A/N: The next chapter is here. I'm sorry it took so long. Its been really hard to write and I kept getting distracted…I usually don't wear nail polish you see…only for fancy stuff…but while I was writing this chapter I got the urge to paint them hot pink…so I had long, hot pink finger nails…then blue and now their silver…go figure. My best friend loves them…my mom thinks I'm insane. Haha. Anyway's, here's chapter 5, hope you like it! Don't forget to review!
Disclaimer: Not mine…all JKR's…unless you don't recognize it that is…
Chapter 5: Back at Hogwarts
A rush of warm air greeted the students as they entered the Great Hall. Thousands of candles floated in the air above the five tables gave off a warm, soft light. The house tables were each set with shiny gold plates, glasses, silverware and napkins in a promise of the feast that was soon to come. Students, still conversing about the attack on the train, made their way to their respective house table and sat down. The professors sat up at the Head Table watching as the students filed into the Great Hall for another year.
John gave Marlene a kiss on the cheek before reluctantly going over to sit with his friends at the Ravenclaw table. Lily and Marlene made their way over the Gryffindor table and sat down near where the newly sorted first years would be sitting. James and his friends sat down several seats from them with the two other Gryffindors in their year, Rick Heath and Robert Stone.
Marlene and Lily chatted while they watched Professor Flitwick set up the sorting hat. Julia Brown and her best friend, Kathy Bentley, came over and sat down across from them.
"Hello, Marlene," Kathy said, flipping her sandy blonde hair over her shoulder. "Lily, congratulations on making Head Girl."
"Thanks," Lily replied with a smile. "Did you both have a nice summer?"
"Mine was wonderful!" Julia said, her large dark eyes filled with excitement. "My parents took my sister and me to France. It was amazing. We went to the Eiffel Tower and visited the Wizarding district as well as the Muggle one. It's amazing how similar they are in actuality." She glanced over at Kathy, who nodded encouragingly, and then continued speaking in a lower and more serious tone. "Lily, what happened on the train? The seventh years and all the prefects seemed to know what was going on but they refused to tell anyone. We stopped so suddenly. That's never happened before."
"Professor Dumbledore is going to explain it to everyone after the feast," Lily told her. "Oh, look," she said changing the subject. "The sorting is starting." She pointed to the doors where Professor McGonagall was leading the first years in. They walked up nervously to the head table and formed a line in front of the Head table, shuffling to try not to be the first (or last) in line. A blonde haired boy was picking his nose, before his hand was slapped away by his neighbor, while a dark haired girl stood serenely, arms crossed, ignoring the chaos around her. Every so often a first year would shoot a confused look at the sorting hat propped on the stool a few feet in front of them. None of them knew what to make of it. The first years startled when the sorting hat opened a tear in its brim and began its song.
Many, many years ago
When I was just a hat
I sat on Godric's head
Doing nothing except that.
Then one day he took me off
And cast some complex spells
So now I'll sit upon your head
And put you where it tells.
Brave and daring you must be
To belong in Gryffindor
Their strength and courage only show
There are things worth fighting for.
For Hufflepuff, a patient hand
With a heart that's just and loyal
And don't forget a hard worker who
Is unafraid of toil
But Slytherin will only take those
Of cunning and ambition
For they are those who always find
A way to gain admission.
But worry not if none of them
Seem to fit your kind
To Ravenclaw you will go
If you've a ready mind.
So come on up and put me on
Try not to be afraid
I'll put you where you belong
Let us not be delayed.
The students and teachers burst out into applause and the hat bowed to each table before becoming still again. Professor McGonagall stood up and unrolled a scroll with all the first years name's on it. She cleared her throat and the hall quieted down as most of the students turned their attention to the sorting.
"Aclobberly, Richard!"
A small boy with curly brown hair walked up and nervously sat down on the stool and put the sorting hat on. There was a moment's pause-
"RAVENCLAW!"
The table second from the left bust out into applause and Richard Aclobberly went to sit in an open seat.
"Barnes, Adriel!"
A girl with long, blonde hair and an upturned nose went quietly to put the hat on. It almost immediately shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Basile, Sarah!"
The dark haired girl Lily had noticed before went up and calmly put the hat on. It took more then a minute before it finally called out, "SLYTHERIN!"
The Slytherin table cheered nastily as Sarah Basile made her way over to them and sat down primly in an empty seat next to Dan Rosier. He and his friends leaned forward to introduce themselves.
"Carson, Charlotte" and "Dukes, Robin" both went to Ravenclaw. But "Franklin, Allegra", "Furness, Andrew" and "Hartung, Daniel" were all sorted into Gryffindor.
Lily let out a sigh of relief. She had been beginning to wonder if anyone would be sorted into Gryffindor. She, Marlene, Julia and Kathy all greeted the new Gryffindors as they sat down at the table. Allegra blushed faintly and played with the end of her braid while the two boys gave good natured grins before turning back to watch the rest of the first year be sorted.
Finally, the last name was called and "Zoller, Helen" was sorted into Hufflepuff.
Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the sorting hat away while everyone clapped for the new first years. Then Dumbledore stood up and the Hall immediately fell silent.
"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts!" he said. "I know you are all wondering what exactly happened on the train this afternoon. But, for now I ask that you all do you best to enjoy the feast our house elves have so carefully prepared for us. Questions will be answered later. Now, eat up!"
The empty plates on the tables magically filled with food. Everything imaginable was there. From roast beef to carrots and peas and even, for some odd reason, peppermint humbugs. The first years' eyes were wide with amazement as they helped themselves to the food. Their excited voices where, however, punctured by the more serious tones of the other students. What was it, they wondered, that was so serious that it could take the seemingly permanent twinkle from Dumbledore's eye?
Lily glanced down the table and noticed James and his friends were sitting close together whispering furtively over a plate of food. Sirius grinned mischievously as James waved his wand over the plate. His food glowed purple for a moment and then returned to normal. Sirius let out a burst of laughter.
"Go on. Taste it Prongs," he said.
"No way! You do it Moony, it was your idea."
"Actually," Remus argued. "It was Padfoot's idea. I just found the spell."
"Well someone has to try it." This was from Peter.
The other three all looked at him.
"Uh-uh! No way! I always have to test everything!" Peter whined.
"Fine. Give it here." Sirius grabbed the plate from James and took a bite of the roast beef. He chewed slowly, swallowed and then took a sip of pumpkin juice. The others looked at him expectantly.
"Well," James asked. "Did it work?"
Sirius set down his glass, swallowed his mouthful and let another huge grin break out on his face. "That spell sure did the trick." He winked at the others. "Really brings out the flavor."
"Excellent," James said, rubbing his hands together. "When do we do it?"
Remus looked around the Hall. "Not tonight," he said. "I think everyone needs to be able to focus on Dumbledore's speech."
"So tomorrow morning then?" Sirius asked.
"Perfect," James agreed. "There's a few finishing touches I'd like to add…" He trailed off and grinned at the others.
After about an hour of feasting Dumbledore once again stood up and motioned for attention. The Hall fell silent. Everyone waited with trepidation to hear exactly what had happened.
"This afternoon, there was a Death Eater attack on the school train."
The Great Hall immediately broke out into frantic chatter. Those who had know what had happened tried to quiet everyone down. Students sitting near Lily and James began to rapidly fire questions at them to which they nodded gravely. Dumbledore pulled out his wand and with a loud bang, shot purple sparks into the air. The hall returned their attention to him.
"As much as it grieves me to have to be the one to tell you this," Dumbledore continued. "I feel you have the right to know. A good number of your parents will be appalled that I have told you," he paused and looked around the hall. "I want to make it clear that you are perfectly safe here at Hogwarts. Lord Voldemort-" There was a unified gasp at his name. "-would not dare to attack this school directly. Trips to Hogsmeade will be postponed until further notice-" there was a unified groan. "-but everything else will be continuing as normal."
"Does that mean quidditch is still on?" Sirius called out.
Dumbledore's calm blue eyes twinkled. "Yes, Mr. Black, it does. Trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interesting in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch or their team captain. And all students should note that the Forbidden Forest is simply that. Also, anyone who has concerns about this afternoon's attack, please, do not hesitate to contact either your head of house or myself." Dumbledore raised his wand. "With that said, let us sing the school song and then it's off to bed." He gave his wand a flick and words spelled themselves out with a long golden ribbon. Everyone began singing in a different tune, and the combination of all the different voices and keys sounded like something akin to a chainsaw on an iron fence. When the song was finally finished Dumbledore cleared the words and sent everyone off to bed.
The song had done nothing to lighten the mood as the students got up to leave. House prefects called all their first years over to show them the way to their House's Common Room and dormitories.
James, Sirius and Peter followed behind Remus and Missy as they led the Gryffindor first years to Gryffindor Tower, still whispering about the prank they were going to pull tomorrow morning. Lily and Marlene followed not far along behind them, heads together discussing Dumbledore's speech.
After saying the password, "Hebridean Black" (Sirius joked about it being a relative of his until Lily pointedly told him that it was a type of dragon), they all headed up to their separate dormitories for a good night's rest.
********
A knock on the door sounded just as Lily went to turn on the shower. She hurriedly pulled on one of the bath robes hanging by the sink before opening the Head bathroom door to a yawning James Potter.
"What is it?" she asked James exasperatedly. "I just got in here."
James rubbed his eyes sleepily. "I just got a note from Dumbledore. He wants to see us before breakfast."
"Fine," Lily answered. She was about to shut the bathroom door when she realized that he was already dressed in his robes. She leaned against the doorframe and raised an eyebrow at him. "Why are you up so early? It's just before seven. Breakfast doesn't start for another hour."
James cleared his throat. "Studying," he answered, looking at a point somewhere above her head.
Lily narrowed her eyes at him. "Classes haven't even started yet," she said slowly before it dawned on her. "You were pranking weren't you? And you being Head Boy too." She threw up her hands furiously. "Of all the nerve. I would have thought even you'd have more sense then that- especially after what happened yesterday."
"That's why we decided to do it today instead of last night like we were originally planning. We figured that people would need something to lighten their mood after what happened. And its completely harmless anyways, no need to get you knickers in a twist about it."
Lily glared at James. "Don't worry, I won't," she said before shutting the bathroom door in his face.
James stared blankly at the closed door before the sound of running water snapped him out of his reverie. "I hate it when she gets like that. No matter what I do, it always seems to set her off." He ran a hand through his hair and went to sit on the couch to wait for Lily when it hit him. "I'm sitting on a couch while Lily Evans is taking a shower in the next room." He let out a short laugh. It was all a bit surreal. He laid back on the couch, pillowing head with his arms and closed his eyes. He yawned again before falling into a light doze. "Getting up early for pranks is a bit tiring…"
********
"Potter, wake up!"
James opened his eyes. He was lying on his stomach with one arm hanging over the edge of the couch. He fumbled for his glasses, which had somehow fallen to the floor, and put them on. Lily's bright green eyes and a small nose lightly dusted with freckles slowly came into focus. "Wh-what?" he asked with a yawn.
Lily made a noise of exasperation. "You said that Dumbledore wanted to see us before breakfast, didn't you?"
"Oh, yeah," James agreed. He got up, stretched, then straitened his robes and ran a hand through his hair trying to get it into some sort of order. With Lily's hair clipped back so neatly on either side of the face made him feel like a slob with is messy black mop.
Lily tutted. "Give it up, Potter. You'll never get it to lie flat."
James silently agreed. His hair simply grew that way- all over the place. He grabbed his bag from beside the portrait hole and followed Lily to Dumbledore's office. When they reached the gargoyle Lily gave it the password ("Acid Pops") and they rode the stairs up to Dumbledore's office.
James knocked on the door and Professor Dumbledore called for them to enter. He was sitting behind his desk which was covered with letters and James noticed that there were a few scorch marks on the walls as well.
Dumbledore smiled wryly when he noticed James looking. "As you can see Mr. Potter, quite a few students have already written home about yesterday's events." He motioned for them to sit down. "Yesterday's attack only proved how powerful Lord Voldemort has become. The train is protected by numerous spells, yet Voldemort managed to get one of his Death Eaters aboard."
"How did he get on, sir?" James asked.
"A clever use of Polyjuice Potion-"
"But, sir," Lily interrupted. "I thought Polyjuice Potion was illegal."
"Unfortunately not, Miss Evans. Although, some people in the Ministry have been trying their best to make it so, Mr. Bartemius Crouch in particular, it is highly useful for Aurors. So it remains legal, even though others may use it for a less noble purpose."
"Oh, alright then. Sorry for interrupting. Please continue."
"Not at all, Miss Evans. Now, as I was saying. The Death Eater took the place of Benjamin Frisson, one of the train's guards. At the first chance he got Frisson disabled the other guards and then made his way to the front of the train." He paused. "Polyjuice takes some time to make and it is an immensely complicated potion. This attack was well thought out. That a Death Eater could so easily gain access to the school train worries me. Voldemort has been gaining power and supporters these past few years. I believe that he will turn his focus to the school. Yesterday's attack only further supports my theory. I would like the two of you to keep your ears and eyes open for anything remotely pertaining to Voldemort, even if it seems like an offhanded comment, and let me know about it." Lily and James both nodded. "Now, one more thing before you go," Dumbledore continued. He took a stack of parchments from his desk and handed them to Lily. "These are this year's timetables. Each houses are marked, just give them to the house prefects and they will pass them out to the other students." He handed two other parchments to James. "These are your timetables. You will note a free period at the end of the week. That time is for you to meet with me about any questions or concerns you have. They are not mandatory so if there is nothing you need to share with me it is a free period for you."
"Thank you, Professor," Lily said, standing up. James stood up also and stepped around Lily to open the door for her.
"I will see you both at breakfast." Dumbledore shut the door behind them and turned to his portraits. "They are the most intriguing pair," he said with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, before turning back to the letters that awaited him on his desk.
********
The Great Hall was filled when Lily and James arrived there for breakfast. It was just before eight so the tables were devoid of food. Lily handed the timetables to the house prefects before taking her own from James. She sat down with Marlene and James sat with his friends a few places down. He exchanged a gleeful look with Sirius. "Is everything all set?" he asked. "Sorry I had to leave before we were finished but Dumbledore wanted to see me and Evans."
"Don't worry about it, Prongs," Sirius said. "Moony and I finished it up alright."
Remus looked up from his book.. "I can't wait to see the looks on their faces," he said, grinning widely. "We even managed to get the Head Table. Oh and I altered the charm a bit. Now its every other bite or sip you take. I reckon everyone is going to think they're a bit mad by the end of the meal."
James let out a howl of laughter and Lily gave him a scathing look. He smiled and winked cheekily back at her. The food appeared on the tables and Lily turned back to fill her plate after one last glare.
James watched her spoon eggs and sausage onto her plate and then fill her glass with pumpkin juice out of the corner of his eye while he filled his own plate.
Lily took a sip of her pumpkin juice and said something to Marlene before taking another. She frowned slightly and sipped her juice again,. Tasting nothing wrong with it she set about eating her eggs. She swallowed her first bite easily and then took a drink of her juice to wash it down but choked on it. Coughing, she turned to look at James.
James grinned widely and took a large gulp of his own juice and then a smaller sip. He could feel Lily glaring at him.
"Rather good pumpkin juice isn't it, Prongs?" Sirius asked him loudly, with a glance towards Lily and her friends. Marlene had just taken a second bite of her eggs but spit them back out into her napkin, making a face of disgust.
"Yes, it is," James replied with a perfectly straight face. "A bit of a shock at first though, seeing how it tastes like milk every other sip. How're the eggs, Moony?"
Remus grinned and took a bite of his eggs. "Looks like eggs, smells like eggs, feels like eggs…" He took another bite. "Tastes a bit like sausage, though." The Marauders all burst out laughing.
Lily watched James eat. She knew that this prank of theirs would effect them as much as the rest of them but they were eating their breakfast normally. Then she noticed how they were eating it. They were taking large and small bites alternately. Same with their drinks, first a large sip them a smaller one. Lily sipped her juice again. It tasted like it should. She took another sip, swirling it around in her mouth a bit before swallowing, it tasted like milk. Surprising if you didn't know what to expect. Marlene looked at her quizzically.
"It tastes like milk every other sip you take," she explained to her. "The eggs are the same only they taste like sausage instead."
Marlene gave a small 'oh' of understanding. "They really are creative aren't they?" she said. "I mean, it takes a lot of skill to change the flavor of food around without changing anything else. You have to be really skilled."
Lily huffed. "More like really lucky."
"Come on. You have to admit that they have a knack for learning spells pretty quickly. James is really good in Transfiguration and the only one better than him at Charms is you. He's really not that bad when you think about it."
"James Potter, not that bad?" Lily asked incredulously. "Are we talking about the same person?"
"Oh, really," Marlene said impatiently. "The only reason you hate him so much is because he was always asking you out. And, might I remind you, he hasn't done that since you told him you'd rather go out with the Giant Squid."
"I don't hate him. He just really annoys me." Lily looked at James. He was laughing at something with his friends per usual. Lily turned back to Marlene. "At least he stopped messing up his hair so much," she added offhandedly. "You're right. I guess he really isn't that bad."
"Yeah," Marlene said teasingly, reaching for her bag. "He's kind of good looking too."
Lily raised an eyebrow at her and picked up her own bag. "If you like the 'just got out of bed' look," she said, standing up. She and Marlene walked out of the Great Hall. Before walking through the door Lily glanced back over her shoulder to look at James. "He is rather adorable, though, once you get past the arrogance."
A/N: And that was chapter 5! Again, I'm sorry it took so long to get out. I had a block writing the one part and even though it would have worked to split the chapter up, I wanted it to all be together. Also (and this is really exciting) my best friend just had a baby- born Jan 11! He's the cutest thing! I was so excited all I could do these past few days was stare at my computer with a goofy grin on my face. Anyways, I really hoped you liked it! I tried my hand (keyboard?) at the sorting hat song…I hope it was ok- it was a bit short compared to JKR's…they're harder to write then you would think! Also, I have no clue what time classes start for them. Our first class would always be around 8 so I figured theirs would start a bit later since they live at Hogwarts for the school year they have two(?) classes each day. Don't forget to review! Much love!