Tima: Yes, he's smitten. No doubt about that! It's interesting that you feel horrible for Frank. I decided to do this to his father to sort of double the tragedy on the part of his grandmother, who is a character I have some issues with (the fact that she's always degrading Neville, e.g.). This is the last chapter, but Year 2 is on its way, and hopefully it's just as good. Though I'm not going to claim that! No apologies for not reviewing on TS. It's good to see you here.
HPFan: I'm glad you've decided to read this as a WIP, then if you usually don't! It's nearly complete, anyway, isn't it!
And to the anonymous reviewer: Unfortunately, this is a Year 1 fic, and as L/J don't get together until Year 7, the romance is really all on James's part and Lily doesn't return the sentiments. If you'd like a romance, I would like to point you toward my story in James's POV, "Why Don't You and I?"
Thanks to everyone for reading and I hope to see you all in Year 2.
Chapter 20: The End of Term
"I think we should wake her up!"
"No, she's had a rough night. You heard Madam Pomfrey, the draught'll wear off soon!"
"Yes, but I want to wake her up now. I don't want to wait."
Lily awoke the next morning to the sound of Alice and Amelia arguing. For a moment just before she opened her eyes, she thought that she was back in her bed in Gryffindor tower, and wondered what small miracle had resulted in her two best friends being awake before she was; in that glorious moment, she knew nothing of the events of last night. Once she had opened her eyes and saw the stark cleanliness of the hospital ward, however, it all came back to her in a rush. She squeezed her eyes shut again quickly, trying to erase the memory. The thought of Frank losing his dad in such an unspeakable manner was almost more than her 12-year-old heart could stand. She could feel the tears pricking the backs of her eyelids but before she had the opportunity to start crying again, she was engulfed in a hug by Alice.
"Ooooh! We're so glad you're safe," Alice squealed, straightening up and looking at Lily, as though reassuring herself that Lily was, in fact, in one piece and sitting there in front of them. She then grabbed Lily in a hug again.
Lily laughed and pushed her away. "I'm fine," she said.
Amelia also hugged her, and when she stood back up, her gaze glanced over Lily's cheek. "Is that where the gorilla hit you?" she asked, a trace of anger in her voice.
Lily reached up and ran her fingers over her cheekbone. She could feel the slight swelling that still remained from the injury. "I suppose it is," she said with a grimace. "Does it look as bad as it feels?"
"Worse," Potter said. She looked past Alice and Amelia to see him standing behind them.
"Thanks," she said. "I might have come out unscathed if you'd come down from the hospital wing a few seconds earlier!"
Potter's grin disappeared. "I know," he said. "And I promise you that I won't be so late next time."
He looked so sorry that Lily couldn't help but laugh. "Relax, Potter," she said with a smirk. "I was only kidding."
Alice and Amelia were exchanging awed glances. "So you two are getting along then?" Alice asked finally.
Lily laughed. "For now, anyway. I wouldn't get too used to it, though."
The girls laughed, and then sat quietly for a moment, unable to think of anything else to say. Lily was wondering if they had been told what had happened to Frank's dad, but had no idea how to bring the subject up. After a few more minutes had passed, Amelia cleared her throat, and then scuffed her shoe on the floor, looking extremely saddened and uncomfortable. "Has anyone told you what happened to Frank's dad?" she asked finally.
Lily nodded. "Does Frank know?"
"He found out last night. He's already left to be with his mum. We barely had a chance to say goodbye," Alice said. Both Alice's and Amelia's eyes were now brimming with tears.
"Frank left already?" Potter said in alarm. "But I didn't get a chance to tell him good-bye. I-"
"Oi, Potter!" a voice near the door called out. They looked up to see Black loping in their direction, followed closely by Pettigrew and Lupin. "When are you going to stop faking it and get your lazy butt out of here?"
Potter laughed. "Right about now sounds just fine with me," he said with a glance behind Black. "But I'm not sure Madam Pomfrey will agree to that."
Lily looked beyond the three Marauders and saw Madam Pomfrey hurrying in their direction. Potter returned quickly to his bed, and the three boys followed.
"No, Mr. Potter, you most certainly may not leave yet. I've got Professor Dumbledore's permission to keep you until the end-of-term feast on Friday, and I fully intend to do so. And Miss Evans!" Madam Pomfrey nearly shouted. "Why are you still here? Your injury was only a slight contusion to your cheek. No concussion or any permanent damage. For Merlin's sake, get dressed and get out of here. Your friend Potter needs his rest."
"And so we're to be blamed for making all the noise," Lily said with a sigh, standing up and pulling the curtain around her bed shut. She dressed quickly, and then packed all of her get well cards, one each from Alice, Amelia, Kaylie, Desdamona, Andromeda, Joshua and Frank, and a joint one from the Maruaders, and the flowers that someone had sent her into a bag that Alice had brought with her.
"I suppose we'd better get out of here, then!" The three girls said goodbye to the boys, and made their way out of the hospital wing.
The girls spent the remainder of "results week", as they had dubbed the last week of the term, relaxing outside, practicing their flying and the magic that they had learned, and enjoying each other's company as much as they could before the summer holiday forced them apart. Sometimes they would talk about Frank and his family, and what they must be going through, but mostly the girls avoided the topic by mutual agreement.
On a couple of occasions, they made their way to the hospital wing to visit Potter. On their first visit, both she and Potter had finally told Alice, Amelia and the Marauders what had happened the night of the quidditch game. The Marauders looked amazed when Lily told them what Dumbledore had said about her "seer" abilities, but Alice and Amelia just shook their heads, as though they had known all along. Lily said as much to them.
"Well, we have known all along," Alice said patiently. "I mean, how else could you have known what the Slytherins were planning the night I was attacked?"
"And we knew that you'd dreamt about the quidditch match, as well," Amelia reminded her.
"But we hadn't guessed that your sight was triggered when people you care about are in danger," Alice said, exchanging a knowing glance with Amelia and dissolving into giggles. Both steadfastly refused to answer Lily when she asked them what was so funny.
Finally, Friday morning arrived, and Lily awoke with butterflies in her stomach. All five girls dressed quickly, and hurried downstairs to the Great Hall, where their exam results were posted. Lily was relieved to find that she had received high marks in most of her classes. After looking at Herbology, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, History of Magic, and Potions, she stood back from the crowd, trying to work up the nerve to check her Transfiguration score.
"I don't believe it!" she heard Black call out to Lupin. "I beat Jamesy at Transfiguration. He isn't going to like that."
"Is he second, then?" Lupin asked. He was looking at their Potions grade. "Of the four of us, Petey was top in Potions."
"No, he isn't second," Black said, a hint of amazement in his voice. "He's third."
"Third," Pettigrew exclaimed, scrambling over to where Black was standing. "You mean Remmy beat Jamesy?"
"No," Black said. "It wasn't Remmy."
"Well, who was it then?" Lupin said, now perusing their Defense Against the Dark Arts grades. "I got top in Defense," he added.
"No surprise there," Pettigrew said. "So who got second in Transfiguration, Siri?"
"Evans," Black said in disbelief. "How'd that happen?"
Lily turned to stare at them. "What do you mean, I beat Potter?" she asked, striding past Pettigrew to stand beside Black in front of their Transfiguration scores. Sure enough, there was her name, right below Black's, and just above Potter's. "There's no way… I mean, how could I…?"
She turned to look at Black, but he looked just as amazed as she felt. "I have no idea, Evans, but somehow you did," he said with a smirk. "I wonder how James'll take this."
"Well, she only beat him by one point," Lupin pointed out.
"Still, she beat him," Pettigrew said. "And he's teased her all year. Now she'll be able to tease him."
A wide grin broke out across Lily's face. "You're right, Peter," she said. "I could. But unlike Potter, I would never use this against him," and she turned and strode off to find a seat at the Gryffindor table for breakfast.
***********************************
Before Lily knew it, the end of term feast had come and gone. Ravenclaw had been awarded the house cup, having edged
out Gryffindor by only 20 points, and the quidditch cup, of course, belonged to Slytherin-they'd known that since
Ravenclaw had defeated Gryffindor the previous week. Potter booed loudest of all when this award was presented, and
proclaimed to all who would listen that if he had been on the team, they would have won. Most of the Gryffindor table,
Marauders included, simply rolled their eyes at him.
At the banquet, no mention was made of the events of the Saturday night previous, however Lily noticed that both Malfoy and Crabbe were absent from the end-of-term celebrations. She wasn't certain what had happened to them, but she did know that they hadn't been arrested, as she presumed that type of news would have shown up in the Daily Prophet at some point. In fact, the newspaper carried no news of what had happened the night that they'd stopped Tom Riddle from achieving immortality, save for a very small article stating that Alexander Longbottom had been found, and that his disappearance was the result of his memory being altered. The article didn't give any suspects, but mentioned that it was being investigated, and that the public should not "panic".
The next day, the students all boarded the Hogwarts Express bound for London. They were quiet most of the ride, save to make plans with one another for the summer. Lily invited both Alice and Amelia to stay at her house, and they returned her invitation. At last, they arrived back at the platform in London. Lily said her goodbyes, and with a wave to the Marauders, she turned and began pushing her trolley toward the barrier. "Hey Evans!" an unmistakable voice behind her called out.
She turned, and saw the Marauders still standing there, as they had been just a moment before. "My parents are waiting, Potter," she said, a little bit impatiently.
"Relax, Evans. This won't take long. Youowemeakiss," he said quickly, flushing slightly but never losing his smile. Lily stared at him blankly. "Our bet?" he reminded her. "You scored one point higher on Transfiguration than I did."
Lily blinked, comprehension dawning. She looked at the three Marauders, all watching the proceedings avidly, and blushed. "I forgot about that," she said, walking reluctantly over to him.
"Yes," he said, the flush deepening as she approached. "I rather thought you might."
She smiled, and kissed Potter quickly on the cheek. The red in his face spread all the way to his ears, and he touched his fingers to his cheek absently. "She kissed me!" he said, his voice sounding dazed.
Black let out a loud whoop, and Lupin held out a hand to Pettgirew. "That's a sickle you owe me," he said as Lily turned, her face as red as Potter's, and began pushing her cart to the barrier. "I told you he'd get a kiss from her before the year was over."
"But she hates James!" she heard Pettigrew say before Platform Nine and Three-Quarters disappeared, and she was engulfed in her father's arms.