborn too. It wouldn't surprise me if he dabbled in the Dark Arts. Here, look at his picture." Marian slipped the newspaper across the table to Lily. "Speaks for itself."
Lily leaned forward, a glass of orange juice in her hand, and looked at the picture labelled "Lucius Malfoy, an asset to the English Wizarding World, inaugurating the new Apparition Point in Diagon Alley." It showed a stern-faced wizard with very pale hair in which a slight wind was playing. His robes were dark and conservative but obviously expensive. He was cutting a ribbon that was stretched between two thin pillars. Some jovial, round-faced wizards surrounded him; they seemed quite pleased with themselves and were congratulating each other, slapping backs and clasping hands. Lucius Malfoy looked quite out of place looking so stern and standing so still among them. Lily knew instantly he was not a person she would like to get acquainted with.
"Lily."
Lily started and nearly spilled her orange juice on the beautiful but cold face of Lucius Malfoy. She threw an accusing glare at Marian who had obviously seen who was coming towards the Gryffindor table but hadn't deemed it necessary to warn her friend.
"Hello, Howard," she said, turning in her seat to face this year's Head Boy.
"Could I talk to you for a minute?"
"Sure, go ahead."
Howard looked a bit uncomfortable. "I meant privately," he said, shifting from one foot to another.
"Alright." Lily hoped she didn't sound too unenthusiastic. Howard was a nice boy. Brown hair, pale blue eyes, perfect grades, polite: nice. Too nice. Breaking up with him had made her feel like the worst person in the world, because she knew she was causing him great pain. She really didn't want him to try and put his heart on a silver platter for her to smash again.
She followed him out of the Great Hall with great misgivings, toying with her sleeves as she always did when nervous.
When they were at a safe distance from the doors, Howard stopped and pulled out a small box from his pocket.
"Here," he said. "You didn't think I'd forget about your birthday, did you?"
"Howard, you shouldn't -"
"No, no," he hastily cut in. "It was my pleasure, and it's only a trinket. Take it."
"You're too sweet for your own good, Howard Clint," Lily sighed, taking the little box.
"I'm not too sweet!" he protested with a grin. "I didn't get my Head Boy badge by being sweet. I'm a person with charisma and a sense of leadership."
"Of course you are. Now, let's see what our charismatic Head Boy gave me."
Lily swiftly disposed of the wrapping paper and opened the box. Inside were two red bracelets, one velvet and the other leather. Each had what looked like a small black ball attached as a pendant or a charm.
"It's a cat tracker," Howard explained. "You put the leather bracelet around the neck of your cat and you keep the velvet one. You only have to touch the small pendant to see where your pet is. I know your Cléobulle tends to wander quite a lot and I thought it could be helpful."
"Thank you, Howard. I'll be glad to know where the little devil puts his little black paws. Hogwarts is such a big castle that I'm often worried about him." Lily smiled at her companion, genuinely delighted.
Howard seemed greatly relieved at her words. "I'm glad you liked it. And, er, I was wondering if you'd consider going to the Winter Ball with me?" he asked a bit hesitantly.
Here we go, Lily thought. I knew I shouldn't have agreed to talk to him in private. She was about to answer him but got distracted by the entrance doors opening. In came a group of venerable looking wizards, chatting and laughing between themselves. Some of them wore robes which couldn't quite conceal well-rounded bellies, a sign of men who liked the good things in life. They passed though the entrance hall without paying attention to Howard and Lily and went up the main stairs. In the now vacant doorway a tall wizard could be seen standing and looking out towards the grounds. He had the palest blond hair Lily had ever seen, almost white, and she knew, even before one of the older wizards turned and called "Lucius!," that it was the Lucius Malfoy she had seen moments before in the black and white wizard picture on the front of the Daily Prophet.
The young wizard turned around at the sound of his name and went to join the group. As he passed in front of the two students his eyes swept over them quickly before dismissing them as insignificant, for which Lily felt quite grateful. She came back to the present when she heard Howard repeating his question about the ball.
"Don't you have to go with the Head Girl though?"
"Nope. I'm free to choose whoever I want."
"Oh… er… do you mind if I think about it first? It's only mid-September, we've got time."
Howard's face fell a bit but he didn't try to push the subject further. "So," he said, "you didn't enrol in the Duelling Club? I didn't see you there."
"No, I didn't." Lily was glad of the change of subject. "Maybe next year. I didn't know you'd signed up, though. Do you have time with your Head Boy's duties and study sessions for the NEWTs?"
"I managed to get everything in my schedule, but it's a tight fit," he joked.
"So, how is it?"
"It's great. Raven's a very good teacher. He knows a lot of things and it's obvious he's been duelling a lot in the past. He actually told me I had a good chance of being Ravenclaw's champion for this year's competition.
Lily smiled when she saw he was quite embarrassed talking about his accomplishments. "I'll make sure I come and watch your duels. You must be very good for Raven to tell you that; he never overly praises his students."
Howard looked down and blushed at the compliment. "It's a pity you didn't join," he said after a while, looking up to meet her gaze. "You would have done very well."
"I'll think about it for next year."
"You do that. Well, I'll leave you now, I have one of those 'NEWTs study sessions' as you call them. I'll see you around."
Lily watched him go up the stairs, thinking it had all gone very well. She turned, and was about to go back into the Great Hall when she heard hurried footsteps on the same staircase Howard took. It was Sirius, James, Remus and Peter, free from their heavy armour and coming down to breakfast.
"Was that Clint we saw heading towards the Ravenclaw common room?" Sirius asked as they stopped before her. "We couldn't be sure because he passed very quickly. He seemed in quite a hurry, or quite intent on avoiding us."
Lily saw James eyeing the open box with the bracelets in it but he didn't say anything and she quickly closed it and shoved it in her pocket.
"Yes," she answered. "He just wanted to wish me a happy birthday."
"Thought so," Sirius grinned. "Well, Gryffindors, what do you say to some breakfast? I'm starving!"
His three friends followed him towards the Great Hall. They were breathing a bit heavily due to their run from the fifth floor corridor but Lily noticed that Remus was a lot more winded than the others and had a flushed face which looked as though it would be hot to the touch.
"Remus!" she called.
Remus stopped and motioned for the others to continue without him. "Yes?" he asked, turning towards Lily.
She walked up to him and placed a hand on one cheek. She had been right: he was almost boiling. Ignoring his dumbfounded expression, she grabbed his arm and dragged him into a secluded corner where they could talk in private instead of being watched by half the Great Hall. She looked at the boy in front of her sternly.
"Remus, I know that sometimes I can get wrapped up in my own little world and that I think mostly of my problems, but I'm not blind and I've noticed there's been something wrong with you since we got back to school."
Remus tried to say something but Lily wouldn't let him. "Don't deny it, I won't believe you. You often look flushed or out of breath for no particular reason. You're sweating a lot too, and you're always looking tired. I'm worried about you, Remus. I want you to tell me what's wrong so I can help you."
"I'm okay, Lily. Don't worry about me. It's true I've been out of it lately, but I'm going to be fine."
Even if he hadn't faltered and nearly fallen immediately after speaking, she wouldn't have believed him. He caught himself in time by throwing his right hand against the wall. He clutched his right side with his left hand and closed his eyes tightly, his face taut with pain.
Lily panicked.
"Remus? Remus?!"
Remus swallowed hard and opened his eyes. "It's okay, it will pass. It always passes."
"No, it's not okay! Look at you! You could collapse at any moment. We need to take you to the hospital wing, and quick."
Remus felt too weak to protest and let Lily guide him gently up the stairs. They made their way slowly along the corridors, and Lily felt Remus leaning against her more heavily with each step until he finally collapsed fifty feet from the hospital wing door, bringing Lily down with him.
If she was panicked before, Lily was frantic now. "Remus? Remus, come on! We're nearly there."
But Remus had slipped into blissful oblivion and couldn't hear her. She drew her wand out of her robes with a shaking hand and muttered, 'Mobilicorpus'. The charm she had learned in her fifth year had served her well, and Remus' still body raised slowly from the ground. Once she felt sure she had her hand steady she started to run.
She threw the door opened with her free hand and called, "Madam Weasley! Madam Weasley!"
The ageing nurse appeared at the door of her office as Lily lowered Remus onto a bed. "Miss Evans?"
She rushed to the bed and paled when she saw who was lying on it. "What happened? Did he hurt you?" she asked as she started running her wand over him to check for injuries
.
"N-no, he didn't hurt me. Why would he?"
Madam Weasley muttered, "never mind" without looking up from her patient. In her rush, a strand of her hair had escaped from the tight chignon she always wore. Lily thought that it must have been outrageously orange before it started to become streaked with white. "What happened?" the nurse asked more calmly.
"I don't exactly know," Lily started. "He's been flushed and sweating since school started. Perhaps it started before that, but I can't be sure since I didn't see him during the summer. I confronted him with it and he tried to deny it but he collapsed and I brought him here."
The tip of Madam Weasley's wand glowed blue as it stopped above his right side level with his ribs.
She looked up at Lily. "You did well, Miss Evans. Now I must ask you to wait outside while I look after Mr Lupin."
"Is he going to be alright, Madam Weasley?"
The nurse smiled reassuringly. "I think so, Miss Evans. You don't have to worry."
Lily nodded and left the room. She didn't go far though, and stayed close to the door. She didn't know how long she waited. She was lost in her thoughts, wondering why the other three boys hadn't already dragged him to the infirmary. Surely they had noticed something was wrong with Remus? Illness seemed to be quite frequent in his family since he often went to visit ailing parents. Perhaps it was in the genes and Remus had inherited it. He didn't seem the frail type, though.
She snapped out of her meditative state when she heard the muffled voice of Madam Weasley through the door. She put her ear against the solid wood and listened.
"Just in time… Wound… Silver… Poison in his blood… Quite a long time… Wonder he lasted so long…"
It was all she could catch and it didn't make sense. Who would poison Remus? It couldn't have been the Slytherins since apparently it happened during the summer holidays.
The door opened before she could wonder further and Madam Weasley let her in. There was no one else in the room except for Remus, and Lily wondered who it was the nurse had been talking to.
"He will sleep until this evening and will stay with me through the night, too. You can go and sit with him if you want. A message has been sent to his friends and they should be here shortly."
The door opened before Lily could make a step towards Remus' bed, and Lucius Malfoy walked in with two other wizards, both much shorter than him.
Madam Weasley's face went red. "Being school governors does not give you the right to enter the infirmary like you would a pub," she said angrily, but keeping her voice down so as not to disturb her patient. "I have a patient who needs his rest and quiet."
One of the shorter wizards apologised profusely, saying that they had been assured that the hospital wing was not hosting any students at the moment. He lost no time in making his exit, dragging his short colleague with him. Lucius Malfoy looked towards the 'patient' and his eyes narrowed.
"Is it prudent to let a student alone with young Mr Lupin?" he asked in a dangerous whisper, his gaze flickering momentarily towards Lily before fixing itself on Madam Weasley.
Lily was astounded. How could keeping Remus company be dangerous for her? And why was Lucius Malfoy so hostile about it? She chanced a glance at Madam Weasley and was surprised when saw the expression on her face. She knew that the old nurse could get quite worked up when someone intruded upon her territory, but she had never seen her so angry. She looked like a wolf mother defending her cubs.
"I know what is best for my patients better than you, Mr Malfoy," she said curtly. "Your late father knew it and left me in peace; you'd better take a leaf out of his book and do likewise."
Lucius Malfoy sneered and didn't deign to reply. Lily caught his eyes before he left and didn't like what she could read in their cold depth one bit.
******************
James, Sirius and Peter arrived shortly after Malfoy's departure and were concerned to find their friend lying in the bed, his face very pale.
Madam Weasley rounded on them as soon as Lily had finished explaining what had happened.
"You didn't suspect anything?" she asked them severely.
"Well, we noticed that he wasn't always very well," James started. Peter and Sirius nodded in agreement and he went on. "But we thought it had to do with… with his condition."
Was it her imagination or did James glanced uncomfortably at her before his slight hesitation? It was the first time that she'd heard that Remus had a 'condition'. She kept silent but was determined to clear the mystery up.
Madam Weasley ushered them out of the room some time later telling them that Remus was going to be fine and that they could come back that evening to see if he was awake. Sirius and Peter headed for Gryffindor Tower but James held Lily back.
"There's something I want to show you," he said. "Call it an extra birthday present if you want."
"My! Aren't I getting spoiled today!" Lily exclaimed.
"But don't you love it?" James teased. "Come on," he said, taking her hand. "We're going to miss the perfect moment if we don't hurry."
James was leading her back down to the entrance hall at a good pace. On the way they met a cheerful Dumbledore who wished a happy birthday to Lily. He was in the company of Professor Raven who didn't seem particularly thrilled to see them. He also politely wished Lily a happy birthday but only bowed his head curtly in recognition to James before walking away with the Headmaster.
Lily's suspicions that the two had met each other before were re-enforced, and when she asked him about it, James replied vaguely that he had met him once or twice.
As they stepped onto the front porch, James looked at his watch, a Muggle model, and announced that they would have to run.
"Run?" Lily asked, puzzled.
"Yes, run, with the two legs you were born with." James pulled at her hand and dragged her toward this edge of the Forbidden Forest.
Lily stopped thinking and just let herself be guided by the boy running in front of her. Their pounding feet beat the ground in a regular cadence as the wind whistled in her ears. James stopped when they arrived at the entrance of the forest. It didn't look at all menacing on that fine morning, and Lily didn't protest when James pulled her along with him down a narrow path that was snaking between the lush vegetation. The light was dimmer in the forest but quite sufficient for them to see where they were putting their feet. After a minute or two, the path widened and the trees became taller. When James stopped, Lily found herself standing next to an old and venerable looking willow, its foliage so thick you couldn't even see the trunk. James took a step and went straight through the green curtain, dragging Lily with him.
On the other side it was like standing under a high green vault whose walls were singing softly along with the wind. But they didn't linger there, and James led her through another green curtain of leaves to find themselves on another winding path. This one wasn't as well kept as the other though, and they often had to skirt protruding roots or push aside branches.
When James stopped again they were standing at the edge of a small clearing. The trees surrounding it were so tall and their tops were so close to each other that the rays of the morning sun hadn't touched it yet, and it lay in a quiet shadowy light.
"Here we are," he whispered.
"And what is 'here' exactly?" Lily whispered back.
"This is a place I discovered in my second year, and no one else knows of it. Not even Hagrid, I think, or else the path we took wouldn't be so wild."
Lily listened to the sounds of the forest and inhaled deeply. Could it be…?
"James! I think I can smell -"
James put a finger on her lips to stop her. "Sshh. Wait a minute."
He didn't move his finger, and they both watched as the sun slowly flooded the clearing. It was nothing really, just a patch of grass in the middle of a circle of trees, but Lily already liked it more than her 'secret room' back in the castle. And she had smelled right! There, between two big trunks, was a raspberry bush abundantly loaded with delicious pinkish-red fruits.
"Happy birthday, Lily," James said quietly, removing his finger from her lips.
Her eyes still open wide with surprise, Lily turned to him. It curiously seemed to her as if he had offered her the world, or more precisely, his world.
As Lily usually never knew what to say when she was experiencing powerful emotions, she hoped that James would forgive what would come out of her mouth next.
"You found a place with a raspberry bush in your second year and you never told me?"
Well, that wasn't too bad. It certainly could have been worse. And James was laughing. Good sign.
"Actually the bush is your present," he said. "It wasn't here when I discovered the place. I brought it here last year so it would be ready for your birthday. It's an enchanted variety and will produce raspberries all year long so you can indulge without any guilt."
Lily looked at her bush for a moment before turning back to James, her eyes shining with gratitude.
"Thank you," she said. "It's the best gift I have ever received, and I'm glad it came from you."
She took both his hands and led him into the light of the clearing. They spent the rest of the morning and a good part of the afternoon sitting there, talking and eating fresh raspberries from Lily's new bush, all worries forgotten for a while.